From Birth Certificate to Death Certificate - Our Life is Infinitesimally Ephemeral and Unequivocally Inconsequential

Very typically speaking.

When we are born, our parents are issued a birth certificate.

When we die, our children are issued a death certificate.

But the above is, as mentioned earlier, very typically speaking.

Since death doesn't follow any rule.

We can experience death the very next moment that we take birth.

Our life is so simple that way.

It is the period between the date and time mentioned in our birth certificate and death certificate.

In the endless horizon of space and time, which have existed forever and will exist forever, our life is infinitesimally ephemeral and unequivocally inconsequential.

In terms of time, the span of our life, mathematically speaking, tends to zero.

In terms of space, the reach of our life also, mathematically speaking, tends to zero.

The lives of so-called rich and powerful people, mathematically speaking, tend to zero too.

So how do we glorify our lives?

How do claim we were born for doing something great?

And how do we assume our life is special and significant?

The answer to the three questions above is quite evident.

We are zero.

A big zero.

A very big ZERO indeed.

In the context of this cosmos, our birth and death is neither special not significant.

It would not have mattered at all had we not been born.

Indeed, it is true that the birth of a person (or any living being, for that matter) is a unique event in the cosmos.

It is unique since there was never anyone in the past who was exactly like that person and there will never be anyone who will be exactly like that person.

However, if a person is not born, it makes no difference to the cosmos.

In fact, even if no person or living being has even been there, it would have made no difference to the cosmos.

The cosmos is the only reality.

The cosmos is itself the supreme power.

How it came into being is a mystery.

How other things came into being, is easy to explain.

 

One Day (A Poem)

One day, what is there now will not be

One day, what is not there, may or may not be

One day, you will pass into eternity
One day, you will meet with infinity



One day, you will be all dusted and done
One day, you will be forever gone

One day, what looks real will turn into surreal
One day, what appears virtual will become real

One day, maybe, you will not be there to find me here
One day, I will also not be there, here or anywhere

One day, maybe, I will not be there to find you here
One day, you will also not be there, here or anywhere

One day, what all began will come to an end
One day, what all ended will begin again

The Biggest Corporate Curse - Genuinely Fake Leaders and their Stooges

Several organizations, especially where the founders become the MDs or CEOs, but undeservedly so, are afflicted by the biggest corporate curse that is there.

The curse of genuinely fake leaders and their stooges.

There is leadership. This is rare.

Then there is genuine leadership. This is rarest of rare.

And then there is fake leadership. This is common.

Finally, there is genuinely fake leadership. This is commonly common.

Genuinely fake leaders promote the unhealthy breeding of yes sir men, the stooges and then cultivate them causing immense damage to the cultural fabric of the organization.

What are the tell-tale signs of genuinely fake leadership being practiced brazenly and in a bizarre manner by the top man?

Here are a few:

• Extols the value of inclusion but sets up a gang of yes sir men
• Talks about diversity but installs yes sir culture
• Humiliates those who refuse to become his yes sir men
• Thinks of himself as a visionary but has pin-hole vision
• Carries a fragile but jumbo-sized ego
• Acts like a king but, at the core, is a big clown
• Protects his and his yes sir men's turf

The stooges are a specimen of the most obnoxious type.

And this is what they do:

• Lift the top man up high on a pedestal made of thin air
• Keep pumping the fragile but jumbo-sized ego of the top man
• Treat the top man as a king knowing well that he is a clown
• Act as "smart alec" in meetings with the top man
• Show that they are more important in the system than others
• Humiliate those who are competent

If you happen to work in such an organization, then you are doomed.

You will see the top man and his stooges do non-sensical things quite often.

Like the following:

• The top man asks his pet stooges to stay back after a meeting to discuss something important - "stooge1, stooge 2, stooge 3, can you stay back?"
• The top man humiliates professionally competent people by asking them to report into one of his stooges - "can you keep my stooge in the loop"
• The top man frowns upon others bringing up genuine issues by asking his stooges, "you all should discuss and see what should be done"

मौत कि ओर अग्रसर - The Poem of Death in Hindi with English Translation

The Poem of Death in Hindi

मौत कि ओर अग्रसर, 

है मनुष्य निरंतर |

मौत है जीवन की आखिरी सच्चाई,

चाहे कोई समझा, या किसी कि समझ न आई |

मौत के सामने हर कोई है एक जैसा,

जीवन में हो चाहे, कोई भी कैसा |

मौत कर रही है हम सबका इंतज़ार,

तुम गए इस बार, हो सकता है मैं चला जाऊं अगली बार |

मौत के हाथ में है वह तीर कमान,

जिससे ज़िन्दगी में लग जाता है एक पूर्ण विराम | 

मौत से मनुष्य बच नहीं सकता,

भले ही कोई कहे, "मैं नहीं डरता!

मौत आएगी एक दिन,

पर कब, यह कहना नामुमकिन |

मौत आ रही है धीरे-धीरे तुम्हारी तरफ,

और तुम रहे हो पल-पल मौत की ओर खिसक | 

मौत को अगर हम माने ज़िन्दगी की तरह,

तो ज़िन्दगी को मौत बनने में होगा नहीं कोई कलह |

मौत को कर लो स्वीकार,

इससे बचने का नहीं है किसी को अधिकार | 

मौत का वह पल, 

होता है ज़िन्दगी से अविरल |

मौत के आगे ज़िन्दगी नहीं, 

हम चले जाते हैं न जाने कहीं | 

मौत कि ओर अग्रसर,

है मनुष्य निरंतर |

English Translation follows:

मौत कि ओर अग्रसर, (towards their death)

है मनुष्य निरंतर | (all human beings constantly move)

मौत है जीवन की आखिरी सच्चाई, (death is the last truth of life) 

चाहे कोई समझा, या किसी कि समझ न आई | (whether someone understood, or did not)

मौत के सामने हर कोई है एक जैसा, (in front of death, everyone is equal)

जीवन में हो चाहे, कोई भी कैसा | (in life, whatever one may have been)

मौत कर रही है हम सबका इंतज़ार, (death awaits you)

तुम गए इस बार, हो सकता है मैं चला जाऊं अगली बार | (you went away this time, I could be the one who may go next)

मौत के हाथ में है वह तीर कमान, (death bears that bow and arrow)

जिससे ज़िन्दगी में लग जाता है एक पूर्ण विराम | (which has the power to put a full-stop to life) 

मौत से मनुष्य बच नहीं सकता, (human beings can't escape death)

भले ही कोई कहे, "मैं नहीं डरता! (even if someone says, "I am not scared of it")

मौत आएगी एक दिन, (death will visit you one day)

पर कब, यह कहना नामुमकिन | (but when, no one can be certain)

मौत आ रही है धीरे-धीरे तुम्हारी तरफ, (death is slowly moving towards you)

और तुम रहे हो पल-पल मौत की ओर खिसक | (and you too are moving towards it very second)

मौत को अगर हम माने ज़िन्दगी की तरह, (if we can think that death and life are same)

तो ज़िन्दगी को मौत बनने में होगा नहीं कोई कलह | (then, when life turns into death, there is no issue)

मौत को कर लो स्वीकार, (accept death)

इससे बचने का नहीं है किसी को अधिकार | (you don't have the right to escape it) 

मौत का वह पल, (the moment of death)

होता है ज़िन्दगी से अविरल | (is the continuation of life)

मौत के आगे ज़िन्दगी नहीं, (there is no life beyond death)

हम चले जाते हैं न जाने कहीं | (no one knows where we go)

मौत कि ओर अग्रसर, (towards their death)

है मनुष्य निरंतर | (all human beings constantly move)

The Ghadiyali Chomu Master and His Char Bandar-numa Chamchas

This is the story of the ghadiyali chomu master SV.

And his chomu harkatein.

And, also, of his char bandar-numa chamchas - KM, ST, PP, SR.

SV is short, stodgy and short-sighted.

His only achievement till date is that he has created and cultivated char bandar-numa chamchas.

And if you were to poke SV a little bit, he would howl and growl and say, "the char bandar-numa chamchas only matter to me, let others go to hell".

Despite the absurdity of the whole situation, the despicable chomu master SV continues with more of the same absurdities that make him even more despicable.

He is fond of or rather besieged of his own false image and hence indulges in showing off.

He would utter all the right keywords and do all the symbolic stuff to appear as a genuine and caring person.

However, on scratching the surface, the real object behind the false image comes out.

He is the opposite of all what one would consider as fair, transparent and genuine.

He talks of ethics and empowerment but does all kinds of absurd things like:

• Suggesting that you write falsehood in e-mails to customers and vendors
• Facts are misrepresented or blatantly modified in the name of negotiation
• Data and information are twisted maliciously to create fake impressions
• Dropping/parachuting a trainee into your team without discussing first with you.
• Competency and fitment aspect is bulldozed to the ground.
• The trainee has no background other than her connection with the chomu master.
• Indulging in initiatives only for symbolic reasons.
• Initiatives are started without wider consultation and stakeholder involvement
• The people with no real work are made to drive such initiatives to make them relevant
• Humiliating competent professionals through "chomu harkatein"
• You get emails like "copy my chamcha" or "as advised keep my chamcha in the loop"
• Activities in your area are assigned to a chamcha to disempower you

The companies that are managed by a chomu master also become chomu companies.

They are what one can call as a "chotu company" which will remain like that forever.

The reason is not hard to see.

The chomu master and his char bandar-numa chamchas want to retain complete control.

To hell with empowerment.

Chomu master is a con artist.

Employee empowerment is a good term to hear but means nothing in such organizations.

If you work in such a company, be ready to embrace absurdities.

You will be humiliated often.

Yes, that's right.

Humiliated and dis-empowered.

While you are going through all this non-sense, you must learn to enjoy all this from a distance too.

Keep laughing at the ghadiyali chomu master.

Keep laughing at the char bandar-numa chamchas.

Just keep laughing.

After all you are getting entertainment for free from the chomu master and his char bandar-numa chamchas.

Don't take them seriously at all.

Don't become serious yourself too.

Just keep laughing.

And laughing.

And laughing.

As Was Expected, The Top Dog Barked Yesterday

The top dog, S, the biggest CEO, oops... clown, in the best company C, oops... circus in the town, barked yesterday.

He did not like his boot-licking, pet she-puppy, K, getting troubled.

So he barked.

Loudly.

And then he called out one of the stooges, the greatest manager, oops.... clown, monkey P to come to the rescue mission of K.

The whole scene unfolded exactly as was expected.

In a Lala company what else can one expect?

The bait did work.

The experiment worked quite well.

The communication done purposefully to provoke the she-puppy and her master had the intended effect.

The she-puppy was furious.

And went on a rant, good afternoon sir, and then blah, blah, blah.

The she-puppy once again proved the same thing about herself - lack of transparency and fear of her lack of competency getting exposed.

For K the ESG thing is the start and end of the world.

She thinks she has found a way to attain niravana through ESG.

Her and her master's approach is completely bull-shit or, rather, dog-shit. 

The top dog grunted, please discuss with K as she is the owner and driver of ESG.

As if there is nothing else left to worry about than ESG in the world.

The top dog is in  pursuit of another symbolism, this time related to ESG.

He and his HR henchman and other stooges keep on doing one or other drama every second week.

Sometimes there is an idiotic campaign on trust, then on empowerment, then on fairness, and then on transparency, and then on something else.

This all is a merely a big facade to cover-up the dark reality.

Speaking of trust, the top dog, then went on further and growled, please keep P in the loop.

Trust? Empowerment?

What trust? And what empowerment?

The top dog publicly and deliberately and maliciously humiliates those who do not lick his boots like P, K and the other stooges do.

And who is this P?

What competency this P has to speak on ESG?

What value is he supposed to add?

No one, none and nothing.

He is there only because he is a stooge of the top dog.

And by the way, the top dog has reared a huge group of stooges - K, P, et al.

That is the real achievement of S.

The top dog has a fetish for getting popular in the industry.

That is why he runs after every chance to appear in this conference and that conference.

He wants to be the best CEO ever.

He knows though he is nothing.

It is okay he is what he is.

But he should stop putting up the false facade of trust and transparency.

He also has this despicable habit of doing stupid things.

Like having two people stay in the same room while on an official outing.

Such a thing doesn't happen in a proper and professional company.

However, in a Lala company what else can one expect?

Another day, another silly thing.

This will go on.

And on.

The top dog will bark again.

Just wait.

And enjoy.

Why?

Since in a Lala company what else can one expect but some kind of non-stop non-sense.

So better enjoy!

Why Death is the Ultimate Destination that We All Share and Why We should always Keep this in the Mind?

What is blessedness and bliss?

What is joy and happiness?

What is exuberance and ebullience?

What is exhilaration and elation?

All the above reflect a situation when a person is in a state of mind which is just opposite of being in the below state of mind:

• sad and sorry
• or low and down
• or lost and helpless
• or desperate and hopeless

So, how to be truly blessed and totally blissful?

The answer to this lies in just one word - death.

Death is the only thing that is true.

Death is the only thing that is there at the very end of the journey.

Death is the actual destination we all are constantly travelling towards.

Death is the only thing that really matters.

Everything we do, and do not do, everything we say, and do not say, everything is immaterial when it comes to death.

Whether you do something or not do, you will be dead one day.

Whether you say something or not say, you will be dead one day.

All the kings and emperors, all the accomplished artists, all the strong and the powerful, are nothing when they meet their death.

All the poor and pauper, all the notorious folks, all the weak and the pawns, are also nothing when they meet their death.

Whatever you may become in your life, and whatever will become of your life, is at the end, absolutely inconsequential.

The only thing one ought to do is to focus on living life, one day at a time, one day, next day and the next till you drop dead.

You being dead would not change anything and has not impact on the way the natural world operates.

You were born as a biological being and you will eventually die as a biological being.

Human beings are no special as far as the creator of the natural world is concerned.

Though human beings have somehow acquired this impression that human race is controlling the world.

We catch and put other animals in what we call as a zoo.

And as we build a zoo, we think that we are the supreme power running this planet.

This, however, is a naive assumption that we would like to think of as the most important truth.

That is, however, not a truth at all.

We are nothing.

Very simple.

Let us not think otherwise.

One earthquake here, one Tsunami there, the above assumption is knocked off its feet instantly.

We are there at the will of the natural world.

In all this chaos, knowing that we will be dead one day, gives us the right and the ultimate perspective.

We were dead for eternity and will again be dead for eternity.

Whereas, we are live for some time only.

So, never forget and always keep in the mind.

Death is the ultimate destination that we all share.

And he who always keeps this in the mind is truly blessed and totally blissful.

How to Handle an Intimidating, Inflaming and Immature E-mail

Many a times you would receive an e-mail which is written in a "not so good taste".

The person who sent it might feel great when sending it.

But will realize how dumb he really was to even send such an e-mail in the first place.

And if he doesn't. then he is even dumber than just dumb!

By the way, such people might otherwise sound quite mature but if they do such things, it is obvious that they are carrying several chinks in their armour.

Such e-mails are intimidating.

They test your courage in keeping quiet and not responding to that e-mail likewise.

Such emails are inflaming.

They test your patience in controlling your emotions in face of strong provocation.

Such e-mails are immature.

They test your maturity in calibrating your approach to take care of the big picture.

Also, as you read such an email, the realisation that the person who sent it is immature and childish will give you the right perspective.

Mature people do not throw tantrums when they run out of arguments.

Mature people do not send e-mails written in a "not so good taste".

They discuss the differences with the other person.

And try to resolve differences through dialog and deliberations.

And do all that in a open-minded manner.

So the first and the only thing to do, is to write tersely, may be just a one-line, about setting-up a discussion on the issue at hand.

Do not try to resolve anything on the e-mail.

Focus on setting-up a discussion and resolving the differences in that.

Never, ever, write an e-mail in the kind.

Since if you do that, then you are perhaps a bigger idiot than the idiot who sent the first such email in the first place.

Stop the strong urge you might have to shoot back a stinging response e-mail adopting a nastier tone than the nasty tone in the e-mail you received.

Never do that.

It is a fact, that such an e-mail reflects everything about the person which sent it rather than anyone else including the recipient.

The person sending will have something going on in the background like:

• He is mentally quite weak and vulnerable otherwise and sending such e-mails gives him a sense of "false" victory (it is all fake though and quite ephemeral)
• He has other problems in life and uses such an e-mail to vent out his pent-up frustrations and feelings of despair (again it gives a false sense of comfort and for a short time)
• He feels threatened in terms of his power and position and is indirectly asking that he be given respect (genuine respect is earned through actions and not because of the position you hold)
• He has problem with managing his ego which might have got bloated up without him even realising it and such e-mails help pamper it (bigger ego than one's actual status will always lead to trouble, and ego pampering can make it even worse)

The moment you understand the underlying psychology behind such an email you will have mixed feelings.

You will feel pity for the person sending such an e-mail as that person might be requiring psychological interventions to correct the behavioural traits.

You will also feel elated at the fact that you did not over-react to an e-mail that was nothing but an over-action from someone who needs psychological help.

Of course, you should never suggest this to the sender.

You can have empathy and compassion, but maturity requires that you must stay quiet.

The biggest reason is, you must focus on getting what you want from the person sending such an e-mail.

And only on your problem.

If that person realizes his problem, then that is good.

If not, that is not your problem.

And it never was.

So, stay away from it altogether.

Don't Waste Your Time, Spend It Carefully on Things that Matter to You

Your life has an expiry date.

That means you have finite time at your disposal.

You might get this incorrect impression time and again that you have a lot of time in your hand.

And that you have many more years to go before you will drop dead!

However, that is not the case.

Once you are clear about this, you should exercise care and caution in how you spend your time.

If you do not spend your time on things that matter to you in the real sense, your time goes for a waste.

So, how do people end up "wasting" their time thinking mistakenly all along that they are "spending" it:

• They attend training which is not really required
• They attend meeting where they are not needed
• They become a part of a networking group and indulge in unnecessary events and activities
• They volunteer for things for which they should have refused to get involved with
• They join groups and forums they should have stayed away from

What is the way to come out of this rut?

What is the way to ensure you spend your time and not waste it?

The key to this is to know the kind of person you are.

And what are the things that excite you and that you are truly passionate about.

Improving your understanding of and skills at the things you love is crucial.

Simply speaking, that is the only thing that decides whether your time was spent or was it wasted.

You should stop doing anything that you don't feel strongly about, or which does not excite you.

So, how can you stop "wasting" your time?

• Stop attending that training which is not really required
• Stop attending that meeting where you are not needed
• Stop becoming a part of a networking group
• Stop volunteering for things for which you should have refused to get involved with
• Stop associating with groups and forums you should have stayed away from

Stop wasting effort.

And start spending it.

In both cases, you end up using the finite time at your disposal.

The difference is the impact it creates in your life.

If it helps to improve you in becoming better in something you love to do, then the impact is positive.

If it is anything else, it is a sheer waste of time.

Be prudent with your time and do only those things that you would really want to do.

And stay miles away from every other thing.

Don's waste your time.

Start spending it.

And do that right away.

Bhuvaneshwari Mata Temple - the Hidden Gem for Travellers in the Aravali Woods

As you travel on Sohna road from Sadar Bazaar in Gurugram towards Sohna, you would reach the Aravali woods in no time.

The Aravali woods are composed of several hillocks and the green belt covering them.

In case you stay in Gurugram or even the entire NCR, this is the place to go if you want to be in the "Hills"!

Well, hills you would not get.

But hillocks, yes.

The Aravali range spanning across Rajasthan and Haryana is a range of hillocks that provide several spots for travellers to explore.

One such spot is the Bhuvaneshwari Mata Temple.

Hidden well inside the Aravali woods and around 3-4 kms from the main Sohna Road is a gem of a temple called the Bhuvaneshwari Mata Temple.

For reaching Bhuvaneshwari Mata Temple, you need to take the road going along the Camp of 95th Battalion of BSF in the Bhondsi area.

Here are some pictures of the Bhuvaneshwari Mata Temple and its surroundings.

Lohagarh Farms - Some Pictures that Show Village Life and Some Adventure

Lohagrah farms is situated in the Aravalis at a short distance from the city of Gurugram.

It is built around the concept of village life and adventure.

It is essentially meant to provide the visitors a first-hand and close experience of village life - rural food, farms, farm animals, etc.

It also has some adevnture and thrill activities like obstacles, haunted house, etc.

Here are some pictures from a recent visit to Lohagarh farms.

Live Life One Second at a Time Since Some Second Will Surely be Your Last Second

Your life is nothing but a unique story of experiences of many seconds bundled and weaved together.

The key term is "seconds".

You may live for years and months but in reality, you live through many seconds for years and months.

You live your life across many seconds.

In fact, you live in seconds.

You came into existence at a certain specific second in eternity.

And finally, you will disappear into nothingness at another certain specific second in eternity.

Your life is the length of duration between the above two specific seconds.

That is why you should live one second at a time.

1, 2, 3, gone.

No.

Once again.

1, 2, 3, gone.

Still there.

Then once again.

1, 2, 3, gone.

And like that.

On and on.

Till you drop dead.

Living life one second at a time is the best way to live.

You should try your best to live in such a way that you live for as many seconds as you can but must always be ready and prepared to leave any second.

You should feel happy and blessed as you live through one second and must view the next second as your last one.

For a certain next second, you will absolutely be right!

And that next second will be your last second.

Are There Times When You Feel Unhappy, Dissatisfied and Anxious With Yourself?

Are there times in your life when you feel unhappy with your not so high or even decent position in the society, little or minimal power in your possession and the small, shallow, and not so deep purse that you carry?

Are there times in your life when you feel dissatisfied with what you have achieved or rather failed to achieve and who you have eventually come to become?

Are there times in your life when your feel anxious about the fact that you don't have many years to live and something bad may happen and derail your life and what is going to happen with you and in your life in the future?

Did you answer "yes" to all the three questions above?

If yes, that means you are a normal person.

You could be that common man one would very often come across on the streets outside and most other public places.

So why do you feel unhappy, dissatisfied, and anxious at times?

And why does almost everyone feel unhappy, dissatisfied, and anxious at times?

The answer lies in the fact that you are living your life assuming, quite mistakenly, that you ought to have some purpose in life.



And when that purpose is not met or poorly met, you will tend to feel unhappy, dissatisfied and anxious.

When you fail to achieve the purpose that you think you were born to achieve in our life, you end up thinking that the very reason for you to live is no longer there.

Hence, the feeling of being unhappy, dissatisfied, and anxious.

Let us talk a little more about the purpose of life.

The question "what is the purpose of life" is not the right question.

The right questions are:

"Why should life have a purpose?".

“Why should anyone and more so the nature be bothered about someone's life having a purpose?”

All animals are born, live through their life and eventually die.

Nature does not care who is born, who is alive and who is dead.

One animal has made it look like as if he is an exception to the above rule.

And that animal is human being.

Humans think their life is special and it ought to have some purpose.

Nature does not think so at all.

For nature all life is same.

A human life is no different or special than the life of any other animal.

If all human beings were to die at this very instant, the universe and the cosmos will continue to exist.

If all living beings also were to die at this very instant, the universe and the cosmos will continue to exist.

Sun will shine tomorrow as it is doing it right now and as it did yesterday.

Rivers will flow tomorrow as they are doing it right now and as they did yesterday.

Wind will blow tomorrow as it is doing it right now and as it did yesterday.

We think too much about having a purpose in life.

That thought is the basic reason for being unhappy, dissatisfied and anxious.

The best bet is to keep on doing things without worrying about the grander things like purpose.

This is best explained by Bhagavad Geeta, the sacred, holy, and ancient Hindu text.

You focus on Karma (work and duties) in accordance with Dharma (morals and righteousness) and do not bother about the Phal (results or outcomes).

So, what is the Mantra one should follow?

Do not get trapped by and in the mirage of purpose.

Focus on doing the right things and doing the things right.

Just that much is what truly matters.

Live each day with complete and sole focus on Karma and Dharma.

Also live each day as if it were your last day in the world.

And most certainly, you will be right on that one day which will be your last day.

If you live with no greed for any grander purpose, you will not feel unhappy.

If you live with no greed for any grander purpose, you will not feel dissatisfied.

If you live with no greed for any grander purpose, you will not feel anxious.

Leave purpose behind.

Focus only on following Dharma and doing your Karma.

The rest is all Maya, simply an illusion.

What Happens When You Are Physically Attracted To Someone?

There are several occasions in your life when you get physically attracted to someone.

Someone of the opposite sex, obviously!

There are times when you meet this person only once.

She may be someone you happen to pass by or notice when you are in a market, mall, railway station, airport, bus stand, hospital, clinic, etc.

Or someone you happen to meet with or talk to while traveling, attending a training or conference, social function, etc.

Or someone you happen to catch a glimpse of quite fleetingly while driving through or traveling by a taxi or a cab.

You like her for certain reasons.

You like the twinkle in her eyes.

You like her smile and her teeth when she smiles.

You like her figure and enjoy that when she is passing across.

You like her dressing sense.

You like her body hugging clothes and imagine several things in your head.

You like her tight fitting clothes and imagine several things in your head.

You like her body revealing clothes and imagine several things in your head.

You imagine going to bed with her.

There are, however, times when you meet this person several times.

She could be your neighbour.

Or an office colleague.

Or a member of your team itself.

Or someone superior to you in the office.

Or someone who is your subordinate and who reports into you.

You get to know that she is not married so you also imagine that she could be open and ready for emotional and physical relation with you.

You get to know about her emotional and physical vulnerabilities and develop some feeling and compassion for her.

You go with her on work related trips so that you can be physically close to her.

You imagine making love to her while on such trips.

You like her voice and how she talks.

You wait every day to have a glimpse of her.

You stealthily view the contours of her body as much as you can and relish that a lot.

You try to have as many face to face interactions with her as you can.

You even think of her at times while making love with you wife.

You check her whatsapp profile frequently.

You check her and her friends facebook profile frequently.

You keep a track of her profiles on other social media channels.

You search for her pictures on google.

You download her pictures and keep looking at them.

You also edit and crop her picture.

You enhance and modify her picture to get some sort of vicarious physical pleasure.

You are tempted to do the above, again and again.

You are under some kind of intoxication!

You know it is more of physical and sexual attraction,

You know it is carnal.

You know it is a desire for physical contact that is driven by lust.

You know it is just some kind of infatuation.

You also know you got to be careful with this kind of thing.

And you also know clearly that you could get into trouble if you don't handle it properly.

So you exercise care and caution.

And make sure you keep things only in your mind!

How To Not Only Survive But Thrive While Working From Home?

On the face of it, working from home (WFH) looks to be quite appealing.

After all, WFH brings lot of good things to the table.

Such as:

• One can save lot of time and energy that is spent on commuting to the office and then back home as also other travel required for professional reasons
• One can transition from workspace to personal space almost instantaneously so anyone staying far away from their office is back home the very moment she shuts down the office laptop!
• One can spend more time at home and with their family, spouse and children and even pets
• One can stay away from office gossips and several unproductive activities that one may have to willy-nilly indulge in while at the office
• One can take care of certain simple and quick household chores at home during the work time which would have not been possible if one were working at the office
• One can find it easier to schedule meetings since meeting room availability is not an issue in the virtual world
• One can tend to feel more equal to others since the size of one's cubicle or cabin at the office becomes irrelevant and everyone is just a circle on the screen with some initials or an image! 

However, WFH comes with its own set of challenges and pitfalls too.

Here are some of the major ones:

• Lack of social and emotional connect with your colleagues
• Thin line between work time and personal time
• Blurring of work environment and personal space as personal space provides the physical aspect of work environment for performing work in the virtual mode
• Too much and very frequent disruption while working
• Strain on eyes due to excessive time spent in front of the laptop screen
• Adverse impact on physical well-being since
• The physical venue of every virtual meeting is the same every time - in front of the laptop!
• There is not much walking to do to reach the office cafeteria, one might as well be working just next to the dining table in one's home
• There is not much walking to do to reach the office washroom, one might as well be working just next to the washroom in one's home
• There is not much walking down the office corridors to visit a colleague's cubicle or cabin and of course no corridor conversations are possible!
• Adverse impact on mental well-being since
• The interactions with your colleagues become lesser
• The interactions, if and when they happen, typically tend to be highly work-centric
• The socializing done in virtual mode has severe limitations 

So how does one not only survive but thrive while working from home?



Here are some ideas and points that may be of great use:

• Develop empathy for your office colleagues:
• Expect to overhear a colleague's family and children on certain occasions while you are having a meeting with her
• Calibrate your management style, in case you manage people:
• Focus on deliverables and outcomes and not on hours
• Maintain close watch on who will do what and by when
• Invest time to understand the person behind the team member
• Keep the team motivated
• Exhibit patience:
• Take it easy when someone is late by a couple of minutes, occasionally, as virtual meeting may also overshoot beyond its planned end time
• It is easy to overshoot in virtual meetings because there is no one waiting outside the virtual room for the next meeting!
• Stay physically healthy:
• Get up and go away from your laptop once in a while as possible and move your body, stretch it a little bit and also relax your eyes
• Take care of your eyes and fingers since in the virtual world, your eyes and your fingers become the most important organs of your body to navigate your way through!
• Stay mentally healthy:
• Call the colleagues with whom you have good personal equations occasionally
• And as you do so avoid using the official channel, call on their personal number from your personal number
• Spend some time on yoga and meditation and mental relaxation exercises to stay calm, relaxed and focused
• Take leaves occasionally when you are totally away from your laptop, which is the gate to the office in the virtual world!
• Develop empathy for your family:
• Remember they need to do much more than the usual to take care of your needs as you are at home
• Don't forget that your family is not used to seeing you so much and in some sense you are barging upon their routine when you are working from home!

How Conferences, Conventions or Conclaves Get Organized in Reality?

Organizing any conference, convention or conclave involves several interesting facets.

There is much more to it than what the facade of the marketing messages that go out will make you think is the case.

The organizers typically serve the same dish on the same old, but cleaned yet again, plate.

Generally, the same standard phrase is used every time.

Attending this event is a great opportunity.

As if there is nothing better to do than attending that event.

Very funny.

And quite ridiculous.

The exact way in which the above is conveyed will be different though.

And that's a big relief.

You will also often hear other statements too.

• you will get a chance to showcase your work
• you will get to listen to the gurus
• you will get to learn from others
• you will enhance your professional network
• And blah, blah, blah and what not.

There are several facets that would, however, strike you bluntly and conspicuously, when you analyse the organization of the conferences, conventions or conclaves!

Here are some of the interesting facets which are admittedly quite concerning too.

Money Smells Good

The main objective of the organizers behind the event is to generate revenues. 

Whatever the subject be, cash is always king. 

That's right.

Bang on. 

Remember, organizing events is akin to doing business. 

The primary driver for organizations and bodies that organize events is to earn revenues.

It is an important part of their business model.

Even the not-for-profit organizations and bodies suffer from the same greed and are desperately interested in generating surplus funds.

The learning aspect is important but that's not the reason any event gets organized. 

The real hidden agenda is to make money.

Jury Knows Not Much

Getting jury in case the event requires that is done in an interesting manner.

Generally, those known to the members of the organizing committee are roped in.

Their appropriateness and competency are no big deal.

If they are even remotely related to the event's topic and are available, they are excellent choices.

The jury members would typically have good things to say related to their own learning and experience being a jury.

The real hidden agenda is to get the kick from seen as an expert by others irrespective of the level of expertise.

Lofty Folks Rule

The lofty folks are those key people who are generally the founder and co-founders and will be there in almost all events.

So how they can be missed out in a conference, convention or conclave?

They will have speaking slots and will talk some non-sense in the name of sharing gyan.

These self-styled gurus and loyalist-proclaimed gurus will share mundane and arcane ideas full of complete fluff and gas.

These people rule their little knitted world. 

The lofty folks talk about lofty ideas and lofty things.

The real hidden agenda is to feed their inflated egos and to feel on top of the world.

Loyal Stooges Dance

The core people in the organizing committee are long timers and loyalists of the key people who matter in the organization or body which is organizing the event. 

The core people in the affiliated bodies are "more loyal than the king" and will lie prostrate and dance as asked by the lofty folks. 

They will call the lofty folks in even those events where their presence is not really needed. 

Other than the lofty folks, the core people and some outsiders in such organisations, the overall participation in the events may be quite dismal.

The loyalists in the primary organization and affiliated bodies like chapters, etc. will be in complete awe of these self-styled and loyalist-proclaimed gurus.

The loyal stooges show that they are committed volunteers for a larger cause and next in line to join the lofty folks.

The real hidden agenda is that they want to use their visibility in external forums for getting recognised in their own organizations.

In addition, there are some of the loyal stooges who are like mercenaries.

These folks are typically trainers and consultants.

Their real hidden agenda is to showcase themselves as experts to the delegates and try to garner some more business subsequently.

Ring Master Controls Circus

The ring master is a special character who is in awe of the lofty folks.

He is the selected one, selected carefully based on his servility and loyalty to the lofty folks!

After all he gets his salary from them.

He seems to be the one who controls the circus.

He is the declared ringmaster but is the joker in the circus.

He does funny and stupid things.

He works in the background and gets many things done without much transparency.

He is also part of the loyal stooges’ group.

Any word from the lofty folks or loyal stooges is taken up by him without any communication or information.

He is driven by whimsical notions like we have the target to have one event every month.

However, he has a rudimentary approach to doing things.

While some events will be in conceptualization phase and some in execution phase he would conveniently forget (or rather lacks the competence to understand) that all this should happen as part of an overall plan.

The ring master is also the chief loyal stooge and is there to feel important and justify his existence in that organization or body.

His real hidden agenda is to serve his masters, the lofty folks, with complete loyalty and ensure continuity of his pay.

The Outsiders Observe

These people are misfits in that organization or body.

They join the organization or body based on genuine passion and love for the subject.

They participate in organizing events like conference, convention or conclave so that they can contribute in some manner.

But very quickly, they get disillusioned with the hypocrisy and hollowness of the lofty folks, the loyal stooges and the circus ring master.

The lofty folks have a hidden agenda.

The loyal stooges have a hidden agenda.

The circus ringmaster has a hidden agenda.

The jury members have a hidden agenda,

The body or organization conducting the conference, convention or conclave also a hidden agenda.

The outsider doesn't have any.

He simply watches.

And chuckles at what is going on around him.

He is amused at the circus he has become a part of.

Over time, he starts enjoying it.

Over time, he feels at ease with the lofty folks, loyal stooges and the ring master.

He gets to know soon that he is not part of organizing a small c - conference, convention or conclave.

He is a part of the big C - the Circus being run in the name of not only that conference, convention or conclave but also that body or organization itself!

And there are many more conferences, conventions or conclaves to come.

He knows circuses are meant to be observed with an amusing outlook.

And also enjoyed for its comedians and their comical acts!

The next conference, convention or conclave is not far away.

So better chuckle.

And have a great time.

The Curse of Long Service Awards in Lala Companies is but a Grim Reminder

Completing several years at a stretch while working with the same organization is generally viewed as a milestone of sorts by any employee.

Most, if not all, organizations recognize their employees for long association by giving out long service awards.

Award for completing 3 years, 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years and even more are quite common and popular in the corporate world.

However, from the standpoint of career growth, whether getting long service award is really an achievement or not is a matter of debate.

If you are working in a professional company, then there are high chances that this milestone will be an achievement too.

And if you have worked with a high degree of passion and diligence, you will see some career growth.

However, if you are working in a lala company, then the story is going to be entirely different.

An employee may have stayed very long in a lala company simply because she had no other option.

In several cases, an employee in such companies will end up becoming "unemployable".

And would not be competent enough to get another job outside in another organization.

In fact, the employee might have gotten herself into a cookie jar which is about to get empty.

She may now be the proverbial rat in the rat race with additional complications:

• She has crossed the point of no return in her career and her speed is so high that aborting take-off is no longer an option available to her
• She is also fast approaching the end of the runway of her career and she is rapidly running out on the length of the runway!
• She will eventually be reaching a position where she can't get anything outside and she can't leave, and hence, she is totally stuck.

So, she will gradually accumulate years.

First, she will get 3 years’ service completion award.

Then 5 years’ service completion award.

And then 10 years’ service completion award.

And then also some more.

This will go on and on till she retires, or the company shuts down or the lala company owners shunt her out unceremoniously.

Getting long service award in a lala company is nothing less than a grim reminder.

Grim reminder about the fact that:

• Your career is stuck and there is no scope for any further real professional growth
• You will need to tolerate the lala and his stooges for several more years to come
• You are now totally unemployable and need to hold on strongly to what you are doing
• You are in a precarious situation as far as attaining financial freedom is concerned
• You are going to live for some more time at the mercy of the lala and his stooges

That way, long service awards are like a curse.

The funny thing is, you need to react to them with forced happiness.

You might get into a meeting with the top lalas and his stooges where everyone congratulates you.

You say thanks for the wishes and all.

However, you are not happy.

Not at all.

You have no choice either.

You show you are happy.

You have no choice on that either.

And even if unwillingly, you have to become a part of the drama played out in the name of longevity and loyalty.

That’s the true hallmark of a lala company.

Longevity and loyalty only matter.

Drama around longevity and loyalty matter the most.

That’s a sad thing.

But that’s what it is.

Take it or leave it.

You collect the award even as you look at it not as an award.

It is nothing short of a curse.

The curse which is but a grim reminder.

You also realize you are stuck and you not getting out or going anywhere.

You gather yourself.

And you get ready and mentally prerpared for the next one.

For the next long service award.

For a bigger curse.

And a bigger grim reminder the next time. 

Big Bs You Should Avoid

How you carry yourself and how you conduct your affairs is an important attribute of your overall personality.

There are some personal traits that you should always avoid.

Interestingly, these attributes start with the same letter B!

These Big Bs are to be strictly avoided if you want people to like you.

Remember, on their own, no one would tolerate or accept these Big Bs.

Here is the list of the Big Bs you should avoid, always.

• Bulldoze
• Bully
• Bargain
• Blackmail
• Badger

And here is what they mean and what they indicate about your personal traits.

Bulldoze:

• clear (ground) or destroy (buildings, trees, etc.) with a bulldozer
• This is the tendency to not let others express their views and thoughts and impose your whims and fancies on them. 

Bully: 

• seek to harm, intimidate, or coerce someone perceived as vulnerable
• This is the tendency to try to dominate others and make them feel intimidated of you so that they fall in line and follow your instructions.

Bargain: 

• negotiate the terms and conditions of a transaction or an agreement between two or more parties as to what each party will do for the other
• This is the tendency to make someone follow your wish by offering them some temptations by evoking their weakness for something.

Blackmail: 

• the action of demanding payment or another benefit from someone in return for not revealing compromising or damaging information about them
• This is the tendency to force someone to follow your instructions by creating a situation where that person is left with no choice but to obey you.

Badger: 

• repeatedly ask (someone) to do something; pester
• This is the tendency to bug and bother someone by asking them the same thing again, and again and yet again.

Where Coterie Rules, Only Loyalty and Egos Matter, Not Competency and Merit

Many companies are infested with the coterie culture.

There is a small group of "yes sir" folks who are stooges of the top man.

They form a spider-web full of and stinking badly of secrecy, conspiracy, conceit and insecurity.

Spider-Web of Coterie Culture

These people share secretive interests and agendas, especially one that is exclusive of other people.

This set of idiotic dogs form an evil syndicate to propagate and promote one-upmanship in accordance with the directions of their master.

The master checks on the loyalty quotient by very often throwing the ball away, lifting the dirty ring finger and saying, "go, fetch". 

The stooges try like buffoons to outrun each other to get the ball back to their common master.

These selected stooges are trained to remain that way.

Some of them think they are too smart for their own boots.

But easily forget that a dog doesn't need a boot!

This inner circle of stooges carries huge egos and thinks of themselves as privileged lot.

It is quite ironical that the top man and stooges talk as if they are fair and genuine.

A little scratching of the top surface brings up the dirty insides of the inner circle.

The stooges send stupid and utterly non-sensical e-mails.

This coterie creates artificial reporting lines in the organization where only loyalty and egos matter.

Not competency and merit.

Not at all.

Nada.

They create roles and titles and designations and what not to perpetuate the system of idiocy they have put together in the circus they call company!

Professional management thrives in and creates a professional organization.

Similarly, professional organization promotes and creates a professional management.

They together create a professional culture.

But in a company infested with comical stooges, the first, unfortunate casualty is professionalism.

And out of the door goes professional culture.

What you get at the end is a Lala organization.

Irony is, this inner circle thrives by maintaining an air of exclusivity due to their closeness to the centre of power in the organization.

They, in a very sickening manner, regard themselves as elitist and defend their untenable and vulnerable position by being secretive.

They write stupid e-mails.

In such a company competency and merit means a zilch.

In such a company titles, designation and even roles means nothing.

They are simply adornments on the dirty walls of the organization.

They form a dirty circle, an evil group of people with shared agendas, interests and acquaintances.

This dirty inner circle pretends to be an exclusive group close to the centre of power in the organization, and is viewed elitist and secretive, in a completely evil sense.

These people are a part of the clique, a small close-knit group of egotists and loyalists who do not allow others to join them.

This set of people is merely a crowd linked by a common hidden evil agenda or interest.

It is more like a gang of imbeciles and evil retards who regularly associate together.

 

In reality, everyone knows they these people are like a pack of wild hyenas, who don't know how to really hunt but stay together to scavenge in a group.

They show as if they are part of the crew but are part of a tribal clan or a dirty club.

Sometimes they come across as a secret sect due to their unprofessional beliefs and actions which can be regarded as non-transparent, unfair and even dangerous.

These people are in the same camp and support the same top dog collectively.

The obnoxious cell comprising of the stooges in such companies is a small group forming a nucleus of unprofessional activity, typically a secret, subversive one.

These folks act like a caucus where they form a dirty group within an organization which meets independently in secret to discuss the trivia.

Caucus is supposed to discuss the strategy or tactics.

But the stooges are totally incompetent to discuss such things.

What they are good at, and very unfortunately, is spreading an air of exclusivity about themselves.

What they are also good at is spreading the message of their false sense of fake superiority in the organization.

And what they are also good at is creating a toxic and obnoxious environment in the circus which they proudly call as a company.

Essentially, these folks are toxic by nature.

They create a spider-web of toxicity.

And in the end, they create a toxic culture.

 

Untimely Death by Suicide of a Young and Talented Outsider

Just a few days ago, a young and talented actor in the Indian film industry died by suicide.

This untimely death is apparently a case of an outsider quitting the game of life after getting deeply hurt and frustrated by the dirty politics of the "insider club".

The Outsider versus the Insider Club

His death is not only untimely but also a wake-up call for every industry and every organization.

Every organization and every industry has its rules.

Unfortunaterly, most of the important rules that truly matter always remain unspoken and unwritten.

One of them happens to be the ill-treatment, subtle or otherwise, of the outsiders.

There is this "insider club" whose membership is strictly restricted to the previleged ones.

There is a secret pact between insiders, who are the high and the mighty and the well-connected in the game!

Those who are well-connected get access to exciting opportunities and offers from the other insiders in that organziation and also that industry.

The well-connected get their first work related break and subsequent chances also quite easily without much sweat and much effort.

Eventually, the insiders become self-appointed gatekeepers and very consciously and maliciously ererct a formidable barrier for the outsiders.

The way outsiders are treated by the insiders reeks of the insiders' blatant hyprocrisy, discrimination, shallowness and arrogance.

Some organizations are infected more with this kind of sick and toxic culture.

The head of such an organization and those in the "insider club" try to create the fake facade of the organization as one big happy family.

But beneath the shining facade there are deep cracks and gaping holes.

Ultimately, it’s each to their own.

And outsiders are under constant threat for their very survival.

When you work in such an organization you know your future is at the whim of the top dog there, the proverbial ringmaster of the circus that organization actually is.

Most outsiders keep on struggling but survive and stay alive.

Some outsiders are able to withstand the discrimination and humilation and are able to make a mark for themselves.

And that happens despite the fact that the sharks of the "insider club" in such an organization try their best to stop the outsiders from moving up the ladder.

Some of the outsiders not only survive and succeed but move very high up to become an insider.

And unfortunately, they end up joining the "insider club" and start doing the exact bad things they vehemently hated when they were not a part of it.

But, come what may, some outsiders never become insiders. 

They are simply shown around the inside, and howsoever talented and deserving they migt be, they are never offered a seat on the high table.

So somtimes, it is possible that an outsider might say, "enough is enough".

And they decide to "quit" the game of work they are engaged in, which is better.

Or at times, the game of life itself, which, from a philosophical, moral and ethical standpoint, is not really a good thing to do.

It hard to say whethere dying by choice through suicide is an act of strength or an act of weakness.

What is not hard to say is that the culture and work environment which led to that is certainly a sick and toxic one.

The person who has departed will never come back.

It is also true that those who were instrumental in creating a sick and toxic culture and work environment for the departed person will also not be there forever.

They will also need to depart one day.

And that day is not as far away as they think it might be.

It could be the next week.

Or the next day,

Or maybe the very next hour.

So they ought to be ready.

The famous English proverb "you reap what you sow " may or may not come true.

And the "insider club" may never get the punishment for their acts.

The departed may never get poettic justice for what happended to him and why he chose to depart the way he did or was perhaps forced to go that way.

However, those in the "insider club" will carry a stained conscience to their death-bed if that means anything.

There are many more "outsiders" out there who are struggling and still managing to survive.

God bless them and given them the stength and hope to carry on.

God bless the departed too, those outsiders who chose to quite.

May their soul rest in peace.

God bless those in the "insider club" also for they too shall pass.

And when the time comes, may their souls rest in peace too!