Workaholic….Passionate….Option less !!!

“What to do man? It is the only Option that I have got!!!”

“Wow! I just Love doing it”

“I won’t rest until this is done.”

These are 3 most common lines which I could listen at regular conversation that I come across almost every day. I was unable to understand why the same work falls in three different categories for three different people. In fact, according to answer, we can divide the people in three categories. I just gave it a thought process a long time back and started analyzing it. I guess I was in my 12^th standard when it cropped up in my mind. 2005 to 2011, it took 6 long years to conclude something. I was surprised to know that only 35% of person, I met know what passion is there, rest were unaware of it. As I can’t believe that any one can be there without a passion. Only problem is that he/she doesn’t know and even don’t want to know. Precisely speaking about statistical figures, out of 3834 persons 2489 was indifferent towards their passion. They do what they get and carry on. You will be more surprised about the in-depth details of them. Let us have a look on the figures below:

Amazing isn’t it? Nearly 40% of them lost their hope, and 44% changed their passion. It is like going with the winds rather than making own path. So we have left with 16%, out of which, 5.35% people are really trying to attain it. So we left with only 133 person who live there passion.

Now, leaving the statistical figures apart, I concentrated on the reason for this particular scenario. Why is it so? I found there are three main reasons for it. Firstly, we in India have got a mind set about certain portions and career prospects. We consider them superior over another. So, normally what happens, it passes along generation to generation. As a result, most of us try to get stuck to it and never let our mind imagine what we actually want to do. I am thankful to my parents that they let me choose mine and all them who let their offspring the same. But, even if we have to choose, we choose what we see. It is quite natural, typical human behavior. Unless and until we come across the different aspects of a particular career how come we decide it to be our fate? What lacks here is proper exposure. Even if we decide, still we need some guidance. And this is the most important reason, why 84% person doesn’t live their passion. They build one, go with it, search for path and either lose hope or change it.

The Red Portion in the Venn diagram reflects the area of success. The three circles are the parameters that determine the success. What is Success? To me there are certain short term milestones in life that may lead you towards the attainment of Life time Goal. Reaching each milestone is a success. For instance, if a person wants to be ‘Sachin Tendulkar’, selection in school cricket team is a milestone, hitting big scores in regional cricket team another and so on. But to set these milestones, Proper counseling is required. Otherwise our stats show the result.

No one is by nature categorized to a particular group. It is the behavior that is trying to recognizing itself. The one in Red zone becomes PASSIONATE. The one who changed its passion and merged deep into its new world becomes WORKAHOLIC. He is the one who tries to forget about passion and proof him that actually he is leaving his passion. And rest just spends life because they have to live. They can’t opt to die. They are OPTIONLESS. There is no well defined boundary. So it is on us to decide who we want to be?? But think first who you are now?

Workaholic….Passionate…or...Option less !!!

N.B : The Statistical Analysis might suffer from TYPE-I error, as it is a personal analysis.

In the end it doesn't even matter....

“How far have you gone to attain anything?

What have you done to get, what you want?”

I often ask this stupid question to nobody else but myself, and that too almost twice a thrice a day. Many of them say I a nomad, a maniac, a person that have got nothing to do but just think and think. Yes that is true to some extent but not 100% I must say.It is something like trying to prove something, not to other but myself. Every day, I try to prove myself, and whenever I look into the mirror at night, it seems I failed. Let me tell you a story. A true story of two boys, and I am really sorry I won’t tell you the names. Let us, give them a fake identity, say X & Y. Now this boy X was very conscious about his career studies and all. His parents also tried to give him best as far as possible. He worked harder and harder. Y was a sycophantic personality, enjoyed the life as much as he can. Both of them sat for some sort of exam. X didn’t got selected but Y did. Now what the public said. Look at Y, he made it in-spite of his mischievous acts and X always seems so studious, but actually he was not concentrated on his career. No matter, how wrong the interpretation is no matter how convinced X’s parents are, in the end of the day what matters is X failed.

It happens with everyone, and not only with career but also other spheres of life. Even when you try to dedicate yourself in a relationship or you try to give effort in your social welfare. One tries his or her best to maintain it, improve it, but then nothing is perfect. Ideal substances can’t be synthesized in reality so did human beings. One mistake ruins all your good deeds. Everyone forgets what have you done for them and what remains back a black spot on your character, a blame that never leaves you just like a shadow. That deed becomes your synonym. It is not the fact that the person is not honest, but our society is something like this that it focuses on (-) ve thoughts more often and quick than the (+) ve ones and unfortunately prevails much longer period of time. It surprises me, if a substance is incomplete without equal (+)ve or (-)ve ions, how can be a human (of course I am talking about neutral substances). But as it is electrons that are responsible for most reactions and at the same time most important factor towards the stability of matter, so did our negative shades. It motivates us by reminding our mistakes and drives us towards the stability. Of course I have met a number of people that don’t want to be stable, but then what for radioactive elements are? They decay and decay, until a phase comes when they stabilizes and realize they have lost a lot.

I personally always tried to do the best, give my maximum effort but it never happens. There is only one thing that measures you, your success. Earn it or snatch it. I prefer 1^st one, and may be one of the reasons why I fails. The path is appreciated by all, but in the end it doesn’t even matter. I never feel ashamed of me, but in the end it doesn’t even matter. I never get what I desire, given sympathy by all, but in the end it doesn’t even matter. There are a lot of person may be more capable or maybe not, but they are in better conditions. So whatever you know, in the end it doesn’t even matter. I give dedication in my every relationship, family friends but in the end it doesn’t even matter.

 

The pic here is from one of my famous songs, by Linkin Park and so did the title of blog.

However, in-spite of all adversities, I survive to get it matter for at least someone. This is a simple RULE OF LIFE. One can’t escape nor can win. One has to keep trying rather than going with winds.

This is what I do. But…..In the end…it doesn’t even matter….

The Race....

“I always wanted to be someone,
I just wish I had’ve been more specific”
Lily Tomlin

I don't know at all, who is 'Lily Tomlin'? But the words are certainly self-descriptive.

There are three reasons for which a person do, what so ever in his/her life: Money, respect and Power.

I asked myself, “Why three only three?”  The answer is so simple. All other needs, requirements lead to any one of three. And these three lead to self- contempt. Hey, that makes sense. Satisfaction is the only word for which every one race. They race against time, race among themselves and race with fate, to prove them superior over other.  I can remember the Mc Law’s Need Hierarchy Pyramid from my Industrial management book. Physiological, Security, social, self-esteem and then self-actualization need. I am not going to elaborate them as they could be found anywhere, but yes his research do make sense.

There is a famous tale of Akbar-Birbal. Once, Akbar drew a line on board and asked his gems to make it small without rubbing it. Some said to cut the board, some gave other suggestion. But, Birbal drew a longer line than the original. That is the true spirit of race. Project yourself better than other.

Unfortunately, there are two ways to win a race. Either run faster or pull the leg of other. As Dumbledore says in ‘Goblet of Fire’, “Harry, you will always find two paths in your life, one will be correct and other one will be easy”. Quite apt, wrong path is always easy to follow. May be that is the reason, why the second way to win the race is more prevailed now a days.

Yesterday, I was just roaming in the ‘Mani-Square’ looking for any new arrival in the book section. I bought two of them. When I came out Shirshendu was waiting with his friends. One of them knew me well. He asked,  “Which book did you purchased?? Management ka hai kya”? I gave a shaggy look at his face.  I said, dude management is an art. It cannot be learnt from book but from life. Look around yourself; the best managers, CEO’s etc. are not MBA qualified. But, yes they are good managers.

Personally I think, a person that can manage time can manage anything. So, basically it is a race against time. Some says, “One should see ahead of time”. But I think we should walk with time, neither behind it, nor ahead of it. Correct step at correct decision in correct time is the key for success.

Of course, we don’t have time machines so that we can go back and change what has happened (Even though, I am a hard-core admirer of Time-Dilation theories, can’t deny the fact). Living in present, giving your best is the only method to participate with an extra advantage in race. I love a movie, titled “Kungfu Panda”. The master turtle made a statement,

“Yesterday is history and tomorrow is a mystery

But, today is a gift. That is why it is called Present”.

One can have short term benefits by shortcuts but to achieve real success and enjoy the effervescence emitting from it one need to go via process. What does success means? One can easily find a lot of definition in famous dictionaries and philosophy books by famous writers, in front of whom I am a (-) ve entity. But for me, it is a highly relative term. Depends and varies from person to person. In general, Success is the achievements of all those small milestones that in long term will lead you to your bigger dream, your ambition.

Play to your strength, give your best. I can’t say anything more than it. After all, I myself am the part of same race.

 

Droplets of rain-water speaks a lot....

  

 

Can a water droplet speak?? I never felt so, before that day.

 Message beeps (Rather vibrates) in cell phone and a message flashes out, “Hi G…!! Isn’t it awesome weather outside”? G takes a break from his hectic work, closes his eyes and smiles. Every single message or ping from B makes him smile. It is something with which he could work 48 hours without food or break.  Suddenly, Cubical phone rings. Call from On-Site. Damm, why can’t they wait for a while? But G went to the window, ignoring iterating ring, crossing the cubicles and removes the strange stripped, so called curtain, from the windows.

 Hey, what is the time? OMG!! It is 3:00 PM and where the hell sun has gone. Although from the AC chamber one can neither feel heat nor could feel anything else. Still, whenever it rains, B get to know. Don’t know how. B must be having a direct connection with either weather dept. or Some INSAT series satellites sent for weather forecast, or may be having a strong 6^th sense for rains. I will definitely ask B someday.

G... types a message. But, then delete it. Instead, he move outside of ODC, called elevator and pushes No ‘0’. Damm, how many people need to go out at the same time? Taking halt at each floor, and G cursing himself for not using staircase came out of building. He opened his arm, closed his eyes lifted his head and listen a voice. Hey buddy!! Comeback you will get wet, we need to stay late night for Phase -2 Delivery.  But, he didn’t listen as something else was dragging him away. As if, he was floating in air as Jerry used to on inhaling the fragrance of cheese.

He crossed the road, making at least 3-4 cars apply the emergency break.  He took out his cell phone, went for last dialed number and redialed without thinking who is it, because he knew, no one else he used to call. Everyone else calls him. So, generally dialed calls contain only one no. But no response. B must be busy in office. No probs. Why to bother B. It might be really tough for B; else response was for sure, as B loves rain. G hate rainy season but loves rain. Actually this G character is out of my mind. Sometimes he do such a mischievous thing that even I am amused of.

He stood under a tree and says loudly, gaining attention from every one. Come out of the chambers you filthy fellows. Look Nature has bestowed much better condition than the AC. But no one bothers to listen. Why?? Because in a rain no one wants to come out leaving their cozy environment. But for G, doesn’t matter at all. He looks at a drop of water on a leaf of tree and said me, “Isn’t it amusing”?

“What??” My certain response was. These droplets, they indeed speaks a lot. See, how small drops combine to form bigger drops. Have you ever marked, only two drops merge at a time? If it is more than two, they will never form a bigger drop rather fell of like a stream. When size grows beyond a limit it breaks into two and it enlarges the surrounding when seen through it.

Holy Shit!! What the Hell does it mean?? Has he done P.HD in Water droplet?? Or even though, he had, how come it matter to any one, especially someone like me. Then he explained, “We all are like these water drops. We interact with each other to form groups. The bigger group is more prominent it is. But when someone takes a load more than capable of, fails in life”. At that very moment, a drop fell on my spectacles. “And splits- off, leaving no trace behind. And if it leaves any trace, people cleans it up”, G said to me as I was cleaning my glasses. All of a sudden I was feeling guilty for that drop. Because, it was I who cleaned it up. Seeing on my face, G said, “Don’t be sad, if it is not you, someone else will do. It is the simple rule of life.” G continues, “But the understanding between people must be one-to-one. May be, what the relation between two person is, not acceptable by third one. Still, one has to be in group. So one should never, interfere between other two. Otherwise, the bonding breaks and what happens is same as when more than two drops want to combine simultaneously”. OMR (as OMG is outdated, R stands for Rajni, a new lingo started by KK, our Rajni R&D factory), this guy make sense. What else??  G smiled at me and said, “Have you read nuclear fission”. Of course, who else didn’t hear off? Large nucleus when bombarded with neutrons splits up in smaller one. “It applies here two, when the drop size comes to a limit, it breaks into two. It means, one must know there limitation, otherwise no matter how stable your group is will split up”, G said calmly. And what the last statement meant, I thought. G looked at my puzzled face and said, “Do I need to answer? Figure it out yourself dude”. Saying this G went back to office, leaving me alone, standing in rain, puzzled, amused, astonished. Drops were falling down from my hairs, and I was feeling pity for them. I could see street children to catch rain water, but water can’t be caught by bare hands.

Those 15 minutes conversation showed me a new philosophy of life. It is sometimes amazing, how a simple non-living, miniature drop could teach you what a long period of research needed by scientist to identify about atoms and by sociologist to identify about social behaviors of Homo-Sapiens. We just need to identify. Every moment of life teach us a lot, we just need to be alert to get it, and courage to accept it.

But, a question is still haunting me. What does a group mean? Was G talking about friend circle, or family or society? The more I think, more my eye widens. Bingo!! It applies to all. And really, for any issue, social, economical, political, technical etc we need a view perspective. The same thing correct for one group of people may be wrong for others. We need to have a view and that is what G was talking about. Viewing through a drop magnifies the issue. Bigger the drop, bigger the issue will be magnified (Just like thicker the convex lenses).

Guys!!! Droplets do speaks a lot!!!

@20 Minutes

Feb 04th, 2010: Place Panel-I, CTPAC, DIATM

“May I Come in sir?”
“Come in.” “Good evening Mr. …… “, the interviewer said looking at the resume’ submitted and giving a strange look at me. This was the same look as a physiatrist used to give to his/her patients. At the instant, the pages of Body Languages flashed back to me. I can clearly see the words and instructions inscribed over there. The body basics like confident and dominant handshake, eye contacts, sitting posture, way of submission etc. The other half of my mind was still ready to grasp any instruction given by the interviewer, just like an Ariel, the only thing was that it was not of length ” λ/2”. Might be it was working as micro strip antenna, that I had seen in last year tech fest by an ECE senior. Whatever was going inside my mind was not hidden from the person in front of me. Rather he might be thinking the same. I at once remembered Mr. Sandip Kayal’s (who was our instructor at grooming sessions from Career Launcher) words, “Think like you are behind the desk. Try to interpret the psychological state of the interviewer. Doesn’t answer correctly; rather answer what he/she wants to listen.” At once I can here Mr. King Khan whispering in my ears “Don’t attack on Goal, Attack on Goalkeepers mind”.
“Please sit down”. “Thank you sir. Would you like to see my portfolio”? I offered my file along with my project report in the same company marked “©Tata Consultancy Services” in Bold. I just prayed, “Let him give a look on it”.
“Keep it apart; I have got you CV and white form man”. The person gave a piercing look and smile. That was really unexpected. I tried to console myself and ready myself to face the real interview. If it was not an Internship benefit let us come face to face. Let it happen. I am ready.
At the instant my mind was divided into 2 more parts. One to prepare answers to drag him in my field of interest and second prepared for suppressing my momentary (-) ve answers.
“Tell something about you”, the interviewer asked. Bingo!!! Got the platform to plan and mold the interview according to me. Again Mr. Kayal’s word stroked me, “Let the interviewer feel he is taking the interview but keep the control in your hand. Never give an answer in a way that could rise no cross question, rather give an answer that could produce a plot of your area. Let the questions be raised, but you should know what questions could be rose. Be prepared with their answers that will probably raise the question that you want to be raised, and all that without intending the interviewer”.
I replied, “I am Amit, Amit Kumar Das, B.Tech Final Year IT students.” Till now it was normal, now the game started. “Basically I am a Technical guy, especially interested in Oracle as you can see I have done my internship in the same from TCS only. I used to implement a lot of new ideas as I am a good initiator”. Done!! My inside replied me. A smooth smile on my lips was the witness that I have merged all the things in a single small reply. In Terms of Transformer-2, “Compact, fact, to the point”. Yes I gave my interest area, my past relations with TCS and my strong point. All in one. Now I knew what could be the next questions. If HR then it will be from my initiatives and if Technical, it will be from Oracle. But it is not easy to bluff and HR. After all it is the thing for which he is paid. He examined the form very carefully. Thanks to Microsoft Corporation for developing an intelligent word processor like MS Word, this already had eradicated silly as well as blunders from my CV. Then very unconventionally he started to examine it backward and questioned from it.
But the thing what I want to put here is not the answers that I gave him, or the answers that are appropriate but something that was constantly running in my 5th part of the brain. Yes, there was one more part.
The entire mind was segregated into small parts. I was feeling that it’s a system of X86 µp in pipelines which is working on a very high frequency. Each cross question was like an interrupt, and that was definitely vectored as it was directed to a particular memory area. Each answer was a result of processing huge volume of data learned throughout the life time, not in the 3.5 years of engineering. The answers were even from the paper cutting in which someday I ate snacks, from the comics I used to read for time pass and fro the silly childish discussion that I had made years ago.
The conclusion is that it doesn’t matter at all that from where one has got knowledge, it doesn’t matter even that how much a person know. What matters is that whether a person is capable to make understand other or not. This is going to make one’s USP (Unique Selling Point). It is true. Interview is just like a market where you are the salesman, who has to sale himself or herself to the interviewer. Think it simple. Why you prefer a particular brand in market. If all are the cloths then why Raymond’s is best. The same thing is here, Stamp matters. Another thing is that why a person will buy you? The answer is same that why you will buy a gadget that has got extra features with the basics one at same price.

Often we come across the situation that the person is wrong, but the way of handling them explains a lot. As we were taught in Industrial Management, “It is not the experience or intelligence a person looks for. What they see is that can you be molded as per the requirement”. The situation is very similar to an elder of family choosing the bride for the groom. Select beyond sentiments and capacity to adjust in family. Our faculty gave an example once “Full shirt can be made half shirt but half shirt can never be made full”.
Those 20 minutes inside the chamber explained a lot. It is like I got enlightened inside Panel-1 of CTPAC at DIATM. I am not Buddha or Mahavira and I don’t want to be them. But I leaned that every moment you learn something, willingly or unwillingly, good or bad. All Information counts whether it is theoretical or practical it never goes in vain. Every person is important. May be he/she is less knowledgeable but he might have said something very important. Who knows when you will need it? No one is inferior. It is hard to accept but intellectual brains sometimes get rejected because of attitude. There is a famous dialog in the famous movie ‘Fashion’, “You have got lots of attitude, use it wisely, otherwise it will convert into arrogance.”
It is never too late to start. If you are thinking that I am writing all this nonsense because I am proud of selection then it is wrong. It is just the beginning. It is not the end. As they say “Sky is the limit”. I am just sharing my 20 minutes with you. All The Best..............

Cosmopolitan!!!..What the heck is it???

May 19, 2011. Place: Cafeteria (TCS, Victoria Park):

I was having my usual lunch, boring as usual. However, something interesting was cropping up nearby me. A group of people were having lunch, watching News Channel. The News was showing the forecast of upcoming match of IPL4, most awaited for people of Kolkata, as their "DADA" was going to play against Kolkata. Although, listening to conversation of other is a bad habit, but I couldn't resist myself.

"Look at all the cheering people for KKR. All are Non-Bengalis."

All of a sudden a complete question paper came in my mind. I must not say questions, as if I put all of them together, it can make 100 Marks WBUT question paper and that without any options.

What do they mean?

1)      Is cheering up a team is confined to a particular region? If yes, is IPL not against national Integrity, promoting regionalism?

2)      What about Right of equality of Indian constitution. Can’t a person wish to stay, wherever he/she wants to?

And the list continues…

But the most important question is, a statement like this, from a well educated engineer for a cosmopolitan city is acceptable?

I thought a lot, and concluded it might be the thinking of a person or group specific. For god sake, this must be true. If not, then it is really a challenge for our nation. It is nothing, but the initiation of breaking of our nation in small pieces. It is a signal of threat, an indication. If it persists, we won’t be able to proclaim proudly “University in diversity”.

What is most surprising is, if we turn on news channels, it is very common now a day. Whether Mumbai or Chennai and now Kolkata. Fortunately, Delhi is still safe from this allegation, or quite possible the case has not been come under observation.

Conclusion???I don’t. It is still a question for me. If we leave in a country like India, these thoughts should be kept apart. But Human mentality is strange. They don’t respect what is given to them. They always go against it. But the same person will fight for it, when deprived for it. Take an Example, We fought for freedom, irrespective of cast, region etc. But we fought among ourselves for the prime minister after Independence. Someone may argue, isn’t it a good thing to have good thing to have competition, for better development. One fill give his/her best to come ahead. Hey buddy!! You are a perfect corporate, if you think so. But my principle is, “A Good Competition holds over a good Co-operation”. Everything, when in limit is good, else becomes burdensome.

To Get Started With....

Hi Everybody,

After a long thought, finally I decided to start a personal blog column of my own. Don’t worry; it is not the typical technical one as earlier. It is something very sensitive, close to my heart and of course interesting.

First of all I would like to thank SID, because of whom I decided to write. If he could write, why can’t I. Hey SID, don’t worry. I am neither criticizing you nor humiliating you. It is all about an Inspiration. As your best friend “Tuhi” says, you are a lazy person. So, I thought I can do the same. Besides, I was thinking of it for many days. In fact, you should feel happy. Even then, I say sorry, if you have minded it.

Anyways, as the Title says, “Life@Rules”. Everything in this universe is bound of rules. One likes it or not, it doesn’t matter at all. In fact, when someone denies from it, this denial is also through some rules. So, what could be an interesting Topic apart from rules? In my entire life (till date), I have experienced a lot of things. It would be wrong to say ‘Lot’, but still, this is quite enough to start with. And surprisingly, I found that, rules are applied everywhere.

Look at the introductory picture of the Blog. It is a tree that has gone against a rule, the nature’s rule. It highly depends upon a person, what he or she does in his or her life. One can follow readymade rules. Some may say if you follow the rule, you will miss out all fun. They can go for breaking it. Others can make their own rule. Trust me, the last one are the winners. They are the person 1 in 10000000000000000000 or more than it. They are cited as an example by others to their children.

So, starting with it, I will try to explore some of the complex, psychological, emotional and practical theories. May be not right enough, but suggestions are all welcome.