The Great Indian Chamcha

 
The Great Indian Chamcha is a common breed of Homo Sapiens found in Indian sub-continent. He/she has a perennial smile especially in your presence, showers garlands of flowers plus praiseworthy words on you and can be your most effective and continuous feel-good factor.

SANITATION AND HYGIENE BEGIN AT HOME

Over 600 million Indians defecate in the open. Lakhs of tonnes of garbage are generated each day in Indian cities, which are dumped into ever-shrinking landfills. River Ganga is revered as ‘Mother’, yet remains the most polluted river of India. Lakhs die due to toxic air and smoky chulhas each year out of respiratory ailments and suffocation. Over forty percent of Indian children under five are stunted.

So, what connects all the above gruesome facts? That Indian people as a whole, care little about the filth and degraded sanitary conditions outside of their homes. As long as the garbage is outside their homes, they do not bother. Sadly, they do not realise that all that filth will ultimately enter their own well-maintained, clean homes in the form of disease-causing germs, vectors, poor quality water and air, cutting many productive years of their own and their children’s lives.

‘Charity begins at home’. So should sanitation and hygiene habits be ingrained since childhood at home, and homes be kept clean. Yet there is a need to consider the locality, city, state, country and indeed the planet as our home. “Vasudheiva Kutumbakam”– the whole world is a family. By extension, as this family lives on Planet Earth and this is our only home, it is every human being’s responsibility to keep our living spaces clean and hygienic. Once this feeling and responsibility is heartily felt and acted upon by people, then Earth will indeed be Heaven – what with all the beneficial spill-over effects like a spiritual mind, unpolluted food and air, generation of pure thoughts and living in Harmony with Nature !

This post will first clearly demarcate reasons why sanitation and hygiene are so important for India : what are the real spin-offs in fields like health, education, productivity, innovation due to good hygiene and what are the consequences of poor hygiene. Next, it will

One World, One Humanity

  

Is there power in writing? Can writers bring social change & change the world? #Writing

 

#Writing is a passion for many in the world. In my definition of #writing, I would like to make it more broad-based as including anyone who writes on any medium: social media (including tweets), print and television (includes journalists),  bloggers, content-writers of portals/ads, writers of books/journals etc.

Yes, writers wield the power of the pen/the keyboard/the touchscreen! They influence thoughts, beliefs and indeed, life itself.

Not just self-help and inspirational books which change people's lives considerably, but every such article which reports ills and injustices in society, or every blog or tweet which appeals to do good for humanity-spreads optimism; gives ideas for a safer, better world; explains fast-paced innovations; simplifies financial jargons; exposes corruption/ills; arises people to do more for the state, nation and world and makes life simpler, definitely changes the world for the better by making people more informed, aware, sensitive.

My Definition of 'Educated Person'

Education is not merely Stacking of Degrees but also Dressing up of one's Mind and Soul.What is Your Definition Of an Educated Person.And what is your opinion about Educated Illiterates. #Education


An educated person is one who has not just internalised study concepts learnt in educational institutions. More importantly this person must have good values embedded in him/her; be an aware local, national and world citizen; do right towards other human beings; be sensitive to Mother Earth; have a habit of solving problems and doing things pro-actively than whining; practice sustainable living and also be grounded in life than simply showing off position at work, salary or degrees.

CIVIC SENSE AND ENVIRONMENT:

In today's exhibitionist world, people love to flaunt their jobs, degrees and education. Meanwhile, it is utterly shameful that these same people have no basic civic sense such as not littering the road or saying no to plastics which clog our drains. Rather, if these same people will stay in USA or Switzerland, they will not spit or litter or urinate there, but when they stay in India- LET'S DIRTY OUR COUNTRY- WE HAVE THE FREEDOM- is their mantra! Disgusting.

Treasured Assets

Why is the world so focused on physical assets- bank-balance, material-possessions, external beauty/body/cleavage...? What's the value of good thoughts, clear heart, inner beauty & values like honesty, discipline etc. today? What is important to you? #TreasuredAssets

 

I like this topic. Because it gives me a chance. To reach out to all and sundry. And to scream- DON'T FALL INTO THE MATERIALISM ABYSS! Never let anyone's dress, job, body, bank-balance or material things make you feel inferior. Coz each of us is elegant with whatever we are and have. It is paramount that we be proud of the way God made us; that we have patience, ambition and work hard in our chosen fields- not to overtake Mr.Sharma the neighbour or Mr.Tata the businessman but because we love our work so much and want to exceed limits of possibilities. Remember? In blockbuster movie 3 Idiots, Aamir says- "Work such that success chases you, & not vice versa"!

SPECIAL STRESS ON "EXTERNAL BEAUTY": 

 

Human beings are naturally given in to senses. An attractive female grabs eyeballs of everyone-male or female. The problem occurs when she is judged on the basis of that only- then none gives attention to her intelligence or talent.

Charity or Empowerment?

Charity or Empowerment? Are charitable donations to feed and house the poor really the way out of the mire of poverty or do NGOs need to focus more on skill development? Should we as donors be more proactive rather than merely donating money? #CharityorEmpowerment


NGOs (Non Governmental Organisations) are set up by very motivated and driven people, who want to bring about definite social-economic-political-ecological changes in society. As far as this thoughtful topic goes, there are four possibilities in my opinion:

(a) Charity
(b) Empowerment
(c) Empowerment through charity
(d) Charity through empowerment

(a) Charity:

Situational: This sense of 'only charity' is seen in most disaster situations, where various NGOs step in to distribute people's donations of clothes, shoes, blankets etc.. Much needed.
Charity as objective: However, there are also NGOs set up to do only charity as an organisation. In this case also, it helps the most destitute in immediate terms like NGOs taking care of leprosy patients, mentally-challenged, orphans, old widows, drug addicts or other such socially-isolated groups. Such people may not be able to be productive even if skills are taught due to inherent physical/mental/emotional weaknesses.

Indian PM interacts with India's Future

PM Modi has done it again. This time he has reached a new target audience- lakhs of school students across India. He has inspired them. Such interactions are needed more often. Indeed, the PM has to be a leader, an inspirer so that our nation can surge ahead. Glad that we have a PM who fully realises this.

Source

Things that I especially liked in the interaction:

a) Sharing his notorious childhood activities. It was unexpected!

b) The Nagpur example: On full moon nights, how to connect with the heavenly environment? Simply switch off the streetlights and let the people enjoy the natural beauty of the romantic night!

c) Read. Read whatever and how much ever you can. Read even from the newspaper packet in which pakodas(hot crispy snacks made of gramflour) are served. [Sadly, nowdays they give in polluting polythenes only. He should have driven that message too- STOP USING THOSE POLYTHENE BAGS]

Geopolitical Developments in Asia-Pacific region

Source

Asia-Pacific region is an important area for India's 'Look East'  Policy. On the one hand, India wants to engage deeply especially for trade, economics, energy, military cooperation etc. while on the other
recent geopolitical developments have made this difficult for India.

Such developments are listed below:

a) China-Japan antagonism over Senkaku islands-
This has snowballed into major controversy with China even declaring ADIZ over common airspace. Several Japanese companies have faced protest in China. India is treading cautiously both with China and Japan to keep friendly relation with both and wooing both for trade. Japan is being courted for more infrastructure investment and also for civil-nuclear engagement.

Ebola Virus

Ebola virus is a deadly virus which has spread in West African countries like Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria etc. killing almost 1000 people so far.


Effect on health:
It leads to nausea, body pain, headache, and may culminate in deadly haemorrhagic fever. As no known cure or vaccine exists for it, ebola virus has proved to be very deadly for irreversible effects on health.

Method of spread:
First it spreads from fruit bats to humans. Then, it spreads if a healthy person comes in contact with bodily fluids (blood, semen, urine etc.) of affected person. Also, evidence so far does not suggest that it is air-borne.

Why countries are worried about its spread:
a) Due to a globalised, inter-connected world, people travelling from West Africa to other countries via flights, ships etc. may pass on the virus if they have used the loos of the transport. This multiplies chances of spreading disease.

Row over UPSC CSAT

Source: India Today

An unnecessary row has broken out over CSAT. A few pointers on what I feel about it:

a) It was not introduced in 2011 in haste, rather since 2001 recommendations had been made to overhaul the system to provide level field for all backgrounds' candidates. UPSC started with overhauling Prelim in 2011, then Main in 2013. Yes what UPSC should have done is- since 2008 or so, it should have announced that from 2011 a new pattern will b introduced & given syllabus in advance- then people would have had headstart of 2 or 3 years. Then 'extra attempt' for 'sufferers' who gave attempt in 2011 could have been avoided.

b) Hindi vs Eng: Most Hindi students coming on TV say 'Eng is not problem'. Translation is problem coz software is used for this. This is unfortunate- for sch a prestigious exam couldn't UPSC ensure a team of translators to provide proper translation of big English Comprehension passages? OK now that they know, translation needs to made correct. So I don't know who advised the govt to not include easiest 8 qns of paper- some proper advise to reprint Hindi translation even for Aug 24 would have helped. Coz even now this basic thing's not been addressed.

Do the Gold!

She was practicing Table Tennis in the garage of her home. He was shooting his target to glory with his portable shooting practice kit in his hotel room- even while stealing some time away from his cousin's reception evening below. The Men's Hockey Team was sweating it out on the field, practicing hard. She was wrestling in her akhada, her sisters egging her on with better techniques to defeat the opponents. He was bettering his badminton shots at the P. Gopichand Academy under the lights. She was boxing against all odds, like there was no tomorrow, with single focus. He was weightlifting unimaginably heavy weights in a private gym, for the government never kept its promise to give him a world class gym inspite of him being a previous gold medal winner. She was vaulting with all her gymnastic grace and strength to perfect her art. He was throwing the discus again and again, struggling to better his best throw....

........And it rained that night.

Yes. It rained. It felt like their sweat was mixing with the rain water and liberating them. Giving them fresh energy. More strength to wrestle harder. To fight the Judo better. To hit every badminton shot with more force. To lift the extra 2 kgs beyond 300. To drive that hockey stick to hit more goals. To shoot to ever more perfection. To achieve the ultimate. To create history.

To do the Gold....

My Asus Superphone's Unique Super Power!

Dear Troopers into the Well of the House,

If you think you will quench the thirst of your eternal demands by trooping into the 'Well', let me tell you that you are doing the greatest disservice to our great Nation.

Source

You are putting crores and crores of hard-earning taxpayers' money deep into a dry well each time sessions are adjourned. Just like so many poor 3-and-above year old children have been falling into dry borewell open holes and die gruesome deaths, tax monies with life of their own to feed and care for millions, die immediate deaths due to your parochial behaviour.

There are so many Parliamentary devices for you to raise your demands and issues- short duration discussion, zero hour, calling attention motion, half-an-hour discussion, adjournment motion, censure motion and so on. Why don't you use them?

How does Modi inspire?

This is not possible. Unless Modi is gifted with powers to inspire (he calls himself 'Jaadugar' or magician) he cannot move a nation of 125 crore people to tears, to elation, to pure inspiration- all at the same time.

And guess what?! Such powers need not be gifted...they can be cultivated- through years of committed work, through focus, through centralising the forces of the Universe within our beings....the best of 'the power of attraction', when the Universe conspires to give us everything we really want coz we work unimaginably hard for it. Clearly, Modi's life story brims with the cultivation of his extra-ordinary powers to inspire people. Mind you- it's such unending spiritual energy that energises masses and classes alike.

In most of his interviews, I saw a statue of Swami Vivekanand behind him.

Hopes for India : 'Modi'fied

This is an unbelievable and super-decisive victory for Modi-led BJP! In my previous post I had wished for stable government, and look how decisively Indian electorate has voted! :)

This only shows how frustrated Indian electorate had been with so many years of dilly-dallying coalition politics, with minority governments running with 'outside support'. No wonder a meagre number of bills were passed, crores looted while the Prime Minister who was supposed to be the Leader of the Government, sat silent singing shayaris that tsunamis would come if he spoke! And look what his 'Khamoshi' brought about- a 'Tsu-Namo' that's swept India in saffron!

Politainment- courtesy 24*7 Media + Clever Media-Planning by political parties!

This is phenomenal. I was just watching "LIVE" coverage of Narendra Modi's cavalcade going towards party Office in Varanasi. This is mass hysteria. Very clever planning so far by the party- the 24*7 media is doing all it takes to cover this!

The smartest way to get into India's and indeed the world's every household's drawing room is to build a campaign with as much hysteria as possible so that 24*7 news channels cover it anyhow! The party is leveraging this like never before! [I seriously feel AAP was ahead in this department but sadly lost out due to its 40-days-and-over strategy!]

Z: Z marks the end of the A to Z Challenge...

Letter 'Z' is not just the last letter of the English alphabet. It also marks the end of my A to Z Challenge 2014 journey.

I have a strange mixed feeling today- I feel sad...that it's gonna be over for this year..sob sob...yet I must say I've enjoyed it to the hilt overall!

I thank @ArleeBird and his entire team! And so many thanks to each of the wonderful bloggers who read my posts and encouraged me to write more! No wonder my blog views have shot up by leaps and bounds and I am so overjoyed!!

I got a unique palindrome number too in the course of my A to Z Challenge journey: 42424!! It's only Lord Jagannath's grace that this happened while I invoked the Lord's world-famous holy, colourful and unique festivals Rath Yatra and Nabakalebar in Puri, Odisha, India! :D

Screenshot of my blog!

So here is a recap of my A to Z Challenge journey 2014! Those who missed out, may please click and discover all that I had to blog about in a very productive month for blogging- April 2014!!

X: X is who?!

Maths sums always had 'X had blah blah, calculate his speed or blah blah' & algebra had 'blah blah blah. Find x'. We also tend to name people we do not know as X, Y or Z!

So what's the fascination with X about?! The thing is that the X-factor about X is just this- in our thinking, anything unknown becomes 'X'!!

W: Won Sunshine Blog Award! Thanks Namrata! :)

I'm so honoured to receive my second blog award ever, the 'Sunshine Blog Award' from Namrata, my very sweet blogger friend! She has such a fabulous blog herself! :) Thanks so much Namrata for your kind consideration and showering blog love !!





I first learnt about Sunshine Award from Namrata only! So as a proud recipient of this award, I need to do the following things and so should others who receive this from me!

R: Rigging in Indian Elections 2014

Rigging in elections means using fraudulent practices during voting process to garner votes by any party. This has been sadly seen amply in Odisha's elections this time. Even in several other states of India also this has been seen, which puts a big question mark on the 'free and fair conduct of elections' in the world's largest democracy. And we are still half way to go for the end of elections.

A tv media channel has captured how on April 17, a group of men entered a polling booth in Aul Assembly Constituency of Kendrapara district of Odisha and forced people to cast the vote as per their order or simply they took over voting. This is a shameful activity and culprits must be nabbed and jailed immediately. To whichever political party they belong, the public should ask for answers and should never vote any party which spreads such hooliganism. Link is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cPhW6xL2Lw&feature=youtu.be

Also recent violence in Kendrapara over a four-wheeler having many EVMs and parked outside a BDO's house was terrible. A person died and many others are seriously injured. Transferring EVMs to strong-rooms has also been done without police security, casting wide doubts over their exposure to tampering. 

O: Odisha voted today in its 2nd phase!

 

The beautiful state of Odisha voted today for filling up 11 Lok Sabha seats and 77 Assembly seats. Earlier, voting for 10 Lok Sabha seats and 70 Assembly seats had been completed. The Northern and Coastal districts of Odisha have voted today. News reports say that 70% voter turn-out was witnessed- quite high compared to states like Rajasthan, Karnataka etc.

I voted too from Bhubaneswar Central constituency. Felt great!