A day in the life of LIFE

A sunny morning, it once was,
When a couple came knocking by,
Looking, they were, for a place to stay,
When many in the process had turned them away...

Like others, I refused them permission
Having in my mind a lot of apprehension,
They still persisted in any case,
Till I slammed the window in their face.

I forgot about them, but few days later,
I was woken up by the couple’s banter
Without my knowing, They had forced their way
And were lodged in my house to my dismay.

Out, Out , I cried aloud : He said:
Please my friend don’t make a sound,
I am expecting my children to see the world,
Once they arrive I shall leave your surround.

Alright, I said in a grumpy voice,
But make sure they don’t make a noise,
For I am a man who likes my peace
And no one takes the space within my reach

Days passed and so did the seasons,
The couple smiled, for they had a reason,
The little ones, into the world had made their foray,
But before long their world was in disarray.

As I sat resting by my chair,
Fell something as soft as a hare,
The little one lay on the ground,
With the whole world spinning around.

My heart cried out for the little pigeon in pain
For he fell from the attic like a drop of rain,
In his quest for flight, the little one had died,
My feathered tenants who saw this deeply cried.

That was the instant that I realized,
That humans though are highly priced
Lack the basic trait of simplicity,
How far would they go in this world of hypocrisy ???

- Ashu

No, this is not the title of the latest comedy play by Evam in Chennai.

It is a scene in one of the hospitals (the name of which i dont know) in the "hub" of Chennai's T Nagar.

Time: 7:30 p.m. on a Friday evening - I am munching sweets, biscuits and apples like there's going to be no tomorrow. and why so? because I am going in for a tooth extraction and was warned by Ma, friend 1, friend 2, friend 3's chacha's niece's mother that it is going to be a long ordeal. I was getting ready just as if I was going to face Pakistani bullets in the next hour or so. I walk into the hospital only to find a stray dog guarding the gate and menacingly looking at me. The eerie feeling of being treated for rabies rather than a 'less sought after' wisdom tooth, sent the shivers down my spine. I bribed it away with a couple of biscuits which I carried with me to the clinic like the pharoahs who took their precious possessions before they set out on their journey after death.

Negotiating my way through the labyrinthian pathway, i reached two wooden doors, invisible ink, on which read, " make sure, you have your legal "will" ready".

I walked in, gulped some saliva down my throat, and Dr. Meenakshi murmured from behind her green mask, " Come pa, seat ley okkandako." [Come pa, have a seat] She set out on educating me about the perils of a wisdom tooth extraction. " The upper mandible and the tibula of the tongue..............." dont ask me if that made sense, I was just rambling some lines from class 12 Biology when I had dissected a cockroach...

She finally concluded, " the chances are there that one may lose his sense of taste for 3 months, 6 months, 12 months or even three years, if there is an injury to the nerve connecting the tongue". "But dont worry pa, the chances are only one in 1000". . Wow, that's so comforting. Incidentally I had just withdrawn 1000 rupees from the ATM before reaching the dentist's. And believe me, sometimes, these numbers get spookier by the minute.I always hated statistics. More so because statisticians proclaim that "If you have your head in the oven and feet in the freezer, on an average, you are just alright".

My mind was filled with not being able to taste the "thali at Mansukhs" the "bhel puri" across the Hanumanji temple in Bangalore, and Ma's delicious cooking which is the primary reason I keep running off to Bangalore once a month.

The cool air from the A/C brought me out of my reverie. I was recollecting the scene when Ma was also 'housed' in a similar set up for her wisdom teeth to be removed.

Dr. Meena exclaimed, " We need to keep the patient cool Pa, so much tension etc. etc"

A couple of X rays were taken, both of which were meant to be pushed down my oesophagus, and they were being examined by the Doc, with utterances of "Hmmm. aah. ok. Pa."

Gauraw, my roomie was accompanying me, as part of the International Red Cross Association, who help wounded soldiers in the war. "You can wait outside Pa., I shall call you when it is done", quipped Dr. Meena. In fact it was the doc who insisted I get someone along, lest I lose my consciousness like Amitabh in Majboor.

Water was poured out into a plastic tumbler beside me, and suddenly, one more Doc, Dr. Srimathi with "20 years of experience" walked in. I was reminded of Smt. Shrimati of the Recruitment department at Birlasoft. poor lady, she keeps hunting for profiles with 2,3,4 years of experience, and here I had one with 20...whom I could refer to her. Dr. Srimathi examined the X rays and gave out the same expressions of "Hmmm. aah. ok". without the Pa.

Having got all the paraphernalia in place, she started out on her "Mission Up-lift-ment". "you have a very small mouth and your jaws are kind of displaced", observed Dr Srimathi. Thank you very much Doc, I got my gyan for the day, and shall update the same in Wikipedia, I said to myself.The two doctors conversed about the complexity of the extraction in Tamil, and I comprehended a few things. They told me it's going to be tough for them as well as for me. 4 ml. of anasthesia or was it 40?was pumped into my oral cavity.

beep beep.

I am censoring the gory details of how the tooth was removed. lest Blogworld puts a "parental guidance required" flag on my blog.

At the end of it all, only one tooth was removed after an ordeal of 90 minutes, and the other they said would be done in a separate sitting. I had just hoped the doctors would not go to "dentalsurgery.com" and click on the "I-am-completely-lost" button. Thankfully it did not happen that way.

The tooth which finally was pulled out using forceps resembling the nut cracker used by my grand-pa, was presented to me like the Param Vir Chakra, and I was expected to hang it around my neck like a good-luck charm.

I glugged down a maaza, a couple of appies and an ice cream ..Yummm...

Dr. Meena said," Look pa, have only idlies, bread and mashed curd rice for the next three days".

Dr. Srimathi asked me " Who is going to look after you ?". It could be rephrased as " Oh my dear baby, you are so small to look after yourself sweetie pie. Let me adopt you and take you home" kinds.

I walked home with a swollen cheek ,lots of Ice, negative balance of 2500 bucks and a " Oh mum, I'll miss you for the next two days" look on my face!

My English has been sounding like French since then and those calling me up thought they were making an ISD call to Paris.

It's been two days of bread - halwa - idli - milk routine,[halwa courtesy - Roma Bhabhi of ground floor at Syndicate Residency.]

Ankurva [his name is Ankur, Ankurva is the typical Bihari Ishtyle], my other room mate has been kidding me about my physical state and questioned if I was slapped by a girl. "Girls! in Chennai????" you must be joking!!"

Am back in office this morning, alive and kicking....discharging my duties in the surreal world of IT, no less tense and tiring than a battlefield.....

This is my fresh post after a "long" gap of one week. And what a topic to blog about. I am just 60 minutes away from huge mechanical contraptions making way into my poor oral cavity, to uproot whatever wisdom is left in my wisdom teeth. It's very much akin to the illegal structure demolition drive by the Mumbai Corporation.

It has been a couple of years since I visited the dentist for any major overhaul, and this time around, I am trying my luck in Chennai.

I cannot "TALK" for the next whole day. My roomies and office colleagues sure will be happy, coz it's rarely that I keep my 24 hour voice box shut.

So much so for uninterrupted verbal diarrhoea.

Well, anyway, I shall post my experience post the ordeal at the Dentist's.

Wish me luck.

Hope my locomotory organs are not connected to my oral cavity ( An assumption I made keeping the common "O"s in mind...)

Well, I gotta rush. Need to grab some pooris coz I cant eat grub for the next 12 hours. poor me...

Ok Doc! hang on! I'm coming.....

“Change is the only constant” opine those from the pragmatic school of thought. Though this adage sounds a little paradoxical, it is actually quite true when we peer through the looking glass and have a second look.

The most important driver for all actions is the thoughts formed in one’s mind and sharing ideas is the best way to promote collective learning. Learning from failures and looking at “what could have been better” have inspired generations of innovations.

Looking at the successes of individuals and organizations points to one aspect. For an achievement to happen, it needs both good ideas and implementation of the same. Having either of the two does not imply successful resolution. Infosys, which has been the icon of Indian IT capability also has these dual elements in it - Mr. Narayana Murthy is the thinker and Mr. Nilekani is the Implementer.

The order of the day demands “clarity of thought” which acts as the propelling force.

Consider a simple analogy, often quoted and forgotten equally often. A baby elephant was tied to a pole with a rope and how much ever it tried, it could not break free. Successive attempts yielded no results.

The elephant grew up and was now quite strong but was still tied to the pole with the weak rope, and with one lug at it, the elephant could be free. But the pre-conceived notion that it could not break away owing to its past experience kept it away from the taste of freedom.

Many of us are like the elephant where we cease to think beyond past experiences which act as barriers preventing us from moving on in life.

The ideal scenario would be to pick up the positives and shed the baggage behind. I know it is easier said than done, but that has to be the plan to implement for each one of us.

In fact, as you are reading this article right now, a lot of thoughts might be racing on the mind’s expressway, and the emotion could range from appreciation, to acknowledgement, and dislike to mere indifference. But it is important we all foster positive emotions (the discretion of which I leave it to you) since emotions translate to actions.

So, the next time around please exercise the power of thought that is a gift to us humans and differentiates us in the chain of evolution.

Signing off on this post, I leave you with some self-composed lines that re-enforce the power of thoughts….

“Thoughts form the foundation for the cement called Inspiration,
And this inspiration coupled with Application always results in a beautiful Innovation”
Cheers
Ashu

Finally managed to attend the 29th Club Madras Ad awards, yesterday, at the Kamraj hall in Chennai. [information source about the event happening: mali]

The turnout was poor considering the fact that greater part of the audience belonged to the families of the ad agenices participating in the event.

Gautam, a school chum of mine was in the city and I thought I would pull him along too.

A group of office buddies also joined me after I promised them it would be exciting. (only to realize that they would have preferred watching a masala movie or a visit to a theme park). At least I liked the show, since it was different, in many ways.

I have been a great fan of advertising right since I was a kid. (Not exaggerating). In fact, I remember having participated in one of the contests organized by IIM Bangalore way back in 1991 - 92 when I was in Class IV, as part of some exhibition.

There were a lot of audio visuals, and we had to guess the ads correctly.Despite being a fourth grader, I had come out on top in that contest( courtesy : Doordarshan - The only manoranjan of that era) [No bragging : just plain facts :)] And I probably today would have been conceptualizing ads and creating punchlines, had I not been a " qualified Software Engineer".

The anchor of yesterday's show was our very own Lolla Kutty (of Channel V fame)in her bizzare designer saree (1000 disco lights embedded in 6 meters of cloth) and some Jolly Jagan (who ended up being Joker Jagan - The only good thing he did was calling upon the beautiful volunteer in the Red Saree [see photograph - second from above] which drew cheers from the crowds).

A few characteristic Mallu jokes were the order of the day.

There were several categories and a good number of entries, but many categories did not have nominations.

The awards ceremony was interspersed with some entertainment, with a dance troupe enacting how the art of advertising evolved, a Kalaripayattu performance and a "Show of Strength" (including folding a dosa pan, shreading telephone directories with bare hands et. al) by an Indian Body Builder training for the WWF.(World Wrestling Federation)

The best ad of the show award went to the ad featuring Air Deccan ( I love the slogan "Simplifly"). The agency was Orchard Bangalore.

Sharad Haskar( You will find his hoardings all along Mount Road - really good)from the agency "1 point size" won the award for Self Promotion.

There was a special tribute to Mr. K Viswanathan, a textile Engineer from IIT Delhi, Partner RMkV Silks, who passed away in a road accident this January. RMkV is known for its 50,000 colored saree, unique in the world.

The overall award for the maximum number of category wins went to "1 point size" and Mudra South were the runners up with a difference of 90 points.

Overall a good and different evening [you cannot ask for more , having payed 75 rupees], and what I have learnt is that next time not to pull (rather inform) people into something one personally considers "COOL". Each one to his own perception.
After all, not everyone is "Creatively Blessed".

I am leaving you with some images of the exhibition featuring the ads and some nice snaps of the show.

Do post your valuable comments as always.

Ashu.

P.S.- The first image is that of the team of "1 Point Size" receiving the honors from Mr. N Murali of The Hindu.

Also all images featuring the event [except the close up posters] have been shot from 15-20 rows away from the main stage - Just illustrates the power of the Sony Cybershot.

Great news for all creativity buffs.

The 29th advertising Club Madras awards are on show today at the Kamraj Memorial in Chennai. I am told that last year, it was a big hit. This time around there would be 26 Categories and winners as well.

Manged to get 6 tickets this morning.

Looking forward to the event this evening at 6:30 p.m.

The Ad exhibition has begun from 1 p.m.

The ticket to the event is priced at 75 Indian rupees, which I must say is less than the cost of watching a movie at Satyam Theatre. Tickets are available at the venue.

The concept behind this year's show is "Pain deserves gain". and the design of the ticket itself is in tune with the creativity of these ad gurus.

I have scanned a copy of the same for your reference.

Notice that there is an actual band aid on the ticket that needs to be worn before entry.

This is a first time for me, and got news about it thanks to Mali, who is a creativity guru himself and a colleague at Birlasoft.

So the next time you wonder how ads are made, you can get your thoughts inspired from such shows....

Note: Some problem with blogger presently. I am not able to upload images. will put up the image once the problem is rectified.

It's been a year and seven months at Birlasoft, and I have learnt much, during this period. That's majorly contributed to, by the discussions with a group of like minded colleagues ( spanning departments, designations and age spectrum)which has brought out many interesting dimensions.

Let me share one such "pearl of wisdom" shared with us, by Ravi.

Ravi has over 10 years of experience and is the Head of the Infrastructure practice at Birlasoft.

This conversation had its origins in one of the many tete-a-tete s that we've had.

How do pilots prevent from crashing their planes while landing?
It's because when they land they focus on the horizon and the wheels descend in a trajectory almost parallel to the horizon thus ensuring a smooth landing.

Thinking of which, had the pilots focussed their vision directly on the runway, they would end up nose diving and kissing the ground.

Leveraging the same line of thought to the mindset of individuals, we would all be better off, focussing on the big picture - keeping in mind the long term end state.

What I m getting to, is that in the process of firefighting day to day activities, we sometimes lose track.

A good thumbrule on what kind of thoughts we need to foster, for supporting meaningful dialogue in conversations is called the PII pyramid..[Copyright - Ravi]

PII - read as People, Incidents and Ideas defines the three levels of thought maturity.

At the base level, indicating the least level of intellectual maturity, is discussing about people. X has these negatives. Y is incapable of doing the job. so on and so forth.

The medium level of maturity is demonstrated by discussions on Incidents involving individuals. Don't get me wrong, but is is typically a squabble between two housewives as to who should fill the water first, fights among their children et. al

The highest level of maturity is seen in dialogue involving a clash of Ideas. Ideas have been accorded the highest priority owing to the fact that ideas act as the spark of innovation. And the moment a person is convinced that the debate has to happen over ideas per say,it does not matter who wins because at the end of the day, the best idea triumphs over people, thus resulting in effective way forward.

Again, I am not getting into the mode of deciding the grey areas between the pyramid, for it is for the individuals to decide where they fit into.

As the adage goes, " In a fight between a fool and a wise man, it is the wise man to blame, for it is he who stoops to the level of the fool".

I am also reminded of the Kannada folk song that goes thus "Aachara villada Naalige, Ninna Neecha buddiya bidu naalige", where the poet addresses the tongue asking it to shed its non righteous task of talking ill of others.

The wise men have spoken. Hope history does not repeat itself [Period]
(Click on the image to enlage)

Do you expect the likes of Sonia Gandhi and Venkaiah Naidu to dine at budget hotels? Or expect them to hitch rides after a long drawn political rally from people they know in the cities they visit, sans the cavalcades?

I may be naive in comparing well established political parties with the toast of today, Paritaana, but yes, things can move on without the grandeur accompanying political extravaganza.

It was yet another normal Sunday, till 9:30 p.m when I decided to treat myself to some mouth watering golgappas [ a popular chat item in India] at Gangotree, when I received a call from Gauraw and Abhishek, my two flatmates who had chosen not to delve into the bliss of tamarind sauce and Dates’ chutney, that when loaded into the pooris, gurgles down the throat.

I was annoyed at receiving a phone call in the midst of devouring the pani puris, but Gauraw quipped, “Come to Hotel Ananda immediately. I have some news for you.” I shot back saying unless it was earth shattering [or greater than that] I would not let go of my golgappas for anything.

Gauraw paused and then exclaimed “ Raj purohit is here.” I could not get the context till, Abhishek whispered from behind Gauraw. “ Tanmay Rajpurohit from Paritraan is here”. [ Paritraan is the political party formed by a group of IIT alumni to transform the face of Indian democracy. Visit paritraan here


“Goodness Gracious! It can’t be true. The National President of the party, eating at a budget hotel”(when I mean that, it’s not all that bad – it’s just right for bachelors and students who are cash stripped more often than not)

I raced out to my flat to pick up my digital camera, (yes I have learnt to be proactive since I have got his suddent streak of meeting up with celebreties: after cine star Chinranjeevi, it was Tanmay's turn now) and reached the Hotel. I found my guys in one corner of the hall, and Tanmay and one other gentleman( whom I later recognized as Shrini – my ex batch mate at IMS Chennai and currently pursuing an MBA at Great Lakes, Chennai) dining diagonally opposite.

Gauraw and myself walked up to them with Abhishek following close behind, lest his dining seat be poached, and Gauraw exclaimed to Tanmay “ This is my room-mate”. After a brief intro, I turned to Shrini, as Abhishek picked up a conversation in Bhojpuri with Tanmay.

I told him about the blog I wrote for Paritraan and gave him the reference that it’s Rang De Basanti season after all, for which he reacted thus:

“Picturoney ladko ko kharab kar diya hai” (Films have influenced the youngsters a lot).

Allowing Shrini and Tanmay to continue with their conversation, we left for our table. Meanwhile I learnt that there was a rally and membership mobilization drive in the city the same evening and I had missed the same owing to my siesta time. (rather I was ignorant of it).

Well, I can’t complain about not attending the event, when I got to meet the MAN himself, in person.

I am leaving you with Shrini’s number since I don’t have Tanmay’s contacts. Those interested in working for the party or joining as members can get details through Shrini at 9884252631

I am told that Paritraan is going to contest in the Assembly elections as well in the State of Tamil Nadu. Here's wishing them good luck.

The Indian Revolution has begun. Are you aboard?

I am very eager to blog this topic which explains the time of this post 11 p.m. IST.

I just met up with Tanmay Raj Purohit, (the National Vice President of Paritraana) at Hotel Ananda near Teynampet in Chennai.

He has that professional pride, Mr. Raj purohit.

The information was provided by my two sleuths Gauraw and Abhishek ( my flat mates) who happend to reach there before me, only to find Tanmay dining with Shrini( one of my ex batch mates at IMS, currently pursuing his MBA at GLIM)

There was apparently a rally at Mylapore in Chennai today at 6 p.m. I was snorin in my bed at that time. Wish i could have attended the same.

More on the face to face tomorrow morning.

Snaps coming up....

India is changing. Are you part of the revolution?