da incorrigible SAZEAL

Welcome to the year 2020 A.D… the world has changed as predicted by by 3 sources:
- Nostradamus
- APJ Abdul Kalam, and
- Sazeal Shah


I am now quoting some of the news items from the newspaper Times of Bharat Union (Bennet-Coleman)

I leave Hyderabad one morning with only a pinch of information that my superiors have decided to pass on to me: “You are going to Nalgonda tomorrow. It is a small place, so you will not have much problem. Your task for this month is to increase the distribution width of premium brands by 25 %. And remember, this place is known for its Naxalite activities. You will have 2 executives and 3 sales persons working for you. Rest you can figure out when you reach there”. Not knowing the kind of cliff I was being pushed from, I reply to them with utmost confidence and enthusiasm, “Right sir! I am sure u won’t be disappointed.”

So next evening I get off the rickety bus, weary-eyed, to find myself in a small congested dusty bus stop. I call up one of the executives whose number my superiors had given me. I am really surprised when, within 3-4 minutes, one of my subordinates comes down to pick me up and escort me to one of the best hotels in Nalgonda. I reach there to find that one of the best hotels of Nalgonda is nothing more than a dingy lodge! Finally I freshen up and decide to have dinner before I take an account of Nalgonda market from my executives. So, I leave the grand hotel, an optimist that I am, in search of some good place to eat…

After walking for about 20 minutes, I lose patience and ask a man on the street, “Aas paas koi achha Hotel hai?”… All I receive is a blank expression combined with a fear of having seen a dementor… I got the point! I always knew I was not as handsome as one of those Gults (friendly slang for Telugu speaking guys) coz early in my life I’d discovered that thick moustaches don’t suit me.

So I decide to switch my tongue, “OK, Can I find a decent Restaurant around?”… the guy is taken aback as if I was a British ruler asking for a ‘teen guna lagaan’ from him!

Finally I think of giving it my last shot, “Hotel… food… near?... khaana?” with very efficient sign language and finally succeed in getting a nod and a reply, “@#&$**%$%* Raghavendra Lodge #$%&*&*#$%#”

I am the one taken aback this time, “Sorry? … again! Not understand…”

“@$!%7^@#*&^!$&$! Raghavendra Lodge $&^%$#%$&#”

“Fine! ... Ragavendra Lodge!? … that side?” finally I am relieved that I won’t go hungry for the night. But believe me that guy’s relief was much greater than mine!

I reach Raghvendra lodge so hungry that I could eat a mammoth. I am welcomed by a beautiful sight of the hotel owner blowing his nose in front of his hotel from the cash counter. I get so impressed by his skill that for the time being I forget the purpose of my visit here.

I pick up a relatively cleaner table as far away from that cash counter as I can. I feel good when the waiter greets me with a smile from under his moustache as I signal him for some water. Immediately he makes two glasses of water appear out of nowhere and serves them to me with the salty taste of his dipped fingers. Next he mutters something and I figure he is asking me what I wish to order. On asking him about the menu, he replies, “Dosha, Idli, Vada, Chicken Biryani and ‘Meals’”. I ask him whether I can get some veg curry and roti to go with. He again mutters something and I understand he does not like to dip his fingers in that. I said, “Ok, get the ‘meals’…”

And my dear readers, your fated narrator is shocked to see the sight and the plight of his dinner as the ‘rajbhog’ arrives. There are 3 bowls full of yellow fluids (which I was to discover later as Dal, Sambhar and Rasam… but there was no way in which even the cook could have figured out which is which!). I muster all my courage, pour all the three liquids in what could have been the rice that my mom cooks for 3 families and gobble it all up (please don’t get me wrong… consider the fact that I am awfully hungry). Later I realized that this was going to be my square meal everyday, twice a day, for coming 30 days. I am sure you won’t believe me if I told u that I felt as if it was the best meal I ever had in my life (owing, yet again, to my poor hungry belly). As I walk back home, I try to recall all the people I had wronged whose curses have sent me to this God-forsaken place.



As I reach my Hotel, I call for a bell boy and ask him to get me some water. As you might have already guessed, the same Armageddon with different languages (including sign language) ensues before he understands that I am only asking for some clean drinking water. I am in for the biggest shock of my life when he comes back with water and blurts out his query that he has been holding back for last few hours, “Are you from America?”

“Huh???? D00D!!! Just because I am carrying a laptop, donning a Jeans and a T-shirt, and new Lee Cooper boots does not mean I am from the United friggin’ States of Amberika… get out of this town and see for God’s own sake, India is more than just Nalgonda.” Well, of course I don’t say all these things to him. Not because it would have hurt him or something, but because of the fact that I would have to spend another half an hour explaining what I just said.

Ishq agar gunaah hai, to sazaa bhi humein hai manzoor
Par khuda se yehi dua hai, tum raho na humse door...
na din, na raat, na pyaas, na barsaat, kaisa hai ye suroor
Tum ek baar pukaarlo, hum kabr se bhi aaenge zaroor.


Dont as k me why i wrote this one... i have no clue

this post is a glimpse of ma life in TAPMI...

Poetry
- That one night!
- My paradise is lost !!
- Kyon?
- Fighters and Strugglers
- ...and then there was light!

arz kiya hai...
- zindagi
- bedard duniya aur meri mohabbat
- kuchh aur arz hai...

Thoughts
- Confessions
- Exisentialism
- An MBA is also a mere mortal?!!
- Fighters and Strugglers
- life is so unpredictable; so cruel...
- Good and Bad competition
- I like..
- should we or should we not...
- the larger question...

Experiences at TAPMI
- Enterprise Solutions - A Talk with Ms. Pooja Raheja (Infosys)
- CRA
- CRA part 2

Mera Bhaarat Mahaan
- Martyr's Day, is it? - part 1
- Martyr's Day, is it? - part 2
- this is just not done...
- Time has come to revive Bharatvarsh

Others
- Two Choices
- my fav song
- my first blog

I woke up in the middle of night,
With your soft supple caress..
A hundred emotions crept up all right,
The emotions I couldn’t assess.

I woke up in that darkness of night,
And still saw your eyes glow..
Like a distant light on a cold night,
So much warmth in my body did flow.

I woke up in the silence of night,
My name on your honey lips..
A hundred bells tingled in the absence of light,
A score of flutes played by nimble fingertips.

And then I woke up in the middle of the night,
With the knowledge of your presence..
No beautiful eyes did I sight,
No caress, no sound of benevolence.

My God!! It was a werewolf in my bedroom!
Aaaauuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu……… :P


Back to home page

1. Jab jab meri sunvaai ho, mohabbat ki adaalat ho...
Kuda kare mera jeena aur marna, teri hi badaulat ho.

2. Janaazaa meri mohabbat ka nahi,
Yeh imtehaan meri wafaa ka hai...
Kyaa hua jo tumne humein dekha nahi,
Tumhara dil hi to humara thikana hai!

May 03, 2007

Sorry friends! for the long wait... but i was on a "world tour of India" because of my Summer Project.

This is going to be a post difficult to understand.... not because it is some high funda stuff, but i've just written as i have felt in my heart... it was also difficult for me to decode these thoughts i had... i want my readers comments on this... here goes...

Compassion... I just cant understand and accept this particular term... Compassion in terms of love for beings around u is understandable, but compassion in form of 'pity' or 'sympathy' - it is a sick concept. The two might seem the same but they are completely different.

By displaying such compassion, people tend to display their sensitivity or "tenderness of heart"... total bullshit!
pick up you individuality, have self respect.. and let the creature u are showing ur sympathy towards (compassionee from here on), have his own individuality and let him retain his self respect...

Just as i'd say, "demand and take what u deserve; nothing less and nothing more", i'd also like to state that let the compassionee of urs take wht he deserves... if he cant or doesn't, thts his problem coz thts wht he deserves... That is the way u are being more kind towards him and u r doin the right thing... because u are offering him an oppurtunity, an oppurtunity of allowing him to gather himself and hold his head up, though he is shattered...

Yes, this also means tht Charity is a crime... A strict no-no for giving alms to a physically fit begger or a tip to a waiter or anything of that sort... yes, help should be rendered to the people who need it (not to be addressed as needy), but only if they are worthy of it...

Well, i was thinking all this when i came across an interesting piece.... Ayn Rand sayz, "I do not consider charity a major virtue and, above all, I do not consider it a moral duty."

The answer lies in "Existentialism"... it is the philosophy that places emphasis on individual existence, freedom, and choice.

All said and done, i recently found myself buying and gifting a few mangoes to some poor kids on the road... a friend asked me howz this is justified with ur disbeleif in charity... well, these 5 year olds deserved it.. they might not have tasted fruits in their life and rest of their childhood would pass without them.... even here thr is a problem... such reptitive actions would make these kids into weak adults, who will live on gaining sympathies all their lives....

"Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into this world, he is responsible for everything he does."
Jean Paul Sartre

May 13th 2006

WoW!!! i've finaaly been able to figure out the kind of people i respect (or genuinely like)... Surprisingly, these are the people who like me and despise me, at the same time.

I don't think i like people who like me for all i've acheived or i'm expected to acheive; i like people who like me for the way i live my life, the way i do my things, the way i work, though they might not really approve of it in toto... To say the least, i dont quite agree with people who adore me for some specific reasons, for thr are none... i like those who like me for no reason whatsoever... thts the irony of it all

Well, while i was goin thru all this, i started wondering... why should i like or not like someone (anyone) at all? wht is the logic (if at all) behind all this? (well, logic is one other shady topic, but lets leav tht for other time)

As we've heard, "too much ofsweet tastes bitter". by experience i can also say tht too much of bitter also tastes sweet...

Coming back to wht i was sayin,i respect people who like me for wht i am - the real Sazeal and not his potentials and abilities and achievements and...
Well, u'd say, tht even thts a part of Sazeal, isn't it? "Exactly!", i'd say... people who like a part of me either means they dont like the whole of me or they dont know the whole of me... And then it would be cheating to say anything about me, won't it? well, not cheating in literal sense, but cheating all the same.

What the heck! i can't avoid this even if i want... all this talk would sound too egotistical to ye all, huh?
Maybe! but isn't tht important? coz if i cant respect the "I", i cant respect anything at all.
Lemme clarify, i am neither talkin about the "materialistic I" or the selfless "spiritual I"... I am talkin about the whole of I that includes the 2 definitions and all the definitions around....

coming up soon...

“If you are flexible, it is not at all difficult to move across domains within the industry. Although you should try and do some coherent domain work, because that is a matter of expertise”, exclaimed Ms. Pooja Raheja, who represented the Enterprise Solutions Unit of Infosys. A senior executive in the Sales and Marketing Department of Enterprise Solutions, she has been associated with Infosys for about 7 years now. The objective of the talk was to clarify all the concepts regarding a management job in the IT industry, especially in the area of Package Consulting.

Beginning with the explanation on what Package Application is all about, she went on to explain how Infosys has successfully worked in the arena to be the largest service provider for Automation requirements of the customers. Separate learning groups are designed for different Services, for eg. Enterprise Solution, which works for providing Package Application Solutions has groups for CRM implementation, ERP implementation, etc. In her words, “Our job is to help customer automate their process with these products and to get them the best possible solution as per his requirement.”

She further dispelled all doubts about how ERP consulting differs from package consulting. She helped the audience understand what the industry is about, which was a revelation to many; she helped them cleared the doubts on what the students, who join as managers, are supposed to do. As new recruits, they are not assigned to projects. Instead, they are assigned to groups according to the talents displayed by the young managers. From here, she took a totally exited audience to her own story on how she started her career as a Chemical Engineering student and Sales and Marketing student (from MDI) to rise to be a top executive in the organization with a techno-functional profile, displaying the hordes of opportunities in the IT sector.

After explaining in detail, how the entire process of Package service offering, Package evauation, Package Implementation, Production Support and Package Application is done, she actually took the audience to the Internal web pages of Enterprise Solutions to show how the whole processs is carried out. The students actually got to see the methodology.

When a question was raised as to whether the organization aligns itself to a particular vendor to provide solutions to customers’ problems, pat came the reply, “That’s against the company’s ethics. It is very important to take care that we do not cling to a vendor, as we are supposed to provide best solution to our end user, who is our customer. Although there are some unbiased affiliations, we follow Vendor Agnostism to the core.” She also went on to explain how standard set of rules have to exist, though the service is customized.

Ms. Raheja, a very charismatic person, actually made the heads turn by her oratory skills. With best wishes and a hope to have a sustained long term liaison of Infosys with TAPMI, and having about 140 students as a very supportive audience glued to their seats throught the session, she successfully brought the event to its closure.

This post is not for those of you who choose to stay ignorant about the people who defined our existance; of which we are so proud today... One post... dedicated to the heroes of YOUNG INDIA... this is a sequel to my previous post on THE heroes - Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru...
Today is their 75th death anniversary! I want to pay my tribute to all the three and will try to keep alive their drive of fighting fearlessly for ur rights, for which they laid down their lives...

I'd like to quote Bhagat Singh, "I am a man and all that affects manking concerns me" -(Page 43 of Jail notebook).

"It takes a loud voice to make the deaf hear, with these immortal words uttered on a similar occasion by Valiant, a French anarchist martyr, do we strongly justify this action of ours." -(Leaflet thrown in the Central Assembly Hall, New Delhi at the time of the throwing voice bombs.)

INQALAB ZINDABAD!!!

Wanna know more? Click on the photograph...

Peter Robinson, has so rightly christened his famous book "SNAPSHOTS FROM HELL", and has given a detail description of his life in the first year of his education in Business Administration. And funnily, as I read it and looked at my first year of PGDM at "one of the top B-Schools of India" in retrospect, I am convinced that its comparision to an "Inferno" is as close to reality as possible.

No I aint really complaining... am just not that type, you know! I am just describing... THE DOG FIGHT- for academic/scholastic acheivements, for power, for acceptance, for placements, for everything you can think of! The rigours of the Course; the assignments/projects/presentations/submissions that go on perpetually; the amount of stress levied on us (which we get used to midway thru the end of 1st year); so much so that we are capable and ready to take any s**t in our life. By all this, I say that a B-School "prepares" you!!

And all this we go thru, the abilities we inculcate further fills us with air- air of being omnipotent; air of being a part of the elite management fraternity... a sense of importance finds away into our head; we start thinking we are class apart. Of course I am exaggerating a bit... but this is the attitude that generally grows in almost all of us(though more subtly than elaborated here).

But yesterday something happened! This incident blessed me with some insights and revelations... it told me "An MBA is also a normal human being, a mere mortal". The same mortals that we consider others to be. And it was good! The earlier it dawns upon us, the better. What was it that triggered this thought in me, u might wonder...

Well yesterday, I saw someone breakdown in front of me... a person who was the coolest one among all of us; a person with inimtable style and a highly flared up ego, a person who seemed to be one of the smartest people- both mentally and emotionally, a good friend... he called me and he cried... For a moment I was lost, I knew not what to say... somehow I talked him out and we decided that I would accompany him to a psychiatrist. Well, all I can say at this point is that his problem had grown slowly due to this pressure that accumulated in last 9 months...
Yes, this was the person who I thought was was one of the few "invincible creatures" with a like-I-care attitude (a league of which I consider myself a part). But then I realized, "he is also a normal human, and so are all of us, in this world of the mere mortals" and nothing more...

I am trying to imply that, we as MBAs, do have something special in us, as an "elite and educated group", we have some capabilities and power exlusively found in our types... but instead of bloating with that power, ego andstatus; instead of moving away from reality in an attempt tomove to a higher realm of existential survival, we must use these inherent capabilities to do the "right things", good for us, good for people around and good for people at large... no, I am not making any global statements, I feel this atttitude will help us keep our feet firmly based on ground. To understand the social fabric that we are a part of and our roles towards the same.

Apne dil ke veerano mei jeeye jaate hai log
Rooh ke zakhmo ko kharoche jaate hai log
Kyon apne zehen se nahi kaat dete un yaadon ho
Kyon apne ateet ko chede jaate hai log?

Zindagi ka naam hi hai aage badhna
Apni umar ko apni tarah se jeena aur marna
Aur apne isharon pe duniya ko nachana
Phir kyon duniya ke isharon pe naache jaate hai log?

For the first time, i am putting something on my blog which is not my creation... but believe me its worth it... as managers we talk about Corporate Social Responsibility... but when profits are concerned, it is just a jargon used to placate the "God-only-knows-who"! Sometimes you have to make a choice, what will you choose?

Read on...

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:

"When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is
the natural order of things in my son?"

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. "I believe,that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes, in the way other people
treat that child."Then he told the following story:

Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked,"Do you think they'll let me play?" Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shay could play, not expecting much. The boy looked around for guidance and said, "We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning."

Shay struggled over to the team's bench put on a team shirt with a broad smile and his Father had a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible 'cause Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing the other team putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least be able to make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over, but the pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game. Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the head of the first baseman, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, "Shay, run to first! Run to first!" Never in his life had Shay ever ran that far but made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!"

Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to second base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball, the smallest guy on their team, who had a chance to be the hero for his team for the first time. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions and he too intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, "Shay, Shay, Shay, all the way Shay"

Shay reached third base, the opposing shortstop ran to help him and turned him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third! Shay, run to third" As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams and
those watching were on their feet were screaming, "Shay,run home! Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the "grand slam" and won the game for his team.

That day, said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world.

Shay didn't make it to another summer and died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his Father so happy and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

AND, NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY:

We all send thousandsof jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people think twice about sharing. The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools
and workplaces.

We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the "natural order of things." So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up that opportunity to brighten the day of those with us the least able, and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?


Reference: An email (that came tmbling down from cyber space, could help but grab it!!)

Dear Mama...

I would like to start from the time you brought me into this world... And the pain! The pain you went through when I came into this world... for a whole 9 months! And amidst this pain, a smile burst on your face when you saw me for the first time.
Tears welled up in your eyes when I said my first word... that first word which was incomprehensible, yet so clear and sweet to you. You enjoyed everytime I pronounced my words upside down with my green tongue... your heart stopped beating everytime I fell down, yet you prodded me to get up and walk...

When I was 2, you came to know I was suffering... they called it Bronchitis. I heaved and cried and your world stopped rotating. You couldn't eat when I found it difficult to breathe... And again, yet again, you cried till very late in the nights... It hurt you when I could not play with boys of my age. And you sat with me and inspired me to read, write, and draw... you taught me how to be strong...

You spent each and every moment of your life thinking about me, caring for me. You made sure no one in the family does what I cannot enjoy. Foods that I could not eat didn't find a way inside the house... so much so that poor little Smit had to sacrifice his likes and dislikes for my sake. And he was only too young to sacrifices.

Then I grew up. I don't know whether I grew up to your expectations. I don't know if I gave you any joy from my side, but I sure did give you a lot of pain. Like every enthusiastic teenager, I had developed some new fanged ideas, some ideologies and some idiosyncracies... my priorities had started changing. I had lesser time to spend with you when you needed me. You waited for me past dinner, when I was hanging out with my friends. And then I answered back to you. I was in my own world. I know now that it pained you. But mom, you were always the most important person of my life. Consiously or Subconsiously, you were always in my heart and on my mind.

Then probably I matured. I had become more sober, maybe more understanding. I did stay with you, but my time could never be yours. I know now, as I always have, that you sacrificed your whole life just to bring me up well.

And now I am thousands of miles away, leaving you so much more alone. How miserable do I feel for that! Sometimes I actually think what is important... A career away from home, away from you? or being with you?
Obviously, you also want me to be a successful man and a good human being... and that i will be.

A thanks to you will seem so lame, so i end it just like this... luv you,

Sazeal

I am happy for one more reason... there is a political party being launched called Paritrana... 5 guyz from IIT have decided not to go for their huge placements and rather jump into Politics without the support of any Godfathers...

Finally something is moving towards positivity in India (well, a lotta things keep moving, but they dont deserve mentions)...

Check out the news article...

I think I undid the effect of the CRA disaster...

Yesterdays presentation of Marketing (Frequency of Advertisement in a Mature Market) went so purrrfect... I am happy again... Got applauds from Prof. and classmates... and my groupies are happy...

all in all, as i said in my previous posts... good and bad things are complimentary to each other and inevitable too... but i am still to understand my own feelings and behaviour of that day

I dont know how to write what I felt today... I felt something today that is unlike anything I ever felt.

It is about the presentation of CRA (Concurrently Running Assignment) in Marketing... It is one of the very few things I have worked on with all my heart and soul... Well, public speaking and presenting is something I like to do, and they (the audience) say that I am good at it... plus marketing is my area of interest (or so I strongly feel today)... and for this assignment we were so well prepared... it was awork of many sleepless nights and a totally wasted Sunday.. a totally draining exercise

Nilesh and I had worked really hard on this presentation... but Professor Sivakumar called Rajesh on stage for presenting it... and he wasn't prepared... and the presentation was scrwed... most people did not notice and Prof. Sivakumar did not give a negative feedback... but we knew we couldn't do justice to the presentation...

It is not the first time such a goof up has taken place, whether on my personal part or on group's part... it is a part of the game! But surprisingly, my mood got so goddamn spoilt (so did nilesh's) that i could neither talk, nor behave in a normal way... i felt like drawing myself into a coccoon, become invisible somehow (this is the first time I felt something like this), though i was not even in the line of fire... it was a disgusting feeling... and understanding that it wasn't such a big deal... well, it was, in the sense that it weighed 20% on the evaluation in the most important theme, but when have I cared about grades... it was definitely not about the grades, neither it had anything to do with Ego and stuff... i just felt sad

Though I am feeling better now, I am trying to figure out what had happened...

Well, I truly pity the condition of Rajesh at that time... he was cold and totally soaked in perspiration when he got down from the stage... he had gone weak in his knees... he came down and apologized to Nilesh and me, which was not at all required... and in no sense am I blaming him or trying to derate him in this post, its just my feelings I am trying to decode

But I still feel sore...

Dil ka dard siva dilke aur kaun jaan sakta hai,
Bedard ye duniya hai jo is dil ko mazak samajhta hai.
Manzil mohabbat hai, Rahein mashakkat hai,
Phir bhi dil ko unhi ke liye dhadakte jaana hai.

The Dictionary defines Competition as:
1. The act of competing, as for profit or a prize; rivalry.
2. A test of skill or ability; a contest.
3. Rivalry between two or more businesses striving for the same customer or market.
4. A competitor: The competition has cornered the market.
5. Ecology. The simultaneous demand by two or more organisms for limited environmental resources, such as nutrients, living space, or light.

Well, I believe in two things: Competition is omnipresent; it is present everywhere and at every point of time. And secondly, Competition is very important; whether we talk about the growth of an individual, a society, an organization, a market, or the world at large. Life itself is a competition.

The question is what kind of competition? Or to what extent do we justify the intensity of competition? Here I am hinting at Good competition and Bad competition. As National Geographic quotes in one of its articles on competition as it exists in Olympics, “competition can be good, as when people or teams play games against each other and stick to the rules. It can also be bad, such as when two people fight or when someone tries to cheat at a game.”

I am aware that good and bad, in themselves, are undefined terms; and the most used (read abused) too. We must first understand that, if competition is defined as a game played between individuals to reach to the top, then there is always a place on the top for everyone.

As Prof. K Sankaran quotes the Darwin’s theory ,
“The fittest shall survive
None but the fittest shall survive
The strong shall inherit
None but the strongest shall inherit…”
So the competition should be such that we keep off from foul games and dirty tactics. Let us term these as negative competition. Whether I talk about the corporate world or anything else, this “negative competition” will surely help you break the backs of your competitors, but will also motivate them and others to break your back. This I said in terms of repercussions. But, in practise it is also an unethical act. Prof. Sankaran also talks about how we can stop vulgarising Darwin’s theory and reap more benefits of free markets by understanding Competition properly.

All of us have grown up hearing the saying that it is important to win but it is far more important how you win.
I believe in a concept of Co operational Competition. Traditionally, we use Co-operation and Competition as near antonyms. But here I do talk about the two terms in synch. Helping each other to develop, learn from each other and grow in unison is what I am preaching. The concept does look very impossible and socialist in outlook, but it has more to it than it seems. We must work with this in mind and some altruism in heart. We can bring about a positive change in this “dog-eat-dog” world by understanding the meaning of competition.

To sum it up, I quote the famous saying, “Win or lose- do it fairly”.

one of my creations that i love...

Zindagi ki khoobsoorati par kyaa bayan karun,
Ke jitna isne diya... Aarzoo se kahi zyada tha.
To kya hua jo kabhi wo rula jati hai,
Kabhi itna hasati hai ki saare gum bhula jaati hai.

‘Twas such a beautiful day,
And I was right on my way,
Choosing the path that my heart prescribed,
Not reading the rules on the stones described
The journey seemed so beautiful, so gracious so fine,
Soon everything I ever wanted would be mine,
Only with happiness I’d dine,
There couldn’t come a day, when I’d have to whine.

Before the thought even crossed my head,
Rocky and thorny I found the road I tread,
The clouds did cover my head, cutting from me the sweet shine,
The train of my life did enter a tunnel, “the darkness” was all mine.
Tattered and shattered, I walked a mile,
But I decided not to lose my very last smile.
Life seemed to offer sorrows in a pile,
But the walk and the smile, I kept for a while.

And then there was a light…


It turned to such a beautiful day,
As I continued on my way,
Choosing the path my heart described,
By the same carefree heart but with care subscribed,
The journey became so fruitful, so obvious, so mine,
I know what I’ve been through is all that is mine,
Even with catasrophe, now, I could dine,
So there wouldn’t come a day, when I’d ever whine.

If the smile was not, what I had kept,
Had I stopped, complained and wept,
There would still be clouds and not the sweet shine,
The train would have stopped and “the darkness” would still have been mine,
Now all my life, mile by mile,
I’ll keep walking wearing my smile
Even if life offers me sorrows in a pile,
I’ll accept it for that while.

‘Coz then there will be light…

Life is so unpredictable!! When you are down, it pulls you up; when you are elevated, it bangs you to the ground. You can’t even understand, what is happening to you. Instead of asking, “Is it supposed to be this way?”; I would rather say “This is life… Welcome to reality! Face it and be strong.” Huh! Easier said than done. When someone loses a person close to him; when the person close to you passes away, how do you feel? I can’t even imagine. In fact I shudder at the very thought that these things are destined to happen. And when, all of a sudden, it shows you a middle fingerl it says “YOU ARE NOTHING” and you just stare into oblivion as if you are a fool. Is, so much of attachment to people and things around us, good? May be… or may be not. Well, your parents bring you up, spending every cell of their body, crying for you, smiling with you. There are people around you who love you, who care for you. How can you not be attached to them? How can you not lose heart and break down when something drastic happens to them? Don’t our near and dear ones deserve our tears? They sure do… On the other hand, you have to learn to face realities. Do we all not know that life is meant to end? Do we not understand we must also bear our share of pain? Is it not that happiness and sorrow have to go hand in hand? I think we should be better equipped to face such consequences. Reality and Emotions; Practicality and Morals; they have to be in conflict. None of them being right or wrong. That’s not the point I want to mention here. I want to talk about the reality of life. And the reality is that you love people around you and you always want them to be happy. Because it makes you happy to see them happy. And the reality is, there is an equilibrium in the universe. You have to face both the extremes (like joy and sorrow) in equal amounts. I don’t know how to end this pourout of mine. But it is natural to feel things, good and bad. But, THE SHOW MUST GO ON. Life cannot stagnate because of one catastrophe. Like phoenix we must rise from the ashes!

before nething else... read this... i found it somewhere, it is not only interesting but so very correct


"A worldwide survey was conducted by the UN. The only question asked was: "Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions to the food shortage in the rest of the world?" The survey was a huge failure, In Africa they didn't know what 'food' meant, In India they didn't know what 'honest' meant, In Europe they didn't know what 'shortage' meant, In China they didn't know what 'opinion' meant, In the Middle East they didn't know what 'solution' meant, In South America they didn't know what 'please' meant, And in the USA they didn't know what 'the rest of the world' meant."


presently US has done this... u kno talkin about the "democratic occupation"... they show a facade of democracy and occupy... so do their kids like afghanistan and iraq... i guess a few years down the line, we will have this kinda democratic occupation all over the world.

dont say that i am stupid... i have come up with this topic for some reason... no,no! i am in no way related to our dear modi... but see it this way... if US (pun not evident but still intended) can bar a chief minister from entering its territories on some grounds... it can do just about nething without nebody stopping it

at this pt, lemme remind u something, grounds can be created... saying tht his visit does not fulfill the conditions reqd for a diplomaic visa and he aggravated ppl on religious grounds, so no tourist visa... it is evident wht they want to portray

i think pm mr. manmohan did a right thing by voicing against wht they did... but it was not strong and determined enuff... even this was just a facade

i will now come to wht i want to talk about... if US can do this, so can we... or rather that is exactly wht we shd do... india has been calm for a long time... we were insulted time and again
they denied us the veto power which we so very rightly deserve... this is not done...

WHT I MEAN IS " INDIA MUST BECOME AGGRESIVE NOW"... by aggresive i dont mean violent, but stonger in its stand... we shd make it clear to the world tht we take nonsense no more!!
wht say?

today is martyrs day in true sense
this was posted on 23rd March, 2005... read on


BHAGAT SINGH, SUKHDEV and RAJGURU laid their lives for our present and future on this day

i bow down and salute them!!

i aver violence dudes but when it is necessary, it is necessary...
it is a total disgust that some people compare bhagat singh to the terorists and naxalites... he never did actual harm to humans (unarmed innocent humans here) like them... all he did wrong was he killed a vain imperialist who had tasted the blood of hapless indians and was imposing atrocities on them...

i salute him and his deeds!!

the purna swaraj "stunt" that inc pulled out was actually a brain child of bhagat singh and his acomplices... if u have read in history... otherwise we would have still being kickied in our u-kno-whts by those u-kno-whos

and probably u would be cleaning one of theiir toilets, not enjoying our freedom... no offences... am just portraying a picture

"... i consider bhagat singh my idol... for he did what he believed in... and tht 2 not 4 selfish purpose... donating ones life for a purpose is no joke... "

i lov bapu... but with gandhian system... we portray ourselves to be weak bunch of helpless people begging to be freed
i agree with all those who think that bhagat singh was the epitome of self esteem... u cannot spare a person when he starts targeting and exploiting the weak... he has to be made to taste mud... and thats what bs, sukdev, rajguru and league thought

JAI HIND!!

should we or should we not... moral and ethics... intriguing and difficult? logical? theoritical?

well, answers are simple... u r a fool if u stick by them and u r a bigger fool if u dont.
no i havent got "the bout" again... if u do the right thing peeps slap u on the back of ur head and laugh on ur back... and if u decide to do it in a less right manner, u become the biggest sinner on the face of earth!!

by now i am sure all of u r with me, whether u r the victim or his nemesis.

well, do what u think is right... dont give a damn to this friggin' world, coz newayz its gonna kick ur arse... in sazeal's words follow ur heart... that will help u succeed (whatever ur goals or ideals r) and then the same peeps who had once critisized will lick the path u treaded and wag their tails.

because life is like a quote tht states--
LOVE YOUR JOB BUT NEVER FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR COMPANY, COZ' U NEVER KNOW WHEN COMPANY STOPS LOVING YOU.

what i mean is do wht ur here to do... because everything else the peeps, the standards, the values and the rules around u will keep changing

einstein cried hoarse, till his every single cell gave away, that "everything in this universe is relative"...
and so is the question whether sumthing is right or rong... well u must kno ur boundaries
u must have ur principles... and u must learn to live by them.
u must kno the repurcussions of ur actions and whether or not u really want the things tht r to follow

my first blog... well i must admit that i cant say i kno exactly what this blog thingey is... except some blogs i have read... and what i understand is blogs r a depiction of u by the thoughts that u share... that it is nothing but a collection of pourouts... a diary that u allow people to take a peek into...
the only difference is a diary is personal whereas this is public... but i dont mind... y??... ok heres first thing about me i'd like to share...

so here goes...
i am not a very clandestine kind... my life is an open book... i make friends easily... i (used to) trust people easily... to some extent i stil do... but life has tought me something that i knew but did not follow... about trusting all the peeps.

my blog reads "achilles without weak heels", which is very peculiar, and may b annoying to some... but it has a reason attached... i have learnt from my mistakes... and i am still in the process of becoming fool-proof... hence the invoice...

this was my first blog as i had posted on March 20, 2005... on my ex-blog (sazeal.blogspot.com)...

well, to add to this... i have learnt a lot in my 6 months of MBA education... u would get to hear more in coming blogs.

i am not editing any previous posts coz they depict my thoughts at that point of time... so go on and let ur feelings flow... tell me ur points of view on them... i'd be glad to acknowledge