108 Lotus Flowers

On the eighth day of the Durga Puja or "Durgashtami" an Ashtami Puja takes place where Goddess Durga is offered a garland of 108 Lotus Flowers. It is said that while Lord Rama was performing the rituals of "Akalbodhan", before going for the war, he wanted to offer 108 Lotus Flowers to the deity. While beginning the rituals he found that one of these beautiful flowers were missing. Since his own eyes were very beautiful and people addressed him as "komallochan" (eyes like that of lotus flower) he decided to offer one of his eyes. Seeing this devotion of his the lord himself magically got back the missing flower. Eversince then the garland is offered to Ma Durga.

Lotus Flowers have a strong symbolic tie to many Asian religions, especially throughout India. The Lotus flower starts at the bottom of the pond in the mud & muck and further on coming out of the pond blossoms into a beautiful flower. Within Hinduism & Buddhism, the lotus flower has become a symbol for awakening to the spiritual reality of life. People believe that the symbol of a lotus flower represents life in general. The struggle of life at its most basic form. As the Lotus Flower grows up from the mud into an object of beauty , people also grow & change into something more beautiful with time.

Golden Gun, Golden Bat & The Forgotten Wooden Stick

Ever since Abhinav Bindra won a gold medal at Beijing Olympics air rifle competition, the face of the Indian sports has changed completely with this first ever individual Olympic gold medal. The same feeling had deeply touched and moved the hearts of a million Indians when we had lifted the Cricket World Cup trophy for the first time led by the ever so dashing player, Kapil Dev. While Dhoni lifted the T-20 World Cup Trophy, the Indians had rejoiced once again. But there are still some unsung heroes. The Indians have long forgotten the forbidden game of Hockey.

It all started when India first participated in the first ever Olympics Hockey event in 1928. Amsterdam was the venue for the event. Under the able leadership of Jaipal Singh, Indian team bagged the Gold Medal. For the next six successive Olympics spanning twenty eight years (1928-1956) India won all the gold medals. Three out of which were contributed by none other than Dhyan Chand, the Hockey Wizard. It was definitely the golden era of Indian Hockey. India again won two more gold medals in Olympic hockey, 1964 Tokyo Olympics & 1980 Moscow Olympics. But now the game and the team have gone into oblivion. When India was on a winning spree, there was no media coverage, no promotion, no sponsorships, no funds, and no endorsements to fill the pockets of the players. And the victories were buried & the contributions of the yesteryear heroes were never remembered.

In 1975 India won the World Cup Hockey Tournament, but no one probably knows about it. On the other hand just a couple of days back we celebrated the silver jubilee of Indian World cup cricket victory of 1983. We sat for hours when Indian team reached the World Cup finals during Saurav Ganguly’s captaincy and also had the patience of enduring the lost match against Australia. But we are unconcerned about the fact that this time the Indian Hockey Team did not qualify for the Beijing Olympics. But each time they lost we have had the guts to point a finger at them and say that they are a bunch of losers; without even giving it a thought that the sort of encouragement, sponsorship and promotion, the game of the rich (cricket) gets; Hockey is nowhere near it.

If Sachin Tendulkar passes by he will be flocked by fans for an autograph but Dhanraj Pillai isn’t a household name. Sachin Tendulkar is a brand name in himself and Dhanraj Pillai has been long dismissed as the unsuccessful captained whose inability was that he couldn’t get back a Gold medal and Sachin is still forced by the BCCI to play in ODIs and Tests hoping that he will be back with a bang with the same old blazing gun shots. We can only shed tears while Chak De India Girls lift the World Cup Trophy but no one knows Mr. Negi the asli hero of Indian Hockey.

These unsung heroes will never be remembered and the National Sports Authority of India will never take a step to improve the prevailing situations. Politics & lack of basic amenities & low funds will never give the Indian Hockey players the deserved fame or attention. Now the responsibilities lie on the shoulders of the common man. We have to realize that this is the essence of the Indian sports & we need to support & fight on behalf of the Indian Hockey federation so that they can regain back their respect.

Concrete Forest

It's quiet nostalgic when I look behind in the past. My brisk childhood walks holding my parent's or grandparent's hands were always amidst lush green ambience. Dewy grass beneath, tall standing Gulmohar trees, beautiful flowers, cuckoos cooing, woodpeckers busy pecking on barks, parrots flying past hurriedly from one tree top to another and peacocks flaunting their wings awaiting the rains. Picking flowers, enjoying the various bird songs in the nature's lap. This was my childhood.

But as I see around now, the fading greenery is no more a concern for anybody. People enjoy movies in multiplexes, shopping in malls, indulge in indoor games but outings & picnics are long forgotten. Where have the picnic spots vanished? All one can see around is nothing but concrete forests. All builders are busy purchasing empty lots to be filled up with sky-scrapers later on. And these would then be sold at an exorbitant price; they are nothing but a heap of Cement & Bricks, comletely claustrophobic. Unlike the earlier homes which extended into a garden or a backyard which most of the houses would turn into a kitchen garden.

Only place you now seem to find plantations would be near a flyway or any over bridge where embellishment is required before the 2010 games. At the same time people who can afford a lavish farm house are pampering themselves to escape the busy week & the city life. Also some for the sake of interiors or beautiful exteriors or even Vaastu are planting trees. But this in't enough. We have a long way to go.

The Glowing Flame

Gone are those days of candle lit nights in power failures. The power backups have engorged the charm of a candle. The other night when I lit the candles amidst the effervescence of the potpouri, the flames emitted a wonderful warmth that unfolded a certain mystery, an enormity that had the power to engulf in itself all the pain in its surroundings. The dancing flames dislayed a certain exuberance that brightened the surroundings and lit the ambience. It woud burn for hours together and would melt into nothingness but it will make sure that its benevolent charm is spread all over.

It's amazing to notice the wide contrast in it's character. On one hand it embellishes your room in parties, dinners & festivals, its warmth lights up a fireplace in many houses and provides our kitchens it's soul, but at the same time disaster is not far away while there is a spark in the nearby wires or a smoke is seen coming out of high-rise buildings. Gushes of water are then poured to put it off but the same will again be required in winters to ignite & the warmth to be savoured.

Employee Motivation

It is very easy for an organization to talk for hours on Employee Motivation. But none of them realize what actually takes to motivate an employee & get the best out of him/her. When recruitment takes place in an organization, it’s not about hiring & paying. But it is to ensure that a new member is given the freedom to think out of the box, cultivate into a strong crew member who can steer the Titanic with conviction independently and row it past the iceberg. The employee is to be ensured an atmosphere when he gets an exposure to the best in the industry and in future contributes greatly to the growth of the organization. In this way he is directed to map his career growth easily.

When an employee grows to become an important entity in the organization – Delivers more than expected, becomes accessible 24 x 7 with mobile connections & laptops and submerges him/her selves in work; then begins the role of an employer. More & more organizations are now taking care of employee welfare like free meals, cab services, official spa, day-outs, date allowances, incentives and more. But other motivational factors like praise or encouragement seems to have evaporated and have been replaced by high perks, cash bonuses & hikes.

First & the foremost of these is the atmosphere. The best can culminate only if the surrounding is fun and peers are nice to work with. The output is automatically the best. The team lead has to be the best friend around for his team members, with whom; they can shares issues, grievances and success to. A leader; someone who can lead & motivate from the top. The motivations should pour down right from the top management in case of some big deal signed or project accomplished. Handing over of new assignments and other responsibilities also brings out the confidence they would work with in future and in turn makes an individual more responsible. Townhalls to be arranged religiously to listen out to the employees. Inspirational and motivational day-outs. Spend a day in the week talking to each employee individually. This brings in a sense of belongingness, helps knowing them better, knowing their interests, their goals and help them achieve those. This will only help to build a better organization.

An Eternal Being

When I finished reading “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini, I realized that the status of a woman in our society has been the same for ages. Be it the condition of women in Kabul with the advent of Taliban or deep down India following the Sati Pratha. The Burqua or the Pardah or the ghunghat have adorned women of all ages and stood by as a symbol of protection from unknown men, from wandering eyes and has also withstood time in this fast changing era. But behind this symbol was buried by mankind himself some dreams, some struggles, some willingness to live. Today every now and then newspapers feature heart-rending episodes of women burnt down to death or marriages cancelled on the D-day due to undesired demand of dowry. What we fail to notice in such situations is what the society loses; a woman’s pride, a woman’s dignity.

Woman liberalization has definitely taken some pace in the modern times. More and more women are now coming in the forefront be it Kalpana Chawla or Pratibha Patil or Kiran Bedi all trying to inspire the others to do what hasn’t been dared till now. But with each woman succeeding there is another being forced to follow the Sati Pratha, with one woman landing on the Moon there is another female infanticide taking place, with every woman flying a plane there must be one in your own neighborhood being confined within the doorsteps and forced to handle the chulha chauki.

The constitution of marriage seems to follow some principles. Many a times some questions arise in my mind and remain answered. Why does the bride have to leave behind her house & past life which she has been cherishing ever since her birth? Why does she single handedly have to manage and care about the household without any support from others in the family? Why is she supposed to follow and listen what her husband says, though he is someone who suddenly enters her life? Why doesn’t she have her say in any important matters of the family? Why she has to enter the kitchen in the evenings though she is also one of the bread earners of the family? Even now in some of the suburbs the girl child has to crush her dreams of going to school and studying whereas the son is allowed to study, husbands still snub their wives when a girl child is born or is instructed to abort if she is conceiving a female child.

But the answer to all this lies within. Women Liberalization & Empowerment are not mere words but has a deeper meaning. Women have to realize this inner power that will rescue them from all odds & will enable them to withstand the social norms that come in the form of beliefs and misleading by the society which has to be curbed in such a way that they do not overshadow the dignity, pride & the whole being of a woman.

A woman is considered an epitome of eternal love. She teaches the whole mankind to share, care and sacrifice playing multiple roles of a mother, a sister, a wife & a lover. But at the same time she has to be strong like Sita who despite all her sacrifices had to go through agnipariksha but still brought her kids all by herself, She has to become like Ma Durga who fought with Mahishasur and fought all odds to destroy the devil.