Author: The Metrognome

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Overdose

I love Monday

Why do we hate Mondays? Is it just the thought of going to work or is it something even deeper?
by Jatin Sharma

For the first time ever, I think I can claim exclusive rights to the title of this column.

Because this is an exclusive thought.

Come Monday, and there’s a deluge of email forwards talking about how people hate Mondays. There are scores of posts on social networking sites describing how Monday should be ticked off the list and how much they hate it. It’s like Monday is this monster that devours entire populations of people.

If Monday was a person, he/she would have felt really bad, almost to the point of being suicidal. For no reason at all, Monday bears the brunt of collective hatred as the work week begins.

Why do we hate Mondays, though? It can’t only be because we hate having to push ourselves out of a mini-break mood over the weekend to go to work. Or is it because we don’t like our work much? If it’s the latter, it doesn’t make much sense: do we realise that the work we do on Monday, and on the days after that, is what gives us enough money to spend on the weekends in the first place?

I think we all hate Monday not because it’s the day that starts off another work week, but because we like to waste our time (the way we do on  weekends) and continue wasting time till such time that we are not actually forced back into work. I’ve seen several successful individuals working hard and with equal passion, whatever day of the week it is. I can’t imagine Sachin Tendulkar waking up in a grump because he has a match to play on Monday. At his age, even Amitabh Bachchan seems upbeat every day, working whether it’s Monday or not.

Is it because these two gentlemen really love what they do?

Lots of people are by now armed with the excuse that Sachin and Amitabh don’t have to brave public transport to get to work, and they have so much money already that they need never work in their lives ever again. You are right, but that situation exists now. At the start of his career, Sachin wouldn’t sit at a desk counting the money he made after every match. Amitabh Bachchan was rejected as an All India Radio announcer – a job his heart was set on. But that failure didn’t hold him back, and see where he is today.

We’ve forgotten what our parents kept telling us: Work is worship. That work is closest to Godliness. That work is what defines us and what we will be in life.

Hating Monday is surely not going to help anyone. I was resentful of Mondays, too. But I realised that I really loved my job. Sure, for a lot of people the thought of going to work is awful. Many people have a bad boss, a bad salary package, bad working conditions. But the trick is to still love your work, and love it wholeheartedly, at least while you’re doing it. If you keep telling yourself, “Things are not perfect but I still love my work,” your resentment towards Mondays will disappear. You won’t even feel so elated going home on Friday.

If you shift the hate and turn it into love (or even like), Mondays will be something that you start looking forward to. Mondays will be the reason you exist. I love my Mondays because I love the thrill of starting a new work week and taking new challenges head-on. Sure, I love being happy on the job but I also embrace the moments of sadness that sometimes come with it.

So on this lovely Monday, tell yourself this: “I love Mondays. I love my life. I love me. And I love my work.” Say it often. Say it and believe it.

Jatin Sharma is a media professional who doesn’t want to grow up, because if he grows up, he will be like everyone else. 

(Pictures courtesy blog.theshuttergypsy.com, iamtantra.com)

Categories
Big story

Shops will remain open despite LBT strike

It’s Sharad Pawar to the rescue as the agitation over LBT is suspended to Friday; Pawar has promised final solution.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

After a serious hit to business and several problems caused to consumers as shops – small and big – threatened to remain shut indefinitely in protest of the State Government’s decision to implement LBT (Local Body Tax), NCP chief Sharad Pawar has staved off the agitation for a while.

After a meeting held with representatives of various trading and retailer organisations at his residence at Yeoor today, Pawar has asked the traders to suspend their strike and meet him again on Friday, May 24, at his residence for a final meeting on the LBT issue. “He has assured us that the meeting will continue for as long as it takes to resolve the issue,” said Viren Shah (President of the Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association) to The Metrognome, minutes after the meeting was completed with Pawar today. “We had a wonderful meeting with him and he has assured us of a solution to the issue,” Shah added. As of now, Shah clarified, “The strike continues but FRTWA has asked all individual shops to remain open.”

Pune and Thane have already suspended the strike. It is likely that Mumbai’s traders will also follow suit by tomorrow.

LBT (Local Body Tax) is the tax which will be imposed by municipal bodies on the entry of goods into a local area for consumption, use or sale. It relies on a self assessment or account-based method of paying local tax, where the trader himself declares his tax liability by submitting his records.

The representatives included Navi Mumbai Merchants’ director Amarshi Karia, APMC Director Kirti Rana, Siddhivinayak Chairman Subhash Mayekar, FRTWA’s Viren Shah and Navi Mumbai Merchant Chambers’ Girish Rana, among others.

On his part, it is learnt that Pawar has agreed that if octroi is payable on a good/commodity, then dealers are not required to undergo the registration for LBT. He is also said to have been convinced that shopkeepers need not register if there is no octroi or LBT payable by them, and that he realised that traders wished to pay tax without any harassment or extra paperwork. Pawar also requested traders to open for business without causing further problems to the public.

What happened in the meeting

The meeting opened with the representatives explaining that traders were on strike for the last 27 days, and retailers for six days. “I argued that shopkeepers, who have nothing to do with goods brought from outside the city, have nothing to do with LBT. So why do they need to take registration and file any returns?” Shah (in pic on right) said. Another point raised was that traders were willing to pay tax, but that they refused to go for “extra registration and extra assessment”.

As per the current framework of LBT as laid out by the Government, even the smallest shops with a daily turnover of Rs 822 and above would have to take a separate registration, to which Pawar was said to be shocked. The assembled group suggested that the Sales Tax Department should handle the administration of LBT and also the assessment, as against the idea of the local municipal body doing the same, since the latter are “not experienced enough to do the assessment”.

The representatives also pointed out several lacunae in the proposed LBT move. “For instance, officers ask for assessment proceedings along with details, which are impossible for dealers to produce,” explained Shah. “Hence, corruption is happening in Vasai and many have shifted to Gujarat. Again, in Navi Mumbai, those items for sale such as fruits and spices that are not liable for LBT are also charged LBT. This has led to a ‘double taxation’ in Navi Mumbai’s APMC market.”

(Pictures courtesy www.jaimaharashtranews.com, photogallery.indiatimes.com, www.topnews.in)

Categories
Enough said

Two public statements on Modi

As General Elections 2014 approach, the heat seems to be well and truly on the Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi.
by Humra Quraishi

I simply marvel at Jesuit Father Cedric Prakash. I admire his courage and his confidence to take on the political might of his home State, Gujarat. This priest runs a human rights centre, ‘Prashant’ in Ahmedabad, and right from 2002, I’ve heard him speak at various meets. Recently, he lashed out at Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi once again.

“It is more than just a rotten tooth!” he thundered. As the poll results of the Karnataka Assembly elections trickled in on Wednesday, May 8, the one person who was in the eye of the storm was Narendra Modi. Over the years, the BJP in Karnataka had done everything possible to make certain their defeat: the terrorising of the minorities, the bashing up of youth who didn’t conform to their cultural ‘traditions’; the bringing in of a legislation that was directed at harming minority communities, the support to right-wing Hindu fundamentalism and much more; this was besides the corruption and scams of immense proportion.

However, the BJP party workers were confident that Narendra Modi would campaign in Karnataka, wave his magic wand and cast a spell over the State to ensure that the BJP would come back to power! Modi himself is a seemingly ‘safe’, somewhat frightened campaigner in places such as Karnataka; from his track record, it is obvious that Modi goes to places where he can either win or is confident of fooling the people. In Karnataka, he did become the BJP star campaigner, making forays to three areas -Bangalore, Mangalore andBelgaum. When he did so, he was able to attract crowds and throw barbs at the Congress party and the UPA.

In the rally he addressed in Mangalore, he struck the Hindutva chord and tried to rake up the “cattle slaughter” issue clearly targeting not merely the UPA but also the Muslim minorities. However, all his rhetoric did not pay dividends. The BJP has lost miserably in the places where he campaigned and where he was considered to be the main vote-getter!

Father Prakash (in pic on left) said, “After the election results were out, Modi developed a ‘sudden toothache’ and neither his many spokespersons nor his highly-paid public relations agencies were at hand to give his point of view on the defeat. One does not have to be very intelligent to know that Modi, like a little school boy, easily ‘falls sick’ when the going gets tough.  Even if he did have a toothache, why did his spokespersons not speak up on behalf of him? And how did this “very painful toothache” suddenly disappear when he addressed the Gujarati diaspora in the US through a video conference on Sunday, May 12?

“Yes one can surely, fool some of the people some of the time, but NEVER all of the people all of the time!”

I have just recently returned from an interactive meet with Zakia Jafri and her son Tanveer, apart from several political activists, who have been detailing the horrifying carnage of 2002 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. This meet was held on May 7, after Zakia Jafri filed a Protest Petition before the Magistrate on April 15 “ to get a fair and transparent investigation against a Chief Minister, his Cabinet colleagues, senior administrators, policemen and front men and women of the RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal.”

Several politicians also spoke at this meet, and two of them came up with some startling facts. DP Tripathi of the NCP said that way back in the mid-80s, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, Madhav Singh Solanki, had told Tripathi that there are “international forces”   which are working in the State to whip up communal frenzy and strengthen Hindutva brigades. But when probed further on Modi, Tripathi beat a hasty retreat and said he had to go to another function.

Then Sitaram Yechury of the CPI (M) said that when he got the news of the carnage in Gujarat he decided to go to Ahmedabad, and he went there with Raj Babbar, Amar Singh and Shabana Azmi. They were in Ahmedabad on March 1, 2002. He described the atmosphere prevalent in the city. “The Police Commissioner of Ahmedabad was not to be seen the entire day and night, not even in the Police Headquarters. And the same day, that is on March 1, 2002, when I got in touch with the Chief Minister, Narendra Modi and asked him about the mass killings of the Muslims and the uncontrolled rioting, he said, ‘In logon ko sabak sikhana tha, aisa sabak jo woh zindagi bhar yaad rakhenge! (I wanted to teach these people a lesson, a lesson they’d remember all their lives!)

Humra Quraishi is a senior political journalist based in Gurgaon. She is the author of Kashmir: The Untold Story and co-author of Simply Khushwant.

(Pictures courtesy www.religiousindia.org, www.outlookindia.com, ibnlive.in.com)

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Swaad 'Anu'saar

Kuchh meetha ho jaaye

Indian desserts are easier to make than Western ones. Our food columnist presents five quick, easy to make dessert recipes.
by Anurita Gupta

‘Life is uncertain.  Eat dessert first’  said Ernestine Ulmer. Now, I don’t quite know who Mr. Ulmer is, but what he has said surely makes him a sensible man in my eyes.

After many a dinner date or lunch break, dil kehta hai ‘kuchh meetha ho jaaye’! Although this is a popular tagline for a chocolate brand, the true meetha of our country is thankfully not chocolate but a ton of desi mithais that are true to the Indian palette and find place in its history.

For instance, our famous white rassagolla, one of the most popular sweetmeats in India has been funnily attributed to the Bengalis. But did you know that this golden ball of sin was created in the town of Puri, also famous for the popular Puri Temple in the eastern part of Orissa? Rassagolla has been enjoyed in Indian households since medieval times and if you want to enjoy this juicy cottage cheese mithai in all its glory then you ought to make a trip to Salepur near Cuttack. Ab wahan tak nahin jaana hai toh you can stop by at your nearest Sweet Bengal!

Western India has the popular shrikhand and aam ras, the only two things I wait for in a Gujarati thali (this thali is usually not my favourite choice for dinner or lunch). North India’s balushahi, jalebi, malpua, ras malai, mohan thal, besan ka laddu and motichoor ke laddu are pure delights for the sweet tooth. And how can one forget the legendary paan? The gulkund ki khushboo and the meethi supaari – everything just makes the whole experience so shahi and complete, without the calories!

In the cold department, nothing beats pista, anjeer, and elaichi kulfi which now comes with various fruit flavours at many stands, especially with Gupta Kulfiwallahs. For sure, the Western world has gifted us the very special ice cream that satiates many varied palettes, what with flavours ranging from vanilla to jackfruit, but trust me, it can only be a great accompaniment to our royal gulab jamun.

Why am I doing this to you, by the way? Am I a sadistic foodie whose sweet tooth on a piece of soan papdi? Not really. All I am trying to do is tell a fairy tale of mithaas that has gotten lost in the pool of firang chocolates and yoghurts. It’s a fact that Indian sweets have lost their lustre in comparison to all the gelato and yoghurt shops mushrooming everywhere, and the easily-available ‘home-made’ chocolates. Why is it that we are carrying the ‘white man’s burden’ into our desserts as well?

Have you noticed that it takes such little time to make desi mithai than actual western sweet concoctions? Let me help you with a few:

Shahi tukda: The shahi tukda can be made with a bag of bread that simply needs to be fried and put in sugary chashni. Sprinkle some  elaichi on top and serve (see pic on right).

Aata ka halwa: Aate ka halwa is an age-old favourite for me, also because my late daadi used to love it so much that she used to make it in a jiffy! All you need is nicely-roasted aata on a non-stick pan and some boiled water with jaggery in it as a healthier alternative to sugar.

Kulfi: There is such little effort that goes into making kulfi in comparison to churning a load of ice cream! All you have to do is evaporate milk for an hour as you simmer it over a low flame so as to reduce it to a quarter of its original quantity. Add sugar and mango puree, and maybe some mango pieces in a bowl. Mix together with hand and refrigerate. Serve and enjoy!

Kheer, payasam: The delectable kheer or payasam is pretty much the most heavenly way to make use of stale rice at home. Take one and a half cups of stale rice and put it in a pressure cooker with half a cup of water, 3 cups of sugar (caramelised or jaggery, in case of payasam) and cardamom powder along with double the quantity of milk. Give it a couple of whistles, and your kheer/payasam is ready! To complete this delectable dessert, fry some kaaju-badam in ghee and use as garnish.

Gujarati shrikhand: This one’s a summer delight. Use plain dahi and drain excess water by tying it in a cheese cloth. Let it rest for a couple of hours in the fridge. Take the thick curd and add some saffron soaked in two spoons of milk, along with sugar, cardamom powder and nuts. Wait for it to chill, then wallop with a vengeance! You can also add chopped mangoes or a seasonal fruit to enhance its flavour.

It’s time to quit phoren sweetmeats for the asli meetha. Let’s revive the malai ka khaja instead of crème brulee, malpua in place of pancakes, mawa cake over muffins, nan khatayi instead of cookies. After all, what fun it is to see the jalebi getting made from scratch in an old beaten down black kadhai and then watching it soak up kesar chashni…slurp!!

Anurita Gupta is a media professional who is passionate about two things – food and radio. Her love for all things food makes her a foodie with a cause.

(Pictures courtesy marrymeweddings.in, chefinyou.com, www.ahomemakersdiary.com, www.leicestershirediabetes.org.uk)

Categories
Beauty

Pucker up

Our beauty writer lists six easy ways to get the perfect pair of lips without too much time and effort.
by Beverley Lewis

Every woman dreams of a perfectly smooth pout and soft lips. You may think you have achieved the perfect pout on a night on the town, only to realise that once you hit your favourite nightspot your lipstick has magically disappeared, to suddenly reappear on the rim of your favourite cocktail. Since most of us suffer from a similar affliction, I have outlined a six step by step guide for kissable lips.

Scrub-a-dub: To avoid chapped lips and to get smooth lips, it is important to exfoliate your lips right after you take a shower. Squeeze a little facial scrub onto your palm, no bigger than a two-rupee coin, and gently rub this mixture back and forth over your lips. If you’re looking for an even lower maintenance exfoliation tool, try brushing your lips lightly with a damp toothbrush before you call it a night. Both these methods help get rid of dead skin and leave you with a smooth, soft lip-lock.

Get watered: It is important to maintain the moisture in your lips, so make sure you’re drinking plenty of water in order to keep your lips plump and perky. When you’re dehydrated, your lips are more likely to look deflated and wrinkled, especially if you have already have age lines around your mouth.

Once you’re hydrated, look to external moisture sources to keep your lips supple. You can opt for good old vaseline, but if you’re looking for something with a bit more edge, choose from lip butters, glosses and lipsticks that are infused with natural oils and antioxidant vitamins and minerals – they are perfect to moisturise, soothe and calm the lips.

Line ’em: Choose a liner two shades or so darker than your lipstick, and trace your natural lip line (as shown in pic on left), paying special attention to your Cupid’s Bow (the ‘V’ part of your top lip). Once lips are lined, colour in the remainder of the lip with the liner as well. This gives a nice base colour in case your lipstick gets eaten off before the night is over.

Colour me good: Now it’s time to slather on your lipstick. After you apply the first coat, blot by placing a tissue between your upper and lower lips, and pressing down. Next, swipe on another coat, then place a tissue gently over lips and dab with loose powder. The tissue acts as a filter, allowing just enough of the powder to get through to set the lipstick without changing the colour or texture of the lips.

Plump it up: Choose a gloss to highlight and plump. With gloss, you want to dab, rather than slick. A small dab of a shimmery or light-grabbing gloss in the centre of your lower lip (as shown in pic on right) will plump up your pout in an instant. That one small move adds dimension and a shot of light to your lips, drawing the eyes of you-know-who right where you want them.

Blot away: In our final step to getting the perfect pout, let’s not forget to blot. Place your index finger between your lips and pucker up. See the lipstick left on your finger? That could’ve been on your teeth. Do it again, just to be safe. And now, drum roll please, you have the perfect pout!

Beverley Lewis has written for beauty magazines and has amazing tips to share. Do you have a lip tip to add to this list? Share it in the comments section below.

(Pictures courtesy healthandbeautyremedies.wordpress.com, www.airportsinternational.com, makeupandbeauty.com)

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Guest writer

Agency wanted for post of internship

There was a time when office interns were persons with zero attitude and full commitment. Those times are clearly over.
by Mukta Lad

I turned 26 in the March that went by. That makes my experience in writing exactly eight years, considering I began working three days after I turned 18. Obviously most of the time was spent freelancing/interning for close to no money, but that’s something everyone is only too familiar with.

I still remember when I was all of 18, shaking in my boots at the prospect of my first ever interview. I came out of the meeting thanking my stars that I had landed a job without any trouble at all, never mind that there was no money involved.

Eight years since, I’m still not better off at interviews. I don’t tremble as much in my flip flops (and I still suck at negotiating for the money), but there’s the constant awareness of meeting a very senior, experienced person with more knowledge and skills than I’ll probably ever have. I try and dress decently (I work in advertising. So ‘decently’ means wearing jeans and a peasant top, rather than the usual metal tees and jeans), I am at my politest best, and I would die rather than not stick to the time that my prospective employer is expecting me at. Never mind that I just might have to wait hours before he agrees to see me, if at all.

And this is despite having three-four years of experience in the field.

So then, what is with 18-year-old kids these days?

I’ve worked with a fair share of interns. And more than 10 times that number have applied to me for an internship. I just have one question: what’s with the attitude?

From writing ridiculously pompous cover letters to sending me writing samples that they believe are Pulitzer Prize-worthy, to asking for feedback and hating the criticism, these people have done it all. Some of them are lazy, some think most intern-worthy chores are beneath them, while some are just plain bad writers proficient in denial.

The underlying, uniting factor? They all think copywriting is easy.

I’ve been asked the following questions from copy interns coming in for interviews, or while they were working with me. I present them to you in increasing order of ridiculousness.

– It’s 5.30. I have to leave. Can I do this tomorrow?
– How many times a week do you party?
– Do you need to read for this job? I kinda don’t read!
– I don’t have any writing samples, ya. Is that a problem?
– Hmm, I don’t like the idea of writing brochures. Can you give me more interesting work to do?
– Oh, you’re a ‘digital’ agency? And your ‘normal’ advertising sits downstairs? So can I join upstairs and move downstairs?    
– How famous is this agency? I don’t want to join a small place.
– I have been working on this account for two months and I don’t like it. Can you put me on some other account?
– It’s my anniversary tomorrow and I’m spending the day with my girlfriend. Cool, na?
– Oh man, we can’t come to office at 12?

And that’s just the start of things to come. I don’t think I’d muster the courage to talk to anyone like that, even when I’m 25 years old in the industry.

Just recently, a girl who desperately wanted a job never showed up for her interview. Neither did she pick up HR’s calls or respond to SMSes. We still don’t know whether she was buried alive in an avalanche somewhere on her way here. I hope she was. Many interns I see try to leave at 5 pm leaving a mound of work behind because of reasons ranging from family dinners, weddings, friends’ birthdays, farewells, airport pickups/drops, sick pets, bachelorette parties, shopping sprees before impending Goa trips…the list is endless, just like the number of events in their party calendars!

Why aren’t kids these days more scared of annoying their prospective employers with the horrible attitude? Where does this ‘I-know-a-lot-more-than-you’ attitude come from? And why do they mistake bad manners for ‘dashing attitude’ and ‘confidence’?

Sweeping generalisations aside, most of the trainees we see don’t even know the basics. And they don’t want to learn more than they already think they know. I am a copywriter, so I can only speak for advertising. They apply for a writing job and expect me to explain the difference between ‘loose’ and ‘lose’. Don’t even get me started on their full party calendar because of which they can never work late hours.

What about advertising and writing makes people believe it’s the easiest profession on the planet? What makes them think they’re going to be at Cannes the very next year, without any drudgery? How are they okay overriding seniors and establishing their own rules?  Am I the only one meeting these specimens?

And last, and perhaps the most important question: when did I become old and wise enough to call other people ‘kids’?

Mukta Lad is a copy supervisor with a leading ad agency in Mumbai. Follow her at @mooodles, or not.

(Pictures courtesy Pushkaraj Shirke, pleaseuseyourwords.blogspot.com, www.cristianoakajames.com)

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