All the small things.




I know.. I know.. you must have read this kinda thing many a times. So I thought.. what the heck.. Let me do my take on -

It's the Small things in life that make you happy :
(The following is based on actual events)

1) You know you screwed up the test and are gonna flunk for sure. Yet through some divine intervention, your marks get swapped with the person in front of you.. guess what.. you pass with a 90%!

2) You forget your phone on the table in a crowded club.. n realize this when you're about to exit the building.. You make a dash back for it n there it is lying safely on the table.

3) You leave on a train journey without a reservation on waiting list # 21. But miraculously not only you get a sleeping berth, the TTE is kind enough not to take a bribe!

4) You get a call from someone you took tuition class with when you were in 10th right on your birthday. She wishes you happy birthday and you meet her the very next day after 7 years.

5) You are humming a old classic dance tune since morning. And the DJ plays that tune in the club that very night.

6) You get a flat tyre on your way back to office from an appointment. No jack handle. There you are sitting on the curb thinking what to do next. A car pulls up n a very hot lady asks if she could be of some assistance. Yes this is based on actual events.

7) You come home from a hard night of clubbing smelling of smoke n booze. Your father opens the door. He has a cold and can't smell neither on you.

8) You go shopping for new jeans. The first one you try fits you like a glove.

9) Your laptop gets screwed up. You send it for repair under warranty. The company upgrades it with newest graphics card and sends it back free of charge.

10) You're relaxing on a beach gazing at the beautiful sunset. You look to your left. Around 10 topless foreign women are standing 15 feet from you. You forget about the sunset.

11) You find a 1000 rupees note in your old jacket pocket.

12). Getting all green lights when you're driving back from a hard work day.

13). Opening your credit card statement only to find that the bank has goofed up and not charged you for any shopping for that month.

14). Reaching the movie theater just in time to find that you got the last seats available in the hall that too at the perfect location for a house full movie.

15). Dominos is late in delivery by 10 minutes and does not charge for the pizza.


Yep... Sometimes in life.. it's the small things that make more sense than the bigger picture. If you have any of your own, please feel free to share some in the comment box.

Back to the jungle!


"I could have killed 'em all, I could kill you. In town you're the law, out here it's me. Don't push it. Don't push it or I'll give you a war you won't believe. Let it go.... Let it.. go. "

Remember these immortal lines from First Blood?!

You Don't?! Can't blame ya. Long gone are the days when they used to make movies which left an impression on you. Movies with heart, courage, blood, gore, justice, decapitated limbless men .

Gone are the glory days of real stunts, explosions, screeching cars, guns, grenades, wounds, scars n occasional boob here n there... Ok enough reminiscing.

You see I'm a simple guy..n I like simple action movies. Now what does a simple movie require?! A hero, A villain, A damsel in distress, A mission, Lots of killing n an awesome climax. Thats all I am looking for. A basic formula based movie. Too bad it's not what we usually get in cinemas these days. All thanks to stupid over the top scripts which are too complicated to begin with.. Gayish lookin' actors (keanu reeves) trying their hand at action, and to ruin it all.. the mother of all - C.G.I (computer generated imagery). Yes I personally hate C.G.I.. not cause it adds to the feel of the scene and not cause it makes the scene more rich.. but for the basic reason that it takes the believability factor out of the movie. It takes the soul of the movie n beats the shit out of it. (haven't you seen transformers?)

So.. skeptical about how the new Rambo flick in theater, I was nervous to go. Good thing that I did though. Cause it kicked Ass! !This is how movie making should be. Blood n Guts routine. Over the top non CGI based action. Loved it scene for scene. Stallone has proved once again that making good characters is what draws a person back in the seat. Case in point. John Rambo , jaison bourne and Rocky Balboa (yes i enjoyed rocky 6).

Anyhow.. I hope Hollywood wakes up to the needs of ol' timers like me n shelve out more real action based movies like this one. So give us back our gut spilling, decapitating, head exploding and boob flashing flicks OR I'll be forced to return to my stack of actual action greats like die hard's, terminator's for the 834th time.

Phoenix Rising


At the impending end, when the ashes are cold, and the trials are over, another fire appears; now, purified by the flames, the passion is renewed, its own flames fanned by the beating of the thunderbird's wings. A new day, a new life, a new beginning...

The Truth


"friends are the jewels of life." Good statement! But does it weigh enough to be true in all contexts and situations of life?! Let's begin with understanding the anatomy of friendship.

When a person meets another person, the subconscious starts to decode the the signals received based on conversation, presentation and body language. Based on this feedback, chemicals are released in the brain of the subjects and the body starts generating vibes. Sometimes they are good vibes, sometimes they are bad. If bad, then the moment the conversation is over, the subjects leave and forget about each other. But when there are good vibes, the subjects start bonding. This bond ignites a feeling of goodness, happiness and belonging.

Based on these chemical equations, we choose and base all our friends and friendships.

That means that a friend is nothing but merely a chemical equation gone right under favorable conditions and circumstances.

Now that we have established a meaning to the equation and coined a term friendship for it, let's dwell upon the types of friendships.

1) Timely - One of the most common type of friendship. People meet, spend time, leave.

2) Commercial - People stick with you till the time there is a commercial viability attached to you or them. Benefits and rewards add fuel to this type of friendship.The moment the rewards start becoming rare or scarce, either party quits.

3) Addon - A friend of a friend is a friend. (gf's and bf's usually instigate such friendships)

4) Social - Attaching oneself to a famous personality with the intention of rubbing some stardust on yourself. Usually ends in time with a reality check.

5) Unconditional - rarest of the rare. Usually begins with the intention of staying together in any situation. High's and lows inclusive. Starts in early stages of life. Ends suddenly without warning.

6) Best friends - Myth


The basic fact is that everyone is looking for something. Some are looking for a good time, others for someone to talk to, some for someone to cling on, some for other monetary or ulterior motives and some are looking for just a true and honest friend.

So then you ask yourself.. How do I find an honest, loyal and best friend. Well here's the truth..You cannot. There is no such thing as a true friend.. it's just people hanging on till the time they find it comfortable. As soon as they find an exit, they leave. These exits can be in form of other people better, more interesting or commercially viable than you or maybe they just loose interest. It's a swift move, people are blocked, communications are stopped and all relationship and ties are broken as if they never existed in the first place.

So what does that teach you. Live each moment as it were your last cause you never know who will leave you side where and when in life. I guess it's a part of growing up and accepting the fact that times change, people change, loyalties change and so do feelings. New relationships and bonds are formed and older ones broken.

Nothing is static and life goes on.

Jai Hind!


We're Indians.
We are patient, tolerant people. We accept all religions and tolerate all kinds of behavior. We never riot. Rioting, too, happens only outside our borders. We keep the peace at all hours. We do not typecast other religions or provoke sentiments. Watch our many movies for proof.

All Indians are our brothers and sisters. This is why we respect all women. This is why women in our major cities can do as they like and travel, unaccompanied, at all hours and feel safe. This is why our policemen are highly respected, for the protection they offer to all .

We love cleanliness and hygiene and do everything in our power to save the environment. We do not use any product or apparatus that causes pollution. We plant tress, save water and electricity as much as possible. We obey traffic rules and believe in safe driving.

We don't consume alchohol and teach our children the same. We spend less money every month on partying, buying clothes and self indulgence. After all, We are charitable people and we like to help the poor and needy and donate a part of our earnings for their upliftment.

Education is important for us. We respect our system of education. We encourage our sons and daughters to get an education here, not abroad, because we believe in the system. The few who graduate abroad are encouraged to come back here, to make life even better than it already is for themselves and their countrymen.

We are proud of our culture. We uphold it every week. Our heritage is precious. This is why we protect it well. Our monuments are well cared for. Our museums are well funded. Our curators are literate and well paid. We do not allow people to encroach on sites like the Taj Mahal or the Qutub Minar. Graffiti is not allowed. Vandalism is a myth.

We treat our sons and daughters equally. We allow our daughters to marry when they wish to. We allow our daughters to pick the men they want to spend their lives with. We encourage our daughters to think for themselves and fall in love. We believe they have the intelligence to make wise decisions. This is also why we encourage them to study further.

We don't kiss. Kissing is what people outside India do. We just smile shyly at the people we love. Watch our many movies for proof.

We are all heterosexual. Homosexuals live outside our borders. We encourage our media to explore sexuality. We accept alternative sexualities, even though we are all convinced they do not exist. Which is why we try and keep the population of our nation under control. Sex is, after all, a dirty word. We don't think about sex. It's never on our minds. We think pure thoughts at all hours.

We love our cricket. It's because we're so good at it. It's because our cricketers pour their heart into every game. Other sports are not worthy of our attention. Other sportsmen do not pour their hearts out into their games. Other sportsmen are not worthy of endorsing our brands of footwear, aerated drinks or car batteries. Our cricketers alone deserve our adoration. Our cricketers and our movie stars, that is.

Our movie stars are intelligent. They study all scripts carefully and are always unwilling to propagate stereotypes. Our movie stars live clean, wholesome lives and are therefore perfectly suited to deliver clean, wholesome messages to the masses that adore them.
Our politicians are pillars of honesty and hardwork. Corruption and bribery is a myth at any level in this great nation of ours. Our justice system is strong, speedy and full proof. The innocent get justice and the guilty are punished as per law. There are hardly any ques here. Everyone gets quick and effective service.

Our government makes sure everyone is well fed, sheltered and clothed. Thats why it focuses heavily on rural upliftment. We pay our taxes honestly and strengthen the governmental framework so it can make better roads, hospitals and general infrastructure in every village, town and city.

We love our country. We don't want to live anywhere else. We don't work towards the idea of leaving it and never coming back. Because we're Indians.

Hypocrites, all.

Office Space


I got a hard working group of friends... which is a good thing considering if they plan to retire by 40. But unfortunately this is not the case in a country like India. Where people being employed by MNC's, Media houses, telecom and corporate giants are used for their own greedy and selfish motives. Hard work is a good quality.. for a willing donkey. So here are a few guidelines for my fellow friends about the ten things the employers will never let you know.


First Thing

" You will be paid the lowest possible salary "


Why should this be so?

1. For a start there are not many people who know their own self worth.
2. You are expendable in the first 6 months. Goof up and you will be replaced.
3. There are plenty of other people waiting in the wings to take your
place for a lower fee if you refuse.
4. If you do protest, you can typically kiss promotion goodbye.
5. Employee costs are a significant percentage of total costs and
are usually monitored in budgets and reports. It is often a key
management performance indicator (like production, wastage,
stock levels and so on). So it is in their own promotional interests
to keep them as low as possible.



The Second

"You'll never make good money working for other people."

How many senior managers are there at your place of work? And
how many others are there? The ratio is likely to be anywhere from
40:1 to 200:1. So if you have their education, background, ability,
contacts and perhaps luck, those will be your odds of making that
kind of money also. If you lack any one of those parameters, the
odds increase exponentially.

Then ask yourself how long you would have to wait before you
started earning that sort of cash? By the time you start making
enough money to relax with, it's nearly time to retire.
Pah! You want the cash NOW, just when you need it most - when
you want to build a home, raise a family, do stuff, take activity
holidays, drive a fast car or whatever.

So what do you do about it? hehe



The Third Thing They Never tell you

"The willing donkey carries the heaviest load"

Quite self explanatory.



The Fourth

"They don't really mean it"


"They" applies more to senior than to middle managers. When
they get ratty or annoyed, they often don't really mean it.
Let's begin with the basics. There are 3 types of person in the
world:
- Those for whom the job comes first, regardless of who suffers or
indeed who does it.

- Those who believe you should care for your people first and only
do the job within such comfort zones.

- Those who don't care about the job or the people, so long as they
are in control.

The latter category is the most dangerous. These are the
politicians and the senior managers of the world and they achieve
their position through a craving for power. The nature and success
of both the people and the job are irrelevant, so long as they have
the whip hand.


The Fifth

"Get noticed - Get promoted"

It's not what you know, it's who you know - and, indeed, what they
themselves know. A few percent increase in the quality, quantity or
thoroughness of your work can take a lot of effort. This is time that
could be used to rub shoulders with those who have the power to
promote you and whose opinion of you counts.


The Sixth

"You don't go to work to be liked"

That's not to say you have to be a miserable, awkward git to
everyone around you. But if there are people who don't fit your
desire to improve, you don't have to hang around with them or
tolerate them.

There are a multitude of whiners, moaners, groaners, rumourmongers,
gossipers and malicious corrupters in any organisation.
These people are toxic. One bad apple can spoil a whole barrel.
They also need the company to pour their scorn out onto. They will
walk considerable distance to have a good old moan with someone
who will sit and listen. Just watch them do it! Their self-esteem is so
low, it is impossible for them to keep it to themselves. Misery must
seek company.



The Seventh

"Perception is reality"

How people perceive you is how you really are. If you dress like a
slob, they'll think you're a slob; if you speak with firm authority (even
though you may be churning inside) you will be perceived as
authoritative. If you're perceived as a keen, early starter, that is how
you will be considered, regardless of what you are actually up to. If
you behave like management material (see Number 5), you'll be
perceived as management material.



The Eighth they Never Tell You

"Information is power"

Oh, boy, don't they just know it. There are various forms of power
and information is one of the critical ones. This is why there will
never be open management. It is far, far more one way than the
other. The information that managers hold is one of the principal
pillars of their power base.


The Ninth They Never Tell You

"It's only a game"

Although this means you do have to master the technicalities of
what you do, it also means there is nothing wrong with bluffing,
cheating and rigging the cards. If the slack in the system gives you
maneuvering space, use it. If there is a way for you to make it look
good without having to bust a gut doing it, then take it.


The Tenth Thing They Never Tell You

"Watch the X-Files - i.e. Trust no-one"

Don't even trust the stuff in this write-up! Pardon? Well, it might all
be true; then again, it might not! It's up to you to decide.


So the next time your boss says something is really important, ask
yourself for whom? Can you do a quick job on it and still keep him or
her happy? When something is a rush job, is that really the case, or
have they just not considered the options? Or are they just kneejerking?
Or are they just trying to get you to work faster? Or is it
down to their lack of organization and planning and so their own
responsibility to do it? Can you gain a favor out of doing it? And
from a million other requests made to you during your tenure.

You may think of me being excessively cynical. And cynicism is
often cited as being highly detrimental. But that usually comes form
those who are trying to exploit you. Remember, even if you win the rat race,
you're still a rat.

Insight


Life passes with time and time passes in moments. Moments which, rushing past us, define the path of a life even as they fix upon its end. How rarely do we stop to examine that path? To see the reasons why all things happen. To consider whether the path we have taken is of our own making, or simply one into which we've drifted with eyes closed. But what if we were to stop? To take stock of each precious moment before it passes? Might we see the endless forks in the roads that shape our lives? And... seeing the choices we've made... choose another path?

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