Showing posts with label India. Show all posts
An Important Lesson I Learnt...
(Here is a great article by Vaibhav Dangwal)
Well, to start with, I would like to tell you a story my father told me when I was a child. He was a lecturer in a government school. At that time I loved to explore the labs of the school. One day he took me to the physics lab, where I saw several cardboard tubes stockpiled in one corner, covered with dust. They seemed useless to me. Later the attendant came, and told me how to use those tubes. They were telescopes which were made by students as their summer projects. I found them fun, and the rest of my day was spent playing with a telescope, spotting distant objects such as street lights and birds, and zooming in and out using a sliding mechanism in it.
In the evening, when my father came back to take me to home, I asked him if I could take that telescope with me. After all, the school had no use of it. My father smiled, pulled a chair and sat on it. I also smiled and sat in front of him as I knew it was time for a lecture. So he told me a story, which I am writing in very brief, below.
Chanakya was a king maker. He was a teacher, a philosopher, and a royal adviser. I don't think he needs any introduction. Seleucus was a Greek emperor, successor of Alexander the great. He fought a battle with Chandragupta Maurya, but was defeated. At that time, Seleucus had the mightiest army in the whole world. After being defeated, he learnt that, the chief adviser to Mauryan Kingdom, Chanakya, was the main planner and strategist of the war. He thought he might learn something good from Chanakya. So he sent him a letter, asking if he could do a private talk with Chanakya. Chanakya agreed, and sent him an invitation.
We all know Chanakya lived in tattered hut, away from King's Fort. He used to do meditation, chintan and all the studying there only, and for light, all he had was an oil fed 'diya' (earthen lamp).
The lesson was simple. But it took me a decade to get to the point to fully understand what he was trying to say. I grew up watching people use the allowances granted by the government to them being put into personal use.
Who takes a government vehicle to shopping ? Or to send their children to tuitions ? Or on a private tour ? Yes. Us. Apart from it, think of several thousand ways in which we misuse government resources. Almost everyone is dipped neck deep in corruption. Fake audits, fake bills, illegal hoardings, nepotism, we have it all. But it's not time to raise these issues. It's time to get together. I'll tell you how. Stay tuned and keep sharing your valuable views and feedback with us.
Well, to start with, I would like to tell you a story my father told me when I was a child. He was a lecturer in a government school. At that time I loved to explore the labs of the school. One day he took me to the physics lab, where I saw several cardboard tubes stockpiled in one corner, covered with dust. They seemed useless to me. Later the attendant came, and told me how to use those tubes. They were telescopes which were made by students as their summer projects. I found them fun, and the rest of my day was spent playing with a telescope, spotting distant objects such as street lights and birds, and zooming in and out using a sliding mechanism in it.
In the evening, when my father came back to take me to home, I asked him if I could take that telescope with me. After all, the school had no use of it. My father smiled, pulled a chair and sat on it. I also smiled and sat in front of him as I knew it was time for a lecture. So he told me a story, which I am writing in very brief, below.
Chanakya was a king maker. He was a teacher, a philosopher, and a royal adviser. I don't think he needs any introduction. Seleucus was a Greek emperor, successor of Alexander the great. He fought a battle with Chandragupta Maurya, but was defeated. At that time, Seleucus had the mightiest army in the whole world. After being defeated, he learnt that, the chief adviser to Mauryan Kingdom, Chanakya, was the main planner and strategist of the war. He thought he might learn something good from Chanakya. So he sent him a letter, asking if he could do a private talk with Chanakya. Chanakya agreed, and sent him an invitation.
We all know Chanakya lived in tattered hut, away from King's Fort. He used to do meditation, chintan and all the studying there only, and for light, all he had was an oil fed 'diya' (earthen lamp).
So when Seleucus arrived, he greeted him, and just before starting their 'private' talk, he put off the flame of diya.They talked and discussed in complete darkness. Chanakya gave him some valuable lessons, and soon the talk was over. When Seleucus was about leave, he asked Chanakya, - "Mahamatya (mahamantri, prime minister), why did you put off the light before this discussion ?" Chanakya replied:
"Because the oil in the lamp is property of state. And I didn't wanted to use the state's resources for a private conversation."
The lesson was simple. But it took me a decade to get to the point to fully understand what he was trying to say. I grew up watching people use the allowances granted by the government to them being put into personal use.
Who takes a government vehicle to shopping ? Or to send their children to tuitions ? Or on a private tour ? Yes. Us. Apart from it, think of several thousand ways in which we misuse government resources. Almost everyone is dipped neck deep in corruption. Fake audits, fake bills, illegal hoardings, nepotism, we have it all. But it's not time to raise these issues. It's time to get together. I'll tell you how. Stay tuned and keep sharing your valuable views and feedback with us.
An Insight Into The New India
As an young Indian in his early 20's, I have always been been amazed by the fact that WE have the largest youth population in the world, WE are the world's largest democracy, We are the people who are never afraid of hard-work, no matter what time of the day (or night) it is, yet WE are still a backward, slowly developing country, a country that has enough matters to be ashamed of.
While many may revolt my statement of calling India a backward country, but then what do you call a country where a rape is reported every 22 minutes, and all that the people do is a candle march, and that too when a rape victim dies. What do you call a country where people call their politicians corrupt (I am not denying the fact), but stay mum when they are asked not to bribe someone, or, in other words, not to nurture corruption? Tell me, what do you call a country where one can be let off after doing a serious crime, just because he paid several hundred (or thousand) bucks to someone in the enforcement?
Here, I am not raising any one issue. I will not just talk about women harassment, not just about corruption, but I will talk on a number of issues, issues which disturb the life of every common Indian in one way or the other.
I remember coming across a cartoon recently which certainly makes us introspect and ask ourselves whether we are the reasons of many of the problems we face today. In the cartoon, a person threw some garbage at a clean place. After he left, someone else came and threw some more garbage at the same place. Several others followed, and the place started to become a dirty mess. Later, the person who started littering at that place came back, and, disturbed by the stench, makes a remark, 'This city is SOO dirty.'.
If you understood what just happened in the cartoon I described, you are the one I am looking for in this journey to change the way we Indians think. With this, I take your leave to give you some time to introspect. Do let me know what your conscience tells you after reading this!
While many may revolt my statement of calling India a backward country, but then what do you call a country where a rape is reported every 22 minutes, and all that the people do is a candle march, and that too when a rape victim dies. What do you call a country where people call their politicians corrupt (I am not denying the fact), but stay mum when they are asked not to bribe someone, or, in other words, not to nurture corruption? Tell me, what do you call a country where one can be let off after doing a serious crime, just because he paid several hundred (or thousand) bucks to someone in the enforcement?
Questions like these keep haunting me, and I suppose they must be haunting you too, for they form the basis when we sit down to frame the answers on why we are still 'BACKWARD'.I could have made you proud of our country in the same number of words, but what use it is to be proud of your country when it has a plenty of issues to be resolved, and mind you, these are not issues which can be sidelined.
Here, I am not raising any one issue. I will not just talk about women harassment, not just about corruption, but I will talk on a number of issues, issues which disturb the life of every common Indian in one way or the other.
I remember coming across a cartoon recently which certainly makes us introspect and ask ourselves whether we are the reasons of many of the problems we face today. In the cartoon, a person threw some garbage at a clean place. After he left, someone else came and threw some more garbage at the same place. Several others followed, and the place started to become a dirty mess. Later, the person who started littering at that place came back, and, disturbed by the stench, makes a remark, 'This city is SOO dirty.'.
If you understood what just happened in the cartoon I described, you are the one I am looking for in this journey to change the way we Indians think. With this, I take your leave to give you some time to introspect. Do let me know what your conscience tells you after reading this!
You are Welcome !!
A Brief about us:-
We are not here to explain things to people, we are not here to teach you anything, neither we are going to make you do anything or something, We are here just to make you think .We are here just to awaken the human in you .
We as a team believe in doing rather than saying.
We believe in the saying - "BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE".
We are no one but" A DREAM FOR A BETTER SOCIETY, A BETTER INDIA...
WE BELIEVE IN OURSELVES AND WE BELIEVE WE CAN MAKE A CHANGE!!!
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