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.

Excuses for everything


Almost every day begins and ends with excuses for most of us.  Let us start from the morning.  We refuse to get up from bed, when woken up by someone.  We blame the weather or the exhausting day at work on the previous day.  Then once we get up, we have an excuse not to go for the walk or the jog.  It’s raining – how can one go for a walk ?  Then we get late to work and when the boss enquires we have the common excuse of traffic congestion on the way.

Now that we are at work, do the excuses stop.  I do not think so.  When a customer calls us enquiring about a delayed delivery, we put the blame on manufacturing or some other department and explain in details how it is beyond our control.  When the customer asks as to why we did not call up and inform her, we have a box full of excuses.  We had the board meeting and two new product launches and how when we tried a few times, the customers’ phone was not reachable.

Let’s assume the day at work begins and ends with excuses.  Now, let’s move on to the gym.  As we reach the gym and our instructor enquires the reasons for our poor attendance, we have a long list of reasons.  We blame the weather, the boss, the spouse and of course the traffic is always a ready made excuse for almost everything in life.

What is interesting is that when we are late at work, we blame the traffic but when we have to go on a holiday, we are always on time to the airport never miss a flight.  We do not know how we invent excuses for things we do not enjoy but do not need excuses for things we do.

Now, let’s check at home.  We have a long list of excuses to return late from work.  Again the boss is handy and followed by heavy workload, customer visits, official dinner and so on.  We also have excuses to tell our spouse of how busy we were at work and as to why we could not call up home to inform.

We always have excuses to give our kids when they want us to take them out for a movie or to the park.  We promise to take them the following week and that week never arrives.  We have a host of excuses to postpone it multiple times till the children stop asking us or forget about their request.  

After we return home, we again have good excuses to tell our spouse as to why we could not pay electricity bills or water bills.  We have reasons to miss the doctor’s appointment.  We sometimes even forget our kids birthday party and have excuses to justify that.

It is like we may have an excuse for not wearing the seat belt in the back seat of a car as in the picture above ? We may say that nothing would happen in the back seat and nobody wears it anyway and hence why should I ?

Is life full of excuses ?  May be if we want it that way.  However, if we decide to take charge of ourselves, may be life would be different.  We have reasons to be happier.  We may not need excuses to justify our existence at home or work.  Life may be happier and cosier.

Let’s try it from today.

S Ramesh Shankar

The sunset


The sunset has always been a source of joy for me.  Like Keats said, ” A thing of beauty is joy forever”.  Watching a sun set and taking photos has been a source of inspiration for me always.  If you ask me, I do not know why ?.  Scientists tell us that it is safer to watch a setting sun than a rising one because of the infra red and other harmful rays.  I watch the setting sun as it is a source of beauty and happiness for me.

As the sun sets in the horizon, we have the multicolour formation of the clouds.  No artist in the world can paint it.  No designer can visualise it.  It is the creation of nature and the gift of God. What amazes me more is that every day is a new design.  A new formation.  A new spread of colours.  The combination of colours is electrifying.  It soothes your mind and quenches your heart with emotions.

The setting sun signifies many things to me.  It declares the end of the day and the beginning of the night.  It means that life has both days and night.  While it may be easier to work in the day but much more difficult in the night.  The sun set prepares us for the difficulties of the night.  It cautions us to prepare for the more challenging phase of life.

I am lucky to travel to different parts of the world as part of my work.  Although I do not travel very often but every visit to a new place teaches me some thing.  The last time I was in Germany I was talking about sun sets with someone.  They told me how lucky we are that we have the sun for most part of the year in India.  As Indians we consider bright sun light as signifying higher temperatures and coupled with humidity, it definitely makes it a tougher day to bear.  But imagine life without much sun light.  If you live in countries, where the appearance of the sun is rare, you know what I mean.

The sun is not only a source of energy.  It brightens our life.  It balances nature. It helps us maintain our moods.  I recently experienced the absence of the sun for almost a week during the recent monsoon and I realised how much I missed it. I appreciate the reasons for depression and mood swings in the countries, where the appearance of the sun is a luxury.

The sunset may mark the end of the day.  But it also gives us hope that although we may have to spend a cold night but the rising sun the next day will give us hope and warmth back.  We miss something when we do not have enough of it.  In countries where the appearance of the sun is a phenomenon, its highly valued.  But in nations like India, where there is abundance of sunlight, we value it less till the day we miss it.

I am amazed by nature and everything around us. It is a great source of joy and happiness.  The sun, the moon, the earth, the tree, the sea, the mountains and so on.  If we sit back and reflect, we realise that we are privileged to learn so much from all of them.  Each of them is a mystery and a source of inspiration.  If at all we are willing to keep our eyes and ears open all the time, learning can never end.

The sun sets today to rise again tomorrow.  Let us also resolve to bounce back in life if at all we go through a bad patch in life like the sun does every day for us.

S Ramesh Shankar

Trees


Nature has always been a great source of inspiration for me in my life. Every part of nature fascinates me. “Trees” are one of the most fascinating parts of nature. For me, the tree is like our mother in life. It is always willing to give more than it takes from nature always.

Every part of the “Tree” is valuable and gives us important lessons in life. . The roots of the tree ensures that it can weather all the storms of nature. It allows the tree to grow without taking any credit for it. It remains below the ground but the tree will die, if the roots are damaged.

The roots teaches us to be grounded always in life. We have to learn to keep our feet on the ground at all times. We tend to float in the air with a little bit of success in life. If we learn from the roots, we will remain humble and achieve a lot of success in life.

Lets move to the trunk. It is the strongest part of the tree. It ensures that the tree is firmly held on the ground. It ensures that branches grow around it and let the tree blossom as it grows. It ensures the health of the tree and maintains its vitality.

The lesson from the trunk is to keep ourselves healthy at all times. If we maintain good health at all times and keep ourselves fit, it is possible to achieve all that we desire in life. The trunk of the tree could be like our backbone. If the backbone is straight and maintained well, the whole body shapes up well in life as we grow up.

Now, lets move to the branches. They grow from the trunk and branch out in different directions. They grow healthily without hampering each others growth. Similarly in life, we have to learn to grow with our siblings at home and our team members at work without coming in their way for our selfish reasons.

If we move to the leaves, they absorb carbon dioxide from the air and provide the vital ingredients for the growth of the tree from the sunlight and the air. Similarly, we have to use our abilities to learn from everyone around us at home and at work by utilising our full potential.

The flowers are the most beautiful part of the tree. They bloom and spread the fragrance around it. They allow the bees to feed on their nectar and ensures the balance of nature. God has given humans a beautiful smile like the flowers. We need to spread cheer around us using our beautiful smile to make people happy all around us all the time.

The fruits provide fodder to the birds and the animals. They also provide nutrition to human beings without expecting anything in return. We need to share our knowledge and skills with others who need them without expecting anything in return. The tree never asks for anything in return from the animals or humans who consume the fruits from them.

Last but the most important, the trees provide oxygen and ensure a clean environment for us to breathe. We need to learn to keep our environs clean and commit to protect trees at all times. This could be a fitting tribute to a selfless organism, which does so much for us in life.

It also provides shade to anyone below it and ensures other trees grow as the seeds from the fruit is strewn around by animals and birds. We need to pass on our knowledge and skills to our future generations to ensure the sustainability of mankind.

Do you agree with my learnings from the “Tree” ?. If yes, can we all commit to protect the trees and environment around us not only for own survival but as our promise to the generations that follow us.

S Ramesh Shankar