Prelude to my Trip to Pune

I always look forward to visiting Pune. I love travelling and infact, Pune is one place I love to visit. There are several reasons for the same. One is the amazing drive on expressway (yeah, I don’t own a vehicle and go by company car, still the feel of the car jutting ahead at over 140 km/hr on 8 laned road with plush greenery on both sides of the road is an amazing experience). The other is that you get to see amazingly picturesque surroundings. One crosses two hill stations – Lonavala and Khandala on way to Pune from Mumbai. There are several others, but then they are too personal for me to add here :P.

Just to get you started, I work for a company where Parsi New Year is a holiday. Today I was celebrating the parsi new year (naah not literally, but the holiday was welcome so the celebrations came automatically).

I decided to welcome the parsi new year by not sleeping and enjoying life. I was joined in this crusade of mine by a friend and we watched movies, talkshows, music videos, soaps, and every other thing possible to avoid sleeping. And yes, we managed to not sleep and were awake for more than 36 hours at the last count. We exulted at our naïve feat, but were nevertheless physically and mentally exhausted due to lack of sleep and rest.

Just as I was planning to hit the sack, I got a call from my boss asking me to go to Pune the next day. And I started my preparation for the trip. Just to bring the readers up to speed, I work as a Business Development Manager at an IT company. As a part of my role, I need to meet up with a lot of people. So as a part of my preparation for this trip, I started calling companies based in Pune requesting for a meeting the other day. Although, I was not successful in getting a meeting, I was atleast able to re-energize myself. In the ensuing enthusiasm I received a distress note from a client and had to go to Saki-Naka area.

I had a really really torrid time there. I got stressed out, to the point of freaking out. I was disgruntled, dissatisfied with life in general and began to wonder if I’m in the wrong place. To add to my misery I was supposed to talk and confirm with my company admins about a vehicle that should come at dawn break next day to take me to Pune for the meeting. Just as I was trying to get in touch with the admins at my company, one of the two cellphones that I carry decided to switch off on account of low battery. This appeared as if somebody wanted to add misery to my already complex situation.

When I took the other phone out of my pocket, I checked for the battery and was relived to see that it was flaunting nice strong looking battery bars. I smiled and dialed a number. But, to my utter surprise instead of Tring Tring or the now commonplace caller tunes, I head a lady saying in my year ‘to subscribe to this service please dial *&*’ . I tried a couple of times more and realized that outgoing was blocked due to some strange reason. I was stuck at an alien location and was not reachable and I on the other hand couldnot contact anyone else L.

It is at times like these when I think that Peter Principle seems so true (anything that can go wrong will go wrong).

I was amazed that so many things that have all decided to wrong at the same time. I was cursing everything that I could think of. And to be honest, today was one such day when I felt very sad and wanted to be with myself, primarily to introspect and to mourn also :P.

But, alas it was not to be. I got a call from a friend saying that he wants me to be watch a movie with his gang (remember:my incoming on one phone was working, but no outgoing-no sms,no outbound calls). I did all that I could; to explain that I am not in the right frame of mind for a movie and that at this time I’d want to introspect and just be with myself. But as some people have it, this friend of mine is very persuasive. He had his way and I agreed to reach to watch the cinema hall.

The time now, was around 8:25 pm and I was standing at Saki Naka area (in Mumbai-western suburbs). I was to reach Vashi (Navi Mumbai-some good 35 plus Kilometers from where I was) to watch this movie that was supposed to start at 9:00pm sharp. It was a hopeless cause from the start, but I said that since my friend was so adamant, I better try my level best and see by what best possible time I can reach the theatre. I in my quest to reach early started to wave frantically to every possible ‘autorickshaw’. But, as faith had it, there were only a handful that were empty and the ones that were empty didn’t want to go to Kurla (a station on Central and Harbor line-Mumbai).

I was in a fix. I did not want to disappoint my friend. But, I nevertheless had no clue as to how soon I’d be able to reach Vashi. Just as I was weighing my options, viz. Taxi, Train, Bus, etc., as if by stroke of luck, I spotted a city bus (BEST- as they are called in Mumbai) going to Kurla and ran to get onboard. It was as full as all government buses and I was barely about able to manage to hold on.

Through, this way and that I reached the cinema hall by 9:40 pm. Just as I entered the hall I saw the song playing ‘Pehli baa mohabbat ki hai’ from the movie Kaminey. So I kept my word.

In hindsight now, I feel that my going for this movie was a good idea. It made me forget what I ought to have forgotten. And I secretly (non-verbally) thanked my dear friend for that.

Life moves on!

Keep the Spark - Chetan Bhagat's speech at Symbiosis

This is the speech deliverd by Chetan Bhagat an author, a businessman, to BBA students at Symbiosis, Pune. It makes for a good read. The same is posted on his blog at http://www.chetanbhagat.com/blog/

Good Morning everyone and thank you for giving me this chance to speak to you. This day is about you. You, who have come to this college, leaving the comfort of your homes (or in some cases discomfort), to become something in your life. I am sure you are excited. There are few days in human life when one is truly elated. The first day in college is one of them. When you were getting ready today, you felt a tingling in your stomach. What would the auditorium be like, what would the teachers be like, who are my new classmates - there is so much to be curious about. I call this excitement, the spark within you that makes you feel truly alive today. Today I am going to talk about keeping the spark shining. Or to put it another way, how to be happy most, if not all the time.

Where do these sparks start? I think we are born with them. My 3-year old twin boys have a million sparks. A little Spiderman toy can make them jump on the bed. They get thrills from creaky swings in the park. A story from daddy gets them excited. They do a daily countdown for birthday party – several months in advance – just for the day they will cut their own birthday cake.

I see students like you, and I still see some sparks. But when I see older people, the spark is difficult to find. That means as we age, the spark fades. People whose spark has faded too much are dull, dejected, aimless and bitter. Remember Kareena in the first half of Jab We Met vs the second half? That is what happens when the spark is lost. So how to save the spark?

Imagine the spark to be a lamp’s flame. The first aspect is nurturing - to give your spark the fuel, continuously. The second is to guard against storms.

To nurture, always have goals. It is human nature to strive, improve and achieve full potential. In fact, that is success. It is what is possible for you. It isn’t any external measure - a certain cost to company pay package, a particular car or house.

Most of us are from middle class families. To us, having material landmarks is success and rightly so. When you have grown up where money constraints force everyday choices, financial freedom is a big achievement.

But it isn’t the purpose of life. If that was the case, Mr Ambani would not show up for work. Shah Rukh Khan would stay at home and not dance anymore. Steve Jobs won’t be working hard to make a better iPhone, as he sold Pixar for billions of dollars already. Why do they do it? What makes them come to work everyday?

They do it because it makes them happy. They do it because it makes them feel alive. Just getting better from current levels feels good. If you study hard, you can improve your rank. If you make an effort to interact with people, you will do better in interviews. If you practice, your cricket will get better. You may also know that you cannot become Tendulkar, yet. But you can get to the next level. Striving for that next level is important.

Nature designed with a random set of genes and circumstances in which we were born. To be happy, we have to accept it and make the most of nature’s design. Are you? Goals will help you do that.

I must add, don’t just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order.

There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.

You must have read some quotes - Life is a tough race, it is a marathon or whatever. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of those races in nursery school. Where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die.

One last thing about nurturing the spark - don’t take life seriously. One of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One student asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga practice. The teacher said - don’t be serious, be sincere. This quote has defined my work ever since. Whether its my writing, my job, my relationships or any of my goals. I get thousands of opinions on my writing everyday. There is heaps of praise, there is intense criticism. If I take it all seriously, how will I write? Or rather, how will I live? Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It’s ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices.

I’ve told you three things - reasonable goals, balance and not taking it too seriously that will nurture the spark. However, there are four storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the flame. These must be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration, unfairness and loneliness of purpose.

Disappointment will come when your effort does not give you the expected return. If things don’t go as planned or if you face failure. Failure is extremely difficult to handle, but those that do come out stronger. What did this failure teach me? is the question you will need to ask. You will feel miserable. You will want to quit, like I wanted to when nine publishers rejected my first book. Some IITians kill themselves over low grades – how silly is that? But that is how much failure can hurt you.

But it’s life. If challenges could always be overcome, they would cease to be a challenge. And remember - if you are failing at something, that means you are at your limit or potential. And that’s where you want to be.

Disappointment’s cousin is frustration, the second storm. Have you ever been frustrated? It happens when things are stuck. This is especially relevant in India. From traffic jams to getting that job you deserve, sometimes things take so long that you don’t know if you chose the right goal. After books, I set the goal of writing for Bollywood, as I thought they needed writers. I am called extremely lucky, but it took me five years to get close to a release.

Frustration saps excitement, and turns your initial energy into something negative, making you a bitter person. How did I deal with it? A realistic assessment of the time involved – movies take a long time to make even though they are watched quickly, seeking a certain enjoyment in the process rather than the end result – at least I was learning how to write scripts , having a side plan – I had my third book to write and even something as simple as pleasurable distractions in your life - friends, food, travel can help you overcome it. Remember, nothing is to be taken seriously. Frustration is a sign somewhere, you took it too seriously.

Unfairness - this is hardest to deal with, but unfortunately that is how our country works. People with connections, rich dads, beautiful faces, pedigree find it easier to make it – not just in Bollywood, but everywhere. And sometimes it is just plain luck. There are so few opportunities in India, so many stars need to be aligned for you to make it happen. Merit and hard work is not always linked to achievement in the short term, but the long term correlation is high, and ultimately things do work out. But realize, there will be some people luckier than you.

In fact, to have an opportunity to go to college and understand this speech in English means you are pretty darn lucky by Indian standards. Let’s be grateful for what we have and get the strength to accept what we don’t. I have so much love from my readers that other writers cannot even imagine it. However, I don’t get literary praise. It’s ok. I don’t look like Aishwarya Rai, but I have two boys who I think are more beautiful than her. It’s ok. Don’t let unfairness kill your spark.

Finally, the last point that can kill your spark is isolation. As you grow older you will realize you are unique. When you are little, all kids want Ice cream and Spiderman. As you grow older to college, you still are a lot like your friends. But ten years later and you realize you are unique. What you want, what you believe in, what makes you feel, may be different from even the people closest to you. This can create conflict as your goals may not match with others. . And you may drop some of them. Basketball captains in college invariably stop playing basketball by the time they have their second child. They give up something that meant so much to them. They do it for their family. But in doing that, the spark dies. Never, ever make that compromise. Love yourself first, and then others.

There you go. I’ve told you the four thunderstorms - disappointment, frustration, unfairness and isolation. You cannot avoid them, as like the monsoon they will come into your life at regular intervals. You just need to keep the raincoat handy to not let the spark die.

I welcome you again to the most wonderful years of your life. If someone gave me the choice to go back in time, I will surely choose college. But I also hope that ten years later as well, you eyes will shine the same way as they do today. That you will Keep the Spark alive, not only through college, but through the next 2,500 weekends. And I hope not just you, but my whole country will keep that spark alive, as we really need it now more than any moment in history. And there is something cool about saying - I come from the land of a billion sparks.

Thank You.