Passion - Smash and Drop

The topic for this blog of mine deals with flexibility,speed,feathers,net,nylon chords - Yes,I am talking of badminton

We Indians have all played this game...shuttle cork and racquets are all this game requires with some open spaces.This is a game where women,kids - all, have displayed their racquet skills some time or the other.

But , in the end, only a few excel at this game because it is their passion and not just a mode of evening entertainment/time pass.

I have always loved to play this game from my childhood,I believe the genes of this racquet game were passed on to me by my father - who was himself a national level ball badminton player.He has won many a tournament.I was a witness to a few of the tournaments myself.

My father used to go every Sunday for practice in Pune(thats where we studied,played ,enjoyed the most).I use to tag along with him and used to watch the matches played from the sidelines.I even doubled up as a ball boy incase the ball used to land far away from the court(Ball badminton is an outdoor sport - can be played as doubles and fives).

I used to enjoy this Sunday ritual as it helped me to understand team work and the skills required in this fast paced game.

I then took up badminton(my student days - must have been 12 or 13 years) by playing at our estate club,I used my Dad's wooden racquet to play.This racquet was very different from a normal badminton racquet.It was heavy,wooden and had strings that were quite tough.

The only trouble at our estate club was that there was no coach who could give that strong foundation of basics.Formal coaching is what I still miss and feel about.

I played occasionally therafter because cricket ,football and hockey were the games that the kids of my neighbourhood preferred(maybe because they lacked skills in badminton)

I completely lost touch with badminton when I started my professional work.It was only about 2 years back when one of my friends goaded me to join him and his friends to play at a nearby club.I was again re-united with my long lost love.I was back in the groove.

I focussed on honing and sharpening my skills (age doesnt matter - if you want to learn) and my bigger goal was to play in a tournament and find out where I stand.

For one year,I practiced with my new found friends whose common passion was BADMINTON.In the second year, we then participated(40+ age group) in a tournament organised by Mahrashtra Badminton Association.My partner and me won the first round and then lost to worthy opponents in the second.That was my first taste of a badminton tournament.

The next stop was a corporate tournament where I was representing my company,Reliance Industries.We won Men's doubles in 40+ category.

My success in this tournamaent has encouraged me to practice harder and improve my skills further.

Now,badminton has become my biggest passion...Want to continue with it till I can...

Our daddy strongest

HAIRY tales

I have a cool hairstyle (see my pic on this page – yes, thats me:) ). But not all are as lucky, like for example YOU. Ever seen yourself in the mirror? It will tell horror stories of enduring you..

Hairstyles are of many types. Some can be changed, some you have to live with. Laloo`s hairstyle for example

I have another friend who is my badminton doubles partner – his hair doesn’t tire standing all year long , defying gravity!!

For some people (especially ladies), having waist-length, thick straight hair and an oval face is not enough. They want to know if curling their hair (and some exactly the opposite – straightening the curly hair) would suit their oval face! Try changing the shape of the face once, dear ladies…

For some people, change is automatic. Their hairstyles change automatically…simple - they start losing their hair.

There was this friend of mine who would ask me: “I have started losing hair in the front. It’s not receding, but thinning. You know anything I can do?”

“Big deal,” I said.

But he would not buy my argument….he insisted that it was a major concern and was even affecting his professional life. When asked how, he would say: “Earlier, when I would make a point, my lady boss used to listen attentively, now she just dismisses my view point as OUTDATED ”.

Another automatic change is from dry hair-to-oily hair. A neighbor once asked my mother: “When I shampoo, my hair become dry.”

“Obviously,” said my mom.

The neighbor would not let go…”But after four days time, my hair becomes oily again. I don`t apply oil at all.”

I wanted to barge in and suggest that she probably had an oil well in her head(tell this to Reliance – and they will drill a hole into her head and extract the oil) – something she could exploit for commercial gains, but I held myself back.

My mother replied: “Change your shampoo. Maybe it takes away all the oil your scalp produces. Start using a conditioner to keep your hair moist.” It was quite a profound answer.

The surprising thing is…the older you get the more concerned you are about your hair. And we thought…it was being Indian to give up all worldly possessions as you age. How many times, we have seen people whom we know are all grey…decked up as Dev Anands, thanks to Godrej hair dye?

There are some who completely transform from NO hair to ALL hair. Rajnikant is one great exponent of this art. He does look GOOD in his wigs and actually makes him the superstar that he is.He also has the guts to come out open in the public with a bald plate,that talks of his unassuming nature.

Talking of wigs, I dearly wish to see how the great Amitabh would actually look without his trademark wig(some people still don’t believe he wears one – poor souls).

Hair raising tales of different nature next time – hair on the ears..ugghhh…

My Sona's birthday - poem dedicated...

To my dearest wife SONA

This is my way of thanking YOU,

A woman who I think I always KNEW,

What a big difference you have made to my LIFE

I am proud to say that you are my WIFE

You take care of everything without feeling any PAIN

I feel so happy to see you make others happy and dance in RAIN

What more can I ask from GOD

To give you as my wife,I can only thank the LORD

Today is my Sona’s BIRTHDAY

“I love you” are the only three words I can SAY

                                                                        Your Loving Husband

                                                                                    Krishna/Kittu

Why do people fast ?

The types of fasts that I am aware of are mentioned below -

Health Fasts- With health fasts, one usually has intakes of fresh juice, fruits for a period of time to cleanse the body from all the toxins that had built up in it. This is a way of giving some “time-out” to our internal digestive organs which are really over-worked with the junk food, odd hours of eating, stress  that we usually have.

Then, there  are  people(from the entertainment/fashion world) who stretch this beyond limits.

Prime examples of this are actresses/models/wags(Kareena / Victoria Beckham to name a few) who are or have been  obsessed with “size-zero”. Anorexic and weak looking – are the side-effects…

Spiritual Fasts – Almost all the religions in this world have given significance to spiritual fasts –the Navratri fast, Ramazan fast,the Lent fast and so on.

For the spiritual fasts, it is a path to control the senses, desires and provide you an opportunity to connect to God. In a spiritual fast, you have a “time-out” from the strong desire of eating rich and tasty food. It is a matter of controlling   that desire and channelize your thoughts towards “food for the soul”.

 It helps in establishing a harmonious relationship between the body and the soul. This is thought to be imperative for the well- being of a human being as it nourishes both his/her physical and spiritual demands.

Fasting is not only a part of worship, but a great instrument for self-discipline too. It is a training of the mind and the body to endure and harden up against all hardships, to persevere under difficulties and not give up

Again, keeping spiritual fasts is not about only eating simple food throughout the day, it is also about the way you think, conduct and act. It is the time to introspect and search for the right path towards attaining spiritual balance that the mind and the soul desires.

A Non-Violent Protest

From a matter of dietary control, fasting has come to be a handy tool of societal control. It is a non-violent form of protest. A hunger strike can draw attention to a grievance and can bring about an emendation or redress. It is interesting to note that it was Mahatma Gandhi who used fasting to capture people's attention.

Mahatma Gandhi then and Anna Hazare now have also used the process of fasting as a medium to highlight their concern/viewpoint to the public in general.This is a way to bring in awareness on an issue that needs immediate attention of the administration and the public. People who have dedicated their lives to the cause of building a strong nation,improving  people’s quality of life and society in general have used fasting as a means to give impetus to such movements.

Fellow-Feeling

Finally, the pangs of hunger that one experiences during fasting make one think and extend one's sympathy towards the destitute who often go without food. In this context, fasting functions as a societal gain wherein people share with each other a fellow feeling. Fasting provides an opportunity for the privileged to give food-grains to the less privileged and alleviate their distress, at least for the moment.

My views – Fasts are something that a man has created for himself because he has not been successful in managing his health – physical and spiritual.

My question is - Can we lead the life of a person who has no desires and is content with what he has? Who is that person? That person according to me is called – A Happy Person!!

Its human nature to desire more, acquire more, spend more, then worry more and then again desire more, acquire more…this is a vicious cycle that weakens your health. This cycle needs to be broken. Who will break it? It is we who   have to identify this cycle within ourselves and then get enough courage, strength and the will to break this cycle.

Then, will we still require to fast?? I don’t think the answer is YES..

Bharat Ratna – the first sportsman to get - WHO???

I was following with great interest the  recent clamour that the rules for awarding Bharat Ratna be modified to include sportspersons too so that our batting sensation Sachin Tendulkar can be awarded the nation’s highest civilian award.

Who gets Bharat Ratna?

This is the highest civilian award in India, awarded for the highest degree of national service. This service includes artistic, literary, and scientific achievements, as well as "recognition of public service” of the highest order. I will just reproduce(source – Wikepedia) some of the luminaries who have got this award -

·       Mother Teresa, C.V.Raman, S.Radhakrishnan, Amartya Sen, Bismilla Khan, M.S.Subbalakshmi, Bhimsen Joshi just to name a few…

·       Nelson Mandela – only foreign recipient

·       Some undeserving according to me – obviously politicians – MGR(I was surprised that he got it),Rajiv Gandhi,Indira Gandhi…

Now coming back to sportsmen getting this award and the hoopla surrounding Sachin being the first recipient, I have my views on this.

I too am a fan of Sachin ,who has provided joy to millions of Indians, indeed the world, with his sublime batting. More than that, I admire at the manner in which he has handled himself in this immense public scrutiny that the Indian press and viewers subjected him to. No reports or allegations on his personal and professional behaviour in his twenty odd years of international cricket have emerged(in public domain)...

However, despite all these great things attributed to Sachin, I am still unconvinced that if indeed the rules of the game are changed to include sportspersons, Sachin should be the first in the line to get the award.

The one name that comes to mind immediately is that of our hockey great Major Dhyan Chand.  Whether you are a hockey lover or not, anyone who claims to be a sports lover would, or should, know about Dhyan Chand. He was instrumental in the country winning three successive Olympic Gold medals in hockey - 1928, Amsterdam; 1932, Los Angeles and 1936, Berlin. Such was his mastery when the sport was indeed India’s national game, that there are tales of people travelling from different countries to just watch him play a game of 70 minutes.

And while there are many fans who travel to see Sachin’s batting, Dhyan Chand’s accomplishments and stories are already part of the sporting folklore. Consider the following:-

• The most celebrated story of how Hitler, after watching his stupendous performance at Berlin Olympics, offered him the German citizenship and also a promotion in the German army. Of course, Dhyan Chand refused.
• He was called the Hockey Wizard as the ball literally stuck to his stick and used to run circles around the defenders
• I have seen video footages of him playing international matches with bare feet!!!

The points in favour of Dhyan Chand

1)     Dhyan Chand played an Olympic sport and Sachin plays a sport that is hardly played by ten countries

2)     Dhyan Chand is unparalleled in his field (that cut across the countries)while Sachin has a few contemporaries(Brian Lara,Ricky Ponting,Rahul Dravid,Sunil Gavaskar to name a few) who were as good if not better.(not to mention Don Bradman – who many believe is the greatest cricketer ever)

3)     In Dhyan Chand’s case, however, there was no one who came close. In terms of stickwork at least, there have been the likes of our own Mohd. Shahid,the mercurial Dhanraj Pillay or the Pakistani duo of Hassan Sardar and later Shahbaz, but absolutely none had such a magical influence over the game as Dhyan Chand.

So, back to the debate on whether Sachin should get the Bharat Ratna or not? Yes, most certainly. As I said, he merits it ahead of a lot of others who keep getting national awards these days. But should he be the first one? I most certainly think not. Dhyan Chand it should be,FINAL DECISION,LOCK KIYA JAAY ?? :)

Missing my mobile phone

My Mobile fell down (I am not to be blamed, all because of my slippery hands) damaging the display and the internal parts and thus started my Mobile tragedy week. I went to the nearest Nokia service center where the technician gave a serious look at me post the inspection(why cant this guy well buy a new phone??) and then announced – “This can be repaired but will take a week’s time”

Mobile Tragedy Week - It's been a week since my phone is hospitalized and now I just can not imagine how I lived before owning a mobile. Just can not live without it. I realize that my phone was something more than a phone for me... or the fact is that it never served the purpose of a phone, as I usually don't get or make many calls other than the ones from/to my near and dear ones.

1)    I lost all my contact numbers from the phone memory and can't recall any of the numbers other than my home and wife’s.

2)    My ears are so used to listening to reminders at least one in a day. The reminders alert me on a lot of events ranging from - the calls to my wife(post lunch at office),birthdays, anniversaries, meetings in office, paying bills online, my insurance premiums, the list is endless (and my family/close friends think I have a sharp memory).Without my mobile, I have already missed paying my credit card bill(a loss of memory leading to loss of money ,had to pay late fee too).

3)    I have lost all contact with my near and dear ones. My landline at home is suddenly happy as it is getting my attention now for making calls. I don’t even know how to open the STD lock on that landline(apart from it, the stupid wire gets so entangled that it is sickening to laboriously unwind and then again see it entangled in the next five minutes!!!)

4)     Have lost the pleasure of playing my favourite games in the morning (of course  in the loo)

5)    Missing the loving calls from my wife, at least four in a day... (to check if I reached office, had lunch, left office, what are you doing...etc)

6)    Narcissist that I am, miss taking my own snaps using the front camera and adoring the pics.

7)    I miss my Face book every minute(that’s the frequency I browse my face book)

8)    My car dashboard is missing my mobile(that’s where it rests while I am driving)

9)    My favourite songs that I repeatedly listen to, I miss them

10)  All the funny forwards that my friends send and receive is on HOLD and

last but not the least

Nothing in my hands to fall down:)

-Yes I drop my mobile from my hand very often and I blame that its covering is too smooth for gripping.

Marriage – A Necessary Evil??

Let me challenge the status quo and come up with a post on how “blissful” this institution of marriage can be…

The humour angle –

In the last twelve years (I think we got married on April 28, 1999!) I have learnt that one needs two things to succeed in marriage: Sense of humor and a very, very short memory (Not like Aamir Khan in Ghajini, of course!).

If you are a married male, you probably know that there are only two reasons for your wife to fight with you – you and your family members. If you are a married lady…you don`t need to be told the two reasons why your husband fights with you – his wife and her family.

While my better half and I are still figuring out how we can start loving each other…we have found a solution to love each other`s family members. For example, she loves my mother-in-law…and I adore her mother-in-law. Now, that`s a beginning. What say?

Marriage is a necessary evil.

Necessity because

a)      It gives you food, clean clothes and comfort (all this if you are a man)

b)      It gives you money to shop, a fool to listen to your blabber and handle an emotionally warped guy(all this if you are a woman)

Evil because

a)      You  become a domestic animal(if you are a man)

b)      You become a domestic servant to your husband(if you are a woman)

The serious angle –

Now, if you discount my humor in the above paragraph, then I firmly believe that Marriage is  nothing but a partnership between two human beings to meet the challenges of life.

Our examples are not far way as they lie in our respective parents.

Their bondage  got stronger with every passing year,They have seen all the hardships and supported each other in the toughest of times.This is possible only if there is a strong companionship and a spirit of "Oneness" which ofcourse is an important bye-product of marriage.

Marriage lends stability,responsibility and a purpose to our lives.We then start thinking of “WE” and not “I/Me”.

So,in my view, guys , Marriage is  necessary for all the angels and an evil for all the devils!!!

Indians - Another view

We're Indians. We don't kiss in public domain. Kissing is what people outside India do. We just smile shyly at the people we love (many of us are shy even to hold our spouse’s hand while walking – I am discounting the current GenX). Watch our many movies for proof.

We love cricket. It's because we're so good at it. It's because we feel we have in it us to beat the world. Kapil and his devils gave us that belief first. Dhoni and his team cemented that belief. Other sports are not worthy of our attention. Other sportsmen do not pour their hearts out into their games. Other sportsmen are not worthy of endorsing our brands of footwear, aerated drinks or car batteries. Our cricketers alone deserve our adoration. Because they just play cricket and don’t while away their time partying in the nights.

Our cricketers and our movie stars, that is. Our movie stars are intelligent. They study all scripts carefully and are always unwilling to go for stereotypes. Our movie stars go for the scripts that stretch the envelope and give a social message that helps the cause of our country.

We are a patient, tolerant people. We accept all religions and tolerate all kinds of behaviours. We never riot. Politicians in India are a responsible lot. They don’t manipulate issues,poor people or misuse public money.Rioting, too, happens only outside our borders. We keep the peace at all hours. We tolerate all religions and dont provoke sentiments.

All Indians are our brothers and sisters. This is why we respect all women. This is why women in our major cities can do as they like and travel, unaccompanied, at all hours. This is why our policemen are highly respected, for the protection they offer to all women. We like women to have minds of their own. We do not brand them as objects of lust. Look at our many female film stars for proof. We respect them all. The ones who choose to do as they like on screen, as well as the ones who do not.

Bold women are never a threat to us. The idea of female sexuality is welcomed and holds no threat for our calm countrymen. We do not ask women to wear clothes we choose for them. We respect them irrespective of whether they're dressed in nine-yard saris or nine-inch mini-skirts.

Education is important for us. We respect our teachers. We encourage our sons and daughters to take up teaching as a profession. We pay our teachers well. We pay our teachers on time. We teach our sons that teaching is not just a JOB.It is a noble profession. We respect our system of education. We encourage our sons and daughters to get an education here, not abroad, because we believe in the system. The few who graduate abroad are encouraged to come back here, to make life even better than it already is for themselves and their countrymen.

The other noble profession is of a Doctor.In India, every doctor sees the treatment of poor and underprivileged ,in villages as his responsibility .They don’t cheat on the patients by giving loads of prescription just to please the pharma companies.They don’t see this as an opportunity to make money out of unsuspecting patients.The doctors are honest and give the correct diagnosis and treatment.

We are proud of our culture. We uphold it every week. Our heritage is precious. This is why we protect it well. Our monuments are well cared for. Our museums are well funded. Our curators are literate and well paid. We do not allow people to encroach on sites like the Taj Mahal or the Qutub Minar. We don’t allow any kind of scribbling on the walls of these monuments..

We treat our sons and daughters equally. We allow our daughters to marry when they wish to. We allow our daughters to pick the men they want to spend  their lives with. We encourage our daughters to think for themselves. We believe they have the intelligence to make wise decisions. This is also why we encourage them to study further.

We love our country. We don't want to live anywhere else. We don't work towards the idea of leaving it and never coming back.

Because we're Indians. Hypocrites, all(that includes ME,ouch!!)

Whom can we find in a LIFT?

With the real estate boom, the buildings are getting taller and the lifts in these buildings have become some sort of a social networking site. We all spend at least five minutes everyday traveling the lifts.(unless if you are a lift operator- then read eight hours)

Here are the different types of people you will find inside lifts:

The Operator

This is generally a man(why cant this be a woman, I always wondered!!), and the moment he steps inside the lift he has only one question for everybody inside the lift: “Which floor?” He is the type that gets upset if you have already pressed the button. Throughout the journey, he will stand next to the buttons.

The only time when your movement(upward or downward) is controlled by him.Even the character/behavior of the lift operators depends on the building type in which he is employed – society(a bit accommodating),hospital(very stern, cant take first floor),any government building(absolute tyrant),shopping mall(frustrated, mechanical, just like a zombie),Maker Towers in Mumbai(he is the owner of the lift,no way you can get a chance to press a button)

The Roving Eye

Both, a man and a woman can fit this bill. This person runs an eye over everybody in the lift. Once the glance is cast, he or she then starts focusing on individuals and starts marking them eye to toe. There are various parameters on which such people evaluate you – which company you could be working in, single or married, how much you could earning, how much does that shiny shoe cost and some that I don’t want to describe(this is a family blog, guys!!).

The Fixer

This is mostly a man. His main job is to fix his gaze at anybody who enters the lift. A stare back doesn’t discourage this guy. The fact that the stare is going to last only 30+ seconds helps the hapless victim. Mind you, he doesn’t just stare at women, even men also end up being his target. These are mostly men like men( I know you are already nodding in agreement) – going through a midlife crisis and trying to make contact with any life form.

The Perfume Woman
In most office lifts this type is a rarity. How often do you share a lift with a girl, who has poured the whole bottle of perfume on her body? This person is usually wearing heels, dark, tight trousers with light colored shirt, hair let loose on anyone standing behind her and is holding a file or a diary ,branded cooling glasses on her head(that is an accessory,mind you). She steps into the lift with a few clicks of her heels, and sets the adrenalin pumping into the men inside(the men who missed getting into the already crowded lift dont mind taking their chance by running upstairs faster than the lift and waiting for the lift doors to open). If you see a man missing the second floor in spite of pressing the second floor button of the lift…there are very high chances that there is a perfume woman inside the lift.

The back-to-the-door person ( I find this position most interesting)
This can either be a man or a woman . For some odd reason, they stand with their back to the door till they reach their destination floor – opening or closing of the lift doesn’t help in changing their orientation. Someday I am going to ask a back-to-the-door person as why they stand unless they are protecting their backside.

The Evader
This is an interesting character that becomes a part of our lift life very often. They avoid all eye contact when inside the lift. If you notice, they will take out their handkerchief and play with it, then stare at the fan or AC vent on top, then look at the buttons, stare at the floor indicator at the top of the lift etc. They will do anything to avoid eye contact with you – even looking at their own shoes.

The Mobile Maniac

This can both be a man or a woman. For some odd reason, they always get emails when they are in the lift. And when they don’t have emails to read, they would snap out the mobiles from their pockets and send out a few SMSes. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are just some sms forwards. Most often, the mobile that’s involved here is a smartphone – a Blackberry, an iPhone, an HTC or a high end Nokia device.

The Controller

This is almost always a man. He takes it upon himself to trigger the lift door’s sensitivity by placing his hand next to the door till everybody isn’t inside completely or hasn’t gone out completely. He is the fatherly figure to every lift traveler. There is no specific age group for this character – they range from 16 year old boys to 50 year old men.

The Panicker(I didn’t get any better word to describe)

This is almost(I am tempted to remove this word “almost”) always a woman. A sudden jerk in the lift,any funny noise ,power cut will kick start shrieks, pandemonium and the whole lift will reverberate with the shouts of “Save Us,the lift is crashing”.Panic sets in and then what – the lift lands safely as ever!!

Any other characters you can think of?

Why are some people LUCKY in life?

We have all been around people who just seem to have that Midas touch.. Whatever they seem to do they just can’t fail (people winning lotteries, housies, promotions..). They always appear to be at the right place at the right time, they have things seemingly fall into place in their lives and they would appear to be happy and successful in life. Then you have the other type of people who no matter their potential they have never been able to rise above their despairing levels. They encounter obstacles and failure at every turn. No matter how well intentioned they are they just can’t seem to get things together and they lack any real success or happiness.

So what do lucky people have that makes them lucky?

This is just an exploratory thought process that has germinated in my mind

According to me – the following may be the relevant things to look for

1)       Are lucky people looking at every opportunity that comes their way as a gateway to success? – For them, every opportunity is a way to look forward and not remain in the past and the present. Creating new opportunities also gives the person a better chance to succeed and thus get LUCKY

2)      Are lucky people always positive? – Negative people are usually close minded and wont take any chance to improve the situation

3)      Are lucky people relaxed in their attitude and thus can see and identify the opportunities and discern compared to other people?

It would seem to appear that lucky people aren’t born lucky, they create it by their own thoughts and deeds. So , if we want to be luckier in life ,we  need to start changing who we are and what we are doing.

There is no harm in changing our current strategy. Lets  go for the new Strategy MAP, boys!!!

Appraisal bloodbath

Is your appraisal over?

Yes? Then I’ll get back to you in a bit.

No?

When do you think it will happen?

Will your appraisal show your performance as being Excellent? VG? G? Avg(this year it is a new introduction)

How much do you think your increment will be? 10%? 15%? 20%? More? Less than 10%?NIL?

How has your company done this year? Has it made a profit? Has it made a loss? How much? Was the profit or loss in line with the projections made last year?

Do you even know?

Do you have answers for any of the questions above?

For reasons that I just can’t understand, most companies don’t have an appraisal system worth the name – which causes a great amount of anxiety and stress across the company.

You wake up in March, suddenly remembering that ‘appraisals’ are due. Is it an appraisal at all? Did you and your boss/HR manager (by the way, do you have an HR manager?) sit down, a year ago, and discuss what you would be appraised on? Did you, together, discuss your KRAs and define those areas where you needed to improve? BSC is such a glorious but completely wasteful exercise if done with no heart and one eye completely to please the top management!!

And can you, ever predict and say, “hey, I’ve done really well, I’ll get a great increment?”

No? And did you get (in some cases, “ever”)promoted? Did you have a clue what the promotion could mean to you? Do you rise to a new grade, which gives you better perks? The right to a better hotel room when you travel?

For those who are done with the appraisals and received/not received increment letters, did you really have an  appraisal? Is your increment really an increment?

For example, have you even thought of the fact that if you’ve got less than 10% increment, you’ve actually regressed – because inflation has been, in the last year, more than that? What about other people who haven’t got an increment at all?? God save them!!

And for those who are upset with the appraisals and the increments, do you know if the company has performed badly and cannot afford to award increments without endangering all of you working in it? Or if the company has made a profit, can afford increments, but that you failed to get one/get one that you expected because you didn’t bother about these questions at all?

To all the Harry Sadoos( managers/bosses) reading this, be sure that all your colleagues are asking themselves these questions now. It’s time this rubbish stopped.

The failure in setting up robust HR systems in a people business is the most irresponsible cause for the talent drain and worse creating nincompoops out of good performers. There are many a talented and deserving people who don’t get what they should and this is playing with their lives!!Criminal waste I would say…

It’s too late to do anything for this year, but it’s just perfect for fixing next year.

Do yourself a favour. Worry about this now, so you don’t stress out completely next year – as you’re doing now. Are you seeing a new job opportunity?? Go for it,boys & girls

My Lower berth

I am sure most of you (who've travelled in sleeper class) would have experienced this.

I normally book my tickets online at irctc.co.in. I travel to Hyderabad quite often and the train from Mumbai to Hyderabad is around 10.00pm. Its an ideal time since you can have your dinner and sleep off and find yourself at the destination next day afternoon. Tadaaa.

Anyway, when I book my tickets, I normally go for the upper berth but during that one odd trips, I prefer the lower berth. So there I was last time I travelled, all armed with my ticket for berth number 60 in coach S2 (lower berth). In comes the old-lady and woman-with-kid. Whoosh! There goes my lower berth before I could say “gone”. Sigh.

I know this must have happened to you guys too. I don't remember the last time I actually slept in a nice lower berth peacefully, without being looked at imploringly by people who want to take it away from me.

For the record, my parents are old enough to be given the privilege of lower berth and I understand totally about being kind with your berth. But, just once can I please have my berth? Sigh. Ok ok. I will climb up…

See, Not through your eyes!!

I live on the third floor of an apartment building. I use the lift, all the while thinking I should take the stairs, though that never happens. On this particular Sunday afternoon, I was going to get some stuff to eat from the nearby bakery(there was an exciting cricket match which will require some munchies). As the lift descended to the second floor,  there was a boy, not over 4, standing quite close to the lift doors. I thought he wanted to get in, but , he watched me intently and I stared back. Just as the lift doors were closing again, he spat on me. Yes, he SPAT on me. I saw him quickly run off to the right hand side. His spit hit bang on my right shoulder and I felt the wetness go through my T-shirt and touch my arms. I felt anger and sadness (for some reason) fill me as I reached the ground floor. As a woman looked at me curiously, wondering why I wasnt getting off, I asked her to get in and pressed the button that read two. Got off the floor and looked around.. My mind kept on saying 'you have to find him'. I walked towards the right hand side of the lift (the direction where the boy ran off) and suddenly caught a glimpse of him moving towards the stairs and running up. He hadn't seen me. I climbed up behind him and found him standing the exact same way near the lift door and waiting for the next victim. I caught him by the ear (something I have never ever done) and looked down at him. He tried to wriggle out and said in perfect english "I am sorry uncle, I will not do it again". I was not convinced, I wanted to be sure. I caught him by the wrist and asked him to take me to his flat. He was terrified and I could feel his pulse beating so hard against his tiny wrist I had a tight grip on. I asked him if he goes to school, is this the way he behaves there, this is how street kids behave and I haven't had an experience like this even from them. He kept on repeating that he will not do it again and maintained silence when I asked him his flat number. I had a firm grip on his wrist and insisted he take me to his house. His eyes turned red and I expected him to cry. He didn't. I kept on repeating 'take me to your house' and after around 2-3 mins (though it felt much longer, I am sure it wasn't) he said 'fifth floor , flat number 504'. That's when he gave up and he knew this monster of a man was going to bring disgrace to him and his parents and he is going to be grounded for some time. I walked with him to his flat and rang the bell. He strongly shook off my grip and this time, I let go. I asked him "what's your name?", trying to bring in some gentleness to my voice. His face was set in a very angry and determined manner as he mumbled 'Sumit'. He still didn't cry.

His dad opened the door and he ran in to one of the rooms. The dad looked at me and smiled curiously. There was a girl not over 2 years, sitting on the sofa and smiling toothlessly at me. His Dad welcomed me to his house( I then wondered that living in apartments we really dont know many of our own neighbors) and on the drawing room I saw a big family picture that had the little boy along with his little sister happily posing with their parents and the photo next to the family picture was of the “Lady of the house” picture that was garlanded. I was dumbstruck.Sumit’sdad mentioned that she died last year in an accident and the children are missing her a lot.They moved in recently to this apartment to forget the memories attached in the previous house with her.

I looked at the father's face and said "I saw Sumit standing near the lifts and he looked a little upset. I was just worried whether he was lost so thought I will bring him back." He gave me a wide smile and said 'thank you very much' as I stepped out of the house and walked towards the lift again.

This was the moment of truth for me. I have realized that there is a story in every face you see and Sumit’s story was of “I miss my MOM”. The spit wasn’t hurting me anymore…

My Top 3 (DD) serials

My addiction to TV started when I was in school (some time in 1984).The only channel that broadcasted news, entertainment and educational programs was DOORDARSHAN.

  If today someone gives me the power to roll back time, I have a few things to do. And the first thing would be going back to the days when Doordarshan aired those lovely serials. They were pure, unadulterated and had a strong storyline with very good script. More importantly, you can watch them with your family.

Yes, I miss them, believe me we all do miss them. I remember, Doordarshan was the only channel when I was kid, and there was only one television in the street. Yes you are reading it right – in the whole street.

One of the advantages of those serials (and one television) was you get to know your neighbors very well. It was a community affair when Chayageet, Mahabharat, Ramayan, He-Man, Sunday movies were telecast. All the kids were made to sit on the floor and the adults occupied the chairs and sofas.

 Another advantage of only one channel was that you could discuss it with your friends in school knowing they would have watched the same thing, not like the present day situation when you ask a friend whether he saw the match and he will reply ‘Nahi big boss dekh raha tha’.

Let me bring back those lovely memories, the time when we were kids, the time when  doing homework was the most difficult task, when the Sunday movie on TV was the most anticipated event of the week,   the time when face and books were different things(unlike FACEBOOK now), the time when friends didn’t know each other by the number of PS2,Beblettes  and other computer games they own  and the time when news meant only one hour of news(remember Salma Sultan,Rini Khanna,Usha Albequerue,Avinash Kaur -Sarin later – funny that I remember only the ladies,what about men – was it Shammi Narang, Tejeshwar Singh,Rajiv Mehrotra?)) and not the Tamasha(with a lot of sensationalism and zero journalism) they have now degenerated to(Sansani!!!).Even the news for the impaired,news in sanskrit were a result of high class programming!!

TV programs were then a reflection of our culture, source of information of our rich heritage and a medium to provide education.The government was the caretaker of the type of visual material that was allowed to be shown to the Indian public.Now with all the media freedom given,the visual material has slipped quite a few notches…

Some of the serials that had the highest impact on me (and audience generally) are:

1.) Malgudi Days

Everything was just perfect. The village, the goats (even they knew how to act much better than the current saas and bahu), the kids, the houses, the roads, the ladies. The title track was just awesome “Taa Na Na Na Ta Na Na Na Re” (even now some have it as their ringtone). The cartoons were by the famous R.K. Laxman. Without going more into the technical details, I would just like to re-live those days, the feeling and the art of storytelling. The writer shows how to produce stories out of nowhere. Then there was Swami(Master Manjunath, now a corporate manager in real life) and his late night adventures in his father’s office. Those were the child artistes who can make the most matured ones acting in the current “Saas Bahu” serials feel silly. The cricket match (Swamy and his friends), the way his friends just hang round ,their small quarrels were all so absorbing and life-like.

And the all credit goes to “R.K. Narayan”.

2.) Nukkad

It (Street Corner) was the name of a popular TV serial that aired on the Indian Television channel somehwere in1986 - 87. It was co-directed by Kundan Shah and Saeed Akhtar Mirza, starring Dilip Dhawan, Rama Vij, Pavan Malhotra, Sangeeta Naik, Avtaar Gill in lead roles.

The serial dealt with the struggles of urban youth,some of the iconic characters were - Dilip Dhawan - Guru (The Electrician) ,Avtar Gill - Qadir Bhai (The Hotelier) , Khopdi (The Drunk) ,Haider Ali - Raja ,Javed Khan - Karim Hajaam (The Barber) , Pavan Malhotra - Hari (Bicycle-repair guy) ,Sangeeta Naik - Radha ,Rama Vij - Teacherji (The Educator) ,The police constable -  Ganpat Hawaldar  and some more

This serial was a trend setter in the way Mumbayya language was spoken,the feeling of oneness in the Nukkad community ,happiness shared on the festivals and the lessons learnt by the characters every episode was an example of wholesome entertainment. Every episode ended with a life changing lesson for one of the characters.The way the love story of Guru and Teacherji was depicted, signified  of their silent romance for each other and no direct words spoken ever!!

3.) Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi

The episodes revolved around funny happenings in the lives of Ranjit Verma (played by actor Shafi Inamdar) and Renu Verma (played by actress Swaroop Sampat, a former Miss India 1979), who play a married couple along with Renu's unmarried and unemployed younger brother Raja (Rakesh Bedi). Other characters were Ranjit's boss (Tiku Talsania), his Bengali neighbours (actors Vijay Kashyap and Sulabha Arya), etc.

A trademark of the show were the characters played by Satish Shah. In each episode, Shah played a different character who somehow played a key role in the plot. These characters would be from various professions and various regions of India, with some being close family friends of the Vermas and others being total strangers. During the mid-1980s Satish Shah was the undisputed "King of Comedy" as a direct consequence of the multitude characters that he played on the show.

Now,lets see what could be the top 3 serials of this generation

1)    Kaun Banega Crorepati

2)    Bigg Boss

3)    Khatron ke Khiladi

All three are reality shows,giving big cash prize for the winners – so now it is all about a lot of juicy and shocking footages of fisticuffs,abuses(Bigg Boss),a lot of money at stake and nothing to do with our rich Indian heritage,culture(the only saving grace- KBC – anchored by Amitabh himself)