Tempest in a Tea Cup

The Continental Airlines frisked the esteemed ex-president and great Indian scientist Dr. Abdul Kalam and he blew it off as part of their job, and the whole news died a swift death (though I was honestly flabbergaster and enraged by the incident). The horrible thing was that it took place in the Indian soil and the great man was undettered.

Shah Rukh Khan goes to US and when he is detained for a measly 2 hours and questioned, he creates such a hullobullo that even the Civil Aviation minister Praful patel had to threaten with the wrath of God.

Now SRK has been going around making grand statements about never setting his foot on the US Soil again (until the next time he has to visit there, ofcourse) And he has actually given some kind of press statement about wanting to frisk Angelina Jolie, who is expected to come to India in the near future, to show how traumatic the whole process was for him .. DUH UH!!!!

Come on gimme a break.. can anyone in the press not see the difference between true maturity and greatness and the spoilt tantrum of a popularity hungering actor?

PS: Really, I think this is SRK's excuse of putting into words his fantasies about Angelina Jolie, rather than any actual revenge against anyone.. What say? *smirk*

Harassment at work

Are you being harassed at work? Do you even realize that you might be a victim of such harassment?

Let me ask you a few questions then…

=> Do you feel uneasy coming to office and meeting with your peers and boss?
=> Do you hate going out anywhere, even to a lunch, with them?
=> Do you feel like you have been trapped with no means out every time you come to work?
=> Do your peers or boss, make sexual based jokes and comment on women/ men’s physical attributes in mixed company, making you feel uncomfortable?
=> Do they tease you “with” other men/ women, at your work place, to the extent that you are not comfortable talking to that person even on official business, making your work life and efficiency suffer?
=> Do they use unparliamentary words that leave you feeling disgusted?
=> Do you have to worry about your clothes as you will be getting off colour comments on them?
=> Do they find nothing wrong with their behavior despite your telling them you are not amused by it?
=> Have you or your associates been penalized for complaining about this behavior?

These are just a paltry set of questions, but if your answer is YES to any/all of the above questions then you are being harassed at work place. And its time to take some action!
It is unethical, unprofessional and definitely illegal.

Why am I suddenly talking about this topic? I read this great book called “ Emotional Intelligence to Survive and Prosper – Coping with Toxic Managers, Subordinates… and other difficult people” By Roy H. Lubit, M.D., Ph.D.

Its only as I read this book that I realized some of the things I was feeling was not just unique to me, but an universal problem. Ironically, I didn’t even realize what I was facing until I read the book, thinking that I was just me who is feeling miserable.

Do you know that upto 50% women and 10-20% men are harassed at their work place.

Please put a stop to this. Its your right!

My foray into violence

Hmm!!! Can I call it a foray... not sure, but this is the first time I came eyeball to eyeball with violence.

I have written about how much violence disgusts, pains, shocks blah blah blah before. But for the first time it frightened me and I was not even directly involved.

I never realized how much the TV and News papers distances the happenings around the world until yesterday.

I was leaving for home in a metro bus listening to Jagjit Singh, when I realized some disturbance behind me. I was too immersed in my own thoughts to even turn and see.

The stage came and the TC got in to check our tickets when there was a shout and the sounds of a person getting hit. There was this guy being hit and kicked by three other guys. And the hitee was actually inciting them to hit him some more. Then the four guys got back into the bus and the hitee started loudly demanding that the bus be turned towards the nearest police station. When the conductor did not heed, he went straight to the driver and started pulling him off his seat.

Now another concerned traveler got into this foray and started pulling the hitee away. When he refused to listen, the traveler too started hitting the man.

By now my eyes started burning and I realized that I was watching the whole thing without blinking. So I blink, only to find that the hitee had pulled out a knife and was brandishing it in front of the traveler, threatening to stick it into him.
My God! Do things like this actually happen in real life???

The hitee was boasting that he had been to jail twice before for knifing someone and did not have any problems going once more and screaming at the traveler for hitting him.
And in another blink, the traveler had pulled the knife from the hitee and thrown the man out of the running bus. The hitee calmly got up, brushed himself and went away.

I was staring at the whole thing wide eyed, open mouthed and scared witless.

Trust me when I say, violence in real life is much more horrific and unrealistic than when seen through the TV. *phew*

Idyllic weekend

Think of this….

A Saturday evening, you have pop corn and juice and pillows all set up. Its raining outside and you can smell the wet earth (mmm!). You have nothing in your mind except that its Sunday the next day and no work. The lights in your room are dim and the system is showing movies …

1. Pride and prejudice (How many ever times I read and see the movie, I adore Darcy.. clichéd but so what ?
:-)… I even had my copy of the pride and prejudice and was checking out my favorite quotes)
2. Emma (Another Jane Austen. Not quite my favorite but still a fine one)
3. Ever After – A Cinderella story
4. You’ve got mail (God knows how many times I have seen this movie.. love Meg Ryan in this)
5. Kate and Leopold (Hugh Jackman. Need I say more..sighhhh!!!)
6. The Wedding Date (The hero tells the heroine and I quote " I would rather fight with you than make love with anyone else"... wowow!)

… dreaming a bit, smiling a bit and loafing a bit. :-)

And lets not forget the books rented from the library ….

Oh Yeah! Idyllic indeed… and this is exactly what I did last saturday :-) ...

Priorities Priorites!!!!

My mobile phone service is prepaid and in November I had to recharge it. The service provider told me not to recharge for a large amount as December was just around the bend and there would be some great offers for Christmas and new year.

hmm!!! sounded sensible and so I agreed and went my way.

December came rolling and Christmas came , no new offers... New Year came.. no new offers.. Pongal came .. no New offers

I was getting desperate and recharged my mobile anyway.

Then February came whistling along and my mobile literally burst with messages about all those great offers that were promised...

Yep!!! Valentine's day was on the brink and there would be loads of people wanting to talk to their sweethearts....

What were two bit holidays like Christmas, New Year or Pongal when compared to Valentine's day...

Sigh!!! As I said Priorities Priorities!!!! J J

Confused and sad

As I sit at work, I look down a precipice, towards which two people, with whom I am in no way connected, have pushed me.

Like vultures waiting for the wounded to die and pecking at them to hasten the process, there were so many taking great glee in the situation.

From a valued worker being wooed by so many, I am suddenly tainted (Hmph!!!) - who cares that I had nothing to do with it.There are so many in my boat, but I am not sure if this is a blessing or a curse, as all of us are being pushed along the wild ride and none of us have the rudder. Every day brings new surprises and not sure who to turn to or trust.

Will I have to jump? Can I make it safely to the other side? Do I have a parachute that will save me otherwise?

And just to make me feel even more comfortable are the curious who want to know what will happen to me? The ones with concern, I understand , but its the ones with glee or pity in their voice that irritate.
I am furious, but not sure against whom?

Then I look around, there are breadwinners with their whole families dependent on them, some of them with big loans or awaiting their marriage. hmm!!! Guess I am better placed after all.

Friends advice me to not worry, after all I have no control over what is happening. Does that not add to the over all confusion? Are they really so cool? Are their paths clear, where mine is confused? Or are they just asking me not to say all the things they fear, for it makes it even more real?

But life revolves around hope and that is what we are all clutching at.

So here I am looking down the precipice and telling myself "This too shall pass".

India - Abroad

Slumdog Millionaire has won accolades and awards everywhere. I was delighted for the whole team, especially Rahman and Pookutty. It’s a rags-to-riches story, which has portrayed poverty quite dramatically.

While poverty is a facet of every nation, I am saddened that most movies taken about India, by foreigners, deal only with its poverty.

It made me wonder whether people outside ever get a chance to realize that there are so many things other than snake charmers and beggars (of which there, really, are not that many) in India. Its rich culture and languages, varied art forms, great architecture and its wide variety of people to name a few.

Until today, when I got a chance to converse with some Brazilian colleagues …
Do you have any idea how many non-Indians enjoy Indian music, especially the Hindustani and Semi-classical styles?
I am told, in Brazil, India is a trend now. One of their more popular soaps is based on India(ns).( Nice isn’t it?!)
A colleague from Brazil and I were discussing accents, when he said, despite UK having colonized India for so many years, you all have still maintained your individuality and have your own accent. (Hey! So true! Why have I never thought about it along those lines??)

Meanwhile I am learning a little of Portuguese, so I shall bid you adieu at this point and say até mais (see you later)... hehehe