Country Roads... Take me home...
Monday, May 12, 2008
Once you start staying outside the cultural cocoon you have been brought up in, a trip back home is always a toy train ride then. You start with enjoying the trip itself and getting excited about it, the smell, the sight and the looks on the people around you matter to you as you start observing them. Just because you are enjoying the moment, you give that extra smile to the flight attendant, you strike a conversation with some stranger sitting next to your seat and in case some kids wave at you, you are almost definite to reply back. ‘The bubbly journey towards the home’.
The trip may mature to the ride through the memory lanes; remembering the days which used to go slow at the kiddish pace wherein almost all problems had only one solution – let parents handle it. Our job was limited to just informing them. Then even if you had accidentally broken a glass, spilled the milk while boiling or even spilled ink on dad’s office files (it happened to me!); it was now your perplexed parent’s job to find a solution or cope with it. At the same time it was great to rush to your parents and have the trouble taken away from you. After all they could handle everything!
But life is different now, my problems are mine. Though my mother is as inclined as ever to solve my problems, the nature of problems have changed and the decision has to be made by me only. I look in her eyes and all I can muster is a big “My mummy special” hug. I have realized with time that its not only my mother who is emotional, my father, who may not be effusive, equally longs for those express of emotions that tell him, “Thanks dad, you made right choices for family. I am proud of you!” And in case you are a girl, then he needs more emotions from you.
Yesterday while searching for some papers my hands caught an old file, it was my dad’s certificates. Now he is a man I was always encouraged by all my relatives to fall in shoes of. He was eldest in his family and my grandfather was a sepoy. Grandpa had lost his agricultural land to a flood and life had been hard ever since for his family. Dad’s fee was paid by another family and dad worked in their fields. Everybody has been telling me since childhood that I need to be as hard working as my dad and rise as higher, but then dad has been raising the bar every now or then. I knew he was topper all the while and had been a fast riser in his office too. But when I looked at that brown file it told the detailed story. My dad had got appreciation certificates saying that his name was engraved on the college wall for record performance. There were cuttings from newspaper lauding the small kid from village who topped the state in engineering college. Then there were letters from a public company who recruited him from campus (where he is still working). Looking at your father’s achievements gives you a very different feeling of pride and complacency. Even though my quoted pay is higher than his today, still I stand hundred of miles behind him. And this is not because of the state government ambassador that he been given, but the persona, the integrity and the character of the person he is.
Dad's shoes are always quite bigger to fill in!!
Labels: Experiences, Philosophy
posted by Jas @ 2:30 AM,
,
To MFC/MBA passouts
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Finally!The exams are over, dissertation blues are already forgotten, the party shoes are still shining and the dad's chest just got filled with more pride! You are from last evening the most sought after performer - an MBA grad from one of the top B-schools of India!
You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own.
And you know what you know. YOU are the person who'll decide where to go.
If you can, do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail...
Congratulations once again! and welcome the Stage II of your career. I believe you can do wonders, what do you believe?
You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own.
And you know what you know. YOU are the person who'll decide where to go.
If you can, do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail...
Congratulations once again! and welcome the Stage II of your career. I believe you can do wonders, what do you believe?
Labels: Experiences
posted by Jas @ 2:51 AM,
,
Saluting real heroes
Monday, May 05, 2008
Tell me one thing, how well do you agree to the saying 'Barking dogs seldom bite'? In case you really agree then let me give you an analogy, the barking news is seldom worthy. This is especially true in case of Indian media which has seen a humongous commercialization in last few years and has been reduced to only profit as a sole motive of news on private channels. In case you don’t believe me, I can show you snapshots of breaking news where the only thespian is a young feline stuck on top of a multi storeyed building with headline reading “Chajje par atki billo rani” (English: Miss Cattie stuck on rooftop). And that’s from none other than India’s consistent Hindi No 1 news channel – Aaj Tak.
In midst of all this when the one comes across an award show wherein the achievers on grass root level are awarded, it surely strikes a chord. Am talking about the 'Saluting Real Heroes' award show on IBN news channel (of TV18). To commemorate 60 years of Indian independence, CNN-IBN and IBN-7 launched this initiative called Real Heroes. The initiative is an effort to recognise, acknowledge and celebrate ordinary Indians who made a difference to people’s lives. The 24 shortlisted candidates represent India's unsung heroes who showed great courage and perseverance in silently and selflessly contributing to the betterment of society. They are ordinary people with extraordinary endeavours who dared to stand up and swam against the tide, simply because they believed in the power of will, hard work and faith. Just hearing what all these people achieved makes you realize how much effort needs to be put in grassroots to get the society appreciate the 7+ GDP growth India has been boasting of internationally. Unless we make sure the trickle down effect is fully working, the wealth of India will be enjoyed by only a select section of society.
During the show, Javed Akhtar made a statement that one thing is common between all these people and that is that they did not have the resources and power, still they managed to pull it off. These were just normal people and hence they had to struggle hard and that’s what Javed summarized aptly in this statement of his. Below I try to capture what these people achieved and what the award was for.
During the show, Javed Akhtar made a statement that one thing is common between all these people and that is that they did not have the resources and power, still they managed to pull it off. These were just normal people and hence they had to struggle hard and that’s what Javed summarized aptly in this statement of his. Below I try to capture what these people achieved and what the award was for.
posted by Jas @ 9:48 AM,
,
