Tagged!!!!

Well finally something to write about in these boring days!! Rachana has tagged me, she thinks I dont have anything better to do. And yes!! She is indeed right!! Thanks for this!!!

What was I doing 10 years ago?

Hmmm!! Interesting. 10 years ago, I had done a lot of crazy things and a few serious things.

• I had become a union leader of our class in the representation to the principal demanding for cricket equipments.
• On I-Day, I did not attend the function at college, and when asked I told "I wanted to watch the happenings at Red Fort on TV" which was later communicated in the assembly as "I wanted to watch TV"
• Maths class was going on. Theorems were being proved. Lecturer said "Adding 1 and 2 we get....." I shouted "3!!!". He meant adding equations 1 and 2.
  
• I took my cycle to school for the first time after a lot of fight with Dad
  
• I drew the figure of a plant cell without a nucleus in the exam paper(I was the class topper, mind you)
  

What are top 5 things to do in my to-do list, today?

• Finish off with this
  
• Bug somebody online
• Bug somebody offline
• Bug somebody on sms
• If there is time left, update my blog!
  

Snacks I enjoy

• Pav Bhaji
• Goli Baje at Mitra Samaj, Udupi
• Charmure Upkari outside SLVT, Udupi
• Peanut Masala
• Masala Puri
  

Places I have lived

• Bangalore (My first home)
  
• Udupi (My major home!!!! Now dont ask what it means)
  
• Surathkal (That is where I did my engineering)
  
• Mumbai (My summer home)
  
• Hyderabad (My current home)
  

5 things I would do if I was a millionaire

• Start my own business (Fed up of working under bosses)
  
• Sponsor / Run an NGO
• Initiate scholarships for the poor in my school
• Improve the condition of laboratories in my institute
• Charity
  

People I want to tag

Going by the symmetry of this tag, I want to tag 5 people. Let me see how many answer!!! :D

• Nikhil
• Ashish
• Nisha
• Swati
• Chinmay
  

Till my next post (releasing shortly), take care!!

Work smart, it pays better dividends than working hard!!!

The topic seems too heavy at the top of the page, isn't it?? I felt the same when a friend commented that to me recently. But when I sat and thought about it, I felt, it really made sense, lot of it in fact!! I just recollected a lot of events in my life, and was convinced to believe that my friend had got it right in the bulls eye!!

As a kid, in school, I always used to religiously follow whatever was told to me. Be it the homework, or any other arrangements or sports or activities or anything. Frankly speaking, I did not really apply my brain to anything. So I was like a literal doer. There was this friend of mine. And he used to do exactly the opposite of mine. When he was asked to study, he used to play. When he was told to play, he used to watch TV. He was something like a rebel. And he used to fairly get a decent result in everything he did. Now the age I am talking about, is that when we were not too mature and were dependent to a large extent on the inputs of others. Being independent was only a dream. And in those days, this friend was like doing things differently. I was still respected for being the topper or whatever, but I always used to watch this guy in awe!!

When I went to college, I had this classmate who was the laziest bugger I have ever known. He never used to attend classes, paid the necessary money for obtaining the hall ticket and used to write the exams. He used to sleep all through the day and the whole night, he would prowl on the cyberspace, playing games all through the night. He was the perfect nocturnal!!! I initially used to wonder, how will he ever manage to clear the papers. But one fine day, what I found surprised me like hell. Just a couple of days (or rather nights) before the exam, he was going through the last few yrs papers, evaluating what to study and what to drop!! He had mastered the art so well, that after a couple of hours of research, he knew exactly what to study and what not to!!! Not that it would help him in the long run, but the shorter purpose of scoring in the exams is definitely achieved. And more surprisingly, he managed to score a distinction in almost all the semesters, which was sort of a jinx to break!! And the biggest irony was, when placements time came, the person, who literally slept all his way through the engineering career, got placed before even before the topper of the class did. Now thats what smart working is all about. This is where I had my first taste of the professional life!!

Coming to professional life, I had a colleague who quit almost a year ago. And the reason he gave to me was that he was plainly frustrated!! I was not too convinced and was sure this guy is upto something!!! I had known this guy for about 5 yrs then and he had been talking about quitting of late. So I thought he is only talking. But the day, he put in his papers, I was in for a real wild shock. I had never expected him to. From then on, I have been monitoring his every move. He has been such an excellent planner and an even better executor, that I cant do anything else than saluting him!!! He had some personal problems to take care in between, which he managed brilliantly. In the meantime he appeared for a couple of competitive exams, a few of which I also did. He had put in a lot of efforts, and I for a change dint!! And surprisingly, I did better in the exams than him. Again an example of smart working and hard working!!! In the end, I did not know what to do, but he did. He carried on and on and on, and today, he is happily enjoying in one of the premier B Schools in India!!

These are just trailers of what I have seen in my life. If I make a movie of it, I am sure it will run into hours together!!! I have slogged the last year, working across my territory for what is known as Customer Satisfaction, measured by a score. The whole one year, I have literally did nothing else other than that. You can imagine the amount of efforts, that has gone into it all. And when it was time for results to come out, I only understand, that the number implying customer satisfaction, has instead gone even down!!

Now I can correlate the above two examples, the one of my classmate in college and my colleague who quit. One was excellent in making analysis and strategies, and the other was a sheer brilliant planner!!! So when my friend said "Working smart is way too better than working hard", I just couldnt stop agreeing with him!!! What do you say??? Please leave your comments!!

Accident!!!!

"Whats gonna happen now??", I kept wondering as I sat outside the ICU at the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences(NIMS), nervously aware, that everything was in God's hands alone now. Kiran, my childhood buddy, had met with an accident and was battling for life. I have been trying to inform his dad about the accident, but have so far not reached him.

Kiran has been very close to me right from my childhood days. We studied in the same class, lived a few blocks away from each other, enjoyed cycling together, played pranks together and what not!!! We were literally like two brothers, with both of us having unrestricted access into the others house. We always yearned for similar things in life, our tastes too were similar. It was like if someone screwed me, he would react and viceversa. Such was our uniqueness in tastes, that at one point of time, we both fell for the same girl!! All jokes apart, we were very very close, and this togetherness meant that we would anything for each other.

Kiran is the son of a big businessman in my town. He had lost his mother very early in life. And his dad's everyday flourishing business meant that, most of the times he used to be out of town. This meant, Kiran had all the luxuries in life; the costliest toys, the latest gadgets and gizmos, the most sophisticated equipments and everything that was new. What was missing was only the mothers love, and fathers affection. The time he spent with his near and dear ones, was literally minimal. He missed that too much in life. And in spite of all these things, he never showed off anything in life, as many others in such a situation tend to do. What attracted me towards him, was his modesty and simplicity. And when I came to know about his family background, I was simply stunned. I was not able to utter a single word and was shell shocked when he had first taken me to his house.

Kiran has been this adventurous kind of a guy. Always wanting to be different from the crowd. He has been more into extra curricular activities. Photography has been his most favorite hobby, and he is such a great photographer that, by his 15th birthday, he was the proud owner of a SLR!! Studies and marks have never kept him interested at all. That's probably the only place where we differed in tastes.

After our high school, I joined the science stream and he jumped into commerce. His taste of cycling had now been escalated into motorcycles. He was the first person, to own a motorcycle in college. When he had brought his Yamaha RX 100 to college, I still remember the way, heads kept on turning!! The adventure seeker and fun lover that he has been, he has always loved exploring the unexplored places, along not so great roads, into villages where there has not been any transportation facilities for miles together. And another thing that always thrilled him was speed. He always used to tell me, "Whatever happens, I am not going to cut down on my speed!!" There have been certain occasions, where I have been riding pillion to him, and have had my heart in my mouth. Two or three times, I literally had given up and started saying what I thought would be my last prayers!! But such has been his control and response that I just sat behind him, every time he called me, on the basis of sheer faith in his controls!! I have always warned him, that it need not necessarily be his mistake. Looking at his speed and stunts, someone else may lose control, and if his stars are not right, anything may happen even without his mistake!! But he would never relent. Once after a near miss accident, he told me something which I still remember "Even if something happens to me, I ll ensure that you escape unhurt!!!"

Our careers meant that I had to go and stay in the hostels, and that meant we had to go apart. And our frequencies of meeting each other reduced drastically. But emotionally, we were still very close to each other. After my studies, I got a job, which required me to shift to Hyderabad, whereas he was still not sure what to do. He was still freelancing and enjoying life, seeking new destinations and enjoying new places. And as an icing on the cake, his hobby of photography had literally turned into a profession for him. Though he would never really admit it, facts were always speaking otherwise.

During one of these days, I just asked him to come down to Hyderabad, as I had not met him for a long time. And immediately he was in Hyderabad, taking the next available flight!! When he landed in my office, I literally had tears in my eyes!! Such was his commitment to friends, that I was speechless!! As the weekend was about to start, I just completed my work in a jiffy, and set out early. He insisted on driving the bike, and I without even resisting handed over the keys to him. But I wanted to warn him, that Hyderabad is different. The traffic here is too complicated and be careful for at least a few days, watch the same and then show your heroics. And before I could say something, he rushed off to the nearest petrol bunk without even wearing the helmet (which is supposedly mandatory), to fill the tank, asking me to wait back!! I just smiled at myself. He did not want me to spend even on that!!

Within a few seconds, I heard a big sound. Anxiously I went out, only to find a lot of people gathered at the intersection!! I rushed towards the place, praying that its not Kiran. Only to be proved wrong. Having made my way through the increasing crowd, I saw Kiran on the ground!! Blood was trickling down his head faster than water does from a tap on a lazy day!! I was literally out of control, shocked, not knowing what had happened. With a couple of people around, we took him to the nearest hospital, where they only put him on oxygen and advised us to take him to NIMS as it happens to specialise in head related injuries!!

I have been sitting outside the ICU for the past 16 hours. And there has been no signs of any improvement. He has lost a lot of blood, his brain is badly injured and one of his legs too has been badly messed up. And to operate on his leg, first he needs to gain consciousness, without which anaesthesia doesn't work. I still cant believe whatever happened in the last 24 hours, whether it is only a dream or it has really happened in reality around me!!

Drill in the hole!!!!!!

I was in the all unfamiliar territory today!!! I had never been to a dentist in my life, and today, I had to go there. I had no option left. One of my tooth had developed a bad cavity and I had to get it attended immediately. And now that I am on a vacation, relaxing, there could not have been a better time for it.

Hesitatingly, I went to the dentist. Lots of apprehensions in my mind. Fear, tension, anxiety, I was experiencing a combination of all those emotions. Once I was in the dentist's chair, I casually laid my hands on the dentist's drill. It read 1,50,000 rpm. Holy Shit!!! I said to myself. This was way too much. The rpm indicated on the drill, literally reminded me of the design classes we used to attend a few years back!! I was simply wondering about the amount of centrifugal force even a small imbalance on the drill would create. It would simply be massive. I simply was praying that it was not out of balance!! I started remembering my college days, those great days!! This was the time I really used to think a lot and apply my brains to any problem. Those were really some of the best days of my life. Jaane kahaan gaye woh din, I said to myself.

By then, the dentist had completed his job. And I had not realised even a bit of it!! Thanks to the technical specification I read on the Drill!!! Sometime, I really pat myself for my presence of mind!!!

Gyaan from everyone!!!!

Life has never been the same ever since I started working, and more so since I came to Hyderabad. People seem to enjoy giving lectures for hours together. And if they are certain that they have found a listener or bakra, then its simply gone. And if its not your day, God save you from all the gyaan!!!

It exists in all places. At home, we never really questioned it and called it as advice or some fairytale required for the maturity of oneself. When we went to college, it was still there, in an altogether different shape. We used to call it funda. And people who used to give fundas, were also quite a lot. Once I started working, its like literally everyone around is giving you ideas about how to do a thing and few others telling how not to!! And believe me, if you are on a weak wicket, you will have to listen to the gyaan's of the watchman also. The lingo is so famous in the company I work, that at times, we even make fun of creating a separate department for the same headed by a vice president called VP Gyaan!!!

I am so bugged off listening to all these gyaans that at times, when I have an opportunity to give it to someone, I ensure that I give it with interest. But I really have not got many live opportunities like that, so maybe I am bugging my beloved readers through this blog.

And the heights of it all was, my brother giving me a missed call at little past midnight last night. I was particularly very tired after a hectic day yesterday, and was sleeping like a log!! First of all, I was pissed off at the missed call. But this fellow wouldnt at all listen. And moreover started justifying that it was not a missed call."Trust me bro!! It wasn't a missed call. It was a call for you to tell you to call me!! A missed call is given to someone who you don't want to talk to, but wanna irritate!! So this was definitely not a missed call!!" "Huh!!! What a way to start May 02, 2008!!" I told him!!!

Need for a mentor in life!!

Life is full of confusions. Life is full of challenges. And you there is a general tendency of people to make mistakes. I am sure there is nobody who can claim that he has not made any mistakes in his life so far. After all its normal. Because, learning from mistakes, others' or self, has been the way life goes. And so there has to be someone who tells you what is right, what is not. Because, life is too short for each one of us to experience everything. So you need to learn from others' life, pick out all the good points, but know about the not so good points also. Thats where the role of a mentor comes in life.

A mentor is nothing but a trusted person, a counsellor or a teacher. Usually a mentor is a more experienced person. He is someone you can confide in. According to my understanding, there is a difference between a mentor and a teacher. Teaching is more of a profession. Mentoring is more out of a responsibility of some sorts. Teaching is about money, mentoring is about seeing the mentee (the person who is mentored) succeed. In fact some teachers can also be good mentors too.

A mentor can be anyone. It can be your dad, your professor, your boss, your friend, your brother or even your colleague. It can be anyone who you basically trust. Because everything in life is driven by one thing, and that is trust. Coming to the question of why a mentor is required, we all are really inexperienced in anything in life. This may seem a bit confusing or difficult to understand, but my only justification to that statement is that the world is too big, and learning is a continuous journey. So we all do mistakes. A mentor can, out of his experience, foresee it. He can prevent you from doing so. Many a times, we are confused about taking this path or that. Thats when a mentor will come in hand. More often than not, at life's cross roads, we are not sure what can be good and what can be dangerous. That time again, mentors play a major role. All great and successful people had mentors. Aristotle mentored Alexander the Great, Chanakya mentored Chandragupta Maurya. Freddie Laker mentored Richard Branson. So on and so forth, history can give umpteen number of examples.

We all work hard. We all put a lot of efforts. But what is the use of these efforts without knowing what is the end result expected? Why is the effort being put? So its more important, to plan better and then execute, rather than simply putting efforts. The direction of the efforts is the most important thing. And to show this direction, sometimes, a mentors experience is very important.

How does a person generally become somebody's mentor? Its not that you select your mentor all of a sudden. And its not that discreet either. A person becomes another's mentor after a lot of things. First of all, a feeling of trust has to set in. Then the comfort levels and wavelengths of each others should match. Skill sets and interests should overlap somewhere. You need to talk to each other very often. Its all about investing time with each other. The mentor should get a feeling that this person needs me for his benefit. Its not about ego, but its about some kind of a responsibility that comes due to some sort of attachment to the other person.

The greatest qualities in a mentor are patience to listen and a firmness to tell. He should be genuinely interested in seeing his mentee succeed. But his main responsibility lies in only telling what to do, and what not to. How to react and how not to. Doing it is the job of the mentee himself. The mentor does not in himself, come out and do it all for the mentee. And the most important quality, I perceive, in a mentor is he should be tough mentally. He should be a source of strength for his mentee. And you can't be a source of strength for someone else if you are not strong yourself!!! And this mental strength is required to be with the mentee, when, more often than not, he makes a mistake and needs a shoulder to cry on. Because these are all situations which just happen!!

End of the day, its some sort of a mutual benefit that will fuel this relation. The mentee getting a whole load of experience, suggestions and ideas and the mentor in himself, some sort of a satisfaction of having played a role in making someone prosper, happy and successful.

Celebrations!!!!

Celebration means......

Four friends.
Bahar barsaat.
Four glasses of beer.

Celebration means......

Hundred bucks of petrol.
A rusty old bike.
And an open road.

Celebration means......

Maggi noodles.
A hostel room.
4.25 a.m.

Celebration means......

3 old friends.

3 separate cities.

3 coffee mugs.

1 internet messenger.

Celebration means......

Rain on a hot tin roof.
Pakoras deep-frying.
Neighbours dropping in.
A party.

Celebration means......

You and mom.
A summer night.
A bottle of coconut oil.
A head massage.

You can spend

Hundreds on birthdays,

Thousands on festivals,

Lakhs on weddings,

But to celebrate, all you have to do is spend your time with your loved ones. Keep in touch with those who care for you........

I read the above lines somewhere. So much truth in them! In life, we may value a lot of things!! And we dont hesitate doing anything for things we value the most in our life. The difference between value and cost was very well explained by our economics professor. "The cost of a rose may be 1 Re, 2 Rs or 5 Rs. But when a guy gets it from his girlfriend, the value of it cannot be measured." Such a nice example was given to us to explain the difference. So at the end of the day, what matters is the time we spend with what we value the most in life. The money we spend on it, the fun we do with them, the happiness we derive from those occasions are all incomparable. Because when we depart from this world, we will be remembered not for the number of mansions we owned, but for the number of people we helped live. We will be remembered not for the amount of money we earned or spent, but for the number of people who smiled because of us. We will be remembered only by people who are close to us, for we will make the biggest impact only on their lives. And to do it, the most important thing is to invest time with them. And in life, one sure and certain way to cement any relationship is to invest time in it. Thats the biggest celebration in life!!

Optimism - Its all refelcted in the language!!!

Many a times we face situations where we really do not know what will happen. And most of the times, things will not be in our control. So the maximum we can do is be optimistic and not worry too much about it, because in either ways, you cant do much about it.

Most of the times, our actions or reactions in such occasions speak volumes about our attitude. Now its important to have a good body language as to not show people that you are tensed. Many people will gauge the mood of a person, within moments of seeing him. So a successful person is one who does not allow people to read about him. And this comes from a positive body language!!

Also the way you speak is going to speak volumes about your confidence. Just compare the following two statements!! "I hope you had a great time last weekend" and "I am sure you had a great time last weekend". The words of optimism in the second statement will in fact even help in lifting the confidence of the opposite person. That's not the only example. Lots of them can be given. The essence of the matter is, how much vibration you fill in your surrounding space; how much you attract people towards you, either by your qualities, or your habits or your charm or your humility or whatever, a major chunk of it depends on your body language. How you portray something is more important than what you portray!! Many people may not agree with me on this; I too agree its a hugely debatable point, so maybe we can discuss on it some other time!!

Till then bye, and keep thinking!!!

Socially anti social????

One of the things which have always kept me guessing is how do these anti social elements thrive in the society. And I have never found any answer that has convinced me enough. Recently I just got a thought, when I was watching some movie on TV. I thought its worth sharing with you and take opinions from you as well.

From my understanding of anti social, its something which is averse to the smooth functioning of the society. Something which is, in a way, a hindrance to the society and the rules defined by it. Wikipedia defines it as person who is unwilling to socialize in a normal way or is hostile to others.

So terrorism, arms, illegal trade, piracy in all forms, flesh trade, child labour, human trafficking etc are all common examples of being anti social. I was just thinking of the root cause behind it. And all I could gather was that anything like this is because there are people who are willing to do it, and there are also people willing to take the services of it. Its very simple. Any business can survive only when there is a market for it. Any company will survive only when the products and services it offers has got a fair amount of popularity and repute in the industry. Its a golden rule on which everything in today's world survives. So unless there are people who will buy it, it wont succeed. So the simple logic I have got through is just because there are people willing to go for it, there exists a market for it, or rather they have created a market for it.

Its very simple. It all starts from us. People these days have become so lazy. We done like to stand in the queue outside the railway station booking counter, and so we give an extra commission to get it booked from someone else. An agent. Fair enough. We would like to lead a comfortable life from whatever we earn. And nobody should really question it. And also by doing so, we are creating employment to some person who is in need of it desperately. Another example is the way temples are minting money today. We dont want to waste time standing in the queue for long hours waiting to see the Lord, and so the concept of Special Darshan flourished. Another example is when we all go for movies. House full. And so we end up paying double the amount and watching the movie with half the comfort levels also.

These are all simple examples we see in our day to day life. But these are all only small ones. Something in which everything seems to be under control. But the line has to be drawn somewhere. As seen in these above examples, there exists a customer in the form of us, for these businesses to thrive. So for all such anti social activities, there exist customers in various forms all around the world. And thats precisely the reason why such things do survive. It may be easy to write down or give long speeches as to by starting the change, by closing the market for these activities, we can put an end to them. But frankly speaking, its very very difficult if not impossible. For the simple reason that, its we, the people who are involved in that. How many of us will come back from the theatre after seeing that its house full??? How many of us will go to Tirupathi and wait for as less as 18 hours to as much as 54 hours to see the Lord?? How many of us will go and stand in the railway station, in midst of crooks and that stinking smell and that hot counter, waiting for the person at the counter to finish his 10 minute tea break?? I am sure there would not be many. So as the activities escalate to higher levels, it becomes cascaded similarly.

So frankly, I feel its become a part of the way, the society functions these days. There are people who will buy drugs which are banned, there are people who will buy pirated things, be it electronic goods, or be it the cd's or dvd's of newly released movies. Be it arms, or be it child labour. Be it prostitution, or be it anything else. And I for one, have never got a satisfactory answer as to how to stop it. Perhaps, some of you can throw some light on it!!

Reactions live!!!!

I had just written last Sunday about how we react to situations generally, how we should actually react, and what to do and what not to!! And just four days down the line, I never expected I would have a live proof for another of those instances, where I bought time and in the end, went appreciating my each and every step!! And now I thought, I should be able to share that incident here.

Last week, I was on tour. I was travelling from a place called Mancherial to a place called Warangal by train. I travelled in the AC chair car, on the two seater, taking the window seat. The train I took eventually travels up to Secunderabad, which happens to be my headquarters. Now I possess two mobile phones with me. One is my official number provided to me by the company I am working for. It does not have STD facility. So I have another phone with me, just to keep in touch with my folks, all of whom have to be reached by STD!! It so happened that I had kept the STD waala phone in the right pocket of my pant. The distance between Mancherial and Warangal is covered in a little over 2 hours. And having worked the whole day, I was a bit tired and fell asleep on the train. On reaching Warangal, I took an auto to my Hotel City Grand, the place where I always stay when I am in Warangal. And the auto this time took me in a road full of potholes and bumps.

On reaching my room and freshening up, I decided to call my mom. So I tried to search my phone, but to no avail. I searched my bag, my pant, my shirt and God knows what else. But luck was not on my side. I had lost my mobile phone!! And it was simply hard to believe it. How could I have been so careless!! I started cursing myself. Not a big deal, because it was an old handset which was not retaining the battery charge properly, nor was its mic and speaker in good condition. I was just passing its remaining life time only to avoid the hassles of changing the Sim every time I wanted to make an STD call. So given the condition of the mobile phone, even the person who found it, would literally have cursed me!! Be it the question of the Sim being misused, I could always have blocked it.

As soon as I realised that I had lost my mobile, I tried calling that number. I sincerely hoped that it was somewhere in the bag, though I was sure it would not be. And moreover it was in the silent mode, so spotting it would have been even more difficult. On becoming sure, I sent an SMS to the phone, asking the finder to give me a call, just in case he finds it and wants to return it back!! Not that I was being too optimistic, but for the reasons mentioned above, I had a gut feeling that I would get it. But I had literally lost all hope. I had no idea where I had lost it. Was it in the train, or was it in the auto because of the beautiful route he had taken on the way, I was not sure. I did not tell anybody. I just called my colleague in Hyderabad, told him what had happened, and asked him to contact Airtel and bar outgoing calls from that number. He promptly did that and called me back. I again called the number, to be greeted by a sweet female voice "The Airtel you are trying to reach has been switched off or out of calling area". So I just thought that Airtel has deactivated the Sim. I started contemplating many things. What if it reaches wrong hands?? I thought about giving a police complaint either with the Railway Police or the Warangal Police. But for that I had to be sure where exactly I had lost it, something I never was sure of. I even contemplated telling it to our Administrative Manager, through which I can claim an insurance from the company, which again demands the lodging of an FIR. Too many complications. But unlike on other occasions, where I would have suddenly acted in a haste, something in my sub conscious mind, kept me in a cooler state of mind. I had never been so calm and composed before in life, when something as serious as this had happened.

Whatever it was, after some time, I was simply buying time, before talking to someone or doing something silly. After some time, I casually called that number again. Not expecting any result, I was surprised to hear it ringing. I only cursed the Airtel fellows, for not doing their job. I even called up my colleague and asked him to follow up with Airtel. I was worried more about the misuseBut somehow or the other, after some time, something suddenly flashed into my mind. It was saying out of calling area earlier and now its ringing. Which means, it was out of coverage area a while ago, and now its back in coverage area. Which meant that it was still in the train. Suddenly, I got an idea. The train was still on its way to Secunderabad. It takes another 2 hours from Warangal to Secunderabad. So there was plenty of time left. So I called up my colleague (the same one) to just go to the railway station and check up in the chair car as soon as the train arrived. Thats when I really got excited and started feeling that I may get back my lost mobile. There still was plenty of time left, and I was getting more and more anxious by every passing minute.

Finally my colleague reached the station, checked the coach and got the mobile. It seems, it was in between the seat and the wall, with the display facing the wall. So one thing I have always believed, was proved yet again in front of me. "Whatever happens, happens with a purpose and happens for good!!" The point I am trying to make here is, I dint act in a hurry. I thought. Out of somewhere, I got the wisdom to call the number again, and from there I got an idea that it could still be in the train. It never occurred to me that the train was on its way to Secunderabad and I can still check it there. Till I was sure it was in the train. Had I panicked and acted in a haste, giving police complaints, speaking to my administrator, I would have been termed as a fool, a careless fellow, and God knows what not.

I am really happy that the incident happened, and the timing could not have been better. It was a very eventful week I had.

How we react to situations!!!

Many a times, all of us would have come across situations, where we feel tremendously stressed; or instances where we feel too emotional; or at times, we also feel like doing something that we have never done before. It has happened to me many a times, and I feel I am not alone in this. Many of you also would have waded through similar waters before. So it may just be normal that such occasions turn up in everybody's life. How we react or respond to these situations, is what is going to make each of us different. No two people will behave to the same situation similarly. So thats what makes life interesting. Given a problem, there are millions of ways to approach it. Let me try to jot down what I have felt about all these.


According to me, from whatever I have seen happening with people around me, I can fairly generalise that its human tendency to react immediately when something unexpected happens. Need not necessarily be that the unexpected happens. It may also be something that has been expected for quite some time now, but when it really happens, things go out of control. Consider the simplest example, results after an important exam. One would have slogged day and night for the exams, and the results come out and I have done really well. I react immediately. I will call all my friends, all my near and dear ones, who have prayed for me, who have wished well for me in this endeavour and so on. Only to realise that my performance is pretty ordinary. This is only one of the examples. There may be many such instances. Happy or sad. I feel generally we tend to react too soon. Maybe we tend to get too emotional or over excited about things, but for one thing, I have learnt that it is wrong. I have been through many instances when I wanted to share lots of happenings in my life, lots of stresses I was going through, but something inside me told me not to do so. And now when I look back and reflect into the past, I realise how silly or foolish it would have been. My dad used to tell me even as a kid, Nitin, you react too fast for things. You speak out unnecessarily. Certain things you speak are really uncalled for. Yes!! I used to an over excited person. Till my dad reminded me of it time and again in my childhood. I tried to see truth in his words and corrected myself. Now after all these years, I am convinced he was right. For one simple reason that whenever we react immediately, the probability that we are wrong is as much as that we are right!!! So in most possible situations, its always better to buy time. People around may think that this fellow is dumb, he is good for nothing, anything. But end of the day, what people think is immaterial. Nobody can change what is the fact. And the fact is that we are just trying to buy some time so as to ensure that we dont do anything foolish! Some people may think that this is a pessimistic approach. I would say, that this is like being realistic. Nobody can stop you from spending your time the way you want you to. So there is nothing wrong in taking some time. Infact, sometimes, it feels really great when my friend told a couple of years back, that its impossible to judge Nitin from his reactions. He never reacts to situations!! Today my boss also tells the same thing. He even goes a step ahead and tells my other colleagues that responding to situations should be like what I do. I really feel proud at times, when people take me as an example. That I listened to my dad's advice that day, and here I am. Thats why I always believe Listen to your elders always. Not because they are always right. But because they have more experience of being wrong!!


Well enough of self patting!! Now does that mean that we should never react, never talk?? No. I dont mean to say that. I only mean to say that, take some time. Indeed some situations demand immediate reactions, or sudden decision making. But the number of such split second decision making situations we come across in our daily life is very minimal. By taking time, you are taking ample opportunity to think. If you are in a dilemma about doing this or that, think. Think once, think twice. Think it again and again. Just by taking a little time more, heaven is not going to fall. But by taking some time, you can be sure that you have given yourself some time. You can be convinced that you have thought about things with a clear and unbiased mind. Because certain things in life, once done, is very hard to be undone. Words once spoken cant be taken back.


But then, its equally important to speak. Always talk. Because talking reduces a lot of pressure. But simultaneously, do listen also. As far as possible, talk less, listen more. Have someone to talk to. Even in case of difficult situations, make it a habit to have yourself heard. Because, you should later not live with the regret that Had I spoken out that day, this would not have happened or that would have happened!! Why I say that speaking is important is because of the simple reason that people around are so busy these days, that unless you tell them something, they will not realise what you have in your mind. And more often than not, this leads to miscommunications. My boss always stresses on the need of a good communication for a healthy functioning. Whether you have done something that was required out of you is immaterial; what matters is whether you have communicated that you haven't done it!! This need not necessarily be an organisation alone. It may be a relationship as well. Most of the relationships strain because of only a small thing called communication gap. Whatever it is, whether we are happy or sad, whether we have a complaint against someone or a praise for someone, unless we tell it to that person, he won't really realise that. He will simply assume that all's going well with us and not even bother to think about anything. So thats why I say communication is very very important. Airtel's ad which shows two kids playing football across the border, is a very meaningful one in that sense. It stresses on the importance of communication to break barriers.


So the point I am trying to make here is that, on the one hand, it is very very important to talk to people, it is also important to control one's emotions. Its always advisable to take some time, think with a cool, neutral mindset and then react to situations. I for one, feel with all certainty that, the one who controls his reactions and communicates effectively will be a successive person in today's world!!

Maa

Main Kabhi Batlata Nahin

Par Andhere Se Darta Hoon Main Maa

Yun To Main,Dikhlata Nahin

Teri Parwaah Karta Hoon Main Maa

Tujhe Sab Hain Pata, Hain Na Maa

Tujhe Sab Hain Pata,,Meri Maa

Thus starts one of the most meaningful and soothingly calming compositions of recent times. Written by Prasoon Joshi, the lyrics have the power of bringing tears to the eyes. And coupled to it, the music by Shankar Ehsaan and Loy and the voice of Shankar Mahadevan himself, it becomes one of the greatest songs of all times to listen.

It simply talks about one relationship in life. Mother!!! If someone deserves to be the most adored and respected person in my life, it is my mother. And I am sure many of you will have similar views. For the simple reason that, whatever I am today, wherever I am today, if I am able to stand on my own legs, its because of only one person, My Mother!!

Having seen her closely over these years, I would be committing a great crime if I dont appreciate whatever she has done for me. She has been one person, who has simply worked selflessly round the clock. Without expecting anything much. She has led a simple life, always maintained a very low profile in the society. She has always been the first to take up any responsibility, primarily at home and complete it very efficiently almost every time.

I still remember the days in my childhood, when I used to get punished by my dad for some misdeeds of mine!! And her laps were always there for me. There was a reassuring calmness in those laps. There still is. Over the years she has become one of my closest friends, the one who I can confide in about anything, at any time in the day. She is such an understanding person, always making it a point to listen first and then talk. I have learnt that great skill of listening more and talking less, from her.

Those days, when I used to go to school, she used to walk with us (me and my brother) all the way to school. In fact, I still remember my first few days in school. I, like many kids, was reluctant to go to school. She simply used to convince me that she would not go back and wait at the gate for the school to be over. And I used to believe her. She used to quickly go home, do the daily chores, washing clothes, cooking, taking care of my brother(till he also joined the school) taking care of my grandparents too and what not!! And in spite of all these, she made it a point to be present at the school main gate, 5 minutes before our classes were supposed to disperse. And she was never late, one single day!!!

Then came the days, when I started playing. Engaging in fights and falls those days were very common. Even during those days, she was always there. Trying to come and mediate, not always taking my side, but if I was right, she would never allow anything to happen to me. Even if I was wrong, she used to patiently talk to me, with an aura of conviction that I almost instantaneously used to accept my mistakes. Not that she wanted to find fault with me or make me feel ashamed. She only ensured, that I dont go the wrong way, that I dont learn from life the hard way. She along with my dad, have grown me up in such a way, that when the day of me facing the world comes, I would be fully prepared for it.

Another period of my life where she has played a major role is in my studies. Not necessarily academics only. I have been good at academics as well as co curricular activities throughout my life. And she always made a point that overconfidence never creeps into my mind. She always used to manage her time in such a way that she had time for everyone. For me and my brother, my dad, my grandparents, etc. My grandparents were staying with us meant we had guests visiting us frequently. And never once have I seen her complaining!! She has always spent an hour or so with us in the evenings, making sure, we don't go back to school the next day with a sorry face! With whatever she knew, she used to teach us. Not that she was a great learned soul or something. And with whatever she did not know, she made it a point that she will learn it and pass it on. I still remember a golden day in my life. After my 7th, when I passed to 8th, the local Municipality held a scholarship exam, for all local school students in that district. And whoever secured the first three places in the exam, got scholarship for the next three years. The questions were from 7th standard syllabus only, but I had seemingly forgotten a couple of concepts. I still remember the way, how she, late at night, was trying her best to convince me with the concept. That day, I had promised her, that should I win the award, I will give her half of what I get. Eventually I won the first prize. But the second part of my statement is still pending!! And she has never asked about it, even once!!

Dinner time always used to be a time of learning and interaction. All of us used to have dinner at the same pre decided time. And nobody has ever been late even a single day. Such was her charm and control over the house, that she has ensured that the basic discipline is well in place. Unlike other households where we frequently find maids for doing various chores, cooks for cooking and all, she used to do everything. That meant she did not get a fair deal with entertainment and all, but she was okay with it. The fact that, even to this day, we do not have satellite TV connection at our house, is a live testimony for that. And mind you, she is a great cricket freak. She badly missed cricket matches. But she was happy enough to sacrifice it for our futures!!

As I grew up, life and studies became more and more challenging. 12th was a very important part of my career/life. I had to wake up early in the morning to attend classes, then normal college, then evening classes and then return home late in the evening. And study till late night. So hectic was my routine. But even in that situation, she always used to be up half an hour before me, and always made sure that I did not have to leave house in a hurry. And she even used to sit with me in the late nights. She could easily have slept. But no she chose to spend time with me, which always gave me a feeling of security.

After that, I slowly moved to college, stayed in hostel. Met lot of people from various walks of life. I became more mature. I started playing around with her. Teasing her became a routine. But she never did mind. She has been such a great sport all through her life, that its just a consequence that she always takes everything so lightly.

And now, both of us have moved out. In search of our careers. Both my grandparents have expired. And my dad has been transferred to a place quite far from home, which means he leaves home earlier than before and arrives back later than before. So all of a sudden, the house has become empty for her. She has become lonely. Though we can all lend her only emotional support, I can very well understand, what state he is going through. Luckily for us, they have moved to an area where all activities are happening. She somehow keeps involving with them, meeting people, and makes sure she keeps herself occupied with something or the other. And to this day, she has never once complained about it!!!!

You are the most important person in my life, and will always remain so. Whatever I am today, is solely because of you. I know I can never repay you for whatever you have given me. But I promise you, to keep you happy at all times.

Tujhe Sab Hain Pata, Hain Na Maa
Tujhe Sab Hain Pata,,Meri Maa

How mean are we!!!!

How frequently do we get happy at the success of Sunita Williams?? How often have we not celebrated the success of Bobby Jindal when he got elected as a Governor?? How frequently do we not feel good when our fellow countryman achieves something in life?? That too especially in some foreign soil!! I have always wondered, WHY??? Is it because there is something wrong in our country, or achievers in our country?? Why do we fail to see the success of our people in our own land?? How many of us appreciate what the armed forces are doing for us?? How many of us appreciate the lakhs of NGO's in the country?? How many of us wholeheartedly rejoiced when Vishwanathan Anand won the World Championship??

Brain drain is one of the biggest issues debated over. A brain drain or human capital flight is an emigration of trained and talented individuals to other nations or jurisdictions, due to conflicts, lack of opportunity, health hazards where they are living or other reasons. Considering the scenario in India, conflicts is definitely not the reason. Lack of opportunity, to some extent is a contributing factor, but not so big either. Health hazards, definitely no!! Lets assume the thing, that opportunities are the only factor contributing to brain drain. If that were so, we would not have seen entrepreneurs like NR Narayanamurthy, and others. I can quote a lot of names here, but why i frozed on him is because he has started from the scratch. At a time when he could have gone out, earned a lot of money, settled down comfortably with his family and never bothered about anything else. But he chose to be different. He had a vision . Many people may say, money is an important parameter. I do agree. Investment is a major important factor. But then, we have a live example in front of us all. NRN did not have all that money. What was more important is that he had self belief and an astounding ability to create a team and move forward.

Frankly speaking, I dont feel its the lack of opportunities. I would say, its the lack of vision. Lack of clarity in thoughts. It tends to happen in the initial stages of the career. I dont say its wrong to go and work abroad. But, once someone goes out, its very very rare that he returns back before retirement. Just think of a very simple fact. The Govt spends lakhs of rupees on the education of every individual. Higher education is not cheap. Colleges offering quality infrastructure, quality manpower, quality lectures and facilities are very less in the country. And its not easy to retain things like that. One lack of focus is enough to just spoil the entire game. Inspite of all these, we have a good number of quality educational institutes offering professional courses at a very very subsidised fees. Its not that education is cheap. We only fail to realise that, our education is costing the exchequer something!! And its our moral responsibility to do something for that. I again remember my professors words here. Unless you do something for the society which has brought you up to whatever you are, everything else is waste.

I still adore a person from my hometown, who worked in Infosys, and has contributed substantially for the infrastructure development of the school he had studied in. And believe me, that Govt. school is today on par with all other private schools there. And it has benefitted thousands of students who are studying there. So as I said, its more of a lack of vision rather than lack of opportunities. We just cannot sit complaining saying there are not opportunities. Opportunities will not come to you everyday. We have to create opportunities.

One of my professors always used to say "You may find a thousand reasons to avoid doing a certain thing. You only need to find one reason to do it!! " My colleague also always keeps on telling me "Stop reasoning why something may fail. Instead start reasoning, how it will succed!!" Two thoughts on similar lines, from two people who dont even know each other!! So, once again I wish to reaffirm. Opportunities are present here in plenty. We just need to find one.

Life: As I have seen it!!!

"Life never gives you all that you want. But it will always give you everything that you need". I had come across this statement in one of the books I was going through back in my childhood days. Those days, I always used to wonder, whats the difference between a want and a need ? Slowly, I started growing. I had my own encounters with life. It has been a lot of learning all the way long. And the subtle and evident differences between want and need started bringing a more important meaning in life.

I recently was in Mumbai. One thing about Mumbai that has always impressed me, is its fast lifestyle. People dont even have time to breathe properly. And in that kind of a state, its really great for outsiders to go there in search of careers and settle down, adapting to the lifestyle. Frankly speaking, after seeing the day of a typical Mumbaiite, its difficult to even compare it with other metros I have seen. Whatever it is, I would like to share some of my observations here.

Just imagine the scenario. The scene is just outside the very busy Borivali station. Around evening time. The traffic on SV Road is simply horrendous. Too many vehicles, too narrow a road. And on that narrow road, petty shopkeepers and shoppers too!! Just imagine the case of a BEST bus driver on that road. Whole day, he will be very busy trying to find his way out of traffic as dense as this one at many places all over his allotted route. And just imagine the case where, some pedestrian makes a mistake, because of his hurry and comes under one of these buses. The people around will simply jump and literally kill the driver. They will never even bother to find out the fact. The poor thing, is simply dead. I simply pity these people. Just compare the his life with that of a taxi driver or an auto driver. Whenever some passenger is happy or satisfied, they end up giving something more to him that his normal fees. They have more friends in the society. But that's not the case with bus drivers. How many of us have ever tipped a bus driver?? Just give it a thought. Does he really deserve that treatment?? That's not the situation occurring in Mumbai alone. It happens all over India. This is just an example. People may argue saying the bus driver has a fixed pay whereas an auto or a cab driver doesn't and all such rubbish things. But the fact is end of the day he is a human. And in a very thankless profession. So its all the more evident that we respect each and every profession in life.

No profession is bad or deserves to be treated badly. Be it the scavenger or the rag picker. Be it the maid or the car driver. Be it the electrical lineman or the plumber. Be it the soldier who fights for us in the war or someone who internally protects our society. Be it the the person who digs graves for the dead or the mechanic at the nearby garage. It may be something strange for us. But for him, its a way to earn his living. Just imagine the situation when your newspaper doesn't come in time in the morning. Most of us cant even empty our stomach without reading the newspaper. Just imagine the case where the drainage is blocked, and the person is on strike!! Can you ever imagine going and cleaning it?? So the fact is simple. All the professions are equally important for society to live in harmony. Respect everybody. For whatever he is doing, he has some self respect. And he expects to be respected in the society.

How many of us have not come across small children begging near traffic signals or public signals?? How may of us have not seen children under 14 working in restaurants?? How may of us have not seen children under 14 working in restaurants?? I am sure everyone has. But how many of us have ever tried helping them?? We just shoo away such kids who are begging and just ridicule children who are more often than not, cleaners in restaurants. I have always tried to answer one question. Whats the mistake of these small kids?? Why are they deprived of their childhood happiness?? Would we not like to go back and live our childhood again?? Why don't we act when such a thing is happening around us?? Some of my friends say, I only ask questions!!! Have I ever looked for a solution?? Frankly, I have never really found an answer to it. According to my observations, the first and the foremost observation in such a problem is simple lack of awareness and nothing else. The people under consideration(rather their parents) simply go on producing kids, knowing nothing about how to handle them in future. They know nothing about contraception and all. Sadly, very few people in India have tried thinking about that. And the only solution to that is basic education to people. Though the Govt. is doing a fairly decent job by making primary education compulsory. But how may are really getting the benefit of it?? And mark my words, unless we educate people, the country is not going to develop.

All these developments, economic booms, technologies, comfort are all okay. But what is the point of having technology, which will not help the poor get two square meals a day?? Whats the point of having so much of economic growth, when most of the people do not have access to basic health care?? And in the end, when we are not able to do something good for them, that's when things start falling against us. That's when people start resorting to anti social activities. These people are easy targets of terrorists and militants. Many a times its very easy to emotionally control them. As a friend was telling me, the terrorists don't have to bother sending people to execute a ploy here. They only have to send the arms. Rest all is available internally.

Frankly speaking, all these economic growth and technologies have only increased the gap between the rich and the poor. All that I have seen these days is only the trailer. I believe that the real movie is yet to unfold. One of my friends was recently telling me, In life, in order to move ahead, you have to necessarily step up on someone, push down someone and move ahead. You have to be cruel. But then once you reach the top, and a comfortable position, you should not forget to help all those who you have stumbled along the way. Nice logic, I should say. Initially, I was just thinking, why life treats everyone like that?? My cousin always says "Nobody dies virgin. Life screws everyone". Why can't there be peace and harmony all along?? But as I have grown, I have found that life is beautiful too. But then, in order to realise that beauty you should have the beast. In order to value the good, there should be evil. Maybe that's one of the laws of life, which cant be questioned.

On the concluding note, I would like to quote what one of my professors had to suggest each one of us, on the occasion of our passing out from college. "You may become very successful businessmen or entrepreneurs or leaders one day. I am sure all of you will indeed. But all that is waste if you fail to create a balance between three things in life. First is the place/company/organisation you work for, second is the family/people in your life and finally the society that you live in. If you fail to do that, you can never become a successful human being!! In the end, you will be known for what you have done or tried to do for the society!!" That day, those words seemed a bit heavy. But now, almost two years later, the entire puzzle seems to be finding a meaning. Indeed life is beautiful. Its our duty to make it beautiful for the others too.

Cheers!!

What’s happening to our India??

Well another weekend gone, and it was not just another weekends. Infact, every other day now a day, has become special and famous in its own way. And 2008 has definitely been one of those years where most of the things are happening. Or at least it promises to be so. Be it Taare Zameen Par bringing tears into the eyes of LK Advani, or be it the great fire of Kolkata that made news. Be it the molestation cases that are only increasing exponentially as day’s progress, or be it the new “common man’s” car launched by the Tatas. Be it the way, the racism issue Down Under, or the way it has united people all over the world. Be it the way, politicians shooting letter to the Prime Minister demanding the esteemed Bharat Ratna award for people from their party or the way the Left front keeping away only from “State Awards” in order to enable one of its great leaders become eligible to win the coveted award. The events that have shot up in this year has only been nothing much than a joke.

Taare Zameen Par, I have heard has to be appreciated for the acting skills shown by the young kid Darsheel Safary. Not because we do not have great actors. It’s the maturity that has been shown by the kid and the way he has acted, doing justice to the character he was portraying. Not easy at an age, as young as him. How many of us even remember what we have done other than going to school, playing, fighting and what not!! So the main thing is that, he has done what has been expected out of him, very well. Convincing or winning over the hearts of the Indian public is not an easy thing. And I believe he has done it with a fair amount of justice.

Coming to the fire in Kolkata, all I can say is, when are we going to learn from our mistakes?? One saying goes, Fools learn from their own mistakes. Wise men learn from others’ mistakes. Now are we not even fools and worse than that?? Just think it over!!

One important thing that has always been in the news ever since the New Year is the word “molestation” and charges related to it. I think every day, there have been one or two incidences of molestation all over India reported in the TV or the newspapers. Now that brings an interesting question. Has the crime really increased or is it only the way we just look at it. It all started with the New Year party in Mumbai where two young girls were allegedly molested by a group of 16 youngsters. Then came the instance of a similar incident involving a tourist in Kerala. Then came Goa and what not. The recent one is involving a cosmetician in Mumbai, alleged of molestation by a journalist. And barely one day after that charge, has one of his own patients come out alleging the same thing happened to her 18 months back. Now what was she doing all these days is going to be the big question. Let’s not get too much into that. But the point I want to make here is simple. I frankly feel, nothing has increased too much over the last fortnight. It’s only the way it is being portrayed before the country that has changed. The number of perverts indulging in the crime is not going to skyrocket overnight. The media has a very big role to play here. And unfortunately, I feel it’s not doing justice to its powers. I would say, roughly the same number of crimes would have been happening over the last couple of years too. But where was the media then?? Now that the issue has come out, they are adding fuel to the fire by simply bringing more such stories everyday. Crime has been happening from time immemorial, but back then, media was busy with something else. Now they are only busy in finding spicy stories like that. And one or two news channels are very famous for that. They will always be on the lookout for such crimes to happen anywhere or waiting to splash dirt on the personal life of any famous personality.

At this moment, I have to ask one serious question to these people from the media. All these people were busy capturing the molestation incident in their cameras. Why couldn’t anyone have gone and helped the poor things?? Their ethics have to be seriously brought under the scanner. They only want to be the first to air it on TV and want to take credit for everything. This is not the only incident. Last month, when an adivasi woman was stripped and beaten in Assam by someone, the whole media was there, covering the entire episode, and not one of them even bothered to go ahead and save the woman of the embarrassment. The condition is same in the case of high profile murders and other crime activities also involving powerful people. Where is the whole ethics of the media gone??

Another take out from the molestation incident is that of the famous Shiv Sena rebel and MNS chief Raj Thackeray coming out in support of the 16 people involved and becoming their spokesperson!! And once issues as serious as these starts taking political colour, we have only one option left. Just don’t expect any justice or truth to come out of it. Why do these people always have to poke their nose into everything, is one question I have always searched an answer for and have failed to get any. That’s one reason I have always believed India will always be like this and can never really improve.

Much has been talked about the issues happening Down Under, and the Tata Nano. So I feel there is no much necessity of raking the issue again.

Now that brings us to another interesting event that has been unfolding over the days. It all started with the Honourable Leader of the Opposition writing to the Prime Minister demanding for Bharat Ratna to the former Prime Minister Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee. It created a lot of ripples in the political waters. What was Advani’s real motive has not been understood. But things started happening so fast that the left proposed the name of Jyoti Basu on the second day and Mayawati wanted it to be given to Kanshi Ram on the third day. I won’t be surprised if tomorrow, someone demands the same Bharat Ratna to Laloo Prasad Yadav or Jayalalitha. That’s not all. Tomorrow, there will be justifications coming to the PM from all quarters asking for Bharat Ratna for every Tom, Dick and Harry. And the Govt. may have to set up a separate ministry for the same!! That’s the very reason I started wondering what’s happening to India. People starting to demand for the Bharat Ratna!!?? Is it so cheap?? And the biggest joke is the Left altering its rules so that it doesn’t come in the way of its veteran getting the highest civilian honour.

All these events question only one thing. Have ethics and morality become a thing of the past?? Is it not at all possible to show examples of these to our next generation?? See you all soon. Till then, keep thinking!!!

Future of the Two wheeler Industry in India

India has always been one of the biggest destinations of automobile majors throughout the world. Not without any reason. It has the second largest two wheeler market in the world, fourth largest commercial vehicle market in the world and the eleventh largest passenger car market in the world. So as it is, it’s a very big and a potential hub for a lot of market leaders elsewhere in the world to come and invest.

Auto Expo is here again. And the biggest attraction this time around is the Rs. 1 lakh people's car from the greatest car manufacturers in India, the Tatas. Ratan Tata, as promised, launched the car called "Nano" today on the inaugural day of the Auto Expo 2008 at New Delhi. With more than 35 new passenger car models expected to hit the Indian roads in the coming financial year, it’s going to be rather interesting to watch the scenarios unfold in the Indian Automobile market.

First and the foremost, the main important question that has always been raised is, how is going to affect the two wheeler industry? Well that’s a really interesting and a debatable point. I have always been very keen to see how it’s going to unfold itself. With the introduction of the low price car, many feel its going to affect the two wheeler market. I have more than a couple of reasons to strongly believe it will not.

One main reason why I believe it is not going to affect too much is because as quoted by Tata, Rs. 1 lakh is going to be the dealer price (not ex showroom price) for the car. So lot remains to be added to it. VAT, excise duty, dealer margin, etc added on will give the ex showroom price. And on that one has to add the cost of registration, life tax, etc. So I don’t expect it, to create a hole in the buyers pocket less than Rs 1.4 lakhs minimum. And that’s only about the basic model. As the luxury increases, the cost escalates accordingly. A normal Indian two wheeler comes around a price tag of around Rs.50000. So I don’t think many people will pay three times more and go for a car, just because it is cheap.

Secondly, the fuel economy provided by a car. At best 25kmpl. That’s nowhere compared to what a bike will give. There are motorcycles in today’s market in India, which give 75kmpl also. So running cost in case of the car, can simply be taken as three times of that of a two wheeler. And mind you, the Indian public is very very damn sensitive about the fuel economy his vehicle gives. I even remember one of my friends, arguing with me, about a premium segment bike, something which is designed for power, pickup and style. Fuel economy is never a criterion while designing such bikes. But then, that point always remains in one corner of a general Indian's mind.

Thirdly, giving a car for Rs. 1 Lakh raises a lot of questions about the reliability and quality of the product. Though the Tata's have been known for quality and reliability, much remains to be proved. They have claimed that it conforms to the highest levels of safety standards; the real test is when the car hits the roads. Any number on tests on the software, or any number of accelerated tests is not at all comparable to what actually happens in the field. So frankly speaking, that’s one more reason.

Fourthly, let’s be a bit practical. Considering the scenario of traffic and roads in India, and the rate at which infrastructure is growing in comparison with the market, any fool will prefer to travel in a two wheeler (for regular use, not for picnic or time pass or once in a while trips). For the simple reason that, with a two wheeler, sneaking anywhere is far easier than a four wheeler. And definitely faster too. And then comes the bigger problem of parking. Two wheelers can be parked anywhere on the road, but that’s not the case with a four wheeler. So, the whole point is unless there is some way where these two issues are addressed, I don’t think anything significant is going to happen.

People have always argued that, as the country becomes developed, the number of two wheelers in the country will reduce significantly, and the number of four wheeler users will increase drastically. I too used to believe it to some extent. I recently came back from Kuala Lampur. True to some extent, I hardly found a two wheeler on the road. Everybody literally had a four wheeler. But then, Malaysia is Malaysia and India can never become that. For the simple reason that India is a vast country, with a huge population. With people of different cultural backgrounds, it’s really going to be difficult to integrate people. And with the sense of discipline what I have seen among Indians, I don’t see it happening atleast for the next 50 years. All the technological advances and all have only increased the gap between the rich and the poor. The rich may be increasing in the cities. The standards of living may have improved. Everyone may be having a TV or a computer or whatever these days. But then there are a different set of people living in the villages, who still travel on bullock carts even though he knows how to ride a bullet, people who still use oxen to plough their fields even though they know there is something called a tractor which can do the same thing faster and more efficiently. So it’s only that there are still people who earn less. There still are people who don’t have basic healthcare within a 5 km radius of where they live. So it’s simply not easy to integrate India and make it developed. And the politics and politicians we are having will ensure that it will never happen.

The major reason for the slump in the two wheeler industry happens to be availability of finance, which itself adds to the fact that the people here are not all that rich to buy a bike on their own. And the interest rates are booming so high, and recovery also has become more and more stringent. So that’s one and probably the only reason for the small decline in the two wheeler industry. The point is, even if someone buys a car, he will definitely have a two wheeler with him. If at all anybody is going to be affected by the introduction of this new low cost car, I strongly feel its going to be the small car manufacturers like Maruti and Hyundai, rather than the Two wheeler Industry as a whole.