I wish to record my understanding of experiences dated 1st September 2008. Religion always poses itself as an interesting X-roads, one is born into a religion and then constructs his/her own viewpoint through various experiences, thus subscribing to a multi-religious faith...one that is one's own, because everyone takes away a different experience from a similar episode in life...

As Children, we all were great observers of our parents' behaviors, paying close attention to their actions and were more likely to follow that lead rather than follow the words our parents use...

Life is a collection of experiences, and you keep learning new (and sometimes varied) practices, which are indeed strong exhibits of culture... culture again being strongly influenced by religion...we tend to pick up ideas, thoughts from various places and nurture them to be our own... thus moving into a space of inter-faith existence.

It is interesting that we do not normally realize the influence, which is normally overshadowed by the faith we subscribe to...but thinking over it a little will help us understand how we move through our lives thinking that we definitely know what kind of an idealogy we subscribe to, but in practice what we follow is a fusion of what we gather from our everyday experiences...

For me, faith is less a religion than a philosophy, an ethical and psychological way of awakening. It is a way of life, a path of enlightened living...it is not merely about beliefs but about practice of spirituality (definition of which is always one's own).

Thinking over this...I am reminded of a dialogue in a hindi movie 'Border' which I trust is apt for this context "Hum hi hum hai, tho kya hum hai ....tum hi tum ho, tho kya tum ho"

Is it only me ? or is it the same with everyone? Why is it tough to speak our true feelings... It is surprising to see how artificial we get when we make an effort to hide our true selves. Every person has an interesting and an unique way of creating a false identity of emotions...rather than making an effort to understand and truly portray our emotions, we tend to be a different person.

This post is a reminder for myself to make an attempt to truly understand what we are and try to be true to our emotions.. for I strongly believe, only when we respect our emotions.. emotions will respect us!

Many times I have heard the phrase 'Its all in the mind', but never heard about how to prioritize our activities and win over the fear in our mind. Passion and interest dictate our actions at the start but as we near the final step of taking the significant leap forward, fear of consequences rules supreme. Its this challenge that speaks of how we transform from being passionate to being reasonable and logical...We seldom realize that passion alone will be the wind beneath our wings and creates the difference... achievers are those, who can still pursue their passion neglecting the fear.

I wanted to write this post .. as a reminder for myself to seek passion over fear...passion is what needs to feel our hearts.. and focus to achieve what we are passionate about should fill our mind... I reckon I will be able to do so... for its all in the mind.

What makes some people dearer to us is probably not just the happiness that you feel when you meet them or when they are around ...but the pain you felt when you miss them. Perception of you is probably beyond my faculties of description...you have grown into a thought...thought that lives on even when you are not around...thought which made me smile every time I am reminded of it and if I had to pull a star on every such occurrence ... perhaps all the stars in the evening sky will be in my palm...

You with that unearthly sparkle like drops of water on a lotus leaf, fascinate me to understand myself better ... in my quest to understand you better... You.. wrap me with a feeling of unknown warmth that allows me to sleep through every night...waiting for you to come the next day.. bringing in more warmth and light into my life...I love to welcome you today...and every day for rest of my life!

Women normally offer an interesting challenge for men's intellect. Most of the time, everyone of us are stuck at appreciating the beauty rather than transcending beyond it to understand the person...I urge the reader to kindly try answering this question.. how often did you stand at an entrance of a passage-way and were lost in the beauty of it rather than seeking what lies beyond it? It is important to understand the value of both beauty and the brain to better appreciate what is the driving force for attraction. Beauty offers the elegance of a foyer while brains offer the ambiance... This is probably one of the reasons why the following statement makes much sense...

"...The average woman would rather have beauty than brains, because the average man can see better than he can think... "

For most of the men, women are beautiful indeed. But they grow beyond being mere beauties like the sympathetic characters in a play, to present themselves as an appealing and a memorable personality when they pose a challenge to the men's intellect... The feeling of understanding someone can only be achieved when one transcends the boundary of 'physical appeal' into 'appeal to the senses' i.e. when we see her as an innate challenge offering the intoxicating mix of appeal and intellect... I expect most of the readers might have a different view which might be either complementary or supplementary to that of mine.. comments are highly solicited...

Policies, Five Year-Plans, various commissions working for the 'welfare' of the society. This is the view portrayed by majority of the parties seeking people's vote to remain in power. It is an interesting development that the present Government is trying to use and play on the social divide card and benefit from it. What is unfortunate in this entire practice is the fact that, word 'welfare' takes a new definition showcasing a new dimension which was not explored before. Congress Government is definitely praiseworthy for being 'innovative' in exploring novel ideas to save their seat, but it is equally important for 'leaders' to put the interest of the 'entire' community before their own. Many policies of this government seem to have failed in satisfying this basic need. Our Prime Minister being worthy of immense respect as an academician, failed again in proving to be an 'leader'. This raises the question of understanding and questioning the administrative capabilities of our politicians. Every field these days demand a test of entry, it is really unfortunate that our politicians are not blessed with such an opportunity to test themselves at the start of their career, as to whether or not they have the potential to be a part of the administration. There are many rules in the Constititution which speak of entry requirements, but the present developments show how these rules have failed, there needs to be a revision of how we get people from amongst us to be a 'leader' and serve in the interest of the nation rather than leaving our Country as a helpless victim of Undignified Creativity.

Like a pilot view, every policy needs to be followed by the politicians themselves before it can be even discussed, since most of our politicians lack first hand experience. Nation's Growth lies in using our strengths to the best of our abilities and working on our weaknesses rather than relying totally on our strengths, thus leading to burn out. Growing beyond party lines in the interest of the Nation is something which is not seen these days, rather all that the politicians worry about these days is various ways of saving their seat.

India needs an understanding dictator who is well learnt and sees what this Nation needs, and also is equipped with enough understanding to see it through. Oh Lord! We need our Mahatma Gandhi again to drive some sense and spirit of understanding the effects of our actions. The Indian population is missing the courage of standing against this pseudo Colonial rule by our own countrymen. There are signs of a civil uprising, which needs to tackled with enough caution. All that we need to change the present scenario and lead us to a positive tomorrow is a single person... sound, energetic, learnt and understanding .. So, Why are you sleeping?

(This is an article written by Prof. M. Balakrishnan, Professor of Computer Science & Engineering at IIT Delhi. He has been with IIT Delhi since 1977 except for a three year stint outside India. Currently he is on Sabbatical and working with a startup)

Hope.. for a moment of comfort, for a memory of love, for the human existence to last forever. Hope is that aspect of living which is the most vital element that often goes unnoticed. When is the last time that things happened to you, instead of you waiting for long to see them turn into reality?

The struggle to win the battle of understanding our needs, our aspirations starts with gathering courage to understand and challenge the authority of hope in our life. It is then, only then if I may say, that we start to have a realistic picture of what is within our reach and what is beyond at present. The next stage involves in understanding the kinds of efforts which appear as demands from the nature to achieve the needs and aspirations we have set for ourselves. This again speaks of how 'hopeful' we are, and what aspirations (within our reach or beyond our reach at present) we are aiming at.

Realization of our aspirations again invites 'hope' to be a partner in our continuous struggle to work towards our goals. So all along, it is the hope that defines the vital link and pushes us to work to our or beyond our limits to achieve the desirable. What I gather from my own experience and the reason for me writing this post is, hope is the only element that lasts for ever...

It is estimated that 158 million children aged 5-14 are engaged in child labour worldwide. Millions of children are engaged in hazardous work environments like mines, working with petro-chemicals and pesticides. From Sub-Saharan Africa where around one in three children are engaged in child labour, representing 69 million children to South Asia, where 44 million are engaged in child labour because of poverty.

A study demonstrated the parallels between the historical pattern of the decline in child labor in the United States and situations today in developing countries. It is understood that the greater the extent of poverty in a country, the greater the amount of child labor, the relationship holding within a country over time as well as across countries at a given point in time. Though poverty may be a determinant of child labor, it cannot be examined in the absence of cultural and social factors, such as education, culture, and urbanization. Another Study points that child labor is deeply rooted in poverty and social customs. Thus, one reason for such high labor force participation is that working children are from impoverished families. There are several social and cultural explanations for widespread child labor in developing countries.

The effect of being sold into slave labor has the obvious physical scars from the constant beatings the children receive, their inhumane living conditions, and the practical starvation that the employers impose on them. However, the effects of slavery do not merely affect the physical well-being of the children. They also suffer from emotional scars. In addition to the risks that they face, there are also many negative side effects of exposing children to the excessive demands of adult labor. These side effects not only manifest themselves in the children’s health and growth, but also in their access to education. In fact, it is rare to find children who, over a prolonged period of time, manage to balance their studies with their daily chores. More than half of children laborers have never attended school, and those who have rarely finish the first cycle of elementary school. As researchers have noted, boycotting exports of goods produced by children may actually worsen the welfare and well-being of those children and their families, first by lowering their living standards and second by pushing children into dangerous work endeavors, such as begging and prostitution. This speaks of the need for a sustainable development plan to include the marginalized sections of the society to best tackle the growing numbers of child abuse.

If we can understand the dynamics of poverty, education, and child labor, we may be in a position to create more effective ways of eliminating child labor through education and economic development efforts. The problem of child labour, being inextricably linked with poverty and illiteracy, cannot be solved by legislation alone and a concerted effort to tackle this problem will bring in the desired sustainable growth.

The constant struggle to simplify things is a well known and widely acknowledged practice. It becomes increasingly tough when we try to use the normal strategy in simplifying the reason(s) for our existence.

Like a rainbow which showcases a collection of colours (and the convulsions of long lost memories for those intellectuals in us), where the distinct line of seperation is lost (Does this speak of a phase of transition?), the reasons for our existence is also a closed knit fabric having lost their individuality ( and may I say, have subscribed to a dependent mode of existence) to create the soft continuity of the thread.

This post is a salutation for all the reasons, registered for their influence on my unbending self and their help to twine the threads into this rope...'My Life'