This post has taken an awfully long time coming along. The past eight months have pann ed out quite differently from what I had expected when I landed back in India that sultry morning in Mumbai. The next few weeks were quite hectic and it took around a month for the dust to finally settle. Contrary to my expectations, the ensuing period saw a wide array of lows strung together by a few highs. It’s rather intriguing to note that all the bad news has come along on the professional front while the good things; though in small packets have come on the personal front.
Very few people in this world have the willingness to learn when the going is easy. We all tend to learn when forced due to difficult circumstances. So I would tweak the oft used phrase and say, “When the going gets tough, The Tough get Learning”. And I won’t hesitate to emphasize that most people fail in tough times because they fail to learn in difficult situations.
In these tough times, with the global financial meltdown impacting people across the globe, I have taken a few lessons as well. The most important of them being, “The Art of being Patient”
Now, a lot of my peers will try & dismiss me saying we all know this nonsense, so what’s new. I would say, a lot. Most of us confuse it with being “Inactive” or “Dormant”. But that’s as removed from being true as is Chalk from Cheese. It’s a state of mind where one takes just about everything that comes his way into his stride without buzzing one bit. For instance, if we take the normal “Action-Reaction” model of the human conduct as a multi-lane two-way road, then the state of Patience allows only one way traffic. Though it has the capacity to handle the two-way movement, it doesn’t allow it; simply to avoid clutter and ensure smooth traffic. Although it slows down the traffic a bit at times, but that’s besides the point because it reduces the possibility of an accident to negligible proportions.
Likewise, Patience is a virtue which creates that extra space to soak in that extra dose of malice & negativity. It gives us time to first accumulate all the information that we come across, analyze it and then process the output, rather than throwing off knee-jerk reactions. As an individual, you take your time to read the situation and make a logical and informed decision based upon facts. Speaking of professional life, it endows you with time to listen to people around you, weigh their opinions and then formulate a conclusion. This helps you endear yourself to your colleagues and leave a positive impression. Just imagine a situation at the work place: you have been assigned a project to be completed in 3 weeks. Your Boss asks for a report at the end of the first week. You, being the proactive committed professional that you are, prepare the report with all the details and also mention the plan for the ensuing week. You promptly go to your Boss with the report expecting positive feedback. But what you get there is something that’s beyond your wildest thoughts. You get a mouthful for doing that extra bit, going that extra mile. You went in brimming with confidence but alas return a shattered soul. It’s not your mistake. You gave it your best possible shot, but things didn’t pan out the way you thought they would. Your Boss didn’t appreciate the extra time & effort you put in to make it better. Because he is in tremendous pressure himself. You need to realize that most of your colleagues are so occupied and stressed out with their work tensions, that they badly need a person who acts like sponge to soak in all their outbursts. Remember you can be the One!
And for people in relationships, it’s like a godsend. It gives you an opportunity to know the other person inside out. Seek and share his/her tensions, frustrations & misgivings. It makes you feel the pain yourself (which at times can be emotionally draining & highly overwhelming) and then formulate a strategy to weed out those negative forces. To put oneself in someone else’s position especially in the time of dire need and sort the problem out satisfactorily gives a high that anything else hardly ever can. It provides you with fulfillment and a hearty feeling that you are no longer a Down the Road, Good for Nothing fellow, rather a True Blue Gentleman with a golden heart (at times a Metrosexual as well).
So, as has already been elucidated, Patience is a virtue that brings along numerous other virtues & benefits with it once we try to cultivate it into our lives. Patience makes one Polite and approachable, just to name a couple. Owing to the paucity of time, I have quoted just a few of the many advantages it has. It helps one retain his job especially during Economic downturn, unless off course, one is extravagantly short on skills. So, the next time you come across an irate person bustling for no rhyme or reason, take a pause, think a bit before you react.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
The way of life
In life, we come across a wide array of people from diverse fields and backgrounds. Some are dumb while others are smart. Some are failures while others a success. My experience in life has taught me the fact that there exists a thin line that separates success from failure. Moreover, it is all about how one defines success. Achieving financial prosperity has been equated with success by some while for others it might just be the attainment of a spiritual high. So, to each his own.
One of the most important and decisive factors in the definition of success is the individual’s interpretation of the term and the time he or she lives in. For instance, for people of our parents’ generation success meant completing our academic chores with distinction and getting a good government job with ample facilities like accommodation and a few subordinates at your beck & call 24*7. If one managed to get into administrative services, it was taken to be the pinnacle of success. Concisely, life was all about academic brilliance and success at the profession one's engaged in.
However, changing times have changed the way people think. It has changed the way we perceive success. Globalization has opened up new avenues and career choices. For many of us who could barely manage a job good enough to fetch a square meal a day for the family in the last decade, the new wave has brought new jobs with multi-million pay packets, big enough to splurge on the worldly comforts. Private sector jobs are not considered a taboo anymore, as was the case earlier. Adding to it is the fact that with the rise in the standard of living, one gets a chance to pursue his passion as his profession. That’s the precise reason for the sudden increase in the emergence of creative artists. Just surf across the television channels and you would realize what I am talking about. You will find that suddenly, the number of reality shows churning out singers, actors, dancers and standup comics has increased at the rate of knots. Every other day we have a new American or Indian Idol or a Millionaire. This at times has helped hone the skills of the existing but forgotten stars, while at others have sprung up new stars. It has also helped dilute the transnational borders for those plying the trade of goods & services and those practicing the exchange of fine and performing arts.
In addition, it has had a profound impact on our native culture and tradition. The influx of foreign investment in the Indian market has brought along its own fair share of cultural influence in to the Indian society. One just needs to take a look at the way our wardrobes have been transformed especially the teenagers. Gone are the days of saarees and salwar kameez, jeans, skirts & tees are in vogue. Same holds true for our food habits and palate. These days the number of footfalls at western food joints outnumbers those at our native ones by a fair distance. Even the food at home is mostly cooked by a maid or ordered from external sources. “Maa ke haath ka khaana”, which used to be the staple diet earlier has become a rare delicacy which one can afford only once in while.
Now, the traditionalists might bemoan the foreign influence on our psyche. However, they don’t realize the fact that it’s all a part of the natural cycle of life which has been going on for centuries. While there’s still a controversy to decide whether the Indian or the Greek is the oldest civilization, one cannot deny the fact that first civilizations originated from Asia and Europe. A flip through the pages of history demonstrates in no subtle manner, the grandeur of the mighty emperors from India & Greece, their empires and the rich heritage they have left behind for all of us to admire and learn from. The great American society owes its humble baby steps to the Greek and the Indus Valley civilization. They know it within their heart of hearts, but are too egoistic to accept it publicly.
So, in a way there’s nothing unusual about the great American dominance of the modern world. It is their hour under the sun and they should deservedly enjoy it. History of humankind is replete with stories of ferocious conquests and great empires. Its just that owing to the IT revolution most of us has more information than one can digest. In those days, the vanquished had no alternative than to accept the authority of the victor and conduct oneself in the best possible mutually beneficial manner.
The natural cycle of life is already pointing to the future. And the future lies in the hands of the two most populous states in the world, China and India. It’s not for charity that the United States of America is engaging India and China in multifarious treaties and agreements. They have realized it, it’s about time we did.
So, get ready to throw away your jeans and tees because by the time LOVE STORY 2050 materializes in some remote town of India, “Lehngaa Choli” might just be in vogue.
One of the most important and decisive factors in the definition of success is the individual’s interpretation of the term and the time he or she lives in. For instance, for people of our parents’ generation success meant completing our academic chores with distinction and getting a good government job with ample facilities like accommodation and a few subordinates at your beck & call 24*7. If one managed to get into administrative services, it was taken to be the pinnacle of success. Concisely, life was all about academic brilliance and success at the profession one's engaged in.
However, changing times have changed the way people think. It has changed the way we perceive success. Globalization has opened up new avenues and career choices. For many of us who could barely manage a job good enough to fetch a square meal a day for the family in the last decade, the new wave has brought new jobs with multi-million pay packets, big enough to splurge on the worldly comforts. Private sector jobs are not considered a taboo anymore, as was the case earlier. Adding to it is the fact that with the rise in the standard of living, one gets a chance to pursue his passion as his profession. That’s the precise reason for the sudden increase in the emergence of creative artists. Just surf across the television channels and you would realize what I am talking about. You will find that suddenly, the number of reality shows churning out singers, actors, dancers and standup comics has increased at the rate of knots. Every other day we have a new American or Indian Idol or a Millionaire. This at times has helped hone the skills of the existing but forgotten stars, while at others have sprung up new stars. It has also helped dilute the transnational borders for those plying the trade of goods & services and those practicing the exchange of fine and performing arts.
In addition, it has had a profound impact on our native culture and tradition. The influx of foreign investment in the Indian market has brought along its own fair share of cultural influence in to the Indian society. One just needs to take a look at the way our wardrobes have been transformed especially the teenagers. Gone are the days of saarees and salwar kameez, jeans, skirts & tees are in vogue. Same holds true for our food habits and palate. These days the number of footfalls at western food joints outnumbers those at our native ones by a fair distance. Even the food at home is mostly cooked by a maid or ordered from external sources. “Maa ke haath ka khaana”, which used to be the staple diet earlier has become a rare delicacy which one can afford only once in while.
Now, the traditionalists might bemoan the foreign influence on our psyche. However, they don’t realize the fact that it’s all a part of the natural cycle of life which has been going on for centuries. While there’s still a controversy to decide whether the Indian or the Greek is the oldest civilization, one cannot deny the fact that first civilizations originated from Asia and Europe. A flip through the pages of history demonstrates in no subtle manner, the grandeur of the mighty emperors from India & Greece, their empires and the rich heritage they have left behind for all of us to admire and learn from. The great American society owes its humble baby steps to the Greek and the Indus Valley civilization. They know it within their heart of hearts, but are too egoistic to accept it publicly.
So, in a way there’s nothing unusual about the great American dominance of the modern world. It is their hour under the sun and they should deservedly enjoy it. History of humankind is replete with stories of ferocious conquests and great empires. Its just that owing to the IT revolution most of us has more information than one can digest. In those days, the vanquished had no alternative than to accept the authority of the victor and conduct oneself in the best possible mutually beneficial manner.
The natural cycle of life is already pointing to the future. And the future lies in the hands of the two most populous states in the world, China and India. It’s not for charity that the United States of America is engaging India and China in multifarious treaties and agreements. They have realized it, it’s about time we did.
So, get ready to throw away your jeans and tees because by the time LOVE STORY 2050 materializes in some remote town of India, “Lehngaa Choli” might just be in vogue.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Have we sold our souls for a can of Pepsi?
Globalization has affected all of us in one way or the other. Some of us have been positively affected by it while others have had a negative impact on their lives. Anyone who has studied the phenomenon in depth recognizes that this is a new era. Whatever affinities it might have with it, the current global age is not merely a replica of the past. There are massive changes affecting our world. The globalization debate itself has become global in a way that would simply not have been possible before the advent of recent global communication systems.
Globalization has helped us enhance our lives in ways more than one. It has provided us with things we couldn’t imagine to have in our cupboards otherwise. Take a pen for an example. It was invented in Europe, but is used the world over today. Just imagine our lives without a pen! Would you prefer to write with a piece of wood dipped in a paste of green leaves? How would it feel writing your exam with a piece of wood? Just imagine. This is just a single instance, think of all the products and services that we use. About half of the products that we use today are produced in other countries and around 90% of them have been discovered or formulated on distant shores. It has connected our lives to those of others in ways more than one. Today we can contact anyone across the globe at anytime through multiple channels.
It has helped people mingle with one another. An Indian works for Microsoft Inc. on a project assigned to him in Japan. It gives him an idea of an American work culture in a Japanese environment. In a way, he is learning three cultures at a time. Same applies to an American working for Microsoft in India. This has led to the growth of a global culture. If we in India know about the American culture today, it’s all thanks to globalization. Same holds true for food. If we expect to get Indian food on the streets of New York, its all due to the bane called globalization.
Moreover, it’s not a one sided affair wherein one country is on a selling spree and the other on a buying one, it’s mutual and multilateral. If we are using computers manufactured in the United States, they are eating the Basmati rice produced in India at the same time. Globalization is heavily reliant on International trade which in turn relies on specialization. The economists favoring International trade are unanimous in their advocacy of specialization. This means that if a country is efficient at producing coffee, it should dedicate most of its land and resources towards the production of coffee and import other commodities from other countries. This would generate maximum revenue for the country from the export of surplus coffee and import other goods at a lower cost.
But this applies to an ideal world scenario where there are no trade restrictions as such.
International trade without restrictions leads to efficient allocation of the scarce resources and helps eradicate hunger, strife and poverty the world over, both at the same time.
Nationalism and patriotism are great virtues. Every one of us should possess these. But the question is, at what cost! How patriotic can you expect a poor & hungry soul to be!
Do we expect a person struggling to secure a square meal a day to be patriotic? These great virtues can be adopted and promoted only once our three basic necessities of food, clothing and shelter are satisfied. As goes a famous saying in Hindi, “Bhukhe pet bhajan naa hoye Gopala”.
So, the next time you pick up a can of Pepsi, just ponder for a few seconds. Are you selling your soul to purchase that can? Or does your purchase help the person who filled that can with the liquid at a non-descript filling plant in rural Karnataka? Does it help him earn a living for his family? And finally, does that piece of information provide you with a sense of content and satisfaction. Just ponder…..
Globalization has helped us enhance our lives in ways more than one. It has provided us with things we couldn’t imagine to have in our cupboards otherwise. Take a pen for an example. It was invented in Europe, but is used the world over today. Just imagine our lives without a pen! Would you prefer to write with a piece of wood dipped in a paste of green leaves? How would it feel writing your exam with a piece of wood? Just imagine. This is just a single instance, think of all the products and services that we use. About half of the products that we use today are produced in other countries and around 90% of them have been discovered or formulated on distant shores. It has connected our lives to those of others in ways more than one. Today we can contact anyone across the globe at anytime through multiple channels.
It has helped people mingle with one another. An Indian works for Microsoft Inc. on a project assigned to him in Japan. It gives him an idea of an American work culture in a Japanese environment. In a way, he is learning three cultures at a time. Same applies to an American working for Microsoft in India. This has led to the growth of a global culture. If we in India know about the American culture today, it’s all thanks to globalization. Same holds true for food. If we expect to get Indian food on the streets of New York, its all due to the bane called globalization.
Moreover, it’s not a one sided affair wherein one country is on a selling spree and the other on a buying one, it’s mutual and multilateral. If we are using computers manufactured in the United States, they are eating the Basmati rice produced in India at the same time. Globalization is heavily reliant on International trade which in turn relies on specialization. The economists favoring International trade are unanimous in their advocacy of specialization. This means that if a country is efficient at producing coffee, it should dedicate most of its land and resources towards the production of coffee and import other commodities from other countries. This would generate maximum revenue for the country from the export of surplus coffee and import other goods at a lower cost.
But this applies to an ideal world scenario where there are no trade restrictions as such.
International trade without restrictions leads to efficient allocation of the scarce resources and helps eradicate hunger, strife and poverty the world over, both at the same time.
Nationalism and patriotism are great virtues. Every one of us should possess these. But the question is, at what cost! How patriotic can you expect a poor & hungry soul to be!
Do we expect a person struggling to secure a square meal a day to be patriotic? These great virtues can be adopted and promoted only once our three basic necessities of food, clothing and shelter are satisfied. As goes a famous saying in Hindi, “Bhukhe pet bhajan naa hoye Gopala”.
So, the next time you pick up a can of Pepsi, just ponder for a few seconds. Are you selling your soul to purchase that can? Or does your purchase help the person who filled that can with the liquid at a non-descript filling plant in rural Karnataka? Does it help him earn a living for his family? And finally, does that piece of information provide you with a sense of content and satisfaction. Just ponder…..
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