Sometimes I go crazy!!!

It's been a long time once again since a picture inspired me to write a post. This time, the following picture that I incidentally saw made me do this post.

I've seen many a cricket matches getting cancelled or applied with Duck worth-Luice method. Good that no person has ever invented the methodology to decide the winner of a test match which is abandoned or interrupted due to rain. Enough is enough of this method, if I've to sound like a perfect South African cricket fan. If such a method comes to test cricket, South Africa might have to take stringent call to have their domestic cricket matches' decision only based on the Duck-worth's method, so that their players get antiquated with the calculations of the win-loss statements. Well, i'm not intended to criticize rather trying to give some advises to the board. Now, moving on. 

I frankly did not understand the need behind organizing only one test match wherein all of the officials are well aware of the fact that it's rainy season in the subcontinent and the test match can easily be interrupted. There was more a fun playing it than a game, if I may say so. Both captains hold the trophy on the first day and both the captains hold the trophy on the last day of the match, making it no difference of what could happen in the in between five days. May be a friendly deal. And after that, team was given a treat by one of the officials, for what? May be as a symbol of the arrival of the new coach. Commentators box has been missing him since long and it's wait to continue probably for few more years!

The trio has been nominated to be the guiding members, officially. That's more than kidding. No one knows the responsibilities of the individuals and expecting them to perform as a team is truly and typically an Indian manager's expectation. Since Dravid opted for the coach role of the under 19 team, we are conveniently calling the combination as a trio. Looking forward to see what these three would do behind the pavilion. May be they will do all that they wanted the BCCI officials to do once when they were part of the Indian dressing room. 

Sometime you win,

Sometimes you lose,

Sometimes it rains, 

And sometimes I go crazy!

Hence this post, no offence, PLEASE!!!

Water problem @Pune

For all the popularity of the holiday destination in and around Pune especially in the rainy season, and also for the gigantic industrial properties around, it becomes tough to believe that Pune faces water problem. Personally, the water problem was never experienced by me so hard earlier. But in the last couple of years, this problem has increased so much that I wake up in the morning, especially in summer, to fill all the tubs and buckets with water. Because, after couple of hours there will be no water through taps until the late night or may be the next day morning. If I sleep late in the night, waking up early on the next morning becomes either a gone case or to fill the buckets with the last remaining water in the taps. Believe me, its very hectic. 

When I checked about this with my friends, few of them said the same but most of them said that they did not face such a huge problem. The main reason was that they all had bore in their apartment. Also, some of them said that they had the second connection for the corporation water pump. Well, things are being discussed even in our apartments, but its taking longer time than expected. Few of them do not want the corporation water to merge with the bore water. May be for the understandable reasons. And to keep them separate, the extra tanks to be built. This is probably a financial problem of some. Again, understandable. A solution to this shall come out soon. 

Generally, if the rains are sufficient enough in a year, the corporation water is re;eased twice a day. But since the rains were not sufficient enough to fill the reservoirs last year, this year had been deadliest in terms of the water scarcity. This time the rains are on time. It feels annoying to see the incessant rains outside and no water in side the home. I just hope, there will be a natural solution to this problem, i.e. by heavy rains. And that's the best solution compared to the one mentioned above. Rain water harvesting is actively being pursued in all the major constructions in and around Pune. This shall also work positively. However, the number of older apartments is also equally high in our locality that harvesting cannot be a great solution for all families. Hope this problem settles soon. 

Dependency... Take Home #390

Mistake is not of those who build up the dependency upon themselves. Rather, mistake is of those who allow the dependency to get built up on someone.

Consistency... Take Home #389

Circumstances are never consistent. And that's exactly why the people who are consistently with you over a significant period of time deserve all your respect. Recognize such people in your life and reciprocate, even though they do  not look for it. 

Responsibility... Take Home #388

Taking the responsibility is the first step towards becoming responsible. 

Time is never bad... Take Home #387

Time can be wrong but it is never bad to start doing a right thing, and for that matter any thing.

Superstitions never lead the human evolution. They can never do so! Be thoughtful before taking them for granted. 

One cannot satisfy everyone, actually!

Trying to satisfy everyone and hence geting the work done by everyone is one of the management styles. It cannot be concluded as wrong as its one of the styles afterall. But, I think, one fundamental fact strongly prevents this particular style from entering the list of the best management styles. And that's as following. 

Do whatever you can, you cannot actually satisfy everyone at the same time! 

All that you do defeats your own idea of doing so and that the work you think is getting done by everyone might not be as qualitative as it is supposed to be. Hence, what I understand is that one must differentiate people for their capabilities and efforts. Rewards always lift the energies to the next level, however small or big the difference is. Doing things right in that regard is very important rather than just completing them.

My courier, the status of which is "undelivered"!

I've been thinking about the following for the last three days. Thought of putting it here and let it go out and hence this post. 

I applied for a check book from my online bank account. I was given an acknowledgement that the check book was shipped through a courier service and will be delivered within the next two working days. I had waited for the next three to four days but did not get the delivery. And then I dialed the courier office to check about the shipment. I informed them that I did not get my delivery which was supposed to happen two bays before. They asked me for the courier tracker number for a few times and finally said that the courier boy did visit our house but since it was locked, he returned it back to their main office saying that 'house was locked'. When I called the courier main office, I was said that the check book will be delivered back to the bank and that I should go and collect it from the bank itself. After three days of I was said so, I visited the bank to collect my check book. The bank official informed me that the check book was not yet received. I then immediately dialed the courier office. As usual, couple of their numbers came switched off and finally I could reach on a number of their main branch. That's when I was informed that the courier was still not returned back to the bank! And it wasn't easy to digest that. 

I had put in all efforts on a Saturday morning to finish the breakfast and the other formalities, and you know how suffocating it is on a weekend's morning, drove for almost twenty five minutes in all the narrow roads by ensuring to put the horn and brake on for a few times, parked the vehicle with a lot of difficulty on yet another narrow road in front of the bank, and here I was finally being informed that the check book was not yet returned and that too after I myself called the courier services! I could not take all that so easily. 

Why the hell that the courier delivery boy on the first front did not call me when the house was seen locked? According to the courier office, they do not call the customers to deliver the shipment. They deliver only if the customer is available at the said address! So, the customer should leave everything aside and wait for the courier at home, by bunking the office or by avoiding going anywhere including the market? When two people stay in a house and when both of them are working, how come they are expected to stay back to say 'hi' to the courier fellow? I asked the same question to the courier official as well as the bank official. Both of them gave me a weird smile and said that they would not call any customer. 

After all, their job is to deliver the shipment and they should do everything to deliver it. And moreover, making a call to the customer is not very much difficult as gone are the days when it used to cost more than 1 rupee for even a call of second's duration. I suggested the courier official to think about calling the customers in case they are not available at the said address. But what they said surprised me. It was said that customers were also not so good to them and that they keep changing the time of parcel collection. But I somehow cannot agree to that because I keep getting couriers and all the other courier delivery boys call me many a times to deliver a courier. I also requested the courier office if they could send the courier at 6:15 pm to my house again so that I would collect. But what they said this time was awful! They said that they did not work after 6 pm. Which did not make sense to me as they will have to do it on occassional basis and not regularly. May be they are correct in accusing the cistomer, considering thier experiences with few customers, but there must be a failsafe w.r.t. the large customer base they might have. 

What I understood finally was that the problem actually was with this particular courier company and any other courier services who follow the same strategy as that of this. And I also think the bank should rethink about maintaining the partnership with them as they are the ultimate ones at whom the customer would look at, in this case say for the check book. 

Anyway, be it bank or courier, both are service oriented organizations and their survival depends largely upon their customers' satisfaction to achieve which they are responsible largely. Up to them all in all, either to serve or to just be there. 

Keeping calm and making noise... Take Home #386

To win the show as a manager, you must know when to keep calm and when to make necessary noise. Doing only either of the things at all the times does not work consistently. 

A season gone by without watching movies in theaters!

It feels almost ages that I watched a good movie in the theaters. I was occupied with some personal tasks for a couple of months in between, and the IPL later on halted the releases it seems. "Tanu weds manu returns"was talked a lot about but I could not make it to the theater. I'd love to watch Kangana once again on the screen after Queen. Mesmerizing smile she possesses that I fall for it every time. 'Queen'was a wonderful representation of emotions of a woman and she won hearts as well as a number of awards including the national best actress for the year 2015. 

There are couple of releases awaited in Telugu, my mother tongue, in June and July. One is 'Rudrama Devi", the historic biopic of the most remembered queen of the Kakatiya dynasty and the other one is 'Bahubali', the prestigious project that has been getting handled by an iconic director of the current times in Telugu, S.S. Rajamouli. Both are starring 'Anushka' in the female lead role and I'm sure it will be hair raising to watch her in her roles in these two movies. She is one of the finest actresses the Tollywood has presented to its audience. I wish the entire cast and crew of these two movies a very successful release and run of the movies. 

Looking forward for a good remaining season of this year for the movie-watching in theaters. Any by the way, my watching spree of  'Interstellar' is still not done. Its an amazing experience every time I watch it. I have kept understanding and realizing some or the other thing about the script. Christopher Nolan has done an exceptionally good job that I be dumbstruck about the taking on every watch! Wish to see many exceptional films from him and his other Hollywood director colleagues.   

Identify it from within... Take Home #385

Primarily, its your responsibility to make your life interesting, joyful and meaningful. Rest everyone, who you think can contribute towards your life, can definitely contribute not beyond what you can do for yourself, although few are exceptions. Gear up and start identifying it from within.    

And taking responsibility shall immediately start when your existence is understood as 'good for nothing'.

Set the things right... Take Home #384

Not by just finishing off the matters but by doing the right things many a things can be set right. 

Assumption... Take Home #383

Making an assumption is nothing but choosing the convenient option. It usally gives relief for that moment. However, the effect can suck you, occasionally though. 

Better to have the clarity as much as possible!

'The best' tag... Take Home #382

'The best' tag is attached to anything in this world only until the better than the best is found. Realise this simple fact of life to get rid of the drowsiness that 'the best' tag gets to you. 

Finding the inspiration... Take Home #381

When you believe that what you are doing is right, you find a lot of inspiration from within. And when you know that what you are doing is not proper according to you, a lot of inspiration is required from the external sources, be it the circumstances or people, to complete the task. 

It's better to be first sure of your opinion about what you need to do and finding the necessary inspiration thereafter becomes easier. 

Meaning for the life... Take Home #380

Live life to create a meaning for it. The life, in your experience, can be bitter and wonderful at various points of times, but at the end, what matters the most is the contribution made by you, to your people, to the society and to this gigantic world. 

Leave enough room... Take Home #379

It does not always mean that what you cannot understand makes no sense. It just simply means that you do not understand it yet. Take time to understand and leave enough room for all the possible chances to prove it accurate, especially when it's about relationships, be it personal or professional. 

Times of no hope! ... Take Home #378

At times, we might have to choose the better to the best. But that does not mean we cannot do our best with it. Life can be unexpectedly friendly at times, that you cannot entertain the times of no hope. 

Life is not entirely ruled by what comes to you. Rather, it is, at all the times, about what you do with what you have! 

Between what one wants and needs to do!

For any person, there are two types of things he does in life. One, that what he wants to do. And two, that he needs to do. Prioritizing between them defines the gesture of that person. 

To understand what he wants to do, he has to know his passions. And to understand what he needs to do, he has to know his responsibilities. 

When it's time for him to decide between these two, what he ultimately does revelas his way of prioritizing people in his life. Whatever he chooses, that's nothing wrong on his side, he might be right in many of his ways and thoughts. He just needs to be understood more, if you think his is a wrong choice. 

Way of working... Take Home #377

Its not the kind of work you do but your way of working makes a lot difference to what you have in store at your work place. Your contribution to the organization also depends a lot on this fact. Never mind what you want to do or what you are asked to do, because you just cannot understand, at times, the broader spectrum and hence cannot decide what you have to do. However, keeping up the openness and clarity of thought in your way of working makes sure you get what you deserve although not what you want! 

After all, as a matter of fact, getting what you deserve is more important and fair enough than getting what you want.

What matters changes!

What matters changes at different point of times in everyone's life. It depends upon many things which are not in anyone's control at all the times. Do not get worried if you feel that you are not being prioritized by someone, who earlier probably did. Try to understand the world of him that has changed him around, try also to be back in it if you really wish to get back to his life. Try your maximum but with a prior understanding that it might or might not work! 

Celebrate your success if you can get through and if not, take it easy and try not to do the same for someone else! 

Japanese and the discipline!

This observation is from my recent Saturday shopping spree at Start Bazar. Its about two kids, appeared to be Japanese. One of them must be of age three and the other is of five.

While I was walking across every rack twice in the shopping mall, in a deep confusion about what to pick and what not to, I came across many kids between 3 to 7 years accompanying their parents to every corner of the shop that they go. One kid was seen suggesting his dad which  T-shirt he should select. The other one was seen shouting at his dad that he wanted a 'New toy' to play. Another one was seen having one of the new toys in his mouth already. Few kids wanted to be seated in the trolley and few never liked to be in there.

After watching all that and also after I successfully filled my medium sized orange trolley with few required items and a few nice-to-have ones, I entered the que to pay the bill. On the next counter, I saw a boy who was probably 3 years old in thick pink colored T-shirt and short. The pink colour shirt made me look at him again and again until he turned around so that his face could be seen from where I stood. He was in absolute white skin tone. His parents and his sister, who was seen to be around 5 years old, stood next to him. He was actually placed in the trolley and his sister was standing first but then slowly moved into the trolley next to her little brother. For me, who had earlier come across so many kids and their naughty dealings with their parents, these two kids appeared a lot different. A lot calm they were compared to the other kids. They both took one 'Kinder Joy' chocolate each and that's all they wanted their parents to buy for them from that hugely colorful shopping mall. They were seated next to each other all the time in the same trolley and there was absolutely no fight between the duo. Their mom and dad could complete the billing formalities without any interruption.

I've heard a lot about the discipline of the Japanese. This is the first time I've witnessed it ever. I do not mean that being calm is being disciplined. But being calm encourages the potential in us to be used at right places for right work and also to pay attention to the deserving. Probably, this has been in the culture over there nerve to nerve in those people since generations. In the globalization, everything changes so rapidly that we don't even get to know what makes us change. And I really appreciate the Japanese for maintaining their mark. I will remember those kids for a long time! 

Perspectives... Take Home #376

The more perspectives you understand, the broader your thinking is. The broader your thinking is, the better your decisions and choices are. 

A deep wish!

Happiness is although possible to be felt all the time, practically i.e. by considering the life styles of these days and the invariably increasing expectations of people towards each other in the relationships, being happy all the time is not seemingly quite possible for an average minded person. However what can be achieved in every relationship is the togetherness. Happy or sad, easier or tougher, whatever are the times, just staying with each other and working out the things together can work well for any relationship, does not matter how much ever different the two people are. Another thing to be remembered all the time is that no two people are alike in every aspect. Differences are inevitable. And since they are inevitable, they shall not be the reason to think that people cannot sort out the matters together.

Everything is possible provided you have the deep wish and commitment towards each other.

Togetherness...!

Being there for and respecting each other makes the togetherness absolutely blissful.