From Being INSPIRED to Being INSPIRING

Its been quite a while since I put up a blog post. Many did ask me if the writer in me had slept off. I could only smile in response. Today, after a slumber, the writer in me is up. Thanks to the CGI World Tour… I haven’t written for quite a while, not because there was a dearth of topics on which to write, but because there was just too much happening around me. The last few months have been incredible for me and the world tour simply took me on a ride that I would never forget in my life. And I had to write this post, if I didn’t, I would be lost!

I was on a month long vacation during October and I stepped into office only on November 1. And the day I came back Rajeswari Narayanan, a senior colleague i respect loads, called me. She is one person I would always be indebted to. For, she made one of my long term dreams come true – An article of mine in a newspaper!! She also made me a member of the editorial board of YELLOW the official newsletter of my organization. So when she called me and asked me to lead the Music band and give a performance during the World Tour I just couldn’t say NO. Even though I realized we had only 5 days to form a team, decide on a piece to perform and practice it enough to make it a memorable one. Yes, I was doubtful of my capacity to lead the team. Yes, I wasn’t sure if I could get a team together and make them think on the same lines. Yes, I was scared and YES I thought this was going to turn out messy. 

But Raji thought this could be done and I wasn’t going to doubt her :) within the first day I was able to get together a team of 8 wonderful performers. 4 were already on board and they were immensely supportive when I joined. I suggested a few songs that we could string into one piece as a medley, 6 agreed to the idea I suggested. 1 disliked it and walked out of the team and another couldn’t practice much with us because of work. So by the end of the second day, 6 of us remained; 6 like-minded, driven and passionate instrumentalist. We put in a lot of time, effort and passion. I was surprised to see the commitment each member had. They backed the idea of ‘Tribute” (the name I had given for our piece) to the hilt. Every member was strong and focused and it gave me immense strength and confidence.

 

But the real turn around came on the third day (November 3). MTV telecast its first episode of the 2nd Season of “Unplugged” a music show. A.R.Rahman performed with an exquisite band and the show floored me. EVERY day I kept listening to the performance of the BEST MUSIC DIRECTOR (imho) in the world and it inspired me greatly. In fact when I shared it with my team we were all immersed in the magic of the Mozart of Madras and we were all inspired by the show. This show gave us the much needed impetus to dream big. We bonded better and told ourselves we could do well. By the 5th day we had practiced well and we believed we could pull this off. 

 

The D-Day came. The entire day from 8am till 8pm is a complete blur in my memory. We practiced, encouraged each other enjoyed the other performances and we went on stage and performed together as a team. There were almost a 1000 people in front of us and I was thoroughly intimidated. But when we started playing we forgot everything else. The audience clapped and cheered whenever they heard a familiar tune and that immediately sent a wave of energy to us all. Our piece lasted a little over 6 minutes and they were the best 6 minutes of our lives. When we finished playing we were happy. We knew we had done well. The applause was amazing and all of us felt a gushing happiness.

The Team from Left to Right - Sasidharan, Vijai, ME, Arvind, Suganthan & Giftson

Once our performance was over we came back and sat among the audience. And from then on till now, we have been receiving an enormous amount of love and positive feedback from all of you. But one particular response has disoriented me. Two of my friends came to me, separately, and told me “I am completely ‘INSPIRED’ by your team’s performance today. I play violin too but I’ve lost touch, but after seeing you guys perform I really wish to be a part of the team. I am inspired! Please let me in on the team”!!

I am still in a trance. We were a team of musicians who were inspired by ARR, but when I realized our performance had inspired a few others… I just am at a loss for words. The team that performed that day had extraordinary confidence. At no point did anybody ever even whisper about pulling out. The 5 people I had around me INSPIRED me to a great extent and I bow to each of them for their supreme confidence. Thanks guys. 

We cannot forget one other person - Pazhaniammal – the cultural coordinator who gave us complete freedom and egged us on to give our best. And finally, thanks once again Raji J Thanks for your belief in us! And thank you all, for your tremendous support and love!

PS - If you are eager to watch the video of this program, check this link  :)

Carrot, Egg & Coffee beans

Over the last 5 days it has been depressing to open the newspaper every morning and sift through the news in it. Day after day there is one report or the other of suicides by young students in colleges and schools. Having completed college just a couple of years back i can safely say the environment in colleges haven't changed too much since i completed UG myself. It is so disheartening to read of these news and to think of how this could be allowed to happen time and again is even more disturbing. While for obvious reasons fingers would be pointed at the institutions that teach and house students in their hostel, one should look deeper into this scenario.

I do accept the education system in India is not perfect. It does put excess pressure on the students. I agree to the fact that other systems and their practical implementation in India should be explored, for, the base of all the problems we face today is the pressure every student faces to score marks in exams. But all said and done, we should also consider the brought up at home for children these days? In return for good marks too much pampering goes around to the child and so even the smallest of losses seems too huge to the child and makes him/her incapable of handling life and its challenges.

If we think of problems we face as a bowl of boiling water, there are 3 generic ways in which we can face them. We could either be a Carrot, an egg or as coffee beans (crushed and powdered). A carrot is hard on the outside and seems stronger than the water, but reality cannot be much different.

Once the carrot falls into the boiling water it comes out soft, boiled and defeated. If we disrespect our problems and think we are stronger than anything else in this world and leap in, we are bound to get hurt. The egg is soft on the inside and is prone to get hurt all it has is its outer layer to protect it. In short it is unprepared. The heat in the water hardens the inside and takes the life out of the yoke. If we faced problems with a soft heart, with an unclear mindset and with fear and only our beliefs to save us, once again we will be beaten.

Take the coffee beans now. When they are crushed into coffee powder and dropped into the water instead of succumbing to the heat of the water they transform water into some really delicious coffee. The coffee bean by getting powdered has actually defeated the system, has conquered the problem here. by becoming the powder it was prepared and as a result instead of ending up in pain it actually ends up being an anecdote to relieve headaches!! When coffee beans can defeat the system, so can we. All we have to do is be prepared, face life wisely. Sometimes getting crushed and powdered is not really bad. Our mental strength and knowledge directed wisely can help us win many battles.

After all, the ceramic cup could never have become the beautiful thing it is if it did not undergo severe heat during its moulding. Problems can beat us only if we let it. I really wish the young folks who end their lives use their wisdom more wisely. I wrote exams and i failed in them too, but since when has failure ever deterred humans from achieving more? The trend off late is worrying, hopefully things will turn around quick :)

How (proudly) Indian are we really??

A couple of days ago I received a new VOIP headset from our I.T department and the device looked rich and superior in design. When I showed it to my team, the first response was “hey, made in china huh??”; The promptness of the statement stumped me for a moment; Slick and stylish gadgets are usually those imported from abroad and we are used to that aren’t we? But surprisingly, this VoIP headset turned out to be manufactured in India and more specifically in Chennai!! We were all pleasantly surprised. The headset sleeps in my desk now but it has stirred my thought process; How proud are we to be Indians these days?? How happy are we with our identity? How fascinated are we really with Indian products and Indian designs?

I have met many fresh engineers at Logica Chennai and interacting with them has been lovely. They hail from different backgrounds and cultures, but there is a strong common thread that unites them. 75% of these grads want projects in Chennai (except those who don’t live here); they are open to any competency, any shift timing, any team, and practically any atmosphere, but they are quite firm that the project should function from Chennai! Such affinity to their hometown/adopted city though admirable, throws up so many thoughts to ponder on. To most of us, the connect with our hometown is too great, too strong and our love towards the city we grew up in is unmatched. But the same love and affinity is not extended to the country of which the city is a part of!! We hardly hear people saying “I am open to any job, any salary, any competency but it should be in India only!”

 

Neither do we hear people standing up for the nation strongly despite all the flaws we have as a country. Somewhere along the line globalization has made us all look to the western countries more; the fact that for the same money or slightly more, we get goods/gadgets twice or even thrice as good as the Indian made ones has diluted our patriotism. When we are ready to compromise our necessities and be a little flexible if it helps us stay connected to our family or hometown we are ready for it, but why is the same not extended to the country that we grew up in? The bigger the magnitude the bigger seems our indifference.

In most of our homes, from the small brush we use to the big cars we drive are non-Indian. Not many of us say even if the quality is a little less, it is after all OURS? Our country’s, our product. Even if we compromise a little on quality it is still OUR OWN! We do love and prefer the food that our mom cooks even though we may get better food from hotels right? We do love our city though there might be more sophisticated ones in the world! And to be even more relevant we all love PCs that are allocated to us even though the next bay might have better config right??? So why is it that we do not extend the same courtesy to the country and its products as a whole????

I am not arguing on whether our mindsets are right or wrong, but I am simply wondering out aloud.. Why is it that we seem to be inconsistent in our attitudes? Why is it that our priorities fade out when the subject is enlarged? Why is it that we are surprised when we find out that the VOIP headset was made in Chennai?! The answer to these questions is hanging around us; but none seem acceptable :)

Being a Toastmaster...

For all those new to the word “Toastmaster” before you start assuming anything by figuring out the literal meaning of the word let me tell you what it actually is. “Toastmasters” is an internationally renowned club that helps you improve your general communication (English) and leadership skills. Toastmasters is a unique club and members of the club world over, take great pride in proclaiming the fact that it is not just a normal club but a real stage where one can make mistakes and learn from it and become better with the wisdom gained. 

I have been involved with the Toastmasters through a designated club at my office. The club at Logica has moulded me, taught me and improved me at various levels through the last 15+ months. Sometimes you learn more without your knowledge and that wisdom goes deep inside you. I have felt the change. The way I stand in front of an audience, the way I speak with my body, the way I communicate professionally, the way I look at people and judge them have all vastly improved. Many a times a failure on stage, in front of many people hurts you. It de-motivates you and sends you into a shell. That is precisely what you learn to deal with positively at the TM club.

One may eventually ask is there anything on offer to the already proficient speakers of English and the answer to that question is a big YES. It does not matter how proficient one is in communicating with the world, there always is something to learn at the TM. Some experiences are best experienced than told. Being a toastmaster is one such. From a personal standpoint I have lost count of the number of lessons I have learnt over the past year and a half. At the TM club you can speak on topics of your choosing, anything under the sun to use the term. But the difference here is that there is a structure, a syllabus (yes you heard it right) we call it projects.

The meetings happen once a week and in each meeting you learn to mould your thoughts and structure them on a preset pattern and deliver them in the best way possible. With experience the difficulty levels increase. Every speaker would understand the beauty of this concept; increasing standards and challenges always leave your mouth watering. The very smell of challenge can be tempting. 

The best part of TM though is the way one is judged and evaluated. We do not judge the speakers through new people or highly expert judges but the evaluation is by friends, colleagues and fellow Toastmasters. Effectively it means that you are judged by people who know what it is to be standing where you are as a speaker and delivering. Life at the TM clubs is so wonderful. You get respect, applause, encouragement and at the same time you learn so many valuable lessons on how to be a better all rounder.  We know the world today revolves around leaders and in equipping yourself to face the world the TM will play a HUGE role.

At Logica the TM club has reached a landmark occasion. Tomorrow will be the 75^th meeting of the club and somewhere deep inside me there is a tremendous feeling. I attended the Logica TM club first when the club was into its 2^nd meeting and now today I am so glad we have made it to 75. To all of us who are associated with the club this 75 is more than just a number, it means 75 weeks of our journey towards excellence. To all the Logica TM members, all the best and Kudos. Take a bow folks. You deserve it!

To all the others who are not yet into TM, peek out guys. Check out at your offices, your divisions, Google for the TM club near you. Become a Toastmaster and trust me you will change into someone you have always dreamt of becoming… 

Revolution 2020 - Book review

Before I start off with the review I have to confess I am a really big fan of Chetan. His books have been a great read. Simple, honest, contemporary and intelligent are the words I would usually use to describe his books. My favorite thus far has been 2states and five point someone in the same order. I had pre ordered R2020 a week ahead and the anticipation was pretty high.

When I started reading, I realized this was typical Chetan; which was good as that’s is what most fans would want but on the flip side there was nothing new in terms of narration style. Chetan it seems, is obsessed with two things; 1.First person narrative. 2. Pre marital affairs. Both test your patience after a particular point of time.

R2020 starts off on an intriguing note with a wonderfully writ prologue that immediately pulls you in. One has to accept that though repetitive and slightly discomforting to read, the first person narrative does serve its purpose by hooking you instantly. The language is simple and the description of people, places and events are imaginative.

The Plot:

The short summary claims R2020 is the story of two people, but when you delve into the story you realize it’s more about one guy Gopi who is a loser as far as academics go. He fails miserable in his entrance exams (AIEEE & JEE) while Raghav cracks both. Gopi is forced by his father to do engineering, and so he spends an year attending coaching classes in a place called KOTA in UP to crack the entrance exams. Raghav on the other hand joins a prime institute and takes up engineering. Both these boys love their school and childhood friend Arthi. What happens with the lives of both these men and the sole woman makes the rest of the story

The Ups:

The narration style, the language used, the almost tangible romance, the plot and the depth in the characterization all add so much value to the story. We find ourselves carried on by the immense skill of the author in layering his story. Emotions have been portrayed subtly and the entire feel and flow of the story is extremely contemporary.

Chetan’s strength also lies with the understanding of women and their nature. By design women are complex and confused. They contradict themselves and chetan has their pulse. This helps strongly when he adds depth to the female lead in his story. Excellent portrayal of a confused girl .

The Downs:

The short summary claims this to be the story of two men, but actually this is more like the story of only one guy Gopi and his friends and love. Also the first person narrative really irks sometimes as we hardly see the story from any other different angle; in short we are led to see the world in the story through just one angle.

Also though the description claims this is the story of two intelligent boys, but it is anything but that. We hardly see any evidence of their intelligence. Gopi definitely never exhibits that and if he is anything he is just manipulative and corrupt. So the short summary is hugely misleading and actually stomps the anticipation of a reader. A definite bummer

One of the major failings of Chetan is his inability to increase the pace in his stories. His stories are very slow moving and that should be improved. R2020 though interesting is definitely not a page turner.

Word to the author:

Chetan has to realize he has made the youth of India to read. It would be much appreciated if he stops depicting all women as confused and easy to woo during vulnerable moments into an affair. Chetan you are not going to win hearts with such portrayal however true they might be. Forget women, even men would find your idea of what is right and what is wrong difficult to accept.

Final word:

R2020 is a good read. It is made especially for the romantic types and people with patience and interest. A must for the fans though! My rating would be a 7 on 10

The Butterfly Tale

I had returned home after that blissful evening with friends at the beach. It is always special when you spend time with your friends and more so when it is on the Friendship day. I had taken my camera along and had caught the carefree and happy smiles of my friends and had them frozen for life. Thanks to technology. It had been a near perfect evening and I was in a state of real calm, ease and happiness. Everything seemed just a little sweeter. The drive back home in my bike was so much more enjoyable. Nostalgia took over me completely and when I reached the parking lot of my home it seemed life was just perfect.

I was about to park my bike when I found a little butterfly, shriveled and lifeless lying wasted on the floor. After parking the bike I bent down to remove the insect from where it was so as to give it a better resting place. I reached for its wings and lifted it up and to my horror found that one of its wings was being eaten by ants. When I lifted the fly, that torn wing broke free and detached itself from the insect’s body and immediately the butterfly flapped its 3 remaining wings and tried to wriggle out of my fingers. I was momentarily shocked, I had presumed the insect to be dead but it was alive and god knows how much pain it was in. Shock and surprise flooded me in equal measure. It was shocking to know the butterfly’s beautiful wings were being eaten by ants and surprising to know the fly had survived the attack and was still alive.

I put the insect upon my bike’s seat and realized the opportunity to take a wonderful snap of the beauty. Seldom do you get close up shots of a really beautiful butterfly and so I readied for a macro shot. But the plight of the helpless insect broke my heart. I did click a picture but it seemed so cruel to me to be using the insect’s condition to my advantage.

Not wanting to continue clicking, I abandoned the endeavor and picked the fly again, this time gently and carried it over to a small enclosure outside my parking lot where there are a few plants. The fly flapped its feeble wings and shook its tiny legs to tell me it was alive. I went to the enclosure and looked at the pretty insect once again. I felt sad for it. A crippled, 3 winged butterfly could not live for long. I felt sorry. I knew it was hopeless for the insect and breathed deep and dropped the fly into the plants, thinking it would fall down and lie there till its life dried out. All I had was pity for the insect.

But the moment I dropped the butterfly it flapped its 3 wings and in a move that made me ashamed of my own self, it flew and gripped a stem and stayed there. I had given the insect only pity and sympathy but not the credit for bearing the pain and staying alive. When I dropped the fly it did not give up. It flapped its wings, it must have hurt, it must have seemed beyond its powers but the insect did not give up. It chose to stay alive. It showed a spurt of energy and grabbed to the stem and winked at me.

In a single gesture the butterfly had mocked at me. That moment stayed with me. It gave me so many thoughts and made me feel low of myself for having imagined only the worst. It did seem the butter fly was better dead than living a cripple’s life. But the insect would have none of it. It wanted to live; nothing else crossed its mind even for a fleeting second. Maybe it was worried about death when it was trapped on the floor, maybe it would have given up had I not intervened without my knowledge and saved it; but the fact was that it did not brood over what was lost. Personally I couldn’t let go of the moment and the desire to capture this gladiator insect through my cam took over. Till date I believe this picture is the best of my clicks, not just because of its clarity, but also because of the emotions involved in it.

When I look at this picture now and reflect back on that particular evening. Questions and emotions flood me. What could have made that insect fight back?  All it had for life are the 4 small wings; one can only imagine what it would feel like to have lost one. Yet, it never crossed the insect’s mind to give up. It never occurred to it to just let go, to fall down and accept defeat. Humans with their superior sense think and choose and tend to give up. But the insect knows no such choice. It does not know the give-up option and it fights. Many of us fume in desperation for such trivia like a fracture, a common flu, hunger, an escalation at work and more. But such a major impairment like a lost wing did not deter the insect from loving life and wanting to live on. Its priorities were unclouded and clear.

I do not really have to put in words what most humans would tend to have done if they suffered the insect’s plight….

That evening gave me truly mixed emotions. I started out as a selfish photographer but ended up a good friend who had helped an insect in despair without my conscious knowledge.

This little butterfly offers a valuable lesson for all those wishing to learn from it. What we learn from this episode is up to us. It is personal to me and I am sure it will be to all. But in essence the fact is that this incident has loads in it for us to get inspired. It is true what they say; “The biggest moments in life may come from the smallest entities”

I knew of it… But now, I truly believe in it.

We are what we choose to be..

76 T20 Cricket matches have been played, my home team the Chennai Super Kings have been crowned champions of IPL 2011, A Grand Slam tournament has finished and the Bull (Rafael Nadal) has decimated my favorite athlete Roger Federer again, Multiple arrests were made by the CBI in connection with the 2G and various other money laundering cases, Common men have come to the fore to fight corruption, in Tamil Nadu a major party was crushed to defeat, the Dallas Mavericks were crowned the NBA champions and a courageous news reporter has been murdered......... All these and more since I last wrote a blog!!!!

Whether it was me being sluggish or the world around me going on the Fast Forward mode, i honestly do not know. It has been a while since i wrote and i have missed writing. And now when i want to write, what do i write on? With so much happening around me and so much influencing me what do i reflect upon through my words? Pretty tough to channelize your thoughts in such a scenario really!

And then i saw a pattern in the multitude of events around me, a single most illuminating factor in all the victories and defeats, in all the pain & anguish and joy and triumphs. It stood out, like a tall strong spine among every incident. "Choice" and "Hope". The underlining dimensions of life. Cleverly hidden, yet hard to miss out, these two traits were tremendously responsible in driving the world around us.

Individuals and the choices they have made have made the world turn around and take note. The supposed secret inside Pandora’s Box, "HOPE" has been responsible in holding the world together and in driving it forward. We have seen protests around the country and we have felt individuals reaching out to us. Elsewhere teams have triumphed and their victory has brought smiles to many of us. Much has happened and much more will.

And through every happening,  we as individuals will always have a choice. A choice between choosing what is Easy and what is Right. World over every human being has had this choice and that choice has defined the person. A.R.Rahman chose love over hatred, Osama chose Violence over peace, Anna hazare chose fasting over any other form of protest, Rafael Nadal chose to extinguish ghosts of his injuries and made himself the master of his own game. And such choices have defined them. We have often admired how certain people never give up, never tire, and in such men we understand there always is a choice... to give up. But the fact that acheivers never take the easy way out makes them what they are.

We would have seen giant elephants being tied down to posts with iron chains, which may appear too strong to break for us but which is, in reality, just a strong tug away from breaking, for an elephant. Yet, surprisingly an elephant never tries in normal times to break free. The reason is because when the elephant is just a baby it is tied using similar chains and try hard as it may, it ends up failing in its attempt. This memory stays with the elephant even after it grows up and it never occurs to the adult to try to break free and so it accepts the confinement. The scenario is almost the same with humans. We often fail to explore our skills, choices and capacities and accept defeat. But once we choose to look above such trifles and introspect and choose to become who we really are, even the whole world cannot stop us. Simply put is our choices makes us what we are.

All in all, though around us so much have been changing and evolving and moving on, the core has not changed. The basic underlying brick has retained its place. It is a fact that every human is the architect of his own destiny.. We are truly what we choose to be!