Tuesday 30 December 2014

Apostle of Peace

Born and died in India
yet left his mark
on nations  many
South Africa, America
Myanmar & many more...

Many free thinkers inspired
by this nonviolent Mahatma
his methods impacting work
of King, Mandela, Suukyi..

A lot of the teachings of apostle
trace back to the land of birth
the cradle of spirituality
where blossomed Gurus like
Ramakrishna, Ramana, Sree narayana..

Time overdue to reaffirm & declare
 the great message-
"Vasudeva kutumbakam"
a single global family..

Time long overdue
for the world to pay heed
to the words of the apostle
the apostle of peace!

PS: This poem was written on the focal theme "Vasdeva Kutumbakam" and recited by me at the Kafla International's 10th international writers festival, India held on 27-28 Dec 2014 in Thiruvananthapuram

Deep Down

Deep down, we are all the same
no matter what the differences
in skin- brown, white, black, off white
deep down we are all the same!

Deep down. we all want the same things..
love, respect, caring
a smile, a pat
yes, deep down humans globally
want the same things!

Deep down, a man
can never be happy
when a brother is starving
striving,grieving in another
part of the world

Deep down for individual happiness
 we need at  global level
happiness, health, wellbeing.....
smiles  on the face of man
And  mankind!

PS: This poem was written on the focal theme "Vasdeva Kutumbakam" of the Kafla International's 10th international writers festival, India

Sunday 21 December 2014

PK- Tribute to a movie

So much happiness
so much joy
watching this movie- PK
under the baton
of the Munnabhai captain-
the trusted & reliable Hirani-
Rajkumar Hirani!

Giggles and  chuckles
peals of laughter
escaped my body
merged with others
creating a roar
in the audi galore!

Satire and humour
the deadly combine
to poke fun
at Earthlings
who h've long lost
their nature-true nature
to God & God men!

They now fight, kill
and rob- all in the
name of their God & religion!

Amir to Saurabh
hero to villain
all actors play roles
 perfect to the T !

Kudos to the team
the entire team
full marks to them
for this beautiful film!

Wednesday 17 December 2014

Mind

The vagaries of the mind-
difficult to fathom
flits in seconds from
one thought to another

Some thoughts positive
often times negative
presuming, assuming
and second guessing

Assigning motives
to happenings, incidents..
many why & what questions-
why he/she didn't smile at me?
acknowledge me...
perhaps didn't like
something I'd done ?
what could this mean to me..
our future transactions?

Said a wise one
" I am an old man and
  I have h'd many worries
many of which never happened!
 

Wednesday 10 December 2014

Art of Acceptance

Fishing for compliments
like a plant in a desert
yet not knowing
what to do with it
when it comes...

" The cooking was great today!"
" Oh really ???, hardly paid any attention.."
"Wonderful shirt you are wearing!"
"Oh this?, an old one that I fished out.."
"Great job, well done"
"I did as usual, nothing special..."

With responses like these
what can be expected?
How many times
will a hand be offered
if not accepted in a handshake..

And when they stop coming
eventually they will
you are upset and complain
nobody cares for me
nobody values me!

Tuesday 9 December 2014

KSS on the Occasion of World Diabetes day

On the occasion of the world diabetes day, our chief medical officer Dr Kumaran offered to do a knowledge sharing session on the "Diabetes Awareness & Education". World Diabetes Day (WDD) is observed every year on November 14 and  the campaign is led by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and its member associations. It engages millions of people worldwide in diabetes advocacy and awareness.

We in the learning & development department jumped at the offer of the  CMO, given the fact that  one cannot know too much about a disease that is constantly growing and affecting all  sections of the population without any bias of age, sex or colour! Dr Kumaran described  diabetes as  a chronic  disease that "follows you like a shadow". He revealed that  by the year 2025,  six crore Indians are expected to be in the grip of this disease! Yet,with proper education & awareness one can lead a long life without complications.

Normally, in a talk of this nature many people may  assume that they already know most of what is required to be known about the disease as it is often discussed under the life style diseases along with hyper tension and obesity. Yet Dr Kumaran's presentation was not only informative but fine tuned for the audience - employees working in an Indian manufacturing industry. After the talk, there was opportunity for interaction & clarification by the audience.

At the outset, doctor  explained that diabetes is caused due to either the pancreas not producing enough insulin or the cells of the body not responding properly to the insulin produced. There are three main types of diabetes mellitus:
  • Type 1 DM results from the body's failure to produce enough insulin. This form was previously referred to as "insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus" (IDDM) or "juvenile diabetes". The cause is unknown.
  • Type 2 DM begins with insulin resistance, a condition in which cells fail to respond to insulin properly. As the disease progresses a lack of insulin may also develop. This form was previously referred to as "non insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus" (NIDDM) or "adult-onset diabetes". The primary cause is excessive body weight and not enough exercise.
  • Gestational diabetes, is the third main form and occurs when pregnant women without a previous history of diabetes develop a high blood glucose level
Prevention and treatment involves a healthy diet, physical exercise, not using tobacco and maintaining   a normal body weight. Blood pressure control and proper foot care are also important for people with the disease. In this connection the doctor advised  weight control, restricting the  BMI to 23- 24 ( Normal is 18-25, over weight- 26 to 30, obese 30 to 39 and  a BMI of more than 40 being classified as morbid obesity ) . He also warned that a waist line of more than 40 inches is dangerous.  Apple obesity ie obesity above the waste is a matter of concern as against pear obesity( below the waste).According to him an increased waist line denotes  a decreased life line.

Dr Kumaran underscored the importance of education in arresting diabetes and opined that each patient or potential patient should assume the role of a medical student .  With respect to diet & nutrition, he suggested that 50% of a meal consist of vegetables ( 5 varieties of rainbow coloured vegetables that include yellow,orange,green & purple colours), 25% carbohydrates and 25% protiens.He advised to consume more of fibre based food to reduce the absorption of sugar and to restrict oil consumption to three spoons per day.Although olive oil is the best, it is advisable to consume a mix of different oils to get maximum benefits over a period.  In this connection, I liked the novel suggestions given by him for modifying the food regularly used by us, instead of advising some fancy food from abroad  viz  adding vegetables & pulses to your dosas, adding to your rotis various types of dhals/pulses, adding tomato & vegetables to  Samba wheat upuma and preferring vegetable chutneys to coconut or peanut chutneys.He suggested taking food in smaller quantity more number of times( morning,mid morn, Noon, Evening, night and bed time (milk,marie bicuits).

75%  of  dealing with diabetes rests with the patient. Apart from the focus on what one eats, attention should be given to the following:-
  • Regular exercise of 45 minutes per day that includes stretch exercise, aerobic (walking, jogging,swimming) and anaerobic (weights)  exercises.
  • Regular health check ups -once in three months to check  blood sugar viz fasting, post food consumption(PP) and HBA1c (an average in 3 month period). For diabetic patients, the fasting levels should be within 100 and 126, PP between 140 and 160  and a HBA1c of below 7%.
  • Checking blood pressure periodically (120/80  is normal) as also cholesterol( total cholesterol < 200)
  • An eye check up at least once in a year (17-18 maximum eye pressure)
  • visit to dentist once a month
  • Brushing teeth with fluoride tooth paste twice a day
  • Dental floss instead of using tooth pick
  • kidney function check once in six months
  • Avoid tobacco- A single cigarette is known to contain 7000 chemicals!
  • Keep the feet as clean as your face to avoid possibility of any infection entering
  • Not cut the toe nails too deep
  • Wear comfortable foot wear- Micro cellular (MCR) sandals with buckle
  • Tread mill check  once in a year (by pass surgery would be required if  block in  3 vessels)
  • Drink 5 litres of water per day
  • Sleep 7 to 8 hours a day.
  • Practice yoga & meditation
  • Carry an ID card with you indicating the diabetic condition
Dr Kumaran concluded the session reminding the participants that  accepting responsibility & following the tips as above, can keep the five dreaded Pathys at bay ( Cardiomyopathy affecting heart, neuropathy affecting nerves, retinopathy affecting the eye, nephropathy affecting kidneys & dermopathy, affecting skin). He suggested utilizing the services of a comprehensive diabetic clinic so that all aspects of diabetes are addressed at a single window.The guidelines also ensure the health of your feet,teeth & other parts of the body which can be adversely affected  by uncontrolled diabetes.With that, it was curtains for a very informative & enlightening session and all the participants joined learning & Development in thanking the speaker for the kind and timely gesture!
 

Wednesday 3 December 2014

Interview- Author's Lounge


Dear Readers

I  have been sharing the posts of all my three blogs ( www.hrdian.blogspot.in, www.corporatepoem.blogspot.in and www.rajeevianlinesandverses.blogspot.in)  in  "rate my literature.com"(RML) , a site devoted to featuring the writing of amateurs.

 Ms Padmaja  Iyengar (who along with her son Etentacles administers the site), interviewed me for her monthly feature"Author's Lounge which traces the writing journey of various writers who regularly contribute to RML.With her permission, I am sharing the link for your perusal..

http://www.ratemyliterature.com/magazine/read/authors-lounge--in-conversation-with-paddy--mn-rajeev-aka-rajeev_5586.html  ( presently this  site is down for maintenance)


Authors’ Lounge – In conversation with Paddy – M.N. Rajeev a.k.a. Rajeev Moothedath

 M.N. Rajeev (a.k.a. Rajeev Moothedath) is one of those rare persons who straddles a high profile corporate career and his passion for writing with equal ease. It is not every day that you see a busy corporate professional making time to read and appreciate amateur writers. Well, Rajeev does that and how well too! He reads all the blogs on RML and posts his well-considered feedback.

Rajeev deftly manages to write sensitive poetry and interesting HR-based articles with equal dexterity. His presentation of highly complex HR issues in simple terms that is understood even by a layman, speaks volumes of his writing and presentation skills. While in corporate parlance HRM refers to Human Resource Management, according to me, Rajeev is a double HRM specialist – Human Resource Management and Human Relations Management, concepts of which come across so well in his writes. Rajeev’s documentation skills too are noteworthy. He has shared on RML the details of many a corporate program that he has attended, of which he had apparently maintained meticulous notes to be recalled and presented as articles of great value to the reader.
                                                                                               
It would interest you all to know that he holds a key position in a leading automobile MNC in Chennai and is also a member of the Chennai Poets’ Circle.

Come, let’s discover together other facets of Rajeev’s career and personality!


1.  1  Hi Rajeev! Greetings from RML! And a warm welcome to the Authors’ Lounge! Please share something of your background and early life with us.

 Greetings to you Paddy and the RML fraternity .It is indeed a pleasure and privilege to be interviewed by you and to be featured in Authors’ Lounge.

 I was born in Ernakulam, Kerala and had my schooling in Kendriya vidyalaya Ernakulam. I feel it is my school that shaped my personality to a great extent as there was a lot of focus on co-curricular activities and not just on studies. This gave me the opportunity to participate in essay writing, debates, singing and acting in dramas. We were encouraged to read news during the morning assembly. We also had a good library from where we could borrow books and read magazines & journals.

Those days we were required to choose electives of study right from high school. I chose Economics, history & English Literature. This meant being exposed to Shakespeare’s Julius Ceaser, Thomas Hardy’s novel “Far from the madding crowd” and also to poetry of poets like Shelley, Keats, Thomas Gray, Alfred Lord Tennyson and others.

After schooling, I did graduation in economics and post-graduation in social work with specialization in personnel management (as HR was then called) from the reputed Madras School of social work. This opened the door to the corporate world and I joined as a management trainee in Visvesvaraya Iron & steel Ltd Bhadravati, Karnataka.  Later, I got LLB degree from Mysore University. Since then I have been working in the HR function in both the public & private sector companies. Presently I am the HOD of learning & development (training) department in an auto major MNC operating out of Chennai.


2.  2  Wow! a great start in life and an upwardly mobile professional career! Amidst all this, when and how did the writing bug bite you?


It is an interesting question. In view of the creative climate at school, I started writing when I was around twelve years. The first poem was shown to the class teacher who had edited it so much that it only vaguely resembled what I had originally written! Later when I was in class X, I send a poem to Indian Express. Those days we did not have separate children’s corner in newspapers. I received a regret reply stating that my writing showed promise but that I need to keep on writing to improve. Although, no publishing happened, I continued to write in a note book which I called “A book of hobby” that now included short stories as well .Our school had a competition for bringing out manuscript class magazines every year to which I regularly contributed. Later I contributed to the college magazines.

After starting work, the “Book of hobby had less and less entries. A poem would come on first wedding anniversary and another at the time of the birth of first child. The priorities had shifted unconsciously. During this period all writing skills were limited to office correspondence for which there was fair scope as I was then working in public sector.

Sometime around the year 2000, I developed an interest in writing articles on the corporate life, its priorities and challenges. Some of them were published in the management section- Avenues’ of the Deccan Herald,    leading newspaper from Bangalore. National Institute of Personnel Management, Mysore Chapter also published my articles in their annual magazines.

It was in September 2012 that I decided to write a blog on HR matters. After I had written a few posts, someone suggested that I make it available on Indi blogger for better readership. This proved true But more importantly, it exposed me to creative writing in the form of poetry, short stories etc which prompted me to resume poetry writing and start a separate blog for nonprofessional writing, touching on  general subjects. I also started a blog exclusively for corporate poems. Later another noble soul introduced me to RML and the warmth I received here was an inspiration to keep writing. Today, if I have been able to post more than 90 blogs it is on account of encouraging readers.
  
3.  3  That’s interesting! What is the difference you find when you write a profession-related piece and a literary piece like poetry? And which according to you is more difficult?

The spark is the same whether I am writing a professional article or creative poetry. It is just that a lot more time needs to be spent on the article as it tends to be longer. For me, a quicker output is possible when writing poetry. But the satisfaction one derives on completing either of the forms is the same.

4.    4 Here on RML, we have had the privilege of reading a good number of your professional HR based articles. Do you believe that the principles you speak of, can be applied to our day to day life too? If so how?

You may have noticed that most of my articles are related to the basic human nature like practicing core values, power of appreciation, civility in behaviour and power of storytelling to drive home a point. These can be applied with benefit as much in our personal lives as in a professional environment. As for example expressing appreciation & thanks to your wife for her wonderful cooking would make her happy as would an appreciated employee for work well done.

Disclosing more about yourself & seeking feedback from others (Johari window) will enhance trust whether at home or at work.

5   5  I for one know that you are a very committed and passionate corporate trainer. What motivated you to take up training? And how did you hone your training skills?

In the initial stage of my career I had the good fortune of being selected for a “Train the trainer” program. 21 of us got trained and were expected to train the remaining 520 executives of the company. This assignment was in addition to our regular work. I found myself enjoying this activity. Later, I volunteered for similar OD initiatives. One’s skill, confidence and comfort levels tend to go up over a period of time. I also got the opportunity to see many trainers at close quarters and appreciate the varying styles & its impact on the participants


6   6 How do you manage to divide time between your family, profession and writing? How do you prioritize?

Today, the children having grown up (both sons are working), do not demand much time. On the contrary, we have to demand time from them which they may prefer to spend with peers & friends!

Writing is mostly done in a few lines or para when I get the time & inspiration. When it adds up to a whole article, I publish in the blog/RML.
As ideas come to mind, I note them down in a small book to be developed later.

7   7  Do you read a lot? What kind of writing appeals to you? Who are your favourite writers?

I used to read a lot more than what I am doing presently. The interest & taste in the nature of books have also changed over the years. Enid Blyton books as a child, then P.G.Wodehouse, James Hadley Chase Erle Stanley Gardner (Perry Mason), Agatha Christie and Harold Robins. Over a period, the interest in fiction dwindled and I got drawn to books of Dale Carnegie, Norman Vincent Peale, Deepak Chopra, Wayne  Dyer, Brian Weiss(Many Lives, many masters), Louise Hay(You can heal your life),Dr Bernie Siegel(Love, Medicine, Miracles), Anita Moorjani(Dying to be me)  and James Redfield (Celestine Prophesy).

Simultaneously the books of management authors like Moid Siddiqui, Edward de Bono, Spencer Johnson, Dr Marshall Goldsmith. Kennath.H.Blanchard and others also interested me. I also read books on spirituality (Eckhart Tolle- Power of Now, Publications of Osho / Ramakrishna mission/ Ramana Maharshi/Brahmakumaris)

  8. What is your message to all the young writers out there, who are passionate about writing, but are caught up in their professional preoccupations and family pressures and commitments?


I only have a simple message for all the bright, talented youngsters who have an interest & flair for writing and are also working. Do not let what happened to me, happen to you.The profession should not put a break to your creative pursuits. Keep writing a few lines every day and before you know it, you would have a substantial body of work in writing over the years. The wonderful internet is today available to you. Therefore publishing & readership is not a problem. So make the most of it!