Think Indian, Think!!!
This has been written by our President Mr.APJ abdul kalam plz read this mail once and think about it if u r reallly an indian!!!!!!
I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph. I asked her what her goal in life is.
She replied: I want to live in a developed India .
For her, you and I will have to build this developed India . You must proclaim. India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly developed nation.
Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance.
Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is yours.
YOU say that our government is inefficient.
YOU say that our laws are too old.
YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.
YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke,
The airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination.
You say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits.
YOU say, say and say.
What do YOU do about it?
Take a person on his way to Singapore.
Give him a name?
YOURS.
Give him a face?
YOURS.
YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best.
In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores.
YOU are as proud of their Underground Links as they are.
You pay $5 (approx. Rs.60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM.
YOU comeback to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over-stayed, identity.
In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU?
YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai.
YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah.
YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds (Rs.650) a month to, "see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else."
YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop, "Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so's son. Take your two bucks and get lost."
YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand.
Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo?
Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in
Boston ?????
We are still talking of the same YOU.
YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will thro w papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground.
If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India?
Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal Commissioner of Bombay, Mr.Tinaikar, had a point to make.
"Rich people"s dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place," he said. "And then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his bowels?
In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job. Same in Japan . Will the Indian citizen do that here?"
He's right.
We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility.
We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick a up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin.
We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms.
We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity.
This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to the public.
When it comes to burning social issues like those related to women, dowry, girl child and others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse?
"It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my son's rights to a dowry."
So who's going to change the system? What does a system consist of? Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbours, other households, other cities, other communities and the government.
But definitely not me and YOU.
When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr. Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away.
Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their glory and praise their system.
When New York becomes insecure we run to England .
When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf.
When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home by the Indian government.
Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country.
Nobody thinks of feeding the system.
Our conscience is mortgaged to money.
Dear Indians, the article is highly thought inductive, calls for a great deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too?..
I am echoing J.F. Kennedy's words to his fellow American to relate to Indians?.
"ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY "
Lets do what India needs from us.
Send this page to all your friends
Thank You,
Dr. Abdul Kalaam
P.S.: I don't know if this is a real mail of our Hon'ble President or a faked one. But, it does have lot of things to ponder! Do forward it. Even if one percent of who receives this change, you would have taken some action in the direction of making our country a better place to live for us and our children. Atleast for once, let our selfishness help others.
Have you seen my other blog?
24 August 2006
20 August 2006
We are still coming to terms
Last year, this day, at this hour, he was alive. Performing religious rituals and planning the day ahead for finalising the right girl for my youngest brother
On the night of that day, he breathed his last, leaving all of us in a state of shock. I was there with him just about 40 days before and seen him in his elements.
He had sent me an email chronicling the happenings of the day (20 August 2005) at 10.30 pm on that day. And had completed it with the words that "God will take care of everything". Was he aware of what was coming to him?
Not everyone is blessed to leave this world with least pains. Our dear dad got it. He was alive and active at 10.30 pm and became history by 10.50 pm.
But he remains alive in our thoughts just like the smell of soap that stays in your hand even after the soap had fallen into the sea and washed away.
Our father didn't tell us how to live; he lived, and let us watch him do it.
Have you seen my other blog?
On the night of that day, he breathed his last, leaving all of us in a state of shock. I was there with him just about 40 days before and seen him in his elements.
He had sent me an email chronicling the happenings of the day (20 August 2005) at 10.30 pm on that day. And had completed it with the words that "God will take care of everything". Was he aware of what was coming to him?
Not everyone is blessed to leave this world with least pains. Our dear dad got it. He was alive and active at 10.30 pm and became history by 10.50 pm.
But he remains alive in our thoughts just like the smell of soap that stays in your hand even after the soap had fallen into the sea and washed away.
Our father didn't tell us how to live; he lived, and let us watch him do it.
Have you seen my other blog?
18 August 2006
Monkey Game
Once upon a time in a village a man appeared who announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for Rs. 10. The villagers seeing that there were many monkeys went out in the forest and started catching them. The man bought thousands at 10 and as supply started to diminish and villagers started to stop their effort he announced that now he would buy at 20 rupees.
This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching moneys again. Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer rate increased to 25 and the supply of monkeys became so that it was an effort to even see a monkey let alone catch it.
The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at 50! However, since he had to go to the city on some business his assistant would now buy on behalf of the man.
In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers, "Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has collected. I will sell them to you at 35 and when the man comes back you can sell it to him for 50."
The villagers queued up with all their saving to buy the monkeys.
After that?
The man or his assistant were not to be found.
The villagers had lots of monkeys to take care of.
In the back drop of the above see the price chart and the financials of a company below.
Is the monkey game on? (Look at the steep increase in price and the name of the company. Isn't it crazy?)
See the fundamentals of this stock here
What is the regulator and the surveilance mechanism doing?
Have you seen my other blog?
This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching moneys again. Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer rate increased to 25 and the supply of monkeys became so that it was an effort to even see a monkey let alone catch it.
The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at 50! However, since he had to go to the city on some business his assistant would now buy on behalf of the man.
In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers, "Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has collected. I will sell them to you at 35 and when the man comes back you can sell it to him for 50."
The villagers queued up with all their saving to buy the monkeys.
After that?
The man or his assistant were not to be found.
The villagers had lots of monkeys to take care of.
In the back drop of the above see the price chart and the financials of a company below.
Is the monkey game on? (Look at the steep increase in price and the name of the company. Isn't it crazy?)
See the fundamentals of this stock here
What is the regulator and the surveilance mechanism doing?
Have you seen my other blog?
15 August 2006
Keep porting your data to new storage
Let your cherished moments not get wiped out by technology
Few years back, in one of the in-flight magazines, I read an interesting article about how to keep one's data accessible all the time.
You may have the data recorded in tapes, floppies CDs, DVDs, thumb drives - you name it. When I say data, I mean all types of data - plain information or music files or photos or your savoured moments captured in video, whatever.
Though the media in which you keep them may last long, the hardware that you use to create them or access may get outdated.
I have lots floppies - this generation may not even know they existed - of the five and a quarter inch variety with data in them. Well secured and in usable condition. Only problem is you no longer find a computer that can read a five and a quarter floppy disc.
Same is happening now to the three and half inch floppy drives. Computers have started coming without these as people are more comfortable using thumb drives instead of floppies. My new laptop has no floppy drive.
Video tapes will soon go away. Already we have in the market DVD recorders that can directly record programs to DVDs.
If you have been using a video camera and had no habit of converting those videos into CDs or tapes playable on VCRs, you might have already lost all those recorded moments as the bigger video tapes used in old day cameras have been replaced by cameras that directly record into DVDs or into smaller DVB cassettes.
So, if you want to preserve your data and lifes interesting frozen/moving moments, better keep transferring those into latest storage media. This applies to both official and personal data.
When do you shift the data from one media to another? It is best to change when one hardware technology is being replaced by another. For example, we are now seeing the three and half inch floppy drive is getting outdated. At this point, we do have quite a lot of comptuers still having that drive while also having USB ports/ CD/DVD drives. So, you will have a chance to convert the data in one media to another with least hassles. If you wait any longer (may be another year) you may not have any computer in working condition that will be able to read your three and half inch floppy disc for you.
I thought these problems only exist with poor souls like us. But, a recent article showed that not only the general public but also such big organisations like NASA are way behind in data porting and have failed to keep up with the technology. Read the story below.
One giant blip for mankind as moon landing tapes are mislaid
Dan Glaister in Los AngelesTuesday
August 15, 2006
The Guardian
Houston, we have a problem. The Apollo 11 moon landings were one of the defining moments of the 20th century. In 1969 an estimated 600m people watched the grainy black-and-white images of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin taking "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" as they became the first men to set foot on the surface of the moon.
But now the original recordings of those moments have been mislaid. The poor quality images broadcast on television at the time were video recordings of the original film. Shot at 10 frames a second, the original is much clearer and is thought to include details that are not discernible on the television recordings
The grainy television recordings have buoyed the many theories that suggest the moon landings never took place, and were instead a cold war propaganda ploy. Critics point to the lack of stars in the broadcast images of the night sky, as well as the multiple shadows - suggesting, they argue, a second light source, such as a spotlight - and the fluttering of the US flag on the breezeless moon.
"The conspiracy theorists have been with us since day one on this," said a Nasa spokesman. "We hope that when we go back to the moon again they'll finally believe us."
The original tapes of the moon landings were shot from a camera mounted on top of the Eagle lunar lander. These were sent back to three tracking stations, two in Australia and one in California. After being converted to the 60 frames a second used for television broadcast, they were sent by analogue signal to Houston for broadcast, further degrading the image quality.
A year after the landings, the original film was copied on to magnetic tape and delivered to Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt, Maryland. All but two of the 700 boxes of magnetic tapes are now missing.
"I would simply like to clarify that the tapes are not lost as such," John Sarkissian of the Parkes Observatory in Australia, who has been involved in the search for the tapes, told the website space.com. "We are confident that they are stored at Goddard ... we just don't know where precisely."
The data evaluation lab at Goddard is the only known place to have the equipment and expertise to play back the tapes, according to Mr Sarkissian, but the lab is scheduled for closure in October. Even if the lab's equipment is saved, the tapes may be of little use. "They are so old and fragile, it's not certain they could even be played," said the Nasa spokesman.
Have you read my other blog?
Few years back, in one of the in-flight magazines, I read an interesting article about how to keep one's data accessible all the time.
You may have the data recorded in tapes, floppies CDs, DVDs, thumb drives - you name it. When I say data, I mean all types of data - plain information or music files or photos or your savoured moments captured in video, whatever.
Though the media in which you keep them may last long, the hardware that you use to create them or access may get outdated.
I have lots floppies - this generation may not even know they existed - of the five and a quarter inch variety with data in them. Well secured and in usable condition. Only problem is you no longer find a computer that can read a five and a quarter floppy disc.
Same is happening now to the three and half inch floppy drives. Computers have started coming without these as people are more comfortable using thumb drives instead of floppies. My new laptop has no floppy drive.
Video tapes will soon go away. Already we have in the market DVD recorders that can directly record programs to DVDs.
If you have been using a video camera and had no habit of converting those videos into CDs or tapes playable on VCRs, you might have already lost all those recorded moments as the bigger video tapes used in old day cameras have been replaced by cameras that directly record into DVDs or into smaller DVB cassettes.
So, if you want to preserve your data and lifes interesting frozen/moving moments, better keep transferring those into latest storage media. This applies to both official and personal data.
When do you shift the data from one media to another? It is best to change when one hardware technology is being replaced by another. For example, we are now seeing the three and half inch floppy drive is getting outdated. At this point, we do have quite a lot of comptuers still having that drive while also having USB ports/ CD/DVD drives. So, you will have a chance to convert the data in one media to another with least hassles. If you wait any longer (may be another year) you may not have any computer in working condition that will be able to read your three and half inch floppy disc for you.
I thought these problems only exist with poor souls like us. But, a recent article showed that not only the general public but also such big organisations like NASA are way behind in data porting and have failed to keep up with the technology. Read the story below.
One giant blip for mankind as moon landing tapes are mislaid
Dan Glaister in Los AngelesTuesday
August 15, 2006
The Guardian
Houston, we have a problem. The Apollo 11 moon landings were one of the defining moments of the 20th century. In 1969 an estimated 600m people watched the grainy black-and-white images of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin taking "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" as they became the first men to set foot on the surface of the moon.
But now the original recordings of those moments have been mislaid. The poor quality images broadcast on television at the time were video recordings of the original film. Shot at 10 frames a second, the original is much clearer and is thought to include details that are not discernible on the television recordings
The grainy television recordings have buoyed the many theories that suggest the moon landings never took place, and were instead a cold war propaganda ploy. Critics point to the lack of stars in the broadcast images of the night sky, as well as the multiple shadows - suggesting, they argue, a second light source, such as a spotlight - and the fluttering of the US flag on the breezeless moon.
"The conspiracy theorists have been with us since day one on this," said a Nasa spokesman. "We hope that when we go back to the moon again they'll finally believe us."
The original tapes of the moon landings were shot from a camera mounted on top of the Eagle lunar lander. These were sent back to three tracking stations, two in Australia and one in California. After being converted to the 60 frames a second used for television broadcast, they were sent by analogue signal to Houston for broadcast, further degrading the image quality.
A year after the landings, the original film was copied on to magnetic tape and delivered to Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt, Maryland. All but two of the 700 boxes of magnetic tapes are now missing.
"I would simply like to clarify that the tapes are not lost as such," John Sarkissian of the Parkes Observatory in Australia, who has been involved in the search for the tapes, told the website space.com. "We are confident that they are stored at Goddard ... we just don't know where precisely."
The data evaluation lab at Goddard is the only known place to have the equipment and expertise to play back the tapes, according to Mr Sarkissian, but the lab is scheduled for closure in October. Even if the lab's equipment is saved, the tapes may be of little use. "They are so old and fragile, it's not certain they could even be played," said the Nasa spokesman.
Have you read my other blog?
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