Rainbow

Today, after a long long time I saw a rainbow, and that too in Gurgaon where there is hardly any rain. I was sitting on the front seat of the car when I saw and tried to take some pictures from within the car. The results are not very good, but on a little close observation, the rainbow can be seen.

Quotation

I had read this quotation many years back and have recalled it many times in life. Today again I read it and find it so true.

"Don't flatter yourself that friendship authorizes you to say disagreeable things to your intimates. The nearer you come into relation with a person, the more necessary do tact and courtesy become."

- Oliver Wendell Holmes,

The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table,

1858US author & physician (1809 - 1894)

In the loving memory of Bittu Chacha

Today it is a decade that we lost you. But I feel you are still among us, in our family. Your memory has never faded. We all loved you and still love you.

Mumbai Blasts

Yesterday itself I wrote the post 'Life is sweeping by' and yesterday evening those Mumbai blasts took place in the local trains ! I came across the news only today morning so yesterday night when I got an sms from my uncle telling 'we are ok' I could not figure out that it was sent with a specific purpose. I have lots of friends and relatives who stay in Mumbai now but fortunately whoever I am in touch with are all safe and sound.

I have personally stayed in Mumbai for about three and half years and travelled in the local trains and it was really scary and horrifying to hear the news.

Life seems to be so fleeting and uncertain when you hear of such things. One fine day, someone goes to office never to return back home .... You come to realize how precious is life and how fortunate are we to have all our loved ones with us. I had a similar kind of feeing when I had heard about the 11-Sept attack in US. People would have left for office, not even imagining that they would never come back home ! We do not know what the next day or the next hour or the next second has in store for us.

Somehow I felt compelled to write a few lines today. After hearing the news, I called most of my friends about whom I did not have any news. One of them had not taken the train and had come back in the car of a friend. One of them was sick and he did not go to office and his wife returned early from office sice he was sick at home... both of them travel in the local trains and in the same route where the blasts took place and the usually the same time and in first class! Another friend had to go to Borivli but did not go. The person who fell sick would not have felt good about falling sick at that time, but his falling sick could well be the reason for his life being saved and that too of his wife's.

I don't know if this is relevant here but I am suddenly reminded of something that I had read many years ago :

We have, each one of us, a task to do, a role to fulfil, a place which we alone can occupy.

Life is Sweeping By

Quoting here a few lines for inspiration.

Rest not! Life is sweeping by;

Go and dare before you die.

Something mighty and sublime

Leave Behind to conquer time.

-Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Sometimes I feel life is so short and there is so much to do, so much that I want to do and know... and there is only twenty four hours in a day !!

Two Little Dolls

14th June'06

India Gate in the Evening

India Gate

Last week I went to India Gate with my family guests and their kids. We also went for boating there in the small pool of water that they have. There was heavy wind that evening and water from the fountain made us all wet and the kids loved it.

I had gone to India Gate for a visit after a very long time. Otherwise I see it only as as a passerby sometimes. It felt good to go there as a 'tourist' this time :)

Family Time

It has been family time for me for more than a week. Lots of people at my home including kids. In fact I took a leave for two days to be with them and then it was second Saturday, so it turned out to be a long weekend. But the heat is so intense here that outings for a day or two for the guests turned into fever and sickness.

I have hardly got time to spend on the internet, other than in office and in office there has been so much work that I hardly get time for anything. Late working hours have started here as well now. I joined this company when it's new venture had not even started completely. That is why it is now good to see our efforts bearing some fruits now.. or at least approaching towards that.
Even though it was very hectic at home, it was good to take a brief break from work and start this new week afresh.

UPDATE : Some photographs of the outings are here.

Inside The Metropolitan Mall, Gurgaon

NIFT, Mumbai Campus

These are the recent pictures of NIFT, Mumbai campus taken during my last trip to Mumbai early April. My cousin, who is studying there now took me around the new campus, part of which was to be inaugurated in a few days.

More pictures are here

This new campus is located in Khargarh, Navi Mumbai. This is very different to the temporary campus we had at Dadar, Mumbai, and for obvious reasons. It was located in a part of Tata Mills Compound, till the time the new campus came up. Although compared to the new campus, the old one was quite small, but being located in the center of the city had its advantages as well.

Mumbai Trip

I am writing here after quite a long gap. Life has been really busy with all the travelling, increasing work pressure and late working hours at office.

I went to attend the 'Intex' garment and accessories fair in Mumbai on 6th and 7th April. It was after almost four and half years that I went to Mumbai since I had left from there. The moment I stepped out of the aircraft, my palms were moist and there it was... I was in Mumbai !

One thing that I had not liked about Mumbai was the humidity there and specially durring the summer. Mumbai did not seem to have changed much. The spirit of Mumbai, the rush hours, the local trains, the busy lives, all seemed to be the same. Only I felt as if I had slowed down as compared to Mumbai's fast paced life... although personally my life is much more hectic now than it was in Mumbai.

Also got to meet some old friends and relatives there and it was a good time spent with them and all the kids there. My first short trip to Pune during the weekend, specially the bus drive via Lonavala was also good.

Back from there and again a lot of the pending work to take care of that was waiting for me to come back !!

Innocent childhood

A treat to the eyes

Some flowers in my flowerpots - a treat to the eyes.

Photographs taken 19th March'06

More photos are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/seemakumar/sets/72057594053694344/

FIEO - FIIB Training Programme on enhancement of "Presentation and Communication Skills"

I attended a Training Programme on behalf of my company on enhancement of "Presentation and Communication Skills" (23rd & 24th Feb, '06) organised by Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO) in association with Fortune Institute of International Business (FIIB) at PHD House, New Delhi.

Some of the topics covered covered during this programme were :

# Some basics and introduction on Effective Business Communication : This was a general session on effective communication - thinngs that most of us know but need to revise at times.

# Public Speaking (Extempore) - This was video recorded and later on there was a playback of Public speaking and feedback was given by the audience. This gave one the opportunity of viewing one's own performance as a viewer and judge oneself. The intersting fact is that the fear of 'Public Speaking' is on the topmost among survey results… even the fear of death ranks after the fear of public speaking.

# Business Etiquette:- This comprised of things like attire, handshake, personal habits, telephone etiquettes and cross cultural dining etiquette.

# Effective Business Communication:- This comprised of verbal and non-verbal communication, including body language, gestures, etc.

# Good Business Writing :- This also included e-mails which is the most important tool for present day business communication.

# Cross Cultural Business Behavoiur:- This topic comprised of things like Deal-focused cultures, moderately deal-focused and relationship-focussed cultures.

# Cross-Cultural Communication:- This was a very intersting topic for people who are required to do business travel. This would specially be useful for people who are less travelled or for people who would be travelling to a certain region / culture for the first time.

# Two short films were shown on effective communication which were quite interesting and illustrative.

# There were a Role play and a Case Study: These were interactive sesions.

FEEDBACK :
1.) How did you find the Training Programme?

I felt that the topics covered were very relevant and useful. However the whole session could have been more useful and interesting by adding more games / excercises so that the whole thing would have been more interactive. At times during the session it felt like theoretical class. Also the venue for this programme was not appropriate. It was a small warm room and many people present.

2.) How has the training programme benefited you?

Some things were a revision of what we know but tend to forget in our day-to-day lives about communication and presentation. We all know that different cultures have different etiquettes and behaviours. But the way a summary was presented for cross-cultural communication and business behaviour and the role-play related to it was interesting. It would benefit while dealing with people of different global cultures. The public speaking exercise and video playback, self-evaluation and audiendce feedback after that was quite helpful in highlighting the errors and mistakes that need to be corrected during public speaking or presentation.

More Photos of a Cloudy Sunday Evening

More photos of a cloudy Sunday evening are here

A Cloudy Sunday Evening

Gurgaon, 26 Feb '06, Sunday

Wow ! What a pleasant weather it was this Sunday. I was tempted to take some pictures during sunset. After a long time it seems I spent a whole day at home. Enjoyed it .. specially with the lovely weather.

Art: 'After Study'

Title : 'AFTER STUDY' (1997)

Rajasthan Lalit Kala Akademi Award at the state level

17th Annual Students’ Art Exhibition, Jaipur, 1997.

This is a digital photograph of one of my awarded artwork when I was in college - this photograph taken now almost eight years after it was awarded. Many thanks to the Fine Art Department of my college who kept this safe in their custody for so many years ... I recently brought it back from my college.

This is a 'collage' made of kite-paper. When I had created it, I had not expected it to last so long, at least not the colors of the colorful kite-papers. Surprisingly enough for me, it HAS lasted so long :-) . The colors might have faded somewhat but very little and is not very apparent.

Looking at this and some old artwork and paintings from my college days I feel like going back to the world of art and paintings and creativity ... maybe sometime in future life when money and job is less important than it is now !!

Art and Creativity

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.

- Scott Adams

How true and inspiring I had found these lines when I had read this a few years back and even now I find these lines very motivating.

Till the time one experiments with new ideas, creates something out of a new idea, one might not know the worth of it. We were often taught and inspired in Art and Fashion institutes to think, to create something, keep creating till you are satisfied with some of your work. How a rough sketch from a vague idea or a scribbled life sketch can turn into a beautiful work of art, be it in the form of a painting, a 'collage', a print, a graphic... or any other form of art, used to be so amazing. What a world of difference there is from the initial rough sketches to the final work of art ! Inspiration, imagination, visualisation and creative expression - all form a part of the creative process.

We keep trying to find short-cuts in life. How seldom we remeber the lessons learnt in schools and colleges while going through life !! Yet How true many of these lessons seem to be when related to the practicalities of life. If only we could remember all the lessons learnt !

New Age Dawn

The evening is here.
The stars light up the sky.
The sun sets
Behind the horizon.
The birds fly back
To their nests.
The night falls
And embraces the darkness.
It is time to rest,
Time to sleep.
Nature rests.

But the city awakens.
Awakens as if
The life begins now,
As if this is
The new age dawn.
As if man has created
Another life
Against nature.

-Seema Kumar
9th Feb'06

More Photos from NIFT Fashion Spectrum, Delhi

It was good to see the Fashion Show designed, choreographed, modelled and presented by students. Good Job.

The confusions and preparations at the back-stage, the glamour of the ramp, the hard-work of the designers ... was a spectator of all this and in some ways participant as well.

Some more photos for the 1st day at Fashion Spectrum are here

Photos from Fashion Spectrum at NIFT, Delhi

The Fashion Show in the Evening

Events during the day

Photos by SK