Each name has a history or at least a story. I want to tell here how both my children were named.
My first born is son. Me and my husband decided to name him after a great Indian king. We short listed few names - Ashoka, Kanishka, Vikramaditya, Harshavardhan, Rajendra ( of Chola dynasty ) and Rajaraja ( also a chola king). Kanishka was straightaway rejected as there was an ill fated aircraft by this name which crashed killing all passengers on board. Asoka and Rajendra have become so common that they no longer remind of the original kings. Rajaraja did not sound very impressive. So, we were left with two choices both equally appealing as far as virtuosity of the kings go. What tilted the scales in favour of Harshavardhan was the literal meaning of the name - one who increases the joy and the relative ease with which the name can be pronounced. So, our son was named Harshavardhan.
Naming the daughter was pretty simple. Before marriage itself, my husband told me, " if and when we have a daughter, she shall be named Rajeshwari (after his sister)". So when after much wishing and prayers, our daughter was born, she was promptly named Rajeshwari amidst mild protests from my sister in law.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Friday, November 4, 2011
Walking to fitness!!!
These days, lot of people talk about staying fit. I also seem to belong to that crowd. But wait, I was not like this always. Long years ago, I used to be a very studious, bespectacled person ( I still wear spectacles !). Then one day, unexpectedly, I joined IPS. Things have never been the same after that!!
Needless to say, there was an overdose of outdoor activities during training. I was surprised to find that I could do all the activities quite well. I, who never ran even 100 mts, was now running 8 kms ( though with some effort and few pauses). Infact, running was the only activity I found difficult- several others such as horse riding, route marching, trekking, rock climbing and last but not the least , shooting- I enjoyed and did quite well!
Well, the training got over but the desire to stay fit continued. First I tried my luck with running as my husband is an avid runner. Since it never was my forte, I soon gave up and settled down to simple walking. I am sticking to it ever since. Not a day passes without me going for a walk. To say that my day is organized around my walking will not be an exaggeration.
These days, out of laziness, I have been walking in the evenings. There was a time nearly 10 years ago, when I and my husband used to be at Chennai Marina beach by 530 am - I for my 5 km walk and he for his jog. Walking on the beach early morning was a lovely experience. Many a times, I felt that I owned that beautiful beach.
However, with the birth of my daughter, I provided myself with good excuses for not getting up early in the morning and tried various other schedules. While posted in Coimbatore, I loved walking on the race course, sometimes in the morning but mostly in the evening. Coming back to Chennai, I started going to a nearby park as the traffic near the beach road increased intolerably.
I feel compelled to go out for walk in the evenings. It connects me with my surroundings and nature.. I find the walk relaxing and invigorating at the same time. The regular rhythm of walking soothes the mind and stimulates thought process. Solutions emerge automatically of pressing problems. Thoughts get sorted out in a way. I also make use of the time to talk to my family members and friends. Walking has become a kind of passion, so much so that if I am not able to walk for more than a day, I feel I would go crazy...
From my experience, I can say that all it requires to stay fit is a pair of walking shoes and some road to hit. We can walk to fitness and get the thoughts organized - for free !!!
Needless to say, there was an overdose of outdoor activities during training. I was surprised to find that I could do all the activities quite well. I, who never ran even 100 mts, was now running 8 kms ( though with some effort and few pauses). Infact, running was the only activity I found difficult- several others such as horse riding, route marching, trekking, rock climbing and last but not the least , shooting- I enjoyed and did quite well!
Well, the training got over but the desire to stay fit continued. First I tried my luck with running as my husband is an avid runner. Since it never was my forte, I soon gave up and settled down to simple walking. I am sticking to it ever since. Not a day passes without me going for a walk. To say that my day is organized around my walking will not be an exaggeration.
These days, out of laziness, I have been walking in the evenings. There was a time nearly 10 years ago, when I and my husband used to be at Chennai Marina beach by 530 am - I for my 5 km walk and he for his jog. Walking on the beach early morning was a lovely experience. Many a times, I felt that I owned that beautiful beach.
However, with the birth of my daughter, I provided myself with good excuses for not getting up early in the morning and tried various other schedules. While posted in Coimbatore, I loved walking on the race course, sometimes in the morning but mostly in the evening. Coming back to Chennai, I started going to a nearby park as the traffic near the beach road increased intolerably.
I feel compelled to go out for walk in the evenings. It connects me with my surroundings and nature.. I find the walk relaxing and invigorating at the same time. The regular rhythm of walking soothes the mind and stimulates thought process. Solutions emerge automatically of pressing problems. Thoughts get sorted out in a way. I also make use of the time to talk to my family members and friends. Walking has become a kind of passion, so much so that if I am not able to walk for more than a day, I feel I would go crazy...
From my experience, I can say that all it requires to stay fit is a pair of walking shoes and some road to hit. We can walk to fitness and get the thoughts organized - for free !!!
Friday, October 28, 2011
There is certain charm about...
There is certain charm about...
Standing on your own feet
Even if the platform you could reach
Is of lesser height...
Facing difficulties with dignity, and
Not minding loss/harrassment for a cause...
Living a frugal life...
Loving someone wholeheartedly
And not trying to possess him...
Putting your best into the work
And not bothering about recognition...
Living life fully, and
Quitting quietly
When the call comes...
Standing on your own feet
Even if the platform you could reach
Is of lesser height...
Facing difficulties with dignity, and
Not minding loss/harrassment for a cause...
Living a frugal life...
Loving someone wholeheartedly
And not trying to possess him...
Putting your best into the work
And not bothering about recognition...
Living life fully, and
Quitting quietly
When the call comes...
Monday, February 14, 2011
Choice
I choose love over hatred
I choose faith over doubt
I choose clarity over confusion
I choose positive over negative...
I choose to make my own destiny...
I choose faith over doubt
I choose clarity over confusion
I choose positive over negative...
I choose to make my own destiny...
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Beauty
Every woman is beautiful in her own right. With a good heart and cheerful disposition, she exudes beauty no matter what her external features are.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
This is also Welfare...
In uniformed services, there is a tradition of looking after the welfare of men. Some of the welfare measures generally undertaken in Police Forces are making T-Shirts, vests, socks and stitching of uniform items through co-operative societies of the wives of the policemen.
These are structured welfare activities that generally aim at providing additional income to the men and their families. There can be some other measures, which will go a long way in improving the well being of the men and officers. Some of them are listed below:
Treating Subordinates with Dignity
In police department, there is a chain of command from the senior most rank of DGP down to a police constable – there is a superior subordinate relationship between two immediate ranks.
It is a general practice in police department that superior officers do not treat subordinates well especially in the ranks of constabulary and SIs/ Inspectors. We must remember - nobody wants to be shouted at, as we ourselves would not want to be shouted at. In a disciplined force where obedience is the norm rather than the exception - most of the officers/men will simply do when they are asked to do and there is no need to be unnecessarily harsh to them while conveying instructions.
Being at the receiving end of the ill treatment creates unpleasantness, hurts and wounds the person, causes stress and moreover lowers the self-esteem.
Including Subordinates in the Process of Decision Making
This is an extension of the idea of treating subordinates with dignity. For example when a decision is to be taken regarding the way a particular agitation or a bandobust should be handled or a difficult case is to be solved, the views of the key personnel working under us can be elicited and an informed decision can be taken. This way we are giving our subordinate officers the satisfaction that apart from their labour and time, they are contributing something valuable in terms of an idea. The decision is also, in all probability, likely to be of better quality this way.
To Help Subordinates Realise Their Potential
One of the welfare activities as a superior officer one can undertake is to create conditions for subordinates to realize their potential and help them give out their best. Allowing them to take decisions, providing them with the necessary manpower and material resources to accomplish the given task and letting them know that you will stand by them in time of difficulty will go a long way in their performing well and hence improving their well being apart from benefitting the organization.
Giving Instructions that can be carried out
This may sound strange but in practice we have all received or given such instructions as – “I don’t know what you will do but I want the case to be detected within 24 hours and accused arrested”. When as senior officers, we don’t know what is to be done to solve the case and arrest the accused, how do we expect the SHO to do it within the unreasonable time limit. If nothing else, it causes a lot of stress to the individual who received such instructions and also damages the system, if under pressure a wrong accused is fixed in the case. Likewise giving contradictory instructions at different points of time also leads to loss of direction and resultant stress. For example while talking about human rights, we propound that 3rd degree methods should be avoided at all cost. Next day, a dacoity gets reported and we start advocating 3rd degree on the suspects to solve the case.
Another situation could be about giving no instructions to subordinates when they require it genuinely e.g. in a Law & Order situation created by major pressure groups such as political parties, farmers, students or lawyers etc. when the situation on the spot is developing in an unpredictable manner and the officers on the spot seek instructions from the higher-up and instead of giving very clear instructions, directing them not to come back but to handle it tactfully without any problem or arrest etc. can be unenviable situation for the officer on the spot.
Giving Subordinates Time to Eat and Sleep
All police officers are supposed to be on duty round the clock. However, like any other human being, the police officers also require time to sleep, eat, exercise, and look after familial and social commitments and for recreation to lead a healthy life. Many a times, what is expected of an SHO is that he should attend roll call at 7 a.m., attend to routine L & O duty and investigation throughout the day, sit late and write case diaries, go for night rounds and then conduct prohibition raids early morning and be at roll call once again at 7 a.m. This is certainly asking for too much out of a human being. The result of leading such a life for few years could be obesity, hypertension, diabetes, heart problems and other life style diseases. No doubt, all these duties are important and vital to police functioning but a sense of prioritization and dividing the work equitably amongst the available officers with the underlining sensitivity that everyone needs some time for sleep/rest etc. can ease the situation.
Further, some senior officers are in the habit of conducting very long crime/review meetings which are attended by junior officers from far away places. If sufficient time is allowed to go for lunch, only then it will be possible for the outstation officers to go and have lunch in a hotel/restaurant, otherwise, in all probability, they may have to go without food.
In this connection, there is one more thing which needs to be understood - there are war times - when there is a major L&O problem or a sensational case is reported and there are peace times - when things are going on normally. We can differentiate the two periods in terms of human endeavour invested. Definitely, nobody will mind not eating a few meals or not sleeping for few nights in case of emergency but during other normal times that is not required.
Sometimes over mobilization of strength for routine events results in stretching available human resources to the brink and much of man hours are wasted which could have been saved for doing other important tasks or for simply resting etc.
Giving Posting to the Place of Choice
Transfers have to be effected within the purview of existing policies and in the overall interest of the administration. However, while doing so, the human angle should not be lost sight of. If an Officer can be transferred to a place which will be convenient to him from the point of view of his family and which is permissible within the rules - the same may be resorted to. My experience says, it is possible in a large number of cases. The goals of the organization and the aspirations of an individual can be aligned to a large extent.
Conclusion
The ideas mentioned above are not exhaustive. It depends upon the initiative, imagination and sensitivity of an officer to look after the welfare of officers and men working under him and make the working a happy and fulfilling experience.
These are structured welfare activities that generally aim at providing additional income to the men and their families. There can be some other measures, which will go a long way in improving the well being of the men and officers. Some of them are listed below:
Treating Subordinates with Dignity
In police department, there is a chain of command from the senior most rank of DGP down to a police constable – there is a superior subordinate relationship between two immediate ranks.
It is a general practice in police department that superior officers do not treat subordinates well especially in the ranks of constabulary and SIs/ Inspectors. We must remember - nobody wants to be shouted at, as we ourselves would not want to be shouted at. In a disciplined force where obedience is the norm rather than the exception - most of the officers/men will simply do when they are asked to do and there is no need to be unnecessarily harsh to them while conveying instructions.
Being at the receiving end of the ill treatment creates unpleasantness, hurts and wounds the person, causes stress and moreover lowers the self-esteem.
Including Subordinates in the Process of Decision Making
This is an extension of the idea of treating subordinates with dignity. For example when a decision is to be taken regarding the way a particular agitation or a bandobust should be handled or a difficult case is to be solved, the views of the key personnel working under us can be elicited and an informed decision can be taken. This way we are giving our subordinate officers the satisfaction that apart from their labour and time, they are contributing something valuable in terms of an idea. The decision is also, in all probability, likely to be of better quality this way.
To Help Subordinates Realise Their Potential
One of the welfare activities as a superior officer one can undertake is to create conditions for subordinates to realize their potential and help them give out their best. Allowing them to take decisions, providing them with the necessary manpower and material resources to accomplish the given task and letting them know that you will stand by them in time of difficulty will go a long way in their performing well and hence improving their well being apart from benefitting the organization.
Giving Instructions that can be carried out
This may sound strange but in practice we have all received or given such instructions as – “I don’t know what you will do but I want the case to be detected within 24 hours and accused arrested”. When as senior officers, we don’t know what is to be done to solve the case and arrest the accused, how do we expect the SHO to do it within the unreasonable time limit. If nothing else, it causes a lot of stress to the individual who received such instructions and also damages the system, if under pressure a wrong accused is fixed in the case. Likewise giving contradictory instructions at different points of time also leads to loss of direction and resultant stress. For example while talking about human rights, we propound that 3rd degree methods should be avoided at all cost. Next day, a dacoity gets reported and we start advocating 3rd degree on the suspects to solve the case.
Another situation could be about giving no instructions to subordinates when they require it genuinely e.g. in a Law & Order situation created by major pressure groups such as political parties, farmers, students or lawyers etc. when the situation on the spot is developing in an unpredictable manner and the officers on the spot seek instructions from the higher-up and instead of giving very clear instructions, directing them not to come back but to handle it tactfully without any problem or arrest etc. can be unenviable situation for the officer on the spot.
Giving Subordinates Time to Eat and Sleep
All police officers are supposed to be on duty round the clock. However, like any other human being, the police officers also require time to sleep, eat, exercise, and look after familial and social commitments and for recreation to lead a healthy life. Many a times, what is expected of an SHO is that he should attend roll call at 7 a.m., attend to routine L & O duty and investigation throughout the day, sit late and write case diaries, go for night rounds and then conduct prohibition raids early morning and be at roll call once again at 7 a.m. This is certainly asking for too much out of a human being. The result of leading such a life for few years could be obesity, hypertension, diabetes, heart problems and other life style diseases. No doubt, all these duties are important and vital to police functioning but a sense of prioritization and dividing the work equitably amongst the available officers with the underlining sensitivity that everyone needs some time for sleep/rest etc. can ease the situation.
Further, some senior officers are in the habit of conducting very long crime/review meetings which are attended by junior officers from far away places. If sufficient time is allowed to go for lunch, only then it will be possible for the outstation officers to go and have lunch in a hotel/restaurant, otherwise, in all probability, they may have to go without food.
In this connection, there is one more thing which needs to be understood - there are war times - when there is a major L&O problem or a sensational case is reported and there are peace times - when things are going on normally. We can differentiate the two periods in terms of human endeavour invested. Definitely, nobody will mind not eating a few meals or not sleeping for few nights in case of emergency but during other normal times that is not required.
Sometimes over mobilization of strength for routine events results in stretching available human resources to the brink and much of man hours are wasted which could have been saved for doing other important tasks or for simply resting etc.
Giving Posting to the Place of Choice
Transfers have to be effected within the purview of existing policies and in the overall interest of the administration. However, while doing so, the human angle should not be lost sight of. If an Officer can be transferred to a place which will be convenient to him from the point of view of his family and which is permissible within the rules - the same may be resorted to. My experience says, it is possible in a large number of cases. The goals of the organization and the aspirations of an individual can be aligned to a large extent.
Conclusion
The ideas mentioned above are not exhaustive. It depends upon the initiative, imagination and sensitivity of an officer to look after the welfare of officers and men working under him and make the working a happy and fulfilling experience.
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