"Innocent" Noble Sacrifice

My wife called,"How long will you be with that newspaper? Will you come here and make your darling daughter eat her food?"

I tossed the paper away and rushed to the scene. My only daughter Sindu looked frightened. Tears were welling up in her eyes. In front of her was a bowl filled to its brim with curd rice. Sindu is a nice child, quite intelligent for her age.She has just turned eight. She particularly detested curd rice. My mother and my wife are orthodox, and believe firmly in the 'cooling effects' of curd rice!

I cleared my throat, and picked up the bowl. "Sindu, darling,why don't you take a few mouthful of this curd rice?Just for Dad's sake, dear." Sindu softened a bit, and wiped her tears with the back of her hands. "OK, Dad. I will eat - not just a few mouthfuls, but the whole lot of this. But, you should..."

Sindu hesitated. "Dad, if I eat this entire curd rice, will you give me whatever I ask for?" "Oh sure, darling," I replied. "Promise?" "Promise."

I covered the pink soft hand extended by my daughter with mine, and clinched the deal. "Ask Mom also to give a similar promise," my daughter insisted. My wife put her hand on Sindu's, muttering "Promise."

Now I became a bit anxious. "Sindu dear, you shouldn't insist on getting a computer or any such expensive items. Dad does not have that kind of money right now. OK?"

"No, Dad. I do not want anything expensive." Slowly and painfully, she finished eating the whole quantity. I was silently angry with my wife and my mother for forcing my child eat something that she detested.

After the ordeal was through, Sindu came to me with her eyes wide with expectation. All our attention was on her. "Dad, I want to have my head shaved off, this Sunday!" was her demand.

"Atrocious!" shouted my wife, "A girl child having her head shaved off? Impossible!" "Never in our family!" my mother rasped. "She has been watching too much of television. Our culture is getting totally spoiled with these TV programs!"

"Sindu darling, why don't you ask for something else? We will be sad seeing you with a clean-shaven head."

"No, Dad. I do not want anything else," Sindu said with finality.

"Please, Sindu, why don't you try to understand our feelings?" I tried to plead with her.

"Dad, you saw how difficult it was for me to eat that Curd Rice." Sindu was in tears. "And you promised to grant me whatever I ask for.Now, you are going back on your words. Was it not you who told me the story of King Harishchandra, and its moral that we should honor our promises no matter what?"

It was time for me to call the shots. "Our promise must be kept."

"Are you out your mind?" chorused my mother and wife. "No. If we go back on our promises, she will never learn to honor her own. Sindu, your wish will be fulfilled."

With her head clean-shaven, Sindu had a round-face, and her eyes looked big and beautiful. On Monday morning, I dropped her at her school. It was a sight to watch my hairless Sindu walking towards her classroom. She turned around and waved. I waved back with a smile. Just then, a boy alighted from a car, and shouted, "Sinduja, please wait for me!"

What struck me was the hairless head of that boy. "Maybe, that is the in-stuff," I thought.

"Sir, your daughter Sinduja is great indeed!" Without introducing herself, a lady got out of the car, and continued, "That boy who is walking along with your daughter is my son Harish. He is suffering from... leukemia." She paused to muffle her sobs. "Harish could not attend the school for the whole of the last month. He lost all his hair due to the side effects of the chemotherapy. He refused to come back to school fearing the unintentional but cruel teasing of the schoolmates. Sinduja visited him last week and promised him that she will take care of the teasing issue. But, I never imagined she would sacrifice her lovely hair for the sake of my son!"

"Sir, you and your wife are blessed to have such a noble soul as your daughter."

I stood transfixed. And then, I wept. "My little Angel, you are teaching me how selfless real love is!"

Surplus of love give illusion of nothing

My husband is an Engineer by profession, I love him for his steady nature, and I love the warm feeling when I lean against his broad shoulders.

Three years of courtship and now, two years into marriage, I would have to admit, that I am getting tired of it. The reasons of me loving him before, has now ransformed into the cause of all my restlessness.

I am a sentimental woman and extremely sensitive when it comes to a relationship and my feelings, I yearn for the romantic moments, like a little girl yearning for candy. My husband is my complete opposite, his lack of sensitivity, and the inability of bringing romantic moments into our marriage has disheartened me about love.

One day, I finally decided to tell him my decision, that I wanted a divorce.

"Why?" he asked, shocked.

"I am tired, there are no reasons for everything in the world!" I

answered.

He kept silent the whole night, seems to be in deep thought with a lighted cigarette at all times.

My feeling of disappointment only increased, here was a man who can't even express his predicament, what else can I hope from him? And finally he asked me:" What can I do to change your mind?"

Somebody said it right, it's hard to change a person's personality, and I guess, I have started losing faith in him. Looking deep into his eyes I slowly answered : "Here is

the question, if you can answer and convince my heart, I will change my mind, Let's say, I want a flower located on the face of a mountain cliff, and we both are sure that picking the flower will cause your death, will you do it for me?"

He said :" I will give you your answer tomorrow...."

My hopes just sank by listening to his response.

I woke up the next morning to find him gone, and saw a piece of paper with his scratchy handwriting, underneath a milk glass, on the dining table near the front door, that goes....

My dear, "I would not pick that flower for you, but please allow me to explain the reasons further.."

This first line was already breaking my heart. I continued reading.

"When you use the computer you always mess up the Software programs, and you cry in front of the screen, I have to save my fingers so that I can help to restore the programs. You always leave the house keys behind, thus I have to save my legs to rush home to open the door for you. You love traveling but always lose your way in a new city, I have to save my eyes to show you the way. You always have the cramps whenever your "good friend" approaches every month, I have to save my palms so that I can calm the cramps in your tummy.

You like to stay indoors, and I worry that you will be infected by infantile autism. I have to save my mouth to tell you jokes and stories to cure your boredom. You always stare at the computer, and that will do nothing good for your eyes, I have to save my eyes so that when we grow old, I can help to clip your nails, and help to remove those annoying white hairs. So I can also hold your hand while strolling down the beach, as you enjoy the sunshine and the beautiful sand... and tell you the color of flowers, just like the color of the glow on your young face...

Thus, my dear, unless I am sure that there is someone who loves you more than I do... I could not pick that flower yet, and die.. "

My tears fell on the letter, and blurred the ink of his handwriting... and as I continue on reading... "Now, that you have finished reading my answer, if you are satisfied, please open the front door for I am standing outside bringing your favorite bread and fresh milk... I rush to pull open the door, and saw his anxious face, clutching tightly with his hands, the milk bottle and loaf of bread....

Now I am very sure that no one will ever love me as much as he does, and I have decided to leave the flower alone...

That's life, and love. When one is surrounded by love, the feeling of excitement fades away, and one tends to ignore the true love that lies in between the peace and dullness.

Love shows up in all forms, even very small and cheeky forms, it has never been a model, it could be the most dull and boring form.. . flowers, and romantic moments are only used and appear on the surface of the relationship. Under all this, the pillar of true love stands... and that's our life... Love, not words win arguments...

lover's angle

New year

New year brings new hope, new aspirations and new found joy. It gives reason to smile like every other celebrated occasion. On same occasion I remember my mom saying " the way you behave on first day will be reflected in whole year".

Guess..what I have done, O'buddy I slept till 2pm and relished every moment of peace in chilling winter in my bed covered with rajai & blanket. No words can define this comfort in dilli ki shardi. Took breakfast at 3.30pm but before that I took bath, ofcourse I want to be clean & look better everyday. Already I have disadvantage of being dark complexion and my wandering from east to west India, starting from Northern part caused my ascent not to be of typical northern Indian, and I get perplexed in fusion of Identity. Yesss...people on first interaction are always sure of their guess that either I belong to Tamil nadu, kannada , telugu etc. and then I have to broke their heart that I am from Lucknow.

"Really" is obvious reaction on their face with long pause & ample exclaimation from my esteemed friends who had bet on my identity with someone who knew me earlier. Okk..Enough reasons for taking bath..Someday, I may able to demystify my identity to others by taking regular bath!!

A good breakfast or lunch means good sleep and I had till 6 and then some chai wai some namkeen along with good gossip with my friends. The clock ticked 9 and my stomach asked for some things to go inside. No one was in mood of Full Food ( If you are from north India, it means rice, dal, chapati , sabzi and few add ons like pickle, sweet dish etc.) and then we had junks, crux and coffee. Well I thought of having some healthy toppings to my body on new year and it came in the form of "a cup full of horlicks milk" courtesy my dear friend ( I can't name else all in hostel will take advantage of his kindness) who took pain to make Jan 1, 2010 to be supplemented by nutrition. Finally Some movies and another day night is gone, be it 1st day of new year.

If mom's saying is true then surely I will enjoy luxurious life with surprised package and if not then this was best way to bring new year.

wo to suna hi hain naa, kal kisne dekha hain, jeelo aaj jee bhar k, agli subah kisne dekha hai.

Just wait,I forget to tell about my new year resolutions (you are right, New resolutions is first mandatory thing which comes to mind for living new year), actually for me it remains same just got recharged with new packages to make NEW. Sorry my dear friends, I can't divulge it..its secret of my success and your happiness. Once it is out, both things will be lost and I don't want to lose either. Just one hint, Belief & faith is my resolutions' core. Have a rocking year ahead. Every second is yours, live full but don't forget to enjoy the moments. These special moments make life special!!!

Young Doc's feeling: A tribute

I am a doctor who is soon going to be 25. I am proud of myself of achieving what I have done, the only problem is I am not there fully yet. Medical is long and a strenous course involving hours and hours of studying each day. MBBS being only graduate degree which doesn't hold much in this profession. PG or specialisation becomes prime requirement for earning even a decent living. To add to our woes, getting into PG with all reservations & making hellish of effort is not easy job. Every day of preparation, every moment of cramming, every second of reading and continuing our intern or resident work is too exhausting and then sitting at home or in hostel room just preparing for entrance becomes daunting when people of your age around you are getting married, having babies, taking vacation and being promoted. And here you are barely graduate & broken, fixed in studies. People assume you have no right to live because you are doctor, infact sometime you also feel that your life is webbed. You are thrashed many a times in hospital for no fault of your. Losing a patient hurts a doctor as much as relative but just we are not god and sometimes things are beyond control is not criteria to criticize us.

We give ten years (at least) of our life to study just surviving on meager stipend. Many a time resident are harassed for getting married. We end up becoming parent at an age which is medically unfit ( most of us get in age of 26 to 32). We are accused of being bookworm (like we have chosen), selfish, money minded (someone explain that to me) and of course negligent!! Missing family functions is something not we like to do but we get to hear is. you chose that profession. Yes, We did, and we are going for greater height. But we are human too. We would like to live life, enjoy life and being on same platform as you are. Give us break!!

Courtesy:A doc's feeling

My doctor is nice; every time I see, I'm ashamed of what I think of doctors in general.

Lust of rank

Pink Floyd’s “we don’t need no education, we don’t need no thought control; no dark sarcasm in the classroom; teachers leave us kid alone”

"you have to get 1st rank" mom yelled at her son who barely managed to keep his books in bag. No word came out of his mouth. He felt like there is no life beyond 1st rank. Mom was so angry because she wanted his best. Lot of crosswords were impacting his brains.

He studied hard, toiled day and night. Even mom worked harder than him. Mom said revision is key to being best in studies. He took all tolls, awake at 5am ( 6 yr old child...gosshhh..i will not able to manage even I have to run for life), carried more weight than roadside labor and learned, crammed the answers. Finally on exam day, he was anxious more than the patient who was running for life in OT and filled with fear which is comparable to relatives who were standing outside for news of successful operations. Somehow god gave courage to hold his nerve, remembered the face of Mom and wrote exams. Every exam day was superlative of previous day. Finally those were over. My hero tried to enjoy life but expectations, fear, scolding & what,if prompted him to somehow entangled in results.

Day of result: He was first one to get awake in home, took bath, prayed heartedly to god as if this is last chance. He tried to cry but could not able to as wanted to hide his fear of result in front of family & to self. Contrary Mom's face was compassionate while but he was scared of any untoward outcomes and couldn't able to share his feelings to Mom.....

"All d best, son"

"thank, you" was meek reply!!!

Ohh god, help this poor child. I don't want CEO post, make one demotion to me but give him first rank else his life aspirations will end here. Finally, Great news, nothing untoward incident happened, expectedly he got first rank. He was filled with joy, tears rolled, voice stammered, leg was not in tandem and heart was throbbing. His adrenalin said he had achieved the world. The yellow report was firmly secured in little hand. He ran like lamb to reach home and saw mom waiting for him at door. Our little child gave his report card and held head high for completing the task assigned by mom. Mom saw the report, and first time smiled at him and said good work beta, now you have to maintain it. From that moment, he lost the life and got the rank. His life became book. He lived books, juggled numbers & plated with ranks but somehow missed the life.

The parent shadow in this guy thought that he will not allow such thing to happen to his offspring. Today at the age of 30, he got blessed with child. The rank was the first thing came to his mind. He wanted to demolish it from new generation in his family, and again we thought things will change!!

But the legacy continued: courtesy "greed of being father of ranker". Another creativity & innocence was lost!!

Shanti Sena

This all women sena (army) raised in the remote area of Bundelkhand region is fighting for the rights and dignity of the rural women who bore the brunt of drought and poverty. The women majority of them housewives and semi literate follow the Gandhian path of satyagrah to get their demands fulfilled, no doubt they have named their organization- Mahila Shanti Sena (MSS). In grip of drought for seven years this region has witnessed large migration. Men have left the villages in search of petty jobs to the far away cities including Mumbai, Indore, Surat and Delhi leaving behind women, old and children. The women who used to remain within the fore wall of the house suddenly found themselves at the center stage with the responsibility to run the family and to take care of the dependents- old as well as children. Challenge was not only from within but also from outside, as the landlords and contractors found them an easy target. As the incidents of sexual harassment as well as exploitation of the women increased the women decided to form an organization to fight jointly against the atrocities. The movement that started in Godaya Kala village located around 80 km east of Chitrakoot is spreading fast as more and more women are joining the sena. The head of Mahila Shanti Sena, Savitri Devi (50 years) told HT that the foundation of the sena was laid by nine women in January 2009. "Now the branch of sena is working in 50 villages and over 500 women have joined the rank. There was no assistance from the government or the administration to the women whose husband is working as migrant labourers", she said. "When it came to our survival the Bundeli women decided to pick up the cudgel and fight for their rights and honor. The lone women are vulnerable Savitri said and added on December 14 finding a woman alone in Kol Majra village some miscreants entered in the house forcibly and raped her. Instead of taking action against the culprits the police protected them and terrorised the victim. The volunteers of the Mahila Shaniti Sena gheraoed the police station and organised dharna. The senior police officers assured us that culprit would be taken into custody Savitri said and added since the cases of sexual harassment of women had increased the MSS have urged the women to move in groups.

Now the MSS is also focusing on the self-employment and health issues. The pregnant women are taken to the hospital for regular checkup and volunteers are present during delivery.

Source:HT

Unequals in Equal

Imagine a woman who is while filling the form has to fill the option “wife of” but now thanks to supreme court judgment now they can use “daughter of” so far privileged to only male gender to reveal their identity as “son of”. Well, things are going smooth, some day we will be able to choose our identity on mother’s name who pained all effort to bring us in this world which is so far privileged to father’s ( male again ofcourse). I am not against father lover or husband lover but I think everybody has right to reveal their identity as they way they want.

Don’t you think women are securely confined to men’s world whether at office or in college or in school. Their every deed is monitored as suspicion whether they laugh with colleague or they are busy in work or they chat. All rules and decorum they have to comply for and men’s are the regulator and appraiser of their behavior. Ever wondered why road under construction site is written as “Men at work, drive slow”, never mind the fact that women are also slogging out their sweat. Managers output is measured in man-hours or man-day, even though there are lot of women churning their efforts. Now one may argue that these are generalized rules written are man-made only but really its tool to reinforce the word that after all its man’s world!!!!

Although sexism is to stay here and it started the day world started but still there are questions which need to be answered. Apology to all, but in moral science we read god as he, not she or why child is the father of man??? I didn’t understood till now whether child is man or woman but the phrase stuffed my mind that every superiority is reserved for man. Later I also got familiar with word like ‘craftsmanship‘ or ‘sportsmanship’ to highlight the superior species, we, the man. Later realized that earlier these are exclusive words meant for men, and keeping women in shed of their chauvinism. And we talk “Everyone is equal”

Well when we in sighted Bollywood or our very popular sport cricket, it is again gender bigotry which comes into play and they are also leader in this. Our women’s cricket team reached to semifinals of T20 world cup and I am sure rarely peole knew but other side lost in first round has everybody on tips. There is always hero in movies; angry young man, a fighter but women a supporter to such ‘society transforming man’ or abla naari or @@##$$$***

Lot of have been said to women and atrocities done to them. They have to rise and do for themselves and we men have to understand its equality that has to prevail. Just by sending our daughter, Sister et al to make them literate by imparting education will not do some good. The mere passing of women bill or giving jobs will not change much. We have to understand they work as hard as we do then why they get less pay or why we have perception they got job or admission because they have fairer sex advantage rather than they are as capable as we are. We have to change our mind alongwith rules which we have changed earlier, then we can see the world which our ancestors said very early.

“yatra naaryastu pujyante, ramnte tatra devta” which means literally that where she is respected god always reside in form of prosperity.

But one thing shouldn’t get unnoticed: "The only consolation to women’s world is we have phrase ‘mother of all invention, is after all mother”

Your planet needs you, unite to combat climate change

Climate change has become an issue right across the world and many people may be wondering why this is happening and want know the reasons. It is at this point in time that each and every individual has to play a vital role in resuscitating our God given environment that is deteriorating day by day. Suddenly, climate change has been an issue on the agenda and action has to be taken.
Trees are heat stressed and the growing seasons are changing for crops in different countries. It is with this experience of climate change that will keep us working to fight climate change.. Let’s glance at the some statistics which enlighten the effect of climate change if we didn’t wake up to take actions: 

Ø      If no action is taken to reduce emissions the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere could be double those experienced in pre-industrial times by 2035.The risks of the worst impacts of climate change can be substantially reduced if greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere are stabilized at current levels

Ø      At least 279 species of plants and animals are already responding to global warming by moving closer to the poles. 

Ø      Although total annual emissions from developing countries are expected to eventually exceed those of developed countries their per capita emissions will remain much lower.

Solutions at all levels

Reducing emissions-The primary cause of climate change is increased levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The main greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide which is produced by the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas to produce energy. These fuels are used to produce electricity and for transport around the world. There are many ways in which greenhouse gas levels can be reduced:

Ø      Reduce your impact at home and work by replacing light bulbs with new energy efficient bulbs, unplug electronic devices when not in use and recycle where possible.

Ø      Walk, cycle and use public transport where possible to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. We will save one pound of carbon dioxide for every mile we do not drive

Ø      Switch to green power: Energy generated by clean renewable sources.

Ø      Replacing one regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb will save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

Ø      Keeping you tires inflated properly can improve gas mileage by more than 3%. Every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of Carbon dioxide out of atmosphere.

Ø      Moving your thermostat just 2 degrees in winter and up 2 degrees in summer, we can save about 2000 pounds of CO₂ a year just with simple adjustment.

Ø      A single tree plantation will absorb one ton of CO₂ over its lifetime

Ø      Simply turning off your television, DVD player, Stereo and computer when you are not using them will save thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide a year. 

All sectors of society have to play a part in activities that produce greenhouse gases. Solutions must therefore involve individuals, communities, businesses and governments, and action must take place at the local, national and international level. 

Governments can:Introduce policies and legislation that:

Ø      Support alternative energy sources such as wind and solar.

Ø      Promote energy efficiency and conservation by businesses and households.

Ø      Establish carbon trading schemes. 

Businesses can:

Ø      Introduce technologies and techniques to cut their operational energy use.

Ø      Improve the energy efficiency of products they produce such as electrical appliances and vehicles.

Ø      Become carbon neutral by offsetting their emissions.

Ø      Save money by reducing their energy use. 

Individuals can:

Simple changes in your energy consumption such as turning lights off, and using your car less can reduce your impact 

Community Action

Action at the community level not only has the potential to minimize and deal with the effects of climate change directly, it also has the power to influence and bring about change in other sectors such as business and government. 

Ø      Calculate your individual/family/community carbon dioxide emissions, set a reduction target and make a plan of action to achieve it.

Ø      Encourage government and politicians (local, state and national) to introduce emission reduction targets, and policies that encourage renewable energy. The UNFCCC (2007) has recommended that industrialized countries need to reduce their emissions by 60-80% by 2050.

Ø      Encourage your local government to join Cities for Climate Protection.

Ø      Protect trees and forests. Deforestation and land use change accounts for as much as 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Ø      Organize a tree planting program Avoid excess packaging. Reducing waste will help cut emissions.

Ø      Encourage schools to include climate change content in the curriculum.

Ø      Explore alternative energies such as solar cookers in areas affected by drought, water may be scarce. Look at ways to be more water efficient and consider additional water storage

Ø      Talk to your teacher or employer about organizing a walk to work/school day.

Ø      Agricultural biodiversity provides resistance to changing conditions. Maintaining diverse seed supplies and being flexible in the types of crops that can be grown are key adaptation strategies.

Ø      Raise awareness in your community – use a local hall or town square to establish a central information point, erect public notice boards, and organize dances, plays or poster competitions. Keep messages simple for maximum effect.

Ø      Approach local media such as radio to include one-off and/or ongoing segments on climate change.

Ø      Remember to share your successes as widely as possible - notify media, CUW and other local, national and international organizations. 

With our innovative minds and refreshing ideas, I believe all can make a difference and that climate change will not just take place while we watch. We have to do all that we can from educating perpetrators of these effects to implementation of activities on the ground. What is needed is a combination of strenuous and persistent citizen movements and some clear and unambiguous examples of political leadership. 

      "Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth.
There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed
There's so much pollution in the air now that if it weren't for our lungs there'd be no place to put it all.
Don't blow it - good planets are hard to find!!"

WRONG NUMBER

hey frnds i took this story from some source...not my original....

It was the day of her son's XII results and she was so tensed. She sat beside him while he logged on the website with his registration no. "Ma", he screamed in excitement," I scored 1191, with centum in 4 subjects.

I cant believe it. " She kinda became numb in my excitement. Her eyes became wet. She kissed him on his forehead and smiled.

Soon they realized that he stood first in the state. Oh, her joy knew no bounds when Reporters and media persons soon swamped her house for interviews and photos. She was so honored to join him in the snaps.

She wanted to call her "wrong-number- friend" to tell him the news......She was so excited. He was someone whom she has known for more than 20 years.

She still did not remember when they became friends, but certainly cannot forget the first day he called her when she blasted him for giving her so many wrong calls.....after that he had called up a week later asking apology, for he had now got the right no of his friend whom he wanted to talk to . They spoke for an hour that day...even without knowing each other's names.

Though he kept pestering her to reveal her name she never did and so he kept a name...Sweety. She used to get so shy whenever he called her 'Sweety'. She was doing first year of BSc. Maths then, and he was a Computer Engineering

student.

.

.

.

.

.

From then he used to call her very often . They almost discussed everything ..

By the final year of her college, they probably were in love, but she had been cautious. She was in a dilemma whether to tell him. But what if he was of a different religion? Does she have the courage to talk to her parents about it? ........all these questions ran through her mind.

She decided tat she'll not talk to him thereafter. When he called next time she lied to him that she was going to Delhi for her post graduation. He gave her his office number and asked her to ring him up once she reach there.

She never called .......

A couple of months later her marriage got fixed with a guy of her parent's choice. She was not happy but she did not complain; rather accepted it as an obedient daughter. At times she felt she missed her wrong- number- friend...... .

Her hubby was a moody person; she has hardly spent any good time with him- but he was genuine indeed and never bothered her personal space. After 2 years they had a boy... Yet,she was not very happy with her married life... One day she happened to browse through her diary and found that she still had her old friend's office phone no that he had given her. she dialed it and spoke with him. He said he was married and got a kid too. She was happy for him though in the bottom of the heart she felt bad that she could not marry him.

From then she used to occasionally call him on that number. She never gave him hers as I felt that would put her in trouble.. And till today she almost shared everything with him including her relationship with her hubby..... today she was so happy and wanted to call him.

Just then she got a call. "Your husband met with an accident and died on the spot"

She banged the phone down. She broke. She did not call her friend.....She somehow started feeling guilty. She has never tried to talk to him properly when he was alive or moved close with him.... She felt that she had been a bad wife........

A couple of years passed and one day her son brought home a Bengali girl and said they wanted to get married. She got them married as she did not want her son to go through what she did.

She decided to give her son his father's room and started clearing it. There was a phone book. She gently opened it to find, "Wrong No Sweety -26579785"

"God always puts the right numbers together. Its we who interpret it wrong!!!!!"

Nano problem......

I recently heard that Mr. Ratan Tata’s most awaited car is going to hit the road at the end of February 2009 after so many blocks: courtesy to West Bengal & their associates comprising of our learned leaders & politicians who claims as savior of citizens……..finally.... after such hard fought battle, Nano is going to be on road from Uttaranchal as makeshift arrangement and later from Gujarat…..The vision to empower Indian middle class through car is very great idea, after all ye to sapna hota hai middle class ka. But even if you call me spoilsport, I wonder where I am going to drive my car, when bikes are also shuttling hard to get some space on road. Let’s look into some facts which are significant for such ambitious work….

 Even if our prosperous growth is hit by recession India has potential to become world’s 2^nd largest car maker from current position of third. It is expected to have 2 billion passenger car market by 2010 and it will grow to 1.5 times i.e. 3 million in 2015. By 2009 India will account for 8% of global motor industry growth. 40 million people can afford car and 7.5 million Indians right now possess…..

 Looking into road facilities of our great India where actually these small cars have to run. When we think about best roads, our reflex picks NH….right…National Highway. They account for 2% of total roads but contribution to road fatalities is very significant around 33%...pardon me if figures are incorrect due to some accidents occurred while I was writing this blog……financial losses due to road traffic injuries in 2005 was Rs. 550 billion , almost 3%  of GDP….great India!!!! Since 1990’s India’s average rate of road growth has been 8-10% and growth of automobile is surpassing it…..NO_x and SO₂ are fighting successfully to be on upper limit, Kudos to our so strict norms created by some bureaucrats to make it possible.

 If our benevolent Tata and likes of them has checked out this figure then he must be knowing that there is need of fit road for those cute small cars which we saw in last year Auto Expo to actually run on road else Darwin’s theory of ‘Survival of fittest” will come into play. Consequences are not hard to predict friends: more accident than selling of Nanos. I know its not in hand of them to make road fit for cars but is in hand of us, we taxpayers, to ask question to elected person who are our shubhchintak. I have nothing against Nano but with such abysmal road safety records in India, there will be more congestion and attrition if more motorable roads are not built. I know I am spoiling the ‘nano’ seconds of enthusiasm of middle class but I believe this might give ‘nano’ hours of smile if our government and architects of India understands and implement it…..

What’s in the name…errr…surname…

Juliet:
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."

 

You must be wondering why I have chosen such thing to write when Shakespeare already talked about its insignificance…….actually our very own Munna Bhai a.k.a Sanjay Dutt…is inspiration behind such value addition….I mean sequel to Shakespeare Play… 

He already explained name has no role in love and but I am forced to ponder why he didn’t thought about surname also. I got instant answer, he didn’t faced Sanju baba naaa…. Sanjay Dutt is someone who uses his father’s surname and has problem if his sister does…“Girls must assume their new surname and all the responsibilities that come with it” that’s what Munna Bhai specifically said recently…..

How does it look like Hema Deol, Moon Moon Verma or Shabana Akhtar? Now revert Malini to Hema, Maiden name to Moon Moon , Azmi to sabana and things fall back into place. Marriage is a coming of together of equals. It’s not like buying a cow and then branding it with a iron rod just to show your ownership over it or branding the product with you name esp. to show you are more branded. Fairer sex are also independent people and they have their own identities and of-course history. 

If you go down to history the trend of assuming men’s last name is more in North rather than South India. In fact not only Surname, wife is given new name also in new family as a ritual for their new life which is not only ridiculous but also playing with feeling that now go hell with your previous life, we don’t care what your earlier life, we are concerned only to life after this new name…real mockery of feeling…

 

When columnist Swaminathan decided to marry, he went all the way by taking on his wife’s name as his middle name, as part of equal ownership. Now what sanjay and likes of his will say that Swami should assume all responsibility of Wife’s family!!!!Well I am not citing examples like this to tell that we need to do things like this to show our solidarity but thing is that all have equal right to don with their name or surname what they want to. Any name is not going to decide any responsibility or abstaining of any role related to it. It’s a woman’s right to decide her surname and fortunately, both partner’s are equal before the constitution. A change of surname also calls for mountain of paperwork, particularly now when woman marry after they’re settled in their career or having setup business…

 

The our very own male dominated society always want woman not to excel and all these were excised to make them feel they are not at par and they have no identity of own…now when Priya Dutt questioned integrity of her brother, how can brother tolerate and so he replied in true male way thinking he is supreme. Let people like sanjay should understand that everybody has right to take name. After marriage they can retain any name, they wished for…I mean surname also!!!!!!!! So next time when you people come across Aishwarya Rai Bachhan, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Madhuri Dixit or Parle’s Shauna chauhan, remember it’s all about personal choice as well as hard-won-earned personal identity and they are not going to change to please some or more whatever Male’s who can’t digest they have better say then males…

 

Now Juliet must be saying

"What's in a *name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet but why should it change"

 

* name also include surname

letter to god: child way

Little Bobby came into the kitchen where his mother was making dinner. 

His birthday was coming up and he thought this was a good time to tell his mother what he wanted. 

Mom, I want a bike for my birthday.

Little Bobby was a bit of a troublemaker.

He had gotten into trouble at school and at home. 
Bobby's mother asked him if he thought he deserved to get a bike for his birthday.

Little Bobby, of course, thought he did.

Bobby's mother wanted Bobby to reflect on his behavior over the last year.

Go to your room, Bobby, and think about how you have behaved this year.Then write a letter to krishna and tell him why you deserve a bike for
your birthday.

Little Bobby stomped up the steps to his room and sat down to write krishna a letter. 

**************
Letter 1 

Dear krishna,

I have been a very good boy this year and I would like a bike for my birthday.
I want a red one. 

Your friend,
Bobby

**************
Bobby knew that this wasn't true. He had not been a very good boy this year,

So he tore up the letter and started over. 

**************
Letter 2

Dear krishna,

This is your friend Bobby. I have been a good boy this year and I would like A red bike for my birthday. Thank you. 

Your friend,
Bobby

************** 
Bobby knew that this wasn't true either. So, he tore up the letter and started again.

**************
Letter 3

Dear krishna,

I have been an OK boy this year. I still would really like a bike for  my birthday.

Bobby

**************

Bobby knew he could not send this letter to krishna either. So, Bobby wrote a fourth letter. 

**************
Letter 4

krishna,

I know I haven't been a good boy this year. I am very sorry.I will be a good boy if you just send me a bike for my birthday.

Please! Thank you, 
Bobby

**************
Bobby knew, even if it was true, this letter was not going to get him a bike.

Now, Bobby was very upset. He went downstairs and told his mom that he
wanted to go to temple. 

Bobby's mother thought her plan had worked, as Bobby looked very sad.

Just be home in time for dinner, Bobby's mother told him. 

Bobby walked down the street to the temple on the corner.
Little Bobby went into the temple and up to the altar.
He looked around to see if anyone was there.
Bobby bent down and picked up a statue of the radha. 
He slipped the statue under his shirt and ran out of the temple, down the street, into the house, and up to his room.
He shut the door to his room and sat down with a piece of paper and a pen.


Bobby began to write his letter to krishna.
**************
Letter 5 

krishna,

I'VE KIDNAPPED YOUR GIRLFRIEND. IF YOU WANT TO SEE HER AGAIN, SEND THE
BIKE!!!!!!....

 

Do you think this time Bobby will get a Red Bike... ????