Enigma of Ganesh utsav celebrations!

From childhood I have been seing pandals put up across most of the streets in the "pearl city" with huge idols of Ganesha   (you can find 42 feet ganesh idol in khairatabad pandal which has sort of got the cult status now)  Ganesh visarjan again is a done with huge fanfare, with trucks and lorries overflowing with people and the extremely slow traffic in and around the 'Tank Bund'. You go tot experience it!I believe hyderabad comes close second only to Mumbai in celebrating the ganesh utsav.

Since the mid 90's the number of apartments in Hyderabad has grown exponentially and now you would hardly find a residential house in the main areas of the city. It comes as no surprise that most of the apartments have associations in order to solve the issues pertaining to the apartment or just to cling onto the belief of "togetherness". It is imperative then that these apartments also celebrate ganesh utsav every year by putting up a idol in the premises by collecting money from all the flat owners and tenants.

As of now, I have lived in two apartments in Hyderabad. I stayed in the first one for 18 years and in the other one for 4 months(where I am staying now) I was never perturbed about these celebrations, in fact I enjoyed them in my young age when I used to play games and participate in the pooja.I never questioned the celebrations since I enjoyed most of them.

So six days back in my new apartments few kids came up to our flat and asked for donation for the ganesh festival. At first I was happy that such a celebration could happen and help in new tenants and owners to get to know each other. So with a false sense of participation I gave them 200 rupees and to my surprise they did not accept and demanded minimum 500! So the problem solver in me got awakened and I did which most of us would have done, called the higher authorities, in this case my parents!! The problem got sorted out after heated debates, High and low Tea's and what not! So the ganesh utsav without starting already had made sure that there was more collaboration among the flat residents.

So everyday around 8pm they had celebrations in the basement which I could never be a part of because of office schedule which I was thankful to! So while I was coming back to my home in the night I got to see so many apartments celebrating the festival in its full glory by either playing "Tambola" "Dancing" "Musical chairs" and other equally enthralling games. I just asked myself, Is this right? Wasn't this supposed to be regarding Ganesha and not about playing these petty games??(Q) Pat came the reply from alter ego that it is all right since it is helping people get together,something ganesha would be proud of.

I would have had the same feeling for eternity if not for yesterday's developments. In our apartments they had a arrangement where in flat residents bring some food ( one day one flat resident)  which would then be distributed as the prasad to all others who had come. The celebrations use to continue till midnight with the sound of tambola numbers haunting me in sleep! But yesterday was different.

Yesterday it was the turn of a resident who stays in one of the rooms in the basement along with the watchman( family of the driver of one of the owner's car) The lady with all her enthusiasm had prepared huge chunk of prasad but to her shock 70% of residents did not turn up for the celebrations! What happened to the sense of togetherness? What happened to pleasing the lord ganesha? What happened to playing the greatest game:-Tambola?  Everything was thrown out of the window and unique excuses came into the picture when they were asked why din't they turn up!

All because the food was prepared by a Driver's wife! Then again the same question(Q) popped up in my mind as before, Is this right? Then the enigma was no longer mysterious, I made sense of it. It is never about the god, it is about following a mindless tradition without knowing its very purpose! I am sure there are people who do it in a proper way but most of them do it in the way our apartment does!

Bolo ganesh maharaj ki jai *

* Conditions apply

Book Review: Fountainhead

Well this is my first attempt to review a book and see my guts! I have decided to write about one of the greatest books of all time. "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand.

I remember the time when i had first heard about Ayn rand,It was my friend who was reading Atlas shrugged( Do not remember exactly) and he had said that it is difficult to comprehend the Philosophy in her books. I thought it would be interesting to read a mix of Fiction and philosophy.

Few weeks ago i came across the book Fountainhead in my friend's place and borrowed from him.

I check out the number of pages of book before starting any book,when i checked this one it was 680!! I knew it would take long time to finish considering my phenomenal speed in reading!!

First few pages done,I did not know what was happening! I got confused but then i tried to comprehend and then started understanding the difficult style of writing of Rand. Difficult because it is different from the contemporary writers we read nowadays. I had heard from different sources that Fountainhead is about some kind of philosophy called "Objectivism"

In the middle of the book i was in inspired by some characters and the kind of philosophy which was being explained was Timeless! The book was published in 1943 and its been 67 years since and the philosophy seems so relevant to present! The book was so ahead of it times.

It is difficult to comprehend everything at one read,it surely requires careful re reads so as to grasp each and every concept which is so beautifully explained. The book comes alive because of its amazing characters. So i shall try to give a short description of each character.

1] Peter Keating: Very similar to every common individual you see in daily life. Has great interest in painting but his mother forces him to utilize the talent in Architecture.He attends the best institute for architecture and is the best student there but he doesn't have any originality. Because the college itself doesn't encourage originality. Goes to the best Firm for work,makes his way to top by some clever plans which also involves causing a death of a person! He becomes famous but it is short lived. He loves a Girl Catherine but they never marry.

2] Dominique Francon: Very difficult to comprehend her nature. She does not believe in the World'y concepts. She writes a column for a Newspaper "Banner" on Architecture and makes no effort to appreciate her father's work. She criticizes most of the work until she meets Roark and falls in love but their love is the most weird i have ever seen. But the understanding and passion is amazing.

3] Ellsworth toohey: A man who preaches Altruism. He is the representative of good in the society. Encourages Unions to fight for their rights. An architecture critique who's views are very important. A man to whom everyone looks up to. In the starting i was so inspired by this character but then he was too good to believe. He actually is actually after power and wants to rule the world! His explaination of how he goes about this work is very interesting and made me think a lot. How he encourages self sacrifice,selling of your soul. Amazing insight into some real concepts of Altruism.

4] Gail Wynand: Rags to riches story. Started his life as a Hooligan but later becomes a billionaire by building Wnand enterprises which has newspapers,tabloids,newsreels etc Even he is after power and iys termed as a Capitalist who runs the most vulgar Newspaper "Banner". He is inspired by Howard roark and they both become friends. He at the end goes all out to support Roark but ultimately loses out to the pressure. But he does not allow Toohey to take over his paper because he shuts the newspaper itself!!

5] Howard Roark: He is the soul of the book. His ideologies rule the book. His Egotism which is showcased in such a wonderful manner that you can't hate him. You will end up being inspired by this man. He is a brilliant Architect who believes Bulidings have their own life and is a Modernist which the world does not like. Very few individuals like his work and give him commissions. But all his commissions make huge furore in the Architecture world. Toohey keeps on ridiculing his work.Roark and Keating are classmates but not necessarily friends! Roark helps keating in designing his work and keating gets away with all accolades which Roark does not even care for. At the end roark blows up the building he designed because it not being erected as it was designed!! He faces trial in which he defends himself by giving a long speech which is thought provoking. Actually it is difficult to write about Roark!

This might be a amateur's review since i couldn't grasp the entire concept but it is one book which you cannot afford to miss!!

Just to tell you the significance of the book, read the comments on this blog by different people who have read it.

http://www.bennadel.com/blog/359-The-Fountainhead-An-Amazing-Book.htm

Book Review: Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

In my city Hyderabad there is a market for second hand books which is put up every sunday. For people like me who cannot spend more money this place is a gold mine! You get all the famous books and also a few duplicate stuff. I try not to buy pirated stuff but at times have no other option. I have promised myself that once i start earning i will get the books from real book stores. Most of the times i buy second hand books and Tipping point was one such book.

I bought this book after checking out the cover and reading the brief intro about it. I was not sure whether i would like it or not considering how old the book was(both years and the condition of the book!) After reading it i again gained lot of gyaan!

This book answers some interesting questions,

1] Why certain ideas or behaviors get a spark and become a epidemic whereas others don't?

2] Can we deliberately start social epidemics in a positive sense?

The book explains this by using various examples and experiments performed by social scientists and psychologists.It is a very interesting way of explaining and the author makes sure that you get the point. He basically gives three concepts

-> Law of few:Connectors,Mavens

-> Stickiness factor

-> The power of context

Each and every point has been explained in a detailed manner.

You also get to know why fight against smoking is failing, because we are focusing in the wrong direction. Its a interesting way to look at the smoking problem.

Throughout the book the author says how little factors are responsible for major change and how little effort put in the right direction can get you amazing results. These factors are responsible for the ideas to reach their tipping point.

It is a must read book according to me. You should not miss out such a great book.

"In nonfiction, you have that limitation, that constraint, of telling the truth"

~PeterMathiessen~

Book Review: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

For me reading books is a mission, i have promised myself that i am going to read loads and loads of books, Something which i should have done earlier. Its never too late, is it?

I shall try to write down my thoughts on them and what i got to learn from them.

I started reading Non-Fiction books recently and must say they are truly more rewarding than fiction. Though there are exceptions!

I was advised to read this book so that i get to know some basics stuff of finance, I come from a technical background(at least i think i do!) hence have no idea of financial concepts.When i saw the book in the crossword store i was skeptical should it. But then i thought lets take the risk and see what this book with a unusual title is all about. I am happy that i purchased the book since it has taught me very valuable lessons on how to deal with finances.

It is not a investment strategy book like some people call it,it is a book which teaches you, how to manage your finances and become rich. Yes it also tells you different ways to invest but that is not the main goal of the book. It gives some good insights on why people never become rich and why they keep on falling into debts. I understood some concepts which i would like to mention briefly,

-> People think that in order to become rich they need to work harder at their job but they do not realize that the more they earn the more they spend! Rich people spend smartly and middle class people dont.

-> The difference between asset and liability is defined in a simple and easy to understand manner. People generally consider their liabilities as their assets and never spend enough time to accumulate the real assets.

-> The biggest mistake what education is doing is, it is not teaching 'financial literacy' which is of utmost importance. If anyone wants to learn how to become rich he is said to be greedy but we are digging our own grave by falling prey to debt in the forms of loans.

-> In order to come out of rat race you need to be smart and have financial literacy. The book in no way tells you to avoid work infact it tells you to concentrate more on work but also handle your finances intelligently.

The author has explained in a beautiful manner of a story and not one minute will you get bored.

Everyone should read this book especially one's who have no knowledge of finance. Go ahead and get your copy and get all the gyan!

Book Review: Simplyfly by Capt Gopinath

Its been long time since i have updated my blog, i was busy ( At least i would like to think that way!) Its been 3 months that i have got into a B-school and it took time to settle down. I thought of writing a post titled "Life@ B-school" but in order to get back to my my writing habit i assumed writing a book review would be good. Well again i am not sure how much justice i can do to this book,nevertheless whats wrong in trying!

This is the second autobiography i have read, but the first one to complete! I really hate myself for not being to able to complete a book,a very bad habit to inculcate.I happened to see this book in the library in the New arrival section and i had set my eyes on the book. So rather than using my library card for issuing subject related books i got "Simplyfly"

I kept the book for three weeks! I couldn't find time to read it, well being a MBA student i have been told that giving this excuse is the biggest mistake you can do! But honesty comes with a price doesn't it? I finally finished this book and must say felt enriched after reading the autobiography.

This book is a story of a simple middle class guy born in a orthodox family in Karnataka,here i could easily relate to him,since i am also from karnataka and we both are from the same caste too! He completed his schooling from a sainik school and joined NDA and later IMA Dehradun. He has beautifully narrated his young age and how Military taught him discipline and how really an army soldier feels when he is at the border.

I felt good to read about a soldier and how he fought in the Bangladesh war and his Himalayan posting days, then he resigned from military and took to Farming!! A unusual decision but the way he has rationaled it made me agree to his view point.For about 5 years he was dedicated to Farming and espicially Organic farming, he has beautifully described the future and throughout the book he quotes some classic poets and writers which clearly suggest how well read he is.

Then he ventured into Hotel business and then enfield dealership and later into Politics ,he always had something on his plate never to be bogged down to routine life. Thats a wonderful quality i would love to inculcate,then finally he started Deccan helicopter business and the confidence he has shown in starting the business without any capital is commendable.
I felt his political connections helped him immensely to get past the labryinth of red tapism in our country,but he never lost his integrity by bribing the officials, thats truly inspiring.

He has shared some beautiful experiences of his helicopter business and how it transformed that sector in the country and after that he set his eyes on airline with main focus being to fly the common man. The way he set out to do the work is astounding, miliary discipline surely helped him great deal in his endevours. His book then explains how he started Air deccan and how it revolutionalised the passenger airline industry ( Effect of being a MBA student: Need to be specific about the industry!)

In the last part of the book he explains how Vijay Mallya tried unsuccessfully to acquire his airways and how he tried to solve many problems his airways was facing. Then due to many indsutrial effects he finally had to agree to mallya and they made the deal worth billions on a phone call ~Phew~ Both Mallya and Gopinath are two extremes when it comes to lifestlye and this marriage was not going to be successful but nevertheless it had to happen. Finally Gopinath resigned from his executive post and allowed Mallya to rule.

In hindsight a few mistakes cost gopinath his airlines but he played a huge part in bringing the LCC( Low cost carriers) concept to india, i mean bringing it successfully. He has now started his cargo business "Deccan 360" whose concept he got while he was running air deccan, he has capitalised on his learnings from life.

Its a great book and i am sure you will love it and it would be hard to put it down, you will learn a lot from it. Do get a copy for yourslf.

( Sorry for grammatical mistakes and my excellent 'Hinglish' I suffer from a fear called Englophobia :) :))

8 Reasons why Rahul Dravid is my role model

I am obsessed with Rahul Dravid and consider him to be my role model but then I am not sure why I like him so much so this post will attempt to understand why I adore him so much, This will be a honest attempt, so lets see how it turns out.

Let me attempt to write this point wise,

• He is from Karnataka and has origins from Maharashtra, something very similar to what I am, I hence feel a strong connect. Should I be ashamed for stating this reason? Obviously no!
• He is selfless and does not think twice to sacrifice for his team. I absolutely cherish this quality.
• He has reached this position because of his discipline, determination and hard work and not because of any gifted talent or anything similar to that. Admire this quality.
• Love the way he plays, technique is one of the finest in the international cricket.
• The fact that he is a well read,quotes from history and is a avid reader even while he is busy.
• The way he speaks, it is evident how humble and down to earth he is.
• The fact that he hardly complaints! Even though he wasn’t comfortable keeping for the team and even opening but he did it without any complaints.  
• The way he sets up a innings, its just classic way of doing it. More like a workman and I absolutely adore it. 

I presume that above 8 points would suffice to justify why he is my role model, and If I add more points to it I would only be repeating what I have already written.He has retired from International cricket today and it makes me sad but I am happy that he gave us so many good memories which make us proud that we follow Indian cricket. 

Thank you Rahul, there can never be any cricketer like you! 

~Rove2mushin~

Evernote: The app King

After using lots of note taking applications and not getting satisfied with their service i plunged onto evernote and from then on i am enjoying my productive life. I would love to congratulate Mr Phil libin the founder of evernote to come up with such a wonderful app, Kudos to you dude!

Now before i write why i feel evernote is the best note taking app it is imperative that i first tell you what is evernote? Evernote is a note taking app which needs to be installed in your system and you also need to have a online registered account.The great thing is that your system account and online account can be synced and you can import your web notes easily.You can save your bookmarks, clip articles,webpages. You can use evernote like you use microsoft word to write anything. You can organise all this under notebooks and you can stack these notebooks under different categories! Phew!! Use it to believe it.

I have told what the app is all about,now i would tell you why it is the best in the market, 

• Beautiful choice of colors! Its a combination of light green and white making it a treat to your eyes. Look at the snapshot i have added at the end of this post.
• Its gets loaded at excellent speed! I had used springspad which is a similar app but it took ages to load but evernote loads at a very satisfying speed.
• Clipping articles and URL is efficient and very easy to do.
• Its a add free app! No adds to irritate you inside the app.
• Its free!! Well most of the apps in this cateogry are free but getting this kind of service free is enthralling. It gives you 60Mb free per month which is more than sufficient for your usage in the beginning.
• It saves all the information you need in a organised way. You will never miss anything again.

  

So what' stopping you? Go ahead and download it and remember everything!! You can download it here,  http://www.evernote.com/