Friday, April 27, 2007

Show me the Money, Honey

Why is money such a bad word in India? If someone were to say "I like money" he is always looked down upon in our society. It has been seen as a vice almost synonymous with sex and all the things considered bad in the Indian value system. Too much money corrupts, we have been taught. Everyone wants money, but no one is ready to accept the fact. Why such hypocracy?

You would have heard lot of managers say you should not be working for money. Now this is one thing I fail to understand. I can always do better work in an academic institution or on my own. I work for a company whose ONLY responsibility is to create wealth for its stakeholder. The only REASON I might be interested in working for a corporate entity is the fact that I WANT MONEY. What is so difficult to comprehend? The whole charade that the HR puts up during recruitment and the managers henceforth is so sickening. I say India, because I am familiar with the recruitment practices elsewhere and almost all employers worldwide are ready to talk about and negotiate the compensation except India.

Lots of people have told me that they want to start companies. They have this great technical idea that would change the lives of millions, they are sick of working for someone else, they want some excitement in their otherwise mundane life. These might be valid reasons for thinking of a startup but if you are not interested in making money you can't be an entrepreneur. Period. I think this conscious aversion about money or talking about it needs to change if a new wave of entrepreneurship has to sweep through India and give rise to the silicon valley. People need to start thinking of money before they get the itch to create great companies.

Lots of money.

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Post India


For those of you wondering what is this about, a friend of mine and I am writing a book. You can find more about it here. Put up this poster on your blog, on your office bulletin board, you college gazette and where ever it might catch people's fancy. You can get a high res version of the poster by clicking on the image or here. Any help shall be really appreciated :-)

Friday, April 20, 2007

Virginia Tech Shootout


My heart goes out to the students and faculty members who lost their lives in the massacre. Virginia Tech is supposed to be of the most peaceful college communities and no one would have expected something like this to happen there. The sheer suddenness of the event is shocking and disturbing. Is there a SAFE place left in this world?

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Memories

"The Storm". Painting by Francesco Guardi.

A painting very similar to the one about used to hang in my grandfather's studay when I was a kid. There was something so melancholic about the painting that used to indimidate me so much that I woke up at nights in a pool of sweat. The paints was pretty simple, a huge mast ship in the midst of a raging storm. It was not the subject that ailed me but the colors, they seemed to suck out the all the energy from the spectator, putting him in the same despair that people aboard the ship might have been feeling. Thats one of the strongest evidences I have seen of colors being used to convey emotions. Sadly this picture dosen't dosent potray the helpless I felt after seeing the painting that hung on the wall. I have changed a lot since I saw that painting first. I am no longer afraid of water, I can swim pretty well. But even now when I think of the painting on the wall, a shudder passes through me. Just thinking about it transforms me to a state of helplessness and saps aways all my energy and mirth.

Have you ever felt something similar?

Friday, April 13, 2007

Impressive

वाह क्या बात है। अब हिंदी में ब्लॉगर !!

मैं खुश हुआ।

Thursday, April 12, 2007

A Potrait of an Young Man as the Photographer

I have always had this fascination for photography, but not until recently since I started some serious photography did I realize it would change me. For Good.

Patience: As a photographer I have developed lot of patience, precariously perched on my haunces, with sweat tricking down my face, waiting for the opportune moment to click the scene. Not to forget the insanely heavy camera and the lense.

Carpe Diem: In photography you need seize the moment. Nothing lasts for more than a second, if you have captured it, its for you to keep or it might have gone forever.

Resilience: You learn to live with your mistakes and evolve with them. At times I have spent the entire day clicking photographs only to realize I didnt choose the correct ISO or I had a greasy lense.

Photography has taught me a lot more than any class or college I ever went to. Long live photography and long live the photographer in me.