- 0600. The alarm kicks in. You are awake before it rings because you have been getting very light sleep for last few days. You can see the alarm ringing but you are so tired, mentally and physically that you cant move your hand to shut up the alarm.
- 0615. The alarm is still ringing. You can now fidget and move your hands around. You try to locate your phone, the phone doubles up as the alarm, the eyes are still groggy with sleep and you cant see clearly. In distance, you see a silhouette that has to be your phone. You make great effort to reach it. only to realize that its the TV remote. You curse and fling the remote as hard as you can. It lands 5 millimeters away. In the meanwhile, the alarm is still ringing. You give up and shut your eyes.
- 0630. Its enough. The alarm has been ringing for more than half n hour now. You get angry at yourself and you throw your blanket and locate the alarm. You get up, locate the phone, which has somehow hidden under the pillow, shut the damn thing off.
- 0631. The alarm rings again. You realize that you hit the snooze button rather than dismiss. You carefully, slowly, find the dismiss button and shut the alarm. Go back to sleep.
- 0830. You realize that you are late for work. And for the pitch that can potentially win your company 10 crores of business.You curse your luck and life and drag yourself out and try and get ready. Of course your favorite shirt is gone for ironing and you have to wear a boring shirt that you otherwise detest. You try to find your lucky charm and your pen and you cant. Since you are late for work, you skip breakfast. You dont even say bye to your ma. But you do miss the time when you called sgMS everyday before you left for office. Obviously, now you dont.
- 0845. You reach your car parking to realize that there are a million cars parked behind your car and you cant take your car out. You make rounds to neighbors and plead to remove their cars.
- 0907. Finally all cars blocking your way are out. You call people in office and realize that the dependable kids in your office were partying last night and they havent done anything for the grand meeting. You wish, for the millionth time that you had people that you could trust.
- 1017. You struggle for an hour in traffic and reach the client's office for a meeting that was supposed to start at 0900. It may be put on record that the distance is mere 7 kilometers but the traffic makes the five minute journey a long drive.
- 1105. The meeting hasn't even started. The client is busy doing God knows what.
- 1155. You are still waiting for the damn important meeting to happen.
- 1220. The client emerges from the depth of his office and he apologizes profusely for the "little delay". Just when you thought that the endless wait has finally ended and you were about to get up and move towards the conference room, the client says "oh I forgot something. I would be back in a minute".
- 1245. You are still waiting for the minute to get over.
- 1248. Mysteriously, the client is back the moment you type this. Hands full of Samosa, chai and jalebi. Dunno hows he juggling the three things together. Ushers your and the team into a conference room.
- 1249. Before you could present your stuff, fucks your happiness over the "mundane", "kiddish" and "juvenile crap" ideas that you have presented. Does not forget to add "please take this merely as a feedback". Even without reaching the second slide of your mundane presentation.
- 1250. You are out of the meeting room. These were the longest two minutes of your life so far. You hope to eat something nice and end the bad morning. The boss wants to say hi to some old friends. He asks you to wait.
- 1315. Since you dont have any old friends, you cant say hi to anyone. You call your boss and ask him how long will he take. He says five minutes. Which translates into an hour, which thankfully you know, since you have been working with him for two years. You step out of clients office and go buy a Red Bull and some chips from a nearby petrol pump. You go sit on a traffic intersection and munch onto the chips. Thinking about sgMS and knowing that she would be eating a dabba from her mom.
- 1400. You get a call from some HR consultant, with bad accent, and she promises you a job with a "leading media conglomerate". When you tell her the money you expect, she hangs up, without saying bye. The boss is still nowhere to be seen.
- 1530. The boss emerges. You head back to office. Only to go for another meeting. But you have to drop the boss to office because he is too lazy to drive his own car.
- 1630. You reach the other client. The meeting drags on forever. The agenda of the meeting is about peanuts and biscuits.
- 1730. The meeting is still on. You are still debating the quantity of chocolate chips in the biscuits.
- 1930. The meeting that you thought would go on forever finally gets over. You rush to the parking lot because you need to reach office and write another presentation. It needs to be presented the next day.
- 2010. You reach office and get started on the presentation.
- 2100. You have no clue. And you are staring at an empty document.
- 2230. You are still staring at the empty document and powerpoint because you cant think of shit. Your brain died after the afternoon when you were waiting for your boss to get free from his social calls.
- 2330. The thoughts and screens are still blank. You give up and decide to go home.
- 0030. You reach home. Thankfully there's no traffic around and you reach in record one hour.
- 0040. You gulp the dinner that has gone cold. Since you have been coming home this late most days, you dont even bother heating the food.
- 0045. You try shuffling channels on TV and they are showing the worst movies ever. You fling the TV remote. You recall the episode of the morning when you couldn't find the alarm.
- 0050. You are fucked up in the head and you dont know what to do. You scroll through the address book on the phone and try to find someone who you could speak to at this hour. You realize that most of your friends are either married or they dont care. You fling the phone in the general direction where you fling other things, including the TV remote.
- 0100. You sulk and sleep because there is no one you could call and talk about shit that the day has been. For first time in the entire day, you miss the fact that you dont have anyone to call your own. Not even #sgMS.
Anatomy of a bad day
So this is how a bad shitty day looks like. And this is a long post. After all I am going to talk about 24 hours!
Romancing the city of Mumbai
There is something about Mumbai that makes it special. As special as your first love is.
I mean, as on last count, I have been to at least 34 different cities, across 4 continents and yet there is something, something about Mumbai that keeps calling me back. Back to its arms, the hug, the embrace, the womb, if I may. You know, its like that illicit love affair that you know wont take you anywhere and yet you cant get out of. Wait, you can get out, if you try. You just dont want to. Coming back, in my case, I think the reason why I keep coming back, the obvious suspects are Neo and sgMS. And may be all those amazing memories that I have, of times, people and places that I have enjoyed while I was living in Mumbai.
This time, on one of those impulse trips to Mumbai, as I was landing in Mumbai, I realized something that I had never noticed in the past. Funny how you still notice new things about Mumbai even though you have been here a million times. Mumbai looks amazing at nights. Amazing because I dont have a better word to paint the picture. Its as decked up like a bride is on her wedding day. Probably better.
The city is showered with amber lights. For some reason, that's the only colour of street lights in the entire city. May be it is easier to spot, cheaper to install/maintain or whatever but the effect is, all the more, electrifying. Things get accentuated when they are under the amber light. You actually begin to notice things that you never cared to even glance at. Take street boards for example. The boards that have pincodes and the official names of the roads on them. The blue ones. Before I saw them with amber tint, at night, I dint even know that they existed in the first place.
You see a different side of Mumbai at nights. The roads are not as narrow as you know them from your "interactions" during the day. They are wide. Wide enough for you to zip around in your car and actually overtake other vehicles. The pesky rickshaws and taxis from the day, are parked in perfect neat rows along the sidewalks. All the filth and garbage you try to avoid during the day, is mysteriously gone. And so are all the signs of life. The beggars, the hawkers and the urchins that create that constant cacophony during the day, are all sound asleep and only sound that they make at nights is when they're snoring.
And then, when most people are off to sleep, when everyone but the romantics are still awake, the ones who love the city the most, come out. The cops, the whores, the chai and cigarette sellers on bicycles, the omelet hawkers, and the romantics. The romantics, the ones who just want to be left alone with their love. The city of Mumbai.
P.S.: Of course Mumbai never sleeps and you can get stuck in traffic jams at even 2 in the night. But then, that's select busy intersections. Right? And at least the romantic in me refuses to believe that Mumbai never sleeps. It does. See it for yourself next time you are out. At night.
P.P.S.: Trying too hard :D
Untitled - 10th Mar 2012
If you are one of the two regular readers of this blog, you would have noticed that in the last few days, the frequency of posts has reduced considerably. I mean I have always been an intermittent writer, but in 2012, I got really active (33 posts, exlucding this one). Except for March.
When I look back at my calendar, I don't really see any meetings or travel schedules that would have prevented me from writing things on my blog! I guess I have been plain lazy.
And no, I dont have any annoucements to make, I dont have any grand plans to reveal and I dont have anything that could interest anyone. Until that time, tc!
When I look back at my calendar, I don't really see any meetings or travel schedules that would have prevented me from writing things on my blog! I guess I have been plain lazy.
And no, I dont have any annoucements to make, I dont have any grand plans to reveal and I dont have anything that could interest anyone. Until that time, tc!
Rant on the cost of acquisition of a customer
A lot of friends, who run internet businesses, work around the cost of acquisition (of a customer).
It is defined as the amount of money that they need to spend in order to get a customer to perform an action. The action could be a mere visit to the website. Or it could be a purchase of an item of certain value.
IMHO, the idea of working around the cost of acquisition is fundamentally flawed.
It’s a metric that someone needs to look at when they are VERY sure that the customer would stay bonded to their service/product. A credit card for example. Or a bank account for that matter. Once you acquire a customer in such a business, you are sure of the repeat transactions and thus continual revenues. And thus it is justified to invest (aka spend money) on getting a new customer. You recover the investment over time and thus the idea of cost of acquisition makes sense. Look at all the razor companies for example. In fact this article on wikipedia is very highly recommended to understand more about the razors and blades.
On the other hand, if you run a website that sells deals, or electronics or clothes for example, then there is no compulsion for the customer (that you spent something like 600 bucks to acquire) to come back to your website to buy things again. The customer is not loyal to the platform (aka your website) but is loyal to the brand he is buying. Or to discounts for that matter. He will simply hop onto the website that gives him more discounts than you.
However, on the other hand, you can somehow create a very solid reason for the customer to come back to you and buy more things from you, then you may spend money on acquiring customers. Something that a business like Zovi.com is doing. They are creating a brand. And the cost of acquisition can thus be justified by apportioning it between marketing and sales. Ideally, your product, your brand must be something that he “needs” (not “wants”). Like recharge for a mobile phone connection. So if you were Zovi and you were creating a brand of menswear, how would you make the brand a "need"?
Apart from this, another reason why I think it sucks to spend so much money on acquisition is the imbalance of incentives. When I am acquiring a customer, I should pass on the benefits to the customer. In most cases, the money that I spend on acquisition goes to the brokers (the search engines). Just because they are marketplaces, they command prices and make the most value out of the entire acquisition game. If there could be a business that paid the customer, or me, for transactions, I would be interested in knowing more about it.
And that’s about it I guess. Like a true critic, I just know that this is broken and I don’t know how fix this. If you do, please share!
First posted on Sandbox.
It is defined as the amount of money that they need to spend in order to get a customer to perform an action. The action could be a mere visit to the website. Or it could be a purchase of an item of certain value.
IMHO, the idea of working around the cost of acquisition is fundamentally flawed.
It’s a metric that someone needs to look at when they are VERY sure that the customer would stay bonded to their service/product. A credit card for example. Or a bank account for that matter. Once you acquire a customer in such a business, you are sure of the repeat transactions and thus continual revenues. And thus it is justified to invest (aka spend money) on getting a new customer. You recover the investment over time and thus the idea of cost of acquisition makes sense. Look at all the razor companies for example. In fact this article on wikipedia is very highly recommended to understand more about the razors and blades.
On the other hand, if you run a website that sells deals, or electronics or clothes for example, then there is no compulsion for the customer (that you spent something like 600 bucks to acquire) to come back to your website to buy things again. The customer is not loyal to the platform (aka your website) but is loyal to the brand he is buying. Or to discounts for that matter. He will simply hop onto the website that gives him more discounts than you.
However, on the other hand, you can somehow create a very solid reason for the customer to come back to you and buy more things from you, then you may spend money on acquiring customers. Something that a business like Zovi.com is doing. They are creating a brand. And the cost of acquisition can thus be justified by apportioning it between marketing and sales. Ideally, your product, your brand must be something that he “needs” (not “wants”). Like recharge for a mobile phone connection. So if you were Zovi and you were creating a brand of menswear, how would you make the brand a "need"?
Apart from this, another reason why I think it sucks to spend so much money on acquisition is the imbalance of incentives. When I am acquiring a customer, I should pass on the benefits to the customer. In most cases, the money that I spend on acquisition goes to the brokers (the search engines). Just because they are marketplaces, they command prices and make the most value out of the entire acquisition game. If there could be a business that paid the customer, or me, for transactions, I would be interested in knowing more about it.
And that’s about it I guess. Like a true critic, I just know that this is broken and I don’t know how fix this. If you do, please share!
First posted on Sandbox.
Untitled - 29th Feb 2012
Today is 29th Feb. I dont remember when was the last time I saw a 29th of Feb. I am sure I did see it in 2008. And in 2004. And in 2000 and all the previous years. Going back to 1984. And I am not too sure if I'd see it in 2016. The world, as they are very sure (except NASA), will end in Dec this year. But then Dec is more than 8 months away and I dont really have time to worry about something that may happen that far in future.
What concers me, is now! Like right now, I am working on a presentation that should have been finished by last week and I am still working on the first section (out of 4 sections). Like right now, I should be working but I am whiling away time, writing things that in almost all probability no one would read. And if they do read this, I am not sure what value would this add to them. Value, one of the most abused words of the globalized world. Almost all business meetings, transactions, ideas and all such things hover around the concept of value. Its the greatest intangible IMHO. An intangible that defines all the tangibles. The concept of time then is also intangible. We've just defined units as per our convenience and then we use it as the lowest denominator to define things that we dont understand.
Anyways, let me cut this lesson in armchair philosophy. Coming back to the reason of writing this, I am sitting on the new chair that the office ordered for everyone and the chair and the slanted table makes for an awesome writing posture. And I am trying to use that to maximum.
What concers me, is now! Like right now, I am working on a presentation that should have been finished by last week and I am still working on the first section (out of 4 sections). Like right now, I should be working but I am whiling away time, writing things that in almost all probability no one would read. And if they do read this, I am not sure what value would this add to them. Value, one of the most abused words of the globalized world. Almost all business meetings, transactions, ideas and all such things hover around the concept of value. Its the greatest intangible IMHO. An intangible that defines all the tangibles. The concept of time then is also intangible. We've just defined units as per our convenience and then we use it as the lowest denominator to define things that we dont understand.
Anyways, let me cut this lesson in armchair philosophy. Coming back to the reason of writing this, I am sitting on the new chair that the office ordered for everyone and the chair and the slanted table makes for an awesome writing posture. And I am trying to use that to maximum.
Tweek needs serious tweaking!
Last few days, my twitter stream was abuzz with stories and links about the new iPad only magazine from the Times Group. Called Tweek, it promised to be a refreshing take on the "new" publishing.
From what I have seen so far, I am terribly disappointed with it. Apart from content, a magazine on an emerging platform needs to do just two things right. Social and Platform. Tweek fails on content and on delivery. Here's why.
Published first on sandbox.
- Platform. IMHO they just ported a pdf document to an iOS. The experience on an iOS can be so much better and can be so immersive that I would not want to go back to print at all. Its that big an opportunity! Tweek is a shot at that opportunity but its an half-hearted attempt to be honest. Of course swipes and zooms work but thats not the point of a tablet. Things as simple and basic as rich-media, for example are missing. So, if I am reading an article about travels to Africa, rather than mere pictures that I am used to seeing on a pdf or an e-magazine, on a tablet, I should see a video. And why cant I have audio content? And I should have the ability to find and get more content, that is similar to what I am reading. It should understand my preferences and recommend me things that I could be interested in. It should be an intelligent magazine on an intelligent medium. Tweek just doesn't get it! And if Flipboard can get it right, anyone else trying to do anything with a magazine on the iPad has to get it right. Wonder if there was any research done before the product specs were drawn!
- Social. The best part of an iPad is that it has tons of "social" elements built into the platform. Tweek fails miserably on this. Of course the magazine has options to send the links to twitter and facebook and email but isn't that around since, what 1947? And is that all there is to it? What about creating interactions around the content? Why cant I see comments and ratings of each article? Why cant I talk about the content like I do on blogs? Why cant we have ratings for each article? Why cant I see the author's bio? Why cant I submit my feedback on it? Etc etc.
- Content. For the publishing and entertainment business, content is the king. Cliched but true. Tweek's content is nothing to write home about. The articles should be special. They are run of the mill right now. It seems that the edit team quickly pulled out articles from the huge TOI stock library and curated the magazine! If they took a leaf out of Crest, their cousin, the stories would be so much better! In fact, rather than Tweek, TOI should have created an iPad experience for Crest and that would have made me much more happy.
Published first on sandbox.
Dear Sudhanshu
Dear Sudhanshu,
Congratulations on the launch of your first book. I am sure this is just one of many you would end up writing. You have to. The world needs you to write and see things from your lens.
Coming to the real reason why I am writing to you. You already know I have always considered myself lucky that I have known you. There are so many things that I think are common between you and me, such as ... wait, before this turns into a love letter, let me cut the flow and come straight to the point. I have known about your book since 2010 (remember that goals thingy that you made?) and to be honest I never thought you could actually finish the book. Till you told me that you have found a publisher and you proved me wrong. And that was big. More than you, I was happy for myself. It was like an affirmation to me that there's hope. That all's not lost! If you can do something, I can do too. And of course I have no qualms in being a follower and aping you.
Thanks to The Lost Story, Serai will now be fast tracked. I have been at it for about 29 years now and I know am not half good a writer as you are but then what the heck, I have been wanting to write this for a long time and its time I take it up seriously. You've given me inspiration. You've given me hope. You've shown me the way. You can even connect me with a publisher who would be willing to publish a book for me!
And ya, that's about it. Like I said, love letters are reserved for sgMS. In the end, congrats once again for the launch and please know that you are now in the same league as that sardaar that changed me life.
Thanks,
SG
P.S.: When am I getting my autographed copy of The Lost Story? And no, this blogpost is NOT an elaborate and contrived way to get a free copy. Divin0's already ordered a copy for me. That too COD.
Congratulations on the launch of your first book. I am sure this is just one of many you would end up writing. You have to. The world needs you to write and see things from your lens.
Coming to the real reason why I am writing to you. You already know I have always considered myself lucky that I have known you. There are so many things that I think are common between you and me, such as ... wait, before this turns into a love letter, let me cut the flow and come straight to the point. I have known about your book since 2010 (remember that goals thingy that you made?) and to be honest I never thought you could actually finish the book. Till you told me that you have found a publisher and you proved me wrong. And that was big. More than you, I was happy for myself. It was like an affirmation to me that there's hope. That all's not lost! If you can do something, I can do too. And of course I have no qualms in being a follower and aping you.
Thanks to The Lost Story, Serai will now be fast tracked. I have been at it for about 29 years now and I know am not half good a writer as you are but then what the heck, I have been wanting to write this for a long time and its time I take it up seriously. You've given me inspiration. You've given me hope. You've shown me the way. You can even connect me with a publisher who would be willing to publish a book for me!
And ya, that's about it. Like I said, love letters are reserved for sgMS. In the end, congrats once again for the launch and please know that you are now in the same league as that sardaar that changed me life.
Thanks,
SG
P.S.: When am I getting my autographed copy of The Lost Story? And no, this blogpost is NOT an elaborate and contrived way to get a free copy. Divin0's already ordered a copy for me. That too COD.
Then and Now
Lemme try a new style. For the lack of imagination and better words, Id call this, Then and Now. And ofcourse this is about sgMS. I am thinking that I should start a new blog all together and call it "Letters to sgMS" or something. May be. But for the time being, here is the post.
Then
Wake up. Think of her. Think of all the things that I could do. Make a plan of action of things that I could do during the day. Look forward to the day ahead.
Now
Wake up. Sulk. Go back to sleep.
Then
Call her moment I leave for work. Even before I lock the doors to my one bedroom existence or step into a rickshaw. I know that I would meet her during the day eventually but still, call her moment I am out.
Now
Wait for her call, message, email, something. Hope that something from her comes my way. Of course I cant call or send messages. All I can do is write things and then hope that someday she reads these. I know that these would lose meanings when (and if) she reads these but then I can only try.
Then
Reach work. Boot up my computer. Message her that I have reached. Get a feedback on what I am wearing. Share my office gossip with her. Hear her office gossip. Play music that she likes. Tell her about the music that I am playing. Take requests even though she may not hear them.
Now
Reach work. Regain sanity after a two hour drive. Ignore what I am wearing. Do not participate in gossip. Try and play some music. Shut the music before the first song is over. Sulk.
Then
During the day, after I have done some work, take a break and go get a coke for myself. Take VP or Rr with me for a walk to the coke shop. Talk to them about whatever. Try and bring her up in the conversation without anyone knowing about it. Miss her.
Now
During the day, do nothing. The entire day is a break. No coke. Miss being with her. Miss talking about her. Miss talking to her.
Then
Look forward to the evening when I would actually get to spend time with her. Even if its at any of those coffee shops.
Now
Dread the fall of the evening. Once its evening, wonder what to do. Kill time wondering. Get dejected and head home. Struggle through traffic for two hours.
Then
End the day, alone on my bed, trying to sleep and thinking about her. Conjuring up dreams of she and I living happily ever after.
Now
End the day, alone on my bed, trying to sleep and thinking about her. Conjuring up dreams of she and I living happily ever after.
Then
Wake up. Think of her. Think of all the things that I could do. Make a plan of action of things that I could do during the day. Look forward to the day ahead.
Now
Wake up. Sulk. Go back to sleep.
Then
Call her moment I leave for work. Even before I lock the doors to my one bedroom existence or step into a rickshaw. I know that I would meet her during the day eventually but still, call her moment I am out.
Now
Wait for her call, message, email, something. Hope that something from her comes my way. Of course I cant call or send messages. All I can do is write things and then hope that someday she reads these. I know that these would lose meanings when (and if) she reads these but then I can only try.
Then
Reach work. Boot up my computer. Message her that I have reached. Get a feedback on what I am wearing. Share my office gossip with her. Hear her office gossip. Play music that she likes. Tell her about the music that I am playing. Take requests even though she may not hear them.
Now
Reach work. Regain sanity after a two hour drive. Ignore what I am wearing. Do not participate in gossip. Try and play some music. Shut the music before the first song is over. Sulk.
Then
During the day, after I have done some work, take a break and go get a coke for myself. Take VP or Rr with me for a walk to the coke shop. Talk to them about whatever. Try and bring her up in the conversation without anyone knowing about it. Miss her.
Now
During the day, do nothing. The entire day is a break. No coke. Miss being with her. Miss talking about her. Miss talking to her.
Then
Look forward to the evening when I would actually get to spend time with her. Even if its at any of those coffee shops.
Now
Dread the fall of the evening. Once its evening, wonder what to do. Kill time wondering. Get dejected and head home. Struggle through traffic for two hours.
Then
End the day, alone on my bed, trying to sleep and thinking about her. Conjuring up dreams of she and I living happily ever after.
Now
End the day, alone on my bed, trying to sleep and thinking about her. Conjuring up dreams of she and I living happily ever after.
Untitled - 24th Feb 2012
I am no statistician but I like to play with numbers and data. Most of the numbers are meaningless if you ask. Take 8 for example. By itself, it does not mean anything. But moment I put it in perspective, things and patterns change. The last blogpost on this blog for example was 8 days ago. And before that I was posting almost twice/thrice every week. This may mean two things.
One, I did not have access to Internet. And this further may translate into a lot of reasons. I could have been busy, I could be travelling, I could be unwell or it could be any of those million things that would have kept me away from the Internet. In fact it was a combination of all these. I was indeed travelling. I didnt really have access to Internet. I have been unwell - mentally.
And two. I dint have anything interesting to say. Interesting anyways is a bad place to be at. It would mean that all my 900 odd other posts are interesting. I am not too sure if this is case, considering that I dont really get a lot of hits and there are no regular readers. But anyways, its been some days since I've posted something and I was itching to.
Hope to get back to blogging soon and start posting some "interesting" things soon! Oh, I did start another project. Its called DIY Entertainment. Do check it out.
One, I did not have access to Internet. And this further may translate into a lot of reasons. I could have been busy, I could be travelling, I could be unwell or it could be any of those million things that would have kept me away from the Internet. In fact it was a combination of all these. I was indeed travelling. I didnt really have access to Internet. I have been unwell - mentally.
And two. I dint have anything interesting to say. Interesting anyways is a bad place to be at. It would mean that all my 900 odd other posts are interesting. I am not too sure if this is case, considering that I dont really get a lot of hits and there are no regular readers. But anyways, its been some days since I've posted something and I was itching to.
Hope to get back to blogging soon and start posting some "interesting" things soon! Oh, I did start another project. Its called DIY Entertainment. Do check it out.
Untitled - 16th Feb 2012
Its 5 AM local time. I am not in India. Not that it matters but the fact that I cant just pick up my phone and call you. It must be what 3 in the morning there? Unless you are out partying with your super happening friends, I dont stand a chance. I mean even if you were not partying, I still wont have a chance. After all I am no where close to all those people you have around you. Nah, not trying my hand at self-deprecating humor. Being really serious.
Since we havent spoken for the longest time now and I now know that you can live without me, I still cant live without you, hope you are doing good.
Always,
SG
Since we havent spoken for the longest time now and I now know that you can live without me, I still cant live without you, hope you are doing good.
Always,
SG
The Lost Story
He wrote a book and its gonna be out in a few weeks! Called The Lost Story, he has co-authored it with yet another MDI dude, Amit Goyal. I dont really know Amit that well but if Suds has put his name on the book, it has to be awesome.
I have read a couple of chapters and its gripping to say the least. I have done everything in my powers to get Suds to send me the rest of the chapters but so far he hasn't shown any inclination. Its like grass. You have some and then you are going to keep having it over and over and over again. You wont stop. You wouldn't want it to end!
It is different. Not just for the sake of saying it, it actually is. To start with, its not a love story. And its not a boy chasing kites. And its not about those mushy love letters that a lot of people (including me) write. And its not about two college kids with dreams and ideas about changing the world! For the want of better language skills, this is what the back cover says...
Sandy, an aspiring young writer gets an incredible opportunity to work with his idol – the celebrated and reclusive author Saleem Afzal – who hasn't written a new book in 23 years.Of course, you have to read it. Here are the links for easy access. Pre oder on Flipkart and the Facebook fan page.
In a novel idea, each writer writes one half of the story, leaving it for the other to finish. Together, they imagine an epic battle between balance and chaos, a tale of a haunted house, a simple journey home that turns into a man's greatest nightmare, and even the end of the world.
As the stories take shape, Sandy gets curious about Saleem's past and the several unanswered questions that he encounters… Why did Saleem stop writing? Why can he no longer finish stories? What is behind the locked door in his house? And… what is The Lost Story?
Written like the premise, the stories in this book have each been done in two halves. One part by one author, and the second by the other, never discussing the story in between.
Please show some love by preodering it on Flipkart. And no I am not being paid for this. I may get an autographed copy for posting this but knowing how popular Mr. Gupta is, I am not sure if I can get dates from him!
Wait, here is a deal. If you actually read this and preorder it, I can ask Suds and Amit to give you guys a signed copy and a poster of the book cover. Just let me know. Not kidding. Suds can you please endorse this claim?
The Compulsive Eating Disorder
Spoiler Alert. This is one of those rants that has been inspired by surfaced because of shit at work. Readers discretion advised, I tend to use profanities when I am pissed off like this.
So, I work at a place where, in the words of the great Mr. Daniel, we are in the business of saving other people's jobs. And I guess we do our jobs well cos the clients keep coming back to us and we have no time to go and chase outside business. And all this while, new clients keep queuing up outside our office and keep begging us to work for them. We are awesome.
But then this is not about my work place, or my clients or about all the things that we do to keep clients happy. This is about me. Its about how stressful my job is (apparently, what I do is second highest on the list of jobs that stress people out, after the Air Traffic Controller and no, there is no scientific evidence to support it). And its about how stress makes me hungry. And how much I can eat when I am hungry. And how the location of my office is not helping the cause, with a million road side vendors selling everything from Chole Kulche to MoMos (thats Dim Sums in English) to Maggi to Omelet (what? Omelet is not spelled as Omellette?) to ice cream to parathas to chaat to samosas. Like they say, in retail, the three things that matters are location, location and location, I am strategically located to hog like a pig. And the feedback and inputs from clients dont really help matters.
So today started as any other Sunday would. Woke up, got ready, had an awesome breakfast and left for office. The drive was brilliant. There is no traffic on Sundays. In fact while driving I thought what if I could work only on Saturdays and Sundays, it would be so amazing. More on this later. So it started like a regular sunday (p.s. another social experiment. I am linking each piece to the tweets that I posted and lets see how it goes) and it got screwed moment I reached Gurgaon. I wore my shoes, called the client, entered the flunky in the white shirt mode (more about being the flunky in white) and started to wait for theGod client to call me. He did after a while and in the meeting, he took my arse royally. And then I came to the office and this is where I realized that all the effort that my team and I had put in last few days has gone for a toss. And this is when the hunger pangs first hit me.
And then, I made a choice. Do I give into the pangs and eat the next things that I spot. Or do I wait and do something to divert my mind and attention and save myself those extra miles on the treadmill (as and when that happens). The result, ladies, gentlemen and PD, is in front of you. I did go for a stroll in the sun but then I refrained from ordering anything stupid and here I am, in office, typing fervently on the keyboard, hoping that someday, the infinite monkeys inside me, actually start making some sense!
So, I work at a place where, in the words of the great Mr. Daniel, we are in the business of saving other people's jobs. And I guess we do our jobs well cos the clients keep coming back to us and we have no time to go and chase outside business. And all this while, new clients keep queuing up outside our office and keep begging us to work for them. We are awesome.
But then this is not about my work place, or my clients or about all the things that we do to keep clients happy. This is about me. Its about how stressful my job is (apparently, what I do is second highest on the list of jobs that stress people out, after the Air Traffic Controller and no, there is no scientific evidence to support it). And its about how stress makes me hungry. And how much I can eat when I am hungry. And how the location of my office is not helping the cause, with a million road side vendors selling everything from Chole Kulche to MoMos (thats Dim Sums in English) to Maggi to Omelet (what? Omelet is not spelled as Omellette?) to ice cream to parathas to chaat to samosas. Like they say, in retail, the three things that matters are location, location and location, I am strategically located to hog like a pig. And the feedback and inputs from clients dont really help matters.
So today started as any other Sunday would. Woke up, got ready, had an awesome breakfast and left for office. The drive was brilliant. There is no traffic on Sundays. In fact while driving I thought what if I could work only on Saturdays and Sundays, it would be so amazing. More on this later. So it started like a regular sunday (p.s. another social experiment. I am linking each piece to the tweets that I posted and lets see how it goes) and it got screwed moment I reached Gurgaon. I wore my shoes, called the client, entered the flunky in the white shirt mode (more about being the flunky in white) and started to wait for the
And then, I made a choice. Do I give into the pangs and eat the next things that I spot. Or do I wait and do something to divert my mind and attention and save myself those extra miles on the treadmill (as and when that happens). The result, ladies, gentlemen and PD, is in front of you. I did go for a stroll in the sun but then I refrained from ordering anything stupid and here I am, in office, typing fervently on the keyboard, hoping that someday, the infinite monkeys inside me, actually start making some sense!
Hello Facebook!
And just like that, I am back on Facebook. Few months ago, when I realized that I was spending way too much time on Facebook and getting overawed by amazing lives of people around me, I decided to give it a break. But now, as I prepare myself for the next attempt at entrepreneurship (yes I have something in the pipeline - nothing that I can talk about right now), I need to be connected with strangers, acquaintances, friends and family.
In my experience, Facebook is an amazing tool to do so. However this time, the approach would be a little different. More than any planning per se, I have rough ideas where I want to take it and I would play as things move along.
More on this as and when I learn things. In the meanwhile, you may want to add me on Facebook. Here.
In my experience, Facebook is an amazing tool to do so. However this time, the approach would be a little different. More than any planning per se, I have rough ideas where I want to take it and I would play as things move along.
More on this as and when I learn things. In the meanwhile, you may want to add me on Facebook. Here.
The Shopping Spree
You never knew that a trip to a mall could fuck your head. I was at this mall in Bangalore, miles away from Delhi or Mumbai and I saw this amazing store that stocked all things Indian and ethnic. Since I am very interested in such stuff, I had to walk in.
The first thing I saw in that store was a leather purse shaped like a her favorite shape. And it brought back memories of the time when I had bought her that very purse, on my last visit to Bangalore, from a different store. It brought back memories of her smile and excitement in her voice when I gave her that purse.
I have always loved the concept of gifts. Don’t really like getting em but nothing like a well planned and executed surprise. I totally believe that life's too short and you can’t really wait for the right time to make someone happy. If something reminds you of someone, you better pick it up and dispatch it. And since shewas is obviously more special to me than anyone else is, get always got a truckload full of surprises. Every time I met her, I got her something. A small stupid hand written note, a large box that has nothing but small post-it notes where I'd written things that I loved about her, a teeshirt, a fake flower and million such inconsequential things.
Coming back, I saw this purse and after the adrenaline rush, my heart cringed. Before I could think, I saw this set of small ceramic dolls. I had got them from yet another place for her. Then there were these pencils, that coaster, a mirror, a wall clock, a bunch of fake flowers (I dont, as a policy give flowers), a tee shirt (that she refuses to wear, her taste is better than that) and some more things that I had bought for her. It was like she had decided to open a store and stock it with stuff that I got for her.
All those things were bought for a reason. Everything had a back story that’s miles long!
And then there were these things that I have always wanted to buy with her, once we started living together. The bookshelf to start with. It could stock books, CDs and all the little kick knacks that both of us are fond of. There was this rug that I had thought I’d put next to the TV in our living room. And that small chandelier that I would have put in the dining area. The damned store had it all. If not with me, I am sure she would have bought some of those things. May be not actually. Despite knowing her for all these years, I still have a hard time guessing what she likes.
Its been a week since I went there and even now I regret the decision of entering that store. After a point, I just couldn’t bear to stand in that store and look at all those amazing things. Dejected, while I was walking out, right at the exit, I saw this yellow nameplate that I always wanted to buy for our home. It read, "The Happy Home".
P.S.: Sucks the way this has come out :(
The first thing I saw in that store was a leather purse shaped like a her favorite shape. And it brought back memories of the time when I had bought her that very purse, on my last visit to Bangalore, from a different store. It brought back memories of her smile and excitement in her voice when I gave her that purse.
I have always loved the concept of gifts. Don’t really like getting em but nothing like a well planned and executed surprise. I totally believe that life's too short and you can’t really wait for the right time to make someone happy. If something reminds you of someone, you better pick it up and dispatch it. And since she
Coming back, I saw this purse and after the adrenaline rush, my heart cringed. Before I could think, I saw this set of small ceramic dolls. I had got them from yet another place for her. Then there were these pencils, that coaster, a mirror, a wall clock, a bunch of fake flowers (I dont, as a policy give flowers), a tee shirt (that she refuses to wear, her taste is better than that) and some more things that I had bought for her. It was like she had decided to open a store and stock it with stuff that I got for her.
All those things were bought for a reason. Everything had a back story that’s miles long!
And then there were these things that I have always wanted to buy with her, once we started living together. The bookshelf to start with. It could stock books, CDs and all the little kick knacks that both of us are fond of. There was this rug that I had thought I’d put next to the TV in our living room. And that small chandelier that I would have put in the dining area. The damned store had it all. If not with me, I am sure she would have bought some of those things. May be not actually. Despite knowing her for all these years, I still have a hard time guessing what she likes.
Its been a week since I went there and even now I regret the decision of entering that store. After a point, I just couldn’t bear to stand in that store and look at all those amazing things. Dejected, while I was walking out, right at the exit, I saw this yellow nameplate that I always wanted to buy for our home. It read, "The Happy Home".
P.S.: Sucks the way this has come out :(
An Opportunity for Snack/Food/Beverage brands!
At some point in time, a few years back, I was an account planner with a then emerging advertising agency. I was there for almost two years and dint really do lot of work that I could speak about out loud but I did learn a lot in the process and it helped shape my thinking quite a bit. It has programmed my mind to question every premise My mind was already wired to question everything and a stint with the agency made me learn to try and find reasons for all the actions. Today something interesting happened. During one of those long taxi rides, I started questioning a basic premise and it led me to come up with some amazing insights that a food/beverage/snack company may want to look at.
So, while I was on my way from Bangalore airport to Indiranagar (about 90 minutes cab ride through open highways and crowded city), I had this desperate urge to take a break, rest for a bit, seep in the scenery, tame my mind/thoughts, relax my head/body, eat/munch onto something and generally stop. And there were tons of places where I could have done that. It was an open highway with shops that sold stuff ranging from cheap country made liquor to tea to coconut water to aerated drinks to snacks to chips, cigarettes etc. And this is when I realized that for a non-smoker like me, there is no alternative to smoking a cigarette when I want to take an unscheduled break.
Let me take a break from the back story a bit and talk about a cigarette. A typical planner, would define the cigarette and the use as...
To make it simpler, can someone come up with a fmcg product that is cheap (<INR 10), available everywhere, allows me to kill those 5 minutes, makes me bond with other patrons of the product and does not give me anything but a break from the rigmarole?
More I think about it, more lucrative this seems. Ofcourse everyone would have tried taking this space. From things like coconut water to road side tea to street snacks to big established brands like Snickers (break at 4 PM), Kit Kat (have a break, have a kit kat), all the snacks (Hippo, Lays etc), lot of biscuits and million other assorted things have tried but they lack one thing or other. No one has been able to crack this bit as yet and when someone does, it would be a huge huge market waiting for them.
Wonder what do people in the business have to say about this? I can think of a response that one of clients for my ex-agency would have some up with. What else could be a valid response? And this is more of gut feel research right now and I would love to spend more time and effort on this. Primarily to validate the assertations and to unearth more such ideas. Anyone wants to commission a research?
Published first on sgSandbox
So, while I was on my way from Bangalore airport to Indiranagar (about 90 minutes cab ride through open highways and crowded city), I had this desperate urge to take a break, rest for a bit, seep in the scenery, tame my mind/thoughts, relax my head/body, eat/munch onto something and generally stop. And there were tons of places where I could have done that. It was an open highway with shops that sold stuff ranging from cheap country made liquor to tea to coconut water to aerated drinks to snacks to chips, cigarettes etc. And this is when I realized that for a non-smoker like me, there is no alternative to smoking a cigarette when I want to take an unscheduled break.
Let me take a break from the back story a bit and talk about a cigarette. A typical planner, would define the cigarette and the use as...
- A social object. When I am smoking, there is an instant connect with anyone else who is smoking close by. Both the smoker and the other unknown smoker, suddenly belong to the same tribe. They could start by sharing a light, a stick, a tea, a conversation and eventually a relationship. I can safely say that people bond over a cigarette and its as social an object as they come.
- Cheap at 5. It costs anywhere between a rupee and 10. This is the right price point that customers in India are oblivious to. They can spend this kinda money without thinking too much about it. Ofcourse this is a gross generalization (more on this in the next planning posts).
- Kill time. A typical tick takes about 5 minutes to consume. This is the right amount of time that someone may want to kill when they are taking a break. Anything short is too short. Anything longer is too long. This is the right amount when you could disappear from that long/boring meeting and yet go unnoticed. This is the right amount of time that you need to recharge your batteries.
- Un-awkward. If I am standing on a corner idle, I become an eye sore for everyone else. I dont have a business there. But, if I am holding on to a lit cigarette, I suddenly become a part of the scenery. No one questions my presence. My role is defined. I can pass off as yet another cigarette smoker that is just having his regular fix of nicotine. No one would give me a second look. And no, a cig is not alone here. You could have tea, hold a newspaper or may be merely fiddle with your phone.
- Savor the after taste. After I have had it, there is that after taste that I can savor for long. Of course there are people who have issues with the after smoke but thats a different story. Then the kick that nicotine gives, also helps and for the ease of convinience, I would add to the after taste category.
- Available. Its as ubiquitous as condoms, potatoes, water and air are. There are small kiosks after every two feets (at least in India, even at remote locations). I can buy a pack, I can buy one stick, I can buy alternatives, I can experiment. Nothing is as easy as buying a cig in India.
- Does not affect appetite. Unlike a juice, or a tea or fruits, I can have as many cigs and as often and it would not affect my apetite. I would not skip a cig because having too much of it will make my stomach full and make my skip my dinner/lunch. So it serves the purpose of giving me a break, recharging my batteries and yet not affect my subconscious mind (assuming the ones smoking are aware and yet ignore the results of excessive smoking).
To make it simpler, can someone come up with a fmcg product that is cheap (<INR 10), available everywhere, allows me to kill those 5 minutes, makes me bond with other patrons of the product and does not give me anything but a break from the rigmarole?
More I think about it, more lucrative this seems. Ofcourse everyone would have tried taking this space. From things like coconut water to road side tea to street snacks to big established brands like Snickers (break at 4 PM), Kit Kat (have a break, have a kit kat), all the snacks (Hippo, Lays etc), lot of biscuits and million other assorted things have tried but they lack one thing or other. No one has been able to crack this bit as yet and when someone does, it would be a huge huge market waiting for them.
Wonder what do people in the business have to say about this? I can think of a response that one of clients for my ex-agency would have some up with. What else could be a valid response? And this is more of gut feel research right now and I would love to spend more time and effort on this. Primarily to validate the assertations and to unearth more such ideas. Anyone wants to commission a research?
Published first on sgSandbox
Goals for Feb 2012
When I started this year, I told myself that I would make this the most special year of my life. The way I have spent January, I dont think its going to happen. And since I am desperate about it, I have to do something about it. Of all the ways that I thought could help me, I thought if I'd break things down into smaller units, it would be easy to work on and easier to track. So these smaller units would be...
- One 1000 word essay/post/article every alternate day. 3 in a week. So far I have been able to write regularly this year. Just need to continue the momentum.
- Traction of the projects that are occupying your head. ODID, MWL, OffbeatMag, SG.com etc. By end of feb, either get a direction/clarity on these or you shut these down. At least you'd know what you need to chase.
- Sort other shit thats cluttering your head. This includes work, stuff at home, fitness, #sgMS etc. Unless the heads clutter free, dont think I'd be able to do much.
- Since the days ahead look packed in terms of travel, need to understand a few ways that could help you catch up on information (as there would be lot less reading). One of the ways could be follow relevant twitter users and rely on the maxim that information that you must know, will find its way to you. Another way could be to stop chasing gossip on twitter and stop indulging in idle chit chatter. Need to fix this.
The itch to travel
If I ever make my CV, I would include travel as one of my hobbies. To be honest, travel to me is more than a mere hobby. Its a very serious passion and I take it seriously. Thankfully I work at a place that makes me travel about 15 days a month. The way I travel is not really ideal but I dont really complain because if I was the complaining kinds, I wouldn't have seen all those countries and all those cities that I have been to in last two or so years.
WROTE THIS BIT ABOUT A WEEK BACK
So today in the morning, I was getting bored and was generally checking my Dopplr. It tells me that the last trip I made out of Delhi (not counting the daily trips between Delhi and Gurgaon) was in December of 2011. And its been more than one and a half month since I went out. No wonder my heads spinning and I am moving around in circle.
Last few days, some restlessness had set in. I had no clue why. One of the ways to cure that itch would be to travel. I need to plan a trip out of the city somehow. And sooner the better.
WROTE THIS TODAY
Now that I am back from the Chennai/Mumbai trip, I can safely say that it was indeed the lack of travel that was fucking around with my head. Of course there are other things but now that I am back after a good three day trip, I am far better.
And ya, like I keep saying, I am destiny's child. After I wrote what I wrote a week back, I got an unexpected call for a meeting in Chennai. And then once I was in Chennai, I got another unexpected call for a meeting in Mumbai. And the boring trip turned out to be an amazing time that I spent with Neo in Mumbai. I mean not that I partied like crazy or something but we lazed around, ate awesome stuff and made that mandatory trip to Sunny ka dhaba on the Pune Expressway.
Next thing I am hoping that destiny would shower on me, is her. Lets see when.
WROTE THIS BIT ABOUT A WEEK BACK
So today in the morning, I was getting bored and was generally checking my Dopplr. It tells me that the last trip I made out of Delhi (not counting the daily trips between Delhi and Gurgaon) was in December of 2011. And its been more than one and a half month since I went out. No wonder my heads spinning and I am moving around in circle.
Last few days, some restlessness had set in. I had no clue why. One of the ways to cure that itch would be to travel. I need to plan a trip out of the city somehow. And sooner the better.
WROTE THIS TODAY
Now that I am back from the Chennai/Mumbai trip, I can safely say that it was indeed the lack of travel that was fucking around with my head. Of course there are other things but now that I am back after a good three day trip, I am far better.
And ya, like I keep saying, I am destiny's child. After I wrote what I wrote a week back, I got an unexpected call for a meeting in Chennai. And then once I was in Chennai, I got another unexpected call for a meeting in Mumbai. And the boring trip turned out to be an amazing time that I spent with Neo in Mumbai. I mean not that I partied like crazy or something but we lazed around, ate awesome stuff and made that mandatory trip to Sunny ka dhaba on the Pune Expressway.
Next thing I am hoping that destiny would shower on me, is her. Lets see when.
Untitled - 30 Jan 2012
Yet another untitled post (the last one was on 28th). To be honest, the entire concept of untitled is inspired from Hugh's blog. Anyways here are things that I learnt/saw/observed/etc today (and yesterday).
- Anyways is NOT a word. Apparently. That's what someone (@mooodles) on twitter told me. If this is true, about 90% of my posts now are grammatically incorrect. Anyways, I use anyways more often that I use I.
- I am now hooked onto Foursquare. Its been just a couple of days that I have started using and I absolutely love the experience. More than that, their BB application is awesome. It just adds on to the experience. This is my handle at foursquare.
- Meeting real people is more fun that chit chatting with them on twitter or on blog. Real people have real comments. They are more candid and open. They are lot more fun. The conversations are more meaningful. Since time is the most precious commodity, I'd rather spend it with real people than crating virtual linkages to people. I like talking about marketing, technology, starting up, ideas, poker, people, India and a host of other things. If you think you would want to meet over coffee, I am @saurabh on twitter.
- I will have to restart using Facebook. Because it has the audience that I want to reach. Both as an individual and as a marketer. Especially when I am serious about seeding a couple of ideas. I am hoping that my last login on FB is still active. I will decide in a few days about it.
- Finally, I am a big fan of Jason Statham. He is the epitome of how I want to look, if I ever get fit. I've already achieved the bald part, just need to work on the fitness bits.
Eight years of blogging
This month, in 2004, I started writing this blog. Its been 8 years. If Malcolm Gladwell and the research he unearthed in his book is to be believed, I would become an awesome writer in another two years (10 years or 10000 hours to perfect a skill/craft rule).
Like I say every year, there is no other thing that I have done regularly for these many years, apart from living. People I know blame it on my attention spam lasting a mere 3 nanoseconds. I, on my ADD.
Hope I continue writing. And someday, actually get good enough to move people with my words. Till that overnight success happens to me, here is an awesome nugget from Calvin.
Like I say every year, there is no other thing that I have done regularly for these many years, apart from living. People I know blame it on my attention spam lasting a mere 3 nanoseconds. I, on my ADD.
Hope I continue writing. And someday, actually get good enough to move people with my words. Till that overnight success happens to me, here is an awesome nugget from Calvin.
 |
| Link: GoComics |
Untitled - 28 Jan 2012
As I write this, I am sitting at the Chennai airport. I have had a whirlwind day. Woke up at 4 to catch a flight, fought with an aunty who liked throwing her feminine side to people at 5, caught a flight at 6:30, landed in Chennai and navigated my way through the alien language, wrote a presentation about a project I had no clue about, delivered that presentation and rushed back to the airport to catch a plane to Mumbai. In the entire day, I hardly had time to breathe. I mean I did tweet about mundance things, installed foursquare on my phone, go out for that leisurely lunch at Sarvana Bhawan and bought a Grappo Fizz and an ice cream from Spencer's and created time to write this blogpost. But I had no time to think of things that otherwise bother me. sgMS to start with. Despite all the time that has elapsed since she and I spoke I still cant get her out of my head. Then there are things related to work. I am losing hair at the speed of light and am still poor. On the other hand, every Tom, Dick and Harry seems to be minting money as if they are the modern day incarnation of Scrooge McDuck! Then there is some shit brewing up at home. I dont even want to talk about it.
Anyways, the point of this post is that I have reazlied that I am the thinking kinds (MBTI - thinking) and more time I have on my hands, more I think. And more unhappy I become. May be the immediate solution to all my vows is actually finding something that can keep my head occupied for good. Something that makes me trapped in the rut so deep that I spend all my time wading through the shit. Something like what a bank teller does. Sits on a seat and attends to queries all day long. Now, if I had a degree that made me fit to be a teller!
P.S.: I wrote this in Chennai. Now as I hit the publish button, I am in Mumbai, waiting for Neo to come pick me up.
Anyways, the point of this post is that I have reazlied that I am the thinking kinds (MBTI - thinking) and more time I have on my hands, more I think. And more unhappy I become. May be the immediate solution to all my vows is actually finding something that can keep my head occupied for good. Something that makes me trapped in the rut so deep that I spend all my time wading through the shit. Something like what a bank teller does. Sits on a seat and attends to queries all day long. Now, if I had a degree that made me fit to be a teller!
P.S.: I wrote this in Chennai. Now as I hit the publish button, I am in Mumbai, waiting for Neo to come pick me up.
The Mastery of AR Rahman
AR Rahman needs no introduction. Last thing that I remember him doing (I dont watch a lot of movies btw) is the new Hero Motocorp jingle. At first I hated it. I thought it was too flowery and too flowing and was a bit of a drag. Neo, on the other hand, loved it from the word go. He even downloaded the jingle and put in his car. I distinctly remember laughing on his face when he first played it.
This week, Hero released their new TVC. Its a montage of "real" people from across the country, singing the jingle. And they are asking people to record their own version of the jingle and get a shot at getting featured in the next TVC. Good idea. But then this is not about the idea. This is about AR Rahman and his mastery. The same jingle that I hated when I heard for the first time, I loved it. Its so brilliant that I want to hum when its playing. I would not mind having it as my ring tone or caller tune. I would love to play this, along with all the other fab tracks I play every morning.
Like all AR Rahman songs, this jingle has grown on me. I dint like it initially but with repeated exposure, rather than getting bored of it, I now like it. With all other composers, you get bored when you hear something repeatedly, most AR Rahman songs, you get more attached to them. Salute to him for cooking this up. And salute to brand managers at Hero for letting this out. And salaam to Neo for identifying the genius when I missed.
This week, Hero released their new TVC. Its a montage of "real" people from across the country, singing the jingle. And they are asking people to record their own version of the jingle and get a shot at getting featured in the next TVC. Good idea. But then this is not about the idea. This is about AR Rahman and his mastery. The same jingle that I hated when I heard for the first time, I loved it. Its so brilliant that I want to hum when its playing. I would not mind having it as my ring tone or caller tune. I would love to play this, along with all the other fab tracks I play every morning.
Like all AR Rahman songs, this jingle has grown on me. I dint like it initially but with repeated exposure, rather than getting bored of it, I now like it. With all other composers, you get bored when you hear something repeatedly, most AR Rahman songs, you get more attached to them. Salute to him for cooking this up. And salute to brand managers at Hero for letting this out. And salaam to Neo for identifying the genius when I missed.
Games People Play
Since I have some time on my hands, lemme think (with my fingers) on the reasons why I like playing poker. Of course like any other blog entry, this would have a long preface, followed by an even longer back story about he game. I would then beat around the bush aimlessly for a while, before I start uncovering the layers from the real reason why I am writing this. Finally after all the million words, I would write one line about it and then end it abruptly. And I know that once I read the draft after I have finished writing it, it would be about something else altogether.
So, here's the preface.
I have always played card games as a kid, but most of those were thoseIndian British games like teen patti and seep. And then since these were played with family, betting was a strict no. Not even on Diwali when even the Marsians gamble. Cards was more of an excuse to stay indoors during those fiery summers. And since playing cards helped with maths and brains, parents encouraged and we played for long hours.
The long back story.
But despite playing cards for all those years, my first tryst with gambling happened at MDI in 2005. I was the founding member of the teen patti club. We played a lot of Flush during those two years. So much so that at point in time, we were playing almost everyday.
It was at MDI, I think this was the time when I first heard about Poker. It is apparently Warren Buffet's and Bill Gates' favorite card game. And since I am on a perpetual ape-the-intelligent mode, I had to learn the game. I read about it, tried playing it with a couple of friends but I dint really like it. I even played it with some guys from IIMA who I bumped into on a trek trip. But again, I dint like it. Like everything, one thing lead to another and I passed out of MDI. I forgot about it all till I went to a casino sometime in 2007 and I played some poker on a real table. I ended up winning some 10000 bucks and it felt awesome to have the extra cash. Not that I would make castles from the poker money but it was something I hadnt anticipated. And like all humans, I like surprises and I like extra moolah.
Beating around the bush.
I think that was the time when I told myself that I need to start playing poker again. And I think once I came back from Mumbai, I started playing poker seriously. Started playing it online and every offline opportunity that I got - read home games, casinos etc. I even entered into a couple of tournaments at Macau and Amsterdam (no I dint specifically go there to participate, I was there and hence I participated). Both places, I was out before I knew I was in. Iwas that bad am still that bad. Last time I was playing on a real table (I think Casino Prime in Goa), I started with 10k, went down to 3k, went up to 90k and finally ended the game with 12. I must have played for well over five hours. I made 2k in 6 hours. Mr. Ahluwalia and the planning commission he deputy-chairs would be disappointed. I am after all in the elite category of skilled labour.
Anyways, so I started playing poker seriously in 2009 and played it on and off. I never got around to allocating a particular time of the day to it but I do try and play when I can. I tried creating a couple of groups in Delhi that could help me find some home games but I realized that for most people, poker is a mere hobby. For me, poker is something that I want to pursue as a professional. I am not sure but from Daniel Negreanu's tweets, it sounds like awesome fun.
One line about the reason why I am writing this.
I could have summarized the entire post in a few bullet points. They would have been (in no particular order if read it top down and in decreasing order of importance if you read it bottom up)
Anyways, I have been writing this for well over an hour. Enough. Blogger should actually create a feature that tracks the time that is spent on crafting a particular post. I would use it because it will tell me if I get my writing in the first attempt or I need revisions.And may be, some day bill some client for the time ;P
What I wanted to write about and what I wrote about.
I wanted to write about the reason why I play poker and this ended up being a bried biography. I think I suffer from, as Shatru puts it, verbal diarrhea. Oh, by the way, if you live in Delhi/NCR and are keen on poker home games, do write in. And if you arent, request you to please spread the word.
So, here's the preface.
I have always played card games as a kid, but most of those were those
The long back story.
But despite playing cards for all those years, my first tryst with gambling happened at MDI in 2005. I was the founding member of the teen patti club. We played a lot of Flush during those two years. So much so that at point in time, we were playing almost everyday.
It was at MDI, I think this was the time when I first heard about Poker. It is apparently Warren Buffet's and Bill Gates' favorite card game. And since I am on a perpetual ape-the-intelligent mode, I had to learn the game. I read about it, tried playing it with a couple of friends but I dint really like it. I even played it with some guys from IIMA who I bumped into on a trek trip. But again, I dint like it. Like everything, one thing lead to another and I passed out of MDI. I forgot about it all till I went to a casino sometime in 2007 and I played some poker on a real table. I ended up winning some 10000 bucks and it felt awesome to have the extra cash. Not that I would make castles from the poker money but it was something I hadnt anticipated. And like all humans, I like surprises and I like extra moolah.
Beating around the bush.
I think that was the time when I told myself that I need to start playing poker again. And I think once I came back from Mumbai, I started playing poker seriously. Started playing it online and every offline opportunity that I got - read home games, casinos etc. I even entered into a couple of tournaments at Macau and Amsterdam (no I dint specifically go there to participate, I was there and hence I participated). Both places, I was out before I knew I was in. I
Anyways, so I started playing poker seriously in 2009 and played it on and off. I never got around to allocating a particular time of the day to it but I do try and play when I can. I tried creating a couple of groups in Delhi that could help me find some home games but I realized that for most people, poker is a mere hobby. For me, poker is something that I want to pursue as a professional. I am not sure but from Daniel Negreanu's tweets, it sounds like awesome fun.
One line about the reason why I am writing this.
I could have summarized the entire post in a few bullet points. They would have been (in no particular order if read it top down and in decreasing order of importance if you read it bottom up)
- I want to get rich!
- I want to develop myself as an individual.
- I like the unpredictability of the entire game.
- I like the thrill and excitement of being on the poker table.
- I want to play some sport at the professional level, even if its a mundane card game.
Anyways, I have been writing this for well over an hour. Enough. Blogger should actually create a feature that tracks the time that is spent on crafting a particular post. I would use it because it will tell me if I get my writing in the first attempt or I need revisions.And may be, some day bill some client for the time ;P
What I wanted to write about and what I wrote about.
I wanted to write about the reason why I play poker and this ended up being a bried biography. I think I suffer from, as Shatru puts it, verbal diarrhea. Oh, by the way, if you live in Delhi/NCR and are keen on poker home games, do write in. And if you arent, request you to please spread the word.
Incoherent thoughts on my car
 |
| En route to Patiala with Neo, Feb 2011 |
Lucky that despite more than 75000 KMs on it, so far I havent had no major accidents. Apart from that one incident near Haridwar when a truck banged my car from the back. And for the record, no fault of mine. And the other time I scratched againt a truck and it blew away my left rear view mirror (this was lapse in my judgement). And then there were tons of small scratches that you cant really avoid when the most part of drives happen in Delhi.
Just in case, I drive a Hyundai Santro. This is one of those entry level cars where they promise you comfort and yet leave a lot to be desrired for. Its not really powerful but can zip around for sure. India, the speeds are typically 60KMph and my Santro can easily handle it. It runs on petrol and I know it is an expensive proposition but then I think this is the only luxury I indulge in (dont like buying clothes or watches or fancy things). I dont make a lot of money and I could hypothetically travel in the awesome Delhi Metro or the other modes of public transprt, but I refuse to do so. I want my space and my car gives me that. Hopefully, things would take a turn for the good soon and I would be able to upgrade to a new car this year or the next year. Till then sgSantro would have to be around.
P.S. Dint know what to write about but had to update the blog today.
P.P.S. For all the bots and other social media aficionados, this post is NOT about a Santro, but is about my love for driving. And this could have been any other brand. Santro is incidental. And on the other hand, my posts about sgElectra, are VERY MUCH about the brand. You cant replace a Royal Enfield with any other bike.
On blogging and the chase
Ever since I started taking my blog seriously (I mean I have always taken my blog seriously but for last few weeks I have been trying to put in more effort than usual in terms of thinking about what to write), I have seen something terible happening to me. Rather than worrying about what to write, I am obsesed with getting more and more readers. I get some 40 odd readers everyday, from Google mostly, and most of these are one off hits. They stumble on to my blog from obscure sources and read posts on Javed Akhtar and Harivashh Rai Bachchan and then move on, never to come back (btw these two were written in 2005 and 2004 respectively). Nothing wrong with it if I was writing to make a quick buck. But I am not. My objective with this blog is to improve my craft and try create a tribe that likes the way I write. And get that tribe to feed me back with their feedback. So I rather want people to read posts that have taken much more time and patience to craft. And the ones that reflect the style that I want my writing to evolve into. For example this post on Mumbai. Or this on Panchgani.
Ofcourse its not an easy task. It takes time and effort to create any tribe. I have already done the homework. I have committed myself to it. I would write and write and hopefully see some traction (a column with a weekly/monthly magazine etc) by the end of 2012. So far, just been 10 odd days, I have lived upto the promise. I have been able to write something or other almost every day. Even if its crap. Of course I need to figure out a genre that makes me want to write. I dont really have a strategy in place apart from writing something or the other regularly.
I would also try and write some stuff for blogs/websites that get far larger audience than this one. I submitted this one on Sachin Tendulkar to cricinfo last week. They chose not to publish it. I sent this one to afaqs in December last year. They said they like it but I dont think they published it. Anyways, rejections are fine. Rejections mean that things are moving. The outcome is not what you intended it to be they are outcomes none the less. Things are moving. I am hoping to send things to 50 publications this year. And keep a track. So if you are an editor, beware ;P
Anyways, for some reason, even I am not sure why am I doing it, I would move all the serious writing to a new blog/domain. Need to think of a name for it. This shall remain a repository of whatever I write but I would have a separate domain for my serious writing efforts. And then I would try and market that domain. Even on facebook/twitter etc.
Only thing that I need to remain careful is that I dont want to be chasing readers and hits. And p.s. if you do read this blog, please please let me know (comments or emails or phone calls) that you do read this blog and I would send you a small questionnaire and see what can I do to improve things.
Ofcourse its not an easy task. It takes time and effort to create any tribe. I have already done the homework. I have committed myself to it. I would write and write and hopefully see some traction (a column with a weekly/monthly magazine etc) by the end of 2012. So far, just been 10 odd days, I have lived upto the promise. I have been able to write something or other almost every day. Even if its crap. Of course I need to figure out a genre that makes me want to write. I dont really have a strategy in place apart from writing something or the other regularly.
I would also try and write some stuff for blogs/websites that get far larger audience than this one. I submitted this one on Sachin Tendulkar to cricinfo last week. They chose not to publish it. I sent this one to afaqs in December last year. They said they like it but I dont think they published it. Anyways, rejections are fine. Rejections mean that things are moving. The outcome is not what you intended it to be they are outcomes none the less. Things are moving. I am hoping to send things to 50 publications this year. And keep a track. So if you are an editor, beware ;P
Anyways, for some reason, even I am not sure why am I doing it, I would move all the serious writing to a new blog/domain. Need to think of a name for it. This shall remain a repository of whatever I write but I would have a separate domain for my serious writing efforts. And then I would try and market that domain. Even on facebook/twitter etc.
Only thing that I need to remain careful is that I dont want to be chasing readers and hits. And p.s. if you do read this blog, please please let me know (comments or emails or phone calls) that you do read this blog and I would send you a small questionnaire and see what can I do to improve things.
Subah Hone Na De
Heres something for the otherwise mundane boring Monday mornings.
If you haventheard this song danced your heart out on this song, you have missed a very important thing that life offered you. Next time you get an opportunity, try shaking a leg and you'd know what I meant.
If you havent
Home Alone 2012
Despite my age, I still live with my parents. Most Indian men in middle class families do so. Anyways, the point is that my parents have been away for a week. And I was all alone for those days. First time in I think three years when I was alone for this long. And I learnt a lot of things. I mean I have lived along in the past when I was in Mumbai, and that too for more than 2 years but somehow I dint realize things back then.
So here are few things that I have learnt/observed in the last few days when I have been home alone.
So here are few things that I have learnt/observed in the last few days when I have been home alone.
- When you are alone, you dont sulk. I was fucked up in my head read bad on Monday night. Normally, when I am fucked up, I go home and sulk. And sulk so bad that I dont even have my dinner, dont speak to my parents, shut myself in my room and just not do anything. But then when you dont have your parents, you dont know what to do when you want to sulk. Like, on Monday, I reached home, I was alone. I put on the TV, played some poker and slept. I woke up the next day as fresh as a baby. I mean I did ignore work that I was supposed to do but I dint sulk.
- Time expands to take up all available work. I could do everything that I was supposed to do/fix/buy etc. For a change I dint want opinion of my mom or dad to buy the soap or what to order for dinner. With lesser opinions, things get done faster. You get lot of free time. You actually create time. I used that time to live like a free bird. I could wake up at any time I wanted. I could sit anywhere in the entire house.
- Breakfast gets screwed. Ever since I came home from Mumbai, I have always had a good and heavy breakfast. And since my mom is the world best cook, the breakfast was super awesome. Compare it to a time when I was living alone. That time, I would grab a sandwich or a fruit on the way to work and thats about it. It also meant that I would have a heavy lunch and that translated into the 36" belly! To be honest, I dont like to be erratic with something as important as food but I dint have an option. Once I start staying alone again, I would put a schedule in place. I really like the diet that they taught us during Vipassana. Two simple meals and an empty stomach while sleeping.
- Simple tasks lose their meaning. Like every day when I get up, I am used to folding my rajai neatly into 5 folds and then putting it in an almirah where we store all other quilts, from all other rooms. Now with me living alone, I know that I would come back at night, goto the almirah, unfold the rajai, bring it to my bed and sleep with it. So today, while I was getting up, it occurred to me, that if I left it on the bed, it would be ok and actually save me trouble of folding it, storing it, retrieving it, opening it etc. Of course it's not about a mere rajai, but about larger things. This is how anarchy in initiated. Seemingly harmless things, balloon into stuff that is easily labeled anti establishment and we start talking of blasphemous ideas like revolutions!
- You hardly speak ten words (apart from conversations with your work colleagues). I have always had an innate need to speak up and express myself (a large reason why I maintain this blog). But when your folks are not home, you cant really speak to anyone (assuming you are married and sgMS is not around). Does that translate into more thoughts and more productive things? I am not too sure but its an area that is worth exploring.
- You party lot more. Since there is nothing that you do apart from office, that is anyways boring, you attend lot more parties. I partied on three consecutive nights. Each day I reached home well after midnight. And for the record, the number of times I went out is more than the combined number of times I have been inside a club. Ya, I am boring like that. I'd rather be on the open sky, on a highway, heading towards dunno where.
Dear sgMS
Dear sgMS,
Its been quite some time since we decided that things weren't going to work out between us and we need to move on. Of course its far easier said than done. And like we both knew all the time, that despite you being younger by more than a year, you are far more experienced in worldly matters. And you were the man in the relationship.
From the look of things, I guess, you did work on what we decided and you have indeed moved on. At least the constant barrage of messages, emails and phone calls has ceased from your side. Not that I wanted it to stop. I really really miss them. Every time the phone rings, something in me hopes its you. Every time there is an email, I hope its yet another picture of you that you would have clicked to show me the new accessory, dress or the gift you bought/got. Every-fucking-time baby!
You know, there hasn't been single a day when I haven't missed holding on to your hand. When I haven't wondered multiple times a day what would you be up to. In fact in my greatest moment of glory, when my entire world (of less than 10 people) was showering praises on me for being the best, something was amiss. Till five minutes back I dint know what it was. Now that I am writing this and thinking about you, I know it was you who I was missing. I had kept searching and searching through all the faces that I knew and it sucked to know that you weren't there. The damned victory felt incomplete. And you know that I don't win often and every such instance matters a lot.
You know that whatever I do, is never ever complete without your inputs. You lend me so much strength that even insurmountable tasks become easy. I become oblivious to all the hardships and obstacles. So much so I refuse to even acknowledge their presence. The X, that marks the victory target becomes so easy to spot and reach. Of course I am lazy and procrastinate all the time but with your reminders, some of which are really cute, got things done. If not sooner, then later. There was this game that I constantly played. Cook up an idea, make you privy to it and then see you make me bring that idea to life! With you not around, life ain't as much fun.
But then things change. Time changes. People change. You and I changed. From being inseparable, we grew comfortable living in different cities. And now a time has come when we no longer talk to each other and yet we continue to live. Survive in my case.
Of course both of us are extremely social. You have always had fans, friends and followers that were spread from New York to New Delhi, Surat to Sydney and Mumbai to London. I am sure you would have found comfort in their company. In fact some of them were really cool. So much so that it made me insecure. Though I told you that your friends make me insecure, and I have never admitted to this in the past, but when we were together I hardly had any issues with anyone. You were mine, you told me you were and that was all that mattered. But now, when we aren't together, for some strange reason I feel bad, really bad when I hear that you are meeting them. I hate it when I get to know that they send you gifts for even non-occasions. Its a right, that I thought I had reserved, for rest of our lives. But then I cant really control things. Can I?
You know, after you left, even God seems to have deserted me. Of course I have been His favorite child and things have fallen in my lap when I dint expect them to. Dint you happen to me by chance? Who could have thought you and I could be together. You, the princess. And I, the ugly frog. I still remember that kiss that changed it all. Ya, that awkward one. Always brings a smile. I cant believe I turned away from you. I know you'd hold it against me for rest of our lives! There are tons of moments like that, and I can talk about them forever.
But then, I cant really live in the past. I need to look up to what future holds for me. There are dreams that I have always had. I need to work on them and get cracking. I know it would become all the more difficult without God and your shoulder for support. But I would still chase em. Its a different story that once I do get to those milestones, I will not be celebrating them. There cant really be any celebration when some part of me is away from me.
Baby, this is one those letters that I know would not reach you and even if it did, I know, it wont make an iota of difference to you. But then its my karma to write. What it does, what effect it has, I cant really control. And even if I could, I wouldn't. I'd do my bit and then let things take their course. I had to write this because I was missing you like hell. I try not to!
I think that's about it for the time being. Hope you are doing good. Hope you are as strong as I have known you to be. Hope you are happy. I know I need to move on and all that. I am trying. Trust me.
Till next time,
Always,
SG
Its been quite some time since we decided that things weren't going to work out between us and we need to move on. Of course its far easier said than done. And like we both knew all the time, that despite you being younger by more than a year, you are far more experienced in worldly matters. And you were the man in the relationship.
From the look of things, I guess, you did work on what we decided and you have indeed moved on. At least the constant barrage of messages, emails and phone calls has ceased from your side. Not that I wanted it to stop. I really really miss them. Every time the phone rings, something in me hopes its you. Every time there is an email, I hope its yet another picture of you that you would have clicked to show me the new accessory, dress or the gift you bought/got. Every-fucking-time baby!
You know, there hasn't been single a day when I haven't missed holding on to your hand. When I haven't wondered multiple times a day what would you be up to. In fact in my greatest moment of glory, when my entire world (of less than 10 people) was showering praises on me for being the best, something was amiss. Till five minutes back I dint know what it was. Now that I am writing this and thinking about you, I know it was you who I was missing. I had kept searching and searching through all the faces that I knew and it sucked to know that you weren't there. The damned victory felt incomplete. And you know that I don't win often and every such instance matters a lot.
You know that whatever I do, is never ever complete without your inputs. You lend me so much strength that even insurmountable tasks become easy. I become oblivious to all the hardships and obstacles. So much so I refuse to even acknowledge their presence. The X, that marks the victory target becomes so easy to spot and reach. Of course I am lazy and procrastinate all the time but with your reminders, some of which are really cute, got things done. If not sooner, then later. There was this game that I constantly played. Cook up an idea, make you privy to it and then see you make me bring that idea to life! With you not around, life ain't as much fun.
But then things change. Time changes. People change. You and I changed. From being inseparable, we grew comfortable living in different cities. And now a time has come when we no longer talk to each other and yet we continue to live. Survive in my case.
Of course both of us are extremely social. You have always had fans, friends and followers that were spread from New York to New Delhi, Surat to Sydney and Mumbai to London. I am sure you would have found comfort in their company. In fact some of them were really cool. So much so that it made me insecure. Though I told you that your friends make me insecure, and I have never admitted to this in the past, but when we were together I hardly had any issues with anyone. You were mine, you told me you were and that was all that mattered. But now, when we aren't together, for some strange reason I feel bad, really bad when I hear that you are meeting them. I hate it when I get to know that they send you gifts for even non-occasions. Its a right, that I thought I had reserved, for rest of our lives. But then I cant really control things. Can I?
You know, after you left, even God seems to have deserted me. Of course I have been His favorite child and things have fallen in my lap when I dint expect them to. Dint you happen to me by chance? Who could have thought you and I could be together. You, the princess. And I, the ugly frog. I still remember that kiss that changed it all. Ya, that awkward one. Always brings a smile. I cant believe I turned away from you. I know you'd hold it against me for rest of our lives! There are tons of moments like that, and I can talk about them forever.
But then, I cant really live in the past. I need to look up to what future holds for me. There are dreams that I have always had. I need to work on them and get cracking. I know it would become all the more difficult without God and your shoulder for support. But I would still chase em. Its a different story that once I do get to those milestones, I will not be celebrating them. There cant really be any celebration when some part of me is away from me.
Baby, this is one those letters that I know would not reach you and even if it did, I know, it wont make an iota of difference to you. But then its my karma to write. What it does, what effect it has, I cant really control. And even if I could, I wouldn't. I'd do my bit and then let things take their course. I had to write this because I was missing you like hell. I try not to!
I think that's about it for the time being. Hope you are doing good. Hope you are as strong as I have known you to be. Hope you are happy. I know I need to move on and all that. I am trying. Trust me.
Till next time,
Always,
SG
Curious case of bluetooth headsets
If you read this blog regularly or follow me on twitter (I am @saurabh and @sgSandbox on twitter), you would know that I drive for more than 4 hours and 100 KMs almost everyday. Blame it on the distance between my home and office. And since the drive is such a mundane and boring part of the day, I hate to waste it. Ever since I got onto the productivity drive, I thought if I gathered all the calls that I am supposed make (and return) and made them while driving, I could utilize my time.
But then Delhi Police is super efficient. They have a vision better than the stump vision and the hawk's eye and they are experts at spotting people who are driving and talking on the phone. And to save on those unnecessary traffic challans and further waste of time arguing with the cops, I decided to buy a bluetooth headset.
A bluetooth headset is a wonderful device if you ask me. It allows you to speak on the phone and yet let your hands remain free. I could do the same thing if I put my phone on a loudspeaker but then the voice quality is really bad. And then the headset comes for like a thousand bucks.
So using headsets is a no-brainer if you ask me. I bought one and could actually drive and talk and get a lot of thing done. Totally loved it. Till, I realize that these tiny devices need to be charged often. And for the same you need to bring them out of the car. And once they are out of the car, they have the tendency to get lost. As of writing this, I have lost about 5 such devices. The last one, about two hours back when I was out meeting a friend. And it has been bothering me since then. I am the kinds who likes to keep things at their place and I try to be organized. Losing things is something that is just cant tolerate.
And you know the worst part? I would have to buy it once again. I consider it that important a gadget. And I think this time, rather than the bluetooth headset, I would buy a wired headset with a mic. Atleast the wire will stay attached to the phone and hopefully I would not lose it. And since the wired ones are cheaper, I would not lose a lot of money, even if I lost it!
But then Delhi Police is super efficient. They have a vision better than the stump vision and the hawk's eye and they are experts at spotting people who are driving and talking on the phone. And to save on those unnecessary traffic challans and further waste of time arguing with the cops, I decided to buy a bluetooth headset.
A bluetooth headset is a wonderful device if you ask me. It allows you to speak on the phone and yet let your hands remain free. I could do the same thing if I put my phone on a loudspeaker but then the voice quality is really bad. And then the headset comes for like a thousand bucks.
So using headsets is a no-brainer if you ask me. I bought one and could actually drive and talk and get a lot of thing done. Totally loved it. Till, I realize that these tiny devices need to be charged often. And for the same you need to bring them out of the car. And once they are out of the car, they have the tendency to get lost. As of writing this, I have lost about 5 such devices. The last one, about two hours back when I was out meeting a friend. And it has been bothering me since then. I am the kinds who likes to keep things at their place and I try to be organized. Losing things is something that is just cant tolerate.
And you know the worst part? I would have to buy it once again. I consider it that important a gadget. And I think this time, rather than the bluetooth headset, I would buy a wired headset with a mic. Atleast the wire will stay attached to the phone and hopefully I would not lose it. And since the wired ones are cheaper, I would not lose a lot of money, even if I lost it!
The lonliest job in the world
Of all the things that people chose to do with their lives, there are some people who knowingly or inadvertently chose stupid ones. Gynecology comes immediately to mind. I mean there is nothing wrong with being the hands of God and helping bring a new life to this wonderful world but why would you want to subject yourself to blood and flesh all the time? And why would you chose to work for something where you could be called anytime anywhere and as a result, wreck havoc with your personal life? There are more such professions but I am not talking about tough ones right now. I am here to create a list of lonely jobs.
So, I define a lonely job as something where in the process of discharging their duties, people are left to themselves and all they have for company is monotony and their thoughts. The main aur meri tanhai kinds. I know there must be lot of people who like doing such things but then I wish I could peep into their brains and understand what drives them.
Anyways, here is an indicative list of things that I think could qualify for being the lonliest jobs in the world
So, I define a lonely job as something where in the process of discharging their duties, people are left to themselves and all they have for company is monotony and their thoughts. The main aur meri tanhai kinds. I know there must be lot of people who like doing such things but then I wish I could peep into their brains and understand what drives them.
Anyways, here is an indicative list of things that I think could qualify for being the lonliest jobs in the world
- A security guard. Recently at the Auto Expo, I realized that the security guards that we hired for helping us manage the maddening crowds probably had the lonliest job of em all. I mean they are expected to stand for upwards of 12 hours and manage people. It has to be the most monotonous job in the world. Doing the same shit over and over again all the time. And then when you are not managing crowds and just manning a gate for example, you have nothing but the scenery to keep you company. Of course people change, situations change but end of the day, it remains the same.
- A model standing next to a car in an auto show. The model has to have that regulation, plastic smile on her face all the time. And more than that, she has to stand with her back straight. Worst, she cant engage in any small talk with anyone. She is just expected to stare in the zero and smile and ensure that her back is straight. Ofcourse she is paid a bomb and she gets to chose the guy she wants and all that but come on!
- The liftman. Ofcourse. All he does in his entire day is press some buttons and solve sudokus and croswords. There are people that he is supposed to greet, salute etc but he must be really lonely. Imagine shutting yourself down in a 3 feet by 3 feet cubicle for an entire day and play with buttons. And he doesnt even have a water cooler that he could visit to engage in office gossip.
- The sentry at a remote watchpost. Someone manning a light house. Or someone guarding a royal palace. In fact I have thought of a love story of a royal guard and the princess. The guard has nothing to do but stare at the emptiness and the princess has nothing to do but indulge in vanities. Her best friend happens to be the daughter of the chef at the royal palace. The best friend, because she is a commoner has easier access to the sentry. The princess falls in love with the concept of a lover. And then like all other love stories, there is deciet, lust, emotions, harmones, anger, betrayl etc. Still a concept under development. What do you think of it?
- A farmer. A poor farmer who toils the entire day in the field by himself. All he has for company is his crop, the sun and some hopes. The man works so hard that he doesnt even have time to think of things that perplex people like me all the time!
I think thats about it for the time being. I am sure there are more such professions that I am missing. Do you know of some?
Open Letter to 2012
Dear 2012,
Welcome! You are finally here. You took some time but you did arrive.
For some time, I actually thought you would not come at all. No, I am serious. You took forever. I mean dude you are only supposed to take as much time as it takes for a second to go around a year. Not this long. And when you are waiting for something to happen, time goes around slower. Anyways I dont know about others but I have been waiting for you very very desperately.
You know the reasons. You know everything. 2011 was supposed to be the year when I was to get rich and famous. Remember that pandit that made that prediction when I was born? And the funny name that he bestowed upon me? Thankfully better sense in my mom and dad prevailed and they named me Saurabh. Coming back, 2011 was a big dampner and things dint happen the way they were supposed to. And now, my dear friend, I am pinning my hopes on you.
You may argue that there are rumors that you would be the last year that us humans would see. I dont know how true they are but whatever may be the case, you need to be good to me. If you are the last year, I would die knowing that finally the lady luck shined on me and if you arent, at least things would continue in the future. Either ways I win. And I need to win big. You know the goals that I have set for myself. I know they are steep but there is no reason that I cant achieve them. I have already set the ball in motion. You just need to give me some momentum.
I think thats about it. And I hope you are good to me and everyone else. Thank you once again.
Regards,
SG
Welcome! You are finally here. You took some time but you did arrive.
For some time, I actually thought you would not come at all. No, I am serious. You took forever. I mean dude you are only supposed to take as much time as it takes for a second to go around a year. Not this long. And when you are waiting for something to happen, time goes around slower. Anyways I dont know about others but I have been waiting for you very very desperately.
You know the reasons. You know everything. 2011 was supposed to be the year when I was to get rich and famous. Remember that pandit that made that prediction when I was born? And the funny name that he bestowed upon me? Thankfully better sense in my mom and dad prevailed and they named me Saurabh. Coming back, 2011 was a big dampner and things dint happen the way they were supposed to. And now, my dear friend, I am pinning my hopes on you.
You may argue that there are rumors that you would be the last year that us humans would see. I dont know how true they are but whatever may be the case, you need to be good to me. If you are the last year, I would die knowing that finally the lady luck shined on me and if you arent, at least things would continue in the future. Either ways I win. And I need to win big. You know the goals that I have set for myself. I know they are steep but there is no reason that I cant achieve them. I have already set the ball in motion. You just need to give me some momentum.
I think thats about it. And I hope you are good to me and everyone else. Thank you once again.
Regards,
SG
Some questions from Auto Expo 2012
Yet again, I am staring at a blank screen and have no clue what to write about. I am sitting in a green room behind one of the largest stalls at the largest automobiles exhibition in India. I have an entire circus running downstairs. There are more than 100 people that are managing the crowd, not including the security and cleaning staff. And there must be more than 20, 000 people in the hall. Easily. And I am not exaggerating.
So there are a few questions that I have and I have no answers. May be you have some?
- Who are all those people who stand in queue for more than an hour to enter a hall that is merely showcasing cars, that anyways you see on the roads, newspapers, Internet all the time.
- Who are all those people who use their elbows, knees and other joints at their whims and try and make space for I dont know whom.
- Who are the brand managers who agree to spend probably crores on these exhibitions where all you display is skin and glamour? And this, when on the backend, automobile industry is as bland and as mundane as a plain white sheet.
- Do these exhibitions actually help the brand? May be it does with all the media coverage? Does any brand manager actually track returns on their spends on these exhibitions?
- Why is that everyone cooks up something that no one could even imagine existed, and that too at the drop of the hat, and all this when they have had ages to plan for it?
- And finally, why this, why this Kolaveri Di?
Any answers anyone?
Jan 04, 2012. Bored.
I have been staring at this empty blogger panel for last ten minutes. I have been trying to write a piece of fiction. I am thinking of plots. I thought about a serial killer plot who stalks his victims before he kills them. Then I thought about a school teacher who works as an extra in the cheesy movies to escape his monotonous life of teaching maths to third graders. Then I thought about a farmer who wants to go live in the comforts of a city. I also thought about reinterpretation of the classic that I love the most - the Mahabharata.
Of course there is no end to the number of plot ideas you can cook. The challenge is to be able to bring these stories to their conclusion. In the past, I have realized that I simply dont have what it takes to be able to create a huge body of work. I simply lose interest after a while. More than that, I am easily distracted. And hence its easy for the next shiny object to get my attention away and stop me in my tracks.
But there are times when I am completely in the zone and I can work for hours. But then moment I take a break, I lose it. So I need to be able to figure out a way to concentrate on things. I have tried things in the past. from Vipassana to music to sitting in an empty room to breaking the task into tiny sub tasks to even bribing myself. Like they say, its easy to control everything but the mind. I wonder what Devdutt has to say about it. Actually a good idea. I will try and mail Devdutt and ask him this question. Ans as I was working on this post, playing poker, listening to music and replying to a message, I did manage to send an email to Devdutt asking him about this. Hope he replies.
In an ideal world, I would have ended the post right here but then when I started writing it, I did not know what all would I write. And to do justice, I cant really end it like I end all my other posts. The end has to be as unpredictable as the beginning and the rest of the post. I think I am just bored. And come to think of it, there has to be an outlet for all the people who are bored of their wits. I did try something. Remember n00b.in anyone? Wondering if there is any merit in reviving it? I dont think so to be honest because I am anyways flooded with work. Really? Why, then my friend, aren't you writing this and investing your precious time on working and writing something that is adding absolutely no value to you.
Bas ab khatam.
Of course there is no end to the number of plot ideas you can cook. The challenge is to be able to bring these stories to their conclusion. In the past, I have realized that I simply dont have what it takes to be able to create a huge body of work. I simply lose interest after a while. More than that, I am easily distracted. And hence its easy for the next shiny object to get my attention away and stop me in my tracks.
But there are times when I am completely in the zone and I can work for hours. But then moment I take a break, I lose it. So I need to be able to figure out a way to concentrate on things. I have tried things in the past. from Vipassana to music to sitting in an empty room to breaking the task into tiny sub tasks to even bribing myself. Like they say, its easy to control everything but the mind. I wonder what Devdutt has to say about it. Actually a good idea. I will try and mail Devdutt and ask him this question. Ans as I was working on this post, playing poker, listening to music and replying to a message, I did manage to send an email to Devdutt asking him about this. Hope he replies.
In an ideal world, I would have ended the post right here but then when I started writing it, I did not know what all would I write. And to do justice, I cant really end it like I end all my other posts. The end has to be as unpredictable as the beginning and the rest of the post. I think I am just bored. And come to think of it, there has to be an outlet for all the people who are bored of their wits. I did try something. Remember n00b.in anyone? Wondering if there is any merit in reviving it? I dont think so to be honest because I am anyways flooded with work. Really? Why, then my friend, aren't you writing this and investing your precious time on working and writing something that is adding absolutely no value to you.
Bas ab khatam.
Bawra Man Dekhne Chala Ek Sapna
I love iTunes. And not just because its a brilliant music player but because it has this feature called Shuffle. All the shuffle features are brilliant in the sense that they allow for serendipity, the happy accidents. I came to office, booted my PC and then put on iTunes. I clicked on shuffle and it played Bawra Man by Swanand Kirkire.
O M G !
I havent heard that song in a long long time. Months I think. And this is when I love it. Probably more than any other song. Even more than all the Lucky Ali and Mohit Chauhan ones. I love it for the lyrics, the way Swanand has sang it, the way he has written it. Its the complete package if you ask me.
Everytime I hear this song, I get lost in my world where I let my imagination take over. I can conjure images of two people madly in love. The guy is full of ambition and wants to do well in life. Like me, he is dreamy, eternal optimist, knows no rules and has no respect for the status quo. And the woman, is rock solid and is the foundation on which the guy would create his empire. The woman would act at the support, the guide, the latch that keeps the guy grounded. The two are different as chalk and cheese and are yet inseparable. They complement each other beautifully. So much so that its hard to even think of them as individuals. And I can think of so many shots! Like they sharing a Kulfi at a busy market. Or they travelling in car full of family and friends and yet talking to each other, with their eyes and looks. Or a shot in bed where they embrace each other and sleep curled up like babies. And a shot the next morning when they are in the kitchen together, getting ready to take on the world. There are so so many things that I can think of. If I ever become a film director or something, I would shoot this one before anything else. I think I can do at least this much for the great song.
Anyways, coming back to the real world, the best line I think is "Bawre sey ek jahan main bawara ek saath ho // Is sayani bheed main bas haathon main tera haath ho". Has the entire life's philosophy in a mere two lines. Thats all that we crave for no? Someone who we can share our lives with?
O M G !
I havent heard that song in a long long time. Months I think. And this is when I love it. Probably more than any other song. Even more than all the Lucky Ali and Mohit Chauhan ones. I love it for the lyrics, the way Swanand has sang it, the way he has written it. Its the complete package if you ask me.
Everytime I hear this song, I get lost in my world where I let my imagination take over. I can conjure images of two people madly in love. The guy is full of ambition and wants to do well in life. Like me, he is dreamy, eternal optimist, knows no rules and has no respect for the status quo. And the woman, is rock solid and is the foundation on which the guy would create his empire. The woman would act at the support, the guide, the latch that keeps the guy grounded. The two are different as chalk and cheese and are yet inseparable. They complement each other beautifully. So much so that its hard to even think of them as individuals. And I can think of so many shots! Like they sharing a Kulfi at a busy market. Or they travelling in car full of family and friends and yet talking to each other, with their eyes and looks. Or a shot in bed where they embrace each other and sleep curled up like babies. And a shot the next morning when they are in the kitchen together, getting ready to take on the world. There are so so many things that I can think of. If I ever become a film director or something, I would shoot this one before anything else. I think I can do at least this much for the great song.
Anyways, coming back to the real world, the best line I think is "Bawre sey ek jahan main bawara ek saath ho // Is sayani bheed main bas haathon main tera haath ho". Has the entire life's philosophy in a mere two lines. Thats all that we crave for no? Someone who we can share our lives with?
Epitaph of a hero
I did it!
I have been waiting for it for over a year now. It was always so close and yet so far. Like that trek that you go for, when the summit is always just a stone's throw away and yet you need to walk a thousand miles to be able to even touch it. You can feel it in the air, you can see it, you know you can conquer it and yet it takes you so long. Two years, in my case. Two long years.
I think more than me, everyone around me was waiting for it. Everyone I met, everywhere I went, everything I read, was invariably about it. "When are you doing it?", "Please do it soon.", "We cant wait.", I started getting tired of all the comments. I know that all of them were my friends and they really want me to do it. But after a point, the words became harsh and got into a very narrow zone. It sort of became the final frontier. Its like that last thing that a man can do. It started to feel that I'd die after this. Its like my epitaph is being written and everyone's waiting for me to etch my final words on it.
What people dint realize was that I am a mere mortal and I too have dreams. And insecurities. I too want to scale the peak. And I do get scared every time I get an opportunity. And of course more than my personal achievements, I need to fend for a larger cause. I represent a collective. I can never let my focus wander and chase personal glories. If only words could describe the pressure you are under when you have more than a billion people expecting you to entertain them and live their lives.
I think that is what it boils down to. Live their lives. More than myself, I am living lives of millions others. Everyone has the potential to do great things but they dont really get as many opportunities as I have got. I got lucky I guess. What do they call it? Ovarian Lottery I think. And when I do well, they probably see themselves doing well. They celebrate my success, as if they have played a significant part. Of course they do. A performer can never survive without patrons! And they are sad everytime I perform poorly. As if they are responsible for my failure. And no, its me, am individual that fails to perform my duty, my karma, everytime I fail. For others, if I dont do well, they can move on. I on the other hand, am left alone. To reflect on things. Trust me, someone rightly said, its really lonely at the top.
But now that I have done it, I think I can take a sigh of relief. All my life I have been measured by everyone along a long highway dotted with milestones. It took me a while but I have crossed all the milestones. And now there are no more milestones to chase, the onus is on me to set the new ones for people who would walk on this road in times to come. This is what every artist wants to be! A benchmark. A milestone on the sands of time.
And you know the best part? I can now go out and play like a kid. The way I used to, when I first walked out on a cricket pitch and had the entire ground at the mercy of my strokes.
I have been waiting for it for over a year now. It was always so close and yet so far. Like that trek that you go for, when the summit is always just a stone's throw away and yet you need to walk a thousand miles to be able to even touch it. You can feel it in the air, you can see it, you know you can conquer it and yet it takes you so long. Two years, in my case. Two long years.
I think more than me, everyone around me was waiting for it. Everyone I met, everywhere I went, everything I read, was invariably about it. "When are you doing it?", "Please do it soon.", "We cant wait.", I started getting tired of all the comments. I know that all of them were my friends and they really want me to do it. But after a point, the words became harsh and got into a very narrow zone. It sort of became the final frontier. Its like that last thing that a man can do. It started to feel that I'd die after this. Its like my epitaph is being written and everyone's waiting for me to etch my final words on it.
What people dint realize was that I am a mere mortal and I too have dreams. And insecurities. I too want to scale the peak. And I do get scared every time I get an opportunity. And of course more than my personal achievements, I need to fend for a larger cause. I represent a collective. I can never let my focus wander and chase personal glories. If only words could describe the pressure you are under when you have more than a billion people expecting you to entertain them and live their lives.
I think that is what it boils down to. Live their lives. More than myself, I am living lives of millions others. Everyone has the potential to do great things but they dont really get as many opportunities as I have got. I got lucky I guess. What do they call it? Ovarian Lottery I think. And when I do well, they probably see themselves doing well. They celebrate my success, as if they have played a significant part. Of course they do. A performer can never survive without patrons! And they are sad everytime I perform poorly. As if they are responsible for my failure. And no, its me, am individual that fails to perform my duty, my karma, everytime I fail. For others, if I dont do well, they can move on. I on the other hand, am left alone. To reflect on things. Trust me, someone rightly said, its really lonely at the top.
But now that I have done it, I think I can take a sigh of relief. All my life I have been measured by everyone along a long highway dotted with milestones. It took me a while but I have crossed all the milestones. And now there are no more milestones to chase, the onus is on me to set the new ones for people who would walk on this road in times to come. This is what every artist wants to be! A benchmark. A milestone on the sands of time.
And you know the best part? I can now go out and play like a kid. The way I used to, when I first walked out on a cricket pitch and had the entire ground at the mercy of my strokes.
Say hello to Categories!
Starting today, when I write blogposts, I would try to club them into categories. Like typical categories that any wordpress blog has.
I have been using labels for a long time but I think categories is also a must. It helps identify posts with the same context. One may argue that labels are supposed to do the same thing, put all posts with a context in the same place. But, the simple answer is that (at least) I use labels frivolously and I create labels for fucks sake at the drop of the hat. With categories, I plan to be more organized and serious. Like this post for example. The labels could be personal, blogging, wordpress, blogger, thoughts etc. But if I was to put category to this one, I would say Blogging. I would use the plain old hashtag. So some categories that I have been able to think are #poker, #horrorStoriesFromWork, #attemptsAtFiction.
And no, I am not putting any categories on this post. May be I can put this post under #notifications? May be not!
First post of 2012
I have been trying to write this for quite some weeks now. I started with thinking I would write about the year gone by and review all the posts. I started and could not finish it. Then I said I would talk about my most favorite post of the year. Again, I starting writing, and could not finish it. There were reasons and there were thoughts, too long to be constrained to a small blogpost. Then I said I would talk about why 2011 sucked so much and how I had been waiting for it for more than five years. But I couldn't finish it.
But then I had to write something. After all I am an aspiringwriter storyteller and I have to be able to write well tell compelling stories. Even if the stories are boring and mundane, I should be able to make them interesting by the way I tell them. And to be able to tell good stories, I realize that I need to write often. More I write, better I get (apparently) and hence this blog. And this post. Like Yogi says, "You can't think and hit the ball at the same time". I ought to hit, hit and hit.
Anyways, after the longish introduction, coming onto the first post of 2012, let me do something that is as cliches as white safari suit and white shoes. I shall talk about my resolutions for the year. Without further ado, here is a quick list.
But then I had to write something. After all I am an aspiring
Anyways, after the longish introduction, coming onto the first post of 2012, let me do something that is as cliches as white safari suit and white shoes. I shall talk about my resolutions for the year. Without further ado, here is a quick list.
- Lose weight. This has to be the most common resolution. If I owned a gym, I would promptly drop the prices of memberships, get as many members to pay for it and then retire to Goa. And if all the people who have promised that they would lose weight, the sea level would actually drop!
- Eat right. At least once a day. I plan to stop having dinner. Vipassana taught me how to live on two means a day (just a simple breakfast and lunch) and I was fine with it. I plan to do that. I will try and achieve it by end of January. I am not sure if I can but I will try hard.
- Continue to not drink Coke. I stopped drinking coke in 2011. So far I have resisted the temptation to restart it but I will try to not have it as long as I could. I dont know if it does any harm to my health but I know any sort of addiction is uncalled for. And I know that once I start having coke, I would get hooked on. So why take a chance!
- Get Leh'd. I have been dreaming about the trip for a long long time. I have made plans and failed. This year hopefully I would go to Leh. With sgElectra.
- Play poker more seriously. I have been toying with it, off and on, for last two or so years. I have now reached a stage where I think I am an average player and I have a keen interest in the game. And with almost two years of non-serious play, I have developed a fair amount of understanding and gut for it. Its about time I capitalize on it. I plan to play more and hopefully goto more live games. But then this is something I am not too sure about. I dont have the money to invest that the game calls for.
- Start making a lot of money. I have had the pleasure of chasing my dreams and working for companies that you don't often associate management graduates with. Its been fun ride but as a result I have been left poor. Now that I am almost at my half life, I need to fend for myself. And I need to start making money. Btw, any recruitment placement hr consultants reading this (three keywords in one line ought to attract some bots)? I am a MDI graduate with almost 5 years of solid brand management and advertising experience. I just need a lot of money and I will sell my soul if I have to. You know where to reach me.
- Ensure that all the resolutions listed above. :)
And ofcourse this is no way a complete list. I would keep adding things to it. 2012 could be the last year for us humans and I better make the best use of it. I need to live it up. And, if, by any chance, this is not the last year, I am sure having done these things would do no harm. It would only help. Right?
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