International Trip

Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone in taking the road less travelled and doing things that are not a part of your banality. I’ve always been curious about life of people outside India .why there’s always been huge queues outside US embassies.  US myth or reality! The days leading to the trip were as exciting as the whole trip.

First and foremost, any trip definitely tests your geography skills, directions. What states are there in the country? Which states are there in which coast? How many time zones are there? Day light saving concept. What are the places to hangout and cuisines to try out in your visit? Weather is grossly underrated especially if you’re moving a different hemisphere and time zone. Get ready for a  deluge of advice from every Tom, dick and Harry you meet for his expert comments on airports, flights, metros, food like they’ve lived their lifetime abroad.

No better expression describes an international trip like ‘Familiarity breeds contempt’. Till now, no one gave a damn about your existence (because you’re a local engineering fellow, not even a MBA correspondence degree holder). The moment you announce your trip details to friends and family, it spreads like swine flu. Big-headed uncles and annoying aunties (who repeatedly crack the rhetoric ‘next in line’ marriage jokes) call from different parts of the country to congratulate and slyly boast about their international experience. East coast or west coast. My son is there in California. US is very different.. bhah blah. My wife’s cousin’s brother-in-law’s son is in DC area. He’s a very nice fellow, you should meet him. I’ll whatsapp his number. Knowingly or unknowingly, big contacts list comes your way and you’ll oblige to give a courtesy call.

Next shopping. The uncles and aunties have polluted parents’ minds with their first hand experience. Winter clothes, thermal wears, Podis from Grand sweets. One stop to the Indian walmart, Saravana Stores , gave a true indication of the real india than the posh outlets in Nungambakkam. Plus all shopping done quick speed.

Finally, any international trip throws up a whole range of emotions from happiness to anxiety. There’s so much pride and elation in getting your first international stamp on passport before it expires. So much fascination and allurement to set foot on a different continent, breathe a different air and get a closer look on all the hoopla on NRI life. Fear creeps in especially if you’re travelling 1 week after Malaysian Airlines MH370 disappearance. Plethora of questions unanswered. Will I catch my transit flight? Is 1 hr too small to shift terminals in London? How will I buy tickets if I miss flight? What if flight crashes? Too many random thoughts crossed the mind when you board the flight that you realize it is better to shutdown your mind and sleep than think on the uncontrollable.

Impact: Number of lives we touch

Everyone talks about the pay, salary, CTC, Millions, Billions, Turnover, Revenue, Topline.

Would you prefer be remembered as a person who was a millionaire. Or as a man who changed a million lives.

Can our salary be interms of the number of people we have impacted?

Thinking Loud! Just a figment of my imagination :)

Go to bed smarter than when you woke up

“The best thing a human being can do is to help another human being know more.”
— Charlie Munger

Most people go though life not really getting any smarter. Why? They simply won’t do the work required.

It’s easy to come home, sit on the couch, watch TV and zone out until bed time rolls around. But that’s not really going to help you get smarter.

Source : The Warren buffet formula

Book Review : Dongri To Dubai - Six Decades of The Mumbai Mafia

Author : S. Hussain Zaidi

I was eager to read about Mumbai mafia and this book is like an encyclopedia covering Haji Mastan, Karim Lala, Varadaraja Mudaliar, Karim Lala, Dawood Ibrahim kaskar, Chota Rajan, Chota Shakeel, Abu Salem, Anees Ibrahim. Reading through this book, you realize how many films had these sub plots. This is a Mass masala movie. 3 Nagayans, 2 Baashas, 4 Pudhupettai, 3 Thalapathis, Satya, Gangs of Wasseypur rolled into one film.

The story of a brave young boy, whose father was a police constable, was used by Mumbai police to wipe out other gang lords in Mumbai and eventually became their nemesis. The book portrays D larger than life and minutely explains how D changes his game each time. A man created by the system, ended up using the system and its loopholes and manipulated it with his bravado, his lust for power and cunningness to become a larger than life figure.

I liked the initial story sketch of Tamil Nadu born Mumbai dons Haji Mastan and Varadaraja Mudaliar and how they ruled the roost. ManiRatnam later made Nayagan loosely based on Varadaraja Mudaliyar. The scene where Dawood is summoned by Police and Dawood’s father as police constable takes us back to Rajnikant, Raghuvaran pair of Baasha and Mark Antony.

Some personal favorite lines:

'Necessity may be the mother of invention, but it is also the father of crime'

'Keep people’s bellies full and balls empty'

'Offence is the best form of defence and the best way to take revenge is to hit where it hurts the most'

'The human tendency is to become oblivious to other issues in life when the coffers are filling'

PS: I don’t endorse criminality or abuse of power. Just that the book is an engaging read.