Time to expand the basic needs???

It was the house warming ceremony of one of my dear friends, yesterday...
He was bold enough to construct a house having a contemporary design dipped in striking colours. I had great respect for his boldness, considering the fact that these days , the aesthetic requirements of a majority in Kerala is the same.... beat the neighbours' house in looks and aesthetic appeal, even if it means tearing own pockets...
This guy had the guts to create an abode that suited his likes and he did not worry about the average appreciation levels of the society. I was happy for him. Happy coz I could feel the sense of pride and euphoria extra-ordinarily radiating from his face. It sure must be a great feeling to own a house, for I have seen this feeling in many faces during housewarming ceremonies. (Unfortunately in spite of designing 250+ houses, I still couldn’t enjoy the luxury of that pride till now. Hope that day comes along soon). I am reminded of the sentences in most of the vastu scriptures, where it is said that owning a shelter is one of the best blessings , a man can have in his lifetime. How true, it is..
All we work and toil is after all to meet the three basic needs(viz food, clothing and shelter ..if u missed the lesson in your primary classes). Though, these days most of us work not just to own these, but to increase the QUALITY of these needs.
This tempts me to think louder whether our basic needs are increasing? Perhaps, the so called ‘fast pace’ in modern life, can be attributed to man’s thirst to increase and improve the quality of his needs outside the basic need bracket.
I may not be totally wrong, if I identify a new set of needs which have emerged as ‘basic’ in the contemporary world.

1. gadgets(the i-pods, the i-phones, the laptops , etc). You are brutally counted as a primitive amongst the generation, if your celphone doesn’t claim 2MP camera, Bluetooth and MP3player and a host of other features. Lucky and wiser are you, if you are able to ignore such benchmarks and able to take judicious decisions based solely on your requirements.
2. Travel- Travelling in buses/autos can take you to your destination, but you have better gains if it is on your own sedan. Not just travel, but the class and type of travel mode that you select , i believe, has become a need(just like the difference between being clothed and being clad in a Tommy Hilfiger outfit)
3. Entertainments - taking a vacation at an exotic location, enjoying a movie at a multiplex, enjoying a glass of wine with frndz at the happening place in town, dining at a premier restaurant with family/relatives , having membership in the town’s social clubs.... the quality and frequency of all these entertainment options is decided chiefly by one thing.... money[ another major factor is time.. I know a handful who have money to enjoy these but sadly don’t have time(or they r disastrously failing to find time)]

May be, the list is incomplete. But isn’t it the right time to think of expanding the repertoire of basic needs.. You have the say.

Another historic blunder, Mr Prakash Karat???

It had been boiling in the pot for quite some time.
Yes, I am referring to the 123 agreement, the nuke deal, the IAEA, the UPA , the left front, the external support, the G8 summit and all related keywords that took the lion’s share of print space in the front pages of all the leading dailies in the country. Perhaps, more prominent was the coverage in the television channels in which over-energetic reporters were vehemently vying with one another to get the tele -bites of national political leaders about the current political developments and their possible repercussions.
The enthusiasts and observers of political India were keenly and deeply analysing the happenings and speculating on the various permutations and combinations likely to arise. But i guess, most of them were cunningly bowled out by the Samajwadi Party(SP) when SP (from nowhere in the scene) ,came to support the UPA. It must definitely have insulted the political intelligence of these observers and the common public. After all, SP was the forerunner in visibly displaying their bitter animosity towards the Congress and the UPA. The altercations between Mr Amar Singh (national spokesperson and front end of SP) and the Congress leaders are still ringing fresh in my ears . Now, I am better convinced of the cliché that ‘there are no permanent friends or foes in politics’ ( I was first reminded about this when Ms Jayalalithaa joined hands with Mr Subramanian Swamy after ending their decade-long war with words).
Being a person who is emotionally and politically concerned (motivated as well as crestfallen although the latter mood is often repeated these days) with the happenings in the political domain, I was all eyes and ears to the dramas and the role plays of the left and right leaders. It came as no surprise to me when I learnt today afternoon that the Left front has decided to withdraw its support to the UPA govt. The decision was declared by Sri Prakash Karat at a packed media conference, marking an end to political forecasts and 50 months- long UPA-left friendship. The whole episode was celebrated in a sensational manner by the media. (Of late, the media has become obsessive about sensationalism... be it a teenager’s murder, a godman’s mischief or a bollywood star’s jailterm, the electronic media seems to enjoy every bit of the action)
Although I am unqualified to comment on the merits and demerits of the nuke deal, I understand from the statements of our beloved leader, Dr Kalam and his fraternity of scientific experts, that this deal is very essential for the development of our country in the nuclear front.
So it pains me when a section of India’s political leadership refrains from acting positive, at a critical juncture of India’s progress towards attaining developed nation status. I hope I will not be mistaken when I attempt to unearth (any) possible ‘hidden motives’ of the communists in breaking relations with the govt., citing nuclear deal as the crux. Is it that the communists are forced and compelled to part ways with their coalition partners? Especially, with the Parliament general elections looming in the atmosphere, the communists cannot be seen smiling with the leaders of Congress and their allies, before their followers and voters. The fact that the main opponent of the communists in their strongholds ( viz Kerala, W. Bengal and Tripura) happens to be Congress should definitely be a compelling reason for Mr Prakash Karat and his colleagues to end the matrimony of political alliance with the Congress. I am of the firm belief that the communist leadership has strategically come out with a seemingly idiotic, but well rehearsed explanation, for snapping their ties with the UPA. Having ‘exhibited’ their ‘differences’ with the UPA, the left parties can now vigorously fight with the Congress and their allies in the states of Kerala, W. Bengal and Tripura and try to repeat their stupendous performance as in 2004 elections. But I believe the people of these states are not stupid enough to overlook the well crafted pre-poll strategies of Mr Karat and party.
What pacifies my intellect is the tradition followed by the Communists. Throughout history, they have consistently acted in a weird fashion during events/incidents, only to repent about their political stupidity and seek public apology at a later date. This was evident right from their non-participation in Quit India Movement in 1942, citing it as anti-national movement. They continued to exhibit their traits by supporting China in the India- china war of the sixties, opposing the LPG(Liberilsation, Privatisation and Globalistaion) initiated by Dr.Manmohan Singh in early nineties and by opposing the use of tractors in farmlands & computers in offices. It is a paradox that the CPI national secretary travels in a foreign car(Honda City) and more than half the youth of the country is directly or indirectly utilising the computers presently for breadwinning.
I wonder if the nonagenarian mentor of CPI(M), Mr Jyothi Basu,[incidentally he celebrates his 95th birthday today] will again have the ill-fate to speak out at a later date that the decision to withdraw the external support to UPA govt in July 2008 was a historic blunder(like he confessed earlier)...

PS: if at all, the reader identifies this blog as a political inclination against communism, it is only imaginary. these are the outbursts of a nuetral patriot.

Mentors r a blessing

What was Krishna 's role in Kurushetra war??? A mere chauffer? A companion?? A brother???

According to me, the role of Krishna in Mahabarath war was much greater than all these put together, and that is the role of a mentor for Arjuna. It was Krishna who motivated Arjuna to perform to the latter's best. (you see, lack of motivation was a problem even in the olden days. no wonder that the neo-generation management gurus look upon the scriptures for better HR tips n practices).

U might wonder why am i quoting the history(some say mahabarath is only a story and not history. well i don't intend to argue by agreeing or disagreeing upon that) out of blue, when the present itself has ample ingredients to trouble us. Quite valid a question indeed.

I was tempted to think about this scene in the epic, after i had some great moments with an accomplished leader today afternoon(incidentally, today happens to be a harthal in kerala ....for some trivial international issue ,of course. we keralites are always the forerunners when it comes to 'celebrating' harthals. we had harthals when saddam was executed, when israel bombed palestine n when karnataka didn giv water to TN. you see, how concerned we mallus are always. Even if we loose the ace level in literacy percentage, we will show all vigour to celebrate our state festival with great enthusiasm). Anyways, Since i didn want to spend my afternoon like an average mallu watching a movie(although, all channels were vying for TRP ratings by telecasting the best film in their kit) or taking a nap, i thought it wise to meet a guru of mine.

it turned out to be a very positive decision indeed...

very much a refreshing experience it was... i had a feeling of re-inventing my own self.

Well, in the wake of my experiences, i would seriously vouch for this phenomenon called mentoring. Its a brilliant(and time tested) recipe to receive priceless lessons in a capsule form. You have the advantage of receiving the best principles coupled with gameplans and how-to's from a person who has either experienced it first hand or observed it closely. Mentoring will always save you time and effort by nullifying the troubles required to re-invent the wheel once again. You just have to finetune the principles acquired from your mentor, into your context and there you are... you emerge as a wiser guy.

But please don't confuse being mentored and being advised. I believe, advice is something you recieve from every corner without asking for it...(something like mosquito bites in cochin) . Very often, the person adorning the advisor's role seldom introspects his merits to do the sacred act of advicing. Contrary to this, mentorship is usually received from people qualified to speak words about the topic in question. ( by qualification i am not referring to the ABCD degree.. I have not heard of Krishna being conferred a DLit or for that matter even attending school. So mentors are, basically, people who are very wise on a particular subject due to their experience or talents in scholastic, academic or practical domains)

I believe you have to be choosy when picking up a mentor. Don't run into a person who is famous(or infamous) for speaking about anything under sun. Be aware of what you want to be informed or briefed upon. This can range from anything under the sun to beyond the sun. (some examples include how to crack GRE/CAT, how to apply for a immigration visa, how to start a company, how to get entry into Renji cup or any such sundries). Once you have the topic, identify and locate the right guy. Get his appointment and open up to him. Get his feedback or the million dollar tips and start implementing them. Get your doubts cleared from him. And before you leave never forget to acknowledge him/her for his time and effort. It is your primary duty to inform him about the result obtained after the metor-mentee meeting. The visit can prove to be

much more rewarding if you constantly get updates from him on the related topic.

i fear that i have crossed the boundaries from the bloggers arena to that of a spoon feeding elder... but if u are reading this line , i am content for the fact that this blog could grab your attention throughout its length.

well , before you find your mentor let me say it aloud.. Thank you mentors ,, for being kind to me!!!