Then you are the right material to be a detective! Yes, being a detective is a great career option if you have a curious and shrewd bent of mind. Plus if you are courageous, brave and clever and posses a knack to pull out secrets, then the profession is full of adventure and excitement!

Eligibility:

A detective needs to have expertise in forensic science, finger print matching, tracking people, having a good spy network and ability to sift through information and get the relevant out of it.

To become a private detective, a particular academic background, as such, is not required. However, good private detective agencies emphasise on a proper graduation in any discipline. However, to go into government services one needs to have specialised skills in forensic sciences. Many diplomas, bachelors and masters courses are available in India and abroad. One could go into, CID, RAW, CBI, and other intelligence services, after studying the same.

Courses;

Some colleges offering diploma in private investigation and criminology are; The Indore Christian College, Indore, The National Institute of Private Investigation, New Delhi, ACE Detectives India International securities, New Delhi, Indian Detective Institute (IDI) University of Pune – Diploma in Criminology.

There are many universities and colleges offering graduation and post graduation in forensic sciences and criminology; some of the top colleges and universities in this respect are;

• Central Forensic Science Laboratory, CBI,
• National Institute of Criminology & Forensic Sciences (NICFS), New Delhi
• National Crime Records Bureau, New Delhi
• National Law University, Mandore, Jodhpur-342304
• Osmania University Hyderabad
• Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
• Forensic Sciences Department University of Madras
•  University of Delhi, Delhi

Work profile:

The main work of a detective involves being able to find out things without being caught or noticed. There are many branches in this field, like being a domestic detective who probes into unnatural deaths, murders, infidelity of spouse, or getting knowledge about the other family or to be spouse before marriage! Corporate detectives probe into matters of involving fraud, pirating goods, finding people behind violation of copyright or trademark.

These agencies also provide bouncers and body guards. Government detectives are more trained and are police men dressed as plainclothes men. They are referred to as ‘intelligence’ and form a main part of Army and other government agencies like RAW, CBI.

Scope:

The scopes of being a detective are many. One could be a professional in this field as research assistant, forensic scientist, criminologist, investigator and an approaching profession in various governments, private and public sector organizations.

The government recruits detectives for CBI CID, AIIMS, railways, banks, forensic labs, armed force department, insurance companies etc. If one has good connections and the appropriate amount of experience, one can open a private detective agency of their own.

Retired Army officers and government detectives and criminologists often open these. Salary of fresher private detectives might vary from 5-15,000 a month. But, as the business grows it reaches to 15-20, 000 a day or lakh or more for each case! But, for this purpose many countries emphasise on procuring a licence. But, in India, there is no such formal licensing till date.

Thus, if you are interested in being the next Sherlock Holmes, then get ready for an exciting, adventurous and interesting life! Who knows what would you land up doing?

Sanjna Sudan

Image Source [http://extremetrix.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Detective.gif]

Career option – Concept Specialist for Indoor/Outdoor Events

Now, on the face of it, this may seem like a fancy term for an interior designer or worse, a wedding planner. I request you to look at the title carefully. When I say ‘Concept’, I do not mean ‘theme’. When I say ‘Event’, I do not mean weddings even though our Indian minds automatically make that association far too easily. When I say ‘Specialist’, I truly do not mean ‘planner’ because planning includes executing and my interpretation of this career option does not include that yet. Say you have just bought a house. It is a 3 BHK + Study + Terrace in an upcoming suburban area of a big city and now you have to furnish it from scratch.

Your first call will be to some friend who knows a friend whose wife is an interior designer and/or who owns a giant house themselves and had it all furnished in the most gaudy, loud and expensive fashion recently. So, you will not take a chance and want to fill up your adequately big house as soon as possible with the season’s best. Your next thought will be children’s room and you will want to log on to online shopping sites to buy the cutesy stuff in pastel colors and cartoon motifs without giving it one more thought. And one by one, your entire house will become cluttered and crowded with oddball pieces, random art, bad furnishing with upholstery that looks like hand-me-downs from 18^th Century England and your bathrooms will look like they should be ice-cream flavors. And think about the next time you want to host a party in your house. Shifting furniture and covering sofas aside, you will really have to put it a lot of thought and effort to transform your living space into something where people can chill in summertime and warm up over Christmas. And I don’t blame ya. That’s what everyone does!

Now, let me tell you what our Concept Specialist can do for you. His first job will be to assess your house in terms of space to use and space to leave. That would mean that from each room and each passage, he will carefully measure out the space you will absolutely need for the daily living. For example, all your furniture and appliances will count in this space and will be subtracted from the total area. He will then look at natural light sources, possible light sources and of course, areas where one can and cannot adjust extra seats (chairs, loungers, divans, duvet et cetera. Next, he will go through the room plan as you have kept it, say, such and such room for your kids, this for the master bedroom and that for the drawing, and note down the kind of space orientation, door and window sizes and cupboard placement ideal for respective rooms. Finally, he will look at stairs, banisters, balconies, bay windows, hallways and landings that otherwise go unnoticed and make note of their placement and positioning. He will then have to take a week or so to determine what he is looking at. Wait, his job hasn’t even begun yet.

You have hired the concept specialist to determine how easy or difficult it will be for your house to turn into an instant venue for a number of everyday events that a family might host. Birthdays, anniversaries, congratulatory parties, fancy luncheons, evening soirees, dinner parties, wedding receptions, baby showers and going away cocktails are all part of his plan for your house. Now, his job is to basically look at your home as a blank space even as you live there with your stuff. After carefully mapping each square foot of your home, he has given himself a ballpark figure of the area that will remain free and open after you move in and especially of the area that you can utilize in many ways when you host one of these events. Now let us see what he brings to us after a week.

I am going to talk about a house from my imagination so you can picture the changes with me and see how this professional will work his magic around a house. First, let us cover the largest room of the house, the hall. He notices that you have a two-side open hall with two large windows and an archway leading to the kitchen. That means, out of the length of the hall, you will definitely keep a big section for the dining table and the sofa set. He will suggest that instead of keeping so much furniture and closing the room up, put in a kitchen counter running along the length of the kitchen, put up high stools there, facing the kitchen windows and keep smaller appliances like the microwave, the mixer grinder and the coffee maker on the diagonal counter. That way, everyone sitting down for breakfast or lunch will not have to get up constantly to fetch things, the person cooking will not have to make too many rounds to serve and everyone will have a cozier, more talk-oriented environment during meals.

Next, let us look at one of the rooms. This is the smaller bedroom with one window and an attached bathroom. First of all, he will tell you to utilize the side walls around the walls of the bathroom for a walk-in closet space so that there are no imposing armoires and cupboards standing tall in the room. Next, by putting in a cushion-seater on the window bay, it will look like a larger room with more space to ‘hang out’, and the bed can then remain smaller and compact. Another seater along the foot of the bed covered in matching upholstery will serve as quick hiding space for stuff and will also serve as a foot rest, a seat, a backrest for floor seating et cetera. Finally, he notices that the door to this room is rather big, opens into the hall and has nothing obstructing its way from the hall to the window of the room. That means that during a party or a get together, seating can be arranged in such a way that it goes into that room, and the room itself can be utilized for staging a younger version of the same party, say with non-alcoholic drinks and snacks with cheese and chips. But this is just a sample of his work.

Then, the most important thing of the concept house is how to maintain the mood of the party without hiring a DJ. Speaking of India and its cultures, not only are there too many rituals but also so many genres of music and ways to play them. And so, hosting a Rakshabandhan lunch will be wildly different from a teenager’s birthday party. Our man of the hour will tell you the following:

1. Which speaker set to buy for your music system so that you can install speakers in every room, have a bass near the main console and have a travelling music effect throughout the house when required.
2. At what height to install the extra speakers and what to do with the wires, in case you don’t go for the wireless set.
3. Which design of speaker suits each room; wood for wood, metal for metal and so on.
4. How far the main seating should be from the music station to be loud enough but not jarring.
5. How to place loose pieces of furniture during events. For example, hydraulic stools, settee, lounge chairs et cetera so it does not look like you borrowed your neighbor’s furniture for the night.
6. How to utilize the eating space so that everyone is not part of the serving party. Also, how to best display the food near the ovens so all women don’t become waitresses for the night.
7. What to do with guests staying over. Mattresses and blankets are passé. You don’t want your house to look like a dharamshala dorm room every time you have people staying over. Also, you may not be prepared to receive crashers in case they have too much to drink. In such cases, he will suggest fold-out beds, roll-up beds, twin-couches that turn into beds, chairs that expand into beds, camping beds et cetera so that you can maintain the look of the house while secretly knowing that everything in the hall can turn into a bed!
8. What kind of decorations you can put up for individual events instead of recycling the same tinsel and balloons and diwali lights for every celebration. This may look like an easy one but think if you had to host a homecoming for your son returning from the UK and a baby shower for your daughter’s first, what you would do. You cannot use anything common and with special decorations for each event, you can make all the difference with that little special ornament or place setting.
9. Even little finishing touches, like bookshelf placement, mood lighting that turns into broad daylight, hanging of chandeliers so they don’t look like hand-me-downs from a pseudo-Victorian uncle, reflective glass placement et cetera will also be part of his wheelhouse and part of your real house.

Finally, after about a month of shopping with you, moving furniture with you, putting up columns, hiding wires and placing crockery and flatware out of sight and within reach and so many other things, his field work will be done and your house will look like the trendiest pub in the evenings and the homeliest den in the mornings. But his final straw is yet to be put it. He will, from what he has done and accomplished through this association, create a ‘lookbook’ for your house, including all the main events you have already talked about and prepared for, and give you hints and ideas about what your rooms have the possibilities for. He will make an index of where what is and where what should be in case of an ABC event. And that will be the stamp of your concept specialist.

In terms of remuneration, this should fall subjectively under a regular interior designer’s fee plus the footwork he does with you, the purchases and taxes. But if the trend takes up, I doubt it will remain affordable for all sections of society and may require alternate methods of getting help. One can also think of online suggestion sites for those who cannot afford to pay the entire fee for the in-person service. Of course, since this is a yet unheard of concept, there are no schools offering the course but once again, an interior design school should be able to incorporate such a learning easily. What a person wanting to become a Concept Specialist will need is an immense sense of utility and style but with the twist of compromise and arrangement. They should have a very good idea of what the market offers and should not do their study from foreign lifestyle magazine and then go on a wild goose chase looking for chaise lounges. They should also have a degree in technical design, interior furnishings, and/or basic knowledge about wiring, woodwork and electronics for him to be a complete concept specialist. And there you have it!

Karishma

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Archaeology is one of the interesting career options for the modern generation. Archaeology is the science of studying human cultures through the recovery, analysis and documentation of material remains and environmental data like architecture, artifacts, features, landscapes and bio facts.  It is a multidisciplinary field integrating knowledge of history, geography, and anthropology together with geology, chemistry, arts and literature.

The most basic requirement for a career in Archaeology is a passion for history and the civilizations and cultures of the past. The work of an archaeologist also requires an analytical and probing mind together with an acute sense of observation, thinking ability, accuracy and creativity. The work also involves a lot of patience and perseverance to carry out the various kinds of field tasks. A professional in this field has to spend several months at the excavation sites, discovering artifacts, cleaning and preserving them.  An archaeologist needs to have information about the geographical, geological and anthropological conditions of the area where he or she conductshis or her work. In additionto that the knowledge of current and past languages of the regionis also beneficial.

Archaeology has various sub-disciplines likeArchaeometry, Dendrochronology, Isotope Analysis, Palynology, Radio Carbon Dating, Zoo Archaeology, GeoArchaeology,Computational Archaeology and Archaeogenetics.

Not many universities in India offer a bachelors degree in this discipline. However those that offer are U.C. College Aluva and St. Thomas College under the Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam;Banaras Hindu Universityand BarkatullaVishwaVidyalaya, Bhopal. A master degree in Archaeology is offered at several universities in the country. University of Allahabad, University of Aurangabad, University of Calcutta, University of Delhi along with VisvaBhartiShantiniketanare some of the institutions of the country offering archaeology

The Archaeological Survey of India provides a two year-Post Graduate Diploma in Archaeology for those who have completed an M.A. in Ancient/Medieval Indian History or an M.A./M.Sc in Archaeology with an aggregate of 55% and above. The Delhi Institute of Heritage Research & Management offers two special programs which comprise of Master in Heritage Research & Management and another postgraduate programme in Archeology and Heritage Management.

The beginning in this profession involves being a Field Technician whereby one is expected to travel as a free lancer excavating or conducting surveys. With some years of experience one can become a Project Archaeologist.  A Project Archeologist writes proposals, budgets, supervises excavation and writes reports on the same.

Job opportunities include working in the state Archaeological Departments and the recruitments are done through the State Public Service Commission examination. Appointments to the Archaeological Survey of India are by means of the Union Public Service Commission examination. The National Museum in Delhi, the state museums and the National Trust for Art & Culture Heritage are some of the institutions, which employ archaeologists. Teaching in colleges and universities is another area where an archaeologist can find employment. Those with an M.A. degree can appear for the National Eligibility Test(NET) and The Junior Research Fellowship(JRF) examination conducted by the University Grants Commission. Those who qualify for JRF can study for a doctorate degree with a paid fellowship. The State Level Eligibility Test (SLET) allows successful candidates to teach in colleges and universities within the state.

In the initial levels as a field technician one can earn around Rs.8000 per month. In case of lecturers the salary ranges between Rs.15,000 toRs20,000 per month. Lecturers of readers grade and professors are paid even more. For those employed in the ASI and state archaeological departments the salary and perks are equivalent to those of Civil Servants. If one specializes as a museum curator one can be assures of government jobs where even though the salary may not be very high it comes with a lot of perks.

This profession is most suited for those who have a persevering personality because funds for these projects are often sporadic and it is important to remainpatient and not let the project be hampered due to lack of funds.

Arpita Roy

Image Source [http://digs.archaeology.co.uk/files/2011/03/Burial1.jpg]

A look at the mysterious world of cosmology, astronomy and space exploration

All of us, in our childhood would have aspired to do great things and cherish dreams of attaining different goals. However freakish, innocent ambitions we nurtured as a tiny toddler soon disappear as we begin to grow up. Faced with parental expectations, family pressure, peer pressure, the need of financial and social security and similar challenges, one is often left with picking up just another run-of-the-mill career choice.

Are these options limited to a handful such as Engineering or Medicine for Science students… B.Com, M.Com, BBS, CA, CS etc for commerce students and BA, MA etc for arts students?

It’s rightly said that the world is as vast as our eyes can explore. An individuals blindly follow the masses fail to look beyond the regular options. But only an explorer can realize that the world is full of career choices and opportunities! Here, I would look to talk about a career option related to Sciences that would seem equally alluring to a geek, a philosopher, or a nature lover-‘The choice of picking up cosmology/astronomy” as one’s career choice!

Key skills and making the start!

A career in Cosmology is for those who are in love in heavenly bodies, for those who are curious enough to go after the laws of physics behind universal phenomenon, for those who are passionate about astronomy and for those who simply can’t resist exploring the universe. But a word of caution! A career in cosmology, astronomy and space exploration is not rewarding as some of the conventional careers. As a beginner, one needs to put in dedicated efforts without the expectation of earning quick bucks or a shortcut to fame overnight.

So let’s take a microscopic view of what it takes to be among the stars and galaxies from the very scratch. Cosmology, astronomy and space exploration are all related with astrophysics. Hence one needs to opt for Science stream during schooling and perform academically well with special emphasis on subjects like Physics and Maths. After all it’s the laws of physics and the rules of maths that govern all universal motion!

Satisfying Qualification needs/Institutes/Entrance exams:

The career demands the qualification of a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Engineering in physics or engineering subjects. But a mere degree qualification is not enough, one needs to have an inquisitive aptitude, the ability to find complex answers, programming skills, patience to peruse long research projects and supreme dedication to work. To proceed further, one can prepare for competitive exams like related to this field like JEST (JOINT ENTRANCE SCREENING TEST), a window for admission to PHD. Programs in physics, in the participating institutes. All prominent research institutes in India have made JEST, an admission criterion for the aspirants.

Branches, Work Domain, Salary Structure:

There are different fields of astronomy/cosmology. Remember every astronomer wouldn’t be fortunate enough to be a Neil Armstrong and get to fly in outer space. This career has different bifurcating branches such as being involved in theoretical research projects, or as a part of instrument building team or working at an observatory or space research center etc. The typical salary structure in this field ranges from 15000INR for beginner to 40,000 INR for intermediates. An average ISRO scientist gets 20,000 INR. However involvements in Research projects and with experience, there is steep rise in pay-bands. And of course, who knows you might make a breath-taking discovery and become a millionaire overnight!

Future Prospects, Pros and Cons:

The most lucrative benefits are to be able to work with some of the prestigious space research institutes like the ISRO and work along with many bright, innovative minds.

The cons include challenges like cracking tough competitive exams, need of devoting time to build inter-relationship contacts with other aspirants through various astronomical clubs such as the ‘Amateur Astronomical Club’ in Bangalore etc. And the obvious lack of income and fame in this career particularly as a beginner.

The world of Cosmos is bombarded with unresolved mysteries. The planet needs passionate research scientists to unravel these mysteries! See if you have it in you!

Rohit Kumar Singh

Image Source [http://static.bbc.co.uk/solarsystem/img/ic/640/collections/space_exploration/space_exploration_large.jpg]

Human brain is one such treasure chest, which possesses invaluable and immeasurably conversant ideas with creative perceptions. People have the ability to write, not just casually, but the knack to pen down the thoughts that flow through their mind concerning a particular subject matter. The delay or dormancy lies in the fact that not each one of us actually realizes that our perceptions and comprehension can turn out to be very influential and imperative if analytically penned down.

The power of “Ink Hues”, the shades of an ink, is something unimaginably beneficial for the world. Writers are not born, neither are they confined to a few who are literary well versed. The making of a writer begins with writing each and every reflection regarding which the essayist itself must be convinced and determined about. The articles need not be written in flowery language or volcanic vocabulary, for sometimes the simpler words, linked well, impact the reader and make him comprehend the real essence, what the writer wants to convey.

Any person belonging to or pursuing any profession or career, has the hidden skill to utilize his/her understanding about the field they’ve chosen and write about what they know, feel or expect from the profession and its latest events or occurring, thereby sharing their work with the society; making people aware of numerous options and fields, may be sometimes helping youngsters to chose a career, or make the unknown aware of something they do not know, but might interest them.

For instance writing can be an excellent career option for an Engineer. Having learnt and tasted so much about science and its components, an engineer can review gadgets, pen down his/her take on the latest satellite, space mission, and even about the economic policies of the government relating to scientific progress and improvisation in the country. Guiding students who want to pursue engineering, how to prepare, relieving the stress of not making it to the IITs, discovering other options in colleges, branches. When Chetan Bhagat can write books totally contrary to his profession, and that too successfully, then why can’t an engineer write at least what he/she is well versed with?

Similarly, people belonging to the commerce world have a pool of invaluable information to share with the masses, in the form of, economists: writing blogs on varied economic situations in the world, or blogs on business developments, stakes, stock market, or can even write books on the subject that may be of great help to students and other people working in the same field.

Once a Real Estate Business man was about to shut his business due to lack of capital investment. It was only then when he accidently wrote a piece on real estate which was eyed by a successful magazine. Thereon they hired him to write what he had experienced his whole life dealing in real estate matters, proving to be a boon for his sinking career.
Those who can teach from the books written by others can also write a book themselves.

There are eminent teachers in schools, out of which some of them are attempting to write their own books with the understanding they’ve been sharing with their students for so many years, may be in a more precise manner than they have seen. An English teacher is writing, Shakespearean Tales- Retold, in a voice that is way too simple to understand for those who find it difficult to learn the Latin versions of the plays.

Even student at undergraduate level who falls short of books relating to the syllabus, can write a book form his/her very own notes and material that they are studying from. Once the mind is channelized in the right direction, even the most difficult of tasks seem to be effortless.

Doctors can write for journals and websites that cater to health and lifestyle genres sharing their views, opinions and knowledge for the wellbeing of the citizens, thereby utilizing their intelligence constructively. Everyone or anyone interested in doing so can initially start with writing blogs online, and write for websites and online magazines to get familiar with the kind of writing that is in fashion or required.

Writing is the outcome of initiation, imagination and the will to save your thoughts forever. It is not that tedious a task to perform when your mind is brimming with some unique ideas that might be of any interest to someone. Once we begin writing, slowly and eventually, we tend to encounter our own mistakes, improvise are writing skills, expression, and grammar. There are editors to mend your errors and make the article look good. Excusing yourself from writing giving various reasons of not being able to write might just not let the hidden persona you have, and the skill to affect people while voicing out your opinions.

Imagine, align, and pick up a pen,
You’ll voice out your opinion not knowing until when;
There are many who can write, but hardly any have the clues,
Exploit your knowledge and abilities, to wisely use the Ink Hues.

Shefali Saxena

Image Source [http://www.flickr.com/photos/jjpacres/3293117576/sizes/m/in/photostream/]

A frail old man holds the government to ransom while a yoga guru threatens to form an army. The roads are perennially blocked and the politicians put soap operas to shame. Indian society, my friend, is teeming with comic brilliance. Aspiring to be a standup comic therefore, is not as ludicrous as is sounds. How many times have you seen that stock character in movies that goes from funny guy in college to bogged down corporate stooge in the space of a few years? The answer is – plenty of times. Well, standup comedy provides a way to sustain your fun loving side while getting paid for it.

REQUIREMENTS

A healthy sense of humour is the basic requirement to this career option. Being able to see the funny side to situations, on and off the stage, is necessary. If you’re not conventionally good looking and your looks border on the comic, it could be an advantage. The best examples for this are Johnny Lever and Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean). The funnier you look, the lamer jokes you can pull off. Certain entertainers can elicit a giggle by using just their faces. You should have a real drive to make people laugh. Providing people with a lazy, breezy evening; a break from their hectic lives, should make you happy.

ELIGIBILITY

No formal degree is needed to make it big as a standup comedian. It is one of those fields where raw talent can take you places. Famous Indian standup comedian Sunil Pal used to work as a waiter and slept on the footpath during his struggling days. He then went on to win a T.V. show and is now at the top of the game. If viable, a performing arts course can be done from any film institute in order to gain stage experience. MAD ARTS, owned by funny man Jaspal Bhatti, deals centrally with comedy and provides courses which are humour oriented.

OPPORTUNITIES

As long as there is government, there will be humour. A good comedian can never run out of work; especially in a third world rising economy that knows how to laugh at itself. Some of the many opportunities available to comedians include – providing entertainment at corporate client parties and meetings, opening up/ working at a comedy club or night bar, doing small time college events, participating in the myriad comedy shows on television etc.

Being a successful comedian could open up avenues like world tours and lucrative Bollywood roles. Vir Das, now the face of the Indian standup community, has successfully proceeded into movies and has many international tours under his funny belt.

A bar could pay anything from Rs. 10,000 – 15,000 per act if you’re good. The pay depends on your popularity and experience. Veterans could rake in up to a lakh for a night’s performance.
A few things that a novice ought to keep in mind before entering into the world of humour – don’t expect fame overnight. It takes time to build a reputation and have a loyal following. Don’t play hardball at the start of your career. Be ready to perform for peanuts. Getting an audience to know you is imperative. Be ready to change your style and don’t be stubborn about your acts. Be ready to improvise according to the audience. A stressed out corporate guy, for example, would not enjoy a joke meant for a beer headed teenager.

The comic scene is an up and coming option for the well informed, fun loving youth of the country. Tremendous opportunities await the standup artist and, as comedian Kunaal Roy Kapoor says, “A lot of people in Mumbai are trying their hand at being comics, watching people from abroad come in and improving acts. You can’t call it an industry yet but it’s not a fad either.” Comedy is timeless and is here to stay.

Anirudh Madhavan

Image Source[http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevendepolo/4713644848/sizes/m/in/photostream/]

Leroy Chiao has literally reached the absolute heights of his profession: He’s one of the most accomplished and respected astronauts in NASA history.

During his stellar 15-year career, Leroy logged 229 days in space, flew three space shuttle missions and eventually earned the honour of commanding the International Space Station. He’s also one of only 166 people to walk in space — a feat he accomplished six times — and was one of the few foreigners ever allowed to pilot Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft.

We figured if this guy managed to overcome staggering odds (there aren’t many spaceman openings on the job boards, you know) to succeed in one of the most elite professions on Earth and above it, he must know something about building a career. So we put on our jet packs to catch up with Leroy, asking him to share his flight plan for success. (That’s right: We have jet packs in the office. Don’t you?) Here are his inside tips to keep you soaring towards your goals.

Be Prepared
“This is important in any aspect of life. You need to be properly prepared mentally and/or physically for any task. Learn what’s expected of you and make sure you familiarise yourself with all the requirements of any challenge. You need to walk yourself through them mentally to discover any possible gaps. Proper preparation will bring proper execution. Like we say, ‘Train like you fly, and fly like you train’.

“We prepped endlessly when I was training to build the International Space Station. I would prepare in a water tank in my suit 10 hours for every hour I walked in space. With that level of preparation, everything becomes second nature. In reality, nothing goes as planned — but preparation offers you options.

“Once, I was piloting the shuttle, and as we were about 1000 meters from the space station, all the alarms went off. There was a failure in the auto [pilot] system. Our ship started speeding up instead of slowing down. But my training clicked in and we ran the emergency procedures I was taught. I took control and stopped the spacecraft only 50 meters from the station. If I hadn’t gone to manual, we could’ve hit the station and killed everybody.”

Never Lose Your Determination
“This is a quality you’ll need to achieve any goal. In my case, it started way before I became an astronaut. NASA looks for persistence. The typical applicant goes through several interviews and rejections before they qualify.

“I put through my first application when I was still doing my Master’s … and I was rejected. And while I was disappointed, I was determined to try again and make it. So I finished off my Ph.D. and put in another application … and I was accepted. I wasn’t going to walk away from a challenge.

“Never let anyone deny you your dreams. Never let disappointment get you down. And keep your focus on your goals. But remember: You need to work hard enough to achieve them.”

Be Innovative
“At NASA, you receive very specific training, as in any job. But you need to be able to take that preparation and use it to respond to situations that you may not have expected. You need to be able to think on your feet and show your boss you can be innovative to find solutions.

“After a launch, something unexpected always happens: It’s how you deal with it that separates you from the pack.

“Once, when I was on one of my space walks and working on the space station, I was using a foot restraint that allowed me to use both hands to unfold a giant antenna. But there was a piece of equipment in my way that wouldn’t allow me to reach the antenna. I substituted a tether for the foot restraint. This gave me the flexibility to manoeuvre around the obstruction and do the work without being bound by the restraint. It was dangerous, but I was able to innovate because I knew the task so well. It saved the mission.”

Remember: No Task Is Too Small
“As a kid, I worked at McDonald’s, and even then there was a lot of detail. Even though I was just making burgers, I had to get the right number of burgers done and out on time. You’re still learning to be a part of a team.

“This would carry over into my training sessions as an astronaut candidate when we had to go through systems checks over and over. We checked every last detail endlessly to see what the failures might be and how to deal with them. It was so tedious! But in flights, you have to recognise those failures when they occur and how to troubleshoot them. It could save your own life — and those of your crew.

“Whether it’s reading a boring book for homework or doing menial tasks at a job early in your career, the key is this: Do the best you can. This way, you’ll learn how to be successful.”

Mike Hammer

Content Partner: Men’s Life Today, in association with Gillette

Mah:

At first, it sounds like the vehement bleating sound of a goat whose tail has
just been plucked off. Then it reminds me of the hard and loud burp, fuelled by
the large swig of soft drink, shooting out of stomach to blow all the smiles
off our enemies’ faces. But on deeper introspection, it is an illegitimate and
disfigured off spring of the traditional ‘My’ fathered by the SMS and messenger
using generation to communicate with one another easily. However, the one thing
that still baffles me is that despite being greater in word length, why is it
preferred over its old fashioned mother?

Kewl:

The second one in the family and very innocently rhyming with mule. Gone are
the days when on witnessing something really whacky, we used “How cool that
is”. Instead things are now kewling off to something that is beyond my
comprehension for it bears no resemblance whatsoever at its root word,
which might as well be considered to be included in the Latin lexicon for its increasing
lack of usage in modern times. In fact they are as close to each other as Mike
Tyson endorsing a fairness cream. Still, you must know it to be kewl.

Cole:

Ok, until recently, the only Cole I knew was Cheryl Cole for obvious reasons. I
never had even an iota of inkling that due to her popularity amongst men, the
parallel English societies were deciding to make her name immortal by very
subtly replacing the word ‘Call’ with it. I hope when they bring out the official
dictionary of their work, they have a bikini clad picture of Cheryl Cole
alongside saying ‘Cole me’. If not anything, even the Chinese people will also
buy it and make some unconscious contribution to the flagging economy.

TQ:

When I first came across this word, I was as surprised as any old user of
English would be. It was like giving an IPhone to a person still spinning in
the round dial of old age telephones. Still, when I recovered from the blow, I
expected it to be somehow related to Intelligence Quotient (IQ). But it was
not, at least not to my IQ. A very kind gentleman, getting a whiff of my
predicament told me that it was being used for ‘Thank you’. So finally
Shakespear could shove his brutal Thy, thine, thou and the many other words
which make an embarrassing spitting sound whenever spoken up his nose. Touched
by the gentleman’s warm gesture, I could not help but uttering, “TQ Sire”.

Cum:

Are you kidding me? Cum on to the next one.

Congo:

Imagine a man with his shirt on but nothing below the waist. I know the mere
imagination is more than disgusting (Of course, had it been Jessica Alba
we would have merrily wished this imagination turned into reality). Same goes
with this word. Often used to express one’s good wishes on someone’s
accomplishment, it is a semi naked version of ‘Congratulations’.

I can’t help but draw an analogy between this poor word and Draupadi for both of them are
the victims of being stripped of their clothing by the society for no apparent
reason. Alas! There are no Krishnas in this age to savage it and moreover, the
Sarees are so costly these days that even the Lord would have to lend money
from China as it’s the only rich daddy left on Earth.

Ssup:
It is a word thrown at the face of all those people who considered that making
a sound while sipping your tea amounted to bad mannerism. According to my
knowledge , all the “Hey! How are you? How is it going?” have been
compressed to this four letter word, which looks no less than the name
of some Government service examination. Now MTV tells me that it finds its utility
more amongst the tilted cap wearing dudes with chains dangling all over from
clothes twice or even thrice their actual size probably picked up in a jiffy
from a store up on a clearance sale. Some desi gossip doing the rounds in
political circles is that it is a special code word that expands as ‘Sweet
spirited Uttar Pradesh’, to be used as the party slogan of BSP in the upcoming
state assembly elections. And all the people who publicize and popularize this
word would be awarded with larger than life statues in the middle of the
road. Now, I have no idea, which one of them is true.

K:

Such a sweet and simple word..and the one taken for granted mostly. From the
taunts of grumpy and sexually frustrated mother in laws to their daughter in
laws (Kalmoohi, kulta etc) to the way of agreeing or saying ‘OK’. But this OK
is a thing of past now. Its existence has been totally wiped out or better
KO(Knocked out). Now there is either K or Okkkk. It’s rather funny that the
latter version reminds me of the King of farts..err I mean hearts who redefined
and revolutionized this word while saying(at last) “Kkkkkiran”. Anyway, I’m
somewhat uncomfortable in using this form. Or in other words, I’m not K with
it. So I’ll just stick to the basics. And yes, I do hope that all the SRK fans
are okkkk with me for taking a harmless dig at him.

Ankit Srivastava

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V.S. Singh

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It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. – Harry S. Truman
Mr. Truman, albeit quite possibly inadvertently, has captured in one sentence what binds the whole human race together. For your convenience, we will refrain from branding the “virtue”; so that you can go forward with reading this, without raising either of your eyebrows.

To understand and appreciate what I am about to put forward, you must first acknowledge that in most ways we are like other animals that co-habitate this planet. Primal instinct is what guides almost all their actions and whether we like it or not, even after years of dispensing gospels about how we have metamorphosed into a civilized, more refined form of life, we still are the same.

Well to tell you the truth, we have gotten worse; what we used as a survival mechanism in the beginning has over the years, been crafted and been moulded into a tool to serve our petty selfish motives. The act of callousness comes all the more easily to us now.

Now that we have shattered the myth, let’s dig in deeper and find out what makes us tick. Instinct is but a physical manifestation of our deeper aspirations. Well you see, we have learnt the art of euphemizing and hence justifying everything that we want. We always seem to desperately need the approval of others around us before we go ahead and do what we want.

What do we actually need, what is the one thing that governs all our actions? The answer is control. For the ones like us, the goal is limited to taking control of our own lives. We are happy when we are in control. We have control when we have money, power. I think you get the idea. The reason why the world is a colossal distraught right now is because of what each man can stoop to in order to gain that control. The intellectual section would again explain this by saying that it’s just basic instinct. And as much as I would hate to agree, it is the incontestable truth.

Success is measured in terms of how much control of your life you are in and most of the frustration comes from the realization of the fact that how minimal that is. Every relationship is a power-play, a wait for who caves in first. The struggle for control doesn’t end here. Once you’ve managed to take control of your own life, the next thing to do would obviously make inroads into others’. Most of the people who are trying to win a crown of some kind, would say that their ultimate motive is to impact lives other than their own. What they actually have in mind is to have that speck of control, however miniscule it may be, in those lives. When people in menial jobs try to show their substance, it’s not because they have a beef with you.

It’s just because they are trying to get control – the kind that they don’t have in their own lives and try to gain by ascertaining their supremacy over you. Giant corporations, well they are the worst. They have even come up with a name for the con that they are running. It’s called Corporate Social Responsibility. My god, what a sham. And tto think, we can’t see through their veil of deceit. All this, doesn’t come from some deep rooted sense of cynicism, nor is this something that infuriates me. It’s just something that we need to understand, accept and move on.

We are after all, what we were made to be.

Abhishek Mandal

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