Its time to speak up. Montu will speak now.

I am writing this post to show my support to the #AbMontuBolega campaign. This campaign is all about speaking up against the people who are insensitive towards various public issues, the recent being the Swach Bharat campaign. We live in a free country and we all have freedom of speech, this campaign is encourage everyone out there to exercise their right of speech for the wellbeing of India and its citizen. It is an initiative which aims at inspiring people to not to be at the receiving end and raise their voice to bring in the difference.

To know more about this campaign do visit their official website http://www.abmontubolega.com also you can connect with it on facebook by visiting their page here and their twitter feed here.

I would like to share an incident which is very relevant to this campaign. We had our team dinner and so we left a little early in order to combat the traffic and reach the venue on time. We left from Noida at around 5 PM for Connaught Place in New Delhi. Connaught Place also known as CP is a shopping and eating hub for people from all over the NCR. We had decided that we will first go to the India Gate spend some time there and by 7 PM we will do for dinner. We were circling here and there in search of parking but we couldn’t find any and the traffic was at its peak. At a signal while we were waiting for the green light, one of my colleagues saw that a person from the adjacent car dropped a juice box on the road. Roads around India Gate are very clean and the traffic is very well managed. The moment she saw him doing that she screamed out of our car “haven’t you heard of the clean India campaign, can’t you wait till you spot a dustbin. How about I throw something in your car?” The guy sitting in the car got furious and he responded saying “why don’t you mind your own business and let me do my job”. Before we could say anything more the light turned green and the traffic started moving. Needless to say, that car got away in no time. We then started discussing about how ignorant people have become and how they don’t hesitate even a bit littering every now and then.

Nothing much happened at that time, he did what he had to do and we couldn’t stop him but the fact that someone from us spoke against it will always remind him of his deeds. The next time he thinks of doing something like this he will definitely think of what my colleague told him and I sure he will restrain from doing anything of this sort. I learnt a lesson that day that I am not going to stay quite if I see something like this happening around me. I realized that it is important to speak up, people know everything but they need to be reminded again and again just like the iron gets rusted when not used regularly.

This post was written as a part of The Power of Voice to Clean India for Indibloggers.

K is not okay, kwel is not cool

I was going through the list of contacts in my whats-app and suddenly I saw a contact with some weird looking status message. I thought maybe she has learnt some new language and that is some wisdom in that new language. I was shocked to see the complete message, it was some famous adage but I couldn’t comprehend it because of its brevity and abbreviation. The other day I was having some conversation with one of my juniors and I really had a tough time talking to her, not you would ask why ? then the below image will give you your answer

The text messages, the status messages have crossed the line of compression. At times I have to read it twice and thrice to get the real meaning out of it. The language is so compromised now a days. I am not saying that I never did the same. Earlier when there wasn’t any whatsapp or all the other online messaging applications we used to send text messages which had a word limit. The moment you cross that word limit the message count used to increase and accordingly the charges were also calculated. So to avoid paying more for the messages I used to use abbreviation and short forms like “nethng” for anything, “wat” for what and lot more so that I can accommodate the whole message  by paying less. That made sense as I used to get limited amount for phone recharge and all I was trying to do was to save on some bucks but what has gone wrong now ?

Today every phone is a smart phone and every service provider gives access to internet in throwaway prices making the service reachable to every class in the society. So by spending a small amount of Rs 100 you have the data usage power of up to 2GB (might vary from subscriber to subscriber) which is way more sufficient than the usage. Using this data power you can send unlimited messages, upload unlimited photos without paying any extra penny. When we have the freedom of expression with absolutely no overhead of money then why this bizarrely invented abbreviations ?

I have observed that a lot of people, mainly the teenager and early twenties think that it is cool to write like this and that writing complete words and sentences would make them old fashion and out of the league. I feel that we disrespect the language but the very next moment I feel everyone is entitled to their ways of communication and its brevity.

Of course I cannot ask someone to change the way they text someone but this post might make them think over it and you never know they might agree to my point as well. I am sure my post has definitely reminded you at least one such message or a person who has this messaging habit.

If you agree with my perspective, I would request you to share this post among your friends, you never know it might hit the right people.

Bring back the touch and warmth.

They say that people forget everything but they never forget how you made them feel. This is the first thought that crossed my mind when I saw the below video.

To know more about it do visit  #BringBackTheTouch. This takes me back to the times when I was having a tough time with my life and was trying to pace up in order to be in line with everybody else. I had almost started living like a machine who knew exactly where to start and where to finish. Weekends were the only time when my body could rest a little but then it came with its own pending errands to run. I never realized that my life has taken this turn until my friend caught hold of me.

The other day I was juggling with many documents, I was trying to find something and even after an extensive search I couldn’t find it. Out of frustration I threw everything on the floor and started crying. In no time my friend came in and she made me sit on a chair. She got a glass of water and asked me to take deep breaths. I was already annoyed and wasn’t appreciating his kind gestures much.

I had a sip of water and then she held my hands and asked me to relax. I immediately said I have no time to relax I need to find that document and then I have some work to finish as well. She went a little bossy with her raised voice and asked me to sit down again. I got a little shocked as she has never been like this with me before, but without taking any chances I sat back right there. She again held my hands and said take it easy, it is alright. Cut some slack on yourself. You don’t have to all correct in everything. Allow yourself to act like a human not a machine.

I was all quite and I calmed down. I remember she took my left hand in her hands and said “Just calm down, take it one by one”. She didn’t say something out of the world or she didn’t instill some wisdom in me that never knew before but it was her touch which made me realize many things. There is a reason why a tight hug makes you forget all your worries, a pat on your back makes you high, a gentle brushing on your arms makes you feel protected. The reason is nothing else but the human touch and warmth, a assurance that someone is there makes you do wonders in your life.

This post was written as a part of Bring Back the Touch for Indibloggers.

Babli says no to open defecation.

India’s 70% population lives in small villages and agriculture is the only means they earn the bread and butter of their lives. I am writing this to throw some light over a problem which has been under cover since a long time and that is open defecation. People living in urban areas and earning well enough to afford a proper toilet are not even aware of the existence of this problem but the rural population faces this day in and out.

Open defecation is not only something which is obscene and makes the place look bad but it is a mine of diseases and various other health problems. People living in villages are used to of this process and they hardly find anything wrong in it, when I asked few people on the railway track as to why don’t they switch to proper toilets they said they have been openly defecating since ages and nothing has happened to them yet. Another point which came up during the discussion was that they don’t have enough funds to even afford a toilet. Just because nothing has happened to them yet they are ignorant of the fact that it is the main cause of major life threatening diseases.

Open defecation leads to many communicable diseases and makes the environment unhealthy. Open defecation is identified as the main reason behind the majority of water born diseases which primarily includes diarrhoea. The main targets are kids and women. Every year more than 3,00,000 children are reported to be dead because of these water born diseases. Kids are the future of our country and we need to do everything to safeguard it.

I as an individual might not be able to visit every single village out there and provide them a fully functional toilet but I can at least take part in the initiative by domex. For more details about this initiative visit Domex. It is very important rural population understand how serious this problem is and how much damage can it cause to them and their next generation. It is less about money but more about awareness. Just because they don’t know about the dire consequences, they don’t prioritize the construction of toilets. Ignorance should not be bliss for them anymore. I am sure if they are aware of this serious problem they would say “No” to open defecation.

I hereby urge all the people out there to spare some time out of their busy schedule and at least educate about the issue and its consequences to one person daily. I am sure the message will reach out to a larger audience and necessary steps will be taken to curb open defecation. I cannot construct toilets for them but at least I can associate myself with movements working towards it and aim for a no open defecation future.

Every single individual has a power, power of word and power of expression. I hereby again urge you all to be a part of this change. You can bring about the change in the lives of millions of kids, thereby showing your support for the Domex Initiative. All you need to do is “click” on the “Contribute Tab” on www.domex.in and Domex will contribute Rs.5 on your behalf to eradicate open defecation, thereby helping kids like Babli live a dignified life.

This post was written as a part of Toilet for Babli for Indiblogger, a healthy initiative by Domex.

The momentous role of Chai (tea) and Chai (tea) stall

Tea or Chai is the one of the most popular hot beverages in India. It has a special place in every age group barring the young kids who should still stick to milk. After water it is the first thing that is offered to our guests. It takes away the tiredness and make you more alert and agile. Now that winters are going to be on full swing, the numbers of tea cups in a day is definitely going to go up. It is such a basic and yet so significant element of our lives that you would find it everywhere ranging from high class niche corporate offices to traditional central government offices and from college canteen to roadside stalls, tea has its own unbeatable presence everywhere.

I am an I.T Professional (I guess I have mentioned it before too :-P) and my work involves looking at the screen for long hours and keep moving the fingers. But we do have breaks one of which is for lunch and other for tea. The mornings are full of energy but as the day passes the body is fatigued and needs something which would rejuvenate the mind and body. The first thing which pops up in our head is a hot steaming cup of tea. I go for tea breaks with my colleagues (they too are tea lovers like me) twice in a day. We don’t have a very well equipped canteen so we walk out of our office premises and go to a tea stall to have tea. If you are wondering how the tea stall looks like below is the image.

One day while we were heading back to our office after the tea, I started thinking what would it be like without these chai stalls. The chai break not only infuses some energy but it also gives you an opportunity to get up from your seat and stop staring at your computer screen for a while. It gives you time to talk to each other face to face rather than chatting through your organization’s chat server. I personally look forward to the tea break time every day. We do have our lunch breaks but tea break has its own charm and longings. I would like list out few points as to why this break is so important for all of us:

• Gives a break: Once the lunch is over, we are glued to our seats and the chai break is an easy way out for some time off. It makes you take your eyes off of the monitor for sometime.
• Time for talking: During the lunch time we don’t talk much abiding by the basic table manners but chai break has no such limitation. The conversation grows with every sip.
• Everyone’s favorite: I know quite a few people who don’t drink chai but fortunately all of my colleagues are chai lover just like me so even if there is a crunch situation going on we still manage to take out time for our evening chai.
• Light on pocket: The biggest benefit of being a tea lover is that you don’t have empty your wallets for it unlike various other fashionable coffee joints where you end up splurging all your money.

Nowadays there are so many different varieties of tea in the market like Lemon tea, honey ginger tea, tulsi tea, flavored tea etc. Still there is comparison to the conventional tea with a hint of ginger. That is my all time favorite. Have a look at it below.

I am sure you all will also have a chai story to share. Drop in your experience, would love to hear from you all.

Towards becoming technology slaves.

Yesterday was a normal day for me. I got up at my usual time and the first thing that I did was checking my phone for any unattended messages. After fifteen minutes I finally stepped out of my cozy bed and then made some tea for myself. Mornings are generally full of a lot of hustle and bustle. We all try to compensate that extra 20 minutes  sleep by hurrying into everything but I make sure that I give my tea its own due time and attention. I pulled the bean bag and sat on it to enjoy my tea, not to forget my cellphone was in the pocket of my pajama all this while.

The moment I sat an involuntary action happened and my cellphone was again out from the pocket in my hand. I kept checking every nook and cranny of it as if some treasure was hidden in it. I finished my tea, got ready and headed out for work. I hired an auto to come to work, the moment I sat in the auto I again took out my phone and started fiddling with it.I am an I.T professional and needless to say my work involves continuous gazing at the computer for long hours. Even though the work is hectic still I manage to swipe through my phone many times.

I left office at the right time and the moment I sat in the auto the cellphone again came out. I was again looking into it expecting wonders to happen out of it.I am the first one to reach home, my two other flatmates come a little late than me. I got fresh and made a cup of tea, it takes away the tiredness of the whole day. For a fraction of second I thought should I open the television or should I open the laptop but I am so glad I ended up opening the book I was reading. After twenty minutes my flatmates arrived and we made dinner. One of my flatmates had some urgent office work so she started working and the rest two of us were waiting for the food. In another five minutes I opened the television and the third one also opened her laptop and started looking at the online shopping websites.

We three were pretty much busy in whatever we were doing and in that moment of time I realized we have become slaves of technology. If I have to describe how the living room looked the simplest way could be there were three fully functional machines present in the room.  After a long day at work we are together and instead of talking with each other we were busy performing our slavery for the technology. How mechanical and insensitive we all have become, and when I say this I put myself at the first to be blamed. We are so lost in the  advancement of the technology that we have forgotten the human touch and its warmth. I wonder how our next generation is going to cope up with this.

This thought moved me and I decided that I am going to end this slavery. I know it isn’t possible to let go of everything but I decided that everyday I am going to spend at least two hours away from technology and its innumerable luring options. I am going to invest some time going old school and talking to people directly rather than messaging them on facebook and gmail. Through this post I want to urge all of you to make sure that technology doesn’t take over you.