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Page 10 Local Town Pages www.naticktownnews.com August 2016 Metrowest Travels India: The Ultimate Travel Experience By Howard Axelrod, Contributing Writer I am often asked, “What is the most incredible destination that you have visited?” If the operative word is “incredible,” then in my opinion, there is simply no place on planet earth that can compare to India. For the exotic and unbelievable, it is unparalleled. As the home of 32 UNESCO World Heritage sites and the crossroads of six major religions and 22 official spoken languages, India is the ultimate travel experience. It is a one-of-a-kind vibrant cornucopia of sights, sounds, smells and tastes that lasts the visitor a lifetime. If the unusual and mind boggling is what you seek, look no further. India is not for everyone. It can be unbearably hot, and air quality is poor from smoke, dust and vehicle emissions. Beggars abound, and you will see heart-wrenching sights that accompany overpopulation, poverty and lack of health care. Animals of all types and sizes (dogs, goats, cows, bulls, monkeys and the occasional camel or elephant) roam the streets freely and are in fact part of the traffic pattern. Add to this bicycles, peddle rickshaws, motorized rickshaws, motor scooters, motorcycles, cars, trucks, tractors, buses, lots of humans (1.3 billion) and constant horn beeping. The traffic pattern in cities can only be described as “functional anarchy.” There is trash everywhere, and the “Holy” cows that roam freely leave their calling cards in their wake. No matter how careful you are, at some point you are going to “step in it.” Get over all these discomforts. This is the price you must pay for the incredible experience that lies ahead. India is an adventure; not a vacation. Forget about travelling through India on your own as it is a logistical nightmare. A structured tour is a must. New Delhi Any tour you consider should include New Delhi with its ancient Chandni Chowk street market and architectural wonders, such as the Old Jama Masjid Islamic Mosque. As India’s largest mosque, it is capable of accommodating over 25,000 devotees during prayer. To experience the Sikh equivalent, visit the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, an equally impressive structure. You will be openly welcomed at The snake charmer Photos: Howard Axelrod. Morning ritual on the Ganges Children play as a cremation is reaching completion The camel beauty contest at the Pushkar Camel Fair both. Although primarily a Hindu nation (80.5 percent of the population), Muslims and Sikhs represent 15 percent and 2 percent of India’s population respectively. Jaipur Jaipur is one of the world’s most beautiful and charming cities. The “Pink City” of Jaipur should be part of any tour. Buildings here are made exclusively from pink stone. In 1876, the Prince of Wales and Queen Victoria visited Jaipur. Pink denotes the color of hospitality, and Jaipur’s Maharaja Ram Singh ordered the entire city painted pink to welcome guests. The tradition has been followed ever since, and is now required by law. I recommend visiting the City Complex, Amber Fort, Sheesh Mahal (Hall of Mirrors) and the Palace of the Winds, at a minimum. The Taj Any trip to India would be incomplete without a pilgrimage to the spectacular Taj Mahal in Agra. The “Taj” was constructed by Shah Jahan in 1631 as a tribute to his beloved wife who died giving birth to their 14th child. Your initial view of the Taj is breathtaking, and the scale of it is hard to comprehend. You approach this 240-foot-tall structure with its 115-foot-high dome by following the reflecting pool inward from the main entrance. As you approach, the Taj seems to be constantly getting larger in an outof-proportion scale. Its beautiful white marble is both stunning and soothing. As perhaps the defining symbol of India, it draws visitors from across the globe. The Pushkar Camel Fair All of the above cities and attractions should be part of the itinerary on any quality tour. However, there are two “off the charts” places that are not on most itineraries but are absolutely worth seeking out. Consider planning your trip around the annual Pushkar Camel Fair where for five days each November at the time of the Kartik Purnima full moon, the small village of Pushkar hosts one of the world’s great spectacles. Hundreds of colorfully dressed camel herders and their families from all over northern India bring over 50,000 camels and 8,000 horses here to buy, sell and trade. Watch carefully as the prospective camel buyer examines each animal’s teeth, hooves, eyes, ears and flanks in an attempt to determine the animal’s age and health. Traders “negotiate,” and the discussions around the sale of a single animal can go on for the full five days, and involve many cups of tea and lengthy discussions in each trader’s tent. It is fascinating to watch each party’s body language and strategy, knowing that in the end, both want to make the transaction happen, but only at a price acceptable to each. Lodging for herders and visitors alike is usually in tents, as Pushkar’s few formal lodgings are booked years in advance. You may be invited into the tent of a camel trader and his family for tea. Do oblige them. The Indian people are warm and hospitable, and this it is their way of welcoming you. You will be treated as a respected guest, and this will be an experience you will always cherish. There are many unique events held here, including the longest moustache contest, the beautiful bride contest and various camel parades. My favorite was the camel beauty contest where the animals are dressed in colorful silks, decorated with lipstick, mascara and ornate jewelry, and judged by a panel of “camel beauty experts.” There are countless stalls at the fair selling jewelry, clothing, crafts, textiles and camelrelated paraphernalia. Pushkar is a carnival spectacle on an epic scale. Expect to see the unexpected here, including magicians, colorful gypsy dancers, acrobats, performing monkeys, snake charmers and Sadhus (Indian holy men). As you scan the horizon in a 360-degree arc, you see tens of thousands of camels. Like so many things in India, the Pushkar Camel Fair is larger than life itself. Felling Alive in Varanasi Do save the best for last. Varanasi is India’s holiest city, and is located on the Ganges, India’s holiest river. As the world’s oldest continuously populated city, it has remained inhabited without interruption for over 4,000 years. Along its winding streets are some 23,000 temples ranging from simple to spectacular. There is no place like Varanasi on earth! INDIA TRAVEL continued on page 12
August 2016 Local Town Pages www.naticktownnews.com Page 11 Facing Criticism: Four Key Skills That Will Help You Succeed By John Dudley, Contributing Writer “Criticism is something you can avoid easily — by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” – Aristotle I’ve been fortunate enough to have run a company in town for over 20 years now and have had numerous opportunities to work with managers at all levels of our organization, as well as with several other leaders in different industries. One thing I’ve found as a reliable predictor as to whether someone will be successful is if they can productively handle criticism or not. At my business, when we’re considering promoting someone to a role where they must handle more responsibility, including managing more people on their team, we need to know whether they can handle direct criticism and the resistance that can come from fellow team members, vendors or customers. The questions we managers ask are, “Will they crack under the pressure?” (which they will inevitably receive from somewhere) and “Will they come unglued at this new level?” Those employees who can handle criticism have a solid shot at being able to grow with the organization. Those who can’t tend to really struggle and usually exhibit selfprotective, small-thinking-type behavior that inevitably gets passed down to many of their team members, like a flu virus, a critical disaster for any company, particularly smaller ones. A favorite quote of mine from Ken Blanchard, an American author and management expert, reminds me of this manager type. He said, “Some leaders are like seagulls. When something goes wrong, they fly in, make a lot of noise, and crap all over everything.” An Opportunity for Self Examination and Personal Growth Not that long ago, I was serving on an Ashland town committee as an appointee on the Planning Board. As a small business owner, I guess there was some assumption by one member of the way I would vote on matters before this group. It took only a few weeks before this member indirectly called me “a big disappointment.” I’m not sure he liked working alongside someone who could think for himself, and he was upset that I’d been vocal about believing our meetings were no place for Jerry Springer-like antics. Either way, this was an opportunity for a little self-examination and personal growth on my part. Just another confirmation that trying to please everyone is an impossible task, and can really suck the life out of me if I let it. Four Key Skills to Learn Knowing how important taking direct criticism is, I’m going to show you the short list of what I’ve used to help myself as well as my organization in preparing to deal with criticism. If you are trying to grow in your role at work, as a leader or as a person, you’ll probably find this useful too. Here are four key skills that will help you succeed when facing criticism: Develop your ability to 1 bounce back quickly. The more you can explain criticism as temporary, specific and external, the better you will be able to bounce back and avoid any potential damaging effects. Here’s an example of how good and bad thinking about my situation from abotve might look: • Temporary: Is this temporary or forever? Bad response: I’ll never be able to make anyone happy on these committees. Why do I even bother volunteering? Healthier response: They were just upset with me voting opposite them on this issue. I can respect that, and I’m sure we’ll see eye to eye on something in the future. • Specific: Does everyone think this, or just this person? Bad response: I’m all alone in my thinking here. I must be some kind of oddball and I’m not sure if I fit here. Healthier response: I should catch up individually with a few of the experienced members at an off-meeting time and see if they have any input on how I handled myself and whether they have any recommendations for me. • External: Is this personal? Bad response: This person really hates me. Healthier response: This person must have been having a bad day. Develop your ability to 2 separate criticism from rejection. Just because someone is criticizing you doesn’t mean they are rejecting you. I think all of Friends of the Morse Institute Library Try a Five Guys Burger! Monday, August 29th • 3:00 – 10:00 pm Five Guys Burgers & Fries in Natick will donate 10% of the sales on August 29th to the Friends of the Morse Institute Library Five Guys Give Back Five Guys Burgers & Fries, 841 Worcester Street (Route 9/27 Plaza), Natick, MA 01760 JOIN A COMPANY ON THE RISE Local Town Pages is one of the fastest growing newspaper publications in New England with eight newspapers, that reach over 75,000 homes and businesses direct mailed each month. Full Time Sales Representative In The Metrowest Area We Offer Salary plus commission Healthcare and a 401K. Please email your resume to Lori Koller at lorikoller@localtownpages.com us will face some people who are simply jealous of us. The more public of a figure you are, or the nicer the lifestyle you live, the more you probably will encounter this. To that group of critics, they should get zero percent of our attention and emotional energy. I will not sink to their level. But to the people in our lives that really do care about us and want to see us do well, I believe we have to try hard to hear what they have to say to us, even when it’s not something we like to hear. Better yet, ask them, “Be open and honest with me on this, what did you think about it, and how can I improve on it for next time?” Develop your ability to 3 learn how you can improve. I admit this can be extremely hard immediately following negativity, but after a little time, do a post-mortem and ask the question, “Is there anything of Serving Needham & Surrounding Towns value I can learn from this?” If you can’t think of anything, ask a close friend, trusted co-worker or a boss. If nothing else, it shows you care, and you open the door to a better relationship and some potential valuable feedback. Develop your ability to rehearse rejection (and not 4 take yourself so seriously). Athletes do it, actors and writers do it, and so do politicians, so why not us? Actually rehearsing the type of criticism you may hear on a daily basis has helped me be less stunned when someone verbally attacks me. Say them out loud, or write them down. This may sound a little silly, but if you are positive at least 3x more than you are negative, then this can be very effective, and quite humorous. I’ll leave you with this exercise to do. Try giving one of the following websites a shot by filling in a little of your information; they will email you back a nicely worded rejection or complaint. • Complaint generator: www. pakin.org/complaint/ • Rejection Generator Project: http://stoneslidecorrective. com/select-your-rejection/ So go out there and fight the good fight! I wish you the best in your business and personal relationships. John Dudley has owned a local business for over 20 years.
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