Let me start with a famous quote of my favourite Ratan Tata Jee:
“Ups and downs in life are very important to keep us going, because a straight line even in an ECG means we are not alive.” For many reasons, the last one year or so, was one of the toughest part of my life. It doesn't mean that the rest of the period was so smooth, but during the last one year, I had to travel through a path, where my "ABILITY" as well as my "CREDIBILITY" were at stakes. We know that the tough time will pass through, but the path towards destiny can be more painful than what others feel or see through their eyes. During this tough period, I was able to see a black wolf and a white wolf within me. This was the story I had posted a few years back in my own blog. You may read my old blog to recollect that famous story. Link of my old blog is given below: https://subrahamanyam.weebly.com/my-blogs/aheart-touching-story-of-two-wolves Yes, these two wolves were consistently fighting with each other. The black wolf was filled with fear, anger, envy, jealously, greed, and arrogance. On the other hand, the white wolf was filled with peace, love, hope, courage, humility, compassion, and faith. The blog ended up with a question: "Which wolf wins?" And the answer was: "That's simple. It's the wolf we feed the most." Whatsoever may be the outcome of this fight, my complaint was not with either of these wolves. Certainly not. I have experienced the presence of these wolves within self many times, and have been continuously learning to deal with them. The day I feed the black wolf, the white wolf would disappear. And whenever I fed the white wolf, the black one would make its way towards exit. These wolves are part of our life, and we need to learn to deal with them. I do not want to elaborate on how to tackle these wolves. It may not be very simple, but try to feed the white wolf alone (always), and keep the black wolf unattended (though tough, but learn to do so). This would lead to the positivity. However, your journey can not be comfortable when both your abilities and capabilities are at stake, as I mentioned above. I was trying to compete with myself and was trying to overcome my own best. Despite all my efforts, I was not able to make a visible progress, and the nightmares of dejection and rejection were riding my mindset. It was also a period, when the optimism was playing hide and seek game with me, and the battlefield was nothing lesser than that of the famous Mahabharata. In the battle of Mahabharata, Arjuna was not ready to use his weapons, stating that - how can he use these weapons against his own family members and relatives. What followed next was the famous - Bhagvath Geetha. But in my case, I was determined to stay in the battle field. I was not nervous about a visible war, because my war was not against my own people, but my war was against a solo negative though that - this is impossible. You can't do it. And such thought was many times endorsed by many nears and dears. But this was the toughest part of this battle, which I had to overcome at any cost. When you take up a task in your life, whether personal or professional. The success of that task solely depends on your will-power, your dedicated efforts, and the focus of your execution skills. From the very first chapter of Bhagavath Geetha, I have learned that we must be ready to use the weapons for a good purpose. And when I further proceed to subsequent chapters of Geetha, I get to learn that we must not worry about the fruits, and rather focus only on the work. I was well determined to stay on the path of determination, and I knew that I am going in a calibrated manner, and this path would lead to the expected destiny. I do believe, I was right. Yes, I was. Indeed I was. But, I happen to learn certain new lessons which were worth a lifetime achievement for me. When you are undergoing one of the possibly toughest phase of your battle, you must not expect anyone to support you. The famous saying - "EVERY COIN HAS TWO SIDES". This saying remain a saying in the closed books. The failure of a person is easily visible to the society than the other side of the coin. I learned that - neither your close friends, nor your relatives will ever bother to look at the other side of the coin. They prefer to be judgemental, rather than going one step deeper inside to find out what was hidden on the other side of the coin? I wished that people had the patience to look at both sides of the coin, but they did not. I wished that so-called judgemental people might look on the other side of the coin as well. But they never did. No regrets, No complaints. Despite hating to remember those tough periods, I am grateful to almighty that the tough phase of my life taught me some very valuable lessons, which I would have, otherwise never learnt so easily. To cut short my lengthy blog with a meaningful end. ALL I LEARNED TO OVERCOME THE TOUGH PHASE WAS TO BALANCE YOUR MIND AND HEART IN SUCH A CALIBRATED MANNER THAT THE BLACK WOLF WITHIN YOU DOESN'T GET FOOD AT ANY COST. LET HIM REMAIN HUNGRY, ONCE AND FOREVER. These were more lessons: 1. There is always a hidden side of the coin. Don't be judgemental, unless you know what is hidden on the other side. 2. Your closest friends, relatives, and colleagues may do all the possible catalytic activities, which may indirectly become the food to the black wolf inside you. And you must learn to keep the black wolf still hungry. Let him not wake up. 3. The best way to come out of a tough phase of life is not by avoiding the problem. No, it can't help. Even if someone is not reminding you about a problem, you have to face it. Face the problems - head on. Don't postpone the battle. Take the problem - head on. Finally, learn how to remain calm and steady even if your ability is questioned. No one, other than yourself must judge your own ability. And take the 'appreciation' and 'criticism' of the society in absolutely same spirit, i.e., a positive spirit. I know my blog has become very lengthy. But when it comes straight from the heart, it has to have no censorship, hence the lengthy blog. Hope you might have loved reading my blog. Thanks for your patience and valuable time in reading my blog.
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Often we face certain situations in our life when our close and dear ones would hurt us, whether intentionally or unintentionally, but it happens.
How to deal with such a situation? It hurts. Right. Definitely, it hurts. We must try to compare such a situation with an analogy of "deposits and withdrawals" in a bank. All these friends and our dears deposit plenty of good memories with us in terms of sharing, caring, and trying to help us in needy times. They became so close to us because of their frequent deposits. So, what's wrong if one particular day, they made withdraw? Can't we keep such an unusual withdraw out of context and focus on their deposits? This analogy would help us in coming out of a negative ambience which can be easily turned positive. And if a person never had deposited anything, then why bother about withdrawal. Our mindset (bank account) must be too strong to remain unaffected by such transactions. That's how our mindset must be turned positive. Dear Friends,
In a couple of hours from now, we will be entering the new year 2021. I would like to share an impressive quote from Mr. Hunter S. Thomson: "Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!" --- Hunter S. Thomson As we prepare ourselves to welcome 2021, I would like to put forward my views on - "Before we welcome 2021, let us thank 2020 first" 1. COVID took away so many lives, and we survived ..... The year 2020 was a battle between life and death, and the sole cause that dominated this battle was COVID. Many of our close friends and relatives lost their lives, but we survived. Thank God for giving us the strength to sustain this battle. We accept your blessings and will do full justice to your blessings by helping mankind in the coming years. 2. COVID changed our way of lifestyle, and we are really thankful ... Half the year, we had to close ourselves within four walls. It was a tough decision, but God compelled us to do so. In other words, almighty had pressed the "RESET" button of Nature. We never bothered about this God-gifted Nature, but COVID forcefully pressed the "PAUSE" button and forced us to meditate among ourselves, which we had forgotten otherwise. 3. Life-time Lesson - Money is not the only thing...... In Hindi we say....Mulla-Masjid daud. All the years, we had been running behind the money, but during the lockdown period, we happen to learn that Money is not the life. Definitely Not. If we had two times meals with us, we need to thank almighty for the same. No one is richer than a person, who has two times meals. Rest of the things will come and go.... 4. Value of Money, a forgotten lesson...... Each one of us is well-aware of the value of money. But the year 2020 taught us in a very hard fashion, the value of money. Had this COVID not shown its presence, gradually the new generation was forgetting the value of money in lieu of luxuries. But 2020 taught us that luxury can not replace the food. Food is our primary requirement, so is Health. In this priority list, Money was not finding its presence in the top....truly a forgotten lesson. 5. No-One cares for what you earn. They respect what you give.... Social Media became more active than anything and people started spending more and more time on various platforms. And we might have circulated more posts on the name of big industrialists like Tata, who came forward in support of COVID victims. The Health Workers, who worked like God and dedicated their lives to this battle, the battle between life and death. But the bottom line of this lesson was - no one will care for what we have earned, but they will always remember what we could give to society. 6. Importance of Local Grocery Shop and Vegetable Vendor... Weekends were earlier made for an outing. And the homely kitchens were preferred to be closed during the weekends. But a compelling lockdown made us stay within four walls. Outside dining was almost written off from the diaries of 2020. It made us cook tasty dishes within our kitchens. And the so-called ignored local grocery shops and vegetable vendors were turned like a saviour. They were truly the bread providers to us, and we must thank them sincerely. There may be many more lessons that 2020 taught us. But we must be thankful to this year for teaching us many important lessons that otherwise were ignored and forgotten. It is true that COVID brought a lot of inherent problems, but it also gave a ray of hope. A hope of opportunity. A prayer that one day we shall overcome. Togetherness for fighting the battle. And if mankind decides to stay united, no pandemic can ever affect our society. Our lives might be fragile, but a united society can battle all the wars. On these lines, let me convey my best wishes to each one of you and your family members for a very very happy and prosperous new year 2021. Happy New Year 2021. With a lot of love and prayers: Dr. D. BALA SUBRAHAMANYAM Lockdown 1.0, then 2.0, then came 3.0.
Now the Government is talking about 4.0. During the Lockdown Period, we talked enough on what the Government has done, and what the Government has not done? State Government Vs. Central Government. Should we take a break from this debate, and think about - what did we do to curtail the COVID spread? Interestingly, "(1) RIGHTS" and "(2) RESPONSIBILITY", both the words start with the same letter "R". The First word "RIGHTS" doesn't require anyone's preaching. We know more than what we are supposed to know. And we feel proud of spreading more about "RIGHTS". The Second-word "RESPONSIBILITY" comes together with the First-word. But, this is not discussed as much as the First-word. Can we sometimes share and post some messages related to our "RESPONSIBILITY"? Which side are you there ? "RIGHTS" OR "RESPONSIBILITY" ??? Social media is a hub of all sort of emotional outburst. Once upon a time when social media was not available for sharing and caring for our thoughts, people used to have personal diaries. They used to hide these Personal diaries somewhere in a secret place where no one else has access. Those were the days when we have to find an undisclosed location and alone time to write down our emotional outburst in our secret diaries. The most positive part of that era was our emotions would not harm anyone. Gone are the days now. Presently, no one has any secret diaries. Name of the girlfriends/boyfriends (in a way or other) have turned as passwords of social media accounts. Love and Hatred feelings are rather straightforward to pour to any available platform.
Presently, we are facing one of the scariest pandemics of recent time. Corona. A few days back, it was limited to one province of one country, but just like the INTERNET, now it has spread its wings all over the World. None of the nations (Literally) have remained untouched. All doctors and their team are working day and night to overcome this deadly disease. Whether it is a well-developed country or an under-developed country, the impact of Corona is harrowing. The entire globe is fighting this disease in all possible manners. Whether it is a Left Wing or the Right Wing, whether it is Government or Opposition, everyone wants to overcome this disease. And such a deadly disease can not be defeated without our united effort. We may disagree with a group of people; we may dislike the method of the approach followed by a particular party, but we must agree that all the parties are working towards the eradication of this disease. During this painful period, we all have to come out of our skins to behave like a responsible citizen. Our thinking may differ from another person's thinking. But this is not the right time to pour out emotions on social media against each other. We all must be united, and our focus must be only on - HOW TO OVERCOME THIS DEADLY DISEASE CORONA? Rest all emotional outburst can be limited to our old secret diaries. Because in my blog, I want to conclude by saying that: IF YOU CAN NOT ENCOURAGE SOMEONE DURING THE PERIOD OF GLOBAL STRUGGLE, YOU DON'T HAVE RIGHT TO DISCOURAGE ANYONE. YOU CAN NOT ENCOURAGE SOMEONE, IT'S FINE. BUT FOR GOD'S SAKE, DON'T DISCOURAGE ANYONE. Let us all pray together for the eradication of Corona from this World at the earliest. The Numbers are so alarming.
And, unfortunately the debate is going in a completely wrong direction. 1951 Cases as of now (01-Apr-2020, 2000 Hrs). Count-Up is still ON. No One Can defeat Corona, but by hiding the symptoms and hiding your travel history, definitely you can defeat the purpose of Government. We have a special task force which is chasing the probable suspects of Covid-19 in all the states. And on the other hand, we have a group of people who are running away from the missionary in the fear of being Quarantined. These groups of people are somewhere supported by a few illiterate and brain-washed people. The more they hide, the more the numbers are growing. The more they hide, the more they are transmitting the disease to society. It is the time for all citizens to remain united and fight unitedly against this Corona. Please expose your symptoms (if any). Please make your travel history transparent to Government. Being Quarantined is not a punishment, But this would be the best social service one can do, rather than spreading the disease everywhere. I am quite disappointed that a majority of social networking interactions are limited to: Who is Right, Who is Wrong ? Was it responsibility of the State Government or the Central Government ? "They" could have taken this step. "They" should have done it. So so so... Enough of such debates. We cannot fight this disease if we don't fight it unitedly. There is no LEFT or RIGHT wing in this battle. It is not about ruling front and the opposition. It is not about a religion, it is not about the timing. It is not about our individual problems. THIS IS ALL ABOUT OUR RESPONSIBILITIES. BE A RESPONSIBLE CITIZEN AND HELP GOVERNMENT IN FIGHTING THIS DEADLY DISEASE. If we don't fight this disease unitedly, this disease will eat all of us away. The growing numbers will keep growing. Unless we act now, we can't make the curve flat. If we succeed in this battle, we will be having ample of time to debate..Left Vs. Right, Government Vs. Opposition, State Vs. Centre. And if we fail...., THINK VERY VERY CAUTIOUSLY ABOUT .."IF WE FAIL ?".... Social Media is definitely a hub of Emotions. People pour all the information on social media without even checking the facts. Some information moves from one platform to other without being cross-checked by the persons who are circulating it.
I have carried a genuine fact-check before posting the above photo. Some of you might have come across this photo. The source of this photo is cited here: https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-36029894 You can find this photo on some other platforms as well: https://ifunny.co/picture/world-war-ii-veteran-from-belarus-konstantin-pronin-86-sits-SOc7dyfQ4 This snap shows an old veteran military person sitting on one of the benches, sitting alone. His military outfit with ample of medals on his uniform adds up his bravery. He is apparently too senior as it shows off. I spent some time on the Internet to grab some useful and probably true information about this picture. I learnt that this Picture was taken on 9th of May 2011 at Gorky Park, Moscow. On this day, Russia celebrates the Victory Day. It is reported that on this particular day all the World War II veterans meet each other and cherish their memories every year after WWII was finished. On this particular day, he was only the soldier who was left alone. A humble and emotional face speaks for itself. This Picture speaks more than a story of emotions and probably more than the gist of "Bhagavath Gita". I could not resist writing this small blog. No matter whatever we carry with us during our journey in life, there are some moments in the same life, where we are left alone. How tough it would have been for this senior soldier to be alone at one bench, where all the years he celebrated the Victory day with his comrades ? Surely a lot to learn and understand from this emotional photo. Chandrayaan-2 mission: My journey to Sriharikota was supposed to start on early morning of 12th July 2019. Sharply about 0415 hrs, our VSSC driver rang me up and informed about his arrival to my apartment. I was almost ready; hurriedly finished my hot tea in one go and boarded the car. He was a known driver and our journey from my home to airport longing for 30 minutes literally finished in a blink of eye while we were chit-chatting, and I was at our Thiruvananthapuram airport by 0445 hrs, certainly well ahead of the actual departure time of Chennai Flight, i.e., 0615 hrs.
As I entered inside the Airport, I was bit surprised to notice that the Check-In counter was not yet opened. I turned back and found a comfortable chair to sit. Some 15 minutes passed and there was still no trace of Check-In. But as time was progressing, my colleagues from VSSC started gathering close to me. Since there was no announcement for delay in Check-In, we were unaware and were merelly speculating the probable reasons. Later, Air India announced that our flight is delayed by 02:15 hrs and now the flight will be taking off at 08:40 am. All said and done, I preferred to have a cup of tea. I was reading a spiritual story to pass the time. As I noticed my colleagues, I found some of them very restless, while some were keeping cool and passing their time on one of the most addictable device, yes – the MOBILES. It was about 07:45 am, when Air India announced that flight is now rescheduled to 11:40 am. It was end to everybody's patience. But nothing was in our hands. It was also the time for breakfast, and as such there was not any solid stuff for eating inside the Airport premises. My friends gathered at one place and decided to go out for having their breakfast. Around 08:45 am, I also was feeling hungry, so I asked my friends to look after my luggage. I stepped out of the entrance gate. Around 150m away, there was an official canteen for airport staff. This canteen was there all through, may be for years, but I never happened to see it. I entered this canteen, and was happy to get a very good quality dosa. Sambhar and Chutney were quite tempting. Filter Coffee also had special aroma. For a reasonable price, this breakfast was superb. On one hand, I was frustrated due to delay in flight, but at the same time, this new discovery of Airport Canteen was giving me enormous satisfaction to me. And I was just wondering, how is it possible that over these many years, I never saw this canteen, or never tried to have any snacks from this canteen. Then I got the answer myself, that in all my trips to airport, I will be rushing to Departure terminal to catch the flight and as soon as I come out from the Arrival terminal, I will be rushing to catch hold of our driver to get back to home. The so-called pre-defined busy schedule at airport never allowed me to explore something which was always there. After having some delicious breakfast, I returned to the airport, but still there was no updates about our Chennai flight. Finally, some good sign came as the Air India opened up the Check-In counters for us at about 09:45 am. Very happily, I handed over my luggage to Air India staff as the Check-In luggage and crossed the Security Check Post. Inside secured premises, AI-968 passengers were offered Coffee and snacks due to delay in arrival of flight. But all our anticipaion came to an end by 1050 am. Officially, Air India announced cancellation of AI968. Oh my god ! Now, what to do ? How can I reach SHAR ? The very next day, there was Launch Authority Board (LAB) meeting, and I can not afford to miss it. I called upon my office and asked them to explore alternate flights. But there was no positive response, as most of the flights were already booked. I was stuck up in a big dilemma. How to overcome this situation ? Finally, I took a Cab and went back to my office, and briefed my director. She understood the situation and asked me to explore all other options. I explored the internet for all possible options, and eventually gave up my hopes, as I was finding it impossible to get an alterante flight before the scheduled LAB meeting. With sad mood, I was thinking – whether I will miss the LAB meeting or I will have to drop my trip to SHAR. Having lost all the hopes, I went to our 70-Acre Canteen for lunch and came back to my room. It was around 13:35 hrs. I thought why not to check IRCTC website once ? To all my surprise, there was one confirmed berth available in AC-1T in Ananthapuri Express. Ufff....can't believe it. I immediately booked this ticket. Train was supposed to leave Thiruvananthapuram station by 16:10 hrs. In no gime, I booked Prayaan for drop to Railway Station. I got introduced to a new colleague enroute my journey to railway station who was also a victim of AI-968 cancellation. He was traveling in another train to Chennai. I gave a serious and philosophical thought – had we both were travelling in morning flight. We would have never talked this much, as we did during our journey to Thampanoor. Had our flight was in time, we would have spent our pleasure time on MOBILE, and sometimes may not even bothered to get introduced to each other. Definitely, cancellation of AI-968 brought me closer to a new friend, which was otherwise not possible, or probable. Finally, I boarded my train at 16:10 hrs. There I met a young girl who was traveling to Trichy for an entrance exam. It reminded me of my college days when I used to visit different places for interviews. We had interesting conversation. I wished her best of luck for her examination. Somehow my health was not OK, so I preferred to sleep. I consumed my dinner in Tirunelveli and went to bed for sleeping. Zzzzzzzz I got up next day at about 06:45 am. Got fresh-up and was planning for my next move. My next train to Sullurpeta was from Chennai Central at sharp 09:35 am. Whereas my present train was running late by about an hour. Ultimately, I reached Chennai Egmore station at 09:10 am. I had literally no time, so I rushed towards the exit and caught an auto rickshaw to Central railway station. Somehow, I made it to Chennai Central by 09:30 hrs, just 5 minutes before departure of Sullurpeta train. However, after seeing the train on Platform, I became relaxed, and took a cup of hot tea. I comfortably boarded train to Sullurpeta. Train started in right time and I reached Sullurpeta by 10:45 am. They respectfully followed me and came to pick me. With them, I followed my journey to SHAR. They had to take permission of their car and laptops, so they completed their formalities at PRO, SHAR Gate 1. I too accompanied them. And I was delighted to see that such a big PRO office exist at Gate-1. I never happened to notice this PRO, as I always will go in a van or car from Chennai Airport, specially arranged for VSSC employees. Eventually, I reached SHAR by 12:10 noon. So many unusual things happened in this trip. But all said and done - happy ending. Momentarily, we may be frustrated due to so many events. But everything happens for a purpose. If the flight was not delayed....I would have not got the opportunity to know about Airport Canteen, where I got delicious breakfast. If the flight was not cancelled, I would have never believed that I can get a confirmed seat in IRCTC, that too in General quota, that too on the same day. Train journey also gave a revisit to my college days. Travelling with NARL friends, I happen to see the PRO, which otherwise was not possible for me. Despite all my efforts to reach SHAR within stipulated time, the launch schedule of Chandrayaan-2 was called off just 56 minutes before the scheduled take-off time. It was certainly disappointing to many of us, but the pleasure of flying it again on 22nd of July was beyond our imagniation. It was one of the fantastic launches I ever witnessed. Appears philosophical, but trust me: EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A PURPOSE. Don't extract conclusions from any event before the real purpose behind that event is unravelled to you by almighty. Many times in life, we start extrapolating the events and end up in negativity. But in reality, all events happen with a purpose, and we can extract positivity from each of the events. Life has its own pace, and we call it destined Life. But in the race of Life, are we missing something ? Few days back, I was supposed to give my car to the servicing station for routine service. Fortunately, or Unfortunately my dealer presently do not provide pick-up/drop facility for servicing of car. Hence, I decided to hand over the car in the evening hours after the office hours and take a bus or cab to reach back home.
I reached the Servicing Center at Muttathara at about 1730 hrs. The service engineer examined my car and completed the formalities and asked me to take bake the car the very next day. It was about 1745 hrs, and I came out of the servicing center and was just thinking - what to do ? Should I call a cab and go back home or should I take a bus and go back. But near to Muttathara, presently we don't get any buses due to some roadwork. But, then a unnatural thought came in my mind. Why not to walk ? After all, weather appears fine. So I decided to keep my mobile inside my bag. Let me stay away from mobile, and walk. I started walking towards Chackai junction [or to be more precise, Mall of Travancore (MoT)]. It is about 4 kms or so. I started walking slowly towards MoT. Within a few minutes, I started feeling the pleasure of nature, the greenery. Stay away from Mobile, and you start watching the green trees, the large hoardings, the small T-stall, and so on. May be around 1 km away from my servicing centre, I happen to see a small T-stall. It was already evening hours, so I thought of having a cup of Tea, road-stall Tea. The little old man, the owner of that Tea shop saw me and with huge respect, prepared a special cup of Tea. There were many more bypassers, who were having Tea in the same stall. That Uncle offered to take some snacks, but I just wanted to have Tea. I was enjoying the conversation of other Tea takers. Some were discussing about politics, some were arguing on some past event. Some were very restless, and in every 5 seconds, they were gazing at their mobiles. But I kept away from my mobile. I was enjoying the natural appearance of the shop. The little old man was cleaning the small Tea desk with a wet cloth, and was trying to keep it as clean as possible. Now and then, he was paying attention to the needs of his customers. He was doing all possible movements to ensure that he catches attention of Tea takers and he is able to see more products to them. Then, a wild thought came in my mind. This T-Stall was there all through. I might have crossed that shop several times in my car, but never happen to see that. How is it possible that, such a beautiful T-Shop is missed in my car journeys ? Few yards away from the Tea-Shop, there was a very very old Tyre shop. A few two-wheeler and some old tyres were lying here and there. As I was walking through, I halted for sometime and examined how that mechanic was changing the tyres at a very rapid pace. Appeared quite normal, but I never happen to see this shop when crossing that road in car. Apparently, removal of a wheel from two wheeler looks quite easy, but it has so much of technicalities. One has to do it repeatedly to learn properly. For an amateur person like me, it may take years to attain experience in changing a wheel and replacing the tyre. For a while, I thought - what if I get stuck in a deserted place in my two wheeler and I am forced to change my tyre. Will I be able to do so ? The two to three minutes as I crossed this shop, my mind was appreciating the technical skills of that mechanic. At that moment, he was a genius and was doing the task at a very rapid pace. As I further walked, I came across a small passage of road which was literally blocked with water. Cars were crossing this small passage very fast, but a few pedestrians were very carefully crossing this channel step by step ensuring that their legs don't fall in the water. I too followed the same path. It involved small calculation that you must cross before a car fellow smashes muddy water on your dress. Till I crossed this small channel, I never knew that such a small channel exist enroute. Just few hundreds of meters away, there was a crowded junction with traffic signals. There were many immigrants who were selling some toys and umbrellas. The moment the signal turns to red, these immigrant sellers would rush to all the cars and gently knocking all the windows with an anticipation that some of them would open up the window and purchase their items. These sellers have enormous selling skills, they would grasp the mind set up of the car driver in one go, and would not waste time on the wrong cars. After multiple attempts, they may get a genuine buyer. And the moment the signal turns back to green, these sellers will come back to the corner of the road. As a car driver, I would always be willing the signals to turn green so that I can rush through, but as a needy seller, these people pray for the red signals, so that they get some genuine buyer. So much difference in the same signal. One expects the signal to become green, and the other expects it to turn red. Same signal, but two different expectations. How is it possible that, I never thought a similar possibility in happening of events. Many events appear troublesome to us, but it may be blessings to others, and vice versa. Some moments may look quite pleasing to us, but we do not know that it may be tough moment for others. But that is what the life is... Still keeping my mobile inside my bag, I continued my exploration and walking step-by-step. All the distance I traveled by walk. I continued my walk up to MoT. In the small journey of few kms, I realized that there were so many unseen stops which never bothered me in car. The distance traveled by me in one to two hours may be just a few kms, but I experienced a very different world, where there was no mobile. There was no hurry. There was no botheration about the speeding cars, the autos, and so on. I was just witnessing a slow part of life, which many of us do not bother to see around. And at the end of day, I converted my thoughts to a philosophical life. A day of 24 hrs remain always the same. The time taken by me to cross few kms was large. In my car, it may hardly take a few minutes, but there was a lot of difference between the two modes of journey. Life spreads many interesting, thought provoking events all around. Life never attach any clock with these animate and inanimate events, but allows us to decide. Some times, we choose to bypass all irrelevant type of stops and approach towards our destiny. But in this fast journey, our destiny keep changing. Home, Office, Shopping, Movies, Trains, Flights, Deadlines, Work Load, so so and so. We keep running behind them, and forget to realize that there are so many interesting things around. From that small walk, I realized that - we must not rush our life by missing some very important stops. In real life, these "stops" do not mean any Tea-Shop, Tyre shop, or water-filled canel. But it means - talking to our friends. Spending time with our friends, family. Mobiles take away these timings. The more attention we can give to these stops, more enjoyments comes in life. It was really amazing. Sometimes, Life does not give a second chance. So please re-visit the most important stops, before you cross those stops. Who knows, some treasure of happiness may be awaiting for your arrival. Enjoy each bit of life. One of the biggest democratic countries in the world - INDIA has finally chosen its new Government. Earlier days, the elections were done through ballot papers, but with changing and advancing technology, the process of election has gone DIGITAL, Now we have Electronic Voting Machines (EVM)s. The entire process of election is based on belief of billions of people. There may be versions that EVMs can be tampered with. But these machines are subjected to extremely tough review systems and are released only after taking into account of all probable pros and cons.
I am not writing any details on whether or not these EVMs can be hacked. No, my intention is certainly not to drag the discussion in this direction. So, I will take a help of a small story. In my village, we had a small Ganapathy Temple on top of the mountain quite close to my school. My Hindu friends invariably will visit that temple and offer their prayers. We had so many friends from other religion as well, even though they would not visit our temple, but they will respect our faith and belief. Whether to visit temple or not is just the matter of belief. Nobody can / must question that belief. Afterall, none of us have seen any God moving around that temple. It is just our belief and we pray that Lord Ganapathy resides in that temple. WE offer our prayers with full belief. Being a Hindu, how will you feel if somebody questions your belief ? FAITH doesn't have any evidences to be proven correct or wrong. So is the case with EVMs. For all said and done, if a voter is made to believe that these EVMs can be hacked. What would be your view on a person standing in the hot Sun, waiting for his turn to vote. A old lady, who stood in the voters' que till late night to get her turn to vote. Or a first-time voter who went all the way in the morning itself to cast his vote ? Are we here to make fool of all these voters to convince them that EVMs can be hacked ? If the philosophy of EVM hack is trust-worthy, then why is it that about 65% to 80% of voters still cast their votes standing in que ? Are we not questioning the belief of these voters ? When a certain party WINS an election, the EVMs are functioning correctly, and when they loose, the entire blame on the EVMs. The group of people who are very well convinced that the EVMs can be hacked .... they must completely boycott the election, and when their number increases by more than 50%, then only it can be believed that EVMs are faulty. As long as a large population of voters have belief in voting (as seen through the percentage of polling), the EVMs must not be looked with suspicion. Voters have their views very very clear.......they believe EVMs, and that is why they are casting their votes. But to a great surprise to me, several leaders who question EVMs, they never boycott election. They never exit the election. They actually contest the election, they cast their votes, they do all possible things to win the election, and when nothing works in their favour, they question EVMs. These leaders are called the NEGATIVE LEADERS and I am quite happy that 2019 elections has taught a convincing lesson to them. |
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