tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38914929225286532432024-03-14T06:03:57.693+05:30My Ruminating MindA peek into the world through my eyesSrikanth Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12748082698769743512noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891492922528653243.post-31598918185953462032017-10-16T18:19:00.001+05:302017-10-16T18:36:21.490+05:30A SAFE HOME FOR YOUR SMART PHold FRIENDS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Digital
literacy is often seen in the limited sense of an individual’s
ability to use and benefit from modern electronic gadgets today.
However, there is also a need for people to know the true worth of
the vast array of gadgets which are at offer. This is especially true
for many of us who are used to selling our old wares to the local
scraps buyer or the kabadiwala. In this age of smart gadgets where
our mobile phones are lighter than our wrist watches and our laptops
weigh less than our shoes, the weighing scale of the kabadiwala will
yield us naught nought. You surely do not want to part with your
three year old Rs. 20,000 mobile phone for Rs. 300. Bargaining with
them for a better price would seem useless today given the
difficulty, if not for an impossibility, for any individual to judge
the right price of the array of electronic gadgets available to us
today with newer editions being released every other week.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: large;">Personally,
I have a had a great fascination for every new release of mobile
phone and laptop since my first purchase during college in 2004. With
every technological innovation, I would be urged to revise model and
edition of the mobile phone and laptop that I possessed. I have ever
frequently changed my phone since the days of the first Nokia speaker
phone to my Galaxy S6 and Dell Latitude-X300 to my Macbook Air. I
have since changed six phones and 3 laptops, but have always felt
burdened with the need to sell my previous possessions. I hate
bargaining and get annoyed when people underestimate prices based
simply on how old they are. Imagine my horror in 2011 when a
neighbour argued with me on why my perfectly functional neatly kept
Iphone3G was to cost no more than Rs. 3000. This hassle has
often led me to resort to waiting for a better price and thus
hoarding. Online portals offer chances to put one’s product
for sale but the hassle of having to bargain a right price still
remains. My mother had in this frustration once sold off our
first Dell laptop to the scrap dealer without my knowledge while I
was back in hostel. Eventually, even I ended up selling them for
cheaper prices with a heavy heart, just to avoid watching them rust
and rot in disuse.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: large;">We
need a buyer who is proficient enough to understand the inherent
worth of our gadgets based on the features and values they continue
to offer. This is especially true in the case of our mobile phones
and laptops which we tend to change more frequently than the rest.</span></span></span></div>
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JnKiadRnpHI" width="480"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">I
have found a <a href="https://www.cashify.in/" target="_blank">friend</a> to
allay my worries and feel much content in reselling my gadgets today.
Cashify</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">fills
the much needed space of a technical mediator who helps </span></span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">to
procure the best price for our old gadgets in a quick and stress free
way. It gives an instant price quote, free device pick-up and instant
cash delivery at your doorstep, thus assuring a hassle free
experience when selling our older mobile handsets or laptops. Among
other electronic delices, they also help us with our older Television
sets, desktop computers, tablets, gaming consoles and others. A very
beneficial service on offer indeed. </span></span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Its
ease of use is an added advantage when looking to quickly sell off
old items.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">This festive month seems offering a perfect time to make use of it.</span></span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">
So why make haste and let </span></span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">your
</span></span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">devices
</span></span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">to
</span></span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">rot.
It’s time to make the most of #cleanupcashout before beginning your
purchases this Diwali.</span></span></span></span></div>
Srikanth Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12748082698769743512noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891492922528653243.post-71557505037628648232015-04-01T21:30:00.000+05:302015-04-01T21:33:34.251+05:30An Impetus to #StartANewLife <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-US">The biggest temptation to lie as children comes
up owing to the dread of retribution from our parents, elders or other people
in authority. Gradually with age, the propensity to lie grows stronger and
stronger due to increasing fears. The sole reason of one’s
inability to say the truth is due to the lack of confidence in facing the repercussions
of saying the truth. In many ways, it is the elders who encourage this habit to
lie by punishing excessively which in many ways discourages one from being honest.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As a growing up child, I had often given in
to the urge to lie to my parents fearing a beating. But as you grow up, there arrive
situations in life when one is in a moral dilemma over whether to lie or to say
the truth. The desire to lie is strong but the ethical self intrudes one’s mind
to say the truth.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I was faced with such a predicament when
sitting for a job interview to a reputed organization this January. It was to
be my first job and I had been sitting in it beaming with confidence. The
selection process was competitive and there were three levels- a written round,
group discussion round, and an interview round to clear before a candidate
could be selected. I had reached the final round successfully and had cleared
it. However, I was at this point faced with the dilemma of whether or not to
hide the fact that I was a patient of epilepsy. Epilepsy being a health
situation which most organizations do not want their employees to have owing to
various notions and prejudices associated to the competence of an epileptic individual.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I decided to go with the truth and was frank and honest about my health situation.
Much to my disbelief, I was eventually rejected. This came as a setback as I had
been the sole candidate selected from our college to that particular
organization. In the following two months, I attended 3 more interviews where I
stood firmly for what was true. Unfortunately, as things would come to be, all
of them refused. This is especially surprising one notes that I am a student of
social work who had been looking for employment with NGOs ‘dedicatedly’ working
towards eliminating discrimination and alleviating inequalities in society.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">All the same, the last four months have been an experience, especially the first time when I mustered the courage to say the truth and stand my ground instead of choosing to lie. Altogether, they have in many ways made me stronger, more confident, and have encouraged me to #StartANewLife.</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1FXdCjk505w/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1FXdCjk505w?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> Today I have
gotten myself a place to work without having to sacrifice my honesty, and this has
made me bolder than ever.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Get bolder and start a new life with <a href="https://housing.com/">https://housing.com/</a></span></div>
</div>
Srikanth Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12748082698769743512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891492922528653243.post-69107686070733657842015-03-31T19:10:00.000+05:302015-03-31T19:10:33.697+05:30Towards a more Inclusive #DigitalIndia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-US">While the mid 18<sup>th</sup> century to
the early 19<sup>th</sup> century period saw the rise of the Industrial
revolution which transformed the way things were manufactured and produced, the
mid 20<sup>th</sup> century to the present 21<sup>st</sup> century is undoubtedly the age of the Information & Communication Technology revolution
where ICT has transformed the way humans think, act and live in the world
today.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">However, despite the immense potential of
this revolution its impact on the near 70% of Indians living in the villages
has been little. Rural India has been spatially excluded from all the changes
one witnesses in the bustling cities of the country which have come to become the
nerve-centers of all information and services.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Electronic governance or E-governance is a pioneering
idea in ensuring the inclusion of this section of society and is being taken up
actively by the government to ensure a digitally enabled citizenry who are able
to avail of their rights and entitlements in a speedy, economical and
transparent manner. This could help a greatly in ensuring that corruption and
bureaucratic lethargy are contained at various levels by making the service
provider accountable to the service user directly. It would ensure that people
are able to avail of the rights and privileges that are owed to them.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But how would this happen? Let us see a few
narratives from Odisha, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu which highlight instances
where E-governance initiatives could be effective, and areas where they have
been implemented effectively. All the reports are based on field works
conducted first hand by the blogger.</span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US">An
account from Odisha<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyphenhyphenW282ies9T5ZSAJMnGS2bGpoBNb1DZGwXsqrIzlOX0IGpBJWb3r1jzfuzTvP37IUFPr5ZD1K5IXj4UNTqrLYNZaYf3D50tUnoLhWoNSYbEo16dynaPI445q-9WLEVuflVYsJhv6lTA/s1600/2014-01-10+11.22.54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyphenhyphenW282ies9T5ZSAJMnGS2bGpoBNb1DZGwXsqrIzlOX0IGpBJWb3r1jzfuzTvP37IUFPr5ZD1K5IXj4UNTqrLYNZaYf3D50tUnoLhWoNSYbEo16dynaPI445q-9WLEVuflVYsJhv6lTA/s1600/2014-01-10+11.22.54.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The above picture is of a school which was
left half constructed in 2003. The children of the Paharia community living in
Baijalpur village of Sinapalli block in Odisha’s Nuapada district continue to lack the basic faciliti of having a school to complete their education in. The teacher reportedly comes once every month from the town of s\Sinapalli to register his presence
and ensure he gets his salary.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The hamlet of Pahariapada within the village of Baijalpur is located atop a
hillock and has been socially, economically and geographically disconnected from the main village. Despite houses being constructed under government schemes, the hamlet lacks electricity and proper sanitation
facilities.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQRKZ-7JjCUJv6IIMxEjgmdwb9LNRVFVLm64yqF21lVpPYbmHUvwX-ZC-N-5w2dClY45V44r0A4RLPPEedt1VudTKqk-UbGNgB2P2ixxkq83ybX3QloSdLyNbLX1ELbpeqAPYyLeJlg/s1600/2014-01-10+15.39.27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQRKZ-7JjCUJv6IIMxEjgmdwb9LNRVFVLm64yqF21lVpPYbmHUvwX-ZC-N-5w2dClY45V44r0A4RLPPEedt1VudTKqk-UbGNgB2P2ixxkq83ybX3QloSdLyNbLX1ELbpeqAPYyLeJlg/s1600/2014-01-10+15.39.27.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With the Bamboo Weavers of Pahariapada</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US"> “This situation can be changed if communication services and infrastructure facilities were decentralized
to the village level” says Mr. Bhimsen in a declined tone. Bhimsen is a member of Loka Drusti, a local NGO, and is someone who has great faith in the power of ICT. When asked “how?” this transformation could take place, he replies with a smile, “It would be easier to make the
officials accountable and create a transparent system of entitlement delivery. This
would ensure that contractors don’t leave the work half done because poor
people are unable to offer them their ‘extra fees’ (a euphemism used for bribes
taken from the villagers).”</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>A Narrative from Maharashtra</b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In the newly formed district of Palghar in
Maharashtra, the people of </span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Utchaavli</span><span lang="EN-US"> village had no knowledge
of the Employment Guarantee Scheme till we met them in August last year. The bad
condition of the connecting road from the village to Saphale station along with
excessive flooding during the monsoon made it impossible for them to send their
children to schools during the monsoon.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7EL0pphSw1Q9t4Bl_U1GmJpY5cIpdgaZczi2fPaReOgU1k1t9SEhL-YGLohpvdBMSmLUfcn3CBYCidorV15pPHIFrBBCN1Q4Ejf4d41PubeJ-eZhG767ohgrWGbj_zY4x7MNGx7u5Bg/s1600/2014-01-20+17.08.16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7EL0pphSw1Q9t4Bl_U1GmJpY5cIpdgaZczi2fPaReOgU1k1t9SEhL-YGLohpvdBMSmLUfcn3CBYCidorV15pPHIFrBBCN1Q4Ejf4d41PubeJ-eZhG767ohgrWGbj_zY4x7MNGx7u5Bg/s1600/2014-01-20+17.08.16.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The poor road condition</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US">The Maharashtra State Rural Livelihood
Mission, a part of the larger government flagship program the National Rural
Livelihood Mission has been trying to mobilize the villagers in Palghar district
to actively voice their demands for their rights. The Mission and its employees
have been trying to teach the people on how to network and organize themselves
using a simple mobile device. Awareness programs have been undertaken and
villagers now know about how to receive their wage allowance after having
completed work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">"The benefits of E-governance have fast been
realized by the Maharashtra government which has taken up efforts to pace up
the Sangram Kendras, an initiative that aims to transfer all major government
documentation and data processes to an online system which would operate at the
village level." says Mr. Udhav who works with the mission office. It will document 11 different subjects ranging from birth/death
certificates, land records/revenues, targeted entitlements, etc.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The Sangram Kendras shall also have a software for accounting
village revenues. There will be a National Panchayat Portal and an Assessment Portal
to check the expenditure budgets of various Gram Panchayats, all of which will be classified under the Area Profile, Plan Plus and Action software. Mr. Amit
Pimple who is the Taluka Coordinator provided the above information.</span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US">Challenges:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The advantages of having an effective E-governance
system in place are many, but it is to be remembered that the challenges are not
few.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The First problem to be addressed is, the absence of an adequate digital infrastructure
to ensure an effective outreach of ICT facilities is a major hindrance to making services available electronically.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Block Development Officer
of Sinapalli block in Nuapada district, Odisha complained how the direct cash
transfer policy for NREGA payments had been dysfunctional due to the lack of
internet facilities, because of which transfer of wages could not be made online
by his staff at the block office leading to a three month delay in
payment of wages.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">But it is to be noted that the present government has actively taken upon itself the task of laying optic fiber cables to cover all the villages of India in the next three years and to make broadband services available in the entire country.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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A Second problem, and the more serious problem is that of the lack
of Digital literacy among the people to make use of available provisions as
was seen in Gadchiroli district. The Gond tribals in the hamlet of Bharritola
in Korchi block did not have any knowledge on financial services and the presence of Regional Rural Banks and the facilities of Scheduled Tribe Reservations in educational institutions which they were entitled to.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
In this case it is interesting to take note of Intel India's Digital Inclusion initiative which aims to take forward the government's vision and has launched the 'Digital Skills for India programme' which aims to train 5 million people in 5 different local languages on issues of digital literacy, sanitation/hygiene, and financial inclusion.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7bDkOhyphenhyphenkKdDRhtAl41LTfAeME9yJvRYA0bibqbz1PheBmmVDQt7FEtddVPFVqesomxFdxqTZO5iDsQe84uIxW76JcjFg2EO904ZZ5AB7jDY8DJB90WlxloER0CqQu8b-t1rpnDXTDFg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-03-31+at+5.42.43+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7bDkOhyphenhyphenkKdDRhtAl41LTfAeME9yJvRYA0bibqbz1PheBmmVDQt7FEtddVPFVqesomxFdxqTZO5iDsQe84uIxW76JcjFg2EO904ZZ5AB7jDY8DJB90WlxloER0CqQu8b-t1rpnDXTDFg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-03-31+at+5.42.43+PM.png" height="275" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
For more information log on to <a href="http://www.intel.in/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.intel.in/</a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Conclusion:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">As has been observed in the urban setting,
E-governance has helped to enhance the provision of services like applying for
a passport, buying railway tickets, filing applications under the Right To Information
Act, registering complaints to the Consumer court, etc.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">In the Marakkanam/Mailam block of Villupuram
district, Tamil Nadu, it was observed that the villagers were able to avail of
the benefits of direct cash transfers due to the presence of a good
infrastructure system that ensured people got their NREGA wages on time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">Thus E-Governance, as has been seen in some
instances, can help to ensure the speedy delivery of service entitlements in a
transparent manner where accountability is ensured at every step of the
delivery process. This will help tackle corruption and ensure efficiency thus facilitating
the realization of an empowered #DigitalIndia with a well informed citizenry.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><i>This post has been written as a part of a contest hosted by Indiblogger and Intel. All the photographs used in this post belong to the blogger and are copyrighted.</i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
Srikanth Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12748082698769743512noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891492922528653243.post-35189823618524937452015-03-30T17:18:00.000+05:302015-03-30T17:18:08.933+05:30#Together with a friend in Mumbai<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There sometimes arrive times when we are so troubled and
bogged down that we do not want to get off our beds and want to sleep all day
hugging our pillows close to our hearts. I had felt the same not many years ago
when I arrived in Mumbai to pursue my bachelors in media studies. Far away from
home, I had led myself into living a monotonous life where I had no friends and
people to call my own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">My college was 45 kms away and my pursuit for a qualifying
graduate degree meant I had to wake up at 5 every morning to get ready and
catch a local train flooding with humanity to reach my college exhausted as a
bull would be after having ploughed a field. Taking a bath was a worthless
effort as I would be drenched in the sweat of a hundred odd other people in the
course of my travel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Living life alone was a tough affair and nothing seemed to be
going my way. However, life changed after I came to know Pinku. Pinku was my first
friend in class who I had initially assumed to be a fool, but later had come to
become best friends with.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A bike accident in my school days had caused a severe head
injury which had rendered me with an epileptic problem. I still remember the
first attack that had struck me in the second month of college and how I woke
up in the hospital bed confused over all that had happened over the past 3
hours. An attack of seizure was the last thing I would have wanted in a city
which I had come to live only a month ago, But Pinku had made it seem all easy.
He had taken me home that night and aunty had fed me with a simple meal of dal
and roti which seemed like heaven after all the outside food I had been living
on for the last 30 odd days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I stayed for over 4 days straight, going to college and
returning back like it were my own home. Aunty would daily ask me what I would
like to have while uncle would ensure I was doing fine. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Pinku was only too
happy to have me over for company. I left on the 5</span><sup style="line-height: 115%;">th</sup><span style="line-height: 115%;"> day, after I had
started to feel embarrassed for having stayed for so long. To my surprise, I
was abused for long by Pinku for thinking that way and was coerced by his
parents to stay back for a few more days. Giving into their coercion, I stayed
for one night longer and remember having left for my lodging with misty eyes.
This was my first #together moment in the City of Dreams.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Now you can make your own
beautiful moments with</span></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: Times, serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: Times, serif; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://housing.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">https://housing.com</span></a></span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</div>
Srikanth Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12748082698769743512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891492922528653243.post-12138518102391227272014-11-01T11:41:00.003+05:302014-11-01T18:14:09.380+05:30In search of My God<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As a growing up child, I was always
forbidden from asking such questions as, “where is God and why should we
worship him?” My mother, the only person who would give me a hearing would
reassure me that their existed a superior omnipresent power who we all ought
to worship for all the good things we enjoy in life. And indeed, for this
reason I worshipped God (whenever the need arose, as most of us do) until
sometime around the age of 10 when I started to suspect that probably praying was
all but a waste of time. “The God who I prayed to had never shown himself to
me. Why then should I pray to him?” My rising doubts were criticized upon at
home and even at school (I studied at one of those affiliated to the Arya
Samaj) where they punished me for refusing to attend the ‘compulsory’ Saturday
morning Havan (a vedic ritual).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The continuous rebukes and sermons that I began
receiving finally ended my defiance and made me submit to the existence of God. I remained passive though and continued to sincerely worship him owing to
the fear instilled in me that said, “You’ve got to believe in him for otherwise
you shall have to endure great miseries.” It was the fear of the unknown that
made me believe in him. When I look back now, I realize how I had been rather
tortured to believe in a God that I wasn’t so much willing to believe in. I had
always been told at home that no religion was better than Hinduism. However,
there lay one question that plagued my head and that distressed me to no end.
Which religion’s funeral practice was the best one to follow?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Disturbed as my thoughts were, I was asked
to believe in God and worship him, but never was I told on how I could get to
meet him and get to know him.” Blind faith or imminent suffering was the
response</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">While pursuing my Bachelors degree in
Mumbai, I was introduced to the treasure trove that was my college library. It
proved to be the first source to my search for answers. My first book was the Psychoanalyst
Sigmund Freud’s – Future of an Illusion. It declared in its very cover page, “Religion
is the universal neurosis.” The book fascinated me as I had done some previous
readings of Freud and his contributions to Personality Theories. It made me
realize how I had been but an ignorant all through this while. I still strongly
believe on a lot of what he wrote, and I quote from his book,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><i><b>“When a man has brought upon himself to
accept uncritically all the absurdities that religious doctrines put before him
and even to overlook the contradictions between them, we need not be greatly
surprised at the weakness of his intellect.”</b></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 198.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><i><b><span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Sigmund Freud, Future of an Illusion, 1927</span></b></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This along with Marx’s famous “Religion is
the Opium of the Masses” was enough to make me forego all my beliefs in God.
Atheism, as my non-belief was termed, made me criticize the institution of religion
and mock the concept of God. I felt a strange sort of freedom. A freedom from
the ignorance that I had been enclosed within for so long. A freedom from the
false belief of the existence of a supernatural power who was constantly
overseeing us and was keeping an account of all our good and bad deeds that were
to be accounted for later in our afterlives.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It was around the same time that an uncle
of mine, having known my views on religion, recommended me to read a book
titled <i>What Religion is; in the words of
Swami Vivekananda</i>. Vivekananda was a 19<sup>th</sup> century spiritual monk
who had established the Ramakrishna Mission and had gained fame for
representing Hinduism, and for speaking on the unity of all religions at the <i>Parliament of world’s Religions, Chicago,</i>
1893. My views on Vivekananda had been a little negative due to his portrayal
as a Hindutva icon by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. But the book, a
collection of his speeches was enough to make me rethink my opinions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span lang="EN-US">Religion is to be realized. And for you to become
religious means that you will have to start without any religion, work your way
up, and realize things, see things for yourself. When you have done that, then,
and then alone, you have religion.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 198pt; text-align: center; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Vivekananda<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span lang="EN-US">Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to
manifest this divinity within, by controlling nature, external and internal. Do
this either by work, or worship, or psychic control, or philosophy – by one or
more of all these – and be free. This is the whole of religion. Doctrines, or
dogmas, or rituals, or books, or temples, or forms are but secondary details.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 198pt; text-align: center; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Vivekananda<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I had read Gandhi’s autobiography <i>My Experiments with Truth</i> rather
lethargically as a kid back then just to be a part of those many who had read
it as well. Gandhi had never inspired me, but that was only till I read <i>Hind Swaraj</i>. It was then that I truly
began to understand his ideas.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span lang="EN-US">We should do the labour that the poor do, and thus
identify ourselves with them and through them with all mankind.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 198pt; text-align: center; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US">M.K Gandhi <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Another document that I came across on the
internet titled Truth is God was truly enlightening. Though lengthy, it is
worth a read for all those confused on their perceptions of God. It is
available on the internet and is just a Google search away.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Worship involves inciting the innermost
feelings and emotions inside one self. Music is one way of doing it, work
another, and prayer yet another. Most of us worship a false God. A God of our
mental creation who is our savior at all times. God for most of us is like a
sort of a UPS or generator which we resort to when down on power and low on
morale. The only difference here being that the back-up we resort to actually
exists in our mind itself. The saying “God helps those who help themselves” has
a much deeper meaning.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">From my long and silent personal deliberation
over the subject of worship, I have come to believe that for me it is in the
service of the people that I find true solace. In knowing that I have come of
help to some and that I shall be able to provide the same service for someone
else tomorrow, I find my God.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">However, on keener deliberations, I often
realize on how even my service as a social worker shall involve a selfish
monetary intent. Truth be said, I believe my allegiance to my own faith of
finding God through the means of service to be pretentious in certain ways. I
often mull over these questions and ask myself.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">- Would I provide service if denied a
salary?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">- Can I detach myself to such an extent
that I start to live an austere and simple life where I expect nothing in
return for my service?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">- Far from expecting monetary benefits,
could I remain without expecting even a smile or any sign of acknowledgment for
my work?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The day I shall be able to do that, I shall
have worshipped God for the first time. But that shall demand of me to renounce
all worldly pleasures and get to a spiritual level which I doubt I shall ever be
able to achieve.</span></div>
</div>
Srikanth Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12748082698769743512noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891492922528653243.post-5179982045795478822014-10-30T16:21:00.000+05:302014-10-31T16:02:29.896+05:30Limits to using 'Technology'<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My
experience of staying without gadgets, telecommunication, and the World Wide
Web after having gotten acquainted with all of them happened first when out on
my field trip to the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. The tribal dominated
district of Gadchiroli which falls on the eastern corner of the state is a
densely forested tribal district often known infamously as being the western
end of the Red Corridor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When
we started off at first, everything looked like fun. Me and five of my other
friends felt like we were backpacking through the jungles of central India only
until the moment when one of us picked up our mobile phones to call her parents.
NO NETWORK.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We
were to do a home stay in a tribal household and on the evening we reached, we were
provided dinner at 7 p.m. Open-defecation was the norm of the hamlet and we
were up before dawn with our cans of water to attend to nature’s call. None of
the houses had electricity and except for the one solar run street light that
existed at the centre-point of the village, everyone depended on torches or
kerosene lamps. The home we stayed in had an old battery run transistor which
worked only when out in the field. Once our batteries were exhausted, neither
our phones nor our laptops were functional.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While
all this sounds gross and unfit for living, they were in many ways a lot better
off than us urban people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Instead
of watching an IPL or the new ISL, like we do to keep ourselves entertained (supporting
teams we often have little to identify with) people in the village actively conduct
and participate in inter-village sporting events (kabaddi, khokho etc.) which
are held regularly. I was given the pleasure of being a part of one of
their matches too. This, we observed, encouraged bonding of villagers across
villages. But sadly, we never have inter-‘Society’ or inter-colony matches in
the cities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbd5EtaxA0OWmogI6FYBuepgjrG6G9lF-Q4PpoexBdOqMLIbo5LWf2QBdqBC6RjIV_MzPnvtQoa4S82gj947QrgpL3D0RmJKubc-AXQVzjikAIP6Ns2uzWtOBS6754BQ5CWz5-32k5bg/s1600/Kabaddi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbd5EtaxA0OWmogI6FYBuepgjrG6G9lF-Q4PpoexBdOqMLIbo5LWf2QBdqBC6RjIV_MzPnvtQoa4S82gj947QrgpL3D0RmJKubc-AXQVzjikAIP6Ns2uzWtOBS6754BQ5CWz5-32k5bg/s1600/Kabaddi.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There
of course was the famous gilli-danda. But that along with Card games were reserved
for the afternoon after lunch sessions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">They
lived in small communities and stayed in cohesion with each other. Although
people were concerned (like in every place else) about their individual
interests, they saw their well being in the welfare of the village at large.
Mindless daily soap dramas were instead substituted by community gatherings by
the village women at the village centre every night. They talked, danced to
music and made merry.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While
we saw them as poor, they always seemed content. Even a few households who had
their children working in the cities were happy to speak to them once in a few
days. And to think that my parents, when in hostel, monitor my every move at
least thrice everyday over the mobile phone. Technology has increased the pace of
our lives and has made us anxious and fearful. Privacy seems extinct and the
need to know things as and when they happen has made us restless. My mom sheds
tears when she’s unable to contact me for a few days due to lack of network. Skype
has only worsened things.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I am in no way denying the worthiness of technology in our lives. In many ways the lack
of technology has proven detrimental to their lives. Despite everyone possessing
a mobile phone, the lack of good mobile connectivity makes it difficult for them
to contact an ambulance at the block town 40 kms away during an emergency. They
remained oblivious to many developments in the country at large.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Personally,
I think we need to find a balance between the two. The benefits of technology
are unquestionable. But an excess of technology is in some ways building distances between us, and is in some other ways making us anxious beings. Also, we cannot allow our children to become couch
potatoes who sit on their Playstations and Xboxs 24/7, or who otherwise stay
fixated to FaceBook on their smart phones chatting and playing Candy Crush with their
friends living two blocks away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Srikanth Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12748082698769743512noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891492922528653243.post-4126857594539051662014-10-23T18:09:00.000+05:302014-10-23T18:09:43.503+05:30The Purpose of Education<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
“You don’t even
have an ambition. You do not like to wear good clothes, aspire to wear a nice
watch, or have a house and a car in the future. What is the point of your
studying so much? There is no point in your reading so many books and wasting
your time if you have no aim to succeed”, declared my aunt when delivering another
one of her long sermons when discussing my future.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">Much irritated
as I was, her statement of success shook me strong and made me doubt my whole approach
towards education. I suddenly realized how she had brought the purpose of learning
down to being nothing more than a means to secure a bright (read- monetarily
secure) future. I started to wonder if that is all what education was about-
money, a comfortable life and good living.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">Would we have
had a C.V Raman and a Ramanujam if their approach to learning had been the same?
What about all the Verghese Kurien’ and Bunker Roy’ we’ve produced? I wondered.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">Why then is society today so intolerant towards people who want to pursue something different because they find it interesting. Why is success solely measured through the prism of money today?</span></div>
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<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHkrv03CX-lV0Vh09O_79r3jaHJAFxs11BhBo8JpdyTtyuUa_pXRGTuvGliZRdI15dzSy5HFTzr84tSzfOkxUbPrCwEmccDVYjrwwG9I1XUVTn_KYCnkJLHarHcDhDhpXZ6baOJdOPMg/s1600/J+Krishnamurti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHkrv03CX-lV0Vh09O_79r3jaHJAFxs11BhBo8JpdyTtyuUa_pXRGTuvGliZRdI15dzSy5HFTzr84tSzfOkxUbPrCwEmccDVYjrwwG9I1XUVTn_KYCnkJLHarHcDhDhpXZ6baOJdOPMg/s1600/J+Krishnamurti.jpg" height="200" width="132" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">“Education is not merely a
matter of training the mind. Training makes for efficiency, but it does not
bring about completeness.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: right;">
<span lang="EN-US">– Jiddu Krishnamurti<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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When after doing my Bachelors in Mass Media I chose to
shift to doing a Masters in Social Work,
the whole of my extended family frowned upon my choice and even asked me
mockingly, “So you aspire to become a Mahatma Gandhi now is it?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Like wanting
to become a Gandhi in life was something wrong.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">Our present
education is geared towards industrialization with its principal aim being to
develop efficiency. With examinations and degrees being declared the
prerequisite to future development, we are raising our children in a world of ruthless
competition and mutual destruction which never allows them time to think on vital
human issues.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">Success is today
measured in terms of the superior salary that you draw in comparison to thy
relations/colleagues. With the meaning of a ‘comfortable life’ being defined by
an excessively commodified and market-oriented society, everyone is out trying to
fulfill this world view. This increasing need to satisfy the society had led to
a very few of us actually pursuing what we love and are passionate about.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVvejRq0DX8mC7KDLuzDrAxqtsGzJQZjnEBp9Zj8m_qYgBa0iipV9nIGWt7Ag80TjHhs1LVlDQr_mIasYnkO58YvvXb6otnqX_d_9deNeW7CjmqU2cvUToVJHz2d2v3KNzKkNblnDQqQ/s1600/purpose-of-education1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVvejRq0DX8mC7KDLuzDrAxqtsGzJQZjnEBp9Zj8m_qYgBa0iipV9nIGWt7Ag80TjHhs1LVlDQr_mIasYnkO58YvvXb6otnqX_d_9deNeW7CjmqU2cvUToVJHz2d2v3KNzKkNblnDQqQ/s1600/purpose-of-education1.jpg" height="262" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Is it
necessarily true that a confused person without an ambition is useless and
worth nothing?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Why is it that
our society cannot so easily accept people who want to carve their own path by
gaining their own experience?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">To be confused
is good. A confused mind is a thinking mind. All it needs is some genuine
guidance.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">Many people ask
me this question, “How can we take up what we are passionate about? There are
so many needs and responsibilities to be fulfilled.” Without denying the verity
of these statements by any measure, it is undeniably true that people today have
ever expanding needs and are never happy with as much is necessary. With them
having no definition of ‘enough’, they are always unhappy and are aspiring for
more. When does one limit one’s wants?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">We thus have a
generation of IITians and IIM graduates, who work mindlessly in offices on dull
and boring assignments, which offer very little, or no scope for new and
innovative ideas. With the money being the sole incentive, all of them rue over
the monotony in their line of work. There are a few for whom the money factor
acts as a great incentive. But for those many who seek out for interesting
careers with job satisfaction, work life becomes a tedious affair. This has
created a generation of depressed workers who have increasingly become dependent
on cigarettes, alcohol and anti-depressants to keep their work life going.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s time that
society stopped assuming education to be nothing more than a means to earn
money. Monetizing the final output of education is a sort of mental prostitution.
People should understand that an individual may sometimes simply have a passion
to learn. She/He may not have the best of house or the finest of cars in the
future, but they shall certainly be content. It is essential for parents to rethink
their views on education and to make learning a fun and desirable activity for
children so as to help them draw their own future paths.</span></div>
</div>
Srikanth Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12748082698769743512noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891492922528653243.post-28876883250536280472014-10-22T19:00:00.000+05:302014-10-23T22:30:40.997+05:30Celebrating Diwali, Deepavali and Kali Pujo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
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<span style="background: white; color: #990000; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 13.8000001907349px; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.gharwalidiwali.com/" target="_blank">https://www.gharwalidiwali.com/</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I come from a multi-lingual background
where my mother is a Tamil and my father is a Bengali. Their distinct customs and
rituals meant that every festival in our house was celebrated in a manner in
which both their traditions were amalgamated in a way in which neither felt deprived
over the other. But Diwali was an exception owing to its distinct way of celebration by both of them. My mother called it Deepavali while my father called it Kali Pujo. Either way, it was a festival we celebrated as a community with a host of people coming together to share sweets and burst crackers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">New clothes were a regular feature during the
festival of Diwali with my brother and me getting to buy two pairs of the choicest
of clothes this one time of the year. The budget for purchasing fireworks was
usually small and all that was bought would have to be divided between my
brother and me into accurate halves for otherwise we would end up fighting cats
and dogs. As a child, I remember how I’d feign courage when I’d actually be frightened
when it came to lighting those ‘atom’ and ‘hydrogen’ bombs because there were
girls in our colony watching us from behind.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In keeping with my Tamil tradition, we
would wake up early in the morning just before the break of dawn, take an oil
bath, and burst crackers just as the first rays of light would begin to appear
in the sky. Again as a part of Kali Puja, I would wear on my Bengali self to
celebrate Diwali with sweets and crackers late into the night. My multi-lingual
background actually made me enjoy a double dose of Diwali.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirtzZlmXIodh6VsLfiaP9EUbs_ZBSbzux6YgzpzXEp7L-U-R27Wsc1DefSn3a7wMJxcOFV5m5jHMSsO83yxHnAY3OhPEOftoiQBA7Nrzoo6idiWxZhUDTqRC9mHkAMuSFAO1D-TtN9CQ/s1600/Diwali.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirtzZlmXIodh6VsLfiaP9EUbs_ZBSbzux6YgzpzXEp7L-U-R27Wsc1DefSn3a7wMJxcOFV5m5jHMSsO83yxHnAY3OhPEOftoiQBA7Nrzoo6idiWxZhUDTqRC9mHkAMuSFAO1D-TtN9CQ/s1600/Diwali.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Sweets and savories were another hallmark
of the festival with my mom preparing a host of them which would then be packed
neatly and distributed by us among our neighbors after a special pooja. She
would place the gas stove on the floor to begin making the Boondis which she
would later shape to make round round ladoos. If that wasn’t enough, she would go
on to make Rava ladoos, home-made mixture/farsaan and the delicious murukku/chakli.
Every time we tried to take a bite, she would whack us telling us to wait till
the pooja got over. Somehow the laddoos that we stole and ate tasted better
than those given to us later after the pooja :-).</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/sQ7lMDWJOXA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span class="watch-title " dir="ltr" id="eow-title" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" title="Pepsi and Kurkure – Ghar Wali Diwali"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pepsi and Kurkure – Ghar Wali Diwali</span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Diwali in those days was a festival. The
excitement of wearing new clothes and going to every house in the neighborhood
to distribute sweets was an excitement of its own for us children.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">With the changing times, festivals truly
have lost their essence. The festival of lights which lit our hearts and souls is
slowly losing its charm with people using all their time to shop on account of festive
discounts rather than wanting to spend time with their extended family.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Being away from home owing work, I want to
say that I love you so much ma. I miss your laddoos. Wish I could steal a few
of them like I always did. I Hope I get to celebrate a Diwali just like the old
times next year.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Happy Diwali, Deepavali and Kali Pujo.</span></div>
</div>
Srikanth Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12748082698769743512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891492922528653243.post-86993961197079989142014-10-20T18:39:00.000+05:302014-10-29T14:48:46.542+05:30 "Daddy"- The Birth of a Father [REVIEW]<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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</div>
In a world where fathers are becoming equally,
if not more involved in the upbringing of their children, Tuhin Sinha’s new
book ‘<i>DADDY - The birth of a father’</i> is
a must read for every new age dad. Based primarily on his personal experience, the
author adds anecdotes from the experiences of other fathers and includes professional
pieces from renowned pediatricians and child psychologists. It comes as a first
of its kind book in addressing the questions and anxieties of just born fathers.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkeYq-drbqSx8nA9ilxx9ZdFRoW9xOlpW7AbqEqbpNu7c4r3GIHIIrz2OkOvkpHDpxqHnR9O0w9ilpG8WdeHmDsCilfaGvxnry5Lg1kKXRny_EmCS75Cz3U28oOkJo-0NpYvGQ2BhKXQ/s1600/image001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkeYq-drbqSx8nA9ilxx9ZdFRoW9xOlpW7AbqEqbpNu7c4r3GIHIIrz2OkOvkpHDpxqHnR9O0w9ilpG8WdeHmDsCilfaGvxnry5Lg1kKXRny_EmCS75Cz3U28oOkJo-0NpYvGQ2BhKXQ/s1600/image001.jpg" height="400" width="260" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Says Tuhin in his book, “If a woman can
juggle responsibilities so beautifully, I don’t see why we should be left
behind.” DADDY has a story to tell of how a man's inability to endure the physical pain of child-birth
doesn't in any way stop him from being his wife’s pillar of support. Reading it
indeed proves that sharing the responsibilities of parenting can be an amazing
experience.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The lack of a Paternity leave in India for
fathers means that a large part of the load of child care falls on the mother.
However, there are various other ways in which a father can help to ensure the
welfare of the new born.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The book is neatly divided into 6 Sections
with each of them being divided into separate chapters. Every chapter ends with
a ‘Things to Remember’ where the chief points of that chapter are summarized in
bullet-pointers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Beginning with helping one to decide on
what the right time to become a parent is, the book goes on to explain what a
man is to do right upon knowing that his wife is pregnant. It highlights the
essentials that need to be ensured amid all the joy and delight of the good
news.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Successive chapters help to understand how
a man is to treat his wife during the course of 9 months of pregnancy. The
various fears about birth related complications expecting parents often feel are
dealt with in a thorough and comprehensive manner.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The author’s personal experiences during Labour
Day in the hospital and the baby’s homecoming are interesting and in many ways
an essential read. The boons and banes of the role played by
the grandparents have been justly represented and are undeniable. The book
deals with many anxieties that arise in the minds of first time fathers due to
the lack of proper medical knowledge and shows how most of these fears are falsely
based.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Also, rather than restricting his
discussion to the role of a father alone, Tuhin additionally and interestingly
discusses on the need for a father to work on his role of being a good husband as well.
Reconnecting the lost love between a couple post child birth is important too.
A happy family shall mean a healthy child.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A good part of the book is kept for discussing
the issue of disciplining and when to know that parental indulgence is spoiling
a child. Anxiety issues that arise in a child and other problems that can arise
in a child’s mind are discussed with solutions in an expert take penned down by
the renowned psychologist, Dr. Seema Hingorrany.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A chapter titled ‘Protecting your Baby’
highlights on the need for vaccination and the dos and don’ts to follow in the
event of common illnesses. Another expert take is offered here by pediatric
consultant and oncologist, Dr. Santanu Sen and pediatrician Dr. Ninad Hebbalkar.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The seventh and last section Fatherhood
Across Generations is an interesting emotional account that the author writes
about his relationship with his father. He further writes a 'Things I’d do differently'<b> </b>(as a father) column where he
delineates how he wishes to bring his child up. I think this last part was a
really informative column and something every father must take special note of, for as Dr. Hingorrany puts it “Health issues can be medically treated, but if
behavioral issues are left unattended, they can leave a significant impact on
the child's personality development which in turn impacts their success or failure in
life.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
Simply put, Daddy is a compilation of
narratives on fatherhood which adds up as a parenting guide/handbook. Illustrations on how to burp/bath/massage a child, are sure to
bring a smile to every reader’s face while also being greatly instructive. The
beauty with which the chapters have been woven together with the author’s personal
experience along with those of many other fathers makes Daddy a pleasurable read. Tuhin
A Sinha’s newest release is sure to strike a chord with every man who aspires
to become a father.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><i><br /></i></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><i>This book is a PR sample but it has in no way affected my opinion on its content.</i></span></div>
</div>
Srikanth Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12748082698769743512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891492922528653243.post-39390538031248756532014-08-18T00:46:00.000+05:302014-08-18T10:36:42.354+05:30Social Work education in India<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">Studying in one
of the foremost and most prestigious (or so it’s called) institutes of Social
Work for Rural Development in Maharashtra for the past one year has enabled me
to structure my long held thoughts on education better. Education is no more a means
to apply knowledge and develop thinking capacities. Today learning has been
reduced to being just a medium to ensure one a secure financial future. In the
context of my college I can say thus; what is expected of the Agents of Change
is very much in contradiction to what these Agents expect of themselves.
Concerns of personal future monetary gains are so deep rooted that they far supersede
the greater common good for which they claim to have taken up the course.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">‘If the ends are
satisfied, the ethics surrounding the means are often ignored.’ The following
example would help elucidate this statement.</span></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; text-align: justify;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 30.95pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 30.95pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 460.6pt;" valign="top" width="614"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Ex: ‘A good (meaning ‘good placements offering’)
college with bad lecturers and poor teaching quality faces no protests from
the students. Protest is automatically suppressed in the delight of the expected
future good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">I have been
witness to innumerable complaints by students most of which emphasize upon the bad
food offered, uncomfortable hostels, unfriendly college timings, unnecessary extra
classes, etc. None seem to voice opinions regarding the more important points
of bad teaching quality and lack of institutional infrastructure to help
support our learning. Apart from empty talks amongst a group of friends during
lunch or tea, very little initiative is taken in the direction of demanding
better quality teachers, most of who happen to be former Social Workers who
completed their PhDs from any random university and joined the bandwagon of incompetent
university lecturers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">It isn’t
difficult to figure out why students remain silent on these issues. Today’s
materialistic world has made them so concerned about their future jobs that
they fear to protest. The fear rises from the obvious possibility of them being
rusticated in the name of ‘misconduct’. Placements have made each one of them
so selfish and competitive that there is an utter lack of unity. Fears of
gaining a bad impression with the professors surpass all other concerns. Thus, my
esteemed Social Work institute continues to churn out students who are taught
to suppress dissent in order to gain better grades. With them failing to
advocate for their own rights, how is one to expect them to do anything for the
people in the future.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">In the first few
months of our course, we were taught about how we were lucky to have got a
chance to study in this college which has given the country some of its best professional
social workers. ‘Professional’ of course stood for ‘expert’, ‘trained’ and
‘skilled’; but it was also emphasized (more profoundly, yet indirectly) that it
stood for someone who commands a good pay-check in the job market.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj3tEIEzBVE-vCj7yFvJWrzXY5F6-mvrXpi49cGvbVTUH6iCCd6zcXW5LLOtGopsGsNET-nQXnrD1ukxGUXHZ3C_PHY6C7raGtHgUh7pyEa83CR-ddRdJcvHfntXrDPGxxE_rTDJofbQ/s1600/Blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj3tEIEzBVE-vCj7yFvJWrzXY5F6-mvrXpi49cGvbVTUH6iCCd6zcXW5LLOtGopsGsNET-nQXnrD1ukxGUXHZ3C_PHY6C7raGtHgUh7pyEa83CR-ddRdJcvHfntXrDPGxxE_rTDJofbQ/s1600/Blog.jpg" height="171" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">“Don’t mistake
Social Work with Social Service. We don’t need Gandhis and Mother Teresas. The
industry needs professionals not sympathizers”, we were told coldly by our professor.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">Social work education
seems to stress excessively on the need to be professional as compared to the
need to balance it out with being sensitive. The social work sector has been publicized
as an ‘industry’ to such an extent that most social work students join with the
sole intention of earning a big fat salary in the future. Very few go on to
work in the grassroots except when left with no other option.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">And when asks
one, “What about the primary aim of SW?” prompt comes the answer, “Oh well, we
certainly will be working for them. We will be using our professional skills
and specialized knowledge (from our air-conditioned cabins in big cities) in
order to bring a change in their lives. Of course we will.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">But in a country
like ours where poverty seems rampant, how does one view a professional work attitude?
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">It is good to be professional in one’s work,
but being professional in the approach towards one’s work, especially when that
happens to be social work is shameful.</span></div>
</div>
Srikanth Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12748082698769743512noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891492922528653243.post-46989417778098833942014-08-16T20:24:00.000+05:302014-08-16T20:24:17.098+05:30Let’s take a Pledge to bring a Change<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Yesterday was Independence Day. I sat
through the midnight hour listening to the speech Nehru delivered to the
Constituent Assembly 67 years ago. The energy and the positive rhetoric surely
must have instilled a lot of hope upon its audience back then. But the times have
changed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We did away with the foreign oppressor, but
the oppression has continued.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">During </span><span lang="EN-US">the colonial period the people
we</span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">re
called upon to fight against oppression; </span><span lang="EN-US">but even </span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">after </span><span lang="EN-US">independence</span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> they have </span><span lang="EN-US">continued their fight</span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> against poverty,
illiteracy and underdevelopment. The struggle </span><span lang="EN-US">does not
seem to have ended.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">With the above in mind I have written the following note below. It is
analogous to Nehru’s speech on the eve of independence.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm3PmGzRgUT_VHSI2qG3_1cazfIcc6iqOeCgCjVA76mYo2WD1C5Duhrkkc8EUu8yLLAyO4u4CxVmaEwNWfLoUMpqv6rdBWzFezQazoIUz01fyFClNC9mAb85tIBgmR8uOlXJzcc32SAg/s1600/Independence2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm3PmGzRgUT_VHSI2qG3_1cazfIcc6iqOeCgCjVA76mYo2WD1C5Duhrkkc8EUu8yLLAyO4u4CxVmaEwNWfLoUMpqv6rdBWzFezQazoIUz01fyFClNC9mAb85tIBgmR8uOlXJzcc32SAg/s1600/Independence2.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Long years ago we made a tryst with
destiny, and now the time comes again when we shall reaffirm our pledge to the
service of our people with empty words of love for our country.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As the midnight hour struck and the world
slept, India remained sleepless as she entered the 67<sup>th</sup> anniversary
of her ‘independence’. A moment came, not much unlike the 66 previous occurrences,
when we failed to step out of where we were, when a mother continued to shed a
tear while putting her wailing hungry child to sleep, and when the soul of a
nation its farmer continued to take his life and that of his family.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It is fitting that at this solemn moment we
accept the duplicity of our intentions to the service of India, her people, and
to the still larger cause of humanity.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Let’s take a pledge to make an effort
towards bringing a change within ourselves. In any measure, however small it
might be.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Towards being less selfish and more humane
in our actions, and towards being less professional and more principled in the
pursuit of our future goals.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I know that I have a small audience, but I
address you with genuine love and all due respect. I hope I have been able to reach
out to you.</span><span style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Srikanth Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12748082698769743512noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891492922528653243.post-59978863800032975372014-06-15T18:11:00.000+05:302014-08-16T22:43:28.021+05:30Distress Migration in Mumbai: The concluding remarks of a small qualitative study<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Till the advent of the industrial revolution, men primarily lived
in pastoral communities with their ways of living in harmony with the
environment. With industrialization arose the need for cities where factories
could be setup for production. These factories needed a large workforce which consequently
propelled the movement of people from villages to the cities. Given the
lucrative prospects the cities offered, this sort of migration increased rapidly.
This phenomenon has caused many social and economic problems and its impact can clearly be seen in Mumbai, where today it is seen as a threat to its very survival.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Over population and increased unemployment in the country
have fostered migration to the Mumbai since the pre-independence era. Dreams of
a better life make people want to move in large numbers to economically
developed areas. Increased wages, better medical facilities, enhanced education
standards and consolidation of other such resources enhance migration. Rural migrants
are often unable to afford proper housing owing to high costs of living, and
are forced to manage with living in shanties under unclean conditions. They
lack provisions like proper sanitation, pure drinking water, electric supply
and other elementary facilities. The existence of slums that dot the very heart of the city alongside housing complexes whose prices are sky-rocketing, is a proof of the fact that Mumbai has taken a fall due to
uncontrolled migration. The glaring divide between the rich and the poor augments
the crime rate. More and more people in these areas start taking to thievery,
gambling, prostitution, drug peddling and other dubious means to make a living.
Many sincere workers come with plans to work for a short period of time, but
end up staying for a longer duration owing to healthier incomes.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY3gDOZydMwWfBr-zKYzKlNWWH6C1cyuXxts4c0Qvsxq8Vp_P3UsI0LG-p6eqpA2yOcLigTnHONXd0rPGr_WxCo-JCvLvu3tL1QOhPFIZgL6DfwllcD0MEBmLkxkUyPMGmq3M9h9S5dw/s1600/urban+rural.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY3gDOZydMwWfBr-zKYzKlNWWH6C1cyuXxts4c0Qvsxq8Vp_P3UsI0LG-p6eqpA2yOcLigTnHONXd0rPGr_WxCo-JCvLvu3tL1QOhPFIZgL6DfwllcD0MEBmLkxkUyPMGmq3M9h9S5dw/s1600/urban+rural.jpg" height="228" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sailesh Pandey, a worker at a dairy shop in Sion tells me, “I came 6
years back to settle a family debt. Now I've long settled the dues, but have never
considered leaving. I earn Rs.5000 here which helps keep my family happy. I’ll
readily leave if I got the same money back home, but I never will. I miss my
village, but I’ll never leave Mumbai.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">One concrete solution to this problem would be to bring a change
in the economic system of the villages to make them more profitable. Villages
which are chiefly agrarian should be diversified to include other relevant small-scale
industries which could provide jobs. Development programs should be taken up so
as to make townships more self-sufficient and independent. Further, small
cities should be developed as small economic nerve centers and facilities available
in metropolitan cities should be replicated to enhance the standard of living. This could also help divert the middle class populace which finds it difficult to buy
housing in Mumbai. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Slum redevelopment programs should be carried in parallel with programs to increase the viability of life in the native towns and villages of migrants itself. Distress migration can be brought under check if and only if there is a pan India political initiative to cope with it. Slum redevelopment can only work at the destination point. Work needs to be initiated at the source points too in order to tackle distress migration.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And most importantly, political parties must abstain from
instigating violence between the natives and the migrants. Anti-migrant
violence contradicts the very foundation of Mumbai -A city that was built by
outsiders and emigrants- and further damages its image as that of a cosmopolitan
city. Our leaders should uphold our traditions which have always preached
compassion, warmth and brotherhood. Never has there been a greater need to
adhere to these age-old ideals of tolerance. They should lay aside all
differences for the greater good and should concentrate their energies towards
the progress and betterment of the city.</span></div>
</div>
Srikanth Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12748082698769743512noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891492922528653243.post-84716397508716381982014-06-13T18:55:00.000+05:302014-06-15T14:59:07.835+05:30How much does one 'poor' life really matter?- A confrontation at Gadchiroli<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A tingling sensation of the slap had continued to persist on my cheek many minutes after it had been
rendered upon me by an angry young man who had walked into my lodging without warning. He had
immediately been whisked away by a group of youngsters who had been conversing with me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It was as a part of my course field work
that I had come to stay in a tribal village in the infamous Gadchiroli district
of eastern Maharashtra. The first semester of my Masters in Social Work had
been rather uninspiring and I was looking forward to making the most out of
this end-semester field work.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I had packed little and had prepared myself to journey through the dense jungles of this forest covered district as
best as I could. But the start had been rather daunting and I was still
recovering from the slap. It had only been an hour since my designated NGO at
Kurkheda had dropped me off at Khidiritola village in Korchi block.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Amid all this tension, Krishna kaka the
head of my host-house began to frantically apologize to me. I managed to meekly
smile and reassure him with a ‘thike hai’ (it’s ok). He had sensed my unrelenting
unease and sat in silence with a lowered head and a crestfallen face which
continued to hold an innocent smile of embarrassment.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">After a few moments of silence, Krishna
Kaka began to ask questioningly, “You are comfortable in this house na baba? </span>I know it is small but I hope you are happy.
We do not have much to build a finer house.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I reassured him again saying how despite the heat outside, it remained cool inside their home. This was the
magic of a mud house.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">After a brief moment of silence, I enquired, “Who was that
boy?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Kaka replied in his broken Hindi, “Kaun (who) Ganesh? He’s a good lad. Just a little disturbed. His name is Ganesh. Do
forgive him baba.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">He slowly began narrating to me the anguish
of Ganesh whose brother had been diagnosed with mouth cancer a year ago. A
certain health centre which shared a name similar as that of the NGO I came from had allegedly cheated him of a lot of money. They had promised to
bring his brother Suraj in good health. But soon after they took him into a
hospital in the block town of Korchi, his situation began to get complicated
and they claimed that immediate surgeries were required to be carried out.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Later that evening, a weeping
and apologetic Ganesh told me how a</span>fter a week the doctors had told them that Suraj's life could not be saved. He told me how the doctor treating Suraj had all along kept
the family uninformed about what was exactly happening with him. Ganesh later observed stitch marks on Suraj's abdomen indicating that
the doctors had operated upon him there. He failed to understand why a patient admitted for mouth cancer had to be operated upon on the abdomen.
The doctors had failed to answer his questions about why they had done so and had instead demanded for the remaining medical fees to be paid before the body could be handed over to the family. The medical expenses had led Ganesh into a large debt. I
was told later that he had been a little unsettled ever since.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Ganesh continued to speak incoherently of
the various problems that had befallen his family. I began to picture a moment
three years ago when I had met with a bike accident late into the night. Serious
injuries had led to a cerebral hemorrhage which needed immediate attention. I
woke up alive after 10 days of complete sleep in the ICU of a posh hospital in
Chennai. A team of top-class neurologists and Anesthesiologists had been treating
and operating upon me all along keeping my parents informed at every step about
any developments in my condition.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A part of my skull was removed and a titanium
mesh was placed instead to keep me safe. The doctors later informed me that had
I been admitted any later than when I was, my chances of being alive would have
been very unlikely.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The hospital I had been admitted to was
just a kilometer and a half away from the place of my accident. The hospital nearest to
Khidiritola was at Korchi 40 kilometers away. And the only means of
transportation in the case of an emergency...</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgegDLKyFmxCaSSqc9CQc9ImeDIjUrkVF4HjA69hrVLF5-8YRZfCoRjCnxvoa2ig_eueT5w9Jihv8KvsQ21_VTeAVUiwo_TQiZ1EZcJpqL_x5pEgxVUtKhWe_Wu7AScWob-eIiBHwPnNw/s1600/Bullock+Cart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgegDLKyFmxCaSSqc9CQc9ImeDIjUrkVF4HjA69hrVLF5-8YRZfCoRjCnxvoa2ig_eueT5w9Jihv8KvsQ21_VTeAVUiwo_TQiZ1EZcJpqL_x5pEgxVUtKhWe_Wu7AScWob-eIiBHwPnNw/s1600/Bullock+Cart.jpg" height="226" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
...a bullock cart.</div>
</div>
</div>
Srikanth Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12748082698769743512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891492922528653243.post-28981179783888835212014-06-11T11:54:00.003+05:302014-10-10T21:21:09.716+05:30The 'Common man', the 'Election mela', and the 'Development Dream'- The power of PR<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The recent election campaign has once again
brought to fore the importance that rhetoric plays over reason in winning
elections. Despite there being enough reason, the instrument of rhetoric was successfully used to construct a vague, yet beautiful dream to win over
the Common man’s mind (read: ‘his vote’).</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We enter a phase where our democracy will
observe an increased centralization of power. The chief manipulator shall
maneuver every move of his with such meticulousness that the ‘Common man’ shall
remain amused in hopes of the fulfillment of that promised dream of development.
The dream shall be kept alive in the minds of the masses all through. Every small
change in growth shall be portrayed disproportionately as being a progress made in the achievement of the development dream. Big capital shall continually work
towards buying and controlling all sources of information media to quell any sort of discontentment that may arise in the minds of the masses. Economic growth shall continue to be considered as the sole indicator of development leaving education and health far behind.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One can only pray that in the eventuality
of a failure to deliver his promises, the rhetorician shall restrain himself
from widening the rift between the believers of the two major religions in our
country. The possibility of this cannot, and should not be disregarded.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally, no
matter how the 'informed' might wish to look at it, this year’s election campaign stands
testimony to the utter failure of the incumbent government to come up with a
capable leader to fight the fierce wave that was unleashed upon it by the
opposition. Even his fiercest detractors cannot but acknowledge his brilliance
as a tactician.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The need and importance of a strong Public
Relations Committee has certainly been realized this elections and PR shall henceforth be utilized well
by the power hungry in their fight to fool the masses with the ‘Development Dream’.
Elections in the future shall continue to take place in the ambit of a
corporate backed media and shall come to become a two month long 'Election mela' (festival), held once every five years in the world’s largest democracy. The
crowds they attract shall far exceed those set by any Kumbh-mela ever.</span></span><br />
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0zKEMs8QAYXJPr-9OzfjrOSaKnmfGPZ32B_kSWabL1XBxLzuIbOStcVfiIaRFfL9f4sfog7he-AdiFY41yekajdj8u5gIYNuQhVoFapLd3bR8mSM3uuLX9aPXH33oQGPMXVHGMFnq3g/s1600/Development+dream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0zKEMs8QAYXJPr-9OzfjrOSaKnmfGPZ32B_kSWabL1XBxLzuIbOStcVfiIaRFfL9f4sfog7he-AdiFY41yekajdj8u5gIYNuQhVoFapLd3bR8mSM3uuLX9aPXH33oQGPMXVHGMFnq3g/s1600/Development+dream.jpg" /></a></div>
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Kudos to fraternity! God bless the brotherhood between the urban elites and the rural poor.<br />
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jai Hind!</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">err, sorry..</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jai Ho!</span></span><br />
<br /></div>
</div>
Srikanth Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12748082698769743512noreply@blogger.com3Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.87765590000003618.5957917 72.232208900000032 19.556175699999997 73.52310290000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891492922528653243.post-2870736738004262302014-06-10T21:24:00.003+05:302014-08-16T22:43:50.952+05:30Laziness is an ideal, Procrastination is a problem<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">There
comes a time when one is so full of thoughts that they direly wish to speak
their mind out. To have a patient listener in such times can be liberating. Contrarily,
it can get really frustrating when one doesn’t get the right person to talk to
in such circumstances.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">I
began writing my blog about a year ago seeing it as a nice thing to do before the
start of my masters course in social work. It fascinated me as there was so
much in my mind that I wished to put on paper. This seemed to be the perfect
platform to pour my mind out. This enthusiasm lasted for a week after which it
came to a sudden and complete halt. I stopped writing due to what most would call
laziness. But I think it was my procrastinating mind that kept me off from writing.
It’s a little complicated for me to explain how I see a difference in the two
terms. I have however made an attempt to do so in the paragraphs below.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;">There
certainly is a difference between a lazy mind and a procrastinating mind. A
lazy mind neither wants to do an assigned task, nor does it wish to take up any
task. But a procrastinating mind delays performing a certain task despite
having chosen to (often voluntarily) perform the task out of its own volition. You
can’t blame one for looking at both of these as the same, but I believe procrastination is a state of mind unlike
laziness which is a state of being. One procrastinates owing to various
‘reasons’, while one’s laziness is based on various ‘grounds’.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh09er12m8vrlIFaJPW4U7kebO0tRhMbaKy4meguMQGYnOE13ar3s_KTRIGGmO2OkkbiDGcqJttdGn49PgB9W1V5ee5JQyl-clOthoW8SnIw3o-5HcaqmXXOLJuPgcmm8kv5hv1ZF2blQ/s1600/Laziness+and+Procrastination.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh09er12m8vrlIFaJPW4U7kebO0tRhMbaKy4meguMQGYnOE13ar3s_KTRIGGmO2OkkbiDGcqJttdGn49PgB9W1V5ee5JQyl-clOthoW8SnIw3o-5HcaqmXXOLJuPgcmm8kv5hv1ZF2blQ/s1600/Laziness+and+Procrastination.png" height="130" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Laziness
would require a sense of detachment from all wants, but procrastination is
caused by anxiety and it tends to amplify this anxiety. A lazy mind is often a
happy mind, but a procrastinating mind is often a frustrated mind.</span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Laziness
requires a strong-willed mind, whereas procrastination is characterized by a weak
willed mind. Laziness is an ideal, procrastination is a problem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">I
too procrastinated, because I was anxious. Anxious about a feeling that I was
not being able to wholly express my thoughts in the right way using the right
words placed in the right sentences. I was being an obsessive perfectionist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">But I now plan to begin writing again in an attempt to put a stop to this
obsessive trait and to feel more content in being able to articulate myself.
Time will tell how successful I will be.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Srikanth Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12748082698769743512noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891492922528653243.post-60520759622904558612013-05-15T21:08:00.001+05:302014-06-15T12:55:16.052+05:30Experiencing Bombay High Court<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My impression of a court and its
proceedings were surrounded by the idea presented to me by Indian cinema and
television. It was only when I attended a real court session in Bombay High Court during March this
year that I figured how skewed my perception was.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ9KMO7WFVilTyZ1fH8Uy6pTG9X26qEOR8rEBJbdIQ9XV-ZQESg9cY3Kzs34eRB38v8NBuMJXgRTFQGLaVhDDL891NfOmoPQ49q8zqoct72c4PFGQcZALHjbt_b3NkMdDHmbnNRuFBWQ/s1600/Bombay+High+Court.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ9KMO7WFVilTyZ1fH8Uy6pTG9X26qEOR8rEBJbdIQ9XV-ZQESg9cY3Kzs34eRB38v8NBuMJXgRTFQGLaVhDDL891NfOmoPQ49q8zqoct72c4PFGQcZALHjbt_b3NkMdDHmbnNRuFBWQ/s1600/Bombay+High+Court.jpg" height="213" title="Bombay High Court" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The size of the courts was the first thing that
struck me. They were way smaller and compact (and were air conditioned too). My
picture of the courts being a high security zone turned out to be wrong as
well, though I was told that security was often beefed up when high-level cases
were heard.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Inside the courtroom I saw that tensions
were high, but there seemed to be no hostility between the two lawyers fighting
the case. At one instance, I even found them smiling and talking to each other.
The judge listened to the prosecution’s case and the defendant’s point of view.
But to my surprise, instead of just being a silent umpire who after hearing both
arguments gives his decision at the conclusion, the judge would often nudge in
between with counter-questions, asking them to justify what they had stated.</span></span></div>
</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There was no “objection milord” or “order
order” to be heard. In fact, the judge didn’t possess a gavel at all. Upon inquiring, I was told that the Indian judicial system had done away with the
English system of judges holding a gavel long back.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Honestly, that saddened me a little. I
guess a gavel would’ve helped greatly in adding some action to seemingly boring
court sessions. It’s like them snatching the sole right of a judge to subtly tell
a person, or a people inside a courtroom to shut the f*** up. It greatly reduces
the action one expects in courts.</span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Though I must say, a natural calm existed
throughout the proceedings in every court session. A lawyer sitting beside me
told me that anyone who spoke apart from whom the judge had asked to speak
could be held in contempt of court which was a somewhat serious offence.</span></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">People sitting in the courtroom spoke in
hushed tones and a number of junior lawyers could be seen either taking hand
notes or operating their cell phones inside the court room despite a board
outside the court clearly asking people to switch their phones off while a
court is in session.</span></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In one proceeding, I saw two judges sitting
which I was told was a divisional bench. It was interesting to observe that
only of the two judges was actively involved in the hearing while the other
seemed to continually assist him during the proceedings. I was told by a lawyer
that this happens owing to the seniority of one of the judges compared to the
other.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The judge looked into papers that were
presented to her and after a short proceeding, gave a quick recap of the case
and the arguments presented. She pointed out a few flaws in the prosecutions
argument and finally said in her verdict that she had no choice but to quash
the case, though she was ready to take what he had said on record. When the
lawyer tried to press his point, the judge got rather annoyed and said “Don’t
waste my time Mr. ###. I do not see anything in this case.” And the dismayed
lawyer backed off.</span></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was a really interesting experience and I
must say this that anyone with a valid identity card can go to court and watch
a hearing if he/she so wishes to. Apart from a few cases which are held
closed-doors, most cases are open to public.</span></span></div>
</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Bombay High Court building is magnificent
and even basic structures like the wash basin stand testimony to its Victorian architecture.
</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And o yeah, the court building is full of
cats. :-)</span></span></div>
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Srikanth Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12748082698769743512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891492922528653243.post-45708711224384489682013-05-13T13:10:00.000+05:302014-08-16T22:45:43.139+05:30Being an Introvert: Boon or Curse?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We live in a world that believes in the
supremacy of those who can socialize in ‘society’. Those who can speak their
minds out and can be more boisterous about their feelings are somehow
considered to be better as compared to those who are less flashy in
communicating their thoughts.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The psychoanalyst Carl Jung termed those
with the gregarious personality type as Extroverts and those with a mellowed personality
type as Introverts, though he never made any mention of one being better than
the other.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Back in history, from the ancient to the pre-cold
war era, Introverts often featured among the thinkers and leaders of their times.
From Buddha to Moses and Gandhi to Einstein, all of them were exceptionally
reticent and unassuming and placed themselves on the passive side of the
introvert-extrovert pendulum.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But with the growth of capitalism, it was
increasingly seen necessary for people to interact and work in groups rather
than to work individually. Organizations grew larger and they required people
to work in groups to increase efficiency. While this was no doubt good, the
need for consensus in groups often killed the space for individual thought.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBbqlP_Ihi-93IvMT2m0xUJhToqYkPj8Tn0uUX0ahKdIYHcdtAUXq28Ko2S5m93w4UUHPUGScuKTV6Snxp0EQI-cVgk9kfDMBBq6ZmWNbNx5iwTwxaVFeW-Wz6tcAN1cN0IebXS7txWQ/s1600/Best+work+introvert+and+extravert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBbqlP_Ihi-93IvMT2m0xUJhToqYkPj8Tn0uUX0ahKdIYHcdtAUXq28Ko2S5m93w4UUHPUGScuKTV6Snxp0EQI-cVgk9kfDMBBq6ZmWNbNx5iwTwxaVFeW-Wz6tcAN1cN0IebXS7txWQ/s400/Best+work+introvert+and+extravert.jpg" height="197" width="400" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This constant need for group work has
caused more harm than good. The freedom to individual artistic work has largely
reduced to make way for profitable, populist work. An individual’ talents are often
subdued leading to what is termed the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupthink">Groupthink</a>. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Further, working in groups becomes
complicated for introverts who appear as being aloof and distant, contrary to
the truth, which is that they find it difficult to communicate their ideas in a
group.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The biggest problem is that people see
introversion as a problem. An aunt of mine thought of me to be shy, weird &
depressed and even made me believe that I needed psychiatric treatment, only because
I preferred reading a book indoors over babbling with my cousin and his friends
in the park all day long. She saw nonsense talks with a group as being fun and
relaxing and encouraged me to do the same. Having convinced myself of having a
problem, I tried hard to change but found it impossible to mend ways to my aunt's satisfaction.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I soon realized that, I wasn’t shy and weird;
I was just not interested in what they spoke about. It wasn’t like I thought of
myself to be an intellectual or that I didn’t like to talk; it was just that I preferred
having more meaningful conversations. It wasn’t that I feared people; it was
just that I enjoyed less gregarious company. It wasn’t like I didn’t know how
to relax; it was just that my sense of relaxation didn’t match with her view of
the same.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Frankly, I do hate public speaking and
being a part of a cheering crowd. My definitions of ‘fun’ and ‘boring’ may diametrically
be opposite to that of extroverts, but that in no way means I hate to be heard or
to have fun.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Introverted children are often put through
the ordeal of having to be outgoing and animated more often. But it would only be
intelligent for parents to take notice of their child’s personality and to
harness his/her talents to make the best of it. We need to understand that the
world needs introverts as much as it needs extroverts.</span></span></div>
</div>
Srikanth Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12748082698769743512noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891492922528653243.post-26025979674191710942013-05-12T18:55:00.000+05:302014-06-15T14:40:34.424+05:30Part And Parcel of Life<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was 10 in the
night and I was returning home from a friends place. I caught a local train and
stood at its entrance enjoying the cool breeze flowing in. Being a Sunday, the
train was empty and was speeding down the track. A few people got down upon its
reaching a station and I stood lazily praying that the train would reach my
destination soon. All of a sudden, as if from nowhere, a polio affected kid in
a tattered shirt, crawling as fast as he could, reached the entrance of the train
and held on to the median pole trying to pull himself up. The train started to
move slowly and the kid got frantic in his efforts to get in. I promptly caught
hold of his shirt in an attempt to pull him up. The shirt began to tear and I
shrieked with fright as the train started to gather speed. The kid showed no
signs of letting the pole go. I got hold of his hand in a desperate
attempt to save him and pulled him up. The kid lay inside exhausted and gasping
for breath with his head facing the floor of the train. He looked up slowly as
I began to shout angrily. Gazing silently through his watery eyes, he stretched
his palm out. I froze realizing that he was begging for alms. The kid virtually
remained oblivious to all the tension that had surrounded him just a few
minutes back. He started tugging at the bottom of my pants embarrassing me further.
I gave him a few coins and got off at the next station to board a different
compartment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I reminisced over all
that had happened upon getting back home that night. Somewhere down, I felt
disgusted to myself for having done so little. I had let indifference devour me.
Had I really saved the kid's life? Why did I do no more than drop a few coins?
Why did I not do anything to ensure he wouldn't face a similar situation again?
I wondered what the boy would remember of his childhood when he grew up. Would
nostalgia ever bring back pleasant memories to him? These questions kept
bothering me as I lay on my bed. Was he hungry? Where was his mother? Did he
have any friends? He would probably spend the night at the corner of some
station, and here I lay sleeping cosily in the comfort of my bed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Do we as a people really
care about these things in the 21<sup>st</sup> century or are they just what we
have come to call ‘A part and parcel of life’. How nicer it would be if someone
started a campaign called “I Am Mother Teresa”. There certainly is a need for
us as a society to get progressive rather than letting philanthropic work stay
in the hands of an enlightened few.</span></div>
Srikanth Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12748082698769743512noreply@blogger.com0