The confessions of a clueless mind

Every generation has a golden era. For my generation, it was the 90's. Most kids on the cusp of adoloscence found their calling in the eventful period that preceded the Y2K euphoria. As a bunch of early teens just discovering the birds and the bees, the 90's heralded an exciting phase in our boyz-to-men journey. Coupled with the changing political and economical situation in the country, the period was significant for the various influences it had on us. As India, under the able yet eventually discredited P.V. Narasimha Rao, opened its doors to the world in a clear cry of capitalism, the first noticeable change in our lives was the advent of satellite TV. For a bunch that found its entertainment in a single channel on the state run Doordarshan for years, the sudden exposure to a variety of international channels, and the liberal dose of skinshow that they brought along, was a shock that took a while to adjust to. The influences of those early days, after a long period of la...

Continuing with the Independence Day fervor, my good friend Maverick has an interesting list of things that will make India an icon in the next 60 years. Click here to read the article. While I agree on all of those, I also have a few other points that I think are equally, if not more, important in curing India of its ills. 1. Ban Caste/Religion based politics and policy making This has been the bane of our system ever since independence. The country has not been able to overcome the strong caste/religion divide, and politicians, in their vote-bank appeasement policies, have exploited this to the hilt. Minority appeasement, for example, has reached such sick proportions that one wonders if it is a crime to be born in the majority community. Further, the lack of a uniform civil code has reduced our secular credentials to a farce. The so-called intelligentsia has always turned a blind eye to such critical issues as these, but pounces upon irrelevant issues to garner press and mileage ...

As Independent India is about to turn 60, here is a list of 10 things about our country that I absolutely hate, and desperately wish I could change. 10. People who make an appointment, and then forget about it ( Some of us are lousy about our punctuality and professionalism ). 9. The Bangalore Auto-rickshaw drivers ( everything about them makes me see red ) 8. People who park their vehicles in front of garages/street corners/congested lanes with no regard to the inconvenience caused to others. 7. People who argue without even attempting to use their brains. 6. The Right Wing Politicians who forget their basic ideology, and put " Jai Maharashtra " above " Jai Hind ". 5. The Congress leaders who claim to love their mothers, and yet, at the slightest opportunity, sell their motherland. 4. Communists who live in India and worship China. 3. The ignorant Islamic Fundamentalists, the ones that are taught in the Madarasas that killing non-believers is their path to salvati...

It’s funny the things I do to appear busy at work. Not that anybody cares what I do. Heck, it doesn’t even matter if someone notices because anyways I am going to be evaluated on my sales targets, and not on my utilization levels. But yet, that 6 and half year stint in a delivery role has affected me much more than I give it credit for. Whenever somebody walks past my cubicle, I feel guilty about not doing any “ work ”, and immediately open some sales presentation and start staring at it blindly. A couple of minutes later, I am back to my browsing ways when sanity returns to tell me that I don’t have to show to anyone that I am working. But this episode has been repeating so many times over the past couple of weeks that I am sure most of my colleagues have branded me the " Indian Idle ". It’s not that I am not trying to work. I am. I have read through tomes of collaterals, and presentations. I have met quite a few people within the organization to understand the practices, an...

There was a time, not too long ago, when I would read Archie comics and think, “ Someday, I’m gonna be doing the exact same things ”. I was really looking forward to the teenage years, and all the rebellion and fun that came along. One fine day, I woke up and found myself having grown past the teens, without really passing through it. The rebellious streak, the fun and frolic, the dangerous lifestyle- I never saw that in my teens. As I was struggling to come to terms with the situation, I started empathizing with the “ 20 something ” characters, usually portrayed as a combination of a career-oriented professional and a social butterfly. For a brief while, I thought I was living that character. But, something always seemed amiss. The experience was good, but it never seemed complete. The proverbial “ 20 somethings ” were always more successful, had better social skills, were in more interesting professions etc. By the time I decided that my life needed a serious revamp, I was almost run...

I am back! After a really long time, I am attempting to write again. My last post was way back in December last year. Since then, I have tried writing a couple of articles, but decided not to post them on the blog due to certain privacy needs. Anyways, here is a quick update on how life has shaped up since December 2006. Got placed at MindTree Consulting in Feb 2007. The placement week at ISB was “ interesting ”. I have a lot that I want to write about regarding the placement season, but will refrain from elaborating in the interest of the school. Graduated from ISB in April 2007, and drove back to Bangalore. Embarked on a Himalayan Expedition with a group of ISBians, and spent a good 2 weeks in the Delhi-Punjab-Himachal Pradesh-UP belt. The high-point of the trip was the trek up the Himalayas, including an overnight camp in a cold valley amidst the beautiful snow capped mountains. We also indulged in a lot of adventure sports such as skiing, rock climbing, rappling, river crossing, ...

Ever since I came to Hyderabad, all my posts have been focused around just one thing- ISB . I do realize that variety is the spice of life, and of late, this blog is devoid of variety. This blog started out as a place for my ramblings about life in general, and ideally, it should remain that way. However, since these days, and for the next 12 months, I may not be having much of a life outside of the hallowed campus of ISB, it has become increasingly difficult to write about anything else. Although we do have parties on weekends, they are mostly within the campus. There are people who go out to the city to sample life outside ISB. However, I haven’t made it out of the campus too many times. For one, going to a pub/disco is outrageously expensive when you don’t have an income, and even more so, when you have the specter of a huge loan hovering around your head. Secondly, being a married man, there is very little incentive to go to the pubs for me apart from getting to hear some good musi...

" Justice Delayed is Justice Denied " is one of the basic tenets of jurisprudence. In India, we say that with more punch. " Justice Delayed to ensure Justice Denied ". That sums up the Jessica Lal murder trial verdict. The sheer mockery of the entire justice system in India that this verdict represents has disillusioned the whole nation. A cold-blooded murder, in full view of over 100 people, is finally dismissed for want of eye-witness evidence. And that, after 6 years from the day of the crime. It is almost customary these days for the rich and powerful to get away with any criminal offence, and the Jessica Lal verdict only adds further proof to the anarchy that has descended on our legal system. The fact that Manu Sharma shot Jessica Lal for refusing him a drink in full view of so many elite people at the party should have made this a prima facie case of murder. An Open and Shut case. However, the rich and powerful very conveniently bought the judicial syste...

As a citizen of the world's largest democracy, I should be a proud man. But alas, I am anything but that! 59 years since India became an Independent country, and there is still no sign of growth and freedom that one would expect in a democratic country. The Constitution of India proudly proclaims the country to be a " Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic republic ". However, today, the country is anything but what the constitution proclaims. With the way India has handled Kashmir, Sovereignty is a complete misnomer, especially when it comes to the Kashmir province. By conceding a part of Kashmir to Pakistan, the Government of India clearly made mockery of the sovereignty of India over the entire Kashmir. What is more appalling than this act of cowardice is the fact that even present day Governments are trying to bargain with the Line of Control as the official India-Pak border. And if that was not insulting enough, our rogue neighbor has rebuked even that offer, a...

It really must be the beginning of the end! When nature turns against humanity in a way as cruel as this, humankind are left to wonder, and even more so, to mourn. The magnitude of this tragedy, for us outsiders, is measured only in the number of deaths reported. But to those who have lost their families and homes, the tsunami has left them with an abysmal pit of irreplaceable loss. Unsuspecting people have been washed away to watery graves in a matter of minutes. Thousands of fishermen have lost their lives, and their livelihood. Homes have been destroyed. Villages have been razed. Survivors face the risk of epidemics due to water contamination caused by the dead bodies. Panic has given way to anarchy. Nothing has remained the way it was. The way it should have been. In this hour of grief, us lucky ones can only pray for the souls of the departed, and do our best to help save the survivors. By donating clothes, medicines, food, utensils, money. And by spreading the message of co...

Ever wondered about the state of traffic in Bangalore? I did, and it didnt look good at all. And here's why. While driving to office this morning, through the numerous traffic congestions , I ended up stopping at most signals, like always. Blame it on my habit of seeing red at everyone and everything. Gimme red anyday ! Anyways, at one of these many signals, I had, like a law abiding citizen, stopped due to the signal being red. As soon as the traffic on the perpendicular direction subsided a bit, the man on the scooter right next to me with a 10 year old son riding pillion, vroomed out of the blocks, through the red signal, and sped away, safely from the traffic and the lazy traffic constable monitoring the signal. The sight of his son, triumphantly waving at us foolish people who were still waiting for the signal to turn green while his dad had so easily sped out of it was a revelation. His joy knew no bounds! With fathers like that setting such wrong examples to their impressio...

Its a boring Thursday morning here at work, and sipping coffee and thinking about a plan for the weekend. I dont usually have to plan for weekends, cos I am either hanging out with friends, or chilling at Javacity, or getting cosy at home with my PS2. But as good fortune would have it, I met this amazing woman who , in a fit of absent mindedness, agreed to tolerate me for a whole lifetime (and another 6 lifetimes as well, if the elders are to be believed), and so I cant afford to not romance her during the weekends. Now, as any Bangalore dude with a life would tell you, movies are really where it's at if you are looking for some clean romance, which brings me to the real point of writing this blog. What is it with Kannada film makers and good movies? Why do they always run parallel without ever meeting? Why is it that every other language can churn out atleast some decent stuff once in a bluemoon, but Kannada films never manage to get out of the rut? Well, I dont intend to evoke an...