The question is Why

This is an attempt on my varying thoughts inside my head.

A few  years ago, a boy had a vision, a plan, a few idols, a few ambitions. Was self-motivated. Always working for taking his 'next' step. He also seemed to be happy. But, seems now, there was a problem - he dared to dream of only *little*...

Today, the boy achieved his few goals. And also seems to be happy. But he has no *dreams*...
He does not read much. Has no materialistic plans ahead for the future. Has no ambitions. Is not motivated. Doesn't know what should be 'his' next step... Life is sailing by! He Thinks Why... !!!

He likes his older self better, who was inquisitive; who possessed so little but what an idol he was. Now, he tries a lot to emulate his older self, to behave like him, to think like him, to act like him, but he is not coming back.  The question, he asks is Why?

May be, because he is surrounded by responsibilities that bar him from thinking 'big'? May be, because he wishes to live as life comes by? May be, because he's given up on the environment in which he lives? No one knows Why.

He stands in the front of a mirror to find out, if he still looks the same. He finds the calmer, smarter, sincere, curious, ambitious fellow on the other side.  And he again asks himself, the same question - Why?

What would he do now, What should he do now? Is there a way out, Is there a way out - this is what ruins his head. But -

He is still hopeful, He is still peaceful....

He seems, he will figure it out...
And I will help him one more time...
As it will bring back me from myself... !

Ebay learning it the hard way

Ebay, to increase its sales, came up with a very innovative idea.
There were thousands of ebay registered users, and >90% of them never bought a single item from ebay! This was a disaster. For this, the ebay team came up with promotional offers, where in it would lure this population (who never bought a single item on ebay yet) to buy an item (only 1 in quantity) at a very low price (No shipping charges as well)

For those who are unaware, you could have got Close-up toothpaste (MRP: 67) or Haldiram bhujia (MRP: 60) or Dettol handwash (MRP: 70) at 19Rs each. Yes.

This created an uproar - it did NOT get most of the existing ebay population to buy an item each; rather it got a very small population who bought 1 item each (i.e. bought one Close up at Rs. 19), and then they progressed to create 100 user accounts on ebay, and ordered the same item (i.e. bought 100 Close up paste now at Rs. 190) . Oh.. Did I mention, that some of these users were shop keepers? Now, you do the math.. :)

After learning it the hard way, ebay finally modified this a bit, and it now sends such promotional deals to the said population over emails only, after some network on age is spent i.e If you registered today, after say 2 months of time, you'll get this link to the promotional offer, and you'll be able to buy one quantity of this item. I appreciate the thought put in, even though aware of the fact that it still is not foolproof :)


Everything said and done, we are in a state of revolution in India - it is luring a layman to use his credit card online for just 19 rupees. However, you know what - these users will be back again and again, looking for attractive deals, and end up spending 20 rupees now, and they'll be badly hooked!

Believe me, its addictive! The world of deals had got me, for quite a while!

Superstitious Software Professionals

A recent comment on facebook got me a few likes. It was about the website of Indian Railways:

1. Always respect IRCTC (Never try to switch to any other site while booking tickets - pay complete attention to it). Ritual*
2. Never use ICICI Payment Gateway (Use HDFC preferably) - its frequently goes down.
3. Never login using the same user in two browsers - it does not help.
4. Pray

And you might think that's humorous, wouldn't you ?
No, its not for plain humor!
Its a fact for some of us.
You can call us Superstitious Software Professionals.

Didn't the software working perfectly just the previous day, show some abnormalities today? And isn't there 0.1% chance that it might just work again tomorrow, even though we did not fix it at all?

Doesn't your personal computer have its own set of preferences for some softwares; like my laptop has some attitude problems when working with IE or WORD.

If you do share the same feelings, share a few superstitious examples with me. Its fun to share :)

Feddie or Rafa ?

Clash of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at today’s Australian Open, is giving me goose bumps!

These great legends have their own set of fan following. Its not that the fans dislike or disrespect the other person, but it’s just there.Why these two groups exist? Well, deep down, we all know…

Nadal, on one hand, is composed, aggressive, deterministic and has sheer passion to play to win. Federer, on the other hand, is cool, calm, serene, and is pure class! I assume that It is these characteristics that people get influenced from, see in them, that inspires them.. motivates them!

This got me thinking, on the lines of these charactersitics… Who am I? Is it Fedex or Rafa? Or Rather, what charactersitics would I like to imbibe? I would say – a little bit of both! I would like to be cool and calm, but aggressive sometimes; discover some passion, and behave as a pure class! I would not only like to play my part effortlessly, but also play some part which defies the logic! That’s been Federed v/s Nadal for me since ages!

When I see such exhibits of inspiration, it motivates me and for a while, it feels that I’ve got it all figured out. But then, again I lose some focus, and await another exhibit of the same kind, and I start all over again! This has been on going with me for quite a while now, but it seems alright for now, and I’ll keep looking! Such doses are necessary I guess, to move ahead!

So, yeah, I've it all figured out ;). I would've looked out for me if I were you.. :)