Fruits of Life
After my earlier post, I started fresh. I believed it can done. And now, I am reaping its fruits, literally. All it needed was some soil, a sapling, lots of water and plenty of caring.
It is easier to teach a kid than a grown person. A grown person has a brain filled with tremendous information and it is hard to convince the person to change the way of life or the way of thinking. Selfishness and ego tend to take the driver's seat over humaneness and morality. A country can never become developed until a human life gets the respect it deserves irrespective of the status - rich or homeless. Such a state can not and will not occur in a country like India overnight. Patience and perseverence are the keys to success.
Personal and public hygiene, safety and compassion should be an integral part of a kids education as they are the keys to a healthy and humane life that defines a country's stage of development. Personal hygiene, as most of us know, is learnt through family values and the way the kith and kin carry themselves around in the family and the kids do in the school. These are instinctively learnt. Public hygiene is often not given as much importance as personal hygiene in our society. This needs to be taught in schools so the future citizens of the country can carry the education to make the country more healthy to live in.
Safety needs to be taught in schools. In my school days and I am sure it still continues in some schools, there was/is no concept of safety or precautions except in record notebooks. I have not seen a physics lab darker or a chemistry lab without the basic safety equipment like fire extinguisher and first aid kit. We were not taught the importance of safety in school in our days and that reflects in the current generations total lack of safety on roads and in society. Had we been given the right tools to tackle these situations when we were in school, we wouldn't be having posts and debates on if safety and hygiene need enforcement or not. Moral values need to be taught at an young age and social implications needs to be highlighted to kids. These can only be done at schools. Schools form the soil, kids are the saplings and education is water. The more nutrients we replenish the soil with while watering the sapling, the juicier is the fruit.
Twenty years ago, had someone not thought of the idea that India could be a strong player in the world today in IT services, it would not have happened today. Hundred years ago, had someone not thought that India could be independent, it would probably not have been independent.
It is time for us to think and act now. There are several problems we face and we also candidly exchange opinions on what can solve those. But no one enters the field to implement the same. Let each of us pledge here to solve one problem in our lifetime that we think needs a solution. Let us take the effort beyond opinions and solve it for a change.
Today, I pledge that I will do all in my power to make my country healthier to live in for all. I intend to do this by requesting the support of some of my friends in India to take up the duty of cleaning a designated area themselves and with the help of the local school kids. In the US, highways are often marked by mile markers saying that a fraternity is responsible for keeping the highway clean for so many miles. These are not mandatory organizations or enforced by the government. These are voluntary frat members who work hard to keep the zone in their jurisdiction clean. Such zones need to be created in the places we grow up in or become part of. I also intend, with permission from the nearest school, to teach a class every week on safety, hygiene and the importance of individual responsibility in society.
The doubters and critics may just dismiss my intentions saying I live in a foreign country and this is just "ettu suraikkai". As long as I am true to myself and my intent, I will continue to make all the efforts and I would appreciate your support, suggestions and actions to make us gain the real fruits of life.
50 comments:
Sorry to start the comments sessions in this way.
Driver:
I think you didn't really bother to address the first part of my last comment in your previous post because you had already prepared this post. It seems reasonable to me if I conclude that you are more bothered about "Your solution" than a better and already available solution. Correct me if you think I am wrong. You seem to have started your earlier blog with this blog in mind.
Passerby:
I thought you are just an idiot but now I am convinced that you are a saddist as well. I don't think I am wrong if I say that you are just looking for opportunities to scribble your rantings rather than analyze any issue objectively. You had conveniently and obviously ignored the first part of my comment and took full advantage of what I told second and vented out your irritating cries.
Driver:
What a beauty nature can do?! Wonderful. The power is in the seed. And the moment you sow it, only god knows from where it gets the "THOUGHT" to grow, the strength to grow. The MIRACLE happens right before the eyes.
GOD has created so many things around us to tell us that everything is possible, IF ONLY WE WANT TO DO.
It is now LOUD AND CLEAR THAT WE WANT TO DO.
Every word that you had CHOSEN is apt. It is absolutely right.
PATIENCE: That's the key.
DETERMINATION: That's the key.
CARE: That's the key.
COMMITMENT: That's the key.
PERSISTENCE: That's the key.
BELIEF: That's the key.
RESULTS: That will fall in place if the above does, as your photographs show.
When you planted the seed you did not EXPECT the fruits. May be you were DOUBTFUL if it will ever grow.
When the leaves came up, that gave you some ENCOURAGEMENT. You took the EXTRA STEP to WATER THE PLANT even when you were out of town. That shows that you were CARING and COMMITED.
You watered and cared every single day. That shows your PESISTENCE/DETERMINATION.
You started BELIEVING that the plant will grow for sure.
There you go: YOU HAVE THE FRUITS.
Life is that simple. I'm sure you did not do this to prove a point in the blog.
Every one of us can do it, if ONLY WE CAN. If a small seed can have SO MUCH OF POTENTIAL, I'm sure as HUMAN BEINGS we can do wonders.
Driver, I'm all for it. I live here in India, and I'LL PLEDGE THAT I'LL DO THE BEST THAT I CAN IN YOUR EFFORTS.
Be it cleaning the road, educating school children, patroling the streets whatever it is, my time is there for it.
As you rightly said, it is DIFFICULT for adults to UNLEARN. But it is easy to EDUCATE YOUNG MINDS.
Schools are the right place. Educating them the importance of health and hygiene, saftey and compassion is the way to go.
I'm already seeing a bright India. I'll give all that I can to help you in the way you desire.
Si se puede.
PS: Never ever worry about so called "Critiques". They will NOT add value either positively or negatively. Be strong in what you believe in.
venkat:
I will correct you. You were wrong. I prepared this post last night and I write as my thoughts flow. Note that I have requested more suggestions and solutions. I am not imposing my solutions on all. I am just suggesting what I would do and if you like it and think it would work, you can adopt it or not.
I am willing to be flexible, but not all are.
passerby:
Thanks for your support. I am sure those who have a will can find a way.
Driver:
Okay. I give it you. Since you are open to solutions, did you think about the realistic and existing solution offered by the private company. If your objective is to keep your area or neighbourhood clean(to start with atleast), did you try taking the initiative of trying to bring that company to your area or think of starting one such in your area as well. You moral education may work after 20 years( i also hve genuine reasons to belive why it may not work as well which i will tell in a later post) . However I wanted to know whether you sincerely thought about this or not.
Venkat:
I am glad that we (including you) are talking solutions now. Specifically to your question - Yes, I have given a thought to that company - thanks to c'est who came up with the first solution. I am prepared to talk to them.
I also wanted to let you know that I have started working towards contacting our school to identify ways to allocate classes once a week or at least a month for this purpose. I am going to push this as an alumni and any support from fellow alumni is welcome. I have one of my good friends supporting my efforts (in taking these classes) from India.
You may have genuine reasons to consider it may not work and I have my genuine reasons why it may work. There is no point speculating. When you write an exam, you may or may not pass (especially when your paper is being corrected by a Madras University correction center), but that doesn't stop you from preparing or taking the exam. I consider this similar and I will do whatever it needs to get us where we want.
Good to hear that. I read some news about the agency yesterday. It seems they are around for a long time and it has been going on since 2001. They charge something like Rs.750 per tonne to clear wastes. I guess to go with this solution, you might need to get people around to contribute monetarily every month for this to happen. To give a start it may require paying from our own pockets till people around get convinced. You may let know if you need help in this regard if you are planning this around our school.
As far as your education goes, I gues you need to plan more cleraly and get the right people. The biggest challenge is sustenance. In my opinion, enforcement works better. It takes care of sustaining . Education works on trust to sustain and when you involve lot of people, there are chances of dilution. Also there is no point in teaching unless all the resources are in place. There is no use of educating about using dustbins when there are no dustbins around. Also once resources are in place, enforcement works better.
venkat:
Wonderful. That is the kind of support and suggestions I am in need for. I understand that without good planning and sustained efforts, it will not work. (I used the word perseverance in the post, which means the same).
Just like a school subject needs a syllabus that needs to be approved by a group of educators, educating kids on social responsibility needs planning and a syllabus. If you and everyone else who visits this page can provide guidance in developing such a syllabus, we will have a good head start.
We need to decide on what resources we need to do so (like Venkat pointed out no point teaching about garbage disposal when there are no dust bins - point well made.). Let us harbor our energy in getting a plan of action. Simultaneously, we can talk to the school management in helping us implement the same.
I always knew it can done, but now, I know others who also believe that it can be done. Let us do it.
venkat:
on your first comment. Yes, I understand that we need to get people to pay for the service and it is true that we might have to pitch in some money to create the habit into the neighborhood. If paying from my pocket to get it going is what it takes, I am ready for it. I will check out with this company and see the possible choices we have for our area.
Before coming up with a plan , the problem definiton has to be done. From your blog and the comments you made, I make out the following. Let me try to define the problem you are solving. I have also added some key items of relevance which you may have to consider in your thought process before thinking about framing syllabus.If you have already gone through it,you may fill them . You may also add some points which comes to your mind. Once you do that you will be in a better position to approach your problem.
Personal and public hygiene, safety and compassion should be an integral part of a kids education as they are the keys to a healthy and humane life that defines a country's stage of development.
Public hygiene is often not given as much importance as personal hygiene in our society. This needs to be taught in schools so the future citizens of the country can carry the education to make the country more healthy to live in.
Safety needs to be taught in schools. In my school days and I am sure it still continues in some schools, there was/is no concept of safety or precautions except in record notebooks. I have not seen a physics lab darker or a chemistry lab without the basic safety equipment like fire extinguisher and first aid kit. We were not taught the importance of safety in school in our days and that reflects in the current generations total lack of safety on roads and in society.
Problem: Country /area where you live in chennai generally lacks public hygine and schools in general are lacking in safety standards.
Problem causes : Lack of awareness and lack of resources.
Your Approach to solution : Tackle it by educating school children . Try impoving the resources through fund collection and employing private companies/individuals to do the job.
Reason: Children are better learners and if they are trained right from their childhood, they become better citizens in future.
Alternative approaches :
Why is this approach better?
Prirorities in this activity :
Assumptions made :
If you are done wth the above , then you may start filling in the following
Area of focus/implementation -
Key Milestones:
Anticipated End date:
Number of People Involved:
How to sustain interest and motivation during the project? -
How to sustain the results when acheived? -
Methodology of implementation -
Estimated Cost -
Things that may fail and how to correct them -
Driver,
I agree, anything is possible. Count me in of for your "bend the trend" approach. Bringing a tomato tree is not magic but having the determination to bring it, is!
My thoughts:- Cleanliness is next to godliness, is the idiom. But for India, Cleanliness in public places is next to impossible.
People prefer to spruce up their homes and poop up their hood. We have a long way to walk......
Venkat,
I agree to your initial comment on Passerby. Well said.......
Sriram:
the keyword is "next" in "next to impossible". We can't come to a conclusion without even attempting.
I came across these three gems by Gandhiji yesterday. I hadn't heard some of these before but I liked the truth in these simple words.
“First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.”
“Be the change you want to see in the world.”
“You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result.”
I disagree with both of you on your opinion on passerby. It is unfortunate that one can judge a person by what the person writes or the way it is written. It is the intent that is important and I stand by passerby's intents. Maybe passerby is emotional but so am I when I write my responses. It is just the choice of words that is different from what you or I pick. Let us grow out of all prejudices and work towards the bigger picture as this is not about Giri or Sriram or Driver or Passerby. It is about the right intentions and I know the intentions of everyone who writes here.
I had earlier mentioned that please refrain from using non-parliamentary or derogatory words as our intentions are not to hurt or find fault at each other but to work together to solve a problem.
Driver:
I am already tired of hearing quotations,historical references and the "we can do" cliches. Why don't you look at the questions I sent and let me know what your answers are. I guess as an engineer you will atleast understand that unless you are really aware of what you are doing, you may not get what you want to do. Come out of poetry and face the reality.
As far as the passerby thing goes , you must remember the famous phrase "Spare the rod and spoil the child". Passerby is already spoiled too much.Don't pamper and push him/her into further ignorance.
Venkat:
I for once agree with your point. Cliches are just cliches. Your questions and assumptions are valid and planning is required. How about instead of asking what I would do, tell me what you would do on your questions. That will help me assess the "engineering" way of tackling the issues. Anyone can ask questions, but answers are required now. If you can help answer them, I would appreciate that. I will also do my fair share of work to find the ways to implement the answers.
Intentions, muntentions.... psssss....
I intentionally don't pick on people.It is not easy to wake up those who are pretending to be asleep.
Innocence and ignorance are two different things and needs to be weighed on a separate scale.
Okay.Now we are getting into real business.
I think I can assume that I defined your problem correctly and the approaches you want to take.You may correct me if you think i am missing something. Let us go to the next item.I cannot comment on what your priorities should be, as you need to formulate them. However I will talk about alternative approaches and assumptions.
Alternative approaches:
Here I am just going to give my ideas . In no way I am telling you that I am giving a ideal approach but you can debate or at least think about it.
My idea is simple.Run the whole process like an organization.Employ companies like Onyx for collecting garbage from bins and employ people to transfer the garbage lying on the roads to these bins.The households can be requested to put their garbage directly into the bins. You will be funding the process .You will definitely find people to clean the roads for money. You are linking this to the bread and butter of people who are doing it. You are doing what the municipal corporation is supposed to do. You can appoint someone like an area manager in the locality who has to just monitor the whole thing.You may decide to pay him if needed. Once you start this process as a free trial where you pay initially and set this up, there is a high probability that people may get used to it and may takeover from you. To save money, they may decide to throw garbage into bins on their own and not employ people to do this. As time progresses, may be they will force the municipal corporation to fund this activity in return for their votes. If you are able to bring laws to prosecute/fine people who don't stick to these norms, it can be easily sustained. As long as the law doesn't come, there is still a high probability of the whole scheme breaking up if people decide not to pay for this. In that case the only option left is people like you still funding it provided you do not lose interest.
Comparing your approach to the above approach and discussing assumptions
You approach presumes that people can be educated and they will use that education on their own. I am unable to agree on this. People are still given a choice whether to use it or not. There is a very high probability that majority of the people may not apply it. You cannot rely on the small minority to do wonders. Second, if they don't find the necessary resources when they have the education, the whole scheme might simply collapse. In my opinion,human beings do not do things unless they find incentives or if enforcement is done. Asking people to do things based on incentives alone is risky because when incentives stops, the work also stops. Enforcement is better because people simply fear the consequences of breaking the law. It can even make people habitual in the long run that even if enforcement is withdrawn, the system might still work. People in the US are made habitual by this process. People still have the fear at the back of their mind that if a cop catches them violating traffic rules, they have to pay dearly for it and it is going to haunt them as it gets into driving history which is properly maintained. In the long run, it makes it habitual for them not to break the law.
In summary I say that education even if started from early childhood is highly unlikely to work unless the necessary steps are taken to enforce it.Still,if you want to give a meaningful education, you need to find the right teachers. The right teachers might not work for you unless they get incentives. You may find people coming forward on their own but you need to decide whether they are the right people you are looking for .
I think based on ur blog that ur main concerns keeping the streets clean than anything else... maybe education is a place to start but .. again I hate that u bring up comparison with US. If you look at our highways u will find its pretty much clean as it is in US highways, its within the city limits the concern should be focused on. I think having a trashcan in front of a shop rather than at the end of every street would lead to more cleanliness than educating childrens.
Pistu:
My main concerns are not that. If you look at the discussion properly, I have mentioned that these are "basic" things need attention which will subsequently result in betterment of quality of life and thereby the country's development. If we can solve these basic issues, the solutions for all the other problems facing our nation will easily flow through.
Driver:
This brings one more important question. What would you consider as clean? What is the criteria that when met, will make you declare that your objectives are acheived? One can have lot of reasons to say why New york is not clean . Similarly one can also say that chennai is clean because a recent survey rated it as the cleanest city in India even above New Delhi . The poverty line defintion in India and US are not the same. Someone who is able to afford more than 2 full meals a day is considered above poverty line in India. I am sorry to say that I don't really see you going in any logical direction to declare what your objectives are or what concrete measures have you taken so far (or planning to take)? . We know that you are not going to do a fundamental research but you are just going to try to replicate things which already exists in many parts of the world. It seems like a you just want to keep proving why your intentions are not wrong.
People like passerby who were extremely active in this blog when they got opportunities to blame and find faults are conspicuosly absent the moment this discussion started focussing on concrete measures. I sometimes feel that people who talk about doing service for their country and forward "true indian emails" are the ones who would never do anything.
Venkat:
The intention of my writing these on my blog and requesting opinions of those who know me or don't know me was to assess my ideology and others alike. If you find it refreshing and satisfying to blast whatever I write or someone who favors my ideologies, I am glad that I am making you happy by doing that. I know you don't like cliches, but I have to say this - a road to success is full of pitfalls and bumps and I consider comments like this only as that. It does not deter my intentions.
One of the traits I like is to listen to others to learn from others and I have always done that all through my life. Likewise, I have never restricted myself in sharing my thoughts with those who prefer to listen as well. You know what category you fall in and I know the category I fall in and the intentions of others who have been in this discussion as well. That was the outcome I was hoping from my blog posts and I have the results of my experiment and am pleased to take the results as they come. I am neither angry about the negative outcomes nor excited about the positive ones. As any optimist, I take the positive to build my strengths and remember the negatives so as to not falter in the future.
Friends,
Interesting blog. Can understand that a heavy debate is going on here.
Venkat seems to be very sensible. He has thought out of a superb plan of action to make the streets clean. He seems to have done his homework.
Such leadership is what India is requiring to take us through. With facts, figures and undeterred thoughts of what other's might say or want to do the plan of action clearly says that this must have been brewing in his heart and mind for a long time.
Passerby:
Looks like you have won a lot of competition in essay writing. Can you talk something practical?!
Driver:
What do you want to do? Why dont you listen to what venkat has to say and implement? With leaders like Venkat you should be able to achieve things easily. Or are you just like Passerby (like Venkat says) who vanished?!!
Well Kudos to the effort for all. But one the last thing is what I do not understand?! It is bit ambiguous on what we can do sitting here in USA? Who is going to do this in India? Venky must have a plan for this and I'm eager to listen to that.
Kannagi
kannagi:
welcome to my blog and thanks for being very encouraging in your first comment. Keep commenting.
Let me answer your question with another question -
"Why don't you listen to what Venkat says?"
How do you know that I am not listening to what venkat said? Where did I ever indicate that I am not trying to pursue that "option".
Before accusing someone of "not doing something" - like most Indians do, learn to appreciate the intent of a comment. I am sure you are a rookie as I see you just opened up a blogger account. So, please do continue to encourage in your own way.
Kannagi:
Thanks for your compliments.. May be you should refer to the previous blog "Democrazy" to understand my stand. Here I wanted to closely see what these high thinking revolutionists are trying to do and really help them if they sound sensible.
Driver:
I feel like participating in a NDTV debate. Afterall , you wanted to "learn" by writing all these things? You wanted to experiment?? I am more convinced by your statements now that you are more concerned about experimenting your idea than acheiving results. Also it is sad that you are not really to going to evaluate the alternatives and simply stick to your original plan. You sound as if you are going to do some path breaking research for which people must wait patiently for generations and the results of which will be visible atleast only after 20-30 years. Again you are not guaranteeing any success because it is your experiment. Did you take any coaching from Indian government??
Driver:
You have not answered my question. For your reference again, here is my question:
Why dont you listen to what venky says and implement
You conveniently took the first part and ignored the second.
I think that's what Venky is trying to push forward. Venky please correct my understanding if I'm wrong.
Secondly, please dont generalize Indians. In this blog I see that Venky, Pistu and Sriram are better informed and are having better plans than just talking.
Venky:
Thanks for your reference on Democrazy. I went through it. It only tells me that you have a clear plan but are not ready to come out on what you are thinking in clear terms. (At leat I am not able to clearly see it yet).
However, your post on the 7th June is simply amazing. You have the thoguht process of an American, and I think that is what Indians lack.
May be a few like PasserBy, should learn how to dissect a problem and look at it more objectively.
I think your question What is the criteria that when met, will make you declare that your objectives are acheived? is THE QUESTION OF THE BLOG. You are RIGHT ON!!
Your post earlier If you want to be in India,you must enjoy what it offers and not complain about things which are inherent to it. I love India - its bustling crowd, honking traffic, platform shops,bargains, solving problems easily through bribes, servant maids,autorickshaws etc. You should not try taking these away from it
Absolutely right. We miss all those and we want others who enjoy such wonderful country in India live a boring life like that in the USA. In spite of owning a car, living in a somewhat relatively clean environment and without the haggling on every day life, it is really boring here, and India should never change.
Like pistu says, if cleanliness is what we need to do then that should be easy with the steps you have mentioned. Well those who write need to start implementing.
Kannagi
venkat:
No. I did not take coaching from the Indian government, I didn't even know they had a course? How did you know about it, did you try to enroll and got rejected? :P
Lighter notes apart, if you do things only when the result is guaranteed, then we would still have been cavemen and even maybe extinct. You may find it naive or crazy and you may think that I think that I am doing something great - you are entitled to, but that is why you are you and I am me.
kannagi:
"Why dont you listen to what venky says and implement?"
What made you think that I am not listening to and trying to implement it?
Suddenly everyone talks about being "objective". Strangely the same word all the discussion started with by someone who everyone seems to loathe. :P
"Well those who write need to start implementing."
Well said.
Driver:
No you have not undestood my point. I just wanted to tell that the plan of action as suggested by Venky should be implemented.
Like Venky said people
People like passerby who were extremely active in this blog when they got opportunities to blame and find faults are conspicuosly absent the moment this discussion started focussing on concrete measures
there is lull after so much of traffic in earlier blog.
Which proves Venky is very correct. People who write, just want to show their might in words. That's the reason why we have NDTV kind of blog.
Kannagi
No. I did not take coaching from the Indian government, I didn't even know they had a course? How did you know about it, did you try to enroll and got rejected? :P
They don't have to conduct a course. It is just enough to study the the five year plans.
Lighter notes apart, if you do things only when the result is guaranteed, then we would still have been cavemen and even maybe extinct. You may find it naive or crazy and you may think that I think that I am doing something great - you are entitled to, but that is why you are you and I am me.
Here I am seeing a typical Indian politician. Twisting, partially ignoring previous comments, and misinterpreting (deliberately?) and coming up with a nice rosy statement about caveman. The first thing I asked is "What is your objective?" and later I talked about implementation. You have not even answered that part.However, you nicely turned the tables telling an action need not guarantee results.So tell me straight whether your objective is to solve India's problems or try out your experiment? WHich comes first? and Which is more urgent?
Second you are refusing to give a straight answer to kannagi. Are you going to implement the plan I suggested - WHy (if yes) or why not(if no)?. Second why do you think your plan will work ? You must go back to the blog that you wrote on democrazy and fruits of life. The kind of urgency ,passion and determination that was boiling in it is totally absent in your responses. It appears as if you are trying to just avoid giving straight answers now.
Venky:
Of course, you are right. With people like you who are NEGATIVE TO THE CORE, the result will be just like you said. WE WILL IGNORE.
I IGNORED YOU ALL ALONG AFTER MY LAST POST ON YOUR COMMENT, but NOW YOU ARE TRYING TO DRIVE THIS BLOG ITSELF AWAY. That's why I'm back here.
Just because I've not responded doesnt mean I'm not watching!!! And on the same token just because someone is not tom tomming what they have done on a blog does not necessarily mean that they have not done anything.
Driver's motive, as I understand from the blog, is to do something. He looked for answers in the blog, and tried to form a team.
At no point he said cleaning is the ONLY thing to do or MORAL education is the only thing to do. HE ONLY INDICATED THAT THESE CAN BE SOMETHING TO BE DONE.
You are the one who came up with a page full of "STEPS". many of them you left blank (for whatever reason). Remember this happened on the 7th of June. Today is the 14th of June.
In a weeks time you want Driver to:
* debate on your points
* identify approach to solution
* Reason the root cause of the problem
* gather opinions
* find alternatives
* Prioritize problems to solve
* analyze merits and demirts
* shortlist a set of options
* find resources to work on those
* set milestones
* Give a start date
* Give an anticipated end date
* Identify the people who want to involve (and THOSE WHO WILL LOVE TO ASK QUESTIONS)
* Device mechanisms to sustain interest and motivation
* device methodology to implement
* Cost it
* Arrnge for funds
* Identify risks
* identify methods to mitigate risks
* implement them
All this in one week? Sitting in USA, people like VENKY, PISTU and KANNAGI asking questions on WHY DONT YOU IMPLEMENT, rather than asking the question
HOW CAN I BE OF UTILIY?
Come on. Is this reasonable? If that can be done by driver alone then well, driver you are a super super super man.
EXPECTING RESULTS IMMEDIATELY IS FOOLISH. PORUTHAAR BHOOMI AALVAR.
Have patience. Be courteous and be supportive to someone.
If driver has to accept your stand, then the blog discussion will be over. AT THE LEAST TELL ME IF THAT IS WHAT YOU WANT?!!
Kannagi
Welcome to the blog. Good to see youngsters coming forward to comment.
I dont know if you got a chance to follow earlier posts, but I assume you did (as also suggested by Venkat earlier).
I've partially assumed why it is too early to talk about implementing what Venkat said. No doubt it is elabourate as you rightly said, but as individuals who are sitting 1000s of miles away from India, it is not very easy to implement the action plan as suggested by Venky. I'm sure you will agree.
And also like I said earlier, it is not right to assume that someone has not done anything just because they did not "tom tom" their doings on the blog.
Instead of asking questions, I would suggest that you come up with some thing to IMPLEMENT. It can be a short and sweet thing. Like in the movie "UNNAL MUDIYUM THAMBI", there was a THATHA who PLANTS TREES IN THE FOREST, which inspires the hero in that movie.
It doesnt need a huge action plan isn't it. Appreciate the fact that driver has done it in a smaller way with his tomato plants. Encourage him to go to the next steps. Support him on his efforts.
I'm sure you will.
"All this in one week? Sitting in USA, people like VENKY, PISTU and KANNAGI asking questions on WHY DONT YOU IMPLEMENT, rather than asking the question"
I dont see where I told him why dont you implement..
Driver wants to educate the kids in school whereas my way of thinking is towards helping the people in slum areas. As always as long as the government isnt gonna change or help out, whatever we do might end up null and void.
Kannagi, I am pretty sure he is going to implement whatever he says. Just coz he is open to ideas doesnt mean he is just words.
Venkat, Are you planning on doing something back home or just commenting in the blog.. I really dont what your intentions are..
Passerby.. seriously man I never seen you come up with a solution or atleast say what you gonna do. I appreciate you supporting Driver, but what are your intentions and planning to do.
p.s. Change your name from Driver da.. its awkward saying Driver said this Driver said that :)
Passerby:
Of course, you are right. With people like you who are NEGATIVE TO THE CORE, the result will be just like you said. WE WILL IGNORE.
I think we have a fundamental problem between us. You always seem to conclude this at every opportunity. If opportunity is not available then you are creating it.
I IGNORED YOU ALL ALONG AFTER MY LAST POST ON YOUR COMMENT, but NOW YOU ARE TRYING TO DRIVE THIS BLOG ITSELF AWAY. That's why I'm back here.
I simply dumbfounded by this. I don't know what to say. God knows what reasons you had to tell this.
Just because I've not responded doesnt mean I'm not watching!!! And on the same token just because someone is not tom tomming what they have done on a blog does not necessarily mean that they have not done anything.
First of all I only insisted on a solution which is not even my original idea in the first place. I only supported the organization that already proved its worth in the cleanliness effort in a few parts of chennai. The original credit for this idea goes to c'est la vie who forwarded that article. I found lot of sense in the way they work and secondly they have proved their worth already . If this blog is about meeting objectives, I thought that is a very logical route to meet ONE of the objectives of Driver and hence I pushed the case. If you can conclude that I want Driver to tom tomming, then you can also accuse driver with the same who refused to give any reasonable importance to this organization.
At no point he said cleaning is the ONLY thing to do or MORAL education is the only thing to do. HE ONLY INDICATED THAT THESE CAN BE SOMETHING TO BE DONE
This is the problem. He never seem to be committed to anything. There are so many "can be done". I just hoped that the discussion will snowball into "Okay..we will do this".
You are the one who came up with a page full of "STEPS". many of them you left blank (for whatever reason). Remember this happened on the 7th of June. Today is the 14th of June.All this in one week? Sitting in USA, people like VENKY, PISTU and KANNAGI asking questions on WHY DONT YOU IMPLEMENT, rather than asking the question
This once again clearly shows your intention to interpret me as wrongly as possible. I never set any deadline but I just tried to make Driver think in a proper direction. I even divided the STEPS into two parts where I told him to first get the answers for the first part and then think about the second. I just thought Driver would say something like "Okay..I will think about the first part and give u the answers" or " No.. I don't think I need to think about them because of so and so ". Rather he asked me to give my answers . I tried to answer from my perspective. After that I expected him to answer from his perspective and debate on what I told or try to give out his views on how he thinks his plan is going will work ; but he did nothing. When kannagi pointed out why he did not think about it , prompt came the answer "What made you think that I am not listening to and trying to implement it?". Further he answered me this way.
if you do things only when the result is guaranteed, then we would still have been cavemen and even maybe extinct. You may find it naive or crazy and you may think that I think that I am doing something great - you are entitled to, but that is why you are you and I am me.
What does he mean by this? Doesen't asking me to conculde that he is not going to answer any of the question I raised? Does it also not show that he is more committed in taking his ideas forward and not going to really give priority to anything that is going to come on the way and might solve his problem. I was of the opinion that the blog is about solving problems in thhe best way available but rather is becoming apparent that it is about doing what he has decided to do.
I've partially assumed why it is too early to talk about implementing what Venkat said. No doubt it is elabourate as you rightly said, but as individuals who are sitting 1000s of miles away from India, it is not very easy to implement the action plan as suggested by Venky. I'm sure you will agree.
I don't understand this logic at all. How come using the servies of a company which already specializes in the activity is not workable but starting a program to educate school children who are expected to use their education 20 years later implementable?? How did you come to this conclusion so fast? The company has a good modus operandi,people and resources to do it and they already doing it. If they are paid ,they will do it anywhere. It is not necessary for people from here to come there with brooms.
EXPECTING RESULTS IMMEDIATELY IS FOOLISH. PORUTHAAR BHOOMI AALVAR.
Have patience. Be courteous and be supportive to someone.
If driver has to accept your stand, then the blog discussion will be over. AT THE LEAST TELL ME IF THAT IS WHAT YOU WANT?
If expecting results immediatly is foolishnes, then what do you say about refusing to do something which is already giving results ? If there is no other way of solving the problem, then i understand your point. If a medicine is already avaialble to cure your disease, why is that you guys are refusing to take it and further insisting on finding a new medicine for the same disease and hope that it will be successful after 20-30 years??? If you don't like this existing medicine, are you atleast trying to see what other medicines are available ??
I just want Driver now to make his stand clear. Let him tell me that he doesn't find any sense in answering my questions. Let him tell me unequivocally that he has made up his mind to start his moral education program . Then I guess we won't have this cycle of accusations once more.
Pistu:
If you read the democrazy , you will know how I came here. If you refer to my earlier comments , you would find that I am ready to assist implementing this in my neighbourhood or school area and I am not really bothered about what happens in other parts of chennai or in India. Since Driver is planning to do something around our school and he wrote this blog with big ambitions , i wanted to see what direction he is taking. Also if he has already made up his mind, I don't understand why he wanted solutions?.
Pistu:
I dont see where I told him why dont you implement..
I agree that you did not say that.
Driver wants to educate the kids in school whereas my way of thinking is towards helping the people in slum areas. As always as long as the government isnt gonna change or help out, whatever we do might end up null and void.
EXACTLY. That's the point of the blog. We are in step 1 (or probably step -1). That's the idea of driver (if I understand him rightly)
TO FIRST IDENTIFY WHAT WE NEED. IT CAN BE THIS OR THAT, BUT STAGE ONE (or -1) IS TO GET SOME MOMENTUM GOING.
Step 2(I'm not suggesting a path here, but just writing what I feel is logically the next step) could be to PRIORITIZE on what we want.
May be you can add a step 1a which says "WHAT IS CAPABLE FOR US TO DO WITH OUR LIMITED RESOURCES WHICH INCLUDES OUR TIME, ENERGY AND REACH".
Well, this is what the intention of the blog is and just the blog CANNOT GIVE ANY SOLUTIONS. We need people to start ACTING, and this is probably a STARTER to get people to the next stage.
Passerby.. seriously man I never seen you come up with a solution or atleast say what you gonna do. I appreciate you supporting Driver, but what are your intentions and planning to do.
Thanks for this question. This needs to be asked by everyone and given a SERIOUS thought. My answer will be a question again!!!!!!!
What is WRONG IN JUST SUPPORTING.
* Why cant I just be a supporter and a WORKER?! in the army led by Driver?
* I feel I've to know more before I can come up with an issue that I think I can solve. If someone has already thought through it (you, driver, Venkat, c'est la vie, Sriram, Badri), then what's the point in adding MY WISH LIST?! In fact my wish list is a combination of all of it (and I'm sure everyone of us what all of it)
* To me all the points need to be done, and I'm only trying to figure out WHICH ONE CAN WE DO WITH OUR LIMITED RESOURCES.
* I hope that clears your doubts on why I want to just be a supporter. After all, there can be only ONE CAPTAIN of the ship, and even though all of us can give SUGGESTIONS, the captain is the one, who after weighing the +s and -s makes the decision.
* If you have worked in the army/navy/airforce it would have been easier to understand that MORE THAN ONE CAPTAIN SPELL DEFEAT.
By this blog and as I understand his invitation to his friends to join the blog (Thanks Venkat for pointing this out), driver has become the FRONT RUNNER. It looks like many of you have "GREAT OPINION" on driver's intentions. Which is GOOD ENOUGH PROOF that he can LEAD US.
I only see that the PRIORITIES are different for different people. This can be solved by all of us choosing a LEADER and let the leader decide the priority.
Once that is done, all we need to do is COOPERATE and PLEDGE that we will NOT ROCK THE SHIP in any way. But that doesnt mean that we cannot ADD VALUE to the thoughts.
Good luck to us.
Venkat:
Let me first clear you certain things:
* I dont know who you are as an Individual
* So I dont have to brew enemity on you
* I BELIEVE we have VERY STRONG FUNDAMENTAL MATCH as both of us are in one blog trying to figure out WHAT WE CAN DO TO THE COUNTRY - For the people, BY THE PEOPLE.
* Finally, I hate debating on "Subjective" matter on what an individual had to say, but you have driven me to quote your words and answer to them. THIS I DO FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE AUDIENCE.
On that note:
I think we have a fundamental problem between us.
I cant help if you think so. I dont.
I simply dumbfounded by this. I don't know what to say. God knows what reasons you had to tell this.
I know you have not understood, but your last post on BLASTING driver for inaction is the reason. I felt that you are INSULTING him and IRRITATING him. May be you did not mean that. But remember, NOT ALL OF US KNOW WHO DRIVER IS OR WHO YOU ARE, AN WHEN YOU ARE IN PUBLIC, WE NEVER KNOW HOW PEOPLE WILL INTERPRET THINGS.
May be you did not mean to hurt him, but I felt you did.
I only supported the organization that already proved its worth in the cleanliness effort in a few parts of chennai.
Nothing wrong at all. You did what you thought is right. Only thing is that you are a bit impatient. And by asking the members to DO SOMETHING IMMEDIATELY it is YOU who is PUSHING your ideas. Think for a moment solitarily and you will accept it for sure.
If this blog is about meeting objectives, I thought that is a very logical route to meet ONE of the objectives of Driver and hence I pushed the case.
First, the objective can never be met trough this blog. ACTION needs to be there. This blogs objective (Driver correct me if I'm wrong) is to collect a force which things they can make a contribution back to the country in the first place, and then to identify the areas which the force things needs to be done.
then you can also accuse driver with the same who refused to give any reasonable importance to this organization.
All I'm saying is you have put forward your point. Be patient and see what we can do.
Another thing that I see is that you alway GIVE THE IDEAS and want OTHERS TO IMPLEMENT?!
This is the problem. He never seem to be committed to anything. There are so many "can be done". I just hoped that the discussion will snowball into "Okay..we will do this".
Again you are just impatient. Nothing can happen in one week or one month. Patience is the key and the Fruits of Life is a GREAT WAY TO EDUCATE US ON THE IMPORTANCE OF PATIENCE AND PERSEVERANCE.
This once again clearly shows your intention to interpret me as wrongly as possible.
All I can say is, dont think that I'm against you. I'm sure a change in the way we think can make a big difference. TO CLEAR THE AIR, I HAVE NOTHING PERSONAL AGAINST YOU.
I just thought Driver would say something like "Okay..I will think about the first part and give u the answers"
If you read his replies, he has already said he will think about it. You are in a hurry to hear from him. Remember, what we are attempting here is not even a part time work and we have a full-time committment elsewhere.
I tried to answer from my perspective. After that I expected him to answer from his perspective and debate on what I told or try to give out his views on how he thinks his plan is going will work ; but he did nothing.
See you concluded that HE DID NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't understand this logic at all. How come using the servies of a company which already specializes in the activity is not workable but starting a program to educate school children who are expected to use their education 20 years later implementable?? How did you come to this conclusion so fast? The company has a good modus operandi,people and resources to do it and they already doing it. If they are paid ,they will do it anywhere. It is not necessary for people from here to come there with brooms.
Can I ask you a question?! How many times did you call the company till date?! Isnt it a call away? Why dont you find out if their credentials are true.
If expecting results immediatly is foolishnes, then what do you say about refusing to do something which is already giving results ?
No body refused it if I understand the blog correctly. You are assuming that he refused because he is giving equal importance to moral education, which VERY CLEARLY YOU ARE REFUSING TO EVEN LISTEN TO.
If you don't like this existing medicine, are you atleast trying to see what other medicines are available ??
Again please do not conclude. Have patience. Wait to hear what other's have to say.
Let him tell me unequivocally that he has made up his mind to start his moral education program . Then I guess we won't have this cycle of accusations once more.
I dont think he will, if I have understood him correctly. Neither did he make up his mind on anything yet.
He is just trying to see what can be done. I am sure he understands that nothing can be done as an individual an we need a group to make things happen. THANI MARAM THOPPAGAATHU ILLAYA?!
Finally, if you only stop asking only questions and expect others to answer all the questions that you asked, (ENAKKU KEKKATHAN THERIYUM - of course on a lighter note. Have a laugh man :-) ) we will definitely make progress.
For your inormation finally, I'm already talking to the organization. Will get you FIRST HAND INFORMATION as soon as I get from them.
And again further FYI (and in a way it becomes tom tom as well :-()
I called them on 5th June the day after C'est came up with the link.
pistu:
"... coz he is open to ideas doesnt mean he is just words..."
Thanks.
Pistu: "Venkat, Are you planning on doing something back home or just commenting in the blog.. "
and the response from Venkat was.... hmmm.... shall I say looked very similar to "... a typical Indian politician. Twisting, partially ignoring previous comments, and misinterpreting (deliberately?) and coming up with a nice rosy statement... " lol.
pistu:
driver is as awkward as pistu - so let us keeo the awkwardness going :P
passerby:
Glad to know that you contacted Onyx. I would really appreciate if you would share the details of your call. Let those who insist on answers get some peace of mind.
All:
Let me paint another rosy story instead of a rosy statement now.
All questions don't have a yes or no answer. If only it did, life would be so much simpler. *yawn* "We wouldn't need calculators or computers or even books for school and college exams, all we would need is a coin - heads or tails... *snap* huh... huh... whose there... what happened... why did you pour water in my face... I was having a wonderful dream...
Venkat & Kannagi:
I have not watched an NDTV "style of a debate". So, I am unaware of what you are talking about.
Venkat:
Suddenly you are all for cleaning up streets and singing the praise of the organization. I wonder if you have even tried to contact them, but maybe you did. I cannot conclusively say as I said before I am not you. I am at least glad that you are now even thinking of a way to clean up the place after starting off with a comment that said sea water should stay as sea water and fresh water should be fresh water. Now, you are advocating for a desalination plant which I am actually appreciative of.
Driver:
So atlast it seems like you all guys wanting to prove a point to me. You started this asking for solutions and when solutions came in ,I still can't understand what you were doing.I did not contact onyx for that matter and I perhaps won't. This is your plan, your child and I hope you understand that and remember you have taken a wow. You know what I used to say when we met last year . My opinion has not changed . I still stand by whatever I have told so far. I took this to a farther extent with greater push to see whether your blogs are just political bromides , unrealistic plans or does it really mean any substance. People like passerby made it more intersting. Let us see how far this goes. Good luck. Having said that ,the offer I made to you is still valid. THis is my last post on this blog. Good Bye.
Passerby:
You declared that the scheme will not work confidently to kannagi(read your own post). I don't understand the logic behind your U-turn and contacting them. But atleast now you talk some sense. Good Bye to you as well.
venkat:
The idea of the discussion was not frustrate one person or another. I started the discussion to get an idea of where I stand as compared to people I consider as friends or well-wishers. In addition, it was also intended to align myself with the like-minded individuals to make a difference in life rather than just writing or debating about it.
I was giving "objective" responses (which you kept on blasting) until today and see what happens when my comments became subjective.
Though we know that we are not here to finger point eachother rather to work with eachother, we are stubborn, adamant and force ourselves to not think "objectively" though we pretend we do. I appreciate your offer and I will definitely avail it in the near future. Cheer up, keep coming back and keep encouraging in your own way. :)
Venkat
You declared that the scheme will not work confidently to kannagi(read your own post).
Here I am seeing a typical Indian politician. Twisting, partially ignoring previous comments, and misinterpreting (deliberately?)
:-):-):-):-):-):-):-) I thought only driver was dreaming :-)
You started this asking for solutions and when solutions came in ,I still can't understand what you were doing. I did not contact onyx for that matter and I perhaps won't
Exactly this is why I think PISTU wrote what he wrote. Not to prove anything against you. You DEMAND others to work on your ORDER. You keep accusing others that they FORCE you to accept what they say, but read it again and see what you have written actually reflects your thoughts on your own self.
You WONT CONTACT but you DEMAND that other's should IMPLEMENT IT NOW?! Which planet are you from?
Remember, it is NOT NECESSARY that we need to do ONLY ONE THING. Both your wish as well as driver's wish as well as other's wish can happen. I ask you to be patient once again.
I don't understand the logic behind your U-turn and contacting them
Come on my friend. You ACCUSED driver for NOT CONTACTING and you are ACCUSING me for CONTACTING?! TELL ME WHAT WILL SATISFY YOU?
I still stand by whatever I have told so far.
Looks like kind of you are feelign guilty now. Dont you worry. We all change our minds many a times, and changing the mind is not a BAD THING AT ALL. God has given us the 6th sense to REASON OUT. It is NATURAL to weigh the points and make corrections. REMEMBER NO ONE IS PERFECT.
I took this to a farther extent with greater push to see whether your blogs are just political bromides , unrealistic plans or does it really mean any substance
You came into this blog (See your starting comment) with a negative mindset. You firmly believe that things wont work, and if you have taken a stand, then YOU ARE THE ONE WHO IS TRYING TO PROVE A POINT. You are saying LOUD AND CLEAR THAT WHATEVER YOU DO WILL NOT WORK.
People like passerby made it more intersting.
My intention was not that. But to contribute.
Let us see how far this goes. Good luck.
Thanks to be with us and watch over us. We need your support very much.
THis is my last post on this blog. Good Bye.
Come on. Dont be childish. Be part of the blog. Try a few things. If it wont work, then try again. If it would fail try yet again. I guess Pistu's question hurt you and well it is something that I've also been asking all along. When more than one person says, that's the time when you should introspect. Does not mean that you should give up your ideologies or should cow down. Just keep it going.
Finally, I DONT WANT YOU TO GO OUT OF THE BLOG FOR ANY REASON. BE CHEERFUL.
ONYX Status:
Well, I called up onyx today again as I did not hear from them. I tried to figure out what's goign on but there was no information on my earlier call with any of them.
Finally after getting the call transferred between few people (8 of them), I spoke to a lady who gave me a CLEAR PICTURE.
It is NOT POSSIBLE FOR US TO UTILIZE ONYX! :-(
Onyx is not allowed to undertake PRIVATE jobs. It works with the governemnt and the government has segregatted the areas into corporation/onyx etc.
They dont come to municipalities/panchayats. If you live in a area which comes under corporation, you have to GATHER ENOUGH FORCE and put a petition to the MAYOR OF CHENNAI in RIPPON BUILDING.
This is FIRST HAND INFORMATION.
Venky & Others:
I had my doubts on utilizing onyx for two reasons but I did not tell it because I know you will say that I am a pessimist/saddist. :-(
The reasons:
* Firstly, I dont believe in BUYING things. Today's generation think that they can BUY
everything.
The reasons:
1) They have plenty of money at a very young age and dont know the value of it.
2) At every stage of life right from getting into their LKG they BUY everything - to start with a SEAT IN A SCHOOL
3) Then they BUY an ENGINEERING college or any college for that mattr
4) Then they BUY the project work
5) Then they try to BUY a job
6) and when they are having the money they now want to BUY everything
The suggestion to utilize an organization is NOT WRONG at all. But to tell it with a HINT OF ARROGANCE to BUY IT FROM USA IS WRONG. Further to add to it, to tell that we can support the cause for sometime and let other's take over is something that is NOT PRACTICAL.
* First you dont know how much money you have. Second you dont know how long you will have the funds coming in. The committment for the funds. And third there is NO PLAN to "EDUCATE" the importance so someone will know that it is NOT SOME ONE ELSE'S JOB SO THEY CAN KEEP COMPLAINING but OUR JOB which we have to solve without complaining.
* Not even a single post talks about how much money they will contribute. Not even one pledge which said I'll give $1 a day.
* It is better to teach people how to fish than to feed them for a day. So it is now important to teach them the importance of cleaning. LITTLE DROPS OF WATER MAKE A MIGHTY OCEAN. And NO MONEY NEED TO BE SPENT.
I have answered WHY IT WILL NOT WORK.
Now I'll try to tell WHAT TO DO TO MAKE IT WORK.
EDUCATION. To tell them what is RIGHT and what is NOT RIGHT as a society. Which is MORAL EDUCATION in a way.
Now I'll wait for your thoughts. Hoping it will be targetted on WHY AN APPROACH WILL NOT WORK BASED ON FACTS AND REASONING and not based on INDIVIDUALS.
I request driver, pistu, ponnarasi, sriram, badri, d.n.a, c'est, kannagi to take over this and bring in more inputs.
PS: Mind you. I'm not yet talking about how we will implement this. So dont ask me HOW? I'll come to that later when we have enough inputs.
Wow already so many replies. This is a vibrant blog. Well, I got kind of confused on what's going on.
Honestly, I started it on a very light note, but I am really trying to see if I can possibly do something. Dont know if others feel the same way as I do, but I was of the opinion that nothing can be done to correct India, but always had the wish that someday there will be someone doing it.
I kind of realise that it is up to us to do that, and now I am actually encourage to see many more who are just pondering on what can be done.
I'm not too much into politics so big topics on constitution of india, removal of poverty is out of question for me.
It was funny that I was all along thinking of trying to solve somethign that was beyond my reach and decided that nothing can be done.
Seeing your posts and the fire that you all have, I think it is a very good idea to start in a small way. At least that will help me gain my confidence.
I dont know how many feel like this :-( It was a really appreciatable effort of driver to have been able to grow the tomato plant. I thought I'll try my hand with that first.
Some of your comments are encouraging. Please keep it continuing. I'll try to see where and when I can commit myself to be able to do something. I'm lacking bit of confidence, but I think I'll get used to the group and the topic and will be able to commit something. To start, as someone asked, I think I can commit $1 a day for a worthy cause as decided by the blog.
Kannagi
Guys, I am confused.Whats the conclusion?
Before I start, a request. I'm NOT trying to force my thoughts. I'm just thinking ALOUD.
I request all of you to take a deep look in what I have to write, and if you dont agree, you can do a simple one liner - AGREED/NOT AGREED.
Sometimes small replies convey deep meaning - like that of Sriram's today.
I know many of us are confused. Thanks to Kannagi. She is BOLD to admit the state, which I also have many a times but fail to admit.
Now my suggestion to take this forward, we may have to kind of have some rules that can govern our actions. Like:
LISTEN WITH OPEN MIND
Whatever someone has to say, let's first listen it out. And put forward our thoughts on it. While we look, let's refrain from being biased. We all have learnt and based on the inputs we may feel that our learnings are STRENGTHED, NEED CHANGE, or NEED TO UNLEARN.
We need to commit to this ability. WE HAVE NOHING TO LOSE.
NO PERSONAL ATTACKS
How can we do this? By avoiding words like I and YOU which is very subjective and using the words like WE and US
Benefits: We will be focussed.
RESPECTING OTHERS VIEWS EVEN IF IT IS CONTRADICTORY TO THAT OF OURS.
We can always say why it will or it wont work (as Venkat suggests) and leave the topic to be decided by the LEADER. Leader's decision to be ACCEPTED
NOMINATE AND ELECT A LEADER
For now, I would NOMINATE DRIVER to be the leader. He started us to think, and he deserves to guide us through. We need to support him as ABLE DEPUTY.
ACCEPT THE TEAMS DECISION
The leader will make a decision and after a small "CONFERENCE" on the decision, the leader will announce a FINAL decision, which we will ACCEPT and go ahead.
THE DECISION WILL BE THE LEADER'S DECISION.
NEVER GET INTO A BLAMING GAME
If for some reason we result in a failed attempt the TEAM should accept it as RESPONSIBLE COLLECTIVELY. At no point we can start a blaming game.
BE PATIENT
Key to our success. We MIGHT NOT see results even in our lifetime for our ATTEMPTS. THINK BIG. REALLY BIG. BEYOND OUR LIFETIME.
That does not mean that we cant see the results. Sometimes they may not come as quickly as we expect them.
COMMITTMENT
It is to me a life committment. Unless a SILENT REVOLUTION happens things wont change overnight. So may be it may be more than a lifetime for some of the attempts. Could be for example, CLEAN STREETS. Reason: India is so vast, and how many of us are here, may be 10 active and may be 10 silent? That's not even enough to clean up a suburb. So it may be a while before we can do something.
SERIOUSNESS
This is NO TIME PASS. It is a RESPONSIBILITY. It has to be SERIOUS, however it could be FUN!
VOICE YOUR OPINION
Never shy away from voicing your opinion. Kannagi is a SUPERB EXAMPLE. She came out to tell her weakness, and she has GAINED because of that a lot.
But dont be ATTACHED to your OPINON. After all, we all have opinions and when we work as a team (society), it is not just our opinon which counts. This itself is a SOCIETY which should start working in a COOPERATIVE manner.
BE BOLD
If something is wrong, BE BOLD to say so. Back it with FACTS when you do so and make it OBJECTIVE.
BE STUBBORN
At many times we may get the dreaded "DOUBT". Patience is the key. Like dark clouds they will all clear up.
PS: Please do not REJECT this because it came from the NOTORIOUS PASSERBY. I'm emotional and I want to see my country's flag flying high. I write not to command others but to serve the nation, in a TRUE AND HONEST way that my heart guides me.
You could reject it as my rantings, but give it a thought. I'm ready to accept and correct, if given enough evidence that my rantings are illogical and self centered.
Remember, I dont have a face today. Untill the time I dont have a face, I've no ego to be satisfied, because no one knows me. EGO comes when known people work together. So please give it a thought.
Finally, the above may not be complete.
I'd welcome your inputs, and see if we can take this to the next level.
Jai Hind
A THOUGHT:
We have been all along talking what we can or cannot do for India.
Why cant we start by doing something for ourselves at our homes, wherever we are.
Like a small garden at home?!?!
We can possibly be able to decide and agree on how we can do some of the following:
* Conserve energy
* Reduce waste
* Save money for ourselves
* Recycle
And may be we can add to this.
BY DOING THIS FOR OURSELVES I AM SURE WE WILL GAIN A LOT OF CONFIDENCE AND WILL AVOID THE NEGATIVES.
This may be we can do for 2-3 months and when we see the results, we can take up another job.
Of course, we can do many things parallely, but we can possibly do this during the times we are not blogging :-)
Will wait now for sometime for your feedback.
Any other "concluding" conclusion(s?
I think we have not yet stated, and this possibly IS THE START. So it is rather a STEPPING STONE.
Thank god.. i have no time 2 visit blogs and hence i didnt comment anyting for this post :P
Will come back soon and read! :D
Am the half centurion :P
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