"A Sea Change"...that's probably the best way to describe my life in 2009. As we all bid adieu to this wonderful year, there are a couple of things to be noted.
Some important things I have learned/experienced/heard/read over the course of 8-10 months (which btw, is the essence of my blog "Things that matter"). These things are important to formulate thoughts and build solid foundations for 2010.
NOTE: I do not claim to be an expert on these things, nor do I believe I have learned them. I do, however, would like to learn these things asap.
* Appreciate the good things that happen to you, however small they are. There are people who don't even get food to eat and a place to sleep. You are way too lucky to be dissatisfied.
* More good things will happen, but only if you appreciate the ones that have already happened. It's all about understanding the value - the value of the gift called life.
* Be humble about your achievements. Not just because it's a good quality to have. But because there are people who fail, and when you brag, they are the ones who feel the most. It's just a matter of time before they work hard and win. So, stop bragging and be humble about your achievements. You are just another person in the universe doing something for your own good. There's no big deal in it.
* Never forget the people who have helped you. Go an extra mile to express your feelings towards them, never hesitate to thank them enough.
* Be polite in your dealings. You will meet several kinds of people in your life. Some people will point out your mistakes even after 8-9 months. That's Ok. You were wrong, that will never change. If you are wrong, accept it and move on.
* Be social. Loneliness is a killer. If you are not a party animal, there are hundreds of people like you everywhere ;). Get in touch with them. Your time is too precious to be spent in loneliness.
* Some people will be jealous of your achievements. That's ok. That can hurt you only if you are not sure why you have been successful (if at all). If you know, it doesn't matter.
* Living miles away from your family and friends does have its toll on your life. Life's full of compromises. It's all about making choices. There is no guarantee that your choices will always be right.
Okay, enough of the serious stuff/ramblings. Time to make the most of what I've got, and make a sincere effort to achieve things that I haven't. At the same time, it's time to realize that life isn't just about achievements. There's something more to it. It's time to explore "that" dimension of life.
It's time to work harder.
Cheers for 2010.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
Computing @ Margins
How often do you get a chance to shake hands with the IT, tourism, technology minister of a country? Luckily, I just did. The Margins Symposium was a gathering of intellectuals for tackling some of the complex questions that the world faces today. You build cool iphones. Nice mash-up APIs, Cool Desktop Gadgets... and so on. Can these solve the problems of a less privileged sector of the society? The answer is an obvious - "No".
The question is.... how much of the technology that we churn out every single day is really relevant at the grass-roots level. How much of this can be applied and be useful in the far ends of the world where sustainable technology and business models are the need of the hour?
The Conference was really a gathering of people with vested interests in solving the problems of the Margins...or to put in politically correct words.."solving the problems of the people who are marginalised (due to circumstances)"
Some beautiful insights were made during the Q & A sessions....and i will "(TRY)" to quote one .."While attending a lecture as a student in a University, we scribble things in our notebooks. Sometimes, we hear about something important and write something in the Margins of the notebook. Whatever we write in the Margins emphasises/clarifies/reinforces the main content written on that page."
I was wondering about how can someone even think of such an amazing analogy between the "margins of a notebook page" and "THE Margins"- referring to people or a strata of society.
What's implied is that... when you build solutions for solving the problems of the poor/developing nations, the technology that you use is put to test. If it succeeds there too, it's definitely sustainable. That reinforces its strength. However, if it fails, one needs to re-think its use even in more advanced set-ups.
Another interesting point was made regarding the "contextualisation". I think that contextualisation is a universal concept and must be applied in several scenarios. We cannot imagine any business to succeed without adapting to the local trends and demands. As an illustration, there's a running joke ...a funny e-mail actually... about how a soft-drink company failed miserably in some Arabian country. The reason was that they had put on advertisement which when read from left to right sounded perfect. But it had a completely opposite meaning when it was read the other way round (Like Urdu is printed and supposed to be read right-to-left). This is a perfect example of what contextualisation means. Indeed the failure to contextualise can have major impact on most businesses.
Some more (nice) points:
"If you don't have enough clarity or cannot understand the complete problem, make an effort. But be flexible."
"Just because a solution does not scale-up well, does not mean its a complete waste. Who says that systems must always be huge, centralised and uniform. Sometimes 10 small and different solutions solve a complex problem more effectively."
"People who have problems do not want someone else to design a complete solution. After-all, who can design a better solution than the ones who know the problem. The important thing to do is to empower people to solve their own problems. Technology plays a vital role in this empowerment."
The question is.... how much of the technology that we churn out every single day is really relevant at the grass-roots level. How much of this can be applied and be useful in the far ends of the world where sustainable technology and business models are the need of the hour?
The Conference was really a gathering of people with vested interests in solving the problems of the Margins...or to put in politically correct words.."solving the problems of the people who are marginalised (due to circumstances)"
Some beautiful insights were made during the Q & A sessions....and i will "(TRY)" to quote one .."While attending a lecture as a student in a University, we scribble things in our notebooks. Sometimes, we hear about something important and write something in the Margins of the notebook. Whatever we write in the Margins emphasises/clarifies/reinforces the main content written on that page."
I was wondering about how can someone even think of such an amazing analogy between the "margins of a notebook page" and "THE Margins"- referring to people or a strata of society.
What's implied is that... when you build solutions for solving the problems of the poor/developing nations, the technology that you use is put to test. If it succeeds there too, it's definitely sustainable. That reinforces its strength. However, if it fails, one needs to re-think its use even in more advanced set-ups.
Another interesting point was made regarding the "contextualisation". I think that contextualisation is a universal concept and must be applied in several scenarios. We cannot imagine any business to succeed without adapting to the local trends and demands. As an illustration, there's a running joke ...a funny e-mail actually... about how a soft-drink company failed miserably in some Arabian country. The reason was that they had put on advertisement which when read from left to right sounded perfect. But it had a completely opposite meaning when it was read the other way round (Like Urdu is printed and supposed to be read right-to-left). This is a perfect example of what contextualisation means. Indeed the failure to contextualise can have major impact on most businesses.
Some more (nice) points:
"If you don't have enough clarity or cannot understand the complete problem, make an effort. But be flexible."
"Just because a solution does not scale-up well, does not mean its a complete waste. Who says that systems must always be huge, centralised and uniform. Sometimes 10 small and different solutions solve a complex problem more effectively."
"People who have problems do not want someone else to design a complete solution. After-all, who can design a better solution than the ones who know the problem. The important thing to do is to empower people to solve their own problems. Technology plays a vital role in this empowerment."
Monday, April 20, 2009
Yes, you can..
When things were on your side and everything was just working your way, you did not change. You were calm and normal as ever. Your feet never lost contact with the ground.
Now, If things aren't quite working your way; you need to live by the same terms. And wait till the times change; or be a catalyst for the change.
Yes, you can.
Now, If things aren't quite working your way; you need to live by the same terms. And wait till the times change; or be a catalyst for the change.
Yes, you can.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Nice Quote..
"Above all, don't fear difficult moments,the best comes from them." - Rita Levi Montalcini.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
u know u need some "change" in life when....
u dream of writing a script to take care of your daily tasks....
gimme a break!
gimme a break!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Random Thoughts
In Life you meet a few funny people. They expect you to behave in a certain way or adjust, without any reason. It's important to remember that you cannot just expect the whole world to be "good" to you unless you be the same. And yeah...you can "expect", but never "assume".
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Buckhead Church & a Brazilian brunch ! :)
What an awesome start to a Sunday! Thanks to Adria and Shafi, we visited a Church in the morning to attend a (Palm Sunday) Service. It was amazing. Buckhead Church is not quite like a traditional church. No idols at all. The architecture of the building is more like a Software Company. It has a huge auditorium with 6k+ seating capacity, pool tables, kids' games, discussion rooms and separate auditoriums according to age groups.
I was amazed to find out that they have adapted so well to the 21st century culture. It's more about giving knowledge in a way that can be easily understood and assimilated by the current generation.
If you look at it in a more elaborate manner, there is a great deal of unconventional effort to be extremely flexible about how one can share the message of God. After all, the Message is important! ...regardless of the way it's been delivered. I liked that !
So, we had a "rock band" opening the Service. It was hilarious. A perfect way to energise everybody.
I had never seen something like that in my life! I had the perception of a church as being a peaceful, sacred place of worship. But today, that has changed. It's modern, but its just beautiful. Not just the Music.. but the lyrics played an important part, too.
Some of the lines from the (kinda rock) song are...and i quote >>
"show your light. let the whole world see." and so on ... it was great !
..
..
some pics: does it look like a Church ? :-P
..
..
.......pic : @The Band at the Church
..
Later, we went to a Brazilian Cafeteria to have breakfast. I loved the cheese balls and the Brazilian Coffee. We couldn't have asked for a better place. It was just too good :-D
:)
I was amazed to find out that they have adapted so well to the 21st century culture. It's more about giving knowledge in a way that can be easily understood and assimilated by the current generation.
If you look at it in a more elaborate manner, there is a great deal of unconventional effort to be extremely flexible about how one can share the message of God. After all, the Message is important! ...regardless of the way it's been delivered. I liked that !
So, we had a "rock band" opening the Service. It was hilarious. A perfect way to energise everybody.
I had never seen something like that in my life! I had the perception of a church as being a peaceful, sacred place of worship. But today, that has changed. It's modern, but its just beautiful. Not just the Music.. but the lyrics played an important part, too.
Some of the lines from the (kinda rock) song are...and i quote >>
"show your light. let the whole world see." and so on ... it was great !
..
..
some pics: does it look like a Church ? :-P
..
..
.......pic : @The Band at the Church
..
Later, we went to a Brazilian Cafeteria to have breakfast. I loved the cheese balls and the Brazilian Coffee. We couldn't have asked for a better place. It was just too good :-D
:)
Thursday, April 2, 2009
The other end of the line
Jesse Metcalfe & Shriya Saran create magic.
Anupam Kher at his "patent" best.... What a performance! Kudos!
A great movie. Romantic, exciting, funny ,........Just too good. :-)
Does anybody have soundtracks of the movie?
Update
I could just find one..
Pretty Woman
Anupam Kher at his "patent" best.... What a performance! Kudos!
A great movie. Romantic, exciting, funny ,........Just too good. :-)
Does anybody have soundtracks of the movie?
Update
I could just find one..
Pretty Woman
First snow!
Okay, this happened about 2-3 weeks ago. I admit that i m too late in posting this. However, I need to capture this moment on my blog... even though it's late to do so!
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Sunday, March 29, 2009
happy for [them] :-)
gonna miss [them] though.
but the happiness out-weighs anything else :) :D
[]==Personal. no questions, please.
but the happiness out-weighs anything else :) :D
[]==Personal. no questions, please.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Jim Rogers on Global Markets
extremely frank... truly universal view on the current market scenario...
definitely worth sharing ...
definitely worth sharing ...
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Something different...
I recently had an opportunity to attend a Humanitarian Logistics Conference, here in the US.
Just as I had envisaged, it was an amazing experience. With more than 10 presentations by biggies like Red Cross, US-AID, C.A.R.E., W.F.P.(World Food Programme), Waffles....it had to be great !
It was good to see so many people gathered at one place for a "good" reason ... surprisingly, not just for themselves... but for the entire world. For the needy. For the poor. For the victims of disasters. For improving preparedness towards disasters. For a better future.
It was great to hear people talk about the global factors...right from the developed countries to the far ends of Zambia, Ethiopia and the Asian subcontinent.
For me the most eye-opening quote from the conference was.... And I quote,
"Every 5 seconds that we spend here.... a child is loosing its life somewhere in this world due to hunger. Whats frustrating is that there's enough food in this world. But its not reaching the right place at the right time. Thats why we should work ....work harder ...and be quick!"
....this was said by someone from the W.F.P..
Some Interesting Videos:
1) A Time for Action?
2) Another very good take-away from the Conference was this splendid video (again from the W.F.P.)
3) Info about the W.F.P
Just as I had envisaged, it was an amazing experience. With more than 10 presentations by biggies like Red Cross, US-AID, C.A.R.E., W.F.P.(World Food Programme), Waffles....it had to be great !
It was good to see so many people gathered at one place for a "good" reason ... surprisingly, not just for themselves... but for the entire world. For the needy. For the poor. For the victims of disasters. For improving preparedness towards disasters. For a better future.
It was great to hear people talk about the global factors...right from the developed countries to the far ends of Zambia, Ethiopia and the Asian subcontinent.
For me the most eye-opening quote from the conference was.... And I quote,
"Every 5 seconds that we spend here.... a child is loosing its life somewhere in this world due to hunger. Whats frustrating is that there's enough food in this world. But its not reaching the right place at the right time. Thats why we should work ....work harder ...and be quick!"
....this was said by someone from the W.F.P..
Some Interesting Videos:
1) A Time for Action?
2) Another very good take-away from the Conference was this splendid video (again from the W.F.P.)
3) Info about the W.F.P
Sunday, February 15, 2009
V-Day special (b'lated)
its Feb 15th...just a lill' bit late to post this .... however, for singles like me ....how does it really matter? ;-) hehe...
wonderful message in an awesome photo!
Photo Courtesy: Xpressions (http://www.kkonline.org -- mailing list)
wonderful message in an awesome photo!
Photo Courtesy: Xpressions (http://www.kkonline.org -- mailing list)
Saturday, January 3, 2009
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