Demonetization

   Demonetization – the term that shook the nation by surprise and which occupied headlines in every type of media. Not just that it also dominated most of the space in public gatherings. I was fortunate to be in India when such an announcement was made. Let me brief you on my experience during this earth-shattering announcement from PM Narendra modi ji. I was in my native attending sister’s marriage and whoever recognized I was from USA asked me whether I am missing my vote in the high-octane US elections without realizing I am not eligible to vote and I am no way closer to the eligibility. Everyone was curious who will win as if I am well versed in astrology. But this being on one side around 8.30pm on November 08^th, Tuesday the announcement came saying that 500 rupees and 1000 rupees notes will be mere paper after dec 31^st of 2016. Gossips, banter, shock all started to come from all corners since this is not a forwarded message. Videographer pulled me and showed his phone and it had how 500 and 1000 rupees notes used to fill ground nuts. The creative minds who does forwarded messages should seriously consider getting into cine field since their creativity is good enough to make some good movies. Anyway banks were announced holiday on Wednesday (November 9^th) for it to get ready for the busy days ahead. If there was a survey on human interaction, then I bet November 9^th 2016 would have topped the list in this digital era since every single human being wanted to interact with as much people as possible to get their insights. After the shocking news on Trump’s victory in the morning the only thing that could have made me happier was ‘Food’ and thoroughly enjoyed athangudi perumal’s breakfast.

  Let me point out what are the misses from this move

(a)    When Prime minister of the nation makes an announcement through national media of such a move then what is the credibility of Indian rupees? No law, no reform and a mere announcement gives a bad brand image to Indian currency

(b)    Consumer spending could be less since people want to safeguard the notes for emergency; I visited a medical store in Thirapathur on November 9^th evening to buy a medicine and shopkeeper either doesn’t have change or doesn’t want to give change. 100 rupees notes were suddenly treated like mango lassie in Sahara dessert

(c)     Value of money suddenly increases and with it comes the value of debt which also increases. It makes it more difficult for the debtors to repay their debt

(d)    It also resulted in mad rush to buy other investments like Gold since people had to convert the cash into something tangible; Due to demand the prices increased much beyond than its original price

(e)    Unaccounted cash can be converted into expensive gifts which again makes the gifts go skyrocket in price due to demand than its original value

(f)      I saw a post in FB where Chetan Bhagat said he had to buy all the balloons from a balloon seller who was having tough time selling any due to the cash shortage; India is about these people do who make small money to make their ends meet. The people below poverty line is affected the most since they thrive only by cash

 I personally liked the move and see this as a bold step towards the right direction

(a)    Black money is a very common scenario in a country like India and the move will no doubt help to eradicate black money (not from all but at least from many)

(b)    Counter tax evasion – generate more tax revenue for government since underpayment of taxes will be prevented

(c)     In a land of forgery counterfeiting currency has become very common and the move will help to prevent counterfeiting of currencies

(d)    Terrorist attach groups will not have fake cash to attack our country

(e)    Corruption may reduce significantly due to lack of currency notes

(f)      Local groups who cause petty fights might be discouraged to get into violent acts since there is no cash to award them.

  We can argue both ways but if we want to transform a country and get into a clean state then we have to address things at a grass root level. People believe notice must be given and we all know if a notice given on this regard how many protests we would have seen in the country. The message reached across the length and breadth of the country and this was evident for me since I got a receipt for my purchase of snacks from a small shop run by achi in Venthampatty. The transition is going to be a tough one especially since illiteracy rate for india is still very high. But once people get a hang around then day to day operation will be smooth; Believe me some road side shops generate lots of revenue too – I know a parotta shop in Trichy who has been in business for 30 + years now and I always relish his egg parotta since childwood. This man per my dad owns lots of houses and business is driven purely out of cash. Likewise there are many whose business may appear low profile but may be far lucrative since no tax is paid. Use of credit cards, machines, online accounting, customer service, banking service, application forms all are going to take some time for the common man to sink in but once transition is done we could see a bright, clean and powerful nation …right now it’s in the making. 

Don't forget the Roots !!

    I wanted to pen this blog after observing many different conversations from many different people from all walks of life. It is something which saddens me that people very easily forget their roots. Optimism is important but it should not be at the cost of something. I just wanted to point out how people forget that they came from India after sitting in wealthiest country in the world counting dollar notes.

   In 1980’s and 1990’s the number of Indians migrated to USA was less compared to these days where we see good number of Indians in all parts of the country. As the number increases automatically number of Indian temples, Indian stores are on the rise. With that we also try to bridge the culture as much as possible to pass the rich tradition to the next generation. Example – things like mango leaves, jasmine flower or plantain leaf may be impossible or very expensive stuff in those days which is all very accessible these days. People are basically born, brought up and had all their schooling and college back in India and they have come during their earlier twenties and kind of settled down here in USA. Now with their next generation people try to promote culture and tradition which is praiseworthy. But the problem starts when they say “Ippo ellam India la kuda pilaingalaam epadi ellam paadaadhu” (Meaning: Nowadays in India we don’t get to see kids sing like this); According to me this is completely unwanted. They can be happy that kids are doing a good job here but why unnecessarily they drag India into picture even if what they say is true. Have they seen all kids not sing in India? Mother India nurtures an individual, teaches basic principles, provides education and once people inherit everything they migrate to a foreign nation and harvests everything in an alien land and starts to bad mouth their own country though their passport would say something different.

    Some religious events are so authentic back home and people do not customize per their preference. Things have been changing in India but India cannot become USA and USA cannot become India. Saying we are good is just enough versus saying others are bad. What people must acknowledge is they cannot get best of both the worlds – let us be happy of what we do here as well as learn to respect our nest - ‘India’ 

J Jayalalitha

J Jayalalitha – a powerful name not just in Tamil nadu but throughout the nation. Her demise no doubt created a huge vacuum in Tamil nadu politics. I remember when I was in my childwood appa used to pay a price just to have the letter ‘J’ in the car number plate. Like title value the letter ‘J’ demanded letter value and whenever people hear anyone with ‘Maha’ nakshathiram first thing people quote is it is the nakshathiram of Jayalalitha. Her audacity, perseverance and Intelligence are her trademarks and her oratory skills (Tamil/English) is simply outstanding. Whenever she addresses national media with eloquent English I always felt proud.

    These days’ people grumble for petty things like – gas has gone high by 10 cents, iphone glass broken, visa fees increased etc., but here is a woman where ‘struggle’ was part and parcel of her life. With her dad passing away early in her life she was brought up by her mom, a single parent, she also spent lot of time away from mom since she moved to Bangalore for some time, her brother passed away and she was forced to enter cine industry which she was not interested in first place. When it comes to career, it is very difficult to pursue a career which you don’t relish. Then from one glamorous field to another she had to foray into politics which again was not her natural choice. She could not attest her relationship legally with a leader and hence had to live with a name tag which no woman likes to have. Then after the demise of the leader she had to undergo some nasty experience during funeral, an absolute disgusting experience in Tamil nadu assembly in 1989 where she promised she would enter the place only as a chief minister. In 1991 she became the chief minister of the state and from then on it was a roller coaster ride. She faced many ups and downs and all her hardships packaged her into a person of who she is as a person. Though people talk of gender equality it is not easy for woman to prove her mettle in the male dominated society.

    Just imagine whether we can have woman freely go to ration shop or a middle class cinema theater in India, often there is mad rush and men make use of the situation and nasty incidents are either reported or go unnoticed due to privacy issues. A lady and a fair skinned person coming from cinema industry to fight the system with so much grit shows her caliber. Every national leader attended the funeral or at least expressed their condolence message to the iron lady of India.

   Jayalalitha has been a huge inspiration for woman; To run a leading party of the state and win elections for the party with so much conviction talks a lot about her talent. I liked many of her initiatives and there was a saying that when she rules the money rotation is more in the state. She was steadfast on her thoughts and she will not bend down rules or policies to attract alliances during election. One thing she does often within her ministers is to fire people if she feels they are not fit for the position. She reaches out to Central for funds but never have them dominate when she and her party are ruling the state. I am pointing out this because in politics when money comes in people tend to relax everything including self-esteem. Her nomination list, her allocation of portfolios, allocation of seats to alliances all are admired by political circle. I loved the way she addressed the issue during Visvaroopam release when actor Kamal haasan was going over the roof by quoting how he had to sell the house for the making of the movie. She said if Kamalhaasan is over 60 and had to sell the house for a movie then she or her government cannot be accounted for since she is more responsible for providing law and order to the state and not just one movie and one person.

   Her final days was not pleasant at all. Spending 75 days in a hospital campus without seeing the outside world is no good. She couldn’t meet her beloved people of Tamil nadu in her last phase of life. But who would have imagined that when you get admitted to a hospital you will be there forever, and eventually end your life? She had so much command over her ministers but in the end, she had to be put on life support. Life at times sounds harsh but reality is always a bitter sweet. She got full state honors and Chennai came to a standstill to pay respects to a politician who stood apart from her counterparts. I will personally miss her speech like "J Jayalalitha enum naan", "Seiveergala".  I am not sure how long should we wait to witness another lady politician like J Jayalalitha but we all should be happy that we were part of her era. Rest in peace mam …

Meeting the Legend

Human worship towards people in cine industry is always bit embarrassing especially when your in laws are around. But end of the day we are what we are and I just couldn’t control my exhilaration meeting the legend and my all time favorite Raja sir. In fact given a chance I would like to take pictures with many celebrities but ones I always want to take was with Raja sir and Actor Sivakumar. Before me talking about meeting the legend let me go over the Music concert. Actually this was the second Raja sir concert I attended and was definitely looking forward. It really didn’t matter who were the singers since Orchestration is the main ingredient in a Raja sir concert but we were lucky to have Chitra ji, Sadahana sargam, Mano, Karthik, Yuvan as singers. Typical of Indian concerts to start late but who cares since the excitement is still floating in the air but the concern was would a delayed start mean we would listen to less number of songs ? I bet a hard core fan must have had this question in mind. Then came the man with white dhoti onto the stage when the crowd was on their feet welcoming the legend. It was startling to see another devotional song sung by local priests before the man delivered his standard ‘Janani song’. When Chitra chechi sang her first song Raja sir showed a piece of paper where the notes was written way back in 1981. I was wondering the paper and myself belong to the same age and it is weird how the same pulp used to make paper can be used for music composition of Raja sir song as well as a tissue paper; So basically ‘Beauty lies in the eyes of beholder’; What stand aparts in a Raja sir concert is the Orchestration team –No minimizing the team for cost cutting reasons and basically sound coming from the instruments is retained from the original composition. Also the chorus part is something you see often in Raja sir concerts since the chorus brings the real flavor of the song’s lyrics. Three plus hours flew just like that and then came the climax song from Nayagan with a different lyrics only to appreciate and thank the man more and more. Concert was great and our seating spots were just what the doctor ordered only to enrich our overall experience. At age 73, I am not sure how many more concerts he will tour internationally but feel totally blessed and money well spent on attending this concert.

  Coming out of the concert myself and my father in law decided to have dinner in a nearby Indian restaurant. As I was munching my szechuan fried rice around 9.34 pm I got a call from a friend asking whether I am interested to meet Raja sir next day morning around 7am. This is similar to asking a woman whether she wants to have a Kalamkari saree with handpainted flowers and peacock (I developed interest in Sarees since 2009 for reasons known) . I was delighted to say ‘Yes’ over the phone and I was all pumped up. We reached home and I already started dreaming about next day morning. I wrote couple of lines about Raja sir what I would call my way of thanksgiving to the legend. Around 12, I hit the bed keeping an alarm for 6am, 6.05 am on top of the usual 6.30am alarm; Believe me I am not sure how many times but for sure hurried to look into the clock atleast twice in the night to see whether its 6am already. Skandan rolling over and szechuan fried rice previous night did no good to my sleeping at all. Finally around 6am I got up and was getting ready to meet the man I cherish every single calendar day. I also had my father in law write down the lines I scribbled previous night into a piece of paper and left home like a child who got 4 lolli pops. I was bit concern whether elden street lights would delay my commute but I was given a royal welcome ..Thanks to all the green lights in Elden street. According to AT&T time I reached Worldgate Marriott lobby in Herndon around 6.59 am; We were a group of friends sitting in the lobby all waiting to see the man. Sir gave consent to meet us through one of the coordinators and we took the elevator to reach the respective floor. Though I do not take vallarai tablets for memory power I am going to try to remember as far as I can of what happened next.

 We entered the room and saw the man ..Yes I saw the man and I couldn’t imagine I was few millimetres away from the man. He was all dressed up in western attire ready to take the flight back home in couple of hours but still had vibudhi and kumkum ..maybe he just had his morning prayers before we stepped in. He greeted all of us and all of us touched his feet to get blessings. I said it is still not sure whether whats happening is a reality….Then we all sat in the sofa and common friend introduced all of us and explained how much we all love his music. Raja sir was asking about the water tank seen from one of his windows which he was not sure what it was. When your mind is occupied I am not sure you will respond to a question ….Then I mentioned to him we missed hearing ‘Naan thedum sevanthi poovidhu’ song from the concert yesterday and he said it was part of the list but was missed ..I said when there is so much to choose obviously 3 hours will allow you to sing only so many ..he acknowledged what I said …Then I took out the green card from my pocket and gave him the lines I wrote. He did not read but am happy he took and placed it in the table nearby. Now its time to take Photographs ..we took a group picture. When we see a sign 75 MPH we get excited and wish we could drive in 80MPH and that’s what happened …after taking group picture we took individual pictures one by one ….Thanks to the type of books I read ..a senior inside me pops out at times and I said following words in tamil “Though it’s a selfish desire please take care of your health since we want you to do more music by that way my son, grandson should listen to your music’; He smiled and all of us again touched his feet and said good bye. I came out of the room ecstatically and we also met Yuvan in the hallway and I congratulated for his fatherhood and took a picture with him. Modern brain is programmed in such a way that anything like this happens the next thing we do is turn towards social media. I was very particular I should arrest this temptation and wait for couple of weeks before I share something on Facebook and I am happy I won the battle.

So what’s special about Raja sir? After all he is also a Human being and does his work as a Musician..whats the big deal? Well for me personally Raja sir plays an integral part of my life. A fifteen minutes commute to the nearest Metro demands I turn on Ilayaraja music in the radio, my coast to coast trips would have been like traveling to next continent if not for his music, running in the Treadmill would have been a nightmare without his music, all of my hard drives has a dedicated folder called ‘Ilayaraja’. Let me give you few example of how his music lifts the spirits ..
1) Song ‘Sangeetha Thirunaal’ from the movie ‘Kadaluku Mariyadhai’ has lots of chorus and in my community during the marriages around 3-5 pm normally bride bids adieu to her parents/relatives and leaves to her in laws place and this is normally the emotional part of the wedding. Most of the studios insert this song in the background at this juncture or during any part of the wedding. Just listen to the song with the context and you will emotionally connect.
2) Listen to ‘Mandam vandha’ song from a guy’s perspective who is willing to forget the past and want to focus on future.
3) There is no song which portrays love,war, pain and longing of the couple like how ‘Sundari kanaal oru sedhi’ does, the way violin and flute is used mesmerizes a music lover.
4) Violin part in the start of the song ‘Kalyana Maalai’ is good enough to bring a smile to any music lover.
5) If we start talking about BGM score then my list will go endless ..but even if one doesn’t understand the language I am sure when you watch Apoo Kamal being rejected in love in movie ‘Apoorva sagotharargal’ you will see the pain ….BGM score in movies like Poovae puchudava and Varusham 16 created so much impact that you cannot imagine such movies without the BGM score.
This is what the man does …he advocates the musical instruments through his orchestration according to the context. In Trichy Ayyappan temple a place with lot of difference they have a wall with ‘Amma Endrazhaikaatha’ song lyrics and so many people come and play the song and do a sashtang namaskaram towards the lyrics. Thiruvasagam reached more public through his work and even now when I want to put Skandan to sleep I play ‘Lali lali’ song from Sipikul Muthu. Thank you Panchu sir, Raja sir family for sacrificing time, Directors who got the best out of Raja, Producers who made it all possible, singers, lyricists and his core orchestration team for all the songs we audience treasure in our lifetime. Raja sir is beyond music for me personally and September 26th is always a special day since it is my amma’s birthday and September 26th 2016 will be more special since I met a person whom I have lots of respect.

Raja rasigan

Hmmm ...Expectation - Is it good ?

      Assume it is a Monday morning and at 6.30 alarm starts shouting good enough for you to come out of bed; You get ready to go to work and you just realized your better half hasn’t ironed your shirt as she promised previous day evening since you had to entertain the guests over the weekend. So it’s a small piece of incident happened against your expectations. Now you drive your car to work and as a courtesy you gave enough time for the pedestrians to cross over the road at the cost of you missing a traffic signal. Though you did out of your own interest still you kinda expected a gentle Thank you by means of waving the hand from atleast one of the string of people walking across the road. So once again a small piece of incident happened against your expectations. At work let us assume after an intriguing brainstorming session you go for your lunch and on your way realized that you forgot your car keys inside the conference room. Upon rushing back to the conference room you are shocked not to see the keys but glad to know that keys are kept at your desk by your colleague. Instead of thanking your colleague your reaction is “Why did my colleague not inform me right away rather than coming to know from HR” ? Again things happen against your expectations. Finally after an exhaustive day at work you return home and expect your kids to carry out the daily errands like checking the mailbox and emptying the trash bins. Again things go against your expectation and you are left pondering over all the small incidents that took place over the course of the day.

     So expecting something to happen and when reality is other way round it turns out to be disappointment.  Expecting is ‘Conditional’ and not expecting anything is ‘Unconditional’ and that is why they say mother’s love is always unconditional in nature. As we move on in life the less we expect from it and just follow the principle of taking things as they come will make us at peace. If a day without expectations can avoid disappointments don’t you agree life without expectations will make you more merrier.

K-A-B-A-L-I

     Well I was waiting for the dust to settle ..Pronouncing the word 'Kabali' brings in lot of exhilaration !! In the last two weeks the term I searched most in Google as well as Youtube was ‘Kabali’; For no movie I have read so many articles and I thoroughly enjoyed reading everything since I got to know what each one things from their own perspective. First I would like to talk about the businessman called ‘Thanu’ ..Man …this is how brand marketing should be The awareness it created which both a software engineer as well as milk man can relate to. I came to know that people in North did Case study on his marketing skills.  Basically it had to start from the grass root level and one of his interviews I came to know that Thanu travels with poster man to supervise placement of posters. His hunger and patience to do a Rajini film is very well seen as he had to wait 30 plus years to produce a Rajini movie and when he got a chance he made use of all possible ways to showcase his publicity skills. This is commendable since if you look at any tamil speaking human being (atleast 8 out of 10) around the globe during July 21-25 timeframe either they talked about Kabali or listened to people talking about Kabali.

    Let us talk about Economics..It was released in record number of screens with many showing premiere shows too, we had Air asia as airline partner, Amazon as online partner, VS hospitals as Hospital partner, Muthoot finance group, PVR cinemas as multiplex partner, Airtel as telecom partner, Cadbury as food and beverage partner etc., All the media (Satellite channels, paper,online) had tremendous readership/viewership during Kabali release time and also they earn lot of moolah through advertisements. Right from guy who sells Rajini embossed T-shirt, parking vendor, canteen vendors, Toilet cleaners, poster boys everyone get to earn more money around release of Rajini movie and this time it just got bit more.

It was my very first experience watching the movie First day First show (FDFS) and was definitely looking forward for the movie. The expectations the teaser has set and the hype that surrounded the movie on top of the new technicians that was invloved made me sketch a completely different picture. Once the movie ended I felt the movie was average. It was great move for Rajinikanth to move away from his cliché mass masala movies and give a break to a promising team – a director who is two films old, an upcoming music director, relatively new stunt master, cinematographer, editor etc., He even came out of his sentiment of having SPB sing the intro song, no larger than life scenes, no scope for BGM score, no duets with heroines, no comedian etc., All these are welcome changes and thus shows the confidence he has on the director and his team.

On the downside screenplay is very predictable and the plot was neither cinematic nor realistic and it fell in between which was the major problem. With so many shootings it is hard to imagine how come the movie is given ‘U/A’ certificate and I am curious to know the norm for censor certification. Also dialogues are not very power packed for the audience to feel the emotional quotient and also I felt atleast one song could have been shot in a racy way to fill the thirst of rajini fans. Well super star tried an animation movie and also went back to ace director in the likes of K.S Ravikumar and since both those attempts did not give him favorable results he had no choice but to go back to a promising new comer like P.Ranjith. There is a notion that foreign locates, blazers, action scenes fetches more moolah and often times story is overlooked. Also I believe there is a law which says only so many number of shows to be played on a weekday with exception being on festival days like Diwali or Pongal and also there are restrictions as far as ticket prices but we all know how much was the tickets sold by theatres and also how many shows they ran during the opening weekend (tickets sold at black market is a different story). Well I am just pointing out this to reiterate the fact when all rules are broken then obviously all records are to be broken. It is true we spend 20 or 25$ to watch the movie but this is mere greedyness making use of the charisma and demand. Just imagine top hollywood films are sold 15$ per head on the opening day where they have spent more money on the making of the movie. In the end people may argue we buy the tickets anyway but all I mean to say is that is not the right way to make money and boast about the phenomenal box office records. Rajini film both help cinema industry as well as kill small film producers since a new Rajini movie means theatres pull off movies running on the theatre though it may do good business.

    Logistics of how a Rajini movie business work should change ..when Rajini offers a production house to do a project they take this as a once in a lifetime opportunity and do everything to make it grand and do business based on his previous release..this is where problem starts …Greedyness takes over and people pay much more than how much it is worth for …ok now people may ask how to determine ‘worth’ of a movie since sky is the limit for Rajini movie …well there is no certain formula to come up with a number but if Rajinikanth does movies based on his age and open to character roles where story takes precedence then craze for Rajini movie will be  at optimum level and everyone involved in the supply chain will stand to gain.

    Also one other thing I noticed in Kabali was clash of opinions …Everyone had an opinion and what is discouraging is when people voice out non favorable reviews then fans get angry ..well this act is very childish and even makers of the movie when they get appreciation from 99% of the crowd it is very natural to get 1% negative reviews and I personally feel they should be open about that since it is nothing but law of nature. I believe the fans get angry because they love the person more than the movie and that is the problem ..the review is just about the movie and not about the man. Who else in this earth can roam around in a street with a headset when the entire Tamil speaking community is going mad over his movie. In my entire blog I have talked about the movie but not about the man ..Yes after all I am a fan of superstar too …மகிழ்ச்சி

Humanity wins !!

  Chennai floods that occurred this time made quite a bit of impact on the Imdian population across the globe. First my prayers to the families who have lost the dear ones ..it is definitely a big loss to the family and my sincere prayers for the departed souls to rest in peace. For people who were admitted to hospital and people in medically critical condition these floods are definitely bad timing. Looking into the Chennai floods I am touched about the humanity being exposed. It even makes me to think that almighty wanted to give a break to the so called ‘Busy’ people to look into life’s perspective even closer. There was a lovely posts in social media which said one has house but not able to live, one has car but not able to drive, one has money in ATM but not able to spend etc.,It is not the material that counts but it is the humaity that wins over.

   Mother nature wants attention of the general public and hence created floods of this magnitude and brought people closer. Look into the number of people who pitched in, how many non profit organizations came in for relief, how many celebrites shed their image and wanted to help, how many companies agreed to sponsor money, amount of prayers that occurred during this tenure, even poor and needy who were not affected by the floods did their part, people from low income did their best, rehabilitation efforts occurred, list goes on and on. But to summarize there was so much positivity in the air and people wanted to do their share of help to help the affected people. This is what makes human beings special ..Religious events brings the same spirit and it was absolutely fantastic to witness same kind a spirit during a natural calamity.

  People also have the tendency to point fingers and blame one another …I don’t think any government will be prepared for this calamity since the way system works in India. It is rights of every citizen to come and bring a change and that is exactly what happened in chennai. Youth poured in and proved they just don’t stop with  dance clubs but given a chance they also can help for a social cause.

  This could very well be a beginning of a new era ..people helping each other is the solace for any problem beyond medical advancements and technologies. The basic bonding that connects us is more important than religion, caste, etc., I just hope and pray that once the holiday season is over people still continue to help each other in rehabilitation efforts. End of the day Humanity wins !!!!

Ooru rendu patta koothadikku kondattam

  There is a proverb in tamil which says “Ooru rendu patta koothadikku kondattam” which means if there is a fight between two brothers it becomes an entertainment for others. As we grow and get to meet many different people and situations in life I am just wondering how true is this proverb. It could be the intensity of the fight or could be the way both parties are completely pre-occupied and one thing people don’t realize is this is a paisa vasool for people surrounding you. I would like to pen this blog to express my thoughts over this topic.

   In this modern world everyone is equipped with so much of information for the simple reason all of us are literates and more than that we are exposed to the outside world compared to previous generations. Here comes the difference of opinion since opinion always matters and opinions always differs from one another; At this juncture if there is a give and take between parties and no ego then things take a different route, if not we all know what happens. This is where things start to get worsen with news spreading around. It could be either people reached out to their peers for help or it could rumour mills spreading around. In one way or the other it gives so much of fodder for the ever hungry folks.

   Recently in Tamil Nadu there were elections for the Nadigar sangam for the first time and there were so much animosity between two teams and war of words was becoming a trend in kollywood. Aaccording to me media were the ultimate winners since it gave them so much footage to highlight their cover pages and definitely they made hay while the sun was shining. If we look back in our life there could be many such incidents.

   One thing which we have to be more careful is trust the people whom we share our personal things. Also it would be best to handle the situation directly with the person whom you are confronting rather than having third party involved. Last but not the least make sure nobody takes this as an oppurtunity to bring down both of you because that could be a major blow than the little flight that it all started with. 

Miscommunication

  In this modern era communication is made very simple – Big thanks to social media!! Information is passed much faster than velocity of sound. But are all the parties involved in a communication thread in the same page? Unfortunately answer is ‘No’. Communication and miscommunication are directly proportional to each other. The more social media we are accustomed to the more we become anti-social . In this blog I would like to barely touch the surface on the topic ‘Miscommunication’

  Interpretation: How a message is conceived by parties involved in a communication can sometimes lead to miscommunication. Many have the habit of beating round the bush when it comes to passing on unpleasant things. In such cases the other person can understand the meaning in many different ways and it just happens that nine out of 10 times he misunderstood what the person intend to say.

  Passing the secret: The game ‘Passing the secret’ is a real funny one in how the message gets personified. Likewise rather than hearing from trusted sources, message gets through many ears and when it eventually comes it is multiplied manifolds. This again leads to miscommunication between principal parties involved.

  Making assumptions: People are normally over-optimistic and assume things. Assuming things for granted can lead to disappointment as well as miscommunication.  

  Above are some of the causes of miscommunication and all it needs is an open talk either in person or over a phone line between parties involved. This would put a full stop to baseless rumors and would settle down things in an amicable manner. Also remember someone has to take the initiative to talk to the other person directly. 

Deforestation

     Now that my wife is doing her Master’s in Public health I am forced to know some of the environmental impacts that is causes around the globe. One of the key concerns for future is ‘Deforestation’; In simple words Deforestation is nothing but permanent demolition of forests in order to make the land available for other uses. Main reasons of deforestation is to have land used for housing & urbanization and also use land for agricultural plantations. Now if we all think through this for a while this is quite a big concern for our future generation; It’s not just enough to have them a good education and a career it is equally important to have them live in a nice environment.

   Greed is a main reason in which human beings are never satisfied with what they have. Back in India with absolutely no qualification but by sheer luck and good public relations real estate merchants are born every day; As soon as they spot a barren land they convert into a commercial building and attach a price tag; All they promise is the place is about to appreciate in near future; If we just demolish all trees then the air we breathe has quite a bit of carbon dioxide. Its concrete all the way and people consider that full potential of the land is not made use of if they allocate certain space for garden.

   By cutting down trees we also cause soil erosion since tree roots anchor the soil. It is also believed trees are important for water cycle since they absorb rain water and produce water vapor that is released into the atmosphere. Also loss of plant and animal species is one of the main effects of deforestation. Also by emitting more CO2 the overall quality of life style is disturbed.

   It is high time world leaders and many bodies around the world take measures and get to an agreement to protect the environment and make the world a better place to live. Finally it all boils down to every individual how he/she wants to take care of the environment, since the time we get up in the morning till we hit the bed just imagine how many tissues of paper you have consumed, think about the energy costs revolving around you in a single calendar day. Let us all do our share of work to make the environment better place to live for our future generations.