Assumptions

During some training, i found DO NOT ASSUME bit quiet interesting because the way the trainer pointed it out was interesting. Most of us might know it but if you don't here it is:

Clearly, assuming makes and ASS of U and ME.

A lot of the times, we assume that the point someone is trying to make is understood. Or we assume that the way we explained something was the most correct way of doing it. We also assume based on the looks or a person, or the job of a person. Have we ever taken a moment to stop and fully grasp the situation before assuming? Not that i know of. I am also guilty of doing the same. All of us as humans have this tendency to assume. The funniest thing i can think of is probably when someone says that "I am a doctor" or "I am a lawyer", every time i hear that i just want to respond - "No your not. You just happen to practice law or medicine".

There are certain other people who tend to assume that they are at a higher strata of life because of their job or earning potential and tend to disrespect or down down onto customer service agents, food service providers etc. The number of times i have seen people talking down on the poor waiters or servers in a restaurant, i have always wanted to get up and teach them some respect. Just because you pay for your one menu item, you don't own them. Nor do you own the restaurant. Learn some respect and compassion. Don't assume that these servers or waiters are here as your servants. Agreed that i have worked in the industry and i might feel more for them than other people, but this is just an act of humanity. There is no need to be rude to anyone, forget what they earn or what they work as. 

The truth is that we are more than what we do. In one lifetime one can be a lawyer, a doctor, an engineer and an entrepreneur all at once. I happen to know a few people who have such combinations of qualifications. They are people that have not fallen for this assumption.

Another common assumption is that of thinking having more money will solve your money problems. Ask the guy who inherited a million dollars and lost it all in a year or so whether it sorted out his problems. Knowing how to make money, make it grow and learning how to invest it wisely are part of the answer. Having more money is not the answer, but financial intelligence is the answer.

How about the assumption that having your own business is risky? Many would agree to that no doubt. Having a job is the more secure thing to do. But are you sure? If you really think about it and analyse things deeply you might find that having a secure job is actually more risky than being in business for yourself. Consider such statistics as the ones pointing to the fact that less than ten percent of retirees have enough money to look after themselves once they stop working. Isn’t that risky?

Always challenge the norm and seek out the answers for yourself. Follow no one blindly. Do nothing without first seeking to understand why. Always keep an open mind. Most importantly, believe in yourself and the fact that you are different and what you think matters more than what society says.

Life is what we make of it

Nope i am not talking about Katherine Heigl & Josh Duhamel's romantic comedy. This is more about life as we take it.. life, as we take it for granted! I always think, day in and day out... what could i have done different in my past, but never thought that life is what we make of it and today, i still have the power to change my life. 

Someone once told me not to have regrets in life, and maybe that statement did change me a bit. I learnt to appreciate every mistake i make. only by appreciating it will i learn from it. Well really, it doesn't stop there... gotta make the changes. Kind of a three step process. You make a mistake, your learn from it, you implement it and well DON'T repeat it. Sounds easy, well it aint that easy, as most of us know. We tend to make the same stupid mistakes over and over again. 

We normally take life as a given, but never understand the complication associated with it. We never tend to value what was given to us as a gift. In this day and age, we live life in such a fast pace that we forget to appreciate the small things. We tend to pile on so many responsibilities as we grow older that we forget to just stop and think. Stop and say thank you. Stop and say a simple sorry. 

Someone gave me another advise, "live everyday as if it were your last." Now that i tend to disagree a bit because i believe that this might be leading us to the end of our lives... some people live only to have a "goodtime." I used to be like that, but i realized that life needs to be valued, not just live for the good times, but also the bad. Sometimes that "fun" and "goodtimes" are the things that might lead to the end of our lives... is the little fun really worth the end of our lives?

Fulfilling Dreams

Dreams are made by our own imagination or our own desire. Over the years, i did achieve quiet a number of things that i wanted to but also failed in a lot of other things. When you dream, you tend to think that most of the things that we want from life are achievable. Might not be true, life might take a turn for better or might be for worse. I am not trying to be negative in this post, but just penning down a reality i have learnt.  

When i was young, i had a dream. I wanted to be a pilot, like most of the other young kids. But did i achieve that? Not really. The time i graduated from high school, it was the 9/11 era, where planes were not flying, pilots were being laid off, airline companies were closing or facing bankruptcy  During that time, I had a counselor who advised me to first get a degree and then apply for a PPL or CPL (private pilot's license or commercial pilot's license). I got thinking why, and he clearly explained that the retirement age for pilots is quiet early. Once i'm out of flying then i would not have anything to do. Little did i know that she might have been trying to deter me from becoming a pilot.

Then came the phase of me wanting to become a financial consultant, and there started my journey in the business school of Penn State. I was enjoying the journey, until i decided to take a job as a food server in the Penn State Commons, just to make some extra bucks. I was thrilled with the idea of working in food service. I was thrilled that a few months from starting work, voila i was a Student Supervisor. I loved every moment of it. Loved interacting with customers. There i took a plunge. I changed my major to Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management. 

The journey ended with me having to leave the US to come back to Dubai. I still think that if i had continued in finance i would have been able to find a job in the US, and i wouldn't have been writing blogs, like i do so well. So there, but not that i regret any of it. Moving on, I found a job with the WAFI group and well spent a good 4 years with them, again enjoying every moment of it. Made great friends along the way, both in college and in my first job in Dubai. I was changing, so was my life. All of a sudden it hit me, well next up, need to find something more stable. 

Why did i narrate my life story? Well here is the point - dreams change. Some dreams that are unreachable or seem unteachable take a back seat, and we tend to make new dreams for ourselves. We adjust. And every human in every phase of life adjusts himself to the changing reality. We also make these assumptions that if i can't get this i will not do anything else. As you grow up, the reality hits you, and you are forced to change your aspirations. 

There is no one to stop us from meeting our aspirations in the new field. It might be boring as hell, but you will or you should find a way to achieve them. I have successfully turned this post into a lecture on how to think positive. And before i go more into it, i will stop right here. 

Over protective

While discussing certain issues in today's world, a friend and i stumbled upon a topic which i found to be quiet interesting to write about. Its not a topic, per say, but just a discussion subject. His views and my views were quiet different. 

We were discussing how over-protective he is about his sister, and that this should not be the case because he has all the freedom him self but his sister doesn't. When i talk of over protective brothers from India, i'm talking of the famous "no mini skirts" and the "no boyfriend" or "who was that guy with you at the mall" rules. If the brother can have a girlfriend or do whatever he wants why can't the sister. I am sure the brother is not sexist. So his response was "just because i'm over protective".

I just put a simple point across, which most of us tend to forget. The girl or guy you are going to marry is also someone's sister or brother. I'm sure their siblings are also over protective about them. So when you talk of freedom for yourself, let's see, you've indulged in a lifestyle which might not be accepted by the girl or her brother, so how do you expect that your sister would be a straight forward, good Indian girl? 

At this stage the conversation got more in depth and to discuss it here would take pages and pages of writing. So moving on, my thoughts on the topic of over protectiveness, i feel that as a person you should have control over your feelings and protectiveness. Your sister or brother does have the freedom to think for themselves, to make mistakes for themselves. A lot of you might disagree here, but being an elder brother or sister, i am sure they have also made mistakes and learnt, just like our parents. Parents give you advice on what to do and what not to do. Do we follow it? Most of the time the answer is no. 

As an older sibling, its better to give an advice to your youger sibling but then let them learn from their own mistakes, do not control their lives or put restrictions on their lives. Humans have a tendency to run away from over protectiveness, and in the long run you might lose the special bond with your sibling if you get over protective. 

Gang Rape

The latest topic of discussion, in every Indian's mind is gang rape. For those who don't know the details of what had happened in Delhi, just google and you will find millions of articles for the same. A lot has been said  in the media, but nothing has been done. Protests continue in Delhi, and honestly, this brings shame. When i think of that young girl fighting for her life, sustaining several injuries when six men in Delhi raped her and assaulted her male friend, I also want justice. And the rape was no ordinary one, these men proceeded to use and iron rod.

I am sure that quiet a number of incidents like these happen everyday in the world, but this was just a gross. Indians have been fighting for capital punishment ever since for rapists. I have not gone deep into reading about exactly what the law says about rapists and what the legal procedure is, but at some point i feel like even enforcing capital punishment, especially for these rapists, is just an easy way out. They might never be able to feel the pain and humiliation of the woman. 

My cannibalistic side says that the rapists should be tortured the way the woman was tortured. Not only physical torture but also should be publically humiliated. They should have an iron rod inserted into their bodies and left to pain. It really aggravates me when such shameful deeds happen, anywhere in the world. Capital punishment might not act as a deterrent to these people. Maybe a life long imprisonment might be a better option according to me. Let them suffer and rot in the jails instead of giving them an easy way out by killing them off.   

Moving on, rape in Delhi and neighboring Haryana is quiet common these days, and not only those two states of India, but most of India. The past few months have had media attention drawn to rape cases before this incident. More than gang rape, the incidents of rape of young women/girls has risen. The rape of a 5 year old by a temple priest, rape of a 70 year old woman by her young relative, rape by a neighbor, rape by dad and brother. 

I think that most of the rape cases are not by strangers, but mostly by close family or friends or relatives. All to often, we also hear of rape on the backward class women, or rape of the "dalit" woman. But all these cases, the rape was by someone close. So if we go ahead with the death penalty, you might find your neighbors, family and friends being hung. 

There was further talk of giving these rapists some physiological treatment once they are caught. This might work, but ultimately these men are "rapists". How can you assure that they will not do the same after they are "treated"? Think about it, when a father can rape his own daughter (and also including the brother in this un-Godly act), what's to confirm that the "treatment" would stop them from raping someone else. What goes on in their minds, we might never know. 

In this day and age of media and accessibility  i fear, i fear a lot of my niece and all the young girls/kids that i know. They will be growing up in a world where everything is out in the open, news spreads. 

Everyone wants justice, so do i. But what i fear is the outcome of these regular incidents. Its not going to deter the rapists. Its not going to change their minds.

Inner Happiness.

The title for this write up sounds like i'm about to talk about some inner peace or a form of nirvana. I'v not turned into a hippie. Not just yet. I am turning into a crazy fanatic though, living in Kuwait and most of the time alone, I have found myself listening to my inner thoughts sometimes.

Have you ever had the feeling of being scared of doing something  Even thought you know that you are right and this is right? Why should you feel scared then? Well maybe because by being mean to someone you might just offend them? Or they might not talk to you? Well, over the years i have learnt that no one really gives a damn. Sometimes to do the right thing you have to be hated but at the end of the day, "you sleep peacefully" as my ex manager used to say. A lot of things i have learnt from her about managing staff & also my personal stuff.

To find that inner happiness the easy path just doesn't work. I think the biggest weakness might be confrontational fears. Like most, i don't like confrontations but slowly i have started becoming accustomed to it. I have also learnt that once i know that i am doing the right thing, i will be happy at the end of the day. Finding a way to keep everyone happy, including yourself is mostly impossible. Someone or the other just might not like your decisions. Well cheers to that.

Some people try to go deep into the meaning of life thinking that they will achieve inner happiness once they know the meaning of their actions or the meaning of their existences  well i doubt that. According to me, if you try to over think something, you start complicating things more for yourself. If you just go by life and take things as they come without over thinking it, you might be happier and a less complicated person. What does bring inner happiness is the "unconditional love" that you give to your partners, loved ones and those around you.

For me, while playing with my nephew and niece  just spending even 5 minutes with them leads me to happiness. The minute i walk in home (in Dubai) from Kuwait that hug i get from my niece or nephew is happiness, its actually inner happiness. At least them being so young i know that they have not forgotten me and that they still like me even though i stay away from them weeks at a stretch.

 

Social Pressure

It's been more than a month since my last post, I am quiet lazy when i comes to writing in the blog. All the time i get ideas to write about, i just don't motivate myself enough to actually pen them down. 

Quiet like peer pressure, i have learnt that social pressure comes into play as you grow older and the so called "society" demands a bunch of things that have to be a certain way. Being Indian, i think it even more pressured, well since i don't know much about other cultures or societies. As a person grows older, certain responsibilities have to be completed or else the age old question "what will society think about this" comes into play. To live life, under your own terms and conditions is not allowed? I don't want to follow the stereotypical way of life, I want to live it on my own terms. What I define as stereotypical might be different from what others think so don't get me wrong. 

What i feel is that giving into social pressure just leads to stress and unnecessary depression. I have seen a lot of people who have actually given into this pressure and just lead a mundane life as dictated by the society, but as an individual, i feel that times have changed, but unfortunately most parts of the Indian society have not changed or evolved. 

The boyfriend becomes the hobby, the girlfriend becomes the hobby, the new passion, everything. I've had a lot of male friends who've drifted away because they have a new girlfriend in their lives. So much in that person, everyone falls off the planet and then you wake up one day and you realise that other person isn't all they were projecting to be and then your world crumbles, you become a modern Devdas.

Now while writing, i had just remembered what i had read from an article, and it basically sums up a part of what i am trying to say about pressure from society. If you don't have a girlfriend or boyfriend or if you don't want to get married as per the "norm", you are abnormal. Why? I chose not to par take in the "married life" experience that most of the world enjoys past 25. I also chose not to become a modern day Devdas in love. I love to chose what makes sense to me. 

"Who will take care of you when your old?" - Well this is another common question asked when you decide not to get married, well i think i'm capable enough to take care of myself. Also, knowing today's day and age and our "lifestyles" i don't think I'm gonna live past 45. Well realistically, the life expectancy has dropped right after McDees, KFC and the sort entered into our lives. I love food. Doesn't it show on my curvaceous body?

That being tackled, let's go on to the "having kids" part of life, well i love kids. I will have my own kids. Adopted. I think its a better option anyways, adoption means i'm helping out the millions of kids who are in orphanages. They deserve a better life. Obviously they would not have my DNA, but I wouldn't want to give my DNA to my offsprings anyway knowing all the illnesses and the like in my family history. Plus i'm not too good in the looks department either. 

Out of all this, as a stranger, you might assume i wanna be miserable and alone all my life, but that's also not true, if you know me enough you know where this write up is leading, if not, then you don't quiet know me yet. 

Emirates adds easyJet as new Skywards partner | GulfNews.com

Emirates adds easyJet as new Skywards partner | GulfNews.com

Is it me or I find this hilarious. easyJet - a completely no frills carrier joins hands in the "award winning" frequent flyer program of Emirates, now i figure this is a good move for easyJet but Emirates? How does a no-frills airline work with a full service carrier like Emirates?

Emirates wants access to the secondary European markets, which easyJet has, but does it really drop to such lows of actually going into an agreement with easyJet?

Pakistan girl ‘fated’ to die in acid attack: mother | GulfNews.com

Pakistan girl ‘fated’ to die in acid attack: mother | GulfNews.com

This might be the most disgusting thing I have read. It is 2012 and yet we follow honor killings in some parts of the world? I am sure this goes on not only in Pakistan but also in India, what irks me is the fact that even the authorities can't put a stop to this?

Looking at my own country, i was able to find that there are more than 10,000 honor killings in India every year. As the world progresses, i am sure that there would be some way of educating the masses in villages and such that they shouldn't try to play God. Honor killings did happen in the past, maybe then it was acceptable but i find it quiet a disgusting thing to do, to actually play with someone's life? What's sadder is that fact that most of the victims are young and probably the children of the criminals.

I would suggest reading Honour Killing India to understand the intensity of these killings.

"Since the Arab Spring, Turkey has become a role model for many Arab countries for their law reforms. However, it should be asked that while Turkey and its legal system guide those Arab countries, is the country successful in order to deal with fundamental rights within its territories? In which extend Turkey deals with the domestic violence? The European Court of Human Rights (the Court) fined Turkey for violating the Articles 2, 3, and 14 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) in 2009 with the Opuz v Turkey Case. This decision was clear evidence that the State is unable to protect women from domestic and honour based violence and there is a certain discrimination against women."

The above is a representation of what the women in Turkey have been going through. I wonder how many more countries have the same issues but the fact remains that many countries are turning a blind eye to these issues. Honor killings are not "honorable" in any form or even in any "era". As a human, you do not have the right to take another human's life - especially in the name of God!

Every year thousands of lives are sacrificed, irrespective of caste, creed, religion or social status of the family. People kill their own kin and kiths in the name of family’s/caste’s pride and honour. The worst thing is that where the Panchayats pronounce death penalties for the youths who dare to enter in a relationship outside their caste/creed/religious and economic circle. The police act as a mere spectator and they don’t even register a case and if, by chance a case is registered, no proper action is taken in lieu of the excessive social pressure. In history of Indian democracy, no law has been enacted against the regional caste panchayats who pass such ‘judgments’. The regional and caste panchayats are so harsh and unquestionable (partly due to their role in elections) that they give death penalty straight away irrespective of the circumstances and ignoring Indian law.

The love stories that we hear of in the northern region is just the beginning and it is a glimpse of change which is just trying to penetrate vertically in the society. The society is confused on the change because these changes are against their perceived social beliefs. A large number of people in our society are the biggest critique of the change. But the good thing is that the voice of criticism and the definitions has understood this change.

There are many differences of opinion regarding relationships and marriages in Indian society. Northern Indian rural societies have double standards favoring men regarding the change. It is said that number of unmarried or widowers are high in these societies. And in these villages out of two brothers only one will get married and the other one will have illicit relationship with the bride. Many unemployed boys who are from well reputed families buy girls from east India for their marriages. As a whole the paucity of girls are cited as the reason for inter-caste/class marriages. Whereas in such incidents of honor killings the girls family give excuses of morality and then comes the question of social status and family background. Later on respect of family, village, caste and gotra comes one by one. Panchayats sit in groups for discussing the issue and religious gurus and contractors of social morality pass their judgments.

In a sentence, honor killing is a result of a self-contradictory fight between tradition and neo-cauterized generation. Khaps and other social systems are losing their territory and young couples are breaking the traditions and odd social customs.

Etihad Airways and RAK Airways sign codeshare deal

Etihad Airways and RAK Airways sign codeshare deal | GulfNews.com

This make me laugh. Do you know why? RAK Airways is marketed as a low cost carrier but it has certain frills, and Etihad is aiming to be a boutique carrier. RAK Airways has had a rocky start, it was shut down initially then restarted and now its plagued with lengthy delays. Etihad seems to be partnering up with a lot of airlines and investing in ailing airlines. Previously AirBerlin and Etihad have signed a partnership deal - Etihad heavily investing in the airline and boom, Etihad demanded change of the AirBerlin CEO....

Anyway the partnership of Etihad with airberlin might be a good move, since Etihad will not become a global player but remain mostly as a regional player. Emirates has taken the position of global player in the market years back. Etihad service might be much better, but it does not compare in terms of sheer size when you put Emirates in the picture. What's funnier is the start of Abu Dhabi to Ras Al Khaimah flights. Now, I do know that RAK is trying to come up as an Emirate in the UAE by luring in investors at its free zone and its also become much easier to start a business in RAK but I just don't see the market potential. 

Dubai and Abu Dhabi have crossed the limits and they were the first two emirates to invest in a free economy and well they are reaping the benefits. RAK has woken up too late, i think trying to compete with these two might be a tough task as Abu Dhabi has ample amount of money to support itself and also Dubai. The distance between Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah is a mere 234 kms, which traditonally people have been driving. UAE does have a wonderful network of roads which allows this. RAK is not a business center or a major tourist destination. Most tourists bound for RAK fly into Dubai or Abu Dhabi and then tour operators have already arranged transport for them. 

Anyway for me a domestic flight in the UAE is pointless, the partnership between the two arilines is also pointless, but who knows they might make it work? It two totally opposite business models trying to make it work. More over, flights between Abu Dhabi and RAK are also not worth the effort, the drive down is much more scenic and less hectic than going through check-in, security, etc etc.... and lets not forget about RAK Airline's on time performance.

Qantas, Emirates sign partnership deal

Qantas, Emirates sign partnership deal | GulfNews.com

Reading the above article, well of-course i had my views to express. What I don't understand is Qantas, an age old player in the market doesn't have a strong hold in the European market, but alas it is a part of One World alliance which gives it access to numerous destinations in Europe via British Airways, which is also a part of OneWorld, besides BA, Qantas has an access to a numerous amount of destinations via Germany (Air Berlin). 

Moving on, what other benefits would Qantas have to sign a partnership with Emirates - Indian subcontinent and Africa. Well Cathay Pacific is well covered within India. Africa is a big loop hole and maybe Emirates would be able to fill that. For its European destinations, Qantas has a scissor hub at Singapore, which is a Star Alliance dominated territory. Much of the move to sign a partnership deal seems a bit pointless to me. Qantas could easily make the Australia - India route work with its own aircraft.

Emirates, I don't see much of a gain in this. Partnering with Qantas doesn't boost anything for Emirates since it already has a good market presence in the Australian market. 

Well that's how i see it, let's see what happens in the future, maybe this is a strategic move on the part of Emirates as it tries to tap into the lucrative Australasia to West Coast US market which it has been trying to do for years now. 

The Air India Refut

The Article

Before you start reading my post, read the article above. Just a brief background, the Mint is an online newspaper which is a joint venture between The Hindustan Times and The Wall Street Journal. 

Couple of years back there was talk of Air India possibly joining Star Alliance in order to help the ailing carrier with passengers and access to different markets throughout the globe. Just recently before joining into the alliance, its entry was revoked by Lufthansa and other Star Alliance members. It was given 5 years with further extensions to comply with the Star Alliance integration but according to Star, it was unsuccessful. 

Air India has leaked out the emails that have gone between Star and itself and how they have now turned their attention to Jet Airways, the whole scenario is explained in the article. It makes an interesting read but there are certain things that just don't add up. 

Since the deal didn't go through, Air India's response was predictable. Rather than admitting to its own faults it has gone all out on blaming Star Alliance for the deal falling through. Because, as we all know, Air India is a shining beacon of meeting goals and requirements. 

I am no Air India apologist nor am I for Star Alliance. Untimely, I think, Star is a business, they would do whatever best suits them. For the Government of India to bend over backwards to allow all this to happen under their nose was not Star's fault. I am sure, India is big economy to handle itself. They didn't need to allow extra frequencies to and from Germany to India exclusively for Luftansa. They could have denied it all together. Now that Air India wasn't able to get it  together, now they blame Jet and Lufthansa. 

Again, how the GOI could have allowed this to happen i am not sure. Bypassing Air India (a government entity) and then allowing a go-ahead for Jet a private Indian airline. Frankly speaking, I doubt Jet's entry into Star Alliance would be beneficial as Singapore Airlines is already a founder member. This situation is very similar to the one where Air India put an arbitrary amount "owed" by Boeing due to the delay of its 787 aircraft delivery. Boeing had then made it very clear that the amounts, in case of a delay, were mentioned in the contract and that they are not liable to pay a penny more than that. Did no one read the contracts?

I wonder how long this airline would be run by the government. As i always say, there is so much potential for the airline, but due to the government interference, its been run aground. India is a country of more than a billion people, of which even if 30% have a disposable income or travel by air, AI is due to succeed. NRI's and POI's would prefer to fly their own airline only if it were more reliable and more accessible. 

  

Lunch Conversations - Love Notes

A few days back i was having lunch with colleagues and we were discussing the topic of love, which got me thinking about it. 

How did it start? Well, two of my staff who had been in a relationship for more than 10 months had an argument about an iron and decided to physically hurt each other. Now these are two girls beating each other up. Sure there are differences in any relationship, but i believe, no matter how angry or hurt you are by your other half doesn't give you the right to get physical and beat each other up. 

How many times have you asked your self that question? Or better yet, how many times have we said, "Oh! She is the one for me", or even "He is the right guy" after dating someone for two weeks? The problem is, we really don't know what love is... what does it really mean! "Love" is used as a passing word in every sentence we use. 

How did you know that you love someone within two weeks of dating someone? Love needs time to grow. Love is full of compromise. Love isn't about mushy, romantic evenings, expensive gifts, romantic dinners with champagne everyday! Love is about adjusting, understanding and many more things which we might not think are exciting. 

If you say that the person you have dated for a few weeks is the one your going to marry, welcome back to reality. Give it one year and i can assure you that you will be re-evaluating that decision. In this day and age, humans have evolved. We require space and time. We are no longer interested in our partner's progress but our own. We focus on our goal more often than focusing on our relationship. 

Someone might come back to me and say that i am wrong, but i never asked for an opinion. All i need you to do is close your eyes and think about it, do you really love your partner? or is it more about the human needs for just a companion when they are down and when your happy, well you really don't need the person because everyone will share your happiness but only that someone special will be next to you during your tough times. 

Love doesn't always give immediate returns. When you plant a rose, it doesn't blossom the next day. Love doesn't ask perfection of us. In fact, it rejoices in our imperfections as much as our strengths. It's our imperfections that give us empathy with others who are in pain and struggling with life, and empathy is very much part of love. 

Well i guess enough of my lecture and back to some thinking. What do you think? Love is easy? NOPE! Love takes time, love takes patience, love takes some thinking, love takes adjusting!

Growing Up In Dubai

Living & growing up in Dubai in the olden era (well definitely after 1985) had me thinking about a lot of things happening here. The immigration building in Deira was once the longest building in the UAE... I could see World Trade Center all the way from my little one story villa in Jumeirah along the beach road (now known as the Jumeirah Road). Al Ghurair Center was one of the only malls around. 

Hanging out with friends from school meant only a few things, either play CS!! (Counter Strike) in some small internet shop with your friends, or go bowling on SZR or watch a movie! 

Unfortunately the luxuries of all those activities were attainable for only a few. For me, fun meant something different while growing up. It meant spending more time with my dad, helping around my mom and being a (quite literally) "home" boy. 

Life as you know it now in Dubai, was quite different then. I was quite different then, simply untouched by the materialism in those days, i would find pleasure in little things. I would be happy if i got a nice ink pen for my birthday from my parents. I would be happen when i got a nice book to read as a gift. I would be happy with a new pencil case. Things changed, upon getting into university at Penn State, i believed my future had changed for the better. Dubai had evolved, so had i. Dubai was on the verge of modernization, and i was leading to a more open-minded life. Accepting who i was, who i am because my only goal for that moment. 

Who knew that the decisions i make in life, would directly affect my future? Well now it seems all realistic and logical to think that decisions you make early in life affect your future, but in the age, when you are still maturing and trying to find yourself, you tend to make decisions unknowingly and blindly. I would never regret my decision, but I do think that i could have taken more wiser choices, if given a chance again. 

Who knew that a small dot in in the world map would one day become a world renown tourist destination?

That is the old SZR... miss the times when going from point A to point B in Dubai wasn't such a headache! Miss the times when making a personal decision wasn't such a task!!

Indian Television

Probably the worst thing to happen to India was their sitcoms. I wonder what the women (and some men) see in these never ending sagas that attaches them to the t.v. and that all their other work has to happen around the show timings, because once its on - no one can disturb them. I feel like the writers or the producers are probably from broken homes or families to think of such topics and issues which just go on and on and on....

Few of my biggest pet peeves of these Indian sitcoms is the un-Godly use of make up which just seems so "pretty". If this was real India, maybe 40% of the population wouldn't have the income source to own the amount of make up they use. It would probably amount to 90% of the month's average monthly income for a middle class employee.

Then you have the brightly colored silk sarees, which they seem to sleep in too! I truly applaud any Indian woman who would be fully "decked" up and in their bed! which includes the make up. I don't think it is possible to find anyone, or else i would probably give up writing these non-sense blogs. With the heat in India and the economic situation where a.c's are a thing of luxury, i am sure they would be sweating to their last bone if these sarees were worn around every single minute of the day, which includes while sleeping.

Lets talk about feminism and feminist writers here, I respect women, but seriously how can you believe that the men do NOTHING at all, stand around the house behind one strong female figure who dictates what is to be done and how she's plotting her next obsticel against her "daughter-in-law". So out of this world but for people who have not seen it, you have to see the sitcoms to believe what i am saying.

Most marriages on these sitcoms have either broken up due to "mother-in-law" influence or some "evil" sister in law or some sort of woman who plots against all of this. Then you have the ideal daughter in law who does everything in her power to stop any evil things happening in her house. I am sure some of you by now have gotten confused with my sentence, but trust me, nothing beats the story line of these sitcom, where the daughter in law is being plotted against, but then she is so darn good that the plotter turns supporter.

No prominent masculine figures are obviously present, well partly due the fact that most of them are either watching cricket or drinking or probably messing around with some other girl. But then who cares, because the women of the house are so powerful that they solve all the problems. I wonder where the money comes from to plot all of this out.

As the Indian population keeps on watching these melo-dramatic, out of the world sitcoms i guess more and more writers who write rubbish like this will be born. We, as Indians, need to move on to changing that, well as some might say the "educated" ones at least because the story itself promotes domestic violence and disturbance.

Ok done ranting about it for now. I wonder how many feel the same way? 

Because society said so....

"I feel like slowly sinking into a bottomless pool where no one can pull me out." - Well this sounds depressing, doesn't it? At some point or another we have all felt it. We have all felt like creeping under a rock in hopes of never being found by anyone. Even i have been though it or maybe am going through it?

Sometimes life should be taken under control. You control your own life, and the decisions you make either are right or wrong. But don't have regrets if the decision was wrong. Just like in school, where you learn from your mistakes, in real life you get to learn from your wrong. Most of us come around showing everyone that we are happy and life is well, but only you know your self what is going on deep within. Some of us do live a lie and this needs to change – well that’s also what I keep on saying.

Confused and frustrated, some tend to chose the easy way out of committing suicide. Is this the only way out? Surely there has to be another way around it. Life throws a challenge and you just go ahead and take the easy way out? Life is not perfect, but nothing is. Again I would like to say – Life is what you make of it.

Indian culture has a lot to do with what the society would think and what your relatives think, and most of the depression cases or even suicide cases comes from there. Parents might be as supportive as possible, but then ultimately they think about what the neighbors and the family and the society think. But speaking of which, does it really matter? Does it matter to you as a person what the neighbor’s son or daughter are doing? How they fared in their exams? Or they got married to their girlfriend or boyfriend? Or God forbid – an inter-religious marriage?

This might root from the fact that people in India really don’t have much to do but worry about others around them. See the progress of India could have been at a much higher rate, even surpassed the US if we just stopped worrying about our neighbors or farfetched relatives. And let me specially mention the idiot box showing sitcoms on “Star Plus” , “Sony” and the likes. These need to change. I wonder how people even take them seriously. Its made for pure entertainment, leave it at that.

It is sad that you see more and more suicidal cases in India when they haven to scored the “99%” in their board exams, or didn’t get into the number 1 college of their choice or even the stupidest thing of not getting into their “parent’s” dream degree course of doctor or engineering. I wonder, being a doctor or an engineer is that important? I guess so, but it doesn’t reflect in the progress of India, does it? If everyone started becoming a doctor or engineer I wonder where India would be? Everyone would be treating each other? Or a good line in “Goodness Gracious Me” – a sitcom that used to air on BBC – “ you wouldn’t have to wait in lines for hospitals if the whole world became India, cause you would be a doctor yourself”

Lets be more positive towards people who have chosen fields other than doctor or engineer. I mean, the arts, hospitality and many more all have respectable jobs and in some cases even higher paying jobs. I don’t see too many doctors or engineers doing too well for themselves.

Why should we care two hoots of what the society thinks of us? Why don’t we do what is good for us? What we care about? What we love? Why do we force our children to do what the society has “approved”? Lets move on. 

Childishness

After a long break i'm back to bother my mind to think and write :) What could i think of - Childishness. This comes to my mind because yesterday, one of my friend mentioned in passing that my blog is much more mature than what i am in real life. He does have a point. I am childish at times but this is the only part that keeps me sane in the stress of the daily chores. 

Sometimes, when i look at my niece and nephew who are 6 and 1 respectively, i wonder what it would be like to go back to that age. Troubles of the world seem to be the lest bit of your worries. Your more concentrated on how to break something or annoy someone :-)

Children normally fear nothing unless its their parents. They may be scared of something, but that is a different kind of fear. They look at things differently from us adults. This is something unique and something us adults forget to do. They see something unique and new every time, we see "been there, done that" kinda views. 

Being a child, you have the innocence that says everything has yet to be discovered. They don't really care about the safe, boring things. They need something exciting and fresh everyday to keep them entertain. We need to learn from them! As we become adults, we tend to take the same path over and over again because we feel comfortable. Sometimes we could take risk, but we chose not too!

Kids see the world through the eyes of someone that doesn't know the meaning of the words, "too far" or "some other time" While we grow up, we lose some of this innocence and somewhere we lose our unique identity to look at things with a different prospective. I agree that as adults we shouldn't act like kids, but hey, no one asked us to act as adults all the time. 

Without some childishness, life becomes mundane and boring on a daily basis. Shouldn't we all be able to act like children sometimes? In life; in love; in business? Does our fear of real life stop us from overcoming everything that's holding back our true success?

Do you remember the last time you thought, let me have honey smacks for breakfast without milk? Let me go into a toy store and check out the new toys they have for kids? When's the last tine you bought something that kids would use? When's the last time you acted like a child? 

Respect

Respect is a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities or achievements. Much of the universal values and virtues that contribute to the good of the individual and society and affirm our human dignity are derived from the value of respect and the value of responsibility.

Sometimes I wonder if in today’s world there is any respect left in the human being. Now some of us have different views on respect. As an Indian, I was tough that you have to treat your elders and the like with respect. You probably end up calling everyone either uncle or aunty who are older to you. Maybe closer to your age you’d call them brother or sister. This leads me to a funny thought, if I were to start calling everyone uncle and aunty or brother or sister this would be one big incestuous world.

Moving on, talking about respect I think that the basic human feelings are involved. You choose who to respect and who not to. If someone is wrong, they are wrong, be it your boss, your elders (uncle or aunt) or even someone who is younger than you. You might chose to not respect them. Nothing wrong in that. But sometimes we don’t make it clear enough that we do not respect the person and for what reason. We fail to explain to the other person that their one mistake made you dis-respect (well, for the lack of a better word) them.

Money, power, stature does not really bring in respect. Now I’m not writing a moral lesson here which I hope to teach to my kids. But I do think that you should not be forcing someone to respect you or respect someone else just because they are older, more powerful or at a higher stature of society. Let your kids chose for themselves who they want to respect. They are humans too, not robots that you would teach them every lesson in life. Let them learn.

I did read somewhere that “education will bring respect to everyone”, which is also untrue according to me. Respect in my opinion doesn’t come with education, it comes with your life experiences and the actions of the other person.

In today’s world we often hear so much news about different people groups, races, religions, sexes, and ages. Somebody is always being offended and somebody is always being discriminated against. Is our world truly such a terrible place that human beings cannot respect each other and treat one another with kindness and dignity?

So many times groups are pitted against one another over trivial matters, petty excuses, and even insignificant issues. So what is the real problem? It is a lack of communication. We have lost the ability to talk to one another, to empathize with others, and to sympathize with those less fortunate than ourselves. As we explore these different groups and their issues, problems, backgrounds, and lifestyles we should all keep an open mind, open hearts, and remember that the people we are talking about are just that, they are people. It is someone’s father, mother, sister, brother, daughter, or son. These are people who are loved and valued and they should be treated that way.

Well before I go on about this moral integrity (which I should write another one page about) I think that each human/person thinks on his own and its up to them to make a conscientious decision on what they can do and what they can not do. Who to respect and who not to respect. Its their own values. We fight over abortion, homosexuality, war, poverty, wealth, debt, government, sex, drugs, immigration, and religion. The one thing we never fight about is promotion of self. There is no respect for others left; it is about self promotion and one’s own cause at the cost of anyone else and their beliefs or feelings. Tolerance is a word that is thrown around a great deal, but very rarely practiced.

Bankruptcy - Airlines.

The airline industry consistently breaks the number one rule of business: The job of the company is to make money.

Planes are expensive. Fuel prices jump around a lot. It's hard to predict how many people will want to fly next year. But all airlines face these challenges and only some file for bankruptcy.

Legacy airlines date back to the days when interstate airlines were heavily regulated by the government. And it does seem like they've had a particularly hard time. American Airlines declared bankruptcy last month, following in the footsteps of Delta, Northwest, United, US Airways and Continental. Some of them have gone through bankruptcy twice.

Before 1978, life for the legacy airlines was pretty sweet. The government set ticket prices. If regulators didn't think airlines were making enough money, ticket prices would be allowed to rise. Instead of competing to offer the lowest ticket prices, the airlines offered more and more amenities things like bigger seats. Some 747s even had piano bars.

All that changed with deregulation in 1978. Bob Crandall was working at American Airlines at the time, and he remembers what it was like.

"Somebody decides to start a new airline and they come into the business and decide that they are only going to charge $29 for a seat," says Crandall. "Then I don't have any choice, I have to charge $29 for my seats too, even if a seat cost me $100."

Those new, low-cost carriers — such as AirTran, Southwest, and JetBlue — have a key advantage over the legacy airlines. "They get much more productivity out of their workers," he says. "The jobs are defined more broadly and their workers tend to be able to cover more of the work load."

Airlines keep on forgetting that these days consumers are more price conscious. Airlines have to adjust to it. Airline travel is no longer a luxury like it used to be in 1978. Airplanes are flying everywhere now, and in some cases for a cheaper price for a seat.

The number one golden rule applied here is, what hotels do. You have a plane, its flying from say, Mumbai to Dubai - the airline will try to fill in every last seat available on the flight because once the flight has closed, that seat will make no money at all. Pretty much the same rule applies to hotels, once the night has passed an empty room makes no money at all. This all seems easy enough to understand but it is a bit more complicated to apply.

Full service airlines have to account for number of meals on board, luggage (especially with the free baggage allowance), number of babies on board, number of premium passengers on board for the extra services they have to provide, so they can not just go on selling seats until the last minute like the low cost carriers. Everyone from catering to maintenance to refueling team is involved.

To examine the middle east market, as i have mentioned before, you have a wide variety of carriers operating in the middle east. Notable low cost carriers would be FlyDubai and Air Arabia, then you have, albeit on a smaller scale, Nas Air, Gulf Traveler (which seems to have disappeared), Jazeera Airways (which has drastically scaled back on operations).

These players know how to use their aircraft optimally. Running from airports that are operational 24hrs a day, giving the flexibility of aircraft staying in the air for a longer period of time - as the say goes - aircraft make money only when they are flying. Staff are utilized to their fullest potential and well sometimes over because there is no rules regulating staff rights and other benefits as the American market. Since they are relatively new the aircraft are younger and more efficient, then there is the pricing of Jet Fuel which is better priced in this part of the world. 

London Olympics - India

As the London Olympics comes to an end, i was thinking about how India produced results. Quiet frankly, its disappointing and shameful to find out that a populations of over 1billion and we could not produce proper athletes to earn even one gold meal? I know, sitting here writing about it might not help, as some would say, if you want to pass the blame, why don't you do something about it? Why don't you join the teams competing. Well that's understandable, but just my view is we should have managed to win atleast one gold?

Congratulations to the Indian athletes that did perform and for wining us the silver and bronze medals. Shooting, boxing, badminton and wrestling are the sports where India has won medals. What i am comparing here is the sheer size of the population.

India's close rival China - 38 gold, 27 silver and 22 bronze. Countries with smaller population like Germany, Italy, France, Greece, Japan etc, have all done much better at collecting medals than a densely populated country like India. Indians are crazy about one sport - Cricket, and that's where everything else stops. I don't  say that it's a wrong thing but seriously speaking - our national game is Hockey and i don't see anyone stopping their daily lives just to watch Hockey. Neither do we fare well in the game. Why is that?

India is placed number 56 in the Olympics this year. Not that we've done extraordinarily well in any year, but hey who's to blame? India does have its own set of achievements but for a young nation not enough.

In a country of one billion people, it would be highly improbable that we cannot find sportsmen of the same or better caliber / potential than existing in the games. Hence I feel it is more to do with lack of infrastructure than genetic reasons. Also sports (and for that matter art, music as well) as a career is almost never encouraged and is unacceptable to Indian parents - there is an obsession with science / engineering / management i.e the more academic careers. I think both these factors reinforce each other leading to the scenario that we have now.  

India, after attaining freedom from the British rule, has been stricken with so many developmental problems that putting money  into the sports scene of the country has never been deemed to be as important. With the relatively better economy that we have had recently, I would then attribute the reasons to the obsession with Cricket.

Additionally there are factors such as corruption, bureaucracy that I cannot get into because I don't consider myself knowledgeable in that domain. I guess more factual stuff needs to be added to this answer but this is my overall understanding of the Indian sports scenario. Improvement of infrastructure at the grass-root level is essential to the improvement of sports in India.

Passion for Aviation - Emirates Airlines

Emirates Airlines is probably one of the most well know airlines around the world. It was started in 1985 and has every since just expanded in all continents.  Emirates, has grown with a precise objective in mind. They have made Dubai a global hub for connections from east to the west and back. This was also fueled by the unprecedented growth of the city state of Dubai. With modest beginnings, Emirates had launched flights to Karachi with its single Boeing 727 which was leased from Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in 1985. Emirates was one of the first airlines to introduce seat back, individual TV screens for each passenger in First, Business and Economy class. They had a catering team which was of global standards. The city state had slowly pulled out of Gulf Air, which was then the official carrier for the country. For the first flight, the airline employed 80 staff to act as incognito, undercover passengers as the sales for the maiden flight from Dubai to Karachi didn't sell enough seats.

Without looking back, Emirates just kept on expanding, but with this expansion the service was lost. It was known to have high standards of service from its cabin crew, which now has been lost somewhere in the expansion. Emirates have the latest in technology onboard, but the hard product in terms of seats across all cabins differs widely from aircraft to aircraft. This makes it difficult to ascertain if you will be flying in a flat bed or a cradle seat when you have bought a full fare business class or first class ticket with Emirates. 

Emirates has created a very nice hub and spoke concept, they have a number of advantages over the traditional carriers like British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Malaysian Airlines, Air France, Lufthansa etc. Emirates has a low labor cost expense because the pay is generally higher in terms of money but the extras that the company needs to provide its employees is not mandated by any authority unlike for British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Air France etc. 

Emirates has a advantage of being positioned in the middle of the east and west bound traffic. Its location has brought a big advantage for it to be able to create a hub and spoke concept, further fuelled by the Dubai Government’s aim at becoming a well class city, so they have supported the airline for tourism, airport facilities and other concessions. Essentially, Dubai is a tax free economy which also works in favor of the airline. 

Dubai airport is a 24 hour operation facility, which allows the airline to make a couple of arrival and departure banks, with no noise restrictions in place. This is a disadvantage to the traditional European carriers. Emirates has three visible arrival and departure banks. The day’s first arrivals happen at 6am and the first departure bank (probably the biggest) take place around 9am. The second set of arrivals comes in around 11pm and the departure bank at 1am.  Further and afternoon bank has started evolving with most Indian sub-continent flights departing around the afternoon time. 

Emirates is also able to provide a world class airport experience as it has a low labor cost, it is able to employ cheap labor to work at the airports as check-in agents, baggage handlers, airport helpers etc. It operates a wide number of lounges in its network which allows to cut costs of paying outstation lounges in the long run. 

Emirates has created cut throat competition in the Europe to Australia, Europe to Indian Sub Continent, Europe to South East Asia and Americas to Indian Subcontinent market. It offers fares which are much lower than the traditional carriers. One of the concept it applies is only using wide bodied aircraft to any route that they operate. This creates a surplus of seats, and allows the airline to reduce the fares to fill those seats. 

Emirates is the largest customer for the A380 aircraft, which further pushes its notion to dump excess capacity into all markets to be able to lower the prices. Emirates, by no means is a boutique carrier in any of its classes. Singapore Airlines maintains its exclusive service and boutique airline status while Emirates keeps on adding seats and lowering the fare, making it a mass transport airline. You get what you pay for. Emirates is one of the first airlines to introduce a 3-4-3 seating across the B777 while the industry standard was 3-3-3. Adding one extra seat on every row further reduced the seat width and the aisle size, which makes it difficult for the crew to get around with their trolleys, and they have to serve more passengers per aircraft than their counterparts in British Airways or Air France or even Singapore Airlines. Emirates Business class product also has a 2-3-2 seating arrangement across the aisle, while the industry average is 2-2-2 to give more privacy and comfort to the passengers who are pay well into the 5 figure sum for their seats. 

The Wall Street Journal article on Emirates airline has been published for a while but it is still drawing interest and comments. Despite the economic downturn the UAE-owned airline is adding to its fleet but there are some special features that have attracted the 10,000 flight attendants to this company.
Here is a brief summary of their employment guidelines:
* Hire attractive looking stewards
* Emirates draws young recruits (average age is 26 but by comparison, 12% of all US flight attendants are under 30)
* Emirates prefers women to men: 75% of total flight crew must be female
* Train them in beauty and etiquette
* Regular manicures and facials for men and women
* Women must retouch lips with bright red lipstick every 15 minutes
* Keep your weight down
* No pregnancy policy for unwed women
* Innocuous onboard flirting is condoned (accepting business cards and phone numbers is OK)
* No alcohol to be consumed in the 12 hours before a flight
* Smoking and eating in uniform are prohibited
* Pay is less than other airlines but Emirates offers free accommodation and transport to and from work.

from he article of:
Farnaz Fassihi, Rich Dubai Flirts with Hard Times but Its Airline is Still Flying High, Wall Street Journal.

Emirates Catering was one of the best until recently when it also came under the axe due to financial constraints and in order to still stay profitable. It cut back on the portion sizes beginning from First class till Economy class. Service has also dropped drastically over the years, yet it is still a hit or a miss service you would expect from Emirates. The standard protocols are always followed but there is that human touch which is missing. The crew are most of the time (again I am generalizing) are too often just snotty. 

I always find Emirates ticket fares to be more expensive when flying from Dubai than flying from any other out station. Emirates charges a bomb if your flying out from Dubai or Kuwait or Bahrain and to connect via Dubai, especially if the home country airline is weak. Emirates, a few years back had bought a stake in Sri Lankan Airlines, and eventually after the contract term it had to leave the airline, it was able to revamp the airline from Air Lanka and make it a good carrier. Sri Lankan, was recently able to start services from Colombo to Zurich and Manila but now in the next few months has to close the routes as Emirates drastically increased its services to Colombo and dropped the rates for Colombo to Zurich (via Dubai) and Colombo to Milan (via Dubai). 

Emirates is large enough to push out the small players from the market. It had applied for service right from Sydney and Auckland to west coast USA as there is a big market for that route but the Australian and New Zealand government had stopped them from using the third party rights for these routes as it would take away the market share from Qantas and Air New Zealand. Emirates has established a huge connectivity from Sydney and from Auckland to Dubai and also between the cities. 

Emirates has also strategically started investing heavily in sports teams and sports stadiums. This gives them a huge marketing ground all over the world. They sponsor only the biggest names, biggest sports and the biggest teams. They have also opened their own stadium in Arsenal. Emirates has made its presence felt all over the world by marketing and advertising. It also holds regular road shows in different continents to increase its presence. One of the strategies is doing a road show months before they launch a new destination in that market. This makes it easy for them to fill up the flights from day 1.  

Emirates also has the advantage of operating one of the world’s youngest fleet of aircrafts, which makes the maintenance and the up keep of the aircraft cheaper, as they buy only new airframes. A lot of support is received from Boeing and Airbus in terms of special bulk discounts when ordering aircraft, and also delivery slots. 

As it keeps on adding aircrafts, more routes are opened up, more A380 aircraft keep on entering service, only time will tell how global would this airline would become and how its presence would pressure the traditional carriers, small home carriers to change their strategies or shut shop all together. Its major key market is the Indian sub-continent, in which it is willing to invest, after the recent opening up of investment into the loss making Kingfisher Airlines. Lets see how big they get or do they drop all together.