My address at BK Gulf Headquarters on World FM Day 2017

Good Afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to be here again, addressing you all on the World FM day 2017. The theme chosen for last year’s celebration was ‘Empowering people for a productive world’. Accordingly, we discussed about various ways and means of empowering people. This year’s theme is ‘Enabling Positive Experiences’. So, let us now discuss on what are the positive experiences and how do we enable them.

Before we proceed further, I wish to thank for all your reviews and feedback on my last year’s address. Your positive feedback has motivated me further and also put more responsibility on me. Someone here told me that after my last year’s address, for next few days, people frequently used the terms ‘Positive strokes’ and ‘Negative strokes’. Good!

This year’s theme is ‘Enabling Positive Experiences’. So, let us discuss on what it means.

Let us focus for a while on the word ‘enabling’. Enabling means to facilitate, support, assist, aid in achieving something. However, to be in a position to enable others, first we must be satisfying that criteria. That means, first we should have a positive experience. How do we have a positive experience? What is positive experience?

Every person has a way of thinking. Nobody is right or wrong. It is just the way they are! Let me start my first story of two wolves here. 

An old Grandfather said to his grandson, who came to him with anger at a friend who had done Him an injustice, "Let me tell you a story.”

"I too, at times, have felt great hate for those who have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do. But hate wears you down, and does not hurt your enemy. It's like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times."
"It is as if there are two wolves inside me; one is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him and does not take offense when no offense was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way."

"But the other wolf... Ah! The tiniest thing will send him into a fit of temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is helpless anger, for his anger will change nothing.”

"Sometimes it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit.”

The boy looked intently into his Grandfather's eyes and asked, "Which one wins, Grandfather?"
The Grandfather smiled and quietly said, "The one I feed."

So, if we feed the positive wolf within us, it will generate positivity and vice versa. We all were born as tiny babies with a clear history of any positive or negative attitude. We were all same. We developed our personality, bit by bit over the years and we continue to do so every minute. Start feeding the wolf that generates positivity within you and you will feel the difference.

One important thing is that positivity is highly contagious. If you are positive, you will send out positive vibes in the surroundings and people will actually feel those vibes. The positive wolves within them will wake up and take charge of his thoughts and actions. The best example is the top boss’s behavior in meetings. If he starts the meeting with a smiling face, making a gentle eye contact with everyone, the meeting would invoke maximum participation from all the attendees. On the other hand, if the boss comes in the meeting room with a frown on his face, it will immediately translate everyone into a nervous mode. Then, the meeting would be a tense affair with minimum participation. Which is better for the company?

Here is a good example about how positivity is highly contagious. The pilots of every flight make some mandatory announcements during the flight, one after taking off and reaching the altitude, and second just before arriving at the destination, thanking the passengers. Generally, when the pilots make these announcements, very few people actually listen to them. Most of the people are forced to listen, as they have no choice. Even the headphones connected to the videos switch off so that you hear the announcements. These announcements are standard and pretty boring. To make it worse, the pilots are trained to speak in a slightly stretched tone, giving more-than-usual pauses between two sentences.

This particular day, the pilot made an announcement, which made everyone to listen to him. Everyone looked up, and then at each other, wondering what was happening. The pilot said, “Good Morning Ladies, Gentlemen and Children, this is the 7.35am and you'll be pleased to know that we are right on time. This means that we will get you to where you are going in plenty of time. And what a lovely morning it is today. The sun is shining, temperature is about 21 degrees, birds are singing, and all's right with the world. I trust you have a great day wherever you are going. Thanks for choosing to fly with us this morning and I hope to see you again soon. Have a great day.”

Suddenly, the people started smiling, looking smilingly at each other. Many of them started conversing with their neighbors. The strangers became friends! Such is the contagious nature of positivity.

The next question is how do you feel positive? Actually, it is very simple. All you need to do is just not worry on two days in a week. Everything will be fine automatically. How you look at these two days determine how you spend your life.

One of these days is Yesterday with all its mistakes and scars, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. No money in the world can bring back yesterday.

We cannot undo a single act we performed; we cannot erase a single word we said. Yesterday is gone forever.

The other day we should not worry about is Tomorrow with all its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise and its poor performance; Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control.
Tomorrow’s sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds, but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in tomorrow, for it is yet to be born.

This leaves only one day, Today. Any person can fight the battle of just one day. It is when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternities, ‘Yesterday’ and ‘Tomorrow’ that we break down.

It is not the experience of today that drives a person mad. It is the remorse or bitterness of something, which happened yesterday, and the dread of what tomorrow may bring.
Let us, therefore, live but one day at a time.

Being Positive also means that you are optimistic about the future. How do you develop a mindset to be Positive?

Well, the story about Potato, Eggs and Coffee beans would reveal how to be positive.

Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot, and ground coffee beans in the third pot.

He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter. The daughter, moaned and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing.

After twenty minutes, he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.

He then ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup. Turning to her he asked. “Daughter, what do you see?”

“Potatoes, eggs, and coffee,” she hastily replied.

“Look closer,” he said, “and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face.

“Father, what does this mean?” she asked.

He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and coffee beans had each faced the same adversity– the boiling water.

However, each one reacted differently.

The potato went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it became soft and weak.

The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard.

However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.

“Which are you,” he asked his daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean? “

Moral of the story is that in life, things happen around us, things happen to us, but the only thing that truly matters is what happens within us.

Which one are you?

There is another interesting story about developing a positive outlook even when you are in problems.

There once was a very wealthy and curious king. This king had a huge boulder placed in the middle of a road. Then he hid nearby to see if anyone would try to remove the gigantic rock from the road.

The first people to pass by were some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers. Rather than moving it, they simply walked around it. A few loudly blamed the King for not maintaining the roads. Not one of them tried to move the boulder.

Finally, a peasant came along. His arms were full of vegetables. When he got near the boulder, rather than simply walking around it as the others had, the peasant put down his load and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. It took a lot of effort but he finally succeeded.

The peasant gathered up his load and was ready to go on his way when he say a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The peasant opened the purse. The purse was stuffed full of gold coins and a note from the king. The king’s note said the purse’s gold was a reward for moving the boulder from the road.

The king showed the peasant what many of us never understand: every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

Similarly, whenever you are faced with a problem in your work, look at it as an opportunity to do something good. It is an opportunity to correct a wrong or to enhance an inefficient process. Without problems, there would be little for us to show our capabilities. Just imagine, if none of the sites had any FM related issues, all contracts would be either heavily downsized or closed in no time. So, problems are good. But in pursuit of excellence, please do not create new problems. Deal with the existing ones.

Sometimes, the problems are too big to handle. We get tensed up, and the failure seems to be inevitable. Those are the times, when our real grit is tested. A person who can think with a cool head in the deepest of crisis can solve any problem. Many people weaken their chances of success by getting anxious, tense and nervous.

This story of Steven Callahan describes how you can surmount any problem.

In 1982 Steven Callahan was crossing the Atlantic alone in his sailboat when it struck something and sank. He was out of the shipping lanes and floating in a life raft, alone. His supplies were few. His chances were small. Yet when three fishermen found him seventy-six days later (the longest anyone has survived a shipwreck on a life raft alone), he was alive -- much skinnier than he was when he started, but alive.

His account of how he survived is fascinating. His survived on fish and sea water.

What is noteworthy is that he managed to keep himself going when all hope seemed lost, when there seemed no point in continuing the struggle, when he was suffering greatly, when his life raft was punctured and after more than a week struggling with his weak body to fix it, it was still leaking air and wearing him out to keep pumping it up. He was starved. He was desperately dehydrated. He was thoroughly exhausted. Giving up would have seemed the only sane option.

When people survive these kinds of circumstances, they do something with their minds that gives them the courage to keep going. Many people in similarly desperate circumstances give in or go mad. Something the survivors do with their thoughts helps them find the guts to carry on in spite of overwhelming odds.

"I tell myself I can handle it," wrote Callahan in his narrative. "Compared to what others have been through, I'm fortunate. I tell myself these things over and over, building up fortitude...."

The truth is, our circumstances are only bad compared to something better. But others have been through much worse. We are lucky to be where we are, no matter how bad it seems to us compared to our fantasies. It's a sane thought and worth thinking.

So here, coming to us from the extreme edge of survival, are words that can give us strength. Whatever you're going through, tell yourself you can handle it. Compared to what others have been through, you're fortunate. Tell this to yourself repeatedly, and it will help you get through the rough spots with a little more fortitude.

The last important point about the tricks to remain positive is to refuse to accept failure as an option. Never give up. There are countless stories of people who succeeded just when they were about to give up after their repeated failures to achieve something. Unfortunately, there are many more people, who gave up when they were just about to strike gold. The trick here is to stay on and not give up. 

No example is better suited for this positive attitude than that of Sir Edmund Hillary.

We all know that Sir Edmund Hillary was the first man to climb Mount Everest. On May 29, 1953 he scaled the highest mountain then known to man-29,000 feet straight up. He was knighted for his efforts. He even made American Express card commercials because of it! However, until we read his book, High Adventure, we don't understand that Hillary had to grow into this success. In 1952 he attempted to climb Mount Everest, but failed. A few weeks later a group in England asked him to address its members. Hillary walked on stage to a thunderous applause. The audience was recognizing an attempt at greatness, but Edmund Hillary saw himself as a failure. He moved away from the microphone and walked to the edge of the platform. He made a fist and pointed at a picture of the mountain. He said in a loud voice, "Mount Everest, you beat me the first time, but I'll beat you the next time because you've grown all you are going to grow... but I'm still growing!"

Such a positive spirit would definitely reflect in your professional and personal life. You would go on conquering one goal after another, raising the bar every time. The joy and satisfaction of success would give you the necessary motivation to take on more and more challenges in life.

So, next time someone says that there is a problem, sense an opportunity and jump into it. Every problem brings you unforeseen opportunities in disguise.

Some of you might say that your problems are far too serious in nature and cannot be easily solved. For them, here is my last story for the day.

Once upon a time, a saint came to a village and asked the villagers, if they had any problem. All of them thought for a while and said yes, they had some problem. He announced that he would organize a special ‘problem exchange event’ in which people can exchange their problems with one another in anonymity. What they had to do was to wrap all their problems in a bundle of cloth and keep it near a huge tree on the outskirts of the village with his nametag on it. Then, he can choose anyone’s problems wrapped similarly in a bundle of cloth and carry home.

Everyone was amused. The beggar in the village wanted to take the problems of the wealthiest man in the town, because he assumed that he had far too lesser problems. Similarly, the salaried people wanted to exchange their problems with the businessmen and vice versa. Everyone began dreaming about this ‘problem exchange’ mega event, in which they could get rid of their problems and borrow the ‘much lesser’ problems of rich people from their village.

The day arrived. Everyone carefully wrapped their problems and headed for the giant tree. The beggar went early with his bundle. He placed it near the tree and looked around for the wealthiest man’s bundle. To his surprise, he found that the wealthiest man’s bundle was much bigger than his bundle. He was surprised.

At that time, he heard someone coming with his bundle. So, he hid behind another tree and watched. To his surprise, this person was another one such person, who he thought was a very happy man, but his bundle was also heavier.

Soon, he realized that many people watched from behind the trees and were surprised to see that every person had more or less a similar, heavy bundle of worries.

Some of them wanted to exchange their bundle of same size. But then, they thought for a while. They had no idea what problems were wrapped in that bundle. It was suspense, a mystery. However, they were very well aware of what was in their bundle. Moreover, they were not sure, whether they would be able to tackle those unknown problems. At the same time, they were very familiar with their own problems, and were facing them and resolving them on a day-to-day basis. So, which was more preferable? Known problems or unknown problems?

They all took back their own bundles home. 

The message is very clear. You would not find a single person on this earth, who does not have a problem. Everyone has some problem or other. Only the type of the problem is different. So, start accepting your problems, resolving them one piece at a time and move forward.

I once again wish you all a very Happy ‘World FM day’. As per this year’s theme, ‘Enable positive experiences’ around you and experience the difference.

Thank you for hearing me patiently for so long.

I thank BK Gulf once again for having invited me here today.

Thank you…!        

Inspiring and Motivating stories Volume #10

This is a collection of inspiring and motivational short stories, which I have posted earlier on my Facebook page. Every story gives a distinctly positive message. Enjoy reading the volume #10 of this collection.

1.

Many people tend to spend their retired life in a peaceful manner, relaxing and enjoying finer moments of life. However, there are some exceptional people, who spend their time in unique ways…

Like Pravin Tulpule, an ex-office from Indian Navy. He retired as Lt. Commander after serving for 17 long years in Navy.

He keeps himself busy by visiting pediatric wards in hospitals and orphanages, and shows magic shows to the children. He dresses like a clown to evoke laughter among the children. Some children, fighting for various diseases like cancer also momentarily forget their worries and roll out with laughter.

Moreover, he does this free … because he believes that bringing smile on the faces of deprived and suffering children is priceless. That satisfies him immensely.

Everyone lives for himself. Some live for others. He is one among them.

Such people make this world a better place to live in …!

2.

It is a matter of great pride and pleasure for any father to see his daughter prosper. But the pleasure experienced by Ramniwas Shukla, 62, is something unique.

He is a tea stall owner, who serves tea in Indore police control room.

These days, when he serves tea to all the staff there, his heart swells with pride when he serves tea to Sub-inspector Tina Shukla, his daughter.

Tina Shukla says that her father motivated her since childhood to think big and never give up in the face of adversities. She gives the credit of her success to her father’s continuous encouragement.

This story brings out two adorable aspects – one, a humble beginning need not limit one’s dreams and two, a broad minded father, who encouraged his daughter to excel in her career.

3.

What do we do with the leftover medicines after we are cured of minor ailments? In all probabilities, they lie in our shelves unused, till the expiry date and are thrown away one day.

In this common habit of people, Omkarnath Sharma, 79, from New Delhi has found a novel method of doing his bit towards contributing to the society. Daily, he goes around the upper middle class and middle class societies knocking on the doors for leftover medicines. He collects them and stores them in a small rented room near his house in Manglapuri. The poor people visit him daily between 4 – 6 pm to see if the medicine required by them is available with him. He donates around Rs. 5 lakhs worth of medicines every month. He is popularly known as ‘Medicine baba’ in the neighborhood.

At an age, when people generally tend to relax and enjoy their life Omkarnath Sharma walks 5 – 7 km every day in pursuit of his dream of providing free medicines to the poor, while at the same time avoiding the wastage itself.

He has proved that social service can be done in any form. What is required is … the will to do. 

4.

Some people value their passion more than success. They believe that doing something, which we are passionate about, gives us more happiness than doings things, which we do not like, even if that makes us successful.

No one can prove this more convincingly than Roshni Mukherjee.

Roshni had a dreamt of becoming a teacher since her childhood.  She just loved teaching. After completing her M.Sc. (Physics) in 2011, she took up a job in a MNC to support her family. However, the job pressure prevented her from taking up the teaching activity.

Therefore, in a decisive moment, she quit the job and started a website called examfear.com. In just few months, the YouTube channel of her online platform had over 74,000 subscribers. The website has around 4000 videos on Maths and Science for classes 9 to 12. Her main aim is to provide quality education to those children, who cannot afford to pay high fees of famous tutorials.

She is immensely satisfied today to see that thousands of students are benefited from her online tuitions, which are absolutely free. She supports herself on the earnings from advertisements and donations from charitable institutions.

She can surely be classified as a modern day Dronacharya teaching thousands of Eklavya around the globe.

5.

It is not always that a person gets declared a country’s ‘citizen of the day’. Especially when you are on a foreign land.

But Tejinder Pal Singh, an Indian-origin cab driver, has been named ‘Australian of the Day‘ for feeding the poor and homeless in northern Darwin since the past three years.

Every last Sunday of the month, Tejinder finishes his shift as a driver and goes to northern Darwin where he feeds the poor and homeless, giving them a taste of Indian cuisine which includes chickpeas, rice and vegetarian curry cooked especially for them. Tejinder prepares and carries 30 kg of Indian food in his van, which has a sign that says ‘Free Indian food for hungry and needy people.’ 

Tejinder is a religious man. He says that according to his religion, ten percent of one’s income should be spent on helping the needy and the homeless.

He works as an air-conditioner mechanic during the day and as a cabbie at night. People who are impressed by his work often try to provide monetary support to Tejinder, but he refuses the favour. He says that rather than donating money, they should start their own food drives within the local community.

India is proud of you, Tejinder Pal Singh … you inspire us.

6.

All of us know the importance of protecting our environment, but how many of us are willing to do something out of the way to contribute to this cause? Not many.

Well, Dhananjay Chakraborty, 40, a taxi driver from Kolkata is an exception.

He has installed a green grass-bed on the roof of his taxi, by modifying the roof at a cost of Rs. 22,000/- which also increased the weight by 65 kg. He has also placed eight potted plants in the trunk behind the back seat to give a garden effect. This increases his fuel consumption but he does not mind. The temperature inside the non-AC taxi remains cooler because of these plants and green roof. He says that it is not just enough that one plants trees. What is more important is to nurture them well, by taking their enough care.

People like Dhananjay Chakraborty are rare and few. Their intentions and actions in protecting the environment are far more impressive than the CSR initiatives by big corporates, who do it more for image building and publicity purposes.

Tomorrow, if we happen to see that the environment conditions have really improved, we can be sure that Dhananjay Chakraborty’s contribution is also there.

Just like the contribution of proverbial squirrel in building the Ram Setu…!  

7.

All of us have guests in our home sometime or other. How about having same guests, who come daily for over ten years?

Well, Sekhar from Chennai has been feeding around two thousand parrots every day for over ten years now. That too, two times in a day, at 6 am and then at 4.30 pm. He wakes up at 4.30 am every day to prepare the food for these parrots. He places the food neatly on racks on his terrace and the parrots come regularly without fail.

He is a camera mechanic by profession and spends around 40% of his income on feeding the parrots. He says that during these years, he might have missed a meal, but not these parrots. He says that one must love not just the human beings, but also all the living beings.

Oscar Wilde had said, “The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention”.

He is demonstrating that … so well.

8.

How often do we come across a grade 6 student donating funds to the Chief minister’s welfare schemes, from the prize money earned though contests? Rarely indeed.

Well, Maryam Siddiqui from Cosmopolitan High school, Mumbai does that.

Maryam shot into fame a few months ago, when she topped the Bhagwad Gita contest conducted by ISKCON (International society for Krishna Consciousness). She was showered with felicitations, awards and honors from around the country, starting from Pranab Mukherjee and Sonia Gandhi, several chief ministers, and many other organizations.

She won the first prize amongst 4,000 students from 195 schools in Maharashtra who took part in the competition. However, that is not the end of the proud deeds of this girl.

Since then, she has been donating all her cash prizes for the betterment of girl education in the country. Every cheque that she has received, which include cash rewards ranging  from Rupees 11 thousand to 11 lakhs, have been returned back to the respective administration with the request that it be used in a scheme or something to provide better education for girls.

Maryam is from a middle class family, who lives at Mira road in Thane, Mumbai. Her father, Asif Siddiqui, says, “Though we are not financially well off, my daughter has made it her mission to work for the education of girls.” Maryam has also been visiting few other places and distributing sweets and money to poor girls by herself.

Hats off to the amazing girl who shows us the true meaning of generosity.

9.

What do the children do with their damaged toys? Most of the children throw them away or do not play with them anymore.

Well, Vedant Dhiren Thaker, 11, from Mumbai is an exception.

He uses all the broken toys and sometimes disassemble electronic toys to take out the components inside, to make new toys very different from the original ones.

It all began during the summer vacations, when he went out several times and many times his friends came to call him to play outside. Every time the doorbell rang, his mother had to leave whatever work she was doing and open the door. This irritated her, like most of the mothers.

Sensing a need and an opportunity here, he developed a circuit using the remote control of a toy car, batteries, motor drive mechanism circuit to develop a door-latch-opener with remote control. Now, whenever the doorbell rings, his mother just presses a button on the remote control and the door opens.

Vedant has demonstrated that innovations can be done without any formal technical education or long work experience. What is required is an analytical mind and a desire to learn.

So, are we looking at a future genius in Vedant? Time only will tell.

In the meantime, we wish him all the very best in his out-of-box-pursuits.   

10.

These days, most of us experience traffic jams very often. What do we do when we are stuck in traffic a jam? Curse the traffic? Spend some anxious moments?

Well, M. Chandra Kumar, 51, and auto driver from Coimbatore uses the traffic jams for a very productive use. He writes novels whenever he is stuck up in traffic jams, or while waiting for passengers. Popularly known as Auto Chandran, he is a class 10 drop out who ran away from house at a young age. He has written six books so far.

Earlier this week, he travelled to Venice to take part in the 72^nd Venice International Film Festival, as a movie based on his novel ‘Lock up’ was made into a Tamil movie ‘Visaranai’ and is being premiered in the event. The movie is directed by Vetrimaaran, and has the honor of being the first Tamil film to be screened in this event.

Five valuable lessons reinforced from Chandra Kumar’s story.

Time is money – spend it wisely.

Dream big – everything is possible.

Look for opportunities in every adversity.

Talent gets due recognition – sooner or later.

Believe in yourselves and pursue your passion. Success follows automatically.

***

Coming Soon Volume #11

Awaken the Paneerselvam within you…!

The Tamil Nadu politics is currently witnessing a political thriller which is becoming more intriguing by the hour. The strong bi-party dynamics of this southern state was shaken last week, with an open revolt in the AIADMK party by the incumbent Chief Minister O Paneerselvam. For the first time in the history of the party, the grass root cadre of the party was confused about whom to show their allegiance to - the woman, who was the closest friend of late Jayalalithaa during her last few years, or Paneerselvam, the trusted lieutenant who not only stepped in her shoes every time there was a crisis, but also managed the show successfully till she resumed.  

Let us step back a little to fully understand the incredible audacity demonstrated by Paneerselvam. In the aftermath of Jayalalithaa’s demise, there was an instant vacuum in the party, as she had never openly anointed her successor. Shashikala was clever to understand that before the emotional intensity among the masses diminishes, she needs to stake her claim. The rank and file blindly agreed to her supremacy, partially because of her proximity to their departed leader and also because of the culture prevalent within the party since several decades, to unconditionally follow a leader.

Seeing the general mood of acceptance for her overtures within the party, she began to systematically increase her control over the party one step at a time, till she reached the final step, becoming the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. And she was all set to become one.

That was the time, when Paneerselvam realized that something was wrong. Why was he and the entire party silently accepting her leadership, when she had not demonstrated any credentials to lead the party? What qualifications did she have other than being the best friend of their ex-leader, to be in the position of power? More importantly, why was everyone in the party silent on this issue? Was it not like the proverbial ‘ostrich mentality’ to look aside, when you desperately need answers to these glaring and important questions?

Apparently, Paneerselvam got the most probable answer. It was the fear of failure. While most of the party men were uncomfortable to some extent about the fast-paced events leading to her accession within the party, they were worried that if they voice their concern, they might be left out alone. They might face the wrath of the party workers. Their political future could be at stake.  

Paneerselvam decided to play the biggest gamble of his life. He chose the revolt and question the authority of Shashikala. For the first few hours after the revolt, the party looked at him, as though he was most dreaded criminal in this world at the moment. However, the things began to change slowly. The public sentiment started pouring in on the social media, which swelled with each passing hour.  

That prompted all the MLAs and the MPs to start thinking. They had a difficult choice to make. If they continued to stay with Shashikala, they invited the public anger which could seriously harm their prospects in the next elections. If they switched sides to Paneerselvam, and he is eventually outmaneuvered by Shashikala in the current game, their future would be doomed now itself.

The suspense is still ON. The next few days will decide who will ultimately win this game.

Whatever may be the outcome, one thing is sure. Paneerselvam is hero of the day. He has shown the courage to swim against the tide. He has dared the challenges and threats to his political future. He has acted on his conscience.

Many times in our life, we too face such situations, when we are compelled to make a difficult or unpopular decision. The decisions which we make in those moments can have far reaching impact on our short term as well as long term future. At such times, we should think of Paneerselvam.

Listen to your conscience, think rationally, and take a decision, which you believe in.

Remember, the risks and rewards always go together. Higher the risks, higher the rewards.

Awaken the Paneerselvam within you…!

15 Secrets of Happiness for Senior Citizens.

As we grow old, our priorities change. So do our capabilities. We need to redefine our objectives in life. Following is an excerpt from the book ‘Life Version 2’, which is a set of standard guidelines for senior people on how to lead a happy and satisfied life.

…

Abhijeet said, “This mantra is called WISDOM OF GOLDAGE. Now, look at the letters in this phrase WISDOM OF GOLDAGE. It has fifteen letters. Each letter signifies a word. I shall explain all these words briefly, one by one.

The first letter is W. This is associated with WALKING. As we grow old, our capability to do any strenuous physical exercise is greatly diminished. Our body cannot absorb the shocks anymore. During our younger days, we may have jogged for several kilometers a day, or worked out in gymnasiums for hours. However, that has no relevance today, except for the fact that your body would be fit and perfect now. Nevertheless, you need to do something today, to ensure that your body remains fit in the future too. Remember, your value is largely intact till the day you are not bedridden. To ensure that you postpone the day of confining yourselves to bed, you just need to walk every day. Walk as per your capability. Do not walk briskly, if your current health does not allow you to do so. Walk slowly, if you cannot walk fast. However, you must walk. Walking is one exercise, which a person can do, with minimum efforts and maximum benefits. A thirty minutes of walk every day, will keep in control your diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol. It keeps you active throughout the day and increases your metabolism rate, which helps in your digestion process. So, whether it is a sunny day or a rainy day, walk for half an hour every day. If you cannot go out for a walk, please walk inside your home in the living room. Remember, many people suffer from arthritis in their golden age. Those people cannot walk. So, feel blessed if you do not suffer from arthritis and start walking from today onwards.

The second letter is I. This is associated with INTERFERENCE. You need to avoid interfering with everything that is going around you. You should not think that you still hold the important pivotal position in the family. Your children are capable of running the house. You would be often tempted to interfere in every matter, which is being discussed in your home. Whenever you see someone going out, you would be tempted to ask him or her where he or she is going. Please avoid this temptation. Remember, others may not view your interference in correct spirits. They may treat it as an obstruction or hindrance. Therefore, please do not interfere. Be assured that if something concerns you, they will definitely tell you about it. It is not necessary that you should know everything about everything that is going around you. Those days are gone. Be content with whatever is shared with you.

The third letter is S. This is associated with SMILE. Nothing stops you from smiling. Actually, it costs nothing. In fact, when you have a smiling face, people tend to be more open to you, more considerate towards you and they are more comfortable in dealing with you. On the contrary, having a frown on the face will make people irritated and less comfortable in dealing with you. In such situations, people do not share their ideas with you, and you face the risk of missing valuable information. So smile at every opportunity. It adds to your face value.

The fourth letter is D. This is associated with DIET. Friends, all of you have enjoyed sumptuous lunches and dinners throughout your life. You might have tasted the most exotic food around the world. However, as you grow older, your digestion capacity reduces significantly. The body parts like liver, kidney and pancreas do not function with the same vigor as they did during your youth. They need to be treated gently. If you do not monitor and control your diet properly, it puts excessive pressure on your vital body parts, and then, in a chain reaction they start failing one after another. By controlling your diet, you can actually increase the functioning efficiency of all vital organs and your longevity. You comprise of your several body parts. If your body parts are functioning well, you are healthy. Otherwise, you are not. Therefore, keep a strict watch on what you eat. Please do not eat excessive food. Avoid fried, spicy and sweet delicacies. They cause more damage to your system. By eating a moderate quantity of food, you can be healthier and more active, than what you will be by eating stomach-full every time. Control your diet… it is an important gateway to a perfect health.

The fifth letter is O. This is associated with OTHERS. Gone are the days, when you did things for yourself, unmindful of others. Now, you need to watch whether your actions or words cause any inconvenience to others around you. Please avoid doing or saying anything, which others may not like. If you need to say something to someone, please say only that, which is true, and which others would like. That will increase your acceptability among others. 

The sixth letter is M. This is associated with MEDICINES. Please ensure that you take all your medicines regularly, as advised by the doctor. Do not reduce or increase the medicine dose by yourselves, just because you feel better or worse. Consult a doctor immediately whenever you notice any abnormality in your health. Remember that early diagnosis and preventive cure can avoid many health complications. Whenever the doctor advises you to take medicines for specific number of days, complete the medicine course, even if you feel better midway. Your medicines are as important as eating and breathing.

The seventh letter is O. This is associated with your OUTLOOK TOWARDS LIFE. Change your outlook. Remember that you are not going to be here forever. Accept the fact that you are currently playing your “mandatory overs” of a cricket test match. These are numbered. Your outlook towards life changes when you truly understand this fact. Then, you would no longer be attached to the material things in life, as you realize that you cannot take away anything with you. Bear in mind that among all the people alive in the world today, you are among those, who are more likely to depart first. So, start acting like a guest rather than a host. Accept to live a life of detached attachment, so that the pain of losing something would be minimized.

The eighth letter is F. This is associated with FORGET AND FORGIVE. During your lifetime, you might have had the strength and courage to afford to have a fight or to hold a grudge against someone. Now, the times have changed. Holding a grudge against someone is going to burn you from inside, as your powers to act are greatly reduced. Sometimes, you may observe that others do not behave with you in a manner, which you expect them to. Please remember that they might have their own compulsions, to act in such a way. However, you should not assume that they have something against you. You may not know the full picture. Therefore, adopt the policy of forgive and forget. That will help you to maintain peace and balance in your life, all the time.                  

The ninth letter is G. This is associated with GRATITUDE. Express your gratitude at every opportunity. While it would not be practical to express your gratitude verbally to your family members every time, your body language can surely convey that. It is an acknowledgement of help received. It fills up both, the giver and receiver of help, with peace instantly. When we do not hesitate to say a simple “thank you” to any stranger for the help received, why should we feel shy in demonstrating that feeling in our expressions and body language when someone close to us helps us in any way? Remember, the prayers of all the religions are nothing but the expression of our gratitude to the almighty for our existence and wellbeing. 

The tenth letter is O. This is associated with OFFER TO HELP. You are in that phase of life, when people around you develop a feeling that your utility is greatly reduced. Moreover, the fact that, most likely, you are not the breadwinner of the family would sometimes reduce your importance in the house proportionately. Therefore, to justify your existence, whenever an opportunity arises where you can offer help to someone, please do so without hesitation. Offer help to others, within your practical and feasible limits. Remember, this is not to be confused with interference. The offer of help could be in those areas, where others do not find time, or are less inclined to do that task. Remember, such offer of help will make you immensely popular and a much wanted member in the house.

The eleventh letter is L. This is associated with LOVE YOURSELF. When you love yourselves, people around you also love you. You need to accept yourselves in whatever condition you are. You should value self-respect and have high self-esteem. However, it should not be confused with being arrogant or stubborn. It only means that you need to start valuing yourselves. If you do not value yourselves, soon you will find others ridiculing you.

The twelfth letter is D. This is associated with DOWN TO EARTH PERSONALITY. Remember, the achievements from your past can only decorate the walls of the house in the form of certificates and medals. They do not carry the same impact once you cross sixty. So, instead of harping on your illustrious past, better focus on the present and live in the present. Develop a down to Earth personality. In simple words, this means do not throw tantrums around about your liking and disliking. Please do not be fussy about particular things, and do not stick to your preferences. Be prepared to take everything in your stride and enjoy life.    

The thirteenth letter is A. This is associated with ADJUST TO SURROUNDINGS. You might have spent your entire life in a particular fashion. However, now you need to adjust to the revised circumstances. Remember that every time things will not happen according to your liking. Sometimes you may have to adjust and accommodate with something, which does not happen according to your wishes. So, adjust rather than complain. Adjusting with others will make you a lovable personality and make everyone happy. The adjustments could be in small matters like food preferences, TV program preferences, sleeping time preferences or in big matters like the place to stay and people with whom to stay.

The fourteenth letter is G. This is associated with GIVE UP HABITS. You might have developed certain habits over the years. It would be worthwhile to start giving up your habits one by one, because habits make you slaves, and unfulfilled habits bring disappointment. It is better to be bound by as fewer habits to avoid any disappointment. Habits like smoking and drinking are to be targeted first as they are detrimental to health. A person with minimum requirements in life is most likely to be very happy. One should aim to be in that category.

The fifteenth letter is E. This is associated with EXPECTATIONS. If you want to spend some happy moments during the last few years of your life, please do not expect anything from anyone. That is the secret key to happiness. With changing times, people too change and they no longer tend to do things for you, which they did happily at one time. Having high expectations is the root cause of unhappiness in this world. One should have expectations, but they should be revised as per the changing times. The expectations should be realistic and practical.

Friends, these fifteen advices of the “WISDOM OF GOLDAGE” may appear pessimistic to you. However, this is the truth, which you have to eventually accept. No one in this world has been successful in remaining young forever. Every minute, as I talk with you, the older generation is handing over this Earth, bit by bit, to the younger generation, to govern and manage it.

Therefore, friends, instead of cribbing about golden age, accept it gracefully and learn to redefine your objectives in life.”

…

This is an excerpt from the book ‘Life Version 2’ written by Suhas Inamdar. This book is available on Amazon, Flip Kart and Infibeam. 

When Pakistan Home minister's daughter was kidnapped ...!

This is an excerpt from the book ‘Altered Destiny’ by Suhas Inamdar. It is a fiction novel published in 2014.The passionate speech made by the Pakistan Home minister in Pakistan assembly echoes the suggestion made by Indian Prime minister recently – to manage its own territory better before casting its sight on additional piece of land.

…

Khwaja Salahudeen said, ‘Respected Speaker sir and my fellow lawmakers of Pakistan, it is with great pride and happiness I inform you all that we have successfully rescued a young girl studying in 10th standard, from the kidnappers who held her in captivity for over 36 hours. That young girl happened to be my daughter. This incident nevertheless raises a few questions which we need to ask ourselves, including myself. The first and foremost question is: are we providing adequate security to the citizens of our country? If not, then it is a matter of shame for all of us sitting here. We are the elected Government of Pakistan, who has been entrusted with the responsibility of protecting the country and its people from any kind of threat. We are supposed to devote all our energy and resources for the welfare of our people and the growth of this country.

‘I am happy to inform you that we could rescue Maliha from the kidnappers without meeting any of their demands. Their demands included giving them a lot of money and also releasing 10 dreaded terrorists, who are currently lodged in our various jails. On the personal front, I had a fight with my family about not meeting their demands. I was not in favour of meeting these demands, as it would have further emboldened them to carry out more such kidnappings in future. Moreover, releasing the terrorists was a very demoralizing proposition, as it would have instantly demeaned the efforts of our brave police personnel who had risked their lives in capturing them.

‘Today Pakistan is on the threshold of a new era. The world around us is changing very fast. Countries are shedding their past and embracing the future with optimism and promise. We also need to change. We cannot keep harping on the painful partition or continue to fight over a piece of land called Kashmir. What we need to do is to look at the big picture. What is the use of Kashmir, if we are not able to properly use the much larger size of land already available with us? Are we making foreign policies just for satisfying our egos? We need to change.

‘Pakistan is a blessed land. We are the sixth most populous country in the world. We have a coastline of over 1000 km, which, if utilized efficiently, can boost our maritime business activities. Our Armed Forces are the eighth largest in the world. Our heritage and culture is one of the oldest in the region. We are one of the few nuclear powers in the world. Don’t these figures make us proud? Well, not in the current scenario. And the reasons are not very difficult to find.

‘Today, the common impression about a politician in the mind of our citizens is that of a corrupt person, who thinks and cares only about himself. Very few of us have done something worthwhile for our people. Most of the time, we think only about filling our personal coffers, building our own portfolio of assets and furthering our personal interests. This is injustice to the people of Pakistan. We cannot and should not neglect the people of our country.

‘Terrorism is gaining ground on our soil. We are not showing enough courage to tackle it for various personal and vested political reasons. Since it does not affect us directly, we do not think much about it. But out there, daily, dozens of people are losing their lives in the bomb blasts, which are occurring at very frequent intervals across our major cities. Just because we move around in bulletproof cars with full security around us, is it fair that we leave our countrymen to their fate like this? Who are we deceiving in the process? Is it really worth being a powerful personality in a weak country?

‘We need to think seriously about poverty and illiteracy. These two are the major impediments on our path of progress. If we are not able to guarantee food and basic education to our countrymen, I think we should leave our positions of elected office at once. Just because we have won elections, it does not mean that we can relax and enjoy the fruits of our labour for five years, oblivious of the stark surroundings. Our task is not complete till every citizen of our country is able to bear the minimum expenses of educating his children and providing them food, clothing and shelter.

‘I urge you all to think about Pakistan before thinking about yourselves. Feel proud to be a part of the process of change to lift our country from this mess to a glorious future. And remember, please do not think even for a moment that you are doing charity by doing so… you are doing this for your own children’s safety and well-being. Of what use is your wealth, if the conditions outside on the streets of Pakistan are not safe for people to walk?

‘Look at our neighbour India. Actually we are born out of them. See how they have made progress over the same years. It is not because they are bigger than us. If we talk about size, then Singapore, Japan and Dubai are much smaller than us. India is today far ahead of us in everything. The starting line in this race for development was the same for both of us. Yet they surged forward. There are reasons for their growth and development. It is about the tolerance of their citizens to diverse ideas, it is about the vision of their leaders, and it is about the passion of their industrialists to rise...

‘It is high time that we start considering India as our elder brother, seeking their guidance and support in our various endeavours. I am very sure that if our intentions are right, India will go out of the way to support us. India has already demonstrated its greatness by not attacking us even once, while we made three unsuccessful attempts to invade them. India has taught the entire world the meaning of truth and non-violence. They have demonstrated that with these two qualities alone, they could shake the rock-solid British Empire which ruled over them for 90 years. Today India is considered a giant power in the field of Information Technology. Had we not separated from them in 1947, we could have shared their growth and, if possible, contributed to it as well. After all, we are not different in any way from each other. We were one before 1947 and became two thereafter. As if to pay the price for our deeds, the eastern part of our country was dissociated with us in 1971 to form what is now called Bangladesh. This only proves an old adage… As we sow, so we reap.

‘So, dear colleagues, please join me in initiating this noble move to cleanse Pakistan of all its evils and start a new chapter. Let us take Pakistan to new heights with dignity and honour. Let us show our humble face to the world. Let our citizens be proud of their country. We may need to sacrifice many things on this path of progress, as the task is gigantic in nature. But there has to be a beginning. I have already demonstrated that I did not care for even my daughter, whom I love very much. I did not want to save my daughter at the cost of 10 terrorists roaming on Pakistani streets jeopardizing the lives of hundreds of daughters of Pakistan. Thank you all….’

…

The book ‘Altered Destiny’ is available on Amazon, Flip Kart and Infibeam.

Everyone gained … Samajwadi Party lost.

The sordid drama, which unfolded in UP last week, for over 100 hours, has developed serious cracks in the foundation of Samajwadi Party. In the coming days, these cracks are likely to weaken the strong edifice, so carefully built by the patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav for the last 24 years.

It is unfortunate and a bit ironical that all the key stakeholders in Samajwadi Party have made wrong moves and even blunders in the time of grave crisis. Is this because their personal political ambitions have overshadowed their collective responsibility towards the party?

Let us analyze the wrong moves by the three key stakeholders of this thriller drama:

Mulayam Singh Yadav:

As is emerging now, his constant reprimanding of his son in public forums for the last few months has become a handy tool now for all the opposition parties. They are freely quoting his statements in their public rallies, which is causing a deep embarrassment in the rank and file of the Samajwadi Party. However, all his such utterances looked like benign praise when he burst out against his son after achieving a (temporary) truce between his brother and son last week. He said in no uncertain terms that Akhilesh is an incapable and undeserving CM, who had spoilt his (Mulayam’s) chances of becoming a PM in 2014. This statement from a 76-year-old founder of a party displays that his love for his unfulfilled personal ambitions is far higher than his love for his son. He did not even think for a minute the impact, which his statement was going to make on his son’s profile as CM of the largest state of India. He is definitely not naïve to assume that his son would take such scathing remarks lying low. However, what is surprising is that he is willing to take the risk of his son’s revolt. This is where his judgement could be erroneous. Given all the plus and minuses of Akhilesh in running the government for last 4 years, one thing is clear that his style of politics is diametrically opposite to that of his father and uncles. He talks about technology and believes in true development. He connects with the educated youth far better than the elder generation of Yadav clan. His dissidence could prove costly to the party and the family.

Shivpal Yadav:

The best way to describe Shivpal’s behavior during the entire drama is to compare him with the sullen mother of a groom demanding more dowry during a marriage. She demands full attention from everyone around and doesn’t budge from her demands. And she achieves it all finally. However, in the process, she loses the goodwill of everyone around.

Same is the case of Shivpal Yadav. He has contributed immensely in building the party along with Mulayam and obviously deserves significant share of power. However, he probably overstepped into Akhilesh’s well-defined territory far too often, resulting in him crying foul. His best option would have been to resolve all the differences with Akhilesh behind the closed doors. They could have involved Mulayam well in advance and not wait for the media to serve the orgy to its savoring viewers. That would have protected the dignity and strength of Samajwadi Party as well as the Yadav family. However, he chose to wash the dirty linen in public and the entire episode exploded into an unstoppable fire. So, even though the fire is doused for now, the damage is already done.

Akhilesh Yadav:

He has been made to eat the humble pie by his father and uncle. However, they conveniently forgot that he is also one among them, and has run the government for full four years. He is not new to the game of politics. He has many more promising years ahead of him unlike the elders in the family, who can remain politically active for just one more term or two. Displaying courage and magnanimity, he opted to blink first and get whacked royally in full public view, just to protect the honor and dignity of his family and his party. If, in the entire episode, there was one act of showing generosity of reconciliation, it was by Akhilesh in reversing all his demands and orders.

However, shrewd people see this sacrifice as an act of dousing the fire only. Before the smoke withers away, he shall be in sitting in his drawing room, sharpening his claws, licking his wounds and making much bigger plans for himself. He would not have the patience to wait endlessly for his elder generation to retire. He will come back with a vengeance at his uncle. He would not care much about his father, because he has already sort of ‘disowned’ him by ridiculing him in public and questioning his abilities. And this time when Akhilesh strikes back, he would leave no scope for any reconciliation. It would be a final goodbye to the current set-up. The most obvious thing would be to make Mulayam and Shivpal the Advani and Murali Manohar Joshi of Samajwadi Party.