Varanasi boat school - Let's do right

It has been more than 60 years since 15^th August, 1947. We are free from the shackles of British rule. But are we in that place where we would want to be today? I don’t think we are.

Do you know the reason for that? It’s because we couldn’t prioritize our requirements. We got democracy and cry about secularism but we never realized all of this isn’t only what we needed. Without educating people, we cannot reach the promise land. According to a stat, 37% of our population is illiterate, more than any country in the world. Believe it or not, literacy is the most powerful tool that can help us reach the place where we always wanted to be. Only a young country with literate individuals can help us grow, develop and reach that promise land we have been striving to reach.

Luckily, there are a few people who are trying to make sure that the future of India, gets an opportunity to learn. Meet  Ajeet Singh – a true Do Righter, who started a novel and innovative ‘boat school’. It can be considered a stepping stone in the world of learning. A school where children spend two hours after their regular school day to study, play or revise without any pressures or tensions.

But this is not easy. In order to help people like them achieve what they are doing, they need help in their journey of doing right. Currently, this Varanasi boat school isn’t really the ideal learning environment for these underprivileged kids. These kids on this unique #ScholarShip need facilities like a library, educational toys, stationery and computer etc. but this isn’t going to be easy. In order to achieve this, these people need the support and donations of us privileged people. All of us, who are working or/and have a good enough economical background can help these kids read and help these noble people in their great endeavor. Because let’s be very honest, this cannot be a magical transformation. It’s not like these people can generate enough money on their own to achieve this noble dream. But we can definitely help them and we should!  Together we can create an ideal learning environment for the children. Do you want to know how you can help? Then do check out the DoRight website to learn more about what people like Ajeet Singh are doing and make your contribution to help them achieve our goal, this country’s goal. C’mon, let’s do right!

It’s not just this. Many similar efforts are going on around the country to help this cause. This DoRight campaign in Varanasi which is an initiative of TATA CAPITAL can help brighten the future of thousands of homeless and underprivileged kids. Let’s play our part too. Go to the Do Right website, donate whatever little money you can and help the stars of tomorrow shine brighter than the Sun.

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Playing in my head: Dream On by 'Aerosmith'

Life without money

I recently bought a new phone, oneplus one. You guys must have heard of it. It is my first smart phone. Isn't it great how technology can touch our lives? I mean you look at those mac-books, DSLRs, Airbuses, spaceships, nukes, cure for malaria and polio…boy who would have thought that was possible. Wow, we have come too far…too far from the time when we couldn't even figure out how to light a fire!

You see many of these technological and medical advancements couldn't have been possible without the motivation of money. Of course you could argue that these were a result of the great dreams a few individuals saw. But could they have been possible without the unrecognized contributions of numerous other people who helped these great individuals achieve it? Those numerous people who worked with these great minds with just 1 simple motivation, money! Money to feed themselves, money to feed the ones they love, money to help them survive, money to help the ones they love thrive. Would it be possible without this great evil motivation? Well the answer isn't NO. I believe it would all have been possible. We would still have all of this. But it would have taken a lot of time. Without so many people working to make it possible, it would have taken many more years for these dreams to come true. The world as you see it in 2015 probably would have been the reality of the year 3075. That is how important money is. A world without money would have taken us back generations.

But when I think of a life without money, it fills me with immense satisfaction and happiness. I believe a life without money would have made us more human. I say this because then we would have been closer to humans and humanity. In today’s stupid rat race, in spite of kind intentions, we end up thinking only about us and our family at the end of the day. Without this chaos, we would have cared more about humans and humanity, traveled more, talked more and would have respected Mother Nature much more than what we do now. We would have been humans, not animals.

I’d like to conclude by saying that without money, life would have been more peaceful and people would have been satisfied and happy. As I already said we wouldn't be as advanced as we are now, but personally I couldn't have cared less about it.

It really amazes me when I think how much I would have traveled around the world without the restrictions/need for money, which I can’t now. Oh I would have loved it! But then, would there be sufficient means to travel? I wonder, I wonder!

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Playing in my head: 'Kabhi Aisa Lagta Hai' by Luck Ali

I pledged not to break traffic signals!

Some incidents happen in your life that make you miserable. Some other incidents, they change you forever.

This is a story of learning. About the day I realized why following traffic signals is necessary. Hoping that you guys will understand and implement this too. It was a big change in my life! #StartANewLife

Being an Indian, we just love not following rules. More so, when we are out on the streets. No wonder, we have such pathetic traffic congestions every other day. I am not any different from you all. I never really followed traffic signals. It was like one of those rules that you are ordered to follow in schools which don’t make sense. Even more so, when the traffic is less. It was one night a few months back and I was returning from work very late, around 9.30 pm. I was driving my car while listening to Snow Patrol’s compilation album. As was my habit, I was moving ahead breaking one signal after the other. Since it was so late, there wasn't much traffic. Suddenly my phone started ringing and I decided to take it. I was near a traffic signal and decided to stop as the signal was red, which would also allow me to receive the call. Few seconds later, a car crossed me, breaking the signal in the process. I didn't really cared at that moment. But behind it, another 2 wheeler came in full speed. The guy riding the 2 wheeler assumed that the road was clear because the other car had just crossed the signal. Under this confidence, the biker didn't bother to check and kept on coming. That was when I noticed another car coming in from the left side prepared to cross as the signal for him was green. He was also not expecting anyone would be come from the lane in which I was parked. Both the car and the bike hadn't seen each other and were confidently moving on in their stride. I noticed it but had no time to act. I somehow prepared myself for the inevitable and was about to close my eyes when I suddenly realize I could alert the car driver. As a reflex action, I started furiously blowing the horn and flashing the dipper. Thankfully, my idea worked and I was able to alert the car driver. It all happened in a moment but the car stopped right at the centre of the road with enough space for the biker to squeeze through without a scratch.

That was the day I realized that even though you may be confident, others may follow you when you break the traffic signal. This is actually over-confidence, not confidence. I pledged that day not to break traffic signals ever again in life.

Watch the video below to see how https://housing.com/ started a new life. If I can and they can, then even you can do it!

You are never too far to forget

Distance is just a number. I have been in all kinds of relationships, at least all the major ones. I have been a son, a friend, a brother and a lover.

I am sure we’ll agree that your home, where your parents live, always welcomes you with open arms. You may be in a different location for studies or job but every time you come back for a vacation it still feels the same. Countless kilometres of tiring journey never detaches you emotionally from your parents and that is kind of expected because family, we always take them for granted.

What actually amazed me about humans and human nature is that when a person apart from your family is not near you, we still remember that person and cherish their presence in our lives. That’s how some people touch our lives!

I recently met an old friend and it was one of the best days of my life. That meeting also taught me a few things about life. He was an old friend and a pretty close one when we were studying in school. Over the course of last few years, our interactions first reduced to monthly calls and gradually faded into yearly birthday calls. Although believe me, they used to be crazy long calls, almost stretching to 90 minutes and sometimes even more. Obviously cause we had so much to catch up! I had started to believe that whenever we meet next, ours would be a very strange and boring get-together. I was very sure that we would both run out of words in a couple of hours looking at the fact that we both were leading such different lives, exclusive of each other. But what happened actually was totally unexpected. It was one of the most unforgettable day of my life. From the moment I landed in his city and till the moment I boarded my train back, none of us kept mum for even a second. We discussed everything under the sun – right from our good old school days, our old classmates and the ice-cream seller outside the school to the state of politics in the country, Sunny Leone’s item song and the exciting start-up culture growing in India. We ate, drank, talked and roamed around the city and in the end, we found ourselves hungry for more. When I came back to my senses, I found myself standing at the door of the train, waving him goodbye. All of this, just like that!

The whole way back to my destination, I kept on thinking about what happened and how terribly wrong I was. As it turned out, we both always had mutual respect and admiration for each other. We cared for each other and accepted each other the way we are. Years of separation and kilometres of distance couldn't take that out from us and that’s what relationships are made of: RESPECT.

In order to summarize, I’d just say that respect the people in your life and stop taking people for granted. I have often seen people taking their family for granted and not having enough time for them. That’s not how life works, that’s actually how we kill our life.

In case you are leaving your city for a job and are looking for a house, go check out the listings on https://housing.com/. And once you have your house ready, make sure the people staying in it are valued and respected. In the end, all that your family expects from you is your time. So don’t disappoint them. Believe me, #together with the people whom you love, every other day is going to be memorable.

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Playing in my head: "Baby Doll" from Ragini MMS 2

Stubborn History

There are already a lot of quotes, philosophies and rants upon History. Me adding some more wisdom to that list won't really matter but then, since when did we start doing things to make them count?
History they say:

• repeats itself, is re-written.
• is a myth and pretty ambiguous.
• is imaginative.
• is like a memory.
• is a very tough and boring subject, when in school, esp in CBSE.
• is as good as a rumor.
• is a useless heap of facts. (this one's my favorite)

Anyways, besides the above detailed adjectives, there are few more things that History is. The thing that has been bothering me the most since the last few months is a very prominent, obvious and undeniable fact that we all know. However, how many of us think that it matters is an altogether different issue.

History, never changes. It always remains constant and present with us.

No matter what we do and how we play the game, what has been done is there to remain and remind us forever of it's presence. Nothing can be done to change it. We might change places, documents and all other proofs of its existence but deep in our heart, we'll always know what happened. A bright history will always remain shiny and beautiful, an orphaned history is always suspecting and searching, a shameful history is always embarrassing and humiliating and a blot on your history will always remain black, dark, painful and infuriating. 

Deep down with time, the shadows of history and all things associated with it dissolve but the history always remains constant, in block letters like the name of a brand new big budget movie on a billboard. They say our history keeps on haunting us but they don't understand that even if it didn't, we would have still kept on running around history just like a sex deprived man keeps running around brothels. We may deny it in public but every time we sit alone, our history always makes sure that we have company. Such is the power of history, such is it's overpowering presence in our life.

History never changes. A blot remains a blot. Things may not be the same for everyone but what matters for us is all that matters in the end. History is purely relative, just like triviality is. Everybody's history counts, atleast for them, atleast in their eyes, soul and heart. 

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In other news, people who were pretending to sleep haven't opened their eyes yet. All other news, do they still matter? I don't think so.