Dear Maaya through my eyes

 This is the story of a woman called Maaya. She was living her life trapped in her own thoughts, her past, the box created by her for herself. 

Then, she got an opportunity to explore because of two girls. She broke free of the bonds of her thought and thus found her happiness.

This is also the story of human relationships.

 

What I learned? Keep exploring and don't say no to opportunities.

On happiness and Unhappiness

Why are we unhappy? Why is the other person happy? Does happiness depend on circumstances? If that be a rule, shouldn't everyone with better prospects than me be happier than me?

What makes me unhappy? Bad choices, Poor solution to dilemmas faced in life, wrong values.

Those who are happy have always had the right values? were always good at making choices? Had always had the right solution to their problems?

Didn't the wrong choice make them unhappy? I think, they did make mistakes but chose to forgive themselves and learn from their mistakes. They chose to let it go. They practiced the right thing until they became experts of it. They spent time, solving their problems.

I think happiness is a choice. A choice to be kind to oneself; positive about oneself; listen to oneself; taking care of oneself; loving oneself. This choice contains an inherent responsibility that we need to be kind to others. The logic being, if I am not kind to others, do I deserve kindness? And similarly, if I am kind to the other person, why won't he/she be kind to me? The only thing that could make him otherwise would be something not related to me i.e his personal issues. And in that case, as Gandhiji rightly put it, he needs help or "jaadu ki jhappi".

The world works on the principle that we get what we give. So, to get what you want, you need to give what you want to get.  If I hurt you, then won't you hurt me? If I am insincere to you then won't you be insincere to me? In the short run, it might not seem to work but in the long run, it does.

Is it me or him?

I feel a strong urge to blame someone and take the responsibility off my shoulder. But in doing so, I am ignoring the psychological fact that everyone is right in his/her perspective.

My colleague has been treating me dismissively. Whenever I ask my query, he says that he doesn't know. But now it has been proved beyond doubt that he does know. He has been lying to save himself the effort to teach me.

My fault is- I have not been sincere. My attention was misfocused. If I tried earnestly to understand the problem, I would have got the solution. If I had articulated my problem well, I would have got help. I wanted spoon - feeding.

Now, where should I direct my attention? Towards how he has wronged me or how I can set things right. Which thing will improve me?

It was me. My mistrust, negative responses etc. :P

On Hindi again

Dear Prime Minister,

Through this letter I want to share my problem with you as I think you can solve it. I am working in the finance dept of a PSU. Where I work, the people are not very well versed in Hindi.

Here, we have a “Hindi Cell” whose work is to increase the use of hindi in official works and gradually the whole work in offices be done in Hindi. We have to hold “Hindi Review meetings” in our office on monthly basis. The purpose of the meeting is to check the progress of usage of hindi in our department. Similarly, we have to send “quarterly reports on official language implementation” wherein no. of letters sent to various regions in Hindi is to be reported, no. of notings done in Hindi in different registers is to be reported etc. The people from “Hindi cell” take measures like nominating members for taking Hindi classes without the wishes of concerned person. They use the pretext of Official language Act, 1963, Official language Rules, 1976, President’s Order, 1960 to impose hindi. They send letters/minutes in Hindi without considering whether the recipient understands Hindi or not. It seems that lack of knowledge of Hindi is a crime.

So, this additional burden acts as deterrant in our work. I asked people here, what purpose is served by this additional burden. I am told that Hindi is our Official language and government policy is to promote Hindi. So, being part of a PSU, we need to follow it. I am from a Hindi speaking region still I find this policy of government very suffocating and backward.

It is true that hindi is the most widely spoken language in India. But English is preferred by all for official purposes. Even in Hindi speaking areas, business works are mostly done in English as it is the most convenient language. Also, English is a global language. All through my school life I have read quality books in English and now I am suddenly asked to do my work in Hindi because Hindi is the official language of the country. What purpose will it serve? While doing official correspondences, shouldn’t the intended recipient be in mind rather than promoting our official language?

I understand the reason behind this policy is to connect India. But will the forced imposition connect people? Has forced thing ever brought anything good in lives? In childhood we were forced to choose subjects which, our parents thought, were safe. What good it did? It created a generation of uninterested people who didn’t love their work. I guess, I am digressing from the point.

So, it is true that Hindi is the connecting language. Why so? Because of Bollywood. The beautiful songs there, are loved In North, South, East, West alike. Why not let it connect people rather than forcing them to adopt Hindi?

Through this letter I would like to request you to reconsider this policy. Hindi should be an enabling tool rather than something which creates problem in our works.

I find English more comfortable for working and so does the majority of working population. Shouldn’t democracy prevail in all aspects?

Aren’t there more pressing needs like saving environment, finding alternative to plastic, banning tobacco etc than promoting Hindi?

This forced Hindi imposition in my office is affecting my liberty, free will and creating negativity.

Please help.

On Imposition of Hindi in govt offices

Why am I writing this article?
There is this official language Act, 1963 which gives power to impose hindi language in offices and I don't like it. It does serve some purpose but does it make the offices more effective? No, as people in offices are better versed with english than hindi.

What about communication with those who do not understand english?
Here, this act plays part. Use of language should depend upon the intended recepient. If the recepient is a laymen then hindi should be preferred.

The points in favour of Hindi are-
1. It is the most widely spoken language in India.

The point against Hindi is-
1. People in many parts of India didn't pay attention to Hindi language while they were in school. They still don't feel the need to learn detailed Hindi. Even I am not quite fluent with tough hindi.

My contention is-
Humans by nature are purpose oriented. They are driven by want or need. For e.g- A person who is interested in languages/hindi scriptures would want to learn hindi. Similarly, those who have to live in hindi majority area need to learn hindi to interact with those around. Why force hindi upon those who are not interested in learning it? When need be they will themselves learn it.

The language which needs to be promoted for official work should be English because most of the working people need to understand English as it is a global language and india is merging with the global economy.

Why not use Hindi as well as English for official works?
Because the people at work who are not well versed in Hindi struggle with finding suitable words to express themselves. It adds to the burden of their work to do the same work in hindi as well as English. There is this app called translate but it is not v. reliable as of now.
Also, saving paper is the need of the day. Writing a thing in Hindi as well as English wastes lots of paper.

How else to promote hindi?
1. We can use simple hindi to do works which necessarily require to be done in hindi.(As even I, belonging to hindi speaking population, don't understand tough hindi words like अवलोकन, प्रतिवेदन etc)

2. For oral communication, hindi should be promoted in offices. Even that is not needed as people easily learn where they need to learn.

The power of Habits

There is a girl who does skating daily. For her, physical activity is a cup of tea. There is another girl who doesn't actively participate in physical activities more than necessary. For her, walking even 1 km is a big deal. Both their inclinations are reflected in their physiques.

There was a girl, very sincere, attentive in life. Then there came distractions in her life which demanded her attention. She asked herself, what was the problem in getting lost if it doesn't cause anyone any harm. She thought a lot but couldn't find the answer.

The answer is, being present in the moment is a v.good habit. It saves time, Improves your perspective etc etc. If distraction becomes a habit then it will form part of your life and you will get distracted even when you don't want to.

 Keeping a good habit requires practice. And with practice, the work seems effortless and natural.

So, we should keep good habits intact.

Of course, habits can be learned again but it will require effort and commitment.

Some good habits include reading, physical activities, mental activities.