Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Dilbert and My Mind
If my blog is titled, "Enter My Mind", then you should know that Dilbert is never far from it, as I explore the quirks of corporate life. Never does a day pass, without me reflecting on ironies of some random situation at work and how would a Dilbert strip look on the same. So now, have added a Dilbert Widget to the right panel of the blog. So u can read either my random posts or the more funnier Dilbert strips on my blog! [*sigh* the things we do to increase blog traffic!!]
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Messers Ahuja and Dhoni
The past few days have seen the entire country's news media frothing about the exploits [or the lack of it] of these two gentlemen. But surprisingly, Dhoni is being held guilty for lack of exploits.
I will deal with the exploits of Mr. Ahuja first. Rape. Mid-level Bollywood actor, married to a woman he has known and loved for 15 yrs and who has an infant daughter with her, accused of raping an 17/18 yr old maid, who has been in his employment for 45 days. He allegedly found a time window between 3 to 5 pm on that unfortunate day to commit this dastardly act. Story said this way, Mrs Ahuja is right, it smacks of a frame-up. Only one small minor flaw i see in this theory, what has Mr. Ahuja done in his life to make him important enough for a frame-up? Salman, Shahrukh, Aamir framed - i can understand...Mr. Ahuja? Maybe Emraan Hashmi too could be worthy candidate...but Mr. Ahuja?? I honestly don't know. The case could be true for the only reason that it sounds unlikely. Anyways time will tell.
This entire drama reminded me of some psychological theory which i learnt in college, the name of which i am not able to recollect. It basically says that if a person is genetically/ psychologically programmed to be a struggler, that is the area he is most comfortable in life. So even if he does become successful, he wud somehow screw up, to ensure he goes back to that struggling phase, where he has been most comfortable. Same goes for winners and losers. Our Mr. Ahuja goes into the struggler category i guess, if the story we hear is true.
Now for Mr. Dhoni. I'm much more at ease with this case. The last 9 years of Indian cricket has seen a metamorphisis never seen in the history of the game in our country. For almost the entire 20th century our collective cricket community, was busy incubating a Jurassic park-era egg, save for a brief period during 1983. The change which Sourav Ganguly brought, has been ably taken forward by Dhoni. Dravid and Kumble ensured that the flame didn't ebb away. Ganguly, for all his foibles, did resurrect Indian cricket from the ashes of the match-fixing scandal. And Dhoni, instilled in our Men in Blue a swagger that only winners possessed. Maybe the below lines explain his current predicament
The following is a quote from the movie, Patton.
For over a thousand years...Roman conquerors returning from the wars...enjoyed the honor of a triumph,a tumultuous parade. In the procession came trumpeters and musicians and strange animals... ...from the conquered territories...together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments. The conqueror rode in a triumphal chariot...the dazed prisoners walking in chains before him. Sometimes, his children,robed in white...stood with him in the chariot,or rode the trace horses. A slave stood behind the conqueror...holding a golden crown...and whispering in his ear, a warning... that all glory...is fleeting.
Hubris, however, spares none. Not even the greatest of them. A dear friend of mine, once counselled me "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize". That is an advice, i hold as a guiding light in great times and bad. Perhaps, Messers. Dhoni and Ahuja should too.
I will deal with the exploits of Mr. Ahuja first. Rape. Mid-level Bollywood actor, married to a woman he has known and loved for 15 yrs and who has an infant daughter with her, accused of raping an 17/18 yr old maid, who has been in his employment for 45 days. He allegedly found a time window between 3 to 5 pm on that unfortunate day to commit this dastardly act. Story said this way, Mrs Ahuja is right, it smacks of a frame-up. Only one small minor flaw i see in this theory, what has Mr. Ahuja done in his life to make him important enough for a frame-up? Salman, Shahrukh, Aamir framed - i can understand...Mr. Ahuja? Maybe Emraan Hashmi too could be worthy candidate...but Mr. Ahuja?? I honestly don't know. The case could be true for the only reason that it sounds unlikely. Anyways time will tell.
This entire drama reminded me of some psychological theory which i learnt in college, the name of which i am not able to recollect. It basically says that if a person is genetically/ psychologically programmed to be a struggler, that is the area he is most comfortable in life. So even if he does become successful, he wud somehow screw up, to ensure he goes back to that struggling phase, where he has been most comfortable. Same goes for winners and losers. Our Mr. Ahuja goes into the struggler category i guess, if the story we hear is true.
Now for Mr. Dhoni. I'm much more at ease with this case. The last 9 years of Indian cricket has seen a metamorphisis never seen in the history of the game in our country. For almost the entire 20th century our collective cricket community, was busy incubating a Jurassic park-era egg, save for a brief period during 1983. The change which Sourav Ganguly brought, has been ably taken forward by Dhoni. Dravid and Kumble ensured that the flame didn't ebb away. Ganguly, for all his foibles, did resurrect Indian cricket from the ashes of the match-fixing scandal. And Dhoni, instilled in our Men in Blue a swagger that only winners possessed. Maybe the below lines explain his current predicament
The following is a quote from the movie, Patton.
For over a thousand years...Roman conquerors returning from the wars...enjoyed the honor of a triumph,a tumultuous parade. In the procession came trumpeters and musicians and strange animals... ...from the conquered territories...together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments. The conqueror rode in a triumphal chariot...the dazed prisoners walking in chains before him. Sometimes, his children,robed in white...stood with him in the chariot,or rode the trace horses. A slave stood behind the conqueror...holding a golden crown...and whispering in his ear, a warning... that all glory...is fleeting.
Hubris, however, spares none. Not even the greatest of them. A dear friend of mine, once counselled me "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize". That is an advice, i hold as a guiding light in great times and bad. Perhaps, Messers. Dhoni and Ahuja should too.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Now what shall we talk about?
Nothing like a swig of rum and coke to get the bloggy juices flowing! So what shall we talk about?
Well firstly apologies to my friends Yason and Bun. We saw a movie together a few months back, "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi". I thought it was an average SRK + Yash Raj Bollywood formula movie, designed to appeal to not so good looking men with hot women. But my friends thought, and I quote one of them, "This movie has made me believe in love". Now while I still stand by my opinion, apparently this movie has had such an impact worldwide, that even the Chinese have taken to it. This dude has used it as his audition song for "Chinese Idol"!
If Susan Boyle had chosen this song, probably she would've won Britain's Got Talent. Is it the magic of Bollywood or has the world really dumbed down to such depths? I do not have the pedigree to form a judgment on that one. However, as 2 MBA's, Yason and Bun have got the pulse of the next biggest superpower and largest market in the world. This would hold them in good stead if they get their asses transferred to Guangdong from Gurgaon. Cheers boys! You are Winners!
Now that I had mentioned Susan Boyle, I better document this 2 month phenomenon. Susan Boyle made me believe in reality TV. I have been a skeptic and have not watched even one of them, except probably The Great Indian Laughter Challenge [if u can call that reality tv]. Believe it or not, Ive not watched even 1 minute of MTV Roadies. I have been following Britain's Got Talent on the Internet ever since I saw the video of the Dancing Sardar. For sheer entertainment alone you just have to doff your hats to this duo.
Not to mention the hardwork, creativity and talent that goes with it.
The monsoons have hit Hyderabad today. I had posted a facebook status message to that affect and have got a lot of messages from folks saying congratulations and oh wow etc etc. I do appreciate the drop in temperature but I'm thinking, "Damn flooded roads, need to polish my shoes everyday, mud on the shins, need to protect the laptop from getting wet." etc etc. Is it just me being unromantic or is this how all men really think?
Oh did I also tell you that Ive been a lazy bum around the house and have not gotten around to getting any of the stuff I planned for in my previous blogs and continue to live with bare necessities like a bed and a wifi connection? Yeah, that's me. I love my life! Coz there ain't no one to nag me about it!
Well firstly apologies to my friends Yason and Bun. We saw a movie together a few months back, "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi". I thought it was an average SRK + Yash Raj Bollywood formula movie, designed to appeal to not so good looking men with hot women. But my friends thought, and I quote one of them, "This movie has made me believe in love". Now while I still stand by my opinion, apparently this movie has had such an impact worldwide, that even the Chinese have taken to it. This dude has used it as his audition song for "Chinese Idol"!
If Susan Boyle had chosen this song, probably she would've won Britain's Got Talent. Is it the magic of Bollywood or has the world really dumbed down to such depths? I do not have the pedigree to form a judgment on that one. However, as 2 MBA's, Yason and Bun have got the pulse of the next biggest superpower and largest market in the world. This would hold them in good stead if they get their asses transferred to Guangdong from Gurgaon. Cheers boys! You are Winners!
Now that I had mentioned Susan Boyle, I better document this 2 month phenomenon. Susan Boyle made me believe in reality TV. I have been a skeptic and have not watched even one of them, except probably The Great Indian Laughter Challenge [if u can call that reality tv]. Believe it or not, Ive not watched even 1 minute of MTV Roadies. I have been following Britain's Got Talent on the Internet ever since I saw the video of the Dancing Sardar. For sheer entertainment alone you just have to doff your hats to this duo.
Not to mention the hardwork, creativity and talent that goes with it.
The monsoons have hit Hyderabad today. I had posted a facebook status message to that affect and have got a lot of messages from folks saying congratulations and oh wow etc etc. I do appreciate the drop in temperature but I'm thinking, "Damn flooded roads, need to polish my shoes everyday, mud on the shins, need to protect the laptop from getting wet." etc etc. Is it just me being unromantic or is this how all men really think?
Oh did I also tell you that Ive been a lazy bum around the house and have not gotten around to getting any of the stuff I planned for in my previous blogs and continue to live with bare necessities like a bed and a wifi connection? Yeah, that's me. I love my life! Coz there ain't no one to nag me about it!
Monday, June 01, 2009
Today Is Ours
Well, last week, the entire top 3 layers of management of the company i work for, were ensconed in a campus called EC4 in a faraway city. I know EC4 sounds as sinister as Area 51, but those few days of freedom from our bosses were a joyous occasion for a lot of my peers. This poem below composed by yours truly is a tribute to that joy.
Today is the day when we conquer
When we are going to ACHIEVE,
What we have set our minds to.
Nothing can hinder nor distract us,
We are lions, we are tigers today.
Boldly setting out to achieve our plan
We shall lead our batallions to success today
Today It is our plan, our fight and our destiny
Today everything in our calendar we will achieve
And fulfill the dreams our teams have strived for
'Coz today all our bosses are locked up in EC4!
Today Is Ours
Today is the day when we conquer
When we are going to ACHIEVE,
What we have set our minds to.
Nothing can hinder nor distract us,
We are lions, we are tigers today.
Boldly setting out to achieve our plan
We shall lead our batallions to success today
Today It is our plan, our fight and our destiny
Today everything in our calendar we will achieve
And fulfill the dreams our teams have strived for
'Coz today all our bosses are locked up in EC4!
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