W.A.R.

We Ain't Rats

I see all these people around me, so engrossed in their work lives, trying to give their more than cent percent to the organization, trying to impress their bosses, trying to bag the piece of cheese. Most of the people wouldn't find anything wrong with it. Neither did I, until I realized that this rat-race is going to consume me ultimately. The question is, is this what you are born to do? Sitting in a chair and doing books, managing accounts, giving support to some alien software? I wouldn't dare to ask this question to my colleagues, 'what is your ultimate aim in life?' And if I did, I am sure I would get answers like, nothing; to die one day in piece; to be a man of no regrets; etc. The biggest fools are those who actually argue with you about they being right. Oh god, please. Give them a life!

I had decided not to bother about this stuff anymore. I mean its their life and I can't liberate (or whatever is the right word) everyone I see. But, watching my friends do the same thing, makes me lose my mind. I wish I could slap them and tell to stop. And thus W.A.R.

The system is a trap. They lure you for all those corporate awards and promotions, make you work so hard so that THEY can enjoy a good show, even without letting you know why. Tell me how it's different from a rat-race, all rats running behind the cheese. Every god damned initiative taken by the company to make you feel good, let me tell you, is a trap. If someone benefits, it's the company. And that's why HR guys are the most hated people in the company.

The funny thing is one doesn't really need anything to break out of the trap. All it takes is mere realization. So declare a W.A.R. and save yourself.

Now Downloading: Dreams

     Was the dream, you had last night, so beautiful that you wanted to spend the rest of your life in it? Don't worry, it happens to the best of us. And you know why? Because in those dreams, you can be whatever you want to be, irrespective of the boundaries of this materialistic world. I can't be superman in reality. That's a physical impossibility. But in my dreams, I can be whatever I want. 

     It's surely not this way: If you are a dreamer, you lack some comforts in real life and seek relief in the virtual world. I think of it as a very creative thing. The weirder it gets, the more creative person you are. Dreams are your imagination's playground. There are well established platforms for various arts. For example, there is sculptures, CAD modeling, Lego, Animation tools etc. (I am not including photography here because I think it's not about creating, it's about capturing beauty which already exists.) If they invent a way to download and transfer data from one's dreams, it would soon become such a platform. And they won't have any limitations as seen in these platforms. Teachers would give homework to students as, ' Go home, dream and draw me a sports car.' The best part is, you don't have to do a damn course to show your proficiency.

     I am not at all kidding here. Haven't you heard the benzene ring story? It's quite fascinating. Even John Lenon told his vision of world peace through dreams. Imagine!

 
   I remember this particular incident in particular when my dad got a new car. I did not know driving at that time and my dad wouldn't let me touch the car unless I go to a driving school. The insane part starts here. I started having dreams about how to drive a car. I really did. I used to practice driving in dreams. I got so confident after that I took his car one day and tried out myself. Surprisingly, I bumped within a few meters. That was what I call as 'reality shock'. And then they made Inception which explained the phenomenon when you can't distinguish between reality and dreams.

    
     When dreams become so good, so larger than life, humans find it tough when it ends. I had this dream in which I was role-playing a mafia like they show in those action movies, wearing a black tuxedo, a Cuban cigar in lips, tens of body-guards, long black car, fancy guns and stuff. Things were taking shape quite quickly in that dream and I hated it to hell when I got woken up by the stupid alarm. I just threw the clock away and closed my eyes hard, trying to force myself back into the dream.  Surprisingly, it did happen. Sometime or other, all of you must have tried this and those who have know that I am not making this up.

River of dreams by Billy Joel

     People wish to remember their dreams, they wish to capture its beauty. Just, if there was a way to download our dreams and view them just like we watch movies. I don't know what  breakthrough research has been made till date on dreams, but they should start experimenting in this field as soon as possible, realizing its potential.

We Are Boys

Dear girls,

We might not act like the perfect sons to our parents; they exist only in movies.

We might not talk to our parents about issues; we are boys, we don't talk.

We might call our moms only when we need food or money;

We might flatter our dads just to borrow their cars;

We might help mom in housework just because we need a favor in return;

But we love them as much as you do.

We might look like Homer Simpson to you; trust us, we are Bart.

We might pretend that we are not listening to your stories; we are.

We might not know what is your pet's name; well we might not know it for real.

We know how to drive; please stop giving us instructions.

We might not know what your friend said to you the other day; we don't want to know.

We might pretend that we haven't noticed your new bag; we have.

We love our girlfriends as much as you do.

Sincerely,

boys.

Inflation, Investments and Entrepreneurship

Inflation

The cost of any commodity goes on increasing as time passes. This is called as inflation. All of us must have seen that the prices of land, crude oil, food items and similar commodities goes on appreciating year by year. Let's say, India's current annual inflation rate is 8%; then an object costing Rs. 100 today, would cost Rs. 108 after one year.

If you see it the other way, it's the value of money that goes on decreasing. Buying power is another term used for value of money. Suppose, today you can buy 10 chocolate bars with Rs.100; but after 2-3 year, you might be able to buy only 9 or 8 with the same amount of money. That's the reduction in buying power of money. This is another way of defining inflation.

Investments

Investments gives you returns on your idle resources after a period of time. It creates value addition to your money, thus increasing its buying power than it would have been if kept idle. Most of the people think that, the objective of investment is to get maximum returns with minimum risks. The actual objective is to beat inflation. You should get more money (more buying power) in investments than you lose due to inlfation.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly!

When the rate of interest is greater than the rate of inflation, it's called as a good investment. When the rate of interest is approaximately equal to the rate of inflation, it's not so good investment. It's like no profit no loss situation.  And the worst thing one can  his money is to keep it idle. He is creating losses in this process and his money would ultimately vanish.

All those people who put their money in savings account or fixed deposit accounts in banks, please check the inflation rate. It is much more than what your bank could give as interest rates. That means you are losing money year by year. It's a bad investment. I would recommend something high return and medium risk financial instruments like bonds, debentures, stocks, mutual funds, forex, gold, land etc. Let's categorize them into two (not on the basis of risk). Bonds, debentures and stocks in one. The rest in other. 

Entrepreneurship

If you invest in the second category, you are doing nothing extra than investing. Wherein if you investing in first category, you are indirectly promoting entrepreneurship by raising capital for an entrepreneur. When you buy shares of a company, you become the shareholders. If you see the bigger picture, you are actually contributing towards country's GDP by creating more start-ups, creating jobs for people.There are countless benefits. And this is how inflation promotes entrepreneurship. 

 

Escape!

He was tramping aimlessly on the streets. Just looking at those old, British styled building; looking at passing faces; looking at speeding taxis in tiger skins; enjoying a cold breeze amid a hot, humid day. Like a juvenile, kicking an empty can of coke all the way. Every time Nikhil tried to understand the city and its people, it rendered him as clueless ad he was before.

He saw a junkie sadhu across the street, like the ones who reside by Shiva temple and practice marijuana (otherwise known as ganja). The sadhu had a big blob of hair on his head, uncut, most probably for years. He wore a half torn, dirty, vibrant orange coloured gown. It filled eyes quickly. He was lost in his own world. And that's only natural when you submit yourself to such a lifestyle. Surrender to lord Shiva and ganja. And still, HE looked like a man with no regrets. Soon, Nikhil's observing turned into stared. Sadhu also noticed a guy in a nice suit and shining shoes, staring at him. Their eyes met. Without speaking a single word, they had a conversation of a lifetime.

Nikhil felt uncomfortable, he quickly turned his eyes and started taking big footsteps. Though his heart beat was pumped up considerably, it wasn't fear. It was sheer awkwardness. He felt betrayed. Betrayed by the system. he felt like somebody has pushed him off the edge. It felt like his college degree, high paying job at an i-bank, a beautiful wife, a shining black BMW car and a posh, sea facing bungalow didn't matter any more to him. He had every luxury one could dream of. He was the man, but still he wasn't. Somehow, that lunatic sadhu was happier, wiser. While he was smoking up his life with the ganja, Nikhil was appearing for exams, making graphs in office, doing financial planning, spending time with his loved ones. Moving up in life. And that was the time he realized that it's never going to happen. Just like a mirage. You run for it and every time it looks just a little further. 

We are prisoners. Prisoners of love, expectations, greed, comfort, society. Prisoners of life! Nikhil got wiser that day and he escaped. The question is, when would YOU?

Next part of the story: Running Away!

Vivcu!

What is Vivcu?

Just a word.
Just a thought.
Just the regular world through different lens.
Just a perception!

Decades later, I now understand what owned Jim. He always said. "If the doors of perception  were cleansed, everything would appear to a man as it truly is: infinite."