Back at Editorials

Never in my entire life I had imagined that one day, I'll be writing an article for a magazine. Let alone an editorial. However, my first opprtunity to exploit my flair for writing was in year 2002 when I was made the Editor of the college wall magazine. It was just an editorials for two issues. No big deal! I was actually reprimanded by my mom who is a masters degree holder in english literature. Her point was that my writing was too immature and I was not at all capable of writing even a college essay. Well, that's my mom!

After seven years, I got the same chance, but not in the college magazine. It was an industrial magazine. It was not exactly an editorial but a report that's to be written by an editor himself. But as the editor was pre-occupied with other priorities, I had to fill up the column. Finally it was published! I started wondering, what is it, that my mom although being an masters in english literature, had no iota of interest in writing while I, having no proper training in journalism or english literature, am getting opportunites to write? Well, that is one part of my story.

Recently, I was given a hint by the branch manager of the bank I work at that I had to keep myself highly updated with latest events. I was asked to give an analysis on 2G spectrum scam and nadia case. She highlighted the need for me to stay abreast in all the current developments in India and around the world along with my favorite topics of technology, internet and spirituality!

Great going buddy! Good Luck to myself!

The world is not going to end in 2012

The reassuring voice dispelling fears of an apocalypse in that year brought a collective sigh of relief to the audience at the SMX convention center.
"We are going to see 2013, as good as 2012," declared international humanitarian leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

The spiritual head of the UN-affiliated The Art of Living Foundation gave this assurance not as a prophet but as a social activist who has taught people of different traditions and faiths the "art of living" through techniques that calm the mind and instill self-confidence.

It was a question begging to be asked amidst the anxiety generated by cataclysmic changes in the earth, fanned by a viral marketing hype for an upcoming disaster movie called "2012" directed by Roland Emmerich.

Forecasts of this cataclysmic or transformative event are based mainly on the fact that the Mayan calendar ends on Dec. 21 or 23, 2012, the so-called ancient Mayan calendar prophecy.

It is not a doomsday scenario but a new beginning in humanity's consciousness, explained Sri Sri, echoing what the modern-day Mayan elder, Guatemalan Chile Pixtun, has been saying about the prophecy.

"During this time, the planet and its inhabitants may undergo a positive physical or spiritual transformation, and 2012 may mark the beginning of a new era," said the white-robed Indian teacher, a namesake of the popular Indian musician, called Sri Sri (meaning His Holiness) by his students.

"We are going to see a new consciousness developing, that of humanism," he told a small media group that he met before his public talk.

Unfounded fears

He recalled similar events in the past that stoked similar unfounded fears.

"Remember 1999, featuring the famous Nostradamus prediction? The second millennium came and the world is still existing."

"Remember the fall of communism? It took another 20 years to bring capitalism to collapse."

"Today, we live in a culture of caution and uncertainty of the times where banks can no longer be trusted. We live in a time when one's savings and livelihood can be wiped out overnight," he said.

He enjoined people to seek inner peace in the midst of a dynamic changing world, "to develop new attitudes and new ways of coping with the difficulties and hardships we are facing such as disasters, typhoons and flooding."

Ignorance creates problems

Saying that ignorance creates problems, Sri Sri travels to nearly 40 countries every year, committing to his role of "educating people, removing prejudice, teaching compassion."

Sri Sri was a Nobel Peace Prize nominee in 2008, in recognition of his work in peacemaking and conflict resolution in such areas as Iraq, Kashmir, Sri Lanka and Cameroon.

Before coming to Manila for his second visit, he was in Bangkok, Thailand, to speak at a Unesco conference about the need to eliminate a major social disease—depression—indicated by the growing incidence of suicides and drug abuse.

He said he was visiting Manila to see for himself the trauma relief efforts of AoL's Philippine volunteers on the victims of the recent twin calamities of "Ondoy" and "Pepeng."

Trauma relief

Local AoL volunteers have teamed up with the Red Cross to provide not only food but also trauma relief workshops, called the Breath, Water, Sound program, for thousands of people in the evacuation centers. The course consists of breathing exercises and sound meditation with lots of drinking water (for detoxification) to help manage stress.

Volunteer Denise Celdran has conducted the course for 12 street children that Childhope street teachers had gathered at the Museo Pambata. She remarked that the children don't have the judgmental intellect that too much education can sometimes bring.

"They are open and accepting and treat everything as fun and games," she said.

Every Saturday, for two to four months, the kids ranging in age from 7 to 13, learn breathing exercises and meditation in addition to regular schoolwork conducted by the Childhope street teacher. They are taught how to still the mind and feel safe within themselves.

The children were presented to Sri Sri during his public talk. The street teacher reported how they have shown a remarkable transformation, particularly in attention span and attitude.

Major social disease

Sri Sri considers depression a major social disease. "Conflict and stress steal human satisfaction, " he said.

His approach places sustainable development and social uplift side by side with value education.

Through programs that help people rid themselves of stress and inspire them to see the bigger meaning of life, Sri Sri has been successful in making violent aggressors calmer, happier and less prone to destructive emotions.

People who came to listen to his public talk, called "Let Love Win," did not hear a lot of words being said but were treated instead to two hours of destressing into music and positive affirmations.

It was long enough for Sri Sri to make his point: Why worry about 2012


Courtesy: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20091108-234915/No-apocalypse-in-2012-says-guru

Monsoon & Mumbai

After scorching, sultry heat of April and May, Mumbaikars' eagerly wait for the tiny drops of first monsoon, the heavenly odour of wet mud after the first rain, the cool & pleasant breeze. But these pleasantries always come with some Monsoon Mishaps. Never has it happened in Mumbai that Monsoon season passed away without any casualties. There are hordes of problems that lifts its head up during monsoon. Train Malfunctioning & Mishaps, Flooding of Low-lying areas, Open Man-holes, Diseases, Ugly, crater holed roads, Electricity issues, Transport Delays... etc. etc. The list goes on... It's not that mumbai has not learnt from past mistakes! After the July 26, 2005 floods in mumbai, Authorities have realised that the city desperately need a effective drainage and waste-water management system. However building such infrastructure under the oldest city of India, is next to impossible task. It was then decided to clear Mithi River from all the waste scrap dumped by its river bank inhabitants! Actually speaking, Mumbai was a city of 7 isles. Much of the land you see is reclaimed land. This land was built by dumping soil and other dumpable material. This blocked the outflow of the rainwater from the city into the Arabian Sea! And in most of the reclaimed land, as it was not terra firma, has sunk down. A little rain and high tide is enough to flood these areas. The Local train of Mumbai are branded as the life-line of Mumbai. They shuttle Crores of passengers between Virar to Churchgate and Karjat-Kasara to C. Shivaji Terminus. The monsoon season have always caused some trouble for the passengers. Same is the case of road transport. I am unable to decide whether it is the contractor who uses spurious material to built roads or the road damaging rainfall that does the damage to the roads. The Moon-like craters give terrible backache to drivers! The Log-jam that comes along is inevitable. Maybe not in the main city, but in the suburbs the load shedding is now a part of life. But with monsoon in picture, turning off the electricity needs no excuse. There are also freaking accidents, ailing diseases, and other mishaps that keep on happening. My question is that ours is not the only country where it rains? Do such mishaps happen so frequently when it rains? If not stop can we reduce such freaking occurrences? As usual, I know these questions will remain the eternal ones!

BWSL: Opens with a hiccup

The Bandra Worli Sea Link (BWSL) was finally open for public yesterday. The bridge opened the routes at 7 a.m. but people had queued right from 6 a.m. to be the first to travel on the most "happening" infrastructure of Mumbai! 46 years after first being conceived and years of delay this bridge is a pride of Mumbai and also exhibits the "grime" in our governmental machinery! The construction was scheduled to start its work from October 2000. The China Harbour Engineering (Group) Co. were the main sub-contractor for the Bandra-Worli Sea Link Project. The CHEC group, which was awarded the contract for constructing the 500-m long cable-stayed bridge and the 170-m high tower by HCC in November 2000. This bridge has endured a lot of project delays and cost overruns due to the political games parties play. There seems to be a controversy even on naming of the bridge. The Bridge was finally named after Late Prime Minister Mr. Rajiv Gandhi. With Congress, whenever it comes to giving names, there is a little bit of Rajiv in every thing, be it breakfast or bridges!!! The status of this bridge is still "Work in Progress". The sea-link will remain toll free till 5th of july. The Toll Contractor, as the media reported, are still busy setting up the electronics required for collection of Toll Fees. The Eight lane Sea-link is now running on Four lanes. Some work is yet to be completed. As a result there was a slow moving traffic. A nice experience to learn on Day 1. Let's hope the bridge stands up to it's claim of reducing the transit time! Best Wishes to the lovely bridge. References http://www.projectsmonitor.com/detailnews.asp?newsid=3165 http://ibnlive.in.com/news/naming-controversy-over-bandraworli-sea-link/96118-3.html

Promise Delivered albeit delayed!

I had promised long back that I will strike back in the blogosphere with loads of new things. But I found myself actually with loads of work. On the eve of the day when I planned to start writing blogs, I found a msg lying in my inbox. I never knew that the msg would take me to Moradabad, UP, India. Well, the trip started with an absolute indecisiveness. The train we (Anita, Yogita and me) boarded was Dadar Amritsar Exp. but it was nothing less than the mumbai locomotives, packed to its brim! We had decided to return home if it was not for a pot bellied TTE, who encouraged us to travel in the train with a wait listed (unconfirmed) ticket! And the journey continued and we reached Moradabad! At Moradabad, we took up the task of organising a huge satsang of 7,000 people in Moradabad's Railway Stadium. It was the first mega event for Moradabad-ians! During the work I witnessed countless miracles, unbelievable feats of marvel, North Indian delicacies, Time spent with Rishi Nityapragyaji! and People with a huge heart. The volunteers there treated us in a very royal way! I always wondered, whenever some swamiji or rishiji would talk about the miracles they experienced, whether they were true? But now, after a stint in Moradabad, I will agree to their last word. It is 100% true that when you do the work for divine, divine takes care of you! Make no mistake about it!!! After returning home on Guruji's B'day (May 13), I was occupied constantly in some work, that kept me tied. So today, taking out time from my busy schedule, I decide to pour out some words on the blog. One more nice thing happened with me! A few days before returning back to mumbai, I decided to meet my li'll cousin sis, in New Delhi, whom I did not see for last eight years! She asked me to join Facebook, yet another social networking (socnet)site. I actually spend less time on such social networking sites. But on her behest, I did join. But to my surprise, I found that lots of YES!+ youth religiously use facebook as an online communication tool! I then found that I was spending around 2 hours a day on facebook adding them to my friends list. Well, Now I understand how such (socnet) helps in keeping people connected. Here's a link containing fotos of Moradabad! Copy paste the link below in your browser to view the album: Trip to moradabad! http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=797&id=100000005163816&l=5aadba0725 O.A.K.

Being proud of an Indian

Many people now-a-days, I see, proudly exhibit the western influence on their minds. Eating with fork and spoon, Indian style commodes with Western WCs, Installing Bath Tubs in the bathrooms... Lets start one by one. When Swami Vivekananda visited Chicago for the parliament of religions, he observed the habits of westerners. One person asked swamiji that was it not backward class to eat with hands dipped in the food? Swamiji instantly replied the westerner by saying, "We indians do not poke or slice food. We first feel it with our hands before we feel it with our tongue." Really! Most people may feel it very embarrassing to continue our Indian culture outside India, or even in India while eating with other fellow Indians. We show-off how well groomed we are by eating the way westerners eat! Following is the excerpt from "Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda"

Now hear something about the Western art of cooking. There is greater purity observed in our cooking than in any other country; on the other hand, we have not that perfect regularity, method and cleanliness of the English table. Every day our cook first bathes and changes his clothes before entering the kitchen; he neatly cleanses all the utensils and the hearth with water and earth, and if he chances to touch his face, nose, or any part of his body, he washes his hands before he touches again any food. The Western cook scarcely bathes; moreover, he tastes with a spoon the cooking he is engaged in, and does not think much of re-dipping the spoon into the pot. Taking out his handkerchief he blows his nose vigorously, and again with the same hand he, perchance, kneads the dough. He never thinks of washing his hands when he comes from outside, and begins his cooking at once. But all the same, he has snow-white clothes and cap. Maybe, he is dancing on the dough — why, because he may knead it thoroughly well with the whole pressure of his body, no matter if the sweat of his brow gets mixed with it! (Fortunately nowadays, machines are widely used for the task.) After all this sacrilege, when the bread is finished, it is placed on a porcelain dish covered with a snow-white napkin and is carried by the servant dressed in a spotless suit of clothes with white gloves on; then it is laid upon the table spread over with a clean table-cloth. Mark here, the gloves — lest the man touches anything with his bare fingers!

This shows the level of ignorance towards our own tried and tested culture. I have seen many western ladies (Proudly!) wear saries while our own Indian women "JUST DO NOT KNOW" to wear them. Western ladies are excited to wear bindi. While our young ladies laugh at other (Indian) girls who wear them! How many boys really know to wear Veshthi or Dhoti? I have also seen my Mallayali friend wear Leather belt on his lungi to insure himself from any potential embarrassment! Now what to say? People, while doing the interior designing to their homes, replace Indian style commodes with Western style toilets. They call it sign of advancement. All I can claim is that our ancestors were not fools to continue with the Indian style. When a person sits for cleaning bowels on an Indian style commode, automatically some pressure is created on the large intestines which makes the "excretion" process easy. Yes, some people do give excuse that the old members in their family suffer from arthritis so they cannot sit in Indian commodes. The very cause of such joint pain and arthritis is the fast food culture that we have readily adopted, laying idle watching the idiot box and no exercise for joints. Also using the flush nearly drains out a large quantity of water. Most toilets installed before 1980 use 5-7 gallons of water per flush. Toilets installed between 1980 and 1993 use 3.5 gallons per flush. Toilets installed since 1994 use 1.6 gallons. 1 US gallon = 3.78541178 liters. People now install Bath tubs, but do you know how much water it holds? Here's some math: 1 (cubic foot) = 28.3168466 liters The dimensions of a standard size bathtub are approximately: two feet wide, four and one-half feet long, and one foot deep. Simply multiply as follows to find the tub's volume in cubic feet: 2' x 4.5' x 1' = 9 cubic feet. 9 Cubic feet x 28.32 = 254.88 liters! The standard bath tub in Indian homes hold around 40 liters of water. Here too, swami Vivekananda was asked why do Indians still prefer to bath with buckets instead of soaking themselves in bath tub? The reply was, "In India, when we bathe, the water flows over our body and goes down the drain taking with it the grime and dirt. We do not wallow in the same water in which others bath!" Yet we are so proud to flaunt our Occident influenced minds. This is really surprising!!! O.A.K.

Solution to all problems

There is one simple solution to all our small little problems... Want to know??? It really simple. Just get yourself in to a bigger problem! That's it. Cheeky, you may say, but its really true. We all are stuck in small little problem. We have created our own world with customized definition for everything. We conceptualize, analyze, theorize and then close our ize (Read eyes) and then simply zzz. The problems we all face in our day to day lives are really trifling. In AoL course there is a process of sharing our problems of life to the partner. The inference that people draw from this process is that the other person too has problems and our problems are nothing compared to what others face in their lives! We only are too much concerned about our own problems. That's the reason our problems look big. It is said that when our vision expands and broadens then the magnitude of the problem also rises, then the small small problem that we face become meaningless. At the same time we are given enough power or authority to face bigger problem. Like say, you are made the president of US of A then will your small personal problems matter? Now you have responsibility of a big nation. Lives and safety of many people lie in your hands. Its a bigger problem! But then you will have the special presidential powers/authority. That's how we all should grow. Look at the lives of all the saints; Be it Gautama Buddha, Sri Krishna, Jesus. They all faced so many hard ships. In Shri Krishna's life, 7 brothers and sisters were killed before he was born, that too by his own uncle. His parents spent their fertile period of their lives in Kans uncle's dungeon. He was raised by his foster parents then when he met the mighty five "Pandavas" Shri Krishna was claimed as the preperator of the mega war in kurukshetra. He also had to fight over 100 battle after maha-yudh. All in his 126 years life span! If the problem he had to face were to be faced by someone else that person would have commited suicide. Our horizons never expand just because we are afraid of exploring uncharted areas. We are afraid of jumping in the courage zone. Too comfortable in our own cozy personal lives and self-centered living patterns. Jump out of the well which you call your universe and look around. People are living life like zombies. 95% of the people do not like the life they are living. It is just that our thoughts become our action. Our action turns into habit. Habit forms a character, our character decides our fate. And most people just do not like the surprises thrown at them by fate! This is just another wake up call from the author. Do you want something devastating to happen in your life to wake you up to some reality? Just apply for YES!+ course or UTSAV happening nearby. Log on to www.yesplus.org to know more about such youth activities. Life is given to all creatures including human beings, but how we use it decides ultimately how we have chosen to live life! Like animals? like humans? or like the divine!?! Decide! O.A.K.

The crusaders of love

At one end are the Valentine day supporters and Anti-Valentine day protesters at the other. This is one tug-of-war which will never end until the people on both the sides experience Real love or Divine love. Just like Holi and Diwali, Valentine day is one such day which I enjoy witnessing. Groups on both the sides get armed up to their sleeves with amusing antics. This year the Battle of ethics have taken an unique shade. Pink. The Valentine day supporters plan to give the V-day protesters, pink undies. Before I continue writing any further I would like to give a disclaimer. I am neither interested in V - day supporters not in the V -day protesters. I am really interested in doing something for the betterment of the country. Something very concrete! It is because of such (protesting and supporting) behaviour, the people living across the border are able to export their people with explosive attitudes and poisoned mindset to our nation to create havoc. They know that the nation is caught up with all such trivial issues. There are plenty of internal issues that never get resolved. It is the attitude of enjoying quick gains/gratifications that makes our people oblivious of the impending doom. The "other-siders" then take undue advantage of this and disrupt the lives pretty often. Some may ask; How do I plan to celebrate V day? It's really simple, I say. See, V-day is a day of expressing love, Or so it seems for others! I express Real love everyday! So why don't we conduct satsang thereby expressing our love to god or divinity? Just come together sing some beautiful bhajans and enjoy [If at all you know to enjoy a bhajan!! he he he :-D ] Here, both, V- day supporters and protesters are invited. Now you may ask how can a bhajan avert the act of tyranny by the "other-siders" See, the problem that we face in our country is not because of such tyrants exported to our nation. It is because of huge mass of so-called "good" people who prefer to remain inactive and irresponsible after such horrendous acts of crime. It is very very crucial that we all come together. What did Mahatma Gandhi do to drive away the British Rulers? He simply went to every village to do satsang. He made good rapport with the villagers. In turn the villagers supported Gandhiji's cause to free India from British Rule and the whole nation stood up against the British Rule. But now everyone is enjoying freedom, that's what people incorrectly assume. It is said that the internal rot is deadlier than the external rottening. We are all caught up in Domestic violence at home, indifference to our own people in society, Absolute selfishness or self-centeredness at personal level. This will only make people's lives miserable. Time has come to wake up and come together for a cause. And one last point before I end this extended "Note". I will never participate in Anti-Terrorism Activities. But if there is any Pro-Peace activities, I'll be always interested. Because no one can douse fire with fire. You need water to douse the fire! [ Only intelligent people will understand this!] O.A.K.

Do we really mean a "new year"?

Well, the last day of the year 2008 has arrived. And what do we do on this day. Generally we celebrate and party overnight to enjoy the new day of the new year. We all say that the last day of the year is now over, A new day has begun. But there are thousands of people for whom there is gloom and despair everyday. There is no celebration in their lives. I am not talking about some specific group of homo sapien. I am talking about the general people who think they are celebrating the new year's eve, but all the celebration is just superficial! Do we really mean the new year a "New Year"? What newness has any new year brought to people's lives? Apart from recessions and gloom! We get up every morning brush our teeth, do our routine work, go to office, half the life gets killed there, we carry home the half life back to spend some time with the family doing what? watching tv, dining, and sleeping. Now just re-read this para 100 times. I bet you will get bored when you complete it reading 40 times. Imagine doing it for n years X 365 days. Day in, day out. That's the life of the general public. I wonder what do they mean by new-ness? What new things have you done? NONE! Humans are not born just to get good education, good "job", good income, good spouse, cute li'll kids. The human beings in the society have served you so that you stand where you are. Be it in misery or joy. When shall you serve back the society. Till when shall you live only for your selfish needs? To serve is a divine quality. God serves humans but is not the servant of the humans! People talk about being successful in life. Do you claim success when you accomplish drinking a glass of water? No because you know you can easily do it! But what you do not know is your true potential. You have no idea what you can do? Here a guru makes you aware of your potential. So that you can achieve something beyond your limited knowledge. Remember, Your sole (soul) purpose is to give. When does the question of loss arise? When there is a give and take, and you get less when you give more! But when your sole duty is to give or serve you have nothing to lose! Moreover, you have come to this world empty handed and will go empty handed. Whatever you are going to get in this world is not yours. So why bother yourself so much on petty things in life and lose the bliss. We need to make this a habit to serve others. And when everyone on this planet serves others, you will live in abundance. This is how you must live. In Abundance! And for now, get some life, folks! And do not forget to enjoy the new year.

I'll be back!

This is the famous line from the movie The Terminator. A line delivered with panache and vengeance. This reminds me of a old roman empire story. There was a man, marcius, who used to spend considerable time of the day drinking wine and lazing around in the sun. One day, there came a hefty man. The drunkard and the hefty man got hooked up in some altercation and it led to a brawl. Eventually, the drunkard got beaten up very badly. The drunkard decided to return the blows back to the hefty man. He decided to give up drinking. He started exercising daily. He slowly regained his health. Within three years he built good body. He started participating in wrestling championships and won medals & accolades. He also started learning the habits of human mind. He realised how easy it is to make a mind lazy. To do something good the mind needs effort, but to do bad things mind does it effortlessly! Marcius decided to use this against his old enemy, the hefty man. The hefty man was now a little old but strong all the same. He did not want to fight directly with the hefty man. Hefty man was a treacherous person. He used all illegal means to defeat his opponents. So Marcius had thought of a plan. Marcius made a public announcement that the man of might will fight a lion in the arena. At the same time, Marcius used his contacts to hire some prostitutes for the hefty man. Marcius also got a gift, a bottle of wine. The hefty man had mucles but not the discipline. Brawns but no brains. When the hefty man was relishing his gift, and having sensory plesures, Maricus turned up at the hefty man's abode. Marcius was totally a new man now. Virile and strong. Mentally and Physically. The hefty man did not recognise the old opponent. Marcius started extolling the amazing feats of the hefty man. He praised his strength, his skills of fight. The hefty man then angrily asked Marcius, "I have never seen you, Why do you come with such pleseantaries and praise me. What do you want of me?" Marcius skillfully said, "Sir, There is a fight with a lion. The mightiest man in the town is offered to set match with this lion. If you win this match you will be the hero in the roman empire. No one will dare to fight with you, sir!" HEaring this the hefty man agreed for the fight. The next day the hefty man and the lion were in the arena. The fight lasted for two agonizing hours. The lion & hefty man were severly wounded. Both died due to loss of blood. This story we had in our 4th std. moral science. The moral is very simple. If you lead you life in discipline then you can fight even the mightiest enemy. You do not need muscles to fight. The strength is not in muscles, it is in the mind. The fight should not be initiated to propogate violence. Fight to "end" violence. This can be achieved only when there is peace in your heart. It hardly takes any courage to fight, but to say no to the fight one requires tremendous courage. Especially those who have the strength, arm, ammo to fight but avoids using it. Astalavista, baby!

My childhood...

I recently received an email from my friend. After reading it, I started wondering how we have changed the way we live. I loved this mail so much that I decided to post it here. Following is the excerpt from the mail: How did one survive growing up in the 70's, 80's and 90's? We had no seat belts, no airbags and sitting in the back of a truck was a treat. Our baby prams had the most gorgeous lead based colors. No such thing as tamper proof bottle tops. Opening kitchen cupboards was a breeze as safety locks were unheard off. Cycling was like a breath of fresh air. No safety helmets, knee pads or elbow pads, with plenty of cardboards between spokes to make it sound like a motorbike. When thirsty we only drank tap water, bottled water was still a mystery. We kept busy collecting bits & pieces so we could build all sort of things and we were fearless on our bikes even when the brakes failed going downhill. We were showing off how tough we are, by how high we could climb trees & then jumping down…. It was great fun…. We could stay out to play for hours, as long as we got back before dark, in time for dinner… We walked to school, or sometimes we even rode our bike. We had no mobile phones, but we always managed to find each other…. How? No one knows… We rushed to help neighbors when they were in trouble, now we do not even know who stays in our neighborhood! We lost teeth, broke arms & legs, we got cuts and bruises and bloody noses, nobody complained as we had so much fun, it wasn't anybody's fault, only ours. We ate everything in sight, cakes, bread, chocolate, ice-cream, sweet sugary drinks, yet, we stayed skinny by fooling around. And if one of us was lucky to find a 1 litre coca cola bottle we all had a swag from it & guess what? Nobody picked up any germs. We did not have Play Stations, MP3, Nintendo's, I-Pods, Video games, 99 Cable TV channels, DVD's, Home Cinema, Mobile phones, Home Computers, Laptops, Chat-rooms, Internet, etc ... BUT, we had REAL FRIENDS and not the virtual friends or avatars!!!! The present generation may boast of the ultimate and real feel games, but we have played the real games in real environment and not in the virtual environment. We used to do summer job and earn pocket money to buy colas and ice candies. Now kids go to "Second life" or "Sim city" and earn virtual money to buy virtual merchandise. We called on friends to come out to play, never rang the doorbell, just went around the back… We loved being let loose in the big bad world…without bodyguards… We played with sticks and stones, played with the top and "vitti-dandu", doctors and nurses, hide and seek, soccer games, "Lagori" or the seven stones, over and over again… When we failed our exams we were given a second chance by simply repeating the same grade…without visiting psychiatrists, psychologists or counselors… Such were the days… We had freedom, success, disappointments and responsibilities. We lived it all. Most of all, we learned to respect others. Now I know why it is said "Old is Gold" Jai Gurudev O.A.K.

Finally, Its over...

Haaa.. This is what probably the experience of mukti! I am talking about my MBA exams which I finally completed for this semester. Have you observed your state of mind after the last day of exam. Hardly anyone may feel unenthusiastic at that time! You sometimes just do not know what to do. There is so much excitement!!! If one can feel so ecstatic after a simple matter like examination gets over how much ecstasy may be in getting complete salvation or Mukti! I wonder. O.A.K.

Busy Streets of Bangalore

Fast moving life of Bangalore! I was standing on the divider path of the Byatrayanpura-Bellary Road while taking this pic.

I share my Birthday with...

My Birthdate: April 19th 1. Mukesh Ambani, Industrialist 2. Arshad Warsi, Indian Actor 3. Jason Gillespie, Australian Cricket player 4. Maria Sharapova, Russian Tennis Player 5. Kate Hudson, American Actress 6. Ashley Judd, American Actress 7. Rivaldo, Football player 8. Dickie Bird, Cricket Umpire 9. Susan Polgar, American Chess player

And today (October 19) is my mom's birthday. Exactly 6 months difference!!! Mommy shares her birthday with 1. Sunny deol (Mom studied in the same school where Deol kids studied, Jamnalal Narsee) 2. Pandurang Shastri Athavle 3. S Chandrashekar (Only Resident Indian) Physicist who won nobel prize!

Woww.. What a discovery!!!

Change is inevitable!

I have been receiving lots of comments from readers, old and new. Thanks a lot! Responding to those comments, there are few points that I want to make clear...

1. I am learning CSS and XML in the little free time available. So you will be seeing a new look of the blog soon. But not before Diwali. But surely before November end.
2. Yes, This blog is a Hodge-podge, or a heterogeneous mix. It is meant to be so! I am a very dynamic person, and my interests are more dynamic. So this blog will keep rolling out posts which really impresses me.
3. That's where comments come in. Your comments will give me an idea as to what posts (on which subject) I should roll out. You've asked for articles on finance, so be it...

Keep reading and commenting. Your efforts will be rewarded... Hehehe!! Jai Gurudeva -- O.A.K. Tree

Beijing Olympic Mascots

Like the Five Olympic Rings from which they draw their color and inspiration, Fuwa will serve as the Official Mascots of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, carrying a message of friendship and peace -- and good wishes from China -- to children all over the world.

Designed to express the playful qualities of five little children who form an intimate circle of friends, Fuwa also embody the natural characteristics of four of China's most popular animals -- the Fish, the Panda, the Tibetan Antelope, the Swallow -- and the Olympic Flame.

Each of Fuwa has a rhyming two-syllable name -- a traditional way of expressing affection for children in China. Beibei is the Fish, Jingjing is the Panda, Huanhuan is the Olympic Flame, Yingying is the Tibetan Antelope and Nini is the Swallow.

Fuwa also embody both the landscape and the dreams and aspirations of people from every part of the vast country of China. In their origins and their headpieces, you can see the five elements of nature -- the sea, forest, fire, earth and sky -- all stylistically rendered in ways that represent the deep traditional influences of Chinese folk art and ornamentation.

In China's traditional culture and art, the fish and water designs are symbols of prosperity and harvest. And so Beibei carries the blessing of prosperity. A fish is also a symbol of surplus in Chinese culture, another measure of a good year and a good life.The ornamental lines of the water-wave designs are taken from well-known Chinese paintings of the past. Among Fuwa, Beibei is known to be gentle and pure. Strong in water sports, she reflects the blue Olympic ring.

Jingjing makes children smile -- and that's why he brings the blessing of happiness wherever he goes. You can see his joy in the charming naivety of his dancing pose and the lovely wave of his black and white fur. As a national treasure and a protected species, pandas are adored by people everywhere. The lotus designs in Jingjing's headdress, which are inspired by the porcelain paintings of the Song Dynasty (A.D.960-1234), symbolize the lush forest and the harmonious relationship between man and nature. Jingjing was chosen to represent our desire to protect nature's gifts -- and to preserve the beauty of nature for all generations. Jingjing is charmingly naïve and optimistic. He is an athlete noted for strength who represents the black Olympic ring.

In the intimate circle of Fuwa, Huanhuan is the big brother. He is a child of fire, symbolizing the Olympic Flame and the passion of sport -- and passion is the blessing he bestows. Huanhuan stands in the center of Fuwa as the core embodiment of the Olympic spirit. And while he inspires all with the passion to run faster, jump higher and be stronger, he is also open and inviting. Wherever the light of Huanhuan shines, the inviting warmth of Beijing 2008 -- and the wishful blessings of the Chinese people -- can be felt. The fiery designs of his head ornament are drawn from the famed Dunhuang murals -- with just a touch of China's traditional lucky designs. Huanhuan is outgoing and enthusiastic. He excels at all the ball games and represents the red Olympic ring.

Like all antelopes, Yingying is fast and agile and can swiftly cover great stretches of land as he races across the earth. A symbol of the vastness of China's landscape, the antelope carries the blessing of health, the strength of body that comes from harmony with nature. Yingying's flying pose captures the essence of a species unique to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, one of the first animals put under protection in China. The selection of the Tibetan Antelope reflects Beijing commitment to a Green Olympics. His head ornament incorporates several decorative styles from the Qinghai-Tibet and Sinkiang cultures and the ethnic design traditions of Western China. Strong in track and field events, Yingying is a quick-witted and agile boy who represents the yellow Olympic ring.

Every spring and summer, the children of Beijing have flown beautiful kites on the currents of wind that blow through the capital. Among the kite designs, the golden-winged swallow is traditionally one of the most popular. Nini's figure is drawn from this grand tradition of flying designs. Her golden wings symbolize the infinite sky and spread good-luck as a blessing wherever she flies. Swallow is also pronounced "yan" in Chinese, and Yanjing is what Beijing was called as an ancient capital city. Among Fuwa, Nini is as innocent and joyful as a swallow. She is strong in gymnastics and represents the green Olympic ring.

When you put their names together -- Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni -- they say "Welcome to Beijing," offering a warm invitation that reflects the mission of Fuwa as young ambassadors for the Olympic Games.

Jai Gurudeva

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O.A.K. Tree 

Source: A Chinese Newspaper

The bullet that won the gold!

Trap Air Shooter Abhinav Bindra fired his way to victory in the 10-meter air rifle event on Monday, giving India her first gold medal in Beijing 2008 Olympics. Bindra, who qualified for the finals in third place, outscored 2004 Olympic champion, China's Zhu Qinan and Finland's Henri Hakkinen for the top spot.

Bindra's final score was 700.5 points, ahead of Zhu's 699.7 points and Hakkinen's 699.4 points. Zhu holds the Olympic record for the final score in the event, the 702.7 points, which he shot in Athens. Bindra's compatriot Gagan Narang did not perform well, coming ninth in the qualifier and failed to make the cut.
 
Bindra's triumph is no fluke. Born in 1983, he was the youngest Indian participant at the 2000 Olympic Games. Though he failed to win any medal then, he showed a lot of promise. In 2001, he won six gold medals at various international meets and in 2002, in the air rifle event at the Commonwealth Games, Manchester, he won the gold medal in the pairs event and silver in the individual event. At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Bindra broke the Olympic record but failed to win any medal. Abhinav Bindra has also received the Arjuna award in 2001 and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award for the year 2001-2002.

Bindra's victory gives India her first Olympic gold medal ever in an individual event and a gold medal in any Olympic event after 28 years. The last time India came close to winning an Olympic gold was in an indiviudal event was in 2004 when trap shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore won silver. India's tennis ace, Leander Paes and weighlifter Karnam Malleswari won the bronze medals in 1996 and 2000 respectively. Until Bindra's triumph, India's only gold medals had come in the sport of field hockey, the last of them coming in 1980 in Moscow Olympics. Unfortunately, India failed to qualify for hockey in 2008 Olympics.

*** REWARDS ***

The Punjab government on Monday announced a cash reward of Rs.10 million (Rs.1 crore) for the shooter as per its sports policy after Bindra won India's first individual gold medal in Olympics history. Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh announced a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh for Bindra. The Madhya Pradesh government also announced a cash prize of Rs.500,000 for the shooter. The Indian Cricket Board, the game's richest body in the world, announced a reward of Rs 25 lakh for Bindra, whom it ad adopted as part of its efforts to encourage other sports in a cricket-mad country. Railway Minister Lalu Prasad announced a free lifetime pass for travel by AC first class for the shooter. Whoaa! Now, that's what I say, "Jeeto... Chappar Faad Ke"

***

Jai Gurudev

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O.A.K. Tree

Bawa teaches me Advt & Mkt. !!!

To start with, Bawa (Khurshed Batliwala) is Art of Living teacher who teaches meditation. He is also loves technology and makes the most use of it. I am really thankful that I have met a super-man like bawa! This post is dedicated to my beloved teacher; Bawa! Just two months back, I did not own a blog. Bawa just told me that I should have a blog and it should be managed regularly. I did not ask whether I would gain from it in anyway. I knew that if bawa has asked me to start a blog, then it has will make a big positive difference in my life. I started the blog with a welcome note. I told only my 5 best friends and no one else, that I have started a blog. Ironically, those 5 friends have not yet visited my blog. But now I get 5.11 visits/day from all over the world and as on Aug 10 I had 143 visits from the day I started to track my blog (July 14, 08). Also 74.82% of the visitors use the best internet browser: Firefox. 44.06% of the visitors are unique visitors (first-time visitors)... Phew! Last Fortnight the same stats were; 3.27 visits/day with a total of 49 visitors, 34.69% of them were the new visitors. Running a blog which is one of the million blogs and gaining popularity is not a joke! Bawa guided me how to advertise, without shelling out a single paisa. I learn't to market my blog too... I joined entre-card, got a RSS Feed for my blog, added star-rating for those who are lazy to write a comment, added a Google Custom search on my blog! Also I learn't more of CSS, XML, and other amazing languages used in the web-world. AND MOST importantly, it keeps me on my toes as I have to be well-read to write good & interesting posts. Woww! Thank you, Bawa. Now my blog really rocks... I really feel good about it. P.S. After attending the workshop on Financial Literacy by Bawa, I have decided to write fabulous posts on Economics and Finance (which I am really good at... hehehe!). This will be once a week mostly on Saturdays. Do read them and PLEASE write some comments. Jai Gurudeva! -- O.A.K. Tree Note: The above stats are taken from the Google Analytics which keeps tracks of the visits to your blog and generated mind-boggling reports!

My first blog posted via email

Hey friends, As you all might know, I love technology and I like to make the most practical use of it. So I decided to post one blog on blogger's from email instead of logging-in the blogger. I use Mozilla Thunderbird as an email client to type the matter. Jai Gurudeva -- O.A.K. Tree

WAKE UP...

Vicky Mane, one of the avid readers of my blog, suggested that I write up something about the recent events or happenings. I usually do not write about the national events or on sports because, thousands of web pages are being published on such topics in the web-world every day. So just for what Vicky lovingly suggested I crawled all over the net in search of "good" news I can post in my blog. I traveled from Times of India to Ind. Exp. to Deccan herald to Hindu...and over to Washington post, BBC.UK, New York times. I searched for all news except from "pink papers" They all carried the following keywords: riots, terror, pain, brutal, suicide, stress, violence, attacks, victims... Do you as a reader find the above words, beautiful?? Would you like these words to be associated with you?? No one, in their sane minds, would prefer it. Then why should I write about it . Is there any dearth of stress and violence in our world? What can we achieve by reading such awful words in the daily noose(news, i mean). Just by writing scores of articles on such topics does the violence or terrorism end?? So what can we do to stop the advent of dark age & tyranny back into our world? Can we stop the terrorist or terrorism ?... Can we fight the "invisible" & "face-less" group of havoc creators all alone ?? Can we sabotage their horrific plans ??? The common answer for all the Qs above is .... NO! So what can we do?? WE CAN do a good activity. WE CAN spread the goodness in our environment. WE CAN be of help to the society. WE CAN spread so much goodness around us that the negativity can be at least nullified!!! CAN shows the ability. Everyone has the inherent ability to be of use to the society one lives in. But most of them are unaware and have no desire to do or achive anything, for themselves and for the society. They them selves are so much stuck in their own lives that they are not able to contribute anything to the society. They are, forgive me, a burden for this planet. Why join a group that is ANTI-TERRORISM?? JOIN a group that is PRO-PEACE... Joining anti-terrorism will not stop terrorist from surprising us with their bloody gifts. Peace in every human heart will deter them in their mis-adventures. Trust ME... It always has, and it always will! What's the difference between bad people and good people...do you know?? Bad people plan a tyrannical act and STICK to it. Do you think that those bloody terrorists would give silly excuses like, "tomorrow my sister is getting married, i can't execute the plan now" OR "i am having a headache/stomach-ache, Sorry i cant be of any help to u". If that were the case then there would have been no blasts at all !!! These lame excuses are given by the "duffer" good ones. When I ask people to experience the life transforming YES!+ course, these are the reasons they(good people) put up. The similarity between the good and bad people is that they both plan. The difference is that the bad ones EXECUTE the plan, while the good ones...discusses... analyzes... argues... the plan they came up with and they discuss more...analyze more... argue more on the same plan. In the process, they get tired... they take a pillow and go to SLEEP. WAKE UP. WAKE UP...NOW. Enough of LAZINESS and SELF-CENTEREDNESS. BE OF SOME, AT LEAST A LITTLE, USE TO THE SOCIETY !!! GOT THAT??? Thanks to Vicky, I could write something that had been in my heart for a long time. जय गुरुदेव -- OAK Tree