Three Essential Qualities of Leadership Essay Example for Free

Three Essential Qualities of Leadership Essay What is a leader? According to Kouzes and Posner, leadership is â€Å"the art of mobilizing others to want to struggle for a shared aspiration†, and indeed, these men go further to posit that leadership transcends a certain mode of behavior, rather, that it is an active set of skills and qualities that is clearly apparent. (Kouzes Posner, 2012) An essential quality then, is a quality in leader that is necessary to achieving the goal of inspiring subordinates to said struggle. This essay will attempt to identify the three essential qualities of leadership from a stimulus, namely an episode of Undercover Boss. The three essential qualities that can be extrapolated from the film are competency, charisma and consistency, as these skills have been shown to inspire colleagues to action and breed trust between the leader and his or her charges, which is key to successful communication (Bordum, 2005) which is the foundation for the execution of the former. Competency in leaders gives the leader credibility in the eyes of his subordinates, which in turn inspires confidence in and thus a willingness to submit to said leader’s leadership. We examine this phenomenon through the example of Walter, a day manager at Waste Management. Although Walter suffers from a crippling ailment that requires him to be under dialysis a large part of the week, Walter is still able to carry out his job well, making him a role model for his new recruit, whom his story inspired to at least try to do better. In today’s modern and increasingly liberal world, leaders are no longer conferred their title through blood relations or rank. In today’s world, a leader must live up to the expectation of the people he leads- he or she must make sure his subordinates actively want to submit to his or her leadership. (Kouzes Posner, 2011) The foundation of the leader- subordinate relationship is credibility, which creates trust in the leader and which is key to inspiring subordinates to action. (Bordum, 2005) Walter’s extreme proficiency even in the face of his handicap is a display of his merit, that his leadership position was well deserved, thus breeding in his subordinates a willingness to struggle for a shared aspiration, thus making competency an essential quality of leadership. Next, consistency in leaders breeds trust in the leader, which goes towards maintaining the credibility gained from competency (as we have discussed in the previous paragraph) and thus, while it does not actively serve to gain credibility or inspire on its own, but rather helps maintain the level of credibility created through the leader’s skill set. We examine the example of Jaclyn, another manager at Waste Management. Due to downsizing in the company, Jaclyn is made to juggle the workloads of multiple jobs, and is underpaid and struggling to pay her taxes. Despite her many woes, Jaclyn still keeps up a positive attitude, and consistently performs her tasks well, earning her respect and credibility in her subordinates. It is a common adage that succeeding once is easy, but doing it consistently, is much more difficult. As mentioned earlier, leaders are being judged by their subordinates, who hold their leaders to high expectations, which are to be fulfilled consistently. Should the leader disappoint in this respect, the leader loses his or her credibility (Kouzes and Posner, 2011) However, a leader that consistently lives up to the standards is a leader that will actively maintain if not increase her credibility, as consistent competency inspires trust in said leader’s subordinates (Whipple, 2002) , in turn creating credibility, and as discussed in the former paragraph, this credibility goes towards inspiring others into the struggle for the shared aspiration. Jaclyn’s consistency in her performance, in the face of difficulty looming over her, grants her trust in her subordinates, thus allowing her to mobilize them towards their shared aspiration. Hence we see how consistency links into the maintenance of a leader’s credibility, allowing the leader to continue mobilizing subordinates towards a common goal. Finally, charisma is an important quality of leadership as it helps a leader communicate an aspiration to the group and influences subordinates to want to partake in the aspiration, thus creating the shared aspiration. For example, a manager that supervises the cleaning of portable toilets for Waste Management uses this charisma to help his subordinate find the job fun. Charisma is an important part of leadership as charismatic leaders are emotionally expressive, eloquent, charming (House, Spangler and Woycke, 1991) and are thus able to communicate a goal to their subordinates and persuade them to sacrifice personal aspirations to partake in a common goal, mobilizing them toward a shared aspiration (Fiske, Gilbert and Lindzey, 2010) In the example, the manager was able to communicate the objective of cleaning toilets, but uses his charisma in order to win over his subordinate, and allow them to share the objective of cleaning out the toilets. Thus we see how central charisma is in generating the shared aspiration in the first place, and in conjunction with the two qualities mentioned previously, help encourage and mobilize subordinates to action, thus making it a quality essential to leadership The three skills of consistency, competency and charisma are thus important- essential, if you will- qualities for being a good leader, and inspiring one’s colleagues into action towards a common objective References: Bordum, A. (2005). Trust and leadership. CBS OpenArchive. Retrieved from http://openarchive.cbs.dk/handle/10398/7671 House, RJ., Spangler,WD. Woycke, J. (1991) Personality and charisma in the us presidency: a psychological theory of leader effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly, 36(3), pp 394-396. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2393201?uid=3738992uid=2uid=4sid=21101663020273 Kouzes, J. Posner, B. (2011) Credibility: how leaders gain and lose it, why people want it. John Wiley. and Sons Inc Kouzes, J., Posner, B. (2012). The leadership challenge. John Wiley and Sons Inc. Lindzey, G., Fiske, S., Gilbert, D. (2010). Handbook of social psychology. (Vol. 2). John Wiley and Sons Inc. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.sg/books?id=Pye5IkCFgRYCpg=PA1194dq=charisma in leadershiphl=ensa=Xei=i4kgUZ7EMMTtrAe7jYHYCwved=0CDsQ6AEwAg Whipple, R. (2002). Consistency can help leaders prevent lack of trust. Rochester Business Journal, Retrieved from http://webs.zd-cms.com/cms/res/files/371/RBJArticle112902.pdf

Critical Race Theory and the Rodney King Case Essays -- Recism

Critical Race Theory and the Rodney King Case In reviewing the article, Canadian Critical Race Theory, I found that the author, Carol Aylvard, raises some very interesting as well as disturbing questions on the nature of racism within the realm of police enforcement. In looking through the lens of the Rodney King case, we are provided with a very specific example of how the issue of race was dealt with, or not dealt with within the LAPD and judicial system. To gain a clearer understanding of how race was a major issue in this case but at the same time not confronted on the front lines, Alyvard highlights several aspects of the case. In the 1991 state trial of the four police officers accused of beating Rodney King, the prosecution did not even attempt to introduce evidence of "racial animus" on part of the officers. Even though there was video-audio evidence as well as eyewitness testimony to the contrary, they still did not challenge the defense's assertion that no racial epithets had been used by the police officers. As well, the prosecution neglected to appeal the decision of the State Court to move the trial from a racially diverse area to the predominantly white area of Simi Valley, where it was inevitable that the officers would be judged by an all-white jury. Furthermore, they also did not challenge the defense's portrayal of King's injuries as trivial. While it is needless to say that the list goes on and on, it came as no great surprise that the jury acquitted the four LAPD officers. It was also not surprising that riots followed this acquittal. One month after the beating and one year after the acquittal, two independent commissions, The McCone Commission and The California State Assembly Commission were appoint... ... is possible to implement alternative legal strategies that have their roots in recognition instead of avoidance? In looking at additional information displayed on the Internet, there seems to be an even wider range of issues being developed around the Rodney King Case. How do people of different social classes, gender or race fair in the law enforcement system? A few sites as well as the article alluded the O.J. Simpson case. Did this case confirm the importance of race consciousness and show a move toward a better understanding of the role that race plays in law? At any rate, Aylvard argues that the Rodney King case, " †¦exposed the significance of race in constitutional and criminal law and the dangers of avoiding it to maintain the "myth" of color blindness." (p. 66). References Carol, A. Aylvard. Canadian Critical Race Theory. Halifax: Fernwood, 1999.

Rape of the Lock Satirical Devices Essay

From the excerpts studied in The Rape of the Lock, Alexander Pope skilfully uses the mock epic genre to satirize the trifling nature of his society through exaggeration, parody and juxtaposition in rhyming couplets. The epic form makes everything larger than life which Pope uses to reveal the absurdity of the society he lives in. A simple card game is turned into a complex â€Å"combat on [a] velvet plain,† which exaggerates the little action that actually takes place in the Canto. In the card game called Ombre, hands are not just hands. They represent armies of different suites. Face cards are â€Å"four kings in majesty revered, with hoary whiskers and a forky beard† ,†four fair queens whose hands sustain a flower, the expressive emblem of their softer power† and â€Å"four knaves in garb succinct, a trusty band, caps on their heads and halberds in their hand.† Pope also parodies the epic form in order to depict questionable values in his time. A feast is a scene common in epics like Beowulf and is mirrored by the coffee scene in this mock epic. â€Å"The board with cups and spoons is crowned† shows the great worth placed on China and utensils. Instead of vessels to hold beverages, Pope portrays them as â€Å"China’s earth [that] receives the smoking tide.† Coffee is almost given supernatural powers since it â€Å"makes the politician wise, and see through all things with his half-shut eyes.† The coffee is the â€Å"fuming liquor† that â€Å"sent up in vapors to the baron’s brain,† giving him the idea to plan to cut off a lock of Belinda’s hair. Pope combines the ordinary with the unusual with simplicity to suggest the triviality of the values of his time through the juxtaposition in rhyming couplets. Canto III describes Hampton Court where Queen lives â€Å"whom three realms obey, dost sometimes counsel take – and sometimes tea,† which sets the tone for the events to follow in the court. He suggests that â€Å"One speaks the glory of British Queen, and one describes a charming Indian screen; a third interprets motions, looks, eyes; at every word a reputation dies† through the conversation of the ladies and gentlemen in court, describing society’s twisted value system. Pope uses aspects of the mock epic to satirize his society’s irresponsibility. He uses exaggeration to mock misplaced importance. He takes specific scenes and uses parody to illustrate the irrelevance of rituals such as coffee drinking. He uses the structure of rhyming couplets to contrast the ordinary with the extraordinary to reveal how important things are considered.

Marriage Is A Sensitive Relationship - 1614 Words

Marriage is a sensitive relationship. It can be affected by anything and specially the long term decision. Jim and Lisa Jones have to make a serious decision that may affect their relationship for a long term. Jim works 45 hours per week and earns about 60,000$ per year. Maria works about 60 hours and earns 105,000$ per year. They pay about 3,500$ for their mortgage and about 1050$ for a child care for their son Jason. Lisa has been offered a job in Atlanta city and they are having a hard time to make that decision. Here is some scenarios about what might happen with the Jones family. †¢ The first scenario: Lisa wanted to turn down the offer, because she wanted less responsibilities and she wanted to spend more time with her son. But†¦show more content†¦She even noticed that her son started to grow away from her and they are not close. Her life began to be unstable and unhappy. She even created a gap between her and Jim and it was really uncomfortable. Jim noticed that about her and got her to talk with him about her problems. Jim was really understanding that he put a lot more pressure on her. They felt comfortable with talking to each other and decided that Lisa will take a break from working to relax and to take care of Jason. Meanwhile, Jim got a job offer where he can work the same hours per week, and gets a salary of 105,000$ per year. Lisa took her time to relax and got so much closer with Jim and Jason. The finical situation for the family was good, because they don’t have any mortgage payments left. After one year, they had Maria and expanded the family. Lisa f elt really comfortable about their situation and took two more years of to take care of Maria. After that, Jim and Lisa started to think more about their future and the kid’s colleges. Lisa applied for many part-time jobs where she can work, earn and also take care of her family. She got a new part-time job, they started to save for the college for both kids and also for their retirement. After 25 years, Jason was about to get married. Maria was in college. Jim and Lisa has a really good retirement savings and they are about to retire and start a new project together. Their life has been just great since they decided to

Milton Friedman s Philosophy Of Corporate Responsibility

3. a. Milton Friedman’s philosophy of corporate responsibility is that â€Å"social matters are not the concern of business people and that these problems should be resolved by the unfettered workings of the free market system†. As harsh as it may sound, what he mean course to say was that a business has â€Å"to make as much money as possible while conforming to basic rules of society†. Meanwhile, Archie Carroll’s philosophy states that a business has â€Å"four kinds of social responsibilities† that a firm must address in their corporate social responsibility, which are economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic duties. Clearly they have two very different views. Friedman sees that a business’s ultimate goal is to generate profits, then comes the legal and ethical responsibilities it must fulfill. To Friedman, there is no need to be philanthropic because the firm’s job is only to make money for the economy, and it is the economy ’s obligation to be philanthropic with the profits. Carroll agrees with Friedman that a company must be profitable, then be legal by obeying the law, and be ethical to avoid harm. However, Carroll believes it is also desired and in the best interests of the company to be philanthropic because it will â€Å"create a good corporate citizen†. Friedman has an economic view whereas Carroll has a social view. In my opinion, Archie Carroll’s philosophy on corporate social responsibility is more accurate. The social pyramid model he made to go with his views makesShow MoreRelatedChaser Essay1713 Words   |  7 PagesPhilosophy 6: Ethical Issues in Business Midterm Essay Chase Novak Dr. Parker Need or Greed? 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He had expressed that few trends could so thoroughly undermineRead MoreMilton Friedman And The Social Responsibility Of Business Essay1237 Words   |  5 Pagesthe major arguments of Friedman and Freeman et al. on CSR A. â€Å"The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits†, written by Milton Freeman (1970). Milton Friedman took a â€Å"Shareholder Approach† to social responsibility. This approach asserts that shareholders advance capital to a company’s managers, who are supposed to spend corporate funds only in ways that have been authorized by the shareholders. Friedman wrote: There is one and only one social responsibility of business to use itsRead MoreThe Ford Pinto Case Analysis Essay1553 Words   |  7 Pages The Ford Pinto Case Iyanda S. OConnor American Military Universtiy BUSN623 The Ford Pinto Case In 1978 a tragic car accident involving three teenager driving a Ford Pinto, model year 1973, caused their car to burst into flames (Hoffman, 1982). The car was struck from behind and the gas tank immediately ruptured (Hoffman, 1982). The Ford Company was then charged for criminal homicide which was historically the first to occur for an American company (Hoffman, 1982). The Judge presidingRead MoreCorporate Social Responsibility Of Disney Company891 Words   |  4 Pages Corporate social responsibility CSR has experienced that it essentially original mission in the pantheon in the management literature. the basic question at the heart of CSR are as old as a business itself such as what is an industry for and what is it proposing and it does make for the nation? This essay will demonstrate the strength challenges limitations of corporate social responsibility. It will also raise ethical responsibility Journey and controversy of The Walt Disney company. 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Why Is Motivation So Imperative Essay - 1314 Words

When you wake up in the morning, what is the passion that fuels you to make today special? The triggers that motivate employees are completely different for everyone. Many people are motivated by fame, money, cars, clothing, etc. Regardless of what may motivate people, motivation must be balanced throughout the workplace (Forbes). Keeping employees motivated is a crucial element in order to retain the best employees in the company. Why is motivation so imperative in the workplace? There are numerous reasons why companies should have a motivated workforce. Motivated employees will not only work quicker, but they will also use creativity to help the organization save millions of dollars by implementing new ideas. For many years, motivation has been studied in depth. Tests such as the Myers-Briggs to determine the personality type that an employee has. These particular test can be very helpful, the main factors that motivate employees to achieve change as they mature and begin to understand what matter the most in their personal lives. Motivation plays a key role in developing leaders in the workplace (Forbes). In order to develop leaders in the workplace, managers must lead by example. If upper management shows excitement towards meeting new goals and increasing productivity in the company, everyone will be on the same page and will play their role on the team. Meanwhile, there are two different types of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is motivationShow MoreRelatedThe Metaphysics of Morals by Immanuel Kant Essay1150 Words   |  5 Pagesperforming an action that conforms with duty could rest solely on moral grounds. 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Leaving Home Free Essays

It was the last time I saw my Mother. My grieving pain for my mothers love infinitely grew. She was god in my eyes but was I the god given daughter she had hoped for? Everyday I had run to her absorbing her warmth as I wrapped my long limbs around her waist. We will write a custom essay sample on Leaving Home or any similar topic only for you Order Now The waist that had carried me for nine months, but was I worth the wait? Mother’s predictable great force would transfer into my weakened bones forcing me to collapse onto the striped wooden floor. I would land with a thud hoping that the chances of me receiving a hug the next day would increase. Maybe my accidental escape was for the best. Perhaps I was destined for this moment, this was fait in the palms of my hand, waiting for me to reach out and snatch the opportunity. Mother had snatched my rights to live as a normal human being away. It was forbidden for me to even talk to her. I needed permission. I told my self through every breath that everything would end up right, I was right. Rain, rain everywhere. Summer had died out, until next year. Autumn had approached me. My memory remained in the happy days but my solidified body moved on with life. My inner self, deep down, stands proud and fearless to this world creation signed to god. I always believed that if god brings you to it, he will bring you to it. I was eight. I was blessed with the perfect parents. Both their hearts were fulfilled with love and care. Every moment was heavenly. I lived in an averaged sized, 3-bedroom apartment in what was considered ‘normal. ‘ It was good enough for me. The oval shaped window revealed its outer secrets, the growing towers bordered with a beautiful skyline. Father was a man of great expectations. A man of many wise words. His broad shoulders would easily swing me from side to side like a wild hungry lion ripping and swinging his possession; his raw meat. In my case I was the loving prey for my Father, the predator, the bread winner of the family. I was his little princess. Mother was a lady, petite sized with a facial appearance carved from the clouds up above, the clouds in heaven. Mother was a woman who glowed with love for me. Her greatest asset was her silky, black locks that matched her thinly waxed eyebrows which also complimented her brown tan. One day, for the first time every Mother and Father were in their bedroom raving. It wasn’t a common sign which usually are positive. I could hear smashing and slamming against the walls. My ears sensed danger. They were noises that I had never heard before. The sense of love that flowed like a river through the air had shattered into broken pieces like corrupted glass which were non-fixable. I could barely make out what was being said. My distraction towards the aromatic spices and herbs from the kitchen flew up my tempted nose. The cuisine had blended with my tears of sadness. I couldn’t understand, everything used to be perfect, what could have happened? Before the argument I had thought of Mother’s voice as a relaxing tone, music being played from a magical flute that only she could master. Then the tables had turned. My voice seemed as sweet as sugar compared to mothers. Hers was now flat and dull. The lifeless mono-tone wasn’t Mother at all. It was as if a Hoover had vacuumed out the energy, the encouragement, the enthusiasm. I thought that the past argument was normal for all married couples until it became a trend. To see physical fighting would be less painful than my pain. It felt as if a needle had attempted to pierce its way through my heart but got stuck leaving never ending pain. The trend became daily. The light ore around both my parents, especially Mother, had faded into the dark shadows. As everyday passed the hatred between the two grew and grew. Mother’s once soft, tanned skin mounted with make up for affect had altered to a yellow, pale colour. I preferred Mother without make up but it was far better then seeing Mother like this. She didn’t even attempt to make her self look better. You could tell by the way that she lounged around the house that she was too lazy to even care. Mother would sit on the Indian decorated sofas which stood out. The black, long shiny hair had also moved on to knotted tangles. Personally I blame the bottles containing alcohol that Mother used to wash down accompanied with her finger-sized cigarettes. I would watch her drown her sorrows as the booze over took her mind flooding her inner self with this poison. Mother’s behavior began to really show. As much as I detested my life I loved it. Half of my heart, the candy half, told me everything would be fine and to carry on loving Mother but the other half, the cold half, would send messages to my brain whispering in my ears for me to leave. To escape! Escape to where though? All the pressure from my parent’s constant arguments was too much for me to handle. My sensitive brain was over powered. The repeated parrot phrase ‘leave home’ would haunt me in my dreams. Everyday before bed time I would bend my legs, clasp my hands tightly together so pearls of sweat would form. I would pray to god with devotion asking for him to solve my problems. I wished to exit my world of stress and tension. I never gave up. I waited and waited and waited†¦ The day came unexpectedly. With care I would drift pass Mother’s negative energy. Deep down my love grew towards Mother no matter what she was. Mother was soft and sweet like gum on the inside but her hardened shell took over on the outside. She was brainwashed. I was always alert of every sharp movement she made, every sligh glance she gave me in the corner of her beady camera eyes, every snarl she would utter under her rotten breath. I quickly limped across the carpet like a sneaky mouse to find my self in front of the powerful door. I called it the ‘deciding door’ as it decided weather I should leave the house and never return. On the way I had passed the rose red, ribena stain from when I spilt my glass on the floor. Mother had rescued me from injury. The memories were so fresh in my mind. It was as if it were yesterday. As I opened the door, the invisible wind flew in and out of my ears sending shivers up and down my spine as if an elevator were traveling to different floors. I would stand there shivering, imagining myself in Mothers arms. The whole of my Indian coloured skin would cover in goose bumps, each individual one containing a hair all stood up equal sized looking like they were under commandment in an army. My first step onto the African rug could have been my last. I wished. My long legged limbs would co-operate together so I could travel to where I wished to travel. They were under my instructions. I reached the pavement on the sides of the roads. As the first car lead the rest my heat rotated at a ninety degree angle to the right. No cars in sight. As I reached mid point in the road an internal feeling of sickness approached me. I looked down to find no blood. My consciousness was fading vastly. As I tried to demand my legs to get up they laid there lifelessly. I blinked once, the blue sky. I blinked twice, half the sky. I blinked 3 times, nothing†¦ How to cite Leaving Home, Papers Leaving Home Free Essays My brother, Ricky, sister, Amrit and I had only found out a week before, that we were just about to be whisked away to a foreign country we hadn’t set in for seven years, and seven years before that. We would be staying there for a whole month, so as you can imagine, we were taken aback, yet somewhat sceptic, as we’d always heard our parents mentioning a trip to India for a few months, but never actually believed they would go to the bother of booking the tickets. After all, my mother had only taken my now 5-year-old sister to see her family there four years ago. We will write a custom essay sample on Leaving Home or any similar topic only for you Order Now My immediate concern was language. I can read and write my mother tongue, and understand what people are telling me, but wasn’t very good at speaking back. I think this pleased my parents, they thought it would be good for us, as they knew we would have to start learning to talk in our mother tongue Punjabi. It wasn’t really difficult to prepare for the trip, well not for me anyway. All I had to do was make sure I had a holiday form, homework and suitcase packed. However, my poor parents had to sort out the passports, visas, currency, jabs (ouch) and house security while we were away. I didn’t really tell my friends until the last minute, as I was expecting a cancellation, change in plan or even told I’d been set up and it was all a joke. I was actually a little annoyed with my parents for not booking during school holidays, not because I’d miss school, only the workload I’d have to catch up on. But once they explained that they couldn’t get a holiday the same time as us, I felt quite sorry for them. When I think back to it, I was actually disappointed that we were going to India, instead of Canada in the summer, which is where I was hoping go, which was no longer possible. India as I last remembered it, was freezing in the morning, and boiling in the afternoon (we went in December), pretty smelly, the people were scared to talk to me and my brother (my sister wasn’t born then), and we didn’t really want to say anything to them. The thing that disgusted me most about this country was definitely the latrines. I tried not to go to the toilet unless I had a full bladder and was desperate; it was also hard to get toilet paper over there. This time, we prepared ourselves with plenty of rolls before we left. I wasn’t very impressed then, but it was also the reason we had gone in the first place, that we didn’t feel like enjoying ourselves. It was pretty depressing, as my mother’s brother had died in a tractor accident on Diwali, so my mother left England a few weeks before us to go to his funeral. I must admit that I was a little exited, as many of my relatives from Britain had gone a few weeks before us, so we would be meeting them there as well. The flight had been delayed three hours, so I didn’t really have a positive attitude when we arrived at the airport. The one thing that thrilled me when we were boarding the plane was that the passengers went on the stairs instead of the corridor, like in the movies, so that we could actually see the plane as we were boarding it. I’ m not scared of flying, but I did grow a little nervous as I approached the plane, the paintwork was hand done, the panels looked loose, and generally dirty. I didn’t look like it would make it all the way to India. The airhostesses also looked scary. The were from Kyrgystan, the airline company we were travelling with, and spoke in Russian to each other and in a Russian accent to the passengers. I had to strain to understand them properly. They wore thick bright coloured make up, and were always smiling. This had the opposite effect on me than intended, they reminded me of clowns! Inside, the plane was pretty cramped, and during the take off, my ears hurt and I felt sick. Since we were stopping in Turkey for a break, and changing planes in Russia, I had to go through this six times before we even landed in India. On the plane journey, my family were relaxing, listening to music, and reading magazines, but I was working away, struggling to get my homework finished before we reached India, so I could feel free without the stress of having to catch up there. Although we would be so busy I wouldn’t even have time. The whole journey lasted two days, the second plane was even worse. Russia is so cold, that there was ice forming inside the plane! It was brilliant when we actually landed in Delhi. The sun was out and the people at the airport were so welcoming. After we came out through customs, we were re-united with my sister’s water gun, and mother’s almond hair oil, which had been confiscated in Birmingham. I had to laugh. Then we came across a big problem. One of our suitcases was missing. It contained all of my Ricky’s clothing. We could claim the contents on insurance, but had to take him shopping for new clothes as soon as possible. I was thirsty, and wanted a drink, but there was one thing that stood in my way, no rupees. While my parents sorted out the lost property forms, l sneaked over to one of the currency exchange bureaus and decided to test the Indian in the office. I got out one pound and put it on the desk. He said, â€Å"is that all? † grinning. I replied,† it’s all I’ve got. † Then he said, â€Å"well only for you then! † I got my sixty-five rupees, and went straight to get a coffee. My mother and I went to the arrivals lounge, where we met my uncle. They were hugging each other, and they all started chatting in Punjabi. The poor man had been waiting for ages, as he hadn’t known about the delay, so I went to get the rest of my family. I whispered to my mum â€Å"Mum, he looks nothing like you. † Then she told that he was her cousin, not her brother. We somehow managed to pack everything into the Sumo, which is like a type of jeep or taxi. I was squashed in the back, it was very uncomfortable, but I concentrated on everything around me. There were loads of children coming back from school in their mopeds. Apparently, the timing for our trip had been brilliant for the weather, but our cousins would be taking their exams at this time. In India, the children have to take an exam at the end of every school year; the result of this exam determines whether they will be allowed into the next class. If they fail, they will have to repeat the year. I felt a bit like an intruder when I heard this, because they would have vital work to do, and I would be expecting them to show me around or getting bored. We arrived at the village we would be staying at, Gureh in Ludhiana, Punjab for the next week at around about midnight. I was surprised; could say shocked at the state of the house. The standard was better than the housing in England. The layout is not quite the same, but there was a toilet, a decant shower area, separate bedrooms, and they even had a car. I met my aunt, and my cousin Manjit, who’s eighteen years old. He seemed quite shy, and always walked with his head down. His sister who is my age was already gone to sleep. We dumped our bags in our room, and after about an hour, went to sleep. The next day, we got up late and relaxed the whole day. When I met Pardeep, I remembered her from seven years ago straight away. She was pretty cheeky, and sometimes a bit spoilt, but she showed me around the village. I felt ever so conscious of my clothes. I was wearing trousers and a top, but everybody else, in their salwar kameez (type of Indian suit) just smiled. For the next the day of two, we visited relatives from villages that lived near Ludhiana. My uncle drove us. I felt a bit rude, as I didn’t remember many of them. One day that week, we took the car ourselves, and I was told I was going to go to Mussayala. This village I could not forget. Last time Ricky and I had great fun chasing after the chickens, feeding the cows the chapattis we refused to eat, running around with our uncles and aunts. They’re actually our age, but it’s one of the funny age differences that happen a lot in our family tree. At this village lived my great granddad, which gave me something to talk about at home. The only way I can think of to describe Mussayala is that it is one of those ancient forgotten old places in the middle of nowhere. The village had a single toilet, which was sometimes pretty embarrassing. As I thought about how many times we had watched the home video we made from last time, I grew more exited. But when we arrived, in the evening, my â€Å"cousins† acted as if they couldn’t figure out who we were. Okay, so maybe my Punjabi wasn’t great, but they were so shy. I hoped that this would not carry on. Because my parents had arranged to see an architect about the building on the plot of land for my grandmother. The only architects we knew of were in Chandigardh, the capital of Punjab. I didn’t really have any expectations of the city at first, but was very impressed. We got there on the bus, which isn’t the best way of travelling in India. We were out in the town, and got to travel in the rickshaws. The roads were a lot cleaner than those in the villages. It was practically like England. We went an actual fast food restaurant, but it didn’t sell meat so we just ordered chips and pizza. I wasn’t anticipating there would be so many young college students, who wore the same sort of trousers and top I did. I immediately regretted my decision to wear a traditional suit that day. This was the one time I would have felt comfortable in my normal English clothes, and I’d just wasted that chance. The architects had a proper office, and were very professional, not just some back room of a shop, and didn’t take long to find. It wasn’t a very long meeting, as my parents didn’t have enough information about the plot to make a plan. The data had to be really detailed, such as which direction the sun rises. I didn’t realise that little things like this affected the construction of a house. We wandered around the centre of the town for a while, and the things I saw made me sure I would have felt comfortable staying here for a few days. But the problem of having too many things to do and too little time to do it in always got in the way. The city is really quite modern and developed; in fact, the whole of the country has really progressed in the last seven years. The shantytowns still lie on the outskirts of the towns, but technology is more advanced and the nation has noticeably prospered. Some people in the farm villages were even walking around with mobile phones. I think that which area of India you see that affects the overall impression. If you compared somewhere like Mussayala to Gureh, you can really see the change. The original plan had been to spend one week in Punjab, two weeks in U. P. where my mums family lived, and go to somewhere like Goa or Bangalore for the remaining week, before heading back towards Delhi. Since we had spent so long in Punjab because of this plot business, this was no longer possible. My dad said that it was silly that we thought we could get everything done in only a month. I was delighted that my cousin Pardeep had holidays and could come to U. P. with us. We really couldn’t afford to be lazy the day we were leaving, we got ready early that day, but were still delayed, as the Sumo we had hired had to go back and get a roof rack for all of our luggage. My mum gave the servants some money, and we left with everybody waving goodbye. I was very grateful for their hospitality. This trip took the whole day. Me, Pardeep, Ricky and Amrit sat at the back, parents in the middle and drivers at the front. I just read a magazine, my brother and sister played, and my cousin listened to the Walkman. We stopped off at a few of what would be the equivalent to cafes a few times, bought a supply of crisps and some drink, and went to the latrines while we had the chance. On the route to U. P. , we had to go through a beautiful rural state called Haryana. This is the sort of place where you meet village maids milking cows, there was green grass everywhere and the landscape was beautiful. I had never seen anywhere like it, not even in the Hindi films. On the map, the state was just a small chunk of land. As we came nearer to the heart of U. P. (my mum’s family lived south of UP) we saw many women wearing cloths over their heads, there were many more Muslims living here. I also noticed that the signs were written in Hindi. It was annoying, because I couldn’t understand what they said, and felt quite ignorant. In Punjab, the main language was Punjabi. Even when the people here spoke Punjabi, they did with a Hindi accent which was difficult to understand fully. I didn’t realise that such a change could happen only across states. As it grew dark, we were just approaching the town nearest to my mum’s village, Kashipur. We stopped here to buy some bottles of coke. It was here that I began to get exited, we were so near. Pardeep kept telling us how far we were. My mum had already warned me, that most of my cousins my age, would be at their boarding schools, but the younger ones would be here. I was a bit worried, but also enthusiastic. We were all half asleep when we arrived. As we approached the house, I saw a huge a mass of people waiting to welcome us. I never realised I had such a big family. We got out, and everyone was hugging everybody else. It felt good, even if you didn’t know who was who. My mum began telling how I was related to everyone else which sometimes got a bit confusing. My older cousins were joking, telling me how they were planning to marry me off some overweight drunk from India. They were also joking about my brother, because he doesn’t speak much Punjabi. â€Å"He wouldn’t know if we were swearing at him though, would he? He’d just ignore it. † This made me laugh. During the next week, some of cousins came from boarding school for a bit, but there was only one day where everyone was there together, and that was on Ricky’s birthday that was celebrated with a couple of party poppers. In the middle of the last week, me and my family, Pardeep, my mum’s brother and his son, Jatinder, my mum’s sister’s daughter, Kuldeep, and my mum’s late brother’s daughter, Amandeep, who is a bit bratty went on a day trip to Nainital, a village on the foothills of the Himalayas. This is the place my parents visited when they first bought Ricky and me to India. My brother and I of course couldn’t remember the place at all, and didn’t understand why they were so keen to go back there again. But when we actually got there, we soon found out. We were all crammed into the back of a jeep, and arrived in two and a half hours. During which Jatinder, who was sitting opposite me, flicked nuts at me, tapped me continually and succeeded in annoying me, although he is a year older. Nainital was BRILLIANT. It reminded me of Nepal. The people looked Nepalese and spoke in a Nepalese accent. We even dressed in Nepalese costume and took photos. We went on a few rides, and rode on some horses up the mountains. The view on the ski lift was spectacular, and the scenery of the Himalayas was amazing. Me, Ricky, Jatinder and Pardeep went to on a paddleboat on a large lake for an hour or so. This was tiring, yet relaxing at the same time. It was shortly after this, that we left to go back to UP. I was disappointed when we returned to Delhi for our last night. I didn’t miss England at all, not even the tele. There were tears as we left the village. I felt sick at the bottom of my stomach when we waved goodbye. I’d got a little gift for each of my cousins, and made my uncle promise he’d make sure they got them. † See you in four months† I said to him, as we dragged our entire luggage to the x-rays. I knew there wasn’t much chance of my parents letting me come back in the summer holidays, even though I told them I was willing to go alone. Apparently, it was so hot, that I wouldn’t be able to survive, and would get ill quickly. When Kuldeep asked me when I was coming back, I jokingly told her on her wedding day, though she is only seventeen, but I was surprised when she made keep it as a promise to her. I had picked up many skills throughout the holiday. These include: milking a cow, driving a tractor, making ghee, and insulting somebody in Punjabi, many of which are pretty useless to me in Britain, but it was the experience of learning theses things from my relatives that I treasure. When the plane landed in Britain, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so down. I still want to turn around and go straight back. The weather suited my mood perfectly, it was pouring down. My friends at school and family said there were three things that had changed about me. My skin colour was darker, or as my friend Shona said, â€Å"glowing†. (This sounded much nicer. ) I had also lost a bit of weight, which I have unfortunately regained. I think the change that most people especially my relatives noticed was, that I spoke much nicer Punjabi, and my words flowed better. I think this is because, in England, I could get away with thinking in English, translating the words into the other language, and then letting them out. Whereas in India, you must think sharply and reply quickly, so I had to train my mind to think, as well as speak in Punjabi, which is why it has improved so much. How to cite Leaving Home, Papers