Ah, the blessed long weekend is here finally! I spent the whole morning allocating work for Monday to various team members. Thank God we breathe automatically or else I would have died of suffocation because there was simply no time to breathe ;-)
I will log off with a thought that I saw on one team member's chat Status today:
If I never met you, I wouldn’t like you.
If I didn’t like you, I wouldn’t love you.
If I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t miss you.
But I did, I do and I will.
This message is for my beloved India. Happy Republic Day Everyone! :-)
Friday, January 22, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
The sun has just gone down on another day. And for no apparent reason I am thinking of the Himalayas. Sounds weird, doesn't it? You might even think I am losing it. :-) But the truth is that I have been increasingly feeling that I need to go up North to have a peek at the Sentinel which for centuries has been guarding our border. God willing, I will do it this year. :-)
Let me sign off for the day with another beautiful Sher that was forwarded to me:
अर्झ किया है...
उस शख्सको तो बिछडनेका सलीकाभी नहीं फ़राझ
जाते हुए खुदको मेरे पास छोड़ गया
Let me sign off for the day with another beautiful Sher that was forwarded to me:
अर्झ किया है...
उस शख्सको तो बिछडनेका सलीकाभी नहीं फ़राझ
जाते हुए खुदको मेरे पास छोड़ गया
I was hopping mad yesterday because I have been asked to make a client presentation once again without sufficient training - and this despite my clearly stating, well in advance, that I need product training for any future presentations. Maybe I am a perfectionist, I don't know.
What I know is that if you ask for time or training, people take it as some kind of mental block or lack of confidence. It is much better (and less headache-causing!) to manage things as they are - even if that means you will not be able to do your best.
And that set me off yesterday because I don't want to be like that. I don't at all want to accustom myself to this "it will always be like this here" attitude. But I understand that it is necessary for my peace of mind. Hell, if you cannot change people, adapt yourself.
I agree that it will be tough behaving like that in the present job and yet to retain my true attitude of always asking for whatever is needed to do the best job, hoping that it will be appreciated in my next job.
But I am going to give it a shot.
What I know is that if you ask for time or training, people take it as some kind of mental block or lack of confidence. It is much better (and less headache-causing!) to manage things as they are - even if that means you will not be able to do your best.
And that set me off yesterday because I don't want to be like that. I don't at all want to accustom myself to this "it will always be like this here" attitude. But I understand that it is necessary for my peace of mind. Hell, if you cannot change people, adapt yourself.
I agree that it will be tough behaving like that in the present job and yet to retain my true attitude of always asking for whatever is needed to do the best job, hoping that it will be appreciated in my next job.
But I am going to give it a shot.
I am glad to see that better sense has prevailed and the Maharashtra CM has backtracked his earlier decision of allowing only those cabbies who speak Marathi to operate in Mumbai. I am a Maharshtrian and proud of my culture as well as language. But I will always condemn any move which would effectively create a barrier between me and my fellow Indians.
When I saw the news about his earlier decision yesterday, I wondered what would happen if the Southern states decide to only allow cabbies who knew only their local language to operate in their states? It will be a nightmare for someone like me who cannot even figure out what south Indian language someone is speaking. It is okay for the ministers to issue such decisions from their Ivory Towers. After all, their red-light flashing cars can halt traffic anytime to zoom away to their destinations. Life will be miserable for us mere mortals called the "Common Man" who have to take public transport.
I think the cabbies across India should know Hindi - leave aside the dispute on whether it's the national language or not. But it will be tough imposing that in the Southern States. :-(
When I saw the news about his earlier decision yesterday, I wondered what would happen if the Southern states decide to only allow cabbies who knew only their local language to operate in their states? It will be a nightmare for someone like me who cannot even figure out what south Indian language someone is speaking. It is okay for the ministers to issue such decisions from their Ivory Towers. After all, their red-light flashing cars can halt traffic anytime to zoom away to their destinations. Life will be miserable for us mere mortals called the "Common Man" who have to take public transport.
I think the cabbies across India should know Hindi - leave aside the dispute on whether it's the national language or not. But it will be tough imposing that in the Southern States. :-(
Finally found some time to breathe since morning so I thought I will take a moment to post here.
It's a shame to know that the Pakistani players were deliberately shunned during IPL3 auction. I can understand the government's inability to guarantee any security because it is impossible to guard against any fanatics - be they Hindu or Muslim. But if this were the case, they should have clearly communicated it to the Pakistani players. I think the government's behavior is disgraceful :-(
It's a shame to know that the Pakistani players were deliberately shunned during IPL3 auction. I can understand the government's inability to guarantee any security because it is impossible to guard against any fanatics - be they Hindu or Muslim. But if this were the case, they should have clearly communicated it to the Pakistani players. I think the government's behavior is disgraceful :-(
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Sometimes it is so difficult in life to know what is right. I am not even sure if this experience is worth sharing as many in Mumbai must have had the same one.
It so happened that I was out for my usual evening walk yesterday evening. As I crossed a particular street I saw ahead of me a family standing on the pavement - a husband and a wife carrying their daughter in her hands. It looked like they had come from some small town and seemed lost. In a minute, I knew what was in store for me. But since the traffic had picked up I couldn't have crossed to the other side. So I marched on.
When I passed next to them, they stopped talking and the woman turned to me. I stopped in my tracks thinking that there was still a chance that they could be looking for directions to some place. The woman started telling me that they had just come from some village and that her husband doesn't have any job yet in the city. I knew that my worst suspicions were confirmed. I have heard the same story from others on the same road. It has become a new money-making business.
I shook my head and marched on. A little distance away and I wondered that perhaps I should have waited to see if she mentioned the "M" word. I was sure that 99% she would have. But I wasn't sure I had done the right thing by not taking that 1% chance. They could have been in genuine need though I had no means of making sure of that. But in any case, if she had asked for money I could have said that I was out for my evening walk and wasn't carrying any.
I have resolved to do just that next time I find myself in a similar situation.
It so happened that I was out for my usual evening walk yesterday evening. As I crossed a particular street I saw ahead of me a family standing on the pavement - a husband and a wife carrying their daughter in her hands. It looked like they had come from some small town and seemed lost. In a minute, I knew what was in store for me. But since the traffic had picked up I couldn't have crossed to the other side. So I marched on.
When I passed next to them, they stopped talking and the woman turned to me. I stopped in my tracks thinking that there was still a chance that they could be looking for directions to some place. The woman started telling me that they had just come from some village and that her husband doesn't have any job yet in the city. I knew that my worst suspicions were confirmed. I have heard the same story from others on the same road. It has become a new money-making business.
I shook my head and marched on. A little distance away and I wondered that perhaps I should have waited to see if she mentioned the "M" word. I was sure that 99% she would have. But I wasn't sure I had done the right thing by not taking that 1% chance. They could have been in genuine need though I had no means of making sure of that. But in any case, if she had asked for money I could have said that I was out for my evening walk and wasn't carrying any.
I have resolved to do just that next time I find myself in a similar situation.
Okay, so Australia's former military chief agrees that the attacks on Indians are racist. (Attacks on Indians are racist - Australian general). I wonder if he would have expressed the same candid opinion if his title hadn't included the word "former" :-(
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