@rgumental @dvisor

"This company has the best shot at getting a $10 billion valuation in 3 years .. Thats why I moved over there.. I want to retire when I'm 30 man..".. Remarked a 20 something year old guy, who was walking behind me with a group of friends during a a windy & chilly night in Silicon Valley. That was a prelude to what I was to hear and experience in the next six days in a place which is the epicentre of technology revolution thats sweeping the world. From health care startups working in cutting edge molecular & genetic level analysis to IoT companies working in precision irrigation based on atmospheric parameters, this visit to Silicon Valley really broadened my horizons. Clusters of companies doing advanced work in many fields,  sky-high salaries and stock options, real estate & apartment prices that most people cannot afford,  the way this place has metamorphosed over the last 30 years or so means that chasing wealth is not an optionality but rather a com...

"No Country for Our People" - lamented the guide as he took our boat towards the floating villages in Lake Tonle Sap. It was a bit weird. As we saw the networked array of boats converted into houses, shops, hospitals and even an orphanage, many questions came into our minds about the background behind this community living in the largest lake in Cambodia. Floating Village - Orphanage, Lake Tonle Sap The origins of this floating village date back to the Khmer Rouge times when ethnic Vietnamese in Cambodia where pushed out . Post Pol Pot's regime , when they tried to return to Cambodia, they did not have any proof of identity or land ownership because of which they ended up settling in boats in Lake Tonle Sap.  Gradually this settlement grew large and now they survive on tourism and humanitarian aids Floating Village - Market, Lake Tonle Sap Cambodia is a fascinating land in many aspects for a traveller. For a country having a very low unemployment r...

So, it has been about 5 months since we left Dubai & moved back to India (Trivandrum )  after more than 6 years abroad . It was a decision that we took after much deliberations to leave a place that has been quite good on a personal front and move back here. And just thought of sharing a few perspectives that I feel could come handy for NRI's planning to come back *  There is never a "perfect time" for you to come back. When you look at your bank balance you may feel , well can I stay for couple more years. But the more you stay abroad, your kids will find it more difficult to come back * Things won't be smooth.. You will be exposed to troubles that you are not familiar with. Internet would break, unruly traffic, low quality goods - you'll experience all that..And you'll realise that there are alternatives to all those.. You can easily take up backup internet connections, you find out times / roads where traffic is smooth, you learn about brands you ...

"I have a dream" -  Thundered Martin Luther King Jr standing in front of Lincoln Memorial on 28-Aug-1963 . He did have a dream..Everyone who flocked to America had a dream. What makes the United States a land of opportunities ? To feel the answer, you have to visit Washington DC. I visited Washington DC before NewYork . Yet, I chose to write about New York first and then DC.  Thats because to illustrate USA, the best metaphor is NY. But to understand why USA has been so and so, there is perhaps no better substitute than Washington DC. Lincoln Memorial The answers to that is present in the National Archives building made famous to the young generation by the movie National Treasure. In there lies three important pieces of history that has defined America - Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, Constitution . To most visitors, Declaration of Independence is the central piece of attraction here. To me, it was Bill of Rights. Everyone picks up a copy of Decl...