Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Improving my English

Funny but weird is often a suggestion given is to read Editorial section of a newspaper to improve one's English. But I have my own opinions on the idea.I request you all, please, for god sake please, don't read the Editorial section in an attempt to improve your English.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Read my case stories

Dear all,
I had the opportunity to write and edit through the 'success stories' of the non-profit organisation that I am currently working in.

Monday, July 19, 2010

What I learnt from 'Excuses-Begone' by Dr.Wayne Dyer

Recently I had the opportunity to read one of the recent books by Dr.Wayne Dyer - 'Excuses Begone'.
I like here to narrate to you what I personally learnt from the book...

Do less.. accomplish more

One of the recent books which I had the opportunity to read is Leo Baubata's 'The Power of Less' - the blogger of the highly famed - zenhabits.net weblog.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Inspirational

Pleasure and pain. They’re not opposites. They’re neighbors … separated by a thin line, by a split second.
One minute you’re feeling like everything is going your way … like you’re ready to climb the highest mountain … headed for the top of the world.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Environment: The Missing Link

In the monumental book, 'The Secret Life of Plants', the authors Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird, made the claim that the study of plants is the missing link between subject of physics and metaphysics.In parallel to it, I am more of beginning to realise that 'Environment' connectivity will be the all the essential missing link between the Subject of Economics and Spirituality.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Taking care of 'YOU": Eating well and sleeping good

I learnt it hard and it had to be fast. In May, 2010, I had to be admitted at a local hospital - the reason a bacterial infection and anemia. At the age of 25, getting admitted at hospital for anemia, which I hold responsible for my reduced immunity level that made a casual bacterial infection into a terrible disease.

From the pages of a Writer - 2

I never imagined that writing could be such a liberating experience. I feel connected directly to my heart. I seem to have touched the fabric of my soul. I could feel an implosion of emotion, of my entire spirit straight to the very centre of its gravity.

From the pages of a Writer - 1

I  recently discovered a new house, 'my write house', located at the outskirt of a busy township. The surrounding strip of semi-forest still preserved the serenity of my 'write house'.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Writing: Making or breaking a career

Writing is an all essential skill in effectively communicating your thoughts. It could either win or break one’s career advancement. But if you find writing a bit elusive, don’t worry. Writing, in essence, is basically a skill and like any other skills, it could be learnt and improved. This article will help you learn the essentials of writing and how to sharpen your writing skills.
Believe it or not, writing can provide you a competitive edge at work. It may even prove to be a deciding factor for your next promotion that you have been eagerly waiting for.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Catching the Cold: Art of Parenting in taking care of your Child’s Health

It’s the monsoon season, and keeping your home clean of infection is one heck of a job! If you have 7 year old kid at your home, you could very well imagine what I mean. This is the time when kids of all ages get their noses running and visiting your doctor becomes a part-time job. Well you couldn’t avoid it, but you can do something to keep the cold at bay, literally!
One of the hotspots where your kid could get an infection is at her school! It will be no wonder when your little girl healthy in the morning, returns back with a red nose in the evening. She is infected, and its time for some action.
Visiting the doctor is the first thing we do as a responsible parent, but then this is not the only option! I don’t suggest you not to take your daughter to your doctor, but what I mean is that don’t make the visit too often. There are ways in which you can better take care of your child, apart from making a visit to your doctor.
I am not giving you the traditional advice to boil water. Rather I suggest you not to boil water. It is true that boiling water can kill germs, but your child shall miss the opportunity to develop her immunity if she is not exposed to less harmful germs in the monsoon water. Except for extreme cases, I suggest you not to boil the water. It could go long way in helping your kid develop a stronger immune system.
Second, it’s not necessary for you or your kid to complete the entire course of medication. Usually the medication course for such infection will be for 3 to 4 days. But if you think your kid’s health is improving, you may stop the medication course in between. I could hear you murmur about the development of multi-drug resistant germs, but hey stopping the medication a day before will do no harm. And as a matter of fact, I hate taking medicines (and who doesn’t?), and why trouble my kid to take one.
And finally the last thing you could do about your child getting an infection is to wait. It’s no joke when they say that visiting the doctor will cure you of a disease within a week, while not visiting, will take seven days to cure. So, wait – wait for your child’s immune system to fight against the disease.
At the same time, I like to demystify certain facts about cold and fever. Getting a high temperature is a good thing – it’s the nature’s way of increasing the temperature to kill the disease-causing germs. And if you find your kid with running noses – be happy about it! It means her immune system is working perfectly to remove the germs by causing a running nose. And another great myth – ice creams, I repeat, ice creams do not cause cold or fever.
And so, there you have it – the experience of a parent in taking care of his daughter suffering from a running nose. And did I say you that my daughter looks really cute when she gets a red nose?
Take care and take care of your cute daughter!

Time to change: It’s Climate Change

Can you guess when was the very first time that made the world leaders of various nations to come together, sit under one roof, forgetting all the differences between them, sort of united the world? Can you guess it? It was ‘terrorism’! That it was our dire threat of terrorism that made all the nations unite. Yet there was another issue that also had the concern to pull all the world leaders together- ‘World Hunger and Poverty’. Nobody can forget the UN Millennium Declaration ‘to combat global hunger and poverty’ in 2000, signed by 191 nations around the world.
Finally, there was another issue that similarly unified the nation - ‘Global Warming and Climate Change’. It is important to realize that climate change does have a prominent impact on lives of everyone on this earth. It is not something that is happening in some other country or in some remote village. This, ‘Climate Change’, is happening right above our heads and shoulders and all around us. That is worth worrying.It is no wonder Mr.Al Gore’s Oscar-winning documentary, ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, is christened the scariest movie of the decade. The work of International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says it all - scientific discoveries linking human activities and climate change. For their work, Nobel Peace prize was awarded to Mr.Al Gore and the IPCC in 2007.
One of the more interesting stories that I heard is that the polar bears are drowning! Global warming has caused the melting of polar ice caps and the ice land mass are fast melting away, the polar bears who are usually good swimmers are finding no land to get back. So getting tired of it, they drown. That’s terrible!Of all things said and done, I believe that each and everyone of us should realize that climate change is having its effect on earth’s ecosystem. It seems that our mindless pursuit of ‘growth’, ignorant of its impact on the environment have created a monster out of Mother Earth. We have gone so far compromising environmental sustainability for economic growth. Our craze for materialistic pleasures and our unlimited desires armed with deadly weapon of technology, is slowly consuming the very home that harbors life.During this moment, I am reminded of the words of Mahatma Gandhi, ‘Nature can satisfy our needs, not our greed’ which couldn’t be more true. After all Gandhi could be right, you know!But an eternal optimist, I find hope! I like the words of this environmentalists who said, ‘Either we can brood over our past misdoings or we can find this as an opportunity to re-do, re-new ourselves, in finding better ways of doing what we have been doing so far.’For there has been plethora of ideas for addressing the climate change issue - from adopting natural way of agriculture to the birth of concepts like ‘slow food’ (remember its rival sibling – fast food). Now we are talking about capitalizing renewable sources of energy like wind, solar, bioenergy. There is a grassroots movement among the world community to move towards more eco-friendly ways of living. Every hotel in the Belgium is equipped with double gear flush system in the bathrooms to control the wastage of water, I read of Thomas Friedman write in an article. We are talking about re-designing our homes with the concept of ‘green building’. There is a growing world consciousness and environmental sensitivity, uniting the people around the world. We are becoming brothers and sisters again!
That is the change that we need – the change that could beat the climate change!

Combating Anemia: Killing two birds with one shot

September 6, 2000 – the United Nations Headquarters, New York! Nobody can forget the UN Millennium Declaration ‘to combat global hunger and poverty’ in 2000, signed by 191 nations around the world. The world leaders from 191 nations charted a set of eight goals to be achieved by world nations, christened as ‘Millennium Development Goals’.
Among the eight goals, Goal 4 states to ‘reduce child mortality’, with the target to reduce by two thirds the mortality rate among children under five. Similarly, Goal 5 states to ‘improve maternal health’, with the target to reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality rate.
What if, there is a way to achieve Goal 4 and 5 with one weapon, sort of killing two birds with one shot. Fighting anemia can help world nations to achieve both Goal 4 and 5. How? Before that let us know about anemia.
Anemia is a global public health problem, as compelling and harmful as the epidemics of infectious diseases. With a global population of 6,700 million, at least 3,600 million people have iron deficiency and 2000 million out of these suffer from anemia, particularly iron deficiency anemia (IDA). Children and women in reproductive age group are more vulnerable.
World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over one third of the world's population suffer from anemia. India continues to be one of the countries with the highest prevalence of anemia. National Family Health Survey (NFHS) estimates reveal the prevalence of anemia to be 70-80% in children, and 70% in pregnant women, while 56 per cent of adolescent girls are anemic. This is more pronounced in rural areas. A 1997 survey of 12-18 year old girls in rural India (by Survival for Women and Children (SWACH) Foundation) found an anemia prevalence rate of 82.9% among girls in school and 92.7% among girls not in school. These are our potential mothers.
As a consequence, anemia has well known adverse effects on physical and cognitive performance of individuals. But the true toll of anemia lies in the ill-effects on maternal and fetal health. Poor nutritional status and anemia in pregnancy have consequences that extend over generations. Anemia is also related to perinatal and maternal mortality. The rates of low birth weight, prematurity, neonatal and infant mortality among children born to undernourished adolescent girls is high. In India, one in five i.e. 20% of all the maternal deaths are attributed to anemia during pregnancy and in another 40% anemia is a contributory factor. And this where the beauty lies. If one were to address anemia, we can achieve the twin goal of reducing child mortality as well ensuring maternal health.
The major cause for prevalence of such high-level of anemia in India is because of low dietary intake, poor availability of iron and chronic blood loss due to hook worm infestation and malaria. Besides, an increase in demand for iron during adolescence, the low iron status is further complicated by low dietary intake and poor bioavailability of iron in the Indian diet.
In order to prevent high maternal mortality and high incidence of low birth weight babies in India, there is a need to combat anemia during adolescence, and pregnancy. There is complete lack of awareness about the importance of having an optimal hemoglobin level.
The solution lies in ‘Nutrition awareness’ programs that inform the people on ways that can improve hemoglobin like taking iron and folic acid (IFA) tablets, eating iron-rich food, etc.

Monday, April 12, 2010

The Hurt Locker (2009)

Winner of six Academy Awards in 2009 including the Best Director, Original screenplay and Editing...
This was the hype that actually made me watch the movie...
It is high thrill drama, action packed with enough suspense, I agree. But the praises for this movies is simply overrated.
the rest were just crap... I did like the last part of the movie - that had some meaning.. 'Son, now you like everything.. everything you see around you..'
'But when you grow... you seem to love only one thing...'
Thats a punch.. a real punch..

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Friday, April 9, 2010

Missing artists... missing colours...

His strokes were great, his colour mix was unmatched, his art conveyed a message. This was one of my friend from the school days - M.P (name hidden). He was a brilliant artist and he was known throughout the school for his artistic abilities. Silhoulitees were his favourites. And, to the envy of other competitors, he was often the one who bags the first prize in our school's art competition. This was in late 1990s and 2000, nearly a decade before.
Fast forward to the present. 2010. M.P. is an engineer, a mechanical engineer to be more precise. He recently got married in 2009(I came to know this from our school Chemistry teacher). He works at a '-----' company.
I just wonder whether he draws now or not. I need to explore a bit more of his story the engineer M.P now and compare it with the artist M.P. once.
What if he were still the old artistic friend, whom we envied off? What if he took up art as his career? Will the society be ready enough to appreciate the young man? Will the society be able to accept him if he choose the artistic career?
May be not..
May be that was the reason why he took the other path, as an engineer.
So, how many artists we have lost to the IT boom? How many singers and actors, writers and poets, atheletes and sportstars, we have lost, to make a professional - an engineer or a doctor, out of them?
More importantly, how far was extent of the damage done? First, are we ready to accept there ever was a damage done?
I am reminded of the story of my childhood friend S.M., an IT professional in US - he spoke to me for an hour from US on that fine Sunday afternoon. That Sunday, henceafter, was no more fine to me. I remember of TVN, a wonderful singer, and V.R., another artist-friend, and VC, the scientist-who-was-never-made. As I last heard of them, TVN recently got an appointment from a noted bank as a Customer Relationship Manager. I do not know what happed to V.R.. And VC, he was working in Chennai as content writer for an education website.
How colourful this world would have been with all these people? What great works of art, music and drama would have been produced? What glories and honours, would the world have been soaked with? What wonderful creations would this world have witnessed? If only, their talents were unleashed!!
I miss those artists, and I miss their colours.

The Common chord of Happening: Review of two movies 'I am Legend' and 'Signs'

There is an invisible hand that seems to create situations and make things happen. There is this intricate thread of unknown divinity that reveals a reason for why things have happened or not happened. It takes a while for human intelligence to recognize the pattern, the deeper algorithm of things thus happening. Wasn't there a moment in life when one, in a very subtle manner, comes to realise, 'Oh! That was the reason why it happened.' The very consciousness of such happening seems to come out of blue.
When Dr.Rober Neville (Will Smith) in the movie 'I am Legend' says, 'This is the reason why you came here!' in the climax, one seems to recognize something so familiar, but very distant as well.
When the Reverend (Mel Gibson) in the movie 'Signs' as in the climax, finds the meaning in the last words of his dead wife, it rejuvenates his very belief in God - an expression of agreement that the Director makes in the movie for the rationality for 'a happening'.
I do realise it stuck my very chord of nerves as it did with you.
As the wise tortoise (in the movie 'Kung fu Panda') says, 'There are no accidents.'
May be there is a reason why you are reading this blog. May be there is reason why I wrote this in the first place.
I hope our puny human intelligence will be able to comprehend at least a portion of the vastness held secret in the universe's conscious makings.

Seven Pounds (2008)

moI just couldnt write about this film. You have to see it to believe it!
I just wanna make this point. Today's system - either economic or social system, considers a human being as starkingly selfish, driven by animal instincts...
This film tells me otherwise, 'We are something more than animals.' 'We are something more than reminants of the Darwinian evolution'. 'We are something beyond the definition of this world'. Something overarching, something deeper, something Godly! There is something more than that meets the eye!
The potrayal of Mr.Tim Thomas in this film shows one man's journey to cleanse himself of his guilt within. He doesn't goes for a dip in the waters of Ganga or takes a trip to Mecca nor does he tries to find solution in the superficial systems created by society. He repents for his guilt - that is for sure. But he does something extraordinary.
'I am going to give you a gift' says Tim Thomas at the ending of the movie to Ezra, the blind meat salesman.
And Tim makes sure that the gift is delivered.
Must watch movie. Reinforces one's belief on Humanity.

‘We are natives’ – a show on National Geographic Channel

A set of tribals from the heartland of Africa from a place called Tanna comes to visit the city of London, UK. These are the set of men who lived naked in their homes, who are now taken on a journey to the one of the biggest cities of the world. Imagine their excitement.
One fine day, in visiting the great streets of Manchester, with their host, the host purchases a magazine. She says, ‘It is a very special magazine, for the money will go to help the homeless.’
At the mentioning of the word ‘homeless’, the face of the tribes showed puzzlement. How can there be homeless, where there are such great big buildings? Why are they homeless? Asks the native. The host lady tries to answer them and says that ‘there is no one for them’. ‘No one’, again a puzzle. ‘Don’t these people have their father and mother to take care’, they ask very innocently. The host seems not able to answer them.
‘In our village, there is no homeless,’ they say. ‘If someone wants a house, everyone in the village help that family to build a new house of their own.’ Here they question in amazement, like how and why people are homeless.
Then they were taken to salon for dogs. They were again amazed at two ladies dedicating their entire day time to cut the hair of the dogs. They ask, ‘Why cut the hair of the animal?’ ‘It keeps them warm.’ ‘We cut the dog’s hair, so to keep them clean,’ comes the answer.
Then one man say, ‘Here we have to learn a lesson to love animals like you do. But you also remember to help the humans who are homeless.’
A lesson worth learning – won’t you agree with the natives?

Destiny... Mr.Destiny


‘If only it happened like this!’ – For those who repent of the way that their life seems to flow, the film ‘Mr. Destiny’ will indeed be an eye-opener.
‘Everything happens for a reason,’ rightly says the Mr.Destiny in the film. And how well it is to explain this point by gifting you that very life you seemed to have missed. This is what exactly, ‘Mr. Destiny’, is about. And in that momentous night in the bar, the hero realises much he misses his old real life. A lesson was taught to him by the Destiny-maker. Hope we will learn from it too.

The Secret of 'Kung-fu Panda'

‘Do you know the secret, son, the secret ingredient in my secret ingredient soup?’, asks the father to his son, Po.
‘What is it, father?’
‘The secret is that there is no secret ingredient,’ tells the father
‘But it tastes so good!’
‘Ah! It is the belief that it tastes good, makes it to tastes good!’
And the revelation is made.
The belief on oneself is the secret to success.
This is the moral that is told so humorously in the film through the character of Po.
As the wise tortoise says, ‘There are no accidents!’
Maybe it is not an accident that you read this blog! I believe so.
So, do you believe?

My First Assignment, My First Story: Kamatchi Amma

It was my first day in Madurai. The atmosphere was octane pumped, given the fact that I am to be transfered to a centre in Madurai. But noone exactly knew where I am to be transfered. That's when this assignment was... well assigned.
I jumped at the opportunity, and made my trip to my familiar pals at Thirumangalam.
Have you seen a farmer? (I hope most specimens in the cities say no..) If so, have you seen a women farmer. Yeah! A women shouldering the responsiblity of farming.
I present to you Ms.Kamatchi of Sengapadai village of Thirumangalam.
Read more about here at
http://www.dhan.org/stories/kamatchi_story.php

Love in the Mortar Joints: Building the foundation for 'Habitat for Humanity'

I read the book ‘Love in the Mortar Joints’ by Mr.Millard Fuller, founder of Habitat for Humanity. I was really inspired on reading this, and though should share it with you.
Hope most of us have heard of this organisation. I was in the assumption that they involve volunteers to build houses for poor and then give it to them. It seems that there is a lack of important details in my assumption.
These people organise funds and build houses for poor – this of course is true. But they simply don’t give it to the poor, but they sell it to them. The house thus purchased by the poor has to be paid as loan for 20 years in small monthly instalments. The important think is that they are interest free loans (the Economics of Jesus at work – just as in the teachings of Bible or in any great religions like Hinduism or Islam). The money that comes back is again pooled in to build more houses for poor. Of course, there is inflation. But Fuller seems to be confident of getting enough funds to do this work.
My first enlightenment: I never thought micro-finance has got anything to do with this organisation, but I found mF forms the crux of their organisation. But in a more pure form.
The next enlightenment about the organisation that I got was that they are completely faith-based organisation. The founder Mr.Millard Fuller had literally taken the concepts in Bible as told by Jesus, and has been involved in serving the poor in ‘tangible’ ways. These are bunch of people trying to live a Christain living as in the teachings of Bible in more practical way; and they are not religious fanatics. Great isn’t it!
It was really inspiring for me!

Reading Masanobu Fukuoka's 'One Straw Revolution'... again...

It was after a long time that I got my hands on this revolutionary book. I first read this book in my college days – never realized then that it had transformed the lives of so many.The funny part is that I never got to know the ‘weight’ of the subject, when I first took that book from my college library. The habit I had then was to read those books that had really interesting names – that’s how I came to read ‘Good Work’ by E.F.Schumacher and the like. And that is how I got my hands on ‘One straw revolution.’One of the good things that I did in my life is to read this book, not only that I started noting down some interesting points from that book on to my diary. I still preserve those notes taken in my college. And this habit of taking notes started from Fukuoka’s book. Now, if there is anything at all that I did need appreciation, this is the one – taking notes in my diary.Now here on 2009, I once again got my hands on the book from a friend’s office library. I read through the book again. And it was refreshing.Here, I once again tried to take some quotes from Fukuoka that gave me some views that requires me of re-thinking and re-examination.So, here I present to you those quotes.‘I don’t particularly like the word ‘work’. Of all animals, human beings are the only animals who have to work to live…. And I think this is the most ridiculous thing in the world….’‘It would be good to give up that way of thinking and live an easy, comfortable life with plenty of free time.’‘For human beings, a life of such simplicity would be possible if one worked to produce directly his daily necessities. In such a life, work is not work as people generally think of it, but simply doing what needs to be done.’‘To move things in this direction is my goal.’
The last two sentences, for me, hit a sixer. What do you think of it…!