Today's (02.09.2021) The Hindu well drew my attention and planted a huge smile on face with one of its fine pieces in the very first page. It is ЁЯСЗ
This culture of addressing others as 'sir' and 'madam' has long faded away from most of the countries in the world. May be it did not exist at all in many parts of the world. In particular, it is always fascinating for me while watching English movies and series to see people addressing each other by names in educational institutions & workplaces - irrespective of age difference & designation. It looks highly professional, indeed! ЁЯЩМ
Whereas in India, the instance mentioned above seems to be the first of its kind. The origin of this kind of salutation in India, which is now immaterial, is dated back to colonial days! What is needed is to get rid of it. Though it looks extremely difficult, it certainly is not unachievable. The ray of hope is now seeded by this Panchayat office in Kerala that has made the reform by means of displaying boards with names and designation to make it easy for public to address the officials. The office suggests other ways to address officials just in case they find this new move too odd to get adapted to. Interestingly, the news article also states that the choice of words in letters is also undergoing a massive change and experts in vernacular language are working on identifying alternatives, on 'desire' (not request). This is nothing less than awesome for the kind of new professional set up it gives to the office. Reforms at such grassroot level stay stronger and grow healthier! ЁЯЩЗ Kudos!!!!
Nonetheless, just the imagination of bringing such a reform in a smaller unit around gives a mixed feeling, the dominant one being 'not positive'. This long existing culture is difficult to be separated as majority perceive this as a symbol of dominance, authority, ego, position, respect and what not! As long as we cling to these, the chances of change are meagre. Yet, when a place where most of the visitors are from rural areas could make a difference to work culture, isn't easier to do so in an educated environment? Yes, only when it begins from top of the hierarchy.
I am here reminded of a scene from the Tamil movie Ratchasi where the school Principal encourages students to call her by name and children doing so. Many of us would have felt it being overboard (to be honest, I found it artificial and forced), but it seems to be a good beginning for a better work culture and professionalism.
P.S.: After having stepped into a conventional work setup, my habit of calling people by names has changed drastically. I find myself overusing 'sir' & 'madam' which is abnormally elevated. Let me see if I could change myself for good! ЁЯСР
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