The Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum

            

“Women always had ambition – but the opportunity has blossomed slowly.”

Gender disparity has been a concern from time immemorial. Gender and cultural notions of gender have evolved constantly. From the time, when popular images depicted women as decorative and sensitive creatures, to now, when women have taken over the positions of CEOs, gender and the idea of it has been moulded and reshaped, time and again, to deal with the social needs. There was a time when people felt these divisions and definitions of gender are natural and normal but we are now, in an era, where women are seen as the agents of social justice and social change. It is considered that without women’s emancipation there would be no social progress. Yes, the Gender agenda is gaining momentum.

Yes, the gender agenda is gaining momentum and it is showing its impact in almost every field. Where law is implementing stringent norms to prevent the injustice, the women are also not staying behind in depicting their excellence in every field, be it business, politics, entrepreneurship or any other so called “masculine” or male dominated field like military. World War II saw the participation of women in military. The eternal association of women to delicacy and beauty has evolved time to association of women to power and success.

From women on home front, women went on to work. Where in the past, great women like Madam Curie and Mother Teresa have left impressions on the walls of honour by their significant achievements and steps towards emancipation of women, today also there are women leading the world to new changes. Be it, Ms. Aung San Suuu Kyi on the political front or Ms. Oprah Winfrey as an exemplary figure on media front, women are making an impact. Within the country, also examples aren’t few. Today, look around anywhere, there is an Indian woman in the pursuit of entrepreneurial dream. Smt. Sheila Dikshit stands as Chief Minister and we have had the women President as Ms. Pratibha Devi Singh Patil. Ms. Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi talks about breaking the glass ceiling and has made India proud by her excellence as CEO of PepsiCo. Also, there are girls who have the freedom of dreaming to be one of the above mentioned or the next Sania Mirza. The women are achieving and rising. Yes, the gender agenda is gaining momentum.   

The notion of physical might has been replaced with intellect, art, culture and invention. Today, the powerful women don’t need hair does and make-up to speak for them. They are intelligent, aware and rather than just being objects of change, they are now becoming the agents of change. Everywhere you look, women are in the pursuit of their dreams. They are more ambitious and are talking about building business not just earning income. Yes, they are the leading entrepreneurs. They are asking questions on economic fronts and shaping the Austerity policies. Diane Elson is warning women to start questioning the economic reforms and Indra Nooyi is talking about breaking the glass ceiling. Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg is trying to introduce a social movement by her book on breaking the glass ceiling. Yes, the gender agenda is not just gaining momentum but also showing results.              

But what are the factors that have led to this change and where will the women be in the next 5 years?

 Over time and distance, the equal rights of women have progressed. Laws have been amended to get more stringent against any injustice against women. Opportunities have been scaled up to provide a growth environment. Media, social platforms, movies and NGOs, all are working to protect the rights of women. Studies are conducted on regular basis and bodies like UNESCO work to show the progress internationally. Media poses questions and there is pressure built to protect the rights. There are reservations to protect the rights of women and countries are now rated based on how well they are protecting the rights of women and leading to their progress. Policy changes have been implemented and women are getting the much needed liberty and they are showing results through their excellence. Their excellence is being celebrated with proper vigilance for their further progress. Any action against women is considered seriously and even misogynistic remarks are not tolerated. The world acknowledges women and respects them. Yes, the gender agenda is gaining momentum.

Looking at it globally, five years back, the world hadn’t heard of many female billionaires. The United States had never had a viable female candidate for president and the Republicans had never had a female VP on their presidential ticket. The world had never heard of an octomom nor had they heard of a woman winning an Oscar as best director. But today the world knows Ms. Mr. Marissa Mayer, Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Nadya Suleman and Kathryn Bigelow and respects them.

So the next five years can have a lot in store:

·         U.S. would have seen a woman President

·         Threat to women’s healthcare would be a thing of past

·         More number of women would be seen in the higher management positions

·          World would see more number of women billionaires

·          Women like Kathryn Bigelow would become a norm on the film industry rather than an exception

·         Almost every sphere would see more women participation and excellence

·         When you’d be about to start a new day of your work, thinking about your dreams, you would have a woman in each sphere to guide your dream and be the role model.

Yes, the story of Marissa Mayer would be the story of many young girls who would dream, innovate and achieve in the future. They would be smart, stylish, business-savvy, and representative of diverse array of background and interests. Yes, they would achieve because society would let them do so. The social norms would not hold them so stringently and they would lead a life lot more liberally for their own and the society’s progress. Yes, the world would see many successful women. Yes, the gender agenda that is gaining momentum today would have an impact in changing lives of lot of young girls out there who have the aspirations to make it big. Yes, few of them have made it big in past and many of them would make it bigger and better with their hardwork in the future. Yes, the world would see these role models who would prove that it is possible to be family oriented, ambitious and successful all while being a well-dressed and well-spoken woman. The glass ceiling would be completely broken and women would live in a much free, emancipated world.

Yes, these changes instill the hope as the gender agenda gains momentum but we need to be vigilant as to what still needs a change. Now what is required is to go beyond meeting women’s basic needs to amplifying their voices as right-holders. The plight of women needs special attention in developing or under-developed countries, in lower castes, among the economically weaker sections. The policy changes to ensure education rights, work, healthcare facilities and the ones that lead to empowerment need to be implemented. They need to be empowered to decision making levels where they can voice their opinion and bring about the change. There’s a need for some changes in the corporate policies to make organizations’ environment more suitable for women. A survey of professional women shows there is a major barrier that is preventing women’s movement in their ladder of career growth. Inclusion of flexible working hours, safe transport facilities, medical benefits, compensatory leaves, maternity benefits are central to the idea of empowering women. All this needs to be done as she is going to be instrumental in defining development and real change in the times to come. Keeping the ground realities and such evidences in mind, global development goals should be framed to ensure that success comes to women. This will let them show their hidden potentials and prove to the world that yes, they are meant to shine and they would shine.

So, yes as the gender agenda gains momentum, more and more women grow up to fulfill their dreams, actions at each one’s individual level, will empower them more and give wings to their dreams. I wish to close this by re-iterating the statement with which I opened:

“Women always had ambition – but the opportunity has blossomed slowly,

Now is the time to use this opportunity to make women rise completely.”

Knowing the world!

It's 4 in the morning and I am "not-at-all" sleepy. It's actually quite normal since I'm comparatively free these days and I have time all to myself. As expected, it feels great to be at your leisure and while away time. It is just fantastic!

Btw, the purpose of this post was not to tell you all this. The purpose is to portray the real-emotional self of this so quoted "ambitious" blogger, who is trying to figure out what's with this world? Why does it seem so shallow at times? Where is the gap?

Sometimes I feel I should re-name this blog to "the poet/the writter-dikshabajaj.blogspot.com". Anyway, I guess I should leave apart all this and actually come to the point.

So, as you all see the title- "Knowing the world", what comes to your mind? Well, I don't know! How did you expect me to? There can be no telepathy here! Anyway, what comes to my(read with a drawl) mind is - a lot of stuff. I've been living in a hostel, out of my comfortable cocoon(my home sweet home) for a long time now(it's been an year) and have got a good amount of understanding(I'd like to believe) about the world around. So there are a lot of aspects I wish to share.

First one that comes to my mind is the fact that "Everyone is good at heart." Trust me and skip the paragraph or read on if you need the logic. So you are reading, fine! Let me go on then. Everyone is good - Even the person who calls you a bitch/even the person who wishes bad about you/even the one who's "termed as" terrorist. The person who bitched about you was just frustrated and wanted to let go off her anger and you were the target. "That is it!". She doesn't consider you a bitch, she doesn't hate you, she just hasn't spent time with you/discovered you are great at heart and hence you are the target of her anger. The person who wishes bad about you. She is just passing through a trough in the curve of her life and thus is being insecure. She's being jealous, let her be. DONOT revert back with a similar attitude. DONOT freak out. It doesn't mean she's bad. She is just being immature. She lacks understanding of life, you hold on to yours. The person "termed as" terrorist. You have no clue what circumstances he had. You have no clue what made him bad. This brings me to my second point: Stop judging!

"Stop judging" people when you don't know(understand) them. Stop judging people, when they act weird. Stop judging people, when they don't understand you. Stop judging people by little-little incidents. These incidents are not important, don't make them important. If are making them important then you lack the vision to make a judgement, So, stop blaming others for that.

"Everybody is a unique creation of God" and has(without a doubt) got some really unique talent. So, this brings out the next point. "Stop being jealous", rather find out yours. You fail at doing that? Alright don't freak out, it's human! But learn to conquer! Not others but your thoughts! That is more important.

"Learn to stay the way you are, stop being someone else" You're made unique, you have a choice stay unique/ be a commoner. What do you want? Now come on, nobody wants to be a commoner, I know. So learn!

"Love yourself" Why? The answer is really simple. If you can not love yourself, how can somebody else? Let the busy person in your life walk away(infact leave her) as you have so many who love you with all they have, so why not think of them rather than wasting time giving importance to the extras? Dance when you want! Live "your" own special self! Shout! Speak a lot! Those who don't like don't understand you and ones who understand(the closed ones) would never dislike. Speak wrong words, wrong English at times but don't care because you know where you were incorrect and let the other one have fun out of nothing. Be stupid! Be a kid! No matter what it takes, just be yourself.

Alright, enough of lessons for now. I told you right at the top, skip the paragraphs, just read the headings but you read the entire thing, right? I so knew! :P Never mind, with my articles it happens, It's really not your fault. :D I hope you got it, I'm about sign off, so take care, stay happy because you know what You are "THE BEST" (if you believe you are :P ) Adios! See you soon! :)




RELATED:
‎'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'
One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean he was really friendly.

So I asked, ‘Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!’

This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call ‘The Law of the Garbage Truck.’

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they’ll dump it on you. Don’t take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don’t take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.
Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so…… ‘Love the people who treat you right. Forgive the ones who don’t.’

Some wonderful stuff!

Steve Jobs' Convocation Speech (Stanford)

Delivered 12 June 2005, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA

Thank you.

I'm honored to be with you today for your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. Truth be told, I never graduated from college, and this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today, I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots. I dropped out of Reed College after the first six months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking, "We've got an unexpected baby boy; Do you want him?" They said, "Of course." My biological mother found out later that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would go to college. This was the start in my life.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life.

So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out okay. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked far more interesting. It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms. I returned coke bottles for the five cent deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the seven miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at

the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on.

Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the "Mac" would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it's likely that no personal computer would have them.

If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on that calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college.But it was very, very clear looking backwards 10 years later.Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the wellworn path, and that will make all the difference.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz¹ and I started Apple in my parents' garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a two billion dollar company with over 4000 employees. We'd just released our finest creation the Macintosh a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. And so at 30, I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating. I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down --that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me: I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over. I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT; another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the world's first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, and I retuned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together. I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometime life sometimes life's going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking and --don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking don't settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I've looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something. Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for "prepare to die."It means to try and tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes. I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and, thankfully, I'm fine now. This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope it's the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept: No one wants to die.

Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It's Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it's quite true. Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalogue, which was one of the "bibles" of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with

his poetic touch. This was in the late 60s, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and Polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along. It was idealistic, overflowing with neat tools and great notions. Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words:

"Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish."

It was their farewell message as they signed off.

Stay

Hungry.

Stay

Foolish.

And I've always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin a new, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry.

Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much.

and this-

Chetan Bhagat’s speech at Symbiosis

Following is the speech by Chetan Bhagat given at the orientation programme for the new batch of MBA students at Symbiosis, Pune.

Good Morning everyone and thank you for giving me this chance to speak to you. This day is about you. You, who have come to this college, leaving the comfort of your homes (or in some cases discomfort), to become something in your life. I am sure you are excited. There are few days in human life when one is truly elated. The first day in college is one of them. When you were getting ready today, you felt a tingling in your stomach. What would the auditorium be like, what would the teachers be like, who are my new classmates – there is so much to be curious about. I call this excitement, the spark within you that makes you feel truly alive today. Today I am going to talk about keeping the spark shining. Or to put it another way, how to be happy most, if not all the time.

Where do these sparks start? I think we are born with them. My 3-year old twin boys have a million sparks. A little Spiderman toy can make them jump on the bed. They get thrills from creaky swings in the park. A story from daddy gets them excited. They do a daily countdown for birthday party – several months in advance – just for the day they will cut their own birthday cake.

I see students like you, and I still see some sparks. But when I see older people, the spark is difficult to find. That means as we age, the spark fades. People whose spark has faded too much are dull, dejected, aimless and bitter. Remember Kareena in the first half of Jab We Met vs the second half? That is what happens when the spark is lost. So how to save the spark?

Imagine the spark to be a lamp’s flame. The first aspect is nurturing – to give your spark the fuel, continuously. The second is to guard against storms.

To nurture, always have goals. It is human nature to strive, improve and achieve full potential. In fact, that is success. It is what is possible for you. It isn’t any external measure – a certain cost to company pay package, a particular car or house.

Most of us are from middle class families. To us, having material landmarks is success and rightly so. When you have grown up where money constraints force everyday choices, financial freedom is a big achievement. But it isn’t the purpose of life. If that was the case, Mr. Ambani would not show up for work. Shah Rukh Khan would stay at home and not dance anymore. Steve Jobs won’t be working hard to make a better iPhone, as he sold Pixar for billions of dollars already. Why do they do it? What makes them come to work everyday? They do it because it makes them happy. They do it because it makes them feel alive Just getting better from current levels feels good. If you study hard, you can improve your rank. If you make an effort to interact with people, you will do better in interviews. If you practice, your cricket will get better. You may also know that you cannot become Tendulkar, yet. But you can get to the next level. Striving for that next level is important.

Nature designed with a random set of genes and circumstances in which we were born. To be happy, we have to accept it and make the most of nature’s design. Are you? Goals will help you do that. I must add, don’t just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order.

There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.

You must have read some quotes – Life is a tough race, it is a marathon or whatever. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of those races in nursery school, where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die.

One last thing about nurturing the spark – don’t take life seriously. One of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One student asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga practice. The teacher said – don’t be serious, be sincere. This quote has defined my work ever since. Whether its my writing, my job, my relationships or any of my goals. I get thousands of opinions on my writing everyday. There is heaps of praise, there is intense criticism. If I take it all seriously, how will I write? Or rather, how will I live? Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It’s ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices.

I’ve told you three things – reasonable goals, balance and not taking it too seriously that will nurture the spark. However, there are four storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the flame. These must be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration, unfairness and loneliness of purpose.

Disappointment will come when your effort does not give you the expected return. If things don’t go as planned or if you face failure. Failure is extremely difficult to handle, but those that do come out stronger. What did this failure teach me? is the question you will need to ask. You will feel miserable. You will want to quit, like I wanted to when nine publishers rejected my first book. Some IITians kill themselves over low grades – how silly is that? But that is how much failure can hurt you. But it’s life. If challenges could always be overcome, they would cease to be a challenge. And remember – if you are failing at something, that means you are at your limit or potential. And that’s where you want to be.

Disappointment’ s cousin is Frustration, the second storm. Have you ever been frustrated? It happens when things are stuck. This is especially relevant in India. From traffic jams to getting that job you deserve, sometimes things take so long that you don’t know if you chose the right goal. After books, I set the goal of writing for Bollywood, as I thought they needed writers. I am called extremely lucky, but it took me five years to get close to a release. Frustration saps excitement, and turns your initial energy into something negative, making you a bitter person. How did I deal with it? A realistic assessment of the time involved – movies take a long time to make even though they are watched quickly, seeking a certain enjoyment in the process rather than the end result – at least I was learning how to write scripts, having a side plan – I had my third book to write and even something as simple as pleasurable distractions in your life – friends, food, travel can help you overcome it. Remember, nothing is to be taken seriously. Frustration is a sign somewhere, you took it too seriously.

Unfairness – this is hardest to deal with, but unfortunately that is how our country works. People with connections, rich dads, beautiful faces, pedigree find it easier to make it – not just in Bollywood, but everywhere. And sometimes it is just plain luck. There are so few opportunities in India, so many stars need to be aligned for you to make it happen. Merit and hard work is not always linked to achievement in the short term, but the long term correlation is high, and ultimately things do work out. But realize, there will be some people luckier than you. In fact, to have an opportunity to go to college and understand this speech in English means you are pretty damm lucky by Indian standards. Let’s be grateful for what we have and get the strength to accept what we don’t. I have so much love from my readers that other writers cannot even imagine it. However, I don’t get literary praise. It’s ok. I don’t look like Aishwarya Rai, but I have two boys who I think are more beautiful than her. It’s ok. Don’t let unfairness kill your spark.

Finally, the last point that can kill your spark is Isolation. As you grow older you will realize you are unique. When you are little, all kids want Ice cream and Spiderman. As you grow older to college, you still are a lot like your friends. But ten years later and you realize you are unique. What you want, what you believe in, what makes you feel, may be different from even the people closest to you. This can create conflict as your goals may not match with others. And you may drop some of them. Basketball captains in college invariably stop playing basketball by the time they have their second child. They give up something that meant so much to them. They do it for their family. But in doing that, the spark dies. Never, ever make that compromise. Love yourself first, and then others.

There you go. I’ve told you the four thunderstorms – disappointment, frustration, unfairness and isolation. You cannot avoid them, as like the monsoon they will come into your life at regular intervals. You just need to keep the raincoat handy to not let the spark die.

I welcome you again to the most wonderful years of your life. If someone gave me the choice to go back in time, I will surely choose college. But I also hope that ten years later as well, your eyes will shine the same way as they do today. That you will Keep the Spark alive, not only through college, but through the next 2,500 weekends. And I hope not just you, but my whole country will keep that spark alive, as we really need it now more than any moment in history. And there is something cool about saying – I come from the land of a billion sparks.

Thank You.

Chetan Bhagat

Life in a metro!

It starts with the morning alarm or mostly what I've observed, it does with your someone special's call? It moves on to you just being able to catch up the rapid transit, with you being the last one to rush in, with the thought- "God, I'm super-late!". Rushing for your workplace, you know the entire day's gonna be packed with work, you just manage to reach there in the nick of time or even get late(Thanks to the metro delay!) with your boss not ready to understand that you ARE NOT narrating any self cooked-stories, it's bloody genuine! But then boss' got to be bossy! Reaching home you're utterly tired but still you do make it a point to log in to your social-networking sites to see what happening, or rather keep doing that on your way back, but then chat too is important! Well yes, this is just a little glimpse of life in a metro!

Coming from the city of Delhi, a metropolitan- as addressed or THE metropolitan as it is, I here throw some light on to what it is like being one in a population of millions! Well, one in a population of millions, got to add on, on this.. It's where each one of these million is bloody ambitious, hard-working, self-obsessed and on his path of dreams, with you having a constant feeling, how to out-do others? But then, if million are the brains, million are the ways too! ;)

Coming back to, "the morning rapid transit"- Well yes, the regular metro- THE lifeline of the city, you get to see, every kind of person here. From little kids on the way to their schools; the high-school groups-too loquacious and babbling; the under-grads-too busy with their cell phones, internet, laptops, newspaper, magazines or novels; the freshers- discontented with their new job or highly pleased,"I get 50k per month, that's pretty awesome for a fresher!" or the people quite regular with their jobs now! A variety- Isn't it?

"I'm quite pleased with my life.", or even, "I'm quite satisfied"- Two simple but highly scarce sentences, when it comes to "A metro"! Self-interest, Self-conceit, Self-happiness and Self-obsessions- seem to be the buzzwords! Corruption from the ranks of a auto-rickshaw driver to the A.C.P., police or a minister is quite an obvious scene. Learn to deal or you certainly be in trouble! Auto-rickshaw driver demanding a fare of Rs.100 when it's Rs.40 by the official meter is a regular scenario, you know what.. just tell them once "Bhaiya, humein police ka number pta hai jahan ek phone kareinge aur khenge ki meter se nahi jaa rhe ho to aapki garhi ander" (Dude! We're well aware, it takes a moment for us to contact the police and get you behind the bars for not following the meter fares) and see for the response!

Anyway, coming back to, "The completely packed days at your workplace". You know the work's gonna be demanding and you know your days are gonna suck the blood out of your veins, but then there are two obvious options-"Fuck! The day was so damn packed up! I bloody hate my workplace!" or "Wow! I see some real work! Let me put myself to test!" What's easy? - The first! What's better- The second! Smile and opt for the second one, the only only way to survive in a metro!

Moving on, "The time you reach back home and are completely exhausted", but then big-boss awaits and the chat seems irresistible! So, fun is a priority when it comes to metro, what you miss on is - sleep. I make it a point to mention because I personally love sleeping and miss my sleep a lot! But then, I come from a city called metro! ;)

So that's 'bout it, from me, on life in a metro! For those who were expecting "Inn dino dil merea mujhse hai keh rha.. tu khwab saja.. tu jee le zaara", trust me, take that literally, just this part okay? ;) And live your life! :)

You're always welcome to share your opinions about your life in a metro or any city for that matter and let's see how much the thoughts match! Hope to see you soon again! Signing off! Au revoir folks!

Btw, It's any blog's anniversary! Happy birthday kid! Hope you have a really long and glorious life! :)) And yes, Merry Christmas! Ho ho ho! ;) And New Year wishes to all! Have a blessed year! :)

CommonWealthGames - The spectacular opening Ceremony

Finally, India switched on its spotlight on 3 October, 2010, the Sunday evening, to mark the beginning of a grand event - The Commonwealth Games. The much awaited day came, packed with a mixed feeling - hopes of millions, the nation's pride put on stake and the nation's capability put to a question. The series of events preceding the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi unfolded like the scenes from a B-grade bollywood disaster - featuring the collapsed foot overbridge, flooded building basements, the dengue fear - all to question the nation's abilities to hold the event. When according to the press, any foreign visitor at the Commonwealth Games would have inevitably sat in a puddle of red betel spit, and then contracted dengue, and then died in a bridge collapse, the actual event marked a completely different scenario that shunned all such remarks and raised an all new enthusiasm in every Indian, who now acclaimed "I am a proud Indian". The event was enthralling and fulfilling for every Indian, to an extent that's beyond all measures.

Personally having watched each and every moment of it, here's a quick description of the fantabulous ceremony in my words. With the spectators having been instructed to reach the venue before 5 P.M. when the ceremony was to begin at 7, the event had a pre-ceremony where music composer Anand Raj Anand and singer Shibani Kashyap got the crowd on their feet with some of the most well-known renditions. While the spectators had to be seated much before the opening ceremony, the wait must also have been filled with much excitement. Because what lied next was the big moment. And yes the big moment came -Dot 7- The ceremony started with DD live-streaming it in India. The first view of the majestic Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium raised the hopes of every Indian. The gigantic main stage, inspired by the 'mandala', the huge helium aerostat, the brillant lightening effects all created a wonderful ambiance. The 65,000 spectators with the dignitaries like President Pratibha Patil, Prince Charles and P.M. Manmohan Singh all together for the big event. And hence the event started with a young seven year old showing his excellence with the tabla. Passion in the eyes of this little artist filled everyone with amazement. Keshav, the kid was so full of confidence and the applauds that followed were much deserved. Following which was the beautiful song of swagatam by Hari Haran. India welcoming the nations that were here for the 19th Commomwealth Games and singing the beautiful lyrics of the song with school kids performing a dance and the swagatam formation all created a wonderful ambiance. The kids under a white sheets creating a mehendi motiff as Swagatham reached an end. And the only word that defines all this is - Lovely!

The essence was made stronger with the well co-ordinated light and sound arrangements. 1,200 moving lights, 120 space cannons and 16 follow spots weighing approximately 75 tonnes was what it took to enchant the about 60,000 spectators. The 25 stacks of speakers produced 500,000 Watts of sound. But needless to say, the effect was spectacular.

Next came the round of all the nations, part of the games, coming one by one into the stadium with their flags held up and the players led by a leader. The beautiful ladies who led each country were drapped in the heavily worked and very elegant saaries, depicting the culture of India. The host nation India came in the end led by Abhinav Bindra followed by some 680 players. The whole stadium stood to honour the intruding Indian players. The stadium was full of applauds and an ovation from the Indians to welcome India -an overwhelming moment for the entire nation.

Next came, the speech by Kalmadi. What Indians had to say about that was quite clear. (For more look for my tweets. To cut the crap out of here...) Next came the speech by Prince Charles, PM M.M.S. and the final one by President Patil who's words - "Let the games begin!" marked the official opening of the 19th Commonwealth Games, hosted by INDIA! CWG and national flags were brought in while the military bands played. And hence opening of the games was marked beautifully.

Following this came some cultural performances by Indian females, putting forward the culture and danceform of each state and needless to say it was an elegant, truly beautiful and a remarkable session. Then was the yoga session where with body, mind and soul in unison, over 800 performers gave a stunning performance of Yoga forming the shape of a sun using most difficult 'asans' (postures). The session was completely enthralling for each viewer. Next was the Bharat Darshan with Hussain dancing on the tunes of a much popular track Chaiyan chiyan, adding the bollywood tarhka to the entire show. It was again, truly entertaining. Not to forget, the fabulous tribute to Mahatma Gandhi by sand artists needs to mentioned here. The sand art was truly beautiful!

And then..... came the legend A.R.Rahman with the theme song. "Jiyo utho barho jeeto" and the entire stadium was to put to life, each and every person, be it the one in stadium or the one watching it live on DD was singing to his tunes and his magic was spread like always. The oscar winning track of "Jai Ho" instilled in Indians a passion and craze which made them dance to his tunes and filled them with utter pride. And hence the spectacular evening came to an end....!!!

And hence the nineteenth Commonwealth Games got off to an inspiring and magnificent start oat the Indian Capital with the opening ceremony, which unfolded without any glitch. The ceremony beautifully portrayed and upholded the great journey of India with all its unique features and made every Indian utterly proud!

And here I come to the end of this post but trust me for an Indian, it was overwhelming. The hopes associated with the event were all lived up to and it made every Indian proudly acclaim of how proud he is to be associated with it. What do you feel about the same? Are you also a proud Indian like me? Do share your opinion by posting your comment. Signing of at the moment. Hope to see you soon. :)

Till then, Jai Ho!

Yes, I have to do!

There are hurdles but I need to sail through,
I have dreams that might not turn out to be true,
But if I say so, what will it be, that will make me do what I have to do?
I question myself, "What is it that I need to do?"

Lost in my world, I'm put amidst this view,
Of the world, some strangers, some people who are true,
Of the world, some friends, some people who'll make me sail through.

Life makes new attempts to break me through,
But dear life, get this straight and clear, for it's true -
I have my ways and means to win over you!
And to prove to you-
That I'm better off you!
And I WILL surely do, what I thought I can do!

I'm still full of hopes that my dreams will come true,
My wishes are many,
And I HAVE to fulfill them,
By what means...? Yes, I have a clue!
To make some more wishes that are new,
To fill my life with some new hue!
Yes I have to do!
I have to do!
Do what?
Answer is- Make all my dreams come true!

Is India really shining?

India Shining - A phrase coined back in 2003 but the one that continues to be a topic much in limelight even today in 2010. Back in 2003, it was first used to refer to the overall feeling of economic optimism in India after the plentiful rains and the success of the Indian IT boom. A slogan, popularized by the then-ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the 2004 Indian general elections, it was initially developed as part of an Indian government campaign intended to promote India internationally. But a phrase that today brings with itself the question,
Is India really shining?

India – A nation that now needs no proof for it’s excellence, Be it, Education, Technology, Sports, Music, Researches, or any other possible field, it has given to the world some of the best individuals. It is being cited among the top countries globally in almost every field today. India will start growing faster than China in 2013, so says a Morgan Stanley report. Yes, it is shining, so proves the report and predicts a better future. The primary reason it cites is the demographic dividend, supported by continuing economic reform and globalisation. India will see a declining trend in the share of non-working dependents (children and the elderly) in the population, and contribute 136 million people to the workforce over the next 10 years, while China will add just 23 million workers. India’s savings rate would go up, as would the share of consumption in China’s GDP.

Though the forecast is entirely realistic, yet it’s dubious – “Is India really shining?”

Yes, it is shining, in the malls, in the PVRs, in the pubs and the nightclubs, in the flyovers and the high rises of the metros. It is shining in the glitz and glamour of high income class living in the modern luxuries, earning high salaries. We certainly have come a long way from what we were, But.... Sadly, This is not the whole picture. This is very small part of the real picture of the nation taken as a whole. As a matter of fact, there’s a lot more to it. India is shining...
Still, people live on streets and pathetic slums.
Still, the homeless are dying in the severe cold of winters and burning heat of summers.
Still, dirty scantily clad children of the poor construction labourers can be easily found playing in unhygienic environment, who have never even thought of going to school.
Still, women, educated and working, are harassed for dowry, leading to dowry deaths.
Still, several villages are without electricity and pucca roads.
Still, agriculture depends on monsoons and farmers are committing suicides on crop failures and debts.
Yet, India is shining! Isn’t it? Yes, it indeed is a strong pun that I intend to put forward!

With facts and figures stating- Sensex is shooting, GDP growth rate is astronomical, Sports excelling, IT sector shining – all that put forward India’s progress and induce in us a belief that India will soon be heading the global lists in almost every sector, yet when it comes to reality, it is still a big question mark. Yes, we have such instances that make us very proud – Even the interns today are getting big opportunities and earning as much as one lakh per month, the researches made by students of Engineering colleges are making the country proud and yes we have examples of such good brains who are ruling the world, but still I land up questioning myself, Is India really shining???

So what makes me question myself again and again? It is the fact that the area of progress is just the urbanized India. Where in one place, we have a modern metro India enjoying the boon that technology offers, there’s another rural India completely deprived and unaware of it. There is a change required, a change that can make India shine in the real sense. A change, which if successful, can lead to astronomic improvement, An initiative by the government “To promote and support rural India”.

“Rural India” – Education, Awareness and Poverty are the main areas we need to work and improve in. Making the farmers aware of the technology, teaching them new and improved ways of agriculture, improving their standards of living will make the country grow considerably. The present scenario of “rich growing richer and poor growing poorer” leaves us nowhere. India- the land of various cultures, various castes, various religions is considered to be developing at a very fast pace yet it is a known for caste-distinctions, girls being killed for dowry, people being humiliated for their caste and yet........ We say India is shining? A big fail in itself, Isn’t it?

So the need of hour is to lay more focus on rural India, address the issues like corruption, terrorism, molestation and above all the need to raise the level of common man. It will be with the rural India shining, that India will shine. Another important need of India is to learn “The lesson of self-help and self-reliance”. On June 10, 1947, Gandhi said: “The first lesson we must learn is of self-help and self-reliance. If we assimilate this lesson, we shall at once free ourselves from disastrous dependence upon foreign countries and ultimate bankruptcy. This is not said in arrogance but as a matter of fact. We are not a small place... We are a subcontinent, a nation of nearly 400 millions. We are a country of mighty rivers and a rich variety of agricultural land with inexhaustible natural-wealth. Our country, if it had not been neglected during the past few centuries, should not today only be providing herself with sufficient food, but also be playing a useful role in supplying the outside world with much-needed stuff of which the late war has unfortunately left practically the whole world in want. This does not exclude India”.

Powerful words, which if understood, induce an all-new confidence in us, make us believe in ourselves and our country. We need to realize that we have immense sources which if utilized can make India shine in real sense. We are a powerful nation and moves by us in the proper direction can make us succeed beyond imagination. But what we need to ask ourselves is: “Who is more powerful to change or improve you more than YOU yourself?” If this becomes the slogan of the nation and each person tries to put his small effort for country’s progress, collectively it can have a huge impact. All we do is complain, complain and further complain! We complain about corruption, molestation, terrorism! But do we do our bit? There is a stark change required, in the thinking of Indians! Another problem with the people of India is the lack of respect for their own country! We “Indians”, from dance to dresses we want to be westernized. Our kids want to learn western dance, wear western dresses, they love pasta more than any Indian dish and then we call ourselves Indians. So who is be blamed if not us? We want to see things happening but don’t want to contribute. And it is this thinking which is the biggest hindrance in our path.
So, the day,
when Rural India will be developed, aware and educated,
when All Indians will be proud of themselves,
when there’ll be least corruption, least molestation, equality in all respects in India,
will be considered as the day of victory for India.

It’ll be that proud day I’ll believe India is really shining.

Pulchritude!

The charm, the beauty,
The refinement, the delicacy.
I adore it's allure,
that puts life even to solitary!

It's God's creation, His divine imagination,
That has given amazement to the cosmos.
It is nature, it's beauty, it's divinity, it's sensation
That can bring panacea even the days so morose.

It's my love for the divinity,
For it's Pulchritude, that brings an all new elation in me.
That makes me sing these words of praise,
For the nature that stands so beautiful for for both me and thee.

It's a tribute to all the God's creations.
The peacocks, the chirruping birds,those little puppies,
As beautiful as angels, those pure little infants.
The lotuses, the roses, the rain, the forest and the trees.
As thou are what define the nature and it's basic beings.

It fills me with amazement,
It brings a smile on my face,
The wonder and beauty that's associated with these creations,
Brings in me a remarkable elation.
It induces in me wish to fly, over the rainbow so high!

A look today at the environment around,
Made me sing this ballad to the world around.
Dedicated to all the beauties of nature,
To everything that we find as we look around.

So this is my composition,
As an ode to thee.
As thou are so wonderful,
And fill my heart with purity.

Colleges, Universities and Fuchchas- each year!

So the time is here again like many previous years, but the furor is not just back, it's packed with more ardor, more swank, more hype, unlike all the foregone times. The time that introduces them to a fresh, unfamiliar, unaccustomed and all new world, that marks the beginning of a highly crucial phase of their life. Yes, it's the time they step into their all new and much awaited phase of life! But the times that have become much more crucial for Delhi Times to publish a peppy article daily to capture 'their' interests. 'They'- whom 'Delhi Times' terms as fuchchas! An article daily to add to the hype of an already much-hyped issue. From wardrobe to bags, from brands to accessories, from seniors to faculty, from skirts and shorts to cargos pants for guys/girls, they give you all the 'erudiction'.

Introducing you to the much cool- Kat pants, popular at those times or making you aware of all new things in fashion they talk about well everything. They make you, all prepared for the college life and do much of your work leaving you with very little to ponder upon your wardrobe. The list of do's and dont's for the first day start getting published at least a month before the start of your college.

Spicing it with the Paul- the octopus' prediction/suggestions or making you plan your first day - when to talk/whom to talk to/what to wear/where to eat/what to say! Almost everything. Right?

As if, planning for you your first day at college is the endeavor of their life. They make you trendy, talk about cool tees and don't leave even the topics like what color nail paint is in or what color 'Converse' did Sharman Joshi wear in 3 Idiots to popularize it much with the teens. But dude aren't you being too monotonous with all this? Yes! It was another article today in TOI that made me write this post. I mean, cool, I too enjoy reading it once or twice but making it the only topic of talks about colleges and campus on the heading days of the new world for teens is undoubtedly lame. The word fuchcha that appears almost everyday is inundated with incessant ideas to make to them 'cool', which in my opinion ,would rather, only produce 'wannabes'!

I wonder if they even realize, it's the day that marks the beginning of your 'College life' where you enter, as a result, of may be, your hard work of day and night. So as to emphasize on the fact, giving them a reason enough to talk some sense here and there in the articles to make the person reading a bit passionate about the upcoming life, adding at least a little meaning to the spice. The motive of college is not to just to produce divas of their times but a bittttt more! (Drawling! Yes, a pun again!) So, introduce the teens to the trends, in fashion things or what seniors are all about but give them something that makes them passionate about life, defines an aim in their life rather than producing obsessions about wardrobes and brands! Groom their personalities but don't pre-occupy their minds with this. Lessen this hype and increase in the field where it is needed!

That's what I felt after reading such articles regularly now for more three years. What do you feel about it? Agree with me or find it lame? Share your opinion here. Signing off! Hope to see you soon! :)

Precisely, What's around you?

What exactly surrounds you at the moment? Think... A little more.. So there you are!
Well, the answers that pop-up instantaneously are-Air, ofcourse YOU'RE BREATHING dude, you need oxygen! Next, Come up, Okay- Some kind of light- Sunlight, tubelight or any light but there needs to be one! Next- your sitting table, your bed, or wherever you're sitting right now with your PC/Laptop or NO! You can be walking or accessing net through a cell phone! Precisely- What am I talking about?
1. The natural necessities - Air, Light, A negligible portion of Earth for us to sit/stand upon.
2. OUR artificially produced BUT irresistible necessities, which we CAN just NOT without- CELL PHONE, PC/LAPTOP, NET ACCESS and few more which come up automatically with them, the cell phone charger, the laptop charge, the modem charger, Ah well! the list goes one!

Precisely, it's here that my post begins. I'm just done with my college end-semester theory exams and am in no mood to study for the practicals left. So here I am, on my blog scribbling my ideas. It was just when I looked around at my messed up room that I came across so many GADGETS that I couldn't stop myself from writing this post. To anyone reading this, look around yourself. If you're a normal teenager or a college-going student of this century, I bet you'll find ALL THESE around you-
1. CELL PHONE- Well, every 5 mins we have to look at our phone and take our important calls and messages. After all, we are the busiest generation presently existing! :P
2. LAPTOP- Can we these days live without it? OMG! I can't I really can't. I need it every two hours to multitask( multitasking that includes just random google searches, A regular check for my updates on social networking sites, playing songs, watching a random episode of 'How I met your mother' whose all the seasons I have stored in my laptop. Nice and productive muti-tasking. Right? Sigh! )
3. INTERNET ACCESS DEVICE- A modem, very favorite Photon, or come up, if not anything else then an Aircel connection with that irritating low speed and a bluetooth connection is there to serve us.
Then comes the list of all the possible chargers in this world! Any or every small things comes with a charger so to increase the list of things messing up the space around you, they definitely play a significant role.
And why not, An I-POD too! Dude how can we do without it? After all we've to listen to our favorite songs, play our favorite games. ALL without a fail!
Then last but not the least is the list of these small additional things- the headphones, data cable, pen-drives and many more.

So, precisely the world around us is all man-made and artificial. The virtual world created by us on the cell phones, internet which is giving a BIG- Trust me, BIG set back to our natural day to day world. We have to get up to those phone calls and messages from our dearest friends who might be there at darjeeling when you're at delhi but you can't live without them. The long long chats with those outstation friends but precisely most of your time, you are with your gadgets. That one look at the things around me made me realize how much dependent I've become on these things around me and how frequently I need all of these.

So precisely, what I pointed out is, a student in 21st century is bound by the gadgets and needs them without a fail, for his existence. Atleast I do! Don't you? What's your case? Do you also have one such messed up room or your case is different? Share your opinion down here. Signing off at the moment. Hope to see you soon. :)
Au-revoir folks! Have fun with your gadgets!