Who? Me??

That is the question you should be asking yourself whenever you are about to buy something.

If you are not clear then, check out this site. The content is presented by Anne Leonard, who manages to deliver the message so clearly and logically; it’s a shame that we did not notice it earlier. We Indians are copying the western culture to the hilt, so much so that we are trying to adopt the same practices at work, at home, at how we treat things, becoming more of consumers and less of contributors.

Half of the stuff that we buy, do we really need that? A new phone, a brand new gaming desktop (I was thinking of getting this one), a flat screen tv, a dishwasher, an A/C, the list goes on. And once we buy that, we dont stop … we keep on buying newer versions of that. Our perceived obsolescence drives us to trash our already existing goods for the sake of the newer and better. Such a waste.

Please go through the site – storyofstuff.com. And try to make a difference.

My first job was in IRIS, in the year 2002. I loved my job. I had joined with seven other software engineers. We bonded really well together. We used to work on different projects, but lunched together … discussed problems, solved them … and generally helped each other out. Life was good, life was beautiful. I loved my life of a programmer. Our batch was one of the best the organization had, in fact some of us were awarded as the most valuable programmer, et al. No, I am not being modest , but we loved helping each other out … contributing to the organization.

My last job was in I2I. It was a simple transaction for me. I went to work, I stayed there till 6.30pm everyday, I came back – the company paid me for it. The very transactional nature of this perspective made me shudder … I had to leave the organization in search of greener pastures.

My new job is with Illumine, where the culture of the organization is to actualize the paradigm shift from transactional thinking of a job to contribution thinking. Will post more on this later, but at the moment think about it. Is your job a transaction for you?

• Mangoes, mmmm …. yummm
• When ice-cream, cold-drink and A/C sales spike up
• School vacations, ahhh … those were the best. No more pencils, no more books … no more teachers’ dirty looks
• When employees report early to office and stay beyond their normal time in order to stay in the cool recesses of their offices’ central A/C
• When you want to discard everything else in life and head towards a beach and have some beers … read Goa!!
• Time for the Harry Potter films to come out and gather a throng of kids (and their parents) in the theaters
• Shorter clothes
• Families migrating towards hill stations

Summer gets me all nostalgic, what about you?

Just a note of appreciation towards the Mumbai police force. Today my entire family and I had gone to the police station for verification of our passport. Since the marriage, this is one of our initiatives

The police officer came to our house and gave us the time and date for reporting to the police station. The D-Day arrived and we reported to the station on time. Everything was done so smoothly and efficiently.

I am mentioning it specifically, because this was unlike all the other government offices I have been to since marriage viz., marriage certificate, name change registrar, et al. This office was spic and span, tidy and manned by a very efficient person – Inspector S. M. Rane. Kudos!!

Wishing all of you a very happy and prosperous new year ahead.

Just the other day I was talking to Amol aka Baba. Our discussions can  meander from technology to yoga to relationships, well to put in a nutshell, they makes you think (yes, its a philosophical post). So, the question that cropped up was – What is peace of mind mean to you?

Any takers? Well for me, peace of mind is the place where I don’t have to make any extra efforts to reach my destination. Further thinking led to the point that you can be en route to that destination and still have peace of mind, which I think could be the case when you know that in due course you are going to get there.

Baba later pointed out, that a person can feel uncertainty, anger, frustration, et al and still have his/her peace of mind. If the person knows the difference between his core feelings – the ones which help him achieve his id and his ternary feelings – the ones which can be dispensed off with i.e.. the anger, frustration, et al. But that person would have to be completed detached – a sadhu of sorts. That would be some person … well for one, his family would not be happy with this guy’s eternal cool.

Kind of reminds me of that Socrates’ incident, when his wife threw a bucket of water at him because he would not get into a fight with her. After which Socrates coolly said, “It seldom rains after the thunder”. Now that is peace of mind , What say?

As promised – Some words of wisdom from my better half on the M word.

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Hi Friends,

I am so glad today to finally write a post on my Hubby’s Blog. Recently seeing him totally out of action (on his blog ), I decided to enlighten this blog by highlighting certain aspects of MARRIAGE.

Life after marriage changes; alteast to an extent. Well one always find guys complaining more than gals. I feel its equal for each of them. I am sure most of you reading this post have already found their life partner/looking for a life partner/ thinking whether to climb the huge cliff (tie a knot). If you and your partner compile the 3C’s i.e Compatibility, Connection and Chemistry then surely you both are ready to tie the knot.

“Marriages are made in Heaven” – a very famous phrase … most of the bachelors/singletons say, “What crap? If they are made in Heaven then there would be no divorce.”

Even before marriage or rather before dating Kidakaka I felt the same, this so called Idealistic phrase was a crap. Within a year my notions about this completely changes and now actually I am a believer.

Logically if you apply your mind how many guys/gals you have dated have actually clicked, the odds of finding the right person and selecting is really a difficult task.. Ask you friends who are going through trouble of meeting their opposites for an arranged wedding.

On top of that we also have different cultures in India which also play an important variant, different professions, hectic lives and varied interests. Ok Ok! the list just goes on; finding the ONE after so many odds is (PHEW!) definitely a difficult task. So really If any two people click and decide to get married then i must say “unki jodi baghwan ne banai hai ”

Think about it and if you have someone in your life who does make a difference/rather if you feel he/she is the one for you ..go ahead and say it..before someone else does COMPETITION YOU SEE !!!!

So after all thsi Gyan heres KIDAKAKI signing off..bye have great year friends!!!

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Some of you really needed this – I wont name who

Yes on a roll here. And extremely free .

Farhan Akhtar impressed everyone through Dil Chahta Hain. Many called it over-rated, but I loved the freshness of the movie. Then came a string of decent hits … then came Rock On, when people could actually put a face to the director. Imagine a 32 year old father of two, becoming a heart throb of Bollywood. People were calling him an overnight success and a lucky boy.

I guess that’s why he decided to make this movie. Luck By Chance shows us the life of a typical struggling actor and what are the sacrifices they have to make in order to make it big. Not to mention the paparazzi and affairs and the wheeling and dealing that one has to do in order to shape one’s career. Its startlingly true, and its being accepted by mainstream cinema. Akhtar is not a fluke kid, but a genuine all-rounder when it comes to films.

Give the movie a go, I do not want to put forth all the details in the movie, but suffice to say that its recommended watch. Movies like this make me think that Bollywood still has a chance.

Wishing all of you a very happy and prosperous new year!!