Reflections

This is   a book that some of the biggest names in the country have rated very highly; and yet, it is also a book that I just could not connect to, for specific reasons outlined in the review. Cutting The Gordian Knot is a book penned by – and reviewed by – some of the best talent in our country; that is true. It is also a book with zero ground connect, a book of dreams, a book of tall ideas – some practical, fewer practicable, and some not so practical. Practical implies useful, capable of being put into effect; while practicable means feasible as well as usable. That sums up the book . Practical – for sure. Practicable? No way. Comprehensive? No . It misses several vital aspects. THE GORDIAN KNOT The Gordian Knot means a difficult problem; the book is aptly named – it looks at some of the most difficult problems confronting our nation, our people at the current point in time. It looks at the state of Education, Employment, Employability, Entreneurship, Upscaling,...

This is a book that gave me another proof of the saying that things happen for a reason, and they happen at the right time – especially good things happen when the time is right. I picked this lovely gem from my elder sister’s residence, as I kind of liked the overall approach and the concept. It remained in my to-read pile, which normally has some 15-20 books. I did read it once-, and kept it aside, wanting to re-read it later. That later came this week – any earlier, and I wouldn’t have grasped the full depth of this one of a kind masterpiece by Dr. Gita Sheth, translated from Gujarati by Dhruv Bhatt THE BOOK This is a book about a mystery called life - told in a very different way; through Dogs - in a world where Dogs can speak! Twins - born in the same affluent family; Kaulak elder one conforms to set norms & societal expectations and is duly accepted in society, while the other one - Sarmeya, is a seeker, an individual who doesn’t try to blend in, but rather ret...

The MBA qualification is perhaps the most questioned qualification among a wide variety of people of various hues; in fact, there are standing jokes on this qualification. And more than a few deep searching questions have been asked on the course as well as on its graduates by a wide variety of industry and academic experts – alongwith deep criticism of them as a class. This is one of those   fields in education and industry that is currently being examined deeply by one and all. At this point, before I progress   further – fair disclosure : I myself am an MBA,9-Pointer,   17 Yrs Workex. That is why a Book on the MBA Course and its “hapless”   graduates attracted me immediately : Maybe This Or Maybe That , written by Pen Name Abhaidev . {Authors Real Name? Its in the book. Get it and find out! }. My expectations? To be frank, none. Where an MBA is concerned – you never can tell, and that is no joke or sarcasm. Blunt, Frank & Straight. I honestly di...

At first the book seemed intriguing, a set of stories of Doctors who struggled through life to reach eventual success. This seemed a near-perfect human interest set of stories – more so, as I myself am from a family of Doctors, the son of an Army Doctor, the brother-grandson-nephew-uncle of Doctors. Most of these are again married to Doctors. I have seen their hard work first hand; and can relate that it is not an easy profession by any stretch of imagination. As regards the concept of struggle, in my years on the planet, I have seen extraordinary stories of struggle, jaw-dropping stories of raw courage, hard struggle and much much more. More than my fair share, to be completely honest. In fact, I myself have seen hard struggle beyond the ordinary. But this isnt my story; so let it be. That said, I will give some oblique of what it means to struggle. I am reminded of a young man, who worked as a clerk in my office. Now THAT is a true success story after hard work – and not...

Another day, and another incident… one that shook me to the core of my deepest existence. I still shiver in shock and deep sadness at the upfront brutality of it. What is worse, it is so common to see – in many forms everywhere. A poor man comes to a store for a cup of tea; he is dirty & smelly, probably hasn’t bathed in a long time, and what does he get? A gets beaten and chased away, with a stool. Like an Animal. A man so poor, and yet – all we can see is how he discomfits us? We, who call ourselves Human Beings {Insaan}, cant see his pain, his haplessness, his abject status? Where is our pity? Where is our pity? Where is our feeling of mercy? Where is our feeling of insaniyat? Gone south for the winter?Those of us, like me, who feel bad – cant even speak up, due to the public furore, and the risk to self. That is the worst of it; it reduces us to the level of everyone around us, making us just like the rest – insensitive heartless people. Today, I am blaming mysel...

माझ्या मना आता पुन्हा ... शोधू नको भरती जुनी लाट्या जुन्या ... जोडू   नको तुटला दुवा ... मागू नको मिटल्या खुणा ... एकटा मी एकटे मन एकटी स्पन्दने !    The mind is like these waves.... flowing and turbulent. We need to superimpose our control  on it, much like I have superimposed the letters on it... that is the start. Superficial and temporary at first; but will improve with practice and regulation... साधारण पणे वरती लिहिली ओळ किंव्हा गाणं कुणी खरंच म्हणायला लागेल तर अपण त्याला डिप्रेशन मध्ये असलेलं समजू ; पण , आज घरी येताना माझ्या मनात खरंच हीच ओळ होती . माझ्या मना आता पुन्हा ... शोधू नको भरती जुनी लाट्या जुन्या ... जोडू   नको तुटला दुवा ... मागू नको मिटल्या खुणा ... एकटा मी एकटे मन एकटी स्पन्दने ! ह्याचा अर्थ हे मुळीच काढू नये कि मी डिप्रेशन मध्ये   गेलेलो आहे ... उलट , मी जगाच्या कोलाहलातनं निघून घराच्या शांतता मध्ये पाऊल ठेऊन फारच रिलॅक्स झा...