Perplexed

<br /><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;">"Don't go for the looks, it can be quite deceiving." Or so was the adage. Since time immemorial, we have been taught to never judge a person by his looks.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(58, 0, 204); color: black; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; margin: 0px auto 5px; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPeEGUOgJqKEYWbnqE98db0tIW-on-QTIqo-rZGilNQDN8rhtgwfhDrWxdxhfwDyNUR9K4qWv_3W_k7pg32uq0bgFrePPJOdG-uaVgX5U5JLM-x-gqoVrG15i8E9XlunGhDmgo5d67uWOJ/s1600/Looks+Can+Be+Deceiving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #990000; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Looks Can Be Deceiving" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPeEGUOgJqKEYWbnqE98db0tIW-on-QTIqo-rZGilNQDN8rhtgwfhDrWxdxhfwDyNUR9K4qWv_3W_k7pg32uq0bgFrePPJOdG-uaVgX5U5JLM-x-gqoVrG15i8E9XlunGhDmgo5d67uWOJ/s320/Looks+Can+Be+Deceiving.jpg" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" title="Looks Can Be Deceiving" width="227" /></a></td></tr><tr style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12px;">Looks Can Be Deceiving</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;">These same words continue to rattle me everyday, as I travel from my home to office. An hour of train journey in a extra crowded first class compartment is an unlikely setting for such a thought.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;">To give you a background, trains in Mumbai have two classes of compartments - first class and second class. Out of the 9 or 12 coaches, almost 75 to 80% of the coaches are second class, while the rest are first class. The distinguishing factor between them are the red or green stripes on the first class compartments.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;">Now comes the catch. Every day as I travel, I come across someone who possibly (forgive my judgement) may not have a first class ticket or a first class season ticket, yet has boarded the compartment (<u>almost always naively</u>). </div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;">I leave my judgment to my silent mind, not letting it speak aloud, and requesting the person to get down.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(58, 0, 204); color: black; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; margin: 0px auto 5px; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJnHpmvV-pppQk2NtRL5iAkWLwhdWkluXEOeYqM6wUL1m0acFvDLCAmDUFxJGoprlgIKoSTi6WpcpcQ4xkCCvzwkBBi-6h7mTSh99_yNa_pnP6IV4rhTzkhwV9ymBJTVvaKR1aNckEn0m6/s1600/I+am+Perplexed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #990000; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="I am Perplexed" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJnHpmvV-pppQk2NtRL5iAkWLwhdWkluXEOeYqM6wUL1m0acFvDLCAmDUFxJGoprlgIKoSTi6WpcpcQ4xkCCvzwkBBi-6h7mTSh99_yNa_pnP6IV4rhTzkhwV9ymBJTVvaKR1aNckEn0m6/s1600/I+am+Perplexed.jpg" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" title="I am Perplexed" /></a></td></tr><tr style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12px;">I am Perplexed</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;">However, another part of my mind urges me to tell the traveler that he has mistakenly boarded the first class compartment and get down immediately, lest the Ticket Checker get hold of him. However, at this moment, the adage, which I mentioned at the beginning, comes ringing aloud and almost always wins.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;">I don't say a word to him. Many similar travelers also don't say anything. Some do offer a piece of advice to the naive traveler. And if the innocent man manages to travel to his destination, with out coming across a TC, I'm happy.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;">However, just a week or so back, I saw someone enter the first class compartment. I had made my judgement, yet didn't say a word. And just as the train was about to leave the platform, a TC pounced on the ignorant man, and pulled him away - possibly to fine him a precious 100 odd rupees.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;">I was sad that I didn't alert the guy. If only I had, he wouldn't have been caught. Better still, he would have saved his precious money. All due to the adage.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(58, 0, 204); color: black; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; margin: 0px auto 5px; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibCjIB21iM8AECCuJ7Inj7ET4rhifwZvaYdMYM__8xXhfdz7x9xRnhSicnnRRs0O0sBCQ5oAOyK-FmG9s6E6SPXa6R-BgDAkIiMLm0yRkMsAAOd_3QA1lJCj6PbtwWuaQz0hOXAdVJ1S-T/s1600/Perplexing+Situation.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #990000; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Perplexing Situation" border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibCjIB21iM8AECCuJ7Inj7ET4rhifwZvaYdMYM__8xXhfdz7x9xRnhSicnnRRs0O0sBCQ5oAOyK-FmG9s6E6SPXa6R-BgDAkIiMLm0yRkMsAAOd_3QA1lJCj6PbtwWuaQz0hOXAdVJ1S-T/s320/Perplexing+Situation.png" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" title="Perplexing Situation" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12px;">Perplexing Situation</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;">A few days back, another traveler was the recipient of a similar advice from a fellow traveler. Offended by his remark, that he shouldn't be in the first class compartment, the guy replied - that he was here because he had the ticket to travel first class. The man who offered advice was speechless.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;">Such contradictory incidents have left me more perplexed. And I am not able to make up my mind on what should I do if a similar incident occurs again.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;">Silence is Golden. No. Never go by the looks. Maybe Yes. What to do next? I don't have an answer.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;">What is you recommendation?</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(58, 0, 204); color: black; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; margin: 0px auto 5px; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMWLjqnEICrTsX75HnTmxHGuMbwfhaGM305VBGJ-pqMds5O8DNkrZxfAr7cFeghen5lDARzm84UVQ04UBwYz8evylmfH9ks4oW7A9P2Vm-5VIhGFh3wB-er7Xjq3hd2jQaIIGZnLIG0s1X/s1600/Perplexed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #990000; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Perplexed" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMWLjqnEICrTsX75HnTmxHGuMbwfhaGM305VBGJ-pqMds5O8DNkrZxfAr7cFeghen5lDARzm84UVQ04UBwYz8evylmfH9ks4oW7A9P2Vm-5VIhGFh3wB-er7Xjq3hd2jQaIIGZnLIG0s1X/s1600/Perplexed.jpg" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" title="Perplexed" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Perplexed</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;">P.S. I can at least conclude one thing. If we can educate people so that they can make their own judicious decisions (like in the situations described), my confusion would be solved.</div>

Perplexed

"Don't go for the looks, it can be quite deceiving." Or so was the adage. Since time immemorial, we have been taught to never ...

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Unfailing Spirit

<br /><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's just half past 4 in the morning this Saturday morning. As I queued up for a quick security check at the Mumbai domestic airport, I could see my fellow travelers - yawning wide, with their red eyes hardly open.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Among them, I spotted three other ladies - decked in bright red. And if you have guessed it right, they are the Kingfisher Cabin crew girls. And within a moment, I had a flood of thoughts rushing through my mind.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(58, 0, 204); color: black; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; margin: 0px auto 5px; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSM99bUrh95Ica2pvgOjhImOBA7RhT2B8-6lurlq3ecV85i-KxjXxzvaOP3SMmy_tzciFPK6wFmFquKE3i310SsFNs4r89l6hNtbLN24BNO4xg3ZiM43dvb9Em67z8UeSYpM3L_hP6tXut/s1600/kingfisher-flight-attendants.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #990000; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Unfailing Spirit" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSM99bUrh95Ica2pvgOjhImOBA7RhT2B8-6lurlq3ecV85i-KxjXxzvaOP3SMmy_tzciFPK6wFmFquKE3i310SsFNs4r89l6hNtbLN24BNO4xg3ZiM43dvb9Em67z8UeSYpM3L_hP6tXut/s320/kingfisher-flight-attendants.jpg" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" title="Unfailing Spirit" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12px;">Unfailing Spirit</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The fate of Kingfisher Airlines is splashed across the pages of the Economic Times almost every single day. The talks vary from the airline shutting down, to a foreign airline buying stake in the carrier which is facing a difficult time.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From once being touted as the king of the Indian airspace, Kingfisher is running a curtailed schedule with just 9 of their planes in the air. They have a debt of more than 5000 crore Rupees. The employees have not been paid since March 2012.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yet, here they were - the three member cabin crew - dressed up in their bright red attire, early in the morning, when the world was asleep, reporting on duty. I was left awe struck.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What motivated these employees, who were not paid for the last 6 months, to report to work every single day? </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Is it the faith they have in their organization, to rise back from the ashes like a phoenix? Or is it just the fact that this is the only option for them? An optimistic me suggests and hopes its the former.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What is it that keeps them going in these difficult times? Is it their perseverance, or is it the belief that they will ride out the storm?  Is it their tenacity? </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Whatever be the reason, at least one thing is sure. They have an unfailing spirit. And it is this spirit which will help Kingfisher paint the sky red in the coming days.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wish and hope that I am correct, if not for anyone, at least for these girls.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.316667556762695px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">May their spirit win.</span></div>

Unfailing Spirit

It's just half past 4 in the morning this Saturday morning. As I queued up for a quick security check at the Mumbai domestic airport, I ...

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