What is wrong with the US..?

I am from a state where there is at least one child from every home who studies in Texas, California, Kansas, Virginia, Newyork and so on.. Believe me, there is a temple at around 40KM from Hyderabad which is called visa temple. People go there with their passports so that their visa interview is successful. Not only in my State, many people dream of studying in US, working in US, living in US. People keep talking about I20s, H1s, B1s all the time. My intention is not to sound condescending at all. There was a time when I gave my GMAT and Toefl and had almost packed my bags before I dropped the plans. Studying or working in US has become on of the major goals of many people across the world. Its not wrong at all considering the promise of prosperity, freedom and novelty in the US. Thus starts the American dream for many.

After all, US is a great nation. America was the first nation to bring the concept of freedom to this Earth. The great American revolution gave rise to a 'free nation' resulting in a series of social, political, and intellectual transformations in early American society and government, collectively referred to as the American Enlightenment. They bravely rejected the age old British ideas and ideologies and were the first people is embrace 'liberalism'. They made a moral decision that slavery was wrong and a nation cannot be half free. America were the first to implement right to vote and right to employment for women. They defeated totalitarianism and won a war in the Pacific and the Atlantic simultaneously. They cured some fearsome diseases like Polio. They pioneered the industrial revolution. The merits are absolutely flawless, making the US an inspiration for many developing nations.

But there are a few issues which were stuck in my mind for the last few weeks. The first is the the recent recession. I remember reading that the cause of recession were the vast number of housing loans and the causes of the recession were so complex and nobody had absolutely any idea. But the recent movie "Inside job" (A must watch if you haven't) clearly shows that everybody knew sensed recession as early as late 2006. Many bigshots like the heads of all major banks, heads of federal agencies of US like the head of the federal reserve, federal bank and many more were involved. The painful part was that sheer greed of a few people in US caused a catastrphy throughout the world. Millions of people were literally thrown out of their homes. Europe spearheaded in implementing regulations on many financial instruments and though the US itself was one of the worstly affected countries, it did not implement any regulations on the financial derivatives markets, which was the main cause of the recession. We do not even know if US has taken any measures for to stop another financial melt down. Does it make US greater that any other country of the world?

The other troubling issue is the environmental issues. Many of us think Indian cities are dirty compared to the clean and polished streets of the US. But US is not so clean after all. The per-capita carbon emission in the US is around 18 compared to 5.6 of the entire developed world. India's is around 1.2 making India a lot cleaner than the US. The auto emission standards of the US are still around Euro 2 when the entire Europe is following Euro 5. Luckily when the states of US like California started taking the initiative and implemented high efficiency standards for the US, the automakers like Ford, GM and Chrysler sued the state that they cannot sell their vehicles in those states. These so called mighty auto makers haven't recognized the fact that these inefficient vehicle manufacturing have made them impotent to sell their cars in many European nations, which was the main reason for their bankruptcy protection in 2008. In a country where there are over 750 cars to every 1000 people, shouldn't there by high efficiency standards? Moreover, US and Australia are the only two developed nations which haven't complied with the Kyoto protocol, which is aimed at fighting climate change.

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Are they really to end the tyranny and to end the terrorism? The tragic 9/11 attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon, are they really by terrorists. These were some of the many questions raised by the conspiracy theories. After watching so many movies and also some facts about what the US is capable of, the answer to most of these conspiracy theories seems possible. May be US needed constant supply of oil at very cheap rates for the next 50 - 100 years or may be they wanted to maintain the supremacy on the world. We never know.

Uncle Sam, are you listening?

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An Entrepreneur..

"Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won't, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can't" - An entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is a person who has possession of a new enterprise, venture or idea and is accountable for the inherent risks and outcomes. This is the wikipedia definition of entrepreneur. Though the word 'Entrepreneur' seems a little heavy in itself, most of us dream of starting something of our own at some point in our lives. But in a society like ours, there is very little chance that this wild dream of ours ever comes true. But yes, there are people who go ahead and realize their dreams. I had a wonderful opportunity of working with one of them, Mr Sanjay Singh, an IIM Ahmedabad alumnus, founder and Director of Swas healthcare. This post summarizes the things I learned working with him and also from his interviews with the media. I have found them very interesting and also very essential for any budding entrepreneur.

For an entrepreneur, it is always necessary to have a reason other money to get him going. There might be times when the cash flow turns dry and the future seems dim. But as long as we stand on our cause and motivation, it is the only thing which gets us going. Mr. Sanjay also says that keeping an eye on cash flows is always important. Saving a few bucks whenever possible comes handy in rough times.

My second learning is start quick and dirty, don't wait for a perfect business model. This is very important as we learn more working than contemplating an ideal solution. Also it has the capacity to give us an early mover advantage in this competitive world.

"Watch, listen and learn. You can't do everything yourself. Anyone who thinks they do is destined for mediocrity" - Donald Trump. This quote says it all. My biggest learning is to keep our eyes open. Sometimes people on the ground knows what works the best and what not. Hence to be receptive to ideas and also change is an absolute necessity for success.

"Choose a job you like and you never have to work a day in your life". This is the biggest motivation of all. In an interview with the media, Mr. Sanjay said "When I see our patients making the journey from “hope in eyes” to “smiling faces” it gives us immense strength to continue our efforts in spite of all hurdles". So it all boils down to our own happiness and satisfaction in starting our own venture.

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Health Naturally..

"If you have health, you probably will be happy, and if you have health and happiness, you have all the wealth you need, even if it is not all you want."

I still remember how much I hated Mr. Manthena Satyanarayana for his shows on TV everyday in the mornings. I woke up to his voice every day I was in Guntur and may be I hated him for this reason alone. My mom was a sincere follower of his shows and she tried to preach a few of his points to me and my brother, but always in vain. He had a huge fan base for his shows on natural medicine, mostly housewives. I never thought I would land up in a Naturopathy chain of hospitals for my summer internship and in fact become a fan of naturopathy. My last 45 days at a peaceful village in Gujarat have been a great learning in every way. The beautiful part is my experience with naturopathy. Please read the entire post as it is really useful for us, especially in this polluted world.

As our technology and development advance, enormous problems with respect to environmental pollution and the general quality of life continues to grow. We live in a world where stress, pressure, competition are inevitable. These have paved the way to irregular and irresponsible eating habits, lack of physical exercise, dependence on medication and many other unhealthy living habits. The fast lives, ever growing pollution has added to the above and is the main reasons for our immunity breakdown, making us vulnerable to many diseases. This lifestyle of ours is the root cause of many common chronic illnesses like Hypertension, Diabetes, Obesity, Heart diseases and all kinds of arthritis. As put by the World health Organization, “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.

Naturopathy is a system of medicine that focuses on natural remedies and the body's vital ability to heal and maintain itself. Naturopathy believes that our body has the innate capability to cure itself from any chronic disease but that capacity is reduced because of various factors like pollution, our lifestyle etc. Hence naturopathic treatment means to put ourselves back in order the nature force of life i.e. Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Ether, and Mind to gain perfect health. Naturopathy makes use of simple therapies to balance these forces and achieve healthy body and mind.

Naturopathic treatments include dietary changes, exercise, bodywork and natural remedies that support the body’s capacity to heal. It is the most profound medical science that goes deeper and heals from within. It removes dependence from external sources and puts your health back in your hands. Let us consider an example to understand the treatments better. Diabetes is a common chronic ailment. Modern medicine prescribes artificial insulin intake and also many pills to support the same. But naturopathy believes that simple changes in diet, exercise and yoga gives long term relief from diabetes. Naturopathic treatments include dietary changes through which intake of natural insulin is enhanced. Simple yoga asanas exercises like brisk walking are advised to stimulate pancreas and spleen, thus increasing the production of insulin in the body. Thus by addressing the root cause of the ailment, naturopathy is a competent system of medicine.

Naturopathy believes that “Sickness is the vengeance of nature for the violation of her laws”. Naturopathic medicine is defined by principles rather than by methods or modalities. Above all, it honors the body’s innate wisdom to heal. Naturopathy follows five pronged approach to achieve complete good health and wellbeing.

1. Healthy Environment: As a Danish proverb goes “fresh air impoverishes the doctor”. Healthy environment reduces various carcinogenic chemicals and hence prevents many chronic diseases like Cancer etc. A week away from the polluted urban environment at a clean and green environment works wonders on the human body. Hence they even advise to maintain ferns and potted plants in the living room as they increase the oxygen level in the room, which is vital for the well being of various internal organs.



2. Detoxification: Detoxification diets were created with the main purpose of freeing the body of stored toxins. Controlled fasting days along with a healthy diet will also help get rid of some excess weight. Diets of this kind may be very beneficial as they may constitute a great starter for a healthy way of life on condition that they are not abused. Also, there are many detoxification techniques in yoga and Ayurveda, which completely make our body toxin free.
   
   
3. Alkaline diet: An alkaline diet lifestyle will make you feel alive and vital; improve concentration, mental and physical stamina and overall self-esteem. The benefits of alkaline diet also include weight loss, better sleep. Also, it completely reduces acidity of blood which is the main root cause of many diseases. It also increases anti-ageing as the life of body cells is prolonged.



4. Naturopathic and Ayurveda treatments: External treatments like hydrotherapy, massages etc. relieve you from symptomatic relief. It increases the elasticity of nerves, which reduces the burden on heart. This also increases the efficiency of blood flow throughout the body, which helps in increasing the efficiency of many internal organs. Ayurveda emphasizes preventative & healing therapies along with various methods of purification & rejuvenation. Ayurveda is more than a mere healing system; it’s a science & art of appropriate living that helps to achieve longevity. It can guide every individual in the proper choice of diet, living habits & exercise to restore balance in the body, mind & consciousness, thus preventing disease from gaining a foothold in the system.
   
   
   
   
5. Meditation and Yoga: Meditation and yoga help in complete relaxation of body and mind. Yoga is not merely a set of asanas & breathing exercises- Pranayama, which helps in maintaining healthy body. It extends the beneficial effects on mental, emotional, social, as well as spiritual level of our being. Thus yoga gives us a complete healthy way of life. Yoga also improves the blood circulation, movements of various joints etc. It also solves the problems of constipation and insomnia, burns calories and lowers blood sugar levels. “Meditation is a delightful and spontaneous thing to do. It is the continual act of making friends with yourself".

After staying here for over a month now and witnessing how naturopathy is able to cure some of the most chronic diseases, I sincerely suggest you to spread the word. Also, naturopathy has preventive healthcare remedies, which include few diet tips and yoga, and is the best preventive healthcare across all the systems of medicine.

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Capitalism vs. Socialism

One of our many trips around Kutch, during my summer internship, was to Dholavira. It is a site excavated by the Archeological department. Dholavira was once a prominent city. It belonged to the Indus valley civilization, i.e around 2600-3000 BC. The site was occupied from 2650 BCE, declining slowly after about 2100 BC. It was briefly abandoned and reoccupied until 1450 BC. The site was discovered in 1967-8 and is one of the largest Harappan sites in the Indian subcontinent. The excavation brought to light the sophisticated urban planning and architecture, and unearthed large numbers of antiquities such as seals, beads, animal bones, gold, silver, terracotta ornaments and vessels linked to Mesopotamia.

The city, which existed then, consisted on three marked areas. Citadel - probably occupied by the royal family, the middle town and the lower town. It covered an area of about 100 Hectares. The citadel stands majestically in the centre, clearly insulation and defended by impressive guarding systems. Next to this stands a place called 'bailey' where important officials lived, so as we were told by our guide. One of the unique features of Dholavira is the sophisticated water conservation system of channels and reservoirs, the earliest found anywhere in the world and completely built out of stone. They were used for storing the fresh water brought by rains or to store the water diverted from a nearby rivulet. This probably came in wake of the desert climate and conditions of Kutch, where several years may pass without rainfall. The inhabitants of Dholavira created sixteen or more reservoirs of varying size. Some of these took advantage of the slope of the ground within the large settlement. Reservoirs are cut through stones vertically. Reservoirs skirted the city while citadel is centrally located on raised ground. Bathing tanks were found, which had steps descending inwards. Even the ground, as we were told was used for recreation purposes, had a drain on its side to allow the water collected to flow into the reservoirs.

Most of the royal families which existed in the past owned the natural resources and all other resources in their empires. They made sure that they were put to good use. People at Dholavira had bathing systems, water lines etc. around 4500 years ago. I remember studying at school about the advanced water systems and architecture of the Harappan and Mohenjodaro civilizations. It was amazing to see them in real. I remember about an other King Sri KrishnaDevaraya of Hampi Vijayanagaram. It was written that diamonds were sold in heaps on the streets, there were no doors to the houses. People and civilizations prospered. People were happy.

It reminds me of the never ending debate - Capitalism vs. Socialism. Capitalism is an economic system where the resources are privately owned. The main thrust of capitalism is that resources are owned by an individual or a group of individuals. For instance, a company can be run by one person or a group of people. The resources of the individual is used and traded solely by his decision. Capitalism uses the willpower of individuals, especially entrepreneurs, to foment economic activity. Capitalism is based on the assumption that individuals operate based on self interest; however, by doing so not only help themselves, but also propel others towards economic success. As Adam Smith put it "By directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his gain, and he is in this as many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor it is always worse for the society that it was no part of his intention. By pursuing his own interest, he frequently promotes that of the society more effectively than when he really intends to promote it".

India is a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic republic. Socialism is a system where goods are owned by the state or the public. Capitalism is apparently founded on the belief that competition brings out the best in people. Socialism, on the other hand, believes that cooperation is the best way for people to coexist. The main difference between these two economic systems is the so called distribution and earning of wealth. In capitalism, everyone works for his own wealth, while in socialism everyone works for wealth which is distributed equally to everyone.

The authors of our constitution had a vision for this great country, India. They might have designed the constitution with that vision and with Gandhian era principles. But where are we now. People in the so called socialist republic are on neither side. Probably Nepotism is a near good word to describe the current attitude. I am ending this post on a note of cynicism as we all know the solution for this.

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The pursuit of Happiness

"Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after." -Thoreau

I came across this quote in one of my aimless internet browsing sessions. These sessions have considerably increased over the last one month as the reasons being summer internship at a remote village in Gujarat, where the work is done mostly from my room. If you expect this post to be somehow related to the famous movie of Chris Gartner, you might be wrong to the most part. But I confess that I chose the title of the blog as the movie's name as I did not find anything more catchy. This is similar to the packaging part of marketing, yes this is how people start to think after an year of MBA. This short post of mine is more of a retrospection of few aspects of my life, and I bet most of us would have had similar experiences.

I remember this incident when I was seven years old. I completed my second standard and was about to join my third standard. We visited our grandpa's place in Guntur. Guntur was and still is the favorite destination for most of my cousins. I still cherish the endless get-together s of all families of my Mom's sisters and the fun we all had. This was also a similar visit and the most important achievement that time was I learned to ride a bicycle. I loved it. I was just seven years old and my love for driving started then. Then started my first big desire - a bicycle. After a big fuss which I created, my grandpa agreed to buy me a bicycle on my mom's behalf. Here started my big chain of gadgets acquisition list.

I loved toys. My list for new toys always kept growing. I bought a toy gun whenever I visited exhibitions or amusement parks. I loved cars, especially remote controlled. I remember a remote controlled BMW, my Dad brought from Singapore. I loved it but as most of the children do, I somehow damaged it and broke it after sometime. Then came MRF racing jeeps. My long list never ended. As I grew older, electronic gadgets came in. It started with video game. The video game cassettes 16 in 1; 700 in 1 and remember the games CONTRA, Mario and many more. My mom and Dad always gave into my brother's and my wishes. But I now realize the happiness they felt when we were excited by such small things.

Then the came the real stuff. Life, Career.. OMG! The need for achieving, winning and recognition etc. My first academic achievement was my class 10th board exams. I felt proud when everybody of my family congratulated me. Then was the engineering entrance exam, job, CAT etc. Sometimes, I also felt bad about the road not taken. After joining my electrical engineering, I wondered many a time whether I should have chosen Medicine. I hope at least this list stops after MBA. But there is one thing, the joy or happiness an achievement gives us is beautiful. It is much sweeter when we get something after we work hard for it. The hope and plans for future never stopped. Now its even more serious and realistic! Love, marriage etc. for life and of course job, companies etc. for career.

Planning for future is good. In fact, "It pays to plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark". But I started wondering, will this planning ever stop!! Will a time come when I would say Enough, I have all I want. I don't know about this but most of the great people preached that self satisfaction is very necessary for any man. But at the same time there are people who told that people should always be aiming for growth and betterment. Inspiration, Motivation etc. etc. They are not at all bad, in fact they are very much needed to survive in today's world. But there was a time when these were not needed. People were happy. I always told my friends and I still believe that happiness is what we should all yearn for. I only hope that all this planning, yearning, etc. will lead me to a perfect and happy life. After all, the Bible says “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

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Time flies...

Time flies. An academic year seems to start slowly but sprint towards the end. Its been the same feeling since school, how did the time fly so fast! But yes, time flies. Another academic year has come to an end in my life. My MBA is now 50% complete and as every body has said the toughest part is over, but I keep hearing the other version also "In front there is crocodile festival". I am now all set for internship in Kutch, Gujarat. Supposedly it has one of the worst climates in India, but I am looking forward to the experience of living in a new state, my 6th already!

From the midnight induction in June to the final exams today, its been the most exciting part of my life. The experience here itself here is a great learning. I always heard about "learning from peers" and felt how weird the phrase sounds. But it makes sense when we have people from 10 years of experience to freshers, Computer science to Journalism, and needless to say, people from all around the country. People here do not need a reason to party. Any small group here kicks off with a party and then ends with a party. Section parties, hostel parties and many more.

I remember one of my friend saying that the life here makes us a robot. May be its true, I now do not really worry even if I have 3 quizzes, 2 project submissions and 4 hours of classes on the same day. Life here made me so hardworking that people here do not realize that we are working hard!

This place also tests our patience, best of strengths and weaknesses. Competition is one thing, which is omnipresent even when n^n events are happening all around the year. Life here also teaches to support others, share, team work. I feel that I realized my greatest strength and also my weakness through all these.

CG and CV are the most heard and most ran after words on campus. CG is the CGPA for the academic courses and CV is our curriculum vitae for all placement related activities. Believe it or not, we put in around 50 hours of effort in making our CVs.

Events. There are n^n competitions on campus and off campus for students to participate. Now that every company wants to steal the fresh ideas for free, there are many corporate events also. I found them the best learning experiences. Then of course the entertainment events. From cult nights to rock shows, everything is indigenous. The screening of cricket and football world cups brought out the crazy fans in us. It also showed why sports are called a unifying factor.

I was in section B, famous as the maggu section. It was a little nostalgic as the it was the last day for the section, after all the fun we had in one year. I cannot forget my expereinces of sitting between the most attentive girl of the class and the most regular sleeper. My first year ended with a bang with India winning the world cup. Amidst roars, 200 crazy fans, one IIM L mess, screening on large screen, sounds of banging glasses tables... what an experience it was. Now, I feel that this was one of the chillest parts of my life..!

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Shit happens...

Shit happens... "A fictitious explanation of the origin of this phrase occurs in the 1994 film Forrest Gump. During his capricious run, a bumper sticker salesman running alongside him points out to Forrest that he has just stepped in a pile of dog feces. When Forrest replies, "It happens", the man replies, "What, shit?", to which Forrest replies, "Sometimes". The man is then inspired to create the "Shit Happens" bumper sticker. - Wikipedia". On the last weekend, we three friends - Amit, Bharadwaz and I, set out on an adventure, though at start we never knew it was going to be one, when we really found out how true the phrase can be.

5PM, 12th March 2011. Tendulkar was blazing away in the match against South Africa. We were in our rooms, excitedly packing our stuff as we had our train scheduled at 7.30PM. The auto has come on time and we as a bunch of over punctual guys, started at 5.45PM. We reached Lucknow railway station at exactly 6.45PM, 45 minutes before the scheduled departure of the train. The moods were high with Bharadwaz constantly pulling the leg of Amit and I was enjoying the moment. Here is the first shock. The train is delayed by 2 hours, i.e. 9.30PM. Luckily, the station hotel had an amazing restaurant and we had a decent dinner there whiling away time. We slowly came out at 9 and the second shock, our Farakka express postponed to 11.30PM. As were still in the dilemma of what to do, the chart changed to 12.30PM. The last thing we wanted was the tran reaching Delhi late and we stuck in the middle of no where. We got our flight tickets booked and there was some strange joy amidst the apathy and our confidence of winning shot up. We came back to the campus, sat in my room for a quick meeting and finished all the last minute changes. Travel in Business suits - Direct flight to Delhi - Winning - Kick some a** ; the thoughts going on in our minds then. We were looking forward to the final round of the competition, for which we have put in so much effort and felt that no body can stop us winning.

Feb 19th, 2011; The competition. Bharadwaz and I set out to Agra. It was my third time and enjoyed the city as always. The Taj was as beautiful as ever and cannot forget Bharadwaz's amazing stunts with the photographer. Amit, already in town, joined us on the evening and we three started to Jaipur. The research we planned had gone so smoothly and quiet contended we returned to Lucknow. The travel was a typical teenage boys way, bus at the last moment, dinner at dhabas, road side biryani etc. Enjoyed every moment though. The bigger effort started in Lucknow to compile the report and the deadline was 1st March. We shared work, took turns, did what ever, but complied a solid report and we were so content and satisfied with our work. As expected we blazed into the final round and no stopping what so ever. The efforts did not stop. We compiled a beautiful presentation for the final round, amidst classes, quizzes, assignment etc. and hence were all set for the finals on 13th March 2011, in Delhi.

March 13th, 2011; The D day. The morning flight to Delhi was pleasant and we reached the venue by 12. The news came that our return train was cancelled. we never cared, booked the next days flight to Lucknow. We had some last minute preparations and we were all set for the event to start. We were the first team to present and we made full use of it. The presentation from the beginning to the end was exciting and the Q&A part was fantastic. We did it. Our presentation really reflected all the hard work for the last one month. We were happy and confident. The other teams presented. We asked a few interesting questions and our confidence even increased. After 4 hours of start, the presentations ended and the judges went out for discussion. I hate this moment. This was my fourth event in a row and still a strange nervousness takes over. The judges finally came. And there it was. Our name was announced among the consolation prizes. This was the biggest shock. We were really disappointed. This was real disappointment. We were angry, disappointed, shocked. I tried to keep my calm but felt really low. It wasn't really about winning or loosing, it was all about expectations and in this case they were justified by the amount of effort, our solid presentation etc. I felt that the impact on the judges was not long enough as ours was the first presentation on that day. I always think and also preach that life is not all about winning but they all did not matter.

14th March, 2011. We got to sleep only for a few hours as we had our flight back to Lucknow early in the morning. We were tired and exhausted but life does not stop. We were back at our campus by 7AM and as usual - classes, assignments, quizzes...

Overall, we had quite an experience. We now know how important is small things like checking whether the train is on time or not before leaving to the station, flights are always better and above all how to win the next time. I remember the words of our HR Prof, last term - "Kyu daru zindagi se kya hoga... kuch nahi hoga tho tajurbha hoga...".

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