Trucks clog Mumbai roads

Imagine a heavy truck pulling up next to your car in the heart of the city. Yes, this can happen only in Mumbai. This is perhaps the only metro in the world where trucks are allowed to ply within the city all 24-hours. Besides congesting the roads, these trucks are a major threat to pedestrians and motorists. One wonders why Mumbaikars are taking this in their stride.

Kudos to Thackarey for helping Sadhvi

M. Gautham Machaiah

Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackarey needs to be congratulated for extending legal help to Pragya Thakur, the Sadhvi who was arrested for her alleged role in the Malegaon blast. It is unfortunate that Hindu outfits like RSS and VHP, disowned her even before she was found guilty. With their cowardly behaviour these saffron organisations have lost the right to accuse others of being pseudo-secularists. Contrast this with Jamia Millia Islamia Vice-chancellor Mushirul Hasan sanctioning tax payers money to defend students accused of terrorism. Did some one say, the worst enemy of a Hindu is a Hindu?

A decade of friendship

Friendships crumble like cookies in these days of chequered relationships. Misgiving, misunderstanding and distrust are the cornerstones of today’s relationships. Friendships wither even before they blossom.

But some friendships are made for ever. The vagaries of the outside world do not affect them. They stand by the strength of their resolve. And when a friendship lasts for a decade, it is time to celebrate.

That is what Ananth and I did as we raised a toast to ten years of our friendship. During the entire decade, not once has our friendship struck a discordant cord—not even a single disagreement or misunderstanding. Touch wood.

“Our friendship should be a lesson to today’s youth, who have no value for relationships,” says Ananth.

Though I am bad at dates, Anantha Krishnan M vividly remembers that we first met on March 16, 1998, when we both worked for The Times of India, Bangalore. Soon, we went our separate ways but continued to remain in contact through thick and thin.

Many are aware that Ananth never calls me by name, instead preferring to refer to me as Chairman. Therein lies a story. Ananth and I had organised a cricket match to break the ice among our colleagues in the Times. Though I neither understand cricket nor play the game, I was appointed as the Chairman of the event. The initiative turned out to be such a success that even to this day Ananth calls me Chairman.

There are many like Ananth who have unwaveringly stood by me in both good and bad times. Cheers to all of them.

Thank God you can choose your friends!

Without Comment!

A Novel Solution

Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention. This was once again reinforced in me when I visited a club in Mercara. The club had purchased a new refrigerator for its refurbished bar. But barely two days later, the lock gave way. The dealer was promptly informed and an executive was dispatched to the club. After an inspection, the executive promised to set matters right within two days.

When the executive turned up two days later, the club authorities were in for a shock. No, he was not accompanied by a mechanic. Instead, he had brought along an iron girdle and a lock.
As the horrified club authorities looked on, the executive went about his work unfazed. He meticulously clamped the girdle to the wall on the right side of the refrigerator and fixed a padlock to the wall on the left. The refrigerator's lock, he said, could not be repaired and hence he had come up with this novel idea.

It is quite a scene to watch the barman unlock the girdle and open the fridge to serve you a chilled beer. But the club has no complaints. At least, the beer is safe.

Four (small) big lessons

Dr M. Gautham Machaiah

In our daily lives we encounter many experiences, most of them seemingly innocuous, but potent with meaning. We often tend to ignore these small lessons, little realising their impact on us and others. Here, I recall four such ‘insignificant’ lessons which have left an indelible mark on me.

Lesson 1
Salaam Namaste

Every time we enter a hotel, we notice the doorman or the security guard saluting us. But how many of us care to acknowledge his greetings? Busy bodies that we are, we either brush past the doorman or at best return a contemptuous nod.

But our Chairman, Mr Subhash Chandra, seems to be an exception. On the many occasions that I have been with him, I have noticed the Chairman reciprocating the doorman’s salute with equal warmth, often even rolling down the car’s shutters and thanking the security guards. And the glow that this gesture brings to their faces is to be seen to be believed.

Ever since, I have assiduously adopted this practice. It takes us less than three seconds to pause and graciously return a salute. But for the doorman who greets hundreds of uncaring people everyday, this simple gesture can make a whale of a difference. Yes, much more difference than a big tip.

The next time you walk past the ornate doors of a plush restaurant, spare a little thought to the humble doorman. Look him in the eye and give him a smile. It will make his day. And yours too.

Lesson 2
Baggage blues

We lug along our baggage at airports, but why do we consider it infra dig to carry our laptop from the car to the office? Why do we insist on the driver delivering it at our desks?

I too was no exception to this rule, until sometime ago. I would alight from the car and briskly walk towards my office, leaving the charge of my laptop to the driver. It would take a good 20 minutes for the driver to park the car and bring the laptop, while I impatiently twiddled my fingers at the desk. I would rather waste 20 precious minutes than carry my own laptop.

This would perhaps have continued longer, but for an incident about Mr Ratan Tata narrated by my colleague. The colleague, who was at Bombay House, was witness to the Chairman of the Tata Group, personally carting two heavy bags from his office to the car. Apparently, Mr Tata always insists on carrying his own bags.

That struck a thought in me: “If Mr Ratan Tata can carry his own bags, who am I?”

The incident might appear inconsequential, but not the lesson that it embodies. Today, I no longer consider it inferior to carry my own bag. And I have noticed that some of my colleagues too have begun to follow suit.

After all, each one has to carry the burden of his baggage.

Lesson 3
Get up… Stand up…

The legendary Dr Rajkumar who strode the Kannada film industry for over six decades like a colossus is no more, but the ideals he practised will remain alive for all times to come.

During his lifetime, Dr Rajkumar had a mesmerising effect on the people of Karnataka. For them, he was an icon, a living god. But such adulation, praise and hero worship had no impact on him. Till his last day, Dr Rajkumar was simplicity personified.

What was most striking about the actor’s humility was that he stood up to greet all his visitors. Dr Rajkumar’s personal physician Dr B. Ramana Rao narrates an incident where the matinee idol who was convalescing from a knee replacement surgery insisted on standing up to greet the doctor. This courtesy was reserved for all, irrespective of their social status.

Over the years, I too have made it a point to stand up to great all my visitors. And I have realised this creates an instant connect…a bonding…a sense of warmth. This small gesture immediately breaks barriers and breeds cordiality.

Of late, I have found more and more people taking to this habit. At a time, when we tend to forget even basic manners, it is heartening to find those who still remember small niceties. A silver lining indeed!

It is these tiny gestures that make a mighty impact.

Lesson 4
Emergency tones

I normally avoid carrying my mobile phone to meetings. However, when on a rare occasion, I forgot to leave the phone behind, it decided to ring in the middle of the meeting. I hurriedly answered the phone and tersely ended the conversation: “I will call you back.”

To my surprise, our then CEO Mr Sanjay Das, who was present at the meeting encouraged me to continue to the conversation. “Since you have decided to answer the phone, quickly check why the person called.”

His reasoning was that there could be an emergency. Mr Das then went on to narrate an incident when he received persistent calls from his daughter and he cut her off saying, “I am in a meeting. I will call back.” It later turned out that the daughter was desperately trying to reach him as she happened to be at the Mumbai blast site. “Papa, what if I was seriously injured in the blasts,” she asked him when he returned home in the evening. Mr Das had no answer.

The story was an eye-opener. You receive dozens of calls every day from colleagues and friends. Some are work related, while some are idle chatter. But there might be some one out there trying to reach you in an emergency.

These days if I am unable to carry on a conversation on the phone, you will not find me abruptly ending the call with a rude “I will call you back.” Instead, you are more likely to hear me say: “I am in a meeting. Is there anything urgent or can I call you back?”

For all you know, this simple sentence may save a life!