Tolerance is not same as temperature

Tolerance is not same as temperature – there is no ready, reliable or consistent measurement for it. This immeasurability, and consequent subjectivity is central to the current debate surrounding the issue. One of the most eminent and successful Bollywood star made a public remark that sparked a wildfire among Indian Internet users and like many such debates on internet – this one too seems to be going down a rat hole.

In paragraphs that follow, there is an attempt to view this episode from a slightly different perspective.

Tolerance is very contextual, for example our tolerance to hot water while taking shower is different during different seasons. Similarly, in a society there are bound to be times when public opinion could be more tolerant than other times.  Not only with respect to time, public opinion also changes based on subjects, themes, circumstances and backdrops – it is possible that a society has more tolerance towards love marriages than same sex marriages.

Tolerance is also an evolving phenomenon – and many factors shape it continuously. A classic example of this is changing tolerance levels for issues like climate change and corruption – with increased awareness of energy crisis, our tolerance to problems effecting environment reduces, similarly as people become more aware of their own rights, their tolerance to corruption also reduces. Both these examples are, of course a welcome change. A point to note here is that by itself, reduction or increase in tolerance level cannot be an indicative of type, it has to be placed in context of subject – one at a time.  Direct verdict of either tolerant or intolerant is akin to saying someone scored 100/100 - but not knowing in which subject/field. J

Besides being contextual and evolving, tolerance is also impacted by resources available at hand. For example, if the domestic help becomes extremely costly from tomorrow – then certain outsourced chores may have to either done on one’s own or ignored – in both cases, cleanliness and orderliness of household chores may reduce – and tolerance for that will need to be increased or adjusted. J

If one were to look at an example of national level, it can be said that for a developing nation if literacy holds higher priority than space research – then tolerance towards illiteracy should be lower as compared to tolerance towards moderate or low advancement in space research. And as country’s demographics change, objectives evolve these priorities may undergo changes too.

Now that we know above points on tolerance, it makes sense to check the environment in light of these points with reference to India

1.        What are the areas where we, as a country have shown volatile approach with respect to tolerance? – besides our tolerance of Indian cricket team which changes in direct correlation with their wins/losses
2.        What are the areas where tolerance has evolved over last few years, may be generations. What are the things that our parents had to do with permission from their parents but we do it today at our free-will?
3.        What are the areas where tolerance level of society directly impacts our daily life, how much the corruption in road construction impact the price of milk we buy everyday? Are the priorities of our nation in right order – if something pressing is missing, we may want to enquire and re-align.

The fact that we are a vibrant and fully functioning democracy, is itself the biggest achievement of overall tolerance, ability to debate, reason and argue. We must treasure, protect and enhance it. Think on above three points and share your thoughts with friends,relatives and me. 

As for Aamir Khan, the expression of his spouse is not a very well-thought I believe, it is similar to an exhausted, tired and a little bit resigned feeling we all get on soupy Sunday afternoons where we think that perhaps going to some other place might be the answer to all questions we are grappling with. As almost everyone knows, going somewhere else is never an answer. In hindsight, perhaps it could be said/interpreted and circulated a bit more maturity.

And still, let’s, for a moment, suppose Aamir really wanted to leave – then let’s be sport and suggest some good countries, rather than vehement and childish demands of sending him to specific troubled countries. J

My suggestion would be Bhutan, What’s yours? 

Teaching- learning and the purpose of participation

Couple of years back when I was in the final year of my graduation, I got a call from the principal of the support school where I used to teach to the economically underprivileged kids, saying that there was a debate competition and he was thinking if the students can participate in it.

I told him instantly that of course students should participate, and also told him names of couple of students who were more articulate and talkative in class.

He paused a bit, and then continued, “The language allowed for debate is English.”

I went blank when I heard this. Since I was their English teacher, I knew that their comfort level with language was nowhere close to that of taking part in debate in English. However, I asked him what the topic was. “Corruption is for the rich, it does not affect the poor much” was the topic. “Students are supposed to participate in a team of two, one for the topic and another against it.

Without worrying of how students would react to it, I thought to take a chance. That evening when I went for my class I put forward this topic to them in Gujarati, asked them to think if they could take any side. Fortunately, they thought, not only did they think but they could also put the arguments in a decent manner. Next, I helped them with some words in English and asked them to speak in English. This was way too much to expect though!!

Since I also had my CAT exam that year, I used to meet them only once a week, so we hardly got a chance to practice twice before the final event, and in both the times they could speak in Gujarati but did poorly in English.

However, it was very clear to me and to them also that our purpose was not to win, we just wanted to see something new, calibrate ourselves, and experience something we never did before.

Some days later, I heard that out of two students who had participated in the event, both could put their point across – in half English half Gujarati- speech in front of a crowd of more than hundred people.

There was a temptation in my mind to prepare a whole speech for the students, and just asking them to mug it up and vomit it out at the competition; however it was only good not to surrender to that. That was the happiest day of my short teaching career as students had learned to think, and express on their own, their opinions were truly their own!!

Today when I look back at this event, I reconfirm the fact upon my mind that the sole purpose of participating in any event or competition is not to win it or see it as an opportunity to add a feather to your successes, but it is an opportunity to do, think, see, feel, something newer which one would have never had if one had not participated.

At times in this race, one tends to put away these important learnings, and focus more on immediate outcomes, however being reminded of the true purpose is always a great thing.

The thing that is common in BEER and Education!!!!

Two years back there was a guest lecture by Dr. Tom, an international marketing expert, (an ex McKenzie employee) who worked for a famous beer manufacturing company. While mentioning about their operations in India he told that in India their biggest challenge was to ask people to drink but without getting drunk. Reflecting on this sentence one realizes that the challenge probably lies in customer education and in driving the customer demands properly. In short, in teaching the consumer what they should demand. Demand is inherently seen as a phenomenon largely decided and dominated by the consumers but here it seems that the product is such that consumers need to be taught as to how their demands should be.

In the same lecture we had also discussed that education sector in India is in abysmal state. Interestingly this follows a very close similarity with the problem in beer marketing discussed above. Not that as a product beer and education has any similarities, nor do students wish to have more and more of it!! (Education being no exception to the rule of Diminishing marginal utility for majority of the people!) Then what is the similarity? Smart readers will have definitely figured out, but let me help you in case you did not get it.

Education in our country is always considered as a mean to some attainments. For most of us the reason why we study something is attached to the fact that where would that education place us. (How much money is there in it?) This is a problem not only limited to the higher education, primary, secondary and higher secondary education’s situation is even worse. Parents while choosing school for their children look how much percentage the students of the particular school have got, while this is certainly something one should consider but there are lot many things that should be (must be) considered while selecting a school. Development of a child as a person being the most important of all is thoroughly neglected.

The problem does not stop here, it begins from here. Parents and students do not know exactly what should their demands be. A student can, no doubt, demand best pedagogic techniques however that may not at all correspond with his best result. Since there is ignorance among the consumers regarding their demands, they are buying everything and anything that is offered. Starting from K.G. Nursery or pre-schools which claim to turn one’s child into MSD or Sachin or Shahrukh (or Amir) or Sania Mirza to bogus personality development institute or training institute which offer 100% placement guarantee with a small, almost invisible asterisk of course!

All this needs to be thrown away! These businesses are perhaps good for making money right now but I am sure, as the market will become mature and more and more educated, learned as to what to demand; only those institutes will survive which offer actual benefits and not illusory promises.

It is a task ahead of us to come up with ways with which we can train customers so that they demand what they rightly need. Research in the area of teaching consumers may prove very useful in time to come.

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There is something more to life than, water bottles!!!!!

48 degree temperature, 2’o clock in the afternoon, the sun is scorching, blazing and the heat is anything but bearable.

There is a tall multi-storey building being built at one of the prime locations of Ahmedabad. In that locality there is an office where a friend goes to work.

On one afternoon when he was going to the office, he saw a boy. The boy was barely 6 to 7 years old. The boy was carrying water for her mother who was working as a labour in the building that was being constructed.

My friend thought that it was too much of a load for the kid to carry two big water bottles at a time, hence he tried to help him saying “let me take one for you” the boy started crying. It was only later that my friend realized that the boy was crying because usually people used to snatch away the water bottles brought by the kid.

He further noticed that people even did not allow that boy to use a lift. So much courteous behaviour towards a kid in a compound of such corporate area!!!!

He could not stand this; he took the boy assuring him that he would safely take him up to his mom. He went into the lift. Some people scorned at him for bringing in a dirty looking kid in their neat lift. Nobody spoke anything though, while getting out, my friend broke the silence “he should know that there is something more to life than just saving one’s water bottles from goons”!!!

[1] Based on a true story, shared by a friend working as a tax consultant at big firm

TOGETHERNESS

Togetherness

Alone I can't change the world
Alone I can't find my way
Alone I can't be remembered
Alone I can't build an empire
Alone I can't be admired
Alone I can't end hunger
Alone I can't be the best man I can be
But together we can.

-Kholekile Monakal

The present article borrows the last words of the poem, “together we can”; and explores the importance of togetherness in the various events and learning of our lives. We would also try and isolate a few important things that may help us fare well when we work together.

Presentations! This exercise of our college is the best way to learn the importance of togetherness. Some of the readers already know that, while what you do individually is important but it is also important that the whole group works well. Often it seems difficult to find right coordination in the beginning when so many strangers are put to work on a common goal. Gradually as the time passes those strangers become friends and that is the time when the goal of the exercise is nearly served! Someone does the editing of all the slides, some searches for matter, some formats the slides, some arranges for speakers, some keeps the time of the whole presentation and some tries to think of intelligent answers to possible questions, when all the things work in this synchronized manner the learning and the quality of the presentations are at their sublime. (Best)

Working together would be perhaps all the more important when we finish our education and enter a job or business or any other work for that matter. The very basis of modern day business lies in the division of labour. And ability to work in a team comprising different people is a precondition to the successful division of labour.

Tempted to take the idea of “togetherness” a step higher, I would like to ask you a question. Do you think that any large scale movement, such as our freedom struggle or end of Apartheid or movements to reduce carbon footprints can ever be a success if millions of people were not to be together?

Same way the problems of the present time like terrorism, global warming, economic recession and dire disparity in distribution of resources will also not end unless we all come together to address them.

In all of the above examples the common thing is that people have united or will hopefully unite to achieve an objective. Unity may not always be easy to attain, but I am sure that effort to attain some of the following things will help us stay together on many important missions in time to come.

o Courage and compassion to support others

o Ability to sacrifice personal interest toward the general interest

o Understanding of the bigger picture

o Tolerance towards different opinions

o Commitment to the objective

Just as there are many problems in the world, there are many possible solutions as well. However in all those possible solutions we need to put the integrated effort. Clearly, in future the ability to work together will determine the quality of our lives. I am committed take the quality of our lives on a higher plain. Are you?

Three more balls to go.......

While as a middle order batsman I was in a habit of asking to the umpire, balls to go in the over whenever I went to bat. That habit is still with me, it just gives one a chance to assess how much has gone by and how much is yet to come.

While applying that to the present state of affairs in life, I found that now only three balls are left. Yes, half of my post graduation is over, a year later lot of things will be expected of me, by myself and by others. Just as in cricket, in life too last few overs play an important role. They can swing the game in either ways.

No wonder, there is an unnerving feeling in mind, however there are some things worth noting for the first half of this terminal over!

First, and foremost, I am still not out. Despite lot of hue and cry, losing faith at times, brooding over hits and misses, I am still on the crease. Firmly grounded. Anyone who has done MBA knows this as a fact of life.

Second, I have had my share of bouncers and beamers from the bowlers! This includes all the rough experiences that you think will never have an ending. From friends who never did their part of assignment in time to some truly malicious ones trying various machinations, they too have taught a lot. Crisis management is also another important thing I have learnt in the first half!

Third and most important of all has been the fact that just as in cricket, here too, I have had some brilliant team players to support me, guide me, correct me and encourage me. Be it a pat from the captain or a comment by a comrade to improve, all of it has and will go a long way to build a healthy partnership and post a huge total!!! This team spirit also has another advantage that seldom comes to our notice in day to day life; it is that it helps us being better individual in every sphere of life. Not only does it help by improving the communication with and understanding of others but it also allows us to give and earn respect among people who we value

I do not know the result of this game, nor do I dare to speculate or gamble. All I can say is, playing has been enthralling experience till now. And I hope it will have a befitting ending too.