A wierd story

Greetings,

Apologies that I could not write for so long. Well, there were two reasons. Firstly, I was busy in my personal life and secondly, I came to London for a month. Before coming to London, I took a book from my brother's collection.

I started reading the story whenever I traveled on the tube. My office was far enough from the apartment and there was nothing better to do in those 40 minutes. The story started very well to raise my curiosity with every page I flipped but it did not end very well. Maybe, I didn't wish the story to end at all. I felt attached to Christopher and I wished to know more how his life progressed in the society of so-called sane people. Anyway, this is Mark Haddon's story. Mark wrote it very well and in a very different manner from all the books I have read so far. He has depicted every character and the events in such a way that you can see the entire book rolling like a movie. The illustrations and the graphics and mathematical equations all support the story well. Although, it may seem bit overstretched at times but that is his characterization of Christopher.

Well, the story starts with a dog, Wellington, being killed in garden opposite to Christopher's house. He wished to find out who killed the dog and started writing a book about his findings but slowly, the story unfolds many events related to people linked to Christopher, his parents and Mr & Mrs Shears and Siobhan and many others. Only halfway through the story, you realize that Christopher is not like other kids. He lives in his own world and is very clear about his likes/dislikes of colors, people, subjects, places et. He didn't like crowd and he was very good in maths. He was smart enough to figure out his way from Swindon to London to live with his mother because he figured out that it was his father who killed Wellington and now he was scared to live with him. His mother, who had earlier left his father to live with Mr Shears, came back to Swindon for his son's wishes. One of the wishes was to sit through A-level exams for Maths and get A-grade and he finally did it.

The book is full of observations from a differently-able kid and shows the impact on individuals and relationships. Really an amazing book.

lovely book
Navjot Singh
PS - Book's name is 'The curious incident of the dog in the night time'

Salary Package - Trick or Treat

Greetings,

Here is another good one from the Turmoil Inc, the hypothetical company being run by an indian analogy series of Dilbert.

However, there is a serious thought behind every genuine humour otherwise people don't like it. Companies are seriously resorting to find ways to retain talent. One of the adopted ways is to offer inflated salary packages. Companies are resorting to include Variable component, Performance Bonus, Earned Leaves, Super Annuation, Gratuity and what not just to make the annual package look like a mammoth. However, under the skin of it, you will not find much flesh but a skeleton of bones padded with hopes and promises.

Here's why!! Super Annuation, Gratuity etc are never monthly or annual income components. You receive them after 4-5 years but guess what; not many people stick in the compnay for so long. Variable components are also trickily planned and your performance bonus is also linked to organization, BU and god knows what else's performance so you will never get it full. Even if you get 50%, cheer up. And since when ELs have become part of your annual salary package but listen to today's HR managers and they will tell you a list of other options that they plan to bring under your CTC umbrella so that on papers, you look like a king but in reality you get to eat beans, not chicken. HR managers are happy with their ideas because people are happy to become victims to such policies.

~ Navjot Singh

Purpose In Life !!

Greetings,

Right now, somebody sent me an inspirational and emotional email about PIL i.e. purpose in life of every human being. So, I just thought of bringing another perspective of it.

Remember.....when we were kids..each of us wanted to be "someone". Pilot/ Doctor/ Engineer and the list goes on. It needs a beggar's description to say that our parents/relaties/teachers had great influence over that choice. Slowly in the teens age, our priorities change..we started knowing ourselves and re-thought what we wanted to be. Now, the choice was different than earlier one because we could think of more options now. Doctor/ Painter/ Musician/ Journalist and some still stuck to become what they had originally thought off. Just after teens age, many realize that the world wouldn't allow us to do what we want. So, we choose what's liked by and acceptable in society. At that point, we just buried our *FIRST" choice. Maybe, that was our PIL.

Slowly, we got into the daily grind and some hard-life priorities hit our life. Somehow, "making money and performing daily chores" becomes one purpose for the MOST, who actually form the major chunk of our society. In the business, we lose our inner voice (maybe PIL again) and just goes on to do whatever is happening. We don't choose for ourselves, others do. Some people will still crave for what they really want to do. Out of these, some get successful and will be labelled as "celebrities" one way or the other. Rest will be labelled as "fools" by our saint society.

But if you get free time and you sit alone, something must encroach your mind and heart ---- "What am I doing? Where am I heading to? Is this what I wanted to do? Is this what's called as living a life?." But, this is what life is. Life is full of choices. Even if you choose not to make a chocie, you are still choosing.

By the way, in the larger context of life, nothing really matters. so chill out :-)
~ Navjot Singh Sohanpal