DK Kapila The Oracle

Christmas Greetings and a Happy New Year Dinesh K Kapila Christmas Greetings and A Happy New Year. Stay Blessed and Happy. Enjoy the warmth of your families and the spirit of a deep happiness which it triggers. Forget the petty differences and quarrels and reach out. As always, and as someone asked me, why am I wishing greetings on Christmas. Yes, as a Hindu by faith, culture and inclination, this is a relevant query, if one can say so. It’s not an objection per se, but more philosophical in intent. Well, to actually think it over, the closest I feel with my background and faith is Sikhism and then of course Jainism and Buddhism.   But then there are certain factors, firstly the Christian Branch of my family. That is of course one very important consideration. Add to it having studied in Convent Schools, this is only natural. Then Dad was in the Army, it’s a done thing to celebrate all festivals there, as also where I have worked all my life, even if the predominant number...

What Holds Chandigarh / The Tri City from Becoming a Hub for Technology / Innovation / Start Ups.                                                                                                                            Dinesh K Kapila (In an Edited Form on Times of India - Chandigarh Edition of 19th October 2018, they sought views) There has been a rapid scaling up of eminent...

Sharing - A Personal Story - of 31 Years Ago. Of a Real Life violent encounter. Do Read it. Just Recollected while Clearing and disposing off old papers. Found this newspaper clipping (see the snap) and you will understand how it triggered memories. At my then employer. It was 28th April, if I remember correctly, of 1986. I and Suresh (Suresh Dutt Tripathi) had just had dinner and were just chatting and then planning to retire to our bedrooms and read up a bit and maybe listen to some music and then slowly drift off to sleep. It was a two bedroom house, with a sitting room, a lobby and kitchen and an attached room for the servant. The house had it's own small lawn, then an open space and a road, with some huts on the other side. It was a quiet corner of the Steel Township and peaceful. Suddenly we heard tapping at our main door, puzzled we opened it to find quite a few policemen, all armed and absolutely quiet and sort of excited. They kept stating they are coming. One armed ...

Overburdened and Troubled – Do Look Within.                                                             Dinesh K Kapila Life can be strange, even troubling. It anyway never did come with a promise of assurance and positivity only. As we go along life’s pathways, as the years pass by and convey different shades and meanings, we need at times to sit back and just ruminate. Life, as many have realized, or are in the process of realizing and accepting, is just a process.  Emotions and happenings, joy and sadness, the ups and downs are always there. Lucky are those who have a certain consistency or a narrow and straight path to tread, luckier if they did don the thinking cap, for that itsel...

The Washroom Levy                                                                                                           Dinesh K Kapila Michael and Christina (it could be Charles and Catherine ) landed at New Delhi International Airport. They were groggy from the late night flight from Vienna (it could be Zurich or Hamburg or Paris) and made their way through the well lit and maintained airport to immigration. That’s when they got a little surprised. The stampi...

Loud Thoughts on Financial Inclusion -  Facets of Payment Systems and Card Management Dinesh K Kapila  I had a short interaction (late September 2018) after a sort of summing up address to some participants at  a seminar where we discussed some thoughts on payment systems and card management essentially as a part of financial inclusion. I stated that broadly we could say that  financial inclusion is now driven by a  focus on digital payments and this automatically involves availability of infrastructure, accessibility to payment channels, affordability that is reducing the cost of access and lastly but  equally important awareness which means transforming consumer behaviour and moulding their acceptability for switching to the digital mode.   We have certainly evolved from the 1980 era of manual working and going onto ATMs,  MICR Based cheque payments and processing centres to cards and CBS, Internet Banking, RTGS, NEFT, Mobile Banking, all t...

Random Kindness and Courage as attributes would certainly take a person far in life. This should ideally have a certain ability to be stern when required. Would it be the ability to be stern or to be singularly focused,  I am still thinking. Mix it with an ability to see life and developments as it could be rather that just what they so plainly are. Just seeing life as it is rather than as it could be makes the focus on nuts and bolts, don’t miss the big picture. And If fate is kind, the last in the mix, and really so important, it just makes life worth it as they say. And carry a light touch in interactions. Tap and move on. Tap into lives and events or developments when needed and then lightly move on. Why linger on unnecessarily. Life has more to offer always. Dinesh K Kapila

Connected Dinesh K Kapila This world can be so connected and so circular can be the relationships, that one can only wonder. A few days ago the gardener walked up to my wife and simply said his salary had to be increased by Rs 300/-. He was not giving her a choice, the way he framed it, it was a demand.  Well, the wife told me he worked well and we could consider it, if nothing else, we ought to think he had some major financial problems.  I grumbled that we had just increased his salary a few months ago, hevhad to explain this demand. Pat came the answer, then you handle it. Well, I thoughtfully did so, only to be told firmly and categorically that Rs 300 had to be increased. No choice there ! After conceding I would think it over while actually thinking if he walked away then who would maintain the lawn, I noticed our servant Ajay  just smiled at the exchange and looked away Later on I told Ajay while leaving for office that the gardener was making an unjustified dem...

Kapila’s Law of Gardening On a hot day when you water the lawns, the probability of rain within 12 hours goes up by 70 %. Kapila’s Law of Walking When you are out walking, with clouds yet to build up overhead, always remember distant thundering clouds are only to mislead us. If you don’t believe this, then be ready to be wet to the bones. Kapila on Trees to shelter from the rain When you hide under a tree to take shelter from the rain, you will still get wet. Only gradually rather than suddenly. The choice is yours.

The “Wakemare” By Dinesh K Kapila First the Definition. Nightmare – Simple, when you are sleeping you have a really bad dream. Wakemare -   When you are about to nod off or rather want to   and cannot. Why, Read on. Last week. It was night time, around 1130 pm. Time to nod off I thought. Close up on Warren Buffet’s thoughts and strategies I was reading and prepare for the next day. The next day promised to be a long day. I decided to turn around in my bed to reach for the switch of the bed lamp. My glance went up and froze. I actually froze. Then decided to watch what happened next. It was looking around, flicking it’s tongue (atleast I thought so) and I just did not know what it would do next. That meant I could not sleep. Or turn off the bed lamp. My “wakemare” was underway.   Then the damned thing moved a few paces and again assessed it’s position. Meanwhile the wifey slept peacefully, oblivious to the turmoil. Being partly interested in matters spiritual is a...

Yesterday evening when I reached home I found my father rather off colour. He seemed preoccupied and disturbed. I sat with him to find out what had disturbed him so much. Turns out it was the day to finalise admissions, specially at the junior level at the Institute for The Blind at Sector 26 Chandigarh. He has shepherded this institute in a purely honorary capacity ever since his retirement in September 1982 and built it up literally brick by brick. Now it has students upto Class XII and they are either totally blind or partially sighted. The students are housed in proper accommodation and the quality of food, teaching and care is considered very satisfactory. Financially, due to the generosity of citizens here and a most supportive administration, it’s very much stable. What had actually disturbed Dad was the large number of parents, mostly from very poor backgrounds; who had come  over yesterday and kept requesting very humbly to admit their children. My father is of the view...

Yesterday evening when I reached home I found my father rather off colour. He seemed preoccupied and disturbed. I sat with him to find out what had disturbed him so much. Turns out it was the day to finalise admissions, specially at the junior level at the Institute for The Blind at Sector 26 Chandigarh. He has shepherded this institute in a purely honorary capacity ever since his retirement in September 1982 and built it up literally brick by brick. Now it has students upto Class XII and they are either totally blind or partially sighted. The students are housed in proper accommodation and the quality of food, teaching and care is considered very satisfactory. Financially, due to the generosity of citizens here and a most supportive administration, it’s very much stable. What had actually disturbed Dad was the large number of parents, mostly from very poor backgrounds; who had come  over yesterday and kept requesting very humbly to admit their children. My father is of the view...

I met my neighbour as I set out for my daily evening walk. We exchanged greetings and remarked on how quickly the age process was showing on us. He went on to say Yeh Zindagi Ka Phalsapha kitna Ajeeb hai Shyam kat Ti Nahin Saal jaldi nikal jaate hain Sort of The journey of life is so strange Evenings don’t pass And the years go by ever so quickly. Loved it as we walked away

A thought and I hope I am not labelled Cynical. Scenario One Join the Armed Forces. Fight for the nation. If you are martyred get honoured with the national flag placed with due respect on your body and a salute by firing of rifles in a synchronised manner. This would also apply to members of the Central Police Forces in insurgency areas. Scenario Two You develop sound weapon systems or make major contributions to the nation’s development. Or you are a major political leader with governance. You pass away and are honoured with the national flag placed with respect on your body and a salute by the Police or at times the Army. Scenario Three You act in films and evolve to be a superstar and then fade away except for one film after fifteen years. You don’t make any sort of contribution to the art by support or association after fading out. Then you suddenly pass away and the media goes into a frenzy. The whole of India is stated to be mourning while it may attracted some interest ...

The Rural Markets are Integrating and Logically So                                                                                                                 Dinesh K Kapila The trigger point for this thought was an observation of a colleague that the citizens of a comparatively remote mountainous district should continue to eat or rather accord preference to their traditional foods, snacks and drinks rather than increasingly opt ...