How I became a Detroit Lions fan...

At the age of 36, I became a football 🏈 fan and at the age of 36, I became a Lions fan.... In fact I became a Lions fan first....yeah!

I am an Indian citizen and have been to the US many times for work. During my last long stint there, I was in Virginia and then landed in, what turned out to be my favorite city, Toledo, Ohio.
I didn't know anything about American football 🏈. For me football was what Americans would call soccer ⚽.

When I came to Toledo - spent 2 amazing years there - I came in touch of my cousin and her kids, of which 2 were boys - one a 7yr old and the other 5 at that time. This 7yr old boy taught me what 🏈 is, basic rules and actually made me a fan. He would talk about it so enthusiastically and sit with me the whole time until I understood it.
My elder brother was in Detroit for his undergrad in late 80s and 90s, and even now I have a lot of extended family around Detroit, and as I became more interested in the game, under their influence I got drawn towards the Lions.

Being from India and a fan of game of cricket, I grew up in the 80s and 90s, watching the Indian cricket team (also blue colors) with extremely talented players but still losing regularly or not winning much tournaments, except sporadic success. For some reason I could see a semblance between the two.
My brother would keep talking of Detroit city and the Lions team of 90s and how they always got screwed in key games by rules and refs. Then I saw a documentary on Barry Sanders on YouTube and I fell in love with the Lions. I started watching the games and saw how Stafford and Calvin Johnson kept the team going.. I saw someone like Louis Delmas giving it everything for the team despite his injuries and I had no option but to go for Lions. I developed a soft spot for the Detroit city too...

Now, I live in India since 2014. In these last 4 seasons, I have not missed a SINGLE lions game even though the games are played at either 22:30 or 23:30 hrs on Sunday nights India time or 2 in the morning on Tuesdays. I look forwards to that all the time.. Most of the times I go to bed frustrated but wake up the next day full of hope that 1 day my Lions would be the Champs and I would throw a party in India to celebrate that.

Think of it.... I have spent sometime around Boston, New Jersey and Virginia and so I had many teams to pick from to be a fan...  could have picked Patriots, Jets/Giants, Redskins... But I ended up being a Lions fan and I don't regret it a bit! Go Lions!

Monsoon special.. મને પ્રેમ નહીં પચે

મને બહુ પ્રેમ નહીં પચે,
હું માણેકબાગ ની ગટર ના ઢાંકણા સમો,
તારા પ્રેમ ની એક નજર માત્ર બહુ છે
મને છલકાઈ જાવા માટે,
ના, મને બહુ પ્રેમ નહીં પચે.

તારી આ રોંગસાઈડ પર ચલાવવાની લત,
હું જાણે BRTS ની બસ,
એમાં પાછા આ cctv કેમેરા,
ના હોં, મને પ્રેમ નહીં પચે.

હવે તો એક કામ થાય તો ઠીક,
પા ઇંચ વરસાદ પડે, ને તું મને મેહતા પર મલે,
૧૦૦ ગ્રામ ગાંઠિયા,૨૦૦ કઢી, તો તારો સંગાથ થોડો ગમે,
બાકી, ના હવે, મને બહુ પ્રેમ નહીં પચે...

#KashWrites
26 June 2018

Random response...

People died
We let him fly
yes..Union carbide

We sold waves
corruption pays
Was not the case
Zero loss was the base

When the big tree fell
The earth did shake
Thousands died
Because of the quake 

Guns were great
for nation's sake
Ppl are fool
Kickbacks were cool

Will make u judge
said a collegue to her
Right in his chamber
and got laid

Coal was black
green was the stash
sold it to friends
had a loud bash

Crown prince is clown
but I cannot frown
When chips are down
bring Rohingyas to town

India is cool
we always drool
when an attack here
an incidence there
Let's get the family
out of despair!

बरसात rain

आज मैं निकल पड़ा हूँ,
कुछ सपने संजोने,
कुछ ख़्वाब बेचने,
कुछ यादें भिगोने,
कुछ लम्हें मिटाने,
क़तरे समेटने,
कुछ वादे बेचने...
...आज बरसात हुई है,
आज फ़िर निकल पड़ा हूँ।

मोहब्बत

मोहब्बत न सही.... एहसास ही करा दे,
ज़िंदा रहने के लिए साँस काफ़ी नहीं |
#KashWrites

कहानी

हमदम, हमराज़, हमसफर ना हमदर्द,
छोटी सी बस कहानी  थी मेरी।
#KashWrites

तसल्ली ..

आ ज़िन्दगी..
ज़रा आमने सामने बैठ..
दो दो हाथ कर लेते हैं..
तसल्ली तो होगी ..
शिकस्त से पहले..
मैंने भी क्या किस्मत आज़माई थी..
#KashWrites

Akhbar.. Newspaper..again

बस्ती में आग की कभी ख़बर पढ़ा करते थे,
अख़बार तो अब पूरा शहर जला देता है।
#KashWrites

Diversity, Inclusion and Us...

*Part of blog competition at work (Capgemini) during Diversity week in March 2017*

What is Diversity? Is it just people from different countries or cultures or religions or education? Is it just people of different race, color, gender, physical appearance?

Let us look at the dictionary meaning of Diversity – “the condition of having or being composed of differing elements”.

Honestly, diversity is everyday life – it is any person other than me. In fact many a times it is Me – me as human that goes through thousands of thoughts, ideas, likes, dislikes, emotions for any given situation. It is a range of clashing emotions that is more often than not, for myself that sometimes also forces me to classify others whom I deem different. Now expand this “I” to a group of demographically, culturally alike people and we have an exclusive group of individuals who are arguably similar. Now bring these groups of different “culturally alike people” together and it is diversity – whether in a team or an organization or in a country.

So, what is Inclusion? Is it mere acceptance of the fact that diversity is all around us? Is it mere cosmetic acceptance of people and practices that are not similar to mine?

On the face of it, Inclusion seems a very fashionable, elitist and idealist word that is good to read in poems, books and in the value structures of organizations. In some sense “Diversity” and “Inclusion” seem like an oxymoron.

But, then it is the only way forward in a world that has become more and more connected with people more and more aspiring, self-confident and at the same time, feeling more and more wanted with a strong sense of identity.

This is more so evident in an organization like ours where it is not only a mixed bag of nationalities, cultures, race and religions, but also of ideas, beliefs and competition. That is where Inclusion comes in – not just mere acceptance but respect and appreciation for the variety that comes with diversity. It is about embracing the idea of variety and living and moving forward together.

Coming from a country like India, which in itself is a land of a thousand cultures and contradictions, diversity is everyday life. It gives me an opportunity to open my mind to learn about the diverse cultures and lifestyles of different people. It enriches me to become a progressive person, it helps me appreciate life, it empowers me to appreciate the opportunity to be different and still contribute to my organization’s growth without losing my identity, without being told how different I am.

I come from the Patni days - and the transition from there to IGATE and then to Capgemini has not been always been smooth. I have worked with different teams and clients in different regions during this course and still am in awe of how much I have to learn. Is it always beautiful? NO! There are clashes, there are false pretenses, there are me-over-you moments and vice versa. But that is the beauty of it all, as ultimately all come together as a bouquet of flowers – variety of colors, fragrance, size and shape..and yes, thorns too! It is one BIG melting pot!

At the end of the day, that is what makes me and all of us better humans and this organization a better place to work.

Naxalites ..

करना है तो इन नक्सलियों की पूरी नस्ल लाल कर दो,
बस अब ये कड़ी से कड़ी निंदा करना छोड़ दो।
#SukmaMassacre #CRPF

Today 26 CRPF jawans were killed in am ambush by naxals in Sukma... As usual govt gave condolences..