My quotes

“Nothing’s wrong with building castles in the air, as long as we can provide strong foundations below them …”

Love quotes

“The only thing we never get enough of, is love; and the only thing we never give enough of, is love.” - Henry Miller

“Love is what makes you smile when you are tired.”

“You know you’re in love
when you can’t fall asleep
because reality is finally
better than your dreams.”
- Dr. Seuss

“Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure” – Paul Coelho, The Alchemist

“Love, after all, is a hard concept for a thinking person to believe in.”

“I love her and that’s the beginning and end of everything.”

“Those who really love, love in silence, with deeds and not with words.”

“The 2 Most Important Days in your Life:

Are the Day you are born,

And the day you find out Why?”

- Mark Twain

“Every moment is a poem, if you hold it right!”
“When I saw you
I fell in love, and
you smiled
because you knew.”
- William Shakespeare

Prayer & Love

Akbar the great Mughal emperor was very particular about his daily prayers. During one of his trip, he found himself at a village at his prayer time. He stopped there to offer his last prayer of the day. While kneeling on the ground to pray, a young girl dashed into him but in her haste he did not get time to respond to this act of her. She vanished in the darknesso of the dusk leaving the angry emperor wondering who could this be girl to not have noticed him. He asked for her to be searched and brought before him. When she was caught and presented before the emperor he questioned her action, of bumping into him while he was in his prayers.
She did not seem to recollect the incident at all, so Akbar reminded her of the happenings. REalising her mistake of dashing into a praying man, especially the emporer she got apologetic of her act but also confidently explained the context. Her lover was returning after a long period of separation due to his work. The news of his arrival forced her to run towards him to greet and meet him at the earliest possible. She attributed the mistake to the haste of her love. She clarified that this justifaction was not for sympathy and forgiveness but for empathy towards her situation, while she was ready to face the due punishment.
But she also asked a candid question to the great emperor, “Although you were in prayer you got disturbed by my push while I did not feel you at all. The disturbance should have been mutual. I honestly do not remember anything hence I am wondering if my love for my beloved is more engrossing than your prayer of the Almighty?"
Akbar mentions in his autobiography, ‘AkbarNama’ that he had to ask forgiveness from that village girl. She had helped him understand love and prayer with one simple question.
I share this story not only for its moral but with respect for Akbar - a great emperor, who had the courage to accept his mistake and ask for forgiveness of a young village girl. Most importantly, it shows that we may not be born with greatness inside us but our willingness to embrace a virtue makes us great.

Self Appraisal

A little boy went into a drug store, reached for a soda carton and pulled it over to the telephone. He climbed onto the carton so that he could  reach the buttons on the phone and proceeded to punch in seven digits.

The store-owner observed and listened to the conversation: The boy asked, "Lady, Can you give me the job of cutting your lawn?

"The woman replied, "I already have someone to cut my lawn."

"Lady, I will cut your lawn for half the price of the person who cuts your lawn now." replied the boy.

The woman responded that she was very satisfied with the person who was presently cutting her lawn.

The little boy found more perseverance and offered, "Lady, I'll even sweep your curb and your sidewalk, so on Sunday you will have the prettiest lawn in all of North Palm Beach, Florida."

Again the woman answered in the negative. With a smile on his face, the little boy replaced the receiver.

The store-owner, who was listening to all this, walked over to the boy and said, "Son... I like your attitude; I like that positive spirit and would like to offer you a job."

The little boy replied, "No thanks, I was just checking my performance and the job I already have. I am the one who is working for that lady, I was talking to!"

A lovely line from the movie 'Dor'

सोचता था भगवान ने तुझे बनाया क्यूँ कर, अब तो बस शुक्रिया अदा करता रहता हूँ उसका

What camera do you use?

This one is dedicated to all my photographer friends ...

A photographer was displaying his pictures to his friends when a lady friend asked him "What camera do you use?". The photographer said, call me for dinner and I'll let you in on my secret. The curious friend immediately agreed to the deal, considering the small price for his curiosity and the photographer' secret. On the agreed date the photographer went over for the meal. He generously appreciated the food to be very tasty and delicious. Then he followed-up with a question to this lady "What cooker do you use?". Thus he answered with a witty question back to the curious fan.

It's like asking Federer or Nadal about the make and model of their tennis racquets OR asking Beckham about the shoes he wears ...

I know we all are tempted by such stupid ice-breakers but it is such a cliche. I should confess here, I am guilty too of this very crime. Inquiring people's intent of visiting a restaurant or a hospital when we meet them all of a sudden, despite the very obvious answer mocking in our faces. Anyways, some of them can be forgiven - the rest become a good joke for others ... ;-)

I hope this will leave a smile or a smirk on your face, the next time you hear this question. :D

Satyamev Jayate - Thank you Aamir !

Thank you Aamir Khan for coming up with 'Satyamev Jayate' ! We know your public appearance is very rare but always worth the wait! Watched the first episode of Satyamev Jayate on Star TV today and the respect for you has more than doubled. Like the straight, direct and to-the-point approach on a such an important social topic for our country. As always and as expected you are a perfectionist and  true intellect in the every sense.

Thanks for NOT putting us through another game or music show wasting an hour of our beloved Sunday mornings, instead giving us the worth of our time with a reality show in the true sense.

Thanks for NOT endorsing brands that you personally do not believe.

Thanks for NOT making formula movies that you personally would not watch. For focusing on quality, not quantity. We eagerly wait through years for your film to be released as they are always worth it.

Thanks for believing in the maturity of your audience and NOT selling any masala.

Thanks for taking a candid stance on a controversial issue and hitting in hard - right on spot. Most importantly being factual about it, being balanced in your opinion on this hard-hitting reality.

Thanks for using your celebrity status and access to millions of hearts for a social responsibility, not just commercial success.

Thanks for once again showing that you are a true Indian before everything else.

The list just goes on and on and on ...

Love you, God bless you. Sunday mornings are dedicated to you ...

Keep on making us proud ...

सत्यमेव जयते - सच्चा है प्यार तेरा ... Aamir !

Friends, to support Aamir's initiatives through Satyamev Jayate you can do one or all of the following:

SMS "Y" to 5782711 (Rs.1 per SMS.)

You can also SMS "N" to same number, if you disagree with him.

Transfer amount directly to Axis bank account 

A/c Name:SJ-SHL

A/c No.:912010021691949

Leave video & e-mails at http://www.satyamevjayate.in/

Write letters to:

P.O. Box No. 37401

J.B.Nagar Post Office,

Andheri (E), 

Mumbai - 400059.

An equal amount of donations to Snehalaya will be matched Reliance Foundation, the Philanthropy Partners of Satyamev Jayate.

Appreciation versus Recognition

Working in a multinational company, especially one based in USA there are some (work)cultural differences that need a clear understanding. The difference between Appreciation and Recognition is one of them.
We all complete tasks as part of our routine activities. The American culture basically promotes a positive acknowledgment of completed tasks in the form of Appreciation. It also strongly encourages Recognition of some key achievements. Problem is the thin line between the two. The attempt here is clarify the difference between the two.

Positive acknowledgment in most cases is Appreciation, generally to motivate the individual to strive for more. On the other hand if an accomplishment is above & beyond normal it is worthy of recognition.
Recognition is louder and public compared to Appreciations. Recognition is generally coupled with Rewards too.

In the Indian culture we are generally very stingy in appreciation hence when it happens it seems like recognition and Rewards are expected. This is generally a challenging area for most especially managing expectations around it.

Kabir ka Doha ...

बुरा जो देखन मैं चला, बुरा न मिलया कोई, जो मन खोजा आपणा तो मुझसे बुरा न कोई

Trail and Path ...

The difference between a trail and a path - Trail is a path that someone has already traveled, a path is a trail that someone would like to follow.

Trails of great leaders are paths for followers ...

Interesting date-time moments in 2012

2 Jan or 1-Feb: 1-2-12 @ 1:2 / 12:12
10 Nov: 07:08:09 on 10-11-12
10 Nov: 10-11-12 @ 13:14:15
12 Dec: 12-12-12 @ 12:12:12
20 Dec: 20-12-2012 @ 20:12

Into the fire ...

For 19 Jan 2012 - My Last day @ BMC

"We feel free, when we escape, even if it be but from the frying pan into the fire" - Erik Hoffer, not Harry Houdini.

Mistakes make life interesting

My rules for mistakes are very simple:
1/ You cannot repeat any.
2/ You have to make one everyday, at the least - intentionally.
3/ Never regret making mistakes. Regret repeating them or Miss them badly - everyday.

:)

Black Swan

The notion of a Black Swan is a low probability event with highly unfavorable impact. It is a common example of the "long tailed" probability distribution found in many domains.

Agile planning

The notion of "big planning up front," is of course a red herring in any credible Agile based project management plan. Rolling Waves, Planning Packages, incremental and iterative processes are all parts of the manual. Those who want full confidence on Day 1, should consider change their staff to those who can commit to it.
Can some give a 100% confidence (Agile) plan on Day 1? If the plan is more than a month long. Plan is supposed to evolve over a period of time, through regular revisions. Agile advocates the philosophy of forecasting deliverables on the basis of moving velocity, not using velocity to get commitments for deliverables. Agile suggests we revise/alter commitments around the deliverables as we progress on execution. It also does NOT expect upfront complete design (all details) – High Level design, if possible, is good enough. Play it by the ear.

Agile & Collective ownership

Agile as a methodology advocates collective ownership of tasks. It prefers team work over individual performance or heroism. The Manifest talks about individuals & interactions over processes and plans. It sounds so cool - people centric thinking ...

Then come questions to mind - A lot of them ...
If the ownership is collective, does it mean everyone is Accountable and everyone Responsible too?
Whom do we sacrifice as a scape-goat if something goes wrong with Agile. If everything is going
Well, who do you say is the best of them all. With Rewarding being a mandate how do we recognize contributions without discriminating on irrelevant aspects of the achievement?
Should leadership be rewarded or criticized as an individualistic behavior?
With the team having a common notion, are we leaving room for creative suggestions by new team members?
What are the possibilities of these suggestions, at least being considered, if not tried out.

With inter-changable skills and almost equal performance/ through-put are we heading towards mediocre teams?
Will the Hercules of the team be treated equal to others?
Would we be playing to the strength of each individual or trying to normalise capabilities across the group?
If it is a team effort, should only the Scrum Master have all the answers to these questions, or should the entire team be confused about it?

Let me know if you have answers to it ...

Scrum of Scrums

Scrum of Scrums –
Do we ask the same questions as in a Scrum Meeting? If not, why call it a Scrum.
Should we have the same format of stand-up meeting with brief summary of status & Blockers?
Also why do we end up making it like a project status meeting?

Think about it

Statistics suggest Probability of injury is more with a not-so sharp knife compared to a sharp knife ...
Statistics suggest Probability of slow moving cars getting hit is higher than fast moving cars ...

Change

God will keep on bringing the same issues again and again, until we pass the test - because God is more interested in changing us than changing circumstances.

Astrology

Astrology is a highly debatable topic, especially people's belief in it. Most people do not have a digital answer to the question about their belief in astrology. We all believe in it to varying degrees, given our upbringing, the faiths of our loved ones and most importantly our experiences.
I have studied a little bit of Hindu astrology (Jyotish). I may not be a fortune teller but have started understanding that there are different kinds of people, to a large extent each of us complying to the typecasts defined by our sun-signs, moon-signs and Nakshatras. Some years back, I had a friend, with whom I was in conflict. Just to change my approach in the relation, I thought of taking some guidance from astrology. Looking at the relation between our moon signs, I came to know that my friend would suffer a lot because of me. To help, I felt it wise to move away, from that friend.
Unfortunately instead of sharing this with my friend, I just silently moved away, assuming this was for everyone's good - the best solution for all.
Over a period of time, I came to know that this friend went through a very hard time & recently this learning dawned on to me.
1/ My friend's fate was not to change by my actions. Everyone owns their own destiny. The most appropriate word to describe the same, seemed like the Sanskrit word - 'Prarabdh'.
2/ Probably the suffering of my friend was because I moved away, rather than I being around.
3/ Always take astrological advice with a pinch of salt.
4/ Last, but not the least. We cannot do good to our loved ones by moving away from them. We need to stay around & help them succeed.