Our inefficiency culture

With the UGC scales a college teacher here gets Rs35,000-100,000 a month  and more (for attending exam duty, paper valuation etc.) to teach 2- 3 periods for 120-140 days in an year! Computing the total number of hours one has to attend to duty in an year and dividing them  by 8, a teacher has to work for  30-35 days in an year! For this they are paid up to 12,00,000 (twelve lakhs). The funny part: there is no accountability. They need to go to the class and teach 50minutes. They can give notes (they took down when they studied) or draw a diagram looking into the text book on the board, write the syllabus to be covered for the examination, read from the text and ‘explain’ in a monotone or simply chit-chat. They have to 'teach' until the bell goes and some are least bothered whether the students talk to each other, make phone calls or eat lunch. Some of them do not update on their subject, employ communication and teaching methods to make the sessions effective. How many of them have the aptitude to teach?. UGC is only an objective type exam. Passing it  alone does not qualify one to become a good teacher.   

  

The worst side is, apart from the salary they are given life-long pension (around  Rs50,000/pm) until they or their spouses die! This is taking place in a country where an ordinary clerk (who is almost equally qualified but working 8-10 hours a day except Sundays gets around Rs5000/pm without any pension. Peasants who work for 12 hours a day and get less than Rs80/-a day!  Two distinct classes are created here;  those  who do little and earn high with life-long pension and those who work from dawn to dusk earning  a pittance without any pension. 

The World Bank has remarked that Kerala university graduates are ‘unemployable.’ If youngsters do not know something they can be taught but those who undergo negative training cannot be even put to the right track. The negative example of anyone , even teachers, will de-motivate them.  Even without  teachers, the interested students (as they do now) can still study by themselves the prescribed syllabus and get a pass mark in the university examinations.  After all our university exams are memory exercises!  Most of what is studied for the examination is forgotten once the exams are over; the degree holders are good for government jobs where they  need not do much to earn their pay and pension. There are exceptions but that is not a merit of our educational system. 

Our teachers blame the students for being lazy and aimless. But it is good to remember that youngsters model elders. As the latter so the former as children follow the elders'  examples. If they are not sincere in their work how can they expect the students to be sincere in their studies? The villain: the socialistic inefficiency pervasive in India. 

Death alone can give majority of Indians deliverance!

836 million Indians, according to a recent government-commissioned study, live on Rs 20/- 30($1/3-1/2) or so a day. That is all they can afford. If it costs more, 77 per cent of this country's population cannot afford to live! Death will be the only way out.

This is the unfortunate reality of the ‘super-power’ and ‘resurgent’ India. There are rich people like Mukesh Ambani who lives in a 27 storey mansion (all for himself) and the immensely rich political leaders who are alleged to have stacked thousands of billions of dollars in secret accounts in foreign banks like the first family. There may be one percent Indians (mostly the corrupt government officials  and  political leaders; business men included) who are rich and prosperous. There may be 10-15% middle class families who can boast about cricket and the ‘great strides’ India has made. They get lost in the glowing terms with which we describe ourselves in the international media, and in the glory that India has joined the ranks of the world's economic powers! But they forget that the vast majority of India's Real People are wallowing in utter poverty, mostly illiterate and waiting for death to give them deliverance from their sufferings. The shining malls, the fancy real estate properties, the big defense deals, nuclear tests, sending rockets to the moon to probe water there, make no difference to them whatsoever. For the vast majority of Indians and their children death alone can end their poverty, diseases and suffering.

What is life for the citizens of the Real India like? The unfortunate vast majority who live in the nation's slums, blighted areas and in rural sections go without toilet (defecating in the open) without a dwelling,  water supply or a  meal a day, grappling with all sorts of diseases from the time of birth till they die, unable to afford more than Rs 20-30 a day. Think about the war for survival, the battle may prolong only until the next day, the day of death. Which Indian leader is truly concerned about them? The ruling politicians who do all nice talk are mostly concerned about aggrandizing their power base and enriching themselves.

How Indian leaders loot the people

Recently it was reported that the Indian president Parthibha Patil spent 205 crores (almost $0.4 billion) during her tenure for her foreign trips. What useful purpose did they serve?  Yes, the presidential entourage had very comfortable tours as the Indian VVIPs.  She is simply a ceremonial head; there have been allegations of her involvement in financial misappropriation of funds when she was heading banking institutions. She is a steadfast follower of Sonia Gandhi who has elevated her to powerful positions and that is almost the whole story of her credentials. The poor Indians (50% of whom live with just Rs20- a day) 

have to meet her enormous bill. Sad indeed!

Just the other day, Kerala cabinet approved to make 35 schools of Malappuram district ( belonging to a particular community)  government aided institutions. The government will boot the entire salary and other expenditures of running them while they remain owned by the present managements. The opposition alleges big bribes in the deal and that some leaders made their billions. The keralites will be poorer as they have to meet the additional expenditure of the government for this.  Thinkers cannot be blamed if they feel the leaders loot the people.
  

It has been alleged that the weapons India buys (the Indian government’s defense expenditure is one of the highest in the world) is poorly sourced or of low standards for enhancing kickbacks . Many of them do not work after a few years and the need to buy arises again. Remember the huge Bofors Gun deal of Rajiv Gandhi and the big kickbacks alleged by some quarters. The tax payers’ money eventually lands up in the pockets of the wily political leaders. That is the fate of this country, one of the most corrupt and poorest nations on the face of the earth.  

The Real India

The previous governments have made the middle and upper classes  believe that India is almost a developed economy and a super power. There are people here who believe India is the third or so 





largest economy in the world! What is the ground reality?

About 50% Indians defecate in the open (626 million Indians do not have a toilet!) 25-30% of the entire population lives below poverty line. 300-360 million Indians live with around Rs20/- (about 30 cents) a day. They do not have a square meal a day, a dwelling, water-supply or sanitation. They sleep in ramshackle huts or on pavements or in slums or blighted areas. Another 30% live on the brink of the poverty line; the rural folks, the vast majority of the peasants are all emaciated without adequate nutrition, health care or sanitation. Infant and maternal mortality rates are very high. One out of two children suffers from malnutrition; they are sick or stunted. Women are the worst sufferers. Being a patriarchal society they are suppressed,   they cannot select a career or decide their fate. Almost 50% of them are illiterate and two-thirds are confined to the four walls of the house producing children and working from early morning to late  night. The urban women who land up in a job have to work double: at the office and at the house. Thus half of the Indian citizens do not partake in nation building.  How can a country progress in this scenario?

India houses more of the poorest of the world than any other nation. India has more hungry stomachs than any other country. More children are stunted or emaciated here than anywhere else. Still the priorities of the central government had been elsewhere. Our defense spending had been  one of the highest in the world.  Still we are nowhere near the defense capability of China. A considerable percentage of the entire money has gone to the pockets of the concerned politicians. Massive weapon buying had been initiated by the rulers seemingly for the kickbacks.

 The funds earmarked for the poverty alleviation programs landed up in the pockets of the politicians and the public servants. The black money in foreign banks builds up every day. We have a huge bureaucracy which is corrupt to the core as they follow the Congress leaders. No wonder India is ranked as one of the most corrupt nations. Wrong priorities of the government are in itself suicidal!

When half the population waqs illiterate and below poverty line they were sending rockets to the moon to find whether water exists there! They exploded crude nuclear devices and spent billions on weapons which become useless in a short time as they were sourced wrongly for the kickbacks. No significant effort was done to contain population increase, or empower women. And the educated middle class was made to believe India is advanced, progressive and powerful!           

Is there luck in life?

The immediate answer is yes. Your childhood, parents, poverty or prosperity at birth, your native country, the era of your birth are all beyond your control. One can pass his childhood in utter poverty or amidst wealth depending on the parents. Educated and wealthy parents may give a better childhood than uneducated and poor ones. Those who do not like or love each other, irrespective of their other conditions, can make a child’s life a hell. The country of birth determines to a large extend an youngster’s years. One that is born in Somalia, Ethiopia, India, or Bangladesh will have to confront diseases and wants from day one. The chances that it will survive childhood are very low. Whereas those born in the United States, Scandinavian countries, Belgium, Australia, Japan, Korea and some of the northern European nations will have far better childhood.  Childhood is beyond anyone’s conscious control.

Prince Charles is born the Prince of Wales. Rahul Gandhi is born the future PM of India.  The sons of Mukesh and Anil Ambani are born inheriting business empires. There are millions who become billionaires by virtue of their birth alone. Dynastic ascendance to power and wealth is commonly seen in many parts of the world.  At other end of the spectrum we see billions inheriting poverty, diseases and death. There is a lot of luck and ill-luck in life. By persistent efforts one can overcome debilitating poverty but he lost childhood and its sad memories will haunt him throughout life. Further everyone do not get the disposition to put in the efforts.  

All the great artistic geniuses are more born than made. One cannot, by any amount of hard work, become a Picasso, Michel Angelo, Shakespeare or Beethoven. An inherited athletic frame is very much needed to be a world champion. Anyone cannot become a Michael Jordan, Carl Louis, Mark Spitz  or Ian James Thorpe. There are people with unique voice most apt for singing like Ray Charles. There are people who sing and those who take that voice to another, otherworldly place andcreate a euphoria within themselves like Elvis Presley. Any amount of effort will not take one to their levels. How many can dream to have the sweet melodious voice of Lata Mangeshkar? How many girls are endowed with the features of Iswarya Rai, Bar Rafaeli or Jessica Homes ?

How many can become like Abraham Lincoln, Roosevelt or Mother Teresa? Even greatness is more born. The biology and the structure of one’s brain, IQ level, will and one’s EQ-which propel one to success or failure, is very much genetically transferred.  They are, by far, a product of genetic lottery and early environment. But this is not to undermine the impact of one’s personal efforts. But the urge to put in the effort emanate from one’s convictions and beliefs which, to a very great extent is influenced by the circumstances where one is raised. But there is no point in crying over what one does not have. We have to try with what we have and live a meaningful and successful life making us happy and alive.  

How do our youth become communists!

Are they attracted by the thrill of shouting slogans together against the rich, the authorities and the successful?  Is it the thrill of marching behind the red flag throwing their fist up in the air opposing everything and whatever the party wants?

Do they know the fate of those societies which have embraced it? Do they study how USSR –such a rich, vast nation with abundant natural resources, became poor? The rulers adopted fascist tactics and they eliminated thousands who stood on their way. Stalin is perhaps the greatest fascist (along with Hitler) the world has ever seen. The dictatorship of the proletariat is an authoritarian rule and there is no way one can differ or hold a different view. Dissidents simply disappear as they do in Kerala even now. Do they know how East Germany (under communism) regressed and became an underdeveloped nation while the West Germans (following market economy)became prosperous, rich and developed? (Remember these nations enjoy the same geography, climate, they speak the same language and the people belong to the same race. The only difference was one was forced to follow communism and the other capitalism. Look at Cuba-how it turned into a poor country when its neighbor, the USA became the most developed and most powerful nation on the earth! Look at Vietnam, Cambodia and a dozen E. European nations which came under communism and became poor.   

W. Bengal, Kerala and Tripura have gone down the lane too. May be communism has made the people in these three states lazy-slogan shouters clamoring for their rights and more pay but unwilling to undertake proportional responsibility or increase production. People are not willing to do the available work.  They will do what they want by force at their terms. Head load workers are examples for this sort of mentality. The governments are there to give government jobs to the people (which will ensure good pay and life-long pension without much work but with ample free time and holidays). If the revenue of the state is (at the moment 75%) devoted for the salary and pension for the ever-increasing employees, who are highly inefficient, will the state advance? Not even 2% of the population can be accommodated in the government sector. And the vast majority is poor unorganized peasants and workers eking out a precarious existence. The ‘classless socialism’ has already created two distinct classes here: the well-off government servants and the poor unorganized peasants and workers.

 No society has improved without industrial advancement, and without the hard work of the citizens. In these three states no industry gets started, those which were established earlier have been forcibly locked up with labor disputes, protests, work stoppages.  People of these states do not seem to love work; three people do what one can easily accomplish, draining the state coffers.  There is no accountability, everyone will be paid equal amounts and will be promoted based on their years of service disregarding merit or efficiency.  At this rate if the remittances from those employed abroad and outside stop, the state will become a pauper like the USSR two decades back. I fail to understand what motivates our youngsters to line up behind the parties; maybe they want government jobs ensuring a care-free life with good pay and life-long pension. Or is it the sheer thrill of protesting against anything and everything as they have no clear aim in life or profession?    

     

Is India doomed?

Today an Italian rules India.  There is a PM who is more than eager to do her bidding. He was a thorough professional and he had performed very well under a well-intentioned PM, Narasimha Rao. But today’s chief executive does not seem to be interested in the welfare or the development of the country. The Italian wife of Rajiv controls the strings of power. Her family is reported to have the highest amount of black money deposited in foreign banks. May be she thinks she can buy the country (win the elections) with her immense wealth. Her other agenda is to enthrone Rahul Gandhi, into the PM’s seat. The PM is a rubber stamp who seems to enjoy being in the chair more than anything else. He is not interested in revealing the names of those who have black money in the foreign banks as he has to shield the thieves in the ship itself. In order to protect them he has to bend laws, make the investigating agencies puppets in the hands of the rulers. Endless scams, corruptions stories and misappropriation of mind-blogging amounts of public funds surface every other day. But who cares?

60% of India’s population (626 million Indians) defecate in the open! Almost half of the entire population do not have a toilet and are living below or at the brink of the poverty line. 40-45% of India’s children suffer from malnutrion, diseases and are stunted. Women are the worst sufferers in this patriarchal society; they are by and large illiterate, unemployed and are suppressed by the males. They are mostly reproducing machines or sex objects who work in the murky and smoky house-holds tending to the ever increasing children and looking after the abusive husbands. There are a number of government welfare schemes for the poor, a greater part of the funds of which are eaten away by the bureaucrats. As almost everyone in the government is corrupt (remember India is the most corrupt nation in the world); the salaried government servants make illegal income and thrive. The government is directionless; fiscal deficits, inflation, are all very high. The defense expenditure, salary and pension for the bureaucrats are enormous. There is no serious infrastructure development and the nation seems to be doomed. Yes, the black money getting deposited abroad increase day by day as per the statements of those foreign banks. And those who keep depositing large amounts there (to the tune of thousands of crores) have a hearty laugh just like Rajiv Gandhi, the former PM (husband of Sonia) had always a smile dangling between his lips thinking about the Bofors Gun kickbacks.                        

Shut off the 'internal tape'

Studies on psychology have shown that success on whatever we undertake depends on our internal communication or tape that keeps going on with or without our conscious involvement. It is like a never ending recorded message that goes on for ever. It gives positive or negative affirmations depending on our attitude, confidence levels and above all experiences. If we keep repeating to ourselves: 'I have not been set right from the beginning' (when there is a failure) or 'this is all in my stars,' theses thoughts get indelibly marked in the subconscious and they will ensure further failures. Break these thought patterns: You have not been always set the wrong way. There has been good things happening to you too, you have achieved success as well as failures. Failure has no monopoly in your life. 

We fail not because we set out in a wrong way or due to anything else; the villain is this internal tape. Whatever we think continuously turns out into reality. Thoughts have energy of their own; bad thoughts produce negative energy. Consequently bad effort, bad associations, and bad forces come to play and we end up failing. So let us be beware of what is continuously going on in our minds. If a negative tape is on shut it off and install a positive one. Remember all the good things that have happened  in your life and allow them to fill up every nook and corner of your mind consciously. We have the option to enlarge the good stuff --goals and successes achieved, pleasant and confident experiences and happy moments. Brighten them up, enlarge them, hear whatever you heard in them louder, closer, feel intensely whatever you felt and thus shut the door of your mind for the entry of a negative tape.
 

Be not in a complaint mode

A lot of us are always in a complaint mode. We don't have this, we don't have that. We did not get a university education. we did not inherit wealth, great talent or influential relatives.....well, we have a lot to complain about. 
Let us assume whatever you complain is genuine. Still, what is the use in complaining? There are some who are born rich, famous or talented; there are others who are athletic or beautiful. But there are millions who are born blind, deaf or crippled. No one can stop this; that is the way the game of life is played down here. Those who are born rich or handsome did not ask for it. It is not their fault that they are lucky. You have no right to complain as there are billions not as lucky as you are. If you stop for a  minute and look around, you will be amazed at the good things you have around you.

Be grateful for what you have and don't regret what you don't have. However poor or unlucky you feel you are, you will be better off than so many others. You compare yourself to the less fortunate. You are blessed in so many ways: you are probably an educated, healthy,  normal individual with a steady income. Savor what you have-- your normal body and mind, your education, family, children, friends and so many others.
There may be some more things you would love to possess. Remember, as Vermon Luchies says, "if we get everything we want, we will soon want nothing wee get." If we don't enjoy what we have already, how could we be happier with more? You are sufficiently blessed and ungrateful people cannot develop happiness.

The truth is nobody is interested in your wants and deprivations, in your pains and failures. The world is not interested in your problems. People want to associate with those who have something good to share and those who are promising. Show you are worth and promising, show you are climbing up the hill and invite others to the top. .         

Make your child feel loved

Parents normally have a lot of love towards their children. But children do not feel so; they think parents do not love or understand them. A big chasm develops between the two. Parents do love their kids in all sincerity and there are many who literally live for their children. But the sad paradox is children do not feel their love. A lot of misunderstanding develops in some way or other and the gap widens as they become teens. In many of our homes today, there is hardly any relationship between parents and their teenage kids.Is there a way out?

Well, there are some simple techniques which can alter the scenario. How many of you look into their eyes with love at least once a day and hold your gaze for 10 seconds or so. Parents normally look at their children (especially if they are past eight or ten) sternly to reprimand them or in a cross examining way to find out the 'real truth'. They look at them very often angrily or disapprovingly too. But how many parents look into their eyes with love brimming in their hearts? If you do not, practice it from toady and observe the difference in their attitude to you. Remember this is not very simple or easy, especially so if your children are  grown ups.

Do you tell them you love them? You may think, 'why should we?' You have been doing everything for their good, and they must understand.  They don't as you do not tell them. Whatever you do as a parent is taken for granted by your child. Express your love in unequivocal terms. simply say, 'mummy/daddy loves you' even when they are 'grown ups.'

Touch your children. Put hands around their shoulders and walk with them for sometime.  Box with your sons or daughters in a playful mood, play with them, embrace them and and hold them nearer, let them feel your love. Touch is one of them best ways to convey your love. Touching makes them stronger and more courageous. Spend time or them exclusively, devote say half an hour every day.  Earmark one day in a month entirely for one child. Go for a movie, go fishing or sight seeing. You do not even take your mobile. Let the whole day be theirs.        

Sharpen your saw

Is it not good to reflect upon the state of ourselves occasionally? It has a physical and a mental dimension.
Are we physically and mentally fit?
Is our memory and brain in good shape?
Are we investing in ourselves to better our value in the  market place?

Physical fitness involves eating less, keeping our BMI well within limits and doing aerobic, muscle building and flexibility exercises. Above all move more as success very much depends on the quantity and quality of our movements. Do we eat more fruits, and vegetables? And avoid sugar, sugary soft drinks and salt? Do we take enough water to flush our system? Are we always fruitfully engaged?

Without keeping our brain and memory in top shape we cannot expect much from this life careerwise or otherwise. If they get rusted or unexercised, that will tell upon our lives. Apart from the chances for an attack of Alschemers or Parkinson's  diseases, our vitality, sharpness and intellectual ability depends on you keeping them exercised. Improve the left and right brain synchrony by making both the hands dexterous.Do we do some memory exercises and brain puzzles? Do we learn something new and update ourselves in our chosen fields?   If we activate our brain and memory and keep them in top shape our countenance will display energy and vitality.                  

Keep gazing forward, not backward

Stop looking toward your unpleasant past. Keeping gazing forward. Whatever has happened has already happened. What is in store in the future is all that matters. You might have committed mistakes, done blunders; you were not fully responsible for all that. Your heredity, upbringing and upbringing made you do all that. Even otherwise, what is the use in crying over the split milk?Who does not have his share of these anyway?


Let us not regret by looking back; nobody has ever gained anything by doing so. It is a sheer waste of energy and it may endanger your future too. Forget that which is behind. It cannot bind you nor influence your future without your permission. Your days to come will not be rosy if you are tormented by the agony of the past. You put a full stop to all that. Remember only your pleasant experiences, wins and your successes.

Stop trying to change your past.  There is no use; it will always remain the same. The more you turn your attention to the past the less will be the energy left to look, plan and work for the future. The dreams of the future are not built on the foundation of the events of the past.  keep the memories of the empowering and discard the unwanted ones by the wayside.

If you are unhappy or sad let it not be on something that has already happened. You are wasting your time as you have no control on the bygone events. If you live in your past you will kill your future. No one can build a bright future if he keeps thinking about his past misfortunes, blunders, wasted or missed opportunities. You start building your future right from now relying on your will, intense desire and with the conviction of the goals you have set. 

Origin of religions

Religion and magic are as old as man. They are inseparable. Religious elements cannot be preserved like fossil throughout time and hence we cannot arrive at correct statements regarding their exact origins. Things connected with religion like graves, temples, cult objects, statues, engravings, paintings are all products of later civilizations and not of the early man. We may be never able to say that the early primitive people practiced these ceremonies or performed such and such magical rites. 

We cannot precisely know where and how the various religious beliefs and magical performances emerged.  But there is no reason to believe that the earliest man received his religious notions through  a primary revelation from any god.  Primitive man’s religion is pervaded with animistic, magical and mythological beliefs. 

Manism, the cult of the dead contributed largely to the growth of religious practices.   The worship of the dead chiefs and tribal ancestors is found sporadically in all parts of the world. Scholars like H. Spencer even claimed manism to be true origin of religions. Spirits could take possession of living things. The primitives thought that their innumerable ills were caused by spirits. They devised a  number of ways- always magical in nature- to get assistance from these spirits. Ordinary needs of today were extraordinary for the prehistoric man and they applied extra-ordinary means for fulfilling them. Magic and religion of one kind or another is undoubtedly present among all the primitive communities of the pre-historic time. Belief in superpowers is almost universal among them.

The primitive man was also taken up by surprise by the persons and things they experienced in dreams and temporary hallucinations. The absence of vitality in a dead person and dreams of the dead  resulted in the beliefs of spirits and after life. Later on even inanimate objects were thought as having spirits.It was Edward B. Taylor who pointed out that the prehistoric people believed in  animism(a belief in intangible or non-material beings which can be souls, ghost, spirits or monsters). Thus began the cult of the dead man. Temporary survival of the ghost souls of the recently deceased are almost universally believed. There are endless varieties of beliefs regarding the sojourn of the departed souls.

At the earliest stages of man’s descent from the mammals, there was neither religious concepts nor magical rites. As powers of reflection, memory and insight gradually developed, man began to seek causes for the happenings around him.   Terrible nature phenomenon like thunder and lightening, earthquakes, flood and storms dismayed him.  As they were incomprehensible, beyond the reach of man, they were deified and early man tried to please them for favours and appease them to ward off dangers. This eventually created thousands of gods, some of them assuming  supremacy. Just like powerful emperors started ruling kings and the lords, more powerful deities emerged and later an all-powerful god was conceived much later.  

In an attempt to control the mysterious forces of nature man resorted to a number of ways inadequate to that end and these are termed magic. Every religion is pervaded with  a lot of magical practices. Every religion is an elaborate, complex, many faceted culture interwoven with magical ceremonies and meaningless rituals. 

How to improve your memory and brain?

1. understand that your brain and memory is good. When you think they are poor, they will respond to you accordingly. It is just like when you believe a person is bad he behaves to you in a bad way. Everyone's brain is good in some way; they are never bad. Thinking makes it so. You were given a good brain when you were born and it will ever remain ever so unless you make it bad thinking bad about it or without exercising it properly. Stop saying to yourself or others your memory is bad. 
2. Have strong, high aims and go after them. Your memory and brain always seem to function better when you command it to do so. Pursuing a high goal is in effect a command to your brain to function better.
3. You need relaxation for these to function at optimum levels. Tension decreases their efficiencies. Regular physical exercise, spending time with one's family and listening to soothing music will relax brain. If one can be in  a relaxed state his efficiency goes up.
4. Shut the door to the past. All of us have had our share share of bad past. But there is no point in crying over the split milk. Bury the unpleasant past. You were not responsible for them as your upbringing and early childhood environment influenced you to do blunders. But they are dead and gone.
5. Help others, rub off a tear, help bring a smile.  If you hold a grudge againts others, if you dislike someone, if you lie, if you spread false rumours or if you feel jealous or greedy you finer faculties may not reach their full potency.
6. Sufficient sleep: a human brain requires 8 hours' rest in a 24 hour cycle. If you sleep less or more it will adversely affect it. If you sleep less, they will be stored as 'sleep debt' and one will tend to doze off when he is trying to concentrate.
7. Memory works better when you follow your biorhythm. You will have then a particular time for sleep,play study and work. If you try to learn during the normal sleeping time, memory my not be at its best.
8. Enjoy what you do or better do what you enjoy. If what you do is something you enjoy your memory and brain helps you do it in a better way;  remember the reverse is true too.
9. Do not eat too much nor too little.It is always better to follow the principle, 'eat less'. After a heavy meal the brain and memory functions less efficiently. Pangs of hunger will reduce your concentration too.
10 spend some time meditating regularly to improve the sharpness and concentration levels of your brain.    

Kerala a 'communist' state

Kerala is considered to be one of the first places where communists have come to power through free and fair elections. And what have they accomplished so far? Kerala has become one of the most industrially backward states of India. Keralites depend on the non-communist states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh for anything and everything. Even  agricultural production has come down drastically.

Many  people have become more lazy and indolent. They do not want to do any hard work and  have become very arrogant and non co-operative as they are protected by the militant trade unions. They have been taught to clamor for their rights, benefits, allowances and better working conditions. They have also been groomed to shout slogans, go for processions shouting them for hours (even days) denouncing their employers or clamoring for their rights. They are not willing to relate wage increase with output. No one wants to be held accountable.

Kerala would become a state of beggars if the remittances of those working beyond its borders and abroad stopped sending money all on a sudden.   The educational priority of the former rulers and the institutions established by the foreign missionaries are churning out thousands of graduates and post graduates who go abroad, find jobs, earn and send money home.

The main work of the socialist governments here has been to collect taxes and distribute the same to the non-productive and ever increasing state employees. Almost 75% of the state revenue goes for the salaries, benefits and pension, many of whom do very little. These employees who are fed by the tax payers have to be bribed by the latter to get a birth certificate or any such document. Even a college teacher (who gets anything between Rs.75,000 and 100,000) is not accountable; there is hardly any review or assessment of his work. Holidays are aplenty: they are declared for flimsy reasons. The ‘Bandhs’ and ‘harthals’are in effect  holidays too. The government is not concerned with employment generation by increasing industries; everyone wants to get a government job as it ensures a comfortable  life with a good pay, life-long pension and plenty of holidays.  

Just like any other state which has embraced communism Kerala  has regressed too.   communism has stifled the  agricultural production of the state. Agrarian workers have become organized and no farmer can afford them. Further, the workers demand work by force –as practiced  by the head load laborers –and they will work at a price fixed by them! Nobody is willing to do the available work, and hence workers from other states flow in to do the manual labour.  Many Keralites prefer to be paid for no work if possible.   

Yes there has been some resemblance of a social change. The old landowners have been made poor peasants; the working class and the politicians have become rich and powerful. Industrialists are discouraged and even now profit making is considered a sin! How can any nation progress without employing the principles of free economy and industrial growth? In Kerala we find red flags flying aloft as soon as a land is acquired for an industry.  And the entrepreneurs wisely keep off. It is a sorry state of affairs indeed! 

Communism makes Kerala & Bengal poorer?

 There are only very few who still cling on to the discarded, totally proven wrong political philosophy, communism. Societies which embraced it have regressed and became poorer.  USSR. East Germany, East European countries, Cuba are all examples. The people of Kerala, Bengal and Tripura still believe in communism and hold the most repressive dictators like Stalin in high esteem. The sad paradox is that they do not understand the inherent flaws in the philosophy and the universal failure of the experiment.

 

 Russia (one sixth of the world then with abundant natural resources and little population) after embracing communism became one of the poorest nations in the world. A counter revolution was required to bring it back to the path modernization and growth.  Fidel Castro has, of late, realized his blunders and is trying to follow market economy principles to set right the blunders of communism. China, as everyone knows is following capitalist principles and free market economy. But communism is still the utopia for the people in the above Indian states.  

They are still bewitched by the ‘October revolution’ of Russia and the obsolete concepts of Lenin and Marx which have been proven wrong many times over. It is proved beyond doubt that the dictatorship of the proletariat would destroy any society. Kerala and West Bengal where communism has ruled for many years have gone industrially backward. The prevailing high level literacy was an offshoot of the efforts of rulers of the past and the missionaries and it has nothing to do with this renegade philosophy. It has made our workers lazy, and militant, clamoring only for their rights, more wages and benefits without linking it to production. Lockouts, agitations and strikes have chased away the industrialists and even existing industries. Without the remittances of those employed overseas Kerala would have become very poor. 

Social equality has been much better in any developed country than in a communist one .It is common knowledge that the ordinary Russians had to queue up for a piece of bread when the polit bureau members had all the conceivable luxury. Inequality is a law of nature. Economic and industrial progress can alone reduce poverty and misery and free market principles are the only known way to ensure the same. 

How to remember names?

We tend to forget the names of those we meet. We remember their faces  as visual images are retained better than auditory ones. There are many silly technique people use to show that they remember names. A leading politician used to ask those who came to meet him: ‘how is that old sickness of yours?’ The visitor gets impressed as he thinks the leader remembers everything about him. But who does not have an old sickness?

There are the others who ask: what is your first name?  (As if he knows the surname) This is only a trick and cannot be substitute for remembering names. To remember the name of a person, try to hear and comprehend it properly. Usually you do not even hear the name clearly nor is it registered. You have to grasp how the name is pronounced properly and how it is spelt. It would do be good if you ask him/her to spell it for you. It is also good to know the surnames and expansion of the initials.

For effective recollection repeat the name a few times you speak to him/her. Take interest in your new friend (try to know about his work, family, interests and so on) and gather as much information about him/her as possible. Let each question beginning with his name. For eg, ‘Stephen, can you please tell me something about your people?’ Make sure you look at him and associate his name with the features of his countenance.   

Another technique is to associate the features with something you already know. This is not very easy. You may connect a particular feature of his face to the thing represented by the meaning of the name, if it has one. Later, whenever you see him you will notice the feature and the thing associated with will come to your mind and the name will prop up just from nowhere. If you find the third one difficult, just follow verbatim the others and they will make you remember it without much problem.        

Spend quality time with your family

During these busy ages, many people do not find time to devote for their families. However busy you are, whatever amount of work you have carried home, you can, if you want, spend quality time with your family members.  There are CEOs and presidents of big corporations who plan their time so very well that they pay special attention to each member of the family. They bring home a lot of work almost every day. After all you are working so hard for your family.  You have to schedule your time at home so that each member gets your undivided attention.

Let us say your family consists of two young children and your partner besides yourself. You can spend say one hour (from 7pm to 8pm) with your kinds. Play with them , read them stories, help in their homework, draw with them and answer their questions. This is their time, you cannot attend to even calls (better off  even your mobile) and let them feel this one hour is fully for them. By eight they will have dinner and off they go to bed by eight thirty or so. Now you start your office work devote an hour and half. By this time both of you are ready for dinner and bed. Talk about what you both did on that day, the problems you faced and the hurdles you had to overcome. Talk about your kids, share your common concerns and worries and the plans for their future.

Sundays and holidays must be set apart fully for the family. You can plan a trip to picnic spot, go for a cinema, have family games and have the best food you can manage to get. After the day each one will be refreshed and ready for the work-week ahead. If any one of you feels, you do not have time for all these you are simply kidding. There is a lot of time at your disposal and by careful planning you will be able to spend more time with your family.    

Little ways to get great feelings

True happiness does not concern itself with how much wealth you have or how much power you wield. It consists of how you live your life. What you do with the things you have makes all the difference.  Even a small thing can make a big difference. When you pay your bill for lunch, you can keep something for the waiter.   You can be very stingy and keep very little, or you can be generous and keep a little more than he expects. If you give more it would affect the way you feel about yourself. When someone comes calling for a donation for a cause, give him a little more than you can and generate a great feeling.

If a poor stranger is asking for money for a meal, do give him enough for a good meal. After all you are capable to have food every day, he is not. Share a little of what you have willingly and experience a great feeling inside. When you do this often you are adding to your self-esteem, the ultimate builder of success. If you turn him off giving nothing, you would get a guilty or bad feeling which will cause much more harm than the worth of the amount you would not part with. your friend just like that and tell him you felt like calling him as you loved him. Share with others special information you have come to possess.  Share your success and triumphs with others and keep your sorrow to yourself. 

When the day is done and you are lying down to sleep ask yourself whether you have helped a suffering soul, whether you have wiped a tear and brought back a smile. Have you given out more than you are expected of in your job? Or, were you following the work-to-rule principle doing the bare minimum? The latter would certainly make you have an inadequate feeling.  Did you make a soul-let it be your partner, child, parent, friend or stranger happy today? Did you get a great feeling though your deeds? 

Test your IQ-1

A person with a higher IQ does have some advantages. He can score more in his studies, understand anything quick and communicate more effectively.   One's success in a profession will very much depend on the application of one's intelligence. 
Do you know your IQ? Unfortunately many are not even aware of the procedure for testing IQ. There are people poor with numerical problems but good at verbal ones and vice versa. Without any introduction to these tests even a person with a high IQ may not be able to score high initially. The speed with which you do these tests is crucial. Those of you who do easy problems quick will do the difficult ones quick too. Carelessness, lack of concentration and patience will bring poor result. Check whether you can score high in the following. Later, you will get a full IQ test.

 Choose the correct answer from the given options
1. What is the next number in the series, 12, 26, 36, 42  ?   (40, 42, 44, 46, 48)
2.   12 (240) 10
       6 (?) 5                                                                         (50, 60, 70, 80)
3. Find the missing letter:   X, U, Q  ?                                    ( M, N, L,  P )

4. Find the missing number           8     5               ?      7
                                                 60,    96           84,    120     (15, 12, 20, 10)
5. Find out the group of letters which completes the first word and begins the second word
Viol (. . .)   er      
6. Find out a word ending that can be suffixed by all the following  so that a sensible word is obtained in each case:
GR
Cr
S
D
F
7. Find the odd man out
NOBAG,   RANIBHA, MOONRACE,   YTPEG, IRBUND, WAILMA
8. Fill up: AS: 40: : OF : ?    
9. Find the object or thing which has something in common with:
    Tick, Time, Strike
10. Which of the following pair of words bear a similar logical relationship as flag to nation?
a. bird to peacock, '
b. Elephant to state
c. Insignia to rank
d  profile to portrait
                     Answers will be given in a subsequent post