English Newspapers for 2010

Indian Express - Journalism of Courage
Website : www.indianexpress.com
As the tagline suggests, it's surely about ethical Journalism instead of concentration on money making activities and politically correct news.

Mail Today - News for the New Indian
Website : mailtoday.in
As the name suggests, it surely offers News for the New Indian. It's a compact newspaper which fulfills the need of youth and all those who are young at heart.
Update : I am not impressed with this paper completely as they interviewed few kiddish girls and posted their views as if they have authority over relations etc. while these are completely ill-mannered girls with little sense of their own prejudice. They behaved very rudely when i sent them a light email expressing my view. One should start with a dialogue or ignore if they don't like something instead of making mockery and being rude.
Feminism under work? :-)

Times of India
They offer a complete package and playing the Number 1 game like their associate Shahrukh Khan but it all feels like a good business strategy with politically correct news and events.

Hindustan Times
The newspaper or their fans claims to be different than Times of India but that's not the true picture. On one hand, they try to catch up with Times of India to become number 1 in sales and On the other hand, they try to do serious Journalism. A confused state of existence!

There are many more newspapers but this is it for now!

Can you manufacture transient leaders in a factory?

The title is a bit strange and my dear honorable reader, you must be wondering about the meaning of the title. There are guys who take photographs of transient nature of our human reality but forget that the money in their pocket is also transient. :-)

But anyway, let's come to the main issue 'Can you manufacture leaders in the factory?' I don't think so! Not at all! There is this lead India guy R K Mishra who was angry with Barkha Dutt because of her coverage of 26/11. If one goes ahead and takes the charge of certain situation then controversy is bound to happen. Does it mean that one should be meek and avoid taking charge just because things can go wrong? That would really be a dumb idea!
So, factory leaders can't be of much use. We need real leaders who may be imperfect in many ways but at the end of the day, they can lead the people into some action.
But the effort of creating leader should be respected but unfortunately it can't go very far.

So, can leaders be created in a factory? Isn't it an impossible task like killing a mosquito with a machine gun?
Just being a little funny here! So, laugh my dear readers as laughing happens when you realize the transient nature of things.... in a real way! :-)

New Year Eve Celebration with Shekhar Sen’s One Act Play ‘Kabir’

New Year’s Eve offered many options to celebrate the arrival of Year 2008 and most of the activities comes in the category of ‘Mindless Entertainment’. But one event stands out which took place at Kamani Auditorium on 31st December, 2007. It was a One Act Play ‘Kabir’ by Shekhar Sen, a talented actor / singer who has performed his solo acts including play on Vivekananda and Tulsidas other than Kabir numerous times in India and abroad.
Kabir was the illegitimate son of a Brahmin widow who had set him afloat on the Ganges to avoid being thrashed by society but a childless Muslim weaver saved his life and took care of him.
Kabir was treated as inferior by both Mulla and Pandit. But he never bothered about them and made mockery of them by saying to Mulla, “Is your God Deaf that you shout his name from the minar of masjid?” and to Pandit, “If God is everywhere, why do you indulge in Idol Worship?” He kept provoking all those who didn’t believe in loving fellow human beings and preferred to engaged in mindless rituals.
Shekhar Sen sang many songs of Kabir during the play and the impact of his mesmerizing voice and Kabir’s timeless devotional songs can’t be explained in words. A play like this must be watched or listened as the Audio CDs are also available.
Here is one popular kabir song :
Mo Ko Kaha Dhoonde Re Bande, Mein Toh Tere Paas Mein!
Na Mein Deval Na Mein Masjid, Na Kaba Kailash Mein!!
Na Toh Kono Kriya Karam Mein, Naahi Jog Birag Mein!
Khoji Hoye Toh Turat Miliho, Pal Bhar Ki Talash Mein!!
English Translation ( a little different ) :
Are You Looking For Me?
Are you looking for me? I am in the next seat.
My shoulder is against yours.
You will not find me in the stupas, not in Indian shrine rooms,
nor in synogogues, nor in cathedrals:
not in masses, nor kirtans, not in legs winding
around your own neck, nor in eating nothing but
vegetables.
When you really look for me, you will see me
instantly–
you will find me in the tiniest house of time.
Kabir says: Student, tell me, what is God?
He is the breath inside the breath.

The play depicts many funny and touching instances of Kabir’s life which are very relevant in today’s world but i would mention one stage of his life which is when he got married. After his arranged marriage, he came back to his village and found that his hut was burned down by those who were against him. But Kabir wasn’t much affected by this and told his wife to sit outside and cook some food. But his wife started crying saying why his father married her to such a person. After much insistence by Kabir, she told him that she loves someone else in his village. And Kabir immediately offered her to take her to her lover. For a while, she was shocked and surprised to hear this. But then they started their journey towards her village and in the midway, she started crying again and Kabir asked her what’s the problem now. She told him that she wants to live with him only as he is a nice man and her father must know what’s good for her.
I mentioned this instance because we read in newspapers stories mentioning that a lover threw acid on his girlfriend or shot her dead.
In the name of love, we believe in possessing the other person and don’t realize that love is all about giving.
Kabir was ready to send his wife to her lover so that she can be happy in life. Her happiness was more important for him than clinging to her and thinking of his own prestige and comfort.
We surely need more Kabirs in the world to set an example of love and peace!

Source Event : THEATRE : Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra presents “Kabir” One Act Play by Shekhar Sen at Kamani Auditorium - 31st December, 2007

Maddening city life

Life in a city like Delhi can be maddening because of traffic, pollution, road rages and rate races… All this leads to accumulation of much stress which leads to anger, depression and other such problems. It can severely effect our physical / mental health, destroys relationships which nobody really wants.
So, what is the solution of all these problems? And how can we remain peaceful in our day to day life without depending on holidays?
There is one wonderful meditation technique called ‘Dynamic Meditation’ which requires you to devote one hour early morning and it can greatly help you to feel fresh. It must be done with empty stomach.
There are five stages which are :
The first step is ten minutes of chaotic breathing.
In the second step, for ten minutes you have to act out all your madnesses.
In the third step, we will be using the sound “Hoo!” as a mantra.
In the fourth step, you just ’stop’ in whatever posture you are in.
In the fifth step, Celebrate and rejoice with music and dance.
Click here to Read Detailed Instructions for ‘Dynamic Meditation’