Cooking is a relaxing activity and is a lot of fun!

A girl had just arrived from her college and then ordered her mom to cook something for her as she was hungry. Her mom looked at her in surprise and asked her, "Didn't you eat anything in your college?".

"Oh, no! Mom. Its just not healthy and its costlier also comparing to what we eat at home", She replied. "Also, I really love home cooked food as it is so special especially if its cooked by you", she winked at her mom with a smile.

Her mom wasn't too impressed though but didn't say anything and continued to work.

After a few moments, she asked her mom again, "Mom, can I have something to eat, please".

"Why don't you cook for yourself if you are so hungry?", her mom told her.

"You know mom I cant cook", she replied.

"Well, then you must learn how to cook", her mom told her while asking her to take the knife.

"Learn to cook..Arggh..you know mom, I just hate cooking and it is not my cup of tea", she replied.
She noticed that her mom had got upset by what she just said so she asked her again, "Ok, tell me one reason why I should learn to cook and then I will pick up that knife".

Her mother stopped her work in the middle for a while and replied, "Cooking is an art and a most relaxing activity. Omce you learn how to cook few things, you will then get addicted to learn more and more ...cooking is so much fun and once you get the basics right, cooking will become more fun".

"Also, cooking is a basic life skill that I feel everyone should learn that may be helpful at some point of your life. In the present situation, people are neglecting to learn this most fundamental skill as they feel it is not essential at all. But, I must tell you one thing that if you master this skill then it will help you in being self-confident and creative and also help you to be more organized", she replied again.

Her daughter didn't say anything but just put on the apron from the shelf, picked up the knife, and was ready to cook.

Marriage is an empty box

A boy was very nervous on his day of marriage as he was getting married to a girl whom he had never known. His father saw him and asked, "Son, you look nervous? What happened?"

 

"Aren't you excited that you're getting married?" he asked again

 

"Dad, isn't marriage a beautiful thing one always longs for that consists of intimacy, friendship, and companionship", he enquired.

 

"This is a common myth that most people believe in but reality is something else. The truth is that marriage is nothing but an empty box", he replied.

 

"Ah, is it!“, he exclaimed feeling more nervous.

 

His father sensed his nervousness so he replied again, "Marriage is a box where you must put something in before you take something out. There is no love in marriage as love is in the people and people put love in marriage. Similarly, there is no romance in marriage but people infuse romance into marriage. You must learn this art and form a habit of giving, caring, loving, and praising each other and keep the box completely full."

The World Remade

If God would have given me powers for just one day then I would have changed this whole world to make it a better place to live. You must have wanted to hear this only, right?

But, no. I would not do anything of that sort. Rather, I would leave the world the way it is as the world is already a beautiful place. It is we human beings who are putrefying the beauty of this world.

So, what is it we should do to keep the world maintain its beauty? As human beings, we need to bring a change in ourselves and in our attitude. It is our attitude that needs to be changed and the perception to see things should change. Today, we hear so many issues occurring, such as child trafficking, drug abuse, or an assault on women. All these incidents occur because we human beings have taken it for granted. God have created such a beautiful place called earth and allowed us to live but we have destroyed the God’s creation by misusing it.

The idea of changing ourselves can itself be daunting. Often, I have found people say, “I’m only one person; what can I really do?” But, if every person thinks that, nothing will get done. However, if we change even one thing from ourselves then this world will be a better place to live. This world will see tons of doing small acts of kindness to strangers, small acts of spreading unconditional love, small acts of self-development, and that will change the face of entire planet.

Aha! We will then be proud of the world for the world is nothing but a sum total of all of us. Helen Keller once said, "I am only one, but still I am one; I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and just because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."

I am participating in the #TheWorldRemade activity at BlogAdda in association with India Today #Conclave15

Its exam time! Should I take stress?

It is exam time, and the students along with parents and teachers are busy preparing for the exams. 

But, the question is, should you take stress?

Yesterday, I was listening to the “Mann ki baat” from the honorable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi on FM where he shared some tips with the students for their upcoming board and competitive exams. Our prime minister have shared some valuable insights on how to prepare for the exams. Here are some of my observation based on those insights:

“Now” is what is more important

Often, students get stressed as they worry too much on what is in the future or what happened in the past. I have observed often that many students would say that, “Will I be able to get good grades?” or “Last time, I didn’t do this properly so I shall study this now.” All these seems irrelevant as neither the past nor the future have any effect on preparation of exams. Shri Narendra Modi gave a very nice example of cricket where a batsman have a clear focus on the ball that is being bowled to him. If the batsman focuses on the past and the future, then he would lose focus and get himself out.

Have a clear focus

“Focus” is really important when preparing the exams, and you must focus on your goals and it is crucial that you do not divert your attention. The PM rightfully pointed out that often students worry too much about the other aspects, such as whether a relative have wished them, and so on and the result is that they lose their focus. So, you must avoid losing your focus instead be very clear about your goals, and leave the rest for later.

Treat exams as your friend

It is often found that sometimes students treat exams as their enemies. More than the students, parents too sometimes ask their kids to take exams seriously. However, it is necessary that you as a student or as a parent / teacher treat exam as a friend and take it as an opportunity for you to fulfill your aspirations. Exams are not the endpoint of your life but you must consider it as a part of life. As our PM have rightfully pointed out that sometimes people take exams as a most important incident of their life, and they feel that if they fail then whole world is over. So, as a student, you should not get too much stressed while preparing for exams and do not consider exams as a burden. In addition, exams shouldn’t be treated as the only criteria for their aspirations but you must consider as an option to fulfill your goals.

Too much pressure is hot to handle

It is usually a common scenario where students start comparing themselves with their friends or peers. Often, parents too have aspirations from their kids, and want them to do well just because others have done well. In addition, some even might even have greater expectations from their kids. So, it is advisable for parents to not put too much pressure on the kids. The students are also advised to not take undue pressure upon them as it might have an adverse effect on their preparations, and hence may prove costly in their exams as well. I remember a dialogue from a famous Aamir Khan’s movie, 3idiots where a father told his son, “wo guptaji kahte the ki khushkismat ho ki tumhara beta ICE me padta hai. Wo kya sochenge?” That is utterly an incorrect approach by the father and he is trying to create pressure upon his son to do well.

Compete with yourself and not with others

Sometimes a student often spends a lot of its energies in order to compete with their friends or peers. Competition is important but it is essential we should compete with ourselves rather than looking at others for competition. The PM gave a very good example of the athlete, Sergey Bubka who competed with himself in order to break his own record 35 times. It is important that we have confidence within ourselves and it will be only then that we will be able to succeed.

Conclusion

To conclude, I would like to mention a famous quote: 

“Don’t stress, Do your Best, and Forget the Rest”. 

As a student, you must trust yourself more than you think you do and as a parent or a teacher, you must trust your child instincts. You must stay happy rather than lead a stressful life while preparing for your exams.

Remember what Bill Gates said, “I failed in my exam in some subjects but my friend passed. Now, he’s an engineer in Microsoft and I am the owner.”

So, do not consider exams as the ultimate goal but consider just as a means to achieving your goals in life. Then, exams will be like a cakewalk and you would wonders in your life.

Nothing is much better stress reliever than playing with your child ….

Life is simple but we humans often make it too complex by worrying too much or being anxious and hurried to do things. It is at this state when our body begins to feel tense, and our mind gets bothered by too many things in life. This is what we call as “Stress”, which is a natural reaction. There are various ways to handle stress like by learning to cope with thoughts and events so they no longer are stressful or by practicing relaxation to give “all clear signal”.

However, nothing is more stress reliever than playing with your own child. Experts also believe that play time can relieve stress in bad times. Playing is not just an essential activity for kids but also for adults as it is an excellent source of relaxation technique. When you play with your kids, it helps fuel your imagination, creativity and also helps improve your problem-solving abilities. Last weekend was relaxing for me as I had a fun time with my son. So, here are some tips that I felt are worthy to be shared while you want to play with your kids that will also help you relieve stress:

1. Involve in an outdoor activity: If your child is grown up, like a 3 or a 4 year old, then it is always good to have an outdoor activity. Take your child to an accompanying garden to involve in some outdoor sport. You can either choose your own favorite sport or choose what your child loves like football, cricket, and so on. I choose the later whenever I go out with my son. An outdoor sport is also important for you as it involves a physical activity that makes you fit and keeps you healthy. Any physical activity like an exercise is often a proven stress buster, and moreover the outdoor activity with kids might be more fulfilling than working out in a gymnasium.
2. Find some time for an indoor activity: We all are busy in our life and seldom have we found time to reach home early and spend time with our family. However, we still should try to find some time to spend with our family especially our kids. And, moreover, we should involve ourselves to find some time for an indoor sport with our kids like a board game and so on. If you involve in an indoor activity with your kids, it not only helps you to bond with them but also is an excellent way to relieve stress. In addition, indoor activity also helps you to increase creativity and problem-solving ability. There are many board games that you can try with your kids like Monopoly, Word Scrabble, and the very old Snakes and Ladders. You can even try playing carom with your kids or even chess if you have older kids.
3. Try to read a bedtime story: It is a proven fact that reading can help reduce stress, and in fact reading can be a healthy escape from the stress in the everyday life. In a 2009 study at the University of Sussex, it was found that reading can reduce stress by up to 68%. And, moreover, reading with your kids is much better option to help relieve stress, and it helps you to create a stronger bond with your kids.
4. Create a craft with your child: You can also get involved to create a craft project together with your child like solving a puzzle or create an object. This not only helps you to relieve your stress but it also helps to increase your creative thinking ability.
5. Watch a movie: You can even watch a movie with your child—either take your child to a theater or rent a video. Watching a movie helps relieve stress as it relaxes your mind and body. However, you must be careful while you watch a movie with your child and you must choose a movie to suit his interests and his age as well.

Last but not the least, as a parent, you must also lead by example so when you are with your kids, ensure that you never get stressed out because the kids will watch how you de-stress, and are likely to mimic what they see.

So, as a parent you must cultivate in them healthy ways to avoid and respond to stress since they consider you as a role model.

Why this sub-division of the class in our society?

The incident at McDonalds, Pune where a street kid was thrown out of its premises has awakened me from inside. It has made me think that why such discrimination among the different so called classes (which have been created by us only). It is not one off its kinds of incident that has happened but it’s just that this particular incident has been in limelight because of the social media. Let us go back to the history during the British raj where British used to discriminate among the Indians by putting a notice in the public places that “Dogs & Indians are not allowed”. Now, let us come back to the present and the situation is no different; instead, it is just that now we discriminate among different people. In today’s society, discrimination occurs in many different forms from gender inequality to a social class of a person. Everyday people are looked down upon because of the color of their skin or because they may have different beliefs. Despite of different forms of discrimination, the people that are discriminated the most are the ones who are based on their lower social class, and labeled as a disgrace to society in some ways. Instead of providing assistance to these people in need, society wants to ridicule them and take even more away from them, making it even harder for them to succeed.

Think about a public place where you haven’t found any discrimination happening. Have you seen a street kid inside any 5-star hotel? It’s not that he can’t afford but it is our so called society that prevents him to do so—to enter into any public place—to enjoy all the things that other kids do. God created humans but it’s we human beings who have further created this divide. We must understand that we come into this world without any knowledge of any discrimination. It is only when we open our eyes, we are told about our caste and creed, and this division is then known to us then.

So, why is it that we discriminate among the different classes? When even God hasn’t created this difference then who are we to create this divide? Are we bypassing his authority by creating this divide? 

And, he found his goal finally...

He was sitting idle on his workstation, thinking what to do, just scratching his head. His manager passed on to his workstation, and saw his peculiar behavior. His manager then thought for a while and then asked him to follow in a conference room. There was a bit of silence and both of them didn't know how to start. His manager then started to say something, and then finally told him, “You are fired”. He was stunned and didn't know what to do. Before even he could say anything, his manager had left the room already. He came back to his workstation and started to pack things. He picked each of the things at a time from his drawer, and then he found something interesting. It was a certificate for the best story writing competition that he has participated once in his organization. But, he never really thought more on to it due to tremendous work pressure. He thought for a while driving back home, and started to write few lines. He graduated to build more, and then finally he was able to develop a complete novel. In the next few weeks, he was really busy in finalizing on a publisher and to his luck, everything went really perfect. And then the day came when finally his first book was published, and it was a huge hit. 

Few months later ….

It was an award ceremony where he was invited to be awarded for his excellent work on the book. There were still few minutes for the award function to start and people were slowly beginning to arrive in the conference hall. Suddenly, he noticed his manager arrive in the hall. He went up to him and greeted him. His manager smiled and winked at him. Seeing this, he was a little surprised. He asked his manager, “Sir, why are you smiling?”
His manager then told him, “You know what… I had always known that you have something like this in your future and see, you have got it. Leadership is all about recognizing talents, my friend. I know you had the talent and I just gave you a direction. And, that really gave you a goal, which you were looking for but didn't realize before.

Looking for a great start for the year 2014!

2014 has already begun, and this is the third day of the New Year. We already had a very good start for the year 2014 when AAP formed the government in Delhi bringing about a change in politics and change the bureaucratic system in India. This has given me an inspiration to bring a change among ourselves because to achieve something great, you need to change yourself.

First things first, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my readers a very happy new year. May this year bring loads of happiness and success in your life and you are able to achieve all that you want to do this year. There are a couple of things that I would like to do this year, and that is 1) Write, Write, and Write and then 2) Share, share, and share. So, all in all, I would like to collaborate with all of you because this is the need of the hour to collaborate. January is the month where we need to identify our goals so that we are sure of what we will do throughout the year. Today, I would like to share something interesting. Just recently, someone asked my opinion on what I feel about the writing profession and how one can grow or think creative in this profession. At first, I thought to myself, “Huh! Excuse me! Who I am to provide my opinion and if I would really do then will it valued” But then I thought it is not harm to share my opinion if someone have asked about it. So, here I am with my few cents on what I feel once must do in order to excel in the profession of writing:

1. Join a Technical Writing or any other writing forum and try to be responsive towards the queries that are generated in the forum. This will not only give you a presence but also you will also learn on your own. This is called social learning or learning via collaboration.
2. Try to join an initiative by any forum such as STC, TWIN, or MITWA, and be a part of team that is close to your heart. I have been a part of MITWA-NEWS team (that is a newsletter published by MITWA group) since last 7-8 years and my role is to design the newsletter using MS Publisher so this gives me opportunity to think creative.
3. Create a blog of your own and try to write something (maybe 500 - 1000 words), and then share among the forum. You can write anything that includes your interest areas or anything in technical areas or any Technical Writing area that you have learnt while working on a project.
4. Try to write for a newsletter published by STC (Indus), MITWA (MITWA NEWS), or any other newsletter or magazine, and be a regular contributor. This will give you loads of visibility.
5. In addition, if you like to read then try to write a review of the book after you have read the book.
6. Last but not the least, learn any new tool like Articulate, Captivate, and so on and develop a sample project on your own. A sample can be a portfolio about you or any presentation that would showcase your skills.

There might be more than these but if you do these things, then you can surely explore a lot of areas and grow in the writing profession.

Happy Writing and have a great start to the year 2014 !

Webinar on How Big Data has transformed Learning and Talent Development

Yesterday, I had attended a webinar organized by Training magazine Network (http://www.trainingmagnetwork.com) on How Big Data has transformed Learning and Talent Development. The facilitator for this session was Jeffery Berk, who is Chief Operating Officer for KnowledgeAdvisors. KnowledgeAdvisors is a human capital analytics solutions and technology firm that helps organizations measure, communicate and improve the impact of their people by better managing processes through reliable metrics.
Jeffrey works closely with clients to optimize their talent development investments through measurement and analytics tools. Jeffrey, a CPA, is also an adjunct professor of management at Loyola University and author of the book "Champions of Change: The Manager's Guide to Sustainable Process Improvement" and co-author of the book
"Human Capital Analytics: Measuring and Improving Learning and Talent Impact".
The objective of this session was to:

• Define ‘Big Data’ and its impact on business
• Provide ‘Big Data’ fundamentals for understanding and context
• Discuss ‘Big Data’ in the context of L&D and Talent Development
• Provide examples and suggestions to L&D and Talent managers to leverage ‘Big Data’

Jeff began with a definition of Big Data, which has become a popular term today. He defined Big Data as a phenomenon that harnesses information in novel ways to produce useful insights or goods / services with a significant value. He also stressed the fact that how Big Data has revolutionized learning and talent development as well. Next, he gave some examples from the daily life to explain how Big Data has transformed the society on the whole. He gave an interesting example of H1N1 Flu virus that had been spreading and how Big Data helped to allocate the resources to the areas most affected due to this disease because of the data analysis conducted. He also gave another interesting example of Oakland A's who had 20 game winning streak in 2002 because of data analysis conducted. It was because of Big Data that they won a 1st place. Big Data harnesses information to produce better decisions for better learning programs to provide value for learning. Jeff also stressed on the fact that Big Data is catching up fast and how data driven decisions have become more of a reality today. He then listed the five components     of Big Data, which include:

• Volume: Defines the large amounts of data. He gave a perfect example of Walmart and how they use Big Data to collect more data to fill 20 million filling cabinets of data in a day.

• Velocity: Defines the speed of collection and processing. He illustrated this concept with an example of location data on the mobile phones and how it predicts the cars in shopping malls to determine the holiday sales.

• Variety: Defines the range of data types and sources. He illustrated this component with an example of how Smartphone users user different applications such as email, messaging, music, Internet, and so on.

• Value: Defines better decision with the data. Jeff illustrated this component with an example of how Memphis police use data to determine where to patrol thus reducing crimes by 25%

• Veracity: Defines reliable and accurate data. Jeff illustrated this concept with an example of “Who wants to be Millionaire” program and how it predicts the audience to be right 91 percent of the time and the expert to be correct 65 percent of the time.

He talked about the various Big Data terms, such as Algorithmics, Datafication, Data Exhaust, Data Tombs, and Messy Data. Messy Date allows for imprecision by relaxing standards for error, such as voice recognition software application. He then talked about what is and what is not Big Data. Big Data is correlation, which means finding patterns of data and not causation, which means to be much more precise and for big data it is much more precise. Big data is prediction and not precision, and he also explained that more data you have, the more you are able to analyze for better decisions rather than less data

Big Data is also about messy data and not clean data, and it focuses on what and not the why, which means what learning programs are better and not why are they better thus allowing it make better decisions

Jeff then listed the three ingredients of Big Data: Data, Skills, and Mindset. You must have data or access to it, you need tools or expertise to mine insights, and you need not be an expert in noble analysis and then finally you need a mindset to see the potential and unlock value.

According to Harvard Business Review, “Data-driven decisions are better decisions. It’s as simple as that.”  Peter Drucker says that “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.”

Now, the bigger question as to how it is related to learning and development and how Big Data is useful for Instructional Designers (ID). As an ID, we can use big data to help us report our business impact to our stakeholders and clients to market our learning. Big Data helps to measure the training where you can pull out sales data from a CRM application and compare it to your training programs, and then find a delta between those who attended the training versus those who did not attend it. Jeff then illustrated the five components of Big Data with examples of how they are related to learning and development. He then explained the key metrics of talent development, which include Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Outcomes. According to Jeff, Big Data helps analyze the pattern of data in the learning programs of an organization.

Finally, we had a Q&A round where he concluded that today it is becoming a collaborative effort between IT and various departments such as HR and Learning to build Big Data strategies and analyze the data to evaluate and measure the training.

From E-Learning to Social Learning from Jane Hart

Breaking 10 myths about entrepreneurship from Prateek Shah

Laughter is the best medicine !!!!

Laugh ! Laugh ! and Laugh ! 

This is the best mantra to stay fit and live longer and that most of the doctors also would advise you to do every day. Laugh out loud or LOL, remember this phrase. You must have heard of it while chatting with your friends. They say that laughter is the best therapy that can relax your muscles and relieve your stress. In addition, laughter is also good work out for your abdominal muscles and your heart. It is set to be believed that there are 80 muscles that are used when you laugh, which increases the blood pressure and your heart start to beat faster. In a study by German gelotologist, Professor Gunther Sickl, it has been revealed that one-minute of laugh has the same health benefits as a 45-minute gym workout. When the laughter stops, the blood pressure returns to normal and stress hormones are reduced - actually strengthening the immune system. Says Deepak Chopra, “Laughter is definitely a healing experience, and we're not talking metaphorically, we're speaking absolutely literally. Laughter is one of the best medicines you can have”. Often, you laugh when you are happy but interestingly, laughter also makes you feel both happy and healthy. It also releases various stress hormones, such as cortisol, epinephrine, dopamine and growth hormone. Unfortunately, it is believed that as compared to children, adults laugh only a 15 times a day. 

So, the next time you need a workout, just relax and have a hearty laugh – it not only exercises the diaphragm, contracts the abs and even works out your shoulders, respiratory, facial, leg, and back muscles, leaving muscles more relaxed afterward.

I want happiness!

Just now, I saw a wonderful status on Facebook from one of the Facebook application that I have subscribed. It read, “How to get happiness? Stop wanting it, and you automatically get it :)”

Isn’t the thought really beautiful and provides a wonderful message. So many times, we say to ourselves that “I want happiness” or “I want to be happy” and in order to be happy, we do a lot of things like we enroll for a peace of mind workshop or go for yoga but still we do not find happiness. We feel that there is something missing in our lives, and we still say to ourselves, “I still want to be happy!” But, we tend to forget few little things that we can do in order to happy.

First and foremost, remove the “I” from the statement “I want happiness” because that is ego.

Then, remove the “want” as it is the “desires” that prevents us to be happy. Desires can’t stop as people can desire a lot of things. For example, your desire can be to buy a Mercedes Benz, or buy a Penthouse, or buy that expensive watch, which you saw on your friend’s wrist last night. I am not saying that you should not have any desires. Its good to have desires but there should be a limit to everything.

In order to be happy, just remove the ego and desires from your life and then your life will be much improved. You wouldn’t have to go for any peace of mind workshop in order to know how to remain happy.

The word “I” is very self-centered as it pertains to just the individual. Think about it for a while. Stand in front of a mirror and say the word “I” as loud as you can. Doesn’t it clearly depict a sense of aggression among you? And now, just say the word “We” as loud as you can and see the difference. The word “We” clearly depicts the calmness and it also makes you feel better. The more you think about people around you and think about the community, the more happiness will be filled in your lives and you will feel happy from inside, and the more happy you will feel happy you will feel from inside, the more happy you will be.

So, forget about the I and start saying We and you life will improve in a better way.

Have a great weekend ahead!

Upcoming STC Learning Session on July 28, 2012 @ NIIT Ltd. Okhla

The India chapter of Society for Technical Communication (STC) is pleased to announce a learning session in at NIIT Ltd., Okhla Phase - 1 on July 28, 2012 (Saturday)

Agenda

• 9:00 am - 9:30 am: Creating Captivate Demonstrations – Manisha Khurana
• 9:30 am - 11:30 am: Usability Workshop – Rajesh and Rajeev
• 11:30 am - 11:45 am:  Networking Break
• 11:45 am - 12:30 pm: Using Articulate for Creating Interactive Presentations - Anuj Kapoor

Session: Captivate Workshop
In this session, you will learn how to create effective demos.

Session: Usability Workshop
In this workshop, you will learn how to perform usability analysis.

Session: Using Articulate for Creating Interactive Presentations
This session will start with a brief introduction on a Web lecture, and will provide information on the benefits of online presentations. It will briefly introduce you to the suite of products of Articulate and then go on to explain about Articulate Presenter. Furthermore, at the end of this presentation, you will be able to use the vibrant features of Articulate Presenter and create interactive presentations. Finally, this session will provide some tips and guidelines that you must ensure to create an effective online presentation along with some links and references.

Speaker: Anuj Kapoor
He has over 11 years of experience in the IT industry and around 9+ years of experience working as an Instructional Designer. He is currently working with IBM India Pvt Ltd. as a Sr. Instructional Designer and has worked on couple of Technical Writing projects. His experience with Articulate is not much though - only around 2 years but he has gained lot of troubleshooting as well as administrative experience while working with the tool. He loves reading, blogging, and mentoring people in the related fields. He also loves photography. 

Speaker: Manisha Khurana
She has extensive experience in technical communication, usability analysis, and instructional designing. She is post graduate in management with specialization in information technology.

About the Sponsor

NIIT Ltd. is sponsoring the venue for the Delhi (NCR) STC Learning Session. 

For more than 30 years, NIIT’s Enterprise Learning Solutions are helping organizations around the globe to significantly impact their businesses. NIIT is one of the top five training companies in the world with more than $350 million in revenue. As a global managed training services company, NIIT provides a flexible and scalable set of services that enable their clients to focus more sharply on their business, reduce costs by up to 25%, and enhance the business impact of their investments in training. 

Visit http://www.niit.com for more details.

Venue
NIIT Limited
LSO, B-234, Okhla Phase -1
New Delhi - 110020
Tel  : 91 (11) 41407000
Fax  : 91 (11) 26817344
 

Registration Details:
Complete the following form to register for this session: 

Click here for registration

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Horrifying and yet a very shameful act!

It was utterly horrifying and and at the same time very shameful act that happened in Guwahati where a minor girl was molested by a mob (a group of 20 people or so..). And more so, it may have happened in full public view and no person came in front to save that girl. Each and every person just acted as an onlooker or a passersby, not trying to interfere in the matter. Instead, they were just interested in shooting the whole scene in their cell phones and then circulating it via MMS, and then enjoying the whole MMS. It seems like it has become a habit for all of us to just act as an onlooker because we live in a country whose father of nation is Mahatma Gandhi and who had once said, "bura mat dekho, bura mat suno, and bura mat bolo" and we have caught his words very seriously so much so that we are not ready to see, hear or speak any bad things. His purpose of saying these words was to fight against the British and their wrong doings but we have misinterpreted those words completely. Anyways, the question arises, isnt this act shameful? Yes, indeed, it is not only shameful and it is not at all acceptable. At one stage, we see the news of India Shining and India becoming a super power and on the other hand, when we hear such reports, it just makes us feel where we stand today. Another news report, I was looking at today was of a Village Panchayat banning love marriages in some district in UP and not only this, the panchayat also laid out several rules that were utterly shocking, like young women from using mobile phones, women under the age of 40 years banned from going out shopping and going out unescorted and boys barred from using headphones on roads and in bylanes.This is extremely shocking and especially in UP whose CM is a young and is supposed to be the role model for the whole state. Looking at all this, it makes me feel that is India really shining or are we still far behind from being a super power. At one stage, we pray to the Goddess and seek her blessings and on the other hand, we see such actions taking place where a minor girl is molested by a mob. If I would have the authority in hand to change one thing in the Indian Law system then I would bring a more strict as well as rude punishment to condemn such an act. It is very easy to condemn such an act while just siting at our homes, liking it on Facebook, and writing comments on the videos posted in the several websites but it takes guts to come out to change the whole law system of India. We need a law similar to what the Arabs do whenever such acts are caught in limelight. Only then, the women will be free to move anywhere around the country. In the current scenario, I sincerely do not feel that any woman should feel themselves safe and is free to move around. Sometime back, there were news reports of a girl being raped by a cab driver and this incident happened in Gurgaon, which is the heart of IT industry in Haryana where there are so many IT companies. And, to add to this, the Gurgaon Police issued a directive where the women were asked to leave their workplaces before 8 PM. Is this what we mean when we India is shining? I am hurt, shocked, and at the same time worried. I am sure that this is not just one incident that has happened because there were more horrifying incidents than this one that had happened earlier and it is not the last and these will continue to happen until and unless we take an extreme step, an offensive action instead of just defending ourselves and condemning the action.

Happy Birthday Dad!

I hate people who like to backbite about someone

Recently, a friend of mine (whose name I do not wish to disclose it here) disclosed me a secret that really shocked me. My friend told me that someone has been spreading few rumors about me in the company where the friend works. Co-incidentally, both of them belong to the same organization and unfortunately the person who is spreading the rumors is working in the recruitment department. It really made me feel that why and how can anyone do such a thing. Why can't I do such a thing to any individual? I cant even think of doing such a thing to anyone whether he is my friend or not. I cant play with someone's career and it is against my principles as well. More shocking was that I haven't been in close touch with the person who has been spreading those rumors.

And its not only me for whom he has been spreading those rumors but he has been doing it for other people as well who he doesn't know well. 

This maybe the reason why he is spreading those rumors as he wants his close people only to enter the organization or he might want to earn some extra money via Employee Benefits. But, just to earn money, can anyone go to such an extent. This is unbelievable!! And, to tell you more, the prospective company have even gone ahead and blocked my resume because of this, which means that I cannot apply in that company anymore. This doesn't mean I will not get a job anywhere because of this or it will effect in my current role. No. But, it just makes us feel insecure that you would also want to have good terms with your peers, seniors, and even subordinates as you may never know who will do what or whats playing in their minds.

It really shocking it is, and till now I feel tremor down to my feet when I think about it. But, at this point of time, I just want to say one thing, "Oh Lord, Forgive that person as he doesn't know what he has done or he may be doing."

How to become a technical writer - Best Career Advice

 

I will turn 33 tomorrow!

Today, I just realized that tomorrow I will turn 33 years of age. I have spent 33 years of my life so far. Its been a long journey since my birth and yet I feel that there's lot more to do. When I look back throughout my life that I have lived so far, I feel that I have done nothing that would make me proud of myself. In the next 7 years or so, I will step into the world of 40s, and I have to give myself 7 more years to achieve whatever I want to. 33 years, I still cant believe that I have grown to 33 years old. Today, I am working at IBM and have a salary to earn my livelihood, a loving wife whom I look forward to when I go home, a mother who is always there to care for me and give her best wishes, a lovely family who always pamper me with their live and affection, few good friends who are there to cheer me up when I am sad and enjoy with me when I am happy, and last but not the least, a father's soul who is always there for me to guide me. But, is that enough? Is this what God have sent you in this earth for? God always have some purpose for everyone, and that is the reason why he sends us to this earth. People tend to forget what they have come to this earth for. Some realize it sooner and some realize it later. The sooner, the better! But, its always good if u have this realization because it gives you a motive to live in this world otherwise life goes on and on...without having any motive.

Now is the time when I need to think that what I would do in my next seven years so that howsoever many years I will live, I shall live in a satisfaction that I did something, and one day when I will leave this world then I will go with a smile otherwise I will always have a guilt feeling within me that I didn't do anything in my life.

"Life is meaningless only if we allow it to be. Each of us has the power to give life meaning, to make our time and our bodies and our words into instruments of love and hope", quotes Tom Head

This is an interesting quote and its quite true as well. We have the power within ourselves to live a meaningful life but its only "WE"who have to realize it. Its only we who can allow to live either a meaningless or a meaningful life.

Today is Budh Poornima, and Buddha have once quoted, "Live every act fully, as if it were your last."

Some people would say that life sucks and would go any way just to end the life and some would believe that life is beautiful and full of surprises. I would say that life is whatever you think of it..and everything you think of it...Life is about sadness and happiness; it is about pain and being miserable, and life is about loss. Life is also about smiling, and crying at the same time. Life is about love and being lived, and life is about laughter. Life is about learning from your mistakes and it is horrible and dumb. Life is awesome and it is also full of tears sometime. Life is sorrow and it is also anxiety...Life is all about you and how you treat it..You criticize it...well, you're actually criticizing yourself..

In the end, I would put one of beautiful poems I found by John Clare on "What Is Life?"

And what is Life? An hour-glass on the run,
A mist retreating from the morning sun,
A busy, bustling, still-repeated dream.
Its length? A minute's pause, a moment's thought.
And Happiness? A bubble on the stream,
That in the act of seizing shrinks to nought.

And what is Hope? The puffing gale of morn,
That of its charms divests the dewy lawn,
And robs each flow'ret of its gem—and dies;
A cobweb, hiding disappointment's thorn,
Which stings more keenly through the thin disguise.

And what is Death? Is still the cause unfound?
That dark mysterious name of horrid sound?
A long and lingering sleep the weary crave.
And Peace? Where can its happiness abound?
Nowhere at all, save heaven and the grave.

Then what is Life? When stripped of its disguise,
A thing to be desired it cannot be;
Since everything that meets our foolish eyes
Gives proof sufficient of its vanity.
'Tis but a trial all must undergo,
To teach unthankful mortals how to prize
That happiness vain man's denied to know,
Until he's called to claim it in the skies.

"Miles to go before I sleep......"

“Happiness”
What is happiness? So many times, I have noticed that people are not happy with their lives or their jobs. Forget about people, I myself sometimes feel unhappy about certain things in life. I just feel that why I am here in this world doing what I am not supposed to do. But, we just forget to understand one thing that we haven’t come in this world on our own. It is the God who has sent us and he must have a purpose in mind to achieve something in life. Some people realize it early while some of them take time to realize their potential and the rest of them don’t even realize their real purpose of life. And then, these people who are unable to realize their real purpose, they start being unhappy throughout their lives, and create a world within themselves thinking that nothing can be done of them.


Someone rightly said, “Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it.”

So often, we just tend to remember our past and worry too much about the future. What this results is that we remain unhappy throughout the day.

Happiness has been defined by several people in different fashions but it means the same so as to stay happy. Helen Keller says, “True happiness is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose”.

As Bette Davis quotes, “You will never be happier than you expect. To change your happiness, change your expectation”.

Sometimes we say that if I buy a car tomorrow, I will be happy or if I go to Seychelles on a holiday, I will be happy. All these are just object of enjoyment that will just give u comfort but doesn’t give u happiness. Few people might not agree with this as they consider sensual pleasures as happiness and their attempts are also directed towards these. However, true happiness doesn’t lie in such objects of enjoyment; instead, it lies in imagination. The only source of happiness – and unhappiness – comes from inside yourself. Happiness is not something that comes to you instead, It is something you create now, TODAY!

Waiting for something to change in order to be happy is waiting to live your life. It is not what happens to you that count. It is how you react to what happens to you. It is your attitude. When you adopt a positive attitude, life becomes a rewarding adventure instead of something to get through.

Leo Tolstoy once quoted as, “If you want to be happy, be.”