FireBalls and Blunt Knives

How much time is invested @ work everyday in reading/replying our emails? Well, I do put (off-late) significant hours in mail management; some days all 8 hours are spent in reverting to people through this medium.

Chris Anderson (or Ted Chris as we all know him) has initiated “Email Charter”  by declaring war against current use/abuse of emails. In simple words Ted recommends tweeting in emails – “Short is not rude; acronyms are ace Ventura” are his mantra. Smart initiative and sooner or later will catch up like fire in Amazon.

Looking back @ the evolution of communication – couple of decades ago it’s all about pages and pages of letters and few stamps. I still remember drawing letters to my BFF in school. The more the pages, the more love and affection we shared. Simple times!! “There are rules in writing letter. It needs to be well-addressed, polite and kind, exemplary and explanatory” – I recall my English mam Vanaja teaching us the principles of letter writing. Long bygone is the magical era of using pen and paper to vent our emotions. In no time we succumbed to the technology explosion and from emails we quickly shifted to chat and inherited OMGs, BRBs and ofcourse the smileys.      

Now we are looking forward to incorporate an ensemble of chat and tweet in an email.

The forgotten phenomenon here is “Communication is an art”; and when it is not eye-to-eye and verbal, it becomes a Picasso task. The crux is simple:-

• Setting up the tone
• Convey the message in exact

When the above is lost, the below happens.

Wrong tone – 

We have no idea in what mind-set our “To-list” members are, when they open our emails. They may have got bitten by someone @ work, or have just experienced a passive aggression from the better half or may be incurred heavy loss in share trading. In totality, the timing is wrong and prep work for fireball is done. Few a times even my honest request was considered sarcastic by some recipients. Mention not the replies we get back – those are "FIREBALLS"; and subsequently your balls are on fire. The scale of fire depends on how much principles you are taught in response and how many more members are included in the CC.

Interestingly, people who do not speak up in person, show huge guts through emails. Avoiding confronting people eye-to-eye gives them the license for aggression. Trust me, face-to-face arguments can have a speedy recovery, but words inscribed in emails can be re-lived again and again.

Message forever – 

Messages which run pages and pages are “BLUNT KNIVES” – that’s what we call them. Their mission is to kill you.

• They WILL hurt you
• You WILL bleed
• But you wont die immediately

How far the knife is blunt? – Well it depends on whether it has attached documents or not.

Common misconception of these email originators are, the longer their emails, the more information and authority towards that information they possess. They will have loose ends in their big emails, things will be subject to interpretation and by the time we complete reading, we would have lost 30 minutes of our life and won’t remember where the pain actually started.

Communication through emails need to be Simple and straightforward. If not, better hold a meeting. Anyhow, quick suggestion - have a water bottle (ofcourse filled with water) all the time nearby you. You may need to hydrate a lot and calm down a bit, before replying to “Fireballs” and “Blunt Knives”. 

Unshakable castesim and its promising future

An excerpt from Deccan Chronicle - dated 20/12/2010

"Lecturers flop eligibility test : Less than 30% of 5300 candidates who sat for first ever Faculty Eligibility Test conducted by JNTU Hyderabad last week passed and the majority of those who failed were assistant professors working in engineering colleges. Of the 5300 candidates who appeared for the exam, only 1500 could clear it despite of the qualifying marks being only 40% for OCs (Other Castes) and 30% for reserved category candidates"

In reality if the above happens in any part of the world, the concern will be on the quality and capability of the educational system. India always stands unique. Beyond the failure of educational system, the worrying aspect is the political ideology. The caste reservation holds good even for faculty tests. Does that mean a faculty belonging to a particular caste chooses and teaches only students belonging to his caste ? It kills to watch reservations 40% and 30% being offered even for faculty tests.

It happens only in India.

BLUYOTA

BIOGRAPHY – LEAF 3

Oct 2004

A gloomy rainy Sunday in Stockport and I was having my body being cleansed by nature's water wash. Fitness and cleanliness are integral to my lifestyle, always in supreme form; or that’s what I heard my better half brag about me to couple of strangers. One of them looked @ me with all lust in his eyes; may be he wishes to take me along with him :) Off-late loads of people seem to carry that look on me. "I am a huge head turner. I should have been a model or star in next James Bond movie" - while I was totally engrossed in flying my own kite, I trembled from what I heard next. "She’s all yours" - I saw my partner handing over me to that stranger by grabbing my arms.

I am on motorway now with an outsider still shell-shocked in disbelief. The partner whom I thought for life has parted ways. It has happened before, but this time it hurt a lot. I saw my so-called new pal gradually taking me to an isolated town, to a semi-detached country home. Vague image of a crazy lady jumping up and down became clear as we neared the house. Her eyes, to my agony, gleamed in excitement, when she touched me. "I am not a toy" - I choked. "I am going to name her" - she squeaked. "She is our Bluyota" she announced as she hugged her hubby. "I am NOT Bluyota. I am a Blue Toyota Avensis for God Sake" - my tears got washed with the rain.

Oct 2010

It was adventurous 6 years. With new addition to our household gNisa (of course Green Nissan Micra) we share some memorable British voyages, from Scotland to Isle of Wight and from Wales to Great Yarmouth.  Time just drifts and within short span we robots age. Mortals do pledge to be organ donors with their full conscience and conscious, whilst we machines pledge ours the moment we are made in the factory. It has been a fulfilling journey though; the day I saved my family from what could have been a nasty accident in motorway, was the notable one. Now, It’s moment - to bid adieu and share what I am left with younger generation. This time there are no tears; just a sense of tranquility and gratification filled within.

 Adios Amigos !!!

That Day of the Year

September – a big month in our household. Mom’s b’day, Champions league T20 cricket, Hubby’s B’day; too many busy days and too less time!! It has been circa 6 years since we got married and I am running out of options to please my hubby with varied gifts. I finally decided to stick to the basics; T-Shirt and perfume and walked into “The Perfume Shop”. “Exquisite but not Expensive” I heard me say to the saleswoman, who in-turn threw me a “You Wish” look. “Come on! I am not demanding Chanel for £20 budget; a Gucci or Armani will do!” screamed my ego. In return she came up with some liquid in a miniature milk-can with a brand name I’ve never heard of; which she bragged too much about. For some reason I’ve given her the impression that I am a perfume virgin. She made me believe that the milk-can is the ONE for my man.

Adding that to my shopping basket, I started fishing in women’s section. Again she came up with unknown/mediocre products and this time I exactly saw what she was doing. She was teaching me a valuable lesson: Never ask a sales assistant “some” perfume for “some” budget. Go to shop with specifics. Hit with sudden enlightenment I said “Armani Diamonds”. She looked surprised that I can speak brands. With no intension to take the milk-can home I requested to be removed from the bill.

I am sure she was doing what she was told, MINUS a friendly attitude. I could have succumbed to her marketing skills, if she would have worn that trademark smile, every shopping assistant should. Instead she was killing the pleasure of my shopping with her heavy attitude. While stepping outside “The Perfume Shop” I realised that unknowingly I shopped for me instead of my Hubby :) It happens – in a woman’s world. Marks and Spencer’s however came to my rescue. I picked a trendy T-Shirt and small perfume bottle from the classy store.

Every year, to mark our phenomenal entry to this world, we cut cakes and share gifts at night 12 o’clock; it is a tradition - something like having turkey during thanksgiving. The next day we decided to dine fine with wine and chose “Jamie Oliver’s Italian” restaurant in Canary Wharf. For someone who was expecting a routine Italian menu with pizza and lasagne, it was full of surprises. First, The Menu Card – items with innovation and difference. Second, The Quality of food – having huge admiration for Italian cuisine I vouch that I have never tasted Italian dishes with such taste before; it was very unique. Third, The Price – for a restaurant situated in prime location in Canary Wharf owned by a celebrity with tasty menu items, it’s pretty reasonable. Finally, The food portions – for some people this may be a let down, but for me it was just perfect.

I ordered Italian nachos with angry arrabiata sauce (just awesome) and a MUSHROOM PANZEROTTI. My hubby fed on Lamb chop lollipops. On the whole, I loved spending 2 hours with the company of good food and of-course my hubby.

At the end, my hubby was probing on when I would stop this style of celebrating b’days. To be frank, I do not know. Every year these occasions give me immense happiness. I wish this tradition continues from me to my off-springs and last till the end :)

Its Anniversary No. 1

Its 1st Anniversary for my BLOG. Yooohooooooo !!!! 

 

My baby blog had a different look and feel a year ago; she used to be a simple, pretty, wide layout. Suddenly there was a viral attack and I provided her immune, re-invented her with a customized design and christened “ThePanto”.  From then on, she became my “silent” newspaper, run and read only by me.

I cannot believe that I have been writing snippets for a year now; well, do they convey any message? Do I have people following my rants? – Frankly, I don’t want to go there. One’s scribbling is an art for self :)  For me, beyond all encumbers, I have survived for one year. That’s significant - brags my inner voice.

To gratify the animal inside, I torment my hubby at times to read my write-ups. His favourite (and so is my couple of friends) is “An Evening in Wimbledon".They feel that it has a subtle humour intertwined which makes a pleasant read. Well, if they say so :)))

Its time to stop boasting about my baby and acknowledge others work. Here am I to present, as an anniversary token, the three articles which I enjoyed recently.

1. “Its on the internet, It must be True”  - This is referred by entrepreneur extraordinaire Vinodh Khosla, in twitter. The Article screams on how media is now run by people like you and me, the information explosion without a credibility check, its consequences and the publicity the owner gets on spreading a hoax (instead of punishment and embarrassment) . A very crystal clear write-up on how technology explosion has disabled media.

2. "Newsman Rajdeep Sardesai"  - He drew all news viewers attention, including mine, when he was associated with ndtv’s “The Big Fight”. Man!! - I used to wonder the way he handled big shots like normal contestants in the show. He oozed confidence and exuberance; brought in necessary control to the program which may have gone a disaster otherwise. His blog is always worth a read.

3. “Dharma in public place” - By Gurcharan Das. It is a beautiful interpretation of modern take on Dharma in comparison with epic Mahabharatha. Taking the whole Lalit Modi issue as undercurrent, he has drawn a numerical balance sheet and weighes mathematically the outcome. Must read!!

Well finally - thanks blogpot for creating this medium for expression.

As always, signing off ..

Sivi.