Driving crazy

It is 3 years since I landed in Shajah. In whole of UAE, Sharjah is supposed to be topping the list of emirates wherein getting a Driving License is considered most difficult and uphill task!

Initially, I sort of, pooh poohed those who were telling this to me. I felt that it would be just a cake walk for me, especially when I had the experience of driving vehicles for over 20 years, having obtained the license 20 years ago in home country, and also with blemish less track record.

On my first "Kacha"test, my RTA inspector hesitated for a while whether to clear me or not and finally told me that word "talim". When I looked up in disappointment, he told those words, "Next time, I will pass you, Insha Allah"!

I felt that it would be just a matter of another test and thereafter one final assessment, then I would have in my hands, that beautiful piece of plastic card which would be precious than other credit cards snuggled away in my wallet!

Since then, and strangely enough, I have been giving "Kacha" tests for five more times without luck and, not had the chance of meeting the same RTA inspector who had made that promise.

When you fail once, the next time around you change the style of driving from defensive to offensive and vice versa or, adapt a submissive style. Last test was on 26th February, when I went with a resolve that I will just go and drive without even blinking for a moment that there is an Inspector by your side.

When came my turn, I simply pulled out my car from the parked position on the side of the road from inside the yellow line, and the moment he signaled me to go faster, I started racing faster and faster and in the process, overtook a trailer by the fast lane and came back to the right side. He then made me to take a right turn and one more right turn, before finally instructing me to park on the road side.
I saw to it that I parked the car exactly as per the copy book style that my instructor had told me during the training.

Back at the RTA driving school when we reached with the 4th candidate, the inspector signaled 3 of us as having passed.

I never felt happier when I got promoted in my previous job or when I got a baby or even when I got married!

The inspector came and handed over me the slip with the "Pass" stamp. I thanked him and before leaving the place, I gave a glance at him, when I was pleasantly surprised to see the very same person who said to me those words, " Next time, I will pass you, Insha Allah"!

Impromptu....

Impromptu is an attempt to render a song or a speech without any preparation or referring to any text or written script.

Thesaurus explains the word impromptu as something Spoken, performed, or composed with little or no preparation or forethought: ad-lib, extemporaneous, extemporary, extempore, improvised, offhand, snap, spur-of-the-moment, unrehearsed. Informal, off-the-cuff.

Most of us would get in to a situation when you are asked to say a few words in front of a gathering, a formal or informal group.

I observe that in earlier days, i.e. prior to the invasion of internet and computers, impromptu speeches were quite common and people were not uncomfortable doing it. But now with social networking sites making people glued to their seats in front of lap tops/computers, the changes in life style have almost made them recluse and not ready for such adventures like addressing a gathering. Even if pushed to make a speech, they make awkward attempt and fail to impress the crowd.

Impromptu is also a wonderful word as it can be used as an adjective, adverb or even noun! Impromptu means improvisation. Therefore, a person attempting it should have creativity. But to say that creativity can be only with a select few and not with all is simply wrong. Every one can make an impromptu, with a little bit of effort.

We have heard lot of folklores which are nothing but impromptus! Something which happens on its own without any special preparation, pre-meditation or prodding can be termed as impromptu. In a way, the revolution that happened in Egypt is also an impromptu!

My own attempts at impromptus have been fairly good but there were occasions when I could not make a free flowing speech as well. I have now learned to use a technique whereby if the topic is not really a comfortable one, dwell around it by frankly admitting my lack of knowledge, in a self-deprecating way, to make it interesting!

Well, the topic I chose to write was not prompted by anybody or pre-planned but popped up simply like the word itself, an "Impromptu"!

Please adjust your seat to upright position!

Whilst on board an aircraft, you are asked to remain seated with your seat belt fastened in upright position, during takeoff and landing. Once the warning light is switched to green, passengers can take off their seat belts, though it is safer to remain seated with seat belts fastened all through the journey.

Very few people continue to travel with the seat belts on and in upright position.

In our day to day life, there is no such messages but a small section of society are always found to be in upright position. There is an old saying that rains shower in order to please that one person who is upright and in the process entire society gets benefited!

Why is it that we find honesty and integrity is becoming a rare commodity? what should we do to make honesty and integrity a way of life? People tend to follow the paths frequently used by others. Even children follow by observing their environment. We need to have cleaner environment for healthy society.

Day in and day out we are seeing new campaigns introduced to protect the planet and the interests of the world like, poverty alleviation,Sustained development, green and clean campaign, campaigns against pollution of air,water and earth, Food adulteration, protection of animal species and numerous campaigns to control various deseases.


We need to have campaign with educational interventions that will become a movement and eventually lead to clean society. Although the path to achieving this will be a long one like the poverty alleviation campaign, considering its huge impact it will have on our society and the world at large, this campaign for clean society should be kick-started.

Well it is too old fashioned to write about such utopian thoughts! Let me lighten the mood by giving an excerpt from a haiku poem, translated from Tamil, which goes like this:

'I watched my young maid clean up my house with her swift and lovely movements. She made the hall spick and span but my mind corrupted!'

Let us adjust our seats to upright positions!

Action in Inaction

Take a train and settle down in your berth. Now sleep well till your destination is reached, without any need for any action from your side! Should I say that this is an example of your action in inaction? Your action is to reach the planned destination yet you accomplish it without any action on your part,once you have boarded the train!

Well. In work situation, taking decision in matters would require both action and inaction. In some matters the best solution is to leave it without any action from your end! For example, some vexatious matters which will become troublesome if you attempt to deal with it.

But inaction when action is demanded by the situation would invite liability due to negligence. For example, you know a toddler is about to trip over a parapet wall from your arm's distance. If you fail to act to prevent the toddler from tripping, then you are clearly negligent. This is what is known as the principle of liability. A liability can arise due to lack of duty of care. Here one should see if there is a duty of care that is required to be fullfilled by a person. A differently-abled person is not expected to have the same duty of care that is required in such situation as against a normal person.

Some people think that best way to avoid any trouble is to simply desist taking any decision. People in sensitive offices are often found to resort to inaction, for fear of courting trouble!

Height of inaction is to ignore something happening under your own nose that would bring serious consequences for the institution itself, say your home or office or any public utility. It is like walking off ignoring a dangerious material found on your way, unmindful of the harm it would cause to the society.

We all read from news nowadays that how those found to have resorted to inaction is being seriously questioned than those who have found to have taken wrong action!

Although it would be challenging to differentiate and decide on action or inaction, one must do due diligence by bearing in mind the duty of care expected on oneself.

So readers it is needless to say that even inaction is actionable!