Smile a Little!

Have you noticed something strange about certain people (I don't have anyone specific in mind, just a certain class of people, of either sex, in case you were wondering... :D)? Smile at them, and all you get in response is a determined look in the other direction. This is often coupled with an expression that seems to be comparing you with the scum-at-the-bottom-of-the-pond, or worse, the-dirt-underfoot. I just don't get it. Why can't people smile back? It's not like their precious smile is a limited commodity, to be doled out sparingly, at best. And it's not as if I'm a walking freak-show, to be avoided like the bloody plague.
Come on, all I'm asking for is a bit of civil conduct, nothing more. I'm a human being, just like you. I don't expect anything from you. If I want something, I'll ask. Then you can look away and frown. But if I just smile at you, basic courtesy says that you smile back. I may not know you from Tom, Dick or Harry, (or the female equivalent, if you prefer) but I expect a certain level of civilisation from you. It's what separates you and me from the animals.
In case the above paragraphs seem to be written in anger, nothing could be further from the truth. It's more pity than anything else, to see that we've "advanced" to a stage where we don't seem to want to acknowledge a stranger's (sometimes it isn't even a stranger) presence. All we care about is ourselves, our small circle of friends, (if that at all) along with our petty lives. Sad.

Don't Point Fingers!

This post is inspired by something I read on Sheki's blog. (link) It isn't closely related, I just thought I'd share the origins of this post. (To dispel the myth that I was abducted and brainwashed by aliens) I'd also like to thank Sheki, for jump-starting my writing instincts. (You now know who's responsible for the horror below :D)
Have you ever met an NRI who comes back to India and then complains about everything and anything? Most of their criticism is valid but some of it gets under my skin. Statements like "Indian politicians are corrupt", "Indians drive rashly" etc. are all perfectly valid and make sense. What does not make sense, however, are statements related to ecological conservation and awareness. Statements like "Indians don't know how to recycle" or "Indians aren't educated enough to care about the environment". What? Excuse me, but I don't think someone staying in a country (US) that consumes and pollutes the most (by far - almost SIX times, if you check on a per-capita basis) has any right to teach us how to recycle. My issue is not with one country, but with the developed world in general. On my previous visit to Germany, I noticed something peculiar. To recycle a plastic bottle, they had these fancy machines at the supermarket. The idea was to automatically segregate the waste. Good idea, but I wonder if it makes any difference. The reason I say this is because of the way the machine works. You feed in a bottle. The entire thing lights up, much like a Christmas tree, multiple laser beams scan the bottle (looking for what, I can't imagine), two or three flaps open, close and open again, and then finally a compartment opens up, and the bottle is sucked in. Yay! They have just sorted a single plastic bottle, not realising the amount of time and electricity wasted in the process.
In India, we have a very unfortunate, yet efficient waste management system - the local rag-picker. In India, we've been recycling out of economic necessity for decades. All the while, the developed world has wasted resources in ever-increasing quantities. Using huge, gas guzzling SUVs for a drive round the corner, using paper to clean everything - and I mean everything, keeping the lights and ACs on - even when there is no one at the office - the list is endless.
When the Nano was launched, there was long discussion (on a website forum) about the harmful ecological effects of adding cheap cars to the roads. One of the readers had slammed Tata motors, saying that the ecological cost of have having so many cars was simply too much. Another reader, a professor, replied to the effect that the the first world had far too many inefficient vehicles to be preaching, and after all "The industrialised world has already ruined the environment through development, why can't India be allowed to do the same?".
While I do not advocate that kind of wasteful development, my point is simple. The G7/G8 (whatever they choose to call themselves) and their citizens have no right to criticise India for polluting as a side effect of development. India's duty is to her 800 million poor people, not to cutting down CO2 emissions and being efficient when no one else really cares.

Going Home

The other day I had an interesting conversation with one of my friends. ("Uh, oh - 'interesting' he said" seems to sum up your thoughts, doesn't it? I'll save you the trouble and warn you that this post is a bit serious...)
The friend in question was returning home after a gap of almost 10 months. Her family had moved from Bangalore, her home-town. I asked her if she was happy at the prospect of going home. She said something to the effect that if she was returning to Bangalore, she would be undoubtedly happy. Since she wasn't, she had mixed feelings.
It got me thinking. What would I feel if I had to return to some place alien, even though I lived there? I guess this is a very personal question. Being a boring, lazy, no-frills (a.k.a. socially-impaired) sort of chap, I wouldn't mind. I'd enjoy going back home just as much as I do now. Who cares if I hardly know anyone? I hardly meet anyone when I go back home anyway. I'm too busy eating/reading (novels, not any other kind of book)/sleeping to bother.
I suppose the feeling will be different for different kinds of people. The socially-active, energetic and lively sort (read normal) will probably miss their friends. People who love to travel will relish the fact that they're in a completely new environment. What would you (yes, you - the reader - if you've read till here, that is) feel? Happy/Sad/Mixed? Feel free to answer, comments aren't just to make fun of me :D.

Dirt

Warning: Slightly serious post below.

I've noticed something about us Indians. In general, we tend to treat ourselves like dirt. Anything good that we do is more often than not met with comments like "How long will it last" or something to that effect. Any facility provided (by the govt.) for our comfort (yes, it does happen, even in India) is often hardly used or better still, mis-used. Case in point: My department labs. The standard procedure in our labs to switch off the air-conditioners towards the end of the session (generally an hour before). This is followed irrespective of whether students or teachers are in the lab. Presumably, this bright idea was conceived during the rainy season (for the uninitiated, my college has two seasons - heavy rain or intense heat) and was deemed reasonable. Unfortunately, someone forgot to change this rule (of sorts) with the change in season.
All right, all right. What's a bit of heat? I don't mind sweating it out a bit for the sake of the planet.
What I do not appreciate is double standards. During today's lab, we had a professor/student who had come from abroad. (possibly European?) By this time the AC had been switched off as per the rules. Promptly, the lab in-charge switched them on again. Why? So that we can impress the foreigner with the fact that we have ACs as well? So that he wouldn't feel the full heat of our miserable summer? Why does something have to be provided only to him. If he gets to benefit at the expense of my government's money, why can't I? Why do I have to suffer in 100% humidity when an alternative is available? It's because I'm a lowly Indian and hence I don't deserve it.
That's the problem with us. We treat ourselves like dirt and cry foul when the rest of the world does the same.

Selfishness

We're all selfish b******* at some level or the other. True? Or do you beg to differ? As usual, I've forgotten to give any sort of introduction to this article. Well, let me correct that.
One of my friends was telling us about a conversation he had with someone last night. The someone was of the opinion that friendship was above all else. In his/her (I can't reveal too much, you know - once bitten, twice shy!) opinion, friends came before oneself. He/She claimed that he/she would sacrifice anything for a friend. Really? I doubt it. See the comments on my earlier post - I've come up with a scenario in which most people will serve their own interests over their friends'.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that we are all selfish, narcissistic seven letter words. (or five for the fairer sex) Almost all of us feel proud of the fact that we have a good set of friends. But to what extent would we support them? In most cases where we aren't really affected, we'd back our friends 100%. Imagine a scene where there's a 50-50 chance that by supporting our friends we adversely affect ourselves. Not such an easy choice now, is it?
Consider a situation where backing your friend means that you loose out horribly. You'll still support him? I doubt it. Either you're the Dalai Lama or you're lying through your teeth.
All of us have some sort of purpose in life. (Yes, even me. I may be utterly clueless most of the time but I do have some vague idea of what I want at the end of the day) If people get in our way, we're going to remove them ASAP, irrespective of who they are. Period.

It's All About The Money

Warning: Serious post ahead.
Money. Cash. Paisa. Kaas. Duudu. (Hope I got all the vernaculars right...) Anyway, you've probably got the point of this article by now. As the cheesy line goes, "It's all about the money, honey." How true! I think everything done by most people is centered around earning more of the green stuff. Why are we studying? Why do we want to do an M.S. or an M.B.A.? Because we like it and want to learn more about it for the pure and simple joy of enlightenment? Please. Give me a break! We're doing it because it'll help us rake in truck loads of cash. 75% of people at NITK joined the college for its placements. (Different matter that they maybe wondering where on earth the companies have gone courtesy the recession and other personnel factors...) The remaining 25% have joined because it offers a (slightly) better chance for pursuing a higher degree. Ultimately, everyone here wants to make money. Full stop.
But are we (by this I mean the world) doing the right thing? Do we even bother about human relations other than our families? Most of us would readily back-stab a friend for power/money. (With power comes money and vice versa, so they're really the same thing.) Friendship? Who needs that? Friendship is for powerless losers. All we need is a fat bank balance and twenty minions to order around as we see fit. An average software engineer works about 50-60 hours a week. 60 hours every week till they turn 45 when they start working even more. How many times have they stopped to admire the way rain falls? Or to see the moon play hide-and-seek in between wispy clouds? The closest some of them have come is youtube. Sad. Even exercise is indoors in a controlled 24 degree atmosphere. No more green grass, open air, chirping birds, fluttering leaves in a gentle breeze... in short, no more mother Nature. Who needs her? We've got power yoga followed by an expensive laughter session coupled with Rs. 150 (introductory offer) organic energy drinks. We're too busy caught up in money making schemes to bother with anything else. The world could on the brink of an ecological catastrophe and we'll just continue burning oil while make our useless millions. No matter that we're destroying the only home we'll ever have, we just continue pursuing that elusive rupee. No matter that we're dying younger than ever before, (due to stress, cardiac problems etc.) we just continue pursuing that elusive dollar. No matter that we don't have the compassion to at least think about those less fortunate than us, we just continue pursuing that elusive pound. Let's hope we don't pay our pound of flesh for it. Because that would be one really heavy pound.

Disappointment

It's a part and parcel of life. How you deal with it defines who you are. When viewed in the right way, it can be the most essential thing in life. Disappointment. Something each and every one of us has to go through. Whether it is personal or professional, disappointment cannot be avoided. But how on earth do you deal with it? That overwhelming sense of worthlessness. The feeling that every thing you do is just no good enough. The fact that others have got what you felt you deserved. The tag of “failure” that you inevitably attach to yourself. All your mistakes come right back at you. You feel “if only.........”.

Finally you realise that it wasn't entirely your fault. Things can go wrong. And therein lies the best way to deal with it. Treat each cause for disappointment as something that just “happened”. Never ever doubt yourself. At the end of the day you've got to stick up for yourself. Nobody else is going to do that for you.

Many of you might be wondering why I'm (of all the people) telling you this. Well, I have this theory that my luck follows a yearly cycle. For a good portion of the year, everything goes along nicely. I like what I'm doing and the world seems like a wonderful place. However there is a three-odd month period when things just do not work out. Everything around me seems to be conspiring my downfall. Bad luck seems to be the order of the day.

The funny thing is that I don't grudge these three month lows. I feel they're absolutely necessary. They make me feel very happy during the other nine months (Don't laugh. This is not some rambling by a three year old. At the end of the day, you've got to feel happy. Nothing is worth it if you can't or don't). They also help me maintain a reasonably level head.

So yeah, the next time you're disappointed, look on the bright side. There's always bound to be one. It may not be waving cheerfully at you, but its there all the same.

Life As We Know It

When I was walking down the street the other day, I saw a couple of kids playing with an old football. It was torn in several places but nonetheless reasonably round. What fun those two were having! For a few moments I stood watching one of them baffle the other with his trickery and excellent ball-control. This young boy, barely thirteen years of age, had the potential to give any defender serious nightmares.
However, he never will. He lives in a slum near my house and will soon be working for a living. When he turns fourteen, his father will make him work as a cleaner in a nearby restaurant. For ten hours of hard labour, he will take home a paltry sum of forty rupees. Some of us will spend his entire monthly wages for a few minutes of fun without batting an eyelid. Some of us will look the other way when he comes to clean our table in the hope of escaping reality. Some of us will become experts in looking the other way whenever we find it convenient. The rest of us will become masters at ignoring our guilt. All of us will find solace by asking the following question: "How many can we help? There are too many".
There are indeed too many. Its life as we know it. We just have to deal with it. Unfortunately, I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel for the boy. He looks set to live a life of poverty and there seems to be nothing on offer to change that. Looking at him playing football, blissfully unaware of the future that awaits, I feel like a fool. Why? Because I spend far too much time worrying about things. If only I could be more like the boy, joyfully enjoying his moment in the sun. Perhaps I need to learn the true meaning of contentment. As the saying goes: "To get what you want is success. To want what you have is happiness". I intend to start living that way.