Fall or Autumn - time for "Insight"

If you have noticed, my summer has passed like a whirlwind. Be it office, family or at my Uni, I have worked very hard and 'smart' to deliver. Riding many horses at the same time has been a challenge, but I am getting better by inches. Fall or Autumn is a season of insight to me. Why do people have many words for the same thing? How could I do better? I know my goal, but there are many paths... which one should I choose?

A few years ago, I asked my dad (who is a staunch believer in God) about polytheism and his view on it...Hinduism is a way of life or a religion of religions, so practising a way is such a challenge if your roots belong to it. His view was quite simple. Let us say you want to go to destination A and if it has 10 routes, travelling by route 1 for 5 miles and route 2 for 4 miles and route 3 for 3 miles won't take you to A. But all routes do take you to A. All roads lead to same destination. The message was 'You have to choose a way AND stick to it'. Very important is the AND clause. I have been riding many horses but not many paths, but I am now at the junction of many paths. The situation reminds me of Robert Frost's 'Road Not Taken'. I have to choose one! Languages do have different words for same thing, religions have many paths to same God. I choose simple words to describe complex things, so is simplicity the best option? A conjecture.

Family tree is getting rusty, the roots need my support or do i yearn for support from the roots? A Banyan tree symbolises my position. I am an 'aerial prop' trying to reach the roots and not yet there, but will be there one day. Is the prop supporting the tree or the prop wishing to take support from the root? Science says that these props become trunks and are indistinguishable. But thoughts question the logic "the props do they support the roots or take support by growing to the roots?"

Don't get me wrong, I am not melancholic, this is an insight into the path that should be taken. I am strong, sound and resolute to achieve! Readers have asked me on the absence of thoughts, actually they are never absent, just silent.

So what did i do the last fours months? Assignments for the Uni, family time, extended family time, moving houses. Ah! that reminds me that i am sitting in a developed world where it has taken 2 months for the telecom company to provision a broadband for me. I am not joking, in fact i should say it has taken me 3 months. I called TalkTalk on Aug 14th to mention i am moving houses (I moved on Sep 20th), they disconnected me on Sep 10th and i got my broadband on Nov 3rd. What a service! I called, tweaked, poked and finally gave up! you have to win some and loose some... I ordered a slow mobile broadband and ploughed through my way...Life now is a bliss with the super fast 4Mb broadband!!!

I imagine what if one day the internet goes down? (post for a different day)...

It's been four months

Last four months flew. May, June, July, August have gone like a wind. I watched the Indian general elections, some great cricket by England, return of Dravid, best of all was a five day trip to Scotland. In the last six years, I had reserved Scotland for a special occassion and i chose to spend it with my family. I enjoyed driving to core, the sceneries still stand in my mind. Mountains, lakes and pure nature, yes pure nature. We stayed in a wooden house, and just behind the house the rivers from the glen ebbs, sand gushes into the valleys. Such a sight and relaxation. One day we walked up on the Glen Navis and interestingly i tried some of stunts and got caught into a swamp and had to jump of the marsh by leaving the shoes and trekk up bare foot.

Big news is in the four months, i completed two of my courses in Global Energy MBA@WBS in first class but couldn't secure my honours which was a big disappointment. However with the commitments to family, busy work schedule and guests as well as a good summer, i focused and made hay! I also started getting up early to play Tennis daily in the morning. This brings my memories from Neyveli where i started my tennis but never excelled in it. I tried many sports in my schooling, but focused into Volleyball later and played some good games. I remember that our school rarely won matches in south zone tournaments, where we had won the first round but lost the next and turned back home. However we set trends and i still do in my own ways, in things that i do... I always cherished tennis but could never play to the level. This summer has opened up the avenue but long way to go.

In a fortnight we are moving home and new opportunities await.

Skanda Save our Souls

I wish I was not part of this global mess and the Tamil nonsense going around. In my previous post, I mentioned that I shall write about SkandaVale, my trip and my feelings, thoughts. I am so sad at my heart and thoughts when I look to the images of sea and human sea in North east Sri Lanka.

I wanted to express my thoughts as how Skandan or Lord Murugan a Tamil God is reigning in Wales (Part of UK), where as Tamils have been led into this gory war. We had a lot to say about us as a race (though I strongly condemn any race based support or theories); Tamils were the one to write best of most subjects and today we beg for food and shelter.

As a humanitarian disaster is awaiting, I am going to blame no one but just us. 'Thirukural' classic couplets of wisdom - were from Tamil, many many works and many many achievements were part of our tradition - Today we are what we are. This goes for any set of humans - when Gandhi showed us the way of peaceful protests, we took war, when People gave us chances, we ignored them - when others followed our theology, we threw them away, when world benefited from our experience, we shut our eyes and ears to our own folktales - so we are where we are today.

Please let us stop blaming others. At this hour, I wish history repeats again - Similar to the Kalinga War, let us see the carnage we have unleashed on ourselves, let us become the king Ashoka and seek peace.

I quote from the Edicts of Ashoka (Rock 13):

"Ashoka had seen the bloodshed with his own eyes. He felt that he was the cause of the destruction.

Ashoka's response to the Kalinga War is recorded in the Edicts of Ashoka. According to some of these (Rock Edict XIII and Minor Rock Edict I), the Kalinga War prompted Ashoka, already a non-engaged Buddhist, to devote the rest of his life to Ahimsa (non-violence) and to Dhamma-Vijaya (victory through Dhamma). Following the conquest of Kalinga, Ashoka ended the military expansion of the empire, and led the empire through more than 40 years of relative peace, harmony and prosperity.

Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Priyadarsi, conquered the Kalingas eight years after his coronation. One hundred and fifty thousand were deported, one hundred thousand were killed and many more died (from other causes). After the Kalingas had been conquered, Beloved-of-the-Gods came to feel a strong inclination towards the Dhamma, a love for the Dhamma and for instruction in Dhamma. Now Beloved-of-the-Gods feels deep remorse for having conquered the Kalingas."

The country of waterfalls...

Everyone looks for a refreshing break and a few really get the refresh. Software & Hardwares have a refresh cycle of 3 years, used to be 10 a decade back, 5 a few years back and now the companies want to refresh hardwares every three years! As usual my thoughts wander...

Easter breaks have always been kind to me, for a few years in row i spent that break in city of love and life - Paris. This time we drove to the country of falls - 'Brecon Beacons'. Mellte river near the village Pontneddfechan humbles the boulders and trees as well as the men who visit the place. Experience is something you can try to capture using photos and words, yet when it is real it can be surreal! Welsh names and sounds can be a lot harder if one is not exposed to the language and i am one among those that are unexposed. The image next to the write-up is the H shaped severn river one on M4.

For a start we toured around a small hilltop in opposite direction searching the falls. Our understanding of the maps was completely wrong and we figured out the right direction. Finally we drove to the spot and started trekking. The river was quite subtle and it was more like a brook. By then I had already mentioned to my partner that that brook would be the one to show wonders as a waterfall. If you keep trekking you will find a lot more fantastic falls. Its just that with a 17 month baby on your shoulders, you will pause and think twice to trek more; simply because you need to trek back to your base camp :)

The water and nature just humbled me and remained me again what mother nature is (btw why do we not address nature as father nature?) A small brook more like a dripping pee slowly gathers to become falls. But on the way the brook crushes the trees and big mountains to twigs and pebbles. Can we protect and preserve it for our future?Late in the afternoon we proceeded to tour around the national park and headed towards the brecon information centre. The drive displayed some fantastic mountain views and we just sat there in the car with mouths shut tightly but minds wide open with awe!

The next day we planned for SkandaVale. I need to do a separate post on this and indeed needs a post on its own, as i have a lot of thoughts around that trip. A bit political as well...

"He is just a Phenomenon"

Sharad is a great guy, he has some fabulous records under his belt in the domain that he works. He is a regular guy to the office, doesn't crave for attention, at the same instance not a push-over - he fights for what he believes, a cool head and has been a saviour many times in his 13 long year career. He took roles what his team demanded and gave 200% always irrespective of what others said. People around him wondered if he had any emotions at all.

I will pose a scenario; Imagine you give 200% to your team and sweat every bit, yes literally sweat to success, but you have a contemporary in the office who is just a genius and hogs the limelight; still you do your job and give your best - isn't that a great character? One day he was given the top job in the office and he takes that as well with humility and leads through a difficult time. When every thing was going well, (not really well though - results weren't as expected but not poor at the same time) he threw the hat in, but did not quit, and went back to be a soldier and still led from front.

Isn't he a great example for leadership? C'mon imagine if you go through such a shiny career, can you keep cool head and can you be composed in such a way that people wonder if you are a wall or a man? This man is a big big role model for me. Words can't describe this guy, he is just a phenomenon.

I take the occasion today to salute him as he reaches yet another milestone in the office! I am sure you will be interested to know him.

Click here to know more about Sharad

Great Saved the world - Job done!

Many of them mocked, I was one among them. But the world leaders apparently agreed to save the world. This was an apprentice, where everyone got HIRED! As i moved through the traffic this morning, I imagined how it would be if Sir Alan Sugar made an episode with the G20 leaders fighting to be his apprentice. The French president did not play ball, same with the German chancellor, Chinese were ready to help but wanted them as the project manager for all the episodes and make the Chinese currency as the bill to pay the winner, Indians as usual talked about policies and procedures, Obama in his usual style patted the browns, allowed him to lead the team, but stole the limelight when the draw was announced and everyone of them were Hired to play the BANKER! 

Imagination helped me brighten up! The answer is pay the trillion now and grow the debt; If by any chance the plan failed...(Believe me, I am an optimist)

"Ring a-ring o' roses, A pocketful of posies. a-tissue!, a-tissue!. We all fall down" 

G20 - Garbage 20 "£$€¥₩руб"

The G20 was originally set up as an informal group in 1999, following the financial crisis in Asia. Their aim was to encourage international co-operation between finance ministers and central bankers. This summit in London potential costs amount to £20m, where as the one in Japan costed $285m (2008) and the Germany costed €92m(2004). THIS IS THE HIGHEST SECURITY EXPENSE in BRITISH HISTORY!

For an argument sake, if these summits had happened over video conferencing facility, we would have more money to spend today. Background work could have happened as it happens today and the key heads could have sat across the table before a best possible high-speed video line and all these money we spend could have been reduced to a pittance. People would have faced no hardship as they go to their day jobs, petty shops would be kept open, execs could have worn their suits, most importantly, Mother Nature would have been more green! Consider the emissions from the flights to & fro between the 19 countries to UK!

Ok At least let us wait to see if the result is positive; the overarching feeling is this summit will be a flop :(

Proceeds of dogs sales, don't bark!

That's a proverb in Tamil; What the old folks mean is if you sell a dog, the cash proceeds don't bark... i.e. you may steal a dog, sell it and no one would know the source of the income... Proverbs seldom turn false. Yesterday i witnessed it. Liquor tycoon Mallya bought Gandhi's personal artifacts in an auction, gifts to Indian government! Gandhi who stood against three things, drinks, deceit, non-veg food would have definitely disliked Mallya buying his artifacts in the auction. He was so anti to drinks and a liquor baron has bought and gifted the items to government but has done so coz' he is Indian. Bull!

I think its one another publicity act... My blog titles that thoughts never belong to one individual and the writer in the article i linked above, has expressed a similar view on this subject. or is it the hundredth monkey phenomenon?

Its New Year Today

Happy new year to all. (Today Jan 21 2009) The official new year starts for Obama followers! Hurray Obama has taken reins, not to worry everything will be hunky dorry from now on - No it won't be - at least to me. I was away on a trip home, came back, fell ill, got the boy into day care, fell ill, got better, fell ill, son's not liking the day care, son's the agenda on my mind and until he settles not even Obama for the matter Osama can help me. O! Rama can you?

Torn between the pros & cons of day care, the pros & cons of modern style of parenting, the pros & cons of traditional ways of parenting, I am all cranky, in fact cranky than the boy himself. So can Obama save me? That's how our 21st century brains are. How could we dream of one man saving the world for us? it could be he is infusing hope blah blah, but fundamentally the human mind is so conditioned that they have tried out many forms of government and have gone back to Monarchic ways.

Until the day we all, i say again - we all understand that 'team works' its going to be Deja vu even in 521st century. I don't deny his raise to where he is, what he has gone through - to be honest his meteroic raise has infused hope in me too (blind)... I will be a slave to him, if in his 3rd day of the office he makes a law to get the bonus back from fat cats. C'mon on one end the bankers have taken all their bonuses and made their money. Economy is doomed, the ordinary man is asked to work again! The UK spends millions sorry billions sorry trillions in getting the banks back, instead if they had given 200,000£ to citizens with good credit report with a surity that these citizens should make more money and invest in banks, we all would have invested in houses, cars, better stuff and the economy would be in better state; whereas now our money (from taxes) is invested to insure our own mortgage repayment protection plans!

Can we all grow up? O!Rama bless Obama, Osama & Citizens of MamaMia world.