Dear Friends
It is anniversary time – oh no, I am not referring to Women’s Day (8th March) or National Safety Day (4th March) or Employee Appreciation Day (yes it does exist – 3rd March) or Zero Discrimination Day (1st March and that’s what Google says). I am referring to Corona-induced lockdown. We had shut down our office a year ago – 16th March like so many others. It seemed like an obvious choice that would be reversed soon. Little did we all realise that a small gesture of precaution and safety demanded by the Governments would forever change the face of ‘working from office’ to ‘working from home’. The year gone by was the best teacher the world has had so far but the irresponsible students that many of us are, are not using a simple piece of cloth, called the ‘mask’. No wonder consequences are turning severe. Never underestimate the power of a small act, a small gesture, a small word – it could be the harbinger of a major change !
Who has not heard of the famous story of the poor Sudama who had nothing but just a small fistful of ‘poha’ (beaten rice) to offer to Lord Krishna when he visited his palace as a friend ? By the time Sudama reached home, his humble hut had turned into a magnificent palace, thanks to the Lord’s blessings showered on a staunch devotee. It didn’t matter what was offered. What mattered were the feelings behind the offering !
Who is not aware of the Dandi March (Salt Satyagraha) where a small fistful of salt was picked up by Gandhiji in protest against the salt tax by the British rulers ? A small gesture inspired a generation of Indians to join his cause for the liberation of our nation. The nation rose together in unison against the oppressive foreign rule.
Years ago, at a personal level, I experienced a deep emotion by the simple words of my little one. During a rather hectic week (when I was pursuing an executive management programme), one night I confessed to my husband that I am guilty of not giving enough time to him. Thinking that he was asleep I continued but suddenly he jumped out of the blanket, gave a mischievous smile and a tight hug. Thrusting his school English book into my hands, he said in his sweetest voice “I heard all you said amma. Don’t worry, mother’s love knows no bounds. I know you love me just like Juno the monkey”. I was speechless and moved deeply. Power of words and beauty of expression of a 5 year old ?
Last week the same 5 year old turned 22 and it was the turn of my driver to surprise him. Though we all chide him that he cannot read or write any language, he expressed his affection for my son by a status update that had a collage of his pictures over the years along with a beautiful birthday song – his little daughter had created it by using an app. The emotions behind the act, the feelings behind the small gesture – they speak more than a 1000 words, they are worth more than expensive gifts. Feel it, say it !!
This 256th issue of Samhita has a round up of updates announced by almost all the regulators – MCA, RBI, SEBI, DGFT, IBBI, GST, MSME, IT, Labour. Almost all of them have said something or the other – big or small ! Yet this is only a few that we have carried amongst the plethora of changes happening across so many legislations. Well, the good news is the Government is seriously considering scrapping about 6000 compliances in the next one year at the central, state and local levels as part of the 75th Independence Day anniversary – perhaps to mark the freedom from compliances ! While we all lament about the compliances and worse still their complex nature, I was pleasantly surprised when one of the women startup entrepreneurs whom I was talking to recently, was happy that she could get all the registrations for her rental toys business quite easily, both at the central and state level. She vouched for Ease of Doing Business saying all her approvals were received digitally from home, without having to make any visits to any government office. This coming from a young woman from Kolkata seemed unbelievable but the genuine enthusiasm in her voice said it all. Lot of changes are underway and entry level experience is getting better but the journey ahead is besought with many challenges and bureaucracies. There is more to investigate, more to introspect and more to innovate and discard. This time, Balaji, our in-house English teacher draws your attention to different parts of speech of two commonly used words – ‘bank’ and ‘still’. You can certainly bank on him to provide a practical flavour to each of his ‘mini lessons’. For any previous issues of Samhita and the readers’ feedback, please visit https://sharadasc.com/resource-center/.
