Restaurant which mess up orders

 

Restaurant which mess up orders

Will you, knowingly select a restaurant, where 40% of your orders are messed up, for dining? Normally not, I guess. However, it seems there is a restaurant in Japan which is specialised in messing up your orders.

 The reason for this mix up is simple yet unique- those who serve your food in this hotel are all dementia patients. So obviously most of them can’t understand your order properly; even if they do it will be forgotten soon; and in many cases they serve you with someone else's order. 

As it turns out, it is not a marketing gimmick or publicity stunt. Though it may sound bizarre, the owners reason out that they want to give such dementia patients an opportunity and livelihood. The response from the public indicate that this gesture is appreciated.

According to the data 37% of the orders are messed up. The person who is taking your order is not able to understand fully what your  order is; even if they comprehend they may forget it before they pass on the order; imagine you going through such an experience and also a situation where you are eagerly waiting for your food knowing very well that the possibility of you getting the food you ordered is only sixty percent.

Interestingly, the restaurant is doing well and many are frequenting the place even after being aware of this mix up. Most of them absolutely love it as a new experience and are not much bothered about the confusion. They laugh it off and  even recommend the need of having more of such places. Those who visit the place are so open minded to accept the situation and forgive those mistakes.

 What is equally important is, according to the owners, though there can be a mess up in the order but there is no compromise on the taste and quality of the food.

So the question is, if We can forgive 40% mistakes at a restaurant why can't we do that in our life too? Is our benevolence restricted to just a hotel? Is it just a spark of sympathy?  What is preventing us from extending that magnanimity to our normal day- to -day life as well?

How many times  have we strained our life just because we were not able to pardon a few mistakes. How many harsh decisions have we taken in life because of some small mess up. Even if we add up all those mistakes it will not amount to 40%. Yet we could never forgive those small and big mistakes. Many a times our narrow-mindedness lead to precious loses in life. Still we are adamant.

Human being definitely has the innate quality to forgive and forget. This one virtue has to be a part of our DNA. Otherwise  we cannot display such kindness in a restaurant. The danger is we are slowly losing that great gift of compassion and inclusiveness bestowed upon us.

Why can’t we take cue from this restaurant and be more open-minded? Yes it is true that we all mess up with life big time.  What is preventing us from taking the small blemishes of life in our stride and expand our heart to be more inclusive. When will we learn to laugh off the wrong order served to us?Don't you think as long as the taste and quality of life is maintained we can always leave room for few flaws? If we have learned the value of giving ,is it not possible for us to nurture the art of forgiving too?

Are you joining him in his Himalayan journey?

 

Are you joining him in his Himalayan journey?

Frustration was oozing out of his every word when my friend spoke to me few days back.

“Enough of everything”, he bellowed,” I am thinking of leaving everything and going to Himalayas”.

Though the discussion was very serious, I almost laughed. My laughter was not a sign of sarcasm, rather it was one of deep understanding. In fact, off late, most of my friends talk about leaving everything and going to Himalayas. May be you are one among them.

Is  the Himalaya he is referring  that snowclad mountains so far away from the hustle and bustle of life?  What he really meant was to cut himself off from the vagaries of life. Away from that business which is struggling; the team which is not performing; client who is not paying; the wife who is after that diamond ring; son who has not got through the competitive exam; the ailing parents; self-centered friends; a gloomy socio-political ecosystem; a ravaging pandemic ; and much more

 In his mind ,on one of those mountain peaks he will built a small hermitage, give away all his worldly possessions, will survive by partaking frugal food, satisfy himself with a pair of cheap clothes and with lot of determination will start that enchanting inward journey.

He will be all to himself. Slowly he will close the doors of his yester years; sever all relations; control the physical and mental cravings; realise the stupidity of this rat race; and then attain that blissful state which will enlighten the soul. That rendezvous with your pure soul. From those peaks everything in the plane will look silly and stupid.

So what is there to laugh about it? I laughed because of three reasons.  Firstly, there is no such place as he has imagined in those mountain peaks. Secondly, even though he will have the wish, he will not have the courage to take the first step towards that Himalaya. Thirdly, I, personally am a person who started my journey towards that “ Himalaya” and I know where I have reached so far. I am not being sarcastic, but just realistic.

 Deep within, most of us have this dreamy place. A safe haven which will protect us from all hazards of life. A place to which we can run away whenever we are fed up with the present life. In that imaginary place everything is peaceful and luminous. There, none of the concerns of life can effect us. We are frustrated of our present life that we constantly listen to the silent invitation of that enchanting shelter. We believe that it will accept us warmly and protect us from all dangers like our mothers womb.

The question is ,does such a place really exist? Is there really a Himalaya? I am not talking about the real Himalayas. It is there for all of us to see. However, are those snow clad mountain ranges  the Himalaya to which you are trying to retreat? Is it not just a fantasy for you yet? Apart from having those surreal thoughts have you ever seriously sat down to trace where your dream Himalaya is?

There lies the irony. We have this Himalaya inside us. But we, like most other things in life, have never been serious about it. When our  deep frustrations  churn our inside, then this Himalaya emerges to the surface like the elixir of life. Once the churning stops the Himalaya also fades.

I can confidently tell you this because a couple of years back I  got into the bus whose destination is the so called” Himalaya". In another blog I will also share my experiences of my journey so far.“ Another one” ? you may ask. I cant help but add to the hassles of your life.

When dollars shower on you…

 

When dollars shower on you…

 What will you do when suddenly dollars shower on you while walking on a busy street? This is not a hypothetical question anymore. As per a video which is doing the round, I am told that a millionaire, when he was in his death bed, asked his friend to scatter all his money in the streets after his death.( this is the essence of the video and I admit I do not know the detail)

This video was surprising But what is troubling me is the question - what I would have done if I were present at that spot? Will I go for it or stay back? At times I throw such unwanted questions at myself.

Obviously the first sensation will be the moral prick. Religious texts, spiritual gurus, moral science classes, parents, elders and many others have repeatedly told me that I should not greed for others money. I should only have the money which is earned by my hard work. Every penny should be earned. I should not steal or make money through subterfuge.

Then I am told that wealth which comes freely is not good. The Law of Karma or Law of Attraction does not endorse it. Rarely money comes freely and even if it happens by chance then such money may have stains of sin. So better to avoid them like plague( or covid).

Spiritual gurus have constantly reminded me about the worthlessness of too much money. Being rich is not the be all and end all of life. Happiness and clear conscience are more important than money is the underlying theme of all their valuable teachings.

What will others think if they find me grabbing at those dollars flying in the air or those  which escaped the greedy hands of the crowd and settled on the path? Don’t they feel how mean and lowly i am? Will they not realise how much craving I have for money even after having more than enough to lead a good life? Imagine the video, wherein I am ravenously scrambling for those few dollars, being shared among my known circle. What image I will have in the society after that?

Again I admit that my guru has told me that I can achieve the spiritual bliss if I could stand away from all these rat race and witness this mad rush with a smile. One Mr. Maslow had told that Self- Actualization is the last level in the need hierarchy pyramid.

So am I to understand that  these external factors will make me hesitant at that moment when I see the money raining on me? Will these thoughts really  influence my action? Shockingly, I am really not sure how I will react if I am there physically.

 Deep within , my instinct says, that I will join that crowd in the mad rush. Money, in whatever form, is valuable. If someone has decided to share his wealth after his death then we should respect that action and accept it as a gift of the benevolent superpower. When money comes your way unexpectedly then you should not refuse it. Such serendipity is rare. After all you are not stealing or earning it with stealth.

The spiritual( nowadays they also double up as business gurus as well) gurus have also said that I should be smart enough to recognise it when opportunity knocks. So both arguments have their worth.

But who am I to remember all this when I see fortune falling on me. If you feel that I will step aside as a witness and later brag how I withstood the temptation, then you are mistaken. I will be one among the crowd, trying to gather as much money as possible. Later I will thank God and even keep away a part of the money for charity. If you find me in the video, you are free to circulate it- but don’t ask how much I got. Just, out of curiosity, can I ask what you would have done?

ധ്യാനാന്തരം

 ധ്യാനാന്തരം

ഒരു കൊച്ചു കൊതുക്

കാതിൽ വന്നു മൂളിയപ്പോൾ

ധ്യാനത്തിൽ നിന്നു മുയർന്നു

ദീർഘമായ ഒരുൾ യാത്രയിൽ

നിന്നുമാണീ ചെറുപ്രാണി

എന്നെ തിരികെ കൊണ്ടുവന്നത്

ധ്യാനത്തിന്റെ ശാന്ത സുഖത്തിൽ

കണ്ണു തുറന്നപ്പോൾ

ഒരു തുള്ളി രക്തത്തിനു വേണ്ടി

അതെനിക്കു ചുറ്റും മൂളിപ്പറക്കുന്നു

ഒരു സൂചിക്കുത്തിന്റെ വേദനയിൽ

എനിക്കത് ദാനമായ് നൽകാനാവും

എങ്കിലും ശാന്തിക്കുമശാന്തിക്കുമിടയിൽ

എവിടെയോ ഞാൻ ശങ്കിച്ചു നിന്നു

ആദിമമായ ഒരുൾ വിളിയിൽ

ഉള്ളിലെ വേട്ടക്കാരനുണർന്നു

കൈകൾ, വേഗവും വന്യതയുമറിഞ്ഞു

ഉള്ളിൽ പ്രാർത്ഥിച്ചുണർത്തിയ

സാസ്ഥ്യം മുറിഞ്ഞു. 

ഒടുവിൽ ധ്യാനലീനമായ കണ്ണുകളിലൂടെ കണ്ടു

എന്റെ കൈവെള്ളയിൽ

ചതഞ്ഞരഞ്ഞ ഒരു ശരീരവും

എന്റെ തന്നെ ചോരയും

New age friends

 

New age friends

My teenage son, due to an infection in his spinal code, is under bed rest. Getting confined to bed at this age is not the best thing to happen. Covid had forced him to be inhouse for almost a year. Before he could enjoy the brief freedom provided by the lull period, he is back to bed

Like any father I was worried how he will manage the situation. To my surprise, he took it bravely and positively. But during this period I noticed something which made me write this. None of his friends from our housing society came to meet him. We live in this society for more than a decade and he has quiet a number of friends here. He is not an introvert and is quiet sociable. Even his classmates visited just once.

I was bit concerned and asked him why no one is visiting. He, nonchalantly, shrugged off my concern.  He said, as far as the friends at the housing society are concerned, the boundaries are well defined. You meet, play, share a joke, celebrate festivals and spend time together. However, very rarely they cross the lines of your personal life. They are, without any confusion, able to separate their personal and social lives. Unless you allow them to enter your private life, they will never trespass. For him there is no one worth enough in society to be identified as a real friend . Such is the clarity.

Things are slightly different with school friends. There are many with whom he shares his deepest feelings; a selected few for whom he has opened his otherwise shut door. But, that does not mean that they have to visit him frequently. Interestingly, they are constantly in touch, albeit through a virtual world. Literally every minute they are connected over various gadgets and whenever they want to meet they just have to  switch on the video. It is not that they don’t meet but meetings are mainly with a purpose. Personal meetings are few and far between. They do not need the physical reassurance to feel comfortable. Emotion is not their weak spot. Of course they have their strong emotions. But they hardly carry it on their sleeves. It is mostly reserved to their deeper self and seldom exhibited. At least that is what I feel and I should admit that I have badly failed to fathom their innards . Nevertheless, in a way which is completely alien to us they share their feelings and emotions. He is least bothered if no one is coming to visit him when he is ill and he is not even feeling their absence. In fact they are there with him always, at the press of a finger.

I felt it strange because my idea of friendship is totally different. I thought of those days when we could not think of not meeting our friends even for a day. If someone is not feeling well, then you are promptly by his/her side immediately. We kind of take over his/her responsibility, much more than the family. That may be because we had no other means to express our care and concern. In an electronic era we also would have behaved in this way. Even then it is no denying the fact that we still need that physical presence of our friends besides us. For us friends were not just virtual. They were more real, in flesh and blood.

Like many other things in our life ,friendship too, is probably evolving. You can decide not to visit someone who is bedbound for many days and still claim to be his friend. Even the person on bed don’t find anything amiss in it. May be they are more comfortable with the virtual presence than the real presence.

What I still relish are those days when my friends used to barge into my place. Though at times disturbing, their constant presence was really comforting. So I kept wishing he too had few friends who could drop in once in a while. He repeatedly assures me that he is fine with his friends not visiting him. Still, every time the door bell rings I wish it will be one of his friends, who at last decided to spend some time with him. Thus is the frailty of a fathers mind.