Niranjani: Perspective on Life, Meditation, Spirituality….

June 23, 2007

I got tagged!

Filed under: Interesting Blogs, Misc — Raj @ 5:08 pm

Mike tagged me and even though I am ill (down with a sore throat, viral fever etc.) I had to respond within the eight hour deadline. So here it is in brief, eight random things about me.

1) This is something that not even my friends know about - I chose my own name. Think about this? How many people chose their own name when they are 4? There is a story out here, but that’s for later.

2) I have been learning to play Guitar on and off for the last couple of years…the fingers have started moving a little bit faster between the chords, but I still have a long long way to go.

3) I gave away 3 large containers full of books last year and within a year my library is back to where it was - My wife Meena wouldn’t agree - she thinks it is overflowing and will say that I have shopped with a vengeance since then!

4) I am passionate about Software especially about Project Management, Estimation, and Risk Management. I read voraciously on these topics.

5) I had my own .com business that wounded up much quicker than ice can melt on a heated stove!

6) I like to spend time with my family - Meena and my two kids Tanvi and Sreesh. However much time I spend with them, seems so very little! Thanks Meena and you little ones for the joys that you have brought in my life! And how can I forget my extended family, my mom, brothers , sister, sister-in-laws, brother-in-laws and their little ones and their little ones! Oh well! You know how it is in India - Child marriages and all (just kidding!) Yes I am a Grandfather! Shh…thats a secret!

7) I like driving and more so on highways.

8 ) I can write pages about this, but will keep it succinct. I am so very passionate about Art of Living. I volunteer with the Foundation and am so very grateful to my Master (Sri Sri Ravishankar). It wasn’t overnight that I found a change in myself….the journey over the last seven years has been so very joyful!

I am tagging:

- Archana - a colleague of mine from Chennai. I haven’t met her so far. She is one of the most prolific bloggers within Cognizant (We have an internal blogging system) and has a gem of a blog on Hinduism. I have been asking her to see if she can mirror that out on an external blog.

- The man who made blogging possible within Cognizant is our Chief Knowledge Officer - Sukumar - who also has an external blog. So Sukumar, here you go.

- Anin, an ex-colleague of mine has a wonderful blog titled “My Cloud 9 in the sky”. Anin, you are next.

- I started blogging only after reading Rajesh’ blog. I had the opportunity to meet and talk to Rajesh two years ago. Rajesh writes exclusively on emerging technology and gives us a preview of his personal life once in a while, so not sure if Rajesh would respond to this, but nevertheless.

- Up next is Nimmy, a KM consultant with Wipro and I love her writings because she introspects a lot and writes from the depth of her heart.

- Prakash, also from Wirpo, has a insightful blog on Software Development. I started reading Prakash’ blog very recently. Prakash, you are tagged.

- David needs no introduction. I have been an avid fan of his writings and blog. Anyone who leads a team ought to read his book, “F1rst amongst equals”  David, you are next

and Atanu. I like Atanu’ writings, though I don’t tend to agree on a certain category of writings that he has on his blog, but hey that is his viewpoint. Atanu you are next.

Here are the rules folks:

  1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
  2. People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own 8 random things, and post these rules.
  3. At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and include their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment and tell them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
  4. If you fail to do this within eight hours, you will not reach Third Series or attain your most precious goals for at least two more lifetimes.

Enjoy!

June 5, 2007

Vishnu in the boardroom

Filed under: Art of Living Related, Story — Raj @ 2:35 am

I happened to step into VM this sunday afternoon only to find a seminar on Leadership for Youth taking place. The place was full with a hundred odd youngsters and the speaker was a young guy clad in a dhoti and kuta talking about “Vishnu in the boardroom”. I thought the choice of topic was very unique and I stood there to hear him but then as he started speaking or rather telling stories from mythology and connecting the dots between Mahabharata to Ramayana to Puranas to Bhagvatham, an amazing thing happened, the audience sat there totally immersed and transfixed in his stories - trust me there is nothing tougher than getting a hundred odd youngsters to sit and listen to a talk on mythology. And as far as I was concerned, I was so mesmerized by the talk given by this young doctor mythologist, that I spent most of my time at VM, leaving other tasks rather incomplete.

If you ever have a chance of hearing DevDutt Pattanaik speak, don’t give it a miss.

For now to satisfy your curiosity do head over to his website and read some of his articles.

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