An HR over the phone asked me today“How many years of employment have you completed?" Well a harmless question to say the least . I said “five and half “ and immediately after I said that , reality just sank in . Its been 5 and half years since I am working !!?(OK ,not that people stop working after 5 and half years ..but then still ..You know ..) Well , it just seems like yesterday when I passed out from college after attending quite a few supplementary exams (that will be another post ,”My experiences in writing supplementaries”). My employment years have been a true roller coaster ride and has been been nothing short of exciting (well I guess, you might need to define “exciting” a bit differently though). The companies that I worked for , the people that I have met , The various aspects of work, First day at office , processes that I studied from my colleagues ,last day at office , periods of uncertainty(which I absolutely hate , when you don’t know where you are heading ) , The different places that I have been .well when I began to type this post I dint think I would have much to write ..But now I think I would have to exercise restraint in order to not make this an epic.
My first job in Reliance InfoTech in Trivandrum which lasted for barely 10 days .I remember Pradeep Sir (Senior Manager) who used to take the time out to train me on the process.. Well For someone just out of college that was freedom unlimited.
I got a good break on my next job which was in Accenture, Bangalore .I still remember Keshav and his witty one liners. I remember Vandana for her guts to speak her mind and for her completely twisted philosophies (ehh..sorry Vandana ). I remember Venky for his sense of humor and for using the "F" word in almost every sentence that he spoke.I remember Arnab(still in touch) my roommate for the brother he was ,he is and hopefully will always be and also for having a crush on a girl every second day . I remember our Mysore road and vijayanagar days. I remember the frequency with which we used to visit brigade road just to make sure that none of the babes missed us! I remember Anna for his tongue in cheek humour,mostly making fun of himself and yet digging out a lesson to be learnt. I remember Avinash,who fell in love with Renu,and then decided it was actually Rekha who he loved and not Renu . He broke up with Renu and united with Rekha only to realize that she was not the woman in his life and that he had this huge crush on kavitha .I remember Lovely for her mischief and for her straight forwardness.I remember Suzanne for her bluntness when she asked me “Rohit , tell me , have you had sex ?” I remember Hari when he blasted the manager in a heated team meeting . I can never forget when he shouted at the manager saying “you know what , you are a F*****G mistake of the F*****G condom factory “That was hilarious and the look on the manager’s face was priceless.That was one of the most innovative abuses that I have heard for a long time .I remember dada for his always tensed look . I remember Chaitra for her looks , she was very cute .I remember Chaitali for her honesty and for her “don’t give a damn attitude”.I remember Manoj for his eagerness to check if he has received any emails from shaadi.com .I remember Vinodh for his daily dose of moral lessons(I used to love that )
I remember Anuj(Still in touch) for his imperious talent in connecting real life characters to the story lines of popular Malayalam movies and for his unmistakable sense of humor .I remember Deggi for his innocence and his anxiety to reach Ireland .I remember Anand(still in touch ) for his famous dialogues (infact there are a lot) like “valaree “ and “aaja meri bulbulll”I remember Harish for his spontaneous dialogues .I remember Jacob(still in touch) for his comic timing and his witty chalus .I remember Rajiv for his “koi cigarette pilado yaar” line and Anil for the days we spent in cochin together .I remember our cricket days and the loser treats the winner with lime soda (and it was religiously followed) I remember our north tea shop days and our days at infotips .I remember Asha for her simplicity and Cathy for scaring the daylights out of me when she used to tell me "Rohit , I can see your future in my vision". I remember Sharath for his cheerfullness and Mayesh for the way he hused to talk .I remember Biji (Still very much in touch) for his sheer willingness to learn and for his episodes with Asokan (name changed for security purposes) later on . I remember Antony(still very muc in touch) for his talent with females and for his sheer audacity in handling 5 or 6 at a time .I remember Mathew for his courage and for his drinking .I remember Thambi(still very much in touch ) for his innocence and for his talent in slipping and tripping .
Its turning out to be an epic I guess .I wanted to write so much more ..I think have to come back with a Flashback -part 2 ..
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Slumdog Millionaire
Last time when I posted, I thought that I would be more regular with my blog but then again if everything goes according to thoughts, I would have been a millionaire by now. Well, I am writing this out of utter disgust, shock, frustration and pure unadulterated hatred which is directed at the entire cast and crew of the movie “slumdog millionaire” which I happened to watch the other day. I would rate this is the second worst movie that I have watched where India has been degraded (the first one being Indiana Jones and the Temple of the doom)
Well, the Movie starts off with Jamal (the male protagonist) being tortured in police custody because they feel he has cheated in the famous game show, “who wants to be a millionaire”. Jamal had answered all the questions right and has won 10 million .The story then moves in a flashback cum present mode where in Jamal takes us through his life from his childhood (which was spent in a Mumbai slum) and then as a chaiwalah in an Indian call centre .
I am just sick and tired of the west stereotyping India and Indians in particular. I am not really sad because the movie depicted Indian poverty and more importantly the slums because I am not averse to the fact that 40 % of india’s population is below the poverty line (10 years back , it was 60%). Though we have improved ,40% is still unacceptable But there is more to India than poverty The movie potrays Mumbai slums , portrays hindu muslim riots , portrays prostitution , portrays absolute cruel and inhuman torture towards kids and more importantly portrays western superiority and strengthens the” third world concept.”
The movie is an adaptation of a novel “Q &A”(unfortunately written by an Indian ;Vikas swarup ,forgive me If got the name wrong , I just searched once as I dint feel the author deserves any more time and dedication from my end ).We have Anil Kapor , Irfan Khan , Devpatel , Freida or some Pinto(dunno ) and as the main cast for the movie And A R Rahman for the music (Oscar nominations for him , right ! if AR Picks up a lottery now , he might just win it !)
Am I being an Image conscious Indian who conveniently wants to hide the reality under the carpet ? Because many say that that is what reality in India is , poverty and slums .Yes I am being Image conscious because there is more to India than poverty and slums . How can you generalize people living in slums are eye plucking , girl selling , killing machines ?Slums In India are improving . Even the Mumbai slums (Dharavi) where the movie is picturized ,people are being linked to factories nearby and they are earning their livelihood . Even the Director has admitted in one of his interviews regarding the same .The movie portrays, the only job women do in slums is prostitution !! come on if this is not stereotyping , then what else is ??
In one scene , there’s this kid who is acting as a tourist guide for an American couple . This kid gets beaten up by some goons and with all blood in his face , he tells the American couple “Do you want to see the real India ? Here it is “ and then The American replies “ Son , let me show you the Real America and hands out a $100 note in the kid’s hands “. I found this scene to be absolutely offensive , abusive , Sarcastic , stereotypical ,pathetic and completely uncalled for .
The fact that the movie has been nominated for the Oscars is beyond depressing. I strongly believe that these kinds of movies will have an adverse impact on NRI’s and their children . It would be difficult especially for Indian children abroad as they will be an object of ridicule .Children can be cruel at times and I can imagine indian children in the west being being nick named and even teased as “Slumdogs “ . Some say that there is nothing bad /insulting about the title .All I would say is if you are teased and if you are called as a “slumdog”you will not like it .You can say that it’s a work of fiction and “just a movie ,“ but “just a movie” can change perceptions .
Having said all this , The fact that saddens me is how can Indians be part of this movie ?How can they be proud of being associated with this movie ?Leave the director , I mean, he will not have any emotional attachments (and he need not necessarily have it ) I can also understand his point in taking a subject like this which would be walloped by the western audience .But how can Anil kappor , Irfan Khan , A R Rahman be part of this movie ?All of them being such eminent personalities and ambassadors of Indian cinema ! Isint there something called as moral responsibility ? or is it only money ? or is it that being part of a Hollywood movie so tempting that they can compromise on their morals ?Anil Kappor and A R in one of their interviews stated that it is just a “rags to riches “ story of an 18 year old boy and that they have no regrets in being part of that movie .I can understand if any small time Indian actor or musician being part of this garbage , but for someone as big and famous as the people mentioned above , you have to question their priorities .As insignificant as my post may be , as little traffic that my blog gets ;I have lost all respect for the Indians involved in this movie and I will never ever watch movies of Anil Kappor and Irfan Khan and will never ever buy CD’s or listen to songs composed by AR .
Last time when I posted, I thought that I would be more regular with my blog but then again if everything goes according to thoughts, I would have been a millionaire by now. Well, I am writing this out of utter disgust, shock, frustration and pure unadulterated hatred which is directed at the entire cast and crew of the movie “slumdog millionaire” which I happened to watch the other day. I would rate this is the second worst movie that I have watched where India has been degraded (the first one being Indiana Jones and the Temple of the doom)
Well, the Movie starts off with Jamal (the male protagonist) being tortured in police custody because they feel he has cheated in the famous game show, “who wants to be a millionaire”. Jamal had answered all the questions right and has won 10 million .The story then moves in a flashback cum present mode where in Jamal takes us through his life from his childhood (which was spent in a Mumbai slum) and then as a chaiwalah in an Indian call centre .
I am just sick and tired of the west stereotyping India and Indians in particular. I am not really sad because the movie depicted Indian poverty and more importantly the slums because I am not averse to the fact that 40 % of india’s population is below the poverty line (10 years back , it was 60%). Though we have improved ,40% is still unacceptable But there is more to India than poverty The movie potrays Mumbai slums , portrays hindu muslim riots , portrays prostitution , portrays absolute cruel and inhuman torture towards kids and more importantly portrays western superiority and strengthens the” third world concept.”
The movie is an adaptation of a novel “Q &A”(unfortunately written by an Indian ;Vikas swarup ,forgive me If got the name wrong , I just searched once as I dint feel the author deserves any more time and dedication from my end ).We have Anil Kapor , Irfan Khan , Devpatel , Freida or some Pinto(dunno ) and as the main cast for the movie And A R Rahman for the music (Oscar nominations for him , right ! if AR Picks up a lottery now , he might just win it !)
Am I being an Image conscious Indian who conveniently wants to hide the reality under the carpet ? Because many say that that is what reality in India is , poverty and slums .Yes I am being Image conscious because there is more to India than poverty and slums . How can you generalize people living in slums are eye plucking , girl selling , killing machines ?Slums In India are improving . Even the Mumbai slums (Dharavi) where the movie is picturized ,people are being linked to factories nearby and they are earning their livelihood . Even the Director has admitted in one of his interviews regarding the same .The movie portrays, the only job women do in slums is prostitution !! come on if this is not stereotyping , then what else is ??
In one scene , there’s this kid who is acting as a tourist guide for an American couple . This kid gets beaten up by some goons and with all blood in his face , he tells the American couple “Do you want to see the real India ? Here it is “ and then The American replies “ Son , let me show you the Real America and hands out a $100 note in the kid’s hands “. I found this scene to be absolutely offensive , abusive , Sarcastic , stereotypical ,pathetic and completely uncalled for .
The fact that the movie has been nominated for the Oscars is beyond depressing. I strongly believe that these kinds of movies will have an adverse impact on NRI’s and their children . It would be difficult especially for Indian children abroad as they will be an object of ridicule .Children can be cruel at times and I can imagine indian children in the west being being nick named and even teased as “Slumdogs “ . Some say that there is nothing bad /insulting about the title .All I would say is if you are teased and if you are called as a “slumdog”you will not like it .You can say that it’s a work of fiction and “just a movie ,“ but “just a movie” can change perceptions .
Having said all this , The fact that saddens me is how can Indians be part of this movie ?How can they be proud of being associated with this movie ?Leave the director , I mean, he will not have any emotional attachments (and he need not necessarily have it ) I can also understand his point in taking a subject like this which would be walloped by the western audience .But how can Anil kappor , Irfan Khan , A R Rahman be part of this movie ?All of them being such eminent personalities and ambassadors of Indian cinema ! Isint there something called as moral responsibility ? or is it only money ? or is it that being part of a Hollywood movie so tempting that they can compromise on their morals ?Anil Kappor and A R in one of their interviews stated that it is just a “rags to riches “ story of an 18 year old boy and that they have no regrets in being part of that movie .I can understand if any small time Indian actor or musician being part of this garbage , but for someone as big and famous as the people mentioned above , you have to question their priorities .As insignificant as my post may be , as little traffic that my blog gets ;I have lost all respect for the Indians involved in this movie and I will never ever watch movies of Anil Kappor and Irfan Khan and will never ever buy CD’s or listen to songs composed by AR .
Monday, January 5, 2009
HAPPY NEW YEAR????
As much as I hate to start off the New Year by posting something negative, but it seems that my new year has started off with a bang to say the least. I lost my credit cards , my purse , my pan card , my debit card , my drivers license , some money and my ID card .I had always wished that my new year starts to get a bit more exciting and happening and not as dull and boring as it often turns out to be . Well, did somebody say to be careful on what you wish for as your wish might just come true! Traveling via bus from Cochin to Trivandrum is expensive and requires a lot of courage.
I am trying my best to take out any positives from this episode and my best just aint good enough. I initially tried the “whatever happens happens for the good “philosophy and it failed. I just couldn’t find anything good in loosing my driver’s license! For that matter, even my debit card. Well, maybe time will tell (that’s a better one).A very close friend of mine in a desperate attempt to console me pointed out 5 positives out of this episode:-
1. Loosing the drivers license:-Maybe an Accident is avoided since I will not drive the car for a few days .He also went on to say that it has spared cochin of a few traffic jams !!
2. Loosing the credit card: - My savings are increased and a much needed break for the swiping machines in and around Cochin and Trivandrum.
3. Pan card:-It would give the person who stole (my purse) an insight in to Pan Cards and he would change his mode of living and transform himself in to an ideal citizen.
4. Purse:-It has given somebody else an option to put their money (I don’t know what good is that to me ...but what the heck!! My friend told this with so much of conviction that I dint want to break his heart by asking the logic behind it)
5. Money: - Ok; now this one takes the prize! According to Newton’s law, every action has an equal and opposite reaction, so if I lost some money, I would also get it back!!
Coming to think of it , finding positives wasn’t that difficult but I guess you need to be at your creative best while searching for it .Lets back to ground reality and the truth is , its gonna be a pretty hectic schedule in trying to apply for a duplicate license . Well as far as the credit cards and the debit card are concerned it’s comparatively easier. The Hardest thing to come to terms with is to realize that this is my second drivers license that I have lost in a matter of 3 months !Ok , again the positive out of this is , by now , I am well versed with the procedure of applying for a duplicate license ;if that is any consolation(So much so that if you wake me up in the middle of the night and ask me the procedure to apply for a duplicate licence ,you can bet your bottom dollar that I would get it right !) .
Hey I almost forgot to write about my experience with the Police (Thampanoor station) when I tried lodging an FIR /complaint (as you need a copy of the FIR to apply for a duplicate license) .Well , somebody had to tell me thrice that the physical structure opposite to where I was standing was the Thampanoor police station ! Lets not get in to the nitty grittys of it; in a nut shell, it dint look like a police station. As soon as I entered it (had to wait for about 5 minutes before entering it, as the passage way leading inside allows only 1 person to walk at a time due to space constraints!) I was greeted by a female officer and in perfect Trivandrum slang asked me “entheranu parati?”.Now as soon as I gathered my strength to tell her what happened, she just dint bother .instead just directed her hand to the SI’s cabin asking me to meet the SI . Ok...now after a bit a wait , I entered the SI’s cabin to realize that he was busy watching the Australia –Southafrica test match .I must admit that for a brief while, even I was watching the match as I almost forgot what had happened. Anyways, he asked me the same thing;”etheranu parati”? After I narrated the entire incident, The SI just coolly asked me to lodge an FIR else where as they do not have the time to come to my house for inquiries .hmmm..Some people are alive only because it is illegal to shoot them.
I guess there are lessons to learnt and adds on to the experience .Its often said that Good judgment comes from bad experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgment. Well I don’t quite know how the above mentioned one liner fits the context , but since I heard it yesterday from some one, I liked it so much that I was just waiting for an opportunity to use it somewhere ..So that’s about it.
Having mentioned all this crap...let me also wish anyone who happens to read this post a very happy and a prosperous new year! And be careful with your wallet and belongings when you travel.
I am trying my best to take out any positives from this episode and my best just aint good enough. I initially tried the “whatever happens happens for the good “philosophy and it failed. I just couldn’t find anything good in loosing my driver’s license! For that matter, even my debit card. Well, maybe time will tell (that’s a better one).A very close friend of mine in a desperate attempt to console me pointed out 5 positives out of this episode:-
1. Loosing the drivers license:-Maybe an Accident is avoided since I will not drive the car for a few days .He also went on to say that it has spared cochin of a few traffic jams !!
2. Loosing the credit card: - My savings are increased and a much needed break for the swiping machines in and around Cochin and Trivandrum.
3. Pan card:-It would give the person who stole (my purse) an insight in to Pan Cards and he would change his mode of living and transform himself in to an ideal citizen.
4. Purse:-It has given somebody else an option to put their money (I don’t know what good is that to me ...but what the heck!! My friend told this with so much of conviction that I dint want to break his heart by asking the logic behind it)
5. Money: - Ok; now this one takes the prize! According to Newton’s law, every action has an equal and opposite reaction, so if I lost some money, I would also get it back!!
Coming to think of it , finding positives wasn’t that difficult but I guess you need to be at your creative best while searching for it .Lets back to ground reality and the truth is , its gonna be a pretty hectic schedule in trying to apply for a duplicate license . Well as far as the credit cards and the debit card are concerned it’s comparatively easier. The Hardest thing to come to terms with is to realize that this is my second drivers license that I have lost in a matter of 3 months !Ok , again the positive out of this is , by now , I am well versed with the procedure of applying for a duplicate license ;if that is any consolation(So much so that if you wake me up in the middle of the night and ask me the procedure to apply for a duplicate licence ,you can bet your bottom dollar that I would get it right !) .
Hey I almost forgot to write about my experience with the Police (Thampanoor station) when I tried lodging an FIR /complaint (as you need a copy of the FIR to apply for a duplicate license) .Well , somebody had to tell me thrice that the physical structure opposite to where I was standing was the Thampanoor police station ! Lets not get in to the nitty grittys of it; in a nut shell, it dint look like a police station. As soon as I entered it (had to wait for about 5 minutes before entering it, as the passage way leading inside allows only 1 person to walk at a time due to space constraints!) I was greeted by a female officer and in perfect Trivandrum slang asked me “entheranu parati?”.Now as soon as I gathered my strength to tell her what happened, she just dint bother .instead just directed her hand to the SI’s cabin asking me to meet the SI . Ok...now after a bit a wait , I entered the SI’s cabin to realize that he was busy watching the Australia –Southafrica test match .I must admit that for a brief while, even I was watching the match as I almost forgot what had happened. Anyways, he asked me the same thing;”etheranu parati”? After I narrated the entire incident, The SI just coolly asked me to lodge an FIR else where as they do not have the time to come to my house for inquiries .hmmm..Some people are alive only because it is illegal to shoot them.
I guess there are lessons to learnt and adds on to the experience .Its often said that Good judgment comes from bad experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgment. Well I don’t quite know how the above mentioned one liner fits the context , but since I heard it yesterday from some one, I liked it so much that I was just waiting for an opportunity to use it somewhere ..So that’s about it.
Having mentioned all this crap...let me also wish anyone who happens to read this post a very happy and a prosperous new year! And be careful with your wallet and belongings when you travel.
Monday, December 8, 2008
EMAIL INSANITY
After a lot of thought , Ive realized that updating and maintaining a blog isn’t exactly what you term as “easy “ by any stretches of imagination .Honestly speaking , Ive been a bit busy over the last few weeks and just did not get the time to update my blog . In other words I was just lazy.
Well, coming to the topic, if you are a corporate creature,you would quite easily relate with emails going back and forth and you would have wished that your boss would pay you for reading those emails .There would have been times when you must have felt you’re your cozy little work station is some kind of battle ground and you have to keep ducking , defending and punching from and to emails .This,in no way am I suggesting that Emails are a bad medium of communication . Since its arrival , emails have successfully eliminated time and geography as barriers and has changed the way we do business and more importantly its easy to use and is very simple .Like for all good things in life , the strength of an email is also its weakness. Since it is so easy to use , it becomes very easy to misuse as well .
It is very easy to misinterpret the term” communication” and send emails based on what you think is communication . Sometimes you should know when “not” to send an email as opposed to how to and when to send an email .Since emails are ubiquitous and immediate, its easy to get caught in the heat of the moment and draft in something which you would not necessarily feel proud of when you think of it later .I can think of a few scenarios where I have lost my cool and sent in replies to emails which I can never be proud about and I am sure there would be many who can relate to this . There have been instances where the content of emails falls way below standards and you wonder if this is communication .
I am a big fan of “sarcastic humor” but when sarcasm takes over emails ,it creates a lot of stress, both to the sender and the recipient. The sender expects a reply to his email and keeps checking his emails every 5 minutes while the recipient goes through the pain of reading the email an is under pressure to reply aptly.In both the cases there is stress and a lot of unproductive time being spent.
The risk involved in sarcastic emails stems from the fact that you leave the level of sarcasm to be implied by the recipient.So based on the situation and emotions involved the recipient may well read way too much in to the sender’s email and misunderstand its content. Most times misunderstandings could have been easily avoided if one side or the other did not:
1. Assume what the other meant.
2. Read into an e-mail what wasn’t there.
3. Take the time to be clear about their intent and tone.
There have been more than a few times when I wish that I had thought twice before hitting that dreaded “reply” button.Well somebody said “experience makes you a better person” but the trouble with experience is you don’t get it when you want it .So let me give whoever’s stumbled upon this post an honest suggestion. Before you hit the reply button , sit back and reread the entire email for its intent and tone .If you are very upset , don’t even dare to reply to that email at that moment ;give it some time .
Some use emails to show how busy they are at work . Believe it or not having 300, 500 or 1000 messages in your inbox can be a source of pride that defines how busy and important you are. Well its almost like saying “I pretend to work for my Boss and my Boss pretends to pay me “.
Well , The trick is to manage our time on emails rather than the emails managing us .What I have learned from experience(and some pretty painful ones at that ) is to know which emails needs to be preserved as a document . I just delete the rest and it gives me immense pleasure while doing the same .
Rohit Oonnikrishnan
Well, coming to the topic, if you are a corporate creature,you would quite easily relate with emails going back and forth and you would have wished that your boss would pay you for reading those emails .There would have been times when you must have felt you’re your cozy little work station is some kind of battle ground and you have to keep ducking , defending and punching from and to emails .This,in no way am I suggesting that Emails are a bad medium of communication . Since its arrival , emails have successfully eliminated time and geography as barriers and has changed the way we do business and more importantly its easy to use and is very simple .Like for all good things in life , the strength of an email is also its weakness. Since it is so easy to use , it becomes very easy to misuse as well .
It is very easy to misinterpret the term” communication” and send emails based on what you think is communication . Sometimes you should know when “not” to send an email as opposed to how to and when to send an email .Since emails are ubiquitous and immediate, its easy to get caught in the heat of the moment and draft in something which you would not necessarily feel proud of when you think of it later .I can think of a few scenarios where I have lost my cool and sent in replies to emails which I can never be proud about and I am sure there would be many who can relate to this . There have been instances where the content of emails falls way below standards and you wonder if this is communication .
I am a big fan of “sarcastic humor” but when sarcasm takes over emails ,it creates a lot of stress, both to the sender and the recipient. The sender expects a reply to his email and keeps checking his emails every 5 minutes while the recipient goes through the pain of reading the email an is under pressure to reply aptly.In both the cases there is stress and a lot of unproductive time being spent.
The risk involved in sarcastic emails stems from the fact that you leave the level of sarcasm to be implied by the recipient.So based on the situation and emotions involved the recipient may well read way too much in to the sender’s email and misunderstand its content. Most times misunderstandings could have been easily avoided if one side or the other did not:
1. Assume what the other meant.
2. Read into an e-mail what wasn’t there.
3. Take the time to be clear about their intent and tone.
There have been more than a few times when I wish that I had thought twice before hitting that dreaded “reply” button.Well somebody said “experience makes you a better person” but the trouble with experience is you don’t get it when you want it .So let me give whoever’s stumbled upon this post an honest suggestion. Before you hit the reply button , sit back and reread the entire email for its intent and tone .If you are very upset , don’t even dare to reply to that email at that moment ;give it some time .
Some use emails to show how busy they are at work . Believe it or not having 300, 500 or 1000 messages in your inbox can be a source of pride that defines how busy and important you are. Well its almost like saying “I pretend to work for my Boss and my Boss pretends to pay me “.
Well , The trick is to manage our time on emails rather than the emails managing us .What I have learned from experience(and some pretty painful ones at that ) is to know which emails needs to be preserved as a document . I just delete the rest and it gives me immense pleasure while doing the same .
Rohit Oonnikrishnan
Saturday, September 27, 2008
ANYONE FOR BEING YOURSELF??
Lets face it , being ourselves is a difficult ask .Sometimes I feel , that most of our opinions are someone else’s thoughts .Most of us live a life of constant duplicity. We waste a part of our life in trying to display qualities that we do not pocess and appreciation that we cannot keep
How many times have we given this advise to someone we know .Just be yourself , everything will be just fine .Don’t do anything else , just be yourself(Yeah right , thanks a lot for the advise , I dint know that!). If being myself was easy, I wouldn’t have asked you. I simply do not remember the number of times I have received that advise and the number of times I have passed on that advise (I can almost associate that with some kind of email chain that floats around in the internet)
To be honest, being yourself is the most difficult thing to do. The world around us has become so demanding, that we find it more convenient to be somebody else. Just to meet the need of the hour , our opinions become someone else’s thoughts , even though the creator has given us only one face , we create another When I talked about this to a friend of mine he was off the opinion that this is complete lack of character in people , this is spineless living , hypocrisy , a** licking to get things done , cowardice , insecurity so on and so forth .
Ok ,now lets not get on to circumstances and situations and lets ask ourselves an honest question .well , make that two ; 1. Do we know ourselves? 2. Do we allow people to be themselves?
Being yourself should,ideally,come naturally but there’s more to it .In our society, being genuine is not given the same importance as being right or being able to justify one’s actions (statements such as “I don’t need to justify anything “ is bunch of crap as the inner need of every human is to justify his /her actions either to someone else or to your own self).Originality is prevalent in all of us but the confusion in the mind arises when we are caught in the drive for acceptance and approval to the extent,where we no longer feel genuine unless there is a consensus among those who are important to us that what we are doing is OK. So we actually deny ourselves the right to be ourselves unless someone else agrees to us .The root cause of this ,I feel , is the inner need in all of us to be loved , to be appreciated.
Do we as a society accept people as they are? We expect people to behave in a way we want them to behave. Any behavior, any view point, any likes/dislikes which are outside our “scope” would lead to speculation. Right there, the pressure for a person to live up to some else’s expectations is on and unless that person is strong enough he will succumb and then will only be capable to giving the advise “just be yourself”. We seem to be always in a hurry to judge and brand people; consider the case of a guy who, when we first met, did not talk or mingle with the others too much and we immediately judge him and brand him as a reserved character or a “quiet guy”. Now even if the poor guy wants to talk and mingle , he just cannot, because he is already branded as a reserved character and so has to live up to his image which was set by someone else. Frustration and utter confusion creeps in when we start thinking of what we think we want , what we really want , what others would think , what are my expectations , what are the expectations of others around us , what we are capable of ,what others think we are capable of and realize all are different. It is exactly during those times when someone whispers in your ear “just be yourself”.
Being ourselves requires a lot of courage and conviction. Children express themselves quite spontaneously however as far as an adult is concerned, the mask has to move for him to be himself.
Rohit Oonnikrishnan.
How many times have we given this advise to someone we know .Just be yourself , everything will be just fine .Don’t do anything else , just be yourself(Yeah right , thanks a lot for the advise , I dint know that!). If being myself was easy, I wouldn’t have asked you. I simply do not remember the number of times I have received that advise and the number of times I have passed on that advise (I can almost associate that with some kind of email chain that floats around in the internet)
To be honest, being yourself is the most difficult thing to do. The world around us has become so demanding, that we find it more convenient to be somebody else. Just to meet the need of the hour , our opinions become someone else’s thoughts , even though the creator has given us only one face , we create another When I talked about this to a friend of mine he was off the opinion that this is complete lack of character in people , this is spineless living , hypocrisy , a** licking to get things done , cowardice , insecurity so on and so forth .
Ok ,now lets not get on to circumstances and situations and lets ask ourselves an honest question .well , make that two ; 1. Do we know ourselves? 2. Do we allow people to be themselves?
Being yourself should,ideally,come naturally but there’s more to it .In our society, being genuine is not given the same importance as being right or being able to justify one’s actions (statements such as “I don’t need to justify anything “ is bunch of crap as the inner need of every human is to justify his /her actions either to someone else or to your own self).Originality is prevalent in all of us but the confusion in the mind arises when we are caught in the drive for acceptance and approval to the extent,where we no longer feel genuine unless there is a consensus among those who are important to us that what we are doing is OK. So we actually deny ourselves the right to be ourselves unless someone else agrees to us .The root cause of this ,I feel , is the inner need in all of us to be loved , to be appreciated.
Do we as a society accept people as they are? We expect people to behave in a way we want them to behave. Any behavior, any view point, any likes/dislikes which are outside our “scope” would lead to speculation. Right there, the pressure for a person to live up to some else’s expectations is on and unless that person is strong enough he will succumb and then will only be capable to giving the advise “just be yourself”. We seem to be always in a hurry to judge and brand people; consider the case of a guy who, when we first met, did not talk or mingle with the others too much and we immediately judge him and brand him as a reserved character or a “quiet guy”. Now even if the poor guy wants to talk and mingle , he just cannot, because he is already branded as a reserved character and so has to live up to his image which was set by someone else. Frustration and utter confusion creeps in when we start thinking of what we think we want , what we really want , what others would think , what are my expectations , what are the expectations of others around us , what we are capable of ,what others think we are capable of and realize all are different. It is exactly during those times when someone whispers in your ear “just be yourself”.
Being ourselves requires a lot of courage and conviction. Children express themselves quite spontaneously however as far as an adult is concerned, the mask has to move for him to be himself.
Rohit Oonnikrishnan.
Monday, September 15, 2008
NEWS AT SEVEN : BLASTS IN DELHI
This seems to be the order of the day atleast for the last 3-4 weeks in India .
After Ahmedabad and Bangalore , the latest blasts were at Delhi.One of the victims of the Ahmadabad Blast , in an open house debate programme conducted by one of the news channels, summed up the situation aptly . With teary eyes , he said “only the people who have lost their dear ones will know the pain , for everybody else its just news at 7”.The man had lost his entire family consisting of his wife and two children.
There are questions being asked of the government , questions being asked of the police , questions being asked about the security measures which were in place rather the sheer lack of it.It is ridiculous to know that the CCTV’s which were placed in the affected areas weren’t functional.Take this for stats :- only 5 of the 28 CCTV’s which were placed in the greater kailash area in Delhi where the blasts took place were working , out of which one was pointing to the sky. And this , we are talking about the national capital !
The blame game has started , with parties pointing fingers at each other , the police indicating their helplessness again pointing fingers at the system , media pointing fingers at the governing party and the party returning the favour by accusing the media of sensitizing the issue and creating panic among people.The question to be asked is “how safe is the common man who is listening to all this ?”Can our govt be proactive instead of just reacting to situations ? The CCTV’s are now functional , nodal centers have now opened in delhi , there are very heavy security checks in railway stations and airports now:Discussions about various other security checks to be implemented are in motion (to be followed strictly).Well,certainly welcome the move,but why wasn’t it there at the first place ? especially since Delhi was high in the hitlist of the terror outfits . Sheila Dikshit the honorable CM of the national Capital , when confronted with these questions stated that “ it is very tough to stop a determined act of terror”.Yes , absolutely agree to that point , but that dosen’t in any way explain the sheer lack of security measures taken by the govt. Reactive governance.
I don’t think this is the case only in delhi . A few weeks back , there was another terror email stating that a bomb would explode in kerala at 07:00pm . Govt announced extra security measures , the CM came on TV and addressed the people asking them to maintain calm.Thankfully nothing happened at seven , and the govt stated that heavy security would continue atleast for the next two weeks . The next day , we have a railiway station manned by 5 police men in peak hours . How can 5 cops cover an entire railway station ?I guess , even they understood that fact , and felt having a few cups of tea would be more useful.
Finger pointing and politicians resigning is not the answer Infact as I write this there is heavy pressure on Sivraj Patil to resign ( the lesser said about him , the better). Proactive governance , is the key . I have always felt that it is genuine misconception that the common man in the street will not help , will not come forward . Infact they are the only ones who would always do their bit , but they need to be encouraged.
After Ahmedabad and Bangalore , the latest blasts were at Delhi.One of the victims of the Ahmadabad Blast , in an open house debate programme conducted by one of the news channels, summed up the situation aptly . With teary eyes , he said “only the people who have lost their dear ones will know the pain , for everybody else its just news at 7”.The man had lost his entire family consisting of his wife and two children.
There are questions being asked of the government , questions being asked of the police , questions being asked about the security measures which were in place rather the sheer lack of it.It is ridiculous to know that the CCTV’s which were placed in the affected areas weren’t functional.Take this for stats :- only 5 of the 28 CCTV’s which were placed in the greater kailash area in Delhi where the blasts took place were working , out of which one was pointing to the sky. And this , we are talking about the national capital !
The blame game has started , with parties pointing fingers at each other , the police indicating their helplessness again pointing fingers at the system , media pointing fingers at the governing party and the party returning the favour by accusing the media of sensitizing the issue and creating panic among people.The question to be asked is “how safe is the common man who is listening to all this ?”Can our govt be proactive instead of just reacting to situations ? The CCTV’s are now functional , nodal centers have now opened in delhi , there are very heavy security checks in railway stations and airports now:Discussions about various other security checks to be implemented are in motion (to be followed strictly).Well,certainly welcome the move,but why wasn’t it there at the first place ? especially since Delhi was high in the hitlist of the terror outfits . Sheila Dikshit the honorable CM of the national Capital , when confronted with these questions stated that “ it is very tough to stop a determined act of terror”.Yes , absolutely agree to that point , but that dosen’t in any way explain the sheer lack of security measures taken by the govt. Reactive governance.
I don’t think this is the case only in delhi . A few weeks back , there was another terror email stating that a bomb would explode in kerala at 07:00pm . Govt announced extra security measures , the CM came on TV and addressed the people asking them to maintain calm.Thankfully nothing happened at seven , and the govt stated that heavy security would continue atleast for the next two weeks . The next day , we have a railiway station manned by 5 police men in peak hours . How can 5 cops cover an entire railway station ?I guess , even they understood that fact , and felt having a few cups of tea would be more useful.
Finger pointing and politicians resigning is not the answer Infact as I write this there is heavy pressure on Sivraj Patil to resign ( the lesser said about him , the better). Proactive governance , is the key . I have always felt that it is genuine misconception that the common man in the street will not help , will not come forward . Infact they are the only ones who would always do their bit , but they need to be encouraged.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
NEW TATA INDICA VISTA - CHANGES EVERYTHING
The country’s largest auotomobile Company have launched their new Tata Indica Vista on August 23rd 2008.Going by the first looks , it is evident that Tata means business..
Well , they have a good catch line that goes with it which says “Changes Everything”.
To start off it has one petrol version and two diesel versions .Your’s truly had a test dive yesterday and I loved it to be honest.The first impression that you get when you see the car is “its big”.
Some of the features that Vista boasts of have been very thoughtfully incorporated by Tata and it does makes sense.For eg:-If the wipers are on ,the rear wiper is turned on as long as the reverse gear is engaged.The plastics aren’t restricted to the dashboards,they are present on both the front and rear door pads, seats have adjustable height and lumbar support.
Exterior:-
Comparing to its contemporaries , this one’s a huge car!
Some of the prominent features which immediately stands out are :-
1.Full length tail lamp cluster which gives it a sleek look
2.All new bumpers
3.A very stylish antenna(only available with the top variant)
4.Swept back headlamp cluster
5.Adjustable seats(height)
6.double din music system with a USB port.
The overall styling is amazing ,With the headlamps giving it a nice look. The radiator grill has a chrome strip on its top border to give it a sophisticated look.The vista is best viewed from the rear where the longlights and the rounded shape adds to its sleek design.I was quite impressed with the doors.the doors have external rubber beadings which results in less noice when the doors are shut .( I did try more than a few times opening and closing the doors much to the annoyance of the sales manager).
The bonnet weighed lesser when you compare this to other indica models which suggest that this one’s light.If you look carefully , you will observe that Vista has a lot of changes when you compare it to the older models , yes “Changes Everything”.
Interiors:-
This is where , Vista really rocks !Interiors are the best yet on a Tata passenger vehicle.
Lot of space inside and the comfort is well looked after . The seats can be adjusted for height . It has a 2 din music system with a USB port.
The noice levels inside the car are kept to a minimum . You wouldn’t know when the car has started! .
In the previous versions of Indica , one of the negative feedbacks was, that the steering used to vibrate at higher speeds (We are talking of 100-120KMH) .This one’s pretty steady.
The A/C is excellent and cools the cabin in no time .The A/c vents have two knobs each to direct the horizontal and vertical airflow as desired.
The mileage ,what the company says is about 15.5 with A/c for the lower variant(Petrol) and 18 for the diesel version.
Overall I would give a rating of 8 /10 to Vista .
So the square cut point is Vista is here to stay !
Well , they have a good catch line that goes with it which says “Changes Everything”.
To start off it has one petrol version and two diesel versions .Your’s truly had a test dive yesterday and I loved it to be honest.The first impression that you get when you see the car is “its big”.
Some of the features that Vista boasts of have been very thoughtfully incorporated by Tata and it does makes sense.For eg:-If the wipers are on ,the rear wiper is turned on as long as the reverse gear is engaged.The plastics aren’t restricted to the dashboards,they are present on both the front and rear door pads, seats have adjustable height and lumbar support.
Exterior:-
Comparing to its contemporaries , this one’s a huge car!
Some of the prominent features which immediately stands out are :-
1.Full length tail lamp cluster which gives it a sleek look
2.All new bumpers
3.A very stylish antenna(only available with the top variant)
4.Swept back headlamp cluster
5.Adjustable seats(height)
6.double din music system with a USB port.
The overall styling is amazing ,With the headlamps giving it a nice look. The radiator grill has a chrome strip on its top border to give it a sophisticated look.The vista is best viewed from the rear where the longlights and the rounded shape adds to its sleek design.I was quite impressed with the doors.the doors have external rubber beadings which results in less noice when the doors are shut .( I did try more than a few times opening and closing the doors much to the annoyance of the sales manager).
The bonnet weighed lesser when you compare this to other indica models which suggest that this one’s light.If you look carefully , you will observe that Vista has a lot of changes when you compare it to the older models , yes “Changes Everything”.
Interiors:-
This is where , Vista really rocks !Interiors are the best yet on a Tata passenger vehicle.
Lot of space inside and the comfort is well looked after . The seats can be adjusted for height . It has a 2 din music system with a USB port.
The noice levels inside the car are kept to a minimum . You wouldn’t know when the car has started! .
In the previous versions of Indica , one of the negative feedbacks was, that the steering used to vibrate at higher speeds (We are talking of 100-120KMH) .This one’s pretty steady.
The A/C is excellent and cools the cabin in no time .The A/c vents have two knobs each to direct the horizontal and vertical airflow as desired.
The mileage ,what the company says is about 15.5 with A/c for the lower variant(Petrol) and 18 for the diesel version.
Overall I would give a rating of 8 /10 to Vista .
So the square cut point is Vista is here to stay !
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