I promise to update my blog more often...

I have not had the time to update my blog for a while - have just been plain lazy…no other excuse. Here is what I have been busy with over the past few days…
- Krishnav’s second birthday party: Could never imagine it is so hard to organize a birthday party for a two year old!! Getting the invitation list done; finalizing the venue; negotiating for a good rate; deciding the activities, decoration, arrangement, music; selecting/ordering the cake, etc. Phew, I am done with most of the stuff; the party happens tomorrow – hope it goes off well.
- Deciding upon which MTB to buy: over the past few weeks, I have taken a fancy for MTBs (bicycles). I believe that rather than paying several thousands to a gym and then not showing up there on most days (based on my past experience), I might as well rekindle my passion for cycling – an activity I gave up more than 20 years ago!! Have been lost in the world of Trek 3700 versus Merida 50V versus Schwin Frontier, etc. – basically figuring out which brand to buy. Frankly, before beginning my quest for the best bike (in terms of best value-for-money), I could never imagine there is so much to a man-powered vehicle!!
- Work place complications: Don’t want to elaborate, but don’t we all have challenges at workplace all the time :-)

I am very excited about Krishnav’s birthday party tomorrow evening. Will post some pics and write a detailed note on how it went… And, I have resolved to update my blog at least a few times in a month.

Washroom dilemma!

Executives, officers, and VIPs -- do women fit into these categories? Yes, of course ….what a stupid question…. you may say!! (you may add a few expletives if you belong to the fairer sex!). Well, I thought that too…

At a recent visit to an organization (possibly one of the largest entity in India), when I took a bio-break during one of those never-ending meetings, I was perplexed to find four doors in the washroom lobby – Executives, Officers, VIPs, Ladies.

The company certainly has women officers (there were a couple in the meeting I was attending), and I guess there must be a few senior leaders as well (going by the law of averages). So why this “washroom dilemma” I thought. I really wanted to dig deeper into this, but I guess it would have been an inappropriate conversation to have – especially for a vendor vying for business. Later, unable to get that washroom dilemma out of mind, I thought of four possible explanations…

1. The company has common washrooms….. well that is highly unlikely, especially in a government organization which needs to be more aware of such potentially “dangerous” invite-the-union/women-activists-ire policies
2. There are “class” hierarchies in men, while the balance population is much beyond such (truly) meaningless hierarchy…. again, highly unlikely in an Indian organization
3. There are very few women executives….. certainly not true, cause my rolodex has business cards of several women executives at the company
4. Most of the senior leadership is men, so who cares anyways! If there is a senior lady visitor, they may open the VIP washroom (which remains locked – I realized it when in that moment of unrealistic self-admiration, I straight went for that door).

The fourth explanation is most likely true, and also the most intriguing (and disturbing). I am not sure here whether the organization is totally oblivious of the fact that women officers can reach the top; or they are just sensitive to the real estate optimization (since men clearly outnumber women in that organization); or perhaps, the company is making a statement – we not only consider women folk as equals, we also appreciate that they do not have any class barriers! I don’t know. But would love to see how Brinda Karat and community of women activists would react to this dilemma.

Working late...

I am one of those who DOES NOT TAKE WORK HOME! It sometimes however means that I need to stay in the office much beyond regular work hours. Today is one such day. And I thought I will put down my thoughts on likes and dislikes of working late over the next five minutes before I get on an overseas call:

What I like…
- No phone calls, yammer messages, and emails to break my chain of thought on whatever I am working on
- No colleagues walking into my office for unplanned discussion/issue resolution
- Very little distraction from adjoining cubicles (well mostly)
- Can play music on my laptop (and no need to use headphones!)
- Can enjoy a quiet cup of hot coffee
- If lucky, may find some left over cake in the canteen refrigerator (from a colleagues' birthday celebration earlier in the day!!)
- Roads are clutter-free (only relatively; don’t underestimate Gurgaon – world’s 24x7 back office!)
- Sometimes find time to update my blog between calls

What I hate…
- Next door office neighbor talking loudly on his phone (since most folks stay back for calls with overseas managers and/or clients)
- Cafeteria is closed, so no food
- No help around if there is an IT problem
- Eats into time reserved for my family

Man versus Nature...

Man can create modern gadgets to rein in the nature
He can ride waves, capture the Sun, and play storm-catcher
One “cough” from a mountain however can set things straight
Show the man who is mightier, and what controls his fate…

Men in suits, living by the clock, with business on their minds
No time to rest -- time is money, minimal effort to unwind
Living off a suitcase, hopping planes, living life in fast pace
Some to reach home early, most others (sadly) to keep ahead of the race…

Volcano destroying man’s “party,” seems totally absurd!
Nature is to support his desires, not to play wicked wizard!
Mountain sitting quietly under the ice had other plans on its slate
To show mortals his power, and a million egos it wants to deflate…

Nature is a quiet sufferer, mostly bearing man’s brunt
Catering to his greed and often letting him play the tyrant
Once in a while when nature decides to flex its muscle
A little smoking mountain is enough, not a longwinded tussle…

The message for those who may see is loud and clear
Man must keep nature on his side, not somewhere in the rear
He should check aspirations, simplify life, and accept his stature
Man, however modern, is no match for nature…

A poem by Sunil Puri; inspired by the recent volcanic eruption in a non-descript place that has impacted a zillion people across the globe (including a peer who is sadly stuck in a foreign land away from his family)

One year of back-to-work…

It has been over an year since I came back from my study sabbatical and started to work again. And the going has been great to date! I often wonder what has my (supposedly) celebrated MBA degree from the mecca of management education given me. Here goes...

Better skills (hopefully). The study sabbatical has certainly given me better understanding of economics, finance, marketing, operations, management, and accounting. It comes handy when having a conversation with a client with very different background – at least I am not left wondering whether he is talking stuff from outer space! The MBA has also polished my "soft skills " of leadership, teamwork, ethics, and communication that are so critical for effective management (Boss, hope you agree!).

More people to lean on! The degree has given me access to a network of ex-peers, other alumni, faculty, etc. This network will hopefully help me if I am ever on the cross-roads of career progression, or at some point building business relationships, or pursuing expertise outside of my current field.

A more “weighty” CV! The MBA degree is supposedly a recognized brand that signifies management and leadership training. The particular school (in my case IIM-A) also has brand associations that can help open doors based on the school's reputation. I have not had the opportunity to test the “weightiness” of the brand (thank god and my current employer for that!), but I am hoping it is true.

Our weekend trip to “Nah…what”!

Nah…what! This is the reaction I got when I told my colleagues that I was planning a weekend trip to Nahan. Both Shubhra and I wanted a quiet weekend away from Delhi heat, so we zeroed in on Nahan for a 3 day trip. The place is located in Himachal Pradesh, but not on the mountain side that houses Simla, Kasauli, Chail, and other more popular hill stations. The route to Nahan is fairly straight-forward: we drove down on NH 21 till Shahbad (just before Ambala), took a right to Naraingarh, proceeded to Kala-amb, crossed Himachal border to reach Nahan, and finally bypassed Nahan to reach a place called Jamta (where our resort was located). Total driving distance was about 300 kms (from Gurgaon) and total driving time was 6 hours. The roads were quite bumpy once we got off the main highway.

The place however was a revelation. Nahan/Jamta is clearly one of the most under-rated hill resorts. Probably because unlike a typical Shimla-type-popular-tourist-hunt where you have a huge market place (invariable called the mall-road!), cinema halls, several popular restaurants, and a zillion people; Jamta has a total of seven shops selling fruits and basic grocery, there is no “mall road,” and very few tourists. There are not many options to stay either – it is the Grand View Hotel, where we stayed or another adjoining hotel (I don’t remember the name).

For us, just the driving distance (along with a 1.5 year old who wanted to play ball in the car!) was enough to sap all our energy, and we were really looking forward to a quiet weekend. And I am glad we got one. We just lazed around at the resort. Krishnav had a wonderful time catching butterflies and kicking his favorite foot ball around in the relatively huge lawn at the resort. I wanted to go swimming, but the chill that ran through my spine the moment I put my toe in the pool, was enough for me to go back running for my clothes! The resort organized a fun evening (realizing that there is not much to do outside) both days with open air movie screening and other activities. Though my wife caught some part of the movies, I was mainly running around to make sure Krishnav’s football does not land on fellow-guests’ dinner tables!

On the second day, some of the more adventurous folks went to Renuka valley (22 kms) and Ponta Sahib (50 kms). Renuka has a beautiful lake surrounded by temples and a huge zoo; we had been there a few years ago so we gave it a pass. We just played with Krishnav in the lawns, went for a walk, slept in the afternoon, and woke up to another fun evening with yet another movie screening!

The drive back the next day was however hard (I guess return journey from a vacation is always hard!) since Krishnav did not sleep much in the car and was very restless. We stopped on our way back at a restaurant near Karna lake for a quick lunch. We reached Delhi a lot quicker (in about 5 hours) since there were no trucks on the road (it being a Sunday); I guess we started at 11:00 am and hit Delhi at 4:00 pm in the afternoon.

Overall, a good trip – highly recommended for folks who (like us) are not big fans of hill-station “mall roads” and seeing a zillion tourists around. Perfect place to just laze around for a weekend…

The Last Lecture at twenty thousand feet!!

Last Friday, on my late evening flight back from Mumbai, I read this phenomenal book called The Last Lecture (by Randy Pausch). I was blown away by simplicity of the narrative and sheer power of the underlying message. It is easily the best non-fiction book I’ve ever read.

The book is about the last lecture (a tradition in US universities; last lecture before the professor retires) which was so different from regular last lectures (which mostly exhibit competencies of the retiring professor in his area of specialization). When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to deliver such a lecture (in 2007), he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer (he actually died in 2008). But the lecture he gave--"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"--wasn't about computer science, his favorite subject, or about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment. It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living – and the message he wanted to leave behind for his kids.

Personally, I fell in love with humility and simplicity of the guy. Pausch was clearly so much more than a man between the walls of academia; he was a “real” person who as a child had aspiring dreams, and as an adult, lived and preached a fulfilling and wholesome life.

Though The Last Lecture borders on biography - self help category of books (I hate both!), the power of the message/teaching is very compelling. In fact, I could not put the book down till I read the last page (a rare feat since I am at-best a casual reader!)

Highly recommended – pick up a copy even if you are not the most voracious of readers, or see the video on YouTube.

Budget 2010-11 and clean energy sector

Well this blog entry is long overdue; I have been meaning to write about the positive impact that the 2010-11 Budget may have on the clean energy sector for a while.

The Finance Bill 2010-11 has created a corpus called National Clean Energy Fund, which will invest in entrepreneurial ventures and research in the field of clean energy technologies. The money for this will be garnered through a so-called ‘clean energy cess’ — Rs 50 on every tonne of coal, both domestic and imported. A back-of-the-envelope calculation indicates a sum of Rs 25 billion. In addition, inputs for products such as solar energy panels and wind turbines have been showered with tax sops, while machinery used for setting up photovoltaic and solar thermal power units have been offered a concessional customs duty of 5% and exempted from excise duty. Some inputs needed for the manufacture of rotor blades for wind energy generators have also been exempted from excise duty.

So here are some key points that may have a positive spin-off on clean energy sector…
- National Clean Energy Fund for funding research and innovative projects in clean energy technologies to be established.

- Concessional customs duty of 5 per cent to machinery, instruments, equipment and appliances etc. required for the initial setting up of photovoltaic and solar thermal power generating units and also exempt them from Central Excise duty. Ground source heat pumps used to tap geo-thermal energy to be exempted from basic customs duty and special additional duty.

- Central Excise duty on LED lights reduced from 8 per cent to 4 per cent at par with Compact Fluorescent Lamps.

- To remedy the difficulty faced by manufacturers of electric cars and vehicles in neutralising the duty paid on their inputs and components, a nominal duty of 4 per cent on such vehicles imposed. Some critical parts or sub-assemblies of such vehicles exempted from basic customs duty and special additional duty subject to actual user condition. These parts would also enjoy a concessional CVD of 4 per cent.

- Plan allocation for power sector excluding Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyut Yojana (RGGVY) doubled from Rs 22.3 billion in 2009-10 to Rs 51.3 billion in 2010-11.

- Plan outlay for the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy increased by 61 per cent from Rs 6.2 billion in 2009-10 to Rs 10 billion in 2010-11.

- Solar, small hydro and micro power projects at a cost of about Rs 5 billion to be set up in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir. Restore the basic duty of 5 per cent on crude petroleum; 7.5 per cent on diesel and petrol and 10 per cent on other refined products. Central Excise duty on petrol and diesel enhanced by Re.1 per litre each.

I complete six years in my current firm…

Today I complete six years in my current firm. I was a part of the three-member team that rolled up the shutters of my current firm’s India office on 15 March 2004. I still remember the first few days at work that were spent figuring out vendors to rent out desk computers, phone lines, coffee machine, and office furniture. My wife and I shopped for the office refrigerator, kitchen cutlery, dish-washer, and microwave oven!! Our work area was tiny, the library (a small cabin with a round table and four chairs around it) served as a make-shift lunch room, and the server room doubled as storeroom for office supplies. The office outing was rarely more than just driving to a local coffee shop on a sunny afternoon, or an evening snack at our country head’s place. Those were fun days! Over the past six years, I have survived four offices, 14 bosses, and a zillion kms in daily commute...

Alas, the other two founding members (I like to call us that..) are not with the company anymore, and the current folks have no reason to remember 15 March as a special date, so I celebrated my sixth anniversary at my current company with a quiet coffee at the local Costa joint. Since my prior four work stints were for two years (or less) each, this was quite a feat. As I sipped coffee, seated at a corner table at Costa this morning, I tried to evaluate the emotions and feelings that were flowing through me. These ranged from “oh man! It has been six years….am I the only budha chowkidar (old care taker) hanging around….” to “wow, though I have seen ups and downs in my tenure here, it has been quite an eventful journey…..” to “how would it feel to step back to 2004, and walk a few steps with the original team – maybe relive a few moments from the past…” and so on…

Well, it has been an interesting journey to say the least, with ups and downs (as in life…). Hope it stays this way in future as well…

Yesterday was Krishnav’s first day at pre-pre nursery school…

Yesterday was also the most nervous I have felt in the past few years; I guess the last time I felt really nervous was during my 12th standard exams; and that is like more than two decades ago!

Well as far as I can remember, I never enjoyed school while I was young – I felt bound, and tied down; felt much more comfortable on my own at home or in a play ground. As a result, when I look back, I realize that I must have missed out on so much fun that I see kids having at schools these days. I must confess that I really secretly wished that Krishnav does not take after me on that one aspect; and rather takes after my wife Shubhra, who is much more bubbly, open to newer experiences, and full of life.

So yesterday, when Krishnav was to go to a local toddler-school (a pre-pre nursery school; accompanied by Shubhra) for the first time, I was really nervous. I imagined my phone to ring anytime with a panic message from my wife conveying anything from – “please come to the school cause Krishnav just refuses to go in (like he does when we visit his doctor),” to “he is crying inconsolably and wants to get out of the school,” or “he refuses to get off the car at the school gate,” etc. So when I did not get a call from my wife even several hours after his first day at school was supposed to end, I did not know what to expect.

When I called my wife later during the day, I was wishing for the best! And, I am glad that I heard that – Krishnav REALLY loved his day-one at school. He was high on energy, interacted with other kids, charmed their moms (wink!), and impressed the instructors. He danced when the music was played, was the first one to participate in group activities, had no qualms about asking for toys or stuff that he wanted, and was on the move for the full two hours that he was there.

Yaay, that made my day; and Thank You God for getting your genetic engineering right on this one!!

Sitting by the window on a fast train…

Do you ever feel that you are sitting on a fast train and the world is just whizzing past as you gaze out of the window. And scarier still, does it ever seem that this train is headed in the wrong direction! I have been feeling this way for the past few weeks. First I thought it was one of those “downs” in the rollercoaster called “life,” but lately I have been thinking if someone (or something) is urging me to take control of the “train.” I don’t know…

I was trying to Google for some gyan on this during lunch-hour today, and here is a summary of the guru-speak I gathered; says nothing new, but is an interesting read. So here goes the seven step process to take control of the “train”…
- Get in touch with your values: Maybe your priorities are not aligned with your values, so you are not focusing on the right things.
- Decide what motivates you: If tomorrow you knew you could do anything and not fail what would you do? Is there something you are passionate about but are afraid of trying?
- Set goals: Goals fuel your intent and make your desires concrete.
- Take action: If you have written long-term and short-term goals and prioritized them, you have a plan of action. Just take it one step at a time and do something everyday that takes you closer to where you want to be.
- Manage your time: Plan your days and prioritize your time to get the most out of the time you have.
- Do what needs to be done: Whether it is a mundane task or internal work, putting it off gets us nowhere.
- Self-discipline: This final step takes all that we have learned and puts it into action.

When Shekhu met Nagu….

No, I am not nuts… and I am not writing about the reunion of two pets here…

Today I met a friend after eight years. We graduated from the same engg-school 15 years ago, and had met only once in the interim. I used to call him Nagu (or Snakey!) at e-school (a dig at his name!), and he used to call me Shekhu (I do not remember why, somehow :-). We were (almost) room-mates in the third and the final year at college; well though we had our own individual rooms, we spent more time in each other’s company than in our own rooms.

I was eagerly waiting to meet Nagu ever since I had planned a Bangalore trip a few days ago. Though we had initially planned to meet at a local pub (to relive a few high-spirited moments), and you bet that would have been much more fun, my travel logistics did not allow me an evening to myself (we are all slaves of the corporate world, aren’t we..). Not willing to forego an opportunity to meet Nagu, I quickly lapped up his offer to have breakfast at his house.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Nagu just the way he looked 15 years ago; the man had obviously done some hard work on the treadmill in the last few years. In fact, as we exchanged pleasantries and compared notes on who all among our batch were we still in touch with, I was amused to note that Nagu had not changed at all. He is still a very pleasing personality, extra generous with his laughter, and a bit extra modest about his achievements. I remember, at e-school, Nagu was easily one of the brightest people around. But unlike most other I-know-I-am-smart elites, Nagu was always too willing to mingle with the lesser mortals (like me) and ever too eager to share his academic gyan so that folks like me could also practice our writing skills at the annual examinations! He always went the extra mile to identify with folks around him, though he was clearly very different (read smart!).

Really enjoyed the one hour Shekhu spent with Nagu… and they do plan to meet more often in the future.