JUST  ANOTHER  DAY

The Times of India today has allotted just a three-inch single column space to yesterday’s successful launch of five foreign satellites by an Indian PSLV from our launch pad at Sriharikota. Evidently, it has become a mere ‘routine’ event. Perhaps the next time we see a near full-page write up will be when our space vehicle reaches Mars in the not so distant future.

The sad reflection is how a country that has achieved such a great things in this high technology field is yet to feed its people adequately and give a minimum of education to masses of its children!

OH !  FOR  A  NOTEBOOK  AND  A  PENCIL !

Last week, Wednesday, 25 June, Jayanti Nayak committed suicide. She was 14 years old. She lived in Ganjam District of Orissa, 170 km south of Bhubaneshwar. What was her problem?

Jayanti’s father is a daily-wage earner. He had a stroke earlier this year. He was bed ridden and is just back to work after three months.

 

Jayanti needed a fresh notebook and pencil. Her parents said they could not afford to buy them, but would try to do so soon. On Wednesday Jayanti told her mother she could not go to school without the notebook and pencil and would stay back home for the day.

After her mother left for work she doused herself in Kerosene and set fire to herself. The neighbours saw fire and smoke coming out of the house. They rushed in and took her to the hospital, but she passed away.

Some people wonder why NGOs get into education when we have so many government schools and a wonderful scheme like SSA (Sarva Sikshya Abhyan). A lot remains to be done despite our beautiful policies and schemes. NGOs like BOSCONET and Don Bosco still have a LOT to do!

POISONING  ONE’S  CHILD  TO  GET  ATTENTION

A lady in Australia has been found guilty of poisoning her own child in order to draw attention to herself and win fans and followers on FaceBook. She has been condemned to jail for two to six years.

She fed extremely dangerous anti-cancer chemotherapy pills to her perfectly healthy 2-year-old child. She set up a page on FB to chronicle the child’s “fight for life”, draw sympathy for the child and win attention from the denizens of FB. She had 8,000 fans and received about $ 500 to help pay for the costs of treatment.

The child suffered life-threatening bone marrow failure as a result of the medication.

 Facebook is a wonderful tool to connect with family and friends scattered all over the world. How dangerous it is when we are on FB for the wrong reasons!

EVERYONE   IS   AN   EXPERT

Even a school dropout could be an expert!

Two days ago BOSCONET distributed a drink to at least 12,000 thirsty people on the roads of Delhi. We wanted the water to be really cold so that it would truly refresh. We bought chunks of ice to be added to the rooafza mixture. The ice blocks were very big and needed to be cut up into two or more blocks before being added to the water drums.

We have a real smart guy in our office. He has already got through the prelims and the mains of the UPSC exams for IAS hopefuls. He works with us while waiting for the call for his interview. He took the ice pick and started knocking at the first block of ice. He went on and on with little impact except pieces of ice flying all over the place. I began to wonder how long it would take to get the ice into the water, and how much of the ice would be lost.

Then our office boy, a school dropout, stepped forward. He took the ice pick and in just a few seconds he had the ice-block cut into two neat halves! He really had the expertise needed for the job in hand.

No one is an expert in everything. Everyone is an expert in something! Everyone I meet knows something more than I do. I can learn from her/him. She/he can teach me, if I respect her/him and am humble enough to learn.

MIND  THE  GAP !

“Malviya Nagar. Station. Doors will open on the Right. Please, mind the gap !”

I went to a theatre for a film yesterday, Sunday, the first time after at least eight years! I took the metro to the mall. I heard the above announcement about 40 times – at each station from Janakpuri West to MG Road and back. It made me think.

We have a smart, energetic, young, dynamic, forward looking new government in place. All of us eagerly looking forward to its initiatives to revive and revitalise everything around us. The “doors will (certainly) open to the Right” as opposed to the “left” or half-left policies we have been living on for decades.

A warning follows immediately after this announcement: “Please, mind the gap!”. The metro lady refers to the gap between the train and the platform – “please, don’t fall into that gap and hurt yourself!”

For the government, I would think, the humble request I would make is, “Please, mind the gap – the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor; the gap between the urban and the rural; the gap between people belonging to various communities ……. “

Please, mind the gap!

THE BEST MESSAGE ONE COULD EVER RECEIVE

Today I received a message on FB from someone. It went something like this: “Today it is my 10^th birthday – 10 years since I gave up on drugs. Thank you for your share in giving me a new life and great hope!”

I was NOT the main person in this person’s recovery. I came to know him only after he had become “clean”. But, I did trust him. I gave him a decent job so that he could earn his living and rebuild his life.

I am so glad he is doing so well. A person can have no greater joy that to receive such messages. Give life. Give hope!