Whose parachute are you packing?

Here is another of my favorite story from the book “The habit of winning” by Prakash Iyer. You may find this interesting!!

Charlie Plumb is an incredible guy. A decorated US war veteran, a navy fighter pilot. And a fabulous example of the indomitable human spirit.

He flew the F-4 Phantom fighter aircraft on seventy-four successful combat mission over North Vietnam. With five days to go to his return home, on his 75th mission, disaster struck. His plane was shot down. Luckily, Captain Plumb managed to eject out of the aircraft and activate his parachute. That saved his life. Unluckily for him, he was captured and jailed, confined to a tiny cell--8 feet by 8 feet. He spent the next 2103 days--that’s six long years--being tortured and humiliated as a prisoner of war before he could finally return home.

Charlie now spends his time sharing his story with others, helping people discover the strengths they need to tap into to overcome challenges in their own lives. He talks of the fear and the loneliness, the stench emanating from the bucket that served as his toilet, the darkness and the gloom in his cell. And he talks of surviving, of not letting the spirit take a beating, of never giving up.

But my favourite Charlie Plumb story is set in happier times. It’s not about the six years of misery in a Vietnam jail but about a calm evening in a restaurant in Kansas City, several years later. Charlie was enjoying his meal when he noticed a gentleman seated a few tables away. He had to notice him. The gentleman was staring at him.

Charlie didn’t think much of it until, a few minutes later, the man walked up to him and said: ‘You’re Charlie Plumb?’

‘Yes,’ replied Captain Plumb, standing up and extending his hand in greeting.

‘You flew jet fighters in Vietnam. You were on the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down. You parachuted into enemy hands and spent six years as a prisoner of war,’ continued the stranger.

‘How in the world do you know all that?’ asked Captain Plumb.

He replied. ‘I was the guy who packed your parachute.’

Captain Plumb was left quite speechless, a sense of shock mixed with awe, even as the man continued with a twinkle in his eye, ’I guess it worked!’

Captain plumb thanked the man again, and again, and before parting, he couldn’t help asking: ‘Do you remember all the parachutes you packed?’

‘Not quite,’ came the reply. ‘It’s enough for me just to know that I have served.’

Later that night, as Captain Plumb tossed about in his bed, his mind flashed back to his days as a fighter pilot. He wondered how many times he may have passed by the ‘parachute packer’ without even acknowledging his presence. He wondered if he ever said ‘Good morning!’ or ‘How are you?’ to the man. After all, Captain Plumb was a fighter pilot and the other guy was just a sailor. He couldn’t have cared less.

We may not all be fighter pilots but we all have our parachute packers. People who build our safety nets, encourage us and, in their own small ways, make our successes possible. They remain unsung but somewhere inside, you know they made a difference. It could be that teacher from primary school, that salesman in a faraway town, that workman in the factory, that super-efficient secretary or that accounts clerk who always seemed to have the information you urgently needed…Through life’s challenges, through the take-offs and crash landings in your career and life, they were the people who made it all possible when the going got tough, they kept you going. They just did their jobs—but boy, they sure made you look good. Who do you turn to when the chips are down? So who is packing your parachute?

Unlike Captain Plumb, we aren’t always fortunate enough to come face to face with our parachute packers. So we often don’t get the chance to say thank you. Good idea then to think of the parachute packers in your life, and pick up the phone to thank them. Today. Now.

More important, it’s also good idea to ask the question: whose parachute are you packing? Who are the people you provide strength and encouragement to? Which people will put your name in the list of folks who made a difference to their lives? Real success and happiness often emerge not from the personal glory of winning but from the joy of having helped someone else win. Making a difference to someone—that’s really what makes the difference in life. Time to practice your parachute-packing skills!

Thanks Rohan for suggesting this book and Nisha for urging me to get back to blogging.

SASTA PREETHI

Lord Sasta, also popularly known as Lord Ayyappa is known to be the offspring of Shiva and Vishnu (as Mohini, in his female form) and is widely worshipped in Kerala. The most famous and well known shrine of Lord Sasta is the Sabarimala (mountain) situated at Kerala, India. Every year millions of people visit this shrine and seek the blessings of the Lord.

On 14th January every year, the Makara (Capricorn) star is shone on the sky, and a flickering flame (jyoti) appears on top of the neighboring hill, Kantha malai, and is considered to be celestial divine light. Devotees see this light as Lord incarnate and millions of people wait patiently to witness this beautiful sight.

At Mumbai (earlier Bombay), the Lord Sastha festival, known as Sasta Preethi is celebrated at several places. One of these, which I am writing about in this post is the Nurani Sasta festival which is being celebrated at Mumbai for the last 88years. Nurani, primarily is a small village in Palakkad, Kerala where this festival is being celebrated for long. Many of the people from Nurani who descended in Mumbai for a livelihood have been celebrating this festival at Mumbai to ensure the tradition is maintained.

The Sasta festival started in a place called Parel, Mumbai where most of the people from Nurani initially stayed as bachelors. Years later when most of them shifted to another locality in Mumbai named Matunga, the festival was celebrated at various halls namely Napoo Hall, Rambaug, Bhajana Samaj and finally at Asthika Samaj where it is being celebrated even today. The function consists of hymns (bhajans) being sung in the praise of the Lord to invoke his blessings. People in large numbers from distant places come for the festival which is held on the last Saturday of December or the first Saturday of January every year. Loud chants of ‘Saranam Ayyappa’ and ‘Sasta Saranam’ are heard, thus hailing the Lord for his bounty. People present their offerings to the Lord in the form of milk, coconuts, fruits and flowers.

Till the year 1991, at the end of the rituals, devotees were given neyappam/payasam (sweet preparations) as blessings from the Lord. In 1991, in remembrance of Shyamalam, brother of Dr. NS Doraiswamy), it was decided by Dr. Doraiswamy to serve food to all the devotees who came for the function.

This practice of serving lunch continued thereafter and even today the managing committee continues the practice of serving the devotees with delicious food which is a three course South Indian serving consisting of Sambhar, Rasam, Curd accompanied by rice and other side dishes. Payasam made of rice and milk and sugar/ jaggery is the favourite of one and all and is generally gormandized in true south Indian style( where the entire palm is covered with this delicacy and straight it goes into the mouth).

What a gastronomical delight this is? Proof of the pudding is in the eating. Till 1990, the festival was celebrated on Saturday evenings and since 1991, it is being celebrated on Saturday mornings. Around four hundred to five hundred people come for the pooja to invoke the blessings and partake in the afternoon lunch. Afternoon siesta is a must after getting drunk with DELICIOUS MOUTH WATERING PAYASAM and CHATACHATAYAM.

Another significant aspect of the celebration is the melodious singing of the bhajans (hymns) and some of the devotees are so much taken over by these bhajans that their whole body starts shaking and they lose themselves totally gripped due to their deep devotion. It is said that Lord Sasta appears to them and they get totally captivated by the Lord’s divine presence in them. Typically, this phenomenon has been happening to the family members of Late Capt. Chellappa and Kutty Mama. This year, Mani and Dorai of these families were totally gripped by the divinity of the Lord.

As is the case, there are always stalwarts who are behind the success and continuance of this festival which has been in existence for eighty eight long years. The pioneers were Nana Mama, Cheecha Mama, Chidambara Ayya, Paiyyan Mama, Appathorai Mama, Kutty Mama, Capt. Chellappa, NSV Iyer, Neelakandan mama, Natesan mama, Dr. Dorai, Sivarama Mama, Akka Konthai Mama, Keerai Ambi Mama, Kali Raasu, Aamu, Dr. Anand, and the like. The present committee has stalwarts like Ramani, Dr. Bharat, Seshan, Kuttan to name a few and they have been shouldering the responsibility with great élan. Kudos to these stalwarts for making this happen. If some names are missed out, it is unintentional and totally due to my ignorance. I am apologetic for errors of omission and commission.

This year the function was held on 7th January. The function, Sasta Preethi, as it is known, was always held on the same day both at Nurani, Pallakad, and at Mumbai. This year, however, a change was made and it has been decided that the Sasta Preethi at Mumbai will be held a week after the same is conducted at Nurani to facilitate people at both places to attend the functions. The function was a grand success this year and around four hundred people had attended the same.

Parashu a.k.a. Bhajji and Rajaram brought in the requisite energy and enthusiasm with their very presence and rendition of bhajans that proved to be the icing on the cake. Bhajji requires special mention since he left a special mark on the function and ensured that all of us present fully participated. We need more folks like Bhajji who can bring in this ‘infectious enthusiasm.’

Overall it was a grand festival and a day to remember. All of us were the recipients of Lord Sasta’s blessings, and I am sure that it would have spurred all those present to ensure that this festivity of Lord Sasta grows from strength to strength each coming year. I request all Nurani ites to send their comments and add details I have missed. Thanks.

SWAMIYE SARANAM AYYAPPA!!
DHARMA SASTA VE SARANAM!!

Christmas is about giving

This is a season of giving.

Christians around the world pause to celebrate the birth of Christ, and the spirit of giving which is so gracefully embodied in that first Christmas almost 2,000 years ago.

It is a simple truth, even self-evident, yet magnificently profound and powerful. For life consists of giving. We are, each of us, unique, with our own contributions to make. At the same time, we are part of a greater whole. Giving is what keeps us connected. The more we give of ourselves, the more we strengthen our own unique aliveness. The gifts we give become part of the world around us, where they grow in value with each life they touch.

Anything that we truly and sincerely give, we will never lose.

True giving means giving of one's self. The physical object, if there is one, is merely a token. The essence of the gift is in the giving, in the expression of sincere love and caring. When you give a part of yourself, it is not gone, it is bigger and better than ever.

Giving is the most self-serving thing you can do.

And therein lies the beauty of life.

~ Ralph Marston


"Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts."

~ Janice Maeditere

Rising like the Phoenix

My friend,Rohan,send me the following story on how a baby giraffe learns to walk. You may find it relevant to some of the turbulence you would have faced in your life sometimes!

Baby giraffes never go to a business school. But they learn a very important management lesson early in life. A lesson that all of us would do well to remember.

The birth of a baby giraffe is quite an earth-shaking event. The baby falls from its mother’s womb, some eight feet above the ground. It shrivels up and lies still, too weak to move.

The mother giraffe lovingly lowers her neck to kiss the baby giraffe. And then something incredible happens. She lifts her long leg and kicks the baby giraffe, sending it flying up in the air and tumbling down on the ground.

As the baby lies curled up, the mother kicks the baby again and again. Until the baby giraffe, still trembling and tired, pushes its limbs and for the first time learns to stand on its feet. Happy to see the baby standing on its own feet, the mother giraffe comes over and gives it yet another kick. The baby giraffe falls one more time, but now quickly recovers and stands up.

Mama Giraffe is delighted. She knows that her baby has learnt an important lesson:
Never mind how hard you fall, always remember to pick yourself up and get back on your feet.

Why does the mother giraffe do this? She knows that lions and leopards love giraffe meat. So unless the baby giraffe quickly learns to stand and run with the pack – it will have no chance of survival.

Most of us though are not quite as lucky as baby giraffes. No one teaches us to stand up every time we fall. When we fail, when we are down, we just give up.

No one kicks us out of our comfort zone to remind us that to survive and succeed, we need to learn to get back on our feet.

If you study the lives of successful people though, you will see a recurring pattern. Were they always successful in all they did? No.

Did success come to them quick and easy? No, You will find that the common streak running through their lives is their ability to stand up every time they fall. The ability of the baby giraffe!

The road to success is never an easy one. There are several obstacles, and you are bound to fall sooner or later. You will hit a road block, you will taste failure. But success lies in being able to get up every time you fall.May this story inspire you to come out wiser, stronger & shining from every fall.

Thanks to my student, Sangeeta, for pushing me to start posting on my blog.

IF By Rudyard Kipling

This one by the great poet has always inspired me

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

The Law of the Garbage Truck™ by David J. Pollay

How often do you let other people’s nonsense change your mood? Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive employee ruin your day? Unless you’re the Terminator, you’re probably set back on your heels. However, the mark of your success is how quickly you can refocus on what’s important in your life. Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson. And I learned it in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Here’s what happened.

I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, the car skidded, the tires squealed, and at the very last moment our car stopped just one inch from the other car’s back-end.

I couldn’t believe it. But then I couldn’t believe what happened next. The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us. How do I know? Ask any New Yorker, some words in New York come with a special face. And for emphasis, he threw in a one finger salute, as if his words were not enough.

But then here’s what really blew me away. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was friendly. So, I said, “Why did you just do that!? This guy could have killed us!” And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, “The Law of the Garbage Truck™.” He said:

Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they look for a place to dump it. And if you let them, they’ll dump it on you.

So when someone wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Believe me. You’ll be happier.

So I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the street? It was then that I said, “I don’t want their garbage and I’m not going to spread it anymore.”

I began to see Garbage Trucks. Like in the movie “The Sixth Sense,” the little boy said, “I see Dead People.” Well now “I see Garbage Trucks.” I see the load they’re carrying. I see them coming to dump it. And like my taxi driver, I don’t take it personally; I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move on.

One of my favourite football players of all time is Walter Payton. Every day on the football field, after being tackled, he would jump up as quickly as he hit the ground. He never dwelled on a hit. Payton was ready to make the next play his best. Over the years the best players from around the world in every sport have played this way: Tiger Woods, Nadia Comaneci, Muhammad Ali, Bjorn Borg, Chris Evert, Michael Jordan, and Pele are just some of those players. And the most inspiring leaders have lived this way: Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King.

See, Roy Baumeister, a psychology researcher from Florida State University, found in his extensive research that you remember bad things more often than good things in your life. You store the bad memories more easily, and you recall them more frequently.

So the odds are against you when a Garbage Truck comes your way. But when you follow The Law of the Garbage Truck™, you take back control of your life. You make room for the good by letting go of the bad.

The best leaders know that they have to be ready for their next meeting. The best sales people know that they have to be ready for their next client. And the best parents know that they have to be ready to welcome their children home from school with hugs and kisses, no matter how many garbage trucks they might have faced that day. All of us know that we have to be fully present, and at our best for the people we care about.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their lives.

What about you? What would happen in your life, starting today, if you let more garbage trucks pass you by?

Here’s my bet: You’ll be happier.

You have a choice. Make it today.

Have a Garbage Free Day! ™

A Tale of Two Seas

This story was sent by my friend, Rohan, and I liked the perspective which I am sharing.

Sitting in the Geography class in school, I remember how fascinated I was when we were being taught all about the Dead Sea. As you probably recall, the Dead Sea is really a Lake, not a sea (and as my Geography teacher pointed out, if you understood that, it would guarantee 4 marks in the term paper!) It’s so high in salt content that the human body can float easily. You can almost lie down and read a book! The salt in the Dead Sea is as high as 35% - almost 10 times the normal ocean water. And all that saltiness has meant that there is no life at all in the Dead Sea. No fish. No vegetation. No sea animals. Nothing lives in the Dead Sea.

And hence the name: Dead Sea.

While the Dead Sea has remained etched in my memory, I don't seem to recall learning about the Sea of Galilee in my school Geography lesson. So when I heard about the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea and the tale of the two seas - I was intrigued.

Turns out that the Sea of Galilee is just north of the Dead Sea. Both the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea receive their water from river Jordan. And yet, they are very, very different.

Unlike the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee is pretty, resplendent with rich, colorful marine life. There are lots of plants. And lots of fish too. In fact, the Sea of Galilee is home to over twenty different types of fishes.
Same region, same source of water, and yet while one sea is full of life, the other is dead. How come?

Here’s apparently why. The River Jordan flows into the Sea of Galilee and then flows out. The water simply passes through the Sea of Galilee in and then out - and that keeps the sea healthy and vibrant, teeming with marine life.

But the Dead Sea is so far below the mean sea level, that it has no outlet. The water flows in from the river Jordan, but does not flow out. There are no outlet streams. It is estimated that over 7 million tons of water evaporate from the Dead Sea every day. Leaving it salty. Too full of minerals. And unfit for any marine life.

The Dead Sea takes water from the River Jordan, and holds it. It does not give.

Result? No life at all.

Think about it.

Life is not just about getting. Its about giving. We all need to be a bit like the Sea of Galilee.

We are fortunate to get wealth, knowledge, love and respect. But if we don't learn to give, we could all end up like the Dead Sea. The love and the respect, the wealth and the knowledge could all evaporate. Like the water in the Dead Sea.

If we get the Dead Sea mentality of merely taking in more water, more money, more everything the results can be disastrous.

Good idea to make sure that in the sea of your own life, you have outlets. Many outlets. For love and wealth - and everything else that you get in your life. Make sure you don't just get, you give too.

Open the taps. And you'll open the floodgates to happiness. Make that a habit. To share. To give.

And experience life. Experience the magic!