The last couple of days have been unprecedented. At least for me. Yes, there have been terror attacks before… in my country & even in my city. But this was different. This wasn’t just an act of terror. It was an act of war!
To see videos of men roaming the streets of South Bombay and shooting people, to see the Taj Mahal Hotel burn, to hear firsthand about the mayhem inside the Trident, to have two dear friends trapped in a building next to Nariman House was too much even for someone as nonchalant & detached as me.
You sick bastards! I know you’re burning in hell. No matter what your instructors told you, there wont be 72 virgins waiting for you with wine. There’ll be an evil looking creature with a forked tail and a wicked grin. And he’s going to say, ‘Welcome back boys. Now let me have some fun with your sorry asses’. Make no mistake. You and your kind will burn in hell. Because there is no God(s) who would have asked you to do what you just did. You just did the Devil’s work, you stupid morons.
I have two things to say to the planners of this genocide. First, we’ll get you, you bloody cowards. We’ll hunt you down and make you pay for this. Even if we don’t, someday you will have to answer to a higher authority.
And second, we have survived invasions from the Huns, recovered from Ghazni & Ghouri and even outlasted the British Empire. You dumb fucks, do you actually think that we’ll be defeated by a squad of 20 year olds? Screw you! We’re going to rebuild the Taj Mahal Hotel… make it better and grander. We’re going to honour our dead soldiers. We’re going to pick up the pieces. And then, you motherfuckers, we’re going to come after you.
Jai Hind
Friday, November 28, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Career Definition... By Nitin Sareen
Since I am on a sabbatical, a good friend of mine Nitin Sareen (the daddy of organized people) has decided to contribute a post to the blog. I think its a well written piece. And unlike my off-the-cuff posts, he has obviously spent a lot of time crafting this one. Read it, I think you'll enjoy it.
So What is a Career Anyway?
The mostly ominous news about the global economic crisis these days, has led me to wonder whether our definition of a successful career and the social implications of having one, is at the root of this mayhem. The leaders of the firms which have gone bust recently were in those positions because they had exceptionally successful careers thus far. So why did they fail? I believe the answer lies in understanding the single measure for choosing a corporate leader today – A successful career.
As the world progressed from biblical times to today’s jet age, people became increasingly obsessed with the aspect of their lives which relates to what they do for a living. History has always been written about the winner, the wealthy, the famous and the powerful. Not surprisingly therefore, in modern times, the word “career” relates to how successful one has been in accumulating a combination of fame and wealth via what they do for a living. Rarely do we see “career” being equated to anything other than this. Therefore a successful career person is one who by virtue of his single minded focus on ‘working to get rich or famous or both’, has actually done it.
Until recently, the top career choices for a typical B-School graduate would be Investment Banking & Consulting followed by leadership positions across industries. Why? Having run the rat race myself, upon introspection, I think the answer lies in every graduate trying to build a successful career –a way to make your daily bread which puts you on the fast track to being rich & famous. While the winner’s of this race are most certainly stalwarts of industry today, the so called “losers” continue hone their skills to enter the get-rich-quick highway. I wonder if the craze for these professions would be as great if they did not fit in perfectly with what today’s society calls a successful career. What about a career in piracy? At least Somalia thinks that piracy fits the bill with the current definition.
So how else could we define career? Perhaps we could begin by going back to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Of the five levels of need defined by Maslow, today’s definition of a successful career allows a person to satisfy only to a few needs at each level. Physiological - food & housing; Safety – property & resources; Love/Belonging – nothing here; Esteem – respect, achievement; Self actualization – problem solving. If self actualization is the highest level of achievement by an individual, then today’s definition of career falls short of selecting such candidates for a traditional Indian arranged marriage, leave alone corporate leadership. With a distorted definition of being successful, most of us are not even aware of the huge gaps in some of our other basic needs and self development, which after a point promotes irrational behavior like excessive greed, appetite for high risk, extra-marital affairs and divorce etc. No wonder there are cases of lack of ethics, prejudice, scandals and deteriorating family life. Therefore learning from this introspection is to broaden the definition of career in terms of a person’s achievement at each level defined by Maslow. Defined this way a successful career person to me would be someone who has worked hard at satisfying all his physiological, safety, love & esteem needs and is moving towards self actualization.
So What is a Career Anyway?
The mostly ominous news about the global economic crisis these days, has led me to wonder whether our definition of a successful career and the social implications of having one, is at the root of this mayhem. The leaders of the firms which have gone bust recently were in those positions because they had exceptionally successful careers thus far. So why did they fail? I believe the answer lies in understanding the single measure for choosing a corporate leader today – A successful career.
As the world progressed from biblical times to today’s jet age, people became increasingly obsessed with the aspect of their lives which relates to what they do for a living. History has always been written about the winner, the wealthy, the famous and the powerful. Not surprisingly therefore, in modern times, the word “career” relates to how successful one has been in accumulating a combination of fame and wealth via what they do for a living. Rarely do we see “career” being equated to anything other than this. Therefore a successful career person is one who by virtue of his single minded focus on ‘working to get rich or famous or both’, has actually done it.
Until recently, the top career choices for a typical B-School graduate would be Investment Banking & Consulting followed by leadership positions across industries. Why? Having run the rat race myself, upon introspection, I think the answer lies in every graduate trying to build a successful career –a way to make your daily bread which puts you on the fast track to being rich & famous. While the winner’s of this race are most certainly stalwarts of industry today, the so called “losers” continue hone their skills to enter the get-rich-quick highway. I wonder if the craze for these professions would be as great if they did not fit in perfectly with what today’s society calls a successful career. What about a career in piracy? At least Somalia thinks that piracy fits the bill with the current definition.
So how else could we define career? Perhaps we could begin by going back to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Of the five levels of need defined by Maslow, today’s definition of a successful career allows a person to satisfy only to a few needs at each level. Physiological - food & housing; Safety – property & resources; Love/Belonging – nothing here; Esteem – respect, achievement; Self actualization – problem solving. If self actualization is the highest level of achievement by an individual, then today’s definition of career falls short of selecting such candidates for a traditional Indian arranged marriage, leave alone corporate leadership. With a distorted definition of being successful, most of us are not even aware of the huge gaps in some of our other basic needs and self development, which after a point promotes irrational behavior like excessive greed, appetite for high risk, extra-marital affairs and divorce etc. No wonder there are cases of lack of ethics, prejudice, scandals and deteriorating family life. Therefore learning from this introspection is to broaden the definition of career in terms of a person’s achievement at each level defined by Maslow. Defined this way a successful career person to me would be someone who has worked hard at satisfying all his physiological, safety, love & esteem needs and is moving towards self actualization.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Time Out
I am thinking of taking a break from blogging. No, its not because I've finally realized that I'll always be a mediocre writer with a limited repertoire. Rather, I have decided to embark on more ambitious writing assignment. One that may or may not lead to anything. But certainly one that will keep me from troubling you for a while.
Now if you are a regular visitor to this blog, this is what I say to you:
1. Don't be so happy. I'll be back to torture you.
2. I have no idea what I am going to write about. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. Yet.
3. Be nice to the environment. We're running out of time.
On the other hand if you're a new visitor to this blog, here's what I'll tell you:
1. Where the hell have you been all this while?
2. Why are you still wasting time reading this post? Scroll down and get started on the earlier ones.
3. Be nice to the environment. We're running out of time.
Cheerio folks. For now.
Now if you are a regular visitor to this blog, this is what I say to you:
1. Don't be so happy. I'll be back to torture you.
2. I have no idea what I am going to write about. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. Yet.
3. Be nice to the environment. We're running out of time.
On the other hand if you're a new visitor to this blog, here's what I'll tell you:
1. Where the hell have you been all this while?
2. Why are you still wasting time reading this post? Scroll down and get started on the earlier ones.
3. Be nice to the environment. We're running out of time.
Cheerio folks. For now.
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