Serendipity and Learning

I was talking to my uncle recently and we happened to talk about organizations. He runs practically a lean single person operation and hence his constant focus is to prioritize and do only the things that are the most important for his customers. Anything else is de-prioritized. Unfortunately, as organizations grow larger, this focus is lost and there is a lot of pride in 'activity'. As they say in spirituality, mistaking 'activity' for 'action' is very common. 'Activity' and 'Action' are one and the same. A lot of 'activity' does not contribute anything for the 'economy'. Like NREGA. One of the major criticisms levied against NREGA is that it is a ditch digging and filling exercise and does not result in asset creation or in contribution to the economy. It is very tempting to create work where none exists - what we miss out that is all that 'work creation' if it does not result in meaningful contribution to what th...

I love cooking. Thats a bit of a lie. I love cooking, but equally detest the 'getting ready' and the 'putting away' part. But sometimes, even that is worth it. Over the last few years, I have discovered yet another joy of the internet - the hyperlink cook. Through various sites, random linking, people on twitter and posted on some of my favourite sites - I have attempted and succeeded in making various global and Indian delicacies. All vegetarian, but thats a minor detail really. There is much joy in searching for ingredients of something you want to make.Sometimes collecting all the ingredients takes a little while, but it is worth it. One day, I felt like having avial, a traditional Kerala dish and after a bit of googling and adjustment with the ingredients we had at home I had perhaps the most delicious avial I have had in recent times. Ditto with a coconut chutney that I once felt like eating. And realized that these dishes are not as complicated as they are ...