Who the Hell are you Price tag OUR EARTH?

“According to the former CEO and now chairman of the largest food product manufacturer in the world, corporations should own every drop of water on the planet and you’re not getting any unless you pay up”

This statement was made by Peter Brabeck-Letmathe who was the CEO of Nestle from 2005 to 2008. He is now the CEO of Formula I racing. During his tenure as CEO he garnered a “Black Planet Award” in 2007, it is bestowed on individuals dedicated to the destruction of the planet; He was also accused of proliferating contaminated baby food, monopolising water resources and tolerating child labour.

I’m so disturbed, troubled, ashamed and felt unfair when I felt the arrogance in their approach towards our basic human right ‘water’. It’s all the more annoying and painful to realize that we are the only beings on this earth who pay to live on this earth. How hurtful I feel at the thought of this!

Well, if water is not here for all of us, then perhaps air should be owned by major corporations as well. With the current scenario of Green house gases depleting the ozone layer with the ever increasing emission of harmful and unwanted gases, we run into the risk of buying purified air from business giants. We may have to pay toll to enter into certain areas which provides you fresh air.

When God created the world, HE thought man would be his highest form of creation, formed in his likeness. But when did Man start losing the state of grace? Who had poisoned his essence of being good? Were there any manufacturing errors in God’s creation? When did man tag everything with a price?

I was reminded of the existentialist Jean Paul Sartre’s famous quote from his play No Exit  “Hell is other people”. Probably giant corporations begin to feel that way that none of the natural resources should be utilized freely but branded and sold. Every person who feels that they are part of this Universe and feel one with the nature is looked upon as hell.

We need a mass social awakening! It’s time to wake up to the reality. It’s time that we start preserving our one and only abode Earth. We think we maintain Eco-balance. We think we try not to deplete ozone layers. All that we do is nothing but a favor we do for ourselves. We are not different from nature but are strand of the same universe. Who the hell gives you the authority to price tag our existence?

I would like to re-post the letter of a tribal leader Chief Seathl who wrote this historical letter to the then American President Franklin Pierce in 1854. I would like to redirect the letter to all the business mongers who look at the earth as a big commodity to be sold. Here is the excerpt:

“How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. Every part of the earth is sacred to my people. Whatever befalls the earth, befalls the sons and daughters of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself. This earth is precious to God the creator and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its creator.”

What else we could say more than this emotion packed words of this tribal leader? All that we did so far is to imbalance the earth of its Eco system. Have we ever realized that it is our duty and responsibility to maintain this only abode called earth? I would like everyone to get into the healthy discomfort of feeling guilty for just spending the earth and not approximated ourselves with the millions and millions of young children who would be walking over this planet in the years to come. What have we left for them? Is there anything that I contributed to their future? When I was young, there were trees and jungles to look around but today what am I leaving behind? Concrete Jungles!?!

I would like to conclude this long lamentation of mine to take care of our only earth by quoting the lyrics from a beautiful song:

Every tiny star that twinkles in the night sky! Every drop of morning dew!

Every spark of fire that blazes in the furnace! Every captivating view!

Every rainbow in the sky! Every pretty butterfly tells the fascinating news to those who dare to hope: And the message is God still loves the world including you and I.   

While the journey ahead is long and uncertain, yet (y) our step towards preservation of our precious earth is very crucial and most needed.

There are number of ways to conserve water and everything begins with you.

ü  When washing dishes, don't let the water run while rinsing. Fill a sink with wash water and the basin with rinse water.

ü  Run your washing machines when you have enough clothes to wash and never use it for one or two clothes. Thus we could save gallons of water in a month.

ü  Wash your vegetables and fruits in a bowl of water rather than using a running tap.

ü  Use the vegetable and fruits rinsed water to water the plants instead pouring it down.

ü  Use broom to clean your veranda rather than having a hose to clean it up with water.

ü  Use the bucket to take bath rather than having a showerhead.

ü  Look for water efficient models.

ü  When you clean the fish tank, let the nutrient rich water go to the plants.

ü  Turn off faucets after each use.

ü  Turn off the water while brushing your teeth and save gallons of water.

ü  Drop your tissue in the dustbin rather than in toilet which needs flushing


I suggested few means which I practice to conserve water locally. Every act that is done to conserve water locally is a giant save for mankind globally.  

முகநூலும் அகவாழ்வும் 

(தழுவல் கட்டுரை : நன்றி - பணி. இராஜ்குமார் ச ச )

"நீ என்ன புத்தகம் படிக்கிறாய் எனச்சொல், நீ யார் என நான் சொல்கிறேன்?" இந்த வார்த்தைகளை நான் சிறுவனாய் இருந்தபோது சொல்லக் கேட்டிருக்கிறேன். நான் வளர்ந்து இளமாணக்கனாக பள்ளிகளில் இருந்தபோது "நீ உன் நண்பர்கள் யார் என்று சொல், நீ யார் எனச்சொல்கிறேன்" எனச் சொல்லக் கேட்டிருக்கிறேன். ஆனால், இன்று நான் எனது மாணாக்கரைப் பார்த்துக் கூறுவது இதுதான்: "நீ உன் முகநூலில் (Facebook) பதிவது என்ன? என்று சொல், நீ யார் எனச் சொல்கிறேன்"

முகநூல் வாழ்வின் அங்கமாகிவிட்டது. சிலருக்கு அதுவே வாழ்வாகிவிட்டது. அது நமது கட்டுபாட்டிற்குள் இருக்கிறதா? இல்லை நாம் அதன் கட்டுப்பாட்டில் இருக்கிறோமா? நாம் நமது நண்பர்களை தேர்ந்தெடுக்கிறோமா? அல்லது நமது நண்பர்களை தேர்ந்தெடுக்க கட்டாயப்படுத்தப்படுகிறோமா? (People you may know). காலையும் மாலையும் எவ்வேளையும் முகநூல் என்றிருக்கிறோம், ஆனால் முகம் தெரியும் உறவுகளை காண நேரம் இல்லை. வாருங்கள்! சற்று நேரம் முகநூலோடு அலசுவோம் முக முகமாய்!

"வீடு தோறும் வாசல் இருக்கும் 

வாசல் தோறும் வேதனை இருக்கும்"

இன்றைய இளம் தம்பதிகளிடையே சண்டை போடுவதற்கு ஆயிரம் காரணங்கள் உண்டு. விலைவாசி, குழந்தை பராமரிப்பு, வேலை பளு, உறவினரோடு தொடர்பு, இன்னும் விவாதப் பொருட்கள் ஈராளம். இன்று இவற்றோடு சேர்ந்துள்ள புதிய விவாதப் பொருள்: முகநூல் பயன்பாடு. படித்த, நடுத்தர வர்க்க இளம் தம்பதிகளிடையே அதிக குழப்பங்களையும், உறவுச் சிக்கல்களையும் ஏற்படுத்துவதில் மற்ற எல்லாவற்றையும் விட முகநூலுக்கு அதிக பங்களிப்பு உண்டு. 

ஏன் இப்படி? என நம்மால் கேட்காமல் இருக்க முடியவில்லை. இருக்கும் குழப்பங்கள் போதாதென்று இது வேறா? என நினைப்பவர்களுக்கு இது ஒரு அதிர்ச்சி செய்தி: உலகில் 400 மில்லியன் முகநூல் பயன்பாட்டாளர்களுக்கு "முகநூல்" தான் தொடக்கமும் முதலும் முடிவும் எல்லாமும். 

அமெரிக்க மணமுறிவு வழக்கறிஞர்கள் மேற்கொண்ட 2012 புள்ளி விபரத்தின் படி மணமுறிவுக்கு வரும் ஐந்தில் நான்கு தம்பதியினர் முகநூலையே மணமுறிவுக்கு காரணமாக சொல்கின்றனர். ஆழ்ந்த புரிதலோடு தொடங்கிய திருமணம், மேற்போக்கான முகநூல் தொடர்புகளால்  சீரழிகிறது என்பது ஜீரணிக்க முடியாத உண்மை. இதை எப்படி எதிர்கொள்வது? 

கனி தராத பணி:

ஒரு மாதத்தில் முகநூலில் மட்டும் 500 மில்லியன் நிமிடங்களை நாம் செலவிடுவதாக ஒரு புள்ளி விபரம் அதிர்ச்சித் தகவல் தருகிறது. அதனால் என்ன? எனக் கேட்பது புரிகிறது. ஒவ்வொரு நிமிடம் நாம் முகநூலில் மூழ்கும் போதும், நாம் நம் உறவுகளிடமிருந்து தனிமை படுத்தப்படுகிறோம்.முகநூல் நேரம் நம் உறவுகளை முறியடிக்கும் நேரமாக மாறிவிடுகிறது. நேரம் போவதே தெரியாமல் மணிகணக்கில் கனி தராத இப்பணியில் மூழ்கிடுவோர் ஏராளம்.

என்ன செய்யலாம்? 

கணவன் மனைவிக்கிடையே ஒரு புரிதல் இருப்பது அவசியம். முகநூலே வேண்டாம் என சொல்லவில்லை, அதில் மூழ்கும் நேரத்தை நிர்ணயுங்கள். முகநூல் நேரத்திலும் கணவன் அழைப்பையோ மனைவியின் குரலையோ புறக்கணிக்காதீர்கள். இந்த முகநூல் நம்முடைய சொல்லற்ற தனிமையைத்தான் உருவாக்குகிறது. தங்களின் மனைவி, குழந்தைகள், நண்பர்கள், பெற்றோர்கள் இவர்களிடம் பேசுவதற்கான நேரத்தை ஒரு போதும் முகநூல் பொருட்டு தொலைத்து விடாதீர்கள். 

முகநூல் நண்பர்கள்:

ஒவ்வொரு மனிதனின் வாழ்க்கைக்கும் ஓர் அர்த்தமும் தேவையும் இருக்கிறது. அதை அவர்கள் தனது மனைவி, மக்களிடையே உணர்ந்துகொள்ளத் துவங்கும்போது அது அதிர்ஷ்டமாகிறது. மாறாக, முகநூல் நண்பர்களிடையே, முகம் தெரியா இணைய நண்பரிடையே, பழைய காதலர், ஒருதலைக் காதலர், பால்ய நண்பர்கள் என முகநூல் மூலம் நம் வாழ்வில் நுழைந்து குடும்ப வாழ்வை சீரழிக்க பலர் இருந்தால் அதுதான் நமது துரதிர்ஷ்டம். 

என்ன செய்யலாம்? 

"உனது நண்பர்கள் யார் என்று சொல் 

நீ யார் என்று நான் சொல்கிறேன்"

இது பழமொழியானாலும் முகநூலைப் பொறுத்தமட்டும் பெரிதும் பொருந்தும். இளம் கணவன், மனைவி இருவரும் யாரை நண்பர்களாக முகநூலில் அழைப்பு விடுக்க வேண்டும்?, யாருடைய அழைப்பை ஏற்றுக் கொள்ள வேண்டும்? அல்லது மறுக்க வேண்டும் என்ற அதீத புரிதலோடு செயல்பட வேண்டும். "துஷ்டனை கண்டால் தூர விலகு" என சும்மாவாச்  சொல்லிச்  சென்றார்கள் பெரியவர்கள். துஷ்டனை முகமுகமாய் பார்த்தாலும் சரி, முகநூலில் பார்த்தாலும் சரி. துஷ்டன் எனக் குறிப்பிடுவது கணவன் மனைவியின் ஆழ்ந்த புரிதலுக்கு, ஆத்மார்த்த உறவுக்கு இடையூறாய் வருபவர்கள் யாராயிருந்தாலும் தான். 

(njhlUk;)

To be or not to be!

The New York Times had an article recently with the headline,"If Drivers buckle up, children do". The study conducted by the Airbag safety campaign reported that more than 80 percent of children were buckled in when their Parents used their seat belts.

We, as adults, often lament over the conduct of this present Teen generation for their behavior, their complacency and their care free attitude. We often complain that these youngsters never take responsibility for their actions, never respect their elders, they keep using abusive language; they seek uncontrolled freedom and unbridled life style.

On both scenarios briefed above, we have a situation in common i.e. our children's code of behavior. In the world of Sciences, this phenomenon is known as MODELLING. Children are trying to model their lives on what they see from their elders especially from their Parents and Teachers. If we were good when we were young, it is because our Parents showed us the right way to live. If our younger generation were not up to the mark, who is to be blamed? We need to blame the models and it's none other than the Parents or the Teachers or in their absence the social media that takes their most precious time of their life.

In our time of complex models trying to divert children in every possible direction, it is one of the most important or the priority of every parent to raise a morally strong, prosocial and proearth child. As Parents and Teachers, we often blissfully unaware that our children pay more attention to what Parents and Teachers do than to what Parent or Teacher merely say.

"Life well lived is better than thousand sermons preached"
This, of course, is an age old common and simple reflection, yet it opens up a profound perspective on modern society and its effects on children. In order to condition what values children are learning as they grow up, we need to have a constant check on what adults are doing, not merely what they are saying; we need to have a constant check at the way things appear to children, not the way things appear to us.

Most of all, Parents and Teachers have a major role in Modelling their children through value based living. Parents are the second Teachers and the Teachers are the second Parents. Parents and Teachers spent most of their time with the children. Children see them very often than they see themselves in the mirror. This is the Primary reason Don Bosco, in his method of education, insisted and practiced constant, active and continuous presence with his children. Over the period of centuries, it has been proved "Being with the young" really made so much of difference to their character formation.

To insist the importance of Modelling. I would say that every family is the Microcosm of the Macro society. Whatever they learn from family is the basis of every formation they undergo. When the basic formation is wrong in the family, all other institutions like school, church, any other clubs can never undo the wrong. School can only build on the foundation of the family. That's why the quality of family life is so important and why the family is Society's most fundamental constitution.      

In or Out

 

“I only sing in the shower. I would join a choir, but I don’t think my bathtub can hold that many people.” I heard this said by someone and was on lookout for that weird guy. Weirdness brings creative energy to life. It makes us perceive ordinary things of life with greater fervor and zeal.  

It was always that weirdness and frenzy thoughts that attracts me. It’s fun to be crazy and mad. It’s funky to know that we go nuts at time. The art of living is in hiding this inner turbulence at the deeper level and appears to be serene at the surface. Is it some sort of psychic behavior, I used to think. Yes, it is. Everyone is psychic at different grades but the beauty of life lies in balancing the inner turbulence and the outer serenity. 

We pretend to be strong, when we feel really vulnerable.

We control our ambience, when we are utterly uncontrolled within.

We smile and smile and smile when depressed to the core.

We advice when we are not able to follow it ourselves.

We are angered when we are helpless.

The art of living is the amalgamation of these two weird worlds within us.

Can we stop being mad? That’s not what life’s all about. Life is about internal and external. Can we stop imagining anything that has no internal or external or both?

If life is all madness, it is not livable. If it is full of surface stuff that we have, then it is not worth living. It’s a crap. What if a book is full of cover pages with no content inside? Though attractive for some time, you start losing interest because there is nothing you gain out of it. It’s full of fancy useless attractive stuff. You can’t tell a book by its cover and you can’t sell a book without its cover. We need both exterior and interior.

We are all weird in every sense and we constantly look out for weirdness that can sync with ours. Some people are compatible with each others’ weirdness and they call it love, commitment, Friendship, Purpose, Will to live, etc. Our weirdness satisfies the others and theirs us.

When people lack this weirdness, they lack living to the fullest. There are some who overflow with this weirdness and the whole world recognizes them as “Genius”. Many a times, we feel disturbed by the weirdness of others but we fail to recognize that we are attracted by their ability to be weird.  

Dare to be Different! Be Weird and that’s the essence of living! Don’t fit into boxes. Live out of the box. Grow off the Fence! Extend beyond the barriers!

“Stay mad, but behave like normal people. Run the risk of being different, but learn to do so without attracting attention.” 

― Paulo Coelho

Partnership in Education

“The newspaper editor fired him because he had no good ideas. A pastor employed him to draw canvassing material for the church. He was allowed to stay in the backyard of a mouse infested church garage. One of those Mice inspired this man so much that Mickey Mouse was born and Walt Disney was revealed to the world”

Walt Disney was able to learn something worth even from the mouse infected garage, which the sophisticated infra structures of our schools at times fail to do. Society needs responsible adults with creative ideas and diverse talents, not just test taking skills. Does our education help our children make a living meaningfully? Do our schools really consider education as an integral preparation towards facing a reality called LIFE? Is this education, the only responsibility of Teachers? Can we blame the social distracters like Social Media networks, Video Games, the internet, Mobile texting and other virtual realities that steal away our valuable presence with our kids?

We need Partnership in education with the Parents that would enable the educational process effective and collaborative and thus meet the expectations of Parents as well as understand the struggles of Teachers in achieving the expected outcome. In this very important partnership, we need certain set of roles to take upon ourselves.

1.       Give more time to your Children:

Spare time in your busy routine for your children. If you keep ignoring them, it will make them feel irresponsible and thus lose interest in study. Ask them daily “what they studied? What did they learn? Help them in their studies, if possible.

2.       Keep Watch on children’s activities:

Have watch on the daily utilizing of their energy and time in unnecessary activities. Have watch on the amount of time they spend on T.V., Video games and Internet. Never suspect your children but have a watch in such a way that they feel that you are for them at anytime.

3.       Don’t over-schedule your child:

Be judicious about how much you let or urge your child for extra curricular activities to supplement school. If you engage the child with too many supplement activities, it can quickly become a joyless race from one thing to another.

4.       Control your time with Idiot box:

I’m not sure whether to call T.V. as Idiot box but it definitely controls the agenda of your child. Though it has numerous educational programmes, yet it doesn’t allow the mind to imagine and think. Create unstructured time with books, toys, crafts and friends (real friends and not their virtual ones from facebook) to be in charge of their own agenda.

5.       Limit Media Exposure:

Turn off the T.V. and the iPod when your child does homework. Keep in mind that if you watch T.V. when your child can’t, it may backfire because the child will create hatred towards learning.

6.       Don’t wash the dirty linen before your child:

In Finland, Italy and Japan, kids perform better in school because teachers are more respected by the entire culture. That doesn’t make the teachers infallible. Settle your difference of opinions with the Teachers in private. A child can’t really learn from a teacher if the Parents don’t respect the teacher and a teacher can’t really teach a child if s/he thinks the parents don’t respect him.

7.       The Teacher can’t expect that all children will adapt to her/him. The teacher has to reach out to the child and the child has to learn the patterns and behaviors of the teacher. From both sides, we need to realize that we are dealing with human persons with strengths and limitations. Teachers are the second Parents of the children entrusted to them. Make this relationship trustworthy and worth remembering.

I was reminded of the rubber bands that we use in day to day life. They come in different sizes and different colours and different shapes, but they all work on the same principle:  STRETCH. In order to have an effective partnership in education, like rubber bands, Teachers and Parents have to stretch out themselves to be effective in their roles. Just being there doesn’t serve the purpose. Teachers have to stretch beyond their routine teaching pedagogy and Parents from their conventional thinking that education is teacher’s job. We need to leave the safe harbor in order to sail and that’s why ships are made for. We need to break the comfort zones in order to be effective. In order to be effective in our Partnership in educating our children, we need to be little more, do little more.

I love Colors

Colors are the essence of life. Colors make flavor to ordinary things. We can’t imagine a world without colors. Colors permeate the entire environment. We love nature because of its colorfulness. We love to see the Sea just because of its color. Children love to eat and thanks to the colors. Every event of life is colored by colors. The dress we wear, the food we eat, the things we buy, the houses we build, the slippers and shoes we use, sometimes even the vehicles we get into, everything has something to do with the color.  

Color is a powerful and important communication tool and the fact is that it is just not color and it is tied to religious, cultural, political and social influences.  Colors can affect our mood. So to say, we are conditioned by the colors often than what we really are. Red can boost your energy, yellow often makes people feel happier, and blue is proven to bring down blood pressure and slow your heart rate which is why it is often associated with being relaxing. If you combine the happiness of yellow and the relaxing feel of blue you get green, a very pleasing color for many people.

Schools tend to user bright colors that appeal to children. Class rooms are filled with colorful posters and pictures of appealing colors fill the side walls of the class room in order to keep the children’s attention within the class room.

We just can’t take colors for granted. Artists have done years of work on the effect of colors on people and have certain proven conclusions about colors and its effects. We are able to see around 7,000,000 colors. They say the following colors have following effects:

Yellow – warm, exciting, happy

Blue – deep, peaceful, supernatural

Green – peace, stillness, nature

White – harmony, silence, cleanliness

Black – grief, dark, unknown

Red – glowing, confidence, alive

Orange – radiant, healthy, serious

Of course, colors are colors but have its meaning in different locations just like words do. After all, Color is just another medium of communication. Different colors have different meaning in different countries and cultures. Little bit of sensitivity is required when we want to communicate something to the universe in colors.

Let’s observe:

In western cultures black is a color of mourning

In Japan however it is a color of honor, with white the color of mourning

Red in the west represents danger, love, passion

In India it is a color of purity, in China it is a color of good luck and in South Africa it is a color of mourning

Yellow represents courage in Japan, mourning in Egypt and hope in the West

Colors are representative of certain religions too. So as not to unintentionally offend anyone through colors, some examples of these color/religion associations are:

Green is considered to be the holy color of Islam

Judaism is represented by the color yellow

In Hinduism, many gods have blue skin

White is linked to peace across many religions.

Colors enrich our lives. It has immense meaning in different cultures, different countries and in different religions. Colors add more colors to life. When we taste victory, we say, “We came out with flying colors”. Colors are integral part of our lives. Colors are the symbols of intrinsic values of lives like sacrifice, happiness, integrity, peace, sympathy, oneness, etc. If we were to discriminate someone with the wonderful tool of colors, that could be the worse thing that we could do to the humanity. Let the colors bond together our individualities and break away our barriers.

If you have a WHY?

A few years ago a gentleman stepped on to the top of the Bridge and preparing to jump. Cars started stopping and the traffic backed up for miles. The police arrived with the fire department, ministers and mental health professionals. They began talking to the man and telling him not to jump but he wouldn’t bother.

About half a mile back in traffic was an elderly gardener got out of his truck and walked up to where the crowd was gathered. He made his way through the people, looked at the man and said, "Hey, I got to go to work. Either jump or get off the bridge. If you decide not to jump, tomorrow is going to be better!"

              After hearing this, the man climbed down the bridge. The police handcuffed him and placed him in the back seat of the police car. The gardener walked back to his truck waiting for the traffic to move.
All the way to the hospital, the man kept saying over and over, "Tomorrow is going to be better."
Have you ever wished you could “begin again”?

This year 2013 is a ‘begin again’ season after the much awaited Apocalypse on December 21^st 2012. We’ve all experienced our share of errors, failures, disappointments, complications, betrayals, missed opportunities and we have an endless list of “enough is enough”. We all have things that we would do differently if given a second chance. What wonderful news to know that, in this new year 2013, the slate is wiped clean and we do have the opportunity to begin again.

There are many who have become weighed down by debt wish they could get financially independent.

There are many who have become emotionally depressed by circumstances wish they could break the emotional bonds and start anew.

There are those who have become morally deviated or perverted indulging in eve teasing and rape and murders wish they could set right their path.

There are those who were deprived of their rights wish they could rise against the oppressors and regain their rights.

It’s always refreshing to start anew. We need strength and motivation to keep the momentum until the end.

One must see a future, to have a future. In order to begin again, we require a “WHY” to live for. Oscar Wilde wisely said,

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars”.

Yes, If we have a WHY to live for, we will put up with anyHOW.