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Enjoy Responsibility With Sensitivity

QUESTION - I have recently been promoted to work in a prestigious project. I was pleasantly surprised to know that my previous reporting boss and I would now be peers. I was looking forward to working with him as we shared a very good rapport. Unfortunately things are turning out quite different from what I had expected. My previous boss(now peer) is behaving very cold and non -cooperative. In fact, he has been refusing all my effort to establish communication. It is a very big challenge to work as a team under these circumstances. If it continues, I fear the project may begin to suffer, and that is making me very uneasy and stressed.

ADVICE – Congratulations for the promotion. Your seniors have made a decision to promote you to be at par with your senior colleague, now it is your responsibility to handle the promotion in a manner that your senior’s decision is proven to be right.

You are gaining momentum compared to others in your organisation. You are facing challenges similar to what Dhoni had faced, when he became Captain of the Indian team ahead of the likes of Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj. He has successfully lead players as senior as Sachin Tendulkar and Dravid. Many people remember when Dhoni picked up Anil Kumble on his shoulders at the end of the match that was to be the last match for Kumble as the Indian captain. Dhoni also ensured that Sachin Tendulkar gets to be lifted on the shoulders of fellow players on the eve of India lifting the World cup. Such gestures go a long way in creating harmony when individuals are being promoted rapidly like you.

Please be sensitive to the fact that your ex-boss is now your peer, it will take sometime for him or her to get used to this change, make it easier on him or her by you being sensitive and giving him or her the respect that you had always given. Communicating your gratitude for the guidance that he has given will also help. If you feel that your ex-boss on occasions is not dealing with his or her insecurities well, and is misbehaving, you be sensible and step back and find other ways to ensure that the team doesn’t suffer. Also seek opportunities where you can have one on one time with your ex-boss, now at par with you be it having tea or coffee, or meals or if possible travelling together, on these occasions be “extra” nice.

It is only a matter of time. Be sensitive and sensible, and things will return to normal.

The Best Time To Convert Your Problems Into Opportunities!

In my own way I have found this to be the best time to think through problems into great opportunities. I also practice to put problems into my “mental processor” and sometimes good ideas come…pop, pop, pop…my mind becomes a popcorn machine!

For example I believe in the fact that forgiveness is not an occasional act but it is a permanent attitude and I have learnt to practice forgive and forget to my advantage. I have also learnt to say “NO” and save hundred of my headaches and heartaches. No rocket science or Ph.D. to it but simple thinking through processes while shaving or being driven or before going to sleep.

Zohra Sehgal

Zohra Sehgal, a name that symbolizes zest for living and truly truly defines ‘Life’ in short. The unmatched charm she possesses, the animated and most expressive face she has, and the ever-young heart fills the ambiance with joy and happiness.

She was born on April 27, 1912, in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, third of her seven siblings – and grew up in Chakrata, now in Uttarakhand (near Dehradun).She began her career as a dancer with Uday Shankar in 1935 and performed across Japan, Egypt, Europe and the US. She married scientist, painter and dancer Kameshwar Sehgal in August 1942. She was active in theatre mostly, but also did a few films in between. She choreographed for a few Hindi films as well; including Guru Dutt’s Baazi (1951) and the dream sequence song in Raj Kapoor’s film Awaara. Sehgal moved to London on a drama scholarship in 1962, where she appeared in many TV productions including The Jewel in the Crown, Tandoori Nights and My Beautiful Laundrette.

Returning to India in the mid-1990s, Sehgal acted in several films, plays and TV series.

Known for her feisty spirit and zest for life, Zohra spread smiles with her roles in Sawariyaa and Cheeni Kum even at the age of 94.

Sehgal was awarded the Padma Shri in 1998. She was subsequently honoured with the Padma Bhushan (2002) and Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award in 2010.

Incidentally, Sehgal’s 100th birthday comes in the year when Cinema is also celebrating its completion of a century.

There are not many who have the privilege of Amitabh Bachchan pulling a chair for them. Zohra Sehgal is one of those few,” filmmaker R Balki says with a laugh. “Each time Zohraji came on the sets of ‘Cheeni Kum’, Mr Bachchan would stand up, first greet her and then pull a chair for her to sit,” says the adman-turned-director and adds that Sehgal’s mesmerising inner beauty makes her his most favourite woman.

From Prithviraj Kapoor to Raj Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor, she has worked with four generations of Bollywood’s famous Kapoor family – and she hasn’t let age dampen her spirit at all.

Please view the three clips attached below to view the mesmerizing personality of Zohra Sehgal.

9 Ways to Identify And Deal With A Toxic Relationship

There are many relationships we carry forward which are doing harm to our self-esteem, peace of mind and happiness in general. These are people who are part of our lives but are making a negative, in fact, toxic contribution to it. Being in such an association for too long could be detrimental to our mental health. It is sad, but required, to identify such associations and weed them out.

The first step is to identify such people and evaluate the nature of your interaction with them. You will notice that there is an emerging pattern in all such negative associations – that they deplete you of your positive energy and vigor.
Here are some signals to watch out for:

• Your needs are not the focus – it is always about them and their needs. You are made to feel less important all the time.

• Insincerity in the behavior – when you share something funny, or emotional or happy, you get an inadequate and insincere response to it. For funny things, only a polite laugh, for emotional matters maybe a quick line to stop you from speaking more about it, and for happy things, a very pessimistic comment that saps your enthusiasm.

• Consuming your time disproportionately – you may be required to put aside even important chores to listen to them or entertain them. Their otherwise minor issues burden you because of long conversations and phone calls.

• You are always at fault – no matter what happens to them, it is somehow always your doing. It could be true for certain occasions, but never always!

• Presenting unacceptable or intimidating propositions – forcing you to compromise under an emotional threat or blackmail so that they can have their way.

• You are never at the receiving end – though you keep giving ever more, it is never sufficient. And there is very little in the name of reciprocation.

• Abnormally possessive – whatever activity you do outside them is viewed as unimportant, or with suspicion, even ridicule at times. Basically, you have no rights outside them.

• Your thoughts and opinions are belittled – you feel stupid for your ideas as they are never appreciated. Your strengths, talents and accomplishments never feature in the relationship. You feel inadequate.

• You find your behavior changing for the worst with some people – in order to cope with such a demeaning arrangement, though it may be very covert, you end up behaving less dignified and immature around them.

Simple ways to help you to help yourself:

• Evaluate your self
  What you do around people gives them the courage and the idea of how to use the association with you to their advantage. You must accept that there are mistakes of oversight on your part as well due to which the toxic relation around you engulf you. Watch what you say and watch what you do. Be cautious and do not let people get a chance. If we wish to set things right around you, it has to begin from setting thing right within yourself.

• Evaluate the people in your life objectively
  You should never feel the burden of a relationship. And if something causes you to feel that way, it is the unnecessary pressure exerted on you by them. List out all the people you interact with on an average week. Make a note of what good vibrations they bring with them and their limitations.

• Weed out the negative
  Now that you have mapped the strengths and a weakness of each of your associations, this step is a natural progression. You must remove the people from your life who lower your self-esteem, disrespect you and in general, do not make you happy. There can be very little reason for you to maintain such relationships. Find ways to gradually cut off ties with such people.

• Reduce your involvement and investment
  Since what you have invested in the relationship is not reciprocated, it is natural that you would feel sad about it. What you can immediately do to come out of the feeling is, to stop investing your energy. If you presented a lavish meal every time your associate came in, stop. Order food if completely necessary. If it was long phone calls, tell clearly you have to do something more important. If you needed to accompany them to their place of interest, say you have another engagement.

• Be in control of your emotions
  The top method used by toxic people is manipulation. They are quick to identify your emotional needs, weaknesses and insecurities. This is their chief tool. When they see a weak spot in your emotional orientation, they feed their selfish interests upon it. What you can do to prevent yourself from being abused in this manner is by remaining in control of yourself at all times. Do not confide and do not share any information sensitive to you.

• Learn to be with yourself
  In addition to being in greater emotional control; another very significant factor you must cultivate is to know how to be happy and content with yourself. Often times, people are restless when on their own. They would rather seek a
  dysfunctional association than enjoy the time they have for themselves. They feel being on your own is a stigma which reduces your social acceptance. Basically, they want to be with ‘someone’ regardless of his/her compatibility and eligibility because they do not know how to be with themselves! Forging a relationship under such circumstances leads you to accept a great deal of undeserved negativity in an association. It is far better to be on your own than to demean yourself by pursuing such an association.

• Break the pattern
  It does not matter how long you have been in that sort of arrangement where you have made endless sacrifices. You can choose to change it all by changing how you respond. Begin with simple things like choosing your own food, clothes, and watch the movie which you like. If you have always remained quiet for the fear of hurting, respond in a short sentence, express yourself. By all means, do what it takes to not allow the previous pattern to continue.

• Learn to say no
  In the beginning, before you realize it is a toxic relationship, you are likely to maintain a very agreeable and adjusting approach. You may be giving, or giving in for the sake of the happiness of the other. You may be yielding to demands which are gradually increasing your inconvenience and lowering your self-respect. Learn to speak up. Learn to say no. Do not allow yourself to be taken for granted.

• Make new associations
  Probably the reason we continue in a toxic relationship is because we do not allow ourselves an alternative to choose from. We allow ourselves to be stuck with someone negatively oriented, and consequently we are responsible for creating our own misery. Do not fear that you will not know how to deal with breaking such a relationship. Go out and actively seek new friends. And do so in positive and healthy environments. There is plenty to choose from, for example, join a book club – it will help you bond with people of refined taste and at the same time you gain from reading books. You could reap the benefit of healthy association by simply stepping out in the morning and joining a jogger’s group. This will detoxify you and rebuilds your esteem to help you cope with the situation in a better way. Read more about how to deal with broken relationships.

5 Ways To Deal With Children Using Abusive Language

It may sound shocking to many, but it is true. Children too use inappropriate language. It is a separate issue as to how they have come to use it, as everything they learn, they do so from the environment. All children are at equal risk of learning words which are rude, demeaning, or outright unacceptable.

Here are some simple things you can do to bring your child out of this negative behaviour:

1. Respond appropriately and immediately
   Take immediate action; don’t wait for a later time as the context may be lost. But do so with caution. When a child uses inappropriate language, the parents either over-react by becoming very aggressive or shut out the child completely. Rather, you must deal with it calmly. This advice is very hard to apply when you are faced with such a situation, primarily because it pushes one of our own emotional hot buttons. In spite of being adults, we lose our control. A good approach is to calmly, yet firmly tell the child that it is unacceptable to use the words that he just has. Remember, even in this crisis, you need to display greater wisdom. It would also be an example to your child that being angry and upset does not need to be accompanied by bad language.
2. Let the child face the meaning
   In as few words as possible, explain the meaning of the words the child has used and let him face the meaning. It will make you uneasy, but the step is important. It is usually an eye-opener for the child. Innocent as they are, they usually have no clue as to what the words imply. It is certainly not their intention to say words to that effect. They may simply be using it as an unconscious exclamation, and without the precise comprehension. Sometimes, children use such language even to simply gain the attention of their parents.

   Remember, you will need to adapt this step depending upon the maturity level of your child.

3. Identify the sources and triggers
   As we know, the environment plays a fundamental role on the personality and behaviour of the child, it is critically important for you to review your child’s surroundings from time to time. The television programmes your child watches, interaction with the household help etc., the kind of music they listen to, the peer group – they all contribute in shaping your child’s vocabulary and social interaction skills. Further, these all are the probable sources from where your child is picking up objectionable phrases, expressions and language. In order to eliminate the bad influence, you must first identify its source accurately and then proceed to take suitable action.
4. Practice authentic and exemplary behaviour
   The best and the most long-lasting solution to children’s improper language is to never, under any circumstances allow yourself to behave in a manner which you would not like your child to learn. You may not be aware that your expressions of annoyance, displeasure and frustrations are all casting a shadow and influencing your child’s behaviour. As a responsible parent, when you show calmness under stress, self-control when provoked and politeness when upset, it is then that your child learns to control the urge to vent out negatively through bad language.
5. Teach respect, politeness and courtesy
   If your child speaks words which are not respectful or even curt at times, do check him. A good way to do that is by saying:

   “I understand something/someone has upset you, but a better way to respond is by saying…”

   “What you said is not proper. You should apologize. And a better way to express yourself is.”Character-building and learning skills to live life better is a never-ending process. The following quote expresses it beautifully:

   ‘Courteousness is consideration for others; politeness is the method used to deliver such considerations.’ Bryant H. McGill

Whatever you expect from your child, you must give it to him first. Use respectful language at home – be polite to the spouse, to the child and to everyone who enters your home. Build your child’s self-esteem. Also, take him to gatherings where he can see how refined people interact. It will surely bring about a great deal of positive change in your child.

*Photo Courtesy : Getty Images

Leadership Is All About Calibration And Celebration

Q – “I am in a senior leadership position in my company. Over the years I have found myself to grow into a very efficient manager. I like orderliness and recommend a very clear working method to the large team which I handle. My instructions are always detailed and very methodical, and they have brought me great results consistently. However, of late I have begun to sense from the words of my colleagues that my team has a negative and rebellious disposition towards me. More so, they voice it behind my back. It is causing me a great deal of difficulty to work with my team as I don’t find them efficient or even open to me. What are my options to deal with this situation better?”

A – Leadership is all about calibration and celebration. Often as leaders, we don’t celebrate success. Taking the time to celebrate success at appropriate times will enable you as leader to take stock of the calibre of your team members and the challenges that you and your team members are dealing with, and do what it right.

What seems to be the case at present with you is that your team members have become apt in handling the levels of challenges that they are facing, therefore an appropriate thing to do for you would be to plan to take on tougher challenges.

While you are planning to prepare your team to take on tougher challenges, delegate the day to day leadership function to some of your able juniors, it will free you to do two things, , one, develop your juniors to become able leaders, and two, develop yourself to take on newer challenges.

The task of a leader is to create more leaders, not more followers. Continue calibrating by taking on tougher challenges and developing your team members to take on successfully tougher challenges, and celebrate every time your team achieves higher results.

8 ways to help your child to organize belongings

Just like every adult feels pressed for time as they do many activities during the day, so are our children. They have varied activities too like studies, hobby class, sports and games to play and many more. All these activities are supported by a host of items like stationery, sports equipments, learning toys, costumes, appliances etc. Given the growing space crunch in urban homes, it is very important for children to learn to organize their things and manage space intelligently.

Here are few points which can be useful to teach children how to keep their belongings organized:

*Photo Courtesy – Getty Images

Being Authentic

Being authentic is an inner strength which helps you to feel powerful even when odds are against you. It makes you trustworthy and respected. It creates opportunities for you where others would least expect.

Think Evolve brings you an illustrative article about being authentic.

Imagine for a moment, if someone whom you are speaking to listens to you with a clear and open mind, looks at you without evaluating you and surprises you by appreciating something about you which no one lately has noticed – how wonderful you would feel to be with that person! The joy of being understood and being accepted in spite of our limitations as human being is indescribable. It has to be felt. And now for the more familiar scenario – you have just met someone at a social function and he describes his everyday traffic ordeal to you. While he speaks, you notice. Everything about him, his attire, his accent, his little details and then draw up a picture in your mind about what you think he is about. You have been with him, but not present with of him as your mind was wandering and perhaps trying to measure him up. Our mind begins to get conditioned over the years to analyse and judge anyone we come across.

Judgmental behaviour is harmless on the surface but it indicates a great deal of inner turmoil, insecurity, dissatisfaction and other unfulfilled experiences. Giving feedback to someone who can gain from your perspective is a good practice. However, a continuous negative evaluation of people and matters around you could actually mean you need to ‘cleanse’ your perspective.

The critical part of the matter is that judgmental behaviour depletes your intellectual and creative energy. If every time you are tempted to ask, “Why does this person behave like this?” or say,
“Why is this person so weird in his ways?” but instead you were to ask yourself, “What can I do to become a better person?” and better still, “What can I learn from this person?”. You will gradually transform yourself, and people will respond unconsciously to this new you and it would surprise you. It is like a burden being taken off you. To have a mind which is free from opinions but full of ideas – what an enormously empowering and liberating experience it truly would be!

To further illustrate the idea of liberating your inner judgmental voice, here is an example from the work of a very famous actor. Robert de Niro is famous for his method acting. He has never just played a role, but become the role that he played. He had a long professional association with his friend acclaimed director, filmmaker Martin Scorsese. The lead characters of Scorsese’s films often have a blurred or deformed sense of morality, and are prone to violence, while seeking acceptance in the society they live in. Few of his characters were even to the extreme of being sociopaths.

Robert de Niro convincingly portrayed these characters of various shades in eight of Scorsese’s films with immense artistic finesse. While presenting the AFI Life Achievement Award to Robert de Niro, here is what Martin Scorsese said:

“To be certain, he has an extra ordinary genius to transform himself, to undergo a metamorphosis, to simply be, just be the person he is playing, not act, but become, command and inhabit the character.“So many of those characters who refuse to forgive themselves, I never knew where he pulled it from, I guess I still don’t , of course it has to be from his intelligence, his bravery and analysis of those characters, how he throws himself into the deepest and the darkest chasms, and always comes out as a human being. That’s the trick. At times working with him I thought we had a unique understanding of each other and I hope the audience would sense it and relate to that connection. I think that is what kept on pushing us. He never looks down on the character he plays, he never judges them. And this is the way he is out of character. As a man and a friend he is compassionate and trustworthy. He is a good man.”

(Please watch the clip below the article)

If we practice being our hundred percent at work, at home, or wherever we are meant to be, we would live an amazing life! Being authentic is an inner strength which helps you to feel powerful even when odds are against you. It makes you trustworthy and respected. It creates opportunities for you where others would least expect. People around you may not be able to describe in words, but they will respond to you in a similar sincere and authentic manner. As always, the change that you desire around you, must begin with you.

Let us live with more fulfillment, by being authentic:

“Listen without Defending,
Speak without Offending.
Love without Depending,
And Live without Pretending.”

*Photo Courtesy – Getty Images

Think Link is now 3!

It is a moment of great joy for us, to celebrate Think Link’s earnest endeavour to bring forth new and relevant topics to its readers. We began with the idea that learning must be continuous and holistic, extending from parenting to building individual competence to reflection and introspection of ones actions. And we may proudly say, we have matured with every issue. You will enjoy reading our vast archive as much as our new articles as each one of them is written keeping your needs and interests in mind.

Sowing seeds of positive thoughts – such that positive attitude germinates.

Adele – An Incredible Success Story

According to Simon Cowell “Adele’s is an incredible story. “ You wouldn’t have predicted this years ago when we were such an image-infatuated business.”Here is somebody who has done everything her own way, gone back to basics and achieved this incredible success. She’s one of the most down-to-earth people you’ll meet – and she hasn’t changed a bit.”

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, better known simply as Adele is an English recording artist and songwriter. Adele’s debut album, 19, which is named for the singer’s age when she began recording it, hit record stores in early 2008. Adele cemented her commercial success with an appearance in October 2008 on Saturday Night Live. At the taping of the show, the album was ranked No. 40 on iTunes. Less than 24 hours later, it was No. 1.

At the 2009 Grammy awards,Adele took home Best New Artist. In addition, the album earned the singer the distinction of being named the “Sound of 2008″ by the BBC.

Her much anticipated follow-up album, 21, again named for her age when she recorded it, did not disappoint upon its release in early 2011. In 2012, she swept the Grammy Awards, taking home six wins, including Album of the Year.

She found herself with two top-five singles and a pair of top-five albums in the same week, the first artist since the Beatles to achieve that milestone.

She is the only child of Penny Adkins, who was just 18 at the time of her birth, and a Welsh father, Mark, who left the family when Adele was only 4 years old. Mark, who never married Penny, remained in contact with his daughter up until her teen years, when his problems with alcohol, and increasing estrangement from his daughter, caused their relationship to deteriorate.

Early on, Adele developed a passion for music. But her true, eye-opening moment came when she was 15, and she happened upon a collection of Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald records. “There was no musical heritage in our family,” Adele told The Telegraph in a 2008 interview. “Chart music was all I ever knew. So when I listened to the Ettas and the Ellas, it was like an awakening. I was like, oh, right, some people have proper longevity and are legends. I was so inspired that as a 15-year-old I was listening to music that had been made in the 40s.”

Coupled with the success is Adele’s own maturity, and ability to avoid the same kind of fame-induced pitfalls that plagued the late Amy Winehouse. Adele, whose larger, curvier body bucks the trend of most Top 40 celebs, is also supremely confident not just in her talent, but also in her looks. “I’ve seen people where it rules their lives, you know, who want to be thinner body, and how it wears them down,” she told Vogue magazine in 2011. “And I just don’t want that in my life.”

According to Adele, she likes having her hair and face done, but will not lose weight just because someone tells her to. She says that she makes music to be a musician not to be on the cover of a magazine.

Please view the clip below to see and hear the genius of Adele.

Problems Disappear Only When Ram Nam Satya Hai!

Till then we have a choice to be Sukhi Ram or Dukhi Ram. Sukhi Ram is a person who believes in taking ups and downs of life in their stride. Sukhi Ram manufactures positive attitude in his mind and keeps coming up with new and better ideas knowing fully well that: this too shall pass!

Dukhi Ram is a mournful person for whom life passes by as a series of distressing events. He is always unhappy with persons and events and accepts them as part of his fate. Remember, wealth, wisdom, status (or lack of it) makes no difference to be a Sukhi Ram or Dukhi Ram. You can choose to be a friend or enemy to yourself. The concept of Sukhi Ram Vs. Dukhi Ram has been discovered by me, so I call myself-Permanent Sukhi Ram (PSR!) If you also want to become PSR, read my books, simple!

Some Children Flower At 10, Some At 20….Some At 30! Have Patience.

Don’t Be Impatient – Don’t Insult By Comparison!

The biggest favour my father did for me was when I failed in 9th class and my younger brother passed (we were in same class!). He did not insult me or compared me with anyone else, including my younger brother. An example, of excellent parenting. And, I think, I flowered at 40! Think it over. Be patient with your children. Keep on doing your best for your children. Be as much creative as well as innovative in managing your children as you are in your profession, if not more! If you do that, you will be solving your problems of tomorrow, today! I did.

6 Lessons From Oprah Winfrey Life And Career

She is an icon of our times and for all times to come. She is a household name in millions of homes across the world. She is known for her soulful, emotionally stirring, uplifting and motivating talk show which she hosted for 25 years – The Oprah Winfrey Show. Think You brings to you some precious lessons we can learn from her outstanding career and inspiring life.

Oprah is a living example of grace and grit. Born to a poor unwed mother, her childhood was full of odds we cannot possibly imagine. She suffered humiliation and ridicule for her circumstances and even abuse at the hands of people close to her. It takes an extra-ordinary resilience to rise above such mental, emotional and physical trauma.

Though coming from a humble background, Oprah was gifted. She could read by the age of three and exhibited immense poise and confidence on the stage at a very early age. She was a popular and meritorious student. In 1976 at the age of 22, Oprah had begun her career as a news anchor – she was the youngest and the first African-American female to do so. From there she scaled heights that television around the world has witnessed. At 32 she was a millionaire as her show was an immense success. Her talk show is marked by her deep empathy, her humor and her plain language with which everyone who watches it feels connected instantly.

Her life is inspiring, and here are in brief, 6 lessons to be learnt from her:

1. Believe in yourself –
   Given her circumstances, Oprah had all the excuses an adolescent would need to go astray. But more than the things around her, she believed in what was within her. She pursued her education against all odds and did so with merit. Though in hindsight every challenge seems less overpowering, but we must realize that she battled her odds as a child, as a teenager, as a young adult who had very little parental support. All that would not have been possible without her indomitable spirit and faith in herself and the future.
2. Have gratitude for what you have received –
   Oprah remembers her maternal grand-mother fondly, who taught her to read. To this day Oprah is passionate about reading. She considers her grand-mother as the guardian who gave her strength and a positive feeling about her identity. She has the courage to choose and remember what was good about her life and for that she remains grateful.
3. Share your genius –
   In the competitive world of media Oprah is known to have launched talk shows of other distinguished people she met. Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, Rachel Ray are three such shows which were initiated by Oprah. Being aware of her ability to convince others, Oprah has utilized it generously for others. It is famously called “The Oprah Effect”. It goes on to show that Oprah cares. For everyone. She tries to leave them a little more satisfied and fulfilled in their life than when she met them.
4. Embrace change –
   The most apparent change which Oprah has under gone from time to time which is about sporting new and experimental looks every now and then. She has also struggled hard to keep herself healthy and control her weight which has posed a challenge to her consistently. More significantly, it is her show which has also metamorphosed. Beginning as a talk-show which presented people facing challenges, her show is styled like a group therapy which takes the help of disclosure and confession of intimate and alarming details. In more recent times, she has indulgently covered more literary, self-developmental and holistic topics, bringing about more dimension and depth to the program.
5. Keep your friends –
   In all the things that she has changed, Oprah has been inseparable from her trusted and beloved friend Gayle King. Gayle and her association began when Oprah was in her twenties. Evidently, there was much that happened in Oprah career and personal life, but there was never a time that she lost touch with her friend. Their bond of friendship is deep. Oprah attributes much of her personal growth to poet and author Maya Angelou who she regards as a mentor, friend and sister. Think about others –
   While many may refer to Oprah as a tycoon who has the power to influence, biggest wealth and legacy is her ability to think big, and think big for others. Oprah figures in every statistics that deal with wealth and fortune because of her professional success, at the same time she is also listed for her generous donations from her personal wealth for humanitarian causes. Her philanthropic work is commendable. The magnitude of her thought is felt by all because she thinks about everyone else and not just herself.

Think You wishes you a happy fulfilling experience in the journey of your life – “Live your best Life (O, The Oprah Magazine)”.

Simple and Direct Language

Further to our much appreciated series of ‘Indianisms’ concluding in the December 2011 issue, Think Tip’s new series brings you suggestions with examples of how to simplify your language.

We spend a great deal of time in written correspondence, whether through letters or emails. A good aid to write crisp and clear language is by eliminating unnecessary words and phrases which we have unconsciously been using.

Our suggested substitution is not merely simple and plain. It is direct and powerful: more effective therefore. Try it!

Simple substitutes for words and phrases which we commonly use:

Example 1

There was an abundance of solutions discussed in the meeting.

Simple way : There were plenty of solutions discussed in the meeting.

Example 2

It took hours to breach the security code.

Simple way : It took hours to break the security code.

Example 3

You are expected to guide the project till its completion.

Simple way : You are expected to guide the project till its end.

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan

In continuation with our series on artists and their mastery, Think Link Multimedia brings you a short clip of India’s gem – Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and a little about his journey as an artist.

Whether talent makes the artist or is it by attaining technical perfection is an unresolved debate. In reality, it is the perseverance of uncountable hours over endless number of years and dedication to the art that makes an artist what he is. Their art becomes effortless as they have honed it through strict discipline and single-minded focus.

Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is the sixth generation of musicians carrying forth the glorious tradition handed over to him by his father, Hafiz Ali Khan, court musician of Gwalior. The birth of the sarod can be attributed to his family as his ancestors made the instrument as we see today. Technically, the sarod descended from the rhabab, a musical instrument of Afghanistan. It is by far more difficult to play as compared to other string instruments, because it does not have frets.

His father, who was also his guru, was a strict teacher. He grew up with the immense responsibility of being chosen as the heir to his father’s musical legacy – a role which he has lived every moment of his life to uphold with utmost dedication. Apart from music, discipline and perfection, he learnt the value of respect for elders, for tradition, for mankind.

As a father and guru to his two sons he has been gentle in his approach and took utmost care to never impose his limitless talent or his expectations on them. But he gave them an environment that would nurture their interest in music. In his words, he considers his sons Amaan and Ayaan as very fine musicians and continues to teach them the value of being good human beings first. His wife Subhalakshmi Khan was a Bharatnatyam dancer who gave up her dancing career and joined him selflessly in bringing up their sons and nurturing the family with her artistic gift.

A strong believer in tradition and purity, his life is an inspiration of single minded devotion. His demeanor is marked by humility. He has composed many Ragas himself, and yet demurely explains that he has only discovered them. He has popularized Indian Classical music through his creative experimentations and innovations. His music speaks to everyone, the musical and the non-musical. Instrumental music is free of language barriers and hence can be called a true medium for bringing mankind together. Majestically and yet humbly playing his instrument since he was six years of age, the maestro has spread the message of peace, love and humanity all over the world.

Let us watch a glimpse of his vibrancy as an artist in the two clips below: