Van Chitgough- The Art of Life

if there was one comic stripped that defined my visionary ambition:)
this would be it.

Posted by chitgo at 1/31/2006 07:28:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

interesting post by govindraj on his views of the India presence at Davos. Worth reading here

Excerpts:

Its India and China again, this time at the World Economic Forum at Davos. To India's credit, much effort has gone in hardsell. To India's misfortune, much of this will remain that. Any new investor who gets swayed by the hooplah will want to visit this promised land. What he will see and conclude on landing in Bombay airport is best not left to imagination.

I have left a posting with my response on his website. My thoughts purely.
For my friends in India and for the NRI's. What do you think?

Posted by chitgo at 1/31/2006 07:15:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

found this on an ex-colleague's blog....hilarious! :)

My name is rishit jain, which you have most probably guessed by now, unless your IQ can be represented by an integer on the left-hand side of zero on a normal number line. The next thing I can tell you about me is my age, as is the convention when you are introducing yourself. But because this static text will make my age redundant after some time, I will give you my birthdate and then you can calculate my age accordingly. Yeah, it is 29th January 1984. Well, a website that describes the characteristics of us Aquarians did tell me about all the hazards of being an Aquarian (I am sure you have already found out those hazards as you have already read a few of my lines above), but I did not give enough heed to it, as I do not give enough heed to anything or anyone else. My life is my own game, with my own rules, if you are willing to play by them, well and good, otherwise I will make you play by them.

dude..rishit. you were always the man. the legend lives on :)

Posted by chitgo at 1/31/2006 06:55:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

the specially insribed 'india everywhere' ipods at davos- WEF.
and if you thought this was cool, add to the list original pashmina shawls, ravi shankar and zakir hussain double pack classics and original tanjora paintings as gift packs; from love - brand India.

Posted by chitgo at 1/31/2006 03:56:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

yup. those are pretty much the 2 words I could use to describe this last week's experience in davos - at the world economic forum. The scale, magnitude and shear scope of this event is lost on some1 unless you actually visit it. The sleepy little town gives you no hope of understanding the chaos that descends upon it once a year where global heads of state, ceos and media from every nook and corner of the world converge.
I was there from the 21st - 29th of this month and it was fantastic. And yes I met michael douglas, brad pitt and angelina jolie:).
Also= as a highlight of this last week. India rocks, and if its not on your agenda sometime in the coming 5 years (no matter who you are and what you're doing)- trust me there's potentiality for a major loss. India was truly everywhere at this year's WEF and delegates got an unimaginable taste of the country (literally and figuratively) with a host of intellectual and cultural events. Needless to say the India receptions were the most hyped and visited (read about it here, 70 Indians on panel discussions and 1/4th of the WEF agenda output focussing on India and China as the major hubs for all businesses, society and others which have a major dominoe effect on the directional focus for the rest of the planet. And on the cooleth factor: this was the killer: Specially inscribed ipods for every delegate at the WEF - The India everywhere davos symbol representing a new wave of activity, thought and impact of the country on the global scenario.
Btw, This is just a sneak peek of just what all happened in Davos so be patient. This last week has been momentful for a lot of other reasons as well.
Gio has gotten onto the equador MC!:) I am so so so so thrilled and heres a huge congratulations to him from my side. This chiller and I have spent the most awesome evenings drinking up and for this particular future stage plan- time spent on the application process. They didnt give him much of a shot, but he rocked it. This man has been one of the reasons why I was so driven to come to switzerland and he deserves the experience that awaits. Looking at it now- Bee is in columbia, DG is in columbia, Gio is in equador...south america is going to be a rocking place to visit soon huh...what say?
Connected to the above, one out of the 2 lives I am possibly the closest to in switz is sorted and ready to rock. the other, my main bro -CK has his SN form online and as was expected has half the world begging at his feet to join their countries/companies for a good traineeship. Going by his past record and ability, the boy is going to step into something good. Something really special in case I have something to do with it ofcourse (which I plan to btw:) so look out in this space for more details.
on others news....one of my closest friends has become the new member committee president of @ in India. Hearty congratulations to rishabh chopra (chopu to us). I worked with this guy on a year with the delhi chapter as executive body members and am pleased to note the country is in good hands. the MC was announced last night as well so looking forward to seeing the new batch of leadership. Its a 14 member team by the way!:) Feels a bit wierd, 2 years ago exactly the same time, I was selected onto the same team....time flies like faster than the new line of Lamborghini's sports car to hit the Indian roads! shortly.

Anyways...am back in Bern now. An eventful 3 weeks up ahead before I head off to amsterdam for IPM. The future shall be decided there and am rather excited. Whats the rest of the gang upto? Neha just returned from rotterdam/amsterdam (had attended the global coordinators meeting) and also caught up with some old friends from college. Dhanur is chilling in chennai before the new life begins with a 3 week training in Oslo followed by a year in Bogota, Columbia. KS was hilarious as usual with his anecdotes of his recent revisit to the AIESEC atmosphere- he was chairing elections in Estonia ....high flying mofos I tell u....kya life hai.
its still freezing cold here...it's time for some sunshine here in the land of the chill.
phew this is a pretty long post, and I dont think Ive even scratched the surface of the davos experience. It's all coming though...patience.

Quote of the day (dedicated to the man cos I met him at the WEF:)

There are quite a few things I've done that even I thought might have been one step too far. But if you are willing to make a fool of yourself and make people smile, as long as you do it with a sense of fun, you can get away with it.
-Richard Branson

Posted by chitgo at 1/30/2006 08:21:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

so. sitting in an obscure but very cute little bar under my apartment in davos...it has been sent.
done.
finito.
the end of one signifies the beginning of another.
bring it on....

Posted by chitgo at 1/27/2006 04:31:00 AM | Permalink | Comments   

for the heavens have opened and great ventures continue to bless mankind.
niharika pande, the queen of waxing eloquence, complexity and the love of my life has started a blog. yes..scream in pure joy, anxiety and curse like a truckdriver on how slow the internet can be cos no matter how fast the page opens...nothing is going to seem fast enough when gazing upon the pure magnificence that this url contains.

and no, she didnt pay me to say this.

i just love her, shes very intelligent, much smarter than me (although i wont admit it openly- and that just proves my point cos i just admitted it openly) and has been writing 'flash in the pan brilliance` poetry and prose for longer than i can remember.
watch this space. it would take only something as momentous as this for me to take out time from a very busy upcoming schedule with the india everywhere team and the world economic forum. the first posting itself a sign of things to come. and a word of advice - store the url on your favorites, its going to be hard to remember...

the mountains here are beautiful.
and neha,
your entry into the blogosphere was dutiful.
this
is the worst poem of all time
this
is why future global leaders like me shouldnt rhyme:)

:)

Posted by chitgo at 1/23/2006 02:15:00 AM | Permalink | Comments   

yup...leaving tomorrow evening at 5...with the grace of god would have finished my app. by then.
The party is pretty much underway in Davos- read it about it here.

Posted by chitgo at 1/20/2006 07:22:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

The most unfair thing about life is the way it ends. I mean, life is tough. It takes up a lot of your time. What do you get at the end of it? A death. What's that, a bonus? I think the life cycle is all backwards. You should die first, get it out of the way. Then you live in an old age home. You get kicked out when you're too young, you get a gold watch, you go to work. You work forty years until you're young enough to enjoy retirement. You drink alcohol, you party, and you get ready for High School. You go to grade school, you become a kid, you play, you have no responsibilities, you become a little baby, you go back into the womb, you spend your last 9 months floating... then you finish off as an orgasm! Amen.

George Costanza
Seinfeld

Posted by chitgo at 1/20/2006 01:07:00 AM | Permalink | Comments   

Google has just made another aggressive move into mainstream media that ought to have some non-Internet based media companies beginning to worry, even if they never considered themselves Google competitors.

The company is continuing to expand its advertising capabilities beyond the online world, agreeing to buy dMarc Broadcasting, a company that automatically connects advertisers with radio stations. The price could top $1.2 billion when one lumps together cash and performance-target payments over three years.

Google's well positioned to grow its search business globally as well. We report on a new survey of Chinese Internet users that rates Google superior in 11 of 13 categories against larger local rival Baidu.com.

All that excitement still doesn't settle the question of the stock's true worth. One analyst says $2,000 and another provocatively suggests $100. All that's clear is that one shouldn't sell short the company's ambitions.

-ASIALINKS DAILY VIEW
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Posted by chitgo at 1/18/2006 02:39:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

So, on informing chiara (a friend from geneva currently in Germany) of my future plans ..she replied back in her native italian (dont ask - damn swiss people speak every conceivable language on the planet including swahili) ....

"in bocca al lupo" (which she said meant best of luck) ; and then she asked me to reply back with "crepi"

So obviously I thought crepi meant 'thank you' (makes sense right? i mean obviously)
but nooooo:)

I was informed that "in bocca al lupo" means "in the wolf's mouth" and crepi means "may he die"

and I was left with the ultimate words "its kind of lost in translation"

hahahahahaa....so yeah may I die in the wolf's mouth - aka best of luck in italian....any other such interesting twists out there?

Posted by chitgo at 1/16/2006 08:43:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

popular culture/media and the powerful imagery and impact of a 'battle' have been left ingrained in my mind. A few months ago I felt like I was at the threshold of one of my greatest professional and personal battles in a convergence more awe-inspiring than ever before.
Flash forward 6 months later, im here again- except the battle is bigger and badder; the battle ground is more vast than one can imagine. the warhorn shall sound...and I can hear myself whisper...
Bring it on.

Returned from the swiss MC elections today- inspiring and motivating to say the least. Surrounded by ridiculously beautiful snow capped mountains in ticino, there's something about seeing and hearing another man bear his heart out for a cause that makes you want to reach out and acknowledge in any way you can- however words dont suffice in moments like those.
The association in switzerland shall have a new leadership body by monday night. It's going to be one bomb of an announcement for sure.

Countdown now reaches one week to Davos; 2 weeks to deadline and over one month to IPM....the 'struggles' of these past few weeks have been daunting. However I know there will be much to learn and much to say in the coming period...

downloaded 10 songs of perfect circle and must say I'm in love with the band. Strangely enough the impact of some tracks reminds me of head banging episodes back in my room in delhi with 'tool' when i was 18....
anyways...off to meet CK now- the gangster boy just came back from peurto rico!!!....stories and anecdotes are to be shared and loads of catching up to do.

Posted by chitgo at 1/15/2006 10:03:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

Read this on the latest IBEF newsletter. Certainly a fact worth sitting up and taking notice for. The hype is being backed up:

India is moving into the 10 per cent GDP growth trajectory and it could be a much bigger story than China in the long run, says Goldman Sachs economist Roopa Purshothaman, who co-authored the groundbreaking study paper 'Dreaming with Brics: The Path to 2050'.

Posted by chitgo at 1/13/2006 04:48:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

appreciating sneha's posting on her blog about professional experiences outside of AIESEC (even though that's not what the post intended im sure:))....
for all those out there deciding to leave AIESEC and venture into uncharted territories- take solice in the knowledge that there is shit loads to learn, you are not as amazing as you think and most importantly- that indescribable feeling of being pushed into unknown surroundings is exciting, tense and provision for a new rise to 'ze learning curve'. Good friends like KS and NP have helped me realize this even more....
on an unrelated topic..pakistan has started off on a killer note with younis khan scoring a century and the first day looking very much in our 'friendly' neighbour's hands at the score 281/2!..The indians need to get their act together I say...

Posted by chitgo at 1/13/2006 04:40:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

yep ladies and gents...its elections time worldwide once again....undoubtedly one of the most exciting periods in the year for any AIESECer of all ages and spaces:)
from switzerland to guatemala , from india to slovakia; young blood arises to take forth the mantle of leadership and fights the sweat and tears for something held near.
I still feel the thrill of the upcoming 'election' im going to be a part of but for the time being, heading off to ticino today to elect AIESEC in Switzerland's new MCP and theorize on who's going to take it up for the land of class and pure diversity- hoppschwitz!

Posted by chitgo at 1/13/2006 03:22:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

ok..
so vista inspirat was graciously shown the door as my itunes+ ipod decided to quit on me with the invasion of this alien....
basically put- after installing the pimped up version my itunes refused to load anything into my ipod shuffle, and no way was a stupid looking 'dock' thingy with added visual effects going to come in between me and my life support that is the ipod:).
so im back to good old XP and happier with it.
on other news...the deadline is drawing nearer....davos is coming up, ive taken up some zillion new responsibilities in true tribute to my past:) and enjoying it thoroughly.
swiss mc elections this weekend - 7 swiss candidates with no internationals! thats certainly new..should be a real humdinger...and my first time in the italian speaking part of switzerland - ticino:), will drop you guys some pictures from there next week.

on other news, dandy my bro has confirmed his position with global entrepreneurs - very excited for him and a huge congratulations!:)..i know bogota is now undoubtedly the next place to be with his glorious prominance in the vicinity...
life motors along here in switzerland at a hectic pace. the biting winds and chill factor continue to make their presence felt although i get the feeling the worst is behind us......

Posted by chitgo at 1/11/2006 04:18:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

he used to send these smatterings of inspiration all of last year:) and i loved reading them....
only fitting that after one of the most kickass and insightful reunions in the history of the free world that I should get the below given quote proceeding right after a hilarious email that contained bulleted (and at times severely fabricated:)) accounts of the gang's new year resolutions....
thanks KS....

He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who has earned the appreciation of honest critics & endured the betrayal of false friends; who has left the world better than he found it, whether by an improved garden patch, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who has never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty or failed to express it; who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had; whose life was an inspiration; whose memory a benediction

May 2006 be a step towards a life less ordinary:)

Posted by chitgo at 1/07/2006 10:19:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

join em:)
this is my new desktop....truly worded as a 'pimped' up XP interface:)...for all the wannabee MACers out there...enjoy the cheap thrills;)
available here
P.S. no abnormal slowness of my comp either:)

Posted by chitgo at 1/05/2006 05:32:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

I posted earlier about my desire to be at the amazing and widely publicized event - Annual World Economic Forum - Jan 2006
and it's come alive:) Jan 22nd- Jan 30th; I shall be part of the India everywhere team (managing branding).
Check out the agenda from the website and turn green my lovelies...:)

Posted by chitgo at 1/04/2006 04:17:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

ok...so there are funny people , and then there are funny people.
You know you've got it good if new year wishes arrive in this manner, and I was foolish enough to think my blog wasnt being read- this is mind-numbing scrutiny at it's foremost brilliance.
Email from my good friend siddharth pandey-

This time you will be thankful that you do not allow anonymous comments on your blog!! I just read the 'for I am back' post and to the following statement of yours.........(is that a word?- good grammer is on the list of resolutions I promise) .......I am lusting to post a comment which reads
you could start with the spelling of g-r-a-m-m-a-r!
haha, your faux pas makes your post 'brilliant poetic irony'
wah! WAH!!

Happy New Year
Siddharth

PS - the last time it was the impeccable use of brackets. This time, notice the finesse manifested in the formatting (bold, italics) and in these add-ons(exclamation marks, quotations, dots and dashes) to best articulate in a virtual environment............and......notice the correct use of brackets in the PS!

Posted by chitgo at 1/04/2006 02:52:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

A taxi passenger tapped the driver on the shoulder to ask him a question. The driver screamed, lost control of the car, nearly hit a bus, went up on the footpath, and stopped centimeters from a shop window.

For a second everything went quiet in the cab, then the driver said:
"Look mate, don't ever do that
again. You scared the daylights out of me!".

The passenger apologized and said, "I didn't realize that a little tap would scare you so much."

The driver replied, "Sorry, it's not really your fault. Today is my first day as a cab driver - I've been driving a van carrying dead Bodies for the last 25 years...."

Posted by chitgo at 1/04/2006 02:31:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

yup..after a wonderful time with my parents in the last week of december in the year gone past, the prague NYE+ reunion lived up to its expected share of adventures, wildishness (is that a word?- good grammer is on the list of resolutions I promise) and pure 'catching up' type shenanigans. thanks again to danka for hosting us so sweetly in the east european jewel that is prague...pictures on the flickr in the right hand bar - you can find them under 'switzerland' and 'mon ami' folders.
Happy new year to all reading this. 2006 promises to be a very eventful year and I do hope that all my dearest friends and family have a wonderful 12 months up ahead... and as the great mahatma gandhi once said in brilliant poetic irony:

The only tyrant I accept in this world is the still voice within.

I love the voice within :) it is my preferred tyrant!:)
cheers and look out for pictures and updates from NYE soon...

Posted by chitgo at 1/03/2006 11:57:00 PM | Permalink | Comments