शुभास्ते पंथानः संतु

It's been four days now. It was midnight for me. I woke up and checked my phone and saw a new alert that She was no more. It was expected, I was mentally prepared, but as days passed by, I realized how important her existence was in my life. Thanks to my parents, I started listening to her at an age when I didn't even know what music was. She was there with me almost every day, during the morning Abhangvaani or evening aarti or the late nights of exam preparations. Her voice had the power to bring tears of joy and sorrow simultaneously. Her voice can be of someone beloved, your mum, your grandpa, your sister, and your Guru. She possessed no political or social power, but our national flag was flying half-mast, who's who of our society came to Mumbai, and each one of us felt as if one of their own had left this world. Well, she has left this world only physically; she will remain with us till the end of the time for sure. 

As I started learning classical music, I discovered some of the deeper layers of her voice that I had never noticed. There is absolutely no comparison to her voice; it was truly divine! Every music student can learn so much from just one Aalap of hers. Those who compare her with anyone else are the unfortunate ones, in my opinion. 

I can never stop believing in divinity till her voice is around. It's genuinely eternal and out of this world. I love/respect many other singers, musicians but I don't think I can ever feel the same for anyone. 

I hope you have now reached a place where you won't have to worry about anything materialistic. I hope your voice continues to guide us, cheer us and console us. I am blessed and privileged to have been able to listen to you! Om Shanti! 🙏🏻

P.S. शुभास्ते पंथानः संतु means May your journey be auspicious and fruitful

Choices we make..

I am a firm believer in the concept that this universe is very well-balanced. Everything happens for a reason. Sometimes, we understand why something happened after a few years. Sometimes, that realization never occurs.

The Western world is familiar with the word 'Karma.' I don't think the concept of 'Karma' is well understood. Karma is 'not' a bitch. Bhagavad-Gita explains the notion of Karma really well. There are 2 aspects to it. One is your destiny. The Sanskrit word for destiny is 'Prarabdh'. We all have certain Prarabdh in our accounts. We reach specific points in our lives based on that. Now, everyone's destiny is intertwined. What others do is not in our control; how others react is not in our control. When we get a particular opportunity, we have little control over what 'we' can do. 

Now, this little control is basically our free will. That's the second aspect. Only human beings are gifted with 'free will.' Animals don't enjoy this freedom. Animals just follow their natural instincts. They eat when hungry, mate when there is a need to reproduce, sleep when tired, and leave this world when it's time. We humans do not behave in this manner. We eat to satisfy our taste buds, our sexual needs are not just for mating purposes, we like to sleep even when we are not tired, and most importantly, we try every possible means to extend our stay in this world. This free will is nothing but the choices we make. The choice we make then has a domino effect. The ripples are felt for a long time. 
I'm curious about some of those decisive moments in my life today. How could things have been if I made a different choice then? I was delighted with some of my choices, but I also regretted many choices. The choices we make are our Karma. Once we choose, there is no point in pondering the results. That's because the result is decided to ensure the entire system remains balanced. Some are happy with the end result, and some think it's unfair.

The sum total of Karma affects our Prarabdh. Is there a Good Karma and Bad Karma? It's not so easy to define. Good and Bad are always relative terms. There are only perspectives. So why is everyone's destiny different? If there is no real Good or Bad Karma, why is there no parity in society? I would really love to decode this logic someday. Eventually, everything gets balanced out.

No matter our choices, there is always a reason to regret, and no matter how regretful we are, there is always a reason to be happy about something. End of the day, nothing really matters. We are just a part of a very well-balanced system. When our role ends, someone else takes our place to balance it out. The pursuit of happiness is an unending race. A new shiny object always comes on our horizon, and we feel we will be happy once we get there. We don't realize it's just a mirage we are running after. 

Pet peeves in the digital era

It's been a while since I have posted. I had promised to myself that I would write more often. So while we all are getting adjusted to this new normal with Covid situation (albeit a temporary new normal, because this shall pass too!), I was wondering what the challenges are in this digital world, especially compared to the challenges I faced in my boyhood. So I tried to list a few of my personal frustrations.

1. Finding something good to watch on streaming platforms: I became a huge Netflix fan when I came to U.S. in 2008. I used to have those lovely red envelopes mailed in. Netflix is a reason I got used to the American accent quickly. Understanding that accent was a challenge to me not only because English isn't my first language but also I studied in vernacular till my 10th grade. Even subjects like Science, Maths were taught to me in my mother tongue so transition was a little difficult. That's when Netflix helped. Huge pool of great movies, amazing recommendation engine, subtitles and affordability were the features that I loved. Netflix was spot on when it came to guessing the movies I would love. However, in the last 4 years or so, Netflix has changed its recommendation algorithm. It has focused more on TV series for binge watching rather than movies. I feel really bad that it has transformed this way. There is a flood of content. Most of us spend our weekends, evenings watching these TV series. Problem is - these series are never ending, episodes are too long (for me at least), most of the times these series get extended unnecessarily. E.g. House of Cards. I loved the first season. There were supposed to be only 2 seasons. It then became so popular that Netflix decided to extend it, and then it got totally diluted. Since we had already invested our time into it, we continued watching it because we wanted a closure. This is exactly Netflix capitalizes on. We always need a closure - for relations, for our daily tasks, etc. So we continue trying till we come to a meaningful closure. Netflix doesn't want to give us that closure so that people stick to that diluted entertainment. I am sure House of Cards would have still been running, if Kevin Spacey wouldn't have got into a mess.
I really feel bad that Netflix is focusing so much on TV series rather than movies. I understand that producing movies is more expensive, so financially it's less feasible. However, movies represent the art of story-telling. Many movies motivate you with a story they tell. I love this form of entertainment and I still prefer going to movie halls and watch the latest movies on a big screen. I don't know how long movie halls will remain in business given the way new streaming platforms are popping up. Whenever I decide to watch a movie on Netflix or Amazon, I end up spending at least 15-20 movies scrolling through various titles, looking at the plot summary, considering their ratings etc. Most of times I can not find a good title and I end up watching something I have already watched. Streaming platforms have made it so much harder! I hope someone from Netflix reads this and makes me come back to them by redesigning their recommendation engine.

2. People don't answer their phones: With the advent of mobile phones, it has become so difficult to call someone and have a conversation. People rarely answer on the first attempt. Funnily, people are always on their phone - they are 'gramming, messaging, texting, whatever. But when their phone rings or buzzes - they don't answer saying to themselves they will call back. Or, their phone is on silent and they don't realize it's buzzing. By the time they see that missed call and call back, the original caller has decided not to answer 😀. We say people are addicted to their phones. However, people have actually got addicted to be undisturbed, scrolling through endless timelines, or stories. The advent of mobile phones has separated people from one another like never before.

3. Finding an address without your phone: This doesn't need much explanation. There was a time when I used to find an address on my own. I used to talk to people, write directions on a piece of paper. But now I have a phone and I have completely lost my sense of orientation. I may go to a place 3-4 times a month but I still need a device to reach there. May be it's just me. It was a fun getting lost, talking to strangers for an address. I miss that.

4. Remembering birthdays / special occasions: I used to have a small diary that I kept in my wallet with birthdays / special occasions of my close friends and relatives written down. Many a times I didn't need that diary to remember but I always had it handy and I never missed any birthdays. Now I have calendar alerts to remind me. It sounds so mechanical when I wish someone! I used to feel proud that I remember all of the special occasions. I have lost that edge now. 

5. Following a medical advice without any doubt: There were times when I used to go to our family doctor in case of any health issues and blindly follow the prescription / instructions. Now, when I have any simple symptoms, I search for these symptoms and then it tells me I might be suffering from anything between cancer and a cold. I panic, I go to a doctor armed with all that information (thinking I am such a well researched person). The doctor diagnoses me, tells me it's nothing to worry about and prescribes me something over the counter. I ask him 15 more questions. Then I get that prescription. I read about that drug online for any side effects. Side effects include anything between Insomnia to lower back pain. I panic again and call my doctor about it. Sounds familiar? There are 2 words - 'Trust' and 'Faith'. Do we need a daily alert for these 2 words? Or may be we just need someone to tell us - 'It's going to be OK'.

A man and his dog

I am getting some weird dreams these days. May be because of all the uncertainty around us or may be it's just something inexplicable. I met my childhood dog buddy last night in my dreams. It felt so real! I was very happy that he is still around, recognizes me and ready to hang out with me. Normally I can't really  remember the dreams when I wake up but this one was different.

He was a common pet between 2 houses in our neighborhood at my native place. He was pretty handsome, really good with kids and possessed a gift of selfless love. We called him 'Sultan'. The name was given because he came to us during a popular tv series - 'The Sword of Tipu Sultan '. I am personally not a big fan of Tipu Sultan but history tells us he was a brave king and our Sultan totally lived up to that name.

I  used to meet him just once a year for a few days. Every time I reached my grandparents' place, he used to run to me. I don't know how could he remember me. I used to do all sorts of mischiefs with him, but he was always tolerant and forgiving. I was a little kid when I suffered from a dog bite but Sultan is a reason I never felt scared of dogs. He taught me to love selflessly and how to be there when someone needs you. I don't think I can ever get close to him when it comes about loving selflessly.

My grandparents told me he caught a thief one night at a neighbor's place. To me this was exceptional given he was not a trained dog. Loyalty is a very common canine trait but this kind of daring is not. I have seen very strong dogs who get scared of something as small as a rat.
I remember an instance when Sultan followed me all the way to the bus station and tried boarding my bus. Lots of memories. After a long time I am missing someone so badly.

I hope I will be able to get another pet dog one day. It's a lot of investment, especially emotional one but it's worth it. One learns so much from these wonderful animals.

Came across this poem on animal channel, borrowing just a part of it-

God said - ‘I need somebody strong enough to pull sleds and find bombs, yet gentle enough to love babies and lead the blind. Somebody who will spend a day on a couch with a resting head and supportive eyes to lift the spirits of a broken heart.’

So, God made a dog.

Costa Rica - Pura Vida!

It has been more than a year since I spent couple of consecutive days without responding to work emails or attending a work call. I needed a break and my wanderlust wife merrily agreed to accompany me. We literally booked this trip on a spur of the moment and then everyone started scaring us about COVID! We were so bored with the winter and NYC that we decided to go against all the odds and board our flight. Must say, it was a one of the great decisions I made.
Costa Rica is just what I wanted - crisp air, lush green landscapes, amazing food and a dose of Pura Vida!

We decided to drive around in Costa Rica. The main reason was to stop wherever we want, eat roadside food and wander around without any scheduling constraints.

Our first stop was in La Fortuna - small town near Arenal Volcano. Now this Arenal dude is pretty famous but extremely moody and shy. We were there for about 3 days and we got its glimpse for just over 3 seconds and people still called us lucky.
La Fortuna is a small town. It has some good restaurants. We especially liked La Fonda (amazing Salmon), and Soda Viquez (simple Costa Rican food). Oh, and I forgot to mention an Israeli restaurant we tried on our way to La Fortuna - 'Lands in Love'. It offers a splendid view and mouth watering vegan / vegetarian dishes. Loved the Shakshuka there.
The hanging bridge hike near Arenal national park is a must do and make sure you hire a guide. These guides are pretty good at spotting wildlife, and they also carry a telescope with them. We also did a couple of hikes in Arenal Volcano national park, spotted some interesting birds and animals. The jungle there is refreshing and aromatic. Highlight of the trip was an evening in Tabacon resort. This is an exotic place with natural hot springs full of minerals. We just threw ourselves in those springs and relaxed for a few hours. Talk about indulgence.

Next stop was Monteverde and on our way we ate at 'Cafe & Macadamia'. Again- breathtaking views of lake Arenal with some out of the world fruit smoothies and freshly cooked meals.
In Monteverde, we stayed at a boutique hotel - Hidden Canopy. This is owned by a 'Superwoman' Jennifer King. This lady worked in Silicon Valley, got laid off, went to South America as a scuba instructor. When she came to Monteverde, she fell in love with this place, bought some land. This land was just a cow pasture with a small shack. She then turned this piece of land into this beautiful hotel in the middle of a cloud forest. This place is just serene. Toucans, hummingbirds flying around, clouds hovering around and Jen's amazing team serving you some delicious breakfast. Talk about pampering yourself! And icing on the cake - tea time with freshly made snacks while watching a breathtaking sunset. We did absolutely nothing in Monteverde other than a nocturnal jungle tour and a couple of hikes at the crack of a dawn. Nocturnal jungle trip was a different experience, we saw a viper, a sloth bear and many other animals, bugs, frogs. I don't know I would do this kind of tour again given the way we end up disturbing those wonderful creatures. The guide said the animals don't get bothered by our presence but I am not really convinced. We ate at Cabure near Monteverde. It's an Argentine restaurant but offers some fabulous curries. Susana (owner) spent a lot of time in India studying wildlife and that's how she mixed up Argentine dishes with Indian curries.

Our last stop was Poas Volcano near San Jose. I highly recommend a place called Chubascos in Alajuela for their cheesecakes and other local dishes. We stayed in Poas Volcano lodge. This place was devastated during an earthquake 10 years ago but they got back on track and rose like a Phoenix. It's a fabulous place with brilliant artistic sense. I did a long hike there and got a chance to spot a rare bird - resplendent Quetzal. I was lucky to spot one given there are not many in Costa Rica especially this time of the year. Lethargy took over next morning and we decided to skip a visit to Poas Volcano and instead headed back to airport to catch our flight to NYC.

Overall, Costa Rica is a fabulous destination. You would forget all your anxieties, worries and just get immersed in its simplicity. People are honest, simple and they live worry free. It was a good change from NYC's hustle and bustle. The roads in Costa Rica are well maintained. Driving was pretty easy there. We did minimal research and found these places based on the recommendations from locals. I hope this article helps you plan your journey when you go get your dose of Pura Vida!

Pictures: Sneha Pendse

Arenal hiding from us

Hike near Poas Volcano

Glimpse of Arenal

Sweet Plantains: Costa Rican dessert

Sunset from Hidden Canopy

Wildlife in Monteverde

Why do products fail?

This is a very common question and there are ton of articles / books written on this topic. However, products / projects still fail, millions of dollars are wasted, heads get rolled, deadlines are changed and frustration continues. You think you have learnt from this failure, and you won't repeat these mistakes but when you get onto your next venture, you find that you are not only repeating these mistakes but also making a few new ones.

I don't think there can be a 'One size fits all' solution to this problem. But working in Consulting has allowed me to be part of different projects for different clients and look at this rather objectively. So this article is more of a documentation of all these findings. I want to focus on 'product development' here. Sales, pre-sales, marketing etc are separate functions and let's discuss that sometime in the future. Here are some of the common pitfalls I have come across:

1. Not sharing your problem statement / goal: As simple as it sounds but it's not surprising that most of the times, the team that starts working on a initiative is not aware of the end goal.
Many a times, team members have a very limited visibility of the project. This is sometimes needed given some products are confidential for their organizations. However, for the non-confidential gigs, it's pretty essential that everyone knows what they want to achieve and where are they fitting in the jigsaw. This clarity also helps everyone get a feeling of ownership. Otherwise, it's just another job for them. If you think of it, this is the essence of design thinking.

2. Bad Communication: Another cliche, but man, you should not be surprised about this being mentioned here. I call it as 'Communication Leakage'. What starts on top floor and what reaches at the bottom floor are two entirely different versions. How do you handle it? Again - making sure that everyone is aware of the end goal, everyone is able to listen to / understand the 'top floor version' in as simple terms as possible. This also means that 'top floor' needs to communicate in such a way that its 'bottom floor' is able to understand and relate with.

3. No right team in place: I totally agree with Jack Welch here. Finding a right team is 'the' most important aspect of a successful team. It's Synergy, stupid! You have to create a synergy in your team. I like to look for attitude and aptitude in my team members rather than qualifications. The soccer fans can easily relate this with 'Real Madrid' - the dream team. Your team can never be successful just by adding bunch of highly qualified superstars. You have to take efforts in building it. Look for modesty in the people, people who are passionate, ready to listen and share their opinions without worrying about political correctness. With the right recruitment process, and synergy in your team, you have laid a strong foundation for a successful initiative.

4. Final requirements: Now this is a holy grail. Software industry likes to believe that the good old Waterfall model is real. But it never is possible. No one knows all the requirements on day 1. Requirements always evolve! You can not go with the assumption that you will have all the requirements signed off within certain time-frame and people can not change those later. This is rigid, anti-creative and impractical. You got to be agile, you have to be ready to evolve as your product / project progresses and show some flexibility. For a successful relationship, product or anything in life, you have to adapt! The most powerful cultures diminished because of not being able to adapt. Here we are just talking about a simple product. So think about it.

5. No Leadership: Now we come to everyone's favorite whipping boy (or girl)! But it makes sense, you don't get to enjoy the icing for nothing. Leader is like a parent who makes sure that all his quarrelsome kids come to a table for dinner and finish their food without creating any mess. You have to understand that you are going to handle different departments with different interests. They are going to fight with each other, create hindrances, may not have bandwidth for this work etc. You have to wade through all these obstacles keeping your head and tongue completely in check and once you are really good at it, you don't have to read articles like this. :)