Monday, December 17, 2007

Prioritize

"You could do great things if you weren’t so busy doing little things."- Anon

ON a day to day basis, we are very busy... at home, at work and at social networks. But very often we are bogged down by small and insignificant things which take away our valuable time. On a very busy day at office, and on the eve of my vacation-planning, got this quote. It hit me ! How true ! Cutting wood vs sharpening saw or the important/urgent grid of Stephen Covery are very useful tools. Indeed, while small things will continue to bog me down, but let me not lose sight of the more important & critical things...

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Japan's bloggers

Blogging is an art... It continue to fascinate me.

As I have received several queries on blogging, here I am sharing what I read on the way Japanese blog.
  • They have not only gone wild, but do it differently !
  • Though English speakers outnumber their japanese counterparts by 5-1, more blog postings are written in Japanese
  • 40 % blogging by Japs estimated to be on mobile phone
  • Unlike their English counterparts, who use abrasiveself-promotion, Japs have embraced this techonogy and refashioned it as a soothingly nonconfrontational medium.
  • They don't blog to stand out, but to fit in. They would write about small joys in life such as cats, flowers, bicycles, gadgets, movies, food, etc.
  • Also they write short, anonymously and more often.
  • They consciously avoid criticism. They would rather sympathise a restaurant, rather than take out the anger for bad food/poor service on a blog.

While Japanese style of management has inspired us for decades now, the way they blog is also so much like their culture. In Japan, it is socially not acceptable to pursue fame. They believe rather in team effort.

How beautiful !

Source - press reports, Technorati ( internet search engine that monitors the blogosphere)

India's series win over Pakistan

I fully endorse the views express by Sunil Gavaskar in his column (Sunny Side) in Times of India. Kumble did not go for the kill, either for sake of Karthik's 50, or anything else. Indeed, that is the difference between Australian approach to the game and our own team's. One of the reasons for this approach may be our first class cricket rules ( as mentioned by Sunny). But I feel the key factor is the ATTITUDE. Kumble should be given this feedback in clear terms by the selectors so that he handle such situations in future with killer instict. Leadership comes with loads of responsibility

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Galaxy of Great Men & Women in a single picture



Thanks to a friend, the photograph being uploaded onto this blog. . .

A single photograph of great people, who reached highest points of success in their respective fields. BE inspired!

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

vegatarian food

"One of the keys to happiness is bad memory" - Rita Mae Brown

But another way is to be physically healthy.
In 1988, I moved from a 'strict' non-vegetarian to a vegetarian. But I remain a small time 'foodie', primarily due to my very preferences. It gets difficult while travelling on work. Moreso, outside India. Yes, the options limited. But at the same time, food generally becomes less important in life, which I feel is good on a spiritual sense. It is important to ensure we eat the right food...

Hence, sharing what I found in Alva Carpenter's Slimline column:
Vegetarians should aim to eat:
5 servings of fruit and vegetables
6 servings of cereals and grains, e.g. rice, pasta, muffin, breakfast cereal
2 serving of legumes nuts and seed- good sources of protein e.g. chickpeas, kidney beans, tofu, quorn, lentils, brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds
2-3 servings of milk and milk products or alternatives e.g. cow’s milk, soy milk, cheese, yoghurt
6-8 glasses of water

Friday, October 26, 2007

Indian Political Leaderhip

Men & Ideas - Dirty Hands by Gurcharan Das (TOI)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Gurcharan_Das_Dirty_hands/articleshow/2477484.cms

Mr Gurcharan Das, in his column, forcefully brings out the lack of integrity among our so-called leaders. Indeed, Bertrand Russell was right, 'politics' as the last option for a certain 'category' of people. The responsible voters in Karnataka should interospect: is this the kind of leadership they deserve. If Bangalore (not Bengaluru !!)is the Knowledge Capital of the country, do they want to be led by 'leaders' of this calibre ? We get what we deserve.

Manmohan Singh will be tested for his leadership in the nuclear deal issue... How he keeps India's interests ahead of all political matters and take forward with the conviction of a strong leader of a great country such as India.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Spirituality in Daily Life

Thursday sessions are definitely elevating...

With the buzz around moon-Darshan, I was looking forward to today's session. While the talented singers raised their rendition to the next level, the budding singers also seemed to be at their best. Was it due to their preparations, or the higher level of spiritual-being of the gathering, or just His Grace ... ?

I kept looking for a clue of Sai's presence... after all, He has assured His presence, where His Glory is sung... Years ago He had playfully pulled me up for my 'doubts' ! Today, it is not the doubt, but a yearning to see & feel His presence... I kept looking at the seat of the Throne, at the garland...There was no 'evidence' visible to my eyes... But then, no complaint. After all, the Joy of the Journey is as wonderful as the joy of reaching the goal. Moon-darshan after the session, was beautiful too.... :)

Let us BE HAPPY, ALWAYS

AXE TVC

I am surprised to see the new AXE TVC appearing in prominent channels such as NDTV. I appreciate it is their ( the company behind the brand) prerogative to decide the marketing idea. As a student of marketing, I feel it is a good idea, brilliantly executed... But, they need to be more selective in the selection of media vehicles. Defintely, we expect the TV channels to be more responsible

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Dravid 'Dropped'

Did Dravid dig his one-day grave when he opted out of captaincy ? Was it sheer politics of Indian cricket ? Or is it beyond petty politics ? The world loves only winners. If not, at least fighters. Dravid is a great fighter, 'The Wall' a proof by itself. The world is still clueless why he quit. It would have been for valid reasons for sure. But, whatever the provocation of the selectors to drop him, I feel it has been unfair. Yet again, we fail in handling successful sportsmen of our country

MS Dhoni wants some trucks: While talking to NDTV, the leader Dhoni has asked for 14 volunteers who are prepared to stand in front of a truck... Bhaaji can help, as he belongs to a transporter family. Cool dude, Yuvi, can manage from his hometown. Else, there are many of us, who currently or earlier belonged to truck-transport fraternity in India, who could organise too... :) Wonder how would some of the senior players react to same ! Neverthless, Dhoni brings a fresh approach to cricket-leadership, similar to Dada... Best wishes to this new leader for success


Rahul Dravid dropped from ODI team : The former captain, one of most consistent cricketers of this generation, has been dropped. He has been replaced by a younger, dashing batsman. Is it beginning of the end of his one day career or will he bounce back like Dada ? Hats off to Sachin Tendulkar the way he has performed consistently.

I feel Sreesanth got more into drama and less into cricket !

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Picasso's "disturbing" genius !

16 Oct 08
It is almost a year since I posted the note on the 'disturbing genius' of Picasso. ( Time flies... !)
Glad to share some more insight into the genius.
  • Born in October 1881.
  • His first exhibit was at the age of 13
  • He was a modern artist. He paved the way for innovative and illustrative styles in painting
  • 'Inspiration exists, but it has to find YOU working'. . . let us convert our inspiration to hard work
  • But his last words were, "Drink to me, drink to my health, you know I can't drink anymore" (this, not very inspiring :)! )
14 Oct 07
It is four days since this quote hit my mail box... Indeed, it 'hit' me ! Rarely a quote or a message remains in my mind for such a long time... Hence, felt like sharing. TRULY INSPIRING !

Robins Blog -- Disturb When I was in Barcelona (coolest city on Earth?) this summer I hung out at the Picasso museum. Adored the place. In one room I read a sign that said simply: "People were disturbed by his genius."

Makes me wonder - what must you do and how excellent must you become for people to be "disturbed by your genius." Why not devote to being so staggeringly great in your work that people are stunned / alarmed / taken aback. No, much better: awed.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

London Mayor wants Gandhiji statue

London Mayor's few words on Gandhiji was indeed very relevant.
( http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7004087.stm)

Gandhiji will continue to be relevant for centuries to come.... will inspire people across the world. It is our duty to give world a glimpse of what he stood for and lived for. He "lived" his life as a proof of his own values.

It got more relevant now as Ram and Ramsetu ( Bridge ) are back in limelight in India's political spectrum...

Monday, September 17, 2007

dhoni new indian cricket captain

a village lad reaches the summit ... ! After Kapil Dev we have one more cricket captain from 'bharath'. Yuvaraj is seemingly avoided as he is more flamboyant.. ! It defies all logic to see Saurav not even considered for the slot, while he is obviously the best option. Perhaps the wise men ( selectors ) have ego problems ?

Siddhu and Jadeja gave a good analysis of the whole captaincy issue in ndtv, last night. Jadeja raised an old management thought, 'leaders are born' while siddhu took the opposite stand, 'leaders are groomed' ! As a management student, that was an interesting debate.

It would have been ideal to make saurav the captain and dhoni vice captain. That would have given enough training to dhoni and helped him grow into the captaincy role. Indeed, mysterious are the ways of indian cricket administrators ! That would have been the ideal way to handle the leadership in a professional way

Friday, September 14, 2007

Rahul Dravid resigns from cricket captaincy

BCCI ( second C stands for 'Control', perhaps the only area they excel !) has one more challenge to face. If IPCL not enough, they now have to handle the resignation of the captain. The resignation throws up more questions yet again about cricket administration in our country. Administrators owe an explanation to cricket crazy country... while the passionate fans will speculate the reasons, I feel one key reason could be the fact he was overlooked by the selectors for Twenty20 world cup ! They preferred Dhoni over Dravid, a young cricketer though explosive and future prospect against one of the best among contemperory cricketers and one of greatest from India.

Friday, August 10, 2007

CHAK DE MOVIE

For some of Indians, movie is like an obsession. Some superstars like Rajnikanth have a fan-following which could rival the most popular stars of filmworld/sports/politics. It is almost an obsession to watch a new movie of such superstars on first-day, first-show. Of course, do not belong to this minority. I always prefer to get some reliable feedback on a movie from a dependable source, before I go out watch or even watch at home. So, to land for this new film on first day ( not for first show, but late afternoon show), was courtesy the pressure from family. So, I walked into the theatre with lot of apprehension.

The film’s story is spun around a game other than cricket, but hockey. Not even men’s hockey, but women’s hockey. It talks about our mentality to doubt the patriotism of a Muslim player. It stresses the importance of hard-work, planning, team-work and to put country above everything. Also, how people give importance to cricket, our thoughts on a girl-sport, how our associations work etc. I have never been a fan of Shahrukh, but I am beginning to see his brilliance… The way he handled his Swades, compeering at film fare awards, coffee with Karan, KBC 2, etc… Of course, his sense of humor and the way he has handled his stardom are two things I admire him for.

Of course, you can always count on Yash Raj Film to pick up such a theme and come out with a good final product ( and also market effectively thereafterJ)

Hats off to YRF and SRK for this fantastic effort…

Monday, July 30, 2007

Green House Effect=NIL

Zero Emission :)

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Shambo - sacred bullock faces imminent death

Thanks to BBC, a bullock is getting lot of visibility ! Sadly, Shambo is sick and facing an imminent slaughter. My thoughts though…

Overall welfare of society is far more important. Indeed, ‘Loka samastha, sukhino bhavanthu…’ ( may the entire cosmos be in peace)
But is not a bullock part of God’s creation? Is life of an animal less important than us, human beings ( with loads of animal tendencies)
If mercy killing is not allowed on man, crown of God’s creations, how can it be allowed on a bullock?

Monday, July 23, 2007

Indian Cricket/new President of India

Rain God helped our cricket team to escape defeat at the hands of England Cricket team. While some parts of England faced the fury of rains, English cricket team would have brought some cheers to the cricket lovers across the country. But, the draw proved to be proverbial anti-climax !

Once again the Big Three failed to deliver. The stylish Laxman failed to carry on. Ultimately it was the familiar story of Indian cricket failing to live upto the expectations of a cricket-crazy republic.

Talking of 'republic', UPA has managed to get their candidate elected to the post of President. While, Sonia Gandhi would have earned a place for herself in the history by getting Dr Singh has PM, she and her party colleagues disappointed this time. It would not have been an easy task to replace a scientist-cum-people's president. But, the ruling alliance owed the citizens a stronger candidate, a worthy successor to Dr Kalam. After all, as the old saying goes, we GET WHAT WE DESERVE, good or bad !

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Dr Kalam

Dr Kalam's address:
  • he will walk off with two suitcases and his personal collection of books
  • yet again reminded us of his (ours too) dream to see India a developed state by 2020
  • don't take gifts with a purpose
  • build families with character and good value system
Dr Kalam will continue to inspire the youth of India for many years to come. His value system will inspire many more. His dream to see India as a developted state by 2020 is definitely achievable. I hope it is TOTAL development, at both physical, mental and spiritual level.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Children of India

Horror stories of children suffering have been coming out of India. And, the media has been giving the painful details. Killings of Noida, tragic death of Suraj, how a poor family disowned their daughter. . .

We offer money at our temples. Also, when we go to see a new-born baby. Man is believed to be the embodiment of Divinity. May be, a child is a purer form. Hence the ‘offering’?! May be… This is a collective failure of us, Indians. All our economic growth is of no value, if we are not able to take care of our children.

Whether we believe in doctrine of Karma or the simple logic of ‘what goes out, comes back’, we are responsible for our children.

Let us restore the joy of childhood to our children…