Posts Tagged ‘postaday2011’

Way back in 2007, when 20-20 started getting popular, I had shared my views on how I thought, cricket had finally found its perfect format.

Yes, there’s lot of things that I like about the format.

That its that perfect sweet spot of entertainment, in terms of size, viz. the perfect three hours.

That it managed to engage, besides the men, also women and children. No cricket widows now.

So what do I think is going wrong?

That its become too much of a circus. An extremely one-sided game. now.

Let’s cut to American Sports, from where the 3-hours sports format seems to be borrowed.

In an NBA basketball game, there IS competition. The two teams fight it out. All players have a shot. Some games are won on defense, some on offense. There is all round play. There is balance.

An NFL American Football game is not all about the quarterback. There is throwing, there is passing, there is kicking, there is strategy, there is good defense, there is good offense. Games have a balance again.

And the World Series baseball games have a role for the batter as much as it has a role for the pitcher. Again, a well balanced game.

Which is where 20-20 and IPL are getting it all wrong now.

Its become too much of a slam-bang-thank-you-maam kind of game, with the bat significantly dominating the ball. Its like the bowlers are there, just to throw a ball for the batter to smash to any corner of the ground. It is too lopsided.

To again give an analogy from the USA, the 20-20 IPL game resembles the slam dunk contest that happens in the All-Star Weekend of NBA. While exciting to view, the reality is that the Slam Dunk contest looks good one time in the season. Just imagine how NBA would be, if every game was only a slam dunk contest?!

Well, IPL is headed that way.

And THAT is not right. For the next 1-2 years, they may not even see a dip. In revenues. Or in spectators at stadia.

But there will be boredom setting in for sure. Especially considering the fact that there is too much cricket anyway.

IPL and 20-20 cricket need to take some corrective steps. Sooner rather than later.

Make it a more competitive game. Let the ball be counted for. Let the bowlers not become mere spectators on the ground.

Before people get completely pissed off, from the game, the authorities that be, must take some necessary corrective steps.

Do you agree? Or you think we are fine the way the format is? Do share your thoughts..


It is a sad day for me.

I have picked many “fights” with friends to defend my hero, Roger Federer.

To insist that he still has few years of outstanding tennis left in him, and that he will win a few Grand Slams before he finally hangs up his boots.

So having done all that, it is indeed a sad day for me today.

When I have to admit that Federer’s best days are behind him, and that there are far too many players today – not just Nadal – who are having a shot at him, and are also succeeding in beating him.

When it was only Nadal, there was stil hope.

That in some final, Nadal may be a bit off color, and Federer may be in top form, and Federer would still win.

Or that Nadal could be injured, and then Federer would have smooth sailing.

But now its no more just Nadal.

Djokovic of course, but many others too, have been challenging Federer. And he has not been able to hold his own many a times.

So unless things change dramatically, I personally will not claim that he has it in him, now, to win more Grand Slams. Or in fact, to win anything of significance.

In fact, I would rather that he retires now, because for die-hard fans like myself, it pains to see him lose against small timers. He is far far bigger to lose like that. He is an icon, a legend.. I don’t want to see him lose badly, to newbies.

For me, Federer will continue to be the best player who ever walked on to the tennis court. With due respect to Samparas (he comes closest to Federer in my book), Federer has moved beyond and ahead. Not just in terms of Slams, but in terms of the range of shots, the consistency, the class.

And no, for all those who talk about Borg or McEnroe or Connors or Lendl or Becker, or Agassi, seriously, they were not close to Samparas or Federer.

As for Nadal, I can see the struggle now. Fitness wise. And which is what has to be admired about Federer. That he remained reasonably injury free to dominate the game thus, and for so long!

I want to remember Federer as no. 1. Please hang your boots, and enjoy the twins, Federer..

Public memory is short.

Wait it out, and things will be fine.

People will forget. And you will roam the streets comfortably.

These would be words of advise to high profile “criminals” from their lawyers??

So while Raju is still in jai, and so is Abu Salem and Kasab, whatever happened to some of these biggies??

1. Rahul Mahajan – drug abuse, death of Pramod Mahajan’s secretary, in a government bungalow in Delhi?? Rahul serenades women on TV, goes to Big Boss, and what not. All is well, it seems..

2. Sanjay Dutt – destroyed an AK 47, in the midst of Mumbai riots. Phone calls were intercepted. Connections to mafia don established. So what happens? Spent some time in jail. Now Munnabhai entertains the world, remarries, has twins. All is well.

3. Bhupen Dalal, Ketan Parikh, Bharat Shah – high profile names. Did they come out on bail, or were they acquitted? Are they playing the markets all over again? All is well??

4. MAK Pataudi (and also Nawab Junior) – caught red handed, killing protected wild life, in hunting case. Should have spent many years in jail. But the wife protests against Anna Hazare’s “blackmail” and the son continues to do films, while courting the beautiful Kareena. Ah.. all is well again!

5. Salman Khan – knocked over a street dweller and some black bucks too. But he’s the Dabbang, who’s now trying his hand at Being Human. Again, All is clearly well..

Of course, the Kasliwal beta got freed officially. After a heinous crime. I wonder how he will join the dinner table with the patriarchs of the family, with everyone else knowing that he molested an old woman?!!

And likewise, dear old Italian friend, Mr Quatrocchi is free as a bird. Not that he was much constrained anytime that I know of!

So what will be the fate of Mr. Kalmadi, the Commonwealth man? Or the Raja of telecom? Of course, not to speak of the man behind him, or his big fat family?? The Balwa and the Goenka and the Chandra of the space…? And of course, the one with the grandfather of all scams, valuewise, Hasan Ali himself??

Will they too just wait out for some time, let the heat die down, and then walk out on bail, on some technical ground, and then let public memory fade away??

Feel really pathetic about the law of our land, when I think about all these.

What are your thoughts? Remember others that are roaming the streets like this??

How often do we look at a better car and aspire to want it? Or a bigger, more fancier house, and feel that we are living in a small cubby hole? No matter the fact that we may actually be in a comfortable 3BHK with enough space for ourselves.

Sometimes this may manifest as a thought of jealousy, sometimes as aspiration and ambition, and sometimes, just a pining for more.

Not that it is necessarily a negative emotion always. However, the constant feeling that “you don’t have enough” just because there is a bigger, better, larger thing out there, is not such a healthy feeling. In having this constant ire that “I don’t have as much”, you end up not enjoying what you have, and which may be better than what a lot of the world has!

Let me share an example.

I had gone to drop my daughter, mother and few others, who were traveling to Dubai, for a short break. I might not even have gone to the airport, and let the driver take them there, as we did not think as much about the 4-day short holiday that they were taking. We are a reasonably well traveled family in that sense, and while not being entirely trivial, the 4-day Dubai trip was not as big a deal.

But I went anyway. And after the family walked inside, I was hanging out for a bit. Actually waiting for the driver to bring the car.

And I saw this very large entourage of a family, with what seemed like brothers, sisters, parents, grandmother, etc. of a young man, who was also leaving for Dubai. And there was an amazing excitement in everyone’s eyes. A sense of pride and happiness. As he went inside, and then he must have been passing by across the entry gate, the family strained to see him, and pointed to each other “did you see Rasesh – he just passed by..?” etc. And they brought the grandmother ahead, and gave her a glimpse of the son, as he went by.

All awesome scenes, for me.

And I realized that the trip was a big one for that family. Maybe the guy had got a job there, well paying one, and it meant a lot for the rest of the family. Or he was the first in the family to go outside India. Or some such thing.

And that’s when the thought sinks in.

What we took for granted (in a sense) is such a huge thing for someone else.

I could equally feel differently (like I felt on a previous occasion at the airport, when Mukesh Ambani and his family entourage came in about 6 different fancy cars and were on their way to take their personal aircraft, perhaps to some exotic holiday) seeing some other passengers on the other side of the balance.

But then to appreciate that its all relative, and we have a lot that we should be thankful of, even as we aspire for better or more…

What do you think?

My favorite columnist, Shobha Narayan, wrote one more thought provoking piece, about new age parents, and their new age kids, and the accompanying challenges of bringing up kids in a society getting increasingly prosperous.

She starts with this para:

“The summer holidays are looming. The children will be home. What are you going to do? Send them to camp? Fly off on a holiday to the Caribbean? Ask them to do chores around the house? Or all of the above?”

Familiar dilemmas for many parents in the new India, I am sure.

Not giving them the best that money can buy, could actually make some parents feel guilty. Also working parents worry about what their kids will be up to, at home, all summer. So the challenge of keeping them busy, is also a motivator.

And then Shobha points out to a different viewpoint, that of Michelle Obama:

“One of the first things Michelle Obama did after entering the White House was tell the staff not to make her children’s beds. She wanted her girls to do chores, just like she did while growing up.”

So clearly, one has a choice.

And yet each generation works hard to try and provide a better lifestyle to their children, than what they themselves had. So if they are earning some good money, and it is the kids’ only childhood, they reconcile, then they should make it as good as they can, for the kids. Now that argument also has merit.

So where does the balance lie?

Again, in Shobha’s words:

“Obama’s quest to keep her daughters “grounded” while in the White House reflects a conflict that most upwardly mobile urban parents face today: how to enjoy the fruits of your labour without turning your children into spoiled brats.”

Shobha also points out when realization dawns:

“The realization usually comes as a wake-up call after a question or a comment. Your teenage son casually asks for another iPod because he lost his barely month-old one during a school excursion. You take your Delhi-bred children to a beloved aunt’s home in Dharwad and your nine-year-old refuses to go to the Indian bathroom at her house. Your seven-year-old asks, right in front of your retired relatives, “Why aren’t we staying at a five-star hotel?” It is usually after events such as these that realization dawns: You are raising your children with a warped sense of the world. Not intentionally, but not wholly without fault either.”

This is indeed a tough one to manage.

You value your middle-class upbringing that kept you grounded. And yet you earn enough to give a lot more to your kids now. And yet you shudder at their warped sense of the world.

Would things change with a stint at a hostel? Going out and living alone at a certain age? Living in slightly rough conditions that typical hostels are all about? Fending for oneself will be a best teacher? What if by then, they have become so delicate that they cannot take it? Is that a risk at all?

Shobha makes some great points and shares interesting points of view.

Suggest you to check out her article.

With a brilliant coastline that Mumbai has, unfortunately, we still do not have a serious culture of water sports. So even though I have been born and brought up here, I have not had much of a “sea life”. The best was to go to Shivaji Park or Juhu beaches, as a kid, and build sand castles!

Off late, perhaps with recent upsurge in standard of living and wealth that has been created, we do see the emergence of a certain sea-sports and boating culture. In fact, there is a sudden jump in private boats, and we have the annual boat show as well, in Mumbai.

Two of my cousin sisters have enjoyed sailing and used to do it regularly in Mumbai, and that had created a sort of inspiration for a while. But still being far away in Chembur (from South Mumbai, I mean), and the opportunity, if at all, only being on Sundays, the inspiration had not converted to an actual experience so far.

So when a dear friend proposed the idea of trying out sailing, and said that he could set it up for us, I did not think much before doing my proverbial “chance pe dance”. For those who don’t get the phrase, it means that one grabs the opportunity to do something new and fun, when the said opportunity comes up. Without thinking too much!

And which is exactly what I did. And so the Sunday was decided. The wife and the elder daughter also agreed to come (I am sure, inspired by my two cousin sisters’ experiences, that we had heard much about in the past). The younger daughter unfortunately, was bang in the middle of her final exams, and could not join. So the three of us, and my friend, and few other friends, made our way to the Gateway of India, from where we were to do our sailing trip.

There were a set of instructions that our friend had given, for this outing. Wear comfortable, waterproof footwear. If you wear a cap, make sure there is a string that can fasten the cap (as otherwise, it could fly off). Get a plastic bag to hold the valuables. Get sun lotion..

We had done all of that. Part of my preparation was to use a pair of old rubber sandals that I had not worn in ages, but which fitted the requirement. Except what I did not know about these sandals was that the old rubber straps were so worn out that as soon as we reached Gateway of India, and started walking out of the car, when one sandal, and then the next one, broke off! And I was without footwear. On a sunny Sunday afternoon, with the hot tar roads below. We needed to rush to find a Colaba footwear store and buy new footwear for me!

After all that, we reached the boarding point, which was right across of the Taj Mahal Hotel. In a few minutes, the actual host and hostess (a Doctor couple, who were members of the Royal Bombay Yacht Club) came by and got things moving, for us. We were a party of 8, and we needed to split into two groups of 4, to take the row boats first. The row boats came all the way in, and we’d take these a bit into the water, and then in the middle of the waters, move over to the actual sailing boats.

There was a careful switch in the middle of quite deep waters, from row boat to sail boat. The only challenge was to ensure that we do not imbalance either of the boats, while we shifted.

Once into the sail boat, the Tindel (the helper who accompanies and actually maneuvers the sail boat – they are called Tindels; the name of our Tindel was Krishna) went about opening the two sails, as we watched in fascination.

And in a matter of minutes, we saw this boat with few bamboos jutting up convert itself, into something that will sail on its own, with the wind supporting the motion.

The Tindel was pulling a few of the strings that held the sails, so the sails would change directions and the boat would change directions. It was deft handling by someone who does this all the time, and it was extremely impressive. The boat made its way gradually, farther from the shores, and into the deeper seas.

The wind was decent and it took the boat ahead. The Tindel informed us that in case the winds came down, then we’d not move! And we would have to cast anchor and wait for the wind to pick up again! Thankfully the wind stayed with us all day, and we did not need to drop anchor and wait in the middle of the sea!

There were two of our groups, so we had two sailing boats to us, and we did not really move together. The second one moved ahead and went faster!

A little deeper into the sea, and we were able to see some really fancy boats out there. The Tindel was happy to introduce those boats to us, as these were owned by celebrity owners! The next best thing to celebrity-spotting is celebrity-boat-spotting!

We spotted several, including the 400 cr boat gifted to TIna Ambani, but Anil Ambani. That one was at a distance though. We reached pretty close to two other monsters. The one seen below, is the boat owned by Gautam Singhania:

And then we saw the boat of the other big boat man. Yes, the king of good times, Vijay Mallya. This is his boat, herebelow:

It was a relatively leisurely motion of the boat, even as we were watching all these scenes, and on our first such sailing trip, we were just getting a feeling that this was so easy and so much fun.

Just around this time though, the wind became a lot stronger. And the boat kind of flew a lot faster.

Obviously it was not even close to alarming, but for us first timers, it suddenly got very exciting. The Tindel got a lot more busy, as he worked on keeping the boat under control and steering it well.

But meanwhile, the boat bent across to one side, a lot. I was sitting on the side which was bending down and got very close to the water. Thinking I could make my humble contribution to the stability, considering my weight could make a difference (lol), I inched up a little on my side, so as to bring the weight inside, and not towards the side where the boat was leaning!

So that was the 10-15 min of excitement on our trip, after which time, the wind force came down, and the boat was stead and properly vertical once again.

And then we made our way back towards the shore. The timing was perfect. The sun was going down, and it made for some wonderful scenes.

Most of the pictures in this blog post, have been taken by my wife. And as we headed closer to the shore, she could not help taking some shots of Mumbai’s iconic structures, the Taj Mahal Hotel and the Gateway of India.

The return trip was the reverse of the going out one.

As we reached close to our row boat, Tindel Krishna first wound up the sails. We made small (actually, tiny) contributions to the wind up process. Once that was done, we carefully and gingerly stepped out of the sail boat, and into the row boat. One person at a time.

And then took the row boat back to shore.

For the end of a wonderful Sunday afternoon out.

A trip that we jumped on, in true ‘chance pe dance’ fashion. A trip of the kind I would highly recommend you to take, if you get a chance. Go for it! It’s a great experience..

Our family’s been on a self-imposed no-TV period, for about two months now.

The younger one is in the middle of Class X ICSE exams. And we had chosen to remove the one distraction that ate up time.

She has two papers to go now, and she’ll be done by next week. And with that this TV restriction will also go, for all of us.

So did I miss TV these two months??

Mostly not.

I know what I might have ended up seeing during this period, if the TV was on.

And I know what I’d have wasted my time on:

– Funny, but repetitive episodes of Tarak Mehta..

– Funny at times, boring otherwise episodes of Sajan Re Jhoot Mat Bolo,

– Many of the cricket matches – I am so glad the TV was off; I have not missed ANYTHING, and I am still on cue with the WC happenings (and just in time to watch the last few games now – as TV comes on prior to finals!)

But what I did miss was:

– Sitcoms on Star World – love the funnies,

– Since the WC is on, there were no major theatrical releases of films; and while I can do without TV, I need my cinema dope! It would have been good to catch some good stuff on Star Movies and the like. BUT with the TV off, there was little cinema to be seen in the last couple of months.

As for news, I have stopped seeing news on TV, since long. Since the time, they made a mockery of the Ayodhya verdict and almost tried to incite more “reactions” from people. When people were in fact, ready to let things be.

So news on TV is not part of my life. Although I might have been tempted to see it, during the Japanese disaster. But I made up for that, with good clips on broadband Internet. So again, did not miss TV for the news!

I am penning this to also be a reference point for me. To revisit this post and remind myself, as to what kind of TV, I should not get sucked into again.

But I will like to catch up on a few of the better funny sitcoms on Star World, catch some good movies on TV, and watch the few WC games that matter now.

Ahh.. TV-land, I am coming back to you.. 🙂

 

As we work on recruitment challenges, and add a fair number of people to the Social Wavelength team, one of the challenges has been to filter through the large number of resumes that come flowing in, in order to short list the candidates to meet.

And its been one hell of a frustrating exercise. Not without its share of humour though!

I acknowledge these facts:

– People are looking for a better job. Nothing wrong with that.

– There are many positions that are open, and it may be an effort to skim through the details, before applying for a job.

– On the company’s side also, finding the right candidate is a challenge.

– And yet, resumes do come in, aplenty, especially if the company has posted the vacancies at the right places.

So it becomes an exercise of elimination most times. Companies cannot possibly call everyone for an interview, and candidates are not taking enough effort to apply only to positions that work well for them.

So this is a gap that someone can work hard to fix. In the plethora of job sites, there appears to be a pain point still existing, and if someone can do a really good job of matching candidates and positions, then there is value to be created.

But on the candidates front, I have some unsolicited advice, if they’d like to really look for positions of their interest:

1. There has to be a reality check first. Someone completing internship applying for a GM position that demands 7-10 years experience, is only wasting his time, and that of the employer’s.

2. There’s nothing wrong with ambition and aspiration. If you ARE applying for a position which is a bit of a stretch, from the point of view of experience or education that is demanded, but you still want to give a shot at it, and believe it may be something you can take on, why don’t you write EXACTLY that, in the cover letter? How do you expect the employer to understand this, without your telling them? And if you are waiting for the interview call to tell them the reason, fact is that the call may never come at all! In absence of the clues that you choose to not give!

3. Can you personalize your resume as per the position you are applying for? Or at least have a bunch of resumes made and kept ready, and send the one that is more relevant for a position? What I see too often, perhaps because a candidate wants to be considered for multiple kinds of positions, are resumes that have almost EVERYTHING in them. Like the candidate’s God’s Gift to Mankind!! It is really incredible, all that packaging on the resume! Let’s understand this once and for all – the employer does NOT buy all that! And in the end, the employer does not know what you are REALLY good at. And ends up rejecting your application. Does not help you, does it??

4. A personalized resume works then. Focus on the requirement (and assuming you are a good fit for it, and you desire that position too) and cater the resume to highlight those parts that are relevant to that position. So when an employer reads it, there is an immediate connection. Like a “yes, this looks like the person we need”! This takes effort, but if YOUR objective is to get interview calls, then this is an approach that delivers best returns to you!

5. It’s a busy world, understand. Yes, you are too busy to not be able to personalize resumes. You’re too busy to read through the entire job posting before applying. So you think the employer has all the time in the world?? Why then, would you take so much time to come to the point, in the resume?? How many resumes have I seen recently where the ENTIRE PAGE ONE of the resume was all background, adjectives, summaries, general gas stuff.. !! If you are an experienced person and looking to apply for a position of seniority, what the employer needs to know is where you worked, and what you did there. If that information takes too long to come, the impression created is “too much gas, not much substance”. It may not even be true in all cases, but the presentation (or lack of it) kills!

6. Get to the point FAST. If you can put your entire career in 1 page, don’t take two. While a 1-2 sentence summary of your background may not hurt, don’t take a page to do that. Get to the point of where you worked. Besides the name of the company and the designation, mention crisply, the business of that company, your role, and key achievements. And then move on to the next company!

7. If some HR consultant or some other professional has guided you to do elaborate resumes, they have guided you wrong!! Trust me! People are busy. If you don’t get to the point fast, if you don’t cut to the chase, you are losing them. Rest assured. If you want the job, work to make it happen, and not just be a resume pusher.

8. And that is another thing to be conscious of. As you grow in the ranks, get ‘senior’, do you really want your resume to be flying all over? LIke you were a rolling stone? Be selective. Treat your resume with a lot of care. Don’t overexpose it. Make it pricey. And you will reap the rewards of a good, planned career growth!

Ahh.. monkey off my back. In addition to throwing out my frustrations, I have now also shared the right way to do it.

Hope that helps a serious job seeker.

What are your views on this? If you are an employer, are you going through similar challenges? If you are an employee, looking for positions, does some of this make sense to you? Share your views in the comments below.. !

Today’s going to be the 27th consecutive day.

It is a change happening in life, and my frequent mentions of the same, is a way to acknowledge the change! So bear with me, on this.

As I think back to previous attempts to be regular, and where I failed, and how different it has been this time, I can see some clear factors.

In these 27 days also, there have been enough issues where I could have taken a break. To my mind, it would have been justification enough. At least the way that I used to approach the same goal or resolve earlier, these factors were justifiable for taking a break.

What kind of issues I am referring to?

The slight pain in the knee..

That niggle in the ankle..

The cold and the cough, and the slightly sore throat..

The slightly early meeting that I needed to attend at work..

All of these were reasons earlier, to give the morning exercise routine, a miss.

This time around, I have not allowed myself such alibis.

Of course, if it was a really bad knee pain or ankle pain, I would have had no choice but to take the break. But I think, even on previous occasions, when I had succumbed to such excuses, it was never a bad paid or a bad throat. The early meeting at work was usually not that early, where I could not start 30 minutes earlier, do my morning exercise, and still make it to the meeting.

But those days, I was looking to take a break.

This time around, I am looking to make it happen.

So the break, as and when it happens first, will BE for a definitely unavoidable reason.

And therein lies the difference this time.

Have you tried to work on a good routine but failed? Kept going back to old ways? Or you succeeded? Love to hear about your experience. Do share in the comments below..

There are a couple of specific initiatives I have embarked upon in recent days.

One has been my well publicized daily walks and exercises. Yeah, I am now close to a month into it, without a single day’s break. The original target was to do a minimum 21 days at a stretch, the idea being that, 21 consecutive days or doing a thing, are necessary, to form a success habit.

The other thing I am doing these days, is to have a blog post, daily. Noticing the badge of “WordPress post a day 2011” on my friend, Makrand’s blog, I investigated into the concept, at WordPress. And I liked what I saw. That it was a commitment to do a blog post each day. There was also the other option of a post a week, in 2011. But I opted for the post a day. And here I am, posting daily, since that point in time!

So this time, both of these resolves are going fine. So far. And I hope that these will continue.

What is one of the differences that I have made, this time?

Most of my previous attempts at resolves of this kind, had a ‘loophole in the system’ for me! It would perhaps be a resolve of walking at least 4-5 times a week. Or it would be doing 5 days a week, but no weekends. Or writing a blog post at least once a week. Or something of that kind.

Those did not work.

When it is “once a week”, it could be any one day a week. And ‘any day’ is often ‘no day’. And that’s what would end up happening.

Likewise, if its 4-5 days a week, you might end up missing the first 1 or 2 or 3 days of the week, putting pressure on the rest of the week, and often not happening, again.

So what I found working this time was the precise and unambiguous (read “one that did not give loopholes”) target. Go for a walk DAILY. Period.

There are no clauses in addition, like “at least 4-5 times a week” or “all days, except weekends”. Or things of those kind.

A definition that is anything less than absolutely clear, leaves room for escape. We should not give ourselves that kind of room. Especially if we WANT to make something happen.

No sleepy Sundays or manic Mondays. If we have to do it, we have to do it. All days of the week, every week.

At the most, if we wanted to reduce the frequency, and say, do something on a weekly basis, STILL it is important to plan for the one day of the week, e.g. Tuesday or Thursday etc. That way, ON THAT DAY, there would be no room to escape.

This post is happening just a little before midnight, just so that it makes it to today’s post. Which is the commitment.

Yes, I am quite sure that its working for me, only because I kept it to a simple daily routine, without ambiguity.

It would have not worked any other way..

What do you think??