Author: S Ramesh Shankar

Born in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, India, I have been brought up in different parts of India. Graduate in chemistry and post graduate in personnel management and industrial relations. Have been a HR practitioner for 38 years in the industry and have experience in working in steel , automobiles, FMCG and engineering industry. Was head of HR for Siemens in South Asia based out of Mumbai till March 2019. Currently founded hrishti - joy forever, a social enterprise to give back to society and work as Chief Joy Officer.

Park & Purpose

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Each of us may have a different purpose to visit a park. Some of us go to the park to exercise. It could be a walk, jog or practise in an open gym as in the photo above. While others may go to play or just to relax and rejuvenate themselves.

So each of us may have a different goal to visit a park and it is fine. I have been visiting a park for the last seven years for my morning and evening walks. Apart from walking, it is chat time with my spouse. We walk together and exchange our thoughts, beliefs and stories as we have experienced the previous day.

As we stroll around the park, we can see kids playing and sharing joy. Kids do not come to the park to maintain their fitness. It is sheer entertainment for them and that is the way it should be. They may be looking forward to meeting their friends and teasing each other after a hard day at school.

On the other end, we see young adults meeting and mating at the park. It’s a beautiful park along the sea shore and ideal locale for romance. So as the sun sets, we can see lovers in full glory. They are oblivious of the world around them and that is how all of us have experienced love as we grew up as adolescents and young adults.

Then we see senior citizens strolling around the park in groups. They play a game of housie, have some snacks together and share their stories with each other. The park is a place to meet and seek good company for them. Their world may be lonely at home and hence the park provides an ideal place for socialising.

As you go around the park for your walk, you meet people from different age groups and in different colours and costumes. It is fun to admire the energy and enthusiasm of different groups. Of course, you also meet people who have entered the park with no stated purpose. They may be just admiring nature or enjoying the sunset all alone and why not.

Another interesting dimension is that a public park brings people from all religions, caste, creed, nationalities and social status together. There is no discrimination and each one has the complete freedom to enjoy the park the way she or he desires to. Even observing people of diversity in the park is great fun.

I am not sure even a religious institution like a temple, church or mosque can provide you with such a beautiful social setting. It is indeed a gift of nature that a park brings people together with no boundaries or discriminations.

Let the parks bloom and all people visiting them fulfil their purposes.

S Ramesh Shankar

Relearning from childhood…

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Learning is a life long journey. I was sitting with my grandson, who is 7 years old. He asked me if I knew how to use Instagram on my phone. I said yes. He asked me if I could take a photo of his with the whiskers of a rabbit. I told him that I did know how to do it. He readily agreed to teach me.

He advised me to open the app on my phone. He then showed me as to how change the setting on the phone and then take a selfie as in the photo above. I was quite stunned. It was great learning to use a mobile app from a 7 year old.

As children, we are inquisitive and curious. We learn continually by observing others and things around us. When I asked him as to how did he learn it – he said that he saw my son doing the same on his phone. As we grow up in life, we possibly forget to be curious. Our inquisitiveness is buried within us. We feel shy to ask questions and thereby our learning retards.

It is time to look back and learn from childhood. If we cannot turn the clock back, we can observe young kids around us and learn from them. Another incident made me realise how simple observation can be of great learning value. My grand son was at home for his school vacation. We were playing with each other. Then he wanted to download a few games on my iPad.

I gave him my iPad and enquired which games he would like download. He glanced through the app and shortlisted a few. When I was about to download, he told not to do so. He informed me that every app has a preview. We should preview the game and only if it is interesting, we should download the app. It would otherwise be waste of money. I could not believe that a young kid of 7 years could be so knowledgable on how to carefully download game apps from the internet without wasting money.

To be honest I was not aware of it. This helps learn an important lesson in life. We all are good learners as kids. We observer everything around us and learn. We do not hesitate to ask questions when in doubt. As we grow up our observations skills fades away and hence may be our learning ability also diminishes. We are scared of asking questions when we do not know so as to hide our ignorance rather than learn from others who know.

It is time to reflect. It is time rekindle the child in us. It is time ask questions of curiosity from everyone around us including kids. It is never too late to change. It is also never too late to unlearn, learn and relearn.

Time to restart is today ?

S Ramesh Shankar

Living on the Edge…

Life is like living on the edge today. We can neither rely on our past nor predict the future. The life cycle of changes were in years then reduced to months , hours and may be now it is in minutes. We are not sure what is likely to happen the very next minute in our lives. No part of the world seems safe for human living. No phase of life is stable and predictable.

Let us examine life from different prisms and different stages. Today we cannot even predict when a child is likely to be born. Of course, in the past also it was true. But, today with all the advancement of technology, the doctors generally give a likely week and not an exact date. Inspite of all the tests possible the doctors are not sure if the birth of the kid will be normal or through a c section. The life of the mother and the kid is fragile till birth and may be till they stabilise after a few months.

Lets move the next stage of a student. The admission into class 1 has become the most difficult in most metropolitan cities in India. Parents run around in search of a school and in most situations do not have a choice but are compelled to admit their child in the school where they get admission rather than the school where they want their child to study. They commit to visit all temples, mosques and churches in their mind if their child does get admitted in any school.

In the next stage, the kid passes out of school and we cannot be sure where the child can pursue further studies. The college admission process is also a rat race and has many unpredictable factors. Assuming the child is able to pass out college in flying colours and wants to pursue her master’s course in a specialised field, the challenges are similar. Even after getting a post graduate degree in their preferred subject, most students cannot be sure of their career choice.

Life is full of uncertainties and it does not end here. As an adult enters an organisation, he may be believe that his life will be stable and predictable. This may no longer to be true. The organisation you join may be taken over and there could be restructuring and you may be declared redundant and lose your job in a few years. The market may go into recession and everything may look gloomy all around you.

If we believe that we have a job and will get married to a partner of our choice and life may turn positive may not be true. Today, young couples have independent aspirations, beliefs and values. Neither of the two are wiling to compromise on their priorities. This may lead to a divorce much earlier then they would believe it could happen. So, then life begins all over again for both the partners.

Assuming, one has got over this phase of life and you have settled down with your partner does not guarantee peace of mind. The performance and stress anxieties are making couples lonely even in a crowd. This is leading to childless couples and other marital discords. If we are able to get over it and have a child and bring up the kid as per our dreams, life’s challenges begins all over again.

All the above unpredictabilities of life also give us a plethora of opportunities. We can be the best student in the class and then every school and college will like to admit us. We may excel in sports or arts and again academic institutions are willing to give us a chance. If we are the best in whatever we do at work, no employer would like to give us the pink slip even in the worst market conditions.

If we are an affectionate and empathetic spouse, every partner will dream to live with us and have kids and live happily there after. Life will continue to be full of uncertainties and unpredictable realities. It is up to us to be the best in everything we do and be resilient, adaptable and patient. No force on earth can ever make a world class sportsperson give up in any sport. So is life. If we believe in ourselves and our capabilities and never give up, we will always be a winner in life.

As in the photo above, our life is like the birds on the lake. We do not know where we will land the next minute in our lives.

Let us not give up even before trying. We have to remember that only the best will survive in an ever competitive world.

S Ramesh Shankar