Beat the monster out of recession

The current scenario of economic downturn should be considered a blessing in disguise. Following factors emphasize why it should be treated so:

• In turbulent times like these, one should sit back and ponder over how to enhance one's profile to suit more challenging roles offered in the industry. Since there is a huge demand for skilled workers, job aspirants' focus should indeed be upon developing more skills than merely do the job hunting. This will certainly stand a candidate in good stead.

• Secondly, the economic downturn is an eye-opener of sorts for the employers who at once went on a hiring spree regardless of the candidate's competency and thus there was a total chaotic atmosphere in the workplace as there was an insufficient talent pool and it always so happened that there was never a right man for the right job. It has now dawned upon the employers to scrutinize the candidates effectively and then hire them thus preventing the ineffective usage of resources.

• Education opens up opportunities. The higher one is qualified, the better are the opportunities that knock at one's doorstep. There was never a time as right as now to enhance your resume by adding that extra qualification you always wanted to gain. Time is now ripe to study further, to go ahead and pursue that degee you always dreamed of. An additional qualification is not just an extra degree on the paper, but a tool which you can use to market yourself better!

• Employees who were shown the door during the past few months, instead of sitting back and cursing their fate, whining about what could have thwarted that fateful decision of your boss, can use that as a boon by making use of their creative potential and start something from scratch. It can be a small idea which is sure to take you places if only you put a little more effort into making it big. You must remember that it is never too late unless you give up. Albert Einstein is only remembered for the great theories that he has put forth and not for being a school dropout. Had he sat back and delved into the miseries, he would never be able to prove E=mc*2. Entrepreneurship is the key to confidence and learning and what's better than being your own boss and not having to be afraid of getting laid off!!

We must always bear in mind that times like recession are always short-lived and what goes up has to come down and vice versa. Instead of mulling over, use the circumstances to the best of your advantage and embrace it as a challenge. Only then the best in you is unveiled as a man's latent strength always comes out in tough times!!

Wikiphilia

In yesterday's newspaper, it said that UK is soon going to include Twitter and Wikipedia in its primary curriculum. Bingo! It caught my attention and I was overwhelmed with the idea. It is simply fabulous and highly beneficial for the tiny-tots to learn things with Wikipedia. Imagine of what use Wikipedia will be if our country's rural populace gets to learn stuff from the internet, let alone Wikipedia.

Wiki is so omnipresent in the web that the simplest of the words have found their places in wiki. Be it the definition of Wikipedia itself :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia

Defined as the largest free encyclopaedia, it is often updated to cover the latest events under the subject of the article. It is so exhaustive and informative that in most of the cases, the first of the search results in Google will be that of wiki's.

To quote a simple example of its wide labyrinthine reach, I watched Godfather trilogy last week.( Finally!!) and discovered in myself a huge fan of Al Pacino's.(Man! His looks are killing!!). TO know everything about him, I simply typed Al Pacino in the famous Google search engine and there in a split second came a trillion results with the wiki one on the top. Click, Click! There appeared a wiki page displaying the A-Z and more of Al Pacino's life. I found it so interesting. The only thing that disappointed me was his age :P How I wish he was born a little later or I was born a little earlier.

Jokes apart, I really feel wiki should be made part of the curriculum throughout the world. Knowledge is infinite and the more you get it, the more you crave for.

So all you guys out there, go and get wikied! :)

Jeans is just not in the genes!

It was just another day when I was getting ready to go to college. I got ready, descended the stairs and went to ask my mom for breakfast. There she stood in the living room scanning me top to bottom as if she was checking me out. Why do mothers always do this? I wore the jeans that I had bought recently. I used to wear jeans even before but not very often. Ever since I joined college, I wore jeans like I had no other clothing to afford. It was something I felt most

comforable in. And ofcourse, more chic. She muttered something under her breath which sounded like "Children of these days do not know the indian culture anymore. They have forgotten it."I don't remember what I had retorted back then.

Fast forward 3 yrs. Last friday, I wore my favorite pepe jeans and came down asking for breakfast. My mom again scanned me from top to bottom. :) Well, mothers are typical mothers. Over-protective about their children. But do you hear me complaining? I have always loved the attention. :P

Going back to the living-room scene, I heard this :"You have lost all the sanskriti. You dont abide by the Indian culture anymore". I frowned. This was it. I was frustrated with being accused of not following Indian culture any longer. I kept mum. Two days later, it was probably time for the showdown. Yesterday,after I went home from office, she served me hot cup of coffee and only both of us were at home. For once, I was neither exhausted by the traffic that delayed my arrival nor was I tired. I was all energetic and started talking to her. (which is a rarity on weekdays after I go home).

The conversation started from where I dont remember. But I heard a word and I was all ears. It was "Indian Culture". Bull's eye. This time I had to prove myself that I was in every way Indian. My mom and I were always at war of words :-) . Somewhere in the middle of the row, my dad used to intrude and stop further drama. He wanted to continue watching the TV, you know. :P

Okay, here continued the conflict of opinions. She told me, like always, "these days you find girls wearing jeans to temples also. They dont have respect for culture and tradition." I dont treat her opinions as anti-youth. It was how she was brought up and I respect every ounce of it. I told her, as long as someone knows how to dress in what kind of occasions it shouldnt be a problem. I loved this statement as I always followed it. :D I never wear jeans to any unsuitable occasions. Not that I was against it, I simply did not want to disappoint my mother. Knowing the comfort of jeans, I would wear it even while I was dying.

I continued the argument. I told her " Mom, tell me one thing. Jeans is something which leaves nothing uncovered. (If you wear a decent kurta/shirt on it, I mean). What do you say for the epitome of Indian culture,the famous Indian saree which one can use to dare and bare. Almost everyone knows that while draping a saree, it exposes some part of the stomach. It depends on how you wear it also. The Blouse can get as spunky as you would want it to be , that's with the

noolde strap blouses these days. If wearing saree was cultured , was wearing noodle-strap blouse too? ". She dint say anything. It's all in the mind, they say. So I say too. Times are changing, we know that. But it all depends on you as to how you carry your learnings and tradition. If an Indian woman astronaut goes on spaceship will she be condemned if she wears jeans? Or will she be applauded if she wears a saree? She would rather just wear an astronaut suit which would make her feel comfortable for that breath-taking journey of her life. Besides, it is such a pain to drape those 6 yards around you and walk comfortably, to be cautious of the pallu( which threatens to fall off if not attended to) and to arrange the pleats (the mastermind of all). If you happen to stumble upon them, you either trip foolishly or worse, fall flat on the earth.

As the saying goes, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. Evil always lies in the mind of the criminal.(This is my version). It is the way you see things. As for representing the country, I would prefer doing it by actions to doing it by dressing up.

Parting thoughts.. It is upto us to draw the line. Where to wear what and where not to wear what. No offence is meant in anyway. Saree was and will always be the most respected form of indian attire. And yes, it is still considered one of those attires which make women look irresistible.