The Last Lecture at twenty thousand feet!!

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

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

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

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

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

Budget 2010-11 and clean energy sector

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I complete six years in my current firm…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sitting by the window on a fast train…

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

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