Moments of Bliss ::: "Genius never dies"

Hi All
Too much of office bragging....Time to share some extra ordinary feeling when I read the short story of Sujatha in Ananda Vikatan today.....in the current issue. This master story teller is no more with us as he died recently and Ananda Vikatan had paid him rich tributes at the time of his demise with an article for close to 4 -5 pages..... as this person had made a immeasurable contribution to this magazine with his series writing AND being associated with them for more than 2 decades.
To add to the article, the AV also has started to post his wonderful short stories one per week and the one that I am going to write about now is the third week in the row...The first two stories were more in the nature of narrative style in which Sujatha had penned his own experience in his life (though he always have maintained that the storty teller has every right to decide on the percentage of truth & the ratio between the truth / exagerrations in his stories) but this particular story....is more imaginary and not involving him directly in the story...
The story is titled "nagaram" meaning city...and the pictures drawn for the stories (I mean even the earlier ones in the AV issues) is simply amazing and jelling with the story content nicely. Sujatha portrays a innocent village women reaching Madurai, quite a busy town (nagaram) with her sick daughter with an aim to cure her...I warn you this posting is going to be quite long....
The story in the typical style of sujatha desrcibes the kalam clearly and puts up the camera on this women who is waiting in the General Hospital with her daughter in unconscious state...wanting treatment immediately....Being from rural pockets, she is not sure of the formalities at the hospital and portrays her innocence quite clearly.....I am just translating a particular dialogue that happens with the Hospital staff and this lady below...

"Madam, come here...what is your name ?"
he intends to register the case as the chief doctor who has diagonised the daughter of our heroine & advises to be admitted..... & hence this question
"Valliammal"....
"Patient's name ?".....
"He is no more..."
He lifts up his head and tells her....
"by "patient" I meant the sick person..whom do you want to admit"....??
"my daughter.....sir !!"
"what is name ?"
"Valliammal".....
"are you playing....?? I was asking your daughter's name !!"
He gets tense now !!
It was so tempting to record the above dialogue in this prestigious blog.... and the story clearly records the struggles and mental agonies of an illiterate and poor woman who is not exposed to the formal life of organised sector.... There was a poetic description to describe her mental state in another part of the story...
She was asked to wait in front of the General Ward and her mind was fixed upon her daughter who is lying in unconscious sleep in the reception area.... Sujatha describes her condition like a short poem like this.....
"whether to go to reception area to have a look at her daughter OR to stay in the queue??.... this question becomes a life time confusion for this poor lady"
I was empathising this lady as I read through the story...to give some more details, I was standing in the corner of a road waiting for my daughter to come out of her music class....who is supposed to reach in next 10 minutes..I was so involved with the story and was secretly praying that some good happens to Valliammal' daughter in next two pages / next 10 minutes - which ever is earlier - by the time my own daughter reaches me.....
The story minutely records the struggle Valliammal faces to identify the various locations of the hospital and the indifferent people not caring much (its a government hospital and the treatment was free of cost...which is clearly expressed in the story) for the alien people reaching hospital particularly the poor segment of the society. The story also touches upon the human ness that continues to exist in a over populated country like India where the Chief clearly understands that this girl is having some critical illness, right in the first page of the story, advices for admission of the girl.... Yes... there are lot of wonderful decisions made inspite of world becoming cut throat ... and commercial.... the problem is that the required amount of time and resources is not being allocated...
The same thing happens in this story too... Considering the indifference and alien atmosphere, our poor herione Valliammal decides to take her daughter back to her village and feels that "every thing will be allright with the vibhoothi of Vaitheeswaran Temple"....sets off to bus stand late in the night as the hospital staff had asked her to admit the case on the next day as the ward is already full !! Where else will she go under the given circumstances other than to her own conditions...however primitive and ill equipped it is, she at least can be confident of her familiar situations and conditions....
The Chief Doctor is shouting at the pitch of his voice in the hospital on why the case referred by him in the morning (as hinted earlier, in the first page of the story by coincidence....) has not been admitted...He is shouting at the staff who had not adhered to his instruction and is seen yelling at them "That poor girl cannot survive even tonight...."
This happens exactly when While Valliammal is comforting herself in the Madurai Bus Stand with her unconscious daughter lying on her shoulder and quite confident that ALL will be well with her favourite God....!!!
Reading the last line of the story, an unconscious but loud sobbing came out of my stomach and I felt not just the power of Sujatha's narration.....& was quite proud at my ability to get involved with the story with scorching sun above my head and in the middle of a busy road...
This is one of the best stories that I have read of Sujatha.....!! and I wish there are lot more of him which I hope to get a glimpse through Ananda Vikatan in due course.....!!
Suchoo

Manager in the making - 6 ::: Empathising !!

Hi All
It is quite a great feat even to have started this posting in this particular series..."Manager in the making"....as I was in self destructive mode for the past 8 weeks and was checking my meagre options to get out the mess that I had created..... In particular, this series which was started when I was in my high appeared to be a big comedy for me during this low period and I would say an element of my mental depression is due to sense of suffocation seeing how high things have been and I had been.....!!
Now, here I am posting this with lot more clarity on the need to Empathise with the subordinates than what I used to have before.... I remember I had spoken about the difference of two words - empathy and sympathy - to couple of my team members trying to give the situation in which they should be used...but I now realise it was understood and explained by me at mental plane only... I find the meaining of this powerful word "empathy" with....as usual ... my own experience...
Here I want to register few words about the person to whom I am reporting...He hails from Andra Pradesh. He appears to be a person from a rich rural family & gives an impression that he works only to be active and engaged....Incidentally he is one of the few manager of my company who owns a 9 lacs car while his peers are all quite comfortable with 6 lacs car....!! He speaks Tamil OK but reminding us all that it is not his mother tongue and when he speaks English, he just uses it as a tool to inform what is in its mind....and nothing more....!! In the earlier days, I have wondered that his communication skill is slightly short off to be in his position but gradually reconcilied myself to the reality that we dont have to become shakespere and wordsworth when we handle people with ordinary qualifications AND I also started discovering that this person is able to communicate any thing and every thing powerfully without mincing words (advantages of having too little library in his head).
He is quite stubborn and being quite close to him, though I had not suffered much, I have been watching him very strict at times when the expectations are not met and has a personality of dominance and self confidence which has brought him to his position. He is a master delegator and does not keep any thing with himself except those things which he cannot delegate..I had striken a wonderful and healthy relationship with him since day ONE and needless to say, we started getting more and more closer...he has visited our parent's home twice on my request when we happen to pass through our residence officially.....and had lunch along with us when he visited on both occassions....!! Even at office, we have lunch together and many times when one of us dont bring lunch, we naturally take 50 % of what the other has brought....along with couple of more supervisors....
Now, as usual I am getting too much detailed.....born habits die hard.....!!
He has smelled and guaged me quite well and during my earlier periods of inertness, has handled me quite well but this time, he had every reason to have become rude with me.....!! It is quite unreasonable to have the subordinate just sit idle and not being productive...for such a long period of time....!! He kept his cool and was quite natural during our Lunch sessions and trying to talk to me very casually. On two or three occassions, out of helplessness, he even had a 2 - 3 hours one to one sessions with me with genuine interest and telling me his past experiences and challenges at office front....trying to make things easy for me.... In one particular such session, I remember him helplessly telling me...." you need to know how to come out yourself...or to take support from outside if you want.... we are in a peculiar situation where both of us are sitting with out any clue on what could help you".... After every such sessions with him, I give him some assurances and try to get started on few initiatives on the next day but it was not sufficient to be sustained....
Now, having come out of my depression spell, I feel like emulating him in terms of empathising....!! I am fully aware such gestures of prolonged patience cannot be extended to every person whom we move with.....but I feel we should be capable of doing as a manager at least to those critical people on whom we have lot of faith and trust....!!

Moments of Bliss - 10 :: Musing on future possibilities

Dear All
Our Comany had made a strategic investment in people....Being a ITES company and having fresh people from colleges joining us directly - considering the educational standards of our universities - we do have problem encountered at senior levels which arise due to poor communication by people down the line.

Of course we have been having some training or the other on soft skills but it was all hapazard and not structured into a cohesive plan - the worst is that these trainings are left open optionally to the new recruits though the supervisors can force few of them to take up such trainings. Needless to say, many a times even the higher ups fail in their rights and duties and such things miss out getting prioritized....

The company laid out quite a heavy budget to have its own Trainers and has a vision to bring down the cost of hiring external vendors to NIL over a period of time...This is the story of 2 dozen of us become official Trainers of our company and the last leg of our training happend during this month first fortnight. I have recorded my experiences in this class of undergoing the training to become a trainer....earlier too...but now comes the inevitable time to "delivering"....
I made my debut in "email training" during last week - it was for 20 member team & expected to run for 4 full hours - all of them are basically processors with 1 - 2 years experience with us and needless to say the training program was structured very scientifically for such people...lot of group discussions, mini presentations, quiz..... & more importantly realistic examples of "wrong Mails" for analysis... instead of having some not - so - familiar situations which the external vendors might show up when we hire them..

Here I am with a world class training materials with me but being hyped as one of the best in this group by my mates, I wanted to do justice to myself more than to the trainees and to the company...Soon after coming from Shirdi, this was one of my priorities as my first session was scheduled on wednesday....

I was sleeping at 2 AM in the night on Mon and Tues .... to ensure that I get the contents of the course materials thorough myself, the flow & possible questions that may come up, planning the time to be spent on various topics and getting geared up for "open ended questions" to be posed here and there.....and noting down few humourous sentences that I could make....in my Trainer's guide....!! I literally mugged up the INTRO part as we call it...... after preparing it for myself....(they say the first 8 - 10 minutes is very crucial and we should have the elements Interest, Need, Topic, Range & Objectives clearly stated to make the first impression)....kept rehearsing it in the midnights....

All the preparations helped very well and being the first one to the training room at 1 PM (the training was to start at 2 PM ) skipping my lunch and getting used to the stage where the "drama" needs to be enacted.....to entice and enchant 20 juniors....who knows, a couple of them could climb up the ladder much more faster than me and can become one of the mangers of the company...here OR else where....!!

The early arrival helped as I broadly smiled every participant as they entered and started off with majestic voice which was so effective and powerful as what is to be delivered was so clear in mind.....I asked the questions as planned AND cracked the humor part too as rehearsed....the beauty is that I did lot more and more than that made the people fully involved / engaged for 4 full hours....!! The co-ordinator from HR paid couple of visits in between after introducing me to the group and was quite happy to see the way things were going.....

It was a great day for me and I am getting ready for my calender of April....!! I am expected to have two sessions (one for the same emails and another on telephone handling)....both for 4 hours but I do expect to do couple of the sessions more as I have hinted HR that I can be a reliable back up if one of the co-trainers abstain / had some unavoidable reasons to bunk their sessions.... There were couple of them not too passionate about this opportunity like how I and few others feel....

Now, this opens up a new avenue in my career.... Considering the air of naturalness in my deliveries and the electrifying atmosphere I created last wednesday, I could possibly drift away in a different dimension of career too.... over a period of time.... !! I am not too good an accountant - which is my career now - any way as I never had the opportunity to have wider exposure on closure of books / being in core finance getting involved in major financial decisions ....AND never cared to update myself with my career too....

Being a Trainer and making some impact on others lives appears to be a holy proposal for me AND I thank God for giving such opportunities of experimenting without getting into much personal risk...Let us be aware this is a very competitive field & I can't have my "inertness" periods if I am getting into such career...

suchoo

Transcendance - 9 ::: Getting out of "miracle" syndrome !!

Dear All
I had made a previous posting (argueably the longest one in this blog & presumably the longest one in the entire blog world !!) on my visit to Shirdi. The purpose of the said blog is to mainly describe vividly the mental state in which I set my journey on....and to painstakingly explain that it was a unique type of visit where a person with unclear mind going to a place "just like that" which is longed by many to reach...!!
Now its time to get into a microscopic view of the same visit & why this piece is being justified to be posted in "transcendance" series..... Well, I assure you that there wont be any repetition of any thing that is contained in the earlier posting....
Well, as it was a 24 hours travel in train during the onward journey to Pune, I was reading the biography on this Saint (Sai Baba) and was going through with some genuine curiousity the various instances in which he had performed few miracles, by our standards. The biggest and most striking difference in the series of his miracles with that of his successor (puttapurthi) is that this person did not demonstrate any miraculous powers for the purpose of entertainment OR to make his devotees believe him.
When his devotees pestered him with questions on how what ever he utters as his blessings happen just exactly....he has the self confidence and humility to respond to them "I am able to see things clearly what is going to happen in future...& I am just saying it only when I see the positive things clearly. it is not the other way around." Please read the above line carefully, it needs lot of clarity of mind to be so honest in this world where people own up fame even when they do not deserve it....
It appears this man lived too simply & begged for his food till the end of his life and was wearing a torn rag back as his dress for most part of his life...and the money / funds that poured in front of him got disposed off immediately to the people of shirdi.....!! The fire that is said to be lit with his yogic power (he just struck the ground to produce fire which he told "will live as long the world with be there....& asked his people to keep fuelling it.....) is there for us even today and the burnt wood OR the ash is considered to be having medicinal powers.....
Having loaded too much into my head, I wish I had formed some clear prayer to utter in front of this man's idol / statue when THE moment arrives, but unfortunately, I could not really process the inputs and make out a power packed statement till the time I joined the long loooooong queue....
It was heavy sun above and there were points of time when we were exposed to sun during the queue movement and we joined the queue only by 10.30 Am or so....I had not taken any breakfast consciously and was just standing without uttering any word and kept my eyes closed as much as possible...Lucky that me and my mother got seperated in the mad rush and it gave me much needed privacy & I kept on uttering his name within my mouth for the next 3 - 4 hours....for the substantial part of the time.... which became close to 4 hours....
There was dialogues and giggles all around me...people were jostling and trying to outsmart each other, some of them sitting in the benches available in every possible opportunity, many of them shouting and argueing when some one tried to overtake them....I was there standing without any connection with the external world, just mechanically moved whenever a space is created for me by the man in front of me....When I opened my eyes then and there and when I spotted few other devotees chanting his hymns or appearing prayerful, I had fresh stream of tears in my eyes and got into exactly the same feeling I used to have in my reverred yoga classes.... Perhaps I was appreciating the connection between types of yogas in a deeper sense....
I did not eat any thing till 4.30 PM that day, but still when I reached the main shrine by around 3.30, there was no hunger / thirst .. & did not have the urge to urinate even....for I had not taken a sip of water since morning..... It was as if I had transcended my physical limitations completely and when I stood in front of his marble statue, I was there without much of memory about myself.....Of course the body was tired and exhausted but it was not heavy and painful.....
I just met his eyes and it was a huge pause of time without any demands / prayers in any sense but I remember in the last few seconds, I nodded him looking him intensily as if I meant "take care boss....I dont want to tell you any thing".... I just walked away completely relieved from the main shrine.
It is really nice that he did not come in my dream that night or prior night OR did not speak to me in a husky voice that I alone could have hear him....OR the statue did not nod at me / wink at me.....!!
Since Monday, at office, the way things are moving forward as if it is just getting naturally started after a week end (2 months long), and the people around me realising and adapting themselves to see me in another extreme personality which they are familiar with already, I think this is enough of miracle that needs to happen for me.
The greatest miracle that has happened to me (though it may be such a silling thing for any one else) is that I am able to make a posting in my favourite blog....without any trace of the mental turmoil that I went through.....!!
Am I making mountain out of mole hill ??? In this world of extra ordinarily brilliant and result oriented people, am I getting stuck up with some thing too simple and too trivial which is being blown out of proportion.....? Am I underestimating me and trying to take too simple goals and getting into self deception mode ?? The answers to these questions could be a Big Yes & No....It could even be a still silence....

suchoo

Baba's magic !!

Dear All
I have heard it quite a number of times but never cared to entertain any serious thoughts and making a decision to believe it or disbelieve it....!!
In fact, still, I have not joined the creed of devotee of this wonderful saint who left us 90 years back (he died in 1918 - I have read a book on this man quite curiously during the past week), but let me tell you perhaps he made lot of sense to thousands of people like me....& thats why he is reverred even today and believed to touch upon lives of his devotees even now, though he is not physically present.....
Enough of Prelude, I am talking neither about Baba Maha Avtar around whom the story revolved in one of famous recent film of Rajni (famous because it was an utter flop !!) nor about Puttapurthi Sai Baba or Shiva Shankar Baba....
With lot of amusement I am still in a state of disbelief about some one who lived at Maharashtra - who was confined to a small village called Shirdi which is 5 hours of Bus drive from Pune....
How do I get such accurate details....?
This soul was destined to visit him during last week end not out of any pre planning but just out of sheer desparation...I was rushing to Shirdi like some one running towards Rest Room.....ashamed of myself...as I am considering myself dedicated to another Living God Man (Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev) ...who despises the "belief" syndrome and is still mocking at me...within my sub concious mind....!!
Yes....I was in a period of inertness & mental depression for too long and all my spiritual practises got dwindling as it usually happens whenever I am on low...and I was infact ashamed to seek any thing from my Yoga Guru...the latter...so I had infact stopped my usual practise of standing in front of his photo in my Book Shelf for couple of minutes....& just kept avoided him along with the practises that he had blessed upon me....!!
My mental depression was going on and on.... and I dont mind to quote this....I was seriously getting into suicidal thoughts and running away from every thing leaving out every thing that I claim to be mine.... not because that life is painful and cruel BUT because I was too ashamed of myself.....!!
It peaked on last thursday when after wearing my shoes to leave to office, I suddenly closed my eyes and decided to bunk my office on that day because I found the pointlessness in reaching office and battling with time for 10 hours to reach back home only to eat and sleep !!
My people had already left for their schools and I was alone sitting at my hall at 8.30 AM on the said thursday - calling my boss through cell phone without any emotion or remorse....(its all dried up already in two months).
My boss could not really believe his ears when I told him abruptly that I am on leave...He shot back with a "why ?"...I told that I was not in mood and I wanted to be all alone for a while....He paused for couple of seconds and abruptly told me "ok !! see you on monday...." and disconnected....(Friday was a holiday for us)...
I was in tears within myself with his abrupt response as I was so clear that he is annoyed and I am ripping off one of my last sources of inspiration...This gentleman had been counselling me for the past 1 week at office taking time to cheer me up at every possible opportunity - spending time with me upto 10 PM on couple of days.... He had given me a huge lift at management circles projecting me as his replacement and should ofcourse have selfish reasons to counsell me...BUT still he had enough alternatives and choices.... He likes me when I am in full song and he knows my potential & I am sure he is still not regretting about his decision to recognise me with "Top Achiever" rating for last year....
So, I was physically too in tears getting reminded of all these things at 8.30 AM in the morning..
Then, the next thought came to my mind...what to do ??? I set off to Tambaram where one of the live generator lives...my mother who has consciously kept herself cheerful at the age of 65 inspite of the inhuman and bitterest experiences of her life....I started off quite cheerfully even at the thought of this wonderful lady...locking the door of my house...!!

She invites me gleefully when I reached our home at around 11 Am and was surprised how I could be at her place when I was supposed to be working at office.....(she is too proud about my work place & the "luck" that I had had in my life....poor soul !!). Without explaining much, I told that I took a break consciously avoiding details as I felt not to make her unhappy...after all I came here to "receive" her cheerfulness and not to "gift away" my mood to her, right ??

Then she started cheerfully telling all her matters (petty little things...at my mindset at that point of time) and gives me all updates without me asking any thing about HER ("silly") things.....!! she casually mentions on the next day (Good Friday) early morning she is leaving to Shirdi in a package tour along with 40 other people...she is going to a 3 day tour after quite a long time and obviously she was delighted.... Amidst my garbage and inertness, thought I did not hear most of the things that she was rattling about, I some how grasped this particular update and impulsively asked her if I too can join her...

There was more of surprise and disbelief to her when I asked this as I had never joined her in her spiritual tours....and she could not hide the delight to have my company as its a package tour and she was not having any acquaintances in the tour…meaning none of her friends circle was joining her….She immediately rememebered that even she was a last minute entry for this package tour and doubted if there could be a possibility of me joining the tour as this tour organizer normally has good demand…a local guy whom all of us know…I infact told her that I don’t mind taking a ticket in waiting list in the train journeys to and fro PUNE and traveling in unreserved compartment……I was putting it quite casually though I was pleading inside myself wanting for some change of mind more than blessings of Baba…or any other God Man….as I was so clear that my trauma was self inflicted more than a external tragedy….!!
Still with some hope and prayer at her heart, she calls up him over phone and asks very casually and respectfully if there is some vacancy or chance of entertaining me to…. It appears the tour operator (whose name is shankar and has named his agency after Baba’s name…a staunch devotee who works with my brother) got excited and told my mother over phone that just few minutes / hours back, there was a cancellation and the train ticket was booked for M/34…meaning Male with 34 years…. !!
My mother was hysterically laughing over phone and responded him that I am exactly just that….and all the three of us experienced some stillness within ourselves at the coincidence of events….!! They always say it is quite a challenge to enter Shirdi without his permission….. (I am talking about what is normally talked about in his devotees circuit…)
Then I was there at Shirdi tour and reached back at Chennai at 4.30 AM on Monday morning…It was a weird tour where we spent close to 60 hours in traveling to have a dharshan for just 1 minute and the waiting time in queue to have a glimpse of Him….was close to 5 hours…..!!

Still, it pays….I am sorry it works..(I don’t want to utter any materialistic word when I talk about him… as I attribute my turnaround in next 96 hours (mon to Thursday) to this visit…and keep telling myself its not me who changed…..but he has done some thing subtly for me…..!!
If I could have done it myself, it could have happened long back, right ?
Now, Am I coming to say that I have become a Baba devotee now and have dumpted Sadhguru…??
not exactly, I am gleefully smiling with folded hands in front of my super star now meeting his eyes which I could not do for the past two months….

Now did any more tangible miracle happened at Shirdi to me ? …..OR I am trumpeting this silly coincidence & blowing it out of proportion….I should explain a little bit….But not in this posting….but in the next one…as it is already too long…

Gosh…..!! But the time is 4.20 AM and its time for me to make a Brinjal curry for my sweet little daughter for her lunch at school today…. Let me wind up and continue this some time later when I find time….
Krishnaarpanam….as always….

suchoo

Thought Stream @ Twilight !!

Dearest Gowri
It was indeed a great feeling to have your sms couple of days back checking up if "I am ok & my day was OK"....which I read with a wide smile in my face because ..... it was the day of turnaround.....after close to 2 months of inertness...
YES....this time it lasted with me for abnormally long period.....& I was struggling since the Republic Day of our country itself .... and I was trying to pose as if I was normal for the first fortnight....
Now as I had mentioned in my seperate communication in my mail to you too many things happened in past 1 week and thats why I am gleefully smiling back with my heavy bat...able to spring up from bed at 2 AM in the midnight thought I slept only at 11 PM last night.....& sitting in front of the computer after my pranayam session and bath....
That is the background of this posting being at twilight instead of midnight as it used to be...during my pre-inertness period of highs....which was also days of my post inertnesses...as I used to have inertnesses in regular cycles...akin to periods of females....!!
Now, while I am muttering to myself "not to get into averaging out" too soon and taming myself with my speed and volatility, let me also candidly admit that right today inspite of sleeping just 3 hours for the past three days, my eyes are not red and I am enjoying this moment of typing the words in the key board and pouring my thoughts without any time for sentence formation....???
So, as you know me in 360 degrees now, Let me give an assurance to myself that I should be ok quite soon as a human being....
Please watch out for the next series of posting till 4.30 AM....I have to do some basic cooking to help anoo - as she has to handle our young naughty kid all alone today without my support - & have to rush to office at 5.30 Am on some burning priorities....
Forgot to tell...I have already started meditating my next poem in my subconcscious mind....hope I will be delivering it any time before next week end....You see, I can't be so accurate like a Gynaec and deliver it exactly as per the parent's preferred star in which the baby is to be born !! I only wish the delivery happens naturally and its not a caesarean baby....
Let me start rocking on my other postings of today...Have a great time ahead...
With lot of love, regards and reverance to my dedicated reader....
suchoo
ps:- you know some thing, I wish you never get married in your life....I am afraid I will lose the personal attention that I enjoy now.....!!

** Sixth Pay Commission & Defence **

The Sixth pay commission has submitted its recommendations on the revised pay scales for Central Govt employees to the Govt. It is expected that the recommendations are going to be implemented without any major changes.

Last time, after the pay commission recommendations were implemented, there was a huge turmoil in Indian Air Force. The disparity in pay was the bone of contention. Not the disparity in pay between Men and Officers - but amongst Officers themselves and that is what led to the agitation. [ Men, without the support of Officers, in Services, can never do a minor protest, leave alone a huge agitation ].

Whats going to happen this time??? I am not an expert nor have I gone through the whole set of recommendations - but, from what I have seen, let me just quote one recommendation that is about to be implemented. For those serving in difficult areas - there is an allowance. Men would get around Rs.1000 and Officers would get around Rs.6000/- !! So - is the terrain more difficult for the Officers than for Men?? Are the climatic conditions more harmful for Officers than for Men?? When it comes to a posting in difficult terrain, Officers get the best of everything - and still get paid with higher allowances !!

Officers are employed based on higher education qualification, but what has that got to do with the allowances such as that meant for difficult terrain ??? Everytime, a new pay commission submits its recommendations, the Officers get the flesh while the Men are left to be content with bone pieces (because, its the officers who forward the recommendations to the panel !!)

I am reminded of a Service Slogan ..."The safety, honour and welfare of your country comes first, always and every time. The honour, welfare and comfort of the men you command, come next. Your own ease, comfort and safety comes last, always and every time."

This, like so many other slogans, remains just as a slogan and nothing else. Practically, it is "Self first, Self Next and Self last !!!"

Jai Hind !!!

** Art !! **

French President Sarkozy's wife's nude photo, shot way back in 1993, is about to be auctioned !! The auctioning house has said that it is bringing the photo under hammer only because Bruni (First Lady) is a beautiful lady and the photograph is an art. Well - why did no one identify the "art" till she became the first lady !! You can give one thousand explanations to justify the means to earn money !!

** ICL Vs IPL **

Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) runs the IPL and the rebel ICL is being run by the Zee group. Though the ICL started first and there are many international players of repute - BCCI has played strong arm tactics and has managed in getting the ICC, the world governing body not to recognize the ICL group. Also, the BCCI has flexed its muscles and has got all the countries to impose restrictions on players from playing for ICL.

The worst act of the BCCI is yet to come - now, it has decided to ban all the youngsters playing cricket for ICL from playing cricket in all leagues, divisions, colleges, universities, etc. This would be the most atrocious act. I am not able to understand as to why the Govt is remaining as a mute witness to all these bullying tactics !! Is it because one of its own ministers is the Chairman of the BCCI?? Well, why is no one going to court under the "Monopoly Restrictive Trade Practices"-Act ???

** A Good Question **

"When Dr Haneef was arrested for his links with terrorists by the Australian police - our Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh said that he was not able to sleep. So, why is our Prime Minister not losing his sleep when Sarabjit Singh is languishing in Pakistan Jail and is facing the death sentence??" - that was a nice question posed by one of the BJP MP to the PM in the Lok Sabha !! A nice question !!

** Rajini - Sultan the Warrior **

Click on the link below to see the trailer of Soundarya Rajinikanth's forthcoming animated movie - "Sultan the Warrior" .....

** Sultan The Warrior **

** STOP THIS **

The second drama, within a week, was enacted with great fanfare. This time, it was for the victorious senior Indian cricket team that arrived from Australia. Felicitations in a huge stadium thronged by thousands of people, attended by ministers and many biggies, cash awards running into lakhs and crores..... When will all these stupid acts stop ?

Indian cricket team really played well and defeated the world champions - there is no denying that... but, why go overboard with all these ceremonies?? Worst factor is, many of the players were averse to such ceremony. But, these days, everything is being looked upon as an opportunity to hog the limelight, especially by the politicians and the "chamchas" who are always on the lookout for opportunities to please the politicians. The media plays a big role in this annoying drama - dishing out interviews after interviews to fill in their air time. It doesn't really matter even if you are a servant, mopping Sachin's hotel room - your interview becomes important. Why can't the media be more responsible??

** CT Scans & Cancer **

Research works on the effect of CT Scan over humans have time again proved that the risk of cancer is high in case of adults and is too high in case of children. Specialists recommend that the amount of radiation should be minimized in case of kids; should only scan when necessary; should scan only the indicated region; scan only once and a big NO for multi phased scanning.

With the mushrooming of CT Scan centres being run as business units in India, do we have any rules and regulations in place for subjecting people to CT scans? For most of the ailments, CT Scan has become the next logical step (Doctors go the extent of insisting that you take the Scan in X or Y Scan Centre - as they too get a 'cut' !!). It is being said the those who are not aware of the CT Protocol Guidance should not carry out CT examinations. But in India, the only protocol that works well is the "Profit Oriented Business Protocol" - nothing else. That also reminds me of the Doctor and Pharmacists nexus in India - let me take up that later.

For now, please do know about the risks of CT Scans. In case of any of your friends or relatives need to go for CT Scans, especially the kids, please make them aware of the risks and their right to ask for minimum radiation - scan only the essential parts etc that the specialists suggest.

** Kashmir Singh **

Kashmir Singh has spent 35 years in Pakistan prison on charges of spying. Finally one good man, who happened to be in the right position, saw his plight and took it up with Mushraaf during one of his good moods and the result is freedom for Kashmir Singh after 35 years in Pak prison. Lucky this man, Kashmir Singh is - because, there are quite a few who might have breathed their last in Pak prisons, especially quite a few Indian soldiers who became PoWs during the Indo-Pak War. For a person who remained in Pak prison for 35 years, this man really looked hale and healthy. Thats the "Punjabi Strength" for you !! :)

** Chidambaram Episode **

One Mr. Samy wanted to recite Thevaram and Thiruvasagam at Thiruchitrambalam, situated just in front of the sanctum sanctorum. He, with the permission of HR&CE (Govt Dept) went to the temple. The Dikshithars, who are administering the affairs of the temple protested this move and stopped Samy from entering the sanctum sanctorum.

This is the gist of the whole dirty incident that happened on Apr/30 at Chidambaram Natrajar temple. Mr. Samy could have gone to the temple without a big group of people behind him. The Dikshithars could have allowed Mr Samy. But neither happened and this issue, as like so many other, has been highly politicised.

** Hullaballoo **

India has won the Under-19 world cup and the team returned to India today (Mar/04). The reception that the team received is quite baffling. There were quite a lot of people who thronged the airport and a huge police force for protection. The winning team members were taken on a procession in an open bus through the city (akin to how the seniors were taken around after their T20 championship victory). Every member of the winning team has been awared Rs.15 lakh each and I am sure a few more are yet to come. I only wish that these things does not corrupt the kids and scuttle what could be a good career (you see, everybody is not Sachin!).

I was just wondering whether was it a game or a battle that these guys have won !! Compare this to the plight of a poor girl, named ILLA-VAZHAGI, a slum dweller in Chennai who went on to win the World Carrom championships twice and yet did not get anything from anybody. When one of the news channel highlighted her pathetic condition (there is no space in her house to keep the carrom board !!) TN State Govt has offered her a reward of Rupees ONE lakh !!