The Scottish Independence Vote: A wake up call for India

It is official. The average Scotsman is intelligent enough to see beyond empty rhetoric and false patriotic bravado. As Scotland chooses to remain part of the United Kingdom, it is interesting to draw parallels with things back home.
India, while having its fair share of bad governance and bilateral tense relationships with some of its neighbours, also seems to have this false idea of the unity of the nation. Every Independence and Republic Day, we hoist our national flag and sing songs of national unity, while our behavior otherwise is far from the virtues these songs inspire.

We look upon our Muslim countrymen as terrorists and criminals. We look upon our North-Eastern countrymen as outsiders with loose morals. We look upon our Christian countrymen as lazy freeloaders. We look upon Maharashtrians and Bengalis as lazy, Biharis as uncouth, Gujarathis and Marwaris as cheats, Delhites as conmen, Tamilians as pompous puritans, Keralites as Marxist drunks, Kashmiris as Pakistani supporters... the list of our prejudices go on and on. Prejudices that keep our tolerance paper thin and make us easy preys to manipulation by unscrupulous elements, sadly our own countrymen.

So when I look at Scotland's arguably narrow escape from political and economic anarchy, I wonder if all these factions in our diverse country begin to lobby for independence from India. The myriad reasons for which we create new states is a grim reminder of the inherent danger that our nation faces. Its time we let economic logic temper our decision making, rather that emotional biases make our decisions for us as a nation.

Manifestation of your Faith

I once saw a big bunch of sparrows using the Holy Water font at a church as a birdbath. The happy twittering and splashing was the cutest sight to see. And immediately I was reminded of Luke 12:24 -

"Consider the birds: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!"

Some moments in life can be so powerful when you see the manifestation of your Faith. :)

Be legendary

It’s not about the shoes,
It’s about knowing where you’re going
Not forgetting where you started.

It’s about having the courage to fail
Not breaking when you're broken
Taking everything you've been given,
And making something better.

It’s about work, before glory
And what’s inside of you,

It’s doing what they say you can’t.

It’s not about the shoes
It’s about what you do in them
Its about being who you were born to be.

- From a Nike commercial

Take a look and be inspired!

Two minutes to stop procrastination

 

My friend, Patrick from the Prevoyance Group told me about the two minute rule. It goes:

Anything that takes less than two minutes to do must be done immediately.

This, to me is a gem in prioritization. Its simple, an most of the time, is what we do without thinking. What really needs work is the ability to analyse quickly how much time each task that comes your way would take.

And also the humility to accept that some task is gonna take more time than 2 minutes….

A company's DNA

Grooveshark is one of my favorite sites for music, considering I'm always stuck in the classics and need to update myself on the latest hits.

So when I logged into the site, which was evidently down, I find the following message:

To those of you who were redirected here, we apologize.

In an attempt to befriend Asian investors and increase office morale, we here at Grooveshark established some connections with the Chinese black market and imported our very own black-and-white Giant Panda (hereby known as "Pickles"). Unfortunately, due to circumstances no one could have foreseen, Pickles became agitated at the fluorescent lights and near-constant belly rubs and began clawing at our computers.

Pickles is currently thrashing about in the server room, causing the technical difficulties and temporary outage you just experienced. As soon as our interns return from Pier 1 with synthetic bamboo, a picnic basket and an oversized net, we will be able to return the servers back to normal and, if we can, rescue the coder that Pickles has taken as a prize.

Thank you for your patience.

Speaks a lot about the company's DNA, doesn't it?? No wonder I keep going back.

Goodbye Professor Prahalad

It is a sad time for me personally as I come to terms with the sudden passing of one of my greatest gurus and influencers. Prof. C. K. Prahalad, passed away suddenly on 16th April 2010.

Though I have never really met him nor attended any of his lectures, his book “Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid” is what pointed me in the direction of Social Entrepreneurship. If there was a calling in life, this was it.

An old adage says “That when the student is truly ready, the guru will make his appearance”. Professor Prahalad was that guru.

Rest in peace, Professor, and thank you for being a mentor to me.

Real Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day just went by, November 26th to be precise. While most of us in India are not exactly trackers of this calendar event in the US, its a good time to start thinking about it.

Historically, Thanksgiving is a harvest festival where it is a time to give thanks to God for the harvest and express gratitude to others for our many blessings. While predominantly a religious festival, it is today a very secular holiday.

We in India don’t miss it because given the unique diversity of religion and culture that this country is, we have our own harvest festivals….. multiples of them!!! Pongal, Baisakhi, Onam, Sankranthi, Bihu and for me as a Mangalorean from Konkan, Noven. Each with its elaborate set of rituals, traditions and oh so yummy FOOD!!!!

But my main point is not the cultural diversity of India but rather the entire ethos that surrounds Thanksgiving. About why we need a specific day to give thanks. Everyday is a time to give thanks, thanks for everything and everyone that helps us grow in some way…..

Thank you for being you, for reading this and letting me be a better me :)