ONE WORD MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO MAKE THIS WORLD A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE IN

I was reading a story of pet rescue, when i began to ponder on why not everyone can be like this? Will it not then make this world a better place.. So, came the question to my mind,

"What basically makes this world better place to live in?"

Is it education? Then most educated families or societies would never have misery

Is it Medicine? Best of medical care can still mean, patient suffering

Is it Technology? Then every great technological invention should have solved every human problem…

Is it Relationships, religion? But then we know lot of violence in both relationships and religion

All of these have definitely enabled progress in this world, but not completely. So, there should be something common encompassing all the above..What is that????

After lot of thought, came the answer -EMPATHY…

Let's look at it why?

1. SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - All the greatest of advancements in S & T were born not out of the technical geniuses. There were geniuses since time immemorial. But only those who had EMPATHY and felt for other's problems came up with solutions…

2. MEDICINE - Again, we may say advancements. But the best of doctors in the world become so, not for their skillful use of surgical apparatus, but for EMPATHY… Because, unless a doctor is EMPATHETIC to the pain of the patient, he would never be able to provide a holistic care that is beyond medicine.

3. SERVICE & PRODUCTS - It's a well known fact that the best customer service satisfaction companies or the greatest of product companies produced what they did, because of this one word, EMPATHY… In fact, the premise of such companies starts not with, "what we sell", but "what is the need?".

4. HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS - One may say Love. But unless you feel for others like the way you feel for yourself, where is the question of love? And that is again EMPATHY… Be it our domestic helps, our classmates, our co-workers or our parents, or our bosses, or our clients- The relationships begin to flourish and will sustain only when you can understand their needs, both explicit and latent… And step prior to understanding the needs, is feeling for them…. So, EMPATHY

5. GOVERNANCE - Our politicians, bureaucrats or other public administrators all fail miserably not because they lack the ability to govern. But, a will to make efforts to understand and feel for the governed. Examples: We will not have a shouting administrator if he/she knew the person waiting for him/her comes by spending 50 Rs, 100 Km, to get a sign so as to get a fee waiver, which would enable him/her to study further… A politician will NOT enjoy the privilege of stopping entire traffic and pass by if he/she is EMPATHETIC towards the waiting ambulances, school buses etc.. A road contractor will not use substandard quality of concrete if he is EMPATHETIC towards the users of the roads and understands that using a cheap material would mean, potholes, which would result in spine aches, accidents and many more…

Last but NOT the least…

6. RESPECT FOR LIFE- A pregnant/injured dog, an old woman on road, a tired bus conductor, a hen for sacrifice, a buffalo in slaughter house, a thirsty bird in our apartment complex - When did we last think from their position? Life is same for every living being on this planet. Only when we are EMPATHETIC… Once we are EMPATHETIC and feel for them the way we feel for ourselves, we will see many more of us feeding dogs, taking them to hospitals instead of ignoring, helping the old woman cross the road, question the hen sacrifice or the slaughter house, keep bowls of water for birds… The list can go on and on….

But unless there is EMPATHY, all these are "the other"… And in the other, we will begin to exclude everything possible - other species of life, other country people, other state people, other caste, other gender, other family etc etc… And this how our circles of love are curtailed and fewer and smaller our circles of love, greater is the hatred and violence...

A Tribute to the Canine Friends in my life

Well, this is a very personal article where i am trying to reminisce my association with various canine friends since my childhood :) So, it goes in chronological order (more or less)

1. Blacky - This was a black Pomeranian pet in my owner's house in Central Excise Colony (1986-88) when i was 4/5 i guess. While i hardly remember the dog, the owner himself is still referred to as "Blacky Tatagaru" (Blacky grandpa) in our conversations

2. Bruno - This one was a cute, small Indian Mongreal puppy that my brother found in bushes amidst thorns and garbage. He got the little one along. Our First pet in OU Campus (1989-90), after a brief period of stay with our family, he was attacked by the big bullies of our colony and succumbed to rabies.  Towards his end, he barked at everyone else but was full of love for us. Even on the day of his departure, he followed us to the bus stop, dropped me and my brother and returned home with my grandmother only to be carried away by the municipality van.

3. Sivarasan - Yes. You read it right. This was the "jackass" dog of our New B series quarters in OU (1989-91) A black and brown colored Indian Mongreal, he was Arrogant, bully and what not.  Wasn't  mad, but just an ass!  All children of the colony hated him since many of them had been earlier attacked by him. He was never named till the day of Rajiv Gandhi's Assassination. Only when we all heard of the name "Sivarasan", we unanimously decided to name this dog "Sivarasan". I do not remember how he died, but Sivarasan finally died... I think, the municipality van carried him too..

4. Chitti - Chitti was Indian Mongreal, female dog that i had befriended, again in OU campus, when i was in my Inter II year (1999-2000) She was this mid sized, black colored furry dog with a bushy tail. Though my family hated feeding her, they were forced to keeping in mind my EAMCET examination. They knew that if i get upset, it might affect my studies. So, everyday, with an emotional blackmail and big eamcet ranks threats from me, they fed her. But the feeding stopped the night my exam got over. However, she always got a share from my food (secretly). But, this one always had a hanging uterus. It was only towards the end that i realized it was a tumour. Chitti slowly started bleeding profusely and the tumour became larger and larger. It hurt me a lot when i saw her drag her tumour with great pain and discomfort. But, she never expressed her problem when she encountered me. All i got was loving licks and happy tail wags. She cared way too much for my feelings. She knew i was too young to accept separation...So she silently disappeared only to be found dead in the nearby bushes next morning. 

5. Tommy - Male Dobberman/Indian Mongreal cross was a family member of my Dance teacher (2000-2014). Brought up in a dancer's family, this one could walk in rythm to "Taka Dimi, Taka Jhannu" and dance to "Tattai Taha, Dittai Taha". He loved walking and would ask anyone and everyone, even the auto driver who dropped us to take him for a walk. Tommy loved car rides, chasing rats. A very amicable dog lost his face when a robbery occurred in their house. But who said, he was a watch dog? After all, he was a member of the Maddali family, his full name being Maddali Tommy Ram,

6. Ramu - An Indian Mongreal, he was the guard dog of our Department of Mechanical Engineering, Osmania University (2000-2004). He got the maximum share from my tiffin box after one senior (the difference between the two of them - senior demanded; Ramu requested). Chapatis with all sorts of curries my mother made went straight into Ramu's stomach. By the end of 2nd semester he started following me into the classroom. He once entered into the Mathematics class and our Professor, Miss Kavitha requested me to get out assuring me full attendance. Her remarks, "I find it difficult teaching to humans, i can't teach dogs too" The last time i saw Ramu was when i visited the department in 2006 i think. He was more sober and silent...

7. Caroline - My neighbor's pet -a female Chihuahua in City Heights -my apartment complex in Los Angeles (2007-08) My encounters with this dog were all like window shopping. I never really picker her up or cuddled her. She was too fragile. The first time i touched her, my roomie Najina pushed me straight into the washroom to have a bath before i touched anything else in house.. The second and the last time i picked her up, she jumped off my hands and fell straight on ground. Knowing the stupid laws in U.S, i was scared to death and prayed for the next few days that the dog doesn't die and my neighbor doesn't sue me. 

8. Choco - This cute male puppy was my friend when i resided in Shilpi Homes, DD Colony (2008-10). He was christened "Choco" because the mployees of beauty parlour that was opposite to our flats felt his body had colours of a chocolate. He was very inquisitive in nature and you can see him here

        

                     

9. Kimbo - This Alpha male (Indian Mongreal) became my friend at University of Hyderabad (2010-2012) This one lives in Gops, the food joint in our University, i believe also attends classes in Sociology/Philisophy, and occasionally visits S.N. School. Aggressive, old, demanding, lazy...the list can go endless but undoubtedly lives life Kingsize. We are all so fond of Kimbo that one of my friends, Hriday named another dog, believed to be Kimbo's brother as Kim-Bro. By the way, another friend TJ calls him Moon.

10. Smootie and Murthy - These are the "Amar-Akbar", "Ram-Lakshman" of our Panchavati Apartments and they came into my life as adults (2008-till date). I am told, someone abandoned them here. Ever since i knew them, they are a pack. They live together, walk together, sleep together and and chase together. They are amazing watch dogs and do not even allow any one, including our security guards to wander around when it is not their regular time. Smootie is cranky at times but Murthy is undoubtedly the "Ajaatasatruvu" of our flats (and ofcourse our Diro's best buddy).

11. Husky - This one is the "Anthony" of our Panchavati Apartments (2009-till date). The third among the trio, for a long time, this one was called, "Chevulu Leni Kukka" (meaning, the dog without ears). So one day, my 7 year old friend Jayesh and I decided to end this identity crisis and christened him Husky. He accepted the name and ever since is called Husky... He's got Balls...(Literally). He is one of those very few male dogs that's not yet castrated. Very friendly, nautanki sala he is. But when aggressive, can turn really fierce against other dogs.

12. Weeny - The cute, little female Dashund is my friend Hari Pavan's sibling (2012-till date)Darling she is. Loves to run away from home only to return when shown an egg. Our canine Daughter Diro's very close friend...In fact, Weeny was the prime motivation for us to bring Diro into our lives too. Pritam and I used to see Weeny's Dad (Papa Rao uncle) walk her down daily and then decided, we got one too.

13. Diro - This one's my Canine Daughter and an adorable, cunning female beagle that came into our lives in September 2012.  However, there's a small misunderstanding in her fostering process. She basically thinks we are her pack and she owns all of us...Apart from constantly being hungry for food, she loves flirting and making new friends- human and canine. Documenting Diro's deeds would require another blog though. Till then, here are some of her intro photos

      

14. Kutti - The female Indian Mongreal came into our lives last year (2013-till date). We found her in the last month of pregnancy with wounds all over her body. The kids and elders in our flats were sweet enough to embrace this one and mobilise food and water. Our efforts paid off. She survived and gave birth to 7 healthy puppies. After a brief period of community petting, the pups were handed over to Bluecross and have hopefully found happy owners and happy homes. Kutti has a dedicated partner Kittu and both of them spend their entire day and night together. She personally is a shy dog and takes time to make friends. She is currently in Bluecross undergoing a treatment for uterus tumor.

16. Lyla - This 5 year old female labrador lives in the 3rd floor of my mother's flats (2013-till date) Diro was her first friend in life, i was told because she never let anyone come near her till then. The first thing that comes to my mind when i think of Lyla is the small lake that forms in front of our maingate every morning when she relieves herself... Her name works the best to bring our Diro back into the house whenever she runs off.

17. Bhairo - Well, another female Indian Mongreal near my new house in Pragatinagar. Her name has a story. I met this dog first time when we went to see the house before buying (2013). I thought she was a "he" and named her Bhairav. The moment i realized that was a female dog, i wanted to name her such that it rhymes with Diro. So, she became "Bhairo"...A very shy dog by nature, she stayed with us for a brief period of 4 months and disappeared one random day. I never expected her sudden disappearance so do not have a photo of her... But, i just hope she is alive somewhere...

18. Tiger/Youtube - This cute little puppy greeted me in the front of our Department of Communication few months ago (2014-till date). He was born here and currently lives here. A very active puppy at the moment is keen on exploring the world and ofcourse guard S.N. School...She has two names - Tiger and Youtube (what more can you expect when she is the "Communication Department" Dog)...

Young India

Last week, as I was browsing through different channels, I saw an interesting discussion on young people of this generation. The panel discussion was basically to show how amoral, insensitive, callous, westernized youth of India today are. ‘Experts’ passed their comments for one hour(do not know if they are based out of informed or uninformed opinions though). I started retrospection if what they had said about today’s youth was indeed true.

Some key points of discussion were – Dressing (‘westernized’ dressing), attitude (I do not care what others think about me), habits (spending, drinking, smoking). Each and every point of discussion revolved around these three aspects.

After a lot of self-exploration I thought I should pen down, some positives about this generation, which probably get over shadowed by petty points like the above.

(most of these have been penned down on self-experience, which I am sure, every young person would have experienced in his or her own life at some point in time)

The most striking positive point is, friends helping each other unconditionally during the most needed times. This help covers a spectrum starting from booking a bus ticket to beating up the ‘common enemy’. However, if one looks at the darker shades of the spectrum, like most elders do, they can find only friends smoking together, or some of them indulging in a petty scuffle. The most common complaint from many elders is, that the kids today are addicted to internet or cell-phone. But, it is the same perceived irresponsible friends who use one single facebook status message to find a donor for a needy patient.  One message from a friend is enough to pass it on hundred more and the result, an unknown person is at the hospital donating blood within two hours of posting the message.

Similarly, when there is a crisis, be it financial or emotional or anything else, it is only friends that one relies upon (In some cases, it could be even before the immediate family members) Today, friends are an integral part of our lives and are increasingly replacing the position of relatives in our lives. Be it a wedding celebration, or a cremation, it is friends who stand next giving immense strength.

Second most striking point is, attitude. The common complaint from ‘experts’ is that today’s generation has become selfish and does not bother to understand the needs of others. I wish such experts noticed scenes like traffic regulation by young IT professionals, volunteering at blue-cross and carrying out a peaceful candle light walk against corruption. Yes, one may argue, there is a strong counter movement like the Telangana movement. But, what should be noticed here is, it is still the young people who fight just for the cause without any motives unlike many middle and old aged political leaders. If there is anything that changed drastically in attitude then it is respecting others’ choices. The voyeuristic nature which is very inherent in our culture is being challenged and young people do not just say, ‘ I do not care what others think of me’, but also feel it is none of their business bothering about others’ choices and attitudes.

The last (but not the least) positive point that I would like to mention here is the aspirations and unflinching hope with which they are moving forward. The whole country is stuck in dirty pool of scandals and issues. While the older generation is very pessimistic about this situation in the country and feel that our nation is now not even worth a dime, it is the younger generation that’s unabashedly marching forward with set of goals and objectives. The direction could be positive or negative, but what is interesting is that every person is oriented in some direction and is not resolving to his or her fate. Despite 2G, CWG and Soniaji, the young hearts have burning desire in them to create their own destiny and write their own tales.

Why caste and class system wouldn't perish in India?

It was a pleasant evening. The drizzling made it perfect. Kids in my apartment complex were playing cricket. Perfect photography composition, i thought. I stepped out of my home to click some moments. A   6-year old girl, my neighbor and her friends came and asked me if i could click their pictures. I was more than glad for having found enthusiastic subjects. So, i started clicking them playing, clicking them running around etc.

After some time, i noticed a small boy standing behind me mused. I stopped clicking and initiated a conversation with him. When i asked if he would like to be clicked, he instantly said a yes with a beaming face. I asked him to come and stand in front of the camera. As he came, the other kids pushed him away and the 6-year old girl, came and put her hand in front of the camera, blocking the lens. The girl insisted that i should not click the boy. When i asked why, she said, "akka, veedu, chaakali vadu, pichi battalu vesukuntadu... vedni photo teeyodhu" ( it means, this boy belongs to dhobi community and he wears rags, so you shouldn't click his photo)

I was startled by her words and immediately chided her. She was still adamant and insisted that no one clicks the boy's photos along with the other kids like them. when i asked her, who told her, she said she knew it by herself. When i asked her how, she responded that she learnt it from the television and movies. In the television and movies, people like servant maids and dhobis who work for us, are always treated indifferently. I told her that its not the right way to treat people and one shouldn't be judged based on what he or she wears. Anger was evident on the girl's face and she said she doesn't like to be told like this. She said, because i clicked his photo, she would now not talk to me as well. So, she said a loud "Kattif" and left from that place.

I did not know how to react, so quietly continued clicking the pictures of the boy.
I do not know if she told it in ignorance or casually, but i know for sure that with 6-year olds like her, who will be tomorrow's india, it is very difficult to dream of a caste and class free society. 

The Judgement awaited

No, it is not about Ayodhya or anything else.. it is something very personal :)


One night....


Mom to Me : your Dad snored very badly last night

Dad to Mom: I did not sleep at all because, you were snoring very badly

I: I don't know who snored, but I had a dolby stereo effect in the next room

Result: all 3 of us are sleeping in 3 distant, different rooms tonight




P.S.: both of them wanted me deliver a verdict next morning on who snored 

Today's Pledge?

India is my Country 
All extremists & lobbyists are my brothers & sisters.
I pity my country & I am ashamed of its corrupt & unscrupulous leaders. 
I shall always strive to distance myself from them. I shall give my corrupt netas, gundas & other undeserving fellows my precious vote & treat everyone with courtesy .
To my netas & my rulers, I pledge my hope.
In their selfish & careless hands alone, lies my bleak future.

From teaching to Guiding

From teaching to Guiding

Gautami Challagulla

The counseling for engineering and medical colleges is on the verge of completion. The huge campuses and grand classrooms will welcome the to-be-engineers and to-be-doctors. There will also be welcome speeches by the management, assurance speeches by the anti-ragging, sexual harassment committees. Two months down the lane, all these will inevitably be followed by news reports of ragging, suicides and other atrocities. This is the cycle that one has been seeing for more than a decade now.

In the last decade, after several discussions and debates, establishment of anti-ragging committees and sexual harassment committees in the colleges has been made obligatory. Today, all the engineering and medical colleges have these committees and many rules and regulations have been formulated. Despite all these efforts, the number of cases of ragging, sexual harassment, acid-attacks and suicides have not reduced. This clearly shows that mere setting up of such committees is not a complete solution to prevent such incidents. The role of these committees is usually restricted to reprimanding the accused. So, it is mostly only a legal or disciplinary action that is taken, but there is no emphasis on a behaviour change. The recent incidents of suicides and murders even by students of the elite institutions only re-iterate the fact that good quality of academic education does not necessarily shape students into strong and sensible individuals. Neither the faculty who impart the academic education nor these disciplinary committees really try to imbibe the moral values in the students. 

In the era when parents are busy, the responsibility and role of an education institution to act as a ‘guide’ becomes more important than ever. One method to mitigate such incidents is the establishment of counseling centers that would have a team of psychologists and faculty members who would attend to the emotional concerns of both the potential victim and the potential accused. Students with any concern like not being able to cope with the course work, liking a co-student, having troubles with peers etc can approach these counseling centers and express their concerns without hesitation. While these centers might not become panacea, they would certainly guide the students in handling the situations with maturity and sensibility. Another simple method that any faculty member can employ is, instead of punishing the unruly and ignoring the disoriented students, take some time out, talk and understand such students’ mentality.

Seeking inspiration from success stories of Narayana Murthy is important, but imbibing principles of Vivekananda is also necessary.

Your cocooned Child

Your cocooned child

Outdoor games are need of the hour for a child’s overall development.

Gautami Challagulla

Ketan, a 10 year old, class V student at present suffers from obesity. He is also diagnosed with child depression. Sriram is a 16 year-old class XII student, who was recently caught at a gaming centre trying to sell his mother’s gold ornaments. Sindhu who turned 13 this august is hardly seen in the playground, as she is busy playing with the new X Box 360 gifted by her parents.

These are not just the stories of Ketan, Sriram and Sindhu, but tales of children brought up in today’s cosmopolitan cities. However, children are not the only ones to be held responsible. While the apartment culture today restricts kids from playing outside, the corporate schools ensure the children do not get time to play outdoor games.

Sharvari Priya, a student of class XII talks about her routine. Till class VIII, she had one and a half hours of playtime per week. In classes IX and X, the time was cut to forty-five minutes and once she entered class XII, there is no playtime. She says, “My course work demands more study hours. Even when I find some time, my friends are all busy so, I do not have anyone to play with.” However, she prefers playing outdoors as the factors like shouting, running around make the outdoor games livelier.

When it comes to Tarun and Keertana, siblings from Hyderabad, they hold opposite views. While Keertana loves playing outside and at present, is part of the National basketball team, Tarun loves the virtual games and is addicted to computer. Their parents have complaints only with Tarun. “Tarun’s gaming habits have reduced his concentration levels and his grades have constantly come down, whereas Keertana has become more disciplined. She never woke up early in the morning till she joined her basketball game. Now, with or without her game practice, she wakes up at 5:00 in the morning”, says her mother.

There are several other reasons that can be attributed to these changing habits. The busier parents neither have time to spend with their kids, nor do they have time to take them to public parks. Even if few parents intend to take their children outside, well functioning public parks are a rarity. It’s under such circumstances that games like play stations and X boxes sneak into a child’s schedule. With games like these on one side and new applications like Farmville on the Face book and virtualpets.com on the other side, children today, do not realize the magnitude of the loss they are at by missing out on the outdoor “real” games.

In addition, health issues are offered as bonus. Obesity is a major problem which today’s kids face. The number of cases of child obesity have increased manifold in the last decade. According to obesitysurgeryindia.org, 30% of kids today suffer from obesity, lack of physical activity being one among other major reasons. The virtual games do not just ruin a child’s physical fitness but can also result in issues like depression, selfishness and introvert behaviour. 

World Health Organization (WHO), considering the increase in child obesity, has released recommended levels of physical activity for the age group 5-17. The physical activity for the children of this age group includes playing games, planned exercise, transportation, recreation and physical education in school. They suggest the children between age groups 5-17 to have moderate to intense physical activity for at least 60 minutes in a day. They emphasize that physical activity for more than 60 minutes provides additional health benefits and the most recommended physical activity is aerobics. Exercises that include muscle and bone strengthening should be included for at least 3 times a week.

The virtual games though appear as creative and challenging, force the users to think in only one way, usually the way in which the game is designed.  However adaptive the games are, there sets in monotony after a point. An outdoor game, as simple as playing with dry leaves can make the child think in several ways. For example, a child can play with dry leaves for a whole day, painting them, preparing a garland, or making a tiara. So, outdoor games not only ensure the kids’ engagement with the game, in the most creative manner, but also serve as a base for them to think differently in different situations and come up with best possible alternatives.

A virtual pet can never lick you like a real pet and one can never run, sweat and stay fit playing virtual games. So, parents wake up; Pull your cocooned children out of the virtual world and help them play in the reality.

Names of few children have been changed to protect identity.

Who killed Rahul's Mom

“Mom, I got 3^rd rank in the annual examination. I promise I’ll secure 1^st next time” said Rahul, a class 3 student. But, his voice was devoid of any excitement. Because, like any other kid, he was not communicating this message to his mother, but to his mother’s picture hanging on the wall.

Yes, Rahul is a class 3 student and he recently lost his mother and his unborn baby brother.

Exactly 7 months before this date, Rahul’s house was full of celebrations when they heard that Poornima is going to have a kid again. It was the most awaited arrival for Rahul because, he had been longing to have a sibling whom he can play with, whom he can boss over and whom he can take responsibility of.

Jan 2^nd 2010 – Poornima started having terrible pain and discomfort and since Pramod was relatively new to driving, he was panicked to drive his wife to the hospital. So, they called in for the 108 service and the ambulance was at their doorstep within 10 minutes. All three of them, Pramod, Rahul and Poornima started to the hospital. The paramedics were assuring that Poornima was fine and in another 15 minutes, she would be in the hospital. But for Poornima, 15 minutes seemed like 15 hours and she was unable to bear the pain anymore.

It was a Friday evening, and everyone was in a mood to rush home as early as possible.

After 10 minutes, the ambulance carrying Poornima was stuck in a traffic jam and came to a halt. Pramod who was sitting behind along with Poornima and Rahul could not see what was the reason for the jam. He peeped through the side window, and saw that the vehicles were all over the road.

Pramod waited for 5 minutes and then got down to see what the issue was. As he headed towards the front of the ambulance, he saw that there was a group of people who was watching something. Suspecting an accident, he moved close enough to get a clear view. And then, he saw that it was not an accident, but a petty street quarrel.

There was a young man who must have been in his early 20s and another person who appeared to be in late 60s. Both of them were shouting at the peak of their voices and all the people who were watching them appeared to be enjoying the live tamasha. Some of them, he realized were even becoming active participants of the argument.

He then went back to the ambulance and checked with the driver if there was any alternate route to reach hospital. But, the driver said, it was impossible to move out of this jam, because, the vehicle was in the middle of the road and was encircled by the other vehicles from all the sides. The paramedics now called Pramod and told him that Poornima’s condition was turning critical as she started bleeding and her pulse started declining.

Pramod immediately headed towards the place of argument and started requesting people to move aside and give way to the ambulance. But the spectators were so engrossed in watching the show that no one appeared to be bothered by what Pramod was saying.

He then squealed into the crowd, caught hold of the young man and requested him to let go of the other person. The young man turned to Pramod and with a harsh tone replied that he was not the one to withdraw till the old uncle gave him the money for the broken headlights of his new bike. Pramod turned to the old uncle and requested him saying that there was an ambulance behind and it was carrying his wife whose condition was serious. The old man gave an even more shocking answer. He said that if his wife was important to Pramod, so was his scooter to him. Pramod turned to the young man and volunteered to pay for the loss, but neither the young man nor the old man nor the crowd was ready. Some people even raised their voice in protest when Pramod said this. Knowing it’s of no use, he returned to the ambulance and the paramedics now said that, Poornima was drifting into coma due to the blood loss and low blood pressure. Rahul who was still too small to understand the gravity of the situation asked his dad when will his baby brother be out and when can he play with him.

The deadlock situation unwounded only after half an hour and by this time, Poornima was completely unconscious. Pramod was holding his tears and watching at the pulse meter that he noticed was going down and down. 68,67,65,59…

Paramedics were doing their best to prevent the pulse from drifting further. After one and a half hour, the ambulance reached the hospital. As the hospital staff rushed to the ambulance and they opened the door, Pramod heard a beep that was the most dreadful beep of his life. It was coming from the machine that was connected to Poornima and it went blank. All the curves that were being displayed till then vanished and now there was only a simple straight line and the loud beep. The staff nevertheless took her to the emergency ward and tried restoring her pulse, but it was in vain. Pramod who by now understood what was on to him and his little kid’s life silently took Poornima’s body and traveled back in the same ambulance that drove them to the hospital.

While returning too, he encountered numerous traffic jams, but he was no longer interested in resolving those, because, the irreparable loss had already occurred.

Tears dropped from Pramod’s face only when little Rahul asked him, “Where is the baby brother, when can I play with him?”

Do any of us have an answer for Rahul’s question?

Brandpotion- Creative minds to understand brands

Kismat Connection

22/04/2010 – I came out from SVM@36 in Jubilee hills. If the A/C inside made feel like heaven, the sun outside started showing me the hell. I knew I wasn’t strong enough to withstand the hell, so decided to move to a nearby bus shelter. I think now it was the turn of APSRTC to tease me. I waited for ½ hour and still not a single bus turned up. So, I quickly made up my mind and decided to get into the Ferraris of Hyderabad (share autos). Soon, an auto stopped by and I got into it. It was then, for the first time that I saw her. Oh my God! She was so simply awesome, so beautiful that I felt I was destined to meet her. I was lucky enough to get a seat right next to her. To her other side, there was a man and from their conversations, I understood, he was her father. Oops! One thing that I never understand is: why girls and fathers go out together. When I become a father, I would never go out with my daughter, esp. if she is beautiful, because, I do not want to deprive young boys of their enjoyment.

Well, coming back to the girl whom I met, she had the looks of a fresh rose, smell of a sweet jasmine and eyes of a big pink lotus. Though I am not one of those types who usually stares at girls, with this girl, I could just not avoid looking at her. And then, I heard her speaking to her dad, and instantaneously her lips drew my attention. It’s my best bet, that even Aishwarya’s or Priyanka’s lips would be of no match to hers. As she uttered each word, it was like enjoying first monsoon after hot summer. Her words were making my heart not just dance, but dance with joy.

Even while I was relishing her sweet voice, I noticed her fingers. There was an instant urge in me to catch her hand, but then the civilized person in me controlled my feelings. Our auto slowly reached hitec city and my destination was just 2 stops away. I wanted to seek her attention and know her more before I got down. This time, silly heart won over my civilized mind, and I instantly caught her hand. Like a bose audio turned on in its full volume, she started crying. Her dad who was looking outside till then, immediately and looked at me with suspicion. But then he soon realized that I was just holding her hand, he gave a polite smile. Motivated with his smile, I asked him what was his daughter’s name. He said its “Tara”. Just when i was about to ask more questions, the share auto driver shouted “Kondapur”. I know it was time for me to part with this lovely angel, so got down, paid my money and gathered all the guts to ask the final question

“How old is she”. Her dad responded,“ she is going to turn 4 day after tomorrow”.

Oh my cute lovely 4-year-old angel, I can still feel her presence….

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The Oppressed

Today I am going to advocate for a section of society who has been “the oppressed” for centuries unknown and yet this oppression goes unnoticed by everyone.

I can probably understand and empathize with them more than anyone else because, even I once belonged to the same society.

No! I am not going to talk about any caste, sex or region here. On the contrary I am referring to another weaker section of the society- the society of lean people.

To elucidate further, here it goes…

I still remember very vividly the good old days in school, when school started after prolonged summer vacation. All of us returned to school with new school dresses, new bags, water bottles etc. The first day of the class was usually, a standard exercise followed by the class teachers of almost all the classes. It was the seating arrangement exercise where all of us were made to sit in the benches according to our heights - three per bench. My entire problem started only when my turn came. Only in the bench in which I sat, teachers used to push another extra candidate. Year after year, teachers changed, but this exception in my case continued. Not a single year passed, where I sat on my bench comfortably like everyone else.
My troubles were not restricted to school. Back home, whenever it was a travel time, like all other kids, I used to look forward to traveling. But, never I had a full seat during a bus journey. I’m not sure if it was special love or a reason to save ticket (though my instincts support the second reason) I was put on someone’s lap or was forced to sit between any two elders who traveled with me.

I was always hopeful that one day, I would have a seat in a classroom or in a bus.
But the saga of sharing space continued even in my graduation days. We belong to the older generation of graduation kids, who never had separate bikes or cars. So, whenever it was a movie time, we had to take autos and travel. We were a group of 5 girls – a number that was more for one auto and less for 2 autos. Since we always fell in short of funds, we would choose one auto over two and again, it was me who sat in the lap. I had a company this time though. Sometimes, I was lucky enough and got a relatively spacious place to sit – the side of the auto. I know! A weird place to sit, but only a person like me understands the comfort in such a place when compared to sitting on someone’s lap.
Well, one might call all the above incidents as cases of adjustment, then why am I referring people like me as the oppressed?

You have read through to know it…


After my graduation, I joined an IT firm in Mumbai and used to travel often to Hyderabad. On one such occasion, I got into the train at the Chatrapathi Sivaji Terminus (CST). My seat number was 62. The train started and all the seats in our coupe except one seat number 60 were full. I was surprised that for once in my life, I got lucky and would be able to sit comfortably. I settled down quickly and started reading the novel. The train slowly reached Pune and then I realized that there was a huge, gigantic figure standing in front of me. Oh, the person was so weirdly huge that he could have been easily mistaken for an alien. And then it was a joke that destiny played on me. The person’s seat number was 60.
How naïve I was for having trusted my luck with respect to sharing space. The person sat down in the allocated seat .The other person who was already sitting in seat number 61 was of considerable size too. So, they both together took advantage of my size and slowly pushed me. After a little unnoticed wrestling war, they were both successful in pushing me and squeezing me to the corner.

Isn’t it a clear case of exploitation of my lean structure?

The other case that made me realize my vulnerability is the share auto scene.

Hyderabad is quite famous for share autos. These autos though designed for a seating capacity of 3, the drivers here got innovative and remodeled these autos such that they carry 7 or at times even 8. One must be wondering how can a three-seater auto suffice seven or eight people. Well, that’s where people like me come into picture. The auto drivers count on the fact that the world is full of oppressed people like me.

Once I got into one such share auto and as luck would have it, as soon as I got into the auto another fatso huge aunty got into it. Her size intimidated me, so naturally I moved and adjusted so that she had adequate place to sit. The auto started and so did my troubles. As auto moved, the fat aunty started pushing me hard with her huge b**s. I was passive till a point when I realized that if I did not react, I would fall out of the auto. Out of the fear and anger that I would fall from the auto, I raised my voice and asked her to move a little. The response that I received from her not only hurt my ego forever but also forced me to take a resolution. When I asked her to move, she responded back in the most sarcastic voice,“ intha bakka ga unnavu, neeku kuda place kavalamma. Em padipovule, kurcho.” It means, “you are so lean, do you also need more place. It’s ok! Sit. You wont fall outside.”


I am not sure if it was the tone or the truth, but her dialogues made me realize how vulnerable I was. Be it a school bench or a bus or a train or a share auto, lean people were oppressed and were susceptible to such unscrupulous acts everywhere. So, I decided that day, that I will not allow this to continue with me forever. And so, I did something, which I feel every lean person should do.

I……….

I……….

I………..







I PUT ON WEIGHT. ☺))

The Haunting

It’s 6.30 p.m. I decide to call it a day and start from office. I get into my brand new Hyundai i10 Sportz, turn on the integrated music system, tune into 98.3 F.M, switch on the A.C and start driving. I reach J.N.T.U and as luck would have it, the signal turns red just when my turn comes. I press the breaks and my car comes to a halt. At the signals, I see the regular scenes of chaotic traffic jams, tired employees crossing roads everywhere, street hawkers trying to sell all they could as it is the close of business hour.

And then, amidst this busy environment, I see a small cute little girl running. Pre-occupied in her own world, she appeared jubilant, excited yet serene. She was running around with bare feet, to catch up with her friends. There was something about her, which caught my attention. As I watch her, the cacophony of honking distracts me and then, I realize that the signal turned green. I change the gear, press the accelerator and cross the road.

Finally, after one and a half hours of strenuous journey, I reach home. I decide to take the staircase and slowly reach 2nd floor where my deluxe flat is. I walk in the corridor and once I reach my flat, I grope inside my big Baggot leather handbag and successfully pull out my keys bunch. As I try unlocking the door, I hear a huge laughter. I turn around to see who it is and it’s again her. I see her sitting on the floor and playing with her friends while an old woman who appears to be her grand mother struggles to feed her the banana. Perplexed to find her in my apartments, I step inside my flat. I turn the light on and the sounds of calmness in my house win over the small girl’s laughter. It’s two weeks that my Husband left to U.S and I already feel the boredom. I switch the T.V on and aimlessly browse through all the channels, watch the news for some time and then decide its time to prepare dinner. I do not fall in the category of people who love eating; I eat for mere survival whereas my Husband is a great lover of food. So after he left, I do not have any interest or motivation to cook variety. I head towards the big double door refrigerator and open the door. As I look for vegetables, I notice something. Oh my God! It’s the Sundae Family pack ice cream which we had bought 2 weeks ago, I got just too busy and forgot eating it. Looks like there was a power failure for a long time, the ice cream not only melted but also leaked down the chill tray. Having no choice left, I go into the kitchen to get the wiping cloth.

Unbelievable, but I see her yet again. The little girl is standing in the corner of my kitchen, licking the cover of a small vanilla ice cream cup. Cute she was with ice cream all over her face. Before I ask her who she is and what is she doing in my kitchen, she vanishes. Strange hallunications… I think I should owe it all to my project stress…
I pick up the wiping cloth and clean up the mess. I am so tired that I decide not to cook anything but drink a glass of milk and sleep. I boil the milk, drink it and decide to go to bed early, as I have to start my day early tomorrow.

I make my bed, switch off the lights and stretch myself. It’s early March, but summer started showing its power already. Unable to bear the heat, I decide to turn the A.C on. I search for the a/c remote, but unable to locate it in the darkness, I switch on the lights and try looking for it through those unfolded comforters on my bed. My search operation goes in vain, so I decide to sleep in the next bedroom. All our bedrooms are air-conditioned. In fact our deluxe flat has all facilities (except for the fact that there are no people nor there is time to relish these luxuries).

I step into the other bedroom and this time I first ensure that the remote of this a/c is there and the a/c is operational. I go to bring my comforter and when I re-enter the bedroom, I notice that the room is full with 5 people sleeping down on the floor. People whose faces I am unable to recognize, but yes, one face does appear familiar. This is impossible! It’s the little girl again. I see her sleeping next to another boy who should be around 4 years elder to her. They are both pushing each other so that the stronger one gets to sleep in front of the small air cooler. The girl finally wins over him, not with muscles but with her mouth. Suddenly, I realize that all these unknown people are sleeping in MY bedroom. I get pissed off by these continuous, strange encounters and decide to shout at them. I enter the room but yet again, I see no one in the room and its absolutely silent. I get irritated but feel helpless, so get onto the bed and quietly go to sleep.

Entire night, the little girl with her bright eyes, lively face, and broad smile continues to haunt me in my dreams. Is it a ghost? Or some kind of black magic someone is trying to play? Can’t be! I am not a person who believes in all these, but now I start getting anxious. I try diverting my thoughts and finally fall asleep around 2.00 in the midnight.

Next morning, after snoozing the alarm six times, I finally manage to wake up at 6.45 a.m. I go straight to the washroom to wash my face and when I look into the mirror, instead of my image, I find hers.
It is only then, that I realize. I recognize that smile, I recognize those naughty looks and I have known this face for years. Because, that face is my own face when I was 8 years old. The 8-year-old face never traveled in car, never had a family pack ice cream, never slept in an air-conditioned room, but always had a bright face and an untiring smile. Over the years, as I grew, I probably got busy in my daily chores, so left that face behind. My soul misses that face so started haunting me.

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What have I given to the dance?

I am a Kuchipudi dancer and have been learning dance for the past 10 years. I hail from a family of technocrats with no background of traditional art forms. However, in my journey in this art form for a decade, I came to a self-realization and hence, a confession to make.
As a child, I was very naughty and hyperactive. Since dance involved lot of physical movements and classical dance in particular had an attractive costume and make-up, I started liking it like any other child. On one night, when we returned home after watching the movie ‘Srutilayalu,’ I tried dancing on toe (like the boy in the film) and broke my arm. Though everyone else considered this as “just another naughty act” of mine, my dad could sense the interest I was developing in dance. He noticed that, though in nature, I was mischievous, when it came to dance, for example watching a classical dance related movie or a show, I was very well behaved and disciplined. Thus, at the age of 7, I was first exposed to Kuchipudi but I learnt it for a very short span of 6 months. Since our family was full of doctors and engineers, my attention was naturally drawn towards academics.

In 2000, after my 12th class, when I joined my Engineering, I again wanted to learn dance, but this time it was for a hobby. I met my Guru Maddali Usha Gayatri and then my life changed for better. It was she who guided me in realizing where my true happiness lies.

I started learning and performing and like any other dance student, gave my Rangapravesam (Arangetram) in 2003.

As time passed, I gradually started realizing that dance was acting like a "Sanjeevani" to me. Whenever I was feeling depressed or sad, it was dance that brought composure in my behavior. All my mood-swings vanished and my mood brightened the very next moment I entered my dance class. On one such occasion, I was extremely depressed over a personal issue and was unable to get over it for many days. At the same time, we had an important dance program and I had to perform. I concentrated on the performance, and it was after that night’s performance, for the first time after several days, I felt relieved from the mental agony I was undergoing. Dance was indeed a panacea to me. At that moment, I decided never to quit dancing.

I completed my engineering, joined an IT firm in India, met my life partner there and got married to him in 2006. I am lucky to have lovely in-laws who are very supportive. With their encouragement, I continued learning and performing. In 2007, I left for the US for a year on a work assignment. It was the first time after learning dance that I left my Guru, my dance and that environment. I felt extremely handicapped and the only access I had were to the videos on 'you tube,' where I watched other dancers performing. It hit me hard and I was extremely unhappy. Yes, I started earning in dollars, but then there was no increment in the happiness of my soul. Again it was a realization for me and it was dance that aided me in realizing where my real happiness lies.

When I returned from US, I started going back to my classes and started performing again, this time with more dedication and commitment, but still expecting something from it.

In the past few months, on various occasions, I interacted with renowned gurus of previous generations and it changed my horizon towards dance. I slowly realized that all the time I learnt art only in terms of expecting something from it. If sometimes, it was to see my dad happy, some other time it was to pursue it as a hobby, and worst of all sometimes even because it gave me an identity in my social circles. It was always me first and then dance. It was a terrible realization that I was in fact exploiting the art form, thereby polluting it. A sense of guilt engulfed me and then I felt sorry for the art form because, day in and day out, thousands and thousands of us are exploiting it. No artiste can ever grow bigger than the art itself.

Today, after a decade long journey, after self-introspection, I am affirmative in my thinking and I do not look for "What is dance giving me," rather try to find "What am I giving to dance?"

Are we living?

Today its 2 days after our second wedding anniversary and i started rethinking about the series of happenings in our life, in general about lives of any two techies

I started wondering ,if in the process of running for future we have forgotten living in present.

Work was earlier a part of our daily chore but now work and life have become two disjoint sets. Most of us are ending up in the mire of working-earning-working
but are we living?

We are all building big houses but we do not have a home to live in.
A house becomes a home only when people reside in it.

Are we just co-existing? Most of us come onsite or work more hours to earn, to save for our future or to have better career prospects.But is this all life?

Why do we miss our childhood or college days? Why do we wait for a weekend? Why do we have monday blues?

Few questions like:

1. How many times we had spent a peaceful evening with our dear ones just for the sake of spending time. (Mind you,without discussing about project/office/housing loans etc. )?
2. Last time we spent eating/drinking a cup of tea together with our dear ones?
3. How many times have we taken our children to a normal park ( not the shopping malls etc) just for a walk?
4. How many of us have visited a normal industrial exhibition?
5. How many times, have we actually taken our parents to a hospital when they have fallen sick? ( not visiting them, staying aside and taking an appointment and taking them)

As a child , i clearly remember the following:

1. My Dad taking me to a public library
2. My mom buying summer games, sitting along with us and playing during the summer holidays
3. Visiting grand parents and relatives' homes during festivals/holidays.

4.Playing holi, flying kits, helping mom prepare home made sweets during festivals

Today they are all replaced by :

1.Enjoying weekend parties in office.
2.Sending E-greetings and splash colors & fly kites in emails.
3.Buying ready made sweets or take home a company gifted "Glittery diwali gift".
4.Buying a calling card to India to talk oversees.

The most frequent words which actually are dictating our
lives today are "Career prospects" , " EMIs", "Onsite opportunities", " increments".

Its become such a vicious circle that almost everyone is in it and the ones who are not are actually looked upon as exceptions. And since exceptions are a minority, they tend to incline with the rule and enter the same vicious circle.

I am not an anti - IT person , nor am I a critic. In fact I love my job and I'm happy with the amount of opportunities IT has created and the economic changes IT has brought into the society but at the same time I wanted to remind each of us that tomorrow, when we are 40 or 60 years in age and we want to pen down sweet memories in our lives, the dairy would stop at the point when our jobs have started and the actual life has stopped.