Archives : Think #03

Positive Thoughts - Un-limited !!

250208 : This is a nice clip I found through a friend - finding positive out of every negative - which we don't always manage to do. Superlative and highly optimistic, but nevertheless, very very positive !! I am thankful...

1. For the husband who snores all night, because he is at home asleep with me and not with someone else !!
2. For my teenage daughter who is complaining about doing dishes, because that means she is at home and not on the streets !!
3. For the taxes that I pay, because it means that I am employed and earn income !!
4. For the mess to clean after a party, because it means that I have been surrounded by friends !!
5. For the clothes that fit a little too snug, because it means I have enough to eat !!
6. For my shadow that watches me work because it means I am out in the sunshine !!
7. For a floor that needs mopping, and windows that need cleaning because it means I have a home !!
8. For all the complaining I hear about the government, because it means that we have freedom of speech !!
9. For the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot, because it means I am capable of walking and that I have been blessed with transportation !!
10. For the noise I have to bear from my neighbours, because it means that I can hear !!
11. For the pile of laundry and ironing because, it means I have clothes to wear !!
12. For weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day, because it means I have been capable of working hard !!
13. For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours, because it means that I am still alive !!

AND FINALLY ........ for receiving so many forwarded e-mails because it means I have friends who are thinking of me, at least !!

Language barriers - of a different kind

030208 : Living in Poland has its own list of challenges - from severe temperatures, wild climate, extremely short days and list goes on. Of course, no one has any possible control over these; they are just taken in good stride. A greater problem for outsiders here, can be the language. Polish people are naturally proud of their language. History has seasoned them with such volatile political situations, that they stand united even more, in their language, in their culture. So people here manage everything in Polish, from A to Z (literally, Polish has three different forms of 'Z' !!). There are even instances, where people understand / speak little English (called Angielski) but do not encourage / wish to speak in it. (Reminds me our southern state, and its 'love' for Hindi !). This language barrier for outsiders, however, can be tackled differently - by learning Polish !! You are naturally admired if you speak Polish, at least a few commonly used words - such as - dzień dobry ("zin dobre" or 'Namaste') and dziękować ("jinkuya" or Thank you) or maybe even proszę ("proshaen" or 'please').

But what I came across in initiating into Polish, was something beyond my imagination - there are quite a few words in Polish, which are amazingly close in pronunciation and meaning to words in Hindi or rather Sanskrit !! Initially I thought that such a possibility was weird and maybe a fantastic coincidence. But as days go by, I find the list growing stronger. Some examples I have in my kitty are listed here; judge for yourself !!

I was very glad that I was a able to "discover" something unique.... till I went to the web. There seemed to be an 'n' number of forums discussing this... and it was already a major theme of scholarly research!!

Incidentally, according to these research papers, Indian notion of Sanskrit being 'the mother of all languages', is also partly true. According to one research, it is one of the four main major language groups from Indo-European languages from which all other languages have evolved. This link is so fantastic and amazing, that many a Polish scholars are learning Sanskrit to understand the mystery !! (Source : Indian Consulate, Warsaw).

Well, this proves at least one point - languages can never be barriers, if one wishes to learn. The barriers are rooted much more deeper - in our minds, and not in the languages .... do widzenia ( Bye)!!

Why Some People Have all the Luck !!

121207 : Why do some people get all the luck while others never get the breaks they deserve? A psychologist says he has discovered the answer.

The results of an experiment reveal that although people have almost no insight into the causes of their luck, their thoughts and behaviour are responsible for much of their good and bad fortune. Take the case of seemingly chance opportunities. Lucky people consistently encounter such opportunities, whereas unlucky people do not.

In a simple experiment to discover whether this was due to differences in their ability to spot such opportunities, both lucky and unlucky people were given a newspaper, and asked to look through it and tell how many photographs were inside. A secretly placed large message halfway through the newspaper read: "Tell the experimenter you have seen this and win $50."

This message took up half of the page and was written in type that was more than two inches high. It was staring everyone straight in the face, but the unlucky people tended to miss it and the lucky people tended to spot it.

Unlucky people are generally more tense than lucky people, and this anxiety disrupts their ability to notice the unexpected.As a result, they miss opportunities because they are too focused on looking for something else. They go to parties intent on finding their perfect partner and so miss opportunities to make good friends. They look through newspapers determined to find certain types of job advertisements and miss other types of jobs.

Lucky people are more relaxed and open, and therefore see what is there rather than just what they are looking for. The research eventually revealed that lucky people generate good fortune via four principles. They are skilled at creating and noticing chance opportunities, make lucky decisions by listening to their intuition, create self-fulfilling prophesies via positive expectations, and adopt a resilient attitude that transforms bad luck into good.

Now, is it possible to use these principles to create good luck ? A group of volunteers was asked to spend a month carrying out exercises designed to help them think and behave like a lucky person. Dramatic results !! These exercises helped them spot chance opportunities, listen to their intuition, expect to be lucky, and be more resilient to bad luck.

One month later, the volunteers described what had happened. The results were dramatic : 80% of people were now happier, more satisfied with their lives and, perhaps most important of all, luckier.

The lucky people had become even luckier and the unlucky had become lucky.

Finally, the researcher had found the elusive "luck factor".

Here are Professor Wiseman's four top tips for becoming lucky:

1. Listen to your gut instincts - they are normally right
2. Be open to new experiences and breaking your normal routine
3. Spend a few moments each day remembering things that went well
4. Visualize yourself being lucky before an important meeting or telephone call.

Have a Lucky day and work for it !!

Moral : "The happiest people in the world are not those who have no problems, but those who learn to live with things that are less than perfect ". Have a nice day !!

"My own successes and setbacks along the way have taught me some lessons. I wish to share them with you and hope you will find them useful."

What this means is that do not ask too little either of yourself or the others around you. What you ask is what you get. When I look back at the time when I joined Wipro, I was 21. If you ask me whether I thought that Wipro would grow so by someday, the honest answer is that I did not. But neither did I think it would not. We constantly stretched ourselves to higher and higher targets. Sometimes, it seemed possible, sometimes fanciful and sometimes plain insane. But we never stopped raising limits. And we got a lot more than what we bargained for.

Always be aware of your emotions and learn to manage them. There is a huge difference between people who react impulsively and those who can disengage themselves and then respond at will. By choosing to respond differently, we can prevent another person from controlling our behavior. I remember a small story that illustrates this well. There was once a newspaper vendor who had a rude Customer. Every morning, the Customer would walk by, refuse to return the greeting, grab the paper off the shelf and throw the money at the vendor. The vendor would pick up the money, smile politely and say, “Thank you, Sir.” One day, the vendor’s assistant asked him, “Why are you always so polite with him when he is so rude to you? Why don’t you throw the newspaper at him when he comes back tomorrow?” The vendor smiled and replied, “He can’t help being rude and I can’t help being polite. Why should I let his rude behavior dictate mine?

It is important to realize that our intuition is a very important part of decision making. Many things are recorded by our subconscious. Use both sides of the brain. Even that is not enough. Some decisions need the use of the heart as well. When you use your mind and heart together, you may get a completely new and creative answer.

The challenges ahead are so complex that no individual will be able to face them alone. While most of our education is focused in individual strength, teaming with others is equally important. You cannot fire a missile from a canoe. Unless you build a strong network of people with complimentary skills, you will be restricted by your own limitations.

Globalization has brought people of different origins, different upbringing and different cultures together. Ability to become an integral part of a cross-cultural team will be a must for your success.

All the available knowledge in the world is accelerating at a phenomenal rate. The whole world's codified knowledge base (all documented information in library books and electronic files) doubled every 30 years in the early 20th century. By the 1970s, the world's knowledge base doubled every seven years. Information researchers predict that by the year 2010, the world's codified knowledge will double every 11 hours. Remaining on top of what you need to know will become one of the greatest challenges for you.

The natural zest and curiosity for learning is one of the greatest drivers for keeping updated on knowledge. A child’s curiosity is insatiable because every new object is a thing of wonder and mystery. The same zest is needed to keep learning new things. I personally spend at least 10 hours every week on reading. If I do not do that, I will find myself quickly outdated.

This does not mean being selfish. Nor does it mean that you must become so full of yourself that that you become vain or arrogant. It means developing your self confidence. It means, developing an inner faith in yourself that is not shaken by external events. It requires perseverance. It shows up in the ability to rebound from a setback with double enthusiasm and energy. I came across a recent Harvard Business review which describes this very effectively :

“No one can truly define success and failure for us- only we can define that for ourselves. No one can take away our dignity unless we surrender it. No one can take away our hope and pride unless we relinquish them. No one can steal our creativity, imagination and skills unless we stop thinking. No one can stop us from rebounding unless we give up.”

And there is no way we can take care of others, unless we take care of ourselves.

While there is every reason to be excited about the future, we must not forget that we will face many challenges as well. By 2015, we will have 829 million strong workforce. That will make India home to 18% of global working-age population. The key challenge is to transform that into a globally competitive work-force.

This will not be an easy task. Despite all the rapid economic expansion seen in recent years, job growth in India still trails the rise in working-age population. It is important that gains are spread across this spectrum, so that the divide between the employed and the under-employed, is minimized. Education is a crucial enabler that can make this growth as equitable as possible.

Playing to win is not the same as playing dirty. It is not about winning all the time or winning at any cost. Playing to win is having the intensity to stretch to the maximum and bringing our best foot forward. Winning means focusing on the game. The score board tells you where you are going, but don’t concentrate too much on it. If you can focus on the ball, the scores will move by themselves. I recently came across this story that I thought I would share with you

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went into the kitchen. He returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups: porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal- some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite – and asked them to help themselves to coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, you were more concerned about comparing your cups but what you really wanted was coffee. Yet you spent all your time eyeing each other's cups.

Now if life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to contain Life, but cannot really change the quality of Life. Sometimes, by over concentrating on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee."

"I wish you all every success in your career and your life. Azim Premji "

Leaders : Born or Made ?

130407 : Reproduced below is an excellent opinion on the subject by Rudy Giuliani, Mayor of New York City, who guided the city through the aftermath of fall of twin towers on that fateful day in September 2001. In his book titled Leadership, Giuliani says that Leaders are made, not born. He has enumerated below are six basic qualities, which a person must develop in order to become a true Leader, according to Giuliani. Following is an excerpt from his speech at Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, New Delhi (Nov 2006), with due credits.

1. Leaders must possess the ability to set goals;
2. Leaders must have the courage to take risks and stand by their conviction;
3. Leaders must be optimistic and success oriented;
4. Leaders must invest in relentless preparation to meet any eventuality;
5. Leaders must be able to work in a team by balancing strengths against weaknesses;
6. Leaders must have the ability to communicate effectively.

Donning team India colors is no small thing, and requires much devotion, responsibility and the ability to work under extended periods of physical, emotional and psychological duress. For a country which has failed to get a world level award in any of the other sports, its people have no moral rights to question the integrity of a warrior who undertook this task, but failed, more so from a sport, which has actually produced a world cup, which no other sport has done. The lack of composure among people reflects our immaturity. For a nation which is looking forward and vying for a permanent seat at the Security Council, we fail to qualify on emotional maturity grounds. The very people who burn effigies and stone houses of cricket players for a loss in game, could end up taking rash and impulsive decisions endangering world security and peace. As a security council member, India definitely cannot afford to take decisions at the whims of its emotionally unstable people or politically unstable leaders. People have to express their opinions in a mature and responsible manner before the event. By casting vote, by raising opinion, participating in discussions and voting . No point in blaming the players after the loss; it were the people who decided the team and they are as much to blame as the players are. Instead of mudslinging and finding a scapegoat in the cricket coach, this is the time for people to introspect, look into what went wrong and consolidate resources, to ensure we learn from this sad episode. As for the players, I pray to God to give them strength at this difficult hour, so that they may come out of the pall of gloom and bounce back in full form in the sport which means more than life for people of India. My good wishes are with them.

Today, when my child is ready to repeat the cycle, the thrill is back, only, this time I am on the receiving end ! My daughter, barely four, is already more informed about fashion and 'matching' concepts than even perhaps my wife is. Her grandiose plans on dresses that she is going to wear and the matching 'Dora-pink' bag that she is going to carry are all avast with definitive and familiar patterns. So much so that, I sometimes think if it is something I should put a stop to. But then, I also realise, this is perhaps the right time, to let her decide on such issues and learn to take decisions for herself. After all, I can surely trust a smart kid to decide on what kind of bag she wishes to carry !! A thrilling and exciting part of course is going through the familiar nursery rhymes and the routines of dance, song and actions / gestures that children pick up at this stage. I am already looking forward to getting a whiff of the library books - the old paper smell and delighting contents in subjects. My daughter's school will no doubt be exciting for her, and also for us, as parents, to re-live those gay moments of carefree and abundant joy. Here I come, good old school !!

There are a few major errors in our social foundation, like gender and social inequality, and what are we doing about it ? We are creating differential pillars of progress in the garbs of reservation and just hoping that our society will rise up evenly. The truth is, we are building a grotesquely twisted social structure and trying to balance one imbalance by creating another - the worst approach in social architecture, that is. Our focus is far from our foundation. Blemishes like female infanticide and dowry system are rampant, and we are insisting on reservation for women to bring them forward. Differential laws have been put in place (such as non bailable warrant for dowry complain) which are easily prone to misuse and corruption. Same is the case with class and religion reservations. All that the reservations to certain segments / religion do is divide the society further. It is not that this is not known by our social architects and leaders, they actually are choosing to bury their heads in sand like an Ostrich and reveal to the world the big blunders in our social foundation - that we chose to continue with a flawed policy despite history having thought us otherwise. The need of the hour is to reign in and correct our foundations - through educational and moral developments of society rather than destabilizing it further. Women, people of different castes and religions - all are important aspects of our society and their equality is to be justified by changing the ethics of society rather than by widening the inequality in the name of reservation. If India continues with this differential social architecture, it will not be long when the entire society is but left as a grim reminder of a bygone society which was unable to correct its foundations - and as a dangerously leaning society be left only as a spectacle for the world to look at and feel pity for, like the leaning tower of Pisa.

Most of the Ghodewallas (Horse service providers) are Muslims, their typical regious greetings a stark contrast to the chants of "Jai Mata Di" in the air. Pilgrims from Sikh, Jains and buddhishts are not uncommon here. A cross section of pilgrims, shows people coming from all walks of life - penniless, poor, not so poor, the rich and the affluent. Those who can afford, fly from Katra directly to Sanjhi Chat (The helipad at about 2/3 of the climb area). Once the climb of 13.1 Kms is complete, pilgrims get a glimpse of the Bhavan. Although, unlike most other Hindu temples, the Bhavan does not sport a Gopura (The temple tower) as the Goddess has revealed her presence in a natural cave (Photograph: the three natural stone formations (Pindis) at the bottom of the picture above represent "Maha Saraswathi, Maha Lakshmi, Maha Kali" respectively (three Goddesses by the name, each signifying learning & wisdom, wealth & endowment, and Power & bravery respectively). Before proceeding with darshan (entering the sanctum sanctorum and getting a view of the Goddess), pilgrims take a batch in the natural spring waters of the Himalayas. The water is freezing cold and irrespective of the weather (it snows during winter in Vaishnodevi), the sheer faith and devotion in goddess makes the batch practically effortless. Pilgrims then carry traditional Chunni, Kangan, Kumkum and Laldora (Scarf - usually red, bangles, vermilion and sacred red tag) as an offering to the goddess. In bygone days, pilgrims actually entered the holy caves the way the Goddess is said to have entered - crouching through narrow and cramped cave entrance, half filled with natural flowing spring, before reaching the resplendently divine darshan. One look is all that it takes and one can actually feel the soothing presence of the divine power. The feeling is supreme, the presence divine, the assurance incomparable. The goddess is known and widely believed for being a wish-fulfill-er and blessing with success. As a regular visitor at Vaishnodevi's Bhavan, I always find revitalized spirit to go on in life - with the assurance that I get from her divine grace & presence. My every visit only re-affirms my belief in "Trust in God, and live one day at a time !! " But friends, do however remember, God helps those who help themselves (Article 280406). Our scritpures very rightly say "Karmanye vaadhikaaraste, maaphaleshu kadaachana; Maa karmaphala heturbhurma, te sangostva karmani".

Beautiful Mind - Beautiful thoughts

210207 : : Here is a collection of a few well said and well framed positive thoughts:

a) "They say... as long as someone cares for you, Life isn't a waste. So when things go terribly wrong and you feel like giving up, please remember, I do care !!"

b) "Its funny thing about life, if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it !!"

c) "After failing twice to scale, Sir Edmund Hillary challenged Mt. Everest ..."I'll come again, and conquer you , because, as a mountain you cannot grow, but as a human being I can !!"

d) "When you share yourself with others, life begins to find its meaning. The time you touch the heart of others, is a moment you truly start living."

e) " Life never leaves you empty, it always replaces everything you lost. If it asks you to put something down today, its because it wants you to pick up something greater tomorrow!!"

f) With your goal if you encounter difficulty, don't change your decision to go; change your direction to go there !"

g) "I know friendship is hard to keep but even if it gets hard, I won't give up because, if its hard to keep you, then it will be a lot harder to find you again!!"

h) "It is always good to discover a beautiful mind, but the greatest gift is finding a beautiful heart in a beautiful person like you !!"

Last, a closing line in Urdu/Hindi vernacular:

i) "Har Jazbaat ko jubaan nahin milti, har aarzoo ko dua nahin milti; hanste raho to duniya rehti hai saath; aansuon ko toh aankhon mein bhi panah nahin milti !!" (It is possible that all your wishes may not come true, but keep smiling always, and the world will be with you; for, remember, tears are estranged even by the very eyes that shed them !!)

I have seen mobile rings being rushed into answering in some of the most awkward places - crowded Bus, while crossing a road, walking on busy pavement, having lunch, in the middle of driving, temples, cinema theatres, serious meetings, in the middle of a conversation....and god knows what all other awkward areas. Once at Delhi airport, I actually heard a person talking away to glory from behind the loo door. Any average cell owner keeps constantly fiddling with his cell - for games, SMS, looking at other features (already seen a thousand times perhaps !) If nothing else is there, just to switch it on, unlock key pad, browse through the call list, and then lock the pad back - all symptoms of wanting the cell to wake up into action - an addiction. There is a well worded telephone protocol which says, " a ringing phone is the caller's priority, not the receiver's". In a cell phone, everyone seems to follow the protocol other way round. God can perhaps wait, the call is first ! A conversation with friend can wait, got to get this call ! Never mind that the receiver is in the middle of an important task, got to get that call ! So what if the receiver is crossing the road at one of the busiest junction in Bangalore, attending the call is must. One hand and one ear will henceforth continuously itch for the impending Cell call !! Wake up mankind !! Time to switch off that mobile. Let us learn to prioritise it just as we did with telephone calls. Private time is private, personal time is personal. Work or engagement at hand is a greater priority than the call. The telephone protocol, still holds good : every call is a caller's priority. The cell, which came about as one of the most wonderful utility invention, has today enslaved human thought, action and behaviour. It is high time, to switch it off for a change and switch on back our lives !

"Ur-g-e-nt Aid-s !!"

220107 : "If you relieve here, you will get Aids !!" screamed a board along the compound wall in outskirts of Bangalore. For all the proud group of un-gentlemen who believe in urgent relief along any wall, this sure must have come as a rude shock. What is however amusing is, that the length and breadth of the wall was indeed spot-less and clean !! I do not know, what has surprised me more : the creative thought of the property owner (for scaring everyone in to compliance in the name of Aids !), or the average reliever's ignorance on Aids, which has kept him away from the wall !! Whichever way, the issue is sure to drive sociologists up the wall !!

The Right focus : Solutions

180107 :"You can't..." and her words just trailed off. I would never know whether it was the fire in my eyes, or my body language or just body chemistry that stopped her. I hate such attitudes. "You can't.... you should not.... you will not....". Aargh !! Why do we stick to 'thinking within the box' ? In our day to day life, we come across many incidences, where the above adjectives are used to virtually roll roadblocks into whatever you are about to do or thinking to do. It is easy to brush off initiatives and actions with such adjectives, but it certainly is not easy to show the way to resolve issues. I sometimes feel, that the bulk of problems in modern day living comes from thinking within the box. We are so guided by all the rules and regulations and 'cannot s' and 'should not s' that we kill our creative skills into doing ordinary things and end up living a mundane life. The basic problem ? Focus on problem. From early on, children are taught to 'focus on their problems at hand' and so they focus .. on the problems, when unfortunately, they should focus their attention and energy on 'solutions !!' In my life I have had the honor of coming across a few people who naturally think beyond the limits, are creative in resolving issues and show resilience in face of even the toughest conditions : all by virtue of their focus on solutions, not problems. Another common refrain one comes across is "you should have ...." of course my dear, once the end results are known, it is always easy to point fingers at what could have been done. You might as well add, that 'you should not have spilled your milk, see now it is making you cry !!' Not only do such refrains cause a negative atmosphere, but also kill all natural optimism, opportunities and creativity. Certainly, rules and regulations are meant to be followed and respected. But the spirit underlying such rules and regulations are more important. I am amused and impressed by the one question that Munna Bhai keeps asking Maamu (in popular Hindi movie "Munnabhai MBBS" part I), ".....emergency mein koi mar-rela hai, to usko form bharna jaroori hai kya ....." (before admitting a very critical patient in emergency ward, is it really necessary to first attend to documentation ?). The underlying spirit of the 'form filling' lies in having a systematic recording of patients treated for financial and other MIS. But remember, the underlying spirit of the hospital is to be a life saver, and not a record creator; based on the merit of the case, such rules must be viewed flexibly. I think, that, in essence is the true path to efficient-success. A hospital with poor life-saving track but reams after reams of neatly laid out records is as useless as a wet blanket. To my knowledge, the only 'Not' that I strongly favor and needs to be firmly obeyed is the "not" in sayings of great saint Swami Vivekanand "Arise, awake and rest not, till the goal is reached." So let us focus on what we can do rather than on what we cannot do... and make life easier for everyone !!

Ordinary People; Extraordinary Attitude

160107 The year : 1994. The journey : Dibrugarh to Chabua. A stretch of barely 25 Kms, that took a full one hour to travel, rattling in a tin contraption called bus on the lousiest maintained National Highway - the AT Road (Assam Trunk Road). Unmindful of the discomfort to everyone in the jam-packed bus, the driver whipped the gear dexterously, but with a vengeance as if it were the neck of his paltry salary paying 'dada' . The entire stretch of road was pitch dark with only an occasional road side settlement shanty's dim bulb glowing. Men, women and children alike were literally 'stashed' into the stinking box of a bus. Every single moment during that journey that evening, I kept on surmising, what sort of administration would keep quite with the kind of living people suffer everyday. Years later, in the year 2004 when I first had the opportunity to see the western world (read US!) I was just too stunned to even make a comparison. If it is one thing that people there do not have to think of - its the roads. Not to mention water and electricity supply. Between these three and comfortable public transportation, people hardly even bother to give a second thought. Is that the reason that the country is so great ? A country where the basic needs are fulfilled unquestioningly and wholeheartedly ? In India, in the 60th year of our independence, we are still not sure where we are headed, if one is to look into these basic essence of civic comforts. Come to think of it, most of the insurgency concepts came into being with a popular rider - inhumane living conditions and poor facilities for people. As these three elements comprise the real basic infrastructure, no worthwhile developments have taken place in such places as Assam (North east in general) over the years. Today, we offer "Open gates" to likes of ULFA to talk to. Would ULFA have come into picture or activity if Assam had been a successful state in development model. Not that I support the methods of ULFA, but yes, the reason why it became such a draconian organisation is worth a social study in many a universities. Why we do not come across a, say "Florida Liberation Front" ? Is it because people in America do not know how to fight for their cause ? No Sir !! I believe that America is great not because it can capture likes of Saddam and hang them, but it is great because great leaders have made the nation great by carrying with them even the smallest unit and individual towards prosperity and development. Our leaders ought to discard politics as a cloak of un-reach-ability and become true administrators and true leaders. Believe me, the solutions for the likes of ULFA, Naxalites and JKLF lie not in guns but a sound sociological approach to development of society and caring for the people who form its inseparable part. Even now it is not too late. We need to forget everything and focus more on what we need to do, to take our people, towards the next generation society. Rather than following suit the US traditions on strip-all bare-all culture, perhaps, we need to focus more on what makes the society great and learn more positive things from them. I may add here, a great thought from our own NALCO, whose corporate logo simply but magnanimously says "Ordinary people, extraordinary attitude". Yes, that is what we need at this moment, to make our country great; and it is only extraordinary leaders who can do such a simple task.

Seven Characteristics of Happy People

090107 : Characteristics of Happy People

(a) Happy people are thinking people. They are ingenious, inventive and creative.

(b) Happy people are considerate people.

(c) Happy people have better health. It reflects that good state of emotional health. Despite any physical limitation (handicap) if any, they will have successful and happy life.

(d) Happy people show their age less. They age at a slower rate, have better colour, posture and are more alert.

(e) Happy people like themselves. Self respect is essential to happiness. You won't like living with someone you don't like or respect.

(f) Happy people are liked by others. Remember, "Laugh and the world laughs with you; cry and you cry alone!"

(g) Happy people are successful in what they do. Always willing to invest their time in trying new experiences. Their success is measured in terms of enrichment, enlightenment and personal satisfaction.

Is Life really a serious affair ?

020107 : I reproduce here an article from TOI / by Rajkumar Hirani, the director of Munna Bhai series of movies. The reason, what has been stated therein, is simply the truth of life and throws some light on better methods to deal with the ups and downs in life. Special credits to TOI for coming up with such articles.

1. Don't take yourself too seriously: "Whenever I'm feeling a little low and things are not going my way, I remind myself that on this huge planet, we are very small. Our place in the scheme of things is tiny. Things don't happen the way we want to. The life span of 70-80 years, we spend on this old, old earth is minuscule. So, we should chill out and stop taking our problems so seriously."

2. Joy is more important to me than success : "Always do something that gives you joy. Success will follow. Chasing success in a profession that gives you unhappiness is futile. The journey has to be fun, not the end. Geet Sethi, in his book, writes that whenever he played the game for the joy of it, he won. When he played with the money or the title in mind, he lost. "

3. Don't be judgmental : "The world is a complicated place to live in. We don't know what the other person has been through in this day; month, year or life. So let's not judge people by actions they might take on impulse. When we gossip or are cynical about someone, we in our own heads form an image of that person. That perception bothers nobody but us. Mostly, people are not as bad as we perceive them to be."

4. Focus your energy : "I don't have the temperament to do three or four films simultaneously. Post Munna-Bhai, there had been lots of offers, but I wouldn't have been able to do them justice together."

5. Power is within : "I am not religious or ritualistic. I find that many religious places are constructed in a way that when you walk in, you feel calm. So if someone can find his peace there, why not ? I too try to find my peace with that unknown power. Not in an idol, but within. I do thank God every night . When good things happen, I think of him."

Well spoken, Hirani... and thank you for letting us in onto the great string of thought !!

010107 : New Year Resolutions : "We spend January 01st walking through our home, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives..... not looking for flaws, but for potential."

(Ellen Goodman, TOI)