apps to chat and work5

“Life is short, but there is always time enough for courtesy.”

RALPH WALDO EMERSON, POET 03POLISH YOUR SKILLS

Q Is there a courteous way toreceive unwanted gifts?

Sometimes I don’t know what is theright thing to say or do when I getsomething I can’t use at all.– Confused Teen

A. Hi, to accept an unwanted gift gra-ciously is an art, but a learnt one, of course. Check these tips to reactappropriately when youget a gift youwould rather dowithout. Smile, saythanks, and nonegative com-ments: When youopen the gift, look the

giver in the eye and thank him/her witha smile, even if you don’t like the gift at

all. Sometimes people say inap-propriate things like, “Oh,

you spent too muchmoney.” or “How am Igoing to use it?” Don’tsay anything like thisas it’s disrespectful tothe gift giver.

SUNAIINAA A HAK, eti-quette guide

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Some old-time courtesies are not alwaysrelevant but it’s interesting to know why theycame into existence. Find out more...

Few bygone era etiquette rules may leave you feeling baffled. Most of these manner modes were put intoplace for a reason that may or may not still apply. Hereare those not-very-modern-time etiquette guidelinesalong with their back stories.

Removing hat/cap whenentering a buildingBack then: In earlymodern times, when peoplewalked around dusty roads or industrialcities with soot in the air, the hat caught a lot of grime thatwould fall on the floor when they entered a room. Back then, itmade sense to remove the hat and leave it on a rack in theentry area to prevent the dirt being shaken off in the room.

What about today? The only time you need to follow this rulenow is when your hat or cap obstructs someone’s view or if youare in a social situation that makes it awkward not to do so.

Blessing someoneafter a sneezeBack then: Do you say “God bless

you,” after someone sneezes? Itwas once thought that a person

would lose a part of his soul witheach sneeze, and bad healthwould fall over the person.”Godbless you” was considered aspiritual protection line to keepthe soul intact.

What about today? Few peo-ple know the history of its ori-

gin but say it because it islike a courtesy norm. It isstill considered polite and

just the right thing to do.

Pointing fingers orstaring at someoneBack then: Some ancient cultures con-sidered it rude to point to someone becauseit was believed to direct evil spirits towardthe subject. Staring was often considered givingsomeone the “evil eye.”

What about today? It is still relevant because though thesemyths have been dispelled, most societies still consider finger pointing and staring to be rude.

Sitting with ankles crossedBack then: Grandmothers used totell girls to sit up straight with theirankles crossed in a ladylike fashion.

What about today? While sittingup straight is a good rule, thecrossed ankles are no longer neces-sary. Check pic: British royalty KateMiddleton is sit-ting up straightbut her ankles arenot crossed.

Shaking hands during introduction/greeting Back then: The origin of handshake has acouple of stories. One school of thought isthat it signifies a transfer of power from oneperson to another. Though many historiansbelieve that it was originally used as a

method to check for weapons when encoun-tering someone you don’t know of orhaven’t seen in a long time.

What about today? Shaking hands is stillconsidered the appropriate way to greetanother person and is likely to remain that way.Keep it firm and friendly.

Men should walk on thestreet side to protect women

Back then: When horse and buggy were the normal mode of transportation, men protect-ed ladies from street dangers by providing a

shield from horses and puddle splashes. What about today? This is obviously no longer

necessary, so both sexes should walk onwhichever side of the sidewalk they

are comfortable with.

etiquette rules

➤ The alternative toshaking hands exists inother cultures like saying‘Namaste’ in India andbowing in Japan

● The word “etiquette” origi-nally came from a French warn-ing to “keep off the grass.”Over time, it became what weknow as good manners today

Facebook Messenger,Gmail and Skype arenot the only communi-cation apps you shouldbe limited to whenusing your smartphone.Check out several other popularoptions too

KIK: Many messaging apps require youto give your phone number to those whoyou chat with, but Kik only requires ausername. Group chat, photo and videosharing add to this fresh youth-focussedapp’s appeal.

MS OUTLOOK: Outlook’s flexiblemobile email app supports nearly everyemail account you might have. Itincludes an integrated calendar, andprovides a focussed inbox that showsyou only important messages.

SPARK EMAIL: Spark sports aslick interface and organises youremail into logical categories like per-sonal, newsletters, and notifications,though you can switch to a more stan-dard full inbox view if you like.

MENTION: It scours the web dayand night to find new instances ofsearch terms of your choosing andalerts you when it finds them.Mention’s search-and-alert program isan alternative to Google Alerts.

TUMBLR: Tumblr goes beyond photos,and lets you post blog entries, videos,and more. But more important than post-ing is reposting, which fosters a lot ofuser interaction. The service also discourages trolling of other users.

Takingpictures atfunerals?

➤ Never take anyone’spicture at a funeral with-out asking for permis-sion. Once you have it,take that picture and putaway your smartphone .

➤ If you have been askedto photograph at thefuneral, don’t use flash,as the bright light is very distracting.

➤ Never ever take asmiling selfie beside thecasket/deceased.

➤ If you really want totake a picture with some-one else who is attending,wait until it is over. Thengo to a different locationso you don’t disrupt thefamily and friends ofthose who are grieving.

➤ Don’t post any photosof the deceased on socialmedia. Doing so is disre-spectful and shows a lackof empathy towards peo-ple who lost a loved one.

Team NIE

Remember how formerUS president BarackObama landed in a soupover his smiling selfieswith other dignitaries

at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service. Take the cue from the flakhe received and avoid making mis-takes with your smartphone cam-era at funerals. Here are sometips for taking pictures at funerals:

Compiled by Team NIE

Source: in.pcmag.com

STAY SAFE

Avoid installing apps from links in

emails, social media,text messages and websites that look

suspicious

➤ Closely review apps

to make sure they’renot fake. Look for

grammar and spellingerrors: these are

signs of the brandnot being legitimate

RETURN TO THE 36TH CHAMBER, MNX, 7.12 PM

1813: Jane Austen's ‘Pride &Prejudice’ was published in theUnited Kingdom.

1925: Raja Ramanna, eminentnuclear scientist, was born.

1986: The US space shuttleChallenger exploded just aftertake-off. All seven of its crewmembers were killed.

1887: Work began on the iconicEiffel Tower in Paris.

THIS DAY THAT YEAR

FACT: There is an ice rinkinside the Eiffel Tower.Opened in2018, thiswinter icerink isfunctionalduring peakwinter,fromDecemberto February, and is built 200feet off the ground, offeringstunning views of Paris.

FACT: Jane Austen wrote thebook ‘Pride and Prejudice’when she was 21 years old,

but it didn’tget pub-lished untilshe was 37.She wrotesix com-plete nov-

els. It is believed that thetitle of the book is taken froma passage in Fanny Burney’spopular 1782 novel ‘Cecilia’.

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