Happiness

Happiness is a form of courage.

~Holbrook Jackson

Audio Design

In a recent visit to a mall noticed the incessant music at a salon . Guess I noticed it especially because it was music I would classify as cacophony. I spent a few minutes at the place . The salon employees work there all day. They have to deliver service to the clients which requires them to be reasonably attentive. A task made challenging in varying degrees by loud music through most part of the day. High decibel is not relaxing for all clients either . Rather than assume that incessant , loud music adds positively to the overall experience - businesses would be better off testing that hypothesis and calibrating the audio environment .

Possibly a business opportunity for companies to develop music customized for a space that measurably enhances customer experience and makes for a saner workplace for the employees of the establishment. The sound/music and decibel level can be varied depending on the time of day and the customer traffic. As I write this post I'm trying to recollect retail spaces in Mumbai that play soothing instrumental music or sounds from nature ( water fall , birds etc ). With the exception of some 5 star hotel lobbies I can't recollect any retail spaces with a positively memorable/soothing/relaxing audio environment.

Done well the audio environment of a space can significantly enhance it's appeal.

Unusual yarn

Taking a leaf out of Mahatma Gandhi's life, Ghaziabad Municipal Commissioner Ajay Shankar Pandey asks late-comers or truant staff to use the charkha and spin yarn to repent for their mistakes..

..The first to use the charkha was Health Officer D K K Tyagi. “Pandeyji was not happy that I had not completed drain work on Meerut road. I spent about 25 minutes at the charkha. I felt good and calm.”

..What does civic body do with yarn? "We intend to sell it to a khadi unit and use the money for the under-privileged community," an official said.

Pandey has a reputation for thinking out of the box — be it sweeping the streets of Mathura in 1994 to counter a strike by sweepers or handing receipts for the bribes that contractors offered (15 per cent of project cost) when he took charge as Ghaziabad civic commissioner in 2007.

The creative approach and the discipline it will hopefully foster is commendable. The non-linear approach is worth emulating for various kinds of institutes - schools , colleges , work places.

(Much needed )Change

News on TV few days ago . Sense of déjà vu in hearing spokespersons of the Congress and BJP *. Seldom do they have a point of view that is progressive . They are either defending themselves or attacking the others. The issue could range from the trivial to grave. That's incidental. They are steadfast in their approach. They manage to drag down the standards for conduct , quality of thought to a sub-zero level. The country suffers status quo and stagnation as the monkey show goes on day after day.

It used to be that way in some industries (in India ) - e.g airlines where one endured the incompetence of Indian Airlines . Thankfully more and more sectors face competition either by new players in the industry or a product/service offering from another industry that meets the need of the consumer. There's hardly any business that can afford to operate in a stagnant way and not experience the consequence of it .Unfortunately for the people of India the politicians are still able to get away with their self-serving , least common denominator approach #. One hopes that 2010 will bring in a change on this account...Each of us will contribute to making that change.

*Congress , BJP representative of political parties . The nonsense is no way limited to them.
# Every walk of life has people of integrity and good intention. In Indian politics such people are outnumbered as of now.

Notice...

Browsing through a book store I noticed a copy of 'The Noticer' :) Sometimes , all a person needs is a little perspective. True of mankind at an individual and collective level.

It's easy to get into an 'auto' mode while navigating through life or at least in the moments one sees as a means to an end. Quite literally the long commutes in places like Mumbai. The crowd , the poor quality of roads and the sheer time it takes are reasons enough to switch off , get annoyed or switch on an MP3 player in a bid to escape the din. Each of these moments has the potential to introduce us to something inspiring , beautiful , insightful , humorous. If we choose to notice.

Recently a friend who traveled by the trains in Mumbai noticed an elderly gentleman switching off the fans in the train when it reached it's final destination. As everyone rushed to get off the elderly gentleman went about his chosen task. Possibly not many people notice what he does (and he does it irrespective of acknowledgement or appreciation ).

The capacity to notice and the perspective is not limited to journeys.It carries through to various life circumstances bringing forth new insights and solutions enriching the world and it's futures.

Take a moment to notice

p.s - Celebrate the Noticers in your life

Temple

While God waits for His temple to be built of Love , men bring stones .

- Tagore

Tread lightly

Spring cleaning of a cupboard by a family member yielded a file with various original documents of my school and college education, early phase of my working career. It was a surprise partly because I thought the file was in one of my cupboards . A reminder perhaps that locations are relative :)

Going through the papers evoked many memories. Some of them not so pleasant considering that they pertained to exams and a rigid educational system. Considering that my last encounter with the edu. system was years ago I have the benefit of distance to allow for a certain perspective. Some of papers represented turning points in my life that set me off on a journey that led to the present moment.

At one time these certificates , scholarships were cherished possessions that symbolized accomplishment. Today , it's a file of old papers from a bygone era. A reminder that what one seeks today will one day have a very different meaning at some point .

Tread lightly and mindfully.