Tuesday 17 February 2015

(?)^∞


“You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.” Our brains enjoy questions. Questions fuel our creativity and aid in critical thinking. One of the proven ways to approach a problem is by asking questions. The best part of questioning is that our brains instinctively start searching for answers. Many a times, unknowingly, we are thinking about the answers to our questions in the background. All of us learn by asking questions. Brilliant thinkers never stop asking questions because they know that this is the best way to gain deeper insights.

“I think, at a child’s birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift would be curiosity.” The fundamental difference between kids and us is that they incessantly ask questions. They have the urge to ask more because they are curious. What propels them is their curiosity. Kids asks innumerable no of questions when they are around 2 or 3.Admit it; most of us would be irritated by this behaviour, especially when your answer is followed by another why. The most common reply would be “Because I said so, that’s why?” .What we fail to understand is that these questions shape their perspective and more importantly their behaviour. My friend’s kid once asked “Why is that man homeless, daddy”. My friend started off by saying “Pappu, nice to know you noticed him. May be he lost his job or there is none to take care of him. In any case, we should treat him respectfully. We should offer help whenever we can. Ok sweetie?”  She immediately stopped by and gave that man her bagel. So, by answering a simple question he prematurely shaped her thoughts to respect homeless people. His kid learnt a valuable lesson not by answering questions rather by asking one. 
Our education system is flawed. Kids are measured based on their grades and not on their ability to ask questions. How many teachers enjoy being grilled with questions? In fact kids with a lesser urge to ask questions are deemed to be obedient and treated with highest regard. In many schools stopping to encourage and mull over questions which are not directly related to the syllabus is considered a waste of time. The single most important reason which cremates curiosity is our coveted grading system. Kids flock towards an ‘A+’ because it’s a winning formula. Fetch an ‘A+’, we will gift you a cycle. Secure an ‘A+’, your name will appear on the notice board. If only teachers encouraged the kids to ask questions, valued their questions more, the grades will be a natural by-product.

Curiosity in many ways is its own reward because every question unravels the problem at hand and persuades you to ask more. Eventually it’s the pathway to unknotting the puzzle that you enjoy more than the actual result.

A classic example would be my mom. She has been recently introduced to the world of whatsapp. Believe me, until few months ago she was ignorant about the chatting app nonetheless she is an expert now .Guess why? Its plain simple – Curiosity. Since the day I introduced her to whatsapp she would collate all her questions and ask her questions at the end of day. Be it sending snaps ,voice texting or sharing links, she does it all because she constantly bombards me with questions. Her curiosity is never satiated until she has an answer. And now she is famous for her good morning-afternoon-evening-night messages. Yes am a victim too ;).
Let me ask you a question. What is Newton’s first law? Relax and think. Am sure most of us will not have an answer for it. Can you guess the reason? Not many of us questioned our teachers about the importance of learning Newton’s first law of motion. In the recent times I was wondering, how the ‘International space station’(ISS) orbited earth? Do you know ISS moves at an alarming speed of 8km/sec to overcome the gravitational pull of earth. If the speed is less than 8kms/sec, the ISS would fall through earth’s atmosphere. The orbital speed is achieved with the help of thrusters in the ISS. Remember, the thrusters are fired once to attain the orbital velocity of 8km/sec and later Newton’s first law of motion ensures that the ISS moves constantly.
Newton's first law of motion - A body remains at rest or in motion with a constant velocity unless acted upon by an external force
Hence unless an external force acts upon ISS it moves with a constant velocity of 8kms/sec. But how does this velocity ensure it orbits the earth? Every time ISS tries to move away from earth the gravitational force of earth pulls it inward thereby leading to orbital motion.Hang on, did we not just discuss that the velocity is weakened when an external force acts on a body? Wouldn’t the gravitational force reduce the orbital velocity? The external force acting on a body should be an opposing force to the direction of motion and not perpendicular to it. In our case earth’s gravitational pull is perpendicular to the direction of motion hence will not impede the orbital velocity.Therfore the thrusters are not fired every day to retain the orbital velocity rather once every month.If we had questioned during our childhood days in a manner we just did, the likelihood of forgetting ‘Newton’s laws’ is very unlikely. Such is the power of questioning.
One of the revered inventions in the last twenty years that has been grossly underrated is the ‘Saw Stop’. Sawstop is a table saw manufacturer which uses an automatic breaking system to stop the blade in milliseconds the moment it comes in contact with the operator’s hand or body part. Annually 4000 hand or finger amputations were reported in the US. In a year US had to spend 2 billion dollars in treating the amputated fingers. Shocking but true. The inventor Steve Gass reportedly came up with the idea of Saw Stop after he meticulously raised questions about the existing design. Gas came up with the following questions before his design was in place. How quickly should the blade be stopped? How will the blade differentiate between wood and flesh? The questions are simple but it definitely gave birth to an outstanding solution. A small amount of current is passed through the blade and is closely monitored. If a change in current is detected (Finger conducts electricity whereas wood does not) the breaking system is immediately activated and the saw stops in about 1/100th of a second. Apparently the operator loses some blood nonetheless his finger is not amputated. Notice the fact that his invention was born because he questioned the operation of the saw. His curiosity gifted him the solution. A question mark for the design led to a full stop for the amputations.
You may now think questions are required only for powerful innovations. If I were to say yes, I would be proved otherwise. In one of my earlier companies, I had the most irksome business user. Every change in the application was severely criticized by him. Needless to say the changes were always approved by his team before implementation. Oftentimes my rapport with him was tainted beyond repair. Mostly the conversations would proceed like
Hareesh  : Hey Dan, whats’up with the latest escalation?

Dan          : I thought you would have figured it out from my email

Hareesh  : Oh yes, It’s quite obvious, isn’t it?

Dan          : Why don’t you take your manager’s help to decrypt it?

Hareesh  : Unfortunately he has better things to do, Dan.
It went on endlessly and we never had a smooth release. I started questioning myself. Why is he cold tempered always? Why is he disapproving the change despite his manager’s approval? Is he the same with everyone or am I the only exception? It slowly dawned upon me that the emails were always addressed to his team and not to him. He yearned for recognition.Moreover, since he always rubbed me the wrong way I was never nice to him. I reminded myself, ’A drop of honey attracts more flies than a gallon of gall’. From then on, every email was addressed to him. I painstakingly went through every change with him separately, acknowledged his suggestions publicly. More importantly, I was extremely nice to him irrespective of his demeanour. Slowly the issues started disappearing and after almost a month every change of mine grabbed his approval without much insistence. I could have escalated the issue or I could have moved to a different team or even ignored him completely however I decided to question myself. Framing the right questions did the trick.

“‘We run this company on questions, not answers.” - Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google. Most of the fiction readers would agree, Sherlock Holmes almost always started his investigation by asking a lot of questions. Didn’t Isaac Newton formulate the Universal Law of Gravitation after asking the famous question “Why does an apple fall from a tree?” .It is very evident that problems become diluted after asking the right question. We may not necessarily be contemplative nevertheless we should ask questions to understand the problems better. Lazy people avoid questions and are very determined to cling on to their beliefs and assumptions and end up appearing foolish. Few others hesitate to ask questions because they fear they might exhibit their ignorance. If not now we will have to ask later. Asking questions is a sign of strength and not a sign of weakness and uncertainty.
Let’s approach the world differently by asking “Why” and “Why not?” – questions which effortlessly slid off our tongues when we were young. Remember, right questions stimulate and inspire and help us to teach as well as to learn.


Tuesday 10 June 2014

Live Life King Size


“Even the sun has its own spots”. Our environment is soaked in problems. We must learn to enjoy our lives amidst gnawing circumstances. It means enjoying every activity we are involved in, to appreciate the environment, to be focussed on the time we spend with friends or relatives — instead of honeymooning with our iphones or ipads. Taking your time to enjoy life is not always easy, but when you succeed, it leads to a greater appreciation of life and resounding level of happiness. We have grown to assume we need a magical wand to change our lives. In reality, however, that’s not the case. Mostly, we have everything in our platter to enjoy life — it’s just a decision of choosing what’s really important. Given below are few simple ways to enjoy and live a consummate life.

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do“- Steve Jobs. If we decide to be happy, our jobs are of paramount importance. Every other person is dissatisfied with their jobs. Seldom do we act on it and plod towards the solution. Come to think of it, is it really the job which is lifeless or we fail to recognize the possibilities lurking within? Let’s say, you have been forced do a manual task repetitively .Do you take the pain to make it interesting? The answer would be an emphatic NO. If the same task at hand is automated, we experience intellectual orgasm. The journey in transmuting a lifeless task into an interesting piece of work involves unimaginable satisfaction. You learn new stuff. You challenge your brain to make it interesting. Imagine the gratification you experienced the last time you challenged your brain. “Human brain craves novelty”. Every time you challenge your brain you are bound to reap benefits. Minimize the cribbing about your current job. Either make it interesting or be on the lookout for a new project. Complaining will lead you nowhere. On few occasions, we fail to understand why we are doing what we are doing. For instance, you may have mastered the art of handling the technicalities of your job nonetheless lack the business knowledge to appreciate it. If only you knew why you are performing your destined tasks? Why your job is important for your company? How your company benefits from your role? You will enjoy your role more .Understanding your job gives you a holistic view of the process enabling you to work for the betterment of your task. “Jobs are owned by the company, you own your career”. Enjoying your job largely depends on your ability to assume more responsibilities. Try to dissect your project to the minutest detail. If you hold the reins of your project you will have the impetus to be well informed. Depending upon your ownership, people flock towards you for clarifications unmindful of your seniority. Most of all, allow your energy to spill at work. When you radiate positive energy, you will have a bevy of people around you. It is your demeanour which commands respect. Exude immeasurable enthusiasm. Be so good that people around cannot ignore you. In your workplace, be the best version of you, you will feel loved.

“In our leisure we reveal what kind of people we are”. If job occupies a third of your day you must find ways to keep yourself entertained for the remaining period. Your favorite hobbies come to your rescue. Pick an activity of your choice and carve it in your routine. It could be reading, singing, playing tennis or cooking but something which interests you and distances you from the drone of the fast paced world. Pastimes provide a remarkable break from your busy schedule while attaching a purpose to it. If playing a sport is your favorite pastime, realize that it connects you with people who are as passionate and excited as you. Shared joy is double joy. Your joy is multiplied when your pastime offers a challenge. Isn’t a challenge, your brain always longed for? Let’s assume cooking is your favorite pastime. Isn’t the adrenaline rush in trying out a new recipe worth the effort? Derive maximum pleasure from your hobby by savoring every moment of it. Engaging in a new pastime buries your stress. Involving wholly in your pastime allows your brain to focus on an area bereft of stress and slowly your stress fades into oblivion. Eustress is a positive stress which keeps us vital and excited about life. It is this stress which we experience during a roller-coaster ride, during a free fall or while cracking a puzzle. Research has proven hobbies have the ability to promote Eustress. With an endless list of benefits; let us include a hobby in our routine. Remember, “A hobby a day keeps the doldrums away”.

“Looks may fade but personality lasts forever”. Your happiness and your drive to enjoy life depends predominantly on your personality. Worry is raw negativity leading to mental exertion. It is like sitting inside a F1 car simulator; it gives you something to do but doesn’t drive you anywhere. Problems are rampant. Canadian dollar is rallying, global economy is in a mess and there is colossal disruption occurring in the world and it will continue. Will you be able to control them? Can you do anything at all? If an issue can be solved do not worry about it. If the issue cannot be resolved what is the use of worrying? To banish worry, you should mentally list down your worries and tackle them one at a time. “With more awareness you make better choices; with better choices you will see better results”- Robin Sharma. More often than not if you accept the outcome of a situation and work towards its improvement, worry will evaporate on its own. Complaining is worry’s favourite cousin .It is worrying made verbal. Be choosy about the words you speak. If all day long you spend complaining, subconsciously your brain starts believing it. Hence a positive outcome becomes a distant possibility. Every time you speak try to incorporate positive affirmations and results will be affirmative. “Everyone is trying to accomplish something big, not realizing that life is made up of little things.” Life is dynamic and unpredictable. Try to treasure every moment of your life. Make an effort to be enthusiastic about everything. If you jog for an hour feel happy about it. If your drive is scenic, relish it. If the weather is impeccable, appreciate it. Lastly, involve in some kind of aerobic activity every week. Its proven aerobic activities releases endorphins and they trigger a positive feeling in the body. You will feel euphoric after your workout and it undeniably wards off anxiety and the feelings of stress. 

“Treat your friends as you do your pictures, and place them in their best light”. For every human being friends are extended family. Should we make an effort to enjoy life, enjoy it with them. “From listening comes wisdom and from speaking repentance”. Become genuinely interested in other people when they speak. Allow them to voice their opinion before you voice yours. Every living being craves to be heard and understood. Let them enjoy the privilege and you will earn their respect. Never criticize or condemn someone in public. It is very human to become defensive and retort if they are criticized. No one wants their ego to be dented. Will you compromise on your ego in public? If you are uncomfortable with their argument politely express your opinion and if they resist let them continue. Your patience will be rewarded because their ego is intact and they feel important. If any act of your friends deserves appreciation promptly acknowledge it. Be anxious to praise and cringe to find fault. It could be the recipe they cooked or their driving skills or their impressive attire; do not forget to appreciate them. The only tenet you will have to follow is to be honest and sincere in your appreciation. Yet another quality we lack is our ability to speak boldly. ”Never be afraid to speak your mind, you have one for a reason”. When we speak our minds, we will feel uncomfortable for a brief duration nevertheless we will feel at peace on the longer run. In the end, it is the inner peace which will ensure an enjoyable life.

           Folks we have one mom, one dad and one life. Let’s enjoy it to the fullest. Try to brain tattoo a gratitude list. Be happy about what you have. Tune your brain to bullet proof itself from negativity and savour every minute of your life. The more you savour the better you would feel within. Walk on the road as if you are kissing it. Enjoy the wind on your face. Never take your job lightly. Find the meaning in your work and work as if you are on a mission. Now is the time, get on your toes and enjoy this moment, for this moment is your life.

Wednesday 10 July 2013

Jog Before You Slog


If you have time for FACEBOOK, you have time to EXERCISE. Every person under the sky seems to be stuck with their daily routine. Many take their health for granted and comfortably ignore to maintain it. How many of us really care about our health? Our deepest of intentions though, craves for perfect health. Believe me its achievable. Developing the habit of exercising is all about executing flawlessly on the things we already know. We just need an ounce of extra belief, motivation and consistency .If you trust me read on.

“If you start doubting your beliefs, you will start believing your doubts”. A simple yet powerful thought. It is inevitable to believe in what we do and commence our journey with the thought “I will be able to do it”. No matter how hard you try, if your confidence is riddled with disbelief, success is far-fetched  Every single day when you wake up, believe you would have an amazing body. Believe in the benefits of exercising and tread your way to the gym. Our world is filled with cynics and in all likelihood your determination to exercise would be ridiculed. Never mind, the best way to silence your cynics is to build your beliefs and exercise regularly. Mark my words; even a weed of negativity will spoil your garden of positivity. When you get into your fitness regimen and faithfully cater to your beliefs, it slowly becomes a habit. Subconsciously, we will begin to chisel our morale .Our mind starts believing that our actions are in congruence with our thoughts. And in few days, your beliefs would drag you to the gym. Once a disbeliever approached Robin Sharma (Management Guru) and said “Robin, I like your work. I understand we need to exercise daily but I really doubt if your thoughts on working out regularly is probable”. Robin replied “My friend, If you don’t believe you could exercise, you almost never will make an attempt to start exercising .Hence exercising regularly would remain a distant reality”. “Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right” – Henry Ford. For this reason, believe you can and start exercising today.

“There will be plenty of time to sleep once you are dead” - Benjamin Franklin .If we decide to exercise every day, waking up early is a must. Not many of us achieve this with ease and invent a zillion reasons to succumb to the pressure of snoozing the alarm. Why should we wake up early and go for a workout? The answer is, one should experience it to realize the importance of beating the sun. Firstly, you would feel rejuvenated the entire day. Your productivity would improve considerably. Importantly, you would respect and pride yourself more .Waking up early once in a while may not be as challenging as making it a habit. You can concoct your own strategy to experience the early morning sun. When your alarm clock rings, jump out of the bed and splash your face with cold water before the devil within, allures you to snooze the alarm. Visualize yourself radiating with energy and being an epitome of resounding health. Imagine all the health issues you would avoid by exercising in the morning. ‘The space shuttle uses more fuel during the first few minutes after lift-off than it will use during its entire circumference around the earth” – Robin Sharma. Guess why? The first few days of waking up early, the first few days of overcoming the mind chatter early in the morning and the first few days of over powering the laziness would be challenging, eventually it will become a habit.

“Consistency is the mother of mastery”. Should we decide to exercise, it is profoundly important to work out 5-6 days in a week. Doing so, we will be experiencing steady progress. Even if you workout for 20 minutes in a day, do it regularly.Slowly and steadily it is nailed into your daily routine and you would begin to witness a change in your physique. Motivate yourself repeatedly to consistently exercise. If not you, who else would? Every morning, I spend my time listening to motivational audios by Robin Sharma, Stephen Covey, Rangarajan, Dale Carnegie, Norman Vincent Peale. It sets the tone for my entire day and persuades me to hit the gym regularly. Likewise search for your motivation to ignite the grit to exercise. Have you ever wondered the influence, your friends have on you? If you are surrounded by cynics, your motivation, determination, beliefs may lead you nowhere. Surround yourself with people who would rekindle you beliefs, ornate your determination and respect your goals. You would be surprised to see the change in you. Create the pressure amongst your friends by letting everyone know that you workout. Invariably, you would be questioned about your regularity in hitting the gym and this pressure will inspire you to embrace the fitness regimen. Just give it a thought. Exercising has far too many benefits to be ignored. You would be in world class physical condition. People will adore the way you look. You would look a lot younger and feel energetic the entire day. Stress would remain an alien in your life and you would exude confidence wherever you go. Make your choice now. Remember, the question isn’t can you? It’s will you?

               So, rise now and devise your plan to exercise. Please do not procrastinate and start working out today. Muster your belief and consistently workout. Crush all your excuses and strain your muscles. You can feel sore tomorrow or feel sorry tomorrow, you choose.


Sunday 4 November 2012

DESI 2 PARDESI

          The majority of the Indian population board their first flight overseas with a nailed perception that they would return someday. Few succeed and many succumb to the independence abroad. I am a proud Indian and always wanted to be nevertheless situations change the way you think and force you to think otherwise.
         
           On March, 5th 2012, I boarded my flight to India. It was one of the doleful trips I had ever experienced. Yes, I was on my way to perform the last rites for my dad. The usual exuberance during my trips to India was evidently missing. My heart pounded at an alarming pace just to conceal my fear of facing my mom. After being airborne for almost nineteen long hours, I was immensely tired and my eyes failed to regenerate moisture. Having completed the security check, I pushed myself towards the baggage claim. I was frantically searching for my baggage, when a stranger offered to help me locate my bag. I was in no mood to boo him away and continued searching for my bag. Even before I could pull my luggage out, my companion had pulled it out for me. I thanked him for the hospitality and he remarked “500 rupees per bag sir”. Floating in dismay, I replied “Why should I pay you sir? I never asked for your service”.”We take dollars too, sir” said he. Since I was in no mood to wrangle, I ended up paying him 20$.Imagine, its more than thousand rupees for an illusionary service. I was caught in-between frustration and depression. I thanked god for greeting me in the best possible manner.          
         
           My uncle and my father in law were waiting to pick me up at the airport. We all boarded the Qualis to my apartment in Annanagar, Chennai. My heart was palpitating vigorously and my brain was constantly regenerating the images of my dad. It was 1:30 am when we reached my apartment in Annanagar. I knew I was in India and I am obligated to tip the driver hence I tipped him hundred rupees.”Sir, come on, pay me more” demanded the driver. For Christ’s sake, please understand the situation. I am paying you 10% as tip but still you are demanding for more money. Hell with you guys. I glanced at him disgustingly and stormed out of the car. Soon after consoling my mom and failing miserably to console myself, I sat down with my relatives to understand the course of action for my dad’s funeral. We left to the cremation ground near Perambur and religiously followed the formalities to bid good bye to my dad. In view of the fact that we had to dissolve my dad’s ashes, we were about to leave, when the crematory official boy waved at us to stop. The boy said “We are poor, give us some money for collecting your dad’s ashes”.I respected his request and gave him a hundred rupee note.”Sir, you are in Canada, Can you not pay me more” said he. I was frantically searching my purse for Indian currency, when another boy came running asking for more money. During the entire rite, I never saw that boy but still he wanted money. Buddy this is India wake up. My uncle came to the rescue nonetheless the boys started bitching about my dad.”Sir we do this for a living, tip us more sir. If you fail to pay us more your father’s soul will not rest in peace” shouted the boys.“Will you guys stop this?”I retorted. I grabbed my uncle’s purse and gave them Rs 200 each. In India, do we not respect a soul? Would my dad’s soul rest in peace? Oh god ,why is every process tainted here? I left that place depressed and ignorant of what was in store for me.


         In India, performing the last rites is a rich affair and if you are a NRI, be prepared to lose a fortune. Not many realize the cash involved in this funeral business. It was a month after the chaos had subsided, I was asked to perform the 3oth day rite. I was effusively praising the priest for his involvement in conducting the prayers for my dad. It wasn’t long before he went to my mom scratching his head. “Madam, I have conducted in such a manner that your son needs to worry only about the sixth month death anniversary of his dad” said he. My mom smiled, as she had anticipated this act and gave him Rs 1000 in addition to the Rs 1500 we had agreed to pay him. His scratching didn’t subside. I gave him another Rs 500 and he received it with a sheepish grin. Days passed by and I habitually paid the priests more than what was agreed upon. After all, paying more was the only way to appease my dad’s soul. It’s a tradition to invite Brahmins during these rites for food. As agreeable as it sounds there were a few uninvited Brahmins who claimed they should be paid as well. The head priest had no idea nor we had any idea about those Brahmins but still they invited themselves. The priest said “Sir, pay them something or else they won’t leave ”.I am obliged to pay them sir .After all you are my auditor and I would pay whenever you request me to. I know am a NRI. Interestingly, these Brahmins decided what they would wear for these rites and what they will accept as gifts post the rituals. Few demanded silk dhothis, few strictly accepted cash and few demanded silverware. Come to think of it, being a NRI one is expected to be a mobile ATM and I faithfully agree.


       Every day was an experience and every experience stressed how corrupt India was becoming. It was my uncle who had to wait till eternity at the corporation office to collect my dad’s death certificate. Regrettably, he was asked to leave the office everyday citing various reasons for not issuing the death certificate. On the day we received the death certificate, we prided ourselves because we achieved it without paying an extra penny. Earning an Olympic gold medal may not be a distant possibility but corruption free service is indeed impossible. Our well wishers stressed the importance of the ‘Legal Heirship Certificate’ and its significance in all our legal proceedings. Hence we went to the Taluk office to apply for the legal heirship certificate and were admonished severely because we had already filled in the forms. Later we realized that the officer charges Rs 100 for completing the forms. Indeed we spoiled his income .We were made to wait for an hour before meeting the Taluk officer and we had to tip the assistant for our forms to reach the officer’s desk. The officer threw our forms into a dinghy bundle and requested us to come back after two months. When I clarified the time for processing our application, the officer bluntly commented “Your dad expired two days back and not a month before. If I were you I would not ask more questions and leave”. We exchanged a caustic glance and I left.


       Being the sole wage earner of my family, I had to decide on our company’s’ fate. Primarily my task was to nominate my mom as the successor of my dad in our company. Evidently our company’s account was placed on hold and the bank requested the ‘Legal heirship certificate’ to release the hold. We were bemused because a frozen account disallows cash deposits from our clients. We approached the bank to inquire if they would allow cash deposits into our account. I marched towards the manager’s room and knocked on his door.”May I come in sir”. Please take your seat” said he”.”May I know if you would allow our clients to deposit their payments? We can assure you, we will not issue any cheques against our account, just the deposits would do” said I.”You do not instruct what the bank should do rather we decide what’s the procedure. I won’t repeat again” he rebuffed. “I agree sir but it’s too late for us to stop the automated client deposits” I replied. He looked at my mom and said “Next time please don’t bring this boy along. It’s a rule and we follow rules and not suggestions”. I was about to retort nonetheless my mom clenched my arm tightly and I became an epitome of patience. My mom thanked the manager and left the room politely. The days passed slowly and we received our legal heirship certificate after a month and a half. Many said we were blessed to receive it within a short span of time. Needless to say the actual processing time is one week. Besides, we paid our area MLA, a local agent and the Taluk officer to get the work done. Our next step was to release the funds in my dad’s account. I filled in a zillion forms and submitted them at the bank. The bank officer informed us that it would be sent to the head office for review and would take a minimum of one week. We promptly called the bank after a week requesting an update and to our dismay the head office had misplaced our forms and we were left without an option but to resubmit. During this drill of resubmission the bank official who handled our case was transferred to a different branch and our file remained unattended. Subsequent to our constant persuasion, our file was reviewed and had reached our bank. We received a call from the bank to collect the funds the following day. The next day, we realized the officer in charge had called in sick and the bank officials were inquiring the reason for our presence. We were puzzled because none had any clue about our file. One of the officials even hinted a resubmission. Meanwhile, my mom’s eyes welled up and she started crying profusely. The manger who was patiently watching this came to our rescue and without further delay handed over the cheque to my mom. Crazy people. For legally claiming my personal funds, why am I undergoing so much pressure? Isn’t there a process, these nationalized banks follow? Atleast, they should feel sorry for the delay and treat the customers with care. I left the bank after consoling my mom and forcing her to realize the bubble we live in.


         Despite trying hard, we always had to wait indefinitely for all the legal formalities. Money ruled the roost. We held our currency bills like the Olympic torch in all the government offices we visited. The worst experience was with the government officials. The sales tax department cited silly reasons and minted money. For every visit from the sales tax department we had to pay for their lunch, gasoline and tip their drivers too. One such promising gentleman told my mom “Madam we are charging only Rs 10,000 extra because you are a widow. We normally charge twice this amount”. Is that something to be proud about? Its bribe, a discount will not make it sound less tainted. I was patriotic; I relished my stay in India until few years back. I was in my own cocoon without experiencing the bitterness outside. Situations indeed changed our perspectives and I had been a victim too. The experiences made me an alien in India and I have decided to be an alien elsewhere. The transition is in the process, Desi to Pardesi.