Gone like a Black Hole

It all began good with a big bang,
With rain, bush, wood and a gang

We came into existence as great friends,
Travelling on a road which had no ends

For me, you became a huge domain,
Everything meaningful, and a good game

In my orbit, you were the captain star,
With no one around far away and far

Exemplifying team ups, friendship and good spirit,
We stood ultimately true on it

Then an asteroid struck you,
And I just could not protect you

You were gone as if you did not even exist,
May be you were angry that you were ditched

I tried to console and hold back on you,
But you were no longer seen in the darker hue

Now I just cry, rotate and revolve,
So that, misunderstandings I could solve

One loss of hope and lightning struck,
Blinded me with lack of luck

Could not revert back the loss of you,
My existence is now all more blue

I keep on orbiting still with hope,
Just assure me there is still a bit of hope

You always reflected my entire soul,
But now you are gone like a black hole.

Being Departed

My mood today: Extremely sad, depressed and lonely. Feeling very bad and very low for all the obvious reasons.

And when I am in this deep shit, you guys bring back smile to me. It will be 3 years now that we have known each other. And inspite of regular ups and downs in our lives, relations, our friendship has sneaked the peak of so called glory and reached new heights every time.

I got the first blow of it when I was about to leave all of you and head towards Bangalore. It was only me who knew what I was actually going through at that moment. The only feeling of partying ways was something more than suicidal for me. I am a bad digestor of all this stuff. It was like I was being betrayed by the very time. But they say, distance makes us grow fonder. Bangalore was an ultimate lesson of life for me. After 5 prosperous months in Infosys Mysore campus with all the necessities being spoon fed right from friends, Bangalore gave me the necessary setback to understand myself and my life more closely and seriously. I was all alone there which enabled me to think on various aspect deeply and ethically. It is like, when you near death you never lie, you never hate, you only love. And I was in the same trauma of life. Then I knew what friendship meant. Then I knew what family meant. Then I knew what true love meant. When I had nothing with me, I began to treasure everything with utmost care. It was like realizing the value of light when you have just turned blind.

Few weeks prior to leaving for Bangalore, Vaidya was to leave for Hyderabad. And I remember crying the hell out of me just while seeing him going. I do not remember I have ever cried for a guy and that too so much and that too in front of almost 100 people. But this is something I just cannot handle at all. That parting memory is still fresh in my mind as probably a lesson God wanted me to learn so that I can be more considerate.

Days passed, and I got myself transferred to Pune to live my dream life, and yes I did. Thanks to God. Rahul used to wake me up every morning and I felt so lovely about his gentle way of doing that. coz I remember how I was treated while being waked up every morning back at home. He left for UK and it was going to be almost for a year. He had a dampened heart though he tried to hide, but life goes on (these are the 3 words I hate the most in my life ... I fu**kingggggg hate it). He left from office itself and I could not go back to my cubicle. I was still unable to understand and digest the fact that I won’t be seeing him again, atleast for 10 months.

Shree remained neutral on all this, I never knew why. May be it did not matter him that much, or maybe he did not want to reveal it to us. We all made a great team. It was like partners in every crime.

But we had to depart every single time we were united. Days rolled on and I decided to leave Infosys and shift to Mumbai. I knew for myself, what this decision meant for me. I was about to leave what I chose with my heart 2 years back and rather go for a path which my brain wanted me to go for. Believe me, never agree to your brain if your heart has an equally strong decision for you. You will seldom be happy that way. I left Infy, Pune, friends, colleagues and most importantly I probably left my life there to chase the real life here.

Just want to tell you guys, missing you like hell. If I could do anything to be with you all again, believe me, I would go any far to do that. Love you loads. :-(

From Infosys to Politics - Nandan Nilekani

From an INFOSCION to a POLITICION - Nandan's Chronicles

Continuing my tryst with capturing the life and times of Nandan Nilekani in his new avatar as a Cabinet Minister, here is what he had penned after his first day in the Parliament. The last entry stopped when the House was just about to begin. Let’s see what happened thereafter….

The House was in pin drop silence. I was brimming with anticipation and excitement!!!! Manmohan had informed me that my introduction was one of the important points of the agenda. I hoped that I will be able to make my speech properly. After so many interviews and conferences, I was nervous today!!!! After the Speaker indicated that the proceedings of the House could begin, Manmohan formally introduced me to the entire House. He mentioned that as the head of the Unique Identification Authority of India, I was responsible to ensure that each and every Indian had a digital smart card as a proof of his existence.

Manmohan spoke about why I was selected and also some references to the various projects executed by me in Infosys were mentioned. The House listened with rapt attention. I was asked to say a few words and I did exactly the same!!! I thanked the Government of India for having given me this opportunity and I assured the House that I would strive to successfully deliver this project. The Speaker then formally inducted me into the House and before the proceedings could move any forward, there was a small commotion on the other side of the hall.

It was Minister of Textiles who had a comment to make before the next point on the agenda. He made a request that I should be attired in a more austere way instead of a flashy suit. It did not go well with the image of a minister who should live to serve the common man and should be less ostentatious in his habits. I stood up to reply. I offered my apologies to the Honorable Minister and assured that I shall be in a more acceptable dress next time. I felt that he was right. We also used to have corporate dress code in Infosys. So it's here as well!!!!

I sat down and felt somebody nudging me. I turned around and to my surprise; it was the former Indian skipper and one of my favorite batsman Mohd. Azharuddin. I remembered that he had recently won the elections. I smiled at him and mentioned to him that I used to like his game very much, shaking his hand. No Rolex, I noticed. Azhar told me that he would “fix” me an appointment with an Italian designer who had designed his dapper Kurta suit. An Italian designer in Milan doing Kurtas!!!!! I made a note of this and reminded myself to give this example to Friedman for his next book,” The World Markets are flattened”.

Since there was no doubt about the “Fixational” capacities of Azhar, I told him to give me the details and I would consider. The proceedings of the House went on with numerous bills being debated and passed as I sat as a passive audience waiting for my project’s turn to come up. After the lunch break, it was the moment for me!!!!

MY PROJECT”S FIRST REVIEW CAME UP FOR PRESENTATION.

I was at sea. My laptop did not have any reserve power. I went to Manmohan and apprised him of the situation. I was sweating. He calmly replied that this would not be a cause of concern. I was flummoxed!!!! The Speaker asked me to explain to the House on what were my plans for the Unique Identity Project. I replied that I have a plan prepared for 30-60-90-120 days’ milestones and I have presentation to make for which I need a power socket, a projector and a screen. I had no idea what was going to happen after this.

The next couple of minutes were a complete jolt for me. I was completely in a tizzy. Let me just summarize what happened. A Joint Cabinet Secretary Committee was set up to judge the feasibility of my request. The Under Secretaries for the Ministries of Power, IT and Broadcasting will prepare a Viability Report after scrutinizing National Security threats to my request. This was because the power socket comes under Power, laptop comes under IT and projector comes under Broadcasting. I have also been told to reconsider my timelines of 30-60-90 days and start thinking in terms of years. Probably, they are right. I did not have the foresight in this matter.

The summary of the issue is that I need to come up with a more inclusive, democratic, comprehensive long term plan for this project to be executed over the next five years. I have also been given a presentation slot 3 months from now (by which the issues related to the power cord etc will also be resolved). I am filled with mixed reactions. I was planning for a quick resolution; the management wants a strategic solution. I come out of the House and text Murthy.

“You won’t believe it but these guys work just like us. I am on a NATIONAL BENCH for the next three months!!!!!!!!”

PS: This story was forwarded to me via email. Its actual source is unknown.

Laid back life ....

I have always been wondering why do people rush all the time? Why do they always need to be in hurry? Why do they always have to look tensed. And now, when I am in Mumbai, it is truly justified. Even if you are not in hurry, the pace around you makes you one amongst them.

I have always been a lazy kind of person and having said that I hate hurries. I would rather leave home early to catch a train than leaving in hurry at the last minute to run for it. But everything has changed after coming to Mumbai. Now, I am one of those kinds. You won’t work unless you are on fire. And same is my case to an extent. And I hate being like that. But it is probably the Mumbai spirit of ‘keep walking’ even if you don’t want to.

I was tired of the very feeling and had to break to survive. And then GOA happened to me. Yes, it ‘happened’ to me. Just four of us, and we had the time of our lives. It wasn’t the first time I was visiting Goa, but it was never such a boon for us. I think Goa is synonymous to ‘laid back life’. No one has to do anything with your business. Just go there, with a can in one hand and keep on chilling. The literal feeling of ‘get chilled’ was discovered in Goa.

Far away from home, no setbacks, no jhanjhat, no phone calls, no work, no tension, it was like complete peace of mind and hence the body. I just wonder if Goa could be so pacifying to our souls, how great would be chanting in Himalayas? And hence, I have made a plan of visiting Himalayas in next 2 years or so (I am not that long term planner, but I am mostly unsure about my plans, so such a huge time frame to be safe :-)) … I want to experience life over there. With no one to sit on your head and shout to have your dinner on time, or to pay the bills, or to give your vehicle for servicing, or your manager frequently bothering you to complete the work. Its total recall from all these things. Just you and the beautiful yet sometimes scary nature.

I want to live life the laid back way. With no bothering, no follow ups, no to do lists, nothing. Get up whenever I want, do whatever I want to do or for a reason, do nothing. God bless Goa for making me realize that life rests not in concrete but nature, that life is not taking but giving, that life is more than running from life itself, life is more to be happy than to be sad. Life is more in smiling than in frowning. Life is more to love than to hate. And life is more to enjoy than to crib otherwise.

I would conclude with a saying that I love the most, which also appears as a marquee at the bottom most part of my blog-page, which is truly a short snap of what life should really REALLY be:

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways – with a glass of wine in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming”.

Breath of life ....

Venue: Training Room 4, Mumbai 4, My Office.

Purpose: To hear some stuff on 'Professional Effectiveness'

Duration: 16 Hrs

Friends, after this introduction, what do you think this is going to be? Won't it be boring? Isn't it something we usually try and succeed to avoid in our lives? Yes, at least I think the same. Why to take an effort, break the jinx and be a part of something just for filling our calendars and probably gain nothing (may be something which we will surely avoid using)? Right?

I thought let's give a chance for the only matter of fact that I believe, being in different places at different times will give me something to feed my blog. And that it is. I got more than something not only for my blog, but for my learning and life too.

Being a big fan of cinemas, the very first block of ice was broken for me when I learned that my trainer is a film director; a handsome man with a charming personality – his name is Pratish Nair from Crossroads Training Solutions. I was ready to give it a risk. Things went on pretty smoothly with sessions on various activities like team building, leadership, some profound information on keen subjects, debates, dance, singing and it was worth an experience.

I find a deep curiosity in people. If someone is smiling, I have always wondered how can he be smiling all the time. If someone is so beautiful, how can she be so awesomely beautiful. and my curiosity was pleasured by every passing hour as I came to know something about each individual there.

I found Pratish was more than awesome, for I learnt probably the simplest of all the qualities – to keep smiling no matter what, which I find as the most complex thing to imbibe in myself. He managed it superbly, blending his aura with people's experience there giving an overall output of zeal and breath of life.

People were and are always amazing. To name a few, Gaurav was sporty with whatever came in front (how can I not start with him :P), Debashish was the guy of the session, Navin and Rupendra were like chalte firte Google. They both were so amazing with statistics, one after another and a big bang. It was like a tight slap on everyone's mouth and all were dumbstruck. Purnima was the talking lady, I think she talked even more than Pratish :-). Amazing communicator with awesome hold on her language, so was Parul. The best thing of Parul, which I liked was she was so easy with emotions. So stern and firm while talking on serious issues and so jolly while dancing. Kalpesh was the question bank. He had a question even for 'why was this training being held'. Preeti was like the girl next door, she had so much to talk about but she was hardly allowed to talk by everyone. Girls, can talk so much. They don't even need a topic and they can go for hours and hours. That always make me feel that girls can always be good orators than guys, but haven't been exemplified yet in the history. Tarak and Parag were like the cool and composed guys. Pradeep was down to earth. Suleman was another quiet guy with firm feelings just like Deepak. Darshana the French tutor and Pragya – who also had so much to talk about. And not to miss Prachi – the 1983 girl. I found her most cutest, (no hard feelings Prachi). A truly cosmopolitan – Bengali by birth and married to a Hindu. Suresh who was termed Obama was selective and Micky was the girl with a bang. She usually kept quiet, but when she opened her mouth, it was for a rock solid reason. She conveyed exactly what she wanted to. Antonete is an Anglo – Indian which itself made her charming. Sujata was a family person strongly and accurately exemplifying today's Indian women. Hats off to you lady. Rohit, I found him serious but he was according to me the most knowledgeable guy along with Navin and Rupendra. And about me, I was quiet until I was presented with a 'Section 377' tag :P

I have scratched my brain more than usual to remember the names, and please forgive me if I have missed someone, which definitely I have. Deepali was the organizer of this plethora of experience bank and thanks a tonne for that Deepali. And the big show man was Pratish. Brilliant dressing sense. The second most flattering thing about him (besides his smile) was his Spanish accent in the middle of nowhere and it was damn impressive. He is so much to take from.

I am damn sure, we all will remember him and the session for a lifetime. He is writing and script for a bollywood film titled '3D' to be directed by him. A PNC production with Ranvir Shorey, Vinay Pathak and Rajat Kapoor. I am damn sure it is going to be a great success and we all wish you all the best Pratish.

Thanks for filling us with hope, positive air, removing the junk from our brains and most importantly for helping us breathe again giving us fresh life. Thanks a lot.

And friends, we would be meeting soon.

P.S.: No offence meant and no personal grudges. These are truly friendly views and comments and please do not take them to your heart.