Life is getting older

I know life isn't going to be the same anymore.

You know it when even Shankar Mahadevan says that IIM-B students are some of the sharpest(implying we are born to make a difference to this world and we better get cracking).

You know it when your college friend's mother offers to speak to my mother about the 'Right Girl' for me because it is 'time' for me to leave being single.

But, on a more serious note, I feel life has changed. All this while, life was programmed, everything happened as expected - you either had a good day or a bad day, they never came together. Everything was going as per a plan and probably life like joker[Hail Heath Ledger and Christopher Nolan], decided to introduce a little anarchy.

Some of the last few months have been tough and happy. Parents down with a viral fever, a new member added to the family in US, my grandfather not being with me anymore[the man who made a 'Brahman'], better grades in college, failure in competition, tremendous mental agony followed by moments of joy.

Probably, this is what life getting old is all about - Testing you differently. Teaches you what it is good and bad first, learn to distinguish between them. Then, takes the test to the next level by throwing them alternately seeing if you can still separate them. I expect it to finally cloud one in another and see if I can remove the peel or mask and find the good/bad.

My Aim in this exercise - while life is getting older, my objective is how young can I remain.

Another lesson - There is no good or bad. Bad is Good because Bad is needed for you to become good.

Standard P.S - I am sure you have noted the change in formatting. If you like it, let me know.

Manager in Me

I sat in a paint store in Vashi in Mumbai on the 3rd and 4th day of my 2 month long internship. Forget learning or unlearning my management concepts, it taught me such wonderful lessons which I feel B-Schools either don't teach or which are lost in the overdose of theories, theorems and concepts of the academic world. The first thing it bought down in me were the thick walls of ego I had built in me; prior to walking into the shop, I felt I could never sit in that shop which was next to a pavement overlooking a busy road with a madman walking once in a while throwing stones at passerbys. How could I, a student, one of the 300 selected from 200000 to study in the country's premier management school work behind a counter and ask people how they liked this Paint and why they were not considering high end textures? Somehow sitting in the shop, I realized that building this exclusivity defeats the very purpose for which we become managers.
There was a controversy across the country when Medical college graduates were asked to do compulsory rural service. I think this is something which should be introduced across B-Schools, to-be-MBA graduates should be asked to work in remote/rural parts of the country including North-East, J&K, Vidharba, Telangana, Interior Orissa for atleast 6 months before joining any firm of their choice. Why? Because as we race to complete our graduation, we become disconnected from people, we lose sight of the very people for whom we are supposed to work and for whom we are to make a difference. I think politicians and businessmen/managers should have the same vision - Work for the Common Man. As managers we are lucky, we are not constrained by geographical boundaries, not constrained by elections & fears of getting kicked out for non-performance. Not sure if any school lets student do this to drill down our head - instead we are told that profit is the motive, shareholder gain is the motive. Is it possible that the "toxic wastes" floating in the financial markets could have been curtailed, if the people who designed the exotics thought for a moment about the people whose monies they were playing with for their personal gains? McKinsey has been admitted as a defendant in a case filed by victims of Katrina which ravaged New Orleans. McK's crime apparently was it consulted top insurance firms to change the clause in the insurance policy which ensured that the people did not reap the benefits of their "investment". Wonder how much of that investment went into making of the assets so easily lost by Lehman and Merril? Maybe if we cant improve lives, we should atleast stop doing things which will make things worse.
On an unrelated note, something is bothering me. I travel everyday from my home to Office in Mumbai through slums adjoining the airport; these slum-dwellers being encroachers and having no other place to stay in this metro. A single room hosts close to 10 people, no approach road to the home, all houses in the locality packed like matches in a matchbox(couldnt think of a better comparison), rag-pickers sharing a dustbin with street dogs infested with sores. Somehow, as a manager, I dont seem to think how my work is going to help them come up in life? Wonder how much MBA's and Managers have passed by that road? If they have, maybe this education is a waste of money for me.

P.S : This is an expression of my thoughts and feelings, let me know what you feel - ever open to criticisms and brickbats. Apologise for not having a structured flow, somehow it felt like a MBAish term so decided to give the flow a skip.

How did I miss the flowers?

Every day I walk past this hallowed portal of Concrete infamously called L^2 in the institute. Depending on the day of the week, the number of walk-pasts could be greater than 10 with a minimum of atleast 6 even on a dull boring day on campus. Apart from being surrounded by 3 blocks of concrete and granite, there is a big tree at one side of the "Pub Floor" of the institute(another name for L^2). No one pays any attention to the tree itself; it probabaly sits there smirking at all the busyboides running around it through the year carrying in them a plethora of emotions hidden to everyone including sometimes even themselves. A totally disjointed community member it is; apart from probably being the oldest.
Leaving the tree apart and coming to yours truly, I probably glanced at this tree 6 months back and never gave it another glance through this period - I am an ant scurrying upto collect my portion of "food" and hoard enough "food" without knowing the definition of enough. I am certainly not the busiest ant and despite my best attempts may be dont even have the largest hoard. I quite did not realise that this new found activity had taken over me; defining what I saw ; what I heard and maybe even what I felt.
On a lovely spring morning in Bangalore walking through L^2, my brain broke away from the shackles of anthood and dared to look up at the branches lying above my head. And Lo! what a sight to behold. In place of a green cover, there was a yellow covering of the tree resplendent; unadultered in its beauty. I didnt know how old the flowers were, the base of the tree was bathed in yellow indicating that the tree had already shed some of its own and given birth to new ones. I could not help sitting down and watching the tree but for a couple of minutes; it reproduced some old memories - my thirst to photograph every beautiful flower with my Nikon, now lost to my anthood; my drive down the Garden State of New Jersey and Scenic Virginia State duing American Fall, a visual treat I can never forget and may be unfortunate enough to never set my eyes on again; the flora in the heavenly Valley of flowers as seen in a Calendar hanging in my house.
Why did I feel all this watching a tree I dont know nor will I ever know. Maybe it was a spontaneous reaction of feeling the freedom I had taken for granted 6 months back and lost it somewhere along the path or was it a genuine reaction on seeing such a lovely thing that all equally lovely things in life came rushing back to me. How did I miss seeing the tree evolve? A mystery it will remain but it leaves me sad that in my quest for material glory, I am missing some of the finest displays put on by nature; priceless treasures they are to me. But, the tree is more forgiving than opportunity for I am sure it will come back knocking once again next year in all its royalty.
On an ending note, I was curious if I was the only one who had missed it. Today provided me the answer. Walking through L^2 on my usual sojourns, I caught atleast 4 people who were staring wide-eyed at the tree and clicking snaps.

My First Blog

I have begun this incredible journey of blogging. I think the first article I pen down should be a justification to this phenomenon itself as to why I got into this hobby or pursuit or interest, whatever you may call it. Ripping off something from my management education, I will try follow a 'logical structure' but apologies if it feels anything but logical.
Probably, my biggest expectation from blogging is I want it to be a forum where I can pen down my thoughts, my wildest dreams, my ideas, my viewpoints; my media for a one-many(and yes, a many-one) communication; I want it to be a reflection of my mind, a living proof of what I thought, an opportunity for me to sit back to let others and I review where,maybe, my thinking is wrong or how it can be improved. My Key success Factor definition for such a forum would purely be how much of a debate can I generate on this forum(which blogging site doesnt claim to do so) and my personal KRA from this forum is whether I can learn something from this interest.
The next question is a more managerial question. Can I justify this hobby with enough time? How many articles do I intend to post? How many people are expected to read this page? What is the return in it for me(stupid question but I will still answer it & 'me' means the blogger forum). Frankly, I do not know how often I will visit this site or how many articles I will post. How many people is certainly not an area of concern of me or nor is it under my control. But, I will make a commitment. Everytime my mind bursts with a thought, looks for a forum to burst out with its thoughts, I will be here on this site. Thankfully for the reader, I will skip the last question.
Finally, why the name of the blog, "BalloonSparrows?". No, it is not a rip-off from any English movie or novel nor associated with any famous institution nor is it a puzzle with a hidden crypt. But, yes, it is a secret which I will carry it on to eternity. Only one person knows this secret and it does not happen to a gentlemen called "GOD".
Hoping to do well. Thanks, Blogger.

Signing off, Teague...