"I have the opportunity to race next year in the American Le Mans series in the United States, a key step towards my eventual dream of success in the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race," Drayson said in a letter to Brown.
"Unfortunately, it cannot be combined with the challenge of full time government office."
A British government minister has stepped down to follow his dream of becoming a race car driver.
Lord Drayson, Britain's defense procurement minister, is taking an indefinite leave of absence to compete in the American Le Mans series, Prime Minister Gordon Brown's office said Wednesday.
In a letter to Brown, Drayson described the chance to compete as a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" and "a key step towards my eventual dream of success in the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race."
News here and here
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
United Colors of
United colors of delhi.
These following pics particularly strike me as the things to come and the future awaiting India.
Modern Malls, Multi colored races and children of mixed parentage... well finally its the your turn, Delhi?!
Thats Wiebka from Germany, Chipo from Zimbabwe and Vik from Delhi. Snap taken in the newly built Shopping mall in New Delhi.
Look up - make a choice
Just remember that there are some people out there who are doing this..... so just buck up!
Someone is driving this great Indian auto rickshaw, unbelievable that this is found in the midst of the modern New Delhi next to the
BMWs, Landcruisers.
There is Stephen Duros who sets up lighting to shows such as these and travels half the world with the rock bands.
Brave new world.. a bit cold
I am here, in New delhi now. I got a nice big flat in the suburbs. Its big and empty.
I look forward to making a home out of it.
But i feel mentally challenged, especially due to the cold.
I have been in crowded settlmeents before (Mumbai) but my new locality has an eerie combination of wide open spaces around innumerable 10-12 storeyed buildings. The spaces actually accentuate the concrete jungle. The people or rather the housing societies are all keen on making this a great plce to live. Every building has a garland of blinking lights, put up during Diwali - the festival of lights.
Ah fuck it!
I look forward to making a home out of it.
But i feel mentally challenged, especially due to the cold.
I have been in crowded settlmeents before (Mumbai) but my new locality has an eerie combination of wide open spaces around innumerable 10-12 storeyed buildings. The spaces actually accentuate the concrete jungle. The people or rather the housing societies are all keen on making this a great plce to live. Every building has a garland of blinking lights, put up during Diwali - the festival of lights.
Ah fuck it!
Friday, November 2, 2007
100 responses in 2 days
I posted a job opening with an Indian garments related website www.garmentsonly.com who offered me a trial posting; a couple of days ago.
(They have a good support team, which makes a brief call to check if the post is for real, collect any missing data and publish the post on their site. )
The post said, looking for merchandiser for the new office of NetworkGlobalSourcing to be opened shortly in New Delhi.
In 2 days I received over 120 applications and they are still coming.
Now I wonder if such a Position would exist in other countries, especially western europe (France/italy) and would attract so many responses to a rather new 1 year old buying house with no immediate brand recall.
What does it say abt the job market in India?
(They have a good support team, which makes a brief call to check if the post is for real, collect any missing data and publish the post on their site. )
The post said, looking for merchandiser for the new office of NetworkGlobalSourcing to be opened shortly in New Delhi.
In 2 days I received over 120 applications and they are still coming.
Now I wonder if such a Position would exist in other countries, especially western europe (France/italy) and would attract so many responses to a rather new 1 year old buying house with no immediate brand recall.
What does it say abt the job market in India?
Mr Peaceful
I am currently stuck in a limbo, homeless. I have vacated my Mumbai flat and despatched all the furniture etc to the Delhi flat with a (un)Professional Mover and Packer and flew down to delhi next day, only to find that the truck wil arrive not in 2 days as promised but 4 days. Besides, the flat I have leased out in NEw Delhi is still being painted/renovated. So much for INdian punctuality.
Being left unexpectedly homeless, I arrived in the great Main Bazaar of New DElhi, home to most of the back-packers and karma seekers of the world to lease out a cheap hotel.
This is an unusual place for an indian to seek a hotel. Common, every indian surely must have an uncle, nephew, acquaintance or someone in the great family who is living or knows someone living in delhi who can offer to put you up (?!).
Its also difficult for Indians to open up conversations with the other backpackers, as usually the indians around them are trying to sell something or cheat or mug them.
So owing to this strange situation, I have been staying rather calm and keeping to myself in the last couple of days, even while having dinner in the rooftop restaurant in the hotel i am staying. The manager seems to have taken a pity on me and tried to open a conversation by asking where I was from etc. Mumbai. The next thing he says " You seem to be a rather peaceful person sir, what brings you here?" almost bumped me. I have been called many things, but peaceful is not exactly anywere close.
Being left unexpectedly homeless, I arrived in the great Main Bazaar of New DElhi, home to most of the back-packers and karma seekers of the world to lease out a cheap hotel.
This is an unusual place for an indian to seek a hotel. Common, every indian surely must have an uncle, nephew, acquaintance or someone in the great family who is living or knows someone living in delhi who can offer to put you up (?!).
Its also difficult for Indians to open up conversations with the other backpackers, as usually the indians around them are trying to sell something or cheat or mug them.
So owing to this strange situation, I have been staying rather calm and keeping to myself in the last couple of days, even while having dinner in the rooftop restaurant in the hotel i am staying. The manager seems to have taken a pity on me and tried to open a conversation by asking where I was from etc. Mumbai. The next thing he says " You seem to be a rather peaceful person sir, what brings you here?" almost bumped me. I have been called many things, but peaceful is not exactly anywere close.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Circle of Comfort
Sometimes, the only thing which can define a successful person is the extent of his comfort zone. Most people start living in a city/working for a company/have a certain work profile and over a period of time, they become comfortable in it. No matter if they were happy or unsatisfied with it in the beginning.
But more often than not there comes a time, once you have grown used to this zone; you are given an opportunity or a need arises which will make you go out of this zone, do a new kind of work, move to a different city. On the outward it looks great to have the change, but as it comes closer you start becoming uneasy, distraught and wish to keep the status quo.
You have reached a comfort zone. The longer you stay in it, the more difficult to move.
Some people just give that chance up, some manage to drag themselves through to the otherside while the others embrace the change.
I think I am in one of those situations now, moving from Mumbai to Delhi. When I initially moved here, i gave myself 2 months to get out.. now its over 2.5 years and I am still here. Whats surprising is the mental block I am facing in moving to Delhi. But then I have set some things in motion and its not possible to stop the move.
I used to think I am one of those guys who can embrace change and are always ready to explore new places. But ALas I note, the comfort zone has caught up on me.
Several entrepreneurs I read about are people who when they hit a wall, or are run down; have the ability to pick up and start back from zero. Put themselves back from a 10/100 ppl company in a comfortable office to a single person company run from a garage like room.
I am going back there, and have been finding flimsy excuses to get back into the comfort zone. In reply this is the email I got from my partner who left me to my devices and moved to china to startover.
Vikram, here is the route map for you:-
- check the the resumers for ppl in delhi we are having
- search for new ones- invite ppl for interview
- select one
- be a good boss
- start calculating financial validity of your business ideas, it might help
But more often than not there comes a time, once you have grown used to this zone; you are given an opportunity or a need arises which will make you go out of this zone, do a new kind of work, move to a different city. On the outward it looks great to have the change, but as it comes closer you start becoming uneasy, distraught and wish to keep the status quo.
You have reached a comfort zone. The longer you stay in it, the more difficult to move.
Some people just give that chance up, some manage to drag themselves through to the otherside while the others embrace the change.
I think I am in one of those situations now, moving from Mumbai to Delhi. When I initially moved here, i gave myself 2 months to get out.. now its over 2.5 years and I am still here. Whats surprising is the mental block I am facing in moving to Delhi. But then I have set some things in motion and its not possible to stop the move.
I used to think I am one of those guys who can embrace change and are always ready to explore new places. But ALas I note, the comfort zone has caught up on me.
Several entrepreneurs I read about are people who when they hit a wall, or are run down; have the ability to pick up and start back from zero. Put themselves back from a 10/100 ppl company in a comfortable office to a single person company run from a garage like room.
I am going back there, and have been finding flimsy excuses to get back into the comfort zone. In reply this is the email I got from my partner who left me to my devices and moved to china to startover.
Vikram, here is the route map for you:-
- check the the resumers for ppl in delhi we are having
- search for new ones- invite ppl for interview
- select one
- be a good boss
- start calculating financial validity of your business ideas, it might help
Thursday, October 25, 2007
First Direct Sales Experience
In the process of moving to Delhi from Mumbai, I realised have a whole load of dress samples which are duplicates are defects or extra productions. As India is not really a country for European dresses such as ones sold by Mango and Zaara, we werent able to dispose these off to local retailers.
For the first time today, I am trying to show these to the AIESEC Trainees and retail to them directly. I am not really sure how many trainees will even turnup. There was just one email inviting the trainees to the show.
I have seen several retails sales experiences where people put up their whole stalls and nobody ever shows up. Being in their shoes is one of my big nightmares, but then its part of the whole sales thing.
For the first time today, I am trying to show these to the AIESEC Trainees and retail to them directly. I am not really sure how many trainees will even turnup. There was just one email inviting the trainees to the show.
I have seen several retails sales experiences where people put up their whole stalls and nobody ever shows up. Being in their shoes is one of my big nightmares, but then its part of the whole sales thing.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Mumbai to Delhi
We are shifting our business from Mumbai to Delhi.
Essentially, I am going to have to go back to Zero and start from scratch here.
Spent the last 1 week looking for flats in Delhi where I could operate from... After roaming all of south delhi, i figure Dwarka (at the end of delhi) is the only place suitable to accept my type of requirements. Young single male, needing a decent double BR flat where Foreign trainees male and female can share and work.
Delhi is so bloody conservative, that no one allows a girl and boy to share a flat unless they are engaged or married. On top of it, the lease should be a Company Lease only given to professionals working with big MNCs, no business men allowed.
I guess that even reflects the nature of Delhi Vs Dwarka. Dwarka is the new housing societies built in the last 5 years at the west end of Delhi close to Airport. Its somwhere between Delhi and Gurgaon, in geography and culture.
While I am terrified at the prospect of moving to Dwarka, which is rather far (20 kms) from all the happening places in Delhi, i have little choice. But this is part of the path I have chosen.
So heres to Entrepreneurship.. and heres to a new start!
Essentially, I am going to have to go back to Zero and start from scratch here.
Spent the last 1 week looking for flats in Delhi where I could operate from... After roaming all of south delhi, i figure Dwarka (at the end of delhi) is the only place suitable to accept my type of requirements. Young single male, needing a decent double BR flat where Foreign trainees male and female can share and work.
Delhi is so bloody conservative, that no one allows a girl and boy to share a flat unless they are engaged or married. On top of it, the lease should be a Company Lease only given to professionals working with big MNCs, no business men allowed.
I guess that even reflects the nature of Delhi Vs Dwarka. Dwarka is the new housing societies built in the last 5 years at the west end of Delhi close to Airport. Its somwhere between Delhi and Gurgaon, in geography and culture.
While I am terrified at the prospect of moving to Dwarka, which is rather far (20 kms) from all the happening places in Delhi, i have little choice. But this is part of the path I have chosen.
So heres to Entrepreneurship.. and heres to a new start!
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