Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Openness to learning is the key to success

This is the advice I got from a veteran in the industry and who has had more than 12 years of experience in the communications industry. Always be willing to learn from anyone. The moment you stop learning, you start fading away and you suddenly realise that you are stagnating. That's a very dangerous situation, as you realise that you are dead.



Sounds very cliche, but honestly, haven't you come across situations where you realise that your manager does not know about something or how to do a basic task ? Something that you know too well.



Teaching children can be a great learning experience. They are so innocent and act without prejudice to anybody. Have you ever smiled looking at a hassled father who is dropping his son off to school. The son is clutching his father with both hands, carrying his schoolbag. He is his anchor, safe and secure. It teaches us that no matter in what difficult situation we find ourselves, we will always find our family backing us. Taking care of us, till we can recover and spread our wings again.



Or take for example, the night watchman at your office, who puts in a 12-hour workshift every day and yet you will find the most warm smile on his face, when you enter the building. It makes you feel embarassed about all the times that you have complained whether it's the weather, politics, work, people, relationships and objects.



Often, we rush past these ordinary people to go about official work, our heads buzzing with the hectic schedule that is invevitable. It's also good to take some time off to simply review your life, look at people around you and appreciate them for the efforts they are putting in. It can make a big difference to the ordinary day of some person.



The art of making rotis

My fixation with rotis began when I was in the 7th standard. Mom used to invariably pull me into the kitchen and seek my help in making rotis in the morning. In order to make a perfect roti, you need to have lots of skill, practice and patience. Starting from the dough to flattening it on a roti-maker to the way you fry the roti, it's all a part of the process of coming up with the perfect, round-shaped and soft rotis.

Hmm.. to begin with, I love eating rotis at any given point of the day. It's tasty, flexible and you can eat it with just about anything and it's good for health. Secondly, I simply love the smell of rotis.. yumm.. so heavenly.

I learnt how to fry rotis, with patience, one at a time. I still enjoy doing it. The fluffiness of the rotis is a must, for which you need to apply pressure at some key points. Mom never used to let me prepare the dough.. as invariably it would turn out to be some gooey stuff that she would have to deal with later. And so, I was content with frying the rotis.

However, mom used to ask me to flatten('bailna' in Hindi) the rotis, that is, whenever she wanted to amuse herself. My rotis used to come in varied shapes and sizes. And mom used to begin her litany of complaints. When will you ever learn to make rotis? What will you feed your husband?


And so on and so forth.. And so I developed a guilty conscience. Maybe, I was never meant to cook in the first place. I would anyway do such a terrible job. So perhaps, I would just take food from restaurants, etc.. And this conscience soon became an ugly monster, resurfacing every time I failed to produce the perfect roti.

Time went by. Sometimes mom would be out of station. Survival instinct took over. I had to feed myself. So, no problem, even if I need to struggle, I would strive to prepare rotis. And after years of practice, now I can proudly say that I can confidently prepare a good, round-shaped roti. However, I still have some points to work on. My rotis are not uniform and the thickness of the roti is now an issue. This is a minor issue, but my quest continues.



So my conscience can now be happy, as it is befriended by pride and guilt no longer can haunt it. I still enjoy rotis and can survive an entire day on it. They say 'Practice makes perfect'. Maybe, just maybe, the guy/girl must have been in the roti-making business.

A fast for a decade and nobody is listening - Clency D' Almeida



When K. Chandrashekhar Rao took up the fast for 10 days, along with student protests and demonstrations, which took on a violent mode, this captured the limelight. Excessive media coverage and mounting pressure resulted in the Centre taking action. The Home Minister, P. Chidambaram has said that a resolution would be moved in the Assembly for the formation of Telengana.

This received massive coverage across news media. Have you ever heard about the Iron Lady of Manipur? Someone by name of Irom Chanu Sharmila ?

This lady has consistently been on fasts since 2000. Does anyone care to know why? She is protesting the AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act), which has been misused and gone unchecked in the north east states. The AFSPA was initiated due to the constant militant threats, faced by some North east states. This Act gives authority to the armed forces to detain and arrest anyone on suspicion of terrorist activity. It gives immunity to the armed forces from prosecution, for any actions amounting to death of persons suspected of terrorist activity. In 2009 alone, the death toll stood at 265.

July 10, 2004 - Thangjam Manorama Devi, 32 was brutally tortured and raped by Assam Rifles on the pretext of questioning her involvement in the banned outfit, People's Liberation Army. Five days later, about 30 ordinary women protested in the nude against the heinous crimes of the Assam army and the AFSPA. They held a banner which read, 'INDIAN ARMY RAPE US." What steps did the State take? They imprisoned the women for three months.

Iraninan Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi brought up this issue in 2006 and championed the cause of Irom. This incredible woman, Irom has taken on this battle with a steely determination and still continues her fast to this day.



The doctors at AIIMS say that her survival is a medical marvel. This frail woman who has been fasting for a decade, has not received any action till date. She is been forcibly fed through tubes by the Indian State. She refuses any kind of solid food. As a result of her prolonged fast, Irom's body is wasted and she lies on her hospital bed, waiting and hoping for action to be taken. Hers is a silent and lonely battle, her supporters are few. Irom has also decided she will not meet her mother until the AFSPA is repealed. It's now been a decade since she has met her mother. She says that it is her"bounden duty" to perform. She is the epitome of strong will, sacrifice and dedication. She deserves to be heard, dont you think?

Ladakh-absolute Nirvana


Day 1: We're told not to walk fast, sleep, take rest, drink lots of water. In the evening, we go for a stroll in the local Leh Bazaar, I seem to be fine. We see many prayer wheels in and around Leh. We see the local market, catch turnips on sale, apricot packets of all varieties. Evening comes and as I walk to the dining hall, I get dizzy.


Day 2: Early morning we go the monastery for morning prayers. Little children serve butter tea and barley mix to the monks who keep praying, eating and drinking. We head to Leh Palace and then Shey Palace. The Palaces are converted now to tourist attractions. We do a detour and have a glimpse of the Dalai Lama's house at Leh. It's simple and neat, in the middle of poplar trees.

Day 3: We're all set to go to Chang La Pass. We're very excited. My sis is not feeling well, still we cant miss out on Pangong Lake so we're brave. We have breakfast on the way. Then, I fall sick, cant step out of the car. So I just watch the beautiful scenery on the way. We come across the first snow. It's beautiful. I discover I have altitude sickness, so do many in our gang. And then we catch our first breathtaking view of the lake after travelling for 5 hours. It's clear blue. No doubt about it. Tucked in neatly between the mountains, the view is absolutely amazing. We carry on. Two-thirds of the lake is in China, we learn.. so we spend some time near the lake and then we head for the hotel. We get armed with tablets and all.


Day 4: We skip on the morning trip to the monastery. We sleep well and recuperate. We then head to Alchi Monastery in the afternoon. On the way, we're introduced to Magnetic Hill, catch on the route of the Indus River. This hill attracts planes and aircraft usually choose to fly at a safe distance in this region.

We head to the riverside, near the resort. I collected shiny, smooth pebbles and one big smooth, lovely stone. We get good pics. We also spot a German Bakery where you get cinnamon cookies and cake. In the evening, we just relax, listen to the birds and I try to mimic them.

Day 5: We go to the monastery in the morning. There are big idols inside and colourful walls. We proceed to the Likiri monastery and spend some time there. We stop by the riverside for lunch. After that we move to the Gurudwara and then the Hall of Fame. It's wonderful. We get to eat Maida ka halwa. It's lovely. We then proceed to the hotel.


Day 6: We proceed for the experience of rafting. We're prepared, all set for an exciting time ahead. And it was wonderful. My arms were paining for 2 days aferwards. We rafted for 2 hours, took a break in between. The view was fantastic.



Day 7: We go to the awesome Khardung La pass. We're ready this time around. The trip was shorter. So it was wonderful.



We caught some mountainous animals on the way. In the evening we left for the Shanti Stupa. We spent a long time there. The spectacular views we got there cannot be compared.


Day 8: We did some shopping in the evening so we could have souvenirs to take back home. Then, we had a cultural evening, traditional Ladakhi dances were held. The nomadic dance, the bird dance and the serving of tea dance were memorable. Our stay was soon over.



Monday, May 16, 2011

My Musings

Today, I just feel like writing, so I'm going to flow with my thoughts.  Something like being inspired by Sylvia Plath. Some of the priceless moments of my life I like to relive again.


It begins in the 3rd standard, when we had auditions for 'Cinderella'.  Obviously, everybody wanted to be Cinderella and so did I. How childish and innocent we were. I remember trying my best to somehow increase my height, just so I could get the role. While another girl and I were trying to outheight (if I may say so) each other, I got fed up. I thought, okay, you know what, any role will be fine with me. I slumped back to my normal height. And unbelievably, I was chosen to be Cinderella.  The other girl was to be my fairy. It was so fascinating, wearing a blue and silver dress apart from having my first dance with a 5th standard boy, who was a little short in his class.

The next incident was in the 4th standard, when I met my best friend.  I still remember she walked up to me and said, "Will you be my friend?" And I said, Yes. We continued to be best friends for over 10 years then. There were some girls who tried to plot against us. They tried to separate us by using gossip and various other techniques. They failed miserably. Our bond only got stronger.

In the 5th standard, I remember walking up to the wastebin to sharpen my pencil. Just then, my English teacher, Miss June Beale walked into the room and grabbed my hand. I was so frightened, wondering what I had done wrong. She tells the class that I had got 100% in the subject, but as she was not allowed to give me 100/100, she went through my paper, trying to find faults. She just could not find any mistakes. So she spoke to the principal about this and decided that I should be marked 99/100. I was on top of the world then.


The next incident I remember vividly was when I was in the 7th standard. My homework included drawing the picture of a fish from the science textbook. I decided to give this task my complete attention. I took 2 full hours to draw the picture, very carefully outlining each and every scale of the fish. The result was an unmistakable duplicate of the original picture in the textbook. I was so proud of my fish and just couldnt wait to show my teacher, Miss. Christina Chatterjee. The next day, to my utter horror, the teacher instead of lavishing praises, was accusing me of letting my sister draw the fish for me. I argued with her that I drew the picture. She did not believe me, still doesn't. In my child's eyes, I was very hurt. Just because my sister was six years older to me and the SPL, does not mean I would take advantage of that. So much for spending 2 hours over that drawing. I remember weeping over this. It took me a while to realise that it was a compliment.

My Hindi teacher, Miss. Bhuvaneshwari was after my life. Why? Her only complaint against me was that I should eat well. I was wafer thin then. I really wish she saw me now. She would be oh so proud of me.

In the eight standard, I got a new partner, Nancy Andrews. Together we used to memorise the poems in English, "Two paths diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less travelled by."  I had to be prepared for every English class. The teacher used to love picking my number, in a supposedly random selection to recite the chosen poem for the day. It would be my turn almost daily. This was an indicator of what was to come. We ended up taking English Literature in Stella Maris.


 
The same year I came second in Flat Race. One of the highlights of Sports Day and reserved for the best runners, Flat Race is like the premium event. I ran like the wind and unbelievably, came in second.

In the ninth standard, I fell in love for the first time, with my Maths teacher, Miss. Shashi Rekha (Of all subjects, you may think) She was beautiful, intelligent, caring and charming. It was a huge crush. She was my Maths teacher for 5 years continously and class teacher too. So obviously, I had to impress her. My marks in Maths shot up to new heights. Anything just to get her smile and a 'Very good' in my notebook. I used to finish my sums in class and walk up to her to get it corrected and get another good comment in my notebook. Independence Day was the best. She wore matching colours of the flag, looked so pretty and sashayed on the ramp, as it were. She saw that we were all watching her.

In the 12th standard, I took part in the balloon bursting game, reserved only for the super seniors. It involved riding a cycle and bursting balloons using a stick in one hand in a team event. This incident is special to me, because my P.T. teacher walked up to me and said, "We could not believe, you went so fast." Needless to say, we won the game.

When I was in the 9th to 11th standard, I used to duck from all Jyothi House captains. They wanted me to take part in the trials for baton relay. For some weird reason, I had lost interest.

In the 12th standard, the school magazine was introduced. I remember writing many articles and amazingly all of them were published, including a Hindi poem.

My life was ever entertaining. I had to fight to get admission in Stella, along with Nancy Andrews. My application was not accepted, as they thought my marks were better and I would opt for another course. My class teacher, Ms. Christina Rajkumar took an instant dislike to me and branded me a 'trouble-maker.' She used to have an eye on me and my activities.

3 months into the course, we had to submit an analysis of a passage from a novel. I became lazy and decided to submit it later in the day, before 3 PM. I bunked some classes to complete this assignment, sat in the library and finished it. My teacher had already left for the day and sat in her car. Then came Nancy to the rescue. She grabbed my papers, pinned them and literally ran behind her car, just to submit my assignment.

The next day, she was all praises for Nancy and me. She spoke of our friendship and how Nancy ran to submit my assignment. She took a complete U-turn and I became her pet. She enjoyed my comments for every novel we had to read and submit. It was amusing to see her blush and grin at me every time we met.  This continued till my graduation day. I really miss her cos I liked her very much.

We got an untitled poem to analyse and understand what the poet was trying to say. After reading the poem nearly 10- 15 times, I wrote my observations. B.J Miss was impressed. I had very nearly nailed it. The poem was "The Thought Fox" by Ted Hughes.

In my third year, when I took journalism, I remember having a tough time completing my assignments. The first time I submitted my report, I had a fulfilled feeling. It made me humble, took me to an old age home, made me realise the difficulties of leading a lonely life.  Meghna Maam commented on how she likes having me in class and how she missed me, when I was on leave.

I shall continue .. when I'm free.