"...what are you so happy for!! You will have to draw 4 cards!!..."

"...what are you so happy for!! You will have to draw 4 cards!!..."

...I told my then 5 year old daughter. 

[UNO Chronicles part 1/4. Originally published by me on April 26, 2020. Sharing it again for those who did not read it back then]

We were in the second month of lockdown back then, in April 2020 and, like every parent, I had found unlimited time with my little one while working from home. That meant sneaking in some games in between work. She had taken a liking to UNO recently and we'd play UNO almost daily.

Have you ever played UNO? Most of you probably have. How do you react when your opponent drops a Draw 4 card on you? Annoying, right? For the uninitiated, in UNO, the player who gets rid of all the cards they hold wins. If your opponent drops a "Draw 4" card, you end up adding 4 more cards to your hand. But whenever I play with my daughter, she gets ecstatic when I drop a Draw 4 on her! Even to this day, 2 years later, that's why I remembered this story and thought of reposting it today. 

So back then, when I saw her react that way, I asked her what I quoted above. "When I have to draw cards, I get a chance to get magical cards,'' she said, grinning ear to ear. Magical cards, as she calls them, are Draw 4, Draw 2, Skip, Reverse & Wildcard cards. One can only get the joy of dropping these cards on their opponent if you get a chance to draw them in the first place. A deep logic that even puts a logical guy like me in deep thought. 

We adults often look at an adverse event as annoying, whereas a kid here was looking at one as an opportunity! What was even more curious is that, quite often, even after dropping the Draw 4s I end up on the losing side. Perhaps she does end up making the most of the 4 cards she draws.

Let's embrace all the Draw 4s coming our way in life - perhaps we will end up with better cards that will help us win in the longer run.

"...it has passed through a narrow opening and grown through it...how did that happen?"

"...it has passed through a narrow opening and grown through it...how did that happen?"

...asked my daughter when I was watering the humble moong plant recently. No matter what plant I put up in my grill, rats, sparrows and pigeons make a feast out of it. Yet, every time they finish off the plant, I sow some more moong seeds. I like to have it (as it grows pretty fast) next to where my work desk is at home. Watching it grow gives good vibes. If any of you haven't read my past story on our first moong plant, then click here to read it.

So we planted some moong again a month back. The cycle repeated. Wonderful sprouts came through and there were several plants (each seed giving way to a tiny stem) for the first couple of days. As usual, bit by bit daily, the plants started getting eaten/damaged and only two were left. Curiously, while growing, they both passed through a closed loop designed in the metal grill. At first, I thought of pulling them out of there. Then I did not bother. "Its gonna be eaten up in a couple of days anyways" I told my self and watered it. I kept watering it and it kept growing. Its been 3 weeks now since it passed through the loop in the grill and it is still growing strong (hope I don't jinx it 🤞). In fact, it has now reached a stage where I will not be able to move the pot without damaging/uprooting the plant. 

My curious mind kept wondering how this plant had survived so far. This time when I planted moong, I had also kept a large lemon grass plant next to it and some of its leaves were growing around these two that survived. The leaves were literally overlapping each other. I have heard that lemon grass repels rodents and insects, so maybe this plant protected a part of the fellow plant which it could.

Yesterday I went a step further and dug up the soil a bit to add some coco peat and manure to give it some more help. This morning, I was delighted to see it reciprocate my faith as I saw another tiny plant had sprouted up. I was happy yet concerned knowing that this lone little one would be victimized by the rodents and birds, but maybe, just maybe, the elder siblings next to it and the caring neighbour (lemon grass) would watch over it and egg it on to beat the odds 🤞.

While there is a lot to learn by just observing plants grow, this episode reinforced one fact - when a bunch of things growing together face adversity, most will succumb. However, once in a while, there will be one or two, which will carve their own unconventional survival path that may look weird and unsustainable to the onlookers, only to prove them wrong in the longer run. 

I had given up on this plant 3-4 weeks back when except these two, all were eaten up. Given up on it sustaining beyond a couple of days then. However, these two blokes are fighters, growing bigger each day. So here I am, watering it again today, taking one day at a time. Hopeful to see and touch some moong pods for the first time in my life soon.

Life often finds a way.

Daddy' Bank

Every other person I know is starting up these days. So I am delighted to announce the launch of my not-for-profit (mainly loss-making like most known start-ups 😉 ) start-up - Daddy's Bank.

Yesterday, I saw my 7yo daughter munching on a snack (bought from outside). "Where did you get it from?" I asked curiously. "I bought it from the shop below with the money I had" she said innocently. She used to have a locked piggy bank, but one day she managed to get all the money out and since then it was stored in a pouch with her. The fact that she had access to & spent money on her own at this age without our consent did not go down well with me. We had a discussion about it & in no time the tiny little eyes were moist. Clearly, I had not done a great job of explaining.

At first, I thought about buying another piggy bank, but then I thought it was the right time to introduce the concept of banking & accounting to her. I googled a ledger template & printed it. I explained the concept of deposits & withdrawals & how the elders keep track of money via a passbook/ledger. I asked her if she would like to start banking too, albeit within the house. "I will be your bank. You can keep your money safe with me & make withdrawals at will" I told her & she agreed. We agreed to use the attached ledger to make entries for every deposit (allowances, gifts & other income) & withdrawal (snacks/chocolates or gifts for friends).

However, client acquisition was just one bit. I needed to keep the business running with cash flows, so here is what we both agreed to:

1. Every Monday, Daddy will give an allowance of INR 10. However, kid must ask for it without fail. In order to remember, we set a recurring reminder in a calendar in her tab.

2. The allowance will be reduced by INR 1 if kid has been naughty in the prior week. Bonus of INR 1 for good behavior & timely homework completion.

3. All the big "covers" (money gifted by relatives in envelopes) that mom & dad usually kept will now be deposited in Daddy's bank. A ledger entry shall be made each time for the client to track wealth.

4. For all small (snack like) expenses that the client wants to make, 100% of funding shall be done via their own account. For bigger expenses, the bank will fund the amount with a copay (varying from 0.1% to 20% as deemed fit by the bank) deductible from the client's account. So for a new toy worth INR 1000, the client may have to shell out a copay of INR 1 to INR 200, based on the bank's discretion.

The deal was finally closed & funds were deposited in Daddy's bank. That's how Daddy's Bank captured 100% of the entire market share in no time! I seek your blessings to excel in my new start-up & hope to never make money from it.

Are you a parent of a little one? Have you opened your bank too? If not, as they say, it is never too late to start up. Introduce them to financial concepts, especially if it is a girl child.

Not that you ask, but no, I do not have any plans for an IPO, yet.

"...Woh aa raha hai, jaldi utar!!..."

"...Woh aa raha hai, jaldi utar!!..."

...yelled the guy.["He is coming, come down quick!"]

When I was a kid, summer vacations meant 10x of our favourite activity. Plucking fruits from trees. Mangoes obviously led the list. Then there was white/black jamun, guava, tamarind, amla, chickoo etc. Some missions were quite easy to conquer, if the trees were easy to access and not on private property. A strong & long bamboo/stick with a hook at the end was essential equipment. 

There was this one mango tree in a bungalow a few blocks away. The mangoes were super tangy & tasty. There was one little problem though. The owner obviously wasn't thrilled about our antics. If he caught us, a nice spanking was in order. Lets call this guy Robert.

Three guys in the group had clear roles. Amar - the main guy who was the eldest, planned the whole thing. Amar could pretty much climb every tree. His job was to climb the tree & pluck the fruits.

The next role was that of a catcher. Fruits had to be caught before they hit the ground. It was no fun eating damaged fruits. Akbar was a great catcher. Ricky Ponting would have been proud of him. 

The last but not the least was...who else but Anthony. Anthony was one of the youngest. He could scamper like a rat. His task was to keep an eye on the bungalow door. The moment he saw Robert coming, he had to run to the tree to warn us so that we could make a run. 

Now, when it came to distributing the spoils, each got to pick a fruit every turn. Amar would go first as he took the most risks & put in the most effort. Next was Akbar - we'd be eating many damaged fruits if it weren't for him. Then it was Anthony & then the rest. When only some fruits were left, Amar would hand them all over to Anthony, probably realising that the number of beatings he took was dependent on Anthony's agility. 

The same setup probably applies to life in general. Everyone doesn't want to be the high-flying Amar that takes risks to pluck the fruit. Some want to be Akbar, some Anthony and yet others just friends of Amar, Akbar & Anthony, doing their bit in the scheme of things.

The fruits that one gets may or may not be commensurate with their role, but is the size/count of the fruit the be-all & end-all of it? Akbar/Anthony never had the will/skill to do what Amar could do, yet they never envied Amar. Amar took the best fruits but the worst beatings/falls, yet climbing trees & leading the gang was his passion. The real fun was not the fruits, but the whole adrenaline rush of planning & executing the heist. The fruits tasted sweeter when we ate them together, discussing what we had accomplished as a team.

Usually every Amar, Akbar & Anthony in the world is at peace with their roles/remuneration, but once in a while a Narad (could be a person or our own mind) comes along questioning things. There are days when Narad gets to us and then there are days when you give Narad a slice of mango along with some salt & chilli powder, asking him to chill.

Caretakers

We've all probably read a property review. This one, though, is a caretakers review/recognition.

We (a family of 9+2) checked into a villa at Panchagani last Friday for a 2N stay. We had some senior citizens who preferred home cooked meals. I've hadn't had great experiences with such meals at villas.

Most villas usually have caretakers for their upkeep & some even cook for the guests. This weekend, we met a family (Kiran & his family) of caretakers who blew us away with their hospitality, surpassing the definition of the term "caretakers" by far.

Friday when we checked in, they all greeted us with smiles. The refreshing adrak masala chai came in no time. I was still skeptical about the food though. We gave them a list of items to prepare for all the meals. When I offered Kiran an advance to get the vegetables/groceries for the meals, he said "we'll settle when you check out, sir" - never heard this from caretakers in the past. Most seek an advance. One of us mentioned about a bonfire & Kiran told us he would set one up Saturday evening.

Friday late evening we came back from exploration, super hungry. They could have prepared the food & left. Yet each member was served hot rotis laden with ghee straight from the tava to our plates at the dining table. The food tasted nothing like any home cooked food we ever had outside. It was superb. To top it off, they fed us as if we were their kids, pushing us to eat more.

Saturday morning, they had to cook 2 items for breakfast, but when one of us made a request for a third, it was accepted with grace. Again, their zeal towards their work showed through the taste of the food they prepared, especially, the lip-smacking parathas.

Saturday dinner was much like the prior evening, but with a local Maharashtrian twist - an out of the world brinjal sabji with their special aamti recipe. Once again, we found ourselves eating more than we could, as they kept serving us gleefully with wide smiles.

Dinner was followed by a nice bonfire, helping us make more magical memories on a super chilly & windy evening under the zillion twinkling stars shining down upon us.

We checked out Sunday after another sumptuous breakfast & bid them good-bye. From the moment we saw them till the time we left, we could not register a single moment where they weren't smiling. There were a lot of other little things they did for our comfort, but for the first time, I am short of words to express.

No matter how much material wealth one accumulates, nothing can replace the feeling one gets by a) visiting a great place, b) getting to eat lip smacking (& super healthy) food cooked (& served) passionately & c) experiencing the feeling of being cared for. We experienced all of this over the weekend, thanks to Kiran & his family.

It probably takes such passionate people to make a good property great, much like it takes passionate employees to make any other good organization great.

Take care, caretakers. There was a lot to learn from you.

"Attempt To Murder"

"Attempt To Murder"

...read the text in bold red font, in the criminal section of the background screening report. 

Employee background screening has almost always been a part my role. I have seen many types of discrepancies (adverse findings). However, most are around education (forgery mainly) & employment (forgery, misappropriation of tenure/compensation). Criminal discrepancies are rare. So far, I might have encountered perhaps five such. This one, however, was the first. 

I informed the employee's manager, department head and business head about it. We then approached the colleague. "Sir, it is a false case put up against me & my father by my uncle (father's brother) due to a property dispute. Please believe me." He pleaded, as he went on to give specifics around the situation back home in Rajasthan. 

"We have to fire him. He is working for a client who is extremely fussy about everything, especially background checks. This won't fly. Besides, we can't keep a possible criminal in the organization!" said the department head, immediately once the employee left the meeting. "Hold on. Let's take some time to process this first." The business head interjected. He was a very level headed leader. Cool as a cucumber. "He is not yet declared as a criminal by the court. Who are we to make him suffer? The only mistake this guy made was not making a disclosure at the time of hiring. But he is in his early 20s, probably not experienced enough to understand the importance of such disclosures,'' he added.

In the next few days, the business leader did some digging. Through his network, he found out that there was some bad blood in the family. There was a possibility of the employee being truthful. He even spoke to his parents over a call. Once he was convinced, he reached out to someone senior on the client side & shared the situation. He requested that the employee be allowed to continue working on their project. The client was assured that the employee would be pulled out in case of any discipline/performance issues, or if the courts ruled against him. Given the pedigree of this leader, he was able to convince the client & it was decided to review the person's place on the team every six months. 

Given that court cases can take decades to close, this individual probably might still be with the same firm. Thriving in the faith shown by the leader in continuing with him, when many others might not have.

On that note, if you are a) A fresher or someone wanting to resume after a break and are struggling to get a job. b) Someone desperate for a big hike. c) Someone without the requisite educational qualification required for the job you are applying for - do not try to fabricate information or documents. The results can be devastating. Nearly every good organization performs background checks on new hires & it can leave a lifelong scar, caught or not. 

It would be an attempt to murder your own career & conscience.

"...oh boy! It's gonna be difficult to jog today..."

"...oh boy! It's gonna be difficult to jog today..."

...I told myself, the moment I parked my bike & entered the beach this morning.

It was a high tide. The sea had gobbled up most of the beach. Usually there is a nice & hard strip a few feet away from where the waves terminate. It is perfect for jogging as you get a decent grip. The area closer to the walls is laden with dry sand that's difficult to walk in, forget jogging. 

I started jogging just besides where the waves were terminating, skirting them. About 2kms later, I reached the point where I usually turn back. I patted my pockets to ensure the bike keys & phone were still there. To my horror, the keys weren't. I pulled the pockets inside out, still hoping like a kid that they would somehow magically appear even when I knew what had happened. 

For probably the 72nd time since my wife gifted me this bike, I had left the keys hanging on the side of the bike after placing my helmet in the storage. I felt a huge lump in my throat. The beach parking is notorious for thefts. So I knew the chances of finding the bike were negligible. I kicked my self.

[𝗔] But hope floats. I remembered that the guy I buy salad from is situated near the exit. I could just call him & ask him to check. But there was a little problem. [𝗕] I had never bothered to take his phone number. I kicked my self for a second time & started running towards the spot.

[𝗖] The high tide wasn't helping & I was getting annoyed with the frequent need to skirt the waves, so I crossed over to the dry sand area. My feet kept sinking in the sand, so it was difficult to continue running. I took pauses but eventually reached the exit.

To my delight, I saw the bike and keys still there. [𝗗] However, I saw a guy sitting on the bike. It was one of the blokes with a camera who works at the beach clicking snaps. "I am sure this dude was just waiting to run away with my bike at the right moment" I told myself and started pacing towards the bike. As I was about to reach, my sane mind said "..or maybe, he is sitting on the bike to protect it from possible thieves". The moment I reached, he said "You forgot your keys" and started walking away. "Thank you" I said, took the keys out and went straight to the soup vendor. The first thing I said was "Dubeyji, please share your phone number."

[𝗔] Can't stop hoping. Had I given up hope and not run back, maybe it would have been stolen.

[𝗕] Contacts are important. But knowing the right person is not enough. Knowing a way to reach them when you need them is also important.

[𝗖] Something which seems difficult (and we are reluctant to try) becomes our best option sometimes.

[𝗗] Depending on our mindset/situation/phase in life, the first line of thought can be positive or negative. Choosing the positive one though, helps spread positive vibes within for sure.

For the sake of bhullakads [forgetful people] like me, I hope the makers of such bikes come up with a solution to tackle this issue.