Terror attacks.. yet again

I don't want to add anything to what the Media has added (and repeated 100 times since yesterday) on the blast, the damage, political opinion and even what Bollywood actors think about this incident. I want to talk about how I feel after this incident.

I would have imagined, since I am 1000 miles away from from blast site and none of my close ones stay in Delhi, that the incident shouldn't really affect me apart from genuinely feeling sad about it. There were floods and natural calamities which our nation has faced before. Then I was really sad but somehow got on to my usual routine in a day or two.

But this incident seems different.

We can control the damage during natural calamities but there is no sure shot way to stop them. However, terror attacks are done on purpose and everyone in administration knows that there are more attacks to come, but nothing is being done. It seems that any tom, dick and harry can plan a terror attack and with almost certainty would be successful in carrying it out.

In Pakistan, there are terror attacks almost every other day and many lives are lost during these incidents. What must be a common Pakistani feeling? If we take out the frequency of incidents, is there any difference in our state and that of Pakistan?

The US faced a terror attack and they managed to beef up security and after 9/11, nothing close to a terror attack has taken place. The UK was rocked by London blasts, but now has recovered by taking concrete steps like installing CCVT cameras at every nook and corner of the city. When I was in London about a year ago, I was amazed at the level of the security that the state has managed to increase. Israel was once upon a time a target of such attack from extremist in Palestine and West bank - at least that was the case when I visited Israel in 2005. However, things are very different and in control now. So, what is it that we, the Indians, are waiting for?

It seems that our administration has lost the morality and have accepted that such things would keep happening. They have even devised a way to doze the anger that is surged after such incidents - ask NIA to investigate, lock up a few suspects, put a court case, involve CBI,.. ,.. ,.. Time flies by and the anger diminishes and nothing is done to avoid another such incident.

You know, what is the difference I am feeling this time round? It is the feeling of being helplessness !!

Dilbert - hats off to Scott

Why Dilbert is so popular? Because Scott manages to identify the core issues in corporate world and depict them using a few characters in a funny way. Almost everyone who is reading it feels that he/she is Dilbert and is being sucked up by the useless management and the equally useless colleagues. It is like someone is telling you what you are going through. One feels relief that someone understands what he is going through and at the same time laughs at the situation while looking at it from a third person's view.

I can relate to Dilbert almost 90% of the time. But, today, suddenly I realized that even my boss would think that he is the Dilbert and is being screwed by the management. Is this a never ending chain?

Traveling again

Although not as much as I used to do, I have started traveling again.... my few trips in last couple of months are:


1. A single day trip to Bahrain - Business Trip
This was the 5th time I visited Bahrain. The trip was a last minute plan and I was visiting a prospect customer to get more insight about the requirements and expectations from the vendors. As I have quite a few friends in Bahrain, I traveled a day earlier and spent some time with them. The meeting with the customer went very well and we are progressing in the deal. 


2. Weekend road trip to Diveagar - Family Outing
I was itching to take Xylo for a long ride but at the same time had to restrict the travel to the needs of the youngest one (my daughter) and the oldest one (my mother) in my family. So, we decided to visit Diveagar, a beach town 160 Kms away from Pune city. The outing turned out to be a great refreshment and we all had a ball. 


3. A week long trip to Delhi/Noida - Business Trip
A prospect customer was visiting our facility in Noida and I, along with other team members reached Delhi 3 days before the actual visit to ensure that everything for the D-day is planned. Right from food to seating arrangement to security clearances to contents of our presentation, everything was looked into. The visit was successful and customer was happy with what was presented. We are in next level of discussions with the customer and hopefully, we close the deal soon.


4. A single day trip to Mumbai - Business Trip
Some organization level initiatives were to be discussed and me and some other senior members were participate in these discussions. Well, you know how the board room discussions are, so I am not elaborating. But to be honest, there were lot of positive takeaways from this discussion. Many of the participating members met each other for the first time and everyone got a chance to express his/her own view and listen to other's views. 


5. Three day road tour to Solapur and nearby temples - Family Outing
Another itch satisfied. Again, my takeaway from the trip was a ride in Xylo and my family got a chance to visit famous temples near Solapur. We covered 800Kms in 3 days and managed to visit 4 temples. Overall a very nice trip.

A couple of years later

Wow, I haven't written to this blog for a good length of time. I thought I would never return to write here but there is an urge in me to keep posting my thoughts to this blog. Let me start all over again...

So, what happened in this couple of years.. well, many things happened...

1. I have became a proud father of a baby girl. She is already 1.5 years old and one of the main reasons I couldn't post anything to this blog. Suddenly, 24 hours were not enough to be with her. :)

2. We shifted from Hyderabad to Pune. Although I will miss Hyderabad, I think it is a change for good. We are now close to our relatives, now are staying in our own house, the office is 1 Km away from home and my wife has resumed her job. Can I ask for any more?

3. We sold our 8 year old Tata Indica and now we have a new Mahindra Xylo. That is quite an upgrade. It also means that we are touring a lot. The car has already clocked 9K Kms. I love the Xylo!

4. I am preparing too many presentations. This numbered list is a direct impact of this fact.

So, this post attempts to articulate all the things that happened in last two years. I guess this might be an implicit effect of me studying for GMAT last year. :)