As you sow, so you reap (Part 1)

" Oh God, my pencil is broken! Does anybody here has an extra pencil?"

Many faces turned towards the speaker, giving looks of disapproval. Kamal too saw the anxious face. He had a new pencil in his school-bag. His older pencil was now on the verge of extinction. Today morning he had taken out the new pencil, sharpened it carefully, and then packed it in a plastic case so that it does not get broken while he walked to school. He had been looking at the case during the first class. The thought of writing with a new pencil gave him immense joy.

Kamal looked at that boy again, who had sharpened his pencil, making it too small to hold. He was trying to write something, but it kept slipping out of the hand. The boy again looked around desperately hoping that somebody will lend him a pencil.

Kamal could not bear it anymore. He took out his new pencil, walked to the boy's seat, and quickly put the new pencil in front of the boy. He was surprised to see it, and turned round to say something. But at that moment the new teacher arrived, and Kamal slipped back to his seat.

He knew he will not get to write with a new pencil for few weeks now. And he now started to wonder why did he give the new pencil away...

Are we being made immune to help-requests?

Last week, I was in market with my colleague. As we were walking along the road, an old lady approached us and asked whether we could speak Telugu language. My colleague replied in positive. The following is the conversation that took place between both of them:

Woman: Can you help me?

Colleague: Yes, tell me aunt.

W: I have come from Vijayawada with my son & daughter-in-law. I had Rs. 4,000 with me. After coming here, both of them took the money on some purpose, and went away. They have not come back. I believe they have cheated me out of money. I only have Rs. 100 with me and want to go to Vijayawada. Can you help me?

Though I am not fluent in telegu, I could understand what the woman said. I alerted my colleague in english to not to give her money before verifying the truth.

C: Aunt, there is a temple near-by. You can go there and enquire because they do help the people who are in-need.

W: No, no. They wont help me. You can, however, help me by giving the bus-fare amount.

C: No, aunt. The temple-priest will help you. Go, and approach them.

W: GO TO HELL.


It was not for the first time when I have been a witness to such an incident. I have been fooled earlier a earlier by a phony story, and many of my aquantances too have similar incidents to narrate.

The amount of money that is lost in such cases is not much. However, there is a concern here. Such incidents makes us immune /insensitive to the requests that call for genuine help. And, I don't know what will happen to me when I am in need of genuine help in middle of the road. Will anybody stop to listen?

The meeting, & the wet cloths

It had rained heavily. Neha knew that she had made a mistake by walking to her office in the rain. The small umbrella was not enough to protect her from this downpour. Many times, it had almost blew out of her hand.

After reaching office, she glanced at her watch to find out that she was just in time for the important meeting. She came to her seat, and caught her friend's eye, who saw her dripping clothes.

"You will fall ill, Neha! And how can you sit for the meeting with those wet cloths? Come, I will take you to your home in my car. You can change your cloths there. Your house is so near-by, it will hardly take fifteen minutes."

"No, its OK. I can manage. I have a hand-towel in my bag. I will go to the wash-room and dry myself. We will see after the meeting", she replied.

She felt slightly better after drying herself and went to meet her manager who told her that the client for the meeting will be arriving in few minutes. He will send for her when they arrive. She came back to her seat, only to find that her friend is standing there with her hands on her hips & glaring eyes.

"You are a crazy girl! Don't sit with these wet cloths. Come let's go."

She persuaded her friend to wait till the meeting is over, as it would last just ten-fifteen minutes. She did not want to miss it.

Half-an-hour passed, and there was no news from her manager. Her friend was standing behind her once again. "Are you coming with me, or shall I ask your manager for 15 minutes leave?"

Neha was now forced to go to her manager. Even as she knocked at his door, she saw the clients coming in. They themselves were slightly wet due to the rain. The meeting started, and was over within half-an-hour. She came back to her seat. She wanted to capture the minutes-of meeting before her friend drags her out of her seat. Once done, she e-mailed the same to her manager, and other attendees. She then waited for her friend. She knew that if she did not change her cloths soon, she may fall ill. She was thankful for having such a good friend who cared so much for her.

Many minutes passed and her friend did not come to call her again. She stared at the light bulb above her. 'Great person. All the time she ate my head to change my cloths, & when I am ready, she does not come.'

' Why do you forget that when she cared for you, you gave priority to your work And now when she is giving priority to her work, you are cribbing !', the lamp said to her.

Waiting for a call that did not come (Part 4)

In the evening, they went down the hill to climb it on-foot. This was a part of the pilgrimage. He asked his sister to click a photo of himself before he started climbing.

‘I want to see how I look before and after the climb. Will I be able to smile after climbing three-thousand steps?’ he asked himself.

In the beginning, it all seemed to be too easy. But as the ascent increased, the steps became steeper. The sultry weather made them sweat profusely. His sister was taking frequent rests, as her husband coaxed and encouraged her.

Soon he had climbed more than a thousand steps. His shirt was dripping with sweat. He had to sit down to catch his breath And it was then he once again remembered about the call.

'If he calls me now, I may not be able to talk to him. I should catch my breath first. I will also tell him that this climb is not easy.'

He prayed for his friend and moved on. There were other pilgrims who were climbing along with him. And soon, they became all familiar faces. Many times he overtook them. And when he sat down to take little rest, they will overtake him, smiling at him, proud of themselves that they are better than him. But soon, he will get up and start climbing, and they will watch him skip ahead of them. This game went on for many minutes, and finally the steepness of the steps decreased! The way ahead was not so steep. He bought a water bottle, and drank to celebrate the milestone. He noticed that a deer park was now visible on the left-side of the steps.

There were few deers watching the pilgrims behind the fence. Many people stopped at that spot to take rest, and entertain themselves with the deers. They were offered eatables which were lapped up eagerly. He sat watching this scene, and made a mental note to tell his friend too.

He continued climbing. As he had left his sister behind, he received an SMS from her to wait. He sat down at a comfortable place, and looked around. It was almost twilight now. The shadows on the hill were becoming darker. As he glanced through the landscape around him, he noticed the water-bottles thrown in by the devotees.

“On one side we have come for pilgrimage. On the other side, we spoil the God’s creation, the Nature itself, by piling up plastic wastes”. He felt bad about it, but could not find any dust-bin nearby where those bottles could have been thrown.

He sat waiting, and thought about his friend. He had not called yet. What could be the reason? Has he forgotten his promise? Or he does not care now that his work was already done. Tears welled up in his eyes as the face of his friend swam before him. He wiped them out before his sister arrived at the spot.

He was surprised to see that at certain spots, they had to actually climb down steps even though they were going up the hill. His brother-in-law told him that it happened because they were moving from one hill to another. Soon they were again climbing up.

They finished the climb in three and a half hours. It was pretty dark. He asked his sister to click another photo of himself. Then they went back to the guest house where they were staying.

He was tired and his legs were aching. As he lied down on the bed, he thought about his friend. He now knew that the call he had been waiting for will not come.

Any task that is on-hand should be done with single-minded concentration. Thinking of something else not only prevents one from enjoying the current task, but also takes away focus. Living in the present moment is most important. And on a pilgrimage, it is foolish to be thinking of something else other than God.

It was a tough lesson that he learned over 24 hours of suffering.

Waiting for a call that will not come (Part 3)

When his eyes opened, it was broad daylight. The bus was entering a town, the name of which he could not read as he did not know the local language. Soon, the bus reached a bus-station, and almost everybody got down along with their luggage. Figuring out that this must be his destination too, he stepped out of the bus. After inquiring at the Inquiry office, he realized that he has to take one more bus to complete his journey.He called his sister, and updated her about his status.

Then he stared at the phone for many minutes. Will his friend call now? He considered calling his friend, but then decided not to. Since it was a Sunday, his friend might get up late. He did not want to disturb him. Still his mind remained clouded with his thoughts. Will he call, and ask him where had he reached? Did he eat something? Did he face any problem in a place where he did not know the language?

‘He will call. Just wait.’ He said to himself.

He sat in the bus that will take him to Tirumala. As the bus began the climb, he was reminded of his previous visit to a hill station. He looked out of the window. The city of Tirupati was spread out on the plain below the hill. It was a beautiful sight.

He reached the Tirumala town at 9:30 am. His sister was to arrive two hours later, and he had that much time to kill. The first task was to find a place to have breakfast. He found a public tap where he brushed his teeth & washed his face. Then, he located a small shop and ordered flavoured milk & bread. The taste of the milk was foreign to him, and ended up spoiling the taste in his mouth.

‘When he calls me, I will remember to tell him that flavoured milk here is not good’, he made a mental note.

He spent rest of the waiting time, praying to God, and watching the children of the pilgrims around him. They were running around the place, trying to catch each other. And then their mother will shout at them to come back to her. They will come back reluctantly, only to run away once her focus shifted to something else.

Soon his sister arrived, and he joined her. And for the first time, he forgot about the call.

Waiting for a call that may not come (Part 2)

His neck ached due to constant strain. The seat had turned out not to be too comfortable after all. When he could not sleep, he prayed to God. He felt he will not sleep at all. Still, he closed his eyes, covered them with a blanket to avoid the occasional streak of light coming from street-lamps.

It was difficult to say how long he slept, but when his eyes opened, he knew it was not because of the uncomfortable position he was in. The bus was standing still. There was no sound whatsoever. He could hear only the crickets out there, chirping at night.

‘May be the bus-driver & conductor have gone for refreshments’, he thought. He lied down more comfortably now, across three seats, and he knew he will be able to sleep now.

However, it was not to be a night for good sleep. His eyes opened again. The bus had not moved at all. He waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, and then he could see a small building in front of the bus. Other passengers in the bus were sleeping soundly.

‘How long do they take to finish their refreshments?’ he thought.

It was time to investigate. He got down from the bus. What he thought was small building, turned out to be a lorry. The bus-driver was lying down on the road, as if he is relaxing.

“There has been an accident ahead, sahib. There is big traffic jam. We cannot continue till the road ahead is cleared”, the bus driver told him

“Doesn’t matter.” He said to himself, and came back to his seat to sleep. After some time, the bus–engine roared to life. The road ahead was finally clear, and he was travelling again. He checked his cellphone. The phone-call had not yet come.

(To be continued...)

Waiting for a call that may come (Part 1)

It was Saturday evening, and the traffic on the road was not much. He reached the bus station, around 9 pm. He was scheduled to catch a bus to Tirupati. His ticket was booked for a luxury bus that was due to depart at 11:30 pm.

As he reached the bus station, he saw half a dozen buses already waiting to depart to Tirupati. Numerous bus-conductors were shouting to attract passengers to their respective buses. From far anyone would have thought that they were having an argument with each other. He smiled at this scene, politely refusing few conductors who asked him to get into their bus.

The buses were also of different types; some were with standard seats, which could be boarded with any prior reservation ; whereas others were luxury buses, have more comfortable seats, which could be pulled back to make you more comfortable. But traveling close to 6 hours in such buses was still a difficult task, as there is not much room for one to stretch his body.

It was time for dinner. Even as he wondered what to eat, he remembered what had happened earlier in the day. One of his sisters had offered to pack his dinner (rice & sambhar). He had refused the offer. But now he felt grateful to her for her concern. He sought out a small eatery, and ate the same items she had offered, thinking about her & praying for her well-being all the time.

He waited for the phone-call. He had had a conversation with his friend recently. His friend had expressed his thanks to him for the help that he had rendered to him. The friend also told him that he will call him soon. And, now, his friend may call him, ask him whether he had his dinner or not, whether he reached the bus-station in time or not, and so many other things. He knew that there was a possibility of his friend not calling him, but he waited.

He rested himself on a push-cart waiting for the bus. ‘Amazing place,’ he thought, ’Throughout the 24 hours, there is so much activity that it looks like people here never go to sleep.’ There was a big queue of the buses at the exit gate. For no apparent reason, the bus which was at the gate will stop & wait for more passengers. This would frustrate the other bus-drivers behind, and they will honk non-stop. And once that bus leaves, the one coming behind it will follow suit.

Even as he watched this commotion, he saw his bus arrive. He got into it, and confirmed his reservation with the conductor. Soon, he had settled down on his luxurious, push-back seat. The conductor informed him that the seat next to him is not booked by anybody. Even as he rejoiced over the extra space he now had to stretch himself during the long journey, an old man arrived and sat next to him. A casual conversation indicated that he had just boarded the bus, as it was less crowded compared to other buses, and had better seats. He realized that he had celebrated too early.

The bus took 30 minutes to break free out of the congested exit gate. His co-passenger had shifted to another seat, so that he could he could have the adjacent seat to himself . He closed his eyes as the bus sped through the minimal traffic of the city. And he still waited for the call. His friend would ask him whether he caught the bus or not. Was he feeling cold? Did he have a good-enough blanket to cover himself at night? Is the seat comfortable enough to sleep?

(To be continued...)

Childhood Dreams (Continuation from my previous post)

As I mentioned in my previous post, all the attendees had listed down the lessons that they had learned from the Randy Pausch video. This was just the first part of the session. In a consecutive session, that was held following week, the attendees were asked to write down their childhood dreams. The coordinator then listed out the passions that are hidden behind those dreams. Then the participants were divided into pairs. Each individual in a pair had to ask the following questions from his/her partner.

• What was your childhood dream?
• Which passion did the dream drive? (Select from the list given)
• Are you still passionate about your dream?
• If no, what are you passionate about today?
• What are you doing to bring your dream to become a reality?

Once everybody had the answers from his/her partner, they were asked to speak about it to the audience. In addition to the above questions, they were asked to answer two more questions:

• What have you learned so far in your journey to fulfill your dream?
• How can your employer help you in achieving your dream?

As the participants started speaking about their dreams, everybody started listening, and joined the discussion as to how the organization could help in achieving them. Participants also pointed out some reasons as to why no progress was ever made in realizing some of the dreams:

1. Some dreams were not structured and properly defined. For example, one participant said that his dream was to see heaven while still alive. He was asked whether he has defined what heaven means to him.

2. Some dreams were already realized but the dreamer himself did not know it. For example, one participant wanted to become a scientist, as he wanted to invent something new and useful to mankind. Then he was reminded that he had already developed a process within the organization that is being used by many and as it increased their productivity.

Participants also realized as to how they can help each other to achieve their childhood dreams. The management team too made note as to what the employees want to achieve and promised that appropriate opportunities will be provided for them.

In all, the session was a success.

Do you remember your childhood dreams? Are you still passionate about them? Share them with your manager. May be he too can help you out to achieve them.

Ask others what they have learnt

In my company, we have a program called "Wissendock" ('wissen' in german means knowledge). This session acts as a platform for the employees to enhance their knowledge in various dimensions, including carreer, personality development, technology etc. Experts from various fields are also invited on a regular basis to our premises to share their thoughts and perspectives. The program has been a success since its inception, and employees look forward eagerly to this weekly session.

Last week we had a screening of the video of a speech,"Achieving Your Childhood Dreams", delivered by Randy Pausch. During the lecture, Randy speaks about the dreams that he had as a child, and how he set about achieving each one of them.

We have had many Wissendock sessions. But rarely we asked each other what they had learnt. So this time we went one step further. At the end of the session, all the attendees were asked to share what they had learnt from the video. Most of us were able to capture only one or two tips from the video. But when we listed the lessons learned by everybody, everyone was able to take back much more with him/her.

There were many notable lessons that the attendees pointed out. But one lesson that I took away was:

"Always ask people what they learned during the session. They may point out something critical that I might have missed. In this way I leverage the attention that they have paid to the speaker."

More on the lessons learnt in next post.