Thursday, May 31, 2012

Quit Smoking on WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY 2012

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY 2012

Click the link above and learn how to QUIT SMOKING on World No Tobacco Day 2012
(NIL Withdrawal Symptoms)

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

From Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve : THE MOGUL PRINCIPLE

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: THE MOGUL PRINCIPLE


THE MOGUL PRINCIPLE

The Mogul Principle
THE MOGUL RAJ CONTINUES
ONE MOGUL REPLACES ANOTHER MOGUL
By
VIKRAM KARVE

This happened long back, more than 33 years ago, in the early days of my naval career, when I was a bright young officer.

It was the farewell party of our boss, the Captain of our ship.

Everyone was happy to see him go ashore on transfer at the end of his tenure, for he had been a terrible boss, a ruthless taskmaster, quite a tyrant, and he had made our life hell.

A strict authoritarian disciplinarian, he wielded total power and commanded the ship like a martinet, ruling us like an absolute monarch.

As far as he was concerned, it was “his” ship and there were just two categories of people on-board:

HE (the supreme master and commander)
and
WE (the rest of the crew, which included everyone else starting from the second-in-command right down the junior-most sailor).

He exemplified the naval saying immortalized by Captain Queeg in the classic Navy Novel by Herman Wouk – THE CAINE MUTINY:

“…there are four ways of doing things on this ship – The Right Way, the Wrong Way, theNavy Way, and My Way. On my ship we do things My Way…”

I had nicknamed him: “MOGUL”.

At the farewell party, whisky was flowing freely and everyone was thoroughly enjoying the party, downing peg after peg of the choicest whisky, happy to see off “Mogul” and celebrating in anticipation of the forthcoming “freedom” from “Mogul Tyranny”.

For me, it was an evening of mixed emotions, since it was my farewell party as well, for as luck would have it, by sheer coincidence, I too was going ashore on transfer.

In fact, our tenures, Mogul’s and mine, had been coincidental – we joined on board ship on the same day and we were leaving the ship together.

As it is customary to “look after” the farewell guest very well, my shipmates had plied me with plenty of whisky, peg after peg, down the hatch, and by the time I was called upon to deliver my farewell speech, I was feeling very “nice”.

As I told you once in my blog: In the Navy, Officers don’t get Drunk – they only feel “nice”.

And I was feeling awfully “nice”.

Being the junior, I was called to deliver my farewell speech first.

As I told you, I was feeling awfully “nice” due to the enormous amount of whisky I had imbibed.

At first, I said the customary things – I thanked my shipmates, talked about the good times we had together in the wardroom, but as I spoke, my inhibitions started peeling off, and then, in a spurt of audaciousness thanks to the Dutch Courage fuelled by the alcohol flowing in my veins, gesticulating towards the Captain, I blurted out:

“I know all of you are happy to see off this Mogul. But remember one thing – ONE MOGUL REPLACES ANOTHER MOGUL. Don’t be too happy, since it may well turn out that the new Mogul may be worse than this Mogul. And then you will reminisce and remember the “good old days” you had under this Mogul.”

After uttering those words, I narrated the story of one my favourite books – ANIMAL FARM (an allegorical novel by George Orwell) where the tyrant humans are overthrown by the animals, who achieve “freedom”, but soon, the pigs, who led the uprising, gradually assume control, and eventually the pigs become worse tyrants than the humans and they make life hell for all the other animals.

A few months later I ran into one of my ex-shipmates and he told me that my prediction had come true. Life onboard had indeed become so terrible under the new Captain that in the evenings, everyone sat in the wardroom drowning their sorrows and reminiscing about the “good old days” in the earlier “Mogul Empire”.

“The earlier Mogul was a bullshitter, but at least he was an honest bloke,” my ex-shipmate said, “but this new Mogul is not only a terrible bullshitter but he is a bloody freeloader to boot!”

Isn’t this “Mogul” theory true in real life too?

Leaders come and leaders go, elections happen, governments change, regimes come and go, sometimes democracy becomes dictatorship and dictatorship becomes democracy, socialism metamorphoses into globalization, liberalization, crony capitalism – all sorts of things happen, but for you and me and the common man (the “aam aadmi”) nothing much changes and our lives remain just the same (in fact, sometimes, it may even get worse).

Of course, there are exceptions – yes, there are a few genuine leaders who really make a difference, but nowadays, such examples are few and far between. But, by and large, the Mogul Principle prevails.

So before you rejoice too much on hearing the news that your tyrant boss is going to go away, remember THE MOGUL PRINCIPLE :

“ONE MOGUL REPLACES ANOTHER MOGUL”

Cheers. Have a good day.


VIKRAM KARVE
Copyright © Vikram Karve 2012
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Did you like this article?
I am sure you will like the 27 short stories from my recently published anthology of Short Fiction COCKTAIL
To order your COCKTAIL please click any of the links below:
http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?affid=nme
http://www.indiaplaza.in/cocktail-vikram-karve/books/9788191091847.htm
http://www.apkpublishers.com/books/short-stories/cocktail-by-vikram-karve.html
COCKTAIL ebook
If you prefer reading ebooks on Kindle or your ebook reader, please order Cocktail E-book by clicking the links below:
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MGERZ6
SMASHWORDS
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/87925

Foodie Book: Appetite for a Stroll
If your are a Foodie you will like my book of Food Adventures APPETITE FOR A STROLL. Do order a copy from FLIPKART:
http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o

About Vikram Karve

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer. Educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories, creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional research papers in journals and edited in-house journals for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for almost 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing. Vikram lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Vikram Karve Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
Email: vikramkarve@sify.com

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Would You Write If You Were Never Getting Published? Yes, I would Blog

An interesting article for budding writers

Would You Write If You Were Never Getting Published?

The solution to this is to Blog.
If you blog, it is in your hands to "publish" your writing and make your writing accessible to readers.

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: DON'T DELVE TOO MUCH - My Favourite Short Stories Revisited Part 62

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: DON'T DELVE TOO MUCH - My Favourite Short Stories Revisited Part 62

Wednesday, May 09, 2012

From Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve - PUNE BLOGGERS MEET

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: PUNE BLOGGERS MEET



PUNE BLOGGERS MEET
A Report
By
VIKRAM KARVE

Part 1

When you “retire” you have two choices.

You can hang out with your fellow retiree “oldie-goldies” and make your life miserable in the company of pessimistic, gloomy, cynical old-fogies who keep living in the past, carping and complaining about the present, and speculating and worrying about the future.

In short you can succumb to what I call the “Auld Lang Syne” complex. This is guaranteed to make you feel older than your chronological age.

The other choice is to spend your time in the company of lively enthusiastic youngsters who have a zest for life. This is what I prefer to do, for it makes me feel young and cheerful.

That’s why I decided to attend and actively participate in the Pune Bloggers Meet the moment I came to know about it on the IndiBlogger IndiVine.

Chronologically I may have been the oldest participant, but those present will agree with me, that I am quite young at heart, and in enthusiasm and passion, I am as young as, or maybe, even “younger” than many who are half my age.

Though I have been blogging for around 9 years, this was my second Bloggers Meet.

Around 5 years ago (on 16 June 2007) I attended BlogCampPune at SCIT in theInfoTech Park in Hinjewadi. It was a huge sponsored affair and the focus was more on the business opportunities from Blogging,  rather than the creative aspects.

Though they called it an “unconference”, the proceedings were quite structured and the event was dominated by the marketing guys and the IT Nerds – the Bloggers hardly had any say. However, Blogging was still in its nascent stage in India, and as a budding blogger, this BLOG CAMP was quite an informative and instructive experience and I wrote a blog post about it the next day:

Though we got plenty to eat and lots of freebies, it was like attending a trade show or a seminar. I hardly got to personally interact with fellow bloggers and though I was educated about various aspects of blogging, especially from the technical and commercial points of view, there was nothing much for a simple blogger like me who blogged to showcase my creative writing and who wasn’t much interested in the business opportunities from blogging.

In contrast, the Pune Bloggers Meet (on 05 May 2012) which was more of a social get-together of the IndiBlogger Members of Pune, where the focus was on social interaction, fellowship and kinship, and the friendly informal atmosphere facilitated the formation of creative personal relationships between fellow Bloggers from Pune’s Blogging Community.

I am sure you have heard the famous Zen Story EMPTY YOUR CUP.

A university Professor went to visit a famous Zen Master. The Professor wanted to learn about Zen.

The Zen Master served Tea.

While the Zen Master quietly served tea, the Professor talked about Zen.

The Master poured the visitor's cup full to the brim, and then kept on pouring.

The Professor watched the overflowing cup and soon he could no longer restrain himself and so the Professor blurted out to the Zen Master, “Please stop pouring the tea. The cup is overfull. No more tea will go in.”

“You are like this cup, full of your own opinions and beliefs,” the Zen Master said, “How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup.”

The moral of the story is that even if you are an experienced  veteran, you must get rid the “Been There, Done That” mentality and keep your mind open to receiving new ideas. That is why I always “empty my cup” whenever I want to learn something. Though I am quite an experienced blogger I made sure that I emptied my “cup” before I went to the Bloggers Meet and this strategy paid me handsome dividends as it seamlessly enabled me to learn so many new things about blogging.

The Pune Bloggers Meet was scheduled to start at 11 AM on Saturday the 5th of May 2012 at RajLaxmi Sabhagruha, Kothrud, Pune. As per my habit, ingrained during my Navy days, I reached the venue well before time, at 10:45 AM, and was probably the first to reach, but soon Bloggers started trickling in, and in due course soon there was enough quorum start the meet.

In today’s parlance, it was an “awesome” event and the credit for this successful meet must go to the organizer Animesh Mishra and his volunteer colleagues, to IndiBlogger whose IndiBiker Vineet Rajan came all the way from Mumbai to attend, and, of course, to all the Bloggers from Pune who participated.

Well, it is past midnight, I am feeling sleepy now, so I will tell you more about what happened at the meet in Part 2 …

So, Dear Reader: Good Night, Sleep Tight, God Bless.

To be Continued in Part 2 …

VIKRAM KARVE 
Copyright © Vikram Karve 2012
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Did you like this post?
I am sure you will like the 27 fiction short stories from my recently published anthology of Short Fiction COCKTAIL 

To order your COCKTAIL please click any of the links below:
http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?affid=nme
http://www.indiaplaza.in/cocktail-vikram-karve/books/9788191091847.htm
http://www.apkpublishers.com/books/short-stories/cocktail-by-vikram-karve.html


COCKTAIL ebook
If you prefer reading ebooks on Kindle or your ebook reader, please order Cocktail E-book by clicking the links below:
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MGERZ6
SMASHWORDS
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/87925

Foodie Book:  Appetite for a Stroll
If your are a Foodie you will like my book of Food Adventures APPETITE FOR A STROLL. Do order a copy from FLIPKART:
http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o

About Vikram Karve

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer. Educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories, creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional research papers in journals and edited in-house journals for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for almost 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing. Vikram lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Vikram Karve Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
Email: vikramkarve@sify.com

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.