I found the solution!

We generally weigh things in terms of quality or quantity, brain or brawn but there is a third dimension to everything. That third dimension is character, the strength of your character.Let's take an example:

RCC- Reinforced Concrete Cement. 
When there was a need for extra strong buildings, more of the regular cement did not help nor did stronger varieties. The character of cement had to be changed. It had to be reinforced.

The same can be applied to us. When we are faced with the big things in life, our heart and our brain may fall short of a solution, but our character will stand strong by our side. And when you have a strong character, your brain and heart will work coherently to guide you through the misty paths and the cloudy skies.

The skies bend when the sailor wills,
He mounts the sails,
rigs the ship,
Stands on the hull of the massive ship.

The miner struck diamond in the deep
He didn't steer
He didn't shake
He went on marching into the deep.

Her husband left her in muck
No money, no home
But children to keep
She rose every dawn to feed their mouths but never to weep.

He said No!

My first day of College! There was not a single cute guy in the class!!

But as cliché as it sounds, then he entered the class. At first he looked weird, but I eventually developed a crush on him. We became friends. Very Good friends.

Then he told me about his 7 exes. Didn't matter. I was smitten. He kind of knew it all.

One day he came to college with his last gf's name on his arm etched with a blade. I saw it and felt bad but i didn't say anything.

Then it was the third year of college, I knew he would never love me, but I didn't want to repent.

I messaged him," I know you don't like me like that but I like you." He said,"You know I still love her." I said "Yes."

He messaged, “So, what do you want me to say now?". I said, “I want you to say you don't, so that I stop hoping. I confessed it because I don't want to regret later."

He said, “You are a great friend but I cannot think about you like that."

I was friend-zoned.(Girls get Friend -Zoned too)

I went to the terrace. Deep winters. Foggy sky at 4 am. I realized I hadn't slept whole night. My friend came and held me. I cried one last tear and forgot him.

Those first feelings of crush and blushing and the heartbreak still stir warm in my heart.​

When Weaknesses become Strengths

Post-It Notes were invented by accident. 3M were trying to create super strong adhesives for use in the aerospace industry in building planes.  Instead of a super strong adhesive, they accidentally managed to create an incredibly weak, pressure sensitive adhesive agent. The adhesive had two important features: It left no residue after being peeled off and it was reusable. The 3M management was, as expected, unhappy with the product as it was seen as too weak to be useful. The adhesive was constantly rejected for 5 years and confined to the laboratory for the next 7 years. Today, it is a huge hit and one of the most widely asked for and loved stationery item across the world. The story of Post-It notes is actually a story of many good managerial decisions and many bad managerial decisions.

Also, it is one of those cases where the shortcoming in one of your product came as a blessing in disguise. Another such example is the mobile phone battery bank. It is pretty doubtful if any of us would have ever heard of battery banks until the past few years and now, it looks like a basic necessity for any smart phone user. There were no battery banks in India some 10 years ago, neither were the smart phones. Smart phones brought with them a need to have a portable battery backup. Not only smart phones, laptops, tablets and digital cameras can be charged using power banks.

 The power bank is believed to have originated at Las Vegas International Consumer Electronics Show in 2001 when a student pieced a control circuit with a few AA batteries together. Also, believed to have been produced and marketed from 2004-2007, it became a hit with the coming in of iPhone in 2007.  It had a built in battery and the power supply from the electricity did not last more than 4-5 hours (varying with usage). With the coming up of more and more mobile phones having an in built battery, it does not look like going away for some years. 
The figure below shows the consumer behavior regarding the pattern of Smartphone usage. 85% of people use their phones ‘While on the go’, 64% in a store, 59% in a restaurant, 61% in café or coffee shop and 52% at a social gathering. It might not be convenient for all to plug in their charger in a subway and go on with their work.Thus, arises a need for a hero who can save the people in the times of dire need for a portable energy source and power bank emerges as the hero.

Workplace Diversity-An All Inclusive Workforce

We are more than 7 billion people, yet, our fingerprints are all unique. All, almost all, of us have 10 fingers, but fingerprints are all unique. All, almost all, of us have 2 eyes but our retinal capillary prints are all unique. The one tongue that we all 7 billion have is unique too, for all of us. We are all so similar but yet so distinct. The world won’t have been so beautiful if all the weathers smelt the same, all the flowers looked the same, and all the sounds heard the same and all the touch felt the same. The difference brings the flavor in life. The feeling that the day today will be different than yesterday drives us every day and motivates us to spring out of the bed to start afresh. People would have had hard time finding topics for small talk, had the weather always remained the same. Our differences make us what we are and they make our life worth living.

“Differences are not intended to separate, to alienate. We are different precisely in order to realize our need of one another”- Desmond Tutu

Laura Cox Kaplan, Regulatory Affairs and Public Policy Leader at PwC highlighted the importance of workforce diversity by quoting, “The strongest teams are those that are diverse even beyond race and gender — teams whose individual members bring varying perspectives that culminate from both professional and life experiences. These teams are even more effective when team members feel supported by each other and the organization.” In a study of 28 teams, heterogeneous teams solved complex tasks better than homogeneous teams. The diverse teams exhibited a higher level of creativity and a broader thought process. There has been a definite push in the direction of bolstering diversity at workplace worldwide. Before going ahead, it is very important to understand what actually diversity is. Merriam Webster defines diversity as: the condition of having or being composed of differing elements:  variety; especially:  the inclusion of different types of people in a group or organization or an instance of being composed of differing elements or qualities. Diversity is classified broadly as Surface level diversity and Deep level diversity. Surface level diversities are those differences which can be observed at the surface i.e. by simple observation. These are typically unchangeable and difficult to measure. Differences of age, sex, race, physical disability, etc can be classified as surface level diversity. Deep level diversities are those differences which cannot be observed at the surface. These can be measured to some extent and can be influenced by continuous effort. They are communicated through verbal and non verbal cues and often define the relation between individuals. Attitudes, Personality, Lifestyle, Beliefs and Physical & Intellectual Ability can be classified as deep level diversity. Diversity brings with it, its own benefits:

•   Adaptability- For an instance, if an organization aims to go for expansion, it generally recruits people from that specific location. In order to coordinate well with them, it serves an organization better to have someone from that place, somebody who can help the organization to manage its new workforce better.
• Broader Service Range- This seems to be a rather obvious benefit. The more diverse the teams are, the more customer needs they can understand and so on.
• Team Dynamics- Working in more diverse teams increases the employee’s team dynamics- working with different people and understanding them.
•  Learning- With the same type of people in the organization, the learning remain limited.

 The advantages are many and the list is not exhaustive.

Teams today are no longer confined to certain geographies, languages, cultures and not even time zones. Globalization has brought in people from everywhere to work together. In such circumstances, Diversity Management becomes the need of hour. Diversity Management can be defined as addressing and supporting values and perspectives of different individuals, promoting the same ideals and aligning the views of different individuals with the organization keeping the integrity of their systems and values unharmed and protected.

P&G in its Diversity and Inclusion Report, 2015 have set their mission to “Everyone Valued, Everyone Included, and Everyone Performing at Their Peak”. They have focused a lot on cultural, gender and disability diversity in their organization. The NASSCOM Corporate Awards for Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion are the only awards given out to the companies who invest in inclusion in their organizations. It has made a continuous effort in this direction and the nominations have grown up from 23 in 2007 to 104 in 2011 across 6 different categories. Infosys became the first Indian company to establish an office for diversity and inclusion.

A lot of emphasis has been put by the regulatory bodies and government too on the inclusion of differences at workplace. The Person with Disabilities Act, 1995 and The Right of Person with Disabilities Bill, 2014 can be steps by government towards the inclusion of disabled into the workforce. The New Company Law is considered to be a big push in the direction of inclusion of women in the workforce at the top level.

These are some of the efforts taken in the direction. The following guidelines can help the managers to maintain diversity in organization:

•  Recruitment, Selection and training process: The recruitment process should be extended to various educational campuses, not limited to certain campuses or certain educational background if the job description permits. The thought process should form the back bone of the selection criteria. Also, certain lapses can be met by training and constant scrutiny of the candidate.
•   Recognizing diversity: The first step towards diversity management is the recognition of differences, acceptance of the differences and working towards the inclusion of diverse people. One step could be setting up an office for diversity management.
•  Listening to different perspectives: We generally tend to ignore the ‘crazy ideas’ but it’s the crazy ideas that make history and make organizations big.
•  Encouraging mentorship networks: The mentorship programs can help an individual to discuss his/ her feelings, any instances of discrimination and any suggestions they can bring in to the organization.
•  Celebrating differences: Programs such as focusing on promoting women leaders can help inclusion of diversity of the workforce.
•  Encouragement and Appreciation: The NASSCOM Corporate Awards for Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion are the only awards in India focusing on diversity inclusion. Such initiatives can help foster diversity inclusion.
•  Regulations: Every company’s nominating committee should keep a check on the diversity of the Board of Directors at least. These regulations can be passed on to the lower levels subsequently.

Diversity Management is just like forming a team for a football or basketball game. We know certain players are good at offensive play and some are good at defensive play. We don’t ignore any; rather we use these differences to form a stronger team.

“We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.” – Jimmy Carter

The story of the ugly girl

She was a girl.She was an ugly girl.
Was it a fault?Was it her fault?

She lied in her cradle always.She sat in her bus alone.
She ate her lunch under the tree.She had no friends.
She was an ugly girl.

The only treasures she had:her enemies- 
her mother who was ashamed of her,
her father who worked hard for her dowry,
her aunt who had a beautiful daughter,
her classmates who teased her,
called her a monster.

Youth brought no hope.
She found a friend:a beautiful girl who pitied her,
carried her around,snatching her the luxury of being alone.

Her heart longed for love.Her beautiful friend got all the love.
She got all the longing.

She tried fairness creams. She tried beauty products,
She tried rouge and mascara.She tried trim and curl.
But She was an ugly girl.

She was a poet.She was an artist.
She was a fine orator.She went unnoticed.
She was an ugly girl.

She landed a singing offer,
She was afraid she might lose it,
The offer giver was a wise man,
He knew nobody would listen to her sing,
He asked her to stay in veil forever.
She agreed.She sang.
She got great success,
 She could never come out in open.
She was an ugly girl.

Once during a show, her veil flew away.
The crowd was astonished and disgusted.
She was an ugly girl.

She spoke out:
"The sun, the sky, the winds treated beautiful and ugly equal,
The Gods bless the beautiful and ugly equal,
Measuring a person's worth from looks is like measuring temperature with metre scale.
I am not beautiful but I am worth a lot and I deserve a lot more.
Today I set my foot down,
I will not take it any more.
Yes, I am an ugly girl but I am also much more."

Thoughts that keep me moving!!

Why be unhappy about something,If it can be remedied? And what is the use of being unhappy about something,If it cannot be remedied?- Dalai Lama

What goes around, comes back around.

Revenge is for fools, Karma takes care of all.( an interpretation of #2)

Whatever happens, happens for some hidden good.

Destiny is an if else statement triggered by our actions. So both destiny and action matter. the only thing you can control is the input. Focus on your actions. (Coder jargons)

When in a situation, feel it and let it pass. You don't laugh twice on the same joke, why cry over the same thing again.(Inspired by an awesome book-Tuesdays with Morrie-Mitch Albom)

life is not about how hard you hit, it is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving.- Rocky Balboa.

The whole universe is in your head. What you believe, will come true, so think good.( No, you cannot get Megan Fox)

You become strong, when you have no other option.

All of us, without exceptions, are born winners because we took birth. PERIOD .

You become a fool the moment you are scared of being a fool. Errors are a proof your code has started executing. You just need to focus on the error lines now. (ANother coder jargon)

Winners are simply willing to do what losers won't and that's trying(read on a guy's t-shirt in gym)

Patience with others is love, patience with self is hope and patience with God is faith- Adel Bestavros.

Under every grief and pine- runs a joy with silken twine.

Never stop questioning.

LONGING

Just long to see the raindrops on your brow,

skidding down to the place where my love grows,

those caressing hands, those prying eyes,

those loving hugs, those adorable lies.

that feeling of having you around
heals every pain, every wound.
those moving acts of  compassion and care,
those miles of eyes to stare.

the loving things you'd say to me
that would add all the sparkle and glee.
those flowing hair in the breeze,
and on my arm, that gentle mild squeeze.

Just long to feel those eyes on me,
Looking out of corners to catch a glimpse of me.
those caressing hands, those prying eyes,
those loving hugs, those adorable lies.

DRAGON MOUNTAIN PART 1

The waves lurched onto the hull of the ship lazying around in the Indian Ocean. The air smelled of new places, new people, adventure and  off course, tasted salty. The people were merry and brimming with enthusiasm, enthusiasm which was contagious. This was not my first journey on board ,sea bound but still it was not like any other.

 I was 16 and my heart had started to function as dual- To pump blood and not to pump blood. I sound funny. But this is no joke. I saw him in the Diner. He was sitting on the dinner table with his family. He was eating some leafy salad with a (cute) scorn on his face. Suddenly, he looked towards me and I looked away. My face was flushed with blush. After that, I never took my eyes off my platter.I was a very shy thing.

Two days passed. I didn't see him(It didn't matter.It was just a crush).On the Sunday night, there was a KARAOKE NIGHT and I was thrilled. KARAOKE nights are still a big favorite with me. I put on my prettiest floral dress and went to the Social Chambers. The air was all music and the room was full of people of all sorts.

Everybody was volunteering and had to wait for their turn. Some were singles, some were duets and there were some freaky rappers too. It was just so awesome. And then it was my turn, the tapes rolled and it was one of my favorite Bollywood Number. The crowd seemed delighted with my performance. I got quite a huge number of pats.It hurt but it felt nice.(Pun Intended)

The next day, I was standing on the front decks of the ship and I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and he was there. He smiled shyly and said , "Hi, I am Gotham. You sing very beautifully." and then smiled back sheepishly. I thanked him and then the conversation never ceased.

He was in his last year of High School too and this made us great buddies. Although, that was not the only reason.

That night, there was a huge storm at the sea. Our ship's compass broke, radio didn't function and we had completely lost our way. The whole night had been a nightmare. We had stood holding our bedposts. All the things were moving here and there, things were breaking, people were hurt. But the ship survived the storm. The compass was a goner and the propellers were in a sad state. Water  pumps were set up on the deck to drain the water. The crew was exhausted, injured and in despair.We were moving with the waves into the unknown expanses of the Indian Ocean. There was not even a single vessel to be seen. Land was nowhere to be seen.

Hour felt like days and finally we saw an island, a tiny speck on the huge canvass of Earth. It had a huge mountain to its center. Luckily, the ship sailed near the island. We were wishing for some human life on the island so that we could send a distress signal. What we saw the next instant shaked us from head to foot. The mountain unfolded into a huge green DRAGON with wings like a Housefly, webbed and transparent.

It flew direct towards the ship. All the people started to run towards the inner chambers.Within seconds, we were running inside the corridors of the ship. The dragon grabbed the side of the ship with its hind claws and rotated it by 60 degrees. We couldn't make out where to put our foot. All of us had hurt ourselves. The already torn ship was totally losing it. I felt trouble with my left arm. The pain was so awful and blood was oozing out from every place possible. Everybody looked equally haggard. Gotham was there, lying on the floor ,unconscious. I tried to move towards him when the dragon tore off the upper compartment full of people like unwrapping a gift. It threw the compartment into the ocean with people falling off like ants.

It suddenly dawned on me that mom, dad and my brother were sleeping in that portion of the chambers. Everything was blurring out. The dragon was using its numerous hands to pick people out of the ship into his mouth as if eating popcorn.

I remember his face, right in front of my eyes, looking for any signs of recovery. We were in some dark room. Everything was moving and jerking around. We just stayed close. It just kept happening for a long period of time. I had lost a lot of blood and was drifting every moment.

The next thing I remember is that, everything became very silent. There was only the sound of the sea and muffled cries and screams. And then the room fell, as if falling from a great height into water. We somehow kept steady. After it stopped, we kept frozen, fixed to our spots, for hours till we could gather the courage to open the door which was like to our side now. We were sitting on one of the wall. The door creaked open and there was nothing outside except water. Not a soul. Few days back, it was a huge ship of merry people, big chimneys, excellent crew and all the luxuries you could name and now, there was nothing.

We knew the end was near. We had no food, no water,broken limbs and no hope. We had lost our families. We had no idea where we were heading to. I looked towards the bare ceiling(which was a wall actually) and everything dissolved into zilch.

You!!

You define words for me,
You define those feelings,
In pen and paper I had seen them,
But never felt within.

You make me smile.
You' re always on my mind.
And these are not just words,
They now have a meaning.

I miss, I care, I cry for you.
Just don't want to lose you.
I'll never be able to tell you ,
HOW much I love you.
Just hope you can see it through my eyes.
You will sail through them to the 
Waters of my heart
Red with the color of the
Intense love I harbor for you.

What WE want!!

WE , the girls, the women, the ladies, the "mahilayein", the "auratein", the "ladkiyan", the aunties and the "didis", the "betis" and the "bahus", the endless clan, one half of the human population wants the other half,even the clan itself to hear what it wants. Centuries of oppression,submission and humiliation has to end. Till the day we relied on others, on their love, we remained oppressed.But, its high time now that we shout out to the deaf years.

According to the stats: "Majority of girls in the age 7-11 quote Maths as their favorite subject but by the age of 12-15 the count dwindles to even less than 50 %. The reason why only 33% of the world's techies are women. "

This is not irrelevant. This is where the differential breeding starts. The general words a girl hears is "Pretty girl", "My Princess", "Why don't you pick up some girly stuff", "Let your brother handle the lawn mower". It affects deep down inside the psyche of the kids.

The girl gets low on self confidence and the guy learns to treat girls like some weakling. This is where it all starts.

All the anti-rape laws, anti-dowry laws,domestic violence laws,protests, reservations are of no use until the very roots are moved.

We don't want reservations in schools and colleges. Just let us go there, we will touch the skies.
We don't want bus reservations, just guarantee us that we will not get dirty caresses to our body.
Give us a free world to breathe and grow and WE will rise to glory.

We Love and We Fight.

  

 We had had a fight, he had given me a choice to move on and I told him "Its not an option for me. There is no going back after this." Why we fought is that, he just keeps very busy and doesn't find time for me. I am not complaining. I haven't heard his voice from a month. I don't know how he manages, but it kills me.

We fought and cooled down. I woke up in the morning and i saw his mail.The mail said ,

I miss you at night as I gaze upon the stars. I miss you during the day as clouds cover my sun .I miss you and want to hold you in my arms .I miss you so much, my dear, I feel no more fun. I miss your smile, your joy, your lips. I wish you would be here, my loneliness grips.I miss you every second, my love.

I saw this and slept again. When I woke up, I thought it must be a dream. I checked my Inbox again and it was really there. I was just so surprised at the gesture. He did not write it , but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that he actually missed me and took his time out to Google "I Miss You" . 

Neuro guys say that there are two sides of our brain. When you are emotionally overwhelmed, one part gets so busy with the situation that it is not able to coordinate with the other part of the brain which is responsible for speech. As a result, you just fall out of words in any overwhelming situation. I just cannot find words for the feeling I had when i saw the mail. It went all fuzzy in my brain...LOL.

i don't know why I love him. He doesn't pamper me, he doesn't talk to me (I would call the communication poor),he doesn't make me feel wanted. In short, none that a girl wants. But I know his love is true and selfless and it just drives me on. I only know how difficult my side of the journey is and he knows his. I just try not to make it more difficult for him.

Turbulence

The train became airborne and sped spiraling along the steel pipe, never moving more than a foot away. The people were running helter- skelter to their tiny refuges and staring at the massive bodies moving in the air with mouths agape and eyes full of horror.

It was yet another day in the city of Amritsar. Yet another day, till this happened. Amarjeet was sitting on the  floor looking at her mother making aam ka achar (mango pickle) with that content concentration. She had always seen her like that, content in the routine of routine things. It was her world, her own little world, well removed from the games of the WORLD. She saw the Phulkari (embroidery) hanging from the wall which her mother had made for her 2 months back.

 Her dad was watching the special news feed on the Indo - Pak crisis. Two days earlier, the Pak Army had started marching inside the Indian territory, crossing the LOC into Rajasthan's remote villages. The whole country was ablaze with anger. Her dad came out of the room, blurting abuses and curses for the Pakistani administration. Her mother said " Calm Down! You will ruin your health. What do we common people have to do about the doings of these Vadde Loki (Big People). " She picked up her container of pickle and climbed the terrace to put it out in the sun to ripen up. Her dad also went to the terrace to have a look at the freshly made pickle.

Amarjeet decided to stay back and savour the taste of the mango which couldn't make it to the pickle. She heard her mother and father talk about random routine things and then came the distant hum of the train which used to move about in that part of the town with its steel pipe running just next to Amarjeet 's house.
It was the year 2104 and trains no longer ran on tracks. They ran in the air apparently. The steel pipes housed huge electromagnets which made the train float in the air. It was a routine thing. But there was immense hue and cry. She went upstairs to check it out and just couldn't believe her eyes.

This time the train was not alone. It was far away and there was another thing flying behind it. The train left its normal tread, of going straight and started taking gigantic confusing spirals around the steel pipe. Just when it came near Amarjeet's house, a thing emerged from inside the steel pipe and engulfed the train. The thing which was coming behind the train was a missile. As soon as the train entered that huge shield- like thing , two mini missiles came out and blew away the bigger missiles. There was a huge explosion and bits of shrapnel flew in all directions.

She saw her mother and father die in front of her screaming in agony and despair. She got a tiny piece in her left arm but was just injured. The pain was great but the loss greater.

However remote the things may look, they will always affect us in the end. We have to act for anything that is happening to any person on this planet because one day or the other, we may have to face it.

P.S. All the characters and places mentioned above are fictitious. Any relation to any person, thing or place is purely co-incidental.

How it all began!

Its olways nice to write. I left the habit somewhere in the midst of all the not-so-productive things.
But, as they say
                   
                       " Subah ka bhula agar shaam ko ghar laut aye to use bhula nahi kehte"
                              ( You're not lost if you find your way back home by evening)


Thanks to some very amazing people and the conducive environment the company bench provides. I have all the time and all the inspiration in the world.

I don't have any specific things to write about as of yet. Still, I will share the joys of writing with you.
I started off writing as an accident...LOL. Yes, that's true. I was in the sixth standard. My house-mistress told me she had put on my name for a Creative Writing Contest in the story writing section. I was just so surprised at the "suicidal" act. Maybe, she saw a knack in me for writing. I  got a bigger shock in the contest itself when I was told that I was sitting there for a Poem writing contest.
         
I recalled all the poems I knew and the only thing I could gather about poems was that they had a rhyme scheme.I took out my palette o'words and wrote a nice song on trees and nature. Song because you could actually sing it. To my utter surprise, I was awarded the third price for my MASTERPIECE. I had actually forgotten about the contest because I genuinely had no expectations. Thanks to the wonderful lady for making me realize the power I had in my hands.

Writing has become my soother, my stirrer, my escape, my friend. I have something to turn to when nothing seems right, when I want to say something, when I want someone to listen, somewhere I am not judged. I can be weak, crib, exaggerate or anything that I am. Also, I realized I had power which can move mountains and hearts all equally. After - all,

                      "The Pen is Mightier than the Sword" - Edward Bulwer-Lytton

P.S. I wish I could find that Masterpiece but i know it ain't possible. :(

believe !!

Though i am not very old, but what my experiences of my life or should i say the gradual tread has taught me...things are the way u c them...!!!.u know y science never found an answer to things which we have seen happening in our real life...its the belief...what u believe in..always happens to be true for u!

believe in sumthing and it will surely happen for u...be it anything...the other day there was an issue bothering me..i wrote it on a piece of paper...bound it on a rock and threw it in flowing water..and the issue was drained out of my life...just bcuz i believed in it!

Belief creates the actual fact.
William James

It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.

Muhammad Ali