Our 3BHK Story :)

Today, I felt like writing again in this blog, not for anybody else but for myself. What if this is my digital diary, I would like to read on my deathbed? It could tell me how I have grown as a person over the years. It could tell me how my thoughts have evolved over a period of time. 

I recently watched '3BHK' Tamil movie starring Siddarth, and a lot of memories from my past just resurfaced. The movie was heartwarming and easy to connect with, and luckily, it ended on a very happy note. The movie is about Vasudevan and his family, who struggle their way through various hurdles to finally buy their own house in Chennai. As I was watching the movie, I remembered a lot of memories from my childhood and growing-up years, where having our own house was such a dream for all of us. 

My dad worked in a Government job and right after his first appointment in Goa, he settled in Bangalore. From the time he came to Bangalore in 1981 till the time we bought our first house in 2006, he had changed around 23 rented houses. My mom and dad had lived in very tiny places when they initially got married. That was the stage where dad was working 9-5 in office, learning typing classes afterwards, was working on his insurance business as a side hustle just to make ends meet. 

In 1999, dad took his first plot in Bannerghatta road and started constructing his dream house. I was barely 7 years old then and my only job was to accompany him in his scooter when he went there every week to supervise the progress. Back then, ours was probably the second or third house on that entire street, and it was so deserted. I don't know how dad could give so much energy towards building that house with all the work he was juggling. Almost a year later, our first house was constructed and we named it 'Nisarga.' We were so happy that we finally have our own house. 

But how is this even a story if this could end happily so easily?

We could stay in that house for only 11 days. Yes, our own house built with so much love but we could stay only for 11 days. The house was extremely far and in a remote place with the main road 2 kms away and with absolutely zero access to emergency healthcare, a provisional store etc. After Gruhapravesham, I fell sick and my parents realized the house was very far to his office, my school and my sister's college and every day commute was a big challenge. So just after 11 days, they decided that at that point in time, we cannot stay in that house and we came back to the same rented premise we were earlier staying in BTM Layout. My mom was extremely sad. All the hopes and excitement came down crashing. A few years later, we sold the house and with that ended my dad's interest of constructing his own house. 

After I was born, we have shifted 4 rented houses. In 2004, Dad took a very tough decision of his life by opting for VRS (Voluntary Retirement Service). He was 47 then. My sister was in her PU and I was in school. He had carefully weighed down the pros and cons in a sheet of paper and even ran it through us and took us into confidence. My mom was against this and me and my sister knew he is a superhero and he would do wonders. His idea was that the upfront retirement benefit, coupled with a housing loan could help us with our own house we were dreaming of. By then, he had built his trusted clientele and he wanted to take it full-time and build his business.

 From 2004 to 2006, Dad had seen 100+ apartments in Bangalore in order to find that one house which fulfilled our dreams and was within our budget. Finally, we found our house in Raja Prakruthi Apartments near Ashoka Pillar in Jayanagar, Bangalore. It was love at first sight. I remember seeing the apartment for the first time and it felt like a dream come true because we had never stayed in an apartment with so many amenities. Flat cost was 45 lakhs. The entire retirement benefits of 21 Lakhs and a housing loan of 25 lakhs was put into this dream. I still remember that, with all the money being put in for the house, the entire bank balance was over, and we did not have 25,000 for the registration. My dad's best friend helped in and helped us sail through the difficult situation. We named the house 'Shreyas.'

At that point in time, Dad was 50 years of age, he had taken VRS with no regular income, we had a house of our own, a housing loan of 25 lakhs to repay, 2 kids who were still studying, and a business he had to make it work in order to prove everything right. 

So he made his first 5-year plan inspired by the Government's 5-year plan. He set every intention he had on paper and started tirelessly working towards it. Now you know, from where I get my detailed planning characteristic :P . He had written that by next 5 years, he would clear off the housing loan, which was such a bold intention to set back then. He wanted to build a corpus for my sister's wedding. 

By 2009, he had successfully completed his 1st 5-year plan exactly the way he had envisioned. The business had picked up well, dad was getting so much time off work to take care of our needs(which was not the case before), he started Yoga, meditation and walking and he set his next 5-year plan. This 5 year plan had my sisters wedding, a house to my sister who had just gotten married and taking care of my education (which was slightly not tough as I chose CA, which is comparatively a lesser costly course in India). By 2012, he bought a house for my sister. She named the house 'Kanasu.'   

By 2014, he had successfully completed his 2nd 5-year plan also the way he had thought of and he built higher dreams. He had now aimed for an upgrade to a 3 BHK apartment in Prestige Falcon City, Konankunte Cross, which seemed a very big dream back then in 2015. This was again a much bigger dream than what we could have afforded back then. He did not stop. He had faith and the risk-taking ability that paved the way through every big installment that came in every 2 months. 

By 2021, we moved into our first 3BHK house with a lot of excitement and happiness. We named this house 'Akshaya.' Dad was relieved after a long time. He carefully managed the housing loan EMI's without a miss. He only had 1 goal that he needed to close the housing loan sooner(which he did achieve in 2025). 

After this, Dad had told no more 5-year plans, and he said he had accomplished everything he aspired to. But God had other plans.

There was another dream in the making, 'Dhaatri', which wanted another 5-year plan from his side. This is another story for another day on how this dream was born.

Nothing came easily. Everything came after so much of planning, taking risks, those late nights and that faith and belief that 'It is possible.' With all this, there was one man who was fighting against all odds to give a comfortable life to his family. That man turns 69 today :)

Happy Birthday Appa :) 

 

Friendship Day Musings

Just look back at your own life...

We have had friends at every stage of life. We hold onto the ones who were comforting at each stage. Starting from our school, college, tuition classes, neighbours, common friends, online friends, we feel comfort in various people whom we call friends, close friends, best friends and so on. We share a part of our life, dreams, goals, happiness and sorrow with them. 

At each of these new phases, we grow internally and our thought process keeps changing with time. With every such new phase, there will be a change. Sometimes you lose touch with the ones who you have always been around, sometimes your friends feel you have changed, sometimes you feel you don't fit in to the gang anymore, sometimes each of you realise that you are looking at life very differently, sometimes you drift away, sometimes you are aliented and maybe with time, you don't talk to each other anymore.

Does it mean it was a mistake and the friendship has no value? No way. These were the same people who comforted us at different points in time in our life and the ones we shared a part of our life with. We may not talk anymore or share stories from our everyday life but that doesn't mean anything negative. Sometimes our role in a friendship could be to stay away and look at the other person's life, just wishing them good. 

With all this, you still have few people whom you can call even after a year without any contact and you still start from where you had spoken last time. There are some people who stay with you in all ups and downs like a family. There are some people whom you think of whenever you have something to share, either happiness or sorrows. There are some people who put in that effort to be with you(and you must do too). There are some people whom you always prefer as your comfort in all weathers and all years to come. These are the ones who would stay. 

We need to realise that in every phase of growth, people do change and change is important. Friendship is about helping the other person stay authentic and themselves without a need to change or hold back. Friendship is not about fitting in, it is being free without any judgements. Friendship is being for each other when they need you the most. In order to find good friends, we need to be 'that good friend.'

It is important to treasure every friendships. Some might chose to stay afar and be happy for you, some might be with you in every milestone but everyone had played a role in your life till date. This one is for everyone who has played their role in mine. Happy Friendship day :)

Meditation

Today, I wanted to share something personal with a hope that it could help someone.

A year before, same time my mind was a battlefield of thoughts and emotions...

A year later now, I am a much calmer and a peaceful individual who knows what to feed the mind and what not to.

What helped in this process of being more mindful and calmer is #meditationpractice .

Being an over thinker always, it has always been difficult to not get too involved in something. A lot of self evaluation by going deeper down has helped me process my thoughts better.

Now when I face a challenging situation, I just ask myself this one question:
👉Is this under my control? If yes, what can I do about it? If no, why do I have to think about this? Let me surrender it to the Universe.

Being an overthinker, earlier my mind would think of multiple negative possibilities even before it happening. Now I try and think what's the worst possible thing that could happen and try and make peace with it (Zerodha's Nithin Kamath's strategy)

Once you make peace with the outcomes in your mind, you are better off to face real challenges when it happens in the physical world. Conquering mind is the challenge always.

Meditation has helped me process things slowly, be an ever grateful human being, more mindful in my duties and responsibilities and even worry lesser.

My intentions at work has been strengthened in this process and I find more solutions to business problems because I am in a position to think and not get swayed away without time.

Every day before starting my day, I visualize how my day could be, what all new opportunities can come in, how do I better my intentions at work, how do we add more value to clients, what do I intend to attract more and more etc.

Just the thoughts in the right direction creates the motion required from Universe is what I believe.

I hope this helps someone who is looking for some light in difficult times. Hold on and continue to hope :)

#meditation #life

Two years to the first time we met :)

All my life, I had my thoughts on the kind of relationship I want to be in and the person I want to share my life with. In the search for such a person in an arranged marriage scenario, I was quite clear on whom I did not want. Knowing what you do not want is the first step in meeting whom you really want to spend life with. 

I had my notions in an arranged marriage that I would need to really meet the person multiple times to take things forward. I had said it to a few people I was talking to in the process, that I will need a lot of time to be really 'sure.' All these changed miraculously when I met Ashika. April 3rd, 2021 we started texting and April 10th we met for the first time. The first meet was so peaceful and beautiful. The first date went on for 4.5 hours and by the end of it, something had changed. 

She had made up her mind after that date. I took some more time bugging her, asking her the right questions, discussing on the non negotiables, talking over weekend for 6 hours straight and smiling all through texting her from office. We did not meet again. It was the second wave of COVID and more importantly there was no need to meet again. The decision was made. I proposed to her on May 9th, 2021.  The next time we met was on the day our parents met to discuss about the marriage. 

So when the right person comes in, a lot of things change. We met just once before saying yes and that one date did it all. 

Two years to the first time we met :)

30 Years of Life

 

As I write this birthday post, I bid goodbye to my late twenties and hit thirty. As I look back on the way birthdays were a few years ago and the way birthdays are now, it has changed. Earlier birthdays were so fast, meeting so many people and having a jam-packed schedule throughout the day and coming back home by 11. Now birthdays have been days where you get to talk to some special people and catch up on life, take in all the amazing birthday wishes pouring in on various platforms, spend time with loved ones and ending it with birthday musings.

As I reflect back on 30 years of my life, I feel blessed for everything that has happened in my life, every life experience (be it good or bad), every person who has come into my life for a clear reason. 30 years seem like a construction shell which shall make sense only after it is completed. These have been the foundational steps for a bigger picture and I am excited to explore what's in store for me. As much as I know my life's purpose, putting it in action someday and living a life towards it is what excites me every single day. Having said all these, it is always about being in the right place at the right time and preparation of mind every single day to make it happen is what the journey is about.  

These 30 years have been about character building, good friendships, good relationships, strengthening the beliefs, finding the core values to live for, good adventures, fun and laughter and learning many things in this journey. I look forward to a new decade of growth, fun, laughter, happiness, satisfaction and peace. There is no destination. Its always the journey.

Cheers to Life,

Naveen S N

How far can you go for your own bag?

        It was 5.15 AM in the morning. The bus conductor shook me up from my sleep screaming 'Vijayawada' signalling that its time for me to leave. My long sleep which was interrupted took some time to come back to terms. I woke up with a neck pain due to wrong sleeping posture and that was hurting real bad. I took my laptop bag next to me and got down telling 'Thanks' to the driver as always. As soon as I got down, auto drivers started making a conversation on where to go and negotiated for the charges. Two to three drivers started talking to me and I was talking to them in koncham koncham telugu that I know and one person agreed to take me to my room for Rs.100 for exactly 1 km. I came to my room and checked in. I was planning on how I could sleep for 2 more hours before getting ready to start my day at the client place. Then it stuck me..... Was there any missing detail in what I just told?

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        Did I actually take my luggage in the bus? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. It was this shit moment when I suddenly realized how can I miss my luggage in the bus and check in to the room. Absolute stupidity, carelessness and irresponsible behavior. All this because I was feeling sleepy and got carried away talking to the auto drivers. I realized how stupid this is. It was 5.35 then. 20 minutes since I got down. I immediately ran to the reception saying what happened and pleading if they can help. We called the driver and there was no response. When we tracked the bus, it was already moving in National Highway towards Hyderabad. If the destination was Vijayawada, then it could have been very easy to go and get back the luggage. The bus was already moving very fast and there was no way to chase it like in movies and get your bag and the bus will not stop just for one stupid passenger making others wait. 'What to do?' was the question in my mind.

        The receptionist asked me to go to the travel office 2 kms from the place so that they can see how best they could help and helped me with an auto. I went to the travel's office and told them about my issue in broken telugu and mixing it with all languages I knew :P He at least understood the emotion behind it. He told the vehicle is already 30 kms far off from this place and is going to Hyderabad. The same vehicle shall come back in the night and then you can collect your luggage. I was here on an important audit review meeting and I was thinking on how can I go there in my T-shirt and track pant(the one I was wearing all night). I was like this is very important luggage and please help me. He gave back saying 'If something is so important, how can you even miss it?' I was in no way to explain why and how it happened especially with the broken telugu I knew, as constructing a sentence in mind could take more time than getting the luggage back :P I just made my puppy face.

        The receptionist called back and gave a brilliant idea to ask the driver to keep the luggage in the nearest hotel on the way and then we could go collect it from there. The travel guy asked the driver to do the same and he readily agreed and within 2 minutes gave a call back as to where and whom he is handing over the luggage to. The auto driver who accompanied me till the travel office readily declared that he will help me get the bag. By then the bag was placed in a place which was 40 kms from our place. There I was trusting this one guy I knew to go in an unknown direction to get my bag at 5.55 AM in the morning. How can I trust him when I have just met him? But then sometimes do you have any other option apart from trusting someone blindly and taking that leap of faith?

        I asked him if he is sure to drive 80kms just to help me get my bag and he said lets first go and then you can pay me whatever you want. Money was the last consideration then and we started. It was 6 AM and the morning lights started coming out and there were few vehicles on the street as he drove faster. He promised 40 minutes drive to reach the place. He moved fast, taking me to the outskirts of the city, took some detours, told me about few places in Vijayawada and then joined the National Highway. Whenever he was silent, I used to construct my next sentence to ask in Telugu so that it doesn't sound offensive. A simple 'nuvvu' instead of 'meeru'(respectfully) could make a lot of difference. The sun rose and the journey continued. By then it was a complete surrender to the process. All the thoughts of can I really trust this guy had slowly vanished and it was only about lets see how this goes. 

        6.45 AM. Somewhere in the outskirts of Vijayawada.

        Finally the hotel came and I was only hoping that this should now not be some other bag instead of mine. That's the worst thing that could happen to you after travelling such long and then......... 

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        There I saw my blue color trolley with my name on it from the flight baggage tag and it was such a feel good moment. I wanted to kiss my bag at that very moment but then it would have been so inappropriate. The old lady asked me to confirm if I am the owner and I put the driver on conference to prove my ownership and after her due diligence and when she was satisfied, she asked me, "How can you miss your own luggage?" and then when I was about to make my puppy face, the auto driver told, "It sometimes happens when you are sleepy and you just feel laptop bag is the only luggage you have" and she smiled. We had tea there and then the journey back to the hotel started. The driver asked me if I was happy and I told him "Chaala chaala thanks anna" some multiple times which would have got him worried if I would really pay him or just tell thanks and say a bye :P

        It was 7.45 AM. As we came back to the same roads we started, the shops were still shut. But there was so much that happened in my mind in those 2 hours. I prayed God for everything that happened today morning. Anything could have happened and I could have got my luggage only in the night but I met some strangers who went above their limits and tried to help a stranger in the city for no real reason. It was not the duty of the receptionist or the bus driver or the auto driver's to help me out and everyone played their role. I was glad. Every adversity could lead to something so beautiful is what I thought. The auto driver got paid the exact amount he expected but with a lot of 'Chaala thanks anna' in between. I did get to take my bath and wear my formals for my meeting and the day started with a lot of bizarre adventure. It makes me tell sometimes your own stupidity takes you places :P

They say you cannot trust strangers in an unknown city and that's the only thing I had to do today....

Good day everyone

 

Loads of love,

Naveen Nagaraj

COVID-19 and Entrepreneurship: An honest confession

#Newyearpost

I was just thinking about how the last 2 years have been for us and everyone at large. 2020 and 2021 for everyone has been quite challenging and emotionally draining. Now if you narrow it down to entrepreneurs, the challenges faced were humungous. Every aspect of an organization has undergone a change. The world changed so fast these 2 years. Almost seems like a flash.

Now if you further narrow it down to entrepreneurs who have just started in these years or a year prior(like us), the way an entire functioning underwent a change has been too rapid and sometimes too overwhelming. Entrepreneurship runs purely on HOPE every single day. Things start moving in a particular direction and when things start going well, a COVID wave hits us and we are back to ground zero. Now we get up and gain the strength and move forward and another one hits us. This time we are at least aware but the hit is still a hit.

The same thing happens with the third wave now. There is so much anxiety and uncertainty everywhere YET AGAIN. But with all these, just like the graduate class of 2020/2021, I feel we entrepreneurs who have started our journey in these years have grown so much personally and professionally. No Crisis management lessons of MBA school can prepare you for something like this. Its a lot of effort emotionally to regain and rebuild and that's how life teaches us lessons and makes us stronger. We have lost, we have suffered and we have still gotten back to function and that's MORE important.

In the end, all these are just adding up to the stories you tell your close ones or your children on how we all together survived a major pandemic.

Find your #home

         I watched this heartwarming feel good movie #Home on Amazon Prime and more than just writing a review of the movie, I wanted to ponder upon few reflections in the movie. So, this post is definitely not a movie review but much more. This movie did make me think about a lot of aspects. The movie is about a family which was once closely stuck together loosens up with time and the generation gap created by the social media and how the father tries his best to bridge that gap between his children by wanting to be part of their digital world. 

        Simple story, isn't it? But the reflections which comes out of the movie without being preachy at anytime makes you think. What were mine?

• We all do this or have done this at some point in time in our day to day lives. When someone is talking to us, we are buried in our mobile either ignoring them completely or replying back to them looking at our phone(I have done this too). Now this is how the world has become. But how do we feel when we are on the receiving end? Do we like it? Is it really cool to do so? ENERGY. Everything we do has energy. When we are talking to someone, we are giving them time and more importantly we are giving them our energy. Can we do it more intentionally, being more aware and being there completely. Real human connections are made when we talk heartfully and when we listen intentionally. So the next time when someone talks to us, can we answer them looking them in their eye rather than looking at our screens?
• With social media and the so called influencers, we start defining indicators of our success to the number of followers, likes, comments etc and start measuring ours with a yardstick which is a utter bullshit. Its about comparing apples to oranges and it will always be. The real work happens behind the Instagram, behind those cool post workout selfies and the constant 5 AMs to hustle before those good morning posts. This is often not considered but the outputs are. This could lead to creating a entire generation of people who are never present in the moment anytime and that's dangerous.
• How beautiful it is to spend your morning coffee time or evening tea time talking to your own family? Why is it that we present our best selves to our bosses, clients, acquaintances and show our grumpy, angry, always irritated side to people who love us? Is it because we can be ourselves with them and feel home? Is it because they are our constants and we believe they would not leave? Have we not taken them for granted? Have we ever thought how do we look with that grumpy, angry, always irritated face of us from the receiving end? People do stupid things. They show their best side to the people whom they don't really care and show the worst side to people whom they really care. 
• From when has expressing your thoughts been considered weak? Was there a change in syllabus and this was inserted? We, human beings do some terrible mistakes. We love people and constantly make them feel like we don't. We fail to express to people on how we feel around them. We think people do live on forever for these talks when we really know that they do not. Our days are numbered and our time is limited and still we fail to express how we feel. Continuing this will lead to creation of an entire generation which lacks emotional quotient. Next time you find a team member working really well- appreciate them in public, next time you feel like thanking your spouse-thank them, next time you feel like telling an 'I love you' to your love out of nowhere-please do. There is never an auspicious time for all these. 
• As we grow, I have realized that the pursuit is less about the money, position, luxuries but it is about RELEVANCE. Being 'considered' relevant with time and being relevant among the people in your world becomes the biggest struggle to overcome. This is constant struggle be it any age but this struggle becomes more difficult as time passes. Will my son or daughter consider me relevant for their generation? Will I be able to adapt to the tech savvy next gen or will I be left behind? Will I still be able to understand the ever evolving businesses in my workplace and add value to the table? Will people continue to ask me suggestions or will they assume he is not worthy anymore? The struggle will be real and it will be about relevance. It makes me think about how we need to RE-INVENT ourselves at every stage of our life. At no stage of life will life settle down unless you choose to do so. We need to keep reinventing ourselves to stay current and relevant.  

Home is where the heart is and writing could be my home 😀 But if this blog post makes you get back to your own self or gets you closer to your home, that's what makes me the happier version. That's the intent and that's the goal always. Find your #Home in the world outside the virtual world. 

Love,

Naveen Nagaraj 

Life, Death and everything in between...!!

        

        Its been a while writing and I suddenly wanted to write when somebody texted me saying they read my blog post before sleeping that night. I realized then that words do matter, words do influence someone, words do impact someone and how important it is to do that when your words matter to people(few people atleast). I was just thinking about how fragile we are as human beings. Leave about the strong face we show to the outside world. Leave about the strength and courage we display when it is really tough. I am talking about our inner conflicts every single day...

        Day in and day out, every single person out there goes through so much of conflict just inside their head. Our mind is a battlefield and everything happens there. We are constantly juggling between one thought to another leading to 60k to 80k thoughts in a day and that's way too much. In all these, I think about how fragile we all are emotionally. Someone tells something unpleasant to us and that occupies this space and takes over everything else. We get swayed away by that one unpleasant thought leaving hundred other blessings to count on. How emotional we are even if we do not acknowledge it?

        I was thinking about the harshness of the second wave of COVID-19 that hit the entire world. What would the families of the people who have lost a dear family member thinking at this time? What would they feel when they open their gallery and look at those happily smiling photos? What would they feel when they are constantly remembered that the person no longer exists? How would they come to terms with such harsh realities? Something changes in their lives and life alters for a different path. But with all these one thing still stays. The void of the person who has left their lives FOREVER. Can you still ask them to take it positively? Can you go and still tell that this is all happening for a reason? Can you still tell them that this grief will reduce with time? Will you have the courage to do so? All you can do is just sit with them in silence and just be a helping hand.

        When I think of all these, I feel like our entire life is like a river flowing continuously from one point to the other. The river just flows finding its way even after hitting a rock. The rock is unexpected in its way but now that it has hit it, it finds a new path to reach its destination. The river wants a smooth ride too but when it doesn't happen, it recovers staying calm(like it always is) and finds its new path to reach its destination which is the ocean(and for us it is our higher pursuits). The river's natural tendency is to stay calm and keep flowing like its only duty through out. Can we be like a river?

        All the thoughts that come to us has come in only because we have allowed it to come to us. Even when what's happening in our life is not in our control, how we respond to it is in our control. That way, our mental health is always in our direct control. Sometimes, when a situation is too difficult to handle and life seems dull and miserable at that point in time, its okay to feel bad about it. Its really okay to cry it out. Its really okay to take a break and just be with yourself. Its really okay to acknowledge and tell people that you are going through a rough patch. What is not okay is to deny this and live a life which is a facade. This could be the beginning of something very dangerous. 

        So please know that what you are feeling NOW is completely okay. Know that your mental health is more important than the image you want to create about yourself with other people. Cheers to Life

                                                                                                            -Naveen S N

Yet again?

Yet again? 

Feels like just when things were seeming a recovery and of fresh breeze, the lessons do not seem to be over. Did we not take the course fully last time? Maybe not.

Yet again? 

The entire human race seems to be on its knees and there is fear, anxiety, despair everywhere. It's gloomy everywhere quite literally. Hmmm Mental health? Don't ask. 

Yet again?

Livelihood seems to have hit a roadblock with 'just living' taking precedence. What do you currently want? Healthy life or those bigger aspirations? Just basics.

Yet again?

Its just like the sudden rain in the city splashing on your new dress and dampening the spirits. New year and new goals. But yet again going just with the flow? Certainly uncertain. 

Yet again?

What can even do? Apart from holding to the only friend we ever know who helps. HOPE. Who else do we go out for help? Not that he will do any help. But it is still comforting

Yet again?

Let's hold onto this one branch like it's the last resort, like it's the only way forward, like it's the only thing we as humans can do. Will it help? Oh!! We survived last year.

Yet again?

Let's just Hope...

-Naveen Nagaraj

Two years later...

        It's two years to the dream we first set our foot into. April 6th 2019 was the beginning of the journey into the unknown with nothing already in place except a clear vision. As we complete year 2 and move into the next it seems like a baby which is growing in its infant phase. Each day seems new, each experience seems new and each small step calls for a celebration. It has been the same feeling for us. What started with two individuals now has thirteen of us striving to work with the clear vision of 'being concerned.'

        2020 which goes into the history as an unusual pandemic year, has taught us a lot. The year had a lot of emotional setpoints and a lot of ups and downs at every juncture. When we drew out a three year vision and action plans for the firm during March 2020, that is when the world got into a serious threat caused by an unprecedented event. Nothing ever mattered to any of us except for the safety and wellbeing of everyone and the families. Almost 6-7 months went by working from home where "Are you able to hear me now?" was the only constant :P

        This year has been about holding onto our beliefs much tightly like its the only way forward for us. There is always a reward for holding onto your beliefs which comes only in the end. Despite of this being a tough year, we have taken much tougher decisions in the best interest of the organization and that only helps us sleep peacefully at night. Stronger work ethics, professionalism and working on everything with utmost concern is what we strive for every single day.

        We are proud of the clientele we are associating ourselves with and we are so thankful to each and every client who have believed in us. We are thankful to our team that we are really proud of, for choosing us. We are thankful to everyone who has wished nothing but the best for M S N A and the way forward is to only spread good vibes in each others' mutual growth. We whole heartedly thank everyone who are part of this journey with us and everyone who has wished us good from far apart. 

        Cheers to another year of learning and new challenges in the entrepreneurial journey...

Gratitude and Love,

Naveen S N 

2020: An year our generation will always remember...

2020 ➡️ 2021

2020 has been a roller coaster year to the entire human race on this planet. It isn't about one single person but this year has tested almost everyone of us. This will be a year that goes in the history books on how there was one virus that bought the entire human race on its knees and showed them how life is about the BASICS. This year had lessons throughout.

2020 bought in a lot of uncomfortable changes to a lot of people's lives. The lockdown reiterated the fact that how blessed we are to have a few essentials in our life and pushed us to a miniature lifestyle for a long time though. My sincere prayers and thoughts with all those people who suffered a lot, lost their loved ones for the pandemic or even worst not making it to the end of 2020 alive.

If we are alive TODAY reading this, it's a reminder to us to mend our ways and live a sustainable life🌍. There are a lot of blessings from 2020 for which I can't stop thanking the Universe. 2021 shall be about going with the flow of uncertainties with all those wonderful lessons learnt all these years of my existence. 2021 shall be as always to live a life in tune with my purpose of life. 

Cheers and best wishes to everyone for the new year. Let's take it one day at a time. 🌌

Love and light,

Naveen Nagaraj

Some Birthday Musings

Every birthday brings out the same excitement in me like years before when I was a kid waiting for October 11th to show up on the calendar. The excitement of the birthday has been a constant always and I hope it will stay for time to come. 

Birthdays are super special to me for the reason that this is one day I get to feel extra special about myself. This is one day where I get to connect and talk to so many special ones. The constant vibration of the phone for every message coming in and those beautiful conversations throughout the day makes it worth waiting for. 

Needless to forget those besties who take time out to make it extra special just by meeting that day. Birthdays make you feel so special about your existence on this planet. I just cherish the conversations on this day and this day can only be complete with wishes from all those special people.

This day also marks an year to this personal blog of mine. Live Life 360 Degrees is my Mantra for this life. I will continue to write about my life experiences, my thoughts, my reflections in this blog till I reach my very end. 

I will continue to share love, light and positivity because that's what I am; 'A Hopeless Optimist' Thank you so much for all the love and affection on this day. Thank you for reading this.

Indian Matchmaking-Busting the Generalizations

Its been quite some time writing here. There have been multiple thoughts running in my mind for quite sometime but never could write here. Every other piece found solace in my personal diary. Indian Matchmaking series on Netflix had invited so much debate on social media on the way it portrayed the concept of arranged marriages in India and there were so much discussions on the generalizations the show had. This post is not a review of the series but this one got me thinking. I have always been a thinker and there are so many thoughts I feel like sharing with the world. Human relationships have always been my personal favorites and it has never failed to fascinate me.

When I get to think about love, relationships, marriages, emotional attachments etc., the way I feel about them have matured with time. The way I was thinking about love at 21 is way different than how I feel about them at 27 now. As time passes and as life introduces you to various experiences, our perception keeps changing and refining. Few very important reflections which I strongly believe in are what I write down below: 

1) 'Being clear' is not equal to 'being stubborn' 

'Being clear' about the kind of life partner you need to spend your life with cannot be equated to 'being stubborn.' Being clear about the kind of life partner you need comes from a very deeper space inside where you are clear about the kind of person YOU are primarily. It is not superficial and is always towards foundational values. You can be clear about the basic values your partner must possess and that is for God's sake not too much to ask for.  

2) Taking time to decide the one is not 'missing the bus.'

Relationships are surely about accommodating. It could be about sacrificing that window seat for a lifetime, sharing your favorite chocolate forever, taking more photos of your partner than getting clicked or getting up early so that your partner is not skipping the breakfast, etc. These things are not easy and they do not happen overnight. They seem effortless only when you start liking the other person. Else it is a constant tug of war and a competition between each other. A relationship takes in time, effort and energy and it is ABSOLUTELY okay to take some time to decide. 

3) Right person is not about 'Yeh best profile hai...'

Many a times we are striving to meet that right person to share life with. But maybe it does not work like that. The key is about striving to 'be the right person' for the other. It is about creating a cozy space for the other one so that the person who comes in gets to see the better version of YOU. More importantly the efforts to be the BEST for the other one should be directed INWARDS.

4) Your right time is not about Seema Aunty's 'right time' :P 

Marriage is not a race and the one who gets married first probably won't be given a medal. It is not about being early or getting late. We all have our timelines and they are DIFFERENT. We shall be at peace when we realize that we can only think about what's in our circle of influence.

5) Horoscope matching is not insurance coverage for a marriage :P 

Matching it or not matching it, either of it shall not determine the success of a marriage but the two individuals involved do. Marriage or any relationship is a constant effort and the effort needs to be from both sides. One person can contribute less sometimes and the other one has to make up for it and sometimes it is the other way around. Maintaining the balance is not anyone else's duty but of the two people involved. 

6) The end is a new beginning 

Change is the only thing that is CONSTANT which is a biggest cliche these days fits appropriately everywhere. After all these when we finally decide in and say 'Yes' to a marriage, it is not gonna be about,  'This is it...!! This is how it is going to be." With time, with circumstances, with life lessons everything may change. With time, your life partner can change, you may change, your belief systems may change, habits can change and even characters can change. When life is a journey, nothing shall be constant.        

There is so much to write about this and this topic is never ending and ever evolving. But I loved sharing these thoughts which I firmly believe in. 

Let me know what you feel :) 

Much Love,

Naveen Nagaraj

A year already to our dream...!!

                 As I write this post today, I feel blessed and it fills me with joy that a dream that we four friends saw together sometime back has seen the light of the day and the baby is a year old already today. April 6th 2019, on the auspicious day of Ugadi, we launched our firm and told that we have commenced our operations. A year later, this is not just a dream that is confined to the four of us but a dream that has become a part of nine of us. Something that started as a leap of faith is now taking its baby steps and slowly steering ahead. 

              Entrepreneurship is a journey into the unknown and every day is new, exciting and just leaves you hanging with the hope that something better is awaiting you. No day has been the same since we started this journey. There are some days where we are down, tired in anticipation, disappointed and then there are days where we are fully charged up, excited about something about to happen and cannot stop counting how blessed we are. One thing we have realized as a team is to not force an outcome onto something. If something happens, let it and if something doesn't happen there must be a higher purpose for the same. 

               The biggest challenge for any entity in their year zero is to find its first team, to get people on board who believe you and the idea, people who are ready to risk and take a leap of faith with YOU. Whatever is the idea, it could never reach its intended purpose if the team does not really care about the organization's 'Why?' Our idea has always been to build a workplace where the team comes in to the office excited, goes back home fulfilled and work with a clear vision of 'being concerned' and we aspire to build such a work space. 

                   With this post, we thank our initial clients who believed in us and trusted us with their requirements. We thank the wonderful team we are blessed to have with us who inspire us to aspire more. We also thank everyone who have just wished us good and have helped us keep our morale up including our families, friends, well-wishers etc. As we enter into another year of unknown, I must say we are eagerly waiting to see the path that would unfold in front of us... 

Gratitude and love,

Naveen Nagaraj 

Women's Day 2020

Something that will make you smile as soon as you read this:

Dear Women, 

It is something that we men always forget doing, something that we have missed from times immemorial, something that we take it for granted and something that you no longer expect: A thank you with a gratitude... 

For the roles you play in our life or say in the universe, will just a 'thank you' do? A cute little baby, a friend, a classmate, a cousin, a supportive colleague, a best friend, a sister, a spouse, a working women, a homemaker, a mother, a grandmother and it still does not end there. As if born to multi task, when you can handle so many things at once with ease and leave us in awe, we still do not acknowledge that fact thinking you are just discharging your responsibilities on yet another day. 

As a mother when you had dedicated your life to us, maybe we had forgotten that you were once a young lady and you had dreams in life too. But you had taken a U-turn from a dream life of yours and chose to take care of me instead. As a wife, when you once came in to offer your suggestions for the business, we did not really take it seriously ignoring the fact that you were once a topper and had an entrepreneur in you who got burried later. When you left your family after marriage and came home, we did not take it very seriously thinking it was your duty & societal norms to do so.

Why should we tell you a thank you? Is it for being that crush who made our life beautiful? Is it for being that English teacher who made life beautiful with stories in an otherwise boring school? Is it for being that one and only mom who thinks 24/7 only about our family? Is it for being that ungettable girl who showed us  void in our life? Is it for being that cute grandma telling stories of 1960's? Is it for being that always bankable best friend who would bring us back to track? Is it for being that colleague who helped us with SAP before getting fired? Is it for being the wife who understands everything that was spoken in the way she wants? :P

Yes!! We are sometimes insensitive by not acknowledging things in the regular way but we do it in a way so subtle that you may never get it. When we tell you, "Mom, do not cook today. It's a Sunday. Let's go out" we care for you. When we tell you, "Text me when you reach back home" we care for you. When we tell you, "I pity your husband. I am sure he will not be able to tolerate you even for two days" we care for you. When we tell you, "Don't walk down home. It's already late. I will pick you from busstop" we care for you. When we tell you, "I hate you. Don't talk to me" we care for you. But we don't tell that maybe. 

As we move forward and understand women empowerment is the talk of the town, we believe there is nothing that you are incapable of. Sometimes the empowerment can be scary especially when it pushes you to extents wherein you start feeling we are so independent now that we can live without men. When that happens there will be a huge disconnect and we may stop believing that we are humans first and again go back to the same root problem from where it started. 

As we end this letter, we just want to reiterate the fact that you are special and you will stay loved and respected. A formal Thank you...

Love, 

Men.

My 10 Years Challenge

What a decade can actually do? Much more than what we can even think of maybe. My 10 years challenge would bring out two different people in contrast maybe. Years back, I was very shy, very less confident, quite inferior about myself and extremely submissive. I still remember the beginning of PU days where walking into the class was quite a thing as I was so less confident about myself and all the eyes will usually be on people entering the class. My dressing sense was really poor back then. Maybe I used to say 'yes' to people only because I didn't want to disappoint them. I was a topper all through and to be frank, I was not really proud of it 'so much' because I knew just academic accomplishments isn't my real thing. I used to never share about these inner conflicts with even the close ones because they were mine alone and for everyone else I was still a very happy-go-lucky guy who had got lucky with life. 

Slowly things started changing during my University days in Christ where I started giving more presentations. Somehow these things really help you gain some confidence. With time I started working on myself. With time, I enjoyed being called on to the stage and enjoyed getting the attention. I learnt saying 'No', I started taking more initiatives, grabbed every opportunity to go on stage, made more meaningful relationships and started loving myself more with time. It wasn't easy and it didn't happen quickly. 

Now, fast forward to this day in 2020, I love the person I see on mirror everyday and I am happy that I have come a long way overcoming my inner fears and battling my own inferiority complexes. My confidence level has increased to a level I am proud of. I still have a long way to go and lot of shortcomings to overcome but I so love this journey of going within. Loving oneself is primary before one could even share it with another person. Self love is the most important aspect of fighting inner battles and healing. It's important to appreciate our journey and accept ourself first with all our flaws. This post is my 10 years challenge 😁. I can't wait to see what this decade has got to surprise me with. Let the path unfold for itself 🙈

What an year can actually do...!!

Hello everyone,

Welcome to my small li'l world with this new blog 'Live Life 360 degrees.' The name of this blog has been the dearest to me and the reason being it gives such a wholesome picture of life. This is my first post in the blog and it has to be something special. Today marks an year to that one life altering decision of entering the unknown space. 10th October 2018 was my last working day at my previous organization and the day my long journey of sabbatical and introspection within started. This one year is conveniently split into two halves where the first half was about the 180 days sabbatical and the second half about building our dream organization(which is a work in progress and will be...). When I look back to reflect upon, I can just wonder 'What an year can actually do to one's life..."

Day 180:
"Many a times we lose ourself for a while only to get to a point where we begin the journey to find reasons to find our true self again. " Day 180 of the sabbatical and I wake up feeling so alive just like how it has been these days. My days are filled with so much more purpose and I am able to get so many things done in a day than I could possibly think of. The best compliment I get these days and which I love listening to is, "You look so happier now." This isn't about the external but this is something about the internal which is being reflected externally and that really makes me happy. It wasn't really easy getting to Day 180 this way and make a 180 degree turn or a detour to get to this happy place. It had its share of incorporating small changes and practices into life, making some life changing decisions and focusing a lot on inner peace and gratitude.

So the question goes to how did it all start?

Day 0:

I have always been this guy who loves doing what he does and do only those things which he really loves. I was basically someone who goes to office happily, works with all the passion, gets along with the team so well and come back home fulfilled. Monday blues was something I din't vouch for and my weekdays were equally exciting as my weekends. Somehow sometime back things started to change and I started noticing the change within. I was not the same guy when I looked in the mirror. I was a tired, unfit, slightly overweight guy who had lost himself along the way in the verge of building a societal successful life who almost represented someone who had no life left. If I visualized myself, I felt like all the cells in my body had turned grey, almost lifeless. I din't know how do I make some amends but I surely knew I can't be 'this' and I needed to change. I started questioning my own existence and my purpose in life. The word 'purpose' started fascinating me so much. It was as if I had to crack a code now.

Amidst all the chaos in the mind, I decided to quit my job and communicated the same. I was not able to answer the questions that came up next, "What next?" Even on my last working day, I was unsure of my journey ahead. 

Day 1:
So, the journey to the unknown started on October 11th, 2018. I knew I had to just start somewhere. Fitness was one thing on my list which I had always pushed and I started jogging. The first day I started jogging, I was taken aback at my stooped down stamina levels as I could barely manage a 200 mts run. I started panting with heavy breath as if I would die the very next moment. That's exactly when it hit me hard that I had neglected my health all the while and I need to consistently show up every single day on the ground. By then I had started believing that 'Consistency is the key.' 

I started reading about mindful eating. Its about being aware of the food intake into the body and differentiating between a healthy intake and an unhealthy one. I started consuming more healthy food and completely avoided having junk food. I completed my '90 days no junk challenge' during this sabbatical. It is always said that for following a fitness regime or a weight loss journey, diet forms a major constitution coupled with regular exercises. Mindfulness is about being present in the PRESENT. So mindful eating is about paying full attention to the food being consumed. I also reduced my daily coffee intakes to two to three from maybe five and started a practice of having my dinner at 8.30 PM as against the previous 10.30 PM. 

Before the very start of this journey, I was certain that I need to implement a few lifestyle changes so that I can get into this holy concept of a 'sustainable living' which is about living a life being more aware in the present so that the future that holds sight looks promising, healthy and filled with a very good quality of life. Terms like 'sustainable living', 'quality of life' have always been ignored right? Back in January 2018, I had faced a near death experience while river rafting in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand and river Ganga was kind enough to give me a second chance to life. There was something about that experience that had left an impact deep down. Anything could have happened which would have refrained me from even writing this post but I came back. It felt like it was life's way of cautioning me about the life I had been living then. It felt like someone shouting from behind, "Giving you another chance. Change paths and make the best of it." I had not ignored that warning ever since then. It was something that was always in the back of my mind.

So as I started running and focusing on my eating habits, slowly with time I could start seeing results. The small results were a hope to continue it further. The next question to be answered was on the career front. "What next?" was the question for which I wanted to find answers to. 

The first focus area was to understand myself better, know what is that I love doing, what actually excites me and what am I good at. But before that, the primary question was 'What is my purpose in life? What was the reason for my birth as a human being?' This wasn't any easy thing to know. It is about connecting back to the soul on a deeper level. It is about hearing your inner voice from the soul ignoring all the external noise. Once I realized my purpose in life, the next thing was to know how do I articulate it better & once I am in a position to articulate it, the next thing was to identify those tasks/pursuits in my life which will help me lead my life in a way which will allign my goals to my purpose. So, what is my purpose in life which I have unlocked for myself can be a different blog post in itself.

Once I understood my purpose & identified the means of being in that path, I realized that there are so many things to do in this one life and the work I do now as a Chartered Accountant is just one of it. My life as a professional is not that only thing I want to do in life, though I really love my work. The ground work was very important & I started doing a lot of things in those 180 days. I knew I will never get this time again in my life & made use of every single day. 

I started reading the book 'Start with Why' by Simon Sinek and that book really did create a huge impact on my thought process. I started working on the vision statement of our new organization and how do we want to see this firm. I met a few people to know their journey better. This period saw me read a lot of incredible books, watch a lot of movies, documentaries and met a lot of people with whom I had wonderful conversations. This was also the time I reconnected with my parents better. We got a lot of time to talk like before and the time we spend everyday now is just about quality time. A lot of times we keep chasing different milestones one after the other that we tend to take the people we really love for granted under the pretext that 'they will always understand' but not always.

Reflections:
This journey of 180 days actually changed me as a person deep down. My intentions became very clear and that had an impact on all aspects of my life. My days now start with nothing but gratitude for giving me yet another day in life & my nights end with gratitude again for wonderful blessings of the day. I can recognize my emotions easily now and can make peace with it. It isn't that I don't have bad days now & life is a rozy picture but it is just that I appreciate the smaller blessings of life now and that makes things better. I now take life one day at a time every single day. I try refining my thought processes every day. I focus on building deeper and better relationships now. Self love is very important and I have realized it well enough now.

This journey of 180 days has made my priorities in life very clear. It also now makes me start everything only after questioning the WHY. My relationship with money is harmonious now. Things are going on pretty well at the firm we started and is positive. The last 6 months has been a true blessing to us.

What an year can do in one's life?- The answer is an year can do a lot of things in one's life if and only if we want our life to change for better & work consistently towards it. Everyday is an unknown space to walk ahead and conquer(instead of just getting by). Being 'Alive.Awake.Aware' is such a wonderful combination. The journey from quitting my mainstream job of 10 to 8 without knowing what to do next & working on a lot of things knowing exactly why I do what I do was this 180 days journey. Everyday now is some inches towards the set goals and dreams.  When life gives you such an opportunity to break free, take off & trust your gut as it always leads you to the right path...

With Love & Gratitude,
Naveen Nagaraj

Some Khaas Bath...!!

Someday towards the end of your life's timeline, when you are just sitting in a park looking at so many people walking, what will you think? You look at people who are much younger than you who have so much of life ahead of them, so many opportunities to change their life for better and so much of spirit left. At that moment, when you reflect back on your own life what will you supposedly say?

"Maybe my whole life would have changed for better, if only I had taken that one chance"
"If only I had not taken life so lightly..."
"If only I had gathered enough courage to confess my feelings to that only lady I ever loved..."
"If only I had spent enough time with my family and friends..."

OR

"I am so glad that I have lived my life without regrets."
"I am so glad that when I look back, I feel my life was complete and abundant in all aspects."
"Whenever I look at the young ones, I feel I have been there and done that."
"I have lived my entire life on my terms."

Live life 360 degrees is how I would want to see my life to be. It is about living life to the fullest. It is about knowing that life is a bigger picture than those petty things we worry about. It is about leading a life which is purposeful. It is about building a life, from which you don't need an escape. It is about building a life where you embrace your Mondays as dearly as you embrace your Fridays.

Welcome to this journey with me... This blog will be my personal blog till the time I see my very end. This space will have everything candid about life, travel diaries, bizarre experiences, learnt lessons, relationships etc. I would love seeing your comments to genuinely know your opinions, responses which will help us know each other better. Kindly subscribe to this blog by typing your Email ID on the right to receive notifications as and when there is a new blog post.

Loads of love and gratitude,
Naveen Nagaraj