THE ONLOOKER

Getting wet while going to school was really pleasant, I always considered to be lucky as and when it used to happen. Of course there was reason behind it. At our school hardly holidays were declared on rainy days instead those of us got drenched were spared from attending the school and sent home! For us they were rainy days. I still remember during sporadic rains; the rush in toilet! When rain was hardly sufficient to drench enough to merit off from the classes; people rushed to toilet , to get wet with tap-water! I always used to be one of first few. I never liked the detention in class room through out my schooling days; ever since I attended my teens. So, rainy season every year used to bring few blessed days for me and few others. Not that getting relieved from the classes I used to rush back home. There were few dams at our neat town Chittaranjan; at least one of them was quite suitable for swimming. We made the best use of that . I am not sure these days,boys are still int...

I received a mail today, it consists a story that teaches the simplest technique to be more human. Thought I should share it with you; here it goes :: At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things i...

We all have ways of testing opportunities that enter our lives. Some of us just dive right in based on feeling, others walk straight into what they know is right by a gut feeling or intuition. And if it's not gut feelings or emotions that are the tests of opportunities, it is the logical mind persuading us to ignore those feelings and emotions and test it with our reality of reason. Most of us do not have a predetermined strategy for testing opportunities, or even more generally to test the actions we take and the choices we make in our lives. There is an easier way to determine if our choices we make and the opportunities we receive 'pass the test'. This simple 32 word statement of business ethics was first created in the 1930s and used to turn around a failing company. These four questions were applied by each employee to each and to every minute detail of the company's workings. This little list of four questions from Rotary International, a humanitarian busines...

Here goes a simple story, reading this I could relate my anger with shout! Why not to share it with you; here it goes: Anger Why do we shout in Anger? A saint asked his disciples, 'Why do we shout in anger? Why do people shout at each other when they are upset?' Disciples thought for a while, one of them said, 'Because we lose our calmness, we shout for that.' 'But, why to shout when the other person is just next to you?' asked the saint. 'Isn't it possible to speak to him or her with a soft voice? Why do you shout at a person when you're angry?' Disciples gave some other answers but none satisfied the saint. Finally he explained, 'When two people are angry at each other, their hearts distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to shout to hear each other through that great distance.' Then the saint asked, 'What happens when tw...

Under I quote a poem, someone wrote it, I don't know who; but it really forced me to think about the situation the poem suggests. Hope you will share my view. "I went to a party Mom, I remembered what you said. You told me not to drink, Mom, So I drank soda instead. I really felt proud inside, Mom, The way you said I would. I didn't drink and drive, Mom, Even though the others said I should. I know I did the right thing, Mom, I know you are always right. Now the party is finally ending, Mom, As everyone is driving out of sight. As I got into my car, Mom, I knew I'd get home in one piece. Because of the way you raised me, So responsible and sweet. I started to drive away, Mom, But as I pulled out into the road, The other car didn't see me, Mom, And hit me like a load. As I lay there on the pavement, Mom, I hear the policeman say, "The other guy is drunk," Mom, And now I'm the one who will pay. I'm lying here dying, Mom.... I wish you'd get here...

Mayday, the 1st May every year is earmarked as international Labor Day or worker’s day. In fact we associate the Mayday with Haymarket affairs in Chicago, in the year 1886. But it has its root in Australia, where since 1856 “worker’s holiday” concept crystallized. This idea spread across the world. However, later May 1st has been declared “worker’s day” to commemorate the 1886 Haymarket affairs, where to disperse the peaceful rally of workers, police opened fire and killed four of them. It is fallout of achievement in international labour movements and reorganization of 8 hours work-a-day for labour. How the workers are all over the world? Are they truly free from the bonded laborhood or slavery? The answer is clearly “NO”. The only status of labour is changed not the terms. Of course there are fortunates few, who work in organized sectors, still enjoy the freedom that conferred on them in the spirit of May Day, but vast majorities are deprived of free labour status, either by indir...

Earlier I discussed about the strategic importance of Hormuz Strait in relation to global oil supplies. It is equally sensitive to political developments in any of those counties surrounding it, specially Iran. There is an alternative transportation route for oil bypassing this strait out of gulf region. The route is 1190 Km (745 miles) long East-West Pipelines through Saudi Arabia stretching to Red Sea. But this pipe line at best can handle five million barrels per day, that makes one third of the oil what oil tankers can handle. So, additional capacity is required to be created but that would increase the transportation cost. At the same time the pipe line would relieve the strait of its heavy tanker’s traffic and hazards involved. But this move will be unwelcome by many Gulf States , since this will benefit the Saudi Arabia, as it will receive the transit fees for the oil transported, paid by them. There are reports, that Iran threatened closure of the Strait of Hormuz is a glob...

Lack of parental care harms to the full blown growth of their child to what extent, one has to see to believe it. The orphans do not have their parents. Whether are they are raised in a orphanage or on the streets, they grow like their alike amidst of them. So at orphanage, the only difference is under supervision of nurses and teachers they grow better, disciplined and balanced. But the children who are growing under the most uncaring and negligent parents are the worst suffers. Because of presence of their parents prevents others to interfere. Neither have they belonged to streets nor to home. At school most of these children are worst performers and keep very low profile. They are introverts. In the initial stages it is very difficult to separate them from others of their age group. Problems become visible in at their teens and it aggravates fast. If the care is taken even at the initial stages, it results better in reforming. Later it becomes almost impossible, most of them turn ps...

A Blogger keeps posting because he wants his blog to remain alive and read as widely as possible. Most of the blogs are dedicated to a specific subject. There are professional bloggers who for the obvious reason to attract more traffics insist on covering those subjects which are current market craze. Like life-style, traveling and making money in as many ways as possible. Though I am not a professional blogger, it was just out of freak I started once blogging with my childhood memories. It began with the famous Google’s social network site: Orkut. I kept postings few in a series till my childhood days at my hometown where I was born and brought up was covered. It was a industrial town, where my father served and I was born, schooled. It was a industrial town, where we lived in a quarter, that I used to consider as our home, without realizing what a home meant. This I realized in my late teens, when I joined Air Force and understood that town I belonged to, never belonged to me. With ...

Those days in early 60s at Chittaranjan was swayed with some activities, specially for we children. I do not know how many of you have heard the name of Swopon Buro, who established SOB PEYECHI R ASHORE; it was brought in by one Instructor of our Technical School. The person was very well natured, tolerant and obviously gentle man, his name was Mr Abani Ghosal (there are still his wards serving and staying at Chittaranjan). We all loved him so much and called him Master Mashai, his daughters and sons also with us and we all joined the SOB PEYECHI R ASHOR. Those days were truly golden days of Chittaranjan. The Ashore had all the activities mental, physical, cultural under it`s umbrella. Many young men joined Master Moshai in his pursuit. They trained us in games, cultural activities, music, songs even helped us with our school home tasks ! Can you imagin ever there was a club like that at Chittaranjan, where the number of participants were more than few hundreds. It continued for 3-5 ye...

I am not sure which year Pandit Neheru visited Chittaranjan to mark the occasion of rolling out first electric locomotive. Either it was 1960 or 61. We all were taken to the small field, adjoining to the railway track, beside the GM Office. On the track the newly built Electric Locomotive remained static being garlanded all around, like the decorated car we usually find groom uses on the day of marriage. Nearby there was a stage. We could barely see our the then Prime Minister from a distant point , where our school was allotted space. I could hardly understand what he spoke. What fascinated me was the engine! Thereafter for quite some time I use to dream to become a engine driver in future ; In those events less days, truly it was a memorable day at Chittaranjan. The life was as simple as any of village in those days. The metal roads, the electricity, the schools, the hospital made the difference. Hardly anyone was having fans or radios. In summer it was quite common to sleep outside....