How About Living A Mediocre Life?

In life for 47 years, in job for 26, married for 20 springs, raising 2 kids with all the hoopla around raising children and leading a reasonably successful business for 15 - I think it was time to introspect and plan further. The savage hunt chasing materialism, financial stability, emotional peace, managing social pressures, business volatility have taken a toll. My pursuit of promising and finding both - personal triumph and global happiness, has been reasonably underachieved. Do I want continue to pursue it like this forever or should the hunt now subside? 

Look around. The world is such a noisy place. The loud, hallucinating voices with a constant tone asking me to rush, to better myself, make a fortune, strive for more, crave, compete, and ask for more. Become bigger and better than everyone. That sleep is a daily death one goes through. Instead trade your sleep for productivity. Go chase excellence. Make it large. Go big or go home. Make an impact. Multiply your profits. Leave a legacy behind. Make your mark in the world before you go!

Over the years, I have come to realize that all these voices, thoughts and desires will not slow down and will only pick up pace. Until I decide to control it. And also drive it to a conclusion. Simply by shifting the goal post and brining it closer to where I want to reach. I have decided to run the half-marathon because I am closer to reaching it and do not want to run for the other half of my life.

But, what if I just don’t want all this anymore? Or what if I want to renounce to the world that I am done and done with what I have or don’t have? What if I proclaim that all this yearning for excellence saddens and leaves me depleted. And also deprives me of the joy. Am I simply not enough for what I have already done?

What if I all I want is a slow and simple life as I am most happy in the space of the in-between where peace, calm and tranquility lives, then what’s wrong? So what if I decide to adopt mediocrity and have chosen to be at terms with that? What if I don’t want to be anything beyond what I already am? Beyondanything when I grow up further in life– beyond a son, brother, husband, father and of course being a friend to some. And people in my affinity group know they are loved and that I would choose them again, given the choice. Can this be adequate and enough for them or me?

What if I never built the biggest company in my business? But still ensure that a few hundred people we employ are the most happy people working and those who like to come to work every single day with smiling faces and that they enjoy the liberty to take a day off when they don’t want to get up from the bed without an iota of fear in their minds.

What if I just accept this mediocre body of mine that is neither fat nor slim? Just in between. And I don’t force myself with the desire to work-out in the gym only because I value my sleep more than that. And not because I want people to tell me that I look better and forget it but not necessarily mean it either. 

What if I still live in a middle class neighborhood and not a mansion? But my home is comfortable, cosy, welcoming and serves great food n comfort to every family member and to the guest as per their desire. What if I value my roots and childhood home more than the pride of living in a posh locality commensurate with my social status?

What if I am not cut out for the frantic rat race of this society and cannot keep up? Because every-time I run fast and beat my own limits, someone with limitless energy emerges and runs faster than me. I realize there can be no end to this. That being outpaced is like your role in a battle. You either get beaten or end up beating your sensibilities. No point. 

What if I don’t want to promise myself with a better life? Because I feel this is a better life already! I don’t want to play the game anymore. Because being in the game is like being in a maze. You only keep solving it. 

I feel I deserve a lot of solitude, understanding, calm, rest to my mind, body and soul. Can I just say that I deserve this and that what I have done already is just enough? And can I still happily live after this profound proclamation and not be misinterpreted as being closer to end of my life, desires or my capabilities to perform? Or the fact that I am going somewhere away! No I am most certainly not.

All I want that I accept my limitations and stop accusing myself for doing that to myself  But, instead respect myself for taking this step. All that i desire is that my new found affection of being in between is not viewed in contrast to excellence. All that I want is a slow (not retarded), simple (and not deprived) life. A serene and mediocre life! That would be enough. 

Silent Prayers: Are they less effective?

A couple of years back, I was travelling for work and in the early hours of night, the sleep was illusive and I really couldn’t figure out anything else to do. In those moments of indecisiveness, I opened the adjoining chest of drawers in the hotel room and picked up the Holy Bible for a quick dekho. Since, I was not specifically looking for anything in particular; I unintentionally shuffled the pages but eventually engrossed myself in some chapters for a casual read. This piece of writing further details out the answers to some questions roaming for long in my mind. I never realized that this would be a thought provoking writing session, months later during the pandemic.

My session with The Bible, landed me on some verses which mentioned something about silent prayers. The text was quite engrossing and elaborated that the silent prayers by an individual are as effective as the other modes of prayers and devotion we offer viz – visiting places of worship, group meditations, charity thru religious institutions, reading spiritual texts, fasting to please GOD etc.

My growing up years, and almost all my married life, I have seen my mother and my wife quite diligently offering (and enforcing) one or more mode of prayers. We have a designated mini room in our home which is called mandir room. I guess most homes in India have a designated corner if not a room in their homes for such Godly things. A post-shower worship is a must do by women in our home – time permitting or not. I must confess that I and others in the family have been silently submitting to the mandate without raising an eyebrow or asking a question. We even have a ritual at home to offer bhog to the God’s idols three meal times a day – a practice I remember from childhood. We saw no harm in it and if submitting to their wishes brought our home a little bit more of peace and prosperity, so be it.

I often wondered during the above submissions, if visiting a temple or any designated place of worship or bowing down to the deity’s idol’s at home were the ultimate and only available form of prayers which would please God and let Him bestow His blessings. The Bible had some strong references to it. The Bible mentions though not recommends about praying in private. I wonder, what is the difference between praying aloud or silently if you are by yourself? There are some circumstances where only silent prayer is appropriate, e.g., praying for something that needs to stay between you and God. And what could potentially be wrong with praying silently? Why do I have to fold my hands or kneel on my knees to form a physical gesture to be heard?

If you ask me - I prefer to pray silently without folding hands, reciting mantras or closing my eyes.  I have my own connection with the supreme power and that connect needs to be strictly personal; irrespective of what I seek for myself or others around me. I feel secure if my prayers are not visible, heard or shared. I do not like to raise a hoopla around my moments of seek.

I am of the belief that it certainly does not mean that silent prayer is any less valid than praying out loud or in necessary vision of those around me in a crowd. God being omnipresent and omnipotent, can most certainly hear our thoughts just as easily as He can hear our words.  Nothing we do, say, or think is hidden from God any which way, so He does not need to hear our words to know our thoughts. He has complete access to all our prayers or call-outs directed to Him, whether or not they are spoken. Haven’t we all been told as kids that God is watching us every moment and HE knows everything that we do or think?  Then, why this shift of faith and belief system when we grow up?  Why do we visit temples to offer prayers and do satsangs at home to purify and be heard to Him.

I wonder and I am sure you all as well believe that we live in a world which is so evolved with science yet so engrossed with religion. The Pope, the Hindu mode of Idol worship, the temples, the churches, the mosques - the whole lot of wealth around these religious institutions is proof enough that societies are made to feel insecure and are hence asked to choose their religion; select their and GOD and then invited to pray and then pay. The entire system encourages us to visit a place of worship – pray and give our offerings in some form or the other. More specifically, in every country, religion is an agenda.. an agenda to power, to encourage networking, to amass wealth. It has been an orchestrated system which works like a well-oiled machinery to achieve political and economic designs around the world. History is testimony to many such political conquests invasions and takeover of businesses built around religion and God. You will be surprised to Google and discover how in Western economies, churches govern governments and also venture funds. However let’s leave this for now lest it ruffles some feathers.

The belief system are also shaken when I Encountered some friends, who were liberally giving offerings to religious trust, temples, churches  priests and several other religiously inclined institutions which gives them a social standing, but not to a charity which genuinely works towards helping poor, downtrodden and needy. I deep dived into their thoughts and realised they found the former to be a gateway to associate with God and a gateway.to their moksha while giving to a charity is a thought that seldom crosses their mind, I believe, they raher trust a religious instruction which will open a few more temples, churches, mosques run unaudited accounting books as against a professional run genuine philanthropic initiative. Their gestures of funding religion is loud, pompous and visibility oriented. Funding a charity is silent, quieter way of reaching God.

I am abiding by my code. And if the Holy Bible mentions it, means it has been a thought to several others as well, ages back. In the light of these facts, I want my prayers to be pure and devoid of any material instincts of offerings to God. He doesn’t need them. Silent prayers are good for me. And they have worked as well.

I have understood and made my own interpretations about the distinct difference between religion and spirituality. I chose spirituality over religion. You may choose otherwise, 

The Chai Social/ Project

Around 3 months back, a very close friend made me meet a young executive who wanted to open a theme tea cafe in a high street mall. He wanted me to introduce him to a few investors in my circle, which my friend knew that I could.

A few hours later, as we walked out of the United Coffee House' restaurant, the three of us shook hands and set upon an agenda to take the idea up as a project, albeit very differently. Me and my friend decided to mentor the project and possibly meet again to nurture the concept.

Today, as I wrote this, I am not amazed that I finally managed to bring this to life. An idea that was brewing in my mind for years has finally taken a form. While a few of my close friends knew about me thinking about it and most of them were amused and gave a hearty laugh when they realized that I was serious about pursuing this. After all it was not every day that they would meet a corporate executive, entrepreneur running a responsible consulting business and was now wanting to be a Sadak chaap chai wallah. 

Well only an entrepreneur will understand the feeling when one wants to sail a boat against the tide. It cannot be explained. In words or otherwise. I faced a few raised eyebrows from very close people, which only deterred me for a while but eventually it was destined to be a go.

To start with, our idea was no rocket science and did not solve any puzzle. It was simply rewriting the principles of chai drinking outside our homes. Almost everyone consumed tea and coffee outside homes - In offices, cafes, road side tapirs. In fact you look around in any small or big city, town, village in India, you are almost certain to spot a chaiwallah or a cafe in various forms and factors quietly doing business in some nook or corner. A rough estimates puts 10 trillion cups of chai consumer annually in India and it is safe to assume one third of this is outside our homes, and each person pays anything from Rs. 5 to 500 for a cup of tea depending upon the place, blend and affordability. It is perhaps the oldest business set up from the medieval times. The tea served with machines in offices were one of the reasons people often missed office work and ventured outside compromising precious office work time. A good cup is what everyone deserves! 

If We set aside prestigious large format cafes and other tea/coffee outlets which serve tea for Rs. 40 onwards and concentrate on the mass market product with a offering of anywhere between Ra. 5 to 10. The situation is quite different. 

So what was there to rewrite, you will ask. Well, everything I would say. 

We prospected various chai tapris at various places and time zones. At times gazing at them from a distance or very often appearing as real customers. We realized they were using either normal tap water which they were fetching from unauthorized water connections, public toilets, neighboring shops, fetching from a pipe connected to some neighboring residences or slums. This was shocking as the most critical component was sure to be infested or the least be unhygienic or not potable. The milk used was often adulterated with some powder to increase viscosity and then mixed with water to increase volume. So a typical one liter of milk became 1.5 liters which no customer will figure out. Thirdly, the sugar used was high sulphur content and a few tests we did gave shocking results. Being a industrial chemistry student I was familiar with the testing methodologies.  Lastly, the tea blend used was a bigger surprise. We found that quite a few were using tea dust instead of tea leaves powder we use at home. For those who don't know, tea dust is the residual mixture of impurities that is left behind when tea powder is made which is what you get in branded tea bags for your home. And this tea dust was put to reuse 5-6 times juicing it to extent of near poisoning the tea offering. And lastly, the teas was served in plastic disposable cups made from non food grade plastic material. I don't have to mention to make you understand what it means when hot beverage reacts with the cheap plastic material. Hell!

fSo as you see, there was a lot to rewrite about the business.

The Chai Social project is a business born out of the desire to sanitize the street tea vending business. It an honest offering at an honest price. We use mineral water, branded tea, sulphur-less sugar and branded tea powder and still managed to bring the price offering at Rs. 15. Just two months in operation, we have served over 12000 tea and coffee cups from a single outlet.  It goes to show that an honest product has a market and that a gap existed. We just need to make the people understand when people questioned our price point. And it worked.

Additionally, being a group of marketers we couldn't resist packaging the whole chai offering. A good brand name generating recall, engaging brand presence, a fancy noticeable fully equipped cycle cafe cart, an effective social media presence and a good trained tea server with a pleasant smile? A wholesome experience. The limited period trials have been encouraging us to leap ahead and we know that we are on right path. 

Chai Social is a small business with a larger vision, we intend to do over 100 locations to start with and then do few hundreds more Doing business at this scale needs people, resources and processes. We might succeed in overcoming the roadblocks or we might crash for any reason. But the flame which we have lighted, will certainly enlighten you to demand for a good cup of chai with hygienic ingredients. And be willing to pay a right price for it. 

As the business stands today, we have just completed 5 weeks of operations and sold over 8000 units and generate operational profitability from just one location.

As you see, this business has already shattered the stereotypes, has the potential to drive inclusive growth, generate employability through sustainability operations and potentially become  a long term revenue driver for everyone.

Ameen!

और आगे की उड़ान | The Flight Further ahead

 और आगे की उड़ान 

यूँ इस जगह कुछ न पाकर, अचरज न कीजिये। 

बहुत समय के बाद मैंने अपने ब्लॉग को एक किताब का दर्ज़ा  देने का फैसला किया है. आशा करता हूँ यह फैसला सफल साबित होगा. और मेरी कोशिश कुछ मंज़िल हासिल कर पायेगी. 

पहली किताब प्रकाशित होने जा चुकी है. और साथ में सैकड़ों तितलियों पेट में चुलबुला रही हैं.   

इंशा अल्लाह, मैं वापिस आऊंगा. कब और कैसे, इसका अभी पता नहीं. 

दुआओं में याद रखिएगा. 

----

The Flight Further ahead

Don't be disappointed to see the Blank Blog. I have decided to publish my works in form of several books and some of the selections in my writings are reproduced from my erstwhile blog. So it made no sense to have them here. 

The first book has already left for publishing. And with it a million butterflies are rumbling inside me.

Do hope that I come back here in some form.

Pray for me!

Over a few Vodkas & Screwed up Service!

I was once again itching to write. Not sure what would it turn out to be. Ok I will pick up the subject of the last time I felt great, good and relieved in company of someone. That was as recent as last evening. I will try to describe this person if my words and judgement do not fail me again this time.

Last evening, I was in the company of a decade old business associate turned a very dear friend. I would not name him here for the best interest of maintaining his privacy for reasons best kept to both of us.

Being an entrepreneur, gives me many chances to meet new people, almost every other day and being in a position of power in your own castle also gives you the liberty to chose some of them and take those associations to the next level. And possibly to a first level of friendship. And if you really vibe well, possibly turns into a friendship for keeps. This friend of mine decently fits into the uppermost tier of relationship. Now that I don't meet many people of late has little to do with my declining interest to fit more people in my life's net and more to do with not really finding a good set of people to mingle with.

Now on the time spent with him. It was destined to be a regular drinks n dine session. Now, sessions like these are not very regular with him. Not that we don't want them to happen. But more because life and commitments keep us busy.So desires of sessions like these get reduced and minimized to mere phone talks or small coffee breaks if we converge in same part of the city that is.

With him I can speak my heart out. Being from the same age bracket as mine and both of us being entrepreneurs( well, actually he is almost one, the way he manages his business) we share almost similar or relatable joys, sorrows,frustrations, agendas of life, work and family. It's quite uncommon to have so much in common between 2 persons. Almost seems like God's gift. We enjoy it. That's the only thing which matters.

Besides the commonality, there are quite a few things to learn from him, which further makes the company enjoyable. First, is his happy go lucky attitude about life. He has this uncanny ability to take everything in his stride, handle it and then move onto the next one. As if any mishap or unplanned hurdle is merely a milestone in his long journey.It Touches him and Goes.

Second take from him is his knowledge. Being a well-read person he is, he can talk about a lot of things further making the discussion interesting. He doesn't create feeling that he is authoritatively omnipotent but creates a great atmosphere of knowledge freely flowing around you. Grab as much as you can! That he is successful in his professional life, adds to the aura he carries around him. Now how many times does that happen around us.

Third, he is a charmer. He just charms you with his wit, persona and responses. He is truthful if you want him to be or he would con you if want to be conned, if you so desire. His retrospect is very clear and visible -that he is your kinds.

Fourth thing to learn from him is his philosophy about managing life - in whatever form it comes. Most importantly he knows and further makes you realize that if you got to live this life, you have to survive the odds that accompany it. And survival being the only option, you got to fight against the odds. He beautifully & elaborately explains how to build defenses against them by going with them perfect hand-in-glove. So, if you cant fight them, get them along and make them an opportunity.

Fifth aspect which I myself was surprised to learn from him was the art of life's pain management. Our opening and initial discussion on the subject was so enlightening and opened up a very interesting subject of discussion and learning. It was so heart rendering feeling to have known that every thing which is so clear, full of strength and robust from outside has a deep inside connection of control and self sustaining emotional membranes which keep you going. Also his companionship has so much to teach on the many mantras, some elaborately listed here and some better be unsaid.

I know it's sinfully wrong to be so much mystified by only one person in this life but then in this world where most of the people you handshake with have one or the other motive behind being good to you. Moreover with our social and professional insecurities(I am sure all of us have one or many hidden deep inside us),it is difficult to forge a long-term friendship with no riders attached to the relationship. Hanging out with people for the sake of short term companionship or a business association is a different matter.

And yes let me justify the title of this post. Vodka & Pineapple Juice is my favorite poison and the screwed up service on the table is something i have lived with. Its so natural for folks in the restaurant to impart improper service and live with it. Just like we keep living & surviving with our own imperfect impersonation about life! Jai ho!

Disclaimer: 

The thoughts expressed here are not exhaustive about this friend of mine and also necessarily means no disrespect to others I have recently met or not met. People who are important and friends who are significant in my life know about it. And those who don't, my extreme apologies to have failed in explaining their importance in my life. I will yet again make an effort to tell them that you all make me go. And that this blog post was only about one small meeting with a old friend who I met and felt good and recalling my meeting with him was as fresh along with my hangover this morning,so I chose to write, as I was itching to write.

Some other day, when I really feel good about meeting the rest and when I do have a hangover as a result of liquor flowing freely during our meeting, then I surely will make an entry on this blog again-about you.