Its not about the food... its about the person!

I like food... i like home food... I like Pizzas, steaks, sizzlers, sandwiches, salads, soup.. lots of dessert. Its never complete without dessert.. and there has to be chocolate. Any form of chocolate is great. But I cant enjoy all this alone. I need someone to suggest new dishes while i finish the 2nd helping.
No I am not talking about hogging though it might have sounded that way. I am not talking about messy and noisy gulping as though one has never had food for a long long while. I am talking about company. Good company that can make me feel like I am enjoying my meal!
Company matters... far more than the food itself. I will comfortably sit back and enjoy sipping my beer (if with guys), whiskey (if with senior people) and white wine (if i am accompanied by a woman or women :) ). Good conversations, great ideas and thoughts can satiate your hunger...it does for me at least. My stomach is very versatile I know.

Guess sometimes when you are really looking for some good company to fill your 'stomach', its hard to find it.

Motivation!

Why does a person's motivation vary as things and circumstances change around him? I think motivation is that secret ingredient to keep it going when things get harder!

When I was younger i know my motivation levels towards so many things were so much higher. All that's changed. After more life experience, I am still a self motivated guy but the levels have changed so much.

Why doesn't motivation increase in a linear pattern with every year that passes by?

16/Aug/2011

I am not against the anti-corruption move initiated by the new Gandhian. Its a bold move and we definitely need a leader to make the change and someone who would take the sleeping government head on. Its just that
a. The bill that he wishes to get passed, is very impractical
b. His methods have no relevance to today. Times have changed
c. Corruption that is making the actual difference in India is deep rooted in the excise, customs, service and the sales tax departments. In a way i feel he is banging his head against a hollow wall. You don't have to chase the bees, you need to dish out the queen bee if you want to get rid of the bee hive.

Well! I have my own crazy opinions! But the anti-corruption move is a start. Its a good initiative against the diseased system. I just hope his research on the methods and their consequences are concrete!

Mind your own business!

'life is like a game of chess'.. correction.. Life is never like a game of chess. We can never equate life like that so easily.
But! Business sure is like a game of chess. This is what they don't teach you in B-schools. Learning to play the game is only 40% of the learning. Applying what the game teaches you, is where the secret lies in.

Other things I always wanted to shout out loud ... .... ... Business and politics go hand in hand. Politics is a science for the uninitiated, you cannot separate politics when there are more than 2 heads working together and you cannot separate politics from business.

When negotiating, never give an ultimatum. This applies to even when one is negotiating with the vegetable vendor. I wish the new Gandhian learn't this somewhere.

'Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith!! '
-Steve Jobs

Came across this saying long back and always think about this and other things that were said during this speech. Even to date, when I am in a predicament, I refer to the text of this motivating speech. But the question is whether is it really easy to follow some of the ideals preached.

Is it possible for us to follow our heart and do what we love. Is it that easy to do it while each one of us deeply feel that we want to. If all of us were to keep looking for that one thing that we really love doing and until we do find that thing, be stubborn and not settle. Can we actually find the courage to go against the current?

Even after reading many articles and books on the issue that we have limited time in our hands, that we can make a huge difference if we just listen to our inner voice, we still find it difficult to actually believe that and change the way we look at things around us. That our time is limited and our life would be so enriched if we just live it our way instead of living someone else's. That we don't get trapped by the dogma which is living with the results of other people's thinking and not letting our own inner voice be drowned out by others' opinions. Having the courage to follow our own heart and intuition. All this feels so good inside but how easy or difficult is it to follow it?

Do we all feel that such concepts of life and living are just an intellectual concept sounding good when discussed not when actually followed? Still trying to let life teach me...

Dream Selling!

Its strange that we don't actually know what we really want to watch on TV. Its a classic case of confusion. On one hand we deeply detest the slimy and slippery feel of soap operas that never end. Actually I am exaggerating a bit in comparison to these serials (Indian or international). Take away the drama and sound effects constantly running in the background, these soaps are trying to bring about the nasty inner feelings people have towards each other even to their own family members, relatives or friends. This is seasoned by the tensions caused by deep love and passion for getting dirtily rich. Everyone knows the crap.. they intend to show. Maybe these soap-op producers feel that by showing the so called reality in day to day life (and getting rich with the ad money) they are doing society a service. So lets say this is the reality. Lets include hard core reality movies on corruption, politics, business, slum-life and so on an so forth in to this category.

On the other hand we have movies that are full of super far fetched intangible feel ideas. Take all the movies form the DCHs all the way to the recent ZNMD where 3 guys just go out to have fun and have a fantastic and a life changing experience. Some of these movies have been really well made (i am referring to the art of film making). The idea feels so good to all of us, but deep inside there are a million people thinking its too dreamy an idea. An inspiration that lasts for about a month and a feel good factor that lasts for 48 hrs. The biggest far fetched and unreal aspect as an example is in the recent movie (ZNMD) I had seen. It is about the part where the lady in love actually takes the bold initiative (Takes the first step) to say 'screw what others think' and rides up all the way to express her true love to a person she met 1-2 days ago... Maybe I haven't met that kind of a person, but I don't personally buy that such a bold step is taken by a woman (more so woman from India). Of course, I am not too sure of the nature of women in other countries considering the film was shot there and the characters are to have been living out there. This is a different topic of argument though, but I am quite sure. ;-) damn sure.

So what is that we like to see to get entertained? historical, situational, dreamy or gruesome reality? Guess situational or a dreamy movie would fit the bill for most (paisa vasool as it is put). When you make the audience feel that there are so many things that one can do to make life great, fun and beautiful, instead of indirectly making them feel that they have been blessed due to the difficult times people have gone through in the past and the number of people who have sacrificed something in their life to gift their future generation (as shown in period movies) a better life or remind the audience that they have a great moral responsibility on their head to make the place they live in, a better place for themselves and their generations to come or keep harping on the fact that the poor are getting poorer, the middle class are being subject to the ills and scum of the economy and society or the fact that your near and dear are not so lovely as you thought them to be but are a bunch of conniving bastards or bitches!!; then the show gets the needed response.

Well! I have my interest in historical or period movies! Love thrillers.. and of course the feel good movies (except over exaggerated parts ;) ) but at the end.. I guess you are in business when you are a dream seller.

What I hear

I was just telling my friends the other day that it feels so strange when people ask me about my favourite song or songs. I end up giving names of music tracks and songs which have no lyrics or those that come under the instrumental rock genre.

I am currently tripping on the OSTs of an old movie. More importantly these songs are composed by Hans Zimmer!! Yeah! :-)
Catch this: http://youtu.be/GFLMLHPVhaw

Wonder how I am going to sing such song/s if someone insists I stand up and sing for everyone:-)

An ode to my favorite movie


'Can't see my face: what are you thinking?
Fill in the space, please - oh let me hear you'

-Wasis Diop