Sunday, July 31, 2011

DIGIHOME – Faulty Design, Erratic Performance, Poor Customer Service, Waste of Money

DIGIHOME – Faulty Design, Erratic Performance, Poor Customer Service, Waste of Money

The aim of DIGIHOME Solutions is to enhance the quality of life. But in actual fact DIGIHOME has made my life miserable as the system is malfunctioning ever since installation more than six months ago.

In brief, I would summarize the problems of the DIGIHOME System as follows:

1. Faulty Design and Installation – There is some basic flaw in the hardware and/or software that causes repeated malfunction of the system. Maybe the system is designed to work in Western Countries like USA and Europe where conditions are ideal and there are hardly any electricity power failures or fluctuations but the design is not appropriate or robust enough for Indian conditions. In India, and especially in Pune, where the electric power supply is most erratic and fails repeatedly many times a day, the DIGIHOME system trips, resets incorrectly, malfunctions and behaves in a most erratic manner. The installation has been done in a faulty manner and this has entailed a lot of rework. Wrong RFC Units were installed which had to be changed causing damage to the plaster and the placement of the door unit is incorrect, which serves no useful purpose. Basic Safety and Security features do not work or have not been installed, like main door latch security. It appears that there was apparently a lack of coordination between the builder Rohan Builders Pune and DIGIHOME Solutions during installation.

2. Erratic Performance – The performance of the system is most erratic. Sometimes the doorbell never rings, safety and security features are unreliable, intercom does not work, Local Console trips, system malfunctions, hooters and alarms keep sounding intermittently for no reason  – for example, since last night a continuous shrill noise is emanating from the Console which is most irritating.

3. Poor Customer Service – It seems that the technicians are not properly trained and some of them are quite clueless due to frequent turnover and new faces come every time. For the last six months a number of technicians are trying to repair the faults and make the system function properly but without success. They seem to be experimenting on a trial and error basis rather that diagnosing defects systematically. The response is quite lethargic too and there seems to be a rift between the “blue collar” and “white collar” employees.

In my opinion the DIGIHOME System is a waste of money and serves no useful purpose. In fact, it causes inconvenience and frustration due to erratic performance. There is no point investing in futuristic technologies which do not work in local conditions. Maybe the infrastructure in Pune (for example, uninterrupted reliable regulated electric power supply) is not geared up for advanced technologies or maybe these futuristic systems for "intelligent" homes like Digihome are not robust enough to work properly in prevailing local conditions.

SUNDAY MORNING PEP TALK

Ou Dieu vous a seme, il faut savoir fleurir
 
YOU MUST KNOW HOW TO FLOWER WHERE GOD HAS SOWN YOU
By
VIKRAM KARVE


Long back I learnt a trick from an eminent trainer on how to get the audience to focus. I too use this technique on a few occasions when I want my audience to settle down to receptive vibes.

The moment you take the stage, you tell the audience to close their eyes for one minute and think of the one person who they consider as their most important mentor.

A few days ago, one of my brilliant ex-students, who attended a motivational lecture in her new organization and was subjected to the same exercise, rang me up and told me that it was my face that came to her mind as a mentor. 

Then she talked about her work, that she was not very happy with her new workplace which apparently did not measure up to her high expectations. I feel privileged that my ex-student considers me a mentor and I write this “pep talk” especially for her and all my dear mentees, protégées and protégés .

Ou Dieu vous a seme, il faut savoir fleurir 

YOU MUST KNOW HOW TO FLOWER WHERE GOD HAS SOWN YOU

Every person, sooner or later, goes through a moment when it seems that he or she is on the wrong road, that his entire way of life is wrong.

Have you ever experienced this feeling...?

Think about it.

Do you find yourself stuck in an incongruous career or in an incompatible relationship or in a redundant place...?

And sadly there is nothing you can do about it, owing to compulsions and constraints beyond your control.

You cannot turn around and retrace your steps or change your road of life.

It seems you have crossed the point of no return and you have no choice but to keep on travelling on the “wrong” road of life.

Failure follows failure ... and with repeated failure comes the fear of failure.

It is indeed a terrible vicious cycle which gradually overwhelms you with the chill of despondency.

What can you do in such a situation...?

Maybe the answer lies in a saying I read somewhere a few years ago and noted in my diary:

“ Ou Dieu vous a seme, il faut savoir fleurir ” 

which roughly translated means

“You must know how to flower where God has sown you”
  
or  
 
“wherever God plants you, there you must learn how to bloom”.

How do you learn to flower where God has sown you?
 
How do you bloom wherever God plants you?

You may turn to the Enchiridion of Epictetus for guidance.
 
Epictetus (A.D.55 – A.D. 135), the great Stoic Philosopher, states that happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle:  

Some things are within our control, and some things are not in our control.

This is the basic Stoic truth of subjective consciousness and it is only after you have faced up to this fundamental rule and learned to distinguish between what is in your power from what is not in your power, and know what you can control and what you cannot control, that inner tranquility and outer effectiveness become possible.

On analytical reflection we find that the mind alone can be brought under our control. Everything else, the world of events and people’s behaviour, is beyond the scope of our control.

What disturbs you are not events but your attitude towards them.

Don’t demand or except that events happened as you would wish them to. Accept events as they actually happen. And you will be at peace with yourself.

Except for extreme physical abuse, other people cannot hurt you unless you allow them to.  

Don’t consent to be hurt and you won’t be hurt.

You must learn to approach life as a banquet and not as a buffet.

Think of your life as if it were a banquet where you would behave graciously:

When a dish is passed to you, extend your hand and help yourself to a moderate portion. 

If a dish should pass you by, enjoy what is already on your plate.

Or if a dish hasn’t been passed to you yet, patiently wait for your turn.

Carry on the same attitude of polite restrain and gratitude to your children, spouse, colleagues, friends, career and money.  

There is no need to yearn, envy and grab.  

You will get your rightful share when it is your time.

It then becomes our paramount duty to control the mind and practice total unconcern to externals.  

“When something happens, the only thing in your power is your attitude toward it ... you can either accept it or resent it.”

To accept an event is to rise above it, to resent it to be overpowered by it.

With acceptance comes happiness, with resentment comes misery.

Acceptance of an event is not to be mistaken for a life of passivity or submission to fatalism characterized by laziness and a sense of helplessness. “Simply doing nothing does not avoid risk, but heightens it.” 

Epictetus exhorts us, therefore, to brave the storms of life with planned action born of clear thinking. He recognizes, too, the practical necessity of working for worldly gains, but cautions us only against the false belief that happiness depends on the results such endeavours.

Being an integral part of social structure, you cannot live in isolation; social interaction is inescapable.

In your relationship with others at home, at work or in society, no matter how people behave, you have to maintain inner tranquility, with unwavering attention on achieving your own merit and excellence.

People act under their own inner compulsions over which you can exercise no control. Epictetus advises: “Focus not on what he or she does, but on keeping to your higher purpose”.

He assures that if you truly live in tune with your will and resolve, and in harmony with your inner self, nobody’s words or actions (barring extreme cases) can disturb your mental equipoise.

Duty of any kind is not to be slighted.  

A person should not be judged by the nature of his duties, but by the manner in which he performs his duties.

In his discourse on Karma Yoga Swami Vivekananda says:  

“A shoemaker who can turn out a strong, nice pair of shoes in the shortest possible time is a better man, according to his profession and his work, than a professor who talks nonsense every day of his life”.  

Remember, Fatigue lies in half-heartedness.

If we do with sincerety, with full zest and enthusiasm, the duty which is in our hands now, we make ourselves happy. 

The key is to work with freedom and love and without too much expectation.

Try to accomplish something wherever you are and do not compare with others.

Undue hankering after rewards will render you akin to a slave of your expectations; you must work for your own internal satisfaction  work like a master and not as a slave.

This glorious attitude to life and knowledge of your self makes you free in a world of dependencies and enables you to flower where God has sown you, to bloom wherever God plants you.

Ou Dieu vous a semeil faut savoir fleurir "

Wherever God plants you, there you must learn how to bloom. 
 
You must know how to flower where God has sown you.

I wish you, dear reader, all the luck - may you flower and bloom wherever God has sown you.
 
 
VIKRAM KARVE
 
Copyright © Vikram Karve 2011
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
 
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Did you like this article? I am sure you will like the stories in my recently published book COCKTAIL comprising twenty seven short stories about relationships. To know more please click the link below:

About Vikram Karve

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer. Educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures(2008) and is currently working on his novel. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for almost 14 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing. Vikram lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts. 

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

DO YOU EAT YOUR FOOD TWICE ?

HOW TO EAT 

A GUIDE ON THE ART OF EATING 
By
VIKRAM KARVE



Are you in the habit of “grabbing a bite”...?
Do you ever eat in the office while continuing to work or just skip meals altogether...?
Do you multitask while eating...?
Do you have power breakfasts, working lunches and business dinners...?
Do you eat fast and hurriedly, finish meals well ahead of everyone else and eat in bigger bites without savoring the taste of food...? 
Can you vividly recall the taste of all the dishes you ate during your last meal? 
Do you eat when you eat...?
Do you want to master the Art of Eating and learn how to enjoy your food...?
Remember, there is no love greater than the love of eating – so read on, learn and try to master the Art of Eating...  
Good food must be savored delicately; slowly, attentively and respectfully; in a befitting manner, with finesse and technique, with relish and appreciation and you will experience true gustatory delight.
That’s essence of the Art of Eating.  
It is sacrilege to eat in a ravenous and rapacious manner.
Never eat when tired, angry, worried, tense, hurried, and at mealtimes refuse to think or talk about unpleasant subjects.  
It is best to eat alone, mindfully, with yourself, in glorious solitude, in a calm, serene, conducive and unhurried environment.
If you must have company, you must always eat with friendly, relaxed and tranquil people who love food and whose company you enjoy; never eat with “toxic”, “harried” or “stressed-out” people or in a tense or hurried atmosphere.  
If you want to do full justice to good food, you must build up an appetite for it – merely being hungry is not enough.
And the first step towards building up an appetite for good food is to think about it – simulated imaginative gustatory visualization to stimulate and prepare yourself for the sumptuous indulgence.
An important thing we were taught at boarding school was to read the menu and prepare for the meal by beginning to imagine relishing each and every dish, from soup to pudding, in our mind’s eye.  
Remember: First plan your “eat” and then eat your “plan”. 
It is true.
I eat my food twice. Yes, I  EAT MY FOOD TWICE.
First I "eat" in my mind’s eye – imagining, visualizing, “vicariously tasting”, fantasizing, strategizing on how I am going to savor and relish the dish to my utmost pleasure and satisfaction till my mouth waters and I desperately yearn to eat it.
And then I do the honours – actually go ahead and physically eat it and enjoy the delightful experience.
That is what you must do - EAT YOUR FOOD TWICE - first taste the food in your mind and then relish the food on your tongue.  
Eating is not a gustatory experience alone; it is visual and olfactory as well.
Food must look good, smell good, taste good and, most importantly, food must make you feel good.
The Art of Eating – a Holistic, Multidimensional experience, encompassing all domains of your inner being.
Eat in silence. Mindfully. With full awareness.
Savour the aroma, delicately place the food on your tongue, chew slowly and experience the variety of flavours as the permeate your taste buds, fully aware and sense the nourishment as the food dissolves and sinks deep within you.
Chew your food to a pulp or milky liquid until it practically swallows itself.
Never mix food and drink – alcohol dulls the taste buds, and olfactory sensation, and encumbers the unmitigated enjoyment of good food.  
You must always close your eyes during the process of eating.
When you eat, you must eat. Do nothing else while eating. No seeing, no hearing, no talking. No multitasking. 
That’s right – you must never multi-task while eating.
Just eat.
Yes, when you eat just eat.

Focus all your senses on your food, eat mindfully, meditatively, and you will attain a state of delightful bliss and happiness.  
It is simple. Very simple.

Create a positive eating atmosphere, an environment of happy conducive vibes, honour your taste buds, respect your food and eat it in a proper state of mind, with love, zest, awareness and genuine appreciation and it will transport you to a state of bliss and happiness.
Remember: There is no love greater than the love of eating.  
In a nutshell, this is the "Art of Eating". 

Dear Reader, long back I read a Teaching Story (Inspirational Tale), maybe it was a Zen or Tao Story, quoted by Thich Nhat Hanh, from where I derived my inspiration for The Art of Eating. I am giving you my version of this teaching story below for you to read and reflect on, as I feel it is most apt here, in your quest to master the ART OF EATING:

Spirituality, Meditation and Art of Living had become the “in thing”.
Courses on the Art of Living were proliferating all over and every one was rushing to attain instant happiness, inner peace, nirvana and bliss.
A wise old man, a teacher, living in the neighbourhood announced that he would teach instant Art of Living free of cost.
On the first day he drew a huge crowd.
“What do you all want to achieve?” the teacher asked the audience.
“Inner peace, tranquillity and true happiness,” everyone shouted in unison.
“For that you have to attain enlightenment.” the teacher said.
"How?" the audience asked.
“By practicing the Art of Living,” the teacher said. 
“How do you practice the Art of Living? Please teach us,” the audience asked the teacher eagerly.
“It is simple – just eat and sleep,” the teacher said, “you can practise the art of living by eating and by sleeping.”
“What nonsense!” the astounded audience exclaimed.
“Yes,” said the teacher nonchalantly, “When Hungry, Eat; and When Tired, Sleep – that is the Art of Living”.
“Everybody does that!” shouted the audience.
“No. Everybody does not Eat when they Eat and everybody does not Sleep when they Sleep”, the teacher said calmly, “but when I eat, I only eat and when I sleep I only sleep. That is the Art of Living I practice – I live in the present moment fully focussed on whatever I am doing with full awareness.”

So, Dear Reader: Please do not GRAB THAT BITE  - never eat in a hurry, never multitask while eating, when you eat just eat.

Remember the cardinal principle of the art of eating. Always eat your food twice. First plan your “eat” (in your mind) and then eat your “plan” (on your tongue).

All the Best...!  
Happy Eating...!

VIKRAM KARVE 
Copyright © Vikram Karve 2011
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
© vikram karve., all rights reserved. 

Did you like this article? I am sure you will like the stories in my recently published book COCKTAIL comprising twenty seven short stories about relationships. To know more please click the link below:

About Vikram Karve
A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer. Educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures(2008) and is currently working on his novel. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for almost 14 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing. Vikram lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts. 

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

A GAME OF BADMINTON - MY FAVOURITE SHORT STORIES Part 18

MY FAVOURITE SHORT STORIES
Part 18 - A GAME OF BADMINTON
By
VIKRAM KARVE

Badminton is a game where you volley a shuttlecock back and forth over a net.

My life is like a game of badminton. I am the shuttlecock and my mother and my father are the two opposing players.

Let me explain.

My parents are getting divorced. Now both are highly qualified MBAs and have very meticulously divided their assets and very painstakingly shared their liabilities. Except me. They don’t know how to divide me, so they are fighting it out in court, battling it out for my custody. And till they finally decide this way or the other, I am being tossed from one parent to the other like a shuttlecock. From Monday to Thursday, after school is over, I take the Aundh Bus to stay at my mother’s place; and on Friday, I take the Kondhwa Bus to spend the weekend with my father, and precisely before six on Sunday evening he has to drop me off at my mother’s place, and if we are late even by one minute she raises a hue and cry and complains to the family court.

After Two Years

My life is still like a game of badminton. But there is a slight difference. Now, instead of badminton singles, it is a game of mixed doubles.

Let me explain.

On one side of the badminton court are my father and step-mother and, across the net, on the other side are my mother and step-father. And I am still the shuttlecock being tossed from one side to the other, back and forth. However, there is also a big difference. Earlier, when they used to play badminton singles, the rallies were short and sweet, the volleys were gentle, and each player wanted the shuttlecock to fall on their own side of the court. Now, in mixed doubles, the rallies and long and painful, the smashes are hard, and the players, especially the new players, want the shuttlecock to fall on the other side of the court, across the net.

Want me to explain? I don’t think I need to.

But I am afraid of one thing. Soon the shuttlecock may get worn out. Then, will they toss the shuttlecock out of the court?

Oh my God! An even more terrible thought comes to my mind. Once they get rid of the old shuttlecock, maybe the mixed doubles partners may start playing badminton singles with each other with their own new shuttlecocks.

You got the drift of what I am trying to say, didn’t you? Now tell me one thing. Am I an asset to be divided or a liability to be shared?


VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2011
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. 
© vikram karve., all rights reserved. 

Did you like this story?
I am sure you will like the stories in my recently published book COCKTAIL comprising twenty seven short stories about relationships. 
To know more please click the link below:

About Vikram Karve

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer. Educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures(2008) and is currently working on his novel. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for almost 14 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing. Vikram lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.