"B" "B Schools"...

Finished your graduation??? Don’t know what to do? Don’t want to really study but still want to make money? You aren’t having any good academic record or interest in any subject but then too you want to have an entry & justify your existence in the corporate world…Well, very simple…get admission to any B School existing in the country. Nope, I am not speaking of IIMs or any other top 10 B school. Of course getting admitted to such top B schools is difficult. But don’t worry, there are easier options too...like getting admitted to B schools offering so-called “autonomous certification”, “AICTE approved certification”, “foreign degree”, “world class education” etc. All these B schools claim to be “A” category business schools in their mass media advertising. By the way claiming to be category “A” business school is very easy these days. Thanks to the n numbers of survey results being published by different magazines every alternate month. Except for IIMs & a few other known good business schools, all other surveys show drastically different results for different B schools. On top of that these business schools also show some weird benefits in their advertisements, e.g., large campus with swimming pool/gym, centrally air conditioned, excellent canteen etc. Now how on this earth a swimming pool is related to a management degree, god alone knows!!! Also what is the point of advertising about their air-conditioned campus when the students once out of such colleges will have to do direct selling of products like credit cards, home loans etc. in scorching sun. Similarly I am not able to understand the connection between excellent canteen & managerial skills. Perhaps such colleges want to satisfy the taste buds of their students by offering such food as the management of such colleges must be aware that once passed out, the students will have real difficult time to even have a normal meal in any restaurant by their meager salary. The best out of all these tactics is to write “excellent placement record”. Now on what parameters, they qualify their placement record as “excellent” is still ambiguous to me. How do they get the courage to prefix the term “excellent” before their placement record is quite wooly for me!!! The mockery is that all these “B” “B schools” (B category B Schools) charge some huge fees because of these so-called benefits offered by them & students keep on paying such abruptly high fees in hope of getting some great job with “lucrative” pay-package.

Well, frankly speaking, even I haven’t done my MBA from any of the IIMs or so. But I have done my MBA from a reasonably good institute & if I do the cost benefit analysis (fees vs. my salary), I am not having much grievances as being a university degree, my institute has charged us a very low fees. Well, I am working in a reputed organization & supposedly handling a good portfolio but if I think of the nature of job, to be very honest for initial one full year of my job, I never did any managerial or so-called “strategic” work. I did some stupid operational level & moron work only which was nowhere related to any of the papers studied in MBA. After doing moron job for almost a year & half and because of my good academic track record, finally I got the so-called “managerial role” which was still way beyond those marketing fundas studied by us in our classrooms. Sometimes, I really think as to what does MBA course teach us because of which it has become such a craze & a basic qualification for getting a job? Believe me friends, I seriously think it only teaches us how to exceed your confidence more than your competence!!!

I know that with the mushrooming growth of B Schools, it is very easy now to become a management graduate but what is happening after that? Management graduate even after paying huge fees in lakhs & lakhs to these “B” “B Schools” are doing the job of sales executives & getting a salary as good as a normal graduate gets.Few years back, same happened with Engineering & Medical courses. These degrees were craze in earlier days but because of these hundreds of private colleges in every city & donation seats in almost every college, everyone with no knowledge & intelligence started to become an engineer or doctor. The value of an engineer or doctor got so diminished that they started to work at the lowest salary possible. I think the same is going to happen with MBA also. Its high time now that the students should understand the difference between a “B School” and a “B” “B School”. Its of no use to waste so much of money in such schools in hope of getting some excellent job with some great package. In fact the Govt. should not give affiliation to any such “B Schools” which are just going to mislead the students by showing them rosy pictures of their career. Such schools are not “B Schools” at all, rather they are “C Schools” i.e., “Cheater Schools”.

Balancing Act

Yesterday, I was watching an interview of a very eminent female who has been quite successful in the field of marketing & advertising. Quite impressed by her personality, I was very keenly watching her interview. Every word coming out from her mouth seemed to be so relevant, relatable & perfect. Finally the interviewer asked her few questions about her personal life and her one main answer suddenly changed my whole perspective about her. With that one answer of her, everything seemed to be so unrelatable, so distant. Suddenly, I felt that I can never become like her…Just few minutes back, I was admiring her & wanted to be like her & her just one single sentence about her personal life made me realize that I can’t be as successful as her. Well, her that one sentence was – “SUCCESS DOESN”T COME WITHOUT ANY SACRIFICE & FOR HER SUCCESS SHE HAS SACRIFICED HER FAMILY LIFE”. She wanted to move ahead in her life & after marriage she realized that her time was getting divided between work & home. Because of her demanding nature of work, she was finding it difficult to cope up & so she finally decided not to have any child at all as she never wanted to have further responsibilities. She never regretted her decision of not having a child as she was knowing that she would have never attained this success if she would have gone ahead with a child in her life.

Well, frankly speaking even I grew up in my life with some fiery ambition & big dreams in my eyes. Got married last year & suddenly the whole life changed. Not that I am some bechari si female who is being dominated by her in-laws & all that but I think things automatically got changed slowly – slowly. Time got divided & suddenly I find so many people judging me. Now, I am not supposed to perform only one role in my office & be evaluated by my boss rather I find myself to be juggling between so many roles in my life & there are so many people who evaluate me for my different roles. Very naturally, my personal time has also got splitted between two fronts of my life – work & home. I am always trying to strike a balance between work & home and sometimes get quite frustrated when I am not able to satisfy either. I really sometimes get scared by imagining the days when I will have a child as I am very much aware that a child will be onset of some huge responsibilities in my life.

I know so many females who are also struggling hard to strike a perfect balance between work & home. Even though they were highly ambitious, their career had taken back seat because of their families. They had literally burnt themselves in this so called “balancing act”. They had given off their dreams of becoming some CEO or MD or XYZ of some big company. Well speaking of me, even though I am aware of the consequences & the cost which I will have to pay, then too I would like to have a child in future as personally I think life gets completed only after having a child & family. I am fully aware of the fact now that I will have to trade off my big dreams & ambition for having a family life but then too I want to go ahead with my family life.
So many females like me just try hard to strike a perfect balance between work & home but striking a balance generally leads to a mediocre level career & a mediocre level home - maker. The moment one tries to attain something big or excellent on either front of life, the pointer of the balance gets tilted to that particular side & the other side gets neglected. So, the next step will be either to reduce the efforts towards attaining that big/excellent thing and bring the pointer to balanced position or choose any one of the sides. I seriously wonder, if there is anything known as “PERFECT BALANCE” between two fronts of life where you achieve good at both the fronts or is it always a “TRADE OFF” between the two

Melee

I was standing in a mob & suddenly I was pushed with a great force by the mob. Oh my god, I was just jammed between so many people. Everyone was just pushing or pulling each other. I tried to turn back & come out of the rushing horde, but it was simply impossible…Just with the push & pulls of so many hands and shoulders, I moved from one point to another & finally entered the gloomy conduit… & after that I can’t explain my exact state in words… , sooooo many people at that cramped place. It looked as if the whole city had got confined to that place. Females were just screeching & screaming at each other. They were just trying to save themselves from falling out of the channel. In order to make their way out, they were just pulling hair, duppattas or whatever they could catch hold of. After observing the whole fiasco, I desperately wanted to come out of the place but it was not at all possible. I felt that the whole conduit is moving at a very slow pace with thousands & thousands of voices floating around me. I was hardly able to stand straight over there.
Finally after sometimeI found a few people trying to move out & I also followed them. I experienced a sudden jolt & then oh lord …… everyone was pushing me, all of them wanted to come out. Some other lady’s duppatta got stuck around my neck & I was actually feeling suffocated & it was so difficult to breathe. I screamed with tears in my eyes. For a fraction of second I wasn’t able to move ahead & then suddenly because of pressure from back I fell down. I was half in that conduit & half on ground, shouting & crying but to no use. People just passed over on my hands & shoulders without thinking even once that they are actually running on a human body. My hands got badly hurt & I started shaking because of pain…but till then I never got the chance to get up from the ground. Then I saw a kid on the ground just beside me who had also fallen because of the mad crowd & he was actually bleeding from mouth. But noone was bothered & the mother of the kid was just crying & trying to pick up her child from the ground. I somehow managed to get up from the ground & I was shaking badly…
Nope, I was neither held in some riot nor at some place which caught fire suddenly. It wasn’t either any natural disaster or bomb blast. I faced this havoc while traveling in a central line local train in Mumbai. Day before yesterday, I just thought of going to Siddhi Vinayak temple & since I wanted to reach fast, so decided to take a train. Also I thought that since it wasn’t peak office hours, so the trains would be relatively emptier. But I was totally wrong. I had traveled by local trains earlier also but my this journey was the worst journey of my life. After somehow coming down at Dadar, I came to know that it was some “Ambedkar Festival” that day because of which the whole city was going towards that side. But the rush, the madness can’t be put in words. Noone was caring about what was happening to others, everyone was just rushing ahead.
I am anyways quite skeptical about traveling by local train & after that day’s incident, I have almost sworn in that I will never take a local train even if I will have to walk for kilometers. But I really feel sad about those who can’t avoid local trains because of their location of job or other reasons. They all lead such a tough & sore life over here. Riding a local train in Mumbai during peak office hours is almost like winning a battle. Not only local train, everything over here, be it finding accommodation or conveyance or any such thing is getting difficult day by day. So, many people are migrating to Mumbai because of job & career but I really wonder if the infrastructure over here is strong enough to support so many people???

Solitude

"It is only when we silent the blaring sounds of our daily existence that we can finally hear the whispers of truth that life reveals to us, as it stands knocking on the doorsteps of our hearts. ~K.T. Jong".

Last night, while lying on the bed for quite some time, I suddenly realized that I was speaking to myself. The thoughts which came to my mind suddenly made me realize that its long since I have thought anything about myself. I had been visiting others so frequently but its long since I had visited myself. The change in my existence, the change in my personality, the change in my nature…..oh my god, so many things have changed in me & I never realized it with the passing time. In this daily race between priorities of home, career & family I never thought of my own priorities. In fact, few days back, I was having some free time & that time I used to feel really lonely. I used to feel bad about my forlornness & tried to keep myself busy with some or other activities. I never tried to sit peacefully & think about myself. But after my yesterday’s encounter with solitude, I realized that I never wanted to be alone as I was running away from myself. I was missing the absence of others, as I wasn’t enjoying the presence of my own self. My rendezvous with solitude made me realize that I wasn’t considering my existence worthy enough to think about it. My solitude gave me the time to introspect & think about myself. It gave me the solutions to my so many unresolved problems. Well more surprising was that it wasn’t anyone else who gave me these solutions, it was me only who found out these solutions. It was me only who made me realize my inner strengths which I used to have. I remembered my struggle, my patience, my determination, my courage, my ambition & my dreams. I think somewhere in the daily rush of life, unhealthy competition & demanding relationships, I had lost myself. I had lost my inner drive & vivacity. Thanks to my solitude, I found these again. Earlier I had read a few things about solitude, but I realized the importance of it yesterday. I realized that you can only feel unhappy by your loneliness if you don’t enjoy your own company. I realized that its important to visit your own self once in a while to recognize your own strengths. I realized that if you are actually lost & you don't know the way ahead in your life, then you should just sit quietly & think peacefully for sometime and believe me, you will find some or other way out. I realized that the best & most peaceful moment of your day is when you are actually not speaking to anyone else but to yourself, your ears are not listening to anything else but to yourself & your eyes are not looking at anything else but at yourself.

Inner Strife

She was again bidding farewell to me with wet eyes & tight lips. The same inevitable question on her face – "when will you come again & for how many days"? Feeling really heavy since I have rejoined work after Diwali break. I don’t know why but this time I can’t forget the melancholic face of my mother, her sealed lips, her weak stature & her tearful eyes, which were having millions of unanswered questions. Maybe the realization of the fact that mom is getting old day by is impressing upon me. Maybe its sinking in me now that she will not be there with me forever. Maybe its difficult to accept that now I will never be able to spend my life at my home in the same carefree way as I used to do as a kid.
Since, the day I have started to work, I think I have hardly spent a few days at my home with my family because of the stringent leave policy of my company. Earlier it used to be a week’s long trip to my home town twice a year but after getting married, those very short holiday trips got further subdivided between my in-laws place & my mom’s place with naturally more number of days to be spent at in-laws place as it is expected from a girl to give the first priority to husband’s family after marriage. To be very precise, I think I have spent total 5 days at my home in past 14 months.
Sometimes, I wonder on all those who are like me, I mean those who have left their hometowns for making a career at metros or abroad. Are they all happy with their job & money? Are our jobs worth the love & relationships, which we have left behind? Can our money ever give us the same satisfaction, love & happiness, which we used to have alongwith our parents? Aren’t we selfish kids who have left our parents behind at the time when they need us the most?
Well, I know that our parents sacrifice a lot for our good upbringing & education & so its very important for us to have a good career & earn money. Even if I know the hard realities of life & the importance of money & career, then too, I am feeling restless. I am feeling jittery to realize that with the passage of time, mom is getting older & after some years she will not be there. Despite, this inevitable realization, I know that I will be able to spend only those 5 to 6 days with her every year because of job and marriage. My rational brain says that I need to pursue my job & career but my emotional side wants to leave this job, career & everything and return back home and be the same little girl who used to find the world in her mother’s arms………

Why do Men......???

Well, before I start writing, let me be very honest that no special pun or satire is intended towards men in general & this post is totally based on my experiences with my husband. Hubby darling loves me a lot but many of his habits simply lead to so many unanswered WHYs in my mind. After spending few months of our married life together, I have realized that there are certain WHYs about men, which is simply unrequited. Now here goes my list….

1. Why do men read newspaper in the loo? I mean I really don’t understand this funda of my husband. I always wonder, reading newspaper not in bedroom, not in living room, not on his way to office & out of all the places WHY in loo??? Yukkk….frankly speaking I toh don’t feel like touching that newspaper when it is out of that loo & because of his this great habit he takes so much time in a loo that one can actually write a movie script or a story in that time.
2. Why do men point out on our wardrobes? Whenever we decide to clean up our house, the first thing on which his eyes go, is my wardrobe. He will start scrutinizing as to why I don’t wear this & why don’t I throw this out & then he will make his final verdict – " If I distribute your clothes which you don’t wear nowadays to some needy people, then I think I will be able to help out at least one village". Hello, I asked you to help me out in cleaning our house & not emptying my wardrobe. I love clothes & that’s it!!!
3. Why do men love those blood-shedding movies? I think my husband gets really turned on by all those action packed movies, boxing matches & hardheaded movies pointing out political corruption in our society. Excuse me, why do we go out for a movie? I mean real life is already filled up with so many political corruptions then why to watch them in movies too? Also all those boxing matches, wherein they show so much of blood & injuries….eeeekkkk….how can he enjoy such things!!! Yes, I like romantic & senti movies. Atleast they are more eye-soothing & pleasant to watch.
4. Why do their favourite answer is "KUCH BHI"? Me- "Hey what shall I cook today"? He- "KUCH BHI". Me- "What shall I wear while going to your aunt’s house"? He- KUCH BHI". Me- "What gift shall I buy for your sister’s bday"? He- "KUCH BHI"….(this list is endless)….Can somebody please tell me, what does this “KUCH BHI” mean??? Hello, when I am asking you, that means I need your suggestions na!!!
5. Why can’t they remember dates? I very clearly remember the days like our first meeting, our first date etc…..but my hubby darling, forget it!!!I sometimes wonder if he will remember my bday also after few years. I think most of the females have agreed to me on this that men simply can’t remember dates.
6. Why do they hate shopping? The kind of faces which my hubby makes whenever we have to go out for shopping….It looks as if I have done some kind of atrocious torture on him!!! However, he never says no while going out for shopping but from his face one can simply make out that he hates shopping. I seriously wonder as to how men can hate a wonderful & exotic activity like shopping!!!
7. Why do they expect us to be so quick? O.K, O.K., I know that I take time to get ready or I take time to select a dress….but so what??? See, we have to decide so many things before getting ready, right kind of dress, right accessory, right footwear etc….So, we will take time na….Now if you get ready on time, so whats so big deal??? For you its simply a shirt/tshirt or trouser/jeans. But see, we have to decide from so many options- jeans, skirts, salwaar-kurta, saree etc…..Isn’t it a time consuming & difficult task?
8. Why do they simply hate our girl friends? Well he never puts any restriction on me, but there is not even a single girl friend of mine, whom he likes easily. Some he finds to be snob, some he thinks are very showy, some he thinks are not trustworthy & blah blah blah………Well, even I don’t like your MISS PERFECT or MISS SMARTY! But do I scrutinize them???
9. Why do they compare us with every Jill, Suz or Mary? "Janu, why don’t you wear something like her, or why don’t you do this like her etc. etc. etc"….Hello, do we compare men with any Tom, Dick or Harry, then why do they compare us with all those so called hot looking babes? We don’t look like them & neither we want to look so hot (rather cheap).
10. And last but not the least….why do they put the towels on bed? Now this is something really serious about my husband, he simply can’t put the wet towel anywhere else. I know that its of no point to tell him this anymore as I think he finds bed to the most suitable & best place to keep the wet towel after bath….Amusing, isn’t it???

Well, enough for now, I think this list can

Is JOB synonymous to CAREER?

Well, we all study & grow up with some purpose & goals in our lives. As a kid if, one used to ask me – What do you want to become after growing up & I excitingly used to reply – "IAS officer/ Doctor/Engineer/Pilot". Of course like many other kids, even I used to have different answers at my different age levels. But the crux was that I was having some goal & ambition in my life. Even after having an outstanding academic records & a good bachelor’s degree, I finally realized that in present corporate culture, you are nothing if you aren’t having a MBA degree. So, went ahead for pursuing a MBA degree also & finally landed up with this job at a reputed company.Started my job with some very high hopes & firey aspiration to have a great career in my life. Well frankly speaking after working for two years, now I realized the difference between the word "career" & "job". Now I know that I am having a very cool & comfortable job but a pathetic career. Now if someone asks me –"What do you want to do in your life?", I think I will be clueless. After lots of introspection also, I think I don’t know the answer to this question. I feel as if I am having no goals in my life. Well, everyday I come to work in the morning with absolutely no enthusiasm, no zeal & no excitement towards my work as I know that nothing new is going to happen. My work is supposedly interesting but with the passage of time, my role has just ended up as a co-ordinator. Now, one can understand how messy the job of a co-ordinator is!!! You co-ordinate with n number of different teams. If something good comes up, all the different teams are ready to share your success but if something goes wrong, it ends up being only my responsibility. I think my whole office strongly believes in the saying- "Success has many fathers but Failure is an orphan child". Well, my dear ones say that it happens with everybody as in every office it’s the same story. They advice me to carry on my work & not to think too much. I also carry on the work like others, try to finish off as much as possible and then at the end of the day return back home with same unanswered questions in my mind. Where am I heading? What am I getting out of this job? What am I learning? What do I want out of my life? Why was I so confident of my dreams & aspirations during my childhood & now when I have got the potentiality to do something then why am I so inconfident of my goals and way ahead? Why am I so clueless of my aspirations? Does a cool & comfortable job mean a great job or does a great package mean a great job? What is the meaning of having a great career? Is JOB synonymous to CAREER?

Working hard is a passe.......

"Hey, it was really good. I just convinced everybody. I am so happy, finally I got promoted." I coolly said – "Wow!!! You deserved it dear. When are you giving us treat?" These were my only words, which I could manage to tell her with my heavy heart. "DESERVE IT, my foot. PROMOTION!!! Oh nooo, really, how can an idiot like you be promoted"………these were some of the honest comments which I really wanted to tell her, but I didn’t, as in this corporate culture, I have learnt one very important thing i.e., to be POLITICALLY CORRECT.

But way back my home, I was really feeling very sad. I was wondering how come she got promoted!!! How come she manages to get so much accreditation? Why does she get so much recognized even for her smallest of activities & why don’t I get noticed for all the thousands & thousands of work which I have done without opening my mouth. Not that I am not appreciated by my superiors & peers, well I am appraised for my work & my talent but not in the same way as she is. Be it qualification, sincerity, hardwork, confidence, or taking initiatives, I don’t think I lack anywhere as compared to her. Even my boss appreciates my initiatives & intelligence, then what is it which makes her so popular? How does she manage to convince everybody that she is the busiest person around? Any new complicated work being given to her & she will very sweetly announce that she can’t take any new assignment as she is working on some very important project. Resultantly, it’s the donkeys like me who will end up doing extra & extra work on her behalf. Well, we very well know her important projects…….all those net surfing, phone gossip & back biting of other colleagues. But one thing she definitely makes sure to do whenever she does any work & that is MAKE NOISE of her own work. She makes sure that whenever she is doing something, whole office should know that she is doing something very complicated, exciting & new. She will make sure to create an impression that noone has ever done this work in the same way as she has done & hers is the best & most systematic approach towards work. Best thing is that she generally takes help from me/others, understands so many things from us, copies so many formats from us but presents it with some cosmetic changes to the superiors with full confidence as her own new ideas & initiatives. Superiors also get impressed by her initiatives without even realizing that it is a copied work as neither me nor others like me would have done tom-tom about our work. The next best thing about her is that she very strongly believes in networking & relationship management with superiors.

Initially I never used to pay attention to her loud character. I always used to believe in the saying-"Modesty is the best virtue". I always used to convince myself that I should keep doing my work with full sincerity & devotion and one day people will realize my potential. I always used to believe that talent & sincerity pay in the long run and mere relationship building (in my language, unnecessary networking or rather shoe licking) with superiors will lead to nowhere. I used to strongly believe in the traditional equation of success which is, SUCCESS = INTELLIGENCE + SINCERITY + DEDICATION + HARDWORK. But I think my belief is wrong. Gone are the days of sincerity, hardwork, dedication & intelligence. Well it is of no use to be intelligent if you can’t impress your intelligence upon others & its very easy to impress this now-a-days….Just make sure that whatever you are speaking, even if its full crap & rubbish, it should come out from your mouth with full confidence (rather over-confidence) & loud voice. Its absolutely useless to be sincere & dedicated to work, what matters most is how best you can make sure that people know your sincerity & busy schedule during work. Working hard is a passe these days, the in thing is "working smart". Now, one might wonder as to how to work smartly? Well, very simple…..make others work hard on your behalf & get the job completed by them and show it smartly as your own work to the world………Cool na??? I think the equation of success has changed now. The new equation is, SUCCESS = LOUD CHARACTER + NETWORKING (rather ASSLICKING) + OVER CONFIDENCE + SMARTWORK. Isn’t it??? Atleast I am observing this new equation in my office......

Festivals

Maa, why don’t festivals seem to be festivals without all of you? Dusshera has come, but not even a single day of Navratri looked like an occasion of Puja. Something is missing Maa……, something which I can’t explain. Not that people aren’t celebrating here, but all I can see here is glamorous Dandiya or Garba nights wherein some DJ is playing music & people are dancing. We do go out for festive feasts outside but nowhere I can find the same satisfaction which we used to have when you used to make those festival special dishes for us. Even the simple kheer made by you was better than these exotic festival special sweet dishes served by grand restaurants. Yes, we have taken new clothes but I haven’t found the same excitement at all which we used to have as kids for getting new clothes especially on festivals. You know why have we bought these dresses especially? Its because all these Garba & Dandiya nights have got dress codes wherein you are supposed to wear only such types of clothes. You know what, here people don’t gather themselves in the evenings to have fun & enjoy the Navratri, rather everyone is supposed to pay money to go to these Dandiya & Garba nights.
Maa, Diwali is also going to come soon. I know you must be busy arranging for whitewashing of our house as you still believe that Goddess Laxmi should come in clean & new house. I still remember those days when you used to make us clean our rooms during Diwali vacations. Not that we aren’t going to celebrate Diwali, but not by decorating our house & worshipping Ganesh & Laxmi, rather by enjoying the vacation at some CHILLING place. Yes, instead of welcoming Ganesh & Laxmi at their houses, people lock their houses here & go out for vacations as this is the only time when you get a leave of 3 to 4 days from office. With the attractive tour packages offered by travel agents & Diwali special nights arranged by hotels, its an ideal time for people to go out on holidays.
I still get nostalgic when I remember those home made sweets which you used to make for us, those crackers which we used to play in the colony & those gharondas which I used to make with Bhai & the excitement with which we used to decorate the same. I wonder if ever my kids will experience such sweet things & more than that, will they like such things at all???
Sometimes, I really wonder on the extent of commercialization of our traditional festivals. I really wonder if these kids who are enjoying these Dandiya nights ever know the reason of celebrating Navratri & Dusshera? What does Vijaya Dashmi mean? Do they know the reason of celebrating Diwali? Do they understand the meaning of customs like making Gharondas or welcoming Ganesh-Laxmi? Are these festivals just meant for those glamorous dance nights & lavish holidays at alluring locations?
Really miss, the festivals celebrated with all of you Maa…………

Anamnesis

My Prejudiced Remembrance…..Why I don’t remember very clearly the days when I had sweets in my meal but I remember very clearly the days when I hadn’t got any meal because of our impecunious state? I don’t have count of my few peaceful nights but why have I got a clear remembrance of my sleepless nights? When I see a sweet dream, its easier to forget but why can’t I forget the bad dreams which I had seen in my past? I think not to dwell over past & enjoy the present…but why do I remember so vividly those shriek & screech from past? I moved ahead in my life & accomplished my goals. But why do I still get tears in my eyes by remembering the struggle to achieve all these things? Why don’t the insecurities from my mind go away? Physical scars faded slowly but why are those mental scars so difficult to earse?
Well, there as so many such WHYs which come to my mind. I always wonder as to why my remembrance is so biased, why is it so inclined towards the negative ones? Why is it so difficult to forget the tormenting memoirs? But I think there is a reason for the same…..Maybe its important to remember the struggle & tears, then only you can understand the importance of success & happiness. Sometimes its good to experience the hunger, then only you can understand the importance of food. Sometimes its necessary to have tears in your eyes, then you can understand the importance of smile. Sometimes its important to remember the agonized past, then you can understand the importance of present………..

Name Game

How Important is a Brand Name?
As usual, had a heated discussion with boss & had a tough time convincing him about the same old “Brand Name” isssue.Nothing new, some new products to be launched, so he asked me to think of names for the same.I suggested names & he is again furious that names suggested by me aren't connoting the category.According to him, the brand should immediately cue the category like Airtel.Well, he is somewhat right but I think its a debatable issue.If meaning of names were that important then why did brands like IKEA, NOKIA, APPLE became world famous and are having the highest recall value.There are hundreds of articles by famous people available which support this fact but my boss says that these are all foreign brands & foreign consumers can accept anything but not Indians...O.K., then Why ORANGE is highly acceptable by Indian consumer for a telecom service provider???There are hundreds of such examples where brands aren't having any specific meaning but are still accepted & liked by the Indian consumer too.I mean this is the discusion point bewteen me & my boss every time a new product gets launched and everytime he goes ahead with a name that cues the category......Well I agree that name should be easy to pronounce & have some positive meaning/impact....but why cue the category???He thinks that I am new in my career, so I throw all these new & bookish ideas which is not very suitable to Indian consumer market....So, thought of putting my viewpoints here.Does a brand necessarily cue the category?I feel no.........

Optimism

Is Optimism Difficult?
“Every cloud has a silver lining”, “Make a game of finding something positive in every situation” & “In the middle of every difficulty lies some opportunity”……………these are some of the quotes with which we all have grown up since our childhood. We all know that we should be optimistic & we should never lose hope. But has anyone considered the extent of audacity one requires for being optimistic in some really hopeless situation!!! How can one be optimistic when one knows that things aren’t going to improve? How can one have the sanguinity to find some opportunity in the middle of some difficulty when one is aware of the negative aftermath of the situation? What about those, who have always been optimistic but haven’t seen the end to their darkness? What about those, who try to be optimistic but the austere reality of the situation pull them down?
Does everything happen for good? Can one be always OPTIMISTIC? Does OPTIMISM really yield positive outcome? Does OPTIMISM really lead to happiness & success? Is being OPTIMISTIC difficult?