A coward, says the great sage Vishnu Sharma, would not be able to enjoy himself even when good fortune smiles upon him.

Guest lecture on Entrepreneurship

It was a cold winter morning when Dad and I were discussing work while sun bathing at home. I had mentioned to him how I would like to someday give a talk on my work, my experiences and hopefully inspire someone to choose the path of Entrepreneurship.

Ever since that January morning, I only, at times thought about it. Thought about what will I speak on, how should I present it knowing that it can be really boring for the students. For them it is yet another, boring lecture.
A college, a unique college I must say, gave me a call this Monday asking me to speak on Entrepreneurship; my journey as an Entrepreneur, my lows and highs, lessons, et al.

Until the day before the presentation, I was stuck on what should I speak on. Stuck. So I called up a friend, an MBA graduate, asking him exactly what goes through the mind of a student who sits for these lectures. He spelled it, boring. Not that I was surprised but it gave me a start.

I decided it will only be a round of questions and answers, with a slight twist. I got two squeeze balls. Who ever had a question shot their hands up. I would throw the ball to him/her and only if the ball was caught I would answer their questions.
The round of questions went on for around 30 minutes, only after I told them about who and what we do. Fortunately the Q & A session covered the highs and lows of my experience as an entrepreneur. I was excited and happy unlike my nervousness at the beginning of the lecture.
I moved on to the principles I practice and have learnt in the past 2 years that I covered in a presentation. This lasted for another 15 minutes.

At the end of it I felt more enlightened on what I spoke and how I could improve and better myself for the next time.

The Presentation on my practices:

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Pictures

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The Chakra Farm concept

I have been working on this concept for around a year now. What started as an idea in my head, converted to reading and experimenting with it in the later part of the year. The practical development of the idea escalated after a few people showed a keenness towards it.

Words can describe only to the extent of the readers imagination, there is a limitation, but a picture seals it by explaining what the idea or the creator has in mind.

This idea, or what I intend to create is a unique farm that resonates with the various chakras in the body (please Google on “what are chakras” to know more about it). The farm will house a geometric representation of each chakra along with its respective plants.

Spending time in any of the chakras will balance any irregularities in that chakra thus benefiting the gland associated with the chakra, eventually improving the health of the person.

The concept shown below houses the 7 chakras in an area of 15,000 sq. ft. Each chakra will cover around 600 sq. ft. of area. There are two different walk ways for the garden. The outer walk way for the walkers and joggers while the inner one for the people who wish to be within the sanctity of the chakra.

So what do you think of this? An institution is providing us a 4 acre land, in the heart of Pune, at no cost so long as I can get the funding to develop it.
That’s half the battle won
If you are keen to know more on it, or wish to participate, do get in touch.

3D model on the concept

Ek Titli Farms – a concept of a Chakra Farm from Ek Titli Tv

“I’ll say a couple of things…it’s not a quick fix…it’s not instant gratification…eship is about having a vision for the future and working towards that…you cant expect all the rewards tomorrow some of the rewards will come… so you have to have the patience to be there for the long haul….eship is not about making money…it’s about making a change and creating things that will benefit people…as a by product you may make money but you don’t start being an entrepreneur to make money…you start by wanting to be a change agent.”
- Nandan Nilekani, Managing Director, Infosys

The Amazing Spiderman

Every kid grew up with a super hero and for me, mine was Spider Man. Nah! I didn’t devour the comics, never knew they existed until I reached Under Grad! I didn’t have any of his toys, or Tees, and any of that spider sense: all I had was a few cartoon series that I had secretly watched during one of my winter breaks as a kid and that was enough to make an indelible mark on my mind. I fell in love with his costume, red, blue and webby. Envied his super skills and being a science geek myself, I wished I could be him someday. Yeah, I still love that innocence I had as a kid.

Such heroes always inspired me. Either through their choice of fighting for and protecting the good or their sheer super human qualities. I never cared who the villains were, never knew their names nor his love interests. All I cared was seeing him in action, and in spite of all the ploys and tricks that the bad guys played against him, he always won. The visual ensemble, the colours and the sequence of the story always stretched my imagination and provided fodder to it. It gave me goosebumps and made me thirsty for more.

The movies eventually provided some relief to that thirst. The first movie was truly awesome, spectacularly played by Tobey Maguire as a loser, a nerd yet a hero. Brilliant action sequences and breath taking VFX. The sequel carried the legacy forward but the 3rd was an utter disappointment. It dwelled more into his personal life and tribulations rather than Spider Man. It killed my love for Spider Man when I saw Peter Parker cry for a girl. Yeah yeah his love interest. The difference between a movie and a super hero movie is that while watching the latter, every fan wishes to get into the skin of that super hero. Feel his flesh and blood and get a chance to play a super hero for those few minutes. He gets a chance to fight evil and win. Thats what the creators of the third edition got it all wrong. I saw myself playing a loser-super hero, crying for a girl and making her jealous. I saw myself playing a superhero who was during the human things. Shyah! a disappointment. The 3rd edition, bastardly killed my interest in the super-hero. While the love for him died, a new was born in the name of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. I was Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins and the sequel.

As they say, you never forget your first love: nor have I. They are rebooting the Spiderman series and giving it a new flesh of life. I only hope that the creators have got it right this time. I wish to feel like Spiderman when I watch the movie. See what he sees, feel what he feels and think the way he does. The trailer shows that ‘coz I felt a rising heart beat, and I felt my hair stand. Check out the sequence in the later half of the trailer, the one where he is jumping skyscrapers and doing what we all love him for.

Trailer:

The film is being directed by Marc Webb. The cast includes Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy and Rhys Ifans as Dr. Curt Connors. The film will portray Peter Parker as he is developing his super powers in high school. It is scheduled to be released in 3D and IMAX 3D on July 3, 2012.

Pictures for your soul:

Grown-ups love figures

Cover of The Little Prince

Grown-ups love figures. When you tell them that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you, “What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies?” Instead, they demand: “How old is he? How many brothers has he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make?” Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.

~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince, 1943

Silence : My experience with Vipassana

My Tongue has this really tingy-tingy feeling..
My minds missing the Silence that I experienced around 10 months back.
It’s not only my mind but also Me…
Silence, is like a wonder drug.. it only makes you become better, better, and only better. All that I have seen in the past 10 months, the growth, the focus, the determination, the clarity and the belief is all because of Silence.
All the answers, that I looked around but couldn’t seek, eventually I discovered it within me.
I am my own best friend, and how beautiful it is to find one in ourselves. Imagine the kind of things that you could do when you start to treasure and love the person you are….

Once you experience that, there’s is no end to how fast and how strong yet peaceful you can be. From getting lost in the daily experiences; getting lost in the daily miseries, through silence I have been able to sail through and above it.. I may not have perfected it, but I now consciously know that I can easily sail over it without letting it affect my inner peace.

Ahhh.. Inner peace…
How beautiful silence is..
It has taken me so within that I can feel the engine running, I can see it run; sparks of light, white golden light and filled with an overpowering feeling of Love… It’s difficult to let go of the Smile across my face..
The engine that runs me, runs you, runs every being. I saw it during one of my very sincere and profound experiences. I went so deep within me, that I could see all that constitutes me.. even beyond the flesh, the cells, the nucleus, beyond all that… that huge churner of beautiful and magnificent energy, light and love.
Words are mere words….. they can only describe a situation.. like describing a room.. but it can’t describe the feeling in that room…
Silence, can be so powerful.
Ever tasted breath? Do you know how it tastes when it goes through your nose? How does it feel? Is it warm or is it cold? Are we just air… are we only that we breathe? The longer I take to breathe, the closer I feel to the HIM in me.
Are we not GOD… since he created us? Are we not in Paradise? Or is there a key to experience Paradise on this land?
Is this key, Silence?
Yes it is….

In November, 2010; precisely the 1st of November, a day before my birthday, I disappeared. No one could reach me, and neither did I choose to reach anyone. I lived a life of a Monk.. woke up at 4 am, and sat with myself, only with myself in deep silence.. Just observing my breath and letting it freely come in and move out. I didn’t control it. I only let it do what it is meant to do. In time, every part of me came in unison, unison to feel like the one. It’s only then that I realized that how a very simple entity on this planet, breath, can transform the person that I now have become.
I miss that experience of Silence. I miss that feeling of Oneness, yet I know I am not far away from it. Just sitting for a while with myself in silence, with every distraction taken care off, gives me so much pleasure that even a glass of water on a thirsty day, or the first grain of food after a rigorous penance is no match to what the feeling of ‘free’ breaths can give.

I believe in all these years that i have lived, I have only ‘LIVED’ the moments that I have spent with myself… and all those were in Silence.

Further Reading:
To know more about Vipassana, click here and here.
My growth since I first experienced Silence: Click here