In the last couple of days I was deeply pained by the following news report:
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/25734587/hardik-pandya-kl-rahul-suspended-pending-inquiry
Two talented cricketers, Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul careers ruined. I have no doubt that they have no chance of coming back into Indian national team. Thanks to some moral busybodies who just thought they did not live up to their (busybodies’) own standards of etiquette and appropriateness in a talk show. The consequence of these busybodies’ action is not for them to bear. It just harmed Pandya ( @hardikpandya7 ) and Rahul (@klrahul11) instead.
The talk show in question is Karan Johar’s talk show “Koffee with Karan”. I haven’t watched the show but did read through the reports and the transcripts of what was said. A digression: The show is through a paywall and I don’t like to spend money on it now as it doesn’t interest me. It came into my radar only because of this news report.
By the time the news blew up in social media and elsewhere, judgment was already passed by everyone and his brother – that they were wrong, sexist, racist, misogynist, etc etc. Guilty verdict pronounced and the boundaries of debate have been decided. From then on, it has been a trap where the suspensions had to be justified one way or the other because a wrong was done and they somewhat deserved this. Even I fell into this trap thinking that if they were my younger brothers, that I would advise them to use their free speech appropriately (somewhat contradicting myself on my stance of free speech that it is absolute and has no bounds). Free speech is not free speech if it has to be bounded by “appropriateness”.
So, let’s see the perceived wrong by them based on the transcripts reported by cricinfo.com : http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/25719714/hardik-pandya-apologises-regretful-behaviour-talk-show
Pandya and Rahul appeared on a popular talk show hosted by the Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar earlier this week. In it, the two cricketers were asked several questions about their personal lives and relationships.
Having mentioned that he felt West Indian in spirit earlier on the programme, Pandya answered a question about he approached women in night clubs in this way: “I like to watch and observe how they move. I’m little from the black side so I need to see how they move.”
There was another anecdote as well. “The other day there was a party,” Pandya said, “My parents are sitting there and (referring to the female guests) they’re like “Which one is yours?” and I sat with them and said “This, this this, everyone’s got something with me.”
What exactly is wrong or morally wrong in these statements is beyond me. It was a talk show known to elicit such responses with leading questions. We may not agree with the show’s content or the participants’ behavior, but that doesn’t mean the show is morally wrong or the participants have unacceptable behaviors (based on busybody standards). If the questions were perfectly acceptable, why have an issue with the answers in the same vein bordering on crass humor. The fact that the show was aired also means it was acceptable to the broadcasters. Even otherwise, no harm was done and nothing illegal was done (even by the BCCI’s own admission – their paymasters).
Sure, if you find those inappropriate, unethical, crass or whatever, criticize them, ridicule them, explain your position why, but calling for a ban (or even tacitly supporting it) is inflicting harm on them and that is immoral. Suspension is tantamount to loss of income, ignominy, and almost no other chance of coming back or redemption. They have to bear this injustice for some (what are perceived to be) “silly” comments? Besides both have apologized (not that I think it’s necessary). So, move on. Leave the kids alone and let them play their heart out for their country.
Since when as a society we have become intolerant to crass humor? Why should we expect these top class players to be bulletproof perfect? The argument that because they are celebrities, watch out their speech, so their fall/punishment is harder compared to normal people is fallacious. There was no wrong done in the first place. So, why punish them? The punishment being harder for high people and celebrities is valid when a wrong was committed in the first place.
It is this unfairness and inflicting harm on them that is immoral. Should everyone now be cautious of what they say, what they do every second of their life leaving no chance of mistakes (as perceived by the moral busybodies) and live in constant fear of consequences for something as silly as what these cricketers have expressed?
Can’t we take some jokes? Can’t we take some light-hearted banter? Have we forgotten about nuance, ambiguity, human frailty, placing the issue in proper context? We just pass snap judgment now because it doesn’t agree with our own false sense of morals? This is intolerance and when the busybodies take over telling us what we do, what to say, the joke will be eventually on us – a curtailment of our freedoms and living in constant fear of being watched (by some busybody who may not like what you do).
What should have been/should be done?
The BCCI (@BCCI) should rather take a principal stance and back it’s players than yield to witch-hunt of moral busybodies. If they are playing under the ageis of BCCI, it doesn’t mean they are slaves to it. They can simply say that they were not representing bcci on that show (bcci is not owner of that show), or whatever they say is none of BCCI’s business and they have a right to their free speech. There are usually disclaimers to this effect in general. Only reason to be sacked should be related to poor performance, and or having caused/inflicted harm harm to someone or something done illegally. It should never be based on what a few busybodies think what is appropriate. The fact that insipid shows like KJs exist is already an approval of some sort by the very same busybodies who have absolutely no problem with KJ’s questions.
Just because some people don’t like to hear doesn’t mean Pandya and Rahul have to be crucified like this. Take the joke, ridicule, insult in your social media platform, etc but sacking is purely wrong, immoral, unjust and it is our obligation to stop these moral busybodies from telling us how we should behave and what to do.
Far more reprehensible sledging happens on the ground (property of respective cricket council’s) and we are rather tolerant of it (should be). And a light hearted comment invited by a leading question in a show that elicits such a response is a big deal? Where are we headed?
In conclusion, Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul are within their right to speak freely which has not broken any rules of the show, they did not inflict harm on anyone, and neither did they break any law or BCCI rules. There is no need for us to judge and inflict harm on them. We have a freedom not to listen to their BS if think it is. They are not forcing you to follow them or listen to them (and so is KJ or his sponsor).
I sincerely hope better sense prevails and they are re-instated back into the team. Sacking them or otherwise should be solely based on performance.
Speaking to inform: Project 5. The objective of this speech is to explain an abstract theory or concept . Time limit is 8 minutes.
“Let us play a Euro (dollar) auction. I have this Euro with me, and I want you to bid for this and it will be yours. The rules of the game is that the winner will get the Euro but the second highest bidder will also pay his final bid even if he or she doesn’t get the Euro. To keep it simple, the bids should be in five cents.
Ready? Let’s see the bids…
What you would eventually notice is that, once one of the bid reaches 50 cents and if the bidding continues beyond that, the auctioneer is always to gain. That is, the total bid value is greater than the actual worth of what is being bid. If two people are bidding and one bids 50, the other 45 cents, another has to bid 55 cents (he still has a gain of 45 cents). If the other quits, he loses 45 cents, but the auctioneer has gained 5 cents. The bidding continues until each individual can afford not to lose any. However, it doesn’t stop there. Let’s see what happens in the 95/90 cents bidding scenario. For the latter to get the dollar, say he would bid 1.05 so that he can restrict his loss to 5 cents instead of 90 cents. But, the former has lost 95 cents and he would do the same and this escalates beyond control. It then becomes only a game where the players try to cut their losses relatively to each other while the auctioneer stands to gain no matter what they do. The game stops only when one of the bidders becomes bankrupt (after conceding all he has).
What are the strategies to play such a game then without losing? Just don’t play it all! Or the one who thinks is a stronger player gives an indication that he will make sure he will ruin the other parties prospects well in advance. For eg, one player could indicate that he would bid 5 cents but if anyone else bids more, he would immediately bid 1 Euro. That will already send a signal to the opponent that it is worthless to play. In this case, no one is at loss or gain – including the auctioneer. It is therefore in the interest of the auctioneer that the bidding goes in small phases, and that it never ends.
What if I say, instead of 1 Euro it is a million or billion dollar auction? Would you forgo your investment of say, 500kEuro or five hundred million by quitting midway?
Now, do you think this happens in the real world? And sure it does. This model can explain why some conflicts in the world never seem to end.
Let us consider some examples. If you see some world conflicts, you often times see three parties. To warring parties, and the other – the auctioneer who is the arms seller. Anyone know who are the biggest gainers of arms trade? They are the five permanent members of the UN security council – USA, France, UK, China and Russia.
Consider the example of India and Pakistan fighting over Kashmir. The western powers who sell arms to both countries have it in their interest that the conflict never ends. Any time Pakistan is going to be on the verge of bankruptcy, immediate aid is pumped in. Similarly, every conflict in the middle east has the same pattern. These are the countries who happen to be the biggest importers of arms from the western powers. In addition to the auctioneers, the politicians and the military heads from both warring factions are also to gain – and all at the expense of common people.
Billions and billions of dollars are spent in arms trade and conflicts. The enormous losses it causes to people is heart wrenching. Imagine the amount spent instead on eliminating poverty and raising the standards of living.
This conflict escalation need not be restricted to world problems. If we observe carefully, we can notice them in our daily life as well. Companies spending humongous amount of money on certain projects that seem to go no where, triangle love stories, and any situation where you have already spent something worthy that leads to no where.
Having an understanding of these phenomena through such simple models like dollar auction can help us comprehend its myriad ways. Once we become aware, we can then work dispassionately in matters that are in our control in order to bring any change we wish to see.
References:
http://www.deeshaa.org/dollar-auctions-and-deadly-games/
http://top5ofanything.com/list/3de39a18/Countries-that-Sell-the-Most-Arms
This is a humorous speech assignment and I gave this speech in my club contest in the humorous speeches competition for the year 2014. I eventually went on to win the division championship title.
The objective is to leave the audience with a smile.
I have a question to you all. I expect an honest answer. Deal?
Would you ever sign on any document without knowing what you are actually signing up for?
“…”.
Would you ever volunteer to enter a room that has no exit and the chances of your life turning miserable would be 50/50? “…”
You can be honest. I am not your spouse!
hmm…How many of you are married? “…”
You know what? I just did! – AND not too long ago, on August 13th, I signed my marriage certificate.
I’ve never understood how humanity has conspired itself into signing on something without knowing what it is signing up for.
On that day, the 13th of August, I was touched by an angel and became the husband to the most amazing woman I’ve ever met in my life.
After returning to Belgium, I soon began to notice the peculiar ways in which people were reacting to the news of my wedding.
First let’s start with the women.
“Oh! you are married! wow!”…There is something about marriage that makes them crazy! Their blood flows to their feet, they become red, they become so excited…
“how sweet …give me a hug…uuummmah”…wait! why is it ok to hug and kiss me after I got married!
“Where is your wife? Can I see a picture of your wife…oh how pretty!…You look so beautiful together…Oh she is not here yet. Oh! no!….you just got married and she is already not with you…ooooooo…”
I am not even sure if they take a good look at the picture at all. It doesn’t matter who is in the picture but they will say what they decided to say.
Then, the single guys,
Takes time to sink in. “What did you say?” …”Why was I not invited to the bachelor’s party dude? I thought we were buddies? I never knew about this…”.
“Well, of course…because I did not know it either four months ago”.
“What??%@$%^&”. “What’s going on here. What’s the story…”
“Story? there is no story…it was an arranged marriage. I met her, the amazing woman that she is – we liked each other – we decided to live together…
“So, why should you marry then? Why not live together first, test it out and…remember our friend Vivek? He bought a whole cow and realized he was lactose intolerant??…”
“And keep doing this a number of times until I get a statistically significant result that tells me I am ready to marry?”
“the problem is that Indian women I wanted to live with won’t let you to live in with them unless you marry them…”.
“Has anyone tried dating an Indian lady here?…
“Lucky bastards!…
aah! an unlucky one out there. “Did you stop eating meat and start smelling like spice?”
Now the reaction of married guys:
…No excitement. Exact opposite to the women. “Oh…Do I have to say something?” …“oh ok! whatever. not my problem!” …”Does he even know what is coming? “
An unrelated question? How many of you have done snorkeling or scuba diving? “…”. It all seems beautiful in the water but the trouble starts when you open your mouth. It seems as though all married men are scuba diving all the time.
Then another and this is the best, one of my colleagues at work:
“Hey welcome back! Congratulations. So, your wife is back with you?”…
“No..”
“Wow! Can it get any better! You are married, went to your honeymoon and you come back alone!. This is cool. You have all the benefits without taking its costs!”
But, the question keeps coming. What is your story? Well. The story begins now…Marriage … for me is a delightful journey of curiosity and discovering each other. I have the rest of my life time to write my story…
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I won our division championship (The script has been edited since). The video is posted below
Like I mentioned in my previous, there are times (when I have lot of time at hand) to engage in some discussions. I am part of this NGO called CORD (Chinmaya Organization for Rural Development). In that FB group there was a post on Cheryl Wu Dunn’s latest book Half the Sky, a synopsis of which in TED says that women empowerment leads to development. As I am wont to do, I suggested that women empowerment does not necessarily lead to development but vice-versa. A small discussion followed and I am listing some thoughts of mine that I wrote to a very nice lady I was interacting with through email. I also received a gift of the book’s copy from her. How cool is that? Internet is amazing. You end up meeting people randomly and somehow they leave a mark in your life-line. I am sure whenever I open Cheyl Wu Dunn’s book, or when I think about women empowerment, I am reminded of this sweet lady (name with held for privacy purposes). The post itself is below. I wanted to archive the thoughts.
- First, let me clarify. I never say women empowerment is not necessary. All I say is: thinking that women empowerment will lead to economic development is a misleading conclusion. Women empowerment will lead to development only in a specific context (when other forces also come into play). Women empowerment is necessary – no doubt. But, even men empowerment is, for that matter. Making this a gender issue will trivialize the development debate. Or to put it in other words: It (women empowerment) is necessary but not sufficient.
- Education does lead to a positive externality as you point out in your mail below (not sharing the details of the email here). Therefore, whether it is women or men, it does have an impact. However, that externality is best utilized when other forces that lead to development come into play – Personal, economic and political freedom. Bill Easterly’s (he lives right in your backyard) latest book, “The Tyranny of Experts” illustrates that. I am planning to get a copy of it soon. These (the freedoms I mentioned before) in some sense are empowerment as well. But, not just confined to education and giving employment opportunities, etc.
- there are no girls toilets
- Lack of sanitary napkins
There are times when I engage (needless) in debates. One recent example was engaging in a debate on Wendy Doniger controversy. The article is published in eemaaTa (online telugu magazine). I was commenting heavily in English and some commentators complained. I thought about it seriously and wrote this comment which was not approved for reasons only the editorial board knows. Thankfully, the editor did pass on the message to the unhappy commentators about my commenting in English in a Telugu magazine. If you are one of those rarest of rare species who can read Telugu (whether you are Telugu by birth or not). Then you can go and read the link below. I highly recommend not to waste your time by reading the essay but (some) comments are insightful specially by one Mr Raghottama Rao garu. The link is below:
http://eemaata.com/em/issues/201403/3567.html?allinonepage=1
The following post in Telugu is my heart-felt feelings about my inadequacy in expressing in my mother language Telugu compared to English. I wanted to post it here in my blog. Somehow I liked what I wrote. I never wrote such a long Telugu post in long time.
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శ్యామల రావు గారికి, త:త: గారికి, మరియు ఇక్కడ ఉన్నా ఈమాట దిగ్గజాలందరికీ,
ఇక నాలాటి వాళ్ళకి తెలుగు లో వ్రాయటం కష్టమెందుకవుతుందో నా అభిప్రాయాన్ని తెలుపుకుంటాను.
1. నేను తెలుగు మీడియం స్కూల్ లో చదవలేదు. పైగా ఈ ముక్క రాస్తుంటే నా కళ్ళ నీళ్ళు కూడా వస్తున్నాయి – ఆ జ్ణాపకాలు ఒక్కసారిగా తల్చుకుంటుంటే. స్కూల్ లో తెలుగు లో మాట్లాడుకుంటే మాకు శిక్ష ఉండేది. ఒక్కొక్క సారి తిట్లు తినడం, లేదా “fine” కట్టడం. నా చిన్నప్పుడు నా మీదే కాక, నా స్నేహితుల మీద కూడా మా ఉపాధ్యాయులు “Talk in English” అన్న చీవాట్లు ఇప్పటికీ నా చెవుల్లో మార్మోగుతూనే ఉన్నాయి. ఒకటి గుర్తుంచుకోవాలి: ఇవనీ “లిబరల్” లక్షాణాలని నాకు అప్పుడు తెలీలేదు.
ఈ పరిస్థిథి ఎందుకు నెలకొంది అంటారు? తెలుగు లో ఎందుకు వ్రాయలేకపోతున్నారు అన్న మీ ప్రశ్నకు జవాబు, అలా ఆ యొక్క ఉపాధ్యాయుల అరుపులకు బెదిరిపోయిన పసిపిల్లల కళ్ళల్లో ఉందండీ.
2. తెలుగు మీడియం లో పదో తరగతి దాకా చదువుకుని, ఆ తరువాత ఆంగ్ల మీడియానికి మారి ఒక్కసారిగా ఆ ఆకస్మిక మార్పుకి తట్టుకోలేక, అంత వరకూ బాగా చదువుకున్న వాళ్ళే, ఇంక ఆ పోటీ కి తట్టుకోలేక వెనకబడి, కూలబడి, ఇంక పోరాడలేనన్న ఎంతో మంది ఆత్మ నూన్యతా భావం లో ఉందండీ సమాధానం.
అలానే ఆ పోటేల్లో పరీక్షలు పోయి, కొందరు (మా చుట్టాల లో కూడా)ఆత్మ హత్య చేసుకునే ముందు పొందిన మానసిక వ్యధ లో దొరుకుతుంది మీకు సమాధానం.
నేను చెప్తున్నది మీకు మరీ “extreme” అనుకుంటున్నారేమో…ఇవన్నీ అక్షర సత్యాలు. ఇప్పటికీ జరుగుతూనే ఉన్నాయి.
3. ఆ తరువాత కొద్దో గొప్పో నిలదొక్కుకున్న వారికి సరిగ్గా ఆంగ్లం రాదని చులకన గా చూసిన (ఇందులో నేను కూడా ఒకణ్ణి) వాళ్ళ అహంకారం లో, ఆ చులకన గా చూడబడ్డ వాళ్ళ బాధ పడ్డ వాళ్ళ కనిపించని అశ్రువుల్లో కనబడుతుంది మీకు సమాధానం.
4. ఈ దుస్థ్తితిని తెచ్చుకున్న మనకు, మన సంస్కృతికి సంస్కరణ ఉందంటారా?
5. ఆ పైన ఇంజినీరింగ్ అనో, CAT అనో, GRE అనో, మరోటనో మొత్తం ఆంగ్లం లోనే అభ్యాసం, అవసరం. ఇంక బుర్ర లో తెలుగు ఏమిటి నలుగుతుంది? ఒకప్పుడు (ఇప్పుడూ నూ) అటు ఆంగ్లం లో సరిగ్గా భావం వ్యక్తం చెయ్యలేక, ఇటు తెలుగు లో వ్యక్తం చెయ్యలేక, బాధ పడిన సందర్భాలూ ఉన్నాయి.
6. ఇవన్నీ అటుంచితే, ఒక సారి తెలుగు మీద బాగా ఎందుకో అభిమానం పుట్టి, కొన్ని ఉద్వేగాలని, భావాలని వ్యక్తపరచటానికి తెలుగు భాష ని ఆశ్రయించినపుడు, ఏదీ…పదాలు రావే! అప్పుడనిపించింది భావలని మాతృ భాష లో వ్యక్తీకరించాలని ప్రయత్నిస్తే, భాష రావకపోవడం – “unreciprocated love” లా అనిపించింది. ఏమిటో శఠించిన ప్రేయసి లా ఎప్పుడూ తెలుగు నాకు దగ్గర అవ్వనే లేదు.
7. ప్రస్తుత విషయం: తెల్లార లేస్తే నిద్రొయే వరకూ, అంతా ఆంగ్లం లోనే నాకు. ఎప్పుడో వారానికోసారి మా అమ్మ నాన్న ల తో మాట్లాడితే తప్ప. ఇక్కడ (Belgium) నిత్యం తెలుగు లో కాస్త సంభాషణ సంభవించడం కష్టం కూడా…పైగా ఇంటికొస్తే కూడా ఒంటరిని. కాబట్టీ తెలుగు మాట్లాడే అవకాశాలు నాకు తక్కువ. ధార వచ్చే లా మాట్లాడడమనేది అరుదే మరి. పోనీ ఈమాట చదవొచ్చు గా అని మీరనొచ్చు. ఈమాటే కాదు, ఎక్కడా కూడా నాకంటూ ఆశక్తి కలిగించే విషయాలు తెలుగు వెబ్ ప్రపంచం లో పెద్దగా లేవు (ఏవో ఇలా mediocre వి తప్పితే). ఎప్పుడైనా పుస్తకాలు చదువుతాను, కానీ ఎక్కువ గా నేను చదివేవన్నీ ఆంగ్లం లోనే.
8. ఇప్పుడు మరి మీరడగ్గానే తెలుగు లో వ్రాయాలయ్యా అంటే ఆ ధార ఎలా వస్తుంది? ఆలోచన ఆంగ్లం లో చేస్తున్నపుడు, ధార తెలుగు లో రావడం కష్టం. ఒక వేళ ఇంకా ప్రయత్నించి పొనీలే ఆంగ్లాన్ని తెలుగు లోకి తర్జూమా చేసుకుంటూ రాసుకుందాం అని సద్దిపెట్టుకుంటే, ఇదిగో ఈ చర్చనీయాంశమైన mediocre వ్యాసం లా తయారవుతుంది.
9. ఈ పై ముక్కలన్నీ (ఇందాకటి వ్యాఖ్యానాలతో సహా) వ్రాయటానికి నాకు మొత్తం ఒక రోజు పట్టింది. అంటే తెలుగు లో ఆలొచించటానికి చాలా ప్రయత్నించ వలసి వచ్చింది. ఆ పైన ఇక్కడ టైప్ చెయ్యటం.
10. అందుకే నాకు ఆంగ్లం లో వ్యాఖ్యానం చెయ్యటం, విమర్శించటం సులువయ్యింది. పైగా నేను ఇందాకా చెప్పినట్టు, ఏదో ఫేసుబుక్కు లో రఘోత్తమ రావు రాగు వెండీ పాందిత్యాన్ని వ్యాఖ్యానిస్తూ ఉంటే, నాకు జియోపాలిటిక్స్ ఆశక్తి కాబట్టీ చూసి, పైగా ఈ వ్యాసకర్త ఏదో తనకి తానే “detailed analysis” అని చెప్పుకుంటే కుతూహలం తో…పక్షపాత వైఖరి, అబధ్ధాల ముగింపు చూడలేక ఇంక చర్చ లోకి దిగాను అంతే…
11. అందుకే గబుక్కుమని తెలుగు లో ధార గా మీ అందరి లా వ్రాసెయ్యాలంటే నా వల్ల కాదు.
“…అతి సుస్యందనమందున దూరం గా వినువీధుల్లో విహరించే అందని అందానివి గా భావించిన రోజుల్లో…
…నీ రూపం కనరానందున, నా గుహ లో కుటి లో, చీకటి లో నే స్రుక్కిన రోజులు లేవా…
…నే విన్నవి కన్నవి విన్నవించగా మాటలకై వెదుకాడకబోతే…
..అవి…”
శ్రీశ్రీ కి పుంఖానుపుంఖం గా వచ్చుండొచ్చు…కానీ నా గొంతు మాత్రం మూగబోతుంది, కన్ను చెమ్మబోతుంది, కలం ఆగిపోతుంది…
కాబట్టీ నా విజ్నప్తి ఏమిటంటే: ఆంగ్లం లో వ్యాఖ్యానించే వాళ్ళని వాళ్ళ వ్యాఖ్యానలలో మీకు సంకోచాలుంటే అడగండి, నచ్చనిది ఉంటే దుయ్యబట్టండి, కర్కస విమర్శ చెయ్యండి, వ్యాఖ్యానలనీ, విమర్శలనీ చీల్చి చెండాడండీ, కానీ తెలుగు లోనే వ్రాయి, ఆంగ్లం లో కాదు, అని మటుకు ఇంతలా అసంతృప్తి చెందకండి . ఇందాకా అన్నట్టు ఆంగ్లం లో ఐనా తెలుగు లో ఐనా విషయం ఉందా లేదా అన్నది ముఖ్యం.
ఈ వ్యాఖ్యానం ఇప్పటికి సరి. ఐతే ఈ సందర్భం వ్యాసానికి కూడా సంబంధించిందని అన్నాను. అది రేపు ఉటంకిస్తాను. ముఖ్యం గా పై ఐదు పాయింట్లకీ సంబంధించినది.
ఇట్లు
యోగా.
PS:- “కవితా ఓ కవితా” ని ఇక్కడ ఉటంకించాను. ఐతే వెండీ యొక్క చర్చ జరుగుతున్న ఈ సందర్భం లో, నాకో భయం ఉంది.
వెండీ గానీ ఇది చూసి, “ఆరు కోట్ల తెలంగానాధ్రులకి “కవితా ఓ కవితా” అని ఆరాధించే ఒక కవిత ఉందా? ఇది ఇన్నాళ్ళూ నేను psycho analyse చెయ్యలేదేమిటబ్బా”, అని వెంటనే పూనుకుని, వేల్చేరు గారికి ఫొన్ చేసేసి, “SriSri’s kavita o kavita epic poem – divine beauty or sexual perversion” అని ఒక phD మొదలెట్టేసి, ఆ తరువాత ఏదేదో ప్రచురించేసి, అప్పుడు నాలాటి వాడెవడో కేసు వేస్తే ఆ పైన ప్రత్యామ్నాయ ప్రబుధ్ధులందరూ దాన్ని నా లాటి చాందసుల వల్ల వాక్స్వేఛ్చ లోపిస్తోందని, పేజీలు పేజీలు వ్యాసాలు రాసేసి…అమ్మో ఈ పరిస్థిథి రాకూడదని భగవంతుడిని ప్రార్థిస్తూ…ఇక సెలవా మరి. మళ్ళీ రేపు కలుద్దాం.
Very insightful pieces.
The objective of this speech is to inspire the audience. I am giving this speech as part of our local club contest in the International Speeches category for the year 2014.
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“Empty handed I entered the world, barefoot I leave it. My coming, my going – Two simple happenings that got entangled” – Kozan Ichikyo.
When I first heard this poem by Kozan Ichikyo, I felt a sense of calm after a storm that engulfs a helpless victim.
It was almost four years ago…I was working hard – to establish my place in corporate America, to prove myself and meet the expectations and standards that we, immigrant professionals have set for ourselves. I was grabbing everything coming in my way with both hands with utmost aggression. I was fiercely ambitious, and I craved…I craved the three Rs – Remuneration, reward and recognition, so much that not only was I putting extremely long hours at work but also getting upset that others were not matching my intensity. My blinded ego got inflated to an extent that I started believing in falsehoods about myself – that I was the best in my group and I could do anything, any time of the day, better than anyone else in my group. My arrogance almost fired me.
I managed to survive with a reprimand from my vice president and the head of HR. It was a moment to introspect. I started seeking advice from some mentors on how to deal with work place conflicts. However, the best advice I got was from an unusual quarter in a totally different context that changed my conception of work, personal growth and life. My mother told me the story of a simple lady, pride of our ethnic community.
It was about a hundred fifty years ago, when the British control on India was almost complete, and frequent droughts plagued the landscape of India. There was this simple lady called Sitamma, in South India, who decided her mission in life was to cook and serve food to any hungry person that knocked on her door just like a mother would to her child. Not one single person was refused food anytime of the day in her entire life time. Her name spread far and wide and she was often called Annapurna, the Goddess of nourishment.
The then emperor of India King Edward VII, wanted her to be his guest for his coronation anniversary celebrations in Delhi in 1903. He sent for the governor of her region, to bring her to Delhi in full honors. Sitamma was pleasantly surprised to see the governor and politely declined the invite. She said that whatever she is doing is very basic human. She has not been doing this for recognition or reward from the king and that she sees no reason to deserve such an honor from the king.
Such was her commitment that none of the three Rs mattered to her. She set herself a mission and strived to do it to its perfection.
It then dawned on me. Like a satori moment taking over my consciousness, I could see the truth instantly.
We come empty handed, we leave barefooted. The three Rs – recognition, rewards, and remuneration do not come with us. They are not to be pursued but they are a natural, eventual and inevitable outcome in the pursuit of excellence. If the pursuit of excellence in whatever we set to do be the goal, the outcome naturally follows. Let our pursuit of excellence begin, let it begin now.
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PS:-I won our club contest. The next step is semi-finals and then if I advance, to Belgian finals. Well, lets see how far Sitamma can take me to :-). Video of the speech here (note the sound quality isn’t that great. But while speaking in the Hall it was ok…
PS PS:- I won our semi-finals as well and now advancing to the finals.
PS PS PS:- I did not win in the finals. But it was worth the effort.
In same category I won my last year contest as well: https://ynsaripa.wordpress.com/2013/02/24/toastmasters-speech-5/
A very inspirational TED talk by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Abraham Lincoln is really my hero. I was so happy to listen to this talk.
http://www.ted.com/talks/doris_kearns_goodwin_on_learning_from_past_presidents.html
Enjoy listening
This is my first speech in the advanced speaker humorous speeches category. The objective is to “warm up the audience”. I also gave this speech in the area contest (Semi Finals of the Toastmasters humorous speech contest). I won it and advancing to the finals on Oct 26th. Looking forward to advancing further.
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Whoever immigrated to Belgium here…Can I see a show of hands…?
Belgium, Belgium, Belgium…when I decided to move to Belgium from America, I was excited about the experience of living in Europe, the hidden little paradise of Belgium that is. When I told my friends and acquaintances, I faced all kinds of reactions. “Belgium? Where is that again? Is it in California or in another state?”
One educated but ignorant American…and no offense to ignorant people here…asked me where in Germany was Belgium…
What is the reaction I get here? “Where did you say you come from?…California?” and what they actually mean is, “What kind of a retard are you?” as if I am an alien dropped out of outer space and crashed into the Leuven city hall and morphed into an admin assistant. That brings me to my troubles at the city hall.
I swear to God…Every time I go to there, I end up bouncing like a ping-pong ball from zone A to D to F and finally when my turn comes it’s closed. The city hall that otherwise seems to be an organized, peaceful office, for some reason in my case always turns into a concentration camp where I always have to prove my innocence providing all documents to those prickly ladies in charge who seem to be permanently at the peak of their PMS cycle!
For instance, I go with all my documents for registration, they note down my details, I pay and then the lady tells me once I get the letter from Brussels, I just come over with the letter and they will give me my residence card. Fine. After a few days I get my letter, then go to the city hall and the receptionist asks me if I got the receipt of payment? I give her a blank face and say no. She thinks for a bit and tells me to go the zone D.
After waiting for an hour or so, I get my chance to turn in the letter. The lady there asks me, “So did you bring your receipt?”. “….err, no…but isn’t that’s why I was sent to this counter specifically as a special case?”. “No”. “I don’t have my receipt. I paid when I submitted my application and the fact that you sent it to Brussels implies I paid…and you should have it in your records…I was told only to bring the letter.”
Then I get this strange un-describable look of “too many questions, too much logic”….and…”No, you have to bring the receipt also. We can’t give your card if you don’t have it…”.
So, I looked straight into her eyes with a straight face and said “I lost it. So, now what?”
Now she gets upset a bit and gives me this look that only married men can understand. It is all unspoken and you regret your birth for the rest of your life! It is as if she starts to teach me something I don’t need to know anything about at that point of time. “Be a man now…how can you be so careless?” kind of look and says, “You just can’t lose documents like this. These are official documents. We expect you to keep them safe. Once we give you, you just can’t throw them away?” and the look continues -“Ok. I have a copy of your receipt here. I will give the card to you…”.
“Aah what a relief”…I could’ve been deported if not for that last minute upswing in the mood of that lady!
And the lesson learnt: I better make sure I never forget my receipts!
ynsaripa 