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...

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 ...

Let me trace today the act of engaging in dialogue, by reflecting on parts of my life. Childhood and pluralistic views I have never been exposed to "otherisation". What does that mean? That means, I had never heard something like - "we" are better, smarter, superior, more civilized and "they", who are the "others", are inferior, uncultured and irrelevant people. I remember I had 3 drawing teachers in my childhood, belonging to different religions, a perfect Amar-Akbar-Anthony scenario. Once it so happened, that I passed a class in the drawing school, with good grade. In utter excitement, I touched the feet of all three of them. Later on, I told my grandma about it - she hugged me and said, a teacher is a God, no matter which religion, caste or creed they belong to. Dad would always say - difference of opinion is never bad, but not listening to any contradicting opinion is terrible! He told me - take a stance, stick to it harder than you can, beli...

Early morning and waking up with sound of breeze, chirping of birds and some screeches of hens. The house that I have rented has some poultry farming downstairs - kind of good when I think that this world is not just meant for humans. There is place for other animals, and it is our responsibility to give them that. As a matter of fact, it is the more powerful that should take care of the less powerful. Here comes the topic of today's discussion. In a society, family, friendship, company, team, in every constellation of people, it is the people in power that should extend the hand and offer help to the people that need help, to the people that are weak. Sounds rather one-sided, or? You are right. I need to finish myself. The power should extend their hand of support and the weak should clutch the hand of the power. It must be a two way game!  Let me brain-dump my thoughts - When we are little child, it is the parents that guide us, teach us and train us. Imagine a situation when a t...

It is a fact that I have too much to talk to and too few to talk to. These two diametrically opposite themes run at the same time through me. The solution? Well, I start writing. Today's topic - getting a new car. My first car after getting a driver's licence in Sweden was Volkswagen Golf. It was a standard one and my uncle had commented, after getting to look at it for the first time - ah this is the so called "State Car" of England. I drove this brand for a rather long time, until 2019. The funny part was - little did I know that one day I would be working for the same Volkswagen company. The Golf was a hint from a dear friend who had already used it, and it turned out to be a good proposition.  My problem is - I am not someone who loves long drives. For me, it is all about moving from point 1 to point 2 - nothing fancy and frenzy about it. Any car can do it, and anyhow this is cool. After all, traveling in public transport takes longer time and takes away the subli...

Today lets talk about one aspect of my daily life - that of pursuing calmness through working out!  In no way I am a fitness freak or a gym rat, all I do is try to keep myself fit and healthy. I am not even in the mad rush to make me look good, but I just want to stay somewhat happy. It all began in 2011 after the elder daughter had grown 2 years old and was able to take care of herself. She could say when to go to sleep, when and what she wanted to eat and what she did not like. That meant I had some free time over and I could focus on my wellbeing. Back in those days, in Sweden, we would prefer to hire a personal trainer, at least for a few hours to give us a demo of all the machines available at the gym. I did the same, more so, because I had never touched any of those machines ever in my life before. My only orientation to exercises were - some free hand push-ups, sit-ups and squats, first at a local cricket club and then on the rooftop of our house in India. The association wi...

Returning back after a few days is never easy. Life has been hectic these days, shifting between morning exercise, strict dieted breakfast, getting to office on time, back to home, doing laundry, cooking and not to forget, doing the dishes. Sometimes, I am surprised at my own multi-tasking skills - normally, a man is not gifted with that. Besides these tasks, due to my own indulgences (several of them) I am always able to find something to do - creative writing, listening to music, maybe some occasional sketching and if nothing else, then just plain simple thinking. But beyond these, I have one more new passion nowadays. It is to furnish my new apartment. It is a big task on hand, but before I start to talk about it, first, it is important to note a few strange things when one moves to a new place, be it an apartment or a house. There will be sharp edges by the doors, walls, corner section of a room, inside kitchen cupboards and bathrooms/toilets. Watch out for those, especially when i...

It dates back to the time when I was hardly 14 or 15 years old. One day I ran up to my mother and said - I want to drink a cup of tea. I want to taste it. My father was a chain tea-drinker, and I want to imitate him. Obviously, I was big fan of my dad and as a matter of fact, he had great qualities to create several fans across generations. One of the ways he connected to people was through tea. He drank tea in the morning over a conversation and flipping through the newspaper, he would drink again at his office, at the community club or purely when relaxing with his friends. I liked the first tea, so much so that I started drinking it often. It helped me to concentrate on my studies, spend quality time with my parents and also be by the side of my grandma. My grandma liked tea, and we could bond over it! Years passed, the context kept changing, but drinking habit did not. First with high school friends, then with college friends, finally with office colleagues. During these phases, a ...

Today was an odd day. I got late to wake up again. I had dreams too, that of having a pain on my knee. But nothing too scary. I think it sometimes can be due to overwork or over-reading. Today let me focus on my habit of reading. I try to meditate through reading. I like all kinds of books, suspense thriller, fact-based, investigative journalism, or the odd short story collection. When I read I am deep into it. However, when I am done I still a bit in trance - thinking of the content. Finally I get a bit restless - can I be good enough to write something worthwhile one day? These days one such book is making me restless. It is Malgudi Days written by R K Narayan. I have not yet gone deep into his childhood and upbringing, but reading the short stories I can get a feel of the person behind the author. This is actually also a tip for someone wanting to read or starting to read the works of an acclaimed author. Actually his or her works reflect the personality behind the creative talent. ...

When my mother was with me in Sweden between 2020 and 2021, we did two things almost everyday - talking about life, and spending time together while doing long afternoon walks. Mom used to say - look, you people in Europe can accomplish many things during the day and the reason for that is the favourable weather and access to a car that you own. I cannot comment much on the weather nowadays! After she had left me in 2023, the world has seen more wars, and more extreme weather conditions. However, on the other front, which is the aspect of owning a vehicle, I can agree fully. Today proves the point somewhat. I do not even know how many tasks I managed to accomplish today, only thanks to the hired Volkswagen car I got here at Ingolstadt.  Ok but lets switch back a bit to the early morning. In the new house which I have rented since a few months, I am blessed to wake up with chirping of birds and a smiling greenery covering the entire periphery of the house. After a nice early breakfa...

There are some subjects which need further research in my opinion. Like for instance, what effect can a singer's voice have on a particular generation - like Elvis had on the youth of his times. Or, a Sinatra had over generations. Or, a Kishore Kumar had over multiple generations and continue to have. Another instance - which I want to talk about today is - the effect that a football has on the mind and soul of a spectator. Especially when it goes past the goal box and gets caught up inside the net. In short, what kind of psychological effect does a goal have on us? Interesting isn't it?  After I had a terrible night with practically no sleep, with bouts of doubts and a basket of anxieties, I went to my balcony and looked at the clear sky. It has stopped raining here in Bayern and the temperature is rising again! WHO has said, Europe is warming up faster than other continents. This, despite the fact that Europe takes care of its greenery arguable the most, its fuel consumption...