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)