Many readers sent in their comments on FC 188 on Trojan Horse. I am grateful to all my readers. Let me share some of the comments:
Lakshmi Raman says: “Ohh yes! I did encounter a Trojan. There was a client of Bank of America, Chennai, where I worked in the 1970s. A professor, no less. Some 10 years after I moved to Bangalore, this man came home (how did he find my address? But of course, we had telephone directories then). Well, he sat and had tea and was charming, telling me he needed help, he had lost his wallet, so could I lend him some money? I had only Rs.1000 at home (thankfully) and I gave him that money. He said you must attend my talk at IIM, giving me 2 phone numbers. Needless to say, when I called up that evening, both numbers were unreachable!! The Trojan Horse had bolted! Prasanna, you come up with such interesting and intriguing topics for your FC. Bless you and have a good day!”
Nisha Sinha says: “Great topic Prasanna! Trojan horses come into our daily lives in many avatars. They could even be routines that seem a good social practice to gain acceptance/popularity but eat away at fairness and honesty to leave an insidious appetite for gossip and intolerance.”
Cdr. V K Santhanam says: “Everyone must read this post daily at least once as it is most useful and relevant. Some of the quotes you have included are very apt these days. The irony is most educated, intelligent people fall for fraud easily.”
Rita Kapur says: “A great warning…to be always careful of Trojan horses…never know when we can fall prey. Keep them at bay as advised. I didn't know about the meaning or background of the Trojan horse…I loved the article. Every Sunday, one learns something new.”
💧Ripple Effect
How shall I start? Perhaps by saying that the comments I get from my dear readers are the ripple effect of FC. All of us have witnessed the ripple effects of our actions in a family, social or work set-up. Sometimes we do something or see someone doing something without realising the ripple effect it might have on others.
But can there be a ripple effect when something bad happens? One would think so. Take, for instance, the ripple effect of addiction. We have seen young lives, brilliant minds and many other sections of society succumbing to different kinds of addictions whether it be drugs, alcohol or for that matter getting addicted to online gaming.
Addiction doesn’t exist in isolation; its impact ripples outward, affecting not just the person but also their immediate family, friends, and even the broader community. The first ripple effect of any form of addiction is the disruption in the family. If the bread earner is the victim of addiction,
The entire family suffers. The ripple effect of drinking is all too familiar. Domestic violence gains ground. Wives get beaten, children traumatised and the family disintegrates emotionally. Addiction has no empathisers or sympathisers, as there cannot be any kind of justification for getting addicted.
A casual experiment with drugs, social drinking and a curious flirtation with online gaming have been the seeds of addiction and if they go unchecked in their infancy, the addiction takes root causing emotional turmoil and often perpetuating abusive behaviour. There’s a sense of shame that the family experiences given the intrusive and inquisitive conduct of relatives, neighbours and society at large. Families live in denial for some time, hiding the addiction and hoping it is a passing phase. Unbeknownst, the family finds itself isolated.
The ripple effects of addiction often extend to the workplace. Absenteeism, decreased productivity and erratic behaviour can undermine job security and professional relationships. Spending the earnings, and incurring debts to feed the addiction, will soon lead to an intractable debt trap. Addiction tears at the very fabric of families.
Addiction can profoundly disrupt family dynamics. When a family member struggles with addiction, it often leads to strained relationships, breakdowns in communication and trust, increased conflict and arguments, and a shift in roles and responsibilities within the family. The focus and resources of the family are centred around the addicted individual, causing imbalances and challenges within the rest of the family.
Family members of addicts often experience emotional turmoil. Their increased stress levels, anxiety, depression, feelings of guilt and shame, and social stigma, lead to a sense of isolation. The emotional toll can be overwhelming as family members fight with the challenges of addiction and its impact on their own well-being.
The ripple effect of certain happenings, unrelated to addiction, is quite profound. Take for instance lay-off, retrenchment or termination of employment. The consequences of each one of them are quite serious and they affect the entire family. With the advent of artificial intelligence, fear of job cuts grips employees, and this by itself can induce stress among them. This fear and the effect of the resultant stress extend to families and society at large.
The stress of losing a job leads to anxiety, depression, and a loss of self-confidence. Experience has shown that individuals who have lost their jobs suffer from depression and anxiety, diseases which rub off on the entire family. The loss of a job can put a strain on the family member. The jobless person may feel a sense of shame or failure. When individuals lose their jobs, they find themselves cut off from the social network and the network they had at work, which can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness.
Dear readers, every life occurrence has a ripple effect, like birth, death, illness, retirement, alienation, bankruptcy etc. As The Dalai Lama put it: “Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects”. This post cannot possibly cover different situations that have a ripple effect. I have just taken two of them: addiction & lay-offs. If you have lived through a ripple effect, please share that experience.
Having subjected you to a bit of morbid reading, let me end it with another kind of ripple effect.
What is a ripple of laughter? Simply put, it is laughter that breaks out louder but gets gradually quieter. You can relate this to the laughter at a stand-up comedian show. If the joke appeals to the crowd there is a loud laughter, petering out gradually to chuckles. This ripple of laughter not only makes the performer’s efforts worthwhile but as laughter fades it gives him or her that little pause to go on to the next set of wisecracks.
You can experience this ripple of laughter if you watch this clip of Amit Tandon which is in Hindi: 🔗Udhaar | Stand up Comedy by Amit Tandon. Readers who prefer English can watch Kanan Gill: 🔗How Indians Do Timepass | Kanan Gill Stand-Up Comedy | Netflix India. Sure, laughter is the ripple effect of comedy in any form.
As you read this letter Holi, the festival of colours is waiting to be celebrated. It marks the arrival of spring and also symbolises the victory of good over evil. It also celebrates the eternal undying love of Radha and Krishna.
Hiranyakashipu was an evil king and wanted everyone to worship him. His son Prahlad disobeyed his father and worshipped Vishnu, so his father planned to kill him. The king asked his sister Holika to help kill Prahlad. Holika had a special cloak that would protect her from fire. So she planned to trick Prahlad by taking him into a fire. But because she was using her powers for evil purposes, the plan failed and the cloak flew from Holika and covered Prahlad. Prahlad was safe and later Vishnu defeated the evil king.
This is symbolised by lighting a community bonfire. In some parts of North India, this also marks the end of winter. This festival is the second-biggest festival after Diwali.
Happy Holi to all my readers. See you next week, Ciao!
As Newtons law states - "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction" . The understanding that - in order to get you have to give! Ripples are just a visual manifestation of this principle. Sound also makes waves we can't see. Having said that the impact can be heard. What goes around comes around. Understanding the "ripple effect" is critical ingredient to becoming wise.
At any given point in time, we consciously or subconsciously are influenced by acts of other people. Be it a member of one's own family or one in the society. Some acts bring distress and pain, while others bring joy and happiness. When I started an NGO to educate slum children twenty years ago, my wife and I were the only two active workers. In the course of time when we persisted even in difficult times, the numbers grew gradually with more joining the cause. This was certainly due to a ripple effect. Among those who joined may have included addicts who gave up their bad habits. Today our NGO has grown to help close to two hundred thousand children. Thanks to the ripple effect. If the act is good and noble, a ripple has the power to turn into a tsunami !