London Olympics 2012 - Should we take flight or not?

The demands for boycott of the 2012 Olympics seem to be gathering steam with less than a year going for the big event. The reason being the presence of Dow Chemical Company as one of the major sponsors for the Games. Dow Chemical Company had taken over Union Carbide which was responsible for the devastating Bhopal Gas Tragedy of 1984.

Boycotting the Olympics is perhaps not the best idea for us under the current circumstances, the reasons being manifold. Firstly, by boycotting the Games, the Games is not going to lose anything. The Games will still happen. Plus India doesn’t boast of any athletes or players who the World would miss at the Games were we to remain out of it. It is we who are going to be the losers (literally as well as branded!). Secondly, we have just about started to win medals in Olympics. What started with a Leander Paes’ Bronze in Atlanta(1996) has continued in every successive edition with atleast one medal being won by Indians. The last one at Beijing was special because we won our first Individual gold in the form of Abhinav Bindra and was the most productive outing at the Games with 3 medals overall. The consistency in winning has just about begun. By not participating, that momentum might be lost. Third, the Olympics happen once in 4 years, and is the biggest stage for an Olympic sportsperson. Lots of dreams are associated with the Games and it comes with tremendous preparation and practice for the years before the Games and also great amount of sacrifices. Qualifying for the Games is a very difficult proposition in itself. Someone might just have come within striking distance of a medal earlier and this might just be his/her last opportunity at it. With that kind of an attachment to the Games, it will be very unfair to ask the athletes to stay out of the Games. Fourth, the Games provide an opportunity for many athletes to prove themselves. Most of the athletes get noticed only after a significant performance at the Games. Life improves for a lot of them after the Games. Why deprive them of it?

But do we forget the victims of Bhopal 1984 and just move on? No. A protest is mandated. Dow has to pay for whatever happened. But the protest need not have to be a total boycott of the games. It can be done in many other ways. Mixing two totally different things can be a recipe for disaster.

A protest has to be just that, and not trying to enforce your opinion on others. Issues need to be sorted out by sitting across the table, discussing your points, debating on the points of others and then coming at a reasonable solution. As much as pressure tactics may be important, there should be a limit to it too. Exactly why at times I feel Anna’s protests are also not justified completely.

We need to realize that Olympics is a world forum, a place where the number of stakeholders is enormous and so are the stakes. A wrong action here or an uncalled for statement there might just worsen things for us! So let us be very thoughtful and careful about what we choose to do!

Flipping the Kart - an Amazon for India!

I was not a big fan of online shopping, till not so long back. Partially, it was because I was not convinced about banking and making payments online, but partially, it was also because I had some not so good experiences with my initial attempts few years ago.

As a couple of experiences are enough to turn you off, a couple of good experiences are also enough to bring you back. On the recommendations of a friend, I happened to make some purchases on Flipkart.com around a year back. And man, what did I experience!!

Started 4 years back, by two graduates from IIT and later colleagues in US based Amazon.com, they started off with the dream of replicating Amazon in the Indian context. And to a great extent they have been successful at it too. Let me go about highlighting a few reasons why I feel so and why I think they have a bright future.

First of all, they have a vast range of products under offer. Books, Electronics, Gift Items, Mobiles, Computers and accessories and what not! So it makes a one stop shop for people wishing to shop. To add on, prices of most of the products on offer are usually much lower than what you would pay elsewhere. Secondly, the web user interface is simply amazing. Very user friendly and simple, it gives you options to search and filter search options as you would like to. Small things like storing your previously shipped addresses, etc makes your experience something worth yearning for. The interface is also ‘smart’ in terms of keeping a track of what you have searched earlier and also recommending products to you based on your searching and shopping history. Even the payment gateway that’s integrated to make online payments is very reliable. Thirdly, the delivery is lightning fast. Most of the products are delivered on the second day in major cities in India, which I think is simply brilliant. Before you even realize your order is delivered at your doorstep. In addition, they also deliver to smaller cities and towns also, that too reliably. Fourthly, it is complemented with great service support. Right from the time you book your order till the time your shipment is delivered, you have consistent notifications coming your way that keep updating you about the status of your order via Emails and SMSs. Plus there is a 24 X 7 helpline that is always available should you have anything at all. The best part is how they go out of the way to make sure that no customer is left dissatisfied for whatever the reason. They are always active and your queries/complaints/grievances are addressed within 2 hours at any point of the day (or night). And to top it up, when they get the slightest hint of a customer being unhappy, in comes a phone call from a senior executive in the company trying to understand what went wrong and how can that be rectified. Fifth, they also have a very good exchange policy where they assure to take back a product within 30 days, should there be any problems with the product. Now this guarantees the customer of the quality of the product. Amazing. No?

No! That’s not all. One of the most important strengths I guess is that they are continuously innovating. Keeping on adding features that either benefit the customers directly, or help them in the way they do business. I have seen/experienced improvements in the IT systems, improvements in the Supply Chain in terms sourcing the products, warehousing them and then ensuring delivery to the customers at the earliest possible time.

As was recommended by someone else, I too have recommended Flipkart to a lot of my friends. And the reaction has almost always been, “Wow! I am in love with Flipkart” after the first shopping experience.

To what extent have they been able to achieve their goal, nobody other than the founders can perhaps answer. But one thing is sure, Flipkart.com is definitely one of the pioneers in e-commerce and has changed the way people shop. Why would you go elsewhere to shop when you are getting products faster, cheaper and in a much more convenient manner?

Lessons from Card Games

During your MBA Education, learning happens not only in the class, but also from other quarters. It happens from interactions with professors, interactions with peers, seniors & juniors, co-curricular and extracurricular activities that you choose to take as well as things you do during your free time. You can draw parallels from what you are doing and what you are learning.

I was fortunate enough to influence my learning’s from most of these sources. Of all the activities I used to do, towards the end of my course, I fell in love with card games. I had a great set of friends who used to play cards every day. The more we started playing it, the more I found its applicability in Businesses as well. We started playing games like Poker and Teen Patti which actually helped me draw parallels with the business world. Even today, when I sit and ponder over certain decisions that I have to make, lessons from these games come in handy. Here are some of them

• Do not underestimate your resources. You never know when they might come in handy

However insignificant are the cards you have, you do not know what others are having. They might be having equally insignificant or even worse cards. Alternately, even the others do not know what cards you have. Even cards of small value, can sometimes win you games.

• Fortune favors the brave

You need to take risks in order to get returns. Higher the risks, higher usually are the returns. Only when you go out of your comfort zones, can you reap rewards. Taking risks sometimes also plays the added role of destabilizing the opponents and induce him into doing something wrong, which can again help you in your pursuit.

• Play with the mind

There is an old saying which goes somewhat like you should never think with your heart but with your mind. You may be losing and your strategies may not be showing the desired effect. But the moment you take things to heart and influence your decisions, you are sure to make more mistakes.

• At times, it’s better to keep quiet

In terms of action as well as words, at times, it is better to remain silent. Usually when you are under stress, you tend to panic. Under such situations, you tend to do something or say something that will clearly indicate the same to other opponents. Sometimes, this might just be the opening they might be looking forward to

• Be unpredictable

The more unpredictable you are, the more difficult it is for the opponents to play against you. You should be unpredictable in terms of the type of moves you’ll play for different situations. A good player usually forms an opinion about fellow players a few rounds into the game based on observations of play. You should not let the player form an opinion about you that is correct

• Exit at the right time

All of us have bad days, all of us have bad games. When things are stacked against us and no options are working out, we need to know it’s time to move out. Staying in the game, will only further your losses and will give nothing. There is nothing wrong in retiring from the game at times. The idea is to win the battle. Losing a war here and there is okay.

• Be ready to quit when the situation is against you even if you have the best resources

Sometimes, you might have the best of the cards. On other occasions, those might just give you a resounding victory. But this might just not be the occasion. The situation might just not be with you. Someone else might be having cards better than you. You need to be smart enough to take cue out of the same

• Read hidden signals

Everything in life doesn’t come to you on a platter. You need to stretch a bit here and there in order to excel. Some signals come from the game and the opponents in indirect ways. Read those signals and make your moves accordingly.

• Be a good observer

Games need not be necessarily won by your smart moves alone. Some games are won by capitalizing on the mistakes of the opponents. And to do that, you need to be alert and always in the game.

The Art of Writing

Daakiya daak laaya…. daak laaya
Khushi ka payaam kahin
Kahin dard naak laaya

Thus went an old song of the 70s. It describes how eagerly one used to wait for the postman to arrive with letters, sometimes bringing messages of joy and happiness while sometimes bringing sad news.

Try to go back in time, and recollect when was the last time you collected a personal letter from a postman. I am not talking about documents sent through modern day couriers or through speed of registered post. I am talking of letters – like the one a newly married daughter used to write to her mother to convey her status of acceptance (or the lack of it) in her new house, or the one a son used to write to his father updating about his progress in education while staying in a hostel thousands of miles away.

The last letter I wrote, perhaps, was some good 15 years back I guess. As a kid, I often used to write letters to my grandparents whenever they were not staying with us. I can still remember the enthusiasm with which I used to post the letters in post box, and await eagerly for them to reply. When the reply came, I used to be so excited that I used to sleep with the letter under my pillows. I still have some of those letters with me. A letter from an uncle preaching why something that I was doing was wrong and why I should change my ways. A letter from grandfather congratulating me on my achievements in school and one from grandmother about stories from Ramayana and Mahabharata, are still a part of my most prized possessions.

The telecom revolution in the 80s and the internet in the late 90s and early 2000’s have drastically changed things. Phone calls have become more and more affordable. A letter would take days to deliver, whereas a phone call is instantaneous. Internet delivers Emails almost instantaneously. Added to it, the applications for chatting (text, voice and video) have actually reduced distances drastically. Today, my mother sits and talks to my brother in the USA using Yahoo Messenger and Skype as if he is sitting right next to her.

But all said and done, nothing gives you a personal touch that comes with a personal handwritten letter. A phone call lasts for a few minutes, an Email never gives you a feeling that a letter gives. You can keep a letter for years together and go through it again and again, whenever you feel like. Can you do the same with modern means of communications? (Actually yes, you can record conversations and go through them again and again :P)

Earlier, if someone used to make physical notes, using pen and paper, or write down reminders in his or her diary, today it’s entirely electronic. Notes are typed on laptops or tablets and reminders are set on a mobile phone. When I was pursuing my MBA not so long back, people hardly used to take notes using paper and pen. Mostly it used to be jotted down on MS Word or Notepad. The advantage of this form is replication is very easy. A copy just needs to be circulated and everyone has what everyone else has taken down. In the earlier era, it used to involve a painful exercise of copying what someone else had written down (which later came to be replaced by the photocopier, which directly copied what someone had written and used to be circulated among everyone else)

Once I finished my engineering, three years of working and I had lost touch of writing so much that when I was about to appear for the first semester MBA exams, I was very apprehensive if I would be able to actually go out there and write on paper for two and a half hours! Slowly, I am sure that even examinations will happen by making use of the electronic media. Some entrance tests have already gone online and it’s only a matter of time before the rest follow suit.

Gone are the days, when handwriting used to be one of the important parameters to assess a person’s personality. It’ll be interesting, if 20 years down the line, people will even know how to write. The art of writing is surely but certainly vanishing. It will for sure become an ‘art’ in the years to come.

Runs without runners

The ICC, finally seems to have dropped a bomb. Of the many new rules that have been proposed at the recently concluded meeting, one of the most debated ones is the one which prohibits batsmen to use runners to run between the wickets and score for them. Irrespective of the reactions this proposed rule has met with, I for one am very happy about it. If not anything, after a very long time, I can see a rule which is against the batsmen in an era which has always been against the poor bowlers and pro batsmen. In one of my earlier blog posts, I had written about how cricket has been increasingly becoming a batsmen’s game and how the entity called ‘bowler’ might become extinct some day. The proposal to increase the number of legitimate bouncers from one to two per over is also a welcome change.

Though people argue that there are only a few specialist batsmen in the game, and preventing one or more of them, who is genuinely injured, to take the services of a runner can indeed make a big difference on the result of the game. True. But I guess, it is indeed this very rule which will perhaps make the game more interesting.

With a gradual increase in the amount of cricket being played of late, fitness will increasingly become one of the concerns in the game. Rotating players between and within tournaments will be a key strategy of the teams and this will become an inherent and an inseparable aspect of the same. So how a team manages the fitness of its players and its bench strength could become one of the key drivers in a team’s success story. This rule also makes it imperative that no player who isn’t fully fit before the start of the game ends up in the playing eleven.

There have been vigorous oppositions to this rule from many quarters. There have been comparisons made to fielders being substituted when a player gets his minor injury nursed off the field. There have also been questions raised as to why should bowlers get breaks whereas batsmen would not. They say batting is a matter of rhythm and taking a break and coming back isn’t necessarily a solution. They say cricket is a gentleman’s game and it should stay that way. But in many occasions, it hasn’t been just that. There have been numerous occasions when a runner has been misused. A slow player on the field is usually replaced by a quick and agile youngster even without a genuine injury. The rule perhaps only attempts to minimize or even completely eliminate this misuse.

Opponents say cricket will lose its charm with such drastic alterations. I would beg to differ as I feel that such rules will actually add more fun and make the game more interesting, the same way rules of the past like powerplays, free hits et al have. I think those who oppose such changes in the game just don’t have the courage to take change in their stride and move on.

Attention Seekers?? Er... Well.....

Remember Bhairavi Goswami? The starlet who recent hit the limelight thanks to her tweets which most likely were aimed at Aishwarya Rai Bachhan and her pregnancy? Or remember Poonam Pandey? The aspiring model who had openly claimed that she would bare all should the Indian Cricket Team win the recently concluded World Cup? Or that prince from some royal kingdom in Rajasthan who had openly announced that he was gay and welcomed Article 377? Or even the Admar Mutt Seer who had claimed that he would sacrifice everything and go to the Himalayas should Sonia Gandhi become the Prime Minister of the country?

It is very likely that you had forgotten them, till you read this post. I too had, till I read a newspaper slamming them for attempting to create attention by such means as false claims and posts & comments in public forums. I was surprised to see such a stark reaction from the media, who I firmly believe is the very reason why those people get the motivation to do what they are doing. They know for sure that all they have to do is to just do something that would somehow come to the notice of the media, and the rest would be taken care by them.

Though I am not supporting what they are doing, I do not blame them either. There is nothing wrong if someone wants to be noticed. In a highly competitive world, I think it’s absolutely fair. But giving them attention or not is entirely left to the audience. And more often than not, the attention is merely a matter of a few hours or at most a few days.

In such a scenario, I feel it’s completely wrong on the part of the media, to give them attention on the one hand and then criticize them sharply on the other hand. If not anything, they are contradicting themselves. In the race to TRP ratings and higher viewership, the media today doesn’t even verify facts before making inferences, thus ending up misleading millions of people in the process. It is actually a pain to watch a few news channels whose major focus is only on gossiping and scandalizing events and blowing them out of proportion.

Thoughts?

The DRS debate

The buzz word for the week has been technology. Cricketers, both past and present, across the world have been debating about the implementation of the DRS (Decision Review System) in the tournaments.

The BCCI, has surprisingly been a vociferous critic of this system from time immemorial, saying that technology is not entirely reliable. Though the DRS was used in the recently concluded World Cup, Indians have never been big fans of the same. Almost every other country has got no issue with the system except for the Indian Board and some of the Indian players.

The DRS allows a team to challenge the decision of the on field umpire, twice in an innings. The challenged decision thus goes to the third umpire, who makes the use of technology (currently only Hawkeye is used), and suggests to the umpire based on his observations. The field umpire then, either stands by his decision or reverses it, based on the inputs of the third umpire.

So why is BCCI so bluntly against it when everyone else prefers it? They say technology isnt fully reliable. Hawkeye, for example, may predict the trajectory with a reasonable amount of accuracy, but doesn’t predict the bounce present in the wicket. Fine, but so are humans. And we are not entirely relying on technology, are we? The only suggestion is to refer to the third item, in case the players feel that a wrong decision has been made. I think it is absolutely fair, considering that games have become all the more competitive these days and over a period of time, even a small mistake can turn the fortunes. With technology being available, I think we should make use of it.

When we are using technology in all other aspects of our lives, to make it better, why not in sports? There may be apprehensions that over the years, technology may completely replace on field umpires. I don’t even see a problem with that. Why is it always necessary to depend on humans for everything, especially when you have better alternatives available? These days, even the on field umpires go up for run outs and stumpings, most of which are fairly clear, only to be doubly sure that they don’t make a wrong decision which makes one team pay dearly. When you have an option, why not use it?

I was reading an article somewhere a few days back, and as the author had said, cricket itself has evolved over the years. We have moved on from Test matches with a rest day in between, 60 overs ODIs to 50 overs, protective equipments have increasingly been used, technology too has been increasingly used in terms of stump cameras, microphones and so on, we are playing Day and Night matches now, cricketers wear colored clothing these days, experiments have been made on the colour of the balls used for the game. So, I think we should just look at it as if it is just another chapter in the evolution of the game. Things from the past, become obsolete and have to be discarded, and we have to move on.

Networking

“Network for net worth” ran the tag line of our Intra College cultural festival Transloocent last year. The focus unmistakably was on networking.

My cousin always keeps saying, “As much as your academic qualifications, professional achievements, hard work and dedication, the recommendations you get are required for you to move higher up in an organization or elsewhere, an equally important determinant of such a growth would actually be the power of your network”. Those words actually seemed to be pretty heavy to me when he first said that to me, way back in my engineering days. I hardly understood any network other than those we used to solve using Kirchoff’s laws and Star-Delta conversions back then.

But yes, reflecting back on it today, from the threshold of entering a new company with new responsibilities, I guess it’s absolutely true. Being in the right network, or within the circle of right people, is one of the important keys to one’s rapid professional growth.

No wonder we have seen many networking sites mushroom over the years. In the era of the internet, getting back in touch with your long lost schoolmates or college mates is no big deal. In fact, the power of internet and social networking has made sure that the world has indeed shrunk. Earlier, it never used to be this simple, but thanks to social networking, not only me, but people from my dad’s generation have been able to get in touch with their long lost friends and acquaintances very easily.

Is the Jan Lokpal enough??

Scene 1: A very busy traffic junction in Pune.

5 roads converge here and the traffic signal typically takes 180 seconds to turn green, once its red. He overshoots the signal by a whisker and is caught after the junction by the traffic police.

Traffic Police : “License please”

He: “Here you go”

TP: “RC, Insurance and PUC?”

He: “Sir, forgot to get it today. It’s at home”

TP: “Keep the vehicle also at home. Pay a fine of Rs.200 for breaking the signal, Rs 500 for not having the RC and Insurance, Rs 100 for no PUC.”

TP: “Oh wait, this looks like a Gujarat vehicle. And I guess you are not having the NOC either. Another Rs 500. So take this, pay Rs 1300 and then take your vehicle and license”

He: “Sir ye Rs 100 leke maamla settle kar deejiye na please”

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Scene 2: Regional Passport Office, Jaipur.

She has just applied for a passport. She needs a passport immediately as she has got an opportunity to go abroad in 15 days. Even the Tatkaal scheme takes atleast 30 days. She goes to meet the passport officer

Passport Officer: “It isn’t possible to issue a passport so fast madam. Whatever we do, there are a few procedures that need to be followed, and those take time”

She: “What is the procedure which takes the highest time?”

PO: “Police Verification”

She: “Here. Keep this Rs 500. I will take care of the police verification. Please make sure that this passport is ready in 10 days”

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Scene 3: Hazrat Nizamuddin – Jhansi Intercity Express

He has a General ticket between Delhi and Agra and has got into the AC Chair Car. The Travelling Ticket Examiner comes asking for the ticket, and he shows him the General Ticket.

TTE: “?”, with a confused look on his face.

He passes on two Hundred rupee notes to the TTE.

TTE: “But the full fare for Delhi to Agra is Rs 513. You have a ticket for Rs 73. So you will have to pay the difference amount of Rs. 440”

He: “Ye rakh leejiye aur aap handle kariye”

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Scene 4: Tirupati, in queue for darshan of Lord Balaji, almost near the sanctum sanctorum

The NCC security guards are simply pushing all those who are coming, so that nobody waits for long and the queue keeps moving.

NCC: “Jaragandi, jaragandi”

He quietly slides a Hundred rupee note into the guard’s hands.

He: “Now don’t disturb me for one full minute”

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So where should the fight against corruption actually begin? Who is actually responsible for corruption? Corruption has grown over the centuries, mainly because there are people who are willing to bribe and get things done. Such things as mentioned above, happen almost every day in every other part of the country.

So as much as the Jan Lokpal bill and other allied actions are required to curb corruption, the real fight has to begin with a mass movement at the grass root level. Mass campaigns have to be started to educate the people in the country. The biggest challenge I believe, will not be the passing of the bill, but implementing the same at the ground level.

Pune Calling . . . Again!! :-)

I will be reaching Pune, in less than 72 hrs from now, this time, to start fresh, as a corporate professional. As I embark upon this new journey, after perhaps what could be termed as the biggest vacation of my life, till I retire, I have a set of mixed feelings. This is mainly because, Pune is the place where I have already spent a good two years and possibly the best two years of my life.

However, when I land in Pune this time, it won’t be the same again. I will not be going to the paradise called Lavale where watching sunrises and sunsets was a blessing and walking through the clouds was an experience to die for. I won’t be able to walk up and down the hill, at my will. The place in itself had some kind of an aura, which is sure to keep us all dragging back, attracting like a magnet.

Staying close to Lavale, however is a consolation. But then consider this, when it rains, though you are in Pune, you still cannot walk amidst the clouds. On bright sunny winters, you still cannot enjoy those sunrises and sunsets whenever you wish to.

I will also not be having the company of those wonderful people, with whom I have built memories for life, the parties and the dinners, the jokes and the fun, the long poker nights and the great debates and discussions on all the topics under the sun.

That I love the city, the weather, the culture and the people is a great positive for me, having got a second opportunity. The best thing about going back to the same city where you have already lived in is that you already know the place, the people, the important landmarks, restaurants, malls and so on. But the flip side is that you would not have much to explore. You will end up going to the same “good” places all over again, sans the “good” people.

However, I am excited about the new journey ahead, new challenges, new assignments in a new role with new responsibilities. After staying in the hostel for two years, where you literally had nothing to bother about, this transition is going to be pretty challenging, because in the new episode, you have everything to bother about!! I am sure that I will also make new friends as well, stay in touch with the old ones also. I will also visit Lavale for the occasional feasts (for the eyes only :P). Hope that my love affair with the city continues for many more years to come.

Pune, here I come again!! Second innings to start soon…

5 things I missed out on . . .

The last two years have been a wonderful episode in my life. Had the best time of my life, got to know a lot of diverse people, got to be a part of a wonderful team with wonderful teammates, experienced a lot of things for the first time, dinners, parties and what not, got hands on experience on leading a team, achieved most of the goals which I had set for myself and most importantly, made friends for life. If given a chance to relive any part of my life again, I would, without any hesitation, want to relive the past two years over again.

This post however, tends to highlight a few things which I missed out in the last two years. As they say, every coin has two sides and everything comes with two aspects. You cannot get everything. Here, I try to recollect five such things, or rather five of the most important things which I think I missed out on, in the last two years

1. Television

Watching the television went down drastically. Earlier I used to watch a few channels, debates, discussions, documentaries and some music channels very regularly. Staying in a hostel, with a common TV connection, meant that you only watched big cricket matches, EPL, sometimes tennis and very very occasionally F1. I still vividly remember watching some of the big WC cricket matches, Federer winning at Roland Garros in 2009, some of the awesome Football matches, WC Football. But that was all about it. No debates, no discussions, no talk shows, no documentaries. Which meant, you did not have too many perspectives and opinions to fall back upon.

2. Reading & Blogging – Newspapers and Books

This was one habit which I was very proud of. But once into MBA, everything came to a standstill. Though we had subscribed to a couple of newspapers, it was more of a formality and nothing else. Though I used to read, it was minimal. Reading books also went for a toss, not because I couldn’t find time or motivation, but because when there was time, there wasn’t the mood, and when there was the mood, there was no time. Google, Wikipedia and Internet is another of the reason for that deterioration. With the MBA and hostel lifestyle, everything was readily available on the internet.

Blogging also took a major hit, as, when inputs stop, there won’t be too many avenues for the output either. At one point of time, I really used to feel bad when I used to see the statement “An avid blogger – since June 2007” in my resume and wonder what will happen if some recruiter actually goes through my blog and sees how avid I actually was.

3. Home food

This was something I really missed. Food prepared by mom, some specialties and delicacies that are prepared only during certain occasions, the festivals and the ambience in itself. Responsibilities and the rigour, ensured that the number of trips to home reduced drastically, and that made sure that all those luxuries remained exactly that!!

4. Health

Constantly eating outside – more of the unhygienic and junk food, minimal exercises and physical activities made sure that I lost control of my diet. Never once did I gather the motivation to visit the gym. Table tennis was intermittent in the two years and jogging down the hill and up back again was also the same. All in all, put on weight, and was termed as overweight during the pre employment medical examination at my prospective company.

5. Personal life

As I had some goals in mind on the professional front, I also had some dreams on the personal front. Dedication (or rather over dedication) to certain things during the last two years, did not give me enough time to chase those dreams and that is the only regret I have of the last two years, if I have any.

Well, as a very good friend of mine always says, “Everything in life is nothing but a tradeoff. You win some, you lose some”. I guess it is true, and nothing can be done about that. Time to move on J

Managing Change

Change is the only constant. Sounds like an oxymoron, but guess it is true. Things change, people change, situations change, circumstances change, cities change, lifestyles change and what not? Everything changes and that makes life challenging.

Change is not always taken well. Mostly because it means it will affect your way of life in some way or the other. New power plant projects are opposed on the pretext of environmental changes, infrastructure developmental projects are opposed on the pretext of convenience changes, leadership changes are generally taken with a lot of apprehensions, organization changes are taken with lot of skepticism and so on.

Talking about organizational change, it usually happens because of two reasons. It can be because the organization has changed its strategy and policies or because the top leadership or management has changed. In the former case, the people end up doing different things, and in the latter case, people in the organization have to do the same things differently. Which one is difficult? I have had the opportunity to witness big and significant “changes” of both types and let me answer it from my experience.

In the first case, when the strategy and vision changes, the priority and the focus can change to something drastically different. Something totally tangential may be needed to be implemented. Though this is in itself not so bad; but considering the fact that implementing it and executing the new changes might be very difficult, is the root of the problem. And this becomes even more excruciating if the company keeps changing its strategy every two yrs, so that priorities keep changing and there isn’t time for people to drive that change and wait to see the results of it. A simple change in focus from product quality to customer satisfaction, in a large company can make the life of a lot of people at the execution level miserable.

In the second case, when the leader at the top changes, the leadership team also almost often changes. This brings in changes in the way things are done. More often than not, the strategy and vision of the organization may not change, but only the way in which it is achieved may change. This doesn’t require doing something altogether different, but only do things in a different way. There will be some changes in the priorities as well with a leadership change, but those changes will rather be minimal and inconsequential in magnitude at times.

I personally feel that coping up with the first type of change is more difficult than the second type, mainly because the first type requires a change in the mindset and exemplary execution skills. Unless you are yourself convinced about the change, you cannot implement the change.

It's all about money, honey!!

“For the first time in life, I am disappointed with Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. I don’t want to be vocal about it and hence am telling only a few people”, said a very close friend of mine.

“If he is disappointed with Sachin, Sachin must have definitely committed some crime”, I thought. For all I know about this friend of mine, he is the true testimony of the statement that in India, cricket is a religion and Sachin is God. He knows every statistic of Sachin by heart and can recollect any moment in history about Sachin at any time of the day, or night. He supported every team Sachin played for (read Mumbai Indians), and his wardrobe was full of Team India or Mumbai Indians merchandise. For him, Sachin truly is God.

I tried to enquire the reason behind his disappointment, and came to know that Sachin’s decision to withdraw from the Test Series against West Indies. The announcement had come towards the end of the IPL season. With the Indian team already missing out on the services of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra et al, this was a huge blow. Sachin was already rested from the ODI and T20 series, but was expected to join the team in time for the Test Series.

People started speculating the reasons behind Sachin opting out of the Windies tour. Some said that he wanted his most awaited 100^th International Century to come at Lords, the Mecca of cricket against a formidable opposition and not against a weak opposition like the West Indies. Conspiracy theorists would have come with a hundred other (il)logical replies, but Sachin chose to put a rest to speculation and said that he wanted some rest and wanted to take some time off cricket in order to spend some good quality time with his kids.

“What was he doing, when the whole IPL was going on? He could have opted out of it and stayed back with his family and kids and spent time with them then. Country should always come first and everything else should come later”, he said. It wasn’t difficult to sense his anger and frustration at that point of time.

Was it the money in the IPL which had attracted Sachin? I really doubt Sachin would be after money at this point of time in his career. Was it the relatively lesser amount of cricket that needed to be paid in IPL vis-à-vis the Test Series, that prompted his decision? Maybe, maybe not. Is Sachin experiencing any signs of ageing? Could be. Or has he achieved everything he possibly can? Not really. Time and Sachin are the only places where you can expect answers.

Succession

S-U-C-C-E-S-S-I-O-N

The buzz word on everybody’s mouth these days. Infosys just about a month back completed it for the post of its Chairman after long deliberations and discussions. Tatas are in the process of choosing the successor of the great Ratan Tata and the process too is supposed to take a lot of time. A 5 member panel is looking into the intricacies.

Why is succession so important? People at the top cannot keep working for ever and hence change is mandatory. Age, health, opportunities etc can be the various reasons why this change happens. For big organizations, it is all the more important to plan the succession properly, because the market outside is highly competitive. If the organization loses focus even for a while, it can land in trouble, lose its competitive advantage, lose the momentum and fortunes could get reversed in no time.

Thus, it is important to plan the succession, in such a way that the right person is selected for the job. By right person, the person has to have a consistency with the vision of the organization and someone who can take the organization forward with minimal glitches. Other considerations include the period for which he will be in that particular role, whether he will mix with the culture of the organization, whether he has to be external or internal and so on. The incoming person also needs to be given sufficient time to be groomed so that he fits the roles and responsibilities.

Succession planning is not only that. Every organization is like a pyramid and at every level, few people get left back and only the best qualify further. It is also observed in many large organizations, that succession battles are at times fiercely fought. Once a succession happens, there is a tendency for a few others to leave the organization. Keeping that in mind, succession planning should also plan how to fill those vacancies as well, so that morale within the organization doesn’t fall.

Though it is easy to get carried away and believe that some people tend to be indispensible to the team/organization, in reality it isn’t so. No individual is greater than the team. I have seen this personally on more than one occasion. Firstly, when I quit from my first job, I used to single handedly handle a lot of things for the territory I was in charge of and also for the area [Area is a combination of two or more territories. In our case it was four]. I was convinced that even after leaving, I would still receive calls and Emails from my colleagues, the dealers and their staff. But to my surprise, not a single communication came. No call, no Email, No message, nothing at all. Secondly, when my seniors from the team graduated and we were left alone, I was very apprehensive on how the team would run. But it in the end, we did manage a good show. The work, will eventually teach you how to do it. So will people who have taken over from us run the team without any major hiccups over the next year. So I have come to strongly believe that teams and organizations, do not run because of an individual nor do they stop running because an individual leaves it.

Which brings me to another crucial point to conclude. Think about the Indian cricket team – especially in the test arena. At times, I feel that we are solely dependent on the trio of Sachin, Dravid and Laxman to win/save matches for us. But it’s high time we groom others. Eventually the trio has to retire, and most likely they all will within a matter of a year or so. They have been sticking around for quite a long time now and they aren’t getting any younger by the day.We have a fairly decent and young side for the ODIs and the T20s. But the average age of the test side is pretty high. If these people do not retire soon and make way for youngsters, we may be jeopardizing the future of Indian Test cricket, just because a deserving Suresh Raina or a Rohit Sharma or a Virat Kohli doesn’t get enough exposure at the big stage. It has happened in the past, when Javagal Srinath was sidelined, just to ensure Kapil Dev breaks Hadlee’s record, and if we do not learn from our mistakes, its sad.

The big race against time . . .

He hurriedly looked at his wrist watch as he got out of the Auto at the Nizamabad railway station. 06:09 P.M. it read. Barely 6 minutes for the Nizamabad Vizag express to depart.

“I have arrived just in time”, he thought as he paid the auto driver and made his way to the ticket counter. He had nothing more than a backpack, and so it wasn’t a big problem for him to make way through the crowd. The Public Address systems at the railway station were repeatedly making announcements that the train would depart from Platform No.2 in three different languages.

He quickly reached the ticketing counter in less than a minute, but was shocked to see the queue today. “It never is this crowded at this time of day”, he said to himself. He tried to recollect if it was a weekend or a festival season, but failed to answer in the affirmative. The heat was also sweltering and there were atleast 25-30 people standing in the two different queues in front of him. He tried to stand in the shorter of the queues and reached out to his wallet for the exact change. Saving a couple of seconds would be very crucial in determining if he would be able to take the train or not.

The Nizamabad Vizag Express was newly added and ran only on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. He used to come to Nizamabad frequently on his official visits and generally used to take the daily passenger that runs between Secunderabad and Nanded. The journey used to take a painful four and a half hours for the 160 kms. He almost always used to have one day trips and hence leave from Hyderabad in the morning and reach back at night. The passenger, required him to leave from Hyderabad at 7:20 A.M. in the morning and again take the train at Nizamabad at 5:10 P.M. in the evening. This effectively used to give him only around 5 hours at Nizamabad and used to be pretty hectic on his schedule. The Express, on the other hand was a super fast train and used to cover the 160 kms in just about 3 hrs. So the introduction of this train, was a great benefit to people like him, as it gave them an additional one hour at Nizamabad and also ensured that they reach Hyderabad before the other train.

The platform No. 2 was on the other side of the station and he had to take the foot over bridge to reach the other side. On a normal day, he would have had the choice of crossing over to the other side over the tracks. But today, the train was already on the platform, and from where he was currently standing, he could vaguely see a train arriving on Platform No. 1 as well. He looked around for the digital indicators and saw the Devagiri Express between Secunderabad and Mumbai arriving on that platform. PA systems also started making announcements.

“Ah, now I know the reason behind the sudden rush today”, he said to himself. The heat was killing and he was getting frustrated. The other queue seemed to be moving faster, and in his queue, only 10 people appeared to have got the tickets in the last two minutes. He looked at the watch again.

6:13 P.M

He was thinking about the station, its architecture and all other obstacles that he will have to go through, once he got the tickets, in order to be able to catch the train. He mentally picturised the book vendor on his cart, the bunch of children drinking fruit juice at the nearby stall, the TTE of the train just arrived in an animated discussion with the Station Master and so on. He was also wondering which side of the overbridge to get down from. Whether to go right or to go left. He decided to leave it on his instincts at that point of time, depending on the conditions that exist then.

As he was still thinking, the PA system made the final announcement for the departure of his train. He was still two people away from the counter. He had almost lost his cool now. If he missed this train, the alternative would be to go by road on Govt. buses, and a painful five and a half hours, once he got the bus. He felt tremors at the thoughts of travelling by road. By then, his turn at the counter had arrived.

“Secunderabad”, he said.

“Rs 73”, said the voice on the other side.

He had only Rs.56, in exact change. Suddenly it flashed to him that he would be travelling in a Superfast train and not a passenger. He took out his wallet and gave the remaining change. By then, the crowd behind him had already got restless and had starting shouting at him.

He collected the ticket and ran as if there was no tomorrow. In a distance, he could hear the loud whistle of the train. As soon as he reached the overbridge, he took three steps at a time, sometimes even more. He had only one objective, to reach the train before it took off the platform. By now, he could see the train, and it was already chugging slowly out of the platform. The way he dashed, from the ticket counter to the platform, would perhaps even put Usain Bolt to shame. He cellphone rang a couple of times, he ignored.

Now came the crucial decision to be made. Right or left?

In a split second, he decided to go right. Not because it was less crowded (it was more crowded rather), but because the train too was moving to the right. Moving in the direction of the train would give him a higher probability of catching the train. By now, the train too had caught sufficient momentum.

As, he reached the platform, the sight he saw, made his heart skip a beat. The doors to all the compartments were closed! He wondered, “How do I get in?”

He waited for a couple of more bogies to pass on. He also was steadily moving forward as he did not want to experience a jerk when he would eventually climb into the running train. However, every compartment that passed had its doors closed. He later realized that the train runs from Nizamabad to Secunderabad, literally empty, and most of its passengers had reservations from Secunderabad to Vizag.

He was disappointed. However, he did not lose hope. By then a sizeable crowd had already gathered on the platform and on the over bridge and were watching the scene. He looked backward towards the remaining part of the train. By now, he had already reached almost the beginning of the Platform. There were four or five bogies remaining. In the first bogie that was to follow, he saw a couple of people standing at the door. He signaled at them and shouted in the local language, but they did not understand, nor did they move in.

There was one bogie, which had a door open, but that too wasn’t in his fortune. Two more bogies passed and there were two more after the current one. At this moment a thought crossed his mind. He wondered, if the doors are indeed locked from inside or they are just closed. He decided to take a chance. On the rear door of the current bogie. As the train was moving fast, he had to push the door with quite a bit of force.

“Thud”, the first door was locked.

He had very little time before the next door. “Thud”, the second one was locked too. Or was it not? He felt a slight opening in the door.

“THUD”, this time he tried harder. The door opened, miraculously, and he woke up with a jerk!!

Go Baba!!!

Two major fasts in two months and it’s all in the news. First it was Anna Hazare for the formation of Jan Lokpal and now its Baba Ramdev’s turn. I was initially not too keen in following this one. At times, I used to get a feeling that such activists will be born in exponential numbers in the days to come, and the effectiveness of such an action will go down. But the actions taken by the Govt. or the lack of it rather, has prompted me to keenly follow it.

I was reading the Editorial in the Indian Express today where the editor had cautioned the activists viz. Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev against two things. Firstly, the Govt is trying to seek more time, by asking opinion of State Chief Ministers and political parties on the Lok Pal draft. By doing so, it has bought itself more time, and in this time, it expects or rather hopes that the unity of the Civil Activists collapses. Secondly, the kind of attention that Baba Ramdev has received, the kind of VIP welcome at the airport, the meeting in a 5 Star hotel, they have made Baba a celebrity today and the same people will question him tomorrow.

Hardly had I finished reading the piece of article and I saw it happening live on TV. The Govt has also appointed the best possible person for the negotiations. Kapil Sibal, a noted advocate, knows very well how to turn things on its head. That’s exactly what we saw today. On the basis of one written note from one of Baba’s assistants, he has managed to gain an upper hand in this duel. Shrewd that he is, he has got an avenue to divert the focus from the main issue under consideration. Added to that, the question from various leaders from the Ruling political party, as to where is Baba funding his fast and how is he doing so? And added allegations that the fast is sponsored by the Opposition Party and its sister organizations and that Baba is their agent.

I fail to understand, how does that even matter. What has Baba’s funding got to do with his demands and the kind of mass support that he has generated? How does it even matter, who is supporting Baba and who is Baba representing? What is the Govt. planning to do to get the black money stashed in foreign banks? What is the Govt. doing to meet the demands set forward by the activists? Instead of answering these important questions, the Govt. has cleverly managed to divert the attention elsewhere. And rightly as the editor had expressed concerns over the Govt. attempting to break the unity of the Civil activists, the first signs are already visible. Anna Hazare, who till yesterday was openly supporting Baba, and had also warned Baba about the shrewd goons in the Govt, has today chosen to remain silent. By adding the VHP and RSS angle to Baba’s supporters, they have practically made sure that Anna doesn’t openly support Baba as he doesn’t want to be associated with the RSS or VHP. Other Civil representatives have given conflicting statements on the matter.

If not for anything, I would want to see how the events unfold in the coming days. If not for anything, support Baba Ramdev and teach those goons in the Govt. a lesson for their life. Let us be united in our fights. Go Baba!! These politicians are way too clever. Do not let them succeed in foiling your attempts. The country is with you J

What has changed??

They say time is a healer and can change a lot of things. With time, politicians change parties and ideologies, companies change strategies and policies & individuals change opinions and perceptions about people and surroundings.

I have observed one such change in myself over the years. A few yrs back, as I had graduated from the engineering college, I was strictly against going abroad for working. I used to feel that those who do that, are not paying back for their country, which has done so much for them, their education by subsidizing it and to the society which has seen them become what they currently are. I have taken potshots at them, in this very blog of mine a few yrs back. Back then, I was totally shut to the idea of going abroad. Then I had an opportunity to visit Malaysia for a conference, which changed my perceptions about foreign nations and I started becoming open to the idea of going abroad for studies alone. I strongly used to believe that there existed equal number of opportunities within India and that Indians alone can come to uplift their fellows.

Today, if not totally opposite to what I believed a few yrs back, I am atleast not averse to the idea of people going abroad to work. I am not averse to myself going abroad for a few yrs either. Earlier, I always used to feel that becoming an entrepreneur was never my cup of tea. Today, I am not averse to that idea, if not pursuing that dream in a fully fledged manner.

So what has changed?

The Govt. and its policies? – Not really

The economy? – Not too sure [Honestly, I did not have much knowledge about the economy back then]

The conditions at home? – Not much either

The prospects abroad vis-à-vis what they are here? – Not that either

What has perhaps changed, is my awareness of a lot of things over the past few yrs. I had an opportunity to work for a great company for a few yrs, interact with some real interesting people, understand their outlook about things. I went for an MBA and as a part of that, met some great people – in peers and in professors – and those interactions made me much more mature. I started reading much more and that has opened up a lot more perspectives in front of me. I started involving myself in debates and discussions, just to get fresher perspectives on things. My own reasoning and analytical abilities have perhaps improved over the years and that takes me towards making opinions such as these. So, more than any major changes happening in the external environment, it is the conditioning within which has changed over time and this has brought about a change in the opinions and perceptions that I have today. I am also aware that they may change again, a few yrs down the line. To conclude, it is a process of continuous evolution. What is right today, need not necessarily be right tomorrow.

The Power of Empowerment

One of my major learning’s from the past one year of my MBA life, where I had the privilege to lead a team in the Students’ Council, is undoubtedly the wonders empowering teammates does. During the initial period, we were very skeptical about giving freedom and liberty to do things as per their thoughts and considerations. We used to insist that a particular thing has to be done in a particular way and nothing else will do. We were hardly open to new thoughts and ideas. But slowly when we started realizing their potential, and started empowering them to take decisions on daily activities, it came as a real surprise. All of them indeed exceeded our expectations and conducted events after events in a manner much better than before. And now that we have moved out of those responsibilities, the people who had worked with us and have taken over from us, are doing wonders out there. I am sure they will make us all proud in whatever they do.

This has taught me an important lesson. Trusting your teammates is one of the most important aspects in a team. Trust them on their capabilities, willingness to learn and perform, to do well. As a team leader, you should want your team to succeed and keep encouraging them to do better and better every time. Small milestones have to be appreciated and large victories have to be celebrated. Giving them freedom in what they do, will make them more responsible towards the team and encourage them to give their best. Research also has shown that empowered employees perform much better than normal ones who just do mechanical labor at the instructions of higher ups. I have no reasons to disagree, primarily because, when you empower someone, you are asking him to think, challenge and decide on certain things. When you give that kind of a freedom to someone, he knows that he is accountable to certain things and is being watched, and at the same time, he is also aware that his actions are important to the outcomes of the team.

I also had a contrasting experience to this recently at Hyderabad. We had been to the Go Karting Zone in the Parking Lot of the International Airport, where the parking rates were supposed to be Rs 50 for Go Karting customers (it was the same parking used by airport customers as well). When we were exiting the parking, we were asked to pay on a per hourly basis, as normal airport customers would do. The reason given was that we had come in a Cab and cabs weren’t eligible for the same (because of some prior experiences of Cab drivers misusing the facility). We, being relatively free, were hell bent on getting to the depth of the matter. The person at the gate had to call his superior, who listened to the entire story, but still couldn’t do anything about it. We insisted on going to the higher ups, but he said they are not on duty and we can contact them only next day. We persisted and eventually he made a dozen odd phone calls and let us go. But the point is, if he, or even the person at the gate is empowered to take decisions on knowing that we are genuine customers, and not misusing the facility, we would have drove away happily. In these days of customers being very demanding, it is imperative that executives who are the touch points with customers make decisions at the moment, because in most cases, the customer doesn’t wait. And once lost, the customer is gone forever. Empowering such executives to take some decisions which can help the customer and/or company will go a long way in enhancing customer satisfaction.

Power Problems !

Last night was agonizing. On the one hand, we have been yearning for the rains so that we can get respite from the sweltering heat. But when it finally rained, cats and dogs, accompanied by lightning and thunderstorms for hours together, it still was uncomfortable. The reason? No power. Though there was a temporary relief from the heat, no power throughout the night made sure that the relief was only short lived.

I had thought that our power problems were over. I can vividly remember my school days, when I and my brother used to sit around a candle, to do our homework or study. Those days, power cuts and load shedding was a regular practice. Every day, the number of hours with power almost always equaled the number of hours without. Slowly with the advent of technology, the candle was replaced by an Emergency Lamp, and then eventually by a Battery Invertor, But all of these have their inherent limitations. I am sure this has been the story with every middle class family in semi urban and rural India.

20 years hence, if today, we do not have the technology to safeguard our power generation and transmission systems against heavy rains, lightning and thunder, what have we achieved? We are living in the 21^st century. We talk about this being an Asian century.

I was reading somewhere, that out of every hundred units of power that is generated, 10 units are lost during transmission (apparently due to poor technology), 20 more units are supplied to farmers either free of cost or at a heavily subsidized rate (thanks to our politicians’ pre election promises) and 30 units gets stolen by illegal means. That leaves only 40 units for normal consumption. If this doesn’t lead us to shortage of power, where does it lead us to?

What is the solution? Well, there is nothing which can be done to stop the politicians from making promises and standing by them. But we certainly can tackle the other two problems. Transmission losses can be minimized by adopting better technology and thefts can be stopped by having strict regulations and enforcing them effectively. If capital is a matter of worry, privatization is the way out. Some cities in India have private companies handling the distribution of power, and people in some of such cities have never ever heard of a power cut in the last two decades or so. Even if there is, it’s just a matter of a few minutes. Open up the sector and there will definitely be a good number of takers for the same.

Do all the good you can, and be remembered

“Do all the good you can, and you will be remembered for not only what you achieved, but also for what you left behind”

Our sportsmen (read cricketers) earn in millions, through endorsements, sponsorships, advertisements and finally a meager amount by playing. Recently, rewards were heaped in countless numbers on the members of the Indian cricket team in cash and kind for having won the World Cup. Those who have been around for a fairly decent time period, having tasted success in small quantum are rich and would have surely amassed a fortune by now.

An interesting fact to be observed over the next few years, is where do these people venture? Saurav Ganguly has retired from International Cricket (has he??) and is now into commentary along with a lot of others. Some former cricketers (Kumara Dharmasena, Paul Riefel) etc have ventured into umpiring. A few of them like Anil Kumble get into cricket administration. What do the remaining people do?

I am curious to know what successful stars, living legends, God for many, idolized by millions in this country do post retirement. More importantly, I am keen in knowing how will such a person patronize sports. Pullela Gopichand has done it. After hanging his boots, he opened a badminton academy, started identifying young and raw talent, groomed them with rigorous training schedules and as a result, today you find a Saina Nehwal, consistently in the top 3 in the International Circuit. We can find petty examples like these in other sports too.

In a country, where cricket is a religion and Sachin is God, other sports are conveniently neglected. In a country of 1.2 billion, all we can boast of, is a single individual Olympic Gold till date. It is not that there is not talent in the country. There is ample amount of talent. Otherwise, Sania Mirza would not have risen to the heights she did. Pankaj Advani would not have become the World Champion. Abhinav Bindra would not have won the Olympic Gold and our shooters, boxers, wrestlers and weightlifters would not have given the consistently good performance that they have given of late. It is only that the talent is not identified at an early stage and groomed properly. And even when it is identified, there is a lack of facilities or infrastructure or financial support to sustain the talent and bring in consistency in the performance. Saina Nehwal, to this day finds it difficult to meet the expenses of her training and other needs. If a World No 2, has to face such days, what will motivate people to play for India? We have world beaters, but we do not have a consistent world beater. We cannot boast of a Michael Phelps or a Lance Armstrong or a Michael Schumacher or a Roger Federer. We cannot boast of a Usain Bolt or a Carl Lewis, for similar reasons. All we can boast of, is a Sachin Tendulkar.

To encourage other sports, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, once announced a yearly grant of funds from its kitty. I don’t know how effective that scheme has been, or was it only on paper. But hey, this is an opportunity for successful cricketers to do something about it. This is an opportunity for them to set standards, as people worship cricket and cricketers. When people like a Tendulkar or a Dravid, a Yuvraj or a Harbhajan do some kind of a gesture, which can benefit others in whatever way, it is bound to go down well and in a very positive way with millions of people.

Just take it a step further. Imagine a scenario, where these people, who have been successful and have amassed fortunes enough for a generation to survive, can do something for the betterment of sports as a whole. Help talented sportsmen from other disciplines, to achieve their goal, their dream of playing for India, of winning for India and of making a place for India in the World Map in that sport. If that can happen, it will be a great chapter in the history of sports. If by their patronage, India is able to win more medals at the Olympics, if by their support, India is able to make a mark for itself in Hockey and in Football, in Formula 1 and in Athletics, in Tennis and in Badminton, it will be a great example of solidarity and compassion towards fellow sportsmen.

Go Anna!!

Anna Hazare has become a household name now. Based on whatever he has done in the last one week, the number of people who know who is Anna has increased exponentially. Anna is not a new name in the field of social service. The septuagenarian, who has served as a driver in the Indian Army, has many accomplishments to his credit. He has built a self sustaining, one of its kind village in Ralegaon Sidhi, in the Ahmednager district of Maharashtra. Earlier, this district used to be one of the poorest in India and today has become one of the richest it seems. His contributions to the civil society have been recognized duly and he has also been honored with the prestigious Padma Bhushan by the Govt. of India.

Recently, he has taken it upon himself to fight against corruption and corrupt people in the country and is fighting for the Lok Pal bill, which will form an authority, who will be autonomous and will make civil servants accountable for their deeds. Anna had started this movement in late February and has garnered the support of a lot of famous personalities from varied walks of life. Last week, he went on a fast unto death because the Govt. had failed to come out with a notification on the Lok Pal Bill. The fast which lasted for close to 4 days, finally ended up in the Govt. relenting and promising to form a committee which will draft the bill and also assuring that the Bill will be passed by August 15^th.

In the midst of all this, there have been some people who have ridiculed whatever Anna is doing for the country. In the ripe old age, he is doing all this selflessly for us, the youth of the country. Some people argue saying that his actions and threats of fasting unto death amount to blackmailing and influencing the functioning of a democratically elected Govt. These people say that there are enough laws and legislations in the country which can already be used to fight against corruption and merely having another law will not do any good.

True. People can file Public Interest Litigations (PILs) and also under the Right to Information (RTI) ask for certain details. But how effective are all these in today’s world? Forget a PIL, filing a First Information Report (FIR) at a police station is a big head ache for the common man. I had to run after the CI and SI of a local police station for 3 full days to file an FIR when my bike was stolen. All said and done, if there are so many laws and legislations, why is corruption still rampant? Why has someone not been able to make use of these laws to bring the guilty to the guillotine?

Coming to the question of blackmailing and influencing the functioning of a democratically elected Govt., we all know how elections are held and how votes are cast in the elections. We all know the type of people who get elected as our representatives. Now people may further argue that it is we who elect these people and we should make sure that such people don’t reach the Parliament. Agree. But what option do I have? I make sure that I cast my vote in every election that happens. Unless everyone around me does the same, I don’t have much of a choice. Now people may also argue that non corrupt people stand for elections and bring out a change. Again, I agree. But change is not something that can happen overnight. It takes time. And especially when we have people like HD Kumaraswamy, who can go on the record to say that it is hard for politics and corruption to not co-exist, and even say that Gandhiji also would have either become corrupt or quit from politics were he alive today, shows the magnitude of the kind of change we are looking at. That’s precisely the reason why this change is difficult if not impossible.

Fortunately, we are living in a democracy. As a democratic nation, all of us as citizens are entitled to run the Govt. the way we want through our elected representatives. As such, I believe, we have every right to protest, if we think that something is going wrong. For Anna, he is doing it after giving proper notice. One citizen of a country has chosen to raise his voice and ask questions, whereas all you and I have chosen to do, is sit back, watch the tamasha and comment on his actions. Again, I agree that all of his demands may not be fully justified. There may be a lot of flaws in his draft also. But the fact is, instead of sitting back and commenting on the same through the media, I think we should make an attempt to communicate it to him, who has taken the mantle upon himself. If we ask questions such as “Who is Anna Hazare to decide what should and what should not form a part of the draft”, we should first ask ourselves about our credibility to sit back and question on his work and efforts.

Go Anna!! We know that your intentions are good and the whole country will rally behind you on your efforts, except for a few goons who will always want to hog limelight. If not anything, teach these goons a lesson!

A Tale of Two Leaders

The last one week has been the most eventful to say the least. India re-conquering the most coveted crown in International Cricket by winning the ICC World Cup 2011 was what it all started with. Hardly was the cricket team being felicitated all over, praises showered on them from all quarters and every member of the team had become a celebrity and rich overnight. The players themselves perhaps have lost track of how much awards and rewards they won after the night of 2^nd April 2011. In the background, another movement was slowly gathering steam. India was slowly advancing for war. The war, however was special. The enemy, was internal, to the system and to the country. The war was against corruption. Standing by their words, following the failure of the Govt. to issue with a notification for introducing the Jan Lokpal bill, number of people thronged Jantar Mantar in a silent protest.

The entire week, however saw the arrival of two leaders on the big scene. MS Dhoni, who made India proud by bringing together a bunch of 11 young men, and conquering the title of the World Champions. MSD later went on, in the inaugural match of the IPL 4 to win the match for his team the Chennai Super Kings with his strategic decisions in the field. A calm and composed person, always keeping his emotions under control, I have never seen him getting worked up under any situation. A very important quality for a leader, because your entire team looks up to you for inspiration, for solutions and if you are weak, your team can only be as strong as you are!! MSD, irrespective of what team he is leading, has managed to do just that. In addition, he has been able to groom people well. Picking people from nowhere, he has made them noticeable. Manpreet Gony, Shadab Jakati and even R Ashwin, who was even a part of the Indian WC campaign were all identified and their talent nurtured under his captaincy. Having trust and faith in the young players and giving them confidence, can work wonders and here is a live example.

Anna Hazare, the septuagenarian from Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, who is fighting a battle against corruption and corrupt people in the country. Fighting for the youth, he has set an example for all of us. By taking a fast unto death, he has made the Govt. act. As per his latest statement, he says that even if this is considered as blackmail, he will continue to do it, as it is in the public interest. People from all walks of life from politicians to film stars to industrialists to public servants and even common people came in to support him, either physically or otherwise. Support on social media was tremendous and the movement percolated to other cities as well. A whole new wave had started, one which threatened to eclipse the World Cup victory. An important aspect to be noted here is that Anna did not give up or yield to the Govt. at any point of time. He had told the nation in the last week of February earlier this year that if the notification isn’t issued by the 4^th of April, he would go on a fast, and he did that! When his demands were not met and his drafts were modified and re modified, he was firm and stern with his demands. He ensured that he got whatever he wanted. Though I am not in agreement with all his demands have been in totality, I can’t help but salute this man for his humility and his perseverance. He stood against all odds, and he again iterates that he will not let the movement die till it reaches its conclusion. An important lesson to be learnt from here is that one, as a leader should never give up, however difficult the situation may be. You just have to have the perseverance and the energy to go to the last mile.

MSD and Anna, you will be watched closely. All the very best J

It's all in the mind...

“Battles are won twice, first in the mind and then out there in the battlefield” – Anonymus

The victory of the Indian cricket team in the recently concluded Cricket World Cup is a classic demonstration of the same. As Virender Sehwag said, the team had set their eyes on the WC final exactly a year ago in Dambulla in Sri Lanka. From then on, it was a focused effort towards just one goal.

The victory is important, more so because the pressure on the players was tremendous. Playing in front of the home crowd, the pressure of expectations, a cricket crazy nation which can idolize you and take you to the top in no time and the same nation which can bring you down faster than that all these were simply too much to handle. So as coach Gary Kirsten said, though physical fitness was one thing, being mentally tough and strong to handle all these was equally important. And this is what, the Indians did right.

I was reading an article on cricinfo a couple of days back and someone rightly said, that between 2007 and 2011, India has transformed from being a good team with great players to a great team with good players. A big part of this credit has to be given to coach Gary Kirsten, who has maintained a very low profile in the midst of all this hullaballoo. Taking over, when the team was in shackles, having clearly defined goals of becoming the No 1 Test Nation and winning the 2011 World Cup, and ending your tenure on a successful note, having attained both your goals, definitely has to be one of the greatest achievements for someone. A classic case of having a clearly defined goal and then channelizing all your efforts towards attaining that.

After a very long time, I cannot think of any one match in the entire tournament, which we won because of one single player. Every match was won by a combined effort, with the bat, with the ball and in the field. If one player failed to deliver, two others stood up to the task. The number of Indians in the top ten run getters and the top ten wicket takes just goes on to show what a coordinated effort it has been. The final was just another example of what has been happening throughout the tournament. Take the match against Australia, where the run chase was studded with three half centuries, take the match against Pakistan where the 10 wickets were equally divided among the only 5 bowlers. The fielding, particularly in the knockout games was simply exceptional. Gone are the days when people used to stop watching the match when a Sachin Tendulkar or a Virender Sehwag got out.

The amount of hard work, efforts and sacrifice that have gone into the achievement was clearly visible in the emotions that were flowing on the big day. Statements of maturity coming from people like young Virat Kohli are just indicative of that fact. When captain Dhoni kept talking about peaking at the right time, I always used to think that he is using a clichéd phrase. However, it eventually turned out to be exactly what he meant. The best of the performances seemed as if they were reserved for the most important of the matches.

Whatever written about the WC victory is incomplete without giving one man his share. MS Dhoni. What a man, what a leader. You can never understand what is going on in that calm mind till it actually happens. He has demonstrated it time and again. Some of his moves, though questionable ( he would have been taken to the guillotine had his moves to pick Sreesanth ahead of Ashwin OR promoting himself ahead of the in form Yuvi had failed), eventually turned out to be masterclass of an act. Remember the IPL 3 finals, and the way he had Hayden at the mid off, while having a long off as well, just to get rid of Pollard? All you need to now do is to trust this man with whatever he does, because he would have thought about it a hundred times and is doing it only because he thinks that it is the right thing to do. This man is surely going to be a role model for many and there is a lot to learn from him with regards to leadership lessons, management and strategy.

More than anything, it was the commitment towards one single and united objective, the desire to succeed and actions directed towards that desire that separated the good from the great. I have always got a feeling that, when time demands, there have always been players in other teams who have stood up to the demands and delivered. Take the case of Ricky Ponting in the quarters, Mahela Jayawardena in the finals, Andrew Strauss in the league match and so on. I used to feel why do we not have such players, who can make a match out of nothing, who can bounce back from the ground and go on to create history. This team has demonstrated that. Be it a Yuvraj or a Raina, be it a Zaheer or a Munaf, be it a Nehra or a Ashwin, be it a Gambhir or a Kohli, everyone has contributed and at times, when the match threatened to go out of control, these men have come up with inspirational performances to win it for India.