Joy of Giving

Once a cab driver arrived in the middle of the night for a pick up at a building that was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.

Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once or twice, wait a minute, and then drive away. But the cab driver had seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation. So he walked to the door and knocked.

"Just a minute," answered a frail, elderly voice.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 80's stood before the driver. By her side was a small nylon suitcase.
"Would you carry my bag out to the car?" she said. The driver took the suitcase to the cab, and then returned to assist the woman. She took his arm and walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking the driver for his kindness.

"It's nothing," the driver told her. "I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated."

"Oh, you're such a good boy," she said. When she got in the cab, she gave an address, and then asked, "Could you drive through downtown?"

"It's not the shortest way," the driver answered quickly.

"Oh, I don't mind," she said. "I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice." Her eyes were glistening.

"I don't have any family left," she continued. "The doctor says I don't have very long."
For the next two hours, the driver drove through the city. She showed the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. She showed the house where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had the driver pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she'd ask to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, "I'm tired. Let's go now."

The driver drove in silence to the address she had given.

"How much do I owe?" she asked, reaching into her purse.

"Nothing," the driver said.

"You have to make a living," she answered.

"There are other passengers."

"You gave an old woman a little moment of joy," she said. "Thank you."

The driver was very happy that day. "What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if he had refused to take the run, or drive through the downtown?” He thought and retired to bed with joy of giving a little moment of joy for an elderly woman.

We don’t have to do big things to give joy to others. Sometimes we're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware—beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

Courtesy: An article contributed by a co-worker in my department’s weekly newsletter

AMC planning to set a good example

AMC adopts green methods to bring down energy consumption

In an attempt to cut down on "soaring" electricity bills, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has decided to use green and energy-efficient techniques to reduce power consumption by almost 35 per cent.

The AMC has decided to construct all its new projects as green buildings, convert its main energy consuming establishment to solar powered one and change all the city street lights from high pressure sodium vapour lamps to energy efficient LED lights.

To read the complete article click here

One must not engage in duties other than his own

Have you heard the story of "The Washerman and the Foolish Donkey"?

To refresh your memory, and for the benefit of those who have not grown up listening to this moral story, it goes like this…

There was once a washer man who had a donkey and a dog. One night when the whole world was sleeping, a thief broke into the house, the washer man was fast asleep but the donkey and the dog were awake. The dog decided not to bark since the master did not take good care of him and wanted to teach him a lesson. The donkey got worried and said to the dog that if he doesn't bark, the donkey will have to do something himself. The dog did not change his mind and the donkey started braying loudly. Hearing the donkey bray, the thief ran away, the master woke up and started beating the donkey for braying in the middle of the night for no reason.

Moral of the story “One must not engage in duties other than his own"

Now take a new look at the same story…

The washer man was a well educated man from a premier management institute. He had the fundas of looking at the bigger picture and thinking out of the box. He was convinced that there must be some reason for the donkey to bray in the night. He walked outside a little and did some fact finding, applied a bottom up approach, figured out from the ground realities that there was a thief who broke in and the donkey only wanted to alert him about it. Looking at the donkey's extra initiative and going beyond the call of the duty, he rewarded him with lot of hay and other perks and became his favorite pet. The dog's life didn't change much, except that now the donkey was more motivated in doing the dogs duties as well. In the annual appraisal the dog managed a "meets requirement". The donkey was rated as "star performer". Soon the dog realized that the donkey is taking care of his duties and he can enjoy his life sleeping and lazing around. The donkey had to live up to his already high performance standards. Soon he was over burdened with work and always under pressure and now is looking for a job rotation.....


Moral of the story - Remains the same: “One must not engage in duties other than his own"


Courtesy: Shared by a friend

When you want something, go get it. Period!

This is good!

The story of an African king and his dear friend.

The king's friend was a cheerful person, very optimistic. Whenever something happened -- good or bad -- the friend would remark, "This is good!" They would often go on hunting expeditions, and the friend would help prepare the rifles for the king. One day, the friend made a mistake with one of the guns. When the king took that gun and pulled the trigger, his thumb got blown off.
Seeing what happened, the friend remarked, "This is good!" That infuriated the king and landed his friend in jail.

A few years hence, another hunting expedition took the king to a place, inhabited by cannibals. The cannibals caught him and began celebrating their upcoming feast. The king's hands were tied and he was being washed to be put into a large earthen pot that was being readied for cooking. Just then, someone noticed that the king had no thumb. As it happened, these cannibals were a superstitious lot. They never ate anyone who was less than whole. So the king was set free.

As he headed back to his palace, the king recalled the incident when he had lost his thumb. He realized his dear friend was right in saying, "This is good!" Losing a thumb that day had actually saved his life. He quickly ordered his friend to be set free.
He narrated to his friend what had happened and apologized. "I shouldn't have put you in prison," said the king. "That was bad!"
"No, no. This is good!" said the friend. "What do you mean," asked the King. "How could sending you to jail have been good?"
"Don't you see?" said the friend, "If I had not been in jail, I would have been out with you. And the cannibals would then have killed and eaten me!"

So, next time you find things are not going your way, think of the king's thumb. And whatever happens, just say, "This is good!" Your world will be a better place. None of us can control external events. What happens can be good or bad. What you can control is your response, your feelings. You can choose to feel good or you can choose to feel bad.
The choice is yours.

When you moan and say this is bad, the mind gets conditioned to look for difficulty in opportunity. And when you say this is good, the mind looks for opportunity in difficulty. And therein lies the difference between winners and losers.
Just say 'this is good'. It's a good mantra to live by.

Courtesy: Shared by a friend

Bravo Delhi Metro Team!

Delhi Metro’s steps on climate change bring earnings

The Delhi Metro is the first rail network in the world to have two projects registered with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Not only has it succeeded in preventing release of almost one lakh tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere but is also earning carbon emission reductions (CERS) under the carbon credit scheme.

In 2007 alone Delhi Metro had succeeded in helping reduce 17,000 vehicles from plying on the streets and ensuring an analogous reduction of about 26,691 litres of fuel.

The present ridership in Metro is 18 lakhs per day but will go up to a combined ridership of 40 lakhs per day once the Phase 3 of the Metro is completed

Under regenerative braking process, whenever metro trains apply brakes, three phase-traction motors installed on them act as generators to produce electrical energy which goes back into the Over Head Electricity (OHE) lines.
The energy that is supplied back to the OHE is used by other accelerating trains on the same line, thus saving overall energy in the system as about 30 per cent of electricity requirement is reduced.
The certification report was given by German-based validation organisation TUV NORD, which conducted an audit on behalf of the UNFCC.

The DMRC saves 1,12,500 megawatt hours of power generation by restricting and reusing power through regenerative braking thus preventing over 90,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the atmosphere.
This figure will only increase once Phase 2 and 3 get completed.

- At a workshop on Climate Change Financing organised by the UNDP and the department of economic affairs, DMRC managing director pointed out.

To read complete article click here

Interesting Quotes from Ignited Minds

Enjoyed reading the book Ignited Minds by Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam
Sharing a few very interesting quotes from the book -

There is no greater power than the commitment to a dream. Dreams hold something of that energy which lies at the heart of all things and are the binding force that brings the spiritual and the material together.

Dream, dream, dream. Dream transforms into thoughts. Thoughts result in actions

I always assessed my worth by the value of my contribution. The fundamental thing is that you must know that you deserve the good things of life, the benefits that God bestows.

A man is said to pass through different stages in his lifetime. Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, in his book Manifest Your Destiny, makes an interesting categorization of them as athlete stage, warrior stage, statesperson stage and spirit stage. It occurred to me that nations too make a similar transition and in extending this analogy to them I have termed the last two stages big brother and self-realization stages respectively...

Ancient India was a knowledge society and a leader in many intellectual pursuits, particularly in the fields of mathematics, medicine and astronomy. A renaissance is imperative for us to once again become a knowledge superpower rather than simply providing cheap labour in areas of high technology.

Lessons from Ramayana

Shri Ram, Sita and Lakshman were spending their days in exile in the forests. Sita was abducted by Ravan. While Ravan was on his way to Lanka, Sita threw some of her jwellery as a lead on Mt. Rishyamuk. Sugriv found some of them and kept them with him. In their search for Sita, both Ram and Lakshman came to the mountain. Sugriv, on their enquiry, brought Sita's jwellery and narrated what he had seen. Shri Ram gave the jewels to Lakshman to see if he could recognize them. Lakshman failed to identify Sita's earrings and a necklace, but when he saw her anklet he burst out joyfully, "This is mother Sita's anklet." Ram asked him why he hadn't recognized Sita's earrings (kundal) and bracelet (keyur). In reply Lakshman answered,

Naham janami keyuram, naham janami kundalam,
Nupuram eva janami, nityam padabhivandanat

"I have never seen mother Sita's earrings and her bracelet but while touching the dust of her holy feet everyday I had noticed these anklets."

For 14 long, testing years when only three individuals lived and moved together in the forests, we find Lakshman serving both Ram and Sita with unswerving discipline. The epic Ramayana eloquently drives home a lesson of respect bordered with discipline. Lakshman attributes his nobility by saying,

Pita yasya shuchimurto mata yasya pativrata,
Ubhabhyameva sambhrutaha tasya no chalate manah.

"One's mind is never soiled by evil thoughts when one is born of pure noble parents."

Courtesy: An excerpt from "Turning Point - Enlightening Essays on Life Part 1" - Swaminarayan Aksharpith

Ego & Spirit

Conversation between two babies – Ego and Spirit – while in the womb.

Spirit says to Ego, ‘I know you are going to find this hard to accept, but I believe there is life after birth.’

Ego responds, ‘Don’t be foolish. Look around you. This is all there is. Why must you always be thinking about something beyond this reality? Accept your lot in life.’

Spirit quietens down for a while, but not for long. ‘Ego, now don’t get angry, but I also believe that there is a Mother.

A Mother! Ego laughs. How can you say that? You’ve never seen a Mother, you don’t know what Mother is.Wht can’t you accept that this is all there is? You are here alone with me. This is your reality.

‘Ego’, Spirit begs, please listen. What about those constant pressures we both feel, those movements that make us so uncomfortable sometimes, the feeling that we are being squeezed in as we grow? I think we shall soon have a new life, that we shall see light.’

Spirit tries not to bother Ego again but cannot resist one last try. ‘Ego,’ she says, ‘I will not bother you again. But I do believe that after all this discomfort not only shall we see light but also experience the bliss of meeting Mother.’

Ego’s reply is of course, that Spirit is truly mad.

Courtesy: Ignited Minds – A P J Abdul Kalam

There's only one boss...

There’s only one boss—the customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.

-Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart

Build wisely...

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business to live a more leisurely life with his wife and enjoy his extended family. He would miss the pay check each week, but he wanted to retire. They could get by.

The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go & asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favour. The carpenter said yes, but over time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career.

When the carpenter finished his work, his employer came to inspect the house. Then he handed the front-door key to the carpenter and said, "This is your house... my gift to you."

The carpenter was shocked!

What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.

Moral: Your life today is the result of your attitudes and choices in the past. Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today. Therefore, Build wisely!


Courtesy: An article contributed by a co-worker in my department’s weekly newsletter

Productivity and efficiency...

Productivity and efficiency can be achieved only step by step with sustained hard work, relentless attention to details and insistence on the highest standards of quality and performance

- J. R. D. Tata