The pleasure of finding things out

Ranbir Kapoor and gang come of age in this movie about honest entrepreneurship! It has it's light moments, and elements that even I could relate to as a working professional. The movie touches upon entrepreneurship, work ethics, and people-oriented vs. numbers-oriented business.

The story is that of Harpreet Singh Bedi, a simple guy with average results who wants to be a successful salesman Multiple applications later he ends up as a PC salesman at At Your Service (AYS) Computers. He is honest and believes he can truly make a difference.

Sooner than later, he realises that sales is not about honesty and belief in good product. Rather, it's about lies and grabbing clients at any cost. Harpreet decides to keep his honesty and do the right thing. He starts an honest to customer company that provides cheap PCs with exceptional service, and calls the company Rocket Sales.

The only problem is he does this while working at AYS. The rest, as they say, is history. The movie truly touches a few chords, and then some. Ranbir Kapoor has come of age...

I don't want to give much of the movie away, but it's definitely worth a watch, or two. It's also making it into my personal library for reruns and as a collectible.

Khuda Ke Liye has been one hell of an eye opener. It provides us an unbiased view into the minds of Muslims, both extremists and the common progressive man.

The movie has various threads running, showcase different aspects of Muslim life. I was shocked by the treatment meted out to a Pakistani Muslim in the US, where he is tortured without proof! On the other hand, I was also shocked by a Muslim father who willingly forces his daughter to marry her own first cousin in the name of religion and his pride.

The music from the movie is haunting, and the acting is fairly good all around. The director, story writer and the cast of the movie make a strong case for better interpretation of Islam and banning those who provide an extremist interpretation in the name of Religion.

Worth a watch!

My office is barren. Most people have stopped coming to work as it constitutes a public place with large gathering areas [the pantry being one].

Meetings with more than 3 people have been stopped, and folks are asked to dial in to such discussions if the need arises. There is fear in the air, with employees wearing masks at all times and avoiding talking as much as possible.

Out of my team of 22, only 3 people [including me] are in the office today. The others are doing [supposedly] the wiser thing by working from home.

Our Vice President for India operations has sent out a missive asking people to work from home if they can, and that various precautions were being take in the workplace like regular swiping of doors, etc.

Unfortunately, I cannot benefit from it because I have a lot of international calls to make, and hence need to be in the office.. at odd hours, that too! :(

C'est la vie!

Yesterday's Economic Times editorial titled "Single Minded" made for interesting reading.

I can't remember exactly what stood out in the brief writeup, but it got me thinking about writing letters and observing people. I'll talk about each, and how it can help us grow as a person.

Writing Letters:

Gone are the yesteryears where writing letters was the defacto mode of communication. There were so many aspects to it:

• The smell of paper and envelope traveling through various lands
• The excitement and the wait of reading replies to questions/comments made in previous communiques
• Thinking through what you want to write, and structuring the information in a consumable format
• Extending hobbies and making penpals

I used to write regularly to my Mama in Mumbai, while growing up in Dubai. We used to exchange random things, and collectibles.

We both collected stamps, and he collected Phone cards. I would make it a point to send him phone cards from Dubai, with different pictures on each [as unique as stamps could be]. He would in return make sure to buy new/different stamps and use them to post the letters to me. This way we were able to extend our hobbies as well as keep in touch.

I remember waiting for 1 particular letter, after he got engaged, to see what my Mami looked like.

I used to write to Atamjeet Kainth regularly too, who was my best friend till 5th grade, when he migrated to Canada. We are still in touch, but now use email *sigh*.

I find it all so very missing in our current lifestyle. The excitement, the personal touch, the exchange of pictures awaited, the extension to hobbies.

All we have is a drab email in a boring interface, with photos attached at will, without consideration or excitement.

I intend to write 1 letter per month, to begin with, and try and review the art at least from my side :)

Observing People:

I remember reading, as a child, about Jim Corbett sitting in a Ferry and observing people. He was trying to guess the profession and place of origin of each passenger on board the vessel. He happened to meet another traveler on the vessel who was doing the exact same thing! :)

They ended up chatting and exchanging notes on the art of observation. It was an impressionable read to say the least. Even my dad would tell me while growing up, to observe things around me and to understand what it could mean. I was always more for books than for observance.

But after yesterday's article I decided to spend 10 minutes a day just observing people [we have a huge cafeteria in the office, so I don't need to find ground]. I believe there is much to be learned. :)

Lets see how this goes. Will keep you guys posted.

Last weekend we decided to visit the Agha Khan Palace in Pune. I've lived in the city for 4 years but have never bothered to go over :(

This visit was to rectify that, and also to take Shruti on a small expedition. I had expected the place to be just about okay, but the history and serenity that the place exuded blew me away. There were a lot of beautiful trees, a lush lawn and lots of benches to sit and enjoy it all.

I expect to go there at least once every two weeks, armed with coffee and books, and spend time sitting in the shade enjoying the breeze and the read. Even Shruti found the place quite interesting. The Palace itself is amazing. To think that it was made in this century, fairly recently [around the 1930s], and yet have so much history in its fold is really amazing.

Here are some pictures :)

Agha Khan Palace July 2009

I've been running down the road trying to losen my load I have seven women on my mind... [okay just the lyrics going through my head from Eagle's Take it easy, the title of this post].

Today was a long day, and tiring inspite of being not too tiring. Work is good and rewarding, but quite hectic these days. Hopefully I'll get used to it soon.

That aside, not much happening. I have a multitude of plans in my head, of what I want to do, but I'm waiting for Shruti to come back before I can execute them! :) Catch 22, huh?

All said and done, things are going well. More tomorrow!

Yay! The wifey got back yesterday morning, and it's been great since then.

It's her birthday tomorrow (Thursday) and am planning on various agendas for the big day.

All said and done, the 15 days she wasn't around were hell! It goes to show that no matter how manly men want to be, at the end of the day they are quite dependent on their women :)

Sure I'm probably less dependent than most, seeing that I lived alone for 9 years and can do everything from clean the house to wash clothes (washing machine, no biggie) to cook. But even then I was quite depressed and realised my level of dependence :D

Been over a week since the wefey went off to spend quality time with her mom. I'm used to being along (did that for over 9 years when I lived away from home) but trust me, after marriage, that stuff changes.

It must be some sort of a chemical change brought about by the endorphins released by the nearness of the one you love. I guess your neurons get wired up funny, and you begin to feel uneasy and find the house awfully empty when you walk in.

There are two songs that sum up my current state of mind. Do bear with me and hear them both out. They will give you a window into the painful side of love.

Aside of that my reading is back in full swing. I am able to accomplish one magazine and 1 book per week, more of less.

Currently I've been reading "Call of the mall" by Paco Underhill. Violet, you will surely enjoy this book. It's about the science of shopping, and how observing shoppers over 25 years has gotten Paco Underhill to be an authority on shopping spaces and shopper's habbits. An interesting book to say the least. :)

Somehow whenever I spend time with my wife (which is everyday), she reminds me of this song:

Spent most of the last 2 months traveling: Goa, Ranchi, Mumbai :)

Will post pics soon.. they are already posted, I just need to caption them out. :D

When I say Bling, you say King, Bling is King, Bling is King

Okay I just made that up using a line sung by Hard Kaur in Singh is Kinng's big-ass hit, Bas Ek Kinng.

The songs for the movie have made me want to go in to see the movie on the first day first show basis. Ofcourse, I cannot really do that as it's a working day and I'm not crazy enough to go for the first show @ 8:30 AM!

All said and done, this weekend I definitely intend to watch the movie.