That's My Linkedin ID

http://in.linkedin.com/in/nabarunpaul

All About Starting a Restaurant

ARE YOU DREAMING ABOUT OWNING A RESTAURANT OR STARTING ONE?
• Do you think you have extra time and want to utilise it to make some money?
• Do you have the passion to indulge yourself with the restaurant business?
• If yes, then read on...
• Before you do jump into the restaurant business explained below are few attributes

ATTRIBUTES
• Drive energy and willingness to take responsibility and risks, make decisions, and accept the consequences.
• Personal initiative and the ability to not rely on others to get the ball rolling or defer decisions to others or to committees.
• Personality and human relations ability. This includes emotional stability, sociability, and cheerfulness in adversity; co-operation, tact, and considera-tion for others.
• Organizational ability with an eye to detail so that those around you don’t have to guess what needs to be done and who has to do it.
• Communication ability both written and oral. You have to be able to com-municate with employees, suppliers, customers, bankers, and all the other people you have to deal with daily.
• Administrative ability in planning, setting goals and objectives, deciding how to measure results, controlling the business, interpreting financial statements, and similar matters.
• Technical knowledge about the restaurant business. This means not only knowing what you do know but also where you may be deficient in certain skills and technical abilities so that you can upgrade yourself or hire em-ployees competent in that area.
• Good judgement, patience, and restrain.
• Leadership.
• Looking over that list you might think that nobody could ever survive in the restaurant business. However, this is only a list of desirable characteristics that are helpful in most situations, it is not necessarily indicative of failure if you don’t possess one or several of them.

1. WILLINGNESS TO WORK HARD
• One characteristic is generally absolutely essential: a willingness to work hard.
• Without that, you are almost certainly doomed to fail in the restaurant business.
• If you do work hard, you should achieve success. That success will be measured not only in having a profitable restaurant, but also in the rewards that are less easy to measure, such as being your own boss, having pride in restaurant ownership, enjoying status in the community, and owning an outlet for creative ideas.

2. OTHER QUESTIONS
• Now, honestly answer the following questions:
• Do I have the mental and physical stamina to run my own restaurant?
• Am I prepared to sacrifice my present lifestyle to this new venture?
• Are my spouse and family (if any) willing to accept the change and possible upheaval in lifestyle?
• How much income do I need to survive during this period of change?
• Can I survive if all my income has to come from a new restaurant venture that may not be successful?
• If the answer to each of these five questions is not a definite yes, it is pos-sible you may be acting on emotion rather than in an objective way. In that case, if you do not succeed, you have only yourself to blame.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF STARTING A NEW RESTAURANT
• The main emphasis will be on starting a new restaurant from scratch. There are both advantages and disadvantages to starting a new restaurant, and you might want to be aware of these in order to consider the alternative of purchasing an already existing restaurant that is for sale.

1. ADVANTAGES
• Some of the advantages of staring your own restaurant are as follows:
• You can select a location that takes advantage of current economic or market conditions.
• If your plans include constructing a new building, you can have it designed to your specifications to suit the type of restaurant you plan to have, and the type of restaurant you plan to have, and the type and size of building can also be designed for conditions as they exist today.
• There may be an appeal to potential customers about a new restaurant being opened. Curiosity alone may help you attract a good starting clientele.

2. DISADVANTAGES
• Some of the disadvantages of starting your own business are as follows:
• If land and building are involved, the time required to put together a fi-nancing arrangement to buy the necessary land and put together a building package can be long and the financing itself fairly complex.
• A clientele will have to be built up.
• This takes time – anywhere from a few months in some restaurants to two to three years in others. Starting a new restaurant does not, by itself, create an immediate new clientele or market.
• Building up a clientele also delays a return on your own investments, and during this time interest will have to be paid on borrowed money. In addition, it may require you to keep advancing the company new cash to keep it in op-eration.
• Any new restaurant suffers an additional risk since it will probably have to compete with already existing competitive restaurant whose sites and/or locations are more favorable and whose business is already successfully es-tablished.
• If you feel that the above disadvantages outweigh the advantages, you should then seriously consider the alternative of purchasing an already successful restaurant business. If that is the case, another alternative might be to try to reduce the risk by starting your restaurant on a franchised basis.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF FRANCHISING
• Buying a franchise can be a quick way to set up your own business without starting from scratch. But there are also a number of drawbacks.
• When it comes to starting a business, many people think of buying a franchise as a shortcut to success. While there is some truth to this, not all franchises are created equal, and not everyone is cut out to be a franchisee.

1. ADVANTAGES
• Your business is based on a proven idea. You can check how successful other franchises are before committing yourself.
• You can use a recognised brand name and trademarks. You benefit from any advertising or promotion by the owner of the franchise - the 'franchisor'.
• The franchisor gives you support - usually including training, help setting up the business, a manual telling you how to run the business and ongoing advice.
• You usually have exclusive rights in your territory. The franchisor won't sell any other franchises in the same territory.
• Financing the business may be easier. Banks are sometimes more likely to lend money to buy a franchise with a good reputation.
• You benefit from communicating and sharing ideas with and receiving sup-port from other franchisees in the network
• Relationships with suppliers have already been established.

2. DISADVANTAGES
• Costs may be higher than you expect. As well as the initial costs of buying the franchise, you pay continuing management service fees and you may have to agree to buy products from the franchisor.
• The franchise agreement usually includes restrictions on how you run the business. You might not be able to make changes to suit your local market.
• The main disadvantage of buying a franchise is that you have to do it their way - sometimes right down to the way the napkin holders are filled. As a franchisee, you are not the one actually running the show, and some fran-chisors exert a degree of control that you may find excruciating
• The franchisor might go out of business.
• Other franchisees could give the brand a bad reputation.
• You may find it difficult to sell your franchise - you can only sell it to someone approved by the franchisor.
• All profits are shared with the franchisor.

If you know about restaurants available for franchise speak to the owners, you might find one that suits your budget.

FRANCHISE APPLICATION, INTERVIEW AND CONTRACT
• The first step in buying a franchise is to contact the franchisor operating a franchise that you’re interested in. Usually when you express an interest, the franchisor will expect you to complete a questionnaire or application form.
• Do not be surprised that the franchisor’s questions include detailed questions about your finances. A franchisor will want to know about your personal assets, for example, because he or she wants to make sure you have a fall-back position to carry the business in case it runs into financial difficulty.
• You will probably also be asked about your spouse’s financial situation. Once again, the franchisor wants to be sure that both of you are prepared to make the financial commitment necessary to start and run the franchise successfully.
• You’re also sure to be asked questions about your experience, background, and even aspirations, questions designed to help the franchisor determine whether or not you’re the kind of person he or she feels will be able to run the business successfully and fit into the franchise model.

• For more details

Are You One of these?

Distant. Indifferent. Impassive. Disinterested. Stoical. Blasé.
Not showing any extreme or passionate emotion. Love to joke. Don’t take anything seriously and for that reason usually end up hurting the feelings of others around.


The focus is on the "self,” even if other people's emotional needs are acknowledged. Have trouble starting and following intimate conversations. Feel pressured and get angry once asked to reveal true feelings on the subject. Can stay out of touch with friends and loved ones for a long time and then suddenly resurface without a very clear explanation of what happened. Etc, etc, etc...

Then its time for some introspection.. Just DO IT? as i did it..

Have Faith! Don't Lose it...Don't Waste it...It can indeed move mountains! TRY IT

Techrite Solutions, Nashik

Techrite Solutions, Nashik

DesignFirms Link Exchange

How To Write a Resume

How to write a resume is all about writing a resume that attract recruiters. Here you'll learn what kind of resumes get noticed by recruiter while s/he is sorting out pile of resumes.

Let's start this resume writing guide with the resume opening. One part of resume that gets first attention from your prospective employer is your resume objective statement or professional objective statement.

The objective statement of a resume plays a letter headline function. It'll determine whether the recruiter will continue to read your resume or sort it out to a garbage bin.

As a career changer, pay a special attention to your headline. If you think you're able to demonstrate a specific achievement related to the new job then you may go on writing the objective statement. But if you don't have any performance related info that meets your prospective employer's needs then leave it blank.


How to Write a Resume -- Qualifications
This part of how to write a resume is provided with the assumption that you've gained more than five years of experience with at least two different positions.

But since you apply for a different field you need to craft your experience from a different angle. You may want to write a more general skills related to the new job.

For example, currently you're a liaison between finance and IT department. You have a limited IT background but you want an IT career. As a liaison staff you may write your technical troubleshooting experience. Based on your research of the prospective employer and job opening ads, develop a list of job requirements and preferred qualifications.

How would you contribute to your potential employer's goals achievement? Think of additional skills that make you special to the position. Or, if you are lacking in a certain skill, you may want to think how would you make up for it with other competency?

So summarize your credentials, once again, with your potential employer's needs in mind construct summary of your qualifications with your career achievements and key competencies. Describe how you, with your qualifications, would help solve their problems.


How to Write a Resume -- Achievements
In this how to write a resume part, it's the time to show your details performance. Under every related position (and/or employer), construct a paragraph that explain your responsibilities. Always remember to include only relevant experiences.

Then, craft your resume to show your past actions and results in a specific measurement as well as meaningful to the recruiter. For example, instead of mentioning Met sales quota rephrase it with Exceeded quota by 35% throughout tenure.

Besides detail results, your past actions are as important as well. The information will give the hiring manager clues on how you get things done. It'll also show how you've handled responsibilities and how you've reacted when you faced challenges.

Also, be careful not to disclose your current employer's confidential information as the hiring manager may judge this attitude unethical.

Welcome to EdVantage Consulting

http://edvantageinternational.com/?page_id=9

Student or a parent? Ambitious and inspiring to be successful, let us help you!

If you are ready to scale greater heights, travel and see the world while you learn, aspire to be educated and create your career that will take you places, then you have come to the right place. Your search is over, but your journey is yet to begin! It is not an easy task to make the right decision, considering you have a future that depends on this, EdVantage International is here to help you get there.

School Education

Catch them young and let their talents bloom; that’s true whether you relate it to academics or sports! Start young and start smart, choose the right place!

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Young and ready to expose yoruself to the world? Certificate, Diploma, Undergraduate, Graduate/Postgraduate programs; a world of choices is open to you!

Vocational Training & Language Learning

Keen on specialised learning; need education that provide you skills and knowledge for work? Want to learn a language to improve your career prospects?


FOR DETAILS CONTACT:
New Zealand Office:
JAMES ELLIS / SHIPRAH ARTHUR
Email: info@edvantageinternational.com
Phone: +64 9 827 2343
Mobile: +64 21 909 861
Skype Id: edvantage.intl
Facebook:Edvantage International Consulting
Orkut: Edvantage International Consulting

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Phone: +912265768068
Mobile: +919820210769
Email:janet@edvantageinternational.com

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Phone: +918028463648
Mobile: +919663366966
Address: #1278, First Cross, First main, Gandhinagar, Yelahanka,Bangalore-560064,Karnataka State, India
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Skype ID: ssdayanand

Middle East:VK ABDUL SATHAR
Mobile: +966505963074
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Technical Writing as a Career Option

I). An introduction to Technical writing
Technical writing is the process of conveying information in a readable/ understandable manner to a specific end user. It is the ability to explain complicated theory in easy words. Technical writers are also known as information developers, documentation specialists, technical communicators, communication specialists.

II). Key attributes for Technical writing
The word "Technical" comes from the Greek word techne, which simply means "skill".
The first rule of technical writing is "KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE." Writers who know their audiences well are in a position to suggest and implement solutions to problems in a better way. Additional attributes are mentioned below:
• Strong communication skills
• Good training skills
• Excellent eye for detail
• Good editing skills
• Ability to learn quite rapidly new software, industrial process or the latest gadget in market
• Good listening skills

III). Types of technical documents
Technical manuals can be broadly classified into two types:
• The User manual; enabling the end user to understand the functionality of the machine/software/application. It is basically a “HOW TO” document.
• The Technical manual is meant to be used by the technician.
Technical writing is not only limited to various machines and gadgets but their importance is equally regarded in the software industry. In technical words they are an integral part of the SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle).

Technical communicators write, design, and/or edit proposals, manuals, web pages, lab reports, newsletters, and many other kinds of professional documents.

Types of manuals that a technical writer will produce are mentioned below:
• Brochures
• Process documents
• Business proposals
• Policies and procedures
• Resumes
• Data sheets
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) etc
Summing it up: Technical writing bridges the gap between the developer/ manufacturer and the end user.

IV). Authoring tools for technical writing
Other than the ability to write effectively and briefly the technical writer must possess knowledge about a few authoring tools that is useful in producing documents.
• Adobe FrameMaker
• Microsoft Word
• Adobe RoboHelp
• Techsmith SnagIt
• Microsoft Visio
Reference guides like the Chicago manual of style or Microsoft manual of style will also expand a technical writer’s knowledge of style and document writing process.

V). Technical writing as a profession
Earlier the technical documents were made by people from specific fields of expertise having a flair for writing. The scenario now has changed and more options are open for people with a flair for writing.

Few advantages of taking up technical writing as a profession:
• Along with journalism and copy writing, a technical writer can also work as a content writer, instructional writer.
• High-tech companies value good technical writers.
• Pay rates have increased in recent years. The detailed pay chart is available with STC (Society for Technical Communication)
• Technical writing enhances the domain/business knowledge.
• Point of entry into the IT industry.
• It can also be called as the next big thing! With an average of 30-50 vacancies for technical writers across companies.
• Freelancing

VI). Training Institutes
Professional institutes like The Writers Block (TWB), Bangalore; KBuffer Online, Chennai; Technowrites, Pune are involved in training budding technical writers for the industry.

These institutes teach the fundamentals of technical writing, editing techniques and also guide a beginner through the documentation tools used for creating manuals.

A certified technical writer has the advantage of better placement opportunities due to recognition from these institutes.

STC (Society for Technical Communication) and TWIN (Technical Writers of India) are support organisations for budding technical writers. For more details log on to http://www.stc.org or http://www.twin-india.org/

Emotionally Independent or Emotionally Detached?

I am a living being, an amalgamation of various chemicals, atoms and molecules.
I can feel heat as much I can feel cold.
My heart fills with love as much with sorrow.
My eyes shed tears for reasons not known yet. In sorrow I cry, in happiness I cry.
When angry, I shout or just shut up; in happiness I smile or laugh out loud.
I am just a structure of 206 bones wrapped in flesh covered with miles and miles of veins and filled with litres of blood.
When I fall I am hurt I feel pain and I bleed. When I fall I am hurt I feel pain and I don’t bleed. While I am alone, I need company to speak and share.
I also feel sad when the love of my life goes away; never to come back.
I also feel frustrated when things do not happen as I want.
I also feel angry when a person not known to me abuses me.

WHY? What am I?

Is this what is known to be a human being?
How do I tell the difference?
The heart in me pumps blood to the veins so that they can function. The eyes see and act as the body’s camera to transmit live images to the brain. It is the brain that analyses the image and further instructs what has to be done. The body is all about mechanised functions programmed to operate on its own until stopped by an outside agent/force. It is a robot of sorts. But still it is called a human body and not a machine. Surprising! Isn’t it? The only thing that can differentiate between me and a robot is feelings. I am not a cyborg! Devoid of pain and fear.

I feel the pain & am hurt. And walk with a heavy heart. Likewise, when I see those eyes, a smile appears on my lips and my heart wants to sing. I need a hug to re-assure myself that I am not alone. Why is the heart involved? When, its primary function is only to pump blood. Like a piston in a vehicle.

What is the difference between me and a robot? It is feelings.

A robot is programmed to function as decided by its owner. I am conditioned by my people. A robot cannot think whereas I do the thinking. But like a robot I too at times; if not always forget to follow my thoughts and act according to those of others. Does it not mean that I too have become a robot? At least the robot doesn’t have a conflict of thoughts. It just performs as programmed whereas I act when I do not follow my thoughts; but those of others. Then the feelings are missing and I too become a robot.
I stop on my own either due to my mental conditioning or the society for the fear of spoiling my image. That helps neither towards the work done nor towards the self. It’s just wasting time to portray a sober good image that which is demanded by the society and not by me. I just want to be me! Free!!!

So what am I? Who am I? Am I a mechanised robot or a living robot?

Now that I know what I am what if I remove the “I” from me? What do I see? Who is the one standing on the other side of the mirror? Is that me or just an amalgamation of chemicals, atoms and molecules.
Why not remove the “I” in me that I which is my ego and I too shall become one with the surroundings. I too will gel with the fragrance emanating from the lovely rose, I too will be able to fly with the birds and not remain caged in the prison of my inherited thoughts.

Suffer Sacrifice Silently - Is This definition of a woman?

Is the woman of today truly liberated? – The following words might explain……………
- A convent educated girl who went on to earn good marks in curricula is now a high flier with a plum post and a fat salary. She works hard and under pressure to deliver within deadlines. She looks after her family and only child from a love marriage to a person crazy for her then but now a stranger in her life. A person engrossed in his own world that he fails to notice the girl who he married more than a decade ago is a soul and not just a toy meant for pleasuring himself. For him it is his wife’s only duty to look after the house and his child and then satisfy his urge; that He is the provider while she is the caretaker mistress. No doubt he gifts her expensive items and splurges wealth just as the maharajas in history did so for their concubines. Thinking she is happy but fails to notice that she longs for more than just those expensive gifts. He forgets that she is his wife and not a means for personal amusement.

- On the other their maid who is not as much educated as her employer, has similar life. She has to cook meals for this working couple before they leave for their daily commitments. The maid has to clean the house broom dust etc, wash clothes dry them iron them so that her employer can be at their best for their office. She too has to deliver within deadlines. And she too has a husband who is much like the convent educated lady’ loving hubby or shall we aptly say as lusting hubby. Only difference being that at times the maid has to accept a few slaps and kicks from her drunkard husband while the convent educated lady has to face her husband who comes soused only to be turned on by the key of lust and when finished just throw away the toy. If not allowed then he hurls few rants and raves but never slaps her because he is educated and an educated husband never beats his wife. Does that make him literally uneducated or illiterately educated?

In spite of the fact that both these females are much independent and can look after themselves and their children; both prefer to suffer at the hands of chauvinistic husbands. For every act of sacrifice there is an act of violence and seems they fear both. And hence prefer to Suffer Sacrifice Silently.(SSS)

For how long do such women wish to remain trammeled within the walls created by their own ignorance that they fail to notice; to have become mere prisoners under trail for freedom?
Why? - Is it the education that holds their decision back or is it the tradition which demands unquestioned obedience from a wife or is it the fear of society?

The woman of today may have reached the moon but down on earth she is still considered an object of desire. And who is responsible for it?

- We men because of our strength or the women because of their endurance?
Is the woman of today truly liberated? Manumitted?

Be Aware! Beware!!
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Literately Uneducated!!! Or illeterately educated!!!

For generations we have heard learnt and been taught that education makes one civilized. Education is the door to success. That education is the only hope. But are we really educated or we still dwell in forests. At least in the jungle the lion is the king because of its strength and endurance. In politics the cunning and shrewdest mind gets to form a government. In the corporate world it is the ignorance and lackadaisical attitude that judges ones capability. Hence there is no doubt that the political and the business minded people walk hand in hand. Thus it is aptly said that in the business of politics there are no permanent enemies or friends. Anybody who is worth to be used as a means to achieve ones personal aspirations is welcome.

So has our education taught us to sleep over issues that need to be raised and brought out in the open? Why is it that only after retirement from a job one dedicates time for social causes? Is it a way to undo the wrong doings while in power? Has our education enabled us to close our eyes while unethical activities happen around us just because we are in need of the job, the recognition and the fame?
But I feel education teaches us to be in the system to beat the system, if, a wrong system. But who decides whether a system is right or wrong. For that I say ……….B L I N K!

Education teaches one to read and write; but that is also termed as being literate. So then what exactly it means to be educated? A SOUND EDUCATION DOESN’T MAKE ONE LEARNED BUT ONLY OPENS DOORS; FOR IGNORANCE TO GO OUT AND WISDOM TO ENTER. IT GIVES ONE THE QUALITY OF BEING PRUDENT & SENSIBLE. Thus a person even with the ability to read and write can still be literally uneducated if they cannot develop the qualities of being prudent & sensible. Or they can be illiterately educated if they fail to involve wisdom in their thoughts and actions.

- Or, at times we openly expect the other to know. Isn’t that a very clever decision and an apt way to camouflage ones lack of knowledge and an easy way to shrug off responsibility? Isn’t that what we call to be ignorant?
- Or, hide ones inability to speak for their own right or to cover up one’s own fear of spoiling their good and sober image in society, thereby protect their practiced fancy?
- Or, to refuse to accept our lack of courage/ guts to walk up and face the demon called fear?
- Or, is it that our education prevents us from speaking the truth; rather accept and console ourselves saying that is being practical.

Do we identify all those?

Does education teach us to be egoistic snobs or it imbibes in us a sense of pride and thereby a set of ethical principles.

Does it teach us to think out of the box or be inside the box and think of the world outside and become skeptical about it?

Are we aware of our shortfalls?

Does education teach us to use and manipulate or does it teach us to stand up and speak?

Does education teach us to be ethical or practical, to honor a promise or to breach a promise?

Does it allow us to hide the facts or encourage us to reveal the truth and be honest? Or sweet mouth and conceal the facts?

Does it give us the courage to look into the eye and speak or it injects fear into our veins?

Education doesn’t teach us any of the above, instead opens the world around us. It gives us the eyes to see and the ability to think. It gives us the freedom of thought and actions. It makes us more humane. It teaches us our moral and social responsibilities. It gives us self-realization, self-respect and teaches us self-esteem. But then, if it does teach us all these then why are we still blinded by the society and the practical world? Like a herd of cattle why do we blindly follow it?

This society is more interested in fun and in deciding for others. They are the ones who use their limited knowledge or the lack of it; by pushing the other beyond the lines of thinking; for their own betterment and a never ending dose of free entertainment.

Why do we forget that it is we who make the society; the society doesn’t make us.
For how long do we wish to remain trammeled within the walls created by our own ignorance that we fail to notice; we have become mere prisoners under trail for freedom?

Has education really helped us in any way? Have we awakened or are we still sleeping? Are we free finally or is our freedom still a distant dream?

So dear friends let us all rise and confirm that we are indeed

literately educated and not

literately Uneducated!!! Or illiterately educated!!!

Be Aware! Beware!!
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IF

If you can keep your head when all about you, Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,But make allowance for their doubting too;If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,Or being hated, don't give way to hating,And yet don't look too good or talk too wise:

If you can dream and not make dreams your master; If you can think and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and DisasterAnd treat those two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the words you've spokenTwisted by knaves to make a trap for foolsOr watch the things you gave your life to, broken,And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winningsAnd risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,And lose, and start again at your beginningsAnd never breathe a word about your loss;If you can force your heart and nerve and sinewTo serve your turn long after they are gone,And so hold on when there is nothing in you;

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,Or walk with Kings--nor lose the common touch,If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,If all men count with you, but none too much;If you can fill the unforgiving minuteWith sixty seconds worth of distance run,Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,And--which is more--you'll be a man, my son!

-Rudyard Kipling

It is almost a 100 years now that Rudyard Kipling had penned this poem. It is still the same and it has worked wonders for me & I believe it will for you too. It is my heartfelt opinion that every individual on earth must read this poem atleast once..... and if you can read it before you start your day ,............. !!!!

Have a Gr8 day and superb life ahead.... BE a Winner always !!!!

Read to Think ; Think to Read

There Is Time For All To Be Done. Don’t Hurry. Certain Things In Life Have To Be Done Instantly. Tomorrow Never Comes. That Which Was Tomorrow Yesterday Is Now Today. Change Is The Only Constant. Don’t Quit. Drop The Ego. Be Proud. Look For Happiness Within. Give Others For That Might Be Their Last Day. Don’t Step On Two Boats. Learn To Multitask. Whenever There Is A Problem There Is An Opportunity. Don’t Be Selfish. Give Up, Let Go. Stop The Habit Of Being Good Always. Learn To Say Yes. Don’t Say Yes When You Want To Say No. Think Out Of The Box. Follow Your Heart. Be Angry. Express Yourself. Don’t Take Temper To Your Head. Be Cool. Communicate. Don’t Blame. Confront. Accept Mistakes. Forgive… Not Forget… (Forgive To Forget; Never Forget To Forgive). Everybody Deserves A Second Chance. But ONLY A Second Chance. Think And Think Again. Don’t Think More Than Twice. Give All That You Have To, Want To; Not All That You Can. Never Give In. Give Up Giving In. Compromise. Not Adjust. Value Others Time. If You Want Others To Value Yours. Open Your Eyes. Mistrust The Obvious. If You Give You Must Get, You Have To Get Or It Wasn’t Worth Giving….Or The Giving Intentions Weren’t From The Heart But Just To Make The Other Happy. The Same Applies Other Ways As Well – If You Get You Must Give Or It Wasn’t Worth Getting……Or You Didn’t Take It By Heart But Only As An Obligation – To Make The Other Happy. When You Want Something By Heart The Whole World Conspires For It…Subject To Conditions -There Must Be An Honest Desire For The Want…The Desire From Heart Not Mind. Instant Promise Makers Seldom Keep It – They Are Politicians And Manipulation Is Their Forte. Luck Is Once… For Some That ‘Once’ May Be More Than Once…Though Change Is The Only Constant….An Instant Change Is For Some Malicious Intentions…Just For Some Selfish Purpose, Once Fulfilled Then It’s Back To The Old Ways…. Thus There Was No Change At All….It Was Just A Hoax. Change Needs Time. It Is A Constant Process. Not A One Day Job Or Overnight Process…You Never Say I Will Change From Tomorrow…Tomorrow Never Comes…So Even If There Is A Change Tomorrow It Is Superficial. At The Same We Keep On Hearing And Have Started Believing Tomorrow Will Be A New Dawn…Instead Why Not Make Today’s Evening Beautiful So That Even If Tomorrow’s Dawn Never Comes We Would Cherish What We Have And Not Repent For That Which We Aspired For. Don't Pile Up. And then Repent For Those Unsaid Words Those Unexpressed Feelings, Suppressed Emotions. Who Knows Today Is All That He / She Might Have. Its Destiny, After All. Not Fate Or Coincidence. Live In The Now. Don’t Worry. Think . Be Concerned. Tomorrow may be too late to-let. Hence Say It Now And Always, I Love You For It May Be The Last Day…

Not Yours ….Or Mine!

Expiry date for all...

“There is an expiry date for all. No body and nothing are indispensable. There are no guarantees to anything. Nothing lasts forever.”
All that exists has to perish and go back where it has come from. That’s the only constant. That’s nature. Everything that is created has an end and MUST have an end or it becomes monotonous and loses value. If there is no end then there is no room for the new. If we want a change then we have to change that which is now, which too was changed long back to make room for the change. There is no such thing as forever. If there is then it is death. I am yet to see one who can prove that life is forever, it is death that is forever. Thoughts change, feelings change, responses change, ideas change. The word idea can be treated as a short term for i – Dream / i- death. The death of the old and the birth of the new becomes an ‘idea’. ‘I’ has to die to give rise to the new. The ‘I’ is the ego. Let it die or better,........... kill it!

‘We change the world by changing the way we perceive the world, the way we think about cause and effect, by altering our beliefs of true and false, right and wrong’.
In this material world we believe in buying the latest. Why? Because we all want a change. We get bored with the new and again want a change. For this simple reason even the furniture re-arrangement in our house after a while makes the room look new, but then after some time that too becomes old and needs a change.

We are constantly running to achieve that ever elusive pot of gold; we fail to see it along the path. What is needed is change of the mind not material. But when one has a mind it will think and it will disallow the change as we all are soo deep rooted in our traditions which was sowed into our heads long ago by our ancestors. They too forgot that what was new to them was only a mere change from the old. Our conditioned ways of looking at things prevent us from taking the plunge or allow anybody else to take the plunge. We just do not want to let go for the fear of losing all... That reminds me a line from the poem ‘IF’ by Rudyard Kipling –
If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;……….

I can only suggest changing the way we think to change the way we live.

‘What is the theory behind what we do? Is it really what we want or intend? Or has it gone untested for so long that we no longer question it?’
For ages we have been hearing and at times even many of us must have participated in the – “Women’s Liberation” – why? because there are few who want a change. It is because those people believe – Change is the only constant.

Nelson Mandela was in prison for 27 years, that’s more than a life imprisonment…what for? What did he strive for? What was his personal gain? – CHANGE…and he did it…Gandhism is Gandhigiri now, why? - Because we all have forgotten the true ways of Gandhi hence we needed a munnabhai to teach us Gandhigiri. We needed a change to again connect with Gandhism…isn’t that a change?

In the land of opportunities that is the United States;
It took 43 presidents to rule and finally the change;
44th was the president who was not a white American.

USA who is considered as the powerful nation on earth took almost an era for a change.
For the bird in the cage it will need a lot of patience…
But change is the only constant and
Some day the cage too will disappear and;
The bird will fly again.

Possibly you & I may not last that long but the thoughts must go on;
Only then there will be change for the seeds need to be planted by someone…

‘You reap as you sow’…is a proverb…
but for a change one can only sow and hope to reap…but eventually it will definitely be reaped, that’s for sure…



Who wants a change?

THE ULTIMATE UNTOUCHABLE OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

THE ULTIMATE UNTOUCHABLE OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

Pyare Shivpuri


Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Bapu to millions of Indians, a Mahatma or Saint of modern times, was hit by an assassin's bullets in the Birla Temple Grounds in New Delhi on 30th January 1948. He did not die then. He is being killed off now. Slowly. Pacifists all over the world and particularly in India get together to pay homage to Gandhiji but the voice that once spoke for "the conscience of mankind" is muted in the cacophony of tripe tributes paid to him from a variety of platforms and the shrieks of pure terror heard from every devastated hamlet where the harijans have been harassed, molested or killed. We are proving once again that man can live without food or faith but not without a tangible god. And we are manufacturing a tangible god, though an utterly untouchable one, out of a perfectly touchable man. Gandhiji dedicated his life to eradication of untouchability of all kinds. In his death, he seems to have been made the ultimate untouchable of the twentieth century.

Gandhiji had built up a fairly remunerative law practice in South Africa but success as 'lawyer' eluded him. He realised that his role was not that of a custodian of statutes but that of a champion of justice. On his return to India, he marched to Dandie in contravention of the Salt Act, not merely because he was defying the might of the British Empire but because he was formulating a political device that an ordinary citizen anywhere could understand and accept. When he propounded the widespread use of the spinning wheel, he wasn't even remotely suggesting the closure of textile mills in the country. He was creating an equation between eternal motion and a measure of usefulness in the society. He had understood very clearly the difference between "power" and "strength" and was convinced that wherever and whenever "power" is confronted with "strength" the former loses out in the long run. Non‑violence in principle ‑ and civil disobedience or passive resistance, in practice ‑ was a strategy devised to confront the foreign ruling power with the strength of the natives. This very strategy has since been used in various parts of the world against oppression of all kinds. It is being used now in Poland, testing the very structure of Communist System. Yet, a dispassionate study of the principles of passive resistance reveals that it is a rather unfair game. In essence it is like this. "I will not strike at you. Never. But I shall provoke you to murderous rage. So provoked, when you aim your guns at me, the world will condemn you as the tyrant and bestow upon me the benefit of its benevolence".

Gandhiji's design for struggle for independence in India was an economic necessity. The Indian society could not support an armed wing of freedom fighters. An armed uprising against the British rule would not only have destroyed the momentum of the struggle, it would have become an elitist movement excluding the farmer and the labourer, that is to say 75% of India's population. As a non‑violent protest it has been the most popular movement in human history ‑ even more so than the French and the Russian revolutions. Gandhiji successfully confronted the foreign power that ruled over India. He hit them. He hit them hard. He even hit them below the belt. And then, in his characteristic generosity, forgave them their pain. But he could not appease the violence inherent in the Indian society. He reached out to the Hindus and the Moslems alike but could not bring their leadership together. He did not like the idea of partition and would have gladly accepted Mr Jinnah as the first Prime Minister of a free re-united India. As a matter of fact that move would have torpedoed the two nation theory. If a Moslem Prime Minister of a predominantly Hindu India had failed, nobody would dare raise the demand for Pakistan. On the other hand, if he made a success of the high office, nobody would care to do so. The economic considerations of authority for which the leaders of the Indian National Congress had indeed worked hard and waited long were within their easy reach. As long as Gandhiji merely theorised about the sacrifices that were necessary to carve a new destiny for an ancient land, he was loved and revered. When the time came and Gandhiji insisted that those sacrifices be actually made, he was cast aside. He accepted the partition as a bitter reality but on 15th August 1947, when the leaders of the Indian National Congress were rejoicing in the transfer of power New Delhi he was not even on the soil of free India.

The Indian National Congress was not designed as a political party. It was a forum for expression of Indian aspirations. Gandhiji had realised only too clearly that after independence, the Congress could not go on effectively representing the landlord and the tenant, the industrialist and the worker simultaneously. He advised that the Congress ought to be dissolved with the coming of independence. Fresh blood and new ideas were needed for the new era. He warned that if the Indian National Congress is not dissolved honourably and honestly, it will become stagnant and putrefied; it will be torn by factionalism, defections and dishonest intentions; it will perpetuate the cult of personality and come to a disastrous end with dire consequences for the whole country. Events have proved how right he was.

Gandhiji was not against industrialisation or modernisation. But he did not equate progress with it. He wanted India to be an agricultural king rather than remain an industrial beggar. He said that an inappropriate and indiscriminate development policy for the nation will rob the Indian of his self‑respect. Economic equations in India, he said, could only be built on the foundation of village industries. He knew that, the control of economic power requires clarity of vision. His lieutenants ‑ noble and genuine patriots all ‑ lacked that clarity. Slogans of progress had brought them the adulation of ever increasing Indian masses. Lost in that adulation and lost without the clarity of vision, the hub of leadership of the Indian National Congress became a centre of intrigues and conflicts. As a result an appropriate economic policy for the country could not be formulated. Today, Chief Ministers of many States are accused of corrupt practices ‑ one among them having been found guilty in a Court of law and having had to resign. Corruption is accepted as a part of the national fibre and nothing, but nothing, in India moves without a licence. And licence laws breed further corruption.

The advance of a capitalist industrial society creates a few very rich and many too poor to feed themselves. When such a stage is reached a movement for reform arises amongst the poor, sometimes with destructive outbursts. Gandhiji wanted to avoid wastage of national energy in that eruption. He insisted that the Indian should go back to the villages because, he explained, the solutions for the problems of the Indians as distinct from the problems of India could only be found in rural cooperation; in an environment of equality and openness. He recognised very early on the potential that lay locked in the untouchable of India. He also realised the explosive nature of conflict that would arise as the nation advanced on the road of industrialisation. He gave them a brand new name ‑ the harijan, children of god. He espoused their cause. He advocated the removal of stigma attached to the harijan. This process could release their locked energies, bring them into the mainstream of India's national efforts and eliminate the internal dissentions of the Hindu society.

The leaders of the government and the society set out to make laws banishing the practice of untouchability but did not make provisions for their effective application. Law is like a railway track. It does not move itself though it does make the movement of a train possible. The presence of the track, in itself, is no guarantee that the train will move. The Constitution outlaws the practice of untouchability but there is yet no social acceptance to enforcing that right. The Adult franchise gave to the harijan a powerful weapon ‑ the vote. It also provided the politician with a brand new method of manipulating the harijan population. Almost all of those politicians were people blessed with robust conscience and a hunger for justice. Almost all of them believed in social position, comfort and rich feeding. They were the kind of people who never become the salt of the earth but they do remain the substance of civilisation. And they save the society from criminals and conquerors. They also inflict upon the society immediately surrounding them a personal brand of morality. Gandhiji was aware of all this and saddened by it. I wonder what a sad man he must have been, when he was assassinated. Today, on the one hand, we proclaim him to be a Mahatma ‑ a Saint. On the other hand we inflict untold miseries on the harijan whose cause he espoused with all his might. In another fifty or perhaps a hundred years we will call him an incarnation of god. Another Christ, perhaps. One single atonement for an era full of sins and wrongs. We attribute extra qualities to Gandhiji because we have neither the tenacity to acquire his courage nor his courage to acquire tenacity. We dare not criticise him lest we should reveal how fragile our own structures are. Perhaps it is the tragedy of such a touch‑stone to become and remain the ultimate untouchable.



Cambridge, UK.
22nd January 1982.

If You Think... You Can ...

If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you'd like to win but think you can't,
It's almost certain you won't.

Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man,

But sooner or later, the winner Is the one who thinks ..

Yes, i can....

Think You Can... & You Will

Joke - NOBODY WARNED ME !!!

Mulla Nasrudin and his wife were sitting on a bench in the park one evening just at dusk. Without knowing that they were close by, a young man and his girl friend sat down at a bench on the other side of a hedge.....

.....Almost immediately, the young man began to talk in the most loving manner imaginable.....

"He does not know we are sitting here," Mulla Nasrudin's wife whispered to her husband. "It sounds like he is going to propose to her. I think you should cough or something and warn him....

""WHY SHOULD I WARN HIM?" asked Nasrudin. "NOBODY WARNED ME."

Do we really dream or do we desire?

Do we really dream or do we desire? ‘To dream’ is good for all of us but we must not forget that ‘to desire’ is the root of all problems. For once, we can achieve all our dreams and be happy but we can never fulfil our desires and still be happy……….. nobody has and nobody will be.

From what I see around me I feel the busy-ness is not for earning a better life but to earn more and more money. A sound bank balance is a must and a very reasonable thought. But what for a fat bank balance? - Mental peace – no. I feel a fat bank balance is more tension. It is not wrong to be ambitious but very wrong to be money minded. I was that way until I realised, the more I was trying to have a better life the more I was getting entangled in the web. I failed to identify the actual need. I could not differentiate between need and desire.
I was a total loser until I met my teacher.

He asked me -
What you want to do?
What you can do?
What can you sacrifice for what you want to do?

I got the answers to these questions after about seven months and am still getting new answers for them, every time I repeat these questions, in my mind. If you can answer these questions, and you have to be brutally honest while you answer these questions, trust me you will stop following your dreams, blindly, but will actually start working towards achieving them.

‘BLIND MEN NEVER DREAM.’
Do What You Want NOT What You Can....

Relationship Between the Child and his Parents

The relationship between the child and his parents is primarily based on love, freedom and a total acceptance of the child as an individual. The parent's core philosophy, in dealing with their children, should be a deep trust in children's natural intelligence and their ability to make their own decisions based on awareness and understanding.

The relationship between parents and children should be such where children should be able to express themselves with honesty and integrity, have trust in themselves and understand that their lives, actions and feelings are their own responsibility, and have a non-serious, zestful, confident, creative and fearless approach to life and learning.

The parent's main focus should be to help children transform their natural curiosity into a strong inner discipline and motivation. Parents should understand that each individual child comes with some gift, some treasure. It may be academic, it may be practical, or it may be artistically creative. Parents should try to provide as much space and as many opportunities as possible for the child's individuality and creativity to unfold.

Parents should NOT use comparison and competition as stimuli for achievement and performance. Life is so vast, individuals so unique, and there are so many human gifts that cannot be quantified, tested or measured: for example, a loving heart, sensitivity, courage, awareness, honesty, vitality, being generous or understanding. All these qualities are valued as precious, in fact priceless.

Parents are the first teachers of the children and their homes their first classroom. Ensure their participation in all discussion for it will be much useful for them in future and their relationships.

Parents should help in every possible way to give freedom, to give opportunities for personal and spiritual growth to their children.

Take It Seriously or a Serious Joke

Cancel Your Credit Cards Before You Die

This sounds like as good advice as don't rent a casket when you die. It's not just the government... Be sure and cancel your credit cards before you die. This is priceless, and so easy to see happening, customer service being what it is today. A lady died this past January, and Citibank billed her for February and March for their annual service charges on her credit card, and then added late fees and interest on the monthly charge. The balance had been $0.00, now is somewhere around $60.00. A family member placed a call to Citibank:

Family Member: "I am calling to tell you that she died in January."

Citibank: "The account was never closed and the late fees and charges still apply." Family

Member: "Maybe you should turn it over to collections."

Citibank: "Since it is two months past due, it already has been."

Family Member: "So what will they do when they find out she is dead?"

Citibank: "Either report her account to the frauds division or report her to the credit bureau, maybe both!"

Family Member: "Do you think God will be mad at her?"

Citibank: "Excuse me?"
Family Member: "Did you just get what I was telling you - the part about her being dead?"

Citibank: "Sir, you'll have to speak to my supervisor." Supervisor gets on the phone: Family

Member: "I'm calling to tell you, she died in January."

Citibank: "The account was never closed and the late fees and charges still apply." Family

Member: "You mean you want to collect from her estate?" Citibank: "Are you her lawyer?"

Family Member: "No, I'm her great nephew." ( Lawyer no info given) Citibank: "Could you fax us a certificate of death?"

Family Member: "Sure." (Fax number is given) After they get the fax:

Citibank: "Our system just isn't set up for death. I don't know what more I can do to help."

Family Member: "Well, if you figure it out, great! If not, you could just keep billing her. I don't think she will care."

Citibank: "Well, the late fees and charges do still apply."

Family Member: "Would you like her new billing address?"

Citibank: "That might help."
Family Member: "Odessa Memorial Cemetery, Highway 129, Plot Number 69." Citibank: "Sir, that's a cemetery!"

Family Member: "What do you do with dead people on your planet?"

Citibank: MAKE THEM PAY !!

A Beautiful Poem

A beautiful poem written by a Father !!! TO MY CHILD

Just for this morning, I am going to smile when I see your face and laugh when I feel like crying. Just for this morning, I will let you choose what you want to wear,

and smile and say how perfect it is.

Just for this morning, I am going to step over the laundry and pick you up and take you to the park to play. Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes in the sink,

and let you teach me how to put that puzzle of yours together.

Just for this afternoon, I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer off,

and sit with you in the backyard and blow bubbles.

Just for this afternoon, I will not yell once, not even a tiny grumble when you scream and whine for the ice cream truck, and I will buy you one if he comes by.

Just for this afternoon, I won't worry about what you are going to be when you grow up,

or second guess every decision I have made where you are concerned.

Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me bake cookies,

and I won't stand over you trying to fix them..

Just for this afternoon, I will take us to McDonald's and buy us both a Happy Meal so you can have both toys.

Just for this evening, I will hold you in my arms and tell you a story about how you were born and how much I love you.

Just for this evening, I will let you splash in the tub and not get angry.

Just for this evening, I will let you stay up late while we sit on the porch and count all the stars.

Just for this evening, I will snuggle beside you for hours, and miss my favourite TV shows.

Just for this evening when I run my finger through your hair as you pray,

I will simply be grateful that God has given me the greatest gift ever given.

I will think about the mothers and fathers who are searching for their missing children, the mothers and fathers who are visiting their children's g raves instead of their bedrooms. The mothers and fathers who are in hospital rooms watching their children suffer senselessly and screaming inside that little body And when I kiss you goodnight I will hold you a little tighter, a little longer. It is then, that I will thank God for you, and ask him for nothing,

except One More Day......