Its Vacation!!!

Wow.. Can't say how happy I am! Throughout the entire year of MBA education, I get a 20 day vacation all for myself.. Oh, its party-time. I can find out time for myself from the projects and can relax in solace.. Happy Diwali to me! Njoy everyone!!

Technology, a part of life!

Hi all, today I lost my mobile and then I realized how much a part of life that little piece has become.. I only realized its value and importance when I lost it. Technology has made life so much easy and getting connected with others at faraway places was never so simple. It became so much an integral part of life, I just ponder over the wonders technology brought into normal way of living.. Kudos to all techies!

Tea with Girish Karnad..

I have been fortunate enough to meet Girish Karnad and listen to his first hand experience of making Samskara and writing Hayavadana, which are my all time favorites.. He presented a different perspective to my understanding of Indian drama and arts and it had be a thoroughly exhilarating experience for me!

Some of his opinions..

Girish Karnad said that what differentiates Bollywood and Hollywood is our music which is distinctly different from other parts of the world. He talked about the difference between Bhava and Rasa saying that Bhava is the base emotion and rasa is an aesthetic experience, all these so intimately ingrained in our culture. He spoke about the western, particularly British influence in Indian Drama during our freedom struggle period and how he has used Indian drama to express his views on freedom movement subtly. Being interested in Indian Mythology, he gave his story about the creation of drama by Brahma as fifth Veda.

Karnad gave his opinions on Hayavadana, a story of transposed heads of two persons where in the woman has to choose one from the transposed heads of two persons, one being her husband and another her husband's friend. The play he wrote explores different dimensions to identity with a humorous undertow. Oh! How I love that play!

It was truly an amazing experience to know him as a person and his opinions on Indian Drama. Those are the moments of my meeting with a great Indian Playwright which I would treasure for life..

Expectations n Relationships!

It may happen with us that I may want the company of the person without whom I cant live or my life may seem incomplete. But it can also be true that later I may feel constrained in the relationship or my illusions may get shattered. Well all I want to say is the real culprit here is my mind. It makes expectations, and creates an aura or image of an ideal person whom I want, without any connection to the real person. And all the life I may try to fit that person into that image. No wonder there are ripples in the relationship. Here what I have to consider first is whether I am flexible and open enough to consider and understand the person as he is? Or else that perfect marriage with a perfect person would be nothing but a MIRAGE. Think about it!

Actually, expectations in relationships increase because of repeated behavior of the other person and also on your own emotional attachment with her. But,when you have expectations, you are bound to be either satisfied or dissatisfied. The way you react will alter the relationship, and may even constrain it when you try to restrain or bound the other person. Well, I guess you can be aware of the expectations you have and hence so you can actually discover the joy of the relationship.

Everyone may share different perspectives, but I can at least examine my own assumptions as I don't think that expectations form the basis of relationships. Well, there may be an inherent need to associate with others, still will it lead to expectations? May be I have to look in myself..

Samskara, A movie on Funeral Rites!!!!

I just watched Samskara(Funeral Rites), a movie by Girish Karnad. Its actually a Kannada play written by ananta Murthy, which is translated by Girish Karnad. A lovely movie depicting the moral dilemma of a Acharya over the funeral rites of a Brahmin who didn't heed to Brahmin community rules. There is this Brahmin Narayanappa, who drinks liquor, ate meat and kept a sudra mistress. He dies suddenly. Now there is discussion in the community about his cremation, and the Acharya, the head of the Brahmin community fails to answer and meanwhile he sleeps with Narayanappa's Mistress and then he feels bad about it and runs away from his place. In the due course, plague broke out in the village and everyone deserts it where as the Acharya gets his head right about what he wants to do and returns to cremate the dead body. The ending is kept ambiguous and whether he returns to Narayanappa's mistress or not is an open question.

The movie depicts the past society in all its glory and gives a beautiful count of the political, social and moral issues involved in the funeral rites. Girish Karnad is simply fabulous and the depth of emotions portrayed was touching.. Truly a touching Movie!!!Its probably my first experience of an Art movie and I am at loss to mention the range of emotions it stirred. A movie which was of worth every inch of its National Award.

Ethics in Reality?!!

Can we really define ethics? Is it something that has to be understood and accepted as such. Whenever I think of ethics, mixed feelings come to play.Though I have my own understanding of ethics, they are formed by my interaction with the society. What you digest is what you follow and the residue which is left in the mind forms our ethics. I personally feel that they play a very great role in our daily interactions and are often so ingrained in me that I seldom stop to even examine the underlying beliefs existing in me.

I personally don't think that being what you want to be and acting the way that you should not hurt anyone constitute ethical conduct. What about the person who is giving death sentence to a person who murdered 50 children? Here, we define ethics for the common good of the society. Now tell me, who wins finally in the tussle between the individual and the society? One may either follow the bandwagon or he can pursue his own path. But my choice should be based on my being aware of my decision process and the consequences. I am not born with ethics, rather I came into a society with predetermined ethical values.. So I have to use my own judgment to decide what's ethical for me, right?

Symbols in life!

I personally opine that symbols are used because they are convenient. On a more serious note, they stand for shared beliefs and since people make their own associations of it, they become individualized too. Well, by creating symbols out of a person, we may reduce his identity, but still, it can be used as recall for certain quality, like Gandhi stands for truth.

Symbols can be manipulative.. Its easy to change the notion associated with the symbol, right? Somehow I think of it as brand logo.. And the associations inherent. Its easy to change them.. But do symbol stand for actual truth.. Its an emphatic NO.. The perception is in mind, and over a period of time, you tend to own the symbol in the sense, you will cultivate your own personal associations. If you are aware that its not reality, what's wrong with it? After all, we are not exactly rational beings..

What First, Instinct or Emotion?

I wonder if the basic emotions like love and fear are actually instincts, Or is it our experience of these emotions which can trigger our instincts?

When a speeding car comes towards you, your instinctive reaction may be to jump. Later only you may notice the thumping of heart or fear inside you.But here, though your instinct is for self survival.. Isn't it connected to fear of death?

Given a situation, a person may react in N no of ways. We name his action based on his choice as courage or cowardice, intelligent or dumb, smart or dowdy. All these are concepts which we assign to a particular type of action. You can show courage and its usually associated with an action. Then tell me, is courage really an instinct? Which comes first, is it Instinct which leads to action or is it emotion which goads the instincts?

Commitment to Society-BIG Question!

Commitment is for those people who are obliged or bounded to work.. Now where as expressing commitment for action.. Now it goes off my head. If everyone is true to oneself, your contribution to the society is already done. Now if you actually feel that you are committed and hence have to do that, then it goes against the spirit of the question. What's genuine will be expressed with pure love, as I will be guided by none other than MYSELF.

Memories Never Die!

An unfortunate incident happened on Saturday, where in two of my batchmates met with a fatal accident. One died on spot and another suffered Multiple facial fractures. Uh! It makes me wonder about the transitory nature of the human life. Such a waste of human potential and all this could have been avoided had they took proper measures in driving.. Well, the blame cant be laid on a particular issue and always on looking back, I find myself pondering over a lot of "IF'S"
They are such wonderful persons with so much of energy, now he doesn't even exist in this world. Only what remains with me is the memories which keep them alive. The memories which can't die.

Discovery of Passion!

Sometimes I wonder whether the educational system in India allows every individual to start the search of their Passion. Discovery of passion plays an important role in quality of life as its with passion that you enjoy bliss and happiness in life. But, the irony is Interests and passions can be discovered only when you are exposed to diverse thoughts, ideas and subjects. And here we got to stick to one stream which would most probably be the most happening stream and you tend to become narrow in focus on your pursuit of top paying job. We are drilled with the importance of money and security in life and we work like ants to achieve it. Jobs here are more for sustenance rather than for passion. How much resonance we found from history here.. Since Ages India emphasized on material gains i.e., Artha (Wealth and Power) over the other Purushardhas.. That's the way we still lead the life here. For me, Increased exposure to diverse cultures and thoughts will make a person more adaptable, flexible and open to new ideas and it aids in finding the way to your passion.

Biased towards Action...

I just read about Ms. Anita Roddick, The woman behind The Body Shop who made it big. I am pretty impressed. Here in daily life I meet a lot of people who speak of things which they can do rather than trying to do them.. Later they blame it on the situations and all those factors which are beyond control. Sometimes I feel like saying, Boss if you want to be led like a feather in wind...No probs go ahead with it.. But don't cast aspersions on situations as they are the same to everyone. To take an action one has to act and to act you need to be committed to your convictions. I would say be biased towards action, that's where you stand for yourself.

Seeking Grassroots Experience....

Here I would say that one has to embrace life and experience the work from the grassroots level.. Being in IMDR, when I entered the college, I was involved in a selling NGO products.. I had trouble imagining myself selling handmade folders, candles on road. I was a bit embarrassed even to get myself acquainted with the idea, but later when I started doing it, I realized how valuable that experience is. Its not always where you get to sell a handmade greeting card to a guy owning a Mercedes! None of your Management fundas work over there and you absolutely have to be yourself.. It taught me the value of simplicity, humbleness and gave me a glimpse into the interaction pattern of people. What an experience, where you enjoy the bliss of contributing to charity while learning through such down to earth sales! Now I understand the dignity of work and I don't hesitate to talk to strangers. Infact now I don't mind going to any place as it made me stand against the fear of uncertainty, for every tough experience is an opportunity to learn.

Indian Identity in the Global Context

That's the title of the symposium where I spent this weekend mulling over several issues contesting one another. Personally, I would say there are multiple identities of a specific person which play a role based on the context. Like for e.g. I may be an Indian in America and a management grad infront of an interview panel... Well, identity is just a framework through which we tend to understand a person or an entity, But does this serve the purpose? Not always! What does India stand for? It means different things for different people.. It may be a land of spirituality, or a land of beautiful women or a place of software professionals, everyone has a unique idea..In such case what does India stand for in Global Context? Still thinking...

Why Introspection?

We are living, dynamic beings...Ever growing....Nothing about us is meant to be static. Welcome this with open arms, moment to moment. Go ahead and explore what you have to... I agree that I have a lot of environmental influences working on me. Of course why not, I don’t prefer to exist in vacuum. So, you make certain decisions as to what to pursue or what you are passionate about and what you can renounce. If I am aware of my choices, the effort I put springs from heart and hence what I do reflect my inner self. Hence I believe introspection and awareness are key to quality of life!

Educational System out here.....

There is nothing to be taught but there are values that can be extracted. The basic thing is that here the education system has been a sort of assembly line, and hence the thought process has been in a manner that everything is to be done in a step-by-step method. But the real education comes when something is experienced. We need not do the real important things in life. I think that all the important things happen on their own. In many ways I have been driven. Not because there is an inner calling but there is a driving force that pushes me in a slot. The major thing has been the career choice. This was one in which I was thrown into.

Then the question arises that do we make the decisions or the system makes it? The first thing that arises is, what is a system or society? System is what we want to see it. It is a set of assumptions. System is a context. It is a sight that is determined by us. No two people see the same thing in the same way. They always see it differently because their context is different. Here people make their career choices based on their parents’ expectations.. Now they actually don’t own their aspirations and hence thus start living for others which actually kills their real self.

We create a context; hence, we can change it. But this is to be done in the light of awareness. For taking a decision there should be an evaluation of choices. There is nothing wrong in following a choice. But the truth is that we have been so protected that we do not know that we are exercising a choice.

Herd Mentality n Relationships!

Its always easy to go along with the herd and let your decisions made by others. Now the million dollar question is why I want to be in the herd? The real culprit is the barter system in the society which is nurtured in the home. Remember the days when you get scolding if you scored less in some exam? Don’t you act the way you never wanted just to please another person? Now why all these happens? Its because you want to be secure, you want to feel loved and needed and you think that the other person would do that if you mould yourself with his or her expectations..

Now tell me, then are you being true to yourself? Haa, here comes the guilt cycle. Because you will start lies and cheating as you will want acceptance from the other person and also your own personal freedom, and hence it makes you guilty.. Here this guilty feeling makes you angry, frustrated as you feel that you are incompetent or incomplete as you cant fulfill the other person’s expectations on you. Wow! Now you will start judging yourself by things you do or things which you cant do.. But tell me, are actions a measure of the person? Is it necessary to get good gift to feel loved?

Relationships, What do they mean to me? They influence my life in great deal and for me they are a means to discover myself as life is not about living like a hermit, right? Happiness lies in being true to oneself and to the relationships I value, that's where the essence of life is!

Life at IMDR!

IMDR stands for Institute of Management Development and Research, its the first management institute in Pune, India. Now why am I talking about it? I am a student of IMDR pursuing my Post Graduate Diploma in Management out here.. Its an institute where I people can express themselves openly and getaway with it. A place where you can be yourself and still learn and grow. A place which believes in humility, simplicity and the power of thoughts. I simply love this place as it stands for the values it espouses. A home for me indeed!

Indian Epics

I just wondered of the great epics called Ramayana and Mahabharata..People in my home pray them and stock them. But what exactly does this literature stand for? For start, they reflect Indian heritage and give a glimpse into the ideology of people at that period of time. They talk of Aryans struggle to conquer the natives and speak volumes of the war they had..

Coming to the Gods portrayed: Rama and Krishna.. Funnily they don’t adhere to any norms or values.. See for Krishna, he is cunning, intelligent.. And Rama, called maryada purushottama, right? Is he justified in killing Vali? All this shouts at the face that power is important in life and attain it by whatever means.. Typically I feel that Rama and Krishna were personification of what ever the people that existed at that period of time.. Though personally I feel that Karna or for that matter Duryodhana to be more moral than Krishna… Ok, too much for judgments.. Now you must be wondering whether I am mocking the people or their culture.. I am just trying to understand objectively rather than trying to be a humble follower who meekly accepts the existing beliefs.. I just get puzzled when people blindly follow the culture and heritage without even questioning the underlying beliefs.

My Favorite Book.."Gone With The Wind"

Set in Georgia during the American Civil War, it is the story of strong willed Scarlet O'Hara, her life and three marriages and her determination to keep her family's property of 'Tara' despite the savage consequences of the war. Book deals with many issues but what moved me is the clarity and the depth with which the emotions are portrayed.. I couldn't relate to the period or the political frame at which the story is set, still I could connect with Scarlet O'Hara and her materialistic mentality and the situations which lead such personality. A truly magnificent novel which proves that emotions are universal!