A dangerous four letter

As we age, we live through different phases of life. The surging hormones change our physique and mind but there is nothing worse than the four letter words that spins oneself out of control. It transports oneself to an oasis in a desert. The world around oneself is transformed into lovely place. One's ears are blocked but it repeats those sweet voice again and again. It changes one's personality, behaviour and demeanour. One is transformed to be less rude, gentler and more helpful than before.

It fills in those empty, lonely, emotionless veins of heart and start to give meaning to beating life. It gives purpose and dimension to life. Nothing bothers oneself any longer, one becomes tolerable to put out any nuisance. This world is empty without this wondrous feel, I call it love like the following short scribblings.

"Like the stranded boats in the river, I wait stranded in my life until love came. Love showed me beauty, care, empathy,  intelligence, courage, literally " everything " and finally the purpose of life. This four letter little poisonous word transcends the borders of religion, creed, caste, nationality, race, language, age, cultural differences and all the differences this human civilization has erected. It is a miracle that evokes the feel of flying butterflies in the stomach, wakes oneself in the middle of the night and makes oneself roam around as a headless human"

I call this eternal LOVE.

Our differences make difference

Imagine, we ask a layman on the street, what are the causes of divorces in marriage and major conflicts in the world, majority of them would say “differences”.  Supposing, we ask a successful multinational company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), why do you think your company succeed in a fiercely competitive market place? CEO argues that our company’s success lies in the competence of our employees drawn from different parts of the world with diverse cultures. Why a lay person and a CEO would differ in their opinion on “differences”?  Venerable CEO probably could be a product of popular business school where he / she would be taught on the advantages of diversity but the random person wouldn’t be aware of economics of diversity or differences.

If differences are the root causes of many problems in the society why the companies with diverse employees are always succeeding in the world economy?  There has to be a reason behind any success. Increasingly the world economy is intertwined. The market place that every global company encounter now is more globalized than before. Once the poorer parts of the world is also witnessing rise in disposable income levels. Subsequently there is a ubiquitous market or in simple terms money can be made in any part of the world. The onerous question is “Does the company that is headquartered out of developed market succeed in developing market?” and also vice versa. Companies around the globe particularly multinational corporations evidently understand this conundrum of diversity factor.

Diversity is not limited to people from different nationalities or skin tone or cultures but very often forgotten women at workforce. Gladwell Malcom argues vehemently in his famous book “Outliers” it is the culture of a human being that determines him / her squarely. Any sane human being would agree to the concept of different thinking patterns between Men and Women. Are different values and patterns of thinking good or bad for a company? Business schools charge a hefty amount of fees to prove this simple fact that differences within employees create value. In fancy world of MBAs we could say shareholder values. One ponders more to understand what is this value created out of diversity?

The rocket science behind this diversity factor boils down to priorities or values within different cultures. In case of Men and Women it is differences in perception. Each culture on this planet has something quintessentially “theirs” that make them very special in solving a particular problem. For example, western cultures place strong belief in individualism on the other hand Asian cultures trust their “collectivism”. In any work environment, these differences certainly create initial ruffles but eventually it results in “innovation” if work culture is channelled properly. It is undoubtedly a challenge for companies to create that unique work culture.

Presumably every global company is trying hard to create that unique work culture so that they tap into every employee’s skills. Employees would augment each other by bringing specific example how somebody in their country of origin would perceive something for instance.  Women at workplace would inculcate style and elegance to the products’ offering. The phrase “thinking out of box” inherently ascribes to the notion of employees who can’t be defined into a boxed nationalities and gender. To fittingly finish, the beacon of hope has drawn on us to make the reality “our differences make difference” through several companies embracing diversity as key factor. 

New attempt..

It is generally a rare occasion for me to scribble a poem but I was unconventionally compelled to write one. My poem is tribute to people who saved me from dangers of skiing in pyrenees, France.

I call the title of this haiku "SNOW", here you go:

Strong in precipitation

Shines in light

Slid in a slippery slope

Shallow in sedative sleep

Shutters visibility in wind

Storms while in pressure but

Seduces while in pleasure indeed

Sight of a beautiful pearl

Sings sonnets in the clouds though

Suffers solitude in dark

Sensitive to summer

Sublime when it bursts also

Saturates when it falls, delicately

Slanderous to scandalous skiers, verily

Signorina too behaves like snow 

From foreign correspondance

from the previous article..
http://www.spotalks.com/2011/03/lost-in-translation.html

I begin to write where I left the pen on the observations of an alien who have now matured into an official foreign correspondent. He has transformed from reading books about the country of his residence to practicing the real culture. He begins to examine the meaning of culture. He starts to wonder whether the major practicing religion has any influence on it. What about the fabled education system of a country, does it impact the culture of a country? How does weather influence behaviours of its people? How is the mosaic of culture made of? He finds the intriguing answers to his questions through introspection of his experiences and readings. A learned person would probably define culture as representative thought of people based on their beliefs, values, attitudes and taste. This multitude of definitions makes our foreigner busy to experience cultural pandora box.  He reckons the best way to understand a culture is always starting to debate on any topic and relate to the experience in his country.

As the economist claims even the paintings of a country would reveal the prolific performance of its economy, I kept wandering around the archived museums of my adopted country to paint the economic timeline. My wallet got emptied time and again to traverse the vast landscape of beautiful snow clad mountains, breezed beaches and its tranquil countryside. I deduce the mild romanticism of its people that I am not quite used to from their smile, gestures, dress and sexuality. I begin to find solace in my solitude through sensual relationship. Consequently, I observe my adopted country through prism of my partner. I understand the new found colour and creed of my world around me, eventually embracing its profound delicacies. I listen to the melodramatic description of its history that swallows the distress of war and disease. My intellect then turns to its tradition of music, cinema, literature and other forms of arts to comprehend the compelling thoughts of its elite.

I read voraciously country’s vox populi on the political newspapers and magazines. I debate details of the politics with natives. I indulge myself in the mastery of its traditional sports and dance. I begin to ape the natives in dressing and body language. I even cook the cuisine that everybody in the country eats regularly. The things I once fancied as a foreigner begins to become custodian to the very own customer. As a customer to this foreign land, I have literally amused myself. I explored, enjoyed and occasionally rejoiced of leaving my homeland to report about some alien place. Nevertheless, my love affair with this foreign land is almost complete; I broke the very fabric of my sensual relationship. However, I am convinced that myriad varieties of people around the world are ultimately united by this magical touch of humanity that boils down to simple show of sympathy and sincerity in any relationship. I, as a foreigner in this feigned part of the planet finally have to leave this beautiful paradise.