A few miles of Solitude

Touched upon by the fading waves,

the shores are sculpted away;

The sandy beach shimmers in the moonlight,

As I silently walk my way.

I look up at the stars,

as they adorn the sky tonight;

I've been traveling for long,

but my home's not yet in sight.

The sand's fine,

and every step counts twice;

for every aim, every goal,

asks for its fair price.

A stranger would appear, I wish,

and caringly hold my hand;

We would leave our footmarks,

together on this glittering sand.

Some crossed my way,

but had nothing to share;

The night's slowly passing by,

but to dream, I dare.

but to dream, I dare...

Straight from the heart!

Aha, its December, and 2007 will soon be past! The figure 12 in the date brings with it a Pavlovian stimulation of thoughts: vacations, parties, resolutions, change of calendars and so on. The thoughts are myiad and rather unrelated; but with a common underlying theme highlighting a transition.

The phenomenon of rather unrelated things pointing to a commonality does not seem to be rare. Infact, the very reason I sat down to write today is a recent experience I had with this phenomenon. When it strikes, you start feeling its omnipresence. It's like someone putting pieces of a jigsaw puzzle together and when its done, its Eureka!

I do not seem to be able trace back its origin, but I feel it's everywhere already. A mind-blowing TED talk again was a source of inspiration. It talks about creativity and how education systems around the world are designed to kill it. It's a brilliant talk and I highly recommend watching it.

Then came a refreshing movie that potrays a character who believes in making decisions based on what her heart says and is ready to assume the responsibility of the consequences. For those who have not guessed the movie yet, its 'Jab We Met' and the focus is on Kareena's character which turns out to be my favorite in the movie.

I have this really bad habbit of leaving books half-read and so seems to be happening to 'Creativity' by a couple of brand consultants. Nevertheless, my recent half-baked interest in branding made the book catch my eye in the book store I frequent. This book is a compilation of 20 innovators' interviews. All of them talk about creativity itself ofcourse, but they also emphasize the important role passion played in the path to their success.

All these seemingly unrelated things seem to be pointing us to less-explored 'heart-thinking'. Let me try to elaborate on why I say this. Creativity is about thinking 'out of the box'. Our education and experience in life continuously pumps in conventions and sets of 'impossibles' into us and develops what is known as 'knowledge inertia'. Conventionally, by education, we are trained to use our brains to do the thought processing and this is directly related to knowledge inertia. That's when heart-thinking or thinking 'out of the box' comes to rescue. Talking about the movie, the 'hearty' character seems to be able to find some innovative solutions to the male protagonist's (Shahid's) problems in life just based on different thinking. Conventional or 'brain' thinking keeps pushing us into the trench of the impossibles and everything starts appearing complex. The interviewees in the book strongly hold their passion responsible for their creative success and it wont be un-natural to relate our passions wholly to our hearts. Most people are not following their passions today (e.g. I am not a guitarist, Om is not a percussionist, Enigma is not working on english literature and Quest is not a vocalist!) just because the worldy conventions enforce us to take brain-based decisions diminishing the voice of the heart. All the chunks of the phenomenon are therefore, in my opinion, gelling into the common theme of thinking straight from your heart.

As Sir Ken Robinson has brilliantly pointed out, its our socio-academic system to blame which repeatedly discourages heart-thinking and promotes brain-thinking. Infact, more often than not, heart-thinkers become outcasts and finally its their success which gives them a re-entry and invariably at a much superior level of honor and recognition. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and the Google guys(Larry-Sergey) would have probably just been ordinary names in some telephone directory if they had brain-thought of the school degree as the whole and soul of their life.

I think it is an important theme for all of us to spend some time pondering upon. I do not advocate replacing what education prompts to do by heart-thinking totally, but I certainly promote the idea of giving 'heart-thinking' a fair chance in our lives.

So, what does your heart say today?

CSIA - A brand in the making!

I am on my way back to Bangalore and I write this as I wait to board my flight at CSIA - Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport. Anyone traveling to Mumbai in the coming future, be assured to get yourself pleasantly surprised!

This airport is undergoing a complete make-over: right from the structure to its brand image as a whole. I have so many things to say but the airline staff just announced that my flight is boarding!

For details though: http://www.csia.in/

Njoi!

I love Mumbai :)

Of sweets, meeting people and lighting lamps

Back to Mumbai after a quarter and I realized more pressingly this time how much I have got used to the pleasant weather of Bangalore. Whenever I make a trip to Mumbai, I am eager to catch up with what I feel is truly missing in Bangalore: some great street shopping, traveling on public transport, wide roads and the list goes on! Cribs apart, I am here for the festival that has been my favorite since childhood - Diwali!

New clothes, 'abhyang snan' (holy bath), sweets, meeting people all form a nice recipe for a whole lot of fun. Fireworks used to be a part of this list a few years back and age has made me realize how these are the elements that actually spoil Diwali in some sense. I don't think I even need to list down here the reasons that make me feel this way! For completeness though I would say we are adding more pollution than entertainment and encouraging child labor more than employment by buying/lighting fireworks. The only fireworks that I enjoyed today were the ones that I saw from the bus; the ones I could only see and not hear :)

Nevertheless, this diwali has been great; met a few old friends, spent some nice time with folks and ate a ton of sweets. The festivities are not over yet and the hope to have more fun in the coming days!

Here's wishing you all a very Happy Diwali!

Amused! beyond expectations

Following a week filled with 45hrs of work, 150km of smoked riding over discontinuously appearing patches of asphalt and irritating rains, one wishes for a fun-filled weekend offering a change from the mundane activities. And this weekend, someone out there said: 'Tathastu!'

The city (well, technically Bangalore IS a city. Mind you, technically alone!) always persuades one into believing that a fresh-air retreat is away from your reach. Thankfully though, occasionally this turns out to be just an illusion. Just an hour's drive away on Mysore road, Wonder La awaits to welcome you to enjoy a fun-filled day.

Owing to a recent trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain my expectations for the Wonder La experience were set below the mark. I am happy to admit that this prejudice was proven to be out of place. Another factor that had led me to set low expectations from Wonder La was a trip to Essel World, Mumbai about 4yrs ago. All I remember from the trip is the feeling of having been to an over-used and under-maintained area of reclaimed land!

Wonder La is a lot different than both Six Flags and Essel World in a lot of ways. A more natural and genuine comparison though for Wonder La would be with Essel World. Even though Wonder La gets the advantage of being just a couple of years old, kudos are due to the management for maintaining exemplary cleanliness as compared to Indian standards. Inspite of the missing civic sense among visitors, the housekeeping staff was found winning all the time in the battle of trash! Essel world on the other hand I remember was close to a dumpyard made of over-flowing dustbins. Wonder La fills your day just about right. Some nice dry-rides and commendably designed water rides make you feel the money's worth. Essel World (read Essel World + Water Kingdom) on the other hand seems too big for a day and leaves you unsatisfied if you are aiming to cover the dry as well as wet rides. The food at Wonder La is as cheap as you would get it at any other restaurant in Bangalore and you dont feel cheated on that aspect. On the other hand, I remember paying 100 bucks for a pav bhaji which was probably not even worth half of it. I might be sounding too anti-Essel World here but that's just based on my personal experience. I admit my Essel World experience could be hugely out-dated. Nonetheless I feel its worth a comparison.

Not everything is wonderful in Wonder La though. The most striking deficiency is the poor choice of ride variety. I had never imagined that an amusement park could live without a roller coaster! Strange, isnt it? Moreover, all the rides seem to be inspired from one particular feeling of thrill. Some of them also felt as if they were manifestations of the sadistic fantasies of the designer more than rides meant to thrill. This struck me primarily because I had found myself finding it difficult to choose from the 15 or so all-different coasters at Six Flags. Apologies to the local junta of the Bangalore region but nothing other than rice seems to fit their definition of edible food :P One expects a park like this to serve some light munchies which let the bowels take it easy since the rides are going to take them for a toss anyway. I guess the local area needs some time to grow up and I sincerely hope it will!

One thing that deserves a special mention is the excellent use of solar energy at Wonder La. On the 'drop-zone' (vertical fall ride) I could notice all the buildings in the park laden with cutting-edge solar collectors that were being used to maintain the entire water supply in the park at a comfortable 28 degrees C. Talk about going green, the first steps have been taken already! Kudos to the Wonder La team.

Although this post seems to have taken the form of a skeptical review of Wonder La, the only feelings I had while at the park were those of fun, frolic and occassional euphoria :)

Worth a day and worth the money! Wonder Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...

Randomness Pouring!

Its my second year in Bangalore and this one is proving to be a lot more random than the last one. Getting drenched in random Bangalore rains on consecutive days is most likely the inspiring source for this random thought. Like I said, it's pouring!

This year has been full of unexpected events, initiatives and outcomes. Still a couple of months till we call it an year and I expect more random stuff to come across. From the lack of concrete short-term goals, this year has given me some unease for sure. Last year at Bangalore was a set of nicely placed milestones on a long smooth road. This year, in contrast I feel like I have started entering the deep sea and my sight of the horizon is slowly fading out. The sea ofcourse has blessed me so far with a constant fluttering sail and my compass seems to have settled down in a stable state. The random events I mentioned do come in as asynchronous breezes and have kept my meals spicy.

As I wonder, I hope for an island that lies in my way, a halt that helps me reaffirm the direction of my cruise.

Till then, keep sailing...

Being phoenix!

Hello guys! after a looooong time. 8 months and a day to be precise. Phew! that's some gap I say. This could mean either that nothing interesting has been happening in my life or have just plainly been a lazy bum! Well, it turns out as you would have guessed even before you started reading this post that the latter reflects the facts :) A new post was a couple of clicks away when I started this blog and has always been since; and probably will be in the near future; unless ofcourse if an imminent revolution in HCI (human computer interaction) is about to unveil itself! Jokes apart, I have to admit that it was plain inertia that held me back. A basket of factors contributed to this inertia and in everyone's interest, let's not get into that right now :D What I feel truly deserves a mention (or possibly an applause :) ) though is Quest's periodic driving force which after several failed attempts has finally been able to help me break the shackles. Thanks a ton, Quest!

If I were to sum up the past 8 months in a few words, an unforgettable trip to California, a crush fiasco, move to a new apartment, a couple of trips home, some fun weekends and a haphazard monsoon would make it to the top of the list. Well, thinking about it, I did have so much to write about all these days! Missed opportunities; I would say. Nonetheless, this truly illustrates the theory of 'the Paradox of Choice'! I was introduced to TED talks in my CA trip and they have changed my perspective towards life in ways more than one. I would highly recommend watching these; not only for the content but also for the presentation skills demonstrated by the orators. The TED talk that hits the bullsye in my ratings is the talk by Barry Scwartz who in his 20 minutes of inspiring speech illustrates the theory he proposes in his latest book titled 'the Paradox of Choice!' I wouldnt even attempt rephrasing his thoughts here since IMO he puts them in probably the best way possible (http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/93). I think for today, I'll leave it at that.

Even though I do not have much to write today, it feels good to have penned down a few words and gotten back on track! Thanks again to Quest for the periodic dose of motivating impulses. The phoenix is rising!...

My Dil Goes Mmmm...

So, it's Valentine's Day! One of those days in the year which feel different. There's something in the air which infuses you with the scent of love. For me, the feeling of love has always been associated with music since two concepts strike a harmonious chord that resonates with the heart. At different times in life, different pieces of music have stung my heart to inject the love chemical. This time around, its the Bangalore effect showing, with the piece having been given words from the local language which has just started sounding familiar. There's no way I can think of comprehending the poetry but as they say, music has its own language and so does love! Interestingly, this time the language, instead of mitigating the intensity of the chord, adds a mesmerizing mystery effect! The least I can do for the melody here is to quote the lyrics. They go something like this:

Anisutide yaako endu neenene nannavalendu

Maayada lokadinda nanagaage bandalendu

aha enta madura yaatane Kollu hudugi

omme nanna haage summaane

Anisutide yaako endu...

Suriyuva soneyu suside ninnade parimala

Iduyaara kanasalo neenu hodare talamala

Purna chendira dwaja haakida ninnaya mogavanu kanda ksana...

Naakalede neene seremane tappi nanna appiko omme

Haage summane

Anisutide yaako endu...

Tutigala hoovali aadada maatina sihide

Manasina putadali premada ninnade sahiene

Haneyali bareyada ninna hesara hrudayadi naane korediruve nina gunte idara kalpane

Nanna hesara kooge omme haage summane

Anisutide yaako endu

neenene nannavalendu

Maayada lokadinda ninagaage bandalendu aha enta madura yaatane

Kollu hudugi yomme nanna haage summaane

Anisutide yaako endu...

You can mesmerize yourself with this melody composed by Manu Moorthy in Sonu Nigam's or Shreya Ghoshal's (different lyrics) voice here. So for all you people in love and those looking for love like I am, here come my heart felt wishes...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Two Sides of the Dollar Coin

Hey folks! So, I am back after a long recess! Thanks to cable cuts in southern Bangalore, followed by a natural amount of procrastination on my part. My ISP claims to have upgraded its technology from 'cut-prone' copper cables to hi-tech optic fibres. I hope that'll give me one less excuse the next time I manage to hibernate away from blogging :) Talking about technology, my mind wanders back across the globe to sunny California, and to Stanford in particular.

Apart from the unbeatable weather and a loveable campus (which I still place first!) Stanford reminds me of a rich technology culture that has played an important role in making the GDP of California alone larger than about 300 other countries in the world. This piece of statistics had more impulse in it than was required to make me curious of how 'they' did it!

The gateway to my exploration of 'their' secret was pretty much defined by two pieces of sensory perception. One was the image of a computer server made from Lego blocks placed down in a basement and the other; a phrase that sounded 'Stay hungry, stay foolish!'. These link to two of the most influential and successful technological ventures of our time. The colors of those Lego blocks picked up by Larry Page and Sergey Brin make way to billions of people around the world today through www.google.com! And the loud and vibrant phrase came from the man behind the iMac, the iPod, and now, the iPhone: Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple Inc.

Apart from the fact that both Google and Apple started off in some small garage in northern California and now are worth several billions of dollars, one would find it intriguing to find too many similarities in their character. The characters of these giants are can be largely attributed to the the way the founders themselves think of the trade. As it always is, one would find the human mind dynamics involved more interesting than anything!

The 'Google Boys'(or the 'Boys') and 'Jobs' come from two different parts of the game. The Boys came up with a rare piece of human intelligence (the PageRank algorithm) and implemented it as one of the most sophisticated code for searching the web. Jobs, on the other hand, never wrote a single line of code! The Boys got their piece of fun by making the number of shares in their IPO represent the first 10 digits of the irrational number 'Pi' while Jobs got his kicks from being 'the boss' of the organisation. The Boys want their employees to use 20% of the week on their 'own interests' while Jobs considered anybody working less than 90hrs a week as a slacker! Jobs had the business mettle to get John Sculley stop selling Pepsi and work for Apple while the Boys had to be compelled by their venture capitalists to get Eric Schmidt as the CEO. The Boys always believe in 'Don't do Evil' while Jobs managed to stage a couple of coups against Sculley later when he thought Sculley didn't 'get it'!

The bipolar anecdotes could go on and on but the point which remains at the bottomline is that both the Boys and Jobs are highly successful, rich men; with a vision in life. They are people who have proved their worth to the world and to themselves. Finally, it's all about knowing where you want to go!