Changing Face of India?

I become so elated with every small achievement we make in India. And the next moment I get disturbed by some bizarre news about corruption, hate or violence in my country. So, my excitements are always short lived. I don't realize, when my excitements turns in to apprehensions? So what is really changing in India? The Education, Employment,Poverty, Infrastructure, Health or Safety etc.. None of these things changing, in fact quality of everything deteriorated heavily. The tolerance level of people who wants the change or reform reached the tipping point, they are so pissed off with Governance of the county that they have taken it to the streets in the form of protests. The year 2012 has seen a lot of protest by intolerant Indians against corruption, injustice unlike the election rallies. I had never seen such crowd and mobilization for such good causes in my life. This has certainly created a lot of fear and apprehensions in my mind of handful of corrupt politicians, who once dreamed to take this country to destitution. The only time I saw togetherness in India is while watching Indian cricket. So, when so many young minds selflessly coming together for the right cause, India is really changing. We are probably in a transitional phase. Let's be hopeful that, positive change will come sooner than later. Hail India.

2012 !!

                                                                   Isle of White

2012 was a year of great accomplishments both professionally and personally. Professionally, I don’t know if I did a job well-done, but leaned a lot. This year, I worked on varied projects and enjoyed it. Future looks bright with CNR!! Personally, we (we and my wife) showed great courage to conquer the Caledonian challenge, which is a 54 mile walk in the Caledonian mountain range in 24 hrs continuous walk. The Journey was memorable in many senses.  In one of the incident I met a guy in my group who taught me some great lessons in leadership and professionalism.The ability to inspire and encourage by becoming a role model. During the journey, I had to climb up a steep mountain face which is called the devil’s staircase. We both were struggling after we walked continuously for ~ 20 miles. It was wet and getting dark. On top of that I had to survive the wild bug bites around my head. I wasn't carrying any bug repellent, but I had a net which I wrapped around my head and neck area. This certainly made it more difficult for me. I thought to end this journey at the next checking point, which is about 10 miles away. My group was heading faster and suddenly disappeared, but we kept climbing at our pace. Then after some time I saw few guys from my group already at the peak and ready to descend. We were very embarrassed as we were way behind and I didn't want them to be interrupted because of us. Few minutes past I saw a man walking down the hill towards us. I thought he has given up already and going back to the check point. As he approached closer, he looked like a familiar face. In fact, he is the fittest and oldest man in our group. I was actually overwhelmed by the fact that, he actually climbed down the devils staircase to check with us if we are fine. I couldn't imagine he came down to accompany us taking extra pain to support his group members. How generous is that.That is how a team should work, the strongest in your team shouldn't suppress the weak rather they should uplift them. We were so impressed by his abilities, that I didn't look back there after. He became a great company for rest of our journey. And from the group of six, only we were the three could complete the journey. You often encounter people like him in your life and wonder where these  leaders are made?

I did my Isle of Skye trip in November, driving through great Cullins hills was an amazing experience. Exploring the western highlands of Scotland is always great fun. We made it to Trossachs, Glenco, Fort William, Avimore this year. Apart from this, we had an amazing experience at Isle of White in the beginning of the year. And we had our Christmas in Glasgow this year.  Hope to see more of it next summer. 2012 was satisfying, as I didn’t loose my passport this time. That spared me few days to spend with my family in India. I wish, 2013 brings about more excitement in my life.

The Twenty Virtues!

Remember those countless fairy tales and panchatantra stories (animal Fables), we have grown up to hearing in our childhood days, they are still very interesting. Animals were given a lot of importance in our culture from ancient times. In Hindu mythology every God has an animal serving as a conveyance. In Yoga, a lot of Kriyas and Asanas are performed by the mimicking the actions of various animals. This shows, how deeply our ancestors observed and learned from the animal behavior and valued them. Human is no doubt the supreme creation of God and one of the qualities that differentiates it from the other creations of God is it's power to think and learn by observing others. In modern times, scientist have also studied the animal behavior to predict earthquake events. I was recently going through a article on Chanakya (200-300 BC) , the father of political science , whose lessons are still valid and being followed across by most management Gurus today. Incidentally, I found a chapter where a lot of Chanakya’s lessons were based on the learning by observation of animal behaviors. In fact, he was a great worshiper of nature and belived that everything that is prersent in this world has a reason to be here. This was again an example of great power of observation and sense of watchfulness by Chanakya. I have jot down few lessons from the Chanakya Niti:

Learn one thing from a lion; one from a crane; four a cock; five from a crow; six from a dog; and three from an ass.

§ The one excellent thing that can be learned from a lion is that whatever a man intends doing should be done by him with a whole-hearted and strenuous effort.

§ The wise man should restrain his senses like the crane and accomplish his purpose with due knowledge of his place, time and ability.

§ To wake at the proper time; to take a bold stand and fight; to make a fair division (of property) among relations; and to earn one's own bread by personal exertion are the four excellent things to be learned from a cock.

§ Union in privacy (with one's wife); boldness; storing away useful items; watchfulness; and not easily trusting others; these five things are to be learned from a crow.

§ Contentment with little or nothing to eat although one may have a great appetite; to awaken instantly although one may be in a deep slumber; unflinching devotion to the master; and bravery; these six qualities should be learned from the dog.

§ Although an ass is tired, he continues to carry his burden; he is unmindful of cold and heat; and he is always contented; these three things should be learned from the ass.

Two missing qualities of a dog seem to be his ability to eat a lot and fall asleep easily.

He who shall practice these twenty virtues shall become invincible in all his undertakings.

Dare Devils...

The fear kills the desire to rise, abstain you from speaking the truth, doesn't let you speak your mind and in essence kills the desire to live a honorable life. These things arise from fear of loosing something like some dear one, a job or self-respect etc etc... In fact, the feared people loose a big time in long run, than to gain some short time benefits by not being brave enough to take the side of truth. Fearlessness is a great attribute of an effective leadership. Fearless people never support the wrong thing or wrong people for whatever reason. I wish, our country leaders could become more fearless by not worrying about party politics, image, opposition etc. rather focus on wellness of the country itself. But, fearless people are not rare. I have come across many such people in my life. The Greatest example is Bengal CM Mamata Benerjee. She is a true mass leader. She showed great courage by protecting poor farmers from being exploited by selfish industrialists. Later she was also able to put an end to the 25 year tyranny by the left party rule in Bengal. And that's why she is also dared to challenge the ruling government at the center on wrong their moves, despite forming an ally with them. She never blindly buys into every decision taken by the center. She is the true Iron Lady of India I can think of now.

Other examples are MS Dhoni (Captain of Indian Cricket Team), Ayrton Shenna ( 3 times F-1 Champion), Lance Armstrong ( 7 times winner of Tour de France cycle racing ) . The most common things about these people are, they are courageous, passionate about what they do, have got great perseverance and are Great fighters.

Indian politician, strategist Chanakya once said , "As soon as the fear approaches near, attack and destroy it." (350 BC -275 BC )

Avimore....

Today is 14^th January, 2012. The morning is magnificent, mysterious and wonderful unlike my most busy mornings. The sun is becoming mighty fearing the clouds away in the horizon. As we looked out of our train window, it felt like watching some earth program on discovery channel. Why all my mornings are not like this?? Few hours back, I was expecting it to be horrible at the Aberdeen railway station when we nearly missed the train. And look what a great day it is turning out to be. As we reached Inverness, it all looked beautiful. Inverness is the gateway to the Scotland's great wilderness, although Inverness itself never looked wild at all. In fact, it’s a small historic city sitting between the western highlands and the Cairngorm Mountains to tell people the story of 400 million years old mountains since the creation of Scotland, well before the life evolved on the planet Earth. Inverness lies on an active fault line (a strike slip fault) called the Great Glen. The creation of this fault is a major event in the history of dynamic earth process. Along this fault line today lies several fresh water lochs formed by erosion due to glaciations, one of them is the famous Lochness. If you heard of Lochness monster, this is it. Although the Monster proved to be a hoax, but the volume of dark water it holds is not less than an intimidating monster. It was freezing cold, as we progressed towards the end of the day. We had a descent boat trip in the Lochness and some dirty food at Jimmy Chung. Enough for that day, but I was worried about tomorrow. I'm must plan for something more exciting, that's what I told to myself. And off course what could be more exciting than going to the snow covered greater rugged mountain range... So, we must enter this world. We wake up around 5 am in the morning, decided to go to Fort Williams. We set out soon, when the rest of the world sleeping. It’s just us now. As we reached the bus stop, it was even more disappointing. All the services to Fort Williams closed. The tourist information center closed. No hope really. This is f*** world, that’s what I thought. After we did some enquiry at the bus stand, finally settled for more feasible Avimore, a small tourist attraction to the south east of Inverness and 1 hour drive. But, with no expectations, I was fairly clear that this is not going to be exciting. As we ride the distance and for next couple of hour what Avimore provides us is something I can’t put in words here. When I did a short vacation in last December, I had a glimpse of some great mountain paradise. But, I always wished during that time, if could touch, hike, trek them. And go as close as I can. Well, here it is, I’m standing on the western Cairngorm Mountains.

The path of self discovery....

I have been thinking about terms like reinvention, self discovery etc, if they really exists. I never know your true potential until you discover it yourself and i amazes you, when you really discover it... Everyone gets the opportunity to explore one's inner core, but very few people actually do it. A very few dare to come out of their comfort zone and try out a new experience. How does it really occur to oneself? Sometimes a spark is required to ignite your inner core. These spark could be an adversity or a rejection or a crisis. And when it occurs, it brings a significant change in your life. Let's take the Earthquake analogy. Like a large earthquake is generally preceded by a series of foreshoks (small earthquakes) ? And sometimes these foreshocks are realized and sometimes not. By and large, every mega event occurs with some sort of prior signal. Certainly, these mega events bring mega changes. For example, a large earthquake can drastically change the landscape. All depends on how good are you in reading these signals. Sometimes we read these signals and ignore. Sometimes,we just can't sense anything. Sometimes we read the signals in advance and take proper action. Early detection of these signals helps you to better handle the mega change that's going to happen in near future. Now, the consequences of this mega event could be a life changing experience. It can left you completely high and dry or it can take you a step further towards your goal. Lance Armstrong the racing cyclist won the Tour De France seven times after surviving a testicular cancer. He didn't let his cancer crisis to win over his will power. That doesn't mean that the adversity is over. Life is full of challenges. And at each mega event, you are on the verge of a step change in your life. If you choose to face the challenge with courage, there will be positive step change in your life. Imagine you are at the edge of a mountain, from there you can either fly or fall. So, anticipate the step change, in fact look for them always as they bring some exciting opportunities.

A Kingdom of Heaven!!

A View from Sterling Castle......

Yes, I'm talking about Scotland. Hopefully, this will be my last blog of the year and it would be unfair on my part if I don't write anything about this lovely country. Well this opportunity came as a surprise to me, when I was in Edinburgh last week on business. The original plan was to spend the whole week in Edinburgh. This was my second visit to this historic city, but it looked very different this time. The whole princes street was transformed in to Christmas wonder land, like a mela out there. There were food, mulled wines, Scotch, Ice skating, Joy rides and many more. One such ride was the wave swinger, which attracted my attention. It was not something I haven't seen before, but as I heard the kids screaming, it had generated an unusual curiosity in me. And with no further hesitation, I took a ride. I love being a kid sometimes. The feeling of being a kid is great and wonderful. For few moment, I felt on the top of the world.Oh so fresh! relaxing !! That's what you want, ain't you? After spending two days in Edinburgh,I decided to take a short bus tours to the highlands. And believe me, this was such a wonderful experience, nothing could bring such tranquility after a series of chaotic and frenzied moments of past few months of my life. This was absolutely fantastic. Every part of the Highland is so pristine that it felt like, I'm in an unexplored piece of land. People call it a wasteland, as no one lives here, but believe me the God lives here. Even the winter storm failed to bring down the eternal serenity of these rugged mountains. The snow showered mountains look like the Santa Clause sitting obstinately wearing a white cap and beards eagerly to welcome the X-mas. I regretted for not bringing my Camera along and Iphone was of little help to capture only a glimpse of it. Nevertheless, the views were unforgettable. We often get so caught up with our desire to record and capture every experience that we forget to enjoy and live our experience.

So, quickly after I finished my work on 20th Dec, I book a tour for next day to Western Highlands and the Loch ness. But, to my misfortune, I overslept and missed the Bus. So, the tour guys offered me an alternate tour for next day, but this tour was to sterling and the Loch Lomand. This was more about the History of Scotland, the Stuarts, Roberts the Bruce and remember the William Wallace from Brave heart and Rob Roy. Sterling castle was great vantage point for the Scots, as strategically it is located at the border of highlands and the lowlands. Many great battles were fought here between the English and the Scots. The Scots take a great pride in it, as this is the place where they defeated the mighty English several times in the past. And William Wallace was the 13th Century war hero, who brought freedom to his country. Rob Roy was another character, who lived here and also a local hero like William Wallace. Rob Roy was like a half Robin hood, who looted the riches but never distributed them to the poor. Anyways, the Castle is not that great, but is historically very important.

Next, I headed towards Loch Lomand. The beauty of Loch Lomand was actually holding the clue for the highlands, what could be more stunning if go further into the western highlands. Along the way, I came across the only lake of Scotland called lake Menteith. If you surprised, this is the truth. This could be nice a pub quiz, '' How many lakes Scotland has? '' . Only one ! As every other lake is actually a Loch. In Scottish native language Gaelic a lake is actually a ''Lock''. As Menteith is the guy who betrayed the Scottish and joined hands with the English to help catch and execute William Wallace in the 13th century. To remember this betrayal, the Scots named it as lake Menteith, which is a English name. So, Imagine how much the Scottish hated the English.This trip was actually ended at the Loch Lomad, but I was so intrigued by the stunning beauty of these rugged mountain range that, I wanted to measure the whole nine yards now. So, the next day I decided to took another tour to the Western highlands up to Inverness via Fort Williams.

The best part of the tour was my tour guides Neil and Liam. Everything I'm writing here also partly borrowed from their Fairy tells. So, expect like every fairy tell is a bit of lie. And the other misconception was, there are no goats in Scotland. I saw some wild Goats in the highlands. But, there are more Sheep. In fact, in Scotland there are 12 million Sheep and only 6 million people. So, the ration is 2:1, one to keep and one to eat. There are no real predators in Scotland. So, we have to eat lamb to keep the life cycle going. Anyways the driveway to the Inverness via Fort Williams was really Scenic. At Fort William, I got a glimpse of Ben Nevis, which I wanted to scale this winter. My Guide told me some bizarre stories about Ben Nevis, how once a Canadian tourist rescued twice while hiking The Ben Nevis. But, it looked scary in the extreme weather conditions during this time of the year. So, from here actually we drove along the Great Glen Fault. Great Glen Fault is a strike slip fault and is a St. Andreas version of UK. If you are interested in knowing, how these mountain ranges and the the Great Glen fault, I recommend to watch the History channel documentary series, '' How the Earth was made ''. It is actually far more interesting geologically than you can imagine. Even my guide is not that poor in Geology. I guess, that is the only similarity between them (the tour guide and an Geologist), both tell good fairy tells. And every fairy tell is a bit of lie...

In Gaelic, Ben means mountain and a glen means a valley. So, we followed the great glen fault to reach the monster. Yes, the Lochness. Unfortunately, the weather was not very friendy to allow me to take a boat trip across this Loch, which is about 23 miles long, but I'm ready to wait until next visit.

By and large, I really enjoyed these few days out of my one month vacation. Before I end, there are few facts about Scotland, in case you don't know:

1. Scotland is the Birth Place of ''Golf''
2. Iron Brue is the Number one sift drink of Scotland, not Coca-Cola. They say, it kills the Hangover.. Well who knows better than the Scots or the Scotchs...
3. Kilt is the traditional wearing of Scotland. If you don't know, nothing is worn beneath their Skirt/Kilt. So, it's for ladies to check!!!
4. And don't forget to taste some Haggis, a Scottish national dish from the Heart, liver and lungs of Sheep. The other famous dishes are Fish n Chips and Cullen Skink.