What animal would best suit your personality?
A DOG.
You are one of the best friends that someone could ever ask for. A very loyal, compassionate person who is always there for close friends and family members who are in a tough time. You are someone who can be counted on time and time again and never let small grudges get in the way of a good friendship. But unfortunately, you are very dependant, and every now and then someone will take advantage of your loyalty, and it is most often not until you end up hurt that you realised your foolishness.
This is what I found after answering a few questions at YouThink.com. It is for me to read and for you to comment... :) so, what do you think?
Friday, April 27, 2007
Two Wolves
A nice story -- it's been quite some time since I read something and found a great message in a simple story. This is one of those.
-----
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all.
One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."
-----
Think about it... the next time you are boiling with anger about something that happened some time ago, think about it....
btw, am not preaching - this is more of a reminder from I to me :)
-----
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all.
One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."
-----
Think about it... the next time you are boiling with anger about something that happened some time ago, think about it....
btw, am not preaching - this is more of a reminder from I to me :)
Thursday, April 26, 2007
one more….
Don’t ask for my heart, because I am tearing it out and breaking it into little bits and throwing it away so I will be heartless but you will not know it because I will be the perfect counterfeit of a loving woman and you will receive from me a perfect forgery of love.
So there were two unspoken clauses in the understanding, one regarding the giving of love and the other concerning the withholding of it, codicils that were sharply at odds with each other and impossible to reconcile.
So there were two unspoken clauses in the understanding, one regarding the giving of love and the other concerning the withholding of it, codicils that were sharply at odds with each other and impossible to reconcile.
Shalimar, the Clown
“When you pray for what you want most in the world,” he said, “its opposite comes along with it. I was given a woman whom I truly loved and who truly loved me. The opposite side of such a love is the pain of its loss. I can only feel such pain today because until yesterday I knew that love, and that is surely a thing for which to thank whoever or whatever you like, the goddess, the fate, or just my lucky stars.”
Friday, April 20, 2007
Where do you want to go?
This was the question that caused a rather cryptic outburst of ‘none of your business.’
Last Sunday, I was at the bus stand after service. It was past 8 pm and I was trying to find a bus to get home as fast as I can. Now, Secunderabad isn’t the best place to board a bus if you which bus stops at which bus stand. In this city, there are very few bus stands that have boards with the bus numbers stopping there. Where I come from, that is quite common and I know if am at the right bus stop or not. ‘Ask someone,’ I hear you say. Well, you should try doing that near the Sec’bad railway station where every other soul is as clueless as you are and to make things worse, the bus stands are spread over a large area.
Btw, am not new to Sec’bad – been going there almost every weekend for service. I do know the bus stand to get home. Last Sunday, I thought I’d try a different route and went to the other bus stop. I was standing there for a while, and then realized I’d be better off going home the usual way.
So, I started walking towards the other bus stop. Just then, this guy came up to me and asked where am going. Well, truly ‘tis none of his business. I don’t like people poking their nose in the pretext of helping - Not in the state this world is in. And I did tell him that it was none of his business. Not the nicest of responses – but there are times I cant help myself being curt. I just say it and then go ‘oops! Did I hear that??!!!’ So, that was how it was – and he said, ‘ yes, I know it is none of my business… but there are some people behind you…you got to be careful!’ So, I had to turn around and tell him that he did sound like one of them and hope he’d understand why I gave that rude a response. He said he did understand and walked away.
Oh ya, so, probably (so very probably!), he really wanted to help. However, as much as I might try to believe that – I just can’t get myself to. Something was wrong – so, if someone was ‘behind’ me, why ask me where am going. I don’t understand – probably, that was the first thing he could think of… who knows…
All that he did was to freak me out – in a place where I don’t speak either of the major languages, it can be quite freaky. I took the first bus that went anywhere near home and got out of that place!
Last Sunday, I was at the bus stand after service. It was past 8 pm and I was trying to find a bus to get home as fast as I can. Now, Secunderabad isn’t the best place to board a bus if you which bus stops at which bus stand. In this city, there are very few bus stands that have boards with the bus numbers stopping there. Where I come from, that is quite common and I know if am at the right bus stop or not. ‘Ask someone,’ I hear you say. Well, you should try doing that near the Sec’bad railway station where every other soul is as clueless as you are and to make things worse, the bus stands are spread over a large area.
Btw, am not new to Sec’bad – been going there almost every weekend for service. I do know the bus stand to get home. Last Sunday, I thought I’d try a different route and went to the other bus stop. I was standing there for a while, and then realized I’d be better off going home the usual way.
So, I started walking towards the other bus stop. Just then, this guy came up to me and asked where am going. Well, truly ‘tis none of his business. I don’t like people poking their nose in the pretext of helping - Not in the state this world is in. And I did tell him that it was none of his business. Not the nicest of responses – but there are times I cant help myself being curt. I just say it and then go ‘oops! Did I hear that??!!!’ So, that was how it was – and he said, ‘ yes, I know it is none of my business… but there are some people behind you…you got to be careful!’ So, I had to turn around and tell him that he did sound like one of them and hope he’d understand why I gave that rude a response. He said he did understand and walked away.
Oh ya, so, probably (so very probably!), he really wanted to help. However, as much as I might try to believe that – I just can’t get myself to. Something was wrong – so, if someone was ‘behind’ me, why ask me where am going. I don’t understand – probably, that was the first thing he could think of… who knows…
All that he did was to freak me out – in a place where I don’t speak either of the major languages, it can be quite freaky. I took the first bus that went anywhere near home and got out of that place!
Thursday, April 19, 2007
The Success Formula
We are always hunting for that elusive success formula, aren’t we? I came across this article, in the McKinsey Quarterly, on how executives search for that success formula for a runaway success.I’ve included a few thoughts here (You can find the full article here – registration required). When I read the article, some of the points made were quite obvious.
For example, success and failure depend not only on a company’s actions but also on those of its rivals. Where did we lose that insight we gain right from kindergarten – your rank doesn’t depend only on the marks you score. I guess, in our quest to find that easy answer to the puzzle, we often fail to realize that there can be a few puzzles that have a different answer each time. Instead we expect the puzzle to end at the same point – which is not the case in a competitive environment.
There were other thoughts that were business-centric – but if you take a closer look, you’d realize they are true in other spheres of life as well. Consider this one: “Suggesting that companies can follow a blueprint and achieve lasting success may be appealing, but is not supported by the evidence.” Like the books that deal with the success formula for business executives, there are umpteen books out there that talk about how to deal with your own life – how to win, how to be successful, how to be a good listener and so on. At the end of the day, these books tend to reduce life into a set of formulas you live by. But, life isn’t about following someone else’s path; life isn’t about living within the safety zone. Life is all about stretching your boundaries, accomplishing what you considered impossible, and, most importantly, living your life your way.
In the business world, success is a result of decisions made under conditions of uncertainty and shaped in part by factors outside our control. In your life, what you do and who you are depend on your decisions in your day-to-day life. You cannot simulate your life and your choices to reflect someone else’s. There is no perfect choice, there is no dead-end – you can always start again and your best attempts may not be good enough. That is life – but then, for all the uncertainty, I won’t want life to be any other way.
A reliable path to high performance – does not exist.
In the business world, success is a result of decisions made under conditions of uncertainty and shaped in part by factors outside our control.
The task of strategic leadership is not to follow a blueprint but to gather and evaluate relevant information, and make choices that provide the best chance for the company to succeed, all the while recognizing the business uncertainty.
Success and failure depend not only on a company’s actions but also on those of its rivals.
High performance com6es from doing things better than rivals can, which means the managers have to take risks.
Lasting success is largely a delusion, a statistical anomaly. There is a strong tendency for extreme performance to be followed by less extreme performance in the next.
Suggesting that companies can follow a blueprint and achieve lasting success may be appealing, but is not supported by the evidence.
No formula can guarantee a company’s success, at least not in a competitive business environment.
For example, success and failure depend not only on a company’s actions but also on those of its rivals. Where did we lose that insight we gain right from kindergarten – your rank doesn’t depend only on the marks you score. I guess, in our quest to find that easy answer to the puzzle, we often fail to realize that there can be a few puzzles that have a different answer each time. Instead we expect the puzzle to end at the same point – which is not the case in a competitive environment.
There were other thoughts that were business-centric – but if you take a closer look, you’d realize they are true in other spheres of life as well. Consider this one: “Suggesting that companies can follow a blueprint and achieve lasting success may be appealing, but is not supported by the evidence.” Like the books that deal with the success formula for business executives, there are umpteen books out there that talk about how to deal with your own life – how to win, how to be successful, how to be a good listener and so on. At the end of the day, these books tend to reduce life into a set of formulas you live by. But, life isn’t about following someone else’s path; life isn’t about living within the safety zone. Life is all about stretching your boundaries, accomplishing what you considered impossible, and, most importantly, living your life your way.
In the business world, success is a result of decisions made under conditions of uncertainty and shaped in part by factors outside our control. In your life, what you do and who you are depend on your decisions in your day-to-day life. You cannot simulate your life and your choices to reflect someone else’s. There is no perfect choice, there is no dead-end – you can always start again and your best attempts may not be good enough. That is life – but then, for all the uncertainty, I won’t want life to be any other way.
Here are some of the very interesting and valid points:
A reliable path to high performance – does not exist.
In the business world, success is a result of decisions made under conditions of uncertainty and shaped in part by factors outside our control.
The task of strategic leadership is not to follow a blueprint but to gather and evaluate relevant information, and make choices that provide the best chance for the company to succeed, all the while recognizing the business uncertainty.
The delusion of absolute performance
Success and failure depend not only on a company’s actions but also on those of its rivals.
High performance com6es from doing things better than rivals can, which means the managers have to take risks.
The delusion of lasting success
Lasting success is largely a delusion, a statistical anomaly. There is a strong tendency for extreme performance to be followed by less extreme performance in the next.
Suggesting that companies can follow a blueprint and achieve lasting success may be appealing, but is not supported by the evidence.
No formula can guarantee a company’s success, at least not in a competitive business environment.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Great Places To Work
You can view the Business World Survey here.
The Insights:
Insight 1: High employee engagement levels
Insight 2: Larger responsibilities with more flexibility
Insight 3: Love for fun
Insight 4: Effectiveness of profit sharing process
Insight 5: Loyalty does not translate to life long commitment
Insight 6: More credible actions from leaders expected
The Insights:
Insight 1: High employee engagement levels
Insight 2: Larger responsibilities with more flexibility
Insight 3: Love for fun
Insight 4: Effectiveness of profit sharing process
Insight 5: Loyalty does not translate to life long commitment
Insight 6: More credible actions from leaders expected
Thursday, April 12, 2007
I’ve been wondering….

What should I do with this one? I am thinking of writing about the world around me - my other blogs have been around my life...so, here is my attempt to talk about the world at large...
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Shantaram
I picked up this heavy book a couple of weeks ago - at my regular book shop in Chennai. Quite an interesting book - yes, a life of someone who escaped prison and was willing to live in Mumbai's slums and then work for mafia dons.... has to be interesting, right?
One of the few books that have humour and profound thoughts in equal measure - complimenting each other.....
http://www.shantaram.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shantaram_(novel)
One of the few books that have humour and profound thoughts in equal measure - complimenting each other.....
http://www.shantaram.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shantaram_(novel)
Monday, March 26, 2007
What would you do?
What would you do what would you do if Jesus came to spend some time with you
If Jesus came to your house to spend a day or two
If he came unexpectedly I wonder what you'd do
When you saw him comin' would you meet him at the door
With arms outstretched and welcome to your heavenly visitor
Or would you need to change some things before you'd let him in
Like to burn some magazines and put the Bible where they'd been
Oh I know you'd give your nicest room to such an honored guest
And all the food you'd serve to him would be the very best
But what about your family conversation would it keep up its normal pace
And would you find it hard each meal to say a table grace
Would you be glad to have him meet your very closest friends
Or hope that maybe they'd stay away until his visit ends
Would you be glad to have him stay forever on and on
Or sigh of great relief when finally he'd gone
You know it might be interesting to know the things you'd do
If Jesus came in person to spend some time with you
What would you do what would you do if Jesus came to spend some time with you
If Jesus came to your house to spend a day or two
If he came unexpectedly I wonder what you'd do
When you saw him comin' would you meet him at the door
With arms outstretched and welcome to your heavenly visitor
Or would you need to change some things before you'd let him in
Like to burn some magazines and put the Bible where they'd been
Oh I know you'd give your nicest room to such an honored guest
And all the food you'd serve to him would be the very best
But what about your family conversation would it keep up its normal pace
And would you find it hard each meal to say a table grace
Would you be glad to have him meet your very closest friends
Or hope that maybe they'd stay away until his visit ends
Would you be glad to have him stay forever on and on
Or sigh of great relief when finally he'd gone
You know it might be interesting to know the things you'd do
If Jesus came in person to spend some time with you
What would you do what would you do if Jesus came to spend some time with you
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
My old-fashioned notebook
13.3.
It was there in my goody bag – spiral bound, logo at the bottom of every page – looking real neat. Ya, that’s the notebook am talking about. I got it the day I joined Google and it has been with me ever since…. I’ve written, scribbled, and loaded it with a bunch of papers – brochures, prints, write ups… in fact, there are so many papers, the notebook is double its size…it’s been with me to umpteen meetings, training sessions… it’s been with me each time I visited Chennai…each time I traveled some place…
Whenever I researched something online or heard about something I wanted to research….well, you know where you’d find them…
…and I lost it this morning…
I walked in with the notebook in hand because I didn’t want to forget what I wanted to do, walked into the cafĂ© on my way up, and left my notebook there. It was about 2 hours before I realized what I’ve done, and I’ve been searching since then. Haven’t found it yet… been asking the security guards all day…no luck so far….
Will I ever see it again?
14.3
Yaayyyyyy.... I found it... :)
God only knows how much I've missed it!
It was there in my goody bag – spiral bound, logo at the bottom of every page – looking real neat. Ya, that’s the notebook am talking about. I got it the day I joined Google and it has been with me ever since…. I’ve written, scribbled, and loaded it with a bunch of papers – brochures, prints, write ups… in fact, there are so many papers, the notebook is double its size…it’s been with me to umpteen meetings, training sessions… it’s been with me each time I visited Chennai…each time I traveled some place…
Whenever I researched something online or heard about something I wanted to research….well, you know where you’d find them…
…and I lost it this morning…
I walked in with the notebook in hand because I didn’t want to forget what I wanted to do, walked into the cafĂ© on my way up, and left my notebook there. It was about 2 hours before I realized what I’ve done, and I’ve been searching since then. Haven’t found it yet… been asking the security guards all day…no luck so far….
Will I ever see it again?
14.3
Yaayyyyyy.... I found it... :)
God only knows how much I've missed it!
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Have you ever….
Well, it has been ages since I had the urge to post something …but something changed this week…it is that feeling you have when the statistics becomes a gruesome reality…when that one more accident on the road happens too close home that it is not a statistic anymore….
This week began on a pretty good note – a lot of people were celebrating the valentine’s day; I was asked by umpteen people about my boyfriend (the one am yet to find), the number of roses I got (which was zero!) and so on. But for me, it was just another Monday.
After such a Monday, I woke on Tuesday to find a freaky accident in the newspaper – it was about a lorry that had hit and killed a couple (who had incidentally got their daughter engaged the previous day and were on the way to book a wedding hall), the police had got another driver take this vehicle to the nearby police station after the driver had fled. But, on the way to the police station, the driver had lost control, hit another vehicle and fatally wounded another.
I read this with a sad heart, but then it was time for me to get ready to work, so got myself going. But then, at 10am when the cab should have come home to pick me up, the travels guy calls up and says there has been an accident, you take an auto and get to work.
I presumed that it would be a minor accident and got to work. I reach Tidel and even before I get to the office, I meet one of my friends and he asks “did you know about the accident?” and then I get the details.
The vehicle, in which I had traveled till the previous night and the same one that should have been at my place that morning, had met with a nasty accident that morning en route to our place to drop another colleague…the driver had rammed into a stationary lorry and both of them were taken to GH and then shifted to Apollo. The driver was unconscious till that afternoon and was supposed to be in a critical situation but thankfully started to recover in the evening.
I did not realize the intensity of the accident till I saw the crashed vehicle myself. The Ambassador, supposed to be one of the sturdiest on Indian roads was reduced to a crumpled mess. The entire front portion was smashed, and the top was completely gone. All that remained was that back, every other part of the car was a mess.
Seeing the car I realized that they were really lucky to get alive out of that car.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Srisailam
It started in a conversation that was going anywhere and nowhere...yes, I was chatting with Llewellyn ....and then, he asked what's up for the weekend and I said ...nothing...
In the next few minutes, we had zeroed on Srisailam - pending our 'illustrious' Imtiaz Bhai's confirmation... After that, I scourged through the net for all that I can find on Srisailam and ran home.... I had plans ...but dozed off.... until I heard 'your 20 minutes start now' ....well, it was Llewellyn’s call….all I could manage was ‘make it 30 minutes’ and rushed to get ready…
Half an hour later, I was at the KPHB main road…I was 11.15 pm and we set off towards Golconda where Imtiaz Bhai joined us…we were on our way and reached Mannanur at 2.40 am….. we had to wait till 6am – coz vehicles aren’t allowed in the night…. So, we parked and went to sleep….not without joking about Imtiaz Bhai’s polyphonic snoring (a lil later I got to know what that meant!) ….
I got up around 5:40….the place was filled with vehicles of all sizes….small carriers, lorries and trucks, cars and so on…. And people were pretty casual….only until they heard the vehicle at the beginning of the line start – a lorry –…. At the sound of that engine everyone hurried to their own vehicle and started…and soon that place was like a starting line of a race…. Everyone testing their engine ….and raring to go….
The moment the gate was opened, it was a free for all…blaring horns, noisy engines, and flying dust replaced the quiet and serene environ…wish I had a video of that few mins…the change from the calm and quiet morning to the blaring horns….
We let everyone go by,….and started off at the end of the line….as we went by, we found peacocks grazing…we stopped by the road to watch the sun rise below the sizzling power lines….after a few more stops, we reached the first view point…went through the bridge and then up to Srisailam….
After breakfast at the Punnani restaurant, we were hoping to get on the ropeway and the go to the dam…unfortunately, ropeway wasn’t working ….quite a disappointment…so we walked down to the dam – the 650 steps, at least that is what they said - went boating and by the time we got back, we were quite tired…. And since Imtiaz Bhai had refused to come with us…we told him there were a max of 350 steps….to which he asked ‘one way or both together’!!!!!
I got to say it was quite a sunny day….not a day where you can stand out in the sun for long…in spite of all the water around, the place was dry and hot….so, we started on our way back…. A lot slower because of the umpteen stops….
At one place, we went beyond a gate at the viewpoint…and got some wonderful pics of rocks and the dam…all the close-up shots of those rocks and trees growing from them are from this place…
Then we stopped along the bridge….and again it was a good place for some pictures…and ya, some of these pictures show you vast land – the kind of vastness you don’t expect to find all that often…
Another great place was this dam on our way back…it was post-lunch…after a lunch where I couldn’t help laugh at some of Imtiaz Bhai’s gyan to that hotelier….and the way he did it…
After we got out, we came across this kinda dam we had crossed in the middle of the night when we were going to Srisailam…while the two of us wanted to go up and check the dam on the other side, Imtiaz Bhai wasn’t all that enthusiastic…. I don’t knw why….but he refused to do any climbing or walking that day….
So, he stopped and asked an old man who said there is no water at all….but then, we found steps leading to the top,….insisted he stop and went up….and was it beautiful…it was wonderful…and I wont forget the way this guy got on a plank and went all the way, paddling with his hands….it was amazing…time and again, makes me wonder, how big is man? Often, we tend to forget that man is like a small speck on the face of earth…. So let me end that gyan now….
From there it was a series of stops and we reached Hyd after 6….by the time we came to the other end to our homes, it was close to 9…. And that was the end of yet another traveling weekend...
For pictures, please visit http://picasaweb.google.com/christelle1804/Srisailam
In the next few minutes, we had zeroed on Srisailam - pending our 'illustrious' Imtiaz Bhai's confirmation... After that, I scourged through the net for all that I can find on Srisailam and ran home.... I had plans ...but dozed off.... until I heard 'your 20 minutes start now' ....well, it was Llewellyn’s call….all I could manage was ‘make it 30 minutes’ and rushed to get ready…
Half an hour later, I was at the KPHB main road…I was 11.15 pm and we set off towards Golconda where Imtiaz Bhai joined us…we were on our way and reached Mannanur at 2.40 am….. we had to wait till 6am – coz vehicles aren’t allowed in the night…. So, we parked and went to sleep….not without joking about Imtiaz Bhai’s polyphonic snoring (a lil later I got to know what that meant!) ….
I got up around 5:40….the place was filled with vehicles of all sizes….small carriers, lorries and trucks, cars and so on…. And people were pretty casual….only until they heard the vehicle at the beginning of the line start – a lorry –…. At the sound of that engine everyone hurried to their own vehicle and started…and soon that place was like a starting line of a race…. Everyone testing their engine ….and raring to go….
The moment the gate was opened, it was a free for all…blaring horns, noisy engines, and flying dust replaced the quiet and serene environ…wish I had a video of that few mins…the change from the calm and quiet morning to the blaring horns….
We let everyone go by,….and started off at the end of the line….as we went by, we found peacocks grazing…we stopped by the road to watch the sun rise below the sizzling power lines….after a few more stops, we reached the first view point…went through the bridge and then up to Srisailam….
After breakfast at the Punnani restaurant, we were hoping to get on the ropeway and the go to the dam…unfortunately, ropeway wasn’t working ….quite a disappointment…so we walked down to the dam – the 650 steps, at least that is what they said - went boating and by the time we got back, we were quite tired…. And since Imtiaz Bhai had refused to come with us…we told him there were a max of 350 steps….to which he asked ‘one way or both together’!!!!!
I got to say it was quite a sunny day….not a day where you can stand out in the sun for long…in spite of all the water around, the place was dry and hot….so, we started on our way back…. A lot slower because of the umpteen stops….
At one place, we went beyond a gate at the viewpoint…and got some wonderful pics of rocks and the dam…all the close-up shots of those rocks and trees growing from them are from this place…
Then we stopped along the bridge….and again it was a good place for some pictures…and ya, some of these pictures show you vast land – the kind of vastness you don’t expect to find all that often…
Another great place was this dam on our way back…it was post-lunch…after a lunch where I couldn’t help laugh at some of Imtiaz Bhai’s gyan to that hotelier….and the way he did it…
After we got out, we came across this kinda dam we had crossed in the middle of the night when we were going to Srisailam…while the two of us wanted to go up and check the dam on the other side, Imtiaz Bhai wasn’t all that enthusiastic…. I don’t knw why….but he refused to do any climbing or walking that day….
So, he stopped and asked an old man who said there is no water at all….but then, we found steps leading to the top,….insisted he stop and went up….and was it beautiful…it was wonderful…and I wont forget the way this guy got on a plank and went all the way, paddling with his hands….it was amazing…time and again, makes me wonder, how big is man? Often, we tend to forget that man is like a small speck on the face of earth…. So let me end that gyan now….
From there it was a series of stops and we reached Hyd after 6….by the time we came to the other end to our homes, it was close to 9…. And that was the end of yet another traveling weekend...
For pictures, please visit http://picasaweb.google.com/christelle1804/Srisailam
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