Variety Is The Spice Of Life

Breaking The Ice

2014-10-29T17:29:00.003+05:30

First impression varies from person to person and situation to situation. It is human to feel nervous about the “first”. However, overcoming the awkwardness by being aware of yourself and the situation, and more so by simply being natural and confident, helps in making the right first impression. Never will life give us a second chance to create a first impression, but being aware of yourself and not faking it to create the first impression will be the lasting impression.

Read the complete article on:

http://wordwiserr.com/

Father

2014-06-15T22:55:00.000+05:30

My name, ‘Deeya’, has always fascinated me. Etymologically, the word has its roots in various languages. But my father named me ‘Deeya’, inspired by the Hindi word ‘Diya’, which means ‘lamp’.

I grew up listening to my school teachers, fondly, referring to me as the ‘lamp of the family’; and I travelled with my family where ever my father’s transfers took us, changing schools and accommodating cultures and traditions.

Once on a long vacation, we happened to be in our family home in Kerala, and my father showed me his world of books and writings. There I came face to face with ‘Deeya’, my father’s pseudonym.

A surprise indeed! My father had never mentioned his joy of writing, except that he enjoyed reading my creative ventures. To help me improve my writing skills, he encouraged reading, bought books, gifted diaries, and advised me to make them my best friends.

Occasionally, he would enquire about my latest diary entry, and I used to read it out to him very reluctantly. Then it had mattered less to me. Gradually, I found myself sharing every single write up and poem I penned; and he was more than happy to view his opinions and mend.

In fact, my first book of poetry materialised due to his quiet work of passing on the poems to the publisher.

Years have passed by. Nothing seems to have changed. Even today we spend hours over the phone (distances hardly matter!), especially on holidays, discussing news, views, and his critical observation of my writings.

Need to mention, he hopes to see me read and understand the depths of Malayalam literature. To begin with, recently he gifted me an English translation of the great legends of Kerala.

Over a period of time, my relationship with my father has matured from a father-daughter one to a guru-shishya (teacher-student) level of understanding. A teacher, who understands, guides and accepts the student as she is.

I often wonder if I have idealised him. However, I am still learning from his philosophy of life. And I have realised that I am truly his “Deeya”. On this Father’s Day, I salute you, my dear acchan (Father in Malayalam).

What's Up, Man!

2014-05-15T12:48:00.001+05:30

Smartphones are the necessary evils that keep our day busy with activities. With the amount of software downloads, as such, our life is centered on finger tips. Facebook, PIP Camera, EBook Reader and many such applications are in offer. These are not only useful but also sources of image enhancers, which keep the happy hormones flowing. Along with these, there is this software called WhatsApp messenger that offers cost cutting messaging applications and easy functionalities to keep us connected and entertained 24X7.

I remember the first time I set a Facebook profile. The long lost friends and acquaintances were soon only a click away. Yet with time, logging on, updating, reading the comments and counting the number of likes were waning away. My face then searched only for mails, the messages my friends and acquaintances from the book, sent through Facebook message system. Wow. That was such a relief. I was no more worried about a PC, an android phone insisting on software download, and if ignored the profile or pictures going public.

That is when I was gifted an android phone. My well-wisher, my husband, wanted me to have all the facilities under one roof. And he introduced me to WhatsApp.

What’s up? I cried out. Hush hush, as it sounded, I defined it as an application that did not disturb me much, especially when the setting is put on silent mode. And at the same time, it helped me share the messages, videos and images on an immediate basis. Along with it, there was entertainment in the form of jokes, current affairs, notification, and information circulation, which brought the WhatsApp users on the same platform.

Interestingly, the same joke may come from more than one contact and so do the dissection of news, views or even the jokes, for that matter. Though I am a lazy Facebook user when it comes to reading and liking various Facebook pages, I could not resist ignoring the little jokes, and tit-bits on WhatsApp.

Wonder, who are the people behind? I like to call them the creative heads that can visualise and execute a joke from nothing. At the same time laugh at situations and make a joke based on their personal experience.

And as I kept myself fully occupied as a WhatsApp user, the dear old Facebook bought WhatsApp for $19 billion, at a time when there were about one billion users.

Now, what do I say, we belong to both Facebook and WhatsApp. And we love tampering with our privacy settings and account settings. The creative heads continue to churn, irrespective of the software, and the audiences continue to pursue their entertaining and messaging means. In short, we feel smarter day by day in our online world.

To Mothers

2014-05-15T12:39:00.002+05:30

What does little birdie say

In her nest at peep of day?

Let me fly, says little birdie,

Mother, let me fly away.

Birdie, rest a little longer,

Till the little wings are stronger,

So she rests a little longer,

Then she flies away.

The famous lines from Alfred Lord Tennyson, written ages ago, taught and is still being taught, have remained ingrained in my mind.

My school long forgotten, and we classmates awaiting our little birdies’ flights, still enjoy reciting this poem.

As I clicked the picture of a nest with little birdies in my garden, I look at the mother bird struggling to keep her calm.

The hummingbird that appears ageless, in her tiny body, blue sheen, and beak sharpened to perfection, fluttering, I wonder how much we struggle to look young. At the same time, life has been a sweet struggle when we take the role of providers to our children. Probably, all in the hope of living up to their expectations!

And then comes the day, when they find their way into the bigger world of dreams and aspirations. The excitement to take on an independent life makes them camouflage their love, and it transpires into achieving a living.

Apparently, most mothers, in spite of their busy schedules and work, find it hard to deal with this parting. Gradually, their love transcribe to loving selflessly. And then they learn to live with the day.

Music Writes:Remembering Rabindranath Tagore

2014-05-15T12:32:00.000+05:30

Some days I sit long hours glaring into the computer screen. I know what I want to write. But, the words simply refuse to come and thoughts vanish into oblivion. Here I am in one such boundless moment where, the mind is behaving meditative and I sense an absolute blankness.

However, somewhere deep within, I hear one of my favourite Rabindrasangeet play.

“Aaguner parashmoni chhnoao praane

E jibon punnyo karo……….”

The lines literally mean “purify my soul”.

And blessed I feel. I do not remember the ‘first time’ when I got to listen to this song. But I do remember the ‘every time’ when I listen to this song and am overwhelmed with emotions. The lines written in Bengali with its in-depth meaning, spoke the universal language. It touched my heart deeply.

It is then that I picked up an English translation of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali (Song Offerings), a collection of poems. To me, the precious creation is an honest heart’s journey of life in communion with the Almighty, and the spiritual connection in every simple thing that makes them the most extraordinary beings in life.

This year marks Gurudev’s (as he is fondly called) 154th Birth Anniversary (May 7, 1861). His creative endeavours are still refreshing. To quote one of my dearest friends from West Bengal, “Meaning changes with each passing phase of life….That’s the magic of Gitanjali.” “That’s the magic of Rabindrasangeet too,” I added.

Little wonder, my mind plays his music magically therapeutic. And I write, the words from my heart.

April - A Poetry, A Day

2014-04-04T20:16:00.003+05:30

April has been considered as the National Poetry Writing Month in the United States of America and Canada.

I came across this NaPoWriMo.net site very recently, and decided to try my creative writing skills on a daily basis. Since I started my first poem on a page, I continue to add the remaining to the same page.

Given below is the link to my contribution :

NaPoWriMo 2014 - My First Experiment

A Poem - Wonder Whether I am Lonely or Alone

2013-12-25T12:00:00.002+05:30

I have always wondered, have we ever tried to understand the difference between being lonely and alone?

While alone has always been seen in terms of physical proximity, loneliness has been associated with deeper psychological meanings. In other words, loneliness is a state of mind.

A link:

Wonder, Whether I am Lonely or Alone

Binding Memories

2013-10-29T10:19:00.003+05:30

Life without gadgets, especially our dear mobile phones, has become a dream impossible to even imagine. A recent incident in my friend’s life, was about to make me believe the same. The endless list of contacts, the pictures clicked at various occasions, the thoughtless pranks captured, family and friends in different poses, and the downloads from mails saved….

These minicomputer like devices, technically speaking, the high end phones with high end technology, bring the world into the small frame, and link us to the people, places and things at the tap of our fingers, which are too large for those tiny keypads. Hmn….

A day without that phone was miserable for her.

Two days after the loss was reported, a complaint was filed; and then the phone reappeared miraculously. Yes, miraculously. God knows the reason for it.

My friend was surprised… Happy … Life could not have been more joyous.

Of course, expensive it was. And the plan to buy a new mobile phone was discarded.

My friend decided to reset the instrument with the new SIM and bring her life back on track.

She opened the phone carefully and I could see shadows of unhappiness setting in. I could not help but look in her direction. The storage card or memory card was missing.

In that shocked moment the only thing I could hear and remember was…. “Somebody has wiped my memories”. She did not cry. No tears rolled out.

As a friend I stood by her watching. So right! Her memories….

The instrument was instrumental in binding memories. What will we be if our memories could not be captured? In bits they remain, somewhere ingrained in our subconscious….

Content Writing: A Marketing Strategy

2013-01-15T15:33:00.000+05:30

Writing is an art of expressing ideas, thoughts and information. The concept of writing has been used through media as journalistic writing, creative writing, research writing, personal writing, and many other forms; and in the current context content writing.

In fact, content writing gained its prominence with Internet. This is mainly because “content writing is a branch of content marketing, which aims at writing in a way that draws the targeted audience to the site in engaging them to active participation. This participation may include readers commenting on blogs and social networks, clicking ‘Like’ and ‘Share’ or ‘Tweet’ about the written post or uploaded video.”

A good content strategy often begins with the use of search engine optimization (SEO) technique to obtain higher number of visits to the site.

Search engine optimization (SEO) can be defined as an Internet marketing strategy that helps to improve the visibility of a web page or a website in a search engine’s (e.g. Google, MSN, Yahoo) search results. A web writer makes use of keywords, searches for new keywords and works on specific keywords to get new traffic.

Here, it is necessary to mention search engine marketing (SEM), which in short, “is a form of Internet marketing that involves the promotion of websites by increasing their visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs).” In fact, it is a rather broad term that utilizes the technology of search engines with the goal of “combining the two processes of search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click advertising (PPC)”. Indeed, it would be better to say that, “no SEM campaign is complete without SEO.”

A link to the power point presentation on Content Writing- A Marketing Strategy –

http://www.slideshare.net/DeeyaN12/content-writing-ppt

Connected, Yet Disconnected

2011-06-16T08:47:00.000+05:30

A life was gone. I didn't know. A condolence message to that friend, which appeared as the recent update on my social networking site took me by shock. I sat to remember the last interaction; it was a birthday post on my friend’s profile.

Social networking sites are the new means of staying connected with friends. School, college, office colleagues, neighbourhood and like-minded people from our profession. The friend list goes on increasing and decreasing, oft and on, as and when, people move in and move out due to their own personal reasons.

However, the question that continued to haunt me was "do we really stay in touch with each and every individual from our friend's list?" I would not have thought about it had it not been for a friend whom I lost recently.

Today that friend is a living profile on the social networking site. Many may be still waiting for the site to update on the individual’s birthday; a day we chose to wish our friends. Here, I search for an appropriate word, “friend”, “acquaintance” or “contact”. Whoever it is, we hardly know most of the people in our endless list.

On the hindsight, social networking site is an excellent platform to build network. This does not necessarily mean emotional connects. A practical approach to life and the concept of “live, and let live” is the rule to live.

I wished for once to reconnect with my dear and near ones. I was happy that I still could get to speak to them over the phone. I knew they were all safe and sound. And that my cyber indulgence is a far cry from reality. A farce of true value of friendship.

Petrol Price Rise Vs. Sentimental Values

2011-05-31T21:40:00.002+05:30

Wish we had foreseen what was coming our way when planning a future to owe a vehicle. The recent rise in the petrol price has affected the set budget for fuel allowances at every home. Reminding very much of mid- life crisis in a human life, mid-May was no different.

The State-owned oil companies had raised the price of petrol by Rs 5 inviting the displeasure of people in India. This morning, a leading newspaper carried another hint at a possible hike in petrol price by Re 1, “if the cost of crude bought by them (State-run oil companies) remains at the current levels.”

Turn of events for good or worse, the petrol vehicle owners, at least a few known to me, were in two minds. “Should we go for a diesel vehicle?” or “Should we change our vehicle into CNG or LPG?” Also, since the situation has triggered from petrol price hike, there was a very thin chance of getting a good price if they were planning to sell off their existing petrol vehicles.

Many of us have learnt to live with the situation by shelling out the recommended prices. “What to do, we have to keep moving” is the utmost we say and do. That’s not all; we continue to indulge in discussions, and purge our repressed energies with little actual solutions.

I could not imagine our priced possession - our car - is suddenly an expensive affair. An artefact representing merely a status symbol in society? In the past few trips that we had taken, our thoughts were vaguely playing with the idea of giving away our small petrol luxury for something more economical.

After one such journey, don’t know what had happened, but instead of walking towards our home I stood there looking at our car. A purple beauty with power steering, high end functionalities, sufficient luggage space and super comfort. It was simply irresistible. Of course, craze for branded cars never fade.

Probably, I have not done anything like this before. However, I realised petrol and diesel hardly mattered to me, but the relationship did matter. The four-wheeler evoked old tales of associations only. From being a part of our friend’s wedding to providing comfortable journey to family, our car has shared every single moment.

There are many such fond memories…

Word Games

2011-02-02T14:21:00.000+05:30

Times have changed; yet, Scrabble continues to be the most sought after games on the internet, mobile phone and computer applications.

Play and Learn With Scrabble

Republic Day Chief Guest

2011-01-27T10:44:00.003+05:30

Republic day celebrations not only evoke the patriotic fervour of the Indian citizens but also open the doors for international tie-ups.

Guest Country and Republic Day

Caste Unaware

2010-09-24T10:36:00.005+05:30

Caste has cast its spell on our lives

That we did not ask for.

For generations, we tried hard to break-free

Yet we could't find permanent solutions

So we learnt to live with the situation.

But why do we have to drag the poor animals

Those are caught unaware in the caste battle?

---

Thanks to the article in Times of India

Dog cast(e) away after dalit touch

A dog's life couldn't get worse. A mongrel brought up in an upper caste home in Morena was kicked out after the Rajput family members discovered that their Sheru had eaten a roti from a dalit woman and was now an "untouchable". Next, Sheru was tied to a pole in the village's dalit locality. His controversial case is now pending with the district collector, the state police and the Scheduled Caste Atrocities po lice station in Morena district of north MP.

Read more:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Dog-caste-away-after-dalit-touch/articleshow/6617039.cms

Mahatma...

2009-11-20T16:42:00.000+05:30

The recent launch of $25,000 limited edition pen from German pen maker Montblanc to mark the 140th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's birth did not go well with many Indian citizens.

Can Mahatma Gandhi be used as a marketing machine? Economic Times has a very interesting article, written by Vikram Doctor.

"Gandhi differentiated his appeal from other leaders, using ways of operation (fasts, silent days) that were uniquely his own and developed a unique visual identity. By wearing his dhoti and shawls even in the cold of England, Gandhi demonstrated the importance of brand consistency , even at the risk of his own inconvenience."

Click on the link below for the article......

Can the Mahatma be used as a marketing machine?

Cherish Banarasi Saree

2009-09-22T12:47:00.006+05:30

The Indian handloom and cottage industries has emerged stronger after every unwarranted crisis for years. The past has always sown seeds of hope. The Banarasi saree’s recent geographical indications (GI) status is an achievement worth mentioning.

With this the story of duplication comes under scrutiny as “the GI rights are the intellectual property rights that restrict others from marketing or processing a product in the same name.”

September saw the Banarasi silk product register as the ‘Banaras Brocades and Sarees’ under Geographical Indications (GI) Act.

According to experts “the GI status would benefit about 12 lakh people associated directly or indirectly with the handloom silk industry of the region because it would restrict the misuse of Banarasi saree brand. As per the GI certificate issued by the registrar of GI, the Banaras Brocades and Sarees fall in four classes (13-26) that include silk brocades, textile goods, silk saree, dress material and silk embroidery. The registration is for 10 years and it may be further renewed.”

It is easy to find skilled labour, but maintaining the tradition needs attention and care. Though at the policy level there is a need for protection from cheap silk and powerloom houses, the challenge to reintroduce Banarasi sarees as a brand is not anymore a dream in waiting. The sweat, blood and about eight years struggle of many weavers to restore the lost glory and grandeur of the Banarasi sarees is set to begin a new innings.

Living with Acne | HealthMad

2009-08-22T12:33:00.003+05:30

Living with Acne | HealthMad

Posted using ShareThis

Understanding Medical Tourism | HealthMad

2009-08-19T12:28:00.002+05:30

Understanding Medical Tourism | HealthMad

Posted using ShareThis

Virtual India’s Bhuvan

2009-08-18T14:18:00.001+05:30

Bhuvan, India’s mapping application website has been launched. Working on similar grounds as Google Earth and Wikimapia, Bhuvan is a geoportal that provides medium to high resolution satellite imagery of virtually the entire India. When compared to the rest, this web-based 3D mapping tool, which is a product of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is said to have better zooming properties. “This would provide a user with images having resolution up to 10 metres. The degree of resolution showcased is based on the points of interest and popularity, but most of the Indian terrain is covered up to at least 5.8 metres of resolution with the least spatial resolution being 55 metres.” It is also said that “the user can also navigate through 3D viewing environment. One can “fly” to destinations of choice and even draw 3D objects such as placing of expressive 3D models, 3D polygons and boxes. The site also offers tools to measure horizontal, vertical and aerial distances.” The images on the site are a combination of satellite imagery from various IRS sensors taken “sometime within the last three years during different seasons.” But to browse the website, one has to create an account and download “the Bhuvan Plug-in”. A few days old into the World Wide Web, Bhuvan has a long way to go. As a common man we can hope that it would be a rich and useful source in addressing very local problems including water issues and infrastructure development.

Rich Lifestyle Affects Climate

2009-07-15T21:04:00.003+05:30

According to a study conducted by researchers at Princeton University, rich people and their lifestyles account for a major chunk of the carbon emissions globally. Tackling climatic change has been an ongoing process world around; but who could have imagined that the rich and the wealthy can be one of the causes? “Instead of simply considering carbon emissions on a national or per capita level, the Princeton team proposes a more granular system of climate accounting that would examine the range of individual emissions within countries. Thanks to economic growth, there are well-off people in almost every nation in the world.” The current data says that the world average for tons of carbon dioxide emitted a year per individual is about five tons. Here, while each European produces about 10 tons a year, Americans alone produce twice that amount. A researcher noted that most of the emissions come from lifestyles that involve airplane flights, car use and the heating and cooling of large homes. “And the study doesn’t take into account the carbon that is embedded in imports and exports in global trade. But big developing nations like China – with its rising middle class – won’t be let off the hook either.” Writes Times. It has been estimated that in 2008, half of the world’s emissions came from just 700 million people. Wonder, what one will do, if pleasures and comfort are taken away from life.

Father, My Father

2009-06-24T10:26:00.004+05:30

“I love my daddy. My dad is the best,” you say proudly and so is the story of dads, the world around. Dad, papa, father, no matter how you address him even in your mother tongue, he is the guiding force in a healthy family. The Father’s Day is far gone, but the cards and news stories keep the day alive, and the reasons for me to write. Thanks to Sonora Smart-Dodd, we have an exclusive day - the third Sunday in June - to honour not only our fathers but also those who are our father figures. Though legend says that a Babylonian youth named Elmesu carved the first known Father’s Day card in clay with a special message that wished his father good health and a long life, it was Sonora’s efforts that bore fruit. Sonora’s father William Jackson Smart, a Civil War veteran and widower raised his six children single-handedly. For Sonora, it was hero worship. On Mother’s Day, in 1909, when she was listening to the sermons at the church, she got the idea to have a Father’s Day observation. The following year Sonora convinced the local churches and celebrated Father’s Day honouring her father on his birthday. She also encouraged the concept of roses - a red rose was worn for fathers who were still living and a white rose to honour the dead. With time, Father’s Day has been much commercialised and you have an option to choose from a variety of cards and gifts. Interestingly, a National survey (US) shows the evolution of the Father’s Day gift, from Old Spice and leisure suits to DVDs and plasma TVs. Her interest and efforts paid off well, as the then US President proclaimed it a law; and President Richard Nixon in 1972 established a permanent national observance of Father's Day on the third Sunday of June. Today Father’s Day is a universal concept and celebrated across countries.

Do You Miss Zoozoos

2009-05-28T13:42:00.005+05:30

This morning I received an e-mail forward on the "making of ZooZoo", the vodafone ad campaign, a second time in a week. I could not stop myself but go chasing the zoozoo related news. Here, is my writeup... They appeared as the sweet animations we would love to watch again and again. Fresh out of the box and in between the IPL matches, Zoozoo, the dwarf egg-heads, successfully walked straight into the hearts of the viewers. In a short span of time, the new brand ambassadors of Vodafone have become the stars with fan following on the World Wide Web. Interestingly, these characters from Vodafone ad campaign are real people. Vodafone’s new brand ambassadors came alive through Ad-filmmaker Prakash Varma of Nirvana Films, who directed the commercials for Ogilvy and Mathers (O&M). “The practical aspect of how they would talk, gesticulate and emote was very important. It took me three weeks of pre-production work to understand how it would work,” said Prakash in an interview. Today, the zoozoos are celebrities in various social networking sites and have a great fan following. “According to data available here Advertising Age U.S., which tracks the top viral video advertisement (video clip that gains widespread popularity through the process of Internet sharing - e-mail or Instant messaging, blogs and other media sharing websites) campaigns of the world by number of views, has the Vodafone Zoozoo campaign right at the top. For the week of May 11, the Vodafone Zoozoos top the chart at 1.45 million views, way ahead of the second placed campaign. This is the second week in a row that the Vodafone Zoozoos have topped this chart. Last week, the Zoozoos entered the chart at number one, the first time in the world any campaign has done that on its debut. This also marks the first time any ad campaign from India has ever appeared on this chart of the most viewed viral ad campaigns of the world, let alone tops it,” reported Sakaal Times. That’s not all; it has wooed People for Ethical Treatment for Animals (PETA) too. “The popularity of this ad campaign proves that there are many creative ways to convey a message without using animals. Animals used in films are often treated as little more than props, and many suffer terribly behind the scenes.” Vodafone has won the first of PETA’s 2009 Glitterbox Awards, for taking advantage of humane alternatives to the use of real animals in their ZooZoo ads. It has been rightly observed, “If Hutch made Pug the ‘national’ dog, ZooZoos are the new youth icon.” Do you miss them?

Changing Jobs? Well...

2009-05-24T11:47:00.007+05:30

When I was reading this 'interview of a job hopper' that came as an interesting e-mail forward, I felt a need to share with all. I guess at some point of time we had these answers in our minds too... "Interesting.....Don't miss last Questions..." Some, rather most organizations reject his CV today because he has changed jobs frequently (10 in 14 years). My friend, the ‘job hopper’ (referred here as Mr. JH), does not mind it…. well he does not need to mind it at all. Having worked full-time with 10 employer companies in just 14 years gives Mr. JH the relaxing edge that most of the ‘company loyal’ employees are struggling for today. Today, Mr. JH too is laid off like some other 14-15 year experienced guys – the difference being the latter have just worked in 2-3 organizations in the same number of years. Here are the excerpts of an interview with Mr. JH: Q: Why have you changed 10 jobs in 14 years? A: To get financially sound and stable before getting laid off the second time. Q: So you knew you would be laid off in the year 2009? A: Well I was laid off first in the year 2002 due to the first global economic slowdown. I had not got a full-time job before January 2003 when the economy started looking up; so I had struggled for almost a year without job and with compromises. Q: Which number of job was that? A: That was my third job. Q: So from Jan 2003 to Jan 2009, in 6 years, you have changed 8 jobs to make the count as 10 jobs in 14 years? A: I had no other option. In my first 8 years of professional life, I had worked only for 2 organizations thinking that jobs are deserved after lot of hard work and one should stay with an employer company to justify the saying ‘employer loyalty’. But I was an idiot. Q: Why do you say so? A: My salary in the first 8 years went up only marginally. I could not save enough and also, I had thought that I had a ‘permanent’ job, so I need not worry about ‘what will I do if I lose my job’. I could never imagine losing a job because of economic slowdown and not because of my performance. That was January 2002. Q: Can you brief on what happened between January 2003 and 2009. A: Well, I had learnt my lessons of being ‘company loyal’ and not ‘money earning and saving loyal’. But then you can save enough only when you earn enough. So I shifted my loyalty towards money making and saving – I changed 8 jobs in 6 years assuring all my interviewers about my stability. Q: So you lied to your interviewers; you had already planned to change the job for which you were being interviewed on a particular day? A: Yes, you can change jobs only when the market is up and companies are hiring. You tell me – can I get a job now because of the slowdown? No. So one should change jobs for higher salaries only when the market is up because that is the only time when companies hire and can afford the expected salaries. Q: What have you gained by doing such things? A: That’s the question I was waiting for. In Jan 2003, I had a fixed salary (without variables) of say Rs. X p.a. In January 2009, my salary was 8X. So assuming my salary was Rs.3 lakh p.a. in Jan 2003, my last drawn salary in Jan 2009 was Rs.24 lakh p.a. (without variable). I never bothered about variable as I had no intention to stay for 1 year and go through the appraisal process to wait for the company to give me a hike. Q: So you decided on your own hike? A: Yes, in 2003, I could see the slowdown coming again in future like it had happened in 2001-02. Though I was not sure by when the next slowdown would come, I was pretty sure I wanted a ‘debt-free’ life before being laid off again. So I planned my hike targets on a yearly basis without waiting for the year to complete. Q: So are you debt-free now? A: Yes, I earned so much by virtue of job changes for money and spent so little that today I have a loan free 2 BR flat (1200 sq. feet) plus a loan free big car without bothering about any EMIs. I am laid off too but I do not complain at all. If I have laid off companies for money, it is OK if a company lays me off because of lack of money. Q: Who is complaining? A: All those guys who are not getting a job to pay their EMIs off are complaining. They had made fun of me saying I am a job hopper and do not have any company loyalty. Now I ask them what they gained by their company loyalty; they too are laid off like me and pass comments to me – why will you bother about us, you are already debt-free. They were still in the bracket of 12-14 lakh p.a. when they were laid off. Q: What is your advice to professionals? A: Like Narayan Murthy had said – love your job and not your company because you never know when your company will stop loving you. In the same lines, love yourself and your family needs more than the company’s needs. Companies can keep coming and going; family will always remain the same. Make money for yourself first and simultaneously make money for the company, not the other way around. Q: What is your biggest pain point with companies? A: When a company does well, its CEO etc will address the entire company saying, ‘well done guys, it is YOUR company, keep up the hard work, I am with you.” But when the slowdown happens and the company does not do so well, the same CEO etc will say, “It is MY company and to save the company, I have to take tough decisions including asking people to go.” So think about your financial stability first; when you get laid off, your kids will complain to you and not your boss.

I Lost My Job. Could This Be The Reason?

2009-05-21T16:20:00.010+05:30

A friend of mine called up this morning to inform that she has lost her job. She did not cry but her sarcasm-filled tone could repeat nothing but what her immediate boss had to justify. In her words the "gyan-patti"... Guess what? REASON ONE: "The company feels you do not fit the company profile?" She wondered why did the company select me in the first place? REASON TWO: "At the same time I did not get any positive vibes from you?" She laughed, vibes from work or not being too pally with the boss? REASON THREE: "You lack energy." She chuckled, "Energy! I did not know that I was part of a health drink ad?" "But never once, he mentioned I was a bad performer." She added. Once she was finished with her statement, I sat to analyse. Somewhere I felt, the answer lies in the logic. "Your bosses actually find unreasonable reasons to make you leave your job willingly." Probably, these were the reasons cited to save his insecure seat? Summing up from my friends conversation, there appeared three possibilities that you need to check before deciding to join a company. One, It is better to choose a boss who is not of the same age group and experience. Second, if your boss has an ego that cannot distinguish the right and wrong, he sees you as a possible threat. And in recession friends turn foes. Third, your confidence and popularity with the team members gives rise to inferiority and insecurity. Neither she nor anyone, will ever know what turns your bosses off during recession.

2009-03-28T16:42:00.004+05:30

A forward I feel can make a difference. Join the revolution, fight against Global Warming www.earthhour.in 1. What is Earth Hour? - Earth Hour is World Wildlife Fund's global initiative where individuals, businesses and governments turn off their lights for one hour to show their support for action on climate change. - Earth Hour is a symbolic event designed to engage people from all walks of life in the climate change discussion to send a strong message to our political leaders that we want them to take meaningful action on climate change. - The largest climate event in history where millions of people around the world will unite by turning off their lights for one hour, Earth Hour, to demand action on the climate crisis. 2. When is Earth Hour? Earth Hour 2009 takes place on Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 8:30 pm local time. Just like New Year’s Eve, Earth Hour will travel from time zone to time zone starting at 8:30 pm in New Zealand. 3. Which cities have signed up for Earth Hour? Already cities in more than 80 countries around the world have committed to Earth Hour 2009, including Mumbai and New Delhi. Satellite Earth Hours will also be observed in Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Amritsar. 4. What do we hope to accomplish through Earth Hour 2009? - Through Earth Hour, WWF hopes to create political momentum for enacting national climate legislation and a global climate treaty. - Through Earth Hour, WWF will continue to educate and raise awareness about the climate crisis and offer ideas and solutions that people can merge into their daily lives. - Through Earth Hour, WWF aims to unify people’s voices from around the world who are demanding action form our elected officials to solve the climate crisis. 5. What happened during Earth Hour in 2008? - Earth Hour 2008 was an important step in the fight against climate change. Over 50 million people, representing over 400 cities on all seven continents, turned out their lights in the largest climate event of all time. - The movement captured the public's imagination with lights going out at some of the world's most iconic landmarks, including the Sydney Opera House, Bangkok's Wat Arun Buddhist temple, the Coliseum in Rome, Stockholm's Royal Castle, London's City Hall, New York's Empire State Building, Sears Tower in Chicago and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Other symbols going dark included Cola-Cola's famous billboard in Times Square and the Google homepage. 6. Who can participate in Earth Hour? Anyone. Earth Hour is an inclusive event and everyone is invited to participate. WWF will provide tools online to enable any town, community, school, individual or organisation to be part of the event. 7. Why is Earth Hour at 8:30 pm this year instead of 8 pm? As the campaign has grown from one city in one country to a truly global campaign, the time has been moved to allow the maximum number of cities around the world to be suitably dark for the lights out campaign to have greater visual impact. Earth Hour is held around the spring equinox, which ensures nearly equal sunset times in both the northern and southern hemispheres. 8. Do I have to turn off all of my electricity for Earth Hour? Not at all. Through Earth Hour we are asking people to turn off all non-essential lighting. Emergency lighting, televisions and computers can stay on for the hour. The main point of Earth Hour is to unite people, companies and governments around the world through the symbolic flip of a switch. Earth Hour in itself will not lower our carbon footprint, rather, it sends a signal to those in positions of power that we as individuals and communities demand action. The decision on which lights to turn off can be made individually, but it usually involves shutting overhead lights in rooms (whether it is your house or a business), outdoor lighting that does not impact safety, computers, decorative lights, neon signs for advertising, televisions, desk lamps, etc. 9. Will my city go completely black? Earth Hour is not a black-out. It is a voluntary power shutdown of non-essential, decorative lighting by its participants. For businesses in city skyscrapers or for government buildings, it involves turning off the lights at the end of the business day the Friday before Earth Hour and not turning them back on until that Monday morning. So the event will be more of a fadeout to gray than an abrupt shift to black. There is usually no instant dramatic difference, but rather a gradual power shutdown starting the day prior. Earth Hour means turning off non-essential lighting only. Lights necessary for public safety will not go out. 10. Why is WWF dealing with climate change? WWF is committed to saving the planet's most threatened habitats and species, including tigers, rhinos, elephants and polar bears. To do this effectively, WWF must focus on the most imminent threats, climate change being an overarching issue for all of them. Simply put, climate change is a game changer. It threatens to undo the great progress we've been making in conserving the world's most important and most threatened regions and animals.