I work everyday, but every day is a holiday for me because I enjoy my work.
Sudha MurtyRead
One needs determination to bring in changes in the lives of Devadasis. I would approach them wearing pants and t-shirt and without a bindi, they would chase me away. When I narrated the experience to my father, he told me to don traditional wear and dress like them. After bringing in changes in my dressing style, the Devadasis welcomed me.
Interpretation
Determination and adaptability are essential to create effective change in people's lives.
This quote illustrates the importance of understanding and respecting cultural practices when trying to instigate change. Sudha Murty's experience highlights how her initial approach was met with resistance due to her attire, which did not align with the customs of the Devadasis. By changing her appearance to match theirs, she was able to build rapport and foster acceptance, demonstrating that adaptability can enhance connection and facilitate progress.
In practice
In a presentation on cultural awareness, this quote illustrates the need for adaptability.
I work everyday, but every day is a holiday for me because I enjoy my work.
When a mother feels cold, she asks the child to wear a sweater. Our concept of poverty is that way. When we do a project and people receive our help, we may think that they are getting benefited, but is this what they really wanted?
A working woman could save a few shillings a week, and then every five weeks she'd come in and we'd cut her hair. She could shampoo it under the shower, swing it and dry it off or just let it dry by itself. It changed the lives of many young girls who'd never had the opportunity to be styled like that before.
We need to work together to embrace and repair our land, repair our power systems, and repair ourselves. It's time to stop building the shopping malls, the prisons, the stadiums, and other tributes to all of our collective failures.
Although you may be old or sick, it's not too late to take stock and ask yourself if you really are the person you want to be, and if not, who you do want to be.
We have a structural problem because you can simultaneously understand the medium to long-term risks of climate change and also come to the conclusion that it is in your short-term economic interest to invest in oil and gas. Which is why, you know, anybody who tells you that the market is going to fix this on its own is lying to you.
By aspiring to join the mainstream rather than figuring out the ways we need to change it, we risk loosing our gay and lesbian souls in order to gain the world.
The world "out there" won't change until the world "in here" does.
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