Cheating the DESERVED

This post is taken from SPY’s blog and is located here.

Often in our life we don’t know what we deserve. But that too comes to light once we start practicing things which are meant for the deserved. This is the point where we need to be wise enough to make the right decision and lead our life in the correct path. But this is the same point, I don’t know for what reason, where the human mentality drives the man crazy in the wrong path.

A little description about the environment at that situation would help us understand the radicals which affect our mind to take such drastic turn. At first a person aims at certain objective. This aiming can be done with various motives. Either he might think himself capable, knowingly or unknowingly. Or he is in a forcing situation where he needs to meet the objective.

Then he takes necessary steps to get the objective. During this process the human will come to know about his real ability. Now the person has four options.

i)If he realizes that he is well accustomed with the task, he starts practicing the task in a more promising way to attain the objective.

ii)If he realizes that he is not that much in line with the task but he is not in a forcing situation, he might leave the task not obtaining the aim.

iii)On the other hand if he is in a forcing situation and is not capable , he might try to make himself capable or

iv)he might find some shortcuts or crooked way to meet the objective.

If the person takes the first choice, he is correct and is in a correct path. This turns out to be a good one. Now consider the second option. It is when he gave a try, found out he is not he man for the job and give-up, go search for his correct path. This choice will surely help the person to find the right path some way or the other. He will surely be doing great in HIS task later. The third choice is volatile one. If the person is in a forcing situation then he tries hard to develop the skills needed to obtain the objective. During this process he might eventually end up developing real skills, so that he might take the first choice. Or knowing he will not be able to master the skill, he devises some shortcuts to obtain the objective. This last decision of making shortcuts is as stupendous as a suicide. He can surely attain the objective. What he doesn’t know is that in the future he will surely face a situation for which he is trained for and will not be successful. This choice can be illustrated by the decision made by a frustrated student. Knowing that he have taken the wrong turn in his career path, many students struggle hard and finally end up with no knowledge about the career and have knowledge only about some so-called “Techniques” with which they can do nothing.

The greatest of all the tragedies is, the truly deserved ones end with no opportunity. This leads to a chain of unfavourable actions. The wrong ones are chosen for a task where he might apply his crookedness to achieve his objective, which leads to degradation of the final output. This is not only a suicide but also a murder. The person is not only cheating himself but also the truly deserved ones. The person who has the true eligibility might sometimes miss his opportunity to succeed.

As quoted in a film, even the smallest decision might change your life. It not only changes yours. So be wise in following the correct path and lead a happy life.

 

Serenity by James Allen – Inspiring Story

I found this article in http://www.great-inspirational-quotes.com/ which is a repository of inspiring stories.

Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control. Its presence is an indication of ripened experience, and of a more than ordinary knowledge of the laws and operations of thought.

A person becomes calm in the measure that one understands themselves as a thought evolved being, for such knowledge necessitates the understanding of others as the result of thought, and as one develops a right understanding, and sees more and more clearly the internal relations of things by the action of cause and effect, one ceases to fuss and fume and worry and grieve, and remains poised, steadfast, serene.

The calm person, having learned how to govern themselves, knows how to adapt themselves to others; and they, in turn, reverence their spiritual strength, and feel that they can learn of them and rely upon them. The more tranquil a person becomes, the greater is their success, their influence, their power for good. Even the ordinary trader will find their business prosperity increase as one develops a greater self control and equanimity, for people will always prefer to deal with a person whose demeanor is strongly equable.

The strong, calm person is always loved and revered. They are like a shade-giving tree in a thirsty land, or a sheltering rock in a storm. Who does not love a tranquil heart, a sweet-tempered, balanced life? It does not matter whether it rains or shines, or what changes come to those possessing these blessings, for they are always sweet, serene, and calm. That exquisite poise of character which we call serenity is the last lesson of culture; it is the flowering of life, the fruitage of the soul. It is precious as wisdom, more to be desired than gold, than even fine gold. How insignificant mere money seeking looks in comparison with a serene life – a life that dwells in the ocean of truth, beneath the waves, beyond the reach of tempests, in the eternal calm!

How many people we know who sour their lives, who ruin all that is sweet and beautiful by explosive tempers, who destroy their poise of character, and make bad blood! It is a question whether the great majority of people do not ruin their lives and mar their happiness by lack of self-control flow few people we meet in life who are well-balanced, who have that exquisite poise which is characteristic of the finished character!

Yes, humanity surges with uncontrolled passion, is tumultuous with ungoverned grief, is blown about by anxiety and doubt. Only the wise man, only he whose thoughts are controlled and purified, makes the winds and the storms of the soul obey him.

Tempest-tossed souls, wherever you may be, under whatever conditions you may live, know this: In the ocean of life the isles of blessedness are smiling and the sunny shore of your ideal awaits your coming. Keep your hands firmly upon the helm of thought. In the core of your soul reclines the commanding Master; He does but sleep; wake Him. Self-control is strength. Right thought is mastery. Calmness is power. Say unto your heart, “Peace. Be still.”

James Allen
1864-1912, Author

 

The Start of the Exam season

Finally, the nightmares of having to spend three crucial hours in a classroom have started. The mere thought of battling a tough question paper is unnerving. It’s amazing to realize that despite going to college for three years, we feel the creeps of writing a University exam. It’s not that we don’t study or while away our free time in staring at beautiful locations in the city – it’s just that the University sets a ridiculous question paper which is so unpredictable at circumstances. For instance, the last semester exams, as I felt, was one of the most maddening of all the exams, particularly, the “Theory of Computation”. It’s no surprise that Anna University is ranked No.2 among the Universities in India. Preparing for examinations is an important aspect for any student, considering a vast and a vague syllabus of vacant subjects.

As the preparation starts a day or two before the exams, we wonder how difficult the question paper would be, considering the status of the University and the difficulties endorsed on us during the last semester. We curse our teachers for being irresponsible during the daily classes, for it was them, who made us sleep during their sessions. (Sorry Sir/Madam/Professor(s), if any of you is reading this post, and I mean absolutely no offense). Of course, they are not the only source of our hues and cries – there are so many reasons which can be enlisted infinitely, some of which are the IPL, and the forthcoming World Cup T20.

The IPL T20 was another major source of distraction for us, students, in that the Chennai Super Kings went on to win the finals. If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t have even watched the IPL. And the chatterbox would have shut it’s big mouth. To hell with it. Now, the World Cup T20 would start and the Indian team has already started for the Caribbean. Oh Man! They wouldn’t let us sleep a wink! What a pathetic situation for us, students. At this young age, with a mind of determination, we need to conquer this.

Finally, whatever the distractions are, whatever exam it is, we’ll fight back and conquer the University exams; after all, we didn’t choose the course for nothing. We’d give it everything we got and we’ll win!

All the best Friends. I pray the Almighty that everyone do well and get high marks! God is with us!

 

A Mother

I found this wonderful poem on Moallima’s Blog, CrystalsBouquet.

A lady who gives birth to an innocent life,
A lady who takes pains for her young life,
A lady who sacrifices her desirous mind,
A lady who sheds the tears of affection behind,
Of course is a Mother.

A lady who stands by always around her child,
A lady who feels the very essence of her child,
A lady who serves indeed without compensation,
A lady who is the only care taker one in a million,
Of course is a Mother.

A lady who is like a charm the luckiest,
A lady who shares the grieves very deepest,
A lady who absorbs all wounds so wisely,
A lady who teaches never to be wily,
Of course is a Mother.

A lady who never shirks her duty,
A lady whose deepest love is for eternity,
A lady who can listen to the heartaches,
A lady who whose patience never shakes,
Of course is a Mother.

A Mother is the most glorious blessing in this world,
A Mother is the tenderness of pearl so lustrous,
A Mother is the reality of the illusionary dream world,
A Mother is the symphony of a music so sensuous.

-Crystal

 

Kill the damn Indian Tigers

Credits to my friend A. Sebastian Nithyesh -> http://goo.gl/GWHz

Many of us would have read “The Jungle Book” by Rudyard Kipling. At least we would have heard about the story of Mowgli in our lower grades. Shere Khan, the tiger, is the lead villain role in the story. The story flows as follows “A family is attacked by tigers and in this war a baby escapes. This baby is taken care by a pack of wolves and grows with the pack. Due to its growth in such an environment, the baby, now a grown up, has extra-ordinary capabilities. The boy is adopted by a near- by villager and becomes a man”. Rudyard Kipling after his first book’s success wrote a series of books on Mowgli. Finally Mowgli is set to live in the village by the villagers in the last book of Rudyard Kipling. So let me finish the remaining story. Then Mowgli started taking revenge over the streak of tigers in the Indian sub-continent. He conducted large campaign in many villages and gave voice to kill all the Indian Tigers. He was very successful and many people responded to him. He used his sad lore to cover many people’s heart. He was very successful that he also changed many King’s hearts and made them hunt as many tigers as they can and also created the feeling in their heart that killing and preserving their hunt in a gallery is a pride.  This made a feeling in many Indians heart that killing animals expose their majesty and a hunted tiger marks their ultimate pride. Even after Mowgli’s death this feeling had deep roots in the minds of Indians. Century after Century, we plundered our national animal. We were also awarded by the foreign countries illegally (China – poaching). Then our government exhibited its interest towards Indian Tiger. It imposed many laws to protect that beast. Laws cannot be effective if not accepted and followed. But many followers of Mowgli in India (poachers) followed to poach tiger. They worked very hard day and night. They followed many techniques to reduce the population of the tigers. And they were successful.

Now there are only 1411 Indian tigers in our country. This is an awesome job by the poachers. There is no point in blaming only the poachers. Many priests still buy tiger’s skin for devotional purposes and they were not taken care by the government. The poachers cannot operate independently without the help of other people, who have arms and who have brain. So the process will not stop until the last Indian tiger sheds its blood. And I can see that day very near unless the government takes some serious changes. So where do we come in this scenario. Many may also ask ‘What harm we have done? What we can do for that?’. Our mind has the answer for every question we face. Normal citizens are the ones who affect our environment the worse. We damage our environment with a single weapon CO_2. All the ACs, car and all other things we already know affect not only our health but also our ecosystem. Destruction of forest not only means destruction of trees but also eventual death of wildlife. We, as usual, sit in our couch, and think what we can do for our wildlife, when our air-conditioner sways at the temperature of 18^o C. So let’s think hard and bring up ideas what we can do to conserve our wildlife. If we let this burning issue’ s fire cease then the next animal in the list of extinguished animal will appear and will be followed by many others finally by human beings. As a good citizen I have decided to do this:

Use bicycle inside my locality and the public transport for long-range travels. This doesn’t mean that I will not use motor-cycles. I surely will have them and I love one. But I won’t use it for general purpose. Once we go on a holiday trip or in case of any emergency I surely will put it in use. But I think using public transport for office would be great idea because fuel consumption and CO₂. Our tension would also be reduced. The only cost is maintaining coincidence with the transport timings and a little sacrifice.

_{-THE INVOLVEMENT OF “THE JUNGLE BOOK” IS JUST FOR MAKING THE POST INTERESTING.THE REMAINING STORY IS JUST AN IMAGINATION-}

 

Save our Tigers!

With just 1411 tigers remaining, it’s up to us to save these animals for the forthcoming generations. The national animal of India is about to die in large numbers – die slowly. If the number gets reducing at the rate it is, now, there’ll be no more tigers left to live. Tiger, I agree, is a wild animal and doesn’t bother to eat humans. But humans, who are in greater numbers, aimlessly kill these animals for the products obtained through these, like the tiger’s skin. Despite numerous laws imposed by the Government, it seems as though no one heeds, or more importantly, realizes the importance of protecting these animals.

Let us consider this formidable situation where, instead of humans, it is monkeys who are the most intelligent creatures in the earth and they, just like the humans, destroy the beautiful earth. While there are just about 1500 humans in a country like India, and the human species is about to become extinct, how would the world look like, to us? Not even sanctuaries, like the zoos are comforting.

I would strongly recommend everyone to watch this video

From around 40,000 at the turn of the last century, there are just 1411 tigers left in India. What started as a Royal Sport during the olden times is now a target of Poaching and Depleting Habitat. Our National Animal is fighting for its life!

The rich biodiversity and natural capital of India can be witnessed in the Tiger Sanctuaries. Knowledge of these sanctuaries helps build awareness for the cause.

Tiger Facts

From around 40,000 tigers at the turn of the last century, there are just 1411 tigers left in India. 2009 was the worst year for tigers in India, with 86 deaths reported. There are 37 Tiger sanctuaries in India. However, 17 sanctuaries are on the verge of losing their tiger population. Corbett National Park is the oldest tiger park in India. It was created in 1936 as ‘Hailey National Park’. The Kanha National Park’s lush sal and bamboo forests, grassy meadows and ravines provided inspiration to Rudyard Kipling for his famous novel, The Jungle Book.

Image taken from http://www.saveourtigers.com/KnowTheStoryTigerPark.php

 

Oscar beckons A.R. Rehman for the 2nd time

After making the entire world dance to his mellifluous tunes from Danny Boyle’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, Rehman makes America sit up and take notice yet again. After picking up 2 Oscars last year, Indian musical maestro A.R. Rehman has earned an Oscar nomination this time for a Hollywood flick ‘Couple’s Retreat’.

Rehman has been nominated in the shortlisted names of composers for the ‘Best Original Song’ category. The ‘Mozart of Madras’ has garnered adulations for his Tamil number ‘Na Na’ that’s very close to his heart as the song has been sung by Rehman’s 6-year old son Alim.

However, the final list of nominees will be declared on 2nd February and Rehman’s song is up for a healthy competition from 62 other songs. If, Rehman makes the cut, then the whole of India will once again watch with baited breath the unfolding of the 82nd Academy Awards on March 7th.

The song is available here

 

Being Gentle With Others

by Mara Windstar – Taken from http://www.shelovesgod.com/library/article.cfm?articleid=3441

Standing in the cereal aisle reaching for a box of cereal she hears a voice say, excuse me, please. Sounds polite enough. As she looks up she sees a woman with a grocery cart moving towards her and backs across the aisle so that the woman doesn’t have to stop. Seconds later she’s reaching for the same box of cereal when a male voice comes from the other direction same words, pattern of movement and again she steps back to let him through so that he doesn’t have to pause.

It’s three aisles later and she’s tapping four tomato sauce cans from the bottom shelf to the floor so that her Service Dog can pick them up for her, and an impatient voice startles her with COMING THROUGH! She backs up leaving two cans on the floor to come back to, as she see the woman’s grocery cart start to run into one of the cans. An abrupt cursing comes out of her mouth as the woman glares in disgust.

The produce aisle hardly yields persons any more patient than the rest of the store. She’s frustrated and angry, mostly with herself. She thinks, Why can’t I move faster? Why am I slower than everyone else? Why can’t they wait five seconds?

Having multiple disabilities, and invisible ones at that brings many day-to-day challenges. Tack on top of that the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. People are trying to shop on their lunch hours. People are rushing from place to place and trying to all park their cars as close as possible to the store. Then add into the equation something they had not planned for at all. To be interrupted for three to five seconds by someone who is slow. To be put in a situation to have to wait for a person with motor skills problems to write a check to the cashier. So how are you doing this holiday season? Are you feeling the pressures of time constraints? Are feeling that you can’t get everything done? Is time too short? Are the lines too long? Are life’s demands too high? Are you finding yourself feeling too slow for the rest of the world? Does it take you a little longer to do things than it takes other people? Do you have trouble getting your words out and find people have no time to wait and listen? Do you find that people are intolerant of your personal abilities?

Just how can we all go on about life during this season and somehow still manage to remain humane and better yet, gentle and loving towards one another and ourselves? Oh I honestly believe that it IS possible! Let’s just take a minute to think how we could do this, and just how much more time it would take.

Whichever side of the boat you are on, please do each of the following exercises. I promise they won’t take long. And the fact that you are taking the time to read this article shows that you want to slow down for at least a few minutes

Do you realize it takes less time to smile than it does to speak an entire line of words? Stand in front of your mirror for a moment. Now, smile at yourself for three seconds. I’m serious now…go do it! Next, frown while you are saying, “can’t you write that check any faster lady”, and at the same time tap your foot. How long did that take? How did you feel after each action? Was there one that made you either feel silly or made you laugh at yourself? Was there one that made you feel agitated and grumpy? Did either one take very long? Did either action change the speed of the clock?

Now, let’s say that you have poor motor skills and it takes you a few seconds to do something that takes many people one second. Someone is being impatient with you. First, look in the mirror and yell something back at them in anger and frustration. Next, look in the mirror, smile and say “hello there” or “Merry Christmas”. Did either action change how long it took you to accomplish the task? How did you feel after each response towards the other person and towards yourself?

So…what will you choose to do the next time you are shopping, are in a parking lot, or are simply driving to work? Will you rush, be impatient and tap your foot? Will you race across the parking lot and be frustrated with a slow pedestrian or someone backing out of a parking space? Will you be so impatient at a store that you growl at people for being in your way for more than two seconds? Will you grump and yell back at those impatient with you? Will you risk safety to pass a slow driver or beat a pedestrian crossing the road?

Or will you choose to be gentle with others and yourself?

For just one day try an experiment. For one day promise yourself you will be gentle. You will be gentle with others and yourself. You will smile instead of bark. You will breathe deeply or sing a song when you feel the anxiety coming over you of the time factor closing in on your being. You will smile at the person who is impatient. That evening, spend just three minutes writing down how it felt. Write how other people responded to you, but more importantly, how it felt inside of you to respond to others with a smile or kind word?

How do you want to feel at the end of your days? If you want gentle, peaceful evenings, then live gentler, peaceful days. If you want hectic, exhausting evenings, then be angry and frustrated all day. Time will go on and it doesn’t matter what you choose to do. Neither one will make time go any slower or any quicker.

I know that people write this sort of article every holiday season. I’m writing this article for EVERY season. Why? Because I was the person in the grocery store the other day that continually moved for those who had to be first and fastest. I was the person who was asked “Can’t you write that check any faster, lady?” To which I angrily replied, “NO! As a matter of fact I can’t!” And worse yet, I was the person years ago standing in line grunting, groaning and tapping my foot waiting for someone who was slow.

Today I’m trying to live the experiment every day. To be gentle with others even when they are impatient or slow. To be gentle with myself even when I am impatient or slow. So if you find yourself in the aisle behind me and you are in a rush, be prepared to stop your cart for two seconds while I get my item, give you a smile and move on. If you are behind me in line at the checkout while I s-l-o-w-l-y write my check and you tap your foot and ask me to hurry, be prepared for it to take a minute and please enjoy the smile I will send your way as I say “hi there!” or “Merry Christmas”.

 

Congrats, My Friend

It’s been a long time since I wrote a blog post of my own. Generally, I write my own posts only when it’s a special occasion. Here it is – the story that lies beneath. My friend, U. Vedhapuri, who sits on the same bench as mine, in college, has just qualified for the highly esteemed Microsoft Student Partner. I’ll tell you in a short while why it’s a highly esteemed post and why not only I, but the whole section of our Department, consider it as a pride.

Well, it all started when a very good friend of ours, our senior in college, Mr.Nandan Agarwal, a talented and eminent personality of our college, met us at an Engineering college in Chennai, for a National Level Technical Symposium. He informed us that Microsoft, the software giant, comes to our college once in a blue moon, to recruit candidates, who are eligible for representing them on behalf of their company.

The benefits? Free access to their technology and a higher scope of getting into Microsoft. In return, we would conduct workshops, seminars and discussions and be an active partner for Microsoft, whenever a new technology or a product was released.

So, he asked us to prepare for this in advance, so that when they do come, we’d be better equipped with the proper knowledge and competitive spirit to face this off. To be candid, I was interested at first and I thought of preparing for this event. That was 2008, a year when I didn’t know many things. Then came 2009, when I got to know a lot of things and gradually lost interest in Microsoft. I knew I wouldn’t make it anyway. But not Vedhapuri. He was quite different and he actively participated in Microsoft’s selection requirements and did a good job on making a video about XNA Game Studio.

He was selected by Microsoft for this and was interviewed through phone. He was asked a set of questions on general Microsoft interests which he correctly answered. Mind you, it’s not always that you find someone who can answer all of Microsoft’s questions. He did. He got selected as Microsoft’s Student Partner.

And that’s not all. The best thing about it is that Vedhapuri is the first student in almost five years to be selected from our college by Microsoft. He’s done us proud. Best of luck to your future endeavours!

Congrats Vedha!

P.S : Dude, when’s the treat?

 

Happy New Year!

The New Year is all about New year sms, mobile text messages, new year quotes, new year calendar, new year wallpapers, Scraps for orkut and facebook, parties, greetings, cards, shopping and many more.

People are searching the net for the list of New Year messages, SMS to send to their family, friends, boyfriend, girlfriend, colleagues, boss etc. They have already started sending the New year 2010 messages from their mobile phones.

Mentioned here is the list of some of the best, most popular latest sms, messages, scraps for the New Year 2010.

Beauty..
Freshness..
Dreams..
Truth..
Imagination..
Feeling..
Faith..
Trust..
This is beginning of a new year!
My best wishes for you!

Like birds, let us, leave behind what we don’t need to carry…
GRUDGES, SADNESS, PAIN, FEAR and REGRETS
Life is beautiful, Enjoy it.
Happy New Year

Tom Cruise
Angelina Jolie
Arnold
Jennifer Lopez
& me
All the Stars wish u a Very Happy New Year.

Oh my Dear, Forget ur Fear,
Let all ur Dreams be Clear,
Never put Tear, Please Hear,
I want to tell one thing in ur Ear
Wishing u a very “Happy NEW YEAR“!

Years come n go, but this year I specially wish 4 u a double dose of health n happiness, topped with fortune. Have a gr8 year ahead!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

In ‘The Universal Bank of God’…
God stores his blessings & deposited 365 days full of love, faith & happiness for you…
So, enjoy spending…
Happy New Year

New is d year,
New are d hopes
And d aspirations,
New is d resolution,
New are d spirits and
Forever my warm wishes are 4 u.
Hv a promising n fulfilling New Year

Years come n go, but this year I specially wish 4 u a double dose of health n happiness topped with loads of good fortune. Have a gr8 year ahead! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

New is the year, new are the hopes and the aspirations, new is the resolution, new are the spirits and forever my warm wishes are for u. Have a promising and fulfilling new year.