Thursday, 18 April 2019

When a Generation ends !



  “The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living.”

It’s not always easy to see someone leaving you forever and this is not first time I have felt it. I saw it pretty early at an age of 10 when my grandfather passed away & I couldn’t really understand the consequences. Slowly the journey of people leaving me kept going on, and I understood this is something hard but inevitable!
This time I perceived it differently, not because of strong emotional bond but it kept reverberating to me that a generation has ended - a generation of my own grandparents has come to closure. Some face it quiet early in their lives while some don't get it see the affection of the grand generation ever since birth, and some are very fortunate to have them for long. With every generation there is an evolution but when one era ends, I find few things getting lost - their thoughts, their wishes, their secret prayers, their customs and innumerable other tangible and intangible assets. The next generation makes an attempt to carry forward the legacy and it is hard to recognize what we slip out inadvertently. I see them as the protective umbrella that was shielding us – the umbrella goes away leaving us naked, vulnerable and exposed.
I now want to talk specifically about my grandparents – they were conventional, traditional and to some extent, very religious and custom-bound - nevertheless their horizon of thoughts was never narrow. Even 31 years back when most of India wasn’t delighted with the cry of a new born girl, they were ecstatic to have a healthy girl child born in their family. Though this might sound feminist, but this is something I am really feel proud all through my life - for being born in a family where I was always wanted! They were always happy with my success & very supportive throughout. I wish I could have the best of them all, and sometimes I sense that maybe I always had it secretly. The learning from the bygone generation never fail to make me content - my Nani (maternal grandmother) taught how I could be large-hearted and forgive people; my Nana (maternal grandfather) imbibed within me how I can be hardworking even when success seemed bleak, my Dada (paternal grandfather) blessed me to dream with a vision and how the path of education can foster you to achieve your dreams; my Dadi (paternal grandmother) inculcated the thought of how you can never capture sand with your hand and hence it was important to let things go at the right time.
I miss them with each passing day as their memories fly in a flash. I tend to question myself whether I could have talked to them a little more, learnt hardships of life a little more or told them how important they were for us. Could I have tried telling them I love you forever and ever?
In love of my grandparents:
1.     Late Sudharshan Kumar Gupta (Dadaji )
2.     Late Vimla Wati Gupta (Dadiji)
3.     Late Sushil Kumar Jain (Nanaji)
4.     Late Sumitra Jain (Naniji)

“We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will”


Monday, 23 July 2018

E-commerce E-ase of creating garbage

It was Prime days for Amazon customers; means more deals, more discounts, more rewards, more cashback, and more cartons & packaging material at home. Have you ever wondered do we really need them?

I believe most of us don't need those extra garbage at our homes, but can we do anything about it? It isn't that I haven't tried complaining to them about it, but they don't want to take it!! I then pondered - why would they want to take it, because they are selling these branded packaging material to their sellers and is a source of revenue generation.

We do have an option of giving that to the local recyclers who would buy these packaging material or newpapers. But does it really make sense to provide a 12" box for a cream that is just 3"? Aren't we cutting more trees, recycling more intentionally? Remember - the mantra is: Reduce, Reuse & Recycle. All the e-commerce players have lost all 3 aspects - it's the consumer who is more inclined towards them.

I am not here objecting their standards of packaging, but I am questioning the amount of mess they are creating here, when garbage disposal is one key struggle in our country.

And for that matter, let's not single out amazon here - all the big market players in this field, be it Flipkart, Paytm, Snapdeal who are selling goods, should do something more for the nation, in terms giving us more option of returning those materials which are reusable, and reducing these boxes as much as possible.

My concern may be small - the impact is huge!

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