A trip to remember

On the way

Interesting things happen here :-)

Its time

Let the Wings unfold

 And there be flight. 

Its time.

10 learnings

Some of the things that I have picked up time recently gone. Relate to work, mostly. But couple of them apply to the basic aspect of our lives.

Learning number 1
Ego is the biggest enemy. 

Learning number 2
Own up to mistakes. Be self's biggest critic.

Learning number 3
Don't be emotional.

Learning number 4
Set your expectations clear.

Learning number 5
The world goes by as you wish it to

Learning number 6 entrepreneurs
Be prepared for the worst.

Learning number 7
Be precise, deliberate and sustained in your act.

Learning number 8  tech ceos

Focus on your Vision. Use tech as your strength, not indulgence.

Learning number 9

A daily log of what you did today goes a long way.

Learning number 10

Take life as an enjoyable dream. Don't take yourself, or the world, too seriously ;)

p.s. The last one is my favorite :)

Not a eulogy to Steve Jobs

Today morning when I woke up, the first piece of information I received was about Steve Job's death via SLP.
Somebody commented it was expected(he having cancer). Well, on that my take is that he would have died anyway. So no scope of shock.
What I actually wonder is that during his last moments, what would have gone through his mind?

Apple, Mac, Ipod, Iphone, Ipad, Pixar? The upcoming Iphone5? The world he had changed?

Did he have any regrets?

Would he have wanted to not die just yet?

Or did he go peacefully, without a thought?

I don't know the answer to these questions. Only the late Jobs would.

We are all going to miss him cause his swashbuckling presence can not be substituted. He was after all one of the most iconic and influential figure of our times, the most loved celebrity than the majority of Hollywood stars. He was a man who had changed the world.

But this is not an eulogy.

If Steve Jobs is really our role model(as for so many of us, esp entrepreneurs) then while we put in a one minute silence to remember him and wish him well, we should put in another minute to reflect on ourselves and ask - "Am I living my life without any regrets?"  Because when death strikes even the mighty Steve Jobs was helpless under its crushing force. And so will we be. And trust me, you don't want to fuck up your very last moment. Not a way to go.

Only Jobs knew (or knows :), but I wishfully believe, that he died as awesomely as he had lived. Like a great warrior.

I hope I live my life like that. Maybe no success in business, but success in my life and personal glory in my moment of death.

Business or no business, changing the world or not changing the world - in the end, it doesn't matter.

Michael Corleone had said - "It's not personal, Sonny. It's strictly business"

But we all know that it was strictly personal all along ;)

And so it was for Jobs and so it is for each one of us.
Just my two cents.

To be like dust before the wind

The starting 8 lines of Heike Monogatari
"The knell of the bells at the Gion temple
Echoes the impermanence of all things.
The color of the flowers on its double-trunked tree
Reveals the truth that to flourish is to fall.
He who is proud is not so for long,
Like a passing dream on a night in spring.
He who is brave is finally destroyed,
To be no more than dust before the wind"

You famous? Have made money? Are college topper? You beautiful? You have 50k twitter followers? You sold off you start up? You a mafia boss? The president of USA? Must make you feel you are special, doesn't it? :)

And if that is so - I do not pity you, for you are ignorant by choice.

To do and forget.
Not for greed of success.
Not for the fear of failure.
Not for appreciation in others' eyes
Not for appreciation in yours.
To be selfish, and yet be selfless.
Empty as the eternal void.
Even though the gun has only one bullet
It will not miss its shot.
Remember that. And only that.
Get over yourselves.

Rise and fall of the giants

And why I hope Airtel goes down.

14 days without internet, 17 calls to customer care include appellate, nodal authorities, 2 emails as well. But My broadband connection is still not up! 

The reason for disconnection of my broadband?

No, I had paid my bills on time. The reason was that I simply wanted my IPTV removed.

I was warned by an Airtel engineer(before this happened) that Airtel(Big Brother) doesn't like it when people ask for removing their IPTV services. So they try their best to teach the customer a lesson - by slowing down the service. I wish I had paid heed to his advice to keep paying Rs.300 extra to Airtel. In order to save 300 bucks, so far I have lost

• 4000 bucks(buy having to buy MTS prepaid which has its own problems) and
• Two weeks worth of internet time! Frikkin' two weeks! 
• At least 20 person days of work. We work from home. Now who pays up for that? And you Sir, have the audacity to send me my last month's bill in meantime.

Also, its not the first time Airtel has played the crook. We have in the past supposedly overshot the fair usage quota of 25 GB in just 3 days(not once but many times, without us having used even 1 GB) FYR, exceeding Fair Usage quota means going from 4MBPS speed to 0.256 MBPS. We were afraid of even opening youtube those days.  Have heard many other users complain about that too!

No karma goes waste. Ever. And searching on twitter and facebook, I saw umpteen more pissed of messages from users. It seems so that Airtel doesn't give a fuck cause it feels it is immortal.

Airtel, you, like everything else, are going to die one day. That is for sure. If you don't take your customers for a ride, then you may live a bit longer. But if you keep on going like this - you are going to go down in 5-10 years. At least I would like to see that happen.

I (like many of your customers) am waiting for a David to take you, the Goliath down one day.

Be fair, or perish.

Edit: My complaint finally got resolved after 18 days. Thanks to Akosha :)

The ideal organization

Where the Self dissolves
For the Other(s), believing,
the other is just Me.
Where respect is of the way of being,
And the way of being alone.
Where Success is measured by
Purity of intent,
Clarity of thought,
Impeccability in action,
And definitely, yes my friend,
Definitely
Not the outcome

Why so sad?

It is easy to get upset (with people) when things don't go your way. And more often than not, your reasons for getting pissed off/hurt are justifiable to you. But same holds for the other side as well! 

If you think a bit deeper, the your justification does not stem from what is 'logically' right from an 'unbiased' perspective. Your sense of fairness stems from your Ego, your Desires and your Aversions in life. And I am not asking you to buy this. Take it with a pinch of salt. But Think. And if this rings a bell, then try to observe it at the back of your mind while you go through the daily, mundane motions in life. Peek inside your mind once in a while. Ask yourself why do you find yourself in The SAME fucked up/angry/hurt/sad place over and over again? 

1. Is it that someone else is to blame for your troubles? 

2. Or is it that YOU are the cause of your miseries ALL the time?

Know, and control your mind. That voice in your head is not The You.

Empty your mind. When the cup is empty of mental crap, there is space for some nice steaming tea!

A nice cup of team brings great comfort and fulfilmen.

Anyway, these are just mental notes I have put down for myself. I am not trying to impress you or want you to agree with me. This is my belief - as it is, because it makes sense to me, and is verified by my experience. I am on this way, and I am doing super!

More than a month later

Hi again!!

So here you see. I really find it troublesome to pen down my thoughts even though I really want to. (I think it is mostly procrastination - the fear of being judged)

Nonetheless, fears are to be set aside.

Anyway, here is a small update. About to launch MetaTaste.com in a few hours. Am very excited.

So lets see how it goes.

Jai Shri Raam :) 

So where should I start?

Every time I open this Blogger New Post window - I start. I think. I type. I erase. Restart. Get lost. Come back - The pattern repeats a few times. Then I finally close the window and choose to get lost somewhere else.

Its not that I have nothing to write about. Contrarily, I have loads of thoughts to share! I am definitely not a shy person. Nor fearful of backlash or shame. So why haven't I been able to do this for so long? What has been stopping me?

I have felt this deep desire to speak to the world for so long. And there is so much to speak about that it is overwhelming. Normal, beyond normal, thoughts, things, experiences, Relationships, the World, Lessons learnt,  Metataste, Mindgrep, Movies, Music, Mountains, the World (Wide Web), ...and a lot of other stuff!! 

I guess I just need to start somewhere. Anywhere! And hence, here is my first post this year.

Looking forward to using this wonderful outlet of the www for my thoughts.

World,

I'll see you around :)

A thought

The thought just struck me that the more you push you brain to think beyond its capacity, the better the lazy thing becomes..

Having a great bike trip: what to do and what not

Ever rode beast at speed so fast, that the world around turns into a vivid blur? There is nothing around but a vast stretch of barren land, ice covered mountain peaks or maybe the vast expanse of the sea on one side. Its like being the only one in the middle of a small barren universe. Complete Isolation. Oneness with the self. And then the wind, which was relentlessly lapping on to your face with undying fervor, mysteriously starts to talk...
Or wait.. is that GOD itself?

There are many people who go for bike trips all throughout the year. In fact even as I write this post or you read it, there will be thousands of people all around the globe taking their machines on some wonderful escapades. While the very idea of a bike trip sounds exciting to everyone, it requires a little bit of preparation in advance in order for it to be a thrilling, yet safe experience :)

Be as meticulous in your preparation as you can be. Here is the list of dos and donts that will be helpful if you are preparing for a bike trip somewhere.
Dos

• Try to book hotels in advance - If you book a hotel/accommodation before you start your journey, you avoid the last minute shock of finding no decent accommodation available. Or at least you can check out online if there are reasonable number of hotels available during your travel dates. If yes, then it might be safe enough to book upon arrival. And ofcourse the best and cheapest hotel deals can be found at www.ixigo.com/hotels
  
• These things MUST be taken - Map, Water bottles, first aid kit, pain killers, torch, puncture repair kit, biscuits, glucose, phone numbers of police stations/hospitals on or near the route, rain coat(if you going to mountains esp.), ploybags to cover electronic devices/important stuf in case it rains, a wind cheater, camera
  
• A GPRs device can come in handy and be cool as well
• Always kep a tab on the distance you have covered since the last petrol refill. Keep refilling the petrol tank to full capacity after traveling a good distance. You never know how distant the next petrol pump is. If you are driving on a stretch where there might be no petrol pump for 2-300 kms, then carry some fuel with you.
  

Donts

• Never ever ride without wearing helmet. I know you might be tempted to do that, but DON'T ever take off your helmet. A combination of a solid skull + safe thrill/fun is definitely better than a crushed skull bone any day
• Avoid traveling during nights. Generally in remote places/hills there are no street lights on the roads. Mountains are especially dangerous during nights. Even the truck guy is in a hurry to cover as much as he can during the night. And they are not the most careful/responsible drivers either . So in any case it is quite unsafe to ride during nights/ after sunset
  
• Do NOT drink while driving. While this might seem too preachy, it is perhaps the sanest thing you can do. Most of us tend to ignore commonsense over whims when our hearts cry out for cheap thrills. Resist this temptation at any cost
  

Making your trip awesome

• Estimate your expenses before-hand. Then carry 30% extra, just for the times when you want some pampering (or extra booze/more food/camping/adventure)
• Carry a camera. There will be a lot of "Kodak moments". From couples making out behind rocks, to squirrels and monkeys to apple cheeked beautiful pahadi girls, to general horsing around. Be rest assured that you will have a range of memories that you will cherish.
• Take breaks. Go easy. You are not in an F1 race. The point is to enjoy your ride.

Once you are done with all this preparation and start on the journey, leave your office/ girl trouble, bitching landlord/landlady, abusive maidservant/manservant, bastard friends, nagging parents, taunting relatives and the overachieving cousins behind. It's time to unplug and bury your face in mother nature's glorious bosom.