Deepavali 2012

Another Deepavali came and went by. This on records was one of the most silent Deepavali's of my life. Is this silence before the activity that is about to come in life or is it going to be like this, I wonder. I hope not.

From the time I remember Deepavali is a time when my heart skips a beat. The artist in me comes out when I design and draw a rangoli, the child in me comes out when I wait eagerly for sweets or play with a few crackers if available. The girl in me comes out when I make the Deepavali sweets and decorate the house with little lamps. This is one Deepavali when I did not do any of this. Hope I get to do all of this next year.

Standing at a juncture of life where I have no idea where I am heading to. Its a tough route, I am getting blames on things I have not done, sometimes I retort then I get tired and just choose to be silent and sit in a corner till the storm leaves my shore. Tough times teach a lot but tough times are difficult to pass also.

But when I look behind I am now able to connect the dots. I am able to see where I missed that single step, that little opportunity. The choice was left to me and may be I took the wrong one causing havoc in not only mine but in that special someone's life too. Or may be what I did was right for that moment, there was still time to take that step. Only time will tell, I have to wait till few more dots come in the canvas to complete the picture. I hope I did right not only for sake of me but for sake of the other person too......

Day of Revelations

Been a while since I wrote here. Still getting adjusted to the role of a student. Moreover, forced to think on some aspects which I have been escaping long. Finally decided to face it, but not really sure if I will solve the puzzle or finally postpone things further.

At one point I thought I should go walk around the institute to get some clarity but the tightly packed schedule did not allow me that luxury. Quite unexpectedly the clutter got cleared when I attended an inaugral function at the campus, our leadership Professor was very genorous to invite us to the same. Somewhere during the session when I listened to the golden words of wisdom the Chief Guest Harsh Manglik, Chairman of NASSCOM it struck the cord. Those were the same words he shared to few girls from mumbai who did their best even in adverse conditions (this made me shameful of my own petty musings and confusions). He said these 5 points you should always remember - Sapne, Himmat, Tapasya, Hamdardi and Eemaan. I should say he gave answers to all the questions I had in my mind today.

Coming back home there was another surprise waiting in the form of a mail from one of my colleagues. He was talking about "Learning Management through Gita" sessions by one of the best professors teaching us. I immediately went and voted in favor of attending the class. This took me to another journey to which I have not done justice since long. I thought about instances of Gita in dance, the excerpts I have performed. Reminded me of my favorite Hero cum God in dance - Krishna who is also the Protagonist in Bhagvad. I have performed Krishnaleela, Dashavataaram, padam but why not Bhagvatam I thought. I went on searching in youtube, found this beautiful clipping where Dr. Padma Subramaniam is talking of Bhagvad Gita production by her http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6NKKU_1H1U . I enjoyed watching some beautiful dance, ofcourse I was inspired to dance too but keeping in mind the welfare of Ajmera residents, decided otherwise. But it gave me a revelation - probably the greatest tool for me to learn management is dance. I have always drawn my energy from art, somehow it came naturally to me and here also I have to find a way to associate. Perhaps only that can complete the journey - in the words of our OB Prof. Vasanthi, I have to mull over this.

All in all getting a feeling that today is a day of revelations. Is there more to come or is this Prof Vasanthi effect or was this just an exception .. I am yet to discover.

Monsoon in the Garden City

After 7 years of stint in Chennai with its beautiful beaches I was a bit apprehensive about relocating to Bangalore. Many would say is there a second thought to it, Bangalore is much better in climate and fun place. Well, in my view both Bangalore and Chennai are fun place in different ways.

But I would still vouch that Chennai with its beach and proximity to places like pondicherry and better infrastructure which is developing at a faster place has more options for fun and activities. Downside for some is that it is a dry city.

Anyways now that I am in the Garden city, I must admit its beautiful trees and shrubs laden with flowers have enwrapped me. The flowers as per my mother's description appear healthier, colorful and bloom in full strength and I second her thoughts.

The most amazing experience started about a week back and I call it - Monsoon in the Garden city. The rains every afternoon are preceeded by strong breeze. The trees with branches full of flowers sway happily to welcome the shower of cold droplets from the sky.

Someone adviced take your umbrella.Still there are others like one of my classmates at IIMB who was taking a stroll with his wife in the rain. Well not a bad idea, I was tempted to do the same but catching cold often due to the cooler climate in Bangalore, hence decided to postpone the feat for the time being. In Chennai with its warm climate I rarely got cold or any disease. One of these days I should stop comparing the two equally amazing cities. May be my confused mind is taking time to get adjusted.

Coming back to monsoon, next mission is to capture some of the beauty in IIMB campus after rain in my mobile camera.. more on Monsoon in the Garden city in the next blog.

In Exile - Exploring the wonders of nature

At last I am with the first love of my life - enjoying nature in God's own country - Kerala. The initial few days of my stay here were tough with mercury touching record heights in southern India this summer. What struck me is that even the scortching heat was not able to ruin the unmatchable beauty of this land. The trees braved the heat, the birds kept chirping day after day (there are so many species, I am trying to see atleast 3-4 new ones each day). Variety of ants is amazing, some bit me too - ouch. Each fruit attracts a different type of ant. Also not to be forgotten are the innumerable insects at night.

As an exception to most of my blog topics this one is going to be an ongoing endeavour since there is so much to write, I would not be able to cover everything in a single day.Already a week has passed and my camera is busy clicking. I am proud to say that this land is my native place and I come here often. But this is the first time I decided to capture the beauty of the place in a blog. I have been meaning to write since the day my vacation started but the heat was too much for me and my laptop to bear. Yesterday it rained and brought relief to plants, animals land and humans alike.

Lets start with one of the omnipresent aranae commonly known as spider. I have seen huge varieties in kerala but this time I spotted a very different one. It was huge and kind of white powderish in color. The spider is having its home in the leaves of the mangostein tree in our backyard. The picture posted here describes it well.

Nature is constantly inspiring me and one of these days I have started creating fresh flower bowl. All one needs to make this beautiful ensemble which can lift anyone's spirit is a glass bowl or the traditional brass bowls which come in different sizes, this is commonly used across India now a days for flower arrangements. Next go around nature's garden collecting flowers which have fallen down but still fresh or which are about to fall. The latter is advisable only if former method does not yield enough output. Pluck a few tulasi leaves along with the tulasi flower. This adds an enchanting smell to the flower bowl.A few fern leaves adds to the beauty. Fill the bowl to the brim with water, arrange the flowers and we are ready to go. The flower bowl can be set in different moods, subtle colored flowers give a serene touch. Bright colored arrangement exuberates energy and activity.

More to continue as I explore this wonderland ... Well yes I feel like 'Alice in Wonderland'

Indian culture - at crossroads

Given any point in time it can be argued that a culture is at its cross road. There is always some change or transition going on. Same is the case with Indian culture. But no doubt thanks to technology and globalization the pace of change in the past two decades has been tremendous. This probably has made the generation gap stark.
Most of the youth in India have two personalities - one which works well at home and one that works well in their friend circle or age group. There are few who take the step forward and maintain the same stand both at home and outside. Though this appears tough in the beginning it saves lot of trouble later.
Its interesting to watch how things that appear cool in one circle is considered as taboo in another setting. Both the genders have their own list. Media is going a long way to help bridge this gap by showing the older generation the other side of the story. But I find it amusing when most of the older generation ignore it saying that happens only on the screen and how cruciating the movies have become.
Personally I explain in mild way to my parents and even grandparents that it is not the case and these things are for real. There is no point in living with such a generation gap, why not explain the change in views to older generation and make them a part of the change. Their advice and views gained through years of experience would help the transition much easier and less catastrophic and help an age old culture adapt and survive to the new change. After all there are people who find our old age culture fascinating compared to their new culture, then why not preserve the best of old times !

Wallet Size

While the world of technology follow's Moore's law - , wallet is one area where the size first fell but is increasing now, with never ending list of plastic cards making way into our wallets. There has to be some integrated way to reduce this. May be a single chip which holds all the information, but that again leads to easy theft. Probably no plastic at all is the solution - may be a finger print reader which provides list of cards, that can be used and later asks for passcode for the chosen card. hmmm ... too technical yeah .. but the point is that it is high time to revolutionize the WALLET, after all technology is meant to simplify life not the other way round !

Office Id tags

One of the most used simple gadget now a days is the tag used to hang the office id cards. Some people sport it with full glory. Unfortunately from day 1 I got my ID and was forced to wear it around my neck I hated it.
I can come up with many reasons, foremost being it kind of took away the feeling of freedom - freedom to work creatively, efficiently and so many other things. Second it is really painful for the neck especially in sedentary jobs. Guys tuck the card into the shirt pocket that takes off the nagging feeling at the neck, how about ladies and all that hungamma making work place easier for them. As usual we take the brunt of it. Add to it the weight of access card, life becomes more painful.
Not to mention, I rarely wore the tag, just at the entrance I wear it and then it is either in my bag or my hand. Once I was adviced by HR to wear it, I told her the neck pain I get and hence I carry in my hand. She tried to argue saying that I might forget to take it in my hand but well I was confident I will not, its just habits. For example the more one uses the mobile phone to write down the grocery list, the more one loses the ability to process the information in memory.Experts advice to minimize gadget help and use our own brain's power more to improve brain capacity and retention.
Anyways coming back to our main subject of discussion the office tags. I have thought about it many times, when I wear it and when I see weary people coming out of office in the evening wearing the tags that bring their neck down even more. Always felt, why corporate doesn't see this, why don't they think of a solution to this. Its a small gesture which will go a long way to gain employee trust and satisfaction.
I have some ideas of my own and also researching on a viable alternative to the tags, also keeping in Indian conditions in mind where girls wear salwars and hence clipping tags is not easy. There still has to be a better design, researching on that. But at any cost I refuse to accept that this is the only viable way to maintain ID and security in an organization. My pirsuit to find a better and customised identity card display mechanism continues - something which makes the employee look and feel better than a 'Dog with a Tag' !