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.

Fitness vis-a-vis health

It is fashionable today to hit the gym everyday and make a statement about it. Some people take up fasting as a hobby and a fad just to show others and post it on the social media. These people may believe that hitting the gym or intermittent fasting may help them become fitter than everyone else around them.

I do agree that hitting the gym or fasting may lead to a fitter body but may not necessarily keep you healthy. Good health is a combination of fitness, a balanced diet and mental happiness. A healthy mind leads to a healthy body and the balance between the two keep you happy in life.

No wonder we read about people who maintain a six pack or eight pack body ending up in an ICU with a heart attack ,since they think physical fitness alone may make them healthy. They do not realise that anything done to the extreme could be more harmful to the body, mind and soul. Neither jogging 20 kms a day nor fasting every day would keep you healthy ,although it may make you believe that you are physically fit.

We need to realise that physical fitness alone is not healthy. The day we realise that “Health” is a combination of body, mind and soul, our approach to life will change.

I fully endorse physical activity every day and it is good for our fitness and health. I personally walk for an hour ,do yoga and play badminton everyday. You could also indulge in any physical activity you enjoy everyday ,to keep yourself fit.

But physical activity alone is not good enough. This has to be supplemented by a balanced diet of vegetables, fruits, water, proteins and vitamins in natural forms. This has to be further complemented by mindfulness – a state of mental solace. Health is always a synchronisation of body, mind and soul.

The day we realise this basic tenet of life, we may become healthy. Physical fitness alone cannot necessarily keep you mentally agile and happy in life. Health is a combination of physical fitness, mental soundness and emotional balance in life.

We should not get carried away by advertising models for health and fitness products, which display a fit body but do not necessarily guarantee you ,good health and happiness in life. We can evolve our own daily physical exercise, which we enjoy and can sustain. This can be supplemented by a balanced diet and a happy environ around us ,at work and at home.

When we hear stories of a young CEO of a multinational firm collapsing in a gym or a film celebrity ending in an ICU, who otherwise cared for his physical fitness, we may be taken aback. It is important to realise that physical fitness alone cannot keep us healthy. We need to balance physical exercise with good diet and a happy mind.

I do subscribe to a daily regimen of exercise ,of our choice. This could be supplemented by a well balanced diet of natural source of vitamins, proteins etc through vegetables and fruits. This also needs to be supported by a happy state of mind and soul.

Let us redefine “good health” as the synchronisation of body, mind and a happy soul.

S Ramesh Shankar

7th May 2023

 

The world is imperfect and so are we

Everyone of us want to be perfect in everything we do. We sometimes wonder as to why the world is imperfect around us. We believe we are perfect and everyone around us is not.

This may not be true. We have to realise sooner than later that the world is imperfect and so are we. Nobody can be perfect, all the time. We are human and it is natural for us to make mistakes. It is perfectly fine to err but as someone said – “ To err is human, to forgive divine”

The day we understand that we are as imperfect as the world around us, we may become more human. We need to accept the imperfections in others and also the same in us. All of us make mistakes and so do we. As long as we accept our mistakes, seek forgiveness and move on, life will be better always.

While this may be easier said than done, it may be worthwhile to reflect on the same and understand on how to deal with these imperfections. The best of sportspersons practice day in and night out, to perfect their game. However in spite of all this practise, they do err and are ever willing to learn from their mistakes and improve ,in their next game.

Life is no different. As children ,we make mistakes and we have our parents and teachers to guide us and show the mirror. We learn from them and become better human beings, as we grow in life. At the workplace, we have our seniors, who guide us and mentor us to evolve as better employees.

My life lessons teach me that there are three things, which could help us deal with the imperfections of life. First is acceptance, second is learning from our mistakes and the third is forgiveness.

If we are willing to accept our mistakes, that would be the very first step. Generally, we are in a state of denial and keep floating in that state till we hit a roadblock ,in life or our career. We may hesitatingly accept our mistake only when such an incident happens in our lives.

The second quality one needs to develop ,is learning from our mistakes. Like someone beautifully said that making mistakes is fine ,but not learning from them could be disastrous. We need to learn from our mistakes and ensure we do not knowingly repeat them.

The third and the most important quality is “ forgiveness”. We need to learn to forgive ourselves and others in life. If we continue to regret a mistake for the rest of our lives and not be willing to learn from it ,and forgive ourselves or others for their errors, life could become treacherous.

The day we are willing to accept our mistakes, learn from them and forgive self and others for the same, life would turn more positive and energising for us.

Let us attempt to start from today. We can first forgive ourselves and erase the memories of the multiple mistakes we may have done in our lives. Then let us try to forgive ,all the near and dear ones around us, who may have erred like us.

Let us start from today.

S Ramesh Shankar

5th Jan 2024

Payback time

I have been married for almost four decades now. I married a college mate of mine, who was one year junior to me. She was a gold medalist in the university and had joined a leading de-addiction centre in Chennai as a counsellor, after passing out from college.

She quit her job after we got married as she had to move from Chennai to Bhilai, where I was working. This was her first sacrifice. A person who was academically brilliant but could not pursue her career of choice since she got married to a person, who was working in another city and put her spouse’s career ahead of her own self.

This choice was by mutual consent and we did not feel bad about it. We then had children and she qualified the Natioinal Eligibility Test (NET) in the first attempt and joined as an assistant professor in college. She continued for some time and then again quit her career, to take care of our two growing up kids.

We moved across cities, as I lived and worked across the country, in pursuit of my career. After supporting me and my family for almost four decades, we decided to settle down in Bangalore.

All through my career, my spouse supported me and my family to live a cosy life and also reared our children to be self dependant adults whilst I was busy pursuing my career goals.

She did continue to write, read and travel, which are her passions in life. She also learnt languages and some art and crafts apart from participating in music and dance, which she could pursue ,some times.

She selflessly sacrificed her career and passions to support me in my career and also support my kids to grow up as good human beings. While we have supported each other in all our pursuits, I realise that post retirement from my active career, it is payback time for me.

We returned to Bangalore and settled down. She pursues her hobbies including gardening. She also continues to write and travel along with me to places around the country and the world.

We walk together every day for more than three decades and do yoga for more than a decade. However, now her health is fragile with her knees becoming weak perhaps because of all the burden she bore for all of us over the last four decades.

Now, it is my time to pay back. I need to manage the family and take care of day to day chores, to the best of my ability. Although, she continues to manage most of the home affairs, I realise that I have a bigger role to play today.

My children have got married and have flown away from the nest to pursue their own careers. They have responsibilities to take care of their own families. Today, I pursue my hobbies of reading, writing, travelling, coaching, driving and consulting and hence I can manage my own time ,as per my plans.

My goal in life is to give to back to society, in the best ways I can. Apart from that, I have take to care of my spouse and her health and payback for all that she sacrificed for us right through our life.

I realise today ,that it is never too late to give back in life to all the people who have made you successful and happy in life. Of all the people who have supported me in my life, my spouse has been the biggest contributor . so its time for me to payback to her.

It is never too late to payback in life.

S Ramesh Shankar

3rd May 2023