Quoting Shakespeare...

Quoting Shakespeare makes more sense on some nights than others.

"To be? Or not to be? That is the question

Whether its nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune… or to take arms against a sea of troubles… and by opposing, end them?

To die;
To sleep;
No more!

And by a sleep to say, we end the heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to - it’s a consummation devoutly to be wished!

To die;
To sleep!
To sleep, perchance to dream: Ay, there’s the rub! For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil must give us pause."

Quoting Shakespeare makes more sense on some nights than others. Like it does right now.

The right perspective

They say, "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach".
I say "No".
Generations of women have been misled by this blasphemy. I say, my love shall belong to the man who will eat whatever I cook. Happily.
Thank you.

Signing-in from Jo-berg

It has been drizzling all day in Jo-berg (short for Johannesburg). I am sitting by my hotel window, which opens to a road on which a few random cars pass by to break the monotony of the sound of falling rain. The city drenched in sweet rain reminds me of Monsoon back home in India. The onset of Monsoon often marked the start of the school year. As a kid, I was always fascinated by the smell of fresh new books and raincoats. After a rainy day like this, my sister and I used to run to clean the mud from our school shoes before gulping down two cups of chai each. Then I used to sit by the window of my room and paint. How time flies!

The Case of the Three Musketeers

One of the more memorable take-aways from my Entrepreneurial Selling course at CBS was "differentiating yourself". Deceptively simple, right? I could not agree more with the idea, not only becasue it resonates with my personal philosophy, but also because the Professor was by far one of the best we have, and I was instantly in love with his teaching style. For our Finals, he gave us a case study to solve. So many individual submissions to grade every semester must be quite a task even if we CBS folks think that each paper we write is second only to the Holy Bible.

So, I decided to 'solve' the case by writing my strategy in the form of a story, where the Professor is one of the three central characters:

1. The Professor as the President and CEO of the company

2. Tomb Raider, the COO

3. Know Nothing, the Head of R&D

I called the paper "the Case of the Three Musketeers" who set out to solve this $100mn problem for the company.

I bet the Professor will never forget me. Ever.

Sakhi re

:
Sakhi re, tera milna
Phir halke se muskurana
Aur mere sapno ka khilna
Kya tum dekh rahi ho?

Kabhi tum chand ho
Kabhi tum ho pari
Meri taakad bhi tum ho
Tum hi meri kamjori

Sakhi re, ek tumhari haansi
Pe ruk gayee hai ab jindagi
Jo hum saath saath ho
To jannat yahi hai, yahi

Sakhi re...

PS:
1. O for original ;)
2. I've been writing for a few years now. It's a family gene I think. So, no, this poem is not inspired by "someone" ;P

Some of my favourite C&H strips

Of over 3500 published over ten years:

1. Be gone!

2. Trust

3. Here and now

4. Trick question?

5. Click!

6. Loopholes

7. No, I wont

8. Being there

9.

Thank you Bill Watterson!

The True Pursuit

Few days ago, I read an interesting article in The Hindu about the dichotomy of life. Reproduced below are a couple of summarizing lines:

“The philosophy of daily life is generally governed by action and reaction within the narrow confines of power and pelf. On an average, people are driven to act by the exigencies of material acquisitions and egoistic posturing. Running parallel to earthly considerations is one's quest for spiritual solace and upliftment.”

The thought was very intriguing to me as I tried to mentally divide my actions into material and spiritual ones. But soon I was rationalizing my choices, and realized that my efforts were fruitless at best. The most powerful motivations aren't necessarily materialistic or idealistic - they are a reflection of our own fiber and expectations from self. Perhaps this is what Maslow refers to as "Self actualization" in his hierarchy of needs. The true pursuit then, is not for material acquisitions, egoistic clout, or even spiritual nirvana. The true pursuit is for the Self.