A Poem by Navdeep…. a wonderful gift on a birthday.

Posted on July 16, 2010 
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Shashkt saa pritibimb hun, sulag rahi umang hun
Kaal sa jo bah chalaa mein advitiya wo stambh hun,
Ulajh ulajh, sulajh sulajh, ruka ruka, chalaa chalaa
Hriday tarang, sulagi umang, Jag ka kaalajaa hilaa
Raah tang deh mridang phir bhi ufantaa hi chalaa
Raah key har mod pey nishaan kadam ka chodd key
Aatma ka prahari banaa key jism ko hun mein chalaa
Shashkt saa pritibimb hun, sulag rahi umang hun…
Haushley merey ney jo jaljalaa uthaya hai
Arazoo meri ney har raat ko jagaya hai
Tilmila uthi hai rooh jab bhi mein hun thakaa thakaa
Phir uthaa mein phir ladaa, lad key mein aagye badhaa
Tufaan ki aukaat kya, ki aankh mein bhi dekh ley
Phoonk dun mein har balaa, nashon mein jaljalaa chaley
Lapat uthey hai deh sey, rukaawatein jaley jaley….
Shashkt saa pritibimb hun, sulag rahi umang hun..
Safar ka yeh wo mod hai janhaa sey dekhtaa hun to
Antheen raah hai aur ravaanagi meri
Nahson mein hoshlon ka merey prlayy ka hi sailaab hai
Aaj ek saal hai, uth badhney ka khayaal hai
Aur bhi ufaan sey, shaan sey… shaan sey
Choti sey do aankhein hain jo ghoorati mujhey sadaa
Uskey bhi kuch khwab hein, sajaaney jo mujhey hi hein
Badan mera jo ho na ho, rooh meri jagmagaayegi
Hoshley bdhayegi, vishwash yeh jagaayegi
Shaskt saa pritibimb hun, sulag rahi umang hun…

Navdeep Dalal

Chakrata - The unhappening hill getaway

Posted on June 15, 2010 
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Chakrata, Tiger Falls and Vyasa Peak 

Chakrata is not popular yet in the conventional sense of the term when it comes to North Indian hill stations. It is conspicuous by its absence in the ‘Lonely Planet’ that is ubiquitous with any traveller.  The answer to that was evident shortly after we entered Chakrata – Foreign nationals are not allowed entry beyond Herbertpur (about 30 kms short). 

 A Non Happening place :

The best way to describe Chakrata and the nearby places is that it is a non-happening place. And that makes it the best thing as crowds are fewer, no mall roads that fill up in the evenings, the loudness is missing and there are far more hours per day that begs to be filled joyously!

 

Chakrata is reachable via Dehradun or Saharanpur or Paonta Sahib from Delhi. Herbertpur is the gateway to this rather unheard of and silent town that is about 2600 meters above sea level.  A couple of picturesque peaks reach as high as 3000 plus meters within a 30-40 minutes driving distance from Chakrata.

 Tiger Falls –

Have you heard of that name before ?  I got to know a couple of hours before we reached there that this is the second highest waterfall in Asia.  The visit to the location was a joy and an excitement in trekking.

 

I remembered a 4 hour long drive to a waterfall in the state of California about a decade ago. The most disappointing thing about the waterfall was the place itself.  The hype that the market-savvy societies generate and market themselves can be best illustrated by this rather disappointing trip to the waterfall whose name I have not cared to remember.  Of course, I have experienced this dozens of time subsequently in various first world landmarks.

 

By the same token, we must be self critical for being market-unfriendly to the point of being in stone age. The only sign board that shows the way to the Tiger Falls off the main ghat-way is a rusted iron board of about 2ft X 2ft.  The problem was the red-brown colour of the paint too to write on the rusted brown iron sign board J

 

Tiger Falls is about 130 feet high and provided a therapeutic bath. The mouth of the fall, when I looked up, was alluring enough for us to excite our three young guides (see pic against the Scorpio) to take us to the origin of the fall. They did not disappoint us. It was another trek that, we were told, is undertaken by very few visitors.  It took us about an hour more to reach the top of the waterfall and touch the mouth of the fall.  Nandu and Uma were equal to the task and made a trek that would have been vetoed by most of the home-folks and kids on an outbound trip like this.

   Devban and Vyasa Peak –

The legend is that the Deva would descend here for their meditation. There is an exclusive peak dedicated to the devamuni ‘Vyasa Maharishi’. A rock on the top of this hill has the inscription of the sloka – “vyasaya vyasaroopaya…..” from the Vishnu Sahasranamam.

 A Well Marked Map :

An enthusiastic army officer (name unknown) is attributed with marking out all the peaks that are visible from this spot. There is a well-marked directions that helps a layman like me to get a good view of the peaks including Nanda Devi, Dronagiri, Bandar Poonch etc,. (See pic).

 Bird Watching :

The local experts were right in guiding us about the richness of Himalayan birds that we were hoping to find. We could spot Himalayan Griffon (Vulture), Niltav (Flycatcher), Cattle Egret (Crane), Asian Open bill (Stork), Himalayan Swift (Sparrow), etc  (Check some of these pics). Needless to say, I had to consult my own in-house expert to populate this paragraph. J

 Pluck and Eat :

Peaches and Plum hang in the orchards that are unguarded. An unthinkable for city-zens like us. We were welcome to pluck and eat for the few days until the weekend crowd of three cars arrived from Chandigarh and Saharanpur. Promptly, the care-taker reversed his friendly invitations into a ban order !  However, we had had a fill of these fruits for a decade by then.

 

Yamnotri Glacier (the source of Yamuna) is about 90 kms further ahead from here. Not too far from the railhead (Dehradun) and yet one that offers all the thrills of a distant hill towns in the category of Joshimath is available here. The winter snow, we are told, brings in another category of excitement seekers for snow camps. Sounds like a good idea !

 

In sum,  if you are looking for that typical 3-4 day drive away from Delhi, ‘Chakrata’ can be added to your shortlist.

   Satya Narayanan R

IDishoom URL

Posted on May 27, 2010 
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http://www.idishoom.com/IcongoDescription/721/Satya-Narayanan-speaks-against-Corruption/10

Satya

Agassi Connects

Posted on May 23, 2010 
Filed Under Blog, Book Reviews, Career Launcher, Satya Speaks, Tributes | 1 Comment

Agassi connects 

I picked two books since I had to cover a lot of time on flights over the past week.  One was the autobiography by Andre Agassi while the other was the Satyam story by an Indian journalist, Kingshuk Nag.

 ‘Open’ – Andre Agassi’s story

Agassi Connects. Andre Agassi always connected. During the two decade long career on the tennis tour, Agassi was not one to be disconnected from followers of the game. There might have been people who hated him for defeating their favourite player while at times even his fans hated him for losing some games silly.  In between these, he always  connected positively with his attitude, talent, constant growth, some great battles, commitment to the game, longevity etc,. 

 

Agassi’s book too connected for me. In fact, this is one of the most well-written autobiographies that I have read recently. Surely among the best among the sportsmen for a long time.  Terrific job – AA or the ghost writer for AA!

 

AA’s hatred (may not be the most accurate way of describing it) for his father, his proclaimed dislike for Tennis, his clear-headed views on a large number of players from McEnroe to Connors to Pete Sampras to Leander Paes or Srichapan,  relationship with Gil, Stefanie, Brooke Shields etc, - they all make for a very insightful read.

 

The pain or the easy shrug after a loss, the sleeping on the floor, the gil drink, the over-simplified arithmetic of grand slam path put out by his father are all nuggets or anecdotes that embellish this body of work immensely.

 Admiration for Stefanie :

Being an ardent admirer of Steffi, I found this part of the story very interesting. Agassi’s unqualified respect and admiration for her is all pervasive. Incidentally, there is not one place where Agassi uses anything but ‘Stefanie’ for the lady. I found the reason interesting. The hardwork that he put in to win her over is very cute.  You are reminded of the fact that achievers are human too. His shaving off their son’s hair and Stefanie going ballistic on her returning home (that too in German) was very cute too. 

 Quite Antiseptic :

Overall, a very thorough research and process of building a life of success into a book is very evident. Champs do not become one just like that, we know!  One disappointment though -  I refuse to believe that the crystal meth is the only solitary episode of ruckus in the life of some one like AA.  While this one scandalous paragraph was what got covered in the media reviews,  I think there is a lot more that I expect from a life time as colourful and super-achievement as Agassi.  Even lesser mortals who go to a hostel for a couple of years will have more stories to tell.

 

Go, Buy. Worth having it on your self.

 

The Double Life of Raju (the Satyam Story) – K Nag

This book could have been a best seller that captures the most gripping corporate drama of the decade, if not the Indian corporate fraud history. The fall of an icon and his empire from ionosphere to the ground is what the Satyam story is made of. This unique and immense opportunity is squandered  by this effort of a journalist.

 

I was reminded of P Sainath’s critique of the journalists of this era in India – Digital Stenography. This body of work can be called something close to that. A copy-paste of newspapers or magazines is what it came through to me as.

 

There is not enough research that I could see in spite of the claims by the author at various places. Shockingly, at one place the unit of currency is incorrect making it look like a piece of sub-amateurish work (The value of India world acquisition was Rs 499 Crores not USDollars). I just hope I am right J

 

I was left feeling that the author was too scared of being beaten to the market by some other book and did the whole job in haste.  To grab the FMA (First mover advantage), as they say in the world of marketing. Alas, this is a damp squib.

 

I still think and actually hope that some one puts in a 2 year research in the Satyam saga and brings out a body of work that can go to the shelves of many discerning readers but also into the teaching of business and management students across the globe.

 

Sorry, Mr Nag.  I have always been a votary of being a positive critique. Yet, I found myself with the above appraisal at the end of my journey with the book.

  

Satya

  

Nippon - II

Posted on May 23, 2010 
Filed Under Blog, Satya Speaks | 2 Comments

Nippon - Part II

 

Super fashion Society

In most places that I have travelled to, I have found people and their dressing as an engaging piece of information. You need not go searching for it. It is in your face. It is inescapable.

 

Tokyo appeared to be a super fashion conscious society. Of course, what one would expect in a super-developed economy. While women are always well-dressed in most parts of the world, Japanese men too seem to be spending inordinate mindshare on looking good. A significant percentage has their heads well curated.  I am told Venuezuela beats most countries when it comes to women’s fashion.  Am waiting to get there some time and see. But, it might not be an exaggeration to say that the Japanese well-dressed girls make Indian girls look like simplicity personified !

 

Bullet Train – A Ride

One key task that we had chosen was to board and experience a bullet train. GP and I managed when we took the day off to go visit Mount Fuji at Hakone. The experience from inside the train is similar to our own Shatabdi. However, when got down and saw another ‘Shinkansen’ (Local name for the bullet train) go past in the station, we saw what it meant. It was like a tornado through the platform in a micro-second. We managed to not get blown along by the tornado!

 

Pin Drop Silence

The city came across as a city of pin-drop silence. No one speaks in any place. They are pre-occupied in their hand-held devices playing games etc,. No honking on the streets. Very few car for a city of this size. No shouting / fighting / backslapping on the streets. Of course, I was suffering from the chaos-index back home.

 

Density – People and cars

Tokyo is a 20 million population city. I reconfirmed this fact when I did not find as many people as I should have. On day one, I attributed it to that being a Sunday.  But, I have not found enough people at all over the past week to reflect the population density that we have heard about.

 

The other thing that I found missing was cars. Or parking lots. In a place like Delhi or Mumbai, there are cars every where and we find roads once in a while. In Tokyo, I kept searching for cars on the roads. No where.  The public transport is amazingly well networked and is super efficient.  Delhi Metro can get to Tokyo of today if Mr Sreedharan continues at the helm for the next 10-15 years with the same amount of funds and execution mandate.  Nowhere was the station more than a few minutes of walk. We did not have to hire a cab even once for our city trips.

 

Just one illustration – the Chairman of a company with a multi-billion dollar market-cap and his entire senior management that we met travelled by local metro to meet us for the dinner.  And we too travelled the length and breadth of the city on metro while visiting their offices / businesses. Incidentally, the VP in this company owns a Lexus. Of course, I did not venture to ask which car the Chairman owned J

 

Smoking and Mobile

Every society has some things that are strange to a newcomer and almost inexplicable. One such thing about Japan pertains to the way they view smoking. You  find people smoking anywhere and everywhere. It is not disallowed anywhere. So, you find them smoking inside a train (air conditioned), in a five star hotel, in buses, in offices. In fact, the places where smoking is not allowed is mentioned specially. I am told by local friends that Japan is a smoker’s paradise.

 

On the other hand, mobile usage is disallowed in public transport. Prominent posters urge you to keep the phone on silent mode and not to disturb other passengers by speaking. Can u imagine that I put my ultra-modern Nokia on speaker mode in India since it does not work otherwise J  (Nokia, Listening ?).  No wonder, Nokia is not doing great business in this far eastern country !

 

Palika Bazaar and Pahar Ganj

We are experts at finding the place for the best deal, as Indians. We were successful here too. We found the local version of the Janpath or fashion street or Palika bazaar. We put our best Karol Bagh skills of negotiations to work for us. In Tokyo, these markets go by the name of Akihabara and Ueon respectively and managed to grab a few things for the kids so that we get our entry back into our homes with little negotiation.

 

Sayonara

Satya

     

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