The World's Biggest Exercise in Democracy

New York Times reader comment on India going to the polls, "The world's biggest exercise in democracy" April 15, 2009 It is truly the greatest show on Earth, an ode to adiverse and democratic ethos, where 700 million + of humanity vote, providing their small part in directing their ancient civilization into the future. It is no less impressive when done in a neighborhood which includes de-stabilizing and violent Pakistan, China, and Burma. Its challenges are immense, more so probably than anywhere else, particularly in development and fending off terrorism – but considering these challenges and its neighbors, it is even more astounding that the most diverse nation on Earth, with hundreds of languages, all religions and cultures, is not only surviving, but thriving.

The nation where Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism were born, which is the second largest Muslim nation on Earth; where Christianity has existed for 2000 years; where the oldest Jewish synagogues and Jewish communities have resided  since the Romans burnt their 2^nd temple; where the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile reside; where the Zorostrians from Persia have thrived since being thrown out of their ancient homeland; where Armenians and Syrians and many others have to come live; where the Paris-based OECD said was the largest economy on Earth 1500 of the last 2000 years, including the 2nd largest only 200 years ago; where 3 Muslim Presidents have been elected, where a Sikh is Prime Minister and the  head of the ruling party a Catholic Italian woman, where the President is also a women, succeeding a Muslim President who as a rocket scientist was a hero in the nation; where a booming economy is lifting 40 million out of poverty each year and is expected to have the majority of its population in the middle class, already equal to the entire US population, by 2025; where its optimism and vibrancy is manifested in its movies, arts, economic growth, and voting, despite all the incredible challenges and  hardships; where all the great powers are  vying for influence, as it itself finds its place in the world.

Where all of this is happening, is India, and as greater than 1/10 of humanity gets ready to vote, it is an inspiration to all the World.

 

 

 

Why do we read Bhagavat Geeta?

 

Why do we read Geeta, even if we can't understand a Sanskrit word???

This is beautiful story - if inspired pls. forward else keep it can't say when it might inspire you!

Story:

An old Farmer lived on a farm in the mountains with his young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading his Bhagavat Geeta. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in every way he could.

One day the grandson asked, "Grandpa! I try to read the Bhagavat Geeta just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bhagavat Geeta do?"

The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, "Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water."

The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, "You'll have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again.

This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You're just not trying hard enough," and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got back to the house.

The boy again dipped the basket into river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, "See Grandpa, it's useless!"

"So you think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket."  The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean, inside and out.

"Son, that's what happens when you read the Bhagavat Geeta. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be changed, inside and out. That is the work of Krishna in our lives."

"Celebrate Life. Care for others and share whatever you have with those less fortunate than you. Broaden your vision, for the whole world belongs to you."

 

 

RATAN TATA - WHY NOT ON FORBES LIST

 

Here is a Real Story of Ratan Tata.
So many people around the world want to know that "What is the Net
Worth of Ratan Tata"?

TATA Group is running 96 businesses and out of which 28 Companies are
publically listed on the various stock exchanges.
Tata Group is world's top 50 Group according to Market capitalization
and Reputation.

Have you ever thought why Ratan tata's name is not in the list of
billionaire's club? why Ratan Tata is not a billionaire on the Forbes
magazine list of billionaire people of the world?

The reason is that, TATA Group's 96 companies are held by its main
Company "TATA Sons" and the main owner of this TATA Sons is not Ratan
Tata but various charitable organizations developed and run by TATA
Group.

Out of which JRD TATA Trust & Sir Ratan Tata Trust are the main.
65% ownership of TATA Sons which is the key holding company of the
other 96 TATA Group Company is held by various charitable
organizations.

So this 65% ownership ownership of Tatasons Limited is not reflected
on Ratan Tata's personal Financial Statement but on the various
charitable organizations. and this is the reason why Ratan Tata is not
in the list of Billionaire club.

if we put this 65% ownership of Tata Sons in Ratan TATA's own personal
financial statement then Ratan Tata's Net worth can become more than $
70 billion. and that's much more than the Warren Buffet's Current Net
Worth of $ 62 billion, the world's richest person according to Forbes
magazine 2008.


However, it doesn't mean that Ratan Tata is poor. In one interviews he
had told the reporter that, "I have my own Capital". He is the
chairman of Tata Group so obviously he earns lots of money every year
as a bonus, remuneration and salary. However, Ratan Tata's Net worth
is not $ 1 Billion.

He is not a billionaire on paper. but in reality he is the richest
person of the world. His net worth in reality is more than Bill Gates
and Warren Buffet.
SO the good thing about Tata Group is that, They do Charity out of
their Money...

And that is the reason TATA Group has generated so much of Goodwill
over last 5 generations.

:)

Some beautiful sayings

Never tell your problems to anyone…20% don’t care and the other 80% are glad you have them. -Lou Holtz

Never explain yourself. Your friends dont need it and your enemies wont believe it. -Belgicia Howell

Forgive your enemies, but never, never forget their names.-John F. Kennedy

You must experience and accept the extremes. Because if the contrast is lost, you lose appreciation; and when you lose appreciation, you lose the value of everything. –Philippos

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good. -Ann Landers

Being sad with the right people is better than being happy with the wrong ones.-Philippos

Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, cause hate in your heart will consume you too. -Will Smith

If your problem has a solution then…why worry about it? If your problem doesnt have solution then…why worry about it? -Chinese Proverb

Laugh when you can, apologize when you should, and let go of what you can’t change. Kiss slowly, play hard, forgive quickly, take chances, give everything and have no regrets. Life’s too short to be anything but happy

The ultimate measure of man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Pain never really goes away; you just elevate and get used to it by growing stronger. –Philippos

You have to take the good with the bad, smile with the sad, love what you’ve got, remember what you had, learn from your mistakes, but never regret, people change, things go wrong, but remember life goes on!

Always put yourself in the other’s shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, it probably hurts the person too.

Sometimes the people who hurt us the most are people who were hurt more than us. –Philippos

Our tears are what happens when it rains deep inside our hearts and we cannot hold the rain any longer. –Philippos

I like to pretend that everything’s alright. Because when everybody else thinks you’re fine, sometimes youforget for a while that you’re not.

“Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.” -Thomas Paine

The things that made me stronger are the ones that didnt let me sleep at first. -Anonymous

:)

 

 

 

Oh!! City overheats as temp touches 40°C

 

 

Gearing up for another torrid summer of discontent is a routine grudgingly treaded by Mumbaikars every year, but to have the temperatures shoot through the roof much earlier than normal is a tragic double whammy.

 

On Wednesday, the maximum daytime temperature recorded at Colaba was 34.5C while Santa Cruz scorched with a maximum of 40.6C. Officials at the weather bureau admit that the temperature over the past few days is a good four degrees above normal. "But this is not unusual for summer. March too saw days when the daytime temperature rose up to 40C in the city," said Dr RV Sharma, deputy director general, Regional Meteorological Centre, Colaba.

 

If April is so hot, how terrible will May be?

Email in Indian languages

Email in Indian languages

3/30/2009 04:50:00 PM

It's hard for me to imagine going without email for a day. It's such an easy and convenient way to communicate with my friends and family. However, there was one limitation that bothered me: my family members and friends who prefer to communicate in Hindi did not have an easy way to type and send email in their language of choice. I am extremely happy to announce the launch of a new feature in Gmail that makes it easy to type email in Indian languages.

When you compose a new mail in Gmail, you should now see an icon with an Indian character, as the screenshot below shows. This feature is enabled by default for Gmail users in India. If you do not see this function enabled by default, you will need to go the "Settings" page and enable this option in the "Language" section.