A thought provoking story... makes so much sense

Someone sent me this story and it really made so much sense in a world of nonsense :)

Once Buddha was walking from one town to another town with a few of his followers. This was in the initial days. While they were traveling, they happened to pass a lake. They stopped there and Buddha told one of his disciples, "I am thirsty. Do get me some water from that lake there."

The disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid. The disciple thought, "How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink!" So he came back and told Buddha, "The water in there is very muddy. I don't think it is fit to drink." After about half an hour, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obediently went back to the lake. This time too he found that the lake was muddy. He returned and informed Buddha about the same. After sometime, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back. The disciple reached the lake to find the lake absolutely clean and clear with pure water in it.. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had.. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha.

Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said, “See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be.... and the mud settled down on its own - and you got clear water.

Your mind is also like that! When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don't have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless." What did Buddha emphasize here? He said, "It is effortless." Having 'Peace of Mind' is not a strenuous job; it is an effortless process!

In life everything may appear cluttered at first, give yourself time and the chance to remove all that clutters your vision, you may find that what you think is not right for you at all is actually just what you need and what seems right straight up may not be in your best interest. Don't let perception cloud judgment and wisdom, it's often the case with most of our decisions that don't go our way...

Planning well.... we keep getting it wrong, but we're working on it ;)

In my own relatively short spell of life so far I have realized the one mistake that I have made is either planning things too far ahead or not at all. I guess it could be the same with some of you too. Now many of us tend to use the word planning mainly when it comes to our careers and less towards our personal life. Well from what I've learnt, treat life and work as wife and child respectively which means more than equal importance. And here's why...
I decided to get married to this girl and built grand plans of the next thirty years, then when that dream broke, it broke me right through the middle and it took me a good three years to get my bearings right and my focus. Had I just planned getting married and took one thing at a time and not simply kept looking over the horizon for the treasure island to appear, perhaps I would have seen the wily shark of misfortune in the water hovering around me and taken care of that before it bit me in the ass!! Again just look to the next 3 to 6 years and no more or no less and create personal goals achievable in that time frame and work towards it, all that is what builds up to that grand plan that everyone has dreamt up. By no means I say, that will always work out better, it stands a better chance of working out.
Similarly when it comes to careers, we often start dreaming of being the executive leaders of our companies, or that valiant General who leads the Nation to great victories, and mostly that next position you are in line for!! In my case I did the latter, I just wanted to break out of my Assistant Manager tag so bad, and get that Manager tag I almost ended up making some really silly choices but joining another company which would have the same environment as the one I was working already in the time only this time with my so cherished Manager tag. What would happened in just six months I would have again been frustrated in my new job as it would only work as the famously over used cliche, "Old wine new bottle"! Fortunately just in time I got some very sound advice from my ex boss who basically told me to look for the challenge not the job and that I should always plan for the next three to six years and not the immediate future or the extreme long term, because anything could happen in that time. I listened to the advice and took up a job in a start up company taking some considerable risk especially since I was the main bread earner in the family. Well fortunately it worked out just fine. I learnt and grew more in this job in just two years than I did in the three or four years of my last job.
Net-Net.... In life there are no guarantees and the best thing to do is just plan for the medium term (where you want to be in the next three to six years) and pray that everything works out well.
Anyway, enough of my Post Saturday binge, Sunday morning hangover gyan syndrome. So here's a thought to ponder on, "If you're bored, try not look it, it could be misconstrued as anger". Signing off now. Ciao.

A pathetic attempt to justify racism and my response in return!!

The following was a chain mail forwarded to me, and I guess the people who endorsed this chain mail and forwarded it were people of Indian origin now living in Australia with many of them now with valid Australian citizenship. The portion in the black font is the article (and I have somehow resisted from correcting the grammatical/spelling errors to the best of my knowledge) and my humble opinion (and at times hard) is drafted in red font. My apologies in advance should feel offended. So here goes….
“I do not know who has written this but this is the fact
To Every Indian.Look Guys and Girls What ever has happened for an Indian out here in Melbourne, We are really sorry for him and his parents in India. This is not all about discrimination, u can consider this as a crime rather. when we talk about discrimination, It exists anywhere and everywhere in the world, Rich don't like poor, Whites don't like blacks, and this country is an enemy to that country and this list doesn't end there. Say in India itself, North Indians still discriminate South Indians as Madrasi. (– If the slogan “White is Right” while beating an Indian kind in the train mercilessly not racism, then I don’t know what is! By the way terms like “Madrasi”, or “Sardar”, “Bong or Bangali”, “Pahadi” etc. don’t even come close to the vicinity of racism, yes if used with rebuke it does get classified as casteist. Much in the same manner when an Afro American address themselves as “Yo brother”, “Whazzup my Nigger”!!) The truth here is 90% of people living here are very decent, disciplined and don't interfere in anyone's business. Old people here are very polite and wish you every time they see u on road. It just few druggies and very young immature children have a racial discrimination kind of attitude. U can find this kind of discrimination or treatment only when u use public transport at late nights. When I was casually talking to an Australian, He said “I was threatened by few Druggies when I was waiting for the public transport service at midnight". What do u call this as crime or Discrimination. (– Discrimination yes, when the quote “White is Right” is accompanied with it, or when there are other people available to pick on but it’s the Asian/African sitting in the corner that gets picked on.)
It is real sorrowful to say but, Indians here are very greedy, they want to earn more money, want to work extra hrs but the employers ask everyone if they have their own transport, they all nod their heads saying yes, but finally depend on public transport. It is not feasible for the government to provide security at every bus stop and train stop. (– you idiot, wanting to work heard and earning more money doesn’t make a person greedy, if it does according to you or a group of people who think like you, perhaps it is a vital clue as to why you may find yourself jobless unless you’re sitting on a huge pile of inherited cash and haven’t had the need to move your butt to earn a living!! In the immortal dialogue by Gordon Gecko from the movie Wall Street, “Greed for lack of a better word is good….”. If this need to earn more by working hard, terms an Indian as greedy, then perhaps you have a race issue to address with yourself, because I can bet this is a very common human trait all over the world and one that is always respected and admired!!) They have done their best to have surveillance cameras fixed in trams, trains and buses. Indians cultivate drinking habits here as they have all the freedom. (– Let me clue you into a little fact, we who live in India, and we have the freedom to drink here as well, we don’t need to travel abroad to have the freedom to drink!! I party almost every weekend – TGIF, Hard Rock Café, Turquoise Cottage etc, and I have a much better time than I have ever had in the US or Europe!!) An Indian student who was fully drunk drove his car and a person was killed last year, What do you call this as, crime or discrimination. (– Crime you dummy, are Indians the only ones drinking, driving and getting involved in crashes in Australia?? What does this have to do with anything, in case you haven’t noticed this is a global scourge!!) Was there any press or Media which hyped it so much in India, I dont think so. None of the Australian channels did like what Indian Media channels are doing. They are very well aware about the consequences and also they dont want to provoke people unnecessarily. (– No the Indian media didn’t do much to publicise the sad demise of an Indian youth through drunk driving, well that’s because we have enough of that at home to deal with, and more IMPORTANTLY this has nothing to do with racist attacks!!! By the way before you shoot off your hip in a gung ho manner, please do note that the Indian media does a great deal to bring to light when a foreigner is killed/raped or murdered, as a result Government bodies can never get away with brushing things under the carpet, does this not represent fair media coverage? Then what stops the Aussie media from doing the same assuming they aren’t in the first place, which is highly unlikely!!)Every Indian comes here in search of opportunity and I am sure most(80%) of them have got one for sure. Many students have been living here for years, We have used public transport for years and still using it, and its a great convenience offered by government. Some have experienced this discrimination at times, in trains and in trams, but In some cases support was given by co-passengers for indians where the Australians chase away those immature kids off. we experience this type of discrimination in India as well when for example a guy traveling from Chennai to Delhi, delhi localites once told him u madrasi guys just move or adjust yourself we want to sit here even though they did not have any valid tickets with them.Dont u think this is a discrimination now? (– Where you there? If not, please don’t make things up as you want to write this article, because if I were heading South and I were casteist from the North, I wouldn’t be daft enough to say something like that!! In case you were there, what did you do about? By the way how does two wrongs make a right??) If there was a high time discrimination in here, How come Indians are getting employment opportunities here. – Is it because we are better skilled, willing to work harder?? Indian here do two jobs and some of them do n three jobs. How is that possible. Indians are appointed as managers by australians too. (– Again, Is it because we are better skilled, willing to work harder??) Sometimes we students can get Interviewed by an Indian in presence of an Australian Manager. What u should observe here is that the manager has given opportunity to an Indian to conduct Interview here. Most of us work under an Aussi Manager, They are very concerned about our security. we serve nearly 300-400 customers a day, I dont see them being very arrogant or showing their discrimination on me. They are very polite, if u ask them something reply back, they use "Please before every sentence". (– I agree 100% because 90% of the population are not racists and very nice, they reward effort and results. However if the remaining small population are racists and taking their frustrations out on Indian students by beating and almost killing them, it cannot be condoned or can it?????) Look What we should Understand here is that, We have come here in search of opportunity, and not to take over this country or to rule this country. It is very important that we should be under our limits, it is not that we should fold our hands when things are going wrong. (–so far whatever was written above suggested the contrary, even condoning, so please decide.) But things are not as worse as media and press are hyping. – Maybe, maybe not? Most of the Indians are doing good here. (– I’m so happy for all of them, which includes my family as well, so this wasn’t a remark of sarcasm!!) What we should all know is that crime happens everywhere in the world, here an Indian has experienced it. We have to fight against crime not against the country or the Government. I am very sure Australian Government had already considered the event and working on that. They wouldn't have imagined that such an event would take place for them to prevent it. The Australian Government is much more efficient than our Indian Government, they have a very efficient system and have law in their control and if the criminal is caught he would be punished for sure, not like Indian government which has let criminals if they are movie stars or politician's children. (– My response to this is drafted in my own opinion paragraphed after this article, so do read it please. I am not against the Indian constitution – As if you know what the constitution of India is, please go easy on the hypocrisy!!) by I am against the rulers of India and their methods of ruling. To all the politicians out there dont make this a political Issue there. (– By the way India doesn’t have a ruler, and we have the world’s biggest democracy with an elected government, you definitely need some education jack ass!!) To Media and Press Dont provoke innocent Indian citizens. U dont know how much of panic u guys have created in everyone's house there. Our parents and relatives call us everyday to know if we are all right. They are always in front of the TV to know the updates. This is how media wants to increase their ratings. Who ever is doing this are selfish idiots playing with peoples emotions to make money. (– Then please tell your parents and relatives to stop watching these channels, they aren’t chained to their sofas and made to watch it, they watch it because they want to!! Besides I haven’t once called my relatives because I know they are fine and safe and I hardly followed one new broadcast on this issue but kept myself informed through the print media. What’s stopping them from doing that??) Please dont consider this mail as I am giving my comments against India and Indians. (– Get lost, it is offensive, you abuse our Government, us as a people, and then you expect us not to take offence to it!! You’re need a reality check!!) Try not to make things worse. I am an Indian (- bullshit you are, and if you are then please consider yourself as relieved of that priveledge!!) and I always respect my country India (– Appeasing are you coz you know you’re ass would get kicked by any self respecting Indian??). Please open your eyes at least know. I am trying to say that our system is taking a wrong path. People are developing wrong attitude. (– Yes we should all condone racist attacks and sit mum and quite so that we don’t upset anyway, get a life asshole, we won’t keep quite just because you’re worried you might lose your job or your Aussie neighbours are giving you the looks!! We are not on the wrong path, try looking at you first before passing judgement on us!! What’s wrong is wrong, and this escapist path you propose is what’s wrong!!) To all parents out there, try to tell your children living in Australia or anywhere in the world especially girls not to work late nights if they dont have their own transport to return back home after their shift. (– I thought you said Australia was a safe country for Indians?? Please decide??) To all the Indian living here in Australia, try to be good (– what these Indian students who were attacked not good, did they attack anyone, hurl abuses at anyone??), do your job and enjoy your life as you are always doing, Your parents have all their hopes on you guys, so dont get into trouble. (– In case you didn’t notice they didn’t ask for trouble, trouble sought them out, you must be patting the back of those kids who sent a young boy into coma, right?) It was good to see the Unity, but I strongly feel that the objective for the gathering was very much unclear, It was violent and against the government. A Indian guy who wanted to become a Hero in the crowed tried to rise Indian flag here, Do you think they have to tolerate such nonsense. If some Australian tries to rise Australian Flag in India, do u think v would have tolerated that. It was very stupid, unorganized, uncontrolled and Violent and most of all ,the objective and demands were very much unclear. I am very sure who ever believe in having strong consciousness would understand this. The Media there have shown this Australian cop chucking the flag and provoked Indians unnecessarily. It is too long I understand and most of you all would have understood I hope.Please try to forward this mail to all the Indians to clear their misconception (– No you clear your fucking misconception that we Indian’s are to blame for the racists attacks, or that we are drunk and unruly, or that there is no order and control in our country, or that our media needs to toe your lines, or that we Indians are greedy just because we want to work hard and earn more money so we can give our families a better life!! We are a peaceful people, and we have a nation that is overcoming huge challenges to create our own positive niche in the world. We take pride in our motherland and while it is definitely no where near perfect, we are getting there. So get a reality check in life!!) I conclude this mail by requesting all the Indians Please dont follow the wrong leaders and wrong motivators, think positive to lead a peaceful life. (– No we don’t follow the wrong leaders, Dr. Manmohan Singh, Pranab Mukherjee, P Chidambaram and co are known respected worldwide and if you think they are not the leaders to follow, then I have sympathies for you and your kind!!) PLEASE DO FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO WHOMEVER POSSIBLE TO KEEP UP INDIAN DIGNITY. WE DONT WANT TO END UP LOOKING LIKE KIDDISH COMPLAINERS.” (– Boy you wouldn’t know a thing about dignity, let alone preaching it, so stuff it pal!!)

Now for my own opinion on the person who wrote this slanted piece and for those who seem to be endorsing it. It pains me to see how easy it has become for a person of Indian origin who is probably now an Australian citizen to sit comfortably and ridicule India and its people. I know our country isn’t all peaches and apples. We have some serious problems, but then we have the God given responsibility to work it out. We have a democratic system that worked and is admired by all the freedom loving nations. Like all nations (yes even developed nations) we have our fair share of corruption and yes more poverty. So there are problems. In the same token, there’s whole lot more right about our country than wrong. Look at the fact that we have a Sardarji as the leader of our country, I supported him. We have an Italian decent Indian leading our largest democratic party; we have a Malayali as our Defense minister. My best friend is Roman Catholic, and he shaved his head with me when my father died and people have the nerve to talk about us being racists!!!! We have withstood a Global Recession and still recorded a 6%+ growth. We have more FDI flowing in than all of Europe and Australia combined. We have a media that has it flaws but it also ensured that big politicians and their sons have landed in jail. A judicial system that ensured a super star actor spent over 7 years in jail even though his father (A congressman) was in the Rajya Sabha during the time the Congress was in power.

Anyway, all I am saying, if you (the writer of this stupid so called article) want to criticize our country and all that it stands for, then come over, work a few years, pay taxes in India, cast a ballot, and then maybe you will have an aorta of right to do so. Otherwise just keep shut and worry about things in your backyard first!! How many of your so called Indian heritage children can speak in their native languages, so think first before trying to even associate yourself with us!!

Good bye Lucknow.... I hope to be back soon, someday.

As I pack my bags getting ready to go to the airport to fly back to Delhi, I am feeling a little nostalgic. After all I just cut lose the last umbilical chord to my home town, my divorce having come through (finally & thankfully) the only close connection left is my beloved La Martiniere Boys College.
I came to this city as a nine year old and went into my boarding school early 1986. Thereon till I graduated from the University of Lucknow in 1998, this beautiful city became my home and now my home town. This city hold some of my fondest memories and some poignant ones too.

• This is the city where I first made my mark in sports, having being selected into the under 19 Indian Hockey Team selection camp
• I attended my two of my three NCC Annual Training Camps and appeared in two republic day parades representing the NCC, one of them in Delhi
• I learnt the tactful art of bunking and cheating in class test :)
• Had my first two girlfriends

This city has some very unique traits, and is probably the most unrecognised architectural cities in India. One of the traits that seems to be slowly losing it's way these days it the very apparent lack of urgency. No one ever seemed rushed, if office times are 10 am what it actually means is 11 am (10 am is the time everyone gathers for a cup of tea and share expert opinions on things like gardening, cricket, politics etc etc). Another thing that this city can say with pride is that almost every home is a house with a garden and not pigeon hole flats. No wonder them men in this city are too busy gardening in the morning rather than getting to work on time :). And the food, there is no place on Earth that can make your palette dance to it's tune like the food here.

Then there are the not so nice aspects - Some of the guys here are total jerks, eve teasing is a problem in areas that aren't very prominent. I guess the lack of ability to get laid spurts hormones that give these guys a fake sense of manhood. I really pity them, if they were decent and smart, they would all almost have a beautiful girl walking with them, rather than them following the ladies. The second is they have a Chief Minister who has blown vast sums of money on building monuments and TASTELESS statues of herself (one of them in the middle of her city where she actually poses with a hand bag)!!! Had she spent half that money on the development of this city, roads etc etc! What's the point of complaining.

All said and done, this is a beautiful city. One thing that I will always thank this city and my school for all my life, is making me a decent man. The land of the Nawabs, Tehzeeb and Tunda, I salute you.

Barca show how it's done

Barcelona were doing the waltz, while Man U simply played the part of awe filled on lookers. Well I don't blame them. Xavi and Inieasta simply willed the ball at their feet. With a successful passing percentage of 92% and 90% for Xavi and Iniesta respectively, which is unheard off, there was no other result possible.

What was amazing to see were three things: 1) Fergie didn't foresee Messi not playing down the right flank and rather through the centre. Even I foresaw it and actually Esmond Lama my dear friend would attest to that fact. Pep Guardiola simply out foxed the so called "Fox"! 2) Fergie needed to over haul the midfield with his changes as that is where they were being killed, what did he do, was throwing the proverbial "Kitchen sink", by sacrificing the midfield with two more strikers! What use are strikers if they don't get fed with good balls from the midfield, Fergie played right into Barca's hands. Nice touch dufus! and finally 3) Messi all of 5'7" beat two central defenders all of 6'4" and a goal keeper towering at 6'5" - Any questions of comparing him with Christiano Ronaldo hence forth will be nothing short of blasphemy! He is streets ahead of any striker in the game today.

Chelsea were smart enough to know Barca's strength was the midfield, and they played with better tactics than Man U, they almost kept Barcelona out of the finals is clear testament to that. There lies the relief, Barcelona can be overcome.

Anyway, I am glad Barcelona won, not because, I am a die hard Liverpool fan, but because they just have one tactic for every game, pass - pass - pass - score. They are a joy to watch, they are simply BEAUTIFUL!! I just can't wait for the season to start again, for me August 2009 can't come sooner!

Sometimes a little hurt/pain can mean saving someone from a lot of hurt/pain...

My father had a very interesting way to make me realize what was good for me and what was not, well in my case he probably had to do a lot for the latter as you'll see from a couple of examples that I would love to share.

1. Like every toddler, aping what the elders do is so cool. One my obsessions as a 4 year old was to want to eat green chillies with my meal just like my old man did. So every night at the dinner table I would grovel for some. So one day my father decided to put an end to my stupidity, and gave me one. Well that was the last time I wanted one for a good 15 years or maybe more.
2. As a toddler (yes again!) I had this unexplainable curiosity for electric sockets. At every chance I would be sticking my finger into them. So one day my father joined me in the game. He picked a low voltage socket and started to play with me, my game!! Can you believe my excitement I had just converted my old man to my side of the alley!! That's of course until he turned the switch on with my finger in it. Well that was the last time I went near an electrical socket for all toddler hood!
3. And of course like every kind there was that customary releasing of the cycle despite promising he wouldn't! Some bruised ankles, elbows and egos, but hey what I learnt how to ride a bike!!

Well for those I have shared and the ones I didn't share, my Dad got the dog house very often and I got to sleep with mommy :). Now who's the wise guy??!!!

But for all the times he spent in the dog house, it's only in hindsight I realized he made me a better man. He taught me always protecting a child from anything that could hurt him or her, would mean, the child may not value their parents cautions when it really mattered. Besides these incidents were always worth a laugh!!

Son you didn't write Harkawal's name on your answer sheet....

Now my computer science teacher was a really smart guy. Leslie Godin was the kind of guy, who could deal you straight in poker, but you'd just fold in thinking it was crap. He taught me an important lesson in quite a funny way, I hope you like it.
It was our 12th board exams prelims and as my computer science teacher, he wanted to ensure we were well prepared when the real boards came in a few months time. So he set quite a difficult exam.
I was however supremely confident that I was going to beat his prediction that over half the class would flunk, me included!! Why, you ask? Well sitting next to me was a whizz kid Harkwal Singh, and sitting next to him the Danny Ocean of my class, me!! Perfect!!
Now during the exams, I knew only 4 out of 12 problems and I had to attempt at least 8. No problem, I got to work. Leslie invigilated the exam and to my surprise some of my brazen moves (cheating wise) just didn't register with him. Cool, I was too good for the so called "fox in the box"!! I had it so easy that, I attempted 9 problems, needless to say, so did Harkawal.
Come the day of the result, Harkawal gets 88% and I get 44%!!!!!!! WTF!!! I confidently walked up to Leslie believing he must have made a mistake. I told Leslie out of the 9 problems attempted I was certain at least 7 were spot on!
To my surprise Leslie looked up to me and said,"Son you're wrong, you didn't get 7 right, you got 9 right, well almost right. You just forgot to put a name on your answer sheet!" I replied,"Bu sir, I did write my name." He replied,"Yes you did, but it was the wrong name, had you written Kaushik Harkawal Singh Majumdar, you would have scored 94%!!" He continued,"son if you must cheat, then cheat smart!"
I knew better than to argue, just melted into my seat, loving every mark of the 44 I did get!!
So long :)

Don't chase trouble, let it come to you....

Well I start my first foray into blogging with this little story of an event in my life, the learning was such, it's stuck with me ever since and I hope it gives you some food for thought....

November 1993, 45 cadets from La Martiniere Boys College (Lucknow); our school's NCC battalion drove into the Army Butchery Grounds in Lucknow for their first NCC Annual Training Camp.

Anyway, our training camp started and we were perhaps into the 5th or 6th day. The routine was set, 4:30am rise, 5:30am breakfast, 6:00am to 10:00am parade; 10:00am tea break 10:30am to 12:oo noon weapons training/para gliding etc etc, then lunch. Before again regrouping at 2:00pm for the daily two hour lectures, before signing off for the day by putting in 2 hours of camp duty, followed by dinner and if you were lucky and got no sentry duty 6 hours of sleep.

This one day, during the afternoon lecture session our camp CO decided to give us a lecture on morals and the importance of saving ourselves till we got married. He got under way, and next to me was my pal Kaushlendra Singh. He obviously had a good lunch and ten minutes into the lecture he was dozing off. Now that's asking for trouble just like telling your girl she's fat!!! Inevitably the CO caught Kaushlendra in his state of slumber and hauled him up to front and center!! Retribution obviously had to follow.

The CO saw a dog loitering around nearby, and with a devilish smile he ordered Kaushlendra to go around the dog and then report back on the double.
Kaushlendra in his state of terror, shot off like a bugs bunny, seeing the this the dog shot off like the road runner, and pretty soon both the dog and Kaushlendra were out of sight. Now as you know in the Army, "you follow orders" quote from A Few Good Men. 45 minutes later, Kaushlendra bundled back in drenched in sweat and beyond repair!

The CO then asked him what his objective, and struggling for breath, Kaushlendra responded to "circle the Dog, Sir!" The CO laughed and said, all he had to do was lure the dog and complete his objective, rather than, chasing it and make his objective even more difficult than it was in the first place. "Son don't chase trouble, let it come to you and trust me it will. Isn't it better to fight it on your own turf?"

Hmmmmm.......