Friday, November 23, 2012

House of Sand.......


Little Girl : Hello Sir! Could you allow me to be a part of the beach festival here?

Caretaker : Oh! Hello little girl…..but where do you hail from?

Little Girl : Sir, I hail from the green water beach.

Caretaker : Then why didn’t you participate in the beach festival there little one? That beach is known for having beautiful sea shells and many little kids like you love to be there building shapes out of sand.

Little Girl : Yes Sir, I know. But, I want to be a part of the beach festival here even if there are no shells on this beach.

Caretaker : Sure dear. But even the sand is slippery here ….not suitable for building shapes. Are you still interested?

Little Girl: No problem Sir. I want to be here and take part in the beach festival here.

Caretaker: Then you are welcome little one.

She then went back to collect her things from the earlier place. After putting all her things in her bag she looked behind her and saw that the very place where she had built a house of sand all by her own….by working day in and day out for two whole days…..was being broken by another kid and his father to make space for themselves. She took one last look at the beach and saw many many little kids building different shapes out of sand …decorating them with beautiful sea shells with the help of their parents even though the parents were not allowed….and her eyes fell on other little kids struggling to complete their shapes of sand all on their own before the deadline for the next festival.

She left the beach wishing them luck.

 

 

Friday, July 06, 2012

M.S./Phd or MBA? The million dollar question!!


After a long time, thanks to my cousin and a taxi driver that I finally found something interesting to post about. And as the topic of the post goes….yes, its about the dilemma, that from ages to come, all graduating engineers have faced and are facing and will face in future too….that is what to choose for post-graduation M.S./Phd. or MBA……

My cousin had posed me the question of which field to choose for Post Graduation last weekend. He had asked me why you are happy in i-banking inspite of spending four years of your efforts in doing core technical engg. projects. I didn’t know how to convince him. But today my taxi driver happened to have the answer for me surprisingly….As usual I was late in the morn and he was standing at the gates of my building waiting for me….prompt….just like every day…..when I got into the taxi he asked me :

Taxi Diver : Madam aaj jyada late ho gaye ho

Me: Haan bhaiyya, mera bhai aaya hua hai….chutti leni thi…par mili nahi

Taxi Driver: Hahhaaaa toh madam aaj aapka mann nahi lagega kaam mein office pe

Me: Haan bhaiyya….pakk gayi hoon

Taxi Driver: Kyun madam….chutti nahi mili toh kya hua…kal chutti hai na

Me: Bhaiyya aap roz roz kaam karke pakk nahi jaatey kabhie

Taxi Driver: Nahi madam, humko toh bahut acha lagta hai….roz naye naye logon ko unki manzil tak pahunchatey hain….unse do batein kartey hain….unke zindagi ke bare mein thoda pata chalta hai hamara unko pata chalta hai….aur kya madam….har din naye logon se batein hoti hai…humein unse thoda seekhne ko milta hai unke anubhav se… ……Aur Bhagwan ke daya se khane ko toh hai…Aur kya chahiye….Humko toh bahut anand milta hai taxi chalane se….Aur madam kaam acha lagna ya bura lagna khud pe hota hai…kaam pe nahi

And I got the words for my answer. Now coming back to the topic of Post graduation…….While one school of thought talks like the Amir Khan of Three Idiots Movie as to “Agar bank mein hi jana tha toh Engg kyun kiya tha…gadha”….Another school of thought reasons out saying that “Knowledge is vast…and diverse in nature….four years of Engineering taught me the basics of B.Tech…now my mind wants to explore a different field and test my abilities there…by acquiring new skills”……

While both the reasons sound very logical what’s interesting is to see the debate…when one tries to prove that his chosen field is better than the other. It is amusing to see the way both have convinced themselves….”One calling other gadha and bhikari…helping fraud companies” and the other calling “Pot bellied , lazy, directionless, inferiority complex wale masterjis ….Undecipherable shitty objects (thts what we used to refer the strict/khadoos profs as :P!)” . Now if we sit to draw parallels then there is no end to it….An engineer’s parallel being a mechanic, chemist or electrician …just as the commercial people would name them and the commercial people being named as dalals, paan seller etc. The names proving nothing but immaturity and the inferiority complex within a novice who is just trying to console and give solace to his ego, self-respect and inhibitions….and nothing else…

Now what’s amusing to me is that….is it necessary….and is this the only way to convince oneself about the field you choose…..I understand that it is a difficult decision and at that age its difficult to gauge what is your field of interest……But then why such mental blockages…..

Any career you choose has its own challenges, pit falls and advantages….and if you are hardworking and can develop interest in the learning you will definitely succeed and enjoy doing whatever you have chosen. I have seen examples of frens going for Phd in technical field and then go for MBA and frens going for MBA first and then pursue Phd. …..also, simple engineers who have done better than any post graduate….and others who have no conventional degree and are yet more successful than the passouts of branded colleges.

Why only Phd or MBA…I have seen few of my friends choose to do something as diverse as fashion designing or civil services and are doing really good there. And for an economy to run…we need all kinds of people…MBAs, Engineers, Doctors, Lawyers, Professors, Artists, workers , politicians and the list is endless………Most of them had started with the initial dilemma of which field to pursue and have then discovered interest in the fields they chose and are happy…..

All that is needed is the ability and the maturity to find interest in what you are doing…and the ability to enjoy by being open-minded enough to appreciate and realize true potential of every field!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Valentine's Day Gift

I have been thinking to draft this post long back but somehow I got busy and cudn’t post. Neways, better late than never….so here I go….This post is about V day…Valentine’s day…
This Valentine’s day was just like any other day….same morning bell ringing and waking us up from our slumber…same opening of the door to the maid sleepy and groggy….same getting ready for office with the last minute running around…packing of tiffins….gulping down some food and frantically running for taxi….same praying that the traffic would clear soon so that I can reach office on time…..same rush in the lift where u can’t distinguish if u r breathing for urself or the person next to u is breathing for u……….I don’t even remember if on that day I realized it was any different from any other day……
The day had started just the same….with the same work load and everything till some people during lunch started discussing about V Day….one asked “hey!! Why didn’t you dress in red?” and other “What surprise gift are u planning”…and a list of gifts discussion followed….candlelight dinner, shirt, perfume, chocolates, romantic novels, flowers and so on…….
I remember seeing such excitement last during college time…..I was just thinking that and smiling to myself when someone asked me “kya yaar kitni bore ho tum….kuch plan nahi ki apne hubby ke liye”…and I was like “hahaha haan yaar boring hoon thodi kya karein”…..I have always wondered how people freely discuss such gift plans with colleagues and friends…..I mean even if there is a gift that you have thought of or got why would you tell it in public….And what do you expect the opposite person to say “oh how disgusting! Is this what you got as a gift” or “what are you crazy is this what you have planned”…..obviously you will hear some diplomatic statement out of courtesy from the opposite person….so what’s the whole point….
Neways, I do know that I belong to the introvert class of non-social being so obviously such concepts will always remain beyond my understanding. Anyways, that’s not what the post is about. The post is about an interesting conversation which followed later in the day.
During coffee one of my colleagues came over and asked me “oh you aren’t dressed in red today” and I was like “c’mon yaar, not again…..” and she said “why not….its a day to celebrate”…and I asked in a bored tone…”why what’s so special abt just one day”…and she said “oh c’mon…nothing different…but it gives you a reason to celebrate….every other day you would never think of any such special celebration but on few such occasions in the year you get a reason to celebrate…to pause…to enjoy the day…just your way”….and I said “really!! “…..”yes , like today I got up early…and as I had planned yesterday and got all the necessary items…I got down to cooking right in the morning before my daughters got up….I made pizza for breakfast for my elder daughter and bread pudding for my younger daughter…and when they got up they were so delighted to see their favourite dishes served for breakfast….and I told them today is a special day so eat fast get ready and go to school and if you both be good girls today and finish your play and work in time you will get another surprise tonite…..and I am planning to go back home a little early and arrange for their favourite Italian style dinner……” She said that and left after coffee…
And I was just left speechless…..

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Welcome 2012!!

Its Christmas again!! And new year again!!
And just as I was preparing myself for a lonely Christmas and a New year luckily my fears have not turned out to be true.
So this new year what are your plans? Everyone seems to be asking me that question. Now that you husband is back from his long tour are you guys planning for a trip? Or meeting up frens for a party?
And when I say no we are planning to celebrate it at home all their excitement dies away into a frown and they say with awe “Home!!!! Why such a boring plan”.....and I just shrug saying....”kya karun yaar....thodi boring hoon...”
I have never been the sort who loved crowd and parties...a celebration has always meant celebration at home for me....even if I was alone I wud have still preferred to be alone....even in college after exams when people used to party....I used to get some good food packed for myself and some goodies to munch on....get a movie from somewhere...or a book and just be to myself till late into the night.....and thats always been my way to celebrate...Basically I have always been boring...right from beginning that is hahahhaa!!
So, 2011 is come to close now....this year was special in its own way.....I happened to fulfil one of the items on my wish list...that is I mean of the wishes which I would definitely like to complete before I die kinds....and thats a Europe trip!!!! And that one trip has made this year special and memorable...
2012....resolutions...and what wud they be....not that I have ever made any resolutions that I have followed....but nevertheless keeping up the spirit of the new year let me think of a few that I would like to do in this coming year....for one I would try to get back to my blog...its been long since I have been as regular as I used to be....
Strangely, ideas of as to what to post seem to be dying by the day....either things have stopped interesting or affecting me....or I have stopped taking interest in day to day activities around me...or simply putting probably life has got more complex and the simple aspects of life seem to just go unnoticed.....simple things that used to touch you in some way that you felt like making a note of them through a post is just fading away ....but nevertheless there is no harm in making a resolution.....so here it goes...take life easy and post more often...
Secondly, I would like to get back to my reading....its been long....the count of the books that I have read in the last year has drastically dropped just like the top lines and bottom lines of the recession hit companies...bad joke I know....so I would like to get back to it....as there has always been a deep connection between reading and writing....I used to read more earlier and that had definitely helped in influencing my perspective earlier....which I need to get back at...
And what more....I look forward to this year holding a few more surprises in store for all of us...and help each one of us grow a little more ........

Wishing one and all a very happy new year 2012!!