Rendezvous with Excellence!

Today was a special day indeed. I had a rare opportunity to meet, listen to and personally interact with somebody who has made India proud at the highest level in his chosen field. Its was a wonderful privilege.

The first impression that Pullela Gopichand leaves on your is the absolute inner peace that reflects from his demeanor. That is just moments before you realize that he is a very quiet man outwardly too. A few minutes into the talk, and he unravels the mystery: "If you have a legal[sic] vent to all the energy inside you, it makes you peaceful at all other times".

What I liked the most about Gopi, as he's fondly called (but apparently dislikes), was that he has struck the fine balance between being humble, but being unapologetically proud of his accomplishments, without trying to play down the price he has paid for them. Being soft-spoken, but at the same time, being able to verbalize his love and commitment towards the sport, in an infectiously passionate manner, that left the whole auditorium awe-struck.

When asked what sacrifices he made on the demanding road to success, he stumped everybody with the elusively obvious, simple reasoning of: "If you love what you are doing, nothing else that you give up feels like a sacrifice" .

And finally, I asked him what he thought about Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 Hour Theory , and if out of his experience as a player and a coach, he could quantify success. He just gave one of his soothing smiles, and as the picture inset above was taken, said the words that will stay with me for the rest of my life: "I know only one number for success. 100. Give it your 100% !".

I Will!
Av

P.S. - A load of thanks to my friend Sayo for the timely snap!

Stuff I'm listening to..

I thought that I would share with everyone what I've been listening to throughout all weekend. The inset vidz are actually only audios, so that you don't get distracted from the music.

Lets start with some hip-hop (yes, this is still Av posting!)

This one's by a Toronto based nu-funk band called GOD MADE ME FUNKY! Its called LUV T'DAY and is on the OST of American Pie: Beta House. It plays during the pool party in the very last scene. I love the groove. Check it out!



This is a heavy one by the immensely skilled band Necrophagist. Their genre of music, believe it or not, is called Technical Death Metal.

This last one is by DEEP PURPLE. Its called SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE SCREAMING, and its what I've been listening to the whole last week, not just the weekend. The lazy-sounding leads by Steve Morse are addictive!



There you go. My musical palette for most of the weekend, spanning three musical styles, laid out for you. Hope you like it!

Luv-n-Luck,
Av

Genius!!

As you can see on the right, I have added a fresh new widget to the blog. Its from the CriticsRant blog readability test. According to it, you apparently need to be a genius to read and understand this blog. So for all the folks who have been happily following the random ramblings in this tiny corner of cyber-space, CONGRATS! You are all Geniuses!

I tried a number of blogs in the link, and no other blog gave the same result as this one. For a while, this massaged my bloated ego to great comfort. Then, suddenly sense raised its logical head. If a blog required the reader to be a genius to understand it, then given the statistic of only about 2% of population being geniuses, most people would not be able to follow it! Hmmm.. that kinda explains the dearth of comments. :D

Speaking of geniuses, Malcolm Gladwell's latest book has stirred up quite a hornet's nest by its unique take on the idea of genius. He argues that if you dedicate 10,000 hours of your life to ANYTHING that you are "just about okay" at, you shall get "world-class" at it. Now that offers some hope, doesnt it?

The argument presented is on similar lines of what one great polymath, Herb Simon proposed many many years back, saying that to become an expert required about 10 years of experience and internalizing about 50,000 chunks of information. One of his students called Anders Ericsson took it a step further when he developed the Theory of Skilled Memory. (Warning - pedantic link!!)

Probably to spice up the other end of the spectrum, Mr Gladwell also presents extensive statistical data to suggest that "making it big" is also a function hugely dependent on luck, principally in the form of where and when you were born. The data he has researched and put together is quite compellingly varied and hence comes dangerously close to destroying the idea of the self-made man.

Book reviews on the net fire away at how the arguments are not watertight, and indeed the 10,000 Hour criteria can surely not be heralded as a Necessary-and-Sufficient condition for success. Neither necessary nor sufficient, actually. The Beatles surely did not jam around for 10,000 hours before they made it big. Nor is every guitarist who has been playing for 20 years in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

But everything else apart, I really believe that the author's strength does not lie in presenting impeccable arguments. His forte is writing about abstract concepts, through the use of anecdotes and everyday examples, to arrive at a way of conveying slippery theories, that is at once vibrant, riveting and memorable. That is something he has always succeeded admirably at ever since his first book. Which is exactly what makes him dangerous. A gullible reader runs the very real risk of believing ideas which may not be that firmly rooted in reality.

In closing, a humbling quote by the great critic George Bernard Shaw, who has had something to say about practically everything under the sun:
"Common sense is instinct. Enough of it is genius."

Luv-n-Luck,
Av

FINALLY!!!!!!

What better way to kick off 2009? This is a something that I've waited and waited to post. God-willing, the time has come. I can almost not believe that I am finally doing this.

For days, weeks, months and years now, I'd been planning on getting a guitar rig. I just didn't want to compromise on any count, and so the process of evaluation and selection was becoming tediously long. Add to that the numerous times the plan got cancelled/postponed, and you might begin to appreciate why I can't believe that I've finally done it. As of now, I can proudly say, that sans the amp, I've finally got what I was looking for. In a long pre-planned display of self indulgence, I got the following during the last few weeks that I was away from the blog.

First came the processor, the LINE 6 POD X3Live :



And then the axe, the IBANEZ RG-420EG-SBK :

I was actually planning to brag about my brand-new equipment, but I'm feeling unusually modest and humble. It can probably be attributed to what a wise man once said :
"With great power comes great responsibility."

So I'll just close with yet another quote I live my life by:
"My tastes are very simple. I like the very best."

Luv-n-Luck,
Av

P.S. - Happy New Year people! May this year be the healthiest, wealthiest, most peaceful year of your life.. yet. :D