I love my morning paper. The fresh smell of newsprint, a crisp and windy Pune morning and my delicious morning tea while reading the latest in Hollywood gossip never fails to lift my spirits. Although I have to say that some mornings my spirits are already quite lifted from the excesses of the previous night but never mind.
This morning however when I opened the papers I chanced upon an article that drew and held my attention even before I got to reading the gossip column. The article said that tea with milk was bad for me! Surely the writer was joking or croaking and this was his way of paying back humanity for some imagined slight.
Not so. The writer was serious and went on to give some chemical reaction explanation that I must say sounded very convincing if you are the jargon impressed kind of person. Not me. I was mad. Hey! Gyan gurus! Leave us all alone. For centuries Indians have been drinking tea with milk - none of that green shit and have been healthy and happy. Now you come along and publish some paper after doing some cockamamie research funded by someone who has mucho moolah and you unleash this on the general public just as we are sitting down to enjoy our morning chai? Soon you will be telling us to leave the tea out and just drink the warm water!
The thing with this kind of unsolicited advice purportedly for the good of mankind is that there is no consistency. One day eat bread - the next day give it up!! Its bad carbs. One day eggs are the best - the next day you will die of cholesterol if you eat eggs. Today stop eating fish they are contaminated - the next day eat fish it has omega 3 oils. Today eat lean beef - its the best kind of meat. Tomorrow stop eating beef you will get mad cow and die. Normal tea is good for you today and only the back and green and Godaloneknowswhat colour is good for you tomorrow. What are we? Stupid?
Me - I have decided that I will eat, drink and pray - all in moderation. I meant play in moderation. Pray I will in excess - have to with the state of the nation. Anyway all of you health hungama people keep your studies to yourselves. Everyone's gotta eat. A lot of us have gotta drink and I know if we all play we will be fine. Chai is chai only if its got milk in it. Otherwise its coloured water.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Everyone wants to do a Steve Jobs
Steve is dead and for the last week we have been reading, seeing, hearing and listening to tributes made to a man who no doubt deserved all the kudos he got. People have been sending me links and videos and speeches and asides that he has made over the last 30 years but frankly my dear - I don't give a damn.
His words have been interesting, shocking, thought provoking, inspirational, insulting, encouraging, stark and even factual - in the world according to Steve. But from what I see going on around me his commencement speech at Stanford's 2005 graduation ceremony seems to have had the most impact on people all over the world.
Everyone wants to stop living someone else' dream and start living their own. Everyone now wants to follow their heart; drown out the opinion of others and the voice of society. Basically everyone wants to do a Steve Jobs.
Now a doubting Thomas you may be but it is true. In the 3 days after Steve's death while the world was being bombarded with Steve trivia I had more than 50 people walk into my office telling me they want to quit and follow their dream - a la Steve Jobs. My sessions would normally go like this.
"Ma'am, I want to quit my job."
"What? Why?" ( me thinking he wants more money and less responsibility which is normally the case)
"Steve Jobs died"
"What? So? I mean, so why do you want to quit?" ( me trying not to sound so callous )
"Before he died, he said follow your dreams and stop living someone else".
" Ok. Whats your dream?" ( me adopting 'the questions will reveal the answers' theory)
" My dream is to go to Goa and open a bar like Tito's, hook up with Masala Mike and live as if this were the last day of my life - like what Steve Jobs said"
"Don't be foolish. You will not have money to feed yourself." ( me getting down to basics in the face of idiocy.)
"That is what he said Ma'am. He said Stay foolish and be hungry."
"---------------" ( me lost for words )
So 50 variations of the same conversation over 3 days and I figured this is why we are a headless race, robbing Peter to feed Paul, trying to colonize space and save the earth when its us that needs the saving.
We have this amazing ability to select what we want to hear, see and believe - completely out of context and then with a faith that could move mountains act upon this belief thereby changing the course of our lives completely and then blaming everyone else - from the deceased Steve to the immortalized Elvis to the still with us Dr Singh, for things that go wrong.
Me? I am all for change and doing your own thing.
Quit and go do charity.
Quit and go play the guitar.
Quit and start your own catering company.
Quit and be a mechanic despite having an IQ off the charts.
Quit and follow your heart.
It just seems like everyone wants to go to heaven - but no one wants to die.
Everyone wants to DO a Steve Jobs - no one wants to BE the man.
This ones for the apple man. RIP
His words have been interesting, shocking, thought provoking, inspirational, insulting, encouraging, stark and even factual - in the world according to Steve. But from what I see going on around me his commencement speech at Stanford's 2005 graduation ceremony seems to have had the most impact on people all over the world.
Everyone wants to stop living someone else' dream and start living their own. Everyone now wants to follow their heart; drown out the opinion of others and the voice of society. Basically everyone wants to do a Steve Jobs.
Now a doubting Thomas you may be but it is true. In the 3 days after Steve's death while the world was being bombarded with Steve trivia I had more than 50 people walk into my office telling me they want to quit and follow their dream - a la Steve Jobs. My sessions would normally go like this.
"Ma'am, I want to quit my job."
"What? Why?" ( me thinking he wants more money and less responsibility which is normally the case)
"Steve Jobs died"
"What? So? I mean, so why do you want to quit?" ( me trying not to sound so callous )
"Before he died, he said follow your dreams and stop living someone else".
" Ok. Whats your dream?" ( me adopting 'the questions will reveal the answers' theory)
" My dream is to go to Goa and open a bar like Tito's, hook up with Masala Mike and live as if this were the last day of my life - like what Steve Jobs said"
"Don't be foolish. You will not have money to feed yourself." ( me getting down to basics in the face of idiocy.)
"That is what he said Ma'am. He said Stay foolish and be hungry."
"---------------" ( me lost for words )
So 50 variations of the same conversation over 3 days and I figured this is why we are a headless race, robbing Peter to feed Paul, trying to colonize space and save the earth when its us that needs the saving.
We have this amazing ability to select what we want to hear, see and believe - completely out of context and then with a faith that could move mountains act upon this belief thereby changing the course of our lives completely and then blaming everyone else - from the deceased Steve to the immortalized Elvis to the still with us Dr Singh, for things that go wrong.
Me? I am all for change and doing your own thing.
Quit and go do charity.
Quit and go play the guitar.
Quit and start your own catering company.
Quit and be a mechanic despite having an IQ off the charts.
Quit and follow your heart.
It just seems like everyone wants to go to heaven - but no one wants to die.
Everyone wants to DO a Steve Jobs - no one wants to BE the man.
This ones for the apple man. RIP
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