A Beginner's Mind

Before the law, there stands a guard. A man comes from the country, begging admittance to the law. But the guard cannot admit him. May he hope to enter at a later time? That is possible, said the guard. The man tries to peer through the entrance. He'd been taught that the law was to be accessible to every man. "Do not attempt to enter without my permission", says the guard. I am very powerful. Yet I am the least of all the guards. From hall to hall, door after door, each guard is more powerful than the last. By the guard's permission, the man sits by the side of the door, and there he waits. For years, he waits. Everything he has, he gives away in the hope of bribing the guard, who never fails to say to him "I take what you give me only so that you will not feel that you left something undone." Keeping his watch during the long years, the man has come to know even the fleas on the guard's fur collar. Growing childish in old age, he begs the fleas to pe...

I woke up from what felt like a deep sleep, I could move my hands, I could move my feet, I was hungry, I was thirsty but I was not in control, I cried, I tried, I drank, I ate, but mostly I slept, and one day I stood up; I laughed at my first fall just a few steps away from the start, I stood up again and again I fell, but after several falls I learnt to walk, I learnt to talk; and boy I laughed! I was told I was ready to learn, I was, I was told I was ready to work, I was, I was told I was ready to love, I was, and then I forgot to fall; I was asleep again, but this time I saw a dream, I fell, I stood up and then I fell again; It was the dream of a modern man, When i realized this, i found out what all did i miss; The fear, the laughter, the before, the after; I was too tangled to see what did and didn't matter; Now that I am awake, i hope to give it a second take I plan to reclaim, my sense of wonder and exclaim, And who knows, ...

Read an interesting article today on how ecommerce retailers are opening physical stores to augment online sales. I think it’s a brilliant idea though I have a different approach for tackling it, especially in India. An online retailer, say Flipkart, should open one store in each of their major markets. These stores – called Flipkart Bestsellers – feature only items with purchases of over 10,000 in last 6 months for each category - electronics, clothing, home, baby products etc. This approach has several advantages: The Right fit  - It makes it easier for customers to find the right product fit especially for clothing. If a new design of shirt is a best seller but I am between standard sizes its more convenient for me to go for a trial rather than ordering 2 sizes and going through the return loop. A Custom experience  – Like the best selling shirt but wish it had blue stripes instead of red? Ask the store to create this. Promotions around "just customized...

The artist is the only realist. He understands the meaning and importance of pain and seeks it nevertheless. The artist understands the duality of mind and packages reality with all its vicissitudes in sensory drivers as images, words and sound - with the hope of nullifying our inertia. The artist hopes to wake us up, he hopes that we recognize reality and accept it. All art as all life is thus driven by hope, by expectation. To assume that art expects only appraisal is to restrict its potential. Art solely expects a reaction. This reaction can take any form. It can stimulate, disparage, enunciate or simply acknowledge reality as presented by the artist. How then do we define a successful artist? A successful artist can only be assessed by the "variety of reactions" his art conjures. More diverse the reactions more successful the artist is. True art is the skill of packaging diversity in a single piece - as a poem, a painting, a story or a symphony. If a painting or...