In the morning, here in Sharjah and Dubai for the first time I have seen such a thick fog. It was damn unrealistic. As I walked down the stairs of my Building entrance, holding my Tiffin-carrying-bag in one hand & iPod in another, fumbling all of them to check time on Nokia 5800 xpressmusic, I see a lot of fog greeting me to this wonderful morning. Am I missing something? Where I am?

It might be the smoke of fire nearby or may be a road mishap, I run to the nearest Road to check if there’s an accident. No, as I look over the road, its fog all over, blurring the far away objects & dimming the lights.  It was a great sight, reminding me of my days I spent in India.  I love fog and I love the winter days cherishing the fog in front of my home, my school playground & college park. I am very fond of fog and my heart has a special connection with it (much like the rain.) Fog reminds me of a Winter season in Punjab, which is like a festive season in itself. Special foods, winter arrangements, thick bed covers & blankets, electric heaters & indigenous developed ones (we call it Agithi in Punjabi) are the mementoes of winters.

I thought fog will be one of the many things that I’ll be missing about India. But apparently its not.  According to the people it rarely fogs here in Dubai, and according to my bus driver it is too early for the fog to be here in Dubai. Well, one of the effects of Climate Change is clearly visible now. It was such a thick fog, that otherwise fast moving traffic of Dubai came to a screeching halt.

Looking forward for more such fogs…

There are many things, which you “fire” once will never come back or stop from making the damage. Words, actions, orders, flight takeoff just about anything that has “no point of return”.

Missile once launched cannot be put back onto the launch pad. Words once spoken cannot be put back into mouth. Similarly, many actions including deciding & passing the “point of return” can never be undone. Once you nearing the end of the runway, you must press “Take Off” else there is no point of return and you can’t risk stopping the plane in the end of the runway.

My Advice:

Effective self discipline and management involves identifying the “points of return”. Carefully trespassing them, so you don’t cry when you cross them. Be careful when you press “Fire” next time.

Mil Na Jao Tum Kahin Ajbnabi Ki Tarah Iss Bat Se Hum Dra Karte Hai,

Aa Jana Us Mod Pe Jahan Chod Gaye The Hum Tujhke,

Ab Aksar Hum Wahin Tera Intezaar Kia Karte Hain.

English Translation

Never Meet Me Like A Stranger, Oh my beloved,

I Often wait for you now, where forsaking you I left.

Amir Khan is one of the top stars of the Bollywood who has been credited with the title of "The Perfectionist" for the kind of excellence he tries to achieve in every endeavour. He is a class apart whether it is Lagaan or Taare Zameen Par (both were the India’s official entry into the Oscars.)

One of his recent pet projects Taare Zameen Par has won him accolades from various sections of the society (parents, teachers, school principals). Amir Khan, in an interview to a private TV news channel,  said that the movie got a standing ovation during special screening in Seattle, USA.

Here are some of the marketing lessons we can learn from him:

1. Focus & Dedication

Amir Khan is known for the fact that he does only one movie in a year, and that movie is always a hit, away from the league and a blockbuster. Ghajini,his latest movie released on 25th December, is also this year’s biggest blockbusters. He works with dedication on one film without diverting his efforts towards other projects (movies)

2. Brand Mark (developing viral idea)

His brand mark was the Ghajini Hairstyle, within few days many – a lot many youngsters were spot having it,

3. Special Marketing Team

He had a dedicated special marketing team to support him in every aspect of marketing. A good thing that means you should have specialized team for each function.

4. Special Screening before release (product testing)

He had a pre-launch testing with the audience and made changes based on their feedback.

While Gajhini was a super duper it, I never got a chance to watch it. And I will never got to watch it again.

The spectacle of virtue inspires the feeling of elevation — one of the most delicate pleasures that the world offers.

Writes Gretchen Rubin at The Happiness Project

Somewhere I Read

For Ultimate happiness, you need to have something to lover, someone who cares for you and something to look forward.

And interesting event from my life:

Drunk in the middle of the road, an old beggar lady approached and beg for some money. I opened my purse and pulled out whatever came out of it and said to her “Please wish that I remain happy the rest of my life”

ah I tried to purchase happiness with some money

Now Listening: Signs of Happiness – Mozez on Zune Desktop Music Player

Ha ha ha it is very funny, disheartening for me, but has a kind of truth in it. Anyways, nothing in this world can stop me from installing Windows 7… the mission continues….

My mom is really weird.  She asks me often to go to our small plot,that dad purchased a many and many years ago, to pluck some fresh tomatoes for cooking the night food. She along with some other villagers had a pact to grow vegetables for own consumption. I used to think it as ridiculous and always stood for the idea to go to the vegetable market.

Becoming more health conscious I discovered that vegetables in the market are not only full of insecticides & pesticides but also a major source of pollution in many forms. If organic food is the answer, I think we need to repeat the question. And what could be the best alternative to the  pesticides ridden food than the home grown organic food. The list of benefits is huge. And you reduce your cook print to a great extent. I tasted both the tomatoes. The one we grew was much more tastier and crispier. The decision is simple.

What a better world it could be if each of us decided to grow for ourselves what ultimately will going to be a part of our body someday when we will consume & digest it. And yes, it is rightly said, you become what you eat. I repeat decision is simple, and moreover, its yours.

Hi friends,

My friend Dharminder is involved in a social cause of demanding the justice for the  teenager Aarushi Talwar who was killed in a famous double murder incident that took place on that fateful night of 15th May, 2008 in Delhi (see Aarushi murder case here on Wikipedia or see the list of all the events related to this case on Rediff.com’s Aarushi murder case timeline)

My friend has setup a petition addressed to the President of India. Please take some time to support the cause and sign up the petition (it takes only 1-2 minutes and require your name and mail address only).

Your signature is valuable and makes a real difference. Please encourage others to sign the petition as well. To do that, just forward the link below to everyone who might be interested

Here is the petition located at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/justice4aarushi?e

Source: http://www.loveisnotabuse.com/pdf/NoMore_factbook.pdf

7 ways to ruin a perfect relationship…