SMILE

SMILE :-

“Smile” is the shortest distance between one end of the lip to the other end when the same forms a straight line!!

It has a bigger brother called “laughter” which comes out with too much of noise and reverberating into echoes if more than two people are involved.  A child smiles and laughs for no reason. As a man or woman ages the first thing they shred is smile. Whether it is part of growing up process or simply due to day today stress and strain we human beings give up smiling first and then we claim that we have grown up.

It is found that certain sections of population are more prone to serious type of faces than others. I have seen most of the people working in government sector, that too in areas, where they have to have people to people  contact on a daily basis…like banks, post offices etc. give up smiling first. Whether it is salary day or the last day of the month it becomes the same for them. On the contrary, they are expected to put up a genuine smile every time when they interact with a customer.

I have seen people in Bangalore, Karnataka, South India are found to smile most often. This I am writing after having travelled to most part of India. In the case of hearty burst out laughter no one can match people from Punjab !!

I like Bhutan as a country, because it is the only country, probably in the world to give importance to smiling faces and like GDP it measures happiness index every year!!

In my fairly long experience in Africa, one thing I have noticed with natives, is the smile. Most of them burst out into laughter most of the time. When they meet with even a stranger they smile and greet without any inhibitions.

Their lives may have many uncertainties, day to existence is very challenged, family size is very large as for most of them only recreation is “procreation”. Living conditions are very poor in most of the countries, there is no potable water despite vast lakes and rivers, Electricity is not available in most parts, most of them commute to work by foot that too running most of the time to reach their work place in time. By and large their bosses are mostly ”slave drivers” as they use abusive language and push them from one place to other in work.

Most of them are too preoccupied about their next meal. Salary is paltry and working conditions are pathetic and despite all this every African work Man when they meet each other there is so much of smiles, laughter and noise due to clasping of hands and high fives etc.  Whenever they find someone walking nearby when they are eating the entrant is invited to partake the food though the food may be too meager.

Take the case of Indians mostly working as expatriates working along with natives in Africa. Most of them are fairly well placed and earn many more times the natives. They have fairly large bank balance locally as well as overseas. Their life style is very good compared to locals as they stay in good houses in great communities under privileged security. Their children go to the best of best schools. They have paid holidays to home as well as to envied destinations. Despite all this how often do they smile leave aside laugh!

It is indeed a great blessing to laugh one’s heart out either for a joke, or on account of a funny episode or even just like that. Please sit and introspect the last time when you had a hearty laugh !!

As a matter of routine every morning, as I enter my work place, I have the habit of greeting each and every person on the shop- floor right from security, janitor, packers, machine operators, Technicians, Supervisors, Managers and then move to my chamber to get going with my routine. This I have been practicing for quite some time as it helps me to access the strength at the shop-floor, morale of the staff and workmen as well as to gauge the style of work going around.  If there are any course corrections to be made the same can be made then and there in time.  

The other day, I was a bit stressed on account of work pressure. I just moved into my office skipping the morning ritual of mine as I was busy with some pressing thing. After finishing the same, I moved in a hurried manner to shop floor. Then I felt a bit tired after few minutes of walking and I sat on a work bench by the side of a lady packer as there was some vacant space. I realized later the lady was the one who was pulled up a few weeks back for going out for a smoke early morning at the commencement of her shift by me. I looked at her and was about t enquire her well being. Before that she told me politely “ Papa…smile please !”.

Her words hit me like a ton of  bricks.  Well despite getting dressed up well and moving far and wide I forgot to wear the most important accessory that day ….SMILE !!