Muscat

Exactly twice in my life have I fallen blindly and madly in love. The first time was when I saw Shah Rukh Khan in DDLJ and the other later on. But both of them unfortunately disappointed me. And I realized then that they did not disappoint me, I expected too much from a quick rush of blind love.

Its the same with me and cities that I have travelled to. I still remember the first time I saw Mumbai, London and New York - it was love at first sight. I was completely and fully infatuated and wanted to live in these cities forever. But Muscat - its different. It feels like it has more substance than a quick fleeting infatuation. It feels like the comfortable, secure and lasting companionship you find with a friend.

The first thing that struck me when I landed in Muscat and stepped out of the plane was the weather. It was warm, welcoming and comfortable. It felt - like I was home. And for a long time now I have been unable to define home - both in terms of coming home to a person and to a city. This is a feeling I have not had in sometime. It feels good.

I was driving around today and when I saw the Sea amidst the mountains and the wide expanse of land - I was inspired again. It was breathtaking - the sea is clear and cool and the mountains offer a ragged, raw background. It's a paradox really - because it makes you feel at once insignificant and ambitious. The palace of His Majesty is magnificent. The houses all are white or brown - they have to be. and the windows at the top level of any building cannot be rectangular - it can only be curved. This gives all the architecture a distinctly Islamic look - its beautiful. I love being in a place with no high buildings.

Women Empowerment is a big deal here. Its talked about and it seems like they want to do something about it. I think they're confused in the concept of what is woman empowerment. I dont want to get into this but this is another reason I feel I want to live here for sometime. To define for myself and my life - what is empowerment. I dont think taking off a veil, being able to wear sleeveless clothes and working outside of the house is always the definition of empowerment.

The last reason I want to come back here is because I know after a year I will want to leave and go back to India. That's important for me. I know the lack of freedom and people will get to me.

I am surprised at my reaction. I usually never get so attached to a country (except London and New York which are typically big cities) where I know I want to live there for a year. I hope I come back. I know I will.

My Stand

This is the True joy in life - being used for a purpose recognised by yourself as a mighty one; being throughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; being a force of nature instead of a fervish selfish little clod of ailments and greivances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.

George Bernard Shaw

Control your destiny or someone else will.

Jack Welsh

We are doing an exercise on our team right now on what is MY STAND. It means what do I stand for for the purpose of my life.. and this is what I said. I wanted to record it because I know years later I will look at this and need to see it; particularly in difficult circumstances

I stand for the empowerment of women in India through leading by my own example.

I stand for bringing religions together and taking away the misconception of communal divisions which exist for no rhyme or reason in the minds of men who are guided by hate and misunderstanding more than a sense of being human.

I stand for defying what is the perception of RIGHT and doing what is truly RIGHT. What it truly right is that which makes the lives of my family and the welfare of my country infinitely better. It is also what makes me happy and able to sleep at night, secure in the knowledge that I have added more value to my work and my country than they have invested in me. And that I have not broken any principles that guide me in doing so.

I stand for fostering and caring for a family that contributes to their societies and are guided by ethics and a profound sense of purpose.

I stand for always being happy no matter what the circumstances and being able to remind myself of the bigger picture and enjoy myself no matter what. Because I believe if I can't enjoy my life who will? Only when I cherish my own life can it be of any benefit to me or have any significant purpose for the world.

Carpe Diem.

Dead Poets Society

Data & Statistics - Interpretation rather than Production

The reason I'm writing this is because I finally got the time (rather I'm too tired to do anything else but read) to read the Global Competitiveness Report & The Global Gender Gap Report; both released by the World Economic Forum. Luckily I did this now because it gave me a minuscule idea for something I can do with my life in the future!

Here are the reports if you're interested : http://www.weforum.org/en/Communities/Women%20Leaders%20and%20Gender%20Parity/GenderGapNetwork/index.htm and http://www.weforum.org/en/initiatives/gcp/Global%20Competitiveness%20Report/index.htm

But my post is not about the reports themselves but about data and statistics all over the world. In my job I do a bit of data analysis and information gathering and even though my knowledge is rudimentary I know one thing - the primary purpose of data collection should be to educate the layman about possible problems and offering solutions in a logical way backed by numbers.

But when I see data/information in many reports: even the WEF and the population census in India they only offer the numbers. No one is talking solutions or what to do. At most they come up with fancy garphs and divide data regionally. Of course they also have rankings.

So to come to the point - my idea. One of my former team mates and now closest friends who is Chinese once pointed out to me that the one thing India could do with is a central data/information gathering mechanism. We need it really. We have scattered agencies and the only one that works with a semblance of normalcy is the population census. We simply don't have data in the world's largest democracy! Its quite shocking. this is also becasue structures are quite decentralized and states left to themselves will not take on the responsibility. This has to be a centre driven project.

So I figure if I can work out an organisation can do this for India and also maybe the world. Think about it - we have the fancy UN reports and then country reports but is there anyone looking at various national reports and tying them together to see what are the opportunities to be taken advantage of? If there is I would like to find them and work for them! If not there is always space for global data consulting - if I can call it that.

Lets see. This is another option for the future. and its good because I can start in India. Also my previous experience will be useful here.

And if it doest work I can settle down being the good Indian Wife to a Rich Husband. And then make charts and excel sheets on expenses of the house and the number of diapers used by my kids per month and quarter. (I'm really just joking on this one - I have the greatest respect for the Indian housewife - a post which will come later!)

New York & a New Beginning

As I write this I'm on my way to Boston from NY on a beautiful Saturday morning. I'm listening to Chalte Chalte from Pakeeza on the IPOD.

New York is a revelation. I have visited this city in January of 2009 and it completely took my breath away. It's big, anonymous and larger than life. It has a spirit that cannot be quenched. It feels like you want to enjoy being alive when you're in NY. I associate this with the spirit of America in general.

I was having a bad few days and the city cheered me up. Bombay is the only other city that has been able to do so until now. It has something to do with the unseen but tangible energy that is present in the city.

I know I want to live in New York once (and as the line goes... leave before it makes you hard). It makes you feel insignificant - like you are such a small piece of the puzzle but it also makes you feel inspired. Like you're such a small piece of the puzzle that you want to assemble the other pieces and really do something worthwhile.

My favourite part about the city is walking around on my own and discovering the different streets and avenues and being able to find my way in a big city! It doesn't happen too often in India. I can totally imagine finding a Sex & the City Gang and living there for a while.

Some of the things I have done and still enjoy are

1. Billy's Cupcakes!
2. Central Park and a coffee
3. Bagels and Cream Cheese
4. Times Square at night.
5. Seeing random celebrities on the road
6. A slice of Pizza when you're really hungry after a couple of drinks
7. Gay bars & Karaoke
8. The people who are always in a hurry and are anything but polite!
9. The opportunity to make something of yourself just because you feel challenged by a city.

The city makes me realize I want my life to be defined by moments and experiences that are memorable and one constant routine which is safe and secure. When I'm 40 I want to remember my life as a series of fortunate and unfortunate events but ones that cannot be forgotten.

And of course my 5 years in New York.