Ponderings of a Young Indian

Manifesting a Beautiful Environment Around Us

noreply@blogger.com (Phalgun Kumar) — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 18:06:00 +0000

On World Environment Day, it occurred to me that the most important environment is not spoken about: The 'Inner' Environment.

How will the environment around us change, when we internally remain the same?

Religion, spirituality and science, all agree in unison that the external environment is a manifestation of the inner self. Which leads me to believe that a green, clean, unpolluted earth will manifest from a commensurate mindset.

If Workplaces Functioned & Graded Like Traditional Academics...

noreply@blogger.com (Phalgun Kumar) — Tue, 31 May 2016 12:49:00 +0000

Yet again, it's that time of the year: When students in India are being ranked on their ability to rote learn their yearly quota of "curriculum".

But, if education is expected to prepare students for a career, shouldn't it be more in sync with how workplaces function?

For amusing ourselves, let's imagine what a workplace would look like, if it followed the grading rules and methods of educational institutions and exams:

- You should work individually and not in a team.

- You cannot share your work and reports with others.

- Each person in the meeting must take down a separate Minutes of the Meeting and it should not be shared with others.

- The Minutes must be memorized as the Boss can ask you to repeat them at another time. If you cannot speak without referring to your notes, you are stupid, incompetent, nincompoop, and your daddy is wasting money on you.

- You cannot collaborate on projects. You can be fined, punished, suspended, detained or even thrown out for collaborating.

- You primarily get paid for showing up, and you can generally get by, by applying sly memory methods taught by tutorials

- You cannot use a calculator, a mobile phone, messaging apps, collaborating apps, or Google. These are taboo, and can be a serious offence leading to end of career.

These examples can go on and on, of how a workplace would be like if it followed the amusing practices followed by educational institutions and systems to grade students. Can you think of some too? Add to the comments below and we'll have some more fun, poking the system.

"No! Not Ambitious Enough..!"

noreply@blogger.com (Phalgun Kumar) — Mon, 23 May 2016 17:29:00 +0000

Recently, I was drawn into a conversation about Ambition and Ambitious-ness by a parent who was seeking admission for his daughter. The impromptu conversation led me to making statements and some interesting realizations:

- Tangible Vs. Intangible: Ambition is not something that can be measured tangibly. Nor can we take a preset criteria and announce that X is more ambitious than Y because of A, B and C.

- CXO Vs. Rat Race: Corporate success cannot be the measuring rod for ambition. Can a CXO who wakes up and isn't thrilled about going to work on Monday morning, be called ambitious? Or is s/he just another one in the rat race?

- Happiness Quotient: Can happiness be an ambition? Can a person who is very happy, be considered ambitious? Or is that person the anti-thesis of ambition? Because, by concept, ambition seems to mean striving for something you right now, either don't have, or aren't.

- Family Vs. Career: If a person chooses to be a stay-at-home parent, and is happy about raising a good family, isn't that person ambitious too?

- Head Vs. Heart: What about a wanderer who follows his heart?

- The Buddha Conundrum: And if we return to the typical definition of ambition, wouldn't we classify Buddha as an unambitious escapist, who left the palace and kingship for the woods and solitude?

Defining ambition is an awkward attempt, at best. I think its best that we not try to define it for others, nor let others define it for the self. Let each of us decide our own life paths and what we will consider as a life well lived. And that, is ambitious enough.

Neighborhood Stores Withstood Supermarkets; Can They Withstand E-tailing ?

noreply@blogger.com (Phalgun Kumar) — Mon, 21 Sep 2015 15:23:00 +0000

Though they were expected to be marauders, supermarkets could not make a major dent in the economics of the friendly neighborhood stores. Proximity, personalised services, friendly faces, and credit facilities kept the neighborhood stores preferred vendors despite the discount offering and high budget advertising supermarket chains.

The entry of organized retail was protested by one and sundry as it was expected to lead to an end of the Mom-n-Pop shop small economy. But contrary to predictions of economic pundits, some retail chains like Subhiksha (yea, remember that one?) collapsed entirely, while the neighborhood stores happily survived.

We are now entering the next phase of retail, which is e-tail. Swipe your mobile a few times, and get entire orders of groceries, meds, eggs, sweets and other daily need items delivered directly to home. No parking hassle, no traffic driving, no finding time from office schedules or missing important TV shows, no cash payments, no standing in queues for checkout, no rush. Just simple, easy, 'branded' shopping. With such value additions without the supermarket compromises, this one seemingly has the power to sweep mom n pop shops away. Interestingly, there isn't 1% of the protest which preceded the organized retail revolution; which we now know, wouldn't have had too much of an effect on small shop economy anyways. But then like it or not, internet shopping and easy home delivery is the shopping model of the future.

How will the small neighborhood shops survive in the future, then? These small shops have to realise that they need to quickly tie up with delivery service providers and also do local branding in their own area to remain relevant and popular. They also need to find alternate business models. Otherwise, they are going to find themselves on economic shaky ground in the near future.

If God Stopped Giving, Would You Still Worship? :: The Unpopular View of Spiritualism, Materialism and the Modern Religion

noreply@blogger.com (Phalgun Kumar) — Sun, 10 Aug 2014 15:10:00 +0000

“I give you A, you give me B.” This, is a standard business transaction. Interestingly, this isn’t limited to regular business dealings in the marketplace. Modern religion too, mostly consists of such transactions; (1) between devotee and God, and (2) between devotee and temple management.

The transaction between devotee and temple management is P2P (Person-to-Person) and so is simpler to accept and understand. The devotee usually transacts with the temple management through giving bribes or donations, and receiving priority access to worship areas and other religious facilities.

The transaction between devotee and God is P2A (Person-to-Abstract) and is tougher to accept and understand. I devote this writing to discuss this relationship.

In this transaction, the person is making a transactional deal with an unreal non-person, who he supposes (or believes) to exist. The devotee (irrespective of religion) approaches a God he believes in, and offers prayers and promises, in return for benefits that are primarily materialistic in nature. A non-exclusive list of benefits most often asked for, would include health, career growth, marriage, children, property, money, help in legal situations etc. On days when there is nothing specific, the devotee asks for a vague ‘happy life’, which is substituted with specific requests at other times as per specific need.

A line from the popular Ganesha bhajan effectively portrays this idea of asking God for materialistic favours, and probably even respecting God primarily because of his perceived ability to shower materialistic fulfillments on humanity. The line goes as “Andhe ko aankh de, Kodhin ko kaya; Banjhan ko put de, Nirdhan ko maya”. The English translation of this line will be: (Lord gives) eyes to the blind, an able body to the leper, child to the barren, and riches to the penniless. So the concept at play seems to be - Pray to the Lord, and ask him for materialistic benefits in return – this is what modern religion seems to have come to. And what if God no longer promises such benefits? Do we abandon him in this case? The weird conclusion is Yes, because that's what God seems to exist for.

If I reject this twisted conclusion, what then is the purpose of the theory of religion?

I’ll use the Indian context to address this question and to identify most of modern religion as a poor subset of religion’s original purpose.

The Bhagwad Geeta is a central discourse in India about a human being’s spiritual journey. The discourse, narrated by Lord Krishna (the Supreme Godhead), clearly points towards the final goal of life as being Moksha (Nirvana) – the freedom from the repeated cycles of birth and death and a return to the state of bliss in the Godhead.

Religion teaches us about the three Gunas, and the path to break free from the clutches of Guna and the autocracy of the Karmic Debt in controlling our lives.

So in fact, the entire benefit of religion points towards what happens post-death. Religion requires human life to be lived “with the end in mind”, literally. The Karma should adhere to actions arising from spiritual awakening of the soul – the understanding that we are not our bodies but we are souls stuck in a materialistic universe – this is the basis of spiritualism. The entire remaining religious discourse highlights the path to achieving an escape back to our soul’s original Home – the Vaikuntha.

Hence, the reduction of religion as a path to enjoy a happier life on earth, is not exactly a part of the intended Indian discourse on spiritualism.

Unlike popular belief, I do not distinguish between religion and spiritualism. I find them inseparable tag team partners. My understanding is that religion and spiritualism are intertwined; wherein religion provides the structured learning roadmap through a guru, and spiritualism is an aware state of mind, an awakening, a sense of connectedness with the universe and being able to see the light that demystifies ‘Maya’ – the materialistic world.

Considering the above, one derived conclusion is that the idea of ‘materialistic possessions’ or ‘worldly happiness’, are not central to the idea of religion. Spiritualism, is central to the idea of religion.

Based on this, we return to our question: How has transacting with God (prayers for benefits) become so central to religion and religious rituals and practices? Why are temples no longer actively involved in helping people evolve from mere transactional devotees into spiritually enlightened individuals?

Modern religion definitely requires a shift in focus from materialism to spiritualism. Without this, the true nature of religion has been reduced to that of a business deal between the devotee and the God. And this gives the devotee the perception of being religious and even spiritual, but the end result is falling prey to yet another cycle of birth after death.

Google Is Better At 'Re'invention, Not Invention

noreply@blogger.com (Phalgun Kumar) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 08:50:00 +0000

I just got a Google+ account and was looking through it; and it seems quite preliminary right now. Nothing stands out as a strikingly different feature that I was dearly missing. However, I'm sure that as I explore the service further and Google starts adding updates to the Plus services, things will take a turn - for the better.

'Coz that's how Google always does it! From the way it looks, Google is better are reinvention rather than invention:

Yahoo!, Altavista and AskJeeves were already around when Google launched its flagship search services. Google improvised search and has remained the market leader for over a decade now.

Hotmail came up with the idea of free web based mail, and Yahoo! gave it a run for its money. Then Google reinvented free web based email and is still giving everyone a run for their money. Even today they're adding new interesting features when everyone else is trying to catch up with the original Gmail. The latest 'Priority Inbox' in Gmail is absolutely a charm!

Android is an awesome open source technology, but it had a predecessor - the I-Phone OS. Google took what the I-Phone OS already offered, reinvented it, open sourced it, and launched it world wide. And today, Android is about to beat the I-Phone or it already has according to some statistics.

Blogger was doing a great job but losing out to Wordpress already when Google took over and converted Blogger into a super-user-friendly web based engine. Professional users claim Wordpress' greatness when it comes to plug-ins; but everyone else swears by the drag and drop features in Blogger. And Blogger plug-ins are catching up for sure!

Yes there are some exceptions like Google Earth and a few others, but Google's best services have come when they were reinventing; and not when they were inventing. Some inventions like the 3-D chat, disappeared just as quietly as they appeared; most people haven't even heard about them.

Orkut couldn't move Facebook's market when Google took over, but then Google was dealing with a legacy app and Facebook was already facing humongous popularity from its technology and the ability to connect people and provide interactive updates. Orkut remained clumsy, and privacy was always an issue.

Google+ is purely a 'reinvention'. Facebook has existed for many years now, it has a strong market base and the number of users give it more population than most other countries around the world. Just like Hotmail, or Yahoo! search, or the I-Phone; all torch bearers and market scorchers; but losing wind to Google once this company got going.

Google+ is Google's new latest reinvention baby. It might as well be called Facebook+, I guess. But this time, the foe is extremely formidable and threatens to push the new G-baby into oblivion and make it an unsuccessful mutiny into the F-hunk stronghold.

Only time will tell where the battle leads, but Google is reinventing again and Facebook needs to take notice. The competition is super hot, and as Google adds new features to G+, it will only get hotter. Let's see if Google wins the reinvention game yet again!

From Today Into Yesterday

noreply@blogger.com (Phalgun Kumar) — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 12:32:00 +0000

Where do they come from,
These desires of today,
To relive the golden memories of yesterday.

Why do they come,
When I did not call them here.
And why did they then leave,
When I did not send them away;

Leaving me with a void,
One moment empty,
Another moment heavier than I can lift,
Choking me on both counts.

Once that which gave me life,
Beckons me to call out again,
But gone is the sunlight that used to feed it.

Be gone, sweet memories, halt your dreams,
You can no longer be brought back to life.

K V Kamath Joins Infosys

noreply@blogger.com (Phalgun Kumar) — Wed, 04 May 2011 04:24:00 +0000

K V Kamath becomes K V Come-eth for Infosys.

Infosys hopes to sail again with ex ICICI honcho K V Kamath joining the organisation.

Toon - Nitin Nohria becomes Harvard B-School Dean

noreply@blogger.com (Phalgun Kumar) — Fri, 07 May 2010 18:43:00 +0000

Nitin Nohria becomes the first Indian Dean at the Harvard Business School !

Toon - Sachin Tendulkar Joins Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Phalgun Kumar) — Fri, 07 May 2010 18:41:00 +0000

My tribute to Sachin uncle joining Twitter!!

Victoria's Secret Rival Brand

noreply@blogger.com (Phalgun Kumar) — Fri, 07 May 2010 18:39:00 +0000

My Toondoo toon creation adventures continue...

Toon - Institute of Controversy Creation & Management

noreply@blogger.com (Phalgun Kumar) — Fri, 07 May 2010 18:29:00 +0000

Found this great new site Toondoo.com. It allows me to create toons, and fulfill my all-time 'toony' creativity, without the knowledge of drawing them.

Yay! for tech and Yay!! for Jambav team to create the Toondoo.com engine.

Here's the first one I created:

The Psychology of FB Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Phalgun Kumar) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 07:10:00 +0000

And why exactly is FB such a big hit? What is the magic behind that irresistible urge for updating statuses?

Been thinking about it, and the only thing that comes to mind is - the Need for Attention, for Social Validation.

Uploading new photos, writing witty status messages, or commenting - everything finally leads to the child in our heart that desires attention. FB is such a fantastic tool to study psychology, really! Researchers, anyone??

Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada's Prayer before Landing in America (September 1965)

noreply@blogger.com (Phalgun Kumar) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 06:50:00 +0000

Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), landed in America in 1965. He was not sponsored by any religious organizations, nor was he greeted by followers. He had embarked on that journey as guided by his Guru.

The wikipedia page on Swami Prabhupada summarizes his achievements in the final 12 years of his life, beginning since he landed in New York - without money or supporters (He came to New York with 8 dollars in his pocket):

Circled the globe fourteen times on lecture tours that took him to six continents
Directed the founding of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, which claims to be the world's largest publisher of ancient and classical Vaishnava religious texts
Authored more than eighty books on Vedantic philosophy, religion, literature and culture
Watched ISKCON grow to a confederation of more than 108 temples, various institutes and farm communities

Huh?!? Sounds like a feat doesn't it? In just 12 years, he went around the globe 14 times across 6 continents, authored 80 books, and influenced the construction of 108 temples in over 11 countries? Almost a supernatural feat.

But why I am writing about this, is because his prayer caught my notice. Some time ago, I was mired by my life situations. And I landed up at an ISKCON temple as if I was being guided there (I had never been to one before, or was never specifically a Krishna devotee). For the first time in my life, I prayed into submission. When I came across Prabhupada's prayer, the one he told Krishna right before he arrived in New York, it was for me a sense of deja vu. I don't feel competent to compare myself with Prabhupada yet, but it kinda makes me believe I'm on the right track.

... as he neared his destination on the ship, the Indian freighter Jaladuta, the enormity of his intended task weighed on him. On September 13, 1965 (Again unbelievably, Today - the day I chose to write about this prayer - is the eve of the 44th Anniversary of his prayer) he wrote in his diary, "Today I have disclosed my mind to my companion, Lord Sri Krishna."

Prabhupada's Prayer:

"I do not know why You have brought me here. Now You can do whatever You like with me. But I guess You have some business here, otherwise why would You bring me to this terrible place? How will I make them understand this message of Krishna consciousness? I am very unfortunate, unqualified and most fallen. Therefore I am seeking Your benediction so that I can convince them, for I am powerless to do so on my own."

Hare Krishna.

Best Definition of Non-Confirmism

noreply@blogger.com (Phalgun Kumar) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:58:00 +0000

This is, by far, the best definition of Non-Confirmism I have come across. It is by a guy whose ideas I've really liked - Tim Ferriss. Tim has a path breaking book called The Four Hour Work Week, and he talks about concepts such as mini-retirements, maximum work with minimum effort and living to realize dreams rather than living to work!

I have usually been unable to explain to people what exactly I mean by non-confirmism; and that there is a certain logic to non-confirmism and it is not just for kicks. Tim Ferriss does an excellent job of explaining it in his book, and I hand it over to him...

"Most people walk down the street on their legs. Does that mean I walk down the street on my hands? Do I wear my underwear outside of my pants in the name of being different? Not usually, no. Then again, walking on my legs and keeping my thong on the inside have worked just fine thus far. I don't fix it if it isn't broken. Different is better when it is more effective or more fun. If everyone is defining a problem or solving it one way and the results are subpar, this is a good time to ask, What if I did the opposite? Don't follow a model that doesn't work. If the reciepe sucks, it doesn't matter how good a cook you are."

Why Not I Sing...

noreply@blogger.com (Phalgun Kumar) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:16:00 +0000

Why not I sing the song
Quickly,
That lies in my heart,
So that I don't risk it remaining there;

Why not i sow the seed
Quickly,
That lies in my hand,
So that I don't risk it not germinating.

~ Rabindranath Tagore

I think Rashmi found this translated poem somewhere and shared it with us... the words continue to tinker my heart; just like most of Tagore does.

The Classical Cinkara Ad Rip-Off

noreply@blogger.com (Phalgun Kumar) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:23:00 +0000

Bank Account Bechara,

EMI Ke Bojh Ka Maara,

Isse Chaiye RBI Ka Tonic Rupaiiaaah!

:)

If you forgot to brush your teeth last night...

noreply@blogger.com (Phalgun Kumar) — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:01:00 +0000

For the first time, I am displaying a posting from someone else's website.. but its worth it. Short but powerful, this motivational message sums up a great deal in a few words.

If you forgot to brush your teeth last night, did you decide this morning to throw in the towel and never brush your teeth again? Since you're obviously a slob who doesn't have enough self- discipline to remember to brush your teeth, why bother brushing them at all if you forgot to last night?

Of course not.

So if you had ice cream for dinner last night, or didn't exercise yesterday, or gained a pound this week, don't throw in the towel! Make a healthier choice for dinner tonight by eating something lean. Go for a short walk. Weigh in again next week.

Just do NOT give up.

Lisa.

You Can Call it "Language Pollution"

noreply@blogger.com (Phalgun Kumar) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 10:53:00 +0000

INDIA AND THE UGLY RISE OF 'FRIENDLY' SWEARING IN PUBLIC

C***U!!! I heard the teenager swear loudly as he walked down the parking lot. And no, he wasn't angry; he was swearing at his friend, just out of fun and as a part of regular discussion.

B** C**D!!! This time outside a store same day evening, this other teenager on a Honda Activa swore the favourite Indian gaali at his friend who was standing about 50 meters away. And again, he was not scorning, he was simply indulging in friendly swearing.

Friendly swearing is the new in-thing. It is becoming a cult of sorts. And though friendly swearing has always been considered normal amongst friends, the habit is now showing up loudly in the social sphere. However, in its new avatar this seemingly harmless habit should be raising an alarm.

What Is Going Wrong?

Shouting out swear words in public places is extremely embarrassing for bystanders. Imagine a family unit - husband, wife and kids - moving around together, and a gang of youngsters suddenly begin to hollering swear words at each other, followed by a devilish group cackle. Can you visualize the situation? The helplessness of the adults at the sheer insult of their family's sanctity?

These days, we not only have to breathe foul air, we must also put up with foul language. Its a new type of pollution seeping through the Indian society. Call it Language Pollution!

We Need A Code of Conduct for Social Behavior

The code of conduct for social behavior should consist of the Biblical statement "Do Unto Others As You Want Them To Do Unto You".

Its funny though, that the very people who indulge in indecent swearing in public behavior, are ready to indulge in a brawl over someone else's indecent behavior. It is indeed ironical that they take up the task of policing others, whereas let themselves run amok in the society, tearing up threads of decency which bind community living together.

Why Are Teenagers Acting So Indecent?

I was discussing this problem with a very close friend of mine, and she rightly pointed out two reasons:

1. Earlier considered to be a sign of ill upbringing and low quality behavior, social swearing is now becoming part of cool behavior.

2. It is a form of power display, where the swearer gains a sense of social power by being indecent in public. (remember Munnabhai of M.B.B.S. fame? or Pakiya of Satya fame?)

What Can Be Done?

I don't really think we can stop it from happening. But to think we are helpless bystanders does not seem right either. Hence, I tried to think of ways to reverse this trend:

Parents should devote more time to their kids. One of the primary reasons why swearing was not so much the in-thing earlier, is because we were accountable to our parents who were spending a lot of loving time with us. With the advent of the dual 3 letter words - MBA and MNC - Indians are trading time with family and kids for their career enhancement. And then we claim to be smart traders. Bah! Kids can never be accountable to WeekEnd-Parents

(WeekEnd-Parent adj. A parent who is only available to the kids for a very few hours on weekends. In case of month end, weekend-parent is not available even on weekends)
Btw, I am not saying we give up our jobs and become housewives and house-husbands and full time parents. But being from the same land that bore the Great Buddha, we must be smart enough to find our own 'middle path'.
Movies, television and print media should not promote swearing and use of low quality language as cool. The 'Bhai' language, a favorite of the Indian cinema, sure has its pitfalls.
Socially swearing without concern for others' feelings is a form of apathy, rebel and a release of repressed emotions. Being pressurized to perform academically and not allowed to connect with and fulfill their natural talent causes a feeling of repression and resentment. This helplessness of the youth surfaces as aggressive, indecent behavior. It is also a way to draw people's attention to the self in a world where everyone is unknowingly feeling lonely.
If the society and education fine tunes towards helping individuals achieve their potential rather than force them into pre-defined standard-sized academically labeled boxes, I am sure that kids will develop sensitivity towards the society from a very young age.

The kids will respect a society which respects their individuality, and hence their aggression and rebellious spirit will give way to a harmonized existence with the society at large.

This is my set of socially creative ideas to counter the increasing language pollution spread by loud friendly swearing in public places. I would love to hear your experiences and comments on the same.

The Chak De! Irony

noreply@blogger.com (Phalgun Kumar) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 07:21:00 +0000

Chak De! did a chak de at all the award functions. It made a clean sweep in all categories. Best Actor, Best Director, Best This, Best That. Watching this irony brought a sly, helpless smile on my face.

It's really ironical: A film about a bunch of ambitious women wanting to make it big in hockey makes it to the headlines, becomes a crowd puller, a super-hit, and wins tons of awards. While the real bunch of ambitious women wanting to make it big in hockey pass by totally unkwown. Everyone recognizes Sagarika Ghatge (Preeti Sabarwal) or Vidya Malavde (Vidya Sharma), but none of us probably even knows the captain of the real Indian Women's Hockey Team, or its star strikers.

Ironical, that a made-up act runs in circles around the real act. The unreal becomes greater than the real. The persona surpasses the person. Boy! it sure is a damn funny world to live in.

I think it would have been great, if at the end of Chak De! India, Shahrukh would have gotten the entire Indian Women's Hockey Team for real and introduced them to the Indians. He had a big chance to create real celebrities out of them and giving Indian Women's Hockey a great fillip; and it is a big chance missed.

However, I also realized that Chak De! was not really a movie about hockey. It was a movie about aspirational (female) youngsters who are willing to stake both their relationships and their pride for pursuing their enchantment. It is this quality which creates a crowd-winning formula as it appeals to all. The main reason for this appeal is that each of us has a hidden desire to reach out for the stars, but very few of us actually manage to do so.

On the other hand, maybe the movie actually leaves us with an idea of how to actually make Indian Women's Hockey successful and the team a celebrity. If the federation succeeds in making a connection between the players and the Indian population like the movie does, it will create a new level of interest in the game. In fact, the movie is a testimonial to the fact that no one is actually interested in the game, but they are interested in the thrill of victory and in the emotional roller coaster a game takes them on.

Understanding and knowing the players as a person will provide the required emotional aptitude for enjoying the game. The players and their personal stories with interesting photoshoots must be featured in newspapers, in reality shows, in news and in advertisements. Actually, they make great material for a reality show, where the audience is taken into the lives, struggles, hopes and ambitions of each player. Later, everyone will want to watch the games of team of persons they are emotional about. When the players will know that there are a billion people emotional about their winning, guess what? They will start winning!!!

The success of Chak De! has surely shown a path to popularize not just hockey, but any game. Let the audience connect with the players off the playground, and then they will want to watch the players on the playground. Add a generous garnish of glamour to the emotions and you have the right recipe for success with the audience at large!

Chak De! Sports!!!

Woman's Day Special - 2

noreply@blogger.com (Phalgun Kumar) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:09:00 +0000

Behind Those Legs, Is a Woman

Click. Click. Click. Heels make such an undeniable sound as they tap against the polished granite floor of the airport. And two beautiful legs in stockings grow out of these heels, meeting the edge of a miniskirt which flirts with the eyes of every man present. Air hostesses - I wonder who came up with this beautiful idea!

The very presence of these women brightens up an otherwise boring, mundane wait at the airport with nothing to do. Dressed in colourful elegance they strut around the place, attracting wide eyed looks. Their make up is so perfect, you could click a photo of any of them on any day and directly use it for a Loreal colour cosmetic advertisement. And those legs in miniskirts and stockings, and the heels - those are the culmination of a voyeur's delight.

Last week I was traveling to Mumbai. As usual, I had a one-and-a-half-hour mundane wait at the airport. And as usual, it was time to watch the pairs of legs play peek-a-boo from behind the stockings. Suddenly, one of them slipped and fell. And in pain - She Screamed ! I jolted out of my semi-consciousness and my widened eyes focused as I came back to my senses. She had screamed!!

Yes, she was a woman. She was human. When she fell, it hurt her just like it would hurt me. Airhostess - woman - human ? Funny, I realised that connection didn't strongly exist in my brain.

Some staff came running to help her. She wasn't badly hurt, just sprained her ankle lightly. They helped her limp to the office to give her some first aid. In a few minutes, she was back in business - still limping a bit, but back in business - and headed towards the security check.

With the commotion over and the queue for a boarding pass lessened, I walked over to get mine (I hate those queues and avoid the long ones whenever possible, especially on short journeys where I don't care what seat I get). The computer system stalled right when it was my turn, so I chatted up the airline attendant at the counter. I told Akangshaa that she had a nice name and asked her what part of India was she from and what inspired her to join an airline company.

Akangshaa is from a town near Delhi. Her father was holding a clerical position in a government organisation, and her mother does part-time tailoring to support the family. The family wanted her to be on her own and so her father took a loan to fund an expensive course which leads to a career in airlines. She worked very hard and was found it hard to accustom to the new rituals of mannerisms, etiquettes and taking on a dolled-up look. She worked hard and was one of the lucky ones who actually got a placement, as most girls and boys in her batch could not secure a job with any airline even after paying hefty course fees. She dreamed of flying as no one in her family had ever flown in an airplane. But she could only secure a ground staff position and hopes to be able to become a cabin crew sometime in her life. With passing time, it might not be possible for her to do that. But she is atleast happy to work with a reputed company, have a respectable job, and even though she has to stay away from her family and work odd hours, she is able to support her family back home.

Blink! The computer system blinked back to life. My boarding pass was processed and my luggage transferred into oblivion through a conveyor belt. My security check had been announced so I went there directly and got myself a metal detector check that proved I wasn't a terrorist or didn't have any plans of blowing up or hijacking a plane. That morning as I waited in the lounge, I heard a lot of heels click and a saw a lot of shapely legs play peek-a-boo through the stockings.

But my mind wasn't on that anymore. Akangshaa had distracted me. The heels and stockings contained the aspirations of a woman I had usually missed - a woman with dreams like any other, ambitious and hard working, toiling at odd hours and staying away from her family for days at length. The glamour hides the turmoils of her heart, the mascara hides the sigh in her eyes, the clicking heels hide the whisper of her desires. Dealing with tons of obnoxious self-centered travelers everyday, she hides her scorn with a plastered smile and greets everyone with grace.

That morning in the airport departure lounge, my mind drifted from the heels, stockings and the miniskirts. I had a new realisation running through me. Behind each pair of legs, was a woman.

Women's Day Special - 1

noreply@blogger.com (Phalgun Kumar) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:08:00 +0000

Why I Don't Celebrate Women's Day

"You didn't wish me on Women's Day!!" She was shouting, almost scolding me. It was about 8 PM on 8th March, celebrated world wide as women's day. I hadn't wished her. And that did set me wondering.

Why, why at all hadn't I wished her? I knew it was women's day. The newspapers, the radio and the billboards all across town had been screaming it into my ears since so many days. There were conferences happening all over town to celebrate women's day. From felicitation functions to morchas against domestic violence, woman's day was in-your-face. So then, why had I not wished her - a Happy Women's Day?

I thought and I thought, and I concluded this: There Is No Celebration Happening Here!

For Heaven's sake, Women's Day is no celebration. If at all it is an event, it is a mourning event. Why?? Well, this is going to be kinda tough to explain, but I'll try.

Let me try to make a point using a negative stance.

Why don't we celebrate men's day? Simply because, we believe that men enjoy their rightful place in the society and there is no need to designate a special day in the calendar when we need to bring the focus to "men's issues". Conclusively, women must not have yet obtained their rightful place in the society and that is the reason why we need to designate a special day for them. On this day, women's issues are brought to the world's attention - issues of domestic violence, issues of inequality, issues of gender discrimination.

So what makes you think that it is a cause for celebration? To acknowledge that we still need a "Women's Day", is to acknowledge that women have yet to obtain their rightful place in the society. The day of a beautiful equality is yet to come. It's a horizon we yet need to conquer. A day when a woman is not discriminated against just because she is a woman; and that she is celebrated in her multiple roles - a mother, a sister, a daughter, a wife and a daughter-in-law. A day when the role of the feminine is accepted to be as important as the role of the masculine. A day when compassion is considered equal to strength.

That, my friends, will be a day of celebration, a day I'll gladly wish her. For now, the very existence of women's day, is a cause for mourning. And I refuse to wish any woman, a "Happy Woman's Day".

Beware: Childhood Values Die Hard

noreply@blogger.com (Phalgun Kumar) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:14:00 +0000

LESSONS FROM A SALT SPRINKLER

Today, I was waiting by the roadside when my eyes fell on a little kid. He seemed to be doing something. It was dusk and the light wasn't too bright, so I leaned in with narrowed eyes to make out what he was upto. He was sprinkling salt all over with a salt sprayer!

Seemingly, his parents had taken him along to a little streetside cafe. They were sitting at a table waiting for their food to come, while the little kid had picked up the salt sprayer and was sprinkling salt all over.

Now, kids are always upto such antics. But this one deserves a mention because his parents dumbly were watching him do it. No reprimanding him, no asking him not to do it... not realizing they are setting themselves up for raising a kid who probably will never become a valuable citizen.

I may sound too far fetched, but this little act of theirs is basically a signal to their kid that anything that belongs to another, need not be valued. Salt is dirt cheap, but for the kid there is no difference between salt, clothes, watches or diamonds. He is learning a dangerous lesson.

If the same thing were happening at home, would the mom and dad be so totally quiet? Would they let him sprinkle all the salt they have purchased just for play? If they wouldn't let him do that at home, why let him do that at a restaurant? Just because the salt is not chargeable?

Silly people! I presume, that they let him act the same anywhere. As long as it is not ours, son, and we won't have to pay for misuse or damage, go ahead and spoil it. This little kid might grow up to violate traffic rules, throw garbage on the streets, care a damn about the environment and have no vigor to defend a cause. He might just end up as another useless citizen like the hordes of them we already hoard, that fail to think beyond the boundary of their own home and self. Values sown in childhood go a long way. But who is going to instill them?

Not school. School is just for developing scholastic skills. They will teach them to measure the distance between Earth and Jupiter, but not teach how to measure the impact of them garbage on the streets. Not TV. TV will teach them how to run behind hollow beautiful exteriors and lower one's self esteem, and not teach how to look beyond the obvious and feel better internally. Not religion. Religion will teach them how to chant prayers and pray for miracles, and not teach them how to go out and take charge of their own destiny. So it is left to the parents to instill some values, and they too are backing off in this case. And I can be sure this is not an isolated case. Tons of parents are backing off. They spend thousands on scholastic skills, and not a penny or minute on life values.

The society needs better citizens. It is upto the parents to make sure they instill the right values in their kids. Or we will collectively, pay the price - That of a society of self contained individuals who only drain from the collective but never contribute.

Flirt Fine and Pay the Fine!

noreply@blogger.com (Phalgun Kumar) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:00:00 +0000

"In some places, flirting is illegal. In Little Rock, AK, an antiquated law is still on the books warning that engaging in playful banter may result in a 30-day jail term. In New York City, another outdated law mandates that men may be fined $25 for gazing lasciviously at a female; a second conviction stipulates the offender wear a pair of blinders whenever he goes out for a walk."

Huh? Interesting, isn't it??

So next time in that Karan Johar movie, he better take care when Shah Rukh latches at a girl in NY, he could end up paying $25 as a fine and end up wearing blinders!!! :)

Some archaic laws just exist for the sake of existing, and in a way I'm glad they aren't done away with. They provide so much humour in our daily humdrum life.

A (Stray Indian) Dog's Life

noreply@blogger.com (Phalgun Kumar) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:31:00 +0000

This is a scene of somewhere close to my house in Ahmedabad (Gujarat), India. "Street Dogs" are an interesting concept in India. They are stray dogs who no one owns, and they live on the street. They mark their own neighborhoods and are usually fed lazy by the residents. Usually harmless, these dogs provide a funny addition to the city landscape. The only difficult moments arise when some berserk dog tries to attack the people, and that one is then rounded off by the municipality.

These dogs are lazing around on the sand in the winter sun. Totally impervious to the road they lie in peace, basking themselves to glory.

I recollect discussions I've had with friends in the USA when I used to live there, and it was almost impossible for me to explain what stray / street dogs are. The concept of having dogs owned by nobody was totally alien to them. But to me, its a way of life.

So well, this is a Dog's Life in India. Any takers???

If you're interested, you can write to one of these dogs at stray.peanuts@indianstraydogs.com :)