Kush Srivastava's Blog, page 25

Respect!

Being a badminton player myself and having gone through the ups and downs associated with competing in any sports, I strongly believe that athletes and players who dedicate their lives to their motivation and to the nation at the end of the day, deserve much more than what they get, especially in our country.

Was immensely disappointed seeing the state of affairs on an airport where I happen to land recently having taken a late night flight. Saw the likes of our very own badminton stars P.V. Sindhu and Srikanth Kidambi queuing up to get clearance from customs.

Imagine the kind of stress and effort that these players go through while competing in the international events. What you want the least after having gone through the gruelling is to wait for an hour or so to come out of the airport.

Imagine if it were a Sachin Tendulkar or a Mahendra Singh Dhoni! Would our authorities ask them to queue up in the same line as other commoners? Then why this discrimination when it comes to Badminton players or any other sports for that matter.

Shouldn’t these players not be given the facilitation of not having to queue up in the same manner as any cricket player?

Though, it was wonderful having got an opportunity to get a glimpse of these players, which otherwise is a rarity, considering the celebrity status attached to each one of them, yet I believe that it’s high time we rethink about our discriminatory ways and bring all sports to the same platform of respect and honour.

Source for Image: http://www.phoenixtrowbridge.club/

The Budding Leaders!

Guys who belong to the decade that has just gone by and whose careers were shaped during the same, especially folks belonging to the same batch as mine, some of whom have indeed been able to carve a wonderful professional life for themselves and their family, and are now looking forward to entering the very important leadership/mentor role cannot help but think, “how I can become an effective/successful leader?”

From implementing things to now getting things implemented is a totally different ball-game. From being the listener to being the speaker, there is a transition that needs to be accomplished purposefully. From being the follower to developing new followers, not because of authority or merit, but because of the persona is an art and skill that needs to be honed.

Many a times, guys who have just entered the arena of senior management, tend to find themselves  perplexed by the complexity of the situation at hand. The time perspective that one needs to think about changes from say, 2-5 years to 10 years down the line. One, often doesn’t have the bandwidth to be able to instill such a long perspective.

Consequently, the job at hand starts looking very dicey and a feeling of disappointment tends to creep in, not being able to find a solution to the problem that the situation and expectations from the job tend to pose.

As a result, the potential leader tends to quit his/her job to find another leadership role in another company, which tend to offer the same set of challenges and the person starts doubting his/her own potential.

Why is it so that the transition that was supposed to be smooth and natural doesn’t turn out to be the same? Why is it that the person is not able to develop a long perspective over a period of time when he was an implementer? Does it have to do with something that is very much a core part of most of the organizations? Does it have to do with a lack of mentor ship program in the organization?

Probably all of the above would be able to explain why such a thing happens on a regular basis and only a few are able to evolve successfully, some credit for which goes to the mental strength of the individual and the ability to cope up in a complex environment.

Thus, for any organization, it is a must to have a leader/mentor program in place, where the selected few should be prepared in a manner to whom the bait can be passed and a smooth transition can be made.

And the onus for this lies on the HR department in any organization. Many a times, I have heard from the operations team that HR does nothing. Considering the importance of Human Resources to an organization and considering that the present and future of any organization lies on the shoulders of this very HR department, I guess it’s time people start thinking about the department in a much higher regard.

Another aspect that lies at the heart of success for any organization is the constant change with respect to which any organization needs to adjust and evolve. When we say adjust, it’s more of a reactionary nature, so I would prefer to use the term evolve, as it involves being able to think about what’s going to be the situation in let’s say 5 years down the line.

Being able to vision the same, some say, comes with loads of experience, though there has to be minimal amount of mental acumen that a person needs to possess. This leads to the controversial concept of “Requisite Organization” proposed by Elliot Jacques where he goes on to say that the right person for the job is one who possess the right ability to be able to think about different time perspectives associated with different roles in an organization.

If one were to go by what this theory has to offer, one would have to believe that man is limited in his thinking and abilities and there is a fixed path on which he/she will tread. If the same person is forced to occupy positions which are not meant to justify the kind of ability, attitude and temperament one has, then it would not only result in failure of the person as a professional but would also lead to organizational failure.

Thus, the identification of the right potential for the right job is a must, if an organization and hence an individual has to succeed in what he/she does, the onus for identification for which again comes on to none other than our HR folks.

So, all leaders out there, if you want your organization to grow and evolve in coming times, start building a platoon of budding leaders who will be ready by the time, you guys are happily preparing to find solace on a beautiful island some place in Thailand.

Source for Image: http://www.theguardian.com/higher-edu...

The Influence!

In our lives, we come across various kinds of people who tend to affect us in some way or the other, some in a positive manner and some whom we would rather want to forget about.

Both these tend to change our perceptions, attitudes and persona. Not only people but our experiences with lets say, nature, also tend to change our views and opinions on things. This very morning, I heard a very interesting thing from a lady.

Without getting into the nomenclature and taking the liberty to quote the wonderful lady: ” One feels so tiny and insignificant yet totally humble, vulnerable and surprised about ones presence… I hope you’re getting my point. It’s complex but surprisingly relaxing and exhilarating”.

If you are wondering what this was all about, it was about her experience of having managed to climb to one of the highest peaks in her state and feeling really philosophical about practically everything that she could possibly think of.

As we went on treading the path of philosophy, it was but a natural thing to mention, “you know we keep finding our happiness through others….its inside us and most of us don’t realize the same….and yes we are indeed very insignificant and inconsequential…..the sooner one understands the happier one gets”.

Coming to the happiness quotient that one tends to create for oneself, the question is, “how many people in this world are really satisfied with what they are doing? If they are not, then how many are really trying to do something about it?”

I believe not many. Might be because they have run out of options or have given in to the fact that things are not going to change. There are very few who try and indeed succeed (though not in the materialistic sense of the word).

However the world don’t consider them successful and try to label them as “losers” or “bhagodas”. Whatever names they tend to be referred to by, trust me, the happiness quotients for such folks is real high.

And take my word for it, these folks have started influencing many a people in this contemporary entrepreneurial world. More and more, if not already treading, are beginning to think about jumping into this arena, where they could meaningfully derive their own happiness.

And the day is not far, when these same folks are going to redefine the concept of happiness and will become the real influence in lives of those who are still struggling to find their feet.

Source for Image: https://metricsman.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/bringing-some-clarity-to-social-media-influence/

The First One!

Have you ever wondered why so much of importance is given to the firsts by our society, so much so that an entire advertisement was dedicated to as to who would be first to win the Indian Football League.

Why this fascination with the first? Isn’t second more or less the same as the first. After all, isn’t it just a number that was invented by I don’t know who, but someone intelligent enough to understand the very fundamentals of numerology.

The first kiss, the first girlfriend, the first and hopefully the only wife, the first baby, the first book you read, the first teacher whom you had a crush on in your school or college, the first time you won a medal, the first time you stood first in class, the first rank in a competitive examination; all the above have immense significance attributed to by the who’s who of our society. 

To be honest, when I started writing this article, I had someone on my mind, but the time interval between having someone on my mind and having started actually penning down my thoughts, it took a different turn altogether.

And I deviated from writing about that someone to this particular one. Now coming back to that someone, and dedicating it to all those who believe that love happens just once, अर्ज़ किया है:

” ऐसा नहीं था कि तुम सबसे हसीं थे,

हाँ पर ये ज़रूर था कि बस तुम ही तुम थे,

तुम्हे देखने को जी ललचाता था,

तुम्हे ना देख पाने पर, मंन रूठ जाता था,

तुम्हारी एक झलक के लिए हम कुछ भी कर जाते थे,

फिर भी कभी कभी हम तुम्हे समझ में ना आते थे,

दिल से बस यही फरियाद निकलती थी,

एक बार जीने को फिर से उम्मीद हो उठती थी,

कहते थे हम सबसे कि हमें तुम मिल गए हो,

मानो जैसे खुद के तुम फ़रिश्ते बन गए हो….”

Source for Image: http://www.internationalstudentinsura...

Hope! जीने का सहारा!

” साहब, जाना तो बनता ही था. सब जाते हैं, तो हमें भी जाना ही था. बचपन से यही सुनते आये, कि हमारे मामू जान बाहर से कितने पैसे कमा कर यहाँ लाते हैं. हमारे लिए वो अनेक तोहफे भी लेके आते. ऐसा लगता मानो यही ज़िन्दगी है. मैं और मेरे तीनो भाइयों के लिए वो सलमान खान से कम ना थे.

मामू जान के किस्से सुनके हम सब बड़े हो रहे थे. अम्मी जान को वो हर महीने पैसे भेजते और इसी से हमारा घर चलता. अम्मी भी हमें अपने मामू की तरह बनने की हिदायत देती. हमारी ज़िन्दगी का केवल एक मकसद था. अपने मामू की तरह बनना.

मामू जान वो इंसान थे जिनसे हम सबको अपने से ज्यादा उम्मीद थी. कहते हैं उम्मीद पे दुनिया कायम है, और उस दिन मामू जान ने अम्मी से मुझे दुबई ले जानी की इज़ाज़त ले ली. मेरी तो मानो ख़ुशी का ठिकाना ही नहीं रहा. मैं सपने देखने लगा था. मुझे एक हसीं ज़िन्दगी की ख्वाइश अंदर ही अंदर सच होती दिखाई दे रही थी.

मगर मुझे क्या मालूम था, कि जिसे मैं हसीं ज़िन्दगी समझ रहा था, वो एक ऐसी खाई थी जिसमें एक बार गिर कर बाहर निकलना नामुमकिन था. दुबई पहुँचते ही मैं मामू जान की दूकान पे काम करने लगा. कभी कभी वो मुझे एक पैकिट लेके कुछ लोगों को देने के लिए कहते और मैं अपने हीरो की बात बिना सोचे समझे मान लेता.

एक दिन वही पैकिट देने जाते समें मुझे पुलिस ने पकड़ लिया. मेरे कागज़ात मांगे जो मैंने उन्हें दिखा दिए. फिर वो मुझे पुलिस स्टेशन ले गए और मेरे सामने वो पैकिट खोला. एक सफ़ेद रंग का पाउडर देख उनका शख सच में तब्दील हो गया.

तीन घंटो तक वो मुझे मारते रहे और मेरे कई बार मना करने पे कि मुझे इन ड्रग्स के बारे में कुछ नहीं पता था और ये कि ये पैकिट मेरे मामू ने मुझे देने को कहा था, उन्होंने मेरी कोई बात ना सुनी. तीन घंटे बाद जब मैं मार खाके बिलकुल बेजान हो गया, तब उन्होंने मेरे दिए गए नंबर पे कॉल किया.

उधर मेरे मामू जान ये खबर सुनके फरार हो गए. मेरे दिए हुए नंबर को किसी ने नहीं उठाया. अपने खिलाफ सारे सबूत होने कि वजह से कोर्ट ने मुझे सजा सुना दी. मेरा पासपोर्ट भी मेरे पास ना था. और किसी ने मेरी कोई मदद नहीं करी.

आज आप पहले इंसान हो, जिसने मुझे एक हिंदुस्तानी होने का एहसास दिलाया है. मेरे जैसे यहाँ बहुत से ऐसे लोग है जो अपनी ज़िन्दगी गुमनामी में गुज़ार रहे हैं. कोई मामू के कहने पे तो कोई चाचा के कहने पे यहाँ आया और यहाँ आके बुरा फस गया.

कहते हैं ख्वाब देखना अच्छी बात होती है, लेकिन अगर ख्वाबों का ये अंजाम होता है, तो मैं किसी को ख्वाब देखने की हिदायत नहीं दूंगा. मुझे पता है कि आप भी मुझे शक की नज़रों से देख रहे हैं. आये तो थे आप ड्रग्स का सच जानने, अब आप को ऐसा लग रहा होगा कि मैं आपको अपनी दुःख भरी दास्ताँ क्यों सुना रहा हूँ.

हो सके तो आप मेरी बातों पे भरोसा कर, मेरे जैसे बेगुनाह लोगों को यहाँ से छुड़ाने की कोशिश ज़रूर कीजियेगा. अल्लाह हाफ़िज़. ”

If you are wondering who this guy is, he is one among the many who are lured by the thought of making a wonderful life for themselves. He is one among the innocent and impoverished lot who don’t have a clue what they are getting into. He is one among the many who want to lead a normal life just like ourselves but are never given a chance, instead are used by many and then thrown out into the dungeons of a world which you would never want to get into.

There are many like him, who are languishing behind bars and have lost all hopes from the beautiful life that God has bestowed upon them. I don’t know where these people will find that one ray of hope from. But I am hopeful that someday guys like him would surely get justice and will be given a chance to lead a happy and peaceful life which they had all dreamt of as a kid.

Source for Image: http://mommiesofmiracles.com/support/...

The City of Extremes!

What people refer to as the city of dreams, I would also want to give it a title of the city of extremes. On one hand, where you have the glitter and glamour associated with the Bollywood industry and the rich businessmen, on the other hand, you can find the famous slums of Bombay, where every morning people get up hoping that the day would turn out to be a life changer.

Most, who fall on the other side of the table, by the time the sun sets, return home still wanting that one magical day in their lives which they dream about every night the moment they hit their beds.

They feel disappointed and even curse the one and only for giving them the life, but wake up every morning hoping and believing that their time would come. In this entire cycle of hope and despair that they tend to go through each day, they are faced with numerous life threatening challenges.

Only few are able to successfully come out of the vicious circle that they tend to find themselves the moment they are born. Rest are left to go through the excruciating pain each day, which they all start referring to as life.

Of the majority, some chose to find renunciation in the world of dreaded dreams, which all colloquially refer to as the underworld. The world which is often showcased in our movies has its own set of rules and regulations.

Often the world provides the much needed relief to the psyche of our youth with no jobs, but comes along with its own set of deadly consequences. Youth get easily attracted to the glitter which tends to take them into a different zone altogether where they start to feel that they have made it big.

With the real estate offering hafta and the rich and famous having no choice but to pay them hefty amounts for their own security, the underworld blossoms big time. As a result, the gangs go on a hiring spree looking for impoverished candidates who are frustrated and are trying to find a means of getting away from their day to day lives. 

To increase their clout, the recruitment is not just limited to one specific gang. As time passes by, the once impoverished youth become most wanted criminals. Some of them end up getting encountered by the specialists in their field and only a few who are really lucky go on to become dons, who then act as role models for the impoverished lot who aspire to become just like them when they grow up.

If you are wondering, how these gangs tend to gain sympathy from the have-not in our society, it is because the leader of the gang tend to nurture them with all kind of materialistic support for both them and their families in need. They truly become messiah for the perpetually needy lot.

All the above brings us to significant questions, “What if the youth was not impoverished? What if the youth had decent white collar jobs? What if their families were well fed? What if the governance was good? Won’t they be just like us who do our regular jobs and try to live our lives in a peaceful manner?”

If the answer to the above is yes, then who is it who should be blamed for the scheme of things that take place in their lives. Is it the politicians, is it the bureaucrats, is it the aam aadmi? 

Or more than wondering about who is responsible, why not think about who can make things better? Is it our politicians, is it the bureaucrats, or the aam aadmi? Possibly each one of them need to work together.

It is always said, “where there is a will, there is a way”. I just wonder where the will in this case will come from and will that will result in affirmative actions aimed at rectifying the scenario.

Source for Image: http://www.mumbai-metro.com/category/...

Dil-Dimaag ETC!

May be it was me! May be it was my parents! May be the time was such! May be we didn’t take it so seriously! May be it was destiny!

Whatever it was, it was great. Our parents would say that their times were the best. We might say that our times were the best and today’s generation might go on to say that their time is the best.

Of course there will be perspectives and of course they all will be very different. If you are wondering that I have gone crazy, then you are not that far in discovering one aspect, just one aspect of this modern world that seemed to have caught up with all college going youngsters.

They are all very focused. They all seem to know what they are going to do in their lives. They all think a lot about what if they don’t achieve what they want to. They all wonder what if?

It’s good to know what one wants in his or her life and Shiv Khera, the famous motivational speaker of our era, would agree to making plans and implementing the same through out your life.

Somehow, most guys in my generation weren’t aware what they wanted to do. Even if they were aware of the subconscious, not many would come out in the open saying the obvious.

May be we were scared to express ourselves to the point of being judged good or bad, may be we were not so sure about things, may be it was so subconscious that it struggled to come out no matter how hard we tried, may be the world was not ready to listen to our aspirations, may be we had lived in an age of secrecy, may be we believed that “kisi ki nazar lag jayegee“, may be it was a phenomenon that could be associated with the small towns and cities in India.

But today’s generation is expressive to the core. What they want, they are ready to speak out about it with no hesitation what so ever. The other day I had the fortune of meeting this wonderful youngster who is so focused that he has forgotten everything around himself.

His aim and his college room in which he spends nearly half of his time has become his life. I could never imagine myself not venturing out during our cultural festival in college and being confined inside the four walls thinking about how could I reach my goal.

Sometimes I wonder whether not having a concrete goal in my life worked for me, because I could see myself not moving in one particular direction and was open to trying new things in life.

Yes, everything has its pros and cons. On one hand, where I listened to what my heart had to say, on the other hand, those who listened to what their heads were telling them to do, are much better off in terms of materialistic possessions in life than may be what I am.

But does that matter? In the end what will matter are the experiences that you might take along with you, may be even that won’t matter, because you never know what lies on the other side of scheme of things.

Instead of thinking about what matters and what doesn’t, wouldn’t it be wonderful to live life as you want it to be, not what say your parents aspire for you, or elders in your family want you to do.

So that when you are 70 and when you sit on a chair watching the sun set, you don’t have any regrets in your life “ki kaash us samein main aisa kar leta“.

I have always believed very strongly that you should always go by your gut feeling because your gut receives direct inputs from your heart and your heart will never deprive you of what you are meant to be.

On the other hand, if you choose to listen to your grey matter, then it will surely find a means to convince you to abide by the manipulated version that it has in store for you to follow.

So, make your choice between heart and head because what goes by, never comes back and what is today will not be tomorrow.

Source for Image: http://keenetrial.com/blog/2013/06/

The Gift of Life!

Guys, I would like to make a confession today. A couple of months back, when I came to reside in what I call the Biryani city, Hyderabad and all of a sudden, when one of my friends asked me as to when I got married, I was unable to tell him the date.

No matter how much I want to justify this, I cannot do so. So, I won’t even try. That night itself while talking to my wife, I told her about what ensued during the day and she was really bemused by the incident at the same time might have wondered what kind of husband have I got who doesn’t even remember our marriage date.

I know for sure, that little things in life give us more happiness than what you really think they will. I know it’s about living those little yet wonderful moments in your life and building on each one of them to write what you call the story of your life.

I have been lucky enough to have a life partner who understands what kind of story I would want to write, with her besides me. I know, she might not really agree to my conception of life that I have, yet she is giving enough to let me have my own space to live it on my own sweet will.

Trust me, when you have one aspect of your life so settled, you don’t feel the stress and you don’t have a tendency to fall into the insecurity trap, which most of the guys at my age tend to get into thinking about the uncertainties of the future.

If you are wondering, why the hell I am talking about my personal stuff today, yes you guessed it right, today is my marriage anniversary and this post is not only dedicated to my wonderful wife but to all the beautiful ladies around the globe who believe in living life to the fullest.

If I start talking about the other wonderful ladies, then I would have it from my wife, also from the husbands of other ladies, therefore would focus on talking about just my wife ;).

Now, what do I say about her. The more I see her, the more I fall in love with her. The more I talk to her, the more I feel closer to her. The more I admire what she does for me or my family, the more respect I have for her. The more I think about her professional side, the more I wonder how can a woman manage her professional and personal life so well without any complaints what so ever.

Trust me again that I am not a very easy man to spend one’s life with. I am far far off from what comes under the category of an ideal man that every girl would want to have. Yet, she loves me. Yet she thinks about us before she thinks about herself. Yet she takes care of my parents as if they were her own. Yet she does every possible thing and makes every possible effort in the World to make me happy.

I think I must have done something really good in my previous birth, that I got a life partner as wonderful as hers. She always complaints to me that I don’t give her enough gifts. Today, I want to tell her, that she is the biggest gift of my life and all my gifts are so small as compared to the gift that God has given me in this life of mine.

I wish you a very happy anniversary baby. I love you.

Source for Image: http://www.themillions.com/2014/12/be...

Local Social! Being Real and Feeling Real!

Guys, have you ever wondered, that facebook like social networking sites pretty much fall into a category of “knowing the knowns” and is only able to provide you with a virtual experience which in most cases is unable to conclude in a real meeting of sorts.

Just imagine an online world where in you know who lives next door, what are they really interested in, what events are taking place in the locality, what common governance issues the locality might be facing on which they can collaborate on etc.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful going on a date with the most beautiful girl in your locality? Wouldn’t it be wonderful joining people from the neighborhood for adventurous tours and trips? Wouldn’t it be wonderful getting together and working for a social cause? Wouldn’t it be wonderful getting recommendations for things ranging from maids to properties and from hotels to what ever topic of relevance that comes to your mind?

But all of the above cannot happen if you don’t know the people living in your communities and neighborhoods, if you don’t interact with them enough, if you don’t share things with them, if you don’t collaborate and engage with them. How about if you had an online platform which exactly did what you have always wanted all your life which is to be real and feel real, instead of being virtual and feeling virtual.

Yes, you are almost there, just a step away from accessing the most wonderful of websites that I came across just a couple of days back, called ApniStreet ( https://www.apnistreet.com/ ). This website provides you with a platform where you can interact, share and collaborate with people in your community and locality.

It is said that the global is the new local but for me, local is going to be the new global, because we are slowly and slowly losing touch with our vicinity and neighborhood, which is not at all sustainable. Man is a social being and cannot survive with virtual interactions alone. Man needs to have real and meaningful interactions which one can get only when one comes to know people living in, say, the apartment next door.

Source for Image: http://artiedavis.com/2012/07/26/are-...

We all call him Ankul!

Not many a times would you see uncles in their late forties as agile and as lively as the one we all are witnessing here in this company that I happen to be working for. Without going into the details of who he is, what is most appreciable is his energetic and positive approach towards life, which keeps him going every single day he gets up in the morning.

Many youngsters in our company call him “Ankul” trying to replicate the accent that is prevalent here in Telengana. But he doesn’t give a damn whether you call him uncle or ankul, he lives by his own standards and believes in living life to the fullest.

Not all his habits can be placed in the category of being “good” but surely he has always ensured that the fun quotient never takes a beating. When you are with him, you cannot help but enjoy his company. The jokes he cracks at times can be over the top, yet you feel like laughing and joining in the fun. Like a true punjabi, he believes in munching upon the delicacies of life, be it relishing the non-veg food or be it drinking to the brink.

It is said, that one should always look into or at least try to look into the brighter side of things and should try to take away the goods leaving the bad part. For me, personally, this ankul of ours surely inspires me with his energy, his motivation to keep working, his dedication towards his work, his spirit which keeps him going, his love for his family which is so contagious and his way of expression which can be quite convincing if you first meet him.

I am glad and feel honored to have met a person like him in my life and this post is dedicated to not only him but to all ankuls in this world who live life as if there was no tomorrow.

Source for Image: http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battl...