DK Kapila The Oracle

  Walking Around here, the suburb and the city. Dinesh K Kapila Based at Shimla, I walk daily, around the same time, give or take thirty minutes either way. It’s a bustling suburb, New Shimla, where I reside and walk. In the evening. The first few weeks were stressful, being asked about quarantine or the possibility of Covid. Before I go on, the authorities here certainly run a rather strict regime, health workers came by regularly to check on me and even the odd policeman. The best one was a young lady, by the sound of her voice, who would ask if my symptoms had started manifesting.   I had to firmly tell her to ask about my health and not presuppose I was destined for being a victim of Covid ! Coming back to the walks, the main concern was winning the trust of the stray dogs, many being fussed over by local residents.   The dogs had to accept me or rather tolerate my presence. After some time this was settled except one black coloured medium set dog, who is it see...

Fruit Wines - Could it be in a limited way The Next Wave and Market. By DKK I purchased yesterday the Apple Juice Concentrate and Thd Apple Wine. At The Mall Shimla from the HPMC Outlet. The Bottle is photographed. 11.27 % alcohol. Primarily Apple Concentrate and permitted additives. It’s a light bodied slightly semi sweet taste and can make a nice accompaniment to a conversation or reading a book on the kindle or otherwise. I also found after conversing around that some private players are also in the market. In HP. You see the signage along the Parwanoo Shimla highway. I have been plugging this since 2002 but I do not find these Fruit Wines being sold beyond two districts in HP. The rules and structure are such I don’t find these products in Chandigarh too. The Apple  Cider is actually good as is the vinegar. I have been requesting those who drive down from Shimla to buy these for me. Plus ofcourse the wide range of concentrates. Incidentally I discussed this in the Kashmir v...

Good Morning  This Pandemic- Look Ahead  One Editorial or Opinion one after another on the new normal and how we human beings are having to fundamentally reshape our lives. Every manner of expert from health to economics is plugging away on this. From TV Channels to all forms of the media. This world is truly upside down. Doomsday is the new scenario, only the degree of the gloom varies. I have a different point of view. Honestly. I first concede times are difficult and traumatic. This is a reality. Economies have collapsed or compressed drastically. Readjustments and acceptance is a reality. But. That is the essence. But.  We should hope in the essential resilience of the human spirit and the tremendous impact and potential of modern technology. We should have the patience and perspective on this. Maybe a time period of twelve months to eighteen months more. Atleast start to think on these lines. I am not suggesting anything too positive or that the previous happ...

A Salute to the Merchant Marine Dinesh K Kapila Today let us salute the seafarers. It is our National Maritime Day too. This non glamorous profession is our lifeline. In fact the world’s lifeline as they move cargo around. Consistently. As of now when flights are cancelled the ships move on and the ports function. Round the clock. We need to reach out to the 4 lakh odd officers and 8 lakh odd sailors across the merchant marine sailing on tankers, bulk carriers and container ships etc. in this tough time they would not be even relieved as their tenure ends and they look forward to reuniting with their families. And think of a Master of a ship in case the relieving crew is available. What if if even one of them turn’ s out to be a Covid 19 positive, while at sea. Many companies and Masters would logically like to sail with the fit crew all through this stressful period. But at a cost of mental stress for the entire crew. At ports while docking the crew are getting paranoid about cat...

Life - The Lockdown cum Curfew DK Kapila Yesterday we stepped out for a short walk. It was late evening and the breeze was chilly. We also visually confirmed that the presence of fellow humans was limited on the roads of our locality. One needs to be careful but then it also gets into the system. What a day to experience that the presence of fellow human beings brings caution to mind.! On one particular road it was so very silent and quiet that it was unnerving. Rather an uncomfortable feeling rose up from within. Just around 730 pm or so, maybe 8 pm. It was as though nobody was around in the world. Just roads and houses neatly laid out with lights on. The mind then plays tricks and you tend to remember some movies which were centred around such themes. It was creepy to use such a word. In fact the first and foremost thought to be brought up in mind now and most importantly is that we are safe and strong. More important to me is cherishing the thought and retaining it, the thought...

 Short Note on Philosophy and Action By  Dinesh Kumar Kapila We spend a long time on gauging what is the right way, the correct way, the economic way, the logical way, maybe the ethical way to reaching a decision. Manuals and Policy Prescriptions abound across Universities, Colleges of Management, Formal Organisations and the Government. Now we need to searching for what is the essence of the whole process. Maybe a short story would help. There was a Rishi (a holy man, a seer) who, when not meditating and interpreting the scriptures, also oversaw the functioning of his Ashram(young monks etc were taught the fundamentals of education at such Ashrams). Some disciples would tread only the spiritual path and forsake the temporal path and maybe evolve as the Rishis of the future. Anyway, this particular Rishi, an evolved soul, one day had a rather tough bout of self realisation. He felt he had been too proximate to the real world and perhaps now required to retreat to The Hima...

Women’s Day From Last Year. And Added. Dinesh K Kapila I am going absolutely as it comes on this. What do we mean by Women’s Day. That is stated in the end and was so stated last year. I did post that this year too but it left me unsettled. Honestly. Tell me, when we look at women giving interviews to the audio visual media, we are judging their confidence too. That makes us realise their self confidence and assess the faith and passion they have in what they espouse. While I do not seek to uphold all that is sourced from the Western World as correct and worth emulating, after all there is something called cultural heritage too, but I draw the line at personifying confidence. What do you perceive when a woman or lady speaks from the typical western mindset. She stands up straight and looks at the camera directly or at the interviewer. The voice comes clear and so does the eye contact. I have spent time on this over the years requesting and advising women to look at me or t the c...

Leveraging Government Schemes & Private Grant for Funding Your Venture (Background Note Prepared for The TiECon Chandigarh 2020- 29 February 2020) by Dinesh K Kapila (TiE A voluntary formal body to create an increasingly positive ecosystem for the entrepreneurs and investors). Venture - A new activity, usually in business, that involves risk or uncertainty. (Invitation Kind Courtesy Shri Munish Jauhar, President TIE Chandigarh and CEO Greycell Technologies and Shri Jashinder Bir Singh, Member TIE and CEO Access Infotech). Not all entrepreneurs can straightaway evolve as a Start Up or access Credit on a disruptive scale. The average entrepreneur has a need for simple bank loan products, would certainly benefit from the subsidy if eligible and in due course aim to scale up. The subject as above as suggested by TIE for the TIECON would certainly be applicable to such entrepreneurs. It’s also relevant as not all entrepreneurs / would be entrepreneurs would be able to acce...