An Unanticipated Visit

Today I happened to visit a Tyre factory for some official work. It is the month of September here and the rainfall this year has been more than generous. An arduous 45 kilometer journey to work is no endearing feeling every morning. Road traffic and potholes test your patience to the core. So it is one of those very cloudy, drizzly and windy days. The area I was going to visit is an industrial hub with many small, medium and large scale units. Most of the population comprises migrant laborers from different parts of the country.

I hired an auto to reach my destination. As I stepped out of the auto a gigantic iron gate stood tall, one similar to the gate of a prison. After Id’ing myself to the gate keeper, I entered the factory. As I set my foot inside the gate, I was immediately teleported to one of those Hollywood movies about prisons, concentration camps or punishment cells. The towering walls, the dark surroundings, the greasy and weary faces, the reek of rubber, it all painted a very gloomy picture. There was something very depressing about the place.

As I kept walking inside after signing the visitor’s register, guided by a guard from the Northern part of India, many thoughts crossed my mind. The place was filled with hounding sounds of machines, stench of chemicals and black fluid spilled all over the floor. I entered the HR person's cabin and was asked to wait for him. I sat there, absorbing my surroundings. I thought “how can someone wake up and walk into a place like this, every day? What on earth could have possibly forced them to travel all the way, away from home and family to a gloomy dungeon like this one?” Then I realized, these people are not here out of their choices, they are here to make a living. I realized the subtle difference between, just making a living and making money. Maybe I have undermined the phrase “making a living” in the previous sentence. Making a living is not as easy. Unlike some of us with swanky, air-conditioned and well-furnished work places, others have to be content with dreary ones, places which can suck the energy out of their lives and reduce them to mere robots. And here we are, complaining about long drives to work, bad bosses, bad roads, mean colleagues and the list is endless.

As I walked out of the cabin after meeting the official, I requested if I can click a few photographs, which was politely declined. While walking out, I managed to steal a few clicks from whatever angles I could. I crossed the exit gate, with a feeling of victory for getting the clicks, a sense of relief for having my job and my life, and a sense of wretchedness for the workers of the factory.

PS: Scenes from a couple of Hollywood movies that flashed through my mind are: The Shawshank Redemption and Life is Beautiful.

A Long Pending Gift to Myself

I started my career in 2004. It's 2016 now. That's twelve years. Phew! But I still feel like a rookie. I can never behave all wise and expert-like. I love to live with the child like curiosity and innocence.

Anyway, that's not the talking point here. The point is the fact that I finally own a laptop after twelve looong years of service! Yes! You read it right. Most of the people who have worked for nine-odd years in a Multi National Company would have owned a laptop within two to three years of their service. I have my own reasons though, and I am not going to delve into them. I am just glad that I have it now. :)

Thanks Dear Bro for sending it despite the time crunch. :)

PS: iPhone is another stunning electronic device that I possess now. Thanks to my li'l sis. :)

Getting inked.

Finally! Yes, I got tattooed. It was long pending. I am glad I did it. :)

The first step was of course to finalize the design. So yes, a lot of research (browsing) went into it. I did not want to go by the "most popular" choices. I wanted something which is an expression of my personality and my beliefs. I went through a lot of hearts, butterflies, dragons, stars, birds, etc.

Then I came across this one and I got hooked onto it almost immediately!

Lemme take some time to explain what it means. The anchor symbolizes strength and the heart at the centre (bottom) is the source of strength. At the top is the symbol of infinity with the words "love life" because I believe that life is the most beautiful gift of God to mankind. So live life like there is no tomorrow. Enjoy every moment. I would like to quote a couple of dialogues from one of my favourite movies - Forest Gump.

"Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get"

"You have to do the best with what God gave you."

Cheers!

E-GO!

This one I wrote for a friend as a topic for public speaking. Nevertheless I knew I cannot miss this topic as I have ego issues and my brother has always been the one to highlight this fact. Not sure if I am working on it or I will ever. But, here's my take on it.

There was once a great scientist. He developed a formula and learned the art of reproducing himself. He did it so perfectly that it was impossible to differentiate between the original and the copy. One day he realized that the angel of death was searching for him. In order to remain immortal, he reproduced a dozen copies of himself. The reproduction was so prefect that all of them looked exactly like him. When the angel of death came down he was at a loss to know which of the thirteen before him was the original scientist. Confused, he left them all alone and returned back to heaven. The Angel came up with a Clever idea. He said to the scientist Addressing all 13 of them, "Sir you must be genius. However, I have discovered a flaw in your work, just one tiny little flaw". The scientist immediately jumped out and shouted, Impossible! Where is the flaw?" "Right here" said the angel as he picked up the scientist and carried him off. The three letter word "EGO" killed the scientist literally.

Ego - the word itself says let GO. The term  “ego,” is the Latin term for “I” in English. Ego kills relationships. When expressed, it has the ability to instigate similar behavior in others. We see so many people get into conflicts and most of them have the same question "why should "I" be the one to apologize, or why should "I" be the one who initiates to resolve the conflict. So this constant "I" pulls us away from our loved ones and strains relationships.

Ego cannot thrive in the presence of love. Because to be able to love one must be able to put the interest of the other person above self interest. Love demands selfless affection. There are only two relationships that do not have ego and are based on unconditional love. The first one is the relationship between a mother and her child . She is always ready to sacrifice her personal interest for the child. She would be the first one to give up in an argument. No matter what you do she would be ever ready to forgive you and still loves you unconditionally. The second relationship is between God and a human being. They say that you might have committed thousands of sins but if you forget yourself and become one with him, you will be amazed to realize the intensity of love that he has for us.

Talking about the mother who loves her child selflessly. What is surprising to see is the same mother has a different equation all together when it comes to her relationship with her mother in law. the same question "why should "I" be the one to apologize, the "I" comes again. This goes to show that though a person is capable of being selfless in a relationship, he/she is not completely devoid of ego. The intensity of expression varies from person to person. But there is no human being who can say that "I am ego less". In fact such a statement is the biggest affirmation of the presence of his ego.

Can an individual ever act only according to her own interests without regard for others’ interests. Can an individual ever truly act for others without any regard for his/her own interests? The answers will depend on individual choices.But deep inside our hearts we all know that it is impossible to think about others' interest in all situations. Just ask yourself, have I lost a relationship, have I had fights over trivial things, have I disagreed with others in spite of knowing that I was wrong? I am sure we've. At some point or the other. This goes to show that ego is inseparable from human nature. We all have it. The choice is yours'. Do you want to pamper it and inflate it or control it and make way for love. 

The Turning Point

"One remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Two, never give up work. Work gives meaning and purpose and life is empty without it. Three, if you are lucky enough to find love, remember it s there and don't throw it away." - Stephen Hawking.

I know I have made a mistake of doing the exact opposite of one of the points mentioned above. But I do know how to make my way back. :-)

Heart Vs Mind

They say listen to your heart and you will never have any regrets in life. It is a fact that every individual is unique and has his/her own way of looking at things, we all have different priorities in life and both these factors decide the choices that we make in our lives. Some of us make choices by listening to our hearts, just the gut feeling, something that need not necessarily have a rationale. This bunch of people might come across as impulsive and unrealistic, but it is also true that most of the impossible feats are made possible by these very people. Sometimes their thinking defies logic, and when you ask them the reason for making a particular decision they end up saying “I believe this is the right thing to do. I feel I should go with what my heart says.” They rarely give you any logic. It is just a feeling. Their statements are marked by a constant usage of words like “believe’ and “feel” as opposed to the other bunch of people who tend to use “I think” to express their thoughts. These people rely heavily on their logical reasoning and critical thinking. They are the problem solvers and rescuers in the moment of crisis. They are pretty smart and skillful and can carry out most of the day to day tasks pretty effortlessly. By having such a person around one can rest assured that their day to day life is going to be smoother with fewer hassles.

But life isn't about just living a hassle free life. Life is also about feeling the unfelt, experiencing the inexplicable, doing the unthinkable, reaching the unreachable! I had read somewhere, whenever there is a conflict between heart and mind, listen to your heart always, for mind has boundaries and heart does not! A heart filled with love is the most powerful force in the universe! I am yet to experience this. I’ll leave it at that for now.

For The Girl Child

I have attended a wedding recently that prompted me to write this post. There seems to be a lot of focus and discussion around female foeticide and female child sex ratio, thanks to the media, social workers and talk shows. Now, what has the wedding got to do with this? The father of the brides is a family friend of ours. The reason why I mentioned ‘brides’ is because he got two of his daughters married on the same day. Now this man, the father of the bride, has six daughters and a son as his children! Yes that’s right, six daughters! Of course the son is the youngest. He got five of his daughters married. That’s a huge responsibility! Bringing up seven children is anything but easy. It needs a lot of patience, hard work and not to mention, a sound financial background. He belongs to a family of farmers and like my dad he had moved to Hyderabad to earn a living when he was young.

When his wife gave birth to their fourth daughter, my mom had gone to see her in the hospital. As usual the so called relatives were almost mourning the birth of the girl child. My mom just looked at her and smiled and said “another baby girl?” to which she smiled back and said “yes, but that’s ok. I will not give up. Let’s see who wins, the will of God or my determination.” My mother was moved by her statement, she knew what it was to be in her position, because she has four daughters herself.

What I want to point out is the fact that the couple chose to give birth to all six girls. Probably they did not even bother to go for a sex determination test. They had a desire to have a son which is not wrong. Human beings have desires and they have every right to fulfill it. But at no cost should they force their desires on others. At the same time we have no right to sacrifice lives in order to get what we desire. They could have gone for an abortion like how other couples do, or rather are forced to do. But they did not. They brought up all six daughters well and none of their education was compromised. I am talking about a couple with limited financial resources. The husband had probably studied just schooling and the wife is uneducated. This makes me think that education in the form of degrees will not ensure that we will bring up a good society of people. There’s more to it than mere bookish knowledge and social awareness. Of course these are the prerequisites, but they alone cannot ensure the desired results. It is a very personal choice that one needs to make, a choice to do what is right. I salute the couple for having the courage to do the right thing without succumbing to the circumstances and other negative effects around them.