Redefining Horizons

It was quarter past 7 in the evening. Anne and I  were seated on the veranda chairs for our daily dose of post-dinner conversation. The day had been very warm . A cold moist breeze gently blew in. “It's raining somewhere,” I said. She didn't reply. She put a finger over her lips and then pointed towards the cat on the road. We live in a gated community. The colony road, at its broadest outside our house, serves as a tiled pad for turning vehicles. The mother cat was there with her kitten. A child in the colony had brought the mother cat into the colony as a kitten. She was smart and grew up to be a beautiful cat. Ever since, tomcats in the neighbourhood viciously vie with each other for her affections. She litters regularly.  Seated majestically, she had a rat under one of her paws. Her kitten sat curiously watching the rat struggling to escape. Without warning, she let the rat free. What followed was a hunt in slow motion. The rat ran for its life. The kitten seemed lost. M...

  Centrality of Easter Christians, world over, celebrate Easter today. The nature of celebrations is primarily dictated by local customs and traditions. The central theme of Easter celebrations inevitably remains the resurrection of Christ, the Son of God,  the sacrificial lamb, and the way to eternal life . One of the pillars on which Christianity rests is resurrection.  Beyond Christianity There is an interesting aspect within the Holy Bible that goes beyond Christianity. It is something that we often come across and experience but seldom find courage to emulate. It is about recognising and acknowledging someone’s contributions, often  against great odds, at great personal risk and costs. Let us revisit resurrection in a new perspective to understand the role of two individuals, hardly spoken about. Maybe you could end up finding yourself there. Maybe you could end up identifying someone like that in your organisation.   The First Easter Unlike contemporary Ea...

  Stories for Life We all love stories and we all grew up hearing stories, countless and each with a message. Each one of us certainly remembers at least a few stories. Few would recall the embedded message. How many amongst us would have internalised those lessons for life? Two stories that I heard as a child and never forgot growing up were that of the Goose that laid the golden egg and of the greedy dog . The owner of the goose, overcome with greed, tried to rip off everything at one go. Rip off he did, unfortunately of himself. He lost the very source that could easily have been his means of livelihood, sustenance and growth to being rich, surely but slowly. The dog already had something in his secure possession but tried grabbing, a reflection, something well beyond his reach and anyway not his by any claim. In the process he lost forever even what he had.  While scanning today's newspaper I came across a piece of news that reminded me of both the stories together. Readi...

A journey is defined neither by distances nor destinations. Intentions with which it started, the road taken, pace at which it progressed, the stopovers, fellow travellers, experiences enroute, impact on the traveller and the impact the traveller has on his fellow travellers and many such other aspects define a journey. A journey, truly is about the process; the preparations, shine, rain, challenges and turbulence enroute, the joys and sorrows involved. Much like the ascent to a mountain top culminates in commencement of the descent, for no one ever stayed at the  summit till eternity, journey once commenced must end even if it is seemingly static. Even if everything else is static, time will fly. Life is a one way journey that commences with birth and ends with death. Plainly put, it is the time that separates death from birth. Once born, we must all die. Emperors, Kings, Pharaohs, Autocrats,  Dictators, in fact every man and woman on the planet, powerful or powerless,  ...

  Robbery? Have you ever felt cheated at work?  You did all the work and someone else robbed you of the credit!  For many career men and women, this  may be a daily affair. If you have never come across such a situation in your career; you could be amongst the handful few on the planet; otherwise you may be immune or insensitive enough not even to recognise or register this universal phenomenon. Have you ever cheated someone of their credits? No. Never; I don't ever do such unfair things!! If one has a few human beings on the ladder steps below them in the organisation, such an event would certainly have happened with or without one’s knowledge. Even if it hadn't  actually happened, it is unlikely that someone below you in the ladder hasn't  thought so. If we have climbed the hierarchical ladder, at least sometime in our career, each one of us would have stood accused of giving credit to a pretender. If you haven't been told so, it is likely that you are ei...

  Produced and released in 1975, based on the book by the same name, ‘One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest’ is considered one amongst the Greatest films ever made. It finds a place in the American film Institute’s ‘100 years… 100 movies’ list. Call it tragedy, comedy, drama or anything that you may please, it is a thriller that one must find time to watch. I watched it many years ago. But one question haunts me still. Who was the cuckoo? Was it the lively Randle McMurphy, a convict and pretender who encouraged other inmates to discover their strength within and turned tables on Milldred Ratched, the head nurse or was it the Native American “Chief” Bromden, the pretender deaf-mute, who smothered a lobotomized McMurphy to death, before escape? Though there is nothing even remotely linked, I was reminded of the  movie when I read the recent news of a person who went missing from the government nominated ' team of farmers ’ from Kerala who went to Israel on a, government sponsor...

  The Promises ! An affordable ala carte of tests from a large array, possible on a tiny drop of blood drawn from a finger prick! No more uncomfortable, scary and painful veinal blood draws! The Story A n unbelievable biotech feat that can change diagnostics the way we now know. Defiantly disruptive an idea, marvellous the stated mission, formidable the connections, acclaimed investors and bountiful their investments, nothing could have stopped the young lady, who dreamt it all up, from endless possibilities, opportunities and an eternally enviable place in history. She was indeed crowned the youngest woman billionaire entrepreneur on the planet.  The story of Elizabeth Anne Holmes, former American biotechnology entrepreneur is a lesson for materialists, spiritualists, philosophers, scientists and every one else living and aspiring. In 2003, she founded the health technology company Real-Time Cures in Palo Alto, California to "democratize healthcare”. She later renamed the ...