Do you know what it is???

A few days back I was walking back from class and I found this peculiar insect. It resembled a Snail but was different.....the difference being the back had something resembling logs of wood. And just as the snail goes into the shell when troubled, this particular insect did too. I came back to my room, pretty fascinated with what I had seen.
The same evening , a friend who noticed me observing the insect, clicked a picture and sent it across. I have been wondering what the insect is.

I have uploaded a photo of the same above ( Thanks to the friend who clicked it and sent it). If you happen to know what it is , do let me know!!

PS. Please do not think I like insects... I detest them.....this one was just out of curiosity .....Call it Fascination!

Re-Connecting...

I realized a few things....one of the most difficult aspects in life is to re-connect with people. There are times when distance creeps in, and it definitely is hard to bridge the gap

The reasons may either be because the other person does not give you as much as importance as before, or it could probably be that the other person has found someone who he/she finds to be a better option to invest time in. Or it could just be my perception. But yes it does seem like it when you tend to miss the familiar feeling of comfort level that you expected to share with the person. It does not happen always, but it does happen a lot.

The distance probably helps you to prioritize things, sort out things but at the end of it, one sometimes tends to think whether it was all worth the trouble.....to an individual it does well, but I still have to decide otherwise.
It all goes to say that a rope may snap, and may be retied, but the knot in between is something that is inevitable.

Another thing that I fail to understand is how people tend to compare two or more individuals. Esp. friends. I think I would top the list when it comes to having one of the most versatile / weird friend's network, wherein one friend cannot stand the other.
I probably sound like some Martyr, but I guess this is probably one thing I learnt from an old friend - To try and look at positives of a person ( I'm still trying....and I am trying hard - It is not easy! )

I guess this is all I have to say for now :). Will soon post some more of my so called ' GYAN'.
Before I sign off - Happy New Year!! :)

My take on perceptions - Carnatic Music and Hindustani Music

Recently I came across a thread wherein there was strong criticism of Hindustani and Carnatic Music by the Carnatic music and Hindustani Music fanatics respectively. It definitely came in as a surprise, more so because I had just returned after attending the music concerts at Sawai Gandharva - Pune.

Friction between the fans and artists of the two styles is not an unknown fact. But sadly, what is affected in the midst of opinions, tastes, views and perception is Music at large. I happened to read about Carnatic Music being revived and Hindustani on the other hand struggling to make its mark. I somehow tend to disagree with it –more so after listening to the fantastic vocal performance by youngster Arshad Ali.

Talking about appreciation, I certainly do believe that down South, Hindustani Music still needs to make a mark, where as the Carnatic style has somehow managed to fit in well. I may sound slightly biased, but I say that with the conviction as I was a witness to an audience of over 15000 sitting through, enjoying and appreciating the performance by the Violin Maestros- Ganesh and Kumaresh.
Another issue that I came across was people squabbling as to which is a bigger event – the Music season at Chennai or the Sawai Gandharva held at Pune. ILLOGICAL COMPARISION again.

Music season – spreads across over a number of days in December and has many players – Sabhas, artists etc. involved. Sawai Gandharva is unique in its own style. Based in Pune, it is a single platform providing opportunities to different forms of performing art. It is altogether a different ball game. The bottom line is that both provide a platform to veterans and youngsters to demonstrate their skill and both definitely contribute to the growth and promotion of Indian Classical Music. They may have their share of positives or negatives – and it is always better to look at the brighter side. So it boils down to the fact that a true music lover is capable of inculcating the better aspects of any music within him.

So here is my plea to my non-existent readers - Please do not make sharp statements about things you do not know on Public Forums. It seriously has a damaging effect on novices who are being introduced to Music or any art form for the first time.

Money vs. Happiness

I was reading an article. It set me thinking as to “Where does one stand?” – in the true sense. Today we have people craving for Money. Money simply can do wonders –

Make relations

Break relations

Strain relations

Change Relations

Today people have started to acquire this tendency of equating everything with Money. I wonder many a times ‘Is money worth the trouble??’I completely agree to the fact that Money today has been given a very strongly disagreeable metaphor, it being associated with something evil. I disagree with the so created image as well.

Whatever said and done – how about looking at it differently.

You may earn Lakhs, Crores, Millions, Billions, and Trillions…but at the end Are you happy? It is the biggest question!

I see people getting insecure and egoistic around me. A person may fake or possibly be full of pretence…..he may get all the materialistic things that he desires.. And then, What?

A few may say – ‘then nothing’ ….there could be no more then’s; as apparently their life is made. I feel sorry for such people as in the end they are in a position wherein they have a mask when they stand in front of the mirror. I tend to wonder, “Is money all that people want in Life? Isn’t there so much more to it?” There definitely would be some point in time that a person would want to explore new things about himself. But in this rat race where can he find the time?

It’s perfectly fine to be ambitious, but ambition at the cost of self actualization and happiness?....I definitely do not endorse it.

Looking at it from yet another perspective,

A few people say –“It is not for me – it is for my future and things along on those lines. Honestly, many a times I am unable to buy that however true, reasonable or practical it may sound. I often find these people living for the future at the cost of their Present. I definitely respect the sentiment but overdoing it does not really help. Such an approach may be good for people who would eventually learn to live in the present. What about those who never can ever learn live to in the present?

Mani Sir's Question..

This was a question posed by my Sanskrit Master when I was in my 5th Grade. I remember Mani Sir to be an extremely witty person with a flair for riddles which called for intellectual and logical reasoning. He once put forward the following question:

Once upon a time there were two Kings - Harish Chandra and Virish Chandra. Harish Chandra always spoke the truth whereas Virish Chandra lied at every instance that he could get.
Both these kings were sitting in a room. There were two boxes in the room – one filled with sweets and the other filled with snakes.
You enter the room. You do not know the names of either of the kings, nor do you know which box contains the sweets or the snakes.
You can ask both the kings one question each( preferably the same question). You have to find out which box contains the sweets. What would your question be?????
( It’s not too hard …….try answering it ) :)

...............

Social service???? Well a lot of things would probably come into one’s mind on hearing the term. I have heard people doing social service or being a part of such causes for varied reasons, a few of which are as follows:-
They feel good about it and genuinely want to work towards the up-liftment of the society.
They think it is COOl and they should do it because everyone does it.
They think it would like nice on their CV.
They think it would secure them admissions in B- Schools abroad easily
They think it would make people look up to them in the society.
They think it would make them popular and help them seek attention.

As usual I may sound as cynical as ever, but even after giving it a million thoughts, I can say that there are a few who would fall into the first category. For many people social service is about donating huge chunks of money. I think that is understandable as people may not have time to help in any other fashion. The money probably would help to fund educational and infrastructural needs of orphans, disabled etc.
But what about the emotional support that that every individual needs? What about the little children who are deprived of a sense of belonging….When I say this, I recollect an experience.

A few months back I visited an old-age home. It was not a very big home. It was a small home and was equipped with decent furniture and had mediocre facilities. What caught my eye out there was the beautiful chapel, where mass was held regularly. There were about 15 old ladies and around 6 to 7 old men.
One of the old ladies was physically challenged. She had deformity in both her legs and had always been crippled from a very young age. So she had been abandoned by her family. Since I had started visiting the home every fortnight, a couple of ladies out there started opening up a little. I got to know that a few of them had families who had abandoned them because they found them to be a burden. In one case , the person apparently had her whole family, niece and nephew staying at Mumbai. Still they came to visit her only once in 2 years , which they felt was a favour that they were doing on her. I still have a lot of hope on mankind and I do believe that someday things would change. It is never too late to mend.

Coming back to the aspect of emotional support, I completely understand that it is not possible for all to give in that kind of time. I have come across many people of the opinion that they would like to donate money and look at the larger happiness rather than spending time with a select few and seeing a smile on their face. I guess they are entitled to their opinion and I respect it.
But an earnest request from my end would be to make sometime for the old. It makes a very big difference to that one day of their life. The satisfaction and sense of fulfillment that one may get is unparalleled.

Read On....

Yesterday we had a session with Dr. K.C.Mishra - the director of my B-School – National Insurance Academy School of Management. I definitely have a lot to say about the man, but in this post, I would restrict myself to a couple of very significant things that came out in the course of his talk.

He was telling us about some session that he conducted for some students where he apparently was asked the following query:

“What would be a lifetime definition of the relation between the Economy, Financial Sector and Insurance?”

His Answer was along the following lines: Imagine an Elephant precariously balancing itself on a globe. It is on its four legs and is trying hard to remain stable. The Globe may be fully filled with air or partially filled with air.

Think of the elephant to be the economy, the globe – financial sector, and the air inside the globe to be insurance.

If the globe is fully filled with air, the elephant would have a sturdy base to stand on.

If it is partially filled with air, the elephant would be wobbly and would not be able to stand still.

If there is no air in the Globe, the elephant would fall.

The amount of air indicates the extent of protection against risk that has been sought.

The concept of marginal being more important than average, was yet another thought provoking aspect. It is indeed true that whatever we have achieved till date does not stay for long, as it becomes an achievement of the past. The greatness of the individual lies definitely on the marginal productivity or if I may put it as the marginal improvement/enhancement in whatever he/she may be proficient in. So more the effort, passion and dedication, better the marginal and still better the average performance. I think as an MBA student, the above is definitely something of great importance to me. Even otherwise, I think it would instill a sense of satisfaction in an individual.