A Lone Stranger

This sure makes sense....so please read carefully.. During a training session on "Prevention of Sexual Harassment', the trainer asked, "What should you check for, when you sit in a hired cab?" The answer to that, "The child lock". The room fell silent for a few seconds, as no one had thought of that. The trainer went on to say, that in the last 4 years, all cases related to rape/ molestation in cabs/by cab drivers, had one thing in common. The victims were in cars that had a child lock on them. The trainer, who was himself a lawyer, had served on the advisory board for drafting the "Vishakha" guidelines & had also represented victims. All the girls & ladies, what you are now going to read, is of extreme importance, so please read carefully.... The next time you enter a cab, first check if the child lock lever is on the side of the door or even better, please do not open the car door from the outside. Instead, ask the driver to open

The "Battle of the Bulges"... (A brilliantly penned article, from the 'leaves' of a former Air Warrior, (Air Force officer), Suresh Panje ).... "At the outset let me admit, that I am not an old beak attired in black robes, to decide the much ado about what is ‘choli ke peeche?’ I even apprehend some vague order of contempt of the court for imagining that the learned judge would have repeatedly tried to ascertain the truth, if not with his better half, at least from the maid on the sly - of course, all in the cause of the next day’s judgment over a serious social controversy, vis-a-vis, what lies behind the blouse. Yes, we have to opine it as a social cause, since it is the attire which enhances one’s personality & status. That reminds me, how prior to the advent of those narrow ‘drain-pipe’ & the later 'bell-bottom' trends, the pants had a fold at the bottom, where occasions were aplenty, ‘converting’ white pajamas into trousers, by the mere flic

"Mother"s Day".... (Reproduced below, is a brilliant article, which will stirr your soul, wrench you from within...as it did to me....) He was pruning the plants, sitting in the posh arbour of an international school - the heat & dust didn't seem to affect him. "Ganga Das, Principal Ma'am wants to see you right now". The last two words of the peon, had lots of emphasis on them, as if trying to make it sound like an urgency. He quickly got up, washed & wiped his hands & headed towards the Principal's office. The walk from the garden to the office seemed never ending; his heart was almost jumping out of his chest; he was trying all the permutations & combinations, figuring out as to what had gone wrong, that the Principal wanted to see him urgently. He was a sincere worker; had never shirked from his duties... *Knock knock*..."Madam, you called for me?" "Come inside," an authoritative voice laced with crispness, ma

I thought this makes good reading..... An economics Professor at a local college, made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had recently failed an entire class. That class had insisted that socialism worked & that no one would be poor & no one would be rich - a great equalizer. The professor then said, "Ok, we will have an experiment in this class on this plan: All grades will be averaged & everyone will receive the same grade!" After the first test, the grades were averaged & everyone got a 'B'. The students who studied hard were upset & the students who studied little were happy. As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little, had studied even less & the ones who studied hard, decided they wanted a free ride too, so they studied little.The second test average was a 'D'! No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an 'F'. As the tests proceeded, the scores

"Shantaram", by Gregory David Roberts, has these interesting passages - (Excerpt from pages 349 - 350)...... "The world is run by one million evil men, ten million stupid men & a hundred million cowards. The evil men are the power- the rich men & the politician & the fanatics of religion- whose decisions rule the world & set it on its course of greed & destruction. There are only one million of them, the truly evil men in the whole world - the very rich & the very powerful, whose decisions really count. The stupid men, who number ten million, are the soldiers & policemen, who enforce the rule of evil men. They are often brave but they are stupid, too, because they give their lives for governments & causes, that use their flesh & blood, as mere chess pieces. Those governments always betray them, or let them down, or abandon them, in the long run. Nations neglect no men more shamefully, than the 'heroes of their war." And the h

Someone once asked, "Why do we have brakes in a car?" Many answers were provided, like: "To stop the car". "To reduce speed". "To avoid a collision", etc. etc.... The 'best', however, seemed to be: "To allow you to drive faster". Now, do give this a thought... It is true, but seldom appreciated. It is because we have 'brakes', that we can dare to accelerate; dare to go fast & reach the destinations we desire. At varied points of time in our lives, we found our parents, teachers, mentors, friends, colleagues & even spouses, questioning our progress, direction or our decisions. Remember! It is because of them, that we are, where we are today. So let us learn to appreciate the 'brakes' in our lives. Cheers. Think about it...

Intelligent people have less friends. The more 'real' you are, the fewer friends you have. Here’s why: 1. You’re liberated in your own speech, thoughts, & actions, which can be contrary to those of your “friends.” You have a strong mind & values. Your mind isn’t limited & you always have something to say. You think differently to others, but you’re not bothered by their opinions on it. 2. You don’t have time for forced fake catch-ups, or pointless conversations, trying to keep up with what everyone is up to. So, you mostly spend time alone. You don’t care about the latest trends or latest music. You have little interest in materialistic things. You also don’t have FOMO (fear of missing out), so you’re quite content doing your own thing. Your world seems to flourish more on your own. 3. You can see beyond people’s 'try hard' persona, so you distance yourself from people who aren’t worth your time. These people are known as 'social climbers'. They try

"Drifting Kites" by Twinkle Khanna... (A must read for all parents). * 10 am: I'm enjoying Sunday breakfast with the whole family. We're digging into aloo parathas with home-made ghee & as I am despairing at the horrific number of calories being consumed, the phone rings & we get some terrible news. A family friend has lost her young son. The young man, in his early 20s, had gone to America to attend a friend's wedding - left a suicide note on Facebook & killed himself before anyone could reach him. I cannot even begin to imagine what his mother is going through. There is no pain greater than losing a child. You start worrying about these tiny beings from even before they are born. You worry about their health, their education, their careers, their spouses, their children...Worrying, but not really believing that one unlucky day, your greatest fear may actually come true. You lose a child to an accident or an illness & with a broken heart.

Where do the birds go to die? "Are the free flying birds, the crown creation of nature? Where do birds go to die? Strange questions but the answers are stranger, or probably there is no answer at all. One fine morning, seated at my favourite tea spot, overlooking the evergreen banyan tree against the background of the pleasantly warm early morning sun, watching my avian friends, a mix of parakeets, sparrows & Mark Twain’s favourite friends, the Indian crows; all of them permanent occupants of this peaceful tree colony; the following thought just popped into my head. I have been watching my feathered friends, chirping, cooing & quarreling oh so sweetly, ever so often, but I have never seen any one of them ever lying dead either under that tree, or anywhere in the vicinity or our residential colony, or surprisingly, even all over the world. The world is populated with flocks of birds, but strangely, one never sees bodies of dead birds lying around. Rarely one does see bird

A very interesting read... (How Boris Becker’s slip of the tongue, gave Andre Agassi the upper hand in their rivalry...) Sometimes victory comes down to the tiniest & strangest of details. For three years, Andre Agassi agonised over what he needed to do to his game, what approach needed changing up in his quest to beat Boris Becker. Between 1988 & 1989, the pair met on three occasions, the German claiming a hat-trick of wins. While not the longest stint for any player to have gone without beating their biggest rival, competition between the pair continued to grow, the spotlight on the pair intensified & so too did Agassi’s obsession with breaking the hoodoo. And then a breakthrough! On the hard courts of Indian Wells in 1990, Agassi put a new theory to the test. A small, but ever so important observation he had made, after endless hours of watching replays of Becker in action. He watched for the German’s tongue. That’s right, his tongue!! “Becker beat me the first three ti

An elephant took a bath in a river & was walking on the road. When it neared a bridge, it saw a pig fully soaked in mud, coming from the opposite direction. The elephant quietly moved to one side, allowed the dirty pig to pass & then continued its onward journey. The unclean pig later spoke to its friends in arrogance, “See how big I am; even the elephant was afraid of me & moved to one side to let me pass”. On hearing this, some elephants questioned their friend, the reason for its action. Was it out of fear? .The elephant smiled & replied, “I could have easily crushed the pig under my leg, but I was clean & the pig was very unclean. By crushing it, my leg would have become dirty & I wanted to avoid it. Hence, I moved aside.” Flash: Realized souls will avoid contact with negativity not out of fear, but out of desire to keep away from impurity though they are strong enough to destroy the impurity. You need not react to every opinion, every comment, or e

"Can you tell me how to become a soldier?"... (I have always advocated, that "soldiering" does not only mean donning the Olive Green uniform. "Soldier" is another word for "discipline", meaning anybody & everybody who is "disciplined", is a "soldier"). Read on..... Many years ago, the story is told of a soldier who always wore his Regimental tie & lapel pin when in public. On some occasions, he rode the bus from his home to the downtown area. On one such trip & when he sat down, he discovered the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, "You'd better give the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it." Then he thought, "Oh, forget it, it's only a quarter; who would worry about this little amount." Anyway, the transit company gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a 'gift from God' & k

Trapped in a lift? What next? What you need to do if & when you are trapped in a lift? We never know when & where accidents will happen to us, or to people around us. This information may help many, when 'the not so pleasant' things happen to either you, your friends, or your loved ones. This happened to a friend....in his own words... "One day, while in a lift, it suddenly broke down & began falling from level 13 at a brisk pace. Fortunately, I remembered having watched a TV program that said you must quickly press all the buttons for all the levels. I did that & finally, the lift did stop - at the 5th level. Whew!" Remember! * When you are faced with a life & death situation, whatever decision or action you make, will decide, whether you survive or not. * If you are caught in a lift breakdown, the first thought that comes to mind is, 'I'm going to die', but after you read what is mentioned below, things will definitely be different –

Building bridges... Once upon a time, two brothers who lived on adjoining farms, fell into conflict. It was the first serious rift in 40 years of farming side by side, sharing machinery & trading labour & goods as needed without a hitch. Then the long collaboration fell apart. It began with a small misunderstanding & it grew into a major difference & finally it exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of silence. One morning there was a knock on John's door. He opened it to find a man with a carpenter's toolbox. "I'm looking for a few days work," he said. "Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here & there. Could I help you?" "Yes," said the older brother. "I do have a job for you. Look across the creek at that farm. That's my neighbour; in fact, it's my younger brother. Last week there was a meadow between us & he took his bulldozer to the river levee & now there is a creek between