Nandan as MP – Right person at wrong place OR Wrong person at the wrong place ?

17 Mar

I recently saw a video on the legendary Karna. He was noble , a great warrior and known for his generosity. But greatness was not in his destiny since he made all the wrong Choices. When I look at the Bangalore South MP election to be fought between Nandan and Ananth Kumar I am reminded a little of the Karna effect.

Is Nandan the right choice ?  A successful CEO of a great company like Infosys – can he make things work for Bangalore ? Whats his track record in UID and Public Affairs ? How has he served Bangalore and the locality he lives in for so many years ? Lets look at  6 Facts and then decide if he can make an impact as an MP from Bangalore South.

1. Aadhar is not a one point KYC 

aadhaar

When UID was started there was a lot of hope. Here was the equivalent of India SSN. A one point contact  that would resolve all your KYC ( Know your customer) issues. Five Years later and 4000 Crores spent – sadly that dream is far from realised. Most people don’t know where to use the aadhar card. Banks / Credit card Companies / Land Registration etc  still insist on a PAN card and a Permanent address proof like your mobile bill or Drivers License or Passport. When you go to vote you need a Voter card and not the Aadhar. The vision that was promised by Nandan is far from reality.

2. Commitment – Is 5 Years good enough to set up an institution 

Is the UID chairman walking away from a  failed project ? If Metro Sreedharan and NDDB Kurien could spend a lifetime in setting up institutions why is Nandan walking away in 5 years from a project that could transfer this country but is yet to show any significant outcome. (He joined with a lot of fanfare in July 2009).  If you are passionate to the cause should you not have spent 10 more years making this a grand success and ensuring that the initial vision is delivered.

3. Supreme Court & PIL on AAdhar 

I took a 1/2 day off from office to link my Aadhar card with my HP Gas connection and Bank account. That was mandated – a few days later I was told that the program is being reversed. A lot of promise to make subsidy payments to the poor using Aadhar thereby saving on leakage has been announced but sadly not delivered. Ina  corporate you under commit and over deliver – but UID has overcommitted and under delivered. Early signs of a politician in making. There are many PIL’s filed against Aadhar on security of personal information, privacy , misuse – and many have questioned the constitutional validity. I recollect a Supreme Court judgement that it was not mandatory to have an Aadhar card for many transactions. Couldn’t this have been thought through in more detail before spending 4000 + crores.

ScreenShot014

If you struggle to run a Government institution with so much Govt support –  what can we expect from you as a MP ?

4.  Bangalore – Koramangla & Nandan 

The Facebook site Ideas for Bengaluru was started on Feb 19th with a nice post of visiting  beautiful lake / park in Sarjapur . Nandan has been living in Koramngala for many years. I am also a resident o Koramangla and don’t recollect any initiatives that he has taken  for the betterment of Koramngala in specific & Bangalore as a whole in so many years. There is an empty barren land a stones throw from his house near the Koramngala BDA complex. This could have been converted into a beautiful park many years back. I don’t recollect Nandan taking any initiative to get this done. For any action on Save Koramngala or Save Bangalore we actually see the other high profile Koramangla residents Rajeev Chandrashekrana and Kiran Mazumdar  being more active.

nandan-nilekani-for-bangalore

5. How can a MP from a scam tainted , beleaguered losing party help us ? 

After 10 years of paralysis and bringing the fast growing economy on its knees chances are that the scam ridden indecisive UPA is on its way out. Do you really want to vote for an MP from UPA ? How can he help ? Karnataka has always suffered because of different governments in Centre & State – at least lets have an MP who belongs to the ruling party. Common sense says that chances of development are better when the MP is aligned with the ruling Government.

6. Views & Ideologies 

I am not sure what Nadans views and ideologies are – on education, infrastructure, J&K , Women’s empowerment …. but when I see that he has suddenly started talking about reservations in Pvt Jobs that gets me worried. He had 20 years to do that in Infosys – wonder why he never tried it ? Does he believe in reservations or Merit ?  http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/et-now/daily/reservation-required-in-pvt-jobs-nandan-nilekani/videoshow/32026284.cms

Nandan may be a great individual. Successful , intelligent , great communicator , strategist all the positives we would like to see in a  leader. But like the legendary Karna he seems to have made the wrong choice and destiny can be cruel to him for making this error.

Tags: , , , ,

IIM (Intrusive, Irritating, Marketing)

28 Feb

Even in the Internet era when you pick up the morning newspaper the 1st thing you want to see is the Headline.  Unfortunately you don’t get to see it.  As you lift the newspaper from the floor you see a bunch of flyers falling down , the 1st page is normally a full page ad for a premium Villa or a Smart Phone. Or its some flyer that is pasted on the cover page. It just irritates me. This is not Brand Building – this is Intrusive, Irritating , Marketing (IIM)

IMG_2373

Its the same story online. Try reading TOI or ET online. When you reach the site you first encounter a Interstitial that hangs in there for 10 seconds and when you reach the home page its like walking across mines. Suddenly the ads pop up and you have to carefully navigate between the blocks , and even the lines to ensure that the hundreds of Ads hidden in a  page don’t explode in your face.  Almost 50% of the real-estate  on the home page of TOI /ET is used up by Ads. The Hindu & Business Standard were better – but as they are getting popular the share of Ads in the home page is continuing to increase.

The situation in TV is no better. Between 9 & 10 PM – you can actually watch TV for 10 Min , if you are on Times Now. 25 Min is dedicated to Ads and another  25 for Arnab – that leaves only 10 Min for the program speakers and news.

ded3082e00cafdbaad5cf27e1b0c326e

When you watch an IPL match or a 1 day – count the ads you see . There was a time that an ad used to come after every over , but in the last IPL it came after every ball. And it was the same ad in most cases being repeated again and again all through the program. Assuming the innovative Product has 100 features – why would someone harp on the same message again and again , why not showcase all the great things of the product in each messaging.

Marketing is strategic it works at building the message for long term , it creates aspiration , it builds value & Premium .Well at least its supposed to . Thats what Dr Philip Kotler talked about in  5 P’s of Marketing. 

5-Ps-of-Marketing-1024x774

 

But what do you see today ? there is only 1 P that is visible – PRICE. Look at what gets advertised – EMI , Buy Back , Tables showing how much you pay now and how much in your instalments . When was the last time you saw an Ad that talked about Features, Advantages & Benefits. Maybe 15 years back.

I wonder what they teach at MBA schools in their Marketing Course. Or is is that the sales guys have taken over and everything is tactical. A sales guy thinks of this week , this month this quarter. And how much did I overachieve ! If we see the type of advertising that is happening its clear that the war for communication and branding is now being run by Sales and all that Marketing can do is negotiate the rates and choose the media mix. SAD – Marketing was such a great function.

This at a time when our products are bursting with exciting new features and users sadly don’t use 90% of these features, Shouldn’t we be educating them on these rather than selling price as the one and only value proposition ?

Well I guess the world is changing and the mad rush for numbers has killed one more function. Would it be fair to say that Marketing is dead ?  I Think so. Marketing is strategic it works at building the message for long term , it creates aspiration , it builds value & Premium . Its sad to see it being buried.

marketing-is-dead

 

To all the companies that come out with IIM ( Intrusive , Irritating , Marketing) techniques and the big 1 page Ads that scream price I have just one thing to say – look back in history. Remember PCL , Shiva Computers and recently Sahara – these were companies that came out with big 1 page Ads in their heyday. Look where they are today.

Tags: , , , , ,

Flameback Lodges- A lovely getaway in Mudigere (Chickamagalur)

10 Feb

Bangalore has great getaways. Most people head to Mysore and onwards to Coorg, Bandipur, Waynad, Nagerhole, Kabini & Ooty. There are numerous nature spots all along the Cauvery. And Chickamagalur  is another lovely destination 250 Km ( 4hrs from Bangalore).

I always thought it was called Chickmangalore (Small version of Managlore)  – but realised after reaching there otherwise. Chickmagalur means – Chicka ( small ) Magal (Daughter) Ur ( Town) – It is said to have been given as a dowry to the younger daughter of Rukmangada, the legendary chief of Sakrepatna. I have heard of Chickamagalur for 3 reasons – this is where Indira Gandhi fought and won elections after Emergency , The Chick Chicky Chicks of Chickamagalur was a common JAM topic in College and Cafe Coffee Day owner and beans for CCD Coffee comes from the vast coffee plantations of Chickamagalur. Nestled in the midst of nature and not too crowded the place has been inviting for many years.  This X Mas  we took off to Chickamagalur for a 3 night 4 day trip.

Getting There 

Its a nice drive. NH48 Bangalore – Mangalore is an excellent road and you can Zip at 120 Kmph. We left at 7.30 AM and by 9.30 were at our first stop Shravanabelagola. ( Blr to Shravanabelagola 158 Km) This is supposedly the worlds largest monolithic statue 57 Feet tall perched on the top of a hill. A holy site for Jains – the statue of Gomatheshwara Bahubali is revered by Jains from across the world. You need to walk up ~ 650 rock cut steps ( and you need to walk barefoot) – so avoid this in summer as the place can get really very hot. Its an easy climb and going up , visiting the shrine and coming down can be easily done in 1 hr. Was it impressive ? Maybe for some – we found it OK.

Shravanabelagola

From Shravanabelagola we drove down to Hassan for lunch ( 51 Km ~ 60 Min). The best place for lunch is Hotel Ashok Hassan. Good spread – Indian, Italian at reasonable prices. Place was empty, neat and clean.

hassan-ashok-hotel

From Hassan we headed to Flameback Lodges at Mudigere. You can reach this place without touching the town of Chickamagalur. Going Via Belur. Its about 45 Km and takes an hr. IMP – Avoid Google Maps – it takes you to no mans land. It does locate Flameback Lodges but fails miserably in guiding you. We reached by 2.30 in the afternoon ( after a 30 min last mile problem).

Flameback Lodges

Flameback is located inside Kathikeya Coffee Estate spread across 200+ acres. The lodge is over 10 acres. It is set in the midst of nature , includes a serene lake , overlooks the hills and is adjacent to paddy fields that stretch to the jungles. Its an oasis of peace and tranquility. There is an eye for detail in everything and why not – its owned by royalty. The owners are descendants of the King of Sandur (Bellary Mines) who in turn are descendants of Shivaji.

They have 8 rooms – 3 Cottages , 3 Villas and 2 Suites. We stayed in a Villa that was facing the lake. It was well done up had a hall with a fireplace, a large bedroom , a pantry , a powder room , and a very large bath. It was like a 1 BHK house with  a huge patio that faces the lake. Rooms come with TV & Satellite connection . The Villas are perfect for a family of 2 Adults + 2 Kids. The suites are also big – but located in the main building they have no nature view. The cottages are perfect for couples. The place has 24 by 7 generator, RO Purified Water, a small but lovely pool and a 24 by 7 restaurant that serves Veg * Non Veg food.

kathikeyan cottages

Its best to come to the place in a group and maybe book all the 8 rooms. Food is customised and liquor , tea , coffee everything is on the house. One rate that is all inclusive. Breakfast , lunch , dinner , canoeing in the lake , trekking. The buffet spreads are decent and the food is tasteful. Service is excellent. They have a small Spa and the quality of treatment is A++ , good fusion of Ayurvedic and Swedish Massage – and its very affordable at just Rs 1000/-. We paid 17 K / night – and had booked nearly 4 months in advance. They have no meeting / conference halls – so planning a company offsite here is a challenge.

What else can you do 

Flameback has limited entertainment. There is a lovely lake and you can go kayaking. They also take you for long treks – in and outside the plantation. Treks can vary from 1 hr to a few hrs. There are some ancient temples , waterfalls close by which are worth a visit. But by and large its nature and solitude.

lovely lake

Few other places you can head to

1. Belur , Halebid – the lovely rock cut temples built by the Hoysala Dynasty around 1117 AD. Belur is home to a Vishnu Temple and is still operational. The road from Mudigere to Belur is in good shape and you can cover the 38 Km distance in 45 Min. However the road from Belur to Halebidu ( 16 Km) is in very bad shape and will take another 45 min. The architecture of both temples are very similiar – so if you have seen one you have seen both. They have remarkably intricate rock cut sculptures. Unfortunately they are not UNESCO heritage sites and I could see the steep deterioration in maintenance now and from my previous visit about 17 years back.

lovely rock cut temples

Sringeri – Land of Shankaracharya and orthodox Hinduism is 120 Km – 3 hrs away. Drive is scenic thru steep ghats. Roads are not in great condition. Further down from Sringeri ( 30km) is Agumbe – The forests here have the highest concentration of King Cobras in the world. It takes a lot of courage to trek in these jungles and many do.

Bhadra (Muthodi) Tiger reserve is 55 Km away – about 2 hrs drive. We did not go there – but were told that the access is only to the fringes of the sanctuary so the chances of seeing Tigers are remote

If you are in Bangalore and have done Mysore , Bandipur , Ooty & Kodai – then Chickamagalur is a good 3 night – 4 day break. A good mix of nature , old temple architecture and quiet laid back relaxation with some simmering hot coffee and tasty food.

http://www.flameback.in

Contact : Bharath +91 9242714197

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Old at 30 ? Not fair – Sd Personal Computer

30 Jan

Since when can you call a 30 year old – OLD ? In the prime of my youth I am being written off.  And people say I am dying , dead – and I am  all of 30.

I was actually born thanks to the brain power of the two Steve’s in 1976.

p_20_58

Apple 1 & Apple II were runaway success stories and big blue saw this. Aug 12, 1981 – IBM launched the IBM PC and since then the Personal Computer has been history. Jan 3, 1983 issue Time magazine named me ” Person of the year 1982″ – this was the 1st time an inanimate object was given this award. And the 1st Mac was launched in 1984 – that redefined ease of use. The Mac just turned 30 and continues to be the most user friendly PC in the world.

1101830103_400

IBM was smart – they got my brain made from Intel and the Operating System for MS and made the entire architecture open. This helped a lot of companies – Compaq, HP , DELL , Packard Bell , Gateway , Lenovo , Toshiba ….. and many more to make PC’s. They were all the same using the same Processors and MS Operating system.

In the 80’s there were large R&D teams working on me , the FDD was replaced with the CD ROM  & Zip drive, my hard disk capacity became bigger , I became sleeker from plug in boards to Single Board architecture , Green design reduced my power consumption. But the biggest last Innovation that happened on me was when Toshiba launched the Laptop in 1985. That changed the PC Industry – I was now mobile , people could carry me. This helped my sales grow rapidly. Last I checked – 70 % of PC’s sold in the world are laptops.

Moores-law-graph.gif

But sadly that was the last major innovation that happened. yes Intel and Moore’s law made the CPU faster and MS came with new versions of Windows and Office every 2 – 3 years . But that was it – beyond that there was no Innovation. The R&D team at Compaq, DELL , HP, Acer  were slowly disbanded. I was no longer Hi tech – I became a commodity. A commodity that still sells in Millions.  In OND 2013 I sold over 80 M units WW. Till date there are well over 1 B people who cannot live without me for even a day. Yes th. e PC sales are slowing down – but most people don’t realise that the Mac is continuing to grow in MS – tarts because Apple still continues to innovate and redesign the mac every year. If you don’t nurture me – how will I grow ?

Look at my contribution to the world. Would the world GDP be where it is today without me ? Would commerce , banking , trade , education, entertainment  have flourished without me ?  The WWW could not have existed without me. And think of a world without the WWW. Most people call me a commodity – some even compare me to a phone – they call me dumb . Ouch – That hurts.

Tablets are the new kid in town. Yes they continue to grow. Last quarter at 76.9M units they are on the verge of bypassing me in quarterly sales. But you think a Tablet can replace a PC. I challenge you – throw your PC out and try to live with a Tablet – no way you can a manage.  Remember the presentation Steve Jobs when he launched the iPad ? he said that the the Tablet is a new category that fits in beautifully between a  Mac (PC)  & an iPhone( Smartphone).

Screen_Shot_2013-01-31_at_14.24.06

A tablet is great for browsing , email , social networking, sharing photos , reading books, playing games. yes its easier to watch a movie inflight on a  tablet than on a laptop – a Tablet is mainly for consumption of information. I am great at both creating and consuming information. I have a longer life , more power , greater utility. I am the serious guy – the Tablet is just the fun guy. Great to flirt and date with the Tablet – but when you ant to marry and settle down you have to choose me. I can do all the Tablet does and more. And as Smart Phone size gets bigger the growth of the Tablet is bound to come down. If I can get sleeker and smaller and the Smartphone can get bigger – we can squeeze out this new kid in town.

I don’t know why people stopped innovating on me. I could have grown to be the integrated TV , Phone , VC system in the house.  Think of me as the central unit in the house that powers all your communication needs. All other devices are tertiary that cloud plug on to me like an add on. I would be the HUB.  And look at it I am the HUB – iTunes  can run only on a  Mac or a PC and if the iPad, iPhone , iPod , Apple TV need to work they need to connect to me as the HUB. I am indispensable. I am glad that at least Apple is working and innovating on me constantly. But with the others I feel orphaned – Intel , MS and all the big guys of the past have abandoned me in my middle ages. Now I see the advantage of one company owning hardware and software and the power of integrated technology. I hope you do too.

So don’t write me off . I am just 30. They say life begins at 40 – I am not going anywhere. I just wish a few more  Steve’s came and gave me a new look and packed me with some new powerful features with which I could serve humanity better.

Your Humbly

The PC

Multi Brand Retail – Yeh AAPne Kya Kiya

17 Jan

Arvind Kejriwal is probably the only leader who since Independence has made such a powerful impact in such a short time. He has always come out as one with strong conviction , courage, logic and tenacity. He has overnight become an ideal for many and the last hope to change the political mess in the country. I contributed generously to his party and when he won I felt I had won. But sadly this confidence has been shaken in the last 1 week.

Arvind-Kejriwal

Its not shaken because he has not solved all the problems of Delhi in 15 days. He has made a great start and opened up multiple fronts. He and his core team probably work 20 hrs a day . What parties have not solved in 60 + years – lets give him a few months to solve. Yes the inexperience shows , the hunger for speed , the frustration at bureaucracy – but then here is a party where almost all the MLA’s are 1st time MLA’s.

Its not shaken because Captain Gopinath and Binny send a few slurs. As far as Captain is concerned he probably wanted to get some visibility and mileage. Who is Gopinath to comment on AAP – Someone who started a 3rd rate airline which probably had the record for the worst service and a cargo company that never really took off . If he feels that he needs to be heard and be given centre stage in AAP decision making – thats his ego talking. And its not very difficult to fathom the reason  why Binny went ballistic. If AAP has won an election in 1 year – they have brains and they will figure out the best solution without advice from Gopinath and his kind.

While you , me and the common man want AAP to succeed – a lot of people are worried as their future generations may not enjoy the comfortable lives they led. If corruption is tackled , power centres are abolished , Jugad culture is eliminated then there is fear for the 1% that controls the country. So when we read a lot of blogs and articles that talks against AAP – I guess we should take it with a pinch of salt.

But what worries me a lot is the decision on Multi Brand Retail. Lets analyse this a little deeper.

The argument against Multi Brand Retail is that it will eliminate mom and pop stores. Unemployment will increase. Millions will be jobless , homeless. Lets look at some examples in India.

Remember Nirula’s & Pizza Corner. The 1st set of fast food restaurants in India.  They started well but could never scale. Quality dropped , rates increased. We now have McDonald, Pizza Hut , KFC , Domino’s….. and many more fast food brands. Has it eliminated jobs or created jobs. Have the Dhaba’s  and Darshini’s shut down because of the MNC food brands – they haven’t. Saravana Bhawan and McDonald both survive well next to each other at Janpath. The standing joints and Udupi restaurants continue to flourish. the market has grown – there is space for everyone. Yes Nirula’s and Pizza Corner are almost bust – but they were not able to compete.

Nirula's Just after Pthankot, No breakfast before 8 AM

In the 80’s India had only 2 car Brands – Ambassador and Premier Padmini. We should have never allowed Suzuki, Ford , Honda , Toyota to come to the country. Our Premier Padmini broke down almost once every month – in the last 10 years I am yet to see anyone pushing a car in the roads of Bangalore or Mumbai or Delhi. We now have variety , better quality . It also resulted in more factories , more jobs , a vibrant components industry , foreign exchange from exports – all positives. Are we better off by opening our automobile industry or worse ? We all know the answer to that. The only people who would have opposed this would be the Bombay Club. If you have no competition you can sell substandard products at high price ( remember the Chetak scooters being sold in Black market)

ambassador-of-calcutta-2-2598

What if we had not allowed FDI in telecom. BSNL & MTNL had a 10 year waiting period. You needed to know an MLA to get a Tatkal connection. The C Dot exchanges almost always crashed. All that changed when Telecom was liberalised. If not for the Ericsson , Nokia , Alcatel equipment and investments from Singtel , Hutch , Vodafone … the Indian telecom industry would have never taken off. Has this created more jobs and  given a boost to our economy or were we better off with BSNL & MTNL ?

I could go on and on. Mult Brand Retail will do the same thing. It will improve quality and create jobs. Its not going to replace the Mom & Pop Shop. The neighbourhood store 100 feet from your house will always be there for your bread , butter , eggs and last minute emergencies. But yes it will threaten the Nilgiris. Spencer’s , Foodworlds , Reliance Retail, Big Bazar – the so called Indian chains. Walk into any of the stores and see how the experience has collapsed in the last few years. The AC doesnt work , the strolley is broken , the teller  is a overworked , underpaid person. Lifestyle , Shoppers Stop and a few more brands may survive – but the vast majority will not.

Not only do they create jobs – but they will ease traffic congestion & pollution. These shops will come in the city outskirts. There is no space in the middle of our cities for these massive stores. They will have ample car parking, the rates will be lower ( we already see that in the Metros & other B2B stores) , the AC will work – the overall experience will be superior. We complained when the Bangalore airport moved 50 km away – today we are fine with it. Our Habits will change – we will drive out once every fortnight to these stores and stock up. Only those with large refrigerators can stock up. The city will expand , there will be more development in the fringes of the city.

Bangalore - Commercial Street

 

The metro rains will get you there. the CBD rates will fall , there will be lesser traffic , and no cars parked bumper to bumper on a  narrow 100 feet road that doubles up as a high street. Look at I Nagar 100 feet road – in the 80’s it was a beautiful tree lined street where you could take a peaceful walk. At 8.30 Pm you were scared to walk alone. Today it a mess – a lovely locality has become  one of the busiest commercial zones in the city. Do we want that or would it have been better to have a TESCO and Home Depot at C.V Raman Nagar ?

So coming back to the point – Arvind and his team are smart and intelligent. A large majority of their supporters are people like me . Urban, educated upper middle class. This class is puzzled with the AAP decision to go back on the Multi Brand Decision. Why did they do this ? Are they losing their logical thinking and falling into a populist trap ? Are they making decision that sound Pro Poor and Anti Rich ? In the process are they actually putting us back or taking us forward ? Are they really the idealogical simpletons with passion to change the country or are they a shrewder lot ? Is there some truth in the Blogs that talk about funding from Ford Foundation and how the US is using AAP to block Modi ? Great start – but the worry I have is ” Yeh Topiwala Topi to nahi pehnayega” – because if they do that a lot of people will be very very disappointed.

Time will tell – but for the moment , I am a trite disappointed.

Tags: , , ,

Bangalore more expensive than US !

13 Jan

Its True. I just came back from a 1 week US trip and realised that life in US is a lot cheaper than in Bangalore.

Houses are Cheaper – Roseville is a lovely town – 2 hrs drive from SFO. Intel & HP have large establishments here and its a short 20 min drive from Sacramento the capital of CA. A predominantly white neighbourhood – its picture perfect with its broad roads , lovely pavements ( yes if you come from India you ogle at the pavements & kerbs) , greenery , trees , peace & tranquility. Nice parks, lovely walks and drives. All amenities and stores close by. Safe & Secure. A 4 bedroom house here in excellent condition on a 5000 sft of land would have cost you  400 K ( 2.5 Crores). If you had a location like this in India ( which we don’t) a similar house would have sold for no less than Rs 5 Crores. A close comparison would be an upmarket Villa complex in Bangalore like Adarsh Palm Meadows or Prestige Ozone where a similar sized Villa would have been upwards of 4 Crores. And I am not talking of Texas where for 250 K plus you could get a similar deal or better. Apartments with no land in Indian Metros sell for 2 – 5 Crores depending on the location. These are bubbles of glitz surrounded by chaos & cacophony.

8eb8f1746f3b42f9b8ee27befdbaa8fc

Electricity ,Water & Cooling / Heating for such a large house costs less than $ 250/ month. Thats about 9000 Rs. In Gurgaon if you have to run a similar house with centralised AC your monthly costs for electricity alone would be upwards of  Rs 25,000. And AAP will not subsidise this. Yes the property tax you pay in US every 6 months may be higher than what you pay in India – but most apartment / Villa complexes charge you a monthly maintenance that can vary from 5 – 10 K / month . If you add this to the property Tax you pay then we pay a lot more in India than in US.

The monthly cost of running a house – Grocery / Maid(s)/ Driver / Cable / Milk / Newspaper/ Gas for Car / School for kids ….. is a lot higher. In India this can be upwards of  Rs 1 Lac (~ $2000) / month. In the US you can manage very comfortable within $1000 – $1500. Thats a 50% saving. Food is cheap and nobody has maids or drivers. Most people have started getting a Neato or Roomba a Robotic maid that takes care of cleaning the house. 

Buying a Car is a lot cheaper. A fully loaded Corolla in US costs $ 22K ( 13 Lacs) – In India its upwards of 15 Lacs . If not for the recent currency depreciation the gap in price would have been a lot more and the cars in US were almost 40 – 50% cheaper. And fuel prices in US are a lot cheaper than India. And its got more features and is a lot more plush. As you start moving up to SUV’s and Luxury brands like BMW & Merc the price gap widens and is almost 2X in India .

2014_corolla_s_001

Cost of Eating out is comparable and you have a wide variety of upmarket restaurants. Yes the parking in US is a lot more easier and the ambience is better ( thats my verdict). A 3 course meal with some decent wine  for 2 can cost you 75 – 80 $ . Good high speed Wi Fi comes free of cost. A drink – Just 1 Margarita in a nice restaurant in India can put you back by Rs 899/-. The taxes and surcharge in India are a lot higher. Most restaurants add a service charge and on top of that the waiter expects a 10% Tip. Add all this up and the cost of a meal in a fine dining place in India is comparable or higher to the US. And I am not even talking of ITC / Hyatt / Taj – where the rates are exorbitantly higher. But yes if you eat in Saravana Bhavan in the US the meal is 4X the cost of one in Chennai.

Unknown

After food you come to clothing. Here again the US beats us hollow. The deals you get and the markdowns in an outlet Mall are genuine. If you have the time to hunt online you can get real fabulous deals. A simple track pant from Nike or Adidas can cost you Rs 2000/-  – you can get that for $14.99 very easily in any Mall or large retail store. Levis in India start at Rs 1500 – you can get better quality stuff for $19.99. Van Heusen , Park Avenue shirts are so overpriced in India – they retail for 1500 – 2000 Rs , excellent formal shirts are available for  $ 19.99 . I visited an outlet mall at Folsom and picked up Gym Tops for my wife – super quality Izod T shirts priced at $ 5.95 (Marked down from $30) –  For $5.95 or Rs 360 you don’t even get a decent handkerchief in India. Across items clothes, shoes, bags, accessories  you see a 30 – 50% cheaper pricing. And in most cases these are items made in India , Bangladesh , Jordan , Egypt –  the stores are cleaner , AC works , the buying experience is better – and yet they are cheaper. I wonder how !

IMG_2258

Hotel rooms come in wide variety from $ 59.99 to $199 for high end branded ones. Sure –  the top brands in India at 200 – 300$ / night offer better service than the best in class in NY or DC  that may charge you upwards of $500 / night – but if you can get a La Quinta Inn for $59.99 why do you need a Maurya Sheraton. Clean beds , toilets , Wi Fi , a Denny’s outside – thats all you need for your family when you go on a holiday. India has 1 star and 5 star – nothing in between – US has a wide variety  to cater the the budget for all – and they all come well above the threshold.

Yes an University degree is more expensive. But you need to realise that you got 12 years of excellent schooling free of cost. And if you take into consideration the quality of education and facilities  one can understand why millions from across the globe rush to US universities on a one way ticket. But for the many who pay donations and join Manipal or its equivalent – think twice should you pay 1 Cr and join Manipal or use that 150K for a good college education in the US.

And finally the only showstopper is probably INSURANCE. Medical , Car Insurance can really be a whammy and cost you 500 – 600$ / month. In comparison in India you can insure you car for 10K / year and your family for 25K / year. The only silver lining in this case is Obama Care – especially for the elderly.

So if you are planning to move from Bangalore to US don’t think twice you can manage in the same salary , but if you are moving from US to Bangalore remember to ask for a hike !

Tags: , , , ,

TAMBRAM Marriages – Changes in 4 Generations across 100 years

30 Dec

Tambram’s (Short for Tamil Brahmins) are a small minority in T Nadu. I guess less than 5%. A section of the Tamil Brahmins migrated to Kerala many centuries back and established themselves with the Kerala Kings in the Palghat region. This community called Palghat Iyers (PI’s) is a nice blend of Tamil & Kerala traditions. By sheer hard work and brainpower they grew in fame & prosperity and became large landowners. In the late 50’s with land reforms  the landowners in Kerala lost their land. With no livelihood the PI’s started migrating en masse to Mumbai, Calcutta & Delhi. Matunga & Chembur in Mumbai, RK Puram in Delhi and S Calcutta became their hubs. Temples sprouted and so did traditional S Indian restaurants. The secretarial jobs, accounting jobs , IAS , Administrative and then the managerial jobs slowly were taken over as Idly & Dosa spread its wings to the breakfast table of every Indian. Rich tradition of music & dance also spread across the country and the globe. From Rekha to Vidya Balan , T.N Seshan to Bala Murali Krishnan they made their impact globally. 

But this is not a blog about the successful TAMBRAM’s and Palghat Iyers who have become successful all over the world. That requires separate treatment.

I belong to this community. My grandfather was born in 1900. Let us call him Generation 1. He was happily married and had 8 sons & 3 daughters. You can’t blame him – with no Internet, Facebook, movies there was really no entertainment. There was also a sense of healthy competition as most brothers and sisters were racing towards double-digit children count. And as the adage goes – you do in Palghat as the others do. They were very talented and entrepreneurial but were primarily farmers and landowners. 

Lets move on to the enterprising Gen 2 – all of who had moved out from the villages to Mumbai & Calcutta after completing their education. In the 50’s moving from a small village in Kerala to W Bengal was probable;y tougher than going to the US in the 80’s. One enterprising uncle even took off to S.Arabia – the first to go abroad and was very successful. Generation 2 was mainly graduates with the odd one being an Engineer or a MSc Soon there were 11 happily married couples. All married within the community – even the odd love marriage was painstakingly positioned as an arranged marriage. The average age gap between the couple was 7 years. Between them they had 35 kids (averaging slightly over 3/ couple). Look at the progress in one generation – 11 to 3.

But this is not a blog about how India’s population is coming down because of higher education and migration from villages to cities.

Generation 3 was born between 1955 – 1985. Well educated (the 1st IIM & IIT Grads), jet setting, good jobs, many have settled abroad – US, UK, NZ, Singapore, Dubai. A significant change in lifestyle. They still love their curd rice but have graduated very easily to pasta & pizza and some even to meat !!

We belong to Generation – 3. All the 35 (barring two cousins) are married. The eldest cousin is 60+ and the youngest barely 30 – so there is a wide gap between cousins. Only 1 was courageous enough to marry outside the community and earned the ire of many. The rest married within the community – but by now arranged marriage was coming down – less than 75 %. Amongst the younger cousins even lesser.  The average age gap between the spouses had come down to 3 – 4 years. They have fallen into a pattern and all have 2 – 1 kids apiece. Finally the population explosion has been stopped.

Generation 4 is now getting married.  This is where the interesting trend starts. Of the 7 marriages that have happened or are on the anvil of happening only 2 have married within the community. The rest 5 have found companions in Marathi’s, Malayalees and Punjabi’s. The age gap has shrunk – they are almost the same age. This is not a trend in our family but across many  South Indian TAMBRAM families. There was a time when a Iyer marrying an Iyengar was a No No. Even a Palghat Iyer marrying an Iyer from TN was rare. But all that has changed in the last 10 years.

What is driving this change? Marrying out of the community is a big jump in culture , tradition , eating habits – How is this change being accepted with hardly any resistance. It talks highly of the community and its broad minded approach.

Lets take a look at Iyer Girls. They are smart , beautiful , highly educated, super talented. They can cook a great meal of Avial & Sambar and also Pasta and Pizza. They can sing melodious Carnatic music and dance Bharatnatyam – while they are equally comfortable with hip hop music and a drink at a late night party. They look beautiful in a traditional kanjeepuram saree and are equally at ease in a 2 piece bikini. They can be a great housewife and a successful professional. They are an asset – they are ambitious , adventurous and deserve the best.  And now they are stepping out to get the best. All this because Tamil Iyers are one of the few communities in the country where girls are treated at par with boys. And unlike the Parsi’s if the girls marry outside the community they are not excommunicated. 

taapsee_traditional_indian_marriage_saree_posters2-1

In contrast the Iyer Boys are still simpletons. They have a intellectual inclination bordering on being nerdy. Hard working , they rarely break the rule and are risk averse. They are Mr Predictable , they are Mr Nice. They are thin or puny or jiggly wiggly fat. Not the lean mean machine with a 6 pack Gym hitting the Gym every day. They experiment with food but are most comfortable with curd rice and would love to have a traditional housewife welcome them in a saree with jasmine flowers with a cup of steaming coffee at home when they come back from office. ( I hunted for a photo of a Traditional Tambram Nari serving coffee in google images – but none like this is available)

Most want a bride who is a replica of mom. I may be generalising here – but this is broadly what I see in the community , maybe 80 % +. And let me clarify this is purely my inference.

Filtercoffee

This is where the gap is. The adventurous girls don’t want to be trapped with Mr Nerd. And they step out to find their dream man on their own. And then we have male dominated N Indian communities where many a smart girl from N of the Narmada would be a lot more comfortable with Mr Nice from down south. And that works well for the PI guy who is on the edge – almost stranded without a mate.

The vast majority of Tambrams and PI’s are simple folks. The marriage is a 2 session, 3 sumptuous meals, and 3 sarees affair. Day 0 evening is the formal engagement and Day 1 morning is marriage – all is over by lunch on day 1 as the happy couple heads off for the honeymoon. There is no dowry and no demands for jewellery  cash, house, car etc. The girls are highly educated and the families are at par.

TAMBRAM families Jewelry

Now compare this with a Delhi marriage – full of pomp & show. Spread over 3 days, lavish performances, gifts for all and the poor parents struggling for years to meet the trousseau & dowry demands. A PI groom is ideal for an N Indian family.

S Indian cooking is simple, quick and tasty. Not as elaborate and complex as a N Indian meal. Add to this it’s all veg. Easy for the new “bahu” to learn this quickly. Yes the taste buds need to adjust to the spicy tangy taste of sambar & rasam – but that happens quickly. Rice in the morning and Roti at night is the staple food across most PI households – so that looks a fair equitable mix for a N Indian. Not too many family get together where you need to cook a wide variety of complex dishes in quantity & quality.

PI families are perfectly fine with both husband & wife working and there is no pressure for the 1st born to be a boy!   (Thats probably a reason why 60% + in the community are girls , nature does have a way of setting a balance) Rarely or never do you hear a case of mother in law tormenting daughter in law.

So a clear win for the N Indian lady. What’s in it for the guy. Clearly a change. Stronger genes and a bit of aggression & street smartness for the next generation. Maybe the subconscious desire of a PI man for a fair complexioned wife. ( Thats not me saying but my intelligent learned friend Mr Kapoor) A more elegant & classy front room and furniture (N.Indians are good in home decorations). Lesser investments in Gold. A good mix of CPU & I/O. (And I am not saying who contributes to what)

The beauty is that Gen 2 & Gen 3 seems to be completely at ease with this change. Yes even if many outside the community are Non Veg. Even if eggs have entered most kitchens Non Veg cooking across the community is almost always banned at home.

And I am sure not everything is rational – there is cupid playing his game and love is blind. With no barriers and challenges cupid’s job just became easier.

cupid love

That’s Gen 4 – and may the tradition continue. I hope it soon expands to Bengalis & Kashmiris, Jains & Buddhists so that we can have better national integration. But let it not stop there. I would really love for the rest of Gen 4 & all of gen 5 to start thinking out of the country and be a truly global citizen. French, Dutch, Italians, Spaniards, Brits, Americans – Go guys go and make the world your playing field. Let the PI gene spread far & wide in the global melting pot. Yes we may cease to exist as a community 100 years from now – but I am sure we will make a wider impact globally.

One last point – today there is no dearth of entertainment so Gen 4 and Gen 5 bears the burden of trying to rectify Grand Dad’s population explosion program. Mother earth is heavily burdened with too many people – so play your part and help set right the errors of Generation – 1.

Tags: , , , ,

Young & Restless – The Real India

24 Dec

I recently had an opportunity to interact with a team of 400 + people who sell high-end phones. A young team whose average age is 22 – 25. Most are graduates – some even engineers & MBA’s. They come from lower middle class families, struggled in life, value money and are waiting for an opportunity to break out from the crowd. They work in excess of 10 hrs a day – 6 days a week and earn anywhere between 15 – 25 K / Month. And for every such job there are 20 applicants for 1 job. It’s scary.

India churns out 5M + graduates every year and over 1M are Engineers. Infosys this year will hire 16,000 and the IT industry as a whole may hire 100 – 200K engineers. That still leaves a lot of people unemployed. They end up taking jobs for which they are overqualified – and very soon get frustrated.

20639553.cms

Take a look at the classified section of any newspaper – the only jobs available in the country are for Sales or in the BPO sector. The quality of education is deplorable and outside the top 10% of  colleges the quality is abysmal.

A recent report from Aspiring Minds states that 47% graduates are not employable in any sector of the knowledge economy. The employability of graduates varies from 2.59% in functional roles such as accounting, to 15.88% in sales related roles and 21.37% for roles in the business process outsourcing (BPO/ITeS) sector. A significant proportion of graduates, nearly 47%, were found not employable in any sector, given their English language and cognitive skills. http://www.aspiringminds.in/press_doc/47_graduates_in_india_are_unemployable_for_any_job_aspiring_minds_national_employability_report_graduates.pdf

Business Line reported yesterday that 83% of secondary school students rely on coaching to pass their exams. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/the-coaching-class-industry/article5490245.ece. 

I have interviewed MBA students for the role of Training Admin’s who can’t do basic maths that a class 7 student is expected to do. Many with means land up in Australia , UK post graduation – but with unemployment there in excess of 50% they come back to India and enter the pool for the entry level sales jobs once again. IIM Bangalore in 1993 had a batch of 140 – today they have a batch of 400. The 1 Lac tuition fee has become 15 Lac’s. So every batch generates 60 Crores – the student staff ratio has collapsed and so has infrastructure availability / student. The brand exists the quality has dropped.

So whats going wrong – The education system has collapsed , the job market has become a trickle. Quality jobs in the knowledge economy have almost vanished.

Unknown

When you have 5 M people like this coming out every year – its scary. They have energy , aspirations , ability to work hard – but no visible goal or destination to which they can embark. They are the post 90’s generation – seen the benefits of economic boom , most come from families where they are probably the first to attend college. They carry a heavy burden to secure their future and also take care of the family.

The few who are employed in sales jobs are routed through a placement agency as contractors. There is no skill development / HR / hand holding. Its a long hard lonely struggle to figure out how to succeed. No wonder attrition is high and people jump jobs for every 1000 Rs hike they see.

As I saw these 400 high energy people , eager to succeed , hunting for that one break in life – it just made me feel how lucky the kids in the top 1% of Indian families are. The kids who live in the bubble economy – in gated complexes , born with a golden spoon , graduating to an iPad before you turn 5 , the best of schools & facilities , luxurious holidays, cell phone at 10  – these kids are going to struggle when they land up in the job market and face the other 99% who are just waiting to grab that one opportunity life throws at you. And when you see the determination in their eyes – you know that there is hope. These guys will succeed against all odds. They have energy & burning passion – all it requires is some direction and they are ready to take off.

Now you know why the AAP & Modi wave is catching traction – 10 years of mismanagement by UPA 2 has messed up the lives of millions , leaving them young & restless –  and now armed with a vote in their hand they are ready to rebel. Lets hope 2014 brings about the change we so badly need.

My Vipassana Experience – Interesting insights

6 Dec

I have wanted to attend a Vipassana program for ages. There are friends who have attended multiple sessions who vouch by its benefits and others who say they had no/limited impact.  I decided to experience it.

There are over 40 centres in India (and many more globally) and most get booked months in advance. A little research helped me make my shortlist of 3, Igatpuri – Near Nasik, Bodh Gaya & Dharamshala.  I was lucky to find that Bodh Gaya had a course at the time in which I could take a 10-day leave. What better place to start your meditation that the town where Siddhartha got his enlightenment! Its an interesting location – with Nalanda and Rajgir at a 3 hr drive from Bodh Gaya.

IMG_2014

I made my bookings in August for the Dec 1 Program, Bangalore – Delhi – Patna by flight and then a 3 hr. drive to Bodh Gaya and finally reached my destination. Coming so far I made time to visit the Bodh Gaya Temple and the famous Pipal tree spot where Siddhartha got his enlightenment. The temple is a world heritage site and very well maintained. Lots of positive energy and sitting below the massive tree at 5 AM even a layman can start his meditation journey.

Bodhgaya-3985_1

I planned to be amongst the first so that I would get a single room – which I did. The camp is spread over 18 acres, lot of trees, about 25 – 30 cottages and buildings that can house about 100 inmates. Calm, peaceful, rustic, clean and Spartan.

IMG_2023

My room was similar to my college single room with its own attached bathroom. Functional – meets the need very well. The place is rustic and beautiful – but has seen better days.

 IMG_2017

Day 0: Registrations happen in the morning and you handover all your gadgets / pen / paper everything except your clothes and toiletries. At 6.30 PM the participants are briefed on the rules. You need to take a vow and follow the foundation of the practice  sīla — moral conduct. Sīla provides a basis for the development of samādhi — concentration of mind; and purification of the mind is achieved through paññā — the wisdom of insight.

The key percepts are – Maintain Noble Silence (Silence of body , speech & mind  – even eye contact is not allowed). Other rules –  No Stealing, No Lies , No Killing ( I struggled to live with 5 large spiders in my room) , Maintain Celibacy , No Liquor /Intoxicants / Non Veg food and total segregation of male and female meditators. Others are no Yoga , no exercise , no chanting of mantras , removal of sacred thread etc.

IMG_2019

Day 1 : The session starts at 4.30 AM – so you need to be up at 3.45 AM take a bath (not compulsory but I did) and report at the meditation center at 4.25.  All the instructions are taped / videotaped conversations from Guruji (R.P.Goenka  – The passionate founder who brought this movement to India in 1969 after learning it in Burma. He is not related to the Goenka business from Calcutta). There is a very Sr Acharya who program manages the whole event and a few Jr Acharya’s assist him.

 center-mr-s-n-goenka

The routine is rigorous and spans almost 18 hrs/ day. You get about 6 hours of sleep.

A day in the camp

 4.30 – 6.30 AM Meditation, 6.30 – 8.00 AM Breakfast & rest, 8.00 – 11.00 AM Meditation , 11.00 – 11.45 AM Lunch followed by rest till 1PM , 1 – 5PM Meditation , 5 – 6PM Tea , 6 – 7 PM Meditation , 7 – 8.30 PM Dhamma Talks by Goenka Ji  and instructions for the next day , 8.30 – 9.00 PM Meditation , 9.00 – 9.30 PM  1 : 1 Q&A sessions with the Acharya, Retire to bed at 9.30 PM

The Dhamma Talks are interesting. The content is simple & good, but Goenka Ji is a moderate orator. The teachings are a reiteration of how Vipassana is simple, practical and the essence of how Siddhartha got his enlightenment.And how with practise and commitment everyone can learn it.

Breakfast is simple and healthy – Poha Or Upma Or Sabudana Khichdi with some fruit and Tea/ Milk. Lunch is grand – Rice / Dal / Roti / 2 Sabji’s / Curd / Pickle. Tea break is just Tea and some puffed rice. Between evening tea and breakfast is a 13.5 hr break  . Food is tasty, piping hot, homely and very healthy and nutritious. I loved it.  And you don’t feel hungry given that there is hardly any energy spent in physical action

images

Day 1 to 3 is spent only in practicing and perfecting a breathing technique called “Anapana Sati”. Before I explain what this technique is lets step back a little and understand what Vipassana is all about.

Vipassana is a 2500-year-old technique that Gautama practiced to achieve nirvana. It’s all about observing and getting deeper and deeper into your body. The most important thing here is to OBSERVE, not have feelings of like or dislike. By this process your mind slowly moves from the gross to the subtle.  You sharpen the mind to cut thru the body and look deeper and deeper. “Anapana Sati” is a breathing technique that helps you sharpen the mind. The mind then acts as the tool.

Gautama found thru this process as he went deeper and deeper that at the final innermost layer the body is nothing but wavelets. The smallest subatomic particles that are in constant transition – replacing itself almost a trillion times every second. When you reach enlightenment you are able to see your body as a light wave and the energy balance becomes perfect.

In the process of going deeper and deeper using your mind like a knife you also eliminate from the root all the layers of impressions, dogma’s, filth, emotions, desires that choke you and cause unhappiness and suffering.

 Here is a quick look at how the course evolved over the first 5 days. The end objective being to teach you the technique practised by Buddha.

Day – 1 : You just observe your natural breath going in and out. This technique is used to eliminate thoughts. The mind constantly wanders and you focus the mind on the breath. It helps you increase your concentration and control the meandering mind. It’s frustrating initially but by the end of the day one does get the hang of it . At the end of day – 1 I was still a sceptic – I had spent 10 hrs. just observing my breath and it did seem like a waste of time.

Day – 2 : You observe the breath hitting the inner walls of your nostrils. It’s like watching the path of the breath as it bounces along the inner nostrils. You observe the temperature of the breath – cold going in warm coming out. At times it goes thru both nostrils, at times only thru one. 10 hrs. of this – By end of Day – 2 I started seeing some excitement – but still a skeptic.

Day – 3 : You observe all the sensations in the triangle that borders the upper lips as base extending along your nose.  This is tough. Initially you feel no sensations but after a few hrs you start felling the first small tickle. Then slowly with time you experience other sensations – a small throbbing, at times warmth, sudden burst of cold draft , some pin pricks , at time pulsing, sometime an indescribable sensation – a variety of sensations which you thought never existed.

As the mind has become sharper it is able to start identifying these sensations. They always existed – the gross mind does not see or experience them, the subtle perceptive mind does.  This was a very interesting experience and a great discovery. Something that can be used on a ongoing basis.

Day – 4: In the first half we start getting more precise. We now observe the sensations in the small area above your upper lip and below the nose. Now you are focused on a much smaller area, this is like sharpening the pencil even more and making it ready for Vipassana. The mind is concentrated to the point and at the end of 1 hr your forehead begins to heart with the intense concentration. You do this practice for about 4 hrs.

With this you have now prepared your mind to be able to concentrate on a small area of your body,

Now that you are ready Goenka Ji introduces you to Vipassana. The technique is to run your mind from top of the head to toes covering each part of your body in a certain flow and observing the sensations. Each journey of the mind takes about 10 – 15 minutes and whenever you don’t observe any sensations you stop for a minute at the spot. You suddenly realize that the full body is actually throbbing with sensations.

I found this to be similar to “Yoga Nidra”. Yes the Anapana Sati has helped you to assess and observe the sensations in your body a lot better. But conceptually it is similar. You do “Yoga Nidra” for 10 – 15 minutes after Yoga to relax your body , while this is a lot deeper and you spend days focusing on the sensations across your body.

I was a trite disappointed. I was expecting more. Post our learning we practiced for some more time. By day 3 you could see some change in the room. People were beginning to cough, burp, sneeze, and fart –  by day 4 night this was increasing a very rapid pace.

This just psyched me out. In a dark, dimly lit room with about a 100 people creating funny noises was not a pleasant experience. It affected my concentration and I was struggling to focus from Day 4. Add to this the level of energy is very low. People lost in their own world walking like zombies with slow steady steps starting into space made me feel that this was somewhere a mix between an asylum and a government hospital.

Day 5 you continue with the practise of Vipassana but now start spending 1 hr sessions ( 3 times ) sitting absolutely motionless like a statue. Mind becomes calmer when the body is still. This is not easy

I exited on Day 5. Most people exit on day 2 or Day 6 – I am told that 25 – 30 % of attendees exit. The reason most leave is because of the frugal food, Spartan facilities, the inability to communicate, or a struggle to sit cross-legged for 10 hrs. None of this affected me. I loved the simple food, enjoyed the peace and quiet of noble silence and my living quarters reminded me of college. I was beginning to enjoy this like a resort and hoping I could make it a yearly trip.

But two things that did not work – One the negative energy. You come to a program to get the adrenalin pumping – to get motivated & charged. Even the Acharya and successful returning meditators look like people from another planet. Weak & frail. That’s not something I want to be. Maybe they have tremendous internal bliss. But I guess I am not ready for that – YET.

And secondly the effect of meditation and the cleansing process was releasing all the impressions from the mind. The only way it can get released is thru yawning / burping / coughing.. . I somewhere saw this as a cloud of negative emotions hovering around the dimply lit room like a shadow of negativity – and that freaked me out.

Am I disappointed – Yes & No. Yes because I did not complete a project I wanted to do for long. No – because I learnt the tool of Anapana Sati which I can put to use effectively on a day-to-day basis. I have learnt the right way to meditate – rather than focus on Om, a lamp, a mantra – its better to focus on sensations on your body. Also I got an opportunity to visit the world famous Bodh Gaya Temple and to understand Buddhism a little better. It’s interesting to speculate why Buddhism lost out around 500 AD and Hinduism revived (That’s a separate blog – Coming soon). I also missed out visiting Nalanda that was just 60 Km away ( 3 hrs on Bihar Roads) . This whole stretch is worthy of a holiday Varanasi – Khajuraho – Bodh Gaya is a interesting 1 week circuit.

I am sure millions have benefited from this program. It surely delivers value. The organization is committed and the band of volunteers (Dhamma Sevak’s) is amazing. Most Sevaks in our program were from abroad – France, Kosovo, Prague. More than 30 % of the participants were foreigners. They don’t charge a pie for the 10-day program and exist purely on the charity of people who complete the course.

In todays world who would invest in your well being for 10 days with food and lodging free of cost with so much committment ? As I left I requested them to accept a donation – they were categoic that they take donations only from people who complete the course. This did upset me a little – but I hope I can contribute in some manner or come back later when I am more prepared.

Vipassana is a great example of how good things don’t need marketing. Every year 1300 teachers train over 120,000 people globally. Compare this to Baba Ramdev, Sri Sri and many of our current age spiritual gurus who run marketing campaigns to fill up their paid classes.

What Goenka Ji has started and built is indeed very impressive. Sadly the media (paid media) hardly gave Vipassana any visibility. Even the recent death of Goenka Ji in Sep 2013 a Padma Bhushan winner was poorly reported.

So what next – Isha Inner Engineering was high energy & fun and Vipassana was different & interesting. I have Osho in my mind. But as of now – I am going to let deep spirituality and inner well being take a bit of a back seat – its back to family, work, gym, yoga and my weekly Vodka!

Other Useful Information

1.     Visit www.dhamma.org for more details on program & Registration

2.     Carry your own bed sheets / blankets / toiletries / Alarm clock  / Torch / Odomos / Skin Lotion / Water Bottle

3.     Don’t go with a friend / family – one may connect the other may not, exit then becomes a challenge for both

4.     Once you have completed the initial 10-day program you can attend others – there are 10, 20, 30 & 45-day programs. There are also 2-day refresher sessions on Anapana Sati sessions dedicated only for Sr students who have attended 1 course – many keep coming back for repeat sessions.

5.     A 10 day program gets you started – but to constantly be on the journey you need to keep coming back (This is what some of the Sr meditators who have attended 5 + sessions told me on the day of registration)

 

 

 

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Its Raining – viewing from a different lens !

27 Nov

Mon night I had a 1030 PM flight to Delhi. Between Nov 15th and Dec 12th I am spending 2 nights at home so I was in a real groucho mood when the driver comes in at 7.30 PM and says – its pouring, traffic is jammed lets leave early.

Bangalore traffic is a mess in the evening and when it rains all hell breaks lose. Stuck in a  car for over 2 hrs with nothing much to do I received a SMS from Jet that the 10.30 PM flight was delayed to 11.20 PM  – and for the first time I was happy – I would now not miss my flight.  This started the train of thoughts and hence the blog.

PTI7_20_2013_000073A_Kand_0

Its interesting to see how the same event at different time – of the day or your life leaves a different impact. The action is the same but the reaction it causes is so different. Lets start with the SMS – A 10.30 PM flight further getting delayed would normally have me very upset – but here I was smiling and saying thank you Jet.

When it rains in the morning the kids are happy. On most occasions  schools get cancelled and they can rush back home getting drenched shouting ” Chutti” . I still remember the joy when school was called off due to the rains – or when the Pope died ! There was no sorrow – just the sheer joy of having a day off

17YT_RAIN2_1145563g

However if it rains in the evening at 4 PM – the kids look sad and forlorn. Play time is gone – no more cricket & football. Got to stay home and study. Its the same rain and the same kids – its just a matter of timing and the effect it has caused.

In small town Durgapur during the rains we used to sit in the lovely verandah overlooking the garden and sip hot steaming tea watching the rain , smelling the mud and feeling the spray of water on your face. A few adventurous kids used to step out to sail paper boats in the drains that were gushing with water. Garam Chai and hot pakoda tastes so good on a rainy day at 4 PM.

7638908070_eb3bd9ed2e_z

But ask the person who plucks the tea leaves – how rain affects them ! They are not happy as they have to drag on for 8 hrs a day in the wet cold rain plucking two leaves and a bud across hilly slopes. ( Every time you have a cup of tea on a rainy day , do remember these guys)

images-1

The farmer is so happy when it rains – the seeds will sprout and there is hope for prosperity. He stares at the sky and says a silent prayer. However the hawker in the road is dismayed and upset – he just lost his days earning . So is the fisherman who dare not venture out.

The 3 night family holiday in a lovely hill station that you planned months ahead is wiped out when it rains , but the honeymooners in Goa are happy to see the rain from their lovely Suite.

When Larry Golmes and Shiv Narain are battling post tea to save the cricket match at Eden against India they welcome the rain and when Sachin is at 99 and the rains come the whole country cries.

16533584.cms

When you meet the hot chick in college after 20 years and see an unrecognisable obese, tired looking aunty  – you silently say Thank God I didn’t propose to her . Its again how time changes things . Whats good today isn’t good tomorrow and what we feel is right and fun is pain and agony for someone else .

Finally its all a matter of perspective and which lens you view it from – I guess thats the way of life , nothing is right or wrong.

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →