Mother Teresa once said and I quote:
"At the end of our lives, we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made or how many great things we have done. We will be judged by ‘I was hungry and you gave me to eat. I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless and you took me in. Hungry not only for bread-but hungry for love. Naked not only for clothing-but naked of human dignity and respect. Homeless not only for want of a room of bricks-but homeless because of rejection.”
Unquote.
Good morning…
Mahatma Gandhi has rightly said that the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. There are several divine and devoted ones who have laid down their lives to put someone else’s need before their own. The list includes Jesus Christ, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Dalai Lama… I could go on.
After His last supper here on earth, Jesus Christ sat with His disciples, knowing His mortal life would soon be taken. He knew that He would suffer for the sins of the world. He knew that one of His apostles would betray Him to the mob that would crucify Him. Though He must have felt the weight of all of these heavy thoughts, Jesus Christ humbly knelt and washed His disciples' feet before He left them.
The Son of God, who had lived a perfect life, had power to heal the sick and raise the dead, and change water to wine, performed this simple and lowly act of service. No one mightier or more worthy of devotion ever lived, but He knelt and cleansed the feet of His disciples. The Savior provided the perfect example of service. Every minute of His ministry here on earth was spent in service of His fellow human beings.
Mahatma Gandhi stands as one of history’s greatest heroes of “engaged spirituality,” that is active within the world to help heal injustice, hatred, pettiness, fear and violence.
Mother Teresa is famously referred to as the vocation of service. She gained worldwide acclaim with her tireless efforts on behalf of world peace. She was one of the pioneers of establishing homes for AIDS victims. For more than 45 years, Mother Teresa comforted the poor, the dying, and the unwanted around the world. She is stated to have said that earthly rewards were important only if they helped her help the world’s needy.
These stories tell us that service connects us to those we serve and gives us a kind of satisfaction that self-interest can never offer. Service happens in big ways and small, in public and in private, for friends and for strangers. It should be motivated by love. As Muhammad Ali said: “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
The Bard of Avon
It was in the year 1564
On the auspicious date April 23
Mary Arden, wife of John Shakespeare
Gave birth to thee
Shall I call thou a playwright?
Or shall poet be the name?
Or was it through thy marvellous acting
That thou rose to fame?
It began with historical dramas
Tragedies were thy cup of tea
Thou hath written romances
And penned down comedies
Non-dramatic works thou call them
154 sonnets they are
Infamous compositions indeed
Read near and far
Titania’s magic is enchanting
Shylock takes the spotlight
But most merry of them all
Is thy play ‘Twelfth Night’
Thy style of writing till date
Remains one of a kind
It creates powerful effects
And startles the audiences’ mind
Praising thy greatness
I can carry on
Perhaps that is why thou are known
As the Bard of Avon
Shall we celebrate it as thy birthday
Or thy death day shall it be
For thou left for thy heavenly abode
On April 23
Immortal thou are
An inspiration for many
In our hearts oh mighty Shakespeare
Forever thou shall be
On the auspicious date April 23
Mary Arden, wife of John Shakespeare
Gave birth to thee
Shall I call thou a playwright?
Or shall poet be the name?
Or was it through thy marvellous acting
That thou rose to fame?
It began with historical dramas
Tragedies were thy cup of tea
Thou hath written romances
And penned down comedies
Non-dramatic works thou call them
154 sonnets they are
Infamous compositions indeed
Read near and far
Titania’s magic is enchanting
Shylock takes the spotlight
But most merry of them all
Is thy play ‘Twelfth Night’
Thy style of writing till date
Remains one of a kind
It creates powerful effects
And startles the audiences’ mind
Praising thy greatness
I can carry on
Perhaps that is why thou are known
As the Bard of Avon
Shall we celebrate it as thy birthday
Or thy death day shall it be
For thou left for thy heavenly abode
On April 23
Immortal thou are
An inspiration for many
In our hearts oh mighty Shakespeare
Forever thou shall be
Sunday, 13 March 2011
Imagination
Where the seas are red
And the trees are blue
Where peace is more
And wars are few
That is my imagination!
The birds swim
And fish fly
Where only love exists
No one will cry
That is my imagination!
Let us make
This peaceful land
Across the oceans
And the sea
Tranquility will be achieved
With our determination
This is my imagination!
And the trees are blue
Where peace is more
And wars are few
That is my imagination!
The birds swim
And fish fly
Where only love exists
No one will cry
That is my imagination!
Let us make
This peaceful land
Across the oceans
And the sea
Tranquility will be achieved
With our determination
This is my imagination!
Imagination
Là, les mers sont rouges
Et les arbres sont bleus
Là, la paix est plus
Et les guerres sont peu
C'est mon imagination
Les oiseaux nagent
Et les poissons volent
Où seul l'armour existe
Personne ne va pleurer
C'est mon imagination
Laissez-nous faire
Cette calme terre
à travers l'ocean
Et la mer
Tranquillité sera atteint
Avec notre determination
C'est mon imagination
Et les arbres sont bleus
Là, la paix est plus
Et les guerres sont peu
C'est mon imagination
Les oiseaux nagent
Et les poissons volent
Où seul l'armour existe
Personne ne va pleurer
C'est mon imagination
Laissez-nous faire
Cette calme terre
à travers l'ocean
Et la mer
Tranquillité sera atteint
Avec notre determination
C'est mon imagination
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
My little boy!
It seems like only yesterday
When I held you in my hand
And held your little fingers
As we walked on the golden sand
Then you entered the school gates
I was more scared than you
Soon time spent in school became more
And hours spent with me became few
Now you know your colors
And you know your ABC’s
You can make Hindi sentences
And are well versed with 1, 2, 3’s
You brush your teeth by yourself
You have learnt to tie your shoe
You do those little chores yourself
That earlier, I used to do for you
When I see your bubbling laughter
My heart fills with joy
Though you will soon grow up
You will always be, my little boy!
When I held you in my hand
And held your little fingers
As we walked on the golden sand
Then you entered the school gates
I was more scared than you
Soon time spent in school became more
And hours spent with me became few
Now you know your colors
And you know your ABC’s
You can make Hindi sentences
And are well versed with 1, 2, 3’s
You brush your teeth by yourself
You have learnt to tie your shoe
You do those little chores yourself
That earlier, I used to do for you
When I see your bubbling laughter
My heart fills with joy
Though you will soon grow up
You will always be, my little boy!
Thursday, 13 January 2011
Vijaya Lakshmi pandit
The status of women in India has been subject to many great changes over the past few years, actually, over the past few millennia. From equal status with men in ancient times through the low points of the medieval period, to the promotion of equal rights by many reformers, the history of women in India has been eventful.
Yes it’s true that Medieval India was not women's age. It is supposed to be the 'dark age' for them. Medieval India saw many foreign conquests, which resulted in the decline in women's status. The status of women in modern India is a sort of a paradox. If on one hand she is at the peak of ladder of success, on the other hand she is mutely suffering the family violence.
As compared with past, women in modern times have achieved a lot. Women have left the secured domain of their home and are now in the battlefield of life, fully armored with their talent. They are proving themselves.
The plight of women in medieval India and at the starting of modern India can be summed up in the words of great poet Rabindranath Tagore:
"O Lord! Why have you not given woman the right to conquer her destiny?
Why does she have to wait head bowed,
By the roadside, Waiting with tired patience,
Hoping for a miracle in the morrow?"
When we hear “Indian women who have brought a change in our country”, the names that may pop into most of our heads are Jhansi ki Rani, Indira Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Kiran Bedi, Kalpana Chawla, Saina Nehwal, Medha Patkar, Aishwariya Rai Bachchan, Lata Mangehkar, Arundhati Roy, Prathiba Patil… But what about names like Bachendri Pal- the first Indian woman to climb the Mt.Everest, or Justice M.Fatima Beevi- the first woman judge of the supreme court of India or perhaps Harita Kaur Deol- first Indian woman pilot in the Indian Air Force on a solo fight.
Names like Kamaljit Sandhu- first Indian woman to win a gold in the Asian Games or Punita Arora- the first woman in the Indian Army to don the highest rank of Lieutenant General, do not really strike us. We must not forget that Indian women are not lagging behind men but have reached and even proved themselves better suited in each and every height and pinnacle that men have.
If I am asked to tell about a woman who has been an agent of change in my community or country, I could go on, as the list is endless. Whether it is in the field of sports or in the political front, in literature or in the sphere of art and entertainment, Indian women have mastered anything and everything which a woman can dream of. They participate in all activities such as education, media, art and culture, service sectors, science and technology, etc. It is not merely about names by which I shall support my argument. Statistics of 2009-2010 have shown that a total of 276,806 women were enrolled in engineering and technology courses at the start of the academic session. This shows that women have broken yet another glass ceiling- one of the most resilient ones in Indian academics.
However the woman I would like to mention is an eminent personality yet remains unknown to many people. She has been in politics, she was the aunt of the first woman prime minister of India- Indira Gandhi, and has held the post that no woman in the world ever had held, and till date no Indian has either.
When Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa was appointed President of the sixty-first session of the UN General Assembly, she became only the third woman to occupy the prestigious post. The first woman (and first Indian) president of the United Nations General Assembly, in 1953 was Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit. She was the President of the eighth session. Since then, only two more women have held that prestigious post namely Angie Elisabeth Brooks of Liberia and Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa of Bahrain. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit spoke against apartheid and in favour of world peace.
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit was born in Allahabad on August 18, 1900 and was given the name Swarup Kumari ("Beautiful Princess") Nehru. She was the eldest daughter of a distinguished Brahmin lawyer, Motilal Nehru and his wife, Swarup Rani Nehru. She was eleven years younger than her brother, Jawaharlal Nehru.
She is not known as Jawaharlal’s sister, but for being elected a member of the Legislative Assembly of the United Provinces in 1937. Not only that, she also became Minister for Local Self-Government and Public Health, the position which she held till her party resigned from office in 1939. She was President of the All-India Women's Conference from 1941 to 1943 and was the founder and President of the All-India Save the Children.
She was arrested in her mid-thirties during British rule and sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment for presiding over a crowded public meeting where the Independence pledge was taken. This was the first of her three imprisonments.
Following India's independence from the British in 1947 she entered the diplomatic service and became India's first ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1947 to 1949, the United States and Mexico from 1949 to 1951, Ireland from 1955 to 1961 (during which time she was also the Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom), and Spain from 1958 to 1961. Between 1946 and 1968 she also headed the Indian delegation to the United Nations. She also led India’s first Goodwill Mission to China.
Her brother’s death on May 27, 1964 came as a great shock to her. In India, she served as governor of Maharashtra from 1962 to 1964, after which she was elected to the Indian Lok Sabha from Phulpur, her brother's former constituency. She held office from 1964 to 1968. In 1979 she was appointed the Indian representative to the UN Human Rights Commission, after which she retired from public life.
When Indira Gandhi, niece of Mrs. Pandit, was appointed Prime Minister of India in 1965, she became one of the first Heads of Government for an Asian country, continuing the tradition of Sri Lanka’s Sirimavo R.D. Bandaranaike, who became the first woman Prime Minister in 1960. Pandit was a harsh critic of her niece Indira Gandhi. Furious at Indira Gandhi’s state-of-emergency suspension of democratic processes from 1975 to 1977, she campaigned against her niece. Her efforts resulted in an electoral defeat for Gandhi.
She died on December 1, 1990 at Dehradun. Vijaya Lakshmi used to say that none should mourn her death as she had lived long. Her family members took her word to heart and at Sangam instead of mourning her death they celebrated her life. On the occasion of her death, President Ramaswami Venkataraman described Pandit as a ‘luminous strand in the tapestry of India's freedom struggle.”
Her presence can be felt even today. Her daughter Nayantara Sahgal is a wonderful novelist. Gita Sahgal, the writer and journalist on issues of feminism, fundamentalism, and racism, director of prize-winning documentary films, and human rights activist, is her grand-daughter.
Pandit's own writings include So I Became a Minister (1939); Prison Days (1946); The Evolution of India (1958) and The Scope of Happiness: A Personal Memoir (1979).
Mrs. Pandit was a trailblazer in women’s rights in India, laying precedent for future generations of empowered women in the civil and governmental services. According to her, politics is a mean of social economic reform which strengthens human rights and empowers women. She was against monopoly of power by one family. Distinctive in her elegance, courage, and dedication, Mrs. Pandit was an asset to the national movement. She had great will power. She was courageous in her agonizing situations and led her life triumphantly. Her life was an example which all humanity should follow. A famous quote taken from her life is "The more we sweat in peace the less we bleed in war."
There is thus no doubt that we are in the midst of a great revolution in the history of women. The evidence is everywhere; the voice of women is increasingly heard in Parliament, courts and in the streets. Now that women of India are emerging in every aspect of life, I feel much more proud to say that I am an Indian. And even though I will not be able to excel to the extent Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit has, I hope I too will be a crusader in the journey of change for my country India and perform to my fullest.
The desire of Indian women can be best summed up in the following lines of 'Song of an African Women':
I have only one request.
I do not ask for money
Although I have need of it,
I do not ask for meat . . .
I have only one request,
And all I ask is
That you remove
The road block
From my path.
No matter what one says, it can be rightly said, hats off to the ladies…
Yes it’s true that Medieval India was not women's age. It is supposed to be the 'dark age' for them. Medieval India saw many foreign conquests, which resulted in the decline in women's status. The status of women in modern India is a sort of a paradox. If on one hand she is at the peak of ladder of success, on the other hand she is mutely suffering the family violence.
As compared with past, women in modern times have achieved a lot. Women have left the secured domain of their home and are now in the battlefield of life, fully armored with their talent. They are proving themselves.
The plight of women in medieval India and at the starting of modern India can be summed up in the words of great poet Rabindranath Tagore:
"O Lord! Why have you not given woman the right to conquer her destiny?
Why does she have to wait head bowed,
By the roadside, Waiting with tired patience,
Hoping for a miracle in the morrow?"
When we hear “Indian women who have brought a change in our country”, the names that may pop into most of our heads are Jhansi ki Rani, Indira Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Kiran Bedi, Kalpana Chawla, Saina Nehwal, Medha Patkar, Aishwariya Rai Bachchan, Lata Mangehkar, Arundhati Roy, Prathiba Patil… But what about names like Bachendri Pal- the first Indian woman to climb the Mt.Everest, or Justice M.Fatima Beevi- the first woman judge of the supreme court of India or perhaps Harita Kaur Deol- first Indian woman pilot in the Indian Air Force on a solo fight.
Names like Kamaljit Sandhu- first Indian woman to win a gold in the Asian Games or Punita Arora- the first woman in the Indian Army to don the highest rank of Lieutenant General, do not really strike us. We must not forget that Indian women are not lagging behind men but have reached and even proved themselves better suited in each and every height and pinnacle that men have.
If I am asked to tell about a woman who has been an agent of change in my community or country, I could go on, as the list is endless. Whether it is in the field of sports or in the political front, in literature or in the sphere of art and entertainment, Indian women have mastered anything and everything which a woman can dream of. They participate in all activities such as education, media, art and culture, service sectors, science and technology, etc. It is not merely about names by which I shall support my argument. Statistics of 2009-2010 have shown that a total of 276,806 women were enrolled in engineering and technology courses at the start of the academic session. This shows that women have broken yet another glass ceiling- one of the most resilient ones in Indian academics.
However the woman I would like to mention is an eminent personality yet remains unknown to many people. She has been in politics, she was the aunt of the first woman prime minister of India- Indira Gandhi, and has held the post that no woman in the world ever had held, and till date no Indian has either.
When Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa was appointed President of the sixty-first session of the UN General Assembly, she became only the third woman to occupy the prestigious post. The first woman (and first Indian) president of the United Nations General Assembly, in 1953 was Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit. She was the President of the eighth session. Since then, only two more women have held that prestigious post namely Angie Elisabeth Brooks of Liberia and Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa of Bahrain. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit spoke against apartheid and in favour of world peace.
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit was born in Allahabad on August 18, 1900 and was given the name Swarup Kumari ("Beautiful Princess") Nehru. She was the eldest daughter of a distinguished Brahmin lawyer, Motilal Nehru and his wife, Swarup Rani Nehru. She was eleven years younger than her brother, Jawaharlal Nehru.
She is not known as Jawaharlal’s sister, but for being elected a member of the Legislative Assembly of the United Provinces in 1937. Not only that, she also became Minister for Local Self-Government and Public Health, the position which she held till her party resigned from office in 1939. She was President of the All-India Women's Conference from 1941 to 1943 and was the founder and President of the All-India Save the Children.
She was arrested in her mid-thirties during British rule and sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment for presiding over a crowded public meeting where the Independence pledge was taken. This was the first of her three imprisonments.
Following India's independence from the British in 1947 she entered the diplomatic service and became India's first ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1947 to 1949, the United States and Mexico from 1949 to 1951, Ireland from 1955 to 1961 (during which time she was also the Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom), and Spain from 1958 to 1961. Between 1946 and 1968 she also headed the Indian delegation to the United Nations. She also led India’s first Goodwill Mission to China.
Her brother’s death on May 27, 1964 came as a great shock to her. In India, she served as governor of Maharashtra from 1962 to 1964, after which she was elected to the Indian Lok Sabha from Phulpur, her brother's former constituency. She held office from 1964 to 1968. In 1979 she was appointed the Indian representative to the UN Human Rights Commission, after which she retired from public life.
When Indira Gandhi, niece of Mrs. Pandit, was appointed Prime Minister of India in 1965, she became one of the first Heads of Government for an Asian country, continuing the tradition of Sri Lanka’s Sirimavo R.D. Bandaranaike, who became the first woman Prime Minister in 1960. Pandit was a harsh critic of her niece Indira Gandhi. Furious at Indira Gandhi’s state-of-emergency suspension of democratic processes from 1975 to 1977, she campaigned against her niece. Her efforts resulted in an electoral defeat for Gandhi.
She died on December 1, 1990 at Dehradun. Vijaya Lakshmi used to say that none should mourn her death as she had lived long. Her family members took her word to heart and at Sangam instead of mourning her death they celebrated her life. On the occasion of her death, President Ramaswami Venkataraman described Pandit as a ‘luminous strand in the tapestry of India's freedom struggle.”
Her presence can be felt even today. Her daughter Nayantara Sahgal is a wonderful novelist. Gita Sahgal, the writer and journalist on issues of feminism, fundamentalism, and racism, director of prize-winning documentary films, and human rights activist, is her grand-daughter.
Pandit's own writings include So I Became a Minister (1939); Prison Days (1946); The Evolution of India (1958) and The Scope of Happiness: A Personal Memoir (1979).
Mrs. Pandit was a trailblazer in women’s rights in India, laying precedent for future generations of empowered women in the civil and governmental services. According to her, politics is a mean of social economic reform which strengthens human rights and empowers women. She was against monopoly of power by one family. Distinctive in her elegance, courage, and dedication, Mrs. Pandit was an asset to the national movement. She had great will power. She was courageous in her agonizing situations and led her life triumphantly. Her life was an example which all humanity should follow. A famous quote taken from her life is "The more we sweat in peace the less we bleed in war."
There is thus no doubt that we are in the midst of a great revolution in the history of women. The evidence is everywhere; the voice of women is increasingly heard in Parliament, courts and in the streets. Now that women of India are emerging in every aspect of life, I feel much more proud to say that I am an Indian. And even though I will not be able to excel to the extent Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit has, I hope I too will be a crusader in the journey of change for my country India and perform to my fullest.
The desire of Indian women can be best summed up in the following lines of 'Song of an African Women':
I have only one request.
I do not ask for money
Although I have need of it,
I do not ask for meat . . .
I have only one request,
And all I ask is
That you remove
The road block
From my path.
No matter what one says, it can be rightly said, hats off to the ladies…
Tuesday, 28 December 2010
A change in the air
On the snow bed
I can hear
Carol singers
Far and near
young children
With caps on their head
Singing songs
On the snowy bed
The Christmas tree
With its star so bright
Guiding all
On this wintry night
children are merry
Full of joy and glee
Singing songs
Under the Christmas tree
Forgive your foes
Make new friends
its the day to give
The day to lend
Hung at the door
Are those cute miseltoes
All shall be peace
When you, forgive your foes
Its the time for celebration
The time to rejoice
Close your eyes
Hear the angel's voice
Well wishes to all
with a cup of good cheer
Merry Christmas to all
And to all, A very happy new year!!!
I can hear
Carol singers
Far and near
young children
With caps on their head
Singing songs
On the snowy bed
The Christmas tree
With its star so bright
Guiding all
On this wintry night
children are merry
Full of joy and glee
Singing songs
Under the Christmas tree
Forgive your foes
Make new friends
its the day to give
The day to lend
Hung at the door
Are those cute miseltoes
All shall be peace
When you, forgive your foes
Its the time for celebration
The time to rejoice
Close your eyes
Hear the angel's voice
Well wishes to all
with a cup of good cheer
Merry Christmas to all
And to all, A very happy new year!!!
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