Complexity and all the crap..

I am an MBA student and the reality struck me just a couple days ago when I was writing my mid-term exam for a subject that is stupidly titled Managing Change. Now every MBA knows that professors talk a lot of crap about models and flow charts and lots of theories. Academic scholars like Galbraith, Nadler, Peter Drucker or even Sigmund 'fucking' Freud came up with the weirdest of all theories and models. Like we don't have anything better to do with our lives!

My question is, when faced with an actual business problem or a crisis, who in the whole wide world has any time to consult these flow charts and theories.

Ever since we were born, haven't we been taught to tackle crisis by our own judgment? The word for that is 'EXPERIENCE'. That is certainly the best teacher.

And I realized it 3 semesters down in MBA!

Sorry Mr. Drucker and Mr. Freud but seems like your complex analysis of organizations and people will still remain secondary data because nothing can take the place of simple mistakes made and great lessons learned..!

I wish I was mentally challenged..

The title of this post may be enough for my friends and people who know me to start laughing. Because they have this notion that I am already mentally challenged! Well, they do not know that beneath this insanity lies the sanity of a pair of eyes that, probably, has seen it all and been through it all..

But that would be digressing from the point. The point I want to make here was taught to me by this customer at the store who is mentally challenged.

This guy is amazing. By amazing I actually mean, pure at heart with no malice in his soul. How many sane people practice this these days?

Sometimes I feel that the so-called- insane people are the luckiest amongst us all. Life for them is not a struggle but a happy journey. They have the most beautiful frame of reference to look at the world.

Such innocence, such purity is unseen.

And that is why I wish I was mentally challenged... wish I could break free from the shackles of all the mind games that my mind plays with me. Wish I could break free of the entire chain of thought process that boggles my mind. Wish I could live life without having to worry about the future. Wish I could be just me...

Independence or as we call it..

"250 years of struggle for independence but what do we have to show for except for a country divided..."

These were the closing lines of one of the most beautiful movies that I saw in recent times-1947 Earth. Directed by the ace director Deepa Mehta, this movie revolves around a young girl Lenny who sees the world through her eyes during the days of partition.

62 years of Indian independence and Pakistani independence were celebrated in the succession of 2 days i.e. 14th and 15th of August. As Jawaharlal Nehru proclaimed independence in his famous speech on 14th of August; a new India was born.

But in the hustle and celebration of the rebirth of a nation, millions of its children slept forever. Such was the sad state of 2 nations during the time of partition. Over one million people, be it Hindus or Muslims, were massacred in the name of religion.

The human exchange between the 2 nations stands out to be the biggest that has taken place in the history of mankind.

And after 62 years, the question reigning in my mind is- why? What bent the Britishers to demand for partition when 2 countries were going to flourish together in prosperity. Were the Britishers so afraid of India's and Pakistan's joint strength that they just decided to divide the nations in 2? Were India and Pakistan so much of a threat for the pale skinned bastards?

Why did nobody care about the one million that died in the partition.. or the thousands that were massacred at Jallianwala Baugh?

And then they celebrate 62 years of Independence...

Malgudi Days..

A few days ago my friend mentioned this T.V series that I once used to watch as a kid. No points of guessing the title of this series.. Malgudi Days.
This novel was written by one of the most loved Indian writers; often confused with cartoonist K.R Narayan; Mr. R.K Narayan.
To be honest I have never read the book. I would love to and someday I will. But I love this T.V. series.
It is about a small town called Malgudi shown as it would have been during the British Raj. The sheer simplicity of the series, the beauty of the stories so wonderfully told and the amazing performances by the actors are some of the many things that have awed me once again to this series.
The inner child has awakened again and certainly what an awakening it has been! At the age of 23, I just wish I could be 6 again. I just wish I could live in the olden times in a village called Malgudi...

When you have nothing to share..

How do you express yourself when you have nothing left to say,
How do you see another person when there is nothing left to see,
How do you realize you have moved on when you don't want to move on.
How do you fight loneliness, when lonely is all you want to be..

More or less this is what I feel right now. It has been ages since I wrote something. I missed writing. But unfortunately bigger and more pressing matters consumed my time. And this time the title of this entry and the small verse is true- I actually have nothing to share.
All along, I realized, I have given my views on a lot of things. Be it education, gender bias or my observations in general. And when I was going through my entries again today, I suddenly realized that who am I to share or say anything about anyone or anybody.
It may sound confusing right now. But I feel it is just so true. All throughout our life we have been taught to be strong and speak our minds. When all that we should have been taught was that there is no one opinion that is right or wrong.
What I may see through my eyes may not necessarily be the right thing through your eyes. Why share and why care? Why curse and why complain? Nothing is going to change the way you view something- so why crib about it?
Life is too short to curse about. Just accept the frustration along the way and sail on!!

Metamorphosis...

The only permanent thing on this planet is change. Be it a blossoming flower bud or a cocoon turning into a beautiful butterfly, everything changes and everything grows.
Most of the times, we crib and cry about change. As human beings, we have a set routine and we hate when that schedule is disturbed. Even if we miss a single bus, we feel frustrated because our entire time table for the day is blown apart.
But ever tried looking at change through a different pair of eyes? Metamorphosis is the beautiful journey an individual undertakes to become a better person. Metamorphosis is that medicine which brings us closer to being our self. The person who we ultimately are supposed to be.
Had it not been for that change, the cocoon would have stayed a cocoon and never turned into a beautiful butterfly. Had it not been for that change, we would not have had flowers. We would just have stagnant flower buds. Had it not been for changes in our life, we would not have grown to be better people.
I do not fully understand why am I writing about change today. I guess I just needed a change from my old writing habits and hence this article on change! All we need to remember is to embrace change as and when it comes. That is all that is needed to add spice and variety to life...

America so far..

It has been 10 months that I set foot in the land of opportunities. And these 10 months have been like an eye opener in a way that doesn't make it so obvious. The cultural shock has been subtle but tremendous.
Americans are funny people, but they are very open-hearted and friendly. Well not everyone really, but most of them are. Here are some things I find intriguing about Americans:

- You know you see an American when the person is a die-hard Yankees or Mets fan and is an ardent consumer of KFC, McDonalds or Dunkin Donuts.

-You know you see an American when majority of the clothes in his/her closet fall under the XL or the XXL size.

-You know you see an American when he/she threatens to sue you because your hand brushed against his/her elbow.

-You know you see an American when all they talk, eat, see or feel is sex and booze.

-You know you see an American when the amount of clothes on their body is directly proportional to the temperature outside.

-And finally, you know you see an American when he/she scores a full 100 on 100 in a DUMB test!!