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Corporate Social Responsibility: WORLD ELDERS DAY: OCT 1st from TISS students

Posted by admin | Posted in All for a cause, Corporate Social Responsibility, faith, Health, Wellness & Prosperity - Living, life, Parenting & Society, people, society, The blog is personal again, Work Life, world, World Elders Day | Posted on 01-10-2010

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“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth – Muhammad Ali”

Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility has always been a key factor for every team member associated with Techdivine Creative Services.

This time one of our friends Ms.Dobani, shared with us something that was close to her heart and a very important aspect of life that many a times we tend to have ignored even without our own knowledge.

One of our team members had a long conversation with Ms.Dobani and we mutually shared our involvements across various NGO works over the years.

Which is what brought us today to share this important date.

Today on 1st October, we celebrate the very reason for our existence here on earth with “WORLD ELDERS DAY

Social Corporate Responsibility World Elders Day

World Elders Day

The TISS group (Tata Institute of Social Sciences) batch of “TISS Gerontology – Batch 2009-2010″ has prepared a wonderful presentation that would take just few moments from your precious time to share something that is extremely valuable and very much in need of ATTENTION not in any other way, but in the form of your thought and your concern for the same, that’s all.

We are sure that you would take few seconds of your time and go through this wonderful presentation on WORLD ELDERS DAY and share it with your friends too.

Always remember, Life will give you back everything you have given to it. So care while you share!

(You can download the Presentation from the link below and do keep your speakers on, if you can too)

Go To Download Page:
CLICK HERE

External / Related Links:

TISS

Social Corporate Responsibility Blog Post

Making the moments count

Have a wonderful life ahead.

Regards

Admin

Techdivine Creative Services

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Social & Corporate Responsibility: Stay Connected

Posted by AnanthV | Posted in All for a cause, Corporate Social Responsibility, Faith & Religion, India, life, Parenting & Society, society, The blog is personal again, The Legends, Work Life, writing | Posted on 14-05-2010

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With so much of social media marketing, brand analysis, consumer needs statistics, product insight interactions etc the power of media & the number game online, it becomes a great everyday learning school and a wonderful experience. It adds so much of learning on the real meaning of the term BRAND with respect to different products and industries & what they mean to each of them.

The work is great and there is so much of research and new tools understanding happening here on a daily basis. We just finished 3 big marketing campaigns each for two of our corporate clients into the trading & retail industry last week. It will be going live the coming week from their end.

The first thing that we did after the campaigns is ask ourselves, “Isn’t the rent due to the “society” for some time now?”

That’s right, corporate social responsibility is a key factor for every team member associated with Techdivine Creative Services.

It’s been over 5 years since my association with varied NGO’s across cities in India. I am still deeply honored for being considered for the Rashtriya Gaurav Award for the varied contributions to different NGO’s. I remember my different experiences across well known NGO’s and I actually realized that not everyone associated with an NGO need to be understanding the cause fully or even caring about the same to the core. That brought me close to also understanding the fact that writing a cheque of X amount to an NGO does not fulfill your duty towards the family surrounding you and your loved ones, which is the society in general.

The works that I have associated myself with in the last 5 years have been from taking and educating the less privileged on different aspects and subjects to doing volunteering works during calamities to arranging IT literacy sessions for groups that would love to learn and grow with IT, but cannot reach the right source or afford the same, to just being there for those who need anyone just to be around them for some time. It’s only during these associations and interactions with scores across the cities of India, that I ran into massively big & well known names in our nation who have been doing this and lot more for decades. Their experiences have deeply humbled me over the years. I used to feel proud of myself when I began contributing my time or skill for those less fortunate, but when I realized the amount of efforts that I could have actually put into it over a period of time, I felt more humbled. It’s very true to say that, no amount of profits in life or number cracking achievements can give you a real peaceful sleep than knowing that you made a positive impact on someone who really needed it in their life that day and whom we have never known before.

Mother Teresa has been an unbelievable influence on my life and when I see the smile on the sweet mother’s face when she is with her children in her videos and across platforms, the aura of positive energy that already seems to surround her only gets bigger. I can never become or even fathom to do what she has done for billions across the globe, as I am like a candle in front of the sun when I look at her, but if I could while making the rightful contribution towards my family also always make that positive impact to those who are part of the society but not related directly to our lives, the feeling is amazing. At the end of the day, it is to make ourselves feel better that we do something for someone, well, for most of us. There are those around us too, who do it because it is their greatness to contribute without expecting pride feeling in return. They are truly the ones that are keeping the world in one single safe and sane place. Societal contributors and influencers like Mother Teresa, now being the mother that she was, is not a task that is easy or humanly possible to follow.  Even during our recent visit to one of their abodes, the air and the aura surrounding us were amazingly positive. Attached is a pic taken from their facility.

Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa

As more of these discussions and thoughts flowed across with our team at Techdivine creative services yesterday, (this happened after the team presented the marketing reports for the week, by the way, expecting  a pep-talk probably from my end on how to analyze and perform better, instead, this is what they got to hear). But they did not complain. Every member of the team here knows the importance that we associate to Social responsibility on a regular basis.

We are hoping to one day soon plan out a forum wherein we can coordinate, plan, invite and conduct lot of social initiatives on education, social abuse help groups & motivation events with the support of the entire team and good wishes from our members across countries.

No wonder that Corporate like TATA or Infosys today commands so much of respect across the globe today, with so much of social help that they have attached themselves in sincerely carrying out as part of their routine. They are great motivations and inspirations to any corporate today.

As the weekend draws to a close, I guess it is time for a real time social connect anyway.

Stay focused, stay connected & stay really social!

God Bless,

Ananth V.

Related Posts:

Be More Ambitious

Making the moments count

When I was 21

Everything I touch, seems to have life


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Happy 3rd Anniversary to “Creative Writing Blog”

Posted by admin | Posted in blog, Bloggers Zone, blogging tips, career, City News, COFFEE Time, creative, creative writer, creative writing, Creativity & Know-you, Education & Learning, facebook, Faith & Religion, Freebies, Google wave, IIM I, India, life, online writing contest mumbai students, Parenting & Society, people, Popular Web blogs & links, Reading, Search Engines, social media marketing, Social Media Quotient, Social Networking Sites (SNS), Sporting Great!, success, symbolism, technology, The blog is personal again, The Legends, travel, twitter, Work Life, world, writing, young guns section, Young Talents Zone | Posted on 13-03-2010

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Dear Friends,

This month marks our 3rd Anniversary of the Creative Writers blog.


Creative Writers Blog

Creative Writing

The journey began with the first publication and the Times of India interview and coverage of the coffee table poetry bookExpressions“, but it was only by end 2008 that we got an idea to get other writers too to add their ideas, experiences and stories and share them in such a large platform.

As the readers and comments kept increasing, with more inputs, critique, suggestions from all of you, we added interactivity, free registrations for comments, Premium memberships and so on to the creative writer blog.

Today, we proudly stand at 183 –Posts, 973 Comments with 11 Authors and scores of Categories under varied subjects of “Technology, Career, Education, Gadgets, Life, Passion, People, Marketing, Online Media, Art, Legends, Freebies, Social Media Marketing……..

We sincerely THANK all our dear readers and of course our wonderful authors who have contributed their time and skills to us and have been a part of the Creative Writing family.

Hope you have enjoyed a good read. It will only get better!

Feel free to write to us with any suggestions, comments or your views on the same.

You can reach us at:

TCS

Techdivine Creative Services

Facebook – TD Studios Group

Facebook – Techdivine Creative Services Page

Twitter – @techdivine

admin@techdivine.com


Below are the stats to the Top 30 Posts from all time:

Top Posts for all days “March 2007 to March 2010”

All Time – March 2007 – March 2010

Title                                                                                                                                        Views

  1. Coffee – A case to begin all cases (2123 Views)
  2. Why So seriousssah……. (493 Views)
  3. SHOLAY in Facebook Style (388 Views)
  4. Google wave – Part 2: Adding & tagging Attachments (331 Views)
  5. My Trip to Aurangabad- The City Of Gates (112 Views)
  6. Of Forbes India’s 100 Richest: Top 10 picks from our readers (197 Views)
  7. IIM Indore my blog: The Life at IIM I (187 Views)
  8. Online Creative Writing Contest for Students is HERE! (183 Views)
  9. Charlie Chaplin (179 Views)
  10. Married but to caste and religion (175 Views)
  11. Twitter & Facebook: Why SNS? (174 Views)
  12. Pulau Tioman, The great journey ( 170 Views)
  13. IIM Indore – IRIS Break Free – Klueless Game (169 Views)
  14. ET Awards 2009: For Corporate Excellence (158 Views)
  15. ‘Kudos’ to an amazing artist “Kseniya Simonova” (157 Views)
  16. Standard Chartered 2010 MUMBAI Marathon (155 Views)
  17. Touching a million lives, but only ONLINE (154 Views)
  18. A Southie’s Life Rocks (or is it on the rocks) (154 Views)
  19. Transitions in Life (152 Views)
  20. BLINKX: Video Search engine: Don’t “blinkx” anymore (153 Views)
  21. 26/11: Mumbai Terror Attack – Saluting the real heroes (152 Views)
  22. Warli Art India: UK Art Council: A journey, for Art’s sake! (152 Views)
  23. Google Wave is here (150 Views)
  24. Le Tour de France 2009 (145 Views)
  25. Social Media Marketing for your business: Unleash….. (143 Views)
  26. Working Women & Parenting (142 Views)
  27. Social Media Marketing (SMM) – From root level, Why it will work? (141 Views)
  28. The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2010: My Dream Run (138 Views)
  29. Save Indian HOCKEY!!!!! (135 Views)
  30. The Adventurous Land and the half blood Man: Having the Elixir (135 Views)

Most Popular Tags with us:

Life

Online Marketing

Marketing Services

Emotions

People

Social Media Marketing

Social Media Quotient

Hope

Career

And yes, our Blog has always been Mobile ready!

Happy reading!

Admin

TECHDIVINE Creative Services

Social Media, Design Services & Creative Writing


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Everything I touch seems to have life

Posted by admin | Posted in Health, Wellness & Prosperity - Living, life, people, society, Work Life | Posted on 28-12-2009

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Everything I touch seems to have life. Or is it that our passion rubs off on to those around us.

LIFE: Stay Positive

LIFE: Stay Positive

Well, if that be true, let’s stay and share things that can make us more positive everyday.

Belief and system have never gone hand in hand and that’s why we have those with the unconventional approach positively changing million lives. We have been so hooked with the “this is right” approach that we at times tend to forget the bends and twists that life gives us to feel the curves ahead. It’s not just a bumpy ride it’s a life time of learning that comes out of it.

During loneliness we seem to miss the presence, during downfall we miss the hand that shoulders us, during pain we miss words of comfort. We never heard anyone say, I missed a bag of money or a big house when we are sad, down or hungry. For those who have lost touch, these are some human emotions which are still around with few across the globe.

We miss being well, at times miss just being human or can I quote being human enough.

I recently met a lad in his early thirties, eyes moist, heart uncontrolled, palms untamed, asking me “Where do I go from here?” and when I asked him what are you looking for, he cared to mention in his haste of finding the way, “I am looking to be free and successful” I laughed not in his face though and I said, “If I knew it today, I would be on Forbes magazine too”.

But something told me that his definition of success was going to be different. Why? To start with he had just parked his brand new Hyundai outside the café shop and his well styled hand stitched Italian shoes were only overshadowed by his branded designer wear. So it was clear, he was not looking for money’s success tunes to bless his disturbed soul.

I just looked at him and his constantly shaking and restless fingers and bulky eye bags that told me he needed someone to just listen to him.

I felt, it was simple. You can’t be guided but only heard to. It’s true every man makes his own destiny. But not every one of us would get a chance to touch someone’s heart and make that impact. Not all of us are blessed like the holy mother (Teresa) or as wise as the Swami (Vivekananda) himself, but all of us have the ability to either make someone or well, even break someone. I had not such a huge opportunity, but at least to sit and listen. So I did just that.

I have stopped giving the right to anyone to guide me. But I am always ready to listen to you. Why? Simply because, I realized when things go wrong after listening to someone else, you can even blame yourself for it, so why take the pains. Just follow your heart.

After I had listened to the young lad, it was clear, he wanted to rectify a wrong in a different kind of way & it was well unique.

He was a successful corporate hero in his early thirties. He had shaken up a few chairs, competed wildly in the jungle to survive the rat race and pushed a few bright minds down the clogged drain to come out well, successful. It was Darwins theory simplified, ‘only the fittest survive’.

It was not until a month ago he had realized that one of his peers whom he had pushed right below in the routine rat race of the corporate world, died of a massive heart attack. He had left behind his mother with his wife and his two year old kid. With that of course the young couples mortgaged house and a car loan. When he went to their house to pay his respects, the deceased’s family let go of a wrath of anger blaming him for his downfall and corporate agony.

It sounded so ‘movie-like’

It was real and it’s as real as it could get. Probably that’s why when movies on these come up, we tend to quote, “that was filmy” reassuring ourselves of such things not happening with us or around us.

Now after listening to this lad, I had a feeling that there was something more than meets the eye. He was restless even after sharing it and his beady eyes screamed of shutting this sudden chaos around him, but his heart never quoted a sense of dismay for the family that was affected. It was not even sheer guilt eating him up and when he blurted, I was shocked, “I cannot take this blame. It will affect my corporate stature. How do I get free?” he said.

I did not know what to say. I just finished my coffee, put my bill money on the table and smiled as I moved out of the café.

Never surround yourself with things that can negate your life or add sinful energy to your thinking. As everything you touch has life, it gets affected one way or the other. So stay positive, stay calm & live Free!

I guess it is true. Life gives us lessons through ‘us and others’, everyday. Listen, pay heed to it and well get on with it.

It’s a long road ahead. Life isn’t short.

It’s long enough and we have enough time to think, act, react and play it well. We may not be able to even choose the path at times, but we can at least try to steer it right.

Stay positive, dream big and play it well.

Learn, grow and be well.

Live Free!

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Quote for the week – LIFE

Posted by admin | Posted in Life quote | Posted on 19-12-2009

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Life Quote, Have a great Day - Techdivine

Life Quote, Have a great Day - Techdivine

Life doesn’t cheer the meek, the timid or those content with their fifteen minutes of fame, it applauds the dreamers the adventurers, those who swore to rise above horizons…. For only those bold enough to chase them are the ones who finally catch them! It doesn’t matter who you are today, who you were or what you are going to be. What matters is the legacy you finally leave behind! What matters is: - Did you become all that you are capable of becoming? – Did you achieve your dreams, while all around you thought you were chasing illusions?


Go ahead….

Live it up!


Have a Great Day!

TECHDIVINE

www.techdivine.com

—–

Image Source:ANVCLICKS

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A Relationship called LOVE!!!!!!

Posted by Mani (a.k.a AnanthS) | Posted in India, life, Parenting & Society, people, society, The blog is personal again, Work Life | Posted on 09-12-2009

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Love ....

Love ....

Love makes life livable, said someone!

Somewhere here I am trying to decipher and decode the exact meaning of the phrase and yes before people reach to any conclusion on what kind of love that I am talking about, let me clear the air.

The Love that will be described and poured out in the coming lines, is the one that makes two people go “I Do” at the altar.

I would like to touch upon aspects in this post, about whys would two people who have nothing in common, become what they become, until they meet each other and discover a whole new world – together.

The very reason for undertaking this exercise is my own experience at this peculiar feeling which is known as LOVE the world over.

I am 25 and by the time this article is published, I will be a year older. I have had many crushes in the formative years of my childhood and have been seriously interested only once……….. ok…….. I am exaggerating, may be twice.

The feelings just fizzled out because I am the type of guy who lets things like love take their own way rather than forcing myself on it. This is what led me to ponder as to what makes people tick?

This article may have a subcontinental flavour to it due to the fact that I am quoting examples from the, up and coming land called India of which I am a proud citizen. It’s then that I have tried to get into the “What of Love” and to say that I got satisfactory answers in my quest.

I will be best based on the analysis of the cases presented here and the readers own judgement. (Do not Judge me! :) )

I believe that Love is an important part of any relationship and is one of the pillars other than trust and loyalty on which the tree of mankind stands. In this regard, I have had certain observations to make and will tell you real life incidents of which I have been witness to or been a silent spectator of.

Case I – A young man whom we all knew of as a studious and very intelligient person who normally kept to self and incapable of doing no wrong along-with being protective of a blind father and an illiterate mother shocks everyone by proclaiming marriage to a young lady whom he met at his workplace

Case II – A young man who is given all freedom in the house and is an intelligient fellow does well in his education, completes his Masters in Business Adminisration where he falls in love, joins a high profile company complete with a good salary and perks. Then he confides about his desire to marry his lady love.

Case III – A young lady born and brought up in a liberal family has had many affairs by the time she reaches woman hood and goes on and marries a person whom she met at the workplace.

Case IV – A young man who has both parents who go off to work leaving him and his younger brother alone meets his lady love in college and they tie the knot. The lady in question in this case was junior to him in college and lived in the same complex as him

These are the samples that I have delved upon and arrived at certain conclusions after making careful observations. These are real life stories with the proverbial “& they lived happily ever after” theme ringing true.

The following observations were found to be true in each one of the cases mentioned above.

Ability to take decisions: In all of the cases mentioned above, the individuals involved have had to take/make decisions at a very early point in life. Be it the guy in case I where he was thrust the responsibility of being the head of the household or in cases II,III or IV where the individuals were required to take decisions due to the fact that there was very little parental assistance involved. It may be noted that people love persons who make their own decisions without getting influenced by other factors especially those which are emotional in nature.

I hope me making points and taking you back to ‘cases’ does not make this sound like a court ruling, it’s just that I would like to share different such scenarios, based on which  began to quote this post on the most beautiful thing in the world, Love!

Read on……

Self-Confidence: All the characters mentioned herein have amazing confidence about themselves. It may have been the result of their minds not being clogged by parents constantly advising about what is good and what is bad, When should one call the stops, What should one do and the likes. As a result of these, an individual goes into a mental state of being wherein he prepares a checklist before making any decision and ensures that the checklist is strictly adhered to. This process ensures that such a person arrives at a decision, which may be right or wrong, much later than those who go by the gut instinct. Also many a times such decisions may seem to be erring on the side of caution so as to ensure that one is always on the right side of the universe whereas confident people may go ahead with a decision that may seem to bewilder many but get positive results. For these people there is the inner belief that they can do no wrong because they do not distinguish between right and wrong and also believe that they can always survive any bad effects that their decision may entail. This leads to the making of a very self confident individual who also appears to be confident with an ever warm smile that pleases most people and charms the toughest of ladies.

Unfettered Lifestyle: Due to the minimal parental objection in their lives, these people live life to the fullest. They work hard, make loads of money, party harder and are always enthusiastic and positive about life. These are people who want to live lives that are worth meaning to them rather than sulking around, thinking about others or about decisions that may have far reaching consequences. That’s the reason why, when one comes across such persons, one feels quite positive and they are like a whiff of fresh air that has invaded your senses carrying you along with it.

Here I would like to rest my case wherein I have always been smitten by some one or the other. However when the time comes to make a choice, it’s always about making them a part of my life rather than colonizing them. So my mind starts throwing up questions like Would she fit the bill, Will my parents approve of her, How would the elders react about the match, What mother tongue will the children adopt and so on till the mind is left totally confused. What finally emerges is a chaotic situation. If not that then by the time I make up my mind, the lady is already been taken!

So friends I think I have unraveled the human mindset about love to a great extent and its physiological aspects. And for those who try desperately to fall in love but don’t, may be now we know why…

Enjoy

Do share your views with me.

Thanks.

Mani (A.k.a Ananth S)

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Open Office

Posted by anjeneyan | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 05-11-2009

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Few Blog Posts from the past: Back on Our Dear Readers Demand:

Year:2008

cubicle

Tomorrow onwards I start working in an open office. During renovation, the old traditional layout is being changed from a cabin (large rooms equal to or bigger than a living room) to medium sized cubicles and work stations. It looks impressive since the office is renovated. But it is only partially complete and the full looks with atrium and all other things would get ready in the next few months. So the full impact would be felt when the office is fully renovated. It would be a transformation worthy of notice-perhaps equivalent to an expensive cosmetic corporate surgery.

The first feature that I observe is that the Personal Computer occupies the pride of position, It is kept smack in the middle of the working area and the chair faces it. It seems as though the main function of most employees is staring hard at the computer almost the entire day. It is perhaps equivalent to keeping a note counting machine on every banker’s table as every banker ultimately deals with money. My belief is that computer is one of the tools we use in the course of our work. It could be a vital tool or an accessory (like a belt or a tie) depending on the individual and his position in the hierarchy. But that seems to be the accepted concept today. I am reminded of the cattle shed in some parts of Mumbai (Tabela in local language) where the cattle is tied and faces a trough containing the feed. Unlike human beings they are not let out as there is no space for grazing in Mumbai.

The second striking aspect is the positioning. The consultant informed us that the concept is that there should not be eye contact from one work station to another. This reinforces the concept that though other human beings are close by, they are mainly distraction to be avoided. So though they are visible and audible, ignore them and ensure that they are able to ignore you. So no loud conversation to spouse on buying evening’s requirement (she would come late, so pick up children, and keep dhal ready etc.), mouthing childish and sweet words or threatening words to growing and troublesome kids (do Maths home work beta, is the Hindi homework over, didn’t I tell you to…), romance within or outside office.

The third striking aspect is the mobile phone with varying ring tones. I recall a senior executive well past retirement age having the ring tone of Dhoom going off when he was making a serious point at an important meeting. They can be quite annoying. When someone else has a ringtone identical to yours, then you could get irritated thinking how could he have the same ring tone. So what would result after few days of annoyance is more subdued ring tone and many executives walking up and down the corridor murmuring into the telephone looking serious and sometimes focused clearly on domestic issues ( mama, I told you it is not possible this week….., did the plumber come? has the maid come and cleaned baba’s school dress?)

The fourth would be learning new techniques on seeming busy on important assignments while doing nothing. But that perhaps would not be difficult to any Indian working person.

Now, I wonder who invented work station. The word “work station” seems to give an impression of a temporary halting place – like railway station- and not a place where we spent a large portion of our waking time. It sounds like a station for working and nothing more. Perhaps it is an American usage where most things are impersonal – even family relationships. Every child is expected to have a separate room. A parent cannot go into his grown up children’s room without permission. So places without privacy are perhaps temporary habitats by their standards.

So off tomorrow to the new working station. Let me see how all of us working there fare. My hunch is that some of my colleagues could complain and look back to the glorious past and identify the fault lines loudly.

Open Office – Part2

It is nearly a year since I wrote the last blog. During that time, I visited Bhutan. It is an out of the way place for Indian tourists. I enjoyed it. My wife told me recently that she now appreciated the stillness of some of the places we visited in Bhutan. If anyone is interested to know more, do write to me. I have kept a diary of this visit and good photos also. If you enjoy chill climate in summer, seeing deep valleys, winding roads, waterfalls etc. then this is the place. It is not that expensive also.

Bhutan waterfall

My grandson put in 11 more eventful months to his 9 months of existence. The growth in the first three years of existence is said to be more that what happens in thirty years of existence in the later part of human life. So he started walking, communicating, speaking few words and being utterly mischievous. He has a lovely smile, which I am sure will break the hearts of many maidens who are yet to be born. He gave us a new perspective to life and living.

The open office grew on me. I became comfortable listening to the daily menu communicated by my office neighbor to the cook. I came to know the calling tunes of most colleagues. The older the person, the more dashing is the caller tune. Older persons do not change caller tune. The younger generation love change and that includes caller tunes also.

Most telephone conversations are conducted in loud tones. Except when confidential calls come, then everyone is capable of whispering on phone. The difficulty arises in concentrating on reading lengthy documents when the atmosphere around resembles a railway station. Then I remember Hindu philosophy which expects us to concentrate irrespective what the outside world resembles.

Share market crashed in an unbelievable manner. Many of us saw lot of paper wealth being extinguished on a daily basis. There is a muted recovery now. None of us are confident this would sustain or reach the old heights. Still some rise in Sensex is comforting.

What are most disturbing are job losses. For the first time in my 33 years of working life, I am seeing middle and junior level officers and executives losing jobs due to economic down turn. Management graduates are not getting placements even when they belong to good or great Institutions. This has never happened in the past. The situation in non metros is said to be equally bad. Small and medium enterprises are having great difficulties in surviving. I am not sure what is the level of job losses or erosion, but it is bound to be significant.

I had a lingering suspicion about IT related jobs as I could not fathom how far an average IT engineer would travel in his career. As a person coming from administrative side of business, I felt they would plateau out fast. Today’s scenario seems to confirm my belief that an IT person needs to contribute significantly to business to progress beyond the Rs. 25/30 lacs hurdle. Am I right? I would love some feedback on this rather instinctive rather than informed view.

USA has lost its charm for many Indians. The risk of being unemployed in a foreign country is frightening. India at least offers some kind of security within the bosom of the family or its extended version. Any way we are used to misery, somehow we will pull on. Would a father consider giving a qualified girl based in India to an IT bridegroom based in USA today without some qualms? Hard to say.

Why did I absent myself from blogs? Well, the creative urge dried up. I could not dream of something to write. I started and then left it midway. Today I decided I will scrawl something. I will be encouraged if I get 3 comments or criticisms or feedback. Does a person write for own satisfaction or for someone else to read, appreciate/criticise? I think both.

So, what do you say?

Let me know your views on the same

Anjeneyan

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Cubicle

Personal Trip Clicks

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Transitions in Life!

Posted by anjeneyan | Posted in kids, life, The blog is personal again | Posted on 13-08-2009

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Transition, change from the past, for the present
Transition, change from the past, for the present

Do we notice the imperceptible changes taking place around us?  Mostly not; unless compelled to do so.

The most common culprit of almost imperceptible change is age. “Why do you wheeze when you climb stairs for just two floor?” My daughter asked me last week. I passed it off as a toll taken by age; though the reality is that this weakness is an old one and remained unnoticed.

Most resist the external symptoms of time and related wear & tear. A thumb rule is that the older a person is, the more time taken for formal dressing. So there is a calculated effort to impress- bright colors, branded shirts/pants, hair waved back carefully. Sometimes I wonder, whether the person is comfortable in the role being enacted (for the sake of family). Why not let go and be what you actually are? But then, do many of us know ourselves well to decide to be as and what we are?

God, with His sense of irony, has made human beings attach undue importance to parts of body which have limited utility. Hairs on the head is a classic example of a decorative object. It does not serve any great purpose (unlike hands or legs). But the impact a great hair style has on the subject and his/her viewer cannot be measured. So we find youngsters staring hard at mirror for long periods, patting their hair, men keeping tufts (meant originally only for certain purposes) like women, old men and women dyeing their imperfectly to evade the toll of time and all sorts of odd behavior if examined in the light of reason.

When I was a young boy (several decades back) only school boys and  domestic men servants (who washed clothes, vessels, cars etc.) wore half pants in Mumbai.  Now of course, it is a fashion statement to wear half pants and odd sized pants on all occasions (except job interview) and thereby attempt to belong to another age group. So, when I wear a shorts (called half pant in the past) to the gym, I have an uneasy feeling that someone would  call me to wash their car.

The real changes take place in our sub-conscious and then trickle down to external visibility.  This is noticed only if we meet the person after a reasonable gap. Mentally we slow down- that is reduce the pace at which we want to live hereafter. We see this around us but do not observe. We want less surprises- less changes – expected or unexpected. Life has to be same from yesterday to today. But God and the world around us have a gleeful pleasure in altering our well laid down plans.  So we find sedentary grandparents rushing off to USA/Gulf countries for a new career in babysitting (most probably no one sits, the baby runs around and we run after it continuously till our legs pain).

Did our parents sit back and ponder over their errors of omissions and commission? Did they even admit it to themselves? My son reminded me recently in non-judgmental manner of the instances when I beat him during his childhood. Did I beat him? Yes, I did. For what reasons?  I do not remember. Do I regret it now? Yes. But when I look at my daughter trying to tame my grandson (unsuccessfully at times) by oral requests and then resorting some small corporal punishments, I realize that these are inevitable and cannot be examined by hindsight.

Do we lose our ambitions, zest and enthusiasm with age? I would say they become more tempered. The  goal posts change. Survival up to the goal post  becomes more important than running past it. Some unexpected past time or interest catches serious attention.  So it could a social or a religious organization in which there is some lurking desire to play a more prominent role. I have seen several large institutions run  by persons most of whom had retired from gainful occupations long  back justifying to this logic.

But what is most important in all this is identifying what our heart really seeks- what is it that would give us great happiness. This is the most difficult part of life at any juncture. Long but aimless life serves little or no purpose. At each juncture of life, knowing what we want to achieve in our career, what we enjoy doing in our spare time, what relationships to invest in to make our life more beautiful is vital. This is more easily said than done.

I envy today’s youth some of whom are clear eyed to give up easy choices and seek for what they really want. India has given choices which did not exist some decades back.  But whether they are able to achieve a balance between their material success and mental happiness is a moot point. This perhaps applies to youth and younger generation in any point of time- yesterday , today or tomorrow.

So next time I visit the nearby shopping mall, I will take the plunge and buy the black shirt with stripes displayed at Zodiac shop. My family’s puritanical views on wearing such garments can take a back seat.

I will look handsome in that shirt- rather as handsome as I looked some decades back.

 

Anjeneyan.

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Walking through life too fast: In the wrong lane!

Posted by writer | Posted in India, life, society, The blog is personal again, travel, world | Posted on 04-08-2009

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6

Lonely in the fast lane
Lonely in the fast lane

I dreamt of the morning sun, but the weird part was the clouds were too dark. So much that, the sun was hidden behind it. The shadow eclipsed the fireball such that the Knight of light was shut behind the emptiness of the vast sky.

I saw something today and felt a lot more than I would normally feel. It was asking me to slow down on life.

Worried and hurried by the daily routine of making the dough for our bread, butter and “jam” I had forgotten how it feels to be human again. Surrounded too many a times by those who I would recall (If I would ever want to recall them that is) as just a dark abyss or shadows, who are never there and would never be beside but only follow through.

I rushed in with my routine as I cast away the holy smokes of unknown groups; I spent the precious fifteen minutes of morning scurrying around for getting things together set and ready for the day.

And what a day it was….

As I rushed across through my door leaving behind a cracking sound that would have awaken my neighbors for sure, my amazing hunt for the treasured Auto rickshaw for my today’s Mumbai journey began. Begging around at qualms for a ride for which I am sure to shell out a hefty piece of green from my pocket, I finally managed to convince one of the amazing rick drivers for a drive to my office.

As I waited in the rick, my work had begun with morning calls from all around the amazing spaceship in which I was and all of a sudden the vehicle screeched. I felt like my house door was hitting me back, I t was really loud!

Oh God! Was I going to get late ‘coz of some pointless traffic today?

As this question infuriated my tiny brain, I looked out and screamt at the first guy standing near the rick.

I took out my frustration of blocking my time and space early morning at him and was trying to move on into the rick, I saw something.

The guy had only one leg, his packet was lying scattered on the road and there were only loud angry horns supporting him. He was not angry, was just trying to gather his scattered stuff of the rusty roads of Mumbai.

I swallowed my horrible tone, got out of the rick, bowed my head in apology, and actually told the vehicles around to shut up, picked up his stuff and dropped him to his office.

We did not speak, he asked me few questions, but I told him I felt to horrible to answer for what I had done or was going to do had I not just seen what I saw. He just smiled, and he made my morning peaceful.

As I got back to work, the start was not very good and as I saw the day proceeding ahead, I could feel only emptiness around me.

But my sweet friend (emails) dropped in some note which staggered me. It was about a similar incident that happened with me today that the mail was describing.

I paused with shock and a tiny bit of surprise.

I pondered back to what and how my day began.

It took a physically challenged and lonely guy on the street, who was also trying to make his living, slow me down with an act of solitude and humbleness on his face.

I remembered my time back at work again today; I found loads of emptiness, no courtesy and nil gratitude for life from those around. It looked so sad. I had the guys number with me, I called him during the day, thanked him for slowing me down and making me realize how important it is to what we strive for, that’s more than just a job.

I guess running scurried in the routine rat race, with all those around, I had forgotten the value of time, money and what it means to give someone space and support.

I felt good, as I jotted this down but I really asked myself, ‘Is someone who is less fortunate and more troubled in life hitting so hard against you with his life scattered but yet not complaining,  the Only person who can make us look back and think about how we live?

The reality was harsh and sad.

I think it should never be a jerk that would desperately need to slow us down.

As I jotted down the final lines, I found myself remembering that guy’s face from morning, who had so much less than I did, but still thanked me, was smiling at the end of the day and said, this is a routine for me, I hope you have a great day!

I need a great day…. I think it’s time I got a great day!

But the next time, I won’t wait till my rick hits someone…..

So, how was your day?

 

Le’mme know

 

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Change is in the air! Change is everywhere! – Recession proofing Career!

Posted by blessedart | Posted in Businessman, career, life, people, The blog is personal again, world | Posted on 31-07-2009

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Career proofing: Flying High! on clouded skies

Career proofing: Flying High! on clouded skies

An amazing 4 hour midnight telephonic conversation and I conclude, I am not made up for phone talk!

I then realized, I did it anyway so may be change IS in the air.

Not trying to jump hoops here. Just getting and catching up with the current market scenario.

Had a wonderful conversation with two very different individuals yesterday which made me blog into ‘The blog is personal again’ section. Both were frustrated & discouraged with their jobs, one had resigned and one was dying to resign. Both had remarkably unique points of view to share on the current scenario.

The one who was free from both income and ‘immediate-earlier’ stress spoke with sheer self-belief of the current industry trend of no / poor job & career opportunities.

I asked him, “How did you take this step then, if the industry is so bad?” He said “I resigned ‘coz the industry is awful anyways, so there is no immediate scale for professional growth in our organization. Whatever be your performance, you would be tagged in with the millions as far as recession in industry goes. So when you know the industry is bad, even the sector that’s doing well refuses to grow or accept growth, so why not resign and start a venture of my dream?”

My long silence, made the optimistically high and free being to continue and add, “When I know what I do for others is not going to get me anywhere, I might as well try to do it for me. If it does not work, I anyway have the industry to blame, its recession everywhere and so if not now, then when?”

I smiled, wished him the best of success and loads of positive morale which he would need whether or not his ‘venture’ clicks.

The other individual still bound by rules, corporate policies and frustrations from one’s superior was very clear, “it’s not a good time to leave. Let’s think about changing careers when the industry does well. I can’t sleep with peace, but can at least pay my daily bills without having to plan or think. What say?”

I had nothing to say, I just nodded.

I realized I have become too patient listening to people. Well, at least one good personal skill I added this year I guessed. But, then I just put forth both queries and pointers together:

  1. The industry is anyways bad; why not venture into something new. One can change careers when the industry is good or doing great, we would have better professional career opportunities.
  2. The industry is bad. Now, it’s time to just stay putt and follow with the crowd. When nothing works, at least your bills are still getting paid!

Then I felt, I would ask all of you…. What say? What would you choose? What is your take on this?

Give me your views on the same.

 

Blessedart!

Image Source: ANVCLICKS

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