India's Daughter - A true reality

In all the usual hustle bustle of life, we forget the small things. Small things like Freedom, which is so critical to living life. Today, I've consciously made an effort to come back and blog about this because enough is enough! And I won't stop with just writing this blog, that's a promise I'm making today.

Maybe I'm currently writing in a lot of anger but really, why should I not be angry? I come from a country where we rage about our cultures and traditions but really, what do those really mean?

Is rape a part of our culture? Is giving women no safety or not letting women themselves being able to live the lives they project to live for themselves a part of our traditions?

One day, I will have kids and if it's a daughter, she shouldn't be fearful of living her life the way she wants to - study whatever she wants, travel wherever life takes her, date and marry any man her heart desires - And that's how I see the world. However, today, the suppression I see makes me fear what tomorrow will be like.

Many say, oh - this happens only in poor areas like slums and where people aren't educated, it's not everywhere, you shouldn't worry. Really?

Shouldn't something like basic education be available for every person?

I ask these questions today because I fail to understand this world. A world we are all a part of.

Because nothing, absolutely nothing can justify the action of the rapists of Jyoti Singh in the New Delhi Bus rape case, 2012. The brutality & guts to do what the men involved did has shaken me after watching the documentary, 'India's Daughter'!

And what surprises me most is that there was no shame or fear whatsoever in the eyes of those convicted. I mean, are you even human?!!! Where on earth have you come from saying you were trying  to teach someone a lesson? And by the way, who are you to teach anyone a lesson? Did the courts give you some supreme authority or are you claiming it was God who came in your dreams to tell you that? And above all, lesson on what, how to not have any freedom? Come on..

A message to the governments of India -
Modi Government - Please focus on the right things. Banning a documentary, if that could change the future that beholds us, then great but here you go - reality check, damn - that's not going to happen! The comments made by these men knowing that the world will see this video showcase a concern that keeps India trailing and that should worry you, not why the BBC aired this documentary that shows the truth..
Congress - The fact that you had aggressive attempts to curtail a very peaceful protest back in the day - you should be ashamed. You have lost my vote and confidence forever.

And let me please clarify, I am not associated with any political party or want to name/shame anyone, I am an Indian who wants to live freely in his country and wishes the same for his family and friends and don't want to be scared to go out with women or be scared for women in my family who go out with men, it's simple.

Anyway, coming back to the criminals who were convicted in the case - Now when you're sentenced to the highest penalty, you have the audacity to say this will not improve anything because more women will get killed after being raped? Come on India, come together - as people of this country, come in your senses, is this what we build in the minds of our kids and children? We need to make this right and now really is the time.. There is a problem about more men than women and it won't go away over night - so to start from what we do now and keep remembering, it all started from you were born. It's women who give us all birth, take care of us in their womb, they are a reason for life, so let's give it that respect..

Everything starts from an attitude that we've built in ourselves, saying it's okay.. Let's now say #itsnotokay Let's stand up together against such crime and moreover let's think of how to avoid such crime to happen.

So here is my word, I will work towards a better, more educated and balanced India for tomorrow in my small ways everyday, you should too! And it all starts with a thought. So give it a thought.

#IndiasDaughter - Thank you for igniting this fire in us, this is not over.

Life, the way it is....

Today as I come back to writing on this blog, I have this thought that resonates in my head, 'life can be all you want it to be or probably nothing if you don't hope..'

The idea of hope always reminds me of a poem that someone special had written for me years ago. But yes, you need to have hope.

There is this philosophy (amongst many others) that I've been shouting out recently, If you think something bad is going to happen, it will but if you want something good to happen - start with good thoughts. Very easily said but difficult in times of hardships.

But what are hardships? Just thoughts.. And things that we give too much importance.. So either go out and fix them properly or just let go. This doesn't mean for many of you who might think that I'm saying life is black or white - no, I'm not saying that. But you need to work towards things, you need to believe in yourself and hope that the thing you are thinking will happen and it will.. It might be grey though but so what, if it makes you happy, it's more than enough! Kindle that hope..

You might find the steps are very difficult to get there and understandably so; there is quite a bit at stake but after every dark tunnel, there is sunshine! And here goes to that hope to see sunshine!

Keep hoping and looking for your sunshine!

Life and what we want.. Happiness?

So, for some reason I'm very philosophical with my thoughts this morning. 

Insomnia and anxiety seems to have had it's fair share of my last few nights but the writing isn't because of that. It's because there is an outflow of emotions.

The below said are just my thoughts and you are free to object / disregard it completely / question my logic/ not bother at all.

I recently read this blogpost which seems to have gone around massively, thanks to Facebook which then got picked up by a lot of media publishers - it's called 'Marriage isn't for you'. I guess more than anything, the writer should be given a pat on his back for the title he used. I can assure you that the impact this title had - no other would for this piece. And that's not because it's a genius idea (with all due respect to the writer), but it's just our mentality and what is appealing / eye catching and moreover associative to our thinking in today's time that possibly made people share and talk about it to this crazy extent. Congratulations to the blogger, Seth Adam Smith, you made people think.

A very well written post and it actually defines how our generation thinks. We have all had this question at some point or the other, 'what's in it for me?' - Well, NOTHING - how about that?! 

Generations before ours (long time go I guess) used to believe in - Till the time someone has the power to make you smile and takes the effort to do that, don't ever let that person go. Because momentarily you might not realize the value (possibly sometimes you never would) but if you do after you've lost someone, is there a way back? Maybe not. People do deserve a 2nd chance in most cases but in love? If you don't love someone, will you ever love them? I don't know what's the right answer to this and probably will never do but love builds love so while I can't  say it will be so all the time, if you really go for something with complete honesty, the least it will do is make the other person ponder over you.

However, how important is the love you get from them to you? (Brings back the thought we usually have of 'what's in it for me?') I used to always hear from older colleagues back in the day - if you know someone who loves you more than you love them - that's either the best case or the worst. There's no midway. It's a lot about personalities.. Some are givers and will always be and some are takers and will always be.. 

We all go through phases, where we feel we have met the ideal person and want to 'settle down' in life but what really do we mean by settling down? And is there an age for settling down? In India they say - once you have a good job, probably a house and  a car - it's time to get married and settle down. Many follow it and are happy, many aren't.. 

What amuses me most is that how our definition of being happy changes from time to time. Guess it's normal but how often do we think about it? How often do we give ourselves and people around us a chance to be happy or make them happy?

Going back to marriage - and the post about 'Marriage isn't for you', one thing that it beautifully showcases is how our parents/ grandparents saw marriage and how we see it at first thought. And yes, I'm not one of those who doesn't agree that we have evolved and will continue to evolve as people and want more from life and ourselves, but in this case - I would rather go back to traditional days. Happiness is with people and sometimes even in sacrifices. Have we forgotten how to sacrifice? Maybe not, it sits inside us and the fact that this post became so popular - just shows that. We don't want to / don't supposedly have the time to think about it (while we are running behind money/success/ good career or whatever else) but when something comes to our notice, it wakes us up, it wakes our subconscious mind. 

So go out there and make someone, that special someone happy. Listen to them, talk to them, create a happy family.

Thanks for making me think Seth Adam Smith. 

Its all about 'attitude'

So what is attitude firstly?

Here's how Oxford dictionary defines Attitude;

Definition of attitude

noun

• 1a settled way of thinking or feeling about something:he was questioned on his attitude to South Africabeing competitive is an attitude of mind
•  a position of the body indicating a particular mental state:the boy was standing in an attitude of despair
•  Ballet a position in which one leg is lifted behind with the knee bent at right angles and turned out, and the corresponding arm is raised above the head, the other extended to the side.

• 2 [mass noun] informal, chiefly North American truculent or uncooperative behaviour:I asked the waiter for a clean fork and all I got was attitude
•  individuality and self-confidence:she snapped her fingers with attitude

• 3the orientation of an aircraft or spacecraft, relative to the direction of travel.

Positive or negative? To me, It's all based on what you take it as and what you think.. If something / someone makes you insecure or 'not so affirmative' then you will question things, object to change, that's human. And if someone /something builds your confidence, makes you feel good, you will be open to doing more, you'll feel free, that's what life is.. It's all based on our perceptions and evaluation of situations (which might not always be correct, but for that moment it generally is).

In every walk of life, one needs to find a way to build the trust and take baby steps in situations and opportunities that matters enough to you. And in the meantime things go wrong, they were always meant to go wrong - you can't prevent it. Do your best but don't cry about it, be happy it happened, happened now! Learn and live.. (Getting philosophical again, sorry.. :))

What's interesting is that we get different reactions to the same situation based on how it's said. Yes, it's not  rocket science but something to think about - Our behaviour actually influences our lives to such a level that we go up or down in our every day mood:

Which brings me to my next point, is it always just in our mind? And if it is, can't we all really do what we want to, fight the bad situations, come out strong and enjoy the good moments, be happy!

Leaving it at that...

Goodbye for now!

Paras

Is BBM the new MSN? Are we missing anything?

As we gear into the ever advancing world of 'social media' and constantly developing technology, a question that comes to mind, is BBM the new MSN?

If you remember a decade back, you would come home and then log onto MSN or Yahoo Messenger to chat with a few friends in the evening and have a good laugh at something you shared with them from your day or something they told you from theirs or maybe went to chatroom (which I always found fishy) and now you've got BBM, Whatsapp and groups or multi-person chats on them. Today, as soon as something happens, there's either a message or broadcast out there which is good in more ways than one, but are we constantly bombarded with news now? Does that change our perception or more importantly reaction to news we hear? Being constantly in touch or reachable in today's day and age is seen purely as an advantage, but as a person, have we changed more than we thought? Do we reflect as much on our days and learn as much from experiences? May be we do, may be we don't..

As I write this post, there's a constant battle going on in my head, one view being, 'your grandfather didn't have as much to do and as many people to stay connected with as you. You are way more social and connected' (not that they were antisocial or didn't have many friends but on a serious note, may be because of how they lived life back then)  and the other being ' are you really connected to as many people and do you really care about every news you hear?' Something to ponder upon. I believe it depends from person to person and news to news. One thing's for sure, we've moved fast, very fast.

Bringing Change..

About 2 years back from now a friend of mine, Nancy Beso mentioned to me about an inaugural summit for Young leaders on similar lines as the Davos World Economic Forum was being held in London. I wondered what this platform could actually do while it was connecting people from different parts of the world - other than a networking opportunity, what more could happen?

Little did I know what this was but because I was hearing good things from the people who attended the inaugural summit in London and said I should definitely be a part of this, I applied to be a delegate at the 2nd Summit which was in Zurich in September 2011.

Slowly I started reading on things a bit and found some pretty interesting and inspiring work that a lot of delegates and Ambassadors were doing in their own countries. I felt like connecting with them at that point and the rest is actually history...

Time to be at the One Young World Summit in Zurich came and the long conversations with fellow delegates kept flowing. I really met some of the most wonderful people there that I've met till date. And now I can say, some great friends for life too! :)

There were some inspiring and touching moments like Archbishop Desmond Tutu pointing at us and saying, 'you, you, you - you will make change, I know it. God is seeing each one of you, go out there and make a difference'; a fellow delegate from Uganda - I can't ever forget his name, Innocent, sharing his own struggle and many others. It will be difficult to express those certain moments that trickled a thought in me to say, leave everything and just work on the cause that you really believe in. Time and over again people kept surprising me with the amount of good these people were doing in this world..


Late last year in Oslo, Norway where I went with a team of young and motivated individuals for Global Dignity Day, each and every person there I believe cared about Dignity in people's lives, it was such an amazing spirit in the school to celebrate Global Dignity Day. The founders of this great initiative - Crowne Prince Norway, John Hope Bryant and Pekka Himanen were hearing dignity stories of many young students. To hear them all, was an absolute pleasure - The innocence, genuineness and sheer simplicity was something to take back. :)
Not to forget, we were later called for a Royal Dinner with the founders as well as the Crowne Princes of Norway who were all so humble and down to earth to welcome a group of youngsters from Norway and around the world to share a meal and an evening of happiness. Thank you One Young World for introducing us to such great people.


A question that always sits in my head now: Are we all doing our little bit at least? Are we going to be able to answer God one day and say 'Yes, I was a responsible individual and did good while I lived!' With this thought, I started dedicating more time to projects that brought happiness and smiles to people. Be it via Project Chirag, a revolutionary project that transforms the lives of rural India by providing them light with Solar electricity or be it a small concept project with a big delivery like Ahaan, A ray of hope. It is actually a ray of hope for all of us, we need to make our little contributions and let's accept it, we all have those few minutes to spare for doing good.

Here's a call to all of you out there who may read this, may be you can't give your life to change the world, may be you can't give years, but you can definitely gives a few minutes, it will help, just spread happiness in your own small way and be responsible with your actions, the world around you will definitely start becoming a better place to live in!

Signing off!

Paras
A hopeful change maker 

India's fight against corruption!

So what is all this about now? How does it make a difference to me?

These are questions that might have cropped up in many minds in India in the last few weeks and why not? We are made to think like that to a large extent.. We are made to move on..

The scale of corruption in India has been multiplying with various scams over decades including the 2G Spectrum Scam, Telgi Scam, Commonwealth Games Scam, Satyam Scam, The Hawala Scandal, The IPL Scam and many others.. How do we draw a line and make these severely punishable? We are generally not even able to get to the core of the scam always, forget anything else! The intrusions from people with political influences or backgrounds always delay proceedings and mostly stall them!

This fight against corruption has been going on for over 42 years and we ought to get answers. Mr. Anna Hazare, who at this point of represents and is the epitome of every common man in the country has been fasting for the past 11 days to get the government in India to consider the Jan Lokpal Bill.

This is not the first time a Lokpal Bill is proposed! It was initially proposed in 1968 but was never passed by the Rajya Sabha.

Forget all the stories behind, the stories are as important to me right now as much as what is being done to my old bicycle which is lying in my garage! INSIGNIFICANT!

I was in Kolkata a week back and was strolling by the road in the evening next to my hotel, just to see about about 50 people on the road with (as they are called) Gandhi Caps shouting slogans like 'Bhrastachari Saudhan, Jaag jaya hai naujawan' meaning Beware corrupt people, the Youth of India has awakened and 'Main bhi Anna, Tu bhi Aana, aaj toh saara desh hai Anna' saying today all of us are Anna - clearly showing that we are are fighting with Mr. Hazare.

What I see today is the Youth uniting for a cause. A cause which has been long fought for but finally gained momentum! This time this fight will not end easily purely because of the sheer volume of people fighting for it. We have seen enough terrorist attacks and fraudulent instances and they are all at the end of the day connected to corruption! We can't sit back and just say, we'll get back and move on.. This time, this is it!

Lets start this from the base, lets stop giving any bribes and make sure we point it out that anyone doing so, lets not take it lightly! Slowly I'm sure the systems will change and become more efficient over time as well.

This will lead India to a better and more fast growing country making it a better place to live. No need to pay donations to sanction your housing development, electricity or phone connections. No need to pay to get into colleges and above all, no need to pay to live happily!

I'm sure this is going on in every Indian's mind! So let's make this happen.. Let's unite and fight corruption to the core and come out victorious!

Regards,
Citizen of India

Mumbai - A place of hope or a place of forgotten truth!

My heart calls out when I see the state of the families who've lost someone in yet another terrorist attack. How on earth do they get in so easily and hurt us inside our own city, it really amazes me!

Today, as soon as I heard the news of the blasts, the first thing I did leaving all that I was doing aside was to get onto the phone and call family and friends to see if everyone was ok. Some had a lucky escape as they were in the area a while back or even at the time but just about managed to stay safe while some others were back home  but in panic state to find out about their family members.

The blasts occurred in major business districts and whoever did this wanted to make a point! Well whatever the point may be, what is clear is that at the end of the day, we are not safe!  As of now, figures that are shown on National News channels like NDTV say 21 dead and 141 people are injured. The 3 blasts happened at Opera House, Zaveri Bazaar and Dadar Kabootar Khana which are all very busy areas!

Some shocking pictures and some very sad stories later, I felt like not much had changed since 26/11! And may be, I'm ignoring what one of the ministers said on national television that ' we were more prepared' but the fact of the matter is someone has lost their lives in this bargain!

I couldn't stop but think, are we going to be ok with this or going to forget this or rather take this in our stride as well? I'm sorry but this is not done! We need to stop letting this ruin the lives of our people and also the repute of the city! Make all the changes you want to make Mumbai more cosmopolitan and sophisticated but if such things happen, forget the people from other cities or countries coming in, even Mumbaikars will have to leave the city!

What I fail to understand is if the US can find Osama and kill him, who was one of the most dangerous and wanted terrorists globally, why can't we, having so many intelligence (supposedly) forces, what are we waiting for? For the Maharashtra Government, if I was to make a point, this does affect the economy as well! When no one feels safe, the business, commerce and all that we talk about being the financial capital of the country so proudly, will go down the drain!

Chinese media made a comment stating 'India incapable in stopping attacks, need intelligent people in their intelligence'.

Kasab Ajmal who has been in India's custody for nearly 3 years and are we still investigating? Sorry, this might be a bit harsh, but we really need to get our act together!

A common man in Mumbai when he leaves home, may not be sure if he will come home in the evening and this is really heart breaking!

I have never been as furious and troubled but I just feel we are becoming helpless! We need to do something and something big and soon!!

Here are some prayers going out to all that got affected by the blasts..

Bless!
Paras

Education System in India - Bright future or Not?

Education system in India - Bright future or Not? Big point of argument for today..

In today's competitive times, where Asia is developing leading B-Schools and Universities, in the Sub-continent, India is still far behind in getting there. I personally have seen the efforts lately through Mr. Kapil Sibal and certain other ministers to improvise on this and it still makes my heart cry to think that due to the bureaucratic nature of our nation, we will still take a few years before we make good progress on this! (I'll be more than glad to be proved wrong - but the reality is this)

I don't want to sit out and just complaint, I rather point this out and try and bring about a movement, a change!

So what is it that India needs to make its education system a leading global one which attracts high quality international candidates?

We have a number of highly prestigious institutions like the various IIT's and IIM's but looking at the latest comments and reports, it just does not look like a bright future unless we move ahead with time or else, this will be history..

The 2 biggest assets of any institution are the students and the faculty, rest are all secondary. With the quality of faculty deteriorating, even the best students cannot progress as much! The same would have been the case if the situation was turned the other way. This clearly shows how dependent the 2 factors are on each other!

A comment published in Economic Times read "Opening of new IITs by government without recruiting new faculty has already burdened the existing faculty in IITs. Almost every citizen in the country is paying education cess to ensure that our gurus (IIT and other teachers) are paid well. Most of the IITs are already facing faculty shortage," IIT Kharagpur Alumni Association member Y.P.S. Suri told IANS.
"The current pay scales of IIT faculty are so unattractive that a fresh graduate from IIT attracts more salary," he said.

Programme director of the IIT Delhi Alumni Association V.K. Saluja agreed. "We appeal to the government to make faculty salary levels inspiring enough to attract new minds. Adding new IITs has made this problem more acute and hence the urgency of the matter," he said in a statement.

My question is, Where is all the money that everyone pays as education cess used? There needs to be some reporting and transparency. And secondly, we need to attract young blood to run the show! Younger faculty will mean more up-to-date teaching. No doubt that experience always matters, so ideally we need a good mix. But we have to bring new people with new attributes as well as a different attitude!

The other thing that can also be done is part privatization. It's already seen that private institutions are doing much better and turning good profits, at the end of the day - that's what a private business will look for! I don't mean to say that give it all away, but take some good bits out of the privately run institutions and adapt them to make our overall system more advanced!

I realize the concern being higher fees, but right now, education is already the 2nd biggest expense for a family! Looking at how fierce the competition is to get into the IIT's and IIM's or for that matter of fact any other highly regarded institution, there's abundance of great talent that is still left out who adopts various means to continue education but sometimes, they just cant. They deserve the best too, but due to the crazy competition, they feel lost in life.. And its not the education system's fault that this happens but its merely the fact that our population is 5 folds compared to the available resources! We need to develop more high-quality institutions to nurture talent and save it from leaving the country, to be self sufficient! Its like a cycle, if these people stay back and break into big businessmen in India itself, it brings money into the country.. Open scholarships or systems where people who can genuinely not afford it are given some kind of bursary or loan. Use the money we already have to our advantage and make it happen!

I believe its the need of the hour! We need to make changes and make more changes and make even more changes and developments! Then only, will there be a brighter future!

Happy to hear more thoughts...

Paras
A concerned citizen!
A voice is to make a sound, to be heard, to make a change!

Middle East revolutions..

With the recent events and happenings in the Middle East, what's the first thing that comes to your mind?

What comes to my mind is that yes, everyone deserves to be free! How you get to that, is very important! It shouldn't be with people dying around everywhere. My blood boils when I read/hear about the counter attack by the Libyan ruler which is leading the country into civil war! You might imagine he knows better than this but what is he doing to the country? The Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak still was friends with a number of other leaders and countries and could flee into Sharm el-Sheikh but where will you go Col. Gaddafi?

Two months ago, a Tunisian fruit vendor lit a match that started a fire that has spread throughout the much of North Africa and the Middle East. Muhammad Bouazizi's self-immolation prompted anti-government protests that toppled regimes in Tunisia and Egypt.

The fire of a revolution is spreading across the region and is spreading fast.. It will be very crucial to see how other rulers behave and the way international influences are going to play a role going ahead. I am a total believer in fighting for your freedom but I feel people like Col Gadaffi should never be given such status!

Here's hoping for a brighter future for people in the Middle East and praying for democracy to prevail..

What is the reason for life?

Give this a thought...

What is the real purpose of our lives? Do we ever think of it at any point of a normal day?

I was moved to read and learn more about this man who had a very ambitious career and an incident changed his life.. I'm not talking about a hypothetical story here... While most of us, are thinking of making a career or building a business that can give us financial stability, I feel many of us, we neglect the smaller joys of life.

Money is important but is it the do it and end it of all? Why are we making this money? Where is it all going? We aren't going to tie it to our body and take it all away!

I do not mean to be a preacher here, all I trying to do is share someone's story which made me think more and now act on it as well...

The 'someone' I am referring to here is Mr. Narayanan Krishnan who was a normal 21 year old young, ambitious individual like most of us who had a good job - worked as a chef in a 5 Star hotel and would have had a uphill definitely had he stayed on.. He was from Madurai - a city in the south of India which has a heritage of over 2500 years.. It is the most important and populous city in Southern Tamil Nadu and also hosts a number of IT companies and many other corporations..

Having said all of this about Madurai, you would imagine the people to have at least an average middle class financial status... But as we all know, there is major income disparities in India and even when there are improvements, they aren't in proportion the the population increase chart yet.

Mr. Krishnan now 29, one day saw a person eating his own human waste! He shared this in an interview with CNN. Now just hearing that makes me feel disgusted. Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to be attacking on any person or state or the country, its just that the thought gets me angry thinking of the amount of food that is generally wasted around the world on a normal day. I won't lie - I do waste as well sometimes, but after knowing this, I will make a concious effort. Which makes me wonder again, do we sometimes need an awakening call to realise something this big? May be yes, but once we do know this, lets try and bring about a change ourselves. Even may be at the smallest level - by not wasting food ourselves.

Coming back to what I was saying, a friend shared a video link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6-Olip6OtA ) of this heroic story of Mr. Krishnan who has been selected by CNN in the world's top 10 Heroes and the only Indian there, it made me think, we need to do something! He started this noble initiative in 2002 and even while his parents were against the same as they wanted their son to make a name professionally and make money according to CNN, he carried on and has provided more than 1.2 million hot meals including breakfast, lunch and dinner -- to India's homeless and destitute, mostly elderly people abandoned by their families and often abused. He does this through his nonprofit organisation Akshaya Trust which he started in 2003, and now hopes to extend this to shelter for the homeless too.

Krishnan told CNN that 'Akshaya is Sanskrit for "undecaying" or "imperishable," and was chosen "to signify [that] human compassion should never decay or perish. ... The spirit of helping others must prevail for ever." Also, in Hindu mythology, Goddess Annapoorani's "Akshaya bowl" fed the hungry endlessly, never depleting its resources.'

I have never met this gentleman (I will actually try and write to him now saying that this he is a real inspiration) but I believe it would have taken him a lot of courage to actually decide to leave everything he dreamt of ever and go out and serve everyone. Krishnan's day begins at 4 a.m. He and his team cover nearly 125 miles in a donated van, routinely working in temperatures topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit. He seeks out the homeless under bridges and in the nooks and crannies between the city's temples. The hot meals he delivers are simple, tasty vegetarian food he personally prepares, packs and often hand-feeds to nearly 400 clients each day.

This may not be possible for everyone and its understandable - that's why he is a hero! But everyone can definitely if not in any bigger way, just help by being thoughtful before wasting any food or anything for that matter of fact. Just think of the man eating his human waste every time you are about to waste something.... It gives me goosebumps!

We all talk about human spirits in tough times like natural disasters and stand up for each other, this is also one such disaster.. People are dying without food, lets try and save them..

Here's to a new resolution in the new year - NO WASTAGE!

:)

Cheers!
P

P.S: Thanks Priyam for sending this video.. It came out of no where but triggered a strong emotion in me...

Bidding Good bye to 2010... Spread a smile!

In personal terms, 2010 has been a roller coaster ride with many ups and downs in the year.

I had a feeling closer to new year's last year that it wasn't going to be an easy ride. The year started with some difficult times making it very important to have a strong fight back in the series of events. Be it concerning health, professional or my personal life.

But what I've realized is that somewhere this year I have changed.. The way I behave, the way I react to things and may be also how I say or do things.. You can call it maturity or may be the ability to analyse things more deeply. It can be put in a number of ways but best said is that the change is evident.

Every day we all get up with new aspirations and hope about what we wish to achieve. And I feel that's a great thing but in the bargain we should also remember that one of all those aspirations should also be smiling and spreading the smile. You might read this and walk away thinking that its a philosophical thought and it won't make a difference in your every day life. Think about it, at the signal while crossing the road if you helped a blind or less able person to cross the road safely, or if you helped a person with a baby carry the Pram out of the station, the smile you got from them, how satisfying was that? Didn't that make you more hopeful on that day? Didn't it make you more hopeful for life? Its something to ponder on..

We all do make some or the other mistake in life. Knowingly or unknowingly. Always apologize / forgive and try to make it right because life is short, you do not want anyone to stay angry for long. Its not only about singular interactions but also maintaining and building relationships. Mistakes are meant to happen only so that you can make up for it.. If everything was easy, you would not be happy! I'm not trying to be a philosopher here, but just trying to pen down certain learnings from this year.

With 2 trips to Home (Mumbai, India) this year - In Feb and July, I realized and now I accept that yes, its about the home city but its more about the people there! The so planned surprise when I went home in July and the Birthday party and surprise in Feb. are memories that I will cherish for a while. People say distance drives people away and I don't deny that but thankfully my people haven't gone far. I am glad that one call can still get the point across and I love that (I do consider myself lucky for that).

Living in London has not been very easy (not to challenge the point that I am having a great time mostly).
Away from home, I've made a home where I always look forward to seeing this family of friends. Since last year this number has gone down as some have gone back and some have moved around. But they have a space reserved for them! :)

I went through some small and some big changes and challenges this year and these people stood by me at every point being my motivating factor.

I feel the changes that occurred are a beginning to a new horizon and its an uphill in certain matters from here. I must say that 2010 wasn't easy but its clearly done more good than bad.

On this new year's eve, there are some people who in 2010 have made me smile in some way or the other and I would just like to thank them for being there for me in every way possible and only hope that this is a journey on a endless road.

In London - Farha, Mustu, Em, Zahrah, Jigar and Ainee... Priya, Himani, Sakshi, Anshuman, Riya, Kanchan, Andria, Sonal, Rashee, Nisha, Jueta, Sanjnaa, Nosheen, Fatima, Sarita, Priyam, Dwayne and Hunaid..

Lately, these two stars have come into my life bringing positivity most of the time which is a big thing for me - Prachi and Yash.. Just thinking about it, both have some great qualities that have held me up at times .. Kiddish at times, but they are definately headed in the right direction... I wish you the very best... :)

Professionally, I had a rough start to the year, but with some support and vision, it got better. Some people who I would like to thank are - Bharat Vaswani and Mihir Patel.. I've learnt a lot from both and in their own ways they've imparted great knowledge. Bharat has been more like a mentor, guide or I should say even a guardian.. I really look upto him for advice and he's always thankfully been there with the best solutions.. I have always found value in his advice and over the course of the last year, learnt a lot from him..

Mihir on the other hand, has made me realize and brought great light to the way I think and should ideally handle people. Seeing how he's dealt with things and specially people since I started working with him, its commendable. It is generally quite difficult to manage some strong opinionated people, but he's done it brilliantly and most essentially is the way he's maintained the difference between work and personal friendship. That is the biggest learning if I must say.. I have learnt a lot and I truly respect him for it.

Going back to India - Ritesh, Hoshaang, Naasir, Rohan, Ajay, Gaurav, Yusuf, Miloni, Sapna, Sneha bhabhi, Dhruvi and Kinj...
Prakshal, Ruchika, Nikita, Divya, Aditi, Karishma R, Karishma D, Siddharth, Rishabh, Dhwaja, Afsheen, Parzaan, Jignesh, Nishit.. Aabha, Lekha, Dennis and Shagir..

In other parts of the world - Jojo, Sunnie, Nausheen..

Not generalizing it all, you've each made a special difference to this year for me in your own ways which I completely value.. I wish year on year, I can keep writing these names and the bonds only become stronger..

Lastly, I must not leave out the most important people of all, Mom, Dad, Bhavna, Shilpa, Shifa, Shalini Aunty, Alex Uncle, Natalie, Ashley, Padma Aunty, Dada, Nana, Jyoti Masi and Latu Masi.. You keep me and my values to life...

Thank you all for being so wonderful in 2010 and hope the New Year brings you and all your loved ones, a lot of happiness, love and lots of success. Hope you get all that you wish for deep within..

Things only get better in 2011.. Wish you great times.. :)

Warmest Regards,
Paras

Million Dreams..

Today, sitting in the tube, looking at the people around - most lost in their thoughts about to explore their world of dreams!

I can see the spark in many eyes, wanting to conquer the world and cast their spell on everyone around. But what is really their motivation? Their reason to dream? Their real inspiration?

I believe, in more ways than one, its themselves! We all have various people who inspire us, who make us feel that there is something in us that's not in everyone.. But along with all this, there's a voice within us that understands our emotions, our ambitions which makes us who we are!

Academics, practise, learning all on one side and the talent and ambition on another. The latter are inbuilt in us. Rest are all acquired actions if the talent and ambition exists! The world is complete with all of us being different in our own ways and still being human and live more or less the same way leaving the economic disparity.

I hope all those people who dream, can keep dreaming bigger, because that's when some of them will turn into reality...

Cheers to Dreaming! ;)

From,
A Dreamer!

All time XI - Indian Test Cricket Team

Recently, cricinfo announced India's all time best test XI and it featured most of the expected names. There were certain surprises when lights of players like Saurav Ganguly, one of India's finest opening batsmen in one days and VVS Laxman - One of India's best middle order batsmen in nearly all forms of the game were missing.

There is always criticism around any 'All time' selection that is made.. Every panel faces opposition, but I have to admit, this one has done quite a decent job!

After careful consideration, I can say that other most of the players were more or less justified. The only point to make would be the ever ongoing one about All-Rounders..

India has always lacked a good match in that arena.. There have been various contenders who have come close to Kapil Dev, one of the foremost but India has always been fishing for to fill that position for too long. No one has been consistent.

Here's hoping that the next generation of cricketers can bring this addition to the team and help it from stumbling down as it currently is so that if another 'All Time' team is made in the next 2 decades, she have a more powerful team.

The Indian Cricket team has a long way to go if they want to in the race for the World Cup which is partially being held on their home soil. It will mostly be Sachin Tendulkar's last world cup and I hope the team can come together and give him a perfect leaving present - WORLD CUP 2011.

Here's to that hope!

Cheers!

Paras

14/9/10

QS World University Rankings - But where is my University? :s

QS (Quacquarelli Symonds), A world leading career and education network has published QS World University Rankings today and I personally believe that in a age where globalisation of education is given so much emphasis, these rankings can prove to be a great benchmark to compare education standards in different countries.

According to the Institute of International Education, the number of students going to university abroad has jumped from fewer than 2 million in 2000 to more than 3 million in 2010. This clearly justifies the need to set standards for which rankings are essential.

The increase in the number of students pursuing university abroad is clearly influenced by enormous increases from certain regions. One can point on countries like India, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ghana and say that there has been massive contributions from these regions, certainly India. She has one of the world’s largest higher education systems - with more than 350 universities, 16,000 colleges, and a student population of over 12 million. India also contributes over 120,000 students a year to universities in the US, Australia and UK alone.

I believe it makes people like me feel good if their university's name is seen on the list. And at the same time, it also inspires students who are planning to study at a certain University.

Here's a list of the top 10 Universities across subjects,


2010 Institution Name Country/Territory

1 University of Cambridge UK
2 Harvard University USA
3 Yale University USA
4 UCL (University College London) UK
5 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) USA
6 University of Oxford UK
7 Imperial College London UK
8 University of Chicago USA
9 California Institute of Technology (Caltech) USA
10 Princeton University USA

Source: www.topuniversities.com

And to view the entire rankings, you can log onto
http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2010/results


Go find your university on it...

Cheers!

Paras

Stroke of Happiness

Happiness can be achieved in the smallest of things.

In today's day and age, even while sometimes we do not understand the value of what we have, we know that if we don't have it, we'll be in a fix. This is probably a reason why we miss our friends and family when we are away. We are accustomed to feeling that someone is looking out for us and when this feeling is not very obvious, we tend to think otherwise.. Does this actually affect the bond between 2 people? I guess so.. There are 2 ways to look at this, either you could miss that person and try harder to make things right or you could end up thinking that its time to move on... At the end of the day, each person judges it their own way.

At a young age, Rony - a very ambitious and fast paced guy moved away to peruse his dream and for quite a few years did not realise but slowly and steadily kept moving away, not only physically but also mentally from his dear ones.. He believed that sometimes, things do happen for a reason and took things as they came. He 'went with the flow' and was very casual with things. Soon did he come to realise that it was going to take things away from him.. He started feeling the pinch but was not sure how he could implement the change. He got back to ground in the nick of time and made sure he touched base with his mates to get things right...

Sometimes its important to know how important someone is to you and you are to someone... Its a reassuring and comforting thought.

A friend pointed out to me today, I had mentioned a while back that its a human need to feel loved and secured in life.. Love, Family, Friends all add to reassure us the same..
She said, she had thought of a solution to it - Hope & Belief. And adds 'I try to reassure to myself that what I want will come my way, got to be patient. Its fine if things were messed up in the past or I'm currently missing it, I haven't given up! I believe my belief will come true!'

But how many of us can do that? Is it a very easy thing to do? or just easy to say and difficult to practice? All I can say right now is that there's no point giving up! Give it your best and express what you feel.. It can make the world of a difference to someone.. A few words can twist a tale!

So lets bring out the magic wand and make a wish to make someone feel important today to make yourself feel important!

Adios!

Paras

'If you believe that you can damage, then believe that you can fix'.
- Rebbe Nachman of Breslov

A situation we never want to see... Pakistan Disaster

Happiness can be achieved in the smallest of things.

In today's day and age, even while sometimes we do not understand the value of what we have, we know that if we don't have it, we'll be in a fix.

Pakistan is encountering a constant humanitarian crisis as catastrophic flooding is affecting even more people than the 2004 tsunami, Haiti earthquake and South Asia earthquake combined according to UNICEF.

According to Government of Pakistan figures, over 20 million people, including millions of children have been affected by these floods. The situation for many is getting worst daily. It is very difficult to even survive I would say...

Pakistan's government has compared the impact of the country's devastating floods to the country's partition from India as it revealed more than 20 million people had been made homeless by the disaster. The government has also compared these floods to the disastrous time faced by the country during its partition from India in 1947 where over 50,000 people had been killed and over 10million people were left homeless and called refugees with half of them losing their families.

"This has been a heart-wrenching day for me," Ban Ki-moon,The UN secretary general said after flying over some of the worst-hit areas. He added "I will never forget the destruction and suffering I have witnessed today. In the past I have witnessed many natural disasters around the world, but nothing like this."

The UN estimates approx 36,000 people to be affected by water borne diseases and the number is still gowing.

In such stressful times, I believe one good thing I heard and came across was that opposition leader Nawaz Sharif has vowed to work together with Prime Minister Gilani to tackle the disaster. In a news conference, he said, "Politics at this time is haram [Proscribed by Islam]."

I feel we should all try and contribute in our own small ways.. There are numerous organisations trying to support it in more ways than one. I urge everyone to please be kind and help the victims of the floods. Links to some are below..

http://www.unicef.org.uk/give/index.asp?page=81&gclid=CJyW1-X-wKMCFR0B4wodMhUhaQ

http://www.oxfam.org/en/emergencies/pakistan-floods-2010


Lets try and build a better future for the ones who have nothing to look forward to, no hope at the moment.. Lets unite for the world to be a better place to live...

Please spread the word.

In hope for a better tomorrow.

Regards,
P

International Youth Day!

We all want to believe in youth empowerment and I agree, the society is very much moving towards it. We see a lot of young individuals trying to make a point and leave their mark in the society, and just to mention that this is not easy. One faces a tough time to actually leave an impact with their work, specially when they are young. At this age, its about getting the right opportunity.

In December 2009, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/64/134 proclaiming the Year commencing this International Youth Day (12 August 2010) as the International Year of Youth. (http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/iyouthday.htm)

This means that this year, a major focus point is going to be development of young individuals and professionals. In a time when we are just coming out of recession still in many parts of the world, this should be a solid encouraging factor. It will promote the youth towards holistic development.

The UN defines youth as those between the ages of 15 to 24. Youth represents 18 percent of the global population of 6.2 billion people. This 18% is the future of the world. There needs to be strategic planning and direction towards shape the future of this youth. And I personally feel such initiatives like the International Youth day and the International Youth year, give the youth a lot of uplifting motivation.

I don't really agree that anyone's to blame for situations in certain countries (mostly developing) as we can instrument changes over a period of time. I believe that one should raise his voice and concerns when required but at the same time, one should take those efforts to prosper as well. Distrust, enmity and selfishness are the biggest barriers to global prosperity. If we, the youth of the world, work together, nothing - I mean nothing can stop us.

We have to be the drivers of the change for tomorrow. Lets be the change to make the change.

Cheers to the UN, The Youth of Today - The Youth for the change!

Power and Future of Social Media

We all feel the need to be connected.

There are various ways to do that and we have evolved with more. From early days when people used hand written letters, then telegraphs and then lead to phone calls, then a cheaper way through emails and now finally Social Networks. We are in a constantly evolving age. Corporations are investing millions in Research and Development to produce a quality product that will change how we do things again..

Today, facebook is a rage. Everyone is nearly on it. Well, almost. And according to current statistics, there are more than 500 million active users, 50% of facebook's active users log on to Facebook on any given day, Average user has 130 friends and people spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook!!! Yes, 700 BILLION! These are figures provided by the network. Imagine, how much time are we investing on networking. And lets not deny, this is just one social network - there are some more and quite a few present regionally as well.

Just a thought, if the content online was dependent on the people from a country only, then the proposition put ahead by Google that majority of the content available online will be in chinese can be true. But we need to keep in mind that social networks do benefit us in more ways than one.

It is a freely accessible product almost everywhere. If one goes to see, its more effort consuming compared to a campaign with road shows. Its a continues brand building process.

As we saw, when Facebook took over Myspace and other big competitors because of its network strength, it is likely that sometime, it will happen again. But for today, facebook records figures higher than anyone had ever imagined. Its synergy with cell phones has made it easier for people to keep in touch on the move as well. It was one of the first few networks to use this mobile version technology and has now revolutionised the user experience.

One can only say that the power of social media in the future will only increase..

Feel free to share your views on the same.

Regards,

Paras Fatnani

Business Minds and Future leaders

After quite a few months of casual blogging and posts of personal interest, I am going to start writing some professional opinionated content as well. This is not indicating that I will not share philosophical views but just means that I wish to learn and help people learn more and share views about certain things that influence our minds on Business and Leadership as well.

In today's day and age, we get easily influenced by individuals who showcase power and authority. Its a common phenomena where individuals are probably scared or feel that they will be walked over and hence they do not voice an opinion. But, I don't mean to say that there aren't people who are very vocal. The proportion is not balanced. And hence I feel comes such a huge divide in income levels and also personalities.

Here is where initiation and support from parents and fellow classmates in school and college can change things. Personality development is a key factor that in today's day and age should given a huge spot. Social enterprises, NGO's and social clubs cater to this need of the society. They help an average individuals go a level higher and become more confident. That's something we all should promote and give people the chance to grow and learn more.

Today's business works and thrives very much on new and innovative ideas. It would be unimaginable to think that the internet will not grow in the next 5 years. We are in that kind of a society that is constantly evolving... We have to get accustomed to change! There are hundreds of people with the best ideas but with no or a slight opportunity to showcase them. We should work towards providing people that opportunity.. That's the need for a better tomorrow. We should all work towards projects and initiatives, in our own ways that show good prospect for the future because every little counts.

Leaving it at that thought..

Untill Next time, rester en sécurité!

P