The Pygmalion Effect - You get what you give

The Pygmalion Effect derives its name from a very famous play - Pygmalion: A Romance in Five Acts.

Doesn't ring a bell, ok, try this modern name for this old play: My Fair Lady.

This is a play about a Professor of phonetics Henry Higgins makes a bet that he can train a bedraggled Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, to pass for a duchess at an ambassador's garden party by teaching her to assume a veneer of gentility, the most important element of which, he believes, is impeccable speech.

Sounds like fun, right! But this play holds a very important lesson for us all, that expectations become self-fulfilling. Since Prof. Higgins was sure he would be able to pass off Eliza as a dutchness he was able to do so, more importantly he recognised that Eliza's manner of speech was just a matter of correction. That she was capable of more. That she had an ability she herself had not noticed as yet.

Snake in a Suit? Workplace Bullying in India

While watching Rocket Singh (Ranbir Kapoor is emerging as one of the best actors of his generation) last night, I felt very sorry about the bullying he undergoes at his workplace. 

Reflecting upon that later I realized that work place bullying is actually very rampant in India. 

Countries abroad like US, Australia, Canada & UK have very stringent laws to curb this abuse and it is legally punishable. Not so in India. This bullying has been recently captured in movies like Rocket Singh and to some extent in Karthik calling Karthik. 

Appreciation - Do you like me? Say you like me..

Image by clevercupcakes via Flickr

It costs nothing - except maybe takes a minute of your time, but can pay you back in loyalty, devotion, respect and admiration.

Would you like to know the secret that can make people your staunchest allies, those who fight for you even when you have given up? the answer is simple and plain APPRECIATION.

What is appreciation? The simple act of recognizing the efforts someone else has put in to make your life better. I cannot think of a more simpler definition.

Finding your Harry Potter

J. K. Rowling has had an interesting career before she penned Harry Potter. She has been a teacher as well as worked at Amnesty International.
It seems to me she drifted from one thing to another untill she found the courage/conviction to sit and pen down Harry Potter.
J K Rowling says that she always knew that she wanted to write stories. She knew her "Harry Potter" (my use of "Harry Potter" is in a sense to imply that which is your deepest desire and your life's calling- work that you were meant to do)

What if you don't know what your "Harry Potter" is?

Sexy, Naughty, Bitchy you?

We all know these people.

People who love to tear others apart to shreds.

They are the ones who look at you up and down. They are the ones who will dig up your past, scrutinize you till they find something they can make fun of, spread around, bitch.

Once in a while of us are guilty of the above behavior. We all know that one peevish person who can do no right in our eyes. For most, it is their boss, for others it is their peer.

But there are some who know no such boundaries. Nobody is spared their relentless barrage of “Did you see how he/she did that task?”…

Introversion: A non-viable genetic trait today?

Darwin’s theory: Survival of the fittest. It dealt only with physical traits, like moth color. But I get a sense that it can maybe also be applied to behavioural traits. And the more I look around my office, the more I sense that Extroversion is the name of the newest set of scales that will help you outrun your competitors.

The world today is for the person who will as the Survivor motto goes: “Outwit, Outplay, Outlast”. I add my bit to it: “Over-Communicate”.

The rules for the communication seem to be

1. You shall communicate only with people of importance so that you can reflect in their glory.

2. Information is power, so don’t give out your information to anyone other than people of rule 1.

So where does that leave people who are introverts?

"Introversion is the state of or tendency toward being wholly or predominantly concerned with and interested in one's own mental life".

Introverts tend to be more reserved and less assertive in social situations. They often take pleasure in solitary activities such as reading, writing, drawing, and using computers.

The archetypal artist, writer, sculptor, composer, and inventor are all highly introverted. An introvert is likely to enjoy time spent alone and find less reward in time spent with large groups of people, though they tend to enjoy interactions with close friends. They prefer to concentrate on a single activity at a time and like to observe situations before they participate.

Introverts are easily overwhelmed by too much stimulation from social gatherings and engagement. They are more analytical before speaking.[from Wikipedia]

Frankly, i am an introvert myself, and way I see the world around me, I am beginning to wonder if I should crumble at the pressure laid at my doorstep everyday to conform to extrovertism.

Another road-block in the way of introverts is that they don’t tend to tom-tom their achievements and their connections in the faces of others. Which makes them seem less important, less significant, less hard-working and simply less worthy than others in this world of “I-want-my-five-seconds-of-fame-and-will-do-anything-for-it.”

Maybe we introverts ought to gang up together against these extroverts who are pushing us beyond the point of endurance. But then how do you get together a group of people who would rather be left alone?

©Tanveer Parmar

Post from Manjiri Bhadur

The post below is from Manjiri Bhadur. A fellow blogger, I have had the opportunity to work with her in the past and she is a person whose views i admire greatly. The post below is from her blog: http://manjiri-observationsandmusings.blogspot.com and is in reference to the recent rape of a TISS students by six of her "friends". Read the blog below and spread the message. We need to now stand up against all such atrocities against women.


"I am thinking what's the point of latent anger. When a heinous crime takes place we have to hit back where it hurts. What is the biggest weapon a rapist uses after the rape is long over? Emotional and mental degradation. We need to turn the table now. We need to make sure that it is the abuser and not the abused who is shamed. How can we as a society do that?

1. Let us spread the names of the accused and their pictures through all sources on the net

2. Let us flood the newspapers with mails and put pressure to have these 'students' suspended from their colleges till the matter is being investigated

Another weapon that the accused will use will be to exploit the justice system and keep the case in abeyance till it fades from the public memory. let us fight that. The accused belong to business families right? Then let us find out what businesses their families run and call for a ban on the products or services that they offer. Do that till the decision is delivered.

Any other ideas? Let us give it back. Here are my suggestions:

Image by churl via Flickr

1. find out the missing details and fill them in

2. spread the word by forwarding this message

3. add to it by writing on your blogs and mails

Let this reach a cresecendo. make sure they don't get away with it."