An Act of good deed…

While recruiting for a position a couple days ago, came across a strange candidate. I discussed about the profile and his interest level with the candidate (whom I’ll name Mr. X here) and got a positive response from him. So next day, I tried calling him again to communicate his interview schedule to him. Well, the number on which I had contacted him very strangely was answered by some another guy and he got harassed with me and repeatedly screamed wrong number. But I being an aggressive recruiter would not want to lose him. So I decided to try the 2 alternate numbers written on his CV (Thank God for that!)

So now, while the other mobile number temporarily did not exist, the landline number was finally answered. Seeing some hope of getting a number to reach Mr. X, I started conversation with the lady on the other side, who I found was the aunt of Mr. X. The lady learnt that I had spoken to Mr. X just a day before. And then came the twist in the story; instead of providing a number to reach him (which she did not have) she requested Mr. X’s number from me. Well she sounded quite distressed, so I asked her what was the issue. Had a selfish interest too of knowing where exactly Mr. X was. So I understood from her that Mr. X lived with this aunt in Pune and was absconding since the last 15-20 days!! And the poor aunt did not know where to get a clue of his whereabouts from. After consoling her that I would definitely tell her if I got in touch with him, I cursed Mr. X and disconnected the call.

However, believe me I’m really aggressive when it comes to recruiting. With a little amusement and curiosity about what I had just witnessed about an absconding candidate, I was reflecting on this; when it struck to me that I must check his contact details on the portal too. And what my experience has taught me, I was right. The number on his CV and number on the portal were altogether different. So hoping to get in touch with him I dialed, and YES! I got him. Well this guy seemed to have settled in Thane (Mumbai) and was working there. (this critical information was hidden from me, when I spoke the earlier day). Well, all my efforts to reach him were now in vain, as I wanted someone from Pune.

But this did not end for me here….. I was disturbed yet with the worried aunt of Mr. X and thought of doing a good deed. So I called this aunt of Mr. X and shared the contact details of the latter. Obviously conniving that she does not reveal the identity of who has given her the number. Now I definitely did not want to get into their personal matters. And the point of writing this ‘No Big Deal’ story is that…………… ‘HOW GOOD DID I FEEL DOING THIS!!!’ I was delighted that I had done a tiny-bit act of goodness. I was happy that I helped someone in whatever small way I could. Getting a little filmy here, I would say I was happy that I played a small role in reuniting the aunt with her relative!

And when you come to think of it….. ‘How many such instances does one remember, where one has tried going out of the way to help someone?’ In my entire life till date, I think I can really count such instances on my fingers. Not many….ya!

I remember once helping a blind man (who had by mistake entered into a ladies compartment of a local train in Mumbai), and was really helpless and dint know what to do. While many fellow ladies just stared at him with pity, no one stepped further to help him. He was pushed and dodged from this side to that, and finally when I couldn’t bear to see his plight, I asked him which station he would get off at, managed to create a seat for him so that he was no longer tortured, and got him off at his destination. And I felt the same like I had now felt helping this aunt of Mr. X.

Coming to talk of trains….how many times have we sacrificed and offered our seat to old men and women? How many times have we helped ease the burden of a lady in our neighborhood, who with great difficulty is carrying heavy bags of groceries for her family? I am sure we all feel empathy for the one who is in need of help, but we all hesitate to come forward and do an act of good deed. We hesitate, because we think we are busy in our lives and do not have time. We hesitate because we think, we ourselves are too troubled to offer any help to others. We empathize, but…….. we ‘think’! And when we think, we rationalize. And good deeds do not happen after rationalization. It should just come straight from the heart, impromptu… without speculating about the consequences. Compassion …. That’s the key!

Let’s all strive to make each day a “Good Deeds Day” and touch the lives of others to spread smiles and joy!!

Be and It Is! Cracking the FACEBOOK Code!

Kun Faaya Kun in Urdu means "Be," and “it is”!!

It means – “To have anything done, we simply say to it, "Be," and “it is”!!

Jab kahin pe kuch nahi bhi nahi tha, wohi tha wohi tha

Woh jo mujh mein samaaya, woh jo tujh mein samaaya, Maula wohi wohi maaya

In this recent composition by A. R. Rehman, he talks about God, but here I’m talking about FACEBOOK! Nowadays to have anything done or not done, we simply ‘Facebook it!’

“FACEBOOK”…..the word has become synonymous with ‘Life’.

You tell a friend that you have complete access to Facebook in office, he will make you realise how lucky you are and how his company is depriving him of his basic rights.

There are different types of personalities on Facebook. For some the day doesn’t start and end without Facebook. And with smart phones today, the world is at our fingertips, and so is Facebook.

Some people are addicted to Facebook. They need to check Facebook first thing in the morning, and also the last ‘one-more time’ before going to bed. If you feel the urge to check your FB page every 5 mins, in spite of knowing that there would be nothing new, then YES!! You are an FB addict!

Before this $120 billion worth creation of Mark Zuckerberg came into being, the first thing anyone did after logging on to the office computer, was to open the Inbox to check new mails received. And work would flow gradually. Now, 1^st thing that people do is log on to Facebook to ‘keep in touch’ with other’s lives. “God! Please may I have atleast one notification, 1 friend request, I have posted such a nice update yesterday, please please please!” And if you see no red numbers on the notification bar, you face severe dejection and feel that the day has not started well today. ‘Red’ is no longer a colour for danger!! And then you make a resolution, “Today, my status will earn me as many likes and comments as possible”.

Some people are not so tech-savvy otherwise, especially those in their mid-40 and 50’s who have been introduced to this novel concept of ‘keeping in touch’ by their children or other acquaintances of young age. (Well I don’t mean to say that everyone in their 40’s and 50’s are not well-versed with technology, but here I intend to mention the not-so tech-savvy crowd amongst them). So, these are the people who make it a point to log on to the site daily, and make their presence (tech-savvy ness) felt by liking & commenting on every possible update on earth (read FB). Using newly acquired face-booking jargons like ‘lol’, ‘rofl’, ‘bro’, ‘superlikes’, ‘nice pic’, etc. becomes a way of life. Sharing pictures and videos becomes a binding affair. And not to forget the mannerisms that FB promotes – there are people who say ‘thanks’ on every ‘comment’ and ‘like’ they have grossed. 

And thanks to Facebook, now we all remember our friends’ birthdays and also send them good wishes on their ‘wall’, the ‘Great Wall of Fame’!

So is Facebooking a science or an art? Have not arrived at this conclusion yet, but I have figured out that there are 3 main imperative acts you need to do in order to ‘be there’ (make your presence felt) on Facebook.

(1) To update your own status. Be creative here because it is directly proportionate with the amount of likes and comments you will earn. (After all, that’s why you are here) ‘Out-of-the-box’ thinking is what you require.

(2) Like or comment on others status / pictures. If you can’t be creative here, just say ‘nice’, ‘lol’, ‘hahaha’, ‘true’, ‘well said’, ‘agree’ etc… (After all, your friend is going to pray for your good health and prosperity for giving him the recognition, (read notification)).

(3) Share and comment on pictures / videos (shared by 90% of people in your ‘Friend list’ already? So what!)

Some people are very passive on FB. They are there, but always invisible. They are like our parents, who are silent spectators to each and every move that you make. These people never post a comment / status, but are updated with all that is happening in their friend’s lives. May be they fear sharing about their lives to the ‘public’. Mind you, this ‘public’ are the same people who they have added to their own ‘Friend List’!

Leaving aside people on Facebook, and coming to other aspects. Any website, advertisement (television & print media) we see, contain Facebook and Twitter icons at some corner of the page, providing links to these sites. It has become such an integral part of branding and promotion. The ‘Facebook Timeline brand pages’ prove to be an effective tool in conveying identities of organisations. It gives added fun and engagement to the one-on-one branding and customer service experience.

It is no longer only a social networking site. We have various forums and ‘pages’ by professional bodies and forums where people discuss topics related to business and strategies. It is used as a hiring tool to attract talent, promote for seminars and chats, invite for private parties and functions etc.  Not only business, but it also has importance in creating political and social awareness, driving campaigns and such.

Facebook has definitely brought the world closer. Long lost friends, childhood memories, relatives and acquaintances, this networking site does not know disparities of time, distance, & boundaries.

So, what was life before Facebook? I think hard while I question myself because, yes! I don’t remember how I kept in touch with so many friends (well, I dint know I had 434 friends and more to come until Facebook happened).

YES! We feel the need to Face-book our life’s small and big events, we need to Face-book where we had dinner last night (with a picture if possible), we need to have an opinion and express it too on Face-book. We just need to Facebook!

It goes without saying that the link to this blog shall be posted on Facebook the first thing after completion (there is an FB icon down there provided by this blog site too), and I shall be waiting for your likes and comments on the same.

HAPPY FACEBOOKING J


- VAISHALI PARGAONKAR

MBA Business ...Its all about money..

Why MBA? Well not many people ask this question today. After spending 3 years graduating (enjoying college) in arts/commerce/science, when one enters a 'happy realization' mode that he/she is one of those crores of graduates that have flocked out of an obsolete educational system, one wants to do 'something' in life. And that 'something' today is MBA; for students who know that they cant do computers and do not want to do CA. After all it serves as a visa for entry into good organisations. (I am not talking here of those handful of focussed students who decide very early in their life what their ambitions and goals are. My due respect and great thanks to them.)

So coming back to MBA, getting a seat for MBA is not as difficult as it was some years ago, considering that institutes offering MBA courses are exploding like serial blasts occurring all over the country.

My question is not 'Why MBA?', but 'What MBA?' This question has come to me many a times. When I was myself a part of this 2 years ago, and also today when my profession requires me to interact with our 'freshers'.

But our 'freshers' have something else to ask... and that is 'What is the package?' I approached nearly 40 MBA students today, some with jobs and some still in search of one (with a good package). Well almost 90% of them did not bother of what the job profile was, which company, what is their learning. They were just worried about the 'package'! It seemed that they were so burdened with the fact that their parents spent plenty of money for their education; that they want to repay it all with interest asap.

Nearly 70% of these students were unable to frame a simple sentence in English, forget judging them on their communication skills. And one Mr. X played some practical jokes on me: I asked him "What is your role in xxx company as a yyy.?", to which he answered, "Yes, I am on company payroll."!!!!!! Yes, I am still alive and in my correct senses yet, though I truly was dumbstruck.

Is anyone worried of how to increase one's employability, of how to make oneself competent for entry and survival in the market, of what profile to go for that will help shape ones career? I would also blame the institutes that are repeatedly failing to produce leaders for tomorrow. Isn't it the duty of the management colleges to instill the correct attitudes in the students who are going to be the future of India? Or should we assume that its all about making money-be it the institutes or the students who graduate from them?

- VAISHALI PARGAONKAR

VOTED OUT!!??

The first eviction at BIG BOSS II, and I was shocked to see our veteran politician, Mr. Sanjay Nirupam being “voted out” of the show. I expected him to be a strong player not because he knew politics and had the capability (and the training) to remain diplomatic and tactful in his ways… not to forget that he was even emotionally tough (do u have doubt??... he is a politician yaar!). Well, shocked because I couldn’t believe that after having all these traits to be the strongest contender for the trophy…he was VOTED OUT??!!
Does this mean that his colleagues and fellow well-wishers were so busy looking after the welfare of the state that, they did not bother to create a favourable vote bank for him?? (they could have easily done that!). After all viewers had to vote for the one they wanted to see in the show.
Does this mean that its time to change our view point towards politics and at the same time also believe that reality shows honestly declare eliminations based on true voting???…or was it that Sanjay Nirupam came into the show only for a short-term publicity and calculatedly opted out? Any guesses…??

Quit, For Your Sake!!

I was just eighteen then in October 1999.... That was the time when i had written this. Just attained adulthood, yet I had a strong hatred for cigarette smoking then. And it was then, when I thought I must do something to appeal to the people and explain to them the hazards of smoking. I myself didn't know much, but I knew that it took lives.... sooner or later!
Well now that I have become a bit techno-savvy and that I still continue to have the same grudge (or probably it has increased with time); I decided I should put this across for people once again. Hope this not only touches but reaches your heart, and gives an important message to all those who smoke....
I appeal to all of them......THINK and ...........

Quit, For Your Sake!

A small piece of paper, white in colour,
Some powder sprinkled on it, brown in colour,
Rolled into a cigarette, a carrier of poison.
An inch of fire, orange in colour.

It all started with smoke; with poison in his mouth,
he enjoyed the smoke, loved his life style.
Proud of his deed; he asked his companion,
To enjoy the pleasure; and offered him the poison.

It was one then and now they are two,
But three were more merrier, so they enjoyed smoke.
One day they were again two; One amongst them, left.
It all ended with smoke again; and there was nothing;
Nothing but his cries; Deafening the ears of mankind,
ceasing the lives of the innocent.

Quit, for the sake of mankind, For the sake of life!
Somebody needs you, cares for you, QUIT, for his sake!
It is you and only you; For yourself, QUIT for your sake!
Save your life and save yourself; make yourself a paradise to live in.
It is only if YOU TRY!!

- VAISHALI PARGAONKAR

Corporate Social Responsibility

What comes to mind today when we think of prime channels on television in their prime showtime hours?
Is it only the saas-bahu serials gifted by our very own ‘K’-queen to the Indian Society? Or it is only about small and big children (who have just about discovered that Goddess Saraswati has showered blessings onto them) are trying to become future Kishore Kumar’s and Sonu Nigam’s, or Lata Mangeshkar’s and their parents pressuring them to return home only with the trophy in hand? Or about such reality shows where people are put together inside a house refrained from the luxury of worldly possessions, and given a platform and coverage to bitch about each other, so as to boost to the TRP’s for the channel?
Well amidst all this, I feel someone has finally realized how to use television as a medium to give a social message across the population of India; India which is still backward in spite of the IT revolution, the FDI inflows, the increasing purchasing power of the people reflected in the sales figures of innumerable malls. Yes! I’m talking about “Balika Vadhu”, featured on Colors; the story of small children married at the tender age of eight-ten, and forced to give up their childhood to fall prey to old customs and traditions that make them bear the repercussions for the rest of their lives.
Finally somebody has realized the sense of responsibility towards society, and still cares what our fellow sisters are undergoing in our remote neighborhoods. I guess the owner’s of television channels must make it mandatory for producers to come up with at least one such sensitive social issue, and use the most extensively reach of the medium such as television, to create a sense of awareness about basic human rights.
At least some broadcasting channel has taken the first step towards Corporate Social Responsibility; after all not only Doordarshan, but all channels are accountable for the same. Hats off!!