Drishti - the vision

I had along awaited the release of Barack Obama's autobiography. His is a remarkable story, as was evident even while it was unfolding. Beyond the cliched historical significance of first black presidency, his journey also stood out for his non-race related struggles, his thin pre-presidency resume followed by his rapid rise into the Presidency and his growth in the job.  I was always curious to know how he must have felt deep down as he first conceived these grand ambitions and then through a combination of hard work and opportunity travelled the road so rarely travelled. Nothing in the usual sense of training could have prepared him for either conceiving or embarking on such a journey, leave aside succeeding at it. So then what made him tick? For long I had felt a connection to his ambitions, his choices and his conduct. Not to suggest any similarities in our aptitudes rather a shared understanding of certain broad principles in life.  He is an inspiration to me perhaps as to mil

 T.S. Eliot wrote: We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. For those in their mid-30's there is enough they have dreamt, seen and experienced that leads them to see the wisdom of these words. It is by no means the beginning of the journey home, rather more like completing a lap full circle. One develops a familiarity with the patterns, experiences the causalities and starts to come out of the shadows of his/her parents. Many mark this period as the beginning of the mid-life crisis, I tend to think of it more as an "end to parental privilege". In any case, it does provide certain clarity that has the potential to both empower or paralyze depending on what we chose to do with this clarity.  Many years ago, mostly driven by good grades in language courses,  I had begun to harbor ambitions of becoming a writer by avocation. And in those moments I had started this blog. Dorma

My writing pattern is becoming more and more predictable it seems - clearly I only write to wish people a happy new year and then I go quiet.  I hope 2016 will be different. In fact 2016 has to be different. It has begun on such a different note that it will be a shame if it doesn't turn out to be different. So in 2016 I have decided to break the routine of almost past 10 years and take a plunge to attend to a task that I had neglected for long.  I have decided to do an MBA. Not just any MBA but a very exotic MBA from a boutique school in a picturesque location. IMD Business School in Lausanne Switzerland.  The transition from working for a multi-billion dollar Oil major to becoming a student has not been without its share of inconveniences but after two weeks in the program Shikha and I are still smiling so we are coping fine.  I hope the year will bring all that we expect it to bring or at least it will bring something worth cherishing. We will see! For the time being a

I am a new year person. I believe that new year is not just any arbitrary date but indeed an opportunity to resolve new and change the way one lives. You can tell that by looking at the date for the previous blog. New year 2015 is helping me break my long silence here. So what was 2014 like? A disaster for the airline industry of course(although I read somewhere that apart from the 4 major crashes the overall safety standard in the airline actually went up in 2014 - what does that nonsense even mean?). Insane from a geopolitical perspective as well - Russia, ISIS, Pakistan. But for India it was landmark year. With Modi's never-seen-before quality of ascension to the top elected post in India, the politics has changed. For a die-hard AAP supporter like me it wasnt particularly a great news but if you followed some or all of my posts on facebook you could imagine biting the bullet wasnt so hard for me. I was for India first and party later. In AAP i found a vehicle that i tho

Wish you a very happy new year once again. It is remarkable how fast time is flying. The last time I remember a year lasted a year was in 2006. This was when I graduated from University and started working and after that wishing New Year seems like a weekly thing.  So 2013 - in a way for the World a less tumultuous year than the one's preceding it - uprisings of 2011, 2012; World Cups of 2010, 2011; Coming to power of Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012; financial crisis of 2008, 2009 and beyond - but still full of its own excitements at least for India and me.  The rise of the AAP was a phenomenon unlike any India has seen in the last few decades. Yes there was the government of JD which dethroned Congress briefly, yes there was the laughable musical chair of Prime Ministers in 1997-1998, yes there was the rise of Kalam to the Presidency of India but a mass revolution coming from the very grassroots of India without a drop of blood being shed has to be more remarkable than any of t

I sometimes stammer. Before you go any further let me clarify this is not a self-pity post (and I will tell you why), in fact it is a funny one.  As I said - I sometimes stammer. I first discovered this when in class 2nd my class teacher asked 7 or 8 of us to audition for the post of  house captain (imagine cute 7 yr old captains). Initial screening process was good grades and a bit of teacher's discretion and then finally this test. The first bits I comfortably scaled and in the last one we were to sound out commands. You know shouting stuff like "attention school, stand at ease, about turn". It was the "A" in attention that stumped me. I had no idea till then that I stammered and so I went straight for one of the toughest sounds as per phonetics and while opening the mouth was not tough it was producing that sound of A that proved merciless. I dont know for how long my mouth remained open but surely long enough for one teacher to remark, "what happe