5 Things I Learned From The Japanese

August 30, 2015 / tvs21292 / 2 Comments

It’s been a year since I set foot on the land of the rising sun with a few of my college mates. And although we might not have aced the competition we had been there for, the experience and the country at large taught us many a valuable lessons during our time there.
Let’s take a moment to travel back in time –
Just for the record, we landed at Chubu Centrair International Airport, Nagoya.
The prospect of familiarising myself with another country was pretty exciting. As an aspiring world citizen, this is something that will continue to be so for the rest of my life.

1. The Warmth:

As foreigners in Japan, the warmth and courtesy on offer at just about every nook and corner makes you feel wonderful about this place.

Considering the ever-increasing number of Indians abroad, Hindi is gaining ground around the globe and as a result, people in many countries do happen to be somewhat familiar with simple everyday greetings in the language.

We were surprised and touched when greeted with “Namaste!” at the bus stop outside the airport. Chances are, the arrival of Mr.Narendra Modi in Japan a day before we landed had fuelled all the warmth. Irrespective of the reasons for that, it’s something we’ll remember for the rest of our lives.

2. The Discipline:

The Japanese are all about impeccable discipline. We spent 10 days in the country and failed to notice –

a. People crossing the streets at random and showing no consideration to oncoming traffic.
b. Taxis being hauled around recklessly.
c. Taxi drivers fleecing customers.
d. Cars going down the wrong side of the road.
e. Vehicles changing lanes at random.

I can recall an incident that occurred on our first day. We were waiting to get across the road at a zebra crossing and had a few Japanese folk alongside us. The clock read 9:30 pm with barely a soul or vehicle on the road, and in spite of having no signs of oncoming traffic, people refused to budge. You wouldn’t see this in a similar scenario in India, which is why, anything of the sort seems ridiculous to us.

We aren’t accustomed to waiting at a pedestrian signal even in the presence of heavy traffic, let alone no traffic (Our kind of swag).

Lane discipline is a standout feature for traffic in Japan.

PS – I also appreciate their patience. I didn’t hear a single vehicle honk in 10 days. Dear fellow Mumbaikar, take note and stop abusing my ears.

3. Language isn’t necessarily a barrier:

Before our departure, we did go through a few everyday greetings in Japanese on Google Translate. Was that enough? Not really.

Clearly, if you intend to stay in Japan for a few months or even years, it is advisable that you know the language. And remember that you would be doing it for your convenience more than theirs.

A lot of people we came across knew little or no English – now this obviously varies from place to place. (Our first stop, Hamamatsu had a very small number of locals familiar with English, this changed for the better when we arrived in Tokyo)

But even then, the Japanese went out of their ways to help us every single time – and this is unlikely to vary from place to place.

Be it with finding your way around town or looking for an item in a supermarket, you can and will always get help.

We thought we were lost somewhere in Tokyo while looking for a museum. After a while, we asked a local walking by if he knew where the place was. He didn’t understand a word, but asked for the map. We show him the map; he looks around and finds the place, asks us to follow him halfway to the place, points at it, smiles, acknowledges our thank you(s) and walks away.

Food for thought – How often do we go out of our way to help foreign tourists in our country? If behaviours shown in all the “Atithi Devo Bhava” adverts we see on TV were the norm, the adverts would never have to be made in the first place.

4. The Cleanliness:

Statistically, Tokyo is the most crowded city in the world and in spite of that; it’s also one of the cleanest.

If they can do it, I believe Mumbai can too. It’s all about the attitudes of our people. We can always make a conscious decision to not do certain things and abide by it. Problem is, most of us don’t. And when most of us don’t, it also discourages those of us who often want to. The feeling perpetuates and continues to grow. God save us!

PS – Start small. Start with yourself. You never know who’s watching and getting inspired to follow in your footsteps in the process.

5. The Timeliness:

The Japanese aren’t very fond of being late. This is evident at every place from offices to railway stations. Trains arriving on time are the norm here and I am pretty sure this rubs off on the people too.

This country has given the world all it could right from great cars to management principles that have taken a number of companies to world class over the years. It’s no surprise that they’ve made plenty of progress in little time. There’s so much you can learn from the people there, and it’s for everyone to see as they go about their daily lives.

Dilemma

August 22, 2015August 27, 2015 / tvs21292 / Leave a comment

I am not sure if any of you have been through this, but I have over the years and continue to. Man is a social animal and conversations are a significant part of our lives. You might talk about current affairs, sports, your favourite TV series or movie, careers, family issues or relationship concerns. While most of your conversations would obviously be in the company of a friend, colleague or relative, there are some which are limited to the confines of your minds.

You wouldn’t usually declare this to anyone around you at that point in time because it might seem irrelevant or just plain crazy. “You need a shrink” is not even the last thing you want them to tell you.

Everybody talks to themselves about something or the other, sometimes in their minds and sometimes, out loud. If you say you don’t, you’re a liar!

(Still in denial? Let me help you change that. Click here)

In my case, the questioning never stops. It’s not that I am fond of disagreeing with widely accepted norms; but my curiosity always gets the better of me. When someone tells me to do a certain thing a certain way just for the heck of it, they can always expect me to counter question, out loud or otherwise.

I have a great fondness with talking to myself. Especially when I travel, this becomes very obvious. I am always looking around and talking to myself about anything and everything I see. It could be anything – hurling abuses at an idiot causing traffic snarls, ‘reviewing’ a hoarding, pitying a dilapidated building or just my views on a tree by the roadside. I don’t make sense half of the time and that’s okay – because I am the only one who’s ‘listening’ which means no one’s going to judge either.

When it comes to social interactions though, I think and analyze everything I am about to say, perhaps to avoid making a fool of myself. But as it often turns out, it doesn’t work – not for me, at least. People often get frustrated by my lack of conversational participation. Those are situations where they would love to know and hear more of me, but I won’t let them for some stupid fear of appearing to be less than a skilled conversationalist.

I have come to discover that going with the flow can feel a lot better and while I might still make a fool of myself, it could be worth the risk.

Awkward silences have haunted me eternally – those are moments when I am trying to collect myself and utter a few words without any erratic pronunciations resulting from the dread of being murdered for uttering something that could only be regarded as immensely nonsensical. (In other words, I take the proof-reading bit too far) My apologies for all the awkwardness if you have experienced any while I struggled to let out a syllable.

I tend to run out of things to say faster than most people would, and that’s not because I speak too fast.

I tend to contemplate if my utterances would really interest the other person. Now, this will not be the case if I am absolutely, undoubtedly, positively sure that you would be – this applies to formal meetings. I can be great at formal meetings, but the informal ones? well..

(You might read this and wonder why I feel the need to be a designer and not an analyst – for all the knack to be analytic of every single thing).

I also get fascinated by people who can literally talk all day. That must be some talent. Yes, to me, the ability to make small talk is talent.

I’ve tried defining myself as an introvert, only to realize that I wasn’t doing the definition enough justice. Unlike most introverts, I enjoy going out with people and I could spend a lot of time interacting with the lot that has me company so long as we click. But there are times, when I just need to be by myself.

Ambivert might apply, but it’s not something I fancy. I am trying not to give myself a label.

The advent of this blog has been the beginning of an adventure in many ways. A journey of self-discovery, of getting to know myself a lot better along the way while also giving myself something to look forward to each weekend. With each article, I learn to accept myself (quirks included) a wee bit more.

And in a journey of self-discovery and acceptance, if this isn’t success, what is?

Go for glory!

August 16, 2015August 17, 2015 / tvs21292 / Leave a comment

Regardless of whether you are a working professional, are a student or a sportsman, you’re ultimately doing it all for one thing – Glory. That winning feeling or the sense of accomplishment is so addictive, you never want to let go. But life has its own ways – throwing surprises at you all the time. Some of these are pleasant, some not so.

Let’s face it – getting your share of victory takes a good amount of work. And most of us are in for it, at least as long as it looks all easy peasy. The moment things start getting tough, we tend to back off; our inner defences are activated and our default survival mechanism kicks in, telling us not to do it because it’s apparently a threat.
This could apply to any situation that forces you to get out of your comfort zone – to each their own.

Yes, this so-called ‘survival mechanism’ is for real and research says it has been a part of the human instinct ever since our earliest ancestors walked the face of this planet. The fact that it’s still part of our instincts is a bit unfortunate for two reasons:

1. This is the 21st century for God’s sake. Back in the Stone Age, when man didn’t have a permanent home and wandered from one place to another, his survival instincts kept him wary of any approaching predators so that he could protect himself from any imminent threat.

Human life has come a long way since and we are not nomads anymore.

Life’s obstacles are not hungry grizzly bears running at you like it’s lunch time.

2. A bunch of meteorites isn’t about to hit the planet anytime soon.

So take a moment to calm down and free your mind of all the chaos.

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Because a lemur is insisting? Yeah right.

Sportsmen also crave their fix of glory. How often do you see an ambitious batsman trying to hit the ball for a six, only to get out caught? Or a footballer trying to dribble past four defenders, only to be brought down by a well-timed tackle?

Of course, the hunt for glory doesn’t always end in failure. And we deserve to seek the best for ourselves, even if it involves a slight degree of risk.

So don’t judge how things may end, and try taking the leap of faith.
The uncertainty involved gives you a rush of adrenaline. You might succeed or at most fail, but that’s as bad as it gets and you still live another day having learned from the experience.

Many of us look at successful people and feel a sense of awe. They have an aura of greatness to them. What many of us fail to realise though, is that none of them have been overnight successes. Your path to glory has to entail consistent effort.

This TED talk tells you how to NOT achieve your dreams.

Nationalism alert!

Indians around the world are making it big these days – and while that gives me immense pride to be a compatriot, I have also derived a huge amount of inspiration from them. Be it Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, Indra Nooyi or someone else – they have all had to work their way to the top with a lot of effort and patience. So let’s pledge to never give up on our hunt for glory, for it could be just around the corner when all hope seems lost.

So..

Each one of us is on their own journey. They say, the soul is eternal and keeps transcending from one realm to the next. Our time as humans on earth is one of those realms.Make the most of this time to dream, do and achieve. Stop being so afraid of falling short, and even if you do, be sure you know that everyone does at some point.

True glory comes not from never falling, but rising every time you fall.

“And why do we fall? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up.”

Well, couldn’t have skipped that. Batman flicks have taught me so much.

Getting There

August 9, 2015August 9, 2015 / tvs21292 / Leave a comment

Mainstream media and the internet are full of fitspirations these days. Blog articles, fitness pages on social media and numerous TV shows are vying to get fitness mantras and to-dos across to an increasingly impressionable audience mainly comprising of the youth. All of the mayhem can ultimately affect us, no matter how hard we try not to let it.

As a person who considered himself to be of the overweight variety about four months ago, I had to make a conscious decision to get fitter and leaner. I have made some progress since, but I have had my share of hiccups en route to a fitter self over the years. Here’s to all of those..

1. Walk, Jog, Run, Repeat..

As an amateur in the workout world, extensive exercise was my go-to solution. I would do extensive bouts of cardio at every chance I got. I’d cover 8 kilometres a day and still end up doubting if my efforts were paying. Needless to say, they never did.

Don’t be surprised. I was never consistent with my efforts then. I’d run on a Monday, then skip workout for the next 3 days owing to sheer lack of motivation and the supposed “lack of time” that was a product of my imagination.

As a result, I never got ‘results’. (Yes, I am great at puns)

It was only when I decided to buck up did things change bit by bit. Yes, running around parks these days is nothing short of an obstacle course – too many merry makers walking in groups, leaves a small part of the track to joggers.

However, take it or leave it are the only choices you have mate!

2. Green Tea – The Frenemy.

A close friend once suggested green tea as a health drink. It’s supposed to help you lose weight and also detox your body. Sounds good, eh?

The description was impressive. The taste wasn’t.

My first trial with green tea didn’t end well. I actually had to eat a chocolate post that cup of tea to rid my mouth of the horrid taste. (Imagine the irony! A health drink that makes you eat a bar of chocolate)

I have shared a love-hate relationship with it since. I still drink it at times, oft forcefully than willingly.

Just for the record, I have also tried black coffee since and I find it more bearable.

3. Those elusive gym sessions..

Gym memberships that count for nothing were my forte once upon a time. I have had instances when in a three month membership, I have been to the gym for just one.

Giving up too soon, expecting overnight results and not giving your body the time it needs can have adverse effects (on your health as well as your state of mind).

As of now, not thinking too far into the future and taking those gym sessions one at a time seems to be working well.

4. To eat or not to eat?

Trying to regulate your eating habits can be an uphill task when you’ve just started off.

There are times when I am good at it. More often than not though, I tend to give in to my temptations and wallow in regret soon after. The guilt however, lasts only for five minutes.

No matter how strict my diet plans are, you can always serve me a scoop of frozen dessert and watch me go weak in the knees.

Ice cream wins on most days and might well continue to.

5. Clothing crisis..

The sad bit about losing those extra pounds – too many oversized pieces of clothing in your wardrobe.

They can make you look like anything from a sumo wrestler to a hippie.

The solution – Gain all the flab you have lost in the form of muscle and voila! They’re perfect again.

I hope to get there, eventually.

#MustKeepWorking

6. Desperation

Unlike Bruce Wayne, I have tasted desperate. There was a point in time when, if someone had told me that walking upside down all day helps you lose weight, I would probably have done that.

7. YouTube Videos

Before I had my gym membership, I depended on YouTube to train me on my way to fitness.

Before you undermine this idea, let me tell you that YouTube has a decent collection of channels dedicated to fitness – I chose one that focused on bodyweight training.

This one

I was all pumped up and ready to go when I saw these videos. They had exercises for every muscle group.

It was only after I started doing these exercises, did I realise, that I was running out of breath halfway through those sessions. Just 15 minutes into those workouts, (with plenty of resting between sets) I would be huffing and puffing as if I had done a full blown tabata session – I was wishing I could head out to the market and buy myself some stamina. (If only that could actually happen)

The road to a fitter version of you is one laden with challenges at every step. However, I believe that determination and dedication along with a spoonful of consistency can get you there. Diet plans might crash, you might inevitably miss your workout on some days and on some others, dragging yourself out of the cosiness of your bed might be a challenge in itself.

Ask yourself, is giving up even a choice?

This guy \m/

If you do find an answer and an easier way out, let me know please.

An Obsession With Uncertainty.

August 1, 2015August 1, 2015 / tvs21292 / Leave a comment

Life be like.

Unless you are a psychic/ astrologer/ somewhere close to being a god-man/woman, chances are, your life is full of uncertainty. You can always hope things turn out a certain way, but you can never be sure. This is the story of our lives. No matter how far you’ve come or how confident you are, you are always a tad unsure about how life would turn out – “Will I get to work on time?, Will I miss the train?, Will I pass my exams?, Will I beat those deadlines?, Will I? Won’t I?”

It’s this sense of uncertainty that keeps us on our toes all the time. It’s responsible for keeping us focused on the task at hand while also adding a sense of urgency to it.

Imagine living a life full of certainty. Knowing everything before it happens – with no traces of suspense and no mark of the unknown. Life then would be mundaneness in all its glory. You would have nothing to look forward to, no anxiety attacks and those tinges of nervousness before any significant task would be non-existent entities.

How exciting no? And unimaginably boring too..

Uncertainty makes our lives interesting. Admit it, losing all your nails during a game of football, cricket, tennis or whatever other sport you’re into has never left you wallowing in regret – unless of course, your team lost on the day. Even then, a close loss wouldn’t leave you feeling as bad as a comprehensive loss would. Interestingly, post a close encounter like one of those games, you would likely still be full of praises for your team because they supposedly put their best foot forward.