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.

London to Dubai & Dubai to Chennai

Its been three weeks since i blogged & lots have happened in the last three weeks.

Just about three weeks ago , I had the opportunity of meeting and spending time with my old friend and mentor Suresh Iyer. We spent one evening having dinner, nothing fancy as Suresh just could not bear the cold , so we settled for a near by Mcdonalds. 

Braving the freezing temperature, we also went shopping.

Then it was time for some hectic work in office as i was busy preparing for my ten day break and travel to India and there was some residual work to be completed before i left.

Thursday a week before last , i left to Dubai where i was to stay with my sister and my brother in law. It was a great escape for me as my flight took off just before the snow started , i was mighty relieved.

I touched down in Dubai , i had pre-arranged my visa's online so it was easy to pass through customs and immigration. Once i was out both my sister and brother in law was there to pick me up. It was an amazing two and half days in their home , as we went to different places. The highlight was south indian food in " Vazha Ellai" and the desert safari . Not to forget my niece Sriya , she was just amazing.

After two and half joyful days , i left for Chennai . It was another Emirates flight and another upgrade to business class :)

As such i did not greatly enjoy the flight , did not eat anything , just had a glass of water . Flight was smooth and touched down on time.

I was coming to Chennai to participate in my dad's " Sasthiapthaboorthi" function . For those who do not know what that is , " Sasthiapthaboorthi" is a function to celebrate 60th birthday.

Prior to the function i had lot of work to do . I had to specifically open a bank account and also a trading account . The latter was specifically an advice from Suresh who did insist that i start looking at investments .

The days in Chennai flew by . I also had the rare opportunity of buying gold for the first ever time. Appetite for gold never dies . I had presented my mom and dad with gold during the function . I had it as my goal for several years and was pleased that it was fulfilled at the right time . 

The Sasthiapthaboorthi function was well attended , the function was held in our local temple with food being served at my home . As with every other function in my family , this was also done as per our custom and tradition and was attended by everyone from our whole family.

I also had to attend One reception and one bethrothal function in the mean time and also had to meet relatives of my better half.

I now have couple more days in Chennai and then am back to London.

Its been a hectic seven days here but i have thoroughly enjoyed it .

YENGA INGA ANNACHI KADAI YEDHUVUM ILLAYA ?

This one is going to be very short & i expect you will smile at the end of this, i really do.

To start with , Annachi Kadai in my local language (Tamil) means a small shop sometimes it can also mean  tea shop. Normally the owner of the shop is fondly called "Annachi" as a form of respect.

The reason i write this blog is actually funny , having moved out of country one tends to forget what all he/she misses . Top of the list comes that one misses is family , friends, food etc . Having said that there are other subtleties one tends to miss during certain times or occasion/s.

This post is just another reminder of one such thing.

The occasion for me was last Thursday evening.

These days thursday evenings are packed , its a day which is extremely long for me . Normally Thursdays tend to be busier as its closing in on the much anticipated day of the week i.e. Friday . With so many people want to get everything done and closed out by Thursday so Friday becomes less hectic , means Thursday's are always hectic , its not different for me and apart from it i have also packed my thursday with linguistic class i.e. my Mandarin class in evening, which makes it a day that i least look forward to.

Last Thursday was a particularly busy one , lots of meetings and massive amount of work to do. Compounded by the fact that there were other issues in office which took up considerable effort . There was a nagging issue which was causing lot of stress , hey ho it comes with part of my job . Can't complain much but the day was busy and i was very tired.

Just as my work day was coming to close , it dawned to me that its not over yet and i had to get to my class.

I dutifully packed my things, just had a quick face wash and left to take public transport to my class. While i was walking across the road to get to my class , i just realized that i completely forgot to do my homework to be discussed right at the beginning of the class.

I was tired and this homework thing got me even more irritated . As you can imagine  i signed upto the class to ensure that i gain maximum advantage of the time i spend and also ensure that i gain maximum advantage . Naturally feeling dejected , i was angry on myself.

For reasons unknown when one is tired & angry, hunger isn't far enough . I was hungry by now. The bitter cold was not helping either . I wanted to have something quick to eat . I walked in search of a shop where i could eat something sitting comfortably knowing that in this country prices vary if you are to "Eat In" or "Eat Out" . I just couldn't find anything. All i could see were up market coffee shops or pubs . I felt irritated , finally went into a shop and bought a bottle of water and started walking to class .

While i was walking to my class, i replayed the situation and thought what if this same situation i.e." someone hungry and wanted to have quick bite" were to happen back in my hometown . Suddenly it dawned to me that the outcome would have been drastically different . How & Why ?

The answer is very simple " Annachi Kadai aka Tea Stall aka Chai Shop in another avatar called Bakery "  for every 100 or so meters i would have found them and where i could have savored on local delicacies such as -

" Onion Bajji or Vazahakai Bajji or Masala Vada ... oh big daddy Samosa  for that matter puffs or something along with a hot or cold drink not only that i could have actually savored all of these sitting comfortably " 

The above list of delicacies isn't exhaustive but just a sample .... the list is just endless.

As i replayed the situation in my mind , lots of emotions flowed i my mind . I just smiled and said to myself sometimes we do not consider such subtle situations when we decide to work overseas .

On that high note , its time to say good bye. Hope you enjoyed this post.

Have a cracking week ahead!

Tale of A Pair of Shoes

This week just gone by had two major focus, deliverables in office in what has been a super hectic week and my gym trainers i.e. shoes .

As most of you might know , i was never a great fitness freak . Although the fad of keeping fit did come to me once a while but i never had a disciplined approach to it.

As is often the case , anything done without focus and discipline is bound to fail and mine was no different , i never really succeeded in being fit. It never really caught on until about 18 months ago.

I was inspired by a close friend and a colleague of mine ( Sathish aka Jillu) who was so disciplined that he went on to reduce his weight and also his waist size enormously.

Getting inspired is one thing and carrying on that inspiration is another one. As i left Chennai to London , my colleagues masterminded by Sathish presented me a high quality to sneaker and during my parting get together it was explicitly stated i put that to proper use.

That was 18 months ago. It took a long time for the idea of hitting the gym sank in my mind. 

Being alone and finding lots of free time was a big boost and a key reason for me to finally take to going to the gym. It was during first week of September 2010 i decided to go to the gym and rest is history.

Now am a regular at the gym and make it to the gym at least four days a week of which two days are dedicated to running.

During the initial days running for just 10 minutes was very tough , i was extremely unfit but i was determined to get better.

As with every-other thing , going to gym is a habit , once the habit catches on , its very difficult to let go . On this occasion i did not need to let go but i had to preserve the habit.

Slowly my running capacity increased . I moved from 10 minutes to 15 minutes and by April 2011 i was doing close to 30 minutes .

My target was to run for 60 minutes and i did it by Sep 2011 , a full 12 months since i took up the activity.

In all this planning and execution , i forgot to understand one key component . The Accessories, unknown to me my pair of sneakers were getting worn out because they were getting hammered when i do running full steam ahead. As 2011 closed , whenever i ran hard i started feeling pains in  my shin and joints and also in my ankle.

When i asked around and researched a bit , it was becoming increasingly clear that my running shoes had to change .

If i were in my home country , i would have just gone to a showroom and picked up a new shoe. Over here i.e. developed world , everything including buying a pair of shoes needed some research and scientific explanation on which shoes fits the buyer the most. If that sounds way to sci-fi , read on until you find out what actually happened.

I finally decide to buy the shoes and go to shoe shop.

Me : Hello , am looking for a pair of trainers for running, my current one is hurting me when i run

SK (Shop Keeper) : Sir, which one do you use ?

Me: I use Addidas

SK : How long have you been using it ?

Me : about 18 months

SK : Looks like your trainers are due for replacement and it may have run out of its life

By this time i was scratching my head and thinking does a shoe have shelf life 

Me : Ok , i need a new one

SK : Sir , lets test which one/type will fit you best

Me : Test?

SK: Yes , Sir

Me : Test what?

SK: Test your running and your foot landing angle when you run

Me: So what should i do for you to see that

SK: Sir , all you need to do is run on this running machine (Treadmill) and our video will capture your running motion , we can then see which type will suit best

Me: Do i just do one run?

SK: No sir, you do different run on various types of shoes

Me : Ok , lets do it.

By this time , i was astonished to see buying a shoe had such amount of details into it. This was unheard of.

After about 30 minutes i had done six individual running test with six different sets of shoes.

After each run, the shopkeeper also a trainer showed me my running video and showed the angle in which my leg hit the ground.

After the 30 minute stint and six sessions of video, the shopkeeper said , "sir your leg fall is near neutral on your left leg but not completely neutral ". 

To this , i asked what this means, he said you need a paid of shoes which has some support to nullify the angle of your fall.

Bewildered, i accepted . He had placed few pairs of shoes for me to choose from , all from various brands.

I finally choose a pair of Nike shoes with a bit of hard support in its sole to support inclined landing during running.

Am Keen to keep my habit of going to gym and running going . This blog was just to bring out the Tale of a pair of shoes . 

It definitely was a fairy tale to me.

Hope you enjoyed the blog.