Book, Bookie, IPL6 and Srini!

So, the 6th Edition of the Indian Premier League, the T20 cricketing extravaganza came and went. The defending champions the Kolkata Knight Riders were knocked out even before the knock out stages and Mumbai Indians became the new champions at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, champions for the first time defeating the Chennai Super Kings, the most consistent of all IPL teams in the short history of the league.

But the real action in this year's IPL actually took place outside the cricket stadiums. The suspicions that fixers both of the "Match" as well as "Spot" varieties were at play were confirmed during the course of this year's edition. The Rajasthan Royals team led admirably by "The Wall" Rahul Dravid got involved in an ugly tangle when three of its players were arrested on charges of spot fixing.

Ex-Indian International player Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and spinners Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were caught by the police on charges of being in touch with bookies who placed bets on the basis of information supplied and actions the players indulged in during matches. The cricketers in turn were stashed with cash and supplied with girls by the bookies. It is ironic that a team that was lead by Rahul Dravid, the epitome of gentleman ship and sports spirit should have these rotten apples amongst them.

After the arrest of the cricketers and a few bookies, as the investigations further intensified, an even more startling arrest took place, that of Vindoo Dara Singh, the son of the legendary Indian wrestler/actor Dara Singh. Himself a winner of a reality show Bigg Boss, Vindoo, it seems was a conduit between the bookies and the people who were placing bets on the IPL matches. In custody, Vindoo is appearing to be singing as a canary does and the first high profile catch has been, Gurunath Meiyappan, the son-in-law of the BCCI honcho N.Srinivasan (Srini). Incidentally, Gurunath also happens to be a co-owner, principal and CEO of Chennai Super Kings, which again coincidentally is owned by his pop-in-law, Srini. That CSK have been the most consistent team in IPL, that they lost this year's final, that Srini and his son-in-law own the Team would have us believe that IPL is full of "co- incidents".

Daggers are out for Srinivasan's head and the pressure is on for him to resign as the president of BCCI but he has till date refused to bow. Probably, money power that he has in abundance and the fickle mind of the public at large probably gives him the confidence that he would withstand the present storm. But then does Money buy you everything?? Interesting but shameful times ahead it seems. IPL envisaged as a sporting entertainment extravaganza has turned into a den of vices and the billions who follow it, may now start feeling that they have been taken for a ride for Six years continuously.
S for Six, S for Sreesanth, S for Srinivasan, S for Superkings, too much coincidence again?? It seems my mind has gone for S for sixer and I am seeing coincidences all around as we near the S for sixth month of the year 2013!!!

The Open Mouth!

Most of the problems that we encounter in our daily life, it seems emanate from the huge amount of noise that most of us are able to create day in and day out. Oratory, rhetoric are good but foot in mouth disease that handicap people, is spreading like an epidemic. The problem is that people get so carried away bragging and trying to impress upon others without actually listening to the other person's view that they create enormous difficulties in their lives, both professional as well as personal.

An old Indian quote says that a word from the mouth and an arrow from a bow, once shot cannot be recalled, hence people should be very mindful of what they are saying. Alas, in today's fast paced materialistic world, time is at a premium and people are getting into a habit of speaking without thinking, trying to cover up their short comings.

It is said that a lie travels half the world while the truth is just pulling up its socks. If nature had wanted us to be more talkative and less attentive, then we would not have been bestowed with one mouth and two ears but the "Open Mouth" has resulted in a world of deception, deceit and duper y. A small lie leads to more lies which become bigger and bigger overtime and finally leads to doom and destruction.

What all members of Blue Caramel need to realize is that you can fool some of the people, some of the time, all of of the people some of the time but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time, be it your professional colleagues, friends or family!
  

Maya and Karma!

Sanskrit, one of the oldest languages in the world is also known as "Dev Vani" or the language of the Gods. Most of the religious texts of the Hindus have been written in this ancient language. Two Sanskrit worlds which the Hindus have utmost faith are "Maya" and "Karma".

Maya is said to be an illusion that personifies everything "materialistic". Everything in this world is believed to be "Maya". Self actualization is only possible when one gets over Maya. Relations, favorite items and anything that has emotional bond attached with it comes in the realm of Maya. The post regarding Maya is probably because of the need for me to give myself a little bit of consolation after our old car suffered damage in a minor mishap. Though it was old but the scratches and dent on the car evoked great pain. But as they say it is all "Maya" and it does give a sense of relief to me personally.

Karma denotes the deed we do in this world. It is said that all positives (which are the good deeds we do) are computed and calculated and rounded off against the negatives (the bad deeds we do) during the course of our lives and Good Karmas will lead one to get over Maya and hence make a person much more at ease with himself and his immediate environment.

Wishing all Blue Caramel members a life full of Good Karma as we start a new phase in our evolution and development as a company!

Procrastination!

Ah! I just about fell shot of my unwritten target of 4 posts a month, this month. The reason was a very simple one, a human tendency that most of us succumb to "Procrastination". Procrastination is a bane and is the root cause of many ills that dog today's society.

An old idiom states "A Stitch in Time Saves Nine", which implies that a work done at the correct time saves a lot of hassles which other wise would have to be encountered in damage control exercises.

"Pressure" both in personal as well as professional life, more often than not, is a result of our habit of procrastination, of delaying action and putting it off for the never ending "Tomorrow".

Citing examples from our daily life, we see many students at their wits end at the time of exams. Why?? Because they bring it upon themselves by not being regular in their studies. If one was to plan and study subjects on a regular basis each day, then the pressure on the student would be that much lesser at the time of exams.

Similarly, all members of Blue Caramel, especially our sales team members, need to understand that their sales goals are all predefined which they very well know. Now if they break down their targets at the very start of the month and work on it from the very beginning, then by the end of the month not only would they feel less pressure (as they would have most definitely moved forward during the interim time), they would also start enjoying their work more. But for that they need to eradicate the malice of Procrastination.....

The Chinese Incursion!

The week has been dominated by the news of numerous Chinese incursions into Indian territory in Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) sector in Ladakh. The Chinese army penetrated 10 kms inside Indian territory and sent up camps and tents there. There were even reports of violation of Indian airspace by Chinese helicopters. India has once fought a very fateful war with the Chinese in 1962 and should have been better prepared but alas but not surprisingly, the situation seems to be the same. A case of history repeating itself!

George Washington once said the best way to ensure peace is to be prepared for war which in a nut shell means that one should always Be Prepared. If one is well prepared then the enemy would also think twice before indulging in any mis-adventure. In case of the present Indian government which has been fire-fighting on all fronts especially facing the wrath of the common as well as the opposition on its involvement in unprecedented number of scams of magnanimous proportions and mismanagement, devising a deterrent for the enemies of the state seems to have been the last priority; not that the previous regimes were any better.

Preparedness defense wise, the lesser said the better, so I will just concentrate on a socio-economic issue. The Indian side of the porous Indo-China border is still under developed and the villagers lead a life of unimaginable hardships in the inhospitable terrains. The Chinese side is a stark contrast. Tarred roads have been developed and the villages have become prosperous, thus creating a big divide which the common folks on the Indian side must definitely envy, alienating them more from mainland India.

If the decision makers of the country had thought a little about the country instead of only filling in their own coffers, then things would have been so much different, because by failing to plan, we have planned to fail. All members of Blue Caramel should always keep this in mind that it is always immaculate planning followed by quick execution which will reap dividends for us both personally  as well as professionally.

Happiness!!

Bhutan is a landlocked country in South Asia and a unique one at that. When all other countries measure their prosperity through indexes like GDP, this kingdom has an index which measures Happiness.
The Gross Domestic Happiness of Bhutan focuses on the general quality of life that the citizens live in this hilly country at the foothills of the Himalayas.

The infrastructure in the country is nothing to write home about and the citizens are deprived of many modern day amenities which we take for granted but still Bhutan has one of the highest number of happy citizens. The Bhutanese are hardworking, religious, close knit and peace loving. There are also one of the most contented lot of people on Earth. So, where does that lead us to??

In our day to day life, we continuously seek options to make our lives more and more comfortable. Today, we have a plethora of gizmos to choose fro and a range of things to indulge in but in this mad rush for a better future (materialistically) we are getting entangled in a present which is tension filled and making our and our close ones' life unhappy.


So, what needs to be done?? Probably trying to lead a simple life with the right mix of quality time both professional as well as personal, enjoying life's little joys like a walk with the loved ones and not getting too unduly perturbed about what others are doing or saying might be a start.
Easier said than done? Definitely but then getting Happiness in today's time is not Easy.....   

The Best Place to Live!

I had a very interesting discussion with a colleague about the best places to live in Rajasthan. While I told her that in my opinion it was Udaipur, she insisted that it was Jaipur. The idiom that there is no place like home did not hold good in this case as both of us call Udaipur our home. Then what makes us have divergent views on the same things?? In this case, as I thought more and analysed our discussion, it became quite clear to me that the "Best" has more to do with perceptions rather than the actual. Every place has its pros and cons but what actually is the differentiating factor?

Hawa Mahal, Jaipur

 My colleague spent her time in Jaipur when she was in the city pursuing her studies for two years. She lived in a hostel and then in a PG accommodation, had to cope up with a meager flow of pocket money and travel great distances in heavy traffic. It gives ample indication that her life's comfort level took a turn for the worse when she moved from Udaipur to Jaipur. But she still considers Jaipur as the best place to live. Why?

City Palace, Udaipur

It was a time when she had no responsibilities. It was a time for carefree indulgences. It was time full of fun. It was a time in life when after leading a life of comforts  at home in Udaipur which she perceived as full of illogical "social restrictions", she encountered new found total freedom in a city which did not offer her the comforts that she had at home nor the sereneness and daintiness that her hometown offered. But her perceived freedom albeit without comforts easily outweighed her comfort filled life at home without perceived freedom.

So, all members of Blue Caramel, it must be remembered that our perceived discomfortness is more a creation of the mind than actual. True winners are those who conquer the mind over matter and it all boils down to perceptions. The Best Place is always the place you are in at a given point of time, all you need to do is to see the positives that you encounter and acknowledge them.