The 5 Point test

With the National Elections round the corner, we are witnessing high level of election campaigning, strategic alliances and a plethora of election promises. All National and Regional level political parties, have plunged into the foray to prove their might. Winning the election by hook or crook, seems to be every party's agenda. And as always, the common man is left confused, as to whom he should cast his valuable vote.

Election is the crucial time when every citizen of this country gets an opportunity to make a choice, as to who should lead this country. That is the beauty of democracy. The decision we make, will decide the fate of the country, for the next 5 years and it is our duty to make a sensible choice, so that we would not regret it later.

As I was deliberating, on whom I should vote I had mixed thoughts and feelings. Should I vote for the National party which I like? Should I vote for the State party that I think can bring positive transformation to the State? Should I vote for the party that has the highest chance of winning? Should I vote for the most eligible candidate irrespective of which party he contests for?.I think all of us go through a similar dilemma. After much thought, my mind was convinced about the last option. I made up my mind to vote for the candidate who is most eligible, irrespective of which party he belongs to. To determine this I created a simple 5 point test, which I hope would help us take a right decision, as to whom we should vote for.

Is the candidate a SON OF THE SOIL : The chances are that, a person who is the son of the soil will have more concern for his home constituency than any person who is from elsewhere. This is because every individual has an emotional attachment to his home town and he would be also aware of the sentiments of the people and their needs. Also as he would have grown up in the same town, he would have been witnessing the developments happening so far and also the areas of concern that needs priority action.

 Is the candidate CLEAN: This is the most difficult question, for someone to pass. The political ambition of many candidates is to make money, by using their newly acquired power. The person may not have any criminal records against him, but still he may not be a clean person. It is easier to know the credibility of a person, if he is from our own town because we can back track his origin and family background. Let us make sure the candidate whom we vote, is not a greedy, small timer who is looking at making quick money. Rather let us choose someone who has proved his concern for the society by contributing, even before attaining any political status.

Is the candidate COMPETENT : This again is a vital question. Not all good people or competent people. Like any other profession, certain skills are needed to be an effective leader. Let us look for educated people, who have enough intelligence to discriminate the right and wrong and take the decision based which is fair to all. Rather than having a political leader, who highlights the problems, we need leaders who are able to think about intelligent solutions.

Is the candidate able to RAISE HIS VOICE : I have had the opportunity to see a live session of the parliament proceedings once, when I was at Delhi. With the amount of booing and arrogance the ruling party exhibits, it becomes difficult for a candidate from a minority party or an independent candidate to raise his voice, during the session. He does not get heard. Eventually the person gets discouraged and decides to become a silent spectator. The candidate should be someone who does not give up, but endures to push his point and make sure action is taken.

Is the candidate a SECULARIST? A secularist is one who does not have any bias or prejudice towards any religion, caste or section of people. Caste based voted is the order of the day. But that is not a right decision. A good politician, should be someone who is fair to all concerned and not indulge in favouritism to a selected segment of people.

If someone would qualify all the 5,you can go ahead and vote confidently. Even if not, let us vote for someone, who has the maximum eligibility based on these criteria's.

There is a general tendency to vote for our favourite party, and not for the right eligible candidate. My request to all is, Vote for the candidate you feel is most eligible and not for the party. A good candidate, even if he is an independent, can still go a long way in bringing about a positive difference.

Happy Reading,

D. Senthil Kannan

Article Dated Apr 2014

Fire Lighters Vs Fire Fighters

As a training organiser of an Outbound training programme for a group of college students, I went to   Thenmala Eco Tourism, in Kerala. This Eco Park has different zones pertaining to different interests, such as Adventure Zone, Leisure Zone, Deer Park, Butterfly Garden and so on.

We started with our visit to the Adventure Zone, which has a number of adventure activities like flying fox, river crossing, rock climbing, mountain biking, pedal boats, spider nets, free fall, rope bridge etc. All students were excited and many of them tried their hands on different activities.

One such activity was called the Spider net. The activity is about climbing a crisscrossed rope net which was hung almost vertically, and one has to walk up the net, stepping on each rung of the rope, to reach the top. The nature of the activity is not all that risky, but not that easy too. It needs some stamina and will power, to climb up. While a number of students were happily engaged in the activity, one student was hesitating to do that, though she seemed interested. Observing her, I could realise what was stopping her from not venturing into the activity. It was her own excessive body weight. Inevitably the mental block and fear associated with it was visibly seen. I could sense a disappointment in her, for not being able to engage in the activity.

I gently asked her, “Don’t you want to try this”. She said, “I want to, but I am not sure if I will be able to make it. I am afraid, that I may fall down or the net would pull off”. I told her that the activity is quiet safe and encouraged her to try. After getting a little reassurance from me, she gathered some courage and embarked on the activity. From the time, she started I kept giving comments like, “Good”, “Keep it up”, “You are doing great”, “Just a little more to go”, “You can do it” and so on. Within a few minutes, I was amazed by what happened. Step by step, she made it to the top, though with some difficulty. As she reached the top, I could see the blush in her face, of having accomplished something great. I felt happy for her.

After getting down from the activity, she told me, “No one has ever encouraged me, like this. Whenever I want to try something of this sort, everyone around me discourages me by saying, ‘You cannot do this’ or ‘This is not for you’. You were the first one to say, I can do it. I wanted to prove your words right and so I did not give up. She thanked me profusely from her heart.

I was overwhelmed with her words. What I had done was a very little thing, but the impact it created in her was immense. I was glad that I have made someone’s day. It was indeed a good feeling to know, that I had been instrumental in helping someone overcoming their mental block. It gave me a first-hand experience of realizing, what motivation can do to someone.

This experience made me to ponder over this thought: How often do we discourage people when they are trying something new? It happens consciously or unconsciously an umpteen number of times. Though we may do so, out of our genuine concern for them, most often it becomes a stumbling block for their growth. Our own fears or preconceived notions of life, when thrust upon others, cripples them.

If you observe closely, you would notice that there are predominantly two types of people. One are the fire fighters, who light up the spark in us and other is the fire fighters, who put off the spark in us.

Ask yourself, am I a fire lighter or a fire fighter.  If you are a fire lighter, it is great. If you are a fire fighter, then kill the inner instincts of discouraging others by your words. By being a little mindful of what we say, we can make the shift.

We play many roles in our life, such as a spouse, a parent, a teacher, a friend, a sibling, a relative or whatsoever and we have a significant influence in their lives. So, whatever role we play, wherever we go, let us decide to be afire lighter, who kindles the spark in others and help them to overcome their limitations. By being a fire lighter, we would be doing a world of good, to our near and dear ones.

Happy Reading,

D. Senthil Kannan

Article Dated Mar 2014

No Pain No Gain

I am sure, you have made up your mind, with the list of resolutions for the year ahead and it is now time for you to forge ahead, making it happen.

Unfortunately, most of us quit our resolutions at different timelines from the time we kick start our New year. So, is there a mantra that can help us

glued to our resolution? Yes, luckily there is one! But the difficult part is we need to internalise it, in order to make it work. The mantra is, “NO PAIN, NOGAIN”.

The idea of pain, is something we all are averse of. No one wants to go through a painful process. We are always looking at choosing an easy way out. But we need to remember few things in life are not attained, unless we dare to go through the painful process.

We have all studied in school, the life cycle of butterfly, where we got introduced to a wonderful terminology - Metamorphosis. Metamorphosis is

the transformation process of how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. The metamorphosis is no doubt painful, but the end result is that a dirty crawling

caterpillar becomes a colourful and beautiful butterfly that can fly, from flower to flower, adding beauty to the garden and being admired by all. For

the butterfly, the resultant gain is worth the pain, it had to go through.

Similarly, when we believe that the resultant gain of a painful process is going to be of much higher value to us, there are higher chances for us to willingly accept and go through the pain.

But what stops us from going through a painful grind. Is it because we are unable to get out of our comfort zone? Is it because, we find it difficult to

overcome our temptations? Is it because, our aspirations are weak? Or is it we are not willing to pay the price?. The reasons could be many. When we

are fixed with such dilemma, the simple guideline we need to follow is:

“Short term pain, long term pleasure;

Short term pleasure, long term pain”

We are easily carried away by a number of short term pleasures, as it instantly gratifies us. But if you closely look into it, most often the end result of indulging in such activities is pain. Short term pleasure activities like

smoking, drinking, indulging in high calorie foods, excessive sleeping, heartless gossiping, mindless TV watching may give us short term pleasure, but in the long run becomes detrimental to our health, our well

being, our relationships and ultimately our growth.

On the other hand, we tend to avoid many things which instantly sound like pain but the end result of pursuing such activities leads to lasting happiness. Activities such as waking up early, doing physical exercise, being free of bad habits, cutting down on junk foods, to learn something new, to work few extra hours, to stick to a daily routine, to live a disciplined life. These may feel like pain at the face of it, but eventually helps us to be a healthy person, a highly performing individual and an achiever.

We advise our children, if you want to live a comfortable life in future, you should study well, now. You should not mindlessly watch TV, browse internet or gossip with friends. You should use this time to study. Now tell me, does it sound like pain or pleasure? Of course it sounds like pain. To study for long hours is not easy. But the rewards of pain are truly immense and there is a ripple of benefits down the line. The same applies to us well. If we want to achieve greatness and make a meaningful contribution to this world, we should be willing to forego some short term pleasures. No big achievement has ever happened without a painful routine. Ask any sportsman and he would say how many hours of tireless effort he has put before he reached, where he is today. There is no easy way out. “Burning the midnight oil”, is a term we often hear of when we talk about people who strived relentlessly in making their dream come true. Great academicians,

Great musicians, Greats artists, Great scientists, Great sportsmen, all have one thing in common. To them their dream was bigger than their life. They were willing to pay the price of time and effort, for the rewards they aspired in life.

If you aspire greatness, then follow this mantra of our predecessors who achieved greatness. I wish you live by your New Year resolution, with firm grit and determination, so that you turn out to be, what you aspire to be.

Happy Reading,

D. Senthil Kannan

Article Dated Jan 2014

INDIA AGAINST CORRUPTION

Sharukh Khan in the movie, “Chennai Express” frequently repeats this dialogue, “Don't underestimate the power of a common man”. Perhaps he was intuitively aware, that the Common Man's Party (AamAadmi Party) would form the Government in New Delhi.

The performance of the AAP in the Delhi elections, has made heads turn. People who thought that this party was just another fad, have come to realise that the party is here for real. It has shaken the confidence level of

opposition parties and has send shivers down the spine of the wrong doers.

Invariably the front page of the daily newspapers, over the last 2 months have been carrying an article about AAP or Arvind Kejriwal. There seems to be much anticipation and people are watching with eager eyes as to what is about to unfold. Arvind Kejriwal, like Arjun in the tamil movie “Mudhalvan” is creating a sensation, as the new CM of Delhi. He asks for public opinion as to whether to form the Government taking external support; he takes oath of office in front of the general public; he listens to public grievances through an open forum; he refuses to live in Government

provided luxury bungalows and says NO to personal security. While, it may sound like some new timer political gimmicks, we also need to appreciate that it really takes a lot of guts for an individual, to challenge the existing system. His straight forward approach, fearlessness and intellectual capabilities are drawing more and more people towards him.

The popularity of AAP is growing day by day, as more and more highly literate people are quitting their jobs and joining the movement to make their social contribution. Perhaps, they are seeing it as a golden opportunity to revive this nation from the clutches of corrupt politicians and bureaucrats, who have been sucking the financial resources of the country.

I read an article somewhere, which said that India was the richest country in the world till the end of the 16^th century. Since then India has been plundered by many foreign invaders and rulers. An uproar against this

unfair foreign domination, resulted in our freedom struggle. So many martyrs have laid their life to set the nation free from the clutches of the foreign rulers and ensure peace and prosperity for its future citizens.

Unfortunately, this plundering has not stopped after independence. In fact, it has increased manifold, in the name of corruption. Corruption happening in our country is beyond the understanding of a common man. The number of scams exposed over the last few years is enormous, and the amount of money involved is unimaginable. We have succumbed to so much of

unfair governance over the years. The people of the country, have become really fed up with the existing system and lost faith in the Government, because no matter which party comes to power, corruption continues to happen.

It is in this scenario, the initiative of Social Activist, Anna Hazare's, “India against Corruption” has been a welcome change. I like many of you, have been keenly watching the developments. His demand for a Jan Lokpal bill, through his periodical hunger strikes, got the attention of the public. Many joined him in the cause, including key personalities like Kiran Bedi and

Arvind Kejriwal. Though there has been huge hue and cry, an effective bill to combat corruption did not seem to materialize. It is only then did Arvind Kejriwal, decided to take a political route to push the cause. This did not match the ideology of Anna Hazare, which in turn has caused a visible split. However, the truth remains that both of them have taken different directions to reach the same destination, of “Corruption free India”.

Well it is time for another war. A war against corruption. Let us join hands, and support this. I personally feel that, the fight against corruption, is going to be much tougher than the fight against British rule, because it is comparatively easy to fight an external enemy, rather than an internal enemy. Just like how, a doctor would find it easier to treat an external wound, rather than destroying the virus inside our body, our country too is infected by a virus called corruption which is damaging our nation. If this virus is eliminated, the country will bounce back to prosperity.

All, we need now is a fair and transparent Government, who will be able to lead this fight. It is time, we get hold of the corrupt people and bring back the money they have swiped away from the country. AAP looks like a

blessing in disguise for this country. Election is the only time, the citizens of the country have a right to express their voice. Now is the time. If not now, when?

Happy Reading,

D. Senthil Kannan

Article Dated Feb 2014