Life’s not all that bad: Blog # 67

Life’s not all that bad

      I was out for a tea break with one of my friends from work. We walked towards the parking lot and he pointed at a 1982 Enfield Bullet and told that it is his office ride whenever he is in Chennai. I asked him as to why does he do that given the terrible morning traffic and add to it, the not so pleasant weather! He replied “It is something that I have always wanted to do”.

            At times, we get too caught up with the day to day things in our lives that we unknowingly take away the life out of it. We forget that there is more to life than just sailing through.  It is small deeds like this which reminds us to enjoy Life rather than making it an exercise of endurance.

It could be anything from taking your little cousin to a super market and telling her “you can buy anything you want” (I did J )or giving your younger sibling some extra bucks for pocket money or gifting yourselves something you always wanted.

It is important that we do little things that make us feel good – be it for others or for oneself which ever works for you because later on when we look back, it is these simple things which will bring a smile on our face.

When we get in to such small indulgences, we are reassuring ourselves that in spite of all the quagmires that the world spreads out in front of us, we are leading our  lives in our own terms;however small way it may be.

In a nutshell, it is a small sweet way of telling ourselves that after all, Life is not all that bad! J.

                                                           Arun Babu                   

A message to my future self: Blog # 66

A message to my future self

The child in me yearned to be you...

The youth in me strived to be you...

You are the person I looked forward to be,

Or I thought I will turn out to be.

I hope you still have the child in you,

Un corrupted by the frivolous ways of life.

I hope you make someone so happy,

That the smile reaches her eyes.

I hope you make someone so proud,

That they are at a loss of words for you.

I hope you are so fond of someone,

That you let go of your ego.

I hope you are so loved,

That you become so sure about yourself.

I hope you haven’t committed a sin so grave,

That you turn away from yourself.

I hope you haven’t lost yourself.

I hope I haven’t lost Myself.
                                                                                                       Arun Babu                                                                                                                                                               

The month that was - November 2012: Blog # 65

The month that was - November 2012

*A monthly column on Business & Rest

                The month of November witnessed two leadership changes of prime importance in the world – US chose Barack Obama for a second term and Xi Jinping (President) and Li Keqiang (Premier) chose China for the next decade.

            Meanwhile, we as a country went back in time, at least a couple of decades when two girls were arrested for innocuous comments on the backdrop of Maharashtrian leader, Bal Thackeray’s death. But thankfully, action was taken against the police officers and amendments are being suggested on the InfoTech act.

A national daily aptly reported Ajmal Amir Kasab’s hanging as “A puppet’s life ends on a string”!

In a rarity, the Government seems to be resolute about ‘Cash transfer’ project which transfers cash in lieu of subsidized food, fertilizer and fuel for BPL families. Also the much delayed PSU disinvestment has been kicked off with Hindustan copper stake sell off.

Although the King of Good times, Vijay Mallya sold a controlling stake in United Spirits Ltd to the Global Spirit major Diageo there appears no respite for the employees of his stalling airline. At the same time, Middle East airline, Etihad has expressed interest in Jet airways and Spice jet is being courted by Qatar airways.         

The ugly face of corruption in the higher echelons came to the fore when Bharti Walmart initiated an enquiry in to the bribery involving their top notch executives.

The Impasse being cleared over the FDI bill brought cheer in the secondary market. The fact that Goldman Sachs projected an optimistic outlook (from ‘market-weight’ to ‘overweight’) helped too.

The diversified conglomerate, Mahindra & Mahindra has made an ambitious bid for stake in the iconic British car maker, Aston Martin.

The multiplex chain, PVR has bought out a 69% stake in Cinemax for Rs. 395Crores.

In yet another international acquisition by an Indian group, Sahara bought Newyork plaza and Dream Newyork hotels for Rs.4400Cr amidst Indian hotel group’s failed bid for Orient Express hotels Ltd.

Azim Premji headed Wipro demerged itself in to IT and Non –IT entities as part of their strategic management plan.

Magzter, an application developed by Indians has featured as the top grosser of Apple ipads app across Asia.

            In a market of gloom and uncertainty, IKEA’s investment proposals being cleared and Unilever CEO , Paul Polman’s opening an R&D centre in B’lore are indeed welcome respite.

                                                                                                                                                                Arun Babu.

Spur of the Moment: Blog # 64

Spur of the Moment

       I have absolutely no idea why I bought a lottery ticket that day. I was out for some errands and this lottery agent came up to me. In that moment, I paid the money swiftly and took the ticket. I was not preoccupied with any other thoughts. Neither was I in a rush. Moreover I don’t qualify to be called a spendthrift by any standards.

         I guess this is what they call impulse decisions – an action one takes on the spur of the moment.

        Have you seen people taking decisions? They will have an initial instinct. Whatever decision one makes will be an extension of  this instinct. In spite of all the research and analysis one does, the final decision will not deviate much from this initial thought.

             

              Predictability is the close cousin of boredom. That is why people like surprises. Be it having a cup of coffee instead of the usual tea or taking a different route to office or watching a film which is not your usual genre, doing something impulsive will be fun.

        Impulsiveness has a certain sense of liberation to it. Whenever someone does something on impulse, it will be out of routine – out of the norm one generally follows. This induces a feel good effect as one does something unplanned – bordering on being adventurous. That is exactly why you like it when you do something impulsive.

         

            However, it would be wise to not make a habit out of impulsiveness as then, it will no more be ‘impulsive’ J.

                                                                                             Arun Babu            

Life in a Whiff: Blog # 63

 Life in a Whiff

There is an old shop in my home town that sells spices . I used to visit it along with my Grandfather when I was a kid.Every time I walk past it, my childhood passes before me leaving me in a trance. Memories which we think are lost and gone come racing by when you get the faintest sense of a scent associated with it.

It’s said the taste of anything sumptuous that we have has a lot to do with its aroma.

The earthy zephyr from a village is the closest one will ever come to comprehending the scent of Nature. Through the pollen and grain from the fields and the trees, the village breeze brings along with it the Nature’s soul.

The whiff of Cold lies in the lap of a winter night and the scent of Summer is wrapped in the gentle wind that passes through the sun and the sand in a beach.

Knowledge lies hidden in the time locked fragrance of the pages of an old book. Divinity manifests itself in the incense of candles.

If ever we were to come close to understanding the fragrance of heaven, it will be through the pleasantness that emerges from the Earth’s within when it bathes in the first Monsoon rain.

Still, scent remains the most unsung of all the senses. My be because, it defies our attempts to depict it. Neither can we brush it across a canvas nor can we lock it in a symphony. Words fail us when we try to describe it neither are actions of much help.

Like the numerous wonders of nature, there lies the whiff of life, in the elusiveness of the whiff itself.
                                                                                                                     Arun Babu.
                                                                                                                            

Season ticket:The Mumbai Local Train: Blog # 62

Season ticket : The Mumbai Local Train

           

            A local train is a world in itself. You will get to meet all sorts of people. It is a vivid cross section of all the demographies of a city.

            To begin with, there is the class divide – First and Second class. People who get in to first class become bonafide snobs. There is a sense of a misplaced entitlement.

        In the peak hours, the compartments will be packed to the rafters and in the middle of that, some people would want to read the newspaper (which includes me J ). They fold the paper in to 1/8th and read it!

     There are those who are perpetual sleepers – sitting, standing, lying down, leaning over others et al. If you take a regular train and if the perpetual sleeper get in a station before you and get off only after you, chances are you wouldn't find that person in the awake state – Ever!

          How can we ignore the famed foot board travelers? They should be given a subsidized ticket. Even if the whole compartment is empty, they will stand only at the outer tip of the foot board.

                The only kinds who are irritating - those who play loud music. That too, in those Chinese cells which give you a lasting headache.

            The IT crowd will be peeling off their touch screens with the headphones firmly plugged in their ears oblivious to whatever is happening around them. The manufacturing crowd will be looking down on them – about 6 or 7 of them together in the same striped shirts with the company’ s logo on the pockets.

            Those belonging to the intelligentsia-who reads a hefty book, replete with all the long looks outside and a pensive appearance to go by!

            With some, dare you make even a second long eye contact they are ready to pounce up on you with their words of wisdom which doesn't stop until you get down!

            Some people decidedly look out of the window, with a vengeance. Come what may, they won’t look inside the train.             

Then there are the college groups who break in to their own song n dance sequences – Gangnam style!

There are seat hunters who watch the seats like a hawk. They will hunt others down if any one even makes the slightest effort to move towards a free seat.

         There will be some hapless new timers who keep on asking their neighbor whether their station has arrived or how far their station is J.

          At the major stations, enter the vendors who can put any Opera singer to shame with their decibel levels.

And all these come with the fine print when you buy a season ticket J.
                                    
                                                                                                                          Arun Babu                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                

Whispering to the buffaloes: Blog # 61

Whispering to the buffaloes

One needs to keep looking for inspiration as there is nothing to lose yet a lot to gain.

Having got some precious little free time from work, I decided to check out a club functioning out of our office. It is a community which promotes and hones public speaking skills. I went there undecided as to join the club or not. I thought I would witness their activities for a couple of sessions and then take the plunge.

Then this guy, Vishnu started speaking. Incidentally, the objective given to him was to inspire the audience and inspire, he did. He used his own example as to how he transformed himself from being a village educated boy who could not speak English to a professional who could converse in as good English as any urban educated person.

I was thinking hard as to whether I should take this extra effort. Whether I should stay back for an extended time in office to be part of this club? I was getting complacent. Listening to the hardships that Vishnu underwent, I decided I had no right to not make use of the opportunity given to me in a platter.

And coming to the title of this blog, during the course of his speech, he told “To enhance my English, to get ahead in life, I tried everything from yelling at the walls to whispering to the buffaloes.” For some reason, I loved that phrase. It might be an off take from the regional usage. But the regional usage has a negative intonation to it where as he has used it positively here.

Life is a potpourri of such small teachings hidden around the corner. The inspiration that comes out of the least expected corners can influence us immensely in life.

Do whatever it takes to better yourselves, be it yelling at the walls or whispering to the buffaloesJ.

                                                                                                                        Arun Babu

T G I F: Blog # 60

TGIF

This blog is not about the iconic restaurant, ‘Thank God It’s Friday’ which serves heavenly food. The TGIF here stands for Thank God, I Forget!

Forgetfulness is mostly frowned up on. It’s not looked up on as a quality. But it is in fact, a gift; It gives us the ability to move on in life.

‘Fast track’ has this beautiful Ad which implores people to Move on. Of course, considering its target audience, it has tapped in to the relationship aspect of it alone. But if that idea is extended, it turns out to be a great thought.

There are certain things in Life which we should forget. One of my friends says we should remember only the good things from the past. I find that so empowering. If we carry on the baggage from the past, our vision will be clogged. We will see the future only through the veil of the past.

Yes, we all take some time to get over things. But it shouldn’t take a life time.

At some point in life, we have all been told to Forget and Forgive. Forgiveness is possible only if you forget. Only then you allow yourselves to heal.

So let’s Forget, Forgive and Move on!!!

                                                                                                                  Arun Babu.

In conversation with Nature: Blog # 59

In conversation with Nature

      Standing atop a hill in our hometown, I was listening to the wind. Adding beauty to it was the vision of wavering brown vastness of grass with the crimson sun rays flowing on them abundantly.  Winds are nature’s way of conversing with us, don’t you think?

The early morning wind has a whiff of freshness to it and the twilight breeze carries the day’s toil albeit with an enchantment wrapped in it.

Stand in the middle of a paddy field when you get a chance. There is this breeze which talks to you through the rumblings of the lush green grass and mostly a lone tree wavering in its center.

         Go to a beach and the sea roars at you with the wind there. There is this constant swish in your ears which lingers for a while even after you leave the seaside.

      There is this mystery to the winds in a sprawling estate. It comes from a distance brushing past the tallest of trees and the smallest of shrubs.  

        The winds from the mountains are ominous yet have a compelling vivaciousness to them. 

        Many a time nature plays Chinese whisper with us with these winds. More often than not, we don’t understand what it is trying to say and or is it meant to be so?

        Sadly, the breeze in the city rarely talks. Has it forgotten its language or is it us who have got too busy to lend an ear?

Arun Babu.

Live it up?: Blog # 58

Live it up? : An Ode to Consumerism

            There is something about November in Kerala. There is this omnipresent zephyr with a hint of the winter that it is going to bring along. The mornings will be misty with this breeze playing around with the fog. One moment, you will see a lush green paddy field and the in the next, all of it will be covered in a veil of fog.

            Basking in the morning sun, I was in the balcony whiling away the Sunday morning at my home. Then gleamed past,  a Merc- S class. Than the obvious fascination for premium cars, what caught my interest was the person in it. He was a family friend of ours. I asked my sister whether they got a new Merc. She said “Knowing him, he CAN buy one”. That ‘CAN’ had a twin intonation to it. One – he has the economic backing for that and second, he is the kind of person who wouldn't mind splurging.

            This is one question that has daunted me perpetually. How much of spending is justified?; more so because I have a very frugal lifestyle. Surprisingly, in spite of it being an amount, a number, it is subjective. It is entirely left to the individual. What share of one’s earning should one spend on the needs and the wants?

            I have come to realize that I have a sense of respect for people who spend on luxury. The respect comes from the fact that they have the conviction that their future endeavors will bring in enough income to sustain the lifestyle they are following. They have that clarity of vision. They have that confidence in themselves.

            I remember our economics professor once praising the profligates. He said if not for them, the economy will stagnate. If all of us were to have a frugal life style, there will be minimal buying/spending and the market will stall.

            Don’t get me wrong. I am not advocating reckless spending. The result of that was there for all of us to see in the form of subprime and the rest. Spending is akin to taking risks - it will be sustainable if it’s calculated.

            In striving to secure our tomorrow, we shouldn't forget to live our present neither should we live our present in a way that will wipe away the hopes for a better tomorrow.

                                                                                                                        Arun Babu

To Err is human...: Blog # 57

To Err is human : Blog on Rajat Gupta

       

The only respite in the hour long morning commute to office is the reams of world news that I buy for Rs.3/-. In the recent past, many world leaders fell from grace - Dominique strauss kahn , Lance Armstrong and more recently, the epitome of Indian leadership and business acumen, Mr.Rajat Gupta.

Why do wise men of the world act insanely naive at times? Is it a momentary lapse or the inevitability of a nadir following a pinnacle!

Having scaled the heights they did, I would say writing them off for one misdeed is brutal.   I am not justifying their present with their glorious past. All I am saying is that there are lessons to be learned. I am not sure if this holds true for the two people I mentioned earlier, bur for Mr.Rajat Gupta, it definitely does.

Mr.Gupta lost his parents as a teenager. What bigger turmoil can a person face in one’s lifetime! From there, he reached Harvard. That shows the person’s will and grit.

In spite of his occupying the poll positions in the board rooms of the largest and most respected firms in the world, he ensured his family remained his priority –not only the immediate family, but the extended one as well.         

The philanthropic activities he was involved in and the magnitude of funds he mobilised is astounding.

His brilliance transcended many a field so much so that at one point, he was an adviser to the United Nations.

Indian School of Business forms a small part of the elaborate testimonial of his contribution towards his mother land.

Above all, his humility and warmth is something people from all walks of life remembered in spite of all his high flying achievements.

Mr. Gupta’s ordeal also stands a staunch reminder of how careful one need to be about the company one keeps.

                                                                                                Arun Babu

Old times' sake: Blog # 56

Old times' sake

            Having met my dear old friend, Lakshmi from engineering days, I was driving home by around 9.Half of my town were already home and getting ready for supper. Coming from a place where traffic wouldn’t have eased one bit by this time, the wide - thinly occupied roads were a welcome surprise.

            I have always cherished friendships – be it old, new and yet to come. Yes I admit it takes some effort on the part of my friends to reach me (at timesJ ). But I make it a point to get back in touch with them.

There is something about old friendships. I read somewhere that old friends are the most priced antiques. So true!

 Lakshmi and I were sharing our college stories to her husband, Shine. Then I realized I haven’t forgotten even one bit of those fun days. It was literally a walk down the memory lane. They remind us of a time which many of us think we have forgotten until we meet them.

            The good thing about old friends is that you don’t need to take an effort. They already know you. There are no pretentions, there are no formal pleasantries. That’s why Lakshmi made it a point to call up Swetha (our partner in all the crimes ;) ) and remind her that I didn’t go and meet her when she came on leave. J. And yes, Swetha blasted me in a way only an Old friend can J.

And good old friends, remember. When I was about to leave, Lakshmi came with a packet of Mars chocolates, my favourite. I used to pester her for this when she used to go to Dubai during vacations. That was so sweet of her.

            It is important that we keep in touch. It reminds us of who we were and what we are now. If there is much of a difference (unless for the better), we should indulge in some serious soul searching. So if your friends smile and say “you haven’t changed at all!!”, it’s a good sign. You haven’t lost yourself completely.

                                                                                                                         Arun Babu.