When East Meets West!

Most likely people who are reading this blog must have definitely encountered a situation where we are in a midst of a conversation with a fellow colleague or a friend who happens to be from a different country or continent. and most often than not such conversation which normally is restricted to common interests , however ever so often the conversation deflects to items which the other person is unable to relate to due to cultural differences and  up bringing .

I happened to have had a very interesting conversation with a old colleague and a friend of mine in a restaurant last Wednesday. 

At the start, largely the conversation was restricted to usual suspects i.e. Office work, recent trends in employments, projects , market conditions etc etc of course not to miss out current bonus issues . 

After about an hour , my friend asked me an interesting question.

You have worked so hard , i have hardly seen you taking holidays , why don't you take holidays and take your wife out for say six weeks?

Bewildered , Six Weeks? How can i take Six weeks of holiday, what happens to work? 

You are entitled to take the holidays which you have , so why not?

Suddenly eastern ideas kick in . Well , it would be very expensive to go on a six week holiday isn't it?

Am sure it is expensive but its price less , how can you put a value on such a holiday?

Of course i understand , this is priceless , but i have large list of responsibilities.

Well, everyone has responsibilities as if i do not?

True , but going on a six week holiday means i shell out a lot of money , instead of that i can save money  and ensure that i help my parents out . Dad has retired and i can give him and mom some more comforts.

Why would you want to give your mom & dad comfort?

What do you mean , Am their son and in our culture its a moral responsibility

In ours, its more independent and our parents will look after themselves based on their pension funds post retirement .

But wouldn't you want to make sure that they have all the comfort and they are happy?

Of course i do but when i was 18, i left home and fended for myself and my mom & dad were cool with it and they managed their lives and will manage it based on their pensions when they get old by themselves, we meet them probably once in six months .

Scratching my head , i said . Our values are work hard, save , take care of children & take care of your parents. Our entire value system was born out of respecting & taking care of elders when they get old & its the son and daughters responsibility to take care of their parents.

Scratching his head he said , i understand , our values are work hard, spend aka enjoy life , save for rainy dad (pension) , be independent.

We were both looking at each other as if to ask which one is better? Each one had their own opinion.

I concluded by saying, i respected his views and thoughts and he said he completely understood my culture and the process.

I came away thinking, when East Meets West, both of them do understand each other, its just that each of them depart thinking they are better off with the way they are.

Am not entirely sure how much of an influence each of the respective culture has on the other but certainly west seem to have had a lot of influence on eastern youngsters in the recent past, however recent trends show that one of the key value of East i.e. savings seem to be paying off.

That was it for this week, see you next week. Until then take care.

My World This Week

I did not know what to blog this week , so i thought best is to blog about what all had happened during the week.

That was alright but what would the title be? When i was young , I was inspired by a programme which used to air in Doordarshan presented by India's first psephologist Dr Prannoy Roy titled " The World this week" , i thought i could tweak that a little bit and apply to my blog hence " My World This Week".

My week actually started in earnest on Sunday evening . I watched a programme called " Orbit" a three part documentary series presented by Kate Humble and Dr Helen Czerski . The documentary airs in BBC 2 . Both the presenters travelled around the world separately & try to educate us about the effects of the Earth's Orbit around the sun , the spin of the earth and the angle in which the Earth orbits relative to the Sun . The documentary was not only revealing but also thought provoking. Am looking forward to watching the final part in the series which airs on Sunday 18th March.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00xztbr

By the time the documentary had finished, the new week had already begun in New Zealand & Australia. Events for the week had already started to kick in.

Hung over by the weekend break, i woke up to the weekly grind on Monday morning . It was a chilly day & after my routine morning activities i was off to work . This bit just did not change throughout the week.

As is my custom ,  got in nice & early to work . Thought about the things i had to do for the way , by this time the week had already begun in earnest . There was nothing way too unusual at work that day, just normal.

Back home  after work i hit the gym and even before i knew the first day of my new week was over . However there were events that were happening around the world. Syrian government continued their crack down, the stand off between Iran and US wasn't looking like it was going to stop . Markets started to stabilize . It was widely expected that the Greek bond holders would agree to the haircut and finally the EU would release its rescue package.

Both Monday & Tuesday were near similar in terms of work at office . Simply run the mill stuff.

Wednesday was a challenging day as i understood the term " Pitch at the right level" as i had to review a presentation with my manager , well he was right , knowing ones audience and ensure that you speak at the right level is as key to the overall delivery & success of the presentation . Its not just the content & style itself. 

Apart from that i learnt what they call " WWR" & " RWR" in Risk Management. These two acronyms expand to " Wrong Way Risk" & " Right Way Risk" . I was not aware that these two terminologies existed prior to Wednesday gone by . It was good to learn about these & also understand in what context these are applicable. These two form a part of what they now call CRD (Capital Requirements Directive)  4 aka Basel III regulation.

It was interesting to know that there is something called a right way risk.

I came away on Wednesday from work highly positive and satisfied as not only was my work rewarding in terms of learning but it was also challenging. Same  evening i hit the gym and did a 5km tread mill run , usually i run a bit longer but i reserved that for Saturday.

Thursday started off in a flurry as i watched the Indian Finance Minister present his bill in the parliament prior to heading to office. Thursday's are always long for me as it is the day when my Mandarin classes happen.

Thursday lived up to its expectations as it was really a tiring day . I had the opportunity to learn few nitty gritty details about the China - Taiwan issue in my Mandarin class from my professor . It was quite interesting. Although a tiring day , it was also gratifying to learn new things.

Friday started off with the news that " The New IPAD" had started going on sale in Australia , commentators dissecting the Indian budget. It was also the day when Sachin Tendulkar scored his 100th ton a feat that many pundits believe would be near impossible to match. As usual social networks were abuzz around the merits of the century and tales surrounding Sachin commitments etc.

Work was ultra busy on Friday and there was last minute requirement to complete a task by Monday morning which on one hand looks daunting but something in me said it was a challenge to relish . As time ticked, another day had gone by & another working week had gone by.

On Friday evening, i watched a documentary presented by Professor Niall Fergusson about China. Titled " Chine : Triumph & Turmoil" , this documentary series looks at China's history, its political system and its emerging economic clout. It was elegantly presented and explains the current situation in China compared to its long and powerful history. The author explained why certain things were the way they were.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/china-triumph-and-turmoil/4od

Saturday started off on a cracking note . I woke up early and hit the gym . Did a 8.5 k run on the tread mill and sweated it out. Back home my better half made a smashing lunch . It was nice to sit around the table , chit chatting with her and having a sumptuous meal.

After that i completed my daily routine i.e. speaking to my mom & dad. Hearing parents voice always lifts one's spirits.

I watched the F1 qualifying session on BBC which was a recorded show. I did not buy the sports channel in which these are being shown live , at the age of austerity , such things face the axe first. I was content with watching it replayed . Took heart from the fact that it was not the same old story as last year.

Late in the afternoon , i had to complete some office work , which i dutifully did so. Not right to carry office work to home but in this age of Blackberry and work from home access who doesn't? Took a walk in the park later in the evening , it was nice to enjoy some greenery and also be calm and reflect on myself.

All in all, this week has been a very good week. Looking forward for the F1 race tomorrow & the week ahead!

That was my world this week, see you again next week, until then take care.

Book Review : Revolution 2020

Title : Revolution 2020

Author : Chetan Bhagat

ISBN : 9788129118806

Publisher :  Rupa Publications

First Published : 2011

By far one of the best known Indian authors of modern times. Chetan Bhagat appeared in the top 100 list of most influential people published by the TIME magazine not so long ago.

This is his fifth book and i have read all but one of his books.

The last book that i read of his was " Two States story of my marriage" which for me was one of his best and the story that i thought was well written . I became a fan of his after reading that book due to its originality  and expected his new book to be along similar lines , breezy, entertaining and society driven. Did this book live up to that expectation , read on.

Book Review

The book starts with the author being invited as a guest speaker at a college " Ganga Tech" in Varanasi and inadvertently the author ends up visiting the director of the college Mr Gopal Mishra, the central character at his house. 

Surprised by the youthfulness, success and the wealth amassed by the young director , the author is taken in by the conversation at the directors house and all it takes is a few glasses of malt whisky for the conversation to flow in. 

The conversation flows towards the author describing the "Ganga Aarti" in varanasi as really special while Gopal freezes when he hears that name " Aarti"  .

Most of us readers who might have seen many Bollywood, Kollywood, Tollywood or numerous wood's would have got the hint of what is to come.

We are definitely not let down by the author.

The conversation & the whisky starts to flow when all of a sudden Gopal having had too much of the drink falls to the floor nearly unconscious . The drama begins to unfold as the author has a flight to catch next morning but he is a catch 22 situation on what he has to do given Gopal's situation.

Commonsense takes the better of the situation . We find ourselves in the hospital in the next scene when the author overcome by instinct to know the more beings to listen to the story of Gopal.

From here on Gopal becomes the narrator .

The story line is very simple , Two close friends Gopal & Raghav are brought to life from their very young age by a young girl called Aarti .

The story starts when these three are in their fifth standard and the pace begins when Gopal steals a piece of chocolate cake from Aarti's lunch box .

As a young student Aarti makes a fuss of it & Gopal is caught . Days and years go by , as most of us know oppostie forces attract , Gopal is attracted to Aarti but Aarti feels for him more as a friend than anything else.

Gopal desperately wants to get Aarti but Aarti tries to keep him at bay. Meanwhile, Raghav makes his career by clearing IIT JEE and securing a place in IIT BHU while Gopal miserably fails and is forced to make a second attempt due to his ill father forcing him to make him proud by retaking the exam and securing a place.

Gopal leaves to Kota in Rajasthan for a year of IIT JEE preparation penance while Aarti & Raghav become close enough to cause Gopal concern.

As predicted Aarti falls for Raghav , soon news reaches Gopal who is devastated & fails to clear the IIT JEE exam.

News that his son has failed , takes Gopal's father's life & leaves Gopal an orphan. In the meanwhile Raghav who although got admission into IIT does not feel highly of engineering . He wants to change the society , so he starts to venture into engineering , first as a intern at " Dainik" news paper.

As in indian movies, the scene changes, enter MLA Ram Shukla who sorts out Gopal's land issue and also funds building a new engineering college " Ganga Tech".

Raghav in the mean time is shown as a revolutionist and writes a report on the MLA about his scam , this forces to MLA to take action and is forced out of his intern job. Meanwhile Gopal works hard and takes his college to new heights .

Raghav goes alone to start his own news paper "Revolution 2020". 

Raghav gets busier with his new job as editor of his own news paper and a rift between him & Aarti is inevitable . This is seen as an opportunity for Gopal who becomes closer to her using various methods & ensures that Aarti is on the verge of dumping Raghav.

Meanwhile Raghav writes another article with hard facts and evidence about the MLA who this time gets arrested . An arrest of Indian MLA means that he enjoys five star hospitality is vividly shown in couple of chapters.

Gopal gets his taste of victory as Aarti wants to marry him however his conscious hurts him so he creates a scene on his birthday by having call girls in his home when Aarti is due to visit him and wish him birthday .

This creates chaos and ensure's Aarti leaves him for good & marries Raghav . In the mean time the MLA post vacated by Ram Shukla is being finalized and Aarti's father whose family connections are deeply routed to the party is being shortlisted.

Finally Aarti gets married to Raghav, who as a son in law of Aarti's dad contest's the election as MLA .

Story ends there and returns back to hospital where by now Gopal

On his way to airport , author call's up Gopal and says " You are a nice man" & the book comes to a close.

Am not sure how you felt about the story , my view is that the story does not manage to connect to the title . Whether the author deliberately let it stay away given that he ends the story at a time when Raghav is contesting the elections and the readers are left to make up their own conclusion that he will bring about revolution in 2020 doesn't seem too logical tom me but looks like the most possible thought from the author.

The book captivates the audience and as in his previous books, author has managed to keep the pace . The book is written on a typical movie style with its pace , drama and surrealism. 

Author could have elongated the book a little further to conclude the book as to what it says on the cover but that is just my opinion.

All in all, the book is readable but it doesn't live up to the author's reputation and to the hype that the book created.

In my view an average book to read at bed time or to pass time when you have nothing else important to do. There is nothing new or refreshing , number of movies have been made along similar lines.

Disappointing to average is my verdict on the book. Don't get me wrong here , my expectations from the author having read his previous books were high , hence this score.

Hope you enjoyed this. Until next time , take care.

Book Review : Flight of the Titans

As most of you know am a avid reader and generally post the latest book that am reading and the one i completed on social media . I also publish top ten books that i read during the year at end of every year . However have never attempted to write review of any books that i have read . This is my attempt to venture into that and i intend to write reviews of each of the books am going to read going forward.

The below is review of the latest book i completed . 

Title - Flight of the Titans

ISBN - 9780753513453

Publisher - Virgin Media

Author - Kenny Kemp

First Published - 2006/07

Review

The author of the book Kenny Kemp is a journalist , business writer and author . His book attempts to look at the commercial airline industry, specifically the two large commercial airplane makers Boeing and Airbus .

The book is aptly titled the Flight of the Titans , as most of us are aware that these two behemoths i.e. Airbus & Boeing deliver 90% of the planes that fly in the commercial segment.

Given the complexity of the organizations in question due to political involvement as both Boeing and Airbus are keenly supported by the US and European governments respectively , it is understandable that the author has tried his best to explain the political intervention although he has also tried to keep the political equation simple to understand .

The book specifically focuses on the strategy undertaken by the respective companies. On the one hand he looks at how Boeing is betting on a small point to point 250-300 seater and ultra efficient Boeing 787 as the future. On the other he also looks at Airbus' opposite strategy as they look at the delivering a sucker punch to what is the most known object on the skies i.e. the Boeing 747 by delivering the Airbus A380 which at its peak can have capacity of upto 600 passengers .

In order to discuss the future strategy , its inevitable for the author to get into the roots and history of both the corporations.

Various chapters have been devoted to look at the history of the companies, one cannot miss the fact that the history in the book is overwhelmingly skewed towards Airbus given extensive interviews with Airbus founder Roger Beteille. 

The author enthralls the reader by giving a mix of history and related politics behind the scenes with various degrees in different chapters . To avoid dragging the reader into boredom of history and politics , the author has kept these components very simple and enjoyable to ensure that the book isn't too heavy.

The flow of the book is really nice as each chapters move in logical steps. The author has not limited the book to these two companies but he has also devoted specific chapters to the engine makers i.e. Rollys Royce and the Engine Alliance (GE , Pratt&Whitney alliance), The employees and the sales people . This is key in ensuring that book feels complete to the reader.

It goes without saying that such big organizations and mega projects often have controversies intertwined in their history , author has discussed the Boeing labour union strikes, design issues, infighting , insider trading to name a few to add spice to the book. 

Book has focussed on key areas ,History, strategy , growth markets and expectations, controversies and the future.

It has been written very well and the author has had the lay man in mind while writing it . It is a very enjoyable read and has lots of information .

Given that the book was published in 2006/07 long before either Airbus or Boeing made their deliveries of the planes ts quite commendable that the author has been able to write this book in such vivid style and character .

What i did miss in the book was a chapter devoted to Air shows , as a general public , we tend to see lots of news around these air shows would have been good to have a chapter on this to explain why these take place and what happens here and which are the premier air shows and why. Apart from that it was a very enjoyable read.

As such this is my opinion and you can clearly see that this is my first stab at any book review , please feel free to give your opinion and i'll improve upon this.