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. :)

My Intro to Fatherhood

It is hard to describe how I feel right now and it will be evident by end of this writeup !!

I was always fascinated by a phenomenon called touch. I still remember the touch of my mother's hand when I am not well. Without a spoken word, the touch communicated all the care and the emotions like an electric pulse running from one individual to the other.
Another feeling of a touch which I can not seem to forget is that of my girlfriend who is now my wife. Touch of her hands used to say what a million words couldn't. When I am feeling low, I rest my head on her lap and she caresses her hand through my hair. The touch makes me forget all my worries, takes me to a higher level of confidence and gives me a feeling that no matter what happens, she is there for me. This feeling of belonging is second to none.

For last few months, my wife was staying with her parents. She was pregnant and needed good care and we relied on her parents to provide that. For those few months, I was like a free bird, watching TV till 3AM, playing sports whenever wished for, doing things just for myself. I knew that things would change after birth of our child but I would have never expected that things would be so different.
Last week, my wife and I were blessed with a baby girl. We have not yet decided a name for her but we keep calling her 'baby'. When I first saw her in the cradle, I did not feel much different. I was very happy that both, my wife and the child are safe and healthy. I stayed at my in-laws place for a couple of days and I saw my daughter growing up older by two days and it changed me completely.
I used to think of myself as a sturdy guy who does not get emotional. But in two days, I do not know what connected me to my daughter that when I was leaving her, I felt like crying. This feeling of going away from something that was mine was new to me. In last two days, I had felt that I was connected emotionally to my daughter through the touch. I loved her so much that at time if you ask me - what is the toughest task, my reply would be - to find anything as beautiful as her. I have still not overcome the sadness that has engrossed my mind and I long to get back to her as soon as possible.

I guess this emotion of missing someone you know for two days and forgetting the rest of the world is what they call 'fatherhood' !!
(P.S. : You must have guessed how difficult it is to describer how I feel right now !)

Travel Memories - Israel

I was fortunate to visit more than 10 countries in 5 continents. The lucky aspect was that no two countries were the similar in terms of economy, culture and development. With this variety, I thought I should write the experience and interactions I had during my stay in these diverse countries.

Let me start with the first foreign country I visited in my life, Israel. I was working for Amdocs, an company with headquarters in Israel. As soon as I joined a project, I was asked to visit Israel development center for a duration of a week. I was totally on top of the moon when I heard the news. This travel would have led me to many "firsts" in my life. First time visitng a foreign country, first time visiting an airport, first time boarding a plane, first time interaction with the world !! So, I was on cloud number 9 and was as excited as I can be. :)

So, the day arrived when I boarded my flight. Luckily I was accompanied by a colleague who was an experienced traveler. With his presence, the journey was smooth. The fact that the transit was in Ababa in Ethiopia would have concerned many travelers, but not me. :) By the time we reached Tel Aviv (Capital of Israel) airport, I had already clicked 400 snaps.

I was in Israel for 4 days and spent most of the time in the main city of Tel Aviv. The things which I remember from my short stay were:
The Tel Aviv city - overall the city is very safe. During the day it is crowded with lots of traffic and during night i is awake as pubs, bars open till 4 in the morning. The roads are pretty smooth and people follow traffic rules meticulously, even after midnight.
The beach - Beach was at a walking distance from my hotel and with a few friends we went to the beach at midnight. The weather during my stay was excellent and there was a nice and cool breeze across the beach.
The beauty - In Israel, this one thing is present in abundance. The women are beautiful and they know how to stay beautiful. Exercise is a very important part of their day and the results are evident. :) Traffic lights are used as an opportunity by many women to do some make-up. Israel is one of very few countries where men to women ratio is less than 1, which means that there are more women in the country than men. The effect is that there is perfect equality in the job. There is no job only meant for men. Be it petrol pump or grocery store or cab driving, women are up for it.
Hebrew - I picked up few words like 'Shalom' and started using them liberally. I am not sure if I was correct in their usage as there were a few eyebrows raised when I attempted Hebrew !!
Falafel - A typical food item from the region. It is similar to Indian food item called 'pakoda' or ' bhaji'. Although the preparation is similar the actual taste is very different. It is served with pita bread and few sauces. Excellent evening snack or light dinner !!


Before I realized it, my stay was over and I was coming back to India. I had amassed nearly 1000 snaps in 4 days (Guinness???) and still had return leg to capture in the lens.

This was not the only time I visited Israel. I had an opportunity to visit the country once again after six months. But the memories for that visit are saved for the next blog !!

Alonso in Ferrari - Who am I, an astrologer?

Although I plan to write blog frequently, I seldom manage to do it. But, right now, I am feeling happy that I wrote a blog on Fernando Alonso back in October 2008. I closed that post with a thought of Alonso in Ferrari and guess what.... The thought has come true. Alonso is indeed moving to Ferrari by end of this season and has signed a three year deal with option to get extension of one more year. So, my fluke turned into the truth and I am ready to call myself an astrologer !! :)

After Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso is the only complete driver. When compared to any other driver on the grid, Alonso stands out as the best. With a very mediocre car, he is able to generate some stunning results in qualifying as well as in race.

Ferrari has stopped all investments into the current F60 car and are concentrating solely on the next year's car. Considering their intentions for next year, it is safe to assume that the car which they will produce for the next year will be at par with any other team in F1. If a driver like Alonso gets into this car then results can tumble and we can see emergence of a true champion !!

In all this good going, I can't help but feel sad for Kimi. Kimi is another outstanding driver and at one time was knocking on the doors of the greatest driver. But, for some unknown reasons and contrary to his denials, he seemed to have lost the passion and it started reflecting in his race results. This lack in his drive was further dented by substandard car this year. Although during last few races, we could see the original aggressive Kimi, the damage was already done. The result: Kimi is out of Ferrari and his next seat in F1 is not assured. He indicated that he will only continue in Ferrari if he gets into a team that can compete for championship. This indication leaves us to wonder if he is going back to McLaren where he can replace lackluster country-mate Hekki. Speculations all over !!

But, forget about Kimi and Heikki, this moment belongs to Alonso and Ferrari and I can't wait to see their magic next season. But what if Fernando does not get along with Ferrari team management as happened during his tenure in McLaren?

Am I making another prediction????