A Different Plain

Its been a long time since I last wrote a blog here. My apologies to anyone who has been visiting this page, but returning with nothing new. I have been on a different plain in the last few months! No no, I am still on the same planet, same country where I have lived for the last 10 months, doing the same work in the same office. However ever since I got engaged a few months back, I have been thinking about a lot more things. It feels wonderful to have someone with whom you can discuss any and everything. Its even more strange to observe how two strangers can come so close in no time at all. But I find myself lucky, for I have found someone, who is understanding, intelligent, and pretty!

Some days back I was thinking of buying a new DSLR, and that was when I found out that the lenses come separately. Different lenses for different sceneries and occasions. Its really mind boggling how many options there are. The availability of these lenses and cameras must make photography really thrilling. Different clicks under different light settings and different lenses may provide different pictures. But the object of this photography is still the same each time. Its the same person or object or scenery presented from different perspective, really. When I say a particular snap of the same object is better than a different snap, I am trying to judge the perspectives. But when I say an object is looking ugly in one and better in a different snap, then am I not contradicting myself? Well you may say no…but the point is that what’s ugly is another perspective of the object. After a lot of hits and trials, when you find the perfect shot, then all the older snaps are not ugly – they are mere stepping stones which have been used to reach to the target!

Discussion about cameras and the right settings is one thing. What is the right setting to view a situation then? Are we always well equipped to judge a person and situation? Do we ever try to empathize with the other person, or try to think how we would have fared? Now lets change our setting, and think of it from a different perspective. Do we think the person in front of us is more successful than us just because he has a more refined lifestyle? Have we taken all parameters into consideration before reaching this conclusion? Isn’t it ironic that even when we talk about going for the right setting before using the camera, we fail to apply the same rules in our own lives.

I remember some Tom & Jerry cartoons, where Tom has a few brilliant ideas to capture Jerry, but the plans fail because of sheer bad luck, or even serendipity of Jerry. I always thought Tom could have persisted with those plans, and he would have definitely succeeded at some point!! Of course it will never happen, but the fact is that we as humans sometimes fail to implement these plans in our own lives. If you let others tell you that you can’t do it, then you can either agree with them and sit down and do nothing, or you can do something to prove them wrong.

You can do something in future if you can imagine yourself capable of doing it! As I enjoy the last one hunderd and fifteen days of my bachelorhood, I am also thinking of a number of things, even as I seek inspiration for future 🙂

Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.

The Wait…

Every day I set the alarm clock in my mobile, praying for the morning to come soon. And sure it does…

Every day I count the number of hours passed. And sure they pass successfully, by the dozen…

Every day I watch as the second’s hand makes thousands of rounds. And sure it never tires…

Every day I watch as the dates pass by. But the months never end…

How hard it is to make the time pass. It is not easy, and it is not tough. The time will go on it its own style, own pace. It will not wait for me to make a request, nor will it even listen to my request. Not because it is cruel, but because it is just. It knows I want it to move fast now, and then stop or proceed very slowly at a certain moment. It cannot vary its pace ever, even if I lay there, scratching my head, or pleading.

I look back at the number of years gone by. And I realize that time was never on my mind. As a kid, I never thought about time in this way. When I was in class one, I never imagined how life would be 20 years from then. So twenty years from that day, I cannot play games with time. Did I say twenty? Isn’t it a long time! Back then all I cared about was my family, my teachers, my friends…sometimes things do not change much, even if they have actually changed!

I still remember the Cricket world cup of ’96 and it suddenly looks like yesterday. I remember the day when I rode a two-wheeler for the first time, and it seems so close. I still remember the days when I used to spend carefree time with my friends…and now they are all spread across various timezones, around the world. I still remember the day I got my first paycheck and I felt like buying the world! I still remember the time when I last fought with my brother…well that’s not exactly a distant memory…for I am fighting with him even as I write this!

And yet I wait for another moment in my life. The moment in my life.  Its funny how we keep waiting for moments to come, and sometimes forget to live in the current moment…

I try to define my life for the next few months. And I try hard to make it happen. And yet I know there is time. Time will be on my side, sooner than later. But all I can do now is to bide for time…for my time will come!

The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time…Time is what prevents everything from happening at once…

Cricket and Interruptions

Cricket matches played in Australia, England and New Zealand always used to fascinate me as a child. This fascination was not because of the quality of the cricket on display, but more because of the weather conditions and the stadiums where the matches were played. The lush green grounds, nice breezy weather and the sea gulls resting in the outfields always made for a nice sight on the television, and I always wanted to be a part of that ambience, either side of the boundary. As it couldn’t be the inner side of the boundary, I decided I’ll definitely join the outer group in watching them play whenever I could!

This month I finally got a lucky break of watching the first day of the fifth Ashes test match at the SCG, a dream opportunity. And what better stage than the Ashes, with the Barmy Army in full form! Even as I started for the ground early enough, the only worry was the cloud cover which could prove to be the dampener on an otherwise glorious day. The match starting time was 10:30am and I reached the stadium by 8:20, thanks to the special events’ bus service. Even as I stood outside the gates, thinking whether I should get in so early or not, I saw the gate open, and so took this opportunity to get in! Armed with loads of stuff to eat and a copy of SMH, I hunted for my seat which wasn’t quite difficult to find as I was one of the handful in the stands.

The seat was high up, directly in line with the pitch, with the Sydney city skyline to my left. The entire playing arena was in front of me – well rounded and lush green. I spent a few minutes soaking in the moment!… and then royally sat on my seat like a king. Slowly people started filling in, and the quiet atmosphere started turning festive. Beer was in full flow as people attacked their favorite “best cold beer” the moment it became available. Very soon the players started coming out for exercises and warm ups. It was really thrilling to see them in person. The commentators and TV people were also out and you could make out the hairline of Shane Warne in the distance! The toss and the playing of the national anthems followed thereafter. Believe me there are a lot of cameras covering every thing.. I wonder how difficult it is to select the best camera view for the live feed.

As the start of the play approached, the umpires and then the two teams slowly made their way into the playing arena, to the loud cheer of the audience. The white jerseys and the red cherry in the hands of the lead bowler looked amazing! As the play began, the audience also settled down and enjoyed every piece of action on the field, just like they were enjoying their beer :).

Sadly the cricketing action had to be stopped a few times due to rains. The anxiety and anticipation in the crowds was quite palpable. But amidst such a gloomy sky we were fortunate to have close to two sessions of play. For such a loud crowd and a huge stadium, every time the batsman played a cracking shot, the sound of the leather hitting the timber (or the other way round) was quite audible!

The end of the play was cut short abruptly by rain, but I wasn’t quite disappointed. My main aim was to enjoy the experience, hear the Barmy Army ranting and chanting, and soak in the atmosphere – which I did! Did I miss the luxury of the TV replays? Well…a little sometimes, but that’s because that’s how we have got  accustomed to watching it. In fact I liked the fact that there were no television commercial interruptions, or unwitty commentary to put up to. This was an absolute raw form of watching good quality cricket (discounting the presence of giant screens).  You can actually see everything even between the change of overs – something that they cut off from the broadcast. The ambience and the environment more than make up for any newbies that television broadcast has to offer. As for me, another checkmark in front of an item in the ‘things to do’ list :).

 
We didn’t lose the game; we just ran out of time. Having said that,If you make every game a life-and-death thing, you’re going to have problems…you’ll be dead a lot!!

An Inspiration

In the dry desert sands of dead habit, a weary and tired traveller suddenly comes across some new leaves – fresh, pure, green, beautiful. He is inspired for more sightseeing, more distance.

When you have been using a camera for a long time, unaware of a number of hidden features, and you suddenly come across some, you are inspired for more expeditions, more clicks.

When you have been playing a game for a long time and were never able to go past the fifth level, and suddenly you clear it, you are inspired for more gaming, more levels.

When you were afraid to go run in the dark, and one fine day you decided to give it a try, and completed the run successfully, you are inspired for more jogs in the dark, more marathons.

When you were afraid to spend money on some luxuries for yourself, and one fine day you decided to buy yourself a new iPhone 4 and are pleased as Punch about it, you are inspired for more indulgences, more adventures.

When you were afraid to use that latest software, and one day you decide to give it a try and were able to master it completely, you are inspired for more softwares, more technology.

When you were afraid to play that sudoku puzzle in the daily newspaper for the fear of failure, and one fine day you not only picked it up, but also solved it in record time, you are inspired for more puzzles, more lateral thinking.

When you were afraid of watching new movies for the fear of not being able to understand the language and the plot, and one fine day you not only watched Inception, but also help your friends understand it, you are inspired for more movies, more LoTR.

When you were wary of trying new music genres, and one day you come across Poets of the Fall and have never stopped gushing about them since then, you are inspired to try out more varieties, more instruments.

When you were afraid of committing to a task for the fear of being ridiculed by colleagues, and one day you decided to be bold and delivered top quality on time, you are inspired for more initiatives, more volunteering.

When you thought you will always fall for temptations, and one fine day you decided to control your indulgences and forego the sugar in your cup of tea, you are inspired for a healthier diet, a healthier lifestyle.

May you get more inspirations, more reasons to do things you have never done before in this new year twentyEleven. After all, if you want to achieve something you have never achieved before, you must do something you have never done before! Happy New Year…usher in the new decade!

Nothing!

In the last few days whenever I talk to my friends and ask them how are things in life, one common answer I always get to hear is “Nothing”! Its as if nothing is happening in life. As a matter of fact even I have used this answer every now and then. “Nothing new is happening in life”…indeed! This always makes me wonder how exactly we look at life. Do we want to have some adventurous life, that keeps changing at the drop of a hat? Perhaps. Or do we want an exciting and non-stop travelling life? Perhaps the age of quiet and serene life is over.

We say nothing is happening in our life. I ask what exactly do you want happening in life. Its just a way of looking at things. Life is still running at the same pace as before. Its just that our references have changed. There are times when the time passes by in a flash, and there are times when it is tough to live through a day. But in times like these, its not that the clocks around the world are running slowly! Its the state of our minds which keeps changing its pace.

Then there is the consideration of mental satisfaction. Today if I say ‘nothing is happening’, then you can infer from it that there is something for which I am waiting. And yet I can’t wait for it to happen! If I am happy with the way things are happening, perhaps my answer would be different. Or at least conveyed in a different kind of tone.

Now turning back to the original answer of ‘nothing’. There are so many things happening around the world. Our world. If we feel like nothing is happening, its because in some way we have alienated ourselves from the current affairs. Or we feel we are no more relevant in the madness of the current affairs. Does that convey a lack of happiness? Possibly. Does that convey a sense of sadness and gloom? Perhaps.

Then there is the consideration of human age. Perhaps its a state in the human life when the person may not quite understand and appreciate the calmness around him/her. A state of balance may be being mistaken for a state of “nothingness”. After all a person can see only as clear as the number of his eye glasses! We all have some eyesight problem, except that some of us know it, and some of us do not.

In the end it boils down to choices that we take, choices that we make. It is all about the perception. Remember the classic example of two trains – one stationary and the other moving. A person sitting in the stationary train may feel that his train is moving. Or think about another example – a glass of capacity 1 lt containing 500 ml of water – it may be half full to some, or half empty to some others. All the talk of looking at the glass as half full being positive thinking is nothing but a load of crap. For it may also signify that the beholder is satisfied with the things in his life, so he is happy thinking that the glass is half full. He is satisfied with the ‘half full’ glass and will not take any more action. Someone who says that the glass is half empty may actually be quite eager to work and make sure that the glass is completely full, and his ‘half empty’ remark shows an underlying sense of getting on in life and doing what it takes to fill the glass fully!

Its a fight between two voices. One that says ‘nothing is happening – lets add something’, and the other that says ‘nothing is happening – God it can’t get any gloomier’. There are some decisions in life we have to make – looking at a glass as half full or half empty, and looking at it from the correct perspective are indeed some of them. You have to find your own voice.  So next time you answer ‘nothing’ when someone asks you whats happening in your life, you might want to give them the complete picture of thoughts in your mind! I guess I should now stop typing any further, or I will have ‘nothing’ more left in my mind!

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. If you are going through hell, keep going.

Patterns

The more I observe things in life, the more I am convinced that a lot of stuff happening around us follows a certain pattern. There are certain patterns that govern the functionality of things. These patterns follow a logical sequence, and there is nothing left to chance.

If you are trying to model an entity, then the best thing is to identify the set of patterns that encompass its general behaviour. Whenever you are trying to develop a system that reflects a specific set of activities in real life, then the best thing is to identify those patterns that your system should satisfy.

Understanding patterns gives us a lot of insight into how a thing works. More than that it gives us the ability to design similar kinds of systems. You gain tremendous amount of process design maturity.

The idea of identifying the patterns during process designing and system simulation can be extended to real life scenarios. Every day we come across several situations when we aren’t quite able to judge what is the best course of action. The key thing is to identify what kind of scenarios you would want to deal with, and then develop a response pattern that totally does the job. Mind you, it won’t be easy – you may have to spend a lot of time iterating and changing or tweaking the responses that form a part of your pattern. But gradually you will find that such a pattern, when used a few times, will be capable of saving you quite a few times! Be it an explosive situation in college or office, or a tiff with a colleague or friend, or something totally unexpected that blows in your face, if you are able to identify what kind of response pattern you ought to use for that occasion, then you will at least have some idea of how to get started. To add to this, having worked on such a response pattern will also make you aware of what next might be happening, thereby leaving you better prepared to handle it. More than being better prepared to handle anything, a process pattern will help you understand what all activities you must do to get started on a positive kneel.

I’m sure what I have just mentioned above may not make much sense to you when you read it first. Let me take up a few examples. Lets say there are a lot of times when you have to go to office very early morning because of some meetings. Rather that brood over it, you may have a ready pattern ready that will help you get you get started, for example what all activities to complete during that day since you are beginning early, plus how to reach office early, having a travel plan ready, and so on. Or lets say you are going to a new city to work for a few months. You have a design pattern for new places using which you can plan how to get started in the new city, when to buy things for your living and when, and so on. Or lets say you are a frequent traveller. You can plan a pattern for yourself in which you can plan what kind of luggage you are going to carry, what stuff you will actually need, and in what quantity. This way you will be ready for any travel plan that jumps on you out of nowhere, and you will avoid packing that old jeans you always carried with you, when you think you will wear it in this trip, but never actually do!

In the same way I can think of several ways in which you can try and develop response patterns for a lot of things in life. The key is not to be tied with your patterns so much that you forget the meaning or importance of being spontaneous. Remember – these patterns are only to get you started, and alleviate the pain of being unprepared, or being taken by surprise! Beyond that, they are not to be used as an emotional tool!

To understand is to perceive patterns. However, creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.

South of the Equator!

I have spent more than a fortnight now in the land Down under. The city of Sydney is really lively and quite beautiful. A few observations I have made:

1 ) With total land area that is more than twice the size of India, and yet with less 2% of the population of India, you may think you will not find crowd in Australia. But most population being concentrated in certain coastal areas, if you are living in a major city, you may as well dispel this thought.

2 ) Kangaroos and koalas are not found openly in the streets of Sydney! I want to specifically tell this to my mom 🙂

3 ) A lot of things are automated. Authorization is maintained very strictly. For example, if you don’t have a proper access card, you may come down a lift, but you can’t take it up! Not only lifts, but even main gates or office doors may be used only by people with proper access. This is specially true on weekends or after office hours for a lot of offices. Now I know why they always stress on the term ‘after hours’. In the same way, the use of motion sensors is quite common – it saves power and water. They are most certainly used in several parts of the world, but their usage here is very widespread.

4 ) A lot of stress is given to safety of people. When the local metro trains are about to leave the station platform, you may find multiple guards whistling it off!

5 ) In the Hindi movie Dil Chahta Hai, when Aamir Khan gets into a local Sydney train, and you think the next sound is a strange background music – it is not. It is the train horn!

6 ) Aussies do use the term mate a lot, but it is NOT the only word they use to greet/address people.

7 ) As one of my colleagues remarked once, you may not find many females sporting earrings, but you will certainly spot many males with earrings 🙂

8 ) A high percentage of people are immigrants. Sometimes I feel I am in Beijing, not Sydney!

9 ) A lot of roads in Sydney are inclined a lot. Sometimes while walking on the streets I feel like I am trekking! The criss – cross of train lines and roads and tunnels is a sight to behold. For the first time, I saw railway tracks at different levels – one below the other.

10 ) Use of elevators everywhere. A lot of thought has been put behind the design and construction of civic amenities.

For the Collective Good…

I want a glass of water. I will go to the fridge and pour myself a glass of cool water. I want to travel to the nearest mall. I will get ready and move out of the house and take an auto or bus or own vehicle to get there.

What is so simple about the above activities? Why do you think they are simple activities and will be completed without any issues? It is because only one person is involved in all the actions. The expected task is straightforward.

Now imagine that you have to supply drinking water to hundreds of houses. Or that you have to run a transportation company that will serve hundreds of commuters, ensuring a comfortable and affordable ride. Now the complexity increases. Suddenly you will find multiple factors governing the task, and altering the dimensions and efforts for the task. The human perspective will also be altered significantly.

When multiple people are controlling an activity that will impact for multiple people, then it is highly essential that the efforts are vector and tangible in nature. At the same time, accountability is also necessary. This will ensure that the work breakdown is proper and each person knows his or her role. Otherwise what will happen is that while people will clammer for taking credit for all good activities and there will be no head rolling for stuff that goes wrong.

But its a huge task to ensure that the collective effort is focussed. And equally  important is to find out which activity to focus upon and with how much intensity. Thats where proper planning comes into picture. A clear long term vision will certainly help speed up things in the right direction.

Lastly, but equally importantly, there should be no room for any kind of bias, selfish motive or personal gratification. The moment the self takes a higher precedence than the team, the project is indeed doomed.

The above case scenarios look simple enough, and the society should understand what to avoid and how to plan things to make progress. But then why do we see so much inefficiencies in the social circles around us? Why are the government works or sometimes the private bodies for a majority of cases corrupt and inefficient?

Perhaps the answer to most of the questions is that we have not yet understood the gravity and importance of the collective good. Most of us are concerned merely about personal issues. Our tasks are more oriented towards strengthening our own hands.

Without accountability, corporate social responsibility will remain a sham. If social volunteering is indeed a way out, then it should definitely follow some basic protocol. Whenever it comes to the spending of public money, transparency is of paramount importance.

Going back to my original case study and altering the situation a bit. You have to purchase some stuff from the mall. Rather than going to the mall yourself, you call any outsider walking on the road, give him/her access to your money or account and provide the shopping list. You also allow the person full control over how much to spend and on what, The person returns from the shopping spree and hands over all items you had asked for, but of course the spent amount is not revealed to you, or at the very minimum the price breakup is not revealed to you. This specific case will certainly cause lots of flutters in your heart primarily because of two reasons – (i) you aren’t able to control how your money is being used by an outsider; (ii) the choice of the purchased items is not yours; Surely this is not acceptable, right?

Now broaden the scale a bit. As a society we allow outsiders to use the public money collected in the form of different taxes for means that we are not a party to. But surprise surprise, we are not bothered about how these outsiders are using our money!! The outsiders can be anyone – the government, private agencies or the likes. What has caused this sudden change in our attitude towards our own hard earned money? Are we unpurturbed over the blatant abuse of our money because money of others is also being abused in the same way? Is this really acceptable? Isn’t it time we finally woke up? My mom always says that you only wake someone who is sleeping, how will you wake someone who isn’t asleep…

If you want to feel rich, just count the things you have that money can’t buy. There is a very easy way to return from a casino with a small fortune – go there with a large one!

What We Want!

The world is vast. We have a lot of dreams. Some of us get chances to work towards achieving the dreams. Some of us are able to convert those dreams into reality. Rest all the dreams remain what they are – dreams. Some of the dreams are big. Some dreams are small. Some dreams are too selfish. Some touch a number of lives.

 In our constant struggle to work towards achieving those dreams, we come across obstacles. At times the path isn’t clear enough, and we constantly struggle to get more clarity on the path. Some times we come across a crossing where paths diverge, and only one may be taken. We ponder a lot about the choices we have in life and whether we will make the correct choice. Actually there is nothing like a correct choice or an incorrect one. As one of my colleages once said – whatever be your decision, you will regret about having made it at least once, even if this is for a few seconds. This appears to be a universal law of some sort. There is no escaping it. They say hindsight is twenty twenty. But there and then if we have to make a choice, then the foresight does not give us any guarantee of the correctness of our choice. Or the appropriateness of it.

 Sometimes the choices we make are quite significant. They make a profound effect on our lives. They may or may not turn out to be the correct decision afterall. But what is correct and what is not, who is to say?

 Sometimes the choices we make in life don’t really matter, for fate has already charted our route and we are mere pawns. Or in other words sometimes the choice will definitely turn out to be correct whether we take the left turn or the right turn. However if you don’t turn at all, then? Life can be uncanny indeed.

 You will say we take several thousand steps in a day, and live for thousands of days. How do you define the path of future? How to determine the next steps in life, and most importantly how to define the life changing steps? Obviously not every step is a game changer. Perhaps those steps which implore you to look down and measure and decide and judge – may come under this exclusive category. Its like in the rains when you have to cross a rather moist path and you are not sure of your bearings.

 Some moments in life just stick with you. They may be moments of pride, or despair, or embarrasment, or extreme sorrow. Then there are some moments which just force you to suddenly make a decision. Or shall I say they suddenly awake you with a jump and make you realize that the time to take a side has come. Such moments in time are the precursors of the steps that really matter, the steps that will change your direction. If the appropriate step is not taken, if the moment is unable to elicit some response from you, then I’m afraid, the moment has passed and lost with the moment is the chance for change.

 But yes, it does not always mean that you have to take a step left or right. Not taking a step or taking one backward may also constitute a valid response. Such major and minor actions will together average out in the long run.

 Besides what elders and soothsayers and great people say about life, Life is also about recognizing these minor and major moments that demand action on your part, and the chain of activities or inactivities that follows such moments.

 Just because everything is different doesn’t mean anything has changed…All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward. But life is all about moving forward, isn’t it?

That Breaking News!

In the good old days, we did not have too many media for news. The internet was still under studies of educational institutes and government labs. A solitary channel in India was our only window to the world of events. It was (ably) supported by radio and print media. I always used to wonder how come all the news in the world snugly fit in that 30 minute time slot for news, or the 12 pages of the newspaper!

All news in those days were divided into segments – so government news was always displayed first, followed by international news, business news and share market, and then sports news, with cultural news in the end. There was hardly any news on movies and social parties.

However very soon the TV airwaves in India were opened to a number of news channels. Unfortunately for them they only had one planet – Earth – to cover. And narrowing down the “catchment” area for news was the fact that the were all based out of the same country – India. They had to come up with new news every now and then to prove that they were the best, and fastest, and honest, and what not.

Ever since this idea of being the fastest and most exclusive first germinated in the minds of the news channels, we have seen news articles and coverages on all and sundry topics. At first it was good, because as they say, the more eyes, the more views. But very soon these eyes began to obscure the very view they were trying to portray. As the race to become the numero uno news channel took off, these channels have come up with various ideas to promote themselves. Some claim to have ‘exclusive’ footages of some incidents (never mind that the same footage is used by all the news channels), others began the trend of ‘breaking news’ wherein that news was being broadcast to common public for the very first time.

With so many events to cover, and so many prominent personalities under scrutiny, the news channels clearly hold the cards when it comes to showing the news to public in the right light. As such they have to be extremely careful about what they show because it is used by people to form opinions about incidents. They own it to the people to show all current issues in the correct light – whether it is price hike, inflation, team failure in some obscure sporting event or government stand on issues of national or international importance.

“News is what somebody somewhere wants to suppress; all the rest is advertising.”