My Two Cents

I promise to update my blog more often...

2010-10-18T00:59:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-06-29T02:59:00.000-07:00

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...

2010-04-27T07:05:00.000-07:00

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...

2010-04-19T07:06:00.000-07:00

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…

2010-04-15T06:54:00.000-07:00

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”!

2010-04-13T23:47:00.001-07:00

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!!

2010-03-24T06:35:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-16T06:04:00.000-07:00

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…

2010-03-15T06:47:00.000-07:00

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…

2010-02-26T00:07:00.000-08:00

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…

2010-02-11T04:47:00.000-08:00

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….

2010-01-18T05:38:00.000-08:00

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.

Lost count after 30…..

2009-12-30T23:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I turned …oops lost count….

Though I hate the concept of “birthday,” the day was enjoyable – got up early, went to temple with my wife and son (it does not hurt to have god on your side…), went out shopping with my wife, and had a small family dinner in the evening. I also came to terms with the fact that it is alright to be on the (very) wrong side of thirties – age is just another statistic anyways (sour grapes?...nah!)

Now when I look back at the last one year, 2009 was a mixed bag for me. I re-started my career after a one year sabbatical, re-settled in Gurgaon, connected with some old friends, really loved seeing my son do his “firsts” (first crawl, first step, first word, first gesture…), invested in some assets, sorted out some long pending issues. I however failed to move forward on one goal that I had set for myself on my last birthday – that of beginning to pen my first novel. Though I do have the plot in mind, I guess I could not find enough “literary momentum” to pen my plot.

I however am determined to get cracking on that in January 2010…

As I close possibly my last blog entry this year, let me take a moment to wish all the citizens of blogosphere a rocking 2010. I hope the year brings peace and happiness all over…

Holy cow, we have only 3 more years to live…

2009-11-18T03:10:00.000-08:00

….well if you were to believe the twisted logic of some historians around the theory that since Mayan calendar is till 21 December 2012, that is when the world comes to an end. While some part of me may be anxious around the suggested doomsday, at this point I feel it is just a group of conspiracy theorists trying to get cheap publicity and some cult groups trying to increase their follower base. The movie 2012’s director certainly is laughing his way to the bank, and if nothing else, he is sure to have wealthy next three years!

Yesterday, as I saw on TV for the zillionth time one of these “twisted-logic” theorists talk about doomsday prediction, for a few minutes I started to think about what I would do if really had only three years to live and if I knew (for sure) that the world would indeed end on Dec 21, 2012. Here are some of the to-dos that came to my mind….

- Stop repaying the loan EMIs!… and let the bank start off a legal battle to get possession of the property. I am sure, by the time the court comes to some conclusion three years would have passed by and I would have an extra X,00,000 rupees at my disposal in the interim.

- Plan out a world tour (may be putting the money saved above to good use!)…. If the world were to come to an end, this may me be my last chance to go to all the beautiful places I fancy. My itinerary would surely include Switzerland, South Africa, Australia, and Western Europe.

- Buy a good fancy top-of-the line car such as a Porsche, Ferrari, etc…. This may be a good time to buy my dream vehicle; needless to say, on a 15 year EMI plan!

- Stop exercising (not that I do a lot now!) completely…. Why worry about your body when there is not much time to live anyways!

- Start writing my dream book immediately….eureka!! I now have a hot selling plot around what a guy-next-door may do if he knew that he has a finite time to live! Though I now know for sure I have found a plot that is sure to work with fear-psychotic public, I may not have enough time to collect all the royalty from book sales

…. The above few thoughts (any many more) whizzed past my mind in a few seconds before I realized that most of this may be just hype. The skeptics believe (and I agree to that view) that the Mayans Long Count calendar ends in 2012 since their calendar follows long set of periods unlike every year. Some skeptics also believe their culture vanished before they could get out another long count calendar.

Despite my skepticism around the 2012 theory, I must admit that I have seen no prophecy gain as much hype before. While the rational-me believes that 21 Dec 2012 will go by like any other day, I cannot help wondering what if I am wrong…

First Manager is like First Love!!

2009-10-06T04:33:00.000-07:00

Last week, quite unexpectedly I got a chance to connect with my first manager with whom I started my career over a decade ago! Though we had not been in touch for several years, the mere mention of his name - AC - sucked me back in time into my formative years and the wonderful few years I spent being mentored by him.

An amazingly brilliant professional, a wonderful people manager with an always-smiling persona (and an infectious roar-of-a-laughter!), and great coach and mentor, AC was a pleasure to work with. Now when I look back I realize that he was the reason I stayed so long (a couple of years) in a finance career though it clearly wasn’t suited to me. I enjoyed working with him so much that I did not focus on the fact that project financing was clearly not my true professional calling. But it is a blessing that I worked with him during my formative years because he taught me (often in his own subtle ways) several things that helped me have a (relatively) decent career run long after I left the organization.

As I started to work with him straight out of school, despite my inexperience (and a multi-level difference in hierarchy; which is very important in a PSU), AC often treated me like a peer and gave me large amounts of responsibility. He coached me in a natural way, letting me observe him while he worked (as he dealt astutely with the department head, negotiated project deliverables with clients, and worked his way through the infamous PSU politics) which meant that most days I was sitting in his office discussing topics as varied as project structuring to upward-management to sports to politics to life!

While he would push me to experiment and innovate on projects I worked on, he always had a safety net around me. In fact I remember a couple of times when he “batted” for me and stood by my side, defending work that I had done. And, more than anything else, he taught me the meaning of “officialdom” - ways and means to survive in a professional office environment; something so valuable for a young recruit starting his career.

AC showed me the importance of staying ahead of technology. Though he was a good decade (or more) elder to me at that point, he was the one who encouraged me to learn about this thing called the World Wide Web back in a time when there was nothing much to do on the Web. I distinctly remember he pushed me to create an email account long before we had anyone we could send an e-mail to. He also taught me to blend work with life as he always pushed me to get out of the office on time, to not work on the weekends, and to structure the work flow such that I did not need to work late hours.

When I decided it was time to move on, it was not easy for me though I was clear I wanted to get out of project financing and the “PSU environment.” I was sort of scared to change my function, move into a start-up environment (from a PSU), and out of the safety net that AC had always provided. AC however encouraged me to take that leap of faith – and I am glad he did!

Now when I am in a position where I am expected to coach and mentor young folks starting their careers, I realize the enormous task and implicit responsibility that the first manager has in making or breaking the career, and more importantly the self confidence, of his/her direct reports. Each time I see my direct reports moving ahead and doing well in their careers, somewhere deep inside I thank AC for the skills he gave me early on in my professional life.

I guess the first manager is like “first love” – you never end up staying with either for a long time, yet you can never get it (or him/her) out of your mind!!

Krishnav's "firsts" make me feel so blessed!

2009-07-20T01:08:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Krishnav stood by himself for 5 seconds. It was such a great moment for me and my wife when we saw him suddenly get up from his four-legged crawl to swing from one side to the other as he struggled to maintain his balance. He also waved for the first time yesterday evening in response to the zillionth “bye.” We are eagerly now waiting for his first coherent words and his first baby steps…

Though we struggle coping with Krishnav’s eat-play-sleep-eat… pattern, little things like the above just make all the effort so worthwhile.

Thank you god for letting us experience parenthood, and blessing us with a little angel…

Of life just before taking off…

2009-06-21T10:25:00.000-07:00

No, this is not a philosophical blabber about how to take off on a stellar career path. One, I am yet to experience it myself; and two, I believe it is a topic best left to Jack Welch’s and Robin Sharma’s of this world.

This blog entry is about my experience at the domestic airports in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata, since I have been travelling around over the past three weeks. I am not a compulsive reader so I like to observe and absorb surroundings around me when I am sitting idle, or cogitating about something, or just am too tired to do anything else – which is of often the case just before my flight back home, late in the evenings, after a day full of meetings.

In terms of airport terminal quality, I must say that nothing beats Delhi’s “1D Terminal.” It has several coffee shops, a cool new bookstand, and plenty of seating capacity; it easily compares with any airport terminal abroad. Though Mumbai terminal has fewer vendors and coffee shops, it is huge, with plenty of comfortable seating. Kolkata terminal is a traveller’s nightmare – not enough seating, often no air-conditioning, one single vendor selling stale sandwiches, and queues all over (even in the washrooms!).

I especially enjoy those few minutes between security checks and boarding the aircraft. I routinely witness three distinct categories of people in those often crammed up waiting areas (if you do not know what “crammed-up” means you need to see the scenario at the Kolkata airport, where there are a zillion people fighting for those 50 odd seats in the waiting area):

- corporate executives (just like myself) who are tired after a day full of meetings; and eager to get back home. This “species” often spends their time at the airport either checking e-mails, catching up with the pending work, making a list of To-Dos from the meetings just concluded, or “pretending” to read a book or something else. These folks are easy to identify – dark color suits with ties often hanging loose around their neck, and a laptop bag in their hand. They are often seen working at the airports or struggling to find power points to charge their laptops so that they can work on the plane journey back home. They work through their plane journey or catch up on sleep and often have a cab driver waiting at the reception area with their name plate in hand.

- businessmen back from a full day of commercial dealings. Not often dressed up in formals (like the executives), this species is often found talking loudly on their cellphones, and more often “pulling up” their staff back home or talking to their spouses instructing the exact time when the pick-up car should be despatched for the airport. These folks are often the last ones to switch-off their cellphones while seated in the planes – and the last call invariably is to someone back home (or in their office) letting them know the exact take-off time (very annoying for co-passengers!). These are strangely also the folks who will invariably get out of their seats before the plane halts at the home airport, and will immediately switch on their cellphones and ensure that their car is waiting for them outside!

- families travelling after a long trip to another city and fully prepared for the journey (as if it were a multi-week adventure trip to Siberia!), often carrying several handbags with all kinds of stuff. They (mostly kids) will invariably buy stuff to eat from the “crappy” eateries in the waiting area; will have a zillion bags to check-in; and are most eager to board. I often see them waiting for their luggage as I walk out of the airport at the destination terminals.

I find it fairly interesting (and entertaining) to just look around and observe people while waiting to security-check-in or board the plane; much recommended over reading a best seller!

I relived my past…

2009-06-14T10:22:00.000-07:00

Some looked just the same, while the others were hard to identify. Some had receding hairline (to say the least!), while the others had streaks of grey. Some had expanded around the waist, while the others had pulled in a bit. The young girls (as we knew them) were more like mid aged (yet charming) ladies. But we all relived our school days just for a few hours.

The Springdales (Dhaula Kuan) batch of 1990 met a few days ago, and what a blast that was. The evening started with pleasantries as if we were meeting strangers – and I thought it was going to be one long evening! But soon, a few (actually much more than a few!) drinks down, folks were just like school kids – pulling each others’ legs, using more than a generous dose of the four-letter-word in conversations, bitching about folks who could not make it to the meet, talking about "ex-flames," etc. It seemed as if 19 years between our school graduation and that evening had vanished in high (and rather heavy doses of) spirits! There were doctors, salesmen, bankers, business men, exporters, consultants in the group; but for those few hours it seemed we were a bunch of heady high school kids.

And then after early excitement, the conversation turned to more mundane topics such as who was doing what, and how had life treated individuals in the interim. Thank god, however, no body pulled out their visiting cards; otherwise it would have just turned into celebration-of-professional-success for some, and a feeling that they had lost-out-in-professional-life for the others.

As folks got high on nostalgia and “spirits,” and as guys ran out of conversation topics, the mood turned to singing and music. We shouted slogans of our school groups (“houses”), cheered as some even sang our school songs, and posed for pics as cameras flashed all over.

Post dinner and after a zillion phone calls from spouses, some (like me) left the party (at 12:00 AM), while (I heard) some others stayed for a few hours more, downed more drinks, and eventually had to be assisted to their cars and even dropped home.

We all promised to meet each other regularly, and keep in touch. A few weeks later, I at least see a lot of e-mails floating around the group. The next meet (with family) is already on the cards.

Cheers to Apul, Sumit, and Gautam, who took the initiative to set that evening up. Thanks folks, you made me relive my past for those few hours…

Four months down; not much progress on my resolution...

2009-04-27T04:53:00.000-07:00

I am writing in today to confess that I am not doing enough to move forward with my book idea! Am putting this down in my blog so that even if no one eye-balls it, there is some incremental pressure to deliver on my resolution.

To be true, I have been thinking of possible plots, but have not come across anything that makes me jump out of my chair, or motivates me enough to hit my laptop’s keyboard, or keeps me up at night. Maybe, I have not given myself enough time over the past 2 months to really “taste and chew” the various half-baked story ideas in my mind. The only thing positive is that what started as a vague maybe-someday kind of dream is turning into a have-to-do-soon kind of passion!

Don’t know where to start and how to build on the wire-frames of various thoughts I have in my mind. One vague idea is to just “speed-write” for an hour a day various thoughts that are in my head, and possibly collate all of that after a few weeks to see if there is a pattern emerging or if there is some area worth digging deeper into. The other idea is to read some contemporary works by Indian authors to get inspired enough to take a leap of faith in one of the several directions my mind wants me to pursue.

I am really hopeful I will sort this out soon, but would love to get some advice from fellow bloggers...

Is “polishing the blemishes” a key to survival in this difficult corporate environment – a thought…

2009-04-17T00:56:00.000-07:00

I am writing in after what seems like ages!!

I am back to the corporate world, though the transition was not easy; I guess I had got used to the 24x7 “idyllic” lifestyle at the IIM campus. Strangely, have been very busy ever since I stepped into the corporate world – getting used to a relatively new environment, new profile, very different “waking hours,” and dealing with the more mundane things in life. But net net, it is great to be back in a world where some money flows into your bank at the end of the month!

A few days ago an ex-PGPX peer reminded me of a phrase that one of the marketing gurus at IIM used a couple of times during his sessions:

"When you paint wood, you're trying to hide blemishes. When you polish wood, you're trying to show blemishes as quality."

I laughed it off then taking it to be one of the professor’s ways of exhibiting his deep philosophical insight into the world of marketing. Now however when I think of it, there is a much deeper meaning to it. Especially in the corporate world where everyone seems to be trying to “paint” their own personality and skill set to map with what the company demands of them, this phrase seems so true.

I ask: isn’t there merit in diversity, being different (and being proud of the difference), having the will and the courage to polish your “blemishes?”

I strongly feel there is. During this economic downturn when the mantra to succeed in the corporate world is to think-out-of-the-box, being mere “clones” and hiding our blemishes is not going to take us too far. “Polishing” our blemishes into key differentiators in personality or skill is what one need to move forward.

Let me stop here before I get into the philosophical gyan mode. But the message is certainly worth a thought I would say.

Goodbye Ahmedabad….hello again Gurgaon

2009-03-24T04:16:00.000-07:00

This is probably my last blog entry from the IIM Ahmedabad campus, as I start off on a 900+ km drive tomorrow morning to my hometown and my old job. As I say goodbye to the eclectic PGPX class of 09', this beautiful campus, and my very warm apartment, the last 12 months just whiz past my eyes. Here are some moments that will always stay with me…

The D-Company is born…

Cohesive D-Group family...

Unending lectures…

Chit-chat chai time…

Block 11 MSH…

T-Nite chaos…

Krishnav arrives…

Short trip to Amsterdam…

Chillaxing with Krishnav…

Holi time at IIM…

Much treasured morning walks...
Goodbye PGPX, IIM-A

And a new one begins after a few blank pages…

2009-03-12T10:51:00.000-07:00

Now that the PGPX course at IIM is over, I am finding myself blogging more often. And boy am I glad!

These last few days are like blank pages between two chapters (close to the climax) of a best-seller. As the reader flips these pages, while he is still thinking through the gripping closing paragraph in the last chapter, there is anticipation about the direction the story may take in the subsequent chapter.

Next few days at the campus will be uneventful yet very hectic. On one hand life is dull on campus as people are wrapping up their course deliverables and busy finalizing their jobs, on the other hand there is a lot of action as people make arrangements to move to new locations; movers and packers are having a field day on campus.

I am trying to tie all the loose ends as I plan my move back to Gurgaon. Well I am excited to go back, but the one thing that I am not looking forward to is the 900+ km drive back home. Though the road is great and I really enjoyed driving to Ahmedabad, the same drive seems like a drag now; I guess sadness of leaving this super-cool campus (and friends) coupled with anxiety about future uncertainty is weighing heavy on me.

Anyways, I am sure the future has a lot of exciting surprises in store for each of us. The economic downturn presents a wonderful opportunity for each one of the PGPX’s 77 aces to test their managerial astuteness in solving some real-world business problems.

Yet another chapter ends…

2009-03-11T13:24:00.000-07:00

Just submitted my last pending assignment (individual Capstone exercise), and phew… I am done with the PGPX coursework! So, no more night-outs, report writing, case reading, and quiz prep.

I had been waiting for this moment for several weeks, but now that I am done with all the course work, I am not feeling too good about it! In fact it saddens me to think that after a few days I will bid goodbye to IIM-A, and (re)enter the big, bad, hectic rat race of the corporate world.

Though I am certainly happy to say goodbye to the PGPX class room (CR-11) and endless lectures, I will surely carry fond memories of the “D-Company corner” (as it got to be known) near the stairs where out group converged for endless conversations in between the classes (see pic), and our group syndicate room (Synd. 6) which almost became a second home for all in group D.

IIM-A journey will be memorable. Had some great fun moments, found some wonderful friends, cracked some crazy business problems, and kept pace (at least tried to) with the famous IIM-A rigor comprising endless stream of quizzes, presentations, reports, assignments, end-terms (and other "torture weapons").

Starting tomorrow the focus will be on relocation planning, packing, wrapping up administrative requirements, etc.

Next Piece of Bread...

2009-03-03T23:27:00.000-08:00

Men in black and women all natty
Put-on smiles and appearing to be chatty
Rushing to meet recruiters with a sense of dread
Confident, yet worried about the next piece of bread

Shades of grey, yet bundle of nerves
Years of toil, yet still negotiating life’s curves
Running in a race to enter the management hall-of-fame
Wanting to hang their boots, but still playing the game

The “buyers” are pickier than ever before
Rejecting “ware” at the slightest “nick” in the core
The economy going south is aiding the “evil”
Cause or result, no doubt it is causing upheaval

Sitting on the sidelines I witness and wonder
Is this hassle worth letting your life get torn asunder?
With creditors knocking doors, ready to flog the “almost dead”
In life’s pecking order nothing precedes the next piece of bread!

By Sunil Puri
(Inspired by the current employment scenario in India; wherein all – even the smartest and the most experienced – are desperately searching for good opportunities)

Waltz in the class…

2009-03-02T03:10:00.000-08:00

Lights-ppt deck-action I see often in my class
Audience are bored and presenters are crass
Whether finance or marketing, the performance looks the same
“Waltz in the class” is what I call this game

The judges ever so often do not care about content
Body language and “style” define intellectual dent
“Time cop” is the only person often glued to the “dance”
So that the next guy is not too late to take his stance

Grades are sadly the only performance driver
Audience are indifferent, heaps of print the only survivor
The dancer often does not connect with the class
Not that the audience minds giving him a pass

The dance often ends with a loud applause
Rarely in appreciation, often sadly without a cause
Clapping no doubt does create a feel-good sound
The energy dissipates, yet participants remain bound

Is this what education is all about, I ask?
Dancing to the slide-deck, wearing a knowledge mask
Sadly I guess we need to play along till the system halts
Flick our limbs, and get ready for our turn to waltz!

By Sunil Puri
(Inspired by a session on project presentations in the class)

What would Love Do?

2009-02-24T02:51:00.000-08:00

As I re-enter the corporate jungle with misplaced notions
Where responsibilities and deadlines brutally overrun emotions
In the race-to-finish first in completing never-ending stream of tasks
What would Love do I begin to ask

Dog-eat-dog mantra is accepted and followed aplenty
Acquaintances are several while friends are scanty
As work precedes family, and intentions wear masks
What would Love do I begin to ask

In search for an answer I look within
Reach out to my thoughts and experiences akin
Would Love be stuck in the corporate world like an empty cask?
Would it not struggle to break artificial corporate shackles I ask?

Love would spread peace, goodwill, oneness, and harmony
It will soothe tense nerves and eliminate corporate cacophony
It will force people to be genuine and pull down artificial walls
Against odds and pressures, Love will survive jerks and falls

Love would bring people together and promote common route
Actions promoting oneness are ethical beyond doubt
Love will surely struggle to balance demands on one’s time
It will put premium on relaxation and value anxiety for a dime

In the end, I yet ask, what are we looking for in life?
Relaxation in plenty or toil and constant strife
Balance is what defines our character at work and play
Isn’t that what Love stands for, and implies in a way?

By Sunil Puri

(PS: This poem is inspired by a recent course I did in corporate ethics)

Recession Hits Close-to-Home…

2009-02-05T20:05:00.000-08:00

Being in India for most part of my career, the phenomenon of layoffs and job loss was as alien to me as having bagels-and-cream cheese for breakfast. Well I always read about pink slips, etc., but somehow thought that such things happen to people “I do not know.” Hence when a friend and ex-colleague recently became one of the hundreds-of-thousands of casualties of the global recession phenomenon, I did not know how to react!

Never thought that knowing someone who lost a job due to a layoff will be difficult. Well as a friend, I want to do everything to help; as an ex-coworker, I also (strangely) have some feelings of guilt or remorse, but regardless of my feelings, I am not sure how to help. It is easy to pay lip-service and say things like – “may be this is a blessing in disguise” or “use this opportunity to find your true calling,” but it is hard to imagine the emotions that the laid-off person may be going through. God bless this “friend,” hope he finds another job soon, and I hope sanity returns to global markets.

This development has stroked a feeling of “urgency” in me. For the past few days I find myself thinking more often than before about my “Plan B” -- alternative career options, generating multiple streams of income, smart investment planning, bank savings, etc.

Never thought recession will hit so-close-to-home, but I guess this a sort of awakening…

Will I "do a Don Quixote” in 2009?

2009-01-02T02:57:00.000-08:00

Probably inspired by the Don Quixote case study that we discussed in the Leadership class recently, I have come up with a seemingly “crazy” resolution for myself for 2009. This year I have decided to go beyond mundane (yet seemingly do-able) resolutions such as finding a “perfect” job, reducing x kilos from my heavy frame, living a more balanced life, joining the gym, blah, blah, blah.

At the expense of possibly “doing a Don Quixote” in having larger-than-life (and beyond-reality) objectives, I have decided that I will move ahead with my long term dream of writing a book! “I will by the end of 2009 try and come up with a plot/story line/character details for my book.”

Though I have been dreaming of initiating this for a while, and despite having a “vague” idea of what I want to write, I have not done much about this “dream.” Hence I am putting it down on my blog so that I am committed to moving forward on this.

This may be one of my zillion dreams……but what is life without one anyways?

D-Company members for an year...friends-for-life

2008-12-28T21:41:00.000-08:00

My PGPX syndicate group (Group D; alias D-Company) mates are much more than mere case-discussion-buddies. They are “family” here on campus and I am sure they will remain friends for life. We folks have been with each other through easy and tough times, both within and outside of the classroom! Here are my reflections on each one of the Group-D “magnificent seven” (actually six, cause I will leave myself out of this).

Arun the agony aunt: Have to start with him as he is the most responsible of the group members. He diligently remembers all the deadlines, and handles all the money dealings for the entire batch. An ex-entrepreneur and an experienced hand at stock-market investing, Arun can never be too far away from either money or “numbers” (in case discussions). He is almost the “agony-aunt” of the entire batch due to his easily approachable and dependable persona, and is certainly one of the most popular guys in PGPX-III. For Group-D, he is the one who always does course correction if the discussion is going astray during our endless syndicate room pre-class-prep sessions.

Harish the “sutradhar”: This cool dude from Seychelles is a true Gujrati (no offence meant) who can smell a business opportunity even in the most mundane activities. Sooner or later I am sure he will be a business tycoon. Apart from his commercial astuteness, Harish has a “cool” side to him; he is easily the most fun-loving person in the group. With his interests and amazing knowledge ranging from drinks to cigars to watches (and post PGPX to crazy topics such as retail, 3PL, supply chain :-() he takes a centre stage in most group parties. An amazing story teller, Harish is always looking for a fun (and often scandalous) story to tell; hence his sutradhar title.

Senthil the smooth-talker: Well when our Group D is least prepared for the case discussion or presentation all we need to do is to “put” Senthil is front of the class and his “performance” never lets us down. I sometimes feel his level of “performance” is inversely proportional to Group D’s level of preparation! He is the “calming factor” of the group -- ever so cool and unfazed by deadlines and deliverable schedules; his Australia connection clearly showing in his “chilled” attitude.

Bhaskar the wizard: Bhaskar can “conjure” a presentation deck in 30 seconds flat! So many times it has happened that while the group is discussing a case, Bhaskar’s magic fingers are at work creating the slide deck or the white-paper/report to be submitted; as the discussion ends, the Group has a deck already made! He is clearly the silent-wizard of Group D. While he does not believe in wasting his grey cells (and trust me he has the most in our Group) in mundane discussions; he is clearly the sharpest of the lot. His fun side, which is not apparent unless you know him really well, clearly shows in his hilarious one-liners.

Prateek the sharp-shooter: Behind this ex-army-man’s straight face and a half-mischievous smile, is a really great buddy always willing to step in for people in need of any kind of help. He gets a high in life cracking tough puzzle-type cases, driving long distances, attending/hosting small (restricted) parties, and doing anything adventurous (probably a hangover from his army days!).

Kamesh the Don: He is the “elected” leader of D Company due to his special ability in using ingenious ways (ranging from requesting to soft coercion to threats-to-life!) to get the group together for syndicate meetings. A fun-loving bloke with an infectious laughter, amazing level of enthusiasm, and a chill attitude towards life, Kamesh is most fun to be with during group parties, where he often ends up delivering some truly marvellous and inspiring speeches in high “spirits”!!

As I sit through day-one of term V of PGPX...

2008-12-19T02:53:00.000-08:00

Well today (December 19) we start with term 5 (the last term) of our PGPX course. As I sit in the class today listening to some "crazy" (don't get me wrong here; I also mean smart....) work that my peers have done in the past 6 weeks as part of the international immersion program (equivalent of an international project), I am a bundle of several feelings...

- "Really Bored" listening to my peers' presentations about areas as diverse (read: crazy as) as making money out of banana waste to manufacturing semi-conductors to supply chain optimization to marketing margarine!!!

- "Amazed" at how some of my colleagues (especially some of my "Group D" folks) can be so attentive through this "information download" drill

- "Sad" (well sort of) cause the PGPX course ends in exactly 90 days (the course ends on March 19). Well during my life here I have met some really smart folks, interacted with some of the best faculty in the management world, thoroughly enjoyed a zillion hours of course work (well most courses!), and made some great friends (Group D especially -- Senthil, Arun, Bhaskar, Harish, Prateek, Kamesh)

- "Happy" cause the course will be over in 90 days! I am so ready to go back to a real job (and to a life where there is some cash inflow at the end of the month!). Am glad in someway that I opted for a one year program (at some point I was contemplating a PhD; that would surely have been a disaster); did not realize how difficult it would be to go back to school before I joined IIM-A

- "Confused" by all the "gyan" that I have sort of been sensitized to over the past several months. Am not too sure a lot of it can be applied to the corporate world, yet it is all good-to-know kind of information

- "Elated" and "really proud" as my son completes two months today!

And, now I am going back to making my ppt. deck for the presentation tomorrow...

I am a proud Dilliwala

2008-12-09T09:01:00.000-08:00

I am no big fan of either the Congress party or Sheila Dixit, but I am glad the way Delhi Assembly elections have panned out. It makes me proud as a Dilliwala to say that the incumbent party victory in Delhi shows that Delhi-voter is a thinking-voter, not swayed by petty mud-slinging done by various parties to gain voter-brownie-points, and votes based on pure individual candidate merit. Folks who won elections in Delhi, despite a strong any-incumbency wave triggered by the unfortunate November 26 terrorist attack in Mumbai, won purely on the merit of their contributions during the past term in office.

As I said earlier I am not a fan of Sheila Dixit, and I believe she could have done much more for Delhi in the past decade that she spent in office, there are at least a few very basic notable changes she has made to Delhi. She at least tried to address some fundamental problems that Delhi has always faced – water, electricity, education, public transport, etc. As a commoner Dilliwala, here are a few positive changes I noticed in Delhi over the past decade.

- Infrastructure has developed enormously in the form of new roads, flyovers and the gleaming Metro, to keep pace with the city's choking traffic. Delhi also began to get new plush buses - benefiting millions who depend on public transport.

- Delhi's public transport has also gone green and polluting industries have been shifted out of residential areas. (Sheila Dixit earned credit for all these developments although some of these took place because of Supreme Court pressure.)

- Initiation of the “Bhagidari” (parternship) scheme, under which the Delhi administration funds Residents Welfare Associations to carry out local area development.

- Water and electricity shortages have also eased (only eased, by no means vanished) in Delhi. The government has also actively promoted water harvesting and encouraged solar power as a green alternative.

- More educational institutes and universities have developed. The government paid attention to the development of the Indraprastha University as well as technical institutes.

I sincerely hope this victory gives a “thumbs-up” to the ruling Congress party and that the chief minister is encouraged to take on more developmental projects in Delhi over her next term.

Management lessons from my six-week old son!!

2008-12-08T02:03:00.000-08:00

We were recently blessed with a lovely and handsome boy with bright eyes and a smile to die for! Though we have had our share of sleepless nights and constant nervousness about the slightest indication of our baby’s discomfort, overall the parenting experience has been really great! Here are some lessons that my six week old has taught me; lessons that I can take back to my workplace. I secretly feel that the fact that he was born in IIM-A (close to the campus) makes him a “smart manager” right from his day-one!

Lessons 1: Change is good. Status-quo can make you “wet and soggy” and uncomfortable. And, whenever you aspire for change, shout out loud.

Lesson 2: When you want to say something, say it boldly. Otherwise people may not take you seriously. Have you ever heard a little baby whispering when he/she is hungry?

Lesson 3: Charm people around you to get things done. My six-week old exactly knows when and how much to smile and “coo” to make me and my wife go ga-ga.

Lesson 4: Time-bound and fixed schedule kills creativity and innovation. Throw the time piece and alarm clocks out of the window and live life on your own terms if you want to be creative and if you want to maximize learning.

Lesson 5: Delegate effectively and make people around you work efficiently. Ever seen a little baby make his own bed or dress himself up?

Lesson 6: Be patient, because that is the only way to endure tough times. This is something that parents learn through dealing with their little baby. When a baby cries, there is very little parents can do to cool him down other than being patient. No tactics, no smart-strategy, no amount of negotiation or temper will help at that point.

Lesson 7: Stay hungry, stay foolish. Staying hungry for knowledge and having no ego in being naïve about things can lead to rapid learning and professional progress.

These are some management “mantras” that my son has taught me in six weeks! Well, I will add on to this list as I get more “gyan” from my “smart manager.”

My IIM-A Innings Nearing “Tea Time”…

2008-12-03T00:39:00.000-08:00

No. This is not a blog entry about tea time at IIM-A!! I am trying to compare my remaining tenure at IIM-A PGPX with a typical late afternoon (nearing tea time) on day five of a cricket match poised for a draw. There is stark similarity between the two situations.

As I enter my fifth and last term in December third week, I almost feel like a player getting ready for tea (on day five of test match) and then enduring the post tea session of cricket, which will likely be uneventful and cool, with very little pressure to perform as long as there is no loss of wicket! The idea is to get some practice for the next match before retiring to the dressing room.

The fifth term of PGPX at IIM-A will have all “gyan” type courses; thankfully we are done with all the “rocket-science” type quant-heavy courses. Term five is designed to be low pressure (only comparatively; IIM-A rigor is well known) to let students focus on job hunting (the next innings?) and get all set to go to the dressing room (wherever the job takes PGPXers). The only thing we as students need to deal with are “slow deliveries” from professors (those last few courses) without failing any course, while focussing on the post-exec MBA opportunities. While the pressure on the players (PGPXers) will be seemingly low, they will be toiling hard behind-the-scenes to find a suitable job.

Hopefully like most drawn cricket matches, our “post tea” session will have no surprises in the form of either crazy quiz-heavy courses with tough deliverable schedules, or less-than-expected job offers from “selectors” (read: companies coming to campus for recruiting).

What can India do to deal with terrorism?

2008-12-01T22:55:00.000-08:00

I am no expert, but just wanted to put some thoughts that I have on how the country should deal with terrorism. This is in continuation to my last blog entry emphasizing that we as a country need to do something about terrorism. We have had enough. Note that these are only high-level thoughts (mainly common-sense):

MUST DOs:-
- De-politicize homeland security. Like the armed forces, internal security should be miles away from any political linkage. The institutional mechanism should be such that no political party can take any kind of mileage out of terrorism and related actions.
- Create a single central agency/organization to coordinate anti-terrorist operations. This agency should coordinate with various forces and should have the lever to call the shots at all levels during a counter-terrorist operation; maybe with direct reporting to the PMO.
- The intelligence bureau should be made fully accountable. The bureau’s responsibility should not end at just providing loose pieces of intelligence reports; it should be accountable to ensure that the central agency has acted upon its intelligence. The intelligence bureau chief should also have direct reporting to the PMO (if it is not already done).
- To deal with terrorist routes through the sea, there should be one agency comprising the police, the coast guard, and the navy to keep vigil in high seas. Right now there is a lot of confusion since all three agencies have their area of operation tightly defined with little coordination, which leads to confusion.
- The NSG kind of crack teams should be based in all states (which is what the PM has already proposed). These men should be taken off VIP security – the state police can do that very well (hopefully).
- Coordinate with FBI, the UK intelligence, the Israeli intelligence, etc. All-said-and-done, these countries are better at dealing with such situations. Putting all egos aside, our agencies should collaborate with them, and learn from them.
- Security should be increased manifold at all public places.

DONTs:-
We should however stay away from two specific knee-jerk reactions:
- This should not escalate to a war like situation at the border. The political/international pressure tactic route should work better in this regard.
- This should not lead to targeting of people with specific religious beliefs. There should be no religion-based profiling, etc.

Wake Up: This is the time to act; not sulk, sympathize, and feel sad…

2008-11-28T23:44:00.000-08:00

"What have done to deserve this?" Earlier I asked this question each time a terrorist attack happened in our country. Not any more.

This “war-on-Mumbai” was different. Watching this horror drama unfold on the television made me realize that this is a reality we Indians have to live with. Now no political party, no security agency can help us, unless we as responsible citizens keep our eyes and ears open, take responsibility of our own and our neighbors’ safety, and create a noisy momentum to make the political parties unite to prepare India to tackle such strikes and take “stern” action against terrorists.

Here are a couple of reasons why I feel this attack was different:
- For the first time, the attack happened not on masses but on “real people” (don’t get me wrong here). This was not some blast on a railway station where the terrorist and the victims remained faceless. This time around we exactly knew who was attacking and who was being attacked.
- For the first time the nation saw in real-time the helplessness of authorities around the entire process. It took several battalions of NSG men, police, SRPF, marine commandos three days to salvage the situation.
- The attacks happened on Indian soil but were targeted towards citizens of multiple countries.
- No political party could get any political mileage (I am so glad!). In fact this was the time when Mr. Raj Thakare’s Nav-Nirman-Sena was required to “save Mumbai,” for Mr Advani to mobilize and pacify the masses, for Mrs. Gandhi to make some “constructive” appeals to the nation. I wonder where they were through all this!

Here are my reflections from this “mayhem:”
- Gone are the days of unrestricted freedom for all citizens to walk freely in public places. From now on, there will (and should) be metal detectors at most public places (hotels, monuments, cinema houses, restaurants, etc.). And, we as citizens should take these “little” inconveniences in our stride.
- Unless political parties take concrete steps to ensure such things do not happen in future through increased security, institution building, enabling foreign policy, etc., they can forget coming to power in any state.
- People have had enough of this, and are clamoring for change. And, this voice-of-the-people will only get louder in future.
- We have to live with the uncertainty; this sword of terror will dangle over our heads at all times.

Wake up politicians, we do not want to see you visiting the war zone, we do not want to see you at the hospitals visiting the injured, we do not want to see you holding protests and "bandhs," and we certainly do not want to see any political mileage or finger-pointing happening post this terror strike. It is we as a nation (irrespective of our political beliefs, religious following, casts, etc.) that was attacked, and it should be “one” nation that responds to the situation.

U.S. Gets a New President -- Clean Energy Has a New Hope!

2008-11-25T01:08:00.000-08:00

The "most powerful" country in the world has a new president. And, this seems to be good news for clean energy lovers. Under President-elect Barack Obama, the fossil fuels industry may face "dark days ahead," while alternative energy sectors are likely to flourish.

Obama's lynchpin policy is a climate change bill that would cap emissions such as carbon dioxide and auction greenhouse gas credits to encourage a fundamental transition away from high emitting industries to low-carbon alternatives. As part of that policy shift, renewable energy, natural gas, plug-in hybrid vehicles, and advanced electricity transmission are forecast to receive a major boost. Senator Obama has proposed using $150 billion from the emissions auction to fund such low-carbon alternatives over the next decade.

Obama administration energy and environment policy marks a tectonic shift for the nation. He plans to move the U.S. away from petroleum as its primary energy source and towards renewable energy, advanced biofuels, efficiency and low greenhouse-gas-emitting technologies. And the effect is likely to “rub off” to the entire world.

From N-pariah to N-power…

2008-09-08T07:55:00.000-07:00

Great news for the energy sector!

India finally has entered the “much coveted” nuclear club. Despite China’s efforts to scuttle the NSG clearance process, we pulled it through. Congratulations “Mr Singh and company!”

Being of the opinion that we need the nuclear deal to come through (hopefully the US Congress will oblige!) – not only for energy but also for international strategic geo-political reasons – I feel, at the very least, the development results in the following three fall outs:
- it allows the flow of nuclear fuel, helping the country's nuclear programme grow faster
- it will open up trade for global players to export reactors to India
- it will open up opportunities for export by Indian companies

Owing to India's nuclear isolation since 1998, capacity utilisation of approx. 4,000 MW power plants had come down from 90 per cent in 2001-02 to 54 per cent in 2007-08. The existing and new plants can now hopefully work at a load factor of up to 80 per cent given the assurance of fuel supplies.

With the market estimated at Rs 1,000 billion over the next two decades (Rs 60-80 million per MW x 16,000 MW estimated potential capacity) four of the world's biggest nuclear power station makers will be keen to supply reactors to India. These are France's Areva, US's General Electric, Toshiba's Westinghouse Electric and Russia's atomic energy agency Rosatom.

The development may also result in incremental business of some of the Indian companies that have already announced their intention to enter/expand in the nuclear technology arena. These include L&T, Reliance Power, state-owned NTPC, Jindal Power and the Tata Group.

My second innings at IIM-A starts tomorrow!

2008-08-30T21:59:00.000-07:00

Two terms down, two more academic terms to go.

Am I tired? I do not know!

This seems like one long, yet interesting journey. Have found some great friends here at IIM-A, interacted with some very bright folks, learnt some management “gyan,” but above all have finally come to terms with what I want to do post this sabbatical. Past one week was great since I found some time to introspect and evaluate where I am and where I really want to go from here (well quite literally as well!).

I am looking forward to the next term starting tomorrow – not for any academic advancement, but for joy that the next two months may bring in my personal life.

For now, it is back to reading cases for tomorrow. Bring it on…..

It is raining……cases!

2008-06-30T12:48:00.001-07:00

Monsoon is here.

Outside (our syndicate) it is raining water, and inside it is raining cases, assignments, and suggested readings! (f.y.i. syndicate is a study den allotted to each PGPX group; these essentially become PGPXers' "second home" as participants typically end up spending more than 8 hours in these study dens each day after classes preparing for next day’s lectures).

As Ahmedabad enjoys its first monsoon rain, our group is stuck with a retail case, an inventory management case, and a 20+ page corporate finance reading. In such “romantic” weather just outside the window, our D-Company (incidentally this is what we call our Group D) is discussing inventory strategy for part #4915082 in some nondescript trading house.

Who says life is fair?

The subsidy is blowing in the wind!

2008-06-29T21:28:00.000-07:00

After witnessing the “almost magical” effect of generation-based subsidy in the solar energy sector, the ministry (MNRE) has announced a subsidy of 50 paise per unit on wind energy generation. Be it increasing crude prices or the drive to meet energy targets of the current 5-year plan period, the government has finally woken up to the fact that wind energy sector needs to be rescued from the pressure of increasing steel prices. Estimates suggest that per-MW cost of wind energy installation has climbed from Rs 450 million to Rs 650 million owing to spiralling steel prices.

The 10-year incentive, limited to grid-interactive systems with a minimum of 5MW installed capacity, will surely help independent power producers, especially companies with strong balance sheet (with no attraction to get into wind energy for 80% depreciation benefits) to jump into the wind energy game. Owing to this policy change, we may now see big names in wind energy.

Subsidy, though a “dirty” word in the current market-driven world, is welcome in the case of clean energy since it provides the much needed encouragement to the sector. Well I am not against the conventional energy systems, but haven’t we subsidized coal-based generation for decades? (through lower and controlled mining/transportation costs and sales price)

I am not sure if the government has “fallen in love” with clean energy over the past one year (first it was per-unit subsidy on solar generation, now it is subsidy on wind energy; and the biofuels policy is due over the next few weeks). I feel the government is just waking up to the changed energy scenario marked by increasing crude prices (and hence increasing oil subsidy), rising levels of pollution, climate change imperatives, and the general “cool” quotient attached with clean energy.

Nonetheless, the move is welcome. Let the subsidy blow in the wind!

Let us give Hybrid a real chance…

2008-06-20T04:58:00.000-07:00

Wonderful news! Now (at least theoretically) we have an option to insulate ourselves from the ever-rising fuel prices. Honda has just launched its Civic Hybrid model, and Toyota is not too far behind (plans to launch its Prius model soon). Hybrid cars, which use both petrol engine and electric motor, are usually fuel efficient and have lower emission levels, making them environment-friendly.

These cars however may remain in the “showroom window” as the import duties on these imported kits is huge (114%), resulting in high on-the-road price. Honda Civic is pegged at Rs 2.15 million and Honda is likely to launch Prius at a similar price. It is in fact a chicken-and-egg story – the volumes will not be attractive enough till these manufacturers set up local plants, and the prices will not decrease till the volumes increase.

How can the government step-in and make this opportunity real?

In my view, reducing the customs duty on hybrid cars is an option, but the government is unlikely to oblige since it would like to keep large-engine cars as costly as possible. The government could however permit imports at a lower duty level to those companies that promise to manufacture such hybrid or fuel cell cars locally within a stipulated period of time.

Also, the government could explore imposing harder environmental norms for large-engine cars, thereby encouraging manufacturers to switch to cleaner fuels.

On a parallel note, the government should initiate discussions with local car manufacturers and urge them to start their own hybrid initiatives with a tight timeline. The government could also fund local R&D agencies to accelerate their initiatives in this area.

Whatever be the approach, the government cannot afford to remain a passive spectator on this issue.

The “Sardar” finally shows his grit!

2008-06-19T11:11:00.000-07:00

The Sardar (don’t get me wrong; I mean the leader of the country) is on the right footing against the unreasonable Left. He has decided to show his grit, albeit at the end of the Congress term. As predicted by most political analyst, the Congress has decided to take on the Left this time around cause the stakes are not too high -- the elections are already due next year, and the worst that can happen is Nov-Dec polls.

I am glad PM Manmohan Singh is not bending backwards (like he did last year; see my earlier blog dated October 2007) despite fierce objections from the communists who prop up his government in the Parliament. It seems the PM wants to move forward on the deal before the G8 summit on July 7 when he meets President Bush.

I do not want to get into the technicalities of the deal. It has been done to death by the newspapers. This write-up is to celebrate the grit of our PM.

Can old rats learn new tricks?

2008-06-15T12:14:00.000-07:00

Yes they can. I have personally witnessed 77 other rats figure the “how-to-survive-IIMA-PGPX-Term-I” trick out. Here is how IIM-A taught the trick:

- Locked rats in a cage (called PGPX) with trick contraptions (really complex; and “crazy-sounding” subjects)
- Showed them a really large chunk of cheese that they can have in the future (senior management jobs!)
- Rewarded them with little morsels of cheese each time they made a headway figuring out a trick (grades)
- Punished them with little dozes of electric current (quizzes)
- And did not let them rest till they figured the tricks out – threw cold water (cases) at them, kicked the cage (term exams), and threw more puzzles (incrementally harder) at them each time they figured a trick out.
And wow, there is a group of semi-trained rats (not necessarily smarter ones though!).

The first term of the course is finally over and we had exactly 4 hours of break before the group jumped into the bulky (what else do you call 25 kgs of books and case spirals) second term material.

Here are some statistics of what the group (of rats) went through in the last ten weeks: (compiled by a colleague rat who is great at figuring out really complex “mazes”)
- Worked on close to 75 cases
- Wrote 12 surprise quizzes/mid-term
- Wrote 9 full-length exams
- Attended 140 classes (each session – 75 minutes)
- Wrote/co-wrote/contributed to close to 50 reports/ submissions/PPTs

Don’t you think rats (real ones) are luckier?

Seventy-Eight Zombies Moving Around in Vastrapur!

2008-04-19T06:15:00.000-07:00

“Zombie” is derived from the word "zonbi," who is a person believed to have died and been brought back to life without “speech” and “freewill.” (wikipedia).

And, the IIM Ahmedabad campus has just been invaded by 78 Zombies. What else can you call normal people (till they joined the PGPX-3 batch) who do not get to sleep day-in-and-day-out. Their freedom-of-speech is limited to cases and assignments, and they can express their free-will (read: do something other than coursework) only during lunch hours, when they get to talk about something other than academics, and while taking a shower (though the rumor is that zombies may soon give up this non-value adding activity to free up some time for handling assignments!)

These zombies usually hunt in groups of six or seven, live in their caves called “syndicates,” move around with spiral binders/books/laptops, and can be found sipping coffee at crazy hours.

Zombies are ruled by a species called “Profs.” A Prof is someone who through his years of practice (of possibly sorcery and voodoo) has mastered the art of using “dangerous” weapons such as “assignments,” “cases,” “prep reading” and “quizzes” (the last weapon belongs to the “mass-destruction” category). They can use these weapons to make zombies behave in a “controlled fashion” for one year to ensure that most become zombies for life.

Zombies comply with Profs’ demands (not that they have a choice), because they hope that if they can behave in a “controlled fashion" till February 09 and learn some tricks-of-the-trade from Profs, they will be adopted by another species which will help them achieve “nirvana.”

Breakfast in Ajmer, Lunch in Udaipur, Dinner in Ahmedabad...

2008-04-05T07:09:00.000-07:00

This is what my Thursday looked like! Drove 960 km drive from Gurgaon to IIM Ahmedabad campus. The road is beautiful for most part and we averaged about 75 kmph, which I guess is very neat in India. The route we took was – Gurgaon-Jaipur-Ajmer-Chittorgarh-Udaipur-Himmatnagar-Ahmedabad (entire NH-8 stretch). The only pain point was stopping at 15 toll stations. I would recommend this drive to every "auto enthusiast."

New Energy India Community Grows...

2008-04-01T03:00:00.000-07:00

The New Energy India community is growing by the day.

Last month the Web site had 22,000+ hits and more than 100 members registered in the community. The dialogue among members has started on various renewable energy areas. I am happy the initiative is shaping up well. It takes me just an inch forward on my dream of building a self-sustaining clean energy community in India.

Check the site out: NewEnergyIndia.Org.

And, if you are a clean energy enthusiast, feel free to register as a member.

Hectic Last few Weeks, Happy School Website, Move to Ahmedabad, etc.…

2008-04-01T02:49:00.000-07:00

I am looking forward to my one year at the IIM Ahmedabad starting next week being a part of the PGPX-III batch. Spent the last few days winding up a project for The Happy school (read below), switching cellphone plans, getting bank drafts made for the institute, paying up pending credit card bills and insurance checks, doing some last minute shopping, reading prep material, getting my guitar repaired, and a zillion other things.

Though I got goodbyes from all friends and family, the sweetest were those from The Happy School kids. This is a school in Gurgaon run for underprivileged kids. My wife and I have been teaching music to the kids on Saturdays for the past two-and-a-half years. Though the kids were genuinely “sad” to know that there will be no music classes for the next one year, they gave me a really warm (and loud; imagine 300+ kids shouting “bye sir”) goodbye. My parting gift to the Happy School was the Web site that I put together for the school in the last few days. Check it out (especially the faculty page…): The Happy School

Tomorrow I start the 14 hour road drive to Ahmedabad. Though I am looking forward to spending one year at the Mecca of management education, new experiences, and meeting new people, am a bit nervous too - I have been away from academics for a decade now.

I am hoping I will have enough time to write this blog as I get sucked into the IIM Ahmedabad rigor (have read some horror stories on blogs of some outgoing students) starting next Sunday. Yes Sunday! I am sure that is a message load and clear of what we can expect for the next one year.

Anyways, here I come Ahmedabad!!

One "long" weekend this will be....

2008-03-08T09:07:00.000-08:00

This weekend is different. There will be no end to it.

After always wishing (during my 12 years of work life) that Saturday nights never end, my wish seems to have almost come true!!

Yesterday was my last day at work before I head off (later this month) for a one year sabbatical. Well quite unlike what I always imagined, it was a fairly uneventful day. I spent the morning clearing my desk, my e-mail inbox, my laptop, and writing those last few e-mails. My boss took me out for lunch to a local Chinese restaurant. Afternoon was spent mainly with the Accounts department, ensuring that I am all set to receive my salary check and bonus at the end of the month (well, that is important, considering that it will be my last salary check for a long time!). And then, some customary good-byes later, I headed home. The day just flew by.

I think I will miss going to office every morning. But for now, I enjoy my one “long” weekend….

Are Dhoni's Boys Shaping the Next-Generation Indian Persona!

2008-03-04T04:03:00.000-08:00

Good show India! Beating Australia in Australia is no mean task and Dhoni and his boys have done that in style. One aspect that jumps out of the India-Australia series is the aggression that the team has displayed on the field (and off it through press statements). The Indian team has matched Australian team’s aggression in every game, every press statement, and during each phase of the series. If Ponting’s men have been aggressive in the field (which is what the Australian team is good at – building mental pressure), Dhoni and his boys have given it back to the hosts (and even more in some cases courtesy Bhajji, Shrishanth, Yuvraj, and the gang). The Indian team’s behavior is in stark contrast to Rahul Dravid’s typical “gentlemen” eleven. Is it good or bad, I don’t want to hazard an opinion! But it is getting us victories.

In fact “controlled aggression” has been India’s flavor for the past one year or so. Indian companies such as the Tatas, Mittal Steel, Infosys, Wipro, are coming into their own to acquire foreign firms and showing the kind of aggression in doing so that Indian firms have traditionally shied away from in the past. In the technology terrain Indian firms are now defining the “eureka moments.” Indian professionals are asking for “a seat at the table” (Nooyi, Sareen to name a few) in various large traditionally “foreign” MNCs.

Are Indian “boys” like Dhoni and Ratan Tata defining the next generation Indian persona?

FM Delivers an Agrarian Budget... or Is It?

2008-03-02T23:33:00.000-08:00

Keeping everybody happy is a tough ask. And if you are a Finance Minister presenting his last budget of the term in a run up to the elections, the ask is much tougher! But our Finance Minister has been able to please the masses. Increase in income tax slab limits for the middle class, write-off of loans to small farmers, more allocation to education sector, and much more… Good show Mr Finance Minister!

One thing that bothers me in this “rosy” scenario is the decision to write-off Rs 600 billion worth of loans to farmers. I am as concerned about the appalling agrarian situation as anybody else in the country, and fully realize that India’s all-inclusive growth cannot afford to bypass agrarian reforms, but based on my limited knowledge of economics, loan waivers are never a great idea for the following reasons:

- This does not create any discipline or financial prudence in the farmer community. I sympathize with farmers who are going through this hellish cycle of bad crops-more loans-loan servicing-requirement of loans-etc., but this move will just clean up the farmers’ balance sheets and encourage them to go to the banks for more loans with as much uncertainty around possibly another bad season (cause we have not addressed the root cause), and possibly another waiver!
- Waivers dis-incentivize farmers who have serviced their loans. What can the government expect the next time around farmers avail loans from banks? There will be more defaulters in anticipation of another such waiver!
- Banks cannot be made vehicles for social dole-outs. Though this waiver will allow banks to clean-up their balance sheets, it is generally a bad idea to treat business establishments as means of social reforms.
- This does not address a bigger problem of private unorganized money lending at much higher rates. This does not provide relief to a zillion other farmers who are in the private (unorganized) lending net.

Though it is much easier to sit on the sidelines and criticize (and that is precisely what I am doing) and provide unsolicited “arm-chair” consulting, and social reforms have much wider implications and several constraints than my “naïve” (I don’t claim to understand the nuances of economics!) mind can appreciate and evaluate, here are a few things that the finance minister could have considered:

- Providing waivers for only “really” marginal farmers, and for the rest just restructuring loans to make servicing easier, or just waiving off a percentage of the loans rather than straight-write-off.
- Investing more (out of the Rs 600 billion waiver) on creating long term sustainable environment in farm lending – such as trying to bring discipline in un-organized lending sector, better structuring in loans provided by nationalized banks, more avenues for micro-credit, etc.
- Improving ground-level situation for farmers in terms of technology support, providing better seeds, enabling them to directly sell in free market, water management, other infrastructure, etc. For instance, allocation of Rs 750 million towards setting up mobile soil testing facilities is a positive step in this direction.

And, who is financing this waiver? It will come from projected higher tax receipts and non-tax sources such as disinvestments. So this will come out of our pockets and at the expense of further “more meaningful” development in the country.

I am happy for the farmers, but I strongly feel that the finance minister has just postponed the problem for a few more years till it bites back yet another government.

Budget 101...

2008-02-28T16:44:00.000-08:00

Not being from economics background is a handicap around this time of the year when all that people want to talk about is “budgetary implications”, “fiscal tightening”, “fiscal deficit”, and other such stuff which is “almost-Latin” to my ears. Here are excerpts from a Budget 101 article that I recently read somewhere and found really helpful in my constant struggle to “sound knowledgeable” in Budget-related conversations…

- The government needs money for its huge expenses. We can broadly divide government expenses into two types: revenue expenses and capital expenses.
- The government incurs revenue expenses in running its day-to-day business, whereas capital expenses include all expenses incurred by the government for creating assets. The money spent by the government for paying salary to its staff is revenue expense, and the money spent for constructing a hospital is capital expense.
- Some of these expenses ultimately come out of our pockets. But taxes alone can’t take care of all the government’s expenses. So, there are other sources through which our government earns money.
- We can broadly divide the sources of government earnings into two categories: tax and non-tax sources. Tax sources include all the direct and indirect taxes, and non-tax sources include revenue receipts and capital receipts. Revenue receipts consist of a variety of things such as dividends received from public sector companies, fees, fines forfeitures, etc., received by the government. Under the category of capital receipts, we keep the money received from the disinvestment of public sector undertakings, recovery of loans, borrowings of the government, etc.
- The main difference between revenue receipts and capital receipts is that revenue receipts are recurring in nature, which the government can expect to receive year after year, whereas capital receipts are a kind of one-time income.
- The government borrows money to cover the crack between its income and expenditure. But, to see the true picture, you need to put aside the borrowed amount. So if you remove government borrowings from government income, you will see the gap between what the government is spending and what the government is earning. This difference is what we call fiscal deficit. It is expressed as a percentage of gross domestic product.

I Finally Complete My Web Site on Renewable Energy

2008-02-24T10:25:00.001-08:00

I have been away from my blog for the past few days (or rather nights) spending time cranking HTML code (sounds “nerdy”!) to complete my Web site – www.newenergyindia.org. It is finally up and running (and I am so proud of it). I can almost feel like a proud father as I see my first “almost living” creation on the Web.

The www.newenergyindia.org Web resource simply aspires to provide latest and comprehensive information to build awareness on all aspects of renewable energy in India. The mission of the Web site is to create a vibrant Web community that uses and exchanges renewable energy information and opinion. It is a not-for-profit initiative, has no commercial objectives, and does not aim to endorse any product or sell any service.

Well it was a lot of hard work to say the least. But I hope I can create a community of RE enthusiasts through this Web site.

If you are passionate about renewable energy, visit the site and become a member of the New Energy India community.

The Countdown has Started…

2008-02-08T23:03:00.000-08:00

It is finally sinking in. Today I start the countdown on my last 30 days at my work place (well 22 if you discount the weekends!) before I head out for a one year sabbatical. The place has pretty much been my second home for the last four years. After three office moves and four role changes, and after having worked with seven bosses and countless colleagues, it is hard to imagine that I will miss the “action” for the next one year. The pain and anxiety of leaving the “safe and secure” environment of the office which I have seen grow from 3 people to 160 odd is suddenly weighing on me.

As it sinks in that I will be away for a year (or maybe more) everything in the office looks good and exciting. The office building that I loved to hate till recently looks beautiful, my cabin and work station which always seemed too inappropriate (too large, or too crowded, or too cold, or too hot; depending on my mood) looks good and comfortable, the office lunch (really unpalatable at times) suddenly tastes good, the window that I sit next to (my window to the world – Gurgaon in my case) which I always complained was too much of a distraction seems like a blessing, my work which I sort of always liked seems even more interesting and fulfilling!! And, all this makes me tentative and unsure about my idea of taking a one year break from work (which till recently I thought was grand and very forward-looking at my age).

Also, as I prepare to head out of Gurgaon for a year (hopefully), a town (and a very chaotic one) which has been my home for six years now, I am strangely beginning to enjoy little nuances ("nuisances" till very recently) that it has to offer -- little walks to the chaotic and crowded local bazaars, spending time at the shopping malls (which I used to hate till recently!), watching movies at the several almost-always-packed theatres (I hated that too), and the crowded park where my wife and I go for morning/evening walks.

Suddenly my grand idea of a sabbatical to do something different – studying, starting a Web community on clean energy, writing on renewable energy – does not seem that smart to me! Or is it my nerves, I don’t know!

It is crazy that when you are looking forward to something for such a long time, a one year break from work in my case, it is strange that you feel sort of intimidated, unsure, confused, tentative, when you finally get it. I think god has designed mortals to almost always run after something or the other, and when there is nothing to run after (only briefly till you identify the next thing that takes your fancy) the human mind is confused. I am going through that emotion at the moment. And, I hope I handle it well.

Cheap Laptops, Low Cost Cars…..Is India at the Innovation Tipping Point?

2008-01-18T06:11:00.000-08:00

Kudos to the Tata Group for delivering on its promise to manufacture the cheapest car – Nano – at half the price of the cheapest Chinese car. This feat was achieved through some ground-breaking work by the Tata team in putting together cost effective designs, using cost effective material, and (as News reports suggest) optimizing distribution and sales channels. Another recent news that was relatively much less celebrated (unfortunately Tatas hogged all the limelight) was HCL’s launch of a Rs 14,000 laptop (approx $350). Though these two news items were quite unrelated, they definitely point towards the fact that the Indian industry is finally spreading its wings and coming out of the shadows of the West dominated technology terrain. After decades of benchmarking its technology and manufacturing advancement against the West, the Indian industry is setting new standards. This makes me think if we are at the Technology Innovation "Tipping Point" (thank Malcolm Gladwell for the term).

Till now the technology and to some extent manufacturing in India has largely followed an "incremental" approach towards improvement. And, this "incremental-ism" is what causes a linear-sloping growth in technology improvements. While engineers in the developed countries mostly considered a "step" approach to technology (Germans in engineering; Japanese in technology; and now Chinese in low cost manufacturing!), Indian industry was happy to register gradual improvements in technology and process fine-tunings in manufacturing.

Thanks to the courage of Mr Tata and some other great business leaders, the industry seems to be evaluating a "Stepped" approach to technology/manufacturing innovation (and breaking the linear growth pattern). And as Malcolm Gladwell writes in his book "The Tipping Point," I sincerely hope this quest for setting new benchmarks in technology and manufacturing is infectious and spreads like wildfire in the Indian industry!

All the Best for Your New Year Resolutions

2008-01-08T02:02:00.000-08:00

I spent the last one week randomly asking people around me (friends and colleagues at work) about their new-year resolutions. And I was surprised to note that most people had very predictable set of resolutions for 2008. People who had nothing in common (going by their personality type) strangely had very similar resolutions! The only trend I saw was that almost all resolutions could be tagged in one of the three categories (directly or indirectly) – Health, Relationship, and Money.

While relatively not-so-young (30 years +) went for “better work-life balance” and “shed extra weight”; younger folks went for “better career”, “make more money” and “regular exercise”. (Though “shed extra weight” and “regular exercise” appear quite similar in terms of desired end-results, there is stark difference in the motivation behind the two.)

Based on my one week of sampling, here are the top-five most popular resolutions (see if your resolution shows up here):
1. Regular Exercise: Most popular with young folks. Key motivator: looking attractive.
2. Shed Extra Weight: Most popular with the not-so-young. Key motivator: looking “presentable” (read: not ugly).
3. Better Career Move (read: make more money): Popular with all (more with the under 25 year category). Key motivator: peer pressure (sad but true!).
4. Quit Smoking/Drinking: Popular for all ages; more for the young (strangely).
5. Develop a New Skill (take up a hobby, etc.): Popular with the not-so-young. Key motivator: too much monotony in work/personal life.

How many people will be able to keep their resolutions is another story all-together. Random Googling points to the fact that four out of five people who make New Year’s resolutions eventually break them. In fact, a third won’t even make it to the end of January 2008.

All the best to you!

Welcome 2008

2007-12-31T23:11:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to all you blogo-citizens! I hope 2008 brings happiness all over, no natural disasters, a cleaner planet, little climate change, and world peace.

And, keep reading this blog for my-two-cents on everything around me.

Will be back soon!

I Think Birthdays are Just Overrated…

2007-12-30T09:50:00.000-08:00

Today is my birthday (sigh); yet another year gone by!

Though my birthday falls between Christmas and the New Year, which is undoubtedly the most festive week of the year, for me it is certainly not the most exciting day. Well I’ve not been a huge fan of the birthday tradition for a long time now and I’m sure it is an age thing. I somehow do not like the pace at which time flies and I guess birthdays are a harsh reminder of that. Yes, I do momentarily feel happy when family and friends send their wishes or better yet, when someone I least expect wishes me. But somehow I do not like the focus being on me for the full day (without any particular reason!). I liked it when I was younger (mainly pre-teens; I guess it was more about birthday presents then) and in my teens when birthday was more about a movie (and an evening out) with friends, but now I am beginning to get convinced that birthdays are plain and simple overrated. It is just another day – right? (Well most around me unfortunately tend to disagree!!)

Today, like every year on the 30th, started with my family wishing me and a few friends calling up (some quite unexpected), followed by a family lunch (a lot of brouhaha about me adding another year to my age!), and a quiet evening. And, I intend to spend a few minutes introspecting (and listing down my resolutions; yes I still do that…) before retiring for the day (after I finish writing this blog entry).

Well if I try to list things that I accomplished during the last one year, I cannot think of many (what was I doing for 365 days I ask myself yet again) – had an average career run, did not improve my guitar playing skills too much, did not travel much (as much as my wife would have liked!), and did not acquire any major asset worth mentioning. I did take an important decision this year though. After several months of evaluating the pros and cons, I finally decided to take a one year sabbatical starting sometime in 2008. I also shed a few kilos, started maintaining a blog site, made a few more friends, and am working towards developing my first web site. Also I think I was generally happier and more contented (about everything) during the past one year than before (but I suspect it is again an age thing).

I am hoping next year I will have a longer list of accomplishments. Maybe (even) more happiness, maybe newer experiences, maybe more vacations, maybe a steeper career trajectory, maybe new and finer guitar skills, maybe more friends, may be…..

Anyways for another few minutes (till the day ends) it is Happy Birthday to me (and Tiger Woods; yes, it is his birthday too!)

My Quest for the Most Modern Music Machine!

2007-12-17T04:33:00.000-08:00

Most of my late evening surfing hours for the past few weeks have been spent comparing iPod models and looking for the cheapest deal in the city, and trust me, each time I get closer to making the payment, I am nervous about the product category I am going to buy. I am not the most indulging and impulsive of buyers, so the selection is all the more difficult.

When I started my “quest” for the most modern music machine a few weeks back, I thought what is the deal with so many versions of the iPod being launched? They all serve the same purpose don’t they? People use the iPod to listen to music (or watch videos) right? So what is all this brouhaha about iPod Classic versus iPod Nano? While my practical self (and alas! all the work experience in the technology terrain) tells me that I should go in for the 80 GB/160 GB classic model as it gives me more storage per rupee spent, my gut feel says that I should go in for a 4 GB Nano model as it is much more compact.

Here are my-two-cents on the two models:
Video-ability -- While iPod Classic has a 2.5-inch display screen which makes watching videos so much fun, the Nano version has a smaller screen. Even though the Nano version offers a video option, it certainly does not have enough memory for more than a few videos. I am not however sure if it makes all that sense to watch videos on a 2.5 inch screen!

Storage and battery life -- The storage space and the battery life of the iPod Classic model is its true selling point. With storage options of 80GB and 160GB the iPod Classic makes storing music, videos, photos, movies and games so much more convenient. The battery life is another plus in the Classic model; Apple’s Web site claims it can play 40 hours of non-stop audio playback and 7 hours of video playback with the 160GB iPod classic and 30 hours of audio and 5 hours of video on the 80GB iPod Classic.

Size -- The Nano version is low on storage and battery life no doubt, but is much lighter than the Classic version. The Nano is smaller (as the name suggests!), very convenient on the move, and can hold up to 2000 songs for 8GB and 1000 for the 4GB (which I guess may be enough for me).

Price – While the Classic 80 GB model is available for Rs 14,500, the Nano 4 GB Video is available for Rs 8,800.

Net net, here is my decision matrix: If you are someone with a huge i-Tunes library and value watching videos on the move (for some reason!), buy iPod Classic; while if you value usage convenience (lighter weight) and are primarily buying for music (and not videos) then go in for the Nano version.

For me, Nano it will be... for it is easier on the pocket and in the pocket (pun intended)!

My Yet Another Baby Step in Blogosphere

2007-12-13T08:50:00.000-08:00

I just launched another blog site called Renewable Energy India, a blog dedicated to renewable energy and environment, something close to my heart. I envision the new blog site to play the role of a “consigliere,” and present news, views, and my analysis on the development of renewable energy in India…

Carbon Trading – A Great Opportunity….But What about Ethics?

2007-12-11T23:08:00.000-08:00

Being from a renewable energy world, I (and am sure many like me) have been following the recent developments in the “climate-politics” arena closely. And like many other clean energy lovers, I have a lot of hopes from the ongoing discussions in Bali (which conclude this Friday) that are aimed at setting an agenda and deadline for negotiations leading to a global warming pact to succeed the Kyoto Protocol at the end of 2012.

For readers who are new to the climate change terrain, the global community led by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (now headed by RK Pachauri) agreed upon the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 (ratified in 2005) where 38 industrialized/developed countries (US and Japan were two key countries that stayed out of this; incidentally US is the biggest greenhouse gas emitter!) agreed to reduce their emissions by 2008-2012 to an average of about 5% below their 1990 levels. The developing countries were exempt from targets at Kyoto. According to the Protocol, to bring down their emissions, the developed countries can trade carbons in an international exchange, jointly implement projects within the developed country community, or buy credits by funding projects (through clean development mechanism, or CDM) that reduce emissions in the developing countries. The current talks in Bali are expected to draw up the post 2012 plan.

The conventional wisdom in India on CDM-based funding is that it is the best thing to happen to the Indian renewable energy arena, as the projects (mainly solar, wind, small-hydel, waste-heat conversion, aforestation, energy efficiency, cogeneration, etc.) now have another source of funding through CDM. The NGOs are gung-ho on the concept, the ministry is bending backwards to ensure we have a smooth process to bring “carbon money” to India, the financial institutions are more-than-ready to structure such projects.

I however feel the CDM mechanism is not ethical. Why should developed countries (such as US, EU and Japan) continue to contribute more than their share of global carbon emissions by buying ‘cheap’ carbon credits in developing countries? At best they should trade emissions among themselves!

According to a recent study, the annual per capita energy consumption in India is 0.53 tonnes of oil equivalent per person, and the average per capita electricity consumption in India is about 450 kWh per year — less than 1/5th of the world average and 1/30th of the US average! The volumes of certified emission reductions of carbon dioxide (CERs) recorded annually by the UNFCCC (UN agency regulating the emission reduction) are 174 million tones; and the price for CERs is “engineered” at less than $20 per CER. Researchers indicate that if the developed countries had to meet their Kyoto targets, the economic cost incurred by the US would be $32 billion, by the EU would be $14 billion and for Japan it would be about $6 billion. This would indicate costs of reduction ranging from $41 to $55 per tonne of CO2. This is more than double the existing price of the CERs!

India (along with China) is actively participating in CDM activity with approx 300 projects with 28 million CERs registered per year. Most of these projects allow the industrialized countries to pick up the low hanging fruits at the cheapest price.

So in effect we are allowing the developed countries to keep polluting the climate by selling our carbon credits. And, we are not even making enough money in the process! So, is promoting CDM a smart opportunistic move or poor judgment? I leave the decision to the reader…

The 90-10 Magic Formula…

2007-12-07T01:52:00.000-08:00

I guess I am again in my gyan mode today.

I work for an organization where the average age is to the south of 30 years (I skew the average in the wrong direction though). Every day I witness young 20-something folks (and often much older and much more experienced colleagues!!) cursing and complaining about their manager being rude to them, inadequate compensation hike, getting a "ding" at the recent promotion interview, general work environment, delayed cabs, traffic on the road, etc. I can see people generally getting stressed about everything around them. Though I don’t consider myself a “monk” who is at total peace with himself (I am sometimes grumpy, and have bouts of anger once in a while; ask my close friends and wife about it), I think I am generally happy about life and work if I compare myself with the majority of people around me (I am confident my colleagues at work can vouch for that). One mantra that has helped me bring more sanity to my life is the 90/10 principle. Though I read about it only recently, I have believed in the concept for several years now.

The principle is simple – 10% of life is made up of what happens to you, 90% of life is decided by how you react.

Let me double-click on it. People have no control over the 10% of what happens to them. We can not stop the manager from having a bad day at work (and therefore becoming his punching bag), the cab guy starting out late, it being really hot outside (therefore the air-conditioning not being effective). We have no control over this 10%.

The other 90% is different. We determine that by our reaction. Do we get upset about the cab guy not showing up at work and then due to frustration pick a meaningless argument with a cab-mate on the way. And therefore come to work with the grumpy face, and generally feeling bad about everything. Do we get upset about sloppy air conditioning, and say something silly (that we may repent later) to the administration person in the office, that gets reported to the office head. We can not control red light, traffic on the road, rising mercury, but we can certainly control our reaction.

Though I know the principle seems fairly crazy, and straight out of some third-rate self help book, it has really helped me. One ground rule that I often keep at the back of my head is “responding and not reacting to situations, and evaluating if the situation falls in the 10% category or the 90% category.”

I have seen this principle being adopted (in some form or fashion) by various spiritual groups (such as the Art of Living; which prescribes that people should smile in every situation, and react with a calm mind), management leaders (several self-help books prescribe a quick root-cause analysis of situation to evaluate if that merits your energy), and gurus (who advise that people count up to ten, think about the problem, and then react accordingly).

For the current generation however I think the mathematical version works the best – we should be on a lookout for those “10% situations” before stressing out and letting someone or something ruin our day.

Small News, Big Message

2007-12-02T22:55:00.000-08:00

A news item that caught my attention this morning was the announcement that Harish Hande has been selected as the Social Entrepreneur of the year. Unfortunately though, the news was hidden on the 21st page in the newspaper (Hindustan Times)! The 2007 Social Entrepreneurship Award has been conferred on Harish for his firm’s (SELCO) social contribution through dissemination of solar energy in the villages in Karnataka and Kerala, while operating in the profit-oriented mould.

Having been a renewable energy person in my earlier life and having worked in a non-profit organization (NPO) for several years, I have tremendous respect for Harsih Hande and his single-minded focus to provide solar lighting in rural India. Harish has a top quality tech mind (PhD from MIT in solar energy), astute business sense (he has figured out a way to make money in the renewable energy arena; the "holy-grail" of renewable energy), and a wonderful and humble persona (met him a couple of times during my tenure in the NPO).

In 1993, Harish co-founded SELCO, the first rural solar service company in India. With its headquarters in Bangalore, SELCO has 25 branches in Karnataka and Gujarat. Harish has pioneered access to rural solar electrification for below-poverty-line families through a combination of customized home lighting systems, innovative doorstep financing, and an understanding of market needs of different user groups (for example, solar lights on miner caps for mid wives and rose sellers). Newspaper reports highlight that thus far the company has reached out to 80,000 families (mostly in the remotest of villages) across Karnataka, Kerala and Gujarat. In these villages, solar electrification has led to everything from better education outcomes for children who can now study at night to increased livelihoods from night time vegetable vendors.

This is not the first award for Harish/SELCO (and hopefully not the last), but the message that this award sends is extremely important – that enterprises can make money while serving the society. Hopefully this will encourage more young business-people to take up projects that help the down-trodden, projects that really make a difference in rural India.

Hats-off to you Harish!!

Delhi Rocked (quite literally!) Yesterday

2007-11-26T22:18:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-11-23T05:42:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-11-22T01:02:00.000-08:00

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….

2007-11-19T22:30:00.000-08:00

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…

2007-11-18T08:31:00.000-08:00

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…

2007-11-16T01:17:00.000-08:00

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…

2007-11-14T09:37:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-11-12T09:32:00.000-08:00

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...

2007-11-07T00:41:00.000-08:00

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!!

2007-11-06T04:51:00.000-08:00

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.

2007-11-05T04:55:00.001-08:00

When Doctors Play God…

2007-11-05T01:31:00.000-08:00

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!!

2007-11-02T03:54:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-11-01T04:19:00.000-07:00

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.”

Thanks, But No Thanks Mr Reddy!

2007-10-31T08:41:00.000-07:00

The RBI has increased the CRR by 0.5% to 7.5%.

This essentially means that the banks will have to increase there deposits in RBI by half a percent. The RBI will mop up Rs 16,000 Crore through the move. The banks in the process will have less funds to lend.

Thank you Mr Reddy for this little step to control inflation and the dollar-rupee exchange rate. But no thanks Mr Reddy from people like me who have lost the last hope of home loan interest rates softening any time in the near future!

What is Success?

2007-10-31T05:56:00.001-07:00

I guess I am in my gyan mode today!!

People define success in different ways! Most define success as “bigger, faster, better” (for instance, bigger house/business, faster car, or better job). But is success just possessing materialistic stuff? Or is it being happy about what you do and what you have!! My two cents go with the latter.

Success, according to me, is learning how to set and achieve goals, how to measure your progress toward reaching them, and how to balance various moving pieces in life though this journey. It is minimizing excuses, taking responsibility, leaning in to difficult situations (both at home and work) and learning how to overcome roadblocks.

Success is being able to put your hand on your heart to truly seek an answer to the question -- did I give my best effort to today’s activities?

Gandhi Lives on...

2007-10-30T23:00:00.000-07:00

A few days back I visited Ahmedabad on a personal trip. Though I did not stay long enough to evaluate the communal and political fabric of the state, a few things jumped out as soon as my flight landed in Ahmedabad.
1. The city seems to be a very safe place for women. Even at 10:30 PM or later, when it can be fairly dangerous for the fairer sex to be on the road alone in Delhi, it was not a rare sight to see girls riding their scootys.
2. The women folk in the city as well as the state (going by my experience in Gandhi Nagar, Surat, and Anand) are fairly bold and enterprising. It was not a rare sight to see women managing road-side dhabas.

The prize of the visit however was the trip to the Gandhi Ashram on the banks of Sabarmati, Gandhiji abode between 1918 and 1930. Its amazing how humbling the experience is, just being there and experiencing the place where Gandhi actually lived. The design of the Ashram, the houses, the verandahs, the doors, the windows, etc. is simple and non-obtrusive, very close to Gandhi's way of life. We met an interesting volunteer (I think his name was Amit!) at the house where Gandhiji lived for 12 years. Amit walked us through the house, explaining intricate details about various nooks and corners of the house and giving us some glimpse into the day-to-day lives of Gandhi Ji and Ba. Overall, the ashram has such a "strong personality" that one can actually imagine (and feel) Gandhi's presence at the place. It is sad that Gandhiji left the Ashram for good in 1930 when he went for the Salt march and vowed never to come back till India won freedom. We (me and my wife and our favorite aunt) spent more than 2-3 hours trying to understand why Gandhi did what he did. I think the visit moved all three of us, and the onward car journey to Anand (a good two hours away) was mainly dominated by conversation around the Gandhi way of life.

Gandhiji once commented - "my life is my message." This seems so true after a visit to the Ashram.

Indo-US Nuclear (No-clear) Deal – And the common man!!

2007-10-29T02:00:00.000-07:00

One issue that has dominated the media, and is likely to be a major election issue in 2009 is the Indo-US nuclear deal. As the news channels dissect and double-dissect the issue to improve their TRP ratings, and as newspapers waste editorial space looking at various key implications of singing the deal, what everybody has failed to evaluate is the implication of the deal on the common man! Someone who does not care about Left’s ideology-based opposition to the deal; PM’s will to risk his government to make the deal happen; and BJP’s “zero-issue” (I have not read any convincing arguments from BJP around this; and they initiated the deal!!) based opposition around the deal (or that matter anything done by the Congress-led UPA).

What matters to a common man in India is a the basic need for power supply to his/her house, business unit; and to some extent the assurance that his tax money is being judiciously used (read – not being wasted on untimely elections). He does not care about the three-step nuclear program that Bhaba envisioned several decades ago (that seems to be going nowhere; going by 8-10 hour power cuts in “developed regions” of the country), the Hyde Act and how the new President (possibly Ms Clinton) may use it to arm-twist India (at least that is what the Left feels; seems to be a serious case of severe schizophrenia!!). I am by no means an expert on foreign policy, technology, politics, and economics, but here are my “two-cents” on the deal from a common mans’ perspective:

I see the 123 Agreement as having ideological, strategic, techno-economic angles and implications.

On the ideological front (read Left’s position), the deal may mean that India may end up as “friend” of an imperialistic nation (as far away from the communistic ideology as possible). Per Left, it is fine to have the “imperialist monster” invest money in West Bengal, but it is not fine to be “friends” with the imperialists. While it is fine to accept billions of “imperialistic” dollars flowing into the Indian economy, it is not fine to “shake hands” with the imperialists. It is fine to claim that US is the biggest trading partner, but it is not okay to have a technical agreement with them. The common man however cares two hoots about this. Americans have helped create jobs in the country (read BPOs); they have also helped provide careers to 20 year olds. How robust these careers are and how much exploitation happens in these call centers, and the havoc these play with the social-fabric of the country is a different story (and I am not a big fan of back-office shops), but none-the-less the imperialistic friend has helped grow the economy, creat jobs, and is one of the biggest trade partner, etc.

The strategic risk of the deal as highlighted by BJP and Left is that since the deal will at least theoretically deter India to conduct any nuclear tests, it may risk the sovereignty of the country. Though I cannot comment on the legal technicalities, the experts have denied this and claimed that the 123 Agreement will be subservient to the national sovereignty. But do the BJP and Left realize that if India conducts another nuclear test, how much that may impact the economic growth of the country (due to possibly trade sanctions, etc.). A nuclear test at this point will be a disaster anyways, so why stop the deal because of that. Also, if we don’t buy the technology from the US (there is no compulsion to) and we maintain good relations with the 45 countries on the NSG, there is an outside chance that we may be totally insulated of the US reactions in an “extreme” scenario of conducting a nuclear test. Unless offcourse our diplomacy goes to sleep after the deal is finalized!! Also on the contrary, I think the deal legitimizes India nuclear status. If we miss this opportunity the next US government (possibly the Democrats) may want India to sign CTBT, NPT, etc. thereby sealing any possibility of this deal moving forward. Will India be seen a part of the US-UK tag team post the deal, and will it be forced to tweak its foreign policies to please the US. I don’t think so. India is big and influential enough (and smart enough) to have bi-lateral relationships with the key nations, and have an independent foreign policy.

There are two angles to the techno-economic side of the deal – the nuclear energy techno-economic feasibility, and India’s independent nuclear energy program. On the former, there are all kinds of reports that the nuclear capability will cap at 50,000 MW over the next 20 odd years; India’s entry in the nuclear energy era will push up uranium prices; nuclear power will be 6-7 cents per unit (as against coal/gas based power at 2-4 cents), the technology is not stable, etc. India is doing well to run its nuclear energy program under the current NSG sanctions. But the existing nuclear power stations are running at a low PLF due to inadequate and low-grade uranium, and the fast-breeder Thorium based power generation is still a few decades away (the three step nuclear program proposed by Bhaba envisions – stage 1: heavy water-based plans run on uranium; stage 2: fat breeder based reactors based on plutonium/uranium; stage 3: Thorium-based fast breeder reactors). And, the deal does not stop us from working on our three-phase program on the side.

India (read a common man) needs electricity flowing into his house and business, so any incremental electricity even if it will cap at 50,000 MW is welcome. The per-unit cost of electricity is high, but is it higher than no-electricity? If India has to grow at 10% over the next few years, the electricity demand will have to keep pace (at elasticity of 0.8). There is no other way out

Where I feel the PM and current UPA government has messed up is not marketing the scheme to the people of India. But then you cannot expect an academician like Mr. Singh to take up petty political marketing. Nuclear technology is too mundane (and complex) a topic for the common man to appreciate. The UPA government should sell it as its effort to “provide bilji” to a common man rather than “as a partnership with the US to develop the nuclear energy capability.” The UPA should have seen this “beamer” coming from the Left and BJP and should have been savvier in getting public support on the issue. Besides, Ms Gandhi and Mr Singh should have controlled their emotions in the initial stages of the political fracas around the deal.

I feel (since this is my blog, I think I can express my opinion freely), the deal should go through after a legitimate parliamentary debate in November. I hope the government pushes this deal at an opportune time (post maybe Gujarat elections) to give the Bush administration enough time to get it approved from the NSG and the US Congress in time before the US elections take all the focus away from the deal.

The common man can only benefit from the deal. The downside I guess is in the minds of Left (still living in the 70s bi-polar worlds) and the BJP (which will oppose anything from anyone other than itself).

My First Baby Step on the Blogosphere

2007-10-26T09:41:00.001-07:00

Hello readers, this is my first blog entry.

Though I had always wanted a forum to convey "my two cents" on what I experience everyday in life, it is today -- the 26th of October -- that I take my first baby step on the Web. This is my first blog entry, and there are a zillion more entries waiting to be posted.

So get ready for the onslaught!