MY LIFE...My Way...

Monkey managers & Portfolio Management

2011-08-26T05:07:00.000-07:00

Meet Mr. Adam Monk... Chicago Sun-Times’ now-retired investment guru whose portfolio of 5 stocks outperformed the major indexes for 4 years (2003-2006) in a row.

Wait.. are you thinking what Mr. Monk is doing with a Monkey???

Excusez-moi!!! It’s the other way around...

Mr. Adam Monk, a Brazilian cinnamon-ring tail cebus monkey (who should be 39yrs old by now) was hosting the Sun-Times' Monkey Manager stock picking contest. Mr. Monk used to pick up a portfolio of 5 stocks before starting of the year by circling them in the newspaper with a red pen. Then Readers (that is, non-monkeys) had to send in a U.S.-traded stock pick of their choice by the end of January. The stock with the biggest price appreciation by the end of the year was given a free seven-night trip for two, to Mexico. The rules of the contest were simple:
•Send a pick of one stock via e-mail or regular mail. The pick must be listed on a U.S. market and trade for at least $5 per share as of Dec. 31, of the previous year.
•The winner is the stock that shows the best percentage gain in price during the contest year. Dividends don't count. If the stock stops trading, such as because of a merger, it's disqualified. Stocks that have their debut after Jan. 1, of contest year were ineligible.

"In the four years since Mr. Monk has chaired and inspired the contest, his stocks have posted annual returns of 37 percent, 36 percent, 3 percent and, in 2006, 36 percent, beating the major indexes every time."

By the end of 2008, with the world staring into the giant maw of a global financial crisis, Monk's portfolio had lost 14% of its value. But he was still beating the market average, as he had for the last four years. In fact, he was doing considerably better than Jim Cramer, the CNBC celebrity fund manager and author of “Mad Money”.

Lusha, the Russian Stock Expert

Now meet Lusha, a circus chimp in Russia owned by legendary Russian trainer Lev Dorov.

Moscow TV reported how she was given 30 cubes that represented different investments and she selected eight cubes among them to invest. In January 2010, as the market was struggling to stand in the aftermath of recession, her portfolio topped 94% of Russia's mutual funds, her initial capital being tripled from 1 million rubles ($35,884).

The Daily mail put forward its views as “The chimp made her homosapien counterparts look like chumps by mixing equities that were private and state-run. The one move that turbocharged her returns was putting her money on banks that received a Kremlin bailout. Those rose 600%, according to the tabloid.”

'She bought successfully and her portfolio grew almost three times. She did better than almost the whole of the rest of the market,' said editor of Russian Finance magazine Oleg Anisimov.

Raven, a Chimp – Star Champ of ‘99
In January 1999 a fun market index was created – MonkeyDex. It was the first index of Internet stocks picked by a monkey. At its creation, Raven, a 6-year-old female monkey, tossed darts at a dartboard plastered with the names of 133 Internet-related stocks. For the first year she posted a 79% gain in her portfolio -- then boosting that to a whopping 213% gain the next year. She would have ranked as the 22nd most profitable money manager in the country if she actually had been managing money in 2000.

Alas, the dot-com bust at the dawn of the 21st century made a monkey of Raven, who hasn't been heard of in some time. Her portfolio began to underperform, and many of her picks disappeared along with the MonkeyDex website.

The logic behind!!!!
In his book “A Random Walk Down Wall Street”, Princeton Professor Burton Malkiel said that “a blindfolded monkey throwing darts at a newspaper’s financial pages could select a portfolio that would do just as well as one carefully selected by experts.”

But let’s have a look at what are the issues that arise from this experiment and what do they mean to an investor trying to selecting a portfolio management.”

Myth : Active Portfolio management is useless since Monkey Portfolios can outperform 85% of them
Reality : Skill lies in identifying the top 15% performers.

Myth : Beating the market is more a matter of chance than a matter of design.
Reality : Beating the market is what differentiates the men from the boys. Peter Lynch the fund manager of Fidelity Magellan Fund consistently beat the major indices for 10 continuous years, a feat unparalleled in US fund management history. Warren Buffet has earned a return compounded of over 22% for his investors over the past 35 years.

Myth : 85% of fund managers are less skilled than a monkey in stock selection
Reality : While this is statistically true, what needs to be considered is that this outperformance could have been more by chance than by design

Myth : Buy and hold is a better strategy for any investor.
Reality : A buy and hold is definitely good as long it is a long run play and the investor has researched the fundamental strengths of the stock. However, mutual funds provide a medium for uninformed investors to participate indirectly in short term profits.

Myth : Blind investing is more effective than in-depth research.
Reality : The only sure way to lose your shirt is to do blind investments. Naive investors realized that in 1991, again in 1994 and once again in 1999. No point in repeating the mistakes of the past.

So in a nutshell what does it imply. Don't get carried away by the Monkey Portfolio argument. Don't get carried away by your illiterate neighbor who became a millionaire on the markets overnight. Don't get swayed by portfolio managers who promise you sky-high returns. William Sharpe had a valid point when he said that it is difficult to beat markets since they are efficient.

-Nishant Kumar
Project Assistant
DCI-India, ITC Infotech

With added inputs from :

Saket Khandelia
Analyst- Fixed Income Research
AMBA Research

References:
http://jobs.suntimes.com/business/stockmarket/monkeymanager/719438,curiouscontest123007.stng
http://www.freeby50.com/2009/04/jim-cramer-versus-monkey-who-wins.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1242575/Lusha-monkey-outperforms-94-Russia-bankers-investment-portfolio.html
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/08/03/in-honor-of-planet-of-the-apes-the-top-3-monkey-stock-pickers/
http://www.traderivar.com/2010/09/monkey-outperforming-more-than-6000.html
http://www.karvy.com/articles/monkeyport.htm

"BuFFer ZoNe" making its presence felt...

2011-04-16T17:05:00.000-07:00

Good news.. my band members are working really hard to make our presence felt everywhere.. ;)

Past, Present and Buffer Zone (Part 1)

2011-04-12T08:28:00.000-07:00

This entire write up has taken almost more than two month for me to write and is still evolving. Inking down few lines in office, few at home. Thinking what to write while jamming and editing all that's written, in mind, while on bed trying to sleep. I was never an avid writer but always had the habit of writing any piece (be it poem, song, story or articles) in one shot.. Will start writing and won’t stop until first draft is totally finished. Won’t eat, won’t sleep. Won’t do anything.. Some addition and subtraction afterwards, while editing, was ok but main piece was always written in single shot, no matter how much time it took… Mummy never liked it.. Didi always told to change this habit.. My roommate stopped saying anything to me…. everyone calls me “Junooni”.. but I guess this is what gives me power to do things I do in my way..

But what else could be a better day to finish it than today.. Yes 12th March 2010 I Joined ITC Infotech and here I am on 12th April 2011... It’s a year and a perfect moment to look back over the journey I traversed.. Lots of achievements, lots of new dreams.. lots of shattered aspirations… lot much to learn, and still few things to forget and overcome…. Life hasn't been the same ever but now it’s moving faster than ever before....

Always wanted to but never thought would come so far in spite of all those great hiccups in life.. As rightly said “it's never too late to start again” and when you get to live your dream, everything else goes on sidelines.. what you care is about living the moment and making the most out of it...

It is a small endeavor to get a flashback into the percolated strands of time.. A small walk inside my heart sharing what I always kept inside myself.. bits and pieces of my small musical journey so far...

You know right from my childhood I was inclined towards music, had to be.. because it came in my Genes.. From father to son… from one music lover to another.. from a banjo & keyboard player to another… But it was not until my +2 when one fine day in the music room, my Music HOD Mr. Saroj Das looked straight into my eyes and said, “Nishant, everyone will go for engg. medicals… you are not made for it. You are made for music.. you will go miles in it”, I took it real seriously.. (btw i took music as my main paper in 12th Board exams and scored the highest in school 94/100.. including 70/70 in practical’s)

And then happened another incident that introduced me to Guitar..

My dear friend “Ravi Mishra” bought an acoustic guitar (how & why is a long story, will tell sometimes later).. went to learn it for few days.. then got lost.. and within a year sold it.. In the meanwhile, I used to go to his place to get a feel of it. Obviously a guitar is the coolest instrument to play when you are in school and that too some 7-8 years ago in the city of Patna… I was very happy and inspired to see him with his guitar.. though I played keyboard at school and had a Casio at home, I always felt that guitar will add “Cool” quotient to my personality… Well coming back to Mr. Mishra, When he sold his guitar and was moving to Kota, I promised him… “Ravi I will learn guitar for you”, and that’s how it all started..

Then I moved away from my house for the first time to do my Engg. in Dehradun.. By that time my first love was a keyboard, but the simplest model with the features I was accustomed to playing in school was way beyond my reach and had I asked my dad to buy it, he would have definitely asked me to come back and finish studies from home... ;)

So all alone I went to “Paltan Bazaar” and I bought my first guitar worth Rs 700 only on 7 or 8th of July 2004.. then I bought a book on Rock Guitar to practice.. I started somehow when I was fortunate to meet “Jimmy Norjey” from Bhutan (I hope I remember his name right). He went with me to the shop.. cursed him literally for selling me a cheap and very bad guitar.. the gap between its fret board and strings was not less than a centimeter at 21st fret.. J he selected a Givson round hole for me worth Rs 1800. I skipped full lunch (had half at times) to manage for the funds I spent there. My pocket money was 3000 per month. Apart from Hostel fees & dinner. Unfortunately that guitar was broken and I bought another guitar, worth 2700 from a shop near Orient Cinema, near Rajpur Road (I guess I am right). Then the story moves ahead..

Now don’t ask me how I came to Noida & Delhi and what happened to my engineering, that itself is along story... will elaborate later..

…………………….. to be continued……

Is the Indian IT Sector on the right path??

2011-01-05T03:45:00.000-08:00

Talking about the Indian IT Industry, the growth story by leaps and bounds is probably an apt Case Study material for world's leading B-Schools. No doubt it has ushered in a new era and inspite of few hiccups & increasing competition from upcoming off shoring destinations, the future still holds its promise to be bright. But we have always chosen to see the other side of the fence.Lets have a small look on the founding dates of few leading IT firms, both Indian & American:

Microsoft - 1975
Apple - 1976
Dell - 1984
Satyam (Now Mahindra Satyam) - 1987
Infosys - 1981
TCS - 1968
WIPRO Technologies - 1980 (founded in 1945, WIPRO diversified to Wipro Technologies in 1980)

We can see that most of these firms were founded within a very close range of 7-10yrs. But look at their business models..

While Top 3 choosed to focus on delivering new products and on innovation right from their inception, their Indian counterparts focused on providing services. Correct me if i am wrong, but if the Indian IT sector has been providing so much of software solution to entire world, why haven't we come up with a single product that has taken the world by a storm? Today Indian IT firms feel too good if they bag a US$150Mn deal for providing services to another firm which was started almost at the same time.

The concern raised here is not on the capability of Indian IT professionals. I can argue with anyone to emphasize that they are second to none across the world, but its more about the mindset..

And trust me there is nothing diff. in terms of challenges for a first generation entrepreneur, be it in India or US. Each one of them has to scout for funds- be it boot-strapping or venture capitalists or angel investors, work tirelessly from a "make shift" offices to get the contracts... be it HP or Microsoft or Dell or any new venture..

And now with right attention given to promote more Job Creators than Job Seekers, has the scenario changed a lot today?? I doubt so.. I am not saying we need another Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg or Larry-Sergey from India, but why can't we have more of Sabir Bhatia (though he has also failed to recreated the magic of Hotmail.com by his next venture arzoo.com) or Vinod Khosla (Sun Microsystems)??

I strongly feel, NASSCOM-as the premier organisation- should try to encourage Indian entrepreneurs to focus more on innovative products rather than services. New startups try to survive in the cut-throat competition and most of them fail miserably mainly because they don't have much to offer out of the mill. Some survive but again succumb later to the financial pressures and help others to grow inorganically..

But there is a catch, there have been many great innovative products which never saw commercial success which includes Apple's Biggest Duds, by Forbes.. ;-)(http://www.forbes.com/2006/03/30/newton-apple-lisa_cx_rr_0331APPLEDUDS.html )

Open to all your opinions...

A Night with Lucky Ali & Indian Army (ASC 250th Anniversary & 9th Reunion)

2010-12-09T22:27:00.000-08:00

9th Dec 2010..

It was a night, never meant to be forgotten..

Few days ago I got a call from my old classmate Ms. Kharb asking if I would be interested in attending the show of legendary "Lucky Ali"... he he, ye bhi koi puchne ki baat hai??... that was my reply..

I sent across the invitation to my team at office as well where, though too interested, people could not attend.. any ways, I had Captain Kharb (brother of Miss S@vi) who lended his gracious invitation to me via his sister... :)

Struggling with the traffic, eating few grams of dust and inhaling some of the gases while commuting, the moment entry was made inside ASC campus it was a diff. ballgame altogether..

Greenery all around us.. fresh air to breathe..but more than that there was an inspiration coming from inside cheering my spirit.. A long term dream was coming true.. gotta go to see Lucky Ali live finally...

Did i tell anyone that before giving all my 10th board exams i used to listen atlest 3 songs of then newly released album "AKS".. that the first song i learnt on guitar was "O Sanam"... that he was my music idol since class 6th.. that his voice has touched my soul right from "Sunoh"days... the only other singer to make such an impact on me is Mohit Chauhan from his "boondein" days, but will write about him when will attend his live concert..

Well we were made to sit in the Gill stadium, opp. Chopra Auditorium..The stage was huge... and the sound systems were magnificent.. we waited for a while and finally the big moment arrived..

There was a Hip-Hop band signed by Lucky Ali Entertainment, which did the initial gig.. a little warm up i guess.. though they seemed little disappointing.. you might be wondering why?? well, inspite of their repeated endeavors to pull the audience from the chairs, it wasn't happening... I guess they realised it a little late that it was an army function.. ;-) For the first time in my life i was watching a crowd of 1000+ sitting quietly and well behaved.. no rush near the stage..

Then the legend arrived, and the uproar was no where to stop.. :-D He opened the show with his debue song, "Anjani rahon main tu kya dundhta fire".. and trust me there was no looking back.. power-packed performances..one after the other.. na tum jano na hum, bekaraar, o sanam, Mehboob, Kitni haseen jindagi hai, Tu kaun hai...... and the crowd puller.. shouted not less than 200 times.. Hairat- anjana anjani... and it was in this song, all the officers under training in ASC college were allowed to come near the stage and dance like freaks.. :-) then came the last performance which was a surprise package.. "aao twist karein".. so brilliantly executed... i felt like jumping of my seat out of excitement.. Had promished my self not to shout 'coz had to perform on 16th Dec at Kolkata in Claim2Fame finals, but ki karan.. "control nai honda"... screamed on the top of my voice after resisting it for initial few songs.. in the meanwhile got the golden opportunity to utilise my "school boy" looks.. went near the stage with few young ones.. all school students.. took out my "blackberry" quietly and took few snaps and a close video...

Did you know he came on his Harley Davidson to the event which was parked in front of the stage on ground?? And also did you know that he came for the show, his group conducted the entire event without taking a penny?? and also, that on of the brigadiers was his Nursery buddy??

As if this wasn't enough, another big surprise was awaiting me there.. After the show when kids were running for the autographs, i choosed to move towards parking 'coz i was content. more than enough, by his glimpse, his performance... didn't need anything else.. :) Captain Tarun Kharb directed us to the dining area..

it was great as well.. dinner tables put up in open sky.. One side DJ, other side live Millitry Band.. Joined by Captain Kharb and his two more friends, we had 2 large Black Dog before settling down on chairs to have "gap-shaps" with his friends and their wives.. Fortunately one of his friends had his 1st marriage anniversary that day so we had cake as well... :-D

Now then after 1 Antiquity Blue, we decided to hit the dance floor.. it was fully crowded.. never before had seen all army officers partying so hard.. probably i was the luckiest few of the Civilians to be there, to live that moment.... While dancing i meet "Lt. Ranawaka from Sri Lanka".. 3 of the Srilankan Army officers were there on training and i meet all of them..
Lt. Waka is indeed a very good dancer, got apps from majors and brigadiers :-)

Well i also have my appreciation from a young female Lieutenant.. she asked my name and said "you dance really well".. when i said it's the first time I am dancing with any army officer, she said "its first time for her as well to dance with a civilian".. he he he

And guess what? I got to know Lucky Ali was in the dining area... Army people na.. no mad rush to take autograph or get pics clicked.. every thing so well organized, so well mannered.. I rushed immediately to that area.. got him.. Shook Hands with him nd took his blessings as well... yeeee.. i meet lucky ali.. :-)

After coming back to the floor, i saw his team members on the floor. first i spoke with Butto, then Mishko, then 3 more people.. i dnt remember their name coz in the mean while i had 2 more large Black dog.. :) then joined Mishko on the dance floor playing Air-Guitar.. he danced well for his age.. full of energy and enthusiasm... ;)

Then we went for the exotic delight of having dinner on the sidelines of a live playing military band.. the food was great.. and after dancing too much, drinking a fair amount and sweating a lot, the break was very welcome.. After dinner had the plan to leave for home, but captain's friend, "Major T." requested to join till the DJ breaks... and we kept on dancing..

I felt honored to have danced with Officers of all ranks.. including of a friendly country.. and not to forget, Female army officers... :-) We danced till 2:15am.. Major dropped me to home and finally slept at around 3:30am... only to wake up next morning at 10 and resume office with a little hangover. :-)

Lovely night..lovely memories.. God Bless Lucky Ali.. and also me.. :)

New Addition to my home Studio: CASIO CTK 810 IN

2010-11-12T02:03:00.000-08:00

It was Diwali night.. on Friday, the 5th, and I was listening to the song I just finished recording in a studio.. While doing the rhythm programming for the song, I used my friend's Mammoth Yamaha (70k+).. Sitting in my small home studio, I thought I should have a decent keyboard to be able to give variety to more compositions...
Since 2004, when I left learning classical after 2 years, I turned on towards guitar.. Why?? Simple.. A good keyboard or harmonium was way beyond my father would have allowed me to spend on a musical instrument. and I got a very decent Givson guitar in just Rs.2300...

Well, On Sunday finally I went to a music shop nearby.. went there for a CASIO CTK 2000.. saw CTK 5000.. and finally settled for CTK 810 IN.. special features?? Indian tones, including 2 harmonium sounds.. one normal, the other a little heavier... you won't believe, after 6.5 long years I started practicing "Alankar's" (SARGAM).. It sounds so natural... and adds to that the Indian rhythms.. My Favorite "Kaharwa" along with dadra, ten taal, bhangda, garba .. :-) sounds good isn't it..

Indeed it sounds really good.. Though doesn't have multiple "intro/fills/end" like high end keyboards, but the "touch" is really good.. gives the feel of Piano.. and this feature was missing in CTK 700 that I gifted to my father few months ago.. Also one very good thing I found was the "arpeggio" for Piano playing.. I just love that effect.. It makes any composition so "full" and adds melody...

And if you are wondering why Casio only?? Well my first "keyboard" was a Casio way back in 1990, at the age of 4.. for a very long time I used to call a "keyboard" just "Casio".... :-)

And yes, have got a mic as well by Studio master.. Though chorded, but very good for home practice. specially with "minus one" tracks.. popularly known as "Karaoke's"

official link: http://www.casio-intl.com/emi/standard/ctk810in.html

Few videos uploaded..

2010-10-14T16:04:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIURWFzUPOI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXqtP8XfAfs

my voice.. my style of singing...

its my life-my way..

Bangalore on 30th sept after the Ayodhya Verdict.. live from the ground..

2010-10-01T14:33:00.000-07:00

Hi all..

It was mine and my flat mate's (Ankur -who happens to be my room mate during my MBA days) idea to go around for shopping or rather have a look at the situation around us..

Well, the idea was incubated when we both were hungry after coming back from office before 3 pm in anticipation of you-know-what... and then we ordered Domino's Pizza at 5:30.. the order came at 6:05.. exactly 5 min late of their 30 min promise but we paid the bill.. after having that "lunch+snacks", my roomie put me on the "GAS" to go out for shopping.. and we made a move by 7:00pm sharp... Before i left, i decided to use this opportunity as a stepping stone for putting the journalist out of myself on the streets.. and here is a snapshot of what we saw within 4 hrs.. (from 7-11 pm)

My Journey as the "Voice of ITC"

2010-09-22T12:18:00.000-07:00

Voice Of ITC : A journey of a lifetime..

I still remember 12th April 2010, the day i joined ITC Infotech as a part of MBA Campus batch, after lunch break i was standing in the pantry of LC where i saw the poster of VOI for the first time.. i read it word by word and found it interesting.. 1st thought that came to my mind was “it's a very good initiative by such a big organization for employee engagement”.. Little did i know by then that fortunately i have joined the company in the time when it's going to celebrate 100th year of its parent firm.

Initially i was a bit reluctant to try. Though i had been performing at various levels with my guitar, i never participated in a singing competition expect in school.. But special thanks to my batch mates (MBA Campus Batch) who encouraged me to participate. During free time between out training and field visits to other ITC group organizations, they patiently suffered the torture i made them go through by singing 4 lines repeatedly and asking for feedbacks.. And i made full utilization of LC: its classrooms and Library.. 1st round's Song – “Pal pal har pal” was a very soft and melodious track with not so much variations in vocals.. i practiced for a week and the entry was sent for the shortlisting.Within 2 weeks the result came and i was among 133 people shortlisted across ITC to participate in the second round. I was excited and my friends (by that time, the campus batch had became a very good friend's circle) over overjoyed.. But when i listened to the round 2 song- “ITC journey song” we were supposed to sing, at first go; my heart sank. After all it was sung by a great singer Shankar Mahadevan with his typical style involving lots of “harkat”.. I tried, practiced, tortured my friends again n again, recorded, recorded and sent the entry.. Honestly, i didn't have lots of hope this time because the song was tough and also i was competing with best 133 of the voices.

Weeks passed by and the result didn't come out.. initially i was a bit restless but then as i got assigned to BFSI solutions Team under Sanjay K. and work gathered momentum, i almost forgot it.. On 17th of June, in the afternoon i got a call from my brother to inform me that my grandmother had passed away. I was shocked coz i lost my grandfather just 8 months ago. I didn't tell anyone in the office about that. Went back to home in the lunch break for some time and came back on my desk.. In night i wasn't feeling like going back home, so i stayed in office till 8:30 and just before logging off, don't know what prompted me, i clicked on the link in Cafe Express which said “Voice of ITC”. And guess what, they announced the top 15 finalists who will be singing the ITC Anthem and i was one of them. My eyes went watery and i didn't know how to react.. whom to call and tell that i got the biggest achievements of my life!!!Well that's life..

Days passed by.. I came back from home, life got normal up to a great extent and i started receiving “congratulation mails” from lots of people. As a new joinee, i didn't know most of them, i used to ask my team mates about some of the top notch people whom mails i received. By that time i didn't even know the other 2 qualifiers from our campus, Ditipriya and Subhendu Ghosh.

Then the day came, 2nd Aug. when i was asked to reach to Mumbai and the fun started..

On Mumbai airport, for the first time in my life someone was standing with a board stating my name.. Had seen this for my father before but never thought this day will come so soon in my life. :) There were people from ITC Maratha to take me to the hotel. When i reached there, after some security check, i saw 2beautiful ladies standing with garlands, Arti and tilak. I thought may be some one very important (like a politician) is coming behind me and those arrangements have been made for him. But to the heights of my surprise, it was there waiting for “ME”.. i stood there, almost numb.. then i was escorted to my room and once inside, i put down my luggage, stood in front of the mirror and just said “WOW”.

It was hardly half an hour when there was a knock on my door. To add to my surprises there was a cameramen and Vidhi from Corp. Communication- ITC, along with Neha Jain from JWT, who were shooting the “Making of the ITC Anthem”. They took a small interview of mine and this was the beginning of the reality show.. Indeed it was.. 3 cameras and 1 still photographer. From 8:30 am till 7pm was always with us.. our every move, every expression was captu

red.. they even shot our marathon practice session after 12 midnight.. people praying, shaving, chatting, discussing...

The same evening we were briefed about the anthem and given the demo CD to practice.. we were introduced to each other and divided in 3 groups of 5 each for recording the song in batches.

And the practice started immediately. All 15 of us were united by the common passion for music and almost everyone was feeling it as a dream coming true. The practice sessions used to start immediately after the dinner and last till 2 in the night. Of course we had few lights moments in between with everyone having their own style and choices of songs, it was a treat to listen the different flavors of music.. from traditional Garhwali (Uttrakhand) songs to classic “Beatles”, from peppy bollywood numbers to Rafi's melodies.. we were lost completely in the vast ocean of music for next 3 days..

Next day was reserved for practice only and entire ITC Maratha listened to it.. Wherever there were Voices of ITC, there was an instant practice session being started.. be it lobby, the dinner table, the reception, the lift, the rooms or the garden, every single minute we were practicing. Not necessarily singing, but trying to perfect things. Helping each other with pronunciation issues, with getting the right notes, singing at the right scale and building a homely atmosphere where we were a family. Though we had created a very light environment, but deep within we had were feeling the pressure to perform. After all, being a part of the elite few to represent employee strength of 26000+ wasn't a cake walk. We had no scope to let anyone down and had to raise beyond the expectations. The same day, we were taken to meet the music director (Amartya Rahut) for a small interaction. When we meet him, i must say, we didn't expect him to be so humble and sown to earth.. We went to his studio where he listened the song once from everyone and advised wherever he felt was a scope of improvement. Later on he told us, that exercise was to decide upon, who will sing which line. Amartya said, different part of the songs had different emotions with them and he was trying to pick right voice for the right part.

4th Aug was the recording day for batch 1 & 2 while our batch 3, was set free for few hours city tour. And as the participants of “Reality Show”, a cameraman was to be with us through out the day. Transport was provided by the hotel and we set out to explore the city. We went to “Haji Ali”, saw the Worli Sea link, enjoyed “panipuri” on the sea shores and came back experiencing the heavy traffic of Mumbai. That morning we were joined by wife and 2 yrs old son of our fellow colleague Rajgopal (from ITC Chaupal Sagar). His son was the center of attraction for the whole day. :)

5th was our recording day. Once we came back on 4th , we meet with Voices of ITC from both the batches and shared their experience. That gave us insight of what our director is expecting from us and again the practice begun. With others the practice continued till 1 and then i went on practicing till 4am. Went on bed, but was unable to sleep with butterflies flying in my stomach.. tried to sleep but couldn't. Then i played the Demo ITC anthem given to us, put my headphones and went to slumber. Almost everyone was feeling restless that night because next day was going to be really really special.

On 6th we went to studio at 10:30am. At that time, the flute, which you can listen at the intro of the anthem, was being recorded. We went to the practice room, awaiting our turn and to our surprise, VP corporate communication-ITC Ltd, Mr. Nawaz Arif was there along with Mr. Arup Ghose (he was handling the entire VOI event). Our turn came, and recording went up to 5 in the evening.. there were takes and many retakes, minor improvisations, some funny moments, some mistakes and a great time.. I must say, Amartya was a man of patience. He waited, watched, guided and helped us do what for me was a childhood dream. I was given the lead in lines “Garv hai humain Viswas yahi.....” and then in the chorus afterwards. Following the recording, when we came back there was a party waiting for us thrown by Mr. Arif.

It was a great evening, with few of the top management from ITC Ltd., joining us. We all all sang, danced and enjoyed the very few moments left to spend together because it was probably the last time we all were together.. We were joined by our music director-with his guitar (which i loved playing) and it was one moment where we all unleashed ourself musically. The exuberant love for music was in the air and it went on till we were called for dinner. There few words of appreciation were waiting for us followed by gifts, which included special chocolates from ITC Maratha.

After the dinner when we were departing to our respective rooms with a heavy heart, we got the

“happiest news” of that entire week.. “All of us were to perform live at ITC Sonar, Kolkata”. We had the chance to meet once again.

23rd we checked in, in ITC Sonar and in the evening had two hours of dry run. Everything was practiced to perfection. Sounds, lights, where one will stand and even the way we will receive gifts from the chairman and walk out of the stage..

Finally the D-Day came for which we were waiting from so long. Each one of us was a bit nervous, not because we were doubtful about the performance but because of the face that all our friends and fellows will be watching us live from distances apart. There was a sense of responsibility for the expectations we were shouldering. And by god's grace, it went well.. I really appreciated the Chairman for making up to this event even when he lost his mother just 2 days ago. He came and himself asked for a group photograph with all of us and indeed that photograph will be one thing to cherish throughout life.

I don't have words to express the kind of experience i lived. Made friends with people of my father's age, danced with a music director, got a chance to meet people across the country and across the different Levels of management, learned and shared a little bit about every department of ITC. And yes, i was the youngest joiner of ITC group in that lot. When i applied for the first round of VOI on 30th April 2010, i was only 18 days old in the organization.

Long live ITC and long live ITC Infotech.

**Special thanks to Sanjay K. VP-BFSI Solutions, who selected me out of 80+ students who applied for this position of Business Analyst during my campus placement. I am really honored to have him as my mentor and the beacon.

**You can experience the making of the anthem, just go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmsOuk7ZQ-M

वो बीती शाम....

2009-06-10T22:21:00.000-07:00

इस रात की आवारगी में, दफ़न है वो बीती शाम
अब रह गयी तन्हाईयाँ और रह गया हाथों मैं जाम

लगता है थी ये कल की बात, ढलने लगी थी तुझपे रात
नज़रों ने की बातें बयां और थम गयी थी कायनात
बेसुध पड़ा बेजार मैं, बस नब्ज़ में रफ्तार थी
मेरे अधर यूँ खामोश थे, तू जिस्म से नाचार थी
वो समां ही कुछ और था, मैं और था तू और थी
हर चीज़ कितनी पाक थी, हर सांस मैं एक ज़ार थी

इस बार फिर वो आएगी, दस्तक दिए सी जायेगी
फुर्सत के पल मैं बैठ कर, कुछ बीते पल दुहराएगी
अब वक़्त लेकिन है ढल गया, और बुत बने से लोग हैं
अल्फाजों मैं वो रस नहीं, हाँ अजनबी वो होठ हैं
किस्से कहूँ ये दास्ताँ, तकलीफों का एक बोझ है
एक छाँव ठंडी चाहिए, न तू है ना कोई ओट है

(Dedicated to my old friends Ravi Mishra and Gaurav Singh, whose company brought me closer to gazals and shyari)

To you..I want to say.....

2009-06-06T01:55:00.000-07:00

In the whispers of wind, in a moonless night,
my heart was throbbing with a boundless delight.
The world seemed happy like never ever before,
“Blushing” was my face and smiles did endure.
I am dreaming or am I in heaven; my eyes refuse to open,

I want to be there for life, for I am far from being awoken.
Embrace me in your arms, make this feel eternal,
A touch a simple touch, this joy can’t be stolen.

Is it an illusion or am I nuts guys,
babe I always see you, even with my closed eyes.
You unwind my desires with emotions flying high,
I’ll cherish these memories, I promise no more cries.
Your long ebony hairs the lashes of your eyes;
Let me live by you forever I’ll never say “bye-byes”.

You are a seraph of heaven or an angel of light,
radiant in your freshness or a mist that engulfs me in night.
Your chuckles echoes in my ears, your voice sings lullabies,
Be in my arms forever..Oh Yes my love!! That’s absolutely right.

(dedicated to two of my old friends.. Deepasmita Bose who reminded me that i used to write poems and Meghraj Sharma who gave me a reason to write.)

Thank you

Mistakes or Experiences - “The best way of learn?”

2009-05-28T05:10:00.001-07:00

When a child tries to stand on his own feet for the very first time, he fumbles. He struggles to maintain his balance. Every time he stands up, he make mistakes…then in one such attempt he learns how to use his feet properly, how to support his body weight using his legs..And after that there is no turning back…

When we all started writing at the very tender age, we had problems initially in drawing the alphabets right. How many times did we have to write the same character just to make sure that it’s perfect? Entire junior education went through this process of committing mistakes and then learning from them. As a child, I had the habit of licking my thumb, which many children have. My parents told me several times not to do it, they used to say that it’s a bad habit but I never understood. So one fine day, my mom took a green chili and rubbed it on my thumb. I wasn’t aware of the “chilling” (also called Vitamin ‘C-C-C-C’ effect) of the chili. As usual I put my thumb in my mouth, and then something happened..My mouth started burning and I realized what a blunder I had done…As a child I was always curious to taste new items. It included soil, black ants (as told by my family members), chalk and chalk pencils, fish and other eatables..

As my mom says, one day while eating black ants, one of them got stuck to my tongue so badly that it started to bleed. Then I went to my father crying and he pulled it out. From that day, I left that habit because I learned from that incident the “Eating black ants is dangerous”. On the same lines, I still remember, in class KG at the age of 4 or 5 I went to my neighbors’ home for birthday party of my class mate. There I ate fish for the first and the last time. Actually the bone got stuck in my neck and it was a real bad experience.

Now here comes my point..Were these all experiences, whether good or bad, or would you call them my mistakes?? You may argue, why am I raising this point..it makes no sense but I feel people often use this word interchangeably. Oxford Dictionary says, a mistake is an error in judgment, a thing which is not correct, whereas an experience is an event or occurrence which leaves an impression on one. As a kid our horizon to judge or analyze things is very small and most of the time kids encounter new situations and new events, thus for them its an experience. No problem right!!!!

But here is the question, as we grow, why others perceive our every action as right or wrong, in terms of mistakes (failures) or success? Why aren’t we given freedom to explore new things for ourselves, to learn new body of knowledge? Mind it, I have used the word” experience” only in relation with “individual”. It doesn’t mean that one can fire a nuke on a city and then say that it was a new experience for him..That’s really absurd.. No one has the right to explore new things by hurting others.. One can try to do as many “out of the box” things as he want to be richer in experience with himself, but when others are involved with any of such actions, it can’t be executed unless others have complete knowledge of any such activity and give their consent in proper mental & physical health..

Now this debate won't stop till we choose it to stop..But think and analyze, how many times have you scolded without thinking weather he/she had really done a mistake or it was just a bad experience for them...which happened unintentionally..

Freedom given to Children and Social Values!!!!

2008-11-14T03:39:00.000-08:00

“With great freedom comes greater responsibility”....But what is more important: training others to shoulder the responsibility or blaming others for not taking responsibility of their actions?

Freedom, according to me, is a kind of social permission to do whatever you want in your way and promotes indigenous ideas and creativity.

In present scenario, as you can see all around, technology is gradually taking command over our lives. Apartment culture, computer and video games coupled with multiplexes have taken the space and freedom out of our lives. At how many places do we have good parks to play and moreover how many schools in entire world actually promote the spirit of going beyond the books? Recently in US a 13 yr. Old child was suspended from school for 5 days because his painting resembled with a gun (given below). What he drew was a normal street with houses and people around... So who is taking away freedom and from whom? Right from nursery, a child is bound to carry a bag, at times bigger than him and this tradition continues till our schooling ends..Do we have freedom actually to do whatever we want?? This entire system is promoting
only followers. Not innovators or genuine leaders..

Source: http://thenewshole.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/08/23/331040.aspx

So what can be done?? Is there any way?

YES. The way is to empower the children..Give them more freedom..To think, to choose and to decide..Time and again psychologists are saying that symptoms of depression are being observed in children of 13 or 14 yrs. Some may relate it to genetic defects but the root cause always goes unnoticed. They feel themselves alone at that tender age. They feel as if they can’t share their feelings with anyone. I have personally seen kids competing against each other for positions right from class 1 and 2...When I was of that age, my prime focus was to enjoy the life...I don’t remember myself doing anything hard to be #1. Kids don’t even know the implications of being #1.. It’s the pressure society creates over them and when they grow up, try to free themselves from these shackles, they are said to be violating the social values.

SOCIAL VALUES??
Social values are created by the society and as per the definition in Civics; Societies are formed by individuals..Since individual values depend on individuals upbringing, believes and knowledge, therefore “social values” is a relative term.. What’s accepted in US may not be necessarily accepted in INDIA..Then how can we generalise that freedom given to children is spoiling the social values.

In US, girls and boys go together for whole night beach parties after 18. That’s an accepted social norm there. But will it be accepted in India?? I personally feel that there is no such thing. It’s only the reference through which, we see them.

Those in favour may say that freedom given to children is dangerous thing because they don’t know how to use it. But I say, things go wrong in only two cases: either Out of ignorance or if a child is deprived of something, in spite of having freedom in other areas.
You give fire arms license.. That’s a freedom you issue to use and to keep firearms..But do you give it to everyone?? You follow certain norms. You don’t give that freedom to any one, at any place and any time. So why not take this into consideration before making any rational judgement over this topic!!

I agree that have been some cases like increasing pregnancy rate among teenagers, firing arms in public places; increased use of alcohol and drugs, but my question is “are they occurring only because of freedom and not because of other issues?”

Recently I came across an article which said about increased pregnancy rate among girls less than 14 yrs of age and in most of the cases they didn’t know that they were pregnant..One girl went to a gynaecologist, because she felt a bump forming in her belly.. Other went because she could feel something moving inside her belly..

“Drugs usage” or “firing arms in public” are the outburst of frustration and anger. People don’t have time to look after their kids, share some moments with them & keep a check on the kind of company they are keeping. They try to make it up by giving them more gadgets, money and luxury and things go wrong, they blame it to their kids that they are misusing their freedom.
Every coin has two sides and every face has two colours. But you see only one because you choose to see it that way..

Try to change your frame of reference and you will be able to see what I am seeing...

Regards:
Nishant Kr.

LIFE & The Game of CHESS!!!!

2008-11-09T22:57:00.000-08:00

There was a time when I used to play chess every night with one of the most importent persons I came across in my life “Meghraj Sharma from Sikkim”. Every night we used to play a series of 3 matches and record the moves on A4 sheets. Next morning, the result was posted on our room’s door along with those moves. Within a week, everyone in our hostel came to know about “How to read and record the moves of Chess” and "Mukesh Mukul" was a friend who took inspiration from us and joined our league.

Most of the times, the result was 2-1 in favour of Megh. Every day we used to Google new counter tactics and new moves, new OPENING styles, VARIATIONS and COMBINATIONS. During those days, I was going through the toughest phase of my life and my failures in life had prompted me to think again and again over my purpose of suvival.. I was losing my confidence; my ambitions/dreams were shattered. Then during one of those 440Volt series, I won 2-1. It was really tough to win against Megh.

During those nights, out of sheer pressure, I was unable to sleep. Every day we both use to sleep at around 3am after playing and posting the results but I could hardly sleep. It was after that victory, I was lying on my bed trying hard to sleep, when a spark came into my mind and I saw a relation between my life and the game of CHESS.
Yes...There was a relation...

Life is like a game of Chess.. You have an opening, Middle game and an end game.. Opening is fixed...May it be Greco-roman or Kings Indian...in the form of our birth and upbringing..we don’t have any choice there. We can’t choose the family or the parents we take birth from. Nor can we choose the way our upbringing is done...it’s all predetermined. As rightly said”Life is a theatre and we are the actors, doing our part only.” But for me, this statement is confined up to the initial stages of our life...as soon as we move ahead; we start to play on our own terms.

Once you are into or have crossed your adolescence, do you allow others to decide instead of you??? Seldom...even though others decide for us, we either agree or disagree.we want total control of life and we choose to decide what we want to do...from there begins the “MIDDLE game” of our life..As in the game of chess, each and every move is already mentioned in the books of life. Their counter moves are also there, including the variations. Then you may ask why a super computer can’t be a world chess champion, when it has all the moves feeded in it. There comes a classical saying “It’s not what you choose to do; it’s how you choose to do which is more important.” At every point in the game (unless it’s the end), you get multiple moves to choose from and play. In the game of chess, after every move a player thinks. How to react..How to make "moves" such that they can have long term benefits. How to make a good strategy..Everyone plays for a win, but those who play with more conscience, concentration and intelligence become privileged to get victories..Everyone plays for a WIN, but a single flaw can turn the table...U can be forced to surrender.At times you get a second chance to rectify your mistakes, at times you won’t get...but you can’t blame luck for that..It’s an irony that while making errors we don’t know, and when we realize we blame it to luck and god.What can they do...Luck or God can only help you up to an extent of providing a very good “OPENING”..Rest is entirely upon you.

Once, I had a room partner from Shimla named Anil Shosta, who was a national level chess player. He used to live the game of chess. He told me that in a game Parimarzan Negi (India’s youngest grand master at that time-2006) placed his Camel at a place in 7th move..Later, after he won the match, he said that the camel was placed there to be used at 32nd move, but since he won the match in 27 moves, it wasn’t used..

You must be thinking “this guy is nuts”.. I don’ know anything about Chess and he is lecturing on it..

You may be right and you may be wrong...Try to relate the things and I am sure you will visualise them. After our parents make us capable enough to stand on our own feet, don’t we start making moves of our life!!! How many times we find our self at a position where we have choices to make and there we make the most rational choice keeping in view the short term and the long term objectives.How many times we decide to do something (like a vocational course, or propose someone) so as to capitalize on its benefits at a later stage in life!!!

Life is the game we are playing against our destiny. In the book of destiny, everything that begins has to come to an end. The beginning is clearly written but the end is not.That’s the reason why you can always listen people saying “you can make your life as you want to” or “You can shape up your fortune”.That’s the MIDDLE game...you play it your way..If you make decisions wisely, you will gain control of your life else you will let others take it. Most of the games are finished during the MIDDLE GAME. In other words, most of us give up during the middle part or most struggling part of our life, and they say “FATE is always against us”.At times even I do the same. But great fighters are those, who carry it till the END game. Till the last breath, they will keep on fighting and fighting...At that stage even if you lose, It doesn’t matter a lot because you give your best...And you get the best...

At times I have heard people saying that they have been struggling throughout their life.What can be the explanation of this as per my LIFE-CHESS Theory. It’s pretty simple. They make the moves without a proper strategy.Ask a novice, who loves to play chess but doesn’t know anything about the concepts or the theories of the game. Now he will always fight till he Surrender’s. He will play as per his mind.he will look for the strategies that his mind can formulate...But when you are not good at your basics, how can you expect to get outstanding results.

So, simply his moves won't be properly synchronised. They won’t follow a definite pattern. He will keep on fighting at every front, Defending and Attacking at the same time without knowing from where to clinch victory..Watch two novices play against each other and watch two great chess players playing against each other. Do it for just 15 minutes for each. Trust me, even though you won’t be familiar with the art and science of playing CHESS, it won’t take you long to realize the hidden implication...

Now relate this with life..you can do it. I don't need to give an example now..
"Life is Hard and harder is the fight to gain control over it...
Fight for it till the last breath and you still don’t get victory.
Others call it fate; I call it “LIFE & CHESS”."

Regards:
Nishant Kr.

***A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game . Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants.
***The middlegame in chess refers to the portion of the game that happens immediately after the opening. During this time, players will attempt to strengthen their positions while weakening their opponent's, both by careful arrangement of the pieces for prepared attacks and defenses and by whittling away at their opponent's numbers.
***In chess, the endgame (or end game or ending) refers to the stage of the game when there are few pieces left on the board.
***In the game of Chess, A variation is like an unorthodox move. This employs great deal of risk but can give you an edge also.
***Combinations are when you sacrifice your piece (white or black, whichever you are playing with) to gain a control in the game.

-- एक एहसास

2008-10-07T05:02:00.000-07:00

हर सुबह जब सूरज की पहली किरण, पत्तों पर पड़ी, अलसाई हुई सी ओस की बूंदों को स्पर्श करती है, तो एक मिलन होता है...निशा और निशांत का....वो पल होता है एक मुकाम, जब दोनो एक दुसरे से मिलते हैं; कुछ वक्त साथ बिताते हैं, कुछ बात्तें करते हैं..निशा के होठों पे एक मुस्कान सी खिलने लगती है..पर जब तक वो मुस्कराहट हँसी मैं तब्दील हो पाती हैं, तब तक विदाई की बेला पुनः आ जाती है....

वो पल ठहरता क्यूँ नही है..क्यूँ नही जिंदगी थम सी जाती है; हर उस एह्साह पे जो मुझे जिन्दा रखने के लिए काफ़ी होता है... kehte हैं हर रात के बाद सवेरा होता है..पर उस रात का क्या जिसमें सारी दुनिया की खुशी समाई हुई हो...क्या हो अगर मैं उस रात की सुबह ही ना चाहूँ, क्या हो अगर रात के उस पार मेरी दुनिया मैं उजाले की जगह अँधेरा छा जाए...क्यूँ नही वो पल ठहरता है? क्यूँ नहीं मैं उस पल मैं सारी जिंदगी जी लेता हूँ? क्यूँ हर रात के बाद सवेरा होता है...क्या सिर्फ़ इसलिए की मैं अगली रात का इंतजार कर सकूँ??
हर दिन तिनकों तिनकों मैं बिखरता हूँ..एक रात है दिल का सुकून, जिसके साए मैं बैठकर सारी तकलीफें भूल सा जाता हूँ..हर रात अपने को सहेजता हूँ। सुबह तक तिनकों को जोड़कर अपना वजूद फिर से पाने की कोशिश करता हूँ... पर हर सुबह मुझे उसी मुकाम पर लाकर छोड़ जाती है, जहाँ से मैंने suruaat की थी...पर अब तो aadat सी है मुझको aaisee jeene की.... jaddojehad जारी है..अपने kufra से निकलने की॥

देखता हूँ कब तक kaamyaab हो paata हूँ...

What if i fail?

2008-10-05T11:16:00.001-07:00

How many times do we come across such situation in our life?

As kids, we are always free from any sort of responsibilities। Our parents are always there to help us, to rescue us। To make us feel secure॥as if they are saying "Don't worry॥i am always there for you।" But as we grow, we want freedom॥to break away from the restrictions imposed right away from the beginning॥we want to do things in our way॥we feel, we are the best judge to decide the steps that we will take॥We feel we are responsible enough॥and that's the point where we land ourself into trouble॥ while trying to break free , we distance ourself from our parents, our family...At times we feel that they can't understand our situation। The way they lead their life was different from the way we are leading it॥ Competition at that time was not so fierce॥the pressure was no so fierce॥

You know, once i asked my father,"At your time, till 25-27 yrs of age, people used to study and marry and then go out in hunt of jobs...But why do you expect me to settle down so early in life। i am just 22 now॥"But it was just an outburst of the stress i was living with। Fortunatly i have a loving father who understands everything। Even though he is of a generation, just after the independence of India, he understands well the changes॥Coming back to point...When we distance ourself from others, apart from feeling a sense of responsibility we start feeling something extra। The burden, the pressure of "not to fail"।When we decide something; going against everyone, we take the moral responsibility of making our decision right। Proving a point that "I am able to take right decisions।" When we start, motivation is pretty high। Gradually, if we are not so lucky, we face setbacks। We come across some persons who make mockery of us, humiliate us and try to test us। Then what happens can be classified as:

1> Some of us are brave enough to live strongly। they don't let anything affect them. they live life in their style॥making a benchmark for others to follow. But being practical, they are a rare species

2>Some of us can't bear the anguish, the pain and are thus broken. They cry, need support (in form of friends, drugs, drinks, smoke) and need time to recover. Those who get right kind of support, overcome the pains inspite of few bruises inside and those who don't get it, destroy themself. they loose their focus, their goal. they don't remember the journey they started, nor they remember the high aspirations they made.

3>Then there are some of us, like me, who feel hurt a lot. Think to leave their ambition, dream॥ Loose their confidence, start feeling that they can't succeed..But they are no so weak to leave it. The spark to keep their word, keeps on burning inside, although with a very low intensity. They move ahead but they can't share the pain inside with anyone. There is something, which prevents them from opening up. They feel, no one can understand their feelings, their pain..resulting, they keep on hurting themselves..gradually go into depression.That is the high time when every night we go to bed, we feel "I am not as good as others... My time is gone, i am not what i used to be... I can't do it, its beyond my reach...i am a failure, i can't do a thing right".just some of the feelings...

But the point is, even though you are saying u can't do it,still you are trying to do..because only then you can compare wether you can do something or not..How many people keep on trying..they leave in between...Look at the scholars..they are normally said to be "Half-mind"..how many times they face critisism..low -depressed phase of life..History is replete with examples of those who came across such situation and became a role model for others.. Can any one of you name me a great leader who can say that he hasn't faced similar situation...Trust me..this is the phase where one can do self introspection in the best possible way..

it takes time..for me it has taken more than 4 years and still i am trying to heal up some minor bruises..at times still i go into low phases..but every darken cloud, has a shining ray.. i leave myself completely alone, aloof..try to change so many things..including the position of BED, Study Table...colour of bed sheet, pillow...wallpaper, pen i use....you don't know urself what will click at that time..but trust me..anyone of these things will surely work..try this..if you are still thinking "i don't think, i can make it"..it means you have still some fire underneath your belly...just try my friend....you won't fail..may be the quantum of results may vary..but you will never fail...you won't get what you want..but you will never fail..others may criticise you..but you will not fail...never..you can't fail..and you won't fail because those who die fighting are called martyrs...

My Life..My Way....

2008-04-02T06:09:00.000-07:00

"My Life..My Pride won't go your way....
it's getting dark..too dark..for you to sway..
i have spent my life on street...i am walking on the street...."
yes.these are the words of my latest song which i wrote depicting my pain and struggle inside...

life is hard but it teaches you something everytime you feel low...
the truth lies above the darkness..when you are fade up of struggle..just take few steps ahead..those last steps will take you out of the struggle....

rest.. next time