THE  STRANGER

A gentleman in London was going for a job interview. In the crush of the metro (the tube), he was irritated by a fellow passenger. He told him to “f*** off!” You can imagine his shock and embarrassment when he went in for the interview and found that the man he had told cursed was the head of the recruiting team !

The man did not get the job. The recruiter insists that what happened in the metro played no role in his rejection. He was just not the right person for the post.

We never know who we are talking to. We would be safe if we could only remember that God dwells in the heart of every human being. It is this firm conviction that makes BOSCONET available to help anyone in need, and at the same time approach one and all to contribute their mite to help those needier than themselves.

WAY  BEHIND  800-YEAR-OLD  MAGNA  CARTA

The Magna Carta was agreed on on 15 June 1215 at Runnymede, UK. It is among the most important documents in history, one of the first steps towards parliamentary democracy. About 250 copies of it were made and sent to legal and religious officials all over the kingdom to make sure it was carried out.

The Magna Carta includes the principle that no one is above the law, not even the king. We do have parliamentary democracy today; but, how many people in our country think they are above the law for one reason or another !

IT  PAYS  TO  POO

There’s a revolutionary new treatment for the debilitating Clostridium Difficile Infection (CDI). It involves taking stool containing microbes from a healthy donor’s faeces and introducing it into the gut of the sick person. The treatment is so successful that an Amercian non-profit is paying healthy people US $ 40 for each sample of their poo (faeces) for microbiota transplants.

If only we could learn to find treasure in all that is "negative”  around us, in our failures, our mistakes, our losses, our frustrations and our disappointments!

ELECTRONIC  TIMES

Research at the University of Texas shows that the more lonely and depressed you are, the more likely you are to binge-watch television. People with less self-control were more likely to do so. They just cannot stop clicking “next” even when aware of their other tasks.

In the mean time, lawmakers in Taiwan have made it obligatory for parents to monitor how much time their children spend on ‘electronic devices’ like television, internet, phone, etc. The fine imposed on them could be as high as US $ 1,595.

Whether such laws are appropriate or not, it is clear that the concern is growing that addiction to time on such ‘devices’ does serious harm or, at least, is a symptom of other serious problems.

KNOWING  WHEN  TO  SHUT  UP

Salman Rushdie’s next book will  be released in September of this year, seven years after his previous one. He is known for the great length of his stories. The new book will be only about 250 pages. “I have finally learned how to shut up,” he says. That might be appropriate coming from a man who lived under a fatwa for having talked too much!

It is of, course, important to speak up when needed. But, probably, we bring more trouble on ourselves through too much talk than by any silence. Knowing when to shut up makes life happier!

BOLLYWOOD  TO  BLAME  ?!       

Sandesh Baliga (32) was arrested in Australia for stalking two women for up to 18 months! He rang them up, texted them and approached them frequently over this period.

In court his lawyer argued that Baliga had been “wrongly influenced by Bollywood movies”. He said “Hindi movies contributed to his belief that a woman would eventually fall in love with a man if he pursued her.” The lawyer added that it was “quite normal behaviour “ for Indian men to follow women.

What does this say of the image of Indian men? Worse, what does it say about the reality of the behaviour of Indian men?

Baliga was let off in consideration of his cultural background. Can I really wash my hands off a crime claiming that I have been “wrongly influenced” by a film, a book or an individual?

216 BONDED CHILD LABOURERS HANDED OVER TO DON BOSCO

24 January 2015, there was high drama at Don Bosco Navjeevan at Ramanthapur of Hyderabad. Here Don Bosco looks after destitute children picked up from the streets. All on a sudden, with no advance warning, the police turned up at our centre with 216 children who had been rescued from bonded labour. The children are mostly from a State in North India.

The Salesians, the staff of Navjeevan, and above all, the children residing with us have been going all out since then till today, to welcome the children, to feed them, to cheer them up, care for those with wounds, etc. The CWC, the labour department, the CID, the Revenue department, etc., are busy partly trying to take the credit or and partly to sort out the issues about returning the children to their families.

There is satisfaction at the recognition given to Don Bosco as the organization to turn to when there is need for service for children on a massive scale. There is acknowledgement that Don Bosco can handle a problem of any size and without any prior notice, if it is for the benefit of children in need. On the other hand, it is sad that this violation of laws enacted forty years ago is being discovered only now, and only as a result of a counter-terrorism combing operation!