InDepth

  The seed Abby, my friend and classmate from my business school days, thought of bringing handmade designs from Ghana to Sweden. This was the seed thought. And that was it! A spark it was – spark that slowly took the shape of an initiative and formed into an initiative that could connect. A connection that could touch the life of artisans who come from the “Gold Coast” of Africa. A country that emanates hospitality, creativity and purity. Anyone conversing with Abby can easily get a feeling what purity of talks is all about. The start was not easy, it never is, isn’t it? We always have so many doubts. Had it been an established brand we would not question, would we? But since it was a seed, we had to doubt how the plant will come up. The products, the price, the place and what not! Things got sorted out one by one – a channel for procurement, a network of artisans and craftsmen/craftswomen, a capital to start and a mind full of hope – perhaps, nothing more was needed. After a ...

Back after a while!  Actually, the daily dose of work keeps me glued to my day. On one end the world is talking about 1 billion chat bots to be deployed in the future, perhaps with each having a defined set of work, on the other, there are countless out there who is looking for something substantial to do. Today, I want to talk about this very aspect of life - that is, finding something substantial to do in life. Before jumping to my stories of the day, I want to go back, way back to when I was in school. My father had an uncle and he was a great storyteller. He would come our ancestral house, stay with me, talk to me about his life stories, explain things to me in simple language and would make sure I get glued to my own depiction of imagination. I loved him, I still do. He had once told me a beautiful anecdote of a judge, who happened to be also part of our extended family. It went like this - there was a critical case where the judge had a tough hearing from both sides and there...

Last few days have been hectic. Travels, work and duties - they were with me. So, in essence I was not bored, but I could not find time to pen down some thoughts to share with you all. What has happened with me in the past few days? Well, as stated, some travels, I was at the shores of the Baltic Ocean and spent a lot of time to drink the beautiful moist air, to listen to the near-silent waves of the sea and to hum a few lines. Visiting the seashores of southern Scandinavia brings several emotional highpoints - The Baltic Ocean is blue and obedient. It is relatively calm, almost like a river. But a sea cannot be a river. A river meets a sea, and not the other way around. So, the sea is hierarchically higher placed. Therefore, Baltic sometimes shows its higher status - it soars and disturbs its own serenity. This interplay of emotions of a sea is wonderful. The neat and clean surroundings of the Ocean is exemplary. Any beach you visit in Sweden, like, Malmö, Lomma, Simrishamn - there is...

Today, I want to digress to an interesting topic - importance of short vacation. After coming to Sweden and starting to get settled here, I decided to start this experiment. Instead of taking long summer breaks, I wanted to try out short bursts of days. It was 2011 I believe, the elder daughter was only 2 years old. She had started to go to the day care, and was speaking a word or two. I took some days off. Back in those days summer in Sweden was rather unpredictable. The weather had a digital choice - either sunny and warm or dark and rainy. The period was mostly between May end and August end.   I took some days off in May. I still remember one of my colleagues had told me, it was too early. But the good thing about this part of Europe was - it could shift its gears very quickly, from being dry, desolate, lifeless to full of colours, flowers and energy. This particular shift of nature could be compared to a small child getting happy once the father would bring a toy, after he had...

I am a bit cluttered in my head at the moment, and I need sleep as soon as possible. But I have somehow gotten into a daily habit of expressing myself. Hence I must get those words out of my head to feel decluttered again. So let me start with a conversation I had once with my cousin sister. We were talking about stages of life in business and academic fields. While I come from technology and business side of the story, she is a sparkling talent in the field of education and academics. Obviously, the charters of our respective lives are different, we have different pursuits in life and we sometimes see the world differently. But we have one thing in common. Stay curious, stay updated, question the very existence of certain things, have a scientific temperament to things around us and above all, continue on the path of a growth mindset. The last aspect is essential for survival. While taking shower this morning, I was thinking, how my life has unfolded so far. When I look back, I find t...

Today I would like to elaborate on the topic of asking questions. Actually I want to start from where I had left the last post. After coming abroad, among other things, I learnt the art of asking. Especially at my work place. In a rather complex technical project, it was obvious to do this. However, there were always a few things that was hindering me in the beginning - We might be having a strong hierarchical structure, the subordinates should not at all ask questions. I should try to get some documentation to read, learn the stuff alone by myself and get the expertise sorted out. I was at a place of safety and I had earned a reputation for myself. By asking questions, I could end up putting myself in an awkward situation. It might become evident for others, that I had lack of knowledge in certain areas.  Which questions were the ones to ask? Which were the stupid ones? Should I be avoiding the ones that were obvious to ask but it might be the case that it was only me who did not ...