Art, for change

A friend posted Mallika Sarabhai's TED talk on Facebook today. A late saturday morning could not have been more inspiring!

With all the talk about Changing The World, I have often wondered how I can contribute. I have spent hours thinking about my capacities and bringing them to good use. Sarabhai's talk gives a bit of hope. Her innocuous questions about the bigger scheme of things our leaders chalk up and how it affects a basic need of the masses makes you think twice about what we are doing everyday at work.

We can't all drop our lives and take up justice as our motto. That's fair enough. However, what we can do is attribute a part of our schedule towards a cause. Planting a seed is all I ask for. You could write about your opinions on social change, discuss your ideas on the numerous social platforms we are part of, go to an NGO and meet these people who need a helping hand, tell your kids stories about injustice and inspire them to think of the right way, use your talent to make your point. It's just planting a seed in the minds of your kin.

Little drops of water make a mighty ocean. 

Pain

"Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place"

Listening to trees

“When we have learned how to listen to trees, then the brevity and the quickness and the childlike hastiness of our thoughts achieve an incomparable joy.”

-Hermann Hesse

I read this quote a couple of days back and it was sitting on my mind till today morning. How do you listen to trees? What does that feel like?

I was walking along a road that had dense canopy early today. The thought of listening to trees  jumped up and made me curious. Now that I was among these guys, I could try listening. Maybe the ignorance of a defined process is part of the learning. 

I sat among the trees and looked. I switched off the radio on my phone. I took a moment to place myself in the scene. The passage I had read earlier ran through my mind. Highlights of Hesse's words came alive. As they buzzed around I think I realised a tiny bit of what he meant. 

The trees seemed strong and sure. I saw myself agreeing to everything I read. 

Nature has a great way of assuring us, trusting in us and giving us hope. I went through a meditative calmness while I tried to focus on what I saw and heard. 

I felt like I truly lived in the moment those 10 minutes. 

Source for Hesse's words: Brain Pickings

Is extreme pragmatism essential for success?

A wisp of discussion wafted in our Communication class yesterday - about pragmatic people and their successful lives. I have always wondered about pragmatism in its most extensive form.

I have role-models who lead extremely cautious and careful lives. They plan and weigh their every move. They frame a question of essentiality over each problem and choose their options after answering that question. They know how to contain their lust. They know where to put their money. They know how to spend their time. They know whom to talk to. All these scenarios are chosen after answering the question of relevance, significance and importance to them.

I look up to these people in awe. Know that I am referring only to a certain type of people I have personally met and am not judging successful people in general. Sure, there are successful people who live lavish lives.

Jane Austen and Tom Lefroy did not get together. I personally think it was because she refused to be pragmatic. She refused to see the good their union would have done to her. She instead chose to be generous about the man she loved and let him go for what she believed to be the greater good. (They did turn out to be very successful in their separate careers though)

Focusing the light this discussion throws on me - I have analysed my decisions and attitude towards things. I have realised that I am not that realistic. I tend to be more on the side of optimism and hope. I like to believe that it will all turn out to be good. Does that mean I am not realistic?

I tend to work for what I think I want, even if it isn't the most realistic of thoughts. I have been doing quite well with that attitude, so far. However, I pause to think if it is good for my future. I am not going to be under my parents shadow forever. I am not going to stay in university where exams turn up only every 4 months and that's that. I am not going to be in this shell.

I am going to be surprised, pleasantly or nastily. I am stepping into uncertainty like never before. Will being more realistic be my armor against the 'Big Bad World'? Will being more realistic help me become more successful? Should I continue to dream a dream?

I am sure the answer is to find a middle ground. That's always the answer.

Balance.
Between dreams and sense.

I guess I am still trying to understand the extent of pragmatism I must embed into my outlook. I am still trying to figure how exactly I would be one. I am still trying to relate this outlook to success.

Spinning back on to the track

I have been heavy mentally, since last week. Too many issues to sort out. The problem in such a case is that I tend to get stuck on without moving forward.

I wasted last weekend without much progress on my work. As a result an eerie sense of irritation and feeling of dissatisfaction creeps into my mind. These two ghosts fog the head and are enemies of productivity, I have come to realize.

Today is the time I find a way around that. I took a paper and pen and put down my problems. I listed down the simplest possible to-dos for each case. And viola! Its amazing how an activity like that brings clarity to the mind. I know exactly what my worries are. I know the exact path to solving those problems.

It's very easy to get bogged down by the amount of work we have. Breaking things down makes things clearer and cleans the air around possible uncertainty. I am unwinding now for a while, with my favourite pakodas and some sewing to refresh my mind.

Back to list after!

Queueing in MRT Stations!

I was getting into the Kent ridge mrt, when I witnessed something amazing. People were queueing up outside the mrt doors on either side to get in. I was at awe. How does this country make it work?! No really.

If you have read my previous blog posts you are sure to know of my love for the order in this country. How they let it permeate into every strata of the society still impresses me.

Like the men say, 'Some how some way, things just work here'. Even if its just in one station. I am sure it will spread far and wide.

This blog post was waiting in my Evernote from last saturday! To my surprise I saw a post from the Singapore Kindness Movement about these sort of queues in a lot more stations.

Most of us take the MRT on a regular basis. The count of complain among the commuters about crowded stations and hence rude passengers is increasing to no end. An initiative like this is a light at the end of the tunnel. Let LTA work on its transportation management plans. In the meantime, let us try and make the best of the situation.

Way to go, Singapore! Proud :) 

#2 - Growing up and learning values..

My parents were very strict in their upbringing of my brother and me. Going to a school with kids who were freer to do what they wished did not help either. I was at war in the battlefield with my mum literally every other day in high school!

I came back from school one day wanting to go on a trip with a couple of friends. It was an adventure camp organized by a very prestigious institution. It was supposed to be three days of activities and a day of travelling back and forth. I was very keen on going for this trip for two reasons. Firstly, I would get to spend time with my friends and try my hand at some activities. Secondly, it would give me a sound recognition when I applied for colleges the next year!

My parents refused to let me go. They did not provide me with sufficient reasoning for their decision. They simply stated that it would not be the right thing to do at that point in time, when I was in the middle of exams.

With my parents and me being on the two opposite ends of the scale we had to find middle ground. I had to make them understand what that trip meant to me. They had to make me understand what their concern was. The situation needed some empathy.

That day we argued and I ended up getting impatient with them. I was not getting things my way and they were able to make me listen to them. They agreed to let me go half-heartedly after I threw a tantrum. The situation was ugly and we ended up hurting each other – simply because we did not express ourselves effectively.

I could have listed down my pros and cons. They could have brought up their concerns and dealt with them one by one. Do you think that would have been effective? What could we have done differently?

(Edited / 11 September 2012)

Why the Bill Clinton Speech worked for me

It was strong, passionate, effective and well-said. His charisma took off from the very first word he uttered. Rather from when he stepped on the stage. He spoke like he meant what he said. He made you believe what he wants you to believe in. He commanded your attention. He was firm.

He just made it work.

I am asking myself, 'How did he do it?'.

Not to mention, his delivery was the highlight of the speech. He supported his facts with numbers. He brought up issues which is the beef to the people of America. He served his argument on a sketch that common man can understand.

The energy in the arena was amazing! It lifted my spirits up so high - given that I am not an American, I have never heard Clinton at a DNC before and I am watching this on record.

I could not help but think about Indian politicians as I was cheering on along with the crowd. I have rarely seen such passion backed up with believable evidence. I have rarely seen such energy and passion.

I understand very little about the American political scene. That said, I do know one thing. This man can inspire. And right now, I just want to be sold.

It was pure magic. I hope to be able to deliver to an audience like this one day! I hope to be able to inspire and take people into my confidence like this man did today.

It was 45 minutes well spent! I think you should too. If not for anything else, just to see greatness!

Bringing a scintilla of unique touch to your customer

I have often spent my evenings wondering what I will do for a living and how I will do it. What will I sell? What will I create? How can I make my ideas different? How do I get to people?

How do I flatter my customer?

With a personal touch. 

I know I want to be in a business around the design of things.

Art, Clothes, Jewels, Things.

In those evenings I think about how I would innovate to stand out. Art, Clothes, Jewels and Things are too wide and too old. People have been selling these things and the design around these things ever since the idea of business and selling dawned on humans.

I read a HBR article that gave a wonderful spark of idea. The author focuses his arguments on one target. To serve people with a personal touch. To make people feel like it was created for them.

You can get treatment like that with a Chanel Limited Edition bag. However Chanel is Chanel. It's not for everybody.

That's where I can see an interesting challenge - How can I provide this experience to every Jane?

I am loving this spark of thought! The challenge is being creative in modifying your idea to suit a specific need.

Do read the article here and try to apply 'bringing a personal touch' experience to your idea! I'll be thinking in the mean time..

#1 - Effective communication to me is..

So that's the first topic for ES2007S.

Early man felt incomplete without a means to communicate to the next person. That’s how language came into existence. In the early days, the next person was probably literally the next person - his family, his tribe. In today's sense the definition of next person is over a large set - your friends from social networks, your peers, your family, your partner and the list can go on.

The human network in everyday life is huge. On an average one talks to about 15-20 people in a day - it is inevitable in the connected world of today. I talk because I want to tell someone what I think, to help someone, to get assistance from someone, to make friends, to help others perceive me, to make others like me.

Whatever the motivation for communication, am I doing it right? I have had times when the person I was in conversation with did not understand me. That demeans the point of communication. What I would love to work towards is bringing the occurrence of these situations to an absolute zero.

To answer the question, effective communication to me is when I make the person see the world through my eyes.

It is interesting to also extend the effectiveness to community oriented communication. I like to think it is truly effective when the communication makes an impact on the receiver.

Well-chosen words.
Complimenting body language.
A purpose.

Effective Communication.

(Edited / 27 August 2012)

Introductions

I have taken up ES2007S - Professional Communication. It is a module that came with strong recommendations from two close friends. I found this semester to be very apt for going for it!

As part of the module we are expected to blog once in two weeks about ideas around communication skills! I thought I might as well continue to blog here. For the new comers from my ES2007S class, hello! Treat this as my first post towards this module.

As for the introductions, I have met most of you already I guess. I am Dhanya, a civil engineering student in my final year. I love anything to do with design and art. I believe it is my mission in life to make the world more colourful, make people more happy and thereby make it a better place to live in.

How exactly do I plan to do it? I will continue to paint and spread some joy. I will teach kids some art and bring questions to their attention. I will design for a the rest of my life. That's the plan for now atleast!

How does engineering fit into this plan? I believe getting trained in engineering is getting trained to think in a certain way. To be more specific, in a certain analytical way. Analytical and Logical. So far so good, I like to think.

Apart from that please read some posts here if you have the time to spare. You might just learn more about me!

Looking forward to an exciting semester guys. I am sure we can learn to overcome our inhibitions - if any and learn to communicate more effectively to the world!

P.James Magic Show

'The weirdest things make you miss home'

A close photographer friend had posted this photo a few months back. If you are from Chennai, you know what this photo means! 

The photo popped up on my Facebook feed and reminded me of home. For the others who are wondering why a dirty wall is up here, the subject is the writing on this wall - 'P.James Magic Show'.

This P James dude, whoever he is has written these exact same things on so many compound walls in Chennai City, you could not have missed it! 

I would like to think of him as the pioneer of publicity by spamming in Chennai. Soon the politicians took lead and pasted their victorious smile bearing faces on all surfaces visible. Now it is harder then before to spot P. James's Ad on the streets in all the hala-bula our leaders have created. 

Well what can I say, he introduced the idea to us. 

One can tell so many things about him from this Ad. He most probably kept a very small budget for publicity. A couple of cans of black paint, one or two men to paint the 'magic' characters. That's about it. Publicity taken care of.

It tells you so much about his Magic Show. Sort of symbolizes the beauty of all things - magic and others, doesn't it.  

Simple, yet strong in its purpose!

A lesson from P. James. I will try to get you hired one day though! For all the joy you have given when I spot an ad, for being one of the plain symbols of Chennai. 

Travelling back and forth

I have taken a couple of transportation modules this semester. Interesting prof who loves entertaining us with his stories. There's something about stories that makes one inquisitive. Same reason why we love gossip and Hollywood and Facebook. We like hearing of 'your' day and 'your' life.

Same reason we love travelling and reading books. We like to find out what we don't know. We like something new. I don't think anywhere except Cranford refused to embrace industrial revolution. Even the people of Cranford gave in at the end anyway.

My prof told us that when we take a form of public transport in Singapore, there are atleast ten people who take the exact same route with us. This means when you have a regular route you take, you would recognize some faces on the way! They are not stalking you, they are just going to the same place as you.

How would it be to know these people? Their stories? How would it be to find out their dreams?

Maybe you share a lot more than a ride in common.

Have you ever met a friend of a friend, spoken about your mutual friend and went 'The world's a small place!'?

I bet you have! That is what we have achieved today with travelling. A web of people who know more of each other, who share more. The potential this tool holds seems very powerful looking ahead! 

Patriotism and Campooter Scanning

It's been 65 years of independence for India. 1947 this day that year, people tasted freedom for the first time in 200-300 odd years. It meant a lot to the India then, being their own nation. We have a long way to go in terms of development. We have a lot of behaviour issues. Like that of a child that's been given too much attention. Yet we are proud to say it is us (or a couple hundred politicians) who decide our own fate. We are a proud democratic family.

I was walking to an admin office in my university looking to submit my loan documents. If it went well, if they took my papers to be clean - it would be my independence day. I wouldn't need dad to pay anything for my final year at college. Having a bunch of friends who are on scholarship and hence being on their own, makes you insecure. Especially when 'you' is me. Being independent is what I consider as the first step towards my self satisfaction. The daughter of a man who is proud of having built his life/business without his dad's help. The daughter of a woman who lost her father at an young age and hence made a lot of critical decisions by herself. It's not very surprising I turned out this way, much to my mother's annoyance though.

Life has a funny way of twisting things you want and playing around with it - dragging your leg a bit, making you think its not what you want and then a while later giving that same thing to you (sometimes).

So while I was thinking how cool it would be to get my loan fixed the same day as India's Independence day, life decides to make a point. To make its stand and say it is the deciding authority of a typical day's coolness - not me.

The woman sitting at the counter looked at my papers and looked at my face. She pauses for two seconds before she continues.

'Where is the passport copy of your guarantor?'

'I need it? I did not know that'

'Yes that and yours as well'

'Oh alright I'll..'

She jumps into my sentence silencing my voice. Like the way water hushes frying onions in a pan.

'Do they have a computer there? Do they know how to use it and scan a passport? Ask them to do that and you can print it here'

She offers her smart campooter usage advice.

My alter-ego just could not take it. Like Rose's bike rider alter-ego chick with wild condescending hair. (Such a perfect alter-ego image, btw)

'Hey *** firstly India is not in the 1400s and secondly, you need a scanner not a computer to scan'

I didn't say anything obviously. I just looked at her, grabbed my papers and completed my sentence.

'..I'll get it tomorrow'

I was raged. It was a very small instance. She probably meant it all in good will. Indian national girl looking to submit loan documents. Must be very poor. Her country is pretty poor and illiterate as well. Let me help her out and give her the most efficient way to send a file over.

I apologize for what some may interpret as false pride. I can't appreciate her kindness. It was judgemental and unnecessary. I might be exaggerating but it is what I truly feel.

Times like these fuel the fire within to inspire change in India. Little gestures like this make me think about my selfishness in having left the country.

We'll make it happen. We'll get there. Every dog has its day.

In the mean time, I have a request to friends and family. Don't destroy the image the world has of your country with your own words. I know a girl who goes around telling her international friends that Indian girls get married when they touch 14. If you really do have to share interesting facts, atleast try putting them under the heritage/culture light. I would be gracious and spared from 'So are you married?' questions.

Happy Independence day folks!

Let's begin at our own homes :) Hope it made you think, about your patriotism for your country!

Fixing it instead of throwing it away

I read one of those cheesy quotes on Facebook just now.

"When asked how they managed to stay together for 65 years, the woman replied 'We were born in a time when something broke you fixed it and not throw it away"

First thoughts, like I said I found it cheesy. But I gave it another seconds thought and realised that it is true isnt it. Some things that were made in the 40s or 50s still work fine. Like my grandmothers gramophone and my granddads telephone. He would sincerely repair it when it went crazy. There was more purity in the air than now. Things were simple.

The advent of science and technology and the wish to make life simple and easy has actually complicated everything in my opinion. Can you repair your mobile set if it got repaired today? No, I have no clue what is wrong with it and the HTC service at Singapore wants me to fly to India to get mine repaired, for instance.

The days of bread and peanut butter have flown away. Its italian/parmesan/wheat/raisin/banana bread with peanutbutterwithstrawberryjelly/blueberryessence/chocolatechip.

This complication has led us to approach everything with a more careless attitude, if I may.

Doesn't work? Throw it away. Not I should try to understand why it went wrong.
Too much food? Waste it. Not I shouldn't buy this much food next time.
Fought with a friend? Forget that bitch. Not Did I do something wrong? What can we do to make it work.

I should adapt the repairing strategy as well.

Do it yourself!

I have already blogged about doing-it-yourself. It's one of those fascinations thats here to stay. Like watching a kid who is giggling. Like watching kodee (Amma's helper at home) sweep the room one stroke at a time. Like watching the barber at work one chop at a time. Like stoping to watch the snail cross the pavement.

Its entertaining, its engaging and its fun. It keeps my hands at work and that makes me smile. I read a piece on HBR about most people receiving satisfaction out of physical work. Think about it. Haven't you always felt like a star after cleaning your room? After going for a run? After watering plants? Its as if physical work is one full shot of happiness and energy boost.

It is a very interesting theory especially in the age of iPhones and banking. As more and more people are moving themselves from physical labour to intellectual labour how can we still keep our bodies useful? How can we create a life that engages all that we possess?


A very intriguing thought process I would think! So think about it and see how you engage your body in your everyday life :) 

Cereal Power!

I dont know if its the huge blob of juicy meat thats starring back at me, but I feel like writing about food again! Its probably just that I love anything yummy.

I managed one thing in the past sem very successfully. I started eating breakfast everyday. It was a huge struggle trying to keep up this habit through the first two years of uni. Finally I can say that its set, its a pattern, its clockwork.

I was never a fan of cereal. Never took a fancy for milk and Kellogg's back in Chennai. Like Bob Dylan said 'The times, they are changing'. I am a HUGE fan of cereal now. I dream of pouring milk into a bowl of crunchy dried up pieces of joy.

Part of figuring out the breakfast menu is running up and down the cereal section in the supermarket and picking a cereal for the week. I was on a search for the perfect cereal for several weeks. One bright sunny sunday, while I was walking the aisles of NTUC Fairprice, I discovered a particular variant of Kellogg's. NutriGrain. That's the name of heaven in my world. A big fat bowl of Meiji and NutriGrain makes my day like none other!

Make no mistake. If you try this out (which you definitely should!) you need to say the following things twice and cross your heart:

1) I will have only Meiji milk in my bowl
2) I will have only NutriGrain
3) I will not substitute the above holy ingredients

Done?

+

=

There. Your happy day is right in front of you (or in the supermarket aisle). Go grab it! Eat it!

A smaller serving

The concept of eating out of small plates not new to me. Mom always practices that and I can't even count the number of times I have thought it did not make sense. I am sorry Amma. Now I completely understand that!

Dan and Chip recommend the same path for controlling your elephant in their book 'Switch'. Two groups of movie-goers were given free but stale popcorn. One group however a bigger bucket than the other. So did these people eat their popcorn at all? Was there a difference in the amount they ate?

Yes to both the questions. Both groups did eat the stale popcorn. More over, the group with the bigger bucket ate more than the group with the smaller bucket. Moral of the story? When your supposed capacity is bigger you eat more.

The authors suggest a learning of 'change the situation to solve the problem' through this analogy. If we were trying to get these people to eat less popcorn, what should we do? We would simply give them a smaller bucket.

I have been trying to take smaller portions for dinner these days. So when I go for the second serving, my head knows that it is the second and hence tries to be content with a smaller portion at the end of the day.

I think this is also a part-reason, gourmet dishes are so fulfilling. Forget that fine dining is usually yummier/ more exquisite than regular dining. They come in such tiny portions! But after three courses you want to be done!

To changing situation and eating lesser! Hopefully this seed of thought will pave way for a flatter tummy..

Keep smiling!

Ever wondered what the woman who past you smiling to herself was thinking/reading/saying?

I ALWAYS did!

I have a fascination for that more-than-human power. I always try to imagine situations for a person I noticed on the road!

Some days I am just really not thinking about anything. Say, when I am walking to work. I am just observing people and dreaming up their life or their day.

It would be a killer power to know what is going on - on their minds would it not? Purely super natural stuff.

Especially when these people are smiling. I can just come up with a million happy things that would have happened to them just then. And somehow it makes me smile.

Powerful and contagious, Smile is!

Annoying Paper Clip Guy and Computer Period

I was reading 'Switch'. Lovely lovely book. So many tiny things and tweaks about life in general. A post is coming soon about all that. In the meanwhile, the authors mention 'The annoying paper clip' guy. I had completely forgotten about this dude!

It took me down a memory of computer labs in school. We were taken to the lab once every week, I think right from when I was 5. It was heaven on earth. Especially if you understand the coolness factor among your friends if you have 'Computer Period' that day! It multiplies by about 100 times than the non-computer-period kids.

Whats so cool about that? Firstly its an hour of aircon! Now if you ever lived in Chennai, India or spent more than 5 hours with 40 sweaty kids in one poorly ventilated classroom (My school was actually not that horrible. I am just blowing the facts out of proportion to intensify the story line!) you'll know the feeling of an hour of aircon.

Secondly you get to use the computer! At home, I was always allowed to use the computer only under adult supervision at that age. Mom/Dad would sit with me a let me learn something. Which is not as cool as, you sitting all by yourself and doing whatever you want with your computer (in an HOUR of aircon)!

Now to the paper clip guy. He was also a very ritualistic part of the learning process. The teachers encouraged us to use his help while navigating through the Office. Partly because they dint know what they were talking about, in my opinion! I used to take his help reluctantly cause sometimes there was no other way to finish the little tasks my tutors gave me.

I remember how he never left the screen. He used to keep unrolling from somewhere. I also remember the day I figured out how to turn that guy off. It was a very very epic moment making that discovery!