Thursday, October 23, 2008

Deceive, Inveigle, Obfuscate

The simplest of things never are. Love, relationships, right, wrong, truth, hope, aggression.

What we fail to realize is the innate need of humans to be and to make ourselves as close to gods as possible. Wouldn't we all love to be superhuman? Fly, be invincible, and live forever? But it’s not that simple.

We love to define ourselves by our pain and suffering. Without it we often feel as if that intangible, ever-elusive piece of us is missing. I guess that’s why relationships are so hard to manage. We fail to identify with the belongingness that we crave but refuse to accept.
It is nearly impossible for us to even begin to define what we are. We simply lack the mental acuity to attempt it. But then, I guess that’s what makes us special. That’s why we are who we are. It comes down to this; what can we do to ensure that we can truly even begin to make ourselves immortal?

Selflessness? Sacrifice? Charity? Achievement? Manna? Spiritualism?

No. None of these are the quintessential traits of the most intelligent animals on the earth. For that’s what we truly are.
The only way to ensure that we can live up to our own expectations is to live regardless of the expectations of others. Once this is done, we can focus on what’s relevant and necessary. But then do we truly want that?

That’s the question we have to individually reflect inwards and explore in the depths of our being. There is no guide, no mentor, no teacher. Only disciple and follower. Partners in this long and winding journey called “life”

Saturday, October 18, 2008

How to do more

What the problem in sleeping 4 hours a day? Laziness, tiredness, inattentiveness?

The answer is none of the above.

At an MBA college one of the few things you'll learn that are of actual practical value are : how to sleep less, how to work under deadlines, how to seriously multi task, how to crave for that 3 am maggi fix, how to spew out "wisdom" on anything at all, how to drink all night and give a presentation in the morning, how to study just 2hrs before an exam, how to read more than 2 newspapers a day, how to write a good resume,........the list goes on.

So whats the big deal u may ask......u don't need to spend 8lakhs to learn these things.

But that's where you're wrong. Here is where the "best and the brightest" of the country are. The next CEO of an Infosys or a ICICI Bank(does anyone want this job right now?) may be sitting next to you for two years. This is the place where you can develop relationships that will last you a life time (that's right i said relationship not friendship).

The advantage of sleeping less is unrivalled. You can read the book you always wanted to, you can play the games you always wanted to,you can think about your future in the silence of the night, you can discuss business, politics, food, philosophy, the future with the most brilliant individuals, you can study(if you want), and pretty much do anything except soak up some sun.

The most important lesson that you'll learn however, is that you'll learn to prioritize your life. You will realize the importance of personal time and family time. You'll learn to balance extra-curriculars and academics. You'll learn which one is more important. You will see your plans materialize and fail and you'll see yourself still manage to cope.

When I arrived here, for the first week i slept a net total of maybe 15-16 hrs. But believe me it felt good. We as a group were able to gel so well one may think we were friends for the last 10 years. We supported each other, challenged each other, pushed each other to the limit.......

Lets hope this is the beginning of something great.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

50 and counting

Was 50 and counting the last time I checked, and yet, here I find myself after close to a week and still jobless. Funny. Would have thought that after close to two years of working in the largest private company in the country it would have been a cake walk. Turns out that I'm wrong. And how!!!!

Easy for me to criticize the process....the system......the companies.....

Easier still to simply get disappointed and lower my standards and goals......


But the fact remains....this is where the world is headed.......


The neo-achievers:

I am the best of the best. I cannot accept failure. I don't like to daydream. I don't like to just chill. I hate stupid people. I hate wasting time. I hate coming second. I hate breathing fresh air. I hate being without a goal.

I hate being really me.

The system is equally to blame. It has created a generation of test-takers instead of learners. Students have actually mastered the art of acing an exam and regurgitating all the remaining learning simply to get the SCORE. Everything from what goes on your resume to what books you should read to what kind of activities corporates look for in a c.v., everything is thought through. The youth of my generation fears being a non-achiever. It has simply become taboo. The burgeoning number of MBA's and the similarly growing number of schools is testament to this fact.

The need to achieve. The need to be the best.

Whats really wrong is that the influence's give a damn about this.......everything is now business.

We still see MBA students fresh out of grad school. What the hell do they even know about the working environment. Give them some time to work at the lower level in an organization to understand the ground realities of the working world, then perhaps we will see them shine far beyond imagination.

Seems only right that the financial systems world over are in a crisis. When marketers do finance and financiers do operations and operations people do sales......what do you expect.

I fear India is headed down this same path.

CGPA's, extra-curriculars, social causes, all combine to form the perfect well rounded individual. Who is often burnt out by the time he/she is thirty. Even stress management is now a resume bullet point.

We Indians have lost the plot somewhere over the last 20 odd years. Close to 5 lakh Engineers graduate in India every year. 25,000 in Mumbai and Pune alone!

Yes the competition is stiff and extremely volatile.

But where are the parents? Where are the teachers? Where are the educators?

Where is wisdom?

The youth of my generation needs to be told it's OK to fail. We need to be told it's OK to waste time. We need to be told it's OK to just relax. We need to be told that life is not about building a resume. We need to be told that we are really appreciated. We need to be told the truth about the world.

We need to be told it's OK to be ourselves!

Friday, October 10, 2008

Beginnings get complicated the farther we progress.......opinions are calculated immune to openness.......

This is what i have been doing all my life........


Wanted to be a pilot........f***ed that up
Wanted to join the services......f***ed that up
Wanted to be the best engineer......f***ed that up
Wanted to be the best manager......f***ed that up
Wanted to be the best son..........f***ed that up
Wanted to be the best brother...f***ed that up
Wanted to be the best friend......f***ed that up
Wanted to be the best guitarist........f***ed that up
Wanted to be the best basketball player.........f***ed that up
Wanted to be a writer........f***ed that up
Wanted to design video games......f***ed that up
Wanted to chill out for a year after college.......f***ed that up
Wanted to drink till i puked......f***ed that up
Wanted to smoke till i passed out......f***ed that up
Wanted to scream out from the top of my lungs for no reason...........f***ed that up
Wanted to jump from the top...of anything......f***ed that up
Wanted to win Pepsi storm......f***ed that up
Wanted a black unicorn......f***ed that up
Wanted to be the best at everything.....f***ed that up
Wanted to be with the one person i most relate to since school.......f***ed that up

Wanted to kill someone.......f***ed that up
Wanted to get famous before turning 25......f***ed that up
Wanted to get laid before turning 21......f***ed that up
Wanted to get a summer job before the placement week....f***ed that up too....:-)
Wanted to go base-jumping........f***ed that up
Wanted to work at Lehman Bros..........f***ed that up
Wanted to drive a Ferrari Enzo.....f***ed that up
Wanted macaroni for dinner last night.....f*** that
Want to see Dream theater in concert.....f*** that
Want to party on the beach.....f*** that
Want to get high tonight.......f*** that

So whats awaiting me?
Life bring it on...........................and i'll show you how it's to be f***ed.