Sunday, June 16, 2013

Appreciation certificate from Her Highness Sheikha Jameela bint Mohammed Al Qassimi of SCHS

I am happy to share that I received an appreciation certificate from Her Highness Sheikha Jameela bint Mohammed Al Qassimi of SCHS for my support to the recently concluded Used Book Fair. Unfortunately, I couldn't attend the function personally to receive it myself.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

No Thanks - Gulf Today - Short Take - 15 June 2013

No thanks


During a recent visit to India, I happened to meet a group of hospital staff who work at the intensive care unit of a prominent hospital. 

Always alert and attentive to take maximum care of the patients who arrive there, they all projected a high level of human kindness and positive attitude.

Patients arrive in all shapes and conditions of health, and the staff individually and as a group work day and night with a smile till those whom they attended get back to life and walk back to their home as normal as he or she can.

One day, a senior doctor who was in charge of the emergency and trauma unit told me that out of 10 patients who get discharged, we get a thank you from 1 or maximum 2. They do not even utter a word of appreciation or happiness on what they received all the time they were in. This specially when the majority of the patients are young, well-educated and working for high-end companies.

This is a question I myself ask several times these days with many recent incidents of heavy pay and free flow of money to jobs and sports derailing our modern youth. Is it that elevation to high paying jobs at a young age make our youth forget basic human values and social responsibilities?
Ramesh Menon

Gulf Today Dt. 15 June 2013
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/d4cb1397-ebd8-428f-a61f-371b3ea0687d.aspxNo 

Joyful Name - Gulf Today - Short Take Dt. 08 June 2013

What is in a name?



We all ask many times. I too have asked and wrote also on the same topic before. There is a lot. I have an uncle who is a retired central government employee and held a very senior position. A person committed to his work, he has never taken any bribe in his entire career either by cash or kind. He lives a modest life and is happy about the way it goes. Humorous and expressive in his thoughts, he is still called by his organisation for giving motivational speeches to the junior staff. One topic he speaks very often is about his own name. Like him, his father was also a respected person who was a headmaster of reputation in the region. He did the same with his eldest son. He never named him, till he was five or six years old. After thoroughly observing his first child and his characteristics and conducts, he named him Joy. True to his father’s wisdom, he remained joyous to him, and to all around, even during extreme situations in life. Looking at the current trend of naming a child before we get a glimpse of his nature, many times, our conviction on naming falls apart from the reality of the character the child grows in to become.

Ramesh Menon Short Take - Gulf Today, Saturday, 8th June 2013

Car Pooling Stand at Golden Blossom.

Car Pooling Stand at Golden Blossom.

With a view to minimise use of individual vehicles and to reduce travel cost and inconvenience, members of Golden Blossom Apartment community have initiated Car Pooling. The initiative is gaining momentum, as members share their travel schedules, route and timings and try and co-ordinate their individual travel requirement to be adjusted for combined travel at minimal cost, thus saving valuable energy and economic resources. Let more environmental friendly activities prosper in our community.