A walk to my birthplace Day 66 (208 Km covered so far)

Weekend always helped. Walked 8 Km in the evening and now a distance of covering 240Km by 18^th looks pretty ok.

As I walked today, the theme of wisdom continued in my mind. While yesterday I narrated a story of father and son, today I am going to share a real life case that was shared with me by one of my colleagues.

One of the leading FMCG Companies faced a peculiar issue. Some of the cartons shipped out by them to the distributors, that were supposed to be filled with toothpaste packs, were found empty! This was a huge embarrassment for company’s reputation. The company set up a competent task force and also appointed a consultant. Finally they came out with a solution that included an ultra-sensitive landing pad at the end of the conveyor belt. This included integration with IT system and an alarm system. Whenever an empty box came out of the conveyor belt, the landing pad would sense it and set an alarm. It would also generate a trigger for  IT system. Company spent a total sum of about half a million dollars but the problem was finally solved.

The alarm went off for the first few days ensuring that no empty carton was shipped out. After about 10/15 days the alarm stopped but there was no problem of empty cartons as well. Everyone was little puzzled and the task force decided to visit the site. When they visited, they saw an elderly worker working closer to the system they had installed. There was also a big table-fan running in full speed next to conveyor belt. “What is this?” they asked. The elderly worker said with a slight irritation, “That thing was ringing a bell whenever an empty box came on. It disturbed me while working. So, I kept this fan. Whenever there is an empty box, it gets blown away by the fan!” The learned men looked at each other sheepishly and the half million spent haunted them!!

Hilarious as it may sound, different versions of this story regularly happen in many organizations. People who work on the ground are never involved in solving problems to which they are closest to! That not only causes cost over-runs but somewhere the wisdom gets buried over a period!

A walk to my birthplace - Day 65 (200 Km covered so far)

A farmer had a huge piece of land and generations of hard work had ensured that the farmer was well off. Farmer had spent all his life working hard but could not attend school. He thought that his son should get what he himself could not get in life.

So the farmer sends the son off to city for education. He finally ensures that his son takes a degree in agriculture from best of the universities. When son returns home equipped with his degree, the proud father takes him to the farm. Father takes him to the tree where the son used to spend most of his time as a child. As they stand near the tree, father asks, “Can you tell me something about this tree” hoping to connect his son to his past / his roots.

Ignorant of his father’s emotion, son looks at the tree and shakes his head. “Father, the way this tree is slanted and the way the leaves are exposed to sunlight, I don’t think this son will bear good mangoes this year”. Father nods, “Interesting that you could make it out based on this observation”. With a smirk the  son says, “Well I have studied best technology when it comes to agriculture.” Father sighs, “Hmm …. You are right. This tree will not bear good mangoes and not only this year but never …. Because it is not a mango tree!!”

Well, I guess the story does not ridicule education, it just gives a word of caution …. Wisdom earned over the years with experience is always valuable. When we approach our work with all our formal education, lets remember that there may be someone who may not be as fortunate as us but would still have the gift of wisdom

A walk to my Birthplace - Day 63 (194 Km covered so far)

A little boy moved into a new town. His parents bought a nice independent house in this small town. The boy loved spending most of his  time in the nice garden in backyard of his house. This was maintained by a wise old Gardner who also worked for the previous owners. The boy would spend hours together looking at flowers and bees.

One morning, as the boy moved around the plants, he observed something fascinating. A cocoon was opening up and a caterpillar was transforming into a butterfly. He stood transfixed there watching the transformation. It was a painful process and at a point the boy could no longer withstand it. He bent forward and helped the butterfly to come out. He cracked open the cocoon only slightly so that the butterfly could come out easily. But alas! what came out was a crippled butterfly with wings not fully developed.

Crestfallen, the little boy walked up to the Gardner and told him the entire episode. The wise old man smiled and said ,"when a butterfly comes out of a cocoon it is extremely painful for the butterfly. But the effort it takes to wriggle out of cocoon also ensures that butterfly builds enough strength in its body and wings to live a healthy life. If you crack the cocoon, you are actually depriving the butterfly an opportunity to build its life support system. I know a butterfly looks very delicate but you need to trust it."

We reach out to people when we see them in their struggle. If we reach out to be with them, it may help but we reach out with our own solutions so that they can quickly come out of the problem. Many a times what people facing problems need, is confidence and trust so that they come out of their own cocoon. They not only figure out a solution but also figure out how to solve the problem!

I know it is tempting to help but please remember "help can harm"

A walk to my birthplace Day 60 (190 Km covered so far)

Yesterday I walked 3 Km but couldn’t write anything. I had a packed day, but cannot say I did not have time to write. I sat down to write but felt strongly against it so did not push it. In fact I had a very strong feeling similar to the feeling when I ‘had’ to do my homework in school!

Today being Sunday, I decided to take a long walk and as I walked for a long 8 km, I kept thinking about yesterday. Today as I walked around, I wondered about why should I feel so strongly against writing – something which I had taken up voluntarily and was actually enjoying quite a bit!

I distinctly avoid walking around a park or a playground in circles. I generally walk around different routes. Every day as much as possible I do a slight deviation to my route walked a day before. It’s just a habit.

Today as I walked around I suddenly realized, I was exactly taking the route used earlier, so I came back and took a slightly different route. I chuckled at my own compulsion to do little changes in the route every day. Apart from the funny side of this small incident, something else clicked …..

… For a long time I have kept myself from any sort of fixed pattern. Perhaps that is also the reason behind avoiding walking around circles in a park. Patterns give rise to a sort of repetitive predictability. Things become ritualistic and soon lose charm. This is pretty much true about my career as I have often sought new challenges and done some pretty crazy things.  Now I understood my yesterday’s feeling about writing. Every time anything becomes close to a ritual, my mind revolts.  There are various obvious advantages of this approach – you always look out for little breath of freshness, always try out new things and not afraid to walk on new paths.

However, patterns are not essentially bad. In fact, most of the times, patterns simplify things and make life little easier. Then why do I have a phobia about any patterns getting formed? Is phobia for patterns itself a pattern?  maybe I need to move away from it or find a better way to deal with it!!!!!!! 

A walk to my birthplace Day 58 (179 Km covered so far)

Parenting a teenager can be a learning experience of its own kind. My daughter who is 16 now grew up in the joint family in her initial years. I guess kids understand the ‘seniority’ much better than we give them credit for. With my parents around, my daughter treated Pallavi and me more as peers than as parents. I still remember a funny incident when my mother scolded Janhavi – my daughter - for saying something to me. “You don’t talk to elders like that!” my mother scolded her. Janhavi was puzzled and said “but I am talking to HIM” pointing at me. That clearly defined her assessment of my status in the family hierarchy!!

I moved out of Mumbai for my job quite some time back. That made us a nuclear family but our relationships once defined remained pretty much same. Janhavi always considered Pallavi and me as her equals than parents. As she grew up, our expectations slowly started changing and we started asking her to share some responsibilities. We noted a peculiar irritating trend off late – if we ask her to do something, she takes her own sweet time and sometimes is quite stubborn. I can’t even call her lazy because whenever she cooks on her own or any such stuff she is very meticulous and quite fast! We got little more puzzled when we met her teacher at school last year. Her teacher told  us in front of the whole class “She is such a sweet girl that I wish more students have an attitude like her”. We wondered if she reserves a special treatment for Pallavi and me at home. We also have our standard share of tiffs with her on her speed of response at home!

Yesterday, we organized a small get together for my father’s friends as my father was in Pune. My father and his friends got together along with their wives. We were generally present around as everyone in that group belonged to an age group of 75 years and above. While our 6 years old son was excited with so many sets of grandparents, Janhavi moved around efficiently to ensure that all the senior citizens were served food and were comfortable in general. She also went up and down to ensure that anyone who was leaving got a proper transport. Many of the guests while leaving told Pallavi and me that we were so fortunate to have a young daughter who is so loving and caring.

I wondered about contrasting situation at home and suddenly a realization struck me like a lightening. My daughter does not have any problem of working hard as me and my wife have started worrying about off late. She just does not take orders from us whom she considers peers. She happily works on her own as our equal or for really ‘senior’ people. It’s entirely our choice whether to feel worried for her not listening to us ‘promptly’ or feel delighted that she considers me and my wife as her friends!! 

A walk to my birthplace Day 57 (175 Km covered so far)

I met a friend today who has decided to settle down in Japan. His company recently decided to close down Japan operations but he decided to continue. When I met him, he looked pretty calm despite the need to search for a new job as quickly as possible.

We got talking about the country in general. He told me an interesting story. He went to the local government office to change his medical insurance from company’s scheme to that of Government scheme. He met the concerned official and told him about his need. The government official made him comfortable. He was concerned about my friend being an expat with no job in hand at the moment. The official explained him the whole process and ensured that my friend got medical insurance cards in 15 minutes!! That itself would have been a great story but the official did not stop there. He told him about how to make best use of the scheme and about various other options. Then he also sat down with my friend and gave him details about which government agency to contact for unemployment benefits! Nowhere during the conversation, my friend felt any ‘sympathy’. It was respectful information sharing without being judgmental or inquisitive about the past. It was just a pure compassion coupled with efficiency!

My friend was touched. It was heartening to see compassion shown by someone who was least expected to show it. It nudged my friend to think positively about his situation and more importantly strengthened his resolve to stay in the country.

It actually does not cost anything to be more compassionate even when you do a routine job. How many times do we really practice it with people around us?

World will be a better place if we realize that our compassion creates courage in someone. It ignites hope and an ignited mind always looks for solutions far more effectively. That’s all the help that is needed most of the times!!

A walk to my birthplace Day 56 (170 Km covered so far)

The year started with a good long walk of 10 Km. To me walking long distance is one of the best ways to indulge in oneself. It’s almost like a meditation!

A few years back I was transferred to Mumbai and my company had given me a lovely accommodation at Malabar Hill – arguably one of the most premium places to stay in the country! Well, my excitement was not so much about the hype around the place but it was more about the proximity to Marine Drive – popularly known as “Queen’s necklace”. It is a long stretch of road curving along the seashore. It starts from Mumbai’s famous beach – Chowpati and ends with Mumbai’s Manhattan – Nariman Point. Marine Drive was always special for all of us who grew up in Mumbai.

While staying at Malabar Hill, I used to park my car at Chowpati and then walk all along Marine Drive to Nariman Point. With old Mumbai buildings on one side and huge expanse of Arabian Sea on other side, it was a lovely route for morning walk. They had also calibrated the road with clear markings at every 100M, so one could always measure the distance covered. I used to enjoy my walk with salty breeze caressing me. It was a distance of about 2 ½ Km one way from Chowpati to a place called Jazz By the Bay. I used to enjoy my 5 Km walk starting from Chowpati and back.

Now-a-days in Pune I often walk from my house in Baner to Pune University and back. Today as I walked on that route, I realized that the distance I cover on this route is 3 Km one-way. I was little surprised when I realized that this route is actually longer than Marine Drive! Well, something felt strange because I never felt the distance covered here as I used to feel on Marine Drive. Walking on Marine Drive, I always used to get this feeling of really walking long distance!

I wondered – what could be the reason? May be because of the open sea on one side, you can see the entire stretch of the curving road in front of you when you walk on Marine Drive. But it looked a little simplistic….

May be Marine Drive has this aura which my lovely, homely Baner Road does not have …  Marine Drive has a  grandeur associated with it … so even though the distance covered on Marine Drive is less than Baner Road, it feels more!

Well, it happens to all of us that grandeur of people / places may shroud hard facts ….. my new year’s resolution would be to look beyond grandeur!!