never underestimate anybody!!

This incident takes me a long way back, all the way back to 1997, i was in class 7 then, we had gone for vacation in b'lore(now benagaluru), on our way back in the train a beggar came asking for alms, every thing was OK but the fact that his shirt was tucked in smartly(it was torn and tattered, but he had put it on properly), one fellow customer was for some reason very irritated he started shouting at the beggar telling him to get lost, to this the beggar shot back in English " hey Mr. it is just that fate has made me to do this, i lost my house in a fire, he then showed his burns all over his body. i am begging just because i have no other choice but i am far more educated than you, i have a b.ed degree, which got burnt, how educated are you ?" there was pin drop silence in the compartment, the passenger was mum , he took out a rs10/ note and handed it to the beggar.
through out the journey of about 40 hours (from Bangalore to kolkata) the passenger was quiet and visibly sorry for what he had done. he along with all of us present there had learnt our lesson, never underestimate or make fun of anybody, just because you are more privileged than him

Incomplete Instructions .........

This particular incident was an classic example of how giving or receiving incomplete instructions can be very counterproductive. Once again the setting is in Kolkata,Shibpur to be precise, usual evening hangout me and my friends were gorging on Momo from a street side vendor, midway through our plates a lady in the midst of her eating screamed with an absolutely priceless expression on her face, on looking around we were very surprised as well as amused when we saw a small kid washing his plate, she ran towards her son (i think it was her son.) with an embarrassed face scolding the innocent kid, the kid finally mustered up some courage and said " tumi toh bolecho " - it was you who instructed me to... ; one gentleman finally intervened and told that it was you who was very particular about our " shona" washing the plates after his meal, "but not here" the lady retorted,
to which the husband (again my guess they were husband and wife) said you told him to wash his plates after each meal, but never told him where not to do so.....
the lady quietly left the scene..... perhaps understanding that from next time complete instruction should be given because what is obvious for one might not be so obvious for others

While Working make sure you are only WORKING!!!

This is one of many lessons I have learnt during my stint as the Departmental Placement Cordinator here at IIT Kanpur.It was early November, and European Aeronautical Defense and Space visited our campus for recruitment, I got a chance to interact with the representatives from EADS,one of them was Stefan Jera, head human relations, EADS. It was nothing more than a casual chat he said it was his first trip to India, and how he was enjoying the country. "So have you been sight seeing, been to the Taj, its just 4 hours from here" i asked. His response to this question left quite an impression on me. Atul, he said this is one of the things I as a human believe in, when you have come for a business trip you shouldnt really be looking to do other leisure activities. While working, work he said should be your only focus. he then continued, "in the last month alone I have been to Paris 8 times, but i have seen the eiffel tower only during landing and takeoff of the plane that too only if the weather is good, I am yet to enter it".

The message was straight forward - While working make sure you are working and only working, it is quality not quantity that matters as far as time is considered.