Wednesday, May 10, 2006

How rude !!

Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength

A recent article in Metro Plus set me thinking about what exactly constitutes rudeness.

Rude as defined on the net :

ill-mannered: socially incorrect in behavior
ill-bred: (of persons) lacking in refinement or grace
uncivil: lacking civility or good manners;


Back when the telephone was the only medium of virtual communication I considered it rude to hang up until the person who calls keeps the phone down. Infact, I still feel the same.

What is also really rude is that you make a call and then expect the other person to do all the talking and ask all the questions !!

Its rude not to return a call.

It is rude not to look at a person when you are talking to him / her.

What I consider particulary rude is when you don't smile at someone whom you know ( even if u know that person only vaguely ) even if you are just passing by them or its a fleeting glance.

Its rude to interrupt a person when he or she is trying to tell something.

Its especially rude when you are talking to someone and that person cuts you off in the middle only to start on some other totally unrelated topic.

Its rude to make noise when someone is sincerely trying to teach something.

Its rude to applause before the speaker finished his/her speech.

Infact , the net has introduced countless ways of being rude
Keeping someone in your ignore list in yahoo or hotmail.

Not replying to scraps in orkut.

Many Guys in orkut have this weird habit of sending friend requests randomly to gals. Initally my friend and I thought that it would be rude to deny friend requests atleast from those who would be our future collegues and thats why we have a whole bunch of unknown people as our friends. Later we realised how dumb we had been. Its my personal opinion that its really rude sending a friend request to someone whom you don't even know , just on the basis of their profile. There are guys who send out mass friend requests to god only knows how many gals. Maybe they are just harmless people but I think its extremely rude and uncouth to do the same.


So , why am I going on and on about rudeness here ? I really believe in the fact that its the little things in life that matter a lot and make a huge differnce. Its also the little things with no consequence which also hurt a lot. Many a times we are rude unconsciously . Like when I am really involved in some work or in some great tension then things which other people say just go past my ears , hence they would construe this action of mine as rude !! That is why we should learn to identify the possible ways we can be rude in order to overcome the same .

Let me now just narrate two incidents which happened sometime back.

Once I was out buying veggies with my mom . The fruit wala was selling 4 Oranges for some amount of money. While paying that guy my mom also enquired about his wife , children and why he shifted his shop from there to here. When I came back home I saw that the fruit wala had dropped in 5 oranges. :-)

This other day I struck up a convesation with the icecream shop guy. The next day I went to the same shop and I recognised the guy and a smile was waiting to break in my face. I could see that guys face also contorting. I guess , it was a question of who would go first. In the end , both of us ended up smiling at each other at the same time.

After all it does not take much to smile at someone or to type a few words does it ?

So , why give in to rudeness, when you can fight back with kindness.

Saturday, May 06, 2006

Anand...a way of life..

I was watching Anand today…and the movie really go me thinking…

I love the movie and hav watched it many times…but each time I watch…I get awestuck by the way of thinking and the wonderful approach towards life tat anand has…

Think of a life where u don’t hav any hope….u know that deatch is just around the corner… wat light at the end of the tunnel do u look at…when u know that there is absolutely no chance of survival…

And the thing is…not only does he not adopt a negative attitude…instead….he inspires others…and actually gives us an invaluable lesson into how life should be lived…

The way in which he carries himself….his way of talking…interacting with people…making friends…is unbelievable…

A selfless attitude…an exemplary example as to how to live life…

You might say…that its just a movie…I agree…but it does provide us an invaluable insight into the way that life should be lived…

I must be sounding very philosophical….but the reason why I actually sat down to write this post is another thing that happened this evening..

An uncle came to our house…he was an old neighbour of ours…who had moved to Kerala…His son has a kidney problem…and for quite some time…doctors have told him tat he has little or no chance of survival…This son I am talking about is only 3-4 yrs older than me…around 24 I guess…

Can u imagine the state of mind that he must be…and the things that he must be going through…isn’t he a youngster like all of us…with the right to dream and hope for a bright future…wat can he look forward to…not knowing weither he ll live till next month…He has been undergoing treatment for some time…and has been on a strict time…he has stopped going for work and is fully at home…Imagine his mindset when he sees his peers…his friends…all working and moving on and doing well in life…Think of his parents…looking at their only son…and not knowing how long they ll hav him with them…Poor fellow…he has lost all interest in life…

Sad… scary…

As a last ray of hope…they are going in for a kidney transplant…chances are less…but well…u never know…

As they say…God is There…

Pray for him…

And here we are…worrying about trivial things in life… sometimes…we get surrounded by problems and feel that life has been unfair to us and we curse our luck…. wat right do we hav to say that we are unlucky…we hav a bright secure future and a wonderful fun filled life to look forward to… …Be happy…Enjoy life...help others...and above all...be true to yourself...

I am really sorry for havin posted something like this…but I felt I had to…


I would end with a couple of lines from anand which i love...

Hum sab rang manch ki katputlian hain..
jiski dor upar wale ki ungliyon se bandhi hui hai...
Kab kaun uthega koi nahin bata sakta...