Sunday, June 29, 2008

Review on "Go kiss the World"..

There was no looking back after I decided to purchase this book, thanks to Giri. Giri, impressed by my blogging skills asked me to write a review on the book "Go kiss the World". So, I finally decided to purchase the book online. The book was shipped in 3 days. I couldn't wait to put my hands on the book. But I was a bit late. My Dad had already started reading the book. I thought that he was actually just going through the first few introduction pages. But later I was shocked to have found him reading the 20th page as I had never seen him read a book before.

So, I had to wait for my turn to put my hands on the book. I thought that I would actually read it after Dad goes to sleep. So I did. I read the prologue and got to know that the book actually had 3 parts in it. The first part gives you a complete picture of Subroto's early years ( starting from the day he was born ). The second inspires you to explore the making of an young professional giving the example of Subroto's life. The third however tells you how to come back after a fall, how MindTree was born, about the mid-life transition / mid-life crisis and some important lessons for a young professional.

I got off to a flying start after having read 50 pages on the first day. My Dad was soon catching up though. The first part tells you about the 'life of simplicity' of Subroto's family. It tells you how Subroto was brought up imbibing the skills required. It also tells you how he had to keep changing schools everytime his Dad got transfered and how that actually helped him to build a high degree of comfort with displacement. How displacement helps you to explore everything around you and develop curiosity. How he was mentored by his brothers and how it actually helps. He also narrates an experience where he was caught smoking beedi's at the age of 5 and was let go after his father remained silent. He tells that how not handing out the punishment when it is most expected is the best way to bring lasting repentance. He also tells you how he went on to become the "Best NCC Cadet" of India and recieved the award from The President of India at Rashtrapathi Bhavan. How the Colonel told him not to join the army, navy or the air-force which could have changed his life. How he started working as a junior clerk in the industries department of the Government of Orissa and his experiences.

In the second part, he tells you how he learned to fly after he read the book "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" and how it inspired him to join HCL inspite of a 40% cut in his salary. His comfort with displacement helped him change jobs often. He had moved from DCM to HCL and then to PSI and MMC. He tells us how he learned to fail when MMC decided to close down its computer business. He, along with Sujit Bose then decided to start a training institute called Project.21. After having had a decent 3 years at Project.21, it was actually aquired by NIIT. It was then that he decided to quit and go in search of his own destiny. He then joined Wipro where he met Ashok, KK, Partha and others who were to become co-founders of MindTree with him one day. He along with Ashok Soota, Azim Premji and others made people understand the issues which helped Wipro reach the level where it is now. He then had to go to the US to set-up an office for Wipro there. He explains how he set-up a home office and how difficult it was to run it. He then returned back to India after having spent a good 3 years of hard-work which helped Wipro in the long-run. He then explains about the mid-life crisis/transition he faced when he joined Lucent Technologies after having quit Wipro.

In the third part, he explains "The Pain of Re-birth" after his decision to join Lucent Technologies turned out to be a bad one. It was then that he along with KK started planning to start an organization. He then gives you a complete picture of how MindTree was born and how different people took different responsibilities within to help it blossom. He also explains how they had to cope-up with the 9/11 tragedy thanks to the good leadership of Ashok and the confidence of our top three customers then - Avis, Franklin Templeton and Unilever. How the deal with Volvo in 2002 changed everything for MindTree. Their effort in building the 3 kinds of infrastructure - physical, intelluctual and the emotional to raise MindTree to the next level. His belief in Servant Leadership and his decision to take on a postion of service in MindTree. He relives those moments that could have changed his life. When the Colonel, who had chaired the selection panel to choose the Best Cadet of India advised him - "Son, never join the army, never join the navy and never join the air force". Had he not ruled out these favourable options, his life would have been quite different. The incident where an old man in his eighties told him - "Never think of retiring". One more incident where his landlord advised him - "Open your mind before you open your mouth". He calls these people as Personal Angels - people who live in our midst. He then in the final chapter ( my favourite ) gives us some important lessons which he had learnt in his life. With those lessons comes the capability for all of us to Go kiss the World.

I suggest all of you to read the book atleast once and I am sure that you will enjoy reading it and feel that it's worth. Happy reading.

I will surely ask my Dad about his experiences reading the book ( what I feel is the first story book he has ever read ) once he finishes. I am sure he would have enjoyed reading it. Looking forward to more books from Subroto. Signing Off.

Regards,
Kishan Chandranna

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Effect of people's curse on us..

Have you ever wondered how people's curse will affect us??

I feel that there is nothing in this world that will affect us more than someone's curse. Don't believe me?

I will prove my point by narrating a real-life story which my friend Bharath told me.

A few years back, there were two ladies( Sita and Gita ) who used to go to their college by walk. On their way to college, they used to see a guy( Ramesh ) who used to sit on a bench staring at them almost every day. The ladies were upset after seeing the weird behaviour of Ramesh. Ramesh, who was almost the same age as that of the ladies was mentally-retarded. This fact was unknown to the ladies. They assumed that he also is one among those eve-teasers.

Since this continued for a few days, both Sita and Gita decided to take an alternate route. They were very happy not to have found Ramesh the next day. So, the ladies decided to take that same route daily. But on the next morning, they were shocked to see Ramesh who again stared at them. But this time, he wasn't alone. He was accompanied by another lady( Sashi ) who happened to be his mom. This fact was again unknown to the ladies.

One day, Sita and Gita decided that they would complain about the weird behaviour of Ramesh to that lady who used to accompany him. So, they started to scold Ramesh in front of his mom. Later on, the ladies get to know the fact that the lady was none other than that Ramesh's mom. They started complaining about the Ramesh's weird behaviour towards them to Sashi.

Sashi, now upset after having heard the ladies complain against her son starts explaining Sita and Gita about the abnormality of Ramesh. She tells that her son is mentally-retarded. She also tells the ladies that they would know the difficulties faced by the mother of a mentally-retarded only when they experience it. This turned out to be curse for both Sita and Gita.

At present both Sita and Gita are blessed with a mentally-retarded child. Whom do you blame of this state of our ladies? Can you blame the ladies for this? No, right? Any female would have done the same thing as Sita and Gita.

Can you blame God for this? No, I feel God will only punish people who have done something bad. He wouldn't punish Sita and Gita as they haven't done anything wrong. Infact, he has done something good to both Sita and Gita by blessing them with two brilliant children each who at present are doing wonders in their career.

The only person who can be blamed is Sashi for her curse.

By now, you must have got an idea as to how people's curse is going to affect us right. So, I would like to conclude by saying that " If possible, do good to someone.. but don't do bad to anyone ". Beacuse, if you do bad to anyone, you will be the target of their curse which is going to prove very costly. So, let's not intend to do bad to anyone even if it comes at the cost of losing our own money as losing some amount of money wouldn't hurt us as badly as the curse.

Signing Off.

Regards,
Kishan Chandranna

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

A S/W Engineer's daily routine..

I must say that our typical day begins with a quick rush to the bus-stop and then a quick bite in the cafeteria before settling in our seat anticipating a hard day's work. We would then open our mail-box only to see it flooded with all kinds of mails. To have noticed a mail from either the Client or the PM would be horrifying as it signifies a good amount of work ahead of you. If you were lucky enough not to find any such mail, you would then set your hands on the good-morning messages which would be a nice time-pass for half an hour. We would then be involved in our work for quite sometime before we are ready for a coffee-break and a quick stroll.

Back to work, we will again be involved in it till its time for lunch - A good one hour to freak out with friends. After returning back and having a strong cup of coffee/tea, we would then slog hard and try to finish the remaining work by 6PM to avoid staying back. After slogging hard till 6 to have completed most of the work assigned, it will be time for us to spend the remaining half an hour with our friends at the cafeteria. ( We somehow feel that a day must begin and end at the cafeteria ).

Then, it would be time for us to rush back to the cab for a good one hour ride before we reach home. This one hour would be a nice relaxation for all of us after a hard day's work. Finally, we are back home at 8PM and it's TV time for some of us, taking care of children for some etc. We would have dinner at around 9.30 and get back to sleep at 10.30 or 11 after another round of TV.

This being our daily routine, I have a few questions for you,
Are we happy with it?
Are we spending enough time with ourselves?
Are we spending enough time with our family and relatives?
Are we keeping ourselves healthy?

Most of us will agree that the answer is NO to all the above questions. This being the case, what can be done to make ourselves happy and content?

We have to accept the fact that Work is something that is unavoidable and which will sometimes be hectic and it is going to stay that way till we retire and hence we should look out for alternatives to make our life more pleasing.

We spend atleast one or two hours travelling in a day. This time must be effectively utilized to spend sometime with oursleves. I usually meet my old friends on saturdays and my sundays are devoted to spend sometime with my parents and relatives. I jog for atleast for half an hour each on fridays, saturdays and sundays. I feel this strategy can make you a lot happier and content now that you have time to spend on yourselves, family and friends and are keeping yourself healthy.

Don't you feel that it's now time for you to sit and re-prioritize and re-organize your "things to do" list during weekends and do something that makes you happy? Hope I have succeeded in triggering that thought on your minds.

Signing Off.


Regards,
Kishan Chandranna

Monday, June 23, 2008

I've learned..

As I Walk Alone Through Life.....

I've learned -
that you can do something in an instant
that will give you a heartache for life.

I've learned -
that you should always leave
loved ones with loving words.
It may be the last time you see them.

I've learned -
that you can keep going long after you can't.

I've learned -
that we are responsible for what we do,
no matter how we feel.

I've learned -
that either you control your
attitude or it controls you.

I've learned -
that money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I've learned -
that my best friend and I can do anything
or nothing and have the best time.

I've learned -
that sometimes when I'm angry
I have the right to be
angry, but that doesn't give me
the right to be cruel.

I've learned -
that just because someone doesn't love you the
way you want them to doesn't mean they
don't love you with all they have.

I've learned -
that no matter how good a friend is,
they are going to hurt you every once
in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I've learned -
that it isn't always enough to
be forgiven by others,
Sometimes you have to learn
to forgive yourself.

I've learned -
that just because two people argue, it doesn't
mean they don't love each other.

I've learned -
that two people can look at
the exact same thing
and see something totally different.

Regards,
Kishan Chandranna

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Inspirational Quotes..

When the going gets tough, the tough get going - Billy Ocean

For every failure, there's an alternative course of action. You just have to find it. When you come to a roadblock, take a detour - Mary Kay Ash

Have you got a problem? Do what you can where you are with what you've got - Theodore Roosevelt

He who asks a question may be a fool for five minutes, but he who never asks a question remains a fool forever - Tom Connelly

Hot heads and cold hearts never solved anything - Billy Graham

How you think about a problem is more important than the problem itself - so always think positively - Norman Vincent Peale

It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers - James Thurber

It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer - Albert Einstein

Leaders are problem solvers by talent and temperament, and by choice - Harlan Cleveland

Most people spend more time and energy going around problems than in trying to solve them - Henry Ford

No problem can stand the assault of sustained thinking - Voltaire

The best way to deal with your weakness is to use it as your strength - Srinidhi

To enjoy life take early retirements , or better , retire before you start your work - Srinidhi

When life throws lemons at you, don't just make a lemonade of it, just ask for some salt and Tequila - Kishan

Monday, June 16, 2008

Take life as it comes..

This is exactly what my friend( chose not to mention his name ) told when I asked him to go propose his love.. What he meant was, he wasn't going to take an initiative and he would let things happen.. I felt that he was waiting for something to happen from her side..

I strictly oppose this attitude of his.. "Taking life as it comes" is a great attitude to have.. But, has it said that you shouldn't go for something you like but instead just wait for that something you like to come to you all by itself.. I guess my friend has not understood this statement completely..

Here is my brief explanation of what that saying actually means-

"Taking life as it comes" means that you should'nt be worried when something goes awry.. You have to take that positively and move on.. It just means to be more accepting of the reality that comes our way.. It doesn't mean that we don't panic, show apprehension or turmoil, it just asks us to be perhaps more tolerant and compromising..

"Taking life as it comes" doesn't mean you take it gracefully all the time.. It just means you do not stress big time over things, you do not plan too far ahead you take things as they come, you deal with problems as they appear and do not worry about future problems until you get to that crossroad..

People forget to do certain things in life when it has to be done.. I am not talking about wasting time when you have to study for an exam. I am thinking of - The Dad who forgets to spend time with his kids, the Mom who does'nt understand her kids, the boy who fails to propose his love, the girl who keeps waiting for the boy to propose, the friend who does'nt stand up for their pal, the husband who does'nt care, the wife who nags her husband, people who keep analysing whether or not to commit, the son or daughter who insult their parents, college days spent in sincerely attending classes.... the list is endless right??

Are you thinking how these instances are related to the topic??

Well, we only get a single chance to do certain things in our lives - To love, to bring up a kid, to romance around, to take care, to express our feelings and lot of other things like that...

So, if you miss that chance/moment- Its gone!! How much ever u lament on that lost moment, it will never ever come back.. Never..

I hope that I have made my friend realise this fact and I also hope that I have convinced him to go ahead and propose his love.. Hope he gets what he wants.. Wishing him luck..
Signing off..

Regards,
Kishan Chandranna

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Beware of the pit called Que*t!!!

I would like to start writing this article with the following approximations,

1) This article is not intended to cause harm to anybody..
2) These are my thoughts and feelings and I am not here to hurt anyone..
3) This article is being written to break the suspense regarding my debts..

It all started on a Friday evening when my friend ( I chose not to mention his name ) buzzed me and told that there is a golden opportunity lying in store for me and I need to meet him for an hour the next morning to know about it.. He said that he would get someone along and I would be the most happiest person in this world after that meeting.. I assumed that it would be my crush who is going to come there since my friend was very close to her and he knew about my crush..

So, there I go all excited and pumped up the next morning to meet my friend and that someone who was going to come along.. I meet my friend and he introduces his cousin to me ( going by his looks, I thought he is the brother of my crush as he resembled her exactly ).. Then they take me to a house( supposedly called a team office ) and start giving some presentation about the business they are into.. They start explaining about the business and they say how it can change my life and how I can make lots of money if I were to join the business..

Since I was in a very excited state before even meeting my friend, I continued to be that way even after the presentation got over and it sounded very interesting.. I asked my friend to give me a day to think about it, then he starts explaining about the losses I could incur if I delay it even by one day.. So, they somehow convinced me and I joined the business by swiping 35k from my credit-card..

That was the biggest mistake I had ever committed in my life till now.. I had to blame myself for that and the excited state that I was in at that moment.. Nevertheless, whatever happens, happens for the good only.. I learnt a very important lesson in life and I had to pay that 35k as a cost to learn that lesson..

Let me talk about the business a little bit now.. Its like networking.. You join the business by paying 35k and they give you a gold coin worth 8k and you have to invite your friends also to join the business.. For every person joining under you at any level, you get 2k.. Sounds interesting right?? This was what I felt initially and I started inviting my friends to join the business.. A couple of them did join.. I had to swipe my credit-card for my close friend who asked me to pay for him and he would repay me later.. I agreed and that increased my debts to 70k because of this business.. I felt 70k is not that large an amount compared to the money I can make out of the business..

All my feelings changed when my brother had come down to India and I spoke to him about this.. He asked me to quit the business right away.. I told him that I will work atleast till I get my money back.. He told me not to worry about the money and asked me to forget about that.. He told that there would atleast be one person who has joined under me who will not be able to convince his friends to join the business.. And he would curse all the people above him and those responsible for making him join.. And that would affect us badly than losing the money.. People's curse will not be good for anyone.. I felt that even if I can make lots of money from the business, there will always be someone cursing me and that was going to affect me badly..

So, it was then that I decided that it was time for me to quit the business.. And I quit the same day since I strongly believe in the saying " If possible do good to someone, but never do bad to anyone ".. I am more relaxed right now after having got rid of all those tensions I incurred while doing the business.. I forgot about the money I lost and am hoping my friend will return that 35k I gave him one day.. I guess I have broken the suspense regarding my debts now..

So, I would like to conclude by telling you guys this, The next time around when someone calls and tells you that there is a golden opportunity and asks you to meet them for an hour, please be very careful and if by chance you attend the presentation, they will convince you to join for sure.. So, please be careful.. I would like to wish good luck to all those who still believe in the business.. Please ignore this article and as you guys say always " We will rock ".. Keep getting bakra's to join under you to keep rocking.. Those who disagree with me, Bring it on.. I am waiting..

Signing Off..

Regards,
Kishan Chandranna

Thursday, June 5, 2008

What do guys look for in a girl??

According to my friend Rajatha, any guy would look for three things in a girl and atleast one of them should be satisfied for him to consider her as his girl friend.. They are,

1) She has to be gorgeous..
2) She should be talented..
3) Her dad should be a millionaire..

If any girl satisfies all these three conditions, then all the guys are behind her according to Rajatha..

I completely agree with the first point.. Somewhat agree with the second one and completely disagree with the third.. I see no point in getting married to a girl who is not so good looking and whose dad is a millionaire.. I bet all knowledgeable guys will agree with me.. It should be managable even if she is'nt talented.. She has to be talented in one aspect though, that is she should be able to cook edible food..

I would like to change that list according to what I feel.. Here I go,

Here is what guys look forward to in a girl,

1) She has to be decent/good looking..
2) She has to be loving and caring..
3) She should get along well with my family..

All these three conditions must be satisfied..

I have mentioned that she has to be decent looking.. By this, I mean its ok if she is not a Katrina or a Sania but she should'nt be ugly.. She has to care for you and your family.. Get along well with your family.. Lastly, she must be able to cook edible food..

I feel this is what all knowledgeable guys look for in a girl.. If anything comes free along with the above, we would grab it with both hands though.. But, we would settle for someone with atleast the above characteristics..

Hope you all agree with me.. Suggestions and criticisms are welcome.. Waiting for your opinions.. Signing off..


Regards,
Kishan Chandranna

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Why do Friends quarrel??

I felt really sad today after watching my friends quarrel.. As I say always, I look out for positives in every possible situation.. So, I thought that this would make a good topic for my next article.. So this is me starting off for you,

We might fight with our parents, brothers, sisters and strangers too, but when you fight with your own friends, it really hurts.. I main reason I feel for a fight between two friends is "Misunderstandings" and "Ego clashes"..

When we get closer to our friends, our expectations rise which might result in a fight when our expectations are'nt met.. This point was given by Nidhi.. I am mentioning this as I feared a fight with her if I chose not to do so..

I have seen people becoming great friends after they had a grudge with each other for a long time.. So, do friends really get close after a fight? I feel that they do as they get to know the importance of each other only when they miss the other.. So, should friends quarrel to get close? I would say that it depends as some might get closer even without a fight and some choose the other way..

Sometimes, when friends are'nt too close to each other, they assume certain things and due to misunderstandings, a fight is resulted.. This happens when there is a communication gap between them.. This is the root cause for a quarrel.. If there is'nt any communication gap, I bet that there won't be any quarrels..

A fight always results due to a small issue and that issue can be resolved very easily only if we give it some thought.. But usually in the heat of the moment, we will be out of our minds and don't find that time to think and this usually results in a fight..

A fight might result when we trust some third person more than our friends.. Bear in mind, the third person won't come to your rescue when you have landed in a spot of bother, its your friend who does.. So, lets learn to trust our friends more atleast from now on..

All of us have to take a leaf out of Chethan's attitude when he comes under the hammer.. He usually enjoys the moment along with his friends when they tease him.. I bet we have'nt teased anyone else more than Chethan.. It is this attitude of his that many people admire..

So, I conclude by saying that we all have to learn to be like Chethan when we are teased and enjoy the moment.. And Chethan you better don't change.. We will continue teasing you more even if you change.. We just believe in having some fun by teasing our friends..

Today it might be Chethan under the hammer.. Tomorrow, it might be me.. It might be someone else the day after.. All of us intend no harm to anybody when we tease.. Just that we have to take it in the right spirit and learn to enjoy the moment..

Lets all forget what has happened today taking only the positives out of it and continue to be friends for ever.. Signing off..

Regards,
Kishan Chandranna

Monday, June 2, 2008

Have I screwed up my life??

This is one question for which I am struggling to come up with an answer for quite sometime now.. Here is what might have gone wrong,

1) Have I taken a lot of risks related to money?
2) Have I taken a lot of risks related to my life?
3) Am I trusting too many people?

This is what I feel might be the probable answers to these questions,

1) I have spent a lot more than what I have earned and have taken undue risks related to money..
2) I realised that I am playing with my life only when I got lost in Arohalli after having gone there alone drenched in the rain.. On top of that, I had the courage to get high and fly back home..
3) I recently gave 35k to my friend when he said he needed it badly.. Now I do not know when he will return it back..

Is this something really bad that I have done?? I would say NO since I strongly believe in the saying "Whatever happens will happen for the good" even though I accept these as mistakes.. Now here is what I have learnt from these mistakes I have committed,

1) I have learnt how to manage my money.. Learnt not to spend money lavishly.. Learnt to save some money for the future..
2) I have realised that there are lot of people out there who are caring for me.. So, I better be safe when I am enjoying my life to the fullest..
3) Not all people can be trusted.. You have to judge that guys character before really helping him..

Will these mistakes cost me badly?? Yes, it might cost me a lot but I would give it as a cost to the lessons that I have learnt..

Will these mistakes affect my life badly?? Not quite.. Just that I have to curb my spendings a bit.. These mistakes have made me tough in my decision making.. It has made me stronger.. These indeed have added spice to my life and I love enjoying my life that way..

Regards,
Kishan Chandranna