The rise in global crude prices, and the rapid increase in inflation has hit the Indian consumer hard. More so for the airlines. There is no longer the kind of buzz that was seen in airports just a couple of months ago. Flying has been toppled from its pedestal as the most preferred way of traveling. People are starting to turn back to railways for a slower but cheaper way to travel. This is evident from the lack of queues for the security checks, the empty seats in the departure lounges and in the airplanes itself.
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I can see a few passengers lazily strolling about the lounge, having coffee and chatting. They choose to ignore the PA system announcing the final boarding call for their flight. Only when the desperate airline officials start asking passengers individually whether they are traveling by that flight do they realize that the plane is waiting for them. They get up, grumbling at the half-wasted coffee (even though the coffee there is awful) and throw it away to make way to the bus.
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Kingfisher Airlines still continues to pamper its ‘guests’ but bother other passengers (and possibly make them envious) through multiple pre-boarding calls. Their air-hostesses are still the best-looking.
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While in the line, I think however much we may learn in MBA, we’re still ill-equipped to deal with other cultures. While I’m standing in the line, a man (possibly Japanese) respectfully bows down, gestures with one hand wishing to cross the line to get to the other side. I wonder what would most of us have done in his place. Just shove and push? Or maybe spill out a perfunctory ‘Excuse me?’
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Once in the plane, through the window I can see something which makes me squirm. Airports boast of being technologically modern, with conveniences of all possible kinds. But I can still see a lady sitting in a wheelchair being pushed by an airport employee in the hot Chennai sun. Why such treatment? Aren’t the buses supposed to be handicapped friendly? Why can’t she board the air-conditioned buses which all the other passengers use?
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The flight has ended. The airplane has stopped. Here goes everyone out of their seats fetching their baggage from the overhead storage. Why are you in such a hurry uncle? Let the doors open, let the ladder be positioned. Do you want to jump out and break your bones? Relax India.

I still remember the earliest instances of me sitting in a barber shop. After cutting the hair, he used to take out this strange looking instrument, insert half a safety blade in it and then proceed to shape the sideburns and the back of my head. It was a strange but ticklish feeling. I didn’t dare move at that time.

Fast forward to the present day when you have fancy razors with n number of blades. According to a story by the Economist, it took 70 years after the invention of the safety razor to come up with a razor with two blades. Since then the number of blades has been rapidly increasing so much so that they almost seem to follow the famous Moore’s Law. And just like my computer hardware is behind in this race, so is my shaving hardware. I still use a measly two-blade razor. And I have to dig and scratch to get a smooth shave, nothing like what the ads show, one quick stroke and its done.

I’m taking the example of a specific company but I’m sure the others in this market do the same as well. We had the Gillette Sensor, then Sensor Excel, then there was the Gillette Vector (one of the worst razors I must say), then Mach 3. Recently I heard about the five-blade monster, Gillette Fusion.

I’ve also heard that there is a battery operated version too which vibrates. Talk about an oxymoron. When logic says that you need a steady hand while shaving, why would anyone need a vibrating razor? I shudder to think of the consequences of misguiding it…

But with regards to the number of blades, I have always wondered how close is close? The continuous increase in the number of blades has promised a closer shave with each improvement, but the question which comes to my mind is “What is going to be the tipping point?” How many blades would you need on a razor before one of the blades peels out the skin too. Yeah, then your cheeks would be baby red, and probably you’d cry louder than a baby too. That would be a classic law suit in the making. But strangely, the safety razors have been pretty safe.

Maybe I’ll get my chance when the six blade version comes out. Or is it already here? Till then I’ll practice my cuts and nicks with the good old two-blade version. Or for those who want otherwise, here’s a guide to good shaving. I haven’t read it tho’. I’d finish shaving faster than the time it takes to read it. Maybe I’ll read it before the day of my wedding.

One of the most important functions of post-offices was (is) making sure that mails reach you on time.
One of the most important functions of email providers is making sure that some mails don’t reach you at all.

Inspired by an ad.

People talk about seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but what if you’re in the wrong tunnel? Where does that tunnel lead to?

I never imagined that I would devote a post on my blog to Shahrukh Khan. Many people love his movies but I’m one of those people who don’t particularly like his acting, especially in movies like Om Shanti Om, Main Hoon Na, Mohabbatein. For me, my 100 bucks is better spent on books or food than watching such a movie in the theatre. But when you consider the reason for his selection of roles and the way he acts, it boils out to something very simple. He does it for the masses. People love him not what he does, but how he does it, for the intensity and the goofiness he puts in in some of the characters he portrays. While that has become, for him, a restriction of sorts, he is considered one of the most bankable stars in the Hindi film industry today.

One of the few movies in which I liked his acting, Swades, didn’t do well at the box-office. This means that, Shahrukh Khan the actor and Shahrukh Khan the entertainer are totally two different persons. And one has to take precedence over the other. Further, people are likely to idolize one of these two persons.

Another reason why I like Shahrukh the person is evident in two documentaries I’ve seen about him. One is the Revealed series on CNN, and the other is a documentary by BBC(?) The man has had big wild dreams. In one of the documentaries, he says, as a young boy he wanted to own the city. But after all these years, it seems that the city owns him. In many aspects he is right. But what’s more the city (and the country) loves him. Watching Shahrukh Khan’s life story is more inspiring than watching one of his movies. The way he brought himself to Mumbai from Delhi, the way he struggled doing TV serials, the way he risked his career by taking on negative roles in his early days shows more about his calibre then his roles as Raj or Dev Saran. Watching what inspires the person who inspires a million hearts is more worthwhile than watching, frankly, most of his movies.

Some people reach a position in life for which they have given their all. And when they reach it, they have the right to be proud about it. They have the right to call themselves the King. And today Shahrukh Khan, without the backing of a filmi family, has reached that position solely on the basis of his hard-work and passion.

Lack of self control is something which one faces some time or the other in life. For me, it is a continuous battle. Mostly I lose the fight, sometimes I manage to save my face. Be it in anything as simple as sleeping for one hour less or not having that extra cold drink or piece of pastry, I totally lack control. I shift into short term mode and rarely think of the negative long term effects which this would have on my body.

Its funny when you read about all good habits but you lack to follow them yourself and one day you wake up and see that you have this disease which you could have avoided all the time along by practicing a little bit of moderation. As I said for me, cure seems to be the easier alternative than prevention much to the consternation of the people who care. I make up some excuse or sometimes blatantly lie about what I did or what I failed to do to prevent such an occurrence. I blame the weather or my genes if I fall sick. But I know I’m lying and I know I’m suffering. I know that my self respect will increase only when I learn to say no to things, and start doing things which are beneficial to me in the long run. So here goes nothing.

To start with I’ll concentrate on what I eat. No more stuffing (junk) food into my stomach mercilessly. I eat only when required. Let’s push my limits. If nothing else, I’ll learn one thing from Total Quality Management. From today I follow Toyota’s 5 whys approach. Before stuffing anything in my mouth, I will ask myself ‘why.’ On one hand while I may not be able to wait to ask 5 questions but I will definitely ask myself one the necessity and requirement of anything I put in my mouth. There are many people who can validate whether I’m doing this diligently or not. I may not lost 10 kgs (which I need to) using this method but I’ll at least set an example for myself on which to test other things as well.

In related news, I came across another example which proved that getting a 9.x CGPA doesn’t get you commonsense free with it.

Bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit fart bullshit bullshit bullshit crap bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit

(7:57)
Right now I should be buried in my Organizational Behaviour text book. I have an exam in an hour or so. But somehow I felt I had to write this post now. I think the time has come to open up this blog for its second innings. Don’t have any justifications as to why now, but somehow I feel the time is right. I still don’t know what I will write here; probably it will be the same old blog – my unwanted opinions on anything and everything. But one distinction I will make is that I won’t post any creative material on this blog. The stories, the poems, the one-liners will stay on my other blog. Let this blog continue its journey to what I had created it for – In search of Nirvana.

What a day! Today I regurgitated 2 months of course material in around 2 1/2 hours. Whether I did a good job or not will be clear in a month when the marks come out. Never have written so much in so little a time. Next is the mother of all exams – Data Analysis for Management. Don’t think I’ve forgotten what’s after that. Financial Accounting – the grand-daddy of all exams. Two days of pain followed by two hours each of shock therapy. Lets see how many parts of the body I still have intact after that ordeal.

Then God said, Let there be light: And there was bullshit.