MY SHORT STORY 50: MY New hobby- Coaster Collection!

My friend Suvarna was inquisitive about my hobby – Coaster Collection and my new club, Coaster Collection Club, which I lovingly called CCube.

Suvarna: Shivoo, its a unique hobby you have there. For how many years you have been doing this?

Shivoo: I just started 🙂

Suvarna: <surprised> How come you are starting a hobby at this age

Shivoo: When I travel, I always wonder what to get to my parents and close friends. You are not left with many choices apart from a bottle of Single Malt or any other exotic drink or perfumes.

What my friends want is expensive and doesn’t fit into the regular travel return gift! Suddenly I had a big question in front of me …

“What would my friends and my children get me when I am old?”

I have many customers and vendors as my close friends. It’s a company violation to even get a bottle of whiskey from them as a gift! I didn’t want them to get me expensive gifts as all my hobbies are expensive and my wants are surely a pocket pincher. I didn’t want them to feel disconnected with my “Want List”. So I thought I should start a new Hobby!

Suvarna: Interesting. So why this coaster collection?

Shivoo: See I wanted to start a hobby, which is not expensive, anybody can contribute to this and there should be an emotional connect to it. So after thinking for a while, I came up with this hobby – Coaster Collection !

Suvarna: Tell me more about it

Shivoo: I have two clubs of Coaster – The right and the Left.

The right club has coasters where I have personally gone with friends with their signature and a personal note to me about that evening

The left club has coasters where my friends have had a great time without me but thought of me. So I request them to pick a coaster as a reminder and give it to me with a note. I try to visit that place sometime and move the coaster to the right club 🙂

Suvarna: Wow…that’s something new. Is it just a make believe hobby or really a new hobby of yours?

Shivoo: I never thought it would be something so interesting. Today I have friends from all parts of world, saying

“I wish you were with me…Here is a coaster as a souvenir to let you know that you were missed today. We should come here and relive this moment together”

Today, I want more coasters in my Left club than my right club.

I am looking forward to be a part of my every friends evening in some way. I am sure

It would be interesting when my kids grow and send me a coaster to say …I MISSED YOU TODAY!

My hobby has become a part of my friends and family’s good times and saying; they wished I were there with them.

What else do I want in life <Smiles>?

Suvarna: So what next?

Shivoo: I am thinking of building an app for the same…. Watch out the Startup Club news 🙂

Suvarna: You have a new member in your Coaster Collection Club 🙂

MY SHORT STORY 49: Green Thumb or Green Tongue!

I was with my broker and a good friend, Bheem to buy agriculture land near Mysore. We had shortlisted a piece of land near Mysore which was around 4 acres and had some amazing old trees in one part of the plot …

It was love at first sight. We came back to meet that owner, Suresh who stayed in Mysore.

Suresh: So did you like the land?

Shivoo: Very much. How come you are selling it?

Suresh: I don’t want to but my wife is unwell these days, so I am unable to spend time on land development and agriculture; hence I want to sell it off

Shivoo: I am interested; lets discuss the price…

Suresh: Before we get into the price discussion. Can I ask you a personal question?

Shivoo: Sure

Suresh: Does your wife like you buying agriculture land? Does she support you in growing vegetables or fruits in the land?

Shivoo: <Smiles> Actually NO….She doesn’t like me doing these things …She likes me to have a corporate job and lead a regular life

Suresh: Then why are you buying?

Shivoo: I want to …I really love agriculture

Suresh: Sorry Sir, I won’t sell it to you. Please don’t force me

Shivoo: <Surprised> Okay I wont force you. But out of curiosity, I want to know why you don’t want to sell it to me

Suresh: Sir …My wife used to accompany me earlier whenever I used to visit our land, but due to her bad health these days, she is unable to join me.

These days, every time I say, I am visiting the farm; my wife wakes up at 4.30AM and prepares food for me to carry to my farm. She is more excited than me. She loves it so much! . She waits for me to come home to ask me every detail of every plant and tree in the land. Its like as if she is talking to each and every plant in my land through me.

If my wife didn’t like me doing farming, she is likely to curses me or the land for wasting her weekend without me at home. In that environment, the plants won’t grow in my land. They talk to us and if we listen we can hear them too !

They are living beings and just water and manure wont do the trick; they need positivity all around them, especially from your better half!

Its not enough to have a Green Thumb to be a successful agriculturist, you need a wife with a green tongue to have a greener land 

MY SHORT STORY 48: I am searching for my Raam!

Was spending a nice evening with friends, when my mobile rang…The number was not from my address book. Normally I don’t pick calls from unknown numbers but this time, something inside me told me …PICK IT UP!

Shivoo: Hello..

Stranger: Is this Shivoo?

Shivoo: Yes it is, may I know who’s speaking?

Stranger: My name is Raam and I have some bad news for you.

Shivoo: Yes, please…

Raam: Your father has met with an accident. A bus knocked him off while he was riding his bike

Shivoo: Is he okay?

Raam: Cannot say anything now …I have brought him to Bowring Institute and they are administering first aid

Shivoo: Thanks a lot …I will be there in next 10minutes

I drove to hospital and that was the longest 5km drive in my life. When I reached ICU, I found out that he was out of danger and he would recover completely from the head injury he suffered …

Doctor: You are very lucky Sir. If that person had not got him on time to the hospital, your father would not have made it

Shivoo: I know …I should thank him. Where is he?

Doctor: He did all the entry formalities in hospital, paid the bill and he left without giving his number

Shivoo: oh! …I have his number, let me call him

I called the last received number in my phone. The phone next to Doctor started ringing…

Doctor: He called you from our nurse’s phone. He didn’t leave his number

I always believed in angels do exist but had never experienced it myself. From that day, I do stop at every accident spot, not to find out more about the accident but to see if I can help personally in anyway.

I have saved people but I always search for Raam everywhere in the crowd, without realizing I have become Raam for many …

MY SHORT STORY 47: We want a Divorce!

Madan and Revathi were going through a bitter divorce battle. It hadn’t reached the courts yet but the discussion within family and friends were draining both of them. The war was on …It was not fight for custody of kids anymore; it was more a fight of egos!

They had forgotten the days when Madan had to elope to get married to Revathi by selling his only priced possession, The RX Yamaha bike. Revathi had to sell her only earring her loving dad had gifted her in her 16th birthday, none of those things mattered anymore sadly.

The entire family had gathered around Madan and Revathi. Pitambar uncle was one of the elders of the family

Pitambar: What is the matter kids? Have you both decided?

Madan: Yes uncle, we have decided to go ahead with divorce legally. We are not able to decide who gets this house?

Pitambar: But kids remember …

The only thing worse than regretting being married to the wrong person is the regret of divorcing the right one!

By then, suddenly another couple Girish and Sanjana started fighting

Girish: I am also out of this relationship. I want to start a fresh life !

Sanjana; I am okay too. I want to live life. Show the papers and get my signatures today

Girish: Okay, I don’t care about this house and the properties I have made. Take them all

Sanjana: So what do you want?

Girish:

I want my share of the smiles we shared since I first saw you.

I want my share my tears I have shed on your shoulders

I want my precious youth I spent willingly with you

I want to die with you so that I wont leave you alone in heaven too

I want my share of all my memories with you

I want my share of grand kids

Sanjana and Girish are the great grand parents of the family. They have been married for 50 years now and were each 80 years old!

Girish: Divorcing is not just about sharing wealth after separation its about the emotional investments made in the last so many years of living together. You can never split them. Think before you fight for petty reasons!

Its okay to separate and go your own ways but don’t insult the precious years spent together. It had some meaning and let it remain precious in your memories. You might not miss the person, but surely will miss the memories. Things end but memories last forever

Suddenly the mansion, Madan and Revathi were fighting for looked very small in front of their kid’s sad face…

MY SHORT STORY 46: Hunger has no religion

We were all busy exchanging Bevu (Neem) and Bella (Jaggery) this Ugadi festival to remind us that the life is a mix of disappointment and happiness and we need to have realistic expectation of our life.

My Sister had invited my family for a sumptuous lunch at her place. We wore our traditional dress and were excited to savor the different kinds of sweets and specials she would have cooked..

While we were walking towards her house, I noticed a young boy aged 12 smiling at me. I recognized the boy; he was George from our neighborhood.

Shivoo: George, how come you are here?

George: Its Ugadi Sir, so came to your neighbor’s house for lunch

Shivoo: So you celebrate Ugadi too…not bad

George: Yes I do; By the way, I have changed my name to Harish

Shivoo: How come? I thought you were a Christian

Harish: Yes I was but I got converted to Hinduism

Shivoo: Did anybody force you to this conversion?

Harish: No Sir! I got converted willingly

Shivoo: You are too young to understand religion. You don’t have to convert to any other religion. You can be who you are and be proud of it

Harish:

I know that Sir, but my hunger doesn’t understand religion. I realized there are more Hindu festivals than Christian festivals. Hence more opportunity to be invited home for lunch and more opportunities to satisfy my hunger.

I am an orphan and the uncle I live with is very poor. He takes me to church every week but I see GOD everyday in people who feed me. So for me religion doesn’t matter as long as I am getting good food to eat

Shivoo: I know what you are saying. But Church also provides free food for the needy

Harish: Yes they do but I like the taste of your food 🙂

Shivoo: Don’t worry. Whenever you are hungry come to my house as George or Harish or Sayed. You will always be served food.

Harish opens a small calendar, which has all the festivals of Hindu, Muslims and Christians. He checks something in the calendar and says …

Harish: Thanks Sir…I will come home for the next festival, which falls next week. What’s special?

Shivoo: Special is you coming to my house. 

Hunger indeed doesn’t have religion. We waste so much food without realizing how many hungry souls are waiting for us to take one small step to make our society an inclusive one …

MY SHORT STORY 45: Is there a win-win in career development?

We had a new HR manager, Anand joining our company. He came in with a good experience from one of the top 5 MNCs in the world. After 2 days of settling in, he wanted to meet me to brainstorm about management trainings and its effectiveness in our company. After the initial 15minutes of introduction and quick experience run-through of each other, we got down to business

Anand: With so many years of experience, I have seen you attending all management-training programs very diligently. Do you strongly believe that these programs can add value to you now also?

Shivoo: Of course yes, I strongly believe in “Life Long Learner” concept and every program has helped me understand the underlying principles in a different and a strong way. It helps reinforce things I have learnt

Anand: Good to hear that. Shivoo, let me ask you a very sensitive question?

Shivoo: <Smiles> Watch out ! you will get a honest answer. You think you can digest it?

Anand: <Smiles? What would you do when you are stuck in your career and cannot grow because of your manager? 

Shivoo: Can you elaborate a bit more…

Anand: Lets assume your manager is comfortable in his position and doesn’t take additional responsibilities and risk. He is very happy in his comfort zone – with his current role and responsibilities, he doesn’t want to grow further. Because he doesn’t grow, there are no additional responsibilities added to the charter.  Which means, no business requirements and lack of opportunity results in no growth, what would you do?

Shivoo: <Without thinking much> I would start distributing resume

Anand: Come on, that’s what everyone would do. I thought you were a fighter. What happened? Why did you give up so easily?

Shivoo: I am not one of those guys, who would cave in when there is no opportunity to grow…I create opportunity so that the whole team can grow with me

Anand: Then why would you quit without trying?

Shivoo: <Smiling> I didn’t say, I will distribute my resume in the market. I will distribute my manager’s resume in the market with lot of good words and recommendations. He gets a job outside with a better salary, he wins and in return I win and the whole team wins!

Anand: <Surprised> you gave a completely different meaning to Win-Win today!!

MY SHORT STORY 44: A true entrepreneur, Nuber!

Last month, 630AM, when I wanted a cab to get to work from my house.  I tried my usual Ola Prime, which has a free Internet option, but as it had a surcharge of 1.9x, I decided to try Uber instead. Luckily i got a car immediately but it was a UBERGO. I thought of trying it ..

When I got into the car, I was pleasantly surprised when the driver, Nagaraj offered me a complementary bottle of water and English news paper!

Shivoo: When did Uber started to offer water and newspaper?

Driver: Sir its not Uber, Its Nuber’s idea?

Shivoo: Nuber?

Nagaraj: Nagaraj’s Uber

Shivoo: <Smiling> Good idea

Nagaraj: I also have a 4G connection for INR50 if you are interested.

As I had a 4G connection, which works in remote mountains and forests but not in Metros, I decided to try his 4G connection, which was from a different service provider

Shivoo: Okay I would like to try.

Nagaraj: <After sometime> Hope the connection speed is good

Shivoo: Yes it is. Thank you, It’s a good idea. Do you make profit out of it?

Nagaraj: Yes Sir, I make a small profit as most of my passengers buy the “Drive Pack”

Shivoo: Why don’t you add more service to passengers?

Nagaraj: Good suggestion Sir. Let me think about it. Sir if you plan to leave at the same time tomorrow, I can switch on the app at the same time you are leaving so you can be my first ride

Shivoo: Sure

Next day, I got the same cab as we synchronized our departure

Shivoo: Good morning Nagaraj! So what have you added today?

Nagaraj: <Proudly> I seriously thought about what you suggested and have added a biscuit packs, snack bars and chips for the passengers. Its MRP + 50%

Shivoo: Not a bad idea. But why 50% premium?

Nagaraj: I thought I will have more wastage than regular shop owner so had to cover that so I calculated monthly sales and thought 50% would cover all losses plus will give me a good profit too

Shivoo: Good …Think hard and add few more but not suddenly. Give it two weeks and then add

Nagaraj: Why is that?

Shivoo: Else you won’t know the true impact of each of the additional service you are offering to customers

Nagaraj: That’s right sir …I will wait for 2 weeks and add more services

Next two weeks, I was traveling to Taiwan. So when I was back, I was curious to know how Nagaraj was doing. Got into Nuber car in the morning

Shivoo: Nagaraj, you have a happy face. So what’s happening?

Nagaraj: The sales exceeded my expectations. I am doing better than the shop next to my house!

Shivoo: So what is the new addition?

Nagaraj: As I already had a 4G connection, I thought adding an Android tablet would be good. So I bought a INR8000 Android tablet and I offer it to non-IT passengers who come in

Shivoo: Great! So how is it working?

Nagaraj: I might recover the cost of the tablet in 2 months! Then its only profit. My biggest customers have been kids using tablet to play games

Shivoo: So what next?

Nagaraj: I am planning to keep a Shopping Cart with Charger, Battery pack and other smaller gadgets

Shivoo: So what’s the USP of your Cart?

Nagaraj: What is USP?

Shivoo: Unique Selling point …(In local language)

Nagaraj: Oh ! My USP is all products are less than INR500

Shivoo: Why INR500?

Nagaraj: My target is only impulsive buyer so price point is very important

Shivoo: <Surprised> Where did you learn all these things?

Nagaraj: Common sense Sir, Common Sense

I remembered our IIMB professor saying, MBA is all about putting a structure and definition to our common sense. 

Shivoo: Amazing buddy! You will do great.

Nagaraj: I am also planning to buy back massager and leg massager when I generate enough profit and offer to passengers at a price. All I need is additional Car Charging port!

I saw the new paper covering a big article on today’s new age entrepreneur  – The Uber and Ola Founders. I thought to myself, in the age of startups that have big fancy plans and no profits, we have here Nagaraj, a true entrepreneur. I am sure there are more people like him who need to be encouraged and used as an example for encouraging a common man

MY SHORT STORY 43: The wonderful journey of a cake from the baker to the dining table to the refrigerator to the trash box

It was a ringing in the birthday party at one of the prestigious clubs in Bangalore. Our usual gang of friends – “Namma Samsara” meaning “Our family” met at 9 PM. Everyone had a blast till 12, cut an expensive ” Ferrero Rocher Special Chocolate Cake”, settled a meager bill of INR 15,000 and walked out of the club to get into our cars. All my calorie conscious friends took a Sparrow Bite of the cake and the whole cake was literary being tossed at everyone to check who will take it home.

Sanjay: Shivoo, why don’t you take the cake home so that your kids can enjoy the cake tomorrow?

Shivoo: Nah! Not my house. Nobody eats cake at our house

Latha: Rama why don’t you take the cake home and give it to his brother’s kids?

Rama: Okay i will take it

Shivoo: I am sure you will keep it in your refrigerator for 2 days and then eventually throw it in the “Food recycling” green bin!

Rama: <Smiled>

Just then a young boy (around 12 years) approached me and was begging for money/food

Boy: Please give me something to eat. I haven’t had food all day

I took a piece of cake from the box Rama was holding and gave it to the boy. The boy silently sat in the corner and finished the cake and gave me a big smile

Shivoo: Here, take another piece

Boy: Thanks Anna (Brother). Its really nice. I haven’t eaten this kind of cake ever in my life

After few minutes, i could see a very contended look on his face and the innocent face had a divine smile. I turned at Rama and said ..

Shivoo: Rama, lets give the entire box to this boy. At least he can eat it tomorrow

Rama: Of course, take it

I gave the cake box to the boy.

Boy: No, I don’t want it. I am already full

Shivoo: Why don’t you take it home and share it with your brother/sister

Boy: I have only a sister, so just give me another piece for her

Shivoo: Why don’t you take it all home? And what are you carrying in your school bag? Books?

Boy: This is my home. I sleep on this footpath with my sister who is selling flowers on the other side of the road. So I cannot keep the cake for tomorrow. I don’t want to waste it. You can take it home. And in the bag, I have a blanket for the night

Suddenly all the fun element in my body disappeared and he got me wondering…

I could see Rama’s eyes filled with tears…

Shivoo: Rama, all of us talk about not wasting food, donating to the needy, spending wisely etc. But here is a hungry soul, who is a living example of what we all want to be. Not only did he not want to waste food, but also does not want to take more than what he needs. He is so contended with today’s life and even his acute hunger doesn’t make him a miser like you and me to hoard more and more for tomorrow!

I turned to the boy and gave him my card.

Shivoo: Any day, you feel like going to school like other children, call me at this number. I will be more than happy to take up your responsibilities

Boy: <Confused> I don’t understand, how studying can satisfy my hunger. I don’t have parents and all I have is my sister. I will talk to her and call you. Can she also come to school with me?

I was speechless …I am sure I will wait for that call from that boy or his sister. I hope that day, the TrueCaller app on my phone displays the unknown number as “Child in need”

While I was driving home, I remembered the “Animal Instincts” of always killing a prey only when they are hungry. Somewhere evolution has changed us from a good animal to a bad human!

MY SHORT STORY 42: Hindi word motivators for Indian entrepreneurs!

I was invited to a talk at a Startup event recently. When I entered the venue, I could see some familiar faces from the previous events.  I knew the slides prepared would not match the expectations of this inquisitive crowd. So on the spot, decided to cut short the presentation and spend more time in Q&A.

After my brief talk, it was time for the Q&A. I was expecting some interesting questions and I was not disappointed. ‘

Participant1: Shivoo, The presentation was good. You presented the data very precisely and gave your perspective on the startups. But to be honest, I was expecting something new from you

Shivoo: So what do you want to hear?

Partipant2: Smiles> Your usual controversial comments

Shivoo: Okay, let me give you seven Indian acronyms and Hindi words for startups, which I think, as entrepreneurs you all should know

Partipant1: This is what I was talking about …We are all ears Shivoo Smiles>

Shivoo: Okay here is the first one, GMD.

1. You need to have GMD as an entrepreneur  to make it  !

Partipant3: GMD as in G*** mein masti ! ????

Shivoo: Yes, as westerners say, unless you have fire in your belly, you won’t make it through the hard journey of entrepreneurship. So always have enough GMD to ensure your vision and dream is put into reality. Don’t ever give up!

Shivoo: The second one is about problem solving – BLBL.

2. BLBL stands for “Bhag Lo or Bhaag Lo”

Bhag Lo means, “participate” and Bhaag Lo means, “Run away”. So whenever you face a problem, ensure you are clear about these 2 extremes. Either participate in solving the problem or stay away from the problem.

Partipant4: How can you stay away from a problem? You need to own it else it would be chaos!

Shivoo: Exactly, that brings me to the third word –

3. SIFU SAFU!

Partipant4: Sorry, I did not get you!

Shivoo: Whenever you are faced with a problem, remember to analyze the root cause of it and define if its a SIFU – Self Inflicted F*** Ups or SAFU – Self Adjusting F*** Ups ! If it’s SIFU, you have inflicted it so “Bhag Lo” and fix it. If its SAFU, its self adjusting anyway, so “Bhaag Lo”

Shivoo: Fourth one is very important,

4. stay away from “Selfiepedia”

Partipant5: I know Wikipedia, what is this Selfiepedia ?

Shivoo: Most of the entrepreneurs think; they know everything. They create their own Wikipedia, which I call as Selfiepedia. Ego brings in complacency. So always watch out and stay away from Selfiepedia. Work as a team, delegate the responsibilities and drive what you are good at in the company instead of owning it all and creating a mess out of it!

I continued …

Shivoo: Fifth one is about your own perception and ego.

5. You are the “Bhai and bai” of your startup!

Sometimes you need to be the “Bhai” meaning a big brother to all and be their mentor and leader to guide them to safety. Sometimes you are the “bai” meaning a maid of your startup! You might end of serving Coffee/Tea to everyone or be the delivery boy of your startup. You have to wear both the hats constantly without reservations and apprehension. Because end of the day, its your baby!

Shivoo: Sixth one is

6. “QSQT” …Here QSQT doesn’t stand for “Qayamat Se Qayamat tak” movie name but it stands for “Quarter Se Quarter Tak”

Having a long-term plan is important but ensure you have quarterly milestones defined and ensure it happens at any cost

Shivoo: Finally

7. Be the “Dalla” of your product.

Nobody can do a better job of salesmanship than you for your product. So passionately, own up and be a proud “Dalla” of your product and company

I could see some smiling faces and some ready to stroll me on Twitter and Facebook for using some of the “unholy” words! But that’s me, I signed off with a smile

 

 

MY SHORT STORY 41: She is mine …Only mine!

It was a hectic weekday, 8 PM; I walk into UB City, Skyye Bar. The bar was almost empty and I settled myself into the nice couch at the corner of the rooftop restaurant. There were two gentlemen in a very emotional conversation. As that conversation was much better than the presentation I was working on, I shut my laptop, ordered a drink and started listening to them…

Man1: Praveen, Tell me what is the main problem?

Praveen: Sagar, You won’t understand, you are young, handsome and making so much more money than I am.

Sagar: What has that to do with Devi?

Praveen: Everything! Have you noticed Devi lately? She is getting too close to you. I do not like it one bit. She is ignoring me

Sagar: That’s true because I love her more than you do!

Praveen: Sagar, remember I have loved her for 35 years! Just because she got a younger man, she cannot forget me

Sagar: You have already lost her buddy. She selflessly had worked hard to keep you happy. For once she wants to do something for herself. Let her! She isn’t staying with you no more. She is moving in with me

Praveen: I won’t let that happen. I will break your face before that happens.

Sagar: Don’t act like a child now. Learn to live by yourself. In few weeks, you will be fine

Praveen starts searching something frantically in his pockets …so Sagar asks

Sagar: What are you searching now?

Praveen: My gun! She is so hot, I love her very much. I won’t let this happen. My life will be shattered

Sagar: Dad, it’s time we go now. You have had too much to drink and you are blabbering now. She is coming with me to US for just 3 months and you are acting like this?

Praveen hugs his son and says

Praveen: I love her a lot. You know that. I cannot stay without her. Book my tickets too

That’s when I ordered my second drink…