Love that has broken all the Boundaries !!!

Yesterday, in the news paper I read the article about the return of the Indian Prisoner named Kashmir Singh from Pakistan, after a looooong 35yrs in jail. Kashmir Singh was arrested by the pakistan authorities on the charges of spying 35 years back(He was 30yrs at the time of his arrest). His wife Paramjit Kaur, was just 25yrs when he was arrested and until today she is eagerly waiting for him. 35yrs gruelling years has passed away and Paramjit Kaur is now 60 and her husband is 65.

Parmajit Kaur has taken care of her mother-in-law till her last moment, until she passed away in december 2007. Paramjit Kaur is now waiting on the border to have her husband after 35yrs. She has expressed that she is very much apprehensive of the emotions that she will go through since she was just 25yrs and her husband was just 30yrs, when he was arrested.

I was really moved when I read this. What a sense of true sacrifice from Paramjit Kaur. She has lived a life that has broken all the boundary's of true love.

Her love is truely unconditional that was full of hope,patience,optimism,strength,
lonliness,trust,caring,attitude and what not..... I just don't have the words to express.

But definitely she has shown to the world what LOVE is all about.Her love is just spontaneous and
real that is beyond sex,comfort,money,expectations,luxury,property,security,
sharing,togetherness,relationship and opportunities.

I pray to god to give Paramjit Kaur and her husband all the good health,wealth,happiness and prosperity in the years to come. Finally, true love will always create a WIN - WIN !!!

IPL : High Profile Cash Cow !

Indian Premier League(IPL) auctions that were held couple of days back, really saw some big names being auctioned for heavy cash. IPL was launched by BCCI, as an opposition to the ICL but I am not sure if it is doing good to the spirit of cricket.

International Cricket League(ICL) was promoted by Kapil Dev to develop and nurture the talent of the players who were not provided opportunities by BCCI. Then it was backed up by many senior players like Sandip Patil,Madan Lal etc whose skills and talents were not utilized by BCCI. ICL atleast provided a good platform for these players and coaches to contribute back something to cricket and at the same time earn some money. But it did not spoil the spirit of cricket and the value of the players.

IPL was then launched with the sole intention of hitting back at the ICL and they found a very good means of making more money by involving the business men and cinema stars. By this way BCCI has made huge sum of profits and has opened a new door for rich people to become richer and richer.

- High profile film stars and business men has used this as a good avenue to invest their black money and buy out the teams.
- They very well know that they can make huge profits here without too many risks from marketing,ads,sponsorships,selling the coverage rights and having some star players in their team.
- Also for the players it's a good money making proposition.

But finally is IPL really helping the spirit of cricket? or is it all out to attack ICL
and confirm it's monopoly in India. This is a huge question mark? But
only the common man and cricket fans are bothered about this -Neither BCCI/IPL nor the players/stars?

It's time for a Change !

I was always interested in the dynamics of change management, bcos I firmly believe that any change is always good. It opens you up to a completely different environment, learning,development, perspective,people and thought process. After 8 yrs of my association with Alcatel -Lucent, I have put down my papers inorder to pursue new career opportunities. It was a very difficult decision for me to take, but I had to take it at this point of time inorder to enhance my learning curve. This will take me out of my comfort zone and will expose me to a new positive environment.

- In that way, 2008 has given me a good start to move forward.
- 2007 was a stabilization period for me, with lots of fun and love with Arjuun.
- 2006 was bad, bcos I went through a personal crisis. I came out of it only in the year end and it took yr 2007 to stabilize and come back in control.
- 2005 was the best of all, with my son Arjuun coming into my life.

From my learning, I now believe that we should be able to embrace any change with a lot of positive energy and this will help us to move forward successfully in life.

Five Point Someone !

During this weekend, I read this book named 'Five Point Someone' by Chetan Bhagat. It's all about "What NOT to do at IIT". The book depicts how 3 friends - Hari,Ryan and Alok messed it up@IIT.. All the 3 were doing their Mechanical Engg course. This book will not teach you how to get into IIT.

1. They screwed up their surprise quizzes and exams.
2. Ryan and Alot are always head-on with each other.
3. Hari fell in love with Neha, who is the daughter of their HOD.
4. They try to steal the semester question papers and in turn get caught red-handed.
5. They had to face a severe disciplinary action and was banned for 1 semester.
6. Alok attempts a suicide and is in hospital for a month.
7. They end up with some 5 point grades out of 10.
8. Finally, they somehow manage to finish their course on time, via some hard work in the last legs of their semester.

In total, this books also looks into the entire system of IIT. While many people are so mad about getting into IIT, I feel that IIT kills the individual spirit and creativity of the students by applying too much pressure.

It's a good book(with some non-veg here and there) to read !

Show Someone You Care !

This story is extracted from Motivate Us.com.

I was sitting at the bar of a local restaurant having lunch and taking a break from the daily grind, sitting there thinking about how tough I had it lately and how I was sick of what I was doing. I own a landscape company and never felt I made a difference in people's lives.

As I sat there feeling sorry for myself, a girl who looked about 25 walked in and sat down in a booth waiting for her friend. She was tall, a bit dark and it didn't take long before I saw she was trying to stay hidden in a way from other people's gazes and my heart sank. You could see her hair was falling out and, at such a young age, she was receiving chemo.

I sat there watching her trying to remain composed and she was having a tough time of it. I ached for her, imagining what it must be like to go through this and yet I know some of her pain.

You see I buried my lover, the love of my life just a few short years ago and watched her slowly go away from me.

I needed to get a message of hope to this girl but how? What could I do?

Then it hit me! I called over her waitress and explained that I wanted to buy the girl and her friend's lunch but I also told her you can't tell her it was me, it had to remain anonymous. In doing so, I handed her a note to give to the girl when she told her that her tab was paid.

The note read as follows:
"Someone today thought you were beautiful, someone today thought your smile glowed with excitement, someone today thought your eyes lit up the world, someone today cared and wanted you to know this. Enjoy the rest of your day, pretty young lady".

About 15 minutes later the young girl asked for her check and I watched as she was told it was paid for. She asked why? Who? What for? The waitress simply handed her the note and informed her that the gentleman who did it left, as to keep me anonymous.

I watched as she slowly read the note. Her eyes teared up, for only a moment, and then came the smile! A huge, beautiful, hopeful smile! She lit up the room and then sat up straight, not caring who saw her. Her friend also beamed, not for what was done but because her friend was feeling beautiful again.

It's not how we look or what we have, it's not our houses or how many cars we have, nor is it how much money we can earn. No, it isn't. You see it's all about how much we care and what we do, even if it's making someone feel pretty only for a moment.

Yes, lunch cost only a few dollars but you see the wonderful part, the magic of making somebody feel happy,beautiful and important was free.

Make a difference today in just one life; it's free.

Passion to Manage and Lead Changes !

I attended a workshop on 'Change Management' for 2 days. It was an experience by itself. The trainer Uday(from Core Mind) was just too good. The design of the workshop was such that it was filled with case clinics,experiential learning, role plays and process themes. The focus was clearly on value addition to learning and development on change initiation,implementation and management.

I was very much impressed by the way in which the entire program was designed and executed. The idea of giving the people stickers to reflect their personality created a very informal atmosphere at the start. To top all of it the books were offered(Our Iceberg Is Melting, Tuesdays With Moorie) to all the participants as a gift . This was a clear positive indication that Uday was more focused to add value to the participant's learning and development curve, rather than delivering a training program just for the sake of money. In my view, this optimistic experience was lacking in many of the other training programs that I have attended until now. At the end of 2 days, I really felt energized and motivated.

If any of you are interested, I would request you to attend the repeat workshop, that will held in Bangalore on 7th and 8th of December'07. You will feel the impact of this , only if you attend this. I can assure you of the quality of the workshop and Uday will be there to facilitate it in a unique way.
You can reach Uday @ 99406 11230

Thanks a lot Uday, you and your team were rocking!!!

All Good Deeds have a Natural End!

Yesterday, my cousin sister's Father In Law passed away suddenly. He was a good man, know for his good deeds. His only motive in life was to help and serve others. He was quite close to me for the last 6 yrs. Whenever, I was in a state of confusion on making a decision - I always counted on his support. Many a times, when I went out of track - he was always there to pull me on the right course of action. He was a perfect guide and mentor for me and for sure his death was a personal loss to me. For the last few weeks, I wanted to see him and I didn't. Suddenly yesterday when I learnt that he has passed away, I couldn't take it. I still have the guilty feeling of not visiting him during the last few weeks of his life. A lot of people whom he has helped came over to see him and they were unable to take his death. He was such a great man know for his humility. Even his family members do not know how he goes out of the way to understand others problems and help them just in the hour of need.

Yesterday after his cremation, I was able see him reduced to just a box of ashes. That's the real meaning of life! Finally we all fit into a small box of ashes.

In between all this - why are we competing for power,money,wealth,assets,fame,name etc.

Let's all love each other...Love,Love and Love only.

May his soul rest in peace.