Abraham Lincoln's letter to his son's Headmaster

Here is a beautiful article which made me re-think on my learning

“He will have to learn, I know, that all men are not just, all men are not true. But teach him also that for every scoundrel there is a hero: that for every selfish politician, there is a dedicated leader…. Teach him that for every enemy there is a friend, it will take time, I know; but teach him if you can, that a dollar earned is of far more value than five found…. Teach him to learn to lose and also to enjoy winning. Steer him away from envy, if you can. Teach him the secret of quiet laughter. Let him learn early that the bullies are the easiest to lick… Teach him, if you can the wonder of books… but also give him quiet time to ponder over the eternal mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun and flowers on a green hillside.

In school, teach him it is far more honorable to fail than to cheat… Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if everyone tells him they are wrong… Teach him to be gentle with gentle people and tough with the tough. Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crown when everyone is getting onto the bandwagon, teach him to listen to all men, but teach him also to filter all he hears on a screen of truth and take only the good that comes through.
Teach him, if you can how to laugh when he is sad… Teach him there is no shame in tears. Teach him to scoff at cynics and to beware of too much sweetness… Teach him to sell his brawn and brain to the highest bidders; but never to put a price tag on his heart and soul. Teach him to close his ears to a howling mob… and to stand and fight if he thinks he is right.

Treat him gently; but do not cuddle him because only the test of fire makes fine steel. Let him have the courage to be impatient… let him have the patience to be brave. Teach him to always have sublime faith in himself because then he will always have sublime faith in mankind.

These are a big order, but see what you can do… he is such a fine little fellow, my son."

Abraham Lincoln's letter to his son's Headmaster:

Here is a beautiful article which made me re-think on my learning

“He will have to learn, I know, that all men are not just, all men are not true. But teach him also that for every scoundrel there is a hero: that for every selfish politician, there is a dedicated leader…. Teach him that for every enemy there is a friend, it will take time, I know; but teach him if you can, that a dollar earned is of far more value than five found…. Teach him to learn to lose and also to enjoy winning. Steer him away from envy, if you can. Teach him the secret of quiet laughter. Let him learn early that the bullies are the easiest to lick… Teach him, if you can the wonder of books… but also give him quiet time to ponder over the eternal mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun and flowers on a green hillside.

In school, teach him it is far more honorable to fail than to cheat… Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if everyone tells him they are wrong… Teach him to be gentle with gentle people and tough with the tough. Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crown when everyone is getting onto the bandwagon, teach him to listen to all men, but teach him also to filter all he hears on a screen of truth and take only the good that comes through.

Teach him, if you can how to laugh when he is sad… Teach him there is no shame in tears. Teach him to scoff at cynics and to beware of too much sweetness… Teach him to sell his brawn and brain to the highest bidders; but never to put a price tag on his heart and soul. Teach him to close his ears to a howling mob… and to stand and fight if he thinks he is right.

Treat him gently; but do not cuddle him because only the test of fire makes fine steel. Let him have the courage to be impatient… let him have the patience to be brave. Teach him to always have sublime faith in himself because then he will always have sublime faith in mankind.

These are a big order, but see what you can do… he is such a fine little fellow, my son."

Abraham Lincoln's letter to his son's Headmaster :

Here is a beautiful article which made me re-think on my learning

“He will have to learn, I know, that all men are not just, all men are not true. But teach him also that for every scoundrel there is a hero: that for every selfish politician, there is a dedicated leader…. Teach him that for every enemy there is a friend, it will take time, I know; but teach him if you can, that a dollar earned is of far more value than five found…. Teach him to learn to lose and also to enjoy winning. Steer him away from envy, if you can. Teach him the secret of quiet laughter. Let him learn early that the bullies are the easiest to lick… Teach him, if you can the wonder of books… but also give him quiet time to ponder over the eternal mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun and flowers on a green hillside.

In school, teach him it is far more honorable to fail than to cheat… Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if everyone tells him they are wrong… Teach him to be gentle with gentle people and tough with the tough. Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crown when everyone is getting onto the bandwagon, teach him to listen to all men, but teach him also to filter all he hears on a screen of truth and take only the good that comes through.

Teach him, if you can how to laugh when he is sad… Teach him there is no shame in tears. Teach him to scoff at cynics and to beware of too much sweetness… Teach him to sell his brawn and brain to the highest bidders; but never to put a price tag on his heart and soul. Teach him to close his ears to a howling mob… and to stand and fight if he thinks he is right.

Treat him gently; but do not cuddle him because only the test of fire makes fine steel. Let him have the courage to be impatient… let him have the patience to be brave. Teach him to always have sublime faith in himself because then he will always have sublime faith in mankind.

These are a big order, but see what you can do… he is such a fine little fellow, my son."

On Cloud 9:

It was June 8th evening when I was all set to board my first international flight. It was a mixed feeling. After 25 long years I was for the first time moving out of my dwelling to a new place, a new nation, away from my family!!!

The first few hours were very poignant. I was very cheerless that I am away from my treasured ones and it was I who had asked for all this. I was not sure if it was the right pronouncement. Embarked the Bangalore- Mumbai flight; the voyage got delayed by 2 hours. I was anxious that I might miss my connecting flight to Mumbai-Heathrow. Thanks to this hold-up, I had no time to reflect upon my views and I was on the run to catch my connecting flight.

All set in the plane, I was just gazing through the windowpane onto the Mumbai illumination and felt that I am just departing. Sensation was awe-inspiring. My cell phone would not work from now on, and all I have as my identity is my passport. Felt very forlorn and apprehensive. To get done with these feelings, I browsed through the movies and got hold of Dor.

Had heard a lot about the movie but had not watched it. Started the movie and for the first time felt the attractive Ayasha Takia and Gul Panag had actually done some performing. With the movie taking the turn where Ayasha gets her wings to take off gave me this inspiration to exploit this time of mine to truly enjoy my days. So many things which I constantly wanted to do, like stay with my associates, experience the hitches in running a self-sufficient existence, take decisions on my own. Feel that I am liable for my life and no body else.

That movie transformed the entire feeling I had all this while and when I landed at the Heathrow airport, I felt this new world welcoming me with both hands!!! From then on never have I lamented a minute for taking this resolution. Life has undeniably not been a bed of roses but incident has always thought me a lot about life.

Watching the right movie at the right time can make a difference in your life!!!

A Dinner With Family:
An interesting and humorous article in The Hindu daily:

BEFORE marriage, the three best words a couple loves to hear from each other are "I Love You". Later, the three best words are probably "Let's Eat Out".

With new specialty restaurants popping up like mushrooms — in fact, I heard one opened last week called Mushroom Mania — there are so many new exciting ways to eat, without having a pile of dishes to wash up later. And eating out can be enjoyed in such fine combinations of activity these days — buy books and eat, watch a play and eat, enjoy a movie and eat, go bowling and eat...

But, I must say one combination seemed a bit suspicious to me. This was a petrol station with a restaurant attached. A board outside announced, "You can eat here, and get gas".

Decisions, decisions...

The eating-out industry depends largely on people like us who stare at the refrigerator every day, fraught with indecision wondering what to cook, and then decide it is far simpler to decide to eat out instead.

Indecisions

Ha! Now is when the real indecision starts... Which place? Asks the one behind the steering wheel after getting into the car. Oh, any place is absolutely cool with me, choruses everyone. Okay, then how about that new Chettinad restaurant that everyone is talking about? Oh NO, chorus the voices again. any thing but Chettinad." And so the indecision goes on: Anything but Chinese; anything but Punjabi...

When rising hunger pangs force a "where" finally, there comes another decision to be made at the venue: which table? (At home you have only one, but here you have such a choice.)

After a consensus on the most suitable table, you settle down, and the waiter arrives to force one more decision out of you. Mineral water or restaurant water? Now is when you have to decide how you want to come through to the waiter: as a stylish diner who'll pay a fat premium for bottled water, or appear cheap and say, ordinary water will do.

And then staring at the menu, back we come to the same dilemma of where it all started: What to eat?

Good things

Despite knowing the rule that the longer the description of the dish, the bigger the bill, we will, from time to time, land up in utterly posh places, open a huge designer menu card, and nonchalantly tap at, say, "Risotto Supreme: cooked with freshly flown-in mountain-dew from the Swiss Alps, and served with our chef's repertoire of Milanese sauces gently simmered with Moroccan wild thyme" and turn to the waiter and ask "Is it good?"

Well. What did we expect the waiter to say? "Well, the rice is totally undercooked, there's a funny dark colored sauce quite alien to our Indian tastes, two sprigs of broccoli, unsalted, and the portion is so tiny you may have to go home and eat curd rice or die of hunger in your bed tonight... "

Instead of which the waiter says, "Excellent choice! You picked the best dish of all; in fact it was Bill Clinton's favorite when he visited India."

Exotic names

I remember once ordering "A Mediterranean blend of farm-fresh, sun-kissed legumes sautéed and combined with herbs de Provence and grilled to perfection in a gentle dip of bakery-fresh crumbled bread" ... whose common name was a vegetable cutlet, of course, but who knew that? After a 45-minute wait (which made me think, I am the waiter, waiting and waiting, not that snooty waiter there who is trained never to catch your eye once your order is placed... ), two cutlets, the size of one-rupee coins arrived in a huge square designer plate, decorated very artistically with a zigzag line of sauce, an elegant piece of coriander and a tomato skilfully cut and shaped to look like the Sydney Opera House.

After a while, the specially flown-in French chef personally dropped by our table to ask, "So how did you find the meal?" "With a magnifying glass," I wanted to say. Instead of course, I gushed "C'est magnifique!"

And at the other extreme are honest restaurant managers who like to say it like it is. Down my road is Varalakshmi Tiffin Home, an international restaurant serving Indian, North Indian and Chinese "Cueesines" where omelette is spelt armlet and peas pilaf is spelt peace pullow, and where the two most popular dishes are Chow Mean and Sholay Bhature. But one item written on the menu board in chalk outside Velmurugan Meals (specialising in North Indian food) had me mystified, as I drove past it every day to work.

Right on top of the list was Malai Gupta. Perhaps an authentic UP dish named after the chef? I used to wonder. Then the penny dropped one day. It was Malai Kofta of course.

Well, God forbid any Chinese traveller (now that the borders between our countries are open) from actually entering any of our South Indian Chinese speciality dining halls, and find out what Gopi Manjurian is all about. And so what if some sambar powder was added to make it really tasty for the auto rickshaw drivers who regularly drop by.

Reddy meals

Meanwhile, People Like Us will continue to eat out at the most exotic restaurants, where the tip alone could feed the average Indian family of six a totally satisfying thali each at any "Meals Reddy" place.

However, recently while dining at a new, classy European bistro, I found my "Bean Goulash with Courgette Dumplings" bland and boring beyond belief — and so I decided to protest. "I'd like to see the Chef please," I said in a dignified but firm, threatening voice.

"Sorry M'am," said the waiter. "He's gone out for lunch".

-- I can relate to this very well, as this is what is the difference in the way people in 20s and people in the 50s think about the dining in restaurants. As the author points out, even if the fact might be that the food in the tiffany rooms have a homely touch, we youngsters prefer posh restaurants as with dining we want time for ourselves, long hours of chat and some relaxing moments with our loved ones!!

And as he says.. the argument continues each time a group of people belonging to 2 generations go out :-)

Why Love lasts:

This was the topic of discussion on the show” One Life to Love” on NDTV this Saturday (one of my favorite shows). The bottom line of the whole session was to follow 3 important rules:
1. Listen: Listen to what your loved one says. Listen with due concern and understand his /her emotions.
2. Talk: Share your emotions and feelings. Any issues talk it over.
3. Remember: Remember vital happenings and recollect at time of leisure. This brings new subject of deliberations and makes one pleased to be a part of that incidence.

The instance he quoted was very sweet: One morning you are having a cup of tea, you recollect that this cup was got at such and such place. Then immediately the conversation grows recollecting the happy times you had together at that place and then a plan to have one more such vacation!!!

It is here he quotes the significance of traveling with someone and not alone. When you travel with another person, when you recollect the vacation, you have someone with whom you could converse those incidences and relate to your thoughts. This helps you build stronger associations.

Only if these three crucial niceties are pursued by the concerned individuals will any relation prosper else it will deteriorate sooner than later!!! How true, just try recollecting any of your past relations which you feel no more exists the way it did before, this would be the primary reason. :)

Let’s move forward with anticipation that this at least might assist us handle our upcoming associations in a better way!!!

The A, B and C of life:

. The first and foremost secret of success in life is in prioritizing the A B and C of life. This is the magical statement that I was enlightened with, by who else, the mentor of my life. J Here goes the details of it:

The A is you, you and only you. Always bother about yourself first when it comes to anything in your life. The main reason being no one in the world has time to bother about you. There will be well wishers, but when it comes to a situation where they got to choose between you and themselves, they will vote you out. So follow the same principle in your life for your success. You will be the person who will be the happiest person on your success, so share your joy with people around. They won’t be able to recognize your happiness unless you tell them. Similarly when you are sad, it is you who will realize the pain most. People will sympathize but ultimately it is you who has to fight it out and come out successfully. In all the above cases it is you who is important as it is you who will help yourself at times of need.

Next, the B is your family. Your immediate family, it will be your parents, your brother, sister, husband, children. Remember it does not include your friends, boy friend, girl friend, your cousins, relatives. It is just your immediate relations who live with you, who are born and brought up with you. They will be the next to realize your success and failure. All your friends might get busy with their work at some point in life, but your parents are always there for you, no matter what is the circumstance they are currently in, their priority will be you at your time of need. When you need to select between spending your precious time, your vacation after two or three years at home etc always devote maximum time with your family. They missed you most. Always remember that you are here because of them. They are the reason for you to be the person you are. Your culture, grooming, attitude, education, status was all a gift from them. Never fail to acknowledge this at any point in your life.

The C in your life will consist of the chosen few friends and relatives who are the closest. It is here that you need to be very conscious and wary in picking those few very near and dear ones. They are the ones who are concerned in knowing about your accomplishments and disappointments. No matter how busy they are, they have few minutes to speak to you. It might be a weekly visit if he stays close to your place, a phone call if he is out of station. The contact may be once a week or once a month, but that person makes it a point to know everything about you and tells you everything about him. Irrespective of the situation and phases of life they will remain with you. They will sketch their own path for themselves in due course of time; however you will be an eternal member of their life. So always stay as a part of their life. Acknowledge their attention, feel their emotions, make time for them, remember to wish them on their important occasions and if possible take part in person. These are the few who have chosen you amidst millions in the world.

Last is the rest of the world. This consists of your everyday acquaintances, numerous friends whom you meet on the everyday walk of your life etc.

Set your priorities in the same order. Don’t loose your focus and priorities for anyone.

---- My mentor!!!!

Well after this new enlightenment, I went thru the book “Monk Who Sold His Ferrari”. In the narration, the Monk says the same thing in his way and conveys the same message.

Now if I look back at my life, I realize my follies and my wrong priorities in life. It did mess up my life to a large extent. Now I am realizing the importance of these words.

This article might be very long and boring to read, but trust me, if you just go back and check at your setbacks in life, all the set backs can be related to a point in the above said note. It’s been one of my best acquired knowledge till date!!!

Try try try again

It was the 17th of October. Morning 10 was my exam, the last and final attempt of my certification exam. Since the past few days, whichever exam I had taken I flunked, putting it optimistically I just missed the required marks in all of them. This had got down my confidence considerably and 17th being my last attempt I was edgy too.

I left no stone unturned, though I personally felt all the previous exams which I had not cleared was not primarily due to lack of groundwork as I had just missed to score THE number.

On the exam day, I got up early and did a bit of revision and did my morning rituals. Reached the examination center and sat at my seat. My nervousness was taking a toll on me. Decided to completely surrender to the almighty as that is the only way in which I can let go my anxiety.

Santu had thought me few tips to make myself sure I clear my exam. I went ahead and acted on his proposition. When I had to submit my answers at the end, I was sweating profusely and this was a situation which would either hinder my confidence level or assure me that with perseverance and hard work the word failure can be erased from my dictionary.

I submitted my answers and Bang!!!! I cleared my exam with "A" grade!!! It took my quiet sometime to realize what had just happened. I went with Santu on a long drive instantly after that and gave him a huge tight hug to express my happiness. This exam would not have affected my job or my career but definitely my confidence and my attitude towards my future.

Now I can actually realize the words

Thomas Alva Edison: Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

As Promised...
So here comes my first accomplishment. This week my Book Of knowledge(BOK) got published at the Infosys Knowledge repository. Now my name is sketched in the knowledge asset of Infosys. My 3 months efforts finally got good results!!!

Told about this immediately to all my near and dear ones. Now sharing it with my other friends and the world which is interested in knowing me ;-)

This will be a short post as I intend to keep this feel of ecstasy hidden and leave the for people to explore this feeling of mine on their own :-)

Live life to the fullest!!

Life was never this beautiful as it is these days. If you ask me what is so extraordinary about your life now, the reply is zilch absolutely nothing. I am not doing anything special or great. But I am enjoying every bit of anything and everything I am doing. I enjoy the morning alarm, totally excited to take on the day with full enthusiasm. I sketch a plan and so many errands for the day. These everyday jobs may be as simple as to collect a picture of my childhood days for a close friend to the house hold chores. Activities include studies, little prayers; phone talks, a fantastic saunter with a friend, TV shows, a pleasant read on the internet, a small game of cards, a fine song to hear or sing, have a family talk with my parents or some enjoyable talk with my brother, serious discussions with my friends, all of them which are very trivial and very routine.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s thoughts” You need a reason to be sad, Happiness is your default state”, I feel this in every walk of my existence.

This feeling and the glow in me has resulted in so many transformations right from the type of songs I listen to the class of dresses I shop. All my activities are so much fast paced that I got time to persist my writing only now after a long break.

Will get back soon with many more accomplishments which I will be finishing very soon!!!