විශ්වීය මිනිසා - මහාචාර්ය තිස්ස කාරියවසම්

මරණය ස්ථිරය. එහෙත් අප සියල්ලෝම ජීවත් වන්නේ එය බොහෝ ඈතකය යන කල්පනාවෙනි. කිසිවෙක් සිය ජීවිතය කෙළවර වන දිනය දනී නම් ඔහු කුමක් කරනු ඇත්ද?

අප රැකියාවක් කරන්නේ, ගේ දොර ඉදිකරන්නේ, අනාගතය ගැන සැලසුම් හදන්නේ මියෙන දවස නොදන්නා නිසාය. අපගේ මුළුමහත් ක්‍රියාකාරීත්වයම තීරණයව ඇත්තේ ඒ නොදන්නාකම මතය. කිසිවෙක් තමන් මිය යන දවස නිශ්චිතවම දන්නේ නම් ඉන්පසු ඔහු අතින් කිසිවක් නොකෙරෙනු ඇත. කිසිවක් නොලියවෙනු ඇත. සමාජීය ක්‍රියාකාරීත්වය නවතිනු ඇත.

එහෙත් එසේ නොවූ මිනිසෙක් ගැන මම දැන සිටියෙමි. හේ උගතෙකි. මහර්ඝ බුද්ධිමතෙකි. ඥාන ගවේෂකයෙකි. සෑම සංවාදයකම කේන්ද්‍රයේ සිටි මතධාරියෙකි. ඥාන ගවේෂණයේ, අවශ්‍යතාව නිරන්තරයෙන් අවුළුවා තැබූ අපේ යුගයේ ජීවත් වූ බුද්ධිමතුන් අතලොස්සෙන් අයෙකි.

මේ වසර අවසන් වීමට ප්‍රථම තමන් කරා මරණය එන බව මහාචාර්ය තිස්ස කාරියවසම් දැන සිටියේය. සුවදුක් විමසූ විටෙක ඔහු ඒ බව අපට ද කීවේය. වකුගඩු බද්ධ කිරීමෙන් ජීවිතය තවදුරටත් දික් කර ගත හැකි නොවේදැයි ඇසූ විට ඊට එතුමන්ගේ පිළිතුර මෙබඳු විය. “තරුණ වකුගඩුවක් බද්ධ කළොත් තව වසරක් දෙකක් අල්ල ගෙන ඉන්න පුළුවන්. ඒත් එයින් පරිත්‍යාග කරන කෙනාට අවදානමක් ඇති වෙනවා. මගේ ජීවිතය දික් කරගන්න තව කෙ‍නෙක්ගේ ජීවිතය අවදානමකට දාන්නේ ඇයි. මට දුක වකුගඩුවක් පරිත්‍යාග කරන්න ආපු තරුණයා දැකලා මට හිතුණා. ඒ නිසා මම මැරෙන්න තීරණය කළා.” ඔහු කිව්වේ උපහාස දනවන ආකාරයෙනි.

නිරන්තර ශාස්ත්‍ර ගවේෂණයක යෙදී සිටි මෙම කුශාග්‍ර බුද්ධිමතා ඒ වන විටත් නිම නොකළ වටිනා බුද්ධිමය කාර්ය කිහිපයක නිරතව සිටියේය. එය අවසන් කිරීමට හෝ ඔබතුමා ජීවත් විය යුතු නොවේදැයි අපි විමසා සිටි විට එයට එතුමාගේ පිළිතුර වූයේ “අපි ලියන දේවල් කියවන උනන්දු වෙන පිරිසක් ඉන්නවද “ යන්නයි.

පිළිසඳරේදී එසේ සැහැල්ලුවෙන් පැවසුවත් එතුමා දිගින් දිගටම අධ්‍යයන කාර්යයේ යේදී සිටින බව ඔහුගේ කන්තෝරු මේසය පෙන්වා දුන්නේය.

මහාවංශය නිදහසින් පසු පරිච්ඡේදය රචනා කිරීම, නූර්තී, නාට්‍ය හා නර්තන ඉතිහාස ලිවීම රෝගීව සිටිමින් ඔහු අතින් ඉටුවු කාර්යය සමහරකි. මෙම ශාස්ත්‍ර ගවේෂණයේ එක් කඩඉමක් ලෙස නොබෝදා එළිදුටු “එල්ෆින්ස්ටන් යුගයේ සිට නෙළුම් පොකුණ දක්වා” රංගශාලා ඉතිහාස සංග්‍රහ කිරීම දැක්විය හැකිය.

දේශනය අවසන් කර මානව මානවිකාවියන් පිරිවරාගෙන එතුමන් සුමංගල ශාලාවෙන් පිටතට පිවිසෙන දසුන නෙතට රසදුනකි. එහි සිට ජයවර්ධනපුර විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයේ සිංහල අංශයට ඇත්තේ පියවර 30 – 40ක් දුරකි. මේ දුර යාමට මහාචාර්යවරයාට පැය භාගයක් වත් ගතවේ. එයට හේතුව සිසුන් මතු කරන ප්‍රශ්නවලට පිළිතුර නොදී මඟ හැරයාම ඔහුගේ ක්‍රමය නොවීමය.

මහාචාර්ය තිස්ස කාරියවසම් ගතානුගතික බුද්ධිමතෙක් නොවීය. එසේම ඔහු මුල් සිඳගත් ප්‍රාඥයෙක්ද නොවීය. ඔහුට සම්භාව්‍ය සිංහල සාහිත්‍ය පිළිබඳව මෙන්ම නූතන අපරදිග සාහිත්‍ය පිළිබඳ විචාරාත්මක දැනුමක් තිබුණේය. ප්‍රාකෘත භාෂාවන් ඇතුළුව භාෂා කිහිපයක් මැනවින් දැන සිටියේය. නව දැනුම සොයා යාමේ හා පර්යේෂණයේ අවශ්‍යතාව ඔහු තරම් දැඩිව අවධාරණය කළ වෙනත් උගතෙක් ගැන මම දැන නොසිටියෙමි.

බොහෝ උගතුන්ගේ දැනුම ශාස්ත්‍රීය ඥානයට පමණක් සීමා වූ වපසරියක් තුළ මහාචාර්ය කාරියවසම් ගේ සේවාව වැදගත් වන්නේ ඔහු බැවහර ඥානය යොදාගන්නා ආකාරය කදිමට දැන සිටීමය. බුද්ධිමය කාර්යයේදී ඔහු දැඩි ශික්ෂණයකින් යුත් පුද්ගලයෙකි. කැපවීමෙන් සේවය කරන්නෙකි. තමන් විශ්වාස කරන මතය වෙනුවෙන් තිර ලෙස පෙනී සිටින්නෙකි. එම සිරුර තුළ මහාචාර්ය තිස්ස කාරියවසම් නම් බුද්ධිමතාට අමතරව ශුර පරිපාලකයෙක්ටද ජීවත් විය හැකි වූයේ එම දක්ෂතා නිසාය. ජයවර්ධනපුර විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයේ උපකුලපති ධුරය, සිංහල අංශයේ අංශාධිපති හා පීඨාධිපතිධුරය ඔහු හෙබවූ තනතුරු කිහිපයකි. ඊට අමතරව ශ්‍රී ලංකා රූපවාහිනී ‍සංස්ථාව හා පුස්තකාල සේවා මණ්ඩලය ඔහු සභාපති තනතුර දැරූ ආයතන දෙකකි. මෙයට අමතරව වර්තමානයේ සෞන්දර්ය කලා විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය නමින් හඳුන්වන එවකට සෞන්දර්ය කලා අධ්‍යයන අංශයේ අධ්‍යක්ෂ ධුරයද එතුමන් හොබවනු ලැබීය. මෙය ආයතනය ස්ථාපිත කිරීමේදී එතුමන්ගෙන් පුරෝගාමි කාර්යයක් ඉටුවිය.

“ජීවිතය කියන්නේ එකිනෙකා කපාගෙන ඉදිරියට යන පංච ක්‍රීඩාවක් නෙවෙයි. බොහෝ දෙනෙක් උත්සහ කරන්නේ අනෙකා යටපත් කරගෙන මතු වෙන්නයි. නමුත් මම උත්සාහ කළේ පාරවල් කිහිපයක් සොයාගෙන යන්නයි. මේ මඟ දුෂ්කරයි. ඒත් අනර්ඝයි.” පැමිණි මාවත එතුමන් වරෙක ආවර්ජනය කළේ එසේය.

සාහිත්‍ය, සන්නිවේදනය, ජනශ්‍රැතිය, ලලිත කලාව, ඉතිහාසය ආදී ‍ක්ෂේත්‍ර රැසක පැතුරුනු දැනුමක් එතුමාට තිබුණි. මේ ක්ෂේත්‍රයට ඔහු දායක කළ දැනුම ඉතා පෘථුලය. එය වළකන්නට රෝ සතුරාට නොහැකි විය. ප්‍රතිකාර ගන්නා අතරතුර පවා නිරන්තරයෙන් කෞතුකාගාරය වෙත යමින් හේ එහි පුස්තකාලය පරිශීලනය කළේය. පර්යේෂණ කටයුතු තවදුරටත් කරගෙන ගියේය. අවසානයේ එයට තිත තැබිය යුතු දවසක් එළඹිණි.

දිනයක් හැර දිනයක් රෝහල වෙත පියමං කළ යුතු දවසක් උදාවිය. එවිට ද ලැබෙන සුළු මොහොත හේ ශාස්ත්‍රීය කටයුතු සඳහා යෙදවූයේය. ග්‍රන්ථ පරිවර්තනය කළේය. ලිපි සම්පාදනය කළේය. දේශන පැවැත්විය. කෙටියෙන් කිවහොත් බුද්ධිමතෙක් නිරතවිය යුතු කාර්යයෙහි අවසන් මොහොත දක්වාම යෙදුණේය.

මහාචාර්ය තිස්ස කාරියවසම්ගේ බුද්ධිමය ව්‍යායාමයේ ප්‍රමුඛ කාර්යය වූයේ පර්යේෂණයන්හි යෙදීමය. ඔහු පර්යේෂණ සහායකයෙක් ලෙස මහාචාර්ය එදිරිවීර සරච්චන්ද්‍රයන්ගේ ශාස්ත්‍රීය මෙහෙවරට දායක විය. මහාචාර්ය සරච්චන්ද්‍රයන්ට ඔහු වැනි සහායකයෙක් නොලැබුණේ නම් කිසි විටෙකත් එතුමන් අතින් “සිංහල ගැමි නාටකය” වැනි නිබන්ධනයක් නොලියවෙනු ඇත. යක්දෙස්සන් විසින් පටලවා ගායනා කළ කවි නිවැරදිව සටහන් කළ හැකි වූයේ කාරියවසම් විද්‍යාර්ථියාට ඒවා ලඝු ලේඛන ලෙස සටහන් කරගත හැකි වූ නිසාය. මහාචාර්ය කාරිවසම් නොගිය කෝලම් මඩුවක්, නාඩගම් පොලක් ‍නැති තරම් ය. උඩ, පහතරට හා සබරගමු සම්ප්‍රදායන්ට අයත් ප්‍රමුඛ රංගධරයන් හේ පුද්ගලිකව දැන සිටියේය. මේ දැනුම කැටිකර ඔහු ග්‍රන්ථ රැසක් රචනා කළේය.

යටත් විජිත යුගයෙන් මෙපිට දේශපාලන, සමාජීය හා සාමයික ඉතිහාසය පිළිබඳව ඔහුගේ දැනීම විශ්මය දනවන සුළුය. සියම්, අමරපුර හා රාමඤ්ඤ නිකායන් බිහිවීමට බලපෑ හේතූන්, ඒ එක් එක් නිකායන්ගේ විශේෂතා, ශාන්තිකර්ම බලි යාග පිළිවෙත් ගැන, සන්නිවේදන ප්‍රවණතා ගැන, නූතන විචාර වාද පිළිබඳව මහාචාර්ය කාරියවසම් තරම් පර්යේෂණ කළ වෙනත් විද්වතෙක් තවත් නැත. මේ ඕනෑම කරුණක් ගැන පරිපූර්ණ විස්තරයක් කිසිදු ලේඛනයක් නොලබා නිරවද්‍ය ලෙස පැවසීමට එතුමා දැන සිටියේය.

ඉහත දැක්වූ කරුණු සියල්ල අදාළ වන්නේ එතුමාගේ බුද්ධිමය සේවාවටය. ඉන් බැහැරව විශ්වවිද්‍යාල පද්ධතියට අයත් මෙන්ම ඉන් පිටස්තර, සිංහල හෝ දමිළ යනාදී කිසිදු ආකාරයක වර්ගීකරණයකට ලක් නොකොට උපකාරය අවශ්‍ය පුද්ගලයාට උපකාර කිරීමේ පුරුද්දක් එතුමන්ට තිබුණි. මේ සේවාවන් එතුමන් අතින් ඉටුවූයේ නිශ්ශරණාධ්‍යාශයෙනි. අප මහාචාර්යවරයාණෝ ඒ සඳහා ප්‍රචාරයන් බලාපොරොත්තු වූයේ නැත.

“බුද්ධිමතා, භූමියේ සීමාවන් හා කාලයේ සීමාවන් ඉක්මවා යමින් සෑම කල්හීම, සෑම දෙනාගේම ගෞරවයට පත්වන්නේය” යන පැරණි කියමන සැබෑ කරමින් එතුමන්ගේ නාමය සදාකල් පවතිනු ඇත. එහෙත් ඔහු අතින් ඉටුවූ සේවය ඉටුකිරීමට අනුප්‍රාප්තිකයෙක් බිහිවේද යන්න නම් සැක සහිතය.

චන්දන ජයවීර - Dinamina

Phobias, detrimental to one's performance

It appears fair to say that almost every individual in the world acquires a phobic horror of something or certain situations which may sound perfectly normal.One may argue that these phobias or fears are unfounded though he may fail to justify his own fear of something normal or natural.

It is obvious that people “fear” certain things for some inexplicable reason and the possible causes for these fears fall beyond general explanation. There is a popular tendency to associate the phobias with the things and situations in the previous birth of a person.On the other hand, phobias are more conveniently linked with specified bitter or horrible situations in one's childhood.

However, these extreme, irrational fears create a great obstacle for a person's life. A phobic horror of something may spoil a person's renown and reputation when he acts totally out of line with the expectations of those around him.

People with claustrophobia strongly fear enclosed rooms or confined places. Most probably a child who has been confined in a room by way of a punishment may develop signs of claustrophobia as he grows up. As they claim, they feel as if the walls of the closed room would close in to them till they are choked to death.

Exposed

A person with agrophobia strongly dislikes a public or open place because he feels that he is “being unnecessarily exposed” or is vulnerable to attack or criticism from those who observe him in the open place. An agrophobiac is naturally inclined to live obscurely and to keep himself aloof from society.

There are people who have a repugnance to animals. They have zoophobia. They are either governed by a repulsion or strong horror for specific animals or have developed a dislike for all animals including those that make lovable pets. Here, arachnophobia is the fear of spiders whether they are venomous or harmless.

Technophobiacs strongly detest the modern technological advancements and highly respects traditions and conventions.They seem to fear that the modern technology might disrupt the lifestyle that flourished in the past. A similar phobia is Xenophobia which indicates strong fear or dislike for foreigners. A Xenophobiac might suspect that a person from another country would devalue his own culture and plunder the priceless things which appear as the national heritage.

Demonophobia (fear for demons) and Paediphobia (fear for dolls) represent peoples baseless fears for imaginary creations and inanimate objects.

A person with paediphobia may fear not only the horrid dolls in movies but also the models of robots and puppets operating with human actions.

Accordingly as Sigmund Freud says, this fear originates from the notion that a doll or a robot would come alive and wreak havoc on humans. At the same time Paediphobiacs detest and fear small children and even infants and do not like to touch a baby.

A person suffering from this phobia strongly detests and fears the human features added to an inanimate object (such as a doll, a robot or a puppet).

A person with Pentheraphobia (fear of the wife's mother) and novecaphobia (fear of the stepmother) practically suffers much in modern world. Most married men loathe to imagine how a mother-in-law could have poisoned their wives against them.

Phobia

This is also a certain type of mental disorder which accounts for a considerable number of divorces. Also, a novecaphobiac may be constantly plagued by the feeling that his stepmother would alienate his father from him.

People suffering from social anxiety disorder or social phobia can get extremely nervous on being with people or surrounded by people they are familiar with.

Such people are continually troubled by what others possibly think about them or whether they are criticised or evaluated.

However different persons strangely fear different and ordinary things.

One may have a phobia for driving, speaking before a large gathering, being on a higher elevation, travelling in the bus, meeting strangers or building up new friendships. Whatever the phobia may be, it threatens and undermines a person's grace and personality. Fortunately, phobias can be permanently cancelled out by various forms of therapy.

Since phobias-whether simple or serious are a noticeable threat to the personal performance, it is vital that effective therapies should be applied. Phobias are definitely a serious threat to society.

These irrational fears can be removed by hypnosis or systematic desensitisation. Here desensitisation is a process of gradually desensitising a phobias of any type to the situation or the particular environment which has generated the phobia in him. Speaking to the victim for a long time and giving him positive thoughts will erase, to some extent, the phobias planted in him.

By Amal Hewavissenti - Sunday Observer

Human emotion in three faces

Nilendra has an unusual approach in the case of feature film making; parallel to his television career. It is an anti-hero characterization of three under-privileged youths living in different social strata. They become more emotional when the war against the brutal terrorist group has been brought to an end. The three friends, all of a sudden, decide to go to the north which was saved from the terrorist control. For what purpose? To have a bath in a tank at Chalai in the northern province!

That itself shows the ridiculous way of thinking pattern and their act.

From there onwards, the theme makes a twist to a number of events that makes a drastic change in the lives of these three anti-heroes! Nilendra's theme is related to the backdrop of the whole country which is celebrating the war heroes who ended the terrorist menace.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the three fellows become - not the merry makers of the given opportunity - victims of unexpected dilemma!

This is not a formula film of Indian origin, but of a western influence. Therefore it seems to be a novel experience to Sri Lankan cinemagoers. Nilendra's casting is also above average which exhibits his professional discipline.

The three main characters played by Kumara Thirimadura, Sarath Kotalawala and Namal Jayasingha is a change from the typical heroes we get to see often in Sinhala cinema. Kamal Addaraarachchi, Anoja Weerasingha and Swarna Mallawaarchchi are differently characterized. That is the positive attitude of professionalism. The filmmaker is aware of the fact that the Sri Lankan cinema should have different ways and means in the entertainment industry instead of the formula film.

A filmmaker shall not just throw away the trash in the name of feature film! It is still a big struggle in filmmaking.

Nilendra has the potential to go ahead with more experience. This is enough achievement that he must have a clear vision.

His visionary attitude must develop into more progressive thinking.

He should focus more - an in-depth study - on social issues at the grassroots level.

That is why I feel that the film's social thinking is a bit confusing. 

www.dailynews.lk - Piyasena Wickramage

Stop the violence NOW!

In a couple of days, women across the world will take to the streets and public platforms to air their views on a subject that they have long been familiar with - so much so that it has become part of their daily lives: namely, Gender Based Violence (GBV). Living in a world where almost every fabric of society has been infiltrated by acts of violence, where civil wars, ethnic conflicts, honour killings, and moral decay have collectively contributed to the rapid rise of unsafe environments, women have never been exposed to so much violence as they are today.

This has been borne out by recent studies by researchers, sociologists and feminists who have not only shocked us out of our comfort zones with their startling statistics, they have shown us how violence impacts on women’s health, their personal relationships, their marriages, their families, and stifles their potential talents and skills to the country’s development.

Of late, such violence has escalated by leaps and bounds, as thousands of women caught up in civil war and displaced from their home, live in refugee camps enduring unbelievable hardships.

Their situation is compounded by the fact that all of them married or single, old or young, are completely at the mercy of the military personnel guarding them, who sexually abuse them taking advantage of their extreme vulnerability. Added to this, is the fact that women now dominate the labour force in most countries including Sri Lanka.

Although this is a positive reflection of their advancement towards true emancipation, it also puts them at risk to sexual harassment at their place of work. The numerous instances reported of female garment workers in the Free Trade Zones who are sexually abused while returning home at night, is an example of this rising tide of violence against women.

Age

Age is no barrier to Gender Based Violence. Newspapers are rife with instances when even elderly women in their 70s and 80s have been sexually harassed.

Domestic violence victim

Whether travelling by bus, train a single woman is often marked as the ideal candidate for eve teasing, vulgar comments and even rape by the opposite sex. In neighboring India eve teasing recently led to the death of a university student who couldn’t endure the continued remarks cast by her own male colleagues.

Similar incidents have been recorded in other countries including Sri Lanka where a young woman who was stalked by a youth finally turned her wrath on him by hitting him with her phone and injuring him. Even travelling on a plane could end up with disastrous results.

From nonagenarians (and even centenarians) to adolescents and girls still on the brink of attaining menarche, no female it seems is safe from such abuse today in our society.

The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) has reported that by August end this year, the number of complaints it had received for this year alone on child abuse amounted to 6,973 of which 1,477 were for violence.

In addition, the NCPA also received 324 complaints of rape and 327 complaints of sexual harassment. Although male children are also included in these statistics, the girl children who have been abused sexually outnumber them by far.

Facts

No less startling are the facts and statistics that have emerged from the most recently researched edition on GBV in Sri Lanka, by the Women’s Health Committee of the SLMA which sheds light on why and who the perpetrators of such violence are in most instances.

Abuse - A questionnaire given to female undergraduates after a lecture on child abuse showed that 12.3 percent of females had been abused in childhood - their abusers being a brother, uncle or father (De Silva 1998).

Incest - A study in 2002 conducted through institutions dealing with victims of incest in the Central Province revealed that the typical incest victims were girl children below 12, the abusers being an older family member, often her father, stepfather, uncle or an older brother.

Sexual abuse - Police records of 2003 showed the majority of victims of grave sexual abuse (seduction, rape, incest and procreation) were 78 percent girls, especially those under 16 (Ministry of Health 2008).

Harassment - Newspaper articles on the nature and magnitude of harassments to women and girls in Lankan society (Weerakkody and Kumaara 2007) revealed that sexual harassment was most prominent in 88 percent of under-aged girls, rape being the commonest form of abuse.

Domestic violence

Of all these acts of violence, Domestic Violence (DV) is the most widely prevalent form of abuse inflicted on women. That this form of violence occurs mostly within a marriage and is perpetrated within the four walls of their own homes, is even more tragic.

Domestic violence never stops, as the perpetrators rarely report such acts. In the course of this non ending battery of violence, women are beaten, kicked, burned, choked, cut with knives, their hair shorn, their faces mutilated by acid thrown at them by jealous husbands, stem from often trivial and unreasonable causes.

The big question is WHY? Yes, why do women stay in abusive relationships, even at the risk of being maimed and killed, and the lives of their children traumatised? A feminist explained: “It is directly related to our patriarchal society and rooted in the patriarchal notion that women do not deserve to enjoy the same rights as men.

What they don’t seem to realise is that women constantly subject to domestic violence affects their health, their rights and the children who are the future citizens of this country. There is thus an urgent need to address the GBV at national level and to carry out national surveys on vulnerable female groups islandwide”.

Causes

Causes for GBV have been linked to many factors. A CENWOR study of 2001 links incest among girl children to their absentee mothers.

“An increasing number of girl children of migrant women remain unprotected and become victims of incest, unwanted pregnancies and illegal abortions.” A psychiatrist echoing this said, “Domestic violence has a trigger effect. A child who sees his father beating his mother is likely to do the same to his wife when he grows up. It is a vicious cycle we need to stop right NOW,” he said.

For all those now preparing to observe another day to Eliminate All Forms Of Violence Against Women, it is time to fight the negative social forces that leave women open to violence and for all women in leadership positions to combine their efforts and opportunities towards this goal.

Only then can violence against women become a thing of the past.

By Carol Aloysius - Sunday Observer

How to deal with your boss

Nothing good can come from a yelling match:

Bad bosses - whether ogres, control freaks, jerks or bumbling fools - can be found in all organisations. They are no laughing matter when you have to face him or her every working day. Having a bad boss can make your work life a misery, but it can also make you sick, both physically and mentally.

Having worked for nearly four decades in the corporate sector, of which first half with a number of not-so-inspiring bosses including tyrants and hypocrites, and the other half as a boss myself, I’ve identified three types of bad bosses and also trade secrets of how to handle them.

Who are these three are the top “bad boss” characteristics:

Micromanager

This type of a boss plays an excessively large role in the work of the subordinates. Instead of letting the team members use their own judgment, the boss makes every decision or dictates every step to take. This can be especially frustrating to capable workers, turning an interesting task into boring work.

Neglecter

This type is on the other end of the spectrum. Unlike micromanager, they fail to give any directions at all. The subordinates feel that their boss is ignoring them. As a result, they feel that they have to guess what their bosses want.

Yeller

A boss who gets angry and abuses his or her workers is probably the worst type of “bad boss.” By yelling at or otherwise belittling his or her employees, an abusive boss fosters an environment of fear. There is no excuse for this behaviour - yet abusive bosses can be found in all sorts of organisations

If you have one of these three types as your boss, it can really siphon out the enjoyment from what might otherwise be a rewarding career, and wondering whether you should begin searching for something new. Before you take that decision, let us see what you can do about it right now.

Managing the bad boss

Let me give you five tips.

Don’t act immediately. Maybe you will want to fight back. You may think of writing a blistering review of your boss and e-mailing it to the CEO. Those thoughts aren’t necessarily harmful. But thoughts don’t have to lead to action. Your boss may be small-minded, two-faced, spineless, and technically inept.

But would a dramatic gesture be worth the lost salary? Is it worth a hole in your résumé, the one you’ll find difficulty in explaining for years to come? This isn’t the economy to choose pride over practicality.

Play the game. You were been unfairly smeared. But don’t let it turn you sour or sloppy. And don’t let your boss get to you, either. Nod and smile when he delivers another self-serving sermon. Maintain a “can-do” attitude, like you have your dream job. Respect and defer, even when trust is lost. You’ll have to work with plenty of bad bosses over your career. You may as well start practising now.

Fix the micromanager. If your boss is a micromanager, first make sure that he or she isn’t merely responding to your own poor performance. If you have shown that you cannot perform good work without heavy-handed supervision, your boss may feel that he or she has to constantly look over your shoulder.

In that event, when a relatively unimportant assignment comes up, ask your boss to grant you additional responsibility “just this once.” If he or she agrees, put forth extraordinary effort to ensure that the project exceeds the expectations.

If your boss micromanages your entire team, you can be confident that it’s not just you. Your next step should be to sit down with your boss and talk about his or her overbearing supervision. It is not an easy task. You may fear that your boss will take your criticism as an attack or otherwise identify you as an “enemy.”

Don’t be scared. In my experience, this type of bosses often respond well to constructive criticism from their subordinates.

Clarification then and there

Many micromanagers have an underlying fear that something will go wrong if anyone is given managerial discretion. You can address this fear by frequently sharing information throughout the course of an assignment. Don’t wait for your boss to ask how things are going; instead, send a daily email with status reports and next steps. This helps reassure your boss that, in fact, everything is under control.

Fix the ‘neglecter’. To fix the ‘neglecter’ type’s problem, you’ll have to be very self-asserting to get your boss’s attention. If you receive an assignment with unclear goals, ask for clarification right then and there. Don’t leave your boss’s office or hang up the phone until you are satisfied that you know what you need to do.

During the course of the assignment, you should also communicate more frequently with your boss. For instance, if you send your boss a key email every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 4 p.m., he or she will know that it’s important - and be more likely to respond to it.

If that doesn’t work, try to speak face­ to­ face with your boss about getting more direction.

Be specific about what you need and how your boss can be helpful.

Fix the yeller. The only way to deal with a yelling boss is not to take personally the fact that he or she regularly loses self-­ control. The boss’s unacceptable behaviour has nothing to do with you. It has everything to do with his or her own problems, which you can’t fix.

Nevertheless, your behaviour may unwittingly push your boss’s “hot buttons” and trigger a stream of abuse. If you want to stick it out with such a boss, try to identify what those triggers are. Does your boss go ballistic if you arrive five minutes late or if your desk is slightly messy? If so, the simplest solution is to avoid behaviours that invite your boss’s wrath.

But this strategy won’t work if your boss plays the blame game and gets angry whenever an assignment turns sour. You can try to explain the key causes and suggest how you will address them in the future. You can try to brush off abusive behaviour with self-control.

Unfortunately, many abusive bosses know exactly what they’re doing. They’ll push and push until they meet resistance, at which point they’re likely to retreat. The only way to succeed with such a boss is to stand your ground.

Insist that your boss treats you with respect. Be specific about how his or her abusive behaviour is affecting your work and which particular actions are intolerable. But whatever you do, keep your cool; nothing good can come from a yelling match.

If you fail in your all remedies, there are a couple of alternatives. They come with no guarantees, but they may be worth considering.

The first is to wait it out. Bad bosses can be like bullies who eventually get tired of harassing people, particularly once they realise that it won’t get them anywhere.

A boss’s bad behaviour is visible to others, so hanging in there, without complaining, will be viewed positively. And over time, a bad boss may even self-destruct and lose credibility.

The second alternative is to seek other options, both inside and out. Use the situation as an opportunity to reassess your career, your work-life priorities, and how you define success. In the long run, the bad boss will liberate you to pursue another direction.

By Lionel Wijesiri - Sunday Observer