Dry Lemon

Friends
One early morning, I was on my routine walk. Alone with no one near to me, the day had just started and still sun was about to shine. on the way, I saw one dry lemon just lying unnoticed. I hit it forcibly with my leg, then it moved straight and stopped after some distance, I again hit , same movement second time. After hitting thrice the lemon changed the road and placed itself in some corner on bit height. Now, it was not feasible and good for me to go other side and hit the lemon fourth time. So I just left it there itself and moved away in search of another such lemon whom I can hit, dislocate and satisfy my frustration. I was thinking that the life is also like this. we are dry lemon initially lying on road with no direction, no mission, no focus and wait for some one to hit us to move further. When we are hit we repent and run far away without changing the direction. It happens many times till we understand that we need to place our self in such place where no one come to hit us intentionally and we can see the world from height. We learn only when we are hit severely and that too many times. But it is also fact that like lemon we need some one to be hit again and again till we are forced to change direction and place itself on bit height so no one hit again. When he reaches there, the competition is less, opportunities immense and reward tremendous, till then we are dry lemon lying on road, unnoticed, directionless. When with experience we are placed on different direction at some height, we become an orange full of juice. Remember, Juice is our experience and positive attitude.
CP

Friends
About 8030 days (22 Years)ago, I got married finally after long wait with Shashi. The life as a Bachelor is always different with no responsibility, no maturity, no discipline. One need not worry about every thing except for career. After marriage the life changes drastically. Both boys and girls have to change a lot after marriage. Marriage brings in lot of responsibility, maturity, discipline and happiness in life. A man completes himself only after marriage.It makes him father and gives stability in life. Gradually he becomes highly social animal but lost his originality completely, only good for the family and society.
Marriage creates family and family brings happiness and pleasure in life. The life partner is needed more and more as we grow older. This partner is the backbone of life and helps in handling every challenging phase in better way. There is some one with whom we can share every thing, who knows our weakness, strength, character, nature and so on. This is good and bad both because you can not hide any thing from life partner.
I am thankful to the God for giving me such a nice partner and wish it would go long long way. She not only helped me through out the life post marriage in handling all the difficult situations but also gave me happiness, reputation, fatherhood (of Nikita & Hitisha)and social status which was impossible without her support. God bless us with long, healthy, wealthy, happy and purposeful married life ahead.
CP

Friends
The phase of idleness is always uncertain. We remain idle because there is nothing to do or if it is there some thing to do then it may not be right time to do the desired things. Idleness also numbs the mind to some extent and the zeal to do something gets severely affected. We may like it or not, but the situations push to the situation where whatever we do back fires and hence nothing remains to do. When such situation passes, we repent for not using the time properly. Ideally, whenever such situation arises, the activities should be increased or enhanced.
"A small story which I recently gone thru:
In a society some people were grudging about their problems and were trying to convince that their problems were much more challenging than others. Finally the leader of the society suggested to every one to write the challenges of life on a paper and drop that paper in nearby box. Soon every one started writing problems and challenges in detail and dropped in the box after folding it. Now the leader said, I know every one of you has serious challenges and problems in life but there is a good option to it. He now mix the papers in box and put on the stage. He called each person one by one to pick up the paper from the box and take away the problem of others. People came , picked up the paper and started reading it. After reading they thought that the problem they had was more manageable than the problem now they taking it to home. No one was ready to take the others' problems instead of whatever they were facing, because they could manage the existing challenges in better way. Leader said, God would give all of us some problems, some challenges, some happiness, some satisfaction etc. etc. only to the extent we can manage. He would never give you some thing which can not be managed and hence never grudge about the challenges, rather try to find the solution."

Month of December has just started. It is the last month of the current year but in many sense it is first. This month brings the coolness in atmosphere. It is beginning of winter in Ahmedabad. It brings healthy environment full of new vegetables. This weather gives good digestion capacity and opportunity to enjoy the life. I wish great winter season.
CP

Friends
Learning some thing takes time and may be boring too some times. The process of learning goes through visual, audio, experience and so on... The learning needs to be memorized to avoid mistakes in future and to do something similar or different in future. Harder the way of learning, better the memory of learning. Learning may cost some time dearly and if you don't memorize properly and need same learning in future, it may be devastating. So learning has to be memorized properly and that would be very much helpful in future. We learn from the time when we come out of the womb and till we breathe last. There is no time frame or age for learning, it has to be all time and for every one. Learning builds our destiny and character, we take decision on the basis of whatever learnt in life and the destiny also depends on such decisions. But learning also develops prejudice, selfishness, preconceptions, over smartness, over confidence, arrogance, rigidity and proud in a person. Also the business decisions and strategies are mainly affected by learning.
Although learning is crucial part of human life but sometimes Unlearning becomes more important. Unlearning can clear the mind and heart and help in better life ahead whether in business or social or personal. Unlearning is very tough process and time consuming too. Whatever we are today is based on learning and future would also be based on that only but it can get boost by unlearning. Our methodology of work, thinking and behaviour can be readjusted through unlearning. Unlearning can help in rectifying many mistakes of past and help in moving further in better way. In my unlearning should be a regular and important part of the life.
CP

Friends
Difference between Tweeter and Blog is same as between 20-20 and test match. Twitting is very convenient and short where as blogging needs real mental exercise. Last couple of weeks were more devoted towards family matters. I visited Delhi twice to settle both Nikita and Hitisha for their internship.
Professionally last 4-5 months were not very eventful due to dull market conditions, political environment and uncertainty all around. Share market is in tight grip of bears and it would take some more time to get released from that space. Now post Diwali the vibrations are bit positive and it seems every thing would normalise soon. Whenever there is recession in the economy, new opportunities generate and hence I believe,soon new avenues would open up for higher growth. It is time for introspection and self analysis. Corruption is key issue these days in general discussion. It has surpassed weather and politics after generations. Since birth I used to hear the discussion either on weather or politics in general and never ever any issue could surpass them that too for such a long time. Casually Cricket takes over them but not for too long time. Corruption is never justified legally or socially in any sense but would not absence of corruption lead to non performance? Those sincerely working and those not working at all would be equally rewarded. If there is no reward for better performance, initiative and extra efforts, what will prompt a person to out perform others. Probably the job should have some space of incentives in addition to bare minimum salary.
CP

Friends
Recently finished "I have a Dream" by Rashmi Bansal. This was the third book by Rashmi Bansal, an IIM-A Graduate after "Stay Hungry, Stay foolish" and "Connect the Dots". The trend followed by the writer is same. In first book she focused on 20 IIM graduates who have succeeded in life mainly by entrepreneurship. In second book another lot of 20 people were non-IIMs. In this third book, she has written about 20 social entrepreneurs who changed the lives of many people in the society. Like other two books, this book is also quite interesting and worth reading.

The momentum in activities post Diwali is yet to come as far as Gujarat is concerned. This Diwali vacations gave me chance to visit Agra, Mathura, Vrundavan and Bharatpur alongwith native Jaipur. Fatehpur Sikri was very interesting place to see where Akbar accommodated his three queens and built huge mosque.
CP

Friends
Yesterday early morning, I had been to Airport to receive my Brother. The gathering outside the Airport was full of capacity with passengers, receiving & seeing off relatives, transport operators. Being international airport, people were waiting for their relatives to come out of the airport. The happiness, tears , cry, hugs every thing was in air. People were virtually crying with both cheeks wet in tears on seeing their nears and dear ones coming out of the arrival lounge. I could see many parents waiting for their kin to come out, may be after years. Old age parents were virtually running and jumping to receive them. There were many other people just waiting for their kin to come. The wait was unbearable but still they were doing as it was not in their control. Many people were carrying the flower bouquets to welcome. Other side on departure lounge, tears and hugs were there but not of happiness but of grief and sorrow. young couples, parents-kids were parting may be for long time. They were just trying to stop the clock , but in vain.

I was just thinking why we people quarrel when nothing is static?, why we do not sacrifice some thing for our own friend or relative? Whey we fight with same people when they are around us? I don't think these would be answered any day by we social creatures. We humans are most developed animals on this earth, it is said so, but when we notice the tears, fight, quarrels, partition, it is clear that we may have developed in some areas but are still worse than any other animal in many ways.
CP

Happy Diwali and New Year

Friends
Whenever there is some dullness in mind or tension, the effect directly comes on writing. My thoughts almost get locked and I can not think anything else till the issues are resolved and mind gets unlocked. Lat couple of weeks were like this only. We ahd to go to Pune to bring Hitisha at home and get her recovered from the sickness. The repairing at home was in full swing and hence I could not concentrate on anything else. The business travelling was almost nil in this period. I am also awaiting for certain decisions which would effect my career. All these developments became hurdle for writing blog.
Whenever there is a challenge, it would immediately multiply and surround from all the sides. I have never noticed a single challenge, yes the priorities can be assigned to them and we can solve on that basis. Deepawali is approaching, people have started focusing on the festival forgetting anything else. The business has been put to backseat now and people are busy in conveying Diwali wishes, exchanging gifts and planning for the long holidays. In Gujarat the festival holiday would be for a week which may extend but not shrink in any case hence till 1st November, 2011 every thing would be closed. I have noticed that during this holiday, it would be difficult to find even a doctor if need arise. Most of the people go out in Gujarat. This holiday would give me a chance to celebrate with family. When family members gather on such occasions, the attachment deepens and kids also gets taste of culture and society.
I on behalf of my family wish all of you a great time ahead and best wishes for Diwali and New Year. May Goddess Laxmi fulfill all our dreams in the coming and shower us with peace, wealth and happiness.
CP

Happy Dussehra

Friends
My best wishes to all on the auspicious day of Dussehra. May God bless us and help 'Good to win on Evil'.
Today is Dussehra, the day when as per Great Ramayan, Lord Rama killed Rakshas Ravan and took back Mata Sita. It is also the day when Vibhishan became Lankapati, it is also the day when Lord Ram would be ending his 14 years' Vanvas. The day is celebrated as a mark of 'Burai Par Achhai ki Jeet'. Burai is always bad in whatever terms and form it is and Achhai is always good . The problem is Achhai is prone to be maligned or covered up by Burai very soon and it takes lot of time for Achhai to come up. During the process of defeating Burai, many good things have to be sacrificed. Also, by the time the Burai is won by Achhai, the damage is almost irrepairable. By the time Lord Ram could finish Ravan and his team, the damage to the side of Ram was also tremendous. In Mahabharat also by the time Kauravs could be defeated or finished almost completely, the damage towards Pandavs was not small. Rather I would say that the damage was equal except the fact that all the Pandavs were alive. When our forefathers fought the independence struggle, the damage to our own people was much more than the English. The sacrifice and torture by our own people was tremendous. In our daily life many people who suffer due to the fault of others suffer a lot and then to fight legally where it takes years to get justice.
I had been to Tirupati last week and had good Darshan there. Incidentally, this was my 4th annual trip continuously, I wish it goes on for innumerable years till mirror under my nose gets smoke. It was also pleasure to have kids with us under one roof, to see them, to share with them, to hear them and finally to get their love and affection. Kids have authority to rebuff you, put you on ground and show the reality. They know how best to us this authority and they never let any opportunity to go unused. They took us to 'Innovative Film City' for the whole day and made us enjoy.
CP

Friends
Economic scenerio in the country is getting dark day by day. The growth forecasts are below 8% which is negative if we factor inflation. The effect on real estate, share, Banking, telecom, engineering sector is very hard and it seems this would continue for next two quarters at least. Quarter ending today can be termed as "worst" economically and politically for our country. The best way of facing this situation is consolidation, self review and analysis of the decisions and actions taken in past. It is golden time to re-strategise yourself and prepare for better time ahead.

Soon there would be good time and people will start flourishing in big way. Every recessionary phase gives birth to large number of new billionnaires and dump some existing billionnaires. This is the cycle which revolves on its own pace There would be new opportunities for all of us and those who will keep themselves better positioned, would reap the benefits. I believe when there is such type of situation where every body is loosing or facing the heat of recession, there are some people for whom this is blessing period. The world is full of curse and blessings and always it is balanced hence when we see the gloom every where, the chances are we not identifying the opportunities or blessings around us. But it exists definitely around us but not easily visible.

Meanwhile, me taking short break of two days and going to Tirupati.

CP

Friends,
Here are some songs on Indian Share Market:
1)
Mai aur meri Tanhai aksar yeh baatein karte hai,
Teji hoti to aisa hota,
Teji hoti to vaisa hota,
Hum yeh lete, hum vo lete
hum is baat pe party lete, hum us baat par treat dete.
Mai aur meri tanhai
aksar yeh baatein karte hain.
Yeh kaha aa gaye hum.......

Yeh raat hai ya mandi ka aanchal,
yeh mandi ka jhoka hai ya kisine nifty ko thoka hai,
yeh toofan ki hain awaaz ya brokeron ka shor,
yeh sochta hu mai kabse gumsum,
jabki yeh khabar hai ki teji nahi hai, kahin nahin hai,
magar yeh dil hai jo kah raha hai teji yahi hai yahin kahin.

Yeh kaha aa gaye hum?

2)

Tuta Tuta Sensex dekho aise tuta ki fir jud na paya....
Loota Loota kisne usko (FII) aisa loota phir uth na paya....
Girta hua wo 21000 se, aakar gira 16000 par.....
Khwabo mei phir bhi 25000 hi the, woh kahta raha magar.......

Ki allah ke investor hasde allah ke investor......

Ki allah ke investor hasde, jo bhi ho kal FII phir aayega.


CP

Friends
After mammoth religious exercise for one month, now back to routine. No fast, no restriction on timings of food and also no restriction of food even. Temples are vacant now and people are behaving normal in all sense. Monday I was in Delhi and on Wednesday in Mumbai. Travelling these days is becoming bit tense due to bad weather conditions and terror alert throughout the country. The life is so uncertain that when we leave home, no one is sure of returning back in full piece. We cant help in this and have to accept it as harsh fact of present world.
Most of the week was dull in activity. The sentiments in industrial world is slightly low and hence the effect can be seen all around. It is said that whatever we sow, we reap but these days whatever we sow, nothing is reaped. Such phases come every now and then but that should not deter our focus and character. If day was not forever, so the night would be.

CP

Anant Chaturdashi

Friends
Today is Anant Chaturdashi. This day is very important for many sects and religions. For Jains (Digambers) this day is most auspicious because it marks the end of Das Lakshan Parva or Paryushan parva. Today is also the last day of Ganesh Mahotsav. Lord Ganesha's Idols are immersed in sea or rivers (Visarjan) after 10-11 days of puja. Thus today the puja festivals for Hindus would go for a short break before Navratri Festivals, Dussehra and Diwali till Makar Sakranti. In between we Hindus would have shraddh paksh.

Though I have written this story long back on Blog but would like to share again. There was a rich man in small town but due to some wrong business decisions he became bankrupt and all his assets were disposed off to clear the debts but still were left a lot. On a day when final auction was in progress he also came in the auction room. The bad phase of life had made him lonely because all his nears and dear ones had discarded him. He was sitting quietly in back seat without being noticed by any. After auctioning many of his belongings, the auctioneer took an old guitar in his hand and asked if any body interested in this. He made fun of that and offered for 100$. No one look interested. he reduced the price to 75, then 50 , then 25. Still the response was same. No one moved. Now the auctioneer offered for 5$ . He said at least you can sale for scrap and make good money out of that. When there was no response from the audience, the old man raised his hand and said he wants to come on stage for a minute. He came on stage, took the guitar in hand, turned his back towards audience and fixed the strings of guitar properly. He turned towards audience , played the guitar wonderfully , left it on table and came back to his seat. The guitar was played so awesome that the public was thrilled . Now the auctioneer took the guitar in his hand and asked the audience to offer the price. Now people jumped on their chairs to grab this wonderful instrument. Some one offered 100$, another 500$, and the race continued till it was finally auctioned at 5000$.
The morale of the story is a slight adjustment can add value beyond limits. This applies to we people also and we can enhance our value beyond imagination by making some adjustments in our strategy, attitude and approach.

CP

Friends
Paryushan Parva for Digamber Jains is going on. Other sect of Jains have just finished this Parva. Today is "Dhoop Dashmi" or "Sugandh Dashmi". We people go to various temples and offer Dhoop ( Sandalwood Powder) to the idols. Temples are continue to be filled with people offering Puja for hours.

Last weekend had been to Pune to my younger daughter Hitisha. It is great pleasure to see the kids maturing faster than imagination. The way she is managing her life there is really commendable. Well maintained cup boards, tables, bed etc. give the impression that the kids are now capable to lead the life independently. She took us to Lavasa, a beautiful hill station city surrounded by the hills, on Sunday. It is difficult to describe the love and affection kids give to the parents, only one can feel it.
CP

Michhami Dukkadam

Friends
"Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were."
" Knowingly or Unknowingly by my actions, words or thoughts if I have ever hurt you then I bow down to you with my folded hands for forgiveness-Michhami Dukkadam."
"From my heart not from lips, from inner conscious not from words, I beg forgiveness for any of my actions or words knowingly or unknowingly, which may have hurt you- Michhami Dukkadam."
As per the teachings of Jain religion, today ,Samvatsari, we all beg forgiveness for any actions or deeds done by us knowingly or unknowingly. Person who forgives is always bigger than who asks for forgiveness.
In this world we act, react and interact with many of dear ones. We all fight for survival and during the process we may hurt some one. We don't have any right to do this and hence should beg for forgiveness. It would kill the Ego, heart burn and enmity amongst us. And hence me on behalf of Myself and Family beg for forgiveness to all my friends, relatives, Peers, Colleagues and any one with whom I may have interacted.

CP

Friends
Presently for the Jains this is most auspicious month. Jains have so many branches i.e. Digamber, Shwetamber, Tera Panthi, Murti pujak etc. The people of this religion are known for strict dieting habits and fasts in addition to the disciplined pooja in temple. Hence in this month most of the Jains are regular visitor to their temples, do fasts and follow strict food habits. Also they donate a lot in this month but mostly in temples. 'Paryushan Parva' or 'Daslakshan Parva' is a festival of 10 days for the jains during which they give maximum for the worship of God. Despite being a business community, jains would not mind to let the business affect adversely at the cost of Dharma during this month. By the way I am not a diehard Jain follower and hence not very focused on such issues. Basically Jainism is religion and not a caste as is generally believed. Treating a religion a caste is the biggest reason for today's conflict worldwide. It is very old religion but the documentation of the Jain Shastras is only during the time of Lord Mahaveer (24th Tirthankar) i.e. about 2500 years back. Lord Mahaveer and Gautam Buddha were almost of same period and therefore can be termed as latest religion coming out from Hindus. However after these religions Sikh and Swaminarayan religions grew alongwith Christian and Mohmedans (Muslim).
All religions give almost same teachings but we people still fight with each other and try to prove our religion better than others.
CP

Blink

Friends
Recently read a book "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell. The author had also written "Tipping point" and "Outliers". Incidentally I have read these books too. Blink is about the process of thinking by the unconscious mind. Our subconscious mind know many things without knowing why and delivers the judgement instantly without going into details. It is also called instinct and all of us are blessed with this power. But, We rarely give importance to the instant judgement/decision our subconscious mind takes the moment it screens the person or issue. Most of the time the decision of Blink is right than the detailed analysis. The Book also mentions that the excess information is mostly a bottleneck for right decision. This is the first book in my knowledge giving detailed analysis of Blink. It is worth reading and can help us in any kind of decision making. However the author is also not sure as to when we should hear of conscious mind and when we should follow sub conscious mind. There is very thin line and really difficult to divide. But one thing I conclude is that we should first follow the instant Blink, analyse and decide. In any case more analysis or information would lead to the confusion and wrong decision/Judgement.
CP

Happy Janmashtami

Friends
Today is Birthday of Lord Krishna. Being Ashtami as per Hindu calender, it is called as Janmashtmi. One of the holiest day for we Hindus. Exactly at 12 in night Lord Krishna born to Devaki when both Vasudev and Devaki were put into jail. It was Nandraiji who sacrificed his daughter and took away Lord Krishna as his Son. Kans (maternal Uncle of Krishna) had already killed six children of Sister Devaki . The 7th child would prove to be fatal for Kans as per Akashvani and hence he was waiting for the child to born so he can kill that. By swapping the child Kans killed the Daughter of Nandrai instead of Krishna. Rarely such friendship can be found where a friend swaps child for the sake of the nation and friendship. The life of Lord Krishna as 'Manav-Avatar' was full of challenges, events, fights and so on. Lord Krishna has given us teachings through Geeta and Mahabharat. If we follow even 5% of all the teachings, it can make huge difference in our life. To celebrate the Birthday , I had been to Jaipur where my Brother in Law, Rajeev Agrawal (Raja as we call fondly) had organised a grand Bhajan and dinner programme. The warmth, affection and commitment was unmachable. I adore and thank such people and family members who despite hectic schedules in business find the time and work for the enjoyment of family members. It is very tough to arrange and manage such programmes.
CP

Friends
Rakshabandhan was on 13th August. People celebrated this festival with independence day. Sister is one of the most auspicious relation in our society. She is not only a good friend but also guide and great companion. Brother-Sisters fight a lot but never become enemy. They share every thing and support each other. In present time the career and money has parted the family and every one is on the move. This makes difficult for brothers and sisters to meet frequently but still they remain as close as ever. those are very lucky whose sister visit them on this occasion and tie Rakhi. However, those who got Rakhi must not feel dis heartened and thank god that at least they have sister in this world who cares for them. Sometimes, we build a relation of Brother-Sister with persons who are not our relatives but friends. Such relationship may not get the approval from family members but this does not mean that it is wrong. It is upto such people to honor this relationship with full respect and dignity. Brother-Sister relationship does not need the approval of the society as long as people honor it honestly.

We celebrated 65th Independence day. After 64 years of independence, we are still struggling with social, economic and political issues. I wish Happy Independence Day and pray for better India ahead.

CP

Friends
The difference between success and failure is only of timing. In most of the cases, provided the efforts are consistent, success is bound to come sooner or later. Those who succeed got the positive results immediately wheres as those who failed have postponed the success. Many people feel depressed and accept the failure as end of the road. In fact it is the begining of the road full of success. I have come across many people who failed and became highly successful after this either in same field or in different sector. The failure is the message by the god to either make you excel more in the same field or in different field. God is almighty, no one can compare with him but he is also handicap in the sense that he can't descend on this earth in his own identity. He has to take the help of some identity like human or animals to interact or guide the people. That is why the failure is one way of message by the god to change ourselves. Many times god puts us into a situation which creates dislocation and mostly discomfort. God can not come and tell us to go to other location or do some thing else but he creates such situation and when we move there he gives success. The moment these things (failure, dislocation, bad luck etc.) happen we don't understand and take the failure as end instead of trying to read message by the God. Believe me those who gets such messages frequently are going to be more successful in their life. So take the failure in right way and move further, in very near future greater success is waiting for you.
CP

Friends
August month has started. August means lordly and grand too. The events and festivals of this month proves its name. Infact in Hindu culture, this month is begining of festivals which remains till Holi in February/March. Professionally July-August are less hectic and hence my travelling in these months is always very less. This period being in the mid of monsoon season also known for seasonal deseases like viral, malalria, typhoid, asthama etc.
Awaiting for the kids to come for a short visit on Rakshabandhan. Beauty of this world for we human being is that we are surrounded by large number of people through social, professional, political, geographical etc. connections. The movement of people to various places always excites me. Many close relatives and friends dislocate themselves and move to new locations for better career opportunities or shaping better career. Those already of middle age also move to new locations for better opportunities. Even some of the friends leave the job and start their own venture or vice versa. In present world the locations are not restricted to with in country or continents. The people dare to move distant places with dreams in their eyes, to prove themselves and be successful. The communication and travelling facilities are well developed which help in movement.
CP

Friends
Parents play very crucial role in the life of kids. This role is the key factor in shaping the destiny of kids. The career, character, attitude, everything get shaped on the basis of parents' role and attitude towards them in the life of kids. They have to be their mentor, guide, guardian, friends, peers etc. time to time as per the need of the hour. It is very sensitive issue particularly when the kids are in growing age of 15-25 years. They need emotional support which only parents can extend in the present social system. A slight misunderstanding can spoil the kids and hence we need to handle such situation delicately. They can achieve anything if we support and loose everything if we do not.

We human beings can not live for a long in static situation. The actions leads to result which may or may not be as per our wish but the efforts have to be made continuously. Sometimes the efforts do not produce the desired results but probably God wants us to either wait for some more time or put more efforts next time. We the creation of God should accept it and move further.

CP

Friends
"When an egg breaks by a power outside, a life ends....When it breaks by a power inside, a life begins.....Great things always begin from the power inside......."
Have you ever seen the chicken coming out of an egg. It has to struggle a lot before getting free from the shell. No one can help it to get free and if we do so, it would never be able to live in this world. An eagle takes its' baby to the height and then drops it to the ground. It survives and start flying. If the eagle does not take that risk, the baby eagle would never be able to scale up the height and live in this world. Even an elephant when gives birth to its calf the first thing it does is to kick the new born and make it stand up with in seconds of birth. If the elephant does not do that the calf would never be able to stand up and live in this world. The crux of the above fact is that we should use our internal power to get the things done rather than depending on the others to do for us. No one in this world is obliged to serve us without any benefit. Be it politician, Businessmen, Beurocrates, relatives, peers, and most of the friends. Internal power is a magnate which not only attracts the outside forces to get the things done but also creates power around us to build relationship.
In 1930, when Mahatma Gandhi started Dandi Yatra to violate the Salt Rulre, he never requested for the public to join him or wait for the people to follow him. He just commenced journey without looking back and people joined him day by day. In our life too, if we look back there are many instances which prove that internal power is the only factor which has taken us to the present level. No body would help us beyond certain point to achieve the goal, it is only the internal power or confidence which was the deciding factor.

Another thought these days in mind is about the gain and pain of Wait. There is always some time gap between the action and result. This period is called waiting period. It is one the most painful period when you are not sure about the outcome of the actions. The period is always full of confusion, doubt,fear and uncertainty. It is very easy to say than face such situation. It is always advised that one should enjoy the waiting period. This is supported by the quotes like "Karam Kiye Ja Fal ki Ichha Mat Kar Tu Insaan", "Jo hoga achha hoga", "Mann ka ho to achha, Na ho to aur bhi achha" "Intejaar ka Fal Meetha hota hai" etc. But the fact remains that it is very painful journey between the action and result. That is the point where we remember god and leave everything to him.
CP

Friends
Writing something on blog is easiest thing provided we don't care about the quality of contents and just write whatever comes to the mind. The pressure on kids to out perform every one in this world is increasing day by day. Recently about 400 students of commerce stream got 100% marks and still could not get the admission in LSR college, Delhi. I agree that these days the kids are much ahead then previous generations in the matter of intelligence but the parameters of intelligence are totally shaded by percentage. In fact the excitement and pride of the news of some body getting 'x' percentage does instantly get faded with instance of 'Y' getting higher marks. This nullifies the performance of 'x' and then 'y' and then so on... We all (students, teachers and Parents) forget that marks is nothing but the report card of a particular moment when some one may be doing better than others but it does not mean that all other students are weak. One may be weak in academics but stronger in other areas (like business, sports, painting, creativity etc. etc.). There are in numerable areas of activities which are open for great career in present days and believe me offer even better opportunities than academics. Parents don't appreciate the career other than academics and hence pressurise the kids to focus only on academics. It is not fair and good for the peace and happiness of the families. History proves that those who scored 'D' grades were capable enough to hire 'A' grade students. In fact moderate marks in academics creates entrepreneurship, humbleness,confidence, Creativity and risk taking abilities in the students who in later part of the life become very successful.
I have seen the shyness, frustration and fear in the eyes of children with lesser marks or failure in academics which is mainly because of pressure from the colleagues and high expectations by the parents and society. They feel their dreams shattered and start loosing confidence day by day and finally getting frustrated or going into depression. In my view the children not highly successful in academics should take it as a blessing in disguise and move forward. Probably God wants them to be successful in other areas which are much ahead than the career provided by academics. Parents should promote such children to excel in other activities and build career. This will help the children, parents and their families to prove their capability in areas which interests them.
CP

Friends
I had been to Jaipur during this weekend. The visit was absolutely for social events. Attending a marriage in native is always great opportunity for me. It gives me a chance to meet cousins and many other close relatives, to know about them, families and all, to meet small small kids who may not be knowing me but are integral part of the family.
Another social event was the 100Th Birthday of my Grand Mother-in-Law. This event gave me golden opportunity to meet many of my brother in laws, and other close family members from In laws side, after a gap of more than 10 years in some cases. It is not easy to organise such events unless one wish from the heart. I could sense and feel the warmth of love and affection in the family of in laws in caring every one with respect, love and affection. The time they spent despite the busy schedule is really adorable. Cost does not matter but the thoughts and emotions attached to organise such events is really adorable. I thank all of them to give me such opportunity.
Eyes are the best mirror on the human face. No one can hide emotions from them and any body can read that emotions from the eyes. Eyes indicate confidence, shyness, respect, love, affection, craziness, cunningness, anger, suspicion, happiness, joy, warmth, sorrow and so on. Tears support the eyes in both joy and sorrow. Generally men can control the tears better than women but still no one can control the eyes. Tears do not matter to read the eyes. We can sense the inner thoughts of any body thru eyes and this is what I meant about the events meant referred above. I saw that love, affection and respect in the people during these events.
Another great feeling is to see the children growing. Small kids just in their nappies becoming engineer, doctor, CA, or so on gives the tough exercise to mind to believe all this. What we were doing, their thought process, technical and professional skills, etiquette are much beyond the people of my generation. They can know the personality of a person by just blink of eyes in fraction of seconds whereas we are still analysing after decades. The confidence in them to lead the life independently is tremendous. Such joyful surprises were every where in social events where the kids are much ahead to their parents or relatives like us. US President Barack Obama is really telling the truth to Americans to be aware from the brilliance of Indians. I can understand now why he is feeling heat. Our kids are much ahead in every field and can take on the world easily. I wish all these kids who are presently in the process of becoming successful human beings a great success.
Presently reading a book "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell who has also authored Outliers and The Tipping Point. Like his other books, Blink is very interesting and I am enjoying this book.
CP

Friends
The month of June has been full of action so far. Kids are here for summer vacation. Now Nikita gone back to Bangalore and Hitisha is getting ready for her cruise to Pune. Also some close relatives are here. This month also witnessed the recession in business/share market and hence the sentiments are down and depressed in business and political circles. thus this has created mix feeling of good and bad.
Attachment is a very sensitive part of our life. Once the kids become closest part of the family, the parting of them gives lot of pain. It is not easy to face this situation both for the parents and kids. When we come to that stage now, we get to feel the situation our parents faced during our days of leaving them. It is more painful when we think of their financial resources, technological situations and facilities available in those days. They could not reach to us as fast as we can. The letters through Indian Post Office was the only way of communicating and it used to take about a week to complete the cycle of two way communication. Still they were patient enough and least tense than we are in present days. They used to be more involved socially than us and had never allowed the money and business status to over power them. It may be a good case study to understand the mind set of us and our parents.
CP

Friends
Last week of the month is always tense for every one who lives life on calender basis. I have felt the intensity of this period during my childhood when every thing was postponed for a week. The paucity of funds used to put all of us in strict discipline with no extra spending. My father was very strict and honest in his Government job and would never allow any body in the joint family to go beyond the limits. He could sail through the family from this period without giving the feel of liquidity crunch or financial tightness to any outsiders. I remember the tension on his face whenever there was some one sick or any social function during this period but he managed every thing without compromising with the principles of honesty. I am surprised how we all were so disciplined and non-demanding unlike our kids who can not imagine such life. Life has changed a lot and so the values and principles. Social reputation and status is now fully dependent on money power leaving aside the values and principles. The materialistic world has taken away every thing from the life i.e. peace, unity, intimacy, values, honesty etc. All these are replaced by greed, dissatisfaction, frustration, tension, sickness etc. The systems of entertainment, travelling, communication have changed drastically. It seems we have graduated from socialism to capitalism culture and hence would have to adopt every thing that comes along the way.
CP

Mike Bloomberg

Friends
Although travelling has become integral part of my routine but yesterday's Delhi would be remembered for long. It was too hot in the morning and by 3pm suddenly the weather changed and clouds took the control of the mother earth. It was windy too and hence very very bad for the flights to operate. The Aeroplane struggled a lot to come out of the clouds and strong winds gave tough resistance. For almost 25 minutes the flight was very much uncomfortable and frightening. Finally it managed and came out of the dangerous winds and thick clouds. Some times the travelling forces to think about the usefulness of running here and there.
Meanwhile I just completed a wonderful book on Mr. Mike Bloomberg, Billionaire media Mogul and 3rd time of Mayor of New york. A tough and disciplined person who has achieved the heights of success wherever he involved himself. Knowing about such personalities is always a thrill and great learning. The book was written by Joyce Purnick. It is a good book to understand the successful personalities. We would learn a lot. In the meantime I got another book by Sir Richard Branson titled "Reach for the Skies".
CP

Friends
WAIT for some thing is very painful. I am experiencing this these days. Waiting can be for many things at a time. It is for assignments to complete, deals to get through, clients to respond, kids to grow, wife to come back from vacation, results to announce, collection of fees and so on. I noticed it many times that suddenly for some time, nothing can be done except waiting for the outcome. During this phase, the guess tilts to positive and negative, creating more and more tension. We know during this phase nothing can be done but still keep our selves busy in guessing. This creates tension in mind and disturbs the mental stability. The elders used to say "jo hona hai hoga", "Karam kiye ja fal ki ichha mat kar", "Karmnanya Vadikaraste Maa Falesu Kadachana ", etc. etc. but none of these quotes could stop us from thinking or guessing during waiting period.
It is human nature to look into future, to know about the future and to reach in future beyond the time but was this ever possible? We know It is not but still try to do that.
CP

My Pillow

Friends
We talk about many things in life but rarely appreciate the contribution of a pillow. A pillow which is different from the show cased pillow(in matching cover, thick, fatty which one can not use in night). Pillow is something about which we talk least. A comfortable pillow can be a blessing for us. My pillow is too slim about 2" thick and 20"long. Pillow is a silent supporter to us through out the life, although we don't appreciate it's contribution. When I was born, my mother would have kept me in her lap but soon was put to pillow. Pillow didn't complain whenever I left it, may be in childhood when pillow was giving me rest and some one took me in lap or when I became adult and put my head in the lap of wife or when due to work pressure I put my head on reclining chair. I avoided it many times and didn't care much when not neeed. But whenever I needed, it was there for me always with same affection as it was since beginning of life. This is the pillow which knows all my secrets. It witnessed all my dreams whether while sleeping or when pretending to sleep. It took in the arms when I dreamt, cried, happy or sad. Whenever there was tension in life it was this pillow which provided the shelter, calmed me and showed the way to move further. This is the pillow only which never got its light in the day because for the day time real pillow was pushed under the bed and replaced by another dummy pillow set which was big, fat and good looking with matching colors of bed sheet. This dummy pillow was to show the world because the real pillow is neither good looking nor fat nor in good cover.World would never appreciate this pillow, may be my status would adversely affect if I show this pillow. I am selfish and hence would never let the world know my real pillow but when ever I need it, I took its shelter. I never thought about this self less pillow, which never expected any favour from me as if it knew my nature. From the bottom of my heart I loved this pillow but due to fear never brought it on the bed in day time. Fact is, this pillow is my best friend during all the colors of my life. I wet it many times late in light, made it oily after hair massage, crushed in anger, threw it when had headache but it was its' greatness which never complained and gave its best. This pillow is committed for life time to help me, support me and care me.

Friends in our life there are one or two such persons who are our real pillows, giving us due care, comfort, love, affection and support when ever we need . They don't expect any thing in return and we don't appreciate in public too. Such pillows are invaluable and can not be valued. They know every thing about us but I am sure would never be appreciated or liked by all. This is not their fault but definitely ours. Let us find out our pillow and appreciate them.
CP

Friends
Month of May is so hot that people in our country start behaving in different way. They get annoyed, irritating and short tempered. The behavioural changes affect the routine life too. The reflection can be seen in Business, share market, property deals, social functions every where. In last 25 years, profesionally I have noticed that April and May months are less rewarding. Though I dont believe much in stars and Astrology but one thing I am sure is that weather conditions definitely affect the human behaviour.
Professionally when ever I get an assignment, the efforts (time and money)are fully diverted to that assignment with the expectation of getting the desired results but beyond this nothing is in our control. That is left to the almighty or rather I should say, Almighty has not given such authority to us. So in that case the only option is to put the best efforts and wait for the result. This is much difficult than saying.
Good thing at Home is that both daughters are back from their education habitats and enjoying company with all of us. Seeing Kids grow and become mature is a wonderful and pleasure experience.
Here is success formula I mentioned in my Blog on 12th August, 2008:
"Do what ever makes you interested-> If you feel happy and enjoying doing, then put some efforts in to that->More happy and enjoying doing the same then put in some more efforts-> The result would be that A shape of the work you are pursuing would start developing-> More efforts are needed now and make this activity a career target-> Make it mission-> You will find your self at unique position and then golden opportunities would start rising->Grab it and be successful".
Above formula may be bit time consuming but it is sure shot successful.
CP

Friends
April is ending today. The month saw lot of actions and events. I visited Delhi, Mumbai and Jaipur (Mumbai many times) very frequently. The life is going on smoothly and more hectic on professional front. Nikita is back for summer break and Hitisha to join soon.
While travelling I noticed that travelling is integral part of life for every one and more particularly for the successful persons. Be it celebrities, politicians, industrialists, players, Businessmen or professionals, all are travelling. Initially, I used to think that after certain age, travelling would be reduced drastically but now noticed that all these successful persons are travel;ling after achieving great success. Under this situation I opine now that more you get success, travelling would increase too. Another factor in professional life I noticed is that, there is no limit to achievement and more you achieve, more hunger increases and lead to dissatisfaction. also the process of creates tension and worries in mind. Probably this is the human mindset which needs to be tuned properly.
Mr. Bloomberg, USA bassed billionnaire is the highest regarded person in finance sector . He is basicallly a jewish migrated to USA. He is also the longest serving mayor of New York. I am reading a book authored by Joyce Purnick about him these days to understand this finance legendry.

CP

Friends
Last 12 days were very hectic in terms of lot of travelling. During this period I visited Jaipur , Delhi and Mumbai repeatedly. Nikita is back in Ahmedabad after completing her exams, Hitisha still passing thru examination tunnel.
I finished a wonderful book "You Can't Predict a Hero" by Joseph J. Grano Jr. It is really a good book to read and learn about handling Crisis. The writer gives lot of real life examples when he handled the situation successfully. The strange thing about the writer is that he is basically non professional degree holder joins the US Army and after retiring from there he builds the career in Finance sector and reaches to a very high level. Generally people spend 99% time and efforts in post mortem of a situation where as the writer suggests to put 99% in handling the situation instead of passing the buck on others or making some one scape goat.
CP

Friends
We say it is Kalyug and hence all kind of sins are going to happen. But I believe human nature is constant since all Yugas and it is only the volume that has increased recently. I also agree to the fact that corruption is since the mankind started living in groups. In fact the corruption to some extent is acceptable in the society but if the density increases it spoils every thing. In last 64 years post independence, it has increased day by day. People are really fed up with its density and a small ignition has sparked the public. Mr. Anna Hajare has done great service to we Indians by igniting us particularly the young people. We should stand against the corruption by avoiding to be part of corruption. If society starts avoiding to honour the corrupt politicians, bureaucrats, professionals, officers or any body else taking undue advantage of his position, the corruption would automatically come down to its acceptable level. It is we who adore and admire the successful person who in most probability has achieved success by corrupt means. If we don't do this and rather make him out of caste and group, there would be always fear of isolation and hence help in reducing the corruption. Social punishment is much harder than the government punishment. It seems the present situation is Government (politicians and bureaucrats) versus General Public.

CP

Friends
Yesterday again been to Delhi and tomorrow in Mumbai. The travelling is on its peak and it is giving me chance to read books and meet people. However it costs me in other way mainly in time management. My early morning routine is haywire these days. These days reading a book "You can't predict a hero" by Joseph J. Grano. This seems to be quite interesting book but cant say much right now.

Every person is different in nature and attitude but some persons behave quite hypocritically. Met one professional recently and was surprised to see him behaving typical way. Some of the comments he made in first meeting were like this:
-I am virtually on retirement;
-God has given me more than what I deserve or expected
-I am least social kind of person and hence very few people know me
-My team is excellent and they don't disturb me and hence I m free
-My mobile never rings because everything is delegated
-I don't believe much in God
-I handle the assignments of very high level which my team can not
-Hardly any professional know me because I don't meet any.
-In my life I have put so much efforts that now reaping the benefits of those efforts.
-I don't get affect by any set back or excitement or pleasure.
However the behaviour and body language of this man were totally reverse to the above statements.He was exposing himself during discussion and proving wrong all his statements which were full of I's. I don't understand why people live in such hypocrisy. He was more keen to know about others, their business strategy, business plans and all rather than sharing anything material. I was not interested in such person and moved away.
CP

Friends
Today is Gudi Padwa, new year for Maharashtrians. It is also the first day of Navratri. Thus it is a very auspicious day.
I just finished a book "Screw it, Let's do it" by Sir Richard Branson (Virgin Group Fame). A great book in simplest language written by a billionaire. Richard was from a middle class family and reached to this height of today where he owns 300 hundred companies and has business interests in 30 countries. If he shares his experience, there is nothing like that. Some of his quotes and comments :
"Don't Lead Sheep, herd Cats. You have got to challenge the big ones, keep it casual, Have fun working, Haggle: Every thing is negotiable, Move like a bullet, Small is beautiful, Be a common, regular person. Speed is the ultimate competitive weapon.
Calculate the risk and take them, Believe in yourself, Chase you dreams and goals, have no regrets, keep your word.
This week also going to witness lot of travelling. Tomorrow in Delhi and then Mumbai on Thursday. In profession we cant be static or locked at single location. Travelling is must in profession.
CP

Friends
Wish all of you a very happy and prosperous financial year 2011-12. It as just started about 3 days back and initial vibrations are positive. Yesterday after 28 years India has won the world cup. It may be coincidental but true also that some of the players who brought the cup to home were not even born when the last World Cup came to our country. What a long wait for the second cup. May be that day god sent some one down the earth who grew and became cricketer and then helped in bringing up the cup to country. There is no short cut to success and it takes it price. Player like Sachin Tendulkar had to wait for 20 years to win this Cup.

The Land (sand to be specific) tastes the same if you ever try. There may be slight difference due to moist or fertility but the produce differs. Same land produce Chilly, Papaya, Sugar Cane, Cotton, Bitter Guard, Tomato, Mango, Water Melon and so on. What it is that differs them. Is it seed or sand? Naturally Seed but how the seed can be produce without sand. I failed to understand so far and notice that for Sand (mother Earth), every thing is same but the grooming makes them different. We Humans are also like this. When we born we are same, except skin color, and the grooming changes person to person. A mother never produce bad or ugly or fool or unlucky or so on. For her all are lucky, best, intelligent and handsome. It is the grooming which develops the difference. The grooming makes one selfish, self centred, lazy, active, philanthropic and so on. Thus the basic reason is grooming and parents are the most important factor for grooming a child. A child learns from seeing his family, his parents, his Friends, his relatives, his peers and every other human surrounding to him. Kids have clean slate of mind and they draw on it what ever they see and learn. Faith and confidence in kids is the only and most effective way of understanding and guiding the kids.
CP

Friends
We are at the fag end of the current financial year 2010-11. This month is very very important for the purpose of accounting. In few days every thing would change. World cup final is approaching, new financial year is very near now, employee reviews are going to commence and so on. The outgoing year has seen lot of activities, events and happening in finance sector. I would say this was the year which exposed maximum number of scams and wikileaks through out the world. The US economy has started growing up and Europe would be following soon. With a powerful earthquake and Tsunami in Japan the economic activities after initial lull would definitely kick start.
CP

On this auspicious day I wish to all my friends a very warm, colorful and happy holi. We all know the story of burning Holi and Lord Krishna protecting Prahalad. The festival brings the message of friendship and peace. This is the day when even the biggest enemies buries their differences. The color takes away the malignancy of relationship. The festival is a great day in all sense but the modification in past centuries has stretched it beyond its beauty. The pollution of colors, burning of trees, and consumption of alchohol, Bhang etc. has turned this auspicious day into a very disturbing day. However, still this day brings peace, enjoyment and stronger relationship.
This week I was in Jaipur and hence enjoyed a lot with family. Last week also witnessed the worst ever earthquake and Tsunami in Japan. There is no power beyond the Nature. In few seconds it can change every thing. We all are helpless against Nature and can do nothing except pray for Good of every one.
The global events like earthquake and Tsunami in Japan, Jasmine effect in Egypt, Libya, Behrain and many other countries , Corruption Scams in our country and horrible disclosures by wiki leaks would continue to affect the business and political environment in the country. This may push towards unwanted recession. We need to be prepared for this.
CP

Punar Musako Bhava

Friends
I wish to write blog every day but practically it is becoming weekly affair. There is no reason except the carelessness on my part. Just finished a wonderful book "The Difficulty of Being Good" by Gurcharan Das. Mr. Das is a renowned writer and I had chance to read his other book named "India Unbound". The book has been written after thorough research of various Indian epics and literature. The book is all about the subtleness of Dharma, the price of being good,. It analyses Guile, Remorse, Revenge, Despair, Rajdharma etc. Every human being comes across to various situations representing all these and takes the decision on the basis of his attitude, nature and circumstances. It develops into his/her character gradually. The books revolves around the Dharma and every thing is linked with this. I appreciate the book very much and feel grateful to the author for such a highly researched book. Now I have picked up another book "Screw It, Let's do it" by Richard Branson.
Life gives all kind of experience and every experience is an important lesson in life. In my case all experiences cost me dearly in terms of money and time. It shatters the confidence, faith, belief, vision, actions every thing. But there is always some superior power which guides me to come out of such tough times. We as human have always two options in every circumstance i.e. i) Act and be ready to face the result. It may be good or bad; and ii) Don't Act and hence no Result. In my case I prefer the first option but mostly the results are undesirable. God always give me power to come out of this and move towards another action. In childhood, I used to read a story in text books where a Saint was taking bath in a river and suddenly a mouse came under his foot. The mouse got crushed but with super powers, the saint made him alive. He also made the mouse an handsome boy. When the boy grew older, he started dating with the daughter of the saint. Finally they both decided to marry against the wish of the saint. The saint got very much annoyed and cursed the boy. Not only this he made the boy mouse again. In Sanskrit he said " Punar Musako Bhava" (be Mouse again). The poor young man became mouse again. God also plays the same game with we humans and he can make us mouse again. But the only consolation is that God loves us and always gives many chances to become a boy from mouse. One day the mouse becomes boy permanently, if he acts consistently and persistently. We are always put to test before becoming a young man from mouse by God. This consolation is the real power to try again and again.
CP

Friends
Last week witnessed lot of happenings. Railway and Finance Budget were out of the mystery. Share market took lot of ups and down and on sport front World Cup fever started . Personal front both kids came to Ahmedabad for 2 days and went back. Thus the week was full of action.
It always gives great feeling to see the kids maturing, gaining confidence, discussing various subjects and daring to take own decisions. I find them less demanding these days or feeling shy of demanding. When kids start growing and maturing they understand the value of money and always think twice before demanding. It is good sign of getting matured. It also reflects the result of sanskars we parents have inculcated in kids.
Character is built in valley. It means that the behaviour, attitude, nature etc. are all put to test when we are in valley (Valley means a situation where every thing happens wrong and mentally we feel too low in life. The performance is not upto mark and situation worsens day by day). When we are on mountain every thing changes but the real color would be seen when we are in valley. Valley also builts the character of a person. It is the situation which makes one prepared for grand success in life. If some one is not passed through the valley, success would never be under his/her control. So when ever we feel to be in valley, enjoy it , cause we are heading towards greater success.
CP

Friends
Two quotes came into my mind :
1. "You will waste a lot less time worrying about what others think of you if only you realized how seldom they do." That is why we can say that:
2. "To be happy one must not be too concerned with the opinion of others. One should pursue one's goals single mindedly, with a quiet confidence , without thinking of others."
Most of the time we worry about others be it social, professional or personal matter. We loose focus on our goal and try to behave what others wish. In the process we lost every where. Socially, in Hindu tradition we spend under the pressure to remain one up in society despite the fact that such spending is beyond capacity and also of no use. To impress the society we stretch ourselves to such an extent that it adversely affect the financial health. I have seen in villages , poor farmers are forced to spend much beyond their capacity on the occasion of marriage or post death rituals. One such occasion push them under heavy borrowing from mahajans. Also in educated , upper caste also the spending in marriages go much beyond the capacity and brings the borrowing pressure for a long time.
Professionally our behaviour is always to show off the others. The show off does not allow a professional to do the assignments of so called lower levels. He wants to do but just because of fear of "what others would think about him", he does not. This kind of thinking process closes the opportunity doors.
On personal front, I have noticed such things mainly in cases of personality development. When we do not adopt new technology or update ourselves regularly, later on we repent it and feel shy. Not only this, such technologies influence life so much that we can not afford to keep away and any delay in adoption/updation causes frustration and shyness. We don't show the world about our ignorance and start criticising the value of such technologies. We should understand the fact that there is nothing called delay or late. Knowledge is continuous flow and can be adopted/learnt at any stage of age. It is our own feeling about what people would think about us. If we can get rid of this thought, the life would be much easier and successful.
CP

Friends
I had mentioned some comments on relations in my recent blog. To explain it further, I wish to share some more views on this topic. In present educated society where the families are shrinking and migrating, the value of friends, colleagues and neighbours have multiplied many times. They are the first to help you in time of need. When we move to new and unknown locations, the social relatives are almost absent there and we have to build the relationship a fresh through references, friends, colleagues, peers, business associates, community associations etc. The relationship so created is mostly a live relationship and becomes stronger day by day. Such relations may not be through the blood relatives or any traditional relatives but always play role better than blood relatives. Also in many situations, some relatives may be called distant one due the distance in family tree, but they are more closer practically due to better interactions and understandings. The importance of such relatives is always more than the one who are close as per family tree but not close by way of interactions and understandings.
In this pretext, I was opining that in present world the relations should be measured by the closeness in understandings and interactions and not only by the family tree.
CP

Friends
Back to Ahmedabad after hectic trip of Rajasthan. It is always fun to visit the native place and interact with relatives. More fun if it is some function like marriage. The memories of childhood, family relatives, old friends all give exciting feelings. I met one of my college friend after 28 years.
When we meet some one after gap of 20-30 years, we notice lot of change in face and body structure, voice and maturity but still there is some thing intact (intimacy) which keeps the relationship alive. When analysing the past, we arrive at the conclusion that despite the best efforts in life, we all are at the same level from where we moved on. What has changed is some economic status, some addition in family, grown kids, some specs, either baldness or grey hairs. Life moves on with all these addition deletions.
One particular thing I noticed in my native is that people there are too much surrounded by the relatives. This does not leave any space for friends and hence the parameters of status of a family are decided by the number of relatives. In present world relatives are scattered. In many cases I noticed the infighting between relatives over money, properties or ego clashes.They don't talk to each other or very friendly but the social fabric is so strong/thick that people don't look beyond the relatives. In the process they can not build strong relationship through friendship and hence end up with very slow progress. I believe the relationship created, or rather gifted, by being in social relations are mostly pulled on by compulsions and not of choice. such relations always give heart burn and create distances. Where as a person can build better and stronger relationship out side the blood/social relations. A good and supporting person may be distant relative socially but he may be close friend. In society such persons are always considered as distant relative with long distance. On other side a close relative may be of no value practically but just because he is in close relation, he gets due credit.
CP

Friends
Nikita has completed 20 years today. Me and all the family members wish her a very happy birthday and pray to god to bless her long, healthy, wealthy and happy life ahead. May God fulfill her all her wishes and dreams. It is great feeling to see the kids growing and handling the life independently. She is studying in Bangalore since last two years and has proved beyond doubt her capability to handle the day to day issues on her own and also to excel in the study. What else can the parents expect from the kids of this age. She has come out of the shell of parents and has full of confidence. She dreams beyond the dreams which sometimes look impractical but I know with the efforts and focus on her dreams she is going to achieve them soon.
The absence of the kids on their birthday generates heart burn but the feeling of their efforts to shape the career heals the same.
cp

Friends
Money in foreign bank is hot issue these days. The perception is that some rich people have parked the funds out side the country and evaded tax on such money. Most of the developing countries have this problem. Public, Media, Politicians, all are cursing such businessmen fraternity for this. Every day Newspapers are full of analysis to arrive at the total money lying outside and if brought into the country how much it would benefit the nation. One way is to bring this money by forfeiting and other is to create a situation where the funds are automatically brought into he country. Major reasons for keeping money outside the country in safe heavens are Higher Taxation, Hiding money from the society and Safety of the money.
i. Tax rates are still very high in developing countries and this forces the people not to disclose the income and keep it outside the country. If the tax rates are reduced to 10%-15%, people would not hesitate to disclose the income. Singapore has 17% tax rate only.
ii. The social fabric in our country also forces the people to hide income. Those who create wealth show it gradually to escape the expectations from the society. Not only this the zealousness and family disputes and social demands also prompts the people to hide the income. The fear of sharing the wealth with family relatives is one of the important cause of hiding. It is fact that the biggest enemy and friend are always from the family.
iii. The fear of politicians, mafias, Bureaucrats, Government machinery also forces to hide the money. In most of the cases they would act against the person possessing and showing the wealth. It may be disaster for such person to disclose the wealth.

The perception that this money can be brought in and fully transferred to the Government is absolutely impractical and wrong. Unless we create good atmosphere in the country, better investment opportunities and very low tax rates, social and government safety for wealthy people, the money would remain out of the country and would be continuously used by the developed nations where such money is parked. We need to think differently if we wish to become developed country soon. We need to give full respect to wealthy people to get their support for the upliftment of society. There is nothing free in this world and no body is going to serve without consideration (money, status, respect, popularity, name, fame). There is lot to talk about this, may be later.
CP

Friends
Last seven days were very social for me. The activities on social front were very hectic but quite enjoyable. Whenever the opportunity of being together with the near and dear ones comes, it always gives lot of happiness. Being away from the native place, such opportunities are rare. Although the purpose of such get together may be different (Marriage, Health issues, social functions, etc.), but still the opportunity to connect with the roots is highly valuable. I got such opportunity in last 3-4 days. The reason was that my uncle in law is in the City to get the knee treatment. With god's grace he is fine now.
We get inspiration from God and People and try to follow their steps for better life. while reading a book I noticed that some of the most respected persons and Gods have also done blunder in their life. Couple of examples are :
1. Bheeshma Pitamah ( Devavrat) took away forcefully three daughters (Ambaa, Ambika & Ambalika) of Kaashee's king Kaashee Raaj from swayamvar for marrying his cousin Vichitraveerya ( Shantanu & satyavatee's son), the king of Hastinaapur. No body could dare to stop him. Later Ambaa took the birth as shikhandi who was instrumental in killing Bhishma Pitamah).
2. When Draupadi was being brought to the court by dushasan forcefully, Bheeshm Pitamah was also there and he was silent spectator. In his presence Dushasan was removing her saree. This was the turning point in Mahabharat.
3. Lord Ram sent his pregnant wife Sita to jungle just because a washerman in Ayodhya had raised doubt on her sanctity. This spoiled the personal life of Lord Ram.
4. Current Prime Minister of our country is renowned for his honesty but the silence on his part in last two years has made him party to the most corrupt Government post independence. Silence has taken him to other side.

There may be many such incidences which contradicts the image of highly respected and worshiped personalities. I don't know, what were the situations and circumstances at that time but apparently these appear mistakes which proved turning point in the history.
CP

Friends
Exactly 48 years (17532 days)ago, I was born in Jaipur. The journey of life so far is full of actions, happenings, events, struggle, some success, part satisfaction and no contentment. But over all nothing to complain and I am enjoying the present phase of my life. We can't get every thing in life but whatever we get is due to blessings of the God and elders, Good wishes of Friends, Peers, Relatives and society. I never thought of settling in Gujarat in my distant dreams but the circumstances brought me here. I did not know that this is such a good city to live. Very peaceful, full of opportunities, excellent weather conditions, best infrastructure and above all positive environment.
On this auspicious day, I wish to thank my Parents for caring, guiding and supporting in journey of life. I am also very much thankful to my relatives, friends, colleagues who remained with me during every season of life and accepted me as it is. My very special thanks to Shashi, my wife, who is bearing me since last 21 years and has stood behind me like a wall during the worst phases of life. My kids Nikita and Hitisha also deserve my gratitude for giving me the respect and love beyond my expectations.
Today I am entering into 49Th year , next year would be in the range of 50Th year and then soon 60 and then so on. Life would go on , days would come and go, but the memories and experiences would always remain. I would analyse my past 5 decades in following manner:
First Decade : Half to childhood and half to study. More in the arms of mother and holding hands of Father. The decade was fully under the umbrella of parents. Probably sanskars also inducted in me in this decade.
Second Decade: Full of study, completed Graduation and started pursuing CA course. The decade was full of enjoyment with friends, grudging with parents, limitations and checks by the family. Life was very simple.
Third Decade: New vision of life, good academic degree, marriage, kids and all. Became a Man from Boy but professionally full of struggle. Lot of responsibilities.
Fourth Decade: A man with no success in life, lot of struggle, Debt burden and so on. Good social and professional circle but no Luxury.
Fifth Decade: Coming out of struggling phase, kids growing and maturing, settled life and begining of success in life.

I seek the blessings of every one known to me for healthy, wealthy, happy, long life.
CP

Friends
After a gap of 8 days I am on the blog. I am not a disciplined person and hence nothing is planned . I wish to study and write but other priorities and lack of discipline over powers me and thus the gap in writing blog. Whatever be the reason but the fact is that it is lack of discipline and commitment.

When kids are young they don't mind to be guided but soon after schooling they behave like a matured boys/girls where as parents still believe they are infant. This always causes uneasiness amongst the generations. On one side parents feel insulted and other side kids find such behaviour disgusting. Both sides fail to understand each other and the result: Lot of heart burn.
This is going on since beginning and would continue till last the humans are here. We can not correct but control to some extent by understanding each other.
CP

Friends
Last week has seen lot of actions and happenings. Gujarat celebrates Uttarayan (Makar Sakranti) in a big way. The festival is of two days called "uttarayn and Baasi Uttarayan". Another big festival during this time is "Vibrant Gujarat" which is a global business summit of 2 days. This is a mega business event organised by Gujarat Government every alternate year. This event witnesses the presence of many leading industrialists of the country, foreign delegates, other businessman and politicians. This event was mainly on 12th & 13th Jan. In fact there is an exhibition also in the summit and we were the one of the exhibitor in this. The exhibition had started from 10th jan and continued till the weekend. Hence from 12th Jan to 15th Jan it was full of activities but no presence in office.

Yesterday I had to go to Sirohi, Rajasthan to attend funeral of one of my relative who expired at young age due to cancer. Cancer is a disease which enters the body randomly and comes out only when burnt fully with body. It does not allow it self to be thrown out so far. Millions of lives every year are galloped by this dreaded disease. People come to the funeral in much more numbers than those who visit the patient or help the family of the patient. It does not help in any way to the patient. I fail to understand why people do not visit the patient when he/she is struggling with life to at least console the patient and family. At cremation ground often people sit in separate clusters and wait for the fire to completely take the dead body in her arms. During this time the talks of the people, subject matter and topics are really embarrassing and pathetic. Totally irrelevant to the occasion. Now a days, Mobile is one more tool which worsens the situation. Either sitting near the body in the house of the deceased or while carrying it to cremation or during the cremation, people use it so frequently that it looks as if they are forcibly called here and have no sympathy with the family of the deceased. The mobile phone ring tones keep ringing in different modes, sounding romantic music, people roam around to talk on the phones, as if the world is going to fall if they don't handle the phone at this moment. On one side the family is crying and other side people are busy in phones and expressing their ring tones. I believe they just come to show the family that they care but fact is that they come to register their presence only. The body language clearly speaks of their unwillingness to be here but due to social compulsions they have to come. People should be serious and help the family to console in such a condition. Phones should be kept on silent mode and the talks for that one hour at least should be some thing serious or no talks if you dont have topic for that. We take the dead to the cremation ground but never imagine that one day some one would bring us also here. If we can not behave properly, we should not expect from others. The kids of the dead are worst sufferer and their future gets totally spoiled. Only God can help and bless such families.
CP

Friends
Many times I remember the quote by Shri Harivansh Rai Bachchan that "Mann ka ho to achha aur Na ho to aur bhi achha." I have just experienced this quote though in bitter taste. I was engaged in some investment proposal and me and my team had put in lot of money, time and efforts in this deal. At the last moment when things were going so well, it got in to big trouble and finally got failed. It was really a shocking incidence for us but ultimately the above quote came in mind and now we moving ahead of this. It seems that the soft behaviour, humbleness, faith and positive attitude have worked against the success of the deal. Probably the business world is like this and may be we would change our self in future. Jo hua achha hi hua and we could save ourselves from major financial loss.
When ever we try to help the others beyond the set parameters, it is taken as weakness and never work favourably. We are always taken for granted. Probably god wants us to improve more so we can handle the big issues properly.
I learned a lot from this. One thing which I experienced was that to test a person, one shock is more than sufficient. The behaviour post the shock would reveal the true identity, character of a person,Nature, attitude during crisis. This can be a highly effective tool for any major deal/association.
CP

Friends
Yesterday I was in Mumbai for some official purpose. Day before, I was talking about expectations and efforts. Here is some more on that topic. Expectation is the result of ambition and ambition is because of vision. Vision develops with thinking, seeing the world around, reading and meeting people. When we develop ambition it leads to envious nature. By definition "Envy is an emotion that someone feels when a peer has a possesion or something of value that is something you wish to have. Envy often cause low self-esteem or low self confidence". Envy at certain point leads to jealousness and fear too.
Envy is good to keep ambitions live and work for that. We as human have basic character of envy with any thing we love or hate. Envy can be segregated into two categories i.e. i. Positive Envy and ii. Negative Envy. Positive envy (PE) means we develop envy with some one and work to surpass him without damaging him where as Negative Envy (NE) means not only surpassing the other but also harming him to such an extent that he never becomes challenge in future. Although both kind of envy is the real fire to achieve the ambition but NE is dangerous to the society, family and the world at large. If we look at the history all ambitious people in this world were envy of some one every close to them and mostly were NEs. In Ramayan, Rani Kekayi, wife of Raja Dashrath, was envy of Lord Ram because she found him a big envy in achieving her ambition and that is why she used the Commitment (Var) given by Raja Dasrath to not only put her son Bharat on throne but also to send the Rama to jungle for 14 years with the intention that by that time her son would be powerful enough to tackle any challenge in future. Later Duryodhana also used the dice game for sending the Pandavas, the powerful cousins whoi were ruling Indraprastha successfully, to jungle for 12 years with 1 year of Agyatvas with the intention that his army would find them during the Agyatvas and extend the period by another 12 years. During Mughal period also the enviousness was totally negative where they believed in finishing off the threat at any cost without considering the relationship. In fact in most cases people are envy their close relatives, neighbours or friends. In present days also the politicians not only play the tactics to over come the opponent but also using all weapons to finish off the threat in their ambition forever. The ruling parties use every government agency against the opponenets to silent them and making putting the opponents in a situation where they can never come out of that The same thing is being followed in corporate world. Corporates not only try to surpass their competitors but also see that they finish for ever so no one challenge them in future. Such negative envy is wrong for the civilised society. In fact terrorism is also the result of NE which has become the biggest challenge for the whole world. If we look in deep, terrorists, globally were created and nurtured by some one to fulfill the ambition in negative way. We should develop PE in the new generation and teach that to make the line bigger, don't cut the others' line. Enviousness is good for every body, it works as a tonic to keep going ahead. Those who don't have ambition, would never be envy of any one, but this would lead to no fun in life, no growth, no happiness, no Sadness.

CP

Friends
First working day of this decade and year 2011.Even for most of the colleges and schools this is the first working day. New year celebration is going in full swing. People are yet to be back in normal mind set. Expectations and Efforts need to be synchronised properly so that at the end of the year we feel satisfied about the results of the year. In fact only date changes, nothing else change. Same weather, wind, clouds, sun, earth, surroundings all remain same but for self assessment we fix a time period and analyse. All the occasions like Birthday, Anniversary, New Year, festivals and all are on fixed date and that is how it helps in analysis between the two such events.
CP

Friends
Wish you all Very Very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous Year 2011. This is the first blog post of this year and also the first of this second decade of Twenty first Century. Today Nikita went back to Bangalore to resume the college after 10 days' vacations. Hitisha still with us as she is undergoing internship with a leading newspaper.
Recently I was thinking about a plot in Mahabharat epic where:
"Raja Dhritrashtra, Bhishma Pitamah, Guru Dronacharya, Korava heir Duryodhan, Raja Karna and all other family members, dignitaries were sitting. The game of dias had just finished with Pandavas losing every thing including making themselves slaves and also losing Dropadi to Duryodhan. It was the time when Dushasan was ready to insult Dropadi. He dragged out Dropadi from other room to the main hall by hairs. She was crying and begging mercy from every one right from Korava brothers to Bhishma Pitamah. No one could dare to stop Dushasan and other 100 korava brothers from doing anything they wish to Dropadi. Every one had their own excuse like Dhritrashtra , convincing himself for his blindness and also logic that since pandavas have lost the game, he is helpless in this matter. Bhisma Pitamah was convinced that he is committed to Hastinapur kingdom and hence can't help any body else except hastinapur king i.e. Raja Dhritrashtra only. Guru Dronacharya, Korav Brothers, and all other were just followers of Bhishma Pitamaha or Raja Dhritrashtra and finding excuse of not interfering. When all this was happening, Pandavas were sitting in a corner with head down and hands tied up(as they could not see all this happening with Dropadi) and helpless. One Brother's deeds (Dharamraj yudishther's) had put every one in big problem".
In above situation Minister Vidur stood up and requested Bhishma Pitamah to do some thing to stop all this as the Dropadi was bahu of the family. He also requested to Raja Dhritrashtra, Guru Dronacharya and all but nothing moved. Finally he announced his resignation and said that "for every fault 50% responsibility is of person doing the crime, 25% of the person facing the crime and rest 25% of the person who is silent." With this he went out of the court.
Thus he made responsible for this crime all the elders sitting there and watching all this happening. Silence is also a crime, particularly by those who are powerful enough in stopping the crime happening. In present situation this applies to our honest politicians who may not be corrupt but have been mute spectator, it also applies to bureaucrats, our elders, our boss, and every other one who refuse to interfere and stop the injustice happening.
Above plot also leads to following conclusions:
1. You may be too powerful but don't try to push your self in a situation which is not in your control or else you may be in a big soup.
2. You can put yourself in any situation but you don't have right to drag others also who are dependent you like your spouse, brothers, kids, Parents, employees, friends etc.
3. Before jumping into unknown water please test it properly.
4. Don't trust blindly.
5. When you are powerful enough, any of your deed is acceptable.
5. No body is going to oppose your injustice till those around you are getting benefit from you.
6. We all are selfish and always work for our benefit at whatever cost or harm to any body else.
This epic/story is about 5000 years old, but the morals are same even today.
CP