Sensitive people become an easy target for scorn and ridicule these days. People say that those who are sensitive are a nuisance – they cannot take jokes, they cannot face hard realties and they cannot accept criticism.
It is true that sensitive people literally wear their emotions on their sleeves, but they are also keenly aware of the emotions of people around them. They do not hurt people so easily. The negativity of any situation bruises them so badly that they hate conflicts and arguments, and are generally peace loving people. They also cannot shed off emotions so easily. Once they get saddened by something, they find it very difficult to forget about it and move on. They sincerely wish that they were more thick-skinned and not worry too much about everything in life.
However, there are far more admiring characteristics that you would find in a sensitive person, which make them highly endearing as well. First of all, they are intuitive and creative. Although they do not resort to violence, they are very good protectors and foresee danger well, simply because they can spontaneously process all possibilities in a given situation. They tend to put things together which are not usually thought of as belonging together, and that requires a deeper and fuller processing of experiences, situations, and possibilities. Most importantly, sensitive people are very conscientious. Their conscientiousness is somewhat automatic, due to the fact that they think about the consequences of their action or inaction. They are also conscientious because, by nature, they reflect on and learn from their mistakes. They take negative feedback seriously, and that is why people say that “they take things too personally.”
They are compassionate and empathic and can read emotional cues. They are very emotional themselves, so they can imagine well what the other person feels if his needs are not fully understood. They do not easily deny the biggest emotional issues of life. Having reflected on these things more than others, they are often sought out for opinions or just their presence. Most often they understand certain people very well, especially about their grief, when some of the others cannot. Hence they also possess the rare talent of making people comfortable.
In a nutshell, if you are sensitive and people point fingers at you for being so, just walk away feeling even more proud, as you are one of those rare ones who have the capability to change the world around you with your sensitivities. Do not see your sensitive nature as a weakness. Just be what you are, and thank God for what you are.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
The Institution of Marriage….
Well, time really flies. It was hardly over a week ago that I completed 50 posts and wrote about a vision that I have for my future. Today as I write my 60th post, I thought of making this moment special as well. Since I would be tying the nuptial knot in about 12 weeks time, I thought of expressing a few thoughts on the institution of marriage itself, which I have always thought very sanctimoniously about.
According to most religions, marriage is a solemn covenant between two souls, which unite completely. Marriage also serves as a means to emotional gratification and as a means of stress reduction. It is a form of worship to God. It is not only a legal contract, but also a social union between two individuals and two families, which creates kinship.
In any marriage, arranged or love, you and your fiancée decide to get married months ago because you see certain traits in each other that, you think, would befit a great spouse. Suddenly after marriage, you begin to see its stark realities, but also experience the joy that comes from living together as companions. However, the life of fantasy that used to exist before marriage ends abruptly. Out of nowhere, you find yourself assuming more responsibilities, relinquishing some personal freedom and making some unselfish adjustments.
You come to realize very soon after the marriage, that the spouse has weaknesses not previously revealed or discovered. The virtues which were constantly magnified during courtship now grow relatively smaller, and the weaknesses which seemed so small and insignificant during courtship now grow to sizable proportions. The spouse may be stingy or prodigal, lazy or industrious, devout or irreligious, may be kind and cooperative or petulant and cross, demanding or giving, egotistical or self-effacing.
Since marriage has its share of ups and downs, one should always be honest to his/her spouse. After marriage, if you have been apart, you should always greet each other with cute expressions of love; you should always spend time with each other alone, just like you did in your honeymoon; you should always express your love in broad daylight just like first-time lovers do; and of course seek candid feedback on the relationship from each other. This is the time when you actually begin to understand hearts and your true love is tested and eventually manifested. You trust each other completely, as if another soul is embedded within you. Once you have kids as well, you begin to feel complete as individuals and as parents. I feel this is the biggest reward that one gets out of marriage as an institution.
I have never experienced post-marital bliss (and glitches) yet. However I am sure that in three months time, with the blessings of our venerated elders, Kuhu and I would integrate ourselves perfectly into this sacred institution. I hope that as years pass by after our marriage and physical desires diminish, we realize the true meaning of love, accept each other with all our strengths and weaknesses, and most importantly continue to love and trust each other as intensely and honestly, as we do right now.
According to most religions, marriage is a solemn covenant between two souls, which unite completely. Marriage also serves as a means to emotional gratification and as a means of stress reduction. It is a form of worship to God. It is not only a legal contract, but also a social union between two individuals and two families, which creates kinship.
In any marriage, arranged or love, you and your fiancée decide to get married months ago because you see certain traits in each other that, you think, would befit a great spouse. Suddenly after marriage, you begin to see its stark realities, but also experience the joy that comes from living together as companions. However, the life of fantasy that used to exist before marriage ends abruptly. Out of nowhere, you find yourself assuming more responsibilities, relinquishing some personal freedom and making some unselfish adjustments.
You come to realize very soon after the marriage, that the spouse has weaknesses not previously revealed or discovered. The virtues which were constantly magnified during courtship now grow relatively smaller, and the weaknesses which seemed so small and insignificant during courtship now grow to sizable proportions. The spouse may be stingy or prodigal, lazy or industrious, devout or irreligious, may be kind and cooperative or petulant and cross, demanding or giving, egotistical or self-effacing.
Since marriage has its share of ups and downs, one should always be honest to his/her spouse. After marriage, if you have been apart, you should always greet each other with cute expressions of love; you should always spend time with each other alone, just like you did in your honeymoon; you should always express your love in broad daylight just like first-time lovers do; and of course seek candid feedback on the relationship from each other. This is the time when you actually begin to understand hearts and your true love is tested and eventually manifested. You trust each other completely, as if another soul is embedded within you. Once you have kids as well, you begin to feel complete as individuals and as parents. I feel this is the biggest reward that one gets out of marriage as an institution.
I have never experienced post-marital bliss (and glitches) yet. However I am sure that in three months time, with the blessings of our venerated elders, Kuhu and I would integrate ourselves perfectly into this sacred institution. I hope that as years pass by after our marriage and physical desires diminish, we realize the true meaning of love, accept each other with all our strengths and weaknesses, and most importantly continue to love and trust each other as intensely and honestly, as we do right now.
Growing up in a Joint Family is a pleasure….
I feel that a joint family is the most fertile place that boosts the growth and development of a child. Joint families are like the first training grounds, where a child learns interpersonal skills. Children in joint families learn to be flexible in life, learn lessons of patience, tolerance, cooperation and adjustment because they have to live happily with people of different mentalities. They start to appreciate the fact that no two people in this world are exactly same; no two people can be equally good or bad as the other, at a very early age. At the same time they can enjoy their childhood too with lots of kids of their age group, who also happen to be their blood relations. No child would ever feel lonely in such a situation and also their innocence is sustained. This is never the case in nuclear families, where even toddlers participate in household discussions that take place between their parents. This makes them abnormally precocious and hence rarely loved by people.
In a joint family a child is reared and loved by a number of people, thus dividing work, saving time and creating a spectrum of exposure and awareness. The child has the opportunity of enjoying every small occasion with his/her elders. For working parents also, it’s a blessing to have reliable and trustworthy elders who can take care of the child when they are away for the day. I say this as there are nuclear families where the child gets deprived of love from the parents and become vindictive when they grow up. However, in a joint family with a lot of children growing up, there is bound to be constant comparison among cousins. This could lead to the development of unhealthy competition and feelings of envy among the tender minds.
It must be emphasized that nuclear families have their advantages also. There is more space for individuality and self-expression in a nuclear family set-up. Nuclear families make the child more self reliant and decisive as he/she is not as interdependent on a large number of family members to make decisions and take action. This independent streak can come in handy, as your child grows into an adult and has to make many decisions himself/herself. Communication channels between the child and parent can also be more open and transparent, in a nuclear family, as parents have their attention focused on their child, without having to divide their time with too many household responsibilities and between other members of the household.
At the end of the day, staying in a large family may rob your child off his/her personal space, and independence. Staying in a nuclear family for too long also can create a disconnect between your child and your extended family. I consider myself very lucky that, my parents never moved out of my forefathers’ ancestral house in south Kolkata, and hence I got the opportunity to grow up in a joint family. It is here that I have learned so many lessons of life. I wish every child gets to spend at least some part of their childhood amongst their grandparents and all paternal cousins. It would help them learn a few lessons for a lifetime.
In a joint family a child is reared and loved by a number of people, thus dividing work, saving time and creating a spectrum of exposure and awareness. The child has the opportunity of enjoying every small occasion with his/her elders. For working parents also, it’s a blessing to have reliable and trustworthy elders who can take care of the child when they are away for the day. I say this as there are nuclear families where the child gets deprived of love from the parents and become vindictive when they grow up. However, in a joint family with a lot of children growing up, there is bound to be constant comparison among cousins. This could lead to the development of unhealthy competition and feelings of envy among the tender minds.
It must be emphasized that nuclear families have their advantages also. There is more space for individuality and self-expression in a nuclear family set-up. Nuclear families make the child more self reliant and decisive as he/she is not as interdependent on a large number of family members to make decisions and take action. This independent streak can come in handy, as your child grows into an adult and has to make many decisions himself/herself. Communication channels between the child and parent can also be more open and transparent, in a nuclear family, as parents have their attention focused on their child, without having to divide their time with too many household responsibilities and between other members of the household.
At the end of the day, staying in a large family may rob your child off his/her personal space, and independence. Staying in a nuclear family for too long also can create a disconnect between your child and your extended family. I consider myself very lucky that, my parents never moved out of my forefathers’ ancestral house in south Kolkata, and hence I got the opportunity to grow up in a joint family. It is here that I have learned so many lessons of life. I wish every child gets to spend at least some part of their childhood amongst their grandparents and all paternal cousins. It would help them learn a few lessons for a lifetime.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Reality Shows and Children……
From the time reality shows of different genres, types and tastes started filling up prime time slots, people across different age groups have enjoyed it. I, myself used to be a dedicated spectator and audience of Star Voice of India, Indian Idol, and Sa Re Ga Ma. Shows like Roadies and Rakhi Ka Swayamvar set the young audiences on the roll.
However, there was one incident involving a child named Shinjini Sengupta which has opened a can of worms. It has been alleged that Shinjini went into depression after some harsh comments made by the judges of the reality show that she was a part of. Unfortunately, Shinjini took a turn for the worst and she was hospitalised with acute depression. This has raised the fundamental question that should little children be subject to the harsh realities of reality shows or not.
One theory is that if children have the will to participate in such shows, then they should also have the guts to accept its consequences, which poor Shinjini could not. I feel that is fair enough. Today’s kids are no sitting ducks that judges’ constructive comments could hurt them emotionally. They should be well prepared for failures and success and if their parents can encourage them to participate, they can also counsel them to move on if rejected.
The bigger challenge is actually for the parents. They are so freaked out about the child earning a name, in whatever way possible, in whichever age possible, just to get that one step ahead of their neighbor’s child, that they just push the kids into deadly warfronts like reality shows long before they are actually ready for it mentally. Some kids are smart enough and go through it, and earn a name for themselves. Some kids cannot do that however. In my opinion, if the parents feel that their kid, in spite of being extremely talented, is not strong enough mentally to take on the rigors of a reality show, then they should not make the child participate. In that case, we would not have another Shinjini Sengupta.
However, there was one incident involving a child named Shinjini Sengupta which has opened a can of worms. It has been alleged that Shinjini went into depression after some harsh comments made by the judges of the reality show that she was a part of. Unfortunately, Shinjini took a turn for the worst and she was hospitalised with acute depression. This has raised the fundamental question that should little children be subject to the harsh realities of reality shows or not.
One theory is that if children have the will to participate in such shows, then they should also have the guts to accept its consequences, which poor Shinjini could not. I feel that is fair enough. Today’s kids are no sitting ducks that judges’ constructive comments could hurt them emotionally. They should be well prepared for failures and success and if their parents can encourage them to participate, they can also counsel them to move on if rejected.
The bigger challenge is actually for the parents. They are so freaked out about the child earning a name, in whatever way possible, in whichever age possible, just to get that one step ahead of their neighbor’s child, that they just push the kids into deadly warfronts like reality shows long before they are actually ready for it mentally. Some kids are smart enough and go through it, and earn a name for themselves. Some kids cannot do that however. In my opinion, if the parents feel that their kid, in spite of being extremely talented, is not strong enough mentally to take on the rigors of a reality show, then they should not make the child participate. In that case, we would not have another Shinjini Sengupta.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Playing sport on the streets has disappeared…….
India does not produce spinners of the caliber of those in the 1970s anymore, nor can our modern day batsmen play spin as well as their predecessors used to. Our ranking in FIFA world tables has gone from the top 50 to the top 150! To me, there is a reason for this. Our kids never play any form of sport on the streets these days. Coaching camps, matting wickets, batting gloves and “proper” grounds have become hunting grounds for even school kids who are playing first time.Hence they are not as robust as they used to be.
Taking the example of cricket, you have a coach telling you what to do and what not to do every minute at the nets. The pitches are perfectly laid out, with a well-paid groundsman always on the attention. You cannot even cycle or walk to the coaching camp, you need a parent or a driver to get you there and return you home.
When we were kids, our first stop was neighborhood playgrounds which was hardly ever fenced, or the street just outside our home. So we played with whatever ball we laid hands on, be it a football, tennis ball, cork ball or rubber ball. The ball used to jag around due to the unevenness of the road, and with throw arm/overarm/pace/spin all being allowed in one match, the poor batsman had to deal with whatever was thrown at him. I remember playing football at the age of 10-12, with people who were at least 7-8 years elder to me. That made me physically tougher and helped fearlessness creep in. All that is history now. Too much traffic, family cars parked on the streets have put an end to the enjoyment of playing uninhibited on the roads. Playgrounds also have mostly disappeared giving way to parks with their stoned-walking tracks, green lawns and extensive landscaping.
It would be really refreshing if we can give our streets back to the kids of today, as there is no greater joy comparable to getting on the street, going around screaming for friends to come out and get an impromptu game started. It should not matter if the neighbor refuses to return the ball that landed in his compound or smashed his window panes into pieces, as it is part of the process of growing up.
Taking the example of cricket, you have a coach telling you what to do and what not to do every minute at the nets. The pitches are perfectly laid out, with a well-paid groundsman always on the attention. You cannot even cycle or walk to the coaching camp, you need a parent or a driver to get you there and return you home.
When we were kids, our first stop was neighborhood playgrounds which was hardly ever fenced, or the street just outside our home. So we played with whatever ball we laid hands on, be it a football, tennis ball, cork ball or rubber ball. The ball used to jag around due to the unevenness of the road, and with throw arm/overarm/pace/spin all being allowed in one match, the poor batsman had to deal with whatever was thrown at him. I remember playing football at the age of 10-12, with people who were at least 7-8 years elder to me. That made me physically tougher and helped fearlessness creep in. All that is history now. Too much traffic, family cars parked on the streets have put an end to the enjoyment of playing uninhibited on the roads. Playgrounds also have mostly disappeared giving way to parks with their stoned-walking tracks, green lawns and extensive landscaping.
It would be really refreshing if we can give our streets back to the kids of today, as there is no greater joy comparable to getting on the street, going around screaming for friends to come out and get an impromptu game started. It should not matter if the neighbor refuses to return the ball that landed in his compound or smashed his window panes into pieces, as it is part of the process of growing up.
Securing India from within….
Over the last five years especially, internal strife has torn India apart. Naxalite trouble, restive Kashmir valley and 26/11 have blatantly pointed fingers at the pathetic state of our police forces. Intelligence failures and lack of proper combat skills have seriously hurt national pride and security.
Nobody can forget the Dantewada massacre, nor can we forget the killings of Ashok Kamte, Vijay Salaskar, Hemant Karkare and Sandeep Unnikrishnan. Lackluster policies and lack of foresight have forced us to lose our best commandos time and time again. It is a pity that we have to take the assistance of the IAF helicopters to step up surveillance in the Maoist hit areas. Are we so helpless? The armed forces feel depressed by the fact that instead of securing our borders, they have to make up for the failure of the internal police and paramilitary forces.
The only silver lining in this entire fracas is that we have a very sensible and sagacious Home Minister. He has assured us that there would be no let-up in attempts to radicalize the country’s young men and women who don the police colors. There is a huge need for efficient police professionals in our country. India is one of the most under-policed countries in the world. Policemen are subjected to poor work conditions, pathetic pay scales, besides being grossly under-trained and ill-equipped. This in turn spawns a culture of corruption and brutality that fuels the cycle of resentment and protests. Hence we need serious police reforms so that the country’s youth can join these forces, and look up to it.
We cannot expect security personnel to maintain law and order and take on terrorists if they have never fired a gun in training or are provided with faulty bullet-proof jackets. We cannot expect them to control stone-pelting mobs if they have no knowledge of crowd-management techniques. Modernization of our police forces has to start early to help them make a difference on the ground.
Nobody can forget the Dantewada massacre, nor can we forget the killings of Ashok Kamte, Vijay Salaskar, Hemant Karkare and Sandeep Unnikrishnan. Lackluster policies and lack of foresight have forced us to lose our best commandos time and time again. It is a pity that we have to take the assistance of the IAF helicopters to step up surveillance in the Maoist hit areas. Are we so helpless? The armed forces feel depressed by the fact that instead of securing our borders, they have to make up for the failure of the internal police and paramilitary forces.
The only silver lining in this entire fracas is that we have a very sensible and sagacious Home Minister. He has assured us that there would be no let-up in attempts to radicalize the country’s young men and women who don the police colors. There is a huge need for efficient police professionals in our country. India is one of the most under-policed countries in the world. Policemen are subjected to poor work conditions, pathetic pay scales, besides being grossly under-trained and ill-equipped. This in turn spawns a culture of corruption and brutality that fuels the cycle of resentment and protests. Hence we need serious police reforms so that the country’s youth can join these forces, and look up to it.
We cannot expect security personnel to maintain law and order and take on terrorists if they have never fired a gun in training or are provided with faulty bullet-proof jackets. We cannot expect them to control stone-pelting mobs if they have no knowledge of crowd-management techniques. Modernization of our police forces has to start early to help them make a difference on the ground.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Uprooting Misunderstandings is vital….
Misunderstandings are bound to happen in any relationship, working or non-working. One way of avoiding hurtful resentments that may result from these misunderstandings is to keep an open line of communication with your partner. Miscommunication may still arise even while an open line is well established, but it is up to both partners to realize that if the relationship is where they want to be, then 'I' becomes less meaningful and 'we' becomes a more used phrase.
If observed minutely, one would find that in any misunderstanding, I say X, which in my mind carries the message Y, but in your mind you understand Z, then there is some confusion and controversy because Z and Y don't match up. It can be very emotionally painful for one side or both sides when a misunderstanding occurs, especially if an important expectation is violated by the unintended message Z. Misunderstandings are inevitable because language is many-layered, and that means that what you literally say and what you intend to communicate are usually, normally, perhaps even always, quite different.
It takes two to argue and one to stop it. I have often found that when I was able to put aside my own ego long enough to say, "I'm sorry, I just want to understand," I was pleasantly surprised to realize that it was that easy to stop the fight. We should all realize that communication could stay open ended when we stop long enough to really listen to what the other person is saying.
In a misunderstanding it is not any one's fault, but both sides have participated, and both sides can learn something, and if either side continues to blame the other for the misunderstanding then that is not fair. Although it seems selfish, domineering, disrespectful, and injurious to the relationship, this is exactly what happens when tempers flare on both sides. You have to root out the mistrust by honestly and respectfully engaging with your friend's real intention, because that is what they really meant. If you insist on staying on your own side, you're just burning down the bridge of connection between you and your friend.
Couples are usually in relationships because they have intense romantic attachment towards the partner, which is far greater than attachments towards any other family member. Any misunderstanding can be worked out and thought through when couples are willing and wanting to explore the deepest fundamentals of their relationship, which is based on love and trust. People in serious relationships want to be there, they want to be a part of the whole that becomes a working and loving situation. That is why you would find very often that when the patch-up happens after a misunderstanding, the intensity and the bonding of the relationship become stronger, highlighting that there is so much love waiting to be tapped. Then you rebuke yourselves for instigating a misunderstanding, as so much love-time goes waste.
If observed minutely, one would find that in any misunderstanding, I say X, which in my mind carries the message Y, but in your mind you understand Z, then there is some confusion and controversy because Z and Y don't match up. It can be very emotionally painful for one side or both sides when a misunderstanding occurs, especially if an important expectation is violated by the unintended message Z. Misunderstandings are inevitable because language is many-layered, and that means that what you literally say and what you intend to communicate are usually, normally, perhaps even always, quite different.
It takes two to argue and one to stop it. I have often found that when I was able to put aside my own ego long enough to say, "I'm sorry, I just want to understand," I was pleasantly surprised to realize that it was that easy to stop the fight. We should all realize that communication could stay open ended when we stop long enough to really listen to what the other person is saying.
In a misunderstanding it is not any one's fault, but both sides have participated, and both sides can learn something, and if either side continues to blame the other for the misunderstanding then that is not fair. Although it seems selfish, domineering, disrespectful, and injurious to the relationship, this is exactly what happens when tempers flare on both sides. You have to root out the mistrust by honestly and respectfully engaging with your friend's real intention, because that is what they really meant. If you insist on staying on your own side, you're just burning down the bridge of connection between you and your friend.
Couples are usually in relationships because they have intense romantic attachment towards the partner, which is far greater than attachments towards any other family member. Any misunderstanding can be worked out and thought through when couples are willing and wanting to explore the deepest fundamentals of their relationship, which is based on love and trust. People in serious relationships want to be there, they want to be a part of the whole that becomes a working and loving situation. That is why you would find very often that when the patch-up happens after a misunderstanding, the intensity and the bonding of the relationship become stronger, highlighting that there is so much love waiting to be tapped. Then you rebuke yourselves for instigating a misunderstanding, as so much love-time goes waste.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Ragging is a big ugly blot on Human Rights………
I have always detested the concept of ragging. Many people have suggested that ragging is a “nice” way of getting the new guy in college familiar with seniors, and is a “lot of fun” when one reflects about college life later. This is utter nonsense to me. No new entrant enjoys being ragged in college and the seniors have no business to force a person into doing things which he/she hates. As the seniors might think, this does not prove that they are “stronger” and “smarter” but simply reflects that they are uncultured spoiled brats who have no respect for human feelings, and also who, being weak themselves, enjoy torturing the weak.
The detestable acts which are forced upon the hapless youth include anything from stripping, to cleaning the dirty toilets, dancing fully naked in front of a hundred people and jumping from a two-storey building. So many innocent lives have been lost due to suicides because of this atrocious and repugnant act. Ragging violates all the core values of human rights – equality, dignity, choice and diversity. No form of ragging can ever aid in personality development. It damages the core of human rights.
I would even go to the extent of requesting the authorities to hang people if found guilty of ragging, because ragging can not only cause kids to end their lives, but also can leave a permanent scar on their psyche. The poor guys may never gather the courage to go to college again and many dreams may be shattered because of this heinous act from the big fat bullies.
All good colleges in India have banned ragging, which used to be very rampant earlier especially in hostels. Help lines have been created to report such incidents and in some cases, even the media fights for the right of the victim. The worst thing about ragging is that the victim can become the perpetrator. This is totally unacceptable. Ragging remains as one of the most perilous evils of our modern society and should be eradicated as soon as possible.
The detestable acts which are forced upon the hapless youth include anything from stripping, to cleaning the dirty toilets, dancing fully naked in front of a hundred people and jumping from a two-storey building. So many innocent lives have been lost due to suicides because of this atrocious and repugnant act. Ragging violates all the core values of human rights – equality, dignity, choice and diversity. No form of ragging can ever aid in personality development. It damages the core of human rights.
I would even go to the extent of requesting the authorities to hang people if found guilty of ragging, because ragging can not only cause kids to end their lives, but also can leave a permanent scar on their psyche. The poor guys may never gather the courage to go to college again and many dreams may be shattered because of this heinous act from the big fat bullies.
All good colleges in India have banned ragging, which used to be very rampant earlier especially in hostels. Help lines have been created to report such incidents and in some cases, even the media fights for the right of the victim. The worst thing about ragging is that the victim can become the perpetrator. This is totally unacceptable. Ragging remains as one of the most perilous evils of our modern society and should be eradicated as soon as possible.
Universalising Indian Universities…….
In one of my earlier posts, I had raised the question about the justification in starting eight new IITs at the cost of quality of education. I had two major concerns – lack of high class faculty and adequate infrastructure that could produce such a huge number of world beaters, assuming of course, that all new IITs would command as high a respect as their existing counterparts do.
Well, there is one way to mitigate at least one of those issues. That is of quality of education imparted which would affect the quality of students passing out. That mitigating factor is infusion of foreign faculty into our educational system. It is a pity that our universities do not embody universality, which it should do to flourish in today’s challenging environment. Even though the IITs, IIMs, Jawaharhal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi University (DU) and University of Calcutta (CU) have sustained high quality education in India, we still have fallen behind relative to the rest of the world. It is also feared that India’s “youth bulge”, which we keep on iterating as our strength over China, would turn into a social and political nightmare if we do not improve and expand university education.
Bringing in foreign faculty would help our university system. No other foreign university of any repute is as insular as any of India’s universities. The presence of foreign faculty would not only bridge the gap in quality teachers, but it would also have a gigantic impact on Indian colleagues. Teacher absenteeism, lack of professionalism and a lackadaisical approach to supervision would be things of the past. Foreign colleagues would both embarrass and inspire their Indian counterparts.
More than any exhortation from the hierarchy, it is this infusion that would energize the Indian faculty. Hiring foreigners would cost us money and also would require adjustment to our VISA and Residency rules, but all these issues are not beyond the reach of our government. India’s national interest obliges us to stand up to this cause and construct an entry system for foreign teachers. After all, we want to be world beaters in science and technology in the next 20 years, don’t we?
Well, there is one way to mitigate at least one of those issues. That is of quality of education imparted which would affect the quality of students passing out. That mitigating factor is infusion of foreign faculty into our educational system. It is a pity that our universities do not embody universality, which it should do to flourish in today’s challenging environment. Even though the IITs, IIMs, Jawaharhal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi University (DU) and University of Calcutta (CU) have sustained high quality education in India, we still have fallen behind relative to the rest of the world. It is also feared that India’s “youth bulge”, which we keep on iterating as our strength over China, would turn into a social and political nightmare if we do not improve and expand university education.
Bringing in foreign faculty would help our university system. No other foreign university of any repute is as insular as any of India’s universities. The presence of foreign faculty would not only bridge the gap in quality teachers, but it would also have a gigantic impact on Indian colleagues. Teacher absenteeism, lack of professionalism and a lackadaisical approach to supervision would be things of the past. Foreign colleagues would both embarrass and inspire their Indian counterparts.
More than any exhortation from the hierarchy, it is this infusion that would energize the Indian faculty. Hiring foreigners would cost us money and also would require adjustment to our VISA and Residency rules, but all these issues are not beyond the reach of our government. India’s national interest obliges us to stand up to this cause and construct an entry system for foreign teachers. After all, we want to be world beaters in science and technology in the next 20 years, don’t we?
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Emotional Dependence ruins an individual……….
There are many people living in this world who start playing with your mind when you become emotionally dependent on them. That is the hard and bitter truth of today, the ruthless 21st century. It was always prevalent before, but nowadays, it is even more protuberant. There is nothing more sordid than emotional dependency, which can befall you, especially if that person, on whom you are emotionally dependent, is not either of your parents or siblings. Some day or the other, they will tear you apart emotionally. You would end up becoming a psychic patient unless you can save yourself.
That is why the Bhagwad Gita advises us not to expect anything from anybody, to be unattached. However, we are lesser mortals and it is our natural tendency to depend on others especially for our emotional stability and, to a lesser extent up to a certain age, for our financial stability. You expect attention, affection, love and time from people on whom you are emotionally dependent, which in most cases they fail to provide up to your expectations. When they spurn you, you mope, you are hurt, you feel cheated, you are gutted in disgust, and there is anger simmering within you. Sometimes, when you get the opportunity, you shout, abuse and swear at him/her, but in response, he/she just enjoys your plight, and feels proud that you are bondage to his/her whims and wishes. To be frank, you feel like knocking the head of that person off, which of course you literally cannot do, because in that case, you would be at the mercy of the laws of the land. You are forced into restraint.
At the end of it all, we are human beings. We have emotions. We need a companion at some point in our life. We want to love him/her. In doing so, we fail to recognize the fine line between love and emotional dependence. We expect. We suffer. We lose self-control. Ultimately we end up doing something very rash and face the consequences. This is all because we are not strong enough mentally. Self-counseling is the best therapy at such times, which would help you to transform inner pain into will power. This is also education, at its most ruthless, that life provides you.
That is why the Bhagwad Gita advises us not to expect anything from anybody, to be unattached. However, we are lesser mortals and it is our natural tendency to depend on others especially for our emotional stability and, to a lesser extent up to a certain age, for our financial stability. You expect attention, affection, love and time from people on whom you are emotionally dependent, which in most cases they fail to provide up to your expectations. When they spurn you, you mope, you are hurt, you feel cheated, you are gutted in disgust, and there is anger simmering within you. Sometimes, when you get the opportunity, you shout, abuse and swear at him/her, but in response, he/she just enjoys your plight, and feels proud that you are bondage to his/her whims and wishes. To be frank, you feel like knocking the head of that person off, which of course you literally cannot do, because in that case, you would be at the mercy of the laws of the land. You are forced into restraint.
At the end of it all, we are human beings. We have emotions. We need a companion at some point in our life. We want to love him/her. In doing so, we fail to recognize the fine line between love and emotional dependence. We expect. We suffer. We lose self-control. Ultimately we end up doing something very rash and face the consequences. This is all because we are not strong enough mentally. Self-counseling is the best therapy at such times, which would help you to transform inner pain into will power. This is also education, at its most ruthless, that life provides you.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Cognition drives sound decision making….
There is a general perception around that as age increases, our ability to take sound decisions reduces, and we tend to depend on our younger family members (kids especially) for vital inputs every now and then. I have heard many people opine that as they grow old, their confidence to take decisions, that would have significant impact on any particular issue, reduces drastically. Hence they cannot give any sound verdict without consultations.
To me, it is not age alone but also cognition that makes a huge difference in decision making. In fact cognitive abilities have been shown to be a far greater contributor to a person’s ability to take independent decisions, irrespective of age. My mom tells me that her grandmother was one such individual, who would persistently steady the family ship day in and day out single handedly with her strong personality and sound decision making, till she died at the age of 86.
At the end of the day, decision making is about self confidence also. Over the years, if you have had the gumption of taking high-impact decisions independently and successfully, then even at an old age, you would continue to do so, unless of course, you are suffering from some neurological disorder. People like Ratan Tata and Warren Buffet are burning examples of this.
Aging alone is never a hindrance and should never be allowed to be one when it comes to decision making capabilities. Expressing your thoughts cogently with adequate cognition, which would come from experience and prescience, would help you shun diffidence and propel you to keep taking prudent and sensible decisions every time you want to.
To me, it is not age alone but also cognition that makes a huge difference in decision making. In fact cognitive abilities have been shown to be a far greater contributor to a person’s ability to take independent decisions, irrespective of age. My mom tells me that her grandmother was one such individual, who would persistently steady the family ship day in and day out single handedly with her strong personality and sound decision making, till she died at the age of 86.
At the end of the day, decision making is about self confidence also. Over the years, if you have had the gumption of taking high-impact decisions independently and successfully, then even at an old age, you would continue to do so, unless of course, you are suffering from some neurological disorder. People like Ratan Tata and Warren Buffet are burning examples of this.
Aging alone is never a hindrance and should never be allowed to be one when it comes to decision making capabilities. Expressing your thoughts cogently with adequate cognition, which would come from experience and prescience, would help you shun diffidence and propel you to keep taking prudent and sensible decisions every time you want to.
Friday, August 20, 2010
A Vision for my Future…..
About a month back, I dedicated my 25th post to my mother. Today as I write my 50th post, I want to share a vision that I have for myself. It has always been my aim to be versatile in life, to be good at multiple things and harness different talents that God may have blessed me with. I have never wanted myself to be perceived as somebody who can only solve engineering problems in MNCs.
I have always loved to write and hence I created my blog on the 24th of June 2010, but even on 23rd I could not have even thought that eight weeks down the line I would complete 50 posts. Well, that is exactly what I have done. During this sojourn, I have received constructive feedback on the style that I pursue for my writing, the vocabulary I use and the themes that I choose for my posts. All such inputs from my respected elders and my loved ones have encouraged me to harness this skill of mine.
I love to sing as well, although I have never been trained on any form of classical music. There are many people who enjoy my renditions on stage as well as inside a drawing room. When I used to be IIT, I have always sung at every opportunity in front of an audience, not necessarily on stage every time. Such performances have helped me shed inhibitions, and now, I have no jitters when I face 3000 people in the audience here in GE campus. I feel that I have reasonable knowledge of the different aspects in eastern music like beats (TAAL), scales and expressions, and have the confidence to sing any type of eastern song in front of an audience. I want to persist with it for as long as I can.
It has also been my obsession to be equally versed in both English and Bengali, which is my mother tongue. I have always wanted myself to be outstanding at both these languages, by building a strong base in grammar and by having a sound vocabulary and use them effectively in both written and spoken forms. Over the years, I have always made a conscious effort not to overlap the two languages while speaking, as many Bengalis do. I continue to do so.
When I talk of languages, pronunciation has to be one of the talking points, as that is the greyest area among English speakers these days. I have always strived for perfection in this aspect, although there is always scope for improvement. Even now, I look forward listening to speakers like Karan Thapar on television to sharpen my skills.
I would also like myself to be seen as someone who is very comfortable to be with, who is friendly and jolly, and can transform somber moods to ecstatic ones through anecdotes and energy. I never want people to be in awe of my professional achievements, nor I want them to be bogged down by my financial strengths. I want to be one among the many common men around who can give a comfort zone to people, with a smiling face.
In a nutshell, 25 years later, I want to be seen as an individual who not only passed his exams well, but also as somebody who has been outstanding in numerous other soft skills, somebody who has managed perfection in whatever he has done, and somebody who has brought a smile to the faces of people every time. I wish mom’s blessings, God’s hand and Kuhu’s love and affection empowers me to reach my destination.
I have always loved to write and hence I created my blog on the 24th of June 2010, but even on 23rd I could not have even thought that eight weeks down the line I would complete 50 posts. Well, that is exactly what I have done. During this sojourn, I have received constructive feedback on the style that I pursue for my writing, the vocabulary I use and the themes that I choose for my posts. All such inputs from my respected elders and my loved ones have encouraged me to harness this skill of mine.
I love to sing as well, although I have never been trained on any form of classical music. There are many people who enjoy my renditions on stage as well as inside a drawing room. When I used to be IIT, I have always sung at every opportunity in front of an audience, not necessarily on stage every time. Such performances have helped me shed inhibitions, and now, I have no jitters when I face 3000 people in the audience here in GE campus. I feel that I have reasonable knowledge of the different aspects in eastern music like beats (TAAL), scales and expressions, and have the confidence to sing any type of eastern song in front of an audience. I want to persist with it for as long as I can.
It has also been my obsession to be equally versed in both English and Bengali, which is my mother tongue. I have always wanted myself to be outstanding at both these languages, by building a strong base in grammar and by having a sound vocabulary and use them effectively in both written and spoken forms. Over the years, I have always made a conscious effort not to overlap the two languages while speaking, as many Bengalis do. I continue to do so.
When I talk of languages, pronunciation has to be one of the talking points, as that is the greyest area among English speakers these days. I have always strived for perfection in this aspect, although there is always scope for improvement. Even now, I look forward listening to speakers like Karan Thapar on television to sharpen my skills.
I would also like myself to be seen as someone who is very comfortable to be with, who is friendly and jolly, and can transform somber moods to ecstatic ones through anecdotes and energy. I never want people to be in awe of my professional achievements, nor I want them to be bogged down by my financial strengths. I want to be one among the many common men around who can give a comfort zone to people, with a smiling face.
In a nutshell, 25 years later, I want to be seen as an individual who not only passed his exams well, but also as somebody who has been outstanding in numerous other soft skills, somebody who has managed perfection in whatever he has done, and somebody who has brought a smile to the faces of people every time. I wish mom’s blessings, God’s hand and Kuhu’s love and affection empowers me to reach my destination.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Kishore Kumar was the greatest artist ever…..
If you look through the history of male Indian film personalities, including playback singers, actors, music directors, lyricists and directors, you would come across many names that were exceptionally outstanding in their respective areas of strength.
You had Manna Dey, Mohammad Rafi and Hemant Kumar who were not only mellifluous but also possessed a very sound classical depth of singing. They were technically very correct. The same goes with Sonu Nigam today. You had Uttam Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Naseeruddin Shah, Girish Karnad, Amitabh Bachchan (especially in the second half of his career, post 2000) and Nana Patekar who were and still are outstanding actors. You had music directors like S.D Burman, R.D Burman, Shankar-Jaikishen, Jatin-Lalit and A.R Rehman who have won laurels from around the world providing music that would cut across generations.
However, among all these great names, it would have been almost impossible for you to find an all-round artist of the caliber of Kishore Kumar. Acting, singing and music direction came to him so naturally that you would have definitely found it hard to fathom which facet he specialized in. It was he who invented the “Yoodley Yoo” in Hindi cinema in the 1970s. He could do almost anything with his voice – laughing in the middle of a song and changing his voice significantly to bring about different expressions. He was equally amazing in romantic songs, melancholic songs and the jovial ones. That is why he won the hearts of the millions around the world, because his style was simple. He reached out to the masses through his songs. You did not need knowledge of classical music to enjoy his brand of songs. After a long day’s work, if you needed to relax with some music, Kishore Kumar’s voice provided you with exactly that. His acting was also beyond the ordinary in films like Padosan, Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, Half Ticket and Lukochuri (Bengali), just to name a few. He had no inhibitions in front of the camera and his dialogue delivery was truly amazing.
I remember in one of his songs, the female artist had not turned up for recording. So Kishore volunteered to sing the female portion as well, by altering his voice, and believe me, no audience would ever have caught the trick had it not been declared later. I don’t think anybody else would have had the guts to sing in a female voice in an actual film song. Such was the talent of the man. All this he did, without receiving any formal classical training in music. His was a voice that was gifted by God.
If you look back, you would find actors who were better than him and you would find playback singers who were technically superior to Kishore Kumar in classical music. However, you would never find any artist, who could be as versatile as he was. That is what separated him and put him in a different league compared to his compatriots in Indian cinema. He was certainly the most talented artist that Indian cinema has ever seen. I would be very privileged indeed, if I am fortunate enough to witness and enjoy the skills of anyone as versatile as him in my lifetime.
You had Manna Dey, Mohammad Rafi and Hemant Kumar who were not only mellifluous but also possessed a very sound classical depth of singing. They were technically very correct. The same goes with Sonu Nigam today. You had Uttam Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Naseeruddin Shah, Girish Karnad, Amitabh Bachchan (especially in the second half of his career, post 2000) and Nana Patekar who were and still are outstanding actors. You had music directors like S.D Burman, R.D Burman, Shankar-Jaikishen, Jatin-Lalit and A.R Rehman who have won laurels from around the world providing music that would cut across generations.
However, among all these great names, it would have been almost impossible for you to find an all-round artist of the caliber of Kishore Kumar. Acting, singing and music direction came to him so naturally that you would have definitely found it hard to fathom which facet he specialized in. It was he who invented the “Yoodley Yoo” in Hindi cinema in the 1970s. He could do almost anything with his voice – laughing in the middle of a song and changing his voice significantly to bring about different expressions. He was equally amazing in romantic songs, melancholic songs and the jovial ones. That is why he won the hearts of the millions around the world, because his style was simple. He reached out to the masses through his songs. You did not need knowledge of classical music to enjoy his brand of songs. After a long day’s work, if you needed to relax with some music, Kishore Kumar’s voice provided you with exactly that. His acting was also beyond the ordinary in films like Padosan, Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, Half Ticket and Lukochuri (Bengali), just to name a few. He had no inhibitions in front of the camera and his dialogue delivery was truly amazing.
I remember in one of his songs, the female artist had not turned up for recording. So Kishore volunteered to sing the female portion as well, by altering his voice, and believe me, no audience would ever have caught the trick had it not been declared later. I don’t think anybody else would have had the guts to sing in a female voice in an actual film song. Such was the talent of the man. All this he did, without receiving any formal classical training in music. His was a voice that was gifted by God.
If you look back, you would find actors who were better than him and you would find playback singers who were technically superior to Kishore Kumar in classical music. However, you would never find any artist, who could be as versatile as he was. That is what separated him and put him in a different league compared to his compatriots in Indian cinema. He was certainly the most talented artist that Indian cinema has ever seen. I would be very privileged indeed, if I am fortunate enough to witness and enjoy the skills of anyone as versatile as him in my lifetime.
Young India sees “Freedom” differently………
A few days back, India celebrated its 64th Independence Day. Our venerated Prime minister was part of another I-day speech along with hoisting of the tricolour. The rhetoric followed that was supposed to cajole the yearning issues of 1.2 billion people. However, the opinions of numerous young, vibrant and energetic Indians did not change. As I can see it, “young” India has a different take on the “freedom” that we are enjoying right now. I am also a part of the bandwagon.
A free country should not only have a government comprising of its own people, for its own people and by its own people. It should also be able to manage its internal strives in a democratic way, and possess the ability to deal with mighty external nations on the economic and political front. It should have an unbiased attitude towards its women and caste minority groups, striving towards their empowerment in every way possible. A free society is symbolized by how independent its women are, and not by how archaic its thinking is, when it comes to honor killings, khap panchayats and discrimination towards dalits and muslims. The right to equality should be experienced by everyone, without facing subjugation.
In some cases, we misuse our freedom also. People indulge in vandalism; there is hardly any civic sense, but there exists widespread corruption. The people with power do whatever they feel like at the expense of innocent civilians, unless of course, bribery is resorted to. Most of our leaders have sweet tongues and sly hearts. Our country keeps getting lost in political squabbles because of this.
I do not think that the visionaries who gave us freedom in 1947 would have envisaged this kind of a future for their beloved motherland. I would have loved to see how fighters like Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Lala Lajput Rai and Sardar Vallabbhai Patel would have healed the wounds of India as we have it today. They would have definitely thought that real freedom is still a long way to go.
A free country should not only have a government comprising of its own people, for its own people and by its own people. It should also be able to manage its internal strives in a democratic way, and possess the ability to deal with mighty external nations on the economic and political front. It should have an unbiased attitude towards its women and caste minority groups, striving towards their empowerment in every way possible. A free society is symbolized by how independent its women are, and not by how archaic its thinking is, when it comes to honor killings, khap panchayats and discrimination towards dalits and muslims. The right to equality should be experienced by everyone, without facing subjugation.
In some cases, we misuse our freedom also. People indulge in vandalism; there is hardly any civic sense, but there exists widespread corruption. The people with power do whatever they feel like at the expense of innocent civilians, unless of course, bribery is resorted to. Most of our leaders have sweet tongues and sly hearts. Our country keeps getting lost in political squabbles because of this.
I do not think that the visionaries who gave us freedom in 1947 would have envisaged this kind of a future for their beloved motherland. I would have loved to see how fighters like Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Lala Lajput Rai and Sardar Vallabbhai Patel would have healed the wounds of India as we have it today. They would have definitely thought that real freedom is still a long way to go.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
A sense of duty may be conflicting at times….
Surprising as it may seem at first, I feel that a strong sense of duty can be conflicting sometimes. This is especially true when loyalties change, for example after marriage. Your spouse expects that you have to be more dutiful towards him/her vis-a-vis your parents, siblings and other close relatives. For you, that is tricky. The worst part is when your spouse has some friction with your relatives on any ground, even if it is not translated into open apathy. You know that your spouse does not like some of your relatives, and you are also aware that he/she does not want you to continue with the affection that you have poured on the concerned relatives throughout your life. In such a scenario, you have to choose between your life partner/your love and your relative, who has loved you since your childhood and in some cases even brought you up. You find it difficult to dismantle the love that you have received for 30 years in just 1 month, simply because your spouse does not want it.
However, if your partner really loves you, he/she would never stop you from loving a relative with whom he/she is not comfortable. He would trust you and assume that you would give him/her a fair deal, understand him/her as a person, and believe that you would back him/her uninhibitedly anyway. He would also know that you love him/her, and that duty would run smoothly only if love greases its wheels. Otherwise it would be a friction. In that case, you have the onus of living up to his/her trust that he/she has bestowed upon you.
Undoubtedly this is a very trivial issue and many would say that is a complete non-issue, but human nature is such that such apparently “petty” matters can destroy families, especially in today’s world of inflated egos, and sensitive minds. One should be extra careful and sensitive if they do face such a scenario.
The best thing for you however is again to follow the lines of the Bhagwad Gita – “If you are unsure about which path to take, whom to support, when your relatives are at war amongst themselves, go with DHARMA, the path of righteousness and truth. Be free from all jealousy, greed and lust so that you can distinguish between good and evil, and choose the good over evil. There is no bigger sin than to be NEUTRAL at a juncture when you have to choose between your loved ones based on their deeds. Take the side of TRUTH even if it is at the expense of a blood relation.”
However, if your partner really loves you, he/she would never stop you from loving a relative with whom he/she is not comfortable. He would trust you and assume that you would give him/her a fair deal, understand him/her as a person, and believe that you would back him/her uninhibitedly anyway. He would also know that you love him/her, and that duty would run smoothly only if love greases its wheels. Otherwise it would be a friction. In that case, you have the onus of living up to his/her trust that he/she has bestowed upon you.
Undoubtedly this is a very trivial issue and many would say that is a complete non-issue, but human nature is such that such apparently “petty” matters can destroy families, especially in today’s world of inflated egos, and sensitive minds. One should be extra careful and sensitive if they do face such a scenario.
The best thing for you however is again to follow the lines of the Bhagwad Gita – “If you are unsure about which path to take, whom to support, when your relatives are at war amongst themselves, go with DHARMA, the path of righteousness and truth. Be free from all jealousy, greed and lust so that you can distinguish between good and evil, and choose the good over evil. There is no bigger sin than to be NEUTRAL at a juncture when you have to choose between your loved ones based on their deeds. Take the side of TRUTH even if it is at the expense of a blood relation.”
Today’s teenagers are lavish spenders….
The spending limits of middle class to upper middle class teenagers have taken off dramatically in the last 20 years. These days, even high school students yearn for a credit card. I have heard a couple of cases where parents give their kids, just to give an example, Rs 2000/- as pocket money for the month, but they have the audacity to spend Rs 1500/- out of that on shopping in the first two days. Hence the yearning need for a credit card, which never has to be replenished, or so the young guns believe.
This is atrocious, in very mild terms. Some kids have two mobile phones these days – out of that one BlackBerry is a certainty. There are others who are obsessed with clothes and believe that if their friends buy a top or jeans, then it does not look good if they do not follow suit. Beauty treatments are also a common avenue to splash money for teens. It may seem risible to many that we did not even have a watch when we were in high school, forget other luxuries. I remember mom gifting me my first watch after I passed ICSE exams.
We used to go to school in public transport in the mid 1990s when the bus fare from Gariahat (my house) to Chittaranjan Hospital (Don Bosco Park Circus bus stop) was Re 1. Dad used to give me a five-rupee note everyday, and I used to save Rs 3 out of that. With those savings I managed to save Rs 2500/- after three years, which is still deposited in a post office account till date with accumulated interests. Today’s kids cannot even think of that kind of disciplined spending and saving. Youngsters today believe that a swipe of a card can buy them anything. Everybody is brand conscious, want to show off and be popular via the short cut. They do not have the time or the will to think how difficult it is to earn even a dime these days.
Affluent parents even go to the extent of providing Rs 10,000/- to Rs 15000/- as monthly pocket money to their kids. That is almost the amount that our PhD scholars receive as stipend in IITs and other renowned research institutes, after they get through a Masters Degree, the NET exams and a thousand grinding interviews. That is the harsh and crude reality of modern India.
This is the worst possible upbringing that any parent can provide to their child. The poor kids lose the ability to fight through a crisis in life because of such over-pampering. Unfortunately such kids, lacking balance in their approach to life, are also a part of the face of an Emerging India.
This is atrocious, in very mild terms. Some kids have two mobile phones these days – out of that one BlackBerry is a certainty. There are others who are obsessed with clothes and believe that if their friends buy a top or jeans, then it does not look good if they do not follow suit. Beauty treatments are also a common avenue to splash money for teens. It may seem risible to many that we did not even have a watch when we were in high school, forget other luxuries. I remember mom gifting me my first watch after I passed ICSE exams.
We used to go to school in public transport in the mid 1990s when the bus fare from Gariahat (my house) to Chittaranjan Hospital (Don Bosco Park Circus bus stop) was Re 1. Dad used to give me a five-rupee note everyday, and I used to save Rs 3 out of that. With those savings I managed to save Rs 2500/- after three years, which is still deposited in a post office account till date with accumulated interests. Today’s kids cannot even think of that kind of disciplined spending and saving. Youngsters today believe that a swipe of a card can buy them anything. Everybody is brand conscious, want to show off and be popular via the short cut. They do not have the time or the will to think how difficult it is to earn even a dime these days.
Affluent parents even go to the extent of providing Rs 10,000/- to Rs 15000/- as monthly pocket money to their kids. That is almost the amount that our PhD scholars receive as stipend in IITs and other renowned research institutes, after they get through a Masters Degree, the NET exams and a thousand grinding interviews. That is the harsh and crude reality of modern India.
This is the worst possible upbringing that any parent can provide to their child. The poor kids lose the ability to fight through a crisis in life because of such over-pampering. Unfortunately such kids, lacking balance in their approach to life, are also a part of the face of an Emerging India.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Indian sport needs a thorough overhauling…………
Not many people are aware that a movement known as the Clean Sports India (CSI) has been launched by ten former sportspersons of repute in our country. The mismanagement in Indian sport has crossed all acceptable limits of tolerance, as can be seen from Commonwealth Games fiasco, and this movement aims at ameliorating the sorry state of affairs.
To me, the crux of the problem is that Indian sport is run by every Tom Dick and Harry other than sportspersons. The administrators have never played any sport in their lives and this trend is rising. This is precisely the reason why a country of a billion people dishes out only one Olympic medal every four years, although Beijing 2008 was a rare exception where we managed three. Sports have become good money-spinners and there is rampant misuse of funds. Gentlemen, who have occupied the posts of presidents and secretaries of federations and boards for several decades, do not leave these lucrative positions, as there is absolutely no threat from former sportspersons to take up these responsible portfolios. Hence they enjoy a free ride literally.
CSI is bound to ruffle a few feathers amongst sports administrators as the latter would be pulled out of their comfort zones. However it is very unfortunate that former sportspersons are very skeptical in getting involved in administration. They have to be encouraged to do exactly that and run sports like a corporation in India. “Perform or perish” should be the mantra, and ruthless professionalism should be the forte of the system. The challenge ahead for the CSI is enormous, but they have to succeed to revive Indian sport from the doldrums.
To me, the crux of the problem is that Indian sport is run by every Tom Dick and Harry other than sportspersons. The administrators have never played any sport in their lives and this trend is rising. This is precisely the reason why a country of a billion people dishes out only one Olympic medal every four years, although Beijing 2008 was a rare exception where we managed three. Sports have become good money-spinners and there is rampant misuse of funds. Gentlemen, who have occupied the posts of presidents and secretaries of federations and boards for several decades, do not leave these lucrative positions, as there is absolutely no threat from former sportspersons to take up these responsible portfolios. Hence they enjoy a free ride literally.
CSI is bound to ruffle a few feathers amongst sports administrators as the latter would be pulled out of their comfort zones. However it is very unfortunate that former sportspersons are very skeptical in getting involved in administration. They have to be encouraged to do exactly that and run sports like a corporation in India. “Perform or perish” should be the mantra, and ruthless professionalism should be the forte of the system. The challenge ahead for the CSI is enormous, but they have to succeed to revive Indian sport from the doldrums.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Americans can afford philanthropy, Indians cannot……
The motto for the rising number of American billionaires seems to be “Take and Give.” Last week, about forty American billionaires have pledged to donate at least half their wealth for charity. Warren Buffet has even gone to the extent of donating 99% of his fortune. Bill Gates has pledged a whooping $30 billion.
The sad thing is that Indians, who also have roughly equal number of billionaires as the US if not more, are wary of donations to social causes. People like Mukesh Ambani, Lakshmi Mittal and Azim Premji along with a few other big names control a quarter of India’s GDP. Still they do not donate as much. One reason could be that they may be grubby and selfish (which I am sure they are not), while Americans have clean fingers and a clear conscience. The other reason could be that India’s wealthy are a new and fledgling class, and need time to evolve a charitable bone. To me, even this argument does not hold. The answer lies elsewhere.
Just to go back 100 years in time, when Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee became the Vice-Chancellor of University of Calcutta (CU), he urged the wealthy class in erstwhile Calcutta to donate generously to establish CU as a premier teaching and research institution as previous to his reign, CU did not have such a reputation. The wealthy class responded and donated huge sums, even by bequeathing their properties in some cases. The reason was they knew that their hard earned money would be put into good public use. They were confident that corrupt officials would not squander the money away. This comfort factor, which is imperative for charity to flourish, is missing in India today.
Our lack of trust in public charity works at multiple levels. First, nobody wants his money being spent for the wrong reasons. One is also uncertain about one’s future and those of one’s dependents. This chokes the oxygen out of philanthropy. Philanthropic functions best in places where public servants are trusted till they are proven guilty. In India, the reverse is true. If the early years of CU can show us why philanthropy was possible in India 100 years ago, the Commonwealth Games fiasco is a prime example of why it would not be even contemplated today.
Hence for the Gates-Buffet factor to work in India, in the form of Ambani-Mittal-Premji magic, it is necessary to foster transparency and cleanliness in public life. For individuals to give to society, society should deserve it first.
The sad thing is that Indians, who also have roughly equal number of billionaires as the US if not more, are wary of donations to social causes. People like Mukesh Ambani, Lakshmi Mittal and Azim Premji along with a few other big names control a quarter of India’s GDP. Still they do not donate as much. One reason could be that they may be grubby and selfish (which I am sure they are not), while Americans have clean fingers and a clear conscience. The other reason could be that India’s wealthy are a new and fledgling class, and need time to evolve a charitable bone. To me, even this argument does not hold. The answer lies elsewhere.
Just to go back 100 years in time, when Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee became the Vice-Chancellor of University of Calcutta (CU), he urged the wealthy class in erstwhile Calcutta to donate generously to establish CU as a premier teaching and research institution as previous to his reign, CU did not have such a reputation. The wealthy class responded and donated huge sums, even by bequeathing their properties in some cases. The reason was they knew that their hard earned money would be put into good public use. They were confident that corrupt officials would not squander the money away. This comfort factor, which is imperative for charity to flourish, is missing in India today.
Our lack of trust in public charity works at multiple levels. First, nobody wants his money being spent for the wrong reasons. One is also uncertain about one’s future and those of one’s dependents. This chokes the oxygen out of philanthropy. Philanthropic functions best in places where public servants are trusted till they are proven guilty. In India, the reverse is true. If the early years of CU can show us why philanthropy was possible in India 100 years ago, the Commonwealth Games fiasco is a prime example of why it would not be even contemplated today.
Hence for the Gates-Buffet factor to work in India, in the form of Ambani-Mittal-Premji magic, it is necessary to foster transparency and cleanliness in public life. For individuals to give to society, society should deserve it first.
Friday, August 13, 2010
A nice climate can be rejuvenating….
I have stayed in quite a few cities in India, starting from coastal Mumbai, plains of Delhi, gangetic Kolkata (my hometown) and now of course in Bangalore, which is more of a plateau. The one thing which I have always opined about is that the climatic conditions in all these cities have affected my moods.
I hate saying this, but the bitter truth is that I have experienced the worst climate in Kolkata. Barring December-January when the winter bites heavily, the humidity here always touches an average of 85-90% which is energy-sapping. Add to that the scorching summer temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius from March to May, and the sultry climate from June-October with occasional showers during the monsoons. The worst part is that even after a spell of rain, the coolness in the air is not guaranteed. On the contrary, the sweating increases sometimes. With its weather, Kolkata can really bog you down in terms of efficiency and speed of work. You do not feel like going to a local shop to buy some groceries, or to recharge your SIM from a shop next door, because you know that by the time you come back after 15 minutes, you would be drenched in sweat. In Kolkata, I have also seen my mother taking an eternity to cook two dishes for lunch, which I take about 45 minutes here in Bangalore. Tiredness becomes an obvious concomitant to the mundane lifestyle in the “City of Joy.”
Bangalore, in this aspect is a huge relief. The maximum temperature that is reached throughout the year is 35 degrees Celsius, but the most comforting thing is that the humidity never crosses 50%. Once you get past May, even the temperatures hobble around the 28 degree mark, with a minimum of 19-20 degrees. It is really cool, literally. When mom comes here, I see a total contrast in her movements. From lethargy, she segues beautifully to promptness and even indulges in evening strolls sharp at 4 pm everyday, which she could never have contemplated in Kolkata. She admits it herself that the climate renews the rejuvenation in her.
These days, I observe the same weariness and fatigue in Kuhu’s voice. Staying here in the coolness of Bangalore I fail to interpret the torment she goes through in that humid, sweaty climate in Kolkata. Sometimes, I foolishly think that she is always carping unnecessarily and I even rebuke her. However the fact is that in that climate, it is very difficult to keep one’s mood in proper shape. I have my empathy for all of the millions staying there, including my loved ones. I wish I had a big enough apartment in Bangalore so that I could have brought everyone here and provided them some relief.
I hate saying this, but the bitter truth is that I have experienced the worst climate in Kolkata. Barring December-January when the winter bites heavily, the humidity here always touches an average of 85-90% which is energy-sapping. Add to that the scorching summer temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius from March to May, and the sultry climate from June-October with occasional showers during the monsoons. The worst part is that even after a spell of rain, the coolness in the air is not guaranteed. On the contrary, the sweating increases sometimes. With its weather, Kolkata can really bog you down in terms of efficiency and speed of work. You do not feel like going to a local shop to buy some groceries, or to recharge your SIM from a shop next door, because you know that by the time you come back after 15 minutes, you would be drenched in sweat. In Kolkata, I have also seen my mother taking an eternity to cook two dishes for lunch, which I take about 45 minutes here in Bangalore. Tiredness becomes an obvious concomitant to the mundane lifestyle in the “City of Joy.”
Bangalore, in this aspect is a huge relief. The maximum temperature that is reached throughout the year is 35 degrees Celsius, but the most comforting thing is that the humidity never crosses 50%. Once you get past May, even the temperatures hobble around the 28 degree mark, with a minimum of 19-20 degrees. It is really cool, literally. When mom comes here, I see a total contrast in her movements. From lethargy, she segues beautifully to promptness and even indulges in evening strolls sharp at 4 pm everyday, which she could never have contemplated in Kolkata. She admits it herself that the climate renews the rejuvenation in her.
These days, I observe the same weariness and fatigue in Kuhu’s voice. Staying here in the coolness of Bangalore I fail to interpret the torment she goes through in that humid, sweaty climate in Kolkata. Sometimes, I foolishly think that she is always carping unnecessarily and I even rebuke her. However the fact is that in that climate, it is very difficult to keep one’s mood in proper shape. I have my empathy for all of the millions staying there, including my loved ones. I wish I had a big enough apartment in Bangalore so that I could have brought everyone here and provided them some relief.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Banning the Blackberry in India…….
For the past couple of weeks, we have been witnessing a furore over the banning of BlackBerry services in India. Saudi Arabia and UAE have set the cat amongst the pigeons by doing so on security concerns, citing that the secured and encrypted messaging service offered by BlackBerry may be a favorite budding ground for terrorist networking. This may put national interests into serious jeopardy. India has asked RIM, the manufacturer of BlackBerry, to provide their proprietary codes so that Indian sleuths and ethical hackers can track messages that are being sent by the common man randomly, for the sake of “national interest.”
For God’s sake, I think the hierarchy need not be so insecure about its citizens out of the blue. There are much more pressing security issues that are yearning to be solved. The Constitution of India gives us the right to privacy and nobody has any business to eavesdrop on our personal conversations that we send through mobile phones. Besides that, technically speaking, the amount of raw data one much wade through to catch terrorists through phone conversations or messaging is impossible to handle in a country as vast and as talkative as India. In any case, intercepted phone chats are not exactly the sort of evidence that our honorable courts like to ratify.
To my humble knowledge, no terrorist has ever been caught with a BlackBerry. They use satellite phones. For the sake of argument, even if we ban BlackBerry or force open its encryption codes, there would be Skype and many more internet phone systems still open to the perpetrators of terror. By the time the government would ban these, new technologies would emerge. This is no secret that terrorists are shrewd and are always 2 steps ahead of law. Hence banning the BlackBerry would only hurt common people like you and I, who would now be sharing our private conversations with state-hired eavesdroppers. We may also get harassed by security agencies in their attempt to justify snooping. We do not want such a kind of nation, in the name of “national security.”
I need a new mobile handset for me pretty quickly anyway. If RIM refuses to cave in to the government’s demand, I would switch over to the BlackBerry to show my support for the cause. Right now, BlackBerry has come to represent my right to privacy and I am not going to give it up so easily. Nor should you.
For God’s sake, I think the hierarchy need not be so insecure about its citizens out of the blue. There are much more pressing security issues that are yearning to be solved. The Constitution of India gives us the right to privacy and nobody has any business to eavesdrop on our personal conversations that we send through mobile phones. Besides that, technically speaking, the amount of raw data one much wade through to catch terrorists through phone conversations or messaging is impossible to handle in a country as vast and as talkative as India. In any case, intercepted phone chats are not exactly the sort of evidence that our honorable courts like to ratify.
To my humble knowledge, no terrorist has ever been caught with a BlackBerry. They use satellite phones. For the sake of argument, even if we ban BlackBerry or force open its encryption codes, there would be Skype and many more internet phone systems still open to the perpetrators of terror. By the time the government would ban these, new technologies would emerge. This is no secret that terrorists are shrewd and are always 2 steps ahead of law. Hence banning the BlackBerry would only hurt common people like you and I, who would now be sharing our private conversations with state-hired eavesdroppers. We may also get harassed by security agencies in their attempt to justify snooping. We do not want such a kind of nation, in the name of “national security.”
I need a new mobile handset for me pretty quickly anyway. If RIM refuses to cave in to the government’s demand, I would switch over to the BlackBerry to show my support for the cause. Right now, BlackBerry has come to represent my right to privacy and I am not going to give it up so easily. Nor should you.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
The worth of my High Self Esteem…..
I have always been among those who have a high degree of self-esteem. I know that there is a fine line between an “inflated ego” and “high self-esteem” but I feel that I have managed to sustain the latter as my forte. There is nothing more detrimental to a man, than to lose his sense of pride, which eventually would lead to the loss of respect he commands.
Just to give an example, there have been occasions when people have made me understand that I would be an unwanted guest at their house, if there is no formal invitation from their side. This is as if you visit people only if they invite you to do so. This is all right in professional relationships but stings badly in personal ones. If you like a person, you should not have a problem if he/she visits your place anytime, even without informing you before hand. In such circumstances, my self-esteem has always urged me to withhold even formal visits to their homes.
I remember, once when I was 9 years old, I went to have dinner with a very close family friend of ours, in a restaurant, which was only 2 km from our house. After dinner at 10.30 pm, he told me that I should walk home alone, and not get into his car. Even at such a small age, I had taken it very seriously and thought that I should never take privilege from somebody who has insulted me. I decided to walk home alone on that night and reached home at 11 pm. I still remember getting a real thrashing from dad, but later on they understood my perspective and forgave me. However, that person whose car I had refused to board had later told us that it was “just a joke” and I had been "too sensitive unnecessarily." I did not care a hoot.
There have been occasions when I have had to compromise on humility a touch to accommodate my self-esteem, but it has been worth the effort. I felt that it was right and I back myself completely. However, I have never hurt anybody else’s ego intentionally, although many people have done that to me. My self-esteem has come from the respect and belief that I have in myself, which even the holy books encourage. Hence I keep nurturing it.
Just to give an example, there have been occasions when people have made me understand that I would be an unwanted guest at their house, if there is no formal invitation from their side. This is as if you visit people only if they invite you to do so. This is all right in professional relationships but stings badly in personal ones. If you like a person, you should not have a problem if he/she visits your place anytime, even without informing you before hand. In such circumstances, my self-esteem has always urged me to withhold even formal visits to their homes.
I remember, once when I was 9 years old, I went to have dinner with a very close family friend of ours, in a restaurant, which was only 2 km from our house. After dinner at 10.30 pm, he told me that I should walk home alone, and not get into his car. Even at such a small age, I had taken it very seriously and thought that I should never take privilege from somebody who has insulted me. I decided to walk home alone on that night and reached home at 11 pm. I still remember getting a real thrashing from dad, but later on they understood my perspective and forgave me. However, that person whose car I had refused to board had later told us that it was “just a joke” and I had been "too sensitive unnecessarily." I did not care a hoot.
There have been occasions when I have had to compromise on humility a touch to accommodate my self-esteem, but it has been worth the effort. I felt that it was right and I back myself completely. However, I have never hurt anybody else’s ego intentionally, although many people have done that to me. My self-esteem has come from the respect and belief that I have in myself, which even the holy books encourage. Hence I keep nurturing it.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Today’s children are a class apart….
When I listen to my 6 year old precocious cousin speak beyond her years, I am bedazzled. I wonder what her influences are. I am sure you would find innumerable such instances. The fact is however that the new generation of politically correct children can give their parents a full blown tutorial on subjects ranging from the ill effects of nicotine to global warming. They are born with the acumen to do so which we did not.
They frown at you if you leave the water running while brushing your teeth, they protest if you are attending calls while driving and they are endearingly protective about the earth treating it as an extension of their homes. They throw out buzzwords like “global warming” with an ease which we would have used to pronounce “ice-cream.” Smoking, littering, pollution and junk food have all been taboo to them. They avoid fire crackers and soft drinks also. We could not even imagine such high levels of maturity when we were young.
The current educational system can claim to take a share of developing such maturity in children. That is because the awareness is being drilled into them right from the day they enter school, at the pre-nursery level. There is also a conscious imperative coming out of the educational system. Almost all schools have introduced environmental awareness as a core subject in their curriculum.Teachers are much more inclined to touch upon core issues when they are young and also the kids are much more intelligent.
It is very refreshing indeed that our children are so mature. It is not the policy makers nor the presidents, but this army of little people, who would save our planet from death and destruction.
They frown at you if you leave the water running while brushing your teeth, they protest if you are attending calls while driving and they are endearingly protective about the earth treating it as an extension of their homes. They throw out buzzwords like “global warming” with an ease which we would have used to pronounce “ice-cream.” Smoking, littering, pollution and junk food have all been taboo to them. They avoid fire crackers and soft drinks also. We could not even imagine such high levels of maturity when we were young.
The current educational system can claim to take a share of developing such maturity in children. That is because the awareness is being drilled into them right from the day they enter school, at the pre-nursery level. There is also a conscious imperative coming out of the educational system. Almost all schools have introduced environmental awareness as a core subject in their curriculum.Teachers are much more inclined to touch upon core issues when they are young and also the kids are much more intelligent.
It is very refreshing indeed that our children are so mature. It is not the policy makers nor the presidents, but this army of little people, who would save our planet from death and destruction.
Monday, August 9, 2010
A sharp memory may devastate you…..
Tough professors and strict parents always tell their students/kids that they should have a sharp memory to do well in exams, to apply new concepts in real life and to fulfill other intellectual obligations. Ayurveda also enlists the right mix of natural herbs that can help boost your memory, especially when you are a student, and so does many other pharmaceutical brands. Ironically, wise men always admonish you to forget as much as possible, to avoid distress to yourself. The regular mantra is “Do not remember the stinging comments of people around you. Do not stick to the bitter past. Live the present and build a better future. Forgive and Forget.”
The problem is, however, for a person who has developed a memory as sharp as a razor, during the course of his academic and professional endeavors, to forget virulence easily. As a result, he keeps on digging old facts which he cannot forget, especially things which has hurt him in the past, and makes life miserable for himself. The attribute, which has made him shine among hundreds, is suddenly acting as a serious deterrent in his personal life. He cannot live the happy present but keeps moping about the forgettable past. He wishes that he gets out of this situation, but finds no way out.
In such a scenario, self-counseling is a very viable option but not everybody can do it effectively. Spiritual inclinations to cleanse the mind of all ill feelings towards others are also a path that people may follow. In extreme cases, one may also surmise that professional assistance is the only solution. In actuality, this is also part of grinding oneself through the travails of life. The tough nuts raft through it and come out flourishing, but the fragile fledgelings get swept away into an ocean of emotional turmoil. That is why life is such an enigma.
The problem is, however, for a person who has developed a memory as sharp as a razor, during the course of his academic and professional endeavors, to forget virulence easily. As a result, he keeps on digging old facts which he cannot forget, especially things which has hurt him in the past, and makes life miserable for himself. The attribute, which has made him shine among hundreds, is suddenly acting as a serious deterrent in his personal life. He cannot live the happy present but keeps moping about the forgettable past. He wishes that he gets out of this situation, but finds no way out.
In such a scenario, self-counseling is a very viable option but not everybody can do it effectively. Spiritual inclinations to cleanse the mind of all ill feelings towards others are also a path that people may follow. In extreme cases, one may also surmise that professional assistance is the only solution. In actuality, this is also part of grinding oneself through the travails of life. The tough nuts raft through it and come out flourishing, but the fragile fledgelings get swept away into an ocean of emotional turmoil. That is why life is such an enigma.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Being too romantic is not rewarding….
Since my college days, I have always come across the dictum that “Men express their romance a lot more than do women.” Even women admit it. This does not mean that women do not love their men, but only that they don’t fulminate and elocute their romantic feelings as blatantly as men do. Men have to “understand” women to get the real picture. In such a situation, it becomes very difficult for men like me, who expect reciprocity, to sustain their enamored expressions on a consistent basis.
When they do fall in love, expressive men perceive romance in almost everything. Many women find this “crap” very ludicrous. Either through words or body language, they make you feel that you have been such a foolish romantic. In the madness of “first love”, you tend to ignore the rebuke, but some days later when you reflect, those comments sting like a bee. It is not that women are never expressive but since they more reticent, men always feel that they are being given a raw deal, especially when the passion is simmering.
It is very difficult to come out of such situations. You have the option of either changing yourself and not give her the verbal romantic delights, or take the sting of her comments or ignorance. Both options can be very damaging. So guys, get used to the fact that you would never get cloyed as much as you cloy your sweetheart. It is part of being an “understanding” boyfriend/fiancée/husband. Happy wooing!
When they do fall in love, expressive men perceive romance in almost everything. Many women find this “crap” very ludicrous. Either through words or body language, they make you feel that you have been such a foolish romantic. In the madness of “first love”, you tend to ignore the rebuke, but some days later when you reflect, those comments sting like a bee. It is not that women are never expressive but since they more reticent, men always feel that they are being given a raw deal, especially when the passion is simmering.
It is very difficult to come out of such situations. You have the option of either changing yourself and not give her the verbal romantic delights, or take the sting of her comments or ignorance. Both options can be very damaging. So guys, get used to the fact that you would never get cloyed as much as you cloy your sweetheart. It is part of being an “understanding” boyfriend/fiancée/husband. Happy wooing!
Lets make Commonwealth Games a huge success….
For the past one month or so, print media has been crying foul about how poorly the preparation for the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2010, scheduled to be held in New Delhi in about 8 weeks from now, has been. Considering the situation as of today, where the management is reeling under criticism for financial mismanagement and general under-preparedness, only the involvement of the average Delhiite would dispel all gloom and negativity around the CWG.
The sense of pride that the ordinary citizen would usher in about hosting such a sporting spectacle would in my book ensure that the Delhi legacy would be positive, that the infrastructure created would be well harnessed and the CWG would be a success story. Right now, the ordinary citizen is not even least interested in the games. They see it as a case of misplaced priority, an exercise in opulence and a blatant attempt in nurturing a fragile sense of national pride. This attitude has to change significantly. We can make up for all glitches on the part of the officials with sheer passion for this sporting spectacle.
Among our athletes, barring a few stars, most of them require the CWG as a launching pad for their livelihoods. They have prepared for this under adverse conditions and strived day in and day out to stand up for the country. This is their only crack at stardom and it is our moral responsibility to provide it to them. A handful of corrupt individuals cannot be allowed to blight a national mission like the CWG, which is significant enough to shape opinions about India across the global sporting fraternity. God forbid, if the CWG fails, the sordid tale of Indian sport would need an epitaph. No other sporting events of such magnitude may be handed over to India anymore.
Hence it is imperative for ordinary citizens like us to stand up, get involved passionately in the games, buy tickets which are affordable and cheer for our athletes. If we can create a resonance in other Indian cities also about the CWG, it would be worth the effort. We, proud Indians, should try our best shot to protect the Shera.
The sense of pride that the ordinary citizen would usher in about hosting such a sporting spectacle would in my book ensure that the Delhi legacy would be positive, that the infrastructure created would be well harnessed and the CWG would be a success story. Right now, the ordinary citizen is not even least interested in the games. They see it as a case of misplaced priority, an exercise in opulence and a blatant attempt in nurturing a fragile sense of national pride. This attitude has to change significantly. We can make up for all glitches on the part of the officials with sheer passion for this sporting spectacle.
Among our athletes, barring a few stars, most of them require the CWG as a launching pad for their livelihoods. They have prepared for this under adverse conditions and strived day in and day out to stand up for the country. This is their only crack at stardom and it is our moral responsibility to provide it to them. A handful of corrupt individuals cannot be allowed to blight a national mission like the CWG, which is significant enough to shape opinions about India across the global sporting fraternity. God forbid, if the CWG fails, the sordid tale of Indian sport would need an epitaph. No other sporting events of such magnitude may be handed over to India anymore.
Hence it is imperative for ordinary citizens like us to stand up, get involved passionately in the games, buy tickets which are affordable and cheer for our athletes. If we can create a resonance in other Indian cities also about the CWG, it would be worth the effort. We, proud Indians, should try our best shot to protect the Shera.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Boarding Schools can be very rewarding for your child…..
In today’s world of frequent shifting of careers, job hopping and transfers, children’s education has become quite an issue to deal with. Practically speaking, it is very difficult for the child to get adjusted to a new city/environment/school every 2-3 years, and even more so for the parent who has to seek admission for their children in whichever city they end up serving.
In such a situation, Boarding Schools provide a very viable alternative to worrying parents, more often than not. They provide stability to the child growing up, provides independence to him as he is away from home, inculcates a sense of discipline, helps him make friends for a lifetime and also they relieve you from the worry of mistimed hackles of getting an admission done for your kid. The children, in many cases, enjoy their growing up a lot more in Boarding Schools. They are provided laptops where they can download movies, get skype and have regular chats with parents. Parents can also visit their child at regular intervals. At the end of the day, they become self sufficient, which is very important.
However, the downside to all this is, children may get detached from their families if they are away for too long in a faraway place. Another common dilemma that parents face is that at what age they should send their child to a Boarding School, if they do decide to do so. I guess, in today’s world, one would typically do so when the child is about 9-11 years old, when the child is mentally developed enough to look out for himself, to understand why their parents are taking such a drastic step and also to have a prescience that this would build his personality to a great extent.
Boarding Schools, or in fact hostel life also, can be tough for people who find difficult to blend in with students from different cultural backgrounds. I have seen many people in my hostel in IIT who used to isolate themselves from the crowd and get themselves locked up in their rooms. Such behaviour can induce unwanted risks also, such as a mob of students beating up one poor guy, which is not uncommon either in Boarding Schools. In such cases, parents should never ignore the child if he is wants to come back home.
As does all things in life, sending your child to a Boarding School also has its share of pitfalls, but if the child is gutsy enough, to ride through the difficult times then he can come out of that in flying colours. It is a tough decision to make, but then, life is not a bed of roses either!
In such a situation, Boarding Schools provide a very viable alternative to worrying parents, more often than not. They provide stability to the child growing up, provides independence to him as he is away from home, inculcates a sense of discipline, helps him make friends for a lifetime and also they relieve you from the worry of mistimed hackles of getting an admission done for your kid. The children, in many cases, enjoy their growing up a lot more in Boarding Schools. They are provided laptops where they can download movies, get skype and have regular chats with parents. Parents can also visit their child at regular intervals. At the end of the day, they become self sufficient, which is very important.
However, the downside to all this is, children may get detached from their families if they are away for too long in a faraway place. Another common dilemma that parents face is that at what age they should send their child to a Boarding School, if they do decide to do so. I guess, in today’s world, one would typically do so when the child is about 9-11 years old, when the child is mentally developed enough to look out for himself, to understand why their parents are taking such a drastic step and also to have a prescience that this would build his personality to a great extent.
Boarding Schools, or in fact hostel life also, can be tough for people who find difficult to blend in with students from different cultural backgrounds. I have seen many people in my hostel in IIT who used to isolate themselves from the crowd and get themselves locked up in their rooms. Such behaviour can induce unwanted risks also, such as a mob of students beating up one poor guy, which is not uncommon either in Boarding Schools. In such cases, parents should never ignore the child if he is wants to come back home.
As does all things in life, sending your child to a Boarding School also has its share of pitfalls, but if the child is gutsy enough, to ride through the difficult times then he can come out of that in flying colours. It is a tough decision to make, but then, life is not a bed of roses either!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Getting jovial with austere people requires skill……….
When you are surrounded by stolid personalities, who do not express themselves enough, who hardly put up a smile, but at the same time are nice at heart, it is difficult to stick to your natural jovial and ebullient moods. You know that they are nice human beings after all, but unfortunately have not been bestowed with as much expressions and elocution as you have been. You cannot walk away from them, because compunction stops you. In a nutshell, you are caught between the proverbial “Devil and the Deep Blue Sea”.
Interestingly, another unique characteristic among these people is that once they start feeling comfortable in front of you, they start speaking and joking very spontaneously. However, the challenge is to make them open up by your friendly nature, by your openness and candour. When I face such kind of people in my life, I always try to be very free with them. I crack jokes, sometimes even about myself, so that they can shed this hesitation and come out of their shell expressing themselves. If you can give them a feeling of assurance, through your way of talking and gestures, that you don’t feel bad even at the weirdest of jokes, you can really transform even the most expressionless minds, albeit for a couple of hours at least. In the process you also get a friend/well wisher.
Initially I used to find it very difficult to talk to such kind of people. I used to get very agitated and irritated when people were lukewarm to my expressive style of speaking. With age, and maturity however I learnt that some people, even though they are very kind at heart, cannot express their feelings properly. So you have to dig their minds up for them. To be honest, I have really enjoyed doing it. From whatever I have seen of life, there is no such human being who does not like a jovial time and who does not like jokes at all. It is only that they may not take it the way you do. In that case, you have to use your oratory skills, which you have been blessed with, to understand their psyche quickly and make them express themselves in front of you.
My father was very expressive but my mom is very introvert. Both shared a very happy married life however. Similarly I am very talkative, but Kuhu is on the quieter side, although it must be said that she also possesses a very good sense of humour. There are times when she just keeps quiet for a long time over the phone, and I have to figure out words to break the deadlock. There are also times however, when we just keep on cracking jokes, keep on laughing perpetually at each others comments. If you can make a quiet guy speak up and enjoy your company, there is nothing else that is more satisfying.
At the end of it all, I feel that people having the skills to talk, laugh and to provide others with a comfort zone, should continue doing so. Who knows, you might be making the day for so many people around you, making them smile, lightening up their moods and shedding their grief. In fact, if I can make people smile, I take it as an opportunity bestowed upon me by God. Hope I can continue doing it in the years to come.
Interestingly, another unique characteristic among these people is that once they start feeling comfortable in front of you, they start speaking and joking very spontaneously. However, the challenge is to make them open up by your friendly nature, by your openness and candour. When I face such kind of people in my life, I always try to be very free with them. I crack jokes, sometimes even about myself, so that they can shed this hesitation and come out of their shell expressing themselves. If you can give them a feeling of assurance, through your way of talking and gestures, that you don’t feel bad even at the weirdest of jokes, you can really transform even the most expressionless minds, albeit for a couple of hours at least. In the process you also get a friend/well wisher.
Initially I used to find it very difficult to talk to such kind of people. I used to get very agitated and irritated when people were lukewarm to my expressive style of speaking. With age, and maturity however I learnt that some people, even though they are very kind at heart, cannot express their feelings properly. So you have to dig their minds up for them. To be honest, I have really enjoyed doing it. From whatever I have seen of life, there is no such human being who does not like a jovial time and who does not like jokes at all. It is only that they may not take it the way you do. In that case, you have to use your oratory skills, which you have been blessed with, to understand their psyche quickly and make them express themselves in front of you.
My father was very expressive but my mom is very introvert. Both shared a very happy married life however. Similarly I am very talkative, but Kuhu is on the quieter side, although it must be said that she also possesses a very good sense of humour. There are times when she just keeps quiet for a long time over the phone, and I have to figure out words to break the deadlock. There are also times however, when we just keep on cracking jokes, keep on laughing perpetually at each others comments. If you can make a quiet guy speak up and enjoy your company, there is nothing else that is more satisfying.
At the end of it all, I feel that people having the skills to talk, laugh and to provide others with a comfort zone, should continue doing so. Who knows, you might be making the day for so many people around you, making them smile, lightening up their moods and shedding their grief. In fact, if I can make people smile, I take it as an opportunity bestowed upon me by God. Hope I can continue doing it in the years to come.
Music has always been a great companion….
My love for music started when I was 3 years old. In our home, we used to play Tagore songs, Lata Mangeshkar classics, Sunil Gangopadhyay’s guitar and Manna De’s melodies among others, in our good old HMV gramophone. Besides that, we also had a Philips cassette player, where all these numbers were replayed. Due to an upbringing in such a pristine environment of traditional Indian music, I never had an opportunity or will to develop a penchant for Western Music.
In times of stress, joy, relief and sorrow, one of the major relievers for me has been Indian music. I cannot list down the songs that I like most because they are just too many in number. I have always been amazed by the pathos, romance and poignancy of Tagore songs, the sensual stimulus that it creates, and its heart-touching lyrics, which can transcend you into a different zone altogether. Over the years, there have been some truly outstanding Hindi movie songs as well by Hemant Kumar, Kishore Kumar, Mohammad Rafi, and Mukesh. My favorite has always been Kishore, although Hemant babu’s brand of music and voice in the movie Khamoshi was just phenomenal. Songs like “Tum Pukar Lo” and “Woh Shaam Kuch Ajeeb Thi” can arouse even the most stolid of minds. Among Bengali non-Tagore songs, my favorite has always been Manna De, although Shyamal Mitra and Manabendra Mukhopadhyay were also outstanding artistes in their own right. With lights switched off in your bedroom, and mellifluous voices of these great and gifted individuals filling up the melody spaces, you just forget all grief and temporarily get shifted into a different planet.
Over the last decade or so, there have also been some truly great Bollywood numbers. Sonu Nigam has just set a new level for himself and for the music industry. Alka Yagnik also had a tremendous voice and Shreya Ghosal has the potential to be the next Lata Mangeshkar. The ease, with which Shreya sang a tough song like “Mere Dholna” in the movie "Bhulbhulaiya" along with M.G Sreekumar, was truly awe-inspiring. It was special to say the least and I would certainly rate it as one of the best songs ever sung in Hindi films. Such high quality artistes force me to stop, listen to and relax at this soothing brand of music. I have also been deeply moved by Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia’s flute and Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma’s santoor. Both of them had performed twice at IIT Delhi, and both had a mystic charm about their instrumentals.
I sometimes wonder what kind of nerd I would have turned myself into if I had not loved music as much as I do. I would never have been so free-minded, expressive and romantic (my fiancée says so) otherwise. I would always be indebted to my parents for having helped me to develop the ability to appreciate good quality Indian music. Music has always been a great companion alongside and has acted as a huge boost and inspiration for me under all situations, especially when I am down and out. Thank you, Indian Music.
In times of stress, joy, relief and sorrow, one of the major relievers for me has been Indian music. I cannot list down the songs that I like most because they are just too many in number. I have always been amazed by the pathos, romance and poignancy of Tagore songs, the sensual stimulus that it creates, and its heart-touching lyrics, which can transcend you into a different zone altogether. Over the years, there have been some truly outstanding Hindi movie songs as well by Hemant Kumar, Kishore Kumar, Mohammad Rafi, and Mukesh. My favorite has always been Kishore, although Hemant babu’s brand of music and voice in the movie Khamoshi was just phenomenal. Songs like “Tum Pukar Lo” and “Woh Shaam Kuch Ajeeb Thi” can arouse even the most stolid of minds. Among Bengali non-Tagore songs, my favorite has always been Manna De, although Shyamal Mitra and Manabendra Mukhopadhyay were also outstanding artistes in their own right. With lights switched off in your bedroom, and mellifluous voices of these great and gifted individuals filling up the melody spaces, you just forget all grief and temporarily get shifted into a different planet.
Over the last decade or so, there have also been some truly great Bollywood numbers. Sonu Nigam has just set a new level for himself and for the music industry. Alka Yagnik also had a tremendous voice and Shreya Ghosal has the potential to be the next Lata Mangeshkar. The ease, with which Shreya sang a tough song like “Mere Dholna” in the movie "Bhulbhulaiya" along with M.G Sreekumar, was truly awe-inspiring. It was special to say the least and I would certainly rate it as one of the best songs ever sung in Hindi films. Such high quality artistes force me to stop, listen to and relax at this soothing brand of music. I have also been deeply moved by Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia’s flute and Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma’s santoor. Both of them had performed twice at IIT Delhi, and both had a mystic charm about their instrumentals.
I sometimes wonder what kind of nerd I would have turned myself into if I had not loved music as much as I do. I would never have been so free-minded, expressive and romantic (my fiancée says so) otherwise. I would always be indebted to my parents for having helped me to develop the ability to appreciate good quality Indian music. Music has always been a great companion alongside and has acted as a huge boost and inspiration for me under all situations, especially when I am down and out. Thank you, Indian Music.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Listen first, then speak…..
When somebody speaks, most people never listen. This is the root of all misunderstanding during most confabulations around us. I have always found this repugnant habit of interrupting people, when they are expressing viewpoints, very intimidating and annoying. In our corporate culture, the higher you move in responsibility, lesser you speak and more you listen and take decisions. The same thing applies in our everyday life also.
Our own Lok Sabha, where a pandemonium exists every day, is a very good example of the chaos that gets created due to too many voices being raised at the same time. It showcases our country in poor colour, which is beyond the understanding of our venerated leaders. Respected, educated leaders of our country, who are otherwise so suave on television, just lose their sense of courtesy, protocol and ethics, and start shouting simultaneously in front of a live television camera. Nobody lends an ear to the other. Everybody tries to stamp his or her authority on a discussion. That is why, rarely would you see constructive steps being taken quickly after a Parliament session on any burning issue.
During recruitment processes in various multinationals or even IIM admissions, Group Discussions (GDs) are conducted. Here, the misconception among candidates is they are being judged on how well they speak. However, in reality, the judges gauge that how well the candidates listen, how well they respect other’s opinions and eventually how well they help to build a consensus among a group of people who have different viewpoints. These qualities are of immense significance in the corporate environment.
In our personal life also, if some of our close ones are facing any problem, or they are disconsolate or depressed for some reason, the best solution is to allow them to speak and vent their grief/anger; you should not feel bad even if they shout at you. If you are trying to solve their problem, you should always keep quiet and listen first to whatever they have to say, and then give your solutions or opinions.
Good listening skills are just so important every second in our life. I have seen some excellent listeners, and I really wish that there were many more people around, who would first listen and then speak. However the problem is that these days, there are just too many experts who love to gloat around, and express opinions without caring a hoot for what the guy in front has to say. They say, that “This is the only way to build an impression.” When I hear that, I give a wry smile and walk away.
Our own Lok Sabha, where a pandemonium exists every day, is a very good example of the chaos that gets created due to too many voices being raised at the same time. It showcases our country in poor colour, which is beyond the understanding of our venerated leaders. Respected, educated leaders of our country, who are otherwise so suave on television, just lose their sense of courtesy, protocol and ethics, and start shouting simultaneously in front of a live television camera. Nobody lends an ear to the other. Everybody tries to stamp his or her authority on a discussion. That is why, rarely would you see constructive steps being taken quickly after a Parliament session on any burning issue.
During recruitment processes in various multinationals or even IIM admissions, Group Discussions (GDs) are conducted. Here, the misconception among candidates is they are being judged on how well they speak. However, in reality, the judges gauge that how well the candidates listen, how well they respect other’s opinions and eventually how well they help to build a consensus among a group of people who have different viewpoints. These qualities are of immense significance in the corporate environment.
In our personal life also, if some of our close ones are facing any problem, or they are disconsolate or depressed for some reason, the best solution is to allow them to speak and vent their grief/anger; you should not feel bad even if they shout at you. If you are trying to solve their problem, you should always keep quiet and listen first to whatever they have to say, and then give your solutions or opinions.
Good listening skills are just so important every second in our life. I have seen some excellent listeners, and I really wish that there were many more people around, who would first listen and then speak. However the problem is that these days, there are just too many experts who love to gloat around, and express opinions without caring a hoot for what the guy in front has to say. They say, that “This is the only way to build an impression.” When I hear that, I give a wry smile and walk away.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Praising people is not easy…..
Appreciating achievements or little deeds of others can sometimes get very pricky for us. In today’s world, people (even close relatives, apart from parents) are extremely envious of each other. They cannot tolerate success earned by others, especially if the other guy is supposedly as good as he/she is.
There would be many people like you and me who would spare no words in praising a genius like Sachin Tendulkar, because we know that we can never be as good as he is. However, if one of our neighbors plays even for the state side, we get jealous, and start spreading detestable rumours to malign his reputation. We feel that in spite of staying in the same locality as we have, and enjoying the same facilities as we have, how dare he play cricket well, and we can’t even hold a cricket bat.
It takes a lot of guts and courage to go out and praise people who are just like you and me. Everybody cannot do it easily. They feel insecure, they feel that “many people would anyway be praising him/her, so what is the point in my praising him/her”. They feel that “If I go and praise him/her, I would become even more inferior to him/her than ever before” and so on, and so forth. To me this is a sign of genuine weakness. People, who are mentally strong, never hold themselves back in praising others for the smallest reasons possible. In fact they enjoy doing so. Statements like “You are a very good speaker/writer/singer”; “There would be no one who would be so supportive to me as you have been”; “You have excellent sense of style”; “You are extremely jovial and humble”;“You are very polite and understanding”; “You are a very versatile individual with varied talents” etc. are very insignificant to many, but it does act as a huge source of encouragement to others, and also in no way make you inferior. It only highlights the fact that you are a very sound-minded individual who is willing to accept the success of others without any hitch.
So, even if you think that you are very good at something, but people do not praise you enough, do not prevent yourself from praising others. The holy books say that all of us are creations of God, and if you have the courage to praise others for the good qualities they possess or some good thing that they have done, you would be praising God. So unleash yourself from this bond of jealousy and insecurity and praise at least one person a day. Also remember, that life is like a wavy ocean where you would definitely get back what you give.
There would be many people like you and me who would spare no words in praising a genius like Sachin Tendulkar, because we know that we can never be as good as he is. However, if one of our neighbors plays even for the state side, we get jealous, and start spreading detestable rumours to malign his reputation. We feel that in spite of staying in the same locality as we have, and enjoying the same facilities as we have, how dare he play cricket well, and we can’t even hold a cricket bat.
It takes a lot of guts and courage to go out and praise people who are just like you and me. Everybody cannot do it easily. They feel insecure, they feel that “many people would anyway be praising him/her, so what is the point in my praising him/her”. They feel that “If I go and praise him/her, I would become even more inferior to him/her than ever before” and so on, and so forth. To me this is a sign of genuine weakness. People, who are mentally strong, never hold themselves back in praising others for the smallest reasons possible. In fact they enjoy doing so. Statements like “You are a very good speaker/writer/singer”; “There would be no one who would be so supportive to me as you have been”; “You have excellent sense of style”; “You are extremely jovial and humble”;“You are very polite and understanding”; “You are a very versatile individual with varied talents” etc. are very insignificant to many, but it does act as a huge source of encouragement to others, and also in no way make you inferior. It only highlights the fact that you are a very sound-minded individual who is willing to accept the success of others without any hitch.
So, even if you think that you are very good at something, but people do not praise you enough, do not prevent yourself from praising others. The holy books say that all of us are creations of God, and if you have the courage to praise others for the good qualities they possess or some good thing that they have done, you would be praising God. So unleash yourself from this bond of jealousy and insecurity and praise at least one person a day. Also remember, that life is like a wavy ocean where you would definitely get back what you give.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
My last few days at IIT Delhi……
As I had waxed eloquent in one of my earlier posts about how eventful my first day at IIT Delhi was, so was my last couple of weeks or so. The final thesis presentation for my MTech dissertation was over and it was time to start packing my bags. I was about to complete the two most eventful, enjoyable, confidence-developing and self-exploring years of my life.
The real fun during this time was the parties we got involved thereafter. One evening our juniors decided to give us a “Grand Farewell Party”. About 50 boys and girls (2 batches combined) went out at 6.30 in the evening to have a bash. We deliberately chose a restaurant nearby so that we could walk, and have loads of fun on the way, and we did. The consternation on the faces of people passing by was very apparent. They were not used to seeing that big a gang of young mavericks thronging the streets of Delhi. There were some girls who were exhorting the rest of us to take it a little easy but, that day there was no stopping us. We played dumb-charades, had a sumptuous meal and walked back to the campus again. From 10.30 pm we started sharing all our experiences with juniors, including crushes, secret affairs, tough profs, tricks of bringing good grades and of course IIT life. Some girls blushed. It was an evening truly well spent.
A couple of days later, the director of IIT Delhi threw a gala dinner party for all outgoing students. In the hot May evening, I had the audacity to wear a suit. Some of my friends opined that I was trying to have my last shot at impressing the opposite sex, I had no comments however! Nidhi, who was one of the more presentable girls in our class, wore a saree, and she was looking really hot. I could not say so at her face however, but she smiled gauging my thoughts I guess.
A day before we were about to depart, we decided to throw a party to our juniors, as part of our “Job Treat Celebrations”. Similar to the Farewell party, we walked our way to another restaurant, and on our way back had ice-creams at Baskin Robbins at 11 pm. The lawns of IIT Delhi were craving for a protracted “masti” session. That day the demand was for a musical extravaganza; I took the lead. Kishore Kumar came alive 20 years after his death , romance was overflowing on a perfect full moon day on the fully manicured IIT lawns through mellifluous voices. Nobody wanted to stop – audiences and performers alike. There were about 20 songs that were sung, 3 dance numbers, and a couple of “shayaris” elocouted. When we left towards our hostels, laughter was shielding tears in 100 eyes. It was a special evening – one of the best that I have spent in my life.
In the interim all our other activities like No-dues submissions and Hard Bound Project Copy submissions had been done. Some of us including myself, also had to draft a technical paper for publication for the MTech thesis that we had worked on.
Finally the day came when we had to board the respective trains to our hometowns. It was the 03rd of June 2007. Three of my friends left in the afternoon and I went to see them off at the station. I left the campus at 3.30 pm. Sealdah Rajdhani Express was scheduled for departure at 4.35 pm from New Delhi Railway Station. When I left my parents two years back I did not flinch one bit. Howver, when the auto took me out of the IIT campus for the last time, I could not assuage the child within me, who was sobbing. The poignancy of the whole situation was heart-breaking. I knew that my parents would be waiting to receive me after two long years but I also knew that I would never enter IIT Delhi as a student again.
The real fun during this time was the parties we got involved thereafter. One evening our juniors decided to give us a “Grand Farewell Party”. About 50 boys and girls (2 batches combined) went out at 6.30 in the evening to have a bash. We deliberately chose a restaurant nearby so that we could walk, and have loads of fun on the way, and we did. The consternation on the faces of people passing by was very apparent. They were not used to seeing that big a gang of young mavericks thronging the streets of Delhi. There were some girls who were exhorting the rest of us to take it a little easy but, that day there was no stopping us. We played dumb-charades, had a sumptuous meal and walked back to the campus again. From 10.30 pm we started sharing all our experiences with juniors, including crushes, secret affairs, tough profs, tricks of bringing good grades and of course IIT life. Some girls blushed. It was an evening truly well spent.
A couple of days later, the director of IIT Delhi threw a gala dinner party for all outgoing students. In the hot May evening, I had the audacity to wear a suit. Some of my friends opined that I was trying to have my last shot at impressing the opposite sex, I had no comments however! Nidhi, who was one of the more presentable girls in our class, wore a saree, and she was looking really hot. I could not say so at her face however, but she smiled gauging my thoughts I guess.
A day before we were about to depart, we decided to throw a party to our juniors, as part of our “Job Treat Celebrations”. Similar to the Farewell party, we walked our way to another restaurant, and on our way back had ice-creams at Baskin Robbins at 11 pm. The lawns of IIT Delhi were craving for a protracted “masti” session. That day the demand was for a musical extravaganza; I took the lead. Kishore Kumar came alive 20 years after his death , romance was overflowing on a perfect full moon day on the fully manicured IIT lawns through mellifluous voices. Nobody wanted to stop – audiences and performers alike. There were about 20 songs that were sung, 3 dance numbers, and a couple of “shayaris” elocouted. When we left towards our hostels, laughter was shielding tears in 100 eyes. It was a special evening – one of the best that I have spent in my life.
In the interim all our other activities like No-dues submissions and Hard Bound Project Copy submissions had been done. Some of us including myself, also had to draft a technical paper for publication for the MTech thesis that we had worked on.
Finally the day came when we had to board the respective trains to our hometowns. It was the 03rd of June 2007. Three of my friends left in the afternoon and I went to see them off at the station. I left the campus at 3.30 pm. Sealdah Rajdhani Express was scheduled for departure at 4.35 pm from New Delhi Railway Station. When I left my parents two years back I did not flinch one bit. Howver, when the auto took me out of the IIT campus for the last time, I could not assuage the child within me, who was sobbing. The poignancy of the whole situation was heart-breaking. I knew that my parents would be waiting to receive me after two long years but I also knew that I would never enter IIT Delhi as a student again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)