Outside In - Window.

 

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To each his own
everyone craves for their zone

Each one craves for their window
to express, to define, to explore

Yet sometimes it happens
Abeit breifly that we lose more from it.

We are poorer with out the window,
but are rich enough to love it in our poverty

What good is a window when your stomach is groovling with hunger
Its a waste

Yet we crave
and we save

We are after all living to...
look out of the window.

Outside in.

Ninad it is time once again to begin.

India Watch - Read it and Ignore.

There are two distinct worlds out there.

One India which is growing and one which seems to be stuck somewhere in the past.

Recently a conversation with a highly educated person living in a metro made me aware of the fact that hypocrisy is the core on which we have build this nation.


We have grown.

Internet with mobile is making technology reach to the interiors. A teenager from Tirrutani is as much equipped to use an app as one in Thane. This is equality. This is a par ground.



We are more educated. We have more access to jobs, goods, loans than ever before.

We have diverse media.

We have youth. Lots of it and hence a lot of potential.



We are struck. 

Never before have we been so direction less. We dont have the trust in our leaders and most of us dont even know our leaders. We as a nation are running without a goal or that is what it seems.

We are divided - in regions, beliefs, ... and many more.

Now we are a globalized country and we are trying to adopt the best from the west and India.

We (youngsters) crave for instant results, gratifications but this task of building a nation is complex and perhaps a very long term process.

I am not saying every Indian should have a blue print of the building of the nation but every Indian should know what sort of building is being built in the first place.

The youth we have is wasted as without direction and a goal, we run our own lives and we build our own fortunes as per our luck talent and potential.

We are at cross roads now. Its for us to choose what we want. Its for us to unite and plan for the blueprint.

(Images are owned solely by Ninad Tatke. Please contact in case of any commercial use).

Strategic Samosa - Watch out what you eat. - In 7 points

0.  Take action - Shoot and then steer the arrow.You will find the way as you work rather than pondering at the start on how to do it.

1. "Either you do it or you dont, there is no try". Yoda.

2. Consistently find ways to instill the sense of freedom to try new things, create value.

3. Define your goals. Harder they are, more fun it will be to achieve them.

4.Try a new approach. Goal remains same. Paths can change. Regularly.

5. Understand that ultimately what you do, will give you what you deserve. If you dont get it. Its feedback. Start over with a new path.

6. Be  kind to people around you. Call them. Help them if you can, but atleast be human with them. Smile as much as you can. Ultimately its people who matter.

7. Watch out what you eat.

Samosa - Unhealthy mostly but tasty. - Mental Samosa. Meet positive people. Think about all your strengths and how you can use them. If you think you can do the task. you will. if you think you cant. you wont. Its all in the mind.

People Watch - 4. Soft skills go for the kill.

When life gives you lemons and serves you a lemon cake.

This post and the posts which will follow are about some wonderful charismatic powerful people who in their own way make life better for  people around them. They have positively in them which enriches people around them. They are my peers my elders my young friends. 
So lets begin.

She was tidy in her dressing. Not pretty girl but attractive enough and she carried a strong person aura image around her. This was stark in contrast with her voice which was smooth yet soft. She was a few kilos heavy but that actually added to her personality.

Aarti is one of the few people anybody would like to have in their team. She is practical, result oriented and an excellent planner. But hey this post is not her linked in recommendation. Seriously isn't.

Aarti met me almost 8 years back. She was my colleague. But what made her memorable was the fact that she could connect with anybody and everybody on a same level. Or she made the person in front of her comfortable. It could be an office boy, a canteen wala, a client, a vendor, boss, company owner, basically anybody.

She spoke the language of the person next to her and naturally that helps to connect with people.

But the thing which made her stand out was her ability to actually finishing something on time.

I was unsure of something once and she said to me, " I have started it right, and you know that you will have to finish it, so just buckle up focus and finish it. Waiting, contemplating, awaiting wont take you anywhere."

She respected her work and people related to it but did not let that be the only focal point for her. She did listen to you even when you spoke something else. But she was not someone who listen to someone crib.

I remember an incident when a particularly bad client was being very stingy with money and actually wanted to do barter (which was not beneficial to our company at all). Aarti and I were in that meeting together and were pitching in for that business jointly. She politely refused the offer and as we walked away after the meeting she actually had a smile (a real one ) and she then she talked about the work in pipeline for the next day. It would have been apt for anyone to foul mouth that client for the jerk he had been. But for Aarti it was a small defeat (hiccup). 

She had flaws of course. Any body has. But the point here is she makes people around her comfortable, and I am sure people like her for that. 

The city of Mumbai ensures that you dont meet a person often. But isn't it great that when you do, you make the person you meet so comfortable in life that he/she will never forget the moment you spent with that person.

Aarti did that. Regularly. 

People Watch -3. Ship that sailed.

When life gives you lemons and serves you a lemon cake.

This post and the posts which will follow are about some wonderful charismatic powerful people who in their own way make life better for  people around them. They have positively in them which enriches people around them. They are my peers my elders my young friends. 
So lets begin.

Be***** tu sala ma*********. kya ,bol raha hai tu janta hai.
(profanity) do know know what you are talking about (profanity)
This man was my mentor for one project. A documentary. His name is Anand Gandhi.

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What is he doing now.
Ship of Theseus is a film which has come out this year, it has done well in International film critic and has some some good reviews. Not watching watched it so far tells me something special awaits me. I am not in touch with him for years now and wont be surprised if he doesn't recall me.

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When I met him, someone told me that he is the script writer for Kyunki Saas Bhi Kaabhi Bahu thi. Knowing this, I was initially biased about him. I was a english TV Watching (Seinfeld, Simpsons) person and I could not digest the fact that I was taking mentorship from the Man who ruined Indian TV. I said man ( lady would have been Ekta Kapoor). But was naive then, Anand Gandhi was something like 23/25 ish then but at that age, he taught us packaging your art.

Hawkers 

The first thing he did was he made us write a script for the documetary. Yes even a documentary is scripted. Then he went on to explain who to get the facts in visual form for our documentary. 
That after some abuses - which was his way of ensuring perfect attention.


"Its not entertaining. You dont just build the mood, you force the mood and music is the tool to force in the mood."

He told us - " The way to build drama is to build it in the story to the point that even though you have indicated something is about to happen, you still create an aah moment when it actually happens".
I was handling music for this project and I had composed a few songs for it. He listened to it and then dismissed it. 
"Its not about the Lyrics, its about what these lyrics make you feel, take the example of Red blossom Cherry - hey it says abhi ye cycle teri Red blosspm cherry... tu samaj raha hai...." 

Right Here Right now -
You remember an artist for his painting and no matter how a filmmaker is as a person, you remember him for his film.

Right Here Right Now was that film. Its shot with 2 shots and has no edits. Its a short film which takes you through a journey and shows you various emotions and leaves you thinking.
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So here is man who has chosen a road less taken and he is doing some experimental work. And for a brief moment in time, I met him, as a trainee, but I picked up not just his passion for work but his approach to be entertaining while striving to be different. Glad to know him briefly, wish him well and hope he does some great work from this point on as well.

People Watch Part 2 - Darpan - what reflects with in.

When life gives you lemons and serves you a lemon cake.

This post and the posts which will follow are about some wonderful charismatic powerful people who in their own way make life better for  people around them. They have positively in them which enriches people around them. They are my peers my elders my young friends. 

So lets begin.

Today I write on Darpan.
Darpan is a gem of a person, he lives life the way it should be lead, from  the front, without inhibiting others and doing logical carrier and social building activities.

 But to say that I know him completely is unfair to both of us. The post is on Darpan I know and hence its on Darpan the Rock Star!

 A few years ago I met him in a B school selection process and he knew so much. But underneath that was a humble yet inquisitive person. Over the next  1 year we did keep an occasional touch like explaining what is gudi padwa and why I am wishing him. He is from Delhi you see. But then as luck would have it I did spend a year in the same hostel as he did and we bonded as friends.

 He loved to debate and I loved to listen to perspectives. Then over the next few years we did drift away. Until one fine day I called him on his birthday and he gave me a thrashing I deserved. I learnt no matter how busy you are , you need to be in touch with your friends. 

Darpan understands culture, appreciates it, supports it. He likes good plays, movies and concerts.These words may sound hollow but that the problem with words not with him. Its like reading in words about a delicious icecream versus experiencing a delicious icecream. To narrate in words the experience of having icecream is going to fall short.

Darpan did manage to intrigue me and my classmates with his different takes on topics. When I did meet him a few years from then he was the one to question my choices in professional growth and for me a person who stirs you out of your comfort zone is very valuable. That means this person is brave and is willing to take new things on with positivity.

I believe this part of Darpan he should cherish and keep at it no matter the price the world will extract out of him.
I am unsure if he knows that his experimentation along with a certain consistency (focus) will help him achieve quite a lot.

For the world he does bring a person who likes to break status quo. He does that with ease, with a smile and a conversation.

With no tailored made incidents to stretch a persons life.  All my observations on him do lack a story because what I write on Darpan is based on a few years of conversations and reactions, you converse with him, you pick up little things you have ignored.  

There are times when you dont agree with his views of course but he is not the sort who will force you to agree. He accepts the difference of opinion.   

Once after a late night clasical music concert I was having a walk with Darpan. It was 3- 4 am  in the morning and Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (no offense - I am classical music illiterate) had bored me to death with his strumming of one single note. He actually played one note for 2 hrs. I dont quite remember who said what at that point but Darpan ended up defending Panditji. But he did accept the fact that a musician has to perform to the intelligence of the audience, may be even educate it.

Darpan will be tremendously influential in years to come, that is my prediction. But I can say this now, that so far its life well lived.

People Watch -Part 1 - Tati as I recall.

Once upon a time a very long while ago there was a atirekki, (a terrorist), while most I heard of are adults this one was a child. He was a bully and his target was me... It took its toll on me and it will be hard not be prejudiced towards a person like him. May be for life.

 But then life gives you lemons and serves you a lemon cake.

This post and the posts which will follow are about some wonderful charismatic powerful people who in their own way make life better for  people around them. They have positively in them which enriches people around them. They are my peers my elders my young friends. 

So lets begin.

Tatianu  at first he met us and all he knew was - " My name is Tatianu, and  I don't know English".

 And as an awkward pause began he smiled. He had a very natural smile. That along with his currly hair made him stand out. Ofcourse he was white skinned which did make him stand out anyways. Tatianu did learn English but he also was able to make any person feel comfortable as he mastered the art of connecting with gestures and a smile. 

He was a Brazilian. Being enthusiastic was natural to him. I remember the day after Brazil lost to France 3 0 in the 1998 soccer world cup final. The match itself was interesting as i watched with a Brazilian and French next to me, both my friends and both watching the match in India and expecting me to support their team. In the end it was joy for Patrick my French friend but sorrow for Tatianu. He cried. But the next morning he was very cheerful as if Brazil had won the game. For Tatianu lived with emotion but was balanced.  Brazil might have lost the game but Tati as we called him won hearts. Its been 15 years and yet he matters to me and the people he enthused. Hence I begin this series with Tati.

Tati could behave as he liked at times and yet he made you smile while doing so. Once I remember him getting up in the morning and getting ready in 10 mins to go out. Naturally I asked him, "Tati you had bath?"

"Yes"

"When?"

"Last night."

The conviction which he said last night was as if he had a bath just now.

His presence made the person feel good about themselves and the world and for me I feel Tati makes a difference in this world.