Yazhini

The Guardian Angel

We are a seed from the womb of a fruitful tree that nurtures us. After birth, the first person we feel or see is our mothers and not everyone is fortunate to experience this magnificent blessing that God has created and showered upon us. One such unfortunate seed is Yazhini, covered with flaky layers of hard wooden shells, she looked like a miniature pineapple. She was plucked away from the branch by a bird even before she was prepared to germinate. She was deprived the blessing of witnessing her mother. Her eye-catching appearance could be the reason many birds picked her up and dropped her in various places. After losing grip of her in its beak, the bird had dropped her into the river. She laid wedged between river pebbles and was trying her best every day to make her way out. She would feel the warmth of the sun's rays and the chilling stream, fishes would also come and nibble her flaky shell. One fine day she was picked up by a little egret who flew into the river to fetch some food to feed her hatchlings. Yazhini was overwhelmed, the freedom she experienced was immeasurable, she felt the gust of wind and cherished it. With Yazhini in her beak she flew into the forest and placed her in the nest with her hatchlings. She considered the little egret as her mother, since she unchained her from the cluster of pebbles in the river. She called her Janani. Yazhini ended up jiggling around all over the nest as the hatchlings were jumping for joy. In the midst of their fluttering wings, she fell off the branches and landed on the wet ground. With teary eyes she looked up to Janani expecting her to come down and pick her up, but she lay down disappointed. She ended up being alone again.

As days passed, her tiny roots pushed night and day while the soil snuggled her night and gave her way. She sprouted stems and leaves while the sun’s rays kissed her and rain drops showered on her each day. As days and months passed, Yazhini survived several landslides and storms. She grew tall and strong by extending her branches to shelter homeless birds. There was no end to the number of birds that sat on her branches and told her stories of what had happened around the world and how their homes had been destroyed. The Okinawa Rail narrated in grief how the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings destroyed the majority of his family. He explained how he witnessed those missiles that fell off a plane and landed on the ground. After a huge cloud of smoke engulfed the entire place, he fell unconscious. When he woke up he could not find anyone from his family, in fact none of the birds survived this tragedy. Tears rolled down the eyes of the spoon-billed sandpipers as they recollected the destruction of their species during the world war. A family of grizzled giant squirrels who were listening to these stories, came over and expressed their grief too. They were from Sri Lanka and were victims of the war that resulted in the death of their family. Her sole question to them was, "Who is causing these disasters and calamities?" She became infuriated when she heard that humans are to blame.

As years passed by Yazhini noticed that the trees around her were vanishing, the sound of rustling leaves , movement of animals in the forest and chirping birds were reducing. She called out to an eagle flying high in the sky, since he had travelled across the globe. As the eagle flew down and sat on a branch, Yazhini inquired about the missing birds and trees. He explained about the fading nature and the damage to all the species and how he saw the birds die by the unintentional act of humans. To name a few he said, building glass, communication towers, electrocutions, vehicles, turbines, solar panels, poisoning by pesticides and many more. He then said that he was the lone survivor of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. His family, friends and everyone lost their lives in the accident and not a single bird survived. He then went ahead and spoke about deforestation and how trees are being felled by humans. The air pollution levels have increased, leading to acid rains and forest fires. Having heard his mother tell stories about how nature was formed, he has always been very intrigued by the way in which it has supported all living creatures. In tears, he whimpered and said that he was looking forward to seeing his mother and nature once he broke out of the shell. He could feel his mother's warmth on the shell, but this warmth did not seem like the regular ones when his mother cuddled her eggs, the warmth felt like a heatwave. It was time for him to hatch, and he broke out of the eggshell. He saw his mother lay dead burnt by the blazing forest fire, his siblings lay dead in the nest. He was rescued by his uncle who took him to a hilltop and raised him. His uncle blamed humans for the forest fire, a gas pipeline had exploded and the fire spread across the forest. Upon hearing this, Yazhini was furious toward humans and began hating them even though she had never seen one.

One day Yazhini heard a crying sound far away and this sound came from a voice she hadn't heard before. As she kept looking around for this sound, many bullets fired from a shotgun landed on her trunk. Animals were running haywire, birds flew in panic, pieces of bark scattered and the crying sound came to a halt. A little girl, Giselle ran swiftly and hid behind Yazhini. She could feel Giselle’s pounding heartbeat and sensed that she was in danger and needed help. Yazhini stretched out her branches, grabbed Giselle by her waist , lifted and placed her in a hollow shelter within her trunk and covered her with leaves. She was being chased by four men and their dog who unfortunately did not survive the grizzly bear's attack. They searched the perimeter for a while and left the place. On seeing them leave, Giselle thanked Yazhini for saving her life. She made her way out by climbing down the trunk. As she landed and set foot on the ground, there was a fifth man who hid in the bushes, he pulled the trigger and shot her. As Giselle laid dead, Yazhini was enraged and she swung her branches and killed the men who were around her. She sought help from the animals in the forest, they hunted and  killed the men who tried to escape. Yazhini saw the soul of Giselle, leave her body, placed her head at the foot of the trunk and thanked her once again. It was all in vain for Yazhini. She mourned and lamented Giselle's loss. Giselle began to tell her story of how she was tortured by her father who was a drunkard. He would physically and sexually abuse her almost every day. Sometimes his friends and neighbours would come home and misbehave with her. She was chained to a wall in the basement for several years and had no opportunity to break free. These men would bring girls from the neighbourhood and assault them in front of her. As years of abuse passed, a drunk man unchained her by mistake, she utilised this opportunity and escaped into the woods. Her freedom came to an end when she was shot dead by her own father. Tears rolled down Yazhini's eyes and a bird' wiped her tears with her soft feathered wings. It was none other than Janani, the little egret who she considered a mother. Yazhini was overwhelmed to see her mother back, but Janani could not remember who Yazhini was. As she reminded Janani who she was and even shared all the stories she had heard over the years, Janani hugged Yazhini in joy.

Giselle wanted to help those girls who were abused by these debauchers, Yazhini and Janani decided to offer their support. So Giselle set herself out in search of all these men and lured them into the forest. Janani would seek the help of the animals around and trap these men so that they could not leave the perimeter. Yazhini would build a divine aura around the men and take them to a state of self-realization. Giselle explained to them the pain and struggles a woman undergoes in her life. Man desires for a woman's flesh but a woman desires for a man's heart. A man is respected only when he knows how to treat and respect a woman. Before a man wishes to see a woman's body with lustful eyes, he should remember that he drank his first drop of milk by feeding on his mother's breast. Do not forget that the body part you crave for, was also your birthplace. Respect a woman, so that your woman would be treated in the same manner. 

Yazhini who once was enraged with the brutality of humans and even killed a few, now understands the behavioral pattern of human beings. She would seek Giselle’s and Janani’s help to spread the message to every tree on the earth. These chosen trees enlighten the minds of the human beings who came to them in search of nirvana. They teach every human being on how to preserve nature in every form and not harm them. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was an eminent personality who imbibed such principles within his life and he spread the word by his dream of planting “Billion trees for a billion people. Indian comedian actor Vivek followed Dr. Kalam’s dream and has planted over 33 lakh saplings across Tamil Nadu.

Janani spreads the word across the globe to help preserve the extinction of birds. Dr Salim Ali, also known as 'The Birdman of India' was a well-known ornithologist who battled against the telecom industry in India and had a great love for birds. Our generation has destroyed several trees that were homes to these birds. We have seen thousands of birds fall dead from the sky, birds ramming into glass buildings, it is in our hands to put an end to this and let the birds survive. Earlier, several birds would migrate and travel across the globe without GPS, but now they lose their direction due to high frequencies from electronic devices like our cellular phones.

Yazhini now stands strong as the oldest tree in the world, she’s a bristlecone pine tree. She guards every tree on the earth and also enlightens the minds of everyone who visits her. Giselle guards every woman and ensures no harm. She continues to change the minds of the debauchers and make them reformed men. Janani continues to help every bird across the globe survive extinction. Nature is infinitely healing, Barack Obama once said “We are the first generation to feel the effect of climate change and the last generation who can do something about it.” Nature awaits to feel your feet and the winds await to play with your hair. We humans need to join hands and give back to nature a hundred folds of what it has given to us. Even though we cannot afford to give everything back to nature, the least it expects us to do is to preserve it. As Yazhini, Giselle and Janani spread the word and preserve nature, we need to inculcate the same in our lives.

“We often forget that we are nature. Nature is not something separate from us. So when we say that we have lost our connection to nature, it means that we have lost connection to ourselves.” - Andy Goldsworthy

A special note of thanks to my dear friend Mr. Sagar Srihari for designing this amazing poster and giving life to Yazhini.

+917760581105 |   sagarsriharicreations@gmail.com

Do you want your past to impact your present and future ?

There once lived a young boy named Aarav, he was an orphan abandoned by his parents. He stayed in a foster home for 9 years. While he was 4 years old, a couple approached the foster home and had taken a liking towards Aarav, hence they adopted him. He was initially treated politely and lovingly by them, but as time passed, they ignored him, were harsh with him, and also abused him. Aarav couldn’t tolerate this and he escaped from the couple and returned to the foster home.

A year had passed and another couple visited the foster home and were willing to adopt Aarav. He went with the couple and they treated him like a prince and offered him everything he wanted. After a few months, the wife conceived a child and their care towards the newborn child had increased making Aarav feel insecure. This made him leave the couple and return to the foster home.

The same thing repeated with two more couples where one couple were too involved in their work and did not spend time with Aarav. While the other couple had quarrels often which ended up in them being separated. These experiences had haunted Aarav and infested a negative impression about parents within him. He had made up his mind of not agreeing to be adopted anymore and decided to stay at the foster home forever.

One day, it was Aarav’s 10th year birthday, a couple visited the foster home with loads of gifts, chocolates and clothes for him. He never touched anything they had brought and behaved arrogantly. The couple didn’t bother much about his behaviour but were very loving with him. Aarav behaved in the worst possible way so that the couple wouldn't adopt him. Unfortunately, his tricks didn’t work on the couple, they still insisted that they adopt him and take him home. The warden stood in favour of the couple and agreed to send Aarav along with them. With deep hesitation and anger, Aarav went along with the couple to their house. He started being very notorious and was firm minded to make the couple hate him and send him back to the foster home. But the couple gave him all their love, care, affection and support in abundance because they didn’t want to let him go.

One fine day Aarav questioned them why they still want him and did not let him go even after seeing his behaviour. The couple told him that they don’t want to commit the same mistake again. Aarav didn’t understand and asked them to explain. They then told him that he was their child, they had eloped from their homes and got married to each other because they were of different religions and their families were against their wedding. On knowing Aarav’s birth, his uncle wanted to kill him because they didn’t want a kid to be born who is of two different castes. They had placed him at the gates of the foster home so that they could save his life. Aarav hugged them and accepted them wholeheartedly.

We all have a past and that would contain several good and bad memories. We would have met people and had bad encounters. We would have been in a relationship and had a painful heartbreak. We would have also been with people we trusted and they backstabbed us. These are life’s lessons for us, to learn from these situations and change the way we see things. Our past shouldn’t blackmail your present and ruin your future.

Inhumane World

 Where is humanity headed to ?

Have the citizens of my country voted and elected this disastrous bunch of inhumane illiterates ?

The year 2020 was a chaos across the globe, the entire world wasn't prepared for this pandemic attack. Countries have struggled to ensure their citizens are being taken care of and the required treatment and cure is given. This year in 2021 we are witnessing a more devastating crisis of the second pandemic wave and the situation is even worse than last year. Wasn't the government prepared for this ?? Or shouldn't the government already have been prepared for this known pandemic?? This is not a pandemic but it is a mass murder. People are being deceived to perform the last rites of their loved ones who were a victim of this pandemic. Bodies are queued for days at the crematorium waiting to be cremated. The officials / workers at the crematorium are permitted to cremate the bodies of those who arrive in government ambulances, private ambulances are made to halt. If a patient has succumbed due to the virus, the relatives / guardians are asked to purchase a PPE (Personal protective equipment) Kit for Rs.1,000/-, wear it, identify the deceased and collect their body. Why should their relatives identify their own ? They never met with an accident or their face wasn’t eaten up by the virus.

You permitted election rallies and the Kumbh festival to happen, where did we witness social distancing??

The same lunatics who went on rallies without wearing a mask are now appearing on video conference calls wearing a mask in their own homes.

The entire country is suffering and you permitted the IPL to happen this year ?? Wow.

Was a ₹3000 crore statue required??

Was a ₹800 crore cricket stadium required??

Was a ₹1100 crore temple required??

Your people are struggling for basic essentials and your primary focus is on making money. If the vaccine is working fine then why did you have a lockdown??

Please help me understand, why does a vaccine cost ₹600 at a government hospital while the same vaccine costs ₹1200 at a private hospital?? These vaccines are being sold in the black market for three to four times the actual cost, but what is the benefit out of it where the vaccine isn't a cure to the virus but takes the life of people. How could the people trust a government that provides a vaccine which has no cure ?? The government claims to have completed the largest vaccination drive in the world but right after this is where we are now at a devastating situation with the maximum number of Covid cases in the world.

Why is a Bangalore Urban (BU) number required to get a bed at a hospital??

Why is the BBMP incharge of allocating beds to Covid positive patients??

You people will never change. It is a shame to see the citizens of this country to have chosen such irresponsible leaders. A farmer who asked a minister of Karnataka for groceries to be provided was told to go die, how inhumane for a people’s representative to say those words to the backbone of our country and to a farmer who feeds us. If you have made a choice to choose such an incapable leadership, you have undoubtedly chosen the wrong people in your life. Your future generation would be ashamed of you for choosing such leaders. They are relaxing peacefully while we citizens are suffering. It is in your hands to ensure that these corrupt and inhumane politicians suffer the same way how each and everyone of us are suffering today. I am not saying that Congress is better than BJP or vice versa, trust me once you've voted for any party they don't give a damn about who you are. This system is corrupted and needs a total clean up and that is in your hands.

Please, it is a humble request. Voice out at the right time and execute your rights at the relevant situations. With a heavy heart i say this, the moment you choose an incapacitated leader to rule your city, state or country that is an unforgivable sin you have committed. You have to be a role model to the future generation where your kids look up to you and feel proud for the right decision you have made in choosing the right leader. Give it a thought, one day before you die either your children or your grandchildren would look at what happened over these past two years and ask you “What did the leader you chose do to help you get out this pandemic ??”  I wouldn't be surprised if you answer, banging plates, lighting lamps, clapping your hands, conducting mass rallies and having elections.

To conclude, it is never too late to realize your mistake. Wake up, do good to the needy and ensure you choose a deserving leader who would stand by your side at times of trouble rather than being a hypocrite. Stay Safe !!

Justice for Women

 Inhumane and brutal. 

This has disturbed me quite a lot and questioned the safety of women in the country I live in. I titled it 'Justice for Woman' rather than 'Justice for Manisha', because this is never going to end, Nirbhaya yesterday, Manisha today and may be a woman you know tomorrow.

Victims die and culprits live. India is now CRIME FREE; you can happily roam around even if you commit a crime. It takes close to 10 years to punish these rapists and murderers while it takes 10 minutes or 10 days to kill a rape victim.

The guardians or the so called Indian Police cremated the body to cover up tracks and efface proofs of the innocent woman who was brutally raped and physically tortured. Least they could have done was hand over her body to her family so that they could have at least performed her last rites rituals. 

Gang Raped, a strangled neck, multiple fractures, paralysis, gashed tongue, mental stress and may be even more, what else did that innocent woman have to undergo ? Is this what a woman gets in return for the sexual pleasure of arrogant perverts and murderers?

India is never safe for women, never. What would you do if the police who are meant to safeguard and protect and the authorities who are meant to serve the people, are involved in the crime? I would never blame the government for this; we have witnessed rapes and murders in every elected party’s ruling. There are many solutions which many provided by the public when they voiced out their opinions, these rules of punishment have to be implemented. Each and every rapist has to be punished. If he enjoys the pleasure of raping a girl or a woman, the torment undergone by the victim lasts forever and she carries the pain to her grave. The rapist needs to be punished in the similar manner, the punishment should remind him of the pain and suffering of the woman, it should install a fear within him that he thinks twice before looking at a woman in a lustful manner.

Never mind, we live in India where our media is busy with Sushant, Deepika and Rhea while many more Nirbhayas and Manishas get brutally raped. A humble request to everyone from foreign countries, please think twice before you address Indian citizens with 'Ladies and Gentlemen'. If you take pride being called an Indian if you live in India then please be honored to be called 'A Rapist' if you are a man and 'A Rape Victim' if you are a woman.

Don't worry, you can choose to remain silent, provided you remain silent even if your Sister, Daughter, Mother, Grandmother, Aunt, Friend, Neighbor, any woman gets raped and murdered.

What is left for a virus to kill in an ethically dead nation ?

Welcome to the new India!!

GREED

Greed is neither good, nor good for us.

Greed is the desire to want more, it’s a natural consequence of one’s orientation towards their possessions. People with a greedy mind will never have enough of anything and will never be pleased of what they currently possess. Greed has no saturation point, it is limitless, it has no boundaries and it has no end. Greedy people lack self-control, they are never at peace until they get what they desire, and they want to fulfil this desire at the earliest. Plainly, they want to own everything, have everything and be everything. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi once said, “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.". Greedy people always compete with others in owning things that they consider as their natural belonging, something that they should have had but accidentally didn’t. Greed is a form of drug, it’s an addiction that takes you to its own state of trance. Like the results of any other drug, enough is never enough, but not for too long. The current generation is an example of greed, we are never happy with what we have, and we always want more. I remember this short funny saying from my school, “God made man, man made money, money made a man mad”. We always tend to forget the sole purpose of our existence; we are never here on earth to accumulate wealth.

We need to understand the worth of whatever we feel greedy for. We human beings are mortal, but we are also conscious of that mortality which leads to a deeply felt anxiety. During a certain stage in our lives, the thought of emptiness kicks in, it’s a feeling that we need to accomplish, acquire or own something before our life ends. This anxiety places a target on our minds and haunts us until this target is achieved and this anxiety is accomplished and fulfilled. Anxiety develops due to a dearth of acquiring what the mind desires. Greedy people tend to accumulate everything they desire for in excessive amounts thereby depriving the person who deserves. Greed is the pursuit of wealth at the cost of someone else's. When this desire exceeds a certain boundary, it turns into greed and leads to arrogance, ignorance, lack of wisdom, lack of kindness and love. Being greedy has an adverse effect on people around you and sets unrealistic expectations. It turns them into stonehearted people, and they wouldn’t bother about anyone, they would hurt others and wouldn’t mind belittling, snub, slander, insult or even kill anyone barricading their accomplishment.

Greed can be controlled but never be eradicated. Greed is a cyclic reaction, the greedy initially build desires within themselves, achieve their desires and once they accumulate their desired possessions, they would have to safeguard it and would go to the bitter end to protect it. At a point they would get sick and tired of their possessions and would want to make improvements to it, similar to our mobile phones that we purchase to be updated with the latest technology, this again develops a desire and forces us to achieve it and protect it. It is justifiable and ok for one to get jealous and develop the feeling of wanting the possessions of another person. The dark truth is that these desires must be limited to our capacities. We take a fancy to live the lifestyle of another person, the essential resources to humans have changed, and it is no longer food to gain strength to procreate. The essentials now are villas, splendid jewelry, expensive watches, and mobiles with the latest technology, branded clothing, luxurious bikes and cars. What happens to all these possessions you’ve earned once you are dead?

We ought to be grateful always with whatever we have, never be greedy for something that isn’t meant for you. Whenever you develop the desire to buy something, remind yourself of the blood, sweat and hard work involved in earning that money you are going to invest. Always, a bit of self-assessment will be helpful, track your expenses for a month or two and categorize your expenditures. This will shine some light on your priorities and essentials. Develop a habit of giving money away, make some commitments to give a certain portion of your earnings to a charitable organization, orphanage or a relief agency. By doing so, it would not only benefit you but will also help others meet their real needs. The Buddha said that human beings tend to attach themselves to things – sometimes material objects, sometimes possessions like prestige or reputation. We perceive these possessions to be stable and permanent and we cling on to them and in most instances, we are discontented with our current possessions. Greed has blended within the society and we have accepted it as a medication to satisfy our desires. Yes, unfortunately the society has sedated us with the greed breed, and we seem to be tripping on it. The society is playing a major role, greed is a seed that is sown within every one of us and it is the society that nurtures it. Live your life by looking at yourself and not by comparing yourself with another person.

What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?

Lessons Corona is teaching us

IT IS NEVER TOO LATE

No matter how many books we end up reading, no book teaches us better lessons than our own life.

Well, we are all in a phase of a pandemic attack and are asked to stay safe under our roofs.

We are under self-quarantine and lock down within our doors, what have we benefited out of this?

People curse Corona for various reasons but let’s take some time and realize the benefits it has brought to humanity.

Corona is pushing us to pray to our creator, to our God for peace and harmony across the globe

It has brought us closer to our creator and made us recollect the morals that our ancestors have taught us, the morals that our parents keep reminding us to follow and which we used to ignore.

It has brought millions of families together, this is the time for you to understand your family better and express your love and concern towards each other.

This is the break we have taken for ourselves in polluting the Nature we live in.

It has so far taught the world that there is no difference between the rich and the poor, no caste, no creed, no religion, no sex, no discrimination among anyone. We are humans and Corona has made us realize it and has brought all of humanity together.

Corona has taught us to take care of our health and our surroundings, people now know how to cough, sneeze and how to stay clean and hygienic.

Liquor stores, bars, night clubs, brothels are closed, Corona is teaching us that life isn't all about addiction and entertainment.

Restaurants are shut, Corona is impelling us to learn to cook our own food. We have ruined our health and body already by consuming unhealthy food and junk from outside. Let us follow the morals of our ancestors and avoid consumption of food that is not cooked at our homes.

Statistics indicate that on an average per day, 1200 accidents occur in India of which 380 people die. 80 people are murdered on an average per day. 289 kidnappings take place on an average per day. Do your math and calculate the number of lives that are saved in these days of lock down.

Please I urge you not to misuse this lock down period that is given to us.

This is definitely not the end of the world but this could be a start of a new beginning in your lives and among the lives of your beloved.

The main problem of us humans is that we don't unlock our capabilities, we have no idea on the amount of joy and happiness we can bring into our lives and to the lives of the people around us.

Every day when we wake up and get out of our bed, let us gift our beloved with courage to face every hardships, rays of hope to fight tough battles and above all let us not forget the secret ingredient of spreading love.

Let us all park aside the distinguishing factors created by man, I am talking about borders between states and countries, religion and caste among humans, waters that belong to a particular place and even money that separates the poor from the rich. Let us all stand united for humanity and love.

This is the time that God has given us to spread love and to love one another. Do not hesitate to express your love towards people.

I say all of this to you because I believe in having a big heart to express love and to forgive one another. 

Stay Safe amidst the pandemic COVID-19.

This too shall pass.

Meeting Room Etiquette

Meeting rooms are communal spaces that represent a fraternizing hub among co-workers. It even indicates a private space that’s given for employees and employers. There are certain unwritten rules with regards to meeting rooms that employees need to abide by if the space is to be maintained and utilized effectively by everyone.

Leave the meeting rooms cleaner than the way you found it.

A meeting room being a shared space that is being used by all, needs to be kept clean at all times. No one wants to clean up someone else’s mess. Clean up the room after the meeting before you leave the room. If you are scheduled to other priorities, then inform the facilities personnel to do the job for you. No matter what you do, never let another person clean the mess you just made.

Book your meeting rooms well in advance.

Barging into an unoccupied meeting room might be okay, but that doesn’t mean you have carte blanche to use it without a reservation. What are you going to do when someone else spends their time in booking the room and ending up to be rudely turned away by you when you haven’t even reserved the space ? Schedule your room in order to prevent sticky situations where you end up asking your co-workers to move their meetings just because you weren’t proactive enough in planning yours. In addition, if your meetings get cancelled, make sure you cancel the room you reserved immediately. This will ensure the availability of the room for other co-workers to reserve it for themselves.

Reserve sufficient time for your meetings.

Schedule sufficient time for your meeting to avoid being barged in by co-workers with the next reservation slot. Failing to do so, may result in a situation where there might not be a place available to extend your meeting, therefore leaving everyone in an extremely uncomfortable situation. Whether you nail all the talking points needed or not, evacuate the space when the slot of your meeting has ended. You will end up taking up your co-workers’ time by running your meeting into theirs and I assure you that they won’t appreciate it.

Ensure that you don’t double book meeting rooms.

This is usually an accident , but double check to make sure it isn’t a mistake you commit. Sometimes when we book meeting rooms we select every meeting room in the office in order to see which one is available at the required time. Then we forget to unselect the ones that we aren’t actually using. Now this results in a situation where nobody is able to book a meeting room because you accidently reserved rooms that you aren’t even using. Be considerate and double check after you reserve your room.

 Be accommodative.

If you have reserved a meeting room for two people which can actually accommodate 20, offer to move your meeting to a smaller space. Issues may arise at times and your co-worker might ask to use your conference room in an emergency situation. Understand the need of the situation and help out your peers when you can.

Ensure the doors remain closed.

The people who work around you don’t need to hear your conversation in the meeting room. Do them all a favor and close the door during the course of your meeting, In addition, any of your attendees who interrupt the meeting or barge in late for any reason should knock before entering the room. A closed door of a room indicates “Give us some privacy” and should be considered as a sign that you need to seek permission before entering the room.

Limit your food and drinks.

On a general note, its acceptable to bring your coffee, tea and water to a meeting and sip on it during the session. Anything beyond these common beverages tend to cause a distraction to the attendees of the meeting. In addition, be mindful when you sip the beverage you bring to the room and avoid loud sipping as it can draw all the attention towards you.

Put your phone away.

We are in a generation where our smartphones prioritizes amongst everything, it might even be an important business tool that you use throughout your day. Keep your phone out of sight during the course of a meeting. You don’t want to be distracted or even appear to be distracted while the others are speaking. Ensure you turn off the sound and put your phone in your pocket or bag. If your response to a phone call or a text message attains priority over the meeting, then try and leave the room as quietly and soon as possible.

Don’t get too comfortable.

You might end up getting lucky enough to have some plush and elegant chairs at your meeting rooms, be mindful and refrain from getting too comfortable during the meeting. Avoid leaning back on your chair or lowering the height so that you tend to look like a little kid. Always try to sit up straight towards the edge of the seat so that you look alert and active during the session. Nod your head and answer appropriately so that you are engaged in the conversation and ensure you are on eye level with the rest of the attendees at the table.

Ask questions throughout the meeting.

The last thing you want to do is save all your questions till the end and then throw out a barrage of ideas right when everyone thinks they are about to leave. This is a surefire way to make quick enemies of your co-workers and be the guy who caused the meeting to run over. If you have questions, be sure to raise them at an appropriate time and stay on topic