Its morning in India

Came across this interesting article in NY Times :

Its morning in India

Lok Raj Andolan

I saw the following from Arvind Kejriwal's blog on CNN IBN.

www.lokrajandolan.org

And then they came for me

And then they came for me

Last Thursday, Lasantha Wickramatunga, who was fifty-two-years-old and the editor of a Sri Lankan newspaper called the Sunday Leader, was assassinated on his way to work by two gunmen riding motorcycles. The Leader's investigative reporting had been fiercely critical of the government and of the conduct of its war against Tamil separatists; Wickramatunga had been attacked before.

Cellular Silence Day

This is a very valuable petition on petiononline.

http://www.petitiononline.com/30JAN09/petition.html

I would definitely support this petition.

If you do, then read the petition, support it, and turn your cell phone off.

I still cannot believe how a country can so carelessly let go of a carnage ? Was it any less than a genocide?

Amazingly Motivational Story :: A Guy who got into Google

Read this :

A Guy Who Got into Google

NY Times Article :: End of Black Politics?

I was reading this article on NY Times. Pretty intriguing and displays some unusual complexities. As I read through, I felt how just a different perception can add a complete new dimension of complexity.

Is Obama the End of Black Politics?

Very interesting read. Pretty Long though.

Using Plastics for Waste:: Work of Dr. Alka Zadgaonkar

I read this very interesting article on goodnewsindia.com. If this is so successful, I wish it comes to every corner of the country and the plastic is taken away as soon as it is dumped down.

Alka Zadgaonkar Wrings Plastic Waste for Profit

NY Times Article :: Mother's Influence on Barack Obama's Life

It has been such an inspiration for me reading this article.

A Free Spirited Wandered who set Obama's Path


Forget the influence etc. Just from a human perspective, purely based on what has been mentioned in the article by the author, the beliefs and practices of the lady have been so phenomenal that you feel like following similar practices.

Sunscreen

A colleague sent me this link on Youtube. Thought its a nice one. So here it is for those visiting this blog.

Everybody Free to Wear a Sunscreen

NY Time Article :: Failure isnt always a bad thing

Failure isn't always a bad thing

A very fascinating article indeed. Sometimes it is so difficult to continuously maintain the thought and breeze through. Some neat equations were brought up in this article. Several more relationships come to my mind when I think about it is. They are :

1. Balance of Courage (B) ∝ 1/(Degree of Failure (D))
That means, many times we take riskless chances and when they do not work, we say, that is fine. This is because we did not lose much. When we have chances that carry some degree of loss with them, what is the level of courage that supports us to take the chance?

2. Amount of Learning (L) (if you can come out of failure) ∝ D^n where ^ is power of, and n can be any integer
This has always been true. In the end, it might have sounded like "Ahh... this is so simple", but the problem may not really have been that simple. In retrospect everything is perfect. Isnt it? But when we fail again and improve and fail and improve and fail and improve, a neural network system is working that is continuously learning.

3. B = f(Social Factors, Inner Soul, ..)
Our decision to take chance, our decision to take risk and our desire to dream big gets impacted by so many social factors, inner resistances, fear of failure and so on. But when that indomitable passion dominates, nothing can stop one from taking all kinds of chances. That passion keeps telling the person that there is nothing to loose. So go for it.

More on this to follow if I feel ...

Calcutta Volcano

A strong thought provoking article by M.J.Akbar on the recent riots in Calcutta

Calcutta Volcano

IITs Boycott Dow Chemicals

Here is an article in IBN live.

IITs boycott Dow

Happy and relieved to see students increasingly analyzing ethical credentials of companies.

Why is no group ever excluded from quota?

This was the question asked by Supreme Court to the Indian Government.

Here is the article:

TimesOfIndia

Lecture of a Lifetime

Lecture of a Lifetime on WSJ

On ABC News

Suicide Stopper :: Is he less than God for some?

Read this nice article. Absolutely fascinating about this hero.

The Article

Mango : The product of India.

It seems Mango, my favorite fruit was discovered in North East India some thousands of years back. And it also seems like it was not as delicious and fleshy as we know it today. Multiple instances of hybridisations, evolutions etc. gave rise to the fleshy, juicy king of all fruits as we see today.

I learnt it at http://www.plantcultures.org

Whistling Woods

Have you heard of Whistling Woods? I accidentally came across it. Its a film university just started by Subhas Ghai. Shows the maturity that is coming in it seems. One sweet thing is that Naseerudding Shah is the Head of the Department for Acting.

Check it out :

http://www.whistlingwoods.net/

In the related context, here is Satyajit Ray Film Institute :

http://srfti.gov.in/index.htm

Memories of a Father

I somehow stumbled upon this on web and kept on reading. Leaves you touched and voiceless.

Memories of a Father


A true story written by no other than a father who loses his son to police torture in Kerala.

Here is a touching snippet :

"This small book contributes far more to the literature on human rights than the tons of academic writings that unfortunately crowd our libraries. Most of those books are produced in countries quite unlike India, where this story is set. As such, they are relevant to countries where police officers generally observe discipline, where most criminal investigations are competently managed, where the judiciary as a whole is uncorrupted, and where politicians are not publicly perceived as sheer frauds.

From the tears of a father’s pen, Professor Eachara Varier tells of another reality. His son’s disappearance draws from him this eloquent, moving and remarkable statement on cruelty, courage, and enduring hope. His story is from India, but it is the story of millions throughout Asia, and in many other parts of the world."

"

“Please give this to our son Rajan. I trust only you.”

She didn’t utter a word after that. Cold death had already touched her.

The next day after her death, I had a nap on the couch. The

weight of that packet of coins, which she entrusted to me,

was still in my hands.

"

"I came to know that Rajan yielded himself silently to the torture. I have read about people being called to their deaths in Nazi camps. As an officer called out names, others were queuing up, waiting for their turn. They even took care not to call a husband and wife together into death; Hitler knew that the pain of separation and getting lost was more intense than death."

INSPIRATIONAL MOMENTS IN LIFE

• Inspirational Story of Sharath Babu
• Will be posted as and when I come across....
  

INDIAN GOVERNMENT RELATED

National Portal of India
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