A PACKAGE DEAL

A PACKAGE DEAL

A Mulla Nasrudin Story

retold by

VIKRAM KARVE

Mulla Nasrudin was undertaking a journey on the high seas on board a small ship.  

A great thunderstorm arose, causing high waves, mighty winds and incessant rain, and it appeared that there seemed to be no chance of surviving. 

Mulla Nasrudin owned a magnificent palace, which he loved so much that he considered the palace his most precious and dearest possession.  It was really a beautiful palace, a marble palace of which he was very proud, in the capital of his country. 

Even the king was jealous of him and he had offered him whatsoever money he wanted for the palace, but Nasrudin was insistent that he was not going to give the palace to anyone at any price, whatsoever be the amount of money offered. Great offers had come for this palace but Mulla Nasrudin had always refused.

Now that his life was in danger he prayed to God and he said, “Listen...Almighty God...!  If you save my life I promise to sell my magnificent palace and distribute the money to the poor.”

Suddenly, the storm started subsiding.  As the sea became calm, Nasrudin started having second thoughts:  "This is too much...! Maybe the storm was going to subside anyway.  I have unnecessarily risked my lovely palace."

But Nasrudin was in for a big surprise.

As he was having these second thoughts, the storm started rising again, and gusty winds and ferocious waves started lashing the ship causing it to roll and pitch dangerously. 

Frightened out of his wits and scared to death, a contrite Nasrudin prayed to God again: “Listen God...!  Don't be bothered with my thoughts – I am a foolish man – but whatsoever I have said I am going to do.  I promise you that I will sell the palace and distribute the money to the poor.”

The storm started subsiding and again Nasrudin began having second thoughts, but now he was afraid of divine retribution.

He reached ashore safely and the next day he informed the whole town that he was going to auction his magnificent palace. 

All the rich people, the king, the prime minister, and the ministers and the generals, all came, because everybody desired to possess Nasrudin's grand palace.  And they were all surprised at what he was doing, why was he suddenly selling it – they thought Mulla Nasrudin had gone crazy.

On the day of the auction, just in front of the palace, Nasrudin kept a cat, and when all the people had gathered Nasrudin announced:  “The price of the cat is ten lakh rupees, and the price of the palace is only one rupee, but I am going to sell them together – it’s a package deal.”

The whole thing looked crazy – Ten Lakh Rupees for a Cat... Just an ordinary cat...  It looked like any ordinary wandering cat. And just One Rupee for the magnificent Palace...

But the people thought: “Why worry...? It is none of our business.”

The king purchased them – the package deal - Ten Lakh Rupees were paid for the Cat, One Rupee for the Palace.

Nasrudin pocketed the Ten Lakh rupees and with a condescending smile on his face gave the One Rupee Coin to a Beggar, looked up towards the heavens and said to God:  “Look... What I had promised I have fulfilled... The money I got from selling the palace I have distributed to the poor...!”

Dear Reader, do remember this Mulla Nasrudin Story when someone offers you a "PACKAGE DEAL" ... !!!

 

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.

I have recently written a book of short stories called COCKTAIL comprising twenty seven short stories about relationships. To know more please click the links below:

http://www.apkpublishers.com/books/fiction/cocktail_by_vikram_karve.html

http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?affid=nme

http://www.indiaplaza.in/cocktail-vikram-karve/books/9788191091847.htm

VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale, and Bishop's School Pune, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. 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. His delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book "Appetite for a Stroll". A collection of his short stories about relationships titled COCKTAIL has been published and Vikram is currently busy writing his first novel and with his teaching and training assignments. Vikram lives in Pune with his family and his muse – his pet DobermanX girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts. 

COCKTAIL - Stories about Relationships by Vikram Karve 

To Order please click the links below:

INDIAPLAZA 

http://www.indiaplaza.in/cocktail-vikram-karve/books/9788191091847.htm 

FLIPKART 

http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?affid=nme

http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?ref=f97bb964-c672-44c5-bfe2-f496cf239053 

http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?ref=53dfd28d-5c31-4e36-b0e2-79d771c06afb 

APK PUBLISHERS  (They Ship Overseas too)

http://www.apkpublishers.com/books/fiction/cocktail_by_vikram_karve.html

Creative Writing by Vikram Karve http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com 

Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com

Vikram Karve Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

Vikram Karve Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve

Foodie Book:

Appetite for a Stroll

http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o

http://shopping.sify.com/appetiteforastroll-vikram-karve/books/9788190690096.htm

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

THE IMPORTANCE OF LOVE

THE IMPORTANCE OF LOVE 

By

VIKRAM KARVE

Here is an inspirational story I read somewhere :

Long time ago in China there was a time when people used to have gardens outside there houses. Almost all the families had one.

This story is about one such ordinary family having a modest house with a garden in front.

The family was going through a tough phase as the husband was not doing well in his career, the family was financially quite badly off and this was causing discord in their home.

One evening the wife was strolling in her garden waiting for the husband to come home from work.

From the corner of her eye she saw three old men standing in the far corner of her garden.

She gradually started walking towards them.

As she came closer she noticed that they were noble looking elderly men with long white beards.

She did not recognize them, but being a kind woman, she said "I don't think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in and have a cup of tea and something to eat."

“Is the man of the house home?” they asked.

“No”, the wife said, “my husband is out.”

“Then we cannot come in now”, they replied.

In the meantime her husband returned home from work after another gruelling day.

He was obviously not in a good mood since, as usual; he had a bad day at work.

The wife immediately told him that they had guests standing outside and suggested they invite them.

Initially the husband was reluctant but then he finally agreed after being persuaded by his wife’s insistence, so he said, “Okay, go and tell them that I am home and invite them in.” 

The woman went out and invited the men in.

“We do not go into a house together,” they replied.

“Why is that?” asked the puzzled wife.

One of the old men explained: "His name is Wealth," he said pointing to one of his friends, and then pointing to the other one he said, “He is Success, and I am Love. Only one of us will come into your home. It is for you to decide which one of us three you want to invite into your home.”

Seeing the confusion on her face, they told the wife, “We suggest you go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home.”

The wife went in and told her husband about what the three old men had said.

The husband was overjoyed. “How nice,” he said, “Let us invite Success. He will make me successful in my career, I will no longer be a loser, a failure, and all our troubles will go away.”

But his wife disagreed, and said, “My dear, why don't we invite Wealth? Let him come in and fill our home with plenty of wealth – it will make us rich and prosperous and you won’t even have to work and we all can enjoy throughout our lives.”

Their daughter was listening from the other corner of the house. The daughter wanted peace and harmony in the house so she said: “Let us invite Love. Our home will then be filled with love – that’s what we need most now!”

At first they did not agree with their daughter’s suggestion but the daughter was very stubborn and would not change her mind so the two parents finally gave in and agreed to invite Love.

“Okay, we will do as our daughter says,” the husband said to his wife, “you go out and invite Love to be our guest."

The woman went out and told the three old men, “We wish to invite Love into our home.”

Love stepped forward and the wife started leading him towards her house.

As she conducted Love into her home she noticed that the other two Success and Wealth also followed and entered the house.

Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success: “I only invited Love. Why are you two coming in?”

The old men replied together: “If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would have stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever he goes, we go with him. When Love comes into your lives, into your home, into your family, Success and Wealth automatically follow.”

 

I am sure you agree, Dear Reader.

Wherever there is Love, there can be also Wealth and Success, 

and suppose even if those two, Wealth and Success are not there, it is Love that matters the most …

 

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.

I have recently written a book of short stories called COCKTAIL comprising twenty seven short stories about relationships. To know more please click the links below:

http://www.apkpublishers.com/books/fiction/cocktail_by_vikram_karve.html

http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?affid=nme

http://www.indiaplaza.in/cocktail-vikram-karve/books/9788191091847.htm

VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale, and Bishop's School Pune, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. 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. His delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book "Appetite for a Stroll". A collection of his short stories about relationships titled COCKTAIL has been published and Vikram is currently busy writing his first novel and with his teaching and training assignments. Vikram lives in Pune with his family and his muse – his pet DobermanX girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts. 

COCKTAIL - Stories about Relationships by Vikram Karve 

To Order please click the links below:

INDIAPLAZA 

http://www.indiaplaza.in/cocktail-vikram-karve/books/9788191091847.htm 

FLIPKART 

http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?affid=nme

http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?ref=f97bb964-c672-44c5-bfe2-f496cf239053 

http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?ref=53dfd28d-5c31-4e36-b0e2-79d771c06afb 

APK PUBLISHERS  (They Ship Overseas too)

http://www.apkpublishers.com/books/fiction/cocktail_by_vikram_karve.html

Creative Writing by Vikram Karve http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com 

Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com

Vikram Karve Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

Vikram Karve Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve

Foodie Book:

Appetite for a Stroll

http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o

http://shopping.sify.com/appetiteforastroll-vikram-karve/books/9788190690096.htm

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

 

Sweet Talk is not a substitute for Good Customer Service.

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR, CUSTOMER SERVICE and REPUTATION MANAGEMENT

A Layman’s View

By

VIKRAM KARVE

High on Promise but Low on Delivery. 

This sentence aptly encapsulates my recent experiences with customer service.

In the current scenario, it appears that Customer Service comprises two processes. First, we have the white-collar Customer Care Representatives who are all sweet talk (in many cases this process may be outsourced). Then, we have the blue-collar “technicians” who just do not deliver satisfactory service on the ground.

Sweet Talk is not a substitute for good Customer Service.

The customer service representatives make lofty assurances and raise expectations in you, but you are in for a big disappointment when the operations or technical service personnel do not meet those high expectations and you actually receive unsatisfactory or sub-standard service.

I will give you a few recent examples of High on Promise but Low on Delivery customer service from my personal experience.

Let me start with a recent experience of unsatisfactory customer service from a bank and then I will give you other examples also.

I had a very high opinion of ICICI Bank for many years until a recent rather upsetting experience of indifferent, insensitive and unresponsive customer service changed my impression of ICICI Bank.

More than two months ago, my daughter’s ICICI Bank Debit Card was stolen from the Ladies locker room of her gym. As she reached home from the gym, she started receiving mobile alert SMS regarding some purchases made on her debit card. She checked her purse and found her debit card missing.

She immediately called up ICICI Bank 24 Hour Customer Care Centre and informed them about the theft of the debit card and fraudulent use of the debit card as intimated by the SMS mobile alert. I must say that the customer service representative acted promptly and efficiently and did three things: he blocked the debit card, he recorded the complaint regarding fraudulent withdrawal by misuse of the debit card (which he could see on his computer) and initiated a request for reissue of a new card. 

So far so good, we were quite happy with the sweet talk and his assurances of prompt action.

I wondered how a thief could misuse the debit card, which has the signature of the holder on the reverse. Once you present your debit card to the merchant, he is supposed to swipe it, print out two copies of the chargeslip and then give you the charge-slips which you must verify for correctness and affix your signature. Then, he is required to match your signature with the one on the reverse of the debit card. Only after verifying that the two signatures match is he to process the transaction further. If the signature on the charge-slip does not match the signature on the debit card, the merchant must stop the transaction and alert the bank immediately.

Evidently, it appears that the proper procedure was not followed in this case. This is a lapse on the part of the merchant and hence the merchant who permitted the fraudulent purchase by misuse of the debit card is liable to pay up and the amount must be refunded to the customer. Surely ICICI Bank can examine the merchant’s charge slip, compare the signatures, and in case they do not match, then recover the money from the merchant for negligence and refund the money to the customer. Also, I understand that these debit cards are insured (zero liability protection) to cover purchases made on lost or stolen cards.

Over two months have passed. All the required information and documents have been submitted to ICICI Bank. Whenever we enquire about the progress of the case, the customer care representatives seem clueless and ask the same questions again and again and sweetly assure us that the matter will be settled soon. And every time there is a new sweet-talking customer service representative who makes us answer the same queries repeatedly. However, sadly, nothing is moving on the ground and we are still at square one. Whether this is due to sheer incompetence or is it a ploy to confuse and wear out the customer, I do not know.

Personal visits to the bank yielded no results as there they told my daughter to call up customer care. Even for reissue of the debit card, she was made to run from pillar to post and it took more than one month for the card to arrive which was not delivered at our address but she was asked to collect it from the bank. (Apparently, the courier could not find our address, though we regularly receive all correspondence from ICICI Bank there for so many years).

Escalation of the grievance to the nodal officer and above, as per the grievance redressal procedure on ICICI Bank website, bore no fruit, and nothing happened, except a few more sweet talking calls from the call centre asking the same questions again and again. It looks like everything was going round and round in a circle. Every time they promise the speedy resolution of the matter, but until today they have not delivered on their promises.

This High on Promise but Zero on Delivery customer service strategy puts the customer in a spin so maybe the customer feels helpless and hapless and gets fed up of banging her head against the wall and finally gives up pursuing the matter. That is exactly what my daughter feels – she is so fed up that she has thrown up her hands in despair and given up pursuing the issue. ICICI Bank has won.

As far as I am concerned, from this episode I have derived an impression that ICICI Bank Debit Cards are not adequately secure and I wonder whether one’s money is safe in ICICI Bank.

In contrast, it is not easy to misuse a State Bank of India Debit Card, because here, in addition to signing the charge slip, you are required to enter your secret PIN number when making a purchase. Thus, I feel the SBI Cards are more secure – it may not be possible for a thief to make a purchase on a stolen SBI debit card since he would not know your secret PIN number.

So, my daughter, for whom I had so proudly opened a “kiddies” account long back in ICICI Bank, has decided to bear the losses and forget about the matter, close her ICICI Bank account and shift to some other nationalised bank where she feels her money will be more secure. I too, who had a very high opinion of ICICI Bank, am wondering why the organisational behaviour towards the customer is so indifferent, leading to such inept customer service.

In my opinion, Poor Customer Service adversely affects the reputation of an organization. It appears that some organizations are not bothered about their reputation and take their customers for granted. Reputation declines when experience of an organization falls short of expectations and one of the key factors that can damage the reputation of an organization is poor customer service.

The value of reputation is frequently under-estimated because it is rarely measured. Reputation is a vital asset of an organization, particularly is the organization is a business enterprise. Whether personal or organizational, once reputation goes down, it is most difficult to restore. Reputations take years to build, but a moment to destroy. No wonder that Warren Buffet uttered these famous words: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it and if you understand this you will do things differently”

Many organizations assume that customers buy products. I feel that customers buy relationships. Acquiring a new customer is more difficult and expensive than retaining a happy and satisfied customer. Good relationships with a customer will not only get you repeat business but also bring in new customers as a result of the good word spread around by your happy and satisfied customers which will also enhance the organization’s spoken reputation. I, therefore, feel that organizations need to spruce up their organizational behaviour to emphasize a customer-responsive culture and deliver to their customers what they promise.

I feel the leitmotif of customer relationship management should be “High on Promise and High on Delivery” or to put it simply Deliver what you Promise and organizational behaviour must be tailored accordingly to meet this objective and enhance the organization’s reputation.

To be continued …

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

A BLOG A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY

A BLOG A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY

Blogging Will Change Your Life – For The Better

By

VIKRAM KARVE

If you are a blogger there is one movie you must see – Julie and Julia.

The story is about a woman who is thoroughly bored with life and is on the verge of depression. She hates her job at a call centre, her marriage has stagnated and she feels that her life has become static and there is nothing to look forward to.

Her husband introduces her to blogging, motivates her to start a blog, and start blogging about anything she likes. After considering various options, she picks up a cookbook The Art of French Cooking and decides to cook one recipe everyday and blog about it. In fact, one day when she does not post a blog, her angry fans ask her why, and this inspires her to make a commitment to herself and her readers to be regular in posting a blog. Now she has something to look forward to everyday – to cook a recipe and then write and post a blog about her culinary experience every day.

She starts feeling motivated and happy as her blog draws lots of readers, elicits numerous comments and evokes tremendous response, makes her famous, and finally culminates in her becoming a published author. Her days of depression are a long way off – a forgotten thing of the past.

That is the beauty of blogging. It gives you something to look forward to – yes, something to look forward to every day. Once you start enjoying blogging you will not sleep until you have posted something on your blog.

Blogging will make you happy as they say that the key to happiness is to have something to look forward to.

And do remember that your blog is your literary legacy in cyberspace for posterity – you may go away but your blog will remain forever.

What are the four things we all strive to do in our life – to live, to love, to learn and to leave a legacy.

Likewise there are four stages to enjoying blogging:

anticipation (looking forward to blogging) 

savouring the moment (enjoying the sheer pleasure of blogging and the joy of experiencing your creative juices flow)

expression (sharing your creativity, interacting with fellow bloggers and friends in the blogosphere to heighten your experience), and,

reflection ( harking back on your blogging experiences by re-reading your old blogs and comments of your fans for happy nostalgic memories).

Dear Reader. Start Blogging. Keep Blogging. Blogging will change your life for the better. You can take my word for it. You will feel happy as you will have something to look forward to every day.

They used to say: An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

Maybe now they will say: A blog a day keeps the doctor away.

Happy Blogging.

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.

I have recently written a book of short stories called COCKTAIL comprising twenty seven short stories about relationships. To know more please click the links below:

http://www.apkpublishers.com/books/fiction/cocktail_by_vikram_karve.html

http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?affid=nme

http://www.indiaplaza.in/cocktail-vikram-karve/books/9788191091847.htm

VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale, and Bishop's School Pune, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. 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. His delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book "Appetite for a Stroll". A collection of his short stories about relationships titled COCKTAIL has been published and Vikram is currently busy writing his first novel and with his teaching and training assignments. Vikram lives in Pune with his family and his muse – his pet DobermanX girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts. 

COCKTAIL - Stories about Relationships by Vikram Karve 

To Order please click the links below:

INDIAPLAZA 

http://www.indiaplaza.in/cocktail-vikram-karve/books/9788191091847.htm 

FLIPKART 

http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?affid=nme

http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?ref=f97bb964-c672-44c5-bfe2-f496cf239053 

http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?ref=53dfd28d-5c31-4e36-b0e2-79d771c06afb 

APK PUBLISHERS  (They Ship Overseas too)

http://www.apkpublishers.com/books/fiction/cocktail_by_vikram_karve.html

Creative Writing by Vikram Karve http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com 

Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com

Vikram Karve Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

Vikram Karve Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve

Foodie Book:

Appetite for a Stroll

http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o

http://shopping.sify.com/appetiteforastroll-vikram-karve/books/9788190690096.htm

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

IS CHIVALRY DEAD Fracas for a TUM TUM at Wakad

IS CHIVALRY DEAD

Fracas for a TUM TUM at Wakad

By

VIKRAM KARVE

Every morning I go for a long walk, with my pet dog Sherry, towards the vast open spaces, off the Mumbai Bangalore Highway, near Wakad.

When we return, it is sometimes past eight, and there is a huge rush of traffic transporting the “techies” (as the IT Nerds like to call themselves) to their offices in the Infotech Park at Hinjewadi in Pune.

Most of these overly paid and pampered techie types travel in comfortable company buses (or in their own cars) but a few prefer to ride in the six-seater rickshaws (called Tum-Tum) which carry are always cramped and overloaded with much more than the stipulated six passengers.

Why these IT Nerds prefer the Tum-Tum I do not know – maybe they are from the smaller companies, who do not provide buses, or maybe they have missed their bus and are late to work, or maybe some do not want to avail of the bus facility and they cannot drive a car either, or maybe some crazy ones think travelling in a Tum-Tum is a substitute for a vigorous work-out.

That is beside the point. Let me tell what I saw this morning.

There were around twelve of these IT Techies (maybe seven boys and five girls) at the Wakad Chowk waiting for a Tum-Tum.

The moment a Tum-Tum arrived, everyone rushed towards the Tum-Tum and it was a chaotic situation, a free-for-all mêlée, a total fracas with each one trying to get inside and elbowing out the “opponents” irrespective of gender.

Two of the tougher girls managed to get in, elbowing out some of the “weaker” boys, while the three slightly fragile girls were not strong enough or agile enough to get the better of their male competitors. While two of these girls readied themselves up for the next encounter and looked eagerly for a Tum-Tum to arrive, one particularly dainty and delicate girl was on the verge of tears and seemed to have given up the fight, wondering whether she should go home or wait for a long time till the crowd became less.

I realised, that in today’s world, chivalry has disappeared. Maybe it is because men and women work shoulder to shoulder in the workplace and even compete with each other. Maybe modern women themselves have killed the concept of chivalry as they prefer equality with their male counterparts and do not want double standards. Can you expect a man, who has a tough woman boss who scares the hell out of him, to be chivalrous towards her? Can you be chivalrous towards a woman you are afraid of, or who dominates you? Well, I think that fear and chivalry are two different things. Chivalry implies that a man is supposed to be a “Knight in Shining Armour” always ready to rescue a “damsel in distress”.

Long back, when we joined the navy, we were expected to follow code of chivalrous conduct and to show respect, courtesy, honour and gallantry towards women. It was always “Ladies First”. We opened doors for women, stood up when a woman entered a room, never failed to greet or wish them, were protective and attended to their needs, and even saluted the Ladies.  Chivalry meant graciousness, gallantry, courtesy, politeness and good conduct, especially from men towards women. Of course, with the arrival of Lady Officers in the Navy, things did become a bit quite confusing, with ambiguity as to whether woman officers ought to be treated as equally tough colleagues or dainty members of the fairer sex, but still, when in doubt we adopted the chivalrous approach.

I think this must be the same dilemma in most workplaces, and as women start equalling or even outnumbering men in the workplaces, especially in professions like IT, the concept of chivalry may become passé, a thing of the past.

So, dear young ladies of today, there are no gallant “Knights in Shining Armour” anymore. You will have to fight it out on your own.

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.

I have recently written a book of short stories called COCKTAIL comprising twenty seven short stories about relationships. To know more please click the links below:

http://www.apkpublishers.com/books/fiction/cocktail_by_vikram_karve.html

http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?affid=nme

http://www.indiaplaza.in/cocktail-vikram-karve/books/9788191091847.htm

VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale, and Bishop's School Pune, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. 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. His delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book "Appetite for a Stroll". A collection of his short stories about relationships titled COCKTAIL has been published and Vikram is currently busy writing his first novel and with his teaching and training assignments. Vikram lives in Pune with his family and his muse – his pet DobermanX girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts. 

COCKTAIL - Stories about Relationships by Vikram Karve 

To Order please click the links below:

INDIAPLAZA 

http://www.indiaplaza.in/cocktail-vikram-karve/books/9788191091847.htm 

FLIPKART 

http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?affid=nme

http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?ref=f97bb964-c672-44c5-bfe2-f496cf239053 

http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?ref=53dfd28d-5c31-4e36-b0e2-79d771c06afb 

APK PUBLISHERS  (They Ship Overseas too)

http://www.apkpublishers.com/books/fiction/cocktail_by_vikram_karve.html

Creative Writing by Vikram Karve http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com 

Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com

Vikram Karve Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

Vikram Karve Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve

Foodie Book:

Appetite for a Stroll

http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o

http://shopping.sify.com/appetiteforastroll-vikram-karve/books/9788190690096.htm

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