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I walk on a road lush with dreams,
a road of forgotten and veiled dreams,
sometimes slowly, sometimes gaily,
sometimes lost, sometimes profound,
I walk a road of unknown mysteries,
fervently finding my way through the endless path.....

Monday, October 22, 2012

Rise and shine !!

o' woman of today
you fragile creature
know that you are strong
silence not your powers any more

For ages they have misused you
took your patience for granted
know that you too can speak
silence not your voice any more

every now and then
they victimize and torture one of you
know that you have an identity
silence not your respect any more

crushing your desires
they boast of control
know that you have a life
silence not your rights any more

though you be dainty
withholding your potential
know that you are not weak
silence not your strengths any more

The world exists at your feet
they must never ignore it
know that you are the begetter
silence not your might any more

patriarchy shouldn't mean oppression
you are no slave to them
know that you stand equal
silence not your pride any more

o' woman of today
stand up for yourself
know that you are the most wonderful creation
silence not your existence any more!



PS: Crimes, criminals, perverts, cowards, debauchees, barbarics - deal with them NOT with silence! 



Saturday, September 29, 2012

HAIL HUMANITY !!

'The human race has improved everything, but the human race' -Adlai Stevenson

We have a subject called FMT ( Forensic Medicine and Toxicology) as a part of our 2nd year Medical curriculum.
It basically deals with interpreting and establishing facts in civil and criminal law cases by the medical knowledge and knowing the underlying cause of death .
 As a part of this subject we students are asked to maintain a record of various crimes and transgressions ranging from murders/suicides/blasts to rapes/accidents/infamous conduct by doctors and so on in the form of newspaper clippings.

Now initially when we were handed this large 50 sheet file, my first reaction was how would I fill in these pages? It is impossible to find such extensive collection of criminal happenings and that too under so many sub-headings and that it was simply out of question to gather the articles in such a short span of 1 academic year.

But syllabus and files HAVE to be completed and so we took possession of it with utter hopelessness.
A month ahead to my extreme surprise and disgust at the same time I could identify not just one but several articles in the newspaper each day!

Come another month and many sections like rape, transportation injuries, criminal abortions, suicides and murders were already flooding with clippings and cuttings and managing them in a single page seemed to be daunting task now.

While I was obviously happy at my timely completion of work, the grim and gruesome scenario has left me anxious and furious.
Why are we heading towards such barbarism?
Is a socially civilized and tolerant society nothing more than a distant dream?
Are rights of fellow humans simply an on-paper pseudo political agenda?
 Has humanitarianism ceased to exist?
These and in numerous other questions envelop my mind every time I sit down to read and gather newspaper articles.

Where lies the role of education and reason- gifted minds? I fail to believe that we humans are the most superior and developed of all creatures.

If we can kill for money and stab someone to death in anger, if we can forget our duties and neglect our responsibilities, if cannot respect woman and uphold morals, if words like truth, justice and tolerance are mere words for us then where lies that difference between us and our ancestors hundreds of years prior to us?

I know my writing this wont make a zilch of a difference to atleast most of us. Coz majority believes that we are humble humans of a civilized society and the rest of us do not care to introspect where the world is heading to for its a matter too trifling to ponder upon.

I however still decided to write this as a part of my own duty. As Martin Luther King Jr. said "An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity".

I strongly feel its time that I and those who wish to seek a change wake up to overlook within rather seek to understand and act for issues that are in interest of all humanity.

Leaving you all with what Carlos Fuentes said "There must be something beyond slaughter and barbarism to support the existence of mankind and we must all help search for it".

Its time that we start this search. Its time indeed.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

For better, for worse....!!!


We live in a country where 'love' and 'marriage' are considered two issues poles apart. While marriage is considered to be a family affair, love is still looked down upon as an act of misdeed. And it is due to this disparity that 'love' and 'arrange' marriage hold a debatable position in the Indian society.
Now everyone can have a different understanding of the two so before proceeding to provide reason and opinions firstly I would like to define them.

A love marriage according to me is the one in which individuals themselves choose their life partner which means that the decision is purely a personal one and often not acceptable to the respective families. The reasons for which may vary from differences in caste/religion to social status.

On the other hand in an arranged marriage its the parents who decide the person their son/daughter would get married to. So in this case the individuals may or may not have known each other earlier but the families are consenting and mutually agreeing to connect.

'Love-cum-arranged' is a pleasant amalgamation of the two and in my opinion can be a very successful event owing to mutual understanding of all those involved. The debate we have here is however,between 'love' and 'arrange'.

Now the basic point is- in an arranged marriage all decisions are collectively discussed in contrast to love marriage where individuals decide their future. A collective opinion coming from more experienced members of both families definitely holds better chances of survival and success than an individual one.

Moving ahead, we all know that marriage is a bond of lifetime (at least in a country like India) but no one can spend their entire life being dependant on a single person no matter how much you love him/her. We all need relation and support of other people and not just the spouse to lead a truly happy and satisfactory life. Which is usually missing in a love marriage at least in the initial years.

Moreover, in case of any clashes or friction between the couple, which is inevitable they have their elders and naturally wiser people of the family to guide and advice in the arrange marriage set-up which tends to save them from a lot of problems.

No doubt that in love marriage the bride and groom have known each other from a certain time span and there is trust and understating but they also have 'pre-built' hopes and expectations of their better half.
On the contrary in arrange marriage the two individuals can only 'presume' that the decision taken by their elders is a good one. So after marriage when things begin to get 'real' and attributes like tolerance and patience give a back seat to love, expectations begin to tear apart. The individuals begin to feel 'this is not the person I decided to marry' . That's when love marriage attains an extremely vulnerable position and a series of ego clashes and disappointments may crop up.

In arrange marriage too the disappointments and ego clashes can occur but the blame automatically is forced on the 'deciding elders' and 'destiny' rather than the spouse which saves the situation to a great extent. Also the two individuals try and overlook a lot of differences knowing well that it takes time to develop understanding and healthy frequency between to newly met people.

There also is a sense of insecurity and added responsibility in case of love marriage as the burden of all blames and accountability of all actions is totally singular.
In arranged one, the blame and accusations seems to be a collective fault since the decision was a collective one.
Another point favouring arranged marriage is something called the 'initial spark' which develops after the couples get to know each other and gradually tend to get familiar. Each day is a surprise and mystery since you are in process of discovering your partner.

In love marriage however the initial spark goes missing and marriage comes as a point where the time for mushy romance is spaced up for mundane responsibilities, although the sense of security and trust maybe much more in this case the missing spark does make it appear bland and monotonous.

Belonging to a family where arrange marriages out do love marriages in number, I have seen them to be immensely successful and blissful. You should trust that your parents can never take decision that's not in the best of your interests. And since both the individuals realize that now they have been tied for a lifetime so the rights and duties somehow find a place even before love comes into picture which only strengthens the bond of admiration and respect in future.

As for those who feel that how can the most important decision of 'who I would spend my life with me decided by others' I'd say - life is game of chance rather than choices and those big and small chances that we take each day makes this experience a marvelously exciting and magically enchanting one !!

PS : The above opinions are strictly personal. I am not against love marriages but would prefer an arranged one over them. The bottom line however is, that for any relation to be successful and long lasting mutual understanding and trust marks the first step follwed by love and patience.
PS 2 : While exploring google image search I found this image particularly amusing ;)


To explore more on 'Love ya arrange' follow the facebook link here.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

The ugly side of beauty....


When God created humans, he did his best to be fair. Sprinkling carefully and wisely equal proportions of attributes so that each one of us can feel 'exquisite and beautiful'.

Man however has been in a habit of complicating things. Simple and apparently easily comprehensible things tend to distract him and he takes a path of complications. And so he deviated from this simplified version of God's granted beauty and confined it to merely a 'visual delight'.

This crooked definition of beauty has slowly been transformed into a necessary evil and humans today struggle mindlessly to grab a 'portion' while carelessly overlooking what was originally granted to them.

From Botox to liposuction, fairness creams to laser treatments we have senselessly been try to possess something that has been already thrust upon us. And to top up the insensibility, we gullibles 'demand' and 'desire' the same artificial and altered beauty in others too. Dumping away the real radiance.

He aspires to be tall, she dreams to be thin, his ambition is to get that athletic built and being fair is her desire!

We are vainly running to pick out an ingredient knowing little that our recipe of beauty is not just faulty but tasteless and ugly.

Endless advertisements with almost perfect faces, endorsing products to transform you into something which the creator himself did not feel fit to grant you. Sounds bizarre. isn't it?

When the artist or a writer decided NOT to bestow a certain trait or colour in the protagonist or painting, how can we as a reader and an on-looker 'artificially' apply them later?


But the social milieu and its hollow expectations have clogged our reasoning and logic to sheer opacity.

I doubt if much can be done to revert back from this track we have been walking blindfolded yet with 'élan'.

Alas! The botox beauty has occupied our minds and only serious retrospection can drain it away.

It might appear pessimistic on my part to end this post on a negative note but even after a lot of reasoning I couldn't come up with solutions that can be helpful for this is not a community or country issue, it rests with generation gone, the present one and the ones that shall live after us.

If only the actual beauty of each individual can be unveiled. If only we try and search that radiance within and around us those things of beauty would truly be joyous forever!

What do you think?!

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

I play with love !!


 Hide and seek. Seek and hide. A game that me and love have been playing right from the time I met it.
Some people count in 'love' as a game in itself but for me it has always been a fellow player.
A tough, ardent and possessive player.
Like most games that start from fun, frolic and tend to get dirty and intense, the players too somehow shift from being friendly to malignant. What began as a healthy competition turns into a cut-throat revenge.
Ours too has its highs and lows.
I do accept that I have been mostly on the 'hiding' side, trying my best to find a cave or curtain solitary enough to let love not find me.
Atleast not so easily.
Atleast not so quickly.

But as I said, the game gets uglier and love deceives me with his ways to catch hold of me, clutching tightly.
After all, when everything is fair for love, rules don't make much of a difference to..do they?

I dutifully accept my defeat and begin my search of 'him', the fellow player.
He is smart and his ways are unpredictable I tell u.
He hides so deep and deeper within that I am unable to track down even the shadow of it.
Days and months pass. I am able to search him not.
Neither can I give up, for its a game of life now.
And then , after million tries I finally decided to let go, to accept my defeat. I surrender finally.
Sit and reflect on my stupidity.
Promising to never play with it again. Never ever.
And suddenly, it emerges again persuading me for a new game, a new battle, a new hope- that I might win this time. Just this first and final time.


I seek again. I lose again.
but I play again.....Cunning love. Chimeric me.


Sunday, June 10, 2012

The disability distress !!

“Science may have found a cure for most evils, but it has found no remedy for worst of them all – the APATHY of human beings".– Helen Keller.

While reading this quote, I wondered what would have made a truly phenomenal lady say something like that?
And then Scott Hamilton’s word came to my mind that ‘the only disability in life is a bad attitude'.
Meaning, we humans who categorize the like of us on the basis of their different abilities as ‘DIS-abled’ are actually themselves disabled.

The world however, doesn’t work according to my whims and fancies and so a disability according to WHO is defined as,

any restriction or lack (resulting from any impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being”

Going by the cited definition, our country has around 60-70 million population disabled people. In other words, 6% of our population belongs to a category which has been in a way or the other been either completely neglected or left to the clutches of mockery and disdain.

The government introduced the integrated education for disabled children (IEDC) in 1974. And the right to education for all children between 6-14 years includes the children with special needs too.
But merely making policies and implementing them are two roads apart. Neither the government nor the schools have taken any measures to incorporate these children and entitle them a brighter future that they deserve.

The result– out of 60-70 million only 2% are educated.

'The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995' was passed by the Indian Parliament in December of 1995.

The law clearly states that at least 5% of the work force both in public and private sector should employ people with disability.
But, in spite of the fact that many disabled are capable of doing productive work the situation is rather grim.
  • Percentage of disabled employees in the respondent companies: 0.40%
  • Percentage of employees with disabilities in the Public Sector: 0.54%
  • Percentage of employees with disabilities in the Private Sector: 0.28%
  • Percentage of employees with disabilities in the Multinationals: 0.05%
  • Out of the 70 respondent companies, 20 companies did not employ any disabled person at all
  • Out of the 70 respondent companies, only 10 were found to have 1% or above disabled employees.
the result - out of the 60-70 million only 0.1% manage to get employed.

These and many more shocking figures make us believe that why are we dragging these people as well as our country to dungeons of poverty and backwardness?
Why can’t the country provide a respectable life, proper education, employment and equal opportunities to a population which comprises of 6-7% of its people?
Why do we see these people as an object of pity and worthy only of relying on our charity?
Many of them are equally or even more capable than us. With little support (not necessarily physical but moral) they can work to lessen our burden and contribute greatly to the economic growth of a developing country like ours.
What we need to understand:
  1. The most basic need of the hour is to stop seeing them as someone who deserves our pity or money. They definitely are worth more.
  2. A disability of any kind is a disease and no borne out to make us ‘repent for our past life sins’ etc.
  3. Understand that disability is a very broad term – Mental, physical, other impairments are all poles apart each other and so the needs and opportunities for a person of mental disability have a stark contrast with those of a physically disabled.
  4. Education is important for ALL.
  5. A majority of them can live a normal life without any support and can work efficiently.
  6. Regarding the employment, various studies have shown the persons with disabilities are more likely to be regular at work and perform better than persons without any visible disability can.
And most importantly, we need to cleanse ourselves of the ‘spiritual disability’ prior to making judgments and forming convictions.

(stats taken from the world wide web).

PS : There are many NGO's and individuals who work to provide employment to people with disability. 
INABILITY 2 ENABILITY is one of them. Kindly 'like' the FB page to join in and spread the word around. Your suggestions/inputs will be heartily welcomed :) Thank you.

Friday, June 1, 2012

uff ye shaadi ;(

In our country, as soon as a girl bids farewell to her teenage she inadvertently welcomes a huge trouble for herself. A problem that will change her life for the better, no bitter.OK! I am not very sure for what!

Yes, you prompted it correct in your mind ( so no prizes for guessing) - She has unwilling/unfortunately/unconsciously been transformed into a 'potential marriage material'.
From distant relatives to D-block wali Dadi (assuming you reside in say,Z-block) every one's prime concern seems to be your doli ka uthna or mandap ka sajna!

And its your own 'mother' who has been constructing the tallest dreams. Taller than Burj Khalifa in Dubai!
But the trouble arises when she starts realizing that her dreams so tall, are made of trump cards ready to not just be blown but put on fire by her very own 'aaj kal ke zamaane ki beti'.

She can apply nail polish with newton's accuracy at mechanics but breaking an egg gives her jitters.
Her mascara never dares to smudge off but her cupboard is a mess. The skirts shiver to touch her knees and cell-phone is her soul-mate. She has neither seen the face of the kitchen nor the morning sun!


But mom ain't any gullible creature so that's when she decides to grab her most tried and tested tool. NO! its not the chimta (tongs) or karchul( ladle) anymore. C'mon they are so passe ( I doubt if they even exist in kitchen now a days). Its the 'verbal bullets' humbly known as 'taane'.

"sasurral mein jaake mobile hi chalana"
"saas aag laga degi inn skirts ko"
'tumhari shakal dekh kar pati ka peit nahi bhar jaega"  
ye make-up thop lene se zindagi nahi kat ti"

 Now, excuse me for the lack of space (and what fun in repeating things which you yourself hear almost everyday ;) )

So what I wonder is how can our beloved mothers predict such a grievous future of ours?
And Since they have already forecasted it how do they expect us to become a perfect 'marriage material' after listening to such horrifying stories?
Had they narrated us the 'Cindrella and snow white' tales they did when we are kids we might as well have tried to co-operate in their scheme of plans. Don't they remember how eagerly we wanted to get married then?
But the situation seems more 'real' now. And I ought to be petrified!
So your Burj Dubai dreams need to be seriously tackled mom. Where is the matchbox I ask?! 

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Homoeopathy - Lets dwell deeper!

Sir William Ostler (Father of Modern Medicine) has said - 
 
"No individual has done more good to the medical profession than Samuel Hahnemann (the father of Homeopathy)".

Homoeopathy has been derived from a Greek word 'homeos' meaning similar ( not same) and 'pathos' meaning suffering. So, it is basically treatment on the principle of 'like cures like'.

The root of this principle dates back to Vedic literature and writings of Hippocrates ( who is the father of medicine). 
But, it was after many years that Samuel Hanhemann, a German physician while translating a book called 'Cullen's Materia Medica' discovered its efficacy.

Hanhemann read in the Materia Medica that 'cinchona bark could cure intermittent (malaria- like) fevers'. This particular sentence did not convince him much and he did something extraordinary. He took the extract of the medicine himself as a part of experimentation! And to his surprise, within a few days he developed malaria-like symptoms. 
This experiment of Hanhemann lead to the birth of homoeopathy. He realized that the same cinchona bark which caused symptoms of malaria in a healthy human ( himself) was responsible for curing it too.

So the popular believes that many people have today that Homoepathy is nothing but a 'magic potion' of sweet pills and stands on 'no scientific principle' is completely wrong.
Time and again when human provings of over 2000 homoeopathic drugs are carried out results are observed and registered.

All over the world, homeopathic clinics and hospitals are curing all kinds of cases. From a simple fever to complex diseases. I do not debate on the fact that homoepathy is the 'quickest' remedy or has 'cure for everything' on earth. That is NOT true. Like any other medical science it too has its limitations and short-comings.

But if prescribed correctly and taken with faith and correct guidance Homoeopathy DOES POSSESS THE POWER TO CURE, by cure I mean ACTUAL CURE and not simply SUPPRESSING A COMPLAINT TO SEE IT RETURNING BACK after a week, a month or an year.

For all those, still in doubt I advice you to - TRY IT ONCE :)

  
Samuel Hahnemann Memorial at Scott Circle in Washington, D.C. The memorial is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.


PS : You can read the introductory post HERE .
 

Monday, May 21, 2012

HOMOEOPATHY



Being a BHMS student, the course of usual conversation with relatives, acquaintances and at times random strangers is some what like this :

They – What are you doing? 
ME – BHMS
They – BHMS? Now whats that?
Me – Its bachelor of homoeopathic medicine and surgery
They – (utterly astonished) homoeopathy? ( As if I told them I sold fruits in the nearest market)
Why did u choose homoeopathy? :-/
Will you be even recognized as a doctor? What is the duration of the course, 2 yrs? (Did I even answer that?)
Why didn’t you opt for Dental or Ayurveda instead? (Like it would have made any difference to their life!)


And an endless string of (pointless) questions bombard on me till the topic of our conversation somehow feels guilty of its birth and attempts suicide or is lets say, murdered!

What surprises me is when these so- called well wishers of mine don’t even know what BHMS stands for, the duration of the course ( leave aside the amount of hard work a qualified homoeopath puts in), nearly half of them have never tried a single homoeopathic remedy. Who on earth gave them the right to demoralize or look down upon the system I proudly plan to practice?

Their 'sympathetic minds' are too stubborn to accept that homeopathy is much more that 'peddling white pills' and false claims like there exists no scientific proof of this system of medicine is totally baseless.
I wish I could explain their 'reason gifted' minds that the white pills are simply a medium to carry the medicine which is usually a liquid proved on healthy humans, and not just once but the efficacy of it has been established by proving it a dozens of times. Making homeopathy a science so unique and advanced.

Also bring to their knowledge that a 200 year old system couldn’t have survived so long simply on sugar pills. What homoeopathy talked of 200 years ago, the modern medical science struggles to prove today.


From nanotechnology to molecular injections, we are coming to the era of micro dilutions which is precisely the underlying idea of homoeopathy.

As Arthur Schopenhauer has said:
"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident".

Its been aeon's that homeopathy has continued to be ridiculed and violently opposed. But we hope that now is the time. Until then homeopaths all over the world would continue to heal and cure.
After all ‘The physician’s high and only mission is to restore the sick to health, to cure, as it is termed’. (aphorism 1- Book of Organon, written by Dr. Samuel Hanhemann, founder of homoeopathy) .


PS : This article has originally been written by me for my college magazine.
 PPS: This is also the 1st post of the series I will be writing on my blog to create awareness about HOMOEOPATHY for the 'ignorants and freelancer conjectures'  !!
your support will be highly appreciated and your queries are welcomed :)

Read more - HERE

Friday, May 18, 2012

...the last gasp...

 

Endless steps
I climb
darker dungeons
breathlessness
the last gasp...

O where did I leave
my own self
amidst uncertain 
promises
the last gasp...

In the flowing river
I crawl helplessly
up and down
to reach no where
the last gasp...

Crumbled dreams
in a wounded box
rip it apart
let me escape
the last gasp...

Royal curtains
beaded and stoned
aren't pretty anymore
tear them apart
the last gasp...

Blood rushes
in and out
profuse and red
momentary respite
the last gasp...

Silence murdered
the soul inside
a gush of air
and it all ends
the last gasp....

Monday, May 7, 2012

No 'contacts' pleaseee !!


Disclaimer : A mindless post. You might end up feeling exasperated. So read at your own risk ;)

The day I bought my very first pair of contact lenses on the occasion of my cousins marriage, I felt no less than a Cinderella who has just been dressed up for the grand party by the plump fairy (read ophthalmologist, who was equally plump) !
Having been wearing spectacles from the age of 11, contact lenses did come as a breeze of cool wind in the month of may.
Back home, I 'throned' the box with utmost care in the drawer and waited for the day as much as the bride herself.

Finally, on the day of marriage, I sat eyeing the mirror with my hands clean, nails cut ( like an obedient toddler on the first day as school) and opening my eyes wide began inserting the concave transparent thing.
 But contact lenses aren't that friendly and humble creatures you see.They are stubborn. Very stubborn. In fact calling then merely stubborn will be an understatement. They are unfriendly, irritating, extremely moody and green eyed like your cunning classmate at college.


Once, twice, thrice, I tried and toiled with all my will to make peace only to find myself failing each time, with my eyes watering even more profusely and Alas! like a loose cannon it fell down only to be gobbled up by the white marble floor.
An hour later, I was at the marriage ceremony looking almost a mess and of course with my dear spectacles accompanying me.
That was when I swore never to get into the Cinderella avatar again.

School ended and college began. And in spite of being in a medical college, it was rather astonishing to see absolutely no one wearing the glasses.
But peer pressure got the better of me and here I was again sitting and struggling with this moody irritating fellow ( After all promises and resolutions are meant to be broken).

Even today, we have after days of bitter fights and then spectacles come to my rescue. 
But with practice and patience, I have learned the art of keeping my chin up and tackle the transparent chap with all my tact.
That's what life is all about, after all. isn't it? 


Saturday, May 5, 2012

My wonderland :)


My dear readers - From now on I will try and be more regular and loyal to blogging .Got to read many of you and write a lot of good stuff too, so stay connected! :D



And now, beginning on a 'love note'




You and I
miles apart
so close still
its a wonderland

our worlds so aloof
parallel paths
somehow merge in one
its a wonderland

our eyes never meet
yet the same moon
shines on us both
its a wonderland

no beary hugs
still the divine light
en-wraps us tight
its a wonderland

we live by faith
not by sight
bridging through insight
its a wonderland

not stolen kisses
but the sweet nothings
tie us till eternity
its a wonderland

I know not his touch
he is unaware of my gaze
but ubiquitous is love
its a wonderland

so far and far
each little moment
a blissful delight
its a wonderland

unrevealed is his scent
veiled is my beauty
so strongly tangible still
its a wonderland

neither flowers nor rings
the words are our gift
to make the heart ecstatic
its a wonderland

stars testify our bond
imaginary yet so real
not a fairy's world
its a GIRL'S wonderland !

Friday, April 13, 2012

Snow



Late in the evening 
snow begins to fall
little insignificant flakes
drapes mountains and homes

lush, pure and calm
like a sea painted white
serene as it flutters
gentle as in sways

In a valley exists a town
a little unheard one
with a dim lit cottage
wildflowers and soft grasses

amidst the mountain range
sits a girl besides the window pane
snow ruffles her dreams
that's her belief

in the loneliness of nights
snow flickers like hope
delighting her yearnings
sharing lost dreams

the silence of snow
talks of untold desires
on petite white flakes
swings endless mysteries.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Each one, Teach one!


We live in a world that's constantly changing - accepting and rejecting, building and destructing ,creating and re-creating! Yet not all changes are beneficial. What we need is a 'positive alteration' to make our world a better place and undoubtedly education exists as the most powerful tool for bringing about this requisite 'positive change' within and around us. 

Education is the backbone of a well co-ordinated and smoothly functioning society.


A society cannot stand powerful until and unless its people are not aware of their duties, rights and responsibilities and will collapse sooner or later. Sooner perhaps than later. 

So, by simply logic we can conclude that a major share of our everyday problems breach out because of lack of education. And by education , I mean learning in its true 'pragmatic' form and not just what our Institutions boast to impart. 
From violence against women to road rage, from public hygiene to child abuse, from corruption to horrendous crimes- the real parasite is 'illiteracy'. those vacant, ignorant and unintelligent minds that have been let loose to wander. Ann Radcliffe says,
"A well-informed mind is the best security against the contagion of folly and of vice. The vacant mind is ever on the watch for relief, and ready to plunge into error, to escape from the languor of idleness". 
 
Last week, while strolling in a mall with my 8 year old brother, I suddenly looked behind to find him running towards the litter Bin. As I stood there to understand what exactly was he up to,I realized he had actually ran to throw an ice- cream wrapper lying on the floor.
That's when I envisioned the real role those colourful EVS books have - sensitizing the young minds towards their environment to make them turn into responsible and vigilant citizens of the country.

"The foundation of every state is the education of its youth". - Diogenes Laertius

So,instead of cribbing and complaining why not become a tool to weed out the diseases of a vacant mind?
Look around in your locality or even our own homes and educate to bring about a change. 
By education I don't mean the books or the languages. By education I mean the real purpose of learning.
 
As B.F. Skinner puts it,
 

"Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten".
 
Telling the maid why she should send her daughter to school is education.
letting the rag- picker understand how plastic harms the environment is education. 
Teaching a little girl about her sanitation and safety is education.
Informing the auto-rickshaw driver the advantages of saving fuel is also education.
 
Let each one of us, teach one of us. That's the change I want, Education for all. 
 
Each one, teach one
your maids daughter
or neighbours son

use your knowledge
to awaken the minds
let it not fade away

raise your voice
not to complain
but to shackle the faults

let your words travel
deep and ringing
in the minds of wrongdoers

you have the power
for a word taught
is a crime curbed

play it wise
and break the stereotypes
you have the strength

remember 'KNOWLEDGE IS POWER' !

This post has been written for Indiblogger's 'Time to change' contest conducted by Stayfree.. 
What is your idea of change? Do let me know :) And you can promote my post HERE..