Running, running & running

How many of you have actually gone through the birth of a new passion or hobby? It's not something that you create over night, or inversely take ages to build up on it. Well, things sometimes just happen, as you might say things eventually fall together, to fit in!

It all started randomly last year, being inscribed for the Ferney Trail 2013! Then it just got piling up, with Terra Trail, Again Ferney Trail and today Moka Trail! Each of these trails was an experience in itself. Well, just to clarify all doubts, I was never a fan of running nor I am near to what I term as "amateur-professional", meaning amateurs who are quite good! What's next, I don't know, maybe Dodo trail!

So what do all these fuss about trails make it all about? Do we actually need to have those corporate marathon races in order to gain motivation enough to confront those scary slope of mountains? Are we not enough concerned not to take care of our health,if not for those risks? Well, it goes beyond that I believe. I guess, the reasons vary from person to person.

It can be all about self-motivation and the ability to challenge oneself for new challenges. It is only when you set yourself tasks beyond your zone of comfort that you tend to exceed your expectations. What about trying to rediscover some healthy practices again? That can definitely be an option. 

Most of the participants hail from companies, and maybe it's a new way for them to build the bonds among workers. Well, I guess, for me personally, I think it is a very good means to discover the inner part of our country! Through these kind of activities, you can have some unique opportunities to gain access to these private ranches and discover another facet of our beloved country. With the continuous creation of such private ranches, it is becoming more and more of a kind of luxury to gain access to such places nowadays.

So yes, it can be the birth of a new passion? The most important aspect in all it, is seeking to improve at each and every step. Yes, it is fun to go jogging in the nature, breathe in fresh air! It can be more interesting if accompanying tracking measures can be undertaken, such as training, dieting. 

I would like to really dedicate this space to all my amazing colleagues from Terragen for the unintentional creation of a trailing team! Cheers to Thierry, Jeff, Aruna, Hemant, Daniel, Jerome, Div, Surroop, Denovan, Teckmun, Adish, Amit, Nilshad. There is nothing better indeed to cross the arrival line under the applause of such amazing public at each time!

"The results you achieve will be in direct proportion to the effort you apply"

 

Just a click away

"Life always "screws" you at the moment you least expected."

I have read this line numerous times before, and ever since I have always wondered if it is true, until very recently. I have always believed this line has a negative relation. Well, life did screw me up but it was in a very positive sense. It was when I discovered a new passion in my life. It is something really popular these days, but indeed photography is really amazing!

Facebook has been a very important tool to promote photography lately, whether new photographers, model competition or people just trying to get some "likes" or "comments". However in my case, it took birth through a milestone anniversary being celebrated by the head company where I am currently employed, Terra. The latter is celebrating its 175th birthday this year and on this occasion it has launched a photography competition for all employees! Well, believe me or not, it created a real buzz in the company and everyone was looking for angles, funnily taking pose as professional photographers! This competition has indeed created a positively joyful and friendly atmosphere within the company.

Hereafter, together with a couple of friends, we decided to venture out together and take our pictures, just to increase the fun surrounding this competition. Hence we scrutinized the whole northern part of the island such as Belle Vue Mauricia, Calebasses, La Cuvette, Montagne Longue, La Nicoliere, Plaine des Papayes, amongst others. It was thrilling to have discovered this new passion. It was even more exciting to explore it. And it was a pure joy to experience it together with a bunch of amazing friends. So thanks to you guys Thierry, Hemant, Aruna and Shrawan.

Here are a couple of pictures I have taken during the course of the whole competition. For obvious reasons, I am not uploading those I sent for the competition. Along with it, Happy 175th anniversary Terra. Thank you for involving all of us in this amazing series of activities in order to celebrate this wonderful milestone!

I hope you enjoy it :)

 

As I am writing this article, it leaves me wonder.. Is it the birth of a new passion, or the end of a newly found passion? That is the question :)

P.S: Photos copyright RKR

Cross-road

There comes many times in your life when you arrive at a cross-road. Hence, you have various options to choose, whether to turn right, left or just go straight. However, there comes only 1 or 2 times in your life when you encounter a cross road, but with no defined options. This unique situation can only make you lost, confused, seeking for guidance and more simply totally disoriented.

So here I am!!

Most probably you should be asking yourself the reason why I am at a cross-road. Alright, it fair to say that I have already bagged my degree and got a job that most engineering students here in Mauritius might be willing to do and I do not have any girlfriend to work out my mind. What is really worrying me so lately these days, is simply commitment. I am about to be committed for a long time ahead in my life.. Thus, I guess I am suffering from commitment phobia??

Browsing from the net, I found a couple of symptoms which is so surprisingly what I am indeed feeling right now:

• A feeling of uncontrollable anxiety
• Feeling that you must do everything possible to avoid commitment
• Unable to live normally because of that anxiety
• When you do realize that your fears are unreasonable or exaggerated, but yet feel so powerless to control it 

Just to cut all suspense, I am neither going to get married soon. It is plainly that I am soon going to enter a bond where I am currently working, and it will be for 5 years. It implies I cannot leave my current job and if ever I did, I have a fine of Rs300,000 to pay to the company. Yes, now I am sure you understand the situation I am currently in.

So for the past 5 months I have been working, I have always been convincing myself, I will keep applying elsewhere and as soon as i get a new opportunity, I will escape this bond. But alas, it did not happen and I think I am destined to be stuck here for the next 5 years! Is it really that bad to have a secured job? What am I honestly afraid of??

I have always, since doing my BEng Mechanical Engineering, dreamt of completing my registration process and hence be recognized as a professional engineer. However, where I am currently working, the chances I complete it is particularly limited. That is  my first fear. In terms of goals set up for the next 5 years, I will be missing out on this for sure. Honestly, am I not simply overreacting??

More than this, I think my biggest apprehension is simply the possibility of missing out on a better offer. I strongly believe it all narrows down to this. You always have the dream of doing a hype job, landing a managerial position as soon as possible in your career, the possibility to have a high social status quickly. Presumably, I guess this is another factor since working on public holidays, weekends and night shifts do not guarantee you for sure a high social status! 

On the other side of the coin, I think engineering is such a huge sector and it is something you definitely do not master it within your 4 years of studies. Hence, as my uncle has repeatedly been telling me, the coming five years is simply an investment for my future career. Do not worry about money, do not worry about social status. I should only take it as a further step to my academic studies, learn and grasp as much knowledge as you can and later on it will reap benefits when applying for other jobs. I should admit I did complain a lot of my situation to people around and I was taken aback that many people thought that I was indeed over reacting. The job market is particularly not healthy at present and at the bottom of it, having such a huge company on my CV can only be beneficial eventually.

Yes, I do agree whatever people has been telling me is right. They are totally correct on all lines. But, believe me, it is not that easy..to commit! Elsewhere, when you are finding people from your batches earning much more than you are earning now, it indeed creates an atmosphere of frustration! It is not easy. I know I will be very much ill at ease during the next 6 days, I can't help it. It is really freaking me out!!!! To cap it all, I do not have another job offer in pipeline.

So here I am at a cross-road with no defined destination. Should I leave or should I stay? Should I just be happy to know I have a job and earning enough money for myself and my family? What about my further studies? What about some unaccomplished dreams yet??

I guess I will find all answers to my questions on April 1st and I hope I will not be fooled on that day!

Impacted!

Sometimes, there comes a lot of times in your life whereby a string of events impacts your memory for ever. It can be anything, ranging from reading a book to a simple walk in nature. Most of the times, they happened unexpectedly and that is how exactly these moments become so cherished. I am not going to talk about any leadership conferences, self-reflecting books or personal coaching sessions. I am just going to share a couple of movies that imprinted my memories for ever.

Movies have always been made to entertain people, together with a meaning in the background. Over times, the 7^th art has become an invaluable asset in terms of enriching one’s personal knowledge. So, movies can eventually be an ideal platform to pay respect to someone’s life, to raise awareness of various issues, to materialize someone’s imagination and creativity and to simply discover world. Has anyone of you ever wonder how easy it has become for us to discover the world through movies?

Over years, there have been numerous movies that have indeed impacted me. It will be indeed challenging to numerate all of them individually. However, there is indeed one that comes to my mind every time I have to suggest a movie to a friend. It’s “August Rush”.

Basically, it is a movie based on how a child has been separated from his parents. With the help of music and his unbent love for his parents whom he has never seen, he left no stone unturned in trying to be reunited with them. However, his father never knew he existed actually and her mother thought he died after his birth and both of them separated before his birth. Music, indeed magical, did not only help him meet with his father again but also in bringing back both his parents together again. The amazing guitar tapping scenes really left me wow. I do not know for others, but it will always be one of the best movies I have ever seen.

Music is all around us, all you have to do is listen.

Another movie that has indeed left me with a lasting impact is The Guardian. It is a movie about the lives of rescue swimmers and make people realize about the nature of their jobs and to what extent it can be dangerous. To do a job that will save lives by putting yours itself in danger, I do not know many people that can do it. Not even me.

Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Kostner did an outstanding performance in it. I still remember the scene where Ashton was asked why he has a number 2 tattooed on his right back. And his answer was “It's so the guy behind me knows what place he's coming in.” That dialogue is just killing. I so wanted to do such a tattoo as well but did not go through since I don’t think I can come first in any activities. I will end this part with this quote from that movie and it’s an even more soothing line.

There will come a time when you have to decide who lives and who dies.

 

I am a fan of Bollywood movies as well, nothing to be ashamed of. There is obviously a lot of movies that will indeed remain memorable. However, there is one in particular that I cherish, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. 

 It is about the three friends that have gone on a bachelor trip to Spain. Well, all of them being of different characters, they chose one activity each for the trip. Each activity will eventually help them to overcome fears, doubts, give them a new orientation in life, to encounter love and to make them become closer friends. Without doubt, the amazing poetry by Javed Akhtar and the beautiful spots in Spain even made the film more enjoyable. 

Another amazing fact about this movie is that it is one of the very very rare movies whereby me and my dad had similar opinions about it. I particularly enjoyed the moment when we viewed it together after having gifted him a copy on Father's Day. Sometimes, it is not only the movie but the memories associated with it that renders it special. As usual, a quote from the movie follows:

A person should remain in a box only once he is dead.

 

 Today, I watched a movie that persuaded me to write a post about movies and those I have liked so far. I do not know about you, but I so believe at one point or other, you will watch a movie that so perfectly suits and summarizes a particular moment of your life. I have found it today. The movie is…I am sure you will recognize it through its poster!

So, why do I feel connected to it? Why did I like that movie so much? I guess you should watch it, then you might understand, and maybe if you do not know me well upto now, you will.. 

500 days of Summer relates the movie of Tom and Summer. The movie swaps intelligently between the past and present to tell the viewers how that couple was formed. Tom and Summer eventually parted ways. This left Tom distraught until he finally meets..Autumn! Except, for me, I guess Autumn is still lying somewhere around the corner and Summer still haunts me from time to time :)

“A boy and a girl can just be friends. But at one point or other, they will fall for each other..maybe temporarily..maybe at the wrong time..maybe too late..or maybe forever!”

As for now, that’s it. I know there are a lot of other movies ahead. I will indeed add on a few more later on .

A world in our world

I believe at one point in your life, you have come across a situation whereby you need to overcome a certain non-negligeable apprehensiveness in order to discover something extraordinary. Have you ever lived an experience or a day where you just managed to live it fully? Or a day you did something extraordinary and you would cherish those moments till the very end? Think about it for a few seconds before continuing..

It happened to me, and it was only yesterday. I lived a day where I discovered another world in the world we know. I was simply numb with happiness, and could not take off my eyes from such a natural wonder! I came across a world where zillions of living organisms come across each other and yet they are living in an amazingly synchronized harmony. I did my first ever undersea walk in my life!!

So the whole thing happened as we set off on a 3-activities package on the eastern coast of the country! There was tube riding, parasailing and obviously undersea walk. The preparation for THE event included wearing a rubber shoes, a belt with weight in order to keep you down on the sea bed and without forgetting all the various instructions. The next 7 minutes will definitively be blissful!

So I wore a scuba diving mask supplying oxygen through flexible hose. It was weighing a freaking 30kg and rested on shoulder! Yes, its really heavy, but you do not actually feel that weight when being in water. The first sight underwater was like...woww!! As I am writing, I am actually feeling goosebumps all over my arms.

So many fishes, so many colourful coral reefs, the blue water, the white sand on the sea bed..yes it was indeed a world in our world. What was actually more stunning was the priceless sensation of peace prevailing under the water, the pure joy of being just there observing those marine animals enjoying the companion of aliens in their world. They were nevertheless enjoying our presence as well and not feeling intimated, which was a good thing eventually. Or else I would not have been blessed to enjoy observing them. At a certain point, I so wanted to just sit down and just keep gazing at this real paradise. I so wished I could do that. It was really distressing, a good cure to forget all your pains, worries and stresses of your life. 

I think the highpoint of those 7 minutes were when I was asked to feed the fishes. I was given a piece of bread and as soon as I opened up the palm of my hands, there was like thousands of fish dashing,swirling around and literally fighting to eat those breads. Feeling ticklish, mouth wide open in wonder, eyes flashing and wide open, standing numb despite the strong current, seconds seeming like hours until time appeared to have stopped, hearing the waves crashing at a seemingly far away point but in reality just above you, it was simply blessing. A beautiful world. As those 7 magical minutes were coming to an end, I could not stop thinking of when to be back. I will, indeed!

However, I could not stop noticing the effects of human activities. Pollution has already affected the coral reefs to a considerable extent. Yes, the current generation should make it a must to protect this priceless treasure we have in terms of marine beauty. Educate, do not ignore and do not take for granted our ecosystem can be an encouraging step ahead.

Later during the afternoon at Ile aux Cerf, already boosted up by those 7 minutes, I could not prevent myself of trying to stay in this marine world as far as I could. I did snorkeling for long lapse of time, just feeling so at peace, wonderfully calm and energetic to just keep observing how life is happening in the sea. Constantly swimming over corals, being so alert at any observation of fishes, it was like an after experience.

Thinking all about it now, I was indeed apprehensive of how the day would be and to what extend those commercial activities would be safe. The short time I spent during that undersea walk activity did make me ponder about many aspects of life, such as: "How more beautiful the lagoon was at its natural state before human activities started on our island? At the rate we are polluting our ecosystem, will my children tomorrow be able to experience such exciting times?"

Finally, I would like to conclude my article with this amazing quotation and which I am sure will make you wonder how many aspects of life you are missing on currently:

"Fear is the thief of dreams", by Brian Krans


P.S: Sparing a couple of thoughts to the amazing group of friends from Terragen who made this day truly memorable. They will recognise themselves on their own for sure :)

A hero in real life

02.09.2012

Together, through years, you have forged our house into a small home
Built with never ending love, care and affection
Ups and downs, we met them all way along
Yet you were always the first one to stand up as our shields
Never let us down, never let any harm bruises us..
Sacrifices were your constant companion throughout
Still, you never missed an opportunity to bring a smile on our face

While you are celebrating another milestone in your life today,
We can only be indebted to you
For having made our lives so cosy and lovely

As you were blowing your 50th candles, 
I can only say THANK YOU
For having made me as I am now
For having always guiding me through and through
For having always believed in me, when the rest did not
For having always been my HERO in real life..

And we can only pray to God, 
To grant me all necessary courage to make your long time wishes come true..
And they will become true..I promise!

Love you pops

Job Hunting

The biggest milestone through out your educational life is without doubt the day you land your degree. Ever since you first stepped into the educational system, the target has always been to come out with atleast a degree. Here in Mauritius, it is always assumed that the responsibility of parents is to ensure the education of their children upto maximum tertiary level. Hence, once the children are graduated, it is generally assumed they are independent enough to decide about their futures now. And most importantly, it will be easier to get a job.

This illusion was totally so far fetched for me in my case. Having just completed a degree in Mechanical Engineering, I have always displayed amazingly unbent optimism to land a job as soon as university is over. It has been nearly 1 month since I am done with my tertiary studies and surprise, no job yet. I guess the good learning point for me here was that the more educated you are, the narrower are your chances of landing up a job. Moreover, it is of general knowledge that you can easily land a job in the public sector through your personal network of contacts. That difference between public and private sector is being rapidly levelled. Hence even in private sector, your own network of contacts is of immense help.

Alright, I might be sounding so dramatic. Others might be telling that it's been only so short time since the tertiary studies are over, you should be landing a job sooner or later. But, believe me, I feel like sitting inside a pressure cooker. There is huge subtle pressure of landing a job as soon as possible at home, and mostly to apply for the government sector. I have kept wondering why it is such a great deal, STILL NOWADAYS, to land a job in the public sector. Alright, apart from the security part of it, what else? For me, what is more important, is job satisfaction. For those who did management will recognize the term intrinsic and extrinsic motivating factors. Right now, I feel I am more aligned to working in the private sector, in order to grasp maximum knowledge, to harvest it at a later stage of my professional career.

So through the past 3 months, I have applied for over 40 companies, landed 3 interviews and selected in none. Quite a horrible track record you would say, right? I was discussing with my friend, Varun, today about my track record and he shared with me an article, that really left me wonder. Here are the main points of that article, which I am sure, will make you reflect about your job application process as well.

Five reasons a company never reply you back:

- Not qualified for the vacancy published.

- You have not keyword-optimized your application

- Resume not properly formatted.

- The resume was substantially different from your online profile such as myjob.mu, linkedin

- You were the 499th applicant out of 500 :)

Another interesting part of the article is how to make yourself stand out as an applicant through your application package. Here are the 5 main points:

- Use of social media

- Get professional help to write your resume

- Don't wait until you are out of job to start job hunting

- Use of personal network

- Start blogging in your field of studies :)

Well, these are not bad and difficult ideas to implement. I guess it is high time to modify my approach towards job application. What about you?