Revive the art of Questioning

Here is a nice Czech anecdote,

A little girl was watching her mother prepare a fish for dinner. Her mother cut the head and tail off the fish and then placed it into a baking pan.

The little girl asked her mother why she cut the head and tail off the fish.

Her mother thought for a while and then said, "I've always done it that way - that's how babicka (Czech for grandma) did it."

Not satisfied with the answer, the little girl went to visit her grandma to find out why she cut the head and tail off the fish before baking it.

Grandma thought for a while and replied, "I don't know. My mother always did it that way."

So the little girl and the grandma went to visit great grandma to find ask if she knew the answer.

Great grandma thought for a while and said, “Because my baking pan was too small to fit in the whole fish”.

This is the case with quite a lot of things in our personal life and in our workplace. We need to challenge belief systems and assumptions, and eliminate pointless routine. For this we need to revive the art of questioning

Who will bell the cat?

As expected the Government has decided to implement the 6th Horror (Pay) Commission Report enhancing the salary of the Central Government Staff.

"The hike will add Rs 12,561 crore to the Centre’s salary bill of Rs 53,497 crore taking it to Rs 66,058 crore. Add to this Rs 18,060 crore in arrears as the hike will be effective from January 2006 and Rs 1,365 crore towards higher pension..........In return, the taxpayer cannot expect anything because there are no performance guarantees" - India Today

This is not taking into account the additional cost incurred by the States when the pay revision is obviously extended to the State Government Employees.

Now, you might ask why shouldn't the government employees get higher wages keeping pace with the times. There are many reasons why they shouldn't.

This bureaucracy has long since stopped functioning for the benefit of the people. It serves only itself and its political masters. This was a monster created by the Raj to serve their ends which we inherited and pampered.

The bureaucracy is corrupt to the boot and the reasoning that they need a pay rise to keep pace with the inflation is laughable, for as everyone knows the income they receive from bribes is many times that they receive as salary.

Contrary to sound management practices, this pay rise (nor the previous ones) is not linked to efficiency and productivity. To pay someone more without any counter obligation is ridiculous.

Nearly 50% of the Income Tax Collection will go towards paying the salaries of the Central Government Employees. That means half the blood, sweat and toil of 375 million people who are Income Tax assessee's goes towards making the life of 45 million Central Government Employees more comfortable. Quite unfair when you think that the 375 million doesn't get anything in return for this.

The inflation is at a high now. Implementation of pay commission report will further add to inflationary pressure

I can go on and on..........................

But what is the solution?

Numerous Commissions have recommended the downsizing of the bureaucracy,but the Government is afraid to take on this monster for fear of repercussions. Increasing the salary leads to more people being attracted to government service, which is the last thing we want. Hold the pay revision, make it performance linked and you will see people drifting away from Government jobs over a period of time which will lead to downsizing.

Outsource various government services in a phased manner. Let the people pay for the services (anyway they do as bribes). For example, activities like Birth and Death Registration can easily be done by the private sector. Ditto for collection of building and land taxes. Why even issuance of driving license can be outsourced. It will be definitely better than the current rotten system.

Implement e-governance in a big way. The one time investment will be less than the outlay for the pay increase of 3 years. Encourage people to use technology to get things done from the government. This shall reduce the transaction cost, speed up the processes while encouraging people to study so that they can get better jobs in the new system that shall have a better pay based on qualification and skill.

The last is drastic. Freeze recruitment into government services for a decade. This will lead to automatic downsizing when people retire and increase the workload of the current staff who will be forced to handle the work hitherto done by the retired employees.

Last but not the least, do a massive crackdown on corruption. Put the fear of god into people who take bribes. Suspend them or dismiss them. Papers may not move for a few days. Anyway it doesn't, but it will create a culture where corruption will be taboo.

But who will bell the cat?

Just Do It

For a certified sports nut, I have written only one post on sports so far. One reason is that the newspapers and websites write reams about all sports events and I don't have much to add. The objective of this blog is to give a different perspective to issues on hand and to reflect my thoughts.

There has always been a question whether sport is an art or a science. It used to be an art till the early 80's. We saw some amazing natural talent flourishing and taking the centre stage. Bobby Fischer in Chess, John McEnroe in Tennis, Diego Maradonna in Football, Ayrton Senna in Formula 1, Viswanath and the spin quartret in Cricket, Ashok Kumar in Hockey, the Brazilian football team as a whole, Michael Jordan in Basketball, Jack Nicklaus in Golf..................well the list is endless.

But come 80's the scenario changed. Coaching took the centre stage and sports persons came out as if from an assembly line. Let us limit this post to Cricket. I recently saw Sohail Tanvir of Pakistan bowling of the wrong foot ( a la Mike Procter) and was shocked. How the deuce did this guy get through the filter. Though the one day cricket has ensured that some unconventional batsmen are encouraged, as far as bowlers were concerned they were all clones. Look at all the fast bowlers around, you will notice that you can replace one with another and no harm will be done. Same with spinners. Bowl tight, don't spin, bowl flat, don't flight is the mantra. It is also one of the reasons you are not likely to see the next spin bowling sensation in the near future. Can you imagine another Murali or well an Abdul Qadir (his was a class act. I rate him higher than Shane Warne who was never effective against sub continental teams. Warne was mentally tougher and privileged to be part of an all conquering Aussie team, but Qadir was an absolute genius. To bowl a googly well is a difficult proposition, but he had 3 different superb googlies) in the near future?
As I said, we do have unconventional batsmen. But the surfeit of coaching has killed creativity and has not allowed the latent talent to bloom. This can happen in an organization too. We try to mould our employees to be clones without recognizing their innate talents and making effort to polish them. We have regimentalized them - Wear Suit, come on time, do what we tell you, take your money and go home. I beg to differ. The company will never generate new ideas and will never attain greater heights if it allows creativity and individuality to die.

There is after all something to having a Virendra Sehwag in the team, isn't it? If anyone watched his 309* (at the end of day 3) in the Chennai Test vs South Africa today, you will know what I mean. He has turned the match in its head single handedly, kicked alive a dead test after South Africa scored a mammoth 54o in the first innings, had them running for cover as i write this and have given India an outside chance of winning the Test. It is the instinctive geniuses like Sehwag who makes the impossible possible.

Nike, the kit sponsor of Indian Cricket Team don't require a better endorsement for their slogan 'Just Do It'

Beware of the Food Crisis

In the household's across the world, people have started noticing the rising food prices. What most considered a temporary blip is assuming alarming proposition. The world is sliding steadily towards a major food crisis.

Many reasons have contributed to this global food shortage.

Any economy goes through an evolution phase of Agrarian to the value added Industrial to the value only Services economies. Various countries in the world are at different stages at any given point of time. For example, America is in the Services economy phase, China currently is an industrial economy while a country like Myanmar is still an agrarian economy. In the past there used to be a balance, with the many agrarian economy countries in the world. Globalization has speeded up the conversion of agrarian economies to industrial economies, since the wages are higher, return on investment better due to higher prices commanded by the value added products and standard of living much better in the industrial economy. There is an incentive for opting for the industrial economy. Added to this, many erstwhile industrial economies have transformed themselves to services economies. The salient feature of a services economy is that the consumption is higher. So on the one hand demand is increasing while on the other hand, supply is decreasing. A classic scenario for shortage.

Globally, the arable land under cultivation has reduced. The 1960's and 70's saw agricultural production going up due to higher levels of irrigation, better quality seeds, introduction of fertilizers and adoption of modern mechanized methods of farming. Since then not much work has gone into R&D in the agricultural field or water management. The law of diminishing marginal utility has started working. The farm sector is unable to increase their per hectare productivity drastically. With water shortages a norm than an exception, construction of dams across the world held up due to environmental issues, global warming playing havoc with the climatic conditions. lesser availability of credit for the farmers and apathy from the governments, farm sector is really struggling for survival. This leads to people moving away from farming.

But the biggest culprit is the high price of oil. Now, you may ask what has $ 100 a barrel oil got to do with food shortage. There is an increased awareness globally for actively pursuing alternatives to hydrocarbons. With the world sleeping on developing alternate fuel sources during the past three decades, there is a clamour for a quick fix. This is Bio fuels like ethanol. Arable land that were producing food has been diverted to cultivate products like maize that can be used to produce ethanol. This has led to a massive shortage of basic grains like rice and wheat.

There are no solutions in sight. Either we have to change our eating habits and move away from cereals to reduce the demand or continue to pay higher prices in the years to come. My forecast is that the food prices will rice @ 20% per year in the coming years. A scary prognosis.

Compulsory Education Service

Most of the Countries have a compulsory military service. It is mandatory for all adult male (why not female also, I cannot understand) to serve in the military for a minimum of two years and people who evade this are hauled up before a court of law and punished. Remember Mohammad Ali, the famous boxer, refusing to join the US Army draft protesting the Vietnam war and having to serve a jail term at the peak of his prowess. I have always felt this to be a good idea since couple of years of military service will strengthen the nationalistic feeling and will give a dose of much needed discipline to the youngsters. It will also give the nation an opportunity to fall back on trained men in case of an emergency like natural calamity.

With our military expenses already quite high, I do not think this is feasible. But the Government can definitely do an out of the box thinking and use the vast pool of educated people in India.

One of the major problem faced by India today is lack of teachers in rural areas. Teaching profession has lost its lustre. Even in urban areas and top schools, the children are being taught by men and women who have limited passion for teaching (there are exceptions of course) and are not qualified enough. Also, the teachers at the school and college level (why, even at the professional level) possess limited industrial experience. This hampers the efficiency of teaching. The dictum, that a great teacher produces good students, a good teacher creates average students and an average teacher churns out bad students, is quite true.

My recommendation is for the Government to introduce a Compulsory Educational Service for all Graduates who have completed 10 years of service in various organizations. They should be asked to work in various educational institutions across India, preferably in the rural area. The organizations which employ them can be asked to pay their salary for which tax exemptions can be given. Thus, there is no direct cost to the government, employees interests are protected and the organizations also do not lose anything. The students across the country will get the benefit of people who have the knowledge and the working experience. The working professionals will be definitely better people for the experience, will be more socially conscious and will bring them down to reality from their ivory towers.

Some Money (oops! food) for Thought

Here is something for you to think,

Only 15% of the money earmarked for poverty alleviation schemes of the Government reaches the beneficiary. The balance 85% goes towards administrative expenses, pilferage and theft

46% of the money you pay as Tax goes toward the expenses for collecting the tax. The balance 54% goes to meet the lavish spending of the Government, which anyway doesn't do anything. (Speaking of unnecessary spending, more than Rs 15 lakhs was spent recently on refurbishing the house of Priyanka Vadera (nee Gandhi). Now, can someone please tell me why the hell should the taxes we pay should be used for Priyanka Gandhi, who holds no Government or Administrative office?. She is just another common citizen like you and me. And this government made one of our finest presidents Prof.A P J Abdul Kalam live out of a Government Guest House for months on his relinquishing the office because they couldn't arrange to have his modest house in shape in time, which he is entitled to. It is better to be born a dog in the Nehru household than a human being in rest of India)

Today, a news report says that Afghans do not get the billions of dollars pledged by donor countries for reconstruction. It seems nearly 40% goes back to the donor country personnel by way of fat consultancy charges and salaries. Same is the case with most of the charity and voluntary organizations.

Keep in mind that everyone other than the intended beneficiary make hay when you either pay tax or donate to charity

Human Capital

When India attained independence, the economy was in shambles after centuries of occupation and colonization. There was a difference of opinion amongst the leading luminaries of the day as to how to develop the Indian Economy. Nehru, ever the romantic and influenced by the Western Society, argued for massive industrialization and urbanization in the hope of the Economy achieving what he called the 'wuthering heights'. Gandhiji, more pragmatic and a realist, identified that India's power lies in its people and in villages. He wanted Indian Economy to be a collection of thousands of mini self sustainable village level vibrant economies.

Nehru's opinion prevailed, mainly because Gandhiji died within a few months of India attaining independence. The tragedy of modern India was that it became a question of choosing either of the two economic development models, whereas it was quite logical to have followed a twin system of development incorporating the salient features of both.

Today, the rural economy is in shambles, the cities are splitting at the seam due to massive migration of rural population to the urban areas and sadly the human capital, that Gandhiji identified, is living in foreign countries, working with high productivity and thereby contributing the foreign nations economic growth, rather than India's.

It is not still too late. India can and should create enough opportunities that shall enable the overseas Indians to return to the home country and contribute to the economic growth of the country. These NRI's - whether they are workers or managerial cadre- have lots of skill sets, know global practices and are exposed to the best in the international markets. They will bring with them considerable value.

What triggered this thought was the sight of hordes of Indians getting down from a bus and walking to their workplace in Shuwaikh this morning while I was driving.

Making a difference

A small boy was walking along a beach at low tide, where countless thousands of small sea creatures, having been washed up, were stranded and doomed to perish.

A man watched as the boy picked up individual creatures and took them back into the water.

"I can see you're being very kind," said the watching man, "But there must be a million of them; it can't possibly make any difference."

Returning from the water's edge, the boy said, "It will for that one"


Most of us are like the watching man. We tend to look at the macro picture and hesitate to take any action on small things for fear of not being able to make a major impact. We forget that even a small gesture can make a lot of difference for an individual or creature.

Go ahead and make a small difference in someones life. It will mean a lot to him.

A little of me in them?

People who know me are aware of my passion for reading. I read anything and everything that I can lay my hand on - from classics to fiction to comics.

I was initiated to reading at a very young age. I remember that when I was in the school going age, my father used to subscribe to 3 newspapers and about 15 magazines. Father had a fine collection of novels and classics. For a young boy in an era when the Television has not made its appearance, reading was the only way out.

My colleagues and students mistake me for a die hard extrovert. But truly, I am an introvert to the core. I force myself to be an extrovert at work as a part of a conscious effort in personal brand building. Give me some spare time, I would like to do nothing better than be at home reading or listening to music.

And books are my best friends. Through them I get to know different types of people. Varying situations. In depth knowledge about nations, processes and how various organizations work. My emotions ebb and flow with the book on hand.

Reading itself is slowly going out of fashion. Nothing wrong in that. The purpose is to acquire knowledge. If you can get it from some other source, then it is fine. But tell me where else can you get exposed to different thinking and that too in depth.

Though I have read the scriptures, philosophy and classics in my time, I am confining this post to some good casual fiction that I have enjoyed.

The book that left a lasting impression on me is Harper Lee's 'To Kill a Mocking Bird'. The story of Atticus Finch, Jem and Scout in a society that is divided racially is etched in memory.

Alex Hailey's 'Roots' inspired me to trace my ancestry for which I am grateful.

Leon Uris's 'Exodus' made me an admirer of Israelis.

M T Vasudevan Nair's 'Rendamoozham', in malayalam, exposed me perhaps for the first time to question conventional wisdom and encourage lateral thinking in me, an immense skill to have for any person.

Loved P G Wodehouse. I can never forget Bertie Wooster and Jeeves. PG Wodehouse's novels were instrumental in improving my vocabulary, as Jeeves has a habit of using some rare words to Bertie and then explaining the meaning.

"All things Wise and Wonderful" and its sequels by the Vetenarian turned author James Herriot gave personality to animals, something which was always close to my heart as I possess an inherent love for animals.

The book that made me quite sad and left a tinge of sadness in the heart was John Grisham's 'Chamber', the story of a convict in the death row. I recommended it to my late father and he was well shaken after he read it. A different book from Grisham, one of my favourites.

I always had a liking for detective stories and lawyers. Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason still continues to be favourite. Though most prefer Sherlock Holmes, my vote goes to the little catholic priest Father Brown, a G K Chesterton creation.

Arthur Hailey, gave me a deep understanding of various industries through a series of books Airport, Hotel, Wheels, Money Changers, Final Diagnosis, In High Places, Strong Medicine, Evening News..................... It helped me a lot in my profession as a manager. Maybe there is a Mel Bakersfield in me after all.

A right brained guy like me should never have liked Fredrick Forsyth, whose eye for detail is terrific. But one of my all time favourites 'Day of the Jackal' taught me the importance of meticulous planning and organization.

Tom Clancy gave me an insight as to how the US government at the top works through his Jack Ryan Series of novels.

The adventurer in me identified with Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt.

It is difficult to choose a few from the thousands of books I have read. Some of the characters have become a part of me. Is it because there is a little of me in them? I wonder.................................

I hang my head in shame!

A study conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation has revealed that one out of five persons in rural India does not even have the capacity to spend even 12 rupees a day.

"The report says that per capita consumption expenditure of 18.7 per cent of the rural population and 4.7 per cent of the urban population in the country is less than Rupees 12 per day. It implies that 16.3 crore people in the country spend less than Rs 12 per day representing 14.7 of the total population," Minister for Rural Development Reghuvansh Prasad informed the Lok Sabha

Would someone kindly tell me where all the money collected as tax from the people of India are going to?

I, as an Indian Citizen, am ashamed and hang my head in shame.

Let each one of us do what we can to correct this abysmal scenario in our own small way

Oh for a bit of common sense

We, Indians, have an amazing propensity to complicate simple things.........

Take the case of Government formation in the State Assemblies. The Governor (why we should have a Governor which is a legacy of the colonial era and has no place in today's world is still a mystery, but that is for another day) is supposed to invite the person who has the backing of the majority of the house to form a Government. Simple, one would have thought. But no. Take the case of Meghalaya. No one got a majority. Congress was the single largest part with 25 members in an Assembly of 60. The opposition led by NCP stitched a post election coalition that clearly had the majority support. You would have thought the Governor S S Sidhu had an easy task. But no. In flew Margarat Alva, Congress Party functionary and hey presto, the Governor invited Mr.Lapang of Congress (I) to form a Government, hurriedly sworn him in and gave him 10 days to prove his majority. This was a clear case of blatantly allowing Congress to indulge in horse trading to cobble up a majority. That Lapang couldn't and was forced to resign on the 10th day making the Governor Sidhu looking absolutely ridiculous is another story. But, the fact remains that for 10 days a totally unconstitutional government was ruling and knowing our politicians, who has no scruples, they would have passed hundreds of orders favouring their cronies worth hundreds of crores of State's exchequer during these 10 days.

This is not an isloated case and it is not confined to Congress. Every single party has been guilty of doing this.

My question is. Why can't we have the most obvious and simple solution to this problem? We can amend the Constitution so that the Governor can convene the State Assembly, appoint the oldest member as the pro-term speaker, swear in the members and have the rival claimants test their support in the floor of the house.

This is logical, simple and can never fail.

But then logic, common sense and our self serving politicians are poles apart.

What a tragedy!!

How Maradonna changed Kozhikkode

Though from Palghat, I have a special place in my heart for Kozhikode (Calicut). The town is commercially vibrant, the city never sleeps, people are friendly, there is something for everyone - music, arts, dance, movies (I saw some classics of the great masters in some film clubs in Kozhikode), literature, intellectual people and football.

Love for football sets the people from Kozhikkode apart from others. They love good football and to say they are passionate about it will be the greatest understatement of the year. They are just plain crazy about it.

The year was 1985. Television had just made its appearance in Kozhikkode with the establishment of a Low Power Transmitter. The only channel available was good old Doordarshan. I was in the first year of my MBA at the University Campus. Being a sportsman myself, I became very close to quite a few of the University Coaches quickly. There was the PE Director Jacob, his Assistant Jeeboy Tharakan, the Volleyball coach and former international Abdul Rehman, the Badminton coach Murali who later went on to become the senior national coach and there was the former national football goal keeper Victor Manjila. We all used to play tennis together for recreation and I learned first hand as to why they represented the nation. Even while playing a sport which is not their favourite, they were all so bloody competitive and wont give an inch on the court. It was a great learning experience.

Anyway back to Football and Kozhikkode. Those days football was played regularly every small and big grounds. In the heart of the city, there is a ground called Mananchira Maidan. All one had to do is to go to the marketplace and whisper to couple of people that there is a good 'panthukali' (meaning ball game as football was called colloquially) in mananchira that day at 4.30 pm. By the time of kickoff, you will have at least 2000 people already on the sidelines to watch the match, irrespective of who was playing. It was amazing. And if someone were to organize a tournament with some good Calcutta Clubs like Mohun Bagan or East Bengal playing, you will have close to 75000 people paying money to watch the match perched atop temporary bamboo stands (these stands were marvels of engineering and it was a miracle that it didn't come crashing down with people jumping and screaming on it). What made watching even the silliest of match enjoyable was the sheer technical knowledge the average fan possessed. It was real fun sitting with them and listening to their cryptic, witty comments. You need to experience it to understand.

Then the TV came and with it the greatest spectacle in the world - The Football World Cup held in Mexico in 1986. We all got to see world class football for the first time. The matches were telecast live from 11.30 in the night till 5.15 in the morning for nearly one month. The town that never slept was totally deserted in the night. If you happen to walk in the city, there was hardly any people on the road. All you could hear will be the rising and falling of the sound of the audience on the TV and the high pitched commentary. It was also the world cup of perhaps the greatest footballer world has seen - Diego Maradonna. Forget about his later day dalliance with drugs and scandals, but in 1986 the little Argentinian was a Magician. He could do with his feet and a football tricks that defied laws of physics. He was a magician, composer, conductor, actor, creator and a sportsman - all in one. I have seen all the World Cups since but the image of Maradonna taking the ball deep in his half against England and dodging 8 English players one after another to score the second goal was and is to me the greatest sporting instance I have seen - and I do passionately watch many sports even today.

Post World Cup, something strange happened. Kozhikkode changed. There were hardly anyone to watch a football match. Matches were held in front of empty stadiums and Mananchira Maidan wore a deserted look. There was jut no one to watch a football match. It was an inexplicable transformation.

Baffled and saddened, I discussed this with Victor Manjila, the football coach. He said, "Raja, that can be explained easily. People were not used to watching quality world class football. This world cup, especially Maradonna, showed up our players for what they are and has taken the game viewership in India to a different plane. What has happened is that the Level of the Audience has raised. Their expectations are higher. They will not be satisfied with the substandard level of football that is being dished out locally and by the Calcuttan teams. Now there is a benchmark which is considerably higher. Mark my words, this is the beginning of the end of Kozhikkode people's love affair with local football and it will be a tragedy".

Well it has never been the same in Kozhikkode since. This concept of level of audience being raised is true of many other fields. We are not satisfied with what we were getting as we are exposed to international products and services through satellite television and Internet. We have greater expectations regarding education, automobiles, consumer gadgets, fashion, jobs. In short the customer is more informed and this has resulted in the world moving from a sellers market to a buyers market.

Relevance of Ahimsa in the new Millenium

I have always wondered how relevant was Mahatma Gandhi's Ahimsa in getting India its freedom. Would we have achieved freedom earlier had we not followed Ahimsa? Or did we get the freedom inspite of Mahatma Gandhi's strategy of non violence?

We, Indians, somehow do not possess the ability to do a honest introspection of our past and especially our leaders. It is as if the leaders are incapable of making mistakes and they were perfect in all aspects. Gandhiji's idiocracies (and there were many) are gloated over, Nehru's roving eye not discussed, Indira Gandhi's dictatorial tendencies were given a spin as being decisive and even Morarji Desai's propensity to drink urine was dismissed as a quirk. Criticising them is sacrilege.

My take on this is that India would have achieved freedom anyway. Look at the number of countries under the British Empire that got freedom around the time we got freedom. The British had realized that having colonies was becoming a drain on the exchequer post World War 2. The colonies had served their purpose and in management parlance has ceased to be a Cash Cow but have rather become Dogs, if one were to apply the BCG matrix. In fact they had become Dogs much before the WW II. The British were trying to find a suitable exit strategy. We would have got independence anyway. To justify my point, I request you to look at the countries under the Empire that got independence in late 1940's and early 1950's. None of them had a freedom struggle worth its name. It was a classic case of divestiture. Where Gandhi succeeded in was uniting a nation as diverse as India. To that extent he was a great leader. But his philosophy of 'Ahimsa' worked only because the opponents were British (who is supposed to have a sense of fair play, though this is a myth) and because they were looking for an exit strategy anyway. I presume Gandhiji was smart enough to know this. Frankly, his Ahimsa would not have worked against someone like Hitler or Musslolini. Also, remember that he exhorted Indians to support the British in an armed war during WWII. He did not ask them to resort to Ahimsa there.

How relevant is Ahimsa or non-violence in today's world which currently thrives on violence? This thought came to my mind when I read about the patient way in which Dalai Lama and the Tibetans have been conducting their struggle for Tibetan autonomy and independence for decades against Chinese who have suppressed them in all possible ways. The world has turned a blind eye towards Tibetans and the Chinese have aggressively pursued a multi prong strategy to virtually destroy the Tibetans. What has Dalai Lama's non violence achieved? Nothing. The latest case of Tibetan uprising against the Chinese prior to Beijing Olympics is a classic case. Same is the case of the struggle waged by Aun Sun Suu Kyi against the dictatorial Burmese military junta. Again with no success. What would Gandhiji have done if he were in the place of Dalai Lam and Aun Sun Suu Kyi? An interesting proposition don't you think...........your thoughts in the comments section are welcome

Want to make a nice speech?

The Art of Speaking is a skill. Few are born with it. Others work hard to acquire it over a period of time. It is essential that you be a good speaker if you want to become a good leader. You are asked to speak at various functions, be it family or at work or in a social gathering. Whatever the occasion, your main goal should be to get your point across, and you can only do that if you capture and keep your audience's attention. Though there is no one best way of speaking, some of the tips given below can be of help,

You have to be 'interesting' - To avoid boring your audience into unconsciousness, make a personal decision to only give talks you wouldn't mind sitting through yourself. When your topic is particularly dry, ask yourself: "If I were in the audience, how could a speaker keep me awake?"

Create positive anticipation- An eye-catching title can help draw a crowd of avid listeners. At a Sales seminar, you'll probably get more interest from a title such as "5 ways to improve your sales' than from "Theoretical aspects of Sales Management"

Be interesting right away- Never start your speech thanking everyone under the sun and how great the function is blah blah blah...... A dynamite introduction will help you win over your audience and boost your confidence from the start. You can establish instant rapport by asking a rhetorical question ("Has this ever happened to you ...") or by requesting a show of hands. Other simple but effective attention-getters include using a pertinent quotation, referring to a historical event, telling an intriguing story or stating an unusual fact. My staff once bet me that I will fall flat addressing a huge gathering of Doctors and Medical Students (nearly 500 of them) at Thanjavur Medical College as the topic was of no interest to them 'Computers in Medical Field' and I was relegated as the 9th speaker. Speaker after speaker came and gave dry lectures on various aspects of health care. The audience was getting restless and frankly bored. Watching all these, I tore up my prepared speech, walked upto the stage and started with "I am going to give you in the next 10 minutes something precious, something all your money cannot buy. Do you know what it is?". The audience settled down and you could hear a pin drop in the huge auditorium. I continued " I am going to give you time" and then went on to tell them how using computers can save them precious time in their profession that will ensure that they have more time to spend with their family. I spoke for 7 minutes and no one moved. I rate it as one of my best speeches.

Appeal to people's fascinations- People often perk up when they hear superlatives: the most, the best, the worst, the least, the tallest, the longest, etc. Here's an example: "Did you know that, according to The Book of Lists, people rank public speaking as their No. 1 fear? This fear even exceeds people's fear of death and snakes." Such statements, in addition to engaging people's interest in "what's No. 1," are doubly effective when audience members can personally identify with your remarks.

Use voice modulation- When giving a long speech on a dry topic, the surest way to torture your audience is by speaking in monotone. Varying your rate, pitch, volume and tone can help, but don't change your vocal quality for no reason; use your voice to reflect whatever mood you're trying to create. You need to take the audience on a roller coaster ride of emotion. Human being cannot hold on to one emotion for a long time. So be serious, crack a joke, be melancholic, tell a story , and so on. A good speaker also has to be a superb actor.

Offer some comic relief- The idea here is not to tell a string of jokes that you found in a speakers' joke book, but simply to add some elements of humor that are relevant to the topic. If you thread humor into the early portions of your talk, the audience will want to stay awake so they don't miss your next amusing point. If a humorous statement seems risqué or questionable, however, think twice before using it; if it backfires, you'll defeat your purpose and turn the audience against you. (Hint: If you feel a need to ask someone whether a certain statement is appropriate, it's probably not.). A warning note. Humour doesn't come to people naturally. If you do not have the skill, better do not attempt it. I was giving advice to a set of comperes for a program and told them, "for the next one week watch all the TV programs and carefully study the comperes". They nodded in agreement. I paused for a moment and then said "then, then you bloody ensure that you don't do one single thing that they do. If you can manage that you will be a superb compere". It took a while for it to sink on them, but then when they saw the humour in it, there were smiles all around.

Get to know your audience- Groups invariably pay more attention to speakers who know something about them and speak to their needs. For a simple audience profile, ask the meeting planner these questions in advance: What's the expected size and makeup of the audience? To what degree are they familiar with my topic? What are their concerns? What are the main things they'd like to know?

Use your body - If you want to be seen as interesting, be seen as interesting! Use a variety of hand gestures and body movements, not the same ones over and over. (A tip on using hand gestures: Consider your arm and hand as one unit. This way, your movements will be larger and more definite, and you won't come across as fidgety or lacking confidence.) Use your eyes to "work the room," and incorporate some fluid but non distracting pacing, as appropriate. In other words, be yourself (the one with a lot of personality), not a robot.

Read and respond to nonverbal cues- You'll learn a great deal about a group's interest level by reading facial expressions and body language. If your audience is sitting up and looking at you attentively, you've probably got them hooked. If you see people dozing off, scowling, looking at their watches or even leaving the room, consider some remedial measures by doing something differently -- and fast. Change the subject. Tell a captivating story. Insert a statement that usually gets a laugh. Increase, or vary, your volume. Walk closer toward your audience to make a key point. Broaden your gestures. Be more animated. Use a group exercise that enables people to stand up, move around or participate in small group discussions.

Lighten the room- It's especially challenging to keep people awake when you're speaking after lunch or at the end of a long day, when everyone is tired anyway. If you dim the lights so your slides will show up on the screen, you'll surely increase the snooze factor. Instead, use powerpoint presentations or videos so you can keep the lights as bright as possible -- and keep the group's focus on you.

Inject some real life- The use of anecdotes, examples and stories can make even the most technical or potentially boring topic come alive. Take examples from the world of cinema or personal life. Most people love it as they can associate with it.

Use colorful language - Since clichés ("cool as a cucumber"; "wise as an owl") won't give your speech much animation, try to think of original, vivid phrases. For example, actor-comedian Robin Williams once described his entry into a crowded room as "walking into a human car wash." It's creative and interesting, yet it gets the point across.

Share your enthusiasm. Remember that enthusiasm is infectious; if you're excited about a topic, the audience is more likely to get that feeling, too. So if you love your subject, let it show. Let the audience hear enthusiasm in your voice. Let them read it in your eyes and in your body language as you explain the reasons for your personal interest.

Do all of the above at regular intervals- Saying just one interesting thing in the introduction of your talk is simply not enough to sustain an audience's attention. Instead, lace your speech with a steady stream of examples, anecdotes, stories, quotes, rhetorical questions, humor, etc., to keep your audience alert and involved.

Finally, BE YOURSELF.

Boy and the Butterfly

A young boy found a cocoon for a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through the little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared stuck.

The kind boy decided to help the butterfly and with a pair of scissors he cut open the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily.

But something was not alright. The butterfly had a swollen body and shrivelled wings.

The boy watched the butterfly expecting it to take on its correct proportions. But nothing changed.

The butterfly stayed the same. It was never able to fly.

In his kindness and haste the boy did not realise that the butterfly's struggle to get through the small opening of the cocoon is nature’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight.

Like the sapling which grows strong from being buffeted by the wind, in life we all need to struggle sometimes to make us strong - adapted from web

Attitude

One day a just arrived Indian expat in Kuwait asked a local.

"Excuse me, do you mind if I ask you a question?".

"Not at all," replied the wise Kuwaiti.

"I am new to Kuwait and was working for 4 years in Oman. Tell me what it is like in Kuwait?

"Tell me," said the aged Kuwaiti "What was your experience of Oman and its people ?"

"Dreadful," replied the Indian, "to be honest I am glad to be away from there. I found the people most unwelcoming. When I first arrived I was greeted coldly. I was never made to feel part of the country no matter how hard I tried. The people keep very much to themselves, they don't take kindly to expatriates. So tell me, what can I expect in Kuwait?"

"I am sorry to tell you," said the wise man "but I think your experience will be much the same here".

The Indian hung his head despondently and went away.

A few months later another Indian expatriate came to Kuwait and met the same wise old Kuwaiti.

"Salam Aalikum," said the Indian.

"Wa Aalikum Salam" said the Kuwait.

"How are you?" asked the Indian.

"I'm well, by god's grace" replied the Kuwaiti, "Are you new to this country?"

"Yes, just landed a week back" replied the expatriate. "Can you tell me how the country is?"

"I can," replied the Kuwaiti "But first tell me - where did you work before?"

"I was working in Oman for 2 years."

"And how was your life there?"

"It was a wonderful experience. I would have stayed if I could but I got a good offer in Kuwait. I felt as though I was a part of the Omani Culture. The elders gave me much advice, the children laughed and joked with me and people were generally kind and generous. I am sad to have left there. It will always hold special memories for me. And what of Kuwait?" the Indian asked.

"I think you will find it much the same" smiled the good old Kuwaiti

Do you listen enough!!

The pressure on the Front office sales people for getting prospective customers to register for Computer programs was tremendous during June-September every year. The process was as follows, the customer walks in, he is greeted by the Counsellor (essentially a sales person), given a cup of water, his or her details are collected and written down in the enquiry form, he is then asked to take a 30 minutes aptitude test. On completion of the test, the prospective customer is given a brain washing (hard selling) for a good 30 minutes, at the end of which his head is spinning and he enrols. Not the best of methods, but at the height of parallel computer education when competition was at its peak, this worked.

One day at around 11.30 am, a young boy of 19 (our ideal target customer) walked in and addressed my Academic Counsellor

" Madam..........................".

He was never allowed to complete the sentence.

The Counsellor pounced on him and started her practiced routine,

"Good morning, welcome. please have a cup of water, how are you, blah, blah, blah.......................................".

The poor guy was trying to get a word in, but to no avail. Within 5 minutes, he was swept of his feet, she had collected all his details and was thrusting the 30 minutes Aptitude Test on him.

He said, " But Madam........................................"

" No , no...............you don't worry about the test. It is simple and routine. Everyone is reluctant first time", so saying, she led him by the hand and put him on a students chair next room and made him take the test.

Resigned to his fate, the poor guy took the test. On completion, she collected the test booklet, answer sheet, valued it in a flash and sat with it to give her high pressure sales pitch.

The boy by now had become totally quiet and listened to her rambling regarding the benefits of a NIIT computer training program for 30 minutes. When she was about to finish, the students who were in the class till then filed out on completion of the session. One of the current students walked up to the boy who was sitting in front of my Counsellor and asked " What the hell are YOU doing here and you better have a good explanation for taking my motorcycle without permission today morning.And why the hell did you not go to the college today?"

My counsellor asked him, "Do you know him?" thinking that now the deed is closed as she has a good reference.

The student said, "this idiot is my brother" and turning to him scolded him "why are you wasting madams time?"

The poor boy finally finally was able to get a word in "Listen. I came here to leave the bike here and hand over the key to you. I came nearly 90 minutes ago, thought I will leave the key with madam to tell her to handover to you and then go to college. But she did not allow me to say one word and worse I was made to write a test and sit through her counselling"

"But why didn't you tell that you were Saravanan's brother? You could have told me in the first place", accused a flabbergasted Counsellor

"Madam, where did you give me a chance to say one word. You really bulldozed me into doing all these things. I had always envied my brother that he was studying at NIIT while I am struggling in a Government College. Not anymore. God help him!"

With a great effort he got up and walked away, never to come back again anywhere near NIIT, leaving a thoroughly chastened Counsellor behind.

This is not an isolated case, most of the sales people do not allow their customers to talk and are very poor listeners. They are proud of their Verbal Diarrhoea.

Listen to your customers. Remember, you need to do TWICE as much Listening as Talking. Even God wanted you to do that. That is why he has given TWO EARS and only ONE MOUTH

Do you acknowledge those who pack your parachutes?

Charles Plumb was a navy jet pilot. On his seventy-sixth combat mission, he was shot down and parachuted into enemy territory. He was captured and spent six years in prison. He survived and now lectures on the lessons he learned from his experiences.

One day, a man in approached Plumb and his wife in a restaurant, and said, "Are you Plumb the navy pilot?"

"Yes, how did you know?" asked Plumb.

"I packed your parachute," the man replied.

Plumb was amazed - and grateful: "If the chute you packed hadn't worked I wouldn't be here today..."

Plumb refers to this in his lectures: his realisation that the anonymous sailors who packed the parachutes held the pilots' lives in their hands, and yet the pilots never gave these sailors a second thought; never even said hello, let alone said thanks.

Now Plumb asks his audiences,

"Who packs your parachutes?..... Who helps you through your life?.... Physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually?....... Think about who helps you; recognise them and say thanks." -adapted from web

Take a moment to understand someone else's needs!

A poignant story,

"A mother wished to encourage her small girl's interest in the piano and so took her a local concert featuring an excellent pianist. In the entrance foyer the mother met an old friend and the two stopped to talk. The little girl was keen to see inside the hall and so wandered off, unnoticed by her mother. The girl's mother became concerned when she entered the hall and could see no sign of her daughter. Staff were notified and an announcement was made asking the audience to look out for the little lost girl. With the concert due to start, the little girl had still not been found.

In preparation for the pianist's entrance, the curtains drew aside, to reveal the little girl sitting at the great piano, focused in concentration, quietly picking out the notes of 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'.

The audience's amusement turned to curiosity when the pianist entered the stage, walked up to the little girl, and said "Keep playing."

The pianist sat down beside her, listened for a few seconds, and whispered some more words of encouragement. He then began quietly to play a bass accompaniment, and then a few bars later reached around the little girl to add more accompaniment. At the end of the impromptu performance the audience applauded loudly as the pianist took the little girl back to her seat to be reunited with her mother. The experience was inspirational for everyone, not least the small girl."


It takes just a few moments to make somebody's day, to help someone with their own personal aims and dreams - especially someone who looks up to you for encouragement and support

The key to happiness

The first question someone asks when they hear I am working in Kuwait is

"How long are you in Kuwait?", followed by

"How is Kuwait? Do you like Kuwait? How is the working environment?"

My answers are standard.

"Kuwait is great, for I learn to like the Country I live in"

There are plus points and minus points in any country. We tend to appreciate only the good points of India while conveniently ignoring what is good in Kuwait and highlighting only those things that irks us.

It is like saying, "My mother calling me lazy is because she loves me, but my mother in law calling me lazy is not acceptable as she is being bitchy"

Similar with your job. Learn to love your job and your Organization. Invest in loving both. You will definitely get returns. Job satisfaction is a frame of mind, so is being happy. You need to look at things positively.

The key to being happy lies in managing your expectations and to look at the positives.

Original and the Imposter

In 1915, on his return to India from South Africa, Mahatma Gandhi, on being advised by his mentor and guru Gopala Krishna Gokhale undertook a tedious travel across India that lasted months. He travelled as one amongst the common man, in buses, bullock carts, 3rd class compartments in trains and walking. What he saw totally disillusioned him. He was appalled by the poverty in the rural areas and got a first hand experience of how the people of India lived. This journey had a profound impact on him. This led him to discard his affinity for western life and he even resorted to being what the English derisively called him 'the half naked fakir', just so that he can identify himself with the plight of the common man. He was a changed man on his completion of this epic travel across the country. The rest, as they say, is history.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I read a news report mentioning another Gandhi (albeit an imposter) planning to travel, well OVER INDIA, in a,bear with me, HELICOPTER to SEE for himself how ORDINARY INDIANS LIVE.

I am not joking. The Gandhi in question is the heir apparent- Rahul Gandhi.

I have not stopped laughing and crying at the same time since yesterday when I read this for the first time. Would really like to know which dimwit advised Rahul Gandhi to go ahead with the crazy scheme and would also like to know the IQ of Rahul Gandhi who consented to it.

This is the pits.

Cry my beloved country!

Things that irk me................

There are many things that irk me,

I read a newsreport that Privilege Motion is to be moved against Bal Thackeray for making some comments against MP's from Bihar and UP. I hold no brief for Bal Thackeray. I despise his politics. But the question is something different. The honourable speaker, who is a sane man, has been roaring that he will not tolerate any negative comments about any of the MP's and that it should constitute a breach of privilege. Ridiculous. The quality of the MP's and their dismal behaviour in the Parliament alone should be enough for us to criticise them. No meaningful debates are allowed to take place, MP's are known to play truant and the house hardly transacts any business. Hooliganism is a way of life for most MP's/ Why the hell should they not be criticised? What makes them more equal than others in the society?

Politics makes asses out of even decent gentleman. How else can you justify our PM Manmohan Singh blaming the NDA for the abysmal state of the agricultural sector in India. Pray tell me, Dr.Singh, what the hell were you and your government doing these last four years?

S M Krishna resigning as Maharashtra Governor to fight in the Karnataka Elections is no surprise. It is high time we reevaluate the role of Governors. Do we need them at all. They serve no purpose and more often than not are stooges of the Central Government not allowing the elected State Governments to work. Why should out of work, political losers and trouble makers should be rewarded at a cost to Public Exchequer defies logic.

Budget after budget we see rise in spending on Military. But hardly anything is spent on Primary Education and the upgrading the Judicial system - Two areas that has been begging for some concrete action. An uneducated lawless society will ensure that we remain backward.

More on this later................

Company Policy and Monkeys

Start with a cage containing five monkeys.

Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of stairs under it.

Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana.

As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the monkeys with cold water.

After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result - all the monkeys are sprayed with cold water.

Pretty soon, when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.

Now, turn off the cold water.

Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one.

The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs.

To his surprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attack him.

After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one.

The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked.

The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm.

Again, replace a third original monkey with a new one.

The new one makes it to the stairs and is attacked as well.

Two of the four monkeys that beat him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs, or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.

After replacing the fourth and fifth original monkeys, all the monkeys that have been sprayed with cold water have been replaced.

Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs.

Why not?

Because as far as they know that's the way it's always been around here.

And that's how company policy begins ... - courtesy an e-mail


On this I am reminded of another apparently true story,

This happened three decades ago. A young navy cadet serving in a battleship was given the task of painting the deck for an inspection. In navy, there are couple of golden rules for a young cadet. 'Salute anything that moves and paint anything that is stationery'. Just 5 minutes prior to the inspection, to his horror, the cadet accidently kicked the paint bucket which resulted in an ugly spill on the deck. Being quite resourceful, he used his imagination and skill as a painter to paint a nice big circle on the deck. The inspection went on uneventfully, much to his relief.

Quarter of a century later, the navy cadet had become a Fleet Commander and was given the honour of inspecting the self same battleship. When he came to the deck, he saw to his amusement that the unwanted circle he had painted as a cadet was still there but FRESHLY PAINTED.

How many of our Corporate Policies are like this unwanted circle of paint?

Janani Janma Bhoomi cha................

The influence of my native town on my character is profound. The sleepy little town of Palghat is extremely laidback. No one seemed to be in a hurry. There is an element of serene calmness. Not for Palghat people the hardworking aggression of the Central Travancoreans or the business acumen of the Calicut people. They are satisfied easily and have no great ambitions in life.

I have noticed this trend in many towns that has an agrarian economy. Maybe it is the comfort of the agricultural economy taking care of the lower order needs that makes the people laidback. There is always rice in the cellar and twice a year, for Onam and Vishu one gets sufficient dresses and you dont have to fight to have a roof over your head.

Though most of the other towns in Kerala have changed over the past decade, Palghat has remained the same. People are still simple, uncomplicated, possess no great drive, are not ambitious and above all extremely helpful. For me, I have never seen a community that goes out of the way to help others than the nice Palghatians. The Palghat student smilingly offers his book to his classmate even though he is in dire need of it for the examinations.

A former collector of Palghat while inaugurating a Football tournament whose mascot was a 'rabbit', said that he chose rabbit as the mascot as it symbolizes Palghat people more than anyone else. Apparently docile, white as a lily and harmless.

The district is blessed to have Bharthapuzha and its tributaries flowing through it. Apart from making the land fertile, the rivers also ensured that there were early settlers from other parts of the country. The Tamil Brahmins from Mayiladuthurai, Kumbakonam, Chidambaram and Thanjavur found the district to be quite similar to theirs and settled down. Their influence on the local culture is profound as they brought with them music and stessed the importance of eduction to come up in life. Even today, they co exist with the natives very amicably.

I have been accused by many, including my late father, to be very very laidback and not at all ambitious. My father used to say "if only you had been brought up in any other part of Kerala, you would have gone much farther in life".

I have absolutely no regret. Having never been a part of the rat race has its own advantages. It gave me time to learn to appreciate good things in life. I enjoy music, dance and for that matter any art form. I have all the time in the world at my disposal and am never bored in life, as time never moves in Palghat. There is a pleasure in lazing around. Less stressful.

And I have always appreciated the beauty of the Malayalam language spoken by those in the Valuvanadan region, on the banks of Bharathapuzha. This is where one can really appreciate the respect one gives to another individual through the use of language (though this is not true of the colloquial language used in Palghat town which I considered to be despicable).

The lovely, clean devi temples (Kavu) , the paddy fields, the dry wind blowing through the pass, the malampuzha dam, the quietly flowing Bharathapuzha and the ever so gentle people makes it a wonderful place to be in.

Maybe I am biased, maybe it is nostalgia. For did not someone say,

"Janani Janmabhoomi cha
Swargaadapi Gariyasi"

(Mother and Mother Land are greater than the Heaven)

For where else can you find a person who has just seen a rotten film and as he comes out you ask him how the film was, he will ponder for a moment and not wanting to offend anyone, the gentle soul will say "Orikkal kanam" (you can watch the film once).

Where else can you see other than in rural palghat people whom if you ask for directions to your friends house, will drop whatever he is doing and smilingly walk with you for 3 kilometers (all the while reassuring you that the house is just round the corner) and take you personally to the address and then quietly and happily walk back the 3 kilometers to his unfinished work?

Like many things that have gone behind the screen that is time, Palghat is also changing, albeit slowly. Some of it is due to colonization by people from other parts of the state. There is not much water in Bharathapuzha these days. Mindless sandmining has destroyed the river bed. The river, which has inspired many a writer and poet, and where when once I expressed a desire to sit on the sand my father got down from the train and fulfilled my wish, talking about stories based on the beautiful river for hours, has dried out. The temples have ceased to become the cultural centres they once were, struggling to find funds for its day to day expenses and the paddy fields have shrunk to be replaced by concrete buildings.

But the people have not changed. Modernity is yet to spoil the town and the distict. For how long, I don't know. But I am thankful to God that I was brought up in this place for it made me realize the value of humanity and nature. And if you have not experienced it, there is a sort of pleasure in being laidback and ambitionless!!

10 most stupid questions people ask

10 most stupid questions people usually ask in obvious situations and the possible answers you can give in italics,


1. At the movies: When you meet acquaintances/friends...

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

Dont u know, I sell tickets in black over here..


2. In the bus: A heavy lady wearing pointed high-heeled shoes steps on your feet...

"Sorry, did that hurt?"

No, not at all, I'm on local anesthesia.....why don't you try again.


3. At a funeral: One of the teary-eyed people ask...

"Why, why him, of all people"

Why? Would it rather have been you?


4. At a restaurant: When you ask the waiter

Is the "Butter Paneer Masala" good??

No, its terrible and made of adulterated cement. We occassionaly also spit in it.


5. At a family get-together: When some distant aunt meets you after years...

"Munna, Chickoo, you've become so big".

Well you haven't particularly shrunk yourself.


6. When a friend announces her wedding, and you ask...

"Is the guy you're marrying good?"

No,he's a miserable wife-beating , insensitive lout...it's just the money.


7. When you get woken up at midnight by a phone call...

"Sorry. were you sleeping?"

No. I was doing research on whether the Zulu tribes in Africa marry or not. You thought I was sleeping....you dumb witted moron.


8. When you see a friend/colleague with evidently shorter hair...

"Hey have you had a haircut?"

No, its autumn and I'm shedding......


9. At the dentist when he's sticking pointed objects in your mouth...

"Tell me if it hurts?"

No it wont. It will just bleed.


10. You are smoking a cigarette and a cute woman asks...

"Oh, so you smoke"

Gosh, it's a miracle .......it was a piece of chalk and now it's in flames!!!

- courtesy e-mail from a friend

Thank You my students!

There are times when one gets self doubt as to whether it is worth doing something with so much passion.

It is true in my case with teaching. I have consciously or subconsciously taken a particular approach to teaching which makes me popularly unpopular. As I tell some of my close friends, my students love to hate me and hate to love me.

Teaching and mentoring is a thankless job. The only satisfaction one gets is when one sees ones students getting ahead in life.

I, in fact, gave up teaching in 2005 and took a sabbatical for a year and a half. But then I felt a vaccum in my life and the itch to get back to the classroom was too much to resist. So back I came to IGNOU in late 2006.

I have questioned my wisdom in returning to teaching and had a long discussion with my family on the toll it takes on my health and the strain I put myself to. They empathised with me but told me that since I have been blessed with the ability to impart knowledge, it will be a grave injustice to all if I don't put that to effective use. Besides, they argued, 'you enjoy teaching and you have always told us to enjoy what we are doing'.

But my query was from a different angle. "Yes, I do enjoy teaching, but do my students enjoy my teaching?. Am I being too harsh on them? Am I out of touch with the modern world which places less emphasis to knowledge and more emphasis on acquisition of degrees?. How do my students view me?". For me this was very important.

The outpouring of love and affection I noticed on my birthday from my students allayed lot of these self doubts. I am happy that I have a small place in your life and for reassuring me ' A Big Thank You' to all of you. Thanks a lot to those who called me up, who visited me, made me cut birthday cakes, gave me bouquets, cards and even a nice memento. Also my thanks to those who silently wished me from the bottom of their heart.

What more can a teacher ask for on a birthday than the love and affection of his students. Your action has reaffirmed my commitment to teaching.

Thanks once again.