How I nearly lost:

I started this blog as a reflection of me, my thoughts, my hopes and everything about being Vinayak Gole. But somehow, somewhere in the middle, I woke up. This was not what I meant to do!!! My blog and my words were meant to reflect my thoughts and not popular thought. But in this mad rush to win page views, I had nearly sold out.

But yesterday, I realized, that I was meant to be me and not anyone else. And a verbal dual with my superior by rank played catalyst. I realized during that tussle of egos that I would not bend, not just to please any one. As long as I was right and held on to my values, I would stand for what I am. So, if that was the case, why chase page views? Let me chase my thoughts, my hope and my fears.

Rocket Singh: Winning need not be competitive

Saw Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year after quite a while and I stood just as impressed. The movie is just as inspiring and could not have come at a better time. In a world run over by an extreme competitive streak, the movie stands out for preaching something just as opposite. I had been impressed the first time I had seen it and had written about it here. And today when I was able to view it again, it definitely stood out just as hard hitting and impressive.

Be Yourself:

I am a huge fan of Tom Morello. Though I am still heartbroken about the break up of RATM, I still follow Tom. And since Audioslave is the conglomeration of some great musicians including Chris Cornell, I did decide to check out some of their songs. A particular song caught my attention, "Be Yourself". And it was more than the music and the lyrics that I found very distinct. In addition to the fantastic guitar wizardry of Tom and the extraordinary vocals of Chris, I found the title of the song, very very interesting.

Ever since we are born, we are told to compare our lives with someone else's. Why can't you study like your brother? Why can't you play like your friend? So on and so forth. And the story continues as we grow up. Always living a life that does not belong to us. The temptation though still exits, doesn't it? The temptation to Be Yourself.

The Hulk within us all:

The Hulk is a wonderful and unique superhero. An uncontrollable monster living within the calm and banal being of the brilliant Dr.Banner, he is feared by friends and foes alike. But then, who would want to be friends with such a monster? That is a different issue.

The first two instalments of The Hulk franchise had Dr.Banner struggling with his incapability to control the monster. After zeroing in on his anger as the catalyst that triggers the emergence of The Hulk, the Doctor tries everything from solitude to meditation to calm himself down. The point I am trying to make here is, The Hulk is the anger. Destructive, uncaring and confused. Isn’t this how we see ourselves when we are infuriated? Anger makes us go blind, when everything and everyone seems to be conspiring against us. Who would want to be friends with such a monster?

Why you should never pad up your CV:

It was my morning newspaper run and I remember reading something about Yahoo! CEO Scott Thompson having to resign over some row over his fudged up CV. Now that isn’t so bad that a CEO has to resign, I thought. There was more important news to read. The stock market was headed nowhere and the government was coming up with more taxes. And I did not even own stock in Yahoo!

After a gruelling day at work, just as I was about to leave, I was asked to interview a candidate on an emergency basis. Armed with a very impressive CV, he had started a scuffle among project managers as to which of them would win him over. The CV covered almost everything anyone could ever mention about SAP. Something was wrong here, I wondered. Years of experience and the amount of knowledge seemed to be disproportional. As I opened the call, I realised the truth in the first couple of minutes. Just knowing about terms you mention in the CV does not justify you have knowledge of it. The interviewer knows. He knows.

And I could suddenly find a link between the CEO and this entry level guy. Though the two cases cannot be compared, the effect was still the same. Different causes, different reactions but the same end.... Rejection.

How I stole a child’s childhood:

He played along. All of 8 years, he found things to play in everything he did. He jumped over the stones in the ground, smiling and laughing as he rushed from person to person. Singing to himself, he spun round as the wind struck him, as if the wind was playing games with him. I watched him with amazement, wondering how little it took for a life to be happy. His tattered clothes did not matter and maybe he did not even remember his hunger. I watched him, jealous, anxious and with a smile on my face. How lucky you are, I thought, to have found happiness.

And then.....crash!!!

Mother by any other name:

Technology has evolved. People have evolved. The world overall has evolved. Traditions have changed, relationships have changed and even mindsets have changed. Human evolution has not only been with respect to adaptability of the body but also a complete overhaul of the mind. However, the one thread that bound us thousands of years ago, still holds. The one word which most of us learn to utter when we first learn to speak….Ma.

Life

And isn't this how life is? Complicated and wound up in circles and yet...so colorful. A myriad mixture of the best and worst of colors signifying the best and the worst times of our lives. Life indeed is beautiful.

The Third Eye

The Kumkum of the Indian woman, also symbolizing the third eye. The mark of the divine, the Goddess. I don't know what the inspiration behind this sketch was but it did come and it came on Mother's Day. 

The Invisible Ganesha

It's not just surprising but amazing how the Lord Ganesha manifests himself in so many of my drawings. I wouldn't call them drawings or sketches, they are just doodles but then I just flow, I flow as if there is an invisible hand holding my hand as I just splash the colours across my phone's screen. And the result, is this!

The Kosmic Eye

This is something that came out. I have no explanations to it. Call it abstract, call it the universe expressing itself through my eyes, I have no clue what this is about. But I prefer calling it the Kosmic Eye. A combination of Karma and the Cosmos watching over everything we do, everything that we are and everything that we have become. Its the Eye of the Creator, forever alert to all the Good and Bad in this world.

The King’s Problem: What did we learn?

Every story has a lesson in it. And some very valuable lessons. The very concept of story telling started as a means of imbibing values and spreading the learnings to the coming generations. And likewise for this story. It would be unfair to take the story as just another sheet of words about a King going bald. Instead, we need to explore what the story has to offer to us in relevance to everyday life.

The King was a just ruler until he fell for the trivial problem of baldness. Almost all of our problems emanate from the fact that we do not accept. Baldness, acne and a hundred physical problems, tend to rule over the real problems in our everyday life. I have written earlier about how accepting our problems as our own can make life simpler and easier to live by. But as always, we forget to accept.

The King’s Problem: The cure:

Continued from The King's Problem:

The Minister was perplexed. How could such a wise and just King be bothered by such a menial problem. But he also knew that the strongest of minds almost always lost to the meekest of problems. And he knew he had to find a solution.

“Sir, how about making an announcement for a prize? That would bring the best of the medical practitioners to the Kingdom. A cure would definitely be found. And meanwhile, the council of ministers has some very pressing issues that deserve attention, sire.” The Chief Minister had deftly tried to divert the King’s attention from the hair loss to the affairs of the state.

“Fantastic idea Chief Minister! Make the announcement instantly. Announce for 50000 gold coins to the one who is able to cure me. However add a clause that, if any doctor fails, he will be beheaded immediately.”

The Chief Minister stared at his mistake in front of him. His attempt to get the King back on line had backfired and snowballed into a horrible catastrophe. Now this was something, he was determined to avoid. No lives would be lost because of him. But how could he prevent the loss of lives. The King had spoken, and going against his wishes would amount to treachery. The Chief Minister took the King’s leave wondering.

The shortest story:

A thought struck me today. How much do we need to write a story? Can a story be told in a single sentence? Maybe so. And so I thought up of some stories....
1. And she just walked away......
2. It was the cruel smile...of success
3. It never dawned that day
4. Sometimes you need to lose to win.