There are a few precious people in this world who actually go to work enthusiastically. In many cases, people go to work much in the same way as used to go to school: they know they have to go and yet, they lack the enthusiasm. Job satisfaction is a state of mind which very few enjoy, due to rampant underemployment and snooty bosses/supervisors. It is no wonder, then, that at some point or another, people do think seriously about whether or not they are in the right profession, and whether or not it is better to just quit.
If you are one of those who are seriously thinking about quitting your job, then I-Resign might be just the web spot to check out. This is one place which can help you decide whether or not to stick around and brave your current job — provided you read through the entire content carefully.
The website is neatly categorised into sections, and whichever you feel like browsing first entirely depends on your current state of mind. If, at the time of browsing this website, you are only thinking about quitting, then you will find the related section quite relevant and interesting. Here, there are some enlightening articles which delve in some probing and pertinent questions.
For instance, are you thinking about quitting simply because you are bored at work? Can your issues with your current job be solved if you take a leave of absence and go on a vacation to rejuvenate yourself? On the other hand, it may be that you do not want to work under someone, and a business of your own would make better use of your skills. This section is intended to apprise you of all the pros and cons of quitting your job in general, and might just give you a nudge in the right direction.
If, however, you have already decided that you will not stick to your current job, then the ‘Resigning’ section will cater to you effectively. This section aims to help you resign with style. You can find out all you need to know about informing the management about your decision, writing a professional resignation letter and ensuring that you get a good reference. You can also use this section to calculate how much pay you should receive from your employers at the time of quitting. You can also find out how to erase your personal data from your work computer. On a lighter note, you might want to read some spoof resignation letters featured here.
Assuming, on an optimistic note, that all goes well for you and you land in another (and better) job, the section ‘in work’ will be most helpful. This section has details on employment contract, surviving the first week in a new place, handling workplace stress and dealing with the boss. There is a series of articles on how to handle meetings with clients which you can peruse. Also, this section cautions employees about their use of work computers and the different techniques the Big Brother uses in order to keep an eye on them.
At the end of the day, however, you will find out that conditions in most of the jobs are exactly the same: there are more-or-less similar issues in each of them. The only thing that you can change is your attitude towars your workplace in order to make it more worthwhile. Of course, there are times when quitting the job is the best option that you have — the key is to ensure that it does not become the only option, especially when you have just joined a new organisation.
So, feel like quitting from your current job? Log onto http://www.i-resign.com
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Say it with a book
‘Say, do you have some money left?’ asked my sister.
I, at that particular time, was staggering under the weight of various Mary Higgins Clarks and Jeffrey Archers, while hunting down the shelves for more books by the same authors. This was a book stall at the Expo and I was determined to make the most of it.
‘I have to buy all these novels. But why do you need money so quickly?’ I asked, protectively holding on to the books, lest I was asked to put some of them back.
She sighed. ‘I think we have just bought half of this expo already. There are all these relatives visiting from abroad, family weddings and numerous other occasions, where gifts have to be given. Mom thought it would be better if we bought all the books here. So put some of those novels back.’
The argument which followed the last statement is another story altogether. But giving books as presents is something which has become almost a family tradition in our case. Interestingly and quite unfortunately, very few people consider books as something worth giving as gifts.
Quite often, it is a matter of mindset. In some cases, the last thing which crosses people’s minds while deciding what to gift is a book. In other cases, where the recipient of the gift is an avid reader, it is generally assumed that it is too risky to give him/her another book, as there is a possibility that it might already be gracing the shelf of the person concerned.
However, giving books as gifts can be quite a hectic task. Most of the time, you have to give a very lengthy explanation to your social circle for your choice of gift. And there is very little chance that the person to whom you are explaining why books make lovely gifts is going to be convinced.
I came in the line of fire recently as I chose to give books as wedding presents to two of my friends who are avid readers and book lovers.
‘Books! Don’t tell me,’ groaned an incredulous gentleman when he heard of my plans. ‘I understand if you give books as a birthday present. But you don’t give books as a wedding present. This is just not done.’
I think we have just bought half of this expo already. There are all these relatives visiting from abroad, family weddings and numerous other occasions, where gifts have to be given. Mom thought it would be better if we bought all the books here.
Apparently, it can be done, as I have discovered over the years while I have watched books being bought and gifted to anyone and everyone, irrespective of the occasion. And sometimes, those who were gifted a particular book, actually ensured that they gave feedback as to whether they liked it — so you could always tell that the book was read and hence, your effort was not wasted.
Buying books for those who are avid readers is a difficult task indeed — but it is not impossible. If you are one of those people who wish to gift books to your book-lover friends and can’t figure out how, there are only a few things you need to do beforehand.
First and foremost, make sure you know what authors your friend likes to read. This will narrow down your search to books written only by those particular authors. Sometimes, it is quite possible that the person for whom you are buying the gift hasn’t had a chance to purchase the latest book of their favourite author.
Secondly, you can always plan an informal trip to the bookstore with the person concerned, and make sure you make a mental note of which books he/she purchases. This will also give you an idea of the type of books the person reads.
The third possibility is probably the easiest option available. Call up the person, ask him/her what books he/she was planning to purchase, and then tell them you’d get those very books as presents. But unfortunately, many people are so caught up in the formalities of giving gifts that they consider it quite preposterous to actually ask the concerned person what he/she really wants. What does it matter if your friend found out in advance what you were gifting? At the end of the day it is well worth it.
The aforementioned steps worked wonderfully in my own case. One of my friends is a die-hard fan of Bill Bryson. As I knew which of his books were already in her possession, it was quite a simple task to buy two others. As for the other friend, well, she and I went to the expo together. The rest, as they say, is history.
Irrespective of the weird gift-giving norm which dominates our society, it is always a wonderful feeling to give someone what they really want and if that something happens to be a book, then so much the better.
I, at that particular time, was staggering under the weight of various Mary Higgins Clarks and Jeffrey Archers, while hunting down the shelves for more books by the same authors. This was a book stall at the Expo and I was determined to make the most of it.
‘I have to buy all these novels. But why do you need money so quickly?’ I asked, protectively holding on to the books, lest I was asked to put some of them back.
She sighed. ‘I think we have just bought half of this expo already. There are all these relatives visiting from abroad, family weddings and numerous other occasions, where gifts have to be given. Mom thought it would be better if we bought all the books here. So put some of those novels back.’
The argument which followed the last statement is another story altogether. But giving books as presents is something which has become almost a family tradition in our case. Interestingly and quite unfortunately, very few people consider books as something worth giving as gifts.
Quite often, it is a matter of mindset. In some cases, the last thing which crosses people’s minds while deciding what to gift is a book. In other cases, where the recipient of the gift is an avid reader, it is generally assumed that it is too risky to give him/her another book, as there is a possibility that it might already be gracing the shelf of the person concerned.
However, giving books as gifts can be quite a hectic task. Most of the time, you have to give a very lengthy explanation to your social circle for your choice of gift. And there is very little chance that the person to whom you are explaining why books make lovely gifts is going to be convinced.
I came in the line of fire recently as I chose to give books as wedding presents to two of my friends who are avid readers and book lovers.
‘Books! Don’t tell me,’ groaned an incredulous gentleman when he heard of my plans. ‘I understand if you give books as a birthday present. But you don’t give books as a wedding present. This is just not done.’
I think we have just bought half of this expo already. There are all these relatives visiting from abroad, family weddings and numerous other occasions, where gifts have to be given. Mom thought it would be better if we bought all the books here.
Apparently, it can be done, as I have discovered over the years while I have watched books being bought and gifted to anyone and everyone, irrespective of the occasion. And sometimes, those who were gifted a particular book, actually ensured that they gave feedback as to whether they liked it — so you could always tell that the book was read and hence, your effort was not wasted.
Buying books for those who are avid readers is a difficult task indeed — but it is not impossible. If you are one of those people who wish to gift books to your book-lover friends and can’t figure out how, there are only a few things you need to do beforehand.
First and foremost, make sure you know what authors your friend likes to read. This will narrow down your search to books written only by those particular authors. Sometimes, it is quite possible that the person for whom you are buying the gift hasn’t had a chance to purchase the latest book of their favourite author.
Secondly, you can always plan an informal trip to the bookstore with the person concerned, and make sure you make a mental note of which books he/she purchases. This will also give you an idea of the type of books the person reads.
The third possibility is probably the easiest option available. Call up the person, ask him/her what books he/she was planning to purchase, and then tell them you’d get those very books as presents. But unfortunately, many people are so caught up in the formalities of giving gifts that they consider it quite preposterous to actually ask the concerned person what he/she really wants. What does it matter if your friend found out in advance what you were gifting? At the end of the day it is well worth it.
The aforementioned steps worked wonderfully in my own case. One of my friends is a die-hard fan of Bill Bryson. As I knew which of his books were already in her possession, it was quite a simple task to buy two others. As for the other friend, well, she and I went to the expo together. The rest, as they say, is history.
Irrespective of the weird gift-giving norm which dominates our society, it is always a wonderful feeling to give someone what they really want and if that something happens to be a book, then so much the better.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
What's in a phrase?
How many of you have seen Notting Hill and really understood what the expression ups-a-daisy meant? Why should a tournament be round robin and not round sparrow? All these and more are phrases which we use or come across regularly. Sometimes for people using phrases in daily course of life it gets annoying if it is not understood by the other person– not to mention in such scenarios, the phrase loses its impact as well.
But help comes in phrases.org.uk, a website dedicated exclusively to phrases. Browse this website for a couple of weeks, and you will definitely improve your knowledge about the meaning and usage of commonly used phrases.
To start with, you can read up on the meaning and origin of phrases using the Phrase Finder. This section will apprise you of the exact meaning and how a certain phrase actually came into existence, and why the words used in a phrase will not have the same impact if replaced with other words.
For instance, did you know that the phrase ‘make a bee-line for’ is actually derived from the actual behaviour of bees? The famous ‘beat about the bush’ also comes from actual hunting practices to catch birds by beating the bushes. There are some very interesting backgrounds of the phrases and the best part is that they are only a couple of paragraphs long. The brevity here ensures that you can read and grasp the history pretty quickly.
You will find a phrase thesaurus as well. Unfortunately, you have to pay to use it completely. But if you are able to do that, it will definitely prove to be an invaluable resource. All you need to do is enter a word, and the thesaurus will display a number of phrases which contain that particular word along with its meaning. So when you are writing something, this resource can come in very handy.
Another interesting feature is that you can join and participate in the discussion forums. If you are stuck at a particular phrase and cannot find its meaning, simply post it here, and someone will help you out. Furthermore, if you want to use a phrase in your piece of writing, and you cannot remember the one which would fit there, again, you can seek help from this forum.
This website is also an excellent resource for students of English language who have difficulty with expressions while writing compositions. The best way to use this website is to refer to it whenever you encounter a phrase which you cannot understand. In this way, you will build up your bank of phrases and ways to use them.
To access phrases with meanings, log onto http://www.phrases.org.uk
But help comes in phrases.org.uk, a website dedicated exclusively to phrases. Browse this website for a couple of weeks, and you will definitely improve your knowledge about the meaning and usage of commonly used phrases.
To start with, you can read up on the meaning and origin of phrases using the Phrase Finder. This section will apprise you of the exact meaning and how a certain phrase actually came into existence, and why the words used in a phrase will not have the same impact if replaced with other words.
For instance, did you know that the phrase ‘make a bee-line for’ is actually derived from the actual behaviour of bees? The famous ‘beat about the bush’ also comes from actual hunting practices to catch birds by beating the bushes. There are some very interesting backgrounds of the phrases and the best part is that they are only a couple of paragraphs long. The brevity here ensures that you can read and grasp the history pretty quickly.
You will find a phrase thesaurus as well. Unfortunately, you have to pay to use it completely. But if you are able to do that, it will definitely prove to be an invaluable resource. All you need to do is enter a word, and the thesaurus will display a number of phrases which contain that particular word along with its meaning. So when you are writing something, this resource can come in very handy.
Another interesting feature is that you can join and participate in the discussion forums. If you are stuck at a particular phrase and cannot find its meaning, simply post it here, and someone will help you out. Furthermore, if you want to use a phrase in your piece of writing, and you cannot remember the one which would fit there, again, you can seek help from this forum.
This website is also an excellent resource for students of English language who have difficulty with expressions while writing compositions. The best way to use this website is to refer to it whenever you encounter a phrase which you cannot understand. In this way, you will build up your bank of phrases and ways to use them.
To access phrases with meanings, log onto http://www.phrases.org.uk
Monday, March 31, 2008
Turkey's Tryst with the Hijab
This is a country where quite a few young women who wished to pursue higher studies had to choose between their hijab and university education. This is a country where the wife of the President Abdullah Gul was not invited by the army to attend its Victory Day parade in August 2007 – simply because she wears a headscarf. This is a country where the promotion of those government officers was blocked whose wives chose to don the scarf.
And yet, in February 2008, Turkey’s parliament voted in a constitutional amendment which lifted the ban on headscarves. Essentially this would mean that university-going female students are no longer compelled to remove their headscarves while attending their educational institute, and neither do they have to make a choice between their head dress and their education.This decision has been widely welcomed by a majority of Turkish population, however, there are quite a few who are protesting against it. The main focus of concern of these critics is that lifting the ban on hijab strikes at the very core of the secular image of Turkey – along with a fear that hijab may soon become a compulsion.
But those in favour of the lifting of the ban quite aptly feel that the Turkish government is finally recognizing the right to dress as one of the fundamental human rights, which has thus far been denied to a select group of women.The question which arises in this context is – why is there such brouhaha over something which is, in effect, a part of attire and a matter of personal choice for most of the women? Granted that Turkey wants to maintain its secular image (and that may have had a lot more to do with gaining inclusion in European Union than anything else), it is quite interesting to imagine that a simply headscarf can actually overturn this entire image, and give off an aura of an "Islamist" Turkey.
But this is exactly what has happened. Hijab is viewed as a symbol of political power in Turkey. When the foundation of a secular Turkey was established in the post-Ottoman era, the head scarf was one of the first things to be put on the ban list. Interestingly, it is said even now that one only has to put something on the ban list for that particular thing to become widely popular. Now, had the secular government of Turkey simply given the right to dress to women in general, it is unlikely that hijab would have become such a huge issue with people. Those who would want to wear it would wear it, and those who didn’t want to wear it wouldn’t be ostracized either. Banning hijab effectively meant starting and nurturing a system of activism against this ban, ensuring that even if it wasn’t a political issue in the beginning, it became one in the end.
And yes, it is because of the lack of foresight on the part of these very secular forces, that hijab is now indeed a political issue. Over the years, numerous cases have been lodged with the national and international courts against this ban. Turkish women who were banned from attending university because they were wearing their headscarves went to courts. These cases became high profile in no time. And along the way, those who didn’t know what hijab was in the first place learnt plenty about it. Many joined the activism to get the ban lifted. And indeed, the promise to get the ban lifted featured in the political campaign of Tayyip Erdogan leading up to the elections last summer. What else can explain the swiftness with which the government of Abdullah Gul has passed the relevant amendment in the Parliament.
There are now cries to impose the ban again. There are people who are heavily criticizing the government, stating that Turkey is no longer secular. Secularism means a separation of religion and state. How the freedom to dress should infringe on the secular image is quite baffling. After all, the Parliament has only lifted the ban on headscarves – it hasn’t made it a compulsion. Moreover, it has only acted in accordance with Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 18) which states: "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance." Wearing a headscarf essentially comes in the category of manifesting one’s religion through practice.
But yes, the lifting of the ban on headscarves means one thing is for certain – there is going to be a greater rift between the government which has been labelled as "Islamist" and the army which is known to maintain a secular image over the years. How this rift is resolved remains to be seen. But for now, all those women who have had to endure years of anguish at not being able to exercise their freedom to dress can heave a sigh of relief. And the critics would do well to exercise some principles of tolerance that they routinely lecture others about. After all, if you cannot give others the freedom to wear whatever they want, you cannot expect the same freedom yourself.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Oops!
To come up with something creative – be it a movie, a book, or an advertisement – is no mean feat. It requires toil and sweat and even a small editing mistake can lead to sometimes hilarious, sometimes disastrous consequences. But humans being humans, will make editing mistakes – something which an intelligent viewer can quickly catch. Slip-ups — a website designed by some very observant viewers is an assortment of mistakes taken from different and well-known movies, books and television programmes. Of course, there must be zillions of such goof ups everywhere and this makes a comprehensive compilation quite an impossible task. However, the website team chooses the most interesting and amusing slip-ups that they receive.
The two sections worth checking out are dedicated to the top 25 slip-ups and the recent 25 additions to the database. The former section has the most popular slip-ups – the popularity is determined through visitor voting, so do not forget to rate anything that you read here. The latter section features the latest errors to be loaded in the database.
What is interesting about the entries in these two sections is that if they belong to any movie or television show, there is a link in the sidebar which takes you to more errors in the same show. So if you find a ranking for an error in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and read up on it, there will be a web-link at hand, which you can use to discover more bloopers in the same movie.
Apart from random browsing, you can also access errors by categories. All the slip-ups have been categorised into books, movies, television and quotes. So if you are interested in finding out, for instance, the type of mistakes which can creep into books even after extensive editing, you can log onto the section on books and search.
Other features are pretty similar to what would find on other sites. There is a newsletter which you can subscribe to which will give you updates. There is a feedback form which you can use to let the webmasters know what you think of their effort. Plus, if you have something of your own to share, you can send it for review. In fact, if you have some spare time on your hands, you can even apply to become an online editor. If you get the post, you will be able to review all the slip-ups that visitors send for posting to the website and select the most amusing and entertaining ones.
Overall, this is quite a hilarious website to surf – one, which can become quite handy if you are bored in your office or in a bad mood at home. Above all, if your boss chastises you for an editing error, you can always refere him/her to this website, and innocently comment on how much worse it could be.
To find out the amusing consequences of lapses in editing, log on to http://www.slipups.com
The two sections worth checking out are dedicated to the top 25 slip-ups and the recent 25 additions to the database. The former section has the most popular slip-ups – the popularity is determined through visitor voting, so do not forget to rate anything that you read here. The latter section features the latest errors to be loaded in the database.
What is interesting about the entries in these two sections is that if they belong to any movie or television show, there is a link in the sidebar which takes you to more errors in the same show. So if you find a ranking for an error in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and read up on it, there will be a web-link at hand, which you can use to discover more bloopers in the same movie.
Apart from random browsing, you can also access errors by categories. All the slip-ups have been categorised into books, movies, television and quotes. So if you are interested in finding out, for instance, the type of mistakes which can creep into books even after extensive editing, you can log onto the section on books and search.
Other features are pretty similar to what would find on other sites. There is a newsletter which you can subscribe to which will give you updates. There is a feedback form which you can use to let the webmasters know what you think of their effort. Plus, if you have something of your own to share, you can send it for review. In fact, if you have some spare time on your hands, you can even apply to become an online editor. If you get the post, you will be able to review all the slip-ups that visitors send for posting to the website and select the most amusing and entertaining ones.
Overall, this is quite a hilarious website to surf – one, which can become quite handy if you are bored in your office or in a bad mood at home. Above all, if your boss chastises you for an editing error, you can always refere him/her to this website, and innocently comment on how much worse it could be.
To find out the amusing consequences of lapses in editing, log on to http://www.slipups.com
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Call of the Books
With the coming of the internet, book reading has taken a backseat. Most people, especially youngsters, end up spending more time navigating and exploring cyberdom, and for them, the internet has become the main source of information. Not surprisingly, this leaves little time for reading books, a habit fast disappearing in the youth.
Fortunately, there are many websites which are trying to instill the concept of book reading, one of which is Shelfari (you may have received invitations in your inbox to join the website). Even though, this website does not exactly promote reading habit per se, but it is a good source to indulge in the treasure trove of books and to hobnob with other book readers. The basic theme and structure of Shelfari is similar to a social networking website. The major difference is that unlike Orkut and Facebook, you get to interact specifically with book lovers from around the world.
The first thing to do when you log on to Shelfari is to create an account. This is a very simple process requiring your full name, e-mail address and a password. The next step is something which should best be skipped. At this stage, you will be asked to search for your friends who are already on Shelfari by entering your username and password for common e-mail accounts like hotmail, Yahoo! and Gmail. While one can try and search for friends this way, the fact remains that you never know when this information might be used to send repeated invitations to everyone in your contact list. The safer bet will be to invite people by entering individual e-mail addresses. Once you have created an account, you can start adding books to your bookshelf. All you need to do is to search for the book by its title, author and/or ISBN. When the relevant search results are displayed, choose and click. These books will then show up on your profile under various categories – books which you are currently reading, those that you have read, and those that you plan to read, etc.
Similar to Orkut which holds communities, Shelfari has Groups. These groups are again related to books and reading in some way. You can join groups related to authors and writing, book clubs, world literature and so on. The category of authors and writing carries groups for individual writers as well, so if you are a fan of Paulo Coelho or Jane Austen, you will find many like-minded individuals to interact with and discuss various authors and their literary works.
The main idea behind Shelfari is to create a global community where book lovers can come together, express their reading tastes and habits, learn more about the new books on the block which are worth reading and of course, interact with like-minded people from around the world. To spend time on this website and then go out to buy some of the books would definitely be classified as having the best of both the online and the offline worlds when it comes to leisure reading.
To meet book lovers from around the world, log on to: http://www.shelfari.com
Fortunately, there are many websites which are trying to instill the concept of book reading, one of which is Shelfari (you may have received invitations in your inbox to join the website). Even though, this website does not exactly promote reading habit per se, but it is a good source to indulge in the treasure trove of books and to hobnob with other book readers. The basic theme and structure of Shelfari is similar to a social networking website. The major difference is that unlike Orkut and Facebook, you get to interact specifically with book lovers from around the world.
The first thing to do when you log on to Shelfari is to create an account. This is a very simple process requiring your full name, e-mail address and a password. The next step is something which should best be skipped. At this stage, you will be asked to search for your friends who are already on Shelfari by entering your username and password for common e-mail accounts like hotmail, Yahoo! and Gmail. While one can try and search for friends this way, the fact remains that you never know when this information might be used to send repeated invitations to everyone in your contact list. The safer bet will be to invite people by entering individual e-mail addresses. Once you have created an account, you can start adding books to your bookshelf. All you need to do is to search for the book by its title, author and/or ISBN. When the relevant search results are displayed, choose and click. These books will then show up on your profile under various categories – books which you are currently reading, those that you have read, and those that you plan to read, etc.
Similar to Orkut which holds communities, Shelfari has Groups. These groups are again related to books and reading in some way. You can join groups related to authors and writing, book clubs, world literature and so on. The category of authors and writing carries groups for individual writers as well, so if you are a fan of Paulo Coelho or Jane Austen, you will find many like-minded individuals to interact with and discuss various authors and their literary works.
The main idea behind Shelfari is to create a global community where book lovers can come together, express their reading tastes and habits, learn more about the new books on the block which are worth reading and of course, interact with like-minded people from around the world. To spend time on this website and then go out to buy some of the books would definitely be classified as having the best of both the online and the offline worlds when it comes to leisure reading.
To meet book lovers from around the world, log on to: http://www.shelfari.com
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Watch out... while on the move
It was a typical week day. The mini bus was jam packed, mostly with university students. When this bus screeched to a halt on the next stop, two school-going girls boarded the ladies section. With huge bags on their shoulders, it was clear that they were having trouble standing amidst so many people. The size of the bag was also making it difficult for others to stand hence a lot of under-the-breath grumbling began. When these girls had to get off, there was a huge hustle and bustle as they made their way towards the exit, the bag hitting quite a few people yet again.
Whether students are school-going or college-going, conveyance is one of the main issues to be dealt with. When the students are very young, parents prefer that they pick and drop children from school themselves; sometimes, a driver is hired for this very purpose. As they grow older, some parents rely on the transport system of the school itself. Hence, the school vans come in the picture.
However, all families are not as privileged. They either have one car which cannot be spared for the children, or they cannot afford to buy and maintain a car in the first place. There are some families which cannot pay the exorbitant fees of the private vans month after month. For the children of such families, public transport becomes a more convenient and affordable means of travelling to and from their school.
There are quite a few choices when it comes to commuting in public transport. And of course, each form of transport comes with its own share of advantages and disadvantages. What’s important is that if you are going to and from your school in a public transport, you must know some basic safety and convenience measures to follow with each. Let’s take a look at each in turn.
Buses
The main advantage of travelling in a bus is that the fare is considerably lower than other forms of transport. Also, it is a very “public” form of transport — there are quite a few passengers in every bus so even if you are travelling alone, it is a relief to see at least some people headed in the same direction as you are.
However, travelling in buses requires a higher degree of caution as well. First and foremost, if you are a school-going girl, and you’re travelling alone, it is better not to board a bus which has an empty ladies section. It is preferable to board one which has some ladies already travelling in it.
Also, you must avoid getting into a bus which is full. It is a common occurrence that students push their way in, bags and all, even if they only get some space on the very last step. This is highly dangerous, especially if you’re carrying a heavy bag. Bus drivers are notorious for travelling at unusually high speeds and applying brakes quite suddenly. So make sure there is at least some space to stand inside the bus before you get on.
Moreover, once you board the bus it is better to take your bag off your shoulder and carry it in your hand. This is mainly because of the scenario described above where students move about in the bus, totally oblivious to the fact that their bag is hitting quite a few people. Even if you find a seat, take your bag off first and put it in the lap. It is again quite common to see that when students sit on the seat, they don’t take their bags off. The result is that the bag occupies the entire seat and the student in question is almost falling off.
Another major reason to take the bag off and keeping it in your full view is that there have been too many cases of bus robberies. Cunning pickpockets, both male and female, are known to carefully zip open bags and purses of oblivious owners to quietly pilfer the valuables — money and cell phones.
And this brings us to another very important safeguard while travelling in buses. Cell phones are now quite common even with school-going children, in spite of many schools having enforced a strict ban on the same. It often happens that the minute anyone gets a seat, he/she fishes out the cell phone from the bag and starts messaging or playing games. Nothing can alert a potential thief more easily to the fact that you possess a cell phone which can easily be taken away from you as well.
The best thing to do if you are carrying a cell phone, is to place it in the inside pocket of your school bag, and only take it out to attend a very urgent phone call. Also, it would be advisable to have it on silent or vibration mode when you are travelling in a bus. This will ensure that even if it rings in the bus, you will be the only person who hears it.
Taxis
Travelling in taxis is definitely more comfortable, even if the taxi driver takes a huge amount of money for that comfort. But if you’re a female student, it is advisable to travel in taxis only when you’re with an adult or if you’re travelling with a large group of girls. As elders say quite often, taxis are closed spaces and hence, not quite safe if you’re alone.
Rickshaws
Rickshaws are probably the most convenient if you’re travelling alone and have to cover a short distance. Apart from the noise and, of course, the exorbitant fare that rickshaw drivers often charge for even the smallest distance, rickshaws come in handy when the bus stop is at a good distance from your house.One thing which is quite noticeable with reference to school-going children hiring rickshaws is that when they stop a rickshaw, they go right in the middle of the lane to talk to the driver, give him the directions and settle the fare. Crossing to the middle of the road or lane is highly dangerous because that is the time when even lanes are filled with school vans and cars. So whenever you stop a rickshaw, make sure it comes towards the footpath where you are standing.
Yes travelling in public transport may seem like a big hassle. But the truth is, these different forms of transport are quite convenient. They reduce your dependence on private transport, and ensure that you learn the different areas and routes more quickly. Also, you get to learn how to travel alone right from your school-going age. Pubic transport also toughens one up. This is because you really get to rough it out outside your sheltered home and school environment. So at the end of the day, public transport is quite advantageous in more ways than one. But one must learn to exercise certain precautions in order to travel safe in more ways than one.
Whether students are school-going or college-going, conveyance is one of the main issues to be dealt with. When the students are very young, parents prefer that they pick and drop children from school themselves; sometimes, a driver is hired for this very purpose. As they grow older, some parents rely on the transport system of the school itself. Hence, the school vans come in the picture.
However, all families are not as privileged. They either have one car which cannot be spared for the children, or they cannot afford to buy and maintain a car in the first place. There are some families which cannot pay the exorbitant fees of the private vans month after month. For the children of such families, public transport becomes a more convenient and affordable means of travelling to and from their school.
There are quite a few choices when it comes to commuting in public transport. And of course, each form of transport comes with its own share of advantages and disadvantages. What’s important is that if you are going to and from your school in a public transport, you must know some basic safety and convenience measures to follow with each. Let’s take a look at each in turn.
Buses
The main advantage of travelling in a bus is that the fare is considerably lower than other forms of transport. Also, it is a very “public” form of transport — there are quite a few passengers in every bus so even if you are travelling alone, it is a relief to see at least some people headed in the same direction as you are.
However, travelling in buses requires a higher degree of caution as well. First and foremost, if you are a school-going girl, and you’re travelling alone, it is better not to board a bus which has an empty ladies section. It is preferable to board one which has some ladies already travelling in it.
Also, you must avoid getting into a bus which is full. It is a common occurrence that students push their way in, bags and all, even if they only get some space on the very last step. This is highly dangerous, especially if you’re carrying a heavy bag. Bus drivers are notorious for travelling at unusually high speeds and applying brakes quite suddenly. So make sure there is at least some space to stand inside the bus before you get on.
Moreover, once you board the bus it is better to take your bag off your shoulder and carry it in your hand. This is mainly because of the scenario described above where students move about in the bus, totally oblivious to the fact that their bag is hitting quite a few people. Even if you find a seat, take your bag off first and put it in the lap. It is again quite common to see that when students sit on the seat, they don’t take their bags off. The result is that the bag occupies the entire seat and the student in question is almost falling off.
Another major reason to take the bag off and keeping it in your full view is that there have been too many cases of bus robberies. Cunning pickpockets, both male and female, are known to carefully zip open bags and purses of oblivious owners to quietly pilfer the valuables — money and cell phones.
And this brings us to another very important safeguard while travelling in buses. Cell phones are now quite common even with school-going children, in spite of many schools having enforced a strict ban on the same. It often happens that the minute anyone gets a seat, he/she fishes out the cell phone from the bag and starts messaging or playing games. Nothing can alert a potential thief more easily to the fact that you possess a cell phone which can easily be taken away from you as well.
The best thing to do if you are carrying a cell phone, is to place it in the inside pocket of your school bag, and only take it out to attend a very urgent phone call. Also, it would be advisable to have it on silent or vibration mode when you are travelling in a bus. This will ensure that even if it rings in the bus, you will be the only person who hears it.
Taxis
Travelling in taxis is definitely more comfortable, even if the taxi driver takes a huge amount of money for that comfort. But if you’re a female student, it is advisable to travel in taxis only when you’re with an adult or if you’re travelling with a large group of girls. As elders say quite often, taxis are closed spaces and hence, not quite safe if you’re alone.
Rickshaws
Rickshaws are probably the most convenient if you’re travelling alone and have to cover a short distance. Apart from the noise and, of course, the exorbitant fare that rickshaw drivers often charge for even the smallest distance, rickshaws come in handy when the bus stop is at a good distance from your house.One thing which is quite noticeable with reference to school-going children hiring rickshaws is that when they stop a rickshaw, they go right in the middle of the lane to talk to the driver, give him the directions and settle the fare. Crossing to the middle of the road or lane is highly dangerous because that is the time when even lanes are filled with school vans and cars. So whenever you stop a rickshaw, make sure it comes towards the footpath where you are standing.
Yes travelling in public transport may seem like a big hassle. But the truth is, these different forms of transport are quite convenient. They reduce your dependence on private transport, and ensure that you learn the different areas and routes more quickly. Also, you get to learn how to travel alone right from your school-going age. Pubic transport also toughens one up. This is because you really get to rough it out outside your sheltered home and school environment. So at the end of the day, public transport is quite advantageous in more ways than one. But one must learn to exercise certain precautions in order to travel safe in more ways than one.
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