Today the 27^th March is recognised as the 40^th anniversary of the composing of the most famous song written by Jacques Revaux, lyrics by Gilles Thibault. Some critics rumoured that this song was presented to a couple of French singers of the like of Herve Villard who refused to take it on board. Claude Francois did.

Paul Anka rewrote the lyrics of English version of the tune soon after being offered this tune by his pal Claude Francois. It is believed that Paul Anka rewrote the song in less than 2 hours in Paris and turn it into ‘MY WAY ‘. Paul Anka took the song over the atlantic ocean which was sung by Frank Sinatra.

Paul Anka heard the original the French pop song, performed by Claude Francois ,while on holiday in the south of France. He flew to Paris to negotiate the rights to the song. In a 2007 interview, he said: “I thought it was a shitty record, but there was something in it.” He acquired publishing rights at no cost and, two years later, had a dinner in with Frank Sinatra and “a couple of guys” at which Sinatra said he was “quitting the business. I’m sick of it, I’m getting the hell out”. Sinatra’s singing rebounded thereon!

The explosion in popularity exploded when the King Elvis Presley retook it in his world satellite show in the 70’s.

Of the numerous honours attributed to this evergreen, the one you  will surely enjoy: “My Way” was found to be the song the most frequently played at  British funeral services.

Wikipedia trace a phenomenal number of published versions of this tune.

I cherish most my bathroom version of MY WAY because it is my way.

No wonder that WAY chain of supermarkets is so popular, because the chain is riding on the popularity of the name. That is the WAY!

This festival celebrated  today by the telegus in Mauritius and elsewhere. These festivities give us Mauritians the opportunity of widening our knowledge on the communities living in our culturally rich countries.

Is it a wonderful chance to know more about telegus? Their cultural and linguistic differences?

Ougadi or the New Year is celebrated in the month of March. The birthday of Ganesha, the God of wisdom and remover of all obstacles is celebrated as Ganesh Chaturthi.

Unlike many religious celebrations, Ougadi is not celebrated on the streets. The Telugu New Year remains very traditional with people having lunch or dinner with their relatives and cultural shows organised. Prayers and cakes distributed to relatives, friends and neighbours are also part of the festival celebrated last Saturday.

The day starts with a purifying wash – the mangala snaanam – before the sun on Saturday morning. Then, after putting on chandrika oil and massaging themselves with a paste made with cereals, the Telugus are ready to start the celebration of the creation of the Universe by the God Brahmâ.

The patchadi – a mixture of green mangoes, tamarind, lilac flowers, chilli and salt – is prepared and offered to God in a special prayer to ask for his protection. They then go to the temple where they are read the panchagam (Telegu almanac). This special day is also a time for decorative activities like the mugga, which are beautiful and colourful designs made with different seeds and spices.

I am more interested to learn about the culinary differences of the telegu.

The cuisine of Andhra Pradesh is reputedly the spiciest and the most delicious of all There are many variations to the Andhra cuisine depending on caste, geographical regions, traditions etc. are particularly popular in Andhra Pradesh and many varieties of pickles and chutneys are unique to the State. Chutneys are made from practically every vegetable including (eggplant), and (The mango pickle is probably the best known of the Andhra pickles.

Rice is the staple food and is used in a wide variety of ways. Typically, rice is either boiled and eaten with curry, or made into a batter for use in a crepe -like dish called attu – made of a mixture of this batter and mung beans) or Dosa .

Hyderabad, the capital city of the state of Andra Pradesh, I was told by a very good friend whose father was the editor of an English newspaper during the pre-partition and post-partition years in Hyderabad, is the limit city where the Moguls were stopped in their invasion.

Google gives 2millions pages on a search strike on ‘Pursuit of Happiness’. This is a topic which I personally am fond of and which I image each human is seeking. I take much pleasure in listening to replies given to me when I ask someone: are you in pursuit of happiness? The obvious answer is…..

Do ask yourself now the question and wait for an answer?

I have come across an article by Henry Morris which I find interesting.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

I just love it.

My chinese ancestry is boiling in me.

The chinese language and the creative hand of God

by Ethel R. Nelson, M.D.

Who among all these [God’s creatures] does not know That the HAND OF THE LORD has done this, In whose HAND is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind? Job 12:9,10, NKJV

Few realize that the early Chinese (c. 2200 B.C.) worshiped a Creator-God, the Heavenly Ruler. Fewer still have appreciated the “second Genesis” which their ingenious ancient character writing contains. ¹ The 4,000-year-old Imperial Sacrifice ceremony observed annually by China’s reigning emperors attests to their original post-deluge patriarchal connections. ² A word-of-mouth knowledge of God (even the Trinity), the Creation, Garden of Eden, and Fall of man, could have come to them from Adam via Lamech, Noah’s father; and Noah’s son, Shem, the probable Chinese progenitor.

Les lectures de la messe.

Ephés. 2,4-10.
Mais Dieu est riche en miséricorde ; à cause du grand amour dont il nous a
aimés,
nous qui étions des morts par suite de nos fautes, il nous a fait revivre
avec le Christ : c’est bien par grâce que vous êtes sauvés.
Avec lui, il nous a ressuscités ; avec lui, il nous a fait régner aux
cieux, dans le Christ Jésus. Par sa bonté pour nous dans le Christ Jésus,
il voulait montrer, au long des âges futurs, la richesse infinie de sa
grâce.
C’est bien par la grâce que vous êtes sauvés, à cause de votre foi. Cela ne
vient pas de vous, c’est le don de Dieu.
Cela ne vient pas de vos actes, il n’y a pas à en tirer orgueil. C’est Dieu
qui nous a faits,
il nous a créés en Jésus Christ, pour que nos actes soient vraiment bons,
conformes à la voie que Dieu a tracée pour nous et que nous devons suivre.

Jn 3,14-21.
De même que le serpent de bronze fut élevé par Moïse dans le désert, ainsi
faut-il que le Fils de l’homme soit élevé,
afin que tout homme qui croit obtienne par lui la vie éternelle.
Car Dieu a tant aimé le monde qu’il a donné son Fils unique : ainsi tout
homme qui croit en lui ne périra pas, mais il obtiendra la vie éternelle.
Car Dieu a envoyé son Fils dans le monde, non pas pour juger le monde, mais
pour que, par lui, le monde soit sauvé.
Celui qui croit en lui échappe au Jugement, celui qui ne veut pas croire
est déjà jugé, parce qu’il n’a pas cru au nom du Fils unique de Dieu.
Et le Jugement, le voici : quand la lumière est venue dans le monde, les
hommes ont préféré les ténèbres à la lumière, parce que leurs œuvres
étaient mauvaises.
En effet, tout homme qui fait le mal déteste la lumière : il ne vient pas à
la lumière, de peur que ses œuvres ne lui soient reprochées ;
mais celui qui agit selon la vérité vient à la lumière, afin que ses
œuvres soient reconnues comme des œuvres de Dieu. »

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L’Evangéliste Jean, le mystique des évangélistes, nous livre un texte d’un angle différent des autres. Dans le texte du jour, il ne nous raconte pas une histoire de Jésus, il se place en observateur et nous donne sa réflexion et sa conclusion. Jean nous livre L’amour infini de Dieu, l’élévation de son fils Jésus et notre possibilité d’accéder a la vie éternelle par son fils Jésus. La croix qui est symbole de supplice, avec Jésus devient maintenant signe de victoire sur la mort. Jésus, celui qui sauve, est venu nous libérer de cette mort ; il suffit de croire car Dieu est miséricordieux à l’ infini. Jean nous parle d’un Dieu de lumière qui ne se place pas en juge. Il sous-entend que si le monde est jugé, le monde est voué à l’échec. Croire en Jésus, fils de Dieu, lumière, dressé sur la croix, venu nous sauver, c’est choisir de ne pas faire le mal et de suivre la lumière.

Ta croix + Seigneur est signe de positivité. Par la passion et sacrifice sur terre, Tu as converti le symbole de souffrance en victoire sur notre souffrance. Tu rayonnes sur notre croix de souffrance de ta lumière.

Tu sais bien Seigneur si Tu me juges, j’échouerai sans aucun doute. Je te remercie pour ton message de miséricorde à l’infini. Encore, j’implore la grâce et le cadeau d’accroître ma foi en toi. Je reste positif et crois en Ta bonté et de Ton amour infini, et je désire ardemment de suivre Ta lumière.

Creating a sense of ownership has been a gained battle for me at Rogers.In 1986 the idea was mooted following a strategic brain storming with Eric Mafat of  the planning  department and the plan was rolled out in 1988.

I recall articles written by Bob Nelson I read, which encapsulated my road map to enhance the sense of ownership at all levels. It was thrilling working thereon and I had great satisfaction deploying the strategy. The guys acted as if they owned the SBU’s where they were working. This was particularly satisfactory when the large Air Cargo organisation was reorganised in autonomous smaller SBU’s and smaller SSU’s – support service units.

My motto was small is magic, and small is empowering. SME.

I regretted that later  after I left this division, the new management policy was based on economy of scale.

Eight Factors of Ownership

We have identified eight factors for creating a sense of ownership. These elements empower and motivate people in any size or type of organization, although they are perhaps easier to cultivate in smaller organizations.

1. Having the thrill of the flame. When workers are highly connected to the products, processes and services of the organization, they are “close to the flame.” They have a passion and excitement about their jobs and what the organization is trying to do. This is easiest to do when all employees can easily understand, relate to, and agree with what the organization is trying to achieve. Thus, it becomes important to have clear, simple and widely communicated goals.

When a business is started, this passion exists for the entrepreneurs. As the company grows and as the management and ownership of the company are separated, it becomes more difficult to keep the flame blazing. A growing organization becomes a more diverse and complicated entity, due in part to having more people, locations and products.

In large organizations, the connection to the flame must be systematically made through communication and delegation. Work units need to be small and autonomous so that people understand how they fit into the organization and so that they feel they play an integral role in the company.

2. Understanding personal impact on profit and loss. Every person in the organization needs to understand how his or her job and department relate to the profit and loss of the organization. This involves knowing how you directly or indirectly help the organization to generate income—that is, how what you are doing relates to how the company self-perpetuates itself through further earnings. Understanding the current profit-and-loss nature of the business gives employees a sense of pride when they know they can do things better or cut expenses and thus make more money for the organization.

To give people a greater sense of profit and loss, make sure they know the financial priorities of the organization and use that information as a criteria for making decisions. Emphasize current data over year-end data. Having timely information allows employees to have influence more frequently and to feel more direct involvement in the business.

3. Having autonomy and independence. People feel autonomous when they feel supported in what they do, recognized for who they are, and treated with respect. Individuals have the right to live their lives and be themselves in the organization. They have the right to do what they need to do to be effective and productive without being constrained—as long as they do not negatively affect job performance, client relationships, or invade other people’s rights.

Related to independence is the degree of risk that comes from being given responsibility and authority to make things happen. In the best-run companies, you can take risks. There are no rigid guidelines, only parameters for getting things done. There is room for you to innovate and come up with new ideas and an open environment for listening to new ideas.

Risk is an important element of an ownership system. In new and small companies, people take a lot of risks. There isn’t a lot of “covering up” or systems in place to minimize risk. People are encouraged to take appropriate risks to get their jobs done.

4. Being self-reliant. Related to autonomy and independence is self-reliance. People who have a sense of ownership have a lot of control over themselves that extends beyond the organization. They tend not to be guided by reams of rules and regulations, but instead prefer to have self-responsibility. They are treated as adults, with a sense of fairness and equity by the management of the organization, yet also with a distinct individuality.

Well managed organizations encourage employees to have more control, accountability and responsibility for what they do. In such companies, people are motivated to understand the programs, products and processes and to assume more self-accountability and responsibility—and thus become more self-reliant.

5. Having pride of association. When pride exists in the organization, people are more committed to what they are doing. When pride exists, people understand what the organization stands for, its values and fair dealings; they feel highly committed to what they are doing; they have enough information to do it well; they are accountable for their actions; and they look forward to going to work everyday.

While such pride is particularly evident in organizations where you can see and experience the product, it may also be evident in service organizations. Nordstrom, for example, demonstrates high commitment to the client through outstanding service and employee empowerment. Nordstrom’s employees are expected to use their best judgment to help the organization reach its stated goal of providing exceptional service to every customer.

6. Being able to influence others. Having the ability to influence others means that you can make things happen both inside and outside the organization. You develop a personal network based upon your ability to influence people—not just because of your official organizational title or position.

Your ability to influence determines, in large part, what you can get done. In your department, for example, your ability to positively influence others to be excited about achieving the department’s goals is a significant part of effective team building. Outside of your immediate area, there is a network in the organization of who you are, what you have accomplished and how you make things happen. This serves both as a means to obtain results, but also as a way to develop positive working relationships that will be of further value to you in the future. Outside of the organization, you have a resource and contact base that you can draw upon to help meet organizational needs.

7. Having personal accountability. Personal accountability means defining your job in such a way that you are accountable for it; you can take pride in it; and you are very responsible for it. Getting work done is driven by an internal forces and motivations when it is very clear who is responsible for results. Risk is allowed and encouraged because individuals are held accountable for their actions. Yet penalties within the organization are consistent with risk taking. Individuals who fail at various tasks have to be handled carefully so that there is not a nitpicking about mistakes. The overall perception in the organization must be that risk taking is encouraged and that the individual is still valued even if he or she fails at a task.

8. Recognizing individuals and giving credit. If you want to build a sense of ownership in your organization, start recognizing people individually for outstanding achievement. Since you want to encourage workers to have high association with the organization, recognize them when they excel. Recognition is best when it is individualized. Specifically use the person’s name in a group setting, write individual letters of recognition and make specific references in communication media.

Recognizing people in print is important because is it so very personalized. In the movie industry, for example, everyone involved on a movie is mentioned in the film’s credits. An innovative form of individual recognition is found at Esprit in their use of employees to model clothes. By the photos are the names of the employees and their job in the company.

In addition, organizational successes need to be celebrated in a corresponding manner to the size and level of the success. A new contract signing might serve as an ideal opportunity to gather everyone who assisted with making the contract possible for a thank-you lunch, whereas the exceeding of annual profit goals by the company might call for a day of off-site celebration by all employees.

J’ai eu une superbe journée de Jeudi, animée par un grand créatif Pierre Louis Desprez.

Qui est Pierre Louis Desprez et quel est son parcours?

Formation : Normale Sup rue d’Ulm
Associé de KAOS Consulting, agence-conseil en innovation (nouveaux produits / nouveaux services / stratégies de marque).
Chargé de cours en Sorbonne (Mastère)
Cabinet du Président du MEDEF
EDF, Direction Commerciale Professionnels
Conseiller culturel à l’ambassade de France en Autriche

Je savoure un livre de lui, qu’il m’a offerte : Traité de tous les noms – Histoires de mots marquants.

Un petit extrait que je veux bien partager :

Le Marketing de soi

« Dieu vous garde de la notoriété ! », disait l’abbé Pierre à une journaliste.

Andy Warhol avait annoncé :  « A l’avenir, chacun aura son quart d’heure de célébrité. » C’est la que commence le marketing de soi.

Picasso avait un grand sens des affaires. Il envoyait des amis tous les jours chez les galeristes parisiens pour qu’ils leurs réclament un Picasso. A l’époque, aucun d’eux ne le connaissait. En quelques mois, ils voulurent tous voir ses œuvres et l’exposer !

Picasso, toujours lui, vendu beaucoup de toiles très peu cher, avant d’augmenter drastiquement ses prix. Du coup, tous ceux qui avaient acheté se sont vus à la tête de petites fortunes, et clamaient que Picasso était bel et bien un génie.

QUELLE JOIE AUJOURD’HUI NOUS FETONS SAINT JOSEPH.
“C’était un juste” (Mat 1, 19) selon l’évangile de saint Matthieu.
Les évangélistes ne nous ont conservé aucune parole de ce “juste”, le charpentier de Nazareth en Galilée, fiancé de Marie, la Mère de Dieu, époux aussi discret que fidèle et chaste. Père nourricier et éducateur de Dieu le Fils, devenu homme parmi les hommes de ce village, il le fait tout simplement.
L’ange lui avait dit : “Ne crains pas de prendre chez toi, Marie, ton épouse.” et Joseph prit chez lui Marie son épouse.
L’ange lui avait dit : “Lève-toi, prends l’enfant et sa mère” et Joseph se leva, prit l’enfant et sa mère et s’enfuit en Egypte.
Il est un vrai fils d’Abraham: il croit et fait ce que Dieu lui dit. Dieu savait à qui il confiait son Fils unique et sa Mère, à celui qui était l’homme le plus capable au monde d’être la parfaite image du Père .
Les Orientaux honorent saint Joseph depuis toujours. Les Latins l’ont méconnu longtemps.

SA FETE
Les Syriens et les autres Orientaux font la fête de saint Joseph le 20 juillet, mais on la fait le 19 mars dans les églises d’Occident.
La fête de Saint Joseph se place au 19 mars, et elle était très suivie par les artisans (il était charpentier) puis par les ouvriers et enfin par tous ! Le 8 décembre 1870 le pape Pie IX déclara officiellement Saint Joseph Patron de l’Eglise universelle, et fit du 19 mars une fête solennelle ; – en 1889, le pape Léon XIII démontra comment Saint Joseph est le modèle des pères de famille et des travailleurs, et lui décerna officiellement le titre de « saint patron des pères de famille et des travailleurs », titre que la piété populaire lui avait déjà décerné depuis des siècles ; – en 1955 le pape Pie XII reprit bien volontiers le principe de la fête du travail en instituant la solennité de Saint Joseph artisan et en la fixant au 1er mai de chaque année ; Saint Joseph est ainsi l’un des saints que l’on fête deux fois dans l’année (19 mars et 1er mai) ; – le pape Jean XXIII a ajouté son nom au canon de la Messe.

L’EGLISE VA LE REDECOUVRIR !
Marthe Robin, la stigmatisée de Châteauneuf-de-Galaure, dont la cause de béatification est introduite, a dit un jour à propos de saint Joseph cette parole : « L’Eglise va le redécouvrir ! »

LITANIES DE SAINT JOSEPH
Seigneur, aie pitié de nous.
Jésus-Christ, aie pitié de nous.
Seigneur, aie pitié de nous.
Jésus-Christ, écoute-nous.
Jésus-Christ, exauce-nous.

Père du Ciel, qui es Dieu,
Fils, Rédempteur du monde, qui es Dieu,
Esprit Saint, qui es Dieu,
Trinité Sainte, qui es un seul Dieu,

Sainte Marie,
Saint Joseph,
Honneur de la famille de David,
Gloire des Patriarches,
Epoux de la Mère de Dieu,
Chaste gardien de la Vierge,
Nourricier du Fils de Dieu,
Vigilant défenseur du Christ,
Chef de la Sainte Famille,
Joseph très juste,
Joseph très chaste,
Joseph très prudent,
Joseph très courageux,
Joseph très obéissant,
Joseph très fidèle,
Merveille de patience,
Ami de la pauvreté,
Modèle des travailleurs,
Honneur de la vie de foyer,
Gardien des vierges,
Soutien de familles,
Consolation des malheureux,
Espérance des malades,
Patron des mourants,
Terreur des démons,
Protecteur de la Sainte Eglise,

Do you know the word Hindutva? The voice of Hindu is better known in Mauritius. It may be worth while reading the view from a Hindutva perspective.

As we live in one of the countries which are inhabited by a majority of Hindus outside India, we Mauritians should be aware of the terms and more importantly keep an eye to what is happening in India. Thinkers and brains triggering the consciences of Hindus inside India or elsewhere as well as Muslims in the world should be read to understand where they are coming from ; how they feel and what they intend to do. On both sides of the fence there are radicals, violent fundamentalists and peace seeking moderates.

I consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity as a non Hindu to have been exposed to much Indian culture and to have traveled often to the home origin country of the majority Hindu community. I understand some basics fundamentals of the Muslims religion for having worked very closely with a number of Muslim organisations during the time when I was involved with the organization of the Haj and Umra pilgrimages. I had made a couple of trips to Saudi, namely to Jeddah, Ryiad and Daharan.

The tension that exists in the  sub continent with in India itself with a large population of Muslims in the midst of a majority of Hindus is often echoed in our country. Whilst India has its own issues to deal with its bulging Muslims populations, particularly in some of its states where the proportion of Muslims to Hindus do not reflect the national average, let not the animosities  spilled over to us.

I only wish that in our nation country is able to sort our own issues without being influenced by imported events. Needless to mention the events of Mumbai and the recent unrest in Pakistan have negative effects on the peaceful cohabitations of the two communities. I believe that there have been some confusion in Phoenix recently on the celebration of Yaum un Nabi.

May the moderates on both sides bring a peaceful settlement to keep the belligerent moods of the radicals at bay? Let religions not divide us or break the harmony of our peaceful living.

Better than any James Bond films I have ever seen. The documentary on the BBC on Victor Bout was a real time thriller. He was arrested a year ago for arms traffic after a carefully crafted bait scenario by the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Was he the front man of the KGB mafia  gang or just a business man who availed of the opportunities of the break down of the USSR?

Read this fascinating story.