This one time

A Painting and a Story #7

With deft fingers he peels apples, bananas and sapotas and dices them. A large glass bowl, a plastic tray to hold the discards, a knife and a cutting board are in their convenient places on the dining table. A captain with the merchant navy Murali is home for his vacation. 'Can I watch you Hoo-Ffoo Kaka?' Meenu (short for Meenakshi) asks. Hoo-Ffoo Kaka! That's a name she has given him because he smokes cigarette! He is actually her mom's young uncle. Her mom walks in her pallu tucked in firmly at her waist. 'Here is the vanilla custard and a cup of raisins. Add that to the fruits too' she says and places them gently on the table. Murali pushes the raisins away. He mumbles, 'I am not adding these! Who mixes dry raisins with custard, anyway?' 

An earth shattering scream COMINNNNNG?? emanates from the courtyard on the ground floor. Meenu runs to join her friends. Within minutes she is back. She settles into the far corner of a long three-seater sofa, hugging her soft toy Tigga. It is obvious she is angry. Hoo-Ffoo Kaka continues to chop up the fruits. Meenu cannot resist. She joins him at the table. 'They don't know how to play hopscotch! Imagine they put a foot on the square with the chip. So silly. I can't play like that. That's not the WAY' Meenu complains. Soon all fruits are in the bowl, the custard is poured in and stirred. The table is cleared of all the stuff, it's as if no mess had been there at all! As a finishing touch Murali adds the raisins and gives the mix a stir. 'You said NO to raisins.' Meenu scoffs. 'I still think raisins is not a good idea. But this one time I will try it!' replies her Hoo-Ffoo Kaka. Meenu gets off the chair. 'This one time I will play the game their way. I may like it?!' Meenu says as she steps down the stairs.

Should we wear masks,  should online teaching be encouraged ...

Should we allow our daughter to colour her hair purple, should we invest in a start-up, 

The issues that we argue about are plenty and more! 

It is disheartening to wait for decision and action until all stakeholders are convinced of the new plan. Convincing everyone is often a futile attempt. Sometimes action is so delayed that it modifies impact and efficiency. 

Jeff Bezos of Amazon (@The Amazon Way) says wisely Disagree and Commit. When the intentions of the persons involved are not in question but there is disagreement on Process or Product, it would be a good idea to state clearly that you DISAGREE but put in your HONEST EFFORT to make it a success.

My painting for this week is blue Himalayan poppies against a backdrop of the snow capped peaks. Acrylic. Blue Himalayan Poppies...made specially for my niece.

Blue Himalayan Poppies - Acrylic