Big Bazaar

On my way back from office i was struck with this very weird thought.

There is a place....where market is the producer and producer is the same as the customer.Same person does the advertisement and the same guy takes care of the Operations. 
Market,producer,customer,advertiser and the operations guy are all the same.

I know it's weird....but in a while it will start making sense.
I am talking about myself.

I am the market....I can get each and everything within me.

I am the producer who is creating different products .I can produce happiness,sadness,courage,integrity.
I am the creator of my future ..i'll create my successes and failures.

I have several consumers inside me..One is an optimist..other a pessimist.One is a go getter ..other is a lazy fellow.
One wants me to be the change...Other asks me to relax and enjoy the status quo.

I am the advertiser...I can advertise motivating stuff,depressing stuff,happy stuff or sad stuff....
Whatever i advertise it feeds to the strengths of any one particular customer.
Suppose i am advertising depressing stuff...the pessimistic customer will become dominant in the market. 
Equally true for the motivating stuff as well.

Whichever customer relates to the advertisement...you feed his strengths and the other customers start getting weak.
Only thing to remember is that advertisements have to be consistent.The moment you relax on the advertising front..demand starts to drop and customer loses on its excitement and the urge to buy that product.

Similarly i am the operations manager...advertiser got me excited for a particular product but without proper operations i may not be able to buy that product.It has to reach me when i ask for it.I have to manage all the logistics of the product to reach me at the right time at the right place.

Just like any well run company...if all these guys can work in perfect synchronization.. i'll get a amazing Product.

..and yes... the Product will again be me.

Happy Hours

I was in NIT H  last week..and it was exciting and nostalgic to be back in a place to which i owe a lot.
Luckily Bhowmick Sir was also in college and he was staying right next to my room in the guest house. In one of our interactions i asked him that
"What should be the role of a teacher in contemporary times?"
Sir thought for  a while and answered after a brief pause...
"I think the only role of a teacher is to keep his students excited."

That's it...the simplicity of the answer baffled me...Just to keep the students excited and nothing else.
I thought a lot over that answer and i think he was absolutely correct.

We have attended 1000's of lectures in our education till now..can you remember a few lectures at the end of which you were left in a higher excited state?
My answer is very very few and these few lectures were taken by teachers whom i respect till now.

Excitement and enthusiasm are the basis to learning,without them the learning won't be effective and moreover it won't be fun.
So if a teacher can keep us in an excited state i think we can do wonders....

but with majority of our formal education done ...there is a little chance that we'll find some teacher who'll excite us for something.
but informal education will go on for life...so we can either get some mentor or may be we can be our own teachers?
Can we tell ourselves a few things which might keep us excited and hence feel the joy of learning and keep teaching ourselves to be a better person everyday.

I think we can...a major issue that i have come across with my own behavior is that... most of the times i don't find myself excited enough towards the things that i am doing.

Can i make my day so exciting that i love what i am doing and at the same time i am excited about the next thing that i am going to do.
There is no cribbing,no frustration ....just loving what i am doing and i am dying to do the next thing.

I tried to keep my self excited for one full day....

I got up early at 5:30am because i was excited to do cycling afterall it's a cool bike and i am the only one who has that helmet.
I enjoyed cycling because i was excited to do swimming at 6:00am plus i want to be like Lance Armstrong.
I enjoyed swimming because it is a very good exercise and it will make me fitter.
After swimming i had to get back to my flat but what will motivate me to enjoy cycling on the way back.
While coming it was swimming but now what...??

I asked my maid to prepare some delicious Aloo Puris...I know its high calories but if it's the yumminess of Alloo Poori that will get me excited..so be it. :P

I enjoyed the Aloo Poori and it was around 8:30 in the morning...i had loved the hours till that time.They were just so happy.

After Aloo Poori i had to read the autobiography of Michael Phelps.After all... that'll give me a new hero and a completely different angle to how i view Swimming....

Next inline was office. I tried to do my work well and tried to do it fast because it gave me a sense of professional satisfaction plus the leverage to leave early and again enjoy my cycling back home.

The day was in a highly excited and energetic state...I loved the regimen and was excited to discuss it with you...so that's why i wrote this blog,excited to see how you find this funda. I had to write it fast because it was already 11:30pm and i should have been slept by that time.
After all i had to repeat all this tomorrow.

Phewww....A day full of happy hours...how i wish to make each of my days similar.

Thanks a lot Bhowmick Sir....I'll definitely try to keep myself excited about anything that i do,after all these Happy hours are the building blocks to a Happy life.

Needless to say you are one of the best teachers as just like the thousands of your students you have got me Excited as well.

Lemon , Chillies and Baisakhi

I  was on my way to the school after my Physics tuition in the morning.It was around 7:30 in the morning.Suddenely i crossed a lemon tied to a green chilli and surrounded by haldi.All this stuff was kept on a chauraha (crossroads).This is a black magic trick and harms the person who crosses it.

My Friend -"hey gaurav see what you crossed just now."

Being a science student i ignored it and moved on.I had a normal day at school and i got back at 3:30pm.Usually my parents used to get home at 4:30 pm but that day they were both at home.

I didn't notice their being early but i did notice my mom's tears .I asked papa as to what happened.He didn't tell anything but instead pointed towards my mother to get my answers.

I asked her as to what had happened..

She kept crying and asked "Did you cross over some black magic today?"

I was absolutely shocked as i had crossed it in the morning but how could she know it? She was nowhere near to see me crossing it.

I answered in affirmation and her tears increased many folds.

With great persuasion she started telling me what had happened with her throughout the day.

She is a teacher and some baba(GodMan) had come to her school.

Baba told her that my grandfather is ill from last 13 years(which was true),he also told that there were blood drops surrounding our house a few years ago(again true).

He said that her son(me) sometimes gets up from sleep totally shocked(again true).

These things were enough to get my mother in confidence.

He asked her to take him home as something bad was about to happen with me.My mom got scared and immediately signed off for the day.She and baba left for home.The moment baba reached outside my room he started doing a tandav kind of dance.He was dancing awkwardly and shouting "Ghor Sankat ,Ghor Sankat".

My mother was petrified and shocked...she didn't know what to do and how to handle this.She called papa and asked him to come home at once.He refused at first but my mother pleaded and asked him to come for me.

"Please come for Gaurav and please swear of gaurav that you won't say anything to the baba."

Papa reached but he doesn't buy these baba-isms. Baba gave him a black thread and asked him to close the thread in his fist.Then he asked him to move that fist over my belongings,my bed,my books etc.He declared that if i was in danger ,the thread would shorten in length else the length would remain the same.

After doing what baba had asked, papa opened his fist and to his astonishment, thread was 3/4th of what it actually was.

My mother was almost stoned..she was absolutely still and had no clue whatsoever as to how she could save me from that danger.

In all these scenes Baba made an announcement

"Your son has crossed some black magic today.It ws not meant for him but as he has crossed it ,he has to pay the price.In 3 days from now ,on the day of baisakhi...he would DIE. He cannot be saved."

Hearing this ...my Papa lost his cool,he asked the baba to pick his stuff and get lost.However my mother wanted some solution and somehow beleived that the baba could save me.

She asked for some antidote...Baba just concluded by saying

"I'll not take any money as it is useless,i just came to inform you.He can not be saved..but if he does survive the baisakhi he is going to be hugely succecsful.

Survival although is really tough,he is going to die this baisakhi."

This was 10th of april and baisakhi was on 13th.

After hearing the day's proceedings ,i was making a mockery of the baba and my mother's superstitious nature.I asked her to prepare good food for me as i was left with just 3 more days.It was fun for some time but after an hour or so i also felt the intensity of the prediction.

I started thinking as to what if this comes true.

Just three more days and over.....

I had recently been selected for the school cricket team and i had to play my debut match in the next three days...I wanted to play that match but somwhere deep inside i was fearing the leather ball as it could become the reason for my demise.

My mother wanted me to opt out of the team,my father dared me to play the match .(agar mera beta hai to khelega) :(

It was getting scary...i was not allowed to play football in school...my friends asked me to cover my nose in the chemistry lab as we were never sure which fume could have taken away my life.

Baba had made the next three days some sort of a suspense thriller for me,....my mother kept crying and worshipping.My father tried to be very positive and practical but deep down he was also afraid. I also was praying to all my gods above to save me.

As if One baba was not enough ,my mother took me to another one.She said that the second one would tell us if the first one was right or not.

The second baba took out a huge magnifying glass and started analysing my palm.He zoomed in,zoomed out...suddenely he made a cross on my palm and shook his head side ways as we often do while refusing some thing.

I interpreted the movement as to everything is wrong(cross on my palm) and nothing can be done now but second baba had someting else to say...

second baba "everything is fine,there is no issue.These people(first baba) can tell about the past but none can tell about the future you are absoulutely safe beta."

"...but still if you feel afraid,take ganga jal ,chant hanuman chalisa while stirring the ganga jal.after the hanuman chalisa sprinkle the ganga jal in a circle around yourself before you sleep."

I did what he told but that made it even more scary....it felt as if all the spirits and the ghosts would be dancing just outside that ganga jal circle but they cannot enter the circle. They will be electrocuted if they try to enter the circle.

This feeling made it even more spooky and haunting...

However i spent the next two and a half days(10th to 11:40pm on 12 th night) like this only.....

It was 11:45 pm and in 15 minutes from now..baisakhi would start.I was imagining myself getting breathless and choking to death,or may be  heartattack and blood from the nose.Basically all the aahat shows were coming again and again to me....

Hanuman chalisa was on...ganga jal was all around me...

Clock struck 12:00..noithing happened.

12:05 ..still nothing.

1:05am nothing happened...i was not dead...baba was wrong.Black Magic was ineffective.

Next day i was on a leave and my mother sat right besides me the whole day.She thought that she could save me if something bad happened.

The day was over...infact 5 baisakhis have been over from that date and i am doing quite fine.

But whenever this festival comes ,it sends a chill down my spine ....

As i pay tribute to those three days....i wish you all a very joyous and a happy baisakhi.

Fan Of Kalam

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Rondurance

In yet another attempt to keep myself fit and the process fun,i am doing a lot of cycling these days.
Infact over the weekend i rode for around 100 kms.

There are a few things for which i am doing this..
1)Lance Armstrong is my hero and you generally idolise your heroes.
2)I want to get fit.
3)I want to win over my mind.I want to fool it and keep enduring in situations where it tries to give up.

The first two are self explanatory,they are obvious and i won't detail them for you.

It's the third one that is quite interesting....

Last Saturday
Morning -5 am
Destination - India gate ,16kms (one side)
I started at 5 in the morning and was doing quite well for the first 10-12 kms.I had checked the google map and was knowing almost all of the path.when i was just 2-3 kms away from the India Gate...i started getting tired and i wanted to reach the Destination as soon as possible.My mind was racing ahead of me and it wanted to be there before we were actually there. I was  feeling like stopping and resting for a while but as Lance says "Pain is temporary,Quitting lasts forever"..i stuck it out.I reached india gate...enjoyed the view there and started back to my place.

So the first day i tired around the 12-13 km mark on a journey of 16 kms.

This Saturday
Destination - Noida (31 kms one side)
I again started at 5 in the morning..and this time i knew it's going to be a long journey.This time i started getting tired near the Akshardham mandir(almost 25-26 km mark).I stuck it out..reached noida and back to Delhi.
So i could analyse that mind is behaving relatively..it gets tired relative to the job at hand.
It is the same me and first day i get tired at 12-kms .
On the second day i know it's going to be 64 kms(both ways) and i can not afford to be tired at 12 kms..so i get tired around 25 km mark.

This Sunday
Destination -Again India Gate,(16 kms)
I started at 5:30am ....I was again doing well for the first 10-12 kms and then i started my legs getting heavy.Mind had again started it's game..but this time i told it to shut up as i knew yesterday it had covered 64 kms.I knew it can't tire today as 16 km was just the 1/4th of what it had covered yesterday.

The moment i said this ,i stood up on my cycle..pumped in pedal after pedal for the next 3 kms.With my head down ..i was going at speeds almost 3/4th of the speed of autos.

I think ,the funda worked and it will never ever allow my mind to tire at a journey less then that of Noida.
Any thing more then noida will get to me the first time but then we can always raise the bar.

I think i 'll name this funda
Let's call it "Enduring the Roads"  or
hmmmm... may be we can call it -- Road Endurance
or may be a portmanteau  -- Rondurance. :)

BUT AND

I like you a lot BUT.....
I think you are really hardworking BUT....
I think we played really well BUT...
He is intelligent,smart,handsome BUT .....

If you see all the sentences written above they start positively but "BUT" spoils them all.
But has a unique capability of nullifying the former part of the string.
Recently i read two books which just hated the word "BUT".
They were so against "BUT" that they implored the readers to never use the word in their conversations.

You are debating a person and in the counter argument say that ...
"I totally agree to what you said BUT....."

The moment you say BUT the earlier person's point of view is finshed and now it's all you.

"BUT" increases the friction,it is resistance to an opinion.

Now just replace the BUT with the word AND....

I like you a lot and.....
I think you are really hardworking and....
I think we played really well and...
He is intelligent,smart,handsome and.....


Just by replacing the BUT with AND we have changed resistance to acceptance.
Now we are not opposing a view but we are providing an extension to the earlier view.
You are in a discussion and in the counter argument you say that...

I totally agree to what you said AND .....

Try and use AND in your daily conversation ...and see your point's acceptance level going up.
You'll also feel that people now seem to listen to your point as they feel it to be a natural extension to there point.

This state leaves you in a state where you have the leverage to  get your point across ...better.
The chances are much more higher than they would have been after a BUT.


PS: I have added a few examples in the comments section and i would love it if you could come up with some real innovative ones.

Solution 2

There must be ways to get things done your way...
It's a subtle and nuanced art where Artist makes you see what he wants you to see.

I have witnessed three instances where one type of command didn't get the desired result
but tweaking the command a little got you the anticipated results.

Instance 1

Goal--Delhi Metro authorities want only the old and the handicapped to use the lifts.
Problem -Young people are using the lifts and that too very often.
Solution 1 - A notice was put outside the lifts which said "Only for Old and physically handicapped".

Now the solution was authoritarian and that's one reason it was not obeyed,we ignored the notice time and again .
Lifts were still being used by the young people blatantly.

Solution 2 - Another notice which said "If you are young don't use lift...or even if you feel young don't use lift".
Me and my father were about to take the lift,i read the notice.
I was obviously young and hence told my father that he could take the lift and i would be meeting him on the platform.
Watching me leave ..he probably read the second line and stopped me.He said "Beta i feel young...i'll also not use it"

Solution 2 rocked...

Instance 2...

Goal - I wanted my family members to stop the Masala Gossips and discuss something worthy of a discussion.
Problem - How do i tell the seniors of the family that their discussion is worthless crap?

Solution 1- I told them to discuss ideas..new ideas .how we can make a better society.I told them to take initiative and improve the facilities in the society etc.

They just didn't listen.They nodded in agreement when i was lecturing them but very soon they  resorted to the juicy gossips.

Solution 2 - I read them a quote
"Small minds -discuss people
 average minds - discuss events
 great minds - discuss ideas"

After i told them this quote..a self correction mechanism was set into place.No body would talk about the juicy gossip as that would make him/her a small mind.
Just because every one wanted to be a great mind,they started coming up with weird ideas.

"One of my uncles came up with an idea that why don't we make roads that move.
We'll just put a car on the moving road and the road will take us to the destination."

Anyways no matter how weird the ideas were..they were ideas and gossips had stopped.
Solution 2 worked again..


Instance 3..

Goal -To prevent people from peeing on the walls.
Problem - Peeing on the walls.
 
Solution 1--Authorities wrote several messages for the person urinating in open ."Yahan peshaab karna mana hai "-Khosla Ka Ghosla fame
None worked.Our chatur lingams  cursed the authorities for not providing enough urinals..and kept on irrigating the walls.Solution 1 failed badly.
No message could help the person control his pressures.

Solution 2 - In New Delhi  i have seen those weird messages being rubbed and instead..the authorities are putting TILES on the walls with GODS on them at evey 3 metres.

Ganesha-3 mtrs-Lakshmi-Another 3 mtrs-Vishnu-3 mtrs -Rama.This pattern is repeated for 100-200 mtrs.

However lousy we may be in our public ettiquetes but we respect our GODS.
We can't be urinating in front of them.
After so many years walls have realised "The joy of being DRY".

Solution 2 proved effective yet again and this makes me believes that things do work out...

Next time i'll not stop if the plans don't work out in Solution 1....

...there has to be a Solution 2.