Its not the information but the planning and scheduling that matters

Some months back I used to think that given proper information things can be done easily.  I always felt that we should get as much information as we could to get the things done right. 

Recently I chose to change my mind when I came to know that information is easily available all over the world, and more in the IT context world wide web, and you get any thing you need just in some clicks.  Now the real things that matters is how you plan to assimilate the information and act on the things to produce deliverables.

Tushar Joshi, Nagpur

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Belly Club

Recently I joined this club. I was slightly conscious, afraid of my appearance and was dyeing to get out of this belly proportions. When I saw all around me most of the men my age have the same proportions of belly. Wow I said to me, this belly club seems a big club and I welcomed myself to this club of men having healthy :) belly.

I still have the same feelings about cutting down my belly and I also instruct myself each morning that I must exercise to do something about this thing.

The fact of life is I now have it. I have knowingly or un-knowingly joined the club and should accept it. So I have accepted. It changes your perspective of looking towards life. It changes your dressing habits. It changes you.

May be some day I will get out of this club then that will be the time to write another blog post about the experiences I may have gathered in this club.

Regards

Tushar Joshi, Nagpur

No Looking Back

You keep a way to fall back and you will always try to fall back. When you keep no way to return back to the secured place you only remain with the option to fight the situation ahead or die.

This way lead to success in either options. If you remain no more it is better than living as a defeated warrior, and if you win you live a pridefull life.

Puppy feeling

I was about to leave for home when I saw a small puppy running towards me. Puppy was very lovely and looking vulnerable and lonely. I can very well read this from the innocent eyes.

Puppy was asking through meaningfull eyes to pick me and take me home. It was obvious that the winter was not good for that little one.

I still couldnt do much for the sweet little one. I felt very helpless and cruel to part with the puppy while moving away from the office premises. God bless you was the only emotion I had for that little being.

regards

Tushar Joshi, Nagpur

Nagpur Birds

Nagpur Birds is a pleasant site for all bird watchers and lovers. It is maintained by Dr. Tarique Sani and Swati Sani. This is what they say about their site

If you are a bird lover this website will change your views about Nagpur... You will find here the complete checklist of birds for the region within 30 mins drive from the city and loads of photographs to prove it.

An annotated checklist of birds is available for download in PDF format for your records. There is also a brief checklist, which can be used to record your field trips when in Nagpur

regards

Tushar, Nagpur

How to become interesting?

First Reaction
When you are delivering a workshop or lecture to students and they are not listening to you. I mean they are talking with each other slowly, some noises coming from middle and the end of the hall. The first reaction you have is anger. Next you can also feel pity thinking they are not worthy of what is being delivered.

Alternate Thinking
One second thought on this topic can be is my material really interesting and relevant to them? It might happen that they are in a different mindset and need to be neutralized first. Recently while conducting one lecture in a camp I found that the students are restless. Continuing the regular material has become useless. I took a different path. I asked them whether they are searching for something which has been lost amongst them. They replied NO. Then I inquired about the session, whether it was bore and uninteresting, and I received silence in answer. That was quite clear an answer. This was a signal for me to prepare more. Study more so I can make my lectures and workshops more interesting.

Conclusion and Lesson
I concluded at the end that my lecture was not effective. I need to make my lectures effective if I want to convey some message through the session. This way their time as well as my time is saved.

Regards
Tushar

Freedom of Speech

One of the Bloggers Gaurav Sabnis, received a "notarized" legal notice email for his writing blogs about a Jam Magazine News.

This seems a ridiculous effort on the part of the IIPM Institute to threat a blogger to refrain from his rights to speak freely. In response to this, the news spread in mails and I also received the news through mails and I felt strongly to support Gaurav.

Some Ex-IIPM student also posted a report of his feelings and about IIPM in his blog after reading Gaurav's blog.

It is shame that Gaurav has to resign from IBM due to the threats and consequences of his blog post. I admire Gaurav for his persistence and his willingness to stand by his blogs and prove that the freedom of speech *must* be respected.

Jose Castillo says:
So now this thing is ripping through the blogs at a mile a minute, IIMP is
the number one search on Technorati , there is a wikipedia entry about them and
there appears to be no end in sight. The entire web community is hopping mad
that IIPM thinks it can crush the free speech that they love.
Is there a
lesson here… if you are a major entity and you are accused of doing something,
don’t pick on the bloggers, especially if the accusations are true.
Think
about it… how honest are you.

Yeah! IIPM has become top search term on Technorati.

Regards

Tushar

And they say be productive

First of all they have put me into body of a man. On top of that they poured adrenalin, scripts, prejudices, madness, and perceptions to drive emotions.

They also took care that the body and mind should fairly get attracted to women around. May be the women be of any shape or size, only her being a women is all that works, then there is fame, appreciation, power to lure you all the time.

As a dressing they have not forgotten to keep some misunderstanding, some ego and some jealousy in the body so it can get distracted easily.

And they say now be productive.

Myths becoming truths

Story of the farmer
I have heard the story of a farmer who when asked by several thieves about carrying a dog when he actually was carrying a goat. Finally farmer got convinced that there is some ghost in the goat and the goat is either appearing him as a goat and actually it is not, or it is appearing as a dog to others due to some haunting ghost. And the farmer ran away leaving a goat for the thieves for the dinner.

Repetitive projection of lie as truth makes it look like truth
Yes, it does happen in our day to day life. When we see a young man, without any outstanding skills, wooing a beautiful girl by silly stunts; and ultimately the girl falling in love with him. Our young minds see this fact happening again and again in movies and serials and finally it is registered in the sub conscious that the life works this way only.

We see heroes and heroines getting success overnight and the efforts required for that achievement is never shown as there is no time for it and no need for a movie director. What happen is a message getting registered in minds that success is a luck factor and not a effort factor. That only some people can have the thing who are lucky as it is obtained over-night. The fact that, one has to work hard for years, make small achievements and then one can achieve great success can be read in biographies and auto-biographies only.

This is why I no longer watch serials on TV. Writing and reading is much better activity making me fresh and which gives me opportunity to think over what I read.

I couldn't touch the ball even once

Many have lost their possessions and lives in the heavy rain flooding in Mumbai. Still people are struggling to cope up with the forces of Nature.

I couldn't touch the ball even once
I remember the story of a football player who looked sad when his football team won the tournament. When asked he answered sadly that even though the team has won he couldn't even touch the ball, in the play, and now feels that he has done nothing for the winning of the team.

So friends like all other times this time also people will come forward and help others. People will donate money and give time for the needful people. Somehow we will win the battle of humankind with the forces of nature. But we should not have to repent later that even though the battle is won, I couldn't even touch the ball. This is our time to do something. An article written, a good word spoken, one concerning letter to a friend, some donation to the NGO, any thing what ever comes to your mind is going to work.

This is the time to show our friends that we are their true friends. This is the time to keep hope in ourselves and to understand that the most crucial help we can offer is our time and the actual presence in the affected areas, as a volunteer. I feel elated for the friends who can actually be there and help friends to cope up with the situation. This time also there will be loss, a huge loss of money and time. At least we can save relationships, we can strengthen relationships, friendships, and by showing that yes we are there we are present to be with them.

Even though I donated some money to the funds and called friends on mobile and land lines, still I feel my feet haven't touched the ball. Who ever can do this and doing it right now are people who have got chance to prove their human nature, their true inner character.

I have seen many people sitting in the balcony and saying nothing is going to happen and no help is given by the government and at the same time some one in the road below the balcony is clearing the debris and helping a man to find his belongings, without ever thinking of the governments' role in the situation. We can be at the balcony or at the road. I will choose road and every sensible person in this situation will choose the road. This is what I feel.

Tushar

Why some people are beautiful?

Many a times in my childhood I used to think why some people are beautiful and many are not so beautiful or even ugly? That question always used to crop up as soon as I saw some beautiful girl or some ugly person.

What is beauty?
Simple may it seem, but the question is difficult to answer. Now when I am a big boy, having seen many people so called beautiful and not so beautiful. What I have gathered is we have got an organ of perception and we try to get the feeling of all the things with our own perspective. If all people will have red noses then the people with non red noses will get labeled as ugly people.

Everything around us is beautiful
This is what I have summed up the answer as beauty is a relative term, what it appears now, when I am a matured person. When I feel someone is ugly, I get alarmed and re-think on my own opinion and I always end up liking that person no matter how ugly earlier I have felt to look at that person.

Remembrances of a movie
I always remember the movie "Mein Sundar Hoon" starring comedy master Mehmood. I always tell myself looking at mirror, that boss, you are very beautiful and I also tell some one each day that you are beautiful honestly. I am never wrong when saying you are beautiful to other person. Again as the term beautiful is very relative and the happiness getting spread by telling you are beautiful is worth spreading.

Tushar
(You are unique. Like everybody else in the planet - cherished line)

Who am I?

When I think of my existence in this world going away from myself, I see a city, a nation, a continent, a planet left behind. Then a galaxy, then a set of galaxy may be, towards an assumed infinite Universe. That time when I look back my size with comparison to these entities I suddenly feel I am nothing. Suddenly all my mundane problems leave me for some time and I am happy as a child. It feels good, real good.

The same is the case with books. Once I thought that I will real all books in this world. In a math class when I tried to calculate my reading speed and then figured out the scope of my desire I found it will take many reincarnations to do such a ambitious activity. Suddenly all my pressure was gone. I no longer feel insecure about so many books around and the fact that I have read very few.

Now I have a plan to choose what ever book comes to me and read it as I know no matter how many of them I read it will always be less. So now I read for pleasure of reading. I think the correct way I got atlast.

Tushar

Personality Development Camps

Exams over, April comes with Holidays
March end means summer holidays. As soon as the exams are over near April 10 all students will be having around 2 months of holidays. In Nagpur this season is for Summer Camps. Many are named as "Medha Samvardhan Shibir", "PreraNaa Shibir", "Personality Development Camp", "Confidence Camp" and what not.


Camp life is thrilling
I strongly believe that students should go to these types of camps, as these camps teach the students discipline, yoga, cooperation, time awareness, self respect and self confidence. All these qualities introduced in one package, is what makes these camps a place worth to visit once in a season.

You come to know others
The most important thing students get in these camps apart from all other things is acquaintance with many more students from different areas. This exposure is what makes them open up with their problems and build internal confidence.

First Hand Experience of Failure

I was told that there is a requirement for PHP programmer in a company. I announced this news in my PHP batch which will be finished till April 15th. I also told the students that when they will be going through the application process and interview dates, our course will be almost over. I also told them that we have talked with the company people and they are willing to hire even such candidate who is about to finish a PHP course under my guidance.

I was insisting one student to apply and proceed. He was hesitant and was making excuses about not to go apply and interview. I wondered how can somebody say so who is aspiring for IT field.

After some counseling he told me about some of his friends who appeared for interviews and due to less knowledge were fired and now are dejected. He was afraid of being fired. I told him to be afraid of something which hasn't happened with you in life is foolishness. This means other people are controlling your life. Your friends control your life. They got fired. There may be many reasons apart from the reasons they have told. And the most important thing is even if it is failure; you must have first hand experience of failure.

After saying this I told him not to be afraid and take the experience and then decide. We must keep experimenting with ourselves. Some day there will come "eureka" moment when our experiment will succeed.

Now I wonder what I said, even if it is failure you must have first hand experience of failure. I understand learning from other people's failures. But yes there are some places where we must have first hand experience of the failure, if it has to be, to get along and get tough.

When a friend takes you away

When a friend takes you away from your studies, then he cannot be your true friend. Times may come that your true friends ask you to spend some time with them, when you need to study. This is a crucial time. You have to say no to the friend. You have to show courage of telling the friend that if he asked to bunk studies then he is not a true friend. If he really is a true friend he will get the message quickly. Probably he will also join the study.

Friends who take you away from your health and study are actually enemies in a friends disguise. If I want to be true friend to somebody I always look if unknowingly I am taking my friend away from his studies. I have no right to ruin his life just for mundane happiness of temporary moments.

If you cannot change the peer group to behave in favor of study and health, either you have to be more influential to make decisions for the whole group or you must have the courage to change your peer group. Even form a new group with your own ideals.

Friendship is the most beautiful association on the earth if taken seriously.

Beauty is in the Eyes

"How beautiful is she looking today!" These were the words uttered by a mother for her 4 years young daughter. Only a mother can say something like this for that girl. For others that girl was a dark colored ugly looking girl. On top of that the mother had put a light colored dress on the girl. What a horrible combination!

When some one looks ugly to us, who should we blame, or held responsible?

When I feel someone is looking ugly to me, I get alerted. Am I having too much accumulated pride for my looks? I instruct myself that beauty is relative, and after some time I can see all people beautiful around me. (A Shallow Hal like effect.)

Bent Chin

A reserved girl
… She was having a different type, not normal type of chin. She was keeping her eyes towards the floor, so no one should notice the deformity. She was not mixing with friends, behaving like a reserved girl …

What really is beautiful?
If all the girls on the earth were having bent chin, then may be a girl with straight chin be called as a ugly girl! A thought crossed my mind.

Beauty is relative
Then why to worry for such a thing which is not in our hands? The people, who are having beautiful features, are having it naturally and they haven't earned it through their actions in this life.


So unnecessarily we should not flag ourselves ugly, or get dejected. Who will tell this to that girl? Will it be easy for her to understand this?

Glimpses of a Poem 2

Grace name is synonymous to mysterious words. Words with deep meaning and a internal rhythm. We not only get involve in the rhythm but also become overwhelmed with emotions coming from between the lines of the poem.

In his book "chandramaadhaveeche Pradesh", Grace has written a wonderful poem named "paauusgaaNe".

meghaa.nche kosaLatee parvat
daree ninaade door
gaav chimukaLe vaahoon jaaiil
asaa kashaalaa poor

Rain when takes the form of flood, it can take away all the things it has given us. Grace has achieved a dramatic effect of fear from the word mountain in the first line of this stanza. Most of the poems written by Grace are picturesque. They create an exact picture of what is happening in from on our eyes.

In the third line when he says tiny village, it efficiently expresses the awareness of nature's power of destruction. Yes in front of this nature we are really trivial, and tiny in size. When we think of our galaxy we get the feeling how small we are and then if we think about our arguments and fights between person and person we can understand how foolish we are.

The village is being carried away along water in the flood and the viewer is helpless with numerous question in mind about why me? Why me?

Each time I read this poem it creates a strange touchy feeling in me. Ok friends this is for today.

Flowers, Birds, You and Me - Mangesh Padgaonkar

Some years back I have tried translation of one poem by famous Mangesh Padgaonkar, from his great poetry book "BolagaaNee".

Flowers, Birds, You and Me

Flowers I have seen
since my birth…

Their color
Their fragrance
Rhythm blended
Their dance

Flowers I have seen
Since my birth…

Unexpectedly one day
You came with flowers
Without a word you smiled
Those were wonder hours

Since then their appearance
Was newer and loving for me
Together they all seem
As if they're smiling for me

Now I love each flower
Just for you
Like those pretty moments
Every flower seems new

Now I have for each flower
Sweet blossomy explanations
They have developed with me
Mysterious hearty relations

Birds I have seen
Since my birth…

Their floating
In the air
Lively smooth
Colorful layer

Birds I have seen
Since my birth…

On that melodious evening
Fortune was in my hands
I was in the sea of joy
Holding your shy hands
A bird was singing
Romantic tune that time
From the deep dark green lands

Now I want every bird
Just for you
Like those touchy moments
Every bird seems new

Now I understand
Birds in a better way
They are beautiful singing parts
Playing in my romantic play.

(original poem - phule, pakshee, too aaNi mee, by Mangesh Padgaonkar from his book bolgaaNee, swair anuwaad - Tushar Joshi, i.e. yours truly :-)

Glimpses of a Poem 1

Some words from the master of Marathi poem, the one and only "Grace".

paauus aalaa paauus aalaa
gaaraa.nchaa varshaav
gure aDakalee raanaamadhye
dayaaghanaa too dhaav

Second two lines of the stanza gives a drift to the whole poem, showing us the concern in the eyes of the farmer. See, when someone talks about cattle the place of the poem can be depicted easily as a country side, rural area, may be a "gaav" of some 100 houses. The real pain of the last two lines can only be understood when we substitute the word "gure" (cattle) with "mule" (children).

mule aDakalee raanaamadhye
dayaaghanaa too dhaav

For a farmer his cattle is just like his children so what children mean to us is cattle mean to him. Now feel the pain of dear ones in distress and your helplessness of not being able to do anything to save them. So the only place to ask for help is now the almighty who has created all the things.

The word "dayaaghanaa" chosen to call the almighty has deep meaning. Prayer is for god to provide help as we cannot provide help, even if we try. These lines exactly express our helplessness over the natural resources and their calamities.

Tushar
(mee aahe shabda haLavaa, shabdaa shabdaa.nnee phulaNaaraa, shabdaa.nchyaa hi.ndoLyaavar dhu.ndeet sadaa jhulaNaaraa - yours truly)