Yoga and Youth: The Millennium Era

Do you practice yoga? Does your family practice yoga?
Do you want to practice yoga? Do you think yoga is important for the development for a sound mind and healthy body? Do you think kids should start practicing yoga from childhood?
- See more at: http://www.aiducatenow.org/international-yoga-day-event/#sthash.R9xpEzmW.dpuf

Do you practice yoga? Does your family practice yoga?
Do you want to practice yoga? Do you think yoga is important for the development for a sound mind and healthy body? Do you think kids should start practicing yoga from childhood?
- See more at: http://www.aiducatenow.org/international-yoga-day-event/#sthash.R9xpEzmW.dpuf

Do you practice yoga? Does your family practice yoga?
Do you want to practice yoga? Do you think yoga is important for the development for a sound mind and healthy body? Do you think kids should start practicing yoga from childhood?
- See more at: http://www.aiducatenow.org/international-yoga-day-event/#sthash.R9xpEzmW.dpuMy friend f

My friend asked me to write for an event which she's conducting half way across the world. It's a pleasant feeling looking at the number of doors/ social platforms she is knocking on, to make this event a successful one. What event? How do we derive motivation for events like these?

We are LOC. We are different, but equally mesmerizing is the difference in the approach that the Millennium generation is showing towards life. Before I come to the actual topic of this article I would want to acknowledge that based on my readings of recent history I haven't seen a whole generation so motivated for the social good. I am in no way underestimating the great freedom struggles fought by millions in the past. This new wave of being part of a social movement comes close. Youngsters are turning down plum packages, even quitting their jobs to join these movements. The number of NGOs which are being run, managed or supported by young inspired minds has sky rocketed. The world needs it. We need all the positivity in the world and the outer world if we can get that too.

Our dependence on technology in the recent times has supposedly increased our efficiency. We are safe to assume that it has gone up rather than down when we look at all the development which is happening around us. The speed at which construction happens, speed of automobiles, internet all are up from what the world has ever seen. With that comes the challenge of our minds expanding its horizons and either soak up all it can, or focus on what it should. And surprise surprise... The answer lies in a practice which is thousands of years old. Yoga.

It’s a proud moment for India. And please pardon my switching between the topics of ‘youth’, ‘Yoga’, and ‘Young India’.

I am not sure how the world looks at Indian practices but in India, everything which is western has an enhanced intrinsic value attached to it. Indian youth over the years has been fascinated by the opportunities which globalization has opened for them. I can’t blame my own generation for that. We have seen ourselves struggling with what we had (our own practices) and have seen the chaotic output which is so prevalent all over the country and hence it’s natural for us to look out for solutions for our problems. This is where life comes back to complete a full cycle.

When we look at this cycle from business point of view, we realize that it makes mutual sense for both East and the West to support each other. Western culture and practices have captured our imaginations by doing everything they can. Everything we see around us, from the modern buildings, advertisements in all formats, music, news, talk shows, the way we run business, the way we plan our holiday trips, all in all the way we plan our lives, are all influenced by the West. 

That was the business point of view. From a more holistic view of mind, body and soul it’s the same cycle once again.

The wheels are turning. After a long time India has a leader who is truly leading us by treading a path for the youth of this country. He has every quality to become a world leader which is evident from the fact that when he proposed the idea of ‘World Yoga Day’ in the United Nations; it got an unprecedented acceptance from almost 200 countries. I certainly don’t want to mix politics with this topic but I guess there is no harm in giving someone credit for wherever it’s due.

Now let’s talk about to Yoga.

To me Yoga is a way of life. If I were to pick some fundamental ideas around it, they would be –

1.      Breathing,

2.      Meditation,

3.      Physical Fitness.

1.      Breathing.

What surprises me and I know it’s a cliché that we had this practice with us for so long now but we know so little about it. Breathing is the single most important activity which all living things do. But do we do it right?

If only we can focus on the way we breathe it is known to take care of a whole lot of common ailments out of the picture. And not just ailments; think about the moment when you were angry, sad, anxious, excited, grieved, hyper active – if only your brain can get more oxygen during these emotionally charged instants you would be surprised how much control you gain over yourself and your thought process.

That tip where people tell you to count to ten when you are angry is a way to let you breathe between the emotion of feeling anger and action you are about to take.

Needless to say that breathing helps in physical activities like nothing else does. With proper breathing you can run an extra mile, can do some extra push ups, can be more active and accurate in whatever sport you are playing.

Yoga is full of breathing exercises. It is inherent in any posture, position and ‘kriya’ as they call it. Next time you are following any asana in Yoga, focus on the way one is supposed to breathe during the whole activity.

 

2.   Meditation. This got to be the most difficult of all practices in Yoga. This is where you experience ‘nothingness’, or at least try to. 10 minutes of meditation when you either try to focus on ‘ONE’ thing or ‘nothingness’ is known to recharge your mind and soul for all the chaos the world has to offer to you. It helps you taking sound decisions, having deep and fulfilling relationships, derive happiness from almost everything around you and most importantly stay calm in difficult situations so that you can handle them well. 

Again all Yoga asanas in it's true form help you remove all other thoughts from your mind and focus on the activity at hand which becomes the starting point of meditation.

3. Physical Fitness. This is where the rubber meets the road. In the fast life that we live in where everything is instant Yoga asanas may seem like a simple stretching exercise. But don't be fooled by what it seems to be. Yoga has been known to be one of the most effective exercises when it comes to weight loss, strength building, stamina building and overall fitness exercises. Some of my favorite Yoga Asanas are - Surya Namaskar and Bikram Yoga.

Towards the end I would like to leave you with a simple thought that while we all have got just one life to live, let's live it fully and the only way to do it is to be healthy for the most of the duration we are here. 20 minutes of Yoga a day will go a long way in enriching your mind, body and soul like very few other things do.

Do you practice yoga? Does your family practice yoga?
Do you want to practice yoga? Do you think yoga is important for the development for a sound mind and healthy body? Do you think kids should start practicing yoga from childhood?
- See more at: http://www.aiducatenow.org/international-yoga-day-event/#sthash.R9xpEzmW.dpuf

Whatever is being written here are the personal views of the author and are subjected to agreement or disagreement. And a request to all members, Please share your views !!

Writing about experience withYoga-Celebrating International Yoga Day

Hi All, apologies for not coming here to write very often. The credit goes to my disability of expressing my thoughts in writing in the exact way I want to express. Most of the time when I start writing a thought, at the end I find that the written words are expressing something totally different. But I like to read and that means I encourage others to write.

That's why I am here today, to encourage and request you guys to write for my website. Not exactly my website, it's the website of the non profit organisation I volunteer for. http://www.aiducatenow.org

For international yoga day I am organising an online article writing contest on this website. The  winning articles will be published in our website as a blog. Also a 25$(Around ₹1500) amazon gift card is there for the winner. Find details http://www.aiducatenow.org/international-yoga-day-event/

 My request to all is to jot down a few thoughts about yoga and send me. I am sure everybody has thought about practicing yoga, some has already started and some not. Those who already practice yoga or pranayama , my request to them is to write about their experience. Those who have not yet started practicing surely have some passive experience of Yoga, positive or negative. Please take out some time and write few words and send it to me by 19th June .

 I know it's  a very short window. And nobody except me is more sorry for the fact that I didn't write this blog sooner.

I really really need help from you guys to make this event a success.

Though there is a concept of winner for sake of competition, I am planning to publish all the entries on the website on yoga day. So Please take out a few minutes and write on your experience of the idea of Yoga.







Whatever is being written here are the personal views of the author and are subjected to agreement or disagreement. 

The Year 2015 so far...

Whatever is being written here are the personal views of the author and are subjected to agreement or disagreement. And a request to all members, Please share your views !!

THE MILLENNIAL QUEST FOR PASSION & MEANING AT WORK: YOUR NEW COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE : Borrowed from Kristin Boe

The Millennial Quest for passion meaning at work your new competitive advantage.


“My dad has been at the same company for almost thirty years.  The way older generations were raised is you find something and stick with it. With our generation it is about finding your passion. If you aren’t happy, quit, and find something else! We are much more open to switching majors, changing careers and starting fresh.”
- Julie Strand, age 23, sales representative at C.H. Robinson Worldwide...


The above quote is an excerpt from the book, The M-Factor: How the Millennial Generation is Rocking the Workforce, and Julie’s words really encapsulate an overall desire and driving force of the Millennial generation, of which I am a part. Like it or not, this generation—my generation—wants to derive meaning out of our work; it’s a daily activity that simply takes up too much of our lives to leave us feeling unfulfilled or left wanting more. We want work that draws upon our passions, which are wide-ranging and diverse. Some of us might actually want to do non-profit or charitable work, while others, like myself, may find meaning in feeling like the work that we enjoy and do makes a difference at an organization that we are proud to work for.  So call us entitled, narcissistic, naïve, or just kind of awesome, but the overwhelming majority of my generation wants to wake up each morning energized by the fact that our work offers us additional meaning and fuels our passionate lives.

With this in mind, it seems that this Millennial quest for meaning and passion at work is something that companies will need to face as my generation continues to fill the ranks in the workforce. If we are ignored, true to Julie’s quote, it could mean high (expensive and disruptive) turnover rates among the youngest and soon-to-be-largest cohort in your workplace. But here’s the good news—if harnessed appropriately, this Millennial search for passion and meaning could turn into a real source of competitive advantage for your organization. In fact, a recent study by Deloitte found that workers who bring passion to their jobs are more easily able to navigate challenges and accelerate performance improvement, increasing their overall productivity and creating a competitive advantage for their organization as a result.  The study also cites that companies that focus on creating environments that foster passion and that hire passionate people (like Millennials) will be better equipped to respond to the diverse challenges of the globalized competitive landscape.

Call me opportunistic, but Leaders, doesn’t this seem like a perfect situation? You know that unlocking your employees’ passions at work can create a competitive advantage for your company, and the largest and newest population of your workforce wants to find meaningful work that they are passionate about.  So now the question becomes: how can you help unleash the passions of your workforce?

For most people, finding your passion at work is something that takes time to unearth.  It takes experiencing your work and discovering where your passions lie. It also means experiencing and exploring the work of others to see if you can uncover hidden passions through connecting with colleagues to learn from their experiences, knowledge, and perspectives. In this way, technology-enabled social learning is a great way to help get your employees sharing with one another and uncovering their passions while learning and developing (Can you say, “Killing two birds with one stone?”). Most Millennials know that our first job probably isn’t going to be the role we are the most passionate about in our entire careers, because everyone has to start somewhere and the current job market isn’t doing us any favors. That said, what we do expect is the flexibility to explore our passions and interests at work. If there aren’t mechanisms that allow for this exploration within the boundaries of our organization, we will search for our career-related passions by leveraging our personal networks that we are quite adept at keeping via social media (and to Julie’s point, find another opportunity outside of your organization).

In my mind, it’s never too late to find additional passions, interests, and meaning in your life, and in this way, technology-enabled social learning can also be a tool to help your multigenerational workforce discover how they can be even more connected to their work. Like Meghan Biro stated in a recent Forbesarticle on the topic, “Beneath any generational divide, we all want the same from our jobs: to be engaged and fulfilled mind, body and soul.” So start thinking about how you can provide employees, Millennial or not, the means and flexibility to explore, find their passions, and discover what makes their work meaningful, and you might just score some increased productivity and an edge over your competitors as a result.

Feel like weighing in on this subject of Millennials and/or meaningful and passionate work? Tweet at me using this twitter handle @3creek. I would love to hear your insights, thoughts, and personal perspectives on the topic!

Whatever is being written here are the personal views of the author and are subjected to agreement or disagreement. And a request to all members, Please share your views !!

The case for hiring from Tier II and Tier III Colleges (Apr 01 - Apr 15, 2015)

As a part of my New Year resolution, I am gonna pen down 1 post (min 500 words) every fortnight.

Over the last half of a decade, I have worked with a lot of youngsters. The number is significantly high (in tunes of 50,000) and the experience of interacting with them has been very enriching. I have worked in the learning and development team for a couple of MNCs and I now can safely say that I have a background in analyzing behaviors especially from an organization point of view.

When I look at the competition which exists at the entry level of most of the competitive companies the first target from the recruitment team is to get the day 1 in the college when the hiring begins. Reason: Everyone wants the cream. Well, sounds logical, isn’t it?

Not really. When you look at numbers in terms of the performance of people over a period of time, you will be surprised. Now we know that the word ‘performance’ is vague and includes a lot of factors, for clarity we can simply relate it to the ROI from the organization point of view. The data suggests that the ROI from every employee who is hired from a premier institute compared to one who isn’t is not different. And if you dig a bit deeper in terms of (a) the longevity of the career of employees, and (b) the positivity he/ she carries around them it hints towards slightly more commitment from the guys coming from non-premier institutes.

There are reasons behind this ROI shift over time. People hired from top tier institutes not only cost more, they also carry an air of arrogance around them and right from the beginning of their career. They aren’t flexible working on various tasks; in and around their primary job.

Over the last decade or so the way education has made way into the second level of cities of India. A direct analogy can be seen from the cricket field. Gone are the days when half of the team used to come from metros like Mumbai which has a rich and deep cricketing history. Because of the new found exposure; players from relatively smaller cities are making way into the national scene. Similarly students from lesser known colleges can be seen to have the hunger to run shoulders with the best and the humility to carry them professionally at the workplace.

From a Human Resource point of view and from the view of learning and development, we know that if the basics like attitude are in place, there are certain types of skills which can be transferred to an individual. Most of the organizations nowadays have either incorporated an in house learning and development team or they outsource it. Whatever they do, they can’t deny the contribution of the training which has a long term impact on ROI of any organization. Once a firm has invested in a sound L&D team, it makes sense for them to look for candidates who have the right mindset as the first priority and skills can be taken care later on.

There are a number of examples in which organizations have consciously invested in getting people on board from tier – II and tier III colleges and prepare them through a robust training and development plan. Researches have shown that the ROI through such process has been significantly higher in such cases.

Whatever is being written here are the personal views of the author and are subjected to agreement or disagreement. And a request to all members, Please share your views !!

Random Thoughts... Important Ones (Mar 16 - Mar 31, 2015)

As a part of my New Year resolution, I am gonna pen down 1 post (min 500 words) every fortnight.

This post has to be about the sensational discussion we started on FB by revisiting one of the most glorious events we organized at NERIST. It has to be about the initiative which some of us have taken to motivate current students to embark upon this truly magnificent journey of clubs at college. And without a doubt, this post also has to be about the ICC World Cup-2015.

Apart from writing posts for the LOC blog, couple of things I have been doing regularly are reading and running. Though with all the travel in the past month and partly because of the complex 11th book of the year - 'Fifth Discipline' reading has been slow this month. But that didn't stop me from completing the controversial book - 'Fifty Shades of Grey' while running all those miles in the past week. (Hint: Audio Book). 

Caution: Don't try this particular book with speakers ON.

Books read so far in 2015:

1. The Pregnant King - Devdutt Pattanaik
2. I am Malala
3. Private India
4. Kane and Abel
5. A Prisoner of Birth
6. Asura - The Tale of the Vanquished
7. What Color is your parachute
8. Karna's Wife
9. The sense of an ending
10. Our moon has blood clots
11. Timeless steel - Rahul Dravid
12. Fifty Shades of Grey

In the earlier post this month I mentioned how the name Tongam Rina struck as a familiar one. When she made the North East in particular and the whole Nation in general, proud by winning the CNN IBN Indian of the Year for Public Service. She was the guest of honor and part of the judging panel in the all-time hit Faculty vs Students debate which swept NERIST by surprise back in 2008. Congratulation are in order for her and here’s wishing her all the very best for her future. It was also a moment to reflect upon how the alma mater has been performing since we left it over half a decade ago. Thanks to some very thought provoking points shared by Manish da, Sachindra Pandey da and Barthakur Sir we got an insight that things are not very harmonious. Long comments were written about how things have deteriorated for nobody's advantage. Rohit Rai had been very instrumental in handling the fort from the LOC point of view.

But this is where LOC has been always relevant. As in this video, Debi beautifully explained that at LOC; we have always been the brand of people who don't sit there and let things happen the way they are happening. We are the ones who change things. And we are on track to do our bit to ignite that spark once again.

Desired Output: To enhance the communication skills, Build self-confidence, Excel in the skills required to work in a team.

How to do it: Current Students of NERIST should form clubs/ groups, formal/ informal, and meet regularly to discuss random topics. The size of the group should be limited and like-minded personalities should come together and stay invested for their own good and for the greater good of the group.

Once the groups are up and running they can connect with Alumni periodically  

Additional Advantages: When young minds work in groups, share their thoughts with each other not limited by any formal authority, there are very words apart from 'magic' which can describe what they can create or achieve. Having worked with young minds for over 5 years now, I know that most interviewers are looking for the stories (real ones of course) which students have to share. There is no two way about the fact that academics is the MOST IMPORTANT ingredient of the dish which anyone can cook during their college life. That builds the analytical ability specially from an engineering student point of view. But they are like the hygiene skills, the icing on the cake has to be the ability to share your ideas and the ability to work in groups. 

In short, this will help them with the interviews and if that's not enough it's a sure shot journey to self-discovery.

Stakeholders: Current students (Everything is about you, so you guys have to take the first few steps on your own), Faculty Members (Always willing to guide the students, students may have to choose the right one; at the right time; and at the right platform), and Alumni (Never before in history have we been so connected with NERIST and we are more than excited to guide and assist in whatever way we can).

Progress: Two groups of students (8 and 7) met three alumni members over google hangout where we set the context of the initiative. We focused on the importance of having clubs at college and shared our experiences with them.

Next Step: The idea is to encourage more and more students to form such concise groups and start meeting regularly. Every once in a while (when they want to interact with alumni, as in when they have specific questions in their mind about life beyond NERIST) they can set up a video call us; the third stakeholder.

 ICC World Cup-2015

Since I know enough has been written about the performance of the Indian cricket team over the past few weeks, I will keep my analysis very short. When defending world champions - India started the journey in the current tournament we had little hopes from them. May be all we wanted was a. A win over arch rivals Pakistan, B. No upsets against the minnows, and C. A decent fighting spirit against the mighty favorite teams.

India did surprise us all. Winning all their group league matches was no mean feat, where they played like champions. As an ardent Indian Cricket Fan, I felt proud of the team’s performance. They played to the best of their abilities against a formidable opponent who was better on their home turf.

The social media for a couple of days was full of nonsensical analysis of the loss and failed to recognize the valiant efforts of the whole team and support staff throughout the tournament. Sometimes social media can be such a headache.

Whatever is being written here are the personal views of the author and are subjected to agreement or disagreement. And a request to all members, Please share your views !!

Revisiting the Cracker of an Event: Faculty vs Students debate @NERIST

When Ms. Thongam Rina recently got the CNN IBN Indian of the year in Public Service award, it struck me that we had interacted with her back in 2007 on our own small platform of LOC.
CNN IBN Indian of the Year: Public Service: Thongam Rina

All it took was a little bit of digging in the past, carefully captured and documented and here we have...
One of the best event organized in NERIST history where the faculty members and students debated in public on the topic: "Should faculty members intervene in the personal life of students?""

What happened in the next couple of hours... as they say was historical and exquisite exchange of ideas, open discussion and some high quality fun.

Ladies and gentlemen, for the batches who were there in NERIST in 2007, tighten your seatbelts for a nostalgic journey, and for those who weren't... We did something special back then.. witness the history here...

To watch all the episodes in a playlist format, Click here:
Full Playlist of the LOC Debate


Whatever is being written here are the personal views of the author and are subjected to agreement or disagreement. And a request to all members, Please share your views !!

What do you need to know about L.O.C. ?

Whatever is being written here are the personal views of the author and are subjected to agreement or disagreement. And a request to all members, Please share your views !!

Homecoming, Festival, Bengali Marriage and Friends. (Mar 01 - Mar 15, 2015)

As a part of my new year resolution, I am gonna pen down 1 post (min 500 words) every fortnight.

Feb 26 – Whitefield, Bangaluru à Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru àNetaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, Dumdum, Kolkata àSomewhere in South Kolkata

Feb 26 – March 02 – Kolkata

March 02- Kolkata à Asansol, West Bengal

March 03 – Asansol, West Bengal à Patna, Bihar

March 03 – March 10 – Patna

March 10 – Jayprakash Narayan International Airport, Patna à Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai à Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru à Whitefield, Bengaluru

To say that the trip was fulfilling would be undermine the significance of the variety of emotions which it involved. To be able to attend a friend’s wedding, a get together after almost a year, had hearty discussion with a new friend, made some new friends, witnessed the amalgamation of cultures where cocktail parties became part of the Bengali wedding, followed by a full-fledged traditional wedding, was able to observe all that from up so close, met another friend after half a decade, and finally was at home after a marathon 600days.

The list goes on with the celebration of Holi at home after almost a decade, had a gala time with my niece who is so full of energy and nothing matches the feeling of being able to spend time with grand mom making her feel significant and driving the car fluently for the first time.

Saumita’s wedding is significant from the point of view of the bond which five of us shared at Infosys, our first employer (Abhilasha, Karan, Saumita, Simrat and I). Enough had been said about how lucky we were to be able to have each other’s’ company through the learning journey at Infosys. Personally I never felt like I had to work even for a single day with such great people around. We were supposed to be colleagues but were way more than that. I guess the best part of a team is the way its members complement each other and it was the same for us. We brought exceptionally complementary skills in the mix and together were a formidable squad within the purview of Infosys.

We realized how lucky we were at Infy as soon as we moved out to different destinations in search of our individual destinies. But as godsend gift three of us are back in Bengaluru (relatively close to each other). With Simi already in Canada and Karan in a lucrative Govt. Job (limited scope in Blr) this is the best we could have asked for.

Though I went home after a year and a half, it’s not that I hadn’t taken a break from work. With (1) the switch from Mysore to Bengaluru, (2) Sister and Brother in law in Bengaluru, (3) Abhi back in the town, (3) Couple of trip to Bhilai, (4) A trip to Raipur, Hyderabad, and (5) Goa trip; happening around me I felt fresh throughout.

One of the highlights of the journey was to discover a new dimension of someone I have known for a long time but short in terms of depth. It was a rediscovery of the fact that behind the strong and hard shell of human behavior often lays the warmth and emotional thought process. And that introverts (including me) are a force to reckon with.

It was also my first visit to home in absence of my grandfather, a harsh reality which I am still coming in terms with. Spending time with grand mom was extremely satisfying and I know that listening to her unending stories is a cherish able experience for which I thank the all mighty. One of the memorable incident involved clicking a selfie with her. While my niece; who is her Great Grand Daughter; was finding games on IPAD fascinating, so was my Grandmother.

Another high spot in this trip was me driving my family through the city exploring what has changed and what new has come up over the years. Mom always wanted to do that I was glad for the fact that for the first time in my life I was in the driving seat while dad was sitting beside me.

In the end, I amaze myself by the ease with which I shift gears and without going through any emotional turmoil move on. I know it’s not a sign of weakness to be emotional but my alignment with the reality and focus on what lies ahead happens without any conscious effort.

Writing this blog from Bengaluru, raring to get back to the fresh set of exciting ‘Things to do’ I have planned for the year. Hope you guys are having a great time in your respective places and locations.

Whatever is being written here are the personal views of the author and are subjected to agreement or disagreement. And a request to all members, Please share your views !!

Last Fortnight: Small LOC get-together at Bangalore, Ind vs Pak, A lot of Reading, A lot of work. Feb 16 - Feb 28, 2015

As a part of my new year resolution, I am gonna pen down 1 post (min 500 words) every fortnight.

The week was made memorable by the sudden arrival of Lieutenant Commander Rohit Rai in Bangalore and a last minute plan to gather everybody we could have; from all corners of the city. Meenakshi came down from the North (both Bangalore North as well as North India), while Poly and Sachin made it for the dinner from South. Well my lucky day to be able to play the role of the host in Bangalore East. The dinner was short in lieu of the time and for the fact that it was Wednesday (a sacred work day in the lives of Bengaluru).

What followed the dinner, and when Mnx and Poly-Sach left was a night full of classic college gossip, accounting for each other’s recent adventures. Last time I met Rai was at Birati, Kolkata when PD joined us in the gup-shup which lasted for the whole night. I couldn’t decide whether Rai has changed for the better, or he hasn’t changed at all. I guess that’s what he felt for me as well. That is what makes college friendship great and sustaining one. When you spend time with someone through their growing years, when you literally grow with a group of people you tend to build a kind of understanding of the true self of them. A true self, which gets modified later but doesn’t leave the essence.

And then Lambu missed his flight. It’s still an unanswered question that from Bengaluru why was he going to Mumbai and then to Kochi (180 degree opposite route). So the adventure which was supposed to last for just over 18 hours spread over 2 days. We continued our discussions on random topics – our work profiles, how organizations and the navy are so different and yet so same, about corruption, about LOC, about lifestyles, about what’s next>>>

Ind vs Pak.

Moving on from where Rai finally left for Kochi directly, in fact hastily to reach there before the V-Day (he left a few stuff at my place), the mood shifted to the World Cup – 2015. Personally I am keeping a tab on my keen interest in cricket knowing fully well that the current team will at max create a flash in the pan sort of experience before bowing down to the better skilled and prepared oppositions. But everything takes a back seat when India plays their arch rival Pakistan. This well hyped encounter is made special by the fact that Pakistan has never been able to defeat India in a world cup match, ever.

And the result was that the score line now says #6Ind-0Pak.

I have to admit that the way Indian team played they proved me wrong. In the absence of any legend to soak in the pressure, this young Indian team, showed immense discipline and application. They fought through the hard period and once the foundation was set capitalized when the crucial moments came. Kohli enjoyed his good run with the bat and in his final frontier he consolidated the batting line up against a quality attack from Pakistan. In the second half MS soaked in the pressure when it mattered and led the team to a very decent start in the world championship.

A lot of Reading.

I picked up my reading from where I left it while preparing for Goa. Finished ‘Lazza’ by Taslima Nasrin, devoured ‘Timeless Steel – Rahul Dravid’ by espncricinfo and having read 10 in a span of 45 days, moved on to some serious non-fiction by C.K. Prahlad (The Future of Competition). Peter Senge’s ‘Fifth Discipline’ is waiting to go next.

A lot of Work.

And while all this is happening around me, I am also officially mentoring an MBA student for a project on Intrapreneurship (not Entrepreneurship) and obviously working as an internal consultant for Xerox Services. Work at Xerox has picked up in with a new vigor and my plan is to make the most of the opportunity of the freedom to experiment. More about that in coming posts.

Whatever is being written here are the personal views of the author and are subjected to agreement or disagreement. And a request to all members, Please share your views !!

Go Goa Gone - for Learning and a little Fun! Feb 01- Feb 15, 2015

As a part of my new year resolution, I am gonna pen down 1 post (min 500 words) every fortnight.

So here I am, day 1 of the second month of 2015, writing my third post from Goa. Yesterday had an opportunity to talk to some 250 MBA students on a range of topics. And I must say I am enthralled by the idea of the enormous possibilities human imagination can have.

The talk was about the 'What-How-Why' of Thought Leadership, and my focus was on the 'Why' aspect.

You know that it’s a great start of the year when find yourself in Goa in the very first month. This was my first visit to this beautiful city, (which I have told everyone that I was saving for a special trip).

Well, this was special.

Having been invited by Goa Institute of management was in a feat in itself and I spent some nervous couple of weeks preparing for a topic which couldn’t have been more vague than – “Thought Leadership”. With the vagueness comes the freedom to experiment, or so I thought.

Preparation:

The best part of the talk/ event was the preparation. I read a lot. Watched many videos from TED talks. And then it occurred to me. First 10 days I was under the impression that I wasn’t the right candidate to stand in front of MBA students and talk to them about Thought Leadership, because I’m not a Thought Leader myself.

This can be a difficult feeling to get, because every single video which I sought on the internet was about and by a seemingly established Thought Leader.

But then I had a long chat with my mentor and the organizers of the committee at the GIM. It was then that I realized that I don’t have to be a Thought Leader to facilitate a discussion on the topic. I am a facilitator, and my role is to facilitate a discussion on a topic. I don’t have to a content expert.

While researching for the topic I came to know about a lot of tremendously simple and effective steps to establish oneself as a thought leader. The key is breaking down the process into simple steps and taking those steps regularly. One of the examples being – authoring a book.

Authoring a book seems to be a gigantic task, seemingly impossible for an average person. But the very thought that it can be achieved in a matter of a month, makes it worth a trial.

The Talk: 

The final talk wasn’t up to the expectations. The audience was forced to stay as the attendance was mandatory and the discussion never caught momentum for me to be able to drive the idea home. There were some high points when I showed them that there were Thought leaders among them and that actually got them going. The twitter handle worked as well and I got some 30 new followers over the next few days.

The Need to look inwards:

While this was a great opportunity for me to travel to Goa, stand in front of India’s finest MBA students and share a few ideas on a given topic, it gave me an opportunity to understand the need to look inwards. There were so many conversations which started in and around the cafe area while the most interesting one lasted for over 3 hours.

While the life is full of opportunities and options, the most difficult challenge is to realize your calling in life. What is that I want to do?

There are a few very important questions which need answers. I seek their answers.

Whatever is being written here are the personal views of the author and are subjected to agreement or disagreement. And a request to all members, Please share your views !!

Try Something New for 30 days!

Whatever is being written here are the personal views of the author and are subjected to agreement or disagreement. And a request to all members, Please share your views !!

A hit on the Head and a Fresh Start. Jan 16- 31, 2015

As a part of my new year resolution, I am gonna pen down 1 post (min 500 words) every fortnight.

Had a bumpy start of the new year, a small accident ( more of a mis-adventure) ending up with a fully bandaged head and a few stitches. Life does give you a second chance, right?

Part of the problem of being hit on the head is that, it's critical (for 24 hours or more) and that it makes you wonder about your life so far. So much for a second chance. And while you rest, waiting to heal, sometimes it feels like forever. Midst the mild pain, more of a discomfort actually; thoughts hover around; most of them fly away while some settle down. I won't say it's a recap of your life, because only some passages come by more strongly than the others. One such passage came by for me too...

I realized that in all these years as an adult, when I have been away from home, when I have withered against the storms of life, built my understanding of how life functions (still no idea though), helped by my friends, colleagues, acquaintances, competitors; and  even strangers, there is a part of me which I have overlooked.

I don’t remember being pampered so can’t say that I miss it. I don’t remember the feeling of being deeply cared for (though I know there are many who do). All these years away from home, I have been the one who is supposedly – ‘strong’(emotionally), ‘sensible’, the ‘idea person’ and may be the ‘go to person’ when all other things don’t work. Though I think I have always been there for a lot of people (I know I haven’t for a whole lot of others).

So when I am lying down, recuperating from this ‘bump on the head’, I feel it’s my time to get back to life with a new rigor. I feel I have been too much measured (in terms of my approach towards life) for my own good, and it’s actually time to start having some fun.

The other good thing which has happened in the meantime is that I got the opportunity to get back to reading books. Actually I have been reading books in the past 2 weeks like never before. I am already on to my 6^th book of the year 2015 and it’s only been 17 days. The following books have now been part of my brain stack:

1.     The Pregnant King – Devdutt Pattnaik

2.     Private India – James Patterson & Ashwin Sanghi

3.     I am Malala – Malala Yusufzai & Christina Lamb

4.     Asura – The Tale of  the vanquished – Anand Neelakantan

5.     What Color is your parachute – Richard N. Bolles

6.     now reading -  Karna’s Wife – Kavita Kane

I realized that there is so much to learn from our glorious Indian mythology literature. Watching the epic Ramayanas and the Mahabharatas from the perspective of different characters have been a revelation and sometimes eye openers in terms of how biased are we in our lives. How do we know what’s right or wrong? How are we sure about anything and everything?

Having said all that, I’m thankful to a lot of people around me that life’s been beautiful so far because of each one of you. And I know I have you with me till the end.

Some of these thoughts precipitated by the beautiful gesture of a friend who showed up with flowers. And the thought stuck in my head - "Strong people don't mind flowers once in a while".

Whatever is being written here are the personal views of the author and are subjected to agreement or disagreement. And a request to all members, Please share your views !!

What else ails a typical Indian IT/ BPO firm? Jan 1 - 15, 2015

As a part of my new year resolution, I am gonna pen down 1 post (min 500 words) every fortnight.

There are a number of reasons why I chose this as a topic for this very first fortnight of 2015. Increasing rate of attrition, increasing number of behavior related issues, decreasing professionalism at the workplace, decreasing pool of worthy leaders, and forget about leaders, across businesses it is increasingly becoming difficult to have focused contenders for first level of supervision - and these are just some of the issues which the Indian Human Resource teams are facing.

India and most of Asian countries were intended to be the places where part of the business was supposed to be outsourced. Cost usually plays the most important role in deciding to outsource (others being time zone advantage, technical expertise, easier to focus on core business, etc.)

Now imagine an Mnc. comes to India (read outsources) and starts IT and BPO work with the help of local resources. They also hire local managers with the right cultural background to hire- negotiate- maximise the output from the local employees.

This is where I would like to introduce you to first of my two hypothesis - 

1. When cost is a factor (huge one) the work can be highly compartmentalized making it easier for the right match of employees to be found.

Now when these (local) managers are tasked with the goal of minimizing the cost, they look for right fit of resources and fulfill the short term goals of the organization. Meanwhile in this process they create a monster for the HR to handle. I don't mean to say that HR is not party in creating this mess at the first place. Their goal sheets like any other business part aligns itself fully with the 'so called' business requirement - which is only this and not that. ('This' is mostly technical/ process, 'That' is mostly character/ attitude)

Having said that, companies all around the world are struggling to become 'Great' and not just good, but the limitations of hiring based on character/ attitude has become a major deterrent. The argument of lack of fair assessments which are scalable to judge a character/ attitude, is a valid one. But for the scope of the ailment which I am proposing here, I should limit the cause to a very simple one - Language.

This would be the right time to share my second hypothesis -
2. Most of the challenges we are referring to (HR Policy violations) have been started to get recognized as a violation in Asian ( and hence Indian) context pretty recently. Terms like professionalism, sexual harassment, attitude issues were never the highlights of businesses in Asia. The policies have been imported from the western world. Second part of  my hypothesis is that in order to understand the underlying meaning and fulfillment of such policies, we need to have the exposure to the western world. The only way to take that first step toward that exposure is through getting exposed to English (for Asia).

Whatever is being written here are the personal views of the author and are subjected to agreement or disagreement. And a request to all members, Please share your views !!

What's your True Character?

They say your true character is formed and revealed when you in trouble, but what if you never find yourself in trouble. Is it a classic case of playing it ('LIFE') safe. And that brings me to my question - I have never been in real trouble, how to build my character and reveal the real me?

Whatever is being written here are the personal views of the author, and are subjected to agreement or disagreement. And a request to all members, Please share your views !!

'Bengaluru', 'Business Sutra' , 'Fitness', 'Audio Books', 'Opera'

So what is common between the words mentioned above? I will tell you. ME.

Having been in Mysuru for almost half a decade, a place which is just
100 miles from the fastest growing city in the country - Bengaluru, I
feel different. Bengaluru is a class apart when you compare it with
Mysuru, or for that matter most of the cities of this growing nation.
There is something in this air, its aura, its people, its approach.
It's dynamic; it's like a river which knows nothing but to flow, time
and again flowing beyond its boundaries.

I just completed 6 months in this IT-capital and the most frequently
asked question to me has been, 'How's Bengaluru treating you?'

'How's Bengaluru treating me?'  I wonder. Work at Xerox has put me on
the next orbit of learning and development.  My own exposure to
entrepreneurship has taken a back seat at this moment because this
city has given me a new perspective. And then it's my weekend
experiences with my brother in law. He is quite a guy. One of the most
extraordinary entrepreneurs I have had in my family. In fact, he is
the only one. All these years I have heard stories about him, trying
out luck in different fields- agriculture, fisheries, poultry,
multiplex, real estate and even politics. Last few months I have the
opportunity to work closely with him. Not work as work, more accurate
definition would be 'observing' him closely. He is a personification
of the classic book on personal financial success - 'Rich Dad, Poor
Dad'.

The best thing which has happened to me in Bengaluru is that I walk to
my office and back. So the famous traffic issue is out of my equation
in this vast city. This gives me a fantastic prospect of spending time
in the gym and the swimming pool. It feels good. I feel light, fit and
ready for more.

So all in all I have some decent time to spend on myself and I have
filled it with my latest found fascination of 'audio books'. Some of
my ideas are inspired by the need for squeezing time out of busy
lives, multitasking during exercising. It serves me well in multiple
ways-

1.       I am able to keep track of the time I spend in the gym,

2.       I am able to keep track of the books I have been reading, For
eg. The whole audio book by Walter Issacson - Steve Jobs was of 24
hours. So it was easy for me to set a target to complete the book in a
month with a moderate amount of time spent in gyms, jogging in parks.

3.       I have multiple reasons of motivating myself to exercise. My
love for the books is a primary one.

And finally, my new found love in the music field - Opera. From the
days of 'Bajao-Bismillah-Bajao' in college with Arun-Basu-PD, I have
been fond of classical instrumentals coupled with dim lighting and ....
Searching for new adventures in the same field has brought me closer
to one of the world's best genre of music. The soothing spell which
Opera casts on you is distinctive and it is helping me focus more on
what I am doing at this moment.

Of course, these are a few things which have been part of my diary in
the past 8-10 months. A rekindled LOC is a cherry on the cake. Rai
hits the bulls eye when he says that one of the most remarkable
positives which has come out from this ideal group (LOC founded some 6
years back) has been that it has inspired us to write. Some of us do
it better than the others; some of us find it more challenging than
the other, but it helped us nonetheless. That was the core and the
most beautiful idea of this group. Let's share friends, it's
remarkable, it's enlightening. It's beautiful.

Whatever is being written here are the personal views of the author him/her self and are subjected to agreement or disagreement. And a request to all members, Please share your views !!

02 Days from now, it will be 4 years that we left that almamater of ours.Lot of water has flown since then. Lot of us have moved from strength to strength to forge new identities for ourselves. we have been meeting new people. In the process, would have made friends and follies alike. However, nothing comes close to the feeling of catching up on guys you grew up with. This is precisely how i feel. so much so that 'Elated'/'excited' seems brilliant understatements. i checked in slightly early and not knowing what to do, was roaming around the airport doing what has been my favorite time pass of years- Babe watching. When suddenly i thought of passing the valuable time in terms of worthy investment of Facebook. But alas, the Facebook is barred here. Aren't our airports turning anti social too? I could have kept pondering over this question or moved ahead with babe watching. however,in this moment of immense emotional turmoil and indecisiveness, i realized there used to be something called LOC once. I searched in Google not sure of the name that reverberated in our hearts a few years ago. And as pleasant as it gets, i saw this man, who i always thought has the ability and will to carry the world with us. World call him Kumar Saurav, i call him anything as it pleases me. And then i saw the man who has the ability to put to shame even the shine of diamonds- sachin kashyap, the star among superstars. Allokojwal, who i would always rever as a man of such integrity and honor, that he will put to shame the greatest. Furthermore, and i realized most of us have forgotten this beautiful venture. But not the feelings that formed this union.Am i not looking forward to catching up with you all.. The answer to this can only be YES ABHI

Vellore Trip dec2012

It's an unmatched feeling to be able to attend the most important day of your friend. And if you have the venue as beautiful as Vellore the effort seems to be completely worth it. Add to it some wonderful accommodation arrangements and some friends to spend time with, you have a memorable trip at hand. It won't be surprising to people who know me that it takes a lot to get me out of my comfort zone, but the same people also know that once am out, it takes a lot to stop me as well. 

Was having second thoughts about attending this marriage function but how on earth could have I missed this. The beautiful bride and an impeccably dressed groom gave a warm welcome as I managed to reach moments before the engagement. The journey was long but not tiring in any sense. Rain in Bangalore cooled down the unexpected warm weather and the wet vellore was ready to receive me with open arms. 

Met some new people, new talents I should say. I will certainly make it a point to keep meeting new people from varied backgrounds and understand the nature of their work. 

And then the Golden Temple was planned....

I can now comfortably pen down for the first time that I am not the most religious people you will meet, nor do I believe in the supernatural power which most believes governs us. But the Golden temple and more than just the temple made of gold, the management of the whole place didn't fail to amaze me.

I don't want to be critical and all but the 'holy' feeling inside the temple was artificial for me. I know the feeling has to come from within but when you go to a temple you expect some divine or serene environment to support your spiritual feelings. The whole place was beautiful, exceptionally clean as well, but, it was artificial to me. More than a temple it can actually win the award of the most profitable and best manageable business on any management criteria. I know this is India. I know a lot of what I am writing is inspired from the movie- OMG, but a part of it comes from the god's own book- Bhagwad Geetha.

Coming back to vellore, it's a city situated in middle of a lot of mountains. Wherever you go in the city the pleasant views of the hills will soothe  the slightly humid condition. The city is like a typical south Indian city, or shall I say any other Indian city. Roads are patched up with a lot of coal tar which tends to make the ride bumpy but then who cares for all that if the people of the city know how to make good tea. This is my second trip to Tamilnadu for two weddings and one impressive thing that has struck me is how passionately people make tea here. I am humbled every time I taste such good tea, I thought my lazy way of boiling the tea powder for making strong tea was the best recipe. 

The wedding was dot on time, as planned, and full of energy, technology and comfort. I am not used to attending Indian weddings which start exactly as mentioned in the card. The dj night witnessed a splendid dance performance by my friend Akshatha. Hearing all about the practices had increased my expectations and when I saw it finally live, it went beyond that. The couple dance saw the most important couple of the week shake their leg on stage as well. The look in their eyes said it all. They are made for each other.

I have no detailed idea about the Sindhi traditions but among other things they should be famous for their spicy food (though most of the catering staff was from Bihar). How do I know that? Well I was eavesdropping for some part of the time when I was standing the queue for those hot and crisp delicious jalebies. Some beautiful ladies with me in the evening and time just passed in clicking pics. Some of them actually surprised me as I have long doubted my abilities to impress the camera. 

Talking about traditions I have to mention that I have never witnessed a hindu wedding where the bride and the groom; the pundit and the family are seated comfortably on chairs and sofas while the table wore the burden of the Havan.  But it was comfortable as one of my new friend claimed.

Reached the kathpadi junction much before time but the surprising part is the fare. I had a reasonably comfortable bus drive from Bangalore to vellore for 160/- but coming from officers line to kathpadi junction in the same city costs 150/-. The first thing which will strike you when you enter this junction is the lack of facilities. I mean you are in India but I had better expectations from a historic south Indian city. They are very well managed in general but you know something is wrong when the very screen which is supposed to guide you to different platforms is not working. Now if you are from up north and are challenged when it comes to a third language, you are in trouble. Thank god they have good English speaking people at the help desks. Hoping the train ride to be smooth for most of its path. I have gone through the trip with ease. 

Whatever is being written here are the personal views of the author him/her self and are subjected to agreement or disagreement. And a request to all members, Please share your views !!

New year and old friends- deadly combo welcome 2013

New year & Old friends - (deadly combination)

After a long time on January 2nd we got together. It was a night with Basu, PD, Meenakshi, Arun and Bed and it was like old times. Personally I wasn't in touch with a lot of them but that's the beauty of friendship. A small talk about the well being of everyone and things were back on track.

Talking about dadu's tea and nana's food, love-bites, cricket gup-shup and marriages. Some of the concerns of talking on conference calls is to negate the background noise. 

It started to sizzle when Bed joined with the only downside that Mnx slept in between. PD and I tried to settle everything for them. Often we were short of topics but we persisted and came up with new ones. NERIST was always a hot topic and we talked about the classes, how simply difficult were the practical classes and how things have changed now. How we skipped the quiz, how getting all reds in Physics lab notebooks and it came to an interesting point where we had to use a life-line of calling Bhola to get the answer to an all important question. We forgot the venue of the famous quiz in which none of the EC guys attempted even a single question. Finally PD realized that he was outnumbered and that the venue was the seminar hall. The unity of the EC-2k3 is something which is still talked about.  MA-51, Sharan Sir's classes to the recent cars by the batch of 2k3. 

The call started at around 9pm lasted till around 1:45am with people coming in and logging off for different* reasons. Basu had to try the all time favorite dish -'dry fish' while Mnx just dozed off. Appreciate the extremes as Bed had come out in the open for better network and Bhola was very cozily conversing from the warmth of his bed, while almost everyone was fighting with the cold weather I had my fan on.

Whatever is being written here are the personal views of the author him/her self and are subjected to agreement or disagreement. And a request to all members, Please share your views !!

Sweet Sixty

Sweet Sixty If you are above 60, answer the questions based on your life. If you are below 60, answer the questions based on the life of someone whom you know is above 60. View or comment on Kumar Saurav's post » Google+ makes sharing on the web more like sharing in real life. Learn more. Join Google+

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