FC 117 was very well received. I thank my readers for appreciating the narrative and the photographs. Some of the comments too were very good. Let me share some of them:
Vaishnavi, my teenage reader, said this: “A safari at Jim Corbett National Park is a great opportunity to spot animals. We visited it a few years ago, and it was amazing! Early morning safaris might be the best for spotting. The forest is quiet and undisturbed, the animals unaware of the people and so unafraid. The concrete jungle is a jungle in another sense of the word too - the way people behave. The conflicts we have among ourselves resemble the violent fights that take place in the wild. I really liked the picture of the tiger!” That picture was taken by my granddaughter!
Shahji Jacob Says: “Two things struck me. One was of course the dabbawalas of Mumbai. I have been a fortunate beneficiary of their dedicated efforts in my early career at Mumbai and I have to just say hats off to them. The other thing that got my attention was the safari suit. There was a time when (executives of a certain level) in banks, at least where I had my initial career, wore them so regularly that you could say which level they were in the bank. I did not know of its connection to Yves Saint Laurent. I think safari suits are now history, though I do see on an odd occasion some guys wearing them.”
Swaminathan echoes Shahji’s views and says: “Interesting to read about the designer of the Safari suit. I have only seen government officers, babus, CBI, and SPG guys. My father’s old safari suit still lies in the wardrobe. I have retained it in his memory. My son will throw it away when I leave.”
Preeta Narain says: “What an experience! Nothing can beat the thrill of observing animals in their natural habitat. I hope others on the safari were well-behaved. I have seen video clips of Indian safari where the people scream and hoot at the animals with total disregard and disrespect! Loved the pic of the leopard lounging on the tree!”
Mr.Padmanabha, a former bureaucrat says: “I was once Secretary, Forest Dept, and the animals just ignored us, including the monkeys, to the great disappointment of the senior officials. In any case, I am sure I would not be comfortable if a tiger took interest in me! About Safari suits, all I can say is, I never wore them.”
🧱🌉Walls & Bridges
In ordinary parlance walls around you make you feel secure and bridges help you cross over. But these ordinary words can have some extraordinary meanings in different contexts.
In the matter of human relationships, walls are the antithesis of bridges. When you make yourself unapproachable or when you alienate yourself in any which way, you are building a wall around you — a wall that cannot be seen but is palpable by your own demeanour. There are situations when you build a wall around you and you find yourself unable to break it, though you regret making it. Inability or being diffident to bring it down stems from a fear of loss of face or embarrassment, neither of which should stop you from bringing down that wall and building a bridge.
All of us build walls and bridges every day. It is just that we don’t realize or relate those terms to our actions. You fight with a colleague and stop talking to her. You have built a wall that stays there until you decide to pull it down, which you may do of your volition or with the help of a common well-meaning friend. The wall comes down when you shake hands with that colleague, regretting the episode that leads to the estrangement. These kinds of walls can happen with anyone and at any number of times.
It is also possible that your actions or utterances may prompt someone to build a wall, cutting you off from any kind of communication. It can be very discomforting, and the fact that you regret having said hurtful words will not bring the wall down unless you walk up to that person and apologize for your actions. It may not bring the wall down immediately, but at least you have loosened the bricks.
Parental & marital estrangement leads to walls on either side that are not easy to pull down. But if one side makes a conscious effort to break through, it may well be the first step at dismantling all the walls and building bridges with those very bricks that the wall was made up of initially. Unfortunately, the wall that separates a couple when one chooses to build an adulterous bridge will remain forever.
John Lennon went into exile in California during his separation from Yoko Ono. He composed, in the year 1974, the album “Wall & Bridges”. He said that walls keep you in, protectively or otherwise, but bridges get you somewhere. The song's lyrics seem to suggest that Lennon, while enjoying the new-found freedom, missed Ono.
There are different kinds of walls that are used in the context of human interaction and behaviour. The Chinese wall is one such example, inspired by the Great Wall of China, built in the 3rd century as a defensive wall that separated China & Mongolia. Want to know more? Please read this article:🔗Great Wall of China | Definition, History, Length, Map, Location, & Facts | Britannica. A Chinese wall is a virtual barrier intended to block the exchange of information between departments in the case of ethically or legally questionable business activities.
When the US stock market crash happened in 1929, the investment banking community resorted to the use of Chinese walls within the organization to restrict access to non-public information and to maintain confidentiality. This concept of ‘Chinese walls’ is now used by many service providers including auditing & accounting firms, law firms, and the like. Typically, if a team is working on a matter that is not public yet, access to that team and the information in its possession is denied, and the organization creates a Chinese wall around this team. You can breach the Chinese wall if you can be a fly on the wall 🙂
Stonewalling is an act of evasive behaviour. Ignoring what someone is saying or changing the topic of conversation if it is getting sensitive or uncomfortable is an act of stonewalling. The phrase can also extend to someone walking away from a discussion. Interestingly, stonewalling can also be used to understate the gravity of a serious situation. For example, if someone is diagnosed with a terminal disease the news is not shared bluntly with someone who can be emotionally distressed but is soft landed to help that person slowly come to terms with reality. In our ordinary life, stonewalling happens all the time. If one is unwilling or not ready yet to disclose certain information, that person can stonewall. Even today, I stonewall when someone asks me how much I scored in Maths!
A firewall is akin to a Chinese wall, but is largely used in IT systems. It is a special type of network security device or a software program that monitors and filters incoming and outgoing network traffic based on a defined set of security rules. It acts as a barrier between internal private networks and external sources (such as the public Internet). Want to know more? Please visit🔗Firewall Tutorial - javatpoint.
Just as building walls around you can isolate you, building bridges is at the heart of human interaction. Reaching out to people is a classic example of building a bridge. A person who is well-connected is essentially a person who has an extensive network of bridges, and also a person who can penetrate a wall and replace it with a bridge.
A certain measure of discretion is required when you consider building bridges. Are you letting in someone in your life who can dominate you and deprive you of your own individuality? A certain amount of circumspection is required before you build bridges. Getting into business partnerships can be dicey if you align with people who are insincere and have ulterior motives. These are the guys who can burn down the bridge that you built and leave you stranded. To know more about Partnerships, I recommend to you my post:
People who are extroverts tend to build bridges on impulse, and I have been accused of that often. Introverts are not quick to build bridges, simply because they have this wall around them that should come down first before they let someone in. For them, it is like putting out a drawbridge when they think you should be admitted into their company. Please read at your convenience my post which deals with extroverts and introverts 🔗Filter Coffee #020 - by M R Prasanna
Building bridges has of late acquired an entirely different meaning. It is about sustainable finance. An opportunity to shape future short-term thinking into long-term transformation. Building Bridges is a movement. There was a Building Bridges Summit-2022 in Geneva. When you have the time, please listen to a galaxy of speakers using this link:🔗Building Bridges Summit 2022 - Day 1. If you are keen to stay in touch with this movement, you can download the BB-Connect app from the play store.
There are two well-known Bridges. The Bridge of Hope spans the Mississippi River in the US & The Bridge of Sighs in Venice passes over Rio di Palazzo. Though the latter is considered a very romantic spot today, it had a much darker purpose when it was built in 1614. The bridge connected the ‘New Prisons’ to the interrogation rooms. It is worth reading about the very interesting aspects of this bridge. Please click on: 🔗Bridge Of Sighs: The Truth About Venice Famous Bridge (2022)
Through FC I have built bridges with all my readers and I hope to make them stronger with each successive post.
Take care & be safe. A dad joke before I say Ciao.
Q: What do you call a polite man who builds bridges?
A: A civil engineer
One of your friends responded that nothing has been heard about walls coming down. Why not ? What about the wall between the two Germanys? It did come down!
Yes . ‘Walls’ do have both positive & negative connotations. While a wall can give you safety & security, it could at the same time be restricting & stifling.
It the same breath, if bridges are not constructed ( figuratively too) it could lead to misunderstanding & tragedy… sadly thinking of the recent bridge collapse & loss of precious lives in Morvi , Gujarat.