Never expect an act of kindness in india

Once upon a time there was a boy who was travelling by train. His destination was Palasa, Andhra Pradesh. Just like any other day, the train was crowded. If one will look into the train, the only thing he/she will find is people. One can say that the train is like a big moving village. Each compartment is like neighborhoods. The AC coaches can represent the bungalows of the rich while the general coaches are small over crowded huts. But this story is not about that boy or even about that train. It is about an old woman whose life was witnessed by that boy that particular day. Three old women were waiting for the train at the station. They must be some 50 or 60 years old. All were tribal women. You will be amazed to know that some 23 percent of population in Orissa is tribal.

Let’s move back to the story. So these women were waiting for the train while carrying woods on their heads. They were just looking like small ants carrying big sugar pieces. One can get amused by looking at those women carrying those big bundles of woods. Finally, the train arrived and the movement of people increased in the station. Many were getting into and out of the train. But those three women are still waiting with their woods. After some time the crowd disappeared and the women tried to board into the general coach. At that very moment, something happened which proved that India can never leave its inequality (both social and economic) behind. The people on the train just threw the bundle of wood outside and ask the women to get off the train.

These women belong to a small village which is some 15 km from the station. Every day, they were coming so far from the village, only to collect woods, which they can sell in the market and from that money they will support their families. Most of the days, they are being harassed by the people, which leads them to walk the entire distance. Just imagine a sixty year old woman walking 15 KM, everyday. Impossible, we, the 20 year olds can’t walk such a distance and they are doing it. And don’t forget that big bundle of woods, which the woman carries on her head. It’s not that the people who stopped the women from getting into the train were some powerful rich guys. They were also poor people who travel by general coaches. May be they are getting exploited by some people somewhere. But their conscience never stopped them from harassing those old women. It’s the story of India.

Forget the 9% GDP growth, the 60 odd billionaires, the Indian companies acquiring properties all over the world or the royal weddings and bollywood glamour. The reality is the vast inequality where the people earning $100 a day exploit those who earn $2 a day. Even the $2 a day guy also harass those who are coming below him in the socio-economic hierarchy. You can call it the vicious Pyramid of Indian inequality which poses as the biggest threat to our democratic set-up. One might ask where is the boy who witnessed all? The boy was a silent spectator and remained one for the entire time. Right now he is sharing his experience with all of you. Call him a coward, as he himself believes, what he did that day is an example of cowardliness.

Regards, Tapan

Thank you for throwing that bottle

The last time when you left that empty mineral water bottle in the train, have you ever thought what happened to it? Many of us might have thought that (in their wildest dream, as nobody thinks these things) it just remained there until someone cleaned the train. But the reality is that these plastic bottles are a source of employment for many people. Thousands of kids who live in railway platforms are depended on these plastic bottles. Whenever a train arrives in its destination station, the kids will be waiting for it be vacant. When it will get vacant, the kids will collect all the plastic bottles. May be that bottle is nothing for you, but for thousands of street children its livelihood. It gives them an opportunity to become free from the clutches of criminal activities or begging. After collecting they sell the bottles to the nearest scrap/recycle dealers and get some money.

 Even these scrap dealers don’t give them the right worth. But these unprotected kids are too powerless to demand justice from life. The money they get, can’t even provide them one single square meal in a single day, but it gives them hope to become a honest person rather than stealing or begging. It gives them the courage to choose their own destinies. Many in future might achieve their dreams of become a taxi driver or an auto rickshaw driver instead of becoming a gangster. (Their dreams are different from us. Most of the time we wanna become a millionaire or getting married to Katrina Kaif)

There are so many people who are living luxurious lives but are involved in unlawful activities. Scams are becoming a part of our daily dose of life, whether it is 2G spectrum scam or CWG scam. Now a day’s even the common men are not talking about bribery scandals that are happening in the nearest government offices. If it’s not big, the news channels don’t show it, the print never publish it. After all, the future is all about thinking big. After all “bada hey toh behtar hey” (the big is the better). Or worst in this case. In these scandalous days, these street children are a ray of hope or the shining examples of hard work and honesty. Without those people who threw that plastic bottle in the train, it won’t have happened. So those people, who think that we should keep our country clean and will never throw any garbage, just think again, as it would make all those kids unemployed. So, never forget to throw that plastic bottle, so that it can reach those who can make some money out of it. Thank you people for throwing that bottle in the train and I wish that they will never stop doing it.

With Regards,
Tapan Kumar Jena

The beggars of India

The beggars of India: I was an avid fan of Korean TV dramas. In India, KBS world is the only channel which showed these dramas. On every Saturday they used to show one TV drama for continuously 4 hours without any break. As I was crazy about these dramas, I never miss them. But Saturday is also the day when some 5 to 6 beggars come and asks for food, clothes as well as money. May be our neighborhood come on their plan on Saturdays? So, every Saturday, those 30 minutes, when the beggars shouts outside my home, and I am trying to watch my favorite show on TV, became the most irritating moments for me. Like everyone, I never tried to find out who these people are? For me they are some people who don’t do anything except begging. All these changed one day, when my mom was talking with an old lady, who is begging as she is too old to work. She belonged to a village, which is some 50 KM from Cuttack. Her family included her Husband, two sons, daughter in laws and grand children. After her husband died, both of her son’s attitudes towards her changed. They were ignoring her all the time.
One day they came to the city with her, by telling her about a medical check-up. They just left her in the city and returned back. She was there all alone in Cuttack and nobody came to her help. As time passed, she get to know about an old age home which is run by government. She went there and is now living there. The old age home only gives shelter to abandoned old people. It does not provide any food to them. Only physically handicapped people get food. This woman is more than 60 years old. You can’t expect her to work and earn money. The only way she can get two square meals a day is by begging.
There are many cases, where people who are unable to get any money by begging, took severe decisions, such as; cutting their own hands and legs. One might not believe these stories. But just and go and experience yourself and you will realize What Aron Lee Ralston did is a common thing among the old abandoned people in Cuttack.
May be when Danny Boyle will heard this story, he will be tempted to make a movie on this. As of now, let these people suffer as “We the people India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic” just don’t care.
Do you want to help? Then think something and share it with all.
 Regards, Tapan Kumar Jena

Go, Dream……

Go, Dream……
This small article is about two people, who are worlds apart. The first guy is a rickshaw driver for whom the daily rides are more important than the nuclear disaster in Japan or the death of Osama Bin Laden.
The other guy is a lowly clerk, who works in a government office. This guy had never taken a bribe in his entire work life. (Seems so strange, but people like him exists.) It can be said that this guy is a man with a golden heart.
Both of them belong to the lower middle class in the Indian Society. So how one can say that they are worlds apart?
Well, I am not wrong. They are worlds apart. The auto rickshaw driver is an orphan who is a self made man. He never ever depended on anyone. He was raised on the streets and ate the leftovers in the Road side restaurant where he worked. He worked day and night and saved enough money to buy his Auto rickshaw. Driving the rickshaw was his dream and he now resides in his dream land.
The clerk, on the other hand, belongs to a middle class family, whose life is like an old bicycle which, no one uses. He was a decent and good guy, but one can find millions of good guys who never put any effort to go for their dreams. May be this clerk still unaware of his dreams, and he will remain for the years to come.
So this small story (is it) tells you that just being good is not enough. Try to follow your dreams and achieve them. Then you will be happy.
Have a great day.

I wanna change the world. Do you?

Dear friends,

How many times you call your mom in a week? When was the last time you called your father to say that you are all right? Have you ever bought any gifts for your younger siblings?

 If you think that your answer to all these questions proves that you are good person, then think again. These above mentioned things are your duties. Just by doing it you can’t become a good person.

Do you want to be a good person? Those who are thinking that NO, I just want to tell them that Thank you for maintaining the balance as too many good people will make this planet Heaven. For those people whose answer is YES, I would recommend them to think how they can help the people who are in urgent need of help.

Many of us are just out of the college, and got big bank loans and got families to support. So donating to charitable institutions is out of question. So one can ask, how can we help?

To help someone does not always mean providing monetary help. There are two other means, by which you can help the needy.

1.      Time

2.      Willingness to help

Those who thinks that they are ready to help, just needs to give a little time from their busy week. We got Sundays off. Can’t we spend some hours of our Sunday in a nearest NGO or Orphanages, where we can teach the kids?

Show the kids what love is and they will be happy for the entire week. Teach them with the help of your laptops (videos, pictures, Microsoft Encarta or attractive PPTs). It won’t cost a thing. So guys can you do it this week. The Sunday is not far. You guys got an internet connection. Search the nearest NGO and contact them and CHANGE THE WORLD.

your happiness is in your hand

This is an email which i wrote on May 3rd,2011....and send it to some people.....

HAVE YOU EVER FALLEN IN LOVE? Not with your girl friend or boy friend, but with life itself. Have you ever praised the beautiful surroundings that encircle you?  Have you ever thought what the hell are you doing in this world? Have you ever loved yourself?

Be frank and think over these questions. If your answer is “YES”, this email is not for you, as you people have already discovered their own destinies.

But people who have never thought of these questions or whose answer is a big “NO”, another question would arise for them, and the question is WHY? WHY? WHY?

May be something is missing in your life, and you guys are still searching for that missing link. This missing link can be the most important thing for you in this world and you don’t know what it is?

In the book “The Alchemist” Paulo Coelho said that, “when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

This means that you never wanted anything from your life, and that’s why your answer is a big “NO”. That’s the reason you are still unsure about your own future. May be your happiness is just a few steps from you but you still don’t know its whereabouts.

Just recently I found my happiness in the small kids who are abandoned by their parents and are living in a orphanage in Cuttack. I am just spending a few hours every Sunday and it makes me happy for the entire week. The whole week I wait for the Sunday, as I want to be with the kids.

So friends, I just wanna ask you one thing, “DO YOU GUYS AND GIRLS WANNA BE HAPPY IN LIFE? THEN FIND YOUR OWN DESTINY AND DO WHAT YOUR DESTINY ASKS YOU TO DO”

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The betrayal of a son............

ONCE I PROMISED MY MOTHER

THAT WHEN I WILL GROW OLDER

I WILL BE GOOD TO HER

BUT WHEN I GOT OLDER

I COMMITED A MURDER

THE CRIME WAS NOT AGAINST A HUMAN BEING

IT’S THE PROMISE WHICH I KEEP ON BREAKING………………

SORRY MOM….I WILL TAKE MY BREAKFAST, LUNCH AND DINNER…DON’T WORRY

The faraway poem......

The faraway blue sky in its entirety,

holds the Earth in its totality

The vast oceans are just a drop

in this universe,

inspires the man to sail through

its shores

The lonely moon waits for the sun

to set everyday,

Its love for the sea even in the day

does not goes away

The laws of the land never 

let the oceans rule the Earth,

The selfish inhabitants are exploiting

the mother birth after birth

Is it difficult to say: You can have this seat......

Some days ago i was watching a Korean movie, My Sassy Girl. I can clearly remember one scene where the drunk lead actress asks a teenage boy to give up the seat in Metro to an elder. But when he does not do it, the girl hit him in the head so hard that the boy to fnally give up the the seat. Well many a tims i have seen in movie how the British men give up their seats to women in bus, train or whatever. But when it comes to India, this simple act of kindness is absent in all of us (only a few do it). I will give a personal example. Just two days ago, i was travelling by bus to meet one of my friend...it was too much crowded.....and Kolkata buses are the most terrible one in the entire world, even more dangerous than the Paralakhemundi buses. Suddenly one old woman is appearing and as i was sitting in the second row, i offered my sit to her. At these moments i just have this awkward feeling that if i am giving my seat to another person may be someone else will give seats to my parents, some day, some where. Now back in the bus,I was standing and people were pushing me backwards. After some moments another woman appeared and she straight went to the second from last row in order tp get a ladies reserved seat which was occupied by a man. When she asked for the seat, another woman sitting just ahead of that guy told her that its not a ladies seat. But that seat was a ladies seat. In kolkata almost 40% seats are ladies seats. That time i was angry that how arrogant and stupid Indians are. An old woman is standing and a young guy is sitting and the mother of the young guy is supporting her son seat in the ladies seat. It was an unusual feeling that originated with in me at that particular moment. I read somewhere that a person who enjoys doing acts of kindness will find that giving up a seat to a needy person is satisfying. Even when the bus is packed and it will mean being crushed, jostled and even having a pocket picked, the idea of giving someone a bit of relief from their struggles helps to show a good example and to have good feelings. My heart was telling me that Indians dont understand these kind of acts of kindness. While on my way back to college, i did not got a seat and there was another guy in his forties standing next to me. When a seat vacated, that Mr Forty something offered me the seat and I said that i am allright, please have the seat and in the mean time another old man just gave me a dhakka(pushing someone) and took that seat. For the entire journey i was standing and thinking that, he is a oldman and he desreve the seat more than me, but i cant forget that dhakka. 

Welcome to the future..........

The following are excerpts from a conversation between two friends in a bus. Lets just make the two friends A and B. 

A: Hey do you know how the world will be like in 2050?

B: Hey, did you watch some futuristic movie? The aliens are coming to take over the earth. ha.

A: No yaar, i am not talking about some Hollywood movie where the school kids are flying in their skate boards or a dystopia future where robots are ruling the Earth. I am talking about the economy.

B: Not getting a single thing what you are talking about?

A: Are yaar, as per the recently released estimates of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) India will become the 3rd largest economy of the world by 2050.Is not it cool?

B: Wow great. but so what?

A: Are kya bol raha hey. Its a matter of pride for our entire nation. We will be a developed nation. are not you feeling proud about this?

B: Yeah, its a great time for our country which builds on the principles of democracy, secularism and justice, liberty equality for all. I can clearly remember what the preamble of this great country talks about, WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC. Hahaha. what a joke.....

A: Are you nuts? you are laughing on the Indian constitution.

B: yeah, these things look good for a fiction novel, not for a country like India. Lets just face the facts. We are the 11th largest economy in the world and still 40% of our population is living below the poverty line. We are talking about equal opportunities for all but cant even provide primary education for most children.

A: But i am sure that all these things will change with the passage of the time.

B: But i am of the view that, it will be worse in the future.Inequality will rise, urban rural divide will broaden and the future will not be a Utopian one but a dark future awaits for us.

A: Dont be so negative yaar?

B: Cant you see the reality? a quarter of all Indians are living below $1 a day, but there are people who are living in a billion dollar home. Some kids are studying in schools which resembles luxury hotels and at the same time we got millions of children who dont know what a school is? Lets just face it, even if we as a country become the largest economy in the world, there will be millions who will be unaffected by it. May be we will be one of the powerful country in the international sphere, but what the use of that power, when majority of your citizens are powerless.

This is what some of the people in this country feels about their future. For them India is not like a candy floss Bollywood romance but its like the story of Bandit queen, Slumdog millionaires. What you feel about your country. Please feel free to post. Thank you

Growth Vs Environment

Economic growth is our overriding priority, there is no doubt that we have to grow at 8 to 9 % a year, but not at the cost of the environment, not at the cost of the nature,not at the cost of our forests, mountains, rivers and land. So, we have to find that balance between environment and development. So far we have focused on the fiscal aspect of economic growth. Now, we have to think about the environmental aspects of our growth,' said environment minister and chief climate change negotiator Jairam Ramesh in an interview to Time.

In an report published by Goldman Sachs in 2006 called as Why the BRICs dream wont be green, it is mentioned that balancing economic development with environment protection is already- and will remain- a major challenge to the BRIC dream.

Urbanization, industrialization and intensive agriculture means that pressures on the environment are unlikely to abate for decades.

This report also says that there will be a trade off between bio- diversity and wealth. Bio-diversity is a critical aspect of environmental sustainability. Well managed ecosystem contribute to poverty alleviation and a sustainable environment. Although industrialization tends to achieved at the expense of the environment, the trade off between growth and the environment becomes more balanced as countries grow richer.The issue of economic growth versus environmental conservation can also be seen as developed countries vs developing ones. Industrial countries such as the USA and Germany have depended upon polluting industries for their wealth. Now they fear that uncontrolled economic development in the Third World will lead to environmental disaster. They point out that massive clearing of tropical rainforest for farming threatens biodiversity and may affect the global climate.

Jairam ramesh says that, We cannot have blind economic growth. We must have economic growth that is sensitive to the concerns of people. There are lots of issues on land acquisition and environment. Environment today in India is becoming a serious public health issue and is not anymore a middle class, elitist pastime. So, we have to listen to the people. There has been no bigger champion of the Indian private sector than me. Long before economic reforms and liberalization became fashionable in India, from the early 80s, I have been advocating that we must privatize, bring in the private sector, redefine the role of the government, and so on and so forth.

He said that charting a green path for India was challenging. 'Challenging, yes, even thankless, but not frustrating. I make one decision and the environmentalists are very happy, but the growth guys are unhappy; then I take another decision and the growth guys are very happy, the environmentalists are very unhappy. I cannot please everybody,' said Ramesh.

So as Mr. Ramesh pointed out that keeping both the grwoth guys as well as environmentalists is not possible, it would be a difficult task for India to maintain a balance between the two as both these are important for a developing country like India.

Why Indian roads are filthy?

The answer to above question is very simple. Its because we the Indians love our streets being dirty. Which are more common in Indian roads?

1. One person putting garbages on the sideways.

2. Another person spitting on the road.

3. Some unknown person peeing in dark alleys.

The answer would be all these are common things you are going to notice in Indian roads.But we are no more a third world country. We are a developing country and on the verge of becoming a superpower( The whole world is saying so) But when it comes to infrastructure these above things are coming into mind. So cant we change anything. If you are going to ask this question only one reply will come that is, its the job of the government. we are common men. We can not change. So we will make our filthy roads more filthier. The government will come and change everything. But I am changing. The next time i am eating some chocolate, i am not throwing the wrapper on the road but puts it in my pocket. If I am not able to locate any dustbin then just keeps the wrapper in my pocket as long as i keep it( most of the time it ends in the washing machine as i forget to throw them in the dustbin). But I am not putting any dirt on the streets. when i was in CSREM we were more conscious about cleanliness. But in Praxis, they just throw the garbages around the hostel building. The hostel building is near a swamp.So just guess how much mosquitoes will be taking birth there to spread malaria.May be the people in this college still have not gone through the wikileaks documents. here are some of the documents,Malaria facts, Children and malaria, malaria in England in the little ice age, pregnancy and malaria. So cant we change ourselves a little. Just dont spit on the road after taking your paan or just dont throw the garbages on the street. In case of peeing there is no substitute, but if a pay toilet is there, just use it. I am damn sure its not expensive. The picture below is of Dharamtala, Kolkata. All these are result of a rally. You can only see the plastic cups and plates. We were coming back from Esplanade and just took some pictures. If the politicians dont acre about roads, then its useless to depend upon them. So be the change.

post rally garbage

How to bring change?

(Abstract: If you want to bring change, then first change yourself. But if you want a greater change to arrive in this world, then change the future generations, i.e., Children. Geting rid of the filthy streets is a bigger problem as our existing mindset does want clean roads. So what we need is to change the mindset of the future generations.)

When one think of one idea to change the littering behaviour of Indians, it seems imposiible, as for generations we have learned how to throw the garbages on the streets, spitting on the sideways, and urinating on the back-alleys. Even if we are implementing some actions to change this behaviour, it will be short term. There is a great story about an Indian who never spit on the streets in Singapore, But dont do the same when comes to India. So what can be derived from this is that we dont care about the streets of our country. If it is dirty, then let it be dirty.

But there is another way which can drastically change this ugliness of Indians,i.e., change the future generations. And the future generations are children studying in schools, colleges. If you are thinking how? Then the answer is to include children in all your campaigns. Some of the ideas as how to include children are listed below,

1. Made MoUs with as many schools as possible to clean the surrounding areas.
2. Made the cleaning campaigns a weekly affair.
3. Go to the schools and make presentations on how dirty the Indian streets are and inspire the teachers as well as the students as how they can bring change not only in their neighbourhood, but in entire India.
4. When hundred children and other people are cleaning the streets, then people will notice it.
5. Include the parents if possible as they can oppose their children cleaning the streets.
6. Communicate the message that, one day of cleanliness campaign in a week wont harm their studies.
7. Children love to skip classes, as they need more practicality in their studies, so they will not be a problem. The only problem you are going to face is from parents and teachers. So make a clear plan before approaching the schools.
8. You can also approach like minded influential people in some communities as they can really bring greater changes and at the same time inspire the children.
9. If schools are not allowing children to get out of the school to participate in these events, then organize clean the campus campaigns within the school.
10. When you are talking with the children, then make comaparisons of Indian streets with streets of developed countries or even China. This will infuse a patriotic feeling within them. And You guys know how powerful this is( i.e., the quintessential cricket match and patriotic feeling)
11. Even if the first few days will be hard, never stop as people takes more time to think about a better cause than an idiotic cause.
12. For this you dont need so much funds as support from children, parents, schools and colleges will be important not money.

You can find thousands of methods to clean the streets, but to change an entire generation, it will take time, courage and patience. Another important characterstic of ugly Indians is that, they dont have patience. And it is patience that can change the world. So if you really want to change us, then change our future generations. We the adults will definitely follow them without getting offended.

Who is my leader anyway !!!

Well we will be postings on those persons whom we consider as our leaders.The first post is a secret and if you are ready to read further then you will know who the person we are talking about.

Heres a quote from that person, So my fellow Americans, ask not what the country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country. These are the words by a person who is the first president of USA to be born in 20th century and the youngest elected to office at the age of 43. He is the first and the only Catholic and the first Irish American president of USA. Well he is also the only US president to have won a Pulitzer Prize. Events during his administration include the Bay of pigs invasion, the Cuban missile crisis, the building of the Berlin wall, the African American civil rights movement and the early stages of the Vietnam war. If you closely look at him then you will know that this person is as famous as  Shahrukh Khan or Tom Cruise. Yes you heard it correctly. He is the Shahrukh Khan of American politics. People used to call him the celebrity president.If you have seen the movie Forrest Gump, Then you definitely know about whom i am talking about. As Shahrukh Khan is known from his initials SRK, this person whom i consider as my leader is known from his initials JFK. Oliver Stone made a movie on him in 1991. Well this person is non other than John Fitzgerald Kennedy or Jack Kennedy,was born on May 29, 1917. He was the 35th president of United States of America serving from 1961 until his assassination in November 22, 1963.

After Kennedy s military service as commander of the Motor Torpedo boat 109 during world war II in the South Pacific, his aspirations turned political. With the encouragement and grooming of his father Joseph P. Kennedy JFK represented the Massachusetts 11th Congressional district in the House of the Representatives from 1947 to 1953 as a Democrat and served in the US senate from 1953 until 1960. 

Kennedy defeated the then vice president and the Republican candidate Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election one of the most closest in the American history. Well Mr. Nixon lost the election by 120,000 votes, approximately 0.2 % of all the votes.

Well now talk about his leadership. He is one of those politicians who can be probably most closely identified with the term leader. You dont have to look far for the evidence of the imprint Kennedy left on American life and politics. From the day of his death, virtually every president and presidential candidate, since has to varying degrees sought to portray himself as the heir to the Kennedy legacy. Lyndon Johnson, who was the vice president during Kennedy s tenure and the 36th president of USA was obsessed with living in Kennedy s shadow. Richard Nixon was immensely jealous of the man, he also thought of as his friend. Jimi Carter reveled in being described by Time Magazine as Kennedisque during his 1976 campaign. Ronald Reagan invoked kennedys  tough  stance toward the Soviet Union and his tax cutting economic strategy to buttress his own efforts in these realms. A sixteen year old Bill Clinton famously was photographed- with a beatific look on his face- shaking Kennedy's hand in rose garden.

Perhaps the politicians sense something  the political science professors unable to do so as they tended not to rate Kennedy's presidency very highly. Butt even four decades after his death, JFK remains extraordinarily popular. An ABC news poll taken on presidents day weekend in 2003 listed JFK as the 2nd greatest president of all time.Although recentness and nostalgia no doubt play a major role in such results, the fact is that at the time of his death, Kennedy had the highest average approval rating of  any president ever measured by the Gallup polling organization. It was 70% Even Barrack Obama  had a highest of 66% approval rating. and in October 2009 it become 39%. 

Kennedy gave the Americans the look of the modern presidency. If Franklin D. Roosevelt created the imperial presidency, it was Kennedy who gave it its royal trappings. When you think of the American president what comes to your mind, Barrack Obama, Washington DC, White house, Sarah Palin ( no not in hundred years), Bobby Jindal ( a big thumbs up for 2012 presidential election). Well you are missing one more important thing. Its Air force One.  If you have seen Harrison Fords movie Air force One, then you definitely know what is the importance of that presidential aircraft. Before Kennedy it was not there. JFK took the boxy, functional looking presidential aircraft and hired a top industrial designer and repainted it and christened the result Air Force One, to descend majestically from the skies as the very symbol of the presidential power. No longer would American presidents greet their foreign visitors prosaically at the airport, instead the visitors would be whisked to the white house for a grand welcoming ceremony on the south lawn.

Kennedy had other notable leadership accomplishments to his credit.

1. He made his own rules

When he ran for Congress in 1946 without having held any previous office, he just built his own organization a practice he would retain throughout his career. Today virtually all ambitious politicians rely on their own organizations rather than the party's organization to win elections.

2. He started early

He began running for president in 1958 and declared his candidacy in 1960, both of which were considered absurdly early at the time. But now the early start is the standard operating procedure.

3. He mastered TV

The political debate form had all but died by the early 1950s. But Kennedy thought that if he could hold his own in a televised debate it would help him. His theory proved correct against both Lodge and Nixon. Today entire cable television networks in USA are devoted to nothing else but political debates.

4. He made friends of the press corps

 Kennedy was the first president to answer questions from journalists on live television. (‘‘The dumbest idea since the hula hoop,’’ groused New York Times columnist James Reston at the time.) The live presidential press conference, of course, is now an institution in itself.

His greatest speeches

1.This nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds.It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.

2.Today we are committed to a world wide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free .

3. This is one country. It has become one country because all the people who came here had an equal chance to develop their talents.
References: Wikipedia and the book (leadership and John F. Kennedy)

The world is not enough

We the Homo sapiens living in this tiny planet of Milky way galaxy are selfish, and nobody can deny it. We from an early childhood always wanted more than what we have. Hailliard once said that, The force of selfishness is as inevitable and as calculable as the force of gravitation. So we the humans staying away from selfishness is impossible. When we were children we wanted more chocolates, toys. During the teenage days we wanted more freedom. When we were young adults we wanted to hitch more girls(or boys if you are a girl), and when we got married and started our family, the selfishness touched new heights. We wanted more money, big house, car, bike, holidays etc. As Robert A. Heinlein puts it, The greatest productive force is human selfishness.

Now some question arises, whether there is enough for all of us (the 6 billion inhabitants of planet Earth)? While we were being selfish and satisfying our needs and wants what the rest of the world was doing? Well in short we can said that nobody thinks about others. Everyone always looks out for themselves. It does not matter to us if half the world is not getting a single meal a day, if 456 million Indians are earning less than $1.25 a day, if farmers are committing suicides, if children below the age of 14 are working as laborers.

Why we are not thinking about others? Why we are so selfish? Even the person who is writing now does not got any answer to these questions. But still when we think about helping the underprivileged people, a feeling arouse in our heart which is more powerful than any other emotions that we have experienced in our life.

One can easily conclude that without being selfish we can attain something which is more powerful, more inspirational, more encouraging than whatever we have experienced through the selfish means. helping does not mean that we will forget our families and start some NGO in a poor region. Mother Teresa said that, If you cant feed hundred people, then just feed one. So just start from one step. As you will be going forward, you will find that the whole world will be there to support you.

Some unknown author once said that, When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found i could not change the nation, I began to focus on my town. i could not change the town as an older man, I tried to change my family. Now as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world. 

Those people who thinks that they are not good people and It does not matter to them if somebody is suffering. For them there is a quote from Dalai Lama, Basically we are all the same human beings with the same potential to be a good human being or a bad human being. The important thing is to realize the positive side and try to increase that; realize the negative side and try to reduce. Thats the way.

Buddhist Monastery

On our way to Chandragiri we went to the largest Buddhist monastery in Orissa. Its one of those unbelievable things that happen in life which we never expected. Last year we went to that monastery for the first time while selling FMCG products under our marketing paper. Lets have a look at some pictures.

In the middle of the farmlands

The Monastery

Looks magnificent

Can you define it!

The cloudy mountains and the monastery

Buddha the Great

We the people of India

Enjoying the time

I am taking the pic

The sunset that looks like Pandora

GPS mapping of village in Chandragiri

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. (Marcel Proust)

Some days ago we went to Chandragiri, which is 90 km from our college for a project under which we map one tribal village with the help of GPS. This experience gave us a new point of view towards life. The project was done with collaboration with IIT Madras and OTELP( Orissa Tribal Empowerment and Livelihood Program). So friends here are some of the picture of the village mapping experience.

Entering the village

Prof. Nagesh giving instructions

Intensive survey in village

Extensive survey

Measuring mountains

Somebody is falling

measuring farmland through GPS

GPS and the mountaineers

Having the lunch In the village

Ramana Sir and Devaraj SIr

Prasant and the stream

Rest time

Up in the mountain

Map the farmland

Are they working or enjoying?

Mountain made from one rock

Clouds in the mountains

This Field study was the most difficult one for us. We went to Chandragiri by bus which is 90 km from our college. It took some 4 hours to reach there. The roads were terrible but the road side scenery was mind blowing. The next post will be about the Buddhist Monastery which we visited during the second day of field study.

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow (Lin Yutang)