Drishti - the vision

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 t...

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...

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...

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...