Even at Vedanta - Its a RAT race

For someone having gone through 12 years of school, 4 years of graduate course, 2 years of post graduate course and 3 years in the industry i.e in total having 21 years of serious education, academically as well as in industry, the least he can hope for is that at the doctoral level application, he will be spared the pain of writing another competitive exam. But it seems that the doyens of academic education are sadists who take pleasure in seeing even 300 odd people battle it out for 40 odd seats.

It is quite understandable that at the UG and PG levels, the number of people applying for seats is humongous , so much so, that the funds generated through application fees itself runs into hundreds of crores. At such a juncture , it is logically to have a gauntlet which will act as a filter to separate the husk from the grain; and in most cases it is effective.

But when the number of people are a few hundred, for a programme that although sought after is not a necessary qualification for the majority of the crowd, when the people who apply to it must have done so after serious consideration about their own capabilities and future prospects, it seems illogical, or rather, irrelevant to put them through another competitive examination.

It seems to send a wrong signal to the world - "Even after 21 years of education, you still need to prove yourself, rather than be given a chance for having proved yourself till now." How about having a face to face discussion with them all, all 300 odd of them?? its a daunting task, but its well worth the time since you will understand your candidates , the people who chose your institution all the more better, helping you fine tune your requirements to the people you want to have in your institute in the first place.

But I guess we live in a square world, where a well rounded idea has to be shaped into an existing box. Its a Rat race even at the end of knowledge. 

B-C-D

Its been a while since I have put pen on paper (e-ink) , partly due to the fact that I was busy searching and adjusting to the new state of equilibrium and partly because it was my choice to do so. Choices, I have realized is all that there is to life. To give a very technical analogy, choices are like an Turing's Algorithm. The next state purely depends upon the previous state. The same choice, made at different times in different circumstances, lead to different results. Sometimes the resultant state is the state in which you had originally intended. Sometimes, it is a different one because even after all the variables you analysed, the outcome was not something you could control.

However, the irony of life is that people think if the choice is the same, the result should be the expected one, no matter what.

Take, for example, the choices I made over the last several months. Some I cherish, some I regret, some I ponder and some I wish I had made. Choices in friendships, work, health, family, emotions, words, actions. Every choice let to a state and every state led to another set of choices.

Choice to work in an MNC didn't pan out very well, choice of friends did, choice of city was not in my control and choices made in interest of health were a mixed bag. A choice is like a drop that creates ripples, you know where it started, but you don't know where it will end, or how it will end. Choices affect us on different planes of existence, be it physical, emotional, mental or spiritual.

And thus, happiness and sadness is also a matter of choice.  In fact, a greater control can be exercised over the mental state. It may not be in your control if you are short , or tall, or fair or dark or dumb or intelligent, but it is your choice to be happy the way you are.

We are our choices, no doubt in that; but are we able to live with our choices? Some people cannot. There lies a serious pitfall. There is a saying "the hind sight is always 20/20", but one does not always have the courage/mental fortitude to live with the choices. When I say live with the choices, I mean that one can accept the choice made in good faith, learn from it, and be able to make more choices without the previous ones haunting him.

To apply this in real life, it means that one should not hang onto the remnants of decisions made in the past, nor be afraid to make decision in the present. And which every decision you make, no matter what the outcome, the mental state may fluctuate for a while before it comes back to equilibrium, but it should come back to equilibrium. An equilibrium where you are at peace with your decision, with the result and at ease in making the next choice as well.

This is where the categories of people are defined
1) Those who are afraid to make decisions
2) Those who make decisions and regret it
3) Those who make decisions and accept it

People in the 1st category are the ones who live a petrified life. They may or may not be in an ideal state of being, but they are afraid to challenge, choose and change as they fear that the new state would be worse than the existing one.

People in the 2nd category are the ones who are unable to live with the consequences of their actions. They are happy when their choices are in their favour, but they take it hard if the choice goes against them and lose the confidence in making more choices. Eventually, they deteriorate and fall into the 1st category of people.

People in the 3rd category are the ones who have achieved a certain fortitude in handling the consequences of their choices. They take the results head-on , be it favourable or adverse and learn to live with it, and continue to make more choices.

This ability to adapt, accept and appreciate changes makes their life more fulfilling, flourishing and flavourful.

I wont say I am a perfect fit in any of the 3 categories, but have semblance of each one of them. I hope I achieve the 3rd state of being, but that again, as I said, is my choice. 

Fix It

When the snow is falling

and the fire is low

you fix it

when the rain is lashing 

the ceiling has holes

you fix it

when your car is running

and the tyre is shred

you fix it

when you're going to a party

and the button is missing

you fix it

But when the heart

is split in two

when two of you

had a bloody feud

when the words were sharp

and the heads hot

and life doesn't feel

worth this part

you....fix it.

Love and Pain

There are thoughts I cannot think
There are words I cannot write
There is love I cannot feel
There is life I cannot lead

As light comes before thunder
love comes before pain
The flashes of happy memories
precede the thundering rain

Just as a wound takes time
to mend and to heal
our numb, broken heart
takes time, to once again feel

The wise old veterans
softly say "This too shall pass"
While the green young ones are still
picking up the shattered glass

Love and pain go hand in hand
Much alike the Yin and Yang
A little this in a larger that
Or a larger that among a little this

If you are going through hell
Keep going and stop not
As you will find, life is about
Going on.... Inspite off...

2014

Another year has gone by
Giving as much as it took away
Happiness , sorrow, joy and laughter
Moments to take your breath away

Teaching us the lessons of life
Letting us fall and rise again
Holding us steady in tumbling times
Unleashing our spirits again

Walking through the sandy beach
Picking up the shells by chance
Throwing away a rare find
Ignorant of its true pride

Some fell in love, some out of it
Some made new friends, some broke it off
Like a puzzle with missing pieces
Trying to make it all fit
Making sense of it all

Some started on a new journey
Some returned from a long one
One embarking to onself find
Other returned with wiser mind

With ups and downs the year flew by
making new memories and forgetting some
Putting again a soothing salve
on those wounds of long by

Another year has gone by
Some will cherish while some will sigh
Looking ahead to things new and unseen
Welcoming year 2015.

Heaven and Hell

I have thoughts I want to tell
let me put it nice and well
life is a path we all need to walk
some just walk and some just talk

but this is not about what is said
but this is about what lies ahead
a meandering path through heaven and hell
in which we all walk for a brief spell


while all paths are not the same
some might take a longer lane
some will go through ice and flame
while some will walk on wider plane

some will meet some fierce monsters
which will need some grit to defeat
while some will enjoy a quite sojourn
drinking water and berries to eat

and then the world turns topsy turvy
the path will turn,sharp and curvy
the unknown shall again arrive
needing some grit to again survive

when heaven turns to hell one cannot tell
on one foot the world is shining bright
the next one brings a scorching blight
while another brings joy and delight

while going through hell, keep going
while going through heaven, keep going
the path does not end in heaven or hell
when it ends.... only time will tell

The Days Gone By

While watching a child on the train
giggling and laughing at the pouring rain
hearing a lazy yawn and a shrieking cry
I wondered... How the days have gone by

From splashing in a rain made slush
to watching it fall from an office plush
From leisure dinners to a quick burger and fries
I wondered.... How the days have gone by

From getting dirty playing all day long
to doning ironed clothes, whistling a song
from untied shoelaces to suiting up a tie
I wondered.... how the days have gone by

The merry laughter and the innocent glee
that came from licking an ice slushee
to having a martini neat and dry
I wondered... how the days have gone by

We vowed to grow up one day
and for that we prayed and prayed
and that we are all adults now
We wonder... where those days have gone and how