2010 in review

As I think of the perfect adjective to describe 2010, "busy" is the word that comes to my mind. Whether the "busy"ness yielded positive results is something time will tell. As for 2011, my plan is to live a much more conscious life - the moments lived and captured and not wonder later how the months went by.

The review list below is for my own tracking as I've been doing for the past 5 years. So you can skip reading the rest.

Getting my PGSEM degree from Mr.Mukesh Ambani during IIMB Convocation was a memorable moment

Converted my final year project into an IIMB working paper 

First time working in a start-up kind of environment. Lots of releases and action packed year it was! Good learning experience.

Attended the inspiring TEDXChennai event, it was my first time attending a TED event

Made a presentation at product camp Bangalore on "Product Positioning". A nice feeling to see my topic as the top voted one

90% of my commute this whole year was through BMTC buses. A tiny fraction of an effort towards conserving nature

Switched from Windows to Mac. Awesome experience so far though I miss MS Office 

Visited Delhi after a long time on an official visit. Brought back memories of my final trip with mom years ago.

Attended workshops on Creative Writing and Organic gardening

Started composting organic waste using Daily Dump Kambha. All the vegetable waste from my kitchen is getting reused

Did not eat Lays and Kurkure chips for the whole year (Yes, this deserves a mention!)

More tweets and very few blog posts. Need to get back to writing next year

Fell in love with Zynga games, especially Farmville

Visited 3 new places this year - North Wayanad, Coorg and Swaswara

Books I read:

The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

A walk to remember by Nicholas Sparks 

The High Performance Entrepreneur by Subroto Bagchi

A Grasshopper's Pilgrimage by Manjushree Abhinav

Six Thinking Hats by Edward Debono

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

Bottom Up Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout

True Believer by Nicholas Sparks

Crossing The Chasm by Geoffrey Moore

A Genie's Wisdom : A Fable of How a CEO learned to be a marketing genius by Jack Trout

Keep off the grass by Karan Bajaj

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (second time read)

Books started to read but not yet finished:

The Long Tail : How endless choice is creating unlimited demand

The Choice by Eliyahu Goldratt

Linchpin by Seth Godin

Leader who had no title by Robin Sharma

Inspired by Marty Cagan

The last lecture by Randy Pausch

longing

My contribution to Sunday Scribblings - #246

foggy winter mornings,
distant rhythmic hymns
early morning routine
clear objectives at hand

purple and pink flowers
plucked fresh from December bushes
strung in a crisp, white thread
a symmetric, neat garland

a notebook filled with designs
translated into distinct shapes
frontyard neatly decked
adding life to different colours

praise the devotee
one poetic verse everyday,
offer sacred leaves
bless us, Oh Lord Krishna!

longing for the last month
the fragrance, the colours,
the music, the memories
vividly etched for years

P.S - #1 In India, we have a flower named December. These flowers blossom only during this specific month every year.
P.S - #2 December is also special to worshippers of the Hindu Deity, Lord Krishna and his devotee, AndaaL.

My guide

My contribution to Sunday Scribblings

It was the first day of my second year in Engineering. Having accepted the fact that my dreams of pursuing medicine as my career option is impossible, I decided to approach Computer Science Engineering with rigor. But the first day turned out to be a nightmare. I heard my classmates pursuing programming courses during the summer holidays. Many of them already had a computer at home. They had familiarized themselves with Fortran programming (Yes, we studied Fortran in our 3rd semester). I came home, feeling utterly depressed. Having been the class topper throughout school, there was this sinking feeling that I was way behind everyone in college. 

I came home after a depressing first day. I clearly remember she was in the terrace that evening, preparing for some exam related to her promotion in insurance sector. She noticed the dullness in my face and called out to me. She had been the pillar of support during my school days, always encouraging me to perform well. Like water gushing out of a dam, I poured out to her - all my frustrations and doubts. "Aunty, I have never even seen a computer in my life before. I don't even know the basics. I had taken up Biology in 11th and 12th grade. My classmates already knew programming and they even have a computer at home. My dad will not be able to afford one. I better quit Engineering and join B.Sc.", I sobbed for a long time in front of her. I don't think of her as my neighbour and neither does she. We share a special bond - a mother I found in her after so many years. The next 2 hours turned out to be one of the most precious moments of guidance, mentorship and above all, caring love. She sat next to me, wiped away my self-doubts with her caring and powerful words and helped me take a positive stride towards Engineering.

Over the next few weeks, I was so scared to enter Computer Lab, worrying that I might break its functionality. But her words were my only support that helped me climb the ladder in Computer Engineering. Looking back after 11 years now, without my guide, I'm not able to imagine how my career and life would have turned out to be what it is today. It also brought a smile in my face, comparing those days when I was dead scared to step into Computer Lab and switch on the Compaq desktop and now when not a single day passes, without me spending a significant time in front of my Mac laptop. 

mastery over randomness

My contribution to 3WW

a planner I am
systematic and meticulous,
checklists and to-dos
tracking the chores to the core

shuffling amidst life's mysteries
I trudge along, confidently
aiming for complete control
mastery over randomness

bills paid in advance
predictability on the rise,
boredom strikes soon
missing elements of drama

ignoring uncertainty
I take the stride as
it comes along, at times
pander for laziness

Music brings me back

I can't believe it's almost 3 months ever since I returned from my wonderful vacation at Swaswara. This personal blog has been gathering dust though there's some action on the professional blog. Words getting shape in my mind during my long commute doesn't seem to get translated into my blog. But there's enough to share about my other interests in music, movies and life in general.

Talking about music, 2010 has been one of the best years for Rahman fans like me. My last post on music was about Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya and it still continues to be my favorite album of this year even after listening to the brilliant songs 100s of times. I had mixed reactions to Raavan/Raavanan when it got released. But there are a few gems in this unique album as well. Being a Karthik fan, I just love both "usure poguthey" and the Hindi equivalent "Behne de". The mysterious slow start is followed by a foot tapping beat and his voice so beautifully blends with the feel of the song. Another song which is my favorite in this album is "Khili Re"  which I prefer more than the Tamil version "Kalvare". It's a perfect song to hear after a long, tiring day. The best song of Raavan comes when the end credits start to roll. I'm waiting for the Raavan special edition CD which will have "Jaa re ud jaa re" sung by Rahman himself.

When Endhiran's music was released, I didn't feel the urge to listen to the songs immediately since I was disappointed with the songs of Shivaji. But after listening to about 10 times, I started to appreciate the uniqueness of the music of Endhiran. "Kaadhal Anukkal" became my instant favorite because of Shreya's magical voice and her perfect pronunciation. Many of my favorite Kannada songs which I get to hear everyday during my Volvo commute are sung by her. The next favorite has to be "Kilimanjaro". It has a very new feel, thanks to the unique words and folksy beats. Chinmayi has become my favorite female singer with the sheer variety of her songs and she has done a fabulous job in this song too. I got to hear this song in person when she sang in the TEDXChennai event.

Let me share you a tip - when you have to get something done at work or otherwise, listen to Endhiran album in repeat mode. For some reason, my productivity is very high when I listen to this album!

I wish the music of "Jhoota hi sahi" had received enough attention. It felt like this movie came quietly and went out without creating any buzz. I love almost the entire album but my repeated hearings have been these three songs - "Cry cry", "Do nishaaniyan" and "Call me dil". Rashid Ali has given a feel-good touch to "Call me dil" with his peppy voice.

Though I got a taste of "127 hours", I haven't really listened to it with these previous albums taking away most of my time. I don't care what critics talk about how Rahman has lost it. His music is still very precious to me and I look forward to the release of each album that he creates.