Winds of Change.

"..............The wind of change
Blows straight into the face of time
Like a stormwind that will ring the freedom bell
For peace of mind
Let your balalaika sing
What my guitar wants to say........"

When the Scorpions sang this song....am sure they were not referring to the same winds of change that I am talking about. Then why did I put part of these lyrics onto my blog...well just like that. Wanted to start my blog with eloquence :) I guess. 

Am amazed at how people change with the winds of change. My inspiration to write this note on my blog might rise from my current corporate experiences but have definitely seen this in plenty in my personal life too. Its all about changing your beliefs, your outlook - sometimes even your personal morals to accommodate to what the winds of change blow in your way. 

Adapting to change is probably what drives this universe but what really cheeses me off is when people change so drastically to adapt to these winds of change. Would you for example do something like this - Be able to call something crappy - absolutely shitty a few months ago and uphold the same thing or person and put them on a pedestal a couple of months later? Without no change whatsoever being effected on the object/person in question but simply because the circumstances changed???

I don't think I can ever do that. That would probably happen only in two situations in my case :

a. either I was not completely informed to begin with and had been too quick to form my opinions OR

b. The person or thing has changed in its elements....and really tried hard to be different.

But beyond this..I definitely don't think my impressions and moral values would undergo such a drastic change just because the circumstances changed...

But like I said before - what amazes me endlessly is how easily and quickly some people I know 'adapt' to these winds of change. Don't know if I have to pat them on their back and say - WOW, what an ability. Or Pat myself and say congrats - you are strong! 

This again probably would depend on the circumstances and the winds of change :) 

The irony called life!

Radio Ga Ga...

For years now, as I get ready for work in the morning I have the habit of listening to the radio. This has been a habit since the time Radio City launched itself into Bangalore. Currently I tune in to 94.3. I like Bollywood music - so I naturally like the music they play and I like the MJ- Prithvi who comes on live in the mornings on this channel. So almost from the time they have launched I have been regularly listening to them. 
As per my daily routine as I switched on the radio today morning - I began to reminiscence about how the radio has been such an integral part of our lives. Long before the private FM channels hit the scene - our family had included radio into our lives. I know before the television the radio was a hit. But considering I was born into pretty much the post colour tv era - radio being a part of our daily life might still be something rare to come by. 
I remember my Dad used to tune into the All India Radio at around 6 am maybe and the rest of the household would wake up to the sounds of Suprabhata or some other classical music. I dont particularly remember my mother enjoying the crackling music my dad's small transistor sized machine used to belt out but my dad could not care less. 
Dad had all his morning timings and chores planned out as per the different programs on the radio. His factory bus would arrive sharp by around 7.15 am and including the bus time he had pre programmed and tuned his mind into the radio timings. He swore by the radio time. Noone was allowed to switch off or meddle with it at that time (not that any one of us actually bothered to :))
The funniest part that I vividly remember even now is that - while my dad shaved I would generally stand by and watch him fascinated (don't ask me why - the whole process just fascinated me...), he would generally hum along with the radio...while I was really young I naturally believed that my dad hummed because he knew/recognised the song....as I grew older I questioned this belief of mine confronted dad ...that's when I realised that dad would just hum along irrespective of whether he knew the song or not and if my brother or I asked him which song it was - he would say "famous song". That's it. No further information (well he had to have information to give it in the first place :))
This continued till my dad retired in 1993. Noone paid that much attention to it but it always played in the background.
Our obsession with radio got rekindled again after my mother and brother started taking on programs on All India Radio...so we would eagerly tune in and wait for them go on air...amazing feeling!! 
And then of course I joined work and just around that time Radio city was about to be launched in Bangalore, so was Radio Indigo.(if I remember right they were the only stations to have the licence. But Indigo pulled out at that time due to some funds issues - and Radio City ruled the roost for the next 3 years - until the next licence auction) I remember the sales teams from both these stations coming and pitching for our business. Those were the days when being on radio was new to most corporates and my product was one of the ideal clients to begin with. ...I still remember the sentence the woman from Radio City started her pitch with "Sharvani, our station will have such powerful transmitters and such superior technology that you will be able to listen to our radio station - as the crow flies" :) 
So much for the radio's journey into our hearts...as today's MJs and RJs talk more and play less music and as the radio begins its journey into being one of the preferred mediums for advertisers to be on...........I cannot help but still love the radio and its music... 


Radio............Radio........Someone still loves you!

End of an Era & the beginning of a new one - My Road Not Taken

As I make this blog entry, I have just about another 16 -17 days of corporate life left. As I prepare myself mentally for the journey ahead (I don't think any amount of planning can prepare one for the end of the first salaryless month) I cannot but help think about how drastic this decision has been for me. After spending a decade in this corporate world working for organisations, being an employee - the decision to start out on my own and being my own employer has been quite a difficult decision to make.
But like they say - you have to learn to take the leap of faith once in awhile. And once you have been bitten by the famous 'entrepreneurial bug' very few people can resist this temptation of starting out on their own and being your own boss - and I am no exception here.
The circumstances that I startout with as a backdrop are just as challenging. But that's what makes it more interesting. 
As I think back -to not so long ago, probably just a couple of months back (most people I know plan these transformations and changes over years of planning!!!..me not beyond a couple of months max!!) I cannot pinpoint to that exact moment when this wave of change swept over me and I decided to take the plunge. What was the trigger, what was the tipping point, what made me change over from someone who had no belief whatsoever in starting out on my own to this person who said bye bye to a regular job and regular income. From being someone who dreamt of rising up the corporate ladder to wanting to being her own boss. 
Poof! One fine day all those earlier thoughts and determinations seemed to have gone up in the air!And new goals and determinations seem to have taken their place...
I cannot but think of one of my favourite poems yet again. Robert Frost has so beautifully said it all so right in his poem "The Road Not Taken"....I sign off with this beautiful piece of work which is so apt..

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
and sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
and looked down one as far as I could
to where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
and having perhaps the better claim
because it was grassy and wanted wear;
though as for that, the passing there
had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
in leaves no feet had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less travelled by,
and that has made all the difference