N. Raghuraman's column: Surface signs can tell what is going on inside

As temperatures drop across the country, airline fares have skyrocketed, you've probably taken a road trip this weekend or will be going on a trip in the coming weeks. You must have seen that in the fields, vegetables and fruits like banana bunches are being covered with plastic bags and watered in the evening. That's because less than 10 mercury is good for driving, but can affect weather-sensitive vegetables, reduce photosynthesis, reduce nutrient absorption and disrupt plant metabolism. It weakens the immune system of the plant, due to which the crop is more prone to pest outbreaks. You might have noticed that a lot of bulbs are lit in the fields in the evening. That's because when the minimum temperature is less than 15 degrees Celsius, the sorghum crop suffers from sugar disease. Lights are turned on to keep warmth. In some farms I've seen farmers talk to crops, 'I'm covering you with plastic because I want to protect you from winter' or 'I'm keeping the lights on so you stay warm.' Farmers are aware that external events can affect the internal organs of plants, which develop into cracks in vegetables. Similarly, in the human body, excess sugar becomes a feast for microorganisms and their pleasure appears on the skin with repeated infections. Dermatologist Dr Sharad Muthalik recently said that 80 per cent of diabetics are diagnosed with psoriasis and are an early warning sign of the disease. The doctor says that when an infection appears on the skin, it is better to check your blood sugar. Both of these cases indicate that there is a strong relationship between external development and internal changes, or between internal development and external changes. This is exactly what happens in career. Take the example of a young mother who returns to work after six months of maternity leave or taking a slightly longer break. She usually seems to be doing low-stress work. HRs think that they are showing their generosity by assigning them simple tasks and this will not put extra pressure on the breastfeeding mother. But career-focused mothers tend to think differently and fall into deep thought, which haunts them from inside. They feel that now their office has started feeling that their functionality has been lost due to being absent from the office for a long time, so they are being given non-important tasks. Sometimes they feel that even in their absence, the business was running at its full speed and the company was making money and hence they could pay their salaries even when they were not contributing to the growth of the company. Since the work cannot be stopped, HR calls employees from different departments and hands them over to them, which they were doing before going on leave. Just like vegetables also need a wrapper, dermatologists recommend getting a sugar test, so HR should also counsel the new mother and help her settle down in her seat slowly. Until those young mothers' work pace becomes the same as the days before delivery, a word of reassurance on a daily basis from HR or bosses, will ensure a good relationship between the employee and the employer. Don't dismiss it as ageing, climate change, or a simple part of the corporate hierarchy. The bottom line is that whether it is health, agriculture or women's careers, we need to understand that what is visible on the surface can sometimes be a sign of what is going on inside their minds, bodies or agri-careers.