Sharing Ideas Sharing Thoughts

Revolutionary technological advancements will shape our immediate future (2-5 years). My assessment is based on simple observations, some readings and common sense. To give you an idea, see what the governments, big business houses and entrepreneurs are currently engaged in and then you may make your own judgement. 1. Computing will be at the heart of the revolution. It will generate and process great amount of data to help decision making. It will make the existing hardware more efficient and our lives more productive. The crunching, storage and applications will shift to cloud . The devices (mobile phones) will simply access the servers. Which means that high speed internet proliferation through wireless (say LTE) will pave the way. That further means advancements in mobile phones (both hardware and software). And so it is very easy to see why most of the work is happening in SMAC. 2.  SMAC . Social media, Mobiles, Analytics and Cloud computing.  Social med...

This is a three part series. Please read Part I and Part II before you start reading below. He arrived early and chose a spot that offered privacy and a good view of the sea. After going through the menu and briefing the steward, he waited—impatiently!! Gazing at the horizon, his mind drifted to how everyone sees the same world differently. Everyone around here had their own ideas about what they wanted from life. But in general, most people wanted to make loads of money and be successful. There was an urge for recognition and status in society. People wanted their kids to do well, to be healthy, and so on. He wondered how he had missed these two important aspects that make life complete—money and health. They had their place, too. Perhaps the contestant on the ramp had given a better answer than he'd initially thought: health, wealth, and wisdom. She was practical and honest. He was certain there was no absolute right or wrong here. People made choices based on their experie...

This is a continuation of the last post . Girl : "You aren’t dancing?" Captain : "I would love to, if you’ll join me." Dancing came effortlessly to both. They quickly found a rhythm, moving in sync, letting their hair down and savoring each moment on the floor. When the DJ finally called it off, they were reluctant to stop but were already looking forward to meeting again that evening. Though it was past midnight by the time the Captain returned to his room, sleep didn’t come easily. His mind wandered, questioning why he had never really pondered some of life’s deeper questions. He realized he didn’t quite know what he truly wanted from life. Perhaps spending too much time in the combat zone had numbed him, leaving no space for such reflections. Maybe thoughts like these were distractions in combat, where survival demanded focus. After all, he had faced death more often than life in those moments. With that rationale, he let himself drift into peaceful sleep. The C...

Gardening with children is a great way to teach about life... read on

The young Captain watched the May Queen beauty pageant at the local military club. After spending two years in the rugged Himalayas, he was savoring the change of pace—the cosmopolitan air, the vibrant atmosphere. Life felt good: a job he enjoyed, close friends, money in his pocket, a bike, and the freedom of a wandering spirit. Standing beside his close pal, he watched the young women striding confidently down the ramp. He felt a controlled excitement within. Though tempted to grab a beer like everyone else, he resisted. Eye contact and friendly smiles from both familiar and unfamiliar faces added to the evening’s charm. The attraction he felt for the girls wasn’t one-sided, but he found himself avoiding them with the same restraint he exercised toward alcohol. He knew he wasn’t made for settling down—he was like a wild goose, and it felt safer to stick with his friends. During a break in the program, they headed to the bar, refilled their glasses, and returned to the crowd. The Capt...

Came across this inspiring article that features 100 ways that we, as parents, can practice to connect with our children. As we all know so well that it's not always the big extraordinary things we do for our kids that makes them happy - often it's those small, unexpected and joyful acts of love on ordinary days that make their hearts sing. http://creativewithkids.com/100-ways-to-be-kind-to-your-child/

In my earlier post, I had shared my basic thoughts on parenting. Mastering the basics and integrating them in our lives would take us beyond the 80% mark. But if one is hungry for more then the following may help. Again, connecting the dots will be up to you and don't bother if some dots remain unconnected after the figure is formed. Me and my wife have this simple aim : Help Harsh (our son) become a good human being. Period. The following will add up to fulfill this honorous task. 1. Health & Hygiene . Food...He should have a good relationship with food. Saying a prayer before starting to eat is a wonderful thing. Encourage him to eat healthy, eat slow and to avoid overeating. However, occasional indulgence is absolutely fine to offset the pier influence. Again if we lead by example then the kid will not be confused. The point is do we have the common sense, discipline and self control that we demand from our children. Exercise...Ask him to join you when you...

Came across this wonderful piece... "If I had my child to raise over again: I'd build self-esteem first and the house later I'd finger paint more and point the finger less I would do less correcting and more connecting I'd take my eyes off my watch and watch with my eyes I would care to know less and know to care more I'd take more hikes and fly more kites I'd stop playing serious and seriously play I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars I'd do more hugging and less tugging I'd see the oak tree in the acorn more often I would be firm less often and affirm much more I'd model less about the love of power And more about the power of love." -- Diane Loomans

One doesn't need everything in place to do A thing.  Deep in my heart, i wanted to return to writing, but somehow could not do it.  Today, i got a text message from one of the readers asking me to continue writing. And boy, that felt good. (You see, recognition matters !!) And so i decided that irrespective of the schedule, i will start today itself. This post is dedicated to her. Please find below, a few bullet points and i will leave the 'connecting the dots' part to you. The devil is within...The fight is always within ourselves. The Mahabharata battle is symbolic and the esoteric meaning is to fight with our own bad habits. We all have a fair knowledge of what is right or wrong. It is just that we fail to make the right choices. Two reasons - lack of awareness and lack of will power. Now, we have heard a lot about the 'free will' stuff. But, to a great extent we are limited in exercising our free will. We make choices based on our habits that ...

Reproducing below, a post from my earlier blog. The reasons are still the same!! Q. Why do you run? Ans. Running simply makes me feel good. I enjoy it. Its fun! It's liberating. The others reasons are : 1. I like to push my limits and experiment with my will power. Running helps me strengthen my Will. 2. Mind over body and all that stuff. Compete against myself. Never give up, self-believe. 3. There are obvious health benefits. It keeps me fit. Exercises my heart. Keeps muscles toned. And I stay in shape. Running also improves my body balance and I enjoy the rhythm while running. 4. It is the simplest, easiest and cheapest sport. One can practice it alone, no equipment needed, no courts or stadiums, no memberships, no gear. Just put on your shorts and shoes and run anywhere, anytime(even while travelling). 5. Maintaining a routine, helps me stay disciplined. 6. I do not listen to music while running. I like to be more mindful of my running - ...

Have you ever been completely lost - as an adult - for example in a city ?  I remember, while we were undergoing our officer's training at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, we had been out on this camp for five days then. We were in real jungles, far from the familiar training grounds. Except for live bullets, this was as real as possible. Poorly fed, without a shower (but with boots polished and clean shaven at 5 in the morning!!) and with hardly any time to rest we were thoroughly fatigued. Days went by in learning in squads through instructions and demonstrations. While nights went by in practicing the drills. The 5 am mark for reporting used to be a couple of hours away, by the time we were dismissed.  On this particular night, we were navigating back to our camp after a successful raid on the enemy post. We could sense the lack of certainty with which our navigator was taking us back. After several failed attempts and with a lot of regret, he informed our i...

One post daily for 23 days and then no post for next 23 days. What a coincidence! But right now, I am feeling like the 'hero' in Indian movies who has been beaten badly by the evil guy and who is presumably unconscious. But right in the last moment he opens up his eyes, blows out sand with his breath, and jumps up to fight again. Let me share with you, my original plan. I was following a technique which I have used successfully in past. The scheme is - to make a resolve to do a job that you really want to do for 30 days. The idea has been presented by Matt Cutts in this TED talk. He says that 30 days is neither too long and nor too short for trying something new. And most likely at the end of this month one will have enough momentum to continue. Well, I crossed three quarters of my journey and then lost it.  Apart from the dis-continuity of my blog, I failed in doing so many things that I have written about earlier. But, this is precisely the point all along :: Even...

I am travelling right now and apologize for not being able to share my thoughts. Meanwhile, I am sharing some ideas.. Many years ago in a small Indian village, A farmer had the misfortune Of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender.  The Moneylender , who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer's beautiful Daughter. So he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his Daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the Proposal.  So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let Providence decide the matter.  He told them that he would put a black Pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would Have to pick one pebble from the bag.  1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven. 2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven.  3) But ...

Ruth Chang's TED talk is interesting. ( http://www.ted.com/talks/ruth_chang_how_to_make_hard_choices ) Key Points 1. Making hard choices seems big, important and agonizing. It depends on how the alternatives(options) relate. We find that one is better in some way and other in another but neither is better overall. 2. Full information(clarity) can still keep the options hard. 3. It is a misconception that one is better than the other. There is no best option . It therefore makes sense to choose the less risky one. 4. These hard choices are at par(same kind-i.e., neither is better than the other but are not equal either...in fact we cannot be very objective or numerical in evaluating them). 5. So...Be the author of your own life..decide what you ought to be (this will come intuitively) and use your power to create reasons for the choice that you should make(who am I to be) 6. Drifters-allow the world to write the stories of their life. T...

Last night I dreamnt that I was a Prince of a prosperous kingdom. Apart from great wealth and power at my disposition, I was endowed with good looks and a strong body. I was good in royal sports like horse riding, sword fighting and archery. When I was 18 years old, I read the story of Prince Siddartha (Later Buddha) and although, I was not denied meeting the common man, I realized that I did not have much idea about the daily struggles of life. So along with my aides and some royal guards, I set out on a journey to explore and find out some answers. I wanted to learn how it was to live like a common man.  On the 3rd day of my tour, we started climbing a small mountain range and had estimated that by sunset we should reach the village on the other side  of the mountain. But an overflowing river delayed us and we were forced to halt mid-way and spend the night in open. On this night, I dreamnt that I was a poor farmer and life had always been very difficult for me. By my p...

Today, I was invited to speak at the CIRC (Central India Regional Council) Bareilly Branch of ICAI (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India). I spoke to the aspiring Chartered Accountants.  The talk was on Personality development and I was to cover topics such as Goal setting, Attitude, Motivation, Self-Analysis. The audience were sincere and attentive and I enjoyed communing with them. The talk was very well received and I am happy about it. I was also presented with a  memento /gift from the organizers and this makes me happier (he-he!!). But the icing on the cake was when a young man, Chetan, asked me for my autograph. This was very flattering, as no one had ever asked me for my autograph.  I obliged the request and wrote a small encouraging note for him.  I spoke on mindset, on having an inquiring mind, realizing our infinite potential, being authentic, working hard, never giving up etc. My last post in this series was very long and therefore,...

Every child is born with some pre-natal tendencies and is therefore  unique . There are no standard answers for parenting. The post natal environment is in our hands and this should be the area of focus. Parenting requires loads of patience. I am far from being a 'perfect father' and I am learning this art through mistakes. My most basic thoughts on Parenting are as follows : ( I have used 'he' without any bias for boys) 1. Let the child grow in an environment of constant love and affection. Nurture the child and love him for what he is. Constantly guide, help and support him in the process. 2. Bring him up like a gardener who cares for his plants. The gardener does everything with deep love and carries out his duty with sincerity and devotion. The gardener provides water, fertilizer, removes weeds and even uses harsh chemicals when needed. He provides warmth through green house and lets the plant grow on its own on abundant dose of love and affection. ...