Ethics Crisis

On a usual trip like many others he was carrying a truck full of cold drink bottles in the streets of Pune city, to be distributed to some shops in the city. All of a sudden one of the tyres on rear left burst and the truck listed on the left side. All the cold drink bottles were scattered all over the road. Quite a few were still intact. The poor fellow rushed to the nearby shops to call for some help.

Meanwhile a big crowed gathered around the truck. It wasn't to help the person in problem, but to loot the unprotected goods. Yes, within minutes all the intact bottles of cold drink were stolen by the mob. Some people on two wheelers, who could easily afford to buy the cold drink, were no exception. All the standards and poors were together in the act.

Another fine day, a super market shop lost its power supply in the late evening hours. Due to some technical problem it took some 10 odd minutes to start the generator and restore the lights. And when the lights flashed, the owner was staring at a nightmare. 70-80 % of his shop was empty. Again a mob of common shoppers looted the place.

Charging expenses, many a times supported with fake bills or making the entry as working hour when the person was on leave is a commonplace thing in big corporates.

Doing businesses of millions of rupees with black money transactions are in daily practice of many businessmen, starting from the smallest shop round the corner to the gigantic corporations.

Anyone who has stood as a supervisor for examinations will have a bundle of stories of cheating in exams. Students don't feel the urge to earn knowledge and test themselves. Instead they are completely oriented towards earning marks, by hook or by crook.

Each day open any news paper or switch on any of the news channel and it wouldn't happen that you don't hear about corruption. The scope is starting from a bribe of a few hundred bugs taken by a traffic police to multi billion rupees scams of topmost government officials and ministers.

All the cases mentioned above point out to only one thing. i.e. currently we are in an era of ethics crisis. Though I am quoting the instances of India, the situation isn't different in many of the countries,including developed countries like US.

Its the time when majority of people have no value for values and ethics. Majority of people don't find anything wrong in breaking rules. Things like corruption are so common that they doesn't count anymore unless amounts are really very huge.

Indian mythology has a very specific term for this era, i.e. Kaliyug. And it seems that we are right in the middle of this. If we go with this concept of Kaliyug, then we, the human beings have came a very long way starting from Satyayug up to this era.

What has changed so much along the way? We say and believe that we have “Evolved” over the period of time. We have developed so many machines, technology, weapons and this and that. But have we lost a very basic thing called as satisfaction? Sometimes I feel that an animal in jungle is wiser than humans as he knows when to stop eating. But we, the humans have lost that sense. The extra intelligence that hums have got as a gift is being wasted and we are doing irreparable damages to the nature around us. These are the consequences of nothing but the ethics crisis in the larger picture.

At the very first we have to learn to be content to come out of this ethics crisis. We have to open up our minds to empathize with others. We must learn to map our every act to a genuine need and critically differentiate it from the greed. This can take us out of this era, and head back to the beginning of Satyayug, as per the forecast of Indian Mythology. Sounds too theoretical and imaginative, isn't it? Yes it is so. But I belief that dreams are meant to be realized. Lets take a vow to meet the target of 100% ethical behavior.

How Is IT - 2

A new day and a new week started for me with the ring of alarm clock at 6:00 AM on Monday morning. Though I was excited to go to office and live my passion of being IT professional, sleep was dearer for me, specially it being the month of December. So, as another part of routine, I snoozed the alarm for 5 min and continued on the trail of sleepy eyes. Finally the 5 min went by in less than a minute and I pushed myself out of the bed.

Following the daily routine I took bath and got ready with neatly ironed clothes. In the mean time I got a call from cab driver that he was reaching my house in next 5 min. Then swiftly I wore spectacles. Slid the phones, wallet, handkerchief and keys in the pocket. Then wore the ID card and started off for the day. I always prefer to climb down 3 floors, especially in morning hours.This doesn't disturb the peace of the morning time by loud noise of the lift and also gives a good kick start for the day.

As I gazed out of the window in the passage, I could see the cab waiting in front of the gate of my apartment. I quickly reached ground floor in a few seconds and got into the back seat of the car, while greeting the driver with a “Good Morning” as per daily routine. As I got into the cab, I casually gazed at the window of the passage of my floor and I saw my mom in there looking at me with a smile on her face. I waved my hand to her and the cab started moving.

Though the cab caught up on the road my mind was still left behind at the sight of my mom looking at me with her eyes filled with pride. The daily routine of going to office by the company paid cab meant a lot to my mom. Maybe it meant as a sign of my success for her.

In fact it wasn't just my mom. My dad has one uncle, a man in 80's who spent his whole life working very hard and barely saving enough for a two room budget-flat in outskirts of Pune. When I go to visit him, almost every time he asks me if the cab comes and picks me up from the doorsteps. Each time he feels good and proud to hear the “Yes”. For a man like him who is going all over on a cycle or in the bus till date, its almost like a dream that company sends a cab for pick up each day.

Many thoughts were gushing through my mind. Is it really so distinguishing to be going in a company-paid vehicle? Am I doing something really worth of this luxury? Certainly there are people in other professions who must be working much harder than me and are getting paid much lesser. This disparity in society disturbs me. The huge, plush offices of IT companies, the huge cafeterias, well dressed people going here and there is like a different world for the people outside. But this is the routine for people like us.

Many people in IT, even many joining newly, seem to swell due to the way other people look up at them. And that’s the point of caution. One should never forget that the luxury and big monthly credits in bank account that we get are based on the simple principle of demand and supply. Otherwise there isn't any difference which distinguishes people in IT. Being rooted to the ground while flying high is very important.

“Sir, please sign this paper” driver was handing over the trip sheet to me for signature as cab was entering the premises of my office. I signed it and gave it back to him. After thanking him, I went to lift lobby and waited for the list to come. Another hectic but still enjoyable work day in IT was about to begin. That's how IT is!!

The Jeans

I am very much thankful to the western world, especially America, for popularising an amazing type of cloth in the world, i.e. Jeans or Denim. Though I respect Indian traditional cloths a lot, the pleasure of being in denims is unmatched.

The biggest advantage of jeans is that the use count doesn't appear on the clot. So you are free to wash it as and when you wish. Of course this doesn't mean that I am in favour of being dirty, but the jeans simply don't get dirty for a very long time. The second advantage is that neither you get bored of wearing it repeatedly, nor the people get bored to see you in the same jeans again and again. In fact I know a few people whom I haven't ever seen wearing any other type of trousers.

Jeans give a cool, stylish, casual type of appearance and at the same same time are very comfortable. Its the form of cotton that personally I would prefer over any other kind of fabric. A long lasting Gray coloured denim is my favourite sub-category in that.

Though I thanked Americans in initial lines, the Wiki gave some interesting information regarding jeans which is worth sharing here. Jeans initially emerged from the cities of Genoa, Italy and Nimes, France. The words “Jeans” and “Denim” are in fact derived from the names of these cities.

I have one memory from childhood about jeans. I was fond of jeans since I was a small kid. I used to like wearing a particular jeans, practically every day. When I was on the ship with dad, one fine day I irritated my mom and dad to the extreme level by shouting and crying for the cloth. My dad, who is always a calm person, lost his temper that day. I still remember the two red lights glowing in one of the dark machinery rooms on the ship, which helped him to frightened me and eventually calm me down. Today I can't stop myself from laughing at my silly behaviour and the silly thing that frightened me that day. Mom - dad I am sorry for being a bad child that day.

How is IT

I graduated from the university with the degree of Bachelor of Engineer in 2008 with computers as major. It was the year of global economic crisis. Thus, many of the IT companies, who had recruited big flocks of students from campuses, held back their offers. At that point we realised all of a sudden that we are producing disproportional number of engineers out of our universities.

The second thing that came into picture was that a major chunk of these engineers was joining IT industry. The only single motive behind it was the money for most of the people. I consider myself to be fortunate enough for choosing IT industry out of my own interest and not for the digits in the salary.

The matter of fact is that the salaries in IT are puffed up numbers. As compared to other industries the salaries in IT in India might be marginally on higher edge. Especially in recent days the gap is very little, if any. However being in wrong industry for a wrong reason costs a lot. I see many of the frustrated people around me each passing day. The most unfortunate part is that these people come to know hat they are in wrong place after spending a few years in IT. But even at this stage they are unsure of what is their skill and what is their liking.

In my opinion our education system is to be blamed for that. We are never taught about how to choose a career. We are hardly given any opportunity to discover ourselves, our hidden talents. For most of us our career is directly mapped to the grades that we obtain in the decisive exams. However, expecting this kind of luxury in the country struggling for the literacy rate of 74% is unfair.

The youth of my country should change the approach in this aspect. Discovering new fields and being aligned to the stream of one's interest always yields fruitful results. There was a famous film called “3 idiots” woven around the same message which rocked box office a few years ago. This attitude of following one's liking is what we should definitely learn from western world. I hope that the steps of economic reforms being taken by the new government of my country would create enough lucrative opportunities for the people to follow their hearts instead of following the flock.

Cycle on the Way

I had a week of very bad back pain. One day just laying down on my back I did some cycling in air and felt some relief from back pain. Bingo!! The next day I bought a bicycle at a good sum of Rs 6500 and I was riding on it to the office on the day after. After the childhood days I was on the bicycle again after almost 15 years and it was a great experience.

It’s a good idea to go to office on a bicycle, provided you are staying at a distance that you can comfortably cover on the bicycle. Also the timing at which you go to and come back from the office is also a critical factor, when you are travelling through the areas of heavy traffic in rush hours. Though it helps in rush hours to be on the bicycle as you can even use the foot paths, it’s not so easy ride on the roads with heavy traffic. On the Indian roads people have very little respect towards others driving on the road, especially if a person is on bicycle. So it’s better to avoid the traffic. You may even consider going going earlier than usual and returning earlier from the office, if that is suitable. Changing the timing like this for two or three days a week can also be a good idea.

The advantages of cycling can be numerous. First of all its good for health. A daily routine exercise like this can definitely help to keep you fit. Particularly if you are in a profession that requires you to sit in front of a desk for whole day, then this kind of exercise is must for you.

Apart from burning calories this also saves you from burning fuel for your vehicle. So, you save on the fees to the doctor by staying fit and save on the cost of fuel, a dual saving scheme!

Increasing the heart beats for a while in morning hours helps to keep you fresh and energetic throughout the day. If you are staying in a place with pleasantly cool weather, like Pune, then riding a bicycle in such a weather in early morning hours is very much enjoyable. The cool breeze hitting your face when going down a slope is an experience that cannot be explained in words. While riding a bicycle, you feel the ups and downs of the road very prominently, which you don’t even notice otherwise.

Personally I like to enjoy the open air bicycle ride against cycling in the enclosed chamber of the gym. Another advantage of cycling to the office is that you cannot give up half way, as you have to reach to the office. This is a good motivational factor which is absent when cycling on a machine in the gym.

One thing that cannot be ignore is the road conditions in our country. The roads are not at all bicycle-friendly. There are hardly any places where you have a separate lane for cycles. Most of the roads are full of pit holes. Also, as mentioned previously, the attitude of the people driving on the roads is a serious issue. Having said all this, I know that there is very little that we can do about these issues. In spite of these little troubles, going to the office on a bicycle is an enjoyable experience.

I had a funny experience on the very first day when I went to the office on my bicycle. One guy with heavy personality loaded on a motor bike stopped my way. In a very concerned tone he asked, “Does cycling really help to reduce the weight? I am badly looking out for a way to reduce my weight.” That being my very first day, I could only answer as “I am doing it only out of my own interest. However, you may try it out. It’s a good option to go for.”

The Birthday Celebration

It was a cold evening of December. After sunset the temperature was falling down each day. I was standing in the balcony of my house, enjoying a cut of hot tea in the cold winter. Down in the society’s children play area it was too noisy. Kids ranging from 1 year to 12 years were enjoying various games. Some were just having fun running around the place after each other. Some were playing with ball. Some were on swing and slide. Their moms were busy in chitchat. All were dressed nicely for the special occasion of birthday of a 10 year old kid. The whole area was decorated with balloons, ribbons, etc.

Just a few feet away from the play area, next to the compound wall of the society, there was an under construction building. Workers were slogging even after the sunset. Besides the building area there was a heap of sand on which a bunch of kids of the workers was sitting. Their eyes were gazing at the kids in our society area who were of the same age as theirs.

What these kids might be thinking? Are the comparing their half torn cloths with those of the other kids? Is the variety of delicious foods arranged over the tables tempting them? Will they even get any food to fill their stomach tonight? What kind of separation is being created by the 4 feet compound wall between the next generations of our society? Will these kids even be knowing when and where they were born? Is this the kind of world expected by the creator? Definitely not!

While my mind was busy with all these questions, one more boy came running from the other side towards the heap of the sand. He had something wrapped in a newspaper in his hand. From some distance he picked up a small stone and threw it on the log of one of the kid sitting on the heap. All the kids sitting there were distracted and ran towards the boy who had just arrived. It was feast time! Bread and something that he had brought was finished in moments. All of those kids started running and playing with stones or piece of wood or whatever they found near the heap of sand.

At least at that moment it was difficult to distinguish between the happiness on the faces of kids on the either sides of the compound wall…

The Red Bus

Yesterday I was wondering through a shopping mall with my wife when we casually got into a toy shop and saw a red double Decker bus in metal. It was beautiful piece. Yellow coloured seats lined up on both the decks, a small holding bar at the entrance, a staircase going from lower deck to the upper deck, a driver with a cap sitting in driver’s seat and the words “London” painted on the outer side of the bus.

But my journey in this bus was 18-20 years backwards in time. I had the same kind of bus at that time, bought by my dad from UK. It was a very prestigious toy. In those days such toys were very rarely seen around here in India and hence were very expensive. But my dad being in merchant navy, used to buy this kind of stuff every time for me. When he used to return from the ship after 8-10 months and open his bags, my eyes used to start scanning for my toys. Some surprises like the Red Bus were always there for me to bring a wide smile on my face and a lot of happiness on dad’s.

I had a good collection of 10-15 cars, buses, hovercrafts, etc. and it was great fun to play with all of those. But the fun was more when all my cousin brothers and me, we used to fight and bargain a lot over the distribution of cars and places to setup base camp for us below the chairs and cupboards. Then these cards used to fight for us and break off their doors or wheels. In spite of being broken the cars were always beautiful.

When I was all alone it was boring. My pass time then was to take one of the cars and run it along the complete edge of the terrace. I used to imagine myself in driver’s seat and driving those cars or bus along that rough path with ups and downs.

I don’t remember when I stopped playing with those toys. But when I saw that red bus yesterday, I felt the urge to become a small boy of 10 again and hold the London red bus in hand and enjoy the joy of world tour in 500 square feet house.