Saturday, June 5, 2010
Raangoli
Friday, June 4, 2010
Car craze
A news item in a daily caught my eyes today .It read that big cities ( metros & big cities ) are fueling the demand for cars as economy has picked up.Moreover,companies are also offering cars to their employees as sops.So,the growth is nearly 25%.Perhaps,the cars are given to make employees aggressive but it has succeeded in giving vent to aggressiveness only in the form of road rage !
I fail to understand where all this hoopla about owning a car is taking us all ! Maybe towards dooms day ! In our nation,there are hardly any roads but we have cars of all kinds -even Volkswagen has come in ! This all when the world is going green ! The government instead of developing infrastructure is busy giving licenses to all manufacturers to churn out cars .There are many villages which have no roads to connect them to the nearest hospital,school or market but maybe Sarkaar believes that the cars will take the school,the market ,the hospitals & the likes to the villages ! How innovative ! So, we are going mobile & since we are in a hurry ,with a vengeance !
Really,many seem to think, that without cars nobody believes they have arrived ! In the building wherein I stay,people have two to three cars in a family but they own only one flat.So,the scramble for parking & eventual fights which have become a daily affair now.Many just buy four wheelers to show to the world that they have amassed wealth .For them ,a car is another way of displaying their riches,never mind if it smacks of vulgarity.Moreover,the bigger the vehicle,the larger is the ego or maybe it is the reverse.
The huge demand for four wheelers is also increasing our oil bill many folds.Moreover,a few years hence,there may be no oil left to refuel our modern toys.We must waste less energy on such useless giants which keep guzzling oil but take us nowhere .With all due respect to the Nano,the crowding on roads will just get worse, as it is a small car.
Parking is a big headache in the metros & big cities are also realising that parking is scarce as more & more vehicles start plying on the roads.Moreover,people on the wheels are commiting accidents left,right & centre without any qualms.They feel that Insurance will bail them out.But who will fund insurance ? We ,the tax paying public will -this is obvious but vehicle owners feel this is fine as non -vehicle owners also are paying for crimes of vehicle owners.As one wag put it ," There is nothing certain in life except death & taxes but that does not mean we have to be taxed to death ." Yes,many people die & are injured in accidents on roads but compensation is too meagre & so late that the dependent family is as good as dead.
In India,public transport is bad ,if it exists & non -existent in many places.So for the situation to improve,we as the public, must make out all efforts to introduce public transport in all places.This will help in decongesting roads,ease traffic & also reduce accidents.It will be less polluting as well.Moreover a good public transport will make people less dependent on cars which will free parking spaces which can be better utilised as land is scarce & too valuable to be wasted for parking .
I fail to understand where all this hoopla about owning a car is taking us all ! Maybe towards dooms day ! In our nation,there are hardly any roads but we have cars of all kinds -even Volkswagen has come in ! This all when the world is going green ! The government instead of developing infrastructure is busy giving licenses to all manufacturers to churn out cars .There are many villages which have no roads to connect them to the nearest hospital,school or market but maybe Sarkaar believes that the cars will take the school,the market ,the hospitals & the likes to the villages ! How innovative ! So, we are going mobile & since we are in a hurry ,with a vengeance !
Really,many seem to think, that without cars nobody believes they have arrived ! In the building wherein I stay,people have two to three cars in a family but they own only one flat.So,the scramble for parking & eventual fights which have become a daily affair now.Many just buy four wheelers to show to the world that they have amassed wealth .For them ,a car is another way of displaying their riches,never mind if it smacks of vulgarity.Moreover,the bigger the vehicle,the larger is the ego or maybe it is the reverse.
The huge demand for four wheelers is also increasing our oil bill many folds.Moreover,a few years hence,there may be no oil left to refuel our modern toys.We must waste less energy on such useless giants which keep guzzling oil but take us nowhere .With all due respect to the Nano,the crowding on roads will just get worse, as it is a small car.
Parking is a big headache in the metros & big cities are also realising that parking is scarce as more & more vehicles start plying on the roads.Moreover,people on the wheels are commiting accidents left,right & centre without any qualms.They feel that Insurance will bail them out.But who will fund insurance ? We ,the tax paying public will -this is obvious but vehicle owners feel this is fine as non -vehicle owners also are paying for crimes of vehicle owners.As one wag put it ," There is nothing certain in life except death & taxes but that does not mean we have to be taxed to death ." Yes,many people die & are injured in accidents on roads but compensation is too meagre & so late that the dependent family is as good as dead.
In India,public transport is bad ,if it exists & non -existent in many places.So for the situation to improve,we as the public, must make out all efforts to introduce public transport in all places.This will help in decongesting roads,ease traffic & also reduce accidents.It will be less polluting as well.Moreover a good public transport will make people less dependent on cars which will free parking spaces which can be better utilised as land is scarce & too valuable to be wasted for parking .
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Rangoli
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Handling children.
My friend asked me the other day if I could accompany her to a workshop on " How to handle kids " .This was at a local school for an evening.I was reluctant as I feel that nobody can give us readymade solutions for any situations in life but as I sensed that my chum needed company,I agreed.
The workshop was oraganised by a group which has a modern age Guru endorsing it or rather the Guru's name is flaunted by his disciples for all the talks & meets organised by them.The charges were below five hundred but for a single night,I felt,we were paying steeply.As we paid the fees,we were also told to divulge our cell numbers so that they could bombard us with information about numerous talk shows they were having next.So for the charges paid,we were actually being fleeced as our privacy was also at stake !
As we sat down on the chairs,we were handed papers & a pen to make our jottings.Then we were informed that the workshop would begin at half past seven.We were given to believe that it would start at seven but in India,everything starts late to suit latecomers.So we waited & then ,again to accomdate more people,it was decided to start at fifteen minutes past the decided time.Anyway,itt did start at quarter to eight.Not many had come in to partake of the positive thoughts about kids.Hardly twenty people were there excluding the organisers .There was one yuppie couple who were not parents yet & there was a spinster - they were going to advise us on dealing with our kids !
We were told about three Fs -we must be firm ,fair & have fun whilst dealing with kids.We as parents must never give in to their demands of chocolates,toys etc once we have set limits no matter what the tantrums are.We must also be fair - we cannot lie whilst talking to others & expect the child to always speak the truth.Moreover,we must also have the fun factor in mind as we handle kids.
We were given a formula -PEACE .PEACE stands for positivity,giving an ear to the kid , allowing creativity & also that presentation is a key in making them eat healthy.They also told us that it takes 18 days of continuity to get into a habit & after 41 days the habit becomes second nature .That is,after 41 days,we cannot do without that activity-it becomes so much a part of us that we cannot live without it.
The examples that were given were good & made us aware of the mistakes we commit as we interact with our children.But some ideas were too simplistic & may not work,say with teenagers.The male teacher stated that the chief of the programme is so concerned about his children that he always keeps communication lines open.He has instructed his office staff that he is always there for jhis kids even in the midst of meetings.As we were all being enlightened aboyut all this,the mobile phone of a participating parent rang.He was told to promptly switch it off by the lecturer.Now,suppose ,it was from his kid with whom he wanted to reopen the communication line as was being advised in thbe worshop ?!
Obviously,there are no easy answers.As one of them put it," All gadgets come with a manual but the child comes without a manual." It is our own affection,love & wits which will ultimately help us in bring up our child.All these ways will be individualistic in as much as each of us is unique in our own way !
The workshop was oraganised by a group which has a modern age Guru endorsing it or rather the Guru's name is flaunted by his disciples for all the talks & meets organised by them.The charges were below five hundred but for a single night,I felt,we were paying steeply.As we paid the fees,we were also told to divulge our cell numbers so that they could bombard us with information about numerous talk shows they were having next.So for the charges paid,we were actually being fleeced as our privacy was also at stake !
As we sat down on the chairs,we were handed papers & a pen to make our jottings.Then we were informed that the workshop would begin at half past seven.We were given to believe that it would start at seven but in India,everything starts late to suit latecomers.So we waited & then ,again to accomdate more people,it was decided to start at fifteen minutes past the decided time.Anyway,itt did start at quarter to eight.Not many had come in to partake of the positive thoughts about kids.Hardly twenty people were there excluding the organisers .There was one yuppie couple who were not parents yet & there was a spinster - they were going to advise us on dealing with our kids !
We were told about three Fs -we must be firm ,fair & have fun whilst dealing with kids.We as parents must never give in to their demands of chocolates,toys etc once we have set limits no matter what the tantrums are.We must also be fair - we cannot lie whilst talking to others & expect the child to always speak the truth.Moreover,we must also have the fun factor in mind as we handle kids.
We were given a formula -PEACE .PEACE stands for positivity,giving an ear to the kid , allowing creativity & also that presentation is a key in making them eat healthy.They also told us that it takes 18 days of continuity to get into a habit & after 41 days the habit becomes second nature .That is,after 41 days,we cannot do without that activity-it becomes so much a part of us that we cannot live without it.
The examples that were given were good & made us aware of the mistakes we commit as we interact with our children.But some ideas were too simplistic & may not work,say with teenagers.The male teacher stated that the chief of the programme is so concerned about his children that he always keeps communication lines open.He has instructed his office staff that he is always there for jhis kids even in the midst of meetings.As we were all being enlightened aboyut all this,the mobile phone of a participating parent rang.He was told to promptly switch it off by the lecturer.Now,suppose ,it was from his kid with whom he wanted to reopen the communication line as was being advised in thbe worshop ?!
Obviously,there are no easy answers.As one of them put it," All gadgets come with a manual but the child comes without a manual." It is our own affection,love & wits which will ultimately help us in bring up our child.All these ways will be individualistic in as much as each of us is unique in our own way !
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