Of Manekshaw, Modi and Mahi....

Following is one of the best speeches I have ever read/heard; I received this in email yesterday - a day when two of my idols re-affirmed why they are the best in what they do - Lead! This speech is by the legendary Field Marshall Sam Manekshaw at the Defence Services College, Wellington, 11th Nov 1998. He spoke on Leadership and Discipline; he spoke about the traits of great leaders. It becomes extremely long even for blog standards and I would naturally not edit it - but it is worth it if the reader wants to learn from what the great man had to say. At the end, I will explain why I linked this speech with NaMo and MS Dhoni and what I took out from it. I would appeal humbly to gauge how long this text runs and decide for yourself if you are in the mood to read - please come back again later if need be but finish it in one go - it is difficult to put in words what these 3 men have collectively taught me today.

The Heavier Burden....

There has been some time since I have returned from Hyderabad after a fulfilling and enriching two months experience with men who have a deep insight into their work. My internship reminded me, as has happened through other events many times before, that the depth of the ocean can never be gauged. Knowledge has no limits and no boundaries! In one word - Magical ! The word "limit" has also churned a few thoughts here and there but that will be a separate blog later though a starter would be in this blog itself. Today, I want to share a story which I have already shared on my facebook page but was yet to share my understanding of it as it has a leeway to be interpreted in a way I would not like us youth to. Well, the story goes as --

Inextinguishable Love....

Love, Hope, Faith .... few of the most beautiful words ever....

We are aware of the flash floods 2 months back which swept Leh. These flash floods have left a lot behind in their wake including not only the crumpled remains of structures but also sorrow and despair. In this sorrow and despair there is some glimmer of hope and trust not only among the humans but also for a canine, a golden-brown Labrador who lost his family in these flash floods.

The Twist of Fate (part II) ....

Well, after the story of Kunjal, I am onto part II explaining it from the point of view of Pixie....

Before I go into the details I would request the reader to read my earlier blog, The Twist of Fate (part I) ...., before going to part II as that would put him/her in a much better position to synchronize with the parallel happenings regarding the 2 lead characters.

The Twist of Fate (part I) ....

Finally, I am blessed with the full functionality of my laptop but now there is some heat dissipation problem as I type!! I have found a temporary solution for it by inclining and exposing the whole underside of the laptop to fresh air!

Before I narrate the story I would mention all those who were directly involved and lent me support through all this. This list can go on and on if the indirect help is counted in to the numbering phase but I will keep it short and mention that their contribution has been valuable as well. They are -

Nikhil Bhan and Saurabh Saxena (BE IT); Mahesh Sohoni and Rama Gaikwad (BE Comp); Gauri Kapileshwar, Chaitrali Latkar and Rucha Desai (BE Mech); Anuja Gadgil (BE EnTC); Madhura Barve (TE IT); Omkar Umrani and Mahipal Mahara (TE Mech); Neha More and Sonal Kadam (PVG’s Science College) and Sujay Bhise.

As most of you will know that I live on campus of PVG college in Pune. We share our campus with Muktangan School and Jr. College. The story begins with the unfortunate attack on Friday, the 17^th of September on a 8 yr old girl named Kunjal by a few stray dogs.

At War for Hindustaan....

Well, it is 11:55 pm right now when I type the first words of this blog and 5 minutes later we will see a 63 year old free nation. Is it free?

"It is nice to appreciate what has been done but much more important it is to see what remains to be done."
Bill Gates

I returned home at 930 pm today having attended a fantastic lecture, organized by the RSS pertaining to the topic of partition of the nation and vision for Akhanda Bhaarat delivered by Mr. Nitin Apte, an energised and passionate orator and Swatantryaveer Savarkar "Bhakta". I salute this patriot for what he is!
He gave a beautiful simile; he said, "A dead body on the pyre makes a small sound which we associate with burning even if it is dead. We like the living dead, refuse to protest and act against injustice. Not even the slightest of sounds are uttered by us. How ironic it is?!!"

Nature : The One Colossal Classroom....

I struck gold dust @ 9:40 pm today. This is not about the physical glow and the lustre and the riches I am talking about but its wisdom. We as humans consider ourselves quite superior to nature never understanding the full glory of nature and its laws. Nature hints us in many ways to obey and abide by them lest calamity befall us. Throughout history we have regularly belittled nature as something insignificant, never realizing the true expanse of nature and disrespected it even when we experienced floods, earthquakes, forest fires, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis. Nature sent out wisdom calmly through its realms using everything around as a media for the same and we kept ignoring it; we do so even now.

"Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better"
Albert Einstein

Nature today sent me a great message and I jumped at the opportunity to post it on the blog. Out of its many laws, there is the law of the wild which says not to kill when the self is not hungry. I will put forward my opinions and inferences from the following but before that take a look.


Photographer Michel Denis-Huot, who captured these amazing pictures on safari in Kenya 's Masai Mara in  October last year, said he was astounded by what he saw:


"These 3 brothers (cheetahs) have been living together since they left their mother when they were about 18 months old" he said. "On the morning we saw them, they seemed not to be hungry, walking quickly but stopping sometimes to  play together. At one point, they met a group of impalas who ran away. But one youngster was not quick enough and the brothers caught it easily."

These extraordinary scenes followed.......

Rising One more Time....

I remember a story of intense passion and belief my father had once told me. Whenever I am down and out it is this story which reignites the desire to be better and stand back up.

There were 2 boxers, Axe and Ranko who always faced each other in every tournament final of their time just as it was the case of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in international tennis. Both had debuted around the same time and in 24 hours was the final of the world championship to which both of them had qualified. They had around same number of wins against the other in all international bouts and this final was to be the last game of their respective careers. Naturally, being the toughest of competitors, both Axe and Ranko were training very hard for this mega final and each wanted to sign of his respective career with a win over the other.

"Kathewadial" Kamaal !!

Small things can make a big difference. At times many things happen around us and we are quite casual in our approach towards it and might never realize the incidence carried some wisdom. After I came by this article I got to know another dimension altogether.
I want to buy groceries and stuff from a general store. I walk in, shop what I need and after paying for it at the counter and collecting my change from the shopkeeper I walk out with my purchase. Now this is what happens normally in our cities and lives. But then great things don’t happen when normality is seen. Great changes are those which deviate positively from normality and affect the lives of millions, bettering them like never before. Here I would share another great change.

In the sequence of events I have mentioned above there is a deviation from normality when it comes to a place, rather a village named Kathewadi, Nanded District, Maharashtra.

Kathewadi is an approximately 700 strength village. The villagers have a single shopping place which houses general usage goods and the entire village buys its daily requirements from this store. The amazing part of this is that the store has no shopkeeper and no human vigil at all! This store is open to all. Any person who wishes to buy from the store goes in and collects his purchase. He calculates his bill and deposits the cash at the cash counter and collects his change if any and leaves!!

Blazing at 92....

A very interesting and inspiring experience I had a few months back which I recollect "now" thanks to my mediocre memory!
I live on my college campus. I have been accommodated in the Old Age home of our college's founding institute as there had been a vacancy there.
The incidence goes as-