SCRATCH YOUR SOUL

As a person I have always believed that there are some things that require certain amount of desperation or boldness among various other things. The most difficult thing I felt was admitting one’s own mistakes and I’m no good at it. Slowly I’m learning what it takes to be a better human being( though I still believe I’m no good human).Everyone agrees that we learn through experiences very well as the saying goes ” Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward ” as told by Vernon Law. Most of the people I come across remain dissatisfied in spite of their well settled careers.And to the contrary a close friend of mine, who is said to be pro in his area of study hasn’t had any options to explore in future as I feel bad luck is haunting him. When I asked him What his plans for his future were he said that he wanted to get into a job which sounded quite sensible. He was very much interested in an area of study but had to switch to another option as his parent6s compelled him to do. Still, his first love (the subject he liked) hasn’t faded and there was an instance when I happened to ask him whether it hurts when he gets into the present subject ( I meant, the compromise in his career), he differed to use the word compromise and instead he told that he moulded his mind for his academic pursuits. In my opinion, if he has not moulded his mind , he wouldnt have been a pro as told by his peers.
So we, I,  rather must learn to mould my mind rather than compromising as compromising would not help us learning the lesson of life.

Ive been thinking of posting the one I did now from a longtime. Im happy that my thoughts are taking shape at least now. Flirting is one particular thing that I havent worked on, to be frank.  In my schooldays ( very early) in Kindergarten, I used to be very close with a girl whom I thought to be my best friend. I really don’t think one would have any idea about flirting at that tender age. In the next two years I happened to change my school and Ive found one more female friend. She was a friend and I mean it. Our friendship was very good till a period of time after which she suddenly stopped being friendly with me as she thought that I was trying to flirt with her. After that our friendship as I thought  was sunk deep in the waters and never in my life again I had a female friend till now. A few months back, I happened to talk to an old classmate of mine and with my experience I was a bit cautious and I was being very reserved with her and she said that I was DUMB.Ive been listening to the words like NERD and DUMB of late more frequently and I have to agree that I was a nerd till a period of time , Iam Dumb even now, and most peoplesay Iam a Certified Psycho.

I happened to go through a number of personal blogs over the past few days as part of taking a few cues from those to improve my blog and in one particular blog there was a post by a lady software engineer looking for prospective grooms. She put forward two of her experiences, I mean chatting with her prospective groom which she had over a messenger service. The first person was based in US with a very heavy pocket and it seemed that he had no girlfriends in US as she enquired from his colleagues and her conclusion was that this guy was DUMB with work and had no girlfriends.  Fair enough , I must say. Encounter with another prospective groom who was more open to one’s opinions and who revealed all the relationships he had in past to her and who talked to her in jovial manner was labeled FLIRTATIOUS .

I’ve  learnt that if a guy doesn’t have girlfriends , he must be dumb or if he had relationship with one earlier, he was labeled a flirt master.My experience with FLIRTING  as it was labeled  concurred with the above ones  .  So, is the world full of DUMBERS and PHILANDERERS?  NEED not be because there are married men too………..

Feel free to write your comments  if you had a similar experience or anything you feel about it..

The last two weeks have been a bit satisfying and a bit depressing for quite some reasons. But this is the way it happens to everyone. With an increased amount of relaxation at home in the name of some literary pursuits, I slowly began to feel that Ive put on a bit of weight with no amount of exercise to the credit , blame it on the offset of the summer season or my increased frequency of hanging out with my friends. Ive never felt that Ive put on weight for the past four months though I have been a couch potato for a major period of that time. So I decided to go for a walk that refreshes my mind a bit and I must tell you that the walk was really refreshing. Setting out at a snail pace to check out some feline folk in our colony and to my surprise Ive found out that our so called orthodox colony has become a bit conservative as Ive happened to see a lot of changes and the main one being the freedom some women enjoyed in indulging in their amatory acts.I really wonder what the reason might be for this or is it being more social if looked at in a conservative idealogy. But any change is always welcome.There was a time when the so called orthodox society used a wild eye to see a normal talk between a guy and a gal . But as people say “Times Change” and I may have witnessed one of the testimonies. In a public organisation a month back a few executives have come to that organisation to utilise the incentives provided by their employer. There was one women and two men among the executives and I was shocked to see the aphrodisiac type of demeanor of the executives. My first impression of the executives was a very good one, but minutes later the two gentlemen were trying to get closer to the lady and to my surprise it appeared to me as if the lady was relishing the moment.I really dont know what the relationship between the individuals was, but such kind of uncivilised behaviour is not to be approved in public.

After the refreshing walk, I really felt that I need to go out more frequently walking.

      I, we rather, happen to see  a number of our friends or peers or  among our relations or neighbours’ leaving the place and they say that they(He/She) are hungry and they need to eat something to satisfy our hunger. One should admit that we are in a very good financial position to have access to internet and all forms of entertainment to be engaged all the time in some or the other activity. There are some lucky souls who are filthy rich,busy with their cell phones and hanging out with their friends every other weekend as they don’t know how to wipe out their earned money( I don’t say hard earned money as I believe if the money is hard earned, they wouldn’t have resorted to such luxurious lives).

Everyone in the world knows that there are some unfortunate souls on earth who require monetary and physical help  in some way or the other.There are very less people who take initiative for the benefit of these unfortunate souls.Now comes the HUNGER that Ive referred to in the previous paragraph. Many people around us say spend hell lot of money on food and I’m sure most of them are either Obese or have Alarming Cholesterol rates.And many studies proved that most happy souls on earth eat food if their mind is not engaged on anything else. I recently happen to see this site called Free Rice in one of my friends’ profile and i gave it a shot. The main motto of the site is to provide rice to people suffering with hunger below the poverty line with the money they get as their website gets a hit every time and to make sure that the users visit the site frequently, they have a vocabulary improvement exercise or a game rather which when plays knows ho much of rice He/She has contributed to the cause.

Another similar site is BHOOKH in which the money that gets on hits is totally dedicated to serve food to people who cant afford to their daily supper.These are nice initiatives that are very beneficial to the unprivileged along with something for the  visitor to boast of visiting.I wish to see more such sites that caters to the unprivileged.

www.freerice.com

www.bhookh.com

I may sound frustrated but remember that these unprivileged people have seen what is exactly called as LIFE which most of us haven’t.Another point worth mentioning is that an advertisement relating to a   organisation that helps disabled people came out with a tagline                         DIFFERENTLY ABLED  NOT DISABLED.

The profile of a book store starts off having a dreary, dusty and browser unfriendly atmosphere which has discouraged all but serious book buyers. Books have always been revered as sacred tools of knowledge . It was the only source of edutainment before the advent of technology. The present generation which have earlier showed indifference to reading now flock to the book stores. Is this phenomenon in the pursuit of knowledge or is it just a fancy to the people who have been flocking to the book stores? Crossword, a leading national level bookstores has come out with a new concept where the book store is a lounge for reading. In haste you may name it a library, but this is different.This a book store along with a coffee bar with tables for everyone to sit and read their favourite literati , having their mood elevated already in reading the book and also by sipping a cup of your favourite coffee and listening to soothing music. What more can you expect as a book lover? This is heaven for book lovers.

The motto of this concept is to change the bookstore into a lifestyle utility as people are getting increasingly involved in leisurely pursuits. So , next time when you visit a bookstore, expect a barista to help you in browsing the literary stuff.

What are your future plans? This might be the question everyone gets to answer when they have graduated or if the person is on the blink of graduation. Not all people have got to answer this cliched question. There are some who stood on their legs( I mean capable of being independent) from a very young age and one such person is Mr.Suhas Gopinath who is the Youngest CEO in the world.

Suhas is now 21 years old, When he was just 14, this guy from Bangalore, India he founded a company called Globals Inc,in San Jose, California. The reason for trying his luck in the United States rather than his native country was because there are laws in India that prevented him — then as a minor — to start a company legally. Starting with only 4 employees, he now employs around 400 students between India and the U.S.A.

He says “I never chose to become an entrepreneur to earn big money or fame. It was the anger in me that made me change my ambition from a Veterinary Doctor to an Entrepreneur. This anger was that I was humiliated by my prospective clients and big shot IT companies when I approached them that I can offer them web development services, as I wanted to own a computer by free lancing. Since I was just 13 years, they under estimated my potential based on my age and that is where I made up my mind that I need to setup an enterprise that should offer employment to hundreds of eligible unemployed youth all over the world, without assessing them based on their age or just academic scores, but primarily based on their skill sets and their attitude to learn.

Entrepreneurship is an adventure, its takes lots of courage and guts. In my case, I did not think much about the failures before I started as I knew that the worst that could happen to me is I need to shut down the company and take employment. But my mindset slowly started to change; I started to realize the satisfaction of being an entrepreneur and the contentment of offering employment to eligible youth all over the world. I started to change my views, and made up my mind that if I need to shut down this company, I will again start one more company but will remain as an entrepreneur whatsoever! According to me, the assertiveness and clear focus is the most important factors for a successful entrepreneur.

It depends on the individual’s mindset, in my case I wanted to stick to one company as I always considered Globals as my baby and I did not want to sell it out at all. I did not want to be a serial entrepreneur by setting up companies and selling them as money is something that always motivated as I being from middle class family, I really enjoyed being humble and down to earth instead of showing off. I wanted to concentrate on the growth of one enterprise that can offer employment to talented youth across the globe and do our bit in reducing unemployment everywhere. Creating jobs is something that motivates me and my co-founders always, and we still feel it was worth the sacrifice of our student and fun life that we had to give up in our early teens.”

Looking ahead, he will now be starting an internet venture based on Web 2.0 technologies in Germany besides starting focusing on loyalty and retail services.

He is a role model and source of inspiration for many who wish to start their own enterprise

Source  :  www.linkingglobalknowledge.com

The Times of India

Anything revolutionary that is being launched in the market catches everyone’s attention and when a person accomplishes a task that many other compeers write off as impossible is really worth mentioning. January 10, 2008 is a red letter day not only in the Indian Automobile Industry , but also to the Global Automotive arena as the day witnessed the much talked about TATA onelakh car.

Way back in 2003 or 2004, a leading Indian Industrialist expressed his view in front of the media that he would like to see most of the middle class population in India to own a four wheeler which was then a luxury at a revolutionary price of one lakh. The person about whom Im referring is none other than the chairman of TATA sons, Mr.Ratan Tata.He promised that he would bring out a car for Rs. one lakh and hearing the same many other industrialists in the same field wrote his comments off and given the increasing prices of goods and commodities day by day, a car costing Rs. one lakh or 2000$ was not realistic.

Mr.Ratan Tata took the challenge and though the car’s launch was delayed for some time, it was finally showcased at the Auto Expo 08′ at Pragati Maidan,New Delhi, where a notable number of Dignitaries from various places have come to witness the wonder.

Finally the car was launched and as auto critics say, the car is a great value for money and the model was far beyond their expectations.the launch of the car was followed by a brief speech by Mr. Ratan Tata and at that juncture, he expressed that it was difficult to bring out a car of such standards and put a price tag of Rs.One lakh given the four years good time where there have been drastic changes in a number of fields , but at the end he remarked that ” The price of the car i.e; the dealer price of the basic model would be one lakh because A PROMISE IS A PROMISE”. This shows how Mr.Ratan Tata has valued his words and by this way, he has kept the good will of the company intact and made all critics take back their words.

In fact, after the launch the same companies which have written off Tatas valiant  attempt,made a statement that they would make a product that would cater to the same segment. Mr.Ratan Tata has kept the promise he made before four years, now lets question ourselves How many of us do really keep promises of our loved ones?

Definitely a lesson to be learnt!

In the last few months, Ive seen many of my friends getting into reading books extensively, some of them to improve their vocabulary, some of them develop a habit of reading and some others used it as a means of engaging themselves in the boring college lectures .(Ashamed to admit that I’m not among the above mentioned peers).But the end product is that by reading you gain something that is going to be useful at some or the other point of time. Of course, there are some voracious readers who have had this habit from their childhood, they are an exception. We get to know a number of unknown things to us by reading and this gives us a bit of confidence because knowledge is rewarded everywhere.

So, finally on one fine day, I thought of developing this habit and I started with The DaVinci Code, a famous novel written by Dan brown. There has also been a  cinematic representation of the same which had its own share of controversies and thats a totally different issue. But could not complete the novel even till date though I have started reading the same before four months. Then , I came to realise that the perseverance required for a reader is missing in me.In good four months time, I’m ashamed to say that  I didn’t even complete reading at least half of the book .

Then my friends were discussing about a novel called “Five Point Someone - What not to do at IIT.”I would be lying if i say that I did not hear about the novel earlier. But as one of my friends suggested , I decided to give it a try. Immediately, the next day I went to a local Book store and brought a copy of the novel and I was amazed to see myself completing the same in a reading time of  6 hours, which is a great accomplishment given my level of understanding. I could relate the main characters among my friends and i could relate to some of the episodes(chapters) of the novel. So, the impetus of the accomplishment was the sheer interest generated by the author to keep the readers hooked to it.

I liked the way the novel was written in a simple and lucid manner and the author drove the point home. By the way, I didnot mention the name of the author, Mr.Chetan Bhagat an alumni of the prestigious IIT, where the whole story takes place.

So, my first accomplishment of reading a novel completely(given my track record of not completing anything I start), that too in a very short time, the entire credit goes to the author Chetan Bhagat.

Looking forward to reading his second novel named “One Night at the Call Centre”.

• The secret of getting ahead is to get started -
• Leadership is doing the right things and Management is doing the things right- Peter Drucker
• FEAR FEAR
• It is not because that things are difficult, that we do not dare,Its is because we do not dare that they are difficult
• No genius is complete without an element of eccentricity.
• FEAR _ False Events Appearing Real
• It does not matter how slow you go so long as you do not stop.— Wisdom of Confucius
• Its really deserving to be unworthy in a group of people you always respect than being a leader in a group of fools.
• Good friends are like stars >you don’t always see them but you always know they are there-Anonymous
• Character is like a tree and reputation is like a shadow.The shadow of what we think of it;the tree is the real thing.
• Life is pleasant.Death is peaceful. Its the transition that is troublesome-Issac Asimov
• It is always the best policy to speak the truth-unless,of course, you are exceptionally good liar-Jerome k.Jerome
• Life is what happens to you while you are busy making others plans-John Lennon.
• The question should be ,is it worth trying to do,not can it be done-Allard Lowenstein
• Unless we think of others and do something for them, we miss one of the greatest sources of happiness-Ray Lyman Wilbur
• Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward-Vernon law
• Don’t look down on someone unless you are helping him up-Anonymous
• All growth is a leap in the dark,a spontaneous,premeditated act without the benefit of experience
• In order for something to come out clean,something else must become dirty; but you can get everything dirty without getting anything clean-Anonymous
• The superior man is distressed by the limitations of his ability; he is not distressed by the fact that men do not recognise the ability he has-Wisdom of Confucius
• Never forget that only dead fish swim with the stream-Malcolm Muggeridges
• Who you are should speak loudly than what you actually speak - Galileo Galilei
• A positive attitude may not solve all your problems,but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort-Herm Albright
• Some men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what they want to, when all they need is one reason why they can - Willis Whitney
• I have found that luck is more predictable. If you want more luck, take more chances.Be more active, show up more often.-Brian Tracy
• Knowing what you cannot do is more imporatnt than what you do-Lucille Ball

We know that most of the Indians..In fact almost all are crazy about the game cricket. The present tri series involving India,Australia and SriLanka in Australia is one of the most competitive tri series Ive seen as all the three teams are almost evenly placed. The good news is that India has been doing quite well in the tour to Australia this season.  The find of the season is undoubtedly the Young Delhi pacer Ishanth Sharma who surprised and tricked the great and strong Australian batting line up.

Its a very common practice that we see in daily newspapers that they raise a good performance to Mt.Everest and if the performance is poor, he/she will be thrashed into Kashmir valley.I think you guys got the point .Media is the interface between the reader( common man ) and the authority.So, the media should be unbiased and discharge its duties accordingly putting national interest above all.

In ICC champions trophy 2004, India had only won one match that too against Kenya a minnow and next day in the papers, the headline was ” INDIA BACK TO WINNING WAYS”(India suffered along streak of losses before that particular game and it was no different thereafter).

In some of the regional newspapers, Politicians have a stake and those newspapers publish news as if the politician who has a stake in that newspaper is an Emblem of Human service and his opponent is serial killer.So ,I as a citizen feel transparency is the most important thing  that is required in media . But we find it nowhere in Indian media Industry except for a few.

Another example is about a news channel , infact several national level news channels  which aired exclusive previews of the movie ” SIVAJI”, the Rajnikanth starrer that generated much hype(of course the hype was created by the same media)
. When there are a hell lot of national issues where media concentration is required ,the media is concentrating on the release of new movies, Dhoni’s new haircut, Deepika -Yuvraj affair,Shahid-Kareena Breakup and a hell lot of useless issues with the support of baseless assumptions.

Another pathetic instance is when a death or something lost is mourned, the media tries to show the same incident with some filmy background music that appeals to a greater section of audience addicted to saas-bahu soaps and to increase their TRP ratings.

So, what is the role of media defined as? A watch dog or a publicity agency?