The Invisible people : Blog # 240

The Invisible people

This is that time of the year where I travel a lot for work. Today evening, I was travelling from a University guest house to a hotel. I was busy on my phone. Twenty minutes or so later, I looked up and saw a vast field rich with fertile brown soil bordered with green waving plants to the backdrop of a majestic mountain. Realizing what I have been missing, I locked my phone and stared out of the car’s window.

A while later, I asked the driver where he lives. He said he lives quite close to the university. I asked him if his family also stays with him. He said yes. I told him that he didn’t seem like much of a talker. He said he is but then he is not used to his passengers talking to him much. He went on to add that people of my age will be busy with the phone. Those who are older will keep staring in to a newspaper or a magazine. No one talks to us. That last sentence made me feel strange. Was it sadness, was it realization or was it shame? I do not know. I continued listening to him realizing that having people to listen to what you have to say is indeed a privilege.

Earlier in the day, I remember a staff in the university who helps with the chores serving us tea and snacks. I was busy signing off certain documents. The second time when she came, my colleague looked up and said thank you. She had a puzzled expression. The person sitting next to me told the lady that he was thanking her. She smiled and said that she understood what my colleague said. It is just that she isn’t used to being thanked.

Due to the continual travel for work, I try to stay in the same hotel at the cities that I visit. It is my way of holding on to whatever little certainty I can find in the madness of being a wanderer. The bag that I was carrying was quite heavy. The person who carried it was lifting the bag and bringing it. I asked him to roll it so that it will be easier for him. He said at times when he rolls it, people feel bad.  I said if he continued lifting bags instead of rolling them, he will get back pain. He looked at me and said that people aren’t really concerned.

At times, my friends and I go for late night dinner. When we come back, most of our apartment would have gone to bed. There is one group of people who gets most affected by our odd timings – the security guards. On one such night, we were getting in and my friend said “Senthil Anna, we are sorry we made you wait.” He smiled and said that I will stay awake for all the days that you come late just to hear my name being called and not just “Security!”

            It doesn’t take much to make people feel relevant. However busy we are, let us show them, the invisible people around us that they matter to us.

Special thanks to my friend Vivek, for putting this thought in my head.

To Smile or not to... : Blog #239

To Smile or not to...

I woke up to the nasal sound of alarm clock lady. I wonder why all the alarm sounds have nasal voices. I almost tripped over the small bedside table. Sam, my younger brother must have entered my room again. I like my things in order. How many times does one tell! I am tired of fighting with him over this.

The cab driver was more cheerful than usual. He is finally going to get married. In his own words, he has found his rear view mirror. For him, a life partner is a rear view mirror who tells him what he shouldn’t forget when he is busy getting ahead in life – the people he should care for, the values he shouldn’t lose and the path he should go back to once in a while. Trust my cab driver to give life lessons!

The security person who otherwise opens the door for me should have been lost in thought. I paused and asked him about his ailing father startling him. He said that his father is breathing his last. I told him to take a leave and that I will talk to his manager. He said no one saw his plight except me. I liked the words he used.

It was the third file in the drawer that I had to process today. I took it out and calls my dear friend, Veena. Chirpy as ever, she wanted to check if I will be able to make it to her place in the evening. She was having a party. I said “Of course! Party  and me not attending, are you kidding me?” She commented on my skills on being sarcastic getting better with age. “Come on, be a sport! See some new people, have some good food, it hasn’t killed anyone”, says she. I told her that I am more of a listener . After a momentary pause, she hinted at her very pretty friend, Avantika being there. I must admit, that bit of information did make me book a cab to her place for the night.

There was a meeting in the afternoon where I had to do a presentation on fighting racism. My colleague was kind enough to put up a deck for me. I worked on the theme that black and white exist only in one’s eyes. One shouldn’t let it enter one’s mind. The Vice President applauded me saying that if he can do it so wonderfully well, what’s your excuse guys? It was one of those moments where I did not know to smile at the compliment or not. Since I am being told I have a very endearing smile that reaches my eyes, I flaunted one. After all, it is one of those rare things that reach my eyes 

#Letsgiftvision #Letsdonateeyes 

Arun Babu

The months that were - 2015 : Blog # 238

The months that were - 2015

            Just to reinforce the thought that there is room for improvement in everything in this world, Google just restructured itself giving rise to ‘Alphabet’. Like is the case with most of the world corporate affairs, an Indian had a key role in it and was designated as the CEO of Google part of it, Mr. Sundar Pichai. As much as we all were in agreement to that change, I am not sure how many of us like the new logo apparently based on the philosophy of minimalist design.

This year started off with Charlie Hebdo which reminds us of the loss of tolerance in the world around us. Is that why the gifted cartoonist, Shri.R.K Laxman who gave us the ‘Common Man’ decided to bid adieu from this world?

            Adding more power to women in the board room, Accenture appointed Rekha Menon as Chairperson of Accenture India’s operations. Speaking of women power, Tamil nadu Global Investors Meet saw a proposed investment plan of over 1 lakh crores with TN’s only-man-in-the-cabinet returning.

            The civil war in Syria is wreaking havoc making one wonder if it is leading to one of modern world’s largest refugee crises. Images of little children washing ashore from capsized boats of hoards of refugees seeking solace must prick at the conscience of mankind. Oil rich Arab nations are being asked as to why they are not opening their doors wider. About that, will shale gas emergence challenge the supremacy of OPEC nations in energy sector? If one were to believe Goldman Sachs, oil prices can hit a rock bottom of 20$ a barrel. But Al Saud family and cousins aren’t blinking.

            Global markets went in to a tizzy for fear of Grexit (Greek exit from Eurozone and reintroduction of its own earlier currency, drachma). Amid fears of default and shutting down the banks across the nation, Grexit was averted. Just when my Gujarati friends were about to say Jai Shri Krishna in relief, the stock markets crashed again, this time thanks to China. The dragon missed its factory output forecast and comes tumbling along, the capital markets world over.

For all the talk that e-commerce firms are burning cash in advertising and freebies, comes some good news. Flipkart has introduced some refreshingly new pro-employee HR policies. 6 months of career break? Now that’s unheard of in Indian corporate world. Chief People Officer, Mekin Maheshwari looks like he knows what he is doing when he talks about Employee Assistance program where in any Flipkart employee can get free guidance from professional experts in regards of personal life, career development, work-life stress, legal and financial issues.

It looks like Nestle is committed to bringing Maggi back. What was surprising was that Maggi was or should I say is such a strong brand that when it went down, it took the whole category along with it. People stopped consuming noodles altogether. Such is the power of a brand

It did not come as a surprise when Modi met Mark given the fact that how social media savvy our PM is. I wonder if Mark is planning to take up Swachh Bharat mission in Menlo Park, California too. Meanwhile, Apple has launched iPad Pro and Apple Pencil! Should faber-castell be worried; or closer home, Nataraj?

Recently read about the ongoing tussle between Indigo airlines and Tata Indigo w.r.t brand name. It has more to it when one thinks about the competing - less than an year old - Vistara airlines which also belongs to the Tata group.

The recent past took away from us, the great teacher, Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Kalam who inspired the world much more than most of India’s past presidents have managed to do collectively.

More blogs on Business : A blog on Coke Advertisment: 

http://praisesnbrickbats.blogspot.in/2015/07/darkness-new-wisdom-blog-221.html

Grief of homelessness : Blog # 237

Grief of homelessness

                These days, travel has become quite sexy. The reason why I use the word ‘sexy’ is not because there aren’t enough better words or adjectives. I could have used aspirational or appealing. But ‘sexy’ best describes how travel is being portrayed these days. All the posts on social media or little write ups with exotic pictures just show the short-lived positive aspects of a travel.  I understand romanticizing travel and that is acceptable. But now, it is getting a bit too much to the extent that people have started taking those articles with much seriousness than what they deserve. That reasons the use of the adjective ‘sexy’ which lacks depth and vastness.

            Travelling is indeed fun. The process of being on the move is like exercising ones imagination. One is constantly exposed to different things. There is less of certainty which usually brings along a tad bit of boredom. There is an assault of newness on our sensations. Our eyes perceive a new sight with every passing moment, the windows of memory which open with every new smell springs a surprise, our skin feels a new air every other mile we move. We somehow feel that we are being one with time. It is no longer us being on a pause and time on a fast forward.

            My contention here is how travel is being portrayed in a positive light by dumping down the value of certainty. Many a time, familiarity and certainty is shown in a poor light by use of one word – ‘boring’ ! How often have you heard some advertisement or the other speaking of same old boring work, boring car, boring spouse and such? It is fashionable to say that one needs new things. What we are forgetting is that those constants in Life are what add meaning to our existence. It is acceptable if you need newness in your life once in a while. But one cannot expect newness in every living moment!

            Certainty in life is like Home. Wherever you go, all of us need one place which we can call our own. One place, to come back to. One place where there are people whom we love. One place where there are things we have got used to. One place where we have grown up in. One place which smells of childhood.

As is with other things in life, so long as we have it, we do not realize its value. Home is certainty. To know what a home means to one’s existence, ask a wanderer. He/she will tell you that as much as they have enjoyed walking around the world, it would have been great to have had a place in the world to anchor their mind on to for the moment your mind starts wandering, it becomes difficult to hold oneself together.

            The picture listed here, of Aylan Kurdi which all of us have seen is one of the most moving ones in the history of mankind. It embodies the grief of homelessness. In the journey which his parents undertook to find a home cost that little baby, his destiny. Let the tears which roll down our souls for this little kid and his family help us see the immense value of the serene nest that is certainty.

Independent Much? : Blog # 236

Independent Much?

In a country tucked away in a vast desert, rulers can get away with almost anything. They have decided that a woman cannot move around if she is not accompanied by a man. Further to this, the man should be a relative. These kind of restrictions are there in each and every decision concerning a woman – be it her education, work, marriage or life at large.

In another country ravaged by war, people are not allowed to watch movies or hear music. The reasoning here is that enjoyment is a sin. It is not prescribed in the religious text to have a life. And who makes this decision for them? A group of people who wields not religious text books, but guns and grenades.

There are places in our world where speaking of a religion other than one which the particular country endorses can be blasphemous. One can face stringent punishments, as grave as death. So the logic is the moment you step inside the imaginary border line of my part of the world, your beliefs become wrong. If you keep your feet just outside the imaginary borderline of my country, your beliefs are right.

Now, what is the reasoning behind all these laws?? There are many absurd reasons. But I feel the reason why many of these rules are still in existence is because almost always a smaller population is affected by these decisions. The larger population feels since it doesn’t affect us, let it be. In some cases, it works in their favor. So be it then! No discussion needed. In some cases, the affected population might be of considerable size. But they are not influential enough to impact a decision.

We all agree that the above restrictions doesn’t make any sense. I mean how on earth can you put such restrictions on women! Isn’t that undermining their value and contribution towards our society? How can you tell people not to watch films and listen to music? Who are you to take that decision for others? Don’t even let me begin with the religious aspects. There are very few things in this world which are as absurd as saying you should find your God through my way!

          But many a time, we lose perspective and objectivity when it is about matters concerning ourselves. Is that the reason why now when I mention Beef ban and porn ban here, some of you at least will start justifying it?

Is Friendship over rated? : Blog # 235

Is Friendship over rated?

The other day, one of my cousins called up. We were chatting about random things. Some relatives bashing later, the topic of impending friendship day came in. He was reminiscing about how important this day was during our school and college days. How we used to wait to wish our friends and some friends-to-be! We were looking at how it has become less of an occasion and celebration these days due to our work and lesser chances to meet up. Then he said something which got me thinking. He said “I think friendship is overrated!”He said very few of those relationships last long. So what is the whole point?

I couldn’t wrap my mind around that thought. It is true that not all friendships last a lifetime. Many a time, we remain friends with people for a very short time – may be for a year, may be throughout school or through college. Later on, some of us do try to keep in touch. Then when the chores of living slowly begin to take the spirit out of life, friendship and being in touch takes a back seat.

But think about this. If those people were not there in those times of your life, how bland life would have been! The moments of goofiness, happiness and of course the little mindless fights are what made our lives so memorable. Today, when I think of School life, about 5-6 faces come to my mind. They are the ones whom I was close to. The other faces have faded away. Like they say, it is not the days that we will remember later on. It is the moments which will bring a smile to our faces. Likewise, we might not remember everyone who walks in to our lives. Only those few whom we let in to our minds and the select few who walk in despite not being invited are the ones will enrich our lives.

These days, it is very easy to begin a friendship, thanks to Social media. All it takes is a click. The boon of today’s times is that and so is the bane. We are connected to so many people at a time that it becomes a bit difficult to sustain those relationships. The mistake that we all do is in confusing the virtual acquaintances with real friends.  Many of us become like a lost kid in a Hamley’s shop. We must understand who the ones whom we really care about are. More importantly, who are the ones who really care about us! It is great to have many friends. But in the haste to enlarge our friends circle, one shouldn’t overlook the existing friendship.

What a good friend does is that he/she helps widen one’s perspective; broaden one’s horizons, enhances one’s knowledge about life and grows one’s ability to love by leaps and bounds.  I am blessed to have such people in my life. Thank you all. Happy friendship day!

Arun Babu

Homage to Inspiration : Blog # 234

Homage to Inspiration

 Very rarely, there comes along a person who transcends all man-made boundaries be it of region, religion or race; one whose life story becomes an inspiration to others who come to know of him either through words or through experience.

Many a time, it is the designation that one attains through a lifetime of industriousness that adds glory to a person. But at times, it so happens that the person himself becomes such a luminary that the designation he carries glows in reflected glory.

Thank you Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam for giving us reasons to believe in our beliefs and the audacity to dream our dreams.

October 15, 1931 - July 27, 2015

Rameswaram ~ Madras Institute of Technology(MIT) ~Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)~  Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)~ Scientist ~ Padma Bhushan~ Padma Vibhushan ~ Bharat Ratna ~  Doctoral degrees ~ Numerous Honorary Doctorates ~ Professor ~   Chief Scientific Adviser~ Honourable President of India ~ Inspiration for Generations

The heaven that is Home : Blog # 233

The heaven that is Home

            It was the first time that Niranjan was going to stay away from home. He went to one of the better colleges and had landed an offer with a reputed organization. After spending about 2 months at home post his final exams, he was dying to start working. He was beginning to get bored. During the evening tea time, his mother kept on telling him how much he is going to be missed. He consoled her saying he will get back whenever he gets leave.

            When he was about to leave home, he felt different – not sad, but different. Every time he left home, he knew when he was going to be back. This time, he will need to wait till he gets leave from work and he did not really like that idea. Amidst words of concern from dad, a bit of emotion from mom and sister’s banter, he boarded the train.

            Bombay was nothing like what the films portrayed it to be. It was crowded, dirty and unusually fast. Everyone was going somewhere. Unlike his small town, no one was sitting peacefully in front of a shop or waiting for someone. People just moved and all of them had a sense of purpose about them. Company had booked a hotel for him at which he checked in. The room boy ushered him in, kept his luggage in a corner and left. Suddenly, he felt alone! He couldn’t remember a time when he was in the presence of solitude like that. Always, there were people around him – friends, family or at least acquaintances. He looked out of the window and he saw a large mountain in the back drop. He stared at it for some time and called home. Once he talked to his family, he felt better.

            It was first day at office. After the initial rounds of introductions, he went for breakfast with some colleagues. He looked at the menu. There was nothing of his liking. There wasn’t even anything which he usually has for breakfast. It reminded him of his mother who kept on calling him to come and have breakfast when he lazed around in his bed. The day went by fast. There were a couple of sessions at office and he was back at his hotel room. He was tired from the day and slept off fast. A week went by. On Saturday, he went out with colleagues and explored the city. He was beginning to like Bombay. In spite of the crowd and lack of cleanliness, the city had a spirit about itself.

Whenever he hinted at the crowded local trains or fast paced life, people who had made the city home kept on telling him “Ye Bombay hai!” (This is Bombay!). To him, it sounded more like “This is Sparta!” After the training sessions were over, the other rookies who joined with him were sent to different cities. He was to remain in the Bombay office. By now, three weeks had passed and he was missing home and family beyond words. The evenings were unbearable. He kept calling home. He hinted to his dad that he might just get a flight ticket with his first salary. His dad told him not to spend his money. If needed, he will send him the tickets. He felt happy hearing that. He told his mother not to ask him as to when will he come home. Although he told her that asking it again and again will make her sad, the truth was that it was making him sad too.

His colleagues told him that there was a long weekend coming up soon and they were planning to go home. Hearing this, Niranjan also went to his boss asking for 2 days leave so that he can club it with the long weekend and go home. His boss shot it down saying he had just joined. He went back to his apartment despondent.

Niranjan called up his dear friend, Sam. He told him about how home sick he felt. Sam told his friend that he thought he was the only one who felt so. They couldn’t believe how much they longed to go home. At home, they were always in a rush – they were either going out of home or walking in just to leave again. They wondered how little time they used to spend with their family. And now, all they wanted to do was to be at home and talk to their family.

Niranjan woke up the next day to the beep of an sms. It was from his boss. It read “Go Home!”He just got up from the bed, looked out of the window and smiled. It felt as if he were an arid land and the message, a midsummer rain.

Small talks aren’t Small: Blog # 232

Small talks aren’t Small

            During my MBA days, I remember thinking about a paradox concerning myself. Whenever someone asked me as to why I wanted to pursue a course in HR, I used to tell them that I am people’s person. Slowly I was wondering if I were really one. I found it easy to relate to people and get along with different kinds of people. But I preferred limiting my conversations to the specifics. I did not believe much in small talks and extended conversations with people outside my friends circle. My friend, Vivek on the other hand always took an effort to strike up a conversation. Be it with the watchman of the university or with the Dean. I saw that it was working well for him. There was always an extra bit of lee way given to him by these people.

            Once I started working, I realized small talks matter! They are the easiest means to build relationships.  I work in a firm which is known for its processes. Numerous tasks are designed to work through flawless processes. Even then, there are times when human intervention is needed. Slowly and steadily, I was realizing it is people who get things done and not processes. This is as much true for an entry level employee to a someone at a vice president’s level. The reason being if we go strictly by processes, there are things which people are expected to do and they will do it. But if you have to get them to go the extra mile, they need to have a personal stake in it. This personal stake comes through relationship building.

            It is wonderful to see how extra helpful people become if you spend a couple of minutes talking to them. I was working from a different office last week and hence was completely unaware of the smaller details of that office – where can I get a photocopy, whom do I talk to fix the projector and such. I wanted to conduct a training session for the senior managers. The training room’s key had to be collected from the security. While doing that, I spent about 3 minutes talking to that person asking where he is from, how long he has been with the company, his name and such details. Once the training was over, I again spent a couple of minutes with this person. I told him how tiring a day it was and listened to his woes too. I asked him about the ongoing construction in the campus even though I knew what those buildings were for. The second day, I wanted some photocopies for the session and guess who helped me! It was not his duty to help me but he did since we were less of colleagues by then and more of friends.

From the above situation, I feel the art of small talks has to take a 3 pronged approach. The first stage is to get introduced. Once the getting to know each other on a basic level is achieved, try and relate to that person. It is important in this stage to not patronize the other person especially in a work environment. One should connect like peers would. The third stage is to seek answers even if it is for questions to which you already have an answer to. This way, the other person feels that you rely on them and hence trusts them and they in turn would begin trusting you.

Having said this, please do not start small talks on a superficial or a selfish level merely to get things done. People are smart enough to see through such attempts. We should look at it as an opportunity to build a relationship.

Tweet against Modi! : Blog # 231

Tweet against Modi!

    At first, it was Miss. Seth. Now, it is Miss. Dhupia. I am beginning to wonder if there is a pattern. Has tweeting against the PM become a quick and easy way to get some attention?

For those of you who are not on twitter, this is how it works. A celebrity or someone half a celebrity tweets against the PM. He has an ardent fan following on twitter. To an extent that some of them are not open to any sort of criticism against their leader – constructive or otherwise. The moment a tweet criticizing the PM is made on twitter, there will be numerous reactions-good, bad and ugly. This makes the profile of the person who made the criticism, very visible. Now, the person who gets attacked on the twitter starts lamenting that he/she was abused for whatever one said.

What I fail to understand is this victim card which this person plays. What are they surprised and complaining about? Is it about the negative reaction that they got? I don’t think this is something new. When it comes to matters of religion, region or politics, we as a country has always been quite passionate. Many of us tend to lose reason and perspective when we discuss the above said issues. Just that on twitter, all these reactions are on a much larger scale and hence the visibility is higher. Even otherwise, when you make an observation or an opinion, one must be ready to accept the backlash especially when it is against the popular opinion. Now, do you think our celebrities are not aware of this? All of them are well read, well traveled and well informed. They are cognizant of what is going to come their way.

Now, what does a celebrity stand to gain from it? Much, apparently. If you are not an A-league star, it is imperative that you make efforts to remain in public memory. This is because their popularity has a direct bearing on their career. How years of experience is to a working professional is how popularity is to a celebrity. In this day and age of information deluge, it is very easy for the public to forget a celebrity. When such an incident on twitter happens, the celebrity springs back to popular gaze. It is almost similar to having a new film released for them. Add a bit of smart PR work to it, write an open letter if you are good with words, get some other celebrities to share a few words of concern for you and voila, you are back in the game of being popular.

You might ask so what about the vicious personal attacks against them? Are they justified? Not at all! But not expecting them is like wishing away all that is bad in the world. We do not live in a Utopia. We are far from it. There are people of all sorts around us. There are options on twitter to delete a tweet. Why do the celebrities wait till the tweet to get re tweeted by 1000s of people? Why do they wait for all the abuses to come? If you see personal attacks coming your way and if you can’t take it, you delete it right at the beginning. So you do need the attention and the popularity. One might say that is his/her right to expression. Doesn’t the same hold good for the people who react? They might be doing it in a crude way. But that’s who they are. You can’t expect everyone to react the way you want them to.

When you cut onions, you do get tears. The question is if one is claiming that they are tears of heart ache and reaping some sympathy! 

Darkness, the new wisdom! : Blog # 230

Darkness, the new wisdom!

I am so in love with the new Coco Cola Middle East Ad. I so admire the creativity behind that thought. How can one break so many stereotypes in such a tiny video?

What surprised me was the idea that the crux of the Ad is dead against whatever little I have heard about advertisement. Most of the advertising lessons teach you to ensure maximum visibility for the product. It also advises maximum repetition of the product features of course without being too-in-the-face. Yes, there are advertising methodologies which advocates weaving a story around the product with minimal screen time for the product itself. Again, such methods are mostly used for high end, up market products. Coco Cola is not a high end product. It is a much loved, beverage. Also, at least I am yet to read a book which advocates an advertising strategy that says one can steal away the product’s identity itself! That is exactly what this Ad does and still manages to make us fall in love with the idea and thereby the product!

However educated, well traveled and well read one is, stereotypes kick in at lighting speeds and judgement are passed in our minds in the split of a second. I think subscribing to stereotypes is our mind just being lazy. The memory and thus the mind have learned a pattern of behavior to expect from the way a person is dressed, is speaking and the affiliations they convey through their conversation. It is easier to slot a person in to a reference which our mind already knows. What many of us try to do is work against those judgement to try and see the person beneath the label/slot we have already given them. The label used to be about nationalities earlier and these days, sadly it has increasingly become about religion too.

I would want to look a bit deeper in to the Ad. In my mind, there are two definitions to the darkness which engulfs the 6 people in the beginning. One is that the darkness in the Ad depicts the extent to which humanity has become restrained by the walls it has created around itself.  The walls of assumptions we make just by the way a person looks, the faith one follows, the language he/she speaks or whether or not the person walks with his legs or with a wheel chair. We must look through these walls of darkness. Only then will we be able to find the soul of a person and thus humanity at large.

The second definition is that the absence of light in the Ad depicts wisdom. It is against the conventional perception of darkness. That darkness covers and thus enlightens the myopic eyes of mankind blinded by region, religion and appearance. This wisdom helps people see mankind in a new light or should I say a new darkness?

What should Maggi do? ~ http://praisesnbrickbats.blogspot.in/2015/06/what-should-maggi-do-blog-213.html

Keywords : Coca Cola, Coca Cola Middle east, Coke Advertisement, Coke Middle east

An Earth hour a day : Blog # 229

An Earth hour a day

Yesterday, all of us had returned from office by around 8 at night. By  9 o clock, the power in our apartment was gone. Being in Chennai, there is nothing romantic about a power cut, whatever time of the day it is, thanks to the weather! Still, we were hopeful that the power will be back soon. 

We started talking. The conversation took many detours and went down the long winding lane of memories. We realized that we were drowned in silence when the power was there. The only sounds which were making our presence felt in the room were the pings emanating from our cell phones.

I remember the power cuts which used to be a routine when we were in school. This is the time when the candles of the house come out from hiding. The elders in the family will seek solace in the handmade-newspaper fans and we, the children used to huddle around the candles. This is when wax creativity attained new heights at times, putting even Madame Tussauds to shame. Another art form which originates during the power cuts are the shadow wars. We make all sorts of shadows manipulating the light which the candle spreads on the walls.

But what I really miss is the little conversations which used to shine through like stars on a cloudy night. Usually, the conversations begin within the age groups. The elders in the family will discuss their own woes of life while the younger ones indulge in things which matter to them. Slowly, the conversation cuts across ages and moves in to certain aspects which all of us were interested in.

 I remember one of my uncles using those dark half hours to tell us stories of his difficult childhood. Once we asked him as to why he always chose power cuts to tell us such stories. He said “ Because, darkness provides the comfort of not worrying about what one’s eyes look like when one remembers the tougher times of life. It also gives one the courage which comes from not having to look another in their eyes while speaking” We did not understand what he meant back then. Now we do.

I think we all should celebrate Earth hour every day where we sit disconnected from all the wired extensions which have begun to dominate our lives in more ways than one. Undoubtedly, all the gadgets we have today help us to get in touch with people separated from us both by distance and by time; but many a time, at the cost of being disconnected from people sitting right next to us. These days, we don’t look at people’s eyes when we talk to them. Instead, we stare at a 5” screen!

When we indulge ourselves in such Earth hours, there will be times when all that engulfs us might be darkness. There will be long moments which will be drowned in silence. But it is such moments of darkness which will help us discover the twinkle in our loved ones’ eyes. 

Why buy a Newspaper these days? : Blog # 228

Why buy a Newspaper these days?

              We are living in a day and age where information is no more an elitist entity. There was a time when information was available only to a select few who had either the access or the resources to engage and please people who had that kind of access. Today, the tables have turned. One is blinded by information. There are numerous channels where information is available.

            Let us begin with electronic media. A political leader’s speech or a business leader’s conference or a film star’s movie launch or a cricket match is being telecast live. No one is waiting till the next morning to get these updates. But, not all of us are in a position to analyze the outcomes of the above events. More importantly, many of us lack the expertise to understand what sort of an impact the above events might have in our lives. This can be facilitated by an expert in that field who can be a news reporter.

            Also, when an event of importance occurs, one might not know how it originated. Many a time, we get to see only a Ratan Tata driving out the first Nano car from Sanand. One might not know what relevance Mamta Banerjee has in this context. Here is where a good news paper’s researched article comes handy. Gone are the days when a reporter used to print verbatim of a speech. In today’s world, we have already seen it live. All I am interested in knowing is how is it going to affect me, my family, my state and my country. Good Newspapers tell you that.

            The next medium is the all pervasive Internet! I love internet. But Internet is like that friend of ours who keeps us updated about our social circle but has a tendency to lie. The sad part is we always get to know that our friend has lied only after a long while. The same is the case with our dear internet. There is a lot of misinformation floating around the web. If eminent people like Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam come to know of the kind of quotes attributed to him in the internet, he would want to logout permanently. As much as information it gives, there is no way to know the truth from the fallacy.  Here is where one should read a news paper.

I am not saying newspapers do not mis-report. They also do. But it happens much rarely than on the internet. Also, like us humans, internet is also good at pointing out mistakes in others. So when a newspaper gets some facts wrong, there will be enough and more trolls on the internet that you will come to know sooner that there was a mis-reporting.

          Thanks to our busy-to-breathe lifestyle, none of us have the time or inclination to read and understand about things outside our periphery of concern. The chances of a person working in IT seeking out and reading about Infant mortality rate in our country is very thin. Same is the case with a banker reading up on Cloud technology and its business impacts. A good newspaper will cover almost entire spectrum of   various realms of our lives which one should be at least aware of in order to effectively play the part of a contributing citizen towards the society we live in .

Arun Babu