How to carry on the family name.

1. Insert a drug called Laminaria in to the vagina of a 21 week pregnant woman. This helps dilate the cervix by absorbing all the water from the uterus. After about twelve hours, Laminaria starts acting on the outer uterine lining and breaks the water. The cervix expands to its fullest. 

2. Shove a pair of forceps in to the birth canal. At this point the foetus is partially developed and has hands and legs that are capable of kicking. Grab it by the legs and pull it in to the birth canal.

3. Extreme care must be taken to keep the head of the foetus inside the womb, as it is critical to keep it alive.

4. Insert a pair of scissors in to the foetus’s skull. Rotate it in both the directions and make the wound wide enough for the next pair of instruments to enter. (At this point it can’t feel a thing, the only part of the foetus that’s still alive is its heart beat.) Keep swabs of gauze handy to soak up the split blood and foetal tissue.

5. Next insert a large suction catheter, which looks like a small vacuum cleaner in to the skull and suck the brain out In the absence of a suction catheter, a normal syringe will do.

6. A spoon shaped spatula should be used to scrap out the collapsed skull. It should also be used to clean out the womb and remove all traces of the dead female foetus.

7. Another three months - try for a boy.

 

This is the copy that made Contract a much-talked about name in Cannes Lions in 2008.

Contract Advertising is a new advertising firm - part of WPP World Wide Company.

Do try to visit Contract’s website: http://www.contractadvertising.com/ you won’t be surprised that these folks have the capability to deliver some of the beautiful things to the advertising world and an interesting user/viewer experience.

 

Zimbabwe - An Economic Study

Why a nation is great? In fact how a nation becomes great?

 

A country which is free - politically, socially, culturally, economically for a consistent and enduring time is on its way to greatness.

 

A country whose spirit is shackled by short sighted policies of shorter people is definitely on high way to peril.

 

Zimbabwe is a perfect example of the sort of economic and political disaster that could destroy any country that pursues populist Marxism and the short sighted plugging of holes by policy makers to such an extreme.

 

The economy of Zimbabwe is collapsing no, it’s collapsed – reason Economic mismanagement.

Unemployment is 85% with highest rate of inflation close to 730,000%. This is the highest inflation for any country on Earth, the next highest being 60% for Iraq (due to war).

 

Conversion Rate: (http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic)

 

1 US Dollar = 593,964,860 Zimbabwe Dollar (six years ago it was 55 Z$)

1 Zimbabwe Dollar (ZWD) = 0.00000000 US Dollar (USD)

 

1 Indian Rupee = 14,036,748 Zimbabwe Dollar

1 Zimbabwe Dollar (ZWD) = 0.00000007 Indian Rupee (INR)

 

Zimbabwe’s currency is nearly worthless from hyperinflation; its financial institutions are in disarray; its world-class farms sit idle; and its manufacturing, mining, and export sectors are declining steeply.

 

A major reason for this state of affairs:

 

Earlier the farming sector in Zimbabwe was sophisticated and pretty much commercial.

Vast tracts of large-scale farms produced thousands of acres of tobacco, cotton, and other cash crops.

About 4,500 white families owned these farms.

In contrast, 0.8 million black farmers eked out a living on small and relatively infertile plots in the communal lands, producing maize, groundnuts, and other staples.

 

Contemporary History:

 

By the late 1990s, a broad consensus had taken shape–including the Mugabe government, the IMF, the United Nations, the British government (the original colonial power in Zimbabwe), Africa scholars, and even many of Zimbabwe’s white commercial farmers–that land reforms were needed.

The purpose of these reforms would be to improve agricultural productivity and, simultaneously, increase wealth for the black majority.

The sensitive issue was how to redistribute the land, since the commercial farming sector provided much of the country’s foreign exchange, created thousands of jobs, and produced the essential staple of maize.

 

What went wrong?

 

While the IMF and the British advocated that landowners be given adequate compensation, as dictated by Zimbabwe’s own laws, the Mugabe government argued that these lands had been “stolen” from the country’s black inhabitants and thus could simply be taken back.

This claim ignored the fact that more than 80 percent of white-owned commercial farms in Zimbabwe had been purchased through the commercial real estate market since Robert Mugabe came to power in 1980, and less than 5 percent of the farmers could trace their ancestry back to the original British colonialists who arrived in the 1890s.

 

The loss of Zimbabwe’s 4,000 farms has impacted every aspect of the country’s economy. Each of these farming companies employed 100 or more people, paid various taxes to the government, and generated incomes for others that also yielded taxes. In addition, the farms provided housing, clinics, and schools; more than a million Zimbabwean children, in fact, received an education from farm schools. Communal farmers also benefited from the farming companies, sourcing their demands for seed, fertilizer, chemicals, and expertise to them.

 

Reducing Inequality became the primary goal and function of the Mugabe government. Best and fastest way to achieve equality is to destroy wealth and Mugabe destroyed the very sector that was the economic driver of the country.

 

There are economic lessons from history, rather contemporary history.

 

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Zimbabwe

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/22/zimbabwe

http://www.willisms.com/

http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/

 

Being an Introvert

 

All through my life I have been an introvert.

 

I learned this word “Introvert” during my early years of graduation along with a couple of related words “Extrovert” and “Ambivert” through Norman Lewis’s brilliant book “Word power Made easy”.

 

After the knowledge lamp lighted I made some unsuccessful attempts to make a conscious shift in my personality towards being extrovert which landed me in some embarrassing situations and I dared not give any thought in that regard anymore.

Then the benchmark was reset, to be an ambivert. Little did I know that this is the personality a perfect human being can have – a personality one should aim at.

 

Now almost eight years have been past and I have been the same – an introvert – nay now I am an enlightened introvert.

 

Now, what’s that – Enlightened introvert? See, only introverts can invent these phrases, extroverts are too busy for these kinds of invention.

 

An enlightened introvert in my opinion is the guy (gal implied) who:

 

• Religiously spends time end of the day to reflect back on the day’s activities - sometimes makes point, jots down some experiences that touch him.
• Is pretty much uncomfortable in a big gathering sometimes in a group as small as 10 people make him uncomfortable. He would love to spend personal quality time individually or in small groups (of 2 to 3) but all in a group a strict no no.
• Has a higher dose of the book - Individually Clever, Collectively Stupid by Prof. V.S. Raghunath.
• Who knows exactly what bores him and never feels uncomfortable in expressing the same.
• Who is amused by the conversations and histrionic attitudes of younger folks and feels how things have lost meaning of late and values have become shallow.
• Who reads Hillary Clinton’s smiling face as if this is a cheap novel, and imagines how much effort she might be putting in everyday looking at mirror smiling (rather changing the face structures) and clapping – Silly Hilly.

 

So, end of all these - I am still an introvert and would love to be that way, in the same frame of mind, for the rest of my life unless otherwise some greater force takes over and changes the course of my life. For, there is so much scope for silent observations and knowledge an extrovert personality may miss in the course of his work and life in order to amuse a crowd, which itself is amusing.

 

A life of reflection, of balanced planning, and execution saturated with love is a life worth living and worth enjoying.

 

The meaning of Success – Ralph Waldo Emerson

I came across this interesting thought of Ralph Emerson about success. He is a philosopher from America in early 19^th century (1803-1882). What intrigued me most is: how beautiful he has channelized his thoughts and words, such that, what has been written more than a century ago expresses more profound and deeper meaning in our time. I am not sure, but I believe, contemplation, uncluttered intellect and clarity of thoughts are the foundations on which such beautiful words were built.

 

 

To laugh often and much;

 

To win the respect of intelligent people

And the affection of children;

 

To earn the appreciation of honest critics

And endure the betrayal of false friends;

 

To appreciate beauty,

To find the best in others;

 

To leave the world a little better,

Whether by a healthy child,

A garden patch or a redeemed social condition;

 

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

 

This is the meaning of success.

 

- Ralph Waldo Emerson.

 

 

Ralph Waldo Emerson was a philosopher, poet, and leader of the Transcendentalist movement in the early 19th century. His teachings directly influenced the growing New Thought movement of the mid 1800s. His array of woks can be found here.

 

The Greatest Achievement

Me: Can I ask you a simple (very profound) question? Please allow me.

Friend: Yes, carry on.

Me: This may require you to ponder over and think hard.

Friend: No problem.

Me: Ok. So, what would you like to be remembered as? What will be the greatest achievement you will be proud of during your old age?

Friend: I need some time to think over and get back.

Me: How much time should I wait for the thought from you?

Friend: Hmm…A week.

 

The above answer was expected at my end. People generally avoid these kinds of discussions in groups. As per the young generation group dynamics protocol, these kinds of discussions give a label of orthodox and conservative feel to your personality. Folks think of you as a serious guy, whose life is humorless, who doesn’t enjoy life, who takes everything through its negative route.

 

But the same question I asked to myself. What will be my greatest achievement I’ll be proud of?

 

1. A duplex house in my home state and a flat in an apartment in a metro?
2. Some expensive furniture and interiors at home?
3. An expensive car (or a SUV)?
4. A post graduate degree from an US B-school?
5. An impeccable track record in corporate career?

 

I pondered over, yes, these things will definitely give me satisfaction, may be I’ll be feeling elated for some years. But are these the things I’ll be proud of?

 

I thought hard, I thought for days and the final answer at my end - NO. So, what’ll be the achievement I am going to be proud of and I’ll feel satisfied?

 

1. Isn’t this possible for me to spend my money and energy in making at least 5 families self sufficient in my life time?
2. Can’t I try and give 5 students from a relatively poor back ground the best of education and values in my life time?
3. Can’t I help some families/bread earner of family in providing them with the best medical service to take them to a way of prosperity in this life?

 

Yes, I can. Money is needed, but what’s more important is spending your energy, seeing to it that, the money/energy is spent in best possible manner with the best quality output.

 

Why are these thoughts? Friends ridicule. I sometimes feel bad - not because they say me hopeless/philanthropic with out-of-world ideas and all, but because, they don’t understand how much valuable this human life is.

 

It’s not only meant to work for 5 days for a week and spend the hard earned money in drinks, multiplexes, window shopping etc. over weekend. I don’t say that these things are bad; they are an important part of life, but not THE important, in my humble opinion.

 

May be in future I’ll write something more on my thoughts on this particular topic.

Till that time it’s a request - why not give a thought to the question –

What will be the greatest achievement you will be proud of during your old age?

 

Photograph the beautiful

Life is beautiful. I have enjoyed waking every morning. I’ve always tried to photograph what’s beautiful in life. But…it hasn’t been always easy.

- Ms. Valeri Sonnenschein from the movie Sunshine

Try to photograph what’s beautiful in life.

 

There can be so many interpretations of this thought and the following come to mind immediately.

At gross level – you capture every important incident of your life through a camera, or a subtle interpretation – live every moment intensely as if this is going to be the last moment of your life and you happily rewind the memories in future; and the subtler interpretation – The gift of breathing freely, you are free enough to understand your own thoughts, strong enough to grow in faith and sure enough to handle the emotions and challenge the norms/dogmas of the society.

Do we really photograph the beautiful?

Well, we do that subconsciously I believe, and whenever the present takes us to the past through the old happy memories, we re-live the old times get a high and feel strong. Can’t we imagine if each and every moment is photographed, how beautiful we become?

That’s a conscious decision I am going to take in coming days. Live every moment as it is – pleasure or pain – I’ll enjoy it.

You be in love with life, everything will feel great. So, what are you waiting for? I know work is there in life, so does life in work and sweetness in both work and life.

 

Expectations out of Life

What are your expectations out of life? 

This is such a powerful question and if you put it across to somebody unknown / less known, he or she will go speechless for sometime to a contemplative mode. Thank God, nobody asked me this question before I asked myself. 

When I did answer this question, I had so many conflicting answers, doubts, insight to my potentials, my deepest fears, some more questions; I just couldn’t handle the amount of data my mind was generating. 

But yes, this is quite an interesting experience. I asked the same to my father and mother, and tell you – this has put both of them in to contemplative mode for some days now.J 

Isn’t it true that – if we have our expectations clear, we become more focused, more in control of the situation, of the surroundings?  I feel so.

I am in this mode for quite some time and the best way to answer this question with some amount of maturity is to describe the answer with respect to a definitive frame of reference. My frame of reference is – the expectations I have in the following categories. 

1. Expectation out of professional life - Kind of recognition among peer group, Value of the contribution to the team in bringing in the fresh air of thought, playing an important role to the best of one’s ability for a greater influence on the end product/successful execution of the project etc.
2. Expectation out of family life -  Duty as a son, as a brother, as a husband, father and extended family bonds, Sharing of love and understandings, contribution in a harmonious and respected family life and image.
3. Expectation out of social obligations - Contribution to the society for its upliftment, devoting time and energy for the less privileged brothers and sisters in the society.
4. Expectation out of spiritual progress - Personal transition from darkness to light – Tamasoh maam Jyothir gamay.
5. Expectation towards wealth creation/security - Real Estate, Shares, Mutual Funds, Insurances, Retirement plans etc.

 I know, the goals set in the above individual categories keep changing according to changing environments, exposures and sudden unexpected turn of events and so does the expectations. But a clear vision, in accordance with the current situation, is what helps an individual devote the 24 hours of his day to the best possible extent for a greater impact to his own life, as well as to the lives he/she touches.

At least I am convinced of this.

 

Silence

Silence is not a thing we make. But it is something into which we enter, as silence is already there. All we can make is noise. Silence is not merely an absence of noise. Real silence begins when we withdraw from the noise in order to find peace and order within us.

It’s only in the depth of silence, the footsteps of the Lord can be heard.

 

Some Medications

Ok, so a little distraction here from the goal I was talking about in my last post reason: health. Of late I am having a nagging headache which continues for a day or so and that day becomes a living hell for me. The whole calendar of the day gets disturbed; I then take some forbidden tablets (disprin) in order to get immediate relief in order to be affected again at night. 

To do away with this cycle, I made some research on my own over the weekend and got to learn about some of the best knowledge about the human body, diseases, their origins, the best way for treatment (home remedy) and proper diets. I am writing in short a brief description of sinusitis (I am a victim of for last 2 years) and the websites I followed. 

Sinusitis: 

What is this? : 

Sinus – The air chambers in the bone behind cheeks, eyebrows and jaw are called sinuses. They make mucus, a fluid that cleans bacteria and other particles out of the air one breathes. 

Why this occurs? : 

Anything that inflames the membranes of the sinus cavity or blocks the sinus passages from draining normally can cause sinusitis. Common causes of sinus blockage include

1. Allergies
2. Viral and bacterial infections
3. Nasal polyps (A small vascular growth on the surface of the mucous).

  What are the symptoms? : The signs and symptoms of chronic sinusitis include:

1. Facial pain and pressure especially in the forehead, temples, cheeks, nose and behind the eyes (This is the most common and one of the symptoms in early stages of the Sinusitis)
2. Drainage of a thick, yellow or greenish discharge from the nose or down the back of the throat
3. Reduced sense of smell or taste
4. Nasal obstruction or congestion
5. Aching in your upper jaw and teeth
6. Headache
7. Fatigue
8. Nausea
9. Sore throat

 Some treatments: 

1. Get plenty of rest. Lying down can make sinuses feel more stopped-up, so try lying on the side that lets breathe the best.
2. Sip hot liquids and drink plenty of fluids.
3. Apply moist heat by holding a warm, wet towel against your face or breathing in steam through a cloth or towel.
4. Rinse your sinus passages with a saline solution. You can buy an over-the-counter saline solution or ask your doctor how to make one at home.

  What is the proper life style as a preventive measure? : 

1. Sinusitis is aggravated by smoking.
2. Swim in freshwater lake, ocean or saltwater bay, incase chlorinated pools irritates nose and sinuses.
3. Alcohol consumption can dehydrate the body and block the opening of the sinus cavity.
4. To loosen nasal secretions and to keep hydrated, drink plenty of fluids

Some of the websites I referred provide very beautiful descriptions of the disease and the related topics. These aren’t the alternatives to physician’s advice, treatment or the tertiary test reports. But it definitely helps one getting some knowledge before one actually talks to a physician and take forward the case. Better to have a good knowledge in order to talk confidently with ones physician for a better understanding and improved communication.  

http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home.html

http://www.webhealthcentre.com/

http://www.mayoclinic.com/ 

http://www.ayushveda.com/

http://www.home-remedies-for-you.com/

http://www.homeremediesnatural.com/

 

Mode: Inquisitive

Ask it shall be given to you; seek and ye shall find; Knock, the door shall be opened to you.

Are not these words jewel? Yes they are and somehow I find these very alluring at this point of time. I am kind of making a conscious decision towards a 3-5 year goal for my career and in the process of gathering information towards it, I am in an inquisitive mode and I just don’t feel like getting distracted by anything. I am coming across loads of websites, blog rolls, and loads of news letters. Will keep this space updated after I could make some brilliant progress and orderly management of the information I am being bombarded with. And I see something concrete coming out in near future.