Driving in India

A friend of mine travelling to India asked me for advice and tips on driving and I found this excellent pice on the subject. Here it is for the benefit of all.

For the benefit of every Tom, Dick and Harry visiting India and daring to drive on Indian roads, I am offering a few hints for survival. They are applicable to every place in India except Bihar, where life outside the vehicle is only marginally safer. Indian road rules broadly operate within the domain of karma where you do your best, and leave the results to your insurance company. The hints are as follows:

Do we drive on the left or right of the road?
The answer is "both". Basically you start on the left of the road, unless it is occupied. In that case, go to the right, unless that is also occupied. Then proceed by occupying the next available gap, as in chess. Just trust your instincts, ascertain the direction, and proceed. Adherence to road rules leads to much misery and occasional fatality. Most drivers don't drive, but just aim their vehicles in the generally intended direction. Don't you get discouraged or underestimate yourself except for a belief in reincarnation; the other drivers are not in any better position.

Don't stop at pedestrian crossings just because some fool wants to cross the road. You may do so only if you enjoy being bumped in the back. Pedestrians have been strictly instructed to cross only when traffic is moving slowly or has come to a dead stop because some minister is in town. Still some idiot may try to wade across, but then, let us not talk ill of the dead.

Blowing your horn is not a sign of protest as in some countries. We horn to xpress joy, resentment, frustration, romance and bare lust (two brisk blasts), or just mobilize a dozing cow in the middle of the bazaar.

Traffic Jams: Keep informative books in the glove compartment. You may read them during traffic jams, while awaiting the chief minister's motorcade, or waiting for the rainwater to recede when over ground traffic meets underground drainage.

UFO: Occasionally you might see what looks like a UFO with blinking colored lights and weird sounds emanating from within. This is an illuminated bus, full of happy pilgrims singing bhajans. These pilgrims go at breakneck speed, seeking contact with the Almighty, often meeting with success.

Auto Rickshaw (Baby Taxi): The result of a collision between a rickshaw and an automobile, this three-wheeled vehicle works on an external combustion engine that runs on a mixture of kerosene oil and creosote. This triangular vehicle carries iron rods, gas cylinders or passengers three times its weight and dimension, at an unspecified fare. After careful geometric calculations, children are folded and packed into these auto rickshaws until some children in the periphery are not in contact with the vehicle at all. Then their school bags are pushed into the microscopic gaps all round so those minor collisions with other vehicles on the road cause no permanent damage. Of course, the peripheral children are charged half the fare and also learn Newton's laws of motion reroute to school. Auto-rickshaw drivers follow the road rules depicted in the film Ben Hur, and are licensed to irritate.

Mopeds: The moped looks like an oil tin on wheels and makes noise like an electric shaver. It runs 30 miles on a teaspoon of petrol and travels at break-bottom speed. As the sides of the road are too rough for a ride, the moped drivers tend to drive in the middle of the road; they would rather drive under heavier vehicles instead of around them and are often "mopped" off the tarmac.

Leaning Tower of Passes: Most bus passengers are given free passes and during rush hours, there is absolute mayhem. There are passengers hanging off other passengers, who in turn hang off the railings and the overloaded bus leans dangerously, defying laws of gravity but obeying laws of surface tension. As drivers get paid for overload (so many Rupees per kg of passenger), no questions are ever asked. Steer clear of these buses by a width of three passengers.

One-way Street: These boards are put up by traffic people to add jest in their otherwise drab lives. Don't stick to the literal meaning and proceed in one direction. In metaphysical terms, it means that you cannot proceed in two directions at once. So drive as you like, in reverse throughout, if you are the fussy type.

Speed Breaker: Least I sound hypercritical, I must add a positive point also. Rash and fast driving in residential areas has been prevented by providing a "speed breaker"; two for each house. This mound, incidentally, covers the water and drainage pipes for that residence and is left untarred for easy identification by the corporation authorities, should they want to recover the pipe for year-end accounting.

Night driving on Indian roads can be an exhilarating experience for those with the mental make up of Genghis Khan. In a way, it is like playing Russian roulette, because you do not know who amongst the drivers is loaded. What looks like premature dawn on the horizon turns out to be a truck attempting a speed record. On encountering it, just pull partly into the field adjoining the road until the phenomenon passes. Our roads do not have shoulders, but occasional boulders. Do not blink your lights expecting reciprocation. The only dim thing in the truck is the driver, and with the peg of illicit arrack (alcohol) he has had at the last stop, his total cerebral functions add up to little more than a naught. Truck drivers are the James Bonds of India, and are licensed to kill. Often you may encounter a single powerful beam of light about six feet above the ground. This is not a super motorbike, but a truck approaching you with a single light on, usually the left one. It could be the right one, but never get too close to investigate. You may prove your point posthumously.

Vacations

I have always looked forward to vacations. Time to take a break, to reflect, to recharge your battery as you move on.

The best vacations have been those where there has been quiet time interspred with partying with friends, reminiscing about old times and thinking of times ahead. They say what you do on vacation is representative of what you value in life. Since there is no pressure, no expectation, what you do at this time is what you do if you didnt have to work to earn a living. What have I done in the past few vacations. Travelled, caught up on reading, watched movies, and also written diaries. This blog was born on a vacation- the time between my final exams and date of graduation from Harvard.

Sometimes, I have consciously cut myself from some of the social occasions just to spend more time at home- either at the computer writing or with my wife. I find this 'downtime' reinvigorating. In fact, this is the time I think I 'work' the hardest- think about key decisions for the year- what do I need to concentrating on- in terms of time and effort. I find this a worthwhile exercise and best done either alone or in the company of my wife. Anybody else only clouds the decision making process.

This time around, I have read or rather re-read some of my old books- The Alchemist, Seven Habits, One Minute Manager, The Hungry Spirit, and reconnected back with some of my very old friends. Also watched Memoirs of a Geisha, Forrest Gump and the famous Boston Pops Symphony Orchestra. I cant believe Ive been on vacation only for a week.

I'd love to be on more such vacations. And given the temperate winter so far, I wouldnt mind spending Christmas and New Year in Boston!

The Family Stone- What a disaster!

You watch some trailers of movies and they raise your expectations. You look at the cast and that raises expectations further. You look forward to watch the movie. Then, you go ahead with your wife and friends to watch it on Christmas Day. And it turns out to be a unmitigated disaster. What do you do? You not only feel let down but almost cheated by all the expectations that were raised through the trailer and the prelude that accompanied the preview of what was expected to be one of the better movies of the year. The Family Stone has let me down beyond anything in recent times.

Think about it. The cast. There is Diane Keaton. And Sarah Jessica Parker. And Claire Danes. And Dermot Mulroney- and the trailers give you a glimpse of meeting the parents gone wrong. You think comedy, you think great pace and great timing. And then you go and watch a slow, boring, monotonously winding screenplay with some pedestrian acting to boot and you come off feeling cheated. If there was a money back refund available, the producers would be in serious debt.

Suffice it to say that this would be one of the worst movies of the year, and I watch a LOT of movies.
For critics who are slamming Memoirs of a Geisha, they ain't seen anything yet.
Or maybe, its just better they skip this one.
Take my word- if you have an extra 7 bucks, rent two good DVDs and watch them in the comfort of your home and save yourself the agony of going through this awful flick.
I will do some more research before spending another Christmas day watching a disastrous movie!
Enough said. I feel better having vented my frustration here and hoping at least somebody will be saved the agony and that my wife and I had to go through earlier!

Are fans more loyal than sports stars?

Boston is a picture of gloom and shock over the last couple of days.
The reason: Johnny Damon has signed for the Yankees- 52 million for 4 years.
The shock not just because he left but because he went to the most hated team in Boston- the Yankees. This is one of the most fierce rivalries in sports and Damon switched- for money of course! He was here for four years and had pretty much become the poster boy for the Red Sox team- his carefree attitude endeared him to everyone and also epitomised the attitude of the team in general- competitive yet likeable. When I watched a few games in Fenway, I remember fans comparing him to a Messiah and his bearded look and affable manner helped him become one of the most loved sportspersons in New England!

Isnt it strking that while fans stay true to their loyalties, sportsmen switch, and quite easily. Fans root for them and stay with clubs forever. When Red Sox won the World Series last year, generations of fans lined up to celebrate, fans who had waited an entire generation to see this come true. Sportspersons have a shelf life and they want to make the most of it- monetarily and otherwise. Switching loyalties isnt such a big deal with them.

But the fan feels cheated. At least I do. Unless I become more detached.
But then, if I become more detached, am I am fan at all?
Are fans more loyal than sportsmen?
Moot question.

The travails of corporate life

The more talk I hear about work-life balance in the corporate sector, I wonder whether that dichotomy denotes something deeper- a fundamental view that being at work and enjoying life are two very different things. If people are very happy on Friday evening looking forward to not being at work, doesn't that mean that they haven't been happy at work at all.
So, are we just working to pay bills?
To take the next holiday?
To earn to then enjoy the things we really like?
And when would that happen? When we retire!!!

I take the subway to work and can see a visible difference in people's attitudes on Monday morning compared to the Friday evening. The latter expression is much more chirpy than the one you see on Monday. Does that mean that for a large chunk of the population, corporate life is really a necessary drudgery to just try and make the cut in terms of living a life of comfort.

If you really do enjoy your work, wouldnt you like to do it all the time. Can't we see that with sportspeople, or with musicians or with entertainers or with artists or with anybody in pursuit of excellence? Have you heard Michael Jordan complain about playing too much basketball? Or Sachin Tendulkar playing too much cricket? But corporate executives do complain about too much work. Is it just me or I just feel that a lot of people haven't found their calling, drift into professional jobs and continue in them just to get by.

Can corporate life or even a subset of it really be a calling in and by itself?
I hope it can be, otherwise there are millions of unhappy people around waiting for their nirvana from something other than what they are engaged in 8-10 hrs everyday.

The changing seasons

I lived in Singapore for five years. Loved it. Very organized, very clean, low tax rate, close to home- it was great. One thing I missed though was the changing of the seasons. Singapore has two seasons- warm and humid warm.

Our move to New England is more than correcting that aberration. The Fall season is the prettiest- it was not too warm nor too cold, it is usually bright and sunny, the air is fresh without being chilly, the students are just coming back into Boston but most importantly, the leaves are changing color. And these are fascinating colors and as we look out of our own window and see the pattern of the changing colors, it brings us closer to the beauty of nature that we so often miss sitting on desktops all day working at the computer. I began thinking about it only the other day when I realized that I was cramming my leisure time with activities- do the laundry, watch this movie, catch up with an old friend- all good activities but do we really sit back and enjoy the beauty of nature, the changing seasons being a prime example. In our drive to be effective, efficient and most importantly productive, we cease to value the ability to sit back, relax and enjoy all the beauty that is around us. I began to do that only because my Tivo wasn't working at that time! Great accidental appreciation of nature!

I must admit that now that winter is hovering around, the prospect of pounding snow isnt particularly exciting for me. But I guess, that is what makes summer and Fall so much more enjoyable. I am beginning to enjoy the good things in life and am realizing that some of them are free! We just need to see them.

The reading habit

Are we reading less literature now than we used to?
Are we having an information overload but a lot of it is junk?
Are we wanting everything in byte sized chunks, so reading thick, literary works is passe?

As I look around me, it does look like people are reading less books.
There is information overload- emails, magazines, television, but a piece of literature is being read less often.
In fact, the major time for reading is commuting to and from work- and that time, we probably read either the morning newspaper going to work or just unwinding for the day after work. At home, family and television dominate proceedings. At work, everything is transactional- needed for action items, at home, we are either with family or glued to television. When do we have leisure, thinking time just to ourselves- the ability to walk into nowhere, think about what we are doing, read a great piece of literature- have our lives become so transactional that we do not have time to appreciate the finer things in life. Are we so busy chasing them when we may just not have the time to enjoy them at all?

The lack of reading is only a symptom of the instant gratification culture of our generation.
We must remember that reading is not just for technical advancement in a field but more broadly a practice for expanding horizons and gaining multiple perspectives. It requires discipline, it fires our imagination, influences our thinking and values and makes us connect as a civilization at a fundamental level. Coelho's work is just as relevant in South America, as it is in Asia or in the US. That is because it is deeply human and the reading habit connects us to each other at that fundamental level.

The fact that I havent read something noteworthy in the last three months worries me.
I should be done writing and read something right now!

The business of credit

I am not a great believer in taking on debt. I don’t like it.

When I was 12, I read David Copperfield and I still remember some pearls of wisdom from Charles Dickens that went something like if you earn 20 pounds and you spend 19 pounds, 90 shillings, you will be happy but if you spend 21 pounds, you will be miserable forever. That statement has just stuck in my head since. As a result, I have tried to live within my means. Hence, any instrument that makes me spend some more is something I run away from. I dislike credit cards. When I came from Singapore to the US, I virtually stopped using my credit card. I was a student and I wanted to live like that. Only cash, no credit card.

Now, I’m working and I need to buy a car and very soon, we might think of buying a home. As we surveyed the market, we found that the interest rate for us would be ridiculously high.
Reason: we do not have an established credit history in the US.
Actually, this society encourages you to have loans, otherwise you are penalized. No credit is not good- its BAD! This, for me, is counter-intuitive. The fact that I dont have a loan is working against me here. To get a low interest rate, I should have actually taken a loan, paids some money off thereby proving that I have the capability to repay.

This is a delicate balance. When do you know how much you can afford if you can always have credit? When do you know you have gone over the edge? Not by abstaining. This is what I am doing and am penalized for it. You have to get into the system, get loans that you well know you can pay off, then systematically start paying them off. If there is something that comes along the way, you just need to resist despite the fact you can afford it. And how many of us can do that?

Charles Dickens wasn’t wrong. But financial planning isn’t as simple as it used to be centuries back. We have got to make our own circle of material need even if the credit world could afford us something more. Better safe than sorry!

Can India develop despite its politicians?

Its a moot question.

India has rich natural resources, bright, educated middle class, a great work ethic and a sound economic base.

But it is run by politicians. Corrupt, unscrupulous and hideously short-sighted.

Till 1991, a socialistic democracy hiding incredible economic inefficiencies and an unsustainable subsidies drove us to the brink of economic disaster. Since then, we have had Finance Ministers, who have taken the country progressively towards liberalization, but are constantly hindered by the inept politicians whose base is the illiterate millions, who shall continue to stay illiterate if these politicians have their way.

Most recently, a former Prime Minister, Deve Gowda (who was known to sleep in cabinet meetings, no less) almost charged Infosys, one of India's jewels in the IT crown with doing virtually nothing for Karnataka. The Chairman of Infosys, Narayan Murthy, widely hailed around the world as one of the most dynamic leaders of the IT industry, was understandably miffed. He sent a point by point rejoined to this statement.

I have met Narayan Murthy. Spent half a day with him. Talking about building a world class organization in the heart of Bangalore, the IT capital of India. He is sincere, simple and straightforward, the very antithesis of an Indian politician. He started Infosys in 1981 with about $250 dollars in seed capital. In 1999, it became the first Indian company to be listed in the US and has exceeded analyst expectations quarter after quarter. Through its stock option program, it has made thousands of its employees great ownership and made them rich.

Narayan Murthy doesnt take much credit for this. He credits it to the team. His leadership philosophy is simple- hire bright people, give them a free reign, have a pay for performance culture and you will succeed. And he has made many in the indians middle class realize a dream they never thought would come true in their lifetime.

To question his commitment to India's development is blasphemous. By doing that, Indian politicans have only shown that they are worthy of nothing but contempt.

There are some islands of hope like the Cambridge educated economist, Manmohan Singh who is India's PM and continues to fight a lone battle for liberalization and integrating us into the world economy. More power to people like him but unfortunately such people in a minority.

For the sake of my own countrymen, I hope our politicians do minimal damage as our economy rolls on at a brisk 6-8% growth rate. I see them as impediments rather than enablers. Why we need them at all is a good question.
Can we sustain momentum despite our politicians? I am confident we will because we have too many bright hardworking people to let this slip from our hands, inept politicians notwithstanding!

A disappointing cricket spectacle

The Super Series just ended- the cricket super series I mean. It was Australia against World XI, a conglomeration of the very best talent in the world barring Sachin Tendulkar, who is still recovering from his tennis elbow. The last time something like this was played was way back in 1971, incidentally again in Australia and the hype for this series was enormous. The very best talent in the world had been put together to challenge the mighty Aussies at their home turf.

It turned out to be a no contest. The World XI got thrashed- in both versions of the game, the one dayers and the tests. What was being projected as the cricket spectacle of the year turned to be a damp squib. The World XI batsmen just couldnt tackle the guile of the Warne and Macgill on a turning Sydney track. But there is more to it than meets the eye.

The broader question is- can you get talented individuals together into a cohesive team within a very short span of time?

And the answer seems to be no. Individuals may be talented but the team is more than a summation of individual talents- it requires complementarity, camaderie and passion, something that was clearly missing from the World XI players whose individual records were impeccable but collectively as a team, they failed miserably. Top teams aren't created overnight- they require painstaking effort to mould individual talents into a cohesive, fighting unit. That goes for sports teams as much as it goes for businesses. Individual brilliance needs to be supplemented with appropriate team dynamics for best synergies to take place. The spectacle Down Under only goes to reinforce that point!

Innovation in government!

We don't usually associate government with any kind of innovation. Its all about following rules and procedures and delays, particularly in most of the developing countries. So when you come across an instance of creative thinking and innovation, you stand up, take notice and most importantly, applaud an effort that would have an impact throughout the society that the particular government is operating in.

The Philippine government is much maligned- known for cronyism and corruption, but there are pockets of excellence and I observed one such pocket in the my recent visit to the country. I met with Mike Luz, former Professor of mine at the Asian Institute of Management, an alumnus of Harvard (much before my batch, I must add), and currently the Undersecretary of Education in the Phillipine government. As I spoke to him and asked him about what he was doing, he started animatedly telling me about some of the things he has been involved in.

Amongst the many initiatives he spoke about, one stood out in my mind. This was about the distribution of books in schools all over the country. This is a massive undertaking and given the fact that Philippines is an island country and the roads and railroads aren't the finest in the world, it is very difficult to reach the remote corners of the country. As a result, books that were meant for students would get purchased but would never be distributed to some parts simply because of logistical constraints. Areas were far off, there was barely a motorable road and just the cost of getting the books there was a humungous undertaking for the government. Like a true social scientist, Mike decided to go to one such far flung area and find out for himself what was going on. He chose the area of Masbate. I haven't been there but apparently, the place is pretty difficult to get to. It was raining, the roads were muddy and even as Mike travelled in the jeep for three hours, he realized people had a point. This was indeed a very difficult area to distribute books to. And to have dedicated trucks that would carry books to these areas would be pretty darn expensive and the government wouldn't have the money for it.

As Mike travelled with his team in the jeep, they stopped by a food stall just to have a break. It was muggy, it had been a long journey and this was a forlorn area. Three hours of bumpy travel in a rickety jeep had not been pleasant. Just as there were some seeds of despair weaving their way in, there was a while and red truck that passed by- the only the other vehicle they had seen for about the three hours of travel that they had done. This was Coke! And Mike knew what he had to do. He immediately went back to Manila, called up the Coke guys and struck a deal with them that they would distribute the books to the remotest parts of the Philippines even as they would distreibute their bottles during the normal course fo duty. No extra cost, no hassle, no extra government spending and efficiency of combining the two things in the same distribution mechanism. The solution was a classic win-win. The Department of Education would be able to distribute books in a timely fashion to the remotest corner fo the Philippines, Coke would do its bit for social responsibility with just the extra effort of picking up the books along with the bottles!

I found this story fascinating in terms of getting to the root of the problem, identifying it, thinking out the box and finding a solution that would benefit everyone involved. Too often, we throw up in hands and say this can't be done. And what better place to say it than in the government. The Coke- Dept of Education partnership is a classic case of innovation in the government and if it can be done there, I dont see why such initiatives cannot happen everywhere.

Why such initiatives are even more fulfilling is that they are attempting to raise the level of education in the developing countries and good education is only sustainable antidote to poverty in my view. Lets hope many more initiatives like this happen in the future.

The weekend after...

There was a certain buzz in Boston on Friday. Everybody was talking about the Red Sox- the team that won the World Series after 86 years last year with a heroic comeback victory against the mighty Yankees. This time, the Sox were down 0-2 against Chicago and it was a must win game. At 4pm, the city came to complete standstill. Either you were at Fenway Park at the game or you were somewhere close to a television watching the game.

I got out of office at about 5:30 with the Sox trailing but by the time I got home, they had levelled the scores. There was a quiet confidence, almost a certain smugness about the New England fans. They somehow knew their team would deliver. They beat the Yankees last year at Yankee stadium, Chicago at their own home turf would be a piece of cake. The Red Sox fans are believers- they believe in their team- utmost devotion and almost maniacal passion. They somehow knew that the team would be able to come back on Friday, then win the game on Saturday and a final one on Sunday to make the finals of the ALCS. But even the game progressed, the hitters struggled and the pitchers lost their way. Chicago was clinical, less flair but flawless in execution of their plan. By 7:30, the Boston dream was over- at least for this year. We went out for dinner- the raods were empty and there was almost a pall of gloom in the city. The season was over- for good. Sense of dejection. Loss. Confusion about how a team this good could lose its way after promising so much.

That gloom was compounded by the wet weather. Cold and damp, the Fall suddenly turned into a glimpse of what the winter might be like. It took one night for me to move from a t-shirt to a jacket but the indefatigable Red Sox fan was still out, this time hoping for the season to turn next year. Fans started discussing what the team would look like next year- who would stay and who would go. It was almost as if fans had put behind this year and were looking forward to 2006 almost knowing that the team would deliver- this was just a minor blip in what is surely the best team in the business. That optimism is what I like about the New England fan. Always a believer, the fan doesnt give up at all. Shrugs his shoulders, has a Sam Adams, a good sleep and starts preparing for the future. A very good attitude to have.

In a way, I have both been a participant as well as an observer of the Red Sox mania through two seasons- one a fascinating come from behind historic victory and now, a tragic loss. But the attitude of the fan has been consistent- a passion to support the team come what may. This may be a wet weekend and the Gods may be mourning as well but I am sure the fan will turn up at Fenway next season just as optimistic and sure about victory as he has been ever in his life. For the rest of the year, Boston would be following football! As for me, I shall continue to see what sites I can surf to follow my own passion for cricket and soccer, two games that are hardly played on this continent. They really don't know what they are missing out on!

The buzz of Friday may be gone, but the optimism remains and thats what is most important.

The greatest game ever played!

Talk about exaggeration- and the title of this movie epitomises it!
One of the key ways of making sports movies successful is to have an underdog as the main protagonist who basically kills the ego of the champion by beating him at the game; the contrast between the champion and the underdog is stark and the audience roots for the underdog all along.
This movie is different, and refreshingly so in that sense.

The movie traces the parallel lives of the main competitors in the 1913 USOpen, the British professional Harry Vardon (Stephen Dillane) and the American amateur Francis Ouimet (Shia LaBeouf). In spite of their differences in age and nationality, Vardon and Ouimet both came from modest backgrounds, a fact that gives the film a jolt of class consciousness.

Vardon, who grew up poor on the Channel island of Jersey, is treated with condescension by the London establishment and denied membership in the club that sponsors him. Ouimet, the child of immigrants, learns golf while caddying at the country club across the street from his family's house in Brookline. (His own caddy later on is a street urchin named Eddie, played by a natural scene-stealer named Josh Flitter.) Ouimet's father (Elias Koteas), a laborer, sees the game as a waste of time, but Francis's mother (Marnie McPhail) indulges her son's passion and encourages him, as someone in a movie like this must, to follow his dream.

This following of the dream against all odds is what I like most about the movie. Ouimet doesn't just dream, he works hard, reads Vardon's book about what makes a golfer great, and practices and practices till he is able to perfect his game. We also get a glimse of what makes champions great- they have an uncanny ability to concentrate on their goal and cut out all the 'noise' surrounding them. They just concentrate on what they have to do with single minded devotion.
ut of a mov
This is not the greatest sports movie I have seen but it is a very good one- at least worth one watch. Seldom do you get out of a sports movie feeling for both the winner and the loser- the characterization of both Vardon and Ouimet is impeccable and the acting outstanding. Watch it- you will not regret it.

Of technology, change and habit!

Change being the only constant is oft quoted truism- we talk about it, we profess to be votaries of change, we urge others to embrace it all the time- there are change management consultants who revel in giving advice on managing change in organizations. But change is inevitably an emotional experience and depending upon how well we deal with it, we buld a certain confidence about dealing with it in the future or conversely shun it forever.

Let me explain with a simple example. Since the end of last year, we have been wanting to buy an ibook to go along with our ipod. We felt it was a cool thing to have and that we should use something else apart from microsoft products. We didn't think it would be a big deal making the switch. And so, yesterday, we bought an ibook, brought it home and promptly set about working on it. Suddenly, it seemed like a different world. Simple things three both me and my wife off. For example, the key 'delete' works like backspace and I still haven't figured how to make the words delete going forward. And this is just one of the many changes. The entire look was different, the feel was different- I felt somebody had given me a very different toy to work with. I struggled with basic commands as if I was learning computers for the first time. And even as we tried to instal the microsoft word, powerpoint and excel from the "Student- Teacher" edition of the Mac, and found ourselves unsuccessful, we got increasingly frustrated. And it was a Saturday evening- we could only reach the prerecorded voices of all tech support. We struggled gamely with commands that were on our fingertips all along till after midnight, both of us just gave up. We decided that we could not make the switch and would return our new machine. The penalty would be 99 dollars and it was a price that we would pay for trying to make a change and not being competent to do it. We were clearly more creatures of habit than we had thought ourselves to be.

Even as we hit the bed, the thought of having failed at making the switch rankled both of us and so we were up again- adn slowly but surely we found our way back- installing the office to begin with and as we got to something fimiliar- it began to feel like familiar territory. Suddenly, the doubts and fears were gone and we began to appreciate the more cool features of the Mac. It is still early day as yet but suffice it to say that we havent returned our machine and I am actually beginning to like the portability, the features and the just the layout of the Mac- it is refreshingly different.

We make such switches often, sometimes intended and sometimes they are thrust upon us. I guess what we need to do is figure out something familiar in there, try it out in the new set-up, get comfortable with it and then, try and make the bigger leap. I guess the battle is more in the head, not so much in the technology. Most often, the former is the most difficult battle to win. Tenacity is important but so is just the self belief that nothing is too difficult as not being able to make the switch. And the Mac is just an apt illustration. Of course, this blog comes from the new machine and the fact that it has nothing in bold, or italics is because I still haven't figured that out yet. But I will soon I guess.

We are indeed creatures of habit. However, we have tremendously flexible personalities too and given the right circumstances, we would love to keep moving on rather than staying put in one place. Doesn't that make life that much more exciting??!!!

Knowing when your time is up!

Great men have a great sense of timing- they know when to play their trump cards and when to hold back. They also know when to retire. Its graceful and they like to go out into the sunset while people are still clamoring for them to be there.

Nowhere is this more evident than in sport. And it is devastating to see a hero of sport grovelling against weak opposition when all you have in your mind are images of extreme supremacy against the very best in the world. The current Indian captain, Sourav Ganguly is a classic case in point. A classy batsman in his prime, he was feared by bowlers around the world not too far back. Since 2003, the slide in his form and confidence has been cataclysmic. Questions are being raised all around. Can he inspire the team when he can't inspire confidence in his own self? Can he really lead from the front? Is he growing too old and is blocking the passage of youngsters? All valid questions and none would be asked if Ganguly would just let go. And this is where he will lose his chance to be a true great of sport. Gavaskar had excellent timing about his retirement, so did Steve Waugh and will therefore forever be remembered fondly. Not so with Ganguly I suspect. He built a great team, led from the front but has gone on for way too long.

The curtain is coming down soon and the mark of greatness is to act yourself and exit the stage than be forced out. Ganguly, with his poor sense of timing and inappropriate comments about the coach, is likely to be facing the latter.

We shall see what happens but its an important lesson for all of us.

What a series!

There are moments in sports when the tide seems to turn, when a dominating team suddenly seems to falter, when the challengers have more hunger than the ones holding the trophy- and the shift in momentum begins to create a sense of excitment amongst the sports fan that makes all his trips to the stadium worthwhile. It happened in Boston last year when the Red Sox came from 0-3 deficit to beat the Yankees to win the ALCS and eventually the coveted World Series after 86 years. Fans went wild, and celebrations went on for days and months.

Something similar happened in London yesterday. Australia, the dominant team in World Cricket was vanquished by a resurgent English team that showed enormous resolve and consistency throughout the summer and thoroughly deserved the prize. I followed the series, match by match, ball by ball and was enthralled by the ebb and flow of what was a truly outstanding cricket series by any standards. Even as it became evident that the Aussies were nowhere near their best in this series, their tenacity under pressure, their refusal to give up, their unbelievable fight to the finish was something that showed me why they have been the best team in the world for so long.

Often, the game is won or lost in the mind, not really on skill. On form, man to man, the English team was way better, but the mental resolve not to lose from the Aussies made the series so nail-bitingly close. For the neutral, it was the very best that cricket epitomises-skill, ability to read difficult situations and respond appropriately, plan but be flexible and play accordingly, never give up even when the chips are down and statistics is against you and of course, play the game in the best spirit possible. There were a few incidents here and there but in a tough series like this, those were minimal and few and far between.

We don't know whether the tide has truly turned for good- but this was indeed refreshing. The Aussies have only been challenged by the Indians, and that too, sporadically- for them to lose a series to England means that at least, there are chinks in their once impregnable fortress and that is great for sport. But just as you can never write off the Yankees, people hastening to write off the Aussies may be speaking too soon just yet!

The color of money

I am not much of a gambler. But I like visiting a casino. Like I did this Labor Day weekend. We were in Atlantic City, a good 350 miles drive south of Boston.

I like going to a casino for several reasons. One- it amazes me that people who haggle for pennies outside are so willing to bet 5 or 10 dollar bills in hoards on a roulette where the probability of winning is heavily stacked against them. Yet, people flock to these games. Again and again.
Second- the wide range of people you see at a casino is only topped by a good sports game. You see old women, young women, flashing young men to older people well into retirement, all playing hoping their luck would turn just at the instant that they are there.

Playing in a casino is clearly something more than just playing a game. It is fact trying to chase a dream- the easy way out! Little or no sweat, little thought, a few colored coins that represent money and people chase it- day in and day out. It gives people hope, of instant gratification, of fast forwarding their dreams, of a better lifestyle, a newer car, a better home. There is an adrenalin rush- knowing that it could all be done in a matter of hours, not months or years of hard work, but in a few moments of instant luck and literally good fortune. In that sense, the crowd at the casino represents our faith in miracles, our eternal hope of a better future and our optimism even in the face of adversity. Casinos succeed because despite everything that probability has to say, we still feel we could be the chosen ones and have a fortune that will make our dreams come true. They succeed because of our faith in ourselves and each repeated failure at it only strengthens our resolve that good fortune is just round the corner. At a more visceral level, they represent our urge to splurge, feel good about it and just have a good time in a scenario where everybody is willing to bet a little bit hoping the tide would turn. Whether it is the notoriously fickle roulette or the more steady black jack, the thinking is still the same and the pump of adrenalin almost unmatched by any other activity.

I have played in different casinos from Genting Highlands in Malaysia to Cebu in the Philippines to Atlantic City now and it seems there is a universal appeal to the casinos which in my view represents a certain yearning to make our futures and fortunes better- as quickly as we possibly can; and though we all know in our heart of hearts that sustainable fortune is more than just getting a few numbers right, we still keep hoping. And thats what works! We are eternal optimists, arent we and thats not a bad way to be at all!

Life without a laptop

It is easy to get used to things. Very quickly. I was introduced to the computer and the internet in 1997 and some would say, thats fairly late. I took to it with some trepidation. But once I took my dive into the corporate sector, discovered the joys of preparing wonderful presentations of powerpoint, of writing long-ish mails to friends, all now connected on email- it just seemed like a wonderful accessory to have.

And now- I do not consider it an accessory at all! I think it is an absolute necessity. I moved houses a few days back and was not connected to the net. I felt lost, almost like a ship without its rudder or its power. It really felt like I couldn't do anything. I was not connected on mail, I was not connected to the news, to my friends, to this blog- nothing!

Nothing. Complete emptiness.

The thing is- I was so disoriented I didn't even want to pick up a book and read which is something I could very well have done. Clearly, the computer and the internet have become an inextricable part of my life. And more so with each passing day, I am becoming more and more entrenched in the wired world. Some people bemoan the fact that the more we work on a computer, the more individualistic we become and less social. I have found the reverse to be true. I have been able to get in touch with old friends courtesy google, have been able to trace some who I lost touch with completely. The only catch is this- courtesy all this communication on the net, I tend to communicating less with people on snail mail. But in the list of people who are not connected to the net, my parents are the only ones I am really concerned about. I am glad that at least I am having the discipline to write to them once every month. The art of letter writing, conventional writing is clearly dying out and I do not want to be a part of that breed.

But I cannot imagine my life without a laptop and an internet connection, I far cry from just a few years back. Things change and so do we. Hopefully, for the better!

The Wisdom of Crowds

I read this book in a day and a half- I found it enthralling at first and then a bit of a drag, precisely because he promises much right at the beginning and then as one begins to unravel his arguement about so called 'wisdom of crowds', you realize he's only packaging some pretty basic statistical tools of sampling and behavioral economics in a commonsensical manner. Not that it doesn't require skill to do that- it does and he has a great story telling technique but the book falls short of making you think differently, something that Gladwell does quite brilliantly in both The Tipping Point and Blink.

So what exactly is the thesis of the book. I am reproducing here a short summary from Publisher's Weekly thats pretty good.

"While our culture generally trusts experts and distrusts the wisdom of the masses, New Yorker business columnist Surowiecki argues that "under the right circumstances, groups are remarkably intelligent, and are often smarter than the smartest people in them." To support this almost counterintuitive proposition, Surowiecki explores problems involving cognition (we're all trying to identify a correct answer), coordination (we need to synchronize our individual activities with others) and cooperation (we have to act together despite our self-interest). His rubric, then, covers a range of problems, including driving in traffic, competing on TV game shows, maximizing stock market performance, voting for political candidates, navigating busy sidewalks, tracking SARS and designing Internet search engines like Google. If four basic conditions are met, a crowd's "collective intelligence" will produce better outcomes than a small group of experts, Surowiecki says, even if members of the crowd don't know all the facts or choose, individually, to act irrationally. "Wise crowds" need (1) diversity of opinion; (2) independence of members from one another; (3) decentralization; and (4) a good method for aggregating opinions. The diversity brings in different information; independence keeps people from being swayed by a single opinion leader; people's errors balance each other out; and including all opinions guarantees that the results are "smarter" than if a single expert had been in charge. Surowiecki's style is pleasantly informal, a tactical disguise for what might otherwise be rather dense material. He offers a great introduction to applied behavioral economics and game theory. "

If you actually analyze the four conditions he talks about, those are just good statistical techniques anyway. In that sense, the title of the book is a misnomer- its not just crowds that he is talking about, he is talking about a sample of people with diversity of opinion, complete independence and also having a good method of aggregating data. All these are simple reassertions of mathematical principles and applying them in social theory, albeit interesting, is not quite pathbreaking.

One thing is for sure- Surowiecki has a great gift for story telling and is able to explain complex social experiments in a very simple, understandable manner that makes these experiments so much more appealing and less esoteric. Just for that, if not anything else, this book is worth reading but don't expect a classic!

Is it necessary to work?

I have often fantasized about life without any work- no deadlines, no one to report to, no reports to write, nothing to do, just lazing around meeting friends and having a 'good time'. Guess what? I've had my wish and I am beginning to find myself 'over-vacationed'!!

I graduated from Harvard in June and my work doesn't begin till later this month. So I decided to go on a vacation. I visited India, Singapore, several places in the Philippines, met with old friends, relatives, well wishers, did some sight seeing, drank plenty of beer, ate some great food and then, came back to the US. Almost since the last week of my vacation, I have been itching to get back to work. I want to do something productive and not just read or travel or write a blog. There is a certain emptiness to the day that I need to fill up each day. I decide to go for a drive, sometimes, I read, sometimes I write, sometimes I just walk. But all of these are also beginning to be a bore. I clearly want to more productive. I really want to work! Did I think I would ever say that? No way.

Work clearly gives a greater meaning to our lives, or at least my life. It gives me a professional anchor, a place for intellectual stimulation and growth and a place where I feel I am making a difference and contributing something not just to myself but also to the larger good. Which is why we are all so upset when we don't quite enjoy our work. Work gives us a sense of worth and worthless work is not worth doing! And I am not being facetious here.

This is indeed a serious discovery for me. We enjoy our vacation only when we come off some hard work. In fact, the harder the grind, the happier the vacation, which is why we look forward to weekends as much due to all the work done in the past week as also in anticipation for the week ahead. Vacation is an energizer when it comes as a break from serious enterprise and ceases to be enjoyable when it goes on for too long. I do consider myself fortunate to enjoy such a vacation though- otherwise I would never have realized the need to work, at least in my own case and how important it is to complete my personality and sense of being.

The business of free advice

On my vacation, I realized that generally, people back home in India love giving advice. When they think you are faced with a dilemma, the advice comes thick and fast from all corners genuinely wanting to help you make a decision. Unfortunately, there are three aspects of this advice that make it not only slightly unhelpful, but even annoying at times.

One- the advice is almost always unsolicited.
Second- the advice is given on anything and everything whether the person giving the advice knows anything about the subject.
Third- the advice comes even after you have already taken action and theres nothing you can change.

A couple of incidents shall illustrate the point. My father was suffering from cataract of the eye and I wanted to get him operated on while I was in Jaipur. Now, we wanted to get a really good doctor who could do the operation. We did our research, asked around, narrowed the field to three, my dad and I met with the three doctors, we liked all but liked one in particular and went with the man- Dr. Ashok Puri. He also happened to be the most well renowned eye surgeon in Jaipur and we finalized everything. Within a couple of days, the operation was done and Dad was back at home, feeling wonderful with new eyes.

As people came in to see my dad, the advice started, first about the doctor and then about the recuperative procedure. About the doctor, we were told that he's way too expensive, he does not give enough time to patients and there are others who are better. When asked who these better ones were and who had got their operation done there, they would refer to some remote uncle of theirs who had got some eye operation(not even cataract) and was telling them he was good. I was amazed that this third party advice was being given so authoritatively. Secondly, the operation had already been done. There was no way to reverse it. Thirdly, my dad was feeling absolutely fine both with the doctor and his eye and so it didn't quite matter apart from just unsettling him a little bit about whether we had made the right decision in the first place. And then there was plenty of advice regarding how he should handle the eyes once the operation has been done. This was way above what the doctor had told us to do. I was grateful that people came to look up my dad but wasn't so grateful for the free advice that was being dished out.

Similarly, one of my cousins was seeking admission in a college in Delhi and she was again inundated with a plethora of advice- about colleges, about courses, about prospects of studying in Delhi versus Jaipur. As I looked at the people dishing out advice, I was amazed as few of them had either studied in Delhi or had background similar to the one my cousin had. But the conviction of their stand was to be seen to be believed.

These two incidents made me think. Why are we so keen to give advice plus what makes us so confident about giving it in the first place? Keenness could be attributed to a genuine desire to help. I am not sure about the conviction of advice. A false assertion could lead to a loss of credibility and so common sense demands that advice should be given sparingly and only on subjects that one is reasonably sure on. Apparently, that really doesn't matter. Much as I like the fact that people are out to help, it is also quite obvious to me that they eventually do more harm than good. So whats the best way out. Listen, be polite, but do what you think best, otherwise you could be paralyzed into inaction given all the advice you receive. This way, you will keep your relationships intact and also sleep well at night!

What's in a name?

What's in a name? Apparently a lot, especially if you are in real estate. Certain names have distinct connotations that could either raise or lower the prestige of the property you are in.

I was in Gurgaon recently (a satellite town of Delhi which is mushrooming with outsourcing and industrial activity) and found that most residential complexes had English sounding names- Hamilton Court, Wellington Place etc. And then I across this property called JanPratinidhi Apartments- the name is distinctly from the Hindi heartland and means representative of the masses- probably a well thought out name for s residence that the common man can afford. The apartments looked good from the outside, well maintained and each apartment seemed to have a balcony which I thought was a great feature. As I enquired about the property, one of my real estate agent friends told me that it was not as popular a property as others and apparently, the name had a lot to do with it. Property has an aspirational quality to it- something you save for that you and your family can enjoy for the rest of your life. It is something you work towards and feel that you deserve. Apparently, this apartment got two things wrong with the name. One- it was in Hindi, a language of the masses, nothing aspirational about it. The same place, titled Somerset Palace would do much better, according to my friend, even if people didn't have a clue that Somerset is a county in England, it just needed to sound English. Second- even the Hindi name was one that associated with the masses in general. There was nothing distinctive about it. There was one way out of this, I suggested. Why don't they market it as JP Apartments? The acronym could stand for anything- it could be French sounding Jean Pierre for all I care as long it made the property attractive. And to my surprise, the agent did listen to my suggestion carefully and said it could just work. Properties in India become more attrative when they have foreign sounding names. Is it due to our colonial hangover? Is it due to the fact that we feel that properties that have foreign sounding names probably have developers that are more credible? I don't know.

But clearly, names do have significant impact and could almost make the properties not only more desirable but also more expensive. Isn't it fascinating that our perception clouds our judgment of reality and makes us behave in a manner that may not completely conform to our logical left brained thinking pattern? But then, doesn't this give color to our lives that would otherwise turn out to be fairly uninteresting.

Larks, owls and biorhythms

A long time back, I read some literature on biorhythms that pretty much said that there are two kinds of people in the world- the larks and the owls. The larks love waking up early in the morning, they are at their best between 7 and 11 in the morning, they like to get most of their work done by lunch, and its pretty much downhill from there. The owls, on the other hand, hate waking up early in the morning, they get into their rhythm only by late afternoon and are at their best after 2 in the afternoon. I promptly pronounced myself an owl- showed that article to my parents and asked them not to disturb my sleep early in the morning! They may be larks, but I'm an owl and getting up early for breakfast is not really working to my advantage- I reasoned. I would wake up a little later but would literally burn the midnight oil studying even as they hit the bed- I argued. My parents resisted initially but they came around to it and so I lived my life as an owl for all my student years.

It was all hunky dory till I started work. Workplaces arent made differently for larks and owls. There are certain times you have got to be there, irrespective of your pronounced biorhythm. There is no way out. The person I was reporting to in Singapore used to get up at 4 in the morning, 110% lark, would get into office by about 6:30, would have some breakfast meetings between 7 and 9, would finish most of his work by the lunch meeting and I would just be warming up to the day! I decided to work around this for a while but when it didn't quite work, I decided to give this lark lifestyle a try. Sleep early, get up early, be in office fresh and work my way through. It really was a refreshing change except that on some days, I would be done by 10am. I wouldnt know what to do with my time the rest of the day! The second problem would be that I would feel incredibly sleepy between 3 and 5 in office. It was this two hour window when it was excruciatingly difficult to concentrate on stuff and do some real work. But the more effective I became at work, I realized it was pointless staying in office if I didnt have any real work to do. So the timecycle changed a little as I worked. Would get up by 6:30, be in office by 7:30- 8, get all the major work done by about 1, continue with meetings and finish the day by about 5 to 6. As it turns out, this is actually a productive day and gives you time to get back home and spend time with family. As an owl, one would still be working till about 8 in office because you only started work around 9 anyway and didnt really get going till about 11.

I liked the discipline of the lark lifestyle and it just feels more healthy. Once in a while whenever I want to indulge, I switch back to the owl mode and found it incredibly relaxing.

So where does that leave the biorhythm debate? Are we one or the other? As with most other things, my view is that we are very flexible and can change according to time, place and circumstances. It just takes a little time to getting used to, but we do and can be larks or owls depending upon the needs of the situation. I just hope my parents don't read this, as for them, I'd love to remain an owl- tucked in bed during the holidays even as they go hustling onto their morning walks!

Independence day musings!

India attained its independence from the British rule on the 15th of August, 1947. Its a day of celebration, but also reflection- a celebration of all our achievements- as the world's largest democracy, as a rapidly developing country with a huge educated workforce, as a potentially big market for tons of products and services, as a country that has a huge potential for being a veritable superpower in the years to come.

It is also a time of reflection- of why we haven't improved our infrastructure, why don't we have enough good roads and food and water and electricity for people, why one heavy rain can drown the commercial capital of the country, why we still have about 450 million people who are totally illiterate, why even the 'best minds' cannot take us faster on a road of development, why we cannot weed out corruption but take it almost as a part and parcel of public life, why despite all the urban expansion and so called rise of the middle class, aspects of fundamentalist religious thinking continue to bog us down as we hope to go forward in the 21st century.

These are tricky issues- some political, some social and some economic.

But there are some things that need to be urgently dealt with and they are essentially two-
a) Improve infrastructure: There is absolutely no excuse for roads to be so bad, electricity supply to be so inconsistent and water to be a constantly scare source in urban areas. We cannot hope for investment or development to take place if this doesnt happen, and soon.
2) Wider educational base: The educational system is still quite narrow- very few kids come under the purview of what can be termed acceptable education. Much more attentions needs to be given to education as opposed to our defence. Our malaise is illiteracy, not Pakistan or the dispute about Kashmir. Education is the only source of sustainable development and we need to commit to that.

I do like our democracy but it has come with certain costs- a potential tiger has been turned into a lumbering elephant and thats the pace of development we will take; China, as a result of market socialism, has moved much faster and with a more committed sense of purpose.

As we approach sixty years of freedom, I think we have leveraged on the British legacies- an english education, democratic institutions, formal justice systems- well enough within a larger framework to create a fairly robust nation, that survives despite all the chaos that seems to pervade it. I am not very jingoistic about either our past or our future prospects, but it does seem that the latter is more promising than the former has been and that is always a healthy sign!

Personal friendship and professional work

In 1995, one of the best friends offered me a job. I thanked him profusely, refused politely and went off to teach in a school, a far less glamorous job than my friend had offered me. I have never regretted the decision. We have remained very good friends. This time when I went to India, I did some consulting work for him. He again offered me something and once again, my answer was the same.

This got me thinking. We do want our boss to be our best friend but not our best friend to be our boss? Why is that so?

Why are we uncomfortable when our friends make us an offer to work for them? What is about it that makes us uncomfortable? Are we afraid that the realities of business are so stark that they shall inevitably call for decisions that would put a strain on our friendship? Or do we treasure our frienships so much that we do not want the mundane materialistic pennies and cents considerations get in the way somewhere to spoil the fun of a pristine friendship? Or is it possible that we do use our friends as wise counsel for everything from business dilemmas to family issues to personal crises to career decisions that we do want to have them continue to maintain their objectivity from a 'distance' rather than become a vested part of our own lives.

A very close friend of mine in Singapore is currently facing this dilemma. The business opportunity to work for his friend is great but he is hesitant. The reason- he values the friendship a heck of a lot. If the business doesnt succeed, he doesnt want to lose his best friend. Its a tricky situation to be in. On the one hand, one may argue that if they truly good friends, a failed business doesn't mean breakdown of friendships, in fact, it could just bring them closer as thats what adversity does to people who care about each other. On the other hand, there could some kind of 'blame' game, covert, subtle and difficult to express precisely because they are friends. Its easy to argue with a colleague over an issue, and still remain friends, but with good friends.......not too sure!!

Business that is too 'cold blooded' is boring, friendship that is too close and too chummy could not be good for business either- where exactly is the golden mean?? I dont know.

But clearly, this dilemma points to how much we tend to value our friendships and how we want to keep them and nurture them at all costs, at least for most of my close friends. Friends tend to play several roles- wise counsel, idea generators, reality checks and non judgemental gossip mongers! Most of all, they bring fun into our lives- and why would be want to give it all up if thats what a professional relationship would threaten to do!

The joys of driving

One of the most therapeutic things I have discovered for myself is driving. And I learnt how to drive last December. I got my licence here in Boston, we bought an old Honda Accord and off we were, on our way. The moment I sat behind the wheel and hit the highways, I realized what I was really missing out on and what I'd suddenly discovered- I really love to drive.

And I drive without a reason, just into nowhere. I love the roads, the scenery, the setting and it is also time when I am able to think about myself- what I am doing and what I need to be doing as I go ahead. And sometimes, I don't really choose a destination. I hit the road and then decide what I need to do- I drive on the highway, whenever I do get tired, I get off the highway, have a diet coke and some fries and am back again.

Sometimes, I do land up in wonderful places. Like yesterday.

I got onto I-95 and instead of travelling south which I do a lot, I decided to go north. And I kept going as the weather was wonderful and the road not very busy. I got past Massachusets and entered new Hampshire and the scenery got even better and then, as I kept going, I realized I was getting past Portsmouth and entering Maine. I took the first exit and came back to Portsmouth as it just seemed so incredibly pretty. The city has an awesome location- it sits near the mouth of the Piscataqua River, a short, wide river that divides New Hampshire and Maine. The city also is at the hub of a metropolitan region that includes several small cities and many towns. The population is about 25,000 odd people and it is just one of the finest quaint towns I have come across on the East Coast. I sat on a restaurant on Bow Street overlooking the bridge that connects NH with Maine, had a margarita, a ceaser salad and realxed seeing the sun set on an incredible day. I did not take the I 95 South right away as I wanted to see a bit more of the coastline and I took some of the smaller roads I made my way back. It was just a most wonderful and relaxing drive.

I realize that these trips to nowhere can be very refreshing. You do end up in good places and since you have no expectations, there is always a surprise. Its a good way to be. And thank God I learnt how to drive. Things are just so much better. And I have begun to appreciate Pirsig's comment even more- "Sometimes, its better to travel than to arrive."

Covey and personal effectiveness

I have always been interested in literature around personal effectiveness. Not just effectiveness at work. Effectiveness in everything- at work, play, leisure and generally, in life itself. Most of the literature that I came across appeared shallow to me- it was either very superficial and anything I tried out would work for some time and then, wither away.

So when I read a chapter from Covey as a part of my MBA course in 1998, I took some of his 'preachings' with a pinch of salt. Then, on a plane ride to Singapore, I read the book cover to cover. That was 2000. I have read the book several times since, and have completely enthralled by the power of his ideas. They are simple without being simplistic and that is what attracts me to them. At the same time, they have made me think more deeply about what I really want to be with my time, where I want to spend it, where I want to invest it and what I should actually refrain from doing. From simple time management tools to an actual assessment of my own values set, his Seven Habits have unquestionably made me a better, more effective person. And come to think of it, I do not think I practice all his habits to the extent I would like to. Very often, I slip and castigate myself for it.

I am reading it once more before I begin my professional work as I am sure I will again find some nuggets of wisdom that shall influence the way I approach both my work and my life.
If there is one book you may want to read and truly practice what is written there, let it be Covey's Seven Habits. You will not be disappointed!

The 'where are you from' conundrum

My wife and I are fond of saying that we are vagabonds- we would go wherever the opportunities will take us. And the more we move countries, the more difficult it is to answer the very simple question- Mohit- where are you from?

I have tried to think about this hard. I was born in Faridabad, a bustling industrial town in Haryana that could be called the Gurgaon of the seventies, but before I was one, we moved to Bombay. I lived there till I was 4, then we moved to Lucknow. This is where I had my schooling and my most formative years were spent there. At 17, I moved for College to Delhi and stayed there till I was 24, moved to Dehradun to teach at Doon School for a couple of years, after which I did an MBA in Manila, Philippines. After my MBA, I briefly worked in India and the Philippines before being hired as a Consultant based in Singapore where I spent five years. My last two years of consulting were literally spent in Malaysia, taking the Monday morning flight to Kuala Lumpur from Singapore and taking the Friday night flight back. Last year, we moved to Boston and have lived here since. I have an Indian citizenship, Permanent Resident-ship in Singapore, my wife is Filipino and my parents now reside not in Lucknow where I grew up but in Jaipur where they grew up.

So where exactly am I from? The closest answer would be Lucknow. I spent 12-13 years there, the schooling was excellent, the atmosphere was very multi-cultural (Lucknow has a sizeable Muslim population) and the values of hard work, respect for elders and the care for the family were instilled in me there. But again, Delhi is where I grew in terms of perspective and outlook. Doon is where I had my first real job and Singapore is where I learnt the ropes of consulting and the corporate world. When I land in Delhi, I feel just as much at home as I do when I land in Singapore. In fact, Lucknow is where I may be most distant from as I do not have many friends there anymore. Friends from Lucknow have moved all over, from Johannesburg to Hong Kong to London! I participate as vigorously in the debate about Singapore's competitiveness as I do when talking about the liberalization in Delhi or the political quagmire in the Philippines. I feel passionate about all these subjects as I have had close links with all these places and they all have been home to me at some point in time.

As I write this, I wonder whether I do need to answer this question at all. In this day and age, it may be a trifle obsolete. All I know is this- there needs to be a constancy of purpose and a strong character with well ingrained values- as long as we have that, irrespective of wherever we go, that place will become our home. So one could cheer for Manny or Johnny as loudly as one does for Sachin or Sehwag- so what if the fans of baseball dont understand cricket or vice versa, I know I could be a potential 'bridge' and that makes me feel pretty good.

Unwell and alone!

One of the saddest things is when you are not well and alone! Nobody to ask how you are doing, nobody to ask what you would like to eat, nobody to put on the music you like- it really is no fun.

As I came back to Boston, my wife has had to take off to Texas on work, and I came down with some kind of a cold. Now, a cold is really bugging. Its not serious enough for you to be in bed, but you're still not fine. The head feels heavy, the nose runs incessantly and you don't even feel like reading. I also became slightly irritable, just at myself wondering why this was happening and whether this was psychosomatic (which, by the way I think it is). Last night, as I was struggling to get back to shape, I decided to do things that make me feel comfortable and back at home. That meant cooking (nicely done black daal), writing the blog, having plenty of fruits and water, and topping off the night by watching Jay Leno and reading a bit of Covey.

As luck would have it, the moment I woke up today, I felt so much better. The plan for the day would be to continue to eat fruits, plenty of salads, have the daal I cooked last night, read Covey, close in on the apartment rental, follow the India- Sri Lanka final where the Lankans have put up a very good score for us to chase, drive a little bit just to get some fresh air and again, have water all day long. Isn't this such a comfortable plan? I hope to have beaten my cold by the end of the day and look forward to my wife coming back from Texas this Friday!

Living in a developed vs. developing country

As I travelled in India and the Philippines recently, I was constantly asked how it was like living in the US. I had to be careful about my answer as I have lived in US for about a year and that too as a student- at the same time, my experience is only living in Boston and that is so very different from many other places in the US. But, of course, I had to give an answer. Despite my caveats, people need an answer. You cannot dodge a question, especially in India. If you try to, people just ask it again, and then again, till you give them a semblance of an answer.

This made me think- right from the personal things that I need to take care of when I live here. I pretty much do everything on my own- I cook my own food, wash dishes, do the laundry, clear the trash- one is pretty much self sufficient. There are things to help you, like a dishwasher, but you are very much on your own unlike in India or the Philippines where there is splendid domestic help available to take care of such 'creature' comforts. Then, I explained to people how in Boston, you've got to pretty much shovel snow for about 5-10 minutes each day before taking out your car. Again, nobody does it for you, you do it yourself. You don't do it, your car doesn't get out. Things are a little different back home. In India, there is a person who comes everyday just to clean my brother's car. No such thing here. Go to a car wash and things will be done automatically. So, is automation a key differntiator between a developed and a developing country in terms of just the kind of life leads.

Or is it something more?

As I went about doing my own stuff in Delhi, I realized that self sufficiency is not really considered a good trait in terms of 'making it'. The more people you have around you to 'take care' of you, the better off you are! This clearly flies in the face of Gandhian logic but how much Gandhian living is being practised anyway. Now- let me be clear about this lest I be labelled a prude. Its not as if I don't like myself being pampered- somebody to clean the house, somebody to clean the car, somebody to wash dishes- its all good, comfortable living and I would love to have it, but its absence is fine with me too- as long as we have a requisite support and tools to work things through. Isn't that what flexibility and adaptibility is all about?!! Plus - you discover aspects of your personality that were completely hidden or lying dormant. For example, when I moved to Singapore from the Philippines (and domestic help is an issue in Singapore, it being a 'developed' country), I learnt to do many things on my own and one thing I particularly started enjoying was cooking. It is an incredibly therapeutic activity for me and though I am not the finest cook in the world, I do enjoy both the process of cooking as well as inviting people over to eat good vegetarian Indian meals!

Moving from the personal front to the more professional front, it does look like the US provides more opportunities for advancement especially for the well qualified people. It means greater responsibility, the ability to make a difference, the ability to craft your own role, and have a broader say in things in general. Does that excite me? Absolutely! Are such opportunities there in India? For sure, there are but the competition is more stiff as the number of positions are few and the number of people wanting those jobs humungous!

All in all, it really is a matter of perspective. I have loved every moment of living in Boston- my Harvard classmates, the Charles River, the Red Sox mania, the drives out of the city, the wonderful seasons and if all that means doing my own laundry and shoveling some snow in winter, its really a small price to pay!

The Guess Who Am I Contest

When I was in India, I dreaded picking up the phone at my parents' place. Why? Simply because the people calling up my parents' home, typically relatives, would never quite identify themselves, ask about my dad, my mom, their whereabouts and then promptly put the phone down. They would not even ask me who they would be talking to. I was amazed that seldom did feel the need to identify themselves when they would talk on phone.

But worse was to come. When I did come around to asking who I was talking to, there would be complete surprise, even anger at me not being able to identify the voice of the person I was talking to. It really was too much for me to play the "Guess Who Am I" Contest. A few times I did try to play the game, my mind would race dramatically at the various options that the voice seemed to point to and then, I would actually forget the content of the call! It ceased to be exciting beyond a point. So I decided it was best to leave picking up the phone to my parents, and not to me. Sometimes, they themselves would not be able to figure who they were talking to but they seemed quite nonchalant about it, almost as if they had grown used to it.

I guess this game is built on the twin premise that ones voice is distinctive and the same time, there is an inbuilt voice recognition system in receiver's head. My mind is more used to the plain and simple name identification system that just makes things so much simpler. And of course, no embarrassment at one's voice not being instantly recognized!

Wake up call for Mumbai

A couple of weeks back, Mumbai was lashed with torrential rain and the city was paralyzed- thousands were rendered homeless, hundreds died and the commercial capital of India literally became a part of the sea cruelly exposing the infrastructural mess that Mumbai has become over the years.

But most people from Mumbai refuse to acknowledge theres something wrong with the city. They say trains are back, offices are open, water has receded and everythings back to normal. I wont be surprised if nothing is done about drainage in the city. Relief work will be done on an ad-hoc basis, and people will quickly forget about the flood. They will hail the spirit of the Mumbai-wallah and again proclaim it is the finest city to live in. Therein lies the problem- people are very defensive about the city they refuse to acknowledge its very weaknesses if that continues to be the case, we shall never be able to build a world class city out of Mumbai- forget world class, if Mumbai's infrastructure can match that of Kuala Lumpur or even Jakarta or Manila in the next 10 years, I will be happy. All these three cities get plenty of rain throughout the year and they are not really in the realms of the most developed cities in the world, but having lived in those cities for some time, they are far more comfortable cities to live and work in than Mumbai.

I am reproducing here an extract from a column in rediff by Shishir Bhate very appropriately titled- Mumbai- Stop Praising Yourself. Read on - it makes a lot of sense:

"So what is Mumbai's problem? It is this city's stoic acceptance of substandard things: substandard infrastructure, substandard politicians, substandard everything.
Mumbai suburbs need to break off
And what better way for politicians to get away without tackling the city's most significant problems than to pat the calamity-stricken Mumbaikar on his back and pronounce: 'Hail Mumbai and the spirit of the city's people. Even in the face of catastrophe, the city gets on its feet in a jiffy, dusts off its pants and gets going.'
True, the irrepressible spirit of the city's populace cannot be admired or praised enough. The Mumbaikar's resilience is phenomenal, but how about something more than a pat on the back and a lofty speech?
How about addressing the city's grievances? How about according people a decent, comfortable commute to and fro their work places? How about restraining the construction lobby's rapacious intentions? How about letting the city's natural defences be?
Help Mumbai!
Good infrastructure and superior town planning are vital for the safety of the citizens, stronger economic growth, higher productivity and competitiveness, and better standard of living. It's time we stopped praising our resilience at accepting the unacceptable. It's time we resolutely concentrated our energies in getting our due for the taxes we pay, in demanding a better life. Time to make it the jewel in the nation's crown in every sense of the word.
Till then, nothing will be normal."

Small vs. big town

I visited my wife's "small town" this time on my vacation. It is called Midsayap, and is in Mindanao, an island south of the Philippines, more famous for its Muslim separatist movement than for its rich agricultural produce, mainly coconuts and mangoes. My wife and her family were worried that I would get bored there. I was given DVDs to watch, some books to read lest I have nothing to do there. My wife's family was also very worried what I would eat there as everybody's carnivorous and I am largely vegetarian!

Imagine my huge surprise when somebody cooked an Indian meal for me there. Granted it wasnt the best Indian food I have had in my life, but the fact somebody even tried to make chapatis was enough for me. It was a wonderful experience- everybody was out to make me feel at home. The moment they I learnt I loved beer, out came bottles of San Miguel and the Vice Governor even threw an impromptu party for me at the Midsayap Tennis Club of which my father in law is a proud member. We had conversation around the Indians who have played tennis at the international stage from Amritraj and Sania Mirza. I was amazed they knew so many of Indian tennis players but clearly they read their papers and out ot make me feel at home!

There is something about the warmth of the hospitality of a small town that big cities just cant match. The people are simpler, they are somehow more affectionate and they also do everything they can to make you feel more comfortable- as a result, you tend to overlook some minor material comforts that you may enjoy in a bigger city. Secondly, there is something about the work ethic of the small town that I am very proud of and so is my wife. Our only passport to professional success is education and so we study very hard- we work the nights to ensure that at least in terms of education, we are well qualified to match the very best- what we could not get in terms of exposure that is available in a big city, we tend to make up in terms of academic excellence! It breeds a work ethic of both hard work and excellence, something I am not sure you would develop if you got everything in a platter in a big city.

On the flip side, though, the concept of privacy is completely missing in a small town. Everybody wants to have some say in what you are doing, who you are dating and who would eventually end up with. It could possibly be constricting as the worldview is limited. So the best option would be study in a small city, develop a good work ethic and then, move to the "big city" environment where opportunities are more and you can leverage what you have learnt.

At the end of the day, I constantly bemoan the end of innocence, and in my view, in a small town, that happens much later in life if at all, than in a big city. The warmth of the people, people I had never met in my life, in a small remote town in the southernmost island of the Philippines, their small gestures to make me comfortable, their attempts to make conversation with me in their broken English, their utmost joy in getting photographs clicked with me- all of these shall remain one of my most abiding memories of this vacation.

Maybe the "small town" work ethic and values combined with the "big city" outlook is all we need to lead a fulfilling life.

Back in Boston

I'm back!

And I'm so glad I'm back here. I left the US on the 20th of June and to tell you the truth- in the past two weeks, I really felt 'over-vacationed' if there is a word like that.

Where all did I go?
Singapore, India and the Philippines.

What exactly did I do?
Meet old friends, watch plenty of movies, do some consulting work (believe it or not!), and spend plenty of time with family!

What did I miss?
My wife, watching Jay Leno every night and broadband internet connection at my disposal.
And of course, writing the blog!

What did I like most?
Catching up with family, visiting my wife's ancestral home, eating plenty of great Indian food and watching cricket.

What is my plan for the next week?
Update the blog with my experiences, look for a new place for us in Boston and do plenty of driving- I really missed that.

The accuracy of McGrath

Glenn McGrath is probably the most accurate fast bowler in the world I have seen- almost monotonously so! Today, he got past 500 test wickets in absolute style- at the Mecca of cricket, Lord's, against the oldest Aussie foes at the beginning of the latest rivalry for the prestigious Ashes.

There are few things to learn from him-
a) Stick to the simple things but do them very well. He doesnt either cut or swing the ball prodigiously, but he pitches it just right- all the time!
b) Create a niche, become the very best in it and dont bother about the rest- He has done precious little about his batting skills and given the Supersub rule on one-dayers now, we may never see him bat again and I dont think anyone's complaining.
I loved watching him in Sydney and Melbourne last year. His smooth action, his uncanny accuracy and his athleticism were a delight to watch. I am reproducing a report here from Cricinfo about the first day at Lords that clearly points out why this guy is a such a genius.

"A day which began magnificently for the hosts turned pear-shaped by the end entirely due to the efforts of one outstanding individual. Before this Test, Glenn McGrath's Lord's stats read: 17 wickets in two matches at 12.76. One day into his third game at this venue, and the numbers look even better - 22 wickets at an incredible 10.82. McGrath has already won the Man-of-the-Match award in his first two Tests here, and if today's performance is any indication, he's well on his way to a hat-trick.
As always, McGrath's control over line and length was impeccable. The pitch, with its inconsistent bounce, was tailor-made for him, and McGrath exploited it to the hilt, homing in just around off stump, nipping it either way, and allowing the vagaries of the track to do the rest.
A look at McGrath's pitch map tells the story - 71 out 78 balls pitched on a good length, that's a mind-boggling 91%. Fifteen of his deliveries pitched on or outside leg stump, but 14 of those were to left-handers from over the wicket, which meant that the angle of delivery would have forced the batsmen to play at them. Against right-handers, McGrath's control was stunning - 52 good-length balls out of 58, with one ball which drifted further on side than off stump. "

Friends vs relatives

I love my friends, especially the ones who I've been with for a long time. I try and catch up with them in different parts of the world time and again, talk about old times, think through current challenges and chart out a future course of action. We inevitably have a few beers, talk about everything under the sun and have a good time. I always look forward to meeting them.

With relatives, I can't say that is always true. A typical one hour meeting with a relative in India goes like this-
First 15 minutes- Complaint about not coming to India often;
Second 15 minutes- The last time I visited, they realized I stayed with Uncle X for four hours, while I was at their place for only an hour- that is unfair and discriminatory behavior;
Third 15 minutes- Asking how much I earn and my attempts to dodge the question;
Fourth 15 minutes- Complaint about how little I have begun to eat and their attempts to over-feed me.

I understand all this is done in good faith. But somehow, the experience isnt always pleasant. Why is this so? Why is the the element of jealousy much more amongst relatives than amongst friends? Is it because relatives are too close for comfort? Is it because we choose our friends and can't choose our relatives and hate the fact we dont have a choice? Whatever the reason, I have found myself creating more and more time to connect with good friends but not so with relatives.

Maybe, this will change as I grow older. As friends drift apart, blood relatives may become much closer with time. One can never tell, but I just hope I begin to enjoy their company as much as I enjoy that of my friends.

From Singapore

I am writing after a long time, and thats because I have been travelling. Turning out to be a very fulfilling vacation. Was in Delhi, then in Jaipur- caught up with family and friends. Nothing like renewing old friendships over a bottle of chilled Kingfisher.
I leave for Manila and Mindanao next week. Am really looking forward to that.

I must confess Singapore feels like home now. I am very comfortable in this city and the efficiency and cleanliness never ceases to amaze me. I am sure I will miss it, particularly when the Boston winter comes around.

Will write more from the US.

Life is about managing expectations!

Now isnt that a truism, if there was one! You read rave reviews about a book and you calibrate yourself mentally as you begin to read. If it has some sections that are not enthralling, you come away saying it is over-rated. If you'd picked up the book yourself, I am sure you would have been delighted. It is all about what are the expectations and whether life matches them.

I have seen several movies where this has happened. I went to watch Finding Nemo as I had nothing to do that Saturday night and I felt this was a kids' movie. How pleasantly surprised I was- I have watched it a couple of times more and have even used it in seminars to depict several points about teamwork, about parenting, about growing up in general. When I went to watch Madagascar the other day, I was expecting a classic and was disappointed. Now, the movie on its own is pretty good but my expectations had been skewed by my earlier experience. We bought a used car last year and expected it would give us some trouble along the way. Touchwood, there have been very few repairs and we've been very, very happy with our purchase.

I guess the same could be said of relationships. Friends disappoint us because of some expectations we have of them- if we had none or very low expectations, we'd come away feeling good on most occasions. I guess we could extend the argument to parent-child relationships as well. Parents who have very high expectations of their kids and communicate that to the kid create an unnecessary burden of expectation that the kid is constantly trying to live up to. However, if their standards weren't overtly high, kids would feel more independent, be more creative to follow their own pursuits and achive excellent results by creating their own standards of superior performance.

Is it good then to constantly have low expectations? I don't think so- I think the important thing to manage them well, if you on the service side, always under-promise and over deliver- the guy will be forever grateful for your service and will become your biggest champion.

On my visit to India recently, this is one aspect that was very bothersome to me. Everyone, right from the banker to the person selling me a car over-promised and under-delivered; it is almost as if every interaction is one-transaction based only. The seller is least bothered whether I am actually satisfied or not. This is something that will need to change sooner rather than later.

Underdog

We love an underdog. Especially when the underdog beats somebody very dominant in the field as it happened today. Bangladesh, the cricketing minnows beat the indomitable Aussies at Cardiff, something unthinkable in the annals of cricket.

Australia has been so dominant in the all forms of the cricket over the past seven to eight years that cricket has almost become boring to follow, even for the diehard Aussie fans. When I was in Australia following the Indian team, Aussie fans told they were pleased that India was playing so well and making a match of it as they were sick of one-sided contests even if their own side was on the winning side. I found that to be a fantastic attitude to have. Other teams have constantly tried to beat the Aussies and though some teams have come close, they just cannot match the consistency and the relentless nature of the Australian cricketing juggernaut. Though one defeat doesn't mean much, it comes at the back of two defeats, one to a county and another to England, but this should be one of the most ignominous as Bangladesh have been the favorite whipping boys of every cricket playing nation ever since they were inducted into the big league.

Is this the start of an Aussie decline? I hope not because they are awesome side and I am sure they will bounce back but this has indeed got the interest back into the Ashes series wherein a rejuvenated England will fancy its chances against an Australian side that has started its England tour in the most uncharacteristic manner possible- a string of defeats, and an a surprisingly low morale.

But this is indeed a time for celebration in Bangladesh. And hats off to them for pulling this off. I have great admiration for famous victories, especially when the underdog wins. Always!
Mohit.

The weather, Red Sox and Indian cricket!

One of the things I cannot get to terms with in Boston is the weather.

We somehow survived the winter- it was brutally cold and it snowed forever. But I do remember that our first reaction to the snow was one of complete joy and delight. I have actually never seen a snowfall in my life and so when it snowed on the 12th of November last year, the day we celebrate Diwali, the Indian festival of lights, I was ecstatic. It was one of the quietest but also the most joyous Diwali I have celebrated. We loved the snow- initially that is. We thought it would end in February- no let up; March- it was worse; by April, our impatience started running high and when we experienced the coldest May in some 50 years, I couldn't believe that we were virtually in summer and still wearing our leather jackets! My wife has packed and unpacked our winter clothing thrice. Now, she doesn't bother to pack anything. For all you know, it may snow in July!

When we lived in Singapore, we often wondered why there was a weather channel at all. I could tell you the forecast for Singapore sitting right here- a high of 32 degrees celsius, a low of 24, with mild showers and thunderstorms between 3 to 5 in the afternoon. Thats the weather for 340 days of the year and for the rest of the 25 days, the time of shower changes, nothing else! After coming to Boston, the weather channel is something we've seen more than CNN or ESPN. It determines not only what we would wear, but also what we would do (its going to snow heavily- no driving out this weekend- lets rent DVDs and be couch potatoes!). It clearly is a major conversation piece in offices, and with friends and between weather and the form of the highly inconsistent but charismatic Red Sox, you could pretty much spend a good night of conversation and we don't have to talk about Bush or Iraq- and I'm so happy to avoid those topics.

Talking about the Red Sox, they remind me of the Indian cricket team in a lot of ways. First of all, they have some very charismatic players who can turn the game on its head single-handedly- Johnny Damon, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Curt Schilling very much like the Indian team- Sachin, Sehwag, Dravid, Laxman etc. Second, they are both highly inconsistent. The Red Sox whipped the Yankees 17-1 at the Yankee Stadium and the very next week, lost to the Baltimore Orioles! The Indian team beats the Aussies one day and loses to Bangladesh the next. Third- both teams have an army of dedicated, almost fanatical fans that span across the globe. They follow the two teams wheever they may be, jump with joy when they win, go crazy when they lose, but inevitably, they can't live without following their teams.

Its an uncanny similarity. I am happy to be part of both camps, and shall surely continue to follow the fortunes of these two teams wherever I may be.

Jay Leno and Conan- Study in contrasts

I love The Tonight Show, I watch it everyday, sometimes when I am too sleepy, I put an alarm for 11:30pm, get up to watch Jay Leno's monologue, and get back to sleep at around 11:55pm. However, I know I shall stop watching the show in 2009- thats the year the mantle will pass from Jay Leno to Conan O Brien. I admire Jay and detest Conan, the latter's talk show immediately follows Jay's shows and sometimes, I have made the indiscretion of watching Conan's shows. He is so self possesed that it not so much about the guest as it is about him. He comes across to me as condescending and obnoxious, two qualities I cannot tolerate in anyone.

By contrast, Jay is one of the most professional hosts I have ever seen. He makes jokes about everyone and yet, is able to maintain their dignity in a manner that is fascinating. I started watching the show last year and got hooked onto it- he was making as much fun of Kerry as Bush and though evidently, he is a Democrat in his leanings, it was clear he would be taking potshots at Kerry if he won the elections. What I like most about Jay is that he is able to bring out the true personality of the individual he is talking to and whatever celebrity status they may have, he is able to extricate the true human side of them that makes them appear like they are one of us- just luckier and more talented!

I know what I will be doing post 2009- watching old tapes of Jay Leno!
Mohit.