Friends - a true gift of God

Jugaad

Sunday, October 04, 2009

2 p.m., Four of us started our journey back in a hired cab from Talnoo to Pathankot from where we were to catch our train to Delhi, after spending three heavenly days in the lap of God. Our ‘Jammu mail’ tickets were wait-listed but we were assured by the agent in Delhi that before the chart is put up, it will get cleared.

2.30 p.m., got a call from Delhi, tickets not confirmed and agent not responding??

Action started-

JKT i.e. me called up all my contacts in Delhi to check alternates, but without success,

AG checked online, called up a few numbers, followed up on 139, but no success,

VV was looking at us curiously and reminded that he must catch tomorrow morning’s flight to Mumbai. There is no way he can miss that.

Chi, (our businessman friend, whom we luckily met in Talnoo), was amused at our actions. He commented that three of us though qualified CA’s, are too innocent and novice! Let me do some jugaad!, he said and called up his guy in Gwalior. He instructed clearly and loudly and asked to get three reservations immediately in today evening’s Rajdhani express.

But our learned friend AG immediately checked that in Rajdhani the waiting was over 140, if we could not clear 4-5-6 in Jammu mail, how it can happen in this train. Rajdhani’s idea was immediately dropped and Chi, reluctantly called up his guy in Gwalior again to cancel his earlier instructions.

My friends (AG and VV) agreed to my idea of traveling by bus from Pathankot and not get too much bothered, though VV was still concerned about his morning flight. AG also was worried about his very important 3 p.m. presentation in Gurgaon on the following day.

Chi, however was concerned about our well being and comfort in a bus as he assumed that we are too delicate. He disagreed that we should go by bus as he was confident his jugaad will ensure that we travel only by train. His confidence was so high and loud that we had to drop the idea of traveling by bus as we surrendered to his buoyancy. He suggested that instead of Pathankot, we go to Chakki Bank, where the options of trains will be more. We agreed and directed our cab guy to go to this new destination suggested by our businessman friend. Chi shared his Jugaad experiences of the past; he also informed us that he never booked his train tickets and through this special skill, still manages a very comfortable journey in a train. His actions and education made us realize how thickheaded we are and that we must incorporate these concepts in our life. His provoking experiences made us feel so very un-Indian.

Later suddenly, Chi suggested that we go to Jalandhar as from this new destination, the trains options will further improve and we could also get a Volvo bus too. He also informed us that he would also not travel from his 140+ wait-listed Rajdhani ticket and instead travel with us to Delhi to ensure that we are comfortable under his Jugaadu train and his chatar-shaya . The changes were so fast, that we had no time to analyze the reasons but to agree. Impact was so durable that I started signing along ‘Bhule bisre Geet’ being played on the local radio channel, though in last three days, we were only signing and dancing to the tunes of Godly bhajans. I don’t know whether my singing was reflecting my happiness or my shyness or something else.


All this happened in the three hours of travel from Talnoo to Chakki Bank, where we reached at 5 p.m. sharp. The feeling of arrival was so great that we took few photographs with ‘Chakki bank board’ in the background; even the security guys were surprised at three of us doing such crazy things, while Chi was arranging things inside.

At Chakki Bank, AG and VV decided to go around and check the travel options from the local agents. While they had gone, Chi suggested that I buy some express tickets and get my wait listed Jammu Mail tickets cancelled from Delhi.

While three of us returned almost together, Chi announced that he will make his Jugaad from this station itself and in the same train, which has kept us waiting. He assured us that he will take us in AC coach in Jammu Mail only and no other train. We were again taken by surprise, but had no alternatives but to accept it.

In the meantime, we (Chi, VV and me) located ‘Chacha ka Dhaba’ and had our supper packed, AG was left at the platform as he was already on his office going mode through his continuous phone calls, which suddenly started pouring in at Chakki Bank.

7.30 p.m. Jammu mail arrived, sleeper class coaches were fully, rather badly packed and we were not allowed to board the AC coach, on a wait listed ticket. However Chi made us board one of the thickly populated sleeper class coaches and miraculously helped us to get inside with body and baggage and then immediately left us with the assurance that he will come back soon.

Left helpless, we were somewhat clueless and indecisive as to what should we think now? The pain of standing in the train was getting too much and we were sweating furiously and waiting for our mentor to return soon.

8.15 p.m. Chi arrived with a broad victorious smile on his face and said that he had managed a seat in an AC 2 coach. With great difficulties, we crossed 7 coaches to reach our final destination, the one Jugaaded by Chi. AG and VV while crossing had almost made up their mind to flee at the earliest possible option, as crossing took all the energy that was left in them.
The place arranged by Chi was one single side seat (generally those RAC seats) where he very proudly said that all 4 of us can go comfortably by sitting on that seat for the rest of journey. He further encouraged us by explaining that assume we are sitting in the back seat of a small car together though uncomfortably but with the assurance of reaching the destination in time.

We were clueless and thoughtless.

We started eating our dinner; tandori chicken had just one leg piece, which so very loving left for me by VV and Chi. AG enjoyed his vegetarian food, after having refreshed himself with his very special face wash. While we were eating our food, enjoying our single seat and listening to the hygiene habits of AG, the TC came. Chi immediately got up and offered him the leg piece, though there was none left; anyways the TC somewhat reluctantly refused and instructed something to him.

Chi came and informed us that we had to finish our food fast as we were to get down at the next station Jalandhar!!!!. He further told us that he has confirmed information that the train called ‘Golden temple’ coming from Amritsar and reaching Jalandhar shortly has number of seats available and we can comfortably board that train. Of course he will do the necessary Jugaad.

We were wondering what is going on and what are we expected to do.

We downloaded ourselves with luggage at the Jalandhar station. Chi asked us to wait till he makes arrangement and left us in a faint situation. He came after five minutes and said we must change the platform and go to another one which will increase of options of trains as another train called ‘Pooja Express’ will also come there and for sure this train will not disappoint us as it always has a number of vacant seats. Before we could pick up the luggage, Chi went inside the coach that we had just left and came back with a tricky smile on his face. He announced that nobody has boarded the seat we had left and that we should go back and grab the same seat. We picked up our heavy luggage consisting of one bag and one sleeping bag and boarded the same coach, the people inside looked at us in a very suspicious manner, as if we have come back to the place after committing some crime. Our chief had gone to inform the TC about our decision, but in less than 2 minutes, he came and asked us to vacate as TC even in a drunk condition has not agreed to his decision.

We were again standing on the platform waiting for further action from our dear friend, who had again gone to meet TC.

There were still 20 minutes for the train to move. AG suddenly left with a message that he will look for Chi and find out the exact situation. 10 minutes had nearly passed, Chi came back to inform that the other two trains ‘Pooja and Golden express’ are full and there is no point waiting for them? He again left to seek another Jugaad. We were worried as AG was not there, VV left to look for him and I was all alone there to take care of luggage. After few minutes both VV and AG came, there was a sensible and cute looking smile on AG’s, face. His face was still shining and depicted the quality of his face wash. He said he had made some arrangements from the next station and asked us to meet the person who has assured him of seats. We picked up our luggage and started running with him, picked up Chi from the way, who was still talking to some TC.

AG introduced us to a railway police guy, who asked us to that board any coach for the time being and come back to him at the next station. The promise looked genuine. We boarded a nearby sleeper class coach, which was full, but managed to get the two top seats in the very first compartment, as some children who were sleeping there had just vacated it. Chi who was lying low, suddenly regaining his lost energy instructed us to keep occupying the seats and not to leave under any circumstances. Four of us were stuffed in those seats, VV (55kg) with Chi (80 kg) on one seat and me (62kg) and AG (58 kg) on the other. Chi was confident that he will ensure that we go like this to Delhi. Chi and AG slept while VV and I shared our feelings, about the system and our inabilities to cope up with it.

At next station, Shri Anandpur Sahib those small school children left and there was a lower berth vacated, which I requested VV to occupy as he had to sleep to catch up with his office in Mumbai tomorrow.


Monday, October 05, 2009

12.30 a.m., the train reached Ludhiana and suddenly there was a rush and a huge crowd entered the coach. Immediately a family having exactly the same berths that we were occupying entered and we had to vacate. Standing like headless warriors, there was a state of confusion. But suddenly AG left with a instruction to look after his luggage and within a minute, came back and informed that his prior arrangement is still valid and those guys who had promised are ready to accommodate despite the fact that we are late as we were suppose to meet them at the earlier station.

We picked up our luggage with new found vigor and reached the place where those railway police guys were enjoying their tea. They assured us not to worry and also have a cup of tea; we however were more interested in getting the seat. They showed us the compartment which was going to be our next room. Outside the compartment was written “Viklang i.e. for Handicaps”. As soon as we boarded, a handicap old person with no arms was sitting outside the toilet in a very sad situation with hardly any clothes on his body. The compartment was different, smaller as compared with normal. There were only 4 broad seats, a lower one an upper one with no middle seats. The floor was wider as compared with the normal coaches; it was approx 3’ ft wide. The two top seats and one lower seat were occupied, when we entered the compartment. We kept our luggage and occupied the only available seat.
The war in our minds had already started. The war of state of affairs of our nation, of our people, of our week nationals, about our corrupt system, about our sheer helplessness, about JUGAAD………...
VV and I argued almost together about this state. VV very clearly conveyed his displeasure of occupying seat (s) of those persons who were so weak, poor and immobilized. We almost decided to leave the compartment; Chi was watching all this and seemed to have understood our dilemma. Arguments continued that suddenly, AG got up very furiously and picked up his bag and threatened to leave. He was annoyed that we were pointing figures at him. He almost left, when Chi holded his hands. AG in a very loud and high anger pointed his displeasure that his efforts are being blamed despite the fact that there are people who have to catch the flight and certain others have to meet deadlines. The situation indeed was gloomy. AG was right, it was a collective responsibility, which suddenly VV and I forgot before arguing, though we never intended to blame our beloved friend. The arguments and concerns shared among three of us were situational, the purpose was not blame anyone. However the arguments and the anger made the situation dark.

It was almost midnight @1 a.m., Train started, Chi offered his blanket and bedspread to be laid down on that dirty floor, which apparently seemed to have not been cleaned for a long time. It was badly stinking. VV and me further opened our sleeping bags and stretched it on the bedspread.

Chi and AG were sitting on the seat, shared also by the railway guy while VV ane me laid down on the floor with second sleeping bag covering us. AG was still upset, not talking to anyone of us and sat quietly with closed eyes, Chi was also quiet, trapped in a catch 22 situation.

VV was on one side, where a sardar ji was sleeping and I was on the other side where Chi and AG were sitting. While lying, we were sharing the current situation. Suddenly, the sardar ji started snoring. The voice of his snoring was so thunderous and volcanoes that we could not stop our laughter. The sardarji’s each snoring was quite different from his earlier one, even the volumes were diverse. Hearing such a variety in snoring made us laugh louder. We knew it was not right but again it was situational. At this point we missed AG, our most delightful friend. We had spent last 4 days so very joyfully and remembered our journey from Delhi, stay at Talnoo and all the time we had spent together during this trip

1.30 a.m., AG was still in the same mood, however I offered him to exchange places, so that he can sleep. He however said that three of us can share the floor the ice was broken. He joined in, 3 ft wide place which finally got fully occupied by three CA’s. Chi was happy, infact everyone around was pleased at the turnaround of the situation. I guess everybody was observing us.
First thing we did was to raise our hands and take a vow, never to fight again. We were sweet happy friends again. The laughter was louder as AG has also joined in. Sardarji’s snoring noises played a crucial role in lightning the situation. We talked about the Jugaad, corruption, kinds of snoring, love, life, and almost any thing and every thing which gave us hearty laugher. It was for sure that at least I was laughing from my heart after a long time. We characterized ourselves, Chi was Prem Chopra, our real hero AG was SRK, VV was Saif Ali Khan, for his coolness and I was Amitabh. Even three films were also scripted.
It was well past 2 a.m. and we do not remember when we got caught by the sleep on that 3 ft wide floor.

At 4.45 a.m. , we were woken up by Chi, he informed us that Subzi mandi has come and he will have to depart and needs his bedspread and blanket, which we had grabbed so very innocently.

We enquired how is going to go to Gwalior, he very confidently said, oh!!!!!! No problems I will do some Jugaaaaaaadddddddd.

We gave Chi a hug and thanked him for all his efforts. He had taught us some unread lessons of life.

5.15 a.m., the old Delhi railway station arrived, the final destination. We gave VV a warm hug with a promise to meet soon.

Finally AG and I bid a good bye.

What was all this?? Any message, Mahamaya wanted us to give????

Whatever it was, but it was the most memorable journey of our life and a very rare gift of HER.

Thank you mother for all this.

" So many hands in one tifin box,

so many friends in one bench,

so many calls on a birthday nite,

so many tears 4 one little fight.

friends

are the best part of life"

The Divine calling

Sahaja Yoga Seminar 2009

At the Himalaya’ the “Sahasrara” and Talnoo the “back Agnya of the Sahasrara”
Venue: The International Sahaja Public School, Talnoo, Dharmshala, H.P.
Days: October 02, 2009 to October 04, 2009

The Divine calling

Day One – Friday, October 02, 2009
The Gandhi Jayanti day – Our beloved Bapu’s birthday

We arrived at Talnoo, Dharmshala at around 2 p.m. and were warmly received by the reception team who very efficiently allotted the rooms and completed other registration formalities very fast. There was a kind of love and dedication in their entire approach. There request for online registration before hand seemed to have greatly succeeded in making arrangements. The Sahaj yogis were allotted rooms in the hotels around the International Sahaja Public school, the venue for the seminar.

Situated high in the Himalayan foothills above Dharamshala, the entire place looked like a heaven on the earth surrounded by the scenic beauty of nature. There were mountains all around the place with deep valleys, bubbling river and lush green trees making it a truly God’s place. The feeling of Chaitanya’ with a sweet fragrance was integral part of the nature and felt so very vibrantly by all the Sahaj yogis. The venue was simply wonderful and promised great days of seminar ahead.

The evening of the seminar started at around 5 p.m. with folk music and dance by the local children of Talnoo village. It was just different. The innocence, love and shining on the face of the children was natural and full of confidence, surrender and hope. The children started with Ganesh’ and Shiva Stuthi followed by bhajans and dance sequences in honor of our beloved mother. The village children who were singing and dancing had never seen the Mother and they sang a bhajan expressing their inner feeling as to how would they express if they ever meet HER. The bhajan was so very innocent expression of love and humbleness that it brought tears in the eyes of all the Sahaj yogis. The program ended with inner feeling of joy and love for those most vibrant children, who represent India’s true heritage.

The program was followed by an Italian DVD on Shree Mataji’s talks on ‘Chakras with meditation’. The DVD very magnificently and in a lucid way depicted the Chakras with their functions and powers and extracts of Mothers words on each of them. It indeed was very powerful presentation filling everybody soul with love of Shree Adi Shakti.

The day ended with Bhajans sung by bhaiya Deepak Verma. He shared his emotional memories attached with those bhajana’s, which touched the heart of all the Sahaj yogis. The requested bhajans were sung by him with great love and humbleness. With him on the dice, was a young child and student of the school named as ‘Jigar’ on Tabla. His 'tabla-vadan’ was amazing and emanated vibrations which further filled up the joy in the heart of all the Sahaji’s.

Day Two – Saturday, October 03, 2009

The day started at 7.30 a.m. with Morning meditation, coordinated jointly by the children and staff of the school. The meditation strengthened the collectivity and helped all the Sahaja bothers and sisters to achieve state of saintly thought-less awareness, in a real Sahaj way.
It was followed by Breakfast and tea, enjoyed by all.
The day was further progressed with ‘Havan’ and DVD of Shri Mataji’s talk on ‘Dedication through Meditation’. The Sahaji’s were truly enlightened and achieved a great level of meditative state.
In the evening, at around 4 p.m., a visit to school was organized. We were shown the school by the young buds, who with lot of care and humility took us around the compound and shared their heaven with us. It was amazing to see the school, its buildings, meditation hall, dormitories, sports fields, laboratories, class rooms, hostels, they all depicted uniqueness in their creation and it was equipped with all the modern facilities. The teachers, other staff members and students were all full of creativity, confidence, sense of great achievement and glory on their face.
The evening further progressed with cultural program by the students of the school. The dances, music, play, presented by those innocent and young children is just beyond expression in words. They established a bond of love with its audience. Those present greatly enjoyed, danced, laughed, and connected with the message of innocence, harmony and enjoyment of Paramchaitnaya. The level of divine vibrations was great. It was as if all the Devatas of Heaven were present and enjoying every bit of what was going on, which was so pure and natural. For us it was just the best gift of Mataji to have provided us with this great opportunity of having the glimpse of the young vibrant flowers of Sahaja yoga, with our own eyes in our lifetime.
The day ended with folk dance ‘Garba’ initiated by the village children and later participated by one and all. The folk music filled up the atmosphere with ‘Param Ananda, where everybody was just dancing from their heart and enjoying HER creation.

Day Three – Sunday, October 04, 2009

The day started at 7.30 a.m. with Morning meditation, coordinated by the children of the school. The collectivity depicted the level achieved during three days of togetherness. The atmosphere was just full of vibrations, love and peace.
The breakfast and tea were followed by the collective meditation and DVD of Mothers talk. The seminar came to an end with everybody’s heart full of joy, self awareness, level of achievement and vibrations.

The collective effort of the school staff, children, villagers and coordinators ensured the success of the seminar, where every sahaji was benefited with gift of love, divinity and devotion.

The innocence and purity of children and villagers of Naddi taught us the true way of leading a Sahaja life. It also depicted the true India with its rich heritage and strong and vibrant culture.

Thank you Mother for all you have given to us.

Jai Shree Mataji

My Experience with Life - meeting with a true personality

AGM17TH May 2009

I was eagerly waiting for this day. I shaved, yeah it was Sunday yet I shaved. It was an important day. The regular pyzama and Kurta was not ready for use, so I wore my short white kurta with khaki cargos.

Our block’s AGM for the year 2009 was being held for the first time in its history in the month of May. I was partly responsible for its timely happening as I was the treasurer of our association and was able to finalize the accounts pretty well in time.
Memory laneThe memory lane traveled to Jan 2008, when I got a call from the newly elected president (Sh. ML Dhawan Ji) of association requesting me to accept the position of treasurer. It was interesting happening for me. I remember that I just thought for a minute and accepted the appointment. It had so happened that the elected treasurer resigned before even looking at the assignment. Though I was surprised but felt proud for being remembered. I created lots of dreams for the colony and was really looking forward to contributing something to the colony which had given me so much in life.

However my motivation was very short lived, in all the executive committee (EC) meetings that I attended, there use to be only shouting, unnecessary debates and leg pulling. I was shocked and concerned and was not sure what was happening. Why such senior members were behaving like this. I don’t remember a single EC meeting which had discussed any purpose.

Certain senior EC members , though they were just few in (less then 1/3rd of 15 EC members) were able to hijack the meetings. These hijackers, M, M, M and M (S) (henceforth named  as force or 4’s) were against any constructive activities and there sole aim was to create hindrances in the meetings. All other members were just unable to do anything. 4’s efforts were primarily against the P (President) of the association. Any initiative by the President was at their target. These 4’s were so powerful that use to shout, call children the headache and created all kinds of nuisances in the meetings.

January 2008 to December 2008 just passed like this, lots of EC meetings, 1 EGM and 1 AGM but all with no results and just criticism at its highest order by the 4’s. Of-course there was still a silver lining, the functions / festival celebrations of Holi and Independent days where the President took some compact stands with the support of some positive EC members and ensured that they were successful despite internal hindrances.

Things were just not happening. I remember it was January 01, 2009 when I was called by the President at his residence. He proposed that lets do at least one constructive work and after discussions it was decided to publish the directory of our block. The best part of this activity was that the sub-committee of directory constituted of members with none out of the 4’s being part of it. That gave all of us a positive sparkle for the first time. At the start itself we were hopeful of its completion. The convener of this committee, 82 year old gentlemen Mr. Dheer, was very encouraging and positive. His motivation at this age gave us a dimension to look at the look things differently.
This new task gave us a fresh lease of life and a reason to live for in RWA. We started with the first activity of collection of advertisements. Here came my fist biggest leanings of life. The basic team to collect the advertisement constituted of Our President, a very wealth person with all comforts in life but down to earth; the convener, 82 year old gentlemen and me. None of us had the experience to go out to people and ask for money. We had never done that, may be GOD had always been very helpful. But for the sake of our society we decided to venture into this area of collection of advertisements.

The results were amazing; it was the face value which helped us in seeking advertisements on first few visits. During first 4 days we were able to collect enough which was sufficient to bear the cost of printing of directory. I learnt how important it is to be helpful and positive with the people in our day to day activities. It’s important to have equity, a brand called face value. I was amazed to see the hard work and face value of our President.

Next few days we visited to those who were lesser known, here our patience was tested. My learning’s from life had begun, the President whose every minute was precious, sat so very patiently waiting for his turn to come. He would explain very minutely the purpose and the value of contribution. We were able to collect a sizable sum of money.

During this experience, I got the motivation and confidence and was able to ask for advertisement support from my known persons and booked the front, the back and few inside pages. It was all very thrilling and satisfying experience. I felt as if I have overcome the shyness and my biggest limitation in life. I had opened up. My inspiration was the President, who was a reflection of hard work, dedication and love. His patience; his passion; his love; his efforts to do something for the society was all that had resulted in advertisement collections. I now understood the reasons of his success in life. I could understand how a person from such a humble background had grown to be such a successful businessmen.
Its all hard work, sincerity, dedication and love that could make the difference. I understood how important it is to have a dream. Our Preisdent had a dream of having a good collection of money, of having a wonderful directory. His dreams, with his patience were paying off. Our main source of motivation our convener, whose presence at all occasions was very encouraging.

The task of compiling the information about the residents began and here came another young person, Amardeep Bindra, the member of the subcommittee, who put in his best efforts to compile the resident’s information as completely and accurately as possible. His passion and zeal for the work reflected his personality. I was surprised that being my immediate neighbor since childhood I have never known about this ability of his. I really had developed much more respect and understanding for him. Our convener in his acknowledgment mentioned that if the reins are given to the young persons, the growth is inevitable. I too believe it.

My office team supported the cause beyond their office hours. The family quotations, the final composition, verification, useful information compilation was done with great attention and care.

But the best was yet to come; it was our Publishers, a very young, innovative, different team of a husband and wife. I was surprised to see their dedication, creativity and commitment. The way they used the technology and published the directory in such a short span of time was a record in itself. These are the professionals who make such ordinary things look so very special. The directory being published was not something we were doing for the first time or it had any special information but it was done extraordinarily for a cause with so much love, affection and dedication that made it different, very different.

Another experience during the publication was, when a minister in the Delhi government refused to get a publication of her article in her capacity as a politician. All she wanted was to spread a message of love but as a normal human being. The message was again so very full of love and upliftment that you tend to believe that there are people who care for you. There are ministers who have this human touch, who want to travel beyond.

During the process the 4’s tried to create all type of hindrances but this time we were just prepared. Other likeminded EC members were of-course consulted. The General Secretary was very helpful during this entire process.

Finally the Directory was published; the final result was beyond expectation. Each and every page, every word was just emanating vibration, it was depicting the effort that had gone to create it. It was the result of our President, convener and the inspired subcommittee. His dream had come true; it was same as had dreamt of.

We all had lived for it.

In the AGM, the new elections were declared. MLD Ji had decided not to come again. I knew that our colony would be missing the character of a true and noble personality. His passion, his love for the people and his sincere efforts for the upliftment of the colony may not be missed by the residents immediately because of the negative dimensions created by 4’s but they are going to realize it soon the value of a great soul.

Health is Wealth

EXERCISE AND FITNESS STAMINA EXERCISES

Walking: Excellent cardiovascular benefits for the advanced age groups.. Should be done briskly with swinging of the arms. Comfortable shoes must be worn. May be done morning or evening for 30-60 minutes.

Jogging: Suitable for younger age group below 50 years. 30 minutes is all that is required and may be done continuously, or jog and walk in between when fatigued. The pace of jogging is equal to that of a brisk walkrun on soft or grassy surface. Wear comfortable clothes and breathe freely.

Swimming: For those who know how to swim, 20 minutes of continuous swimming is sufficient. Alternately swim the length of a pool 10-20 metres, rest at the end for 30 seconds, swim back. 10 such lengths is good. Use any stroke you know. They are all of almost equal cardiovascular and muscular benefit.

Cycling: For any age group. Minimum time 45-60 minutes of continuous controlled fast cycling. Cycling up slopes gives added benefit. Ordinary cycles are good enough and indoor stationary exercycles may also be used at low resistance for 45 minutes.

Games: For the fitter younger age group. Get fit first before playing games such as squash, badminton, tennis, handball, basketball, football etc.. Warm up before the games. 30-45 minutes of the game is sufficient. Weekend or once a week games must be avoided unless other fitness programmes are done on other days. Play within your capacity.

Communication - Golden Rules

Have you been wondering how to put together an impressively-phrased Powerpoint presentation?
Have you been wondering how to compose an e-mail that captures your strategies and goals effectively?
It is time you did something about it.
As a young professional in today's global business world, it is imperative that you are competent in both oral as well as written communication.Important forms of oral communication at the workplace include:
Building interpersonal relationships.
Giving presentations and debating viewpoints effectively.
You need to master oral skills for both in-person and over-the-phone interactions. Similarly, important written communication includes:
Writing professional e-mails (sans SMS slang).
Putting together concise reports.
Creating visually powerful Powerpoint presentations.
And the key to acing oral and written communication is to spruce up your communication skills. And it is a lot easier than you think.
Here are some easy tips to do it on your own:
1. Improve pronunciation and diction
There are a few tricks to making a vernacular accent more globally understandable.
~ Try making sure that 'air' comes out of your mouth when saying the letters, 'T, P, K' and the sound 'Ch'.
~ Focus on elongating your vowel sounds. This will also automatically slow down your rate of speech.
~ Sing English songs out loud!
~ Watch news shows on channels like CNN and BBC.
~ The web site www.m-w.com is great for pronunciation help.
~ I would also suggest buying books on pronunciation and language that come with audio cassettes.
A good book that I found really useful was Better English Pronunciation by J D O'Connor. It is part of the Cambridge series, and some of those books come with cassettes.
2. Spruce up your writing skills
~ Believe it or not, you have to Read More!
~ Well-written magazines, like The Economist and India Today, are great to read not only to improve language skills but also to learn more about the world.
~ In terms of books, read what interests you. The basic goal is to read as much as you can.
There are a plethora of good authors who are popular today. Some good writers whose language is easy to follow include Vikram Seth, Jhumpa Lahiri, Paulo Coelho, J D Salinger, Albert Camus and Roald Dahl.
~ People tend to forget basic grammar when writing e-mails. An e-mail is nothing more than a letter which is sent electronically.
Make sure salutations and content are professional. Use special phrases when attaching documents. For example, "Please find attached with this e-mail a report on..." This helps you sound professional.
3. Five exercises to practise every day!
i. Pretend you are a newscaster and read out the newspaper to your mirror.
ii. Do not read local newspapers. Focus on national newspapers.
iii. While reading a book, underline all the words you do not know. Look them up in the dictionary.
iv. Make a list of these words, and make sure you use at least five of them in a conversation during the day.

Communication - Quotation

"There is no pleasure to me without communication; there is not so much as a sprightly thought comes into my mind that it does not grieve me to have produced alone, and that I have no one to tell it to."By: Michel Eyquem De MontaigneCommunication Quotes

"The people who talk the best are not the only ones who can tell you the most interesting things."By: Chinese ProverbCommunication Quotes

"A world community can exist only with world communication, which means something more than extensive short-wave facilities scattered about the globe. It means common understanding, a common tradition, common ideas, and common ideals."By: Robert M. HutchinsCommunication Quotes

"A world community can exist only with world communication, which means something more than extensive short-wave facilities scattered about the globe. It means common understanding, a common tradition, common ideas, and common ideals."By: Robert M. HutchinsCommunication Quotes "

"The art of conversation consists as much in listening politely, as in talking agreeably."By: George AtwellCommunication Quotes

Electric communication will never be a substitute for the face of someone who, with their soul, encourages another person to be brave and true."By: Charles DickensCommunication Quotes

"You have to be precise. You have to be specific, but you want to be accurate. That is first and foremost. You want to be on top of the story, but words do matter."By: Wolf BlitzerCommunication Quotes

"If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if fifteen minutes, three days; if half an hour, two days; if an hour, I am ready now."By: Woodrow WilsonCommunication Quotes

Communication

Life is all about communication. We need to communicate to bridge the gaps. Communication has to be direct and clear. Lets live a wonderfil life full of love and respect for others.