Love and expectations!

I hear this a lot where people have this opinion that dogs>>>>humans or that animals are better than humans as they don't expect anything in return. I believe this stems from our inability to handle the complexities of human relationships. Humans are also animals, we are social animals. We have tools to express. Words. Emotions.

While it may seem that animals do not expect anything in return, I believe it is not entirely true. They do expect and feel things it's just that they are not able to express it to us in ways we're accustomed to. For instance, if we get a pet and then due to our hectic work schedules we fail to provide them enough time. The pet feels ignored, they feel sad and lonely. However they won't be able to express it clearly. They can't talk.

On the other hand, if we find ourselves into a relationship with another human and make them feel neglected - they will get angry, sad and will express their anger and sadness to us. And we are like : Breaking News -this fellow human has expectations!! I am better off with animals. They are much better than humans.

One other example is of Mother's love. Often, we hold the Mother's love in high regard, considering it the most purest and unconditional form of love. This is true because mothers typically do not expect anything in return for their unconditional love. Despite not always treating our mothers too well they continue to love us unconditionally, forming a habit of forgiveness. Unfortunately, We sometimes expect other forms of love and relationships to mirror this level of selflessness. But isn't that selfish? It completely is!

We need to stop taking our relationships for granted. Be it our mothers, pets or other fellow human beings. Instead of dismissing one form of love over the other just because it doesn't provide us with that flexibility of being selfish we should be putting more effort into understanding the complexities and uniqueness of the relationships we have! Nobody is perfect. We are going to fail. Just. Stop. Dismissing.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk! ✌️🤍

2043, Mumbai

Lucky, a 27-year-old young man, finds himself lying on his bed awakening from his sleep. He looks towards the window and notices heavy rain pouring outside. Having moved to Mumbai about a year ago during the monsoons, waking up to this sight of heavy rain in July has become quite common for him. It seems that the city of Mumbai is in a perpetual state of rainfall, receiving it 24 hours a day.

As he gradually becomes more conscious, Lucky notices several differences in his surroundings. The ceiling above him appears extremely damp and distressed. A year ago, when he was struggling to find a house in Mumbai, he remembers being impressed and relieved when he finally found a place in a good condition. However, the room was remarkably small, with only a large bed, a wardrobe, a few pieces of furniture, and just enough space on either side of the bed for a single person to stand. What particularly caught his attention and sealed the deal was a box-like section on the right side of the bed, featuring a sitting area and a large window with sliding glass and mosquito nets. He remembers how that small little section is his favorite part of the house.

Looking to the right, towards the window while still lying down, he realizes that the windows can no longer be slid open. Instead, they are now covered by a single glass panel with no option for bypassing it. As his senses are heightened , he notices a musty smell permeating the room. While such a smell is common during the monsoons, its current intensity is significantly stronger and difficult to tolerate.

A wave of confusion washes over him as he contemplates these changes. He cannot remember any of this occurring. He struggles to recall if there was a disaster that led to these alterations. In his memory, he fell asleep in normal conditions, with walls and ceilings in good shape, and a pleasant scent in his room.

Summoning the courage to get up from the bed, Lucky notices something peculiar on the calendar placed on the tiny desk in front of him. Astonishingly, the year shown on the calendar is 2043. This revelation completely baffles him. He distinctly remembers living in the year 2023. After calming himself down, he starts making some fantasy theories in his mind, including the possibility of having time-traveled. He looks himself in the mirror and realizes that he has not aged a day; he looks exactly the same as he did in 2023.

Curiosity piqued, he peeks through the glass window and is greeted by a sight that leaves him utterly bewildered. The building opposite his own is completely submerged underwater. Recalling that it used to be a 10-floor structure while his apartment is located on the 15th floor, it becomes apparent that the city is submerged to the 10th floor level. Looking further downward, he observes mini submarines and a multitude of underwater tunnels. Everything is new and incredibly unfamiliar. The confusion and fear intensify as he grapples with the fact that he has no recollection of any of these changes.

Stepping out of his room, he discovers that the distressed and dampened state of the ceilings and walls is consistent throughout the house. The living room has been transformed into a storeroom, packed with countless packets of ready-to-eat food and water bottles. The entire house emanates an overpowering smell akin to a seaside fish market. Several cans of room fresheners are scattered about, which is entirely foreign to him.

Suddenly, the phone begins to ring. Despite his apprehension, Lucky musters the courage to answer it. The ringing persists, growing louder. He moves around the house in search of the phone, which he finds on the bedside table. Taking a deep breath, he picks up the call and anxiously asks, "Who is it?"

"Hi Lucky! Good morning," a voice from the other end greets him.

"Hi, good morning. Who is this?" Lucky responds, his tone still tinged with fear.

"This is Harshit. Are you alright? Your phone disconnected suddenly while we were talking on the phone last evening."

"What were we talking about?" Lucky inquires.

"Just general stuff. The last thing we were discussing was the prediction that Mumbai might completely drown by the year 2050 due to climate change," Harshit explains.

"I think it might happen sooner, perhaps by 2043," Lucky replies.

A Country of Late night workers

'9 to 5' job is a term we hear a lot but do not often relate to. I don't recall ever leaving the office at 5 p.m., and I don't know anyone who does, at least not in the IT industry. The term, I believe, originated in the United States and is also applicable there. People in the United States go to work at 9 a.m. or earlier and leave around 5 p.m.

While we do not usually start this early in India, and even if we do, we certainly do not end our days at 5 p.m. or even hour after that. People in India would leave their offices at 7:30 - 8 p.m. in the best case scenario. This huge disparity in timings makes me wonder about the current state of the working population and what it will be like in the future. Because they do not sleep on time, our working population is not accustomed to waking up early. Because our work usually ends at night, most of us do not have time for our personal lives after the work day ends. We put off taking care of even the smallest chores until the weekend. We are becoming a country of young people with health problems such as insomnia, obesity, and stress, and one of the major reasons for this is the work schedules we adhere to in our corporate jobs.

We've made working late a norm, and we're proud of our culture of starting late and finishing late, or starting early and finishing late. And that, in my opinion, is the most serious problem. When we begin to normalize a problem, it becomes a culture. The fault does not entirely lie with us; circumstances and limitations play a significant role. One of the main reasons being that the businesses the corporates do come from Oversees and they prefer to hire us for the work(Duh! Great talent and Cheap labor) . The time zones do not match and thus the work timing issues. This is a valid argument and justification for the timing issues, but it cannot be held solely responsible for the culture we have created. The people sitting oversees needs to get more considerate and less ignorant about the fact that there is someone working out of their working hours. And no, not everyone gets compensated for the overtime or the extra hours that they put in. The concept of Overtime pay is almost non-existent in our country where the basic pay itself is at suboptimal level compared to the work that is put in.

One of the other reasons we don't do anything about it and just accept things as they come is the scarcity of jobs and opportunities available here. A person would much rather have a job that requires late-night slogging than no job at all. I personally used to work at a place where I was needed to slog for more than I was getting paid to meet deadlines. It came with some perks like depression, poor health and absolutely no extra money for the overtime. Because of the same fear that most of us have, I was hesitant to quit. Fear of not being able to find another job.

While this is a very problematic subject, it continues to be ignored because we have somehow made working until late a sign of some sort of hustle heroism, which is exactly what businesses take advantage of.

This has now become a part of our way of life, and it will, unfortunately, have a long-term impact on our physical and mental health, as well as the amount of time we spend pursuing our hobbies and maintaining good habits in general. As a developing country, we will be reliant on international trade for many years to come. We can, however, change our culture and mindset in terms of how we treat our employees and ourselves. Otherwise, we will continue to be a country of the call centers and an outsourcing destination for all late-night slogging work. In light of this, we are unquestionably more than that.

If you are here for the first time, also check out my other posts!