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From
Sharmistha Sikdar
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About a year back I had posted a blog on the deteriorating conditions of my hometown Calcutta...or Kolkata as die-hard Bongs would prefer. However I think its about time that I do put forth a slightly changed view given my recent experiences here. I am currently beating the heat in Cal and writing this blog as the recent events have been a little too emotionally overwhelming to not jot them down. _First things first, some misconceptions that got cleared. When I used to think of getting some official work done in Calcutta, the first thought that would come across my mind is that , things will never get done on time....images of endless queues, back and forth processing of paper work and approvals would just haunt me. It was with this same worry and anticipation that I had come here. I needed to visit my University to have some documents processed. And I was amazed at the speed and professionalism with which things got handled. The clerical staff who are otherwise considered as the most painful folks to deal with were probably the most efficient giving clear directions as to what I needed to do and when I could expect the work completed. I had expected that I would have to do multiple rounds and come back on different days, but all of my work got processed in less than 2 hours which was amazing speed. When I was leaving the Uni, the liftman checked with me if I had gotten all that I wanted and with such absolute sincerity that I could not doubt that he genuinely empathised with my situation. And at the University gate, the guards helped me fetch a taxicab, in the sweltering heat. Given the beautiful experience I had here, I just have to just say "Hats Off". Its important to always hope for better....and this time round my hometown just outdid my expectations...Will keep the hope up...my hope floats!
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From
Sharmistha Sikdar
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Dear Braveheart,
Your short, yet purposeful life has opened the eyes of a sleeping nation and brought together millions to fight a common cause. You are an inspiration to all! A million gun salute to you! Rest in Peace!
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From
Sharmistha Sikdar
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There are advertisements that attract consumers to certain products and those that do just the opposite. I was watching a TV show one day when the commercial break started off with a chocolate ad. The brand is probably the most famous and well known in India, however the concept of the ad was extremely repulsive. There was this lady gobbling up a bar of chocolate and she had her mouth overflowing with the liquid chocolate (saliva mixed, albeit). While the mesmerized husband in the ad wanted a taste of the chocolate from the wife's stained fingers, as an audience to this ad I found it disgusting to the point of vowing not to ever buy that particular type of chocolate. This does make me wonder the rationale that ad makers use while directing or conceiving of an ad. Do they at times overdo the messaging that actually goes contrary to their intention and end up making the audience sick and repelled substantially so that the otherwise good product goes unsold? In another dishwash bar ad, a popular actress and diva is showcased as a "bai". Not only did I find it ridiculous to portray an actress as a "bai", it is also equally unconvincing. Alternatively, had the ad been around the actress being portrayed as a homemaker (as she is in her personal life) who can do without the bai because she has the certain dishwash bar at her perusal, most women would probably have been able to relate to the idea. And the messaging would have been more powerful that way. Again, there are some advertisements on toilet cleaners that lack subtlety of any sort. The ad series goes into showing people's homes with dirty toilets and how the toilet cleaner can be the remedy. Agreed that the message comes across strongly but is it a visually pleasant experience for the audience? Sometimes, it may make sense to talk about the essence of the product through animated versions rather than showing the real thing. In most families, the TV viewing time happens to coincide with meal times especially due to prime time shows et al and the unsuspecting audience is suddenly plunged into sights that are unpleasant and downright gross.
I read in an article that sometimes advertisements are created in a way that catch the human attention. And hence the ad makers do indulge in generating shock among the consumers as long as they can pass on the message. But is it always necessary and does it always strike the right chord with the audience? When I was a teenager, there was this beautiful chocolate ad where they show that a cricketer hits a six and his girlfriend breaks into the cricket ground and dances with a bar of chocolate in her hand in celebration. It has been probably more than a decade that this particular ad has been taken off air, but the beauty of the ad and its message still lingers on. I call that real advertising! Not the explicit, repulsive messages that are shown today.
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Posted on
Friday, October 05, 2012
9:39:47 PM
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From
Radhika Jonnalagedda
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Posted on
Monday, September 03, 2012
4:15:32 PM
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From
Sharmistha Sikdar
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Posted on
Monday, August 27, 2012
11:11:55 PM
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From
Nainy Sahani
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Posted on
Saturday, August 25, 2012
4:20:49 PM
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From
Sharmistha Sikdar
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Posted on
Saturday, August 25, 2012
12:28:02 PM
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From
Suvarna Gupta
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From
Sharmistha Sikdar
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I am a mother of a naughty 4 and half year old boy and experience the joys and pains of being a parent. But as much as it can be extremely frustrating and tiring trying to keep up with their endless demands and abundant energy, it is also probably one of the most enjoyable and life changing experiences. Not only do I learn every day about parenting, I also learn some of life's best lessons from my little wonder. They say that Gods reside in children. Well I would like to believe this saying as I have seen some remarkable capabilities that exist in children that the adult world cannot ever hope to possess. If you are a parent, did you ever wonder how many times you have asked your child to behave or be in a particular way and just exactly how many times he/she has refused to listen. Its frustrating from our standpoint but the point is that kids do have their own sense of intuition. Would like to share with you all one of such incidents where I just marveled at my son's intuition that beat my own and proved me wrong.
One evening after the routine cycling in the park and playing with kids, my son and I were returning home. It was fairly dark and the staircase and corridor lights of our building had not been turned on. There was another family returning home at the same time with their kid. As both our families were new in the locality we did not know the facilities in the building that well. There were a series of switches on the switch board which we tried to get the lights on. None of the switches worked. There was a small switch with an indicator light at a far end corner which we had overlooked. My son quickly noted that and commented that we had not tried the small switch in the corner. I was about to give him a wise, adult explanation that the little switch was not meant for the lights when he just brushed past me and turned it on. The next instant the staircase and corridors were flooded with lights and we were all looking with amazement at my son. This maybe a very small incident but there has been many similar ones where my son showed more presence of mind and intuition than us. Sometimes, we, as adults miss the minute details but the kids do pick up those and as parents if we dont listen and let them lead, we may be missing out on a lot of good things. It is this age of innocence where intuition and sixth sense work at their highest power. Let us listen to the high intuitive sense of our children and at times let them lead the parents because at times its really worth it!
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From
Sharmistha Sikdar
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Being a native of Calcutta (or Kolkata as it's more commonly called now), born and brought up and lived there for the first 22 years of my life, I always make it a point to visit my native city once a year despite all my hectic work schedules. I have lived in/ visited many other cities since then, Bangalore and Delhi being the main ones as I have stayed the longest in these two cities.
I have grown used to a culture that is cosmopolitan thanks to my work life, technology that is far more advanced than what I was habituated with when I lived with my parents in Calcutta and a lifestyle more modern and of higher quality. One of the advantages of living in a city like Bangalore is that you will never be unhappy with the professionalism of the people with whom you interact - be it the attendants working in a mall or restaurants, drivers of city taxis or any such private or public enterprise. Over time you kind of get used to the professionalism and the level of high quality service and expect the same from every place; in a way these experiences make you feel that there is indeed some truth in the phrase "India Shining".
However each time I visit Calcutta, I am always faced with disappointment. The disappointments start from the time I step down at the Dumdum airport. The airport, unlike the New Delhi, Hyderabad or Bangalore international airports, is probably one of the most unkempt of airports with the infrastructure literally falling apart. The restrooms carry the deep stench of phenyl run over wastes and are always in a watery mess. Once you have jostled through the maddening crowd who always seem to be in a state of angst and tension, you reach the taxi rentals queue. The state run taxis, the quintessential yellow ambassadors, make you feel like you are on a virtual historical tour of 1960s. Contrast the shabby looking yellow cab drivers with the uniformed cabbies of the city cabs in Bangalore and you will know how far behind this place is. But some may argue that things are cheaper in Calcutta. Well here are some facts. If I book an AC cab from the airport's prepaid counter I pay around Rs 500 for a 10 km ride in Kolkata, whereas if I take a MERU or an AC city taxi from the Bangalore airport, I pay around Rs 600 for a 40 km ride. So if I were to keep and maintain the same standards of living in Calcutta as I have in Bangalore, I end up paying a lot more money!
And let's talk about the services part of the equation that I get from Calcutta each time I visit this place. The people who route you to the prepaid taxi cabs just wont help until tipped. You need to pay before you are serviced versus that you pay for the services received. Even the shop attendants in malls lack the courtesy to greet customers. One recent incident will bring forth exactly what I have in mind. We visited a shopping mall in the Rajarhat area, the mall was impressive in its size and structure and facilities. But I felt none of the shop attendants knew how to talk to the customers. In a children's retail outlet, when my husband and I walked in, no staff came to greet us - a far cry from what happens in similar outlets in Bangalore. The staff were happily chatting at the bill counter as the only group of customers ( that's us) didnt matter at all to them. Surprising isnt it...especially in today's day and age when customer service should be every business's top most priority to stay ahead of the race. But thats what I always receive from Calcutta. There are a million other anecdotal incidents I can narrate but I believe the message is clear. Being a Bengali, at times I feel sorry and a deep anger at the state of affairs. Oh Calcutta ! when will you regain the glory of your past?
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From
Sharmistha Sikdar
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My family and I have been on a traveling mode for a while now. Our private joke is that we have invisible wheels under our feet. We have moved places courtesy job changes and career aspirations, and with each movement we have been faced with the painful task of dismantling an existing set up in one place and establishing a new one in another. Every new place we have lived in has greeted us with its unique culture, weather, language and people. However the amazing part is that no matter how much you crib about the weather or culture or the language differences what touches you the most and stands out are the people you meet in every new place that you live in. The new associations, some temporary, some permanent, bring into your lives a whole new set of experiences and almost make you want to believe that as though it was all a part of some greater plan to meet these people. Sometimes the power of these new associations and experiences can be so strong that your life can be altered and even put on to a completely different trajectory. And the saddest part is the time when realization strikes that its time to move on and goodbyes need to be said. All of a sudden, it dawns on you that the weather, the cultural and the linguistic differences don't seem to trouble you anymore. That you have become as much a part of that place and the people.
As I prepare for yet another movement in my life and leave another great city that I have lived in, the city that I first hated and then fell in love with, I know that the saddest part will be to say the goodbyes.
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Posted on
Monday, June 18, 2012
3:29:47 PM
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From
Sharmistha Sikdar
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Posted on
Monday, May 14, 2012
12:47:14 PM
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From
Radhika Jonnalagedda
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Posted on
Saturday, March 17, 2012
9:03:27 PM
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From
Vinay Bhaskar
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Posted on
Saturday, March 17, 2012
8:50:14 PM
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From
Sharmistha Sikdar
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Posted on
Saturday, March 17, 2012
11:20:09 AM
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From
Dr.rashmi Salil Kumar
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From
Sharmistha Sikdar
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There are leaders and there are politicians. And when I say politicians I do not necessarily confine myself to the class of people who serve (or supposedly serve) as the elected representatives of the people. By politicians, I imply a broader segment who are omnipresent in organizations, families, social circuits and the like. And then there are the leaders. The larger question that I have is can we actually distinguish between the leader and the politician and even if we can, are we brave enough to be vocal about it?
I have witnessed situations where some people have taken the opportunity to promote themselves and create a goodwill with seniors/supervisors and have walked away with the glory or fame. Now whether the route the person took to fame had any essence of morals or ethics was never really given much thought to until too late. Let me make this point a little clearer with the following real life example.
In a recent training that I participated in, one of the group activities was to prepare a case study and present to the trainer and panelists at the end of the training session. The class was divided in two teams with each to present their view point. The winning team was to be decided based on the quality of analysis and presentation. One of the key attractions of this activity was that the final presentation would be video recorded.
How the politicians operated, won the initial support but lost eventually?
One of the teams, had few such people who thought it was entirely upon them to represent the team. They did not check with the team on whether they were indeed the nominated representatives. They decided on the game plan with no consultation with the rest and when their ideas were contested they did not bother to incorporate the constructive feedback. When the actual work for the presentation was to be done, these same people went around boss-ing people and bulldozing them to work. What was saddening about the situation was the abject servility shown by the team to the demands of these few only in the name of team spirit. Any person who voiced their angst on how wrong the approach was, was seen as a rebel and cold shouldered. On the final presentation day, when these so called representatives made the presentations it finally dawned upon the team on what a mockery was made of the hard work done. Since all that these folks had done was to elevate themselves to the status of "leaders", whether or not they actually deserved to be there, they had hardly understood the analysis or numbers represented. They did not go through the actual analysis themselves and were unable to take any questions posed by the panel of judges and looked like utter fools! And at the end of it all, all that the group members could do was to discuss in hushed tones how wrong it was to have had such team reps.
This was a small example and the situation was just a class room presentation with no earth shattering consequences. However this does go a long way to show how group dynamics work in real world. The question is : why didnt the group recognize the political mindset of these people at the beginning of the group activity. Did they truly fail to recognize the fact that all that these people wanted to do was to act as "leaders" and get the work done by the team only to be in the limelight for making the final presentation? And even if the politics was recognized why were the protests of several people in the team cast aside at the onset as rebellious tantrums? Are we working in liaison with politicians just to fulfill their goals so as to make them grander ?
Then what is leadership and why cant we recognize the leaders latent within us. The inner voice that can tell between right and wrong, that tells us what is moral, what is ethical and what is just. Why are we hiding the leader within us? What is stopping us in being upfront and straight and brutal honest even at the expense of being "not acceptable" in the eye of the society temporarily. Because once we have proven the point and the merit in what we do, the world will eventually come around, the society will eventually accept us and true leadership will eventually be recognized. Its high time we recognize the evils of passive observation and acceptance – its time to widen the "fine line" between leaders and politicians.
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From
Sharmistha Sikdar
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"If I should stay I would only be in your way.
So I'll go but I know I'll think of you every step of the way.
And I...will always love you..will always love you... my darling you"
As I listen to this beautiful song sung by the late Whitney Houston in her hauntingly melodious voice I feel this was the perfect song that she dedicated to her millions of fans across the globe. RIP Whitney Houston! We will always love you.
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From
Sharmistha Sikdar
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A few years back I saw this Will Smith starrer called "In Pursuit of Happyness" which is based on the real life story of Chris Gardner and his struggles with unemployment, homelessness and single-parenting to his only son. The movie is a soul stirrer with the pursuit of happiness ending with Chris Gardner finding a regular job as a stock broker which eventually leads him to own a multi-million brokerage firm. A lot of good lessons can be learnt from this phenomenal movie but only if we look to learn it the right way.
When I look around and see the pace with which our lives are moving sometimes I stop to wonder if we have really understood the true meaning of "happiness". Ultimately what is it that we are looking to achieve? We set a target for ourselves and while we are working at that, new targets, newer competition emerge out of the blue and the moment the old target is achieved, there is really no time to savour the glory and success of it all. When one is a student, securing a job is the big target at hand, and once one gets to the workplace, the target shifts to the next promotion or next big salary package and before one knows it its like running from pillar to post chasing dreams woven by others. Are we actually pursuing our own happiness or are we pursuing happiness as defined by others? Is something as personal and as integral to our very existence such as "Happiness" being defined by the world's perception of it? Are we being blinded by a perceived sense of "happiness" where the true essence of what happiness means to us is lost somewhere.
A lot many of us network on social and microblogging sites like Facebook, Orkut, Twitter etc. and give our lives' updates to our "friends" and "connections" on how we are doing, the places we are visiting, people we are meeting and in general how "hip" and "happening" and eventful our lives are. When we post pictures and status updates and friends respond with a "Like" flag we feel super happy. "Oh so and so liked my picture"!! Wow! what an achievement!. When that "So and So" posts pictures or some status updates, we feel doubly obliged to repay the debt by hurriedly clicking on the "Like" button. We need to make sure that the cycle is continued. (There may be of course genuine cases when we indeed like the post, but that is a different story.) So what is this like? Are we being trapped in the mirage of the social desert where acceptability by peers and friends is the main source to our happiness. Are we happy doing what we do or are we choosing careers and lives to be such that our peers "perceive" us as "successful" and hence "happy".
Going back to the movie and the analogy that I am trying to draw here. In the movie, the main pursuit for happiness was in finding the basic necessities to life. A job that can make a man own his home, give his child a decent education and be the father-figure to his only son. The commitment that Chris Gardner shows to achieve this is the inspiring and soul stirring part. Because his focus was not to be the millionaire that he eventually became but to just achieve the basic elements that could keep his life and family going. The goal was not to be more acceptable in the society's eyes but to be more acceptable in the eyes of his son and himself. So one needs to understand what one truly wants out of life. And this should be done not in comparison to what the societal laws dictate. Once that gets accomplished, things fall in its place. And when one adds in the elements of commitment, honesty, diligence and hard work there is a higher order that helps one achieve a lot more than one can imagine. Once these baser elements become an integral part of one's system, "Happiness" becomes the means to an end and the end itself.
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5
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Posted on
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
8:07:05 PM
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From
Sharmistha Sikdar
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Posted on
Saturday, April 21, 2012
12:17:01 AM
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From
Radhika Jonnalagedda
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Posted on
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
12:33:26 AM
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From
Dinesh Chandra Jugran
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Posted on
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
5:51:56 PM
Modified on
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
9:44:41 PM
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From
Vinay Bhaskar
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Posted on
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
10:44:26 AM
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From
Nani Manna
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