Thursday, February 19, 2015

Deleting People , helping yourself

Numbers are very important to us all.  Recently concluded Delhi elections saw the big upswing that these numbers made to the AAP and the other parties.  Not only so , these are the numbers that the Sensex gets tracked on. Ask any sales folk and they will tell you that the only thing they love (hate ) are these numbers . In fact you , me are all born on a certain date which is nothing but number/s .

In our digitally connected world these numbers play a significant role. These numbers can inflate an air of superiority to anyone. A twitter handle which gets a close 10K followers indeed has made it big . So is the case with the LinkedIn account of 500+connections .  Have you ever checked your Facebook friends list . It may be running way beyond the 1000+marks with a close 50+ waiting for your approvals .

Numbers are everywhere.  If you flip the picture these are nothing but people you may know , met or connected , just for the sake of it .

But, what is the benefit of all of this?  Are these changing your life in any case or making any big impact to this world? Are you touching upon lives and changing them for the good? Or these mere a show-off of sorts?  Not really.

Of late, I have started to spend a dedicated one hour every month end (typical of a sales set-up) and track where I am on these numbers.  




I have deleted social media accounts / email accounts related with these that I no longer use or want to use and also have deleted people / friends / connections across the spectrum. Every time I realize, I fail to understand why did add /  get them at the first place ?  Each time I delete, I try hard to recollect what made me add them.  Also, this is a way to review that who exactly these people are and do I really need to be connected to them or vice-versa. 

I make a note of things mentally every time someone connects / pings / pokes / calls / messages me. I also appreciate people who take time out to genuinely stay connected with me. These are the folks I would want to reciprocate and take forward the connect with .
People who are just there as mere spectators are not needed since its nothing more than a tick-mark activity. Why would I want my page / timeline to be flooded with what they are doing. Doesn't make sense to me seriously .





I ensure that I take out time to greet these folks on special occasions for sure. If you think and rethink this entire digital thing had made us spend more time offline and is gradually reducing the time we actually spend in meeting people for real or talking to them on a phone …..

BTW - I have my own personal FaceBook page now and may I request you to  ' like' / 'comment' / 'share' , in case you like my writing or me :) .

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Meeting Gone Girl in Kasauli

There are numerous instances that I can quote of so much happening in a single person’s life that it becomes practically impossible to give in your best at all times.

I will take an example/s , not far but of myself. There are certain things which I kept doing / still am doing not necessary having an idea as to why  . Also, they do part of a resolution of sorts for 2015 ( which I am giving a try ) . May be you  too get inspired to pick some or all out of the below buckets .

Movies

  •       Over the last couple of weeks I have watched 2 states every time I saw it coming and thinking if this is the way marriages get done in India , I better stay out of this.
  •       Gone Girl – This was long pending on my to do list as I wanted to see with someone unique and had to wait for this person to join in. It was a good movie and I would want you to have a look and see and find for yourself.
  •       Baby  - I like Akshay’s work and hence it was worth a watch .
  •       Taken – Have always loved the series and had to give it a watch when the 3rd part came out .  What was different this time was we stepped out for an early morning show on a cold Saturday morning which actually was fun since there were only 5 folks in the entire hall . The first and second part were better though .




Meeting

  •       While I try to ensure and this is something I am working since 2014 that I will not work / carry work back home unless absolutely necessary. Rather, I would spend time meeting friends (there aren’t any old or new friends . Friends are friends ) .
  •       Catching up with school friends, college friends and friends you made on your journey are some of the best things that can happen to you . These are the people who know the real you , can say anything and everything under the sun to you , share and talk about anything which they feel like and knowing that they will never be judged.
  •       Also, being me I got a chance to host two special occasions -  a baby shower and a 'mehendi' function . While I am being pure honest , I have zero experience in both , but given the sheer amount of joy and happiness involved and also the window you get to use your creativity to use is why I took these up . Not to forget that when you are a part of someone’s special day it’s a feeling hard to describe.





Mountains

  •       Travel is a journey which everyone wants to undertake. It’s just about who is willing to take a step out and move onto the journey .
  •       Mountain travel or as I call mountain climb is always fun and I absolutely love them .Right from Mashobra to Mcleodganj to Kasauli to Binsar and all the way to Ranikhet and then to Dehdradun and Mussorie ;  have travelled far and up .
  •       Being at these places gives you a sense of self realization that life is not in the degrees you hold , followers you have on twitter or the number of designer clothes you have – it’s about enjoying a small hot cup of tea by a roadside place where the people who are alongside you , don’t know you but still smile looking at you and wish the best for you . That’s the life for you and one of a kind you should ask for. 





BTW - I have my own personal FaceBook page now and may I request you to  ' like' / 'comment' / 'share' , in case you like my writing or me :) .

Friday, February 6, 2015

Delhi Elections - AAP ki BJP aur Congress -

Many a times number of my friends, networks ask me about my views on politics and the current scenario Delhi / India is grappling with.  Not that I am not an avid fan of Indian politics but yes, I do like to read and keep myself updated about the same and yes at times , I know a lot  .

Usually not the one who would want to share this on my personal webpage but thought of sharing some pointers for you to think about. Like they say in politics there is nothing right or wrong.  The sole objective of politics according to me is progress - of the country, the people and yes, the political party leading it.




Will share an interesting incident that happened today with me. As I was driving from home to work at the traffic signal I got greeted by a lady ( mid 30s ) with a huge cut out of Mr.Arvind Kejriwal . She knocked on the window, greeted me with a namaste and said please vote for AAP . I asked her why so and she said he will bring development. 

I told her he got a chance then left the government to which she said he and the party were new and hence. And since the red was turning to green I told her –Ma’am you and Mr.Kejriwal cannot be playing with people’s thinking ,  emotions and most importantly their hard earned money and asking for fresh elections every time at your whims and fancies.  If he was new he should have not started at the first place.  He should have supported BJP and worked together since he believes one person can make a difference and BJP already was the single largest party . The lady just kept smiling and so did I and drove ahead.

Like you all know ,the money spent on elections is public money and by forcing fresh elections in Delhi within a year, they have created pressure on the exchequer and on the public of Delhi  .If you go by morality, the mandate of the public was in favour of BJP last time. AAP should have extended its support to BJP on the basis of issues( since they do issues based politics )  . AAP calls itself an honest party and they joined hands with Congress which they said earlier had increased corruption in the country. This says it all .

Just when I started I saw the famous auto rickshaw of Delhi having a poster of AAP claiming AAP is getting 47 seats and BJP 23 . The first thing which I thought was why and how in the world can you completely scrap a 129 year old party from the race -  the Indian National Congress and claim it will get zero seats and then this is the same party which supported AAP earlier for a government. Politics , for you please.

I agree , INC is staring at yet another rout in just 13 months. The only consolation is the AAP is gaining at their cost, not the BJP. This is the level of competition (in the spirit of staying positive) that has started in Indian politics these days. 

  1.       Not once could I get anyone asking / claiming / bench-marking –  INC gave an education coverage of close XX % to all Delhi people and now BJP or AAP will give them more than XX+ Y % .
  2.      Party Z build XX toilets / XX ( facilities ) for Delhi folks and Party L and M would take a step ahead and get more being built with additional facilities and accessibility.
  3.     Nowhere are we looking at taking forward the good work done by one party by another.
  4.      The entire Delhi elections have now come to just pre poll surveys, celebrity stars and ministerial fire power, allegations and scams and mud rubbing.
  5.     Each and every channel and media can be easily attributed to any one party they are indirectly supporting.
  6.     Party leaders are coming with vision documents to ensure in case they fail to deliver if elected they can always go back and say this was a vision and hence a moving point.
  7.     These leaders are promising the stars for average Delhi people and may be moons for the not so average people.
  8.    In the process of all of this – one thing is for sure. For marketers like me there are ample on ground executions / innovations which all these parties have done. Right from flash mob , booth selfies , 3D holographic speech , radio jingles, press coverage , VC , songs and ring tunes and a heavy marketing budget to push through across print and TV media and a not to forget fashion statement of cough and mufflers and name inked suit lengths.
  9.    Just imagine , if instead of spending so much on this frenzy all the parties and leaders would have invested this money in the welfare of the people of Delhi ,  we would have already got a neat and a positive changed look and couple of things would have got improved in Delhi. 
  10. For running a city or country, one needs focus, precision and sustenance. Issues like corruption cannot be eradicated overnight. Also, at times, there are certain necessary evils required for the functioning of a government.A key insight.


And in all of chaos , this is the capital city we are talking about !

PS- The views are completely personal and may be 100% right or wrong and hence fell free to discuss and debate and share some shining light with me as well . And yes, I am an Indian and a Delhi boy above all and I do care for my city - Delhi.  Let’s work in making it a better city .

Aloha on the Ganges

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