Smart Skills

Education is necessary, but skill is essential. Unfortunately, our education system per se is such that it hardly helps an individual develop skills. Much less the skills I think are most important for living life happily and successfully.  I am talking about two skills in particular - skill with oneself, and skill with people.

 A child is born with some tendencies which may have a lot to do with his/her parentage. What is his father's attitude to life, what is that of his mother, and more importantly how their relationship with each other. While these factors continue to have their influence on the growth of the child, various other influences start playing an important role during the growing years. The teacher, the class mates, friends, relatives, and neighbors - all influence the child. It is hard to say how much these help in developing either of the two skills which I have mentioned above - skill with oneself, and skill with other people.

So what should be done? Whatever best steps can be taken by all concerned for developing both these skills. The education system as it is today can hardly help. Teachers are bound by the curriculum and the parents may not be able to find the time from their busy schedule in the competitive life of today.  But the ever growing media today can play a very important role provided a parent/parents are able to guide and regulate the exposure and use of the media by the child. The significance of Internet must be realized. All the knowledge required is available on the net. But one may say that a skill cannot be delivered by the information/knowledge on the net. Yes it is true to a large extent. Yet you tube presentations and other interactive programs make it possible to learn a lot from the net. In times to come, I am sure, the growth of the social media with websites focusing on special subjects will bring about a revolution in the concept of education and training. The need is that the parents, teachers and mentors motivate learners to be focused and stick to what they must and should not be distracted.

Developing skill with yourself, to me means listening and talking to your oneself. It means to understand your heart, identify what you really like and to concentrate your energies towards these.

Developing skill with people means to understand simple human psychology. You interaction with them should never ignore the following basic principles;

I)  That each one is interested in more in himself/herself than you.
II) That I, me, mine puts people off.
III) That making people talk makes them feel important.
IV)That when you win an argument you lose a friend so never argue.
V) That listening attentively to others will make them feel important. They like you most when you to that.
VI) That you need to skillfully convince people. If you say something that is obviously to your advantage, people will be skeptical. So do it differently. Say how an important third person appreciated your products/efforts/service. This will help create confidence in the minds of people about you.

More on this in my next Post. Thanks for reading.

Aping the West

It is a common knowledge that we in India have started aping the west some of the more forward ones young as well as old take pride in dating.  The concept of one night stand has also found its route and is moving forward in the West.

Elders bemoan that youngesters are forgetting our original values.  I am reminded off what Mahatma Gandhi had said at the time of Independence.  "Desh to apna ho gaya lakin log paraye ho gaye".  While we have become an Independent nation our people have become dependents - dependent on the ways.  It may not have been true at that time but when we look around the environment today one feels that foolishly we are aping the West.  We want to the kind of parties that have been happening for decades in the West youngsters like their clothes to be modeled on the latest Western fashion.  We eat pizzas instead of poori aloo,  young ones like pepsi more than lassi and so on....In Mumbai Bhel puri was known as a common mans delicacies,  its popularity was among many other cities but now the Chinese foodies have cropped up and Chinese Bhel 'is gaining ground'.

There is a lot to learn from every civilization,  unfortunately what we don't learn is the civic sense and cleanliness of the West,  and doggite determination and hard work of the Chinese. 

Its distressing to find that nouve rich while stopping and the signals open the door of the car and spit out,  little realizing the the roads belong to the nation. The local trains are disfigured with various posters.  The process of cleaning the compartments we are told has become very expensive in view of the highly effective glue,  besides littering the tracks with wrappers banana peels etc.... creating a nuisance for the railway authorities.  They have to spend a lot of money try to keep the tracks clean. We don't stand in qu pushing even elderly.  we have become totally insensitive out of sheer selfishness,  honking is rampant even when not required.  We don't observe the lane driving.  We have become a nation of only I Me and Mine....By and large we are never on time and blame the traffic when late for appointments.  There is a lot more to be said and a lot more to be thought off. 

Let NGOs take up civic sense and cleanliness as their prime project which will surely will be good for the new generation.

Personal Productivity

A few days back, we had a brain storming session on personal productivity. Organisational productivity is a subject that may attract more attention than any other in the management field. But what is personal productivity? Does it mean how does one manage his/her time? The answer is yes and no. Yes, time is an important aspect of personal productivity. Rather, it could be so provided your activities are aligned with your goals. And yet it is a lot more. Does it mean one’s achievement towards realization of personal goals? Not just that! Personal goals may change. Personal vision may change. And if one may say so personal mission statement if one ever cares to establish that – that also may change.

When we talk of mission statement or vision or an organization, that hardly ever changes. But when we are talking of an individual, the factors that affect a person’s likes and dislikes, desires, drastically change with changing circumstances, or even without these.

According to me the most important factor for a person’s success is his/her personal productivity. Now I will like to define it as far as I am concerned. As one grows one realizes that it is not just money, not just health, not just family, or your social status, hobbies etc., that bring to you happiness, but it is a combination of all these in varying proportions.  So what we need to do is to align all our activities to achieve whatever we want in the aforesaid different fields.

Therefore a daily review of what you do becomes very important. In the highly competitive world we have today, the targets that the organizations set for you are hard ones. These sap your energy and rob you of the power and ability to think what you must do. You only start following sometimes even unachievable targets. In the process, you totally destroy you concept of personal productivity.

Hence, what is really needed is to have the right balance and proper perspective towards life. It is only such a healthy attitude that strikes a right balance between family and friends, home and work, health and money that will lead to a truly happy and successful life.

Lots of good books are available which help you develop a proper perspective some of these are:

• Bhagwad Gita, ISKON:

• Seven Habits by Successful People by Steven Covey
  

• Power of Positive Thinking: Dr. Vincent Peele

Hanuman Jayanti

Shree Hanuman Jayanti
Hanuman Jayanti was celebrated yesterday with devotion and religious fervor. Hanuman temples were decorated with flowers and colorful lights all over the country. Bhajans and Kirtans to celebrate Shree Hanumanji’s birthday were also organised in many places.

What is the importance of Shree Hanuman in the Hindu Religion? Why do  so many people worship Shree Hanuman so ardently? They even observe a fast and eat only once in the evening and that too only sweet food, no salt.

Shree Hanuman is known for his devotion towards Lord Ram. His selfless love and comitment to serve Lord Ram empowers him to achieve anything that may be required to serve his Lord. It is this unique power that enables him to fly to the far off mountains to bring the rare herb that is needed to revive Lakshman.

Laye Sanjivan Lakhan Jiyaye
Shree Raghuvir harashi ur laye
                              
It  is the same power that enables him to burn half of the Lankan Kingdom, in order to teach Ravan a lesson. His dedication and desire to serve his master Lord Ram is so intense that the only path which is seen by his eyes is the road to success to achieve the desired goal.

Durgam Kaj Jagat Ke Jete
Sugam Anugrah Tumre Tete

Meaning the burden of all difficult tasks of the world becomes light with you kind grace. (These choupais are taken from Hanuman Chalisa

Many thinkers and life coaches of the Western world have emphasised the power of visualisation. Shree Hanuman is an embodient of that very visualisation. In this state, the person only sees success till he/she achieves it. And when one is totally devoted to a particular cause which is the goal there is no distraction whatsoever. So the total focus and dedication to the work accelerates the process of success.
That is why people read the Hanuman Chalisa with devotion and the following choupais motivate and reassure that whatever is desired will be achieved.

Sab kuch lahi tumhari sarna
Tum rakshak kahu ko darna……

All comforts of the world lie at your feet. The devotees enjoy all divine pleasures and feel fearlesss.

Bhoot pishach nikat nahi aave,
Mahavir jab nam sunave

All the ghosts, demons, and evil forces run away when one recites your name.

Sankat se Hanuman Chudave,
Man kram vachn dhyan jo lave

Those who remember Shree Hanuman, think about him, his words and deeds with sincerity and faith are rescued from any crisis of life.

Ashta siddhi nav nidhi ke daata,
Us var deen Janaki Mata

Shree Hanuman can grant all ‘siddhis’ – power to become light and heavy at will and also yogic powers to attain riches, comfort, power, prestige, and good relationship.
The daily recital of the Hanuman Chalisa with your goal in mind empowers you to take such actions which will enable you to achieve your goals easily.

Jai Shree Hanuman!

Shamshad Begum is no more!

Shamshad Begum (1919-2003)

I have been discussing great female singers, development of their voices, and the quality of the singing in ‘Wani Yoga’ postings.

Today, when Shamshad Begum has passed away I would like to pay my heart felt tribute to her. Her voice always depicted a strong personality. Just as a Manager with a deep authoritative but polite voice shows his/her personality in verbal communication, Shamshad Begum established the unique depth of her voice in her singing. Her voice needed no change, no development. It only matured like a good wine with the passing years. Her devotion to singing and the ease and spontaneity is conspicuous in her songs. It will always be remembered.

Many great Music Composers used her voice to render their compositions. Notable among them are Naushad, C. Ramchander, and O.P. Nayyar. Her rendering of different of types of tunes of the great masters leaves an impression that no other female singer could have done. She appears most apt for the songs that she sang. Let us examine some of these.
C. Ramchander – Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon, kiya hai wahan se telephoon…..

mere piya gaye rangoon - song by shamshad begum

This song is from the film Patanga and is a duet, but Shamshad Begum is outstanding.
Naushad – O gadiwale, gadi dhere hank re…..

Whenever I listen to this song played on Vividh Bharti, the entire scence of running bullock carts before my eyes. That is the impact of Shamshad’s voice in the song.

Another song from Naushad that I particularly remember is a duet with Talat Mehmood from the film Babul – Milte hi aankhein dil hua diwana kisi ka, afsana mere ban gaya afsana kisi ka.....

milte hi aankhein

Yet it was O.P. Nayyar, who exploited her voice to the best of her ability. Therefore I have chosen a number of songs:

• Kahin pe nigahein, Kahin pe nishana…..

1. 

   kahin pe nigahein

• Kabhi aar,kabhi paar laga teer-e-nazar….

  

  kabhi aar kabhi paar

• Kajra mohabbat wala, akhiyon me aisa dala….

  

  kajra mohabbat wala

• Le ke pahla pahla pyaar…..(CID 1956)

Her memories will last for generations.

Shakespeare

                                                      William Shakespeare

Traditionally, it is accepted that Shakespeare was born on 23^rd April, 1564. He was the third child of a tanner, father of eight children. Shakespeare left a lasting legacy. Today, after nearly four centuries, people are so fond of his literature, that they think that Shakespeare is still living among us. His plays, his characters, his poetry, and his knowledge of the human mind – all transcend the limits of time and space. He died on the same date 23^rd April 1616. Within his short life, he created poetry and plays the essence of which has influenced generations of writers throughout the world.
His spontaneity and the magical music of the sounds of the words cannot be described in words. It has to be experienced to understand what it is. The sheer intensity of his life and the strong desire to express himself resulted in the wonderful treasure that we have in the form of his poetry and plays.

                                               King Lear by William Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s characters are real and life-like. His tragic heroes suffer from one major tragic flaw. For example, King Lear is credulous and gives in to the flattery of his two elder daughters. The youngest daughter who truly loved him would use no such flowery words and got nothing out of his kingdom and his wealth. In the play, King Lear has to suffer for the rest of his life due to the one tragic flaw of being credulous and prone to flattery. How many of us continue to suffer even today.

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

Julius Caesar on the other hand was extremely ambitious. Thus, it was the tragic flaw of ambition that led other senators to murder him. Even today, there are people like Shakespeare whose unbridled ambition causes them to suffer from this tragic flaw.
Extreme hunger for Power saw the end of Macbeth. In fact, each of Shakespeare’s tragedies ends in a nemesis that gives an inspiration to all of us to improve and develop and grow. Because left to themselves, things can only go from bad to worse.

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

His play ‘ The Merchant of Venice’ leaves a harsh message for extremely harsh negotiators. Demands must draw their own limits. So, negotiators must look for win-win situations, rather than facing flak in the end.
More on this great man and the lessons to be learnt in my next posting.

Thank you.

Feedback Form

Today I shall describe three different situations from any first hand experience.
1. I was trying to sell a training programme for the vice presidents and senior vice presidents of reasonably large and fast growing private bank. The discussion was being held with an exceptionally sharp and forthright HR head. His concern was about how could he ensure that his well defined objective will be met during two days training.

My presentation had included feedbacks from officers of similar status in a larger bank. I rolled back the presentation and showed him those feedbacks.  I hoped that he would be impressed. Politely,  he brushed these aside and said, "normally trainers have a knack of creating fast paced activity. In the bonhomie that follows no one writes the 'real' remarks.  Everything oscillates between good and excellent".
This set me to thinking. I looked back and realised that whatever he said was more or less true. Two possibilities came to my mind. Either we were really good or we needed to ensure that the 'real' comments come out from the participants.

2. Recently a tall and smart young man came to meet me. He said that he was a trainer and has been conducting courses for the past three years, on management of personal wealth. His courses are conducted in one of the five star properties, and the response is reasonably good. Invariably, he takes feedback forms from the participants. Only recently one of the participants wrote in his comments that the trainer spoke so fast that he could not understand anything. The feedback brought home a number of revelations – that the participants often do hesitate to write their real comments. It is so because most of us are not assertive. Equally important was the fact that the trainer, nay, not anyone should speak fast. If the objective of communication is conveying the ideas, these must be achieved. How? By modulation you speech, that is by bringing about variance in pace, pitch, pause, emphasis on the keywords and the tone. Modulation of the voice is recommended for everyone. But for public speakers, advocates, lecturers, it is a must. The young man told me that he would have continued speaking fast but for this one assertive participants, “real” feedback. Surely, he would be a much better trainer now and owes the success to the feedback form alone.

Rajdhani Express

3. On the 14^th of this month, I left for Delhi by the Rajdhani Express. Ever since the cheap airlines, have started operating, the charm of air travel has gone. Earlier, one would have a nice breakfast, or a good meal depending upon the time of the flight. And all from a five star flight kitchen. Now, you have to buy your own sandwitch, or a packet of biryani. And I would not pay twice the airfare just for a free meal.
While travelling I got the news that my sister had fallen sick and she was admitted in a leading hospital in South Delhi. On reaching there, we would sit out as she was in the ICU. There were two types of chairs. One which could be turned as sleepers. These were extremely uncomfortable to sit. Besides, there would be more attendentants than the number of chairs. Though the place was supposed to be air conditioned, there were many mosquitos. The pesticide sprinkler would come more than once everyday, but the mosquitos seemed to reappear just as soon has he left. I didn’t see anyone cleaning or mopping the place. Families of four patients including my sister occupied most of the chairs.

Hospital

In any case, we were more concerned about the patients. Medical care seemed to be good. Everytime the Doctor would come to examine the patient, he/she would politely talk to the relatives of the patient concerned.

After four days, my sister had recovered to the extent that she was moved to a single room. At this time, the sister-in-charge of the ICU gave a feedback form to my niece. So far we had been hapless watchers and mute listeners. Now it was the time for us to express our grievances. My niece poured out and wrote about all we had seen and experienced.

In the single room we found that there was a big sofa and two chairs which were rather unclean. Though the room was large, the maintainence was rather poor. The glass overlooking the garden had not been cleaned for days and gave a rather shabby look. Even the bathroom was not clean and properly sanitized. Meanwhile, my nephew had come in the room. Finding these shortcomings, he started checking the other amenities. When he tried to open the locker, it wouldn’t. He had brought with him DVDs which my sister liked, but the DVD player wouldn’t work.

Meanwhile, a supervisor came from the ICU and pleaded that my niece change the feedback. She even brought a new feedback form. On the other side, my nephew complained that the locker was not opening, the DVD player was not working, the glass window needed to be cleaned and the bathroom did not have soap and other accessories. Charging patient room rent equal to that of a five star hotel, and not providing facilities was very unreasonable. However, now there was a difference. As soon as the complaints were lodged, the hospital staff swung into action. Some came and cleaned the glass. Soap, shampoo, body lotion, and even the shaving kit was placed in the bathroom. Since the DVD player did not work, it was promptly replaced. The floor was thoroughly cleaned, re-cleaned and sensitized with profuse apologies. In short, they did all to please the patient and the attendants alike.

You may call it the power of the feedback form. Make it a point to fill feedback forms assertively whenever there is an occasion.

Thank you.