#38 The purpose of one’s life & all that 30k feet stuff

Just when everything seems blurry & a hypocrite pops up in the mirror asking you who you are, a complete stranger walks into your life – opening your eyes to the obvious. And this time, it was the turn of a Priest to play the role of the messenger from above.

Now the question – what do I want from life? Lodging in a country lost in transition – a city that makes career aspirations seem like a utopian dream, can get depressing at times; well most times. Gazing at the lives of gold diggers (aka NRIs), I often ask myself – what’s stopping me from spreading my wings out & migrating in to the lands of better living. That’s when your heart’s inner walls start echoing your biggest fear; a change sometimes means that someone close to you, might have to pay the cost of your luxuries. And what if your purpose of living was them!

Borrowing that Priest’s words, every life in this world has a purpose. For a God so omnipotent, it would be naive to assume that He would have created two different lives with the same purpose. That’s when it dawns on you that may be what you are doing is your calling and it high time one dwelled deeper into that ever elusive question, what was the purpose of one’s living and then make the moves rather than going behind wants & needs!

Ps: To each his own. There is never a right or a wrong decision & this post is not intended at hurting any one’s sentiments.

#37 Entrepreneurship & the I-told-you-so factor!

What sets apart successful entrepreneurs from working class average joes like me ? Good pedigree?  Skills? Money power? Or its simply a ‘good idea’ ? Talking about ideas, don’t we all have our own ‘million dollar ideas’ !  But as they say its just not about the idea but the ability to implement it profitably.

In as much as an ‘economic evil’ its been, Piracy has been a sizeable business opportunity for decades. itunes changed the way america consumed music, ebooks made cheap paperbacks seem expensive. Now you didn’t have to be Watson’s grandson to figure out that the itunes model might just work in India. Every time I bought a cd just for a song to two, I used to wonder what a potential lies in the digital music market in India. But that thought never left the dungeons of my grey mater. Now looking at the way Flyte from Flipkart is picking up, all I can say is, ‘I told you so, this market had potential’

In hindsight, it all draws down to one point. Do you have the guts to do it! I may think I created a digital music store in my mind, but I cremated it in no time, coz I didn’t have the guts to back my idea up! To me entrepreneurship is all about guts meeting a good idea!

#36 Wander-lust with Infants: Lunacy or A Lifestyle Choice?

The big question today is, how sane is it to travel extensively, say for example, on a adventure vacation, with a toddler/infant? Well, to each, his own! Mercifully I’ve seasoned over the years to accept & forget arguments than refusing to let them go, fearing the end of all sanity in this world….. Well, have I, really

My toddler’s life as a traveler started very early. From sun bathing in the coasts of sandy beaches & getting hit by waves on a rocky passage trying to reach an exotic beach when she 3 months old (well not exactly the way we planned – it just happened) to midnight drives into the forests tracking wild bisons &  rabbits. Never ending hikes on the Alps to nomadic walks on the streets of world cities to non stop driving from the east to the west coast of the peninsula. Now the question again, do kids profit from such a lifestyle or is it just parents having fun at the child’s expense?

The first three years of life are a period of incredible growth in all areas of a baby’s development. An infant’s brain develops at an amazing rate and research shows that the physical and emotional experiences they have in the first five years of their life directly reflect their learning ability and brain growth for the rest of their life.

Now the choice is yours, every parent knows what’s best for their child; you could grow them within the walls of a safe home with limited exposure or to give her/him a taste of a larger life. A vision of things that lie beyond the rainbow, beyond the horizon; beyond what’s between the covers of school books & television shows. Let them experience life, you’ll see them bloom. No child knows what fear means until we start teaching them to…

Ps: Pushing the limits doesn’t mean irresponsibility. While traveling with young children always plan well, practice precaution & take your pediatrician’s /an expert’s opinion when necessary.

#35 Eyes, Cameras & Good Photos

Every time someone asks me that’ol creepy “what camera do you use” question, my blood begins to boil. No I am not exaggerating, believe me, it really does. Here’s an advice, never, never ever ask a photographer that question; well if your intent is really genuine, then go ahead, please do. But 9 out 10 people, I know ask this question just to prove a point that they can shoot better, but only for a good camera in their hands! Believe me, if you are thinking its all about a bigger & a better camera – I have some bad news for you. Camera’s have nothing to do with ‘good photography’- well at least to a large extent.

In my humble opinion the best photographs that I’ve shot are the ones I didn’t. Confusing as it may sound but most ‘good’ photographers first shoot/compose photographs in their mind; ones, only their eyes will ever see. Now to convert that into something others could see needs patience, skills, training and little bit of luck. In all these years of roaming around with camera in my bag, I would have only been able to convert a 5% of those visions into good photographs. So here’s the open secret about being a better photographer, start taking pictures with your eyes; open your eyes to things that other don’t see, won’t see, don’t want to see – things that you want others to see through your eyes. There are no better cameras in this world than your own eyes connected to an artistic mind.

Having said that, yes cameras do make a difference – but only when it comes to technical specs. Can your camera handle needs for jumbo prints – to fit into a hoarding? (6 MP is all that you need to shoot a good 12×8 photo). How good is it under low light? Do you have a need for multiple lenses? How fast a lens do you need to shoot wildlife? How much zoom do you need to shot an eagle flying in the sky? All these will reveal it selves to you once you start shooting good stuff. Make a start – I’ve seen my wife shoot some great shots with an iPhone !

And like Ken Rockwell says, keep yours eyes open! More on photography soon…

# 33 HLC International – Review

Guess its time of the year when parents look for school admissions. This is a review I wrote at Parentree.in earlier this month.  Just posting it here for the benefit of those who may be interested. The original post along with reviews of other parents can be read at  <Click here>

It was not until I was 29, I figured out what I wanted to do in my life. By then, it was too late for me re-invent the wheel. I am sure, as parents, most of us share a similar story. So when we started our school-hunt we looked for schools that would fit into our expectations listed below:

• Knowledge through self discovery; Concepts by application.
• Character Development; problem solving, reasoning, social skills, self management & decision making that grooms the child into a confident individual.
• Teachers becoming mentors who assist in self discovery.
• Inclusivity; Respect diversity right from an early age.

We zeroed-in on 4 schools; Abacus Montessori, KFI – The School, Good Earth, & HLC International. Getting into Abacus or KFI is not very easy to say the least and Good Earth is in the middle of no where. This is where HLC seemed like the perfect fit. While their sound management, compelling foundational philosophy, passionate teaching staff & impressive infrastructure makes them the best choice; bad approach roads is certainly a pain – but temporary I would say

Here’s gist of our experience so far:

• Makes the child self dependent: My pre-kg daughter insists on managing her bag, water bottle, footwear everyday by herself since she joined school.
• Great Exposure & overall development: The kids won the ‘design for change’ contest earlier this month –first among 300,000 other schools. They’ve organized 3 music concerts by renowned artists so far this academic year.
• Inclusive Education: Both during their annual exhibition & sports day, special children were given an equal opportunity & whenever they had limitations – teachers & fellow students stood up to support them.
•  Talent days: Children get opportunity to show case their skills during talent days.
• Communication: Every class has a set of parents who act as the teacher’s support team to ensure information is passed quickly to all parents through telephone & sms. Parents are also informed of all school activities through regular emails & Facebook updates.
• Flexible academics: The school is IGCSE accredited & will soon be a fully registered Cambridge Examination Center as well. IGCSE system allows kids to take up a combination of subjects from a wide range of choice.

One thing is clear, we don’t want our daughter to join the rat race into the IIT’s, AIMS’s, & IIM’s of world. What we wanted from HLC is to help groom her into a confident, independent & clear headed child.

Economic Times rated HLC as the best ‘New-age’ school in Chennai on the 2nd of December. Now that’s proof for whatever I’ve stated so far.

Finally, on the fees; in as much as education is considered to be a service, it does costs money to offer a good infrastructure for children.

#32 Chennai, Oh My Chennai! Wither Thou Goest?

I was born in a family which saw 3 generations of defense services. My great grand dad, grand dad, dad & uncles took pride in their Khakis. After having shuttled between countries, cities & towns, one fine day my dad just snapped out of the nomadic life and settle down in Chennai ( Ok! Tambaram!)  A decision that seemed logical, given that my grand parents did the same. Their first choice, Bangalore, was then seen as a city permanently under the pollen attack! Rejected! ….So began my affair with Chennai.

For the last 32 years, I’ve cursed it – loved it, disowned it – defended it, but never questioned life in Chennai. My bro left, all my ‘ best’ friends from school, college, & early workdays moved…not just out of Chennai, but out of India; I still thought its a nice place to live. But of late, I cant help but feel the disconnect. Is it just the city or is it me? I dont know. Politics over economics, conservatism over cosmopolitan-ism, riches but no class, plans but just failed promises, from a metro to a small town, Chennai has just lost its charm and failed to keep pace.

I guess more than just economics, politics, or lifestyle, what is driving many like me to stay back is our family ecosystem! We choose to be old fashioned;  grandparents over nannies, living under one roof (close by) over ‘remote support’ to the ageing. Living abroad never appealed to me looking at the way Indians get treated outside. Tough call, career limiting may be, there isn’t a right or wrong answer here. At the end of the day, it all drives down to one aspect – what’s the closest to our hearts!

Chennai may be sagging, dying or losing its shine, but I chose to stand by my choices & commitments. My heart lies here, so Chennai, it will be, for now.

# 31 Maykkam Enna: Richa, Danush & Selvaraghavan take a bow; yet, may not be popular

A celebration of friendship, life, optimism & the power of a woman- well, with gaps.Take a bow Richa ! What a dream debut! If adukalam got Danush a national award, I wonder where would this performance take him. However, Richa edges him out by a mile. But on the other side you can say this style of acting comes effortlessly & naturally to him For sure, we’ve not seen a better portrayal of the role a woman plays in a man’ s life,  in recent Tamil cinema. Halfway through, just when you start looking at your watch, ‘well, the movie is ok but…’.  Hold on, the movie just started!

While the first half is breezy & funny, the second half (gets too serious & a tad too slow too) catches you totally unaware. And, when you begin losing interest, Selvaraghavan grabs you back with a twist that takes you through the life of a struggling photographer who has lost his head. In a particular scene in the second half, if your are with your wife/ girl friend, just remember to hold her hands tight, tears will flow.

No more spoilers guys! The whole plot can be googled, or read in popular reviews, but you gotta see the full length before you decide.  In a way, its like wine. It builds on to you; burns while it sinks down, but doesn’t give you a high like a shot of tequila. You cant expect every one to like it, the couple siting next to us didn’t, the guy from the gym called it a psycho movie. Net, net, the movie is very real, more complex than you think & engrossing. Having said that, it does drag a little, may be could have been shortened, I dont know. Ah, I almost missed it, some interesting camera work too.

#30 Is Taking No Stand, The Wrong Stand!

Earlier today I got into an animated lunch take discussion with a colleague on politics. A subject, I have no expertise on. After 30 minutes, I was branded the very reason our country is crushing under corruption.

The greatest gift of a democracy is our freedom of speech; a right, when used in haste can shake its very foundation. Today, an article by a popular columnists like Gurumurthy or the new champion for a clean India, Subramaniam Swami,  can make hundreds take the street with a flag in their hand, singing vande mataram!  To add fuel is our religious bias. Religion is so strongly in mind, that it influences our thought process. The question now is, is it prudent to take a stand based on hear-say. Some call this proof, journalism, but I am no court of law to validate if a proof is valid or void.

This is my new stand, take no stand. I refuse to become victim of hidden agenda. You may call my tribe, mediocrity or the middle of the wallers. So be it. Don’t forget we are the reason India is still together. We are the reason India hasn’t see taliban-ism. Now wait, I am no stupid to support corruption, but I am not ready to become puppets in the hands of the government or the opposition, whose integrity is probabily only as deep as their share of the commissions from corruption & their inability to be on top!

#29 Why I hate chetan baghat

He is the most successful writer of the new age India. His latest book has sold over 750,000 copies within a month already. I’ve neither read his books, nor are they on my wish list. I don’t know him personally and he has done me no harm. Yet, I hate him.

Looking inwards, he is probably close to what I want to be. A best selling author, who’s writing style is nothing but colloquial. Hell no, I don’t idolise him, don’t agree to most of his views too. Logically, his story has to be nothing but a motivation to those million others like me who aspire to be best selling writers one day; instead, here I am passing judgements. My rational mind says look at him closely and understand the dynamics – but the ego doesn’t allow.

Being adamantly confident about yourself is probably one of the secrets to success. But letting your ego rule you in as much as you turn a blind eye to things around you isn’t going to turbo boost your dream machine.

#27 Tintin’s back!

Neither Tintin nor Steven Speilberg, need any reviews (this is not a review) to make their fans go crazy. Also, when you hear names like Paul Jackson,  you don’t have to see to believe.

 While some cynics continue to howl that Speilberg’s creative freedom has reduced the movie to a ‘collection of sequences with no plot’, there is no denying that this is one of the most well made, entrancing & pacey animated movies that one’s seen or will see in sometime. I don’t know how, but this CGI makes CGI seem more life, than life! Also, be prepared to laugh out loud, really loud, really really loud,  the movie is super funny! How I wish they ran shows with no intermissions It was so well made – so much larger than life – that each character moved-talked-acted in exactly the same way I had imagined them, while reading.  With all that adrenaline rush, at the end of the movie, I felt as if I was part & parcel of yet another exiting adventure of  Tintin with Capt.Haddock & Snowy. 

It was not a surprise that the next three seats were occupied by a bunch of tweens,  who enjoyed the movie as much as we did. While they were walking out,  I sensed the difference in the way I looked at them.  Tintin is truly beyond generations, culture, ego, gender, & race ! Tintin for world peace ) Billions of blue blistering barnacles!

Viva Tintin!

 Ps: Doesn’t your conscious prick every time you watch a pirated DVD?  The money you paid may well be supporting a terrorist. It just doesn’t sound right guys, stay away from it. If you can’t, then how about staying away from movies & music too