Open Secrets

Anniversary Wishes to Anupam Ji and my dear sis Chanchal . May God Bless Both of You !

Hi Friends,

I am back from the extended vacation . Tried to upload the pics snapped at Shimla but Blogspot server is not allowing me to upload due to space constrainsts . Will surely upload separately later .  Ok...Appraisal time in office !!! God I hate this appraisal thing . I remember having a long argument with my then HDFC Boss on the ratings . But they dont really discuss, they declare it .  So I had to take a decision eventually . They say sometimes not getting what you want is lucky for you . True it is ! But I love the appraisal process of IDBI Bank . First, your increments don`t depend on the appraisal ratings. Cool !  The best part is that you have to appraise yourself first on your KRAs and then your reporting officer will agree/disagree with your comments . I am an economist so I can prove anything. Allow me to share a beautiful joke on economists : Once an interviewer asked a Mathematician : Gentleman can you tell us What do 2 and 2 equal ? Without any second thought he immediately answered 4  !!!! You may leave, said the panel . The same question was asked to the Accountant , He answered : Take 1 or give 1 but on an average 4. The panel sent him out too . Then came the turn of the Economist. Interviewer : Yes Gentleman, Can you tell us what do 2 and 2 equal ? The economist immediately got up from his chair, closed the door and whispered in the ears of interviwer : Sir, What do you want it to equal ? Haha.. So I have convincingly proved to the Management that I am the best employee they have in CMS Department . Jokes apart, my sincere thanks to my Boss for appreciating and recognising my contribution to CMS and to the Bank as a whole . I must also thank my team members for their continued support . While I go on thanking all sorts of people I can think of , everyone who read my last post knows whom I am actually thanking from all my heart .

During my bachelor days, like all other guys I was always confused about one question : What women really want ? If we make advances, they say we are cheap, and if we don`t they despise you. If we do this , they want that and if we do that they want something else. Horribly confused, I yelled at my first GF one day. C`mon tell me what do you girls really want ????? We are guys,  we can give you exactly what you want but not what you " really" want. Be specific , please ! My dilemna continued when I started working. The only change in question now was " What Bosses really want !!! ". If you sit late and work hard, they say your time management is poor,  if you finish off your work in time and leave early, they say you don`t have much work . What the hell ?  I searched for answers desperately but all in vain . I have learnt that experience teaches you everything guys . So , I  now have the answer to both the above questions , later than never like all of you wise people . Everybody knows but everybody conceals . Open Secrets !!! I choose to keep these open secrets to me , including other secrets that I will take to the grave .

I have often regretted my speech, never my silence . I have been asked on my silent spectatorship on Facebook (FB) . Yes,  I restrain myself from sharing my thoughts on FB while I see that all my friends have been posting regularly on whatever they think fit . Perhaps I have not yet come to terms with the FB thing . Perhaps too much fetish has been made of the FB than required . Perhaps I find most of the updates funny, stolen and/or copied . Perhaps there is a little too much fakeness on FB so much so that everyone is presenting himself as the happiest creature on this planet regardless of the facts .  Perhaps I am wrong . Sometimes I cannot understand myself and my reasons .  I am the most unpredictable person I have ever known . My constitution changes everyday till it slips away . Is there a Doctor in the House ?

This one is by Savage Garden :

I believe the sun should never set upon an argument
I believe we place our happiness in other people's hands
I believe that junk food tastes so good because it's bad for you
I believe your parents did the best job they knew how to do
I believe that beauty magazines promote low self esteem
I believe I'm loved when I'm completely by myself alone
I believe you can't control or choose your sexuality
I believe that trust is more important than monogamy
I believe that your most attractive features are your heart and soul
I believe that family is worth more than money or gold
I believe the struggle for financial freedom is unfair
I believe the only ones who disagree are millionaires
I believe forgiveness is the key to your unhappiness
I believe that wedded bliss negates the need to be undressed
I believe that God does not endorse TV evangelists
I believe in love surviving death into eternity
I believe in Karma what you give is what you get returned
I believe you can't appreciate real love until you've been burned
I believe the grass is always greener on the other side
I believe you don't know what you've got until you say goodbye

I am Forever,

Yours Truly,

Munish.

" Frantic, Faction, Focus the world breathes,
and outperforms this misconception we call Man,
But I don`t know him,
No I don`t know him,
Because He Lies " - Creed

Hey Bhagwaan

Hi Friends,

Happy Gudi Padwa to all my Marathi Friends !

Lazy extended weekend for me here . World cup is over and so has the thrill and excitement attached to it , TV ain`t no fun no more . No good movies releasing so just idling time away. Still only lonely... Invitation from one of my old friends Mr. Alok Tiwari to his Kandivali residence , so generous of him to call me upon to his place but  I decided to decline . Every buddy has so much plans for the weekend... like me ( when with family ) I didn`t want to to be a spoilsport .  Most of my friends in Mumbai are married, the rest are half married to their girl friends so.... this only lonely...just idling time away .... Planning to explore Mumbai , the places I have not seen as yet , finalising some destinations in the process of elimination , getting ready for the tour and then reverse changing suddenly realizing whats the fun alone ???  Nothing to do, nowhere to go ...just idling time away . So I succumb to the still moments and lay back and allow time to pass by .

I think about some of  the people I know and their varied perceptions about God . I see some people rubbing their foreheads at almost every temple, every God they know or do not know,  I think about some people having " Attitude " and declaring that God does not exist ,  Some others boasting that they are atheists but frequently saying ( Hey Bhagwaan  ) " OMG " whenever they are surprised . I see some people extolling their Gurus about how much followers he has while that supposed Guru does not even remember his disciples names . I will not comment more on their opinions . This is my space I must talk about myself . Okay !  In my first post I had mentioned, there is one more angle to my appointment in IDBI . I tried too hard to explain this so many times but then cleared my write-ups. May be there are not enough words in my limited dictionary to speak about him. May be I am too small to talk about this great Sage . Let me try .

He is my Guru, My God . I was never inclined to this Guru thing as I thought this is just another new profession in the market , I remember refusing to adapt Mr. Narkewal Bedi Ji as my Guru while my parents and my brother had already joined the league and also tried to convince me to follow suit but I refused for my own reasons .  I was carrying this " Been there , done that " attitude until I met this Great Saint, My Guru . He has actually transformed me as a person, has given a new direction to my career and life and I feel blessed to be his devotee . I was a kind of know-it-all guys until I met him . But I do not know how much power he has in his soft hands, I do not know how much sacrifice and devotion he has given to attain this level of spirituality, I do not know how an ordinary person can defeat death and come back to life while doctors have given up, I do not know how he balances the twin roles of his professional life as the most famous labour lawyers of the city and the greater role of a Guru, I do not know how he carries the heart of thousand mothers within himself, I do not know how I could get away with the most heinous crimes of password sharing in HDFC Bank, I do not know why auditors could not notice a big blunder my branch had done while the same was clearly noted in audit trail register , I do not know how he could foresee my career in a Govt. Organisation and advise me to give it a shot while I was slogging in HDFC Bank, I do not know how miracles happen but he makes them appear so real , I do not know why hundreds of thousands of people bow down before him to seek his divine blessings, I do not know how great he is and I do not know why he is exceptionally kind to me . But I do know that he can do anything under the sun and beyond and I worship him like God . I do know that unlike other Gurus he is very much approachable and always there to guide you whenever you want and wherever you are , I do know that I am always safe under his kind shelter and I do know that he will take me to the gates of eternity when I am down to one last breath . Something is stopping me to mention his name here . I will withhold .

As a customery ritual , my Guru takes all of his children including me and my family to the holy shrine of Sidhh Shri Baba Balak Nath Ji at Shah Talai ( Deoth Sidhh, H.P ) during first week of April every year . I am so excited to see and talk to my Living God tomorrow .

My heart also beats  to see Nidhi and Manya after 10 long days . I will fly to Chandigarh tomorrow morning to join the " Sangat ", will leave for Shimla on 9th and be back on 16th. So my next post may take a little longer .

This one is by Jon Bon Jovi again :

I went to see the preacher to teach me how to pray
He looked at me and smiled
Then that preacher turned away
He said if you want to tell him something
You ain't got to fold your hands
Say it with your heart, your soul and believe it
And I'd say Amen

Bang a drum for the sinners
Bang a drum for the sins
Bang a drum for the losers
And those who win
Bang a drum, bang it loudly
Or as soft as you need
Bang a drum for yourself son
And a drum for me


I called upon my brother just the other day
He said : John I'm going to die if I don't start to live again
I work each day and night like clockwork
Just trying to make ends meet
I could kick this bad world's ass
If I could just get on my feet

I'd bang a drum for the dying
Bang a drum for the truth
Bang a drum for the innocence lost in our youth
Bang a drum, bang it loudly
Or as soft as you need
Bang a drum for you brother
And a drum for me

No I don't claim to be a wiseman, a poet or a saint
I'm just another man who's searching for a better way
But my heart beats loud as thunder
For the things that I believe
Sometimes I want to run for cover
Sometimes I want to scream

Bang a drum for tomorrow
Bang a drum for the past
Bang a drum for the heroes that won't come back
Bang a drum for the promise
Bang a drum for the lies
Bang a drum for the lovers and the tears they've cried
Bang a drum, bang it loudly
Or as soft as you need
But as long as my heart keeps on banging
I got a reason to believe .
I got a reason to believe .

I will pray for your happiness and good health at the shrine .

Jai Guru Maharaj Ji Di !
Jai Baba Ji Di !

Munish .