Vijit's Opinion

It is that time of the year when most of us would sit and analyze how good or bad the year has been. I am also in that reflective mode today. How did 2014 treat me? On personal front year 2014 did not start off well. All efforts to hold on to a close relationship turned out to be a futile exercise. I learnt that no matter how good your intent is; if people are hell bent on misunderstanding you, things will fall apart. Not just the beginning of the year but almost the entire year personal relationship was put to test. In second half of the year, it was a close friendship that did not stand the test of time. I realized that for relationships or friendship to be successful, the most important factor is trust. 2014 did punch some severe blows but it could not manage to knock me out. I was down but not out. I only hope that someday better sense would prevail and things will improve. All the emotional turmoil did affect me but my faith in the Almighty is what kept me going. A s...

This blog post is about an incident that I witnessed and one which made me value life dearly. Tonight on my way back home from office as usual I reached Kanjurmarg station. I was on the foot over bridge when I saw a man running down the steps towards the platform to catch a train to Titwala that was about to leave. By the time I reached the platform I could hear people shouting but didn't know the reason. At some distance I could see a man lying on the floor and people gathered around him. I moved closer to the crowd and realized that the same person whom I saw earlier on the foot over bridge had met with an accident and was lying on the floor. This person tried to catch the running train but slipped and fell on the platform. He was very lucky to have not been dragged by the train else the accident could have been fatal. He did injure his head and his body got bruised too. However, he was able to walk when couple of guys lifted him up. They made him sit on a nearby bench. One ...

This blog post is in a way, a summary of what I have experienced in last 2 years. The title of the post indicates the focus of the post. Criticism is something you get when you need it the least. I have written about it in the past as well . This time though without divulging too many details of my personal experience I will try to give my perspective. Two years back I was forced to take a difficult decision which I knew would have a negative impact on me but still I took that decision with the best of intent. Balancing my personal life and professional life was one of the aspect but primary aim was to safe guard others interests. To my surprise, I ended up being criticized the most by the folks whose peace of mind was my goal when deciding my action. Even a friend who was fully aware about the turn of events and my rationale behind the decision, recently had some harsh words for me. Strangely not one of my critics had a solution to offer. Everyone was convinced that I was wrong...

This blog post is about PM Narendra Modi’s initiative to involve the common man in governance. Such initiatives do not get enough limelight, despite the fact that there haven’t been such initiatives in the past. There may be reasons to hate Narendra Modi but I think we got to be objective about our criticism. Criticize him where he is wrong and appreciate him where he is right. I think this approach to criticism should be practiced by everyone. My Gov is a welcome initiative that is going to revolutionize governance.   We people earlier did not have a say in governance. Now with this initiative we have a forum to give our ideas and suggestions for shaping government policies. Isn’t that true democracy? Government of the people, for the people and by the people is how democracy is defined. Theoretically this has been true but it is off late in Modi’s rule that we are seeing that being put into practice. These are early days but well begun is half done, isn’t it? ...

This post is dedicated to a doctor whom I consulted just once but who left a lasting impression on me. About a month back I visited this doctor for a health issue. When reading this post one may think what is so great about this doctor that I chose to write about him after visiting him just once. The primary reason being that he decided to meet and treat me despite the fact that  he himself was advised bed rest by a doctor, as he was getting treated for broken ribs after having a fall. How and why this meeting happened? My sister-in-law was his patient and was her go to man mostly when she suffers any health issue right since her childhood days. She had his mobile number and one Sunday about a month back she called to check whether he is available in his clinic so that I could also consult him for an ailment. He responded saying that he is not fully fit but can get the checkup done at home. We both visited his house. His wife opened the door for us and lead us right to ...

Today at one of the railway station stalls in Mumbai I went to buy a bottle of packaged drinking water. My wife and daughter were also accompanying me but they were seated on a bench at some distance from the stall. I asked the price when the bottle was handed over to me by the salesman. I was told that it will cost me Rs.20. I checked on the bottle and the maximum retail price (m.r.p.) printed was Rs.15. I handed the bottle back to the salesman who unlike other salesmen was not wearing a uniform and told him that the printed price is only Rs.15. He ignored my comments, took the bottle back from me and put it back in the refrigerator.  I thought I should do something about it. I stepped back and took the photograph of the banner at the top of the stall which had the name of the contractor of the stall and while doing this also ensured that the salesmen inside noticed what I was doing. In the banner above it was also indicated that all items will be charged as per the m.r.p. pr...

Out of the blue today, I recollected He-Man, one of my favorite super heroes from my childhood days. I remember waiting desperately for the episodes of He-Man. I used to love it. I remember how Prince Adam raising the sword would proclaim, "By the power of Gray skull.......... I have the power!" and get transformed into He-Man. Prince Adam was depicted as lazy and cowardly; however, He-Man to the contrast was shown as courageous and all powerful.   During my childhood days, I was just excited to see all the action and drama in the cartoon series. Today when I try to look at He-Man, a totally different perspective emerges. Were Adam and He-Man two different individuals? Was the power of He-Man coming from Gray skull or the magic sword? The answer to both these questions is, No. All power came from the belief in the following words, “I have the power!”   All power actually lies within us. The day we realize this nothing is difficult and nothing is impossible to achi...

Monsoon was playing hide and seek with Mumbai until yesterday. Everyone was desperately waiting for it to rain. It was late by over 15 days but when it rained it poured. First real monsoon showers of this season had a big impact on Mumbai. Traffic jams, Trains were stopped dead on the tracks, people inconvenienced and yet Mumbai did not stop. It seems Metro trains first tryst with monsoon was not good. It had water leaking through the roof through the air conditioning duct. Despite all the adversities, the show must go on attitude of the people of Mumbai is commendable. Yes, everyone cribs about the inconvenience but still they do not give up. Trains may not be running but I did not see many people leaving the railway stations. Everyone was eagerly waiting for train services to resume. Mumbai has a love-hate relationship with rains . We beg for rains and when it rains we complain about all the hassles that we have to go through. Yet I feel that we still are a better lot in de...

Yesterday was Shaarika's first day at nursery school. I along with my wife accompanied her. For initial few minutes she was fine. After a while though she started getting uncomfortable seeing so many new faces. All the pre-conditioning done by her mother didn't work. Almost daily for the last few days every effort was made to help her realize that neither her mom nor her dad would be there to give her company. It was also told that there would be many kids like her to  play with. However, when she had first hand experience she could not handle it. She started crying asking us to take her home. Being the first day, parents were allowed to be there throughout the one hour in the class. Most of the kids there were crying. Understandably so, as it was a new place. It is the first time that they are out of the confines of their home. Earlier interactions were limited to family and close relatives or possibly with children from the same building complex at the most. Suddently they a...

Today Lok Sabha election results were declared and NDA with 300+ seats are the clear winners and will be forming the government. There is no Modi wave was what you heard from many non NDA party leaders. I agree with them because wave is an understatement. It really is a tsunami. From 2 Lok Sabha seats in 1984 to 272+ in 2014, BJP has made great progress. Modi did play a big role and even the biggest Modi rival will have to acknowledge that.  BJP should be given full credit for using latest technology and social media to their full advantage. I think other political parties need to learn the tricks from them. This is one reason I feel that Modi is the right person to be PM. He is so comfortable with use of technology and derived maximum benefit from it this election. For Congress it cannot get worse than this. They bagged less than 50 seats and that is too low for a national party. I am sure that dynasty politics combined with corruption made them suffer the worst ever defeat...

Intent matters and is the only thing that matters in the long run. Perceptions of people may act as stumbling blocks but if you are doing any task with clear and good intention then these temporary challenges should not matter at all. Let me take one example of an intention that almost every one of us will have. It is about making money and securing our future. Is it good or bad to have an intention like this? I would say it depends from person to person. Even a thief will have an intention like this. So, a good intent will also be one that ensures that the foundation of your success is not laid on the losses of others. A win win situation for all is the only way to be happy and stay happy. This does not mean that you part with your hard earned money to help out someone who suffered losses because of his or her own foolish ways. Only thing I wanted to communicate is that do not cause losses to others in the pursuit of your goal. Achieving goals means taking right act...