Random Thoughts

" Life's a box of chocolates, Forrest. You never know what you're gonna get!!" Forrest Gump is one of my favorite movies. Perhaps because I was as (maybe I still am) "stupid" as Forrest is. Perhaps I like the concept that there is hope and that the fact that one can shape one's destiny through some  bit of luck and some bit of hard work! Isn't it why the saying 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration is what success is made up of? But the question is can you shape your destiny without any element of luck? Well I do believe that however hard one might work, there is always an element of luck. Things that are beyond our control for instance make chance play a huge role. Some times it is sheer timing, sometime you are at the right place at the right time or may be at the wrong place and at the wrong time. But what I believe is that one should take what life has to offer, swim with the tide, sail along and enjoy the journey because when you reach th...

So here i am, knocking the doors of the next decade to be. The first 30 years have been spent so fast. It seems that it was only a few weeks back that I gave my class 10 board exams and joined a new race, the race of life. There after it has been a marathon of sorts. So many things and memories in the past decade. College, graduation, job, onsite, fighting to get ahead in life, GMAT, CAT, MBA, USA that could have been, IIM and finally getting married. The decade has started well for me. Marriage and relocation to Sydney. The coming decade is going to be a very significant decade. New responsibilities, new challenges and many things that i cannot foresee at this moment. All I want to wish is that I have a full filling decade with no regrets. New life, new era, new beginnings. Learn from the mistakes and move ahead!

Wishing everyone a very colourful, fun filled, bright and prosperous diwali.  May goddess Lakshmi bring  health, wealth and happiness in your life.

Life has entered a beautiful new phase. A phase characterized by verbs such as bonding, caring, loving,  knowing, sharing and discovering. I still remember how just the thought of sharing your life with someone else would make me nervous and paranoid. But off late I have realized that each phase of life has its own merits and charms and we must enjoy things as they come. Life is beautiful and happiness is real only when it is shared! After all life is a pursuit, a pursuit of happyness. It is a journey with an end destination but if one does not realise the importance of enjoying the journey then there will be disappointment at the end when the destination is reached. So live each moment of the experience and enjoy the journey, for life is short and made up of just moments! :) :)

When it comes to chance, luck has not been on my side more often than not. This year was no exception. After five years, the H1B Cap was reached within 5 days and the USCIS adopted the lottery system to randomly select the 65,000 visa applicants. As luck would have it, I got dinged in the H1B Cap lottery. Well, with more than 75% of Cognizant's revenue comes from the US region, this means that I won't be travelling this year.While it is definitely a loss of opportunity as well as a monetary loss, I believe that some good will come out of this bad luck. I truly believe that what happens, happens for the good. Sometimes the good is just shrouded in a short term mist that blurs our reality and understanding. It is just a matter of time, when the mist clears out and the underlying good is visible clearly! Until then.. Photo Source: Wired New York

So I have decided to move out from the bachelor pad and take a separate apartment. Since my dad goes out on work for a few weeks out of Ranchi, I wanted my mom to stay with me during such times if not otherwise. However, this was not possible in the bachelor pad where I was living in with my iim friends. This new apartment flat is a 4 BHK- 1500 sq unfurnished flat in Jal Vaayu Towers in New Town, Rajarhat . While I will have to spend some money to furnish the house, but   I think that for 13K including maintenance, it is quite a deal. Calcutta is for these very reasons quite affordable as compared to other cities such as Bangalore and Hyderabad.

I grew up reading, watching and feeling poverty all around. It is not a rarity if you are in a city or town in India. The towns and cities of India are teeming with millions of poor people. Beggars asking for alms, old and helpless begging on the roads all these are a very common sight in any city or town in India. While people in villages might not have to beg but there is a different form of poverty there. Millions in the Indian villages live a life full of hardships, toil, misery and disease. Even my initial years were not very plentiful, though there was enough and my parents ensured that my brother and I had all our basic necessities covered. But I did get a close look at what poverty means and how the poor in this country live while I was growing up in Ranchi . It was a constant reminder for me to take the opportunities that life gave me and be thankful because there are others who did not get as lucky as I got. When I look back at times and compare myself with some of my...