India the land of Gurukul and Ekalvya

Teacher's day is at our doorstep. All the educational institutions are preparing for this auspicious day in full swing. Students must be burning midnight oil cramming over the speech that they would deliver in the praise of their teacher. Others must be busy preparing for the cultural show. Teachers would be worshipped on that day resembling the Gurukul tradition of ancient India.
The question arises Can we still boast of the healthy student-teacher relationship that prevailed in those days? Can we still think of sacrifice being made like that of Ekalvya?
Seeing the recent activities in some parts of the country one would definitely give the answer as "NO". Leave aside the question of sacrificing ones life, students are not even ready to obey their master.
In Chandigarh students of MCM DAV Girl's College protested against alleged slapping of a first year student by a teacher over using of cell phone in the campus. They demanded for written apology from the teacher. At last the authorities surrendered before the students and they allowed conditional use of cell phone in the campus.
In Meerut some girl students of Chaudhary Charan Singh University went on rampage and broke into the vice-chancellor's residence damaging property. These students were angry with the vice-chancellor's order to re-examine the examination papers.
And the most horrible of all the incidents was that of Ujjain. Students, protesting against the principal's decision to cancel the student's union election, manhandled professors of Madhav College which led to the dath of Prof. H.S Sabharwal and two other professors were admitted to hospital in critical condition. This incident shocked the entire nation.
Guru Dronacharya, if alive would have definitely wondered what would have happened to him if in today's situation he had asked Ekalvya to chop off his thumb.
Incorporating politics in education has completely overturned the face of education system. Backed by the politicians, the student leaders seldom miss any chance to show their dominance in the campus. If the situation remains the same then the days are not far when the faculties would rarely bother to advise their disciple. Both of them would have their own ways to go and that would really be a grave situation. With the youths having no one to guide India's future would be bleak.

Where are the doctors

This post has got nothing to do with the doctors who abstained from their duty during the anti-reservation protest.
I vividly remember the day when I was in class VI. Our teachers had staff meeting and as a rule our seniors from class XI came to mind the class. One of them asked each of us about our ambition and nearly 60% of us replied that we would like to be a doctor and practise in rural areas. He calculated and expressed his happiness by saying that after ten to twelve years there would be no dearth of doctors in the rural areas.
Nearly after eight years, after passing out from high school, I came in contact with most of my classmates, thanks to Orkut. Nearly all of them are now associated with IT industry leaving the poor villagers in despair. Now what was it that forced them to change their decision? Why did India loose so many Doctors? Clearly the answer is the IT boom that India has witnessed in the recent years. It has forced many to change their career plan. It has boosted the Indian economy and provided jobs to lakhs of youths. So we can say that medical world loss is IT industrie's gain.

Bhago Asian Aya

The paranoia among the western air passengers against their asian counterparts has led me to coin this term " Bhago Asian Aya" (Run away from the asians). In the recent week since the alleged plot to blow up ten american flights in the mid air came to light there has been several cases of racial profiling. The Asians and the Arabs were forced off the flight in America and Europe as their appearence, way of talking and behaviour caused suspicion among the civilised europeans. Some of the cases that were highlighted are as under:
1. Twelve indian passengers were detained at Amsterdam when a Mumbai-bound U.S plane was forced to return back shortly after take off because of alleged suspicious activity on board.

2. Two asian students, Sohail Ashraf and Khurram Zeb, were forced off a Manchester-bound flight from Spain on August 16 only because their white co-passengers felt unsafe to travel along with them. Interestingly both the duos were born and brought up in Britain.

3. In another incident at Manchester airport, a British Asian pilot Amar Ashraf was removed from a U.S. -bound flight and questioned by armed police.

4. Another is a case of a doctor from Canada, Ahmed Farooq, who was escorted off a United Airlines flight in Denver after reciting prayers that other passengers regarded as suspicious

5. In another recent incident, Azar Iqbal, a British Asian, was questioned by U.S immigration officials as he stepped off a Delta airlines flight in Atlanta and deported back to Britain.

All these cases substantiate the fact that we Asians as well as the Arabs are looked as fear-factors by the westerns. In all the above cases it was later found that their suspicion was baseless. Afterall all these peoples were allowed to board their flight only after clearing all the security checks. Don't they (the westerns) have have faith over their security officials ? or are they crying wolf? Well if the same situation prevails then the day is not far when the European mothers would calm their crying kids by saying Bete so ja nahi to Asians aa jayenge ( Son sleep down or else the asians would come).

Gayatri Mantra Translated

Gayatri mantra, regarded as the most effective and soothing mantra in Hinduism. Reciting this mantra wholeheartedly brings solace to mind and body. According to Kanan Jhinghan, retired professor of Hindi, Daulat Ram College the translated form of the mantra is as under:
The Mantra: Aum Bhur Bhuvah Svah
Tat Savitur Varenyam
Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi
Dhiyo Yoh Nah Prachodayat

Translation: Aum, the celestial sound that resounds in our body, over the earth and the cosmos up to the gates of heaven.
The effulgence of the rising sun that sets all living things to their allocated tasks to strive to achieve their aim in life
May the dazzling light which is the gift of the God illuminate our beings. Let us contemplate on it so that our minds
gain enlightment.

Remedy for sale

One of my friend while commenting on my previous post, "Sale" has requested for a solution to the problem mentioned in it. If we give a thought to this problem then we can realise that consumer awareness can't be a solution. After the sale is over even if it becomes beyond the reach of the middle class the rich and the affluent would be there to fill their kitty and we all know that for these page 3 peoples, the costlier the better. The problem remains as it is. What should be done?
Can Boycott be the solution. Well to some extent it could be. But In that case the local garments companies should come up with quality products at a competitive price. These companies can establish their own retail outlet, thus eliminating the need of middle man and saving a huge amount which they can utilise to improve their standard.
We also know that the branded companies use to spend a lot of amount on advertising their products. Hiring the celebrities and using the visual media cost them dearly. Contradictory to this they could use some other cheap but effective means of advertisement. Like using print media, using local celebrities to promote their products in rural areas and we also have our very own IT which could be used as effectively as the other means to promote their product at a cheaper rate.
Above all it is certain that nothing is going to happen without proper coordination between governments, small entrepreneurs and the consumers. Friends can u suggest some other ideas to tackle this problem

SALE

Recently all the middle class people were very happy to see Discount of upto 65% on leading brands such as Koutons, Cantabil, Priknit and the list goes on. Garmets priced as high as Rs. 1200 were available at a nominal rate of Rs. 500. If we go by business policy then even after selling their products at such an heavy discount these companies must be managing to earn a profit for all. We can imagine how much profit the must be earning by selling the garments at MRP. Let us take an example. Garment priced at Rs. 1200 is sold at Rs. 420 after providing a discount of 65%. If the company is securing the minimum profit let it be Rs. 20 then the cost of manufacturing would be meare Rs. 400. Now imagine the profit if the same product is sold at MRP it would be as high as 200%. Now the question arises that are the companies selling products of low quality under the discount scheme? If, yes then have they got the right to do so? The textile ministry should do something to tighten the noose and control the price.