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Experiment with symmetry in your home

The human mind gravitates towards symmetry but is intrigued by asymmetry. Set new rules with geometric designs in your home.
by Reyna Mathur

A few years ago, a study in the UK asked a group of men to study several photographs of women’s faces, and to rate the most attractive ones. In almost all cases, perfectly symmetrical faces – eyes set at almost the same distance from the bridge of the nose, the same lower jaw on both sides, perfectly aligned ears – were rated the most attractive.

Our eyes naturally gravitate towards order and symmetry, Hence, we are more comfortable with a space that has proportion in size and dimension. Geometric shapes are more attractive to us than amorphous ones. Symmetric designs and shapes give a sense of order and discipline, and are more preferred visually than asymmetric ones.

For those looking to add style and panache to their home, there are several ways to make symmetry in design rock a plain dwelling. There is no need to purchase expensive materials to bring about this change – you can get creative and let geometry work its magic on your home.

Tap the symmetry trend for your house:

1) Combine the beauty of geometry with the whimsy of colour. Pick a plain rubber doormat and draw geometric shapes like squares, rectangles and triangles on it in a design of your choice. Next, colour in certain overlapping sections created in the design with neon colours to create an eye-popping statement right at your doorstep.

Glass vases arrangement2) Create an eccentric arrangement of identical glass vases of different sizes in a prominent corner of your living room. Arrange the vases in a straight line as per colour or descending size. To add a twist, place a single long stemmed flower in each such that the tops of each of the flowers are at the same height. This is a visually confusing but striking arrangement, and will make visitors steal glances at it from time to time.

3) Define the geometry of your TV set by embellishing its four corners with square paper cut-outs. Add depth to the design by sticking 3D pyramids (base on the TV) in the four corners. Or you can make concentric squares on each paper cut out and colour each square a different colour for an interesting optical effect.

4) Beautify a bare wall by marking a rectangle space with pencil in the centre of the wall. Further divide this rectangle into evenly spaced squares. Inside each square, place a painting or a photograph of the exact same size. Or you can get creative with poster colours and paint each square a different colour in even strokes.Paper wall hanging

5) Create your own symmetrical wallpaper or wall hanging, using long lengths of thick paper. Select the area for the wallpaper or wall hanging. Now cut out rectangular strips of thick handmade paper or coloured mount board, ensuring that they are the same length and width. Place them crisscross or intertwined over each other to create the pattern of your choice. Glue the overlapping parts firmly. Once the assembly is set, snip of the ends in a straight line and encase the edges in a picture frame or a length of sturdy cloth. Hang on a suitable wall.

6) Break the severity of your geometrically designed room with a table or chair of asymmetric form. For this to be visually appealing, the rest of the room must be completely symmetrically designed, preferably in monochrome. You can then give a fun twist to the room by placing a bright red or yellow chair on one side, or a shape-shifting couch of a bright hue.

(Pictures courtesy tomsplans.biz, www.guidinghome.com, decorideaz.com. Images used for representational purpose only)

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5 types of employees you should be hiring

Start up companies often grapple with hiring and retaining the right talent. Knowing certain personality types can ease the process.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

The best thing about being a boss at your own company is that nobody can fire you. The worst thing is that you are solely accountable for your mistakes. These mistakes can range from not being a proactive leader to not securing adequate funding, but by far the biggest mistake than can affect you on a daily basis will be hiring the wrong people to work for you.

1. The punctual one. Some people are extremely punctual, arriving in time for the start of a new working day with a few minutes to spare. They are meticulous about managing their own schedules, because they respect time. “Businesses must encourage others to emulate their example,” says Viral Shah, who runs an online trading firm with 10 employees. “Encourage punctual people to take up managerial roles, because they are more organised and their finicky attitude about time ensures that projects are completed within schedule.” If your team has a person who always arrives on time and is profusely apologetic about being late, groom that person to handle project deadlines, to begin with.

2. The first in, last one out. These people can be a pain to others, because they are always in office –they are the first to arrive and the last to leave. This behaviour is a clear indication of commitment. Such personality types often stay committed as a matter of habit, even when they are not enjoying their work. These persons can be roped in to handle last-minute jobs or assist teams which are working against deadlines. Since they normally show up to work even before others have arrived, they can be entrusted with drawing up daily schedules, following up on the previous day’s backlog and setting appointments for the day. Companies might consider making these persons assistants to the bosses.

Building your team3. The team player. This person can always be relied on to pitch in with assistance, moral support or just a sense of humour when the going gets tough. “Such people are born leaders and their commitment to the company is very high,” explains Sara Chhajed, an HR professional. “They will even help out in projects that are not theirs, simply to get the work done faster with lesser hassle. They will actually ask for more work if they see that the rest of the team is struggling, and they do not try to hog the credit.” People displaying these qualities can be focussed, easy going, friendly and compassionate. “Bosses should groom them in a team-building capacity, because they often display team spirit,” Sara says. “They are valuable employees, even if they are not the most talented.”

4. The experienced mentor. Every team needs a senior to guide the office with his or her experience. Such a person is a key asset in a young, inexperienced team that may flounder without an experienced mentor. “I have helped set up at least 20 start-ups in the last year alone, and I always advise the management to hire one senior person as a manager,” says Ankit Mishra, who works exclusively with start-ups. “These persons are capable of taking a neutral look at a project and suggest corrective ways that can save the company a lot of valuable time and effort. However, they should be encouraged to engage with the team on a regular basis, instead of waiting to be asked for help,” Ankit adds.

5. The genial, all-skills-included one. This is the best type of person to hire, after the team player, because this person keeps the office environment light and friendly. This sort of personality is needed in a high-stress, high-work start-up environment, because they can plug in the gaps in the system whenever required; thus companies save resources which they would have spent on outsourcing external agencies to get the same work done. “One of my employees started working with us as an office boy, but I soon realised that he had a fair knowledge of computers,” recalls Viral. “Later, he learnt how to read balance sheets, and make and receive payments. Now he is my personal assistant.”

This type of person should also be enlisted to plan office outings and team bonding sessions, where their enthusiasm comes in handy.

(Pictures courtesy www.gomindmerge.com, theloyaltygroup.com. Images are used for representational purpose only)

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BMC goes after diabetics in Mumbai

BMC will set up special OPDs, dispensaries and new hospitals in the city to deal with high diabetic patient load.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

The highest numbers of diabetics are found in India, and many of them are concentrated in the metros. Naturally, the current public health facilities are overstretched in dealing with the large numbers of patients seeking treatment.

Recently, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with Eli Lilly announced that it had developed a unique platform that not only deliberates on the rising menace of diabetes, but that it had submitted actionable recommendations to help strengthen policies and Government programmes [such as NCPCDS] related to the management of diabetes.

The BMC is now coming up with special OPDs, 80 dispensaries, 18 peripherals and 3 major hospitals in Mumbai to address the ‘increased NCD patient load’ under NCD Programme Services initiative. “The Corporation is trying to inculcate the habit of eating healthy food amongst the citizens of Mumbai”, said Dr Daksha Shah, Deputy Executive Health Officer (NCD) RNTCP, Public Health Department, Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM). She added that the novel initiative involves intensive regional consultations with relevant experts to draw up comprehensive suggestions, best practices, challenges and enablers faced by service providers in Government and private sectors in day to day management of diabetes patients.

Said Dr Ashok Kirpalani, Professor and HOD, Nephrology, Bombay Hospital Institute of Medical Sciences (BHIMS), “There is a need to check diabetic nephropathy at an early stage before the need of dialysis sets in. The ability of microalbuminuria test to pick up renal failure at an early stage needs to be recognised as there is only 3 per cent mortality in test positive patients.”

Dr. Manoj Chadha, Endocrinologist, PD Hinduja National Hospital and Medical Centre, said, “High blood pressure needs to be recognised early and treated appropriately with ACE inhibitors/ARB”. He added that “Hypertension is also an important contributor to morbidity and mortality in Diabetes Mellitus.”

(Picture courtesy www3.imperial.ac.uk. Image is used for representational purpose only)

 

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8 step guide to renting out your property

As a property owner, make sure you select the right people to inhabit the space when you eventually lease it out.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

If you are leasing out your property, you need to be very careful about letting it out to the right persons. Your tenants should not be allowed to default on rent and utilities payments, they cannot do anything illegal inside your property, and they cannot conduct themselves inappropriately. These are some things you will have to do as a property owner:

1. Settle all society dues for a year. You don’t use the property, but you still have to pay maintenance, water charges, any pending electricity and gas bills, parking charges, property tax, etc. Meet with the building’s accountant and find out how much you owe the society per month. If you are not able to make a trip to the building every month, it is better to write out a cheque with a lump sum amount and hand it over to the treasurer. Take a receipt for the same and ask the society to inform you in case of revised charges.

agreement2. Do a discreet background check. You will have to inform the society via a written letter that you wish to lease out your flat or shop for a certain number of months. You cannot lease out without the society’s permission to do so. When you find a potential candidate for your property, find out what the person does, where he or she works, how long they intend to use your property, how many people will reside in or use the space, etc. Enlist the help of a broker to carry out this step, but do not agree to lease out the property till you meet the candidate and are satisfied with him or her.

3. Ask for post-dated cheques. After you have informed the society that you have found a person for your house or office, introduce them to the building chairman and secretary. After this, be very clear on all the terms; what the security deposit will be, the monthly rental, the condition in which you expect the property to be handed back, which modification you will allow or get done inside the property, the system to settle utilities payments, etc. Insist on the person handing you a series of post-dated cheques – be alert the moment the person says they will pay you every month. Some tenants have been found to stop paying the rent and continuing to occupy the property. Also, do not agree to the tenant paying your rent via NEFT unless absolutely certain that they will do so.

4. Register the agreement. This is an important step, but many landlords do not insist on it because they don’t want to shell out the stamp duty and registration charges. However, registration of the house or office agreement makes the transaction legal and will absolve you of any wrongdoing in case the tenant uses your property mischievously. You and the tenant each get to keep the registered agreement.

5. Insist on police verification. This is the most important step. The mandatory police verification must happen for the new tenant because it is a certificate from the police station verifying the tenant’s credentials. This certificate must be included with your registered agreement copy.

6. Take immediate steps in case of indiscipline. Before the tenant starts using the property, give him or her a checklist of Dos and Don’ts. Insist on them maintaining decorum while using the property, and that their conduct should not reflect poorly on you. Remember that the building society is within its rights to ask you to vacate the tenant if their conduct is found reproachable. If you hear any complaints from the society about your tenant, remedy the situation at once.

7. Do not allow the tenant to change the main lock. A big red flag for any owner is the knowledge that the tenant wants to change the main fixed lock to the property. Do not allow this under any circumstances, because it suggests a malafide intention. For the tenant’s safety, allow them to use a detachable lock to use when they are not at home, and do not keep a copy of the key to this lock – in case a theft occurs in the property, the tenant should not be able to point a finger at you and declare that you may have carried out the theft.

8. Visit periodically. Your job as the owner is not complete just by doing the paperwork and collecting the rent. In the initial days, make it a point to visit the tenant for a chat after informing them of your arrival, and observe how they are using the property. If you find that any unauthorised repairs have been carried out without your permission, or if anything inside the flat or office is broken or damaged, tell the tenant that you will deduct the damages from the security deposit. Keep in touch with the society as well, to hear their account of the tenant’s behaviour.

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6 ways to identify a shopping addict

Here are surefire ways to identify a shopping addict and get them help before they are completely broke and depressed.
by Reyna Mathur

All of us know at least one person who is so addicted to shopping, he or she will not think twice before spending even when they are broke. Do you identify with this scenario: A young girl works in a private firm. In her spare time, she surfs shopping sites and keeps adding items to her virtual shopping cart. Not a single day passes without her buying something for herself, and when packages arrive at her home and office on a daily basis.

Then her credit card bills catch up on her. Soon, she buys many credit cards to settle the bills on the previous ones – and also to increase her spending power. The situation soon lands her in huge debt, but through it all, she still can’t stop shopping.

If this sounds familiar, you or someone you know is a shopping addict. It is a dangerous addiction that lands people in a severe financial crunch, but like other addictions, this one too compels the victim to give in to his or her constant urges to acquire the next object of their fancy. Unfortunately, most people don’t take this addiction seriously enough, and fail to see that it is a form of mental illness.

It is easy to tell when a person is a shopping addict.

1. Constantly wanting to buy things. All of us like to shop, but some people take it to another extreme level by buying something, big or small, every single day. If they pass by a store and see something on display that they like, they will buy it immediately without considering if they have enough money for it.

2. They are unable to rest till they buy what they want. There have been cases where shopping addicts have reported insomnia, anxiety and depression to their doctors and therapists, all brought on by their inability to buy something they really liked. They see it as a personal failure to be unable to gratify their own wishes, and this leads to feelings of inadequacy and unhappiness. In the West, there are support groups for people falling under this category, where people come together and share their fears and insecurities about themselves related to their finances. Many of them express a wish to get professional help after finally understanding that they are in the grip of an illness.

Shopping addicts3. They don’t much care how much something costs. All of us are fitted with an invisible ‘radar’ that alerts us when we are considering a purchase. The voice in our heads cautions us with questions like, ‘Can you afford this new TV? Shouldn’t you first pay off your maintenance bills before buying that dinner set?’ The difference with a shopping addict is that he or she can choose to ignore this radar at will, often leading them into a deep financial pit where they flounder but cannot come out of.

4. They are the biggest consumers of EMI spending. Many e-commerce sites have smartly tapped on to people’s tendency to purchase something expensive if there is a reasonable monthly EMI attached to it. A shopping addict will normally explore this option, because it means they can adopt the same principle and buy several more items that month.

5. They borrow money to go shopping. We are conditioned to spend only what we have in our pockets, so it goes against the grain to borrow money. However, most of us borrow money for sudden unavoidable expenses and we set targets to repay the money back as soon as we can. But a shopping addict, normally running short of money owing to his or her spending habits, has no qualms borrowing money to buy a new mobile phone or an expensive saree or even to go on a trip. There is a very high chance that the money will not be repaid on time, because the person will never have enough cash to pay back the loan in time.

6. They don’t use most of the things they buy. For a shopping addict, the thing is in acquiring the object of their affections, not necessarily in using it. With so many purchases piling up one over the other, it is little wonder that they get around to using even half the items that they buy so passionately.

(Pictures courtesy www.addictioncam.com, feinlawyer.com. Images are used for representational purpose only)

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Hurrah for separate Investigation Units in police stations

Praja Foundation reviews the implications of the new order which stipulates that all police stations will have one Investiation Unit.
by Praja Foundation, Mumbai

Congratulations to Mr Sanjeev Dayal, Maharashtra’s Director General of Police for the long awaited announcement to separate Investigation Units (IUs) from law and order police. The Standing Order No. 24 of 2015, which follows the Supreme Court directive, means that IU officers and constables will not be assigned to duties under any other category of investigation and will be exempt from extraction for law and order duties as well.

The order stipulates that all the police stations and district police will have at least one IU; numbers will increase depending on the average number of serious cases registered over three years. According to Dayal’s order, which will come into effect on July 1, 2015, each IU will investigate a maximum 15 cases a year. According to the Director General’s order officers in charge of the investigation wing will supervise the investigating as well as pairavi units, who follow up on the cases being tried in court. The order also mentions that that women police officers and constables will aid IUs. There is a stipulation that Mumbai needs 691 personnel for investigation, pairavi and women units; and these will be chosen from already existing personnel in the police force. There are also provisions for a fixed tenure for IUs with fully equipped legal, forensic, scientific and technological resources.

Praja has been consistently taking up the issue of separation of investigation and law and order personnel in its White Papers on the issue Law and Order and Policing in Mumbai. According to Nitai Mehta, Managing Trustee, Praja Foundation, “One of the urgent steps to address the issue of lack of IUs has been laid out by the Supreme Court directives on Police Reform in the Prakash Singh case of 2006, i.e. the separation of investigation from law and order. According to experts, this does not even require a legislative intervention. Even the office of the Police Commissioner or the Home Minister of the State has the power to introduce this much-needed change in the policing policy of the city, and perhaps the state as well.”

The gap between sanctioned and available IOs (Investigating Officers) needs to be bridged; a total of 4,301 IOs are sanctioned, but only 2,904 are working, a gap of 32 per cent! Although this gap has reduced from 50 per cent in 2013; total of 1,397 officers are still needed to bridge the gap completely. Due to this gap, investigations have not been conducted in an organised manner. Mhaske contends, “A study of acquitted cases shows that the chief reason for acquittal has been ‘lack of evidence’. This, in turn, showcases the performance of the IO, the public prosecutor and the lack of coordination between the two.”

Praja’s crime White Papers also present some startling data regarding conviction rates in criminal cases. Milind Mhaske, Project Director, Praja Foundation says, “Conviction rates in Class II serious offences (cases involving bodily harm, murder, rape, grievous hurt, kidnapping, abduction etc.) has been an abysmal 8 per cent in 2013 – 92 per cent of those charge-sheeted have got away scot-free! Overall, the conviction rate remains at a low 22 per cent”. To maintain law and order in the city, it is imperative that these figures rise.

Low conviction rates lead to thriving crime and, consequently, an unsafe city. These figures highlight the lack of IOs in the city. Mehta says, “Understaffing and multiplicity of tasks in the Mumbai Police Force is compromising investigation and there by leading to low conviction rates. A fully manned force will mean that the officers handling criminal cases will focus solely on these investigations, rather than being called on to man roadblocks and performing bandobast duties. Consequently, cases that make their way to the courts will be watertight and there will be an assurance that the guilty will be convicted”.

(Picture courtesy www.mahapolice.gov.in. Image is used for representational purpose only)

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