5 reasons why I like Delhi Winters

These reasons are the realizations that I get during the winter months in Delhi which I would have missed in a place with mild winters.

Reason5: Winters make me realize the blessing of summer dressing when wearing one layer over another adds to my unease but I still shiver with cold.

Reason4: They make me realize the importance of advent of lip balm and moisturizing lotions when I feel the pain while giving presentations with cracked lips and try hard to hold the marker with dry hands.

Reason3: Whenever I use water geysers, heat convectors and exercise machines, I realize the importance of the gadgets invented with the purpose of providing warmth.

Reason2: When I miss out the turns on the road while driving, due to the winter fogs, I realize the importance of clear skies. The misty windscreen further makes me realize the significance of a clear dry weather.

Reason1: The benevolent warmth of the Sun in the chilly breeze makes me realize
why Sun is worshipped as God in India.

How does one meet an old friend one hasn't talked to in months; a friend with whom one has shared many personal experiences ; a friend who is more of a identity of oneself. How does one start the conversation? By saying " I missed you but couldn't make it to you? or should one simply start off the next conversation as if there was never any gap? Wouldn't that be rude? Various such questions have crossed my mind whenever i have sat down to re-unite with my blog in the past one month. So this is to say i am through with my blog vacation and ready to share some more experiences, feelings with this friend!

Toastmasters

One of the simplest art that could have been acquired by humans is the art to converse. This seems to be the only thing that comes so easily and naturally to us. But lets ponder over this for a while. Does it really come that easily to all of us? In the basic sense - yes. But being an ambitious species, a human being's quest for reaching various milestones in both personal and professional life requires him to do public speaking. There are a lot of other skills in the initial stages which take priority and this communication/ conversation/ public speaking bug bites us a little less unless of course we want to go for a course like MBA. What we fail to notice at this stage is that the goods we are to deliver at our job and in our personal life are not complete without conveying out the right information by the right means. And when we begin to lose out because of lack of communication skills, we realize that it's time to develop this very fundamental skill. All that we need for this is an awareness of our needs and goals, the company of other human beings who can provide constructive feedback, an informal yet structured technique, and a platform to practice the technique.

This is exactly what Toastmasters club has to offer. Toastmasters was started in 1924 in US and now it has nearly 15000 clubs in 90 countries.I've heard Toastmasters has 2 other community clubs as well in Delhi. The maximum number of Toastmasters club in India are Bangalore formed mostly within big IT companies. The reason for starting this club was the research findings that nearly 70-80% of the people have the fear of public speaking. For some who don't have this fear , becoming a Toastmasters might give them that extra edge as far as their communication skillls are concerned. And for someone who wants to overcome the fear of public speaking, it might be a Leap of faith - at least in the initial period. So i'm looking forward to joining this club which is being established within my company premises in Noida.

The 8th Habit

Here are a few of the many goodies i've discovered in the book The 8th Habit by Stephen Covey-
1. Covey believes that by following these 4 simple assumptions we can immediately begin leading a more balanced, integrated, powerful life.

a. For the body - assume you've had a heart attack, now live accordingly.
b. For the mind - assume the half-life of your profession is 2 years, now prepare accordingly.
c. For the heart - assume everything you say about another, they can overhear; now speak accordingly.
d. For the spirit -assume you have a one-on-one visit with your Creator every quarter; now live accordingly.


2. Quote from T.S. Eliot: We must never cease from exploring. At the end of all of our exploring will be to arrive at where we began and know the place for the first time."

3.Quote from author, founder/CEO emeritus of Visa International, Dee Hock:
"The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get the old ones out."

4. This link has the real treasure http://www.8thHabit.com/offers: It has a collection of 15 very short movies. The movies
carry a strong message for advancement of the one or more of the 4 human capacities: Body, Mind, Heart & Spirit.

To watch the movies goto the link http://www.8thhabit.com/offers, fill in the required info and select "8th Habit Companion Films"
from the Drop down and submit.

Rang de Basanti

Few months ago, I along wth my team members had a choice to watch Subhash Chandra Bose or Black. Even though we were patriots at heart ,we chose to watch Black, as we thought SC Bose would be like a documentary and thus may not be enjoyable. The movie Rang De Basanti is different. It is a patriotic and a thought provoking movie – while also giving us the reason why we should learn our lessons of freedom struggle. And it manages to teach us those lessons in the way we would actively seek them - along with lots of doses of fun and masti. The movie has it’s message loud and clear, we are once again slaves of a foreign ruler – of corruption, of bad politics, and we need another revolution. We have our valiant freedom fighters to guide us in our pursuit of truth and freedom.Once again India should start talking about kranti or the revolution and once again our songs should portray what Ramprasad Bismil portrayed in Sarfaroshi ki tamamnna. The song to check out in the movie is Ae Saala. Hats off to Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra for making us feel proud to be Indians and taking a step forward to awaken the youth of India.

Welcome note

I was late in welcoming her. She had visited us on New Year and was here to stay. After a fortnight of her being around, i finally got the chance to meet her. People had flocked around her ever since her first visit.
I had seen her earlier a few times from a distance. I would be in the area near my home when she would pass by. Today it was different, when i saw her approaching us. Seeing her closely was a new feeling altogether.
Her gait was swift and steady and she was looking gorgeous, clad in gray with red border. In order to meet her, i had to climb a long flight of stairs. She'll have escalators ready for her visitors soon, i was told.
She was a marvel and her looks were very modern. All those who were present, had a smile on their faces.The smile was because of the realization that she would join them on their journey. Her presence was comforting and was an epitome of neatness.It was in her company that i could see my city from new heights. Now with her around there'll be more such meetings and journeys. A hearty welcome for coming to my area - Delhi Metro !

A programme on CNBC TV 18 invites former KBC winners and helps them to invest the prize money wisely. I think it's called Kaun Rahega Crorepati.

So yesterday there was this couple on this show KRC.
Host to wife: Your husband does not believe in investing in Stock market because of the risk involved. What do you think about investing in stocks?
wife is still thinking when husband speaks up: She likes to take a lot of risk, unlike me.
Wife trying to affirm husband's statement: Yes he is right, i am very risky
=))

The Rat Trap Session

This piece is about an interesting anecdote that happened yesterday . Since we have moved to the new office building, rats have been found with in the office premises courtesy the open area and the pond nearby.

Yesterday a brainstorming session was being held on how to eradicate rats in the sitting area which were wreaking havoc on the network cables in our area despite the gum boards kept for trapping them. Our senior admin staff visited our sitting area to hold a standing meeting for deciding on action points to eradicate rats in this area. The graveness of the situation could be understood as this was the third time the rats had chewed a network cable of one of the systems. The chewing had been done quite creatively, the chewed cable showing like a flower crafted by a skilled artisan.

The system administrator had not faced such a problem in his career. He explained how these rats are so intelligent so as to chew only the data cables which won't harm them. Instead they get enjoyment out of chewing these cables as these cables are slightly charged. He suggested installing the wires which produced a sound that would ward away the rats and thus would help in keeping the area rat proof. In the meantime admin manager was replying to his phone calls saying he was busy catching rats :)

The final outcome was to place gum boards at some strategic locations suitable for rat trap. The success of the meeting is yet to be determined, but the session itself was quite amusing!

Surely You're Joking!

Finished reading a book called Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman. Feynman, the noble prize winner for physics, is a curious character who is always trying out new experiments with life like getting hallucinations, breaking locks & cracking safe codes, getting hypnotized, playing drums and so on - apart from performing the experiments in the physics lab.

This book reminded me that there are so many things in life apart from work one wants to do...and so few of them ever get realized. The experiences of Mr. Feynman have a lot of inspiration for those who lead their life for their work and family - to take out some time for themselves- to try out new things - get new experiences - may not be to the extent of getting hallucinations but surely - the small things which make a big difference - like learning to play a musical instrument or trying hands at a new sport or art form – just to feel that we're growing not only in years but also in knowledge and experiences.

We should be thankful to these people who after living a complete life - think of leaving their experiences for us to get inspired from and also to those who introduce us to their work.

Lesson in Management

Recently a friend has been talking about how his manager's attitude and behaviour has lead him to resign.There were profound lessons to be learnt in management with the way he described the reasons for disliking his manager.Let me share some of those lessons here:

1. Trust the people whom you work with.
2. Don't keep bugging them on routine responsibilities
3. You should be easily accessible and willing to help out with any issue in the team however good the leaders in your team are.
4. You should be a good decision maker.
5. You should be able to negotiate with the customer even in favor of team members where required.
6. You should work on improving team's morale rather than discouraging them by only pointing out their mistakes.
7. You should ensure that you understand the new assignments yourself before delegating them to your team members.
8. You should appreciate your team's efforts.
9. You should ensure your team is not falling prey to "all work and no play" syndrome.


The author of bestseller "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" says there are 2 types of delegation: Gofer delegation and Stewardship delegation. The Gofer delegation is more method focussed. That means you tell your subordinate exactly the methodology he should be following and check up the status every now and then to ensure the methodology is being followed. The other style - stewardship delegation has results as it's focus rather than the methods; give the person a job and tell him what the output should be. The way he achieves it should be none of your business. This gives much more satisfaction to the person who is carrying out the task and has more room for better and creative results - even if it requires a little more patience from you as a manager as compared to Gofer delegation.

Came across some nice quotes and pieces of poetry in the past few days collected from various sites.

What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight - it's the size of the fight in the dog.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, speech to the Republican National Committee, January 31, 1958

One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man.
Elbert Hubbard (1856 - 1915)

Never explain--your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway.
Elbert Hubbard

Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.
Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809 - 1894)

To obtain a man's opinion of you, make him mad.
Oliver Wendell Holmes

He that eats till he is sick must fast till he is well.
Proverb, Hebrew - Sayings of Hebrew Origin

When fate hands you a lemon, make lemonade.
American motivational expert

A bend in the road is not the end of the road, unless you fail to make the turn.
Anonymous

Let others cheer the winning man,
There's one I hold worth while;
'Tis he who does the best he can,
Then loses with a smile.
Beaten he is, but not to stay
Down with the rank and file;
That man will win some other day,
The one who loses with a smile.
Anonymous

...just remember
...if things look helpless
...maybe you're facing the wrong direction.
Ziggy , Cartoon strip

Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting, but never hit soft.
Franklin Roosevelt [1882 - 1945] , 32nd US President

When you get to be President, there are all those things, the honors, the twenty-one gun salutes, all those things... you have to remember it isn't for you. It's for the Presidency.
Harry Truman [1884 - 1972] , 33rd US President

If you'd have a servant that you like, serve yourself.
Benjamin Franklin [1706 - 1790] , American scientist and statesman

The art of living lies not in eliminating but in growing with troubles.
Bernard Baruch [1870 - 1965] , American financier, political adviser

Just the knowledge that a good book is awaiting one at the end of a long day makes the day happier.
Kathleen Norris

A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something.
Frank Capra [1897 - 1991] , American film maker

I do not know what I may appear to the world; but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting
myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered
before me.
Isaac Newton [1642 - 1727] , British scientist

To cease smoking is the easiest thing I ever did; I ought to know because
I've done it a thousand times.
Mark Twain [1835 - 1910] , American writer


And now some work by Kahlil Gibran [1883 - 1931] , Lebanese philosopher and poet.
I've read the work of this poet pretty recently and am surprised by practicality and depth in his descriptions.
The excerpt is from his famous work "The Prophet".

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, Speak to us of Children.
And he said:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thougts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The Archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His
arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the Archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.