Education

I was lucky to be born in India. Even with about 250 million people living below poverty line, India is one of the few countries in the world that offer practically free education to its vast population. Education provides hope and power to many.

The boy started his journey from a school with thatched roofs an isolated journey. This is the story of many who started from humble beginnings, and believed in second chances. An African man, Barack Obama, born to a Kenyan father, and raised by a single parent in the poor neighbourhoods of Hawaii is going to represent the democratic party in the US presidential election. About 43 years back, people of his colour were not allowed to vote, or even sit in the bus seats which were reserved for whites. Gandhji was kicked around in the street of South Africa for walking in the areas which were designated for whites only. Now a man, with his sheer persistence, tenacity and intelligence, is challenging the conventional wisdom of colour based identities of human beings which has been true for centuries, and still holds true in many parts of the world.

In our journey through life, we walk around with bags filled with memories of the past, and dreams and hopes for the future. We select the colours of our dreams and memories. We live with our own insecurities and the constant urge to prove to someone. It could be our parents, loved ones or ourselves.

So, good luck with your examinations or interviews, or whatever dreams youe are pursuing. Life is a journey; Don’t forget the paths you passed, those paths define you. Keep your chin up. Put on a smile and head on.

Cheers!!

DRUG ABUSE

There are substances other than common drugs which have potential for abuse.  They range from kitchen spices through common flowers and weeds to highly sophistical drugs.  drugs are inert substances neither good nor bad in themselves, it is the nature of human involvement (how and under what circumstances they are used)  which makes them either beneficial or harmful. Drug abuse is defined as self-administration of drugs in excessive or inappropriate doses. The drugs with  abuse potential may be classified into four categories according to their functions viz. (a) Narcotics, (b) Depressants, (c) Stimulants and (d) Hallucinogens. alcohol and tobacco are two other substances most commonly abused throughout the world.

Narcotics, depressants (mild sedatives, barbiturates and tranquillizer) and stimulants are essential to the practice of modern medicine, but hallucinogens are used only in medical research.  When administered without medical supervision they are said to be abused. All substances with abuse potential can produce changes in behaviour, particularly used. The abuser may deal intoxicated,  relaxed, withdrawn and solitary, sociable and talkative, quick to agree or believe. These changes may be harmless or may constitute a danger to both the abuser and society.

SUCCESS

All of us are engaged in an unconscious endeavour to distract attention from the respect in which we are inferior to others and to emphasise the respect in which we believe ourselves to be superior.  Each of us must feel superior in some respect; and we try unconsciously, to convince the world that this is really the one thing that matters. If we are physically inferior but intellectually superior, then we tend to disparage physical prowess and emphasise the importance of  mental ability. If we are bad workmen or bad farmers, then we may try to shine as parlour politicians.  If we uneducated but (self-made), wealthy, well, then what is the use of education. It only spoils a man’s mind. On the contrary, we educated, but unsuccessful in the business of life, then we never lose an opportunity of belittling business success. Generally, if we are successful at anything, we believe that success is won by industry, ability and character, while if we have been unsuccessful, we believe that success is a matter of luck! Isn’t that so?

The Charms of Poetry

Poetry like life, defines a definition. Like the wind it is eluding. We can feel the wind all the time, but cannot see it. so is poetry; we enjoy it, but not define it. We can, at best, define its features. Wordsworth may say, that it is an experience recollected in tranquility, but before that, there invoke love or hatred, joy or sorrow, hope or despair-an emotional outburst. There is something ethereal about it and a halo about its maker. It is the language of the soul that suddenly breaks into a passionate song of beauty and splendour. Whoever it is – Dante or Homer, Milton or Shakespheare the burden is the same-soul communicating with soul. Sweets may cloy, pleasures may become stale, but the charm of poetry forever remains fresh and fragrant.

Food is to taste, beauty to sight, music to hear and fragrance to sniff and breeze to feel. But poetry is too all these not only to feast the five senses but to sober them. Poetry is as old as humanity itself. All ancient works of religion and philosophy are poetical in essence if not couched in poetry.

POEM

William Wordsworthdescribes poetry as ‘Spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings’. Reading and writing poems brings great pleasure to our minds. One need not necessarily be highly competent in the language in which one attempts writing poems. If one’s mind is pregnant with a thought, the drive to deliver it in the poetic form will automatically bring ‘choice words’ to one’s hand. all of us agree that poetry writing is enjoyed as a solitary assignment. But recently I experienced the pleasure of doing it as a class activity wherein most of the children in the class were involved. A poem was composed in the class. Some student supplied word, some framed lines, some suggested ‘better word’, some tried to bring in the rhyme, so and so forth. Finally they saw poem on the board, that was composed by them all in about twenty minutes!.

The poem are given below read and enjoy.

 A FLASH BACK

As I walked into the sun lit room
I felt nervous and was filled with gloom.
I was still holding my mother’s hand,
The class room was looking grand!

When my left I felt insecure
The teacher took my hand in her hand
With a pleasant smile and love which is pure
We began our journey to a happy land.

SKILLS

‘Silence is golden’ is a thought provoking proverb. If you think that you are inactive, idle and dull when you are silent, you are wrong. That kind of silence cannot be ‘golden’. When you are silent you are listening, you either listen to someone or to your own conscience.

Listening is a great virtue. It is a boon to mankind. Animals also listen. Their listening helps them to reach their prey or to escape from an enemy. But this skill in man elevates his self, fills him with knowledge and develop his personality.

The word ‘LISTEN’ is a precious jewel.
Each letter of the word is a gem .
LISTENing
Makes you LEARN more
Helps you to IDENTIFY good things
shapes you into the SKILL FULL person
TRANSFORMS you into a better person
EMPOWER you to face life
and NULLIFIES all your weaknesses
so, my dear friends, listen!

Listen to your parents, teacher, elders and all your well wishers.

TALENTS

The phrase ‘excellent in communication skills’ might no longer add value to your resume in these times of recession.

According to a study conducted in 100 colleges, it was found that students did not meet the ‘employment-ready’ criteria, through 80 percent of the respondents possessed good communication skills.

It certainly symbolises the times we live in, with campus placement volumes coming down and companies looking to reduce the costs of training.

“Just knowing the basic codes and computer languages won’t help these days”. “The student needs to exhibit a corporate mindset and job readiness”.

For students waiting to get into jobs, it’s about that ‘extra factor’ that they can provide to the organisation and that comes from polishing transferable skills.

‘A Bcom student should be made to study job-oriented curriculum, say for instance, marketing of insurance products or mutual funds, which will help him to find a job easily”.