An accidental Journey Part 3 - Day 2 Ride to Fagu

Cycling Starting Point - Kasauli

Destination - Fagu

Route - Kasauli - Dharampur - Solan - Kandaghat - Sadhupul - Chail - Kufri - Fagu

Cycling Distance - 104 Kms

Car Driving - 104 Kms

Kanav’s Cycle Ride - 80Kms

Major Breaks - Solan, Sadhupul, Koti

Elevation Gained - 2077 mtrs.

The day started early with us planning to leave the hotel by 4:00am. But our car was badly stuck in the parking lot. But finally by 4:30am we were on the saddle enjoying our Downhill ride to Dharampur in pitch dark.

I was quite sure that we would have to ride uphill most of the day and it would take us a good amount of time to reach Solan. But suddenly after a few Kms from Dharampur, the road began to slope downhill and it did not end till we reached Solan. The view on the way was just out of this world with clouds floating along with us. People were getting out of the cars and clicking photographs and we were savouring our ride and the view.

While the quick ride to Solan encouraged us, our confidence was even further Boosted by a few young cyclists from Solan who told us that the downhill shall continue upto Sadhupul from where Chail was about 17-18 Kms only. So me and Abhishek decided to speed things up and see how far cold we reach by 8:30am as our intial target was Solan which we had already achieved by 7:00am.

But simultaneously preeti encountered her first car driving challenge. She had taken another route and was on the Solan Bypass when we called her out for a tea in the Solan Market. She took a detour into the market advised by a passerby. But this detour was an extremely steep climb for the car. The car stopped in the middle of the climb but Preeti recalled a similar incident in Hoshiarpur’s Miraj Cinema and quickly pulled the hand break and released it only after she had put her foot on the accelerator. And now, she was ready for the bigger challenges she was about to face on the world’s most treacherous road ahead.

We were gliding to Sadhupul with almost a Kms distance between each one of us Abhishek - Myself - Kanav. Only 3kms away and at 8:00am, I found Abhishek sitting with the cycle upside down and working on another puncture. I quickly got down and we worked on changing the tube of the cycle. Kanav and Preeti reached soon after and Jay took Sultan to a small trek for him to relieve himself on the nearby mountain. Jay was fully enjoying the trip playing with Sultan. Preeti was introducing him to experiences like working a hand pump, plucking flowers and fruits etc.

Suddenly a man on the motorcycle came and hushed us up by warning us of a few leopards and their cubs just a few meters ahead. The cubs seem to have attacked the motorcyclist. We were apprehensive but did not take the risk and immediately hang up the cycles on the rack and drove out in the car around 3 kms to a dhaba at Sadhupul.

I quickly began my day’s office routine while having breakfast. Kids immediately made friends with the kids of the dhaba owner and started exploring nature. They were plucking fruits and eating them while the local kids introduced them to more varieties of fruits and flowers around. While leaving the place, the kids exchanged numbers and decided to call one another. The elder one, Dhruv, even took his single gear bicycle and rode with us for 2 kms uphill when we left at around 12pm.

While I kept getting calls on the way, Kanav and Abhishek were riding uphill. Preeti in the meanwhile was disgusted with the condition of the car and was still at the Dhaba cleaning it up. She must have spent an hour in total making the car spic and span before starting off. She caught up with Kanav soon and I also was beside him just 8Kms before Chail.

As usual Preeti was exploring the local plants and found walnuts hanging from the trees. She took one as a prize to show it around. Kanav soon gave up on the climb as it was hot and the climb was gruelling. Abhishek had reached Chail by now in a single shot without stoppages and I had still to climb 8 kms which were the toughest part of the climb. The forests around slowly made the climb easier and with another break for a call just 2 kms before Chail, I quickly made up.

As Abhishek had already left for Kufri, we decided to make our way to Theog that day and I did not stop at Chail. Kanav who was coming behind immediately saddled up at Chail to enjoy the downhill. But after a 10-12 Kms from Chail, in which merely 2 kms were downhill, I was feeling exhausted and went to sleep on the roadside. Preeti came with some sweets and momos which I savoured and attended a quick call with Shruti and gave her the required data while working from the forest of Chail.

In a few more kms which were more-or-less uphill only, we reached Kothi where we had a cup of tea and a few biscuits. Here Jay’s love of Dogs was quite evident when 6-7 dogs surrounded Jay and Jay was playing with them. He took a full packet of Biscuits and distributed them to his new friends.

Just 2 kms from Kothi, Kanav had a severe pressure to answer nature's call where he was stung by the Itching plant. He immediately gave up the ride and sat in the car. 

Around 12 kms from Kufri, Abhishek called up, telling us that the last 6 kms climb to Chini Bungla was a killer one and I had an option to come via Car. And he was not wrong at all. The climb came after I had done 90+ Kms for the day and was a really steep one. I took one break in between but by the time I reached Chini Bungla, it was already night.

Jay had been demanding to do some downhill the whole day, and with no traffic on the road, I obliged him. He rode very safely on the downhill to Kufri and I gave him another Km to ride towards Fagu. By the time we reached fagu, It was past 8pm and Abhishek was waiting for us with Dinner.

After a quick dinner we planned out not to ride to jeebhi instead of taking the route to Spiti. Preeti was apprehensive but was with us. Again deciding to follow the same schedule, we went back to sleep at around 10:30 while preeti was still washing our clothes and ensuring that we don’t run out of athletic wear soon.

 

An accidental Journey Part 2 - Day 1 Ride to Kasauli

Cycling Starting Point - Command Hospital, Chandimandir

Destination - Kasauli

Route - Panchkula - Pinjore - Kalka - Parwanoo - Mashobra - Kasauli

Cycling Distance - 53Kms

Car Driving - 70 Kms

Elevation Gained - 2550 mtrs.

Preeti waited for us at the Kalka Devi temple where she was surprised by the priest who suddenly called her out and blessed her by putting a tilak on her forehead (even though it wasn’t allowed under covid guidelines for the temple). Preeti’s happiness knew no bounds as she considered this as a sign of a safe and successful trip. And thus began our adventure on an auspicious note.

Abhishek is a really strong rider. It was evident on the climb from Parwanoo to Kasauli on which he effortlessly pedaled through. Kanav, as usual was in his full form, chattering all the way.

 

Being my first day, I was in a rush to reach the Breakfast point which was a small restaurant around 11 Kms from Parwanoo.

The ride steadily went into the clouds and we were all just ecstatic because the weather was just outstanding. Riding through the clouds was a first time experience for Abhishek and he was simply enjoying it.

But the ride was suddenly halted when Abhishek’s cycle got punctured. We quickly changed the tube and rode up to the restaurant where I prepared and attended my meetings. The first day of office on the road made me realize that I had been attending some meetings where my requirement was minimal and could be avoided till the point I had something to contribute. So, I and Preeti decided on a plan. Instead of not attending such meetings, I decided to be a mute spectator while I kept riding the bike. Only where I thought my contribution was necessary, I intervened otherwise we just kept riding.

Preeti told me to ride quickly because the weather was getting bad and it was raining. I pointed out that weather was not bad, we were just riding through the clouds. This is where she said that - For people like us, it is raining. Whether you call it the melting of the clouds or riding through the clouds, it's simply raining.

This is how she brings us down from the clouds to reality. A trait which kept us sane throughout the trip.

Simultaneously, her outgoing nature also meant that we did not miss out most of the fun during the trip. On the ride to Kasauli, she suddenly came across a Fig Tree dangling over a ditch with fresh fruits hanging from it. Neither she nor, I had the courage to pluck the fruit. But she asked out help from a stranger from the nearby shop helped us gather at least 3 Kgs of Fresh Fig which we savoured over the trip. For the stranger, it was a simple task but for us it was a gesture to remember and repay to others throughout life.

By evening, I had attended most of my meetings and we had also reached Kasauli. Abhishek and Preeti had already reached there before us and we waited at the intersection of the Dharampur and the Parwanoo road. Around 2 kms downhill from there, they found a comfortable hotel (Hotel Kasauli Woods) in the village called Garkhal.

While I quickly dove into the meetings after a quick bite in the nearby dhaba, Abhishek, Preeti and Kids went to Kasauli. Preeti on her Window Shopping spree while Abhishek trekked into the nearby mountains.

The most difficult part here was taking care of Sultan, as while we were eating at the Dhaba, the street dogs from the villages gathered making it tough to control Sultan. He is a quick learner and has steadily become aggressive. Even in the evening when I and Abhishek took him to the nearby mountain, he met an aggressive Alsatian pet Dog whom he simply overpowered (by barking and eye contact) and made way to the mountain.

With a really good day, I and Abhishek decided to avoid the crowded Shimla and go to Chail, We created a new route from Jibhi to Manali in the evening before going to sleep.

An accidental Journey Part 1 - At the Beginning

 The Genesis

RAAM Qualifier - Romantika Uz Beas was scheduled for 13th June 2021. This grueling Cycling race was 615 Kms from Hoshiarpur to Manali and Back. But Covid’s second wave ruined the event and was now delayed by a year.

But the hard work I had put in the preparation of the event could not go waste so I decided to do the Chandigarh to Shimla ride with Kanav during the same time. Abhishek Yadav, a colleague at Grofers when heard about the plan, decided to ride down from Gurgaon to join us.

The Preparation

Kanav was really excited to do the trip to Shimla and had pushed himself hard by exercising most of the days in the month of May. I was quite sure that he would make a good headway to Shimla if not able to complete it.

But as the plan’s were undergoing a change, Kanav and Jay were even more excited to do camping during the trip and so Preeti contacted Shankar who helped her prepare a list of important things needed for the camping trip. He even gave his some favourite possessions like a Korean Stove, an Emergency light for the trip. Tried to go as light as possible but still had a car trunk full of bags, tent and cycling gear.

Luckily, I got my car insurance renewed in time and preeti got a quick service of the car done along with the change of windshield from the Motor Market.

The trip was going to be long and Sultan, our pet dog couldn’t be left anywhere so he was definitely going along. 

Just a day before, we realized that we had missed a very important component of our ride - the entry pass into Himachal. I immediately applied on the Himachal website for the pass and voila, in 30 minutes, I had the pass to enter Kasauli. This is when I first realized that the Luck was on our side as Himachal had opened its borders just 3 days before we had planned the ride. (This was our Lucky Break 1 during the ride)

But any preparation is not enough and one only comes to know about it on the road. For I had already left my cycle’s front lights back at home.

The Start

Abhishek had reached Chandigarh by 11th June and wanted to start early. I was a bit hesitant because I had not taken leave and wanted to do it on the weekend so that I don’t have to take more than a day’s leave.

But Abhishek’s persistence made me think out of the box and I decided to work while we rode the cycle. So we agreed to leave on 16th June, Wednesday morning for Kasauli. With this out of the box plan, I decided to elongate the journey and we jointly decided to see if we can push ourselves to go to Manali from Shimla and back to Hoshiarpur. 

With almost no plan in mind but with just an idea, we left our home at 4:30am in the car to reach the Rendezvous point, Command Hospital, Chandimandir and we finally started at 5:30am.

All in, Just a year!

 My father used to recite me some very powerful quotes and stories when I was a Kid. One of them was the Edison’s famous story where he brushed aside his failure by saying that he knows over 1000 ways in which the Light Bulb cannot be made. In retrospect now I can understand the impact these stories had as they kept on playing in my still developing brain again and again.

Over the years, I have failed many times but have never kept a tab on the failures or successes. Somehow we are also wired to remember our successful life changing moments and forget the role failures have played.

I am not sure how the next 10 years of my life are going to play out but I found the last one year one of the most challenging ones in my adult life. For I have failed multiple times in just a year. So I thought let me just recount what really happened?

1. My venture into building a O2O e-ccommerce company, Pumpkart failed and I had to leave the project. And this was happening while we were entering into a lockdown due to Coorona (which no one in the country was aware of).
2. Planned out to work as a seller to the government organizations for certain set of products and took licence to a software providing tender details. Could not work this out because of the requirement of the tenders were too high and money was to be paid upfront as safety deposit which we were already running short. On top of it Corona happened and everything started shutting down.
3. With the advent of Corona, I tried to do some trading in medical wear like surgical masks. Got stuck with over 2500 masks as we could not sell them out even to the local suppliers as the prices fell very sharply.
4. Tried to work towards monetizing my knowledge through online speeches and lectures but was not able to build audience due to lack of proper social media strategy.
5. Tried my hand at Digital Advertising but could not move beyond a single customer as was running short of funds and was afraid to borrow more in times of Corona.
6. Started ed-tech venture along with Vikram but failed badly after a minor beginner’s luck in a few programs.
7. Tried buying leads from Indiamart to sell them or tade a few products but all the 7-8 leads failed. Could not invest any further.
8. Tried doing some consultancy with a local person Parminder Singh and help a few small MSME players get government loans. But the process was too slow and had to leave it mid way.
9. Tried some consultancy for RCED by helping one of their service providers to start selling their products online on Amazon. But again the process was too slow and had to again abandon midway.
10. Even tried to do online tutions and built a facebook profile of a company by the name MERITO. But could not generate enquiries as did not have sufficient money to invest in digital adds.

In a different time, probably my approach would have been different but in the time of Corona, I wanted instant results. I got them through Digital Advertising which helped me put some food on the table. But these flurry of failures have finally taught me that building anything would take time and is not an instant thing.

Also as I write this, we have already laid out the plan to close down our Pre-Schools to whom we gave ample time. But the idea had an execution flaw which couldn’t be overcome even with time.

So an idea needs time as well as constant improvement in the execution to remain relevant and grow. With this learning of 5 and a half year, I patiently accept my failures to now focus on building something better.

Experience is what you get when you don't succeed!

"Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer. " - Randy Pausch

By 2019, I had spent almost 5 years trying to build a social enterprise in the education sector. Country’s education policy had changed dramatically in those years and we were unsuccessful in surmounting the execution problems in the villages. Preeti had stretched herself beyond imagination and even when she did not believe in the project, she ensured that she gives her blood and sweat to it.

While I had realized the shortcomings of the project within the first 18 months, I was too attached to the idea itself. Because I had seen it getting successful in Karnataka, I wanted to give it more time and for that reason I joined LPU in October 2016 so as to keep connected and earn bread and Butter.

But by mid 2018, when I realized that its time to move on, I started to search for more opportunities. With heavy heart, I wanted to get back to the corporate sector with eyes still on setting up a school of mine in the long run.

But it had been over 4 years since I had resigned from Staples and getting back was really tough.

One fine day I got a call from Chandigarh where the founder of Pumpkart wanted to have a conversation with me. We started to spend some time on the calls discussing his business. While nothing was too impressive, I still kept wondering the reason behind the calls. But when one day he offered me to join him, I realized that he intends to create an impressive team to take the company to the next level.

I was hesitant as I did not believe much in the idea and wanted to take time. So we agreed on me doing consulting for some time. But he was extremely persuasive. I wanted to move back to the corporate world, LPU was being managed in one of the worst possible ways, this was the only offer I had and not everything was right back at home and Preeti was struggling emotionally a lot - these were the couple of things which made me decide in favour of joining Pumpkart. The best part of Mr. Bhatia’s offer was that he wanted me as a co-founder which I sincerely thought was quite generous.

I was very clear that this company had not made much progress yet but was very impressed with Mr. Bhatia’s enthusiasm, his ability to take risk (to get me in as co-founder) and had a strong belief in my own capability in operations.

In the first 15 days at Pumpkart, I had realized the mistake I had made and I told Preeti that even a year here would be really tough but I wanted to give my best shot. With little to do in operations, I started getting engaged in almost every-thing.

But with people leaving the organization quickly, I tried to consult Mr. Bhatia but he just waved aside my advice and kept on single handedly taking decisions on manpower. With an extremely shortsightedness in hiring and firing, I realized that the longetivity of this firm is not going to be much. And by the time we entered November 2019, the sales team was reduced to merely 2 young boys in their 20s.

Still giving it all I had, I finally understood that one had to start looking out. If I had to list what was wrong with the organization, I think I can write a complete book. But instead, I have analysed my time in Pumpkart into various learnings for a startup and its founders.

Even though he was extremely unpredictable and impulsive I was able to predict his moves with extreme accuracy. Whether it was unnecessary hirings, firings, change in business model or even reduction in the pay. But once I was fully convinced that the company had no future, I finally decided to move out even when I had no future course of action laid out.

Though I had given an interview for Grofers, and they were quite positive, no confirmation had come yet. While moving into Punpkart was a risk, leaving it seemed zero risk to me.

And my last day at Pumpkart became the first day when the Lockdown in the country started due to the Corona Pandemic!

AndolanJeevi

Around 1997-98, I developed my political awakeness. And have seen two Brilliant PMs since then – Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Dr. Manmohan Singh.

While one brought in a president whose popularity cut across the various divisions of India, the other ensured that the country grew at an unprecedented rate for 10 years. Both also had their own share of mistakes too. While one could not keep its allies together, the other had his team embroiled in the biggest scams of its times.

Then came in a leader promising clean governance and growth showcasing his development model he built in his state. Soon after he got into the second term, his attitude showed a drastic difference from his first term. While in the first term, the agenda was taking the development work forward, the second term seems to be more focused on festering an irreversible social divide in the society.

A Prime Minister of this country, gets on the stage and tells his audience that “It is easy to identify people inciting violence by their CLOTHES” pointing to a specific minority. (At 3min to 3:15min in the video here)

In countering Congress, he is making veiled attacks continuously on a minority and his own party men including veteran and intelligent leaders like Piyush Goel, Law minister, Shri ravi Shankar Prasad and even Minister of State for Finance, Anurag Thakur are indulging in speeches which are violent. All this is happening with the Judiciary just watching it as a spectator and sending notices to people like Prashant Bhushan for a simple tweet questioning the conduct of the Court.

The divisive nature of the Prime Minister crossed all lines when talking in the Parliament a few days back, he coined a new name for all social activists – “Andolanjeevi”. He ensured that anyone and everyone who dares to speak against him or his government is identified and demeaned by using this word. This is being done when his government is facing the biggest protest in his regime from the Farmers.

He clearly forgot that his own political journey started as an activist, Mahatma Gandhi, Khudi Ram Bose, Deen dayal Upadhyay, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, Subhash Chandra Bose and even Jai Prakash Narain laid the foundation of this country through continuous activism. It’s their ideology that we teach our kids to speak up when you see a wrong happening around.

Even our scriptures talk about Dharma which purely means that “A mighty must protect the weak”. Activism is in the veins of this country and by demeaning activists and activism, the Prime Minister has lost not only faith but respect across a large section of the society.

My father always taught me that Britishers had devised a successful policy to rule this country. But I had never seen it in action. This is the first time I am, in my adulthood witnessing a National Leader using “Divide and Rule” as an official policy.

Moving Forward or Stuck in Time?

 

2014 was a strange time when India got a Prime Minister who was not even considered in the race a year before. It was also a time when the World was still trying to understand the best ways to use social media to impact lives. And here we had a leader who had mastered it.

My own reading of the situation was a little confusing. 

I had seen and read many documents on the Gujarat Riots of 2002 and had followed them closely. The brutality and institutional patronage to rioters used to send shivers down my spine. And Mr. Modi was the Chief Minister then. Though there was no proof but it was common knowledge that what happened in Gujarat for 3 days was in agreement with his office.

But by 2014, Mr. Modi was riding on a wave of development which was even corroborated by a lot of friends and relatives of mine who stayed in Gujarat. I myself witnessed a lot of basic infrastructure development during my visit there in 2014. And this lead to the confusion in my mind as to what is the right representation of Mr. Modi as a leader – The Gujarat Riots or the Vibrant Gujarat!

As an entrepreneur, I am trained to think positive and I assumed that Mr. Modi would take the development agenda forward. And he also did so. 

He accepted a lot of his mistakes and corrected them. First he took Aadhar’s implementation to the desired levels and then he adopted NREGA as one of the biggest welfare schemes; both of which he had initially rejected as biggest failures of Congress.

But then he took two biggest economic decisions of Demonetization and GST implementation which left a lot of us wondering. Both these decisions had severe flaws which I again assumed would be corrected over a period of time like Mr. Modi corrected his earlier stance.

But by now we had entered into the next elections and riding on the wave of popularity he was back in the office and even I believed that it was important for him to lead again so that he can work on improving a lot of things he needs to.

But his second term seems to have given him a confidence of political immortality. The mistakes are piling and now there seems to be no reevaluation and correction of the course. And his own attitude of correcting himself has taken a backseat now.

Abolishing article 370 in J&K, Expediting the decision for Ram Mandir, CAA-NRC and then ordinances on Farm Laws are strange precedents where Law was used in a manner to appease a small section of the population. The usage is such that it can neither be called illegal nor termed as oppression. But there is no denying that the manner in which this govt has introduced and implemented these initiatives is disturbing. People are out on streets for CAA-NRC and Farm laws and the govt representatives are using all kind of expletives against them. J&K has been divided and converted into a UT and leaders been on House arrest for more than a year.

The usage of UAPA, a draconian law where there is no evidence needed to lock one up has been used freely on any and everyone. The irony is that Indian’s had opposed a similar act “Rowlatt Act” by the Britishers in 1919.

Until and Unless Mr. Modi reverts to his original practice of identifying his mistakes and improving upon them, I find that there is no way that the country is going to move forward on the path of development. 

Seems like we are witnessing the age old adage – Power corrupts and absolute Power corrupts absolutely!

Education – Not for rebels!

For a middle class person in India, society has an important role in probably every decision we make through our life. Education being one of them!

I always toed the line which my parents wanted to. Went to the best Colleges and Universities and exposed myself to a world I had not dreamt of. And once you get something which you believe that was impossible for you, you don’t want to let it go.

I hung on to this desire feeding frenzy for almost a decade before even realizing what this Education had done to me. It had killed the rebel within me. It had doused the fire that burnt within my belly in the Secondary School. It killed my ability to dream big and aim for it. Education had made me a slave to the spiral of desires.

I was able to break out of it finally in 2014 but failed to sustain. The reason, my education again. 

I always believed that I deserve better for I am well educated. Why the heck should it be? Why am I not able to kill this awkward societal reasoning?

Its been because of the people around me! They are not letting me fail! 

They want me to play safe and want me to have cushions all around me. But it would not be right to blame them completely. I am equally responsible for the decisions I have taken under this societal pressure.

But today, am again at a critical juncture where the pressure is telling me to play safe because I have kids who need education, I have parents who need care and I will have a future if I plan well!

But what I have over and above all is a wife who keeps telling me…….Bloddy Hell with everything! Let us fail again! Let us try again! Let us keep trying! We will figure out everything soon!

And I tell her back…….Preeto, we just need to be successful once, so let us try once again!

I am what I am not because of Education, but ‘inspite of it’.

It's not every day you get a change to impact a Million Lives

Professionally, I have always enjoyed greenfield projects which eventually enticed me to take a plunge to start on my own. This new role I have been playing with LPU has been equally exciting.

LPU administration is unique for being a combination of being a large enterprise which is extremely unprofessional. But then I do remember that the same thing happened at the time I left Infosys. And what an experience it was!

My small tenure with LPU has helped me get a detailed insight into the improvement areas which LPU needs to work on priority to remain relevant in the future - 

1. The CEO coach - Culture of an organization is dependent upon the people who head the organization. Their attitude, behavior as well as approach defines how the whole organization behaves. I found myself copying my boss's sitting and walking postures in my previous assignments. LPU is driven by a single man and the whole credit of creating such a wonderful institution goes to him. Mr.Ashok Mittal, who is also the Chancellor of the University. he has many firsts to his name and in a way is an inspiration to many including me. But as with any human, he too has a few shortcomings which he seems to be completely unaware of. He is a man with an amazing vision but being continuously pulled down by his own weight. While it would be so convenient for me to blurt out what I feel is wrong, I would avoid it. Rather my suggestion is that Mr. Mittal is in an urgent need of a CEO coach. A good coach would not only help him iron out his future business objectives but would also help him understand ways of improving the University culture.
2. Missing Brains: The solution to every problem I faced in the University seems to rest with a single "Higher Authority". While in a factory environment, one would want this to be an ideal scenario where everyone is following the process without applying their mind.  A similar environment in an intellectual environment of a University seems to be quite strange and completely out of place. So the question I started asking myself was -  "Are people here not good enough?" And the little experience,  I have,  I was quick to make out that it's not the case. The real issue was that the roles have been created to have a lot of responsibility but all without Authority. Leading to such a severe determination that now a large number of Senior Management team is made of "Yes Men". No one wants to take logical decisions or apply their minds to a problem and are happy to announce that the solution can only be provided by "Higher Authorities" which to me seems like invoking God. 
3. 
   
   Penny wise pound foolish: A 250 crore organization, I worked with,  followed the process of budgeting diligently to the minutest detail. Every department created an annual budget while setting the target almost 3 to 5 months in advance of the next financial year. The whole organization would then gear up to that objective. Into the year, discussions were oriented towards the target achievements and analysis of the misses for course correction. Every penny spent was for a pre-defined through a well debated objective. Every recruitment was with a final goal written down in the plan. But this some odd 1000 crore company/University does not have a budgeting process. The budget here is on the discretion of the "Higher Authorities". Someone advised them to try budgeting and they hired their own audit department to do it. The method followed was astounding, Whatever one department has spent in the last year, needs to spend 10-20 percent less. A great process in which budgeting is no where linked to the business objective of the department and is not verified by the business team. When there is no logic to the process, a logical person stops fighting and just gives in by either accepting that there is no use arguing and just take in this absurdness or they just move out. There are just innumerable cases which I came across where this illogical process has made the University loose millions in opportunity cost.
4. 
   
   The Balancing Act: It is a challenge for any business to survive in the short run while fixing its eye on the long term. The LPU management has a clear mandate run a profitable business, the way they have run other businesses like sweet shop and automobile dealership. While this University has an excellent short term determination to be profitable every year, it clearly seems to lack vision. This lack of vision is clearly manifested in the working of individual department. If one asks the head of any department as to what is the long term objective they have set for their department, the answers were all over the place. When one has the ability to build a business employing 8000 people directly or indirectly, it is extremely baffling as to how can this be the case? 
5. In detail lies God: I am given to understand that Lovely Sweets mastered the process of making ladoos and were able to sell high quality ladoos at a very low cost through which the Lovely Empire came into being. Process is a very interesting thing. In a process wherever human interaction is involved, there is bound to be an error. So LPU management came with a novel way of removing the human interaction, "just automate everything". Because everything will be computer driven now, a false impression of process has been created. It is completely forgotten that the person entering data or initiating the process is a person and the people involved in the process are interacting with each other. The University/Company seems to clearly misunderstand the difference between a Mechanical Machine and a process. This has led to such a severe problem that even if one needs a stapler to be purchased for their department, there would be atleast 10-11 people involved int he whole process with approval being done by "Higher Authorities" for the consumption of a Rs 50 thing. This problem emanates from the incompetency of the people making the processes. Because Lovely Sweets could do it does not mean that every person in the world can make a user friendly process. If that had been the case, every company would have been equally efficient and there would have been no need of TQM, Kaizen and other such philosophies. The University/Company is in dire need of a process consultant to relieve it from the stress the processes have built within it.

This article is being written almost a year after I have moved on from the University. There had been no heart burn during the stint I had but I was not able to make the Impact I could have made. This made me analyze what stopped me in doing so and I listed down the top 5 reasons.

Even today, I am of a firm belief that resolving these 5 key issues can unleash the full potential of the University and the people working within. It is not everyday that one gets an opportunity to impact more than a million lives which Mr. Ashok Mittal is blessed to have. I just wish he does not squander it away.

Blissful Love

While Kanav is our Pride, Jay is the heart of this Family.

He is developing into an extremely loving and empathetic individual. His zeal to learn small but practical things is what puts him apart from Kanav who concentrates on mentally difficult and challenging scenarios.

Now over 6 and a half years, his anger is much under his control and tantrums are reducing and so is the noise in the house. When I made Preeti realize yesterday in the morning that there is no noise as the kids are bathing in different bathrooms, Preeti was on the verge of crying.

I am no more able to lift Kanav in my arms and soon Jay would also be out of reach. They are growing extremely fast and now we are enjoying their fights, their tantrums and their hugs and kisses more than ever before.

We just wish for this beautiful and blissful love of our kids to last our lifetime.

Moral Compass

From obvious questions like "Who is God and where is he?",  Kanav has moved on to questions like "Why do we blink eyes?" and "Why do some God have multiple hands?" 

His questions today have started to become more effortless and inquisitiveness is even more sharper. Kanav today is gradually reaching a level of questioning where he has started making me feel proud. 

While the last 2 years were extremely troubling for him emotionally when he was trying to figure out the meaning of God,  I don't think I made it easier for him. Everyday he had to face a peer group who would single him out and call him an Atheist.  He was dumbfounded everyday as to why his friends could not see simple logic which he could. 

His search for the answer to his God question is still on and would remain so for his environment is exposing him not only to "understanding atheists"  like me but "realistic believers"  like his mother and of course doctrinated believers like his friends. 

But my effort for helping both the kids in having a good moral compass recently took me to Devdutt Patnaik's "The Boys who Fought",  a version of Mahabharta for the kids. A story which I always believed to be lush with moral conundrums even for mature adults is a real treat for kids. Devdutt's efforts in explaining complicated concepts like Dharma in a single line to kids is simply amazing. Empathy,  respect and care have been folded and presented to him in the format of a story which to him is utmost interesting.

While these stories are helping Kanav raise his moral standards,  I am sure they will confuse him further on his quest to understand God. Hopefully,  I might be able to solve a few riddles for him. 

Interestingly, both the kids were not able to relate to the story of Harry Potter even a little bit. The names in the story were confusing for them and after the first 40 pages,  the book is just gathering dust. The Harry Potter books could be great in terms of imagination but they surely lack the depth and unfortunately paint a black and white picture of the world, Good and Bad. On the other hand Mahabharta's depth is so astounding that every version which even I read teaches me something new.  And yes,  imagination is incidental in this story. 

I wish,  I could find more such stories and authors for Jay and Kanav. 

Tipping Point

Kanav just turned 9 years old and over the past few weeks has stopped playing with the kids in the neighbourhood for they seem like kids to him now. He has also started spending a lot of time on youtube learning to make various craft projects.

On Tuesday night, 26^th November 2017, Kanav was playing in the Jumping Bouncer whom they call as Mickey Mouse in a marriage at Swaran Farms. I got Kanav out of it when I realized that he along with a few other kids was hurting the younger ones unintentionally. But when later, after dinner, Kanav wanted to , Kanav wanted to spend just 2 minutes on it but he was not being let on it by the caretaker. He started crying and asked me to talk to the caretaker to let him spend a few minutes before he goes back home.

I simply denied to do that and I asked him to convince the caretaker by himself. His reaction surprised me for he was clearly hesitant, afraid and becoming drawn back and had lost almost all confidence in himself. I then started motivating him and trying to teach him ways to do it without any result.

Finally, I placed a bet of Rs 100 if he convinces the caretaker and the smile on his face was worth millions more than that. He simply took off and in a single stroke convinced the caretaker, went on to the ride and signaled me that he has won Rs 100.

After spending 5 minutes on it, and after a week now, he doesn’t even remember those Rs 100. But that one incident was a tipping point for me.

Kanav had been complaining of the strictness of his teacher for some time now. I even talked to the Principal once but for a class of 40 students who are reaching an adolescent age, it is really difficult to manage the class.

But I was thinking something else now? What exactly a school is teaching and what it would be teaching Kanav in the next 5 years. I realized - some Maths and Science in an uninteresting way, details about some unknown countries and boring things about India and some unconnected history. Little to understand civics and then some unimportant computer skills. Oh yes, I forgot about the boring Grammar.

So what about his personality, oh yes…some contests like elocution, quiz, debate etc might be there. Seriously, do I really want my kid to do that? And this question I had been asking for over 2 years now. But I have finally got the answer – No School can teach Kanav what he really wants to learn and what he should actually learn.

So, before it gets too late, We would say goodbye to schooling for Kanav. The solution which I have started to explore seriously now is Homeschooling for Kanav. But before we start that journey, I have a lot of apprehensions.

1.       Would Kanav spend enough time on his studies when at home? Would he act responsible?

2.       How would we manage our Jobs and Kanav’s studies together?

3.       Would we be able to get enough time to spend with Kanav?

4.       Would we be able to create a right environment at home?

5.       How would Jay reach and behave?

6.       Above all, how am I gonna convince my dad and mom who already think of me as a rebel?

But then…..

The woods are lovely dark, and deep.

And I have promises to keep , and

miles to go before I sleep

Crossroads again

In the Journey of life, when one looks back, he remembers all those days or moments which were life changing. In the past 10 years since I started blogging, it never crossed my mind to keep a digital note of such moments until right now.

We are standing at a crossroad today from where the journey in any direction is treacherous. The choice we make in the next few weeks is not only going to affect me but also my kids and thats' why this is going to be a hard decision to make. Interestingly I have to gain a lot and even loose a lot in this game of choice.

Am not young anymore and am now even afraid of slides in the water park. So my appetite for risk is going to be put on test for a decision I made 3 years back. I just wish, I am sensible enough to choose the right path.

Manish Saini

Roses and Thorns

It’s been 650 days that we landed back in Hoshiarpur with a mission. Mission we call it because the predictability of success is extremely bleak with all odds stacked against us.

Every-time, me and Preeti discuss solutions to the challenges we are facing, we inadverantly veer towards discussing the decision of leaving the Mumbai lifestyle. And every time both of us agree to the fact that the decision was absolutely right. A similar discussion today, pushed me to review the gains and losses we have made in the past 650 days.

 Roses I have collected in past 650 days -

1.     Kanav - The greatest benefit of our shift has gone to my eldest son Kanav. He was an average child in school when we were in Mumbai. Our move to Hoshiarpur exposed him to a different set of academics and teaching methods. It made us realize that Mumbai had failed us; and Kanav was left behind on his academic development. But our 6 months of perseverance with Kanav guided by experienced teachers in school have changed Kanav completely. He is now more confident and aggressive than ever before. Thanks to Hoshiarpur, his aptitude level has sky rocketed since we have landed here. 

Am not sure for the long term benefits of Hoshiarpur to Kanav on academics but in short term, our decision has been a boon to Kanav.

2.     Preeti - Hoshiarpur seems to have worked magic on my girl. She suddenly seems to have found her calling. The work on the project is definitely not her first choice but she has completely engrossed herself into our project and is now the backbone of it. She has developed into a full fledged entrepreneur and is no more the whimpering housewife. Her confidence and trust on herself is like never before and I am simply in love with her all over again.

3.     Stamina - Preeti’s physical recovery after two beautiful kids is something which both of us worked upon for a long time. But these 650 days here seemed to have increased her stamina by many folds. Whether it’s the environment of Punjab or her adrenalin rush as an entrepreneur, I am not sure but she surely fitter than what she was 2 years back.

4.     Parents - Nothing can replace the joy which mom and dad get while playing with their grand kids. Every night 30 minutes before sleeping are just unlimited fun for all of us with dadu papa turning into a Jester. Furthermore, with old age catching up with them, it was inevitable that all of us moved in together. Knowing dad, he would have not agreed easily and my mother’s love for their house would have definitely not let them move with us. Though our decision was not easily accepted, but our moving in together was the greatest positive which my parents have gained.

Counting Thorns that are troubling me -

1.     Money - If someone tells you that money is not important, they are lying straight through their nose. Money is an extremely important invention without which nothing practically moves in this world. Until we have a stomach attached to our body, money would always be an important factor governing our actions. But what is interesting is that the amount of money needed/desired may vary from person to person and from time to time.

While I had an opportunity to earn probably crores of rupee from the job I was doing in Mumbai, I still chose to not do it. Logically it is a very absurd decision as our project is surely not going to earn us single penny for the next few years. But yes, I did calculate that the money I already had would be enough to see me through the initial 3 years when our pilot for the project would be tested. This money is now being spent miserly and intelligently (hopefully). But what hurts is that I am not able to fulfill some very simple desires of my kids or wife at times because of this miserliness.

Money is probably the mother of all losses which I am enduring because of my decision. I am also not sure whether I would be able to earn the same amount of money ever in my life as I would have earned at job and so it does hurt every time when I check my bank balance.

2.     Luxury - I have traveled far and wide across India before marriage. The only two modes of transport which I had majorly used was the sleeper coach of the trains and the non-AC buses. So, I am not a stickler to luxury. So in a way Luxury is not a big loss for me individually. But when my family has to travel in the small car (i10, which I have) or even by bus (and abandon air travel completely), I really feel bad. It feels that I have taken something away from them.

As a family man, I would have preferred to buy a SUV in next 3 years. I could have brought smiles to Jay and Kanav’s faces when I would have bought expensive gifts for them. I could have spoilt Preeti more. But I won’t be able to do any of these probably for the next few years and am often saddened by this thought.

3.     Vacations - Both, my parents and Preeti had a long standing desire to visit European and South-East Asian countries for holidays and long vacations. And with relatives and friends spending holidays in exotic locations pinches them hard. It is a thorn which I would have to bear for some time. But yes, what I am going to regret when we get old is that I was not able to take Preeti to any of the wonderful countries in the peak of her youth.

4.     Sense of Security - At Staples, I had a group insurance cover of over 2 crores and that was all company paid. The society where we lived had security cameras all across and had security guards ensuring that the kids are safe.

Now, I neither have any health insurance for myself or family nor am I able to afford any new insurance for my kids. We don’t live in a very safe society anymore either. A theft at our house recently resulted in complete loss of money which we had earned over a year on this project. The kids have no playground to play in the society and have to play on the road which due to heavy construction activities is very busy. Jay also was a target of a foiled kidnap attempt.

In short, there is no current or future sense of security within the family at this instance. And the only thing I hope for daily is that none of our family members have to undergo any serious health treatment in the next few years for it might stretch me badly.

5.     Respect – Commanding a workforce of a very reputed company and that too at the senior management level brought me not only money but also respect from my family, colleagues, friends and relatives. It seems like that this respect has suddenly vanished for a lot of people have started equating me for an idiot.

While, I don’t deny the fact that what we are doing is nothing less than an idiosyncrasy, I also have a lot of belief in myself and Preeti. Though, respect has not mattered too much for me, but it still hurts when you are equated as a “good for nothing” person even after achieving what less than 1% people in India are able to achieve.

When I count my thorns, I am reminded that our decision to pursue the project has resulted in losses which are completely tangible and can be equated majorly in terms of money, but my gains are absolutely intangible. It is an impossible task to compare one with another. 

But these gains or losses are also a matter of perspective. For one person sense of security could be more important and for someone their kid’s education. But even these importance attached to various parameters would change with time. As I grow older, these parameters might not change much but my weightages attached to them would. 

I believe that my gains currently are substantially higher than the thorns I have to endure yet. But it would be interesting to revisit these parameters again in future and document as to what has changed.

A realist - Jay

Kanav still likes to believe that Jay is his toy and so every morning he will wake up Jay to play with him. Jay, whose personality has been molded mostly by Kanav somehow lacks the outgoing nature of Kanav. Jay is a shy boy and does not mix up easily. As a 4 year old, he is extremely energetic and tires himself off.

But unlike Kanav, he is extremely particular about when he wants to eat food, what clothes he wants to wear and when he wants to sleep.  He has an ability to sleep even when there is a lot of noise around him. Even at this age, he is able to find matching clothes and if you offer him something to wear that he finds unsuitable, he can bring the house down. And when he wants food, he is extremely particular about what he wants to eat. Most of the times it is chapattis that he wants; even if everyone else is having rice.

Jay’s ability to resist temptations is so strong that you cannot change his decisions easily, even at this age. On Kanav’s birthday, Kanav wore a party dress to the school and a pair of party shoes. Jay has a similar pair of shoes (Black). He decided that if bhaiya goes to school like this, so would he. Preeti did her best to explain it to him that its Kanav’s birthday but couldn’t. So I took over and by fluke got him convinced to wear the school uniform but could not convince him to wear his school shoes. I could see his unspoken logic that, his party shoes were also black in color like his school shoes. But I wanted to test his persistence and he did not fail. He ultimately wore those party shoes even after everyone telling him that his teacher would punish him (which of-course she didn’t).

He is so particular about what he wants that I sometimes feel that he might grow up into an extremely selfish boy (but in positive sense). I see in him as someone who can prioritize things and has a natural aesthetic sense. Both of these attributes can lead him a long way. But what I am afraid of is his introvert nature. Even though I am like him, but my fear comes from him slowly slipping into an attitude where he does not show his feelings to others.

Almost a year back, I had slapped him for some severe mischief. While crying he asked me, ”Abb paari bhi kalo”.  But now if I say something which he does not like, he would simply sit quietly. And if I fail to recognize that he is angry with me, he would slowly start hitting you with his legs or arms. If I still don’t acknowledge, his intensity of hitting me increases until I pick him up and pat him with lots of love which ultimately cools him down.

Being angry with him or hitting him back does not yield any result for he is truly looking for being patted. I am afraid, that if he goes on a path where he suppresses his feeling and stops communicating, he is going to not only give himself but lot of other people close to him a hard time in future.

Jay is not as inquisitive as Kanav but follows everything that Kanav does. I believe that if we can keep guiding Kanav correctly, Jay would automatically inculcate some of the qualities of Kanav which he is currently not able to display.

While with a lot of belief, I can say that Kanav is getting groomed to be a dreamer, I can surely point out that Jay is intrinsically a very practical boy and would grow into a realist. Personalities that are poles apart, nature has brought them together.

Both brothers have so much love in them that I cherish every moment spent with them and miss them every single minute I am away from them.