Billy the Kid

Imagine this: A group of kids playing outdoors. One of them feels hungry, runs to her mother, and says, “ Mummy, I am hungry. ” The doting mom, showing a victory sign with two fingers, says “ Two minutes ”. Eagerly the kids wait for the two minutes to get over, wondering what is in store. The excited kids frolic, playfully steal from each other, slurping down the last bit. This image stayed with my cousins and me when we watched it on a Black and White Television. The cost of one packet would be that of about half a litre of milk, so it was a " TREAT " that one could indulge in only on special occasions. Having no access to such privilege, we had to wait a long time before we could get our hands on it. A few summers ago, my older cousins who were permitted to use the gas stove volunteered to help. The first step was to read the instructions carefully and follow it to the T. We did exactly that, or so we believed. We anxiously saw it being cooked, waiting to grab our portio...

Thanks to the lockdown, to break monotony Ved, Vaishali and I decided to celebrate Diwali and Christmas. This not only gave us a much needed reprieve but also helped us learn more about the festivals. Being the LMS* that I am, it wasn't until December 23rd that I brought the Christmas Tree and some decorations. The advantage of being an LMS is that you spend less time than needed on " aur dikhaoo, aur dikhaoo " (show me more).  LMS = Last Minute Shopper 😅 Beaming with pride on my achievement, I walked into a barrage of questions. " Where is the Candy Cane? Where is the Angel? Where is the Mistletoe? " " What are you talking about? I got the tree and the ornaments " I blurted. It was then that I realised that there are so many elements that goes into decorating the Christmas Tree. Sheepishly I had to concede defeat and promise to take them shopping for the many missing items. After the second run at shopping (this time at leisure), it was good to see t...

When was the last time someone nudged you? When was the last time you nudged someone? For me it happened by accident. A friend happened to chance upon the blog and asked me a pointed question " why did you stop writing? " ... as expected I had no answer. While contemplating this, the same evening I was a Judge at a school debating contest and was asked to motivate the students with a 3 minute talk. I decided to have fun and share my experiences which could help the kids become better as speakers, debaters and human beings. I thought I did a fairly good job of attempting to motivate them within 3 minutes. (My instant noodles were ready by then 😜) After the session as I was relaxing, the door bell rang, and a young lad in school uniform was asking for me. As I went out, he said " Sir, you spoke about CLKK & KKDS, it was really nice and I liked it. I came to thank you for that it is really true sir ". I blanked out completely and stood holding the door not knowing...

Does  SIZE  matter? I am sure if we undertake a survey many of us would say  BIG  is good, a  BIG MEAL  or a  BIG HUG  or a BIG EGO . Before I let your imagination run wild on what else could be  BIG , I wish to share with u a recent incident. I was busy typing to glory on my laptop – when I heard a meek ladylike voice  “I am doing my diploma in FS, yes sir it is the in thing now, many organizations’ including police are utilizing our services, I have cleared my first year. Sir FS means Forensic Science -  another show off I thought and continued with my work. The conversation must have gone on for about a minute or two after which a manly voice claimed “ meri ladki hai saab ” - she is my daughter. The voice seemed familiar and I stretched to get a glimpse. I could not identify the man as I could not see his face. The girl then thanked and said “ ok sir, have a great week ahead ”. As they walked towards me, I could see th...

All characters in this write-up are real; any resemblance to any person living or dead is 100% intentional. “ Marriage is an institution ” people say – so is an Asylum . I happened to study mathematics and loved the congruence theorem! Need I say more? Spending time with your wife, you have so many opportunities to share and listen. Typically the wife shares and you the poor husband get to listen - all the time! I t was good that Columbus was not married – else he would never have discovered America…every time he would make plans for travel, the wife would start “Where are you going? When will you come back? What will you bring for me? And so on… in fact he would have never ventured out of his house. Worst, he set out to discover India and discovered America… Imagine all the questions his wife would have asked him on reaching home! Most of the men have been taken care of and pampered by Mothers, would suddenly find themselves surfing unknown territories after ...

Alexander - the great 336 BC a young Macedonian Prince slept with a dagger under his pillow, constantly in fear of assassins. 334 BC leading his men aboard boats, as he neared Asian shore, seized a javelin hurled it onto the beach and jumped out, the first on land. Alexander the Great at the young age of 22 undertook a journey... that created HISTORY and almost conquered the whole world, only because he believed in himself. Overcoming fears and fighting for what he truly believed in, he redefined norms. Each one of us would have, at least once in our life arrived at a crossroad and chosen something which made the difference . It was mid January 1999 and I was all geared to take on the challenge of being the first elected President of a local Rotaract Club, an organisation for youth. I had quit my monotonous job as it lacked challenge. I was clueless where I was heading, shouldering the responsibilities of my family, my new post and my quest for a new career. Those days I loved...

I love speaking as much as I love listening to speeches and learning from other speakers. This interest of mine has triggered a never ending thirst for seeking new knowledge . As a direct result of the habit, I end up buying a lot of books (it’s a different story – I don’t get to complete most of them). The recent one that I laid my hands on “ Speak like Churchill, Stand like Lincoln ” seems to be the black book for mastering Public Speaking. It's the title that enticed me to buy this book from flipkart.com – at an impressive 21% discount . After reading the initial introductions, forewords, afterwards, etc… the first chapter began! Hold your breath; it speaks about the importance and relevance of PAUSES . Drawing inspirations from Napoleon, Hitler, Churchill and many more – the chapter shares the relevance of the pause before beginning a speech! This ensures that the audience is all ears and you get to relax! It also has a mention of a great leader who had to pause for one fu...

After Eric's workshop, I have been reading a lot about Street Photography. Some very interesting and thought provoking articles made me sit back and think! The fun, I realised is in capturing the candid moments and creating magic with light J I have been in Mumbai for a very long time, but never realised what it had in store… the chance encounter with Street Photography and I look forward to visiting many such places of interest. The workshop brought back the curiosity in me to know more about life in Mumbai.  har fikr ko dhuein mein udata chala gaya  The streets of Mumbai, rather India is not like that you find in most cities. As I moved around the streets waiting for the “ keeper ” shots, I encountered stark realities of Mumbai. People coming to in search of jobs, sleeping on the cold, frozen streets are the facts that we choose to ignore consciously. I guess most of us would have seen them day and in and day out! But we have never given a second thought! On a cold Sunda...

Life is all about colours! At least this was what I thought till November 12, 2011. A life changing experience made me realise that many things are good, better in fact the “ Best ” in Black and White! The men who helped me change this perspective KP and Eric, the marvellous Streettogs ! Though I was initially reluctant to jump into the bandwagon, I braved all odds! Being a novice made me feel out of place few times. The drawings made from light, displayed awesome creativity and the eye for catching something that we would miss routinely! Honestly before the workshop I did not bother looking up for the drawings of these two gentlemen… I had been gifted a Nikon D3000 last year and I was in love with it! I used it occasionally to capture memories. I loved shooting nature, sunrises, sunsets, green, blue, red, yellow… this was about to change! Rules, rules and some more rules! We all love to hate rules! I love to know the rules, so that I know when I break it ;) Eric made it clear that we...

“Mumbai is the meanest place, where you survive if you got the pace. Chota Chota Lafda bane Police case, bada bada lafda gul without trace” when I first heard the song I realised it is true! People without face, but with pace, running around each morning, noon or night! Truly the CITY never sleeps; no I am not endorsing any bank or its product. Now there are more reasons to be sleepless! Beware we are sinking, and stinking bad! A city that was considered to be safest place not so long ago, is now the most dreaded place. Mumbai is moving towards becoming the “Crime Capital” of the world. The recent attack on a group of youngsters, two young lives gone for the want of civility! Phew, I think we are losing it! A small incident of eve-teasing that turned gruesome. Standing up for what was correct, cost them their lives. The accused have surrendered. Does it make a difference even if they are given life sentence? Lives are lost, so have hope and faith in humanity. We all pity the con...

Future of the workplace: During a full day seminar last Saturday at Pune, a wide range of discussions and workshops revolved around the “ Future of the Workplace ”. Reproduced below are some learning’s and insights from the workshop. It is required for us as HR professionals to be proactive in managing these changes at the workplace. The current demographics of the workforce is dynamic and 4 generations co-exist . It is projected that over the next decade the workplace would undergo a massive change. While the routine activities may continue as it is there is a possibility that the workplace definition may undergo a drastic change. Virtual teams, borderless offices, 24X7 accesses are some of the aspects that most organisations would move to. Outsourcing and contracting may gain popularity. The concept of a long term job would be replaced by “ Project / Task / Activity ” based hiring. The “Appointment letter” would give way for a “ Commitment Letter ” – this would bind the employee to...

Stop to smell the roses It was the 80’s and I was proudly showing off my pocket transistor to my friends, a gift I had just received. Back then, only those who had uncles in the gulf owned such luxuries. Every Wednesday I would tune into a sweet voice “Jee haa Dostoon… mein Ameen Sayani aapka humsafar Binaca Geetmalamein aapka swagat karta hoon” (Friends, I am Ameen Sayani your host tonight welcoming you to Binaca geetmala) I can never ever match his style. Sports commentary was the other favourite programme which my friends and I would remain glued to. “The outfield is rough, score 3-1 Salimulah   passes the ball to Kalimulla, the two brothers playing to the midfield, Kalimulla passes the ball to Salimulla; Salimullah passes the ball to Kalimulla, Kalimmula to Salimulla and that’s a goal Oh it’s an offside the goal is dissallowed , the players fume in disbelief . 30 seconds left for the match to finish. Germany appears to be going comfortably into the finals.” We enjoyed g...