It was 6 o'clock

It was 6 o'clock in the morning
It was time to go to work
From the early morning brush to making the tea
You realize that you are just not free
It was time to finish the breakfast
Damn!! life in Mumbai is so fast

'Run' I said to myself as it was time to catch the bus
I didn't want to miss it so as to end up in a fuss
I got in the bus and went to the second last seat
Never understood why the drivers couldn't clean them and keep it neat
From Thane to Mulund check naka to Airoli
The bus stopped, break-ed and moved very slowly

It was time to stand in the line to get the laptop checked from the security guard
He made sure you had a valid company laptop and an i-card
I took the stairs to second floor
Made my way to the desk and checked the database server at offshore
Checked my emails to find documents on new developments
They always sent them in small increments
Complete the developments and check for quality
Attach a test case document to give onshore better clarity

Time to shut my Lenovo and go back home
Hit the gym to build a strong genome
Check the office mails for any urgent work
Thank god I have a better internet connection on my Airtel network
I see a mail from my manager that he will reduce resources and still wants new development in a week
Those words were enough to wake me up from my sleep

I realized I was dreaming
I looked at my watch and it was again 6 o'clock in the morning.

Tum Mile

Tu hi meri hai saari zameen
Chahe kahin se chalun
Tujh mein hi aake ruku
Tere siva Main jaun kahan
Koi bhi raah chunu
Tujh mein hi aake ruku

Tum Mile To Lamhein Tham gaye
Tum mile to Saare gum gaye
Tum mile to muskhurana aa gaya

Tum mile to jadoo chaa gaya
Tum mile to jeena aa gaya
Tum mile to mene paya hai khuda

Tujh mein kinara dikhe
Dil ko sahara dikhe
Aa meri dhadkan tham le

Teri taraf hi mude
Yeh saas tujhse jude
Har pal yeh tera naam le
Tum mile to abb kya hai kami
Tum mile to duniya mil gai
Tum mile to mil gaya asra

Tum mile to jadoo chaa gaya
Tum mile to jeena aa gaya
Tum mile to mene paya hai khuda

Din mere tujhse chale
Raatein bhi tujhse dhale
Hai waqt tere haath mein

Tu hi shehar hai mera
Tujh mein hi ghar hai mera
Rehta hai tere saath mein

Tum mile to mil gaya humsafar
Tum mile to khud ki hai khabar
Tum mile to ristha sa ban gaya

Tum mile to jadoo chaa gaya
Tum mile to jeena aa gaya
Tum mile to mene paya hai khuda

If not IT then what

The year was 2004, the dot com boom effect was over and companies started to invest in their IT systems. Companies was recruiting in hordes; Infosys, Patni, TCS and the list goes on and on and on. Every day I heard of one walk-in or the other. Each walk-in had more than 5, 000 people queuing up since morning to enter the premises and give their aptitude test. No, the dot com boom didn't return but the boom gave birth to a new type of IT job, outsourcing. Companies in developed world wanted to generate profits and so they opened sweat shops in India (for IT) and China (for manufacturing). Big companies made big money. I remember the ABN Amro deal which TCS and Infy got a share of. The news was flashed across TV channels in India. People wanted to get into IT 'coz it meant a 'fat' salary and pride of being associated to brands like TCS and Infosys. Parents felt proud in telling that my son/daughter worked for TCS/Infosys/Patni/Amdocs. Were benefits good enough? Maybe. Was the job satisfying? No, for the most part.

Unfortunately, in India the only industry that generates job is IT. No other industry comes even remotely close in hiring more than a thousand people every quarter. In India the problem of plenty will always be a magnanimous problem. We have too many graduates and all of them need employment. The cream gets selected in their niche fields but the people on the other side of the fence have to choose IT and if the job is paying well then why not. 2007 was the golden era for IT. Fat paychecks were the talk of the street. Real estate boomed. Retail market boomed. Indian economy was thriving on theories of internal consumption. Government gave concessions to IT stalwarts and awarded them with great honors. However, is IT industry a boon or a curse for a nation's future?

In more ways than one, it is a curse rather than a boon. Why is that? that's because the people working in these industries aren't doing anything challenging. Companies hire big consulting firms like Deloitte. They study, understand and document the required changes to the system. These requirements get passed on to business analysts in IT firms who then make it a bit more simpler for coders to understand. Coding after a certain level is a manual job. You know the technology, you know the system and then only thing left is the code. IT firms aren't doing enough to ignite that passion in young minds to think innovation. A country that cannot encourage it's youth to innovate cannot grow.

Even though people in IT get exhausted of their monotonous life cycle they cannot do much because they don't know where else to go. When i speak to my friends in IT today, most of them have hit a glass ceiling. They hate IT. They hate what they are doing. They hate their bosses and management. They hate the uncertain industry. They hate everything about IT but they still have to remain in IT. Unfortunately, other industries that didn't pay much had their employees suffering due to increased cost of living.

I fear the government doesn't understand this. We aren't doing enough to provide impetus to other industries that can generate jobs for Indian youth the way IT does. Don't make IT another Mumbai, a city with broken back due to overcrowding. Invest in other industries. Generate green jobs, re haul the infrastructure and energy system, build dams and proper irrigation for agriculture and encourage entrepreneurship. Even though I don't have a great deal of admiration for Narayan Murthy I think he did a right thing by investing his Infy shares in a VC enterprise because he understands that just one single successful enterpreneur can generate millions of jobs.

Let the future of economic growth in this country not be outsourced to IT, give other industries a chance. Let us give our youth more options to choose from.

I climbed that rock

I climbed that rock
The winds were strong
They kept pushing me away
And my will said to me 'No way'
They kept telling me to give up
An angel then whispered in my ear
She said have no fear
What will take you to your destination is that will
Something even devil cannot kill

I climbed that rock
The winds were strong
They kept pushing me away
And my will said to me 'No way'
I remembered of similar days when I fought
No challenges are ever soft
You grow from problems
Let your enemy also sing your laurels

I climbed that rock
The winds were strong
They kept pushing me away
And my will said to me 'No way'

I will be there for you

My favorite song from Bon Jovi:

I Guess This Time You're Really Leaving
I Heard Your Suitcase Say Goodbye
And As My Broken Heart Lies Bleeding
You Say True Love In Suicide
You Say You've Cried A Thousand Rivers
And Now You're Swimming For The Shore
You Left Me Drowning In My Tears
And You Won't Save Me Anymore
Now I'm Praying To God
You'll Give Me One More Chance Girl
I'll Be There For You
These Five Words I Swear To You
When You Breathe I Want To Be The Air For You
I'll Be There For You
I'd Live And I'd Die For You
Steal The Sun From The Sky For You
Words Can't Say What A Love Can Do
I'll Be There For You
I Know You Know We've Had Some Good Times
How They Have Their Own Hiding Place
I Can Promise You Tomorrow
But I Can't Buy Back Yesterday
And Baby You Know My Hands Are Dirty
But I Wanted To Be Your Valentine
I'll Be The Water When You Get Thirsty Baby
When You Get Drunk I'll Be The Wine
I'll Be There For You
These Five Words I Swear To You
When You Breathe I Want To Be The Air For You
I'll Be There For You
I'd Live And I'd Die For You
Steal The Sun From The Sky For You
Words Can't Say What A Love Can Do
I'll Be There For You
And I Wasn't There When You Were Happy
I Wasn't There When You Were Down
I Didn't Mean To Miss Your Birthday Baby
I Wish I'd Seen You Blow Those Candles Out
I'll Be There For You
These Five Words I Swear To You
When You Breathe I Want To Be The Air For You
I'll Be There For You
I'd Live And I'd Die For You
Steal The Sun From The Sky For You
Words Can't Say What A Love Can Do
I'll Be There For
I'll Be There For You
These Five Words I Swear To You
When You Breathe I Want To Be The Air For You
I'll Be There For You
I'd Live And I'd Die For You
Steal The Sun From The Sky For You
Words Can't Say What A Love Can Do
I'll Be There For You

Dad

For sons our mothers are our world. I am sure it's the same with girls but I do believe that guys will be mumma's boys and gals will be daddy's girl. We all boys share a very different equation with fathers. Between sons and fathers it is always like two different ends of the shore, we never meet. A son never listens to his father 'coz he wants to live life on his own terms and fathers don't want to listen to their sons 'coz they are sons, they are not supposed to advice. I remember an Amitabh Bachchan dialogue from a movie where he says 'Ek baap chahein kitni bhi koshish kar le bete ko gale nahi laga sakta' (No matter how hard a father tries he can never hug his son). While things are changing in this generation but for most of the people around the world the same problem exists. Sons and fathers, most often, are never on the same page.

I had the same sweet and sour relationship with my dad. He came from a very modest background and toiled hard in Mumbai to reach heights in his career. I being the elder son he had great expectations from me. He wanted me to top in the class, compete in IIT and become an engineer. I attribute my engineering degree to my father completely. Inspite of his illness he wanted me to do something he couldn't do in his youth. I know I have hurt my father many a times during my engineering years through my backlogs. He used to worry about my future and always said that my career is in flames. I was very immature to understand what he meant and was for the most part angry at my father for being too interfering. I am sorry dad I never understood you.

I wanted to do an MS after my bachelor's. My father refused. I stopped talking to him for a year. I always blamed my parents for the hardships I had to go through during my initial years at work. I blamed my parents for my jealousy towards all those college mates who could travel abroad for their MS. I was wrong, had I done well during my bachelor's my parents would have put their life on line to keep me happy. I am sorry dad I never understood you.

When I went abroad for the first time for work my father was more happier than I was. When I went abroad for the second time he was very proud. He was there to see me off to the airport and also there to receive me. He wanted to see all my photos, wanted to hear all my stories 'coz he missed me when I wasn't around for festivals but never told anyone and always kept it to himself. When I told him that I want to marry the girl I love, he was upset and also angry. My father was brought up in an environment where even talking to a girl was forbidden. He took a year to allow the feeling to sink in 'coz for him this was unusual and I always taught of it as his haughtiness. I am sorry dad I never understood you.

There are so many reasons for me to apologize to my dad and I am sure it is the same for all sons. I probably didn't respect him as much as he respected his father. He never questioned his father, never raised his voice in front of his father and never said no to his father. I have done all of that. I know he misses me but I also know he cannot cry like my mom does. I know he cannot be as expressive about his emotion as my mom is. I know he will never listen to me. I know for him I will always be his son and never an adult. I know he will always try to be hard from outside and soft from inside.

I know dad that you will always be dad and I still don't want to change a thing about it 'coz I love you dad. You will always be my hero and I cannot think of a better father than you even for the next seven lives.

Is cinema what it used to be?

As Indians there are two things we are most passionate about, cricket and movies. We have always thought of movies as an extension of Indian culture. Movies have always showed Indian values and tribulations that common men and women go through. I remember how early movies from makers like Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt reflected a common man's way of life. Caste struggle, strata in society and even movies on Indian film industry itself. Movies like Awara, Pyaasa and Shri 420 would echo the society sentiments and values of those days. Even songs like ' Yeh hai Mumbai meri jaan ...' could vocal what a complex city Mumbai is

I often hear the saying that old is gold. Well it is true in many ways. Movies today probably have lost touched with reality or maybe the audience is so dumb that movies with little and no sense in their story lines are becoming a hit. I always marveled at the way Hollywood writers came up with some of the most amazing story lines that went on to becoming a cult. Movies like Terminator, When Hally met Sally, Rock , Blood Diamond etc have achieved a cult status around the world and these movies have been foolishly aped by Bollywood. Are we short of good stories or we don't have directors and actors that lack the vision? the answer is a combination of both. Movies in Bollywood are increasingly becoming formula based. When a formula clicks every director wants to ride on that bandwagon till it becomes a ad nausea. Most actors are afraid to experiment as fortune and people change every Friday in the world of Bollywood plus I would also blame the audience in not understanding and appreciating a clever movie. I see movies with little or no strong storyline being promoted in such a way that they recover money within a week because of the initial hype. In short, cinema today is resting more on commercial laurels rather than focusing on cinema itself.

I saw Rocket Singh the other day and it's a fantastic movie especially in these times when there is a dearth of good stories. A movie like Rocket Singh should have been established as a cult. No formulas, no razzmatazz, no cheap publicity tricks just simple good movie with great performances. A movie like Rocket Singh is especially more relevant in trouble times like these where's peoples greed has gulped down millions of aspirations world wide. The movie reflects honesty of a talented entrepreneur who is neither bogged down by his grade nor by the resistance from his colleagues or his zero-theory boss. The movie is a message to the youth that it is your attitude and not your marks that makes you who you are.

However, i read a box office report yesterday that the movie has not worked well. Shame on Indian audience for not appreciating a movie like Rocket Singh. It's not daily that we get to see movies like Rocket Singh, Khosla ka Ghosla, Chak De, Dev D and Lagaan.

I still haven't lost all hope with the Indian audience and hopefully one day people will start appreciating writers and directors like Jaideep Sahni, Anurag Kashyap and Shimit Amin.

Hindu mythology: A B-School in itself

MBA is one of the most premier degrees in today's times. Everyone wants to do an MBA. Everyone wants to be a manager. Having said that, i always felt if -school teach what they should teach or they simply put an attitude in you to learn and work hard 'coz that is what you need to survive in the real world of today. But if that is what you need to learn then do you have to go to B-School.

I was attending a class on management in fall semester and at the end of the class the professor asked if the students thought that some other teachings should be inculcated in the curriculum. One of the students responded, that what was taught in class is the ideal scenario but this ideal scenario never occurs in the real world. The class on management taught about making use of employee skills, employee motivation, innovation, scouting n all but do we really get rightly skilled employees in real world, do all employees want motivation, do all employees and organization think about long term innovation. When you put a B-School student into real life situations the outcome and reaction from the student is totally different. So, if i want to learn about dealing with real life challenges where do i go? the answers are in our old Hindu mythology.

I was watching B.R. Chopra's Mahabharat the other day and some of the dialogues from the serial are so thoughtfully written that if you listen and follow them you don't have to go to a B-School. When Pandavas moved to Indraprastha Arjuna and Krishna have a chat one evening

Arjun: All is well settled. We have established Indraprastha and it is beautiful. Now we have our own kingdom
Krishna: Don't fall for this temporary peace 'coz beyond this peace a storm is steadily brewing

Krishna was referring to Duryodhan and Shakuni's next move.
When you know that you have a enemy who is always thinking of cutting you to size one should not sit contented with wins in battles but always be prepared for a bigger war. Even before the great Mahabharat war was declared Krishna starting eliminating enemies who he knew can affect the outcome of the war. It simply means that if you start early you will never be due for a nasty surprise.

Yudhistir in Mahabharat and Ram in Ramayan teach people management while Chanakya neethi teaches politics and strategy. If a person can understand what these greats characters have taught us we need not go to any B-School.

When love happens .....

Love in most movies is when a boy meets a girl they fight they argue they understand and then they fall in love. I always thought is love that simple. Do people all of a sudden understand that they are in love or is it a one 'logical' step after another? Can love happen anywhere? Can love happen with anyone? When do you know it's love? When do you it's just a crush or it's serious love?. All of these questions always went through my mind whenever i saw all those mindless movies. From the time i was in fourth when i had a crush on one of the girls in school till the time i proposed my now fiancee, i have had numerous instances when i thought i have met my dream girl. When i proposed to a girl in my engg college and she rejected me i was heart broken. I could not think, i could not handle the rejection and all of this filled in a animosity for the girl. I was a kid back then and i never really took it in a matured way. Throughout the engg years i wooed other girls just to make that female feel jealous, silly isn't it?. I thought she was the dream girl i always wanted but i was wrong. Then came a time when i met this girl after my engg whom i knew through a common friend when i was in my first yr engg. We met we talked and something told me that she was the girl. We both went to the same library to study she was studying for her MBA entrance exams and i was studying to look for a job. I checked the library register daily to see if she is there too, i used to look out in all library rooms just to get a glimpse of her. God!!! i was crazy about her then. I think she knew that i had feelings for her and i could judge that by her responses. I think i blew it up by trying to show in my ego. Yes!!! i have made my fair share of mistakes with girls.
You cannot fall in love unless you take your ego out of the equation. Women want their man to be kind, treat them with respect, not be sarcastic, hold her hand, be genuine and not just tell her but also feel that he loves her. I understood all this when i met my now fiancee. The day i proposed to her i probably still didn't exactly know what love meant. After dating for 3yrs and going through my fair share of ups and downs i know what love means. I think once you have found the right girl love happens everyday. When you see her happy, love happens. When she says she loves you, love happens. When you hold her hand and look into her eyes, love happens. When she holds you tight saying that she trusts you and always needs you, love happens. My brother once told me this that a true love is the one where you fall in love with the same person everyday. I fell in love with my fiancee when i proposed to her, when i held her hand for the first time, when i saw her after coming back from abroad for the first time, when we got engaged, when i left her to come to US and now when i daily see her on chat. Love just doesn't happen when you propose to the girl you have a liking for, love happens when you realise that the girl is the centre of your universe.

True love just doesn't happen, it keeps on happening.