Delhi Rocked (quite literally!) Yesterday

We woke up last night at 4:40 AM quite shaken up (in the literal sense of the word) due to an earthquake. I jumped out of the bed as windowpanes rattled, furniture shook, and the ceiling fan swung like a pendulum. Even though we have a ground-floor apartment, the rattle was quite a bit. I can imagine the plight of (and sympathize with) folks living in high rise buildings.

The experience was quite scary!

Per the morning news, the epicenter lay on the Delhi-Haryana border, 10 km from Bahadurgarh (dangerously close to the capital). Even though the Met Department described the earthquake (measured 4.3 on the Richter scale) as “light,” it was enough to initiate a debate on Delhi’s preparedness for a natural disaster (which I think is quite pathetic).

Found the following earthquake safety tips on the net. The figure above shows that Delhi-NCR falls in the moderate to high-hazard zone, so please absorb the Dos and Don’ts.

1. If you are indoors, duck or drop down to the floor. Take cover under a sturdy desk, table or other furniture. Hold on to it and be prepared to move with it. Hold the position until the ground stops shaking and it is safe to move. Stay clear of windows, fireplaces, woodstoves, and heavy furniture or appliances that may fall over. Stay inside to avoid being injured by falling glass or building parts. If you are in a crowded area, take cover where you are. Stay calm and encourage others to do likewise.

2. If you are outside, get into the open, away from buildings and power lines.

3. If you are driving, stop if it is safe, but stay inside your car. Stay away from bridges, overpasses and tunnels. Move your car as far out of the normal traffic pattern as possible. If possible, avoid stopping under trees, light posts, power lines, or signs.

GOAL misses the goal!

Saw Goal today (first day, second show). Frankly, I went with high expectations from the film (based on the promos), but came back somewhat disappointed. Director Vivek Agnihotri has tried hard to create a Chak-de-India type storyline with a Lagaan kind of sentiments. Sadly he has failed at both.

The story is about an English premier league club – Southhall United, which is going through a really bad phase. It is bankrupt, has no star players, no coach, no sponsors, no spectators and no owner. The club faces a sure eviction due to a City Council notice, unless the club management pays 30 million pounds, which the club can only manage by winning the premier league. Shaan [Arshad Warsi] takes up the challenge to save the club from almost-certain closure. He ropes in Tony Singh [Boman Irani] to coach the motley (and out of shape) group of Asians. Sunny [John Abraham] dreams to play for England but is not selected by his club due to racist reasons. Sunny and Shaan never see eye to eye, while Shaan’s sister Rumana [Bipasha Basu] adores Sunny (what else could the hero and heroine do?). Tony convinces Sunny to play for Southall United, but it takes a while before Shaan and the team accepts him as a part of the team. With Sunny joining Southall United, the team gradually starts climbing the league points tally. The City Council is worried. Johny Bakshi [Dalip Tahil], a commentator and a frontman of the Council, lures Sunny away from Southall United, but then in the final match, Sunny predictably re-joins the group and the team wins the league.

The first half of the film is quite predictable (in fact I saw my watch twice in the first half). Though the narrative is very average, the sequence prior to the intermission, at the Manchester United Stadium, is striking, and sets up a marginally better second half. The drama gets better post-interval. Net net, the story is quite simple and predictable, and the camera work and screenplay very average. Though the music is nothing-to-write-about, the anthem Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal has powerful music, and Billo Rani, which is a totally out-of-place mujra, is quite catchy.

I thought Arshad was the “Man of the Match” (strangely though he did not show up at most of the promotion events/TV programs). John looks right for the part, and was the only one in the team who looked anywhere close to a pro. Bipasha did not have any meaningful role. Boman Irani, as always, was brilliant.

Overall, a very average film. If you are a film buff, see it for time-pass. For others, I think it is avoidable.

Sabbatical @ 35!

As I inch towards completing 11 years of work life sometime early next year (and after 5 jobs, 8 titles, 13 bosses, 9 office locations, and a zillion kms of driving to work), I have been thinking about taking a sabbatical from work. I am nowhere close to the top-management, so I would not say that I may lose a CEO-position because of the one year break, but it surely may have some career implications (and a lot of financial implications).

For the uninitiated, a sabbatical is a period away from your normal routine - a time to immerse yourself in a different environment, a chance to see your life from a different perspective. This may be a world tour, going back to school, voluntary work in another country/state, or just back-packing. The whole idea of a sabbatical is to slow down the pace of your work life, sit back and think about where you are heading (from another perspective, in another environment), and hopefully, energize for the next phase of the rat-race! Here is a definition I found on the Internet – “Sabbaticals are not vacations, but carefully planned periods of time devoted to study, reflection, rest, and renewal.” Luckily I work with a company that allows employees (with a certain minimum tenure) to take a year off to re-skill/go-back-to-school with a same-level-absorption guarantee. The company also is willing to evaluate the possibility of funding the re-skill initiative if it benefits the business.

Here is what I am thinking through as I initiate the plan for a one year sabbatical. Fellow bloggers, your views are welcome as I take this decision.

Positives:
- Reflect upon where my life is going (no I do not want to sound like a character in a Robin Sharma book, but I think this looks cool as the first advantage!)
- Re-skill by going back to school (and seek sponsorship from the company)
- Relax, recoup, redevelop yourself and take a needed and deserved break

Open Questions:
- Why do I need a sabbatical (just because my company offers a one year sabbatical/go-back-to school option, it is not a great idea to undergo one full year of penury, and torture in some class-room somewhere)
- Who will pay my loans (read: do I have enough savings? Or will my wife be generous enough?)
- What about my wife’s career? (going on a sabbatical alone is a great idea, but I am not sure I can do that)
- What about the opportunity cost of not working for a year?

I will appreciate views and comments from fellow bloggers (preferably the ones who have been through this thought process…) on other benefits and risks of a one year sabbatical. Ideas on what I could do during this one year are also welcome.

Shame on the Biggest Democracy….

One news item that really disturbs me each day as I pick up the newspaper is the sham-of-a-democracy in Nandigram. It is sad that the state government is not paying any heed to the red-terror on the streets of the town. The irony is that CPM is doing all this to acquire land for a foreign company (under the controversial SEZ policy) to set up a chemical plant (what about the Left’s constant clamor about anti-capitalism?).

Nandigram is a rural area in Purba Medinipur district in West Bengal. It is located about 70 km south-west of Kolkata, on the south bank of the Haldi River. The West Bengal government recently decided that the Salim Group would set up a chemical hub at Nandigram under the SEZ policy. This lead to resistance by villagers, and clashes with police that left 14 villagers dead, and accusations of police brutality. Now however the event has taken a political angle. The Communist Party of India has a strong presence in the area. While it is all for acquiring the land and finishing any opposition (quite literally), the opposition parties (TMC, Congress, Jamiyate Ulema-e-hind)-backed Bhumi Uchched Protirodh Committee (BUPC) is opposing this forceful land acquisition. This has resulted in rioting and killings on the streets.

Shameful however is the way in which this issue is being handled by the West Bengal government. The Chief Minister, after much (intentional) delay sent the CRPF to the area to take control of the mayhem, but the government is making sure that the interiors are still being controlled by the CPM-led terror squads. The BJP (like always) is just adding fuel to fire, and the Congress-led UPA is sitting quiet on the issue, probably waiting to use this against the CPM in the next elections.

This incidence is a clear black mark on India’s democratic ideology, as thousands of people are being deprived of their basic right – the right to live. Wake-up Supreme Court, Governor, and the Political Parties and read Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, just in case you have forgotten about this little clause that confers the right-to-life.

OSO-Total Paisa Vasool Film…

Watched Om-Shanti-Om today. Did not go with much expectations (as I am not a big fan of Farha Khan, Karan Johar type films), and to be true, was not really disappointed as I walked out of the theatre. The film seems to be a good mix of Karz and Karan-Arjun rolled into slick cinematography.

Overall, even though the story was quite average (a loser born again as a hero), I thought the camera work and cinematography were brilliant (especially Deepika’s introduction scene, the fire-on-the sets scene, etc.), the choreography was amazing (the title song and darde-disco song were great), and the music was catchy (thanks to Vishal-Shekhar).

I thought a little more work was required on the story, which was quite unbelievable, and I thought had several holes in the logic (but aren’t we supposed to leave our mind behind when we go to watch Hindi films?). Also King Khan (with his six-pack) I think looks quite ugly and old. Deepika on the other hand looks stunning, though her role was quite limited. The funniest scene in the film I thought was the Rajnikant-inspired fight sequence.

Overall, the film managed to catch my attention (and that of my wife; who is even more choosy about films) for full 3 hours.

A total time-pass, paisa-vasool film.

Yet Another Crazy Weekend This Will Be…

Though I rarely plan my weekends, the basic agenda almost always is to get the maximum out of the two days (maximum reading time, sleep, music, blogging, and may be a movie). There is however always something that comes up (typically on Friday evening or Saturday early morning) that puts my “leisure optimization” plan in a tizzy! My plan for this weekend was (till about 15 minutes back) to watch O-S-O, spend time at the Landmark book shop to pick up some guitar lesson self help books (my hunt for guitar teacher still continues…), drive to Nehru Park for a music-in-the-park performance on Saturday (where Srinivas – the famous mandolin player – is performing), and spend a few hours playing my guitar, among other things.

The last 15 minutes however ruined it all. Just got a call from my insurance agent that I may need to show-up for a medical test (which may take up to six hours) tomorrow at one of the local hospitals to fulfill the insurance policy requirements (the one I recently bought -- another one of those buys which one repents 10 seconds after handing over the check!). As soon as I kept the phone down cursing my luck, got another call from the car service agency that the date for my third free service expires in the middle of next week, which means that Sunday will most probably be spent at the Tata service station (Damn these Tata Motor guys who have no idea about customer delight – they expect customers to queue up outside the station, often on Saturday or Sunday mornings, to hand over the cars for service! no pick-up, no drop….do not know which world they come from!).

So, yet another crazy weekend this will be…

My Hunt for a Guitar Teacher…

I do not consider myself even an average guitarist by any standards; I am someone who can hold a guitar and play some riffs that sound something close to music to an untrained ear! There however comes a time in almost every aspiring guitarist’s life when simply playing his/her favorite songs is not enough. I think my time has come (it is more of a once-a-year itch!) to take my very-average guitar playing skills to the next level. So I spent several hours over the last three days to search for someone to hand-hold me to the world of “leading.” For the uninitiated, lead guitar-ing (or leading) refers to the use of an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar to perform melody lines, instrumental fill passages, and guitar solos. Though my search for this illusive gawd-type teacher continues despite several contact numbers and conversations, the exercise has helped me segment the guitar teachers into the following four segments (I have added my two cents on their worth!!).

The show-me-the money type teachers are full-time road-warriors who go from one student to another through the day. They rarely play for any band (because they are either too bad or too old) and treat each class like a commercial transaction (teach 2 riffs per class often from old time Hindi movies). Their target students are mainly small kids belonging to wealthy parents.

The I-also-teach-music type teachers are normal office going folks who picked up some guitar playing skills during their college days, again often several years back, and want to make some money on the side along with their normal jobs (mostly call center and BPO night shift jobs). Their target students are small kids in the neighborhood and people like me who dream of becoming guitarists through once-a-week 45 minute practice sessions after office hours.

The I-teach-music-like-mathematics type teachers associate themselves with some third-rate local music schools (often named after music notes – suur-sargam, sa-re-ga-ma, etc.) that spring up around school vacations. The schools often ask for deposits upfront and the instructors spend the first few months teaching students basic music reading skills till either the students get bored and quit or their summer vacations end.

The I-need-some-regular-income type teachers, mainly full time guitar players in small time (waiting to make it big) local bands, want to have some regular income to buy music equipment and travel with their bands. Mostly young (between 19-28 years old) teachers, often self taught, and very enthusiastic. I think folks in this category make very good teachers as they often adopt non-conventional methods to accelerate learning (to free up time for their own practice). These are however the most non-regular teachers as they are often away for their own rock-shows or music practice sessions.

I am searching for this fourth-category teacher. Fellow bloggers and readers, please respond if you know any I-need-some-regular-income type guitar teacher.

Some Weekend This Was!

The last four days were crazy. There were two festivals; I drove 108 kms (in Delhi traffic; majority of it logged on the Diwali day, distributing sweets); had 3 family get-togethers; had five great (heavy and oily) meals; and visited 4 doctors (nothing serious; accompanied my dad, mom and wife for check-ups and consultations).

The highlight of the week-end though was the India-Pakistan match. Loved Yuvraj’s innings, and admired Indian team’s newfound aggression on the field. Some fitting fireworks post Diwali!

The other great news I thought was Kumble’s nomination as the test captain of Indian cricket team. I take pride in the fact that he was 2 years my senior at the engineering college. I still remember him riding a run-down TVS bike (and no girls as pillion riders – only a cricket kit!!) to the college, despite having achieved a lot of fame early on. Through his career (like his early cricketing years when he was still in the 3rd year at the college) Kumble remained a hard working cricketer who made more news in the field than off it (unlike some other great cricketers in the team). Over the years, though not being treated with due respect (by BCCI – a bunch of jokers) and almost always remaining in the shadows of the big-three of Indian cricket, Kumble stuck to his philosophy of hard work and letting his performance talk. Though he is not likely to lead the India team for long (as he is 37 years old), I think this is a fitting tribute to this great legend.

I am totally tired after four days of hard work (oops I mean weekend).

The Price My Town Pays...

I am one of the fortunate few in my company to have a huge window next to my workstation. In my work breaks during the day, I often gaze out through my window-to-the-world. I notice when a new floor gets added to the bare shell monolithic residential complex being constructed next to our office building. I see huge robotic arms of a crane picking and placing concrete blocks on a commercial complex structure being built across the road, traffic snarls on the road in between, huge dust clouds hanging over the construction compound nearby, and a zillion shacks of workers in the background.

The more I look out however, the more I miss the days when I could see lush green fields, vast stretches of barren land, and cattle grazing on hillocks near by (about 12 months back!). But I guess that is the price this satellite town – the back-office of the world – has to pay to be a part of the India shining (and 9% growth rate) story.

Me, a Bowling Champ!!

Nothing beats unexpected rewards! The gifts are the sweetest when you get into something not hoping to take away anything, and come out with some prize (however little or small that may be).

Just received free movie tickets for getting the highest team score in an on-the-spot bowling competition that my team won during one of the recent office outings (all thanks to a colleague on the team who was really great at it). Never really thought of bowling as a serious game (that is till today...)

And now, off I go to book my tickets for Om-Shanti-Om.

When Doctors Play God…

Recently I had two brushes with doctors in entirely separate and unrelated cases – one for my wife’s injury and the other for my mom’s surgery – and in both cases I came out convinced that doctors are not gods! (Even though most patients, in their agony and helplessness, may want to believe so).

In the former case, the doctor (considered one of the best in his line of practice; just retired from the most reputed hospital in Delhi) advised a major spinal surgery within 5 minutes of consultation, and he convinced us (almost; thankfully) that there was no way out, and that my wife should get admitted to the hospital there and then. In fact, the doctor is so prominent and well-known in medical circles that all subsequent consultations yielded the same advice as soon as the doctors (all reputed doctors in their own right) saw the initial prescription by “doctor god.” Just imagine our plight as we rallied from one hospital to another! After visiting a zillion hospitals we took our leap-of-faith with this one doctor who advised us to take a conservative non surgical approach. And, thanks to that one doctor, my wife was fine without surgery, though it took her three to four months of bed rest.

In the latter case, when my mom was getting operated upon (a minor surgery), the concerned doctor (at one of the most prominent hospitals in Delhi) did not pay much heed to her existing medical condition, and just took a standard course of action while preparing my mom for the surgery (despite red flags from us on her existing medical condition). The “doctor god” simply told us that all has been taken care of and that we should not worry about anything. And guess what, there were complications during the operation due to the existing medical condition, and a 15 minute procedure took over 90 minutes!! (Thank god my mom came out fine after the surgery). The complication however could have been avoided had the doctor taken our red flags seriously.

Based on my sample size of two, here are my two cents on doctors, and how you should deal with them:
1. Doctors are not gods
2. Doctors go by statistics, and statistics can be deceptive (anybody with stats background would ratify that)
3. Don’t be scared to question the doctor. No question is stupid question! Even though the doctor may get mad at you (too bad), get all your doubts cleared before taking any course of action
4. Consult multiple doctors and if you hear contradicting views discuss those with the doctors
5. Finally, go with your gut feel. The body knows what it needs to get better (God has designed it that way), so listen to it

An Idea from Idea!!

The “Idea” advertisement on the television makes me think if one day all of us will be known by a number – possibly our cell phone number. I am referring to the advertisement in which Abhishek Bachhan, the mukhia of a village, comes up with this great idea that all villagers should be known by their ten-digit phone numbers rather than their names (see the advt.). Being a technology person, I guess the recent trend of fixed-mobile convergence (FMC, as it is commonly known) is likely to make this happen!!

For the uninitiated, FMC is an acronym, not a technology. In essence, the premise behind fixed mobile convergence is the ability to offer voice and data applications via a mobile device. FMC is the convergence of wired and wireless technologies into a single solution. In a “utopian FMC world,” the users will require one single phone that can be used in the home, office and outside. When in the office, the phone communicates over the cellular network to the internal PBX or over an 802.11 WLAN. Outside the office, the phone uses the cellular network as usual. (For the early adopters, Cisco, Avaya, Siemens, and RIM, currently offer technologies in this space).

The key practical implication of this technology is that users can now have one phone and one phone number for home and office!!

Going by the fact (and sadly!) that people nowadays call a person and not a place (gone are the days when your relatives would call your home number wanting to talk to the entire family), Mr Bachhan and Idea, the spoof may become reality very soon.

Rapid Cognition, Snap Judgement, Etc.

Just finished reading Blink by Malcom Gladwell (of the Tipping Point fame). The book explains the concept of rapid cognition – the kind of thinking that happens in a blink of an eye. Rapid cognition essentially is the sort of snap decision-making performed without thinking about how one is thinking, faster and often more correctly than the logical part of the brain can manage. The book explains that most people use snap judgment (split second decision making) without being able to reason out or without even realizing they are doing so (which is crazy!). Gladwell highlights several cases to explain this point, and to illustrate that the more we learn how to control the stimuli for these judgments, the smarter we get in using rapid cognition to take better decisions.

It is one of those books that makes you aware and conscious (about something – in this case your decision making) for a few days, till you forget about the concept (and the author!), and till you pick up the next book. But nonetheless, an interesting read!

I was wondering after reading the book if I tend to use snap judgment while meeting people for the first time, while interviewing candidates, while buying grocery, or while taking other simple day-to-day decisions. And if yes, then what are the characteristics that make my mind go “SNAP.”