Gaming...ahem!!!

Not that I am particularly involved or interested in video games or computer games but it sure is an effective way to break the stress barrier…albeit it may have a counter impact.
But if you just dint know, computer gamers are likely to display exceptional business and technical skills.
Gamers probably develop the knack of multitasking at a stage much earlier than those who dont game :) and are more adept at it under stressful or challenging conditions.
“The people, who play games are into technology, can handle more information, can synthesize more complex data, solve operational design problems, lead change and bring organizations through change,”

In cases where it is assumed that kids/teenagers tend to become hyper active coz they devote or indulge a lot into gaming, video games are also being used in a positive manner ( e.g to calm down kids before surgery et al).

Findings:
Gamers are better risk-takers, show particular confidence in their abilities, place a high value on relationships and employee input and think in terms of “winning” when pursuing objectives.

In a discussion with my colleague who is totally into gaming when not working, says that gaming to an extent also describes the male psyche and the choice of games is different when it comes to different genders.
Men are likely to play games that involves shooting, risk taking, games that are fast paced, involve higher level of competitiveness and self assurance. On the contrary a woman/female would opt to play games that are adventurous but also involve, to some extent the human component and yeah, well they place a high value on relationships.

How about getting a really cool job coz you are a pro at gaming. You are selected coz you have been able to stay “hooked” and obviously you stayed put coz you did well, you structured the tasks. Gaming keeps things “pleasantly frustrating” and that’s the incentive that gamers have to go all-out for improving their performance.
And that forms the most important ingredient why you are preferred over others when it comes to hiring people as employees.
I may be off-base and the idea may not appeal you but then this is how many boats stay afloat.
It would be a sinfully unfair if I don’t mention about the love or more appropriately obsession that Japanese harbor for the video/online games.
Pachinko and Slot being the most famous games, playing video games on Nintendo or PSPs or Cell phones et al is a fad amongst the youth and even the elderly. Its busy gaming traffic at this end and the competetion getting fiercer and better.

Freshen up !

The place, the weather, the ambience, its the best combination of all these…the place is Kamikochi-Japan Alps.
To see, enjoy and capture the colors of fall(Koyo) I visited this place and what better place to get away from work, mob and the maddening metro life.
Absolutely relished the serene, cold, wholesome landscape encased with large volcanic mountains, Shallow River, and green and colorful flora.
The river (barely a foot deep) side was invaded with pebbles and my take away (apart from the most pleasant time spent) from here was to achieve multi toss stone throw in water…I feel proud about this.
The narrow, shallow, crystal clear river lures you but you will have to let go your temptations lest you wish to freeze…but I did succumb to my temptations and stepped in, but believe me it was all worth it.
The water, the place again…is unsullied beyond imagination. I had pictured such places only in photo-frames and art galleries.

After living in city like Tokyo where you have almost forgotten that sky is supposed to host millions of stars each night, it’s a heavenly to gaze at countless twinkling stars from the middle of the jungle. No interrupted synthetic light, no clamor, no race and no harm.
For any nature lover or even a mountain-hiker, this is a must visit, must indulge place.
The volcanic mountains still have fumes rising out from their craters and these just gels into blue skies like misty white clouds.
And if you are one like me, you would not miss a chance to have a camp fire beside your hut (very Japanese) and dance away to glory till your neighbors complain of the noise.
I wish not to part with these idyllic places and moments but then I have more to explore and relish, and as always there is always something that I can take back, my set of pictures and the memories of time spent and the experience itself.

Constant is variable...oouch!

Even the chana wala on corner of Nakano’s Minami-Indo street knows that my, okay our country is so full of diversities in-spite of overwhelming adversities.
He is amazed and so am I and so is my client who keeps wondering how the people of same demography speak the same language in so many many different ways.
M ia yum, L is yul, sh is ssss…
Gulf is Gelf, office is ooffise, what is whaaat and the list is just endless…practically every word is spoken in as many ways as the number of people.
We don’t follow a convention, we create one…each one creates one and is not going to accept that he/she may be erroneous in their usage of the language.
We have the Hindi English, the Punjabi English, the Tamil English, the Kannada English, the UP/Bihari or the Bhaiya English, the Bongla English, the Gujarati(Patel) English and no am not ignoring the Mallu English and there are, may be many more…
Only very few do really know that there exists a difference in the pronunciation between the words that begin V and W…well is as good as vell and its all wery vonderful.
My experiences with people form different regions of India has been funny (remember funny in Indian English is not just weird or strange but could be "rude"/"precocious"/"impolite").
The Punjabi English would make it difficult for you to interpret if the guy opposite you wants a bat or bet. Bet is as good as Bat and now this is a risky!
The “th” sound in “thing” has no residence in Indian English, it’s the dental ‘t’ followed by aspiration.
The funny (?) part is that the usage of English changes like striking speed of Shinkansen(metaphor that my friend came up with) when a guy starts talking to a girl.
The usual sentences that used to end with “yaar” suddenly end with “yaah”…yeah right, this sounds more posh huh, give me a break …get up guys, wash your face and face the truth.
Eg: “I am so tired yaah”/”dump him yaah, he is such a looser”…yeah choose this one with “yaah” annotation…another looser.
Bhaiya English, no established pattern followed. Speak what you think is right or just speak something.
Block becomes /bla:k/, pension is penson(I don’t know who’s son he is), there is no attention coz its all attenSON and shame becomes same. So if you get a “same” remark while in Bhaiya land,am sorry…wish I could help.
Bong Babu English, totally under the stress of sing-song strain.
What becomes bhat and bus is baas. Poison is paaigen and again the fun does not end and amuses me each time I have to understand what was actually meant.
Woah, now the Gujarati English or actually Englis, takes the super front seat where RAP becomes rape…I am offered snakes when I expect some snacks and the world is full of amaging people.
The Mallus who account for a major population of the Gelf are not ready to shet up (read Shut up). They work hard at ooffise and go hooorse riding over de weekend and dond you dare put their loyalty for Gelf in quesgen. You would find more of them in Gulf than in India…
So much diversity in the one language, in one demography, even the moderators are ashamed sometimes as to why they lacked so much innovation.
Its just crazy to hear the same word spoken in different ways attempting to convey the same meaning but who knows where and how it ends up!
Am still exploring the discrete usage of English in our country…if you have any inputs…please, Onegashimasu(please go ahead in Japanese).

Medley....doodley doooo

And when I met these geeks and the nerds…or the smart ass work-a-holics as I must say…
All work and all play, but how much does one work in comparison to the playtime invested.
I know with every penny gained there is a sacrifice worth a pound but when does the equation balance?
I want to be like them but I want to be ME.
As a kid I wanted to be a teenager to be able to dress fancy, listen to hip-hop and have my own personal space.
Then, when a teenager I wanted to grow old fast and get over with those mid-terms and public exams and the long and never-ending submissions.
Now that am older than a teenager(way too old) and have apparently gotten over the phase of taking exams, I wish I could go back in time…but don’t bother my work still puts me thru the examination fevers often putting my progress at stake…huh !
Each day in past seems so much better than the present and when I know tomorrow may be worse I’d rather make today happy for memories that I will have tomorrow.
The niche and cliché account so much for the state of being today, the being of one self that I just want to feel happy about what the present state is.

Every one I meet is a universal advisor and I myself never fail to extend a mouth full of words when some one mistakenly knocks at my door.
When I am cognizant of the gyan that I am ostensibly spreading, why do I seek for same gyan from other sources?
Guess it’s healthier to have second opinion or third or even more or I just want to be sure that I am doing the right thing.And the importance doing the right thing at the right time…yeah I know it.[another advantage being...I can share the blame incase of fault]
Burnt every single time I took backseat in taking the right decision at the right time and the right place coz those turned out to be wrong decisions at wrong time and the wrong place!
Another but...how do I know what is the right decision and the usual combination ?

Give this a thought !

You have your way.

I have my way.

As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Chase...

Chanakya...once saw a mother shouting at her son who was trying to drink the soup right from the center of the bowl where it is supposed to be hottest.
She suggested that he rather drink it from the edge first and then move further towards the center and overcome the heat and avert himself from getting burnt.
Now that’s a lesson for us to take…chase the problem instead of vice-versa.
To annihilate a problem, don’t try to uproot it right from the center instead win over the ones that envelop it and before you even realize, you would have resolved the problem…which is no more !
…Easily said than done…

Why, why , why and more why!!!

When its time to take decision why am I confronted with so many uncertainties or why do I have so many doubts?
I need to decide on what is more important in life albeit it’s not like one thing is less important than the other.
Want to do right things at the right time but what about those things that are already due or over the expiry date and yet incomplete !
I want to start afresh.
I want to be in the moment when I have nothing to worry or care about.
I am chasing every moment to find calmness in and around me…no more turmoil God…please!!!
I wonder if everyone feels the same or it’s just me who has myriads of thoughts jacketing my mind and heart at any given instant of time.
I want to, for once, think with my heart.
I want to feel the bliss in being foolishly emotional and not calculate every decision that I make or take.
Why should I think of analysis and rationalism in everything that I do?
Why don’t I crave for chocolates and ice creams and all those junk stuff like many others?
Why do I have to think of past and future?
Why, why of all things should I have so many questions?
Why not do something that I want to and just forget for that moment and experience the delight.
It would be like indulging in a huge chunk of ice-cream when I know I can’t endure the chill.
How I wish everything was practical and yet simple!!!

I am still learning !

I was once asked who my role model is and in theory I replied it was “Chanakya”. Like wise I came across people who have their role models as Hitler and not Gandhi…you got to believe me on that. I agree with this guy coz I don’t really believe in the so called principles of Gandhi and many others like…especially NO WAY in the contemporary times…it only works in Lage Raho….I personally loved that movie...NOM.
Later I just did some study and realized that am really in awe this Diplomat, author of Arthshastra and the Nitishastra.
‘The ends justify the means’ and the ruler should use any means to attain his goals and his actions required no moral sanctions”…as against Ghandhism!
A ruthless administrator but a king maker in the true sense who after a whole lot of humiliation from the ruler of Patliputra was not obsessed by the idea of revenge but wanted to bring happiness, security and harmony among the people. But all this not with some foolish and utopic idea but with his foresight and great academic background in politics and economics…forget about knowledge, the so called politicians in our country don’t even have the basic level of decent and moral education.

Am sure all would agree with Chanakya who said “Taxation should not be a painful process for the people. There should be leniency and caution while deciding the tax structure. Ideally, governments should collect taxes like a honeybee, which sucks just the right amount of honey from the flower so that both can survive. Taxes should be collected in small and not in large proportions".

But well…all the arguments and the jargons under the taxation structure remain cryptic and I default there in my understanding.

Why we only see problems raising, problem with the way the basic infrastructure that surrounds me, problem with my tax payments, problems with my movement in my very own town, problem with my dhobi wala, dhoodh waala and everything that I put my hand on or raise my eyes to!
Whom do I look for if I want a total annihilation of at least a % of these problems?

Why are men with such sharp acumen who belong to selfless creed and possess profound wisdom and foresight not borne these days, or if they are borne why don’t we see them, or if we see them, why do they vanish away in the mob while they should be there here to usher us in the right direction and build an egalitarian society!Am not satiated yet and I continue to work …learn more about Chanakya

Winters are ...

Winter-spring-summer-fall-and winter again. Summers, I waited for winters and now that its here I just realized how depressing winters can be in spite of it being the festive season.

Short days with little sunlight and before you realize, the day is almost over. I might sound morose but not really though! How many of us really know that winters can be actually depressing?

A wistful feeling comes over in late autumn, as the last remaining leaves drop, morning frosts cover the ground, and the sun sets earlier each day. Hot cider and the warmth of a favorite old coat may be all you need to face the coming winter with good cheer, but for many people, fall melancholy deepens to winter depression…
I wish not to fall prey of this, this time around and keep the cheer around. But how does one cope with deep darkness which swathes more than 16 hours of the day!