MiddlePen

josh-appel-QSipy5RFcSA-unsplash Some years back, I was at the mall with my son for apparel shopping. As he was half-way in his teens, I took it upon myself to teach him the difference between being economical and being miserly. Pertinently, the line between the two is not that thin for these two lines of thought to seem indistinguishable. As my son went through one shirt to the other and then another with a confused countenance, I asked him if the navy blue shirt with a small print in white on it was what he wanted?! He had held this shirt longer and had eyed it temptingly. But something was holding him back. It was the steep price tag he said. It was an expensive shirt as it had a wonderful trendy print. Its tag flaunted a wrinkle free promise and fabric superiority. This shirt I’m sure would render my son’s next free photo-shoot  by a generous friend a good outcome. He looked at me for the signal. I gave in considering his sentiments. I wasn’t economical this ...

sebastian-molina-fotografia-100061-unsplash James Bond movies introduced us to the first smarty-pants spy who sneakily recorded evidence. He used a micro camera enabled with voice recording cleverly embedded in his fountain pen to relay back information. His impressive use of secret gadgets made him stylishly invincible. In modern times, everyone is invincible! Courtesy, easily accessible and affordable high-tech gadgetry. Spying is no longer a matter of intrigue. The smartphone is the single most potent tool to encourage the spy within us. Screenshots, voice recordings, geotracking, confirmation of messages seen and a million apps have unconcealed  human activity . Add to this, the all-powerful CCTV with microphones that not only capture every single movement and expression of the employees at workplace, but capture their audio conversations too. Its a matter of debate if this prying has added to increased transparency in our relationships or depleted mutual trust. ...

Photo by Guduru Ajay bhargav from Pexels Its pitiable to see the poor sleeping on an empty stomach. Famished, malnourished and gaunt little kids prance around with hope at the traffic lights  waiting for their next mouthful from a generous donor. Millions in India, depend on begging for a square meal.  The brutality of hunger is a systematic conduct in a country which sets new records in grain production every other year. As per United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), “produce worth $14 billion is damaged annually, even as 194 million Indians go hungry every day” .   Travelling by road, its common to see warehouses overflowing with grain. First the wheat rots and then the rice rots. Again, the wheat rots and then the rice rots. The cycle goes on forever. Both, the grain waiting to get packed after harvest and that packed in gunny bags lies exposed to the vagaries of nature. Rain, birds and rodents have an open invitation. The poor...

Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels Is 'love' a synonym for 'like' ?! I am amused at the heart shaped presumably ‘like’ icon of Twitter and Instagram. There is no other option available but to click the heart icon if you’ve liked a post. Facebook and YouTube, on the other hand, offer a range of icons to choose from. Their ‘like’ icon is the muted thumbs up symbol and a separate heart shaped icon for ‘love’ (to convey elevated likeness) besides a choice of other icons for separate emotions. ‘Love’ becoming a synonym for ‘like’ must have happened while generation Z was transitioning from FB to Insta. As a consequence, everyone is ‘hearting’ their likeness and turning the world into a confused mushy muddle. ‘Love you’ and ‘love you too’ are now too often used in conversation. In online social-media communication, the lovey-dovey emojis are disproportionately popular. Heart-escaping-the-lips and another one with love-hearts-pasted-all-over-the-face are the fa...

On an average, how many hours do you work a day? Once, Jack Ma, the Chinese e-commerce tycoon, faced an angry backlash  for his ‘996’ prescription. Translated, it means, the employee starts the commute at 8 a.m. to reach office at 9 a.m. and then leave office at 9 p.m. (for six days in a row). Excellent hard-core work recipe for start-ups and strivers to make it big through huge sacrifices. Rules of office work don’t apply to them and they don’t have HR folks breathing down their necks Gauging the sentiment from the backlash, it is clear that employees,  all over the world are less willing to work long hours. They want to enjoy their leisure time for a balanced meaningful   existence .  Later responding to criticism, Jack Ma rectified that his 996 prescription also included time for study, reflection and self-improvement . Pixabay Facts A work week in USA is maximum 40 hours since 1940 . Europeans work an equal or lesser number of wor...

Give Me Some Sunshine, Give Me Some Rain Give Me Another Chance I Wanna Grow Up Once Again Saari Umrr Hum Mar Mar Ke Ji Liye Ik Pal Toh Abb Hamein Jine Do, Jine Do Na Na Na Na Na Na...... Remember these catchy lyrics from the blockbuster movie, “Three Idiots” pleading for sunshine?! It was metaphoric. With us playing hide and seek with sunshine, it’s time now to literally plead for it. Exposure of skin to sunlight produces vitamin D. Called the “Sunshine Vitamin”, vitamin D helps in better transportation and absorption of calcium in bones preventing osteoporosis (weakened and brittle bones that cause fractures). Low levels of vitamin D also cause fatigue and muscle weakness. Despite India being a  tropical country with plentiful sunshine, Vitamin D deficiency has become a national public health emergency as per experts. That’s unfortunate! Sunlight is the best source of vitamin D. Congested dwellings in dense metropolitan cities and atmospheric pollut...

boys-286179_960_720 Before age 30, Michael   Phelps , had won 28 Olympic medals in swimming. He’s been declared the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time.  In a recent interview, he disclosed that he's struggling with depression. It was unbelievable! Michael Phelps could achieve world-wide stardom at a young age what millions in the world would die to achieve striving their entire lives and maybe still not get lucky. Phelps recently achieved yet another milestone by making his mental health issues public. Many more public figures have come forward candidly talking about their depression battles. Which means, the mental health problem is all pervasive and needs attention. Happily, there are solutions other than medication.  Try a cocktail of behavioral strategies to combat depression. ( listed in the article below ) Facts Depression can strike anyone at any time. It causes a sharp dip in energy and erodes the will to l...