Monday, June 29, 2009

Cat on the wall.. U'll definitely fall..!

Rocky was in a state of shock! He was paralyzed, not knowing what to do. His palms were sweaty, ears red with fear and his feet was so cold, that it could have put a corpse to shame.

For the first time in his life, he was in an unfamiliar position. He had to take a 'decision'!!!!

Rocky was a kind of a person who would agree to anything being told and would take a safe path such that his answer is always 'Maybe' rather than Yes or No. His diplomacy was to such an extent that he would drive his vehicle in the median, lest someone misunderstands that he is supporting one side of the road!!

There are number of Rockys in this world who are unable to take decisions, influenced either due to internal or external factors. Thanks to the corporate world, the number on this section of the crowd have multiplied and number of frank and forthright people have dwindled to a great extent. The art of survival has become not to tell anyone their point of view and just accept the way it is. Is this the way the world would go forward? More followers and less number of leaders? Agreed, too many leaders in a team would spoil the party.. but we are definitely not dealing with the problem of plenty here!!!

So, we have two factors leading to this kind of behavior; internal and external. Internal is where the person's attitude is not to take any decisions and later blame the others for the decision taken. Dependency on External factors beyond their control is also high as self belief is minimal. Birth of these two factors, is the baby called 'Diplomacy'. Being diplomatic, a few years ago, was healthy. One was trying to avoid some major conflict and was used more in the political arena. But now its cliched.. the first lesson being taught when you grow up, is 'Be Diplomatic'. Being like this would help in the short run, would keep their life going along at a smooth pace. But somewhere down the line, they would face a problem of having to make a decision that would hurt one of the parties involved and yet, its not in them to take one! Also, when your perennially diplomatic, the trust on the person plummets into an abyss. You really would doubt whether the particular person would stand up for you in case of any emergency! As the saying goes, 'Trust is something money can't buy, for everything else there is MasterCard.'

There is a solution to every problem. Here, there are two solutions. One, is being diplomatic in situations where it necessitates the particular action. For example, if your boss is asking, "Hey, am I looking bald??", sanity should prevail and the answer must be, "Of course not sir, its suiting you just fine". One would be a fool to be forthright here. But, when it comes to situations where one could take a decision,most important thing to remember is - Its impossible to satisfy everyone's whims and fancies. Rather, the policy should be to satisfy the most important of the people and the others left to their own fate. Accountability is a must and the person to evaluate is the individual himself....

Thus whether Rocky chooses a tricky path of walking a thin line, and falling eventually, or be courageous enough to take tough decisions is left to him. But, which one would be taking??

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Neighborgood?

"Hi Aunty, Good Morning!! How are you?", I said

"Hi Harish. Not very good beta! That Moron(a.k.a Mrs.Chottu, our friendly neighbor) has started watering our plants and the car too! I am surprised she has enough brains to buy a Diamond Necklace................." Mrs.Champu's voice trails off, admiring the lovely necklace. I wanted to compliment her for the glittering eyes she herself possessed, which was brimming with jealousy and contempt. Poor Mr.Champu, he was with a band aid the very next day, the reason being a mad dog bit him! Ahem ahem, the real reason is left to your own imagination!

Bad relationship with neighbors start from the grass root level, let alone with neighboring countries. In my opinion, there is cure for everything (even AIDS if your careful) except EGO! Ego is another misunderstood word(apart from love). In my opinion, this is a friendly enemy residing in you! You can be accomodative to a level until your ego doesn't get hurt. But, if your ego is going to hurt someone, it becomes your enemy.

Analogy can be brought out with the incident between Mrs.Champu and Mrs.Chottu. Both nations, read as India and Pakistan have egos to the maximum and they are countries who wear their heart on their sleeve. Of course, one might argue, two nations who pride themselves with rich culture and background, why can't they have an ego? Yes, they could until Mr.Champu, read as people of both nations, don't get hurt. They could have ego until, people like me(in the above example), also read USA, doesn't have to be the judge of the fight and laugh behind our back. Personally, every time India goes and seeks the approval and help from US, it definitely hurts the ego. Point well taken that they are the super power, but can't India and Pakistan do something the very least to stop the bloodshed for a peice of land?? Anyways, is politics this simple? If yes, educated and dedicated youths would take up politics with a vision to make India a super power rather than coding a stupid software which is making another nation stronger!!!

Where does the problem really lie? India has been in troubled waters with its neighbours for quite sometime now. If my history is right, we have had problems perennially with Pakistan, China, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. But, there is a bigger enemy, which is a simple two letter word: US. No, I am not blaming the United States here but referring to us; we people who need to own up some responsibility towards the growth of the nation. We blame the politicians for being corrupt, don't we? But don't we play a part to it? Aren't we the first person to pay some money to the pujari in a temple to move us ahead of the line? Don't we pay the policeman lesser amount, just to reduce our fine by few hundreds, making it a habit for them to quote higher and charge lesser which is into their pocket? Don't we use influence to get things done faster, when a common man has to wait in line and is the rightful owner of our possession? I could go on and on, and I am also a part of feeding this ugly demon too. But, conscious efforts must be taken by all of us, to take the rightful path and have our foundation sturdy. Without killing enemies like corruption, religon and caste fight, female foeticide and lack of education, Mrs.Chottu vs Mrs.Champu scenario would continue and Mr.Champu would continue bleeding, with people like me enjoying the destruction of both the families. End of the day though, Mrs.Chottu must take care not to water other's house and their car, also read as terrorism and Mrs.Champu must not hurt Mr.Champu, just to satisfy its own bank balance and ego. Jai Hind!

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Butter and Jam - Traffic Jam!



The maddening traffic in Chennai has made me start blogging. Thank you 'Singara' Chennai.

My day of travel on the road starts with adding on to the list of 'acquaintances' in my life, that has been on a steep rise. The blissful words that is exchanged is of highest quality and doesn't involve the individuals alone, but also the entire family members and future generation.

Then comes the bliss of watching two wheelers, zoom their way past the traffic and make a mark of their presence on my car. Moreover, its a real treat, especially when your in a hurry, to watch two of them on either ends of the road and speak to each other, with no room for the car to pass in between. I must add that 4 wheelers are equally co-operative and occupy the complete road.

With the government in a mood to construct fly overs to add on to their already bulging bank accounts, is another cause to rejoice for commuters like me. It would be crude to miss our law makers, the traffic police, who don't wear their helmet and come on the wrong side creating a havoc. Of course, they are beyond rules you see..!! And yes, not to forget the pedestrians who are highly motivated to cross only when a vehicle is 1metre ahead of them and challenge the driver to hit them. I almost forgot our newly designed aeroplanes that fly on the road, also branded as 'autos'. They are free to move from left to right, up to down and also to land his plane in the middle of the road, and bargain with his customer about how high the fuel prices are and his 'tender' heart of charging nominal rates!!

Chennai's strength is equality and we don't mind cows, dogs, deers and donkeys crossing/sleeping on the already 'wide' roads! To top it all, driving license has been given to color blind commuters too, who due to their inability, honk even when the signal is red! Chennai roads are a testimony to how life is all about - UP & DOWN! Kudos to our government's attitude towards teaching a lesson to the voters! Wish they could also give lessons that pot holes are not wash basins to spit and lane driving isn't that bad after all.

After such an eventful journey, I reach my office, only to find that I have forgotten my ID Card - Could anyone help me get it, PLEASE!!!???