Aate de chiri

My grandmother (Late Sardarni Gyan Kaur Chadha) did something very unique everyday. She would knead atta (wheat) and then make very small bite sized food drops for sparrows. I grew up watching her do this everyday with extreme love and remember learning how to make those the food drops from her. She usually made a little bird (chiri) out of the dough for me and that was the first time I heard these words - "atte de chiri". Her birds knew her timing and this was perhaps the only time my grandmother spent doing something sitting all by herself.

Now my grandmother and I shared a special relationship. Probably a little more deeper compared to her other grandsons. So deep that she even tied me rakhi for two years because her dead brother came in her dream once to let her know that I was his reincarnation. She stopped tying me the rakhi after two years as she realized that does not made any sense but as a 10-12year old this left an indelible mark on my memory.

Another fun facet of my grandmother was that she took the credit of planting the guava tree in our front yard. Therefore, she always wanted me to give her the softest and guavas bitten by parrots to her. I used to own that tree as a kid and spend hours on it, so her demands were always sort of funny for me. Still, when I look back I wish I had given more of those soft guavas.

As I grew up, the pressures of life took a toll on me. I know it sounds crazy but life takes you away from the gentle touches of your grandparents. My grandmother always wanted to put oil in my hair and joyfully claimed that my mother does not know how to put oil. I probably got it done four or five from her but I remember one instance very clearly. Lying in our front yard on a manji (cot) with sun shining on a winter Sunday, her hands moving slowly in my hair and telling me stories from our Gurus. At that time, I felt she is so slow and I wanted my Mom's style of fast swift action. But now, my heart knows how much I yearn for that gentle selfless touch.

Biquees Kaur

Recently stumbled upon this series Bilquees Kaur from HumTV. What an amazing series, great play-writing and acting. Highly recommended better than anything I have seen in recent times.

Khwaab

Apne hi khwaabon se jal na jao kahin,
Darr raha hain sajan mera mann

Bonus

Should one be happy to see their bonus or should one think how is their business relative to others. As much as I try to think about the latter, I think I belong to the former category. Happy and content this Diwali :)

Middle market private equity

So I got introduced to middle market private equity pretty late in the game. By game I mean my MBA at Haas. There are some things that immediately suck you in and learning about middle market PE play was one of them. In John Brennan of Silver Lake Sumeru words "The ability to add value via operational experience" is what differentiates them. There is something magical in those words...operational excellence is one of them. How exciting it is to look at a business closely and fix it. I am sure I am not alone who gets excited by all this but the real question is, who is going to bet on me?
Other conclusions were, when you evaluate a business understand what they call as their accounts receivables, revenue recognition methods and importance of using net sales vs gross sales. All this is music to me. What was even more interesting was that as a PE guy one should always question all the assumptions as you evaluate a business, something my previous boss at work always stressed tremendously. 

feel good or really good?

A solid short movie, makes you wonder how many non-sikhs actually like these movies or believe in their message? Whatever the answer to my inconsequential question is, this movie created by Mr. Satdeep Singh is impactful.

dishaheen

zindagi guzar na jaaye dishaheen hoke
khoj hain uss pal ki jab mujhe bhi yeh pata chalein,
ki aakhir majra kya hain, talaash kya hain