No one wants to be Chatur!

Chatur chamatkar, no one wants to be like him. Everone is in love with Phunsuk Wangdu, the holder of five hundred patients. And why not? He is the real educationist, the show stealer. He taught the right way to study.  But, did we even analyse what was Chatur’s fault.Forget about his physical habbits and concentrate on the rest.  He was born a child like anyone else and perhaps was intelligent too. But, he was afraid, afraid to take on the world, a world which appreciated continuity over innovation. He preferred to carry on himself in the way the entire world wanted from him. It was a systemic failure which encouraged him to follow the traditional lines of learning and eventually made him the culprit.

Do we ever realize there is a Chatur and a Wangdu both residing in all of us. But, most of the times it is Chatur which prevails in our mind over Wangdu and this is not so because we want it. But, because we are too afraid to do things differently. I suspect those who criticise Chatur, are perhaps in  actual like him or are forcing someone to be the same  for otherwise they would have known the root of the evil. Remember, no one is born Chatur. It’s the system that makes someone so.

Instead of criticizing Chatur for the way he is, we must work to revamp the system. Let’s conquer our fear and make this world a better place for the innovators and the unconventional thinkers. Shiv Kheda was absolutely right when he said, “Great people don’t do different things. They do things differently”. One day,the world will be full of Wangdus if we start acting like him, that is, working differently.

Ram............ Forrgive me if You Can

Ram and Anit were good froends.. Both of them liked each other. They had a very similar thinking. They wanted to do something for the society,  for the country where they were born. Ram used to say, “I would make my country a living paradise”. Shyam always nodded in agrrement. They went to the same school and again to the same college. Infact, they had to leave their hometown for study but they also lived together at the new place. Ram was a little aggressive kind while shyam was always cool. Whenever Ram engaged in any duel, It was shyam who controlled the things preventing the situation from getting blown out of proportion. But, one day Shyam left Ram. He went without saying anything. Ram searched him everywhere but couldn’t find him. Ram was very upset. A few days passed and one day he got a letter. It was addressed to him but nowhere the name of the sender written on it. He opened it and read. Tears fell from his eyes. He couldn’t stand up any furthur. He read the full letter numb. The letter was like.............

Dear Ram

You would be wondering who has sent you this letter. I won’t strain your mind and without any gusseses you should know It’s me, Shyam. I’m sure you would have been searching me frantically. But, you must stop because I’m far from your world. I’m at a different place. I left you because I couldn’t bear the pain your love brought to me. You were so caring. You were like an angel to me, protecting always from the adversities. I remembered when I was hurt playing football. It was you who looked after me all the time, preparing food, bringing books  and tendering me in all the possible ways one can. I cannot forget the anger you felt towards Raj, your cousin, when he had abused me. You wanted to hit him hard but stopped when I asked you to forgive him. How could someone be so nice in this world. I always wanted to be like you, free and joy loving. Your love to me was pure, unconditional free from any predisposition.

We shared all our joys, our sorrows and there was nothing that I didn’t know about you and the same you thought about me too. Still there is something I didn’t tell you. Infact, this is something I hid even from myself. Five years ago, My brother who was just a few years elder to me had passed away. He was suffering from brain tumer. You wouldn’t have forgotten the day when I had gone to my home after quarelling with you. You were surprised, why was I going home. You apologised several times but I didn’t care. I went. I know you consider yourself responsible for that. But, let me tell you, you were never the reason behind my decision. I went because my brother was living his last days. Doctors were exhausted treating him. I couldn’t stand to see my brother. I was crying like a new born.He was the most precious to me. How could god do such things! But, my brother was smiling. He said, “Bro, what if I would be dying in a few days. I would always be with you, in your heart, in your memories. He kissed my forehead. My brother was my life. God was preparing himself to take my life away. I asked ma to allow me to return. I told her, If I stay here I won’t be able to sustain the pain. I had returned after four days and you were so glad to see me back. You were almost weeping when you asked me to forgive. My brother died a few days after. But, I didn’t go to my house. I was happy with you. Your presence never let me think of my brother. You made me laugh, made me happy. I never felt the agony. But, my brother’s memories were inseparable. I wept when you were not around. I tried to forget everything associated with him but they kept coming back.I used to wake up in the dreams.

After a few years to my surprise my dreams stopped hounding me. I almost forgot my brother. It thought, I would be happy again like I used to be. But, Oh, god! You can’t be so cruel to me. It was the start of another misery, a tormenting ache in my soul. Oh! I forgot my brother because my heart accepted you as my brother. You took his place. I statred viewing you like him. Your care, your affection your everything to me was like my brother’s way. But, Ram I wanted to forget my brother. I wanted to move on and living with you never let me do so. Everyday, It brought me closer to my brother, closer than I could think. I’m a human and I couldn’t bear so much love. I had heard that too much love sometimes become unsurpassable. I never thought It could happen to me. I told my mom about you and she asked what did I want. I told her I wanted to forget my brother. I was weeping and she was too. I decided I must go home. I must take care of my mother, my fathert. I never thought how much painful It would have been for them to lose their young son.

I can’t fight with my destiny. Still, I can try. By the time you would be reading this letter, I would have already left my old home and shifted to a new place. Forgive me for what I did to you. I know I am your culprit. I’m a sinner but plaese do me one more favor. Never try to find me or try to contact me for any such attempt on your side will break the fragile determination that I have to look things beyond. I hope you will always be happy.

Yours Brother in diguise

Anit

Ram stood up and looked here and there. On the wall, there was a photograph of Anit. He smiled and said, “May god always keep you happy and help you find your peace”. He opened the door of his house and went to address his friends. It was his first speech after winning the college President’s election.

Education & Health: the Pioneers of Any Future Transformation

When I was studying economics, I was always fascinated by macro economics. The fiscal policy, the monitary policy, international trade all this seemed like heaven to me. But, micro..... I didn't give a care. And, why? because it doesn't have scale! For me, the Trickle Down Theory was the most exciting. I had always this belief that growth would tricke down to the lowest strata of the society. But, never I bothered about the duartion in which it would occur.  But, life is not so easy and so is Economics. Otherwise, India would have been the world leader by now.

There is nothing wrong in the theory but a country like India can not wait to see things happening in due course. Rather, It has to make things happen for otherwise discontent would grow and assume dangerous proportions. we are already witnessing this to some extent  in the form of Maoism in large parts of our country.

If change is to be brought about early and fast in this country, we need to focus on micro aspects of the economy. Here, I see the role of education and health in  vivifying the economy. Now-a-days, we talk about demographic dividents our country is enjoying over the others. Population explosion which was a curse a few years back is now a benefit for us. But, do we think about the fact that India still has a large percentage of illiterate people and had we educated them in the past  our demographic dividents would have been much better by now. It sounds nice to hear that India is a big consumption market, our middle class is earning much to spend and most of the companies are heading towards it. But, won't this demographic divident be a problem if we do not decelerate the rate of population growth. Is anybody pondering over how India would be able to feed  and provide shelter to the 1.5 billion people in the next 30-40 years!

An average Indian do not care about where the stock market is headed towards. He cares about food prices, healthcare services and  the quality of education available. Yet Indian government spend a meagre proportion of GDP on health and education. The primary aim of any government is to provide basic amenities to its citizens. How much wealth our economy  loses due to poor health conditions in our country? Remember, these are indirect costs but they do override the total expenditure the government bears on providing the healthcare services. I ask, what does it take to develop quality schools, universities, medical colleges and hospitals for I have a strong feeling that It's really possible in our country.

There was one article recently written by a Professor of MIT Sloan school of management about education as the real differentiating factor between Indian and Chinese growth. He strongly advocated for a greater emphasis  on basic amenities by India. Very few people know that in the 1980s Chinese infrastructure was poorer compared to that of  Indian. But, they focused on eduaction and this led to the demand for infrastructure growth. The ultimate result, everyone knows. Few may argue it was because they introduced reforms in the 1980s where we started almost a decade after. I  agree with them but education did really play a vital role in making China what it is at present.

            

Imagine India starts providing better and inclusive education and healthcare facilities to its citizens. Education would remove People's ignorance and superstions and make them competitive. Better healthcare facilities would ensure they do not suffer from decrease in productivity due to bad health. The country would be able to tackle population explosion effectively due to greater awareness among the people about its negative fallouts. Although, some legislative measures like fixing the number of children would still be required for stricter emphasis on population control. Good education and healthcare facilities will be a win-win situation for the government too because it would help in increasing their vote banks as satisfied people would naturally vote for the ruling party.

The real essence of this article is not to assess which policy is right and which is wrong but to emphasise the fact that countries who have given greater preference to health and education sector have outgrowthed those who haven't. The onus is upon the policy makers to decide what do they want, a country taking decades to make its citizens happier or a vibrant and dynamic India within a few years from now!!!!
 

TEN QUESTIONS THAT HOUND ME EVEN IN THE DREAMS

Why is India unable to find 545 people out of 1.2 billion population to run the country who are honest, secular, decisive, broad minded, incorrupt and without any criminal rcords?

Why do we still believe in killing in the name of religion?

 Why don't we follow 'One child policy' strictly?

Why is India so slow in reforming healthcare and  education sector?

Why do we resort to corruption?

Why don't we promote sports other than cricket in our country?

 Why do we discriminate against women?

Why is government reluctant to tackle Maoist problem?

Why do we hesitate to talk about AIDS?

why is there such a hype over our projected transformation in the next ten years based on some assumed data  when we still have millions of people below the poverty line?

'QUOTES' Our Own or .......................

Most of the one liners frequently encounterd on social networking sites like Orkut, Facebook, Myspace etc. are quite catchy. They instantly grab attention. But do we ever think from where have they come from? Perhaps none of us. We actually feel they are conceived by the persons using it. But the truth lies elsewhere. They are actually the creations of poets and authors who died  years before. The advent of social networking sites has popularized their quotes but unfortunately not them. For e.g. "Common sense is not so common" is a quote from Voltaire, a great Frencn philosopher and writer. We use it so many times without  knowing the person who actually said this!!!!

There is nothing wrong in quoting other's materials but we must admit the original creator. It would help in popularizing those who though were creative geniuses but are unknown to the present generation.  Social Networking sites may play a pivotal role in doing this and we all must work together in this endeavour. 

Below are quotes of some of the famous person-

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE  

                                                                                                               

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet".

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players".

"Brevity is the soul of wit".

"Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once".

"Teach not thy lip such scorn, for it was made For kissing, lady, not for such contempt".

OSCAR WILDE

“I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.”

“A man can be happy with any woman as long as he does not love her”

“Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes.”

“A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.”

“Deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance.”

“To be natural is such a very difficult pose to keep up.”

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

“We learn from experience that men never learn anything from experience.”

“Choose silence of all virtues, for by it you hear other men's imperfections, and conceal your own.”

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”

“Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable.”

“People exaggerate the value of things they haven't got: everybody worships truth and unselfishness because they have no experience with them.”


VOLTAIRE

“Common sense is not so common.”

“Prejudices are what fools use for reason.”

“He who thinks himself wise, O heavens! is a great fool.”

“Poetry is the music of the soul, and, above all, of great and feeling souls.”

“It is lamentable, that to be a good patriot one must become the enemy of the rest of mankind.”

 EINSTEIN

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”

“You can't blame gravity for falling in love.”

“Women marry men hoping they will change. Men marry women hoping they will not. So each is inevitably disappointed.”

“The important thing is not to stop questioning.”

“There's a Genius in all of us.”

GIMP & ORKUT

                  

This is an amlgamation of an Orkut application and the GIMP use. The orkut application tells the meaning of one's name while GIMP is an image manipulation programme like Photoshop although it is free unlike photoshop which comes with an associated cost. GIMP is a product of OPEN SOURCE TECHNOLOGY and is in the public domain for use. Let's promote GIMP and the OPEN SOURCE.

नव वर्ष की अभिलाषा

अज्ञानता मिटायेंगे, ज्ञान का दीपक जलाएंगे

शिक्षा का होगा प्रसार, खुलेंगे विद्यालय नए बार-बार

स्वास्थ्य सेवाओं का अभाव मिटायेंगे

हम नव वर्ष भारत का खुशहाल बनायेंगे ।।

महिलाओं को करेंगे जागरूक,

हरित क्रांति पुनः लायेंगे

गाँव-गाँव खुशहाल करेंगे, आपसी भाईचारा फैलायेंगे

हम नव वर्ष भारत का खुशहाल बनायेंगे।।

नेताओं को नैतिकता सिखलाएंगे,

अच्छे शासन के पाठ पढ़ाएंगे

भय, लोभ, तृष्णा सब त्याग करेंगे

हम नव वर्ष भारत का खुशहाल बनायेंगे ।।

होगी शांति चारो ओर,

न होगा कोई अनुचित जोर,

सामाजिक क्रांति लायेंगे, दीन-दुखिओं का दर्द मिटायेंगे

हम नव वर्ष भारत का उज्जवल बनायेंगे ।।

BOOM BOOM MOVIE TIME: My last Days of 2009

 Movies and movies only: this is how I spent my last days in 2009. An awakening experience indeed, I learnt why is it important to watch movies. Movies are reflection of society. Basically, hollywood movies truly depict the prevailing conditions and the upcoming situation. While there were movies like The Great Debators, the inglorious basterds, 3 Idiots, Fire and the Shawshank redemption made with delicate precision and asking serious questions on the other hand movies like the terminal and American Pie- The book of love were full of fun.

I would categorise these movies according to their genre:

*Fun & Romance- The terminal, American Pie- The book of love, The Twilight saga, 500 days of summer, Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, HUm Tum, Sathiya, Pulp fiction

*Suspense and thrill- Silence of the lambs, The departed, Sin city, LA confidential, Godfather

*Intellectual- The Great Debators, The Shawshank Redemption, Gandhi, The hurt locker, The inglorious basterds, Fire, 3 idiots, V for vendetta, Good Will Hunting

*Weired- Mulholland drive, Savage grace

Their Ratings are-

9-10: Silence of the lambs,The Great Debators,The Shawshank Redemption, Gandhi, 3 idiots, The terminal, Godfather

8-9:  Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, The departed, LA confidential, V for vendetta, The inglorious basterds

7-8:  Good Will Hunting, HUm Tum, Sathiya, Fire, Pulp fiction, Mulholland drive, The Twilight saga, The hurt locker

6-7:  American Pie- The book of love, 500 days of summer, Sin city, The hurt locker, Savage grace

The last week of 2009 was the most entertaining week in my life. There are however lots of works ahead and I would miss this week badly in my life.

!!DEMANDING RESPECT!!

  Respect is a mischiveous thing. I have been taught for years to respect my elders. But, most people say I am not good in showing respect to others. I do not wish them properly and talk to them like an idiot.  'ARROGANT' is what they say I have become. Well I do not deny this fact completely but who else is not!!!!!!  I  have a  quote for them: "Respect is not demanded, it is commanded".

Few days back I was chatting with a relative (Name & identity withheld otherwise I don't know what would happen). I asked him a few things and suddenly he became furious. He told me that I had been trying to be oversmart and disrespectful. I was  perplexed. I thought what the hell did I do to let him think so. But then, I realised It was not his fault. Although there was nothing vulgar in my talk he assumed the other way because it was a perceptual error on his part. He had already framed a negative  perception about me and whatever culminated in his mind was a result of it.

It's not that I am worried about what he thinks of me. So many people think lots of  things about others. I cann't be an exception. But I am definetely worried about the reasons he cited for the dislike he  has for me as these are the reasons cited by most of the immature elders as an excuse to curse their youngers. It's my duty to tell them to correct their stands, stands which have been founded on medieval world principles and which have no significance in the present day world.

I have always held this belief, "The way you think, the way you become." If you live in a conservative environment, It is most likely you will become conservative. You will start thinking about the trifle things like why someone doesnot bend his knees to touch your feet everytime he meets you. I always wonder there are so many topics to think about for these elders but all they care about is that why ain't a woman covered his head when she is in front of them. Such people try to act like  moral police telling others what to do and what not to do in life. They try to take charge of our lives thinking as if we are the puppets and they can dictate us in any way.  But all I say to them is why don't they care about global warming, illiteracy, healthcare, hunger deaths, women emancipation, criminalization in politics. etc.  for these are the burning problems in front of us and if they contribute, we all would be more prosperous and happy in the days ahead.

But,Will they ? No way man. They will tell us not to stand for the rights because they have never stood themselves. They will tell us to let other children suffer the curse of illiteracy because they are not ours, let the women in other houses suffer because it is their fate and let the earth warm up because It's not our job to take care of it. In their views the only noble job they have  is to find faults in the youngsters and they do it with full precision.

 Well, all I can say to such people is to wake up. The world has moved very fast in the last few decades. If you do not catch up with the rest you would soon become irrelevant. The coming generation is not going to listen to  the hypocrites.

                   My Dear Elders: When would you grow up!

Childhood again!

Hatred, contempt, complex, disgust

Who is happy anyway?

Hope fades like evening sunshine now and then

I wonder would I be child again!!

Growing loneliness with each passing day

Dreams scaring me every night

Ugly competion breeding ill will

Prepared to sabotage me with full force,

Living these fear moments now and then

I wonder would I be child again!!

But, wish of childhood again?

Isn't a run from life's strains

The inability to change,

and above all a non sense in true sense?

Knowing all these simple and plain,

I wonder still, would I be child again!!