Is there really Unity in Diversity?
In Between Here and There….
I just saw a disturbing but very well made Hindi movie called Darmayaan (In Between) on TV at my home in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The movie is about transvestites in India. It is a "not to be spoken about" subject in India. My congratulations to the Producers and Directors. Very well made movie and one that should make us sit back and contemplate. We should also give credit to all these people who had the guts to address a difficult issue.
Ms. Kiron Kher made her mark as an actress with the movie Devdaas. In this (Darmayaan) movie she deserves an Oscar if there was any in India.
I don’t think the producers will any make money on this movie but they have made a point. The world of transvestites is worth looking at. Thinking about India and thinking as Indians....
Consider the numbers....maths....
Knowing that India has 1.1 billion people we should look at everything rationally and mathematically. Isn’t India about numbers anyway?
After all, Aryabhatta was born in India. India gave the world zero (0) and decimals too. My fellow college mate at BITS Pilani, Sabeer Bhatia made HOTMAIL. Before that DNA, and therefore the science of life was discovered by Hargobind Khurana. Vinod Dham invented Pentium processor which powers most of the computers in the world. Now we have an Indian born scientist who has “discovered” the chemical structure of Mitochondria and how cells get energy and therefore how we survive, and this was done with the help of the pentium processor invented by Dhamm.
(I cannot understand how Obama got the Nobel Prize??? My prizes go to Bhatia and Vinod. Khurana already has a Nobel Prize. These other two guys changed the WORLD) !!!
Khurana will be worshipped as GOD someday as stem cells become the treatment of the day, but that is a different issue.
And, all this sh*t comes from India….
But how does India treat it’s citizens who are so called “different” from others??
Let me decipher this for you.
1.1 billion people: That is 1,100,000,000 people.
1 percent of that is eleven million .
0.1 percent is one million and another hundred thousand.
Assuming that 0.1 percent of India’s population is gay/transvestite, we are talking of nearly the entire population of some small countries. And my friends, these are INDIANS!!!
Should we not treat them as Indians and with respect as we feel we ourselves deserve??? Why should they be marginalized. Do you want them out of your "system" ? Ignore them or let them suffer and die ?
One million (or more), Indians may be in need of your help or just your understanding.
I am going to stand by them. What about you ?
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
The Problem With Dreaming...Or Not Dreaming
Ek din maine soucha,
Sapno ka hisaab banaoon,
Kyaa paaya kyaa khooya maine,
Is ki ek kitaab banoon…..(Accountancy)
Dekhaa…
Kuch sapne paida hote hee mare hoowey they…
Kuch Zindaa they magar darey hoowey say…
Kuch ke liye main zindaa houn..
Kuch muzhko zindaa rakhte hain magar zara say…(Reality Check)
The above poem was written by me for my son Abhay (in a minute) when he questioned if I really wrote poetry for my college magazine "DISHA" of BITS Pilani in India. That is history, not to be debated, but just to be acknowledged for what it is.
Come to the poem now....
The fact of the matter is that we need both, dreams, as well as reality. If we don't have dreams we cannot fulfill ourselves. If we don't have reality we are not in this "real" world and so dreams will never be fulfilled anyway!!! Dreams are like a painting which needs a canvas of reality to be painted upon.
This (poem writing) was a couple of years ago... What I wrote still makes good sense to me. I hope that the New Year brings dreams closer to reality for all whom I know.
2009 is coming to an end. I pray that all whom my family and I know, friends and foes alike, do well and "May God's Blessings Be Upon You and Your's for ever..."
PS: Please don't call me before 3pm on 1st January. It will be some time till I recover from the hangover......
Happy New Year And May The Good Lord (whomsoever you may worship) bless you with Health, Happiness and Prosperity. Cheers, Let the party begin !!!!
Sapno ka hisaab banaoon,
Kyaa paaya kyaa khooya maine,
Is ki ek kitaab banoon…..(Accountancy)
Dekhaa…
Kuch sapne paida hote hee mare hoowey they…
Kuch Zindaa they magar darey hoowey say…
Kuch ke liye main zindaa houn..
Kuch muzhko zindaa rakhte hain magar zara say…(Reality Check)
The above poem was written by me for my son Abhay (in a minute) when he questioned if I really wrote poetry for my college magazine "DISHA" of BITS Pilani in India. That is history, not to be debated, but just to be acknowledged for what it is.
Come to the poem now....
The fact of the matter is that we need both, dreams, as well as reality. If we don't have dreams we cannot fulfill ourselves. If we don't have reality we are not in this "real" world and so dreams will never be fulfilled anyway!!! Dreams are like a painting which needs a canvas of reality to be painted upon.
This (poem writing) was a couple of years ago... What I wrote still makes good sense to me. I hope that the New Year brings dreams closer to reality for all whom I know.
2009 is coming to an end. I pray that all whom my family and I know, friends and foes alike, do well and "May God's Blessings Be Upon You and Your's for ever..."
PS: Please don't call me before 3pm on 1st January. It will be some time till I recover from the hangover......
Happy New Year And May The Good Lord (whomsoever you may worship) bless you with Health, Happiness and Prosperity. Cheers, Let the party begin !!!!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Ignorence Is Not Innocence But Sin
The heading comes from a book "NIGHT SINS" by Tami Hog.
I am not a fan of the book or of the Author. The book is a good attempt but not a masterpiece. But then, who am I to judge?
However,the heading reminds me of what (Mahatma) M.K.Gandhi said once. It was in Hindi. The translation of what he said is (approximately) as follows: "If you don't condemn and oppose injustice, then you have agreed to accept it" (and hence you are a co-accomplice to the injustice).
This means that you are now a partner in the injustice....wherever and however it is being perpetrated.
Let's now get to the business/ management world.
Truth not told may mean supporting a lie!!!
Shoot! that is a terrifying thought....
Guys and gals, Managers..., please understand the difference between truth told and truth untold. The difference will make or unmake a situation or even a company.
Remember, The Truth Will Set You Free......If telling the truth gets you sacked, the company and the boss don't deserve you.
I am not a fan of the book or of the Author. The book is a good attempt but not a masterpiece. But then, who am I to judge?
However,the heading reminds me of what (Mahatma) M.K.Gandhi said once. It was in Hindi. The translation of what he said is (approximately) as follows: "If you don't condemn and oppose injustice, then you have agreed to accept it" (and hence you are a co-accomplice to the injustice).
This means that you are now a partner in the injustice....wherever and however it is being perpetrated.
Let's now get to the business/ management world.
Truth not told may mean supporting a lie!!!
Shoot! that is a terrifying thought....
Guys and gals, Managers..., please understand the difference between truth told and truth untold. The difference will make or unmake a situation or even a company.
Remember, The Truth Will Set You Free......If telling the truth gets you sacked, the company and the boss don't deserve you.
Satyameva Jaite ! (The Truth Will Win In The End) ....
Monday, December 14, 2009
Smile if you are a Manager
A Real Smile Does More Than Cure Your Ill Feelings. A Real Smile Melts Away Opposition…. (The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Swartz).
Busy in the business of running our daily lives, we have forgotten how to smile. Especially when it comes to work, we are so concerned with looking professional that we end up looking like stuck up idiots. I once worked for a company where my boss made it a point to look angry whenever he entered the office. For good measure, he would throw a tantrum within the first few minutes. The idea was to scare and intimidate everyone around. He succeeded quite well and we all made an effort to stay out of sight. If asked a question, we would keep our honest opinions to ourselves and try and tell what we thought the "boss" would like to hear.
I accept that anger can be used as a management tool. But once in a while, not all the time! When the manager comes into the office, his/her mood can set the mood of the staff for day. What would you prefer ? Happy employees working in tandem or people shit scared to tell you the truth and too intimidated to do anything meaningful ?
To all Healol managers : Please smile more often. Especially when you enter the office. You will be able to achieve more. A smile melts away opposition. You are ALWAYS on Candid Camera…..SMILE lah !!!
Busy in the business of running our daily lives, we have forgotten how to smile. Especially when it comes to work, we are so concerned with looking professional that we end up looking like stuck up idiots. I once worked for a company where my boss made it a point to look angry whenever he entered the office. For good measure, he would throw a tantrum within the first few minutes. The idea was to scare and intimidate everyone around. He succeeded quite well and we all made an effort to stay out of sight. If asked a question, we would keep our honest opinions to ourselves and try and tell what we thought the "boss" would like to hear.
I accept that anger can be used as a management tool. But once in a while, not all the time! When the manager comes into the office, his/her mood can set the mood of the staff for day. What would you prefer ? Happy employees working in tandem or people shit scared to tell you the truth and too intimidated to do anything meaningful ?
To all Healol managers : Please smile more often. Especially when you enter the office. You will be able to achieve more. A smile melts away opposition. You are ALWAYS on Candid Camera…..SMILE lah !!!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
The Indian Revenge (and Be Quiet)
I NEVER talk politics on my blog but just could not resist this one...
The Indian Prime Minister in in the U.S. of A this weekend. And he is lecturing Obama as to what should be done in Afghanistan and what should be done to Pakistan !!! How times change....
I am amused. This modern day Chankya strategy really seems to be working!!!
Fact....., China invaded India in 1962 to teach India a lesson ( as per Mao's words). Now they have learnt a few lessons themselves. India has one man called the Dalai Lama. Supposedly he is Chinese but speaks English in Indian accent. China cannot fight that one man with all it's nuclear or non-nuclear arsenel. As they say, a single mosquito in the room can spoil your sleep. Dalai Lama has been spoiling Chinese sleep for 50 years. May he do the same for many years to come. I call it the Indian Revenge.
(My wife is Chinese and she too is capable of this atrocity of loss of sleep on me. I love her anyway or atleast we both tolerate each other). That is the Chinese Revenge.
Fact..... Pakistan, with all it's terrorists and politicians (who support terrorism), is a failed state. I once read an article from one Major Ayaz Amir, in Dawn of Pakistan, that said that ISI should continue bleeding India slowly and continuously by terrorist acts since the Pakistan Army cannot win an all out war against India. This guy (Major Ayaz Amir) must be eating his words with a pinch or a sackful of salt now. Pakistan is at war with itself. What do you mean by winning this war in NWFP, Balochistan or rest of Pakistan ? Killing it's own citizens ? How many killed and how many displaced ? Pakistan WANTS to look good in the eyes of the world. It does not want to BE good. The Pakistanis try to justify or explain away each atrocity committed by their ISI trained criminals at home or abroad. Now the world is watching on CNN and Discovery channel the crimes that were planned in Pakistan and were committed in Mumbai. Major Ayaz....Indian revenge ...???
No explaination required here. Enough to say that those who sleep with the devil get impregnated by the devil and so be it........ Nov 26th is the anniversary of Mumbai attacks. I hope that Major Ayaz (who is now a politician) may find time to reflect where his advice has taken his country.
Fact....Russia got it's first US Dollars from India after the collapse of Soviet Union and therefore their economic system. Russia was and has remained a good neighbour to India. It is gaining economic strength due to it's energy resources. A strong Russia means a good strong friend for India. If you live in a good neighbourhood, chances are that you will progress too. Pakistan chose to be with the far off US of A. India kept USA at an arm's distance. The fact of the times required that India needed a friend in a hostile neighbourhood, being surrounded by East and West Pakistan and China. Now USA drones are firing misslies inside Pakistan. Call it friendly fire Maj. Ayaz ??? Or call it the Indian revenge ??
Fact....Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan, and liberated by Indian help) is quietly succeeding in economic terms. It has forgotten it's Pakistani and fanatic religious past and is concentrating on uplifting the lot of it's people. Why can't we all look at this country and learn from it ? Gramin Bank was formed here. Biodiversity is preserved, recycling is done as a matter of survival, carbon footprints of industries are minimal, no major wars or insurgencies, the only problem is between two women as to who will be the chief. This country is doing what others would like to do without making a big noise. Though being on the frontline of all weather problems, be they be tsunamis, ocean level rising or typhoons, the Bangladeshis are really trying hard to take the country somewhere. The Pakistanis are trying hard to commit suicide. Indian revenge ???
Friends, this is the crux of the matter. Don't shout when you are half way there. Get there and then (when you are there), there will be no need to shout. The world would know that you have arrived. Indians should learn from Bangladesh. I admire that country and wish them the best. May your efforts be rewarded...Jai Ho......
The Indian Prime Minister in in the U.S. of A this weekend. And he is lecturing Obama as to what should be done in Afghanistan and what should be done to Pakistan !!! How times change....
I am amused. This modern day Chankya strategy really seems to be working!!!
Fact....., China invaded India in 1962 to teach India a lesson ( as per Mao's words). Now they have learnt a few lessons themselves. India has one man called the Dalai Lama. Supposedly he is Chinese but speaks English in Indian accent. China cannot fight that one man with all it's nuclear or non-nuclear arsenel. As they say, a single mosquito in the room can spoil your sleep. Dalai Lama has been spoiling Chinese sleep for 50 years. May he do the same for many years to come. I call it the Indian Revenge.
(My wife is Chinese and she too is capable of this atrocity of loss of sleep on me. I love her anyway or atleast we both tolerate each other). That is the Chinese Revenge.
Fact..... Pakistan, with all it's terrorists and politicians (who support terrorism), is a failed state. I once read an article from one Major Ayaz Amir, in Dawn of Pakistan, that said that ISI should continue bleeding India slowly and continuously by terrorist acts since the Pakistan Army cannot win an all out war against India. This guy (Major Ayaz Amir) must be eating his words with a pinch or a sackful of salt now. Pakistan is at war with itself. What do you mean by winning this war in NWFP, Balochistan or rest of Pakistan ? Killing it's own citizens ? How many killed and how many displaced ? Pakistan WANTS to look good in the eyes of the world. It does not want to BE good. The Pakistanis try to justify or explain away each atrocity committed by their ISI trained criminals at home or abroad. Now the world is watching on CNN and Discovery channel the crimes that were planned in Pakistan and were committed in Mumbai. Major Ayaz....Indian revenge ...???
No explaination required here. Enough to say that those who sleep with the devil get impregnated by the devil and so be it........ Nov 26th is the anniversary of Mumbai attacks. I hope that Major Ayaz (who is now a politician) may find time to reflect where his advice has taken his country.
Fact....Russia got it's first US Dollars from India after the collapse of Soviet Union and therefore their economic system. Russia was and has remained a good neighbour to India. It is gaining economic strength due to it's energy resources. A strong Russia means a good strong friend for India. If you live in a good neighbourhood, chances are that you will progress too. Pakistan chose to be with the far off US of A. India kept USA at an arm's distance. The fact of the times required that India needed a friend in a hostile neighbourhood, being surrounded by East and West Pakistan and China. Now USA drones are firing misslies inside Pakistan. Call it friendly fire Maj. Ayaz ??? Or call it the Indian revenge ??
Fact....Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan, and liberated by Indian help) is quietly succeeding in economic terms. It has forgotten it's Pakistani and fanatic religious past and is concentrating on uplifting the lot of it's people. Why can't we all look at this country and learn from it ? Gramin Bank was formed here. Biodiversity is preserved, recycling is done as a matter of survival, carbon footprints of industries are minimal, no major wars or insurgencies, the only problem is between two women as to who will be the chief. This country is doing what others would like to do without making a big noise. Though being on the frontline of all weather problems, be they be tsunamis, ocean level rising or typhoons, the Bangladeshis are really trying hard to take the country somewhere. The Pakistanis are trying hard to commit suicide. Indian revenge ???
Friends, this is the crux of the matter. Don't shout when you are half way there. Get there and then (when you are there), there will be no need to shout. The world would know that you have arrived. Indians should learn from Bangladesh. I admire that country and wish them the best. May your efforts be rewarded...Jai Ho......
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Ambition..the dirty word
Ambition can be a fiend or an angel. Ambition can be likened to a spirited, speedy horse; it can carry us quickly over much ground if we keep a proper rein on it and guide it along the right road, but if given too much rein, it is in danger of landing us in the ditch.
B.C.Forbes (Founder of Forbes Magazine, 1917)
When talking about the ambitions of managers and colleagues, we often get confused. Either the person is “over ambitious or has no ambition at all!
Much as we use, respect and revile the word AMBITION, we fail to define the limit when a person has just the right amount of ambition. Do we expect each and every one to have the same amount of ambition? Or do we expect some to be very ambitious and others to hold their horses, both, just to suit our selfishly thought out script of how life should be at that particular time with that particular person?
Is being ambitious important or simply doing one’s best is good enough?
What defines the fine line between ambition and stupidity, between an angel and a fiend or between soaring to great heights and falling headlong into disaster, all due to ambition?
I think that I have confused myself enough with this debate. Flying in the air like birds must have been an impossible dream of man for centuries, now it is done regularly, and that too at twice or thrice the speed of sound. A machine which calculates a million times faster than a man was a ridiculous thought, but today our hand phones have more brain power than a dozen professors of mathematics combined. A man walking on the moon was fairy tale material till it was actually done. Looking at and talking to a person sitting a world away must have been a fantasy till just a few years ago. Now we can't imagine a world without live television, real time data transfers and video conferencing.
And all this happened because someone had a stupid ambition to do what was considered mission impossible. The guys who achieved all this did not put a rein on their ambition as the great finance guru Mr. Forbes postulated.
They let their ambition run wild. And thus, they changed the world for ever!
At the end of the day, I think ambition is a positive word, which is used to define the state of mind of people who dare and succeed in their set goals. Those who may be daring geniuses, but do not succeed are called stupid and “Over Ambitious”. There is a fine line here. Great success seldom comes at the first try. Great success at something amazingly different, achieved at the first attempt is more likely to be a lucky accident rather than real achievement. Hence, ambition needs an indomitable spirit and perseverance before one sees success. In the meanwhile, be ready to be laughed at, ridiculed and/or ignored (if you are lucky).
Mother Teresa once said, “When you are successful, you will have few real friends and many real enemies. Succeed anyway!”. In other words, let today’s failures be the foundation of future success. Be ambitious. Define and strive for your goals. You owe that to yourself and to all those who define who and what you are in God’s universe.
B.C.Forbes (Founder of Forbes Magazine, 1917)
When talking about the ambitions of managers and colleagues, we often get confused. Either the person is “over ambitious or has no ambition at all!
Much as we use, respect and revile the word AMBITION, we fail to define the limit when a person has just the right amount of ambition. Do we expect each and every one to have the same amount of ambition? Or do we expect some to be very ambitious and others to hold their horses, both, just to suit our selfishly thought out script of how life should be at that particular time with that particular person?
Is being ambitious important or simply doing one’s best is good enough?
What defines the fine line between ambition and stupidity, between an angel and a fiend or between soaring to great heights and falling headlong into disaster, all due to ambition?
I think that I have confused myself enough with this debate. Flying in the air like birds must have been an impossible dream of man for centuries, now it is done regularly, and that too at twice or thrice the speed of sound. A machine which calculates a million times faster than a man was a ridiculous thought, but today our hand phones have more brain power than a dozen professors of mathematics combined. A man walking on the moon was fairy tale material till it was actually done. Looking at and talking to a person sitting a world away must have been a fantasy till just a few years ago. Now we can't imagine a world without live television, real time data transfers and video conferencing.
And all this happened because someone had a stupid ambition to do what was considered mission impossible. The guys who achieved all this did not put a rein on their ambition as the great finance guru Mr. Forbes postulated.
They let their ambition run wild. And thus, they changed the world for ever!
At the end of the day, I think ambition is a positive word, which is used to define the state of mind of people who dare and succeed in their set goals. Those who may be daring geniuses, but do not succeed are called stupid and “Over Ambitious”. There is a fine line here. Great success seldom comes at the first try. Great success at something amazingly different, achieved at the first attempt is more likely to be a lucky accident rather than real achievement. Hence, ambition needs an indomitable spirit and perseverance before one sees success. In the meanwhile, be ready to be laughed at, ridiculed and/or ignored (if you are lucky).
Mother Teresa once said, “When you are successful, you will have few real friends and many real enemies. Succeed anyway!”. In other words, let today’s failures be the foundation of future success. Be ambitious. Define and strive for your goals. You owe that to yourself and to all those who define who and what you are in God’s universe.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
A Song Without Melody
A life spent without any achievement to talk about, nothing to say to children about your experiments and experiences, nothing to be remembered for once you are gone is like a song without melody or music.
It is not a song at all.
To all my colleagues at Healol and to all my friends I send a message:
Travel
Experience
Experiment
Achieve
Create
Enjoy all of the above. And more
These are the DOs.....
The Don'ts are as follows:
Don't be angry,
disgruntled,
disheartened,
disturbing (heh heh),
disssatisfied without reason,
and please dont do anything negative that starts with "Dis" and is joined with another word. (Mind you Discuss is a single word).
Life can be a song. A song needs both, lyrics and melody. Lyrics bring the meaning (in life), music or melody says volumes about the way how we live.
Life may not be perfect, (since nothing is), but it can be good.....The Song of Life with Lyrics of Purpose and Deed, made beautiful by the Melody and Music of the way we live.
Jai Ho!
It is not a song at all.
To all my colleagues at Healol and to all my friends I send a message:
Travel
Experience
Experiment
Achieve
Create
Enjoy all of the above. And more
These are the DOs.....
The Don'ts are as follows:
Don't be angry,
disgruntled,
disheartened,
disturbing (heh heh),
disssatisfied without reason,
and please dont do anything negative that starts with "Dis" and is joined with another word. (Mind you Discuss is a single word).
Life can be a song. A song needs both, lyrics and melody. Lyrics bring the meaning (in life), music or melody says volumes about the way how we live.
Life may not be perfect, (since nothing is), but it can be good.....The Song of Life with Lyrics of Purpose and Deed, made beautiful by the Melody and Music of the way we live.
Let the music begin...
Jai Ho!
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