Gandhigiri and Dadagiri

Imagine all living life in peace and prosperity

"That is dadagiri" - I said to myself as I watched a rooster snatching food from young roosters in backyard of the cottage of a poor tribal in Mayurbhanj, Orissa. While waiting for farmers to join for a public meeting I was watching the ducks and roosters play. The dadagiri act of the matured rooster urged me to think.

The young roosters and hens accepted the might of the matured rooster and eventually surrendered. He would capture the grains of rice, bhel and everything else thrown towards the flock and the young and weak roosters would feed on his leftover. Albeit the matured rooster eats more and grows stronger, while the young weak roosters eat less and weaken further. This is how a cycle of suffering was created.

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Keeping a secret

'Please don't tell this to anybody else' - it's frequent request to keep a secret. Usually, it is discovered that the secret is out! Now, you know what I am talking about. Why is it hard to keep a secret? Are secrets worth keeping? How and why?

Studies show that secrets are spilled out usually within an hour. It is said that women find it harder to resist spilling a secret than men. However, studies have also found men of this millennium to be competing with women on this issue.

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The unfortunate silence of the lambs

Unhappy. Disappointed. I have been hit by the unfortunate silence of the lambs.

This post has perhaps little to do with the Oscar winning 'The Silence of the Lambs' starring Jodie Foster. It is about a personal incident demonstrating the silence of the lambs.

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Why I love Band Back Together

 

Extract: "Have you ever had a personal story you wanted to tell but didn't feel comfortable doing so on your own blog? That's certainly been the case for me.


I came across Band Back Together earlier this year. I thought it was a fabulous concept and that it filled a void in the blogosphere. In a nutshell, it's a site where you can post your own difficult or emotional stories and feel safe and supported."

 

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Time-bound: in Ahmadabad

Ahmadabad is the largest city of a western province Gujarat in India. It should not be an exaggeration if I say that Diwali is the most important festival in this part on the world. The business community celebrates a week long (or even longer!) holiday post Diwali. That means, most shops don’t open for a week or so. The streets look deserted even during the day. And that also means that if someone like me who is new to the city is going there post Diwali, it is a challenge to locate someone to ask directions! My time-bound visit to the city last weekend left me with two memorable experiences that exposed hidden traits of humanity to me.

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Why are we the way we are? - A critique for Mr Raghunathan

“I am like that only” – this statement draws strength from the fact that it is difficult to change habits. It has been true for me but until recently. Many years ago, I got a divine knowledge that anything that exercises control over me should be, in fact under my control. I became particularly concerned about being the in control of my habits. It started from a simple consciousness to watch my habits. I started with punctuality. After giving some thought, I could understand that I tend to underestimate things or overestimate myself in the wake of any task. The result – I fail to finish tasks in time. I also gained consciousness about a pinch of rudeness in my voice or perhaps, in my attitude when I talk to the people. I could resolve this by treating everyone with respect. I also acknowledged some of my physiological shortcomings such as carelessness, laziness and sleepiness. I was, nevertheless, with some difficulty, able to overcome these concerns. It had been possible only because I had a strong belief enshrined within my conscience that “I can change the way I am”. In other words, I can learn, I can improve and I can show others “how to do it”!

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Making choices in public

Passengers should refuse to ride in any vehicle driven by someone who has been drinking. Besides, given the perils of passive smoking they should also not let anybody smoke in public transport and any other public places. And there are many such things which people should do but they don’t. Reasons can be aplenty. “What I have to do?”, “I cannot do it alone” and “Look my contribution will hardly make a difference in the situation.” These are some of the common justifications.

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Are all the mothers same?

It has been quite some time that I left my home for studies and work and so did many of my friends. In many of the conversations with friends I realized that I'm not alone who is nostalgic (admitting hereby). We persistently used to miss the home cooked food and everything else. One of the strategies which I followed while in college was to befriend girls who were living with their families and then become a parasite to their lunch boxes! It worked most of the times and I was happy.

Gradually, I started to map the perceptions of the people about families, parents and especially mothers. I was able to identify a pattern, however, not very consistent. It seemed to me that those who have been away from their families and parents for some time after their adolescence have more fonder memories, respect and worries for them. In general, such people miss their home more often and with grace. They are the people who are more attached to their families, in other words (exceptions not denied). On the other hand, those who have never been away from home do not value the family values and a small thing like home cooked food, as much as their "migrated" counterparts. In a family, for the needs of the children, the most important role is played by a mother. I never doubted that mothers anywhere in the world can have differential feelings for their children. In fact, I strongly believe (personal bias not ruled out) that mothers all over the world have more or less the same feelings and concerns for their children - irrespective of social status and other criteria of divisions.

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