இதுதான் என் தேசத்து திருவிழா ...
பூ மிதித்தல் - உன் கால் தடத்தில் என் கால் வைத்து நடத்தல் ...
அலகு குத்துதல் - நீ கண்ணடிக்கும் தருணம் ....
பூஜை செய்தல் - உன் புகைப்படத்திற்கு முத்தமிடுதல் ....
ஊர்வலம் - உன்னுடன் சேர்ந்து நடக்கும் ஒவ்வொரு அடியும் ...
வான வேடிக்கை - தூரத்தில் நீ வருகின்ற அழகை ரசித்தல் ....
இசை கச்சேரி - உன் வளையொலியும் , கொலுசொலியும் ....
Sethu
Friday, October 15, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
How India is undoing China's string of pearls
New Delhi's defence establishment has quietly put in place India's own counter-measures to woo and bolster China's neighbours as a long-term strategy, says Nitin Gokhale
One of the least understood and less scrutinised facets of India's diplomacy is perhaps New Delhi's 'Look East' policy, now nearly two decades old.
Launched during Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao's regime primarily to try and integrate India's newly liberalising economy with that of the Asian 'tigers', that policy is now quietly evolving into a more robust military-to-military partnership with important nations in that region.
Over the past three months alone, top Indian military leadership has made important trips to key nations in South-East and East Asia -- Vietnam, South Korea, Japan [ Images ], Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.
Indian Army chief General V K Singh was in Vietnam in July, furthering an already strong strategic relationship. General Singh's visit was the first in a decade by an Indian army chief.
Apart from meeting his Vietnamese counterpart, Deputy Chief of General Staff Pham Hong Loi, the Indian army chief discussed with Vietnam's National Defence Minister Phung Quang Thanh, the road map to implement the 2009 memorandum of understanding between the two ministries of defence.
Two areas where India and Vietnam will focus their immediate attention were training of military personnel and dialogue between experts on strategic affairs on both sides.
General Singh's visit will be followed by Defence Minister A K Antony's mid-October trip to Hanoi when he will participate in the first-ever regional meeting of political leaders in the defence field.
As the current chair of ASEAN, Vietnam has invited India to the ASEAN+8 defence ministers meeting. The 10-member ASEAN will be joined by Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, and the United States at that important conclave.
Although Indo-Vietnam political and diplomatic ties can be traced back to Jawaharlal Nehru's time, it was only in the post 1990s that the two nations decided to build and strengthen military-to-military relationship.
This development was a result of two main reasons -- one historical, the other contemporary.
To begin with, both India and Vietnam had borne the brunt of Chinese aggression -- India in 1962 and Vietnam in 1979.
And two, the collapse of the Soviet Union, for long a security guarantor for both India and Vietnam in Asia, left New Delhi and Hanoi without an all-weather, all-powerful friend.
Both India and Vietnam, who have long-pending territorial disputes with China thus decided to unite against their common adversary. Located on the edges of South-East Asia, Vietnam is ideally placed to prevent China's expansion into the South China Sea.
So, for over a decade now, India has been providing Vietnam with assistance in beefing up its naval and air capabilities in an attempt to deny China total supremacy in the South China Sea.
Both New Delhi and Hanoi traditionally sourced majority of their military hardware from the erstwhile Soviet Union. That commonality has meant that both can share expertise and resources available with their respective armed forces in terms of handling and maintaining the Soviet-era weaponry.
India, for instance, has repaired and upgraded over 100 MiG 21 planes of the Vietnamese Air Force and supplied them with enhanced avionics and radar systems. Indian Air Force pilots have also been training their Vietnamese counterparts.
The Indian Navy, by far larger than the Vietnamese navy, has been supplying critical spares to Hanoi for its Russian origin ships and missile boats.
After Antony's 2007 visit to Vietnam, the Indian and Vietnamese coast guards have engaged in joint patrols, and both navies participated in a joint exercise in 2007.
But Vietnam is not the only nation India is inching closer to in China's immediate neighbourhood.
Antony, who is fast emerging as a quiet but effective player in India's military diplomacy, in early September became the first Indian defence minister ever to visit South Korea, a pro-US, anti-China nation in the vicinity.
He led a top-notch team of military and civil officials like Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar, Vice-Admiral RK Dhowan, Lieutenant General K T Parnaik, DRDA Chief Controller C K Prahlada, and Sundaram Krishna, special adviser to the defence minister.
The visit was a follow-up on the declaration issued by both countries during President Lee Myung-bak's state visit to New Delhi in January, when it was decided to elevate bilateral relationship to a 'strategic partnership'.
Although nowhere near the level of Indo-Vietnam defence cooperation, the newly evolving India-South Korea partnership is being seen as a vital component of India's game plan to counter China's increasing footprint in the subcontinent.
Seoul is a perfect counter balance to the China-North Korea-Myanmar-Pakistan axis that New Delhi and US regard as a major irritant in the Asia-Pacific region.
Moving eastward, India is actively pursuing deeper defence cooperation with Japan. Last week, for the first time, India is expanding its defence ties with Japan, a newfound strategic partner in the region.
Air Chief Marshal P V Naik, chairman of India's Chiefs of Staff Committee, the senior-most Indian military officer, led an Indian delegation to Japan on September 28 to participate in the first military-to-military talks between the two countries.
Naik's visit comes just weeks ahead of a trip by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Tokyo in late October.
Naik's visit is a follow-up to Antony's discussions in Japan last year, when the two countries expressed their commitment to contribute to bilateral and regional cooperation, which in other words is an effort to build regional partnerships to counter the growing influence of China.
High level visits apart, the Indian Navy has been quite active in its friendly forays into the Pacific. A flotilla of Indian warships is about to complete a month-long deployment to the Pacific that included visits to Australia, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam.
So while Indian strategic thinkers have been busy sounding frequent alarms over China's increasing forays into the Indian Ocean and have often overstated the fears of Beijing's 'String of Pearls' around India, New Delhi's defence establishment has quietly put in place India's own counter measures to woo and bolster China's neighbours as a long-term strategy.
Whatever the consequences of this strategy and counter-strategy, one thing is sure: The Indian Ocean and its periphery are poised to become the new playground for the 21st century version of the Great Game in the years to come.
Nitin Gokhale is Defence Editor, NDTV.
One of the least understood and less scrutinised facets of India's diplomacy is perhaps New Delhi's 'Look East' policy, now nearly two decades old.
Launched during Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao's regime primarily to try and integrate India's newly liberalising economy with that of the Asian 'tigers', that policy is now quietly evolving into a more robust military-to-military partnership with important nations in that region.
Over the past three months alone, top Indian military leadership has made important trips to key nations in South-East and East Asia -- Vietnam, South Korea, Japan [ Images ], Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.
Indian Army chief General V K Singh was in Vietnam in July, furthering an already strong strategic relationship. General Singh's visit was the first in a decade by an Indian army chief.
Apart from meeting his Vietnamese counterpart, Deputy Chief of General Staff Pham Hong Loi, the Indian army chief discussed with Vietnam's National Defence Minister Phung Quang Thanh, the road map to implement the 2009 memorandum of understanding between the two ministries of defence.
Two areas where India and Vietnam will focus their immediate attention were training of military personnel and dialogue between experts on strategic affairs on both sides.
General Singh's visit will be followed by Defence Minister A K Antony's mid-October trip to Hanoi when he will participate in the first-ever regional meeting of political leaders in the defence field.
As the current chair of ASEAN, Vietnam has invited India to the ASEAN+8 defence ministers meeting. The 10-member ASEAN will be joined by Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, and the United States at that important conclave.
Although Indo-Vietnam political and diplomatic ties can be traced back to Jawaharlal Nehru's time, it was only in the post 1990s that the two nations decided to build and strengthen military-to-military relationship.
This development was a result of two main reasons -- one historical, the other contemporary.
To begin with, both India and Vietnam had borne the brunt of Chinese aggression -- India in 1962 and Vietnam in 1979.
And two, the collapse of the Soviet Union, for long a security guarantor for both India and Vietnam in Asia, left New Delhi and Hanoi without an all-weather, all-powerful friend.
Both India and Vietnam, who have long-pending territorial disputes with China thus decided to unite against their common adversary. Located on the edges of South-East Asia, Vietnam is ideally placed to prevent China's expansion into the South China Sea.
So, for over a decade now, India has been providing Vietnam with assistance in beefing up its naval and air capabilities in an attempt to deny China total supremacy in the South China Sea.
Both New Delhi and Hanoi traditionally sourced majority of their military hardware from the erstwhile Soviet Union. That commonality has meant that both can share expertise and resources available with their respective armed forces in terms of handling and maintaining the Soviet-era weaponry.
India, for instance, has repaired and upgraded over 100 MiG 21 planes of the Vietnamese Air Force and supplied them with enhanced avionics and radar systems. Indian Air Force pilots have also been training their Vietnamese counterparts.
The Indian Navy, by far larger than the Vietnamese navy, has been supplying critical spares to Hanoi for its Russian origin ships and missile boats.
After Antony's 2007 visit to Vietnam, the Indian and Vietnamese coast guards have engaged in joint patrols, and both navies participated in a joint exercise in 2007.
But Vietnam is not the only nation India is inching closer to in China's immediate neighbourhood.
Antony, who is fast emerging as a quiet but effective player in India's military diplomacy, in early September became the first Indian defence minister ever to visit South Korea, a pro-US, anti-China nation in the vicinity.
He led a top-notch team of military and civil officials like Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar, Vice-Admiral RK Dhowan, Lieutenant General K T Parnaik, DRDA Chief Controller C K Prahlada, and Sundaram Krishna, special adviser to the defence minister.
The visit was a follow-up on the declaration issued by both countries during President Lee Myung-bak's state visit to New Delhi in January, when it was decided to elevate bilateral relationship to a 'strategic partnership'.
Although nowhere near the level of Indo-Vietnam defence cooperation, the newly evolving India-South Korea partnership is being seen as a vital component of India's game plan to counter China's increasing footprint in the subcontinent.
Seoul is a perfect counter balance to the China-North Korea-Myanmar-Pakistan axis that New Delhi and US regard as a major irritant in the Asia-Pacific region.
Moving eastward, India is actively pursuing deeper defence cooperation with Japan. Last week, for the first time, India is expanding its defence ties with Japan, a newfound strategic partner in the region.
Air Chief Marshal P V Naik, chairman of India's Chiefs of Staff Committee, the senior-most Indian military officer, led an Indian delegation to Japan on September 28 to participate in the first military-to-military talks between the two countries.
Naik's visit comes just weeks ahead of a trip by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Tokyo in late October.
Naik's visit is a follow-up to Antony's discussions in Japan last year, when the two countries expressed their commitment to contribute to bilateral and regional cooperation, which in other words is an effort to build regional partnerships to counter the growing influence of China.
High level visits apart, the Indian Navy has been quite active in its friendly forays into the Pacific. A flotilla of Indian warships is about to complete a month-long deployment to the Pacific that included visits to Australia, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam.
So while Indian strategic thinkers have been busy sounding frequent alarms over China's increasing forays into the Indian Ocean and have often overstated the fears of Beijing's 'String of Pearls' around India, New Delhi's defence establishment has quietly put in place India's own counter measures to woo and bolster China's neighbours as a long-term strategy.
Whatever the consequences of this strategy and counter-strategy, one thing is sure: The Indian Ocean and its periphery are poised to become the new playground for the 21st century version of the Great Game in the years to come.
Nitin Gokhale is Defence Editor, NDTV.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Inspiring simplicity
Multi-billionaire Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg likes to wear worn jeans, cheap T-shirts and lives in a rented house. To relax, he likes drinking beer and eating fast food with workmates, it was reported here on Friday.
The man responsible for connecting over 500 million people across the world through social networking site Facebook could easily pass off as an ordinary 26-year-old.
Facebook founder donates $100 mn to Newark schools
The Sun on Friday reported that Zuckerberg, who is said to be worth 4.3 million pounds, he wears jeans, cheap T-shirt and flip-flops.
In fact, he does not own the four-bedroom house where he lives in Palo Alto, California. He pays a relatively modest 3,500 pounds a month as rent. He doesn't even have a posh sports car, instead driving a Japanese saloon.
Zuckerberg prefers to unwind after work by heading to a bar to have beer and eat fast food with workmates.
He also likes going out with his 25-year-old girlfriend Priscilla Chan to a cheap yet cheerful meal at a Mexican restaurant.
'It's amazing - Mark doesn't seem at all bothered about fancy cars and expensive possessions. He's still living like a college kid.
'He will eat lunch in the canteen with the other workers. A lot of the employees actually have nicer cars than his,' a Facebook source was quoted as saying.
The web entrepreneur and reluctant celebrity was born in the New York suburb of Dobbs Ferry on May 14, 1984. His dad was a dentist and mum a psychiatrist, the media report said.
In 2004 he launched Facebook and moved to Palo Alto in northern California. Since then he has been in his rented home a short walk from Facebook headquarters.
His neighbours don't earn six-figure salaries.
A local resident said: 'We are just regular working folks round here. It's cool to have a billionaire living on the street but he does not stand out.
200 million Facebook users play games every month
'He mostly keeps himself to himself and doesn't have wild parties or anything like that. He'll often walk to work. He seems happy with his lifestyle for now.'
When Zuckerberg has his evenings off, he and his girlfriend enjoy dinner at local Mexican Cafe del Sol. On one visit the couple queued on the street for a table for 10 minutes with the rest.
A local at the bar frequented by the billionaire said: 'He just blends in with the other customers. He could be any other office worker enjoying a few beers. He doesn't flash his cash around.'
Zuckerberg is down-to-earth, but is always glued to his iPhone.
An eyewitness who saw him at a ceremony at California's Stanford Business School said: 'He was sat at the back, tapping away on his phone the whole time. There was a funny moment when one of the speakers on stage mentioned Facebook.
'One of his friends nudged him and they laughed.'
The man responsible for connecting over 500 million people across the world through social networking site Facebook could easily pass off as an ordinary 26-year-old.
Facebook founder donates $100 mn to Newark schools
The Sun on Friday reported that Zuckerberg, who is said to be worth 4.3 million pounds, he wears jeans, cheap T-shirt and flip-flops.
In fact, he does not own the four-bedroom house where he lives in Palo Alto, California. He pays a relatively modest 3,500 pounds a month as rent. He doesn't even have a posh sports car, instead driving a Japanese saloon.
Zuckerberg prefers to unwind after work by heading to a bar to have beer and eat fast food with workmates.
He also likes going out with his 25-year-old girlfriend Priscilla Chan to a cheap yet cheerful meal at a Mexican restaurant.
'It's amazing - Mark doesn't seem at all bothered about fancy cars and expensive possessions. He's still living like a college kid.
'He will eat lunch in the canteen with the other workers. A lot of the employees actually have nicer cars than his,' a Facebook source was quoted as saying.
The web entrepreneur and reluctant celebrity was born in the New York suburb of Dobbs Ferry on May 14, 1984. His dad was a dentist and mum a psychiatrist, the media report said.
In 2004 he launched Facebook and moved to Palo Alto in northern California. Since then he has been in his rented home a short walk from Facebook headquarters.
His neighbours don't earn six-figure salaries.
A local resident said: 'We are just regular working folks round here. It's cool to have a billionaire living on the street but he does not stand out.
200 million Facebook users play games every month
'He mostly keeps himself to himself and doesn't have wild parties or anything like that. He'll often walk to work. He seems happy with his lifestyle for now.'
When Zuckerberg has his evenings off, he and his girlfriend enjoy dinner at local Mexican Cafe del Sol. On one visit the couple queued on the street for a table for 10 minutes with the rest.
A local at the bar frequented by the billionaire said: 'He just blends in with the other customers. He could be any other office worker enjoying a few beers. He doesn't flash his cash around.'
Zuckerberg is down-to-earth, but is always glued to his iPhone.
An eyewitness who saw him at a ceremony at California's Stanford Business School said: 'He was sat at the back, tapping away on his phone the whole time. There was a funny moment when one of the speakers on stage mentioned Facebook.
'One of his friends nudged him and they laughed.'
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
A beautiful Assignment-Beautifully Done
Once up on a Valentines Day...
[Anonymous kid] Daddy Daddy...
[Anonymous Dad] Yes Timmy !
[Ano...eh... Timmy] Daddy, I've got an assignment to write for school. Will you help me? Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
[Dad] Oh ! Okay !! What's yr assignment on?
[Timmy] Love !
[Dad] Wow ! You have an assignment on it ? In my days, the teachers were against our er... assignments ;)
[Timmy] No Dad, we are supposed to write something on the meaning of love...its Valentines day, na !
[Dad] Love...hmm lemme see !
[Timmy] wait..wait... Lemme write it down... :)
[Dad] Love... Love is about Lies !
[Timmy] Lies ???
[Dad] You see, Timmy... All my life, i have said lies in love & i've found it to be the best gift you can give a person.
[Timmy] How, Dad?
[Dad] Well, the first time i met yr was for a Valentines day 7 yrs ago. She was not the hottest of chicks in college, if you know wt i mean...
[Timmy] Hot chick ?
[Dad] You get it in due time, son... ;)
Anyways... i saw this cute girl standing at a corner of the dance floor. I heard one of my friends say that she couldn't get any date for the party.
So here i was, cursing my luck as my date's grandmom expired n that left me in the same predicament ?
[Timmy] Pedica ??
[Dad] Predicament...means..eh, problem !
[Timmy] Oh...
[Dad] So i went upto yr Mom n told her.."Hey, How come such a beautiful lady like you does not have all the guys crooning over you?"
Now, i knew very well that even i wouldn't have asked her to dance if i had a choice, but it was that one little lie that got us together !
[Timmy] But Dad, aint it bad to lie ?
[Dad] Son, sometimes you have to lie to make the ppl you love happy !
Every Valentines day after that, i used to tell yr mom that she was the most beautiful girl in the whole world.
Now yes, i think she's cute & pretty in a special kind of way, but you tell me...Do you think she has the legs of Sharon Stone and the figure of Alicia Silverstone ?
[Timmy] Eh... I dont know any of these stones, dad !
[Dad] Hmm.. ok...Lets just say that yr mom was just an ordinary Wilma from the Flintstones !
[Timmy] I know Wilma ! I know Wilma !!
[Dad] Hehe... & then again...
When yr mom was pregnant with you... she used to ask me every day how she looked ? Did she look fat ?
Now frankly, she had gained about 30-40 pounds... & was always in one of her moods..
But i'd tell her.."Nooooooooooooo Honey, you are glowing ! You look fabulous !!
Now if i told her she looked like a fat cow, it would have hurt her !
[Timmy] Ya...
[Dad] So you see son...Love is when you say those little lies to keep someone happy !
ok... i've gotta go now... All the best with yr assignment...
[Timmy] Bye Dad !
............................
[Timmy] Love means lying ??? Maybe i'll ask Mom
Mommyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy...
[Timmy] Mom..Mom... i have an assignment for school...you will help me, na !
[Mom] Timmy, you know i'v to go out with daddy in another 1/2 hr
[Timmy] Pleaseeeeeeeee Mommy !
[Mom] ok...Timmy. wts the topic ?
[Timmy] Eh... Love !
[Mom] Love...Love is about knowing the goodness of a person's heart, honey !
[Timmy] Goodness of heart ? huh ?
[Mom] Its like this...
When i was in college, yr Dad used to tell me i should be in hollywood. Now i knew he was just lying, but i also knew that he dint want me in hollywood, but rt next to him!
& when i was pregnant, i used to look so fat i looked like Santa Claus ! But yr Dad would say i was looked weak n would feed me everything he could find !
His lies were so dumb, i even thought i had married a stupid...but the truth is that this stupid cared enough to lie...just to make me happy !
[Timmy] But... he was lying, rt ?
[Mom] Well honey...he was just being a guy !
& i knew everytime that he was lying to me... but every single time, i also knew that he said those lies coz he loved me !
[Timmy] Hmm...
[Mom] Ok honey... i'v to go get ready now. byeeeee
........................
Assignment
Topic : Love
Author : Timmy
Love... When someone lies to you n you smile... coz you know the person cares enough for yr happyness to lie to you !!!
The End
[Anonymous kid] Daddy Daddy...
[Anonymous Dad] Yes Timmy !
[Ano...eh... Timmy] Daddy, I've got an assignment to write for school. Will you help me? Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
[Dad] Oh ! Okay !! What's yr assignment on?
[Timmy] Love !
[Dad] Wow ! You have an assignment on it ? In my days, the teachers were against our er... assignments ;)
[Timmy] No Dad, we are supposed to write something on the meaning of love...its Valentines day, na !
[Dad] Love...hmm lemme see !
[Timmy] wait..wait... Lemme write it down... :)
[Dad] Love... Love is about Lies !
[Timmy] Lies ???
[Dad] You see, Timmy... All my life, i have said lies in love & i've found it to be the best gift you can give a person.
[Timmy] How, Dad?
[Dad] Well, the first time i met yr was for a Valentines day 7 yrs ago. She was not the hottest of chicks in college, if you know wt i mean...
[Timmy] Hot chick ?
[Dad] You get it in due time, son... ;)
Anyways... i saw this cute girl standing at a corner of the dance floor. I heard one of my friends say that she couldn't get any date for the party.
So here i was, cursing my luck as my date's grandmom expired n that left me in the same predicament ?
[Timmy] Pedica ??
[Dad] Predicament...means..eh, problem !
[Timmy] Oh...
[Dad] So i went upto yr Mom n told her.."Hey, How come such a beautiful lady like you does not have all the guys crooning over you?"
Now, i knew very well that even i wouldn't have asked her to dance if i had a choice, but it was that one little lie that got us together !
[Timmy] But Dad, aint it bad to lie ?
[Dad] Son, sometimes you have to lie to make the ppl you love happy !
Every Valentines day after that, i used to tell yr mom that she was the most beautiful girl in the whole world.
Now yes, i think she's cute & pretty in a special kind of way, but you tell me...Do you think she has the legs of Sharon Stone and the figure of Alicia Silverstone ?
[Timmy] Eh... I dont know any of these stones, dad !
[Dad] Hmm.. ok...Lets just say that yr mom was just an ordinary Wilma from the Flintstones !
[Timmy] I know Wilma ! I know Wilma !!
[Dad] Hehe... & then again...
When yr mom was pregnant with you... she used to ask me every day how she looked ? Did she look fat ?
Now frankly, she had gained about 30-40 pounds... & was always in one of her moods..
But i'd tell her.."Nooooooooooooo Honey, you are glowing ! You look fabulous !!
Now if i told her she looked like a fat cow, it would have hurt her !
[Timmy] Ya...
[Dad] So you see son...Love is when you say those little lies to keep someone happy !
ok... i've gotta go now... All the best with yr assignment...
[Timmy] Bye Dad !
............................
[Timmy] Love means lying ??? Maybe i'll ask Mom
Mommyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy...
[Timmy] Mom..Mom... i have an assignment for school...you will help me, na !
[Mom] Timmy, you know i'v to go out with daddy in another 1/2 hr
[Timmy] Pleaseeeeeeeee Mommy !
[Mom] ok...Timmy. wts the topic ?
[Timmy] Eh... Love !
[Mom] Love...Love is about knowing the goodness of a person's heart, honey !
[Timmy] Goodness of heart ? huh ?
[Mom] Its like this...
When i was in college, yr Dad used to tell me i should be in hollywood. Now i knew he was just lying, but i also knew that he dint want me in hollywood, but rt next to him!
& when i was pregnant, i used to look so fat i looked like Santa Claus ! But yr Dad would say i was looked weak n would feed me everything he could find !
His lies were so dumb, i even thought i had married a stupid...but the truth is that this stupid cared enough to lie...just to make me happy !
[Timmy] But... he was lying, rt ?
[Mom] Well honey...he was just being a guy !
& i knew everytime that he was lying to me... but every single time, i also knew that he said those lies coz he loved me !
[Timmy] Hmm...
[Mom] Ok honey... i'v to go get ready now. byeeeee
........................
Assignment
Topic : Love
Author : Timmy
Love... When someone lies to you n you smile... coz you know the person cares enough for yr happyness to lie to you !!!
The End
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
The 7 Habits of Highly Unhappy People!
It’s only when we realise and acknowledge that we are each 100% responsible for our happiness that we start to ‘notice’ the things that we do that creates our unhappiness. Only when we fully accept responsibility for our own happiness will we start to eliminate the habits that sabotage our contentment and joy. They are habits that many of us have learned to justify (a habit in itself!) as we often don’t want to see and accept that they are the cause of our unhappiness. They are also habits that we sometimes want to see as ‘natural’ as they ‘seem’ to form the very fabric of our day-to-day relationships. They are the 7 habits of highly unhappy people.
Judging
Have you noticed when you judge another you lose your inner peace? And inner peace is the primary ingredient of authentic happiness. Not only do we learn to judge but close on the mental heals of our judgements often comes the sentence and the punishment! All together (judgment, sentence and punishment) they make up the package called ‘condemnation’ which is guaranteed happiness killer!
Criticising
When we criticise it means we are attacking and somewhere ‘in there’ is usually anger albeit in a milder form. And when you are angry you cannot be happy. Yes some of us do attempt to justify our attack by calling it ‘constructive criticism’ but if there is any anger present it’s more often revenge or punishment in disguise! Definitely not a happy habit but a common one all the same.
Complaining
It seems to be endemic in some cultures to complain. Complaining signals the presence of upsetness and therefore the absence of happiness. Whereas in ‘giving feedback’ and ‘making a request’ ensures there is no discontentment. Easy theory, but hard to practice, especially if we have been playing that old ‘complaining record’ all our life.
Blaming
Projecting blame onto someone else is not only a happiness killer but usually a strategy to avoid responsibility. It’s driven by the perfect combination of anger and fear and is therefore a painful cry that sounds like, “It’s all your fault”, but which, when decoded, really means, “I have just made my self very unhappy”!
Arguing
Trying to prove we are right, or attempting to make the other as right as us, is usually both a tense and grumpy affair. Neither side is happy in the process, and even if it seems one side has won, any happiness is short lived until the next opportunity to ‘be right’ is craved for and invoked! To argue is to tell the world that we prefer misery to merriment!
Competing
It’s not so easy to see why the habit of competing is an unhappy pastime. Most of us have assimilated the belief that competition is good, fun and even joyful.
But all we have to do is glance at the faces of long distance runners, tennis players and even snooker players and we will see 99% of the game is played in a state of abject suffering. Occasionally, in the middle of the game or the match, someone will let a little joy slip out, but it doesn’t last long. All competition contains fear by definition, which along with anger, are the sworn enemies of happiness.
Controlling
Attempting to make others dance to our tune is always an impossible task. Expecting the world to be and do as we would wish is an expectation too far. Both are demonstrations that we still believe others are responsible for our happiness. It is a belief by which the world runs. If the truth were realise and lived i.e. that we are each responsible for our own happiness, the world would be a very different planet on which to live. One day perhaps!
So there you have it. Only seven of many habits that we activate sometimes several times a day. In so doing we block the light of the sun of happiness from shinning through our life. Each habit is embedded in a culture in which it has become socially acceptable to think and act in such ways. And so it is that we unknowingly collude with each other to sustain our unhappiness. And as we do we gift the 7 habits of highly unhappy people to the next generation
Judging
Have you noticed when you judge another you lose your inner peace? And inner peace is the primary ingredient of authentic happiness. Not only do we learn to judge but close on the mental heals of our judgements often comes the sentence and the punishment! All together (judgment, sentence and punishment) they make up the package called ‘condemnation’ which is guaranteed happiness killer!
Criticising
When we criticise it means we are attacking and somewhere ‘in there’ is usually anger albeit in a milder form. And when you are angry you cannot be happy. Yes some of us do attempt to justify our attack by calling it ‘constructive criticism’ but if there is any anger present it’s more often revenge or punishment in disguise! Definitely not a happy habit but a common one all the same.
Complaining
It seems to be endemic in some cultures to complain. Complaining signals the presence of upsetness and therefore the absence of happiness. Whereas in ‘giving feedback’ and ‘making a request’ ensures there is no discontentment. Easy theory, but hard to practice, especially if we have been playing that old ‘complaining record’ all our life.
Blaming
Projecting blame onto someone else is not only a happiness killer but usually a strategy to avoid responsibility. It’s driven by the perfect combination of anger and fear and is therefore a painful cry that sounds like, “It’s all your fault”, but which, when decoded, really means, “I have just made my self very unhappy”!
Arguing
Trying to prove we are right, or attempting to make the other as right as us, is usually both a tense and grumpy affair. Neither side is happy in the process, and even if it seems one side has won, any happiness is short lived until the next opportunity to ‘be right’ is craved for and invoked! To argue is to tell the world that we prefer misery to merriment!
Competing
It’s not so easy to see why the habit of competing is an unhappy pastime. Most of us have assimilated the belief that competition is good, fun and even joyful.
But all we have to do is glance at the faces of long distance runners, tennis players and even snooker players and we will see 99% of the game is played in a state of abject suffering. Occasionally, in the middle of the game or the match, someone will let a little joy slip out, but it doesn’t last long. All competition contains fear by definition, which along with anger, are the sworn enemies of happiness.
Controlling
Attempting to make others dance to our tune is always an impossible task. Expecting the world to be and do as we would wish is an expectation too far. Both are demonstrations that we still believe others are responsible for our happiness. It is a belief by which the world runs. If the truth were realise and lived i.e. that we are each responsible for our own happiness, the world would be a very different planet on which to live. One day perhaps!
So there you have it. Only seven of many habits that we activate sometimes several times a day. In so doing we block the light of the sun of happiness from shinning through our life. Each habit is embedded in a culture in which it has become socially acceptable to think and act in such ways. And so it is that we unknowingly collude with each other to sustain our unhappiness. And as we do we gift the 7 habits of highly unhappy people to the next generation
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Words are important
There were 4 guys Rahul, Ajay, Manav and Vijay were strolling down the road when they found a small bottle of wine. When they rubbed the bottle, a genie appeared. Thankful that they had released him , the genie said, “Next to you all are 4 swimming pools, I will give each of you a wish. When you run towards the pool and jump, you shout what you want the pool of water to become, and then your wish will come true.”
Rahul ran towards the pool, jumped and shouted “Wine”. The pool immediately changed into a pool of wine. Rahul was ecstatic.
Next came Ajay. He did the same and shouted, “Vodka” and immersed himself into a pool of vodka.
Manav jumped and shouted, “Beer”.
The last of them was Vijay. He was running towards the pool when suddenly he stepped on a banana peel. He slipped towards the pool and shouted,
“Shit!!!!!!!………”
Rahul ran towards the pool, jumped and shouted “Wine”. The pool immediately changed into a pool of wine. Rahul was ecstatic.
Next came Ajay. He did the same and shouted, “Vodka” and immersed himself into a pool of vodka.
Manav jumped and shouted, “Beer”.
The last of them was Vijay. He was running towards the pool when suddenly he stepped on a banana peel. He slipped towards the pool and shouted,
“Shit!!!!!!!………”
Thursday, September 9, 2010
விமர்சிக்கும் உலகம் இது
பட்டினத்தார் எத்தனை பெரிய துறவி? கோடிக்கணக்கான சொத்தை அப்படியே விட்டுவிட்டுக் கோவணத்துடன் வெளியேறிய கடுந்துறவி. சோற்றாசை கூட இல்லாத சந்யாஸி. கையில் ஓடு வைத்திருந்த பத்திரிகிரியாரைத் சொத்து வைத்திருக்கும் குடும்பஸ்தன் என்று கிண்டலடித்த அப்பழுக்கற்ற துறவி. அவரையே உலகம் என்ன பாடுபடுத்தியது தெரியுமா?
நடந்த களைப்பால் வயலில் படுத்திருந்தார் பட்டினத்தார். அறுவடை நடந்திருந்த வயல் அது. குச்சி குச்சியாய்ப் பூமியில் இருந்து கிளம்பி அறுபடாதிருந்த வைக்கோல் அவர் உடம்பில் குத்திக் கொண்டிருந்தது. அதைச் சட்டை செய்யாமல் (சட்டை இல்லாமல்) படுத்துக் கிடந்தார். இருக்கும் போதே இறந்து போன மாதிரி இருந்தார்.
அந்த வழியாகப் போன இரண்டு பெண்கள் வரப்பு வழியாக நடந்து போக முடியாதபடி பட்டினத்தார் வரப்பு மீது தலைவைத்துப் படுத்திருந்தார். ஒரு பெண்மணி, “யாரோ மகானா!” என்று அவரை வணங்கி வரப்பிலிருந்து இறங்கி நடந்தார். மற்றொரு பெண்மணியோ, “ஆமாம்… ஆமாம்… இவரு பெரிய சாமியாராக்கும்… தலையணை வைச்சுத் தூங்கறான் பாரு… ஆசை பிடிச்சவன்” என்று கடுஞ்சொல் வீசினார். அவர்கள் அங்கிருந்து போனதும் எழுந்து உட்கார்ந்த பட்டினத்தார், “ஆஹா… நமக்கு இந்த அறிவு இது நாள் வரை இல்லையே” என்று வருந்தி வரப்பிலிருந்து தலையைக் கீழே வைத்துப் படுத்தார்.
சற்று நேரத்தில் அந்த இரண்டு பெண்களும் அதே வழியாகத் திரும்பி வந்தனர். வரப்பிலிருந்து தலையை இறக்கிக் கீழே வைத்திருந்த பட்டினத்தாரைப் பார்த்து முதல் பெண் பரிதாபப்பட்டு, “பார்த்தாயா… நீ சொன்னதைக் கேட்டு உடனே கீழே இறங்கிப் படுத்துட்டாரூ… இப்பவாவது ஒத்துக்கோ… இவரு மகான்தானே…! என்றார். அந்த பெண்மணியோ, தனக்கே உரித்த பாணியில் “அடி போடி… இவனெல்லாம் ஒரு சாமியாரா? தன்னைப் பத்தி யார் யாரு என்ன என்ன பேசுறாங்கன்னு ஒட்டுக் கேட்கிறான்… அதைப் பத்திக் கவலைப்படறான். இவனெல்லாம் ஒரு சாமியாரா?” என்று ஒரு வெட்டு வெட்டினாள். பட்டினத்தாருக்குத் தலை சுற்றியது.
எப்படி இருந்தாலும் உலகம் நம்மை விமர்சிக்கும். இது பேருண்மை. தரமானவர்களின் தரமான விமர்சனத்தை மதிக்க வேண்டும். விமர்சிக்க வேண்டும் என்கிற வெறியுடன் விமர்சிக்கிறவர்கள் விமர்சனத்தைப் புறக்கணியுங்கள்!!!
நடந்த களைப்பால் வயலில் படுத்திருந்தார் பட்டினத்தார். அறுவடை நடந்திருந்த வயல் அது. குச்சி குச்சியாய்ப் பூமியில் இருந்து கிளம்பி அறுபடாதிருந்த வைக்கோல் அவர் உடம்பில் குத்திக் கொண்டிருந்தது. அதைச் சட்டை செய்யாமல் (சட்டை இல்லாமல்) படுத்துக் கிடந்தார். இருக்கும் போதே இறந்து போன மாதிரி இருந்தார்.
அந்த வழியாகப் போன இரண்டு பெண்கள் வரப்பு வழியாக நடந்து போக முடியாதபடி பட்டினத்தார் வரப்பு மீது தலைவைத்துப் படுத்திருந்தார். ஒரு பெண்மணி, “யாரோ மகானா!” என்று அவரை வணங்கி வரப்பிலிருந்து இறங்கி நடந்தார். மற்றொரு பெண்மணியோ, “ஆமாம்… ஆமாம்… இவரு பெரிய சாமியாராக்கும்… தலையணை வைச்சுத் தூங்கறான் பாரு… ஆசை பிடிச்சவன்” என்று கடுஞ்சொல் வீசினார். அவர்கள் அங்கிருந்து போனதும் எழுந்து உட்கார்ந்த பட்டினத்தார், “ஆஹா… நமக்கு இந்த அறிவு இது நாள் வரை இல்லையே” என்று வருந்தி வரப்பிலிருந்து தலையைக் கீழே வைத்துப் படுத்தார்.
சற்று நேரத்தில் அந்த இரண்டு பெண்களும் அதே வழியாகத் திரும்பி வந்தனர். வரப்பிலிருந்து தலையை இறக்கிக் கீழே வைத்திருந்த பட்டினத்தாரைப் பார்த்து முதல் பெண் பரிதாபப்பட்டு, “பார்த்தாயா… நீ சொன்னதைக் கேட்டு உடனே கீழே இறங்கிப் படுத்துட்டாரூ… இப்பவாவது ஒத்துக்கோ… இவரு மகான்தானே…! என்றார். அந்த பெண்மணியோ, தனக்கே உரித்த பாணியில் “அடி போடி… இவனெல்லாம் ஒரு சாமியாரா? தன்னைப் பத்தி யார் யாரு என்ன என்ன பேசுறாங்கன்னு ஒட்டுக் கேட்கிறான்… அதைப் பத்திக் கவலைப்படறான். இவனெல்லாம் ஒரு சாமியாரா?” என்று ஒரு வெட்டு வெட்டினாள். பட்டினத்தாருக்குத் தலை சுற்றியது.
எப்படி இருந்தாலும் உலகம் நம்மை விமர்சிக்கும். இது பேருண்மை. தரமானவர்களின் தரமான விமர்சனத்தை மதிக்க வேண்டும். விமர்சிக்க வேண்டும் என்கிற வெறியுடன் விமர்சிக்கிறவர்கள் விமர்சனத்தைப் புறக்கணியுங்கள்!!!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Happy Independence day!!
கோடிகளில் மட்டும் வாழும் ஏழைத் தலைவர்கள்... காசுக்கு வோட்டு போடும் பணக்கார மக்கள்... தன் நாட்டிற்க்கே குழி பறிக்கும் போலி ராஜாக்கள்... விளையாட்டு போட்டிற்கு முன்பே பணத்தில் விளையாடும் வீரர்கள்... - இது போன்ற புனித மனிதர்கள் வாழ இந்நாட்டிற்கு சுதந்திரம் கிடைக்கப் போராடிய அனைத்துத் தியாகிகளுக்கும் 64 வது ஆழ்ந்த சுதந்திரதின அனுதாபங்கள்..
Sethu
Sethu
Monday, August 2, 2010
சொந்த ஊர்!!!!!
வயல்வெளி பார்த்து
வறட்டி தட்டி
ஓணாண் பிடித்து
ஓடையில் குளித்து
எதிர்வீட்டில் விளையாடி
எப்படியோ படித்த நான்
ஏறிவந்தேன் நகரத்துக்கு !
சிறு அறையில் குறுகிப் படுத்து
சில மாதம் போர்தொடுத்து
வாங்கிவிட்ட வேலையோடு
வாழுகிறேன் கணிப்பொறியோடு !
சிறிதாய்த் தூங்கி
கனவு தொலைத்து
காலை உணவு மறந்து
நெரிசலில் சிக்கி
கடமை அழைக்க
காற்றோடு செல்கிறேன்
காசு பார்க்க !
மனசு தொட்டு
வாழும் வாழ்க்கை
மாறிப் போகுமோ ?
மௌசு தொட்டு
வாழும் வாழ்க்கை
பழகிப் போகுமோ ?
வால்பேப்பர் மாற்றியே
வாழ்க்கை
தொலைந்து போகுமோ ?
சொந்த பந்த
உறவுகளெல்லாம்
ஷிப் பைலாய்
சுருங்கிப் போகுமோ?
வாழ்க்கை
தொலைந்து போகுமோ
மொத்தமும்!
புரியாது
புலம்புகிறேன்
நித்தமும்!
தாய் மடியில் தலைவைத்து
நிலவு முகம் நான் ரசித்து
கதைகள் பேசி
கவலைகள் மறந்த காலம்
இனிதான் வருமா ?
இதயம் நனைத்த
இந்த வாழ்வு
இளைய தலைமுறைக்காவது
இனி கிடைக்குமா ?
சொந்த மண்ணில்
சொந்தங்களோடு
சோறு திண்பவன்
யாரடா ?
இருந்தால் அவனே
சொர்க்கம் கண்டவனடா!
வறட்டி தட்டி
ஓணாண் பிடித்து
ஓடையில் குளித்து
எதிர்வீட்டில் விளையாடி
எப்படியோ படித்த நான்
ஏறிவந்தேன் நகரத்துக்கு !
சிறு அறையில் குறுகிப் படுத்து
சில மாதம் போர்தொடுத்து
வாங்கிவிட்ட வேலையோடு
வாழுகிறேன் கணிப்பொறியோடு !
சிறிதாய்த் தூங்கி
கனவு தொலைத்து
காலை உணவு மறந்து
நெரிசலில் சிக்கி
கடமை அழைக்க
காற்றோடு செல்கிறேன்
காசு பார்க்க !
மனசு தொட்டு
வாழும் வாழ்க்கை
மாறிப் போகுமோ ?
மௌசு தொட்டு
வாழும் வாழ்க்கை
பழகிப் போகுமோ ?
வால்பேப்பர் மாற்றியே
வாழ்க்கை
தொலைந்து போகுமோ ?
சொந்த பந்த
உறவுகளெல்லாம்
ஷிப் பைலாய்
சுருங்கிப் போகுமோ?
வாழ்க்கை
தொலைந்து போகுமோ
மொத்தமும்!
புரியாது
புலம்புகிறேன்
நித்தமும்!
தாய் மடியில் தலைவைத்து
நிலவு முகம் நான் ரசித்து
கதைகள் பேசி
கவலைகள் மறந்த காலம்
இனிதான் வருமா ?
இதயம் நனைத்த
இந்த வாழ்வு
இளைய தலைமுறைக்காவது
இனி கிடைக்குமா ?
சொந்த மண்ணில்
சொந்தங்களோடு
சோறு திண்பவன்
யாரடா ?
இருந்தால் அவனே
சொர்க்கம் கண்டவனடா!
Monday, July 19, 2010
A great wish!!
தேடிச் சோறுநிதந் தின்று - பல
சின்னஞ் சிறுகதைகள் பேசி - மனம்
வாடித் துன்பமிக உழன்று - பிறர்
வாடப் பலசெயல்கள் செய்து - நரை
கூடிக் கிழப்பருவ மெய்தி - கொடுங்
கூற்றுக் கிரையெனப்பின் மாயும் - பல
வேடிக்கை மனிதரைப் போலே - நான்
வீழ்வே னென்று நினைத் தாயோ?
நின்னைச் சிலவரங்கள் கேட்பேன் - அவை
நேரே இன்றெனக்குத் தருவாய் - என்றன்
முன்னைத் தீயவினைப் பயன்கள் - இன்னும்
மூளா தழிந்திடுதல் வேண்டும் - இனி
என்னைப் புதியவுயி ராக்கி - எனக்
கேதுங் கவலையறச் செய்து - மதி
தன்னை மிகத்தெளிவு செய்து - என்றும்
சந்தோஷங் கொண்டிருக்கச் செய்வாய்.
- பாரதியார்
சின்னஞ் சிறுகதைகள் பேசி - மனம்
வாடித் துன்பமிக உழன்று - பிறர்
வாடப் பலசெயல்கள் செய்து - நரை
கூடிக் கிழப்பருவ மெய்தி - கொடுங்
கூற்றுக் கிரையெனப்பின் மாயும் - பல
வேடிக்கை மனிதரைப் போலே - நான்
வீழ்வே னென்று நினைத் தாயோ?
நின்னைச் சிலவரங்கள் கேட்பேன் - அவை
நேரே இன்றெனக்குத் தருவாய் - என்றன்
முன்னைத் தீயவினைப் பயன்கள் - இன்னும்
மூளா தழிந்திடுதல் வேண்டும் - இனி
என்னைப் புதியவுயி ராக்கி - எனக்
கேதுங் கவலையறச் செய்து - மதி
தன்னை மிகத்தெளிவு செய்து - என்றும்
சந்தோஷங் கொண்டிருக்கச் செய்வாய்.
- பாரதியார்
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
"We were being slowly killed by our own people"-- the destruction of the CRPF's 'A' company in Dantewada
An exclusive account of the final moments of the CRPF’s A and G companies which were wiped out by Maoists in Dantewada on April 6, 2010. Based on detailed interviews of three of the seven survivors currently in a hospital in Raipur.
Dawn had just begun breaking over the cool dry jungle
of Dantewada when the column of 81 CRPF men along
with one local head constable was walking in a single file over a hillock and towards a one hectare fallow field, lined with bunds and trees. The troopers were wearing camouflage
fatigues and, strangely,white sneakers bought in Raipur because the regular CRPF issue boots were unfit for long marches. The men had established a base camp three km away from Chintalnar village and had begun ‘area domination’ patrols
in the Mukrana forest. They had two night halts where they cooked a dal and rice khichdi for themselves.
It was their second day in the Maoist stronghold but the enemy
was elusive. The villagers that they came across didn’t tell them anything useful. It didn’t matter even if they did. The troopers did not understand the Gondi dialect spoken by the tribals; they left that to their local liaison, Head Constable Sushil Kumar Deepak. Ramesh Kumar Singh, part of the column’s Quick
Reaction Team (QRT) comprising of 12 men, cradled his INSASrifle and pulled out his mobile phone. There
was no signal so he was using it as a clock. It was 5.50 a.m. They had been marching for nearly three hours. For some reason the QRT,supposed to be at the head of the column acting as scouts, had fallen behind. “I’m going to the front to get our orders,” Assistant Commandant B.L. Meena said and walked ahead to the head of the column where the leader,
Deputy Commandant Satyawan Singh, was. Meena had gone just 20 metres when the first pft pft pft bursts of fire came directly from the front. “Take positions, take posi-
tions,” Satyawan Singh’s voice rang out. The company broke up and split into small groups and fanned out to left and right, rifles pointing towards their assailants.
“It’s a hit-and-run. They will go away. It happened like this in
Kashmir,” thought Biplab Malakar,a lanky first division fast bowler from Barrackpore in West Bengal, as he took position behind a 2-ft high bund around the field. Five years ago,militants in Jammu and Kashmir had shot and killed his friend, another constable, Pradeep Sikdar. It occurred to Biplab that the Naxals were using INSAS rifles—the very rifles the CRPF troopers were using to desperately defend themselves—to
shoot at him. Biplab had a deeper as- sociation—he used to make these weapons during a two-month long
summer job at the Rifle Factory in Ishapore a decade ago.
Soon the fire began from the flanks, and seemingly from above.
The black uniform-clad Maoists were firing from behind the dark- ened silhouettes of the trees. Bullets rang over their heads with a crack as they broke the sound barrier. Biplab was huddled near the bund with a fellow policemen H.K. Malik when a grenade flew in and exploded, blowing Malik’s leg away. Five bullets hit Biplab on the back and blood
poured out soaking his battle fatigues. He passed out.
Arvind Kumar, meanwhile, went down on the ground, fired
his AK-47 and crawled—the standard drill to evade bullets. But
the ground offered no cover. The men were being scythed down
in groups as they lay prone. It soon became clear why. “Ped se fire aa rahi hain(they are firing from the trees),” Havaldar Major Ram Kumar Meena screamed as two Maoist light machine guns began thumping deadly fire from atop trees over 100 metres away.
Explosions from IEDs rent the air and smoke wafted across the field. Arvind’s AK-47 ran out of ammunition.
“Take my magazines. I can’t fire,” a dying Sub-Inspector B.K. Sharma offered him two AK-47 magazines. As the battle raged, the Maoists were shouting tactical instructions to each other. “Deepak, idhar se ghero, (surround them from here).” It was a sight that was both terrifying and surreal. There were hundreds of tribal villagers around the field. They were screaming in Gondi, waving sticks and spears. It was like a royal shikaar which had converged onto a single killing field. It seemed like over a thousand people were firing though the Maoists claim they were only 300. “If I’m going to die, I’m going to try and take as many of them,” Arvind thought as he and a few others began blasting away at the trees. He saw at least one of the Maoists falling off.
Then the firing came in from a small hillock towards the rear of the company. Arvind had attracted the deadly attention of
their ambushers. A second grenade was flung towards him and it exploded near him. Three bullets hit him on the back. He
collapsed on his rifle. It was like the Maoists anticipated how the CRPF would react when ambushed. The field had
turned into a killing box ringed with automatic weapons. It was a Roman colosseum. There was no retreat for these dying gladiators. In the firefight, which lasted for over three hours, the CRPF men were clinically finished off. And all that happened right in front of their own ‘countrymen’. The last thing the survivors remember is seeing sari-clad tribal women moving in
and stripping the bodies of their fallen comrades of their weapons. Only seven men survived to tell this tale, one that would haunt them for the rest of their lives.
--Sandeep Unnithan (India Today, April 26, 2010)
Dawn had just begun breaking over the cool dry jungle
of Dantewada when the column of 81 CRPF men along
with one local head constable was walking in a single file over a hillock and towards a one hectare fallow field, lined with bunds and trees. The troopers were wearing camouflage
fatigues and, strangely,white sneakers bought in Raipur because the regular CRPF issue boots were unfit for long marches. The men had established a base camp three km away from Chintalnar village and had begun ‘area domination’ patrols
in the Mukrana forest. They had two night halts where they cooked a dal and rice khichdi for themselves.
It was their second day in the Maoist stronghold but the enemy
was elusive. The villagers that they came across didn’t tell them anything useful. It didn’t matter even if they did. The troopers did not understand the Gondi dialect spoken by the tribals; they left that to their local liaison, Head Constable Sushil Kumar Deepak. Ramesh Kumar Singh, part of the column’s Quick
Reaction Team (QRT) comprising of 12 men, cradled his INSASrifle and pulled out his mobile phone. There
was no signal so he was using it as a clock. It was 5.50 a.m. They had been marching for nearly three hours. For some reason the QRT,supposed to be at the head of the column acting as scouts, had fallen behind. “I’m going to the front to get our orders,” Assistant Commandant B.L. Meena said and walked ahead to the head of the column where the leader,
Deputy Commandant Satyawan Singh, was. Meena had gone just 20 metres when the first pft pft pft bursts of fire came directly from the front. “Take positions, take posi-
tions,” Satyawan Singh’s voice rang out. The company broke up and split into small groups and fanned out to left and right, rifles pointing towards their assailants.
“It’s a hit-and-run. They will go away. It happened like this in
Kashmir,” thought Biplab Malakar,a lanky first division fast bowler from Barrackpore in West Bengal, as he took position behind a 2-ft high bund around the field. Five years ago,militants in Jammu and Kashmir had shot and killed his friend, another constable, Pradeep Sikdar. It occurred to Biplab that the Naxals were using INSAS rifles—the very rifles the CRPF troopers were using to desperately defend themselves—to
shoot at him. Biplab had a deeper as- sociation—he used to make these weapons during a two-month long
summer job at the Rifle Factory in Ishapore a decade ago.
Soon the fire began from the flanks, and seemingly from above.
The black uniform-clad Maoists were firing from behind the dark- ened silhouettes of the trees. Bullets rang over their heads with a crack as they broke the sound barrier. Biplab was huddled near the bund with a fellow policemen H.K. Malik when a grenade flew in and exploded, blowing Malik’s leg away. Five bullets hit Biplab on the back and blood
poured out soaking his battle fatigues. He passed out.
Arvind Kumar, meanwhile, went down on the ground, fired
his AK-47 and crawled—the standard drill to evade bullets. But
the ground offered no cover. The men were being scythed down
in groups as they lay prone. It soon became clear why. “Ped se fire aa rahi hain(they are firing from the trees),” Havaldar Major Ram Kumar Meena screamed as two Maoist light machine guns began thumping deadly fire from atop trees over 100 metres away.
Explosions from IEDs rent the air and smoke wafted across the field. Arvind’s AK-47 ran out of ammunition.
“Take my magazines. I can’t fire,” a dying Sub-Inspector B.K. Sharma offered him two AK-47 magazines. As the battle raged, the Maoists were shouting tactical instructions to each other. “Deepak, idhar se ghero, (surround them from here).” It was a sight that was both terrifying and surreal. There were hundreds of tribal villagers around the field. They were screaming in Gondi, waving sticks and spears. It was like a royal shikaar which had converged onto a single killing field. It seemed like over a thousand people were firing though the Maoists claim they were only 300. “If I’m going to die, I’m going to try and take as many of them,” Arvind thought as he and a few others began blasting away at the trees. He saw at least one of the Maoists falling off.
Then the firing came in from a small hillock towards the rear of the company. Arvind had attracted the deadly attention of
their ambushers. A second grenade was flung towards him and it exploded near him. Three bullets hit him on the back. He
collapsed on his rifle. It was like the Maoists anticipated how the CRPF would react when ambushed. The field had
turned into a killing box ringed with automatic weapons. It was a Roman colosseum. There was no retreat for these dying gladiators. In the firefight, which lasted for over three hours, the CRPF men were clinically finished off. And all that happened right in front of their own ‘countrymen’. The last thing the survivors remember is seeing sari-clad tribal women moving in
and stripping the bodies of their fallen comrades of their weapons. Only seven men survived to tell this tale, one that would haunt them for the rest of their lives.
--Sandeep Unnithan (India Today, April 26, 2010)
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
The 'Metro Man's' journey
Stories of extreme hardship, braving impossible odds and innumerable sacrifices, abound in the lives of nearly 90 per cent of the students in the country. But among them, some perform exceptionally well. Their academic laurels are so brilliant, that at times their CV looks intimidating. And each one acknowledges that it's the right education that made them what they are today. Careers360 identified 40-odd brilliant students of this country. Most of them came from very dire conditions.
Here, in today's feature we look at Elattuvalapil Sreedharan's journey.
Men sporting bright yellow safety helmets and fluorescent jackets and digging up busy roads is a common sight in
Delhi these days. The Delhi NCR region is connected like never before, and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) project continues, full throttle. And the force behind this venture is Indian-born and educated Elattuvalapil Sreedharan.
Hailed as 'The Metro Man', ES, now 77, stumbled upon the job of Metro Chief, by chance. He was part of a search
committee launched by the state government to locate a suitable person to head The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, as
its managing director. The search did not yield even one suitable candidate, so the government insisted he take up the position. ES very hesitatingly agreed stating that he was not interested in salary or perks, but he needed a set-up free of
political and bureaucratic interference to work. The government agreed.
Thus started a journey, sans any frills and fanfare. He had no office, and not even a chair or phone to use. He worked
out of a make-shift office room with a few of his close associates, who came with him from his earlier workplace, the
Konkan Railway. The Metro Rail team built up gradually; general consultants were added, contractors engaged along
the way and site workers, hired.
The youngest of eight children, ES got very little parental care. But his only sister, now aged 101 and his elder brothers made up for it with their love and attention. Born in a remote village in the Palakkad district of Kerala, ES attended an ordinary school. He walked a long distance to reach it every day.
As a student, he was bright and always topped his class. He also enjoyed building mud houses, bridges and roadways in the compound, an early expression of his engineering instincts. He went on to join Victoria College in Palghat and then graduated as an engineer from the Government Engineering College, Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. He briefly taught civil engineering at the Government Polytechnic, Kozhikode, apprenticed with Bombay Port Trust for a year and later joined Indian Railways.
The 760-km long Konkan Railway Project was not only an engineering challenge as it involved construction of a bridges and tunnels over a rough terrain but a financial one as well. But under his guidance, the project was completed well in time and without cost overruns.
The Konkan Railway project put him in the spotlight, but one of his biggest challenges was the restoration of the Pamban Railway Bridge linking Mandapam and Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu. In 1963, 126 of the bridge's 146 spans (distance between two supports of a bridge) were washed away by a tidal wave. He restored the bridge in 46 days against the target of six months by the government.
A stickler for punctuality, he starts his day early; mediates and reads the Bhagvad Gita, a two-hour daily ritual which he has been following for years. At work, he doesn't stay back after 6 pm, and doesn't subscribe to late working hours. Every new employee of DMRC is gifted a copy of the Bhagwad Gita, regarded by the corporation as a self-management book and not a religious text.
He also understands the value of time; the Delhi Metro is 99.9 per cent punctual. Detailed planning and analysis of the situation, followed by practical solution is his strategy for effective functioning.
Simple living and high thinking
For a man who takes on high-tech complex projects, his lifestyle has always remained simple A vegetarian, he is a frugal eater. He doesn't consume milk products, but relishes bananas.
Academics
* BE (JNTU)
Honours
* Padma Shri
* One of Asia's Heroes by TIME
* Degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris causa) from IIT Delhi
* Knight of the Legion of Honour by the French government
* Padma Vibhushan
Did you know?
* He has adopted children, donates award money to charity, and under his aegis, the DMRC has recently opened a shelter-cum-protection home for children in Delhi.
* He has denied authorised biographies on him.
* He was the captain of his college football team.
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