Kush Srivastava's Blog, page 23

The Dreaded Review!

It’s again the same time of the year when the ever so dreaded at the same time looked forward to term, review, will take place or has already taken place for the majority who work in order to make a living.

More often than not, many would think that the boss has not been fair in evaluating all aspects of the work that you might have done in the year gone by.

Many might perceive that due credit has not been given to for what you accomplished and somewhere the credit has been bagged by a colleague whom you believe might have performed at a level which might be far less than what you perceive to have performed at.

Have you ever wondered, what this review consist of? No matter how much you want to rationalize and make the entire process logical and fair, that’s what the HR department all over the world aim at and claim to be doing, the thing that matters the most is how well you are able to cope up with relationships in your ecosystem.

Be it your home or in office, what matters the most is your ability to get along well with people with different opinions and mindset and to be able to build a genuine healthy relationship with all.

And that in no way is suggesting that one should fool around and be political about the entire aspect, but have a fairly high level of compassion and integrity when it comes to be able to slip into others’ shoes and see the world from their perspective.

Harder done than said, one who is able to accomplish this feat, never seems to have a bad review, be it the wife at home, or be it the boss in the office, be it the parents waiting to get a call from their loved ones or be it the sons and daughters waiting for their mom or dad to come back and spend quality time with them.

I would admit that there have been people who have crossed my path on several occasions who have been an inspiration in the true sense of the word. They have taught me how to handle situations or more importantly how to perceive the situation in the first instance.

Such men/women are exemplary in everything they do. They tend to have a positive bent of mind and look at things very differently from the rest of us. These people take success and failure (which comes very seldom) in the same stride.

These are the men/women, who wouldn’t want to focus on the past, having drawn their learning, and would instead focus on the present. They would be more interested in what didn’t work rather than why it didn’t work.

Such are the people that one should try to associate with, learn from them, get inspired and even emulate the aspects which make them so wonderful and different. After all, it’s better to have people with a positive attitude surrounding you compared to people who are always whining or complaining about one thing or the other.

Friends, reviews will come and go, sometimes they will be good at times bad, but what will matter the most is your ability to motivate yourself to become a better individual each minute, each hour and each day of your lives.

Source for Image: http://mobile-spyreviews.com/mobistea...

Moving Out!

More often than not we humans, worry more about getting in rather than moving out, whether it be a job that one has been desperately searching for, or a movie hall when the movie is about to begin, be it a shared taxi to get the finest possible seat, or be it the shared toilet in a hostel where every one is gearing to do what they are of course supposed to do.

Yes, there are always exceptions to the rule with the likes of us, Indians who have got so habitual to breaking cues when it comes to, lets say, getting out of an airplane immediately after it comes to a halt or be it the ticket counter for various utilities, thanks to the insecurity that is so deeply imbibed in all of us having been brought up in an era with stiff competition and lack of resources.

Somehow, moving out in some cases, at the right time, is as important, if not more, than moving in, be it an emergency evacuation or a failed relationship. Today, I am going to talk about an aspect of our lives which tends to consume at least 60-70% of our productive life, if not more. Yes, I am referring to none other than the professional set up towards which we tend to devote more than half our lives.

How often have you thought of calling it a quit, yet staying for the lack of courage or contemplating the uncertainty of the future? How often have you forced yourself to go to the office every single day of your life trying to motivate yourself for something/someone which you don’t like doing and if it were not for the society around you, you would never do so?

How often have you neglected your true callings, your inner voice to continue to do something which brings you lot of bitcoins and perceived social success but not enough happiness? How often have you craved for spending that extra hour with your loved ones but have not been able to do so for the challenges and complexities of living a “conventional” investment banking kind of a profile?

I believe many of us would have been into the situations where we would have no answers to the above. Many would wonder that in order to live the kind of life that one or one’s loved ones want to live comes with sacrifices. Many would want to call the people who follow their heart as losers and might be inspired by the likes of “chatur” of “3 Idiots” fame, still there are these few who follow their heart and tend to become the “chanchads” of their batch.

If you ask the latter, what they achieve by doing so, they would give you all kinds of philosophies supporting their lifestyle, which you might really not agree with, still the kind of peace and calm that is so evident on their faces, even after not being able to convince you, would make you feel jealous of the fact, and would leave you wondering, “kaash main bhi aisa kar paata/paati“.

If you think they are doing something drastically out of this world, you are mistaken, for they are only doing the thing they like doing. They are doing what they think they were supposed to do, having born on this planet earth. They believe that if if they were not doing the same, they wouldn’t be doing anything, possibly not living at all.

Yes, they are normal human beings. They too have insecurities regarding not being able to accomplish the love of their life. Yes, they fear being not able to make it big and meet others’ expectations.

But the difference is that they are able to move out of this thinking which holds them back, in a flash. They are able to overcome the fears arising out of the above. They are able to convince one and all about the happiness that would come in, if they were doing what they think they were meant to do.

They take failures and success in the same stride. They learn to become moderately happy when they strike gold and moderately sad when they don’t. For them the path or the journey becomes more important than the goal.

They master the art of moving out of the normal. After all, don’t you think the ultimate goal for all of us remain more or less the same, yet paths will differ significantly.

Now, it’s up to you to decide which path to tread, for it’s only you who knows where your true calling lies. Time to MOVE OUT?

Source for Image:  https://www.pinterest.com/pin/530791506055972532/

2 Sides of the Coin!

When you succeed, you are often asked, as well you often tend to focus on speaking about what things you did right, what is to be done in order to taste bliss, and more often than not the conversations tend to revolve around you and what you have done to get what you desired.

But there is a totally different take on things for those who don’t so called succeed. For these perceived unfortunate folks, the conversation revolves around what was not to be done, what they did wrong, what could have they done differently, what were the areas where they could improve and somehow they seem to talk about not them but others who did things in a different manner and tasted success.

For the former lot, the conversations seem to be conclusive, whereas for the latter who didn’t succeed, the conversations tend to be progressive and often moving in the right direction.

For the latter, to fail and then succeed is another high altogether which the former might not be able to comprehend having not gone through the same. Having said that the former don’t have any harsh feelings about not being able to fail and they are more than happy that they succeeded

Life=Startup!

With around 4200 startups already in India and with 3-4 startups being formed each day, the day is not far off, when everything from womb to tomb will be taken care by a startup.

There is a startup for nearly each and every aspect of our materialistic lifestyle, be it buying groceries on the go, or booking a cab, be it getting your car serviced to taking care of your pets at home, be it ordering food online to getting an electrician/plumber etc. for your household repairs.

Soon, it will become so aspirational that a kid, before learning to say mom or dad would learn to say “startup” and the happiness on the faces of the parents and grandparents would be exemplary considering the kid would be progressing in the right direction.

Soon, parents would not want their children to become doctors or engineers but would ideally want them to tread the entrepreneurial path, knowing that success lay in solving that all important problem and with VCs and funds chasing guys who would be able to do it successfully.

Soon, parental thinking would transform into the much talked about platform thinking, with parents aspiring for their kids to go on to become the “Zuckerberg’s” of Indian start-up ecosystem.

Soon, youth would not want to run after jobs, but would ideally want to create jobs and contribute towards the much hyped GDP concept of development.

Soon, the startup culture would engulf the entire mental framework of beings and from morning to evening, the quintessential thing that one would be discussing would be a startup.

Few among the learned say that it’s nothing but a bubble and will soon burst and sanity and good sense will prevail.

Few also are of the opinion that it’s not at all sustainable and that there needs to be some logic to the prevailing madness, though they are not sure how and when that would happen.

Few are cynical enough to say that the youth has gone crazy, not realizing that only 1 in 10 startups would ultimately get funded, leaving the rest to suffer, not realizing that the best years of their life would go in vain with no future in store.

Though opinions are varied and can be appreciative or cynical, one extremely significant thing which is happening is that the youth is not so scared to take the plunge as they were before. They are more than happy to take the dive and then learn to swim as they go along. They are no more cautious about what if it doesn’t succeed.

There is this aura being created by the aspirational youth, where there is no place for fear and doubt.

Youth is learning and prepared to take on the challenges head on. The energy and motivation is addictive and inspires the others.

So, can we say, India is ready to churn out startups capable of going on to become the best of the best in the World?

Well, yes and no! Yes, because of the attitudinal shift, yes because of the startup ecosystem being created at the policy level, yes because of the funding opportunities with investors ready to focus their energies on India.

No, because of the herd mentality where each and everyone is trying to get a piece of the cake, no, because the focus remains on fund raising and not actually trying to do what they are supposed to do, which is to solve that one important problem for which the startup was formed in the first instance.

Instead of chasing the funds, let funds chase you; instead of making funds an aspiration, make the funders aspire to reach out to you; how and when is the mool mantra that many in the space with cash crunch would need to figure out; but if they are able to crack this code, the world would be at their doorsteps knocking for that single opportunity to invest.

After all, it’s the investors who need you more than what you think you might need them for. The choice is yours and how you perceive the entire scenario is the key to the same.

Economists would get into a debate of demand and supply, where more the startups, more is the choice for the investors to choose from and more is the cut-throat competition for the limited funds.

True to some extent, but imagine, if there were only a few good startups among the lot and the plethora of investors vouching for that all important investment which could give them those 10X returns, won’t the tables turn in that case?

Indeed, it would. For this to happen, one might have to turn days into nights, might have to tread the harder path, might have to go beyond one’s means, might have to make his/her life a startup; but if one is able to successfully achieve the same, the world will be at their feet, looking up to them as a source of inspiration.

Source for Image: https://www.lendvo.com/tips-startup-b...

The Other World!

A short story, titled “The Other World” that I had written sometime back, would love to share with all. Have fun reading ;)!

She willed herself to not check her phone to see if he had replied. It had been about three days now. She hated that she was constantly checking his ‘last seen at’ status and yes, he had logged in just five minutes ago. Yet she couldn’t stop herself. This sinking feeling to find absolutely no communication from him was becoming unbearable, almost torturous.

And then, just as she sat down in her chair, her phone vibrated. With her heart thudding in her ear, she unlocked her phone and stared at the screen. Finally! It was his message.

But when she opened it and read it, she nearly stopped breathing. She didn’t know if he was joking or not. What was this?

“Ishika, listen very carefully. This might be my last message to you. I am trapped. I can barely move from my bed. It’s hard to believe but there is some unseen force in my house, I have no idea how to describe. It’s not letting me go out of my house. I took her permission to go to the washroom and managed to bring this phone along. She is calling me now. I have to go. HELP ME!” Ishika could feel a wave of shiver run down her spine.

“Has Sameer lost his mind? What unseen force? Trapped? How is it possible? I don’t believe this crap?” Ishika tried calling Sameer as the thoughts flooded her mind.

There was no answer. She tried calling him again but to her utter despair the phone was switched off on this occasion.

“Is Sameer playing a prank, if he is then it’s not funny at all. I would kill him for this. What if he is not? What if he is telling me the truth? What if there was an unseen force?” Ishika, though had heard of paranormal before and had always been an avid non-believer, yet she didn’t know how to react.

On one hand, she wondered and internally hoped that Sameer was playing another of his pranks, on the other hand she felt too terrified to respond to the message.

Gathering her wits, Ishika decided to call Sameer’s best friend, Ankan, who lived not so far from his house and who could go and check up on Sameer if everything was fine.

“Hi Ankan. This is Ishika. I haven’t heard from Sameer since three days now. He told me that his parents are also not in town. I was a bit worried. Can you please go to his house and see if he is alright?”

“Ishika, everything is fine. He is busy working on one of his projects that he told me about. He even cancelled our plan of going to the football match. You know how these budding scientists are sometimes. He said that he needed few days off to focus on this project.” Ankan tried calming Ishika who sounded extremely worried and terrified on the phone.

“I know Ankan that he is working, but never have this kind of thing happened before. He always used to send me a text or call me at least once, whenever he used to work on his projects before. But this time around there hasn’t been any communication from his side for 3 days. Please Ankan, can you go and see, if he is alright! For me, please!”

Ishika didn’t want to share the details of the only message she had received from Sameer in three days, one because she didn’t want to scare the hell out of Ankan, for Ankan was a firm believer in the existence of another World out there and whom she knew was so scared of watching horror movies that if at all he would see them, it would be in broad daylight and two because if Sameer was playing a prank, she didn’t want to look like a fool in front of Ankan.

“Ok Ishika. I will go to his house right away. Let me call you back once I am there.” Though Ankan was pretty sure of what Sameer was up to, yet for Ishika’s sake, he decided to break the promise that he had given to Sameer three days back of not visiting him until Sameer asked him to.

Sameer, or Genius, as his friends used to refer to him as, was an outright scholar from his childhood days, a prodigy hard to be ignored and an intellect which his friends believed could even give Einstein a run for his money.

He had gone on to graduate from one of the most prestigious institutes in India by the name of IIT or Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and following up on his love for Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, had done a Masters and a PhD in Cognitive Sciences.

It was in IIT Kanpur that he had met the love of his life, Ishika, who had gone on to pursue her ambitions of having a successful career in the world of advertising while Sameer was doing his PhD and now resided in the city that never slept, Mumbai.

Sameer, after having completed his studies, had decided to become a visiting professor in his Alma Mater at the same time pursue research in his favourite discipline. For this, he had set up a lab in his father’s house in the beautiful hill town of Nainitaal, where his father, after having served in the coveted Indian Administrative Service (IAS) for over a period of three decades, had decided to settle down amidst the lush green woods.

Sameer’s parents were aware and approved of the budding scientist’s relationship with the beautiful Advertiser. Ishika used to visit their house whenever she got a break from her grueling schedule and when Sameer could escape his duties of a visiting faculty member.

Everyone around Sameer knew that he had lately become interested in the World of Paranormal activities and had started working on a project, which he said would change the way people perceived the “other world”. He had even named his project, “The Other World”.

As Ankan walked towards Sameer’s house, he remembered having that last discussion with Genius:

“Ankan, I would have to cancel our plan of going for the match.”

“But why? Don’t you know we had been planning this for quite some time now? You can work on your project later. It’s just a matter of a couple of hours.” Ankan tried convincing Sameer.

“Ankan, I cannot even if I want to. I have reached a stage in my project where I am not allowed to leave my house anymore.” Ankan looked bemused.

“What do you mean, you are not allowed to? Is this some kind of a joke, Sameer?”

“I didn’t tell you Ankan, but I have done something which the other world didn’t want me to. I have broken their laws and now they want to punish me for what I have done.”

“Who are they? And what are you talking about? Sameer, now you are scaring me to death.”

“I was just kidding, Ankan. Just that I am too caught up with the thing.” Seeing Ankan worried, Sameer thought of chucking it off.

And that was it. Ankan hadn’t heard from Sameer for three days, similar to what Ishika had experienced.

As Ankan approached his house, he could feel a sense of unusualness about the surroundings. Yes, Sameer’s house was located on a hill top with only 2 other houses in the vicinity, but this time around he could feel a cold breeze which seemed to be cooler than the normal, which was an aberration considering that it was the month of April.

By the time Ankan could manage to reach the door and ring the bell, it was already 5’oclock in the evening.

“Where is everyone? His servants, gardener?” Ankan felt nervous seeing no one respond to the bell.

On most occasions when Ankan had visited Sameer’s house, there would be a person working outside, and the door would generally be open, but this time around, it was closed and no one could be heard. He could even hear the sound of the cold breeze blowing in his face and hair.

He rang the bell for the second time. There was no response on this occasion as well.

“Sameer might have gone for a cup of tea to his favourite tea-stall just half a kilometre walk down the hill, where he goes whenever he wants a break from his project. The servants might have gone for the ration” Ankan sat on a chair lying in the garden and decided to call Ishika in the meantime, waiting for the Genius to come back from his tea session.

“Ishika, this is Ankan. I have reached Sameer’s house. No one is here. He might have gone for his tea break.”

“How is it possible, Ankan?” Ishika decided to tell Ankan the truth behind the message that she had got from Sameer’s phone.

“Why didn’t you tell me before? Let me get some help….” Ankan could barely speak when the phone got disconnected.

“Hello Ankan! Ankan…” Ishika tried calling Ankan only to hear that the phone had been switched off.

In Mumbai, Ishika paced around in the living room waiting for Ankan to call her back.

It was already midnight and Ishika hadn’t received any communication neither from Ankan nor from Sameer. She didn’t know anyone other than Ankan and Sameer’s parents in Nainitaal, whom she could call. Two options lay in front of her.

Either she could wait for Ankan to call her back or opt for a 12 hour long journey from Mumbai to Nainitaal, which incorporated a 2 hour flight from Mumbai to Lucknow and a 10 hour drive from Lucknow to Nainitaal.

Ishika decided to take the flight 6 a.m. next morning, hoping that Ankan would call her in any case. She couldn’t sleep the entire night waiting for Ankan to call her back. As she sat in the Indigo flight and closed her eyes, she wished that her fears should never come true.

Having not had even an hour of sleep the previous night, Ishika immediately fell asleep. Two hours passed in a flash and when she opened her eyes, the flight had landed in Lucknow.

As Ishika came out of the airport, she could see her all-time college friend Shreya, whom Ishika had told everything the previous night and who had offered to drive Ishika to Nainitaal.

As they both drove towards Nainitaal, Ishika couldn’t help but think and worry at the same time about the scheme of events that had ensued previous night. On one hand, where she prayed for Sameer’s safety, on the other hand she felt nervous and terrified remembering the message that Sameer had sent her last night.

By the time Shreya and Ishika could reach Sameer’s house, it was already 7 p.m. They could barely see any signs of life in the vicinity. The only sign of hope was a street light located right outside Sameer’s house.

“Why is there no light here, Ishika? We should call for help. I am really scared.” Shreya looked terrified witnessing the silence and seeing no one around.

“Let’s go and ring the bell. I am sure the servants would be around. If not, we will go down the hill and report in the police station.” Ishika stood there shivering right outside Sameer’s house trying to assure herself more than Shreya that everything was alright.

As Ishika moved towards the door and was about to ring the bell, the silence was broken by a deafening sound of crackers and she could witness flood lights on her with Sameer having opened the door and kneeling down on his knees with a ring in his hand.

“Ishika, will you marry me?” Ishika stood there terrified

She could hardly believe what was happening. It felt like a dream. It took her sometime to regain her composure. She could now see her relatives including her parents, her college friends, Sameer’s parents, Ankan and his friends, who by then had come out of the house and stood there next to the couple.

“No. I won’t. What is all this, Sameer? How could you do this? Did you know how scared I was? How could you even think of such a prank?” Tears flew down Ishika’s cheeks.

“Ishika, I wanted to give you a surprise. I wanted to make it special for you.” Sameer held Ishika in her arms as a smile started appearing on her face.

“What is this other world project? Ankan, I didn’t expect this from you.” Ishika looked at Sameer’s perceived partner in crime.

“Ankan is not to be blamed, Ishika. It was all my idea He didn’t have a clue of what was going on. This other world is the world after marriage, Ishika. It’s the world that we will be starting together. It’s the world that we will be creating and living all our lives. Ishika, will you be mine forever and ever?” Sameer stood there extending his hand towards Ishika.

“Yes. Do you even have the slightest of doubts?” Ishika smiled back and put her hand on Sameer’s.

As Sameer put the ring on Ishika’s finger and as she could hear everyone clapping, she took a moment to close her eyes thanking the Almighty for fulfilling her dream of getting married to the love of her life.

The deal was done, signed and both Sameer and Ishika were all set to step into the Other World which welcomed them both with open arms.

Source for Image: http://www.pxleyes.com/photoshop-pict...

Sales, Discounts = Happiness?

It’s not very often that I tend to look at the ads in newspapers, but I couldn’t have afforded to miss the one today. It was such a big one that it didn’t fit in the canvas of the folded newspaper and had to be browsed open for the entire thing to be visible.

Having done that, I realized that sales or discounts which more often than not are associated with groceries or the likes of electronic products were being used for a property worth 1 crore. To my bemusement, the discount that came along was barely 5 lakhs.

Not bad, considering that you are a third time or a fourth time buyer, but would it really go along well with a first time buyer, I guess not. Leave alone the value of the discount, the entire concept of discounting or putting on sales a property looked pretty novel. Wonder, who might have invented the word discount?

It’s not only in the property that sales have become the talk of the town, it has engulfed pretty much each and every aspect of our lives. As if the government was not too happy seeing the customers satisfied and as if the strong retail lobby had to chip in for the wants of more profits, what we, as consumers face now, is a possibility of not getting the discounts on the already escalated prices of the products, thanks to the new legislation being brought in for the e-commerce companies.

And the rationale being cited is that the government wants to make it a level playing field. Is it really the case? What about the huge profits that retailers make? And when e-commerce wasn’t there, I remember the very funda of discounts was based upon, first doubling the prices and then bringing it down tad bit to make the customer happy about the entire buying experience.

Even after the discounts being offered online, there is a huge killing to be made out of the deal. That’s another issue that the unit economics including logistics etc. might not end up being a profitable deal altogether, yet going by the economics of sales, is still a good deal.

At the end of the day if the customer is benefiting by paying less, the merchant/seller is happy for being able to sell, and the aggregator is happy deriving its happiness from the investor money, which more often than not, comes from abroad; then why screw the entire thing up?

After all, FDI is what our government is after. The only difference is that the FDI is coming in this case through the HNIs or the investors looking for investment and quick return opportunities in emerging markets. Not all will have the appetite to invest in long-gestation infrastructure projects.

Is this legislation a good one for startups? Instead of interviewing the likes of the bigger retail stores’ CEOs, why not go and seek opinions from the doers who have been successful in bringing a systemic change, sustainable or not, can be debated?

Talking of sustainability, with trillions of debt that China has today, is it really sustainable or for that matter, the very fundamentals of fiscal deficit on which the current so called development takes place, sustainable?

Well, are we really concerned about sustainability? Are we really bothered as to what will evolve from the water crisis soon to hit the World in a big way? Are we really approaching the problems the way they should be? Are we wanting good for ourselves or the entire World? Are we concerned with short term gains or are looking at a broader picture focusing on long-term possibilities?

Sales and discounts always make the human race go gaga over the prospects, works in some cases, but not all. My humble plea to all concerned is to not go for discounts or short-cuts when it comes to making this world a “better” place to live in.

Source for Image: http://hr.tsu.edu/benefits/employee-d...

Doing what you Love?

It’s really heartening to see many batch mates of mine and otherwise as well, young folks plunging themselves into this wonderful and exciting arena of start ups, few forming their own ventures and others becoming a part of the ecosystem, joining the founders in their journey towards solving one or another issue that a modern consumer faces in today’s hectic style of living that all have got so accustomed to, thanks to the materialism which all of us tend to be running after, voluntarily or involuntarily, getting inspired from the rat race.

On one hand where it’s a real pleasure to witness the above, on the other, I cannot help but wonder what makes people to be drawn into this world of startups and entrepreneurship. Is it because of the extreme distress and dissatisfaction that they tend to face in their current jobs? Is it because they perceive a chance to make it big sometime in the near future and thus choose to join the bandwagon? Is it because that’s the in thing to do and coming from a generation that is into everything that’s in, how can one miss upon yet another in-thing? Is it because of the freedom and ability to decide upon one’s schedule? or Is it because of the thought of being able to make a difference?

Whatever it might be, the reality today is, that even students graduating from the likes of IITs and IIMs are either grabbing start up offers or preferably forming their own ventures in collaboration with their colleagues.

No matter how successful one goes on to become, with success being gauged from the amount of VC capital pouring in, one aspect that is found to be lacking in nearly 99% (might be less ;) ) of startups today is the ability to go from “zero to one“.

Though one gets to see innovations in the manner in which the start up is being run, yet more often than not, either they are carbon copies of the flourishing ones in Europe or America or are the same of the ones operating in the Indian ecosystem, primarily a meta-copy of our much aspired western neighbours.

This makes me wonder even more whether the choices that we are making is influenced for the love of success or for the love of what we actually want to do and might love doing. As is said, “chadte suraj ko sab salaam karte hain“, would just like to add, “kahin suraj itna na chadh jaye ki wo badalon mein aisa kho jaye ki koi use dekh bhi na paye aur fir wo khud se pooche, kaash!”

Source for Image: http://smspunch.net/single-article-fo...

Cabby’s take on Make in India!

Each city has a different flavour and Mumbai being the financial capital of India is always buzzing with opinions from people concerning the economy. Though you may not really agree to various perspectives and opinions being expressed and though you might not be able to find a strong rationale which could convince you, yet the conviction with which a common man in Mumbai cites one’s perspective is a thing to learn from.

Yes, it was one heck of a drive with one of the cab drivers in Mumbai that I happened to take just a couple of weeks back. As you might be aware that Make in India was the talking point, practically all over India, just a couple of weeks back, this gentleman had a different take on the same altogether:

“Sir, where do you wanna go?”—Cabby

“Take me to the BKC complex for Make in India. “—Me

After driving for around 5 minutes, cabby broke the silence, “Sir, do you think it will be good for India?”

“Ya, I think so. Investments would pour in. More job opportunities would be created. People in general should benefit. So, yes, Make in India is a wonderful initiative taken by our honourable PM.”

“But Sir, don’t you think again the goras would come and start ruling again similar to what happened with East India Company and rest is History. I mean, all the investments would be theirs, what will we have? We will again become slaves in the entire scheme of things. Don’t you think it’s like selling India to the goras?”—Cabby had his own apprehensions regarding the entire initiative

“It’s not like that. It would be a Joint Venture between us and them. We would contribute some, they would bring in the rest of investment and expertise. Moreover, we will have checks and balances in place which would enable such a thing doesn’t happen”, I tried explaining.

“Sir, kis zamane mein tumhe living aahe. The world is not that great. Do you think it’s all for the good of the people? It’s only because if you have money then only you can get a cut in the same. Sir, hum logon tak kuch nahi pahuchega. There is so much of corruption. How will we benefit?” Cabby had a valid point.

“So what do you think we should do?”

“Sir, we should encourage our own youth. Gora kya karega. Idharich, we should do something.” Cabby had his own take on things.

By the time I reached the BKC complex, cabby had me convinced about the gaps that need to be filled if any such programme was to be made a success.

As I entered the gates of the Make in India event, I wondered whether the cabby did have a point. After all, what was needed was not just investment, but a sustainable process where in the trained workforce can utilize the funds being brought in and have a sense of ownership in the entire scheme of things, rather than being dependent on the external sources of funds.

I would want to believe that collaboration is the way forward and with concepts like, “vasudaiva kutumbkam” receiving acceptance from the who’s who of philosophical thinking, may be the collaboration should have a basis which goes beyond just attracting investments from the external world, whether one must try to focus more on domestic before going to the international, may be the international collaborations would help more in case we are able to first sort out our internal affairs and be ready for the change.

What concerns me most is whether India has prepared well for the significant change at policy level that is taking place, whether we as Indians are capable enough to adapt to the pace of change that is going to hit us in the near future, whether won’t it be better to have things sorted out in education/skilling and healthcare sectors in a focused manner before venturing out in the world of investments.

Yet to be seen how Make in India and Skill India will come through, but one thing is for sure, decisions made at the policy level, needs to find common grounds with the implementer in the system, else all these initiatives would go for a toss and once again we would be left repenting and thinking, “what if”.

Source for Image: http://shareacab.in/

What If?

It’s not always that you get to spend nearly 8 hours at a station whose name is not even familiar to the most travelled of persons in the World and wondering “ratlam ki galiyon mein main kya kar raha hoon”.

And suddenly when you see a plethora of sparrows chirping over the station, you cannot help but wonder, “Have I seen this bird before? For the breed has become a rare commodity thanks to the mobile towers in urban areas.”

By the time you are done with comparing a not so big a town to a city, the sparrows place themselves happily in every nook and corner of the infrastructure built around the rails, few enjoying the scene of passengers running towards their departing train and few adding to the misery of the passengers by doing the most infamous thing and which has become the talk of the country, our very own, “Swacchh Bharat Abhiyan”.

And then you realize how the so called slowness of a not so big a town tends to engulf you in its aura and you tend to become addicted to the not so fast a life that you have so got used to living.

“Can I spend the rest of my life here?” The most audacious of thoughts hit you but before it can take full control over your heart and mind, the evil face of reality stares you in your face, “Are you going crazy? You cannot imagine the lack of amenities that you will be hit by in case you start living here. What to talk of rest of your life, you won’t be able to sustain for even a couple of weeks.”

By the time you try to come out of the jinx in which you supposedly seem to have caught yourself in, you realize it’s time to go to yet another destination and yet another unexplored of places waiting to welcome you with open arms at the same time putting you on an altar where you cannot help but imagine, “What if?”

Source for Image: http://unclutteredwhitespaces.com/201...

IITian Boyfriends!

I came across a very interesting question on Quora and it gives me immense pleasure getting an opportunity to express my opinions on the same. It’s but natural for me to relate to the quintessential question, “How an IITian boyfriend is different from a non-IITian?”

It’s no secret that IITs have a very low girls to boys ratio. In our time it used to be even lesser. All the bollywood flicks including kuch kuch hota hai, DDLJ, which depict colleges in a certain way, we didn’t have the luxury of living the same kind of life.

A gf-bf relationship which comes naturally to the affluent folks was a dream and an aim/aspiration for most of the IITians. More than focusing on our careers, at times IITians make having a gf the aim of their lives.

Though, being incapable of having the much required EQ, IITians might end up going through an emotional turmoil of sorts, yet they emerge more matured and possibly more motivated individuals.

For most of the IITians, the first or second supposed relationships they have, result in heart break which inspires them to become successful as if they have a point to prove.

Many IITians take a cue from Amitabh’s Bacchan’s dedication to his father, when he says that his father once told him, “mann ka ho to accha, aur mann ka na ho to aur bhi accha“.

Even among IITians, there is a broad segmentation depending on family background, aspiration levels, big city-small city dynamics, co-ed schooling or not etc.

Such factors during our childhood help us become what we are today and contribute in a significant manner to our personalities.

I am sure many gfs might have different experience with different IITian bfs, yet few things that remain common among all and comes as a part of belonging to the breed are:

Successful lifestyle and standard of living
Possibility of having kids who would go on to become successful individuals
Respect for their better halves
Less interference and open mindedness
Cool and make it happen attitude
Focusing on the solutions rather than issues
Dedication and commitment towards relationship
A sense of humour to vouch for
Care for better halves’ family

I can go on listing but would stop as I might become biased. I am sure my wife might have totally different opinion on what I have penned above ;), yet I will stick to what I have said and I know deep down somewhere she might be agreeing with the same :)

So, vouching for my fellow IITians, all girls out there, we, as a breed, are very much capable of giving all that you want ranging from emotional support and connect to a good friend, from a luxurious lifestyle to a wonderful family; the only thing we need is a little bit (not much) of love and care, which I am sure you girls are more capable of giving than we guys.

There is a very famous line in bollywood, which says, “come, fall in love!” What I would want to add to it, “come, fall in love with an IITian, and experience and live life to the fullest.” ;)

Source for Image: http://de.roblox.com/users/33767209/p...