People who dare to ‘do things differently’
People who dare to ‘do things differently’
18 Sep, 2007, 0100 hrs IST,Shubhashish, TNN
MUMBAI: While most flock with the crowd, there are a few individuals who dare to create a path of their own. With nothing but belief, courage and conviction by their side, meet three such people who dared to carve their own niche by exploring opportunities in untapped territories.
They are people who are not lured by ‘what life has to offer’ but instead have something to offer to it. These are people who don’t do things differently but do different things. Three such individuals who dared to invent a new niche and even achieved paramount success give the phrase, ‘doing things differently’ a whole new connotation.
Canine companions
Wasiff Khan, straight after his graduation started a novel dabbawala service for pets! While Raju Patel, the man whose unparallel love for telescopes made him a famous telescope manufacturer and Priya Kumar teaches executives to walk on fire! Sounds interesting? Board the bus.
Wasiff Khan comes from a middle-class Indian family but with dreams unmatched and addictive enthusiasm! Khan gave the age-old adage, ‘A dog is man’s best friend’ a new interpretation altogether. “I was just another college graduate with no specific direction in life and highly skeptical as to what life had in store for me.
That’s when the idea of starting a catering service flashed through my mind,” he says. “I met several people in order to explore the avenue and realised that there was no one offering food for pets!” he recollects. He invested time and research and as he explored further, he knew he had struck gold!
“I began my research by visiting veterinaries and friends who had pets and started gathering as much information as possible but keeping the idea firmly under wraps,” he says. As one phase lead to another, Khan, without any money and no one ready to offer loan for this ‘unique’ business preposition, gambled on.
He prepared a questionnaire about food preferences of different breeds of dogs and approached dog-owners under the disguise of a researcher working on a survey! The intention was to create a database of customers, identify the possible problems with the idea and study the reactions of people of the service.
The next part was the most challenging and there were several questions still lingering in his mind. He wanted to provide freshly cooked customised food to his customers. Khan says that he would collect information related to the personality traits of various breeds, allergies that a particular breed is prone to, lifestyle, habits, etc before customising the food for a particular breed.
“I started making food from my home kitchen and fed stray dogs to put it through test! They liked it and I took the next step of distributing free samples to the dog owners from the database I had created earlier,” he says. “In the first month itself, I got around 35 confirmed customers elevating my aspirations and there has been no looking back since then,” recollects Khan. A dog is indeed a man’s best friend and when it comes to business, it can also be a man’s best bet!
Playing with fire
Ancient India was full of mysterious people who walked on fire, broken glass pieces and climbed ropes. But how would you feel if someone, in today’s world boasts of teaching you to walk on fire and broken glass pieces? Perplexed? This is exactly what Priya Kumar specialises in.
She always wanted to do what others never dared to try! “I never saw a point in attempting something everyone could do,” says Kumar. She feels that there isn’t any point in being ‘just another ordinary person’. Kumar was in Malaysia when she first heard about a fire-walking workshop and ended up enrolling for one. She was moved with the art to such an extent that she attended numerous workshops after that. “I was scared to try it the first time but eventually gave in to the adventure.
There were times during the sessions when my feet got burnt and there were times when they didn’t. I couldn’t understand the reason behind and hence, to understand the mystery, I attended the subsequent workshops as well. The organiser of the workshop was so startled by my dedication that he offered me to be his helper in conducting the workshop,” Kumar adds.
The idea of adding a corporate touch to the fire-walk occurred to her when she was attending a few workshops in Amsterdam. “I thought of starting a ‘Corporate Fire-walking Movement’ and it’s been two years since its inception,” says Kumar. She teaches fire-walking to liberate the corporates from unfocussed approach and make them understand the importance of discipline in their professional careers.
“The targets which seemed outrageous when announced by their bosses felt doable post the walk!” she says. Kumar has been fire-walking for the past five years and says that situations around us are the same, only perspectives differ. And the fire-walk is a novel idea to teach the corporate that important lesson!
Space explorations
Raju Patel, 53, is an ace telescope manufacturer since 1978, which means, in his own words that “99 percent of the telescopes sold in India are mine”! Astronomy was a cherished hobby passed on to him by his father. Patel was all of 20 when he made his first telescope right in the comfort of his home.
He wasn’t an academic person and with an insufficient score to get admission in any college, he joined Sir JJ School of Arts. “I enrolled myself for a photography course and passed it with a first class,” says Patel. He was interested in sky photography but did not have the money to buy a telescope. That’s when he thought of manufacturing small telescopes and selling them.
He eventually bought himself an American telescope. “I developed an instant liking towards manufacturing telescopes and couldn’t stop myself after that,” he says. But the sailing hasn’t been smooth for him. He was taking care of the travel agency which his grand-father started and was manufacturing telescopes alongside. “I quit being a travel agent after 18 years for the sake of astronomy. Astronomy has always been my passion,” he adds.
Patel says that being a non-engineer has been a major disadvantage for him. “One has to be technologically sound to manufacture a telescope and that is exactly where I fell short. It took me a laborious one year to manufacture my first telescope. I did not get any help from anywhere and had only two American books as my reference on how to make telescopes,” he says. But manufacturing telescope was his calling and Patel continues to do the same with penchant and dedication.
‘Different’ was the only word in their dictionary and ‘impossible’ had no place. With a will to make a difference in their lives, they ventured into territories where no one dared. And today, for these three individuals, there is no looking back!
Mind Speaks – Life without Ctrl C and Ctrl V and Story telling
Life without Ctrl C and Ctrl V
The other day, I was reading an article on Research written by Mr. C.S.V. Ratnam, Director of IMI, New Delhi. In his article, he was mentioning that Indian Business School doesn’t seem to make even a feeble attempt to prioritise research. A parallel swim search on the www ocean on a different subject about leading Professional and business schools in India confirmed his statement. Many times we see excessive dependence on usage of Ctrl C and Ctrl V keys of the computer while preparing reports. It is ok to a certain extent. However, blind copying without even reading or proof checking ends up in disasters. This trend will reduce the creative and innovative aspect of knowledge delivery.
Story telling
I am surprised by another fact. There are people out there who think commonly about topics of current relevance. Yesterday, I was writing about passing on the old stories to our younger generations. And today, I get to read about a group of professionals – Kahani Inc – based in canada who are producing animation films based on old stories passed on by generations.
At the same time, I happened to read about Geeta Ramanujam of Bangalore. Geeta has run the Kathalaya Trust for ten years, to promote ‘positive national change through cultural literacy’. She holds workshops in schools, colleges and institutions across India and the world. She has swapped stories with a Cherokee Indian grandmother in Tennessee and with an old Xhosa bard in Africa. You could mail her at geetastory@gmail.com if you want to hear her.
Twenty20 Cricket
The way each match is being played and finished, the Twenty20 form of cricket will soon be the in-thing among the cricketing world. It is proving once again that for this form, we need players who has aggressive mindset without which they will not be able to deliver what they are required to. One player whom I feel sorry in this series is our Yuvraj Singh who has not shown so far fire in his eyes and power in his shots, resulting in less runs for him when he bats and more runs for his opposition when he bowls. Daniel Vettori clearly played a Captain’s knock by bowling well to take 4 key wickets for New Zealand. I hope we still have chances to get through to the semifinals if we play aggressive and infantry cricket with killer instinct.
The best thing so far seen is that all the players and viewers are enjoying it.
Crossword Puzzling
Almost every day, I work the crossword puzzle in one of the daily news. Some days, I find that the puzzle seems to solve itself quickly without any effort. Other days, I struggle with each and every answer. More often that not, I will get a few of the clues correct and when I return later, the answers to the very clues that eluded me before seem to present themselves. Once I get one answer completed, often it provides me with the letters that I need to solve the other clues.
I have found that life is a lot like crossword puzzles. Just as the puzzle themes vary each day, so do my “life’s” crossword puzzles. I have also found that the ease in solving some of my life’s puzzles also varies. It seems that the more problematic a life issue is for me, the more difficult it is to understand and solve for the clues. It is though I have to re-read the clue many times before I can understand what is being asked.
Perhaps I have difficulty with these puzzles because I am unwilling to set aside preconceived ideas of what the answers should be. Or I unconsciously distort the question so that the answer will completely elude me. Fortunately, with the paper puzzle, I only have to wait until the next day to get the missing words and, with them, a better understanding of the questions. Unfortunately, the solutions to life’s puzzles don’t come the next day, or even as quickly as I would like.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have dictionary with the possible solutions to life’s puzzles like the dictionary for crossword puzzles? It would be great to be able to look up a clue and the possible solutions. I could select one, see if it “fits” and fill in another blank space in my life. For example, what if I could look up the solutions for “impatience?” Perhaps it would include suggestions like, “to everything there is a time and season.” For those days when I don’t seem to have a clue as to why I am so scattered in my thinking, perhaps the solutions would include, “where the focus flows the energy goes.”
Perhaps that may be another one of my life goals, to think of developing a dictionary to help with the daily crossword puzzle. In the meantime, I will continue to use a pencil and eraser to rub out my mistakes and enter the correct responses.
I would like to end today’s note with the affirmation that “Everyday I will voluntarily tackle the crossword puzzle of my life with the intent to answer all of the clues.”
God Bless and Have a puzzle-less week ahead.
Ramesh Menon
16092007
Breaking the higher education logjam
Breaking the higher education logjam
14 Sep, 2007, 0030 hrs IST,Manoj Pant,
In the last few articles this columnist had argued that inclusive growth requires the universal dissemination of primary and high school education rather than higher education. In this, the government is well equipped to do the needful as more than 90% of the (primary) school-going population is enrolled in government schools.
All that is required is decentralisation of schools and eliminating political interference to ensure accountability. But, crucially, enabling participatory growth requires basic skills for which the groundwork is laid in schools rather institutions of higher learning.
The inability to appreciate this has led to a situation where the private sector complains of a lack of skilled labour while there is a growing army of the educated unemployed in most states. Last month, this column had shown that this is a problem of ‘inappropriate’ secondary education rather than a lack of universities. Yet, the mess in higher education continues.
To the government, the solution to higher education seems to lie in increasing expenditure. One example is the proliferation of distance education models. Typically, distance education is a means of reducing the expenses of face-to-face education in the standard universities without reducing the value of the basic degree. Distance education reduces the fixed costs of operating in the classical university mode.
This is hardly true in India, given the high costs of modern technology. Consider the rather absurd system now operating in India where every state is setting up its own open university. But distance education is supposed to be the alternative to setting up a host of geographically separated universities. Why then do we need an open university in each state? About a year ago this writer was invited as an expert in discussing the course content of the post graduate economics programme of the Uttarakhand open university.
When it was pointed out that a course content without emphasis on quantitative methods would be meaningless, one was told that with quantitative courses there would be no takers! And when one suggested that perhaps then the course should not be offered, there was disbelief. That was the last one heard from the authorities!
It is even stranger that distance education is supposed to provide vocational courses, which crucially depends on hands-on practical experience. There is a pressing need for such courses, but here the private sector is far ahead of the state. As argued in earlier columns, the supply of vocational education must respond to the demands of the private sector which can vary on a continuous basis. Universities, however, are not geared to meet such demands.
What then should be the objective of higher education, particularly in our state universities? The main aim should be to further the R&D requirements of the country. Anyone who has followed the history of inventions will observe that more than 90% of such inventions first happened in universities and reported in scientific publications.
It is only later that the private sector came in to fund the application of such inventions to everyday life. Yet, the link between industry and universities is the subject of great suspicion in India. It is not surprising then that very few students want to study science at the university level and even China is ahead of India in the role its universities will play in promoting R&D.
Where then are we headed? The prognosis for state run higher education is grim. For, universities have become highly politicised. In less than one year we have ‘progressed’ from the case of the late Prof Sabharwal in Bhopal to the vice chancellor of Lucknow, who needed court intervention to function, to the recent banning of all student union elections in Uttar Pradesh.
To many students, university life has become a way of promoting their political careers with little regard for academic excellence. Surprisingly, it needed a Lyngdoh committee to discover this! Even more unfortunate, universities are judged today on the basis of populous quantitative indicators (number of students per faculty, number of PhDs produced, etc.,) rather than their contribution to promoting long term R&D efforts of the country.
Yet, India has one of the best structures of higher education, at least among the developing countries. The crucial issue today is the shortage of teachers, not universities. To use modern language, the problem is software, not hardware. Universities (particularly state universities) need to be given greater autonomy from state (and hence political) control as this is crucial to serious research.
Dismantling this structure and replacing it with one of dedicated institutes and private universities seems to be the current trend. As in other matters, ten years down the line we will look at China and wonder where we failed. But it is still not too late.
(The author is professor, Centre for International Trade and Development, School of International Studies, JNU)
Corporate affair: Make yourself count
Corporate affair: Make yourself count
Most people at the workplace inhabit the far extremes of the spectrum: They either behave like sheep or treat others like them. While the former appear inordinately conditioned by their childhood morals to never come across as pushy, demanding, fussy or impatient, the latter seem to reckon that high decibels and absolutism are the only levers of advancement in a dog-eat-dog world.
The ever-elusive golden median, the trait of assertiveness that has for long been the staple of personal development experts, psychotherapists and self-help books alike, is being increasingly hailed as the make-or-break leadership quality. And yet, in a society split across plastic politeness and presumptive boldness, assertiveness continues to take a bad rap.
In a series of studies carried recently by the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Daniel Ames of Columbia Business School and Francis Flynn of Stanford Graduate School of Business have reported a trend that assertiveness seldom qualified as leadership strength when colleagues evaluated one another. On the contrary, it often got bracketed as a weakness, either because the person came across as too aggressive or a pushover. And while the right balance may just be the stuff boardroom role models are made of, striking it is indeed difficult.
Sulajja Firodia Motwani, managing director, Kinetic Motor Company, draws attention to the fluid interpretations of assertiveness at the workplace. “If you are in a leadership role, it is your ability to manage your team effectively so that you can discharge your responsibility effectively. If you are a part of the team, it is your ability to express your thoughts and contribute to team discussions in a meaningful and equal manner. If you are representing your employer in outside meetings or negotiations, assertiveness means communicating your preferences and effectively guarding your interests,” she says.
“One is not being assertive if, in response to someone else’s aggressiveness, one finds oneself doing things that one does not want to do because they are unethical, outside authorised codes of conduct, or outside the job description,” opines Dr Hemant C. Sashittal, a professor of management at the Rochester, New York-based St. John Fisher College.
“Overt assertiveness is when one tries to make a point and change the behaviour of others by trying to argue and win one’s point of view without any public invitation to scrutinise their argument for logic and data, and without offering hard, confirmable evidence to support one’s argument.”
“Assertiveness inevitably conjures up negative images of aggression and combativeness,” avers Rajiv Narang, CMD, Erehwon Innovation Consulting. “This form of assertiveness creates defensiveness and negatively impacts relationships and results, and becomes the greatest block to innovation. Positive assertiveness is the courage needed to express a disconnect with a ‘different point of view’ or with another person’s style of engagement. It is the capacity to not say ‘yes’ when you mean ‘no’ or ‘maybe’; it is the willingness to put forth a radical, unconventional idea without the fear of ridicule; it is the ability to openly express disagreement with a superior without antagonising him or her.”
“Assertiveness is when we weigh others’ rights as well as ours equally,” explains Dr. Sanjay Chugh, senior consultant psychiatrist. “This means being truthful to ourselves and respectful towards others. Assertiveness at the workplace does not mean that we say no to some work because we don’t feel like doing it. It just means that we stand up for ourselves, do not let others trample upon us, and ask for whatever we think is our right. At the workplace, like elsewhere, compromising on things that are important to us will only suffocate us.”
Ames states that an individual’s personality has a strong bearing on his assertiveness. Extroverts, for instance, are likely to be assertive. Often, he observes, people tend to affiliate themselves with like personalities, who then reinforce their behaviour. Experts cannot emphasise enough the need for periodic reality checks on one’s assertiveness. Business psychologists suggest that seeking feedback from colleagues and bosses on how one is perceived or taking stock of whether one is getting the desired results are among the best ways to figure out if one is not being assertive enough or being too assertive in a self-serving manner.
According to Narang, most Indian organisations suffer from a ‘public agreement or public silence’ and ‘private disagreement’ culture. “This breeds mistrust and suspicion and completely dilutes innovative possibilities. Most Indian organisations, both the new players and the legacy organisations, have a hierarchical culture that kills the openness needed to nurture positive assertiveness,” he points out.
As Marie Reid and Richard Hammersley write in Communicating Successfully in Groups: A Practical Guide for the Workplace: “More assertive people tend to have good self-esteem, compared to passive or aggressive people, because self-esteem and assertion are inter-related.”
Ames points out that while overly assertive people tend to be too optimistic and assume too much on other people’s behalf, pushovers may be pessimistic and fear angry reactions to their questions. Changing these attributes, he believes, is more about changing one’s expectations. Ames explains that possessing the right amount of assertiveness is also a matter of reading a situation and fine-tuning one’s style accordingly.
So what degree of assertiveness is indeed right for the workplace? Sulajja Firodia Motwani says that there are three steps to this ladder: assertive, aggressive and abrasive. “The ‘assertive’ is important, I like the ‘aggressive’ too, but I draw a line at ‘abrasive’,” she says. “To me, ‘aggressive’ indicates a strong will and the wish to impose that will, and that isn’t necessarily bad. But it can be a fine line between aggressive and abrasive. Abrasive is when you begin to rub people the wrong way through your attitude and that’s not professional.”
Dr Sashittal thus describes the hallmark of proper assertiveness: “First, is trust being built after every exchange of information? Second, is value being created after every exchange of information? Third, have you maintained your integrity? Fourth, and most important, when people agree in a meeting, does that agreement reflect a deep-seated internal commitment? If people are browbeaten into submission, they sabotage the implementation,” he concludes.
Chak De: Fighting tooth and nail with a team spirit
Chak De: Fighting tooth and nail with a team spirit
15 Sep, 2007, 0316 hrs IST,Apurva Purohit,
Team games have long been seen as character building sports by the world. In Chak De, the allegorical reference to hockey has been used to talk about larger issues assailing our country and much has been written about that, from gender empowerment to the eternal battle between the attention paid to cricket versus all other sports.
For me the movie was, however, a reaffirmation of how sports can teach us some basic lessons in manage-ment, which help mould us as managers and corporate executives, for the better.
Among the many good things my alma mater, Stella Maris College in Chennai, believed in, a 360 degree effort to develop the mind, the soul and the body was key. As such, willingly or unwillingly all of us had to sign up for a sport the moment we entered the hallowed portals of the greatest women’s college in South India.
Serendipitously, I joined the hockey coaching sessions and much to everyone’s surprise, including mine, ended up getting selected as part of the college team. To everyone’s further surprise and shock my short sporting career graph rose sharply with me playing for the Madras University and the Tamil Nadu state team in the three years I spent at Stella.
What was even more surprising was that I ended up enjoying the sport very much! The early morning practices, the gut wrenching situps, the straps chafing into ankles, the navy blue bruises all over our legs, all paled into insignificance against the camaraderie of the team, the satisfying thwack of the ball into the opponent team’s goal post and the glory of various saves made with a courageous leap at the ball.
We were a motley group of girls from all parts of the state from sophisticated Chennai to not-so-sophisticated North Arcot and Selam. One of the first tournaments we played was at the All India National Women’s annual meet. Of course, we were no match for the strapping players from Punjab, the hardy Haryanvis, or the quicksilver teams of the North East . We lost the first two matches by a wide margin and it was rare for the ball to even cross into the opposite side of the field.
As the goalkeeper of the team, I decided that I was culpable for the losses and got into an extremely defeatist frame of mind. I was convinced I would be dropped from the next game and for the next match while the rest of the team went about the business of practicing and warming up, I stood around moping and made no attempts to get into the spirit whatsoever. The team was announced and I was indeed, dropped as the goal-keeper.
We, of course, lost that match too. My coach walked up to me later on and told me that she had decided to drop me, not because of the previous losses (according to her it was the team which had as a whole failed and no fault could be ascribed to any single individual) but I was dropped because she could not afford to have a goal keeper who had lost the desire to win and as such would not even attempt to play well It was not losing the game but my negativity and unwillingness to warm up and get going which had de-termined whether I would be part of the team or not.
Through my demeanor I had clearly indicated to her that in my mind I had already lost the game much be-fore stepping on the field .As coach her duty was to send on the field a team which was willing to at least try till the final whistle even though the odds were clearly stacked against us!
This happened nearly twenty years ago but I have never forgotten that lesson. The reality in life is that one has to keep trying ceaselessly and continuously in whatever one under takes. Wins and losses will be part of every endeavor but to give up at any stage, till the very end, cannot be an option. Especially as managers and executives, everyday there will be something that will not go our way but we have to keep pushing, striving, trying.
( The author is CEO of Radio City )
To retain talent, provide faster growth options
‘To retain talent, provide faster growth options’
15 Sep, 2007, 0034 hrs IST,Shreya Biswas,
An unknown entity just two years ago, Subhiksha Trading Services has now become a household name in Northern India. In existence for almost 10 years, the company set foot in NCR two years back and rapidly expanded its presence to 125 stores in nine months. Subhiksha Trading Services’ president (manpower) Shashi Kanth S S explains the company’s strategy and people issues.Excerpts:
Shashi Kanth S S
President(Manpower), Subhiksha Trading Services
Your focus on cost cutting extends to your selection of office place too. Please
elaborate.
We look at affordable locations as we try to save at least 40% of the cost. But we do provide good interiors and comfortable working environment. However, what is critical is that we make a clear distinction between necessity and waste. This principle always governs our actions at Subhiksha. In fact, we try to cut costs so that we can pass it on to the consumers.
In terms of job stability, are employees from small towns more stable than their metro counterparts?
Yes, they are more stable. And it’s due to a number of reasons. These guys leave their hometowns for employment; they come with various inhibitions and don’t want to switch jobs frequently. Consequently, they stay back with a company, build up their confidence, try to understand the business and the job market scenario. Besides, these people are not culturally-inclined to job-hopping. Moreover, most of the people in small towns are employed in government organisations and a job for them means stability.
With retail sector facing severe talent crunch, how do you think players would get the best talent?
Organisations with strong fundamentals always attract good talent. Good learning climate, aggressive growth (both business as well as rewards), good people practices, defined career progression plan and an objective reward system would help in attracting best talent. Specifically, if we talk about retail, it will be cutting down hierarchy. That way, it will allow junior employees or anyone in the organisation reach out to the top bosses directly, share their problems and ideas. Globally, too, if you see, retail companies had people rising through the ranks. Hence, in the Indian context, if you need talented people to stay back, you have to give them the fast growth option.
Companies are increasingly providing opportunities to their employees to pursue higher studies. Do you think such firms will eventually become universities for youngsters who otherwise couldn’t afford quality education or didn’t have the time?
Creating employability is the cornerstone of tapping and using the vast potential of human capital available in India. Most organisations would like to nurture talent and it’s true for retail organisations too, where people grow from within to occupy higher positions. We also run internal schools where we nurture talented people in order to make them employable in the retail industry. This has been one of the a key initiatives of Subhiksha. And most of the talent that the school has churned out so far, has been enough for us to meet our expansion plans
Why we cannot tolerate criticism
Why we cannot tolerate criticism
13 Sep, 2007, 0005 hrs IST,PARAMAHAMSA SRI NITHYANANDA, TNN
A lady came to me complaining that she is hurt by even small criticisms coming from others. She said she was very sensitive.
I asked her to stop using that word. I said, ‘You are not sensitive. A really sensitive person will be porous; she will allow the words to pass through her. Only arrogant people get hurt. If you are hurt, please understand that you are arrogant. You are strong like a stone, which is why words come and hit you.’
A sensitive person would have allowed the words pass through her; she will never suffer. Even if someone is deliberately rude, a sensitive person understands where such a person is coming from and is not defensive.
Suffering is always from arrogance, never from sensitivity. A person who is sensitive will never suffer. A sensitive person will suffer on account of another person in distress, not for oneself.
You suffer from words when you stop them, when you resist them, when you create your own meaning out of them. When we do not create our own meanings out of words, we do not suffer. We play with words. We always choose nice words to support our ego. We do not say, ‘I am hurt because I am arrogant.’ We always use polished words such as, ‘I am hurt because I am sensitive.’ Please don’t cheat yourself with words. Let your words be unfiltered by your ego.
Let me tell you a small story:
Once, a contractor wanted to donate a sports car to an official. The official refused, saying, “I am an honest person and I cannot think of accepting this gift.” The contractor asked him, “In that case how would it be if I sell you this car for Rs 10?’ The official replied immediately, ‘In that case, I will have two cars!’
When an untruth is wrapped in gift packing, you forget you have a problem. You accept it without a murmur. However, when truth is presented bare, you do protest. Presented bare, truth hurts; ego cannot tolerate truth easily.
We are so concerned about politically and socially correct statements, it seems no longer acceptable for anyone to speak the truth. But it seems to be perfectly acceptable to lie in a politically correct manner.
Ramakrishna says beautifully, ‘Let your words and mind be straightened.’ Whatever is, let it be offered straight without filtering. Learn to accept truth bare. At least you will know you have a problem that you can solve.
Staying efficient
Staying efficient
By Jyoti Kalsi, Gulf News Report GULF NEWS Published: September 15, 2007, 23:04
Fasting during Ramadan has many beneficial effects on our mind, body and spirit. But special care must be taken to ensure that the change in diet and daily routine does not affect our efficiency at work.
Those who have strenuous or outdoor jobs are particularly at risk and must take precautions against accidents due to weakness or dehydration.
Tabloid! spoke to Dr Zarqa Taimur, a specialist in Internal Medicine and Occupational Medicine. Dr Taimur is a member of the Royal Society of Occupational Medicine, the Royal College of Physicians of London, the International Organisation of Safety and Health (IOSH), the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) and the American College of Occupational Environmental Medicine. She provided these tips for employers and employees to ensure a safe Ramadan at the workplace.
Workers such as those operating machines or working on construction sites can be at great risk if they ignore signs of weakness or dehydration that could lead to a collapse. It is advisable to be alert to early symptoms and take a break or seek medical advice.
Symptoms to watch out for
– Dizziness
– Headaches
– Severe weakness
– Blackout or fainting
– Drowsiness on the job
– Inability to concentrate
– Exhaustion
– If you do not feel well, say so and get help. Remember if you have a health problem or are travelling, you are exempt from fasting.
Diet
This month our diet should not differ very much from our normal diet. It should be simple and nutritious to help us maintain our normal body weight or lose weight in case we are overweight.
Recommended diet
Iftar: Up to three dates, one cup orange juice, half cup boiled chick peas with salt and pepper and one cup fruit salad preferably without added sugar or spices.
Dinner: Two slices of whole wheat bread or one cup rice or pasta. Half cup cooked vegetables like okra, spinach or potatoes, chicken, fish or mutton curry, fresh salad, yoghurt, 10 roasted, unsalted nuts and tea or coffee.
Sohour: Whole wheat bread or one cup rice, porridge or cereal. Half cup cooked vegetables or vegetable salad, one orange or half cup grapes, tea or coffee.
How to work optimally
– Reduce working hours
– If possible, work after breaking the fast
– Pace your work and take frequent breaks
– Wear loose comfortable clothes to allow air circulation
– If possible, shower during the shift and change your uniform to stay fresh
– Be extra careful if you have recently returned from vacation or are new to the job
– Rinse or brush mouth frequently as fasting causes a bad odour
After the fast
– Drink plenty of water; those who work indoors with little physical activity should drink six to eight glasses, while those with more physically demanding jobs need to have at least four litres of water.
– Avoid too much tea or coffee as it dehydrates
– Include plenty of fruits in your diet
– Reduce meat and take more porridge and soup
– Avoid excessive fatty food
– Get adequate rest and sleep; avoid heavy social agendas
– Take a stool softener or bulk forming herbal supplement to reduce constipation
Have a medical problem?
– Diabetics: Those taking insulin injections should not fast; fasting can cause loss of consciousness and death. Those who use tablets to control the disease can fast; but they must adjust the medication timings and must continue normal diet restrictions. Some diabetics report better control of sugar levels during fasting.
– Hypertension or high blood pressure: You can fast, but must continue dietary restrictions. Change the medication time from morning to after beginning the fast. Blood pressure tends to fall during fasting.
– Asthmatics, ulcer patients and people with heart disease: Fast if disease is not severe and controlled by medication. Adjust the timing for drugs and maintain dietary restrictions.
– Fasting during pregnancy, lactation or after childbirth: is optional; it can be postponed to a later time.
– Injections or intravenous medication, which is solely medical and not nutritional, is permitted during fasting. Use of eye and eardrops as well as rinsing the mouth and nose are allowed.
Common symptoms during fasting
– Energy levels drop, especially in the first three days as the body adjusts to stored glucose
-Dehydration is experienced more acutely in the first few days because the body takes some time to adjust and start conserving fluids
– Drowsiness due to changes in sleeping and eating patterns
n Headaches, constipation and irritability are other factors commonly experienced during the first few days of fasting- However, most people acclimatise within one week of fasting and energy levels improve
– In the later days of fasting, people often experience exhaustion and feeling cold
The body’s metabolism
– Our diet includes foods containing carbohydrates, fats and proteins
-The body’s main source of energy is glucose derived from the breakdown of food
– Normally the body has enough reserves of glucose in the liver to last 24 hours
– After that is uses energy reserves stored in the muscles
– Its final and maximum reserves are stored in the form of fats
– During Ramadan, when one fasts for less than 24 hours, the body uses its stores of glucose from the liver; in those with high activity jobs other reserves are used too.
Points to remember
– Cut down on coffee and tobacco a week before Ramadan to avoid headaches
– Avoid fatty food, too much coffee or tea, food containing too much sugar such as carbonated drinks
– Eat unrefined and fibre rich foods such as brown bread, barley, oats, beans and lentils to avoid constipation
– Eat leafy veggies, fruits, dry fruits and milk products
– Take adequate fluids and salt to avoid lethargy
– Eat three to four hours before bed time
Mind Speaks – Passing the baton, War is on & The Art of coming, Coming and Still Coming……
In the recent times in international news media we see an influx of advertisements coming out with yoga postures in them to promote a variety of produce from building projects to automobiles to investments schemes. One thing we can be proud of from these ads is the fact that we belong to a country of Tradition, Values and Culture. Even if we do not try to promote them, the roots planted by our ancestors have grown sufficiently enough to give the plants of their hard work to promote those values to current and future generations to come.
Welcome to read through Team 1 news’s Mind Speak column dated 15092007.
Passing the baton
The holy month of Ramadan started and it suddenly brings an air of devout feeling all around. People are more dutiful and accept their virtues and values during this auspicious month. It is at this point of time that I think about our immediate elders who live with us. It can be our grandfather, grandmother or uncles. How many of them now have the time to pass on stories or values of moral experience to our children. Not many, as they are all busy with their own scheme of things and worldly pleasures. Very few find a little extra time to sit with our children and pass on some extra special thing which they have in them. Probably most of them are busy with finding what they missed in someone and correct him or her or may be finding time to see what is happening with the sequence of the TV serial currently on. They miss a golden opportunity to groom a young generation immediately in front of them, who are waiting for a soft and gentle touch, which is extra special, and which they all are looking forward to. I hope they open their eyes and remember what they received from their own elders which made them more precious to the society.
War is On and the Expression of expressionless
The Twenty20 World Cup cricket is on in South Africa and by now we have seen some exciting cricket matches. One such match was the one where Zimbabwe beat the reigning world champions Australia. For the Australian team captain Rickey Ponting and his members, it was time to understand their ego. It was an expression of expressionless. Zimbabwe taught many lessons including one to West Indian team that if you field well and hold on to your catches, you can win matches. This format of cricket seems to be interesting at least from the Indian productivity point of view. Any cricket match anywhere in the world, will attract Indian viewers and if it happens to be a 50 over a side match, the productivity loss is that much. This shorter format saves a considerable amount of energy and resources at least in that aspect.
One more factor that interests me about this format is the combat element required while playing in this Twenty20 format. A player has to be fit, aggressive, alert, athletic and should have the urge to go for a kill while playing in. They are now in the same situation of a soldier from an infantry battalion, who has to go out in the battle field face the enemy straight away. It is here he claims his upper hand if he gets to kill one or many of his opponents before he himself succumbs to their bullets. This was proved when India batted against Pakistan yesterday. The urge to go for a kill was not there in the eyes and body gestures of players like Virendar Shewag and Yuraj Singh. And they failed miserably with their batting. India won the match with the bowl out going in favor of them. Full marks to Mahendra Singh Dhoni for his selection of bowlers for the bowl out as he did not give the pacers the initial go at the stumps and selected the slow and accurate bowlers who were right on target. Pakistan on the other hand, lost their scheme of things or I wonder where the mango trees in Pakistan gone these days. Even if do not have sufficient mango trees, we have proved by winning the bowl out that we have plenty of Public transport busses on the road to aim at and practice for a bowl out win. The pace bowlers did well within their limitations, especially Irfan Pathan. This is a killing field for bowlers, and whoever who comes out with less than 8 runs per over is a great bowler. There will be plenty of actions on this in the coming days.
The Art of Coming, coming, and still coming……….
It happens many time that we come across people who makes promises to us that they will deliver us a service within a stipulated time. They take up many things at the same time or due to the simple fact that they are not qualified enough to do the service which they are required to do, fail to deliver what they promise and keep on telling that, it is coming and on the way and will even give a time limit saying that – no sir, I will confirm it you before 12:30. Probably, he is too clever not to mention the day/date of this important 12:30 and we will sit and wait for such a 12:30 to happen. These days, we see many customer service representatives and authorities who practice this Art of Coming, coming and still coming…….. Unfortunately, I am suffering from one such group and my Team 1 news is specially dedicated to all of them who practice this art without knowing what they can or will be able to deliver. These days, a phone call, a sms, or an email stating the reason for the delay will very much avoid the wait, agony and planning disorder at the end of the valuable customer.
Taxi and transportation problem in Abu Dhabi.
Last but not the least, I cannot end my weekly round up with the support I am getting from unknown sources to express their feelings to the authorities through newspaper columns.
I remember seeing a movie Savage Harvest when I was a child. The story was on the famine situation in an African country, where by predatory animals coming out from the jungle and fighting it out to eat a whole village. The situation in the streets of Abu Dhabi is slowly getting to such a scene very soon, when you will see taxi users will fight their way in if ever they get to see a taxi coming.
I am doing my small bit of campaign to open the eyes of the authorities through newspaper columns and by other means. Suggestions have been made to introduce a Q system in all the taxi stops and also to introduce Circular public transport service within the main streets of Abu Dhabi to reduce the transportation problem of general public. If you wish to join me in this initiative, you may also forward your own thoughts and expressions to the situation to letter2editor@gulfnews.com. You may also send this to any of your friend or colleague who may be able to express it in a much better way to the authorities concerned. Finally, what we need is smooth transportation for general public to go and come back from work and to move around.
God bless and have a great week ahead.
Ramesh Menon
15092007
All for one, once and for all
All for one, once and for all
Khushwant Singh, Hindustan Times September 14, 2007
We are one nation: the consciousness of being one people has grown over the last 60 years and stood the test of unity whenever our borders have been encroached upon by our neighbours. But we have yet to become an integrated nation.
Community differences persist, and far too often manifests in ugly forms — sometimes by outbreaks of communal violence, other times in demonstrations by publicity-seekers pretending their religious susceptibilities are hurt by something someone has said or done. I give a few examples from recent times.
A few nights ago in Agra, a truck hit four men returning from Shab-e-barat. As it happens far too often: people in this vicinity vented their anger by setting fire to trucks, buses, cars and vandalising shops. When it was discovered that the four men injured by the errant truck were Muslims, the violence turned into a Muslim riot. The only explanation is that though outwardly we appear as one people, we have yet to become actually integrated.
Two Sikh members of Parliament, the cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu of the Lok Sabha and Tarlochan Singh of the Rajya Sabha, were shown participating in a havan, performing a Hindu ritual. Sidhu belongs to the Hindu BJP; Tarlochan Singh was elected by BJP’s support.
At Har-ki-Pauri in Hardwar, I’ve seen many perform pooja; they come to immerse the ashes of their relatives and have pandas; all of whom are Hindus, perform Hindu rituals before immersing the ashes. No one finds it unusual. But now both Sidhu and Tarlochan Singh are being castigated for indulging in un-Sikh practices. The inference is that though Sikhs are a part of the Hindu mainstream, there are vociferous elements that are trying to prevent their integration.
All of us — Hindus, Muslim, Christians and Sikhs — have become over-sensitive and touchy about what we construe as attacks on our cherished beliefs.
Some Sikhs are out on the streets protesting against immigration officials examining Sikh turbans before letting them in. But I have not heard anyone protesting against having to surrender their kirpans before they board planes bound for foreign countries. There is no logic behind the protests but they generate the much sought-after publicity.
There are quite a few people who are forever on the look out for what they can construe as attacks on their religion.
Leading a pack are Sushma Swaraj and Murli Manohar Joshi. More than once after they have proclaimed themselves as defenders of their faith, they found that, in fact, no one had actually said or done anything that could be remotely interpreted as offensive to anyone. It is pathetic.
What remains now to knit us all together into one nation, in the true sense of the word, is a more person-to-person relationship between members of different communities. We need more family-to-family mingling, and we must abolish the feeling of ‘us and they’, and actually manage to cultivate the spirit of We Indians.
Baba and his Hen
Human-animal bonding is often more emotive than relationships between humans themselves. Without doubt dogs come first on the list. They respond to human affection more than any other animal and give much more in return for what they get.
However, if a person has more than one as his or her pet, they get half of what they get if they had only one. Cats come next. They cuddle up, love sitting on peoples’ laps and purr in self-satisfaction. But they are selfish creatures and will do the same to anyone who gives them a bowl of milk.
Birds like parrots, mynahs and partridges also get attached to their masters. My friends Romesh and his German wife Ella have a grey African parrot in their large multi-storeyed apartment in Frankfurt. It spends most of its time in a cage, even though the cage is never shut. When Romesh returns from work, in the evenings, the parrot goes wild with joy. It flies around the room, squawks loudly before settling on its master’s turban. Then it perches on his shoulders, tweeks his beard as if its kissing him.
Another friend, Tristan-Jones, kept a donkey in his large unkempt garden of his house in Birchington by the sea.
Every evening, when he returns home, as soon as it hears the sound of its master’s car, the donkey goes berserk, starts galloping wildly, kicking its hind legs in the air and braying hee haw to the skies. It then follows its master into the house, is given a few carrots or sugar cubes before it starts to cool down. Then it put its head in Tristan’s lap and looks at his face adoringly with its large soulful eyes, occasionally snorting liquid out of its flayed nostrils.
Tristan pats its head, kisses its nose and talks lovingly to it before he greets his wife, Analie, and the children. The donkey then trots back into the garden.
But one picture I have will never go out of my mind is of Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna, the founding father of the Indian Ghadar Party in America. He was then in his 80s, bent double with age and living alone in a mud hut outside his village, Bhakna, between Lahore and Amritsar.
When I went to visit him, he was lying on a charpoy talking to somebody I could not see. Just above his charpoy was an alcove in which sat a brown hen with its head sticking out. I sat down on a stool, the only piece of furniture in that room, and I started asking him about his past and his days in America (the Ghadar Party and his years in jail). I hadn’t finished this conversation when the hen started cackling. It became louder, and more persistent. Baba admonished her: “Sabar Kar — be patient.”
But it went on and on getting louder and louder. We could not carry on our dialogue, “Achha bhai, too jittee — okay, you win,” he said. And he slowly got up from the charpoy and hobbled to the alcove, put his hand in and brought a freshly laid egg to show to his hen. He patted her on her head and said, “Shabaash — well done! Ab bahaar ja kay khelo — now go and play outside.” The hen clucked in gratitude and went out of the room to let us finish our dialogue.
ClicksandWrites 
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