Heal the world

Songs are always a source of comfort and music is a universally accepted media too. I think most of us were influenced during our growing up years by a few of them when it got stuck in our heads. If earlier music had to be played loud to be enjoyed, the present generation hears it privately with the ear phones glued to their ears. What are they hearing? Do they hear songs like "Heal the World" which influenzed a whole generation?

Thought I shall copy the lyrics of two such songs which has so much meaning in the present times of war talks, refugees, distrust etc. etc.
 
This is my wish
Kevin Ross

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU2miZh329A

This is my wish, my wish for the world.
That peace would find it's way to every boy and girl.
This is the time, the time for harmony.
Let love be the song
That everybody sings.Fill the air with joyful noise
Ring the bells and raise your voice.
Let there be peace on earth
Let there be peace on earth.
Lift your light and let it shine.
Shine, shine, shine
Let every voice be heard
Let there be peace on earth.
I hear the sweetest sound,
The sound of hope to come.
Together we could bring,
Good will to everyone.
Let it start with you
Let it start with me
Let every nation rise
And sing this melody
Fill the air with joyful noise
Ring the bells and raise your voice.
Let there be peace on earth
Let there (peace on earth) yeah.
Lift your light and let it shine.
Let it shine, shine, shine
Let every voice be heard
Let there be peace on earth.
Ohhh, ohhh, ohhh, ohhh,
Ohhh, ohhh, yeah
Let there be (peace on earth)
Ohhh, ohhh, ohhh, ohhh, ohhh, ohhh, yeah.
Fill the air with joyful noise
Ring the bells and raise your voice.
Let there be peace on earth
Let there be peace
Lift your light and let it shine.
Let it shine, shine, shine
Let every voice be heard
Let there be peace on earth.

 

Circle Of Life

Elton John

 

https://youtu.be/xQ_Zq_b4sBc

 

From the day we arrive on the planet
And blinking, step into the Sun
There's more to be seen than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done

Some say eat or be eaten
Some say live and let live
But all are agreed as they join the stampede
You should never take more than you give

In the circle of life
It's the wheel of fortune
It's the leap of faith
It's the band of hope
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the circle, the circle of life

Some of us fall by the wayside
And some of us soar to the stars
And some of us sail through our troubles
And some have to live with the scars

There's far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the Sun rolling high through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round

In the…

In the circle of life
It's the wheel of fortune
It's the leap of faith
It's the band of hope
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the circle, the circle of life

It's the wheel of fortune
It's the leap of faith
It's the band of hope
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the circle, the circle of life

On the path unwinding
In the circle, the circle of life

Songwriters: Elton John / Tim Rice

Letters from a Self-Made Merchant to His Son

Came upon this book two decades late I think. Even though the setting is more than a century old, the writings are still relevant, if you can close your eyes to the social set up during the age.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The path isn’t the shortest way to the top, but it’s usually the safest way.

Life isn’t a spurt, but a long, steady climb. You can’t run far up-hill without stopping to sit down. Some men do a day’s work and then spend six lolling around admiring it.

 

 

 

You can always bet that when a fellow’s pride makes him touchy, it’s because there are some mighty raw spots on it.

It’s been my experience that pride is usually a spur to the strong and a drag on the

weak. It drives the strong man along and holds the weak one back. It makes the fellow with the stiff upper lip and the square jaw smile at a laugh and laugh at a sneer; it keeps his conscience straight and his back humped over his work; it makes him appreciate the little things and fight for the big ones. But it makes the fellow with the retreating forehead do the thing that looks right, instead of the thing that is right; it makes him fear a laugh and shrivel up at a sneer; it makes him live to-day on to-morrow’s salary; it makes him a cheap imitation of some Willie who has a little more money than he has, without giving him zip enough to go out and force luck for himself.

There are two things you never want to pay any attention to—abuse and flattery. The first can’t harm you and the second can’t help you. Some men are like yellow dogs—when you’re coming toward them they’ll jump up and try to lick your hands; and when you’re walking away from them they’ll sneak up behind and snap at your heels.

As long as you can’t please both sides in this world, there’s nothing like pleasing your own side.

 

On marriage and I do not think this institution has changed much over the years :)

An unmarried man is a good deal like a piece of unimproved real estate—he may be worth a whole lot of money, but he isn’t of any particular use except to build on. The great trouble with a lot of these fellows is that they’re “made land,” and if you dig down a few feet you strike ooze and booze under the layer of dollars that their daddies dumped in on top. Of course, the only way to deal with a proposition of that sort is to drive forty-foot piles clear down to solid rock and then to lay railroad iron and cement till you’ve got something to build on. But a lot of women will go right ahead without any preliminaries and wonder what’s the matter when the walls begin to crack and tumble about their ears.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------One can read the whole book out here: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21959

6 Recommended Obsessions for a Better Life

Copied from the following blog:

http://meanttobehappy.com/6-obsessions-that-will-make-you-a-better-person-in-2012/

6 Recommended Obsessions for a Better Life

1. Be Obsessed with your Family

Those who obsess over their families are those who uncontrollably and unconditionally love them. They spend lots of time together, play together, laugh together and bond with each other.
They also develop strange little practices like regular date nights and family nights. They prioritize family time high on their to-do lists. They care about how they’re doing as dads and moms and husbands and wives and make regular adjustments to improve.

But Beware the Counterfeit

Jealousy is not love or devotion. It is a fraudulent emotional replica of love. It is insecurity, plain and simple. It’s an emotional infection that can spread and corrupt the organism of relationship, marriage and family.
Root it out, cure it, disinfect the emotional wound before it destroys the real love that still exists. Obsession with family really has no relationship to jealousy. Jealousy is self-obsession, a form of self-absorption, a selfishness that lashes out when threatened. The family suffers at the hand of that emotional disease.

2. Be Obsessed with your Values

Do you have a clear set of values? Do you live your life by them? Do they influence your choices as a reflection of how you choose to live? Or are they things that sit on a shelf you pick up and put down at will?
Those who are obsessed with their values are willing to sacrifice much to maintain them –this sometimes includes their “lives, fortunes and sacred honor.” They yearn to live by their values and exercise integrity to them.
They are very clear about what matters most to them and can articulate their values very clearly when asked to. They seldom, if ever, compromise on their moral standards and hold them as near and dear to their hearts. An obsession with your values is a way to live more perfectly by them.

But Beware the Counterfeit

It is wonderful to passionately advocate a set of beliefs. I do that here. But never allow yourself to even dream of imposing them on others. If your values have led you to degrade or belittle or hurt or threaten others for holding a different set than yours, you have devalued the quality of what you believe. Pull back far away from that ledge!

3. Be Obsessed with your Health

A peek in your refrigerator or behind the doors of your pantry will tell a pretty accurate story of your obsession (or a lack thereof) with health. Those obsessed with improving their health reflect that obsession in the food they choose to bring into their homes.
For those obsessed with health, flavor ceases to be the primary goal when creating a meal. They care deeply about the long-term impact of what they put in their mouths and make a part of their cellular structure.
They believe in the literalness of the truism that we are, in fact, what we eat. They make exercise an integral part of their life experience as well. As a matter of fact, they have a comprehensive approach to living healthy.
They care how they feel and how they live and how long they’ll be around to pursue their life’s work. Quality and longevity of life are important to them.
At its highest form, an obsession with health is an altruistic obsession. It cares more for loved ones and their happiness than any particular flavor you put in your mouth or a preference for sitting around the house with a bag of potato chips in hand.

But Beware the Counterfeit

An obsession with appearance or weight or body fat or build is an unhealthy obsession and should be avoided at all costs. I am advocating a mild obsession with HEALTH. And anorexia and bulimia are certainly NOT healthy.
A preoccupation with the mirror or the scale is not what I’m talking about either. Nose jobs and other cosmetic surgical procedures are largely the result of a devotion to the wrong kind of obsession.

4. Be Obsessed with Learning

Don’t let a day go by that you don’t learn something new. Be obsessed with developing your intellect and ability to use your God-given mind closer to its full potential.
Some people claim they’re just not readers. But that is such a cop-out. The world’s great ideas are not floating through the atmosphere waiting to be plucked out of the sky. They are recorded in books, waiting to be absorbed into fertile minds. And ideas matter. They alter courses and change civilizations.
So read and study, whether or not you like reading or studying. Stimulate your mind and creativity, challenge yourself, tackle difficult subjects, build your vocabulary, your ability to communicate the growing knowledge you obsessively acquire.
Develop a passion for knowing, for discovering. Yearn to learn and understand. Create a passionate love affair with the words “why” and “how” and “why not?” and “what if.” Turn off the reality shows and watch the Learning channel or something equivalent to it. Feed the hunger of your mind. Listen to books on tape, listen to talk programs in the car.
Those obsessed with learning are passionate about learning from their own mistakes and from others mistakes as well. They welcome challenges as a way to discover new insight and meaning about themselves or life or humanity.

But Beware the Counterfeit

It is important to employ wisdom in your pursuit of knowledge. To pursue knowledge and its application without the moderating voice of wisdom is to walk blindly through a minefield. Eventually someone is going to get blown up!

5. Be Obsessed with Making a Difference

Do you yearn to leave an impact on world (or your community)? Do you ache to leave the world a better place than when you found it? Do you look for ways to add meaning and value to people’s lives, to reach out and touch someone, to lift the downtrodden? If so, you may be suffering from this obsession. My recommendation? Give in to it!
Those obsessed with making a difference are not satisfied in a cubicle. They can’t add numbers in columns for hours on end or shuffle papers or attend mindless meeting after mindless meeting.
They may do those things as part of a larger mission, but they can’t simply bring home a paycheck without something deeply moving about the work they do, the difference they make.
They have to touch lives, inspire something more in those who are living under their potentials. They almost instinctively lift and build and encourage and motivate and teach and elevate and reach and comfort and love others.
Their hearts beat differently than most. They thump to the tune of other hearts. They dream of being able to reach more people, impact more people and inspire change and growth in more people. Is this your obsession?

But Beware the Counterfeit

There are, however, some who care only for others. They are the martyrs and victims, the ones who wonder why no one cares for them like they care for others. They pity themselves for always serving and never being served.
And so they resent the service they give even while giving it. And they miss the point of service altogether, receiving few, if any, of its benefits.

6. Be Obsessed with Balance

Obsessions are intense things. They are focused like a laser beam on the object of the obsession.
As such, they can easily take control and throw our lives out of whack. But with an underlying obsession with balance, other obsessions don’t overtake the rest of life. There is equanimity, a sort of life equilibrium.
Obsessive compulsions are moderated so that an obsession to ones work is prevented from pushing family and friends to the back of life’s bus.
An obsession with balance can tame success in any given area of life, it’s true. But it is the only way to achieve the highest kind of success … the success of a life lived well.

But Beware the Counterfeit

The only counterfeit to balance is thinking all things must be perfectly balanced at all times. When you’re working on your Masters Thesis, you will be off balance for a time. You should be or you’ll do a sub par job or never even finish it.
When a project is due, it’s okay to come home late from work every day for a week or two. On family vacation, you will neglect your work and indulge your family.
But never use the need for balance as the excuse for never working hard enough in an area of life to ever become particularly good at anything.

Afterthoughts

Successful living is living with passion. It is being obsessed with living the right kind of life in the right way. It is an obsession with making the most out of the life you were given.
An obsession with life is an obsession with living it to its fullest, loving it even for all its dirty messiness.

The giants that made a mark

There are many Indian companies which rose from scratch and later became household brands with loyal customers. If I remember my Father used to purchase only Hamam soaps when many other brands were available. Most of these brands were later acquired by MNC's either to make a quick buck or when they could no longer hold against the tough competition. Some of them continue to survive inspite of tough competition.

Nirma washing powder

Nirma is a group of companies based in the city of Ahmedabad in western India that manufactures products ranging from cosmetics, soaps, detergents, salt, soda ash, LAB and Injectibles. Karsanbhai Patel, a well known entrepreneur and philanthropist of Gujarat, started Nirma as a one-man operation. Today Nirma has over 15000 employees and a turnover of over Rs. 3550 crores. In 2004, Nirma's detergent approached 800,000 tonnes – one of the largest volumes sold in the world – under a single brand 'NIRMA'.

In 1969, dr. karsanbhai patel{2}, a chemist at the Gujarat Government's Department of Mining and Geology manufactured phosphate free Synthetic Detergent Powder, and started selling it locally. The new yellow powder was priced at Rs. 3.50 per kg, at a time when HLL's Surf was priced at Rs 15. Soon, there was a huge demand for Nirma in Ruppur (Gujarat), Patel's hometown. He started packing the formulation in a 10x10ft room in his house. Patel named the powder as Nirma, after his daughter Nirupama. Patel was able to sell about 15-20 packets a day on his way to the office on bicycle, some 15 km away. By 1985, Nirma washing powder had become one of the most popular, household detergents in many parts of the country.






Goodnite Mosquito Coil
 
 

The Goodknight brand was launched by Transelektra Domestic Products Limited (TDPL) in 1984. Having tasted early success,TDPL targeted the lower-end of the market, launching a brand called Star priced at just Rs. 36 (US$ 0.75). Godrej Hi Care took over TDPL in August 1994. A year later the new company had acquired and merged brands like Jet and Banish. This was followed by a strategic alliance with Sara Lee, a Fortune 500 consumer product giant to create a formidable combine.

Boroline

This octogenarian brand from Kolkata-based G D Pharmaceutical Limited has invigorated and inspired the entire over-the-counter (OTC) antiseptic cream market in India commanding an annual sale of 2.8 million litres valued at more than Rs. 180 crore (US$ 37.50 million). In this evolving segment Boroline, with its traditional quality and an unswerving commitment to consumers is the eminent front-runner with a market share of 21% (Source: ORG-Marg).

Boroline's history is inextricably intertwined with the dawning of India's nationalistic pride and struggle for independence. Founder, Gourmohan Dutta belonged to Calcutta's merchant class. He was already an established trader of imported goods, when the patriotic Swadeshi movement sweeping India, gnawed at him. He was convinced that the best way to help his country was to contribute to her economic selfsufficiency. To realize this goal, he decided to manufacture products of a quality equivalent to their foreign counterparts.

It was a daunting task. Manyinthe- category status, Boroline was portrayed as ‘The Original’. In the later half of the 1990s, it stood for ‘Boroline skin, healthy skin’. In early 2000, the brand values were summed up with

‘Boroline – works wonders’.

Keeping these values in mind, Dutta chose the elephant as Boroline's logo, hoping that it would bestow luck and spell success, for what was still considered a reckless venture.The logo caught on instantaneously. In the rural heart land and for the millions who cannot read, Boroline is still known as the 'hathiwala cream' (cream with the elephant logo). Boroline's brand image is the brain child of the founder's son, Murari Mohan Dutta. A marketing genius, he pioneered concepts that were years ahead of their times. In the late 1950s, Boroline

had surged with concepts like brand image, rural marketing and event sponsorships.

Cinthol

In the early 1900s, Ardeshir Godrej, a lawyer steeped in principles and ideology – a man passionately committed to delivering India from colonial rule – made a decisive contribution. He created India's first toilet soap from indigenously available vegetable oils instead of imported animal fats. The mantle passed on to his nephew, Dr. Burjor Godrej, a mechanical engineer, with a prestigious doctorate in technical chemistry. He pioneered manufacturing soap with germ-killing ingredients. Cinthol Deodorant & Complexion soap was born on Independence Day in 1952.

 

Enriched with a unique Fougere perfume the soap received an extraordinary welcome. Cinthol Deo & complexion soap has remained unchanged in design, perfume, shape and packaging since its launch in 1952. Briefly replaced in 1986 it was brought back to its original form in the face of popular demand.

Crocin

In India the history of Crocin goes back more than 40 years when it was first introduced in the market by Duphar Interfran Limited (now DIL Limited) – a Mumbai-based pharmaceutical firm. In its early days, Crocinl like several other drugs, was a prescriptive and was marketed through the ethical route.

In 1996, Duphar Interfran sold the brand to SmithKline Beecham.

Hindware

Hindware The Somany Group’s flagship company, HSIL was set up in 1962 in collaboration with Twyfords of the UK. By pioneering the vitreous china line in India, it gave the very concept of sanitary ware a bold new definition. Over the last four decades, HSIL has earned respect in the Indian and international markets with itscommitment to innovation, unwavering quality and customer satisfaction.

Hindware’s manufacturing facilities at Bahadurgarh and Secunderabad are state-of-the art projects, credibly certified ISO 9001:2000(E), ISO 14001:96, as well as OHSAS 18001: 1999 for safety and health consciousness.

To meet the growing demand for Hindware products, the annual production capacity of the plant at Bibinagar, near Secunderabad, has been recently enhanced from 12,000 to 18,000 tonnes at a cost of more than Rs. 26 crore (US$ 5.50 million). This plant now has the distinction of being the largest single-location manufacturing facility in Asia.

Hero Cycles

In every crisis, says a Chinese proverb, there is an opportunity. Forced to abandon their lives in Pakistan by the traumatic fall out of the partition in 1947, four brothers Dayanand Munjal, Brijmohan Lall Munjal, Satyanand Munjal and Om Prakash Munjal did not dwell on the crisis but looked for the opportunity.They surmised accurately that people in newly independent India were in need of a cheap and convenient means of personal transport. In 1956, they established a modest manufacturing unit and made an even more modest beginning.

 

That year they manufactured 639 bicycles. By 1963 – in seven eventful years – they had become a household name.

To ramp up capacity, the company acquired Gujarat Cycles Limited in 1987. Renamed Munjal Auto Industries Limited, the unit was earmarked to manufacture and export state-of-the art bicycles and allied products from its fully automated plant at Waghodia.The company further scaled up capacity by establishing a second unit at Sahibabad, Uttar Pradesh in 1988.

Kissan

The preserved food division of United Breweries Group (UB Group) was not doing well as compared to its liquor division. So, UB Group sold its food section along with Kissan brand to Hindustan Unilever Limited. Now Kissan is another of HUL’s Indian brand. HUL has revived and added more desi flavor to Kissan brand. Also, more items such as salt, rice, spices, chilli powder, atta, etc were added to Kissan brand and hence taking this Indian brand to another level.


Hamam









Hamam, one of the oldest Indian beauty soap brands, has created itself as a trustworthy brand in the market. It is a natural soap category with low pricing. It was owned by Tata Oil Mills Company (TOMCO). It was taken over by Hindustan Unilever Limited when it acquired TOMCO in the year 1993. Hindustan Unilever Limited continues to keep this brand alive as it is one of the trusted brands with strong brand loyalty in soap segment in Indian market. HUL did try to repackage and modify the brand but they found out that by changing the composition of the soap they were loosing the loyal customers, so HUL have gone back to old composition and is using ‘trust’ and ‘quality’ as this brand’s salient points in marketing it.

Thumps Up

 
A cola drink introduced in 1977 to offset the expulsion of American Coca Cola Company, an Indian brand by Parle Group gained a near monopoly in India with government closing the door to foreign companies/brands. When Government of India again opened its doors to multinationals, Thumps Up lost its will to fight with its resource packed international brands vis Pepsi and Coca Cola. It sold out to Coca Cola Company in 1993 in order to make quick money after enjoying a near monopoly for almost 15 years. As Thumps Up had a huge market share, Coca Cola Company decided to keep the brand alive rather than kill it to give competition to Pepsi.


Limca

 
Coca Cola Company bought Indian brand Limca along with Thumps Up when the Indian government opened its door to foreign companies. It tried to kill this brand as well but found out that lemonade is a favorite of Indians during hot sweltering summers; it was revived as a tangy and refreshing drink. Limca is still one of the top brands in soft drink segment in lemon flavor. With better marketing by Coca Cola Company, this brand is still going strong.


Lakme

 
Lakme started as a subsidiary of Tata Group in 1952. This Indian cosmetic brand was not making any profit. It had two options after perennially losses, one to close this brand and second sell it to another company. Tata Group took the second option and Lakme Limited formed a joint venture of 50-50 with Hindustan Unilever Limited in 1996 and later in year 1998 sold this brand to Hindustan Unilever Limited, a conglomerate in consumer goods sector. And today Lakme is a household name in cosmetics in India as well as abroad.


Kwality Ice Cream

 
This brand of ice cream found in every nooks and corner was a pioneer in the field of ice cream manufacturing in India. Kwality later ventured out from ice cream sector to restaurants. In 1995, Kwality tied up with Hindustan Unilever Limited, move that took this Indian brand to international market. Hindustan Unilever Limited introduced Kwality Walls ice cream to India and the world beyond, a very profitable venture indeed.


Viva and Maltova

 
This favorite Indian heath drink was brought by GlaxoSmithKline Beecham Consumer Healthcare Linited from Jagatjit Industries in the year 2000. Now with well known brands GlaxoSmithKline – Horlicks, Boost, Viva and Maltova – it has become a market leader in Indian health drink market. Viva has been repositioned as a traditional family health drink and Maltova as a tasty chocolate based health drink for the kids.


Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirma

http://www.nirma.co.in/consumer_products.htm

http://www.superbrandsindia.com/images/brand_pdf/consumer_3rd_edition/

http://www.buzzom.com/2010/01/top-indian-brands-that-have-gone-to-foreign-hand/

ttp://www.scribd.com/doc/75347638/Kissan-Brand-Dossiure

The 5 Principles to Unlocking Wealth

The following is an excerpt from a book:


These principles are a key to unlocking amazing cache of wealth, abundance and success. They are all centered on our true innate qualities, which as a matter of fact are universal and have a spiritual basis. These principals are:



Beautiful Munnar



 Truth


 Righteousness


 Peace


 Love, and


 Non-violence

The practice of these virtues will enable anyone to progress in life without any doubt.

The reason is simple.

These universal principles are all attractive and needless to say, they form the cornerstone of the code of ethics. You cannot go wrong practicing the importance to moral values, codes of conduct and obeying the Law of Nature in your pursuit of wealth.

Pessimism

While pessimism warns us of dangers lurking before our very own eyes, optimism may propel us into false security. Pessimism should only be considered initial and not a final predicament in any situation - this is the first step to success.

The Basic Steps


The following guidelines will help you pave a wonderful path to your ultimate success.

The steps are very simple to implement in your daily life.

1. Do what you love and what you are good at.

2. Be prepared to learn and to be positive (motivation and enthusiasm)

3. Be an innovative individual.

4. Be prepared to invest not just money but your time, effort and resources too.

I mentioned money - this does not mean that you have to incest a large sum to become wealthy.

5. You must be disciplined in having set goals and targets. Remember that persistence is the key to success.

6. You must be prepared to manage your time effectively.

7. As you evolve, learn to give back what you amass to society. I call this philanthropy.

You must have a solid vision - one in which you "see" yourself having attained success. Great people of the past and present see to it that they reach this coveted position by employing these basic steps.

Action is incredibly important and highlights success - the two are synonymous to be quite honest. To succeed action is needed but the essential ingredient is how serious you are. Being too serious can ruin your business venture, so the point is to have FUN.

Our inner also environment plays a huge role. A calm relaxed individual is far more likely to come out a winner in a trying situation that his/her counterpart - a person who is nervous, frustrated and erratic. The former has his senses fully identified with the environment in which he places himself.


However, the restless individual does not understand the environment and consequently gets into trouble. The keywords are focus, concentration and care in whatever you do in life.

1. Develop a definite and a clear-cut goal/aim.

2. Draw up a wise workable plan/program.

3. Guard your health. Without health there is no real wealth.

4. You must conserve your energy.

5. Be honest in your life (in words, deeds, thoughts and actions)

6. Stick to virtues and adopt good principles.

7. Reflect upon ideal personalities and seek strength from their philosophy.

8. Seek divine guidance and be truthful.

9. Endeavor to help and serve others with gratitude.

10. Always think positive and believe in the power of God.

Transformative thinking is indeed the way to success. Set out a plan to achieve your goal and deliberately ruminate over the meaning of this plan and make it happen.


But if the above is overwhelming then all you need is join Indian politics :)

A letter...

A Beautiful letter written by a father to his daughter says the forwarded email.

Following is a letter to his daughter from a renowned Hong Kong TV broadcaster and Child Psychologist. The words are actually applicable to all of us, young or old, children or parents.!

I am writing this to you because of 3 reasons.

1. Life, fortune and mishaps are unpredictable, nobody knows how long it lives. Some words are better said early.

2. I am your father, and if I don't tell you these, no one else will.

3. What is written is my own personal bitter experiences that perhaps could save you a lot of unnecessary heartaches.

Remember the following as you go through life.

1. Do not bear grudge towards those who are not good to you. No one has the responsibility of treating you well, except your mother and I. To those  who are good to you, you have to treasure it and be thankful, and ALSO you have to be cautious, because, everyone has a motive for every move. When  a person is good to you, it does not mean he really likes you. You have to be careful, don't hastily regard him as a real friend.

2. No one is indispensable, nothing in the world that you must possess. Once you understand this idea, it would be easier for you to go through  life when people around you don't want you anymore, or when you lose what/who you love most.

3. Life is short. When you waste your life today, tomorrow you would find that life is leaving you. The earlier you treasure your life, the better you enjoy life.

4. Love is but a transient feeling, and this feeling would fade with time and with one's mood. If your so called loved one leaves you, be patient, time will wash away your aches and sadness. Don't over exaggerate the beauty and sweetness of love, and don't over exaggerate the sadness of falling out of love.

5. A lot of successful people did not receive a good education, that does not mean that you cannot be successful by not studying hard! Whatever knowledge you gain is your weapon in life. One can go from rags to riches, but one has to start from some rags!

6. I do not expect you to financially support me when I am old, neither would I financially support your whole life. My responsibility as a supporter ends when you are grown up. After that, you decide whether you want to travel in a public transport or in your limousine, whether rich or poor.

7. You honour your words, but don't expect others to be so. You can be good to people, but don't expect people to be good to you. If you don't understand this, you would end up with unnecessary troubles.

8. I have bought lotteries for umpteen years, but I never strike any prize. That shows if you want to be rich, you have to work hard..! There is no free lunch..!

9. No matter how little time I have with you, let's treasure the time we have together. We do not know if we would meet again in our next life.

God of the faithful and the faithless

First of all let me wish every Indian a very Happy Republic Day. Let me also echo/copy the sentiments of a friend.

Wishing all my friends greetings on the occasion of the Republic Day of a prosperous, compassionate, developing India with an active judiciary, neat governance and a vibrant democracy to lead the world into the new times of change and growth accessing technology and advances in Science for the benefit of mankind, flora and fauna all over.

I shall soon be boarding the plane to let our children have some time with their grandfather (Hubby’s father) who may soon bid adieu to this world. Later, they would need to get back to their studies and their world full of promises and so also heartaches. They loved their grandfather like every other grandchild and I am not sure how they shall deal with such inevitabilites of this life. As for me, let me gather my strength and hold onto to my own faith in the Almighty. One needs it all the more at times like this.

The following is an email forward from my blogger friend and many may have read it. It is just another bid to try and convince a few who hold on to their faithlessness.

GOD
A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects.
When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists."
"Why do you say that?" asked the customer.
"Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving a God who would allow all of these things."
The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and un-kept.
The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist."
"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked o n you!"

"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside."
"Ah, but barbers DO exist! What happens is, people do not come to me."
Exactly, affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! What happens, is, people don't go to Him and do not look for Him. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."

All is well

Looking back at my blog, I realized that I have stepped into this New Year with nothing but complaints :)

Like many, I joined Facebook and last year I also succumbed to Farmville (FV).

I played FV with much enthusiasm and tried luring neighbours [mostly my children’s friends :)]. But FV also made me realize what consumerism really is. As you know, consumerism is the belief that the buying and selling of large quantities of consumer goods is beneficial to an economy or a sign of economic strength. In FV, you buy things, even if you don’t want them, just so as to earn points and re-sell these same goods at a much lesser cost, to buy even more. You get into this frenzy of buying and selling, just to see those points grow bigger and to cross into the next level. I am sure the pleasure one gets while patting the animals or feeding them in the virtual world is nothing compared the same in real life. Yes, I have had the pleasure of doing it during my growing up years. Seeing a real garden blossom under your care can never compensate for that at FV. Anyway happily for me, my vacation forced me out of FV and I dare not peek into it again.

And like in FV, so also in real life, greed can never be satisfied. One can spend the whole life yearning for material things and get no lasting satisfaction after acquiring them. And many of us may have realized over the years that doing manual labour is indeed liberating, although we try our best to minimize the same. I believe, all that we learn in this fast moving world of consumerism over the years, takes us far from the real world to a world filled with wants and more wants.

                                                          Image Courtesy: Point of Return

This year, I wanted some encouraging news desperately and that is when I remembered Good News and Point of Return, of which I had mentioned at the end of Year 2009. At Good News, I got to read of Project Why once again and understand the woman behind it a little more.

I was following the venture at Point of Return for a while, until I got too busy. Today, after visiting them and reading their progress I felt very happy and refreshed. The article “What moves Point of Return” is very encouraging.

Sunil is a young well-wisher of pointReturn, who works in the USA and has been following this project from its inception. He often mentions our work in his blog. He has been intrigued somewhat. In September, 2010 he posted some questions for us to answer in order to understand what it was all about. Questions were tailored and addressed to each of us. Recently we answered them.

The following is Sunil's reflection:

I said to myself: “Bah, who’s going to give him his life and join him to work in the wilderness”. Boy, was I in for a surprise! Karpagam and Sriram did exactly that. What surprised me was that both are well educated and with good careers; how did they decide to leave their comfort zone and step out to work under the harsh sun in the interest of common good.

If I have managed to raise curiosity and not confusion, please do hop into their site and read the rest.

Let me wish everyone a Very Happy and Prosperous Year 2011.

Let me also continue to utter the words "All is well", despite the setbacks, disappointments and heart breaks that last year may have given.

Edited to add the following comment that I found at Point of Return.. I realize, it is not only Indians who are being inspired:
Carolyn Robbins

September 23rd, 2010 at 6:02 pm

I draw inspiration continually from all that you do, every one of you, at pointReturn. I am s designer with an avid interest in green building and have been following DV’s project since the first windmill. Now, a project you all create. Just the other evening, in a round table discussion on the growth of gardens in my home town, I presented many photos and descriptions of your project, to the Board of Supervisors. Three years of development and hard work I showed. I had everyone’s attention for more than an hour in describing the true genius of your project at pR. Most of the questions I couldn’t answer, but I directed so many interested people to your website for further study.

So I say to the person above, who asks: “Does it help society?” Yes, it has helped this society of hard working green builders in Marin County California, across the world but with the same concerns. A new era is emerging and young people care so much, that progress will happen no matter the struggles in front.

To of all of you folks at pointReturn, by being the beacon that you are; we have modeled our garden project after yours!

What a truly small world we are, when it comes to common minds and passionate projects!

Congratulations to Karpagam, Sriram, Siddarth and especially a wink from me, in your direction DV.

Let us learn about LOVE...

Yet another email forward and an unknown author's wisdom points out some truths about LOVE.

Fairness & justness without love makes you inflexible & stern.

Diplomacy & tact without love makes you a hypocrite.

Success without love turns you arrogant.

Wealth without love makes you mean & tight–fisted.

Poverty without love turns you into a radical.

Beauty without love makes you capricious.

Authority & power without love lead to tyranny.

Labor without love turns you into a slave.

Naivety without love deprives you of values.

Prayer & worship without love turns you into a egotist.

Faith without love turns you into a fanatic.

Bearing your cross in life without love becomes a terrible burden.

LIFE WITHOUT LOVE LOSES ITS MEANING !

A reminder to oneself....

The following must have been an email forward sent to me by a well wisher a few years back... I am not sure why I saved it... but the words continue to inspire me..

The good you find in others is in you too.

The faults you find in others are your faults as well.

After all, to recognize something you must know it.

The possibilities you see in others, are possible for you as well.

The beauty you see around you, is your beauty.

The world around you is a reflection, a mirror showing you the person you are.

To change your world, you must change yourself.

To blame and complain will only make matters worse.

Whatever you care about, is your responsibility.

What you see in others, shows you yourself.

See the best in others, and you will be your best.

Give to others, and you give to yourself.

Appreciate beauty, and you will be beautiful.

Admire creativity, and you will be creative.

Love, and you will be loved.

Seek to understand, and you will be understood.

Listen, and your voice will be heard.

Show your best face to the mirror, and you'll be happy with the face looking back at you.

A very Happy New Year

Let me wish everyone a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year 2010.

...and for those who have taken 2012 seriously, please remember that you have 2 more years to fulfill your ambitions, be happy and give other's happiness..

and for the rest of you who believe that this world is never going to end (during your lifetime), better work towards making it good so that it remains good while you :) last.. or at least good enough for your children so that they can take it up from where you left.

Let me leave a few links of blogs/newspapers that are reporting happy news from around the world…Yes we sure need them...

The one below is from a report on the co-author of "Three Cups of Tea”.. his work is mainly in Afganisthan..

that in 2000, there were 800,000 kids in school in Afghanistan, and this was during the height of the Taliban. The kids were nearly all boys. Today, there are 8.4 million children in school in Afghanistan, including 2.5 million females. So it’s the greatest increase in school enrollment in any country in modern history and the goal is 13 million.

I think that’s why I feel that educating girls is so important. If you educate a boy, you educate an individual but if you educate a girl, you educate a whole community.

The next is from goodnewsindia website which stopped spreading good news in the Year 2006 and for which the author has given a lengthy explanation. Please take time to read it through. He is now engaged in another fruitful venture.

“Given India’s history of throwing up influential people, waiting for a Gandhi is not an unrealistic act. But we can do something while we wait and do a bit of what he counseled: You cannot change others; but you can change yourself. If bad news depresses you, you can do something that radiates good news; so, become the good news and you begin to change the world. Indeed Gandhi deemed the greatest change we can ever seek is the change in ourselves. Feel the power of his insight: “As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world - that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake ourselves.” [How I love this man! He knew the modern age was a myth; it believes all the water we need can be delivered in bottles.]

Reflecting further, I understood consuming less and consuming with sensitivity is also to contribute to conservation and/or production; without any measurable productive act, a sensitive consumer can contribute to production and begin to bridge the divide inside her.

Let me also post the reason why the author chose the name "point to return"..

“…the point is to return” says the tagline. And that can be read in many ways.
Return to your roots
Return to nature and to learning from it
Return something to the earth for gifts received and resources enjoyed.

The author has inspired many.. and if one reads the comments one gets to know how many were inspired enough to start their own ventures; yes.. how Solar Energy, Green Houses, Rainwater Harvesting etc. can make a positive change to our environment...

Volunteers at work...



Point to return has its presence in twitter too.

Let me sign off with a quote from him...

Just as one must believe in God despite the priest, one must hope farming can be made attractive despite the intruding professional agricultural scientists.

Can we have our revered Judges back?

If there was a news over the last week (heard on TV too) that warmed my heart it was this:

Justice Dinakaran’s name withdrawn from list for SC appointment
By ANI
November 1st, 2009
NEW DELHI - Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan on Sunday said that the Supreme Court Collegium has withdrawn the name of Karnataka High Court Chief Justice P D Dinakaran from the list of judges who were to be evaluated for appointment to the apex court.

Not sure if I have rights to point to the following post for further reading: click.. but it gives an extensive account of the case.

I think it is time our judiciary is taken to task.

It was from the movies of yesteryears that I came across “Court martial” and deduced that it was the worst punishment any person serving in the armed forces is given.

Courts martial have the authority to try a wide range of military offences, many of which closely resemble civilian crimes like fraud, theft or perjury.

Indian Army has four kinds of Court Martial - General Court Martial (GCM), District Court Martial (DCM), Summary General Court Martial (SGCM) and Summary Court Martial (SCM). According to the Army act, army courts can try personnel for all kinds of offences except for murder and rape of a civilian, which are primarily tried by a civilian court of law.

Courtesy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court-martial

While reading about Court Martial I do read that it has its own problems too. I also stumbled upon a blog detailing those who are facing court martial and other trials for various reasons.

Tuesday, 13 January 2009
Indian Army Courtmartial and Dishonourable discharge: Current List of Officers under a cloud

Anyway, since I am talking about our judiciary I think it is time something similar (or is there one?) is implemented before the entire system collapses. Those in the judiciary themselves are calling for action and hence it is imperative that something is done.

As for declaring assets which I had mentioned in an older post, we do have good news:

Madras HC Judge declares assets

STAFF WRITER 17:15 HRS IST

Chennai, Nov 9 (PTI) Amid a debate over declaration of assets by judges, Justice K Chandru of the Madras High Court declared his assets at the time of being sworn in as a permanent judge today.

Justice Chandru, who was among 14 additional judges to be sworn in as permanent judges, said he was "starting a new convention" of declaring assets at the time of swearing in.

He handed over an envelope, containing details of his assets along with that of his wife and minor daughter, immediately after being sworn in by Chief Justice H L Gokhale.

The court has a strength of 54 judges, including the 14 sworn in today against the sanctioned strength of 60 which includes the Madurai bench.

SC judges declare assets on website
Dhananjay Mahapatra, TNN 3 November 2009, 03:20am IST

NEW DELHI: Two months after the Supreme Court, faced with demands and growing pressure from within, resolved to make public the assets and liabilities of its judges, the details were put up on its official website.

The significant step towards transparency was marked by some surprise revelations — one of the judges doesn’t own even a two-wheeler, while another has a Yamaha motorcycle as his sole vehicle. There are details of land, houses, investments in shares and flats as well. ( See Ninan’s cartoon )

Projectwhy

Did not post anything since I was busy enjoying the 9 days holidays that we had in Kuwait.

Today I want to write about a blog which energize me each time I visit it. The blog, Projectwhy drowns my cynicism and taunts me too. I often lament about things but don’t do much about it, other than blog. But at projectwhy, one sees the other side of life and the way it is dealt with, in such a sincere manner. The author touches so many lives and continues to shine ever so brightly for them. I also love the way she deals with many of our current issues..



Here are my sincere wishes and prayers to Projectwhy.

All is not lost...

Judiciary seems to be paving the way for a corruption less society.

The following could be the start and it felt good to note that the Kerala High court along with the Delhi High Court is setting the standard.

STAFF WRITER 20:29 HRS IST
New Delhi/Kochi, Aug 28 (PTI) Judges at the High Courts of Delhi and Kerala today decided to make public details about their assets--the first in the state judiciary, two days after a landmark decision by the Supreme Court judges to reveal information about their wealth.

The assets details that is at the core of intense public debate about the importance of judicial accountability in the country is expected to be put up on the websites of the respective courts in a couple of months since the modalities and manner of declaration are being finalised.

The move by the two high courts came even as Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan suggested that the judges of High Courts cannot be compelled by the apex judiciary to follow suit. Balakrishnan however hoped that some of the high courts would follow the apex court.

Yet another welcome news was the resolution passed against Senior Supreme Court judge, Mr. Cyriac Thomas. When I listened to his passionate speech exposing his overly gratitude to the Church I did wonder if his love for Church was more than his love for Christ and his teachings. For some, the passionate love for the church alone can adulterate their faith and the actions that follow. In my opinion he should step down if his love for his Church is a hindrance to his job.

Resolution against SC judgeAugust 29th, 2009
By Our Correspondent

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug. 28: The Kozhikode Bar Association has passed a resolution against the senior Supreme Court judge, Mr Cyriac Joseph, criticising his visit to the Bengaluru Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory to view the narco analysis CDs of the Sister Abhaya murder case suspects.

It was after a two-hour long discussion that the bar association passed the resolution. In all, 180 advocates supported the resolution and six opposed it.
The resolution said that Mr Joseph’s conduct was unbecoming of a judge and sought an inquiry by a SC judge into the allegations against him. The resolution also said that he should step down from his post while facing the probe. However, those who opposed the resolution said that allegations against SC judges should be discussed in Parliament and not in bar associations.

On Wednesday, 62 members of the Kerala High Court Advocates Association had moved a resolution against Mr Joseph in a meeting of the association. However, the meeting rejected the motion saying that it was not legally maintainable.

An Interview

The following landed in my inbox and I am sure many have read it already… it is a good one and my blogger friend suggested that I blog it..


An Interview With God

The author dreamed that he had an INTERVIEW WITH GOD.

"So, you would like to interview me?" GOD asked.

"If you have time," I said.

GOD smile. "My time is eternity... what questions do you have in mind for me?"

"What surprises you the most about humankind?"

GOD answered...

"That they get bored with childhood, that they rush to grow up, and then long to be children again."

"That they lose their health to make money... and then lose their money to restore their health."

"That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live in neither the present nor the future."

"That they live as if they would never die, and die as though they had never lived."

GOD's hand took mine... and we were silent for a while.

And then I asked, "As a parent, what are some of life's lessons you want your children to learn?"

GOD replied, "To learn they cannot make anyone love them. All they can do is let themselves be loved."

"To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others."

"To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness. "

"To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in those they love, and it can take many years to heal them."

"To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least."

"To learn that there are people who love them dearly, but simply do not yet know how to express or show their feelings."

"To learn that two people can look at the same thing, and see it differently. "

"To learn that it is not enough that they forgive one another, but they must also forgive themselves."

"Thank you for your time," I said humbly.

"Is there anything else you would like your children to know?"

GOD smiled, and said... "Just know that I am here." "Always."