To put it straight--> I detest wearing headphones while watching a movie or listening to a song. The itchy sweat that piles up around the ears never fails to irk me. The awareness of health issues combined with the interlocking wires they come attached with didn’t help me love them a bit. But I was forced to do exactly that when my laptop’s speakers went dumb. The acerbic feeling of sporting a rebarbative on the ears made me take a decision against my stingy nature, after enough rumination though. I decided it was time to buy an accessory pair of speakers. There embarked a journey which gave me a lot of insight into mindsets of people and how businessmen deal/ need to deal with their customers.
I am never quite fussy when it comes to buying things. I keep it simple. I check the cheapest first and if impressed go with it. I never want branded or most sought after items. All I want is to get hold of things which satisfy my need. So here I went to an electronics shop one early morning (read 11am) which is out of way from my office. And quickly I enquired the prices of speaker units they had. The first learning came here. Shopkeepers generally describe and show the most sophisticated and costlier units first. Blankly, I asked for the most inexpensive one. He showed me one for Rs300. Zebronics brand. Having seen products of this brand before (probably there are many like-minded people around me!), I was impressed immediately. But 300 was a bit high on first thought. So I left the shop thinking I could check out other places.
After some enquires with people in office, I realized that 300 could be the lowest reliable speaker unit. I made up my mind reminding myself how much I earn and 300 seemed a pittance. And maybe I will be successful in negotiating the price further down. So I reentered the shop in the evening and the shopkeeper seemed to recognize me. I took the unit from the shelf and told him I wanted it. The second learning: he said it cost Rs350 much to the shock of the jolted me. I had to argue and remind him that it was quoted as 300 some hours back and finally he agreed. No more negotiation. He had won it. I was mildly happy when I came home and ripped off the headphone from the computer pin. The ‘joy’ was curiously short lived.
One of the speakers didn’t work properly! Damn! I immediately rushed to the shop only to find it closed. Knowing that it wouldn’t be open during the weekend, I had to wait till Monday. It easily spoiled my plans of watching one or two movies. It’s more frustrating to pay for it and not enjoy. Lesson three: always test your purchase especially electronic products. Monday arrived and I went to the shop early morning as usual. The shopkeeper was very accommodative of the fact that it didn’t work (maybe its normal!) and immediately replaced another. I insisted that it needs to be tested and we found that, for a change, both the speakers not working! He gave me an embarrassed look and requested me to come in the evening to collect a working one. I was relieved that he agreed to change it at least.
I couldn’t go back to the shop for the next 3 days thanks to my hectic workplace. But when I finally did, there was a smile in the shopkeeper’s face as he ushered me to the shelf to take a new piece. While he opened the speaker box for testing, some chaiwala came with cups of chai. The shopkeeper asked me to sit, relax and have chai. I thought it was a formality so I said its fine and stood there. But he insisted me to do the same and said he will test and give a good piece. The first piece that he tested was working fine I thought so I stood up and went to collect it. But he asked me to wait since he could sense something shaking inside one speaker and he went to take another piece for testing. Lesson four: even shopkeepers want to ensure quality. Finally he gave me a piece that worked fine and while giving, with an honest face he said ‘sorry sir’. I was totally moved. He needn’t have taken all efforts to ensure I was happy. I wasn’t a regular or a major customer. Probably he earned 20 bucks from me. Upon enquiring, he said he will return all defective pieces back to the manufacturer. I came home happy and satisfied. Being a person who always looks at the management side of things, I realized that things can go wrong. The strength lies in how you accept it and repair the image. That’s the biggest learning I got. He got his customer trapped in the end. Emotionally. Trapped forever…
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
The Phoenix's rebirth!!
New Year’s Day today. The air is redolent of exhilaration and joy as people throng the streets to celebrate and absorb the unknown energy, generated from vacuum, which unites even strangers. I wish I could join them. But today I have taken a risk. To keep my shop open even after 11pm. I fetch the maximum on these occasions. I own a pan shop. CLASSIC PAN SHOP. People call me (and probably my entire community) “The Panwala”. Ironically, I earn more by selling myriad branded cigarettes than by selling pan. In India somehow traditional names cling on to shops that no longer associate importance to them. I am so used to phrases like ‘bhaiya dho kings’ ‘ek pack mints’ etc that I call them clichés now. I like customers who ask differently. Like ‘wo paach rupee wala dena’ ‘mujhe apni dosth se mila le bhaiya’ or even ‘wo dena jo mujhe swarg ko bejthi hai’. I never exactly realized what the last phrase meant. Until today…
A unique noise seemed to divert the joyous mood. A noise that freaks me every time my eardrums vibrate due to it. The siren of an ambulance it was. And rather shockingly it was going to the flat whose occupant I knew very dearly. He was my most valued customer and a good friend moreover. He worked in the IT industry. I am not good at stats but I guess every other customer of mine works in the IT industry. Money brings with it the need to find an alternative way to relax and ease the tension. They are good people generally. But everyday, every night in fact, when they return from their workplace, there will be a sudden rudeness in their tired, lifeless eyes. They always seem to have something wrong to say about their bosses when they crush the butts of the 5-minute wonders they just relished. They are my target segment. They are my feeders. They are my friends. And one of them, I perceive, was in some danger tonight…
Big danger! I thought, looking at my friend who was taken inside the ambulance rather quickly. His clothes were wet with blood and his eyes told a sad story. I saw a glimpse of his silhouette from within the ambulance and I started wondering. Wondering how chubby he used to be; full of energy and exuberance; obviously happy with his first job as he moved over to my locality. It all started with curiosity about why people smoke. That was his first question to me. I told him that I compared it to a phoenix which periodically burns itself to death and emerges from the ashes in another form to service its master. He eventually tried one and never gave up. He used to tell me how things are in his office and how he used to be careless till college. The occasional 2 minute conversations I have with my customers makes me kill time in an otherwise boring job. But this guy had some charisma around him. Anyone would instantly like him. But of late he started reducing the talks and used to buy the 5-min wonder in bulks. Maybe something was bothering him I had assumed. But I was not bothered as long as I was benefited…
I peeped into the house, now vacant. I saw blood covering the floors of the hall. He vomited blood! No, he slashed his wrists! It’s a suicide attempt! , many gossiped. Maybe it was. He last told me that his life was in disarray as his job was becoming unsafe due to recession and that his girlfriend had ditched him for some reason. These are stories I hear often nowadays so it didn’t mean much to me then. I looked around the house. Butts! The house was replete with sporadic colonies of cigarette butts. This was the moment that struck me hard. I felt responsible in some way. Maybe some might argue (even I used to) that it satiates the tired soul. But as I have always heard, it takes the individual into deeper depression. I believed that now. As I walked back to my shop, I made a decision. I took a marker and modified my shop banner. It now read “CLASSIC PAN (only) SHOP”. And I collected all the cigarette packets I had and made a bonfire out of it in front of his house. The wind started blowing hard and swept away the lump of ash that was being formed. For you my friend! I shouted at the top of my voice. Maybe he will hear it somehow. Maybe he was not even alive till then. I never got to know…
A unique noise seemed to divert the joyous mood. A noise that freaks me every time my eardrums vibrate due to it. The siren of an ambulance it was. And rather shockingly it was going to the flat whose occupant I knew very dearly. He was my most valued customer and a good friend moreover. He worked in the IT industry. I am not good at stats but I guess every other customer of mine works in the IT industry. Money brings with it the need to find an alternative way to relax and ease the tension. They are good people generally. But everyday, every night in fact, when they return from their workplace, there will be a sudden rudeness in their tired, lifeless eyes. They always seem to have something wrong to say about their bosses when they crush the butts of the 5-minute wonders they just relished. They are my target segment. They are my feeders. They are my friends. And one of them, I perceive, was in some danger tonight…
Big danger! I thought, looking at my friend who was taken inside the ambulance rather quickly. His clothes were wet with blood and his eyes told a sad story. I saw a glimpse of his silhouette from within the ambulance and I started wondering. Wondering how chubby he used to be; full of energy and exuberance; obviously happy with his first job as he moved over to my locality. It all started with curiosity about why people smoke. That was his first question to me. I told him that I compared it to a phoenix which periodically burns itself to death and emerges from the ashes in another form to service its master. He eventually tried one and never gave up. He used to tell me how things are in his office and how he used to be careless till college. The occasional 2 minute conversations I have with my customers makes me kill time in an otherwise boring job. But this guy had some charisma around him. Anyone would instantly like him. But of late he started reducing the talks and used to buy the 5-min wonder in bulks. Maybe something was bothering him I had assumed. But I was not bothered as long as I was benefited…
I peeped into the house, now vacant. I saw blood covering the floors of the hall. He vomited blood! No, he slashed his wrists! It’s a suicide attempt! , many gossiped. Maybe it was. He last told me that his life was in disarray as his job was becoming unsafe due to recession and that his girlfriend had ditched him for some reason. These are stories I hear often nowadays so it didn’t mean much to me then. I looked around the house. Butts! The house was replete with sporadic colonies of cigarette butts. This was the moment that struck me hard. I felt responsible in some way. Maybe some might argue (even I used to) that it satiates the tired soul. But as I have always heard, it takes the individual into deeper depression. I believed that now. As I walked back to my shop, I made a decision. I took a marker and modified my shop banner. It now read “CLASSIC PAN (only) SHOP”. And I collected all the cigarette packets I had and made a bonfire out of it in front of his house. The wind started blowing hard and swept away the lump of ash that was being formed. For you my friend! I shouted at the top of my voice. Maybe he will hear it somehow. Maybe he was not even alive till then. I never got to know…
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Hairy Seeker and the Dreamer's Stone
He looked at the path ahead. He wasn't sure. He wasn't sure where he was heading. He wasn't sure why he was going there. He wasn't sure what prize awaited him. He looked at the seemingly endless path ahead. Dusty and barren. He knew he was following the right path, though a longer one. Short cuts failed to please him. He was aware of his nefarious competitors who were precocious and truculent. They mocked at his imbecility to follow this route but his unfeigned devotion to the adventure shielded his mind from being debauched. He was behind, what people call, the Dreamer's stone.
The stone, precious they say, was the treasure everyone sought. He wasn't aware how it looked and why it was precious. But he knew he had to find it. He started taking the path that lay ahead. Soon he realized that it wasn't going to be easy. He often had mirages of the stone lying just ahead but the excitement was short-lived always. He heard voices inside him asking him to give up as this journey was created without an end. His body was seeking to end its allegiance to him as every cell inside him got enervated. It was then that he saw the monotonous road leading him to a small cave.
With high hopes and sudden burst of energy created from the air, which was redolent of something royal and priceless, he entered the cave. It was dark. He wondered how the precious stone could lie in an area devoid of any light. Only when he lit the candle he carried did he realize the truth. He realized the hard truth. One of his competitors had taken away the stone. He felt cheated for he followed the righteous path but the one who emerged victorious was the one who was manipulative and spurious. He quelled the only source of light in the cave and sat down accepting defeat. He stared into the darkness that was asphyxiating him slowly. But his preordained destiny had something else in store for him.
He lay there and lost all account of time. He felt his life had no purpose anymore. He couldn't return without the trophy he had sought for but the Dreamer's stone belonged to someone else now. With despair and ignominy of defeat, he started to head back. In frustration, he threw all his belongings one by one into different parts of the cave. Suddenly he heard a metallic sound, a sound suggestive of something else existing inside the cave. With new hopes, he lit the candle again and he strode into that direction of the cave and found himself facing a gate.
Being adept at solving AND or NAND gates, it didn't take much time for him to open this one as he entered a room which contained nothing except a small lump of mud in one corner. He had a prescient feeling that something was lying inside it, needing to be freed. 'Go! Dharma will protect you!' he was being cheered by someone he didn't know and couldn't see. Without losing any time, he started digging into the lump with his bare hands. He was digging into the deep sands when he hit upon a pot. The pot was covered with ash. Ash that never missed the eye after the first look. He cleared the ash with his dress and lifted the pot with both his hands. Something was wrong. His one hand was burning and other was freezing. Ice and fire on two halves made him drop the pot. It fell apart conspicuously revealing its contents. The sweetie fluid that flowed from it was encapsulating something. Something immaculately designed. A piece of rock. Or was it? As soon as he touched it, he knew it belonged to him. That it was waiting to belong to him. There was a sudden revelation. A sudden light emerged from the rock he held. It was transforming itself slowly as it left his hand and pierced into his skin in the middle of his chest. He felt no pain. In fact he was relishing the feeling of it penetrating his body. With a happy and satisfied mind, he started his journey back. The journey till death meets him, with his only companion, his only partner and his only belonging.
A year on, he looked back at everything. It was all worth it. The rock had got itself attached to his beating heart while the transformation that started in the cave ended. The rock was not a mere rock after all. Little did people know that inside his chest, there was a precious stone, more valuable than the Dreamer's stone. He himself didn't know what he had inside his heart but he knew he was happy. Happier than he had ever dreamed to be. The stone vouched to stay with him till his heart stopped, feeding him with enough pulses of energy every second. The stone is better known as a diamond today. He calls it cRyStAl, his cRyStAl…
The stone, precious they say, was the treasure everyone sought. He wasn't aware how it looked and why it was precious. But he knew he had to find it. He started taking the path that lay ahead. Soon he realized that it wasn't going to be easy. He often had mirages of the stone lying just ahead but the excitement was short-lived always. He heard voices inside him asking him to give up as this journey was created without an end. His body was seeking to end its allegiance to him as every cell inside him got enervated. It was then that he saw the monotonous road leading him to a small cave.
With high hopes and sudden burst of energy created from the air, which was redolent of something royal and priceless, he entered the cave. It was dark. He wondered how the precious stone could lie in an area devoid of any light. Only when he lit the candle he carried did he realize the truth. He realized the hard truth. One of his competitors had taken away the stone. He felt cheated for he followed the righteous path but the one who emerged victorious was the one who was manipulative and spurious. He quelled the only source of light in the cave and sat down accepting defeat. He stared into the darkness that was asphyxiating him slowly. But his preordained destiny had something else in store for him.
He lay there and lost all account of time. He felt his life had no purpose anymore. He couldn't return without the trophy he had sought for but the Dreamer's stone belonged to someone else now. With despair and ignominy of defeat, he started to head back. In frustration, he threw all his belongings one by one into different parts of the cave. Suddenly he heard a metallic sound, a sound suggestive of something else existing inside the cave. With new hopes, he lit the candle again and he strode into that direction of the cave and found himself facing a gate.
Being adept at solving AND or NAND gates, it didn't take much time for him to open this one as he entered a room which contained nothing except a small lump of mud in one corner. He had a prescient feeling that something was lying inside it, needing to be freed. 'Go! Dharma will protect you!' he was being cheered by someone he didn't know and couldn't see. Without losing any time, he started digging into the lump with his bare hands. He was digging into the deep sands when he hit upon a pot. The pot was covered with ash. Ash that never missed the eye after the first look. He cleared the ash with his dress and lifted the pot with both his hands. Something was wrong. His one hand was burning and other was freezing. Ice and fire on two halves made him drop the pot. It fell apart conspicuously revealing its contents. The sweetie fluid that flowed from it was encapsulating something. Something immaculately designed. A piece of rock. Or was it? As soon as he touched it, he knew it belonged to him. That it was waiting to belong to him. There was a sudden revelation. A sudden light emerged from the rock he held. It was transforming itself slowly as it left his hand and pierced into his skin in the middle of his chest. He felt no pain. In fact he was relishing the feeling of it penetrating his body. With a happy and satisfied mind, he started his journey back. The journey till death meets him, with his only companion, his only partner and his only belonging.
A year on, he looked back at everything. It was all worth it. The rock had got itself attached to his beating heart while the transformation that started in the cave ended. The rock was not a mere rock after all. Little did people know that inside his chest, there was a precious stone, more valuable than the Dreamer's stone. He himself didn't know what he had inside his heart but he knew he was happy. Happier than he had ever dreamed to be. The stone vouched to stay with him till his heart stopped, feeding him with enough pulses of energy every second. The stone is better known as a diamond today. He calls it cRyStAl, his cRyStAl…
Monday, December 29, 2008
All is fair in business...
Today is the last day of the month. A day I wait for every month. Today is the day I would be clearing all my debts. With God. People use cheat, cunning, shrewd, heartless, foxy and similar adjectives to address me. I call myself a businessman. That's what I do. Business. I accept my business isn't confined to legal boundaries only. But I also bribe many officials to keep running in this rat race. 'All is fair in business' is the mantra I use. So far I have been successful. For the past 20 years that is...
For the past 20 years it has been a practice of mine to total up all my profits in a month and 'gift' 5℅ of it to God. People call it donation. I call it bribe. Yes. Even the Almighty needs to be bribed. So that the next month is more profitable and the risks would be taken care off. Today is the day I would visit the temple again. I hate debts. That's why I look forward to this day. My profits this year have been showing a negative trend. Last month it was 2.6 crores but this month they add up to 2 crores only. Damn this global recession. 2009 should be a better year. Hopefully. So here I head to the temple...
My bribes are always in ten rupee notes. That's my identity. People get astonished whenever I bring bags and bags of notes to donate. Today, if my calculations are correct, I should be giving God some 1000 ten rupee bundles, 300 less than last time. And I hate beggars. Why should they come in between two dealers, God and I? Usually I walk past totally oblivious to their existence. But this guy stuck me today. When I was walking past, he sang my favorite song with consummate ease and asked for alms as he proclaimed to be blind and handicapped in legs. It is generally tough to move my heart. But today it was moved. I took out a ten rupee note from one bundle and gave it to him. And I went straight to the place where God has stoned himself...
I admire him. God. Totally. All he does is keep sitting in one place and he gets all the money he wants. That takes some business sense. But today I was going to castigate him.
'Hey God!! You promised me more this month! You took 1300 bundles last month for what? Be truthful to the partnership! Adhere to the business ethics! I am disappointed with you. Atleast make sure that in 2009 you remain loyal to your partner. Anyways. You got 1000 this month. That's all. And ya I took off a ten rupee note to give that beggar. Your fine for disappointing me! Chalo. See you next month then. Happy new year to you! Bye'
God and I are more like friends. We have always been. I need him and he needs me. So everything was done. I have cleared all my debts successfully. I was walking with my head held high when I saw the beggar walking past me. Walking!!
The thing with beggars is that you can't really differentiate one from another. But this time I was sure because he was humming the same tune. The tune I love. And he was walking without any support. Didn't he say he was blind? I followed him wanting to take back the ten rupees and stopped short to listen to his conversation with my friend, God.
'Hey God! You have been generous to me today. Some gentleman donated ten to me just now. I know I cheat. But you have made me this way. Today totally I got 20 rupees. As I have promised, I will give half of it to you. Here is the ten'
I saw him giving God the same ten I had given him. The ten that God should have got in the first place. I turned and walked back to my car. I learnt a lot today. God has many friends, so he can't always satisfy, take care of every customer. I need to be patient with him. God creates cheaters. So that he can make a living. And God is an amazing businessman! Look how he got back the ten which I fined him!!! All is fair in business...
For the past 20 years it has been a practice of mine to total up all my profits in a month and 'gift' 5℅ of it to God. People call it donation. I call it bribe. Yes. Even the Almighty needs to be bribed. So that the next month is more profitable and the risks would be taken care off. Today is the day I would visit the temple again. I hate debts. That's why I look forward to this day. My profits this year have been showing a negative trend. Last month it was 2.6 crores but this month they add up to 2 crores only. Damn this global recession. 2009 should be a better year. Hopefully. So here I head to the temple...
My bribes are always in ten rupee notes. That's my identity. People get astonished whenever I bring bags and bags of notes to donate. Today, if my calculations are correct, I should be giving God some 1000 ten rupee bundles, 300 less than last time. And I hate beggars. Why should they come in between two dealers, God and I? Usually I walk past totally oblivious to their existence. But this guy stuck me today. When I was walking past, he sang my favorite song with consummate ease and asked for alms as he proclaimed to be blind and handicapped in legs. It is generally tough to move my heart. But today it was moved. I took out a ten rupee note from one bundle and gave it to him. And I went straight to the place where God has stoned himself...
I admire him. God. Totally. All he does is keep sitting in one place and he gets all the money he wants. That takes some business sense. But today I was going to castigate him.
'Hey God!! You promised me more this month! You took 1300 bundles last month for what? Be truthful to the partnership! Adhere to the business ethics! I am disappointed with you. Atleast make sure that in 2009 you remain loyal to your partner. Anyways. You got 1000 this month. That's all. And ya I took off a ten rupee note to give that beggar. Your fine for disappointing me! Chalo. See you next month then. Happy new year to you! Bye'
God and I are more like friends. We have always been. I need him and he needs me. So everything was done. I have cleared all my debts successfully. I was walking with my head held high when I saw the beggar walking past me. Walking!!
The thing with beggars is that you can't really differentiate one from another. But this time I was sure because he was humming the same tune. The tune I love. And he was walking without any support. Didn't he say he was blind? I followed him wanting to take back the ten rupees and stopped short to listen to his conversation with my friend, God.
'Hey God! You have been generous to me today. Some gentleman donated ten to me just now. I know I cheat. But you have made me this way. Today totally I got 20 rupees. As I have promised, I will give half of it to you. Here is the ten'
I saw him giving God the same ten I had given him. The ten that God should have got in the first place. I turned and walked back to my car. I learnt a lot today. God has many friends, so he can't always satisfy, take care of every customer. I need to be patient with him. God creates cheaters. So that he can make a living. And God is an amazing businessman! Look how he got back the ten which I fined him!!! All is fair in business...
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Live another day!!!
Blood! He saw blood in his hands. And he knew he was going to die this time. He knew he had no time for the things he had planned for. He wanted to live. At least another day. He ran towards his house…
It all started when he was a year old. He slashed his hands with a sharp knife by accident and his mom tried doing everything she could but the bleeding didn’t stop. He was taken to a hospital nearby and that was the first time of many more that he was admitted in the ICU. Upon analysis, his parents were told that he was facing a rare genetic disorder. Haemophilia. That’s the first word he learnt in English. And the first definition “Haemophilia is a blood disorder where an essential clotting factor is missing, either partly or completely”. After that day, everyday of his life has been eventful and everything he did was monitored by his poor parents, literally.
He never had the freedom to do things the way other kids did them, he was always under supervision. Why should one word gulp up my whole life?, he often used to wonder. But over time, he had to accept it. His parents told him that he was special and one in million who get this dreadful deficiency. But he didn’t want to be special. He wanted to be normal. He didn’t like the way people treated him. He hated being shown pity. He was not going to let anyone think he was a patient. He wanted to fight. He wanted to show to this world which does nothing but show pity that he was capable of great things. He was going to leave an inedible mark…
He underwent all the known methods of treatment. From the painful injections time to time, the various exercises, the different herbs suggested, to the acts of self-hypnotism, he tried everything. It made no difference to anything. He wasn’t allowed to shave his ugly beard also. What if you get hurt?, he was asked. But I want to shave and look smart!, he cried to himself. He decided he would do something about this. He joined biology course in his higher secondary. And it was then that he felt his life was meaningful. He started believing that it was no fault of his that he is facing this deficiency. He did his under-graduate in Biotechnology. Soon he got tired of all the theory he was reading. He started a local laboratory on his own, with full support from his parents. He knew that they can’t support him forever, that he needed to earn money on his own now. He started working for a newspaper company to earn his living. He worked hard in his lab late nights to develop something that would save his peers all over the world. He knew it was far fetched. But he wanted to die fighting…
Today was that fateful day when his hand got jammed into the printing machine and he was bleeding. Oh shit! Wish I had completed the experiment yesterday! He had developed something but he couldn’t test unless he had medical support in case it failed. He waited for Sunday to test it as it would be an off day for work. He ran hard with blood flowing all over his body. His parents were shocked to see him coming back to home liked that. But he had no time to explain it to them. Unmindful of them, he ran straight to his lab. He had five more minutes. He mixed the final two solutions and drank the resulting liquid as fast as he could. And that was the last thing he remembered…
A week later:
The local newspaper company had lost one of its employees this week. He was hardworking, the boss was thinking. There was a new boy now replacing the dedicated employee. The new boy was looking at the headlines.
A SCIENTIFIC MIRACLE!!
A young scientist from India has miraculously discovered the cure to a long known genetic disorder……
He was reading the same headline. He has suddenly become world famous. And once in the limelight, money comes uninvited. He returned to his lab to start work again. To develop a cheap, affordable cure for the same…
It all started when he was a year old. He slashed his hands with a sharp knife by accident and his mom tried doing everything she could but the bleeding didn’t stop. He was taken to a hospital nearby and that was the first time of many more that he was admitted in the ICU. Upon analysis, his parents were told that he was facing a rare genetic disorder. Haemophilia. That’s the first word he learnt in English. And the first definition “Haemophilia is a blood disorder where an essential clotting factor is missing, either partly or completely”. After that day, everyday of his life has been eventful and everything he did was monitored by his poor parents, literally.
He never had the freedom to do things the way other kids did them, he was always under supervision. Why should one word gulp up my whole life?, he often used to wonder. But over time, he had to accept it. His parents told him that he was special and one in million who get this dreadful deficiency. But he didn’t want to be special. He wanted to be normal. He didn’t like the way people treated him. He hated being shown pity. He was not going to let anyone think he was a patient. He wanted to fight. He wanted to show to this world which does nothing but show pity that he was capable of great things. He was going to leave an inedible mark…
He underwent all the known methods of treatment. From the painful injections time to time, the various exercises, the different herbs suggested, to the acts of self-hypnotism, he tried everything. It made no difference to anything. He wasn’t allowed to shave his ugly beard also. What if you get hurt?, he was asked. But I want to shave and look smart!, he cried to himself. He decided he would do something about this. He joined biology course in his higher secondary. And it was then that he felt his life was meaningful. He started believing that it was no fault of his that he is facing this deficiency. He did his under-graduate in Biotechnology. Soon he got tired of all the theory he was reading. He started a local laboratory on his own, with full support from his parents. He knew that they can’t support him forever, that he needed to earn money on his own now. He started working for a newspaper company to earn his living. He worked hard in his lab late nights to develop something that would save his peers all over the world. He knew it was far fetched. But he wanted to die fighting…
Today was that fateful day when his hand got jammed into the printing machine and he was bleeding. Oh shit! Wish I had completed the experiment yesterday! He had developed something but he couldn’t test unless he had medical support in case it failed. He waited for Sunday to test it as it would be an off day for work. He ran hard with blood flowing all over his body. His parents were shocked to see him coming back to home liked that. But he had no time to explain it to them. Unmindful of them, he ran straight to his lab. He had five more minutes. He mixed the final two solutions and drank the resulting liquid as fast as he could. And that was the last thing he remembered…
A week later:
The local newspaper company had lost one of its employees this week. He was hardworking, the boss was thinking. There was a new boy now replacing the dedicated employee. The new boy was looking at the headlines.
A SCIENTIFIC MIRACLE!!
A young scientist from India has miraculously discovered the cure to a long known genetic disorder……
He was reading the same headline. He has suddenly become world famous. And once in the limelight, money comes uninvited. He returned to his lab to start work again. To develop a cheap, affordable cure for the same…
Note: This post is dedicated to all the people who face similar disorders and to that special person whom I have come across having the disorder discussed above.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Happy Birthday!! -to me :)
Hi all! Please wish me a very happy birthday! (Yes I am known to be open with requests). Never thought I would grow up so soon and face you people with confidence and reassurance that you will all come back to me again. Life so far has been interesting. There have been ups and downs, fun and dull moments, good and bad comments on me but I have lived up to everything I was expected to, I think. That’s what my master also thinks! He has been good to me. In fact AMAZING! He is the best master I could have ever got (that’s an irony actually because there couldn’t have been any other master for me). Though I thought he had totally forgotten me for some months, he has come back to me with the same flair and love now. He treats me dearly and affectionately. He has to, I guess. I am his publicity in charge of sorts and he pays rich visits to my place every now and then. He is my soul, or is it vice versa? Have to ask him that! I know a lot of about him. Must admit, he tells a lot of good stories to me. Now why am I talking about him on MY birthday? People say that I am a lot mature for my age. Yes I don’t follow the usual route to maturity. But I found the going tough at first. No one knew about me and I didn’t have many friends then. But now I have so many friends! I have all of you as my good friends. I store every comment or rating I got from each one of you in my memory. I take it as a privilege if any of you comment on me actually (regardless of bad or good). If in this journey of mine (which will end only when my master’s end), I have hurt you unknowingly someday, please pardon me. After all I am just ONE YEAR OLD! Thanks to all of you again for being my friend and providing the much needed support. Before I sign off, I remind you again to wish me for my birthday!!
Thanks,
With Love,
rivat-hanss@blogspot.com :)
Thanks,
With Love,
rivat-hanss@blogspot.com :)
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Boomerang!
“Up and atom……… atom… ant” sounds familiar? Sounds like a tune you used to repeat after every one hour seeing the television? Still wondering? Life has moved on. But sometimes we get comfort in remembering things that always evoke an unintended smile from us. Let us recollect. Recollect a few things we have relished throughout our childhood but seem trivial to us now. The subject I hit upon today is the all entertaining and bewitching cartoons.
Recently when I was browsing through some videos in YouTube, I came across the video named “The Jetsons meet The Flintstones” Part 1-13. Out of curiosity I opened the first and well, the next 2 hours saw me hooked to the cartoon while my work in office was being compromised! It was interesting and engaging. The concept of future and past was so finely documented and each of the present day gadgets were transformed to suit the daily needs of a human. Looking at it from a matured angle, I saw innovation. Innovation in everything from the idea to the screenplay and the story. Considering that these cartoons were made as sketches first made me wonder about the amount of time and artistic labor put into each of those episodes. But that is just the ‘mature’ angle of it.
As a child I loved cartoons. From the thought-provoking Captain Planet, the funky Johnny Bravo, the innovative Dexter, the love-hate Tom-Jerry to the cute PowerPuff Girls, I liked them all. I could see why I liked them so much now. It’s about the unadulterated world it takes you to and the enjoyable often overlooked aspects of life it deals with. The end is always known and predictable. The good always conquers the bad. But isn’t that the message we try to give to every child nowadays? The vicarious happiness a child gets by seeing his superhero conquer all evils is something unparalleled in that phase of his life. Cartoons are known to provide an unimaginable relief to humankind. And the message it intends to convey reach the audience instantly. And it’s attracting. That is probably why we see many epics being made as cartoon movies nowadays. And that is why we have seen the increase in the number of cartoon channels from the one and only Cartoon Network to myriad types of channels catering to the local needs as well.
So why have we come out of that wonderful world now? Grown up? Is that a reason valid enough to forget these wonderful creatures who were our best friends, our role models for long? I don’t think so. So make sure that the next time you log in to YouTube or the next time you see your siblings or nephews catching in on some cartoon, stay tuned to the nostalgic episodes and get yourself surprised when you start recollecting the upcoming scenes as if you had watched them yesterday!!!
"Fighting crime trying to save the day,
Here they come just in time,
The PowerPuff Girls.. PowerPuff.."
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