Sir, It was an accident ! I fell off my Scooty !!

What happened ? How did that happen ?

I asked nodding at the crepe-bandaged right hand and wrist .

I was at the pre-boarding counter today for my flight to Delhi.

And the smart bright red uniformed young girl was checking us in.- a bit clumsily as she was managing the barcode reader and the keyboard with a partially effective right hand .

She looked up;  her face lit up;  a beaming smile and white pearly teeth dazzled through her painted lips .

Sir, It was an accident !  I fell off my Scooty !!  It was an accident Sir !!

Well, Watch out & take care !!

Thank You Sir !!

And I was off through the glass door.

And as I negotiated my way to my seat I wondered – recollecting the smiling face and the excited tone in her voice - how come a nasty accident like that can become such a joyful and a proud moment ??

Krish..

Life - A Perspective !!

Observation:-

Moon   = Sun after an intensive Botox procedure !
Sun      = Moon after a dozen jabs of steroids !!
.
Gyan :-

Treat life like an old hag .....
And that is exactly what you will land up with !
Always bitching and complaining !!
.
Treat her as your new flame .....
And experience your love & happiness bloom at each moment !
And you will walk lighter and bouncy on earth !!
.
Krish..

A matter of perception !!

Jyoce joined us 8 months back . In our marketing group .

A strong willed, headstrong & no nonsense girl..   And very quickly she established herself as someone who can get the work done – come what may !   And she was not afraid of drawing on the power of authority from me .

Yes!   She build up a tough image for herself and could throw her weight around !    And I guess she enjoys it too !!

And we have a very seasoned old time veteran business manager in our office as well .

And he runs a tight ship !    A straight talking, tough speaking aggressive manager who is well respected by all and equally feared by many.   A review session call from him could make many a braveheart shudder !

Yes!   With 21 years of service under his belt, and an abundant & unchallenged knowledge of every aspect of our business, Narang was a force to be reckoned with .   And preferably at a   safe distance to be maintained too !!

Last week, preparations for the country review were in full swing .   Jyoce along with the marketing & product  managers were called in by Narang for the brainstorm and planning session . And as usual,  people were on the edge .

At lunch , while every one gathered around the table I noticed Jyoce’s absence and enquired .

‘ Still with Narang !’   the reply sounded quite ominous  raising  many anxious looks !

Looking up, I asked ‘ You left her all alone with Narang in 6D ? “

Some silence .

And then the cocky young rookie from B-school pipped in ..

“ Oh Gawd !!  So Narang is left all alone with Joyce !!??? “

And a hearty laughter thereafter retriggered  our appetite !!

 

Krish..

32 Years @ the Crease ! And stayin’ alive !!

Next week on 18 March, I complete 15 years in HP . And this is my second stint .

And the stats add up like this ..

32 years on the field and still batting

2  Brands – HP & Silicon Graphics

4 Bosses

28 years association with HP so far …

I  probably  must be one of the very old timers left in HP India .

The only other 2 ancients that I am aware of are R P Mendiratta and B K Chattopadhyay – both at HP GGN office !!

And on 18 March we also bid fond farewell to our boss Ravi Aggarwal – who retires after a mammoth and record 22 years as country head for various HP businesses in India !!

And today I participated in a recording for his farewell Video !!

What make me stick on for so long ?

Well – that’s a long story ..

Some other time ??

Krish..

My son wants to do CA, Sir !!

A Conversation in Hindi – transcribed in English .

I settled down in the front seat, fastened my seat belt and observed the Swift cab driver .   After some time …

What is your name ?

Ramkrishn sir.

Nice name !  (  Ramkrishn is a combination of Sri Ramchandra and Sri Krishna , two of the most popular Hindu deities in India )

Thank you sir.

We drove for some time while the ladies in the back seat kept chatting away ..

So where have you come from ?

UP sir – Banda

Banda ??

Small village behind Jhansi sir .

More silence as he expertly negotiated some  heavy & unruly  traffic near a signal .

And why did you come to Delhi ?

After a subdued, soft laugh ..  sir, everyone comes to Delhi .

Oh ?

Better living & good children education ..

So, how many kids do you have ?

2 sir. Elder boy in 12^th std and a girl.

Wow ! You do not look that old Ramkrishn !

Thank you sir. A soft laugh once more …

In villages we get married much earlier sir.

True ! In  my assessment Ramkrishn would not be a day older than 35 years – and already has a son 18 years old .  So he must have married at 16 ? and his wife much younger ??

Not surprising at all !  Pregnant girls @ 13-14 ; young mothers @ 14-15 and a second kid at 16 years are not uncommon sight in Indian villages !!

Ban on child marriages ??   Still a long long  way to go !!

And we continue ..

12^th std  ??   very crucial !   So what does want to become – engineer or doctor ??

No sir – my son wants to do CA .( a  very uncommon career aspiration for a young boy ! )

That’s great , Ramkrishn !!

And your daughter – encourage her to study more than your son , OK ??

Yes sir .

And  soon after,  I get off from the cab …

Drive safe and slow Ramkrishn !

And the ladies in the back seat pause their chatting …

Bye !  Bye !!  Bye !!!

Have a safe trip back !

Sure,  OK ,  Good Night !!

Krish..

Great Expressions !!!

I have a great fascination of fancy expressions !

Sometimes just a few words or a short phrase can convey a ton of information/insight that probably  even a page full of script cannot deliver !!

Here are three such examples I gathered last week..

First :  M Karunanidhi describing  Sonia Gandhi in one of his speeches .

Sonia is a   “ Thyaga Tiru-villakku “  meaning  she is   “ a sacred lamp of  selflessness “ !!

A beautiful expression !  (  though Sonia did not quite demonstrate that  when she refused to attend her only nephew  Varun’s wedding last week .. )

Second : Dean Jones summed up Kevin O Brien’s world cup record for fastest century and his match winning knock that ensured Ireland’s win over England .

He said in his classic Australian dreawl - "  Kevin woill never have to pay for his droinks in Ioreland for the rest of his loife  " !!

That’s a great tribute !! 

And both the Ozzies and irish share their love for their drinks – the Oz beer and the Irish ale/scotch !!

And they also share a very healthy hatred for the English as well – both ON and OFF the cricket pitch !!

Third :  Here is how one reviewer of the new ipad2 finally concluded …..

“ No pixie dust !  No unicorn horns either  !!  “

does   not have anything  magical about it !!!..

And in our local lingo – we would say “ No WOW factor !! “

Krish..

Crossing the road - Indian Style !!

I went for my morning walk . From my new guest house .Situated on a small road, half way in between a 2Km stretch of the 8 lane golf course road in Gurgaon – DLF Phase-1.

After my usual long walk I turned around  the signal @ one end of the main road and decided to take the return path on the opposite side .

Within a few minutes I realized my mistake .

This road has a generous median separating the 4 lanes of traffic  each way .And there are big bushes  and  street light poles and a thick wire mesh protection on both sides ! Making it impossible for anyone to jump across .

That meant I had to do an extra one Km up and cross the road, then  walk back to my guest house lane !

However I thought – this cannot be possible in India – a 2 Km stretch of un-breached fencing !!  I am sure there would be several enterprising fellow country men before me who would have faced a similar situation of crossing this road anywhere in between the 2 Km stretch !  Surely someone would have cut a small hole in the fences somewhere in between so that one can crawl through / or cut a small section so that we can squeeze thru to the other side !!!

And with this renewed hope I marched briskly closely inspecting the median fence .

And, very predictably , as I neared half way , there was a small cut in the fence – bang opposite my lane !!

And I happily dodged a passing vehicle , squeezed thru the opening and trotted up to the other side .

Very happy indeed !  I gained a few extra minutes of the morning !

And not so happy too – I lost the opportunity of losing some extra calories in the process !!

Krish..