Little Things That Matter

Learn From The Past, Live The Present and Have An Open Mind to Face Tomorrow

Archives for May 2010

Give Me Some Sunshine

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I’m an Indian and educated in India and proud to be a by-product of the Indian education system.

In my years of growing up I did feel the peer pressure of excelling in my studies and topping the class. However, luckily by the grace of God and with the support of my wonderful parents, I had no problem with the healthy pressure and excelling in my academics.

What I experienced was a healthy competition and I would attribute most of that to my wonderful parents who never put pressure on me to choose a particular field. Importance of being good at academics was always stressed, during my student years, but never exaggerated. That made all the difference to me and I had a healthy student life.

In India, education system is very demanding and year after year one hears of kudos being given to those who shine and the field that takes the cake in this respect is the IIT Entrance Exam.

I’m not an Engineer nor have I taken IIT JEE -Entrance Test, but know of many people who have taken, many of them are my friends, who are qualified engineers, from the renowned IIT India.

This year as well, approximately a week back the newspaper headlines were full of news, of toppers. But somewhere tucked in a corner of some of these newspapers was some of these students committing suicide after viewing their results !! Yes………..

It is great if one can become an Engineer but first , is it not important to become a good citizen and embed the values of becoming a good citizen in our youth.

One’s value does not increase just because one becomes an Engineer. Don’t we need to reconsider the pressure that we put on these college kids. There are many students who excel in their exams but may not get through the IIT Jee tests. Does that mean that they are unfit and useless???? Is this the message that we need to give our youth and children?

Peer & parental pressure many a time leads many a student to choose these professions. Don’t they need to be given a chance to choose.!! Let’s not kill the youth ! Do you want to give them a chance?

I think this song from the movie ” 3 Idiots” truly says it all.

Lyrics of which are

Give Me Some Sunshine Lyrics

Saari umar hum
Mar mar ke jee liye
Ek pal to ab humein jeene do
Jeene do

Saari umar hum
Mar mar ke jee liye
Ek pal to ab humein jeene do
Jeene do

Saari umar hum
Mar mar ke jee liye
Ek pal to ab humein jeene do
Jeene do

Na na na….Na na na….Na na na….Na na nana na….

Give me some sunshine
Give me some rain
Give me another chance
I wanna grow up once again

Give me some sunshine
Give me some rain
Give me another chance
I wanna grow up once again

Kandhon ko kitabon
Ke bojh ne jhukaya
Rishvat dena to khud
Papa ne sikhaya
99% marks laaoge to ghadi, varna chhadi

Likh likh kar pada hatheli par
Alpha, beta, gamma ka chaala
Concentrated H2SO4 ne poora
Poora bachpan jalaa daala

Bachpan to gaya
Jawani bhi gayi
Ek pal to ab humein
Jeene do jeene do

Bachpan to gaya
Jawani bhi gayi
Ek pal to ab humein
Jeene do jeene do

Saari umar hum
Mar mar ke jee liye
Ek pal to ab humein jeene do
Jeene do

Na na na….Na na na….Na na na….Na na nana na….

Give me some sunshine
Give me some rain
Give me another chance
I wanna grow up once again

Give me some sunshine
Give me some rain
Give me another chance
I wanna grow up once again

——

I will leave you with this thought…. Give Me Some Sunshine, Give me some rain, Give me another chance
I wanna grow up once again…. WILL YOU?

Do We Have It In Us?

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Here are some of Marianne Williamson (one of my recent discoveries and since then have become an ardent fan) Quotes and some examples in daily life that Each of Us Can Make A Difference in day to day life.

I.”The secret of success is to realize that the crisis on our planet is much larger than just deciding what to do with your own life, and if the system under which we live the structure of western civilization begins to collapse because of our selfishness and greed, then it will make no difference whether you have $1 million dollars when the crash comes or just $1.00. The only work that will ultimately bring any good to any of us is the work of contributing to the healing of the world.”

II.”Maturity includes the recognition that no one is going to see anything in us that we don’t see in ourselves. Stop waiting for a producer. Produce yourself.”

I read this article on a tweet today about a Cancer Survivor who has climbed Everest with one lung. For full article Read Here. A Perfect example of not giving up and to go beyond his self.

Each of us are faced with challenges and hurdles throughout our life.  However the best treatment each of us can give ourself is how we deal with these challenges and move on. Each of us have a purpose in life and we need to make the most of it. It is all about the personal drive which comes from one’s own enthusiasm, inspiration derived from friends and families and to me personally many a time by reading real life stories or meeting people in real life who have dealt with a thing or two in life.

III.”Personal transformation can and does have global effects. As we go, so goes the world, for the world is us. The revolution that will save the world is ultimately a personal one.”

Best example I can think of here is each of our effort to save energy, water and nature’s resources. We can stop wasting food, water and stressing the resources of this planet.  If you want to read more about this please refer to my Article “Earth Hour”

Don’t ask yourself do you have it in you. Each of us have it in us… it is a matter of doing. “Just Do it” by Nike conveys it all. Do each of us really need to be told by somebody to value their space and make a contribution ? What do you think?

Are We Rational?

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Do we accept everything in life at face value? Do we question everything. How do we attain a balance between the two. Does a rational mind have an answer??

“Buddha’s understanding of the human mind (and brain) was unique; both rational and contemporary. He encouraged debate and discourse; raised questions more often than he provided answers; encouraging his followers to think like him, with freedom. He recognised the pitfalls of blind faith, unquestioning belief and intolerance of contradictory ideas. He laid emphasis on empirical verification and on understanding the world, as it is and as it is constituted. Indeed, through his radical empiricism, he laid the foundations of scientific spirit and enquiry 2500 years ago. His was the quintessential rational mind.”

For the Full Article Refer The Hindu

I’m A Woman but above all A Human Being

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Many a women are mothers, a bread earner, housewifes, caretaker & a multitasker. Some of the Below quotes by Toni Morrison eloquently expresses the multi-faceted role that a Woman plays.

Hoever, she is rarely appreciated in many a society. She is abused, ill-treated & murdered………

Quotes By Toni Morrison

(Toni Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford[1] on February 18, 1931) is a Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize-winning American author, editor, and professor. Her novels are known for their epic themes, vivid dialogue, and richly detailed black characters. Among her best known novels are The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon and Beloved).

“I don’t think a female running a house is a problem, a broken family. It’s perceived as one because of the notion that a head is a man.”

“The writing was always marginal in terms of time when the children were small. But it was major in terms of my head. I always thought that women could do a lot of things. All the women I knew did nine or ten things at one time. I always understood that women worked, they went to church, they managed their houses, they managed somebody else’s houses, they raised their children, they raised somebody else’s children, they taught. I wouldn’t say it’s not hard, but why wouldn’t it be? All important things are hard.”

TONI MORRISON, Essence magazine,

“Women’s rights is not only an abstraction, a cause; it is also a personal affair. It is not only about us; it is also about me and you. Just the two of us.”

An Act of Crime by the Centers of Education

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Schools are called the Centers of Education but here is a case where they are discriminating against a girl because she has cerebral palsy. Do they even know and understand what cerebral palsy is..

Shocking!!! that they would show this child the door!. Children like Darshana need care not disdain. Read on…..

While all her classmates are enjoying their summer holidays,Darshana Ramgiri is worried about her future.The nine-year-old has been told by St Columba High School at Nana Chowk,where she studies,to leave.
Headmistress Annette Lobo justifies the decision on the grounds that the girl has cerebral palsy and has to be physically carried up to her classroom every day.The child cant do anything on her own.Can I keep a special teacher just to look after her she said.
However,this correspondent saw Darshana walking about in her house with a slight limp.I carried a schoolbag and tiffin to my classroom on the first floor everyday, said the girl who passed third standard with 44.5 % marks.In fact,she scored 65 % in maths.A report from Sion Hospital dated April 19,2010,says Darshanas IQ is normal.
Cerebral palsy is caused by damage to the motor control centres of the developing brain and can occur during pregnancy,during childbirth or after birth up to the age of three.In Darshanas case,it has affected her gait and weakened her right hand.She writes with her left hand but is slower than normal children and her writing is bad,though not illegible.
Darshanas mother says that none of her teachers ever complained about her but the headmistress insists that she should be put in a special school meant for retarded children.Darshanas mother alleges that she was forced to write a letter saying that they were withdrawing Darshana from the school due to personal reasons for fear that the kid would be failed.Lobo denies this,calling Darshanas mother a liar.
Psychiatrist Harish Shetty,who has taken up the cause of dyslexic and differently abled children,intervened on behalf of Darshana but to no avail.Schools are known not by the academic feats of their students but by their response to those who are differently abled, he said.Incidentally,St Columba High School,established in 1832,was the first school for girls in Mumbai.Today,its three buildings set in a wooded campus cater to 1,800 students.

Educationists and mental health activists say Darshanas case is a blatant violation of child rights and a negation of the principle of inclusive education enunciated in Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan.

Sangeeta Shrivastava,principal of SVT School and T P Bhatia Jr College in Kandivli,said it was the schools responsibility to sensitise children about disability.We cannot be hypocrites and teach one thing in value education classes but practice the opposite, she said.Because of her schools initiative,the classmates of a polio-striken student are protective about him.

Among the famous people with cerebral palsy are renowned physicist Stephen Hawking,Nepali literary figure Jhamak Ghimire,Irish poet and painter Christy Brown who wrote and painted with his left foot and Stephen Hopkins,signee of USs Declaration of Independence who said,My hand trembles but not my heart.

Source: The Times of India School shows girl with cerebral palsy the door

Mind Over Matter

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Here is an excellent example of Mind Over Matter and Positive Thoughts .

“I am 66 and I live alone. But I don’t feel lonely. I think it is all in the mind. I walk about 5 km every day. I read, watch television, browse the Internet and play computer games. I have no time to brood. I talk to relatives and friends but there are times when for days I don’t get to talk to anybody. My generation treated the elders with respect but very few today do so. We should take it in our stride. In my view, freedom begins at 60. Nobody tells you what to do. Old age is about having fun, not cribbing.”

Source : The Hindu

Why Question? & Not Accept Anything at Face Value

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I have often been asked why I question, before I accept anything? Why make assumptions, why take something at face value,. After all each of our ears, eyes and heart is the one to be trusted. By asking questions, you also open the doors of communication and avoid misunderstandings and sadness.

I love this quote ……., which says it all

“The important thing is to not stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity; of life; of the marvelous structure of reality…”

Quote by Albert Einstein from the Personal Memoir of William Miller, 1955.

Character & Success

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” To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived”. Ralph Waldo Emerson

THE PIXEL PROJECT’S VOTERS’ CHOICE CELEBRITY MALE ROLE MODEL POLLING CAMPAIGN

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The Pixel Project (http://www.thepixelproject.net) is a global volunteer-led nonprofit organisation working to raise US$1 million in aid of the USA’s National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Malaysia’s

Women’s Aid Organisation via an online fundraiser in which a 1-million pixel mystery collage of 4 to 6 globally known Celebrity Male Role Models will be unveiled online as donors “buy” each pixel for US$1.00.

As part of efforts to recruit Celebrity Male Role Models for the mystery collage, The Pixel Project is pleased to launch their first Voters’ Choice Celebrity Male Role Model campaign through which a worldwide audience votes for an actor to be included in our A-list line-up which includes a Nobel Prize Winner and a Pulitzer Prize winner.

The two nominees with the most votes will be invited to donate JUST 45 MINUTES of their time to have their picture taken for the collage and to join the global community in saying “It’s time to stop Violence Against Women. Together.”

The superstar nominee who accepts the invitation will be revealed through the Pixel Reveal fundraiser which will be launched in the second half of 2010.

Voting is open from 17 May 2010 – 17 June 2010 and you are invited to key in your vote and sign the online petition here: http://bit.ly/PixelVote.


Women and Culture

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A blog post How Do We Influence our Culture? Does it legitimize honor killings ?@Bell_Bajao prompted me to write this.  I am Indian and have always lived in Asia where one hears the word “Culture” used often.  What is Culture –Wikipedia definition is as follows

  • Excellence of taste in the fine arts and humanities, also known as high culture
  • An integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning
  • The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group

This culture is used against women the most. Women are not allowed to wear some clothes, work in some professions, talk loudly and a list of endless do’s and don’ts, and all this in the name of culture.

To me this is not culture but a myth and belief that has been created by a sect of people and has been carried over for several generations only because the oppressed or the discriminated (women in this case) have not dared to raise their voice.

Any belief  in the name of culture that promotes honor killing, oppression of women, rape and torture and denies her basic human rights is not to be promoted.

Whilst I agree that there are many countries even in this day and age where women are murdered & abused for going against the so called norm, silence does not help. Silence from the victim or from the spectator is not going to resolve the issue, instead, the oppressed will continue to suffer.

Women have to raise their voice and change their thinking and this can only be done by creating awareness through media, and education.

In India this can also be achieved through Bollywood. I attach a video here of an extract of a movie called “Dil Bole Hadippa” which is a story of  a girl called Veera who lives in a small village but has dreams of playing cricket in the big league.

While Veera dreams on in India, Rohan is an accomplished captain of a county cricket team in England. Rohan returns to India to captain his father’s cricket team which has been losing consecutively for the last 8 years.

In a village where girls don’t play cricket, Veera has to put on a turban and beard and become a man to fulfill her dreams. Her brilliance on the field earns her a place in Rohan’s team and Veera Kaur becomes Veer Pratap Singh.

The attached video extract is a fantastic dialogue which she delivers when she is told by her captain to reveal her true identity.  She basically questions the audience as to why a women cannot be accepted in a man’s team, Why look at the gender when the end delivery is better than a man and when she enabled her team to win.  Watch the play of the player not the name ( or rather gender). She quotes examples of Sunita Williams, Kiran Bedi, Indira Gandhi who have created wonders in their own way. What I liked the most in this dialogue was when she says that one can stop a Veera from becoming Veer, from playing cricket, but can you actually stop her from dreaming??  Please watch.

It is these kind of dialogues and content that the media should promote to raise awareness amongst women and society. We cannot use culture as an excuse any more.  Women have to learn to fight for their space and human rights.