Real Failure Is Giving Up Before Trying!!

For starting on something, don’t wait until everything will be just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. Never be demotivated by those obstacles and conditions, get started when you have the perfect feeling. Remember with each step you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and even more self-confident. Taking first step towards anything could never be easy, you are on a job, you are starting a carrier or you are creating your brand new organisation. Nothing comes easy on a start and the things that are easy would never last long, according to a belief well known to all of us.

Every great man on earth had started with those small and very small baby steps, he might have failed, he might have been broken, he might have struggled but what he never did was giving up. That is the only reason why someone became a big name, news or a history. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do, than by the once you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour and catch the trade winds in your sails. Struggle, Explore, Dream & Discover, Discover the hidden you.

Let me make it very clear, there are no guarantees in life. Even the false security of having a house, a family and money in the back will pass. So do not hide yourself behind those secure atmospheres and keep avoiding the consequences that you may face when you try something new. The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure. The truth is that we all fear failures. It’s a learned habit. It is said that the only fears we are born with are the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises, the rest is learned. There’s nothing wrong with failure. In fact, if you never fail, you will never grow. Usually we often come thru those lines from a lover ‘I never dared to tell her about my love, I wish I did’. You don’t know the real thing, when you did not try for something, you already failed and it is just that no one knows you actually did. But in your heart, you will always carry the regret of not trying something and that’s a real failure.

Let me take you towards the inspirational speech of Steve Jobs (Founder of Apple Inc.), which was dictated by himself to Stanford University graduates on 12^th June 2005.

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life.

That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: “We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?” They said: “Of course.” My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents’ savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn’t see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn’t interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn’t all romantic. I didn’t have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends’ rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn’t have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can’t capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it’s likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn’t know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down – that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple’s current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I’m pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick.

Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn’t even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor’s code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I’m fine now.

This was the closest I’ve been to facing death, and I hope it’s the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960′s, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Do you know what it means? If you really wish to grow, you need to come out of your comfort zone. Almost all of us are suffering without a cause. The fear of fear is worse than fear itself. It will stop you from trying something new, it will stop you from growing and possibly it will stop you from realizing what your real potential is. The key to growth and success is to let go the fear. It’s first baby step towards anything great that future holds.

You already read Steve Jobs above and now I will fetch few words from the recent released Autobiography of Sachin Tendulkar ‘Playing It My Way’. He says "It was baptism by fire. So much so that after my very first innings in Test cricket, during which I was all at sea against Wasim and Waqar, I began to doubt my ability to bat and question whether I was ever going to be good enough to play at international level," Tendulkar writes in the book.

"What made it (my debut) event more significant was that we were playing against Pakistan in Pakistan and their bowling attack included fast bowlers of the quality of Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Aaqib Javed, not to mention the leg-spinners Mushtaq Ahmed and Abdul Qadir - quite a test for any debutant," he wrote. Writing about his first tour in Chapter 3, the maestro recalled how the fiery Wasim, then in his prime, welcomed the youngster to Test cricket. "I was on strike to him for the third ball of the over, which turned out to be a vicious bouncer. Having studied Wasim's bowling, I was convinced the next ball would be yorker and was mentally prepared for it," he said. "It turned out to be another bouncer, which I left. While I kept expecting a fiery yorker, balls five and six also turned out to be bouncers, and at the end of the over I said to myself, 'Welcome to Test Cricket'."

The big names, the maestro are at the position because they did not let the fear rule over them. We all have some unique potential in ourselves; the only thing that needs to be done is coming out of the comfort zone and facing your fears.

And after reading the stories of both of the big names Steve Jobs and Sachin Tendulkar, what I learned is not hiding your own truth. Steve Jobs faced lots of problems and downfall as well family problems in his earlier life, yet he was proud to accept it in public. Same is with the maestro Sachin Tendulkar the record breaker cricketer from Indian Team, he accepted his fears publically, not only to inspire you and me but because he is not afraid of his facts. 

Understanding Drug Addiction - Prevention & Cure

Often it is not easy for a non-addicted individual to understand what drug addiction is and how a person becomes paralysed on mind and cannot come out of it. It is often mistakenly assumed that drug abusers lack moral principles or willpower and that they could stop using drugs simply by choosing to change their behaviour. In reality, drug addiction is a complex disease, and quitting takes more than good intentions or a strong will. In fact, because drugs change the brain in ways that foster compulsive drug abuse, quitting is difficult, even for those who are ready to do so. Through scientific advances, we know more about how drugs work in the brain than ever, and we also know that drug addiction can be successfully treated to help people stop abusing drugs and lead productive lives.

Addiction is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences to the addicted individual and to those around him or her. Although the initial decision to take drugs is voluntary for most people, the brain changes that occur over time challenge an addicted person’s self-control and hamper his or her ability to resist intense impulses to take drugs.

Fortunately, treatments are available to help people counter addiction’s powerful disruptive effects. Research shows that combining addiction treatment medications with behavioral therapy is the best way to ensure success for most patients. Treatment approaches that are tailored to each patient’s drug abuse patterns and any co-occurring medical, psychiatric, and social problems can lead to sustained recovery and a life without drug abuse. But for treating any such patients you need to know their addiction. Usually people tend to hide the addiction they have from their family, friends or near ones who are concerned. Let us tell you about few signs which could be taken as warning of drug use / abuse / addiction.

The few signs which we can notice and can take as a warning sign are:

Physical and health warning signs of drug abuse

·        Eyes that are bloodshot or pupils that are smaller or larger than normal.

·        Frequent nosebleeds--could be related to snorted drugs (meth or cocaine).

·        Changes in appetite or sleep patterns.  Sudden weight loss or weight gain.

·        Seizures without a history of epilepsy.

·        Deterioration in personal grooming or physical appearance.

·        Injuries/accidents and person won’t or can’t tell you how they got hurt.

·        Unusual smells on breath, body, or clothing.

·        Shakes, tremors, incoherent or slurred speech, impaired or unstable coordination.

Behavioural signs of drug abuse

·        Drop in attendance and performance at work or school; loss of interest in extracurricular activities, hobbies, sports or exercise; decreased motivation.

·        Complaints from co-workers, supervisors, teachers or classmates.

·        Unusual or unexplained need for money or financial problems; borrowing or stealing; missing money or valuables.

·        Silent, withdrawn, engaging in secretive or suspicious behaviours.

·        Sudden change in relationships, friends, favourite hangouts, and hobbies.

·        Frequently getting into trouble (arguments, fights, accidents, illegal activities).

Psychological warning signs of drug abuse

·        Unexplained change in personality or attitude.

·        Sudden mood changes, irritability, angry outbursts or laughing at nothing.

·        Periods of unusual hyperactivity or agitation.

·        Lack of motivation; inability to focus, appearing lethargic or “spaced out.”

·        Appearing fearful, withdrawn, anxious, or paranoid, with no apparent reason.

No Doubt Prevention Is the Key:

Drug addiction is a preventable disease. Results from NIDA-funded research have shown that prevention programs involving families, schools, communities, and the media are effective in reducing drug abuse. Although many events and cultural factors affect drug abuse trends, when youths perceive drug abuse as harmful, they reduce their drug taking. Thus, education and outreach are key in helping youth and the general public understand the risks of drug abuse. Teachers, parents, medical and public health professionals must keep sending the message that drug addiction can be prevented if one never abuses drugs.

Treatment:

Because drug abuse and addiction have so many dimensions and disrupt so many aspects of an individual's life, treatment is not simple. Effective treatment programs typically incorporate many components, each directed to a particular aspect of the illness and its consequences. Addiction treatment must help the individual stop using drugs, maintain a drug-free lifestyle, and achieve productive functioning in the family, at work, and in society. Because addiction is typically a chronic disease, people cannot simply stop using drugs for a few days and be cured. Most patients require long-term or repeated episodes of care to achieve the ultimate goal of sustained abstinence and recovery of their lives.

Too often, addiction goes untreated: According to SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 23.2 million persons (9.4 percent of the U.S. population) aged 12 or older needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem in 2007. Of these individuals, 2.4 million (10.4 percent of those who needed treatment) received treatment at a specialty facility (i.e., hospital, drug or alcohol rehabilitation or mental health centre). Thus, 20.8 million persons (8.4 percent of the population aged 12 or older) needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem but did not receive it. These estimates are similar to those in previous years.

Principles of Effective Treatment

Scientific research since the mid–1970s shows that treatment can help patients addicted to drugs stop using, avoid relapse, and successfully recover their lives. Based on this research, key principles have emerged that should form the basis of any effective treatment programs:

·        Addiction is a complex but treatable disease that affects brain function and behavior.

·        No single treatment is appropriate for everyone.

·        Treatment needs to be readily available.

·        Effective treatment attends to multiple needs of the individual, not just his or her drug abuse.

·        Remaining in treatment for an adequate period of time is critical.

·        Counseling—individual and/or group—and other behavioral therapies are the most commonly used forms of drug abuse treatment.

·        Medications are an important element of treatment for many patients, especially when combined with counseling and other behavioral therapies.

·        An individual's treatment and services plan must be assessed continually and modified as necessary to ensure that it meets his or her changing needs.

·        Many drug–addicted individuals also have other mental disorders.

·        Medically assisted detoxification is only the first stage of addiction treatment and by itself does little to change long–term drug abuse.

·        Treatment does not need to be voluntary to be effective.

·        Drug use during treatment must be monitored continuously, as lapses during treatment do occur.

·        Treatment programs should assess patients for the presence of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases as well as provide targeted risk–reduction counseling to help patients modify or change behaviors that place them at risk of contracting or spreading infectious diseases.

Effective Treatment Approaches

Medication and behavioral therapy, especially when combined, are important elements of an overall therapeutic process that often begins with detoxification, followed by treatment and relapse prevention. Easing withdrawal symptoms can be important in the initiation of treatment; preventing relapse is necessary for maintaining its effects. And sometimes, as with other chronic conditions, episodes of relapse may require a return to prior treatment components. A continuum of care that includes a customized treatment regimen—addressing all aspects of an individual's life, including medical and mental health services—and follow–up options (e.g., community – or family-based recovery support systems) can be crucial to a person's success in achieving and maintaining a drug–free lifestyle.

Medications can be used to help with different aspects of the treatment process.

Behavioral Treatments

Behavioral treatments help patients engage in the treatment process, modify their attitudes and behaviors related to drug abuse, and increase healthy life skills. These treatments can also enhance the effectiveness of medications and help people stay in treatment longer.

Press Note:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants NGOs to write to him about their experiences in helping battle drug addiction, a topic he plans to highlight in his third radio address to the country, likely to be held on Sunday, November 16.

"I invite you to share your views on the issue of mitigating the menace of drugs. If you worked in this area, please share your experiences," the PM tweeted this morning. "I call upon NGOs that are working on this to share their experiences as well," he added.

News Report: NDTV

When you try to come out of this addiction, Remember It will hurt, it will take time, it will require dedication, it will require willpower, it will require sacrifices, there will be temptation, but I promise you, when you reach the goal, it’s worth it.

Women Safety Online - Burning Issue being ignored!!!

Being online, texting, checking out Facebook or YouTube, and IMing is a part of your life. You probably understand how social media and the internet work well than your parents. Sure, social media is fun. It’s a way to stay connected with your friends. Maybe it’s even recommended by some teachers for assignments. But do you know how to use social media safely?

No one actually knows!! When we are using as social networking site, specially being a girl you are vulnerable and nothing can change the fact, except of you yourself. Several of times we have gone thru the news about misuse of the picture from the net or social networking websites. Nowadays with the help of image editing software, it becomes very easy to put face of someone else on any so called offensive image. Sometimes guys use your picture with them, just to show others that they have a girlfriend so beautiful and you hardly know that person. We have also come thru the cases where girls and their family too committed suicide because of those images going viral and reaching the dignity of their family.

Apart from picture editing and misusing, many more issues are faced by those females who use internet. Gender equality on net is a burning issue, nowadays due to all these concern parents of teenaged girls are not allowing their girls to use internet or even if some do allow it is a constant matter of concern for them. Ever thought, what your child is missing? They are missing the knowledge to the huge world and things happening around. Not every girl on net uses it for dating or meeting guys, in fact according to my personal point of view hardly 20% out of total girls on net are there to flirt around or are looking for partners, whereas the ratio of man for the same purpose online is more than 60%.

How can you be safe online? What points need to be kept in mind for your online safety? I am no genius to explain it, but I am here to tell you what I have learnt from my personal experience.

1.    Take Cyber-violence seriously

2.    Tell someone you trust (Parents or Siblings are the best option)

3.    Report cyber-violence or pathetic behaviour faced online

4.    Talk Responsibly

5.    Stay Calm

6.    Be a True friend, Support your friend in need

7.    Remove yourself from the situation

8.    Respect yourself and do whatever is needed to sustain that respect

9.    Take Action

10.  Do not remain silent

Today, I am bringing out this topic after a bad experience myself. Being 31 yrs of age, people yet think I am vulnerable, what could they do to those young teenage girls who hardly know to protect themselves? On Facebook a person who added me just few days back and to whom I had not even talked personally, gave me a call by using the Facebook Messenger. It irritated me and I messaged him back saying that I do not talk on calls, he started asking me casual questions, what do you do and what do u like and where do you live. Seeing his profile, I felt he looks responsible and educated person, coz his profile said he was a general manager at some hotel in Ahmedabad city. But just after few questions his word turned out to praising and not just normal praise but flirty way. I made my point clear at that very time, that I don’t like this kind of flirty talks and then I ignored him at first, stopped replying him. Within just 24 hours of time he sent me about 20 msgs and gave calls on messenger for 9 times. I was truly getting irritated with his behaviour but kept silent cause I wasn’t interested in making a issue.

Finally, he msged me saying ‘You were talking good tomorrow and what happened today, sweetheart?’ It really pinched me and I made a straight point telling him on face and answered him to dare not message me again or else I will make sure that he gets a treatment of his life. It was just a warning or rather say a try to get rid of him, I was then going to block him and do my work. But to my surprise he responded back saying ‘Do whatever you wish to’. The first thing that hurt my mind after his answer was that he is so stubborn. He must be doing this kind of things very often and he is not bothered about the consequences of what could happen, may be because no girl takes a step bold enough to make him realize.

So, I decided to take that bold step. I made an image from the screenshot of the chat we had and pasted it on my wall, with link to his profile and tagged him. I requested my friends to share this post so that it would reach people around and finally reach to some of his known ppl or family members. Only then would he be ashamed about what he did and would think twice before doing it again with any females on net. Thankfully many from my friend circle are spreading the message and I am sure one day he will be ashamed of what he did.

Today I am sharing this incident here with you because I feel this kind of steps needs to be taken by the girls. Of course there are features for blocking the unwanted or abusing people on social networking sites, but that does not make any difference to them. You block him, they start playing with other girls and for them nothing changes. Only their confidence gets raised and they are more motivated to play with the girls online.

Every girl, those who are young enough should share the problems with their parents and take appropriate steps against cyber-violence. And every parent should be responsible enough to understand their kids and also understand that punishment needs to be given to those hurting morons and not your kids. Increase the faith between the two age group and give a chance to your young kids to be friendly with you. And to those ladies who are old enough to decide for themselves, don’t take those constant harassment from unknowns. Warn them when you are not interested in flirting and if they don’t hear you, do what I did, let them talk idiotic and paste the screenshot of the chat online, ask your friends to let it go viral. I am sure the day won’t be far when internet would become a safe place for women too.

Apart from this be-alarmed by few of the talks that you get from stranger, like:

-        Can I have your contact number? (NO, Say straight no)

-        Can we have a video chat? (Ask why, for a knowing a person txt is enough)

-        You are so beautiful and I am eager to meet you. (Only the outer beauty attracts this guy, be alarmed on what he wants from you.)

-        Do you have a boyfriend? (I guess he wants to say, If not I can try to be, you son of b****)

-        You are looking sexy / hot / irresistible  (Tell them to have a look at their mom, it will give them a better idea)

-        I haven’t seen a girl as beautiful as you (Moron and liars, I know what I am, looks like u haven’t seen models and actress on TV)

Girls, my point is don’t ever be dishearten by such people. Let them do their work, but do not stop yourself from doing your job and raising your voice. Join your hands and support each and every female that needs your support. Use to hash tag #SpeakUP and raise voices. We are here to support each and every one of you.

Share the message in the safety of women on net and let those morons understand that, we are no more vulnerable. We are a power!! We are proud to be Women!! Nothing can stop us from moving ahead. 

Street Harassment Or Better Say Female Harassment

Ten hours of silent walking through the all areas of Manhattan, wearing jeans and crewneck t-shirt. A girl displays this video demonstrating the street harassment, created by Rob Bliss Creative – A Viral Video Agency. The video is made particularly to collect donation to stop the street harassment for girls walking around. Manhattan! You see it wasn’t India, a modern country and the girl is comparatively not wearing any vulgar or short clothes, still 100+ instances of verbal street #harassment took place in 10 hours of walking, involving people from all backgrounds.

Do you think the scenario of our country is any better? No its worst!! We live in a country where people are ready to comment on each and every passing girl. Do you think it’s because of dress we wear out? No they would not stop to their comments with changing of your dress. Let me give example:

• A girl in salwar kameez covered from top to bottom and dupatta take from head till shoulder to not even let her neck visible to people. Few people call her desi / rocket / senseless and many such names are given, it becomes impossible for a girl to attain colleges in such a dressing sense that usually people points to.
• A lady wearing a saree, A complete Indian dress that shows respect. Does it? No!!! you can often notice people looking at your belly, on your blouse necks and don’t know wherein.
• You wearing a jeans, the reaction comes out as ‘OH MY GOD it’s so damn tight’, you wearing a loose jeans ‘Boooo She is not in trend’.
• Deep necks, Oh those eyes won’t stop staring you.
• You wearing skirt of casual length, people around are wishing that may the air flow and may they get a chance to peep in a little more.
• Short length tight skirt, they consider you a whore / beach anything inappropriate for society or to some it is a signal of availability.

In short, whatever you do, whatever you wear, people are going to comment on females. We females never comment on what guys wear, be it low waist jeans, tight jeans, shorts, salwar or even when they keep those shirt buttons open giving a view to hairy chest. Then who the hell gave right to the man around to talk about you, comment about you or judge you?

I have seen few of the girls, including me changing their look, lifestyle and cloths to please the man in the house and street. As a teenager, we have responsibility to look like what our Father and Brother may want us to appear as and dress as. Later we try trending it with our boyfriends / lovers and finally husband. In between of those pleasing attitude that you carry gals, where you pleased?

I don’t give it a damn what people think about me, I am not born to please and even if I do wear to please you, will you stop commenting and start respecting to please me??? NOOOO!! A Big No!! Then why should I? I am what I am and if you don’t like me, turn your heads and move away. I am not going to change for anybody; I am not going to please anyone. I am just gonna be ME, except it or leave it, choice is yours.

My request to all girls, all ladies and overall all females, do not change yourself for anyone. Instead, make them change for good, we live in a world of technology and social media, click or record those commenting cowards and publish them on your social media, let them face the shame and let them make sure that they would never again comment or harass a girl, be it anyone. Let’s make them realize the respect and dignity with power of womanhood. 

#SpeakUp 

Salute To The Iron Man - Nation's Hero

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel the iron-man of India was born on 31st October, 1875, in a small village in Nadiad. His father Jhaverbhai Patel was a simple farmer and mother Laad Bai was a simple lady. From his childhood itself, Patel was a very hard-working individual. He used to help his father in farming and studied in a school at N. K. High school, Petlad. He passed his high-school examination in 1896. Throughout school he was a very wise and intelligent student. Inspite of poor financial conditions his father decided to send him to college but Vallabhbhai refused. Around three years he stayed at home, worked hard and prepared for the District Leader's examination, hence passing with very good percentage.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is a historical figure who moves you to tears. Mostly these are tears of joy, for he achieved a thrilling Indian unity. Yet some are tears of pity, for the Sardar suffered and sacrificed much. Sardar Patel hated to work for anyone especially the Britishers. He was a person of independent nature. He started his own practice of law in a place called Godhara. Soon the practice flourished. He saved money, made financial arrangement for the entire family. He got married to Jhaberaba. In 1904, he got a baby daughter Maniben, and in 1905 his son Dahya was born. He sent his elder brother to England for higher studies in law. In 1908, Vitthabhai returned as barrister and started practising in Bombay. In 1909 his wife became seriously ill and was taken to Bombay for treatment Vallabhbhai had to go for the hearing of an urgent case and his wife died. He was stunned. He admitted his children in St. Mary's school Bombay, and he left for England. He became a barrister and retuned to India in 1913.

He started his practice in Ahmedabad and soon he became aware of the local life, activities and people's problems. He became an extremely popular person and he got elected in the Municipal Corportaion in 1917. Around 1915, he came across Mahatma Gandhi. The Swadeshi Movement was at its peak. Gandhiji gave a lecture at a place in Ahmedabad where Patel heard him and was very impressed and started actively participating in the freedom movement. The British government's atrocities were increasing. The government declared to confiscate all the lands of farmers. He forced the British government to amend the rules. He brought together the farmers and encouraged them and hence got the title of 'Sardar' and thus became famous.

The British government considered him as a threat and his lectures were considered anti-government and he was imprisoned several times. In 1942, he took part in the Quit India Movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. He was arrested along with other leaders and was sent to Ahmednagar jail. Inspite of the British Rule, rulers of the small kingdoms were spending a lot of public money, and were having a nice time. Sardar Vallabh Bhai opposed this.

With great wisdom and political foresight, he consolidated the small kingdoms. The public was with him. He tackled the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Nawab of Junagarh who intially did not want to join India. There were a lot of problems connected with the reunion of the numerous states into India. Sardar Patel's untiring efforts towards the unity of the country brought success. Due to the achievement of this massive task, Sardar Patel got the title of 'Iron Man'. ' He is one of the prestigious leaders of the world who became immortal by uniting a scattered nation without any bloodshed. His enthusiasm to work for the independent nation got a big jolt when Gandhiji was murdered. Patel was very attached to Gandhiji and considered him, his elder brother and teacher. He was encouraged by Mahatma Gandhi in all his work. Gandhiji's death left him broken. On 15th December, 1950 he died of a cardiac arrest. The news of his death spread all over the world. The entire nation plunged into deep sorrow; everyday life came to a standstill. A grateful nation paid a tearful homage to its beloved leader. In 1991 the grateful nation conferred upon him the honour of Bharat Ratna.

This man of steel learnt early to be tough, for he was born as a middle child in a family of impoverished peasant proprietors. As Vallabhbhai would himself recall, his parents' hopes seemed centered on the eldest two sons, Soma and Narsi, and their affection on the youngest two, Kashi and the only daughter, Dahiba. The ones in the middle, Vallabh and Vithal, were remembered last when clothes or sweets were to be distributed, and at once when a chore had to be done. The rough schools he went to as a boy, and the courts where he defended alleged criminals, also contributed to Vallabhbhai's mental muscle and stern appearance. Yet this tough man smiled at the world and at gloomy moments helped others to laugh. Also, he did not hesitate to step aside for another --for his older brother Vithal when the latter wanted to use his passport and ticket to London, and, years later, for Jawaharlal Nehru, when Mahatma Gandhi desired that Nehru should sit in a chair to which Patel seemed entitled. And this strong man before whom rajas and maharajas trembled, and to whom rich men gave large funds for India's national movement, did not allow a rupee to stick to his fingers, and he saw to it that his children, a son and a daughter, lived simple lives during and after their father's lifetime.

His strength of character, the sharpness of his mind, his organizing skills, and all his energy were offered up for achieving the freedom of India under Gandhi's leadership, and after independence for India's consolidation. We admire a man who rises to a political or financial peak, but are moved by one whose sole purpose in life is the strength and wellbeing of his compatriots. And we are moved even more when we discover that next to the steel in his soul is tenderness for colleagues and a readiness to accept whatever results God ordains. In successive phases of his life, Vallabhbhai Patel showed the defiance of the oppressed, a trial lawyer's brilliance, the daring to give up a flourishing career, the discipline of a soldier in freedom's battles, the strategies of a General, indifference as a prisoner of the Raj, the generosity of the strong, the firmness of a patriot, and the farsightedness of a statesman. If times are depressing or daunting, Sardar Patel reminds us of India's and Indians' potential. When times are good, we can think of him with glad gratitude.

Tryst With Destiny

No, today we are not celebrating Independence Day or Republic day. But yet, today I want everyone of you to remember "Tryst with Destiny" the speech that was a speech delivered by Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India, to the Indian Constituent Assembly in The Parliament, on the eve of India's Independence, towards midnight on 14 August 1947.

(If you haven't read it so far, go ahead, it was one of the greatest speeches of all times)

Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, then an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.

It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity.

At the dawn of history India started on her unending quest, and trackless centuries which are filled with her striving and the grandeur of her success and her failures. Through good and ill fortunes alike she has never lost sight of that quest or forgotten the ideals which gave her strength. We end today a period of ill fortunes and India discovers herself again.

The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity, to the greater triumphs and achievements that await us. Are we brave enough and wise enough to grasp this opportunity and accept the challenge of the future?

Freedom and power bring responsibility. The responsibility rests upon this assembly, a sovereign body representing the sovereign people of India. Before the birth of freedom we have endured all the pains of labour and our hearts are heavy with the memory of this sorrow. Some of those pains continue even now. Nevertheless, the past is over and it is the future that beckons to us now.

That future is not one of ease or resting but of incessant striving so that we might fulfill the pledges we have so often taken and the one we shall take today. The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity.

The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye. That may be beyond us, but as long as there are tears and suffering, so long our work will not be over.

And so we have to labour and to work, and work hard, to give reality to our dreams. Those dreams are for India, but they are also for the world, for all the nations and peoples are too closely knit together today for anyone of them to imagine that it can live apart.

Peace has been said to be indivisible; so is freedom, so is prosperity now, and so also is disaster in this one world that can no longer be split into isolated fragments.

To the people of India, whose representatives we are, we make an appeal to join us with faith and confidence in this great adventure. This is no time for petty and destructive criticism, no time for ill will or blaming others. We have to build the noble mansion of free India where all her children may dwell.

The appointed day has come - the day appointed by destiny - and India stands forth again, after long slumber and struggle, awake, vital, free and independent. The past clings on to us still in some measure and we have to do much before we redeem the pledges we have so often taken. Yet the turning point is past, and history begins anew for us, the history which we shall live and act and others will write about.

It is a fateful moment for us in India, for all Asia and for the world. A new star rises, the star of freedom in the east, a new hope comes into being, a vision long cherished materialises. May the star never set and that hope never be betrayed!

We rejoice in that freedom, even though clouds surround us, and many of our people are sorrow-stricken and difficult problems encompass us. But freedom brings responsibilities and burdens and we have to face them in the spirit of a free and disciplined people.

On this day our first thoughts go to the architect of this freedom, the father of our nation, who, embodying the old spirit of India, held aloft the torch of freedom and lighted up the darkness that surrounded us.

We have often been unworthy followers of his and have strayed from his message, but not only we but succeeding generations will remember this message and bear the imprint in their hearts of this great son of India, magnificent in his faith and strength and courage and humility. We shall never allow that torch of freedom to be blown out, however high the wind or stormy the tempest.

Our next thoughts must be of the unknown volunteers and soldiers of freedom who, without praise or reward, have served India even unto death.

We think also of our brothers and sisters who have been cut off from us by political boundaries and who unhappily cannot share at present in the freedom that has come. They are of us and will remain of us whatever may happen, and we shall be sharers in their good and ill fortune alike.

The future beckons to us. Whither do we go and what shall be our endeavour? To bring freedom and opportunity to the common man, to the peasants and workers of India; to fight and end poverty and ignorance and disease; to build up a prosperous, democratic and progressive nation, and to create social, economic and political institutions which will ensure justice and fullness of life to every man and woman.

We have hard work ahead. There is no resting for any one of us till we redeem our pledge in full, till we make all the people of India what destiny intended them to be.

We are citizens of a great country, on the verge of bold advance, and we have to live up to that high standard. All of us, to whatever religion we may belong, are equally the children of India with equal rights, privileges and obligations. We cannot encourage communalism or narrow-mindedness, for no nation can be great whose people are narrow in thought or in action.

To the nations and peoples of the world we send greetings and pledge ourselves to cooperate with them in furthering peace, freedom and democracy.

And to India, our much-loved motherland, the ancient, the eternal and the ever-new, we pay our reverent homage and we bind ourselves afresh to her service. Jai Hind.

- Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru

My point to bring out the speech today here is that The First Ever PM of India also had dreamed about not fighting on the communal issues and here I request everyone to re-read his beautiful words and bring out the spark of actual freedom in you. 

Even he said that with freedom comes responsibility and I wish each and every citizen of India should be asking this question to themselves "Are we responsible enough?"

The Digital Hartal

The Internet Hartal (Netizen's Strike) message flowing all over the net in last 3 days, is going to happen today 31^st October 2014. In a time where internet is as good as literacy, government should be in support to try and make internet free so as more and more people of India can get the access to the huge platform. But it is sad to see that the telecom companies are not interested about the better future of nation and what people are getting with the popularity of internet. Instead, they are taking it as an addiction and are increasing rate of data plans.

Protesting is a good option to stand up against them, but it would have been even better if one of the new companies comes up and offer better plans and we people can switch to it, so as to give the clear message to every telecom company that we do have the power to rule you.

Read Ahead the extract from Indian Express:

In a first-of-its kind, the district unit of the Communist Party of India has appealed through social media to boycott internet-usage for one day on October 31. The ‘digital- hartal’, is a protest against the indiscriminate hike in prices by internet service providers.

The district secretary of the CPI, A Narayanan said, the telecom companies have been increasing the rates of internet packages without reason. The government of India should step in to regulate the price structure to bring credibility to the government’s goal of reducing the digital gap and create smart cities.

Narayanan lamented that telecom operators had increased mobile Internet rates 100 per cent in the June-September period across the country. This has especially adversely affected smart phone users. The hartal is to vent anger against these telecom operators by boycotting the use of Internet on October 31, Narayanan said and added “Our party will extended full cooperation in the fight against telecom operators in the district.  This is the first time, we have plunged ourselves on a digital platform.”

 ‘WhatsApp’ users seem to be at the forefront of this agitation. Its users are messaging each other of the need to be united and fight the internet price hike. Some college students said, “If the telecom companies keep hiking the rates of Internet packages, then we will have to stop using the Internet and not use any applications. We will also not recharge our data packs on that day.” 

“We want to send a clear message to the operators that we are not addicted to Internet,” said Rajesh an engineering student.

News Source: Indian Express – Tamil Nadu Published: 30th October 2014 06:14 AM

Scams & Scandals on Yojanas made By Govt.

Today as I was reading the Local newspaper of city named NOBAT, one of its articles appealed my eyes. No the news wasn’t fascinating at all but somehow it wasn’t actually a news. It was featuring the news about scandal in government’s Khilkhilat Yojana by G.G.Hospital (Jamnagar). The cut of article can be seen below, for those who can read gujarati:

http://nobat.com/epaper/28-10-2014/index.html#6

For those who can’t read gujarati, let me elaborate. Under the government’s khilkhilat yojana, some of the government hospitals are providing drop back service in the ambulance for those ladies who has newly given birth to a baby in the hospital, with the baby care kit and kit beneficial to mother’s health as well. But this yojana isn’t benefiting the normal people and those ladies and their kids for whom the yojana was developed. The hospital staff or people involved in providing the facility are taking the benefits by providing false record and raising funds for their own pocket.

My first question is, do you think this is news? Of course it is a news as it is featured in the newspaper but come on, we all know that this kind of yojana are just made for the name sake. It has always been beneficial to the makers and workers but not the normal public, for whom actually the yojana was developed. All those who are educated, keep in touch with news and the happening of society, we all know that this kind of government yojana are taking away lots and lots of fund for the benefit of people, but the benefits hardly reach those who have right over it. Hardly 20% of the total benefits might be reaching to the actual public for whom the yojanas are made. Not only this, but haven’t we all seen those shops made by government to deliver grocery items on low rate to the public, have we not seen the constant unavailability of food items or contaminated items being provided by the shop. Haven’t we seen those yojanas providing house to the poor people on low rates being allotted to relatives of the people working in particular department. Come on, we know everything most of us can just make out that when the yojana is made, who will benefit and how. People like us laugh after reading it, but those who are in need, who have hopes from the government keep their eye on such yojanas. They sometimes run to the places, try hard, stand in long queues and hardly get anything.

My question to all of you is, when we know each and everything happening around us in a very obvious manner, why are we always silent? And if we all normal people can make out this normal happening around us, can the people making those yojana can’t see? Why only when media takes over any issue the serious decisions are taken? My point is that why can’t we have a direct complaint option, which could reach without interruption to the government?

Mr. Narendra Modi after being a PM is no doubt trying to do a great job by creating many beneficial plans and keeping an eye on his ministers etc. But our country and specially those people working on government sector are just fearless. There are no strict laws for corruption, if media catches someone live they are suspended, is that enough? No it is not at all enough and the system, the way our government is dealing with those age old options isn’t right, because we now have many more powerful options and not using them in a right way is total stupidity. I believe our PM has a vision of better nation but his vision needs to go long and long enough so as to reach each and every one of 1.252 billion people of India.

How is it possible? It is possible with the efforts from each one of us. The way RTI has decreased many issues and created a fear to give a responsible answer after being questioned by any normal person is just outstanding. And I believe we should have a similar way of making our complaint reach directly to the highest authorities without any interference.

Can government not create a website with a complaint form, where in any normal person can reach with any proof or information that he has against the corrupt government employees? The process could be very simple, you can input your PAN / Passport / Adhar Card number and feed in your contact details as well as elaborate the detailed information of the corruption with attachment of the proofs. Nowadays our mobile makes it really easy for any one of us to take and capture the proofs. And all those proof directly can reach our ministry or may be the panel specially made for it and that panel can inquire or take action about the complaint without disclosing the name of a person who complained against them. And taking the reference of government id number can also stop people from giving false complaints.

I am raising this voice to let our Honorable PM read it and look in to the matter with his powerful vision and capable team to come to a solution for this. And I request each and every one of my reader to spread this message, so much that it gets read by the governing authorities. It is my humble appeal, to speak up and do not stay quite. I know this yojana and its benefits are not for you and me, but it surely helps those needy people, finally its our money, that hard earned money, which we pay to government in the form of tax and that money is the money used for the betterment of our nation and the people living therein. We should be as thoughtful in this matter as we are when using or expending our money. The right money, the right fund and the right benefit of any yojana should only go to the person who deserves it rightly. And we have to raise our voice for this, we have to raise our voice for those who don't have a voice. Coz if we do not raise our voice for them, their voice will never be heard by anyone. We are the youth and today with the social media taking control on everything we youth are a super power. We should not waste our power, we should raise our power, we should all together fight for better India and speak up for anything that is happening around us.