If..

If... 
... you read the books that you want to, rather than those that you HAVE to..
    or read books at all,

... you respect what you do
    and not your job title.


If...

... you think enough, to not react,

    and not enough to judge those that you meet, 

... you listen to, and not just hear, what people have to say,
    and believe only what you've verified yourself,

If...

... you tell the truth, as you know it, every single time
    with little concern for the consequences,

... you don't have to justify your actions
    "Because everyone is doing so"

If...

... you live in the present but for the future,
    spend more time in the here and now, rather than the there and then

... your only regret is that you don't have one,
    and your proudest achievement is yet to come..

If...
... you spend time thinking about people who spend some time to think about you,

    and have that one special someone that you cannot lie to.

... you think of your childhood and first up is a smile on your lips

    and think of your parents and friends and all those who have helped you get here. 

If...
... you do something for a living, 

    and yet that is not all that you do in your life

... you enjoy yourself 

    but can face yourself in the mirror every single day

As I once read, 

Yours is the Earth, and everything that's in it    

And most of all - my dearests,

your father will die a happy man!!! 

There's a lot you can learn from a 3 year old.

She knows a bit of everything. 

And pretty much nothing. 

She thinks she knows everything 

She thinks she knows nothing.

So the questions never stop. 

But always is "Who, What, Where, How.. "

Never "Why" 

It's such an amazing adventure for her.. 

Everyday is something new.. "Wow, did you know mixing blue with yellow, gives me green.." 

"Wow, mamma, look firecrackers.. " 

"Papppa.... Red potty... Wowwwwwwww"

A 3 year old is the ultimate lay man. 

You can tell her anything and she'll think it's the gospel

I can tell her that the red potty is because she was naughty yesterday, and not the beetroot she had for lunch

I can tell her that naughty kids who don't listen to their parents get ants in their pants.

She's my lab rat..

She's my moral compass..  

Pray for me that I don't screw it up.. 

It's just a matter of perspective

I have a University Rank, a degree from Stanford, have been shortlisted (once) for an MBA from IIM-A. I have direct responsibility for 37 team members, and in addition have been extremely instrumental in growing a team from 1 to 300. 

For some reason, the sense of achievement in all of this pales in comparison to putting Annika to sleep.. 

It's just a matter of perspective.. 

No Title... Blank Thoughts..

I know I have not written anything for a long time.. Not sure if it is writer's block or just that I have other priorities as the father of a one-year old.. But I use little Annika as an excuse for not sitting and gathering my thoughts on what I want to write about..

There's a whole bunch I want to write about..

About how the Air France jet crashing was an unmitigated disaster and, regardless of what the Times of India says, the World T20 was not..

About how traffic in Pune has improved and how someone actually told me that Pune has better streets than Hyderabad

About Roger Federer

About Rafael Nadal

About the movie strike, and how it made absolutely no difference to our lives (That's one thing I can blame the one year old for)

About how it would have been an unmitigated disaster had it happened 10 years ago..

About how Facebook is addictive, and Orkut seems to have lost its charm..

But I have not written.. Because I don't feel like writing.. Don't know why, but I just don't want to sit in front of a computer once I get home.. and I don't write from office, that leaves me without any place to write from ..

I tried Twitter, but it's just not that into me..

Let's see.. Maybe things would change..

Things I think I think --- Part 2 (of 3 hopefully)

Where was I???

16..
"The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"..

Is not my favourite movie.. But it is my favourite title.. I don't know why, but I just love the title.. Just the concept of what the title implies, is so nice.. So serene.. That, in 7 words is what a movie title should be ..

The movie may or may not have been worthy of such a title..

No movie can be..

15..
I think the fundamental difference between life in India and the US is this.. When someone in the US sees something (on the TV / freeway / Supermarket) he promptly imagines that it could happen to him.. In India, when he sees it, he promptly thinks that it could happen to anyone but him.. People might be waiting at a traffic light, when they might see someone jump the gun, get hit by a bus, and promptly jump the light themselves.. No bloody clue why..

14..
It's funny that when I say I want to contest the election, every one tells me that I won't win.. I am not contesting to win.. I am contesting to make a statement.. A statement that says that I can do what I want in my country..

Which is not something I could have done if I was born Chinese

That, plus the fact that it would cost less than my mobile phone, to have a story for life..

13..
Slumdog Millionaire.. People here either loved it (lovvvvvvvvveeeeeddddddd it would be more precise), or really hated it.. Me, neither.. It's ok.. I had fun watching it, but not as much as I expected I would.. The adult Jamal does not have the same spark that the kid Jamal had... Plus, my admiration for the kid for jumping in a pile of human shit, was somewhat diluted when I found out that it was actually chocolate.. It's a Bollywood movie.. Om Shanti Om types..

12..
The worst thing that mankind did for itself was to define God in human form.. So, God has a gender, has a face, has a name, has kids, etc.. So, when one man's God differs from another man's God, we have problems..

11..
I really wish that I had studied a little bit of economics growing up.. The more I read of the topic, the more exciting it sounds..


10..
Number 16 - 11 were typed like 4 days ago .. Tata went tata at the last minute before posting.. Luckily I have a habit of copying everything on Word whenever I have a doubt that something like this might happen.. Good for me.. Would have missed my eternal sunshine confession

9..
Ten years ago, almost to the day possibly, I did something that I play again and again in my mind.. It was the final of "Mr. Personality" contest, and I was killing.. In the minds of the audience, I was the clear leader till the last round.. When Beauty Pageant style there was a single question round.. I was asked, besides the computer, which is the best invention of the 20th century.. Totally stunned, I gave a crap answer saying all are equally good, but I would go for contact lenses or something.. Came second.. Everyone consoled me that there would be next year .. (I was in the third year of college).. The next year the contest never happened.. So, I have replayed that answer again and again in my mind for the last 10 years.. And every time I see something new and interesting, I think of how that could have been my answer 10 years ago.. If I had to do things all over again, this would possibly be the only thing I would change.. It's so trivial that I possibly should let it go..

But it was the closest I have ever come to winning something on my own..

8..
Since I am on confession mode, I am going to confess this.. My grandfather, who died 4 years ago, still comes in my dreams as if he were alive.. I was never there when he died, since I was in the US.. The last I saw him alive, he was fine and dandy.. Even though I knew and he knew that the meeting could be our last, we parted as if there's always next time.. His death was sudden, and possibly that's why at a subconcious level I have not yet come to terms with it.. That, and appearing for my board exams are the recurring dreams that I have..

7..
My wife says that she will vote for me only if she knows what I stand for.. SO I promise you guys this.. My next post will contain my manifesto..

6..
It's ironic, but Annika, Neil, Rohan and Tvisha have a combined age of 7 years. All of them have email ids and blogs.. They live time zones apart.. But everyone knows what happens in their lives.. There you go.. Network capacity.. possibly a better invention than the computer..

5..
I must write this, since I am on confession mode.. Most straight men are afraid of gay men.. It's not fear as in fear of heights or snakes or any of those sorts.. Not a mortal fear.. It's just that most straight men are willing to get laid with just about any woman if given a chance.. They just assume that all men are equally horny, and therefore by association, gay men would therefore like to do it with any man they find, even the straight ones.. And that they don't want.. So the fear..

4..
By now you must have figured out that there is no order of preference for this.. It's not in any priority or anything.. Just whatever is coming to my mind is coming on paper..

3..
I am going to write a story in a novel format.. I don't care if no one reads it.. The story is building in my head.. And especially after reading 300 pages or so of the White Tiger, I am convinced that if that chump can get a publisher, I can too.. If I don't get a publisher, I shall blog the story.. Might be better.. don't you think..

2..
I think Rafael Nadal has the potential to be the best tennis player the world has ever seen .. And I am crying like Federer when I type that..

1..
Phew!!! 25 .. Finally.. Gosh.. Even my mind is not used to thinking so much.. Over 3 days even.. And Thanks to Tata Indicom, I didn;t even need to have 3 separate posts..

Cheers,
C

Lipstick Mata

Saturday afternoons are one of the more boring ones in the week. The five days of the week, better known as work days, needless to say, are filled with work.. Sundays, are generally the one we all look forward to since God made Sunday afternoons for humans to sleep... But Saturday afternoons are the most boring ones, since there is nothing really to look forward to.. Annika sleeps, Devika works, and I am not used to sleeping in the afternoons.. So, I watch what Maushi watches..

Mata ki Chowki

The story thus far..

Vaishnavi's husband was killed.. So, believe it or not, she goes to purgatory to speak with Yamraj to get her back.. Since she's a huge devotee of the Mata (not sure which Mata as of now), Yamraj is having her take a test, after Bramha scolds him.. The test has her crossing a major bridge with 3 matkas of water stacked on top of each other, with man-eating creepers (yes, boss.. man-eating creepers). As I type this, she's praying to her Mata (the goddess or her mother, not sure)

Oh and I forgot.. She's hidden her husband's dead body, since he died of unnatural causes, if he has to undergo a post-mortem, then Yamraj also will not be able to revive her..

And that's it.. That was 30 minutes of entertainment.. For more, watch Sahara One daily 10pm

As I typed that itself, I was feeling weird.. The Mata looks like a Revlon commercial, while Lord Bramha has teeth stained with tobacco.. The Yamraj dude, is given the role not for any other thespian capability, but because of his skin colour and size.. Vaishnavi the widow has a spotless white sari, which based on her mannerisms, looks as if it has been draped over her top and jeans.. A geek might mistake the bridge she's crossing for Stage 6 of the Prince of Persia..

We have someone in this country who has decided that this story makes such compelling viewing that this is running every day at 10 pm. If this is really what the public wants today, we are in trouble.. The thought of someone sitting at home and eagerly looking forward to this, is troubling.. I think men are working too much, that women are sitting up at 10 pm waiting for their husbands and this is better than the wait.. And mind you, I am not acting sexist or anything.. Vaishnavi comes at the end, and addresses her sisters and asks them to follow her travels (or travails) every day at 10 pm.. SOOOOO.. someone does think that the only people watch are women..

As I said, Saturday afternoons are really boring..

Things I think I think

- I think Barack Obama will not become president.. Much as I would like him to be the President of the United States, I would be very surprised if he did. Probably because it's his race or his inexperience, but the fact that he's still neck to neck with John McCain, even when everything is going bad for the Republicans, means that he's probably not going to beat the establishment. Would be something like our Indian Olympic Boxers, who normally fight hard, beat the World Champion and then gallantly go down fighting to the eventual winner.

- I still think I ought to contest the next Lok Sabha elections from Pune.. I think that's easier than getting my voter ID card done.

- I think there ought to be a penalty on false marketing, and companies should be audited on their advertising authenticity. I went to ICICI to start a joint account with Annika, and I was greeted by their ad which says that they will sanction a loan in 30 minutes flat. It took me roughly 43 minutes to get to the counter. You think they can do a from scratch loan sanction (from raw material to finish product, as we say in our line of work) inside 30 minutes, if the waiting itself is 43 minutes?

- I think when God (if he / she exists) sends us to this earth, He / She should also say "You'll have a good life... Conditions Apply"

- I think Ratan Tata is in serious need of visiting a Baba Bengali.

Cogito ergo Sum

Babboo writes in response to my previous post..

God's in the little thing.. He's in your Annika and he's in your thoughts and in your beliefs and your conscience. The only clothes he needs are those

No? :)

God is indeed in the small things.. In things which cannot be explained, but you know are there.. In things which make you go WOWWWWWWWW.. In things where you know there is some scientific explanation to it, but it cannot be designed by current levels of human imagination.. As I write this, the TV is playing a serial, where all we are getting is an entire religious ceremony of Sri Datta Maharaj.. And it all feels so forced..

The problem I have is not as much with God, but more with the CEOs of the GOD industry.. The guys who have dressed Him up in clothes which suit their image of Him.. Clothes, which keep reinforcing people's image of God, but are nowhere near capturing the essence of what God actually is.. Clothes, which only help these CEOs get rich and no one else.. Clothes which keep adding falsehoods to what God actually is...

I have a confession to make here.. I go to temples, often - but not as often as some of my near ones would like.. However, I have no idea what to ask for.. For a long time, I would pray diligently like told by my elders.. Even believe that prayer would be an added help to achieve what I wanted.. But as I started to think about it, it really didn't matter how much I prayed.. I had to do what I had to do to get what I wanted to get.. At that point, to me, going to a temple became more of an exhibition of publicly displaying how pious I was.. I wouldn't say I got a brainwave or anything.. Nor am I saying I am perfect.. but slowly I started analyzing myself.. and I all I found was that if I started concentrating on what I needed to do, and concentrate well enough, I would get it... And even if I didn't, it was proportional to my efforts.. And, that's what I do in temples..

Concentrate...

God lies in me..

It's a matter of perspective

Babboo writes

Wow Chirag..
You eat in steel plates and have the option to go to the local nai to get your shave
My husband here will come back to India in a heartbeat for these things alone

You should start a blog of just the stuff you experience this way back home.

Well.. I don't think I can start a blog about it, but I can definitely blog about it..

For every time we have the local nai to shave my face for that much cheaper, we also have the possibility of the rickshaw walla charging a flat 10 bucks extra..

But then the rickshaw walla costs 2 dollars to go from NIBM to Magarpatta..

But then he also "accommodates" 5 other people in your rickshaw and asks you to "boss jara adjust" with a wink..

But then each of those 5 share your fare and in the end you end up with paying roughly 15rupees (30 cents) from your pocket..

But the 60 bucks you saved, you end up paying to the Telephone department, because you didn't pay the bill on time, and they don't quite grasp online payments..

But then, calling your family is no longer an ISD call..

But then your family is also right here running your life for you..

But then the family is also there at night to take care of Annika..

But then you have no idea what's going to happen when the family's going to go back home..

But then you have a help who does that and cooks and cleans for you..

But then the hired help also subjects your kid to all sorts of witch craft to avoid the "evil eye"

But then, it works!!!

But if it doesn't, who the hell can you sue??

It's all a matter of perspective and priority.

How Annika came to be Annika..

Honestly, I don't think we can confidently say we came up a brainwave.. I always knew about Annika Sorenstam, the golfer, and not once did I say that "That is the name of my daughter.. " or something like that.. There were a couple of other names which we had in mind way before we got pregnant, - D wanted Khyati, while I always thought Sabah was a good name.. But there never was anything fixed.. For some reason we always thought that we would have a boy, primarily because we (or rather, I) wanted a girl so bad that I didn't want to get disappointed at it being a boy...

 

Anyway, I digress..

 

Like most prospective parents these days, we started our search with the internet.. To cut a long story short, we found a whole bunch of names on some sites, the best of which this one - http://www.all-babynames.com/.. We found Annika there, and liked it.. but it said that was " a pet form for Anna".. That's where Annika Sorenstam came in.. We googled it for a swedish connection, and found that it meant Grace in the Nordic names.. So that was it.. What remained was finding an Indian meaning.. That's where the magic of Google came in again, and told us that it was also a variant of Goddess Durga, who mythologically, is anything but graceful, when angry, so it fit in, since my late grandma was born with the name Durga, (and since both us parents have a temper matching Durga).. So if it was a girl, it HAD to be Annika.. We had finalised 3 names for boys, which we said we would choose from, but the name had to go with the face, so we were waiting.. However that never came about, so I am not telling you what names those were...

 

That was it.. Simple..

 

--- Papa

Presenting............

Raising Annika