the BROOK

LAHORE IMPRESSIONS- I

2010-11-28T20:38:00.007+06:00

Before i boarded Pakistan International Airlines(PIA) flight in New Delhi, Ravi, a friend, mischieviously teased "Martin, are you going for Jihad training...?". Another friend from Lunglei, Awmtea Renthlei texted, " be careful of suicide bombers." But when i stepped into the plane my mind raced back to my 20 days stay in this historical city way back in 2002 which was replete with visits of museums, archives and libraries; learning and singing Sufi music with students of Lahore Grammar School and an enlightening tour to Heera Mandi with Lahore-based sculptor and art critic Mian Naeem - all these were still vivid in my memory. I was not sure whether i could repeat if not better my 2002 visit this time round.

Since this is my third visit to Lahore- the first since 2002 i was determined not to miss certain "Lahore specials" which had somehow eluded me the first two times. But with ocassional news of devastated suicide attacks in Pakistan and the recent deluge in the country which rendered thousands homeless, i had some trepidation. But a Pakistan friend in the flight allayed my fears telling me that all is well in Pakistan and that the pilots of PIA flights are ex-Pakistan Air force(PAF).

Alama Iqbal International Airport

When i arrived in Lahore all my apprehensions had vanished like a thin air and its like a second home for me. With Sameera, Farhan, Altaf and Shaheen taking care of my needs i moved around the city without any inhibitions. My project with CAP- Lahore chapter which was the purpose of my visit went off as planned.Yes, i agree that grumbling at the sorry state of today's Pakistan is almost a philosophy of life out there but think that the picture of Pakistan conveyed by Indian and Western media are far from truth.

The restaurants in Lahore are always full. But what surprised me most is the fact that almost everyone like in Hyderabad or Aizawl back home, smokes in the restaurants. Apart from gosh karahi, dal ghost, mugh channi, the meals which were served to us at Bonfire Restaurant at Allama Iqbal Town area of the city were elaborate with atleast two different types of meat- lamb and beef, and roti and rice and kebabs and curries and two types of vegetables and salads and yoghurt and kher and malai. The food street at Gawalmandi and at Purani Anarkaili offered local food dishes.

One afternoon, as i walked alone through the walled 'androon' city's narrow winding alleways and the famous Lahore Fort it seemed like i was living in a crucible of parallel worlds. A step into a past fraught with intrigues, folklore myths and timeless faith. Cobbled streets, shops in a row, ending up in masjids with stone carvings, whisper tales of past grandeur and magnificence. It was a Hantel and Gretel experienced for me. My friends were concerned that i would get lost and not remember my way back .And asking directions in unknown area is not the smartest thing to do. In a corner of such lane a gaggle old men with gnarled faces and wide, gummy, sniles beckoned me. " Aap chini ay?" "Lahore Lahore aay" ( Are you Chinese, Lahore is Lahore) he inquired wanting to emphase the uniqueness of the city. I simply nodded my head and keep walking...

Lahore Fort

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WHEN FREEDOM HAS BEEN HELD HOSTAGE

2010-11-22T18:26:00.002+06:00

What are the limitations of freedom for writers in Indian media? Should one shut his or her mouth and put their pens down just to please a select few? What are the binding rules mandatory in sending any writer to jail? Do we need the government to take a writer to court for his/her remarks that is supported by facts.

Arundhati Roy, is a well known writer and needless to add her book The God of Small Things won the Booker Prize. We may agree or disagree over her opinions, but one thing for sure about this lady is that she is one of the few writers who espouse social cause and passionately fights for the displaced tribal people. Yet, the BJP denounced her and staged protests in front of her residence and now in Orissa. There are some complaints in courts on a ridiculous sedition charges.

As someone who too involve in the fight against corporate injustices perpetrated by corporate bigwigs am more concerned with the way she was treated for- what must be considered- a personal opinion and the views of a thinker. That some parts of the present J&K(read the valley) was never a part of India is a historical fact which no historian can deny. The BJP decided to punish the lady who dared to express a public opinion is nothing but freedom taken to hostage.

In fact, it also provoked more writers and activists to call for more freedom of speech as long as it is stated and expressed through acceptable channels. Besides, if we are to think of India as a democratic state, then protesting against the mere speech of a writer would only reflect contradictions. A BJP leader told me that they wanted to teach Arundhati a lesson for her 'seditious remarks so that she would never dare utter a word against her own country. Why is freedom of speech held hostage over what the BJP thinks?.

Attempts at filtering, controlling writers and columnists' articles, as well as influencing people's mind over what they are alllowed to think, read and say is something i can't digest easily and openly. I think that the BJP/ABVP's reaction was very wrong and the outcome of such a drastic step will only boomerang harder on the sender rather than the receiver. The issue has raised a big question which is, 'Why?' Why are we so worried or paranoid over what the Pakistanis may think about Arundhati Roy's speech? Or maybe there is something else that we can't figure out yet, or rather are not supposed to? The BJP has every right to stage peaceful protest against Arundhati Roy but forcibly trying to obstruct her activities or trying to send her to jail on charges of sedition is not acceptable and will never be.

P.S:
Ay Zindagi Tujhe Kya Mila
Meri zindagi tujhe kya mila
Meri zaat se’mere naam se
Main to khud sarapa sawal hun
Jise intezar jawab ka
Koi band jese katab ho
Barhi bekarari se souchti
Kabhi age ise parhe koi
Mere wark wark ko pyar de
Mujhe harf harf karar de
Meri khwishon ka har aik rang udas hay
Inhein choo ke koi ojal de
Inhein lutf main koi dhal de
Meri zaat ko koi naam de.

Tumhain jaan'na ijazat hai
Koi bhi rasta chun lo
Humaray muntazir tehro
Ya hum ko alwida keh do
Tumhain jaa'nan ijazat hai

Humaray paoon main tou
Waqt ki zanjeer liptii hai
Qabal is k, k thak jaoo
Humaray saath chal k tum
Mohabbat ki thakawat tum ko
Hum say bad-guma'an kar day
Qabal is k, k har aik
Har aik wapsi ki raah khoo jaye
Jo socha bhi nahi hum nay
Wohi kal ko jo ho jaye
Tumhain jaan'an ijazat hai

FOR MY SISTER ON HER 32nd BIRTHDAY

2010-11-17T15:26:00.003+06:00

Today on your 32nd birthday how i miss you my sweet sister. Is so hard when am so lost and all alone in this workaday world. You, the only one person who can give me a feeling of comfort who knows the secret of my heart is now in Celestial heaven with mom and dad. The world can be a ruthless place that with sometimes with no meaning the most important person is lost. Sometimes i ask why did this happen to me. I searched for an answer everywhere but still had no idea why you had to go so early. You may be lost in this world boihte, my dearest one ...but you are with me always. Your memory will not lie down and be forgotten.And I will never lie down and forget... This song of JJ Heller gives me the inspiration to carry on tho' my world without you and without someone to really care me is 'shaking' and my heart breaking...

I have unanswered prayers
I have trouble I wish wasn’t there
And I have asked a thousand ways
That you would take my pain away
You would take my pain away

I am trying to understand
How to walk this weary land
Make straight the paths that crooked lie
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine

When my world is shaking, heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave your hands

When you walked upon the earth
You healed the broken, lost and hurt
I know you hate to see me cry
One day you will set all things right
Yeah, one day you will set all things right

When my world is shaking, heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave your hands

Your hands that shaped the world
Are holding me
They hold me still
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-F6DGGF4Qs&feature=related

"Don’t want to have to drag this pain with me
Everywhere I go …
I want to be normal again

But everywhere I look is a reminder of you
Of us, of everything we shared.
Why can’t I let you go?
Let your spirit rein
Why cant I smile in reminisce

The scar is too deep
And the emptiness makes me cold
I to feel like I have gone…

Into another world

A world where happiness
Is an obstacle
Laughter a challenge
And complete is almost impossible…

If only I could go on without the thought of you…
Maybe then ill feel what peace is like again!"

WHAT CHANAKYA HAD SAID

2010-11-16T16:30:00.012+06:00

The recent discussion in linkedin on what Chanakya had said centuries ago made me ponder very pertinent issues. After all, is not politics the last refuge for some scoundrels? When we have to define honesty, it is a quality of probity, chastity, modesty, fairness, straightforwardness of conduct, speech, etc., integrity, sincerity, truthfulness, freedom from fraud or guile or deceit, non-hypocrisy and large heartedness.

How are we going to relate this to our day to day living and life? One may get inspiration from the various religious texts,the Bible, Koran, the epics and Upanishads to realise the efficacy of honesty.

Simply put, honesty is one of the many virtues. It means discipline, tact and diplomacy- conducting oneself smartly.

Hence, it is the mind which thinks and acts with commonsense. Therefore, it is a sign of excellence a human being could possess. It is propriety of conduct and it is only those individuals who are firm in mind who will not slacken in the observance of honesty and propriety of conduct. Misery follows those individuals who transgress the virtue of honesty as they inevitably perish in disgrace and sorrow.

Hypocrisy is a hindrance in life journey. A deceitful person thinks that the harm caused by such conduct remains either unknown or unseen. Such a person is mistaken to think so. Such a person definitely gets exposed in the long run. And it is not surprising that such a person in no time destroys the blessings of good luck earned by the good deeds (law of karma- is cause and effect).

Many among us, in general, believe and act according to the saying, 'End justifies the means'. Therefore, some professionals and common men use deceit in their daily routine, corrupt businessmen rob the consumers, treacherous lawyers exploit their clients, inhuman doctors make operation table bargains with the patients and mean tutors mint money from their students by the use of deceit and fraud. Taking and giving bribes is also nothing but deceitful conduct and a punishable offense in law. Many times housewives also extort money from their husbands by deceit, or applying trick. And we have the menace of Dowry in many societies in India.

The modern materialistic society may approve of such immoral conduct; but all major religions of the world always insist upon 'fair work and no foul play' under all odds.

Many people think that honesty and integrity cannot possibly be maintained in this mundane world; but they do not know that without these, life on earth is nothing but chaos.

To conclude, honesty makes the human mind stable, annihilates evil, ushers in everlasting happiness and puts an end to sins.

This does not mean that we should not be acting smartly when confronted with dishonest people holding positions of power. This does not mean that we should not have common sense approach to life. This also means that some challenges can be solved while some can be tackled.

As we grapple with this issue a poem "IF" by Ruyard Kipling is brilliant and inspiring:
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,
If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son!
-----------------------------------------------------
P.S., A Pakistani friend called Chandni Khan sent me these poem which i love it:
Aise chup hain ke ye manzil bhi kari ho jaise

Teraa milna bhi judaai ki ghari ho jaise

Apne hi saaye se har gaam laraz jata hon

Raaste main koi diwaar khari ho jaise

Manzilain door bhi hain manzilain nazdeek bhi hain

Apne hi paaon main zanjeer pari ho jaise

Kitane nadan hain tere bhulane waale ke tujhe

Yaad karne ke liye umar pari ho jaise

Aaj dil khol ke roye hain to yon Khush hai 'Faraz'

Chand lamhon ki ye raahat bhi bari ho jaise

Koi bhi faisla kar lo
Humaray muntazir tehroo
Ya hum ko alvida keh do
Humara tum say ye wada hai
Tumharai yaad ko hum tou
Sada dil k dareechay main
Youn he aabad rakhain gain
Tumhain hum yaad rakhain gain
Tumhain jaan'an ijazat hai
Tum apnay hosloon main jub
Thakawat see kabhi paoo
Kisi piyaray say mukhray ki
Haseen aankhon main kho jaoo
Ijazat hai tumhain jaa'nan
Agar is pal jo tum chahoo
Koi bhi faisla kar lo
Humaray muntazir tehroo
Ya hum ko alvida keh doo.................!!!!

SUICIDE WEAVERS AT SIRCILLA

2010-10-30T15:35:00.004+06:00

Textile park at Bolepalli-4kms from Sircilla which charts history of looming. Various models of looms from ancient to modern looms are exhibited here. -photo by G.Ramesh

The journey from Kamareddy in Nizamabad district to Sircilla, popularly known as the weavers town in Northern Telengana was an eye-opener. It threw up a number of surprises as opposed to the images i had conjured of a place with farmers suicides. The landscape was dotted with green lush fields on both sides. The agriculture was good and i saw ladies sitting on the roadside selling custard apples. The road infrastructure was good and district and inter-taluka roads were well laid out. I could also see many hospitals, dispensaries and the ubiquitous privately-run English Medium schools with fancy names like Techno, Concept or Talent schools apart from many dilipidated building government schools.

A few kilometres before Sircilla we dropped in to a roadside cafe for a cup of hot tea. A middle-aged man ingratiatingly approached me wanting to say something but did not seem to have the courage. When i asked him what he really wants he blurted out, "Saar, i can get you two healthy stray dogs for Rs.400/-.". Surprised, but pique at his temerity i told him, " I don't eat dog meat. Behave, how come you offer me stray dogs for a price which i could have easily caught myself... if i want to... " The manager of the Cafe intervened and told me that Naga Regiment of the Indian Army were stationed here in the run-up to the last bye-election. They hunt and slaughtered pigs, dogs and cats. When the villagers complained to the police they started paying Rs.500/- for a stray dog which they relished. Since you look like those dog-eater Nagas they thought you might want to buy one.They want to make a few bucks." He contended.The man also told me that he is in dire need of money and when he saw me he thought i would be happy to get one for me. One by one they narrated tales of Naga regiment exploits with canines.A man who was sitting in the corner, said in a lighter vein "had they stay her for a few more months we could have also started eating dog- meat." Others broke into guffaws.

At Sircilla, we met members of families who committed suicide. Sircilla, which was famous for weaving has now famous for their suicides particularly in the last ten years. The town is represented by K.Tarakarama Rao, the son of TRS supremo K.Chandrasekhar Rao. The town which derived its name from Sirishala is inhabited by the padmashali caste of weavers. Eighty per cent of the town's population employed as weavers or in the processing and dyeing of textiles polyster.A local College lecturer told me that weaving in Sircilla dates back to the early 1920s. Some enterprising locals went to Solapur(now in Maharashtra) and learned the art of handloom weaving. On their return they introduced weaving in the town and within a short span of time it spread to some 50 villages around Sircilla town. Skilled weavers from Sircilla developed a unique design and a niche market for their products despite stiff competition from the neighbouring Maharashtra.

But since the late 90s, weavers and dyeing labourers of this town have suffered huge losses that led to closure of many power looms in the town .The state government did very little to address their problems. Pushed into the vortex of unemployment, debt and starvation many weavers committed suicide.The number of suicides in the last ten years is alarmingly high. A local leader told me that some weavers have taken up agriculture and dairying as weaving became unviable.But they got little help from the government. Not only that, agriculture too as it were is subjected to vagaries of monsoon with the Jalagnam project implemented by the late Chief Minister YSR Reddy catering to only fifth of farmland.This project which was supposed to accord the highest priority for development of infrastructure, particularly in backward and drought prone areas by taking up the program in a big way utterly failed to lived up to its hype. Worse, the project has been mired in corruption.

He also told me that once a farmer or a weaver fell into debt trap, there was little he could do but to die to free himself of it. But he suggested dairying as one good alternative. He told me that a particular breed of buffalo could give 25 litre of milk a day and this involved an investment of Rs.50000/-. A rough calculation would show an earning of at least Rs.8500/- per month. With this kind of income, the investment could be recouped in less than six months. Not only this, dairying could be the core activity, which being rather stable in nature, would provide a farmer much needed necessary cushion against the vagaries of monsoon.

STIGMA AND DISCRIMINATION AGAINST HIV/AIDS VICTIMS

2010-10-16T11:53:00.006+06:00

photo from web not mine
I shall die soon, I know. This thing is in my blood. It will not let me go. It saps my cells for food. It soaks my nights in sweat And breaks my days in pain. No hand or drug can treat These limbs for love or gain. Love was the strange first cause That bred grief in its seed, And gain knew its own laws—To fix its place and breed. He whom I love, thank God, Won’t speak of hope or cure. It would not do me good. He sees that I am sure. He knows what I have read And will not bring me lies. He sees that I am dead. I read it in his eyes. How am I to go on—How will I bear this taste, My throat cased in white spawn—These hands that shake and waste? Stay by my steel ward bed And hold me where I lie. Love me when I am dead And do not let me die.-- Vikram Seth

We all know that HIV is a virus and its modes of spread: sharing of infected needles, blood transfusion, body fluid exchanges (by sexual intercourse, deep kissing with exchange of saliva). organ transplantation etc. from infected persons. We are also quite aware that HIV cannot be transmitted by casual contact, sharing rooms and utensils, shaking hands, kisses (where there is no exchange of saliva), hugging or sharing toilets with the infected person. Yet
discrimination of HIV positive persons and children is usually seen at every level. Some people even fear that one may get infected by just looking at an HIV positive patient. Many HIV positive live with the fear of being discriminated and hide themselves like criminals. Some even lose their jobs or looked upon with disgust and hatred.
Recently, a 24- year old woman was admitted to a hospital in the city and gave birth to a baby girl the next day. While the baby is doing well, the doctors at the gynaecology ward stopped attending to the woman and the baby after coming to know about her HIV positive status.

At the request of a US lady who runs a facility for a HIV children in Hyderabad, i visited the hospital and met the Director of the Hospital. " Our staff are well-trained but they still have reservations attending to an HIV positive patients. There is a lot of hostility towards persons infected with HIV and he could do very little if they...." But he assured me that they will will take due care the patient and will conduct orientation for his staff.

As left the Nursing Home i was wondering why patients suffering from other diseases were taken good care with compassion while HIV positive patients were treated like a pariah dog. Is our compassion flawed to the extent that we have nothing but hatred for HIV patients? Partial compassion is discrimination and we should show love and compassion to victims of HIV/AIDS too. Compassion, i believe, cannot choose between patients suffering from Alzheimer or AIDS..

P.S. Lonely and longing for companionship, Emmi Kurowski marries Ali. Emmi's children are outraged and Ali's friends ridicule him for marrying " a grandmother". Hoping everything will be better when they return, the couple takes a vacation. I have seen atleast a dozen films of Rainer Warner Fassbinder but the more i see the more i want to see his film. I admire him and he is one my all time favourite filmmakers. Fassbinder's films are among the most valid social documents produced between the late 60s and early 80s in Germany and his plays are among the most performed of any-post-war German dramatist. His genius is reflected in this film as he poignantly scripts a film which holds your attention and manages to make an important point.

HOW TO WRITE A PROJECT PROPOSAL

2010-10-06T15:15:00.000+06:00

Having 100% of project proposals accepted usually means that a freelance developer has had very few clients. Low percentage rates usually mean that proposals are being sent to people who didn’t ask or the proposal writer simply needs a few good “getting warmer’s” in the right direction. The following tried and tested tips are to encourage the 100%ers to write more proposals and the low raters to take heart and give it another try. Let’s get started…

1. Ask QuestionsBefore starting your proposal, take some time to make sure you know exactly what you’re proposing. If you’re unclear about any part of the project, ask your potential client a few meaningful questions. If anything seems vague in their description of “what they want”, ask for clarification and then give them a list of possible options as to what you think they might have meant. For your sake, when preparing to give a price, it’s important that you and the client both have the same amount of work in mind. – Note: If you decide to include a list of questions along with your proposal, include an educated guess as to what their answers would be. Make it clear that your price is based on you having made the correct guesses to the proposed questions and that if anything needs clarifying or if anything is missed, you can adjust your quote accordingly.

2. Summarize the ProjectTake all the information on the project that you’re received from the client thus far and summarize it briefly, using your own words, in an opening paragraph. This not only helps you get a clearer concept of the project in your own mind, but also gives the client confidence that you’ve given it thought and understand what they want. It also provides a solid opportunity for them to clarify encase you didn’t understand. – Example: “Below is a summary of my understanding of the project based on our conversations thus far.”

3. Break Down the Project Into a Nice “To Do” ListAfter your summary, follow-up with a solid “To Do” list, which is very useful for both you and the client? List everything that they’ve requested so far as well as your standard work on the project. For designers, this would include listing the initial drafts, etc. For programmers, this would include planning the database, building it, etc. Be thorough in your list. It will help give the client a strong sense that you know what you’re doing and that you’ll do the job well. It will also help you make sure nothing slips through the cracks. Use the list in your project updates and cross things off as you move along.

4. Split the Project Into PhasesAfter your “to do” list, split the project up into a number of clearly defined phases. I recommend starting out with a minimum of three. Your first phase might be the “Initial First Draft”. During this phase, you begin work on the project and end the phase by sending the client a first draft for testing and revision. Your next phase, in a simple 3 phase project, could be “Bug Squashing and Customizing” – During this phase (I recommend project appropriate naming conventions the project is tested and revisions are made until the client is happy with the work and it’s ready for action. Your last phase is “Finalization”. Once the work is finished, you send them an invoice, ask for referrals, collect payment, and end with a virtual handshake, all parties satisfied with a job well done. – Bonus: A useful strategy to keep in mind when it comes to pricing is splitting up a long to-do list into meaningful project phases and then pricing each of the “phases” individually. This can be especially useful for isolating features that require additional time and energy and being sure the client recognizes the work involved when it comes time to give them the price.

5. Give Your Clients a TimelineOnce you’ve gone over the project phases, let your clients know approximately how long you expect the project to take. Be generous (overestimate if need be, but gently) and then strive to finish up ahead of time. While a project may only take you a few hours to finish up, keep in mind that there will be waiting time between the initial drafts and the finished project as the client reviews the work and provides feedback. If the client is in a rush, let them know exactly when it can be finished and be sure to go over in detail exactly what, if anything, needs to be done on their part to make that deadline possible.

6. Estimate Your Time InvolvedWhile not useful for all project types, giving an estimate of time involved is useful for most and not only gives the client a sense of what to expect and that you know what you’re doing, but also helps you know exactly what to plan ahead for. A large design/programming project, for example, with a high dollar amount, can be an excellent opportunity to detail the hours involved in each step of the to-do list. Be generous, but honest. The last thing you want is word getting around that it takes you several hours to do what takes the average freelancer 15 minutes .

7. Use the Multiple Choice Price StrategyNow that all the details have been clearly laid out and your client is confident in your understanding of the project and your ability to see it through, it’s time to give them the price. Calculate your predicted time involved and be sure that nothing is overlooked. Then, give them the total number of hours along with your standard hourly rate followed by a discounted “flat rate”. As an example, take a typical CSS design/coding project. Let’s say you estimate about 5-8 hours involved in the project and your hourly rate is $40 an hour. Your proposal would then read something like this: “At around 5-8 hours of work, you’re welcome to my basic hourly rate of $40 an hour or a discounted flat rate of $250.” 9 times out of 10 the client will choose the flat rate over the hourly and will be happy with having had the freedom to choose. – Note: As an honest freelance artist who’s abilities are constantly improving, you’ll often reach a point where what once took you 5 hours now takes you an hour. Once that happens, the multiple price strategy is no longer needed. Give them your flat rate and do an excellent job . – Be sure that, along with your price, you give them your options for accepting payment.

8. Offer a Satisfaction GuaranteeOnce you’ve given them the price, be sure to include your satisfaction guarantee. Let them know that you’re committed to working on the project until they’re fully satisfied and then, once they’ve accepted your proposal, stick to it. There’s always the possibility that it can backfire with a client who just doesn’t ever seem to be satisfied (we can talk about dealing with them another day), but the vast majority of the time a solid guarantee will give your clients an extra vote of confidence and help to close the deal. There’s always the possibility of a project costing you more time than it’s worth, but no matter. Give the project your absolute best and learn everything that you can. Satisfied customers often end up being repeat customers and they are more than worth the time spent on those who may not appreciate your work.

9. End with a Call to ActionFinally, after all the details have been made clear, and the price and guarantee given, end with “what happens next.” Let them know exactly what they need to do to get started. If you require payment upfront, let them know where to send the money. If everything prior has gone well, you now have a client who’s excited and eager to see their project come to life and you want to make sure that they know what needs to happen next.

10. Write and Format ProfessionallyNothing says “unprofessional” like a bunch of “misspellings”, grammatical errors, and “IM Style” typing. Take the extra time to proof read your proposal and fixes any little errors that may have slipped in. Use spacing between your paragraphs and divide your various sections (Project Summary, Timeline, Price Quote, etc.) with subheadings. For extra points, put your proposal up on a password protected page (make sure the password works!) within your website. – Note: If you’re struggling with style or would just like some extra ideas/opinions, put together an example proposal and share it with family and friends along with a request for feedback.

And there you have it! Once the proposal has been accepted and the project complete, be sure to always ask the client if they have any suggestions for how you can improve and do even better work in the future. Ask them if your proposal was clear and ask, if you’re able, what the deciding factor was in choosing you to do the work. Take note of all you learn and apply it to the next proposal you write.

Although not directly related to “proposal writing”, here are two other tips that are worth mentioning:

Pre-Screen Your Clients: To save both you and your clients time and energy, it’s important to be sure that they are as informed and as prepared as possible before they contact you. This is where your website can step in and do its job. After they’ve browsed through your portfolio and decided to go for a price on your services, it’s important that you provide a clear path to follow. Create a page specifically for those interested in working with you. Outline the types of projects that you do and the processes that you use. Don’t hide your prices. As well as offering an hourly rate and flat rate estimates for various project types, I recommend mentioning that you’re always open to creative negotiations. You can often end up with “free projects” that more than pay what you would have charged them.
Respond Quickly: While not always possible, when you’re able to, respond to your prospective and active clients immediately. If you have an expected delay, let them know that you plan to be unavailable. Be punctual with all your appointments and make sure that you meet your deadlines. If you miss a deadline and you’re at fault, take a hit on your earnings. This will let the client know that you mean what you say and it will also help you to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
( With due gratitude to Mazhar Ali)

These website have thousands of video lectures from the world's top scholars. Excellent resource for all mayors and much more.

http://Academicearth.org

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/courses/av/index.htm

http://worldlibrary.net/Collections.htm

500,000 pdf *

http://freevideolectures.com/

http://videolectures.net/

http://lecturefox.com

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For University Channels
http://www.youtube.com/user/Harvard
http://www.youtube.com/user/stanforduniversity
http://www.youtube.com/user/uctelevision
http://www.youtube.com/user/ncstate
http://www.youtube.com/user/carnegiemellonu
http://www.youtube.com/user/georgiatech
http://www.youtube.com/user/UniversityofMinn
http://www.youtube.com/user/pennstate
http://www.youtube.com/user/wesleyan
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http://OCW.ND.edu
Courses include detailed lecture notes, a calendar of teading assigned for each class and a description of major assignments.
http://OCW.Tufts.edu
Offers student-made documentaries about social issues as well as a list of weekly readings.
http://iTunes.Stanford.edu
Professors Martin Evans and Marsh McCall lecture on great works by Virgil to Voltaire.
http://iTunes.Berkeley.edu
Berkeley's lectures online
http://WebCast.Berkeley.edu
alternate site of Berkeley's lectures.
http://www.lynda.com/

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http://oedb.org/library/features/236-open-courseware-collections
http://www.careervoyages.gov/education-videos.cfm
http://www.sba.gov/tools/audiovideo/deliveringsuccess/index.html
http://www.sba.gov/training/index.html
http://www.sba.gov/tools/audiovideo/Podcasts/index.html
http://www.openculture.com/2007/07/freeonlinecourses.html
http://www.videomd.com/featured_videos.aspx
http://www.freesciencelectures.com/
http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/
http://education.usgs.gov/common/video_animation.htm
http://www.nachi.org/advancedcourses.htm
http://education-portal.com/video_library/index.html
http://www.serve.org/nche/ibt/aw_video.php
http://www.practisinc.com/interactive/patient-education-videos.php
http://www.teachers.tv/
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A link of Educational videos an more.. http://www.ovguide.com/education.html

Laughter is strong medicine for mind and body
“Your sense of humor is one of the most powerful tools you have to make certain that your daily mood and emotional state support good health.”

~ Paul E. McGhee, Ph.D.

Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Humor lightens your burdens, inspires hopes, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert.

With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for surmounting problems, enhancing your relationships, and supporting both physical and emotional health.

I have gathered various videos for your delight and enjoyment we all need it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p32OC97aNqc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN3iNxr2bhk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW3gJFrZ4hY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_wpunvbyKA&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81NeQJWGYJY
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http://www.ocwconsortium.org/use/use-dynamic.html

An OpenCourseWare is a free and open digital publication of high quality educational materials, organized as courses. The OpenCourseWare Consortium is a collaboration of more than 200 higher education institutions and associated organizations from around the world creating a broad and deep body of open educational content using a shared model.

http://www.oercommons.org/

In a brave new world of learning, OER content is made free to use or share, and in some cases, to change and share again, made possible through licensing, so that both teachers and learners can share what they know.

http://www.schoox.com/

In schooX you can find free online courses in a wide range of subjects. Over 500 online courses, which are soon to reach 2000, are already free available under a Creative Commons license.

http://selfmadescholar.com/b/self-education-resource-list/

The internet is an invaluable resource to self-educated learners. Below is a list of some of the most helpful sites out there including opencourseware materials, free libraries, learning communities, educational tools, and more.

http://www.missiontolearn.com/2009/12/learn-foreign-language-online/

Reading from a textbook isn’t the only way to learn a foreign language. The web offers a number of free tools that can be used to enhance the learning experience inside and outside the classroom. Here are 15 language learning tools to try today:

http://www.rfid4u.com/services/freeelearning.asp

RFID Basics Course
This course helps learners to understand the fundamentals of RFID technology and provides an overview of RFID hardware including different types of tags, tag frequencies, readers, antennas, and so on.
http://www.4shared.com/dir/25834616/400fbf67/sharing.html
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FREE REsources, Useful links
http://www.google.com/mobile/products/sms.html#p=default
http://www.rentometer.com/
http://www.rememberthemilk.com/
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Pages/WelcomePage.aspx
http://www.philfilms.utm.edu/
http://themis.asu.edu/
http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Six-Pack-Abs
http://shareitfitness.wordpress.com/2010/05/14/250lbs-woman-vs-120lbs-woman/
http://www.flvs.net/Pages/default.aspx

Great Game
http://chir.ag/stuff/sand/
http://www.microsoft.com/games/en-US/index.aspx
http://www.nppl.com/
http://www.networkrockstarchallenge.com/
http://science.nasa.gov/
http://www.noao.edu/

http://spaceyourface.nasa.gov/
http://www.libraryspot.com/
http://mappinghistory.uoregon.edu/
http://www.thomas.gov/
http://personalrobotics.stanford.edu/
http://library.lawschool.cornell.edu
http://www.uee.ucla.edu

http://www.nia.nih.gov/
http://ninite.com/
http://preyproject.com/
http://www.openrise.com/lab/FlowerPower/
http://www.yourpassporttothesun.com/
http://www.socialengine.net/
http://www.online-convert.com/
http://blogof.francescomugnai.com/2010/04/the-8-worlds-most-prominent-hyper-realist-sculptors
http://www.yankodesign.com/2010/05/25/in-2020-we-can-wear-sony-computers-on-our-wrist/
http://www.romancortes.com/ficheros/dancing-typography.html
http://www.mapsofwar.com/library.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://drdianehamilton.wordpress.com/2010/08/25/10-sites-for-free-education-%e2%80%93-itunes-u-gets-300-million-downloads/

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The website www.khanacademy.org has incredibly useful math and science videoclips. I recommend them to students from middle school through college. www.skills247.com
------------------------------

Cisco & more...
Subscribe http://www.youtube.com/user/ciscovid#play/uploads
http://www.youtube.com/user/CiscoSP360
http://www.youtube.com/user/ciscoretail
http://www.youtube.com/user/LinksysByCisco
http://www.youtube.com/user/GreenCisco
http://www.youtube.com/user/techwisetv
http://www.youtube.com/user/CiscoDigitalCribs
http://www.youtube.com/user/ciscoCIN
http://www.youtube.com/user/DataCenterVideos
http://www.youtube.com/user/datacenterpulse
http://www.youtube.com/user/WindowsVideos

Channels
http://www.youtube.com/user/activevision
http://www.youtube.com/user/AMDUnprocessed
http://www.youtube.com/user/Avayainteractive
http://www.youtube.com/user/carnegiemellonu
http://www.youtube.com/user/ccie12933
http://www.youtube.com/user/channelintel
http://www.youtube.com/user/CiscoLive2009
http://www.youtube.com/user/CiscoSmallBusiness
http://www.youtube.com/user/ciscozine
http://www.youtube.com/user/citrisuc
http://www.youtube.com/user/computerworld
http://www.youtube.com/user/CSCOPR
http://www.youtube.com/user/EyeOnTechnology
http://www.youtube.com/user/ITWorldVideos
http://www.youtube.com/user/lockergnome
http://www.youtube.com/user/macworld
http://www.youtube.com/user/MIT
http://www.youtube.com/user/NYTechSummit
http://www.youtube.com/user/ResearchChannel
http://www.youtube.com/user/sansinstitute
http://www.youtube.com/user/sunmicrosystemsgmbh
http://www.youtube.com/user/SunMicrosystemsInc
http://www.youtube.com/user/TechTargetTV
http://www.youtube.com/user/TigerDirectBlog
http://www.youtube.com/user/VidPR
http://www.youtube.com/user/wired

For those wanting to make a little money on the side
Subscribe
http://www.fusioncash.net/?ref=joeveloz
http://moneymaking777.blogspot.com/
http://www.getvouchersforfree.com?join=273
http://www.textbroker.com/
https://www.mturk.com/mturk/welcome

For those that are unemployed, here is a list of websites that you will like. Good Luck! http://cashflow777.weebly.com
Signups make money on the side. http://cashflow777.weebly.com/higher-education.html

For those that have a blog or a website,make money $$$ Become an Affiliate:

Affiliate Marketing for Publishers

These days a Publisher can be any type of Web site from a well known destination that offers consumers a range of shopping opportunities to a blogger that’s just beginning to attract an audience. Regardless of what type of site you have in mind (or already have in place!) as you build a loyal following you have an opportunity to monetize your Web site and start earning commissions!
Also called an affiliate, a publisher displays ads, text links, or product links from an advertiser in return for a commission when a sale is made or when a lead is acquired. The sale can also be tied to a specific action such as filling out a form or downloading a trial. LinkShare facilitates relationships between publishers and advertisers by providing the underlying technology that manages links, tracks results and commissions, and sends payments..

Subscribe press the link below https://cli.linksynergy.com/cli/publisher/registration/registration.php?offerid=7097&mid=560&siteID=kRKp6OTL/5Y-xOzIhiqjC1uv4C6WrVimKw&+

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Over 1,000 K12 online videos for Art, Music, History, Literature, Science, Biology, Library Skills, Social Sciences, Geography, Health, Religious Studies along with online testing for each topic and all in the one location here at:
http://www.ZaneEducation.com

....another 700 online K12 videos for Maths, Chemistry and Physics being prepared to be added shortly.

With all this being available at the one website it will save a lot of chasing backwards and forwards to different sites.

Currently the use of all videos and quizzes is free...you are simply required to register first.

ools
http://us.smetoolkit.org/us/en

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

Templates
http://www.mplans.com/sample_marketing_plans.php
http://www.bplans.com/sample_business_plans.cfm
http://www.score.org/template_gallery.html
http://isb.wa.gov/pmframework/templates.aspx

A small library... Your all welcome to download whatever you want.
http://www.4shared.com/dir/25834616/400fbf67/sharing.html

I highly recommend this website
http://www.stumbleupon.com

This is my Profile
http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/eternalny/reviews/

StumbleUpon helps you discover and share great websites. As you click Stumble!, we deliver high-quality pages matched to your personal preferences. These pages have been explicitly recommended by your friends or one of 8 million+ other websurfers with interests similar to you. Rating these sites you like () automatically shares them with like-minded people – and helps you discover great sites your friends recommend.
How Does it Work?

StumbleUpon uses / ratings to form collaborative opinions on website quality. When you stumble, you will only see pages that friends and like-minded stumblers () have recommended. This helps you discover great content you probably wouldn't find using a search engine.
Searching vs. Stumbling:

Using search engines to locate relevant content typically means hunting through pages of results. Rather than searching for quality web sites, StumbleUpon members are taken directly to web sites matching their personal interests and preferences.
Combats Information Overload:

Information on the Internet changes rapidly. StumbleUpon is a dynamic approach to keep on top of this ever-evolving pool of knowledge. StumbleUpon filters through the vast amount of information on the web to direct Stumblers to high quality web sites which are relevant to their personal interests. An obscure but interesting site can be immediately shared with other like-minded users. Old or low-quality sites can be removed if their ratings become too low. The participation of community members helps maintain a database of the most up-to-date and highest quality sites possible.
People-Driven Technology:

Using a combination of human opinions and machine learning to immediately deliver relevant content, StumbleUpon presents only web sites that have been suggested by other like-minded Stumblers. Each time the 'Stumble' button is clicked, the user is presented with a high quality web site based on the collective opinions of other like-minded web surfers.
Easy, Community-based surfing:

The StumbleUpon Toolbar is integrated with the user's browser to allow for one-click access to quality web sites. A simple 2-level rating system gives users the opportunity to pass on or give their opinion on any webpage with a single click. These ratings also connect people sharing unique combinations of interests. Stumblers share their favorite web sites and interact with other users to further improve their web surfing experience.
A Personalized Browsing Tool:

StumbleUpon offers nearly 500 topics which users may choose to indicate their interests and preferences so each Stumble produces only the most relevant content. StumbleUpon delivers increasingly relevant content as the Toolbar learns what the user has liked in the past and continues to present quality web sites in the future.
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Useful links
http://www.google.com/mobile/products/sms.html#p=default
http://www.rentometer.com/
http://www.rememberthemilk.com/
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Pages/WelcomePage.aspx
http://www.philfilms.utm.edu/
http://themis.asu.edu/
http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Six-Pack-Abs
http://shareitfitness.wordpress.com/2010/05/14/250lbs-woman-vs-120lbs-woman/
http://www.flvs.net/Pages/default.aspx

Great Game
http://chir.ag/stuff/sand/
http://www.microsoft.com/games/en-US/index.aspx
http://www.nppl.com/
http://www.networkrockstarchallenge.com/
http://science.nasa.gov/
http://www.noao.edu/

http://spaceyourface.nasa.gov/
http://www.libraryspot.com/
http://mappinghistory.uoregon.edu/
http://www.thomas.gov/
http://personalrobotics.stanford.edu/
http://library.lawschool.cornell.edu
http://www.uee.ucla.edu

http://www.nia.nih.gov/
http://ninite.com/
http://preyproject.com/
http://www.openrise.com/lab/FlowerPower/
http://www.yourpassporttothesun.com/
http://www.socialengine.net/
http://www.online-convert.com/
http://blogof.francescomugnai.com/2010/04/the-8-worlds-most-prominent-hyper-realist-sculptors
http://www.yankodesign.com/2010/05/25/in-2020-we-can-wear-sony-computers-on-our-wrist/
http://www.romancortes.com/ficheros/dancing-typography.html
http://www.mapsofwar.com/library.html

( With valuable inputs from Jose D Velasque, Nicholas Tee, Daine Hamilton, Donna Auguste and other friends in linkedin.

DIFFERENT STROKES

2010-10-03T18:32:00.002+06:00

MY FAVORITE SEASON

It may be a cliche to say that that there is nothing like good film. And true to its billing, the French film " Ma saison Prefere" screened at Sarathi Studios on 29th of last month has brought to the fore the obstacles face by a maturing family. The film also rued the fact that many sons and daughters neglect their parents when they get old as they are busy with their works and the old values sorely missing. While Emile and her brother cling together to give their loving mother in her dying moments, many Indians dumped their parents at Old Age Home to rot and die.

In the film, as Emile's mother( Berthe) was suffering from stroke she can no longer live alone. She moves in with Emile and her family. But she does not feel comfortable. Emile husband too resents the intrusion and fissure started in the family. The situation is aggravated when Emile brother, Antoine visits for X-Mas. Emile and Antoine have not spoken to each other for three years and old quarrels resurrected. An Upset Berthe decides to return to her home. Emile and Antoine agree to this but soon realise that they must co-operate to help their dying mother. They relive their youthful intimacy as they cling to each other for support and gave an honour burial to their mother. In doing so they rediscover a profound mutual kinship.

MAHADEVBHAI (1892-1942)

After i left Assam i hardly watched theatre but Gandhi Jayanti this year brought a play performed by Jaimini Pathak at Ravindra Bharati. It was attended by the Governor and his wife, former Governor Rama Devi and a host of dignitaries.

The play is based on the diaries that Mahadevbhai, the secretary and close companion of Gandhiji maintained. Mahadevbhai jotted down the innumberable letters, discourses, banters and lectures of Gandhiji. The form chosen is is of lively story-telling interspersed with humour as one actor plays various historical characters like Gandhiji, Jawaharlal Nehru, Patel, Ambedkar among others.

As theatre buff, i enjoyed the play which is brilliant. Its amazing how Jaimini recreates the life and times of the Mahatma through the lens of Mahadevbhai's vision. It also helps me understand Gandiji's ideals like Satyagraha, sarvodaya, religious tolerance, removal of untouchability & discrimination and the status of women. As his excellency, Shri ESL Narasimhan, the Governor of AP said in his opening remarks, Mahatma's ideals and principles are even more relevant in the present context of what is happening in the state of Andhra Pradesh today.

OBITUARY FOR A FRIEND

2010-09-26T19:09:00.001+06:00

I learnt this morning (Sunday 26 September) the bereavement of my old classmate and colleague Mrinal Kanta Talukdar; we studied together at Pine Mount High School, Shillong and later at Gauhati University.We also worked together at B.H. College, Barpeta Road, Assam for over eight months.He was the favourite student of our principal at Pine Mount. The principal had a particular liking for my friend for his brand of humour.

Mrinal and i attended an interview at AISC/ST six years back for a special project. I was selected, he was not. Six months later he was again called for interview for similar projects but again not selected. Thereafter he ceased taking part in interviews and chose to remain a lecturer. Had he then showed signs of envy towards me, i would have understood. But he never showed any. On the contrary, whenever he could help a colleague or a friend he would do so willingly, so much that on the very occasions he would ask for some service you would feel like overturning tables just to help him.

We were young and had our monthly...? Ramani and Deepjyoti completed our small group. Mrinal would entertain us with his typical Barpetian dialect. I would never imagine that one day, years later, i would be writing these lines.

Wherever you are, my friend, my brother, always remain in good cheer. To his wife, Deepanjali, and his beloved children and their families, i offer my heartfelt condolences.

KISHAN SWARAJ YATRA - Sabarmati to Rajghat

2010-09-20T15:56:00.002+06:00

Dear friends,

Greetings! This is about Kisan Swaraj Yatra, an outreach effort from Sabarmati to Rajghat (from October 2nd to December 11th) - a call to join forces to save Indian farming and farmers, to promote self-reliant farming....

This is a bus yatra that will start at Sabarmati Ashram on Gandhi Jayanti to traverse through 20 states of India before it reaches Rajghat on December 11th 2010, being organised under a broad informal banner called ALLIANCE FOR SUSTAINABLE & HOLISTIC AGRICULTURE (ASHA).

This Yatra is to remind all Indians of our hard-won independence and the insidious ways in which agri-business corporations and others are taking this independence and sovereignty away, especially with regard to our food and farming. This Yatra is a call for joining forces to save Indian farming and farmers mired in deep distress and to forge a sustainable path forward for Indian farming.

This is a historic juncture for the farmers in the country. There are obviously strong forces pushing farmers out of agriculture, with the vision that Indian agriculture will be more 'manageable' and 'productive' with around 15% of population engaged in farming, under the domination of corporatization, hybrid seeds and biotechnology and heavy machinery. There is also a vision driving policies that believes that pushing people out of farming and rural areas into other sectors and into cities is what constitutes development. The effects of this are already evident, with the distress migration from villages to cities, the forcible acquisition of agricultural land for industry and SEZs, and the increasing difficulty of the farmers to make ends meet where more than two lakh anna daatas were forced to commit suicide. This Yatra will seek to create a debate on this ‘developmental inevitability’ that is being pursued.

This is the time to speak more loudly than ever, about the return of the small farmer and sustainable and holistic agriculture in our national conscience. There is a growing body of research, knowledge and opinion against the diabolic fallacy of pursuing the market agenda in food and agriculture, and in favour of biodiversity-based self-reliant ecological agriculture. The IAASTD report issued in 2008, prepared over four years and based on the work and deliberation of over 800 scientists and intellectuals across the world, has pronounced that sustainable, ecological, smallholder agriculture is the only way forward, if humanity was to have any semblance of purposeful survival in future.

This is also that point of time when large scale ecological farming has re-established itself at a convincing scale in many parts of the country and yet, the State tends to discount evidence related to such a livelihoods-based approach to farming and pursues an anti-farmer agenda.

It was 80 years ago that Gandhiji led the Namak Satyagrah (or the Dandi Yatra) to claim people’s sovereignty over their natural resources. It was hundred years ago that he extended a development model for India centred around the concept of “Hind Swaraj”. This year, on 2 October 2010, dozens of farmers’ movements and other organizations across the country will launch the “Kisan Swaraj Yatra” that will take off from the Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat and traverse through 20 states to reach Rajghat (New Delhi) on 11 December. The Yatra will be flagged off by renowned natural farmer Shri Bhaskar bhai Save.

The Yatra will highlight issues such as seeds sovereignty, land grab, climate change, food sovereignty and security, GE seeds, chemical pesticides, farm produce pricing, etc. that directly and indirectly affect small farmers in addition to bringing up a debate around the proposed Green Revolution in Eastern India, the tie-ups that several governments have with MNCs like Monsanto, the continuing saga of farmers’ suicides and so on. The Yatra will also raise the concerns over free trade and bilateral agreements, the proposed food security and seeds laws, BRAI Bill, the handing over of public resources for private gains etc. The Kisan Swaraj Yatra will also draw in urban consumers into its fold and will raise issues of food safety, consumer choices etc.

The Yatra will celebrate the conservation of diversity by farmers, farmers’ knowledge and will highlight the successes of ecological farming. The participants will develop concurrent events, programmes, campaigns in accordance with the needs and priorities in their respective states.

In the attached documents here, you would find the route of the Yatra including the key contact persons in various locations.

COME, JOIN THE YATRA IN LARGE NUMBERS.....And, PLEASE SPREAD THIS INFORMATION FAR & WIDE....

Kavitha Kuruganti
KHETI VIRASAT MISSION
JAITU-151202
District-Faridkot, Punjab.

Phone: +91-9393001550

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“KISAN SWARAJ YATRA” - Sabarmati to Rajghat

'Kisan mazboot to desh mazboot'

'Krishi Bache, Kisan Bache, Desh bache'

An outreach effort across India towards self-reliant, ecological farming and for securing farming communities' rights - October 2^nd - December 11^th, 2010

Jal, Jangal, Zameen aur BEEJ (Water, Forest, Land & SEED) - the basic common resources that have always belonged to people who acted as the resource-savers and resource-keepers - are in great jeopardy today. These are the basic resources which are pre-requisites for the sustainable livelihoods of millions of Indians. Along with these resources, the very lives of our fellow citizens are perched precariously, mired in unconscionable poverty, hunger, lack of basic rights and any assertive power.

While unsuitable (market-driven, anti-nature, 'treadmill') technologies have degraded and contaminated these resources over the decades, a more basic concern is around the appropriation of these resources by the State and commercial interests, posing a serious question on the fundamental rights for all citizens of India and on the very vision (or lack of it) for Sustainable Development for all. It is no surprise that we are all a witness to thousands of farmers committing suicides, given that key members of our government articulate a vision that would like to see only 15% of Indians in rural areas soon!

It is a matter of shame that in a country where nearly 70% of the population is still connected with farming and food production, rural hunger and starvation is also very high. Worse, the people who are producing food to feed the entire nation are committing suicides in lakhs and are demoralized with their self-respect being eroded constantly, while the industry and sections of the government are gloating about the business opportunities presented by agriculture in India! As we are conversing, the largest displacement ever in our history is happening from agriculture….., with not even basic social security assured for those who are fleeing and are being displaced.

Increasing corporatisation of basic resources, through pro-industry, anti-farmer policies, regulatory frameworks and by conferring legal rights to industry in the form of exclusive rights like IPRs over life forms, the government is violating the apriori rights of our farmers over resources like Seed. Further, the willful policies of the government to undervalue the contribution of agriculture and farmers through various mechanisms need to be questioned and addressed squarely.

In this era of neo-colonisation, it is increasingly obvious that the new ways of controlling a whole nation and its sovereignty center around Food & Farming. It is anticipated that one of the main ways that the proverbial last nail would be put in is through the entry of GM seeds.

Bt Brinjal, the first GM food crop sought to be introduced in India has been stopped on its juggernaut towards our dinner plates for now. However, the initial regulatory approval and the opposition to the moratorium decision after February 9^th 2010 actually showed the nation and the world how the pro-GM lobby will go to any extent to bypass citizens' democratic voices and ram these unwanted technologies down our throats. There were even official proposals of imprisoning GM critics through a new statutory regime in the form of the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) in addition to wanting to curb the constitutional authority of state governments which are increasingly asserting their right to remain GM-Free, under pressure from people.

On another front, the movement of ecological farming, to reduce the risks of small and marginal farmers of the country, to shift them to greater food security and sovereignty and to make farming viable for them again, is gaining strength in various states across the country. However, this continues to be an upstream effort given that the 'powers that be' with their neo-liberal mindsets would rather opt for commerce-driven intensive agriculture models even as this contributes to climate change and makes farmers more vulnerable to this phenomenon and even after such intensive models have shown their negative impacts on the social, economic and environmental front in states like Punjab already.

It is in this context that an outreach tour across India called “Kisan Swaraj Yatra” is being proposed, to cover at least 20 states of the country. The Kisan Swaraj Yatra will be organized by the Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture, a loose network of all those individuals and organizations that believe that the way forward for Indian agriculture and farmers is that of sustainable agriculture, that will conserve and improve farmers' livelihoods and resources, even as it addresses consumer needs.

This Swaraj Yatra seeks to remind all Indians about our hard-won independence and the insidious manner in which neo-colonial powers in the form of big agri-business MNCs, often times hidden behind their Indian avatars including public sector institutions and behind huge charitable organisations, are threatening such independence. Hundred years after Hind Swaraj where an admirable vision for a sui generis kind of development of India was proposed, based on our ethos, resources and conditions and decades after many freedom fighters became martyrs in pursuit of independence from control and subjugation by others, India appears to be truly on its way to neo-colonisation unless this is resisted strongly by all of us.

As can be widely seen, the mode of control is now through Seed and other related agricultural technologies, to control our food and farming systems and to profiteer on the ever-expanding huge markets available. In this greedy profiteering, though the “Farmer” is used as an excuse, it is apparent that this is about destruction of farmers and farming as we have always known in India. It is about appropriating people's resources like land and seed.

This control is already being experienced in farmers' rights in statutory frameworks being narrowed down constantly, the de-skilling of their knowledge and the discounting of their contribution, the appropriation of their resources and the impoverishment that they are being subjected to…..

This Yatra sees GM seeds as a danger to be resisted in itself (given its many adverse implications on farmers, consumers and our environment) as well as a symbol of this new colonization, which needs to be resisted. We see this as the “Salt” of our new war of independence, for communities to reclaim their resources, knowledge, livelihoods and lives.

Kisan Swaraj Yatra will focus on telling the truth, based on the philosophy of “Satyameva Jayate”. The truth about the macro-agricultural policies, the truth about technologies like GM seeds and the situation in India at present, the truth about MNCs like Monsanto, the truth about the public sector institutions that we are supporting with our tax money, the truth about other unsustainable technologies like synthetic pesticides, the truth about corporate and contract farming and most importantly, the truth about ecological farming as the only way forward. The Yatra will also highlight the fact that in this age of appropriation of people's natural resources for corporate greed, the only way to attain sustainable development for all is to stop such an appropriation.

In addition to farmers who have suffered with GM seeds/pesticides/fertilizers/agro-fuels/appropriation of their land and other resources sharing their stories of woes, the Yatra will have successful and experienced ecological farmers sharing their knowledge and views throughout the yatra, reaching out to fellow farmers and consumers with a message of “Swaraj” in our food and farming. The Yatra will have citizens asserting their right to informed choices with regard to something as basic as food. This will also have “experts” seeking to demystify the real implications of corporate-science-driven “modern technologies” and would seek to democratize science & technology debates in the country; further, activists and others would analyse the various policies and developments at the macro-level and present various pertinent issues for debate and discussion. This is a platform where all citizens concerned with what is happening to our food and farming will have space to join and take part in asserting their rights. While the Yatra will also create a platform for state governments which want to assert their constitutional authority over agriculture and health as State subjects, it will also attempt to get those governments which are still viewing this issue from a distance to take a firm pro-people stance on the side of sustainable development for all citizens.

The Yatra will commence on 2^nd October 2010, on Gandhi Jayanti from Sabarmati in Gujarat and will end on 11 December 2010 in Delhi, after traversing through Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Chattisgarh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana.

The Yatra will have exhibitions, seed diversity and organic food festivals, public meetings, rallies, film screenings, cycle yatras, street plays, direct actions, lobbying meetings, press conferences and 'skillshares' on its mission of “Swaraj”.

Margadarshak Mandal:

Anupam Mishra (Gandhi Marg), Bhaskar bhai Save (renowned natural farmer), Chennaiah P. (National Agricultural Workers' Forum), Dayamani Barla (Adivasi Moolvasi Asthitva Raksha Manch), Dr B D Sharma (Bharat Jan Andolan), Dr Banwari Lal Sharma (Azadi Bachao Andolan), Dr Claude Alvares (Organic Farming Association of India), Dr Inderjit Kaur (All India Pingalwara Society), Dr Jagmohan Singh (Association for Democratic Rights), Medha Patkar (National Alliance for People's Movements), N D Patil (farmers' leader), Omkar Chand (Servants' Society of India), Radha behn Bhatt (Gandhi Peace Foundation), Rashida Bee & Champa Devi Shukla (Goldman Prize winners), Shubhmoorty (Bhoodan Samiti), Vijay Pratap (Lokayan)

“Protect our Rights & Resources,

Say NO to GMOs & Chemical Pesticides,

Bring in Ecological Farming,

Save Farmers”

Abhi nahin to kabhi nahin...(If not now, never..)

COME, JOIN THE YATRA!

TO FIND OUT MORE ON THE EXACT ROUTE AND EVENTS DURING THE YATRA GO TO THE NEXT FEW PAGES.

TO FIND OUT VARIOUS WAYS IN WHICH YOU CAN JOIN AND SUPPORT THIS, READ THE ATTACHED APPEAL…..

JAI KISAN!

“KISAN SWARAJ YATRA”

YATRA'S ROUTE ACROSS INDIA

(Please note that the places indicated here are the main locations on the route - events could be in and around this location)

Date	Event at:	Night Stay at
GUJARAT: CONTACT KAPIL SHAH: 094-270-54132 or jatantrust@gmail.com
October 2, Sat	Sabarmati, Ahmedabad	Villages in Sabarkantha & Saurashtra (2 teams)
October 3, Sun	Saurashtra/Sabarkantha	Saurashtra/Sabarkantha
October 4, Mon	Bharuch	Bharuch
October 5, Tue	Dahod	Raipuria (In Jhabua)
October 6, Wed	(Banswara in Rajasthan - field visit to farmers)	Raipuria in Jhabua
MADHYA PRADESH: CONTACT NILESH DESAI: 094-253-29222 or ndesai52@gmail.com; JAYANT VERMA: 094-251-51871 or vermaj51@gmail.com
October 7, Thu	Petlawad	Raipuria
October 8, Fri	Badnagar	Raipuria
October 9, Sat	Indore	Bhopal
October 10, Sun	Bhopal	Jabalpur
October 11, Mon	Jabalpur	Jabalpur
October 12, Tue	Seoni	Nagpur
MAHARASHTRA: CONTACT AARTI PANKHARAJ: 094-224-60587 or aarti_pan23ngp@yahoo.co.in
October 13, Wed	Nagpur and Sewagram	Sewagram
October 14, Thu	Akola	Jalna
October 15, Fri	Jalna	Ralegaon Siddhi
October 16, Sat	Ralegaon Siddhi	Mumbai
October 17, Sun	Mumbai	Mumbai
October 18, Mon	TRAVEL TO GOA	Goa
GOA: CONTACT MIGUEL BRAGANZA: +91-832-2255913 or myofai@gmail.com
October 19, Tue	Goa	Goa
October 20, Wed	Goa	Dharwad
KARNATAKA: CONTACT KRISHNA PRASAD: 098-808-62058 or sahajasamrudha@gmail.com and KODIHALLI CHANDRASEKHAR: 098-442-93908 or kodihallikrrs@gmail.com
October 21, Thu	Dharwad	Haveri
October 22, Fri	Haveri, Ranebennur and Davanagere	Davanegere
October 23, Sat	Chitradurga, Shira, Tumkur	Bangalore
October 24, Sun	Bangalore	Bangalore
TAMIL NADU: CONTACT SELVAM RAMASWAMY: 094-436-63562 or organicerode@gmail.com and KANNAIYAN: 094-449-89543 or sukannaiyan69@gmail.com and VICTOR: 094-860-86938
October 25, Mon	Chennai, by afternoon	Ashram on ECR Road
October 26, Tue	Tiruvannamalai & Pondy	Pondicherry
October 27, Wed	Kumbakonam & Trichy	Trichy
October 28, Thu	Salem	Salem
October 29, Fri	Erode and Coimbatore	Coimbatore
KERALA: CONTACT SRIDHAR: 099-953-58205 or mail.thanal@gmail.com
October 30, Sat	Palakkad	Calicut
October 31, Sun	Calicut	Mananthavady
Nov. 1, Mon	Mananthavady	Mysore
Nov. 2, Tue	Mysore	Stay in Hosur??
Nov. 3^,4, 5 (Wed, Thu, Fri)	TRAVEL TO CHITTOOR….	Chittoor
ANDHRA PRADESH: CONTACT RAMOO: 090-006-99702 or ramoo@csa-india.org and KIRAN VISSA: 097-017-05743 or kiranvissa@gmail.com
Nov. 6, Sat	Chittoor	Kadiri?
Nov. 7, Sun	Anantapur	Hyderabad
Nov. 8, Mon	Hyderabad	Vijayawada (night driving)
Nov. 9, Tue	Vijayawada/Hanuman Junction	Visakhapatnam (night driving)
Nov. 10, Wed	Visakhapatnam	Koraput
ORISSA: CONTACT DEBJEET SARANGI: 099-385-82616 OR livingfarms@gmail.com and SAROJ MOHANTY: 097-771-54149 and S CHANDRASEKHAR: 09437973831 schandrashekar@siddharthvillage.org or BINAYAK SWAIN: 098-611-12338 or batnet97@hotmail.com
Nov. 11, Thu	Koraput	Koraput
CHATTISGARH: CONTACT JACOB NELLITHANAM: 094-255-60950 OR farmersrights@gmail.com
Nov. 12, Fri	Jagdalpur	Raipur
Nov. 13, Sat	Raipur	Bilaspur
Nov. 14, Sun	Bilaspur	Sambalpur
ORISSA: CONTACT DEBJEET SARANGI: 099-385-82616 OR livingfarms@gmail.com and SAROJ MOHANTY: 097-771-54149 and S CHANDRASEKHAR: 09437973831 schandrashekar@siddharthvillage.org or BINAYAK SWAIN: 098-611-12338 or batnet97@hotmail.com
Nov. 15, Mon	Sambalpur	Bhubaneswar
Nov. 16, Tue	Bhubaneswar	Baripada
Nov. 17, Wed	Baripada	Kaanthi (Medinipur, WB)
WEST BENGAL: CONTACT ANSHUMAN DAS: 094-330-79847 or dasanshuman@yahoo.com and DEBAL DEB: 094-326-74377 debaldeb01@yahoo.com
Nov. 18, Thu	Kaanthi, East Medinipur	Kolkata
Nov. 19, Fri	Kolkatta	“Basudha” farm, Bankura dist.
Nov. 20, Sat	Bishnupur	“Basudha” farm, Bankura dist.

JHARKHAND: CONTACT PANKAJ BHUSHAN: 094-729-99999 or mail.tarafoundation@gmail.com
Nov. 21, Sun	Dhanbad	Patna
BIHAR: CONTACT PANKAJ BHUSHAN: 094-729-99999 or mail.tarafoundation@gmail.com
Nov. 22, Mon	Patna	Muzaffarpur
Nov. 23, Tue	Muzaffarpur & Samastipur	Champaran
Nov. 24, Wed	Champaran	Gorakhpur
UTTAR PRADESH: CONTACT DHARMENDAR MALIK: 092-196-91168 or bku.tikait@gmail.com and UTKARSH SINHA: 099-357-36877 OR utkarshks@gmail.com
Nov. 25, Thu	Gorakhpur	Varanasi
Nov. 26, Fri	Varanasi/Sultanpur	Lucknow
Nov. 27, Sat	Lucknow/Bareilly	Moradabad
Nov. 28, Sun	Moradabad/Haldwani	Haldwani
UTTARAKHAND: CONTACT BIJU NEGI: 097-604-21947 or negi.biju@gmail.com
Nov. 29, Mon	Haridwar	Haridwar
Nov. 30, Tue	Roorkee/Saharanpur	Saharanpur
HARYANA: CONTACT UMENDRA DUTT & GURNAM SINGH OF BKU
Dec. 1, Wed	Kurukshetra/Ambala	Nahan
HIMACHAL PRADESH: CONTACT KULBHUSHAN UPMANYU: 09418412853 or kbupmanyu@gmail.com
Dec. 2, Thu	Nahan/Solan	Chandigarh
PUNJAB: CONTACT UMENDRA DUTT: 098-726-82161 or umendradutt@gmail.com
Dec. 3, Fri	Chandigarh/Ludhiana	Ludhiana
Dec. 4, Sat	Patiala/Sangrur	Bathinda
RAJASTHAN: CONTACT RANA: 094-141-33141 OR mlpctrust@gmail.com
Dec. 5, Sun	Bathinda & Hanumangarh	Bikaner
Dec. 6, Mon	Bikaner	Bikaner
Dec. 7, Tue	Jodhpur (by afternoon)	Jodhpur
Dec. 8, Wed	Beawar/Ajmer	Jaipur
Dec. 9, Thu	Jaipur	Rewari
HARYANA: CONTACT SUNDERLAL: 099-960-22534 or scriakhori@yahoo.co.in
Dec. 10, Fri	Rewari & Gurgaon	Gurgaon
DELHI: CONTACT NAYANI: 099-997-78674 OR nasa.nayani@gmail.com or Gautam at: g_agarwala1@yahoo.com or YUDHVIR SINGH: 098-994-35968
Dec. 11, Sat	Delhi	Delhi

MITTICOOL : ECO-FRIENDLY REFRIGERATOR

2010-09-19T19:06:00.004+06:00

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam called him a 'true scientist'. Mitticool, a clay refrigerator that works without electricity had turned the world's attention to its creator Mansukhbhai Prajapati, a craftsman based in Gujarat .

Presenting the national award to Mansukhbhai in 2009, President Pratibha Patil appreciated his work and asked him for a Mitticool.

Scientists and journalists from across the world have visited his unit to see how he makes eco-friendly products at a low cost.

A school drop-out, he has achieved a feat that many in the world envy today. The simple and unassuming Mansukhbhai is not keen on money. His ambition is to make more low-cost and eco-friendly products for the masses.

"A good majority of Indians cannot buy a fridge as it is expensive. Besides this, electricity bills and maintenance cost is also high. Mitticool is an eco-friendly product which has no maintenance costs. It also retains the original taste of vegetables, says Mansukhbhai who has sold 1500 units so far.

"I failed in the tenth standard. But I was not disappointed as I knew that I was capable of making something new," says Mansukhbhai who holds a patent for Mitticool.

People who considered him as incapable, now look up to him. They say, "you are the pride of our community!"

He has been popularising earthen products since 1988. The only drawback for him is the lack of stores to sell them.

The products are mostly available in Gujarat and in some stores in Mumbai and Pune only. Besides, the low-cost fridge, he has developed a water filter, non-stick tava and a pressure cooker all made of clay. And he has many more innovative ideas.

Image: Mansukhbhai' s father at work.

The beginning

Pottery has been the Prajapati family's traditional business. Mansukhbhai' s family belonged to Morbi in Rajkot district.

However, his father gave up the profession as it was not getting them any money. It was all hard work without much gain. He being the only son was sent to school on the hope that he would do well in academics and get a good life.

However, he disappointed them when he failed tenth standard. To make matters worse, he refused to take up construction work which his father had started doing. He was however forced to do all sorts of odd jobs. He even injured an eye working in a brick factory.

"I was fed up. I wanted to start my own factory. But there was no way I could do it without resources. I joined a tile factory. I worked there for sometime. This was a turning point for me," he says.

He found that tiles were manufactured at a fast pace with a machine which was quite expensive.

Image: Mansukhbhai receives the National Award from President Pratibha Patil.

However, Mansukhbhai knew he needed to think differently and make innovative products. He took a loan of Rs 30,000 and started a small factory.

At the age of 18, he made a machine, which could make 600 tavas a day instead of 100 tavas they used to make manually. This gave him lot of confidence to explore and innovate.

He got the idea to make a machine for about Rs 4,000, which could help him manufacture moretavas than was being done manually. His initiative to restart the pottery business was not taken positively. But he went ahead despite opposition.

"Now all my family members actively take part in the work. They are very happy with what I have achieved so far. I owe a lot to my family. I am happy that my elder son is doing an engineering course in ceramic
engineering. "

Image: Water filter.

His only regret is that because of poor marketing his products are not reaching out to many people. He, however, makes it a point to parcel products to people who are willing to deposit money in his bank account.

The business
It was a great beginning. "I also made a clay mixing machine. Till then, clay used to be missed with the legs. This machine also reduced the workload and improved the efficiency."

By 1995, he realised the need to build a water filter. The market had steel filters which were not very efficient. After months of research and hard work, he built a water filter.
Luck favoured him too. "A person who had settled in Nairobi heard about my project and approached me for 500 units. I was excited. I sold it making Rs 100,000 on the first sale. It was a good start. The product I developed was sold in Nairobi even before it sold in India ," he says. The water filters priced at Rs 350 to 400 are quite popular.

Image: Non-stick pan.

Later in 2005, he started the non-stick tava (pan) business. "My wife could not buy a non-stick tavaas it was costly. So I thought many people would be facing the same problem.
That's when I designed the non-stick tavas, priced between Rs 50-100." It took him an year to research and experiment -- testing the material for the non stick coating etc. The food grade test for the pan was done by Tata Chemicals in Mumbai.

Mansukhbhai has sold more than 50,000 tavas. He had to make thousands of tavas before he made the perfect one.

He thanks the Gujarat Grassroots Innovation Network and professors at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and the National Innovation Foundation, who extended their help in the form of grant and guidance for getting the patent, making the packing box and lab testing of products.

Image: Mitticool fridge.
"When a foreign delegation came to meet me, we cooked food in clay vessels and served them in clay plates. They were very impressed and happy with our healthy approach."
In 2009, he made the clay pressure cooker. "It comes with a whistle too," he remarks. About 500 cookers have been sold so far.

The idea behind Mitticool

During the 2001 earthquake, all earthen pots were broken. Some people told me the poor people's refrigerators are broken. They referred to the 'matkas'(pots) as refrigerators.
It struck me then that I must try to make a fridge for those who cannot afford to buy a fridge. The patent winning Mitticool has been the most challenging product for him. It needed a lot of experimenting. He started work on it in 2001, the product was finally ready by 2004.
It took him almost four years of hard labour and an investment of about Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million). An engineer who saw the fridge asked him to make 100 units. This was a great morale booster.

He had to take a loan of about Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million) for the Mitticool project. He is still repaying the debt.


Image: Mansukhbhai with his products.
It takes 10 people to make a fridge in one day. Made from clay, the refrigerator can store water, fruits, vegetables for 8 days and milk for one day.

The upper part of the refrigerator stores water, while the bottom unit has space for fruits, vegetables and milk.

At present, he sells the clay fridges at Rs 2,500, at his unit. Most of the sales outside Gujarat are done during exhibitions.

In Mumbai and Pune, some of his products are available. Every year he takes part at the international trade fair in New Delhi in a bid to popularise the products.

Image: The popular clay pressure cooker.

"I have also been getting lot of calls from the US . It is amazing to see so much interest from abroad," he says happily.

Mitticool was showcased at a conference organised by the Centre for India and Global Business, Judge Business School , University of Cambridge , UK in May 2009. Bosch and Siemens Hausger te (BSH), Germany , has also showed interest in Mitticool.

About 20 units of Mitticool have been exported to the UK , Africa and Nairobi . He has now been invited to Africa to set up a unit there. "I have not committed anything but the most important thing is the soil. Gujarat has the best soil for pottery," he points out.

The recognition

Mansukhbhai had never imagined that his products would win him so many accolades. Nothing can be as rewarding as such compliments. Money is nothing compared to people's appreciation.

He says well-known activist and performer Mallika Sarabhai recently remarked that he should be made Gujarat 's brand ambassador.

courtesy: Manshukbhai, posted at his instance.

WHEN LOVE TURNS ABUSIVE

2010-09-15T20:33:00.008+06:00

Quite unlike my old travel self i felt very sluggard waking up this morning. I wanted to stay curled up in bed, but time was pressing on and reluctantly i made my way to the Airport. The friend who drove me to the airport took once glance at me and said, "Martin, take great care, you seem to be very unsettled...".

Once on the plane, i got into conversation with a Polish lady who came to India three months ago. She had two children. I discovered that the father of her first child had walked out, leaving her to bring up number one alone. She then married her 'first love' for eight years, also a close friend and had another child. But the relationship turned sour and ended in divorce.Gracja was now on her own, taking care of her two children. I admired her openness. It's hardwork," she told me, " but am glad that i have children." As she was baring her heart out, my mind raced back to November'2008 en route to the United States. On my flight from Mumbai to Chicago i struck up a conversation with a Bollywood actor, who was at the receiving end of of her abusive husband.Yet she says she takes each day in her stride. " I take every day as it comes to me. My plate is full. I believe in simple living and high thinking." We keep in touch ever since.

"It helped that i got educated. Otherwise life would be hell for me as the odds are undoubtedly stacked against a divorcee like me. I cannot even bank on anyone even my parents. One must be strong and prepared, and become financially independent too." She asserted. " It is tough decision to take, but again, submitting to verbal and emotional abuse is traumatic too." I asked her why she could not, like my damsel in distress friend in Bollywood even find out a hint of the the another person deep inside his personality during seven years' affairs, which is extremely cruel, hardened, almost inhuman. " You know dear love they say is blind" was her reply.Then came the inevitable questions for me.

'Do you have children?'

'No,' i replied.

'Are you married?'

'No.'

'What's your age? 33, i bet'

'34' i replied.

Before she could finish her story our plane touched down the tarmac of Delhi Airport. "Oh what a lovely journey I had" she said ,as we exchanged visiting cards
" hope to catch you up by and by". As we emerged from the airport and head for different directions in Delhi, she reluctantly said " bye Martin, take nice care, please keep in touch. May God be with you...". I too reciprocated and waved au revoir. I concluded she had been excellent plane-mate.

When i reach my guest house, i had been bother if not disturb by what i had just heard about men.Why men who seemed to be so loving, so caring before marriage became a cruel beasts after getting married inflicting emotional as well as physical trauma to their spouses. I imagined before that the abuse happens in socially underpriviledged homes but sadly it is rampant in the middle and upper classes too. The prevalence of abuse in the more priviledged/educated classes is quite distressing to me. The Rahul Mahajan saga is a case in point. Alcohol and spouse abuse too usually share a close relationship. It is apparent that many men use verbal abuse to control their wives. Some women especially in India never recognise themselves as victims, and began believing that it really is their fault. Women should not suffer in silence and share any abuse with trusted friends. They should also try to become financially independent like Gracja and my Bollywood friend.

P.S. The weather in Delhi is pleasant, contrary to what i had anticipated to be a wet one. As i serenade the garden around Janpath, this song rush back again and again. Amazing. Really loves it.

Then the rainstorm came, over me

And I felt my spirit break

I had lost all of my, belief you see
And realized my mistake

But time through a prayer, to me

And all around me became still

I need love, love's divine

Please forgive me now I see that I've been blind

Give me love, love is what I need to help me know my name

Through the rainstorm came sanctuary

And I felt my spirit fly

I had found all of my reality

I realize what it takes

'Cause I need love, love's divine

Please forgive me now I see that I've been blind

Give me love, love is what I need to help me know my name

Oh I, don't bet (don't bend), don't break (don't break)

Show me how to live and promise me you won't forsake

'Cause love can help me know my name

Well I try to say there's nothing wrong

But inside I felt me lying all along

But the message here was plain to see

Believe me

'Cause I need love, love's divine

Please forgive me now I see that I've been blind

Give me love, love is what I ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iczaDcixBj4

LIFE'S ROLLER COASTER RIDE

2010-09-10T13:24:00.141+06:00

I haven't blogged since long. In fact, it's been over a month since my last post. Some friends are wondering what i am up to. But life, as we know, with its twists and turns never let me confine within my comfort zone for long. And there could be lessons waiting to be learnt from such roller coaster ride of life.In a way, it is also a learning curve which makes someone stronger and let me far more at ease with myself.

I was at Kakatiya University, Warangal rummaging through a stack of reasearch papers and helping my PhD and M Phil students. I also saw off one of my M Phil students viva voce. I was so happy with myself and with Sravanti, who did fairly well in the viva voce. I was proud of myself too.

Back in Hyderabad, i restricted myself to in giving finishing touches to legal reports and a slew of research projects/ proposals to be forwarded to ICCR and my Delhi office. As i prepared to leave for Delhi, Duhoma informed me about the serious condition of Pu.Rawna. He was in a coma in a Dibrugarh Hospital. Four hours after i left Duhoma residence Pi. Mahumi from Silapathar broke the doleful news of his passing away. Inscrutable are the ways of Almighty. Lalpa remruat dan hi amakin hriatthiam ahar lua e. At 42, he was in good shape and i thought he would outlasts his wife( U Zualtei) by many years. But Jesus loves him best and decided to take him home at the prime of his life.

The next evening, i took Indian Airlines flight to Kolkata to be on time for his funeral at Aizawl. But on that fateful morning, it rained cats and dogs both in Aizawl and Kolkate and my flight was later cancelled. Taking advantage of this misfortune, i paid a visit to OUP, Asiatic Society and several of my old Presidency college chums.Having spent four days at variou places in Kolkata ignoring Delhi official exigencies, i returned to Hyderabad.

At Hyderabad, i attended the book release function of Aashish Pittie's Birds in Books at Goethe Zentrum. But unfortunately, i had dysentric fever the following night and even got myself admitted to Hospital. Even as am so unwell and felt so weak i was very fortunate to attend a discussion session with the authors of the book Riding The Tiger. Co-authored by my 'mom' Priscilla Nelson who was the Global Director of Satyam School of Leadership till last year.Though most leadership books are written from the viewpoint of lessons on the path to great success, Riding the Tiger provides a rare opportunity to learn from a catastrophic event that shook the foundation of a thriving global organization. I also make some new friends in the bargain.

But the icing on the cake which cater to my real taste was the book reading of the Mythologist: A debut novel by the author Vamsee Juluri. Vamsee is the professor of Media studies at the University of San Francisco. I enjoyed every bit of his conversation with theatre personality Vijay Marur. " You know, a mythology fantasy that would be allegory for bigger issues. But rather than do a Rajneeti or Raavan and retell an epic, I wanted to look at the social history." says Vamsee. As i browse through the novel i realized Vamsee clearly enjoyed adding layers of meaning to his writing.

Thats not all. At the instance of Sarawati kavula, i attended a film screening on Surplus at Goethe Gentrum and a seminar on Corporate Crimes in Contemporary India at Swami Ramananda Tirtha Memorial centre at Begumpet. Medha Patkar, who was supposed to address the seminar could not make it. Yet, the presentations, serious discussions, case studies sessions were an eye-opening for bloke like me. It was enlightening and even thought-provoking that challenge you to action. Dayamani Barla, convenor of Adivasi Moolvasi Astitva Raksha Manch, Jharkhand was at her fiery best. Case studies from Dantewada in Chhatisgarh, victims of Bhopal gas tragedy, slums in Mumbai, the Satyam fiasco, La Farge, Sompeta firing, DVC have been impressive and exposed the politician-corporate-media' obnoxious nexus. The protest against NCC at Sompeta evoked special interest as the incident took place recently.The brutal police firing on innocent protesters came under severest condemnation. I admire and salute these activists who brave police lathis and bullets in their fight against subtle crimes or theft committed by Corporate giants in connivance with the government. Am indebted to Sarawati for bringing me into her fold and helped me acquainted with the perils of corporate crimes being perpetrated against poor farmers in different parts of the country in the guise of development.

RETHINKING SCHOOL CURRICULUM IN INFORMATION AGE

2010-08-08T16:00:00.001+06:00

“The nations that stop trying to ‘reform” their education and training institutions and choose instead to totally replace them with brand-new, high tech learning system will be the world’s economic powerhouse though the 21^st century.” -D. Blacker

The IT boom has not only transformed India but also gets it increasingly integrate into the global village. The impact is felt even in a remote state like Mizoram where cellphones and internet have changed the way we keep in touch with each other, learn, work, listen to music and even make friend. This IT revolution has changed the contours of Mizo life even in rural villages, with amazing rapidity.With the transition to information age, we need a new vision of change in respect of reforming our school curriculum to keep our children on the cutting edge of today's knowledge driven world. The time has now come to 're-cycle', or 're-invent' our school curriculum in tune with globalised knowledge and 21st Century values.

The culture of Cyberkids

The need to rethink our school curriculum lies in a context where, with the advent of the information age society, the educational landscape is changing to accommodate computer technology as a cognitive tool. Today’s children are growing up in a world of computers and information technologies. While the period prior to the television era saw of children garnished with outdoor and indoor games with a variety of time-consuming hobbies( fishing, gardening, kite-flying, etc.), the technological developments of the information age have penetrated children’s pastimes and, in its wake, bred a new generation of children – the zapak generation, also dubbed Cyberkids.

Unlike many of us who grew up in the past century, cyberkids have developed a leisure culture of their own. They excel in computer, video and arcade games, ‘wear’ compact disks and are adepts of digital music. Few have developed skills to articulate sophiscated mobile phones for the most complex ( one-to-one, one-to-many) forms of electronic communication (bulk email, spamming, voice mail, sms, etc) often attaining levels of complexity that break down barriers of age and precocity. They surf the internet, use search engines to browse the most peculiar website imaginable, and are exposed to 24-hour multi-channel cable TV broadcast. Some can at times even fake their identities into a teenager in search of an amorous freak over the internet.

With these forms of engagement with technology, children have a natural propensity for things technological. Unlike the technofear that characterizes many teachers, the present generation of children forms the technophiles of tomorrow whose zeal and enthusiasm for technology show no sign of abating. Even parents anxiety over children’s over-involvement with technology are at times allayed when they find children providing tips and cues for troubleshooting simple technical idiosyncrasies at home. Cyberkids excel in such tasks. The evidence is far more anecdotal at school where one too often experiences the ‘technicist reversal phenomenon’- the student guiding the instructor/teacher in programming computerized controls of videocassette players or too often helping in debugging programs for the teacher, instead of the other way round.

Characteristics of schools in the Information Age

The information age will very likely usher in a period where schools will be regarded as belonging to a community rather than being isolated from it. The participation of parents in school activities, for example, Independence Day celebrations, Annual Day, threatical/dramatic productions, etc., is likely to increase fairly rapidly. An extension of our school hours may provide a unique opportunity for schools to include creative leisure time activities and thus integrate the school into the community. Such extensions offer opportunities for various kinds of aesthetic appreciations or expression to be absorbed into the school curriculum as well as offer teachers opportunities for professional development activities during the extended time.

Rethinking Curriculum in the Information age

There is general agreement that classroom instruction in the information age needs to incorporate materials for the Web in an effort to globalize the curriculum. Findings from research in educational theory and practice should guide instruction for teaching and learning to be effective. Learners of the post-modern era have developed altogether different learning styles, which are opposed to the structured linear learning that characterized traditional school education. Educators and teachers alike recognize that change in teaching and learning styles impinge directly on every other aspect of school life and the process requires a restructuring of the curriculum to meet reform needs and the quality of education. Teachers are facing three major challenges: first, improving the quality of education in the context of educational reform; secondly, designing a curriculum that caters for the needs of a new generation of learners; and thirdly, how to bridge the gap between theory of training courses and classroom practice.

The traditional curriculum has been blamed for many of the ills that have beset the present system of education, namely perpetuating the status quo in the system, providing education of a stereotyped nature, and ignoring individual differences and mixed-ability. By subjecting children to learn reading within a fixed schedule and with the help of a single standard text, our system promises mechanical decoding in the name of reading. These have helped to reify the ‘social divide’ in the country’s classrooms. It is the belief that learning will no more be the same with the advent of communication technologies in the schools. Already findings from research bringing out new evidence on the impact computers have on the way teachers and students learn. It also found that curriculum focused on cognitive skills may improve child behavior.

According to Science for all Americans and other research, a significant issue in using technology in education is to integrate technology into curricula and demonstrate that it enhances both teaching and learning. What we need is a core curriculum for the information age learner that would incorporate technology and provide opportunities for concept formation and cognitive development through exploration, discovery, activity- and inquiry-based orientations. The NCF 2005 and its accompanying papers on early childhood by the National Focus Group also provides the outlines of such a strategy but we have to work out details that will suit the children of our state. These innovative pedagogies represent a departure from traditional methods of instruction but will definitely bring the much-needed reform in our approach to teaching and learning and the quality of education.

FRIENDSHIP : A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE

2010-08-01T17:53:00.108+06:00

  As youngsters the world over celebrate "FRiendship Day" today, we know too well the important role played by friends in our life. They also double up as a sounding board and a support system. Friendships are now even more important than partners.However, with times, the dynamic of friendship has undergone a tremendous change. And we should be extra careful in choosing our friends.

In His all-sufficient Word, God provided the wisdom necessary,whereby we can develop good relations with those around us to avoid the pitfalls that too often destroy good friendships.The ability to listen to and tolerate different views helps forge successful relationships.

A good portion of this wisdom is found in proverbs, where much is revealed regarding this beautiful relationship called "friendship".

THE VALUE OF FRIENDS:

Source of comfort:
     A friend loveth at all times and in all times says Proverbs 17:12. . But proverbs 17:17 goes a step further "Some friendships do not last, but some friends are more LOYAL than 'our own' brothers" (emphasis mine).

ON CHOOSING A FRIEND:
A. You should avoid friends who:
      - Gossips- Proverbs 20:19
      - Short-tempered - Proverb 22:24-25
      - Those given to change- Proverbs 24:21-22
      - Liars, those untrustworthy, and those who are inconsiderate - Proverbs 25:18-20

B.    - Friends you should keep:
        _Those who display wisdom themselves- Proverbs 13:20 says " Keep company with the wise and you will become wise. If you make friends with stupid people, you will be ruined."
        - For their teaching(counsel) will help lead you in the right way. Proverbs 13:14 says " The law of the wise  is fountain of life..."

HOW TO MAINTAIN FRIENDSHIPS:
   Things which can disrupt friendships:
   - Repeating everything you hear: Proverbs 17:19
   - Getting inti senseless arguments: Prov 17: 14
   - Meddling in others affairs:Prov 26:17
   Playing cruel jokes. Proverbs 26:18-19 says " Someone who misleads someone else and then claims that he has only joking is like a ...."
   - Being contentious: Proverbs 26:21
   - Engaging in insincere flattery: Prov 27:21

SOLVING PROBLEMS WITH OUR FRIENDS;
   - Make sure that you are at peace with the Lord -(proverb 16:17
   - Be slow to anger:
   - Listen attentively before you answers-- Prov 18:13
   - Avoid quarrelling: -Prov 20:3 says " A fool can start arguments, the honourable thing is to stay out of them".
   - Speak gently: Prov 15:1
   _ Speak briefly -Proverbs 10:19
   - Be quick to show love: Proverbs 10:12 says "Hate stirs up trouble , but love overlooks all offences".
   - Proverbs 28:23 says, " Correct someone, and afterwards he will appreciate it more than flattery". So rebuke your friends if necessary, rather than flatter.

   Properly applying the wisdom of God found in His word can assure us that we enjoy the blessings of good friends in this life.

( a gist of my message delivered at the Youth meeting of Berachah Prayer House on Friendship Day ie August 1, 2010)

RECOLLECTIONS IN TRANQUILITY

2010-07-31T15:30:00.003+06:00

Even as i have gone though terrible times there are quotes or sayings that captures my imagination. Here i would like to offer this random selection from here and there, from nowhere in particular but from everywhere too, in the hope that they will give as much joy to those who like me, enjoy having the mind tickled by the thoughts of those who have dared to think – and not been afraid to sign and put them down so that others may be able to benefit, and to reflect upon. And maybe change, who knows , because as someone wrote, “ only then will we enjoy one of the greatest priviledges of the educated, which is ti change ur minds.” And so...

“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child—our own two eyes. All is a miracle.” = Thich Nact Hanh, The miracle of mindfulness’

" Whe one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us." - Helen Keller

Difficult times always create opportunities for you to experience more love in your life” =Barbara de Angelis

“interpretatiForgiveness is a rebirth of Hope, a reorganisation of thought, and a reconstruction of dreams. Once forgiveness begins, dreams can be rebuilt. When forgiveness is complete, meaning extracted from the worst of experiences and used to create a new set of moral rules and a new on of life’s events”. =Beverly Flamingo

“Every calamity is a spur and valuable hint” = Emerson

Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive, one must never for for whatever reason, turn his back on life.” =Eleanor Roosevelt.

“One can never change the past, only the hold it has on you, and while nothing in your life is reversible, you can reverse it nevertheless.” Lana Surya Das

“Whatever we understand and enjoy in our human products instantly becomes ours, wherever they might have their origin... Let me feel with unalloyed gladness that all the great glories of man are mine.” Rabindra Nath Tagore

“Tisn't life that matters, but the courage you bring to it." Hugh Walpole

"Hard phases of life are attempts of God to make us strong for the adversity. Let us not defeat the purpose and collapse."

MEAT FOR THOUGHT: ARE WE EATING OURSELVES TO DEATH?

2010-07-28T15:41:00.004+06:00

A doctor friend who is working in Aizawl, the other day, told me about the alarming increases of diseases like cancer, diabetes and lifestyle related diseases among the Mizos. He attributed the spurt of such cases to 'excess' consumption of meat particularly pork and our sedentary lifestyle. According to him, as we MIzos become prosperous or well-off, we care two hoots about our health and take to drinking, smoking and eating meat. No Mizo, however poor may be, can never think of entertaining a guest without meat. My friend opined.

This brief conversation i had with this doctor reminded me of an article i read in a Scottish newspaper, Scotsman News several years ago. The article based on a study in Scotland has found that Scottish people are drinking themselves to death at a faster rate than people anywhere else in Western Europe. The study shows that the rise in Scots death by drink rate has had the fastest rise in Europe. Scottish men are twice likely to die from liver cirrhosis(one of the worse side-effects of excessive alcohol) than in 1991 because of the folowing three factors: (1) increased affordability: (2) binge drinking, and (3) increased accessibility.

Increased affordability - indeed, this seems to be the root cause of the major problems faced by society today. It has changed the way we live, the way we eat, the way we exercise, basically everything...

We have witnessed the same phenomenon in Mizoram too. We have more private-owned vehicles on our roads today than a decade ago. This has resulted in increased congestion and pollution levels.Mizos are consuming more and more - mostly households have a television set, electrical appliances among others - our consumption of energy has increased. Most, if not all, households have access to electricity and water. Is it not time to promote the use of solar and wind energy and to produce bio-diesel. Wherever possible, we have to make use of non-polluting and renewable source energy. We should also recycle plastic bottles, plastic bags and garbage.

COMMON MAN'S TAKES...

2010-07-27T18:45:00.002+06:00

Reproduced below are some of the letters i have written to editors of several newspapers which reflects my views or thinking on certain issues , over a period of time.

ON CORPORAL PUNISHMENT
The tragic incident in Kolkatta where a boy committed suicide after
being caned begs more disturbing questions than it answers.

Punishment or the fear of it never help a child to learn
better.Corporal punishment in schools is often a perversion disguised
as pedagogy. Children are beaten or terrorized in every kind of schools
in rural and urban India. Belief in the salutary value of corporal
punishment cuts across the social classes. This has less to do with
theories of education than with the feudal value of corporal punishment
that still inform relationships between adults and minors in Indian
society.

Unfortunately there seems to be a politics of silence and even
complicity between the system and the people who allow their children
to be its daily victims. We pay little attention until a suicide makes
the problem explode in our face. The tragedy of a Kolkattan boy
carries unmistaken message: If children are battered or bruised that
could even lead to suicides, in the name of education, then we are
doomed because they are the future of the society.
(THe NEw Indian Express, Wednesday, JUne 23, 2010)

UNCALLED FOR FURORE
It seems very clear to us that those who condemned or call the comments made by the Archbishop of Canterbury "recipe of chaos", do not understand Sharia law or are unaware of the present situation in British religious society. Dr.Rowan Williams did not call for the introduction od Sharia law into either Britain's or England's civil or criminal law. He merely replied to a question to the effect that "certain provisions of Sharia are already recognised in our society and under our law."

There are certain places which practice Sharia law, and have been doing so for some time.For example, an Islamic Council in Leyton has revealed it has dealt with more than 7.000 divorces, there are also courts in areas with high Muslim populations, including DEwsbury in West Yorkshire, Birmingham and Rotherham, South Yorkshire. Most are understood to concentrate on divorce cases - although such judgements are not recognised in British law - as well as financial disputes.

What Dr.Williams is calling for is not English civil and criminal law becoming Sharia law, but the acceptance of certain Sharia practices being acknowledged and accepted by the English and Wales and Scottish Courts of law, as already exist with Jewish communities, which have long established religious community courts.
(with Sajjid Ahmed, February 18,2008, The Sunday Observer, The Dawn and The Khaleej Times)

MEN ARE NOT BORN EQUAL
Unable to respond to my line of reasoning, Mr.Shiva Shankar Shetty seems to have resorted to 'getting personal'(letters, 24may'2009). There was nothing concerning natural, supernatural, myths and mythologies of ancient religions in the subject matter under debate.

He specialises in misleading readers by veering away from the subject and accusing his opponents with false charges. He has quite often been pontificating from the scriptures. As such when he says that Arun Shourie wishes to sustain the Hindutva ideology, he should know that 'Vasudhaiva Kutumba' or 'the whole of humanity is one family' is one of the basic principles of Hindutva ideology. If his subconscious still carries the scar of the grave injustice perpetuated by the caste system as practised for centuries, then he should snap out of it.

It is a fact that all men are not born equal. If that were the case then this world would have been full of clones.

Is 62 years not time enough to do away with this? No., Mr Shankar, you will not agree to this because you want to have the best of both the worlds. As far as yours truly is concerned, in my 30 years of existence, i cannot count the number of times i have visited temples, mosques, monasteries, gurudwara and sufi shrines though am devout Christian. I even had the priviledged of staying in a Monastery near Lhasa for a monthstudying the life and philosophy of Guru Rimpoche way back in 2002. Besides, my best friends include Muslims and Sikhs. Mr.Shankar is not qualified to comment on my beliefs and convictions. I also have no argument with person suffering from caste complex.
(THe Dawn, Karachi, 26th March 2009)

EET REGIME
This has reference to the article " Puppet show' (Business Today). Ever since the economy opened up in 1991, small savings, which are the only safe means of building a 'nest egg for sunset years' for the ordinary man have been adversely affected. From savings bank accounts to EPF, nothing has been spared the axe. In fact, if it were not for the pressure exerted by the Left, the returns would have become much much smaller much earlier. We have seen the steady fall of the EPF interest rate from 12 per cent to 9.5 per cent and the PPFvrate to 8 per cent. Now the government is thinking of an EET regime. All this only shows that the concerned authoroties are actually playing into the hands of the WTO, which wants all subsidies and high interest rates on small savings and grants-in-aid to be done away with.
(Ooutlook Money, 15February'2007)

THE CUP WHICH THE LOVE OF MY LIFE GIVES...

2010-07-10T15:47:00.012+06:00

" My life is full of apprehension
   and i am engaged in a struggle
   that takes all energy

                                   Sometimes i am just hanging
   on
   in spite of myself
   looking for signs
   hoping for miracles..."
Even as i go through a terribly ghastly time i still outwardly have smiled, talked and moved but the remarked of a friend yesterday put me everything into perspective, " hey your face betrays you and your eyes tell me of the torture you are going through". And i cannot but had to deflects, the circumstances that imprisoned me in such a depth of sorrow, so anguished, so shattering that i wondered if ever i could find the sunlight again.

Since my sister died in 2006 leaving me alone unwanted, unloved (this may be my imagination), i have never trusted life. If it is tragic, i feel it is here again, the despair. If it is happy, i think now what precipice am i going to fall over. But the latest personal upheaval has been so overwhelming that it has left me seething under hurt, shame and confusion. Initially, i held onto the hope that God would see me through, but i now began to feel as if he has left me in a place of uncertainty. It seems as though an iron-sky of Satan's control robs me of God's blessings and life.

It began on the night of April 30, when that old strange dream returned to haunt me.I could not figure out why the same, identical dream returned to me at regular intervals. Meanwhile,i received good news from professional front and i celebrated my 34th birthday with hope. A few days later, with rumour emanating from her close friend, i was gripped by fear and insecurity.And, in moment of emotional weakness, i blurted out the veiled obvious, which in hindsight, were better left unsaid. I skipped office, neglected my responsibilities and spent day and night in pain and regret. I realized during this ordeal that that i didn't have a single friend who i could count on in my hour of need and pain, who could help me get a perspective and help me cope with the situation.

Then came a notice from my office seeking an explanation. With skeletons of professional indiscretion which i committed for her own sake about to tumble out of my closet and the one who and for whom i had done and the only person who could have saved me from embarrassment and shame remained incommunicado, i decided to put in my papers. The situation, the circumstances, were so depressing! I became a lost soul with a crippled future wandering all alone with nowhere to go and no one to hold on to.

Adding salt to injury, i received a terse, text message "Bcz u hv lied t me". The knife flew into my heart. With my monthly salary being stopped, i faced acute pecuniary constraint.Everyone shunned me. Some even insinuated and spread innuendos against me. What Ghalib had said, at this stage became very real to me,.    " baskih dushvar hai har kam ka asan hona,   admi ko bhi majassai nahin insan hona"
( whereas it is difficult for everything to work out easily, A man cannot even afford to be a human.)

I am tired now. Tired of not knowing who i am, what i am and where i stand in my relationship with 'her', with God and with 'friends' and 'relatives'. I don't mean to be sad. I seek an escape, a hiding away. As i embark on a difficult path of self-discovery, Augustine's comforting word encouraged me " Everywhere a greater joy is preceded by a greater suffering". Perhaps, it is said best in J.B.Philip's paraphrase of the words of Jesus Christ: " Happy are they who bear their share of the world's pain: In the long run they will know more happiness than those who avoid it". this from he who had the most scarred hands of all.

DEATH OF A REVOLUTIONARY LEADER

2010-07-03T20:46:00.002+06:00

This morning, as i return to Frankfurt on my way back to India, after a week's stint at Heidelberg, i heard the shocking news of the gunning down of Mr.Ch Raj Kumar (popularly known as Azad) who was the member of the Central Committee and spokesman of the CPI-Maoist, in an 'encounter' with the AP police in Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh. He carried a reward of Rs.12 lakh on his head.

I met this gentleman three years ago at a village in Warangal district.I was on a site inspection at Hanumkonda when the wife of my assistant was killed in a road accident. I decided to attend her funeral in his native village which is about 90kms from Hanumkonda. In the evening, after the funeral, a man in late forties requested for an appointment with me. The man posing as Maoist sympathiser (later turns out to be Azad) wanted to know from me the insurgent organizations , rather freedom movements in the Northeastern states of India like the ULFA, NDFB, NSCN, PLA etc. He seemed to be well read and well-informed on many issues. The meeting lasted over one hour. And needless to say, he impressed me with his swathe of knowledge about tribals in Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand, NE states and other social issues. Little did i have an inkling during this interaction that i was talking to a Maoist top leader whose head carried a reward of Rs.12 lakh. I never met him again.

A couple of months ago, a friend told me that Azad has grown in strature. An M.Tech, with a good command in English, he was the one who wrote a two page-letter to social activist Swami Agnivesh. Instead of finding a political solution to the Maoist problem, the government has resorted to extra-judicial liquidation of people who dissents.

Some media reports claimed that Azad was arrested in Nagpur and brought to Adilabad only to be shot dead. The police seem to have this nasty habit of killing people with impunity though we all are governed by the Constitution. It is so easy for the police to get away with murder in Naxal infested areas like elsewhere in the neglected Northeast that murder, rape and torture at will, is rampant.

In Chhatisgarh, vigilante groups armed and empowered like the SULFA(surrendered ULFA) in Assam, by the state are joining these extra-judicial killings while we sighed about 'naxal menace'. A 70 year old's breast were cut off; a 25 year old was tied to a tree and beheaded; a farmer was picked for questioning but his dead body was found abandoned two days later;... the list is endless. There are hundreds of encounter killings and some of those killed may be naxals but most are innocent citizens. The point is not whether the victims were innocent or culpable but whether they got jusTICE.

Due process of law must be respected if we are to keep ourselves and our democracy safe. We must stop supporting instant justice by the police. The NHRC's guidelines on encounter killings must be adhered to at all costs. And victims of police atrocities must be well-compensated. While compensating victims of police atrocities is a necessary elements towards dispensing justice, penal action and establishing criminal culpability is equally essential. There is no other way to deter those irresponsible elements from killing innocent people.

IN LOVE WITH HEIDELBERG

2010-06-30T18:52:00.003+06:00

As always, i've been a way too busy with many other things. I had a lively and instructive interactions with the faculties and students of the South Asian Institute. Some of the queries they made had really stumped me. Am much impresssed with the admirable way the Institute has taken up research projects in collaboration with institutions and universities of the sub-continent. I had a whale of time talking to some Nepali language students. Am much thankful to Shreshta for facilitating such meeting.

In the afternoon Jurgen took me to the famous Heidelberg castle as well as the Pharmacy Museum which was a great experience. Here, i tried out a few mugs of German wheat beer in a small, smoky perkeo.We also visited Heiligenberg where we got to see remains of Celtic fortress and strolled the fame Philosophen weg(Philosopher path).Philosophers and University professors of Heidelberg, i am told, used to walk and talk here. It has excellent views of the old town and castle.

In the next couple of days, apart from personal exploration, i have a programme at Museum of Antiquity and Cast Court at the Institute of Archaelogy and another at Documentation and Culture Centre for an overview of Nazi genocide of the Sinte and Roma. I am excited to meet conservation expert Dr.Hermann Pflug.I hope to return to India by weekend or early next week.

I will try to keep update of my status on a regular basis. I am physically fine and am very happy to be here in Germany after such a horrendous time in India and to have met lots of nice people.Needless to say, am fallen in love with Heidelberg like Mark Twain, who gushed over the splendour of Heidelberg in A Tramp Abroad. Please continue praying for me.
* a view form philosophen weg (philosophers path)

GUTEN TAG!

2010-06-28T20:23:00.017+06:00

Since i arrived in Heidelberg yesterday morning i have been a tad busy with quite a few things. I met Prof. Dr. Marcus Nusser and Dr. Alexander Haenzetschsel and we discussed today's programme and other things. Attended today the inauguration of the Chair for Philosophy and Intellectual History at the Alte Aula, University of Heidelberg by India's Ambassador to Germany Sudhir Vyas. Renowned Indian Science Historian, Professor Dhruv Raina(JNU),the first holder of the Indian Chair delivered the inaugural lecture which was really captivating. The event was broadcasted via livestream to partner institutions in India and worldwide at www.asia-europe.uni-heidelberg.de/de/aktuelles/livestreams.html.

Here are some photos taken yesterday afternoon:

PAIN IN LOVE

2010-06-26T19:15:00.001+06:00

                                       " THe shattered pieces of the past
                              From savage patterns in my present
                                 I try fighting them on my own...."

The days pass. I wake up in the morning with a hollow emptiness in my being. I still cannot believe all that has happened- it is too terrible to think about...

As i poured myself out into words as they came, C.S.Lewis The FOUR LOVES comes my way:
   To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything , and you heart will be wrung, and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one , not even to an animal.Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket - safe, dark, motionless, airless - it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or atleast to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.

This has summed up my dilemma. Lewis is not inviting people to 'do as you please' or love irresponsibly. What he means is that while we are this side of heaven, we will always know PAIN in LOve. And it is not old Eros who causes it all,either.

I constantly come back to myself and many people i know. I have taken risks and is all looking for a way through. Every time a relationship does not work out, it is like another death, you expect it to swallow you up, but... the crippling effects....

THE CURSE OF YOUR TANGLED LOVE

2010-06-20T20:25:00.003+06:00

   Man is born to trouble
as surely as sparks fly upward...
I would appeal to God...
Lay my cause before him.
He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
miracles that cannot be counted...

The lowly he sets on high,
and those who mourn are lifted to safety...
He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth;
he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.
So the poor have hope,
and injustice shuts its mouth.
   Job 5:7-9; 11; 15-16


                                                                                do you know what you have done to me

As the curse of your 'tangled' silence comes home to roost
I put in my papers today
To deflect and stave off
from possible embarrasment
to both of us
I shudder what the future holds
Good and bad

I am apprehensive
that bad may be too bad
and the good?
Well, only God knows
how good that may be
and me perhaps
When i allow my imagination to play
a little
Which
i dare not do
a lot

Bleed silently
I swallowed well-worn phrases
of cold comfort
by those who expected me
to be strong.

The air around me
is still
All but a warm breeze
Which breathes softly
into the curtains
"Friends' come to me
but none
to shoulder my silent agony.

When i recall those loving words and texts
It erupted fountain of emotional lava
from the cracked crater of my soul
as i stood-
alone
with scars on my back and waist
staring through the black letters
feeling very......

Today, as i brace for a crippled future
stripped of dignity and
deprived of whatever i possessed
I pray
something beautiful is knit
For you and for your family
from the scars
of my suffering.
16th june'2010
(Janpath, New Delhi)

()
P.S. As i listen to the song Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie, i cannot stop humming it . It was one of the Top Ten Romantic songs and needless to say its really amazing. Never before have i heard something like Once upon a time i was falling in love... and now I'm only falling apart... There is nothing i can do to the Total Eclipse of the Heart... The most heart touching lyrics....

QUO VADIS MIZORAM?

2010-06-14T15:19:00.001+06:00

Much was expected when the people of Mizoram voted the Congress back to power in the last Assembly Election after ten years of MNF’s (mis)rule. The people of the state were fed up with the abject failure of the MNF’s government to drive a high agenda of needed economic and social uplift for the state. Worse, some of its ministers were embroiled in corruption cases. Naturally the people of the state were looking up to the Congress to prepare and implement a programme for a successful transformation of our resources to position us in a durable manner for the future. They want the Congress to provide a clean, fair, efficient and impartial administration.

Its been over a year and half since the Congress romped back to power and now questions are asked whether the Lalthanhwala led Congress government too like it predecessor really have the vision, political courage and foresight to take the state forward. Today many debates are being launched, with varying degrees of depth, as if to chart courses that might prove to be the new-found sources of future realization in several domains. Those who are engaging in all of these have the right to do so. The people, however, are in another mood: they want “something new” that they have been looking forward to for quite some time to be presented to them now. Nothing has been forthcoming, unfortunately.

No amount of intellectualizing,etc., will substitute for what the people now want to see in concrete terms. There is also a risk that the expectations may become so little satisfied in practice that perceived strengths of the Congress government may give away to an altogether different perception about its actual capability to deliver. The resulting unpopularity will be near impossible to manage.The recent online poll where the Chief Minister Lalthanhawla become one of the most hated public figure is a case in point. Something has to be done therefore to channelize these expectations to acceptable realism.

We have seen that our traditional jhum cultivation has no future in the state. Its so well known that almost every other Mizo is capable of delivering lectures on the fate reserved to our traditional occupation. I found a group called “STOP JHUMING “ in social networking site facebook where the group boasts of having over 120 members We had to quickly devise something else to look forward to, as the harbinger of new opportunities and hopes for a better future. Short of a concrete advance in this direction, the vacuum created may undermine the credibility of the Lalthanhawla led Congress government.

There is a feeling that we have been losing our way all of a sudden. How badly we are faring actually that we should move away from the difficult economic conditions and set out on a new course of activities. These activities should be based on our natural advantages in the context of dynamic forces shaping the Indian as well as the global economy. Instead of that, we are drowned in daily preoccupations about official and unofficial crimes, the technical entrance fiasco, parking issue or nominations and appointments et al. The government that means business cannot afford to stop at these levels. It should identify briskly the new areas of work, the investment partners with whom such work should and can be carried out and pursuit of consistent policies that leave some leverage in the hands of the government to provide for the future of those elements of the population who are not richly endowed. Once done, it should set out to deliver on each of these fronts and generate the necessary confidence in the population to look forward to a brighter future.

Instead of that and outside the will of the State government, people have been facing a number of problems including soaring price rises due to external factors. These price increases are pressing down on our standard of living. If it is added to this that hardly any new sectors of diversified activity are being put in place for the near term, the burden becomes more difficult to bear. Expectations were created that an alternative to the model of economic development adopted by the previous government was to be implemented. Where is it and what is it in concrete terms? If it is the aim of the government to merely show that it can better balance the budget than the MNF government by cutting down on specific expenditures or effect some cosmetic changes, this is far from the reality that people have been envisioning after the departure of the previous government.

The question remains: what has the government to show that will go towards fulfilling the legitimate expectations of the people? What is the vision accompanying the new economic structure that is designed to emerge? How are the cutting edges for us to penetrate new markets being formulated, that would make a difference compared to the policies that were being pursued by the previous government? For the much-expected departure away from the beaten track, politics was expected to lay down the pre-conditions. There is a void so far in this respect. Nothing convincing has been laid down on the table. The consequences of continuing to entertain this void and absence of strong direction are too easy to read for anybody. Moreover, the known vested interests will not miss out any opportunity to derive maximum benefits from non-achievement.

Unless the Lalthanhawla led Congress govermment take risks boldly with its homework done carefully to minimize adverse consequences from materializing- then another opportunity would have been lost. Mizoram voters who voted the Congress in the hope of getting the state better deal, would have made another erroneous decision to compound the disastrous mistake they made six years ago. It would be sad if one bunch of pathetic politicos put Mizoram on the road to perdition and the other bunch were unable to do anything about that. That would leave the Mizoram electorate victim to the abject failure of its increasingly dysfunctional political class.