School Bullies

Save Your Child from Bullies
Ashok Pandey
In an American-style campus shooting, two students of a private school in Gurgaon shot dead a classmate as he was about to take the schoolbus home, on 11th December 2007.
Abhishek Tyagi, a class VIII student of Euro International School in Sector 45, was shot five times from close range on his forehead, chest and shoulder inside the campus. The 14-year-old was declared dead at hospital. Akash Yadav had brought his father’s licensed foreign-made pistol and both boys took turns to shoot Abhishek.
Abhishek allegedly used to bully them at school because he was of better build. About five days ago, they had a fight and school authorities had intervened and settled the matter. But the two said Abhishek had threatened to kill them. "Before Abhishek could act, Akash brought his father’s pistol, and hid it in the school toilet. After school (around 2 pm), Akash retrieved the pistol and fired at Abhishek.
The fact that the alleged bully Abhishek Tyagi - the victim - was himself a leader and a discipline in-charge reflects the vent in the structure. When a school appoints a bully as a leader, we are unconsciously giving him a licence to rule and this brings into play a series of interactions from within and without.
What is bullying?
Bullying has been defined as “the tendency for some children to frequently oppress, harass or intimidate other children, verbally, physically or both, in and out of school.”
Bullying comprises of spacious range of behaviors mostly found in teens again and again trying to harm somebody who is weaker. It involves direct harass (eg.hitting, frightening, unkindly teasing and taunting, name-calling, making comments, and robbery or injuring to belongings) or indirect harass such as scattering gossip or encouraging others to discard or leave out someone. Efforts to stop school bullying range from presentations to entire schools to discussions with individual students about how to respond when they are bullied or when they see someone bullying another student.
Teen School bullying can show the way adolescents to feel tense, worried, and terrified. It can have an effect on their attention in school, and can lead them to keep away from school in some reasons. If teens bullying goes on with for some time, it can start to affect adolescence self-respect and way of thinking of confidence. It also can lead them to become reserved and down in the dumps, uneasy and anxious. In severe cases, bullying can be overwhelming for adolescence, with long-term consequences. Some adolescence feel obligated to take extreme actions, such as carrying arms for protection or seeking cruel revenge. Teens, in nervousness, even think about suicide.
"Positive peer pressure is an important component of effective intervention. When uninvolved students step up and let the perpetrator know that their behaviour is not acceptable. It's a powerful message.
Dr. Dan Olweus of the University of Bergen, Norway, an international authority on bullying, has found that 60 percent of boys identified as bullies in grades 6 to 9 had at least one court conviction by age 24. Over time, compared to the general population, they had four times more relatively serious than nonbullies.
The victim of a bully must be counselled. He must learn to ignore and walk away for as long as he can. If the bully persists then the parent and the principal must meet and find a solution. But both the bully and the victim need intervention and attention.
Schools must communicate the value of caring and demonstrate that care and parental monitoring and patience must be encouraged. When incidents are allowed to accumulate they fester in children and they feel that violence toward others is a way to solve problems. When a student like this needs a solution badly, he will hurt others, as he has been hurt.
The most common form is name-calling. Children call others names for many reasons: because the other child is short or fat, is of a different skin colour, or has a lisp, a stutter or a physical disability. Bullies often want people to look up to them, and they try to achieve this by acting tough. Their behaviour is usually initiated to create status for themselves.
How can you tell if your child is being bullied? Most schoolchildren won’t tell you, often because they are afraid of reprisals. But certain symptoms should make you suspicious. These include unexplained reluctance to go to school; fearfulness or unusual anxiety; sleep disturbances and nightmares; vague physical complaints (headaches, stomachaches), especially on school days; or belongings that come home ripped or are missing altogether.
Some parents find it embarrassing to learn that their child is being bullied. But a few simple rules make it a lot easier to deal with:
· Be a good listener. Stay calm, and give your child plenty of time to tell you how he or she feels. Make it clear it’s not your child’s fault. Above all, don’t suggest your child simply fight back.
· Don’t overreact. Ask yourself, is this serious enough to discuss with the teacher? With the principal? With the police?

· If it occurs on the way to or from school, find a safe route and arrange for an older child companion. Follow up with school authorities. Ask what action has been taken and how your child will be kept safe if his identity has been exposed.In considering a school for your child, you should ask the principal if it has an antibullying policy and, if it does, how well it works. If you are told “We don’t have that problem here,” don’t believe it. The problem exists in all schools.

APJ Abdul Kalam : Why Not?

This refers to Kalam’s Final Misstep by Vir Sanghvi. Probably this was the cheapest ever written article on this high profile space of HT Sunday. Sanghvi was probably drunk when he wrote all this.

Instead of supporting his views by logic, he uses blasphemous remarks. Sanghvi is fine for writing about wine and pizza. I don’t think he had ever read Kalam otherwise he will not call him a low profile scientist. Kalam retired as Director, DRDO and had served as Defence advisor to Prime Minister of India. What does he think is high profile, a paid admiration of foodstuff in Brunch?

He uses the word ‘middle class’ more than half a dozen times in his article. I don’t think Sanghvi comes from a royal family. He predicts Kalam will be forgotten like Seshan. What a filth? No Indian can forget Seshan. He scavenged rotting Indian electoral system. He made all of us proud.

Even if we leave Kalam’s presidency apart, he is the only Indian who envisioned India 2020, giving finer details of country’s future development map. He has given a complete idea of education in Ignited Minds. It needs some solid stuff in mind to give a power point presentation. It is not like sitting in AC office and writing whatever comes to your mind.

I have been a regular reader of HK Dua and V N Narayan. I could not digest the rubbish spilled out by this third rate scriber. I feel it a wastage of time to read his article and even more so writing comments on him. He is complete filth.

Diary of an Amway Distributor

I saw Amway diamonds dancing on the stage and telling their success stories. $ 1000 a day sitting home! Residual income, future security, royalty for generations – who would refuse it.

As far as the business model looks from above, it is a fair business comprising a network of consumers benefiting each other. But once you are inside, things begin to complicate.

I have been an Amway distributor for three years. I attended all seminars and purchased over 500 cassette tapes and books; followed everything what up line leaders had suggested.

Result – I lost all my deposits and current earnings of job over these three years; a sum total of $ 7500 ( Rs 3 lac). Lost many friends and relatives and of course precious hours that I could have devoted to reading, resting and being with family.

I came to know the major earnings of Amway come from annual renewal fees and forced distributor enrollment through personal enforcement and persuasive presentations. It was a deep cut. The only thing I gained is experience in making calls and visiting people everyday as undesirable guest.

Those who are new to MLM business, I won’t discourage them. You may make fortunes if you can sacrifice everything else to earn money. But take this advice from me- never invest too much in the enterprise.

Jamnalal Bajaj, the Father

Late Sh Jamna Lal Bajaj was accepted by Mahatma Gandhi as his fifth son. Like most marwari seths of his time, he was thoroughly cultivated in Indian value system. Other than routine business, he found time to make marital matches and also for social gatherings. Jamna Lal Bajaj frequently visited Mahatma Gandhi’s ashram for his advice. He liberally donated money for Indian Freedom movement.
Kamal Nayan Bajaj was his eldest son, most uninterested in studies. This worried Jamna Lal sometimes because son’s failure in the exam might cause a dent to his personal reputation. What impressed me most about this man, that he was a very wise father.

He did not force Kamal to study. Rather he attached lot of value to his son’s independent opinion, often contrary to his own. Kamal was spendthrift and believed in material luxuries. Sometimes he refused to accompany the family to Mahatma Gandhi’s ashram. Father still honoured his opinion.

Such type of handling made all the difference. Indian families in his times had strong paternal control. A disagreement from father was almost impossible to think. Kamal became most enterprising of all his sons.

This is a good lesson to all the fathers who try to impose their ideas on children. This practice invariably backfires. You end up loosing your child. Children have their own ideas and if any help is possible, that is only through trying to understand their point of view. I know many children who hate their fathers for the raw treatment given to them in their childhood.

We don’t need dye cast kids. We must grow responsible citizens guarding their identity.

Father's Labour Lost

I chanced to meet colonel Malik few years back during a seminar. Over three days we became friends. What impressed me was his stout, enviable body structure and visible physical strength at 55. Colonel had just retired.

Col Malik told me that he had a pilot son in the Indian Navy. "You are a lucky father", I said. Every father aspires that his children achieve higher than he did. You must be feeling proud. "There will be few fathers like you", I comented.
"My wife contributed more than me. She would not sleep during the nights while he was preparing for National Defense Academy; just to make coffee for him every hour," Col told me.

"That’s great. What did you do?"

"I had planned right from his childhood that he would become a commissioned officer. I used to study his books for hours to teach him".

"Then"
"I sent him to Army School. When he asked for hundred bucks I sent him 200," Col Malik added.

"Here I differ from you. We shouldn’t give children more than what they need", I said.

"Well, there was a reason behind it. My father was a poor farmer. When I asked him for ten ruppees he gave me two. Many times I couldn’t buy books. I hated poverty. To compensate I gave my son double."

"You are retired now, Why do you stay alone in Delhi? You can join him" I said.
"Forget about that. He dislikes me" Added colonel sadly. "He comes for a month in one year. Picks up the car after breakfast and returns late night. He doesn’t give me even five minutes at a stretch," Col Malik had become emotional.

"But why" ? "You have given him the best. I don’t think a father can do more than that."

"He says I made him spendthrift by giving too much money. And I did everything for him right from opening a bank account to filling up college forms. I overprotected him…… I don’t want to be called his father. I am not dependent on anybody. Let him ignore me," this time colonel was all tears. "Whatever you do for the kids is less".

"I am happy alone. There are people without children. I have enough strength left to fight. Why should I look for shelter. I learning. That’s why I joined this course".

The lunch time was over. We were again inside the hall. I knew I wasn’t listening to the speaker.

Power and Worth of a Teacher

I joined teaching profession by compulsion to earn. I discovered there was not much money or social recognition compared to other professions. But value added returns were far more satisfying.

Helen Keller, whose name makes every American feel proud, was problem child of her parents. Meningitis attack in her childhood left her dumb and blind. It was impossible to handle her. But as the saying goes, when disciple is ready, the teacher arrives. In Helen’s case disciple wasn’t ready but the teacher was.

Her teacher, Annie devised ways to teach her alphabets by a unique method of writing then on hands and feeling the breath of the sound. Helen made hell of her life. Parents were fed up. The teacher didn’t give up. Helen had to learn alphabets and words.

Helen Keller became first dumb and blind person to complete her graduation. She learned music. Her autobiography became bestseller. She wrote twelve more books and numerous articles. Every American president during her lifetime met her. Annie lived with Helen life long. She died at the age of 88.The money Helen Keller earned from her books was converted into a foundation which still works for the welfare of the deaf and blind world over.

Has any emperor on this earth achieved greater victory than her teacher. She made a celebrity out of a notorious, undesirable child. That is the might of a teacher’s intentions. Let all teachers be like that. Hats off to all teachers.

Supporting the Weaker Link of the Family

One thing I like about the family setup here in India is the support system. Let me explain.

We are three brothers and one sister, the eldest sister being 55 and big brother touching 52. Politely and humbly if I can call, he is the weakest link. Ever since I and my middle brother got the job we have been helping him wherever we can and it is such a satisfaction. In past few months I lost job and had difficult time, my brother silently sent me 25,000 bucks without caring to know when and how I should return. I didn’t even had to acknowledge or say thanks. There are friends as well who have extended support.

I wonder, if everyone could practice such a system how intact and secure the society would be. God hasn’t made everybody self sufficient and smart enough to live independently. I never understand His scheme of things. But we, as his units can always take care of each other. I feel every child should be brought up with an instinct to help the less fortunate. Even if we can take care of the near and dears, the community is going to enjoy the collective happiness.

Father's Day Message

Dear father

It gives me such a pride thinking of you today. Your unconditional love and affection have always filled me with a sense of completeness. You are a friend, mentor, guide – a lighthouse for my life.

The values you have given me are helping me live a life of significance. What else could I have expected from God. I wish every child was lucky enough to get such gift. Your inexhaustible source of knowledge has enriched my intellectual thinking so much. You always had intelligent answers to my silly questions.

You are like a gardener who nourishes the plant, guards against the weeds and strong sunshine. The earth is a better place with you. You are a god ordained natural friend. I don’t know ways how to be more thankful to you. Happy Father’s Day!

Love from me

Great Birthday Messages

Tired of writing those old messages appearing in the cards? Here are some very innovative pieces you’d love to send.

Dear loved one
There is a rumor heard by me that you were born today. Great happening. How your arrival made this earth a happy place to be for me. May you live long and all the joys be yours! How sweet to think of you. Happy birthday!!

Dear Friend
Let me be the first to be proud of your being. May your life be illuminated by a million lucky stars! May all the flowers lay on your way spreading fragrance and beauty everywhere. May the bright sunlight of the morning touch your doorstep gently with some good news. May God bless you with nicest things of life!

My dear friend
Today is your birthday! Divine intervention – ask me why? You are the most beautiful woman on earth. Envy of all the beautiful things. What the gentle breeze is whispering into my ears. It is in the chirruping of the birds. The street roads are thankful that you walked on them. God’s perfect work of art. A poetry in space. You are incomparable.

Letter Requesting Scholarship:Sample

Want to write a compelling letter reqesting scholarship? Here is your sample.You may create your own circumstance.

Dear sir
I am a student pursuing my graduation having severe financial crisis and other challenges which I will disclose during the course of this letter. I am very good at studies but my current circumstances don’t seem to allow me go with my dream.. I have been suggested by a friend that your organization helps the meritorious and needy students for the purpose of graduate studies. I write this letter to implore you if there is a scope to support me with a scholarship.

I am a 43 year old Hispanic woman having been challenged of disability with severe dyslexia.An accident at work caused me Throatic Outlet Syndrome, chronic pain, migraines and several surgeries for TOS and shoulder problems. I am recovering from my physical sufferings but the future of my education is the most immediate challenge.
I used to be an artist right from my childhood and drew immense satisfaction by transporting my vivid imaginations on the canvas. Would you believe I made the colors talk! Unfortunately severe pain in the shoulders does not allow me to paint anymore. Initially I would not give up but I had to come to terms with the reality. I have cried for hours in loneliness and had sleepless nights. I am a human being too. I only discovered that was not going to resolve my crisis.

The challenges I faced could never dilute my intentions to pursue my education. Now I see these difficulties as opportunities in disguise. I want to set an example for the people challenged by hard luck. More the difficulties, greater my determination to proceed. My conscience suggests that the gap between my problems and the success is the initiative to ask for help.

You will appreciate I continued to get brilliant grades in studies in spite of the tyranny of luck. But for the help and encouragement from friends and my teachers I wouldn’t have made it possible. I have already run out the savings of my parents. What all I have now is hope.

There are people like you whose presence makes earth a better place to live. I need scholarship to complete my graduation. An annual amount of $ 15,000 would be sufficient. I will meet rest of my needs through part time writing which needs lesser concentration than painting.

I am sending this application with great expectations. I shall be grateful if your organization could favorably consider my scholarship case. I can be available for a personal interview at your convenience on working days.

Best Regards

Transformational Leadership

"Some men see things the way they are and ask why, I see things as they are and ask why not." ( Kennedy,1961)

Transformational leadership has been in existence for centuries. But the term as it is used now in organizational leadership was introduced by James McGregor Burns in 1978. A transformational leader leads people through his charisma of personality.

Charisma here doesn’t have a specific definition, it can be experienced only that builds an aura around the personality of the leader. People believe him and feel emotionally attached to his ideals. He sees beyond what is in the sight and builds his plan around that. The leader has inspirational motivation which gives his team a constant source of inspiration to overcome difficulties that come by on the way to the ultimate goal. Personally the leader shows inexhaustible energy expanding beyond physical strength.

Transformational leaders show flexibility and continuously adapt themselves to situation in contrast of the leaders who break but don’t bend. Transformational leadership comes more through inspiration and clarity of vision than training. However, it has also been found that transformation leadership can be taught, but certainly not to every leader.
Transformational leaders devise their own tools and parameters of success and have staunch belief in them. Then they make people believe in those means.

Theodore Roosevelt, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mondela, John F kennedy have been such leaders. A known recent example from the corporate world is Lee Iacocca who, sacked by Henry Ford committed himself to a new challenge at the age of fifty two, lifted Chrysler from bankruptcy to profit by the sheer power of his commitment.

Mahatma Gandhi started his career as an unsuccessful lawyer in South Africa. When he was thrown out of a first class rail compartment by an English guard, he decided to overthrow the British from India. On his return to India the contemporary leaders made fun of him and doubted his theory of non-violence. But he remained committed. Gradually the masses started orienting towards him. People left jobs, spun cotton thread to weave their own clothes and practiced non-violence. In 1947, India became the first British colony to be liberated that too through a bloodless transformation.

The main difference between the transactional theory and transformational leadership is that in the latter, people volunteer to follow willingly to achieve the goal thereby creating group effectiveness.

"Transformational leaders move followers to transcend their own self interests for the group, organization or the country" (Bass, 1997 p133)

In transformation leadership theory, individualized consideration is the degree to which the leader attends to each followers needs, acts as a mentor or coach and listens followers’ concerns and needs. (Bass, 1985)

Transformational leaders seek transform which sometimes the organizations may not be prepared to experiment with. More often than not, these leaders exhibit enough promise succeed than fail.

Tobacco Vs Marijuana:Health Risk Comparison

The number of cigarette smokers by far exceeds those who smoke marijuana (cannabis). Per day average consumption of cigarette is many times more. Cigarette is legal whereas marijuana has been categorized an illicit drug. A cigarette smoker is able to pursue routine work. Marijuana consumption leads to abnormal behavior patterns resulting in identification of the smoker as socially less acceptable than tobacco user.

Ammonia, tar and carbon monoxide and nicotine are found in all forms of tobacco. The main active chemical in marijuana is THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). The number of marijuana smokers is on steady rise in the US, especially among the school going children.
Tobacco-Tobacco is consumed in the forms of cigarettes, cigar, spit and pipe tobacco which are made from dried tobacco leaves as well as ingredients added for flavor and other properties. About more than 4000 individual chemicals have been identified in tobacco. Cigarette smoking is the single most preventable cause of disease and death in the United States. Smoking results in more deaths each year in the United States than AIDS, alcohol, cocaine, heroine, homicide, suicide, motor vehicle crashes and fires-combined. Each year about 440,000 people die in United States from illness related to cigarette smoking. Tobacco consumption leads to cancer of lung, larynx, oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus and bladder.30% of cancer deaths are caused by smoking. 80% of lung cancer death are related to tobacco use. Smoking is a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and chronic lung diseases - all leading causes to death. During pregnancy, smoking can result in miscarriages, premature delivery and sudden infant death syndrome.

Marijuana (Ganja)
Marijuana is most commonly abused illicit drug in the United States. A dry, shredded, green/brown mix of flowers, stems, seeds, and the leaves of hemp plant.

Short term effects of marijuana use include problems with memory and learning; distorted perception, difficulty in thinking and problem solving, loss of coordination, increased heart rate, anxiety and panic attacks. THC suppresses neurons in the information processing system of the hippocampus. Lungs may have same respiratory problems as tobacco. Daily cough and phlegm, symptoms of chronic bronchitis and more frequent chest congestion. Regardless of THC content amount of tar inhaled by marijuana smokers and level of carbon monoxide is three to five times higher than tobacco smokers. A study of college students has shown that critical skills related to attention, memory and learning are impaired among people who use marijuana heavily. The primary health problems associated with the drug are the possibility of respiratory disorders similar to those experienced by tobacco smokers. Marijuana is often smoked with tobacco ingredient which makes isolated study of the effects of marijuana more difficult.

Cannabis use in social settings can lead to increased talkativeness and infectious laughter followed by states of introspection and dreaminess. The user typically has a feeling of greater emotional and physical sensitivity that can include greater interpersonal empathy. (Hall;1998, Joy et al 1999)

Marijuana use can increase heart rate by 20-100% above baseline. Blood pressure is increased while the person is sitting and decreased while standing. The change from sitting to standing can cause faintness and dizziness due to change in blood pressure. In case of cigarette there is rise in blood pressure which subsides with the passage of time.

Frequent smoking may result in increased stable blood pressure. Adverse mood effects can occur, particularly in inexperienced users, after large doses of cannabis. Anxiety and paranoia are the most common of these effects include panic, depression, delusion and hallucinations(Adams and Martin 1996, Joy et al 1999).Cannabis produces dose related impairments in a wide range of behavioral and cognitive functions. These include slowing reaction time and information processing, and impairing perceptual and motor performance, tracking behavior and time perception(Chait and Pierri 1992).

Marijuana smoke contains many of the same components as tobacco smoke. As much as four times the amount of tar can be deposited on the lungs of cannabis smokers as cigarette smokers if a cigarette of comparable weight is smoked. This difference is probably the result of differences in the amount of consumption. Cannabis cigarettes usually do not have filters and cannabis smokers take a larger puff volume, inhale more deeply and hold their breath longer than tobacco smokers(Joy et al 1999) There is no conclusive evidence that cannabis causes cancer in humans including those cancers associated with tobacco use. ( Joy et al; Tashkin, 1999, hall 2001)Between the ages of 4 to 9 who have been exposed to cannabis in utero have shown deficits in sustained attention, memory and cognitive functioning. However these effects were small compared to tobacco. ( Fried 1998; Hall and Solowij 1998; Joy et al 1999)

Conclusion-Marijuana and cigarette smoking both are habit forming and poisonous intoxicants. Cigarette has more immediate health hazards whereas marijuana has disastrous behavioral consequences. These evils need an ongoing crusade through media, social awareness and governmental programs.

Fish ! - Book Abstract

Fish!

The story of the book revolves around office life of Mary Jane. She is promoted manager of the promotions group on the third floor of First Guarantee. She was going to be the third manager in two years. She had heard the negative reputation of the staff which was honored with the titles like unresponsive, zombie, unpleasant, slow, wasteland, negative. The third floor had earned a reputation of a ‘Toxic Energy Dump’. People working there were de-motivated and unwilling to work. They would often unplug the cord to avoid a call. Some of the employees were on the look out for new opportunities whereas others were happy with their secure positions without being responsible.

Jane could have turned down the job but her compelling personal economics, especially after sudden death of her husband, didn’t permit the luxury of sitting home. First five weeks she struggled to understand the work and the people. Her previous work report had been good. She had the seeds of a promising leader but the atmosphere at third floor seemed to have damaged beyond repair.

While walking down from her office Jane is casually attracted by the noise and activity at Pike Place Fish Market. A fish market, opposite to being an uninviting, stinking, cold, wet, sloppy, dull place; is brimming with fun and enthusiasm with fishmongers tossing and catching fish. This amusement made her visit the market on a subsequent day; and after initial hesitation she befriends a trader, Lonnie. She talks about the problems of her workplace. Lonnie agrees to help her because fishmongers take interest in their customers. Lonnie says, “There is always a choice about the way you do your work, even if there is no choice about work itself”(p-36). He added, “I guess given the right conditions any job can be dull”. Jane is sparked by Lonnie’s convictions and listens a tape given by her boss on the way back home.

It is inspiring poetry by David Whyte.
Let this then, my small poem,
Like a new moon, slender and barely open,
Be the first prayer that opens me to faith.( p 44)

She makes up her mind to transform First Guarantee staff amid fear of failure. The tape gives her strength. “ I don’t believe that companies are necessarily prisons, but sometimes we make prisons of them by the way we choose to work there.” She wrote in her journal, “the fact is that the risk of doing nothing is probably greater than the risk of doing.”

Training Methods
Jane made her outline as to how shoe was going to use the following four principles at her workplace. She met her share of resistance at First Guarantee. She was stern at this moment and made it clear to everyone that no excuses will work. She decided to make four teams which will visit Pike Place to get first hand knowledge.

1. Choose your attitude – you can’t change circumstances but can always choose your reaction.
2. Play- The fun element enlightens the burden of work.
3. Make their day- Fish mongers took keen interest in the customers and made their day happy.
4. Be present- Most of us are so engrossed with the future and past that we become unavailable to the present moment. Being present leads to a fulfilled life spreading infectious happiness everywhere.

Four teams were constituted with specific goals and given six weeks time to gather knowledge, share the ideas during periodic meetings and have good time with a moderate budget of $200 for every team. The teams were supposed to come up with customized plans based on their deliberations suitable to the environment at First Guarantee. Jane remained aloof, though she was available to help the groups on demand.

Motivation theory
When everyone was engaged in the work, the staff took responsibility and enjoyed ding it. All the teams came up with unexpected ideas to improve the office productivity. Bill offered to be a volunteer to look after the office when guys were out. On the last meeting day she recorded-“ the room was a sea of color, music and energy. Balloons were attached to each chair, and colorful flower arrangements brought the room to life.”
The book ends with the Chairwoman’s Award Ceremony. Jane shares with the colleagues that how delighted she was. She also informs that she had declined a better job offer from a rival company because she wanted to make a difference right over here.

A plaque hanging in front entrance of the headquarter reads- “ As you enter this place of work please choose to make today a great day. Your colleagues, customers, team members and you yourself will be thankful. Find ways to play. We can be serious about our work without being serious about ourselves. Stay focused in order to be present when your customers and team members most need you. And should you feel your energy lapsing, try this surefire remedy: Find someone who needs a helping hand, a word of support, or a good ear – and make their day.

Stephen C. Lundin and two co-author give an interesting and entirely different parable of Pike Place Fish Market. The simple free flowing language and easy to imbibe ideas compressed in a nearly hundred page cover capsule make it an easy reading in one go.

Passion in Hamlet

The role of passion in the play, Hamlet.

Setting of the play occurs at Elsinore in Denmark. Prince Hamlet has returned to Denmark from his school in Wittenberg only to discover that his father, King Hamlet is dead, and that Queen Gertrude, his mother, has married his Uncle Claudius. Claudius has crowned himself as king. The ghost of King Hamlet father reveals to the Prince that his uncle was the actual killer and that he should take revenge upon him.

Hamlet never confides this fact to his mother. The young boy is in turmoil as to how to react to the situation. Though full of awe, hate and anger ; he is able to contain his immediate outburst. Shakespeare announces in the beginning that everybody is a ‘passion’s slave’.

“Give me that man
That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him
In my heart's core, ay, in my heart of heart,
As I do thee. (Hamlet, III. ii) ”

The play’s key characters are governed by passion over reason.. Claudius kills his own brother to become king himself. Gerrude, setting aside the grief of her husband’s death and her son’s condition marries Claudius in haste.
According to Brock,“Hamlet’s enemy was not so much irresolution, which arose from his melancholy and the nature of the problem that confronted him, as passion”.

There are instances throughout the play presenting mixture of passion, anger, revenge, agitation and control. The revelation of his father’s ghost sparks off these emotions.


Hamlet seems to reach a climax in Act III, scene iv when after revelation of truth to him, Hamlet enters her room he speaks to himself, at the same time containing his instinct to be violent -

“When the blood burns, how prodigal the soul
Lends the tongue vows.
Let me be cruel, not unnatural;
I will speak daggers to her, but use none.” (Hamlet, III. ii)

On his way to meet his mother in her chamber, Hamlet gets an opportunity to avenge Claudius when he suddenly finds the king on his knees in prayer situation, but he passes over to wait for a more appropriate time even if “more dangerous”.

“Gertrude believes that the madness is in response to his father’s death as well as the marriage between Gertrude and Claudius. Polonius attributes Hamlet’s madness to his rejection by Ophelia whom he passionately loves, since Polonius had forbidden her to see him (Tricia, 2004).”

At one point violent passion takes better of him. Hamlet kills Polonius by stabbing through the tapestry mistaking him for Claudius.,
“Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damned dame,
Drink off this potion” (Hamlet V.ii.151)

While watching the play ‘The Murder of Gonzago’ by a group of performers, Claudius’s feels guilty and turning around, confesses murder of Hamlet’s father.

In the end of the play Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude and Laertes- all are succumb to death by poison, which symbolizes over riding passion of one type or the other among all the characters.

Freelance Writer Alert

I do make money as a freelance writer. Here are some tips if you are planning to earn from writing.
Writing has great future on the net because everyone who has something to present must get it written. But friends, don’t be lured by the sites which promise you seven figure income just sitting home groping the keyboard. I spent thousands as registration fees on some sites and none ever brought me a penny.

There is no problem getting registered but don’t pay. Unnecessary mails promising you millions will pour in giving an allusion of a great currency chest arrival.

Never enter into deal directly with a customer who may ask you to communicate through a given mail ID. Some such customers got the work done with a promise to pay after fifteen days and then lost in the wilderness.

Once you take a project, write one piece and wait for the payment. Proceed further only if the site is fair. Best of luck!

Freelance Writer Alert

Freelance Writer Alert

I do make money as a freelance writer. Here are some tips if you are planning to earn from writing.
Writing has great future on the net because everyone who has something to present must get it written. But friends, don’t be lured by the sites which promise you seven figure income just sitting home groping the keyboard. I spent thousands as registration fees on some sites and none ever brought me a penny.

There is no problem getting registered but don’t pay. Unnecessary mails promising you millions will pour in giving an allusion of a great currency chest arrival.

Never enter into deal directly with a customer who may ask you to communicate through a given mail ID. Some such customers got the work done with a promise to pay after fifteen days and then lost in the wilderness.
Once you take a project, write one piece and wait for the payment. Proceed further only if the site is fair. Best of luck!

Shakkespeare's Sonnet 116

Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare
Sonnet 116 is a unique lyric that creates the ideal of love through administration of various techniques. Shakespeare’s love is a ‘marriage of true minds’, depicting love as a pure incorruptible sentiment which is unyielding to external forces and difficulties. Love is intact even if the lover turns out to be unfaithful.
Let me not to the marriage of two minds…..Admit impediments.
"The persona gives love determined, courageous, and guiding qualities through the use of metaphorical comparisons, tone, epithet, repetition and wishes to make bold statement of love in the face of Time’s decay. The rigid fourteen lines of the sonnet are filled with an abundance of poetic and literary techniques that help to convey these main ideas." ( Grimes,2007)
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth is unknown, although his height be taken
Love is high above, like pole star, the cosmic lighthouse which guides sailors in the middle of severe sea storms. The vessels may toss and roll into the violent waves but the star remains ‘an ever fixed mark’. It’s value is incalculable though altitude can be measured, thus remaining a mystery. In line 7, wandering bark means a wooden masthead of the ship which is shaken by the tempest.
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
……But bears it out even to the edge of doom
Time has no withering powers over love. It is ageless, changeless and immortal even in the face of doom’s day. Though it may take away the transient physical beauty but true love cannot be harmed by the arc of time’s sickle. Shakespeare raises love to the heights of divinity which probably no other poet has ever done. He concludes the sonnet with declaration that he would disown his poetry if proved wrong. Anyone who does so has actually not loved.
If this be error and upon me proved;
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
Poets repetition of certain words- ‘love is not love’, ‘alters when alteration finds’ and ‘remover to remove’ makes the ideas more emphatic; in synergy with eternal nature of love. The theme of the poem is ‘the real love is steady in all adversities and even unaffected by time". In sonnet116, two possible symbols are Star and Time. Star here is North Star, the symbol of guidance, the spatial lighthouse to everyone .Time is a traditional symbol of decay and aging. Rhyme scheme of the poem is abab cdcd efef in the three quatrains and gg in the concluding couplet. "English sonnets are said to be made of three quatrains and a couplet. The lines 1-4, 5-8 and 9-12 group together and the last two lines group together.
The poet has employed one hundred and ten of the simplest words in the language and the two simplest rhyme schemes to produce a poem which has about it no strangeness whatever except the strangeness of perfection.(Brook, 234)

Age For Nursery Class Admissions

7 April 2007

There is an ongoing debate about the age of admissions and curriculum in nursery classes.

Whatever the curriculum, there are some basic principals which must be followed by the educators. It is most important that the process of education does not suck away the joy of life which is most fundamental.

Education is not the purpose of preparing for some future life, it is life itself. A child has the right to be looked after, loved and socialized. Age of three or four is not the time to be tied up with routines, learning to hold pencil and coarse expressions like ‘What is the colour of your hair?’ or ‘where do we go when we are sick?’

Many children lose interest in studies as they grow up because they don’t enjoy the experience. Things like holding a pencil for long might distort delicate finger bones for ever.

A child learns language faster at home up to the age of two compared to the class later in first case there is a self inspired sense of urgency. Children learn very difficult words at their own even before they start going to school, such as remote, mobile, ice-cream, gear, AC etc.

A child at the age of two and a half takes whole year to learn alphabets whereas one year later ( at 3 and 1/2 )the same child is through in fifteen days.

Starting schooling too early is like forcing the bud to open. I also welcome the NCERT’s latest initiative to devise flexible time table in the schools.

पॉप-up ad Menace

Whenever I open rediff.com to have a look of day’s mail I have to undergo the pop up trial. It has become an eyesore and I hurry to close it down. Blinking rate is so high that one can hardly read the content. Google ads are rather gentle and less offending.

Some of the ads are such a devils that clicking of the close button even enlarges them.

I feel same type of distraction when news watch TV become ad watch. Most interesting points of cricket match are consigned to unwelcome commercials.

Companies should think that it is not the presence of the ad but appeal to the viewer which will count.

Assess Your Students Before Teaching

There are many good teachers who enjoy command over their subject. But before delivery of knowledge it is imperative to thoroughly judge the target pupils to ensure optimum reception.

To have knowledge is one aspect and to make it through the other’s brain is altogether different. Better you are in the art of communication, more effortless the learning experience would be.

Same technique would not work with different groups. Sometimes teachers take pride in possession of knowledge and hold above the average and the slow, just like a mountain peak – beautiful and snow dressed but a lonely desert.

Companies assess the needs and apprehensions of the customer before launching a product. Missile carriers fully assess the position of the target before hitting otherwise they might waste their ex pensive and limited ammunition.

A good teacher is good everywhere. An inspiring teacher is the asset of the nation.

Our Experiments With English

It is true that every language has local overtones. English is an international language. It shows wonderful dynamism by accepting words from everywhere. But we Indians are even ahead. We coin words for the language and easily knock down even accepted spellings and syntax.

For example you will find this use aplenty in school ads ‘for more details contact XXX during school hours’… Actually the word detail already contains the sense of ‘more’. Another school specific usage is ‘ walk in interview between 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. It should rightly be ‘from xx to yy’ or ‘between xx and yy’ but certainly not the hybrid of both.

In social circles I have heard words such as ‘different-different’, ‘red-red’ and ‘jyada better’ and ‘rapo’ which should rightly be called as ‘different’, ‘reddish’, ‘better’ ( enough !, why make it jyada.) and ‘rapport’.

Two most bruised spellings even by the intellectuals are – ‘memento’(smriti chinha) and ‘dais’(manch) – often wrongly spelt as ‘Momento’ and ‘Dias’. Why and how – nobody knows !

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Highway or Broadway ?

Are the Highways high?

Highway is the term used for roads connecting main cities of the country. They are wide and well built but in no way seem high as the name suggests. These roads may rather be called broad ways.

In ancient civilizations of Rome and Greece, trading activity took place along the main roads connecting cities. But often the business persons were ambushed and robbed en route as the way cut through thick forests.

To make the business less risky, the kings decided to elevate the level of the sandy passage so that travelers could keep eye on the sides. It would also give them enough time to pre-empt the encounter. These elevated roads were called Highways because of their position above ground level.

The word has become popular over centuries and continues to be used for modern roads which are not necessarily high.

GARBAGE IN GARBAGE OUT

WORKING WITH MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCE

PARENTING: MAKE CHILDREN TOUGH

LEARNING LANGUAGES

PARENTING: EVERY PASSING DAY IS IMPORTANT

PARENTING:WHY CHILDREN LIE ?

FACING THE EXAMS

PARENTING: RICH DAD'S BOUNTY

DISCIPLINE: BE A PARENT, NOT A BUDDY

A father and his son were busy flying kite. The kite had reached quite high after some time.

Suddenly the child had a question. Father, this string is holding the kite back- I think. Father wanted to explain but held himself back and rather wanted this opportunity to teach his child a life lesson.

“Might be. Let’s nip the string.”, father said.

The child stepped forward and cut the string at the bottom and started looking upwards to see the kite going.

Lo! The kite started tumbling down and was kissing ground in minutes.

“What happened Papa ? We had freed the kite to go up.” Asked the child.

It seems like that. Actually opposite force helps us grow. People who think unbridled freedom would give them wings actually meet kite’s fate. Discipline and control, which children dislike actually paves way to success.

Be a parent of your child and do what is good for him/her not what they prefer and are tempted to do.

PARENTING: DON'T IMPOSE YOUR WISDOM ON KIDS, THEY HAVE THEIR OWN

EMPEROR OR MONK ?

Every one was happy when King Sudodhan had a son. Sidharth was the hope of the family and heir of the king. Sudodhan called in the royal priest to make his horoscope. The priest was amazed by the powerful combinations of planets.

“This child will either be a monk or an emperor with immensely large empire “, proclaimed the priest.

“Did you say Monk ?”

“He has that rare provision in his horoscope. Either a Chakravarty Samrat [Emperor]
or a Monk born once in centuries”.

The king got worried. “He is not going to be a monk. I will ensure that.”

From next day everybody in the palace was instructed that never ever the prince be exposed to circumstances of sorrow and misery. A learned tutor was engaged to teach him scriptures and ruling ethics, other than all the arrangements for his joy- court dancers, musicians and experts in child rearing. The king himself would regularly enquire about the progress of the prince.

One bright morning, while walking across the street with his teacher, Sidharth happened to see a dead body being carried. “What is this ?” He promptly enquired.

“He is a dead man. He has exhausted his life on this planet. That is inevitable in God’s plan”, replied the teacher.

“Why can’t it be stopped? What is God? Can I see him?”, a series of disturbing questions erupted from the innocent heart thus making him growingly restless. Sudodhan married him in order to divert his attention.

Ultimately he decided to find answers to his questions himself. Prince Sidharth left the palace along with his wife and infant in the wee hours of night-never to return.

Ultimately he became Lord Budha.

The father could not change the destiny of the child.

Moral: Parents should never attempt to write the future of their children. They should provide best possible environment to help the child grow. Forced parenting might be counter productive.

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STORY: THE KING AND HIS GUARD

FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN: SHARPEN YOUR AXE

WHAT DID WASCO-DI-GAMA GET ?

Vasco-di-gama who discovered India in 1498, has invested huge money to make his odyssey possible.

On return he made 60 times as much money.What did he take along ? Gems, gold, currency out of India which was then called a golden sparrow.

Nothing out of these items.Actually he carried Kali Mirch and other spices which were in great demand at that time. People didn't buy them for consumption but for preserving meat. There were no refrigerators at that time. So people would have to go hunting everyday in order to get fresh meat.Previous day's collection would get spoiled.

But smearing of black pepper would preserve it. That is why it was in such a demand. Rich people would immediately buy it.

WHAT IS KDIGEST ?

This space is everybody’s Chaupal. We learn a lot in the process of life – through first hand experience and through knowledge resources.

History, Humour, Psychology, Maths, Science, Language, Poetry – everything is the scope of this Chaupal. Let’s share knowledge and grow. One thing might be missing here – logic !