Only Rajni knows the number of articles written on Sachin…On his 38th bday today, Sachin holds the orange cap for the IPL season-4. That means he is the highest run scorer so far, in a tourney, that is conventionally considered fitting only for the YOUNGSTERS, not for 38 year olds. But defying the odds EVERY TIME is what Sachin is all about, isn’t it?
To summarize his achievements in one line, he has just about everything and every record. More than the cumulative number of mortals can ever imagine.
But his most important achievement, for me, is also one of his very few controversial ones. His century against Zimbabwe in the 1999 WC, a day after his father’s death. Controversial, because critics point out to the fact that it came against Zimbabwe. But, most important, because he achieved this very big professional feat a day after his father’s death. How many of us can bounce back after small incidents or setbacks, leave alone the death of someone so close. What happens when we have a little fever or we meet a small accident. Let’s face it, we want the world to know. We call our colleagues, our boss and friends. A 99 fever inevitably becomes 101 when we speak to them. A small wound on the leg turns into a ligament tear, to say the least. A slight brush with a car turns into an accident. Lets face it. We make a mountain out of a mole, to get some sentiment value, and to get a day off work. That it turns into 2 days off is a no-brainer.
But did Sachin do that? Did he call a press conference to mourn the death of his father, and to take time off the WC? Leave that aside, he did not even skip the very next match, which happened on the very next day! He could have easily gotten away without scoring, no questions asked. Instead, he scored a century and won it for India- the highest you can do at work on a day! The opposition was not difficult, but the match was. For him, the situation was.
This is the dreaded month of April, when appraisals happen. Most of the very few who are reading this, already have their appraisals done, and are pretty dissatisfied with them. What are the few common things we say these days? “ Waise bhi company itna kam de rahi hai, to fir itna kaam kyun karnekaa?” ….or…. “Yaar I am gonna be leaving early now on. Only 8 hours and that’s it. What’s the point of slogging so much when the company does not respect my work, or when it does not reward me?” …ironically, even if you get a very GOOD appraisal, what do you say? “Aah,,,I am happy the company finally realized my worth and reawarded me well..I have worked so hard for so long, I can finally stabilize,,I can finally leave early, spend only 8 hours, and lead a more relaxed life now.”
Either way, we are giving up. Either way, we look for reasons to work less, do less and not raise our performance. There is no incentive, good or bad, to motivate us to raise our performance. We just remain content at being discontended.
And this is why I say I can never be Sachin Tendulkar. Because, that man does not know the meaning of GIVE UP. He does not know what it is to not perform. He has been doing great for a very long time, but he continues to excel. He has also done badly at times, but he has only bounced back strongly. It is not his profession that gives him these opportunities. It is his character that does.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
It takes 2 to tango
I don’t quite understand the meaning of this phrase “It takes two to tango”. The closest thing I know about it is that there was a film “Three to tango” that starred Chandler in it. Some people call him Mathew, but I don’t really know why.
Anyway, while not quite obsessed about the meaning, I set out on a Monday morning to office. Mondays are bad I tell you, because they really are. The difference between this Monday and the last 51 Mondays though, was that this one came after the Holi, which was on the Sunday.
Needless to say, it was a literal painting exhibition in the train that day. People had colors all over themselves. Face, hands, neck et al. Some people were smeared with oil paint, and I guess they were not planning to have any presentations or client meetings soon.
Such Mondays are also different because I managed to get a seat to sit. The Holi hangover was clearly lurking, and fewer people ventured out that Monday. As the journey progressed, I heard a very interesting conversation between 2 MARRIED men sitting right across. MARRIED will be clarified soon. It was a nice conversation between 2 typical office going, working , married men in their mid thirties. The tie wearing, suit case bearing, lunch box carrying, married guys. They talk about all sorts of typical things- electricity bills corruption, investment schemes, bad bosses, children, the schooling woes, and ofcourse, their wives. They read the entire Mumbai Mirror and Mid-day, but remember only the middle pages that talk about sexpert and movies. They speak about Anna Hazaare, but don’t quite know what the great man is exactly fighting for. Lokpal to them is a parliamentary term and that’s about it. They are on FB, but are hardly ever active. They have all bought LIC policies but are hardly satisfied. They do not even know how much returns they will get. But they do believe theirs are the best investment policies.
As these 2 guys were speaking about all above things, one of them asked the other-“ aur batao, kal Holi kaisi thi? Kahin baahar vaahar gaye the?”
The other one promptly replied “ Nahin yaar. Bas ghar pe hi tha. Beta toh school gaya tha. Main aur Sunita (his wife apparently) ghar par hi the. Aise hi ek doosre ko rang lagay, thoda sweet khaaya aur TV dekha din bhar”
The first one asked “Yaar you didn’t go out anywhere? How did you enjoy at home? Arent people supposed to enjoy Holi outside with family and friends? Shouldn’t it be a LOUD affair?”
The second one then replied “ It is not like that yaar. I had fun with my wife at home. Family is not in town and friends were busy doing their own thing. My wife and I played some basic holi, did the Pooja and enjoyed. I guess that is all that is needed to enjoy Holi. You do not need PEOPLE. You need someone you truly enjoy being with on that day”
And then I realized the meaning of the phrase “2 to tango”. Sometimes, in fact many a times, we need just one more person to enjoy doing something in life. To enjoy an even, an occasion, a reward, or to even sail through a difficult period. Sometimes, it is important to have just that one person that matters, and not a crowd that has everyone but the one who is actually relevant. Sometimes, you do not need a fanfare, or pomp and galore, just a slight celebration, and realization. Sometimes, it takes just “2 to tango”.
Anyway, while not quite obsessed about the meaning, I set out on a Monday morning to office. Mondays are bad I tell you, because they really are. The difference between this Monday and the last 51 Mondays though, was that this one came after the Holi, which was on the Sunday.
Needless to say, it was a literal painting exhibition in the train that day. People had colors all over themselves. Face, hands, neck et al. Some people were smeared with oil paint, and I guess they were not planning to have any presentations or client meetings soon.
Such Mondays are also different because I managed to get a seat to sit. The Holi hangover was clearly lurking, and fewer people ventured out that Monday. As the journey progressed, I heard a very interesting conversation between 2 MARRIED men sitting right across. MARRIED will be clarified soon. It was a nice conversation between 2 typical office going, working , married men in their mid thirties. The tie wearing, suit case bearing, lunch box carrying, married guys. They talk about all sorts of typical things- electricity bills corruption, investment schemes, bad bosses, children, the schooling woes, and ofcourse, their wives. They read the entire Mumbai Mirror and Mid-day, but remember only the middle pages that talk about sexpert and movies. They speak about Anna Hazaare, but don’t quite know what the great man is exactly fighting for. Lokpal to them is a parliamentary term and that’s about it. They are on FB, but are hardly ever active. They have all bought LIC policies but are hardly satisfied. They do not even know how much returns they will get. But they do believe theirs are the best investment policies.
As these 2 guys were speaking about all above things, one of them asked the other-“ aur batao, kal Holi kaisi thi? Kahin baahar vaahar gaye the?”
The other one promptly replied “ Nahin yaar. Bas ghar pe hi tha. Beta toh school gaya tha. Main aur Sunita (his wife apparently) ghar par hi the. Aise hi ek doosre ko rang lagay, thoda sweet khaaya aur TV dekha din bhar”
The first one asked “Yaar you didn’t go out anywhere? How did you enjoy at home? Arent people supposed to enjoy Holi outside with family and friends? Shouldn’t it be a LOUD affair?”
The second one then replied “ It is not like that yaar. I had fun with my wife at home. Family is not in town and friends were busy doing their own thing. My wife and I played some basic holi, did the Pooja and enjoyed. I guess that is all that is needed to enjoy Holi. You do not need PEOPLE. You need someone you truly enjoy being with on that day”
And then I realized the meaning of the phrase “2 to tango”. Sometimes, in fact many a times, we need just one more person to enjoy doing something in life. To enjoy an even, an occasion, a reward, or to even sail through a difficult period. Sometimes, it is important to have just that one person that matters, and not a crowd that has everyone but the one who is actually relevant. Sometimes, you do not need a fanfare, or pomp and galore, just a slight celebration, and realization. Sometimes, it takes just “2 to tango”.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Few annoying things we repeatedly repeat!!
1) Tell the rickshaw walaa to Drive faster, even though he is driving at a pretty decent pace
2) Give him or anyone else a Rs. 50 or 100 note every time, even though you have plenty of change.
3) Whenever a colleague opens the office intranet, you stop to sneak into his PC to see what he or she is updating. This, although , you have done everything we need to.
4) In college, when someone is studying something, you open your own notes of that same subject and ensure you have studied it well, which you indeed have.
5) When in office, log into net banking to check your bank account, even though you did it half hour ago, and there are probably no transactions. Just an indication of not having any work.
6) When stuck in traffic, you curse the whole world around, without realizing that this cursing is not going to resolve this traffic situation one bit.
7) When you go out for a simple walk, or to buy something quick, you always carry your mobile with you, in the assumption that the world will crash if you do not attend to any calls in that time. And oh, no one really ever calls in that time anyway.
8) Blame all the realty shows for spoiling culture, affecting kids this that, or in the sheer name of cheap entertainment, and yet, secretly watch Roadies or split villa. And then, when in office a discussion happens with people who too watch these shows, you participate nicely. If on the other hand, a discussion happens with those who hate and detest such shows, you too hate these shows. So convenient it is.
9) When in the process of arranged marriage, you are constantly cribbing about the fact that you are single and nothing is working out. Yet, when a potential proposal says yes to you, the world breaks lose. You freak out at the name of commitment and palpitations occur. Hypocrisy to its core.
10) When you have no work in office, you try to project somehow that you are very busy. And you dont like people reminding you abt that,,,however, when u see someone else without work, you immediately have a comment to make abt the fact that they do not have too much work and are sitting idle while u r working...
11) Procrastination--I had thought about this blog abt 2 weeks ago, but am writing it only now...
12) Spit-- Why do you do that?
2) Give him or anyone else a Rs. 50 or 100 note every time, even though you have plenty of change.
3) Whenever a colleague opens the office intranet, you stop to sneak into his PC to see what he or she is updating. This, although , you have done everything we need to.
4) In college, when someone is studying something, you open your own notes of that same subject and ensure you have studied it well, which you indeed have.
5) When in office, log into net banking to check your bank account, even though you did it half hour ago, and there are probably no transactions. Just an indication of not having any work.
6) When stuck in traffic, you curse the whole world around, without realizing that this cursing is not going to resolve this traffic situation one bit.
7) When you go out for a simple walk, or to buy something quick, you always carry your mobile with you, in the assumption that the world will crash if you do not attend to any calls in that time. And oh, no one really ever calls in that time anyway.
8) Blame all the realty shows for spoiling culture, affecting kids this that, or in the sheer name of cheap entertainment, and yet, secretly watch Roadies or split villa. And then, when in office a discussion happens with people who too watch these shows, you participate nicely. If on the other hand, a discussion happens with those who hate and detest such shows, you too hate these shows. So convenient it is.
9) When in the process of arranged marriage, you are constantly cribbing about the fact that you are single and nothing is working out. Yet, when a potential proposal says yes to you, the world breaks lose. You freak out at the name of commitment and palpitations occur. Hypocrisy to its core.
10) When you have no work in office, you try to project somehow that you are very busy. And you dont like people reminding you abt that,,,however, when u see someone else without work, you immediately have a comment to make abt the fact that they do not have too much work and are sitting idle while u r working...
11) Procrastination--I had thought about this blog abt 2 weeks ago, but am writing it only now...
12) Spit-- Why do you do that?
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Aadmi jaanwar se badtar hota hai (?)
Went to my cousin yesterday for a quick Friday dinner of us cousins. The usual Friday gathering u know, of cousins,,chatting, dinner, tp etc.. On the stairway to his home, there was this female pigeon, who was laying an egg…ON THE STAIRWAY!!!! At 8 PM!!! Where and when people frequently go!!!
I almost missed it and when I saw it, I was obviously taken aback . Seeing me nerved, even the pigeon hesitated a little. You can picture the scene right. Anyway, all went well. I passed it, and had a good party. When returning, we climbed down the same staircase, and there it was. The egg and the pigeon, warming it..or incubating it? Sorry for the grammar here.
But I realized something here. The female pigeon was all alone!! She had to take care of her PIGEONLETS all by herself. Feed them, take care of them keep them safe in a human locality! Basically, her life for the next whatever number of days or weeks or months is going to be all about this! All about her KIDS!! And where is the male Pigeon who, well, had his share of fun in all this? He continues to have fun! He continues to be free of any responsibility in all of this! He just F***s and WALKS OFF!!Or rather, FLIES OFF!! Hahaha….and my experience with cats (the literal ones I mean!!) suggests a similar ordeal for the mother cat. The male guy just humps her and walks off! And the mother cat in all of this has to take care of her kittens, for almost 3 months! Feed them, teach them how to hunt, protect them from the crows, protect them from being stamped on, protect them from anything! Man, these males in the animal kingdom are assoles!!
Havent we seen such idiots in human beings as well? Fathers who just walkoff and leave their wives to single handedly take care of their children? Men are such A-Holes really sometimes. But the only difference between humans and animals in this regard is that this is an exception in humans, more as it is a rule in case of animals.
And thus I turn the popular myth upside down and say- “Aadmi jaanwar se badtar NAHI hota”. Well, HAMESHA!!
I almost missed it and when I saw it, I was obviously taken aback . Seeing me nerved, even the pigeon hesitated a little. You can picture the scene right. Anyway, all went well. I passed it, and had a good party. When returning, we climbed down the same staircase, and there it was. The egg and the pigeon, warming it..or incubating it? Sorry for the grammar here.
But I realized something here. The female pigeon was all alone!! She had to take care of her PIGEONLETS all by herself. Feed them, take care of them keep them safe in a human locality! Basically, her life for the next whatever number of days or weeks or months is going to be all about this! All about her KIDS!! And where is the male Pigeon who, well, had his share of fun in all this? He continues to have fun! He continues to be free of any responsibility in all of this! He just F***s and WALKS OFF!!Or rather, FLIES OFF!! Hahaha….and my experience with cats (the literal ones I mean!!) suggests a similar ordeal for the mother cat. The male guy just humps her and walks off! And the mother cat in all of this has to take care of her kittens, for almost 3 months! Feed them, teach them how to hunt, protect them from the crows, protect them from being stamped on, protect them from anything! Man, these males in the animal kingdom are assoles!!
Havent we seen such idiots in human beings as well? Fathers who just walkoff and leave their wives to single handedly take care of their children? Men are such A-Holes really sometimes. But the only difference between humans and animals in this regard is that this is an exception in humans, more as it is a rule in case of animals.
And thus I turn the popular myth upside down and say- “Aadmi jaanwar se badtar NAHI hota”. Well, HAMESHA!!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Chai sahi hai!
Twas a nice relaxed Sunday today. Mom and I had gone out in the morning for the basics and came back really late. We came in by about 4 and I dropped almost immediately. Woke up by 5.30. Mom wasn’t hungry anyway and said she was planning to have an early dinner. Not me though. And I was hungry!! Went down again to the local laundry to collect my office clothes. That’s where there is a tea vendor, or the CHAI WALA as we refer to them.
A typical 1 feet by 3.5 feet wide, 4 feet tall table, with the basics, this one was slightly bigger than the usual. He had a nice roof and a slight stand where other things were kept. One of his customers finished tea and asked “Kuch khaane ko hai?” The tea vendor promptly pointed out to a few things he had—Samosas, fafda, chivda, bhajiya etc!! and that reminded me of how hungry I was, remember?
I too promptly ate a samosa, and stayed satisfied happily ever after- well, till dinner atleast. You see, the area where I live, there is not a SMALL restaurant in sight—like for a quick snack..The nearest one is candies where you cant have an affordable samosa. The next- a high end udipi restaurant- is abt 7 minits walk. The time and cost do not justify a quick evening munch. Hence, the chai wala rocks!!
How many times has the tea vendor come to your rescue in the rainy season, at odd times? You are drenched in the rain, the traffic is messed up, and you see a chai walaa on the street. Isnt that simply the best thing at that time?
As Jug Suraiya (if I correctly recollect) mentioned in one of his TOI columns, the walmarts and tescos of the world will never manage to replace or significantly affect the local kirana store. The chai wala too has been around for quite some time, and will continue to rule!! A very small concept, but equally effective and impacting!! Jai Ho!!
A typical 1 feet by 3.5 feet wide, 4 feet tall table, with the basics, this one was slightly bigger than the usual. He had a nice roof and a slight stand where other things were kept. One of his customers finished tea and asked “Kuch khaane ko hai?” The tea vendor promptly pointed out to a few things he had—Samosas, fafda, chivda, bhajiya etc!! and that reminded me of how hungry I was, remember?
I too promptly ate a samosa, and stayed satisfied happily ever after- well, till dinner atleast. You see, the area where I live, there is not a SMALL restaurant in sight—like for a quick snack..The nearest one is candies where you cant have an affordable samosa. The next- a high end udipi restaurant- is abt 7 minits walk. The time and cost do not justify a quick evening munch. Hence, the chai wala rocks!!
How many times has the tea vendor come to your rescue in the rainy season, at odd times? You are drenched in the rain, the traffic is messed up, and you see a chai walaa on the street. Isnt that simply the best thing at that time?
As Jug Suraiya (if I correctly recollect) mentioned in one of his TOI columns, the walmarts and tescos of the world will never manage to replace or significantly affect the local kirana store. The chai wala too has been around for quite some time, and will continue to rule!! A very small concept, but equally effective and impacting!! Jai Ho!!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Gender (IN)equality
They say “all HUMANS are equal, some are more equal than others”. Note the word humans, over men, which is normally the metaphor used for such sayings. To come to the point, I recall what happened in a bus a couple of days ago. We were all standing in the queue when the bus arrived. Just as people started getting in, a lady came in from nowhere, cut the queue, and entered the bus to a huge commotion and anger by others. She completely and conveniently ignored the whole thing, sat tight on her seat, and as is the case with everything else in this country, people gave a few angry stares, blabbered, but in the end, forgot everything and everyone lived happily ever after.
I do not want to comment too much on the controversial women reservation thing (across all walks of life), but here is the thing. Almost 60% of the seats are reserved for women in buses. The instructions clearly give women the right to their seats and men have to get up when they see a woman standing, and if he is blocking her seat. But where does it say that a lady is allowed to cut lines? Where is it mentioned that she can enter from the front door? Front doors are meant strictly for senior citizens and pregnant women.
I know I haven’t gotten to anything so far, and you will probably not read beyond this. But I have a few concerns on this thing. I totally support the concept of women’s reservation, because I think that is the biggest way to ensure their participation and convenience to them. No two ways about it. But then I have to ask a fundamental question here. How can we talk about women development and reservation in the same line? How can women ask men to “TREAT THEM EQUALLY” and at the same time ask for reservations? How can we as a society stress on the fact that women are doing equally well (which they are) and probably better than men are, but at the same time, continue to lay focus on reservations and make a bone out of it? Most women HEROES we know today- Saina Nehwal, Chanda Kochhar, Kalpana Chawla, Sunita Williams, and almost every other, have come out of systems where reservations are not even applicable! This is pure merit ! Then how do we go about resolving this disparity? Why are we seeing most success stories in cases, where there are in fact, no reservations?
Please do not get me wrong. Am in no mood to rake this controversy further by denying or supporting it. I am just trying to look at something that we are fundamentally missing. I still haven’t got the answer yet. As far as I go, therefore, this question remains.
I do not want to comment too much on the controversial women reservation thing (across all walks of life), but here is the thing. Almost 60% of the seats are reserved for women in buses. The instructions clearly give women the right to their seats and men have to get up when they see a woman standing, and if he is blocking her seat. But where does it say that a lady is allowed to cut lines? Where is it mentioned that she can enter from the front door? Front doors are meant strictly for senior citizens and pregnant women.
I know I haven’t gotten to anything so far, and you will probably not read beyond this. But I have a few concerns on this thing. I totally support the concept of women’s reservation, because I think that is the biggest way to ensure their participation and convenience to them. No two ways about it. But then I have to ask a fundamental question here. How can we talk about women development and reservation in the same line? How can women ask men to “TREAT THEM EQUALLY” and at the same time ask for reservations? How can we as a society stress on the fact that women are doing equally well (which they are) and probably better than men are, but at the same time, continue to lay focus on reservations and make a bone out of it? Most women HEROES we know today- Saina Nehwal, Chanda Kochhar, Kalpana Chawla, Sunita Williams, and almost every other, have come out of systems where reservations are not even applicable! This is pure merit ! Then how do we go about resolving this disparity? Why are we seeing most success stories in cases, where there are in fact, no reservations?
Please do not get me wrong. Am in no mood to rake this controversy further by denying or supporting it. I am just trying to look at something that we are fundamentally missing. I still haven’t got the answer yet. As far as I go, therefore, this question remains.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
2010- the worst things for India in the year.
This is not a year ending blog. Am just writing this so I remember which were the events or things that messed up 2010 for India.
1) CWG- The players, the work staff and the Indian audience, gave their heart and soul for this. The players had only India’s pride in their mind, and winning, their only motto. And win they did!! The support staff had just one goal in their mind- to help the players achieve their goals. The Indian audience took these 2 to their heart, and enjoyed every moment. But what went wrong was the administration. The bad top guys and their corruption cost India 70,000 crores of rupees!! They completely rot these games, cost India big, and gave a big dent to brand India.
2) Adarsh- real estate and housing have always been at the centre of corruption and power. Adarsh, quite contrary to its name, is probably the biggest real estate related scam. Who knows how this will end, and who will LAND up where. But for now, this is a very big, very big blot on the business and commercial capital of India.
3) 2G- Not many will even understand what this is all about, barring what they have read in the media, and barring a few names. But it suffices to know that in money and impact terms, this is probably much much bigger than the previous two put together.
4) IPL: Yes, it is a big money scam. Ok, it has REVOLUTIONISED the concept of 20- 20, and even generally, cricket. It has given India, what it claims, a cricket version of EPL. But at the end , and probably at the centre of it all, is CORRUPTION.
5) CVC- Not a scam as much as a moral issue, but issue it sure is.
6) Inflation- naah, this one doesn’t help. This just doesn’t help. The problem may not be under control, but the steps to solutions are.
7) Big Boss- The WORST thing to happen to India, the television, and to its people. Period.
1) CWG- The players, the work staff and the Indian audience, gave their heart and soul for this. The players had only India’s pride in their mind, and winning, their only motto. And win they did!! The support staff had just one goal in their mind- to help the players achieve their goals. The Indian audience took these 2 to their heart, and enjoyed every moment. But what went wrong was the administration. The bad top guys and their corruption cost India 70,000 crores of rupees!! They completely rot these games, cost India big, and gave a big dent to brand India.
2) Adarsh- real estate and housing have always been at the centre of corruption and power. Adarsh, quite contrary to its name, is probably the biggest real estate related scam. Who knows how this will end, and who will LAND up where. But for now, this is a very big, very big blot on the business and commercial capital of India.
3) 2G- Not many will even understand what this is all about, barring what they have read in the media, and barring a few names. But it suffices to know that in money and impact terms, this is probably much much bigger than the previous two put together.
4) IPL: Yes, it is a big money scam. Ok, it has REVOLUTIONISED the concept of 20- 20, and even generally, cricket. It has given India, what it claims, a cricket version of EPL. But at the end , and probably at the centre of it all, is CORRUPTION.
5) CVC- Not a scam as much as a moral issue, but issue it sure is.
6) Inflation- naah, this one doesn’t help. This just doesn’t help. The problem may not be under control, but the steps to solutions are.
7) Big Boss- The WORST thing to happen to India, the television, and to its people. Period.
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