koolhead17
I owe most of my success in this life to my mother. Mom believed and persuaded my father to send me out for higher studies.
I have no clue what I would have become without her belief in me.
I have been staying away from them since the year 2000, all alone on my own.
I feel blessed and lucky for all the accomplishments in life this far. Time and again, I believe our mothers shape our life by keeping us for nine months and afterward shaping our life.
All the wealth and achievements are secondary to hers. What matters most is whether I am eating on time, keeping myself well, or in good company. Talking every day to her makes me powerful.
Why are only a few centers in our country flourishing, and everyone else has to move here for work or earning? Our country is gigantic and varied cultures and dynamics. Why do we have to suck, be stuck, or live a matchbox life?
If we see history, this has always been the case. Nalanda and Varanasi were the knowledge centers, and cities like Kolkata, Delhi, and Mumbai were for trade and administration.
With technological advancement, we should have many wealth creation centres. It will eliminate mass migration overall nation will flourish.
My entire village is empty: elderly, wives, and young kids live there. The festivals do not give the same vibe, be it Diwali, Holi, or Durga Puja. What have we become robots chasing money to feed ourselves by giving away our independence? We are eroding an entire culture and civilisation because work opportunities are concentrated across a few cities.
Youth in our country is a case study in itself. The emergence of social media and thought leadership has changed the way most of us grew 20 years back.
On the positive side, everything is at their fingertips, always connected, and no need for school, library, etc. Earning is not limited to getting a government job. More avenues have opened.
On the negative side, the generation is more under pressure to be the best at everything. The importance of looks and creativity was not this much. We had no Instagram, Tinder, or other platforms. Overall success has become external validation. Most are living in reel than real life.
Mafatlal has been in the tailoring business for eternity.
His father took him as an apprentice at age 5.
Mafatlal is in his 70s. He has chickenpox marks on his face. His bread is untrimmed flying high, and his big nose is like an electricity pole in a paddy field.
The Jadeja family of Rajkot had called for them 100 years back.
Initially, he looked at me with suspicion, but my mad curiosity about the chicken pox marks on his face started the conversation.
I was at a roadside tea shop in Rajkot.
I will be last in my generation doing this, says Mafatlaal.
There is no money or respect left in the business.
During those festival seasons, we had to call for more men from our native, and seths would pay us anything.
Now things have changed.
Everyone wants everything quick and mechanized.
The craftsmanship is no more recognized.
So, here I am fighting for survival.
Sometimes we crave people in our life to talk to.
We end up sharing life stories with strangers, as they listen to them with curiosity.
Neither of his children is interested in carrying the business forward. Looking at and listening to him makes me painful.
How easy it is to live in anger like a dormant volcano. Does it help anyone? Be it a relationship or business: disagreements are part of it. But keeping grudges makes things only worst. We start forming our own opinion and put everything in a prejudiced bucket.
Who does it help? None
Who does it affect? Each one of us.
The only solution to avoid living in pain and anger is to speak up then and there instead of sulking.
We underestimate the power of our Solitude.
Some confuse it with loneliness.
The connected world gives us no opportunity to spend time with ourselves.
We are a robot of deadlines, tasklist, or mobile notifications.
Everything has to be done on time in a defined way by someone else. Success depends on parameters defined by others.
But what about us? Our consciousness? Are we not built on how we see things and our thoughts? Is this hyperconnected world eating our Solitude?
When we are alone, we have time to think, observe and look back or forward. Our dedicated time without any external intrusion does wonders: it makes us creative and calmer. We start seeing the world through our lens without external influence.
In the journey of building taghash, it has been at times that we are fighting a battle like David and Goliath.
After demos, customers would remind us how our competitors are superior or have a mandate to buy US vendors. It was a painful rejection earlier. We have now realized this will not change, and we should focus on delighting the customers who believe in us, however small we are, and trusting in solving their pain points.
We have started, and our battle is the pain of our customers who believe in us. We are lucky to have many dozens. We are profitable and happy solving, delighting a few rather than going into boom/bust and sale at all cost journey of a startup
What do we see in death?
Life in a different world or the end of a journey?
Death is celebrated and mourned in varied cultures. Some celebrate with wine post-cremation, and many others spend 14 days of mourning.
Death reminds us of the importance of the limited time allocated in our life. The limited time is for us to make the best of it and leave an impact.
Our legacy stays but not we.
Anger has ruined many empires in the past. Anger kicks rationality to the dustbin. We end up taking uncalled actions and end up regretting life.
We are not perfect. Our ego and unmet expectations drive anger.
There is no cure for anger besides knowing the trigger, accepting it, and trying to be calmer. Food, sleep, and thoughts all have an impact on our actions.
Nero burnt Rome in anger and got his advisor, Seneca, killed/poisoned.
Many Indian kings have done treacherous things in anger and put