Mumbai Rocks!!

I visited Mumbai recently truly it was an experience that I would remember for a long time to come. My day started very early in the morning. After getting ready for the day ahead all suited and booted, my sweetheart saw me off at the bus stop. They say a good day starts with a nice and heavy breakfast and I did manage just that and as it turns out it was one of the best things I did. This was not the only right decision for some reason I decided to checkin at the Bangalore airport for the evening flight back to bangalore as well turns out this was indeed the best decision.

After reaching mumbai I was excited to see the city after a good 6 year gap. This city has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. From Siddhi Vinayak to Haaji Ali i passed some of the blessed placed place to reach my destination Church gate. I had a few hours to spend before I head to what I had come here for. I stralled around the fashion street and the Art Gallery, it was such a treat to the eyes. Artists share there feelings through color. One of the things that caught my eye was a boat made with Guns and ammunition to showcase the recent carnage. I liked the thought and the silent protest. Its time..

I get to meet a few people in my line of business by Gods grace and this truly was one such moment which does change the way i look at myself. The interactions were heart warming and posted great learnings. I met Mr. Ravi Makhija, a person with great reputation in his field and the time I got to spend with him was truly rewarding. The way to conduct yourself through a discussion and the importance of knowing what you are doing and how you are doing things. He spoke little but whatever he said did make a lot of sense. In his words "I am a good profile but very raw there is a long way to go to really achieve what I set myself out for". My most interesting meeting was with Mr. Sudipto Bannerjee, he was excellent reached out to me in a very heart warming way and then without being critical he did show me the value that I have and the things that I should avoid. His observations were spot on from how my learnings are only superficial and not a deep dive in any field and how important that is to be successful. The excersise of selling a Pen to him would always remain very close to me. I was at my wits end but it did leave a sense of achievement in me I know there is a long way to go. I really need those management lessons and specialisation if I were to succeed in life. Though an exhaustive day was drawing to a close it wasnt over for me. I was a good 2 hrs away from the Airport, the time read 6.45 and my flight was at 8.40...Now you know how important that early checkin was..I reached the airport at 8.35 man that was a very close call. Luckly for me I didnt see a lot of pessengers infact I did see anyone at the security check counter other than myself and the security personnel. I rush through the corridor into the flight and I was the last one to hop on. Tired and exhausted I reached home well past midnight and find myself tucked in bed. God I am so tired..But the worst part is I need to wait....

Terrorism & India

Terrorism effects one and all and it plays on peoples insecurity, innocent lifes and wishes to achieve instability, collateral damage in various forms. I am sure this is not something new that I write. Everyone knows what happened on 26/11 in mumbai and the recent outrage by millions of Indians in Urban India. Interestingly there are tons of debates on news channels and various other media and forums. I believe all this to make good business by fuming this very emotion, let me tell you how. Tune into any news channel and they are asking us to send our suggestions and views through SMS mind you each sms cost 6 rupees and who is making money? So are the news channels really with us or there for the money. Are we fuming anger and hatred and making remarks that we would under normal circumstances never do. I believe we are.

I am surprised at hundreds of people coming out on the Road and saying we will not pay taxes and do a lot of non-cooperation movement against the government. If you think about it we are working for the terror networks this is exactly what they want. They want to slowdown our economy and divert our focus to other things. Our taxes go to the employes in PSUs and different development projects around the country. Yes I agree that they are underutilized and misappropiated and making money for the ministers but even if 20% is coming back to the society I dont think I can risk development work in the country which is already starved by the lack of it. Also the recession around the world doesnt help. So by not paying taxes you think you are helping the country. I really do not think we can afford to stall the progress of our country. There has to be a better way than not paying taxes. We are not fighting against the govt. remember we are fighting against the inaction. We want them to work and work with accountability. How I am sure there are ways there are laws already to force these changes and if there are not than we need to fight to bring those laws.

Anger provoked US to bomb two countries without thinking, I believe, and now they are crying and we are now talking about doing the same thing. I was surprised to see online petitions and millions supporting it without realizing what they are vouching for. We are actually ok with 500 of our great soldiers to give up their lifes because we are angry and unhappy. WAR is not a solution not even targeted bombings. Rats will hide from one hole into the other. Terrorism cannot be resolved overnight. US bombed countries is the world to what good. Are we free of terrorism? Today pakistan is hiding some elements tomorrow some other countries will shield them. By bombing countries US has created a situation where the US citizens are forcefully holed up in their own country. They cannot travel without fear anywhere in the world. Do we want to end up being targets around the world and be a reason to be hated because we acted in haste.

There has to be a better ways to tackle the situation. I just hope that the Govt just to show people in India and win some votes do not act in haste and bomb some locations. While we really need to fight a diplomatic battle with Pakistan and demand them to take action we need to look at ourselves and take some measures to ensure that gullible people like us and millions in our villages are not used/mislead into doing such dirty unforgivable act.

I would support

1. Police reforms so that we can tackle situation better if it happens
2. Central Investigation agency independent of political indulgence
3. Autonomous bodies to monitor Govt. spendings and MLA spendings with authority to take action against people who are caught doing wrong.
   
4. Mandatory Social Service for all Indians irrespective of who he is from the president to the beggar on the street. If we get even 5% of our population do this we will change our country inside out.
   
5. Create a sense of equality. We are Indians. Thats all!!

Remember majority of our populations live in villages and small towns and they are worried about feeding their kids and medical help and education, clean water, basic amenities they are dealing with a very serious problem of surviving everyday. If we want to change our country and fight Terrorism in a more efficient manner I believe that we have to create the sense of belonging. I belong to India. I am an INDIAN.

I wish we are not fooled by sudden rush of blood and misleading NEWS CHANNELS. Think beyond and out of the box.

If I act happy when people around me are sad I am insensitive and selfish but if I am happy and spread happiness around me by working with the sad everyone looks upto me. We need to unite and contribute to bring the country together. Time heals the biggest wounds but anger only burns more than it cures. We need constructive action and self realization more than bombing others or not paying taxes. I am not a politician nor an economist but I do believe that there is always a better way than killing one another.

Celestial Celebration

The barbaric happenings around the world and the pain inflicted on ourselves make even the celestial beings smile at us. Yesterday as I was heading back home from work I witnessed what has been termed as The Celestial Triangle. "It's all in the simple mechanics of how the earth, Venus and jupiter move around the sun also on how the move revolves round the earth". One of the papers was quoted saying "The moon smiles as Venus and jupiter come close together.

I thought to myself what an irony everywhere around world people are dealing with major crisis economic, political & the omnipresent Terrorism and all of these are Man Made..who enjoys it the planets and the stars. If we continue our apathy towards our fellow beings and mother nature I wont be surprised if we all will be laughing at our own deeds. Do i sound pessimistic? I have liabilities and fears surrounding me and I only wish that I can do away with my liabilities and fears at the cost of being pessimistic.

The scene in the sky yesterday was beautiful to say the least but seriously I am not sure how many of even care to look up to the sky these days. Grim thoughts and sad feelings..

Tribute to the Men in Uniform

My heart goes out to all those families who have lost their loved ones. I cannot even begin to imagine the pain and uncertainty that the families of these brave and courageous soldiers of our country have to face. While I am sure that like all other tragedies in our country this will also go down as a date on our history books with many dead and many broken families I only hope that the people concerned take some action to atleast infuse fear and deter people who dare in their dreams to take innocent lives and tarnish the imagine of our Country.

Come to see on the face of it, it is so easy for the terrorists whenever they want to send a message of fear they get up and decide to blow up in front of you or kill thousands for no reason. while if we wish to send these terrorists a message we really have no way. I really wish that once the investigations are over with the ones who are caught and even for the terrorists who are killed. Both the dead (terrorists) and alive should be handed over to the public and left in the open to rot and be eaten by rats or pissed on, humiliated in whatever manner possible. Let the once caught alive be kicked and trashed just as helplessly as we were standing and watching for so many years. I really hope that the media covers and gives the punishment just as much coverage so that the people who even have the slightest inclination to do anything of this nature know if they are caught what happens to them. Not a simple death sentence is enough.

Money Matters

For a while now I have been thinking what to write and what to pick on. I still havent been able to stimulate myself enough to write something or vent out some of my frustrations. Work has been absorbing I dont really know whether I am cribbing or I have just become one by nature. I hope the later is not true. But I seem to be a little out of paitience and complaining a lot more than i should may be not. Are these mood swings?? Gosh..where am i headed...

Okay, I have a question for whoever can answer. Cost Cutting (saving) is it applicable only for companies or do people also should do it? How far can you go without straining yourself and people around you with Cost Saving? I feel I am becoming increasingly worried about saving more and more money as my objective is to save up enough for the coming future. How much is enough? Is there an answer really. Sometimes I feel I am being stupid bargaining to save a 100 rupees if i can. Walk or see two more stores if i can save money. Use my cards to my advantage. Free Bag from one to free movie tickets on the other.

Fortunately i do get and manage to get things like that but that also frustrate people who are with me. I think before i spend and i think about where the money will come from before even i spend it. I want to know where it comes from and where does it go? I like spending money but only when i am convinced its worth it and very impulsively..

Diwali!! :-)

Flowers in the Garden await the Light to bring life,
Bees & Birds alike await the Light to bring joy,
How beautiful is this arrangement,
Nature calls light & light Obliges,
Of the many miracles this is the one that everyone shares equally.

To cherish & to share the celebration of light,
To bring prosperity and light of knowledge,
For those who are a little less fortunate,
For those who are blessed,
Let there be blessing like the light, Miracle that everyone shares equally.

May all your wishes and prayers come true this Diwali. Let there be Light all over

Marketing Vs Sales Or Is it?

Marketing Drives Sales and Sales Create the need for Marketing.

An effective marketing campaign leads to a good sale and a good sale results into an excellent Marketing success. I am sure all of us have heard this before. I threw this into a discussion forum on LinkedIn. I throughly enjoyed the response it was truly amaging to learn from so many learned people out there. In this post I am just trying to sum up some of the thoughts from our discussion though I am sure that there will be many more additions to it and I wont want to miss out on any. (I am just so excited to see the response from the people I could not stop myself)

"Imagine a battlefield. Marketing is your Air force i.e. it does carpet bombing but in a targeted location and Sales is your Infantry...you cannot claim to have captured the location until your infantry goes in and secures the location on-the-ground. " - Manish D Marketing Manager Nokia.

I like what Manish had to say simply because it makes me feel like a martyr saving my company, I save 100s of jobs in my company by my performance and even that of the Marketing guys..hahaha...But no really this is cool isnt it??

Jacob Rene Gabriel, AVP Yes Bank says and I quote

1. "Grab attention.
2. Hold Interest.
3. Create desire.
4. Elicit action.
   Of the steps mentioned above...marketings job is the first three.the fourth step is sales. "
   

I think this is what we always do whether we are selling or not. In our day to day chores as well. But yes functionally as the two departments this is exactly what i would like to see.

"A great marketing campaign drives business to the door, however, if you don't have a sales bulldog to meet that lead, the marketing is worthless." says Seth Dudley, VP Business Development Senior Living Residences.

"There is no competition, or one or the other. The business strategy must determine which is the best approach to both get new clients and satisfy existing ones. " - Mike Driver, Corporate Change CRM.

Steve Smith, a Small Business Expert elaborates this in the most beautiful manner one can ask for. Steve if you read this blog ever, I truly truly loved your view..

"All too often, the set-up and objectives of the marketing department and the sales force are diametrically opposed. Marketing is usually tasked with developing the market's potential with new products, advertising, promotions, etc. while the sales force is supposed to develop the client relationship and convince them to buy what marketing has developed. That traditional relationship has some big holes in it. While marketing is focused on a particular demographic, consumer base or trade channel, sales is focused on individual clients within those designated channels. Frequently, it's a matter of understanding who the customer really is. As an example, many consumer goods companies will have their marketing teams focus their efforts on the end purchasing consumer- makes a lot of sense. The sales team, however, is focused on the retailers or distributors that make their product available to the consumer. What works 'for' the consumer doesn't always work 'with' the retailer. If you've ever called on Walmart, you now that many manufacturers will have completely different marketing teams and plans for Walmart as they have for the rest of the market. And if Walmart is a big enough customer to that manufacturer, there may not be a marketing plan for the rest of the market.

All this means that sales and marketing should be strategically align. Sales is in position to gain the customer's business because they have their finger on the pulse of that customer's decision making process. This is something marketing rarely can accomplish. Marketing on the other hand, has to develop products or services that sales can actually sell becuase they mean something to the client being served. Without this kind of working relationship, many companies begin entertaining the notion of trading the players as a means of improving the alignment. In the few situations I have been involved in, the solution was to create a liason positon between sales and marketing. This position works with internal marketing but spoke from a sales perspective. This way, you end up with a marketing team that has a real world understanding of what sales needs to advance the company's market share position or generate new streams of revenue. Not an easy task, but one that plugs the biggest hole between sales and marketing- no communication about what's working."

"Marketing is where the rubber meets the sky and sales is where the rubber meets the road." - Becky Guillory, Principal at Kris and Company.

My two cents from all of this an Ideal world is where there are no challenges and real world is where we all live and breathe to set and see new challenges. We are talking about Sales and Marketing which are like sisters but often fail to behave like one. From an Owner to an Individual Contributor, from a Supply to a demand, everything has a scope to better than what it is. Atleast I like to believe so and I am sure many would like to agree.

Marketing Vs Sales!! LinkedIn Discussion

72 hrs & Gone!!

What started a year ago came to a grinding halt. On 15th my Grand Father who was suffering from Blood Cancer breath his last on 16th October, 08 at a hospital in Faridabad close to New Delhi.

Some where deep down I had a feeling that he wont make it. I could have never shared this feeling with anyone but I was hoping and praying that my thoughts were rubbish. On Thursday, 16th October, 08 I was in office working through the day when my Mom asked me to book the first possible flight and come. It was a rude realisation of the fact that life does not give you time to prepare. I know this for a fact as this is not the first experience with life leaving a beloved. Last time it was a friend this time it was a saint of a man, my grandpa, we all called him "Babuji". Everytime you sit close to him he would be pampering you with sweet talk, soothing hands, he could not stop himself from loving his grand children. I am blessed with the fact that I was the oldest Grandson and so enjoyed undivided attention from my grandpa for most part of my childhood.

I was sitting at the Airport waiting for my turn to board the flight and my heart pounding with emotions and pain. I get the news of him passing away and I am stranded alone in a crowded airport crying. The eyes and noise around me was unbearable. I wanted to burst out but just could not. I was hours away from him and yet could not make it. I feel sad and disheartened.

I reach Delhi let in the night and after returning home meet people like me heart shattered and sad but trying their best not to show any emotion and give strength to each other. The following morning had a lot of things. The cremation was to be performed in Brindavan, the place of Lord Krishna, on the banks of the river Yamuna. We all reached there and I saw him in front of him after waiting for almost 72 hrs and I could not stop it felt like a hard blow with a hammer on my heart. His quite and sweet face looked at peace and in a deep sleep. I was hoping he would wake up and hug me anytime but he didnt. His body was cold and stiff.

I have been in that man's arm and walked holding his hands for God alone knows how many scary paths today I have to carry him on my shoulder the last time for the longest journey and unlike him I cant even make sure that the roads are safe and nice for me to walk. I have to leave him and come and start picking up things from where i left. He would be alone I still have a lot of people. I dont know what to say and how it feels. Tears are certainly no comfort yet I feel like crying ..........

I would always miss him ........babuji..........

Quote of the Day

All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.

George Orwell (1903 - 1950)

Have You Ever Been An Exception

Have you ever been an Exception??

Before I get into the topic I thought let me search for the word Exception in the dictionary. Here is how it has been explained on dictionary.com

1. The act of excepting or the fact of being excepted.
2. Something excepted; an instance or case not conforming to the general rule.
3. An adverse criticism, esp. on a particular point; opposition of opinion; objection; demurral: a statement liable to exception.
4. In Law. a. An objection, as to a ruling of the court in the course of a trial. b. A notation that an objection is preserved for purposes of appeal: saving an exception1.

We all live in societies where there are set best practices and rules. Every time there is been a deviation from the norms there has been an imbalance and a lot of turbulence during that time. From Galileo to Gandhi exception have always made life for the people living by the rules very difficult. While they were greats with unimaginable determination and believe in what they said and did, there are many such small instances in our life when even a small exception is treated with utmost severity. To highlight my thought let me take some examples.

If you are from a society where everyone in the neighbor hood is a Vegetarian and you are the only one who is a non-Vegetarian you owe a lot of explanation or hiding or face moral guilt forced on you by people who dont eat. There is very little acceptance though on the face of it we show that its ok its his choice the very fact that one has to explain his act shows how intolerable we are to an exception. In any and every exception one has to be prepared for a set of explanations if he wishes to continue living with the same set of people. There are always choices.

It is so easy to live without anyone challenging your decision, rules and belief but when someone challenges that very decision and belief you feel weak and helpless. Here by "your" I mean society. How does the society deal with that it bitches about the exception, punishes it and even emotionally drains the person responsible for it. Well you might say nothing is fair and people are not run by logic but by rules, rules of the society. After all it is this very society that keeps things together and going whenever there has been storm. There is tremendous amount of energy behind the force and if you have to be an exception you really have to be very sure and strong to face it. It will not be easy, society before you or you before the society.

Have you ever been an exception??

It would be very enriching and nice to learn even about the smallest exception that you have made whether it was for your own selfish needs or whether it was as great as being a Gandhi. How does one deal with breaking away and setting an example or taking a risk....

Happy Bday!!!

Today I celebrate the Bday of a friend who was very special, always smiling and always so full of life.

My Guardian Angel.

Every time I think about her it brings a smile and a pain that I can never see her again. Today is not a day for me to think about the pain that will remain.

Forecasting & the Sales Guy

While we as salesman always hate the forecast meetings and calls I want to propogate today that there is something for us as well in it. Meeting forecasts is not only a great feeling but also means a lot of money. But does it end just there I guess there is more to it. All the CRM tools of the world and BI tools are there for the sales guy to see where he going and how far he is from the target. Forecasting can be a tool that help look beyond money. I know it sounds like a fairy tale but I would like to believe some day I too would see much more than I do today.

We all know that the fundamentals of a strong & sound business lies with the accuracy with which the company is able to produce results based on its expectations (forecast). Then there is the fact that there is only one way to pay for our expenses with the income derived from our sales. That would hold for the future, too. While Demand generation and forecasting are the backbone to Sales. Forecasting also allows decision makers to take decisions that would give direction to the company in the future.

There a ton of applications that take the forecasting data to the ERP systems and help in scheduling production and reduce the cost of excess. It helps Optimize the functioning of all the departments and brings the all necessary harmony in the company. Though this is not new but challenging times bring with it new set of imbalances. While it is important to keep a close eye on the goal that we had set out for, it is equally important to set balances at every point and do a reality check before these goals are revised. I was recently going through a paper published by Robert Murdick, How they figure the sales forecast. It primarily talks about all the different elements involved in sales forecasting. It was interesting to learn things like judgemental forecasting. Though i have been in sales for a while now this was a term that we always used but never knew that this is an established science.

Judgemental Forecasting comprises of executive Judgement & sales force composite. Executive Judgement is just as it sounds, it depends on an individuals judgement about the market, business conditions, experience, etc. This method is the oldest and the most simplest method but usually very inaccurate, tends to overlook market trends and is limited to the attributes of an individual.

Sales Force composite or group forecasts are the more relevant and commonly used practise in sales organisation where the salesmen usually calls his number based on the market preferences, field visits, competitors activities. Each salesman estimates the sales in his territory for the period or year ahead. The Territory manager than reviews and make adjustmentsfor the chronic optimist or pessimists.

Sales Forecast = Last year's Sales x (Sales to date this year/sales to the above date in the past year). There are so many such equations that makes sales forecasting a very interesting area of business that a lot of small and emerging companies do not pay attention to. The very fact that there are a ton of business analysts working on most of this we as sales guys are turning a blind eye to an opportunity for us to grow simply by looking ahead of time and understand the business objectives. Making simple suggestion and keeping track of business trends therefore becomes the most important characteristics of a sales guy.

I am not sure if my suggestions would make any difference in the company or will they even look at it. This is a challenge that we all face but I am sure you would agree that if your suggestion is ahead of time (visionary) and justifies itself with the business trends you have made a significant progress in your approach and contribution to building a truly dynamic sales team.

Quote of the day

To believe is to know you believe, and to know you believe is not to believe.
- Jean-Paul Sartre


That's a thought now..Pheww..but you know what I really want to dig deep into it...Help me with what you think of this quote..."Believe"....

Whirlpool

Fresh like rain in the hill, drops the size of dew,
Cold & refreshing I hear myself humming,
As I brave myself in a dark valley,
This Feeling is new as if I am excited,
And scared same time in the valley dark & lonely.
Thousands of questions and innumerable images form,
As if to show what I dont want to see.
But I know at the end of it I would have braved a journey worth every bit of it,
Courage that I can never speak about, bravo that I will never receive.
Accomplishment that I am proud of and will always think and smile about.

Twists and turns like a roller Coaster,
I come across a cross road like never before,
Caught between love and parents, responsibilities unknown,
This Feeling is new as if I am excited,
And scared same time in the crowd lonely & disappointed,
Thousands of questions & innumerable images form,
As if to show what I dont want to see.
The only hope that I live with is the sweet result,
A strong and happy relation that everyone would see and speak about.

Such is the music of life,
Touching the shore like the sea,
I am sure the challenge wont be over even after this,
Destination is always as close as the next journey is.
You by my side make it easy.
The feeling is new as if I am excited,
And Scared same time..........

This is exciting times for me each day brings with it fair share of anxiety, excitement and uncertainties. I can probably never put in words how and what I go through everyday. The one and only factor that keeps me from falling apart is your love. Every time I look at you it gives me strength to go on. I have a long way to go and it wont be possible without you khushi..I love you for being with me and being there..

Quote of the Day!!

All married couples should learn the art of battle as they should learn the art of making love. Good battle is objective and honest - never vicious or cruel. Good battle is healthy and constructive, and brings to a marriage the principle of equal partnership.

-Ann Landers

Arguments!!

After my confrontation with Mom & Dad about our marriage I was left with a soar taste in the mouth. Feeling really low and depressed about the whole experience. I feel as individuals we all have our hypocrisies though we never admit it. Only when someone is effected by it you come to realize the intensity of it.

My mom said a word which would be very difficult for me to forget, honestly i never thought that such a thought exists in my family but such fundamentalism in my own house was shocking. She said "I will not even see that girl or drink water from her hand" little does she know that the ration bought in the house is her money. What if she was a doctor and give her medicines will she not take it?? I am just not in the mood to argue. There can be a thousand arguments for and against a person and there is no way one can convince anyone unless they are open to the idea. Like they say you have to open your mind and heart to accept people and happiness in our lives. My Parents are religious and they follow a lot of these gurus..Sri Sri Ravishankar..he has a lot of followers around the globe. Imagine if he was not open to the idea of working together with people or Gandhi, or Nehru..i mean I am not making a political statement but we all cannot exist without each other, can we??

I am sure even if the world had just one religion there would have been countless number of arguments and fights over other things. Do you really think otherwise? Do you think that there would have been no wars? Brothers have fought with each other remember. There is no guarntee in this world we are all sculpted to fight it out. Survival of the fittest..

For a moment let me keep the whole issue aside and think about my parents are against us. Why people are usually against such marriages. Why only a handful failures are made case studies for the society and the success sweeped under the carpet. I am not the first one to think about a marriage like this and stand against my family. There are countless number of such issue and I choose to bring it up today because today I face it. I am sure my parents are trying to test my conviction and my decision. They are not going to give in so easily after all its an inter Religion marriage. God!! I feel like a revolutionary in my family.

You know what I want to take a complete U-turn on my topic and tell you what as a couple we are going through. Atleast I can tell you my part of the story.

After the argument on Saturday I felt at ease with myself and determined about my decision but at the same time I hated the conversation and the level of hatred that reflected in my parents tonality for a person that they dont even know and what was more disheartening was they didnt even want to meet her. Remarks like; this is the last time I am coming here to stay with you. I am dead because of your actions. Really what did I do? kill someone, raped someone..i only want to know where I am wrong. Is a son good only when he does what he is told. I thought that makes more like a donkey than a son. May be there is some amount of anger in what I write but honestly where did I go wrong ? I am sure my parents have some expectation with me. I would be the happiest if i can fulfill some of their expectations but i dont think the expectation of marrying a person they choose for me is a fair one. I think if that makes me bad I rather be bad than good. I dont want to screw someone elses life when I dont think i can manage it. Pheww what a movie what Melodrama. My parents cried a lot in the last three or four days and I just hate to be the reason for it. I always want them to be happy and if i cant be the reason for happiness I dont want to be the reason otherwise.

That was just one side of it..between my thoughts and arguments with my parents there is this girl who I want to bring into my family with very little promise that my family will support her. I am sure that even if she believes that I will give all that I can to her, her family will not be very confident. This is very tricky situation to be in. This very thought pulled me down and still pulls me down. Will I be able to keep her happy and the promise to give her a good life will i be able to give that to her. These thoughts are something that we all get at some point in our lives but today its a little more scary and more real. All I really think of now is how we will weather the storm. It would be very important for Khushi and me to stick it out now and if we can now I am sure we can than safely say the worst is over. Khushi and I are both impaitient and honestly irritated at the situation. We were arguing about it yesterday and it felt really bad..I can see her pain and she can see mine yet we are both just a little ruffled.

Khushi i really hope things work out for us.

Religion Or People ???

Religion Or people

This is not a thought but an experience. Today I need validation and support more than I ever needed. We in India claim to be a very culturally diverse and a united society but are we really united, are we really living with each other out of acceptance or out of compulsion as we dont want to get into an argument. I am a Marwari guy who believes that religion(s) unite people and cultural diversity brings intelligence in the society.But if we are talking about marriage marwari marries a marwari and mallu marries a mallu....Christian marries a christian and hindu marries a hindu..everything else is an exception and is discussed like I am. I love a christian Mallu girl and I believe that i will be very happy with her. But i have parents who are social (hindu) and believe that everything begins with what people around us will think and what they will say it is irrelevant and unimportant what my son will go through, let me even stretch an say I am Ok with him being a bachelor but not an inter caste or inter religion marriage. I am not even interested in knowing the person my son wants to get married to.

I am not battling with what i have to do but I am battling with my duties as a son. Today my dad told me if I want to get married to that girl I am free to do so but it will be at the loss of your parents. Mom said "I am dead for you if you marry her". No one I am sure would want to go through what I am going through and put his/her parents through this pain but I have. And that is certainly not a very good happy feeling. Today i really want to know who is more important religion or People. All the saints in this world, all the wise men in this world would you please answer a simple question. What is religion and what role does it play to bring people together? Does it look at people through a lens which is either a christian or a hindu?

What an apathy we cannot respect people around us. But we respect the faith that someone told us is the rightway to live. Wonder how can that be true!!. What my peers think of the work that i do is more important than the work that I do..I sometimes wonder how many contradictory versions do we have of everything we say and do. We are hypocrates. We are all calculative, selfish and cunning in our ways to get things done. We would choose the words that sounds good to everyone and be critical to people who we want to act in a particular manner..

Weak week !!

My parents came last week to bangalore and they have important things in mind to discuss. For some reason I am not nervous nor am I bothered about what they have to say. Well I am sure you are thinking what am i talking about..Well I am talking about my marriage. My parents have been after my life to gt me married and in their efforts to get me married they have done all they could and I have done all I could not to get married. Now its serious, I love Teena (Khushi, as I call her) she is a christian. So you know how my story can be. A Marwari guy talking about getting married to a christian girl. In my mind i am sure more than ever that i would get married to her and you know i think i already think we are married. I hate the fact that i cant see her everyday and this bothers me a lot.

Now you the adrenaline that I already have, as if that was not enough a moron who doesnt know how to freaking driving bangs into my car parked outside my house. Imagine parked and goes bang...My heart bled..not only did he bang my car he is telling me that i am at fault as i parked the car on the road..I am not going to pay. My instinct was to freaking break the guys head into pieces and throw it away..But hell i have grown old and thought all i really care about is get this car repaired and save myself from shit. I agreed for a settlement.

The Next day the as promised takes me to the garage and assures that he will get it fixed. On this assurance i gave the car to the garage he wanted and left for work. Next day when i called to enquire about my car..Guess what the owner says..I will not release the car till my payment is done. I call the guy who banged my car..who is a rowdy in the area by the way..He says i only have 4k i cant pay 8k for the repair you will have to pay the rest...I was shell shocked..you hit my car and you ask me to pay from my pocket. Guess what the real the truth was?? The guy was getting the car fixed for about 4k and he wanted me to pay the entire amount.

Here is the background of this Guy. Mahesh, age around the late 20s, job driving around someone elses car and teasing girls on the road, occasionally working as a driver for a call center, wears allen solly formals when not wearing the dirty whites, attitude cool dude, about 5'11"-- 6'. The first impression that i had of him was that he was a bastard, turns out that its true. His story was that he is a son of an SI (Senior Inspector) in the nearby police station and I will not be able to lodge a complaint against him..Guess what i didnt want to complain (biggest mistake of my life) Not only would he been screwed as he was driving the car that he didnt own and the one who owned the car was a bigger Rowdy (call him his father). Who thought there is no excitement. Finally my car was fixed and I ended up paying 1500 for the repairs..I am sure you are laughing your guts out at my plight but thats not all..Yesterday another moron scratched my car.....Weak Week...

Free Or Wild

Is being free the same as being wild? Lot of us in our pursuit to "Something", want things our way but people in our lives directly or indirectly change the course of our pursuit. In these Some are remarkably beautiful, Some not so beautiful and some are just sour.

We often talk about being free from everything and in that we passionately indulge in things that we believe sets us free. Dancing, Drinking, Drugs,...we can add anything to this list. To me that very idea is wild. And so this forces me to think if being free is being wild. What does it actually mean to be free?

"Cast-Away" by Tom Hanks. Boy!! was he free. I know I know we are a social being and cant live alone. So can we be free? What are we in the end looking for? To be true there is a lot of noise in my head and I am just trying to free some of these thoughts. May be non of these make anysense at all. So dont be surprised. After all we all want to be free..

There was time when getting up early in the morning and being obsessed to work out was the only thing that I enjoyed the most. Looking back and thinking about I still feel that it was the best part of my day. We are all slaves of our indulgence and obsessions and truly it takes a lot to be free. God!! Feels like I am talking about becoming a Sadhu or something.

Free Or Wild

When the merry go round, Goes round & round,
It sets the world so free, yet if I let go of my hand,
Free Or Wild?

Caught between right & wrong, left & Right,
The mind plays a puzzle between easy & not so easy,
Free Or Wild?

Courses to Recourses, Ways to dead-Ends,
We all shared it yet we dont want it, Choices
Free Or Wild?

Love that is fair, selfless and often blind,
Between what we are born with & what comes our way,
Free Or Wild?

The mind is crazy, driving me into a frenzy,
Opening up a window that seems deep, dark but satisfying.
Boundaries as we define it, horizon as we see it,
Together it makes it easy, Step by step,
In the wild, I dont want to be free but i want to be.
One that is with you, to share and to cherish,
For the Free & for the Wild.

Free Or Wild?

Quote of the Day

My pessimism extends to the point of even suspecting the sincerity of the pessimists.
- Jean Rostand

Naughty Boy!!!

Naughty Boy!!!

Name that I Truly earned,
As birthdays would never stop,
One thing remained same an Never Changed,
The Naughty Boy!!

From Morning till Noon, In School & Out of it too,
Pick Chocolates, Cricket Balls from neighbouring store, everything for free you know,
Play Cricket on the Terrace and break Glasses in the house below,
Hell everybody yelled & unanimously called me,
The Naughty Boy!!

Who did I spare? From Silly fights to movie rights,
For Kisses, for Misses all night long, Getting Caught talking on the phone,
Hushed Voices & threatening boys, Call me
The Naughty Boy!!

Times changed from School to College, out I went,
Free to loaf, licensed to play, What I thought was Cool that day,
All Girls Screamed and Yelled,
The Naughty Boy!!

I thought I grew up but even today,
I Sit near the Window in the Office, Often Caught looking out,
For every sight that pleases my eyes, for all the sweet Charm,
My Girlfriend often Thinks and Still Screams and Yells,
The Naughty Boy!!

Mischief in the eyes, Naughty & Sly,
Not something that I am proud, but guess what I am a Guy,
I could also hear you say, "The Naughty Boy!!!"
But now I know what I cant,
Still a long way to go, Where people unanimously yell,
The GooD Boy!!!


This Poem is dedicated to my GirlFriend who manages to put up with all My mischief, all the stupidity, yet a very true Friend and guide. She has often been the brains to the few sensible things i did accomplish in my years of being "The Naughty Boy"

I am a SalesMan

I have been thinking about this for a while now Finally I did it!! I own it. I have a Merc!!! Yippee

That's the potential excitement and hysteria that we create constantly through our work. While sales is what everyone is working for whether it is the CEO or the executive sitting miles away from the the management, be it the R&D head or the marketing head. We are all Selling to someone somewhere something. What makes my job any bit different from yours? Why are salesman hated for push selling ? I am so obsessed with the idea of selling and hopefully one day I will be able to sell anything and everything under the sun to someone who is willing to buy.

Some will, Some won't, So what Next....

What does a Sales guy typically do?

1. Paint a picture (the prettier, the fancier, the more sought after, the more elite, the more need based, the more can't do without, etc..)
2. Tease you (Aamir has it, Sachin has it, Wipro has it, Infosys has it, Where are you?)
3. I will Buy it if I were you
   
4. Buy it now & I Give you the world with it (upto 51% off)
5. Hey I own a Merc!!! Yippee (now deal with it)
   

Now What do we all do ?

1. Paint a Picture (The Concept of this design is to save more power, what if i make the pastry look like the Taj Mahal)
2. Tease you (This is how we are doing it today and changing it will make it look like this)
3. I wish I had the money to do it on my Own (Or Hope the Banks approved my loan)
4. If we start the project any later the cost of machinery and land will rise
5. Hey we did it!!! Yippee (the product fails deal with it)
   

We are all selling at all points to our parents, to our loved ones, to our boss, to our financiers, to our landlords, to everyone we meet, and I am sure I am not the first one to say this but who is more effective. What makes one different from the other. I guess that very ability of being different is what makes one more successful than the other.

There is a fantastic Ad by our own Aamir Khan for Toyota where he appears in different roles showcasing the same product and at the end of it he says "So what role are you playing today?"

I find an amazing connect with that Ad simply because it is so true. In whatever role we take up as an individual we all seem to be aiming for the same thing in different forms.

"We all need to serve somebody,
you might be a king but,
We all need to serve somebody......"

let me collect my thoughts and continue writing from here in sometime..

Gokarna Dairy August 15-17, 08

Gokarn !!!

Like everyone I was also waiting for the August 15th long weekend for a getaway. A get away in its true sense cut away from everything. I thought of Goa (whats new!!) thought about Kodai(what's new) then the name Gokarn flashed in my mind. To be honest i have heard so much about this place that not making the most of this time would be almost criminal. Khushi as always was ready for the place that i choose and was ready to pack the bags..I started looking for places that i need to explore once i am there..The more I searched the more i was convinced that this is the place to be.

So where do I start...I booked my bus tickets with KSRTC (AC Sleeper) for the two of us. It costed me just 1086 one way. I thought to myself this is a good deal. Once my to and Fro was done. I started looking for a place to stay. With a little bit of googling and some friends I got back with a few places recommended for stay Hotel Gokarn International Beach Resort, Om Beach Resort, Swaswara beach resort.

I called the hotels up for booking on the 1st of August but all claim to be fully booked for the weekend. Guess what..all this was just a fake demand that these hotels create..If you call them they say its booked. The truth is agents like India Hotel Review (a delhi based hotel booking company) have booked rooms in the hotel and sell it at inflated prices to people who dont know how things are at Gokarna. I went for Hotel Gokarna International based on what India Hotel Review (IHR) recommended to my dismay. Hotel Gokarna International has two hotels in Gokarna one in the City close to the KSRTC bus stand and the other on Kudle Beach called the Gokarna International Beach Resort (the place i would certainly recommend to stay. Please never check in the Hotel Gokarn International (the common names can confuse you) in the city unless you are looking for a cheap alternate with decent rooms and close to the temple. Another learning Never Book through travel agents like IHR who cheat and sell at inflated rates.

Be careful if you ever are making booking through these middle man. The best is to call the hotel directly and transfer the money to them if you want to do a planned trip. Still better land up in Gokarn and find a place. I am sure you will get a place to stay.

14th of August, I have been waiting for this day for well over 12 days now..The day we start our travel. I was very excited as Khushi and I have not spent time like this in a while now. Though i had planned everything (atleast i thought so) the day had its share of anxious moments for me. Bangalore has been cloudy and waiting to burst for a while now and it had to happen on 14th when i was planning to go on vacation. We left home at 7Pm for a 9 PM bus from KSRTC....An hour passed in the Auto trying to get halfway to the bus Depot. The rain had no signs of stopping and the traffic had no signs of moving. From 8 to 9 we were moving slower than the snail and the clock moving faster than anything that i could think of. Khushi had her usual best laughing all along and adding fuel to an already frustrated and anxious me. We called the KSRTC helpline at 9 trying to find out if the traffic was a reason for delay for them as well. Those guys were also unkind and told me the bus had left. I was hell pissed and frustrated and there you go Khushi laughing again. We finally decide to let the Auto guy free and run from Corporation Circle all the way to the Bus depot. Boy i was carrying a 20Kg Bag and all the rain and dirt added to my frustration..But what about khushi, she just loves laughing and I am glad that she could. We somehow managed to reach the bus depot. What a sight at the bus stop!! Seems like everyone is going out of town and the whole bus depot is a mess. Over Crowded and blocked to every inch of space with buses and more buses. We finally found our bus at 9.30 which was supposed to leave at 9. It was such a relieve to see the bus and just put our luggage in it. Pheeeww i was so happy khushi as always was keeping me good company with her smile all along and the occassional heehehee...God!!

Both of us were stinking with the dirt and the running around to catch the bus but all was well now after wiping ourselves clean we settled to sleep and enjoy the trip without thinking about anything. But hold on..the ACs are not working in our bus..but you know what it wasn't that bad, the Windows provided the comfort. The Sleeper was spacious for the two of us with clean sheets and blanket. We soon were snoring away to glory.

We reached Gokarn in the morning after a tiring night, the place seemed quite and with a lot of pandits around. This is holy town with a lot of pujaris and sadhus walking around or sleeping on the beach. We headed straight to the hotel. Hotel Gokarna in the city though the room was big and everything but it was nowhere close to what i would have liked. After freshening up we checked with the hotel guy about possible places to explore. we decided to walk down the road to the Gokarna beach. The beach was full of life and activity and the least bit clean but the sight was breath taking the hills and the cloud presented the most captivating and relaxing sights one can imagine. There was a small house on the hill overlooking the sea. How i wish i had a house in a place like that. We spotted a small water fall from the beach and I somehow convinced khushi to walk all the way to the fall. Guess the water fall was created because of the rain. Few meters walk from the water fall we saw a small shrine with snake statues and water gushing out through the mouth of Nandi. Apparently that was a natural spring and very sweet and nice water flows through it all year along. I don't know much about the shrine but tell you what the water was definitely sweet and very nice. This house at the very edge of the hill presented a breath taking view of the sea below it. The powerful waves hitting the rocks below. Such was the ferocity of the waves even 40 Feet above the sea level every time a wave crashed into the rocks water would splashes high into the air.



Khushi never wanted to leave the place specially because i was making her walk up the hill and down the hill and she was not very keen on the idea of trekking but i used my charm to great effect and convinced her to climb a few stair to reach the top of what looked like a temple but turned out to be someones house. Pandit Ravi Prasad Sharam, Gokarna beach, u.k 5.

All along Gokarn you would not miss the sign U.K. Police welcomes you. U.K. Police cautions. I will let you think about it for a while.

It started raining when we reached the top of the hill with absolutely no shelter what so ever in sight. We were hugging each other and hiding behind a small towel. You know what there was absolutely no sign of life anywhere around us. Drenched and wet we waited and waited till after sometime when the rain slowed down we braved ourselves to walk down the hill and head to another beach. We hired a Auto Driver and unlike bangalore the auto drivers are a little friendly and polite. He agreed to take us all the way to Kudle beach, Om beach and back for 200 bucks. People told us that's how much they usually charge. Gokarn has very few vehicles in the town. The drive from Gokarn beach to Kudle Beach which was our next stop was through a range of hills. Approximately 7 kms from the beach we reached the top of the hill and had to trek through a narrow path down to the beach. Kudle beach is where we found the other Hotel Gokarn International Beach Resort and unlike the hotel in the city. This is situated right on the beach and all the rooms facing the sea. The food by far in Gokarn has not been satisfactory in anyway. But this hotel gave us decent meals. As the owners for this hotel is the same we decided to shift to this hotel and relax. The best part about this hotel was the very fact that there was no way to travel to this hotel except for that small trek down the hill. Secluded and quite this was a perfect place to wind up for the day. But then we had to go to another beach the Om Beach and also get our luggage to this place. We reached Om beach but not before passing through Swaswara (inner Voice) Resort. The place was so inviting the cottages and the pool looked beautiful from wherever you see. The view of the beach was excellent. We did not venture all the way down as we had to pack and get back to the hotel before dark.



After settling in our new room we ordered some food and walked around the beach, Khushi & I. It is such a romantic place and nothing like walking with Khushi on the beach bare footed. Then I spotted some locals playing football. I was soon a part of them kicking the ball around. Out of nowhere came a Frisbee and i know was chasing that as well. It was good fun and a tiring day. After Dinner we settled near the beach to enjoy the breeze and the lite drizzle that would every now and then make its presence felt. Here we met two brave souls Krithika & Swetha. All four of us chatted our way through well past the mid night.

Khushi had agreed for a trek but when she got up the following morning all the plans were put aside and she convinced me to just hang around and cuddle up in bed. We slept most part of the morning only to get up in the afternoon. After pestering her for a while she got up a little annoyed that i never let her sleep....But it was all worth it. We walked on beach playing and looking for shells.

Krithika & Swetha then took us to this place called La Pizzaria (i am not sure if my spelling is correct). Krithika & Swetha who are regular visitors to Gokarn tell me that this place is excellent during season which is of course the same as Goa's. The place boasts of open air toilets and small rooms with a Cot at 100 during off season and 300 during season. Mind you the location of the place is awesome and so is the food. Though i didn't eat but from all the readings and people that i have spoken to apparently all of them share the same view.


In the evening we decided to stroll beyond Kudle, explore swaswara, the property is amazingly placed between the hills and close to the sea. Quite and pristine and the rooms are awesome. With open air toilets a meditation center, volley Ball court, swimming pool. This looked perfect. We checked for the Ayurvedic Massage. We decided to book this place for a day and explore more.

The Next day khushi got up in the morning and tried her hand at sand painting, running around and dancing on the sea shore while i slept. She was pumped up and excited about the day at Swaswara. We headed straight to the massage center after our trek and trust me the massage was awesome for Rs1500 it was well worth the trek and time. There were two men who were massaging in sync, often times i could not even say whether it was four hands or two. Such was the rhythm and sync that they have. This was a magical experience. We then had lunch which was all organic and awesome. The food looked nice and tasted excellent. The concept was pure clean Vegetarian food. Swaswara unlike other resorts do not allow you to smoke, drink or eat meat in their premise but certainly indulge you in activities that will help you find yourself. Hence the name Swaswara. We loved the rooms, the meditation center, the ponds behind the Cottages. This place was amazing.

At 5pm We packed to say Good bye to what has been a very relaxing and rejuvenating holiday. And i am sure that we would be back to Gokarn to explore more and just not do anything. The no cell phones for two days, no TV, No cars, No people around, nothing to do is too good an idea to forget and to let go. I am waiting for my next chance to visit Gokarn.

Some of our Snaps:

Gokarna Snaps on picasa