Discover the Writer in You

|From a Soldier’s Diary| Having served for more than two decades in one of the finest armies in the world,  I gained tremendous insights into the value system prevalent in the forces and why they do what they do. And I learned some great leadership skills while operating in the line of fire that I would now like to share with my audience. 1. Be a Magician. Your team must know that the buck stops at you - that when they approach you with their problems, they will definitely get a solution. The way you talk to them, the way you listen to them, the gentleness with which you channelize their efforts, your sense of humor especially when the tide is not in your favor, your mere presence as a mature and caring person- in short, your aura as someone who commands their respect and rules their hearts- that's what turns you as a leader into a magician. Remember, you are not there to cox and cajole your team, you are there to inspire and energize. 2. The Invisible Leader. Nelson M...

A Romantic Comedy It was a blind date. She had interacted with him over the FB and they decided to meet. As she entered the beach side restaurant on a warm winter afternoon, she stopped for a while to listen to the roar of splashing ocean waves crushing against the rocky shore. She looked stunning in a white skirt and a full sleeve, grey top. Her shiny black curls danced merrily on her shoulders as she strode confidently with her light blue, high heels. She could place him instantly. He was more handsome than his online photographs - fair, tall and masculine. But what she was struck by was his miserable condition. He sat there, at a corner table, holding his head between his hands, unshaven, uncombed, in a pair of crumpled jeans and T-shirt, looking sad, disturbed and disappointed. This certainly did not appeal to her as the correct 'date' stuff but still she strolled towards his table resolutely. 'Hi-I am Shalini,' she extended her hand. 'Aditya,...

  People called me James Pinto or simply...James. I was an automobile mechanic by profession. Guys said that there was magic in my hands. And that was true. Give me any monster of a car, no matter what condition – it would soon be rolling on the road, as good as new.   I loved my machines. So, it was no wonder that I died on the wheels – albeit of a different kind.   On that fateful day, I had boarded a train at Nandyal station in Andhra Pradesh. Actually, I had taken some leave to attend my nephew’s marriage. Marriages in our family are an elaborate affair. It took around three days for all ceremonies to wind up. My elder brother had come over to see me off at the station. As the train was about to move, he reminded me about the promise he had so arduously extracted out of me. I nodded silently. I saw his diminutive figure fading away as the train picked up speed, little knowing that I had met him for the last time that evening.   ...

Year after year; some idea of a profit or gain steered my New Year resolution. Giving up smoking -Going to the gym-Adding to my qualifications. Generally, these were the options that I would set aside and forget within a week or so. But this time, I decided to drop these dry calculations.  As I looked at 2021 in retrospect, all this sounded bogus and useless. In the past year, along with every single human being on earth, I had witnessed a trail of death and destruction that was unprecedented in human history. And the scale of this devastation was so vast that it redefined almost everything we were familiar with- work culture, relationships, daily routines, our attitude towards life but most important, in a brutal and most certain manner, it destroyed the human ego. The belief that we were in control was shattered to pieces. The false sense of pride that technologically, we were the most advanced species on the planet, this mistaken stance was finally put into its right place ...

    ‘The safety, honor and welfare of your country come first, always and every time. The honor, welfare and comfort of the men you command come next. Your own ease, comfort and safety come last, always and every time.’                                                                                                                                   Philip Chetwode It was in July 2011 that I decided to finally hang my uniform after having served for twenty one years in Indian Army. Having given my youth to this excellent profession of arms, I set out to explore what lay on the other side of the...