I’m not sure how got mentally involved when I hear about a submarine accident. One of the earlier incident was when an Indian sub went down with all it’s crew. One of the worrying thing about submarine accident is the high fatality rate. In most incidents, all the crew looses their life.

This is something very worrying about the life of sailors in submarine. And that makes a common man think, what’s the way out when a sub sinks to the depth, either due to power failure or any technical snag.

Is there a way to hold the sub at a level at least for sometime, till it gets help?
Is there a way to release some kind of air filled balls to make it float.
Or just like life boats, is there any way to have an escape cute from the submarine?

Or another simple way safety mechanism by which subs can release air filled buoys to help rescue team to locate the position of the sub.
Also, is there a black box, just as in a plane to know the last moments of the crew.

One thing is for sure, that most subs currently in service don’t have to be in active combat. Mostly they just do surveillance and routine runs protecting the territorial water. So, in that case, a part of the sub should be dedicated for safety purpose.

A week ago I returned home after visiting another town. I reached early by 6 at Kochu Veli station. Luckily, I got a bus to drop me at home. When I reached home, the front gate was locked and my phone was dead. I had no way of calling her to open the gate. One option was to wait outside till someone opens the gate.

At that time I saw the security man of the wellness clinic in his small cabin. I went to him and luckily he could make me even though I was wearing the mask. He was a man in his 50’s, smart and healthy who goes around actively helping customers to park their cars.

He them showed me the point to charge. The outside cubicle was small, with a space only for a small iron bed. and a table. There was a fan. One thing I noticed was that his bed had flattened cardboard boxes. There was no mattress, not even a simple cotton one to give a basic comfort while resting.

Why do big cash rich business fail to do these basic things for their front line staff like security staff, waiters! Is it b’cos they are easily indispensable and giving any thing extra is not worth their money.

I remember similar thing when I went to a fast moving sea food restaurant in Goa. After, having two beer I was feeling a bit high. To relieve, I went to the urinal and there was two of them. One for the customers and another for the staff. As the someone occupied the loo meant for customers, I went to the other loo. And aaargh., yuck!.

The closet was dirty so was the surrounding space. There was just one wall separating the two loo and it was totally different in the way it was cleaned and maintained. in one look, it was clear that management was least interested in spending an extra penny to keep their employee’s space tidy. Why! Is it that they don’t have value? Why, only cash paying customers mattered?

While this restaurant sported all the foodie awards in all corner of the shop, the attitude they had toward their own workforce speaks about them.

I wonder when will Indian businesses open their eyes to treat their employees more important than their customers? Aren’t they bothered about attrition or they have a feeling that no matter what they do, they don’t have any loyalty? Is this the reason or something else? I think I need to speak to few employers and find out the truth of the matter!

Recently I was sitting in a tea stall in Malapuram having my second glass of tea. In one corner of the tea stall stood a glass box where they typically keep all the fried snack. An employee of the shop was wiping the glass from inside. It was clear that he want’s the thing to shine. A clear vision of the stuff inside adds appeal. Not a blurry vision through a oil stained glass.

While I saw this man wiping, it reminded me of the shine we require in our life. How often do we keep the door shining? Do we still have the shine – in terms of knowledge, our appearance and our attitude?

It also reminds of how many businesses looses its shine along the way. B’cos it stuck to the old ways, or it failed to innovate, or didn’t feel the need to change and keep up with the times.

Another example of this was when I checked to a lodge and a hotel in Malapuram. When I first visited this town, this hotel had just opened. The rooms were tidy, restaurant had a glossy look with clean tables and shining washroom. And now, it has a deary tired look. The neon name board is broken and the tube-light is seen. The floors looks like it lost that gleam and the good years are far behind. The staff are just keeping up with the tide of things.

It also a reminder to small business owners who at one time had good business but slowly finding themselves being ignored by the customers. .

Shine Daily!

Today morning, I found my way to this blog, from this one. Few things sounded just right on why I procrastinate and choose to swing my time on instant gratification.

I remember long back when, how I used to be so interested in gardening when my examination was around the corner. It’s a life-long insidious habit of chasing frivolous things when the most urgent things took back seat.

Before reading this blog in the morning, I also thought of many other things – from what I had to failed to achieve in my a long non-illustrious life and career. I feel guilty of not aspiring to reach for things that I had in my mind. Wish-list was just wishful thinking.

How to Tame the Monkey!
Let me see if I can make some headway in this time of this year. Will I stay distracted, non-committed to goals or will I take one step-at-a-time to climb the stairs.

Just a day ago, I thought how to revive my failing fortunes and make a comeback to the life I wish to lead. After a bit of soul searching, my mind wandered to the podcast by Navel Ravikanth. In one of his spontaneous speak, he talks about obsession about a task and how that takes people to achieve formidable tasks.

Obsession for Completion

Will this give me the drive to finish tasks and give me the confidence to tackle other things in life.

And here I’m in the ante room where I wait for 30 minutes before heading home. This private hospital where I visited for the vaccine took inordinate time to give us the shot. It’s evident that some process was amiss. As a fella, I waited outside their door, waiting for their call. Finally, we had to push the door and get ourselves inside the registration room to get our names called.

After the vaccine the nurse gave a short lecture on what tablets to take in case of body pain or fever like symptoms. As I heard her repetitive narration, I thought of the wasted opportunity for the hospital. Here’s how they could have made this interaction better.

1. When the patient is under observation, it’s the time for the hospital to send a short SMS, with post vaccine care
2. SMS can include a link to the hospital website, where an illustrated image about the possible side-effects and what kind of medicines are suitable. Along with it, include the scenario when its advisable to call emergency.

Why a SMS with a Short Link to the Site is a Better form of Engagement for the Hospital?

When a SMS is sent to the person, nurse can remind them to go through it. Also, she can repeat the points on the SMS. She can suggest people to visit the site to find more about Corona symptoms, treatment plans and how to do home care when infected with the virus.

I wonder if such a system is followed in any hospitals in Trivandrum.