chaotic order

Jottings : Slice of life "Bill, there is a restful look on your face these days. Your body language is relaxed and you are smiling and laughing more..." Bill and I were having coffee in nearby Starbucks, after our workout. "thank you so much Bali ( that's how he calls me, for some reason he can never get the "a" right.. I have gotten used to it though) , your observation means a lot to me..." Here is what he recounted. "About six months ago,My wife and me joined a Zen Buddhistic retreat in Sanfrancisco. You know, I was absent from the Gym for about three weeks. Thats where we went. I am not sure what prompted us to make this trip, but my daughter in law is an avid reader of Buddhistic literature, and I chanced to lay my eyes on "Zen mind, Beginners mind" . The last year or so has been specially stressful with a lot of personal, professional things going around us, and somehow when I dipped into this book, it touched a deep chor

Jottings: Slice of life To have a child born on American soil is a dream of many young Indian parents. I met a neighbor yesterday as I was walked back from Target. He seemed in very cheerful mood. Normally, apart from perfunctory greetings, we have not exchanged any decent conversation worth the name in about ten months we have lived together in the same block. But yesterday, he shook hands vigorously and insisted we walk together.. During our conversation, he revealed his life-story to me. How he transitioned from a BPO role to software, how he struggled to Learn software programming, how he got a break into a decent company, How he met his wife and how he got married. In ten minutes, he summarized ten years of his life. I was very impressed with his achievement until this point, and then , he said “ It was our dream to have a child born as an American citizen? My wife and I are so very happy. She is in the family way now…”. I stopped in my tracks for few seconds and gasped for

Jottings: Slice of life Over the years, Many times I have heard teachers lament that they are often not treated well in the education business. They believe they are after all the last layer in the “food-chain” of this industry. It's sales, Pre sales, business leaders who hog all the limelight, and teachers who fulfill promises made by Business teams, on the floor of Customers are often taken for granted, and perhaps not very well recognized for what they achieve. I have heard this so many times in different hues and colors; sometimes I wonder if there is not a grain of truth to what they say. But then I quickly realize, it all lies in the perception and execution of teaching as a job. Personally, I find their attitude a little puzzling because, I have always felt that the Job I do in class is the most important step in this business, without which everything else in pretty much inconsequential. And I carry that pride in whatever I do otherwise. A customer can be boisterously h

Two books.. In 2006, two seminal books were published. Both of them were shortlisted for the prestigious National book awards, and one of them went on to win the Pulitzer award for Non-fiction that year. Both of them revolved around the 9/11 and its aftermath -which in is own way contributed and propelled America to invade Iraq on the pretext of ferreting out Saddam and his hidden Nuclear power.. I am talking about Richard wright’s “The Looming tower” - one of the finest accounts of the rise of Osama Bin laden and his coterie Al-Qaeda , and the other is Rajiv Chandrasekhar’s masterly journalistic narrative of America’s disastrous effort on post-conflict rehabilitation of Saddam’s Iraq “Imperial life in the Emerald city”Both these books are must read for anyone who wishes to have a sane, balanced and an objective ( If that is possible at all) view of last 15 years of terrorism and America’s intervention as Global peace maker in parts of the world largely ruled by convictions, aspira

Jottings: Slice of life I have a friend, who has this rather quaint habit of correcting English pronunciation, whenever he gets a chance. It could happen in the middle of a serious conversation, or it could happen just out of the blue. Either way, I find it very funny and sometimes irritating. You may ask me: what gives him the right?. Well, here is the thing. He has done his schooling here in the US for couple of years, went back to India and returned many years ago. Now anybody, who has gone to school in the US, as a young boy or girl is bound to pick up the nuances of Western accent. It is common fact. All our children are examples of that. Most of us find it difficult to understand our four year olds speak English. Quite Natural!!. When they spend hours and days together in an environment where nothing but proper Vocal training and pronunciation is enforced, they will end up picking it easily. Nothing surprising about it. Also, it is very easy to acquire accent neutral language

The Painted Veil – A study in Human foibles Among all the novels and short stories of Somerset Maugham, none reflects the pathos of human relationship, its pettiness and its greatness with as much poignancy as “The painted veil”. Maugham wrote prolifically. His plays, short stories and novels run into more than couple of dozens. And in all of them, there is an underlying current of Human fallibility that strikes the reader with great force. Whether it be “Of Human Bondage” or the “the razor’s edge” or his beautiful evocation of South Pacific seas in “Moon and sixpence” or his numerous collections of peerless crafted short stories – Maugham unfailingly depicted the simmering tension between Husband and wife, Man and his lover, rationality and instinct with an eye that few contemporaries of his age could master. His characters also displayed hostility and a certain of sense of introspection that made them look cruel and unapproachable. Perhaps, his misplaced childhood, a life long li

Last words.. However well a man may have lived, his death, or at least the last words spoken on his deathbed, lingers for a long time like perfume in the air. The words end up taking even greater importance if the person was a legend in his life time,or has martyred to a cause, was a soldier or a statesman , or was a religious Saint venerated or desecrated during his life time, or sometimes, it could be common man whose daily life is lost in the obscurity of history but elevated by chance to pedestal of glory through few dying words - giving them immortal fame. History overflows with such individuals. And, for some strange reason, we, the educated public have great fascination for those final words. We have the capacity to forget and forgive everything else about a man, if his dying words carry significance beyond the grave. They become hallowed individuals for us, like Gods - worshipped, venerated, to be emulated . We like to cling on to them in our memories as they presented them