Urban Shots

From a gigantic canvas to small shots of love, relationship, longing, friendsip & angst. I also got this book as a gift (Santa had loads of books for me, even the next book I am reading is a gift – Thx Santa :- )) It is a collection of 28 stories written by 13 budding authors / new writers.

I started reading with apprehension and as filler between River of Smoke & Steve Jobs which I guess will be a heavy read looking at the size and the weight of the book. It was a mixed bag collection. Some of them were too short at least for me to comprehend but many of them were nice and brought out the life style and the related situations which all of us are going through very nicely.

But I guess it was too close to reality in which we live in and hence brought back conversations, articles, news which we read day in and day out and hence didn't excite my senses like some other books did.

Which brings back the question on "Why we read, What we read ?". Too big a question to cover in this post, maybe some other time......but yes few answers can be found in Orhan Pramuks Other Colors.

It was also a nice introduction to the craft of writing. For someone who wants to write it gave a representation of what to write and what not.

I can't end this post to congratulate all 13 writers on their journey from thought t0 blog to publishing to being read to being written, spoken and maybe seen (in a movie/serial) very soon.

Lage Raho bhai log....More on Urban Shots at http://www.greyoak.in/urbanshots.htm

River of smoke

Why do people do not release paperback? This was/is my biggest grouse with the publishers of River of Smoke by Amitava Ghosh (the same with Murakami’s new book IQ84). If I am not wrong the book got launched almost a yr back but although he is one of my favorite author & I could very well afford it. Somehow at time my socialistic side perhaps takes over. And I can’t make myself spend 600+ on a book like I cannot spend 10 k on a running show. Anyway that’s me.

So when my mom gifted the same on my birthday I could not wait to start & finish, when I start these books I read cover to last page over 2 or 3 nights. I cannot read anything else even magazines or newspapers.

But this time I was a bit disappointed with the length of the book and especially many detours it takes on botanical lessons n history plus the Chinese words and language usage which is integral part of the book. The real raison d’être of the book is actually covered in last 2 sections on how the opium wars started in China. I actually realized the importance of the book and got a better understanding when I read about the opium wars 1 & 2 in Wikipedia. I am unable to provide the link because as I write the site has blacked out.

It had the usual large canvas of Indo-Chin-brit historical relationship in the centre of which was opium which linked them and actually started a change process whose impact can be felt even now. As a coincidence I was in Hong Kong & Macau in March and I was pouring through the maps in 1800’s to understand how it looks.

Other thing which sort of bugged me is this new fascination of writing 3 book series. I mean I am all for it and I am sure the canvas he has chosen justifies the same and maybe it makes lot of marketing sense as well. But the gap between the first & second book was too large at least in my case and most of the characters in the previous books were wiped out of my mind completely and I really did not see a strong link between the two.

All in all, a bit disappointed Amit da : - (

PS: If you are Amitda's fan log on at http://www.amitavghosh.com/

London is dirty

Well, the buildings apart, if I were to just look at city streets, walking paths etc I found London very dirty. You can find cigarette butts everywhere and you can also find cans, empty Mcdonald packets, or remains of food. I found it a bit disturbing but also a bit solace because I read and heard so much that we (meaning India )has the most dirtiest city in the world etc etc.

Thames is beautiful.
The correct word would be poetic. The cruise which I took on Thames was one of the most memorable 45 minutes. There was a person who was giving an informative and funny commentary – which was a mix of history & present. So, he not only told us about the oldest church, biggest fire but also about the IBM building which was rated as the ugliest. As I rode on the cruise I felt like Thames was holding two parts of London together like spine holds the papers of a notebook together.

As I wrote in the OP inspired moments, I realized writing is probably the only way of reaching out to these moments and toying with them reliving them just you and the thought and the moment. It is not about sharing an experience with your friend and family – as you generally do whenever you co me back from your trip or when you connect after a long time. It’s not so much of how many people read your blog and wrote a comment but it’s about putting on paper what you felt the way you felt.

As long as budding writers like me enjoy those few moments I think we will continue to write inspite of the fact that we get published in our life time or not.

The weather

In our mind, we all have a picture of any new place which we visit especially if it is geographically different from where you are. So, if it’s Kerala – you would visualize the backwaters in a way or if it is zero point in Bhutan – you will visualize the ice in a fashion. This is based on your talks with your friends who have been there, or pictures you hurriedly saw on the net when you were doing your packing, or it could be a ficton / story (so whenever I visit Tokyo or Kiyoto in Japan Murakami and all his books will come to my mind)…….But all of us do carry a picture in our mind.

The picture of London what one has is the typical “picture post card” - nice and sunny parks with people jogging etc. When I reached Paddington and started walking on the streets (3 hours after I have touched down at Heathrow at 6pm– all the while I was walking only on concrete or tube), I could still see the see the yellow leaves trampled on the road side and with the kind of forecast which has been predicted, I thought the picture of London which I had in mind will remain just that a picture, but thankfully the sun showed up on Sunday and we had a lovely picturesque view of London.

But still it was very unpredictable – although we had sunshine in the mornings the night would be chilly and cold. One thing surprised me was even in this cold weather everybody had chilled water and of course all the tavern which sold fresh beer were overflowing….In India, Rum (and in recent years vodka) is a must have during the Delhi winter.

English Architecture

St Pauls Cathedral, Big Ben, London Tower, Trafalgar Sqaure etc has an aristrocatic, old world touch. But these were only few names – there were many other buildings which were built in similar lines and they gelled well with the entire background – roads, trees, even the small restaurants which had chairs outside where you could just sit and absorb the atmosphere. There are very similar buildings in parts of Mumbai & Delhi – I am sure there is a term for that but the difference were the things around the building.

In Mumbai & Delhi so much crowding has happened around the building that the building is just another building you see near VT, but here there lot of space around, trees , weather – all together it created nice scenic beauty.

Tube Travel

Tube in London is apparently more than 100 yrs old and I was told it has a mention in Sherlock Holmes adventure (A trivia told to me by Prajesh when we crossed the Baker Street station). It’s not very different from the Mumbai trains in terms of the rush and speed and efficiency and I guess similar to the Delhi Metro but much more clean, extremely well laid out and explained.
You will find a chart on every station so that before you board the train you are sure that you boarded the train. Very low on staff unlike India – so tickets are dispensed by machines. The Oyster Card (7 day pass) was a boon and made life so simple. Whether you go by bus or train as many times as you want you just need to carry the card.

When I saw the multiple line and hundreds of stations in the tube map which I downloaded in India, I was shit scared that I will not make it to the venue in time. But after hopping on and hopping off a few times on Sunday I could easily get the drift and travelled all the days alone. In fact on the last 2 days it was almost mechanical – like a video game which you play. I can visualize all the scenes piece by piece in my mind as I sit here now and write it.

Army of Black
Every day I took the Bakerloo Line from Paddington, got down at Oxford Circus and changed over to the Central Line, took the tube to St Pauls and then walked till the venue of conference. All of this in 20 mnts max. I did this for 4 days and every day was like a replay of previous day. I do not it is because of the weather but 90% of people were in blacks or grey with black shoes. When I would get up into the escalator or walk in the tunnels which connect one line to the other it was almost like I was part of an army.
You could literally hear the click of the boots as you walk. And it is almost like the march past, after some days the efficiency irked me. It was like – no smile, no talk, just people walking, walking, walking and then turning left, waiting for the train, hopping on, getting down, again walking….(reminded me of the Brick on the wall Video by Floyd)….

I almost felt like I was surrounded by an army of Black wherever I went

Bidesh...

When I told Dad, I was going to London, he said – Jao bidesh ghoore aasho (go visit the foreign land and come). It’s a typical bangla word but you will rarely hear it now a day. For me it sounded like the 40’s and 50’s when a native Indian goes to a foreign land – typically meaning a white men’s land. At least in my mind it evoked that kind of feeling / visual picture.

As I start back from Heathrow, I realize there was hardly a moment in all these 5 days when there was not an Asian (Indian / Pakistan) around. Right from the immigration counter to the ticket collector in the Heathrow express, the receptionist in Hilton where I stayed for a night, Paddington hotel where I stayed for rest of the days and the Grange hotel where the conference was – most of the staff were Asians. Even walking down Oxford street, or on the cruise on Thames or the Underground or the Starbucks coffee in front of me (as I write this on the airport) I was always surrounded by Asians.

It was comforting for someone who has never visited London and I almost felt like home but having said that most of them were only Asian in their looks. When I tried to speak to them in Hindi or start a conversation, except for a young guy who was manning the store part time and studying on week days all of them had no interest or shared the feeling which I had when I saw an Indian. They are as much a Londoner as anybody else – except for their color of skin.

When I reach home I am going to tell dad – Bidesh ta aakhoon amader desh hoi gache (the foreign land has been converted into our land)*.

*As per a survey, the non island population will be more than the native population in 2020 or sometime around that.

Inspired by Orhan Pramuk….London Musings

There are authors who scare the hell out of people like me who want to write like Amitav Ghosh. I am half way through “River of Smoke”, and I know it will take a lifetime and more to do the research, visualize and write something on those lines.

On my way to London I finished one part of “Others Colors”. It was amazing to read the chronicles. It was almost like you were reading his mind, moments he cherished or which he did not, thoughts on abstract things like chair. You could almost, glimpse – peek into a writers mind and I almost feel that someone ripped off few of thoughts / expressions from my mind and put it there. These were essays and thoughts / views – on just about anything.

For lot of us writing becomes a stumbling block – first you need to find time out of you paying hectic schedule and get the right thoughts when you sit down to write and then you need to have enough time to finish the thought (the below notes took 2 months), and then when you put it up you hope few encouraging bloggers will put up a few comments….and after few blogs you do not know why do we need to ferret out those few hours & go through the hardship when you can discover a new book, a new place, a new movie…..and so on so forth. All these are equally intellectually stimulating. So writing in our purposive world actually serves no purpose (objective is more for work place so..)

Reading OP was a revelation because it in a way showed why he wrote what he wrote and maybe he became what he became. So, here goes once again…and this time I hope the journey goes much longer than earlier ones.

As long as budding writers like me enjoy those few moments I think we will continue to write inspite of the fact that we get published in our life time or not.

Children need inspiration…& everything is possible

Thanks to some inspired moments my daughters turned into artists, so that used fabric printing and gifted their grandparents – lovely pillow covers. They also made different types of flowers even lotus which looked too complicated for me. As I saw them draw, paint create stuff on their own I realize how pathetic our education system. Do we teach them anything beyond increasing their ability to memorize? In few days these kids created something which they will remember for their life time, create things, share ideas and most importantly enjoy the process in a fun way & not as if it is a punishment.

Bongs & Food

We are obsessed with food. Period. This time was no different. We had a cook who was cooking in our backyard. He got the usual “dekchi’s (big utensils)”, the raw materials and set up his stuff in the outhouse. The morning started with a great deal of discussion on breakfast, lunch and dinner. All types of possible variety which could be made, was made. And of course we packed 4 jars of sweets which I am still enjoying (Started the series in mid Oct……then work caught up.)

My space

I ducked out of many family sessions and spent some time simply walking on the terrace, watching birds fly….basically doing nothing. There was no yesterday and there was no tomorrow, all spiritual masters will tell you to live for the moment. But for once and for a while there was no present as well. It’s difficult to explain nothingness…for some time I experienced it and it was bliss.

Here's hoping this lasts till the next vacation..

Olive Oil, A/C – Video coach

Times have really changed. I saw a notice in one of the pandal’s in C R Park in Delhi. Bhog (khichdi) cooked in “olive oil”. I did not know whether to smile or laugh out loud, Bhog used to be a way of celebrating togetherness it was a means to sit together and have fun, the oil was really immaterial and now the same is showcased almost like an inviting rather courting notice.

Same story when my daughter went for “bhashan (immersion of durga idol)”. She went in a A/C coach which had video screens to boot. The whole fun of going to bhashan was to dance, make a mess, sing in a very indecent language – u can become a rowdy for a day and get away with it. And your parents will forgive u. But I guess video coach is better & safe for kids. Dad speak : -)

Shit happens….all the time
I loved the line in Z N Milegi Dobara by Farhan “Shit happens…”. Some lines stuck in your mind for reason unknown to you, this was one of them. When mother and daughter went to see bhashan (immersion of durga idol which happens outside the city and takes up almost ½ a day) and clicked lot of photos and videos it was a treasure trove which was to be seen, cherished, shared and talked about at a later date, because going to bhashan in an unknown city like Bangalore where we stay is a strict no – no and this was once in last 10 years of marriage…So, you get the point.

So, next day when by mistake I deleted all the photos & videos, I had to cut a sorry face in front of mother-daughter duo….As I apologized and begged mercy it was a challenge to keep a poker face because the line “Shit happens” kept playing back to me like a stuck record player.

But seriously, the statement is quite philosophical. No point to keep on thinking of what happened which will ultimately lead to an emotional breakdown or an unstable relationship.

Story Telling

All my vacations were full of story-telling – especially my DAD telling me “Ramayana – Mahabharata”. On a rain swept day in Assam, when we kids could not do anything outside we would gather around him and he would start narrating these epics. The very thought takes me back 30 yrs and tells me to relive the days even if it’s only in my memory and between me and me.

Cut to present.....Grandpa’s have to change and innovate with time so we had “Ulta Pulta Ramayan” being narrated by my Father in Law. It’s a hilarious take on Ramayan where Sita goes willingly with Ravan and Ram had to really plead with Sita to come back. I joined for a while but then moved out so they could have their own cozy session.

Role reversal…For once Dad(that’s me) had more questions. After seeing Harry Potter and Chamber of Secrets (Potter mania was intact even during vacation)I could not relate to a few facts which I picked up from part 3 and part 4 (all parts seem the same to me though) so Nikita recounted the journey of Harry from his childhood….it was a very similar to my story telling experience with my Dad except that it was a darkened room in Jaipur, while dust-storm played outside we (me and my daughters) switched off the light, put the fan in full speed and got into the world of magic…It was an afternoon I will remember for a long while.

As I took my customary walk in the evening on the terrace 2 thoughts struck me. One – Harry is on its way to be a part of folk lore, Two – Fathers and daughters will not be the same…This role reversal was unbelievable in my case.

Change

At one level – most of us are fascinated by change, change is life – work, children growing up, new phone (Apple ihone4s), technology (cloud), new dress(microbe free) etc etc. Everyone is running to cross the next frontier in everything they do and aspire for.

At another level – it seems life is constant.

The relationship which my kids share with their grandfathers is the same as the one I shared with my grandfather. Storytelling of epics used to be the best part of the trip – it still is. Although I am 40 and father of 2 daughters my parents still treat me like the 17 yr old kid who has come back from college for a few days and will again go back – so feed him and pack with much as you can so the same lasts for few months (it’s just that their granddaughters list have also got added to it), my parents still bicker at every single point of discussion (like they did 30 yrs back) and then cozy up…Nothing much has changed..

If I look at life outside my home in Delhi, the rickshaw wallahs who ferry us to the puja ground, the haggling with autowallahs, or the chit-chat with the chaat guys serving bhelpuri. Nothing has changed from the time I used come home during breaks in engineering then MBS then job in Mumbai. Even in Jaipur the big glass of lassi which I tasted from the original lassiwala the day I got engaged is still the best when I go back with my wife & two kids and of course I do not miss out on eating Rawat’s kachaudi and packing two bozes for my friends in Bangalore.

These moments have a illogical beauty & life of their own and they will never change at least from some of our mind. And when we live these moments there is a special feeling of coming back home, something which you do not want to change.

Living the day to day structured, logical corporate sanitized life drains you out so when you just walk around aimlessly going thru these moments without thinking, evaluating, debating, measuring – you start questioning change and the need for it.

Puja Musings

It’s been few years since we spent “puja” together with our families, 2008 to be precise. We went through the same rigmarole once again – shatabdi to Delhi, 3 puja days with my parents, 2 puja days with in-laws then flight back home. Few days of rest, before you get back to your desk with the familiar sounds of phone calls and cacophony of work all around you.

But, it’s always a nice feeling to step out of your cubicle (read desk) and into the wild wilderness for few days. This is when you really experience life in it’s true sense, in it’s fullness - blissful – emotional – carefree, compared to the sanitized life we lead. In a road trip (the road has become an added word post ZNM Dobara) you are living through the good and bad phase 24/7 – whether it’s the dirty loo of rajdhani which stinks and makes you feel like puking or you are standing in “badi chaupad” (market in Jaipur) searching for those tiny shops who used to sell ghungroo’s, artificial jewellery etc but now have become part of history ironically because of government’s beautification drive. In these moments you experience life which gives you the true feeling of abandon and the freedom, the way life should be - not canned up in a room or an office.

For me these trips are also very reflective, it’s one thing to think logically and plan things out in your room which is good but the real essence of life comes when you start living them and compare note what you were, what you wanted to be and what you are. These trips gives you snatches of time like an hr long taxi rides, afternoon siestas when you just cannot do anything but toy around with a few thoughts here and there like the floating clouds which come in create a few showers here and there and just drifts off….

This time I thought, let me capture a few of these before they crash out of my mind…

Pipes of shame.....

I have been crossing these pipes for last 1 year or more. If I were to put a camera which would capture the images on what purpose the pipe it will be called just that "Pipes of Shame....". These are huge pipes laid just next to a huge open drain pipe near Airport Rd Bangalore for last year my BBMP - that is Bangalore Muncipalty.

I cross these pipes everyday morning around 9 and come back around 6pm. Why? because I walk to office and these are lying there for all of us to see. You might cringe (if anybody reads this that is....) but I have seen youngsters looking here and there and using these pipes as urinals, there was a day when I saw a mother breast feeding her child in these same pipes and one day I saw a father sitting and counselling her daughter probably for an interview and so on and so forth.

I stay in a nearby appartment and since these pipes were not laid out but digging was done, the entire basement was flooded and some 25/30 cars including mine was submerged under water and yes there was no water / electricity for 2 days.

We spoke to BBMP / MLA et al. And we were promised that all car bills will be paid up and within 21 days walls would be built so that the same would not happen again. Well the answer or action for the same is a foregone conclusion.....nothing happened.

But every time, I look at these pipes the picture of the mother comes infront of me and I start hating the word development.

The Social Network…

I saw the social Network with awe, intrigue and lot of excitement. It’s rare that you get a glimpse of what goes on inside a geniuses mind. The impact when the idea hits the world, and the politics, machinations of the industry, the battle between the idealism of an idea and the reality of a commercial world.

Don’t we all have all ideas? Don’t we all want to see it grow roots, blossom, bear fruits which are enjoyed by others. I am no different, everyday my head buzzes with ideas which I want to plant. But because of the security & trappings of my current life I push the idea out of my mind. But, I do not want to discuss my ideas…..I was more keen (as I am always is, these days) to understand “how can I help ideas to germinates in my kids mind”. Some say I am obsessed with my kids…well then I am. Don’t mind.

A lot of people especially people who have read abroad and come back (although I do not want to generalize that) have rubbished our education system and I am no different. But whenever I read this I only question myself. OK. Great! So, what’s going to happen to my babies I can’t wait for the system to change I want my kids to invent the next “Social network, maybe artificial network – where u do not need ipads / touch system, I am sure by then PC’s will cease to exist. I can also see lot of correlation with the corporate world – we need to innovate today and generate results for next quarter, not wait for the IT systems to get in place.. which might take yrs. I know it’s a long journey…so I need to start NOW!!!

I also read a very interesting article a few days back (and I have been reading a lots of them in last few years)on how fresher’s out of MBA courses have started doing things on their own – a lot is on the technology front and how solves our life although I feel we are just complicating or life more n more by giving us too many choices. But what I like about this article was these kids had the audacity and courage to create things for the society in large – well let me say it, for villagers. Now a days we have started defining society as 200 kms / 500 km’s around your office but most products / innovation are for the top end of the pyramid. These fresher’s have created purifiers costing 300/- which can be afforded by villagers and few other products in the same line.

I kept thinking – The social network was launched because it was cool for boys to rate girls in the campus and what every boys & girls aspired for in that age. And I said “Do I want that to be starting thought before they discover / invent something.” It looked too silly and shallow as a thought. I know the same got evolved in a larger need for the populance to stay connected. And, I guess I will be equally proud if my kids can do that as compared to a product / idea which serve as the social need of the country.

What I am scared of is something which Mark mentions in the movie. “It was cool to hang out in the canteens / pubs but now it will be cool to hang out on the net.” Millions of young Indians are doing just that, resulting in ideas / thoughts breakthroughs in that sphere. In a way it’s a parallel world, cocooned in the comforts provided by us – the parents. Many of our kids have actually not seen India in which we grew up.

The touch-feel-see-experience-learn cycle is something which we as parents should never lose sight of, because that is what will define their thoughts / imaginations and probably the next new big discovery. We have the responsibility to make them sensitive to the environment and explain the real India and it’s value.

http://changents.com/trina-talukdar. Earier on today I was reading an article in DNA which spoke about Trina who runs a small NGO called Kranti from her rented house had been asked to vacate because they preferred married women. Read about her to understand what I mean about being aware of the world and taking action.

To Let Go & To Not Let Go…..

There are times in all our life when we just cannot let go of things. There are things at job, new questions for which either you do not have an answer or you feel there is no point in asking for an answer – but the voices keep coming back at you, pounding your head giving you sleepless nights. All of us have gone thru this including me.

This is especially true when 1000’s of people across organizations stand outside their department head’s room and wait for the verdict to pass. Will I get an A or a B or a C? Because, that will decide the amount of variable pay I will get. I know the feeling – the rush of blood, racing heart beats, cold n sweaty hands, because I go thru the same and I know many of my team members will go thru the same. More importantly in today’s high inflation market for many middle employees the variable pay will just about tide them over and maybe buy that LCD TV or plan for that holiday which they have been discussing with their better half or parents/brothers.

For many of us this is a make or break point in their relationship with their organization. Because that day or moment when the “verdict” is made, the company makes a statement of how valuable he/she is. It’s a statement which is the outcome of last 364 days spent in hard work and a noble intent of taking the company or a project forward. For all those people who do not have direct subordinate a “B” is a downright insult. Most “C” feel / know the verdict and would have planned an exit. But for those who have people reporting in to them “they start appreciating the bell curve” and realize that all cannot be A or C so most of them will be B.

But over a period of time I realized these are really the small things to sweat for. Ultimately life is not about to hold on to the grade / rating. Yes that is important but there are so many other things – like the learning’s which you would have had over last one year, the amount of knowledge you would have imparted to people below and above, the time you would have spent with your family because your boss & company was understanding enough, the time when the organization and your boss stood behind you when you screwed up on the artwork, the time when the organization listened to you and told you. “Go ahead. We are with you on that. Let’s take the plunge.”

Compare this with your children, what’s important – the grades she gets or the smile on her face when she says she is singing in the choir or when her poem got selected for the school magazine, or her teacher came home and dropped your daughter because the school van did not turn up. Do you grade your relationships with your family, friends, and relation and keep upgrading it every year. No, you do not let go of such relationships, on the contrary you work hard to fulfill small promises made to your family, treasure the small moments as your children grow up.

“Letting Go” as a core principle of life and has been the key premise for “satisfaction n fulfillment” by many spiritual leaders (especially in today’s materialistic world)….but I always debated the same and my contra argument was “Life is not always about letting go but it’s about making the right choice of what to let go and what not to let go. We are often forced to make this choice on a daily basis. It’s better we be wiser now or regret later”.

Every time I see birds in a cage, I want to free them I want them to fly and soar. Be free, now & forever. I clicked this beautiful snap....even inside the cage when they are trapped and caged for life they share a moment of togetherness unaware (& not bothered) about the surrounding. Yes we all feel caged once in a while - at home, at workplace but then this is our place our little world & we have to be sensitive to each other to make this place (& life)worthwhile place to be in.

Common Purpose – Adieu’

I guess I was a bit ambitious or maybe it was a sudden burst of inspiration on meeting Devi Shetty in the second session of Common Purpose that I thought I will write one pager on every single “Common Purpose” session which I attend. I had kept all the notes I had made in a file thinking one day I will just write … that was end of Jan and this is end June, unfortunately time is still a scarce commodity. With 2 kids at home & 2 unfinished projects at office some ball had to drop and the easiest one was obviously my writing – common purpose was subset of my overall ambit of my writing – something I am most passionate about.

The paragraph above symbolizes a similar pang which many of us felt on our ride back from the common purpose sessions. Although I am generalizing at this point, if the remaining 49 participants’ did not then “God Bless” because then all of you are able to put your hand – feet – mouth – mind where your soul is.

What did common purpose journey mean to me? Did it make any difference? Yes, It did. There are many training programs I attend and many I conduct and the only measure for any programme is the lasting impact the program can have on someone’s mind. Common Purpose is a program whose impact in my mind will be everlasting – I can relate it to the 5000+ saplings & around 4000+ DVD’s of “Inconvenient Truth” we distributed across India on the environment Day & the 20 odd young minds that assembled in my balcony to see the same movie, discuss it and make a resolution and make their entire family live by it.

Will the tree be planted? Will the tree survive? Will it bear fruits? Will the 20 kids remember their resolution? Will it make the world a better place to live in? I do not know & I never will but I know I could do something and I did….I think that has been my biggest learning across all common purpose sessions.

Believe in the purpose – Means will follow.

Historical Fiction

I started the year with Kiran Nagarkar’s “Cuckold” and last month I finished “Raider’s from the North” by Alex Rutherford. Both of them were fictionalized history. I have never enjoyed reading history so much.

Growing up I hated history and kept it away from me till 2 days before the exam. History was equal to until the bell stuck for the exam to start and your teacher warned “If you do not put the put the book down we will not allow you inside the exam room”. It was also about dividing the portion between us or hiding the “nandlal dayaram kunji” – those small books which can disappear between folds of school dress (especially girls) or hidden in the bathrooms or passed around the exam room. God bless the publishers we managed to pass Xth and after that I never looked back literally at the past. Yes, It’s funny but the kind of pressure which we kids used to go through was traumatic.

But reading these books and few others which I read some time back gave a new dimension to history. If I could turn back the clock I would have dropped Science and chosen History. The past always appeared to be a mystery to me and as I grew up there were so many bubbling questions in my mind – How did the civilizations form? Where did the kings & queens disappear? Why do we have war? Even today the various cultural and historical aspect of various countries fascinate me and I love seeing movies from across the world or reading books by authors across the world because they unravel the mystery.

Reading these 2 books, made me realize how fascinating Indian history can be and how interesting it can be made for our children. Although teaching is my wife’s department – for a change I looked at my 6^th graders history book and saw 5 to 7 pages devoted to each civilization – starting from mesopatamian Civilization and ending with South Indian Kingdoms….On enquiring I was told that we will do only Harappan Culture (skipping Mesopatamian & Egyptian) this term and I could see scribbles & open and close brackets across the chapter with no’s written against each of them – which means only one thing that they are the answers of some specific questions. I guess that’s the only take away for my daughter.

Which makes me realize that things haven’t changed much since 19 81 = almost 30 yrs back, but then there are so many other things which have got added in their plate – Shiamak Davar classes, games in ipod, swimming (we never had a pool), Farmville, movies & TV time …….Will Harappan Culture hold forth…Sigh! Let me give it a shot.

Is Progress equal to 8% growth in GDP?

I just finished reading “A fine Balance” by Rohinston Mistry. It has been in my “to read” list for a long time. Thanks to my frequent travel I could finish the book in 4/5 sittings. It was a book of shocking human endurance and to borrow from Obama an audacity of hope.

3 thoughts came to my mind.

One as someone who loves to write – “how can someone describe the scenes in so much vivid detail”. Especially, if the author has left the city and stays in some other country. I have stayed in Mumbai, so I could relive the city through the pages of the book. As I read the book it was more like screen play – because I could literally pick the characters from my Mumbai stay and visualize them. It’s an art, I am still quite at a loss. Maybe I will give it a shot by writing a scene from my college.

Second as someone who loves India - “we know/appreciate so little about our past/history/heritage”. I do not know if it’s an Indian phenomenon or it’s just about me being dumb but reading through the travails of Om & Ishvar during emergency days I felt the events described in the book were not very different from what we have read and seen about Nazi ghetto camps. But while tons of books / movies have been made about Nazi but Emergency which I guess played an important role in Indian politics is not something we have read much about. Emergency is just an example but even our history is taught in the LIFO principle – last in first out. The relevance is limited to passing the exams or maybe at another extreme is the politicization of our ideals which leads to an unfortunate event like Babri Masjid demolition.

Third as someone who is part of the new India – on our so called “great Indian growth story”. “A fine Balance” is story of 4/5 characters during the time of emergency that is 1971. We are in 2011 that’s 40 years from the time when the story was written but I am quite sure that we can change the names and the entire story could be happening now. If I walk down Dharavi or any other slum I am sure I can find beggar-master who maims child so that they can beg, migrant workers who have left everything and keep doing odd jobs to survive, public toilet / station as their home etc etc.

I was also reading somewhere that 45% of India does not have electricity, clear drinking water and does not get basic health & education. If we think realistically I can explain that yes India has progressed to – create Infosys, Metro in all metros, commonwealth games, CEO’s, best Institutes where people from all over the world come and study.

It makes me feel proud being an Indian but it also forces me to question whether we have really progressed if half of our population is still living 50 yrs behind.

Devi Shetty – Hand of God!

I have not seen “God”& for a large part of my growing up life I was also a non believer. But, standing outside the “neo natal ward” when I saw “25 new born babies” (just few days old)lying in bed with wires coming out - going in, oxygen mask on their face and their chest heaving in and out - there was only one thought which came to my mind “This must be hand of God”.

So, when you sit down to listen to Devi Shetty on “how all this happened” you literally feel like you are listening to a fairy tale. And it looked like that as he recounted his journey from London to Kolkata to Bangalore and finally setting up of “Narayan Hrudayalaya” (NH) hospital in the outskirts of Bangalore.

What makes NH different?

There are lot of case studies (Harvard) / BBC interviews & articles which I heard and read on the net. Most of it was rational – the scale of operations, an excellent “to do – passionate – caring culture, innovation etc etc”

My biggest learning in the entire session was that “If you believe in a cause and truly believe in it, help will come – financially or otherwise ….”. But you cannot let go of the belief or passion and it can be a completely irrational belief but it has to have the power of doing good or a sense of service to society / mankind it will happen.

I know it sound similar to what we read in “Alchemist by Paulo Coelho” or “Secret by Rhonda Byrne”. Reading it one would take me for an eternal optimist….and maybe a dose of experiential learning has hit my head….so be it…but looking back at least in my life I could relate to quite a few incidents where in we got what I really – really wanted.

Problem is – we chase what we cannot get & what we want we give up the chase even before we start.

On the left a painting drawn by an elephant. A similar picture is framed and kept in his room.

The Common Purpose Journey

It was with a mixed bag of optimism and skepticism that I joined the Common Purpose journey in January. Today, after attending 5 out of 8 sessions I look forward to these Friday sessions as half a day which pushes me to question my “sense of purpose”. And most of the weekends I am tormented till Monday Job List takes over like a giant wave which pulls me in and keeps me engulfed till the next session.

Do we have a purpose in life? For most of us who are nudging 40, our sense of purpose is limited to our jobs, our family (especially our growing up children) and of course our own self. Many of us grew up in lower middle class, got our engineering degree followed by an MBA and landed ourselves a good job which lets us indulge in our aspirations.

The corporate journey which most of us have embarked upon is a journey toward a milestone which keeps shifting every year. But we are happy running because there is a very well defined “sense of purpose instilled in us”. Most importantly you have a feeling that you are in control and there are enough metrics / parameters which defines – measures your purpose.

Every news bulletin on corruption / scam / judiciary have made us cynical and turn a blind eye to what’s happening around. We read, see, hear, discuss vociferously, but making us take an action is like climbing the Everest. Our “chalta hain” altitude or “what impact will this one action lead to” prevails in most of us including me. So, Can I have a sense of purpose for my society, people around me when I cannot have a control? The answer is a definitive “NO”

Some of us feel for the outside world, want to do something – something serious, impactful but the daily workload – office and family is so immense that we end up looking at doing things which will come easy literally at our doorstep. The last action I can remember taking is donating cloths which I do not need and felt very good that I have fulfilled a “common purpose of the society”. Looking back that’s a tokenism which I don’t think I can repeat once more and be proud of.

Most of us are happy to be in this cocoon like feeling of moving, progressing, learning…completely untouched by outside world.

Common Purpose shakes that belief ….It gives you that irrational feeling of jumping out of this comfortable groovy train, break out of this cocoon and make an attempt to fly.

For most of us “having a purpose” is to “make a rational choice or being objective or being result oriented”. I think Common Purpose turns that thought upside down - Purpose is all about “belief-passion-doing good” without expecting a result.

Following these are impressions of my meeting with few leaders who made a more lasting impression in my mind than all business books I have read till now.