Peer Pressure

Scene (and seen!) in a female boutique shop in US (sometime in Nov 2009):

Three teenage girls checking out the innumerous dresses spread across the different shelves.

The quest for the ‘Right Dress’ made the three friends wander across the shop.

One girl picked up a jazzy top and her jaw literally dropped as if she found gold.

She grabbed it with both hands and made way to the friend nearest to her.

She said to her, with her eyes rolling: “Isn’t this cool? I mean isn’t this is so damn good?!”

The friend looked at the dress, just shrugged and said “Its okay” and continued her own search.

Not convinced if the top was just “okay”, the first girl then took that ‘piece-of-gold(!)’ to the third friend.

She asked her the same question but this time with less enthusiasm.

The third girl frankly said “Naw...” and she too got busy with her own search.

The first girl gave one last look at the jazzy top, gave a shrug and kept it back on the shelf.

Just goes to show how much one value other’s opinion…

Good Deed for the day

I was hungry when I left my office cubicle. By the time, I ran to the bus and got a seat, I was starving. I had a box of rusk with me which I opened and started munching. Etiquette told me that I should offer it to my (unknown) colleague sitting right beside me. But something within me was stopping me. I was not sure if I was embarrassed or if the person listening to iPod was stopping me but I sure wanted to. A part of me was stopping me from even starting the conversation with the unknown person while another part was urging me to the good deed.

Just a few days ago, when I was sitting in the same bus with another (unknown) colleague, I found it so easy to ask if Sachin had got to his momentous 200, but now, when I wanted to do a good deed, it was such a humongous task. Simple words – “Would you like to have some…?” But the words just wouldn’t come, even though I knew the other person would politely refuse! I tried and tried, I mentally spoke but physically it just wouldn’t come out! I finally felt so guilty eating all by myself, that I took the direct approach: I stopped thinking and blurted out the question. As expected, the person politely refused. Phew! What a relief to just ask and be rid of the guilty conscience!

Why is it so difficult to do a good deed? Why do we feel embarrassed?

Then I remembered Trevor McKinney in Pay It Forward. A simple story of doing 3 good deeds, and how the world gets transformed…

Quotes on Life

"It is a disturbing thought that we suffer in this world just as much by being prudent and taking precautions as we do by being rash and impulsive and acting as the spirit moves us."

"Freddie, resplendent in evening dress, bustled in, patting his tie with solicitous fingers. It had been right when he had looked in the glass in his bedroom, but you never know about ties. Sometimes they stay right, sometimes they wiggle up sideways. Life is full of these anxieties."

"Life was like one of those shots at squash which seem so simple till you go to knock the cover off the ball, when the ball sort of edges away from you and you miss it. Life was apt to have a nasty back-spin on it."

"Mankind is divided into two classes, those who do sitting-up exercises before breakfast and those who know they ought to but don't."

By P G Wodehouse in The Little Warrior

Ambitious?

Everybody in the family is happy and excited. But I am a little concerned. I have my reasons. And I have my questions.

Am I being too ambitious? Is this the way I want to lead my life?

Its funny how Life takes you even when you have no clear cut goals and you just flow with the river. And boy, its not boring.

The 3 shoes on the T-shirt

The other day, I saw a girl wearing a black T-shirt
That just had 3 shoes lined up vertically in the middle.

This made me wonder.
What in Heaven’s name was that design supposed to mean?

What could have inspired the designer to imagine such a T-shirt?
What could have inspired the girl to buy and wear such a T-shirt?

Just goes to show, to borrow a Wodehouse phrase,
“It takes all kinds to make this world!”

But hey, wait a minute.
Because the shirt had such a unique design, I noticed it and so would have many others.

Perhaps this was the inspiration behind the designer’s design!
To create a design that does not make any sense but catches the attention of passers-by!

Perhaps this was the inspiration behind the girl’s sense of attire!
To wear a shirt that stands out and makes people look at it!

And me, like many others, fell for it in a flat.
Now, include me when I say “it takes all kinds to make this world!”

Sun set

These days I am taking the 6 pm bus back home from office. The bus comes over the celebrated elevated NH7 for about 14 kms. Almost every day, now being on top of this elevated expressway, I get to see the sun setting, and boy, it is so wonderful. A red hot ball thats dipping, dipping amidst an excellent easel of choicest colors that no man can ever dream of painting...

AC

These days AC has become very common in India. A decade ago, only the privileged few (like business men, actors, etc) flaunted it but with the economic development and fat pay packet jobs, AC has become affordable for the middle class. Sleeper 3-Tier folks will now opt for AC 3-Tier, the AC room is now better than the normal noisy dining hall in restaurants, windows of the AC car are now shut out to the noisy traffic and the heat outside, BMTC Vajra buses are “standing” full, etc, etc.

While AC indeed provides comfort and luxury, I feel it is somehow a temporary solution to a growing problem and not just that, it is something that’s adding fuel to the growing problem, the growing problem of increasing global temperature. If my understanding is correct, AC blows out more heat outside to keep the inside cold (You only have to stand beside an AC vehicle at a traffic light to feel the heat). So, when there are lots of such air conditioners blowing out heat outside, wouldn’t the global temperature increase? It might be an insignificant amount, but then when a complete country starts affording AC, and at the same time cuts a hell lot of trees to make way to wider roads thanks to economic development, that would be a lot of hot air added to the global temperature.

So, this is what we have: There is bearable heat both inside and outside; but people use AC; AC blows more heat outside to make the inside cold; so, outside heat increased; so more people opt for ACs; more ACs blow out more heat outside; so outside heat increases even more, and becomes unbearable, and hence we end up with this vicious cycle that’s actually tightening the noose over our own neck, and we are not even realizing.

If, like the decade ago, we had continued to stay without the amount of ACs that we currently have, who knows, perhaps we would not have had to sweat out as much as we are currently when not under an AC. ACs make more sense in ultra-cold and extremely-high temperature countries like US, Russia, Europe, etc but India is a country that could have lived without ACs in the first place.

PS:

1. If my understanding is wrong and ACs do not blow out hot air due to enhanced technology, then this post can be ignored! Suffice it to say that I am in bliss (read ignorance)!

2. For the uninitiated, increase of global temperature is not a problem just because people have to sweat more but it has another serious issue of melting of ice in the Polar Regions which has a two-fold problem:
a. More water in the oceans which will merge coastline cities
b. Currently the ice in the Polar Regions is reflecting much of Sun’s rays out of the atmosphere. But when all the ice melts, the complete set of Sun’s rays gets stayed within the earth’s atmosphere and this leads to a number of skin diseases (and many more as yet unknown diseases deeper than just skin) due to the Sun’s Ultra Violet radiations.

Indian Roads

Although parts of India are now connected by great national highways that are comparable to any foreign expressways, the Bangalore to Chennai NH4 is not yet up there, what with a number of sudden potholes and double-lane-system-without-median and what not. On this highway, I saw a hoarding (similar to the ones which we usually see like ‘Speed Thrills But Kills’, etc) which got me confused:

“Roads are our culture.”

I failed to see if we were “boasting about the richness” or “showcasing the poorness” of our culture…!

3 words that bring joy

Today I was given a task that seemed daunting but I was told 3 words by the client (who gave me the task) which gave me utmost joy and almost deflated the mountain of work that was already on my head:

"Take your time."

I ended up finishing the task with ease in lesser time and realized that it was not a mountain after all! Come to think of it, if I was given a deadline of, say, 2 or 3 hours, I would have done a sloppy work and would not have enjoyed either, what with the deadline hanging like a guillotine.

Just shows how words can affect a person and his task.

Electricity

Methinks electricity has to be first people’s priority. The government has to ensure full electric power to its country’s residents, in urban and rural areas, 24 hrs a day 365 days a year before allowing private organizations to buy electricity for advertising on hoardings and malls to flaunt jazzy lights in and around their buildings and sports events to be held under thousands of watts at the expense of what rightly could have been electricity for millions of rural poor who spend hot summer nights without light and fan. Its like having load shedding in the whole city of Nevada but flaunting all those lights in Las Vegas Casinos.

Thought for the day

At times you will have to come to a lower gear to propel your vehicle to overtake - or ‘pass’ - as they say in US. I sometimes wonder if it is the same with one’s career. Does one have to come to a lower-paying job to enhance the career growth?

Sita on Fire

If someone were to ask me what is the only thing that you hate in Ramayana, I would say Rama making Sita go on fire (agni pariksha) to prove her chastity. [Later, he abandons her in spite of the fact that she comes out clean in the agni pariksha, just to satisfy the rumour spread amongst his people] However much Rama is praised on being the 'Ideal Gentleman' (Maryada Purush as he was called), I am of the opinion that his action of testing Sita/abandoning her was not the right thing to do. If Vishnupuran had continued till the tenth avatar, perhaps I would have known something that I do not know about this particular episode to change my opinion...

The little things of life

I had a problem with my left eye last week and I was waiting at the reception of an eye hospital for the doctor to summon me. It was a pretty long wait and was just getting boring when I spotted this small girl, roughly aged between 2 and 3, with hands hanging onto dear mother’s neck and legs comfortably wrapped around the mater’s tummy. She was fondly resting her face on her mother’s cheek, and sometimes suddenly, as if remembering something, took her mother’s face in her wee both hands and planted a kiss and continued to rest. The mother was busy talking to the receptionist when all this happened and of course, embarrassedly happy but I wondered how this little action was so significant. I mean, 20-30 years later this kid, then adult, will think twice about kissing her mother!

Then, the kid spotted her granny, sitting behind me. She slid down the mother and started half walking, half running towards her. This spontaneity was as if she had seen the granny for the first time, although she had come along with her and mommy to the eye hospital!

On the way to Granny, the kid’s wandering face latched onto something and it deviated from the destination. It walked for a couple of steps and suddenly fell down flat on the ground, intentionally. I then saw that the kid was performing what we Hindus generally do in temples in front of the Lord – genuflect. There was a big Lord Ganesha in the reception hall that I myself had not seen even though I had come to this hospital many times! Perhaps I had not seen it before because of the commonality of presence of Lord Ganesha in every other place these days in some form or the other! At the same time, I mused on how an upbringing of a child can self-motivate it to perform something on its own which it is taught to do or it has seen in adults, even without supervision and even without knowing the intent. This shows how important it is for the child to grow in a good environment.

This done, it resumed its journey and reached the Granny, who received her in the strictest of terms – there was no smile on her face matching the kid’s. Obviously, granny’s thoughts were on the problems of her eyes! Now that the kid was near me, it started shyly looking at me. Whenever I looked at her, it smiled and tried to hide its face at the same time. I returned the smile and tried to entertain her in as much of a way as only a face can endeavor to do.

For some time, it was restlessly shifting this way and that, annoying the granny, who wanted it to be ’Obedient’ and ‘Decent’ and ‘Sit still’! The granny gripped the kid’s wrist in what seemed like a dead-lock and the kid countered its attack in the only form known to her - wailing! Unable to withstand the grandchild’s wailing on top of an already acute issue of the eye problem, the granny let go of the child’s wrist. The child readily escaped and used its freedom to walk back towards mom – the sense of wanting to enjoy the company of the granny somewhat having turned sour.

On the way back to the mom, the kid perceived Lord Ganesha again and again fell flat on the stomach! It was as if the previous encounter with Lord Ganesha never happened! It got up, raised its hand towards the idol, and touched its (kid’s) own heart and repeated this action about ten times – just like how adults do at temples!

After some more wandering – to the nurse’s station, to the TV stand, to the exit door (which made her granny almost follow), to the stairs (which made her mom lie (scare) about cockroaches on the steps), to the elevator doors - it then finally reached the mom and climbed her body to regain her old resting posture – hands wrapped mom’s neck and legs wrapped around mom’s tummy. She stayed there for some time. The receptionist started talking to the girl and the girl was shyly hiding behind whatever mom’s possession she could lay her hands on. This went on for some time.

She got tired of this too after some time and slid down and again started walking here and there. Her walk was very unique. The left leg kicked an invisible football and the right leg made a semi circle for every stride. The hands went all around like a spinner’s bowling action and the head tilted unevenly. It was very comical – so obvious that she had just learnt how to walk and was totally enjoying it! If she were doing this walking action 20 years later, she would be assumed handicapped or labeled as a disabled person!

Once more, she came across Lord Ganesha, and she fell flat on her tummy! The same action of reaching out to the lord and touching the chest n number of times. The whole thing as if it was the first time she was seeing this idol! This time, she went near the idol, touched its necklace and other paraphernalia adorning the idol, and seemed amazed by it. Then, suddenly her granny was called to the consultation room, and her mom picked her up and the trio went away.

I was amazed at how a kid can keep itself busy, by being fascinated at the little things of life and here I was getting bored! Well, to my defense, as long as I was watching the kid, I wasn’t bored, and even I was fascinated by the ‘little things’ of life!

:-)

The Superior and The Subordinate

I was waiting for my manager the other day in his cubicle and saw a unique scene:

~ At the north east end of the floor, I could see the GPM standing at the door of the DM’s cubicle and talking to the DM.
~ At the north west end of the floor, I could see an SPM standing at the door of another GPM’s cubicle and talking to that GPM.
~ Here I was, at the center of the floor, almost a PM, waiting for another SPM.
~ Finally, at the south end of the floor, I saw a bunch of freshers cursing my peers (almost-PMs and PMs) for giving some crap work.

There you go! The complete chain! Majorly, the subordinate waiting on his superior but the superior being a subordinate himself.

Reminds me of what one of my own ex-managers had once told me “Everybody hates their managers.” I have come to realize that while this is not 100% true, it is indeed true in most cases.

Sad but true

It’s a grave situation.
The volcano is seething and seems to erupt any time.
Heard too many negative stories now than positive ones like this.
The fury and furor is palpable.
The mutiny seems to be just around the corner.
The tension is almost tangible.
The frustration is cracking through the walls and the smell of the ensuing flood is in the air.
Like a poisonous gas, it is spreading everywhere.
Its sad but true.

200* !!

There are millions and millions of words written about Sachin Tendulkar but I feel that I will be doing an injustice if I write anything about him because I fear my words cannot be as powerful as I want it to be. Gaurav writes really well on Sachin. I second every word of his. Esp the post on Sachin's 200 and the Sachin generation...

Boy, am I happy today!

:-)

A special day

Today is a special day.
It has been exactly 2 years since Gouri and I first met...

Media

Feb 4th was Bus Day in Bangalore. Posters were put everywhere to encourage commuters to travel in public transportation as against taking own vehicles so as to reduce traffic congestion and pollution.

On Feb 5th, I saw headlines of 2 newspapers. One newspaper said Bus Day was a huge success and showed pics of professionals going in the bus. It even interviewed some non regulars and asked them their experience in coming in the bus. Another newspaper said Bus Day was a big flop. It showed the usual congested trafffic and many cars plying on the road.

Those who read the former would have felt proud about Bangalore and Bangaloreans' effort - miniscule though it might be - towards global warming. The participants in this exercise would have felt happy and the non participants would be encouraged to participate in future such events.

Those who read the latter would have felt helpless and dejected. The participants in this exercise would have felt the futility of their effort and the non participants would feel that such events hold no water and continue not to participate.

Just shows how media interprets a particular situation and what impact it has on the general public.

Boys Day In!

Grandfather, Father and Son
Or should I say
Father, Son and Grandson

Spent one whole night
Under one roof
With no female counterparts.

First time ever

:-)

Thought for the day

I never worked on any weekend in 2009!

:-)