Education

"The primary purpose of a school is to guide the child in her discovery of herself and her world, and to identify and nurture the child’s talents. Just as every seed contains the future tree, each child is born with infinite potential. Imagine a school which sees children as seeds to be nurtured – here the teacher is a gardener who helps to bring out the potential already present in the child. This is very different from the current view which sees the child as clay to be moulded – where the teacher and parents are potters deciding what shape the clay should take. There is an old (and forgotten) Chinese saying, “Give a seed to a potter, and you will get a bonsai.”

-Wipro Chairman Azim Premji, in a Times of India article on Education.

Two Sufi Poems

Peak experiences make a man healthy and only a healthy man can have peak experience. Peak experiences are profound moments of love, understanding, happiness, or rapture, when a person feels more whole, alive, self-sufficient and yet a part of the world, more aware of truth, justice, harmony, goodness, and so o. Self-actualizing people have many such peak experiences. Not only are these his happiest and most thrilling moments, but they are also moments of greatest maturity, individuation, fulfilment - in a word, his healthiest moments. He becomes in these episodes more truly himself, more perfectly actualizing his potentialities, closer to the core of his Being, more fully human.

A musician must make music, an artist must paint, and a poet must write. If these needs are not met, the person feels restlessness, on edge, tense, and lacking something. It is not always clear what a person wants when there is a need for self-actualization. After self actualisation comes transcendence which is to help others find self fulfilment and realize their potential.

-Abraham Maslow.

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The words in the first paragraph above beautifully, though yet not fully, describe the state of the poet in two sufi poems by two great sufi poets, Bulla ki jana main kaun by Bulle Shah, and Naiharwa by Kabeer. These two poems are written in a state of peak-experience, and actually try to describe the state of the poet.

Sufi poetry is surely filled with many more such gems, but these two poems I would say are two of the best of those few I have read till date.

Both these have been sung in recent past by Rabbi and Kailash Kher resp.

घर से बहुत दूर है मस्जिद

घर से बहुत दूर है मस्जिद, चलो यूँ कर लें

किसी रोते हुए बच्चे को हँसाया जाए...

- निदा फाज़ली

निदा फाज़ली साहब जब पाकिस्तान गए और एक मुशायरे में ये शेर पढ़ा तो बकौल उनके "मुशायरा ख़त्म होने के बाद कुछ लम्बी लम्बी दाढियाँ मेरे पास आयीं और घेर कर बोलीं कि आप कहना क्या चाहते हैं... क्या बच्चा मस्जिद से बड़ा हो गया ? मैं बोला कि मुझे ये तो नहीं पता कि मस्जिद बड़ी है या बच्चा, पर इतना ज़रूर जानता हूँ कि मस्जिद को इंसान के हाथों ने बनाया है, और बच्चे को अल्लाह के !"

Unison of minds

He was raised in poetry, and Sufi and classic music. And that’s precisely the reason, he shares “a great rapport with” the likes of Aamir Khan and A.R. Rahman. “When we are together, we don’t discuss the songs of their next film but share our spiritual knowledge, and talk of sur and sangeet, generally.


-From an interview of Prasoon Joshi, a lyricist, poet and adman.

Living a Simple Life

Liked this article sent by a friend, Nitin Varshney...

Heading the other Way - USHA JESUDASAN


Living a simple life like this is not easy. It will not eliminate the complexity of our modern life to which we are all bound to some extent. But if we try, what it will do, is to allow us to live in harmony with all the complexities around us, so that we do not feel fragmented and soulless.

-From the article.

Paintings

A link that has excellent paintings... what I call true art... compared to the paintings of some other 'renowned' artists.

The paintings are just mesmeric... the isometrics of temples/ forts with sun rays create a completely overwhelming effect... and some other paintings have such a beautiful use of colour, they are just awsome!

http://www.ajaygulati.com/

Article on the artist in The Hindu

P.S.: For a while you may not see any painting, the website may take upto 1 minute to show the painting thumbnails. Like the painters, their websites are also sometimes moody, it seems :-)

आवाज़

A R Rahman ने एक बार कहा था की जब कोई artist पूरी सच्चाई और नेक दिली के साथ जीवन जीता है तो वह पवित्रता उसकी कला में भी आ जाती है । ऐसी ही एक creation मुझे, जब भी मैं सुनता हूँ, महसूस होती है music director राम संपत की एल्बम "Sona" । और जिस गाने पर जिस्म रूह को महसूस करने लगता है... "आवाज़" ... उसे गीतकार मुन्ना धीमन ने अपने लिए ही लिखा होगा, क्योंकि commercial चीज़ों के लिए इतने अच्छे गाने नहीं लिखे जा सकते।

मुझको हैरत है...

घास में खेलता है बच्चा, माँ पास बैठी मुस्कुराती है

मुझको हैरत है क्यों दुनिया, काबा-ओ-सोमनाथ जाती है

-निदा फ़ाज़ली

Interesting Facts!

NDTV: Do you think the Sensex might not ever reach the 21,000 mark again?

Shankar Sharma: There is very interesting statistics that no market in the world ever has given you six consecutive up years. It is no brainer that India has had five up years till December 2007 and sixth year had to be a down year. Further interesting statistics is that after five consecutive up years, 90 per cent of the time those market will never see those highs again for a minimum of three years. But I am not ruling out that you may reach close to 21,000 mark if there is sharp fall in oil prices.

Detachment

"If you remember, at the start of the tournament, I had said that I want my team to enjoy the game and express themselves freely on the field. Because when you take the pressure of a big game, and start worrying about the results, it does affect your performance. So, I told my team not to take any pressure, which is what they did."

"I never dreamt of playing for India. I just played the game for the love of it."

-Mahendra Singh Dhoni, in Sunday T.O.I.

Right of expression

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it" -- Voltaire

Investing at young age

The Benefits of starting early in the Investing game: The first Individual saves only till he is 28 years old while the second starts to save from that age. By the time they retire the first is 250% ahead of the other inspite of having saved for only 8 years, while the other one saved for 33 years!!!!!!

Click here to read the story

You just look

J. Krishnamurti, from Speaking Tree, The Times of India. Excerpt are from the book Freedom from the Known:

There is only you — your relationship with others and with the world — there is nothing else. When you realise this, it either brings great despair, from which comes cynicism and bitterness, or, in facing the fact that you and nobody else are responsible for the world and for yourself, for what you think, what you feel, how you act, all self-pity goes. Normally we thrive on blaming others, which is a form of self-pity.

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What is important is to observe what is actually taking place in our daily life, inwardly and outwardly. If you observe very closely what is taking place and examine it, you will see that it is based on an intellectual conception, and the intellect is not the whole field of existence; it is a fragment, and a fragment cleverly put together, however ancient and traditional, is still a small part of existence whereas we have to deal with the totality of life.

******

To be able to look at this is all that is needed, because if we know how to look, then the whole thing becomes very clear, and to look needs no philosophy, no teacher. Nobody need tell you how to look. You just look. Can you then, seeing this whole picture...easily, spontaneously, transform yourself? That is the real issue. Is it possible to bring about a complete revolution in the psyche?

******

Aamir

Last day my friend Raghuveer told me about a TV show in which Aamir Khan gave a special appearance. Though in few words, he talked in-depth about education and the way a child should be nurtured. Also expressed that education was not just passing exams and earning degrees, but something lot more important than that. And also that he was only a class 12th pass, not even a graduate.

I recalled why listening to him in past I always felt that this guy has attained some sort of self-realization. Same was with Shashank Atom, a teacher whom I interacted with during my days in Delhi.

I was later also recalling Aamir’s moves 15 years back, when he decided to do only one film at a time, and that too after reading the whole script, listening to the music and judging the conviction and enthusiasm of the director. What a risky move it was and how it could seemingly have ruined his career, but even then he did what his heart and conviction guided him to, and today what kind of body of work and success the decision has created.

Quality Education

http://www.curriki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Main/WebHome

An open course site, where teachers and professional volunteers upload free material for class 1 to 12.

Liked it...

"And we calculative ones...we don't get an oppurtunity to laugh and cry without personal ends... to be happy without a justified cause... to invest ourselves without reciprocation. ..life seems to be a business."

http://www.vsmpantnagar.org/node/18#comment-42

Books on rental

www.librarywala.com

It's a site to get books on rental. A good concept. But in today's fast moving world, how many people have the intent to read a book?

सच्चे दिल से दुआ

Liked this article also by Nida Faazli Sahab, on secularism.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/entertainment/story/2007/10/071003_nida_column.shtml

Excerpts of it are given below.

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शोएब मलिक पाकिस्तान की क्रिकेट टीम के कप्तान का नाम है. ट्वेंटी-20 विश्व कप के फ़ाइनल के बाद, नियमानुसार भारत और पाकिस्तान की टीमों के युवा कप्तानों से रवि शास्त्री ने बात की.
पहले हारी हुई टीम के कप्तान शोएब मलिक को बुलाया गया. उन्होंने बात शुरू करने से पहले कहा, "पहले मैं पाकिस्तान के अवाम और दुनिया के तमाम मुसलमानों का शुक्रिया अदा करना चाहूँगा."

वह पाकिस्तानी हैं. वहाँ की जनता के संबोधन में वह जो भी कहें, इसका उन्हें अधिकार है...लेकिन इस संबोधन में दुनिया के सारे मुसलमानों को शामिल करने की क्या ज़रूरत थी.

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मैंने जब अख़बार में पढ़कर उसे बताया कि ट्वेंटी-20 में भारत की विजय के लिए शाहरूख़ ख़ान ने खुदा से दुआ माँगी और भारत जीत गया तो उसने मुझे पान देते हुए जवाब में कहा...भाई साहब आप तो पढ़े लिखे हैं, अख़बार की हर ख़बर सच नहीं होती.
....शाहरूख पेशेवर हैं, उनका प्रेम, लड़ाई, सगाई, हँसना, रोना सब स्क्रीन का झूठ होता है, इसका संबंध उनके जीवन से नहीं और झूठ बोलने वाले की खुदा कभी नहीं सुनता.

इस जीत के लिए रोज़े में नमाज़ पढ़के मैंने सच्चे दिल से दुआ की थी जो पूरी हुई और धोनी जीत गया.

यह जीत अभिनेता शाहरूख़ और उनके बेटे की दुआओं का नतीजा है. इरफ़ान और यूसुफ़ के रोज़ेदार और नमाज़ी पिता की दुआओं का फल है. युवराज सिंह के परिवार की शुभेच्छाओं के कारण है, रायबरेली के प्रताप सिंह की प्रार्थना की वजह से है, भज्जी के प्रांत के शब्द इसमें शरीक है या मेरे घर के सामने पानवाले के सबब है.
मगर यह हक़ीक़त है इस जीत में हिंदू, मुस्लिम, सिख, ईसाई सबकी खुशी शामिल है. यह सबकी दुआओं का हासिल है और सबके लिए ही गर्व के काबिल है.
जैसे कबीर, ग़ालिब, मीरा, टैगोर अलग-अलग प्राँतों और भाषाओं के होते हुए पूरे देश की विरासत हैं, उसी तरह क्रिकेट में यह विजय भी धर्म, जाति और प्राँत से ऊपर है.

शोएब का बयान इस हार-जीत में धर्म की सियासत ही नहीं है, ईश्वर या भगवान के नाम का ग़लत इस्तेमाल भी है.

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हालाँकि शोएब इस्लामी मुल्क़ के बाशिंदे हैं और शाहरूख ख़ान सेक्युलर देश के नागरिक हैं. दोनों मुल्कों में खुदा के मिज़ाज के दो अलग-अलग रूप है.
एक रूप पाकिस्तान में है, जो इस्लाम के अलावा किसी दूसरे धर्म को मान्यता नहीं देता. उसी खुदा की दूसरी सूरत भारत में है, जहाँ वह मस्जिद के साथ, चर्च में, गुरूद्वारे में, मंदिर में, सिनागोग में, हर जगह मौजूद होता है.

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‘बात जो दिल से निकलती है असर रखती है’

हमारे युग में कविता में विचार को ज़रूरी समझा जाता है, मगर जो बात याद रखने की है उसे भुला दिया जाता है और वह यह है कि कविता, विज्ञान, इतिहास, अर्थशास्त्र, मनोविज्ञान या दर्शन से नहीं बनती, कविता स्कूल की टीचर या कॉलेज का अध्यापक नहीं होती-वह पाठकों या श्रोताओं को स्टूडेंट्स की तरह कुछ सिखाती नहीं...वह तो केवल उस विस्मय को दर्शाती है जो बच्चों की आँखों में नज़र आता है, उस आनंद को जगाती है जो मुस्कुराते फूलों को देखकर मन में जगमगाता है, मानव के अंदर छिपी उस इंसानियत को गुदगदाती है जो संसार को जीने के योग्य बनाती है...दूसरे शब्दों में यूँ कहा जा सकता है कि कविता देखे हुए को नहीं दिखाती, देखे हुए में जो अनदेखा होता है उसे दर्शाती है.

आधुनिक युग में, छंद से दूरी, शब्दों की लयकारी को न पहचानने की मजबूरी, और दूसरों को सिखाने या समझाने की मजदूरी ने कविता को पूरी से अधूरी बना दिया है. आधुनिक कविता विशेषकर छंदमुक्त, को पढ़ने या सुनने के बाद, कविता का केवल भाव जेहन में रहता है, उसकी पंक्तियाँ याद नहीं रहतीं...12वीं सदी के बाबा फ़रीद का दोहा अब तक लोगों की ज़बान पर है

कागा सब तन खाइयो, चुन-चुन खइयो मांस
दो नैना मत खाइयो, पिया मिलन की आस

बीसवीं शताब्दी के रघुपति सहाय फ़िराक का शेर जिस पर आचार्य रजनीश का एक पूरा डिसकोर्स है वह यूँ है

मुद्दतें गुजरीं तेरी याद भी आई न हमें
और हम भूल गए हों, तुझे ऐसा भी नहीं

इन शेरो और दोहों के याद करने के पीछे वही चमत्कार काम कर रहा होता है जो एक पंक्ति में यूँ कहा जा सकता है...‘बात जो दिल से निकलती है असर रखती है’

Nida Faazli, Noted poet, in an article.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/entertainment/story/2007/08/070826_vv_nida_column.shtml

Rare Insights!

Q: Take us through some of the investments that you have made while you have been with Rare.

A: As I see it, the company has an opportunity. You have to figure out how the company can position itself well enough to seize the opportunity.

Q: You are sort of looking at different sectors from hotels to media to lifescience companies. How do you sort of sit and figure out which sectors you want to maximise on or the companies that you want to maximise on? How do you actually spot an opportunity and how much of that is gut and instinct?

A: It is a little bit of analysis and a bit of instinct. A lot of decision-making is largely based on betting on the promoter's ability to seize the opportunity. So, the mental process that you go through is the same. The relative size of companies could vary. So, I guess the mental process is the same.

Q: How many of you actually huddle together and make that decision?

A: Three of us.

Q: Does it work like a debating society at that point? Is there one vote that reigns supreme?

A: Not really. There is a little bit of debate. Typically, we look for companies that have a large addressable opportunity and the rest of the things we document it and discuss it out point by point. So, it really doesn't take much time.

-Rajiv Agrawal, a Principal at Rare Enterprises.

Arthur Andersen

The son of a Norwegian immigrant, Andersen was left on his own at the age of 16 after the death of his parents. He worked during the day as a mailboy and attended school at night. Eventually he was hired as the assistant to the controller of Allis-Chalmers in Chicago where he became intrigued with the work of independent public accountants. He received a degree as a certified public accountant at the University of Illinois in 1908; at age 23 he was the youngest CPA in Illinois. In 1917, after attending courses at night while working full time, he graduated from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University with a bachelor's degree in business.

In 1913 at the age of 28, he entered into business for himself under the firm name of Arthur Andersen & Co.

Andersen, who headed the firm until his death in 1947, was a zealous supporter of high standards in the accounting industry. A stickler for honesty, he argued that accountants' responsibility was to investors, not their clients. During the early years, it is reputed that Andersen was approached by an executive from a local rail utility to sign off on accounts containing flawed accounting, or else face the loss of a major client. Andersen refused in no uncertain terms, replying that he would not sign the accounts "for all the money in America." Leonard Spacek, who succeeded Andersen at the founder's death, continued this emphasis on honesty. For many years, Andersen's motto was "Think straight, talk straight."

Risk, Courage, Ability, Motivation, Purpose

• Most people would rather be certain they’re miserable, than risk being happy.
• The cynic knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.
• Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.
• What is a friend? I will tell you….. It is someone with whom you dare to be yourself.
• One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency.
• However brilliant an action may be, it should not be accounted great when it is not the result of great purpose.

-I liked these quotations from the Sunday Times of India, April 27th 2008.

Lethargy

I need to take my career seriously now. I have been lethargic for a very long time now, since last many years.

लतीफा ...

एक महिला अपने कुत्ते को लेकर जानवरों के डॉक्टर के पास पहुंची और बोली - ''मेरे कुत्ते को कुछ हो गया है डॉक्टर । यह उठ नहीं रहा है .... । कुछ कीजिये। ''

डॉक्टर ने कुत्ते को टेबल पर लिटाया और उसकी जांच करने बाद बोला - ''आपका कुत्ता मर चुका है। उसकी नब्ज बन्द हो चुकी है।''

महिला कुत्ते को कुछ ज्यादा ही प्यार करती थी। वह इस बात को सहज स्वीकार नहीं कर सकी। बोली - ''नहीं, नहीं डॉक्टर साहब, ये कैसे मर सकता है ? आप किसी और तरीके से जांच कीजिये प्लीज।''

डॉक्टर दूसरे कमरे में गया और एक बिल्ली के साथ वापस आया। बिल्ली टेबल पर कूद कर चढ़ गई और उसने कुत्ते को सूंघना शुरू किया। सिर से पैर तक कुत्ते को सूंघने के बाद बिल्ली कूदकर वापस दूसरे कमरे में भाग गई।

''अब ये पक्का है कि तुम्हारा कुत्ता मर चुका है।'' डॉक्टर ने महिला से कहा। महिला ने अंतत: मान लिया कि कुत्ता मर गया है। बोली - ''शायद आप सही कह रहे हैं। बताइये आपकी फीस कितनी हुई। ''''550 रूपये'' - डॉक्टर ने जवाब दिया। महिला को झटका लगा। ''इतना ज्यादा क्यों ? आखिर आपने किया ही क्या है ?''''

देखिये,'' डॉक्टर ने उसे समझाते हुये कहा '' 50 रूपये मेरी फीस है और बाकी 500 रूपये कैट स्कैन के हैं।''

Life!

"Every major decision point in life usually has multiple solutions — that is what saves us from what would otherwise be a very monochromatic world. Successful people are those who can make career decisions with two things in mind — `Will I be happy at work’ and `Will I be happy at home’. As long as those two questions are answered, things such as what you do or where you work become irrelevant. "

-Murugan Vasudevan, Cisco.

Liked it!

As a youthful MBA aspirant, Madhusudhan Kela was rejected at the interview stage in his first attempt to get into the Somaiya Institute of Management Studies. He scored well in the logical reasoning and quantitative aptitude sections, but had trouble with English.

The interview panel did not take kindly to his replying to every question in Hindi. Far from being discouraged, Kela appeared for the written test the following year. His scoring pattern was the same, but he still made it to the interview stage due to a high aggregate score.

“I don’t see how the outcome can be any different this time; how many times will you keep applying with such poor communication skills?” one of the interviewers asked him. “Till such time you refuse to acknowledge the fact that I have managed to come this far despite my weak English,” Kela shot back.

The panelists were impressed by his impetuosity and granted him admission, but with the rider that he will have to improve his language skills within three months or else quit the course. This is just one of the many instances that reveal the fierce determination to overcome adversities in the man who currently heads equities at Reliance Mutual Fund, India’s number one asset management firm overseeing funds in excess of Rs 90,000 crore.

Source of the article

One more such quote

Purpose in life

किसी महान कार्य के लिए कड़ी मेहनत करने का अवसर दे कर, ज़िंदगी हमें सबसे बड़ा ईनाम देती है

-शिव खेड़ा, जीत आपकी (Hindi version of "You Can Win")

Swaminomics: How the reforms changed Bollywood

Few people think of the revolution in the film industry as a success of economic liberalisation. Yet, it was made possible only by the deregulation of a great many sectors - filmmaking, banking, capital markets, TV, theatre-building - plus the lifting of price control on tickets.

Click here for the full article

Quote-Unquote

Q: If you were still with Morgan Stanley and I sent you a fresh MBA recruit, what will be your advice to him?

A: There are hundreds of smart people who come to my office. What I see is in short supply today is courage, risk-taking, leadership, integrity, patience, faith. I think those are the qualities I would encourage an MBA to develop and discourage this false prop that I'm an MBA and so I have arrived. I can see why Bill Gates or Dhirubhai Ambani did well. These sort of soft, touchy-feely qualities are the ones which are really in short supply today. I don't think education can get you there. I think life can get you there. Yes education is very important but I don't think your life begins once your education ends. I think your real education begins when life starts. So what you do post-education, in your 20s and 30s is very vital.

- Vinod Sethi, one of India's most respected investors.

Munnar

Munnar, a hill station in Kerala...

you must brutally and unflinchingly question

While this may seem the simplest enough line of questioning to follow, it is in fact the most difficult to live. For to be honest to it, you must brutally and unflinchingly question. It is not widely popular, because it is time consuming. You will not arrive at your answers today, or tomorrow, or probably even in this lifetime. It will not seem like focus to many, but it is far more satisfying than focus, for like the tea-taster, you will have tasted 10,000 cups of tea, and spat them out, before you will have found that one perfect and most beautiful brew. You will have sharpened and honed your standards of perfection, of purity, and with each step up the short list, you will have the confidence that comes from edging towards absolute- and not half- Truth.

Why would you want to do it?

Probably because that emptiness you feel from time to time, in the living and the loving of everyday life, is that nagging sense, that this, whatever this is at this point of time for any of you who have felt it, is just not it.

- Taken from an online blog article "The Neti Principle"

Creativity

"How much are you paid?"

"I have read it written that I'm getting Rs 25 lakhs for a movie. It's under 10, actually. For Roja. I was paid Rs 25,000. I don't like to demand high amounts because I think that will rob me of my creativity. "

-A.R. Rehman, answering to a question about the money he charged. Quoted from an interview that was taken soon after he entered the industry.

Allah

"Hamesha mandir-o-masjid mein woh nahi rahta

Suna hai bachchon mein chhup ke woh khelta bhi hai..."

-Nida Fazli ka yeh sher mujhe bahut achchha laga tha...

Nida Fazli

After Kabeer, I have found so much depth in Nida Fazli's poetry only, if you see the Hindi/ Hindustani Poetry. It was a pleasant surprise to see his poetry now available on the web also.

If you get time, do have a read of some of his books like Khoya Hua sa kuchh and Aankhon bhar aakaash.

I am giving links to some of his my personal favorites, and the collection as well. But remember, the poems given at the web collections are neither the all of his poems, and nor his best ones. You will need to buy the books to know what he is.

"किरन-किरन अलसाता सूरज
पलक-पलक खुलती नींदें
धीमे-धीमे बिखर रहा है
ज़र्रा-ज़र्रा जाने कौन..."


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Credit Cards

Credit Card Companies/ Banks.... How they bluff us...


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