The 10k

I completed my first official 10k last Sunday the 26th of March 2017. I ran it with trepidation. Not only was I not prepared physically, I wasn't in the best shape mentally. The end of March is usually a nerve wracking time. To the outside world we're all hot shot entrepreneurs with no-one to answer to but the fact is that's far from the truth. Atleast for me. The mental stress brings other challenges. Bad diet. Smoking. Drinking excessively. Semi-sleepless nights and a guilt that comes from not being able to achieve any larger goal in entirety, whether it be in time for family or in complete focus to the enormous expectations at work. Be that as it may, I woke up at 5am, strapped on my under armor kids, donned my mumbai city fc jersey and drove down to BKC for the KISNA Half marathon - sponsored by some random jeweler who in my mind had no business being associated with such an event, but then who am I to judge? The run was a beautiful one. For someone with serious lack of preparation and only 4-6 km runs in the past 3 months under his belt there was no reason for me to finish the run. My Mapmyrun app was on full flow and I set training mode to 5:59 per km as the speed I wanted to achieve. That was it. No other guiding force. The result? No guiding force beyond that was required. I powered through the 10k on a hot pre-summer day like a legend. I must have finished in the top 10% of runners as I could see the numbers that had come in before me. It felt brilliant. I felt strong. I realized, this was it - the 10k was the perfect test for my fitness levels on a regular basis. All I needed to do was sign up for every 10k over the course of the year and ensure that I keep myself ready and waiting for each run - the results will let me know where I am , emotionally and physically. I let out a lot of rage in this past run. I screamed in my head, I screamed out loud, I pushed my legs and body at the 8k mark where everything went to lead. I did mini internal races with other runners and smiled to myself as I saw them wane after a grueling 600-900m stretch where we would go pound to pound, almost knowingly in a manner that only male egos can justify. This is a drug. I am hooked. What's next? DC Runner's log March 26th 2017: 10km in 59:39. Average speed: 5:57km/hour 27 degrees Celsius, Hazy/Windy conditions/74% humidity Stats courtesy: Mapmyrun APP

A ping

A ping distracts me as I board a non-descript flight back home back from a perfunctory celebration where I play my part the role requiring a character far too mature far too unaffected by the turmoil in my mind even for my liking. yet I play it effortlessly. A sign of a grown-up man or just one too tired to express dexterously what he truly feels without overt discovery. The ping distracts me from my well heeled white sneaks from my overpriced t-shirt paying homage to a sportstar also in his waning years both of us bolding on to a past glory in our parallel universes mine not just parallel but embarrassingly delusional. The ping is of that social network that tells me you appreciated a visual. what are you thinking when you see it ? Me hoisting my son aboard my shoulders those broad, ample shoulders you ran your fingers across in a shivering night where passion lay bare And empty promises seemed anything but. A ping that reminded me of a liaison reduced to a perfunctory relationship drawn by societal and haphazardly penned down Lines On a non descript flight Back home.

Chronicle in no particular order 12th march – same as 13th march dinner. Rest of the day was ok. 13th March – no cars for dinner besides gobi aloo ki sabzi. Ate a concoction of vegetables with dahi. Didn’t work out at home due to water issue and had to be awake to fill the buckets. Weight at the end of the day is 91.8 14th March 2013 – 8:56am (post breakfast) weight is 91.1 . Didn’t go to play as I missed the alarm! . Lost 700 grams since yesterday! I think just staying off carbs at night will be a good start and might help me shed 2-3 kgs. The tough part is going to come after where I have to start watching (atleast partially) what I eat over the course of the day. Cut down the katar-matar, breads, chocolates, sweets, cold drinks. Drink more water, eat more fruit and just generally try and keep a check on the hungry eyes concept. The eyes are more hungry than the stomach. That’s what needs controlling. LET’S DO THIS!!! 15th march : great workout in the morning. 7 games of squash + 1000 skips in total (batches of 250 – 250 before the game and then 200-200-100 after the games). Feeling great and ate well through the day. Ended up doing some serious drinking at night with 2 beers in the early evening + atleast 8 pegs of scotch. Watched what I ate and didn’t over indulge in the carbs although did eat a bunch of random snacky crap. 16th march: Woke up to not TOO bad a situation with the reading showing at 90.3. Healthy breakfast of 2 egg whites, toast, hot water with lemon and a little bit of watermelon. Feeling strong. Will play for sure today and burn some serious calories. Have friends over today so need to watch the drinking amount again. Feeling good. 16th march: Excellent work out. 7 games of squash, 500 skips before it and 55 crunches on the mat which I carried with me after. Felt a bit exhausted ‘cos of the heat but am burning some serious calories. Mega drinkage at night with Saumya + ate quite a bit of snacky nonsense etc but should be one of the last days I drink before heading to LA in the 1st week of april. If the next 2 weeks can be intensive work out + diet regimes, I should easily knock back a couple of kgs. 17th march: slight hangover. Eating oranges, a banana,and drinking hot water with lime in it. Replenishing required. Weight check pre-lunch was 90.5kgs. Did I mention that this weighing scale of mine shows 1kg more than the actual weight? So I’m down to 89.5. Will do a workout at home today for sure.

Every man needs a goal. Every blog needs a man with a blog.

Ok, the title is ridiculous but I had to say something. I have it now, finally. A goal. I mean it's not like I havent had goals before but in the last 3-4 years, it's been more tactically oriented. Getting married was strategic but if I had tried to chronicle THAT experience, there would be noone to write this blog on account of the brain damage I might have suffered. Just kidding, organizing the wedding was awesome and I had a blast. Coming back to the goal. It's simple. It's called 80@30. Yes you read it right, 80 (eighty) at 30 (thirty). What is 80@30 you may ask? Oh you didnt ask? Then why the f@$% are you here? Ok sorry I didnt hear you ask so was checking. 80 at 30 is my goal to be the fittest I have ever been since the day I was 18 till now. You might think on reading this that I was an unfit kid/teenager. Not at all. The truth is I was fairly athletic all through school but college introduced me to AIESEC; AIESEC got me to Bombay. Bombay took me to Agra. Agra took me to Switzerland and Switzerland got me back to my beautiful Delhi in a round, lovable , rotund shape that was great for hugging but not so great for figure-hugging clothing. You get the drift. AIESEC was all about working 15 hours a day and then partying hard the remaining time. Bombay was about bonding with a bunch of amazing individuals and that bonding meant a LOT of alcohol consumption amidst enormous levels of stress that most 20 year olds should be legally BANNED from facing. Agra was , oh man I cant even begin to explain Agra. Switzerland was chocolates, wine, lots of love, cheese , more wine, more chocolates and gazing at mountains instead of walking towards them. The last 4 years have been awesome. Discovered squash, rediscovered badminton, continued my affair with Basketball and can safely say that I'm above average from a pedestrian point of view in all 3 sports. It's been good. An average of 3-4 times a week of waking up at 5:30am (yes you heard it right) to go play at the CWG siri fort complex has been the norm. I feel fit, I have great stamina BUT I am getting old. The body doesnt have the metabolism it used to have and as you've already realized, I love my drink and I love my food. A certain friend of mine has introduced me to some amazing new food since we started working together (again) and that has taken fat levels to a whole new planetary system. Somehow I stay balanced through it all but the scale is tipping. The paunch is more prominent. The buttons on the well fitted shirts are starting to moan with the effort of keeping the tyres under wraps AND I tend to find myself unhappy with the weight I'm carrying around. This is the physical reasoning behind 80@30. 80 kgs by the time I turn 30. Today on te 14th of March 2013, I am well on my way. With less than 8 months to go , I must polish off more than 11 kgs whilst ensuring I don't go crazy, desperate, obsessive, irritable or generally obessive in the journey. Tomorrow, I discuss the psychological aspect behind this goal, this journey. It's going to be awesome.

are we back?

I noticed that this blog is my "url" on twitter. What was once the ultimate space for personal prose has now been replaced, blasphemously enough, by a 140 character microcosm. More astonishingly, the microcosm might just give this more wordy world a revival of fortunes.

Amazing.

The question still remains..are we back? Or is this a random musing on a monday post noon scenario which will soon be gone with the return of a frenetic pace of activity?

Time will tell.

Decent article on Blah in 'Campaign' - 25th March 2011

the truth

I count myself blessed. Having been a part of AIESEC, having visited the country and having made friends (albeit over a relatively ‘shorter’ duration) that I count as truly fabulous – the match on Wednesday is nothing more than 2 tremendously talented teams coming together to thrash it out for a chance to win the ‘cup that counts’. The media’s billing of this being a ‘purani dushmani’, the political drama, the animosity, the abuses, insults and insinuations are shocking and a bit embarrassing. I was far more aggressive in the Australian match because that team embodies an arrogance, disdain, childish and unsportsmanlike behaviour seen rarely in champion sides. They’ve rattled our cage and deserved to be booted out. Wednesday will be epic – but purely as a match, nothing more.

Airtel & Karthi

mein chal mein chala mein chala

this song has just taken over my conscious..unbelievably beautiful.

Baap ke joote mujhe, chhote pade...



If this is what 'commercial backing' can do for the creative musician in our country, I'm all for it. Phenomenal. The kannada and malayalam versions are excellent as well.

the marchness of march

With KWAN now in its 6 month since inception, a great deal has happened in the gloriously large and opportune market of Delhi. Initial phases of difficulty and acclimatization have made way for a certain degree of comfort and confidence in the remaining 3 quarters of '10 where I'm hoping my team and I can single handedly decimate national targets and continue to propel KWAN towards a situation where we are looked at as India's premier solutions providers in the entertainment and sports business. The way we're going, I see that vision turning to reality sooner than later. A couple of days with my colleagues from Bombay that look after the fashion and experience portfolio have reminded me once again, of the phenomenal opportunities that lie ahead.

With this madness ensuing, I've had absolutely NO time to devote to blogging, writing or penning my thoughts down for all of you. The last 180 odd days have been about re-engaging with a life once past and now truly present; brands, strategies, celebrity archetypes and 'pitches' have immersed with man-management, administration and a bunch of other stuff..

The severe lack of time has also been brought on with the busy morning schedule (that inadvertently has me wiped out by 11pm every night) - Squash and badminton have joined the competitive basketball experience leaving me with a great workout but little energy post the workday. I am incredibly blessed to be able to play so many sports at an above average level, big high-fives to parents who gift their children the basics of reading and competitive sports. You're never leaving your child lonely once you've imbibed these fundamentals to a fulfilling life.

In the end of January, with another extraordinary whim (as a bunch of my friends experienced last year), I decided to go off the 'juice' again. This time I stayed on the meats (much to Tara's delight). I found the alcoholic sacrifice remarkably difficult at points. Irrespective, 2 months have now elapsed, and as I write this - I greatly look forward to knocking a few (many) drinks with my home boy GK. In the telly in front of me, The Rajasthan Royals are giving CSK a decent drubbing and look like putting up a decent score. The IPL is unique. Despite the naysayers and question marks on the consumer experience due to brand overkill and viewiing dilution, one has to marvel at the ability of the country to come to a standstill around it. Not until I saw Akhila Blah's flustered/frustrated status message lamenting on the insane length of the tournament that I realized what a pain the damn month and a half could be. Seems to get futile after a bit no? As for the injuries to players, is it not important to draw parallels to international football players who arguably play a more gruelling sport for atleast 2 teams at a time with equally enormous pressures? Mull over that.

The last couple of weeks have also been fun on the movie front. Tara and I went to see LSD on the day of release. Whilst the reviews have largely been focused on the intensity and the dark side of human nature, one cannot help but congratulate the boldness of effort by the directors, producers (big UP to Ekta Kapoor - who knew you could be a rockstar that did more than milk the urban and semi-urban middle class for its love of drama) and string of ensemble characters. I got a bit queasy with the ending of the first movie and my heart silently screamed at the brilliantly captured 'haraamipan' of the Indian male in the second. The third link was rather useless, frankly because I felt disconnected to the story. All in all, I'd say the barriers of Indian cinema have been pushed once again and as Karan Johar remarked in a recent Delhi times article (big UP to him too. Despite making largely crappy movies - the man certainly has the intelligence should he ever choose to use it) .. "movies like LSD prove that Indians can push the envelope, and how!" Tara hated it and wanted to walk out after the first 10 minutes. Rishabh and Chandini did walk out after exactly 8 minutes (although Rishabh told me he was enjoying it.., not sure whether to believe him or not). Niel found it intense as I thought he would and a bunch of my other friends are yet to find time amidst financial year-end and summer holiday planning to check it out :p

The other good movie of this last month was the grimy, action packed and awe-inspiring "Book of Eli". I won't say much except for the fact that Denzel delivers again. The Hughes brothers show us why they are numero uno in this genre. A post apocalyptic look at the importance of a religious scripture in the hands of a desperate human race struggling to attain supremacy of a world run by those with a iron grip of resources. Sounds disturbing familiar doesn't it? A must watch if old school movies like Mad Max (Thunderdome) turn you on. "Eli' is far superior with its cutting edge digital flavor ofcourse. Don't be surprised if you leave the hall with a burning urge to dawn the role of mankind's gunslinging saviour when the nukes are done and dusted...

Whilst I was busting my ass alongside the most awesome professionals in the country (aka my home boys and girls of KWAN), winter gave way to summer. Delhi is now officially in blast furnance mode. Only in summers like the ones we have here can the inside of a darkened room provide so much beauty. My new album of the lost prophets hums tunefully behind me and as I sing "if it wasn't for death, we'd never feel this alive" and I realize - life rules.

Over and out from the waning days of the marchness of march. I'll be back.

KWAN with India's number 1 youth icon

Making Of Aamir Khan's 'Samsung Guru' Ad

Actor Aamir Khan, director Anurag Kashyap, lyricist Gulzar and music director Amit Trivedi come together to show a heart-warming story of how mobiles can reduce distances. Catch the making of the 'Samsung Guru' mobile ad in this video.

Oh, and why is this important? KWAN manages Anurag Kashyap, one of India's most brilliant creative minds. He's also the director of what I think is the boldest and most awesome movie of the past decade - DevD.

brilliant article

Much too long for me to post directly but worth reading for anyone perplexed by the insanity that is Delhi's underbelly.

http://www.granta.com/Magazine/107/Capital-Gains/1

The Urban Habitats Forum Fellows Programme

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quotable quote

On Vineet Jawa's gmail signature:

"The corporate website is an unbelievable collection of hyperbole,
artificial branding, and pro-corporate content. As a result, trusted
decisions are being made on other locations on the internet"

-Jeremiah Owyang

of weekend trips and a thankful existence Part 1 (Mumbai)

6 months had gone by since I had allowed myself some respite. 4 months had passed since I had consumed the juice or the nucleus. I was just about finding that thin line between passion and cool objectivity. It was time for a break.

Bombay was everything and more- as it has always been. That Friday (the 19th) I checked my watch a few more times than usual over the course of the day. T was already in the maximum city living it up with a frenetic energy that would surprise anyone who knows her in D-town. Her excitement of jumping from one set of friends to another, one pair of shopped shoes to another and one exciting plan to the next had me smiling on the 6th floor of the climatically cooled environ of my india habitat centre office. I was also relieved with the knowledge that the creators would be together as I returned to the city of dreams for a weekend of unabashed relaxation. As I look back, we ended up doing a heck of a lot of things in the short period of time. I headed to the Blahs' right after landing in the now super cool bombay airport. A quick auto ride was accompanied by shrieks of ' get here fast' from a now 'well past her capacity 2 drinks' -T. It was going to be a long, fun night. Reunions with vesky, himank(an old @ friend) and ofcourse akhila along with a couple of jds were followed by a sprint down to HRC. Undoubtedly my favorite place in Bombay, the place was packed to the core. T's friends are an extremely warm and engaging bunch. I realized on this trip how lucky I was to be inducted into this 'scene'. Pure gems. When we finally wound up at the vintage, a bunch of us zipped off to a hotel in the vicinity for some midnight grub. There is nothing more pleasing than pulling off a 20 hour day in between cities with a club sandwich and comedic conversations. Plans had already started to get made for day 2.

Crashed at Niel's and woke relatively early on Saturday. His collection of nonsensical but inanely enjoyable magazines kept me occupied while he had his 4th dental check up in as many days. Note to self: take care of your teeth! The pain and suffering of future issues just isn't worth it (plus it's friggin expensive). We then proceeded to Bandra where T joined up for what was a brilliant and extremely filling lunch at Five Spice (we never miss this when we're in Bombay together, the last time around it was right after a crazy night with these guys and a gracious night spent at her place). The brilliance that is this restaurant can be defined by its location (across totos and at the descent of pali hill), its gargantuan (is that a word? is that spelled correctly? Do I look like I care?) servings and its relaxed ambience. The lunch was increasingly pleasing thanks to a huge reunion with old mc bro - aalekh. His stories from the modelling/acting world (aka tinseltown bombay) were enjoyable to say the least. It was good to see that he hasn't changed a bit :)

From Five spice, T and I split from Niel as we head off to meet with her gang and the much awaited tattoo experience. Now I'm an inked up grandmaster as you guys are well aware but the fact that she wanted one had me slightly jittery. Not because I dont think she can pull it off/handle it but because she does have sensitive skin and getting a tattoo needs to be a bit more of an experience. Needless to say this was mocked quite vociferously :P . T's best friend J took us to this big indian dude (ben?) who spoke like a crack dealer from ghettoville queens. He wasnt too convincing with the tatoo advice but it was the most entertaining 40 minutes of the day. I left in splits hoping that the next tattoo parlour would prove to be a bit more comforting, given the fact that the girls wanted to get inked in a place that didnt look like a 3x3 shanty with a delapitated dentists' chair in the centre. Proceeding back to bandra with 5 of us squeezed into R's redmobile, the conversations ranged from the inability of mumbaikars to speak in our national tongue and the uncelebrated qualities of trust company. R and I bonded like crazy over musical tastes the entire weekend. It never ceases to be a soul connection amidst people that found answers more often in an inspired riff rather than a textbook. The trip to avengers, a night at R's full of random card games and sneak peaks at India's best death metal band displaying their talent finally wrapped up around 4am. With a content *sigh* I fell asleep under the soft humming of the air-con and the delicate reminder of mumbai's oncoming monsoon outside my window. If there was ever an image of tranquility, it would be of a room full of friends - asleep in their knowledge of what they have, and whom they share it with.

Sunday went by in a blur. We woke up pretty late - greeted by groggy faces all around us. The plan was quickly made (thanks to A and T) to jet towards town for the awesome sunday buffet at Not Just Jazz. A perfect setting for the closing hours of my bombay getaway. R & I dropped the girls to A's houee, after which we spent an hour at Niel's as I packed my things. I felt bad about not spending more quality time with him but I knew he understood. Will be making it upto him this weekend when he's in town on work. Not just Jazz turned out to be filled beyond capacity so we decided to dine in the semi-outdoors Pizerria which proved to be excellent. We were joined by T's old school friends, one of whom is an up and coming south-Indian film actress. Loads of jokes, boisterous laughter and discussions around south vs. the rest of bombay ensued. I was not looking forward to this brilliant weekend coming to an end...

As the hours wound down, I slowly began extricating myself from the buzzy sense that was the weekend. J and I knocked a quick beer at a roomy (read empty) restaurant next to the gateway whilst T continued to lament on how she'd love to shift back to bombay someday - soon. She voiced this desire repeatedly on this particular trip. Whether it was having her closest friends in a proximity unmatched the previous 3 years or the sheer freedom of roaming unabashed along the winding streets close to midnight, I'll never truly know. When you love someone, even giving them everything sometimes seems inadequate. I found myself yearning just that little bit more too.

I boarded the delayed flight with a sense of bitter-sweet happiness. My terrible phone connection ensured that my goodbye message to T's gang ended up being delivered 17 times. It probably looked a bit desperate :) but I didn't care. I had to thank them for what was the perfect 48 hours after what seemed like a lifetime of sacrifice and toil.

:)

UKIBC report released

A survey conducted by trade facilitation body UK-India Business Council (UKIBC) has ranked Pune as the most suitable place for British investments in India. The survey report, titled ‘Opportunities for UK Plc in Emerging Cities in India’, also ranks eight other cities — Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Goa, Indore, Kochi, Nagpur and Vadodara — as the most conducive destinations for UK investments in India.

The report is a product of “qualitative research through a process of in-depth interviews, reviews and perception surveys across various professional and social networks”. The report said in its preamble that close to 200 survey responses were analysed and over “150 key informants” were conducted to ensure an extensive and representative coverage.

While the report’s annexure lists 41 cities in the survey's ranking with Pune holding the top rank and Ranchi getting the lowest rank, it provides a detailed study of nine cities that merit UK investment the most.

UKIBC’s CEO Sharan Bamford, however, cautioned that the immediate priority of the report was to take the investments forward by pointing at prospective cities for UK investments.

The rankings are based on physical, social and cultural infrastructure and key economic indicators. Good quality roads, power connections, number of banks, health institutions and colleges, per capita income of each city and market size are some of the key parameters considered for the final listing.

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An intense and interesting project comes to fruition. Will be interesting to see what the response and spin-off from this is in the coming weeks.

shameless promotion: atleast its awesome

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The goal of champion cities is to provide an invaluable platform to a cross-section of stakeholders involved in the delivery of mega-sports and cultural events with a special emphasis on host cities in Asia and Africa. The inaugural Champion cities summit will take place in 2009 in New Delhi, which will host the commonwealth games in 2010.
The inaugural Champion Cities Festival will take place in September 2009 and will focus on Host-Cities of Multidisciplinary and Emerging Sports events.

the fire evens out

You know there was a time, at the point when I begun my professional life as a young student volunteer for a non-profit organisation to my time with the UN to my time with a private equity firm, to two years ago at a sports marketing agency to even 6 months ago with the my current start-up experience when- there wasn't a work-life differenciation. A 7am start meant a compulsory checking of email, a dogged and determined view that a workplace conversation could happen anyday and at anytime. I scoffed at those who yelled work-life balance at the top of their lungs, I cynically looked down upon senior peers who boasted about being able to switch off their blackberries.

I used to ask ..why? How can you not love your work? How can you not want to be running at full throttle 24/7 balancing the brilliance that is professional ambition, success and challenge with the bitter-sweet of life and it's highs and lows. I was a rock with an insatiable appetite for mach3 speeds in the goals that I thought made me who I was in the atmosphere that egged me in further, faster, higher, stronger.

See and that's the the beauty of life. It lets you build your fantasies, your mind-sets and your opinions before laying brick walls of such enormity, of such intimidatory quality - that it forces the DNA that defines your personality to challenge its existence. It forces you to believe you're wrong and re-approach everything you've believed in. This change, it says, can be self-driven or forced upon you. That's where winners lie. In the thin but clearly visible gap between survival and defeat.

These past few months I've been forced to change. I've come face to face with an increasing desire to balance life, to turn that phone off at 6pm, to be comfortable with not checking emails in the dead of the night worrying about the best solution to a problem I know isn't mine. I'd rather make time for that conversation with a friend, that help a parent might need, that movie I might have missed and that song that's left unheard. Yet, in my heart of hearts I know that I miss those old days. Simply because I knew that I lived life to the extreme with the knowledge that I brought value to everything I did professionally whilst striving to maintain a balance personally. I succeeded more often that not because both goals were within my grasp. I know that at this point in my life, despite the seemingly decent value I add, this just isn't mine. I used to hurt from the protracted and disconnected feeling this 'act' would bring, now I am just plain numb. It is time to take some big decisions. Phenomenal opportunities that I have worked tremendously hard for knock on the wooden door of deservedness. Do I have the courage to embrace them with open arms and return to the days of wonder? Or do I continue to be enslaved by a demon that wants nothing but to suck the very soul of my brilliance in an effort to achieve its own, undeserved end?

I have the courage and I have the answer. It lies before me.