Tid Bit from My Diary

It was a typical setup for such traditional restaurant,high back seats neatly packed against each other with a square table in between. He was sitting next to a young couple having an argumentative conversation and he inadvertently became part of a important chapter of their life story. “ Loving is not always an easy task. Love comes with it's share of pain and guilt. Men fall in love more than women but you simply do not care .” she said.   “ Yea! when women do fall in love, they become addicted to the feeling more easily. But unfortunately I am not a woman ” came the reply. “ People invariably find the person who they fall in love with attractive and they write poetry or sing love songs. You are so different and difficult, ” she quipped. “ This is not funny !” he said. “ Love is a mental disorder and I cannot transform into an insane to impress you. I am what I am. Period .” “ What's that you said? Now I know, I must be mad to love you so much ” she ...

There is an interesting story about deceptive painting involving two renowned Greek painters from around 464 BC. Zeuxis, once produced a still life so real that it convinced the birds to peck at the grapes in there. Parrahasius, a rival artist later invited Zeuxis to judge one of his paintings after pulling back a tattered curtains in his study. But when Zeuxis tried, he could not, as the curtains too were part of that Parrhasius's painting.  This form of painting would probably be categorized as l trompe-l'œil. Trompe-l'œil as defined by Wiki  is French for "deceive the eye". This is a technique of art which uses realistic imagery to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects exist in three dimensions. A typical trompe-l'œil mural might depict a window, door, or hallway, intended to suggest a larger room. This is also written as trompe l’oeil in English and is thought to have originated much earlier than our documented history. Exampl...

Life is not fair.It is a thought she felt started to cross her mind more often than anyone else in the whole world. This negative feelings came back without fail during her childhood whenever things went against her wishes. In the face of all odds of being a single parent, her mother was the epitome of positivity, who always kept her motivated. That was some 24 years back when she was just a little girl of 10 and could barely perceive what fairness in life really meant. “ I am born out of a wedlock and have never seen my father” was her biggest complaint. As a teen, she could barely find solace in the assurance that she was a love child born out of deep love and affection between two persons. It was too deep a philosophy for her to understand the complexities of human lives, their social constraints, their limits and helplessness. A couple who love each other cannot always get married and it is their love that let one see the constraints and shines the light to move on. “ Life...

The Reunion“I shall name him Ujjyal”, my grandfather declared soon after the birth of his first grandchild. “He shall bring glory to the family”, was his wish first time as he saw me. His dream, I learnt later was to see his grandson take charge of large construction projects. As a young boy, he was fascinated by a British Engineer in charge of constructing the long span rail bridge across the village river. He himself had done quite well considering the humble beginning and accumulated significant amount of wealth during his lifetime. Over the years he developed an uncanny habit of investing in the right business, right property and right people. If there was one thing that he missed was the genuine respect of people. The respect doctor, an engineer or a collector so easily commanded all the time. Since his children couldn’t fulfill his dream, it was passed down to his grandson. The family had moved to Lutyens’ Delhi from neighboring Haryana soon after I was born. My father inherit...

Till this time “mishandling” and “yours truly” never featured in the same sentence. Last week an attempt has been made to tarnish the reputation built over years by representatives of Madura Fashion & Lifestyle, the company that owns the brand Allen Solly.  I have been accused of mishandling a jacket, for Christ’s sake! By this post I shall make others aware and caution others to be careful as this could happen to anyone. I could approach them as I purchased from a physical store in a high end mall, I shudder to imagine how desperate who purchases online would be. We used to buy Allen Solly products as it is an Indian brand and in the same time lending support to the Make in India initiative in our own way. A premium brand is distinguishable by its willingness to accept its deficiencies and addressing those to ensure total value to their customer. Little did we know that Allen Solly in its dealing with us will demonstrate none of these characteristics while pretended to ...

Myanmar is under the spotlight as Ann Suu Kyi is finally set to have a say on her country’s affairs. She made big sacrifices to ensure democratic rights for common people and in the process becoming an inspiration for countless young people around the world. Myanmar has been under international scanner in the past decades but this time it brought back one childhood memory. The only time we had a private tutor coming to our home was when  I was in grade 3 and my elder sibling was in the 4th . He was an old man in his sixties with balding head, thick eyebrows and a hardened face that bore marks of tough journey his life has endured. Our association lasted less than a year but I still have some memory from those early days.  His primarily role when I think back was to help with our homework and engage us in some routine activities. As a consequence we were disciplined about our afternoon study sessions, something that continued all through our student life.  For us he...

This was first published in LinkedIn I have been a proponent of checklist all through my construction management days and I usually practice what I champion. The checklists has been part and parcel of construction process and procedures for years. Other high risk industries like Aviation, or ship building too uses this as missing a step could result into expensive losses of time, money and sometimes human lives. The Hedge fund managers too have their own checklists. In our industry it is mandatory to attach a checklist while submitting “method statements” or ITP (Inspection and Testing Protocol) for consultant’s review. These are equally important while conducting a Risk Assessment before commencing a fresh construction activity at sites. It is difficult to apprehend why there should be such resistance in implementing a powerful tool like this one in their day to day work activities. It would be interesting if a research was carried out to find out if the reason behind thi...