WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND-2

Xeroxing escalates, nights turn sleepless and students burn the midnight oil gearing up to face the exams. I had seriously and sincerely prepared for the Level-1 (neveau-1, French) exam, leaving nothing to chance. On the examination day, outside the exam hall, all classmates stood there shaking hands with smiling faces and wishing words exchanging best of luck. A question rose in my mind “Do these wishes work if preparation is not worked upon well?” My logic, before giving me any time to look for a solution, posed another question, if preparation is well worked upon, do we need wishes. These thought abruptly ended as the bell rang, it was time to move into the hall. Inside the hall it was pin drop silence, long rows of benches, housing seventy five to eighty students, three to four supervisor moving up and down the hall. I was fully engrossed, in writing the answers so much so that the fragrance of the lady supervisor walking past me, though alluring, did not think of giving her a look till the end of exams; the reason being if I ran short of time then what? I did not want to lose time. My eye flipped on two things; the wrist watch and the number of questions to be answered; two questions remaining and forty five minutes to go. They were questions on near future (futur proche) and recent past (passé récent). It took me some time but finally I was able to work out successfully; still ten more minutes to go, I checked the answer sheet for any mistakes those might have gone unnoticed. As I handed over the answer sheet the lady supervisor the acceptance occurred with gleaming eyes and smiling face. I left the hall.

Leisure hours and vacations pass away swiftly, silently and stealthily. The same happened with me too, it was time for the announcement of the results. Students attempt the exams in varying capacity but the eagerness to know the result is a thing that every student carries with almost the same intensity. The next day I was at the department’s office. A group of classmates were already there to know the results, I too was eager to know my result. As I made myself ready with a pen and pad to note down the result. A voice from behind called me and said, give it to me, I will write it for you. It sounded to be a familiar voice, but to ascertain myself, as I turned around there she was “my class teacher”. In normal circumstances it is always the student serving the teacher but this was just the reversal. What could have made her act so? I obediently gave her my pen and pad, she noted down the marks and that was it.

We were in Level-2 (neveau-2, French), one more time she was my class teacher. Level-2 had more in roads in to the language; we were enjoying every bit of it. One day I saw her  upset, the usual charm was missing, she left the class twice in between to meet the head of the department. The class ended, the student had left, as she lifted her bag to leave the class, I stopped her and asked, “Is everything OK”, she denied, I insisted. It is then she made clear that the exam data were missing and the head of the department was not happy. I told her “Can I help you?”, she asked me How?. I told her, remember, you wrote it with your own hands and gave it to me. She told “It has been long time, do you still have it?” The next day I handed over her the sheet and the problem was solved. One again the charm was restored and things got normal.

This particular incident left me thinking. I asked myself “Who helped whom?” with a short term perspective the answer would be “madam helped me” and with a long term perspective it would be “madam helped madam”. After all in life “what goes around, comes around”      

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND-1

Cycles, cycles and cycles, it is cycles everywhere. Planetary motion, appearance of the comet, waxing and waning of the moon, ebb and the tide in the oceans, the cycle of seasons, Nitrogen cycle, Carbon dioxide cycle, Water cycle. Life cycle (birth-death-birth or death-birth-death) and in life too, what goes around comes around, forming a cycle.

These cycles function noiselessly, ceaselessly, affecting the intended recipients. Cycles relate to matter and space (space science, environmental science), cycles relate to life, politics, society, behavior and so on. This article is focused on behavioral concern.

Completion of studies ends the classroom phase and directs one towards the field. The theoretical knowledge gathered so far is required to be put in practice. Companies recruit fresh graduates and train them to run their business. A fresh batch of graduates was posted in the field under the guidance of the senior operators. This phase is a unique phase in life; youth, knowledge and eagerness all gathered at one place are sure to influences promptness of the response.  With the slightest blaring of the announcement over the loud-o-phone the trainees would be on their toes. This behavior would irritate the senior operators, once a senior operator stopped a trainee as he approached to attend the loud-o-phone and said, you should reply only after the third announcement. The trainee succumbed to the senior operator and in days to come this statement became a policy put in to practice. Few weeks later the senior operator was promoted to the post of inside operator and transferred to another plant.

Few years later the trainee was now no more a trainee, he had turned into a confident operator and was able to manage his job well. He was transferred to the same plant where the senior operator was transferred. One day he was attending a critical task in the field; it took him, some time to reach the loud-o-phone. The senior operator in an excited tone asked: “Why does it take so long to attend, how many time should I announce?” The operator in the field replied “At least three times, sir”

Often we are not aware whether the thing or the opinion we are suggesting or expressing will in the long run be rewarding or embarrassing. We are always on the look for short term goals and never both about the far reaching effecting of it. It is only when a thing boomerangs on us we sense; oh! We did something wrong. But then lot of time has passed and maybe we have crossed the point of no returns. It is better to be positive and spread positivity.

The junior in the story was my colleague in the office, a co-operative team member of the Integrated Management System project. Working together is now a thing of the past but to date he is a good friend and never misses to visit me when he is in the town.

Whatever we do leaves an impression on the other person. And it is this impression that provides the basis of action in future at an appropriate time. See you next time with WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND-2

HAVING AN AFFAIR

One leads the other follows, one calls the other listens, one attracts and the other gets attracted, one allures the other gets allured. Closeness begets a bonding, closeness begets a relationship that goes on and on for the whole life.

It is a call from within, making distances disappear and closeness creep in. With the heat of closeness comes forgetfulness and legalization of this closeness gets forgotten. People say “He as an affair”, “She has an affair”. Affairs are always alluring and particular in its infancy. These alluring affairs are excellent stuff for cooking up gossip stories. If the affair continues and lasts long people say it as “live in relationship”, a term widely used now a day.

Affair! When they happen, how they happen, and why they happen nobody knows.They are unpredictable. I too fell prey to it. It happened very early in life. Once in love, always in love. Particularly the first love is easy to digest but hard to forget. In life we come across people, I came across a lady and got married to her legally. That old affair still continues, it does not complain about me getting married. It continues to be calm and patient; it demands nothing but donates a lot. It gives me pleasure that could be felt by nobody else but me. The only thing I need to do it is give it some time. Life continues to be a joyful, blissful, wonderful and a graceful experience. Two decades later, I had a third affair. This one has a different name but has the same nature as my first affair. Let me tell you I didn’t forget to legalize it.

Many people are prone to infection. They easily get infected. I started doubting myself to be prone to infection. Not prone to viral infection but prone to affair infection. One cannot control virus and even more difficult is to control getting infected by an affair. Better for me is to give up, I have decided not to resist but to succumb and live blissfully forever. I would not be surprised if another affair is waiting to infect me.

I am really thankful to my wife for she never bothers about affairs in my life, since they keep me busy and don’t give me a chance to bother her.

Of the 3 ladies in my life one occupies physical space while the other two occupy mental space.

These fertile ladies have produced babies.

The second lady has given me a boy (Vinayak) and a girl (Bhumika)

The first lady (English Language) and the third lady (French Language) have helped me produce boys(articles) and girls(poems)

After getting retired I intend to get a graduation in English literature and legalize my life long affair with English lady (English language). Till then none of us are in a hurry.

REACHING THE DESTINATION

I was watching a 100 meter race. In the pursuit of reaching the finishing mark first; a participant unknowingly crossed into the adjacent participant’s lane and got disqualified. Hours of personal efforts undergone on daily basis, along with equal involvement of the coach; well wishes of fans, friends and kith and kin did not work. What went wrong? What did the participant miss to do? What did he miss to focus on?

Having watched the competition it was time for me to start for my home. It was going to be at least one hour drive. A drive through the lush green hilly terrain, the vegetation, the flora and fauna made the environment cool and pleasant. The road around the mountain appeared like a snake retreating in the forest. Often I would come across small water stream on the road formed by water sprinkled by the water fall near the road. At times baboons crossing the road would catch one’s sight and the musical twit of different birds on tree branches would attract one’s ears. Though being born and brought up in this place, being a part and parcel of this surrounding today for the time being, nothing did relate with me. I had reached home safely.

After the dinner everybody in the family had retired to their bedroom. My wife an excellent homemaker, after a toll taking day was far away in the deep realms of sound sleep. As far as my vision could go through the glass walls of my drawing room, the earth’s ceiling was creatively decorated with a infinite, inverted, dark saucer fitted with numerous light emitting dots spread over dark ether of space. As it happened during the drive, this too was not relating to me. I was busy occupied with mental analysis of the race that I saw in the morning.

Two things in my opinion contribute to be successful in a race; action at its best and awareness all the time. Motion demand monitoring and monitoring asks for awareness. Running a race, driving a car or living a life; they all, need to meet these two criteria.

Human needs are two; comfort and peace. Comfort concerns body and peace concerns mind. Running the race of life at time, we run after money and forget peace. Money can only bring comfort. With money one can buy furniture, a car, a house, a mobile and so on. They are all means to physical comfort. On the other hand running only after peace is also not fully rewarding. Comfort cannot replace peace and peace cannot replace comfort.

The race of life doesn't have a stopover but has different onus on every leg. Heading towards the finishing leg of life, one needs to balance and achieve both the things in proper proportion to win the race of life, to reach the destination. A home for everyone and everyone in a home.

I LOVE YOU-2

With that incident I lost the little courage I had, I have been moving from the pillar to the post unsuccessfully. With every failed attempt my worry went on escalating.

I have no one else to go to and that is the reason, I have come to you. I hope you won’t let me down.

Yours is a one sided love, but think what if my husband come to know about it; hell will fall on me!

For God sake will you, will you, will you stop thinking, will you stop guessing, will you stop anticipating, will you calm down and lend me an ear.

 

She cooled and slumped down in the chair and looked at me.

I continued, I had a problem with this statement; I have a problem with this statement. The spirit behind these words has vanished into thin air. The words aren't working now a day. They don’t caste their magic-spell as they used to in the past.

Every girl whom I met took this statement negatively, at least they could have thought about my integrity. You too don’t have the patience to listen to me, I want you to respond, not to react. Your response can lift me, you reaction can ditch me.

Like you I too care for my family. I too care for my children but like the highs and lows in the ocean I am going through a low phase in my life.

My wife doesn't heed attention when I say her “I love you.”

You are a lady, you are aware of lady psychology and besides you are a friend in whom I can confide. I came to you seeking for a solution to rejuvenate my husband-wife bonding.

That friend in her came alive, her heart reached out to help me and with all sincerity she said there is a place and time for everything in life. When she is occupied help her, when she if free care for her.        

Listen carefully “The way to a man’s heart passes through his stomach and the way to women heart passes through her eyes”

If you don’t look at her in the eyes, she feels you don't mean it, she feels you are not serious, she feels you are not sincere, she feels ignored, she takes you casually. 

Hold your wife’s hand, look into her eyes and tell her “I love you” then on you won’t find the need to walk up to me with this question any more.

While I was thinking over what she said; she took me by the back, gave me a gentle push and said it is time to act, not to think. Go hurry up, don’t be late. 

All the best.

As I turned to leave (hoping the advice to work) the timer was staring at me with the red card held high, cautioning me of getting disqualified. I left the stage.

Ha, ha, ha