A Few Thoughts

Shortcomings!

2011-12-18T13:29:00.002+05:30

Avgun mose bisrat nahi..

Lord.. I fail to part with my shortcomings!

Our shortcomings are many.. I find people who confess theirs instantly, are very strong people. A lot of times we pretend to be strong, wealthy, etc. Some of us are just plain lucky to be so..

Gurudwara!

2011-06-25T13:01:00.002+05:30

What place is this

known as the gate of the Lord..

Where no one asks who you are

no one looks at you with questions in the eyes

no one asks you why you are here

it is quite opposite of the world just outside

food is served to people unknown

water is served to even the birds and fish

Oh what music plays in the background

in the sweltering heat outside

what is it that brings warmth inside

what is so divine about this place

which is untouched by untruth and deceit

despite the progress we have made

i am glad such places are not extinct

i am glad we still retain the age old charm

though not in abundance anymore

Rural in Urban town

2011-06-02T08:27:00.001+05:30

while we are tech savvy
we aint a bit careful about what goes inside us

we know a lot of software
but have lost our soft corner for anything

like a computer
we operate on a computer

doing things at a great pace
so great the pace
that we cant look ourselves in mirror
forget about looking inside and thinking

we grab what comes to our hand
and gobble it down

you talk of bringing urban facilities to countryside
i think it would be good to bring some rural facilities to town

get some good milk in town
i dont know what inside that pouch which says milk on the outside

and what’s with the food
i eat as little as i can
and still keep ballooning

what’s wrong with life in town
nobody wants to take time out to figure it out

Time.. it just passes
i cannot be sure it has been well spent..

money comes good
it goes good too..

people smile when they look at each other
there is nothing real about it
it is just like the milk in pouch
well preserved and adulterated..

how about the vegetables?
you get a whole lot of chemicals free with them..

NPK and pesticides
they say they cannot grow anything without them

if only some one will try
they will know..

while we are careful about the moments we spend
we are careless about the years in our life

yes.. pennywise and pound foolish..

as my time starts in the office
i check on the deadlines for today
while i will achieve them with care today
i writhe in pain about the years i spent just 'achieving' them
the rear view mirror gives a dreadful view
and looking far ahead gives no better view either..

what have we been doing?
where is it that we are heading?

while millions die of preventable diseases
we waste millions in games

while millions are born malnourished
million tonnes grains rot in rain

while my village gets no electricity
street lights glow brightly in day
as if competing with the sun above..

Turn off that computer once
to turn on the light inside
and think hard about all that
that computer didnt let you think..

hear all that
that computer didnt let you hear

Do you hear the birds?
You have made a good start my friend..

One Liners on the go!

2011-05-22T14:14:00.009+05:30

* The time when i stopped to ponder and look around has been the most productive.

* A work when converted into a job, loses its sheen..

* Money has no purpose except being useful.

* Throw away that blind fold of false knowledge and useless discrimination to behold the divine light..

* A lot of times it does not matter which car you drive, which house you live in, how much money you have..

* You have to give back that you take and what you give comes back to you. They dont say the world is round for nothing..

* I am not sure why we are born in the first place. Since we are here for some time, let's make the best of it.

* It is a big relief and source of strength to be true at heart..

* When you are extra nice to people take carw to see that you are not being taken for granted!!

* Belief in God may or may not solve problems but it certainly is a source of strength.

* You will also, a great deal, known by the will power you have..

* When you stop doing things for a while, which you have been doing all the while, among other things, you realise what you have been missing..

* From my experiance I know that it is towards the end that an ordeal is the most difficult.

* The best thing about art - it seldom talks about money.

* Whatever happens to us, we manage to remain unsatisfied.

* I paid a lot of price to be in this state of madness, imagination and selflessness but it is worth it, by any measure.

* Let me listen to my music for few hours, bring on any worldly trouble afterwards.

* What would I have done without imagination?

* It is when my thoughts are not free that I feel captivated.

* The job of mine never let me work.

* The easiest thing to do is to believe that it is too difficult to find a solution.

* There is a tradeoff in feeding the soul and the body.

* There are plenty of things that you can get by losing respect but believe me it is not worth it..

* If work is worship, how can it be a job..

* I did not get anything untill I was humble. That's still the same.

* With my soul hungry, I remain restless. Take away these lavish feasts, they compare not with a moment's peace.

* The good thing about my life is, bad things came with a warning, good things came out of the blue..

* It is not that I believe in your abilities, it is just that I do not have an option.

* Hindus worship in the morning, Muslims sing qawwali in the evening. Tell them both you believe in their faith and you get to sit in both the prayer meet.

* Always, the nature tries to prevent you from concentrating hard enough to attempt to understand the ways of God. Those who have been successful are known as Pir/Fakirs transcending almost everything.

* Life is an art and not a science.

* Of all the things, I don't trust time one bit. It changes sides in no time!!

* Tell you what, in the end, nothing really matters!!

* All this while I had a feeling that someone was sneaking up on me, I finally realized it was Google.

* There are only two ways to live life -- drive or be driven..

* A quiet life and a quiet wife is what we all aspire to have.. Most of us have none..

The mountains and rivers

2011-05-16T08:40:00.003+05:30

The mountains give me no respite
The rivers do not seem to bring any calmness
The cool wind outside does not subside the storm with in
Silence 1000 miles away from home
does not seem to bring any insight..

i guess all that i want begins from looking with in....

The tree, the squirrel, the birds and the breeze!

2011-04-24T23:17:00.002+05:30

I love you tree
I love what i see
The idol in front
The squirrel runnin'
The breeze flowin'
The birds chirpin'
The kite flyin'
The grass makes for a fine bed
Water bottle a fine pillow
Not a soul to talk to me right now
No TV to trouble me
I could not have asked for more
I truly wish someone takes away the computer at home and at office and out of my life
I cant be like this for a long while
Good times don't last long
There are computers and cellphones to ruin my life
Preventing me to view the clear blue sky and to see how birds fly in a herd
Weekend ends today
Tomorrow I'm going to meet people who wish they didn't need me
Who wish to find a way to show how I'm inferior to them
While i will smile and try to find a way to get back to the tree, squirrel and the birds and the breeze

Shunya and Drudgery

2011-04-16T18:08:00.004+05:30

It is not unusual sometimes to be in a state of less or absolutely no self awareness. At that time one is not aware of people around and one feels as if one is floating. There are no aspirations, no competitions, nothing whatsoever. What kind of state is that? Perhaps, that is what they call Shunya in Buddhism. At times it frankly does not matter how much I learn or how people perceive about me. A lot of things do not matter at all. A lot of things seem pointless. Nothing really matters towards the end. All daily struggles, fighting hard to move ahead, etc. all seem pointless from a distance. Stillness of the mountains, flight of the birds, movement of clouds, freshness of air, freshness of visages, all of them appeal more and more to me. Also, pointless seems the efforts to gain self-importance, to hear from others’ tongues how wonderful a job we are doing. Why is acceptance of others so important?

All along the way, I met a lot of people (I still do) who enjoy complicating matters. There are a lot of ‘entry barriers’ created in almost all the diverse fields that we can come across. There is a deliberate and intense attempt to complicate matters, even when things can be kept simple. If things are kept simple, people believe, it is likely to be less important in the eyes of people. What ever the perception it still remains the same thing to the core. Why cant we concentrate on the core of the matter, the real substance?

A lot of people are not able to see through a lot of things and mistake a deliberate and craftily crafted illusion to be the ‘real thing’.

Seldom in our life do we look back to see what we are doing. We just try and live an ‘acceptable life’ -- acceptable to whom? If one watches things from a distance one will know how products are getting pushed to them, the things they do not need and can easily live without, or worse still, their life is better without those products; and also how the cash in their hand is being utilized.

No one explores whether there is a better way to live. We just keep living, working tirelessly to pay for EMIs, gadgets we don’t need, etc etc. We can’t stop and think. Who will pay for those loans otherwise? Creativity never thrives in drudgery. It needs an open field, a wild imagination. You can’t be a slave and be creative at the same time. A slave has no imagination, no will.

A different view to Inflation!

2011-01-13T09:47:00.007+05:30

Food inflation hits 18.3% (Economic Times dated 7th Jan 2011) says one headline. It certainly is not healthy and sustainable. And a side headline on the front page shows inflation linked NREGA wages now applicable. We are experiencing painful increase in inflation and particularly food inflation – representing shortage of supply, more money in people’s hand, less productivity, lots of exports that it causes scarcity, fewer imports than necessary, etc. The reasons can be any or combination of any of them.

The first thing notable in all this is, people now have more money in their hands – thanks to schemes like NREGA which pushed up the wage bar. Linking it with inflation will further add to the increase in inflation. If we look at the past one decade, in particular, there has been a tremendous increase in salaries in real terms, thanks to the IT revolution and service driven economy. The MNCs and Indian companies too do not mind shelling big bucks for the right talent. This is quite evident from the number of ‘commoner millionaires’ in cities. Increase in the number of companies, increase in the amount of business coming to India, increase in skills of employees, inelasticity of supply of talented human resources in the short term, etc are some of the factors responsible for ever increasing salaries.

The market forces of demand and supply play a very big role in increase of salaries in urban India. Increased salaries, in turn, result in easy availability of finance. Burgeoning salaries are security enough for banks to give loans for home, automobiles, university education, land, etc. Increase in demand of all such commodities by such large section of people in turn causes surge in the prices to the extent that they seem unreasonable and ridiculous. Look at any urban market, the salaried are in the race to buy homes and have their salaries are tied up for two decades (typically) in EMIs to banks.

Government is playing a big role in putting more money in hands of rural folks, particularly keeping vote bank in mind. Agriculture loan waivers, various subsidies, NREGA schemes, etc puts a lot of money in hands of a very large section of people, causing increase in demand for goods and services in rural India – particularly food items and low end services. While market forces are involved in urban areas, in rural areas government intervention is just too conspicuous. Whatever the reason for increased supply of money, its value always decreases when there aren’t corresponding goods and services to support it. Simply put, we are experiencing more demand for goods and services than are available. To add to it, monetary measures – the ones adopted by the RBI relating to interest rates, etc. – are of little use. We have supply constraints which cannot be resolved in the short term.

Of course, there is no way we can immediately increase the productivity of pulses, for example. In fact, there is no short term solution to this. Few steps to address food inflation are – to increase the productivity in agriculture, revamping the supply chain, providing adequate marketing, financing, elimination of middlemen, etc. Whatever progress we make in IT, we lag behind in agriculture. Let’s put our best minds to it. The country needs it.

Let’s view things a little differently. Why increase in salaries and wages increase inflation so much? Using no official or unofficial estimate – supposing for every 1000 salaried persons there is but one entrepreneur. The assumption seems realistic. Very few would venture out in the hectic and not-so- easy world of entrepreneurship.

Now increase in the income from business will not give as much push to demand as increase in salaries would give. Firstly, entrepreneurs are fewer than salaried persons. Secondly, entrepreneurs would like to reinvest the income depending upon the phase of growth the organization is experiencing. Thirdly, increase in salary is a wider phenomenon. Increase in salary for same services creates an industry wide increase. As a result, there is more money now in the hands of very large number of people. On the other hand, increase in income of an entrepreneur is due to his special efforts like – negotiations, contracts, contacts, after sales, etc. Notably, increase in macroeconomic factors like taxation, prices of raw materials, etc. have industry wide influence even in case of enterprises. Having said all that, salaries increase only when the businesses prosper. There is a time lag between boom in business and increase in salaries. If we look at IT companies, the most important resource is Human Resource. Given the kind of enviable operating margins IT companies have, it is quite natural that the business profits trickle down to the salary level quite fast indeed.

Let’s summarize. In case income from business increases, a very less base of population experiences increase in income in hand. But as businesses continues to prosper, salaries increase eventually, putting money in the hands of a very wide base of population.

As a result of the latter, you would see ridiculous real estate prices that you now see. Similarly, increase in demand for food items, hence the unsustainable food inflation; increased demand for automobiles; increased demand for fine dining; increased capacity to ‘waste away’ things

Who suffers the most as a result of all this? The answer is simple -- the one whose income is not linked to inflation. On the lighter side, auto rickshaw drivers in Delhi generally benefit from an increase in prices of the fuel that goes into their vehicle. Their fare, most of the time, increase more than proportionately.

The author does not argue whether increase in income of salaried is good or bad but tries to examine its effect.

Total population of India and China form 37% of world population, according to 2009 World Bank's World Development Indicators. Increase in affluence of such huge population puts huge pressure on limited resources of the planet; whether it is sustainable or not, is debatable and beyond the scope of this write up.

Spending the Irreversible Time

2010-12-25T09:37:00.004+05:30

Ever wondered how much time we waste in our hectic life? I just hate this part. For every one single relevant mail i receive, there are 10 different useless mails besides spam that i need to delete. I spend few minutes every day deleting useless and irrelevant SMSs. And I wonder every day, why do they have to be part of my life, who gives them the right -- these unwanted useless weed. Just a thought, how much time do we really spend doing useful work? Now, the definition of usefulness changes from person to person. Let’s put it this way -- How much time do we spend doing things that gives us satisfaction? Spending time with parents may give satisfaction to some.

There are times when we are on internet and surfing things -- nothing really in particular. Ever wondered whether it is useful to spend time this way? Of the limited time we have got, we spend hours on internet not knowing what we are doing. No one is ready to relook how we can reorganise and see from a distance how we spend the day(s). If we do relook, perhaps we will realise that there is more to life than just internet and emails. But not everyone will relook!!

Abundance of resources!

2010-11-28T09:42:00.000+05:30

Surprising as it may seem, but scarcity is good sometimes. For example, not having a spare TV at home will teach you how to accommodate and enjoy with others. A spare TV will let you watch what you wish but will deprive you of the joy of togetherness. No fun watching it ALONE. Too many things sometimes distract us too much. A mobile phone with internet connectivity lets you get ‘caught’ anytime. There is no escape or excuse. In a traffic jam or while taking a casual, careless stroll, or eating out, etc. you are caught easily. There is no reason to say why you can’t reply to the emails or calls or messages or whatever. With things like these at hand you cannot ‘steal away’, ‘stop and stare’ and reflect back. You carry the world in your pocket, which deprives you of the chance to be alone with yourself and introspect (at least it decreases the chances).

I do not wish to imply that scarcity of basic goods like food is good. Of course, everyone should have access to plenty of food. I’m trying to make a very subtle point here. Let’s take another example of mansion – too many rooms, too much space, etc. One room for everyone. Everybody can be so separate and busy in their own rooms and one member may not get to know much about another. In a small house, rooms are shared say among siblings. That automatically and inadvertently helps them bond together. If they had separate rooms they are less likely to share things and thoughts. I can very well imagine them surfing internet in the spare time, sharing their thoughts on facebook rather than among themselves.

While we all strive to increase our scarce resources, which we should, we must remember that increase in resources do not necessarily lead to increase in welfare. Statistically it may imply increased welfare but qualitatively in may not be so!!

One Liners

2010-11-06T15:55:00.037+05:30

One should study everything complex and apparently esoteric to know at last that it is the common sense that really counts.

Have you love? -- You're omnipotent. Are you perfectly unselfish? -- You are irresistible. It is character that pays you everywhere. -- Swami Vivekananda

We must also be thankful to those people who did not give us opportunity for they, unintentionally, helped us to create it.

When you try to be me and I try to be you, we miss each other completely.

When, all the daily chores which absorb us all the time and we give a lot of importance to, appear futile, that, yes, that is the beginning of a new kind of enlightenment.

There is no way you can look far and see beyond the obvious, when all you are occupied with is to hide what is obvious.

Peace is valuable, bliss invaluable!

No better medicine than kind words..

Confidence in yourself -- your immune system.. Others having confidence in you -- medicine..

Treason has a lot of ignorance in it!

If only one knows how to enjoy work, everything else comes easy!!

Blessed is the one who considers himself as significant as a speck of dust, cause that is what everything is made of!!

From the roof top I see that every house is on fire -- Bulleh Shah!

It is not he who does anything but He who does everything!!

It is amusing to see mortals believe that they are capable of moving the earth!!

The game of life continue to trouble you till the time you believe the game of life to be real!!

How does it feel to be lifted up in the air by sheer power of thoughts? You will never know it till the time you are still playing the unreal games of life!!

Good work never goes unnoticed, though that is not the intention!!

Char gavaya hand ke, char gavaya sam, lekha Rab mangda piya tu aaya kede kam (You spent half the time roaming, half the time sleeping, the Lord takes stock in the end and asks of what use you have been). -- Baba Farid

It is when you hold things too tightly that you are likely to lose them. Hold them all loosely, you are unlikely to lose them!

Polygamy in case of various disciplines produces wonderfully beautiful offspring!!

Nothing better than living pleasant old memories once again!!

The secret to keeping a cool head is not listening to every advice and more importantly not asking for everyone's advice!!

Sometimes it is good to ignore the ignorant!

I tried living an ordinary, event-less, miserable and average life but I am glad I failed miserably!

Things are almost the same everywhere!

There was a time long back when I believed all that I read in the newspapers is right..

Most of the time in life is spent in fighting temptations, if only one could rise above them!

You think I'm afraid? I've looked in death's eyes, more than I looked in yours!

The most dreadful thing about 'development' is that we lose control over a lot of things in our life. Most of the time we are led. Most of us do not realize this in our lifetime!

Line

2010-10-03T10:18:00.000+05:30

I heard some one say
"Lets draw a line"
Whatever that was supposed to mean

I wondered why draw a line at all
A line will make "you and me"
of "we"
A line separates
It's like a wall
Like a boundary
It brings limitations

Why have constraints all around all the time?
Imagine without limitations a few times.

Logic

2010-07-10T18:38:00.001+05:30

What is logic? It is a continuum. It describes a series of events one leading to another, finally a connection between a cause and effect. An apple falls. We know the logic. Night comes after day, leaves grow on trees, trees grow on earth, earth revolves around the sun, sun has nuclear fusion reactions in it. We know all the logics.

But who established the logics. We design a computer program. We need to define the logics --- ifs and buts. We mortals did find logics – correct or not. But we know not about the one who devised it all.

Work

2010-07-10T18:32:00.000+05:30

“Work is love made visible” so says Khalil Gibran. There are people who enjoy their work. Then there are those who create a semblance of work, where there is almost none. There are hardly bigger sinners than them. I have tried my best to mingle and reconcile with them. At last I have realised that oil and water do not mix. It is difficult to agree with them or even pretend to agree with them.

A pleasure it is to see the crop grow and yield produce, the seeds of which you have sown with hard work and soil had been irrigated with your sweat. It is not just money but the sight of your labour bearing fruit that is so fulfilling. You sow filth, you reap filth and pack the result carp in a good packet just to make it attractive. It will never fill your heart with satisfaction, it may fill your coffers though. Nothing troubles me more than the slightest sight of dupers, imposters and hypocrites.

Saying Yes!

2010-07-10T18:19:00.000+05:30

If you just go about agreeing with everyone around you will have little or no conflicts. It takes a lot to disagree when you really disagree. You may offend people but at the end you stated what you thought is right. Cronies are easy to find. They hardly disagree. Nothing productive comes out of them. They have nothing to add or subtract. With a broad smile that does not reach the eyes, they just approve whatever is told to them. Of what use can they be put to? Why hire someone who will just say yes without giving a thought.

Common Thread

2010-07-10T18:16:00.000+05:30

You can pierce through complexity only when you are seasoned. To see through the veils is not an easy job. Who is able to recognize that religions are similar? Only a knowledgeable person can. Not everyone can see the same human being in a crowd of rich and poor. God resides in all beings. This is the most common and similar characteristic.

Differences come when we cannot see the common thread in all of us. Jinnah perhaps failed to see the common thread too. Hence, he became obsessed with the idea of being different and demanded a separate state. Life can be extremely simple only if we wish. The fights, differences arise when we feel different. Few riches, few books, few goods, few awards make
us feel different. But you are the same speck of dust that you were.

How does it matter what language one communicates with? Words of wisdom retain their essence whether explained in English or Hindi. A lot of wisdom do not reach wider audience or not given due attention because the thinker does not know English. Not really an ideal situation! A kind of veil I wrote in the beginning.

Fashion is another form of veil. It is not fashionable to explore history to learn from saints who were more connected with soil than we are or will ever be. It is not fashionable to be simple. Simplicity is, most of the time, mistaken as ignorance of fashion by those who cannot lift the veil. Look around to see everywhere, we all need water, air, space, shelter, etc – humans or animals. East or west, north or south, we have more in common than otherwise.

It is useless to pretend to be different. How great can you get? How big can you become? You can’t live without air on which you have no control. I have never really understood why it is difficult to understand such a simple thing!

Inspired by The Bhagavad Gita

2010-06-04T21:33:00.000+05:30

The best of men are those who are passionate and inspired by work. Money comes as a by product, so does everything. Satisfaction comes first. Warren Buffet said he liked a job and joined it. He got to know the salary when he received his first paycheck. The best time is when you are lost in work and know not where the time flew.

Such men produce great results. Since money is secondary, the best naturally comes out in work. Consider the two questions:

 What will I get out of this?
 What will people get out of this?

Those who always ask the first question rarely produce great work. Even if they do, most likely, they fail to remain humble, unassuming, quiet about it. Second question leads us to produce the best works. Humility, modesty marks the man. To Sherlock Holmes, the work is its own reward. He cared not for the fame and name but derived satisfaction from solving mysteries and with it the problems.

Another quality that lets the best out of you come to the fore is detachment. When you remove all consideration of personal gains, you remove with it personal biases, views, opinions, etc. This lets you take a more accurate view of the situation at hand. A detached mind is not easy to posses. You need to rise above petty issues, petty men and women, petty views, etc. Also, you need to know what is petty. You also need to forego vices like avarice, greed, etc. Vices like these never let mind be free. If you are under their grip, your mind will remain in shackles. They have a magical quality in them, which keeps the mind occupied in petty thoughts. You will remain engaged in how to enrich yourself but you will always remain morally and spiritually poor. Never will you think of relieving someone’s pain. For that will not benefit you personally, you will think. Everything in life will be transactions aimed at profitability and margins. Smile, solace, beauty, peace, spirituality, you will never know the full import of these words. Be too worldly wise and you shall have nothing but pain and sufferings. Pity those who are always engaged in doing good only to themselves. They have not been able to rise still.

Those who rise produce miracles indeed. Coming to the detached and free mind, it lets you take the best of decisions. You often tend to take everyone along which generates faith, confidence, respect. You get the best out of your men, ‘cause they know they will not be cheated and hurt knowingly, that their interest is important thing. You can only take a larger view of things when you rise.

You play the game of life on this planet for few decades and move away. What makes us think we care going to live forever? We play as if we are to stay forever. That’s never going to be. If we keep in mind the limited period we have, we will perhaps engage ourselves in more meaningful and uplifting things.

A lot of conflicts seem pointless; a lot of strife unnecessary; a lot of pride, folly. We take our mundane existence just too seriously. All this because we think we are here to stay. We must have all that is there. What will you do with it? Contentment is not easy to find. Have everything and you may not have it. You need to have a right frame of mind.

In these times of wild goose chase, to have a lot, you tend to be empty inside. Ever wondered whey you are not happy? Maybe because every time you are just chasing something you don’t know. You get a few things en route but you feel you got not what you chased. You chase again and so on. You do not need to run but look inside. Take a few minutes off to do that. Those of dirty conscience or who have paid no heed to the voice within will not be able to do that. Think over. You will feel a lot of things churning inside. It has the power to purify you. You will realize the futility of the chase. It never is enough you will know. What’s god then? Not to chase? What purpose will that serve? The idea is not to stop and think it is all futile. It’s perhaps not. The idea is to realize that you can enjoy things without being unduly attached to them, without being their slave, realizing that things are temporary, even you are. This is the way. It sounds simple but it isn’t easy. Malice, jealously, bitterness, anger, pride, all have their roots in ignorance. The enlightened are never too happy and never too sad and the vices mentioned somewhere in the write up run away from them.

You are happy, you got something. How long you think you will remain happy with it? The period is short, sometimes a bit longer. All the competition around you – dog eat dog – makes you act in haste. What if you win? You lost your peace, anyway. You lose itall. Be competitive but walk like an elephant. You need to know what you are doing and not just running because you have to.

Look at people you think are higher in whatever sense – in organization, society, etc. you think they are worth following? What makes you think so? Is it the money? If yes, stop reading this. You will never understand it. Perhaps not at this time at least.

If it is not money, do their smile reflect their genuineness do you feel they will help you if they can, for no gain? Do they value integrity? And honesty? And truth? If yes, they are worth following indeed. If no, you want to follow them for a reason I don’t know.

Try to enlighten the ignorant but keep away from those who want to keep the light away. Immersed in dark, they remain there until they see the light within.

If you are able to see a larger view, you will be amazed by futile things perceived as important. The set procedures and standards we have created for ourselves are no less than chains. We remain chained in our limited world confined to only those acts which we are supposed to do. We hear what we are supposed to, we see what we are supposed to. We don’t do what we can, we don’t see what do, we don’t hear what do. What kind of life are we living? We have all the sky to ourselves. Following the dotted line, you will never get far. Enjoy the time, fly high, see larger picture and see what you see, hear what you hear, feel what you feel. Carry no baggage of previous generations; look at those oceans, aren’t they different from your pond. Look at the mountains, aren’t they different from the small tree you have been living on? Can you now make your nest in the mountains? Nobody told you so.
Well if you always do what you are supposed to, take it that you will never see the unseen and hear the unheard, ever. The walls of standards and procedures create confines. A diversion from then invites mockery, wrath, criticism. Again you need a detached mind to focus on work and ignore all these. A detached mind will give no importance to these. Enjoy the work, care not for the reward. An attached mind will always be entangled in standards and procedures ‘cause it cares more for things like pride, position, etc.

The baggage will always keep you low, never letting you fly high from the walls of standards. Breakthroughs are achieved by people who were, may be, once called mad while they were in relentless, detached pursuit. They rose above the noises and mockery and persevered. The work brought its own reward and satisfaction and helped improve life, in general. They brought the best in the world to even those who mocked them. They know ignorance should not deprive anyone to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Just imagine being someone like this? You let go of your false ego, pride, jealousy, anger! Imagine never being too happy and never being too sad! Imagine never mourning over the lost things and never being overly excited over the gains; being same in pleasure and pain.

The enlightened sees nothing but the truth, the light. All that is dark moves away at his sight. He enlightens the ignorant with pleasure, hates not those who try and hurt him. He becomes the image of the Lord himself, merges with him.

Communicate

2010-06-04T20:19:00.001+05:30

I venture not at going to the rooftop of my house. An eagle has built its nest in the tree right in front of my house. Two times it attacked me, in a way, to warn me. It just touched me at the head but it was firm. It saw me looking at its nest rather curiously. I was just curious. It has began to think that I pose a threat. If only we could communicate...........

Why?

2010-05-30T15:23:00.001+05:30

Why do we all so much differ? Why do some have thunder in their voice? Why do some barely speak? Why do some have eyes brimful of compassion? Why do some speak of unity while some speak always to divide? Why do some seek best for others while others seek worst for others? Why some denote strength while some meekness? Why do some never bend while others never stand straight?

Some of it is, no doubt, hereditary, howsoever one choose to explain it. Hindus say it is the result of previous birth’s “karmas”.

But the fact is most of the attributes can be attributed to how we make use of the existing and gifted faculties. Nobody gets everything. Nobody gets nothing. How we use “the something” is upto us. Post World War II, Japan did have few resources and the country did have some legacy to support it. But how it used its resources was upto it.

Bihar and Jharkhand, for example, have huge resources. They surely have some legacy. How they use the resources is upto them.

Will power, I’ve experienced, is a big power. Resources, I believe, facilitate a purpose and ambition. It is usually the will to succeed that sees us through in good or bad times.

The Traditional and Modern: Shall the twain meet?

2010-05-30T14:36:00.000+05:30

There is a general tendency to know the old as outdated, almost all the time. Truth is old but never outdated. So is honesty, righteousness. So is dishonesty and falsehood. Some things are ageless and never prone to obsolescence. There is also a tendency to look upon technology as panacea. As if it is going to solve all our problems. We tend to be over enthusiastic to receive new technologies and overtly eager to forget previous one. It is like looking forward to new branches and ignoring the stem and roots. You can’t ignore history. That’s where you have evolved from. You may run away from it for sometime but you will come back to it sooner or later.

In my country, traditional (older) and modern world co-exist; seldom speaking to each other save in the time of distress or at a few meetings to marvel at each other like tourists occasionally do. Can the twain meet? Can the easy manner of the former mingle with the hectic moves of the latter? It ain’t easy. Both look upon each other like a great grandson looks upon his great grandfather. Both think they come from a different world. Both are likely to have affinity for each other. The traditional world is ripe with age and the wisdom of the ages and looks upon the modern world with eyes of an elder, saddened by the gross lack of warmth in the latter’s life. The modern world finds it hard to reconcile with “slow and least ambitious” traditional world. There is no doubt that both can learn from each other, but only if both are willing.

It is heartening to think about how traditional goods, in their original form, can be marketed through internet. Speaking of internet, it is powerful, cheap and fast medium to disseminate information; accelerate trade; remove boundations of physical presence and time; save several costs, etc. it is not traditional (old). Indeed it is a great power.

The gap needs to be bridged. The twain shall have to meet to do that. Being both --traditional and modern -- does not mean being less modern. It just means having deeper roots. And it doesn’t sound bad really. Why not use the age old wisdom amassed by saints. However, care should be taken to not become orthodox. It is good to be influenced but it is dangerous to be molded by them, never to change again. It is always good to learn new things, it is better not to forget good old things learnt earlier.

Education now has very little, if any, of traditional but lots of modern. And it gives perhaps more importance to the modern. This creeps in a feeling of being “different” in students who go on to further stages of life with that belief. Few books filled with facts never made a sage full of wisdom, knowledge, compassion, vision. They can only fill in a feeling of being wise and “different”. In the process, we limit their vision to a very limited view. Hence, two different worlds thrive and like I said, they seldom meet. To design marketing, financing solutions for pottery makers is uncool. But designing portfolio of a fund management company is supercool. While pottery makers are producing goods, portfolio just allocates funds to companies that produce goods (or services).

An entity (e.g. pottery making) may not involve complex operations but can have a market (and it does have, though not big). A villager in the countryside, far away from city should not have to worry about the transaction risk, translation risk, foreign exchange exposure, pricing, etc. that is inherent in foreign trade. That is the ideal situation. It is not easy to teach the potter all these things. He should not be despised because he is so. He still makes good products that are sold far and wide. Similarly, eliminating intermediaries in agriculture produce can unlock lots of benefits, only if one is willing to go and explore it. Perhaps it won’t be unwise to rethink about uncool activities.

It is simply best when knowledge of all kinds and ages mix. It is not utopia but very much possible. It is like breaking all boundaries which have no purpose but got built on their own, with out anyone noticing it.

Soul

2010-05-25T09:15:00.001+05:30

Lets consider a simple analogy. A few musical instruments and a few good musicians breathing the life into them and a soulful song coming straight out of the soul of the poet. And consider another case, where you have best of instruments -- electronic and otherwise -- and a song to go along with them and access to best of the resources.

In no case does the best resources in this case guarantee that the product will touch the heart whenever they play the number. Simple resources in the first case may create a timeless piece. Such is life. The huge amount of resources and access to them may ease the process but it can in no way guarantee that the journey will be smooth. While we run around everywhere for resources, the time flies and the soul remains thristy. And when you do gather a few resources they never are enough. Soul needs more than money can buy. Running everywhere around will not answer many questions but running a little inside yourself will. It is not bad to amass gold, or eat good food but these aren't the only thing you should be doing in your life.

Increase in Income and its Effect

2010-05-24T09:01:00.000+05:30

Group: It represents an informal or formal set of individuals who have similar level of income, lifestyle, job level, etc.

General Increase: It is the increase in income level that everyone in the group experienced (more or less the same increase).

Specific Increase: It is exclusive and not everyone in the group experienced that.

Individual: An individual forms a unit of the group. She moves usually within her group and level of people. A junior accountant is unlikely to upgrade to a Seven Star hotel in case of income increase where she will run into a CEO.

How does rise in Income Level affects us? If affects our consumption and savings pattern, priorities, etc. Our basket of goods surely rises a few notches up higher.

Taking a group of people with similar qualifications and relatively same or nearly same job level, let us consider their income level at A1 approximately. The basket of goods they buy at this level is B1. The position indicated in the graph is (A1,B1).

Considering a rise in the income level across a group of people, the income curve shifts rightwards. (A2,B2) now represent the basket of goods that the group will now buy. An individual will realize that the shift is general and all within the same informal group have shifted to the new curve.
While the new basket contains more goods but the increase is not exclusive to any individual but general, i.e., “everyone” (in the group) experienced.

A 50% increase in the Income level across the “group” will not cause the satisfaction level to increase proportionately but less than proportionately. However, a “specific” and “exclusive” increase in the Income level will cause the satisfaction level to increase almost proportionately or more than proportionately. An individual will consider “general” increase as normal and exclusive as “special”.

At first, an individual tends to compare his Income level among his immediate group mates. An exclusive increase is not alone but always accompanies the general increase. An exclusive increase gives him access to a basket higher basket but that is not available to the group he belongs (belonged). As he moves within his group, his exclusive recent access to the higher basket gives more satisfaction than the income increase. It is not only an income rise, it is an upgrade to a new group – at point (A3,B3). The individual is now actually on a new curve (representing new group) which is further right to is previous group’s new curve.

Carrying on the previous example, 50% is the general increase. An individual gets 100% increase – 50% general and 50% exclusive. The general increase(50%) shall give him less than proportional satisfaction, while 50% exclusive/special increase shall give him more than proportionate satisfaction. We can put his satisfaction to around 75% while other in the group experiencing general increase will get less than 50% satisfaction.
~
Antriksh

Paper Boats

2010-05-23T16:26:00.000+05:30

Business Analysis is what I do,

falls the rain, rises the smell from earth,,

I forget the trends and the database,

And the clients and the Business Intelligence.

I suddenly lose all intelligence

And play a country song

And hum all along, my eyes closed

Somewhere far the peacock dances,

it is more beautiful than any report I’ve written

I go back to the old memories

Heap of papers on my desk

would make rather good paper boats, I think

I feel good, suddenly

despite all the software around me

I never let the soft part in me die

And the hardware

Well it just could not harden my heart

I still analyze

How Kings and Queens lived,

How poems are written,

How folk songs are sung,

How the birds sing,

How the sun rises,

How the stars twinkle,

And despite fundamental analysis

My fundamentals remain strong

I still believe in old stories

but find it difficult to believe

the stories my colleagues build

I believe chetak would wait

a season for the rain drops

but never will I believe

that people in office

waited for me before starting a party,

Somehow the older things

seem a lot more true

and try hard as I may,

I find no trace of truth

in words that go around in the workplace

Solitude

2010-05-23T16:03:00.000+05:30

What power does solitude have? A lot. You spend time with yourself. You can dive deep in the innermost self to get answers to a lot of questions.

“Jeda apne naal hisaab nahi karda, ode naal hisaab ki karnaa hoo” -- Baba Bulleh Shah.

The one who takes not the account of one’s deeds, should not be kept account with.

And I heard and read that one who is afraid to be alone and to think in solitude isn’t that clear of heart after all. When you gaze at infinity and do not look at anything in particular, that’s when the thoughts churn and the spirit reveals its innermost secrets.

Be in the company of men and women to enjoy the celebrations but also take time out to be in the company of your spirit, to be one with it and thus the Almighty.

And when you think of all those who have left a bitter taste in your mouth, think not of them as evil and in bad spirit. They acted, perhaps, out of their ignorance. And ignorant is best ignored if it is not possible to enlighten them. Thank Lord for all those who have been good to you like the messenger of God. Your thoughts may take you to what you think are your achievements. Realize that you are too little to contribute, and have influence. But that should not in anyway discourage you from contributing. You may think of your shortcomings. Remember that they will stay, in small or greater measure, for you are born to be imperfect and so is the case with everything except Him. But that should not in no way discourage you from attempts to diminish them in numbers and intensity.

The best part about solitude is that you can disown all false claims, remove all false masks, all airs of pretensions, all your ego, for you are with no none but yourself. You need not feign an achievement. Be true to yourself, at least. Believe you me, it does take a bit of dirt away from your heart.

Worldly Business

2010-05-23T15:56:00.000+05:30

Many a time I overhear about me “There goes he who listens not to anyone”. I do listen but not to everyone. I do not listen nor pretend to listen to those whose speech is flowery but who carries a dagger hidden in their robes, waiting to strike a fatal blow. I accept my shortcomings and look forward to be told about them. I expect none to praise me unnecessarily and do not wish to praise anyone unnecessarily.

The way worldly business is transacted is horrible. It is so full of frills. It is like picking grains from stones of untruth, and the grains are hard to find. It is indeed necessary to cut the frills out. We must know how to pick a few elusive relevant pearls from the huge overpowering and overwhelming sea of frills and useless things. That can only happen when you yourself are not contributing towards adding frills. Keep away from them and their contributors, for they keep you busy and your short lifetime is gone before you realize it is wasted.

Contentment

2010-05-23T15:41:00.001+05:30

Where does contentment flow from? Does it come from the riches of the world? Does it come from beauty? Does it come from good food? Does it come from admiration? It may. It may not. All these are ends and not the means. Means too form an important constituent of contentment. You amass riches. But how do you do it? If you get it by slavery, forget contentment. You get it by hard work and sweat and not indulging in things immoral, contentment is yours. You have a beautiful portrait of yours painted in return of gold, hung upon the big wall of your big mansion. It does satisfy your ego and attract praises from all around. It matches not the small painting gifted by a friend out of sheer love. Both are thing of beauty and the wise knows which is worth what. Delicately prepared delicacies by highly paid chefs do have the warmth of the simple food prepared by a friend himself.

(Financial) Valuation, from my limited knowledge I know, is a tricky subject indeed. Moreover, how you value depends upon what you value.

Qualitative Aspect

2010-04-17T17:49:00.000+05:30

Years back I spoke in a brief presentation on Financial Modeling “As is the limitation with accounting, so it is with financial models that the qualitative aspect cannot stated in it. It is only that quantitative aspect that can be incorporated in them through numbers. But you can add footnotes to say what the numbers don’t.”

Being in finance and financial modeling, I juggle with numbers a lot. My life is so filled of them and thus the quantitative aspect. Of late, a void in me, I felt existed for some time, only grew larger. I wondered what it was all about. Something that wasn’t easy to figure out. I believe I’m missing the qualitative aspect. I’ve quite a bit of the quantitative stuff. I earn, though not much, but I do -- again, a number. Everyday it is all about how much profit, margin, how many customers, how much goods -- numbers again.

There was a time, now seems long ago, when my life was quite bereft of numbers – student life. I guess life wasn’t that bad at that time, though I had more in my brains than in my pocket. Well, that’s a fact now too. But the ratio is quite smaller – quantity of stuff in the pocket increased and in the brains decreased. Those days, I had nothing like numbers to worry about. The lessons in school had to be understood well. The folk song had to be absorbed in. I traded not in numbers but delved deep in things that pleased me. Not that numbers upset me, but I’m forced to deal with them like it is a chore. I had no reason that time to indulge in petty politics or listen to any of the foolish things any fool had to say. Understanding things wasn’t a chore. So was talking to people. What quality!!

The question that I now face is that how to I bring in the qualitative aspect now? The world, my friend, is obsessed with the quantitative one. And weekdays are all about them. I listen to songs and watch around. My respect for liberal arts has grown manifold over the past few years. Earlier, I saw them making very little contribution to the world. Of course, the thought came out of my own limited vision and comprehension. A good novel, a good song, a good write up, etc can infuse a lot of warmth, bliss and satiation which I feel that numbers lack. Frankly, they are quite dry. They just say yes or no, unlike a philosopher. They have an inherent limitation of view and there is very little debatable about them. They point in one direction, which is good but they can point to a goal which is very near, that is, they lack the ability to look far too ahead across the horizon. Liberal arts I feel is limitless. It can extend to whatever you can think of and is capable of presenting things that can be pondered over and debated.

Numbers will tell you “how many friends”. “How important” is the real thing, which is beyond the scope of numbers. I’m still trying to figure out the ways to get more of the qualitative aspect in my life. They don’t cost much. But I’m trying to buy the time I need to get to them.

Gyan

2010-04-02T23:54:00.000+05:30

Almost all our activities are directed towards fattening our own kitty. It is not bad to desire good things, but at what cost? The earth is already reeling due to its continuous exploitation. We are supposed to be highly civilized and evolved. Here is a thing that we may learn from animals – staying away from greed. No animal will long for more food than is required to fill its belly. It won’t desire to hoard goods endlessly and knowing when it will end.

“There is enough for everyone’s need but there isn’t enough for one man’s greed – Mahatma Gandhi. There can be no end to greed. The fire of greed is never doused by the oil of worldly goods. It never is enough. The more you get, the more you need every time. The peace never comes through this but only an intense fire within that keeps you burning day and night.

Peace comes through purity of thoughts, heart and mind; through good deeds; through good intentions. Who are you trying to beat in the game of life? You want to be considered superior? Those who are really so deny being so and some of those who aren’t spend their worthless time pretending to be so.

Why have the air of pretentions around you all the time? Why burn yourself with the fire of jealousy? Rejoice for the time you are here for you are not here for too long. In the end it will not matter much how much you hoarded but how much you gave away. Why is it so difficult for all of us to see through the illusions? Why is it so difficult to look inside?

Sometimes it is wiser not to do the things everyone is doing. Sometimes it is wiser to ignore advices. Sometimes it is wiser to part and move leaving no trace behind.
It is important to realise the power of forgiveness and tolerance. As is known, they are the virtues of the strongest. The wiser knows to forgive and ignore. An eye for an eye makes the world blind. But sometimes it is necessary to retaliate, for forgiveness and tolerance should never be mistaken for weakness. Be kind to those who are less fortunate than you. You never know when you may run out of luck. Do not always be in awe of those who are more fortunate than you. You never know when they too may run out their luck. Never hold things just too tightly, you never know when you may have not part with them. You yourself are going to go away and be part of the matter which you are made of. From my experience, not many know things written above and even if they do, not may really follow them. More importantly, do not expect people to know them and follow them. This has not happened in centuries and probably will never happen in future.

I’ve always wondered what causes us to be permanently absorbed in the darkness of ignorance. Why do we refuse to be enlightened or fail to get enlightened? Why do we rejoice in ignorance and petty deals and transactions? What causes us to cause harm to others intentionally and enjoy watching others in pain? How can someone’s pain be our pleasure? What causes us to stoop so low? Sometimes there isn’t a direct advantage we have when others are disadvantaged. But still it is a source of satisfaction to most of us.

Relieving someone of pain and misery is a source of heavenly peace. Some are unfortunate enough not to experience it. They never make an attempt because they rejoice in someone’s pain. They trade divine nectar for illusionary, momentary pleasure. Perhaps it is not in their fate. Coming again to holding things lightly, when you start doing so, tangibles will appeal lesser and intangibles more. You will cease to hold people and things tightly but you will hold on tightly to their qualities and benefits things can bring. You will tend not hoard things but instead think of the values – honesty, truth, righteousness. A fair deal will appeal more instead of the kickbacks, etc. Rise above the illusionary, there are no real boundaries of district, state, country, caste, religion. Illusions shall prevail if you rise not higher enough. The illusions created or present are only circumstantial, manmade but quite established and deep rooted. The higher power above shall bless you in the same way if you remove the pain of anyone from any district, state, country, caste, religion.

If your thoughts ever take you in these directions, indeed, it is a step towards enlightenment!

Song

2010-04-02T23:10:00.000+05:30

What power does a song has, I wonder
If meaningful and accompanied by soulful music,
it can move any soul
A good song or poem is born
when a soul is stirred
and the mind is fixed
and something that is troubling within
gets vent through a pen

But what causes a good song
to have the power that it has
It perhaps retains the restlessness
and deliberations that it caused
It perhaps has the power to
reproduce the same again

It comes from the depth
and knows no boundaries
Perhaps it gives
the much needed escape
from the endless limitations
and futile chores

As I listen to the songs
written centuries ago
not in vogue anymore and
long forgotten
I imagine the restlessness
and the deliberations
it must have caused to the writer
for it ain't an easy task
to bring out the truth
in the age of falsehood and folly

Many are devoted to stars and moon
Many to futility of life
Many to treason and betrayal
Many to the Lord
Many to women and wine
But they all seem divine
And produce a charm

A lot can be deciphered
from the kind of songs you like
a crow would always choose filth
even when pearls were a choice!

Cut Copy Paste

2010-03-26T19:10:00.000+05:30

It takes a lot to resist the "Cut, Copy and Paste" (CCP) syndrome. I sometimes sit back and think why it is always difficult to rise above conventions and "normal" procedures, policies, etc. From the time we are born, we "follow" things. Our search is for the right (widely accepted) things.

Coming to the CCP, ever wondered how many things we are used to, are just "Cut, Copy, Paste" from the west?

Our leaders followed (and still following) a lot of models from the World Bank, UN, some of which were not suited to our country. Our laws are a legacy of our colonial past; we just "adopted" them. The Police Act still reads as “The Police Act, 1861”. It was enacted to suppress and rule people and the law still continues, and with it some or whole of the suppressing attitude.

Like I said, I still wonder what it takes to challenge the status quo; perhaps, a lot of strength and a lot of deafness to unreasonable and discouraging voices. We are a unique country and every country is. Solutions to our problems need to be worked out taking care of our unique characteristics and circumstances. Financial products, for example, invented (structured) at the Wall Street which even a lot of users do not understand, if applied in the CCP manner will spell doom for the nation. Do we really need those opaque and repackaging kinds of instruments? US do not have very strict financial and economic regulations. They call it free market. Are we ready for that? Or more importantly, should we really follow that? US has certain kind of financial system, value system, consumption pattern, production pattern, lifestyle, education system. It may or may not be good for us. We need to evaluate that before we think of adopting any of the above. Even if we adopt, the idea should be to emulate and not imitate and to be careful of the think line that divides the two.

One thing that is always there in my mind is “branded goods”. We take “licenses” and pay “royalties” to brand owners overseas somewhere in a developed part of the planet, and manufacture the goods ourselves. In a way it is completely understandable and there is no gainsaying about the value of a brand. But can’t efforts be made to generate indigenous brands of goods of the same quality. In any case, the goods are produced indigenously, aren’t they? Some people will always prefer a particular brand even if the same quality is available in cheaper brands developed indigenously. This may happen even when the manufacturer for both is same. Again that is understandable. But it comes under exceptions. Most Indians go for “value for money”.

Another case that always lurks in my mind is that of carbonated drinks. Clearly, the market price does not justify the immediate direct and indirect costs (excluding the marketing cost). Why should the consumer pay for such a high marketing cost? I don’t really understand but they are paying. We have just accepted it the way it is. Everyone from urban t rural India is touched by the product. Again, marketing cost does not add any direct value to the product in terms of the quality. It just makes people aware of the product. They already are very well aware. Why can’t an indigenous brand enter here, provide the same goods at lesser price, have minimum marketing expenses, build its name overtime by providing quality goods? Anyhow, the carbonated drinks are also produced by franchisees. Why is it so difficult to produce and market them ourselves? If we can produce quality goods under licenses, why can’t we do it ourselves? If we say we can’t, we have a big problem at hand. We need someone to make us work then. It will just mean we have little faith in ourselves and our work.

The trouble is we don’t pause and think. Just doing the work and not thinking about it is not human. Nothing great will come up with CCP syndrome. The only thing that will come up will be a cheap imitation. I don’t really like it when I hear “what can be done, that is the way it is”. That is the way things will remain if we don’t have the courage to think, analyze, solve, and implement. I haven’t really done any great thing myself but rarely do I say such things. I believe it is possible to make good things happen to us by moving towards them, by challenging the status quo and by not accepting them meekly.

We have good forex reserves, good balance of payments and all economic indicators augurs well for us! It presents a fairly good picture on the outside. Let’s look at few select statistics:

• Services contribute 55% to our GDP.
• Manufacturing contributes 27% of GDP.
• Agriculture contributes 18% of GDP.
• 60% of our population is engaged in agriculture.

Services are indeed bringing in a lot of wealth indeed. We need all that. We also need to give a thought to the lopsidedness of distribution of income in our economy. Is it really good that 60% of our population, most of it rural, contributes only 18% of the GDP? This calls for deliberation and lots of it. And more than deliberation it calls for effective implementation of a very good solution. While it is good to implement laws like Right to food and Right to education it is more important to provide what is promised under those statues.

Services, as I said, are good for us. Our best minds are absorbed in it – telecom, IT, etc. but we cannot at all afford to leave our 60% of population behind in dark ages. With less income in their hand and little or no voice in the market, they will lose economic freedom. All this, while some of us continue to enjoy the benefits of globalization and liberalization. Is it fair? We need to take even the weakest along with us, just like we care and heal a body part which gets hurt or weak. Poor in the country needs attention and they comprise the majority. What stops us? If we can run multinationals efficiently, why can’t we run our public administration well?

Some of our best minds need to provide solutions to poor in Rural India. We need to bring light to their homes, water to their taps, food in their empty plates, education to their children, employment to adults. All this, take for granted in urban India. Rural India will need unique solutions – very well thought of and analyzed. “Cut, Copy, Paste” will not work but rest on paper. IT and communication need to trickle down to make life easier for them. Water resources are scanty in most parts. It remains one of the most undervalued and unwisely used resources. Experts are of the opinion that we will grossly run short of water in near future. Water is the new oil, they are saying. Bottled water can never be a solution to a country like India where masses earn less than $2 a day.

Management of food grains is disturbing and disheartening. It pains to see the number of intermediaries involved. The one who consumes pays a lot more than what the producer gets. Sky rocketing prices present a dismal scene while million tones of food grains rot in the open for lack of storage facilities. Is it really that difficult to manage? Most of our population spend majority of income on food items. Rising prices hurts the poor directly and badly. It just means less money for education, entertainment, savings, etc. It gives rise to other disturbing side effects like child labor, dropouts from schools, malnutrition, etc. There is little that monetary policy can do in this case. The supply of the goods needs to be adequate in order to contain prices. And with 60% of population, as we have seen, engaged in agriculture, we face shortage of food grains – it calls for full fledged investigation to bring out the causes and solutions.

The weak and the meek do not raise voices because they don’t have any. That does not and should not take their right to live with dignity. The solutions need to be bespoke and not CCP templates. Ignorance should not be a cause of deprivation. People in rural India need a decent standard of living and dignity as much as anyone. A great deal of our efforts should be directed in this direction. We cannot ignore the problem and live in our make believe world. It is only getting bigger with time.

We need to find solutions for Rural India in various sectors – banking, IT, ITES, financial services, education, infrastructure, communications, etc. All solutions should have little or no place for subsidies, grants, etc. they are not helpful in the long term.

Some examples of the solutions for Rural India are:

• Very economical laptop performing basic functions.
• Mobile numbers representing bank account numbers too and free money transfer using SMS.
• Providing free agriculture advisory services over telephone.
• Teachers from “public schools” in urban areas teaching as visiting faculty.
• Internet facilities at state run centers.
• Information related to pricing of agricultural produce and other inputs.
• Rural consultancies to provide comprehensive advisory services.

Last option would be particularly immensely beneficial. Know how is sadly grossly missing. Amul opened up through collective efforts of villagers. Rural folks do not know about corporate loans, etc. and can’t use it to their advantages even if they have the means.

Again, they can be advised about benefits of producing and marketing processed foods themselves. I can go endlessly about the reforms needed in rural sector.

People there are no less talented and enterprising. We should work in the direction of providing them a level playing field. India is growing brilliantly when a small part of the population is the force. Imagine what if the majority becomes a part of the growth story. That is exactly what we should work towards. Otherwise, increasing inequality will do more harm and cause more dissatisfaction that we can imagine.

Baggage

2010-03-01T00:25:00.000+05:30

I have seen enough of this world
to know that the most popular opinion
is not the always the most right thing

I remember those days
when nobody cared
what I did

I did a lot during those days

Now that everyone asks
what am I doing
I'm not able to do anything

I miss the oblivion
I miss the carelessness

I miss not being busy
yet not being idle!

I never felt like a fool
though no body thought
I was doing anything worthwhile

I now doubt
the wisdom of the world

I care not about
the stupid measures and scales!

It just helps me
to look too far
across the boundaries and boundations

I try my best
to cut ties and shackle
once a while
to drown in the sea of thought
to learn the unseen and unheard
to feed the mind
to release the baggage
which comes from the world!

Voices of Saints

2010-03-01T00:20:00.001+05:30

Oh don't wake me up
I'm lost
hearing the voices of saints

So pure and comforting
yet house to a resolution

Mesmerizing the voice
overwhelming the words
coming out from those
who contemplated deep
went into trance
a lot many times

The voice awakes me
to rise from the sleep
in which I am
I feel I'm safe
I pretend so
in self deception

And I try my best
to remain so
but saints say
Truth Prevails!
so it has!

Cage

2010-03-01T00:12:00.000+05:30

I look at the long list of rules
And smile!
The one with fire
will burn them all

Men you shouldn't allow
algorithm to be fed into yourself

For it's nothing
but a cage!

Pay heed to all around
and you will follow
the algorithm bound in a cage

A look outside the cage
is promising
but you like not the risk

Nothing is going to come to you
in the cage
except the food and water
people in a bigger cage
choose to offer
and yet how can we forget
The Algorithm!

Can you make an effort
to break the cage and try and fly

You will only rise
when you break the cage and dare to fly

Yes that is where you belong
A new nest wherever you want
Isn't that what you always longed for?

So what's stopping you
except your resolution weak

Time is ripe
pick that hammer
with resolution strong
and you have enough strength
in your arms
and your heart is sound
to bear the loud sound
and brain sharp
to know where to strike

Let your fire burn the cage
in entirety
Let it not deprive you
and the world
of the gifts you intend to bring
to the world and yourself
Go ahead! May The Kind Lord be with you!!

The Doer

2010-03-01T00:01:00.001+05:30

The doer looks around
it all seems meaningless to him

The purpose of life
remains unfulfilled

The knowledge he gathered
and is still gathering
lies unmoved

Loads of questions
make him uneasy
Everyday!

Yet he is unmoved
for he is aware
that a higher purpose awaits him

And that he will have to create
his own path
and waver not
by the vagaries

He looks around again
no one is listening
they are just nodding and wondering
with wide eyes
and a smirk

But the doer knows
he has to get there
not only for his own sake
but those to whom
he promised in his mind

To those whole names
he is not aware

Drudgery keeps him busy
yes now and then
something shakes him
as if to awake him
for the real purpose

He rises from the slumber
time and again
and sees those to whom he promised

They make his heart melt
They make him aware
of the promises unfulfilled

He resolves to rise
for a higher purpose
May God be with him!

He smiles at the chains
that bind him
He knows he has to break them
He knows they ain't stronger
then his resolve

The doer is lost in thought
His resolve getting stronger
It is convincing him more and more
To rise and break the shackles
To rise for the higher purpose

Blessed is he
for not everyone is blessed
for thoughts so pure
God is with him!

In his dreams
he dreams of realizing
his dream

The journey
he is about to start
And he could sense
Someone walking with him
oh it is The Lord!!

2010-01-14T14:26:00.000+05:30

As I look around, I see
people carrying sacks
trying their best to hide it from the view

They Believe the valuables in it
should be hidden so

The idea is
to confine it to themselves

Imagine if the sun thinks so!!
Haha!
Or if the rivers get this idea
or the fields, or the air

With highly limited faculties comes such ideas
fix your mind unto Lord!

Never will you get such small thoughts
for the Lord shall relieve you of drudgery and folly

And you shall traverse all around
oh so high yet so low!

You will see the pain of a peasant
yet not his name and its meaning!

You will hear the voice so low
and yet not worry about its weakness!

People around will wonder
what's the guy all about!

A few smirks, a few sneers,
a few praises, a few blessings

He acknowledges them all
yet unmoved is he
'cause it's the Lord that's with him!

Angels

2010-01-14T14:20:00.000+05:30

I met a few Angels,
some in my darkest hours

They seemed to know it all,
what I was going through

They seemed to know
what I was trying to do

They all did their part
and went away
sometimes not even receiving a thanks!

Here I am wondering
Could I be someone's Angel
Just as many have been to me!

I look around me
fools eating fools,
fools running hard,
fools grabbing stones and metals,
thinking doing so will make them good

Little do they know,
being an Angel
will give them all
they have never known!

Helping someone realize his dream
will bring happiness unbound to you
and a good night sleep of course

You can spend your time running with rats,
there's no end to it

But look around you and think hard
there is more to life than running with rats!

The Pearl

2010-01-14T13:47:00.000+05:30

Blinded by their shallow knowledge
they try to show off
whatever little they got

Little do they know
that ice can't be sold to Eskimos

As I watch
the painful drama unfolds
before my very eyes
Everyday!

Empty vessels making
a hell lot of noise

And I try my best
to ignore
those plastic smiles
those empty words
those fake concerns

Little do they know
that I see right through those things
from the very beginning

Lord has been very kind all along!
Blessed me with quite a few genuine friends
the kind who ain't easy to find

And blessed me
with the gift
to know when I meet one

And I make everlasting effort
and the Lord knows it
to be one

I ain't mean
disrespect to anyone
plastic or genuine

But I stifle
in the company of those
who don't mean
what they say
and say things they don't mean

There is more to life
than just a hallow success
which brings more bucks
and more plastics -- cards and friends

A wholesome life
we will realize
has no place for plastics
but for cheers and beers

I measure my wealth
by the genuine smiles I get
by genuine concerns for me
by genuine advices
by genuine gifts

Take a big stride
take a big flight
blow a loud whistle
so loud
that covers the noise
of those empty vessels

Those vessels are all around
making a lot of noises
hum a song and
ignore the noise

And if the noise goes louder
play the guitar along
with the song

If the noise
troubles you still
and you hear
it is swearing at you

Expect that the vessels
can have nothing else to offer

And that song
oh! that you must sing along!

Try and meet those
who make you smile
for the reason they don't know
and you don't know

Lack of reason
is the reason
for the happiness unbound
in the words
of a genuine friend

Do I hear you say
that his words ring
in your ears
for reasons you don't know
don't lose him for anything
for he is the one
sans plastic

I find it funny
when you say
speak to him
he is a shot!

Oh I don't want to
there are enough little bombs around him
I'd rather do my little job
than flock around shots and cannons!

Stroll around the sea
dabble in those random shells

Oh dive deep if you can
stay down under
as long as you can
did you notice the unnoticed?
if you didn't
may be you will

The idea is not to notice
but to get the thrill of diving deep!

Oh pleasure it is
to feel everything still
and oh that focus!!

And then when you come out
you hold that elusive Pearl

That which comes
not from desire and lust
but from the toil every moment
and the doer
relishes in the toil

And the Pearl brings cheers
not only to the doer
but the world around him
even beyond the very sea!

Oh that doer!
he looks at the things very far
he knows when they are approaching
he knows when he should approach

But the world
it is oblivious
to the fact
and sees nothing
and knows nothing

Yet he is aware
that the same world
will cheer about the Pearl

Will he care about
what comes out
of those empty vessels

Oh no never!
with the eyes fixed
on the Pearl so far
how could those empty vessels be visible!

His ears are fixed
to the cheers
the Pearl will bring

The Pearl he may get
he may not
but the Good Lord
always be with those
who try to bring
The Pearl to the world!!

For what it is worth

2010-01-03T23:20:00.000+05:30

I have always felt
that it is nature's law
to disturb the hermit lost in thought

God's own way to distract someone
who is about to peep into his ways

But when you try very hard all the time
and you succeed at least once
oh man! You are the man!

it is not that God does not want you to know
it is just that
he wants you to know what it is worth

you can’t just have things easily
for you will never know what it is worth

you dig thousand miles downward
and look all around
till you get a diamond

if diamonds were available for free
would you value it as much

but there is something else
that is there to it

once you have obtained the jewel
do not keep it to yourself

let it illuminate and enlighten others
for its real worth will be known
by the light it brings to others’ life

and you will shine in its glory
evident no doubt by the radiance on your face

your looks will reflect the cheers you brought
into the lives of the people you've never known

never mind what the fools around say
for they do not know
what it is worth to give to people you do not know

perhaps they will know

what it brings to help people so

but look around
you will see
flowers blown in your path before you tread

bask in the glory and sunlight
for they will be plenty
just like your good deeds

the world will remember those
who care not what they will get

but always care that they give plenty
to those who do not have

With the mind fixed on the Lord
they do not look at the sack

for they know it will be full
before they know

you want to see such people!
look around for those who smile while they are asleep

for they will always have peaceful sleep
as they are the reason for some one else's

to the hand that often gives
power always stays

and the sword held in such hand shines
not with blood but with Lord's blessings
for they raise sword to protect others
and not show their power

look around you
you know when you meet them

even before you see them
u feel them
and their divine person

a pleasure it is to see them and be near

like a fresh breeze fragrant
are their ways

look people are following someone in herd
it must be him
it must be him
it has to be him!!

Life

2007-10-09T18:00:00.000+05:30

And you work hard day and night
you think your problems are coming to an end
Wait a while
Look around
Yes, there is more
Just when you think you are done with a problem,
there is another one for you
harder than the previous one
Yes, this is life for you my friend!!
What you have in hand is not enough
What you may have is not certain
So you cry for things which you do not have
and may not have at all
But life moves on
sometimes rain
sometimes sunshine
That is life for you my friend!!
Lots of choices to make
Lots of ways to take
Each seem greener than another
That is life for you my friend!!
Look back in life
only to learn from it
Take a large view once
to see how it has been so far
What seemed a lot of trouble
did a lot of good to you
Just because you are inconvenienced
doesn't mean that it is bad for you
Do not look upon everything to learn from it
Not everything in the world
is made for critical appraisal
Some are above it
Some below

Change

2007-10-09T15:06:00.000+05:30

Change is always difficult
but stagnant water stinks
move on.... 'cause that is life
you remain confined to your territory
you feel safe and respected
you fear how is it going to be outside
it is always going to be different from where you are
that's where the fear comes from
Unless you try you have nothing to lose
but you have nothing to gain as well
You curse restrictions....
You get swayed by temptations.....
they will be there forever
There will always be people
who will doubt your ability
They cant think of doing that themselves
Listen to your heart
Look at the horizon
Big things require big effort and a big heart
Do not go and look for opinions everywhere
Not everyone is worth speaking your heart to
When you are right and determined to the core
fearlessness grips you
the strength comes from within
When eyes are on the target
nothing else matters
Time does elapse
Patience gets tested
But the fruit would not taste that good
if hardships aint involved

Deserve

2007-10-08T17:17:00.000+05:30

Do I really deserve what I got?
Rarely a smile comes to my face
I have, I believe, all the troubles in the world
Little did I realize
everyone has troubles
And own troubles seem to be important
Little did I realize
that everywhere there are pearls thrown by Lord
We are so pre occupied
that we fail to notice
I have been imbecile enough to ignore them
and run after things which I believe are important
Every time I get a thing
I make a face "This is not what I wanted"
What makes me so stone faced
and a fool not to realize that I indeed have a lot
And even if I have everything I want
I will still want more
There is probably no end to this
What makes me so thankless O Lord!
If I count things I have they seem to be lot
But greedy I am to lust for more
O Lord let the wisdom be dawned

Futility

2007-10-07T20:51:00.000+05:30

It’s strange how everything is simple once we know it. Doesn’t equilibrium, so applicable in economics and finance, also applicable in real life? Demand and supply equilibrium!! When what you want and what you get is equal, you are in equilibrium. But it does not happen very often, does it? But the closer we are to equilibrium, probably the happier we are.That, kind of, is in tune with the thoughts of Buddha, etc. The less we want, or better still with no wants, more satisfied we are.
Here comes the role of perception. We may have a lot but still think we don’t have much. Equilibrium is in mind. So we think we have what we want and hence pave way for establishment of equilibrium. Doesn’t it all sound so well connected. It probably is. Anyone’s perception is based on experiences of life. So does life mould our perception? It probably does. Pleasant experiences, so we take them to be, aren’t as pedagogical as unpleasant ones (as perceived by us). My belief is that the hardships, sacrifices, and all the acts identified with life adjectives teach us more as compared to their antonyms and the former experiences have longer shelf life in our sub conscience.
Coming again to equilibrium, it shows in everything about a person – face, mannerisms, temperament, talk, etc.
Probably everything is connected; it’s we who complicate things. Some one said “The more we understand life, the more pointless it seems to be”. It is so, probably, because we tend to separate same things and try to think that they are separate and distinct ab initio. Look at separate countries. Were they separate and distinct ab initio? Language, people, clothes and the list goes endless; were they distinct and separate ab initio? An ultra macro view of the world is sufficient enough to reveal that everything is same despite the differences created by us. It may sound oversimplification of things on an unimportant planet in cosmos but that is how I view things.
Probably someday we will realize that most of our efforts are either foolish or useless. A country you are bombing may have people whose ancestors resided in your country (i.e. have origin in your country) or what you call your country. Your country may have people whose ancestors lived in the country you are bombing (i.e. your countrymen have origin in the enemy country). So, in a way, are you not bombing your own countrymen? There can be many instances like that.
I believe that it’s very important to see what a person thinks of things around him. The right way to do things would be to think right. It is the first step. Hence, thought process guides our actions. We do as we think. To improve, improve the way you think. You are bound to notice change in everything – perceptions, actions, bearing, etc.

Cloud

2007-10-07T20:49:00.000+05:30

There, ya, there goes the cloud it was there for so long,
eternity perhaps
it certainly seemed so
came of its own,
gone without askance
A thought crosses my mind --
could i have done anything to clear it away?
Perhaps
But a recoiling tail dispersed all doubts
Perhaps helplessness was part of the cloud
One can only see the cloud
neither touch it, nor blow it away