An excerpt from  What Makes The Great Ones Great by Don Yaeger

16 Characteristics of a Champion

1. Hating to lose more than loving to win: 
They develop this mind-set by making no excuses when things don’t go their way.

2. Appreciating the value of association: 
They understand the importance of their inner circle.

3. Placing faith in a higher power: 
They have the perspective on life. Which is driven by an understanding of something bigger than themselves.

4. Having contagious enthusiasm: 
Their attitudes are infectious. And they want theirs to be caught by others.

5. Preparing for all possibilities: 
They are ready before the game begins.

6. Having no off-season: 
They understand they are always working toward the next game. And there is always a game ahead.

7. Visualizing victory: 
They can see what success looks like before the opening whistle.

8. Using Adversity as fuel: 
The tough moments of their lives become an inner fire.

9. Being a responsible risk-taker: 
The great ones understand that most great things occur outside of your comfort zone.

10. Knowing how and when to make adjustments: 
What got you there won’t keep you there.

11. Becoming the ultimate teammate: 
They understand that even if they are the best on their team. They may have to take a different role for the team to be successful.

12. Being motivated by more than money: 
They know that if your driver is cash, you won’t drive long.

13. Doing right by others: 
The great ones know that character is defined by how they treat others, without expecting anything in return.

14. Living with integrity: 
When no one is watching, they live their lives with integrity.

15. Being a role model: 
When everyone is watching, they set the standard for those who look up to them.

16. Creating a well-rounded legacy: 
They understand they are not defined by their statistics or accomplishments. 

Calmness in Chaos
by TSK. Raman

This is a story from an Author who name is unknown:  
Once upon a time there was a king who ruled a certain country and was known far and wide for the way in which he ruled his land always seeking the welfare of his subjects.
Also known for his artistic tastes, he decided to hold a competition for painters. On a fixed day painters came from far and wide to display their skills. With all humility he was endowed with, he acknowledged them and urged them to create the best they can.
The competition began and all the artists assembled there began their painting.
After about three or four hours all of them had painted what they had conceived.
The king went about seeing all of them and spent time talking to each of the creators to understand their creations.
Some of them had painted beautiful landscapes, some painted the mountains, some the seas, some the stars and the sky, some the villages and the scenes etc.
All of them were beautiful in their own way.
It was now time for making the decision and announcing who was the best.
After he saw every one of the paintings, and evaluating the paintings on their merits, he chose to award one painting that projected a thunderous waterfall, with strong winds blowing the trees and heavy dark clouds hovering in the sky. Amidst this chaos, just near the falls was a bird's nest in which the older bird was feeding its child.
The painters and people were pretty surprised about the king's choice and one of them dared to ask the king for the logic behind his selection.
The king replied, he chose to award that painting the best because he saw "Calmness in Chaos." Amidst, the thunderous waterfall, the violent winds, bending trees, impending storm, a bird unmindful of all the chaos around it was feeding its child as if nothing is happening around it. Everyone applauded the king for his wisdom and choice.

THE PREGNANT DEER 
- is another such story a beautiful one too!
In a forest, a pregnant deer is about to give birth. 
She finds a remote grass field near a strong-flowing river. 
This seems a safe place. 
Suddenly labour pains begin.
At the same moment, dark clouds gather around above & lightning starts a forest fire. 
She looks to her left & sees a hunter with his bow extended pointing at her. 
To her right, she spots a hungry lion approaching her.
What can the pregnant deer do? 
She is in labour! 
What will happen? 
Will the deer survive? 
Will she give birth to a fawn? 
Will the fawn survive? 
Or will everything be burnt by the forest fire? 
Will she perish to the hunters' arrow? 
Will she die a horrible death at the hands of the hungry lion approaching her? 
She is constrained by the fire on the one side & the flowing river on the other & boxed in by her natural predators.
What does she do? 
She focuses on giving birth to a new life.
The sequence of events that follows are:
- Lightning strikes & blinds the hunter.
- He releases the arrow which zips past the deer & strikes the 
hungry lion.
- It starts to rain heavily, & the forest fire is slowly doused 
by the rain.
- The deer gives birth to a healthy fawn.
What can such stories tell us in modern times where we are all living in a chaotic world.

My thoughts on that...
It is undeniable that we are caught up with many things every given day. Man has created things by learning, understanding and using technology, which has definitely made our lives comfortable. However, the fact is, we are all living life in a mad rush, forgetting the fact that we do things to make a living, and, we ought not to make our living be dominated by those things we created around us for convenience.

Can we imagine living in a world of today minus the mobile, the computer, the internet etc.?

The answer would be an emphatic, "No."

Accepted.

But did people in the not so long ago past live minus these gizmos and did they not go to create some things that enable mankind take a big step forward in civilization like for instance – invention of wheel, saw a revolution of creations like the carts, cycles, trains, cars, etc. that enabled him go distances in lesser time. Looking at the birds and wanting to fly man made his flight in the sky on an aero plane and taking it all forward he also landed on the moon. The radio, the telephone, T.V. etc., was all man's creations much before the technology revolution. All of this was because of his curiosity and so the Edison's, the Einstein's, the Graham Bell's etc., are all people who are remembered even to this day.

Suddenly over the last two decades or so everything seems to have changed so drastically that we would be left behind if we are not able to upgrade ourselves.

And that is the right thing to do.

However, too much of everything is 'bad,' they say and that's what the state of our lives is today.

We seemed to get worked up very easily - we get upset if the
・E mobile signals don't reach your mobile
・E mobile stops working because of a technical problem
・E computer hangs while working
・E internet is down
・E the chosen internet sites do not open

These are just a few examples cited on how we react when things go wrong. After all these are all our own creations. The ripple effects of these failures have a bearing on the way we react and the we behave be it at work, or the house or where ever. We have become very short-fused, we have lost control over ourselves. Everyone blows out at the slightest. Like things can go wrong very quickly our relationship too go wrong easily. Divorces, suicides, misunderstandings, arguments etc., are all a result of our dependencies and the way they work.

I do not want to suggest that am old-fashioned in my thinking, nor would I want to start saying anything like, "In those days..." I do not deny that technology has done wonders to our living, however, I would like to urge people to keep it under limits and also enjoy things around them.

Maybe we can learn from the deer. 

The priority of the deer, in that given moment, was simply to give birth to a baby.
The rest was not in her hands & any action or reaction that changed her focus would have likely resulted in death or disaster.
Ask yourself,
Where is your focus?
Where is your faith and hope? 
In the midst of any storm, do keep it on God always. 
He will never ever dissapoint you. NEVER. 
Remember, He neither slumbers nor sleeps...

Be it that way, as here too the same rule will apply 20% of the people all over the world look after the welfare of the other 80%.

Decide whether you would want to be among the 20% or the 80% it's your life anyway, but we are interested in ing mankind survive. We owe it to the generation that it is yet to come, we want to leave this earth much the same way as we inherited.

MAKING A CRICKET BALL AND MAKING OF AN ORGANIZATION

The effectiveness of any communication is to speak the language that your audience understands. 
On being invited once to a Business School and asked to talk to the young people, I began the talk and asked them, "What is their understanding of what an Organization is?"

As it always is, the responses were wide, varied, and quite filled with jargon, it was natural because they were students pursuing their MBA. Acknowledging and appreciating their responses, I sought their permission to present what I thought I could explain to them in "simple terms" and that in a language all of them will understand. Naturally therefore I chose the "cricket ball" as a 'metaphor to explain what I had in mind. Cricket as you all know is quite like "religion" in India, the most unifying factor.

Wondering what’s this all about ! 
And there you go, getting curious as what’s this all about, and what has it (MAKING A CRICKET BALL AND AN ORGANIZATION) got to do with your life – at least professional life.

Well read on and see what you can unfold.

Let us first get straight to the making of the not LESS than 156 g (5.5 oz) or MORE than 163 g (5.75 oz) “cherry.” That gets hurled through the 20 m (66 ft) long and about 3 m (10 ft) wide strip, which beats the best, which also gets beaten by the best.

Cricket Ball: Has a “kernel” which is the “core,” if you may wish to call. It is a spherical corky-wooden-soft nut, it actually is the nut of an ‘oak.’ Solid but not unbreakable, needs a big hammer to crack it.

Organization : Now take the case of an organization which also believes in having a “core.” Most well run organizations have a solid “core,” not unbreakable again but it needs terrific effort for anyone to break it.
Cricket Ball: The “core” of the ball is made of alternating layers of cork and wool layer after layer.

Organization : The management team the middle level, the junior level and then the juniors are all bound layer by layer by “values, trust, integrity, honest, sincerity, purpose …etc

Cricket Ball: When the wrap attains a size not larger than 23 cm (9 in) in circumference, it gets covered with four pieces of leather, shaped like orange quarters, sewn together along an equatorial seam. The stitching is raised lightly. It then gets dyed usually red and polished to obtain the shine.

Organization : When the core gets wrapped to a certain wieldy size it gets sewn up by “policies” and “culture” then a lot of transmission takes place between everyone in the organization to make it “shine”
Cricket Ball: When the ball gets ready it has to pass through a “Ball Gauge,” an instrument used by the umpires in the game to check whether the size of the cricket ball meets the standard measurements mandated by the Laws of Cricket. It is usually in the form some what like a pair of “hand-cuffs” with two connected rings: one ring has a minimum acceptable diameter, through which the ball should not pass and the other ring has the maximum acceptable diameter through which the ball should pass. If the ball cannot pass through minimum diameter, or passes through the minimum diameter, or gets out of shape, the umpires should replace the ball. The replacement ball is ideally an old ball which was used in some match before for a comparable number of overs as the ball being replaced, so that it has had approximatly the same amount of use and wear as the old ball.

Organization : Any organization after formation passes through a severe test for survival. It can’t afford to be too aggressive nor can it afford to be less aggressive. And it has the various governing bodies that keep monitoring whether the guidelines provided are followed and that there are no violations.

Only here it differs from the ball as one organization which falters doesn't get replaced by another, but it has to be formed all over again.

Cricket Ball: You need to practice hard, train well to learn how to use the “cherry” to do well game after game, consistently to attain the heights of the greats that played the game, and well too.
What Kapil Dev, Richard Hadlee, Muthiah Muralidharan, Anil Kumble, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Imran Khan, Dale Styne, Ravichandran Aswin......and the list goes on endlessly, do is to stick hard to the basics of “line and length.” It is because they do this time and time again and put their heart and soul into game applying “focus and concentration,” that results speak for themselves and these people became as great as they did or do…

Organization : People in the growing “organization” have to work hard, and put to use all that they learnt through their education from the school to the highest professional degree each goes to attain. They practice “fair play” and look after everyone with care.

What the leaders of successful companies like the Tata Group, Birla Group, Wipro, Infosys, the TVS,.. list goes on endlessly and the so many successful leaders of several others successful organization world over, do, is to stick hard to the basics of 'line' - “values, trust, integrity, honest, sincerity, purpose, length and the longevity.” It is because they do this time and time again and put their heart and soul into the enterprise applying “focus and concentration,” that results speak for themselves and these people became as great as they did or do…

Finally A Cricket Ball: Very hard from the “outside” and “soft” from the inside “core.” It also has a life.

Finally An Organization: Very hard from the “outside” because they have to succeed and show results and “soft” from the inside “core” because they are all human being behind the whole thing. Organizations too have a "life" only some go on to live more than their life time, that's why they get to be called the "Great Companies," - "Built to Last" as they would say.

So that’s that – the “Makings of a Cricket ball” and the “Makings of an Organization.”

This is the simplest I could get.

Advancing Technology - Boon or a Bane for leading a Simple Life

Last evening I was reading a couple of articles on "Big Data" by Bernard Marr, Influencer, Best-Selling Author, Keynote Speaker and Leading Business and Data Expert, on LinkedIn May 27, 2013, titled "What The Heck is... Big Data?" and yet another by the same author Bernard Marr, Influencer, Best-Selling Author, Keynote Speaker and Leading Business and Data Expert, on LinkedIn, and this penned in later on Aug 27, 2013, titled  "Big Data:  The Mega-Trend That Will Impact All Our Lives.."

I shared it with a dear friend of mine through mail and this note

Dear Bobji,

I know you do not fancy technology, but, I thought I'll share with you a small document which talks abut a major shift that's taking place in the world of technology. Again in the near future there is going to be a major shake up in the world of computing, and this is what they've names as "Big Data."
This simple article/s will banish the myth.
I'm sure you'll find it interesting.  

Warm regards,
TSK. Raman

He saw it, read and sent me this reponse.

Dear Ramanji:

Thanks for interesting article.  

I am not averse per say for technology developments, but a constant nagging thought is “are we - [A] “mining a lot of data or information?” and – [B] does it lead us to simplifying life!!!

Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards. Is it of any avail?  

Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted.

Science and technology in ancient and medieval India covered all the major branches of human knowledge and activities, yet there was a sense of contentment and growth,

Not to belittle developments across the world, what makes it more amusing is:

a. We have more mobiles than toilets - resulting in implicit expectation that you should be able to reach someone when it is convenient for you, regardless of whether it is convenient for them.

b. Multi tasking is a buzz word - We text while we’re walking across the street, catch up on email while standing in a queue – and while having lunch with friends, we surreptitiously check to see what our other friends are doing. We write our shopping lists on smartphones while we are listening to that wonderfully informative podcast on urban beekeeping.

c. Letter writing vs. email - We had to invest some effort in letter writing. We would sit down with pen and paper, or at a typewriter, and carefully compose a message. There wasn't anything about the medium that lent itself to dashing off quick notes without giving them much thought, partly because of the ritual involved, and the time it took to write a note, find and address an envelope, add postage, and take the letter to a mailbox. The very act of writing a note or letter to someone took this many steps, and was spread out over time. we didn't go to the trouble unless we had something important to say. Email’s Indicate immediacy, most of us give little thought to typing up any little thing that pops in our heads and hitting the send button as email doesn't cost anything.

d. Texting and Mobiles - If I may dare say so, they have become modern day dinosaurs. We have in our own lifetimes experienced the Joy of communication over phone. At times exasperating, there was an element of excitement and Joy, today, mobiles have become the " conscience keeper" of Love and Hate.

Texting  by teenagers, precipitate disasters as never before, leading to the current travails of moral turpitude.

Every time I assess and re-check my feelings to validate my intelligence, honestly the summing up would be " we dispatch an email in one way or another, we feel a sense of accomplishment, having achieved something. Each time I do an  Facebook update, I encounter something novel and feel more connected socially in a kind of weird, impersonal cyber way. It is the dumb, novelty-seeking portion of the brain driving the limbic system that induces this feeling of pleasure, not the planning, scheduling, OR higher-level thought centers dwelling into an effort of fulfillment.  
Does modern day technology like email-, Facebook- and Twitter-checking constitute a neural addiction. ?

I enjoyed preparing this response, thanks for the stimulating provided ? 
I am still discovering - whether I am NEUROTIC or ERRATIC, or BOTH.

Regards,
Bob

I acknowledged it this way

Dear Bobji,

I'm more than delighted to receive your response. 

As your style is and has been, profound to someone like me as always, and hard-hitting to the geeks, nerds, and the naive.

You've been slightly diplomatic when you say you are not averse to technology, but for someone like me who fell into the technology hole, if I am not sounding rude, it is a "ditch" which kept sucking me in. Interesting in the beginning for someone with curiosity, but far too hyped, for the comfort of someone like me who was, and still is rooted to reality.    

I can't agree with you more when you say, "constant nagging thought is “are we [A] “mining a lot of data or information?” yes we are, and to my discomfort my privacy is invaded every moment. As for the next "[B] does it lead us to simplifying life!!!" I would say, it isn't, on the contrary it's leading us to more complications. This is also my response to your next statement, "Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards. Is it of any avail?" 

I would say, 'certainly not.' 

Absolutely true, "Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted."

I can go on just agreeing with every word of your response, and just murmur within me..."agree, agreed...till infinity..." 

Immense thanks for both your time taken to read what I shared and also for your lucid response. It was  sheer joy, and yet another education. 

Take care. 

Warm regards,
Raman

I thought of sharing this with you for the purity and the clarity of the exchanges, including the thoughts. I trust yu enjoyed reading it through.

Memories and Lessons from Childhood

February 12, 2015

This is my story till this point of time completely...trust you will appreciate this and send me your likes if you find it was worthwhile... 

Yours truly RAMAN

For more than one reason, I just enjoy going to school. My parents are no more here today to attest what I say, but I have an older brother and an immediate younger sister who will testify what I am saying. I just hated school, and it would give me a nightmare even now if I think about it. I was battling with this guild all the way. However….

Today when I look back at what I learned during my formidable days of schooling, I see the so called punishments from my beloved teachers as great learning in life, for example :

1. Stand up on the bench - Take a holistic view, look at the big picture.
2. Stand with hands up - Aim high, reach higher.
3. Stand facing the wall - Introspection.
4. Stand outside the class - Learn through observation, take a world view.
5. Kneel down - Humility.
6. Become a hen (Murga Bano) - Physical endurance.
7. Clean the blackboard - Forget and forgive, start with a fresh slate.
8. Finger on your lips - Boast Less.
9. Hold your ears - Listen More.
10. Touch your toes - Be flexible & respect elders.
11. An imposition, write down a line 25 times - work towards perfection, improve handwriting.
12. Detained after school - Don't join the rat race, be exclusive.

Wish Those Days Come Back Again

I was a good student, was my father's pet, was mischievous, but not disobedient or ill behaved. Guess these punishments served the right cause, to make me what I am today,. I thanks my parents, teachers, schoolmates, friends, relatives, siblings, spouse and off springs and everyone around me for being there, with of course special thanks to the Almighty for everything. 

Some more thoughts on childhood

Tirukkural by Tiruvalluvar ( a Tamil poet/writer) was written more than 5000 yrs ago. It's one of the ancient science on Hum an behavior , which has not changed in-spite of modern education & technology ! ...

SOME GOLDEN THOUGHTS TO PONDER :-

1. If your child lies to you often, it is because you over-react too harshly to their inappropriate behavior. 

2. If your child is not taught to confide in you about their mistakes, you've lost them. 

3. If your child had poor self-esteem, it is because you advice them more than you encourage them. 

4. If your child does not stand up for themselves, it is because from a young age you have disciplined them regularly in public.

5. If your child takes things that do not belong to them, it is because when you buy them things, you don't let them chose what they want. 

6. If your child is cowardly, it is because you help them too quickly.

7. If your child does not respect other people's feelings, it is because instead of speaking to your child, you order and command them. 

8. If your child is too quick to anger, it is because you give too much attention to misbehavior and you give little attention to good behavior. 

9. If your child is excessively jealous, it is because you only congratulate them when they successfully complete something and not when they improve at something even if they don't successfully complete it.

10. If your child intentionally disturbs you, it is because you are not physically affectionate enough. 

11. If your child is openly defied, it is because you openly threaten to do something but don't follow through. 

12. If your child is secretive, it is because they don't trust that you won't blow things out of proportion. 

13. If your child talks back to you, it is because they watch you do it to others and think its normal behavior.

14. If your child doesn't listen to you but listens to others, it is because you are too quick to make decisions. 

15. If your child rebels it is because they know you care more about what others think than what is right.

Short Stories Worth Reading, and Feeling
Source Internet and Newspapers

1. Fall and Rise
Today, when I slipped on the wet tile floor a boy in a wheelchair caught me before I slammed my head on the ground. He said, “Believe it or not, that’s almost exactly how I injured my back 3 years ago .

2. A father's advice
Today, my father told me, “Just go for it and give it a try! You don’t have to be a professional to build a successful product. Amateurs started Google and Apple. Professionals built the Titanic

3. The power of uniqueness.
Today, I asked my mentor – a very successful business man in his 70’s – what his top 3 tips are for success. He smiled and said, “Read something no one else is reading, think something no one else is thinking, and do something no one else is doing.

4. Looking Back
Today, I interviewed my grandmother for part of a research paper I’m working on for my Psychology class. When I asked her to define success in her own words, she said, “Success is when you look back at your life and the memories make you smile.

5. Try and U shall know
I am blind by birth. When I was 8 years old, I wanted to play baseball. I asked my father- "Dad, can I play baseball?" He said "You'll never know until you try." When I was a teenager, I asked him, - "Dad Can I become a surgeon?". He replied "Son, you'll never know until you try." Today I am a Surgeon, just because I tried!

6. GOODNESS & GRATITUDE
Today, after a 72 hour shift at the fire station, a woman ran up to me at the grocery store and gave me a hug. When I tensed up, she realized I didn’t recognize her. She let go with tears of joy in her eyes and the most sincere smile and said, “On 9-11-2001, you carried me out of the World Trade Center.”

7. LOVE CONQUERS PAIN
Today, after I watched my dog get run over by a car, I sat on the side of the road holding him and crying. And just before he died, he licked the tears off my face.

8. A DOOR CLOSES TO OPEN ANOTHER
Today at 7AM, I woke up feeling ill, but decided I needed the money, so I went into work. At 3PM I got laid off. On my drive home I got a flat tire. When I went into the trunk for the spare, it was flat too. A man in a BMW pulled over, gave me a ride, we chatted, and then he offered me a job. I start tomorrow.

9. LOOKING BACK
Today, as my father, three brothers, and two sisters stood around my mother’s hospital bed, my mother uttered her last coherent words before she died. She simply said, “I feel so loved right now. We should have gotten together like this more often.”

10. AFFECTION
Today, I kissed my dad on the forehead as he passed away small hospital bed. About 5 seconds after he passed, I realized it was the first time I had given him a kiss since I was a little boy.

11. INNOCENCE
Today, in the cutest voice, my 8-year-old daughter asked me to start recycling. I chuckled and asked, “Why?” She replied, “So you can help me save the planet.” I chuckled again and asked, “And why do you want to save the planet?” “Because that’s where I keep all my stuff,” she said.

12. KINDNESS
Today, a boy in a wheelchair saw me desperately struggling on crutches with my broken leg and offered to carry my backpack and books for me. He helped me all the way across campus to my class and as he was leaving he said, “I hope you feel better soon.”.

13. SHARING
Today, I was traveling in Kenya and I met a refugee from Zimbabwe. He said he hadn’t eaten anything in over 3 days and looked extremely skinny and unhealthy. Then my friend offered him the rest of the sandwich he was eating. The first thing the man said was, “We can share it.”

14. DOING MY BIT
"Let me tell you a story I remember from my childhood: A terrible fire had broken out in the forest. All the animals were running away, including the lion, king of the forest. Suddenly, the lion saw a tiny bird rushing towards the fire. He asked the bird, 'what are you doing?' To the lion’s surprise, the bird replied 'I am on my way to extinguish the fire.' He laughed and said, 'how can you kill the fire with just one drop of water, in your beak?' The bird was adamant, and said, 'But I am doing my bit.'" 
--Kailash Satyarthi, 2014 Nobel Prize for Peace

15. CHEERS TO LIFE
John worked at a meat distribution factory. One day, when he finished with his work schedule, he went into the meat cold room (Freezer) to inspect something but in a moment of bad luck, the door closed and he was locked inside with no help in sight. Although he screamed and knocked with all his might, his cries went unheard as no one could hear him. Most of the workers had already gone and outside the cold room (freezer), it's impossible to hear what was going on inside. Five hours later, whilst John was on the verge of death, the security guard of the factory eventually opened the door and saved him. John then asked the security guard what he came to do there as it wasn't part of his work routine.

 His replies: "I've been working in this factory for 35 years. Hundreds of workers come in and out every day but you're one of the few who greets me in the morning and says goodbye to me every night when leaving after working hours. Many treat me as if I am invisible. So today like every other day, you greeted me in your simple manner "Hello" at the entrance when resuming for work, But curiously after working hours today, I observed I've not heard your "Good bye see you tomorrow". Hence I decided to check around the factory. 

I look forward to your greetings every day because to you, I am someone. By not hearing your farewell, I knew something had happened. Then I Sought and found you!

Moral Lesson:
 Be humble, love and respect those around you because life is too short. Try to have an impact on people in ways we can't even imagine especially the people that cross our path daily. Stay blessed!

16. MOTHER'S TRUE LOVE 
A young man after his father's death decided to leave his mother in the Home for the Aged with good intent though, but visited her off and on, with flowers and tid-bits of snacks. 
One morning he received a call from the authorities of the "Home for the Aged" saying his mother is serious and that she wants to see him.
He rushed to see his Mom who was in a critical state and with just a few hours in her hand.
He asked his Mom what can I do for you?
In this "Home for the Aged," the Mom replied, please instal fans for there are none here, at times the heat gets terribly unbearable and also have a fridge for the betterment of food because there have been several days I've slept hungry.
The baffled but sad son asked his mother, "Why didn't you ask for this all along when you were here and now with a few hours in your hand, why this request?"

The Mom replied, "it's ok dear, I've been able to manage with the heat, the hunger and the pain, but when you get old your children will send you here, I don't want you to suffer, I know you won't be able to manage, that's why." 

Today's India wants lot of Average Joes
by TSK. Raman

For us to have swachh thoughts all the time isn't really possible. Our mind is a traveller, if not a vagabond, sometimes it stumbles upon a treasure of wonderful ideas/thoughts and at other times is wastes away of useless, lousy thoughts. We are humans so we definitely can't hold on to this process, but what we can do is to fine tune our minds towards good, amicable thoughts. To accomplish this it is important for us to get more educated on the find art of living life. And when I say living I certainly do not mean the mundane 24/7/365 life, process – study, job, matrimony, family, functions, property, EMI's and eventually death.

Someday everyone of us have to meet up with out creator, then why do we make this life so boring and dull. This journey of life is only worth it, when a person has experienced life to the fullest!

The joy of lying down on the terrace (if you have the luxury of one) and looking up at the night sky that can offer a few stars to see, whatever little the haze of pollution spares for us. This to go with soft good old music of the olden days from masters like Md. Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Hemanth Kumar, Talat Mahomood, Mukesh, Lata Mangeskar, Asha Bhosle etc., which has the magic of transporting us into a totally different world, if not period.

How many of us actually lead a life that we really enjoy? 

When was the last time you walked into an art exhibition and enjoyed the art pieces on display or when is it that you walked into a music festival to enjoy the classical artists.
We behave just like machines, commercializing relationships and converting every flicker of opportunity into economic gains/financial benefits.

Let's talk now about the other area, and that of our kids.

There are dozens of schools in every square kilometer and expensive one's at that. 
The nut's and bolt's of the future are manufactured here and then transformed into masses (far more in numbers than the Chinese Factories). They are being made , I do not know with or without purpose thought, but are certainly made Engineering, Software, Electronics, IIT, IIM Medicine, Law, Civils and Business. If they fit into the moulds fine, else even God Almighty can't, because they don't really fit into any other stream or anywhere else. And like any other manufactured product that come with an expiration date these kids too, it occurs when the burden of social standards crush them to the ground leaving them devoid of any other option.

May I appeal to the parents to stop instrumenting your kids only for success, I would say, prepare them too for the failures that life will offer. If my guess is right with working parents, they hardly have anytime to teach or spend with their kids. The least best thing they could do next is to introduce them to books that will help guide them to improve knowledge and expose them to realities of life.

The India that these kids are growing in, needs more of smart average Joes endowed with abundance of common sense, who will know how to handle stress, success, failure with the same level headed-ness. Several research studies tells us that kids who indulge in at least one outdoor sport, read books, adventure travel, appreciate nature and art, grow not only as successful humans and family people but also become able administrators and professionals who will set the standards in society.