Drishti - the vision

Inspiration Climb is steep and paths are long, But I cannot rest I must go on For even in this dark , when I cannot see There is someone who watches me He thinks I am mighty and strong He thinks I will set right all wrong He thinks I work hard and try To create a world for him to fly Oh no sir! He is not my son I don’t know this little one But everyday when my car goes by He waves at me and says goodbye How can I break his faith and trust And quit my work in utter disgust I know I am lost and have no clue But to that little waving hand I must stay true I must get up and get on my feet For that little boy on the street Who runs to the school in bliss and glee So one day he can be like me Kunal Chandra   22.January.2013

I have recently completed my 2+ year assignment in Nigeria. Many of my friends congratulate me on moving out of Nigeria and welcome me to what they think is a more desirable world - Europe. I politely reciprocate the gesture but through this page which I think belongs to me (google doesn't think so by the way) I want to admit that I miss leaving Nigeria. It was a comfortable life as a Shell expat. Nice house, cars, travel services etc did have their charm and I hate to say that I had begun to enjoy it. But more importantly I miss the people. I have made some great friends on the island who gave me so many opportunities to develop myself and become a better human being while at the same time giving me a feeling as if I was contributing to their efforts. I got a chance to work with local school students and college graduates on things like preparing for exams, writing CVs, preparing for interviews etc and it was a very welcome change from an Indian rat-race life that I have been ...

For a very long time I used to think that the issue of any country’s development is a matter of time and, like Adam Smith’s invisible hands of supply and demand, is driven by natural forces of societal evolution. An essential feature of this belief was that there is very little that the current generation can influence and all societies must endure their journey through poverty, poor medical facilities and illiteracy until somehow over a long period of time the societal forces would deliver us into a new era. Over the last few years I have had the opportunity to visit and live in different countries. This has exposed me to the ways of working of different societies. These countries essentially encompass the entire spectrum of economic development between them. There will be little argument about the benefits of visiting developed nations. A visit to these nations helps us in setting goals for our development. We can learn a lot about new technologies, social structures etc an...

Thanks to the over 8 % GDP growth rate of India, many of us are finding jobs in multinational companies. On many occasions these jobs take us abroad. Assignments in US, Europe, Malaysia, Singapore etc are no longer once in a lifetime phenomenon rather they are very much a routine affair. I am on an assignment in Nigeria these days. Just this morning I met a Nigerian person who has recently come back from an assignment in far east. While talking to this person I could sense a sort of an unusual behavior. It was not rude or impolite but just purely synthetic. And as usual this led me to think of many similar incidents in the past and ultimately to this blog. So this blog is about how some of us might be prone to getting contaminated when we return from our foreign trips. I remember an incident from my college days. Many students in those days were fortunate to find internships abroad (I was not – so this could be inspired by envy)). One such student while making a presentation on his in...

The biggest attraction of Saturday for me will be the meeting of two greatest players of Cricket. Murali and Tendulkar. I am just wondering how would they approach each other in this Match. Unlike what the media would like us to believe, I don't think they would face each other like arch rivals. There would be no rivalry. No duel to be fought no point to be proven. It will be a meeting like that of two old friends who set out in life almost together and then now meet under the shade of a tree to reflect on the times gone by. Two individuals who have always seen each other in the background not really very friendly or close to each other but sharing a common link of being from the same era. It is a bit like two people in their 90's who feel deeply connected to each other solely because there are not many of their age alive anymore. Only they can understand each others feelings and emotions.  Murali and Tendulkar were around when cricket was just a game....

What do you do when you cannot muster the discipline to align your thoughts and put them down on paper for almost 6 months? A phenomenon which can be described as a writer's block. You probably go looking for all the old stuff that you have ever written on the websites like Orkut and facebook including testimonials or some not so short posts and try to preserve them, hoping against hope that it might inspire you to believe in yourself once again and provide the much needed kick-start and momentum. I did it this morning. Went scurrying on the orkut website to copy and save all testimonials I had written to my friends almost three years ago and hastily made a word document out of it. It was a great feeling. Some of these friends I have not spoken to in a long time. And if I do a geographical analysis, between then I can cover almost all the continents. It feels nice sometimes to revisit the past. And the past now (as against in the past) can be revisited readily by clicking on those ...

Who are we if not that symbol of excellence fallen from heights? Who are we if not the seeker of greatness strayed from our paths? Who are we if not the storm that can move mountains made weak by our own fears? Who are we if not a noble soul blinded by our own ambition? Who are we if not a brave warrior bridled by the thought of failure? Who are we if not a farmer corrupted by the greed of harvest? Who are we if not the master of our destiny fallen prey to our senses? Who are we if not the reflection of God muddled by the haze of pleasure? Are we not that who was destined to do great things? Are we not that who was created to make the Creator proud? Aren’t we the music that would flow like the carefree wind? Are we not just who we were?