People use their right to complain!

My day invariably begins with complaints about some meetings at workplace that I don’t want to attend. On some days it could also be about my boss. My wife will pitch in with her complaints about the attrition rate of maids shooting up or the kids not listening to her anymore.
On reaching office, my current favourite complaint is about the new rule of the company to penalise employees for coming late. I have noticed that my complaints are directly proportional to the number of hours in a day!
Most of us have loads of complaints. It is as though it is our fundamental right. I am sure you would be able to pick from one of the following as your favourite complaint: I have a terrible boss; my wife does not care for me; what a terrible job I have. Absolutely frustrating; I wish I could leave this city; there are hardly any roads; both husband and wife are working unlike me who is the sole bread winner in these times of recession...
We have these and many more ways of seeing the ‘glass half full’. My daughter during her recent history exams was complaining about the torture of remembering so many dates and names till she was reminded by her friend about the plight of children 100 years hence who would need to remember dates and names of the intervening period too!
It is ironical that where a ‘complaint’ needs to happen we shy away from it! A look at the relatively low number of complaints received by Lokaaukta for corruption or a bank Ombudsman against disservice rendered by banks or the police against errant auto drivers would convince us.
Most of us were waiting for the election results. Once the government is formed we can start complaining about its non-performance on various counts. It does not matter if we did not vote and if the voter turnout was only 45 per cent.
Happiness and cheer
During a recent workshop I was sitting next to a young handsome guy. He was the most cheerful, non-complaining, and also the most interactive participant in the workshop. He was also the only ‘differently abled’ person in the group. He was 100 per cent visually impaired and also had partial paralysis of a side of his body.
I was reminded of an incident which my friend had shared about his experience in his first job. My friend who was then a management trainee was having a tough time tackling the creditors, who were seeking their dues in uncharitable terms. The company not having enough funds was not helping matters.
One of the evenings he casually happened to remark to his boss that he was feeling ‘helpless’. Immediately all hell broke loose. His boss pushed his chair back and attempting to stand on his crutches shouted at him: “Do you understand gentleman what you are talking about? I have never used terms like ‘helpless’ despite being born with dysfunctional legs and here you use it at the drop of a hat?
I suppose complaining is a huge stress buster. A friend of mine who had decided to take up a part-time academic course was complaining on a consistent mode about how much she had to study despite the regular pressures both at home and at workplace.
The other day I called her up knowing that she would have finished her exams. Within a couple of minutes into the conversation she said: “I don’t know what I will do with my time now that the exams are over!”