Sunday, April 27, 2008

Weekend checklist

Sundays are ideal. This is that period of the week which is ideally spent. Doing not what is demanded from me, but what I want to do.

The day begins not so late, and not that early. Just ideal. 7AM. A short jog around NMK park- I love the spring time flowers that have bloomed... I like that particular tree which has started shedding its pink flowers. The flowers which have fallen form a pink circle encircling the tree. I want to take a pic of that before its gone come summer..

Newspaper seems like bliss along with a cuppa coffee. Deccan Herald and TOI. I like to read the paper backwards. With IPL taking all the back pages.. I usually skim through them nowadays. Swaminathan holds me spell bound usually making me think. Shoba De, Chidananda Rajghatta, etc are glanced through too. I totally love the travel and living sections. I should write them someday. Now its usually 10AM.

A full breakfast and a round of sleep usually is enough to take me to afternoon. A evening meet with friends, a short outing and a fresh exchange of ideas and arguments keep spirits rolling for next week!

Now, what are the 3 things I want to do?
1. Make a visit to the friendly bookstore to pick that book which I can skim through in a day.. I think I can afford Crossword/Landmark or Strands now.
2. Travel. Trek. I want to make more frequent treks around Bangalore.. shed that laziness and get more physical!
3. Put some thinking into the week ahead. I remember this saying.. better think about future- you would be spending quite sometime there..

Well.. there goes my weekend checklist. Now let me get back to my day time reverie...!

Ciao till next time...Harsha

Thursday, April 24, 2008

A Flower

Somehow the time seemed right. For the first time, it seemed ideal. No words, no expressions, just the presence.

The sweetest flower that blows,
I give you as we part,
For you it's a rose,
But for me it's my heart.


Ciao till next time...Harsha

IPL- A dash of bollywood, cheerleading and some cricket

Its here finally. Indian Premier League. Its now official- the final trial of the bollywood gyrations, baseball cheerleading and some cricket is here.

Will it succeed- I would want to say yes. But, logic says no. DLF paid 200Crs for title sponsorship, Shah Rukh Khan, Mallya, Preity Zinta + Ness Wadia combo, etc have spent $100M odd each. Can they recover this all?

I think not. Why- I will give you an example. This is the oft quoted example of 'Law of diminishing returns' in economics. If a person is thirsty- he drinks a glass of water. If he is very thirsty, may be 2 glasses of water. Very very very thirsty? May be a third glass. Can someone drink 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 glasses of water? No. May be if you are participating for the Guinness records :-)

We are a cricket crazy nation. No doubt. But, the question here is - are we that crazy to watch Warne, Mc Grath, Hayden, Kallis, Ntini and co. fight it out day-in and day-out? Will we be as passionate when we cheer them as we usually are when it is Sachin, Dravid or Ganguly? Donno.

This will decide if IPL is a success or no irrespective of the naach gaana, cheer leading and the accompanying dance sequences.. Or am I wrong?

Ciao till next time...Harsha

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Muthukrishnan - A prof remembered

Somethings make you feel you should have attended classes properly! Especially if the prof happens to be the best guy for the subject in the country. Muthukrishnan- the best prof for Operations.. ever volatile.. spirited.. ethusiastic.. humane.. but now will remain only in our memories. He died of a massive heart attack recently.

One of the regrets I would harbor from NITIE days is missing out on attending lectures and interacting more with Muthu sir. I remember the time when he asked if I ever attended his classes in module 1. Another incident which I would remember is about the time when I asked him if I could skip his lectures for the week- I was going to some B School debate/case study competition (I do not remember which one, though I vividly remember Muthu sir's reaction- 'Kya IT job karna hai kya?').

You see for Muthu- there are only 2 jobs where worthless people can end up- IT or Banks :-) His impression about me considerably improved towards the second year after he came to know that I was a guy who did not get through 13 interviews in summers after clearing all GD's. I even ventured to borrow couple of books (one of which I never returned- never read as well... I need to read it someday).

One of the things that hits you is- How would people remember you after you are dead? Most people would not even be worth remembering (aam junta... usual feeling is chalo.. 1 person less in the world).

With couple of recent deaths in family- I have come to the realization that wantingly / unwantingly people in their old age become "don't cares" or "its only a matter of time" types. Also, old age is like time bomb. You know its going to end.. you know you cannot live on.. everytime you fall ill- you feel its time (only to get a small reprieve).. the wait is tantalizingly painful.. god save people from old age!

Yeah, probably that is the reason they say that good people die young. Its better to leave with a feeling that the promise was yet to be complete than leave with a feeling of living beyond expiry date!

This is precisely why one feels so much for Muthu- lots of unanswered questions like 'who can fill his shoes', 'can there be a more commanding guy with Ops?', 'will the companies have the same awe when it comes to Ops recruitments.. now that the pillar is gone'.. these and many more! The condolences seen for Muthu is also worth mentioning- right from old students (dating back two decades) to all the present lot, colleagues, industry friends, everyone has a small tale/story to share about their association with the great man. They say legacy lives on..

A small thought does pass by- 'will we be remembered at all when we are gone?"
Only time will tell.

Ciao till next time...Harsha

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

The best podcasts I've listened to- Part2

Back with Podcasts after the previous lists (check here). Couple of interesting ones which I came across.

Yeah and I have come to the conclusion that this guy Robin Sharma rocks. ROCKS. Did I tell you he rocks?

  1. Get Brilliant at Asking: Some will.. some won't, so what. Ask.. you never know what's in store. So, ASK.
  2. Randy Pausch's last lecture: This is good. Seriously good. You know it is so good that I want to again say its good. I have linked the most condensed version of Randy's lecture on 'Childhood dreams'. For more detailed version- go ahead and search!
Ciao till next time...Harsha

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Reminiscences of the Bus Traveler

I traveled by BMTC bus today (Formerly called BTS: Bangalore Transport Service). There have been quite some changes to the BTS bus now from the days when I used to be a regular commuter- in a small way it is an indicator of the forward movement of the aam aadmi in Bangalore.. the volvo buses, automatic door locking, power steering/braking system, FM radio, wider seats, etc..

I know people might say that these are not enough, what with the killer attitude of the BTS bus drivers, over speeding, insufficient buses, yadi yadi yadi... But wait.

My association with the BTS bus travel goes back to early 90's. I vividly remember the first day I traveled alone in BTS bus. This was in 1993, Jan 2 (I remember the date vividly as it was a new year and I was in 6th Std). The rate for a half ticket from St Josephs Indian Middle School (the bus stand was called Pallavi Talkies- which used to be a celebrated theater in those days) to Koramangala was 50pc.

As luck would have it- I had carried that 50pc coin in my uniform shorts pocket (the navy blue shorts we used to wear). A small 'yet to be of concern' type hole in my pocket did no good to protect the small treasure it contained. Soon enough, in the hype and hoopla of catching the bus no. 171, I lost my 50pc coin. Not risking climbing down from the running bus, I got in. Soon enough the mustached bus conductor demanded for my bus pass or money.. With half moist eyes- I told him my sad tale. Being a man of some concern, the conductor just looked into my eyes and with a kindly word or two let me travel on! That was my first money-less travel. Something which I can never forget- the kind conductor and also the ticket which he gave me without taking any money (this, I had preserved till recently along with my old coin and stamp collection- I think it is still there!).

Subsequently, till I passed out of Engineering (this was the toughest time- traveling no less that 20Kms from Koramangala to RVCE in Mysore Road changing no less than 2/3 buses..), I have had many unforgettable journeys in the BTS bus. I loved traveling in the old double decker buses (I used to board them for fun in school days though it did not ply on my route to home), first volvo bus service, the front engine drive (getting that elusive gear box seat) and ah... the 171A bus at 3.45PM which I used to catch at the signal near Kanteerava stadium (now long gone as it is a one-way.. those days the road used to be tree lined, and policeman controlled traffic with his hand signals)... it was crucial for me to catch this bus as I wanted to reach home at 4PM and watch the 1 hr cartoon show on DD Metro! Driving 6 Kms in 15mins is impossible anywhere in Bangalore now!!

Well, coming back to present times- I do pity the poor souls called 'bus driver' and 'conductor' who are paid pennies to take in all the carbon emissions, the rush hour traffic snarls, the thousand abuses from God knows who all (right from the traffic policeman to the irked bus commuter to the driver of that slick new car who is in a hurry to reach one of the glass buildings housing the celebrated IT offices!).... I really pity them... and yes, if I was the driver why should I not over speed and try to overtake that millionaire kid racing on the road in his swanky new car.. or for that matter if I was the conductor- why not hurl abuses at the North Indian commuter who does not even know how to speak the local tongue and yes, why take pains to learn that alien language (read hindi) when not even paid 1/5 of the lowest paid IT worker.. why? why?

I don't know the answers to these- but I surely know that this cannot continue.. when I came today by that BTS bus, I could see the morose, tired, overworked and frustrated conductor trying all languages to ask where I wanted to go.. I have seen more amicable conductors in the past 15 years, I still remember the old guy who gossiped about the latest movie or politics on the No. 164 I used to take to reach college. I was much pained to see the changes around- may be Bangalore is turning cosmopolitan, a true metro, a city which is waiting with open arms to welcome one and all- the Indian immigrant and the foreigner who buys the services of the big IT firms.

In the Western world (the one that we are trying to ape)- there is dignity of labor. Is it an alien word here? What has that poor conductor or driver done to deserve this treatment? Does he not have dreams/aspirations which he wants to bring alive? Can he make a decent living in Bangalore with the pittance he gets paid?

I don't know. Do you?

Ciao till next time...Harsha