FRIENDS Afterlife # 5 : Blog # 249

                            F.R.I.E.N.D.S After Life # 5

*We, all diehard F.R.I.E.N.D.S fanatics have been waiting forever for the best sitcom ever made on Television, to resume. Here is an attempt to look at what our favorite characters are up to these days.

Mrs. Geller woke up startled. She asked Mr.Geller to wake up.”Jack, I dreamt of Ross. We must go and meet him. Something’s wrong”. She rang up Monica. “Monica, I dreamt of my child today! We are coming over”. “Oh! That’s so sweet of you mother. You saw me in your dream?”. “Yea! I meant my other child. Ask Ross to come over to your place”. 

“Mike, why did you learn Music?” Quizzed Phoebe. I like learning Music. It makes me happy. Why Phoebs? “No I meant why did you have to learn Music?” Oh that! Not everyone is born a musical genius like you, my love. “ Hmm..At times, I feel God is too partial. I mean, look at me! Beautiful, smart, talented.” Might I add, wonderfully weird too J.  “Let me call up Rachel. It has been a while. Hey Rach! How are your doing?” I am good phoebs! Just had my lunch, How are you? “I am terrific. So you are coming by next week is it?” How do you know Phoebs!!! I have not told anyone. Even Ross doesn’t know. “Ever heard of Frederic Myers? In one of my earlier births, he and I coined Telepathy. Come home soon. We are all waiting for you”.

Feeding the kids, Monica told Chandler “Mom and dad are coming over. Can you come a bit early from office today?” What happened all of a sudden, all well Mon? “ Yea , yea mom dreamt about her child and is worried” Oh, let me call up Ross. He will be happy to hear this. “I AM ALSO her child!! What is wrong with you people?? On the way home, pick up Joey too. He hasn’t visited in a while.”

Joe! Chandler here. Come home today. I will pick you up on the way. “Ok. I have a shot today. No worries, I will push it” Is it ok for you? Should I come over a bit later? “No Chandler. It is ok. Your Joey is a star you know. And the director’s secretary has a crush on me. So it’s fine.”

Ross was commuting to work. He was reading “Paleontology – A study of the days before dates”. A very attractive lady sitting next to Ross asked him “ Hey, can I see your book once?”. Oh! Are you also interested in Paleontology? I am a Doctor you see. “ Oh No! Just that my nephew likes to read dragon stories. Been looking for a book!”. Driver, stop the bus will you? screamed Ross.

Previous Episodes :

S11 Episode 1 : http://praisesnbrickbats.blogspot.in/2015/05/friends-after-life-1-blog-215.html

S11 Episode 2 : http://praisesnbrickbats.blogspot.in/2015/05/friends-after-life-2-blog-217.html

S11 Episode 3 : http://praisesnbrickbats.blogspot.com/2015/05/friends-after-life-3-blog-220.html

S11 Episode 4 : http://praisesnbrickbats.blogspot.in/2015/06/friends-after-life-4.html 

Tell me a Story : Blog # 248

Tell Me a Story

Once up on a time, there lived a group of people. They used to talk. They used to look each other in the eyes. They used to smile at each other. They used to waive at each other. They used to enjoy the breeze, the sunset, the birds that flew around, the sounds they made, the scents of nature. They used to sit together listening to each other. They used to sit together in silence. 

Once up on a time, there lived a group of people. They had smartphones.

I feel stories are a great way to communicate. They convey the message so effectively and helps us to remember them better. But at the heart of it, I think all that a story is doing might be that it is appealing to our inner child. Somewhere, it connects us to our childhood. May be that’s why our attention span stretches when someone tells us a story and knocks on our intrigue with double the will.

Everyone is telling a story these days. When I say story, I don’t mean that which starts with ‘Once up on a time’ and which ends with ‘and happily ever after’. I am talking about just creating an element of intrigue in your conversation. Ever thought as to why did Nestle tell us about how they evolved over almost a century in India? They could have easily listed down the awards that they won over the years or the regulations that they follow. Reason is that by telling us about their evolution as a tale, they captured our imagination. It is the same reason that all the products, apps and platforms that we see around us are requesting their customers to tell a story – not a testimonial, but a story.

I stumbled up on a website created by Varun Gampa from IIM Trichy. It goes by the name www.varun4flipkart.com . You might ask what is so great about his website. It is a very novel approach towards applying for a job. What he has done is that he has explained through this website as to how he can add value to the company. As a recruiter, I feel my counterparts at Flipkart should spare a moment to give credit for this ingenious approach.

What Varun did is also story telling in a way. He created a story around himself. He will soon become that guy who created that resume-website. If Flipkart looks at his resume, they will soon become that company with an open mind. 

Weave a story around yourself and see the magic unfold!

Arun Babu

Spirit of Chennai! : Blog # 247

Spirit of Chennai!

My friend always says that whenever you speak to someone from Tamil Nadu, the second or third sentence will always be “Saaptiya?” which means did you have food?. Such is the warmth that people from this part of our country exude. I once told someone from Delhi who asked me in jest “What is so great about your city? Chennai is perennially hot right?” to which very instinctively I replied “But people are equally warm, my dear”. It is time we showed the generous soul of the city, not for the world to see but for our own selves.

The city is going through quite trying times. It was ravaged by rains last week and continues to be battered by torrential rains today and for 2 more days as per prediction. Water entered my house in Kerala on one fine midnight about 5 years ago. I know exactly how frustrating it is and helpless we feel when nature unleashes its might on us. A few things that we can do to make lives easier in such difficult times :

                                          For those us who are in other parts of the country, need of the hour is to send essential supplies to our people in chennai.This picture on right has details to which monetary contributions can be made . 

Here is a verified, credible organization at Chennai which is willing to help. Maatram Foundation is run by a Senior HR Leader of Infosys, Chennai who is my colleague. It is a verified and trusted organization which I can personally vouch for. 

Address to send supplies : 

      Sujith Kumar - Maatram Foundation,
#13, Rajendra Nagar, East Tambaram, Chennai - 59
Contact No - 9551014389
Email - maatramfoundation@yahoo.in

or

Sujith Kumar - Maatram Foundation
#2, Opal Block, Park Royale Appts, 26 KK Road, Valmiki Nagar,
Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai - 41
Contact No - 9789905166

Items needed : Blankets, Towels, Sarees, Lungis, Shirts, Nighties, Sanitary Napkins, Mosquito Coils, Odomos Cream, Biscuit Packets, Water bottles, Slippers, Paracetamol Tablets, Syrup (for Kids), Torch lights, Batteries, Candles, Milk Tetrapackets

Some Dos & Don'ts :

1.      Please open your doors for people stuck near your house’s area to stay (People of Bombay did this during the deluge there)

2.      Kindly serve food outside your home for those who are trying to find their way

3.      Knock on your neighbours doors and check if they need any help.

4.      Lend a helping hand to rescue personnel, firemen and other public servants. This is not the time to blame government.

5.      Spare a thought for the animals if you can. They are more helpless and in need of kindness than us.

          The rains will not last forever. But the deeds that you do in these tough times will. Let us flood our city with all the love that we can conjure.

6.      Inform family that you are safe if you are staying away from home. Let them know your exact whereabouts.

7.      Share contact details of two other people staying close to you with your family and friends

8.      Charge laptop and cell phone to the max as and when possible.

9.     Switch off Internet on cell phone and reduce screen brightness to minimum needed.

10. Do not venture out – Manholes, Strong currents, Flash floods, Reptiles ,electric shock are all fatal possibilities

11. Do not send any forwards regarding alerts unless you are really sure the message is completely true.

Navy Helpline : 04425394240

Some useful links :

            List of doctors : http://prac.to/Chennai floods

Chennai Corporation Helpline numbers: :http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Chennai-flood-alert-Helpline-numbers/articleshow/50002900.cms

Chennai Weather man’s FB page :https://www.facebook.com/Chennai-weatherman-466972103489574/?fref=ts

Chennai Rain Relief 2015’s FB page : https://www.facebook.com/ChennaiRainRelief2015/?fref=ts

The Chennai Traffic Police man : Blog # 246

The Chennai Traffic Police man

On many a hot tiring Chennai summer days, a traffic police man at the junction near my office have brought a smile to my face. Embarrassed by my spontaneous smile at a random place, I look around only to see many other people smiling too. I am not sure if this police man is aware of the influence he has not only on the direction of traffic but on people’s lives too.

 I work at Infosys in Chennai. At Sholinganallur junction in Chennai, there is a traffic police who does his work with all the passion one can ever wish to have. This is one of the busier junctions at Chennai. When the light turns green, our police anna waves off cars as if he were flagging off an F1 race. When he has to direct vehicles from multiple directions, he does it in a jovial way many a time with a few dance steps. You should see the way he uses his traffic wand. I could have never imagined one could direct traffic in such a fun and gracious way.

 In between all this, he doesn’t forget to gently scold the two wheelers who are in too much of a rush to cross the signal. At all the times when I have seen him gently rebuking a driver, the person who is listening to him does so with a smile. How many police men have you seen who can evoke such a reaction from a citizen? The usual perception of police officers is that of an uptight unapproachable law enforcer,not that of a law and order citizen-partner.Our Mr.Kumar is exactly that, a citizen-partner. He does this every day, at every shift – be in blazing sun (which is about 11.5 months in Chennai) or in rain.

This person is a classic example of how we should work with passion and why should we do so. I hear from many people as to how tiring it is to be a policeman. Worse is the case of a traffic police, now with the added menace of pollution that they have to endure. It is a very physically exacting job. In spite of all this our police anna managed to do his job with much enthusiasm and such passion. I really would want to know as to what he tells himself when he starts his day at work. Now let us look at the why part of it. Knowingly or unknowingly, he is inspiring a handful of people every single day. I remember lamenting to my friend Vivek on the way to office one day as to how hectic work had become. Then we see our police anna at the signal and Vivek looks at me and asks “What was your excuse again”?He is a thorough gentle man too.Once, one of my lady colleagues asked him for a picture. As soon as he got a moment's respite from his duty,he obliged.

We all have big dreams and great aspirations. We think if we achieve all those, we will attain a position high enough to inspire our fellow beings. This police anna tells us that all one needs to do to inspire people is to do our job with a smile. Who would have guessed inspiring people is so simple, right?

p.s Sujith Peter, one of our senior HR leaders did a photo essay on him. This picture is from his Facebook post. I am sure he wouldn’t mind . Thanks to Social media’s growing prowess, after this post, ADGP Mr.Shylendra Babu has taken time out to felicitate our Police anna, Mr. Kumar. For those among us who don’t believe in ‘Karmanye Vadhikarasthu Ma Phaleshu kadachana’(read materialistic;) ) sooner or later, our efforts will be rewarded. Let us keep continue doing good work and make this world a better place.

Arun Babu 

Does Good looks matter? : Blog # 245

Does Good looks matter?

            If you are on any of the social media, chances are that you would have already seen multiple gleaming pictures of the new Canadian PM, Justin Trudeau. More than essaying the good work he has done, 9/10 articles have gone on to describe his striking good looks. Women have become lady ga-ga over him J . What I can remember from the recent past is when Hina Rabbani Khar was appointed as the foreign minister of Pakistan. Then, it was us men who went ga-ga and more. Same was the case with President Kennedy, Clinton, Dubai’s crown prince, Queen in line Kate Middleton Queen Raina, and many more world leaders.

            As much as we all would love to say that physical appearance doesn’t matter, it does. It definitely gives a person, a head start. But we must know that a mannequin also looks good. Until and unless one has a personality that compliments the good looks, the impression evaporates like a vaporub.

Let us look at both sides of the coin. By default, we have this tendency of unnecessarily demonizing good looks. For instance, many people consider a person with striking good looks to be less smart particularly if the person is a woman. Also, it is fashionable to say looking good doesn’t mean much. To look at it objectively, one’s looking good is just pleasant on another’s eyes. This will make the second person develop a liking. This is true not only for humans. If there are two puppies – one of a Golden Retriever and the other of a Pit bull, chances are you will like the golden puppy a tad bit more than the other one. Now, think about a landscape. On two sides of your room, you have two visuals. One, a majestic mountain with its head in the clouds and its feet resting on the lap of a river with trees in full bloom on its banks. Visual on the other side is a just a mud road seeking solace in the shades of a couple of trees seeking solace in the shades of a couple of trees. You will definitely want to wake up to the misty mountain than the road. So I think we should stop judging ourselves for preferring beautiful things.

            But having said that, we think of ourselves as being a more evolved species. If that is the case, isn’t it a shame if we make our judgments based on only one of our senses which is

vision? Shouldn’t we employ our intellect, our mind and our sense of right and wrong too while we try to make a semblance of a person? Like I said before, there is nothing wrong in developing a liking towards a person because he/she looks good. But that shouldn’t make us work against a person who is not as blessed with generous genes. If we don’t make that attempt, what is the difference between us and animals who make their selection based on physical attributes alone?

            Now, what do we lesser mortals do who aren’t exactly Greek Gods? We should work on developing a pleasing personality. It isn’t one where you say yes to everything and become a door mat. In my opinion, a pleasing personality is where one develops traits which people find affable. This affection that they develop will help you to communicate your viewpoints effectively. Because of the way you put it across, people around will appreciate your objectivity. That’s is when you hear “Hey, since you said it, I don’t feel bad.” Or “Hey, we will agree to disagree on this. But it doesn’t make me like you any lesser” Or “I know that you will do what is best for both of us”. And if you are among those who are blessed with some Caucasian good looks, developing a pleasing personality for you will make you as irresistible as a Manmohan Singh who speaks J