On revisting Taj in Mumbai after 26/11

It was a grand moment...revisiting Hotel Taj,our very own symbolic monument of esilience,grit,courage and reincarnation...It looked still,magnificient,unfettered by wat d terrorists had done to it on 26/11......

Mny a times I had visited dis mausoleum,but never paid much attention to its grandeur...wich got more vivid...after d world watched Mr.Ratan Tata speaking out to Fareed Zakaria on G.P.S...

We alwaz root for Phoenix figures to inspire us...who dont get demoralised despite d roadblocks,setbacks...they move on...inspiring us....not to let shortcomings demoralise us and rise above it......

There it stands...d magnificient...now a Historical Tourist Site.....though a little burnt....like our very serenely beautiful Moon....but nothing can stake out d Regale touchstone of beauty,courage,grandeur.....

Celebrating Holi on march-12-2009

In India we r celebrating,holi,its a festival of colors.....colored powders are put on people's clothes...faces,to the extent of being unrecognisable,the fun part comes wen we set out to prove who has had most permanent colors that wont go off easily.....its a festival where people renew frendships and forget differences,everybody socialises...

Holi festival has an ancient origin and celebrates the triumph of 'good' over 'bad'. The colorful festival bridges the social gap and renews sweet relationships.

well on d positive side, holi is a time of merry-making,national holidays for the working,office goers......it epitomises rest,joy,love,romance,renewal of frendship,buryin of hatchet,and dreaming of gud,better times full of warmth and energy,prosperity like d bright colors epitomise....whole of india rejoices not barring caste,creed..........

as the chemicals do damage my skin and hair to the extent that i have to stay in beauty salons for a whole week,i guess i avoid the chemicals,i had my plans to get incognito coz i was not in a mood to socialise but my friends tricked me sumhow and finally i ended up enjoyin my holi dance with the kids inside the fountain water pool,i must have bathed 4 times to look clean for my interviews.....with the press,but man proposes god disposes,sure i looked like the dirty kid from the surf excel commercial only yu wont b able to recognise me...All holied up faces here wish People with whom we cudnt play yesterday and all Indians away from India and those who aint Indians yet love our festival of colors,a very Happy Holi.With Ballistic Holi Wishes from India.Peace,Love,Happiness,Prosperity for all...

International Women's day Myth or Reality

International Women's day Myth or Reality


Women's Empowerment,is only a sham,all hypocrisy.When a girl asks for justice she is scandalised,demoralised.A Woman who embarks on a public duty has to undergo a torment of viscious attacks on her character,thats the least people can do to strangulate her growth,as long as she chooses to ''yes sir'' ,she's divine and holy but when she lives her dreams,she is called an ambitious and shrewd woman.Its abominable when she is seen as nothing more than a walking,talking child-bearing machine,her dreams mean nothing.then there are those who expect a woman to be the queen of the household chores.

If she is expected to do a job,earn money for the family,then isnt it cruel to expect her to come home tired and then cook for husband,kids,isnt this hypocrisy,though its true nowadays many a men are lending their support to a woman in the kitchen,yet few others dont,why cant man,woman,both together share household chores like when the woman is sharing the financial responsibilities,another hypocrisy is when a girl's talent is overlooked and she is seen as a mere object of lust,this perversion is horrifying,Why cant a woman get her work,based on her merits,many of those evil perverts need to change their mindset regarding women.


Govt.needs to give free education to girls,books need to be provided to them,they need to be educated with computers,each girl needs to have an email address,she needs to connect to the world through internet.the govt.needs to make such benefits for girls that there wont be infanticides anymore.Many men are sadder when a girl is born to their family,some kill the female babies,to stop that we need to create such great oppurtunities for our girls that their birth brings joy and happiness around.

Girls need to be compulsorily taught karate,judo,for self-defence,and should be given classes on self-improvement how not to be feel inferior,or insecure.

I also wanna voice for the voiceless girls who feel miserable when their emotions,feelings arenot respected,many boys think if a girl is friendly then she is available,I would like to speak for the millions of girls who write to me of their distress,why is it boys misunderstand their smiles as erotic signals for romantic entanglement,its sad when a girl says ''no'',nobody is ready to accept it,we need to give a girl her space,accept she also has her mindset,she is also a free-spirit,allow her to be what she wants to be,i know most of the girls are responsible,they simply are gifted with the power of intuition,they can protect themselves too,i believe in every woman's heart,there is always a spark of heavenly fire,which lies dormant in the sunshiny light of prosperity,which kindles up and beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity.

So I am delectably proud to say I was born a girlchild,and have led a life with integrity and bravery.Though we might look weak,yet we women are gifted with the mightiest of inner strength.I pay my respect to every woman,who has undergone pain incomprehensible to be a good daughter,sister,wife,mother.Best of noble men,cherish and value the worth of a woman.We all do.

Leslie Tripathy

The joy of celebrating Valentines Day at Rotary's Asha

''A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered. Carve your name on hearts, not on marble''saidCharles H. Spurgeon

''The best portion of a good man's life - his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love'' said William Wordsworth

As Jan 2009,rang in new tides ringing out old tides into memories,I had a churnin desire to spend valentines day with people/kids who didnot have any idea wat the day signified.Wen Yu are an Educationist/Academician's daughter Yu ought to have values embedded deep within,so along wid my Professor Dr.Papa I went to celebrate one of the most interestin day in a girl's life,Valentine's Day with the orphan kids living in at Asha sponsored by Rotary Club Bhubaneswar.

I never miss an opportunity to make others happy, even if we have to leave them alone in order to do it.

The kids were elated to see us,they were so thrilled that they dedicated me a dance number,which had bin picturised on me,aint it lovely.''The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people halfway'' said Henry Boye.A very special day it turned out to be,like my Papa spreads knowledge around being a Teacher to his million students,likewise I had fun teachin the kids the significance of Valentines Day.It was very important for me to make them feel loved and special,all the 18 kids were delighted.My Papa got emotional,and was glad we chose to celebrate V-day with the kids who dont have parents who care for them and few of the kids's parents have abandoned them.
''Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle'' saidPlato

Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day. Quoted in P.S. I Love You, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, J

Dat very day I had no complaints,pain seemed to be not able to get anywhere near me coz the love of the kids stood around like a king's armour,it was very destressing,enactin a little act thats in our capacity to help those who cant help themselves.Every human being has a power which a few use to their potential,it is the power of Giving,Spreading Love

''Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around'' said Leo Buscaglia

P.S-I have to thank my Papa and Mummy for not abandoning me like the kids's parents have.

Rita Dove's take on Poets as Leaders

Poet, novelist, short-story writer, playwright — Pulitzer-Prize winner Rita Dove has gained wide acclaim for a lifetime of work in multiple media. But the former poet laureate of the United States is best known for her poetry — lyrical, narrative, often historical, which elevates and celebrates what she calls the music of the language even beyond the sense of the word.Dove will be in St. Paul March 5 to address the St. Catherine Forum on Women in Leadership, an annual series of women speakers whose purpose is to support the ongoing mission and goals of St. Catherine. She also comes as the inaugural Bonnie Jean Kelly and Joan Kelly Scholar-in-Residence at the college. Her forum topic? "The Poet as Leader."Currently the Commonwealth Professor of English at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Dove won the Pulitzer Prize in 1987 for her collection of interrelated poems "Thomas and Beulah," loosely based on her grandparents' life.
She became the youngest poet laureate of the United States when she was appointed in 1993, serving until 1995, and became special consultant in poetry for the Library of Congress' bicentennial year in 1999–2000. In 2004 she was named to the two-year position of poet laureate of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The list of her literary and academic honors is pages long.Q. What does it mean for a poet to lead?A. Schiller once said that poets were the unacknowledged legislators of the race. I think that what he meant was you lead by reminding people of themselves. If I read a poem that moves me, it illuminates or reminds me of something in myself that I was too busy to see.Poetry makes us reflective beings. It teaches us how to proceed more deftly and gently in life. That's what a leader should do in any kind of arena: show how one should behave.Q. What could leaders learn from poetry?A. I would hope that people would listen to what a poet says. As a writer or an artist, you are a human being thinking in a different way and it's valuable. In this country writers are rarely asked.We have a great example now in this country. When Barack Obama was elected he touched an area in our hearts that politicians usually don't bother with or it's difficult to get to. He reminded people that spirits could soar; as Emily Dickinson said, "Hope is a thing with feathers."I believe that Michelangelo or — choose your great artist — thought of the individual standing there who is nobody, not someone you need to impress but who you want to connect with. If leaders could try to remember that, it would make them happier human beings. But of course it calls for bravery.Language is astonishingly powerful. So often when people get disaffected with leaders they detect in the language that it's not sincere. What politicians could learn is the immense power of the word placed correctly. Language is not black or white, this torpid thing on the page. When we read, it shapes our breathing, the way we feel. When we read the word "moon," we can almost feel the howl.Q. Do you have an artistic agenda?A. When you are an artist the only agenda is to do the best you can regardless who it riles, regardless of whether it's "p.c." Being the consummate artist is your job. If the subject grabs you, you feel like you have to do it, then you have to do it. I tell students you really have no choice in the matter, you have to try. But that doesn't mean you have to show it to anyone.Q. Your about-to-be published book, "Sonata Mullatica," is a departure for you.A. It deals with a mulatto violinist from the 19th century. There were a dozen reasons not to write it. It isn't lyrical; it's more narrative; everyone in it is a male it seems. As a devout feminist, I'm tired of giving men the front seat. But I couldn't not write it because it was absolutely necessary. I learned things about myself and the male psyche I wouldn't have known if didn't do it.Q. With your many volumes of work, you make poetry look easy. Is it?A. I think that it's all good to sit with the blank page, but it's also like any other artistic endeavor. Being prepared makes you ready for when inspiration strikes. I keep a notebook with me at all times. I tend to gather these seeds as I go along. I feel obligated to write them down. It doesn't seem hard as long as you pay attention to the world.The hard part is getting it out of the notebook. By keeping snippets in the notebook, by piecing together the invisible tuggings under their surface — that takes all the silence and concentration to do. It's an absolute mystery to me. Thank goodness.The St. Catherine Forum on Women in Leadership luncheon is 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Thursday, March 5, at the Crowne Plaza Riverfront Hotel in downtown St. Paul. Individual tickets are $45, student tickets are $25 and table sponsorships are available. To register, visit the Leadership Institute or call (651) 690-6819

Slumdog Millionaire my current favorite in staying grounded genre movies

slumdog millionaire is a bloody good portrayal of the darkside of India,I hate to admit tears kept rolling down my cheeks watchin d movie.The movie starts off on a promisin note,dev patel is so damn appealin wid his big innocent-puppy-eyed-expression,so is his little jamal character played so well by the little boy even the kid salim and kid latika are spooly adorable,its amazin they perform so well,

the movie exposes the dark side of india that arvind adiga so well puts in his 'the white tiger',which won him a booker prize.

its awful all these people are tryin to sabotage the movie which is nothin but truth and why on earth shud we be afraid to speak the truth,leg pulling is the order of the day,many people cant tolerate success,millions of bollywood films being made yet none could get applause like that of slumdog,its coz most of them trying to portray fantasy and escapist theories.

finally i loved the movie like every one whos cheering this movie after it won a bouquet of golden globe awards,besides a.r.rehman's music in the movie kind of grows on yu,the more yu hear it the more yu like it,i was enchanted by the romantic nuances portrayed in the movie,the innocence,the amiability rendered by all the characters,is heart-touchin,i bet none must have left the movie without tears trickling down their cheeks be it when,jamal's mother becomes a victim to communal riots,in the name of allah or ram,and irfan khan turns out to be the honest,righteous cop we like to meet wen in trouble who at least isnt rude or prejudiced,who helps yu out after he is convinced and stands out as a man with morals and dignity wen among greedy,money-hungry dorks.its dangerous and sad.

The taj mahal moment was cute,the racket of snatchin eyesight is very true,perverts can do anythin to the innocent to quench their hunger for money,such creeps breed boys into slumdogs,beggars and girls into whores,god bless the innocent and protect them.even the host prem kumar's revelation was shockin.the movie celebrates innocence,goodness.May God give more success to the movie and danny boyle.Like zillions of Indians and gazillions of the movies fans wishin the oscar jury does justice to the movie,and let the backbitin legpullers of the movie and the crew bite dust.
Amen