Thought-Pourri

The central government decided to raise the petrol prices today (23-May-2012) by 7.5 INR per liter. Is the decision justified? I do not know.

However, I know that we do not have control over the government decisions (UPA or non UPA).

Not that I support the price hike by 7.5 INR a liter. It’s all set to make life tougher.

Amidst all the pain being faced by the common man, I decided to take a look at my petrol needs.

I use a 1200 CC engine to take me around the city on all days of the month.

To travel 1000 kilometers per month, at an average of 15 kmpl and with the price rise taken into account, I would now need INR 500 worth of more petrol.

To afford that rise: 

If I were a smoker,

I could smoke 5 packets less per month. If that is all I was smoking per month, then I would rather vote the government back in power. They helped me kick the butt.

If I decide to cut down on eating out,

I could save money worth 3 visits to McDonalds. I would hence eat lesser cheese, bread and mayonnaise. By doing this, I would avoid a layer of fat around my waist.

If I were an avid beer drinker,

Assuming that I drink beer from Mallya’s, I could drink approximately 4-5 bottles less and prolong that beer belly.

And so on..

All in all, by taking measures that are directed towards a better lifestyle, we could probably cut costs the right way and be blessed with a better health. Not only the health, but our employers would be happy too with increased levels of productivity at work ;).

If we were doing all of the above anyways, we could

1.     Reduce the individual usage of fuel by resorting to methods like car pooling

2.     Walk / cycle for distances lesser than say 10 kilometers and burn bio fuel

And so on..

The point is just one. There’s no point cribbing about the price rise. Choices are individual and they may not feature in the classification I did above. However, there would surely be those small areas in our “modern” lifestyle to cut down costs if using a self-driven vehicle is an utmost necessity.

Moreover, if we compare our quality of life in India with other countries like -

1. Singapore – where the citizens abide by government rules no matter what, and the cost of a car is extremely exorbitant

2. Middle east – Where gasoline is available in plenty and the law and order is strict

3. US and UK – Which are now reeling under their own problems and have been the big daddies of the world anyways

4. Africa – Which is yet to be explored?

We, the people of India living in India do not do much ourselves to make things better for us. If we do, I can already see #IndiaShining

It’s been a couple of days since I got my hands on one of the must read books of the recent times, “Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson”.  I have managed to read just about 100 odd pages till now. But it has been one hell of a ride till now.  Steven Paul Jobs was a special person. He made a dent in the universe by creating a company that the entire world loves; or just loves to hate. There aren’t many people who fall in the area between the two extremes mentioned above and there might be reasons for it, ranging from “Steve Jobs was an artist and he created his products with so much passion that he made it nearly impossible for others to imitate and create replicas” to “The products are so amazing or worst that they are capable of invoking some of the extreme emotions in the people who use them” to “The products are plain unaffordable to many people. This feeling of incapacity to buy an Apple, might also be invoking emotions that lie in between of the two extremes mentioned above”. However, whatever the reasons may be, I believe it is extremely necessary for all of us to understand that Steve Jobs worked with a mindset that was unique to him. He worked with eccentricities that only he had control over and the book does cover such instances. There are a number of thoughts he preached and are now there in the public domain to idolize and they make some sense as well albeit with a lot of caution. His thoughts were powerful and extremely desirable. However, imbibing them without due diligence is just like feeding sugar to a diabetic. I put down my understanding for some of the thoughts, now in the public domain.

 

CAUTION: Steven Paul Jobs’ Thoughts ahead. Do not take them by heart. Otherwise, you might get on to a trip full of utopian scenarios and make situations worst for your own self and everyone around you. Remember. Steve’s physical identity is no longer active and YOU are not Steve.

 

1.       Anything is possible with hard work, determination and a sense of vision.

The fine print: “Anything” pertains to “everything” that you believe in. Steve believed in a culture unique to Apple. Secondly, he was a one man army – An artist, a chief strategist, an excellent marketer, a financial wizard and the rest needed to run his company. He had it all.

 

2.       Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.

He said this at the commencement address and it did make utmost sense. Have that hunger inside you to do better. If you do not, how would you make your own dent in the universe? Steve had a lot of hunger and hence he created Apple.

 

3.       Find the most talented people to surround yourself with.

Each and every person on this earth is talented, for his own talent.  Realize that and treat everyone around you with great care. Remember that you suck at certain things.

 

4.       Don’t care about being right. Care about Succeeding.

This thought is quite not humane for everyone around us. Think about it.

 

5.       Expect a lot from yourself and others.

Be critical of the way you do your own things. And if you are convinced about the way you do your things, push your belief on to people around you. All’s well unless you are actually asking people around you to commit a crime.

 

6.       Listen to that voice at the back of your head. It knows whether you are on track or not.

This made perfect sense. Go for it! But remember, it is not necessary that those around you or above you or below you would hear that voice. That’s not possible.

 

7.       To create the future, you cannot do it by focus groups.

This worked for Steve Jobs. It may not work for you.

 

8.       Never fear failure.

Not only we should imbibe this thought, but also imbibe it in the young adults and children. Our generation fears failure.

 

9.       The most enduring innovations marry art and science.

I have not provided enough thought to this.

 

10.   You can’t connect the dots forward – only backward.

Good old Stevie was right here.  All he meant was is in the present. Do not leap ahead. You got to do what you need to do in order to do what you got to do. Simple!

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A wise man once asked his kid, “If I give you the hen or the egg what would you choose?”  The kid could not really see through the question, and he answered “The egg”. The wise man then went on to explain.. “The egg is something you could use immediately and hence serve a single meal. If you go for the hen however, it will provide you a supply of eggs for your entire life. “

The Speaking Tree in today’s (18-May) Times of India edition has a wonderful article to explain the thought behind the above story. Worth a read! I post it here in my blog -

    When you try to live on your own, you are trying to tap your potential. Everyone is born with enormous potential, but potential can be developed only by hard work. The best policy for anyone trying to succeed in life is to try to unfold his potential rather than try to receive any advantage from elsewhere.
    People generally say with envy that so-and-so was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. But this is wrong. Fortunate is one who is born with an incentive spoon in his mouth. If you are born to a life of hardship, it will activate you and this will give you incentive to work. On the other hand, if you are born into a life of comfort, it will kill your motivation. Certainly, self-motivation is of far greater value than external support.

    Every favor is limited in nature. It has no unlimited scope. But when you try to unfold your potential, that is like embarking upon a journey that is limitless. Favor may give you temporary relief, but hard work is the only way to achieve great success. All super achievements were born out of hard work rather than favors.

    It has been rightly said: ‘It is not ease but effort, not facility but difficulty that makes men.’ Facility may seem good, but difficulty is better in terms of result. Opting for effort is good for both physical health and intellectual development.

    Living on favors means living as a taker in society. But living as a hard worker means being a giver in society. And it is a fact that the giver is better off than the taker.
    When you achieve something by dint of hard work, it gives you one precious thing, and that is confidence. Hard work is always accompanied by confidence. And confidence leads to peace of mind.

Nothing is better than peace of mind.
Once a man came to the Prophet of Islam. He said: “I am a pauper. Give me some money for my livelihood.” The Prophet said: “That would not be good for you.” Then he gave him a formula for dignity: “The upper hand is better than the lower hand.” Then the Prophet gave him a few silver coins, and said: “Go to the jungle, cut some wood, and sell it to earn your livelihood. And meet me in two months’ time.”
    The man accepted the Prophet’s words. He led his life as advised by the Prophet. Then, two months later, he came back to the Prophet and said: “I am happy with my job. Now i have decided not to ask for anything from anyone.”
    By hard work you can earn money, but through money you cannot achieve hard work. The best formula of life is this: Do not try to obtain favors, but rely on your own efforts.

 

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It’s been a while that tgates.posterous.com has not been active. But I am back.

It has been a time of looking around; inward; outward and everywhere around me.

In more ways than none, Matrix (the Hollywood flick) makes a lot of sense. We are actors bound to a script of our own lives.  Friends and family are actors too; playing their own part.

There were some revelations that I made looking around. Instead of making them descriptive, I will try and keep them to the point so that my thoughts do not wander and diaohrrea of words do not fail me, in a self-proclaimed attempt of making them look beautiful.

 So, the revelations:

1.       The world around “me” is surrounded by really smart people

2.       Most of these smart people “seem” fearless

3.       There are a lot of dreams around me, in the world; floating around

4.       There is a lot of insecurity around; regards people / ideas / relationships / etc.

5.       The currency trading higher than the others is “Money”

6.       I met love in February this year

7.       The smart people “are not” really fearless.

8.       Steve jobs still rules in people’s hearts. But, his ideologies of following one’s own dreams/instincts don’t.

9.       I have become fearless….Let says... “A little more”

10.   There is an “effort” around me – to make work places better, to increase revenues, to make better roads and infrastructure, etc.

11.   The effort is genuine.

12.   People have started caring a little less about Uncle Sam and his land

13.   Uncle Sam has started taking notice of this.

14.   Things around me are transitioning … Businesses are going back to basics rather than doing new things, Music is transitioning back to the age old classical , Marathi Cinema is getting an all-new face lift , Cooking at Home is probably in vogue and so on..

15.   Mark is making a few more billion dollars as well

16.   We are still cribbing about politics/pollution/illiteracy/population/lack of new cities/ etc.

17.   Gujarat, UP and Bihar are seemingly the better places to be in now

18.   Everybody can do everything these days

19.   But the dreams are still neglected

20.   McDonalds is doing brisk business

21.   We still do not find time to take care of our health

22.   With every puff of nicotine, the probability for contracting cancer is growing

23.   My new car is doing just fine

24.   To be continued…

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There's brilliance in subtlety...

The subtlety in a final form...

The final form not associated to a person...

But with the person's art...

And the art... Not a possession of the mere mortal...

But a gift passed on through generations..

By nature...

To be nurtured and taken care of by the artist..

Not for mere fame and fortune...

But to spread love, peace and harmony...

While we exist in time, here.

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Note: The picture attached is not for re-distribution or public circulation. The idea was to showcase dedication, determination and perseverance of a 53 year old yoga artist during regular practice, and to add meaning to the above lines. Thank You.

I posted a short cover version of Haal-E-Dil from the film Murder2 on my Youtube Channel. 

Do listen to it. Your comments and criticisms are most welcome.

Note: Track Mixed at home. Karaoke track sourced from Youtube

 

Back in the summer of 2010, it was time to leave for a year long academic course to the beautiful island nation of Singapore.  The bags were packed and all the other formalities done. Now the thing about our earth is that it is round. And we are humans with two legs. So even if we had a desire to go around the world at least once in a life time, there is no way we can skip, hop or jump our way around. So we have airplanes. And while these airplanes happily glide across latitudes and longitudes, Expedia makes it possible to get a seat reserved through www.expedia.co.in . I did the same. I booked my ticket through the internet, and was all set to fly to Singapore!

As equatorial the nation is, Singapore greeted us all with some gracious showers from the rain god, a lot of humidity and dangerous grey skies. While this was how the skies looked, the ground painted a different picture.  The roads boasted a fine shade of gray with yellow and white markers wherever desired, swanky cars to run on them and different shades of green all around us. It was a half an hour bus ride from the airport to our academic campus and by the time we reached, the skies looked blue already.  After spending some time to get used to the new surroundings, it was time to venture out on the streets and have a look at what Singapore was like by the night. Never did I know that I was destined for a pleasant evening ahead…

We decided to go to one of the most happening night clubs in town, Zouk.  Zouk is one of the oldest and popular destinations that every traveler should visit to have a good time. The club is named after the French Creole word for “Party”. Furthermore, it has also won the Singapore Tourism Board’s “Best Nightspot experience” award six times.  While the entry to the club was about 30 odd Singapore dollars (read: a lot of money for a student just landed in Singapore), the atmosphere inside the club was simply electric. The facility was party to people from all over the globe, the DJ was probably having one of his best days, and there we were; awestruck in the smoky limelight of one of the most fantastic places on earth. The party had just begun!

The rest of the evening was spent downing a few drinks and dancing to the tunes of the pied piper – the DJ who was busy dishing out electronic dance music. Now, the thing about a pied piper is that when he plays a tune, the rats are instantaneously knocked out of their senses and all they do is follow the tune. They forget that their job is just to nibble at people’s stuff and lead a fulfilling life. So, while the DJ was playing the tune, we were like a group of hippie’s dancing to it without being aware of any responsibilities whatsoever. I and a friend of mine were no exception to it either. We were busy dancing in one part of the dance floor when suddenly my friend realized that he was dancing on a cell phone! The next moment, he picked it up and showed it to me.  It was as if time froze for a while. It was like destiny had smiled upon us. After all, we were a bunch of guys from a different country altogether, partying in one of the coolest places on earth and now, out of nowhere we had a cell phone with us which could belong to anyone …. Umm...Say, a pretty girl from some corner of the world.

Now, my friend was a married man who had come for his academic course with his wife in tow. Grabbing the opportunity and reminding him of his married status, I took the phone from him and put in my pocket. The evening ended and soon it was time to head back home.

The next morning, started a little late. As I awoke from my sleep, I suddenly remembered the new possession safely stuffed in my pocket.  I got the phone out and had a look at the screen. The screen screamed – 20 unread messages!  Someone was trying to get in touch frantically.  Suddenly the door tapped, and my friend came in with another batch mate in tow.  It was clear that the news about a new possession was spreading … albeit selectively.  I hid the phone immediately and told my friend that the battery had just discharged and now there was no way to get in touch with the owner of the phone. Convinced of my answer, our talks digressed to other topics. Once they left, I was back at the task of tracing the phone’s righteous owner anyways ;).  After looking through a few messages, it was clear that the phone belonged to a girl called Brooke.  Murphy had smiled on me this time! The thing about Murphy is, whenever you want something to happen, Murphy decides to put up a grumpy face. And when you least expect it, Murphy is back with a bang smiling at you... giving you woes, or in some rare cases like these.. Creating a flutter …..

Thanks to Murphy, now I was on a mission. I had to make sure that Brooke got back her phone. In some time, Brooke called. The first words made it clear that Brooke was a British girl. She spoke with a strong British accent with a pleasing husky tone, a little low pitched and attractive enough. We had a very small call and she decided to stop by my campus in some time to get her phone back.  

Excited in anticipation of the impending meeting, I hatched a careful plan of executing it. After all, I did not want any of my friends to know of what I considered a rare opportunity. Murphy was indeed doing well till now. The plan was simple. I would stay in my room till the time Brooke called and once she did, I would move to the meeting point. If anyone did spot me, the answer was straight enough – “I am going for a jog at the Hort Park”. Ready with this plan in mind, I changed into my track suit and waited for the call. Brooke called, spot on the time decided. Thoughts racing in my head, and blood gushing to and fro from my heart, I started to walk towards the street near my campus.  Till now it was all good. No one had spotted me. I pressed the elevator button. The door opened, and I stepped in. The journey to the ground floor was about 30 seconds. Ting! The door closed, and the lift started to move to the ground. Murphy was also working on his own plan. In a different part of the campus, my friend and the other batch mate had just completed their lunch and they had started walking towards the hostel building. With every passing minute all four of us were closer to our destination. Ting! The door opened, and I stepped out of the lift. All was good till now. I had reached the ground floor and now was moving towards the open area. Brooke had reached the street and she called. Speaking to her briefly from the open area I increased my pace and started walking faster to the street. In my mind... the area was clear and no one had even spotted me. Like, I was invisible. Murphy was probably really smiling today. Thoughts raced through my mind... “How would I greet her? Should I get to know her better right away? Should I exchange phone numbers? Etc.,”

I reached the main street. Finding the cab she was sitting in was no mean task. It was right in front of me. I reached the back seat and looked in from the window and tapped.

It was a pretty girl sitting on the back seat of the taxi with lovely dark curls, fair skin, and sharp features. As she turned her neck from the right to the left, the curls looked even beautiful and our eyes met. The eyes were dark blue and the iris perfectly shaped. Everything was perfect. She rolled the windows down, and said, “Hi, I am Brooke. Thanks for the phone. I really appreciate it.” The moment was frozen. All I could do was admire the beauty in front of me.  Now, the roles had switched… the pied piper was Brooke and I her rat. Hypnotized, I simply held out her phone, smiled and said “You are welcome.” As the cab driver started the engine, I suddenly came back to my senses. I began to ask her a few questions right then and there. As the car gained momentum, and started to move away, all I could gather that Brooke was a British citizen who was studying journalism at one of the premier institutes in Singapore. With the car out of sight, I turned my tracks and started to move towards the hostel. And there my friends were, about four of them waving and being jovial about the brief encounter they had just witnessed. Murphy had indeed smiled …

 

It wasn’t just any other day today.  I will tell you why; being the citizen of the world’s largest democracy is not an easy tag that one carries throughout his life. It is about being able to witness all possible climatic conditions within the boundaries of the nation, It is about being in company of the extremely rich,  and the poorest of the poor, It is about being witness to umpteen different ideologies (political or not) and many more things.

But today was special; after all the citizen of India does not get this right every day. He gets it only after he turns 18 and every 5 years after a new government is in place at the centre, state or the municipal corporations.  It is the day, when he gets to be the KING maker. But there is a rider. The citizen must go to the polling booth, cast his vote and get a small and pretty mark on his index finger. This mark has a lot of power and respect as well. A power to choose who serves you ( read : politicians) , A power to crib/fret over how mean and worthless the politicians are , A respect from other fellow voters (I know the community is a little weak, but it is gaining muscle) and a fresh dose of hope.

I went to the polling booth today morning. I did all that mentioned above and hence I get a chance to boast about it, to crib about the pathetic governance, law and order and all other things. But that is for later.  The purpose of this post is to let you about a different experience.  After the voting was done, I came home. My maid was already in the house. Oh, Did I tell you about her? My maid or Kamala is a 60 year old lady. She has been in the house for the past 30 years, well before me and my brother was born. She took care of the house since the day my family settled in this beautiful city. Kamala is the sole breadwinner of her house. She has 5 children in all; Three of them (all girls) now married and happy with their families; the other two (both boys) un-educated and staunch supporters of a particular political party. Probably these two boys toil through the year working for political ideologies that they support.  Financially, Kamala is on a salary of possibly 2000 INR per month, and her boys on possibly an income which is totally not secure.  The house holds family income, less than 10000 INR per month.  Kamala and her two boys (or men) stay in a sprawling slum near my home.  Years ago, a political party guaranteed each house in the slum an independent house. However, as the mentality is; though the houses were ready, no one migrated at all.

Every municipal corporation has its area divided into independent wards. My ward has a population of about 30000 citizens. Out of these 30000 people, about 6000 people are registered voters of the sprawling slum I just talked about.  On today’s date, the demographics are clearly divided between the old, the young, and the very young. The same holds true for this slum. While the old definitely stay in the same slum, the young generation now might be better educated than their parents, and the very young are in their formative years. As the whole country is progressing with increased levels of education and per capita income as well, more and more people are moving above the poverty line. However, there is a group of black sheep. These probably represent the old (in terms of age) and their children who were not lucky enough to get enough education. Now, in my country if you do not have education, you do not have a means to earn money; and as emotional the people in my country are, they are insecure as well. This insecurity along with the need to live or exist makes them enter the world of politics; as in politics, they demand no proof of literacy. 

 

So, when I came back after voting, my parents were yet to go and cast their vote. In a jovial mood I began to fool around the house pseudo-promoting a political ideology almost seeming to make fun. Kamala heard it and she came running outside to the room where the entire family was seated. She began to fret and crib as to why I supported the ideology I was pseudo-promoting. She was visibly sad that I voted for the wrong candidate and now a vote had gone waste.  This made me curious and as Kamala went back to work in the other room, I followed her. I asked her why she was sad and this is what she said, “I do not really care who you voted for. But do you know, I vote for two ideologies myself.” I asked her why she does that . She said, “With every passing year more and more people are getting educated , and political parties are favoring these people. However, a sizeable of us is still in the slums. In an attempt to create bigger and better cities and get a greater FSI for building new houses, political parties are also trying hard to re-claim the land which was all this while with the slum. The people I wanted you to vote for are from the political party that my boys canvas for. The other ideology I vote for has a candidate living just next door in my slum. Together, the coalition would at least try to guarantee a safe existence while we exist on this earth.”  Honestly, I was humbled.  We blame the politicians; we blame the law and order situation; we blame the education system; we blame everything around us. But we do it, because we cease to have any feeling of  empathy in our hearts. We fail to realize, that while we can afford  good food, clothing , shelter and the other luxuries, there are many of them living around us , with us who cannot afford most of the above things. And while, nothing but money allows you to lead a comfortable life, NOTHING but education gives you an unwritten right to earn money. 

Kamala’s situation will take care of itself as generations pass by. And there is no other way. But there is a lot we as the educated citizens of India can do to help make this country a better place. Some of them are :

1.       Exercise Right to Vote : You get to elect your own representative. At least, the probability increases with your vote.

2.       Have faith in your Vote : Have faith that the ideology you support is good enough to bring about a change in the society around you.

3.       Empathy : Every time you see an unfortunate around you, think. What can you do to make that life better ? Because, when they progress the country will progress making it a better place to live in.

Last but not the least, just one question … “ 16-February-2012 is passing by. It is just 09:14 AM on the clock. Did you VOTE as yet ? “ . Remember : At least for today – DOT hain to HOT hain

 

Back in the summer of 2010, I got an opportunity to use a state of art sound recording studio with my own bunch of people / musicians throughout the day and night for a couple of weeks.  Some songs were recorded during that period with an end in mind. Though the project did not really see the light of day, we were able to complete some pilot recordings which I will share in the course of time.

 One such pilot recording happened during the un-earthly hour of 3 AM. We were almost ready to call it a day when my friend started playing a tune on the keyboard. The sound was soothing, and the hour was quiet with no disturbance around. Suddenly the following words were born …

 

सावरे  क्यों  गए  परदेस   

देस  मे  निकला  होगा  चाँद 

ऐ सवारे .... क्यों  गए  परदेस   

 And as unplanned these words were we recorded something at the studio. Do listen at this link below - 

 

I got an opportunity to render a few songs at Yogacharya B K S Iyengar institute's annual day in January 2012. It was a wonderful audience, about 200 strong representing different nationalities around the world. I performed four songs on the occassion. 

One of these songs was a wonderful gazal by Jagjit Singh ji. I have tried to capture the essence of this gazal below. Also find a video attached along with this blog. Do listen. Hope you like it.

शोला हूँ भड़कने की गुज़ारिश नहीं करता , सच मूंह से निकल जाता हैं कोशिश नहीं करता 

Meaning: I am a small particle which can ignite fire; I do not need to try to ignite a fire. I do not try to speak the truth; I just say it the way it is

गिरती हुई दिवार का हमदर्द हूँ लेकिन , चढ़ते हुए सूरज की परस्तिश नहीं करता

Meaning: I feel bad when I see failure/sadness. However, I do not praise the rise to meteoric heights.

माथे के पसीने की महक आये न जिससे , वो खून मेरे जिस्म में गर्दिश नहीं करता 

Meaning: I value hard work above anything else. The blood that runs through my veins is glistening because of it.

हमदर्द-ये-एहबाब सा डरता हूँ 'मुज़फ्फर' , मैं ज़ख्म तो रखता हूँ नुमाइश नहीं करता 

Meaning: I am frightened of being sympathized by others. So, I keep my wounds to myself. I do not publicize them in public

 

Note : The video quality is a little bad. Apologies for the same