..."Being satisfied is not unwise, but being comfortably numb is"...

... it was another random post on my FB wall... a sarcastic 'info-graphic' that we humans (Hindus actually!) got involved in so many legendary wars only because of women... the info-graphic said that the Ramayana and Mahabharata and what not happened are all because of women... in various forms it is the feminine counterpart of ours that has led to the confrontation of us mortals... err... even immortals!

... and if i were to introspect superficially, it is very likely that i might end up drawing same or similar conclusion... and end up blaming women for any and everything bad that has happened in the history of (hold your breath!) mankind! ... ever wondered why it is never womankind? i mean... where are all the feminists? why not make a huge hue and cry about this as well? it's no longer chairman or fireman or policeman ... u got the drift...

... but something else caught my attention... not exactly "the other side of the story" or "the other face of the coin" but let's call it "the other effect"... taking cue from accountants' language... the credit-debit effect and stuff like that... i started wondering if it is correct in interpreting women's role like that... i mean... remember that joke where a dying man recalls, to her wife sitting nearby, that she's been with him in every bad thing that ever happened to him; and then he drops the punchline-"you brought me bad luck" or something to that effect... i must admit i giggled when i heard that joke first time... and it was almost a decade ago... i was naive...

... my point is: women have played a pivotal role whenever there's been a stalemate in the history of... well... mankind... there are uncountable anecdotes from the Hindu mythology about women getting involved when things needed change and even with my very limited exposure towards such sources i can think of many such stories...the one that captured my innocent fascination some decades ago was about the concept of revered shiv-ling... i was visiting my nanihaal and there's one of the most important shiv-ling temple... from that story i took an off-shoot and was captivated by one of the most seductive narration about the various forms of Shakti and her various forms... called as Durga Saptshati... it can be very "in your face" at some point of narration...

... why i'm talking about it here? we're in the midst of navratris and i'm getting even more drawn towards the other half of men... the better half... more conscious, more aware, more concerned about them...

(caption credit: via Himani)

"The more difficult the challenge, the more room there is for real value to be built."

... it just dawned upon me that its been quite a while I wrote on my blog… and that too after I introduced it to this young charted accountant … who’s now in that exclusive list of people who get the access to some of my zealously guarded thoughts and feelings and emotions (not necessarily related to financial stuff!)…

… twenty twelve is already becoming (another) busy year in my thirty years of existence on this planet… and I am not complaining… the decision to go back to college to start my masters program in management is turning out to be good one… it’s keeping me busy with things that are adding value not only to my intellect but also to my sphere of influence…

… Also, the first quarter of the twenty twelve has made me sit and take notice of the money that I was bleeding out… I was not careful towards the savings that I was supposed to ‘declare’ and other benefits that I was entitled to… and I was paying the government more than what was due on my part… the seeds of this ‘awareness’ were sown by Vikas during our lazy casual chat after our scrumptious lunch at his home sometime in January during my visit to Delhi and what made an indelible impression on my fluidic grey matter was the ease with which the money matter can be handled… I always carried this ‘IT guy’ impression about Vikas and there he was, stumping me with his financial acumen… and he didn’t just let me go with my ‘promise’ about me-working-on-the-money-matter… he followed it up… and I’m glad he did…Dad’s visit to Pune in late February only amplified this momentum… when it comes to details, he’s not easy to convince… so there I was… getting ‘personalized advice’ on my finances… things are improving up a bit… and I’m pretty happy about it…

… and then there is that one aspect of life that provides reason(s) to do what we do on a continuing basis… as I said… it’s not easy for me to bare my opinions and feelings and emotions for debate or discuss… but I am treading on this path, tempted to walk that extra mile…

"One may calculate the value of a man from the number of his enemies." -Gustave Flaubert

... it's an old wisdom that u need to keep that ax sharp if u need to keep using it to cut the trees... and I guess it holds true with almost anything that u need for your survival on this planet... among other things, this metaphoric ax could be your mind...

... and this stark reality hit my face on twelfth of February ... the instruction were clear, report at 0900 hrs at the test center, which happens to be our Asia-Pacific HQ... February 12th was turning out to be one heck of a hot date on my calendar... I was supposed to appear for one of the most fabled talent management program conducted by Tata Motors - The Fast Track Selection Scheme a.k.a. FTSS... the only other program that comes closer to FTSS is TAS... however, TAS being a launch pad to other Tata Group companies as well, is not as fervently discussed in the circles here as is the FTSS...

... the morning was warm, though I could feel slight nip in the air... as we all waited there in the lobby, this HR lady walked in and suggested that we may take breakfast... we happily took the suggestion and filled our tummy with poha and sandwiches along with tea... got ourselves registered at the designated test and then waited... then waited some more... and even more...

... never in my life while appearing for any competitive test I felt so 'light' mentally... any more lighter and they would have to tie me down... the test was quite a learning experience... they all are... and since I was attempting this test without the pressure to clear it made all the difference... I could focus on things that I usually don't while appearing in exams... for example the computer monitors, AC ducts, absence of fans (duh!), chairs... u get the drift...

... u see... my objective for appearing for this test was not to clear it and succeed... my objective was to break the halo this test carried... the fable and stories and aura... I could see right through the clutter and make a mental note of how anyone should attempt this test... in other words... how I will attempt this test next time!