Skip to main content

10 Things to Learn from Japan

I received this little forward by e-mail this morning from a friend of mine and thought it was quite interesting. We could learn a lot from this 10 points that describe a nation and the resolve of the people in the face of adversity and national calamity. Kudos to the people of Japan who have not made such a public drama and have just got on with their lives after the Tsunami has destroyed half their country.
----------------------------------------

1. THE CALM
Not a single visual of chest-beating or wild grief. Sorrow itself has been elevated.

2. THE DIGNITY
Disciplined queues for water and groceries. Not a rough word or a crude gesture.

3. THE ABILITY
The incredible architects, for instance. Buildings swayed but didn't fall.

4. THE GRACE
People bought only what they needed for the present, so everybody could get something.

5. THE ORDER
No looting in shops. No honking and no overtaking on the roads. Just understanding.

6. THE SACRIFICE
Fifty workers stayed back to pump sea water in the N-reactors. How will they ever be repaid?

7. THE TENDERNESS
Restaurants cut prices. An unguarded ATM is left alone. The strong cared for the weak.

8. THE TRAINING
The old and the children, everyone knew exactly what to do. And they did just that.

9. THE MEDIA
They showed magnificent restraint in the bulletins. No silly reporters. Only calm reportage.

10. THE CONSCIENCE
When the power went off in a store, people put things back on the shelves and left quietly.
----------------------------------------

On the other hand, while driving to work this morning I heard on the radio how people were preparing to take the day off to watch what they're calling the match of the Century. Today's Semi Final Match of the ICC World Cup between India an Pakistan at Mohali is driving a nation to the brink of standstill. Even the Prime Minister is making time to watch the match with his Pakistani counterpart. How about that?

One Nation carries on with life after a Great Tsunami tries to bring it to its knees while another Nation is brought to a stand still due to a Cricket Match!
Labels:

Comments

  1. Unknown11:59 AM

    totally loved the article.. just goes to show how much more we need to learn from the japanese apart from their technology.. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sanjeev Khandelwal12:25 PM

    That defines the places where India and Japan stand now and why....really they can teach us too many things

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anup Kanodia1:45 PM

    A lesson which we all should take from the crisis in Japan is to double our efforts in the conservation of energy in our every day life. If each of us take a small step in this direction we will reduce our dependency on hazadous Nuclear Energy until we find more and better ways of using renewable forms of energy :) :) :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Amit Bansal1:52 AM

    Hey come on...these are two unrelated things. Agreed Japan is more disciplined and resilient but that does not mean we should not enjoy watching India beat Pakistan.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The 7 Wonders at Eco Park

Pyramid & Sphinx Our last excursion to Eco Park in Rajarhat dates all the way back to February 2015. Since then, a myriad of transformations has swept through the park. During a recent journey to the airport, we caught sight of the park's latest additions, which had become the talk of the town, visible from Biswa Banga Sarani. That sighting ignited our decision to revisit the park. Naturally, we concurred that visiting on a weekend would be an exercise in chaos, so we opted for a weekday to fully savor the wonders that awaited us. To our surprise, even on a weekday, the park teemed with visitors. Upon entering Eco Park for a nominal fee of Rs. 30, we were immediately struck by the sheer value it offered. Personally, I would have willingly paid more for the privilege of glimpsing these marvelous creations. Rather than expound further, I'll let the images convey the essence of what lies within. That being said, it unquestionably merits an in-person visit to truly appreciate ...
5 comments
Read more

AKIRA: A Tiny Japanese Universe in Kolkata

Since we were already out and dinner was calling, we decided to keep things light and find somewhere nearby. A quick search by my wife produced a promising result—a new Japanese place just 9 minutes away , according to Google. Nine minutes? That sounded dangerously convenient. And so off we went to AKIRA , a cute little Japanese cuisine restaurant that is, by almost every definition of the word, tiny . But what it lacks in size, it makes up for in character. The place is done up in Japanese Pop Culture, with Anime and Manga influences everywhere you look. We arrived and, as expected, had to wait a little before we could get in. Which was perfectly fine by me. Because parked outside were two rather handsome motorcycles—a Honda CB350 and a Honda H'ness CB350 . Now, I have a weakness for motorcycles, and apparently, so did the universe that evening. I was admiring the two bikes when the owner of the CB350 appeared. One thing led to another and within seconds we were engaged in that v...
1 comment
Read more

HAL Heritage Centre and Aerospace Museum

I was in Bangalore and this was the only place I actually wanted visit. So here I am taking the tour of India's first aerospace museum located at the HAL facility (opposite the old Bangalore Airport) spread over 4 acres. The displays of actual aircraft are very cool and so are the galleries showing historical pictures and evolution of HAL and its contribution to the nation in Military Aircraft as well as Aerospace. The disappointing thing at the end of the tour was the Gift shop, where I was hoping to find Scale Models of Aircraft and other Memorabilia from the IAF (Indian Air Force), but instead it was a dreary sight to see a shelf which housed Handicrafts! That just didn't make any sense whatsoever. Anyway for those of you who would like to visit this wonderful Museum, the details are below: HF-24 Marut 1T (D1698) IAF MIG-21 Bison (Trainer Version) HAL HJT-36 Sitara (IJT), Intermediate Jet Trainer Prototype. HAL Tejas mock-up (LCA) Light Weight...
1 comment
Read more