The Banking "M-Word" & CCD VGS Ending

These days people communicate a lot and lot which we couldn’t even imagine the extent of the conversation. The “M Word” is one of the very important conversations which we need to speak about and most of the people including the major subset of couples don’t discuss on this part. The recent ending of the Cafe Coffee Day founder VG Sidhartha is also into the loop with this if we read his adieu note to the BoD of CCD. Even VGS could have easily sorted the financial demand very quickly if he had strong support emotionally. Though he was surrounded with tons of people, he was alone internally which every Entrepreneur could feel at least once in their life.

Last week while I was in the UK, I co-chaired a Financial Event of a Big Four bank in London. The floor was shared by two of us including the Vice President Commercial of the Bank which is promoting the “M Word” concept in the UK. I really enjoyed the conversation with her as it was the very first time we speak out about it. It was quite equal enough excitement for me both Professionally and Personally. Usually, the young couples who are about to start together or as like my most of mates who got recently married or started the phase of parenting speak a lot about Politics, Economics, Governance, Diplomacy, Spiritual, Intellectual and Intimacy sparks. But when they speak about Economics, they address as if Prime Minister or Finance Minister or Finance Secretary, Reserve Bank of India or England Governor and I have never heard or saw someone saying their spouse as financial controller.

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San Francisco & Los Angeles, California - 18th State Visit of the United States of America

San Francisco, my visit to 18th State of the United States of America was one of the most important ones and had an extraordinary impact than other state visits, be it personal, official or diplomatic. SF in California was into my bucket list for a long time for various reasons. But never had an option to visit due to my complicated and congested schedules. After becoming Student, I had a surplus of time to explore cities. I had a Public Policy Conference at San Francisco and wanted to use my weekend exploring the city. Luckily, I had a college alumnus and friend who was very welcoming me to San Francisco for a long time, and we were in the same wavelength.

Planned the Conference and a short trip around SF and other areas. Since a long time, he is definitely a well-organised trip planner, and I requested him to make it out for my visit, which was admitted immediately by him. And, I was pretty confident that while roaming with him, I can have surplus Indian cuisine or other safe cuisine based on his style and art of cooking. Finding good restaurants in Boston would be a difficult task and presumed that SF would also be the same.

Starting from landing at SFO Airport, the excitement was at its peak. Little facts that created goosebumps while I landed may extend to a vast list, but landing at the 7th busiest Airport of North America, historical airport of World War I and others were responsible for that goosebumps. Travelled from India extensively for 38 hours with 2 missed connections and landed to breath non-conditioned air. Saw a massive crowd in the Immigration and I was exhausted. After crossing a few minutes, a CBP officer approached me, asking for the passport amidst the vast crowd. I exhibited my usual passport with the Diplomatic one. She pulled me out of the queue and escorted me to a secluded line and cleared my immigration.

Stepped out for AirTrain and in few minutes I arrived at the Rental Car location and got a KIA Soul car for my social purposes. With my Bluetooth Connection, started my music and car with ODO at 10888 miles. First 2 days weren't were so good as it had the usual works.

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Indian Diplomacy – The Art of Protocol

Diplomacy is carried out by a Diplomat, and a Diplomat is a one who exhibits Diplomacy! Sounds crazy? Yes, we are such!

Diplomats aren’t intelligent people, but they are a step ahead of Intellectuals and Smarts. The inspiration comes from various sources, for me, it was from Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, a French Diplomat. Ok, how does it feel when you are being addressed as a Diplomat. Initially, I didn’t admit to being addressed as Diplomat because I strongly believed that one should be Diplomatic enough to be addressed such. It took almost 4.5 years to get into the primary level elevation.

People may have different opinions and ideas about a Diplomat. Oh! Yeah, PEOPLE means a more extensive set of definition.

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Attachment & Detachment – Being Adult

Attachment is clinging to anything you believes is needed for your survival and pleasure. Attachment is the source of all our pleasures now. We are attached to our friends, to our relatives; we are attached to our intellectual and spiritual works; we are attached to external objects so that we get pleasure from them. What, again, brings misery but this very attachment? We have to detach ourselves to earn joy. If only we had the power to detach ourselves at will, there would not be any misery. That man alone will be able to get the best of nature, who, having the power of attaching himself to a thing with all his energy, has also the power to detach himself when he should do so. The difficulty is that there must be as much power of attachment as that of detachment. There are men who are never attracted by anything. They can never love, they are hard-hearted and apathetic; they escape most of the miseries of life. But the wall never feels the misery, the wall never loves, is never hurt; but it is the wall, after all.

Perhaps, we have come to realize that attachment can be the one thing that is preventing us from manifesting the results we want. So it is that we are already working towards our dream but we cannot help but feel all sorts of negative emotions ranging from insecurities, anxiety, fear, lack and frustration in the meantime. Our journey is turning out to be extremely painful.

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Birthday Celebrations - Being Adult

Celebrating one's birthday is a unique event that's meant to be shared with loved ones. Birthdays are just like seasons, most of them welcome with open arms, and others may take a little warming up to. But to mark a milestone, we should be doing something with favourite people in one room to reminisce about the past year and coming year. A typical birthday party for an adult consists of family and friends and usually involves a cake, birthday card, dinner, games, music and much more.

To be more specific in India, we expect Mid-Night calls, Surprises, Fun, Wine and many such things from our most loved and favourite peoples. This cannot be limited but endures the partnership and how strong the bonding is existing between people. A call, email, text, or a personal visit to greet them on this special day is almost required as an annual maintenance task of every individual in all the certainties of Family Bonding, Romantic Bonding and Platonic Bonding.

Diplomacy Linked with Birthday

Robert Frost once said, "A Diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age!". In the same way, everyone expects wishes from people around them. This unique feeling cannot be described verbally. Though we may claim, we aren't interested in getting wishes or other sorts, there will be internal happiness unexpressed. If we are prominent in someone's life, definitely be it any situation, a wish with surprise would be there.

Removal of my Birthday

With tons and tons of Wishes I personally get every year, Facebook blocks my account, considering am a BOT while responding for the wishes. Last year I decided to remove my Birthday from Facebook so that the people who really wanted to wish me will be profoundly reminded of that day without any external reminders.

While I was writing this, I got the instance profound memories of the past. One of my Friend's father who was very seriously sick called me in 2017 on my birthday just to wish me from Australia.

Read More at: https://blog.kokulakrishnaharik.in/2019/05/birthday-celebrations-being-adult/

Appointments Etiquette – Being Adult

With almost a month of long haul, I am glad to write again. Being a responsible adult is always an important task, and one of the most important ingredients of it is the “Appointments”. There is an etiquette for making and keeping very critical appointments, and most of us miss it.

Valuing Time: The value of time becomes more precious as we get busier in life, so when you schedule an appointment with anyone, you need to see it as a valuable commodity. Never intentionally waste that time or treat it without the respect it deserves. If you schedule an appointment, proper etiquette dictates that you keep it.

Scheduling: Before giving someone an appointment, it is worth enough to check the calendar/wife/husband/secretary or whoever will be a timekeeper for you. One of the rudest things is not turning up or honouring our words.

Busy Moments: We are all busy. Anyone who is not retired or unbelievably rich is busy, and even a lot of retired and remarkably rich people are busy too. If someone tells you how busy they are as a reason for cancelling, the implication is that others are jobless creatures and have nothing better to do than wait on the busiest people’s convenience.

Conflicts: Most adults know that conflicts may arise at the last minute, and they’ll do their best to reschedule you for a more convenient time. Call, apologise for the inconvenience and choose another time that works for both of you. If you are unsure of a specific time, don’t schedule because you don’t want to be known as a chronic schedule changer.

Communication: Communicate in the most intimate form as much as possible. If you speak over the phone and are connected in all the ways possible like WhatsApp, Text SMS, Facebook Messenger, through Personal Secretary, Telegram or many such IMs, dial them up and speak. Ensure that you give them an unequivocal apology along with the next possible date and time of the meeting. They wouldn’t eat you by making you as a layer in a sandwich.

Rescheduling: You also need to be the one who calls and changes the appointment. Always call to reschedule rather than rely on texting or email. The back and forth conversation can save time and hard feelings. This isn’t a time for lame excuses.

Confirmation: Many professionals call, email or text to confirm appointments. Reply as soon as you see it. If you can’t make the appointment, use that opportunity to change the time. Don’t think that ignoring it cancels you out. It is a demonstration of maturity and leadership.

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Hypermobility - Sick & Sad darker side of a Traveler

When people meet me, they ask me this redundant question about travel and most of them express their jealousness on hearing my hypermobility. Elite forms of movement, such as for business, holidays or diplomatic journeys, are largely shown in a positive light in contemporary societies. Although there is unevenness in the portrayal of corporeal mobilities with growing fear over epidemiological threats facilitated through global mobility, negative representations of flight from poverty and persecution and the problematizing of irregular migration, mobility for business and pleasure is typically glamorized and encouraged in more privileged societies. The glamorization of elite mobility is part of broader processes of global capitalist consumption within conditions of neoliberalism, wherein circulation and accumulation within networks are unevenly experienced and materialized. Social capital is increasingly based on one’s power to be mobile and cultivate global networks which are usually referred to as network capital. 

In deeply embedded mechanisms of the social glamorization of mobility are uncovered, and juxtaposed with what we call a ‘darker side’ of hypermobility, including the physiological, psychological, emotional and social costs of mobility for individuals and societies. Mobility is omnipresent in our lives, there exists an ominous silence with regard to its darker side. The high social status associated with frequent corporeal mobility in some more privileged societies, specifically by air and road, is at least partly attributable to its glamorization in the media and other forms of public discourse.

I am a flourishing hypermobile type. My frequent travel, with more than 200,000 kilometres covered for my work and for holidays in 2018 alone, is an integral part of my identity and a source of great satisfaction. The study left me with mixed feelings, perhaps because I am in that lucky minority. Usually, hypermobility is glamourized, while in fact, it has serious negative physiological, psychological, emotional and social consequences.

Read more now at: https://blog.kokulakrishnaharik.in/2019/03/hypermobility-sick-sad-darker-side-of-a-traveler/