What a decade...!

A little late, but never too late...

What a decade it has been!

From school, to Physics Olympiads, to amazing 4 years at IITB (H8 H8!) , to first job at ZS, then to MS, then another two roller coaster (sinusoidal :P) years at IIMB (Sports Council!) and now in BCG - arguably the best firm in the world!

First relationship, several breakups, and a lot more ;)

Amazing friends all along. The childhood ones (Chandan, Nikhil), IITBians (Varoon, Vams, Laddha, Pooji, Shikha, Guddu.....), the ZSers (Girish, Kaveri, Mattu......), the MSers (Mittal, Neeraj, Neharika....), the IIMBians (Sparks!, Neha, Vicks....), the BCGers (Partha, Nishant, Rohit, Ankush.....) and a lot many more (Zeta, AP, SS, Pulkit, Nikki, Geetika, Reema....)!

(Surely have missed many names, and there are several that cannot be taken here:P)

First trips abroad: Europe (Euro trip!), Bali, Beijing.

Growing old, growing silly! Thinking you have become mature, but in reality still being a kid.

And my one and only bhatiju - Aadvik Gautam :) :) :)

I repeat: What a decade!

A few other things would have made it even better even more perfect, but what the hell, lets leave something for 2011-2020!

- ANAND GAUTAM

January 8th 2011

[P.S. - I am sure lot of us would echo my sentiments :)]

It takes two to tango

From Wikipedia: “It takes two to tango is a common idiomatic expression which suggests something in which more than one person or other entity are paired in an inextricably-related and active manner, occasionally with negative connotations. The phrase recognizes that there are certain activities which cannot be achieved singly -- like arguing, fighting, making love, dancing the tango.”

Have you ever hated anybody who has never done anything wrong to you? There might be some things which he has done to others or maybe you are generally irritated by that person. But you hate him/her. How much have you hated him/her?

(Ignore any celebrities, like our beloved Mr. Kasab, here. )

And have you ever hated somebody who has done several several wrong things to you? Somebody who has constantly irritated you, been mean to you, hurt you, said hurtful things to you. How much have you hated him/her? More than the guy above? Much more? Much much more? I guess yes.

But this post is not about hatred, it is about love!

Have you ever loved anybody who hasn’t loved you back? Chances are that you have. You adore the person. You have immense respect for the person. You want desperately to be with the person. You simply love the person. Have you ever been in such a situation? If yes, may I ask how much have you loved him/her?

And have you ever loved anybody who has loved you back? Hopefully, you have. You have adored and respected the person, so has he/she. You want to be with him/her as much as him/her. You love the person, you are loved back. If you have been in such a situation, may I again ask how much have you loved him/her?

My point is very simple. Ideally, any one-sided love, in intensity, should be way way inferior to a two-sided love. Just as a one-sided animosity is not even close to an “enemy”. When you love someone and are loved back, there is virtuous cycle which builds. And there is no limit to which this virtuous cycle can take you. It is beautiful, it is divine.

Not to say that one can’t love someone dearly despite not being loved back. You can, and you can do it for eternity. But the intensity should be ideally much lesser than two-sided love. If somebody claims to have an equivalent intensity for someone who does not love him/her back, then there are only two possibilities. Either the person is unaware of what ‘intensity’ can be, or is downright stupid and an emotional fool. There is a need to re-calibrate his/her emotions.

Continuing from wiki: The tango is a dance which requires two partners moving in relation to each other, sometimes in tandem, sometimes in opposition.[2] The meaning of this expression has been extended to include any situation in which the two partners are by definition understood to be essential -- as in, a marriage with only one partner ceases to be a marriage.”

This is how love grows – “two partners moving in relation to each other, sometimes in tandem, sometimes in opposition”. And love keeps growing through a virtuous cycle as long as we don’t get useless negativity in our system and break that cycle.

I have been in love a few times in the past – one-sided as well as relationships. I would always admire, respect and even love all of them, but, “to an extent”. Today I want to declare that I am over each and every one of them. Next time, I want to be able to build and maintain a virtuous cycle. Next time I am in love, I want “no limits”.

- ANAND GAUTAM

9^th May 2010

IPL and how wrong can one be - "Times of India"

There is a general dissatisfaction around the country with the erstwhile great newspaper 'The Times of India'. I have been sensing the downfall over last 4-5 years. I do not read newspaper so religiously, so cannot comment like an expert but a recent statement in today's TOI left me so amazed that I was forced to write this piece.

After Mumbai's win over Deccan yesterday, today's Sunday Times wrote "The Chargers were then dismissed for 115, which made Mumbai the first team in IPL3 to qualify for the semifinals. They are now assured of a fourth-place finish even in the worst case scenario from here on." Bull S**t! Of the highest order!!

There are 8 teams, each playing 14 matches and four teams qualify for the semis. Even the dumbest person would agree that you would have to win 8 out of 14 to be assured of a top 4 finish. Even the dumbest.........TOI is dumber than the dumbest. I played GOD and forced the results of all the matches and Mumbai Indians finish 6th in the worst case scenario!! Apparently the "worst case scenario" of TOI has a very different connotation. Anyway, here is the table which can emerge as a worst case scenario (non-TOI definition). :-

Team Played Won Lost Points

Royal Challengers Bangalore 14 9 5 18

Chennai Super Kings 14 9 5 18

Rajasthan Royals 14 9 5 18

Delhi Daredevils 14 8 6 16

Kolkata Knight Riders 14 8 6 16

Mumbai Indians 14 7 7 14

Deccan Chargers 14 4 10 8

Kings XI Punjab 14 2 12 4

What is most interesting is that even after winning the next match, Mumbai cannot be assured of a top 4 finish - it will come to net run rate. So TOI was not just off in their calculation, they were way way off.

I do not agree that the reporters in TOI are super super dumb and they just don't get it. Almost certainly, there is only on explanation to this. TOI wants to "make news". They want to be the first one to tell the world that Mumbai qualified for the semis. So what, if is it not true! Given the form of MI (and the super run rate), they will surely win another match and qualify for the semis. So why not take a premature credit of being the first one to announce something, even before it has happened, knowing that it will most likely happen!

Any other newspaper will wait for at least two more matches (April 9th, 5 more days) to make the above claim. TOI brings you the same news 5 days earlier than anybody else! 5 full days!! So what if it is not true yet, we are Indians, we have faith, it will come true for sure!!!

I just have one word for this - "disgusting" :)

- Anand Gautam

4th April 2010

Everything and yet Nothing

Its 3:13 AM, I am a wee bit sleepy. But I have to stay up and write this so that I can forever remember this Christmas. I cannot sleep now, not tonight. Tonight is not the night to sleep. It is the night to rejoice. It is the night to mourn. Yes, it is the night to rejoice and mourn at the same time.

This Christmas, I almost felt like believing in the existence of Santa Claus. This Christmas I was offered a gift. To call it a gift would be an insult. This Christmas I was offered my life - fully alive, that is. I almost turned around, started searching the house for some red colour somewhere. There was none. I was asking myself, what did I do to deserve this? Didn't the stories say that Santa gives gifts to only those children who are good throughout the year? I haven't been good this year, not at all. Then how could he?

"Wait wait wait", I suddenly realized. Offering does not imply receiving, does it? And to my horror, I knew immediately that I could not accept the gift. Wait, we cannot call it a gift! I could not accept my life - fully alive, that is. All the happy Christmas red was replaced by black and white. Black and white of mourning. The price you pay for being "grey". I have never heard Santa punishing for not being good, he is too kind. So this cruel punishment was from a different origin, was it?

Have you ever faced something like this? Imagine something you have wanted all your life. You have dreamt of it during nights. You have dreamt of it even more during days. Something, which you will place above everything else if it were your last day on earth. And you are offered the same, to keep it safe, always with you, till your last day on earth. But you have to say no, you have to refuse, because you are not strong enough to carry its weight. You are happy, that you were good enough to be offered, but sad at the same time, that you were not good enough to have the courage to accept. No other humility lesson can beat this, trust me!

There are tears in my eyes, some are of happiness, others are of sorrow. How do I distinguish one from another? I have no way to count them, to tell which of them are more and which are less. But somehow I have a feeling that the ones of happiness are drowning in the rest.

Today I am extremely happy, my joy knows no bounds. I was offered my life - fully alive, that is.
Today I am crying terribly, my sorrow is infinite. I refused my life - fully alive, that is.

- ANAND GAUTAM
26th December 2009

चाँद और तारे

This is a poem written in response to another poem in Apr'09. So I strongly urge you read the seed poem before reading mine.

The seed poem was written by one of my dearest friends Smriti Khullar and she has been kind enough to upload the same on her blog, here is the link --> http://rythmsandthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/12/oo.html

I typically don't put up my poems on my blog, but this is an exception, thanks to Smriti :)

अमावस की एक काली रात में, तुमने जाना तारे क्या होते हैं,

और हर छलके मोती में, तुम संग जाने कितने रोते हैं.

तुमने दिल की बात कही, हमने सुनी और समझ गए,

पर अपनी बात कैसे करें बयान, हम तारे थोड़ा उलझ गए.

सो कलम तो उठाई, पर फूँक फूँक कर चलता हूँ,

क्योंकि कसम से तुम्हारे इस चाँद से बहुत जलता हूँ.

चुरायी हुई रोशनी लेकर, अँधेरे में तुम्हें रिझाता है,

आई कहाँ से इतनी रौनक, कभी नहीं बतलाता है.

कुछ दिन खूब हँसाता है, साथ निभाता है,

फिर एक दिन ये चंचल मन, छू मंतर हो जाता है.

तब आती है एक काली अकेली अँधेरी रात,

जब आसमान में केवल हम तारों का होता है साथ.

उस रात छत पर अकेली तुम गुमसुम गुमसुम सी होती हो,

और कभी कभी हमारे साथ मिल-बाँटकर थोड़ा सा रोती हो.

पर फिर आ जाता है एक नया चाँद, अपनी रोशनी बिखेर के,

और फिर खो जाती हो तुम उसकी चाँदनी में, हमसे मुँह फेर के.

तो आज तुम्हें बताते हैं की इतनी रोशनी चाँद कहाँ से लाता है,

रात के अँधेरे में, तुमसे नज़रें बचाकर, हमसे ही तो वो चुराता है.

तुम पूछती हो, सब जानकार भी चाँद की ये चोरी क्यों चलती रही?

क्योंकि हम तारों की आँखों के तारे को, रात में भी रोशनी जो मिलती रही!

तुम पूछती हो, फिर आज ये सब मैं तुम्हें क्यों बतलाता हूँ?

क्योंकि हर महीने तुम्हारी आँखें नम, मैं देख नहीं पाता हूँ!

चाहता हूँ उड़ो आसमान में, तारों को करीब से आकर देखो,

कभी तो......, कभी तो एक तारे को, अपना चाँद बनाकर देखो!

- आनंद गौतम

8th April 2009

There was yet another response to this, which was written by another dear friend Kartik. Here is the link --> http://bloggerkartik.blogspot.com/2009/12/another-poetic-response.html

Plus 100 or minus 400?

My sister and I got into a taxi from Dadar station on 28^th November around 11 PM. Apart from the taxi driver (TD1), another guy (TD2) sat on the front seat, to which we didn not pay much attention then. Here is a quick account of what followed:

TD1 : “Sir, can you please give change of 1000. I need to pay 500 bucks to some random guy here”.

Me: “I don’t trust 1000 notes, sorry.”

TD2: “We will get you change later on, don’t worry. Please give us change now”

Me: “In that case, take this 500 note and return me later.”

TD1: “No sir, give me two 500 notes, I will return you later.”

Me: “How does it matter, I trust you, you can give me my 500 back later.”

TD1: “Sir this 500 note is torn, this won’t work”

Me: “Ok, take this one.”

TD1: “You have given me 100 note, I needed 500.”

Me: “How is it possible? I gave you 500!”

TD1: “No Sir, see this, you gave me 100 instead of 500.”

Luckily for me, I had settled some transactions just about an hour back so I knew for sure that I had two 500 notes in my wallet. I thought through again and figured that there is something wrong here.

Me: “Sir, I have you 500 note. You replaced it with a 100 note.”

TD1, taken completely aback: “What are you saying Sir, you gave me 100, I showed you also!”

Me: “Its your bad luck, I know for sure that I had two 500 notes, you have swapped the notes.”

TD2: “No Sir, you gave 100 only, you are mistaken.”

Me: “No problem, lets go to a police station, we will figure it out there.”

After 4-5 minutes of fighting, turning taxi around, and me not giving up on my stand, the guys came up with a bright idea.

TD2: “Sir, please search your wallet again. The note might be there. Or it might have fallen down.”

Me: “Fine, stop the car near the street lamp, I will check.”

Promptly the car was stopped, and there it was, lying by the side of my feet, my precious 500 note. I was so embarrassed.

TD2: “What Sir, you would have sent us to jail. You have no trust. What do you think we are thieves?”

Me: “I am sorry! My mistake.”

TD1: “No, what mistake! You are careless and then you blame us.

Me: “I am really sorry. But such stories are very common, many people get cheated in Mumbai like this. Its not your fault, my mistake, sorry.”

TD2: “There are terrorists in Mumbai also, does that mean I am terrorist too?” We will not take you anywhere. Please take another taxi.”

My sister: “We are very sorry. We will go with you only. Please take us.”

TD2: “No way, halfway through you will frame us for murder!!”

I was sensing something wrong here and anyway got fed up of the guys incessant ranting, so I just got out of the taxi, banged the door and we shifted to another taxi. There were two policemen also standing right there.

Just as we left from there, I realized my stupidity. The thing was that my wallet did not have any 100 note for sure. So there was no way I could have had two 500 notes and a 100 note in my wallet (which was the case right now)!

The TD1 guy had swapped my 500 note for a 100 note. But when I threatened of police and all, they got frightened. The TD2 guy had slipped a 500 note in the dark near my feet (Mumbai yellow taxi, there is gap between the front seat and side of the car). So basically I got both by 500’s back besides the 100 note extra which the TD1 guy had swapped. Net net, I got 100 bucks instead of losing 400!

Afterthoughts:

- Explains why two people were sitting, more the people, more strong is your argument. Plus, damage control (like in my case) is easy.

- Explains the insistence on asking two 500 notes, its very difficult to pull off the same trick when asking only for one 500 note

- Explains the torn note. TD1 tore it so that he can ask for another one. They were desperate to make their 400 bucks.

- Explains why they refused to take me. They were scared, plus they might have thought that I will figure the whole thing out soon.

- I wish I been a little smarter and figured this earlier, at least I would have left on a “you bast***” note rather than “Sorry” note!

- I wish I had gone back and talked to the two policemen standing there and told them everything. Not sure how much that would have helped. At least it would have helped address the point above J

Irrational God!

Are you of the rational, logical breed? If yes, then probably you will enjoy it relatively more. How often have you met completely irrational, illogical, stupid people in your life? And how often have one of these folks been in such positions of stature/power that you keep wracking your brains, how in the world they got there? Well, here is one crazy thought – What if our so called God (with all due respect) was completely irrational?!

 

How many times have you been told that what matters is how much good you do to others, and you will reap what you sow. Hence, you should be good to others and that is what really counts.

How many of you believe that stupid rituals in every religion or insignificant and unimportant, and what matters is that you are true to yourself and true to humanity? That the ultimate worship is the worship to our fellowmen?

How often have you thought stuff like – well, I really don’t care if God exists or not. If he doesn’t, bingo! If he does, then he better be all powerful and all that, and hence the source of my thoughts, and hence he himself forced some mortals on the earth not to believe in him!

 

Well, I believe or relate to most of the stuff above and hence the idea of an irrational God does disturb me a bit. We can go on and on endlessly debating why God cannot be irrational and all that. But for the purpose of this discussion, let us assume he can be irrational, just in the way the most utterly stupid Mr. XYZ at your work place can exist.

 

What if God did not value what we, the so called rational intellectuals, value? What if he, instead, valued all the stupid rituals that religion enforces on us? What if he actually decided heaven and hell based on the number of times we took his name plus the product of the number of times we visited a temple and a sanctity score of the respective temple?!!

 

Imagine, I walk up to God after I die and he waves me off to hell.

I protest “But I have lived such an honest life.”

God says “Who told you to be honest? Frankly, I never did.”

I protest again “But I helped so many people, I did so much for others.”

God says “Why didn’t you live for yourself? When did I ask you to take the responsibility of the whole world? Why couldn’t you leave it to me and let me do my job? Why did you have to always poke your nose and interfere in what I was doing? You have been such a pain. Besides, you seldom visited any temples – by abode. Were you super busy?”

I defend “But I didn’t think it was as important as helping the needy or working for the betterment of the society”

God laughs “Yeah! So you thought!! Not even an iota of respect for me. And what about your prayer count, it is abysmally low. You are in the bottom 0.5 percentile!”

I defend “But I thought you don’t need to keep praising and remembering you. You were always with me. (Or that I was busy coming in top 0.5 percentile of a so called CAT exam!)”

God smirks “Yeah right! And the people who prayed a dozen times a day, were they all fools??! And what about that brilliant theory of yours that you don’t even care if I exist!”

I am hapless but manage to utter something like “B-b-but that was so logical. You were the supreme force and you made me that way and made me think that way”

God says “No you fool! You had the free will, your mind was free. You who did not even want to accept my existence, burn in hell!”

 

What would you do/feel in such a situation? Would you regret for a moment about having gotten the whole concept of life, universe and everything (i.e., 42) wrong? Or you would still stand your ground and take all the pains that come with a smile?! Would you be able to ignore the blatant injustice that a religious terrorist who killed hundreds of innocent people ranks higher on a certain irrational God’s irrational scale? Certainly you would not be able to blame it again on fate and move on!!

 

- ANAND GAUTAM