People at Work & Play

According to our ancient Hindu calendar, today marks the beginning of the New Year for us GSB Konkanis. For the many who might not know, GSB stands for Gowd Saraswat Brahmin, a Hindu sect and Konkani is my mother tongue. People who speak Konkani are called Konkanis.

The festival is called Samsvar Padwo in Konkani and Gudi Padwa in Marathi.

Here’s wishing everyone the best of health, every success and propserity in the New Year.

Learning a new language is an interesting experience. It can often result in embarrassing moments. Many years ago, I worked as a young Personnel Officer at a cement plant in the interiors of Gujarat. It was useful for me to know Gujarati , the local language. With the enthusiasm of youth, I plunged in and tried to learn the language the best way- by trying to speak it.

We had an industrial canteen and often stray dogs used to gather in the vicinity of the building, no doubt attracted by the waste food. The Canteen was one of my responsibilities. One day, I dropped in to see how things were going on there. I was accompanied by the Security Officer, the Canteen Manager and a few other staff. All of them were veterans -considerably older than me.

On our way, I saw a few stray dogs hanging around the building. In the strictest voice that my 23 years could muster, I told them in Gujarati ” There are many dogs here”. There was a horrified silence and they looked at each other in shock. I realized that I may have said something wrong. I asked why they were not speaking at all.

The hushed silence was broken by one of them telling me ” Sir, you have just told us that all of us are dogs”!

I remember the incident 34 years later with amusement. At that time, I felt awfully embarrassed !

Diwali or Deepavali is the Indian festival of lights. It is one of the most popular festivals of India.

There are several beliefs regarding the origin of the holiday. The most repeated version is that Hindus celebrate Diwali to mark the time when Lord Rama achieved victory over Ravana. Some also view it as the day Krishna defeated the demon Narakasura or in honor of the day Bali went to rule the nether-world, obeying the order of Vishnu. In Jainism it marks the nirvana of Lord Mahavira, which occurred on Oct. 15, 527 B.C. It is also a significant festival for the Sikh faith. In India, Diwali is now considered to be more of a national festival, and the aesthetic aspect of the festival is enjoyed by most Indians regardless of faith.

Best wishes to all for a Happy and Prosperous Diwali.

It’s amazing how people can be indifferent when they hear the piercing siren of an ambulance. I have seen people in Bangalore react in a variety of ways in such a case. There are, thank God, still some who do their best to squeeze to a side in crowded traffic and make way for the ambulance. Others don’t seem to know or care. Yet others wait for the ambulance to break free so that they can tailgate it like the paparazzi chasing an ill fated Diana!

The Golden Hour is crucial for those who have a heart attack ( MI or myocardial infarction as I came to know later it is called). They say that your chances of survival go up if you get medical attention as soon as possible after the attack.

I speak from experience. On April 18, 2005, I got a heart attack at about 8.30 a.m. I obviously did not know this at that time. While having a bath I felt some discomfort in my chest. Years of reading detective novels made me do the smartest thing under the circumstances. Reach out and unbolt the door so that you are not trapped in.

It was then Google to the rescue. I punched in “Heart Attack Symptoms” and there flew pages on them. A quick reading convinced me that I had to rush to the hospital. The impetus came from reading about the Golden Hour.

To cut a long story short, the ambulance rushed me through Bangalore’s crowded roads to Wockhardt, Shortly after I underwent coronary angioplasty and was discharged after a few days.

Here I am alive and kicking. I silently thank the driver of the ambulance and all those who made way for it that day.

Today we remember and pay homage to one of India’s greatest sons, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, now known simply as “Mahatma” (The Great Soul) Gandhi. He was born on October 2, 1869.

“My life is my message” said Gandhiji. His principle-centred leadership was exemplary for its simplicity, humility and practical application. Here was one man, who more than any other, was responsible for bringing to its knees the mighty British Empire.

I enjoyed the comprehensive account of Mahatma Gandhi at Kamat’s Potpourri. There is much to learn from Mahatma Gandhi.

We celebrate Gowri Puja today. It is essentially a worship by the married ladies, seeking the Mother’s grace and benedictions for progeny and also for longevity of the husband, usually called mangalya.

Tomorrow we celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi in which we Hindus celebrate the birthday of Lord Ganesha. Ganesh, the elephant-headed son of Shiva and Parvati, is widely worshipped as the supreme god of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune.

Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the most popular of Hindu festivals. It is the day most sacred to Lord Ganesha. It falls on the 4th day of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada (August-September). It is observed throughout India, as well as by devoted Hindus in all parts of the world.

For quite some time now, I have thinking that posts which are not strictly in the genre of “People at Work & Play” have crept in to this blog.

This is after all, in a sense, my blog as a professional and an independent consultant. Posts about rain saving the Lord’s Test really shouldn’t be here, should they?

I have decided to use another blog to capture my thoughts and observations on life as it passes by! It’s called “Looking at Life” and is available at WordPress.

As I mentioned there, this will be a free wheeling blog covering all aspects of life including politics, sports, my hobbies and interests and yes, as I grow older- my reminiscences.

It makes us proud as parents to see our children do well.

My son, Nitin, featured in a write up in the Times of India of July 16.

He has been selected as a candidate for StartingBloc Fellowship and is now in London attending the Global Institute for Social Innovation at London Business School.

We are getting used to the extent of the tragedy at Virginia Tech. The way 32 people were killed without meaning left us numb.

Blame the gun laws in the US or the stress of modern day society that in an extreme leads one to acts of madness such as this.

A chilling picture emerges of Cho Seung-Hui, the killer, himself a student and resident at Virginia Tech. The South Korean gunman who killed 32 people and himself at Virginia Tech university had lived in the United States for 14 years but neighbours and fellow students said they knew very little about him.

Before committing the worst shooting rampage in modern U.S. history on Monday, Cho Seung-Hui left a rambling note lashing out at ‘rich kids’, ‘debauchery’ and ‘deceitful charlatans’ on campus, the Chicago Tribune reported yesterday. “You caused me to do this,” Cho wrote, ABC News quoted law enforcement sources as saying.

Our hearts grieve for the families of those who lost their dear ones in this shocking tragedy. We are particularly sad for the family of Prof. G.V.Loganathan whose brilliant career as an academic was brought to such an abrupt end. We grieve too for 26 year old Minal Panchal who probably had a brilliant career as an architect ahead of her.

This post is on the eve of our 30 th wedding anniversary. Shobana and I were married at Bangalore on February 21, 1977 . She was 21. I was 25.

I take this opportunity to thank God, my children, all our family and friends for giving us so much happiness in all these years.

Let me quote Tal Ben-Shahar: “We need to regularly express gratitude for all of the good things in our lives rather than take them for granted. It will not only increase our levels of happiness, but will also increase our success. We become more optimistic and are more likely to see the positive and create more positivity in our lives”.

If you have not come across the name, Tal Ben-Shahar is a Professor at Harvard whose course in Positive Psychology has been breaking all records for sign-ons. More than 850 students have signed on forcing the administrators to shift his classes to the 1166 seater Sanders Theatre.

Ben-Shahar speaks of happy people functioning better and optimism being a skill that can be taught and learned. A take away: How you see things can matter more than what actually happens.