NARA'S NOTEPAD
VOLUME 15
MARCH 2019
NUMBER 3
Thursday, February 28, 2019
DINE OUT
There was a time when teenage girls were taught cooking at home. The
teachers were their mothers and grand-mothers. They were generally experts in
cooking vegetarian or non-vegetarian food. In this way they used to pass on the
traditional cooking of delicious foods to the female members of the family. In
fact, it happened in my family too. When marriage was fixed way back in 1972,
the bride’s mother and sister-in-laws in the family taught her how to cook
vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods. When I got married my wife used to cook a
variety of delicious foods including fish curry and fries.
On the contrary, girls highly
educated nowadays like to eat delicious foods without knowing how to prepare
them. Parents also do not like to disturb their educated daughters by teaching cooking.
Instead, people generally employ house-maids for various house works including
cooking. Couples who work may not have time to do cooking. So they depend on
house-maids or canteens and restaurants for their food.
In fact, it was in 2017, when I
visited my son’s family at Singapore, I found a large number of restaurants at
every department stores and big malls. I used to watch the people who eat the
tasty hot foods such as noodles, fishes, chicken and the like with their whole
family members. They enjoy eating out almost every day avoiding cooking at
home. I thought it’s economical. So the traditional cooking at home by mothers
and grandmas is slowly disappearing.
In India also the custom of
cooking at home is gradually coming down. Initially ‘eating out’ every week-end
was a fashion to taste the delicacy of the city’s renowned restaurants. Later
on people bought the breakfast and lunch early in the morning for their school
going children. The facilities are available at every colony and apartment
complex. The working couples grab their breakfasts and lunch from
the office canteens or nearby restaurants. In the evening they buy their
dinner mostly idly, dosa or chappati with appropriate side-dishes. Generally they do not enjoy
their dinner because all of them including their children
concentrate in their smart phones or i-pads while eating.
Most people who lost the taste of food won’t worry about the place from
where they buy the food. Foods are sold at big restaurants, medium ones,
fast-food out-lets, on-line suppliers like Zomato,
Sawggy etc. Street vendors too sell foods from 6 pm to 10 pm. The quality
of food is good if the cost is high. Cheap foods are available at street
corners all along the main roads. Some say that they are unhygienic. Still
thousands and thousands of street vendors sell foods all over the urban areas
of India. Many men and women are involved in the business. Good number of urban
customers is happy to quench their hunger by simply buying the foodstuff
available near to their dwellings. It seems that in Bengaluru itself there are
more than 17,000 vendors. Of course, some of them are vegetable and fish
vendors. However, we do find large number of push carts after the sunset all
along the roads of important locations. These vendors are supervised by the
city corporations. However Police harassment for money and food is a regular
feature the vendors face.
In fact, we are moving towards a civilization
of simple life of eating ready-made foods rather than our good old home foods.
People say that those home foods are going to come again in big restaurants as
special foods in future. Dining out and sleeping in home have become the
fashions today. This change – good or bad – is followed by many urban people. -
NARA
STOP PROCRASTINATING
1. If
you’re procrastinating because you’re feeling stuck (eg, if you don’t really
understand a school assignment, or you don’t know what’s expected, or you don’t
know where to start) then pluck up the courage to ask for some help. When you
know what you’re doing, it’s easier to work.
2.
Remind yourself that most decisions aren’t major. If you get it wrong, you can
start over again … or change your direction … or have another try.
3. If
the task seems overwhelming, just take a baby step. That, at least, will get
you moving – so the next step’s easier.
4.
Tell yourself that you can suffer for up to twenty minutes – and then you’ll
return to doing things you want to do. You’ll be surprised to discover that
“suffering’s” not that bad.
5.
Decide to do the task as soon as you get up – as the more you put it off, the
worse it’s going to seem!
6.
Don’t pretend that other work counts just as much as what you’re leaving.
Simply acting like you’re busy won’t make it go away. Be honest with yourself …
and do what’s most important first.
GETTING MORE OUT OF LIFE
1. Stop resisting change and see it as
a constant in life.
2. Learn to enjoy, and value, solitude.
3. Never forget that friendship is a
gift, not a possession.
4. Things are rarely as bad as they
seem at first.
5. Do your most important tasks first
thing in the morning.
6. Smiling seems to help with most
things!
7. Schedule margin into your life – as
something unexpected will often change your plans.
8. QTIP: quit taking it personally.
9. Define what’s necessary; say no to
the rest.
10. Take a deep breath and wait before
responding. Don’t react, and say something you’ll regret.
HOW TO WORK SMART?
1.
Make the most of those little slots of time – a free fifteen minutes here and
there. You can accomplish a lot in those extra lost minutes.
2.
Make your work place comfortable and inviting. For example, have an inspiring
bookshelf, light a scented candle, put up a few crazy, fun photographs.
3.
Make every effort to enjoy the journey – and remind yourself of the arrival
fallacy (arriving at your goal is usually a letdown, and doesn’t bring the joy
we thought it would bring.)
4.
Don’t be afraid of criticism as it can help you to learn and grow. Dreading it
too much creates anxiety which them prevents you from producing your best.
5.
Recognize that we rarely feel happy when we’re working as we’re bound to
struggle with incompetence, failure, frustration and feeling that we don’t know
what to do. However, they are only a part of the total picture, and completing
a project leads to pride and confidence.
MARCH 2019
3 March – WORLD WILDLIFE DAY
8 March – WOMENS’ DAY
20 March – INTERNATIONAL DAY
OF HAPPINESS
21March – INTERNATIONAL DAY
FOR THE ELIMINATION
21 March – WORLD POETRY DAY
21 March – THE INTERRNATIONAL
DAY OF FORESTS
22 March – WORLD WATER DAY
23 March = WORLD
METEROROLOGICAL DAY
24 March – WORLD T B DAY
LINES I LIKED
Ø Being too optimistic can lead to overconfidence, unreasonable risk
taking and manic behavior.
Ø Beautifully crafted words have the power to captivate the mind.
Ø Because so many choices are available, you are far ever beset by doubts
whether something else may have worked out better.
Thursday, January 31, 2019
HUMAN SOCIETY
Societies are formed by human beings when they started
organizing to lead an orderly life. Such societies were formed based on
religion, caste, creed, color and various other criteria such as professions
etc. People live in these societies with families and friends. In order to make
the societies strong, every family or individuals is made as member. Societies
built churches, temples, mosques, gurudwaras
and many other places of worship in order to meet their relatives and friends
often in those places.
Societies are
formed for survival and security. Group of individuals can fight for a cause.
They can also safeguard their fellow citizens. As a society, fighting for the
human rights and justice is easier. Governments or any organization will hear
the voice and take appropriate action for their demands. Individual voices are
weaker than the collective voice. Societies celebrate marriages, child birth,
religious festivals and even they take care of the demise of people. Societies
are service oriented and they are supposed to keep the members in good humour.
However, equality in societies is rare, because of economic inequality.
Broadly, every
society is divided into three major categories. The lower strata (class),
middle strata (class) and upper strata (class) people. In general, the lower
strata consist of poor and not well educated people who do manual and menial
works. Most of them are homeless, jobless, landless and underprivileged. They
do not and cannot follow certain kinds of rules laid out by the society. They
live their life carelessly and they are prepared to undertake any kind of
risks. We all know their life style which is far below that of the middle
strata people. In fact, the people from the middle strata grew up from the
lower strata by educating themselves. They worked hard to progress in life, got
better jobs and wished to lead a better, comfortable and happy life. This
stratum can be subdivided into lower middle class, min-middle class and upper
middle class people .the lower middle class people are not economically strong
as the middle and upper class people. However there will be a growth towards
the middle and upper class.
Numerically in a society the middle class people are
higher than the lower and upper class strata. In some society the lower strata
is higher in size than the middle strata. Most of the work done in any society
is by these important strata. They still have a scope to move up to reach the
upper strata. Everyone’s goal is to move somehow towards the upper strata so
that they can be more rich, comfortable and socially respected. Such ambitions
are very high with the upper middle class people.
The upper strata are above the middle strata having
very rich people who are wealthy and socially recognized. Politicians,
businessmen, cine artists, certain professionals, landlords and such category
of people come under the upper class. Sometimes certain castes are also
considered as the upper class. But nowadays anyone who is wealthy and powerful
can be in this category. They look upon the middle and lower strata people as inferior
to them although they grew up from those strata. There are people who inherit
huge properties and wealth from their parents and grandparents. Their behaviour
and attitudes are generally different and unique from the common people.
Our world is mostly
run by such upper class people even in a democracy. So the middle class and
lower class people have to obey them and follow their ideas and ideologies.
Even within a particular society we do find these three categories. So wherever
we go, we see the differences among human beings based on these categories.
This phenomenon is continuing from time immemorial and all human beings are
adapted to that. The aim is to reach the top of the pyramid with hard work and
effort. It continues and will continue forever. - NARA
COPE WITH FEELINGS OF LONELINESS
1. Understand that loneliness is a
feeling, and not necessarily a fact. Sometimes we feel lonely, unwanted or
rejected based on wrong beliefs about ourselves and others. Often people and
events acts as triggers for our feelings … and then we start to act as if they
represent the truth.
2. Fight the urge to withdraw or to
isolate yourself. You’ll actually feel better if you some spend time with
others (but spend time with people who love you, just for “you”.)
3. Check for making assumptions, or
jumping to conclusions, or skewed ways of thinking which make things seem much
worse. Then, look for exceptions to balance up the picture. Don’t waste your
time and energy on biased, untrue stuff.
4. Related to this, make sure you’re not
attacking or putting yourself down. Try and focus on your good points, and
things that you do right.
5. Work on being warm and friendly – as
often other people are hiding their own feelings of insecurity. Hence, they’ll
often be responsive when we are warm and friendly – and then reciprocate by
being interested in us.
6. Try and find other people who share
some of your interests – as that’s a natural way to form connections, or build
bridges.
THE TRUTH ABOUT LIFE
1. Things never, ever go according to
your plan
2. You’ll always meet with unexpected
snags and obstacles
3. Not everyone will like you, or want
to be your friend
4. We all lose motivation and want to
ditch our dreams
5. Success is transitory – the
happiness will pass
6. We all get disappointed and let down
by our friends
7. But attitude is everything – we
choose how to react
8. There’s always something good, if we
will only look for it
9. There are those who “play it
forward”, and who’re helpful, warm and kind
10. And life is full of chances, new beginnings
and fresh starts.
ASK QUESTIONS
To better understand a
colleague’s point of view, ask questions.
The benefits are it’s a good
way to gather information; it’ll help you avoid launching into an accidental
monologue,
and it will make you more likable.
People prefer conversational partners
who ask questions.
JUST TO LAUGH...
A nun was
approached by a small boy who told her proudly,
“I know what the Bible means!”
The nun smiled and replied,
“What do you mean you ‘know’ what the Bible means?”
“Okay” said the nun, “what does the Bible mean?”
“That’s easy sister. “the
young boy replied excitedly;
“It stands for Basic Information Before Leaving
Earth.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)