Suhas Inamdar's Blog, page 2

Everyone gained … Samajwadi Party lost.

The sordid drama, which unfolded in UP last week, for over 100 hours, has developed serious cracks in the foundation of Samajwadi Party. In the coming days, these cracks are likely to weaken the strong edifice, so carefully built by the patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav for the last 24 years. It is unfortunate and a bit ironical that all the key stakeholders in Samajwadi Party have made wrong moves and even blunders in the time of grave crisis. Is this because their personal political ambitions have overshadowed their collective responsibility towards the party?Let us analyze the wrong moves by the three key stakeholders of this thriller drama:Mulayam Singh Yadav:As is emerging now, his constant reprimanding of his son in public forums for the last few months has become a handy tool now for all the opposition parties. They are freely quoting his statements in their public rallies, which is causing a deep embarrassment in the rank and file of the Samajwadi Party. However, all his such utterances looked like benign praise when he burst out against his son after achieving a (temporary) truce between his brother and son last week. He said in no uncertain terms that Akhilesh is an incapable and undeserving CM, who had spoilt his (Mulayam’s) chances of becoming a PM in 2014. This statement from a 76-year-old founder of a party displays that his love for his unfulfilled personal ambitions is far higher than his love for his son. He did not even think for a minute the impact, which his statement was going to make on his son’s profile as CM of the largest state of India. He is definitely not naïve to assume that his son would take such scathing remarks lying low. However, what is surprising is that he is willing to take the risk of his son’s revolt. This is where his judgement could be erroneous. Given all the plus and minuses of Akhilesh in running the government for last 4 years, one thing is clear that his style of politics is diametrically opposite to that of his father and uncles. He talks about technology and believes in true development. He connects with the educated youth far better than the elder generation of Yadav clan. His dissidence could prove costly to the party and the family. Shivpal Yadav:The best way to describe Shivpal’s behavior during the entire drama is to compare him with the sullen mother of a groom demanding more dowry during a marriage. She demands full attention from everyone around and doesn’t budge from her demands. And she achieves it all finally. However, in the process, she loses the goodwill of everyone around. Same is the case of Shivpal Yadav. He has contributed immensely in building the party along with Mulayam and obviously deserves significant share of power. However, he probably overstepped into Akhilesh’s well-defined territory far too often, resulting in him crying foul. His best option would have been to resolve all the differences with Akhilesh behind the closed doors. They could have involved Mulayam well in advance and not wait for the media to serve the orgy to its savoring viewers. That would have protected the dignity and strength of Samajwadi Party as well as the Yadav family. However, he chose to wash the dirty linen in public and the entire episode exploded into an unstoppable fire. So, even though the fire is doused for now, the damage is already done. Akhilesh Yadav:He has been made to eat the humble pie by his father and uncle. However, they conveniently forgot that he is also one among them, and has run the government for full four years. He is not new to the game of politics. He has many more promising years ahead of him unlike the elders in the family, who can remain politically active for just one more term or two. Displaying courage and magnanimity, he opted to blink first and get whacked royally in full public view, just to protect the honor and dignity of his family and his party. If, in the entire episode, there was one act of showing generosity of reconciliation, it was by Akhilesh in reversing all his demands and orders. However, shrewd people see this sacrifice as an act of dousing the fire only. Before the smoke withers away, he shall be in sitting in his drawing room, sharpening his claws, licking his wounds and making much bigger plans for himself. He would not have the patience to wait endlessly for his elder generation to retire. He will come back with a vengeance at his uncle. He would not care much about his father, because he has already sort of ‘disowned’ him by ridiculing him in public and questioning his abilities. And this time when Akhilesh strikes back, he would leave no scope for any reconciliation. It would be a final goodbye to the current set-up. The most obvious thing would be to make Mulayam and Shivpal the Advani and Murali Manohar Joshi of Samajwadi Party. 

Arunachal Pradesh crisis explained in 10 simple points

The crisis is Arunachal Pradesh is very difficult to understand. One needs to have a high degree of constitutional and judicial knowledge to fully understand the cause, effect and justification of the series of events culminating in the current crisis. Therefore, to make it very simpler for an average common man, here are the 10 facts, which led to the current crisis.
#1The CM of a state expels an important minister and expels him from the party for anti-party activities.#2The ruling party (Congress) demands removal of the Deputy Speaker. The main opposition party (BJP) demands the removal of the Speaker.#3Speaker disqualifies 14 rebel MLAs. The Deputy Speaker promptly quashes the disqualification. #4The government locks the assembly. The Opposition party along with rebel MLAs hold a meeting in another building. They elect a new speaker.#5The newly elected speaker convenes the assembly session in a hotel and they elect a new CM.#6The disqualified speaker approaches High court. The High court stays the disqualification of rebel MLAs.#7Congress drags in Supreme Court and demands imposition of President’s rule.#8The removed CM challenges the President’s rule in Supreme Court. The Supreme Court says the Governor cannot assume the role of a Speaker. #9The Supreme Court agrees for the High Court decision of staying the disqualification of rebel MLAs, enabling to form a BJP government.#10The Supreme Court, after almost 5 months decides the Governor’s decision unconstitutional and orders reinstatement of the Congress Government.
 …
Concluding, here are the 5 observations of this entire intriguing episode of political instability in this state.
#1As seen above, the sequence of events would match a high octane Bollywood thriller movie, in which it is difficult to guess who is double crossing who.#2To assume that the situation is stable now in Arunachal Pradesh would be the most naïve thing anyone could do.#3To say that this is the victory of Congress and defeat for the BJP would only demonstrate lack of full knowledge on this subject. #4The problems for Congress are far from over. They face much bigger threat from their in-house rebels than what they face from BJP.#5 Thanks to the crisis, the spokespersons of both Congress and BJP have at least known the names of the CM, Governor, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of this state assembly. 

My address at BK Gulf Headquarters on World FM day 2016

Full text of my address at the BK Gulf Headquarters, Dubai  World FM Day 13th July 2016
Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen,It gives me great pleasure to address you all on the occasion of the World FM day 2016. It is indeed a special day for all of us in the FM fraternity, because we all belong to a large global family, connected through our profession. Today, as millions of the FM professionals across the world celebrate, we too share our excitement with them, through this wonderful event. Let us hope that in the years to come, our tribe grows multiple times, creating new opportunities for the young professionals, who, under the able guidance of experienced seniors, shall come out with innovative solutions for the benefit of the clients worldwide.Though the FM industry was formed several decades ago, it has grown significantly in its intent and content during the last two decades. Today, FM deals with not just the conventional FM aspects but also new areas like contributing to the client’s core business processes and enhancing their operational efficiencies. This is further prompting the clients to focus only on their respective core functions, leaving the responsibility of managing non-core domains to the FM service providers.The UAE market has been very exciting for the FM industry and it promises to be so in the future too. The sheer number of high-rise prestigious structures demand high level of FM services delivered in a highly professional manner. The demand for good FM services in Dubai is poised to grow exponentially, with the global event 2020 triggering growth in various sectors, particularly the hospitality segment. As the demand for good FM services increases, the market will witness new players entering the market and jostling for their space. The competition shall grow further, leading to a significant improvement in service delivery standards on several fronts. Here, I would like to quote a very well-known story about four friends who go hunting in a jungle and suddenly find a tiger at a distance. Incidentally, they do not have their guns with them at that moment. In panic, they start running. However, one of them starts putting on his sports shoes. Seeing this, one of his friends asks him mockingly, “Do you think you can run faster than the tiger by wearing your sports shoes?”He replies, “No. My target is not to run faster than the tiger, but faster than you.”The message is very clear in this story. As the competition grows, you need to run. But you have to ensure that you run a bit faster than your competitor. You cannot afford to be the slowest, as the tiger will catch up with you.In order to run slightly faster than the nearest competitor, the FM companies come up with different strategies from time to time. This year’s theme is ‘Empowering people for a productive world’. So, let us dwell on the subject of empowerment. What exactly is empowerment?The definition of Empowerment is A  management   practice  of sharing  information ,  rewards , and  power  with  employees  so that they can take  initiative and make  decisions  to solve  problems  and  improve   service and  performance .Empowerment is based on the idea that giving employees skills ,  resources ,  authority ,  opportunity ,  motivation , as well holding  them responsible and  accountable  for outcomes of their  actions , will  contribute  to their  competence  and satisfaction .However, there are certain pre-conditions before empowerment can yield any meaningful results. Let us briefly analyze some of the critical and important factors required for a successful empowerment.The first and foremost factor is that the leader has to be strong enough for empowering his team. The leader has to have power and authority, courage of conviction, and a clear vision before he can empower his team.Here, I quote the example of three prime ministers of India to illustrate this point better. Before I name them and talk about them, I would like to urge you not to draw any political message out of this reference. All these three personalities had their strong areas and weak areas. We are only going to focus on their one aspect of functioning, which is related to the concept of empowerment. We had one Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who kept most of her powers with herself. She did not delegate any of her authority to any of her ministers. All the women of 1970s and 80s were highly inspired by her personality. Then we had another Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He has been one of India’s greatest economist, who had earned international accolades during his professional career for his subject knowledge and expertise. However, as a politician, there was a popular perception that he did not have much powers with him, in order to delegate further. The current Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making International headlines for various good reasons and has delegated the important functions to his chosen ministers. He only exercises administrative control over them, for monitoring and controlling purposes.The second major aspect of empowerment is that when the responsibility is delegated, the expectations have to be specified very clearly and in specific terms. Otherwise, there is every likelihood of a goof up.Here I quote the example of a blacksmith in a town, who hired a new apprentice to help him in his works. After giving him some basic training, one day, he held a chisel on a metal sheet on ground and gave him a big hammer. He said, “when I nod my head, hit hard.’The next day, the apprentice was the owner of the workshop. The blacksmith did not give clear instructions while delegating his tasks.Another interesting example is a joke on Saddam Hussain. One day, Saddam Hussain observed that one of his sons was not good at speaking English. So, while chairing his high level meeting with the generals and commanders, he asked them to find out who is the best English teacher in Iraq.After about a week, he recollects about his instructions and asks them about the status. They all say in unison, “Sir, we identified him on the same day and finished him off.”After delegating the tasks and giving specific instructions, the leader should also give the team some power and authority to execute the task. Otherwise, for every small decision, the team has to approach the leader, which defeats the very purpose of delegation.Here I quote the familiar example of every Mother-in-law’s reluctance in handing over the control of the kitchen to the Daughter-in-law. Unless the former gives a free hand, the latter cannot perform.Finally, the leader needs to be friendly, respectful and positive with his team members. Unless there is a free two-way communication, problems would remain unresolved. Here I quote the example of Indian cricket captain, M S Dhoni. He respects all his team players, identifies their strengths and trusts them in times of requirement. Many of us fondly remember, how he led from the front, a young team with relatively unknown names in international cricket, to a stunning victory in the first ever T20 world cup.  After discussing the leadership qualities required for empowerment, we now talk a little about the ways of encouraging the employees to perform. Because, having delegated the task is not sufficient. The employee needs to be motivated enough to execute the task assigned to him.Here, the first factor is about acknowledging the employee’s achievements. All of us crave for acknowledgement of our efforts. I would like to conduct a small quiz. I shall ask you five questions. Please DO NOT answer them. Just raise your hands, if you know the answer. I would be surprised to see even one or two hands raised.Who was the ‘Man of the Series’ in 1983 World cup? Who has won the Oscar award for the best Actor category in 2005? Who has won the Noble prize for Physics in 2010? Who has won the award for the highest Military honor in Indian in 2012? Who has won the highest number of individual medals in last Olympic Games?Well, all these personalities have struggled hard in their respective fields to get such an honor. They were very much appreciated during those respective times. However, many of us tend to forget them and their achievements as the time passes by.Now let me ask you another five questions. I bet that all of you would know all the answers. Again, no need to answer me. Just raise your hands.Who was your best teacher in the school? Who was your best friend in the college? Who has helped you in your times of crisis? Who has motivated you in your forming years? Who has appreciated your work?The reason why you knew the answers for these questions was that all these people have touched your life in some way or other. Therefore, you tend to remember them for much longer time.When you acknowledge the team’s efforts, they would be willing to give their best. Nothing motivates a person more than to see his work getting recognized and appreciated.The second factor is about giving feedback. You should give more compliments than you criticize them. That works wonders for the team.I would like to recollect a training program attended by me, in my first job, almost 28 years ago, in which this point was discussed in a very interesting manner. Even after so many years, it is still fresh in my mind. The concept is that every person should evaluate, how many positive strokes and negative strokes he gives to self and to others during a normal day. That would reveal a lot about the person’s personality and attitude. Giving Positive strokes to self as well as others is good, but not always. Similarly, giving only negative strokes to self and others is also bad. The worst is about giving all the positive strokes to self, while giving only negative strokes to others. When you criticize a team member, please also mention about his positives. That would pass the message across without getting it personal or hurting the sentiments. The leader should constantly try to understand what holds back each of his team member and try to remove that obstacle. This could be achieved through periodic training, mentoring, counselling and providing necessary exposure. The biggest known obstacle, which holds back the people from performing, is the fear of failure. The leader should seek to find out the root cause of his fear and remove it.Here, I would like to narrate the famous story about how the baby Elephants are tied to a rope in the early days. The baby elephant tries hard to free itself from the rope, but it cannot. It suffers a lot, often bleeds around the neck, and then at one moment gives up trying. Thereafter, throughout its life, it does not attempt to free itself from any rope. Even after the elephant grows to its full mammoth size, when it is tied to a much weaker rope fixed to a small nail on the ground, it does not attempt to free itself.    Similarly, most of us have tied ourselves up with such imaginary ropes which curtail our creativity and risk taking ability. Some failure of the past haunts us and discourages us from taking even smallest challenges in life. As a leader, we should identify such ropes from our team and snap them, unleashing their full potential.The leader should give a feeling to his team that they are a part of the company. He should also show them a growth path with timelines so that they remain motivated enough to carry on with their assignments enthusiastically. A proper succession plan would be one effective tool to give them such a feeling.The leader should sometimes go the extra mile and help the team in achieving its true potential. One of the effective measures would be to educate the team in its weak areas. Here I would like to quote the ‘Spilt Milk story’.Once a lady asks her small child to take out a milk bottle from the fridge. The child, while taking out the bottle, slips the bottle and all the milk spills over the floor. When the mother sees this scene, she calmly comes over to the child and says, “Come on, let us together clean the floor.” She then takes the child to the small garden in the backyard. She takes the same bottle and fills it with water. Then she asks the child to lift it again. This time too, the bottle slips from his tiny hands. However, after two more attempts, the child realizes that if he held the bottle near its lid supported by one hand at the bottom, he had a proper grip of the bottle. A lesson was learnt. The child was never ever likely to drop the bottle in future.Similarly, whenever the team makes a mistake, the leader should identify where the team has gone wrong, and educate the team. This would ensure that the team never fails again, while executing a similar task.Seeking the feedback of the team is another powerful mechanism to keep the team motivated. Everyone feels great, if his opinion is counted. Sometimes, the team might come out with unexpectedly brilliant suggestion for a complex problem. The feedback also reflects the team’s attitude at the workplace.Here, I would like to quote the most-often-told story in the sales conferences. A shoe manufacturing company sends its two sales executives to African villages to explore the market potential there.After intensively touring the area for three days, one of them sends his feedback, “Boss, it is waste of time. No one wears shoes here.”The second executive sends his feedback, “Boss, Wonderful opportunity. No one wears shoes here.”   The situation is the same, but the feedback is different. Similarly, when you take up a new site, if you have too many problems, you should feel that it is a boon. Because, you have an excellent opportunity to prove your worth. If you take a new site, where everything is in excellent condition, what would you achieve?Make the workplace a positively charged zone. Problems will keep coming. However, that should not put you down. The problems are always temporary. They have a shelf life. They have an expiry date. You can create the positive atmosphere at the workplace by sharing with the team, the positive results of the company. For example, the achievements of the company can be shared with everyone on the ground, mentioning that these results were possible because of their valuable contribution.While concluding, I would like to say that we too have empowered BK Gulf to manage a significant portion of our huge portfolio. BK Gulf is empowered to react to emergency situations and deal with the tenants on our behalf. My last quote for the day.A person is passing by a construction site. He asks one labor, “What are you doing?” He replies, “I am placing the bricks.” The person asks the same question to second labor. He says, “I am constructing a wall.” The person finally asks the same question to the third labor. He says, “I am proud to be contributing to the construction of the biggest mosque of this town.”While all of them were actually doing the same task, their outlook differed.Similarly, like the third labor, I too am proud to get an opportunity to address the management team of a leading FM Company in Dubai, on the world FM day 2016.
Thanks for your patient hearing … and Best wishes. 

Inspirational and Motivational short stories Volume #9

This is a collection of inspiring and motivational short stories which I have posted on my Facebook page. Every story gives a distinctly positive message. Enjoy reading the volume #9 of this collection.

1.
Many people tend to spend their retired life in a peaceful manner, relaxing and enjoying finer moments of life. However, there are some exceptional people, who spend their time in unique ways…Like Pravin Tulpule, an ex-office from Indian Navy. He retired as Lt. Commander after serving for 17 long years in Navy.He keeps himself busy by visiting pediatric wards in hospitals and orphanages, and shows magic shows to the children. He dresses like a clown to evoke laughter among the children. Some children, fighting for various diseases like cancer also momentarily forget their worries and roll out with laughter.Moreover, he does this free … because he believes that bringing smile on the faces of deprived and suffering children is priceless. That satisfies him immensely.Everyone lives for himself. Some live for others. He is one among them.Such people make this world a better place to live in …!

2.
It is a matter of great pride and pleasure for any father to see his daughter prosper. But the pleasure experienced by Ramniwas Shukla, 62, is something unique. He is a tea stall owner, who serves tea in Indore police control room. These days, when he serves tea to all the staff there, his heart swells with pride when he serves tea to Sub-inspector Tina Shukla, his daughter.Tina Shukla says that her father motivated her since childhood to think big and never give up in the face of adversities. She gives the credit of her success to her father’s continuous encouragement.This story brings out two adorable aspects – one, a humble beginning need not limit one’s dreams and two, a broad minded father, who encouraged his daughter to excel in her career.

3.
What do we do with the leftover medicines after we are cured of minor ailments? In all probabilities, they lie in our shelves unused, till the expiry date and are thrown away one day. In this common habit of people, Omkarnath Sharma, 79, from New Delhi has found a novel method of doing his bit towards contributing to the society. Daily, he goes around the upper middle class and middle class societies knocking on the doors for leftover medicines. He collects them and stores them in a small rented room near his house in Manglapuri. The poor people visit him daily between 4 – 6 pm to see if the medicine required by them is available with him. He donates around Rs. 5 lakhs worth of medicines every month. He is popularly known as ‘Medicine baba’ in the neighborhood.At an age, when people generally tend to relax and enjoy their life Omkarnath Sharma walks 5 – 7 km every day in pursuit of his dream of providing free medicines to the poor, while at the same time avoiding the wastage itself.He has proved that social service can be done in any form. What is required is … the will to do. 

4.
Some people value their passion more than success. They believe that doing something, which we are passionate about, gives us more happiness than doings things, which we do not like, even if that makes us successful.No one can prove this more convincingly than Roshni Mukherjee.Roshni had a dreamt of becoming a teacher since her childhood.  She just loved teaching. After completing her M.Sc. (Physics) in 2011, she took up a job in a MNC to support her family. However, the job pressure prevented her from taking up the teaching activity.Therefore, in a decisive moment, she quit the job and started a website called examfear.com. In just few months, the YouTube channel of her online platform had over 74,000 subscribers. The website has around 4000 videos on Maths and Science for classes 9 to 12. Her main aim is to provide quality education to those children, who cannot afford to pay high fees of famous tutorials. She is immensely satisfied today to see that thousands of students are benefited from her online tuitions, which are absolutely free. She supports herself on the earnings from advertisements and donations from charitable institutions.She can surely be classified as a modern day Dronacharya teaching thousands of Eklavya around the globe.

5.
It is not always that a person gets declared a country’s ‘citizen of the day’. Especially when you are on a foreign land.But Tejinder Pal Singh, an Indian-origin cab driver, has been named ‘Australian of the Day‘ for feeding the poor and homeless in northern Darwin since the past three years.Every last Sunday of the month, Tejinder finishes his shift as a driver and goes to northern Darwin where he feeds the poor and homeless, giving them a taste of Indian cuisine which includes chickpeas, rice and vegetarian curry cooked especially for them. Tejinder prepares and carries 30 kg of Indian food in his van, which has a sign that says ‘Free Indian food for hungry and needy people.’ Tejinder is a religious man. He says that according to his religion, ten percent of one’s income should be spent on helping the needy and the homeless.He works as an air-conditioner mechanic during the day and as a cabbie at night. People who are impressed by his work often try to provide monetary support to Tejinder, but he refuses the favour. He says that rather than donating money, they should start their own food drives within the local community.India is proud of you, Tejinder Pal Singh … you inspire us.

6.
All of us know the importance of protecting our environment, but how many of us are willing to do something out of the way to contribute to this cause? Not many.Well, Dhananjay Chakraborty, 40, a taxi driver from Kolkata is an exception.He has installed a green grass-bed on the roof of his taxi, by modifying the roof at a cost of Rs. 22,000/- which also increased the weight by 65 kg. He has also placed eight potted plants in the trunk behind the back seat to give a garden effect. This increases his fuel consumption but he does not mind. The temperature inside the non-AC taxi remains cooler because of these plants and green roof. He says that it is not just enough that one plants trees. What is more important is to nurture them well, by taking their enough care. People like Dhananjay Chakraborty are rare and few. Their intentions and actions in protecting the environment are far more impressive than the CSR initiatives by big corporates, who do it more for image building and publicity purposes.Tomorrow, if we happen to see that the environment conditions have really improved, we can be sure that Dhananjay Chakraborty’s contribution is also there.Just like the contribution of proverbial squirrel in building the Ram Setu…!  

7.
All of us have guests in our home sometime or other. How about having same guests, who come daily for over ten years? Well, Sekhar from Chennai has been feeding around two thousand parrots every day for over ten years now. That too, two times in a day, at 6 am and then at 4.30 pm. He wakes up at 4.30 am every day to prepare the food for these parrots. He places the food neatly on racks on his terrace and the parrots come regularly without fail.He is a camera mechanic by profession and spends around 40% of his income on feeding the parrots. He says that during these years, he might have missed a meal, but not these parrots. He says that one must love not just the human beings, but also all the living beings. Oscar Wilde had said, “The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention”.He is demonstrating that … so well.

8.
How often do we come across a grade 6 student donating funds to the Chief minister’s welfare schemes, from the prize money earned though contests? Rarely indeed.Well, Maryam Siddiqui from Cosmopolitan High school, Mumbai does that. Maryam shot into fame a few months ago, when she topped the Bhagwad Gita contest conducted by ISKCON (International society for Krishna Consciousness). She was showered with felicitations, awards and honors from around the country, starting from Pranab Mukherjee and Sonia Gandhi, several chief ministers, and many other organizations.She won the first prize amongst 4,000 students from 195 schools in Maharashtra who took part in the competition. However, that is not the end of the proud deeds of this girl.Since then, she has been donating all her cash prizes for the betterment of girl education in the country. Every cheque that she has received, which include cash rewards ranging  from Rupees 11 thousand to 11 lakhs, have been returned back to the respective administration with the request that it be used in a scheme or something to provide better education for girls.Maryam is from a middle class family, who lives at Mira road in Thane, Mumbai. Her father, Asif Siddiqui, says, “Though we are not financially well off, my daughter has made it her mission to work for the education of girls.” Maryam has also been visiting few other places and distributing sweets and money to poor girls by herself. Hats off to the amazing girl who shows us the true meaning of generosity.

9.
What do the children do with their damaged toys? Most of the children throw them away or do not play with them anymore.Well, Vedant Dhiren Thaker, 11, from Mumbai is an exception.He uses all the broken toys and sometimes disassemble electronic toys to take out the components inside, to make new toys very different from the original ones. It all began during the summer vacations, when he went out several times and many times his friends came to call him to play outside. Every time the doorbell rang, his mother had to leave whatever work she was doing and open the door. This irritated her, like most of the mothers. Sensing a need and an opportunity here, he developed a circuit using the remote control of a toy car, batteries, motor drive mechanism circuit to develop a door-latch-opener with remote control. Now, whenever the doorbell rings, his mother just presses a button on the remote control and the door opens. Vedant has demonstrated that innovations can be done without any formal technical education or long work experience. What is required is an analytical mind and a desire to learn.So, are we looking at a future genius in Vedant? Time only will tell.In the meantime, we wish him all the very best in his out-of-box-pursuits.   

10.
These days, most of us experience traffic jams very often. What do we do when we are stuck in traffic a jam? Curse the traffic? Spend some anxious moments? Well, M. Chandra Kumar, 51, and auto driver from Coimbatore uses the traffic jams for a very productive use. He writes novels whenever he is stuck up in traffic jams, or while waiting for passengers. Popularly known as Auto Chandran, he is a class 10 drop out who ran away from house at a young age. He has written six books so far.Earlier this week, he travelled to Venice to take part in the 72nd Venice International Film Festival, as a movie based on his novel ‘Lock up’ was made into a Tamil movie ‘Visaranai’ and is being premiered in the event. The movie is directed by Vetrimaaran, and has the honor of being the first Tamil film to be screened in this event. Five valuable lessons reinforced from Chandra Kumar’s story.Time is money – spend it wisely.Dream big – everything is possible.Look for opportunities in every adversity.Talent gets due recognition – sooner or later.Believe in yourselves and pursue your passion. Success follows automatically.
***
Coming Soon Volume #10

Inspirational and Motivational short stories Volume # 8

This is a collection of inspiring and motivational short stories which I have posted on my Facebook page. Every story gives a distinctly positive message. Enjoy reading the volume #8 of this collection.

1.
As small children, we all went to one-day excursion trips to museums, Zoo parks and historical monuments during our school days. The memories of these trips remain etched in our minds for a long time.  However, we rarely hear of ‘senior citizens’ going for an organized excursion. Recently, a group of 53 senior citizens, including 34 women and 19 men, all above 60 years of age, was taken to the campus of a private college of education on a trip organized by BJP Rajya Sabha MP Avinash Rai Khanna, who has adopted a village Adamwal in Punjab, for development under PM's Adarsh Sansad Yojana.And they all had lots of fun. They were taken to computer labs of the institute and asked to name a place they wished to see. The oldest among them, 100-year-old Taro wondered if he could see the birthplace of Baba Nanak in Pakistan. "I always wished to see the place, but could never do so," he added.As students opened Nankana Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan on Google Earth, Taro kneeled before the computer to pay obeisance.
It raised curiosity in Parkash Ram, 82, who asked if he could see Lahore where he was born. As images of Lahore flashed on the screen, he identified an old area. He said he had visited it often and memories of his teenage life before migrating to India in 1947 were refreshed.Students credited 'Google Baba' for the miracle.Next, they were shown the college gymnasium. Channa, 75, worked out on all the machines. "I have been hearing a lot from youngsters about the gym, but had never been to any. I always wanted to see how people exercised on them. It was a long cherished dream," he said.Khanna was very happy to see the joyous expressions on the faces of the senior citizens. He said, "I had planned this trip as I thought that just improving the amenities or infrastructure was not enough. These elderly people should see something new and I wanted them to have an interaction with young people." Later, it was the students' turn to ask them questions about their experiences. The visitors shared what they had seen in schools decades ago and what they saw now. The elders urged students to prefer joint families. As the visit ended with a sumptuous lunch, an old woman remarked, "It feels as if I am feasting at a grandchild's marriage."
True … old age is but a reflection of childhood. One becomes a dependent again and derives happiness from relatively inexpensive things. The pure happiness…!

2.
We all have heard of inspiring stories about how ‘not giving up’ has helped some people to achieve success. The prominent stories in this category are of Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Alva Edison, Walt Disney … and so on.However, in our day-to-day life too, we can see people around us who have attained success after many failures. One such person is Jamil Shah.He ran away from his home in Bihar at the age of 10, because he did not have money to buy a pen.He sold mobile covers at VT station in Mumbai for his survival.He was duped of his entire savings of Rs.25,000/-.He did odd jobs in Bangalore.One day his friend took him to a ‘Salsa dance class’. He loved it.He thought of making ‘dancing shoes’, which were only imported then … in year 2000.After some failures, he could make good dancing shoes. Today, he is the most sought after dancing-shoe-supplier to the Bollywood. So much so, Hritik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra have worn his shoes. He has his own workshop in Dharavi.Well, success does not always come from expected route at expected time, like the city buses. One has to keep exploring those moments … with hidden messages, and capitalize on the gut feeling. Of course, the other essential ingredients like hard work, sincerity, honesty, passion and self-belief are required as well, to script a success story. 

3.
We all have heard the famous proverb, ‘Where there is a will, there is a way’. The residents of Domlur stage II in Bangalore proved this recently. It so happened that a large plot of land, measuring 14,000 square feet, at the junction of 3rd and 4th main, was in a state of sheer neglect. The civic authorities did not bother to keep it clean, and the unscrupulous builders threw construction waste and debris all over the place. The residents association requested the concerned authorities several times to develop the plot as a children’s park / playground, but no one paid any attention. Finally, vexed up with the indifferent attitude of authorities, they asked the authorities for approval to develop the plot without any assistance from the government. Reluctantly, the authorities gave them the approval.And that triggered a sort of mass movement among all the residents. Every one, young and old, pitched in with his contribution. Some paid money, some spent hours at the site supervising the construction works. After working tirelessly for 45 days and spending around 6 lakh rupees, the plot was converted into a beautiful children’s playground with slides, swings and see-saw.Even the authorities themselves are surprised to see the development happen at such incredible pace.This incident proves five fundamental proverbs, which all of us have heard several times before …There is a strength in unityWhere there is a will, there is a wayGod helps them, who help themselvesMost difficult tasks can be achieved with focus and determinationAnd lastly, Self-belief is necessary to achieve anything in life.

4.
When the livelihood is difficult, life becomes cheap. Well, that is what we can infer from the fact that, out of 45 Indian nurses currently working in Yemen’s Mabar area, only 10 are willing to return to India. Are the remaining 35 nurses not afraid of death? They are.However, they are worried more about how to survive without work if they come back to India.So, they have shown their willingness to stay put in the strife-torn area with high risk. They are well aware of the dangerous consequences of their decision.So, how do we describe their decision to stay back? Adventurous? Practical? Reckless? Pessimistic or Optimistic?  Is it not ironical that people go to any extent to ensure their monthly income? Life is precious … we only live once. However, the sanctity of life is devalued with every such decision where prominence is given to the livelihood than the life itself.

5.
Ever heard of a bank, where the customers deposit a fixed amount of money every Tuesday? The bank uses this money only to give loans to these customers in their hours of need, at very low rate of interest. Well, this bank is in Southern Bihar’s Gaya district and the customers are … beggars. They deposit twenty rupees every Tuesday. The bank has so far disbursed loans of rupees eight thousand.What is interesting is that there is a manager, treasurer, secretary and an agent to run and manage the bank. The prime reason why they started this bank is that no other bank was willing to open their accounts, for various reasons including lack of proper address, social status etc.These beggars have shown to everyone what it means to trust and have faith in others. They have demonstrated that new ventures can start without consultants and not every innovation need to be technical. They have proved that having ‘values and ethics’ is not a prerogative of literates and well-off members of the society. Truly … a lot to learn from these noble souls who channelized their lives on a positive and secure path through a perfectly co-operative model.  

6.
It is always inspiring to see a group working collectively for a social cause. More so, if the group comprises of determined rural women. Recently, 123 women from Navapada village in Indore formed a group called ‘Neeli Gang’ under the leadership of Teju bai. Their mission is to dissuade men from drinking alcohol. Inspired by the ‘Gulabi Gang’, these women too wear plan blue sarees as their uniform, and carry sticks with them. Any person found in an inebriated condition is fined Rs. 500 and a repeated offender is beaten up with the sticks. Men have taken this group very seriously and are giving up drinking. In a society, whenever people do not act responsibly, such groups will continue to form to bring in the results, which no law can. Hail Teju Bai …!

7.
Has anyone seen God? Does God ever appear in the form in which we pray him? Well, these days, the labourers in Doha, Qatar are seeing God in two brothers, Shadab and Nisab. Shadab has been in Qatar since last 13 years. They hail from New Delhi and own a restaurant called ‘Zaika’ in Industrial area of Qatar. They noticed that many of the labourers are not always paid salaries on time and struggle for their survival. Therefore, since last month, they have put up a signboard outside their restaurant mentioning that if someone is hungry and does not have money, he can eat free. Every day, they get some customers who avail this facility. The feeling of gratitude and blessing is visible on their face as they walk out of the restaurant without paying the bill. These brothers may not be doing a commercially right thing, but surely, what they are doing ranks very high in humanity, altruism, philanthropy and social service. For the labourers, they are no lesser than messengers of God …!

8.
It took a high level of inquisitiveness for Newton to think why the apple fell down, and he invented the theory of gravitation. In today’s world, the inquisitiveness can be easily substituted with infinite amount of knowledge available on Internet. Almost everyone today has unlimited access to Internet. Yet, very few browse websites for learning something new. Well, except Twenty –year-old Himanshu Garg from Agra.    From Internet, he has learnt various scientific theories and made amazing inventions like anti-collision train system, a fire alarm, an anti-theft system and a universal remote control system to operate electronic devices. More recently, he created a safety device that does not allow a bike to start unless the rider wears a helmet. The state government has already rewarded him for his inventions. He is sure to go places in near future.Himanshu has demonstrated that today the knowledge is within everyone’s reach. What is required is only the desire to learn …!

9.
Among all types of social service, the one, which saves lives of people, shall probably rank the highest. And no one better to demonstrate this than 34-year-old fisherman, Raju Joshi from Navi Mumbai.He has saved 17 precious lives in the past three years, of people who had jumped from the Vashi Creek Bridge attempting suicide. He has become so popular for saving lives, that the Vashi fire service department seeks his help whenever they receive an emergency call informing someone drowning in the creek. Within few minutes, he reaches the spot and saves the life … and he does not charge anything for this.  Often, the relatives of the saved person offer him money, but he refuses to take it. After all, life is an experience … it cannot be measured in monetary terms.He says that he experiences a deep sense of satisfaction whenever he saves a life. The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation recently felicitated him for his selfless service to humanity.Indeed, people like Raju Joshi make us believe that there is still humanity left in this world.  

10.
How often do we hear our ‘inner voice’ and do things accordingly? Sometimes, the ‘inner voice’ may urge us to take an unconventional path. But not many would show the courage to follow that uncharted path. Well, Manoj Naidu, 41, from Raipur has done that. He quit his good job as Metallurgical engineer in Qatar steel three years ago … to do farming on his family’s 50-acre agricultural land in Mahasamund. He had returned from Qatar to take care of his old parents, and over a short time, converted the barren land into lush green farms. He finds immense satisfaction and tremendous scope in farming. Today, the vegetables grown in his field are sold in UP, Bihar, Maharashtra and Jharkhand.  He stays in the fields from 6 am to 6 pm managing 50 to 150 labourers as per the season, and is quite satisfied with his work. True … doing what we like is freedom and liking what we do is happiness.Apparently, he is enjoying freedom, and experiencing happiness as well.


***Coming Soon Volume #9

Inspirational and Motivational Short stories Volume #7

This is a collection of inspiring and motivational short stories which I have posted on my Facebook page. Every story gives a distinctly positive message. Enjoy reading the volume #7 of this collection.
1. How easy it is for anyone to give up his lifetime earnings and comforts, to lead a simple life? It is very difficult, especially if the earnings are Rs. 600 Crores. That is what Bhanwarlal Doshi, 59, from Delhi did last week. In a grand ceremony, in the presence of 1000 Jain monks, he took deeksha from Jain Acharya Shri Gunratna Surishwarji Maharaj, to lead a monastic life.So, what must have promoted this ‘Plastic King’ from Delhi to renounce his comfortable life? Is it some kind of a ‘realization’, which changed his attitude towards life? Mind is a very powerful thing. It has the power to make a rich person into an ordinary one in no time.While the world looks with disbelief and awe at Bhanwarlal Doshi, for his extraordinary act, he probably looks at the world with pity … that the people in this world are blindly chasing their materialistic dreams unmindful of their actual aim in life.The world is the same … it is perceived differently by each one of us based on our experiences.
2.A brave and courageous person is someone who acts as per his conscience irrespective of the difficulties of the hurdles, which come his way. Just as Pritam Sharma, 45, a rickshaw puller from Bijnor, in Meerut, UP.  In 1997, he found an abandoned infant girl child wrapped in a polythene bag left near a stream. He and his wife, Satisho decided to adopt that child and named her Deepa. She is now a class XI student in a government school.In similar circumstances, in 1999, he found another girl child and he adopted her too and named her Anjali.So far, he has adopted 6 girls and 1 boy. All these children were abandoned by their parents.Pritam Sharma knew his financial constraints very well, but his conscience did not permit him to leave the small children unattended. That is real bravery and courageousness. He is no less than God for these children.Ironically, when several educated and rich people are aborting the girl child, poor Pritam Sharma is establishing a new benchmark on protecting the girl child.  
3.As a general perception, what do we expect the boys in their early twenties enjoy doing most? Watching movies? Eating out? Going for picnics?Well, three friends in Coimbatore, Padmanaban, Sudhakar and Dinesh, all aged between 22 and 24, have developed a new passion. They enjoy feeding poor people in slums, orphanages and ashrams in the city. For this, they collect the leftover food from marriage halls, association functions and hotels, on a regular basis. They have a two wheeler fitted with a cardboard box to transport the food across to the hungry people.  Over last five months, they have fed over 4000 people. They have identified 30 marriage halls, three hotels and few other associations from where they collect the leftover food.Surely, the noble deeds of these three youngsters will go a long way in providing them most precious asset in life – the blessings of the needy people. We salute these real life heroes for their social work, which not only helps the needy, but also avoids precious food being wasted.  
4.At a ripe age of 67, having spent entire lifetime in a central government job, one looks forward for a peaceful retired life. Maintaining good health and finding pleasures in small things become priority for such a person.Well, not quite so for Gangadhara Tilak Katnam from Hyderabad.Daily morning, he sets out for a noble mission … to cover the potholes on roads of Hyderabad. He carries eight to ten bags of tar mixed gravel in his car looking around for potholes. The moment he spots one, he parks his car and fills up the pothole. He has filled up over 1100 potholes so far. He has used up most of the money earned from his retirement benefits for this purpose. Few years ago, he had seen some accidents due to potholes, in which people were seriously injured. Since then, he had determined to do his bit towards the society in this unique way. We salute Gangadhara for his selfless act, which is saving many lives on Hyderabad roads.
5.Helping others in need is a noble thing. But helping others, by risking one’s life is nobler. This was demonstrated recently by Gurteg Singh, 23. Last week, as he reached the Park station to catch a train to his place of work in Boston, he heard a scream and saw a visually impaired man tumble on the rail track. Someone tried to pull up the person from the track, but could not succeed. On seeing this and without losing a moment, Gurteg, who was on the other side of the platform, jumped on the track and pushed the blind man out, threw his luggage on the platform and then ran back to pick up his walking stick. As he pushed up the man from the track, a few other passengers lent a hand in pulling him up quickly. American media is quoting him as saying that his religion taught him to be at service to others. "It is day when I could help someone. For me it is like a good day," he said.Three weeks back, a Sikh youth in New Zealand had removed his turban to help an injured child. The clip of his act of bravery had gone viral and made headlines in several countries.

These acts of kindness and helping attitude by the Sikhs outside India, particularly when they are sometimes subjected to unjustified and mistaken racial discrimination, speak a lot about their culture and upbringing.They are the real brand ambassadors of India. India is proud of them…!
6.Improving one’s life with training and motivation is called self-development. But what do we call it, when one single person improves the life style of an entire community, by his sustained efforts over a period of two decades?Well, this difficult feat was achieved by one Nandlal Master in Rajatalab, a village near Varanasi.In 1994, Nandlal Master observed that the people of his village practiced several unhealthy practices like child labor, child marriage, dowry etc. He started an NGO, Loksamiti with the sole aim of bringing in awareness among the people.Over the last twenty years, he has introduced several path-breaking measures, which appealed to people. For example, he started personal training centers for girls, in which various forms of life skills like stitching and embroidery were taught. This led to a drastic reduction in the child labor and child marriages in the village. The girls and women were empowered.He convinced people that marriages are meant for uniting families and not for spending money lavishly, often by taking loans. He introduced community marriages, where the expenditure is divided. He has managed to conduct over 700 low budget weddings so far. Moreover, he also advised that the gifts given in marriages should be the items essentially required by a new family, like cooker, fans, and cycles.  Today his NOG has over 25 members and 400 volunteers. He dreams of taking this village on the forefront with his untiring efforts.The fate of the people in Rajatalab would have been very different without Nandlal Master. He is the true reformer of our times …!
7.A true friendship is known to transcend the barriers created by wealth and social status. It survives even if one friend becomes a rich or powerful person, while the other is not.Just like the friendship of G.R. Aloria and Hanuman Prasad from Goner in Jaipur.They were very good friends in their childhood. However, as time passed, G.R Aloria progressed in his career and became an IAS officer while Hanuman Prasad did not study much and became a class four employee in Rajasthan government.Currently, Aloria is the Chief Secretary in Gujarat government. Recently, he got his son, Deepak Aloria married to Kavita, the daughter of Hanuman Prasad. Their friendship is now converted into relationship.It takes lot of courage and conviction to do what he has done, in facing the society bravely. He has almost re-defined the true meaning of Friendship …They can be called the Krishna and Sudama of Kaliyug.
8.All of us dream of achieving something or other from time to time. But, how convinced and passionate are we about our dreams? Do impossible dreams also come true?Well, if we ask Shrikant Pantawane from Nagpur, he would probably say YES. Shrikant is son of a security guard, and drives a delivery auto to supplement the family income. Once he went to supply a delivery at airport and learnt about a pilot scholarship program run by the DGCA, Director General of Civil Aviation. He dreamt big. He applied for the scholarship got admission. Once in the college, he excelled in every exam and got the coveted CPL, Commercial Pilot License. Recently, he was recruited by the Indigo airlines as a First officer, also known as the second pilot or a co-pilot.He is probably the only person in history to have upgraded himself from driving a three-wheeler auto to running a three-wheeler plane.Shrikant has proved that no dream is unachievable. What is needed is self-belief and the passion to pursue the dream.
9.Most of us face adversities in our careers at one time or other. How many show the tenacity and perseverance to continue undaunted with the challenges and overcome them?  Well, Ishwar Singh Bargah, 48, from Bhilai does it. And he does it extremely well.He started his career in young age as a Salesman and subsequently worked as a gardener, watchman and a construction supervisor. However, his passion for education did not die down, and he continued to study while working in above mentioned positions. Over a period of several years, he completed his BA, M.Ed, M.Phil and a Doctorate in Education.  Recently, he has been appointed as a Principal of Chhattisgarh Kalyan Shiksha Mahavidyalaya in Aheri.Truly, he has proved to the world that the extent to which a person can rise in his life is determined by his own actions. A bad start or a lackluster growth in initial phases in career need not stop a person from dreaming big.  If one can dream big, one can indeed become big. 
10.Most of us experience momentary failure at one time or other in our life. While most of us are dejected by such failures, there are some, who use that failure to inspire and motivate them further.Like P.C.Mustafa from Wayanad, Kerala, who failed in 6th standard in school. However, this failure propelled him to study hard and he went on to study Engineering from the NIT, Kozhikode. He got job in Motorola and after few years switched job to work in Citibank. During these jobs he was based in Britain, Riyadh and Dubai. However, he was not satisfied.He returned back to India and did MBA from IIM Bangalore. The turning point in his life came when he spent some time on weekends in a grocery store run by his cousins. He observed that many women purchased the ready batter for preparing Idli and Dosa. He decided to start the business of packaged food. With the fourteen-lakh rupees, which he had saved, and with the help of his cousins, he started the business.Today, hic company ID special foods Pvt Ltd, employs 650 people, has 200 delivery vans and operates in eight prominent cities in South India and in Sharjah, supplying to over 10,000 stores. The turnover of his company is Rs. 62 Crores.So, did his failure in 6th standard propel him to such heights? Would he have achieved same success, if he had not failed in 6th standard?Well, sometimes failure is good…!***Coming soon Volume #8

Inspirational and Motivational short stories Volume #6

This is a collection of inspiring and motivational short stories which I have posted on my Facebook page. Every story gives a distinctly positive message. Enjoy reading the volume #6 of this collection.
1.
As small children, we all went to one-day excursion trips to museums, Zoo parks and historical monuments during our school days. The memories of these trips remain etched in our minds for a long time.  However, we rarely hear of ‘senior citizens’ going for an organized excursion. Recently, a group of 53 senior citizens, including 34 women and 19 men, all above 60 years of age, was taken to the campus of a private college of education on a trip organized by BJP Rajya Sabha MP Avinash Rai Khanna, who has adopted a village Adamwal in Punjab, for development under PM's Adarsh Sansad Yojana.And they all had lots of fun. They were taken to computer labs of the institute and asked to name a place they wished to see. The oldest among them, 100-year-old Taro wondered if he could see the birthplace of Baba Nanak in Pakistan. "I always wished to see the place, but could never do so," he added.As students opened Nankana Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan on Google Earth, Taro kneeled before the computer to pay obeisance.
It raised curiosity in Parkash Ram, 82, who asked if he could see Lahore where he was born. As images of Lahore flashed on the screen, he identified an old area. He said he had visited it often and memories of his teenage life before migrating to India in 1947 were refreshed.Students credited 'Google Baba' for the miracle.Next, they were shown the college gymnasium. Channa, 75, worked out on all the machines. "I have been hearing a lot from youngsters about the gym, but had never been to any. I always wanted to see how people exercised on them. It was a long cherished dream," he said.Khanna was very happy to see the joyous expressions on the faces of the senior citizens. He said, "I had planned this trip as I thought that just improving the amenities or infrastructure was not enough. These elderly people should see something new and I wanted them to have an interaction with young people." Later, it was the students' turn to ask them questions about their experiences. The visitors shared what they had seen in schools decades ago and what they saw now. The elders urged students to prefer joint families. As the visit ended with a sumptuous lunch, an old woman remarked, "It feels as if I am feasting at a grandchild's marriage."
True … old age is but a reflection of childhood. One becomes a dependent again and derives happiness from relatively inexpensive things. The pure happiness…!
2.
We all have heard of inspiring stories about how ‘not giving up’ has helped some people to achieve success. The prominent stories in this category are of Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Alva Edison, Walt Disney … and so on.However, in our day-to-day life too, we can see people around us who have attained success after many failures. One such person is Jamil Shah.He ran away from his home in Bihar at the age of 10, because he did not have money to buy a pen.He sold mobile covers at VT station in Mumbai for his survival.He was duped of his entire savings of Rs.25,000/-.He did odd jobs in Bangalore.One day his friend took him to a ‘Salsa dance class’. He loved it.He thought of making ‘dancing shoes’, which were only imported then … in year 2000.After some failures, he could make good dancing shoes. Today, he is the most sought after dancing-shoe-supplier to the Bollywood. So much so, Hritik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra have worn his shoes. He has his own workshop in Dharavi.Well, success does not always come from expected route at expected time, like the city buses. One has to keep exploring those moments … with hidden messages, and capitalize on the gut feeling. Of course, the other essential ingredients like hard work, sincerity, honesty, passion and self-belief are required as well, to script a success story. 
3.
We all have heard the famous proverb, ‘Where there is a will, there is a way’. The residents of Domlur stage II in Bangalore proved this recently. It so happened that a large plot of land, measuring 14,000 square feet, at the junction of 3rd and 4th main, was in a state of sheer neglect. The civic authorities did not bother to keep it clean, and the unscrupulous builders threw construction waste and debris all over the place. The residents association requested the concerned authorities several times to develop the plot as a children’s park / playground, but no one paid any attention. Finally, vexed up with the indifferent attitude of authorities, they asked the authorities for approval to develop the plot without any assistance from the government. Reluctantly, the authorities gave them the approval.And that triggered a sort of mass movement among all the residents. Every one, young and old, pitched in with his contribution. Some paid money, some spent hours at the site supervising the construction works. After working tirelessly for 45 days and spending around 6 lakh rupees, the plot was converted into a beautiful children’s playground with slides, swings and see-saw.Even the authorities themselves are surprised to see the development happen at such incredible pace.This incident proves five fundamental proverbs, which all of us have heard several times before …There is a strength in unityWhere there is a will, there is a wayGod helps them, who help themselvesMost difficult tasks can be achieved with focus and determinationAnd lastly, Self-belief is necessary to achieve anything in life.
4.
When the livelihood is difficult, life becomes cheap. Well, that is what we can infer from the fact that, out of 45 Indian nurses currently working in Yemen’s Mabar area, only 10 are willing to return to India. Are the remaining 35 nurses not afraid of death? They are.However, they are worried more about how to survive without work if they come back to India.So, they have shown their willingness to stay put in the strife-torn area with high risk. They are well aware of the dangerous consequences of their decision.So, how do we describe their decision to stay back? Adventurous? Practical? Reckless? Pessimistic or Optimistic?  Is it not ironical that people go to any extent to ensure their monthly income? Life is precious … we only live once. However, the sanctity of life is devalued with every such decision where prominence is given to the livelihood than the life itself.
5.
Ever heard of a bank, where the customers deposit a fixed amount of money every Tuesday? The bank uses this money only to give loans to these customers in their hours of need, at very low rate of interest. Well, this bank is in Southern Bihar’s Gaya district and the customers are … beggars. They deposit twenty rupees every Tuesday. The bank has so far disbursed loans of rupees eight thousand.What is interesting is that there is a manager, treasurer, secretary and an agent to run and manage the bank. The prime reason why they started this bank is that no other bank was willing to open their accounts, for various reasons including lack of proper address, social status etc.These beggars have shown to everyone what it means to trust and have faith in others. They have demonstrated that new ventures can start without consultants and not every innovation need to be technical. They have proved that having ‘values and ethics’ is not a prerogative of literates and well-off members of the society. Truly … a lot to learn from these noble souls who channelized their lives on a positive and secure path through a perfectly co-operative model.  
6.
It is always inspiring to see a group working collectively for a social cause. More so, if the group comprises of determined rural women. Recently, 123 women from Navapada village in Indore formed a group called ‘Neeli Gang’ under the leadership of Teju bai. Their mission is to dissuade men from drinking alcohol. Inspired by the ‘Gulabi Gang’, these women too wear plan blue sarees as their uniform, and carry sticks with them. Any person found in an inebriated condition is fined Rs. 500 and a repeated offender is beaten up with the sticks. Men have taken this group very seriously and are giving up drinking. In a society, whenever people do not act responsibly, such groups will continue to form to bring in the results, which no law can. Hail Teju Bai …!
7.
Has anyone seen God? Does God ever appear in the form in which we pray him? Well, these days, the labourers in Doha, Qatar are seeing God in two brothers, Shadab and Nisab. Shadab has been in Qatar since last 13 years. They hail from New Delhi and own a restaurant called ‘Zaika’ in Industrial area of Qatar. They noticed that many of the labourers are not always paid salaries on time and struggle for their survival. Therefore, since last month, they have put up a signboard outside their restaurant mentioning that if someone is hungry and does not have money, he can eat free. Every day, they get some customers who avail this facility. The feeling of gratitude and blessing is visible on their face as they walk out of the restaurant without paying the bill. These brothers may not be doing a commercially right thing, but surely, what they are doing ranks very high in humanity, altruism, philanthropy and social service. For the labourers, they are no lesser than messengers of God …!
8.
It took a high level of inquisitiveness for Newton to think why the apple fell down, and he invented the theory of gravitation. In today’s world, the inquisitiveness can be easily substituted with infinite amount of knowledge available on Internet. Almost everyone today has unlimited access to Internet. Yet, very few browse websites for learning something new. Well, except Twenty –year-old Himanshu Garg from Agra.    From Internet, he has learnt various scientific theories and made amazing inventions like anti-collision train system, a fire alarm, an anti-theft system and a universal remote control system to operate electronic devices. More recently, he created a safety device that does not allow a bike to start unless the rider wears a helmet. The state government has already rewarded him for his inventions. He is sure to go places in near future.Himanshu has demonstrated that today the knowledge is within everyone’s reach. What is required is only the desire to learn …!
9.
Among all types of social service, the one, which saves lives of people, shall probably rank the highest. And no one better to demonstrate this than 34-year-old fisherman, Raju Joshi from Navi Mumbai.He has saved 17 precious lives in the past three years, of people who had jumped from the Vashi Creek Bridge attempting suicide. He has become so popular for saving lives, that the Vashi fire service department seeks his help whenever they receive an emergency call informing someone drowning in the creek. Within few minutes, he reaches the spot and saves the life … and he does not charge anything for this.  Often, the relatives of the saved person offer him money, but he refuses to take it. After all, life is an experience … it cannot be measured in monetary terms.He says that he experiences a deep sense of satisfaction whenever he saves a life. The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation recently felicitated him for his selfless service to humanity.Indeed, people like Raju Joshi make us believe that there is still humanity left in this world.  
10.
How often do we hear our ‘inner voice’ and do things accordingly? Sometimes, the ‘inner voice’ may urge us to take an unconventional path. But not many would show the courage to follow that uncharted path. Well, Manoj Naidu, 41, from Raipur has done that. He quit his good job as Metallurgical engineer in Qatar steel three years ago … to do farming on his family’s 50-acre agricultural land in Mahasamund. He had returned from Qatar to take care of his old parents, and over a short time, converted the barren land into lush green farms. He finds immense satisfaction and tremendous scope in farming. Today, the vegetables grown in his field are sold in UP, Bihar, Maharashtra and Jharkhand.  He stays in the fields from 6 am to 6 pm managing 50 to 150 labourers as per the season, and is quite satisfied with his work. True … doing what we like is freedom and liking what we do is happiness.Apparently, he is enjoying freedom, and experiencing happiness as well.
***
Coming Soon Volume#7

Inspirational and Motivational short stories Volume #5

This is a collection of inspiring and motivational short stories which I have posted on my Facebook page. Every story gives a distinctly positive message. Enjoy reading the volume #5 of this collection.
1.
To what extent can a person go to have peace of mind? How many people can show the courage of sacrificing their fashionable lifestyle and lead a simple life as a monk?Well, Nisha Kapashi, 27, did just this. She was working at J crew, a famous fashion brand in US as merchandiser, earning a hefty salary. She felt that while there was lot of glamor and excitement in her profession, it was not giving her any contentment or satisfaction at the end of the day. She felt that true happiness has to come from within and cannot come from outside. With these thoughts, deeply influenced by the Jain philosophy, recently she took ‘Diksha’ and became a Jain Monk. Now, she wears plain white clothes, walks barefoot, chants spiritual mantras & hymns all the time, and eats sparsely whatever alms she gets.  She is a very happy person now and feels that she has found the right path for her life. It is debatable though, whether she did the right thing. Not everyone would agree with her approach to life.But one thing is true … and that is, one may earn lot of money, one may achieve lot of success, one may be too powerful, but if he or she does not have peace of mind, it is all waste. It is better to live a satisfied life as a monk that to live a glamorous life feeling miserable all the time.
2.
Recently, while having lunch in a food court in a mall, I observed two teenaged girls carrying tray containing pizza and other spicy items. They were looking worried over some matter and discussed something seriously while searching for a vacant table.However, once they were seated, immediately, they took their photos on their phones, smiling with a V sign, with the delicious dishes. They immediately posted these photos on their respective accounts on social media and started eating. They were once again seriously discussing the subject, which bothered them.I wondered at the possible logical reaction of this incident.Their friends who saw their pictures would undoubtedly believe that these girls were having a gala time and enjoying in the food court of the mall. With these thoughts, some of those friends might also feel sad that they were not enjoying as much as these girls were appearing to be.That brings forth one bitter truth of today’s world… today more people are unhappy, not because of their problems. They are unhappy because of the ‘assumed happiness’ of others around them.The problem is that people overlook their blessings, which can make them happy. Instead, they look at other’s ‘fake happiness’ and feel sorry that they are not as much happy.Many people tend to forget that happiness is often derived from simple things in life…! 
3.
Recently, in one of the interviews, Amitabh Bachchan said that he still considers himself as a struggling actor.This one statement reflects his five qualities.Humility:In spite of being in the film industry for over 40 years, that too in a commanding position, he still believes that he needs to struggle to give a god performance.Aiming for Perfection:He still aims to improve his performance, even though he is crowned as the shahenshah of Bollywood.Being Realistic:He knows that he would be in demand till he can perform. The day his performance goes down, he would no more be in limelight.Never give up:Even at the age of 72, he wants to re-invent himself and learn something new with every role. Devotion for duty:Even after reaching the pinnacle of success and stardom, he still maintains punctuality on sets, like any struggling actor. He rehearses the scenes with others like newcomers. That is devotion.…Obviously, anyone who has these qualities is bound to be attain the status of a superstar, whichever field he may be working in… for sure.
4.
Recently, the people of Kanpur were surprised, when an amount of two-lakh rupees was discovered from the bag of a beggar who died in suspicious circumstances. The beggar used to sit in front of a Ganesh temple in Harbans Mohal. It is not surprising that he had that much money. What is more surprising is - why did he not use it? He must have earned it over a long period, hoping to use it on some day. Unfortunately, that day did not come. It is doubtful whether he had one good meal before he died unexpectedly. There is a deep philosophical message in this incident. Many times, people get so worried about their ‘uncertain future’ that they do not enjoy their ‘certain present’. They keep marching towards their destination unmindful of the beautiful journey. They miss the point that often, the journey is more enjoyable than the destination.  In one of the scenes of the popular movie ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’, Hritik Roshan says to Katrina Kaif, ‘I want to work hard and earn as much money as possible by the age of 40, and take retirement. I want to enjoy life after 40.’She says, ‘What is the guarantee that you will live after 40?’…Live in present … for the future cannot become past unless it passes through present.
5.
Sometimes, a simple helpful act makes a huge difference in someone else’s life. No one could have demonstrated it better than an Auto rickshaw driver, Rakesh Kumar in Noida.It so happened that siblings Tanya and Karthik from Noida, aged 6 and 4 respectively, lost their way while walking home from school and strayed for 3 km, towards Surajpur. It got dark and they both started crying not knowing what to do. Rakesh Kumar, who was passing by, found them. It was already 8 pm. He hesitated initially to help, but then his goodness prevailed. He asked them where they lived and brought them in the area.By then, Dhara Singh, their father had made futile enquiries at the school and already lodged a missing compliant in the police station. He and his wife were frantically searching for their kids.They broke into tears as they saw their kids brought back safely by Rakesh Kumar. The Greater Noida-based Active Citizen's Team appreciated Kumar's effort and awarded him with Mobile phone.   Such acts of kindness come as a fresh breeze amidst the daily dose of prime time news full of crime and deceit.
6.
Donating money to poor kids is considered to be a very noble gesture. However, when the person donating it is a 6-year-old boy, it is much more praiseworthy and commendable.Bhavya Aavte from Devas, Madhya Pradesh donated his entire savings of Rs. 107/-, from his piggy bank, to the poor kids, on his birthday on 25th January. He then wrote to the prime minister about this. He wrote: "I see poor kids on the roads and on TV who cannot go to school. This is why, grandfather, I am sending Rs 107 so that they can go to school like me and study.”In response, PM's letter to him said: "I applaud your gesture as you are aware about the hardships of the poor kids of the country and I am obliged for this."Here the role of all the three is worth appreciating.Bhavya Aavte: In an age, when children fight for toys and generally do not give anything to others, he has behaved extremely well. He gave all his savings to unknown kids.His Father: It is his good upbringing, which made Bhavya to think about the poor kids and their concerns. It wasl also his idea to encourage Bhavya to write about this to the PM.PM: By replying to Bhavya, Modi has shown that he is reachable by even a 6-year-old. His reply would be the most precious gift received by Bhavya on his birthday.Mahatma Gandhi had said, ‘India cannot be happy till someone does not wipe the tears of the poorest of the poor’. Well, his soul would surely experience some joy to see Bhavya … contributing in his small bit, towards attainment of his cherished goal.
7. 
What is more important - knowledge or degree?Well, Ravi Kumar Reddy a Ph. D scholar from IISc Bangalore has been teaching Power Systems to the Electrical Engineering students in Saveetha Engineering College in Kanchipuram since 2012. His students were quite satisfied with his teaching. Recently, he was caught for forging his qualification documents. Actually, his name turned out to be Ashok Kumar Chaudhary, who failed in 8th class and dropped out of the school. He worked in a photocopier shop, where he got access to many textbooks, brought by students for photocopying. He started learning from those books. He realized that he could get knowledge, but not qualification.Therefore, he chose the alternate route. He forged certificates of customers. First, he forged an ITI Diploma to get a job. Then he ‘obtained’ M.Sc. for a better job. Finally, he ‘earned’ his Ph.D. in Power Systems in IISc Bangalore, on the name of Ravi Kumar Reddy. The suspicion arose among his colleagues when he refused to meet a delegation from IISc for a discussion. Some members of the delegation were supposed to be his batch mates, going by his certificates.This raises some important questions:The fact that no one doubted his credentials for three years shows that he was good at subject and teaching. Are these parameters not more important that the formal qualification?What about the professors, who have fancy degrees, but are not good at teaching? Is the educations system hypocrite in that sense, to value only the qualification and not the ‘ability’ to learn and teach, for the job of a professor? If his identity was not revealed, he would have probably continued for several years. Would it have been harmful in any ways?Is he not a real genius to have sustained in his job as a professor for three years, without a complaint, just by gaining knowledge from the books and internet?   Is he an inspiration for the school dropouts, or a blot on the society / education system?…Very difficult to answer. The opinions are sure to vary from person to person.   
8.
The ‘Putra Prem’, or the love for one’s son is well known from the times of Dhritarashtra. The love for one’s child usually blinds a person’s logic as well as rational thinking. Particularly, the politicians are known to further their children’s careers in highly unethical and unjustified manner.Therefore, when we come across a MLA, who made his son appear for a class IV exam, it raises eyebrows. Well, that is what Heera Lal Verma, the BJP MLA from Rajasthan did. He made his son Hansraj appear the peon’s exam in a state government job. He believes that his son, who dropped out of the school after 8th standard, is not capable of doing bigger jobs. He says that he did not want his children to lead a ‘prosperous’ life through ‘unfair’ means.  Heera Lal is himself a postgraduate in three subjects and a gold medalist as well.The greatness and maturity of a person is demonstrated when he is able to judge his child’s capabilities in an unbiased and impartial manner. But this incident raises a few uncomfortable questions:Did he fail as a father in the first place to allow his son to drop out after 8th standard?Is he being pessimistic or realistic in assuming that his son is not capable of handling bigger jobs?Has he instilled such good values in his children that Hansraj readily agreed to appear for this exam?Difficult to say…!

9.
With great preparation and a strong determination, every obstacle looks manageable. Even if it means falling in a well 30 feet deep.Well, that is what happened to Supraja, a class 12 student in Chennai, on Monday, the day of her Chemistry exam.  She woke up at 4 am to study, and was strolling in the backyard of her house in Madipakkam. That is when, inadvertently, she fell in the well 30 feet deep. There was three feet water level in the well. She frantically shouted for help for 45 minutes, when her brother heard her. Soon, they found out that she was inside the well. Immediately, her father called the fire fighters who arrived in twenty minutes and pulled her out in a semi-conscious state.Within 4 hours, she wrote the Chemistry exam, and wrote it well. She came out of the exam hall flashing ‘thumbs up’ sign to her father, who waited anxiously outside the exam hall. She came out limping, due to the injury.This proves only one thing – If we want to do something sincerely, we can find hundred reasons to do it well; and if we do not want to do something, we will find one thousand excuses for not doing it.Bravo Supraja … you inspire us. We are tempted to sing for you … All is well….! 

10.
Some people do social service not for the sake of any publicity or financial gain, but only because it gives them immense satisfaction. Like Jagadish Nayak, 68 from Ahmedabad.He retired in 2001 after working as a Maths teacher for 32 years. However, during his career as a teacher, he had seen that many children were afraid of Maths. He wanted to help the children ‘overcome the fear’ about Maths.So, immediately after his retirement, he started teaching Maths free of cost to those children, who were afraid of Maths and could not afford to go to any tuition. For the last 14 years, every day between 4.30 pm to 7.30 pm, children enthusiastically reach his one-room class in Nirnaynagar. He has successfully helped over 700 students learn the tricks of Maths and do well in their academics. His success ratio is also high – more than 80% passed their exams.People like Jagadish Nayak demonstrate that life is not always about making money or buying comforts. Sometimes, helping others can bring much greater happiness …!
*** Coming Soon Volume#6

Inspirational and Motivational short stories Volume #4

This is a collection of inspiring and motivational short stories which I have posted on my Facebook page. Every story gives a distinctly positive message. Enjoy reading the volume #4 of this collection.

1.
How often do we see someone who has worked for incredible 72 years in one workplace? And what if we know that this person has served the global historical dignitaries like Lord Mountbatten, Princess Elizabeth, Emperor Hirohito, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Richard Nixon?Well, Kerala born Kottarapattu Chattu Kuttan, who started working as the doorman at the iconic Galle Face hotel in Sri Lanka, has achieved this feat. He started working there at a tender age of 18 years and worked till his last day. He died peacefully last week at the age of 94 years.For some people, work is more than worship. They devote their lifetime for their work. The work gets truly honored by their dedication towards duty.He is a true Karma Yogi in real sense. May his soul rest in peace. If the hotel had life, it would have cried too... for it would never be able to locate another Kuttan. We salute Kuttan and his passion for work.

2.
Preaching is always easier than practicing. Therefore, when we come across someone who practices what he preaches, automatically he commands respect and reverence from those around him. And if the subject under discussion is about the expenditure on marriages, then it acquires all the more importance, because marriages have been traditionally considered to be a once-in-a-lifetime affair where people do not mind spending their lifetime savings or even borrowing loans to maintain their ‘honor and dignity’ in the society. Recently, H. Anjaneyulu, the social welfare minister of Karnataka surprised everyone by choosing a mass-wedding ceremony for the marriage of his daughter Anupama, instead of a lavish wedding extravaganza in a palatial venue. Along with her, 96 couples were married in a simple ceremony where the guests were served simple meal of Rice, Sambar and Payasam. She bought only a saree for the wedding.  Anjaneyulu has indeed set new benchmark for the rich and powerful celebrities in India, by his exemplary behavior. How many people would dare to get their children married off in a mass-wedding ceremony? Very few. Marriage is a very sacred ceremony, which unites two families. The focus should be on making the marriages successful by aligning the heart and mind of the couple, instead of showing off grandeur and pomposity in the marriage function.      We congratulate Anjaneyulu for this audacious move and hope this inspires many powerful personalities in doing the same…!

3.
Which is more powerful? Our Karma or our Luck? Many people would say that there is no such thing as luck. Everything depends on our deeds. We create our own destiny.If that were so, how do we explain that a 28-day-old girl, Nithera Janardnanan has won US $ 39,000 in a raffle draw in the 20th Dubai shopping festival? Many people purchased the raffle ticket by looking at the ticket number, purchasing time and day, dropping the ticket in the box at a particular time etc.She has not done any deeds as of now, other than just trying to understand this world, by looking at her parents and sleeping away most of her time. In spite of their best efforts, there were times when Tendulkar got out on zero and Amitabh Bachchan had delivered a flop film. So, there is something, which is beyond the deeds and efforts. Something, which is not controlled by us.And that is called … luck.

4.
When Sunita from Manda village in Allahabad married Shyam Bahadur, she had dreams of living a life of honor and dignity. However, she was shocked to discover that her husband was a daily wage laborer working in a stone quarry. Her dreams were shattered.Nevertheless, she realized that it was her life and if she wanted to improve it, she needed to do something about it. No one would have done it for her.So, she started teaching in a private school. She spread awareness among the women of that village that basic education is very important in life. She believed that if every child should become a literate, so that he does not become another Shyam Bahadur, then the awareness must start from the mothers.  Soon, she started educating the women of all ages in the village and achieved a cult status. The literacy improved in Manda with more and more women and children enrolling in various schools.In the meantime, encouraged by her endeavors, her husband, Shaym Bahadur also competed his ITI and applied for a job in Tata Motors. His interview went on very well and he is expecting the offer letter anytime now.Some spirited individuals have the power to change their destiny by overcoming all the obstacles and challenges, which life throws at them. Undoubtedly, Sunita belongs to that category. She is the real ‘Dabangg’ of Manda village.Hats off to Sunita for her self-confidence, determination, perseverance, optimism and a resolve of steel.

5.
Generally, we hate beggars, sometime pity them, and often ignore them while sometimes we pay them some change.But have we ever thought about how the personal life of a beggar would be? This question arises after we hear the curious case of Pappu Kumar, a 32-year-old beggar from Patna railway station who has been begging there for past 7 years. Recently, it was discovered that he had a property worth Rs. 1.2 Crores, bank accounts in 4 banks with deposits of Rs. 5 Lakhs. On further investigation, it was learnt that he had passed intermediate exams and wanted to do engineering but he met with a serious accident, which paralyzed him. And he started begging after his family disowned him. Later, he inherited money after his father’s death, but by then, he had found his ‘passion’ for begging. He simply followed his passion … and success followed.This raises some difficult questions:Is he doing something wrong? Because begging is not illegal or a crime in India. He is simply following his passion and is fairly successful in his profession.Would he be considered a failure in life while successful in his career?Is he a social icon to have given a respectability to the deprived begging community, or he shall be considered an anti-social mascot, because he might lure many people into the begging profession by his exemplary achievement?Hard to say… views differ. 

6.
All of us wait in a queue at one point of time or other. But how do we spend that time while we are waiting in the queue? Sometimes we get bored, sometimes we get irritated, sometimes we feel that we are wasting precious time.But, Deepinder Goyal, an IIT graduate felt otherwise.While he stood in the queue at the canteen of his company for lunch, he realized that the queue was moving slowly, because everyone was taking time to look at the Menu card before ordering the food. And an idea flashed in his mind. He scanned the menu card and made it available to the employees online, so that before they stood in the queue, they were fairly clear as to what to order. His idea became so popular that quickly his portal got many hits from the employees. That gave birth to a much bigger idea. Why not to expand this concept outside the company as well?Today, his company Zomato, provides the location and Menu card for around 300,000 restaurants in 155 cities in 19 countries, with an annual turnover of Rs.1000 Crores.True, every success story starts with a small idea … and firm belief that it will work.    

7.
Every society has some people who work silently behind the scene for the betterment of someone. These people have heart of Gold and their ideas are truly noble.The people of Bhopal witnessed one such couple, Hassen Parvez and Dr. Noorunnisa. This couple had found an 8-year-old girl, Sharada, abandoned and in an injured condition on the Barkheda station in year 2000. They brought her home, took care of her, educated her and brought her up as their own daughter.Recently, they performed Sharada’s marriage with Durga Prasad in a proper Hindu style, in the Ram Janki temple on the banks of Budhni Ghat in Sehore district of Madhya Pradesh.It was a unique occasion, where a Muslim couple did the ‘Kanyadan’ in traditional Hindu custom. In today’s troubles times, when the tensions between two religions flare up instantly on slightest provocation, such positive events provide a soothing feeling … and reinforce a belief among the moderates in the society that goodness still prevails…!  

8.
Many times, on hearing some inspiring stories of people who did something worthwhile for the society, we too get motivated to do something good to the society. However, soon the enthusiasm fizzles out with a thought, ‘What can I alone do? The magnitude of the problem is much bigger, and my contribution may be too insignificant…’Well, Ramesh Chandra Nambardar, a farmer from Shamli, Meerut in UP would tend to differ.For the last one year, he has been providing 25 liters of fresh milk every day to 120 children of a primary school as his contribution to the society. He says that the central government, which has urged every MP to adopt one village each, inspires him to do his bit. He acknowledges that some people donate warm clothes, while some other people donate books. He felt that supplying fresh milk to the poor children would avoid their malnourishment and make them stronger.True, Ramesh Chandra may not be making a big difference on the national or even state level, with his small philanthropic deed. But surely, he is making a huge difference in the lives of those 120 poor children, who were facing a high risk of malnutrition otherwise. The satisfaction derived by him by doing this would be much more than the money that he would have earned by selling the milk. After all, not all pleasures in life can be quantified with their worth in money. Such pleasures are priceless…!   

9.
How often do we get an opportunity to demonstrate our maturity on sensitive matters pertaining to religion and humanity? And when we do get such an opportunity, how many show the courage and magnanimity to rise above the ‘normal’ behavior? Shail Devi, a widow in her 50s has shown to the world that humanity is the supreme religion, above all known religions in the world. Recently, when the communal riots were in full blaze in Muzaffarpur in Bihar, she gave shelter to 10 Muslims in her house to save them from an uncontrolled mob of around 5000 people, who were on a rampage. The mob came to her house also and asked her whether there was any Muslim in the house. She firmly said ‘No’ and stood guarding the main door with her two daughters. Later, Mohammad, one of those ten people in his sixties, said that she was like a God-sent angel for them. The Bihar government has rewarded her for her heroic act and exemplary behavior in times of extreme crisis.What Shail Devi has done should make every person proud. She has shown that the foremost duty of any human being to help others in their need of hour. Such acts of goodness work towards healing the wounds and the scars left by the ugly incidents of communal riots. After all, it feels good … to be good.   

10.
What is required for doing charity? More wealth or a big heart? Well, Shakoor Mohammad, a daily wage laborer from Jodhpur, Rajasthan has proved to the world that one need not be a rich person to donate for charitable purposes. What is required instead is a big heart.In 1984, he had purchased six plots of land, each measuring 150 square yards, for a total of Rs. 4000/- only. Today, the value of these plots is around Rs. 1.5 Crores.Two years ago, he donated one of those plots for building a hospital on his mother’s name. He is very satisfied that today the hospital treats around 50 people daily. In spite of his wealthy status, he prefers to lead a simple life and works for long hours every day.The blessings of the people treated in that hospital surely gives him a satisfaction, which he knows he can never expect from the costly luxuries that he can afford...!  Hats off to Shakoor Mohammad, who has truly demonstrated the meaning of ‘Simple living … High thinking’.
***
Coming soon … Volume #5

Inspirational and Motivational short stories #3

This is a collection of inspiring and motivational short stories which I have posted on my Facebook page. Every story gives a distinctly positive message. Enjoy reading the volume #3 of this collection.
1.
According to a survey conducted recently by a leading recruitment agency, the starting salary of an Electrician is more than the starting salary of an Engineer. Moreover, because of similar increments in their respective salary structures, an Electrician earns much more than an Engineer after say 5 or 8 years of service.Following could be the probable reasons for this anomaly. There have been abnormal increase in the number of private Engineering Colleges all over India in the last two three decades, which increased the supply much more than the demand.The quality of education has steadily dropped over the years. Now only the premium institutes provide quality education, while others just provide degrees.There is an unnoticed increasing scarcity for trade technicians like Electricians, Plumbers, and Fitters etc. Naturally, their demand rises and so do their salaries.An average Technician is more hard working than an average Engineer.
My sincere apologies, if any Engineer is hurt by these findings. I am an Engineer myself…! 
2.
Every time an Indian excels in any field outside India, it is a moment of pride for all Indians. Our country has celebrated many such moments all through the history, with many names being added to this illustrious list in the last two-three decades.  Recently, one more name was added to this list – Antara Haldar. She is the FIRST non-European lecturer of Law at the University of Cambridge. With this, not only has she won laurels for herself, but also for the country.Looks like India is now poised for a significant contribution on various fronts in the global arena …!
3.
How often do we find well-educated people occupying senior positions in the government spending time for social work without any remuneration? Well, rarely. Because it requires a strong will and courage of conviction to serve our society. And when someone does it, he or she instantly stands out among the crowd. There is no better example than Aradhana Patnaik, the HRD secretary in Jharkhand government, to prove this point. She is an IAS officer who is also an Engineer. During her regular inspection duty in various government schools, she observed that the students faced various difficulties including lack of teachers, lack of proper guidance etc. She found that with a little effort from her side, she could make some difference.Therefore, to overcome these challenges to some extent, she started taking classes every time she went for any inspection. She is happy to see that these random classes are actually helping the children to understand basic concepts of Mathematics. She is now urging all retired government officials and academicians to come forward voluntarily for this noble cause.After all, ‘Vidya-Daan’ ranks very high among all types of Daan.
4.
In a rare gesture of courage and altruism, Akash, Sayali and Jui, the three children of late Hemant Karkare and Kavita Karkare have shown to the world, how one can be useful to the society even after death.Hemant Karkare laid down his life while protecting the lives of citizens of Mumbai on 26 November 2008, when terrorists had gone on a rampage, causing one of the biggest mayhems in the history of Mumbai.Recently, Kavita Karkare died due to a brain hemorrhage. And she too, like her husband, saved the life of some unknown people while dying. In an exemplary behavior, her three children decided to donate her vital organs to the needy patients. Accordingly, her one Kidney was donated to a 48-year-old person, who was on Dialysis for last 10 years. Her second Kidney was donated to a 59-year-old patient, who was waiting for a Kidney for last 7 years. Her Liver was donated to a 49-year-old person who was battling for his life for a Liver transplant for last 2 years.The entire Karkare family is worthy of sincere appreciation and respect from everyone.
5.
Recently, in one of the interviews, Akshay Kumar mentioned that he no longer visits the Vaishno Devi temple, though he continues to be a staunch bhakt of Mata Vaishno Devi, and had visited the temple many times before. The reason he cites for this decision is that, his travel cost including lodging and boarding, along with his bodyguards for the entire journey comes to around Rs. 2.5 Lakhs. So, whenever he thinks of visiting Vaishno Devi temple now, he just closes his eyes, thinks about the deity and then donates this amount to a charitable trust. He says that this way, the money is utilized in a better way than actually spending it for the journey.Is he right in doing so? Would he still get the same blessings from Mata Vaishno Devi? Or more, or less?Well, this is a very personal matter pertaining to religious faith, and opinions are very likely to differ from person to person.  
6.
We often see the celebrities basking in glory after their success, but we know little about the sacrifices they make on the way to that success. Recently, Sardara Singh led the Indian Hockey team to a stunning victory in the finals of the Asian Games, winning a Gold medal in Hockey for India after 16 years. Incidentally, he was also the flag bearer for the Indian contingent in the opening ceremony held on 19thSeptember, proudly carrying the Indian flag across the stadium. What many of us do not know is that his grandfather had passed away just 4 days before the opening ceremony. His family did not reveal the news to him, as he was highly attached to his grandfather, who always motivated and encouraged him to perform better with every tournament. They did not want this news to affect his performance in the game. Another such celebrity who made big sacrifice was Shekhar Suman. In early 90s, he shot into fame with the hugely popular TV serial ‘Dekh Bhai Dekh’ on Doordarshan. At that time, his young son was suffering from Cancer and was hospitalized for many weeks before his untimely death. In those days, Shekhar Suman was caught in a dilemma, whether to further his career by hectic shooting schedules or spend time with his ailing son. And he regrets even today that he did not give enough time for his son.Sachin Tendulkar also mentioned on his retirement day that because of his cricket tours for 24 years, he missed out on several special moments like his children’s birthdays, their school functions, appreciating their small achievements etc. These moments shall never come back ever.   No wonder, sometimes being just a common man is a big blessing…which often we do not realize!
7.
Success is never permanent and failure is never fatal. Therefore, whenever we see someone successful, we should draw inspiration from that, and appreciate the efforts gone into that success. Because, success usually comes with lot of hard work, proper planning and a bit of luck.There was a period of almost 5 years in 1990s, when Kumar Shanu won all the male playback singer awards in all the Bollywood award functions, making all other singers irrelevant. Later, he had requested the judges not to nominate him, so that other singers too can get a chance to win awards and recognition.There was a period in the last decade, when the Australian Cricket team won all the matches in all the tournaments, making all other countries’ teams of that period irrelevant. Now we are witnessing a period, when Narendra Modi is singularly winning all the elections, making all other political parties irrelevant. The number of casualties because of his juggernaut is rising by the day. The prominent names in this illustrious list are Nitish Kumar, Uddhav Thakre, Rahul Gandhi and Sharad Pawar.  We all know that this phenomenon too will have an end date, sooner or later.But then, so long as it lasts, one should rise above the party ideologies and enjoy it…! We may not get another opportunity of seeing such stellar performance from another political leader in near future.
8.
For any employee working in a company, ‘recognition’ by the employer is the most precious gift. What could be a better way to show the recognition, which is based on loyalty, and which results in the company doling out Rs. 500 crores worth of gifts as Bonus to its staff for this Diwali? Yes, it sounds unbelievable, but it is true. Savjibhai Dholakiya, a Diamond exporter based in Surat has recently presented his loyal employees with Cars, homes and jewelry as Diwali Bonus. The human resource is the most precious asset any company can have, and if the management is able to utilize this potentially limitless resource efficiently, then it can achieve great heights in its field. Unfortunately, not many companies understand this logic and in order to save a few pennies, they often forego pounds. In the bargain, not only the employee loses, but the company too loses to tap the employee’s enthusiasm, creativity and belongingness, which has the power to boost the work efficiency tremendously. Dholakiya has undoubtedly set new benchmarks in the industry, in terms of rewarding the loyal employees. His employees are surely going to have a very Happy Diwali…!
9.
In his autobiography to be released next week, Tendulkar mentions about the lean patch of his career, when as a captain, he was not successful for a prolonged period. During those days, he felt that he was already giving his 100% to the game and there was nothing extra that he could do to improve the situation. He even thought of QUITTING the game altogether…This tells us five important points:Even great and successful celebrities face momentary setbacks. Yet, they don’t lose their heart and continue to put in their best.There is nothing wrong in failing. What is wrong is, not pulling ourselves up after every fall.Many times, big victories await us after the toughest phases. One needs to manage these hard days.In spite of our best efforts, results are never guaranteed. There is a bit of luck needed in every success.Our true character is not seen by how we celebrate success. It is reflected in how we behave in failures.
10.
What is the similarity between SRK, Indra Nooyi, Indira Gandhi, Narendra Modi and Mahatma Gandhi?Well … they all sleep for less than 4 hours a day.It says many things about them. All these personalities are/were highly successful in their respective fields. For them, work is worship. They worked for extra hours regularly to accomplish their goals. Usually, many of us say that ‘we do not have sufficient time’ to do certain things. But these abovementioned people show us that by reducing our sleep, we can increase our productivity by at least 15 – 20% per day, by way of increased ‘available working hours’. Time is the only resource, which is available in equal measure to all living beings. No one has less and no one has more. Not even a single minute.Time is also something that can never be recovered, however rich or powerful we are. Once it is gone, it is gone.Therefore, as we are witnessing the future convert itself into past, every second, right in front of us, let us strive to make use of the present very well. That takes care of everything else.
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Coming soon … Volume #4