Some of my (especially feminine) friends who have read my previous articles like Feminine Traits, Powered by Attitude, Driven by Hormones and Managerial Traits, have asked me “Is it me whom you had in mind while writing this?” There was definitely some sort of commonness that was too very glaringly obvious to ignore.

I believe it is indicative of their psychology. They have such a guilt feeling. Perhaps, they could identify these traits within themselves. And, by asking such a question, may be they are indirectly confessing.

I do not expect that this article would have triggered introspection within them. But, may be, it has helped extract the subtle truth. Huh?

Yes, am at it again! And, it is more likely that I do it again, and again and again…

Life has presented me such overwhelming experiences and with such an alarming recurrence that it beats my restraint. Humanity has elevated womanhood to an almost divine status, for she plays a mother. But, certain other characteristics mask this gift of nature and undermine their venerated status.

Here are some of the feminine traits that I have observed. Not that it is only restricted to feminine gender, but that it is more profound with females - they have these traits almost built into their DNA; their genes are only mutated, if they didn’t possess these traits.

Before that, let me clarify a few things. Not that I have pursued it with such academic interest, but my (sensitive) nose could not help but pick up some of the stinking smell. Did you say “You do not have a girl friend. Yeah, Grapes are sour!”? Actually, unlike that fox, I have never tried for the 'grapes', so far :-)

Conceit: Usually, females consider themselves somewhat superior beings – not just superior to males, but superior to some of the fellow females. More so when it comes to a relationship; they consider themselves as a ‘prize’ that has to be impressed upon and ‘won’! Haven’t you heard them say “Are you trying to impress me?”

With such deep-rooted narcissism in them, it is by no means a fair argument that the society at large has viewed women as objects of desire; for they seem to corroborate this notion, themselves, subconsciously.

It is here that their airs of (false) superiority is out for display. No wonder relationships are fragile. In fact, most relationships get nipped in budding stage – it is all over, even before you could be a potential friend.

Should you invite them for coffee their ‘weird-wired’ brain will decode the invitation as ‘is he asking me out?’ or something to that effect. What’s more disgusting is that they are not willing to come along even for the treat they demanded!!! Perhaps, it would demean their personality, if people were to notice her walking beside you. You are expected to play a faithful aide and provide service to the door step. “Your royal highness, your coffee is served”. My foot!! If you comply, you are reduced to a poodle (observe the marked shift in their behavior thereafter); and, if you don’t, you are dubbed insensitive and uncaring – a double-edged knife!

The world (read as the civilized world, not to ignore the despicable crimes against women) has been so very generous to women, beyond what they deserve – under the pretext of gentle behavior. To name a few instances where womanhood brings privilege – in case of an emergency, women and children are ushered to a safer place first; a man is supposed to kneel down and propose to a women; it is considered more inhumane, if a hijacker were to kill a woman - Does it make any difference? Is the knife or bullet any less penetrative on a man’s skin? Where is equality?

Haughtiness: Again, perhaps because of biological reasons, they posses remarkably sharp tongue. They do it with such ease that I am tempted to think that their tongue is probably a lump of involuntary muscle and that it would twist itself the way it liked, without much ‘interference’ from their brain. Or is it the way that they manifest their ego?

Probably, snubbing guys provides them with ample sadistic pleasure. “Do not go near that bike. I mean it!” (an oblique reference to the guy who owns the bike or who is standing near the bike), they warn their kids. “Mom, why are you so late? I was waiting to close the door”, she quips to her mom, who arrived late while she was left chatting with him (meaning, she was least interested in talking to him).

According to the book ‘Why Men Don’t Listen and Why Women Can’t Read Maps’ (my review of that book here), indirect speech is an innate attribute of women.

Actually, blame it on those hormones, females are ‘innocent’!! ;-)

Lack of Promptness: When it comes to some not-so-serious matters, they gleefully nod their head to do something, but when it comes to implementing it, they are far from realizing it. Worse yet even after reminding, they are blissfully ignorant. For heaven’s sake, why can’t they refuse it in the first place? Or is it that their indirect speech is coming into play when they accept it, which they actually meant not to? Or do they have poor memory?

Pretence: If you find it hard to define ’pretence’, just point towards a female nearby, and that should help you explain it – for they exemplify it.

Supposedly they belong to human race. And, one would expect that they would have their likes and dislikes? No matter how much they like someone, their sense of superiority complex holds them off; let alone acknowledge it, they would actually refute it.

Praise-loving: Females go high on praise, almost to inebriation, as if they are drugged. Not just that, they love it to no length (and depth), and expect it too! Poor guy, he must play a priest!

Lack of navigation skills: They severely lack some basic skills – like crossing the road, traffic sense, sense of direction etc. Almost 'N' number of times (where, 'N' -> infinity), I have applied brakes just to prevent from ramming into some damn female, who does not know how to cross the street. And, what drives me nuts is that they start giggling after this.

Shopaholic: Almost all women are shopaholics. The consumer industry and credit card houses would not be thriving, but for the shopping craze that women possess. No wonder they like rich and powerful.

Over the past few years I have worked with multiple teams, and with different managers. However distinct their styles of management are, I could not help but discern some common traits.

Fully cognizant that I might come out as contemptuous and that I am taking a dig at the managers, I wish to clarify that the intention is to present it in a lighter note. So, here they go.

Shrewd: Sly like a fox, they got to be one of the shrewdest species; they have mastered the art of ‘Getting Things Done’. When it comes to that, they leave no stone unturned, and try all the tricks up their sleeve. “This is a tremendous opportunity with a lot of visibility. Deliver this alright and you are on your way to stardom” they will motivate.

Politically Correct: They possess a marked inclination towards being politically correct than being correct. Afraid that it might be detrimental to the team spirit, they decide to play it safe. “It was a great show. Yet another example of a team effort.” Fair enough. But on the flip side, as it happened with one of my colleagues, it also comes about as a glaringly obvious slip on management’s part to condone his heroics. “Was it deliberate?” he wondered, naturally. Slowly, but surely it seeded the thought of seeking ‘greener pastures’. On the other hand, some managers overdo it – glorifying their picks.

Championing the cause of team spirit at the cost of demotivating its champions is a recipe for disaster. Paradoxically, bad managers are one of the prime reasons for attrition. Perhaps, they have long forgotten what they learnt from those management books - Maslow’s hierarchy of needs that puts ‘Self Actualization’ right on top.

Pretence: Again fearing that they might come out as autocratic, they would say, “I suggest you look into issue A before issue B. Anyway, I leave it up to your discretion”. Or do you remember them pardoning you “It is OK if you cannot attend the meeting. I thought you would learn a lot being there.”

Phew! That was cordial. Wasn’t it? However, in most cases, it means “Attend to issue A before issue B”. Commonly used phrases like “I suggest…” are actually a disguise, meant to sound affable. If you were to use your discretion and decide to do differently than ‘suggested’, your manager would be just happy to take note of it, informally. If you are sensitive enough, you will receive a lot of hints from them expressing their displeasure; if you aren’t, you might have to wait till the next feedback / appraisal session!

Carrots for the Bunnies: It is in the interest of managers that they retain people, and get the most out of them. Actually, that is what they are expected to! Time and again, they pull these carrots out, only to woo their people. Carrots can be in the form of retention bonus, ‘Best blah-blah’ award. “Why do you want to go elsewhere? You are in a most ideal position to realize your aspirations. You can lead a team of your own. That would help you grow as an architect.” they tell you. Bunny that you are, you will again give in. He just successfully retained you, without having to shell out retention bonus – full points to him; that would look good on his appraisal form.

'Working’ behind the scenes: Despite the deep-rooted faith in you that they express, there is always an element of doubt involved. Face it. It is habitual of them to verify whatever you opine with someone senior or someone who they trust more. It is humane; but, a more conspicuous feature among managers. More often than not, it happens behind the scenes, without your knowledge. Later when you would come to know of it, you feel let down with the level of trust the management has upon you.

Democracy, in simple terms, is a form of government that is run by the people, with freedom as its cornerstone, and values like Equality, Justice, Opportunity etc., as its basic tenets. The proponents of democracy claim that it is the only way forward; for it brings prosperity, helps build a resilient and robust economy, enhances the standard of living, …. Cures your baldness and what not. It is the only hope for the mankind!

All this appears noble, and the picture rosy – a paranoid view of the world. Democracy, as it is practiced, is light years apart. It is no panacea to all of the world’s problems. Perhaps, Democracy is the biggest hoax to have befallen upon this world. Here’s why.

No Panacea: Democracy is not the answer for everybody. Not all countries can adapt to democracy. Probably, democracy works better for countries with small population where there is more chance of direct people participation. In bigger countries, everybody cannot participate directly. Such countries have adopted indirect people participation, creating layers of governing bodies; only to make room for unnecessary bureaucracy and in the process diluting the fundamental principle underlying democracy. Thus, contradicting the very definition of democracy.

Equality: Democracy propounds equality to all its citizens. This is absolute farce. It is well-known fact that no two individuals are alike – a fundamental (yet, unwritten) rule of nature. Not everybody can become a doctor, an engineer, a sportsman. And not all cricketers could become the ‘Master Blaster'. Therefore, any claims of equality, is only a deception disguised as a fair and appealing thought.

Elections: Any democratic country with a reasonably big population operates by means of indirect people participation. The people are represented by an elected representative, inducing layers of indirection. More often than not, these representatives, does not even possess a vague idea of what their people want; Nor do the people know their representatives. Further, the system has a lot of loopholes that there is no means to check their performance – once elected you have no option to withdraw your vote. Unfortunately, democracy has been reduced to election, which is a mere game of numbers!

Lack of Conceptual Integrity: With multiple political parties, each with their own ideology, owning a piece of the parliamentary pie, does only manage to indulge themselves in petty feuds. This only serves to hinder the progress of the country. As with any discipline, this lack of Conceptual Integrity results in lack of proper vision. Such an impaired vision cannot take the country far.

The list could go on… But, let’s digest this. If democracy itself is the solution to a country’s problems, then how is it that countries like China and Singapore prosper; better than many other democracies do? Are democracies any less corrupt?

Having said that, I am by no means a supporter of dictatorship or any other form of governance. Perhaps, they are no better than democracy. Probably, Demo(n)cracy is the lesser evil. For now, we the hapless citizens, have to be content with current avatar of Democracy.