Blogspot after a long time

It has been long since I have made any contribution here. I started this blog to hone my writing skills. I thought that if I took this up as a habit, it will bring a good change in me.
I guess, it is the tendency to produce only a perfect, or at least an excellent piece, that stops me from writing more frequently. I always hope that I will get that extra hour(that is, in addition to general 24 hr of a day) when I would sit and write. Alas! that is something which is not going to happen. This pattern can be observed in general life as well . People tend to overlook small pleasures while waiting for bigger ones, and when they arrive they are treated with same indifference as small pleasures. The need is to take a fresh look at life and enjoy every small moment which we come across.
Similarly, in the world of business, it is not every now and then that a radical idea comes up and becomes a runaway success. It requires everything to fall right in place and happens once in a while. Small and incremental innovations, which might seem insignificant when viewed in isolation, are the ones which matter. It is not that everyday a walkman, or an iPod is introduced. Whenever somebody talks about innovation, first thing we picture is a tangible product, however, we tend to forget that innovation can be in any field, it might be in processes, in approaches, in markets, or in business models.
Even in academics, most students postpone their study to the eleventh hour and thus are left untouched by the advantage of studying regularly. I would call it: "Engineer Syndrome", not because one can get an engineering degree just by studying on last day but because this is very common amongst engineers.
I plan to bring a change in me. My first step is to write here as frequently as possible, though I may end up freaking you out, do bear with me.

Sketches

Vision - differentiates leaders from others

Leaders have one special thing which others don't have. They have clarity of thoughts. They are certain of what they want, why they want and manner in which the achievement of aim is acceptable. They have a vision. Gandhiji, one of the most prominent leaders of the world, had very clear vision that he wanted independent, peaceful and united India. Most often people forget the peaceful aspect of this independence .. At the time of struggle of independence, the movement was clearly divided into two camps, one was of the followers of Gandhiji's priciples of ahimsa, satyagrah and the second was of the armed fighters, rebels, krantikaari.
The disadvantage with the armed resistance was that English government was best prepared for these type of movements, also the government had experience of tackling and suppressing them. It would have taken atleast a millennium more for such movement to be successful because the inventory ( guns, bullets, bombs, training) needed was expensive and rare, also this method was direct violation of law. Even if we would have got the independence, the nation would have easily slide into a civil war which inturn is equally undesirable. The situation might have been similar to what it is presently in some African nations like Sudan, Somalia, Congo etc. The region would have been divided in to many subregions with the most powerful gang in the region ruling. Also, taking weapons away from the general public would be a task impossible even to imagine.
What Gandhiji provided was not just independence but peaceful independence. The English government had no idea how to tackle a peaceful movement, they were confused. They first chose not to highlight Gandhiji by ignoring/under-mining his deeds, and later found him unstoppable.
The Hindu-Muslim riots just after the partition is a dark period in the india's modern history. However the riots would have been worse had both sides were equipped with weapons. Today the toll of those riots seems insignificant if one is to consider the degree of closeness of habitat of people of both communities. And these riots weren't a new thing, rift was present almost all along the past.
Gandhiji was able to mobilize such a huge population because the enemy was clear, distinct an outsider, someone who was not among us. He worked with the farmers, loom workers, potters and other labours which constituted the general population. This helped him connect with the general public and gain their confidence. Although he was against casteism and religionism and he himself treated people from all the caste and religion alike, he wasn't very successful at changing perception of the masses. It is tougher to turn one against oneself. It is hard to order self and obey. Sometimes it work and many times it doesnt. It is same as when you decide to study for the next exam in time while struggling with preparation of the present exam.
At an individual level he has done more than enough for the country, but at level of a leader his failure to create religious harmony can be attributed to his age. Neither he was physically strong at the time of independence nor he got much time to focus on these problems. Had we got the independence a bit earlier he might have done even this for us.
One more area where he failed is creating second rung leaders who would carry on with his mission. Nehru, Patel, and others were great leaders but weren't as great as he was.

Good for Doctors

Indian medicos no longer need to pass the examination conducted by British government before they can practice on English land. This news provided some relief to Indian doctors, even to those who hasn't even considered this alternative. The change in British government's perspective towards Indian medicos is not the result of some improvement in nation's medical institutions, instead seems to be more driven by the increasing demand of doctors in England. Sometime back, I came across a report mentioning that more and more youngsters in England are opting for a career which enable them to make quick money.
With the value of money overshadowing moral and human values, these youngsters are reluctant to take doctor as profession. Rather this is not the situation particularly in England but is also in other countries. Similar situation prevails in India too, though the crisis is not so severe, yet. Where a doctor starts earning substantially only after 10-12 years (to quote minimum) of getting into college, an engineer has to wait only till he graduates. Moreover, advent of IT boom only deepened this contrast. A student doctor starts questioning his decision when he watchs his batch-mates earning handsomely, while he still has a long way to go.
Also the amount of study that goes into becoming a doctor vastly outweighs that goes in becoming an engineer. Where an engineer starts specialization right from the second year, a medical student has to study of all parts of body in pretty much detail spread over four years and gets to specialize only if he opts for post-graduation, again whose entrance is way too tough. With the new government order a medical student has to wait for two years (one for internship and one for Medical Officer-ship) before even attempting PG entrance. Thereafter, a doctor is expected to provide best services at reasonable price.
All said, don't you think we have put enough of burden of 'doing good' on these people. Agreed, that in this profession customer's(patient) stakes are distinctly high, and compromising on quality is something unthinkable of, but making these people's life easier and better will only ensure enough and persistent inflow of talented students into this profession.

Medical curriculum can be reformed on the lines of engineering course. Making first year (and if necessary second) to contain some details of all body parts/organs. While rest of the years are invested into doing specialization, like engineering courses. Hence, instead of producing a general MBBS, we get MBBS Ophthalmology, Neurology, EarNoseThroat, Cardiology, Radiology etc. Also duration of internship and MO ship can be reduced to fifteen-eighteen months.
By the time Indian government wakes up, we shall thank human and moral values which still persists in Indian society, as it is there presence that ensures that crises is not as severe as the one in England. But, steps have to be taken right away to avoid what appears to be inevitable.

Sunrise after a long time

After a long long time I witnessed a sunrise. When I say "a long-long time" it means first time in my memory. This too had happened because I had one of very strict commitments. Even I was surprised by my determination. I used to undermine myself and assumed that I can't make to a real good morning. This sunrise was best I have seen, not because of its rareness to me but to the beautiful thought that entered in my mind. Let me explain with more details.
I woke up at around 6 ‘o'clock, I had an appointment at 7, so I got to rush. Getting off the bed I went directly to wash-basin (which is outside) to brush my teeth. I was roaming while brushing like a typical lazy just managing to not to fall. It was then I noticed source of life rising slowly above horizon far-far away. Just a few moments back, whole sky was lightened but the source still nowhere in existence. I thought what a neanderthal would have thought seeing this strange thing above his head. He must have concluded it to be some kind of god, or perhaps might not have paid any attention to it and continued with his food hunt. By this time whole sun was in the out with circumference touching the horizon. Suddenly a feeling of gladness ran through my nerves making me delighted. I felt like I am looking at some wonderful festival celebration.
I enquired to myself; what exactly am I looking at, which made me feel so. My conscious mind replied that its a star situated at just the right distance from earth to make life a possibility, isn't it well known, it remains in the sky for some 12 hours. Then I realized it was a celebration of hydrogen and helium atoms going around, for some thousands of centuries. Toothpaste froth in my mouth was drying and I decided to wash it. When I returned, sun was well above and had all its might. By now I was feeling very fresh, and ready to take up any challenge. I took a look at the watch and continued with daily rituals.