The Unstoppable

“ Truth gives the courage to follow a mad dream”….i summarized this as the punch line for Sandeep Maheshwari’s programme ‘The Unstoppable’, organized on his birthday on 28 September,2013. That was the first motivational programme I have ever attended. The reason behind was one of my FB friend’s comment, who stated that she admires Sandeep Maheshwari and a link was given. It was one of those dull late evening, I followed that link and could not stop till I finish hearing him. What I liked the most, his last sentence, where he requested the audience, “ one day, when you will have enough of what you have desired, then you please give it to those who need it..”.

On the day of “The Unstoppable” I went for a dinner get-together. As my day started with Sandeep Maheshwari’s programme, I wanted to share my experiences. None of my friends have heard about him. Probably, Sandeep is too young for us to know, he is a youth icon. But, I insisted on my sharing… the punch line…Sandeep requested his thousands of audience to pray for fulfillment of his wish..it was his birthday…he desired that if so many people pray for him his wish will be fulfilled…after a minute of silence..Sandeep disclosed his wish… and the wish he made to the Almighty was, “please take all my wealth, happiness, and whatever I have, and give it to those who do not have any!”

Everyone could hear the truth and honesty in his wish…No doubt..Sandeep Maheshwari is simply unstoppable !

A book in five days

Two months back I received a courier from home. It was my father’s writing. Dewta (my father) is eighty two years old now. His favourite time pass is writing alongwith reading of daily Newspaper and couple of TV programmes. Dewta wanted me to read his writings and give my opinion so that he can give it for printing. It was almost in every second call he expected a reply from me. I could feel his strong desire to get his writings published.

 

 During one such talk I told Dewta, “ I am coming home soon and we will work together”. It was actually a commitment I made to myself and acted upon it quickly. I reached home on 14 September,2013 evening. On 15^th, I met bhindew (brother in law) Khagen Saikia, to get reference of printer or publisher, as he has authored eight books so far. He told me that there was lack of professionalism at Nagaon, still there was one person, who might be able to help me in getting the job done in such a short time, my time limit was one week. Next day morning, I got a call from bhindew to let me know that he had talked to the person concerned and I may go to the press and get my work started. The person was out of station and would be available next day only. Accordingly, on 16^thmorning, I gave the manuscript at the press, by evening they gave me half of the matter as first proof. 17^th September was holiday. On 18^thafternoon, I and my brother Gautom, we both went to the press to meet the press owner. The owner was Kailash Rajkhowa, known to my brother. We had a long discussion about work and life. Kailash readily agreed to bring out the book on time, in a soft bound cover. When I told Dewta that the book would be in soft cover, he did not like it and suggested to go for hard binding.

 

Next day I told Kailash that we would like to go for hard binding and he agreed. In the meanwhile, cover page was designed and finalized. Nineteenth evening I received complete first draft for proof reading and editing. I worked on it and returned the draft with required editing. The DTP team suggested that I should be sitting with them while doing the corrections. 20^th and 21^st, two days I sat with them and gave final approval. One staff of the press, Sonmoni Das, who also worked on page making and proof reading, worked till 10.30 pm, as Kailash instructed that the job must be completed on that very day, Saturday. Next day was Sunday. As promised by Kailash, five copies of the book were ready by 2.30pm on Monday,23^rd September,2013. Dewta was very happy to see the book, its cover design and the look. Immediately he expressed his desire to go to Palashani, his birth place…presented the first copy to his cousin Apurba Bora at Palashani.

 

Immensely positive approach of Kailash Rajkhowa and his understanding of the emotional need behind bringing out this book, had made it possible to bring out a book in five days. I highly appreciate the professionalism of Kailash and his team at Ajanta Press, Publisher- Krantikal, Nagaon.

My Beloved Teachers

My first teacher, who groomed me with confidence and life skills, was Dewta, my father. Even before starting my formal education my father taught me Mathematics at home with block games and Maths remains my all time favourite. My father taught me the art of excellence in all extracurricular activities like recitation, extempore speech, debate etc. where I was always a winner.

I understand my first schooling was at Palashani Primary School for few days (which I do not remember), then Amulapatti Nimna Buniyadi School (known as Robindra Sharmar School), Nagaon Govt Girls School, Tezpur Govt.High School, Cotton College, ADP College, College of Home Science, Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women, Annamalai University and now University of Delhi. Whether it was Nagaon, Tezpur, Guwahati, Jorhat,Coimbatore or Delhi, I was always blessed with my teachers love and warmth.

In this school of lifelong learning, I met many teachers with whom I had no formal teaching learning sessions but each such lesson taught me how to live life. The driver of “Star Motors”, taught me driving skills and another driver taught me how to keep the car safe. My first housemaid Anandi Amma taught me how to sacrifice one’s comfort for the welfare of the family. My first boss Amarish Trivedi taught me the excellence of communication and professionalism in working. My son as a little child taught me to be compassionate towards street children. The greatest lesson I have learnt from my mother is to have patience.

Many sweet remembrances and my regards to all my beloved teachers who groomed me all throughout to make me what am I today.

My Dear Students

I joined as a teacher in ChristJyoti School, Nagaon, my first job. Though it was for a short period, I received the love and warmth of my darling little students, and was lucky enough to experience the importance of teachers’ day. I was pampered with lots many chocolates, flowers, gifts and greeting cards. Looking back, actually it was a heaven on earth.. to be surrounded by those little angels...innocent, eager, inquisitive and naughty. They love to share their tiffins , their secrets and lots many stories. I still love that smell ...a mixture of bread, butter, fruits…! After two years, it was a repetition at Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan’s Mehta Vidyalaya..there I was a trainee teacher… the same experience and love of all those little ones.. beautiful handmade greeting cards and flowers…!

 

All these years, I was a teacher in some way or other. I taught many international students from Ireland, Germany, UK, US, Japan, Switzerland, Hungary and Spain about Indian culture, needs and importance of volunteering in India and most importantly, how to accept and adopt the cultural differences. I taught rural youth from almost all over India, the importance of dedicated youth service in the Country and how to come up as a successful youth leader in development sector. Now I am teaching students from interdisciplinary background with wide age range, the skills of counseling and guidance.

 

It is wonderful to be a teacher...I enjoyed and am enjoying every moment of my sharing with my students. It was always both ways learning.. thank you all my dear students.. you made my life worth living.. God bless you

Endangered Human Rights

Defining Human Rights, fighting for human rights, making a human being understand one’s rights, practical application of human rights, actually assessing the people living with ones rights of being human are all humongous issues related to human rights. There are about three hundred organisations working all over the world to ensure that human beings live their lives with respect and dignity.

 

Renu was twelve years  old, when I first met her. A fair, round faced, good looking, healthy child, standing behind her grandmother, with beautiful deep black eyes wide open and a forceful effort to keep them stuck to ground.  Renu  had the privilege of being brought up like princess, though her  grandmother and mother both were housemaids. She used to go to school…studied upto XII, did courses on beauty parlour. She wished to be independent in life and certainly not a house maid. Years passed by, grandmother expired, mother started having health problems and Renu had to start accompanying her mother to support her in her work. She was at the peak of her  youth ,  eligible  boys tried and proposed but Renu selected one. Though, she enjoyed love of her life, it never culminated to marriage. The boy’s parents got him married somewhere else.  Slowly and slowly, Princess Renu started becoming a burden to the family. It was the power of her beauty and youth, Renu selected another admirer and settled for marriage. The husband was madly in love with Renu. He used to take care of everything about her life, but with one condition, she should not be in touch with anyone else, not even with her family members. Just to ensure that he would lock her from outside when he goes out for work. As it was all because of love, Renu also accepted that action of locking her from outside. In due course of  time, the same action of love started bothering Renu, so much so that one day she eloped to her mother’s  place by breaking the lock.

Jiah, Divya, Meena : No more sad Note

Beautiful, bubbly and talented teenager Jiah was successful in making her mark with her debut movie 'Nishabd' . Jiah actually got recognition as an actor in her first movie itself. We could see her talent in her second movie and a glimpse in the third one in 2010. We did not see much of her in last couple of years, and we are not that extra inquisitive to know the happenings of a young actor’s life. But suddenly the morning news made Jiah all time famous for the last act of her life. The reason behind this ultimate act of Jiah was stated as a phase of professional and personal disappointment. She went through depression due to not having a job for last three years.

Jiah’s death reminded us of few more actresses of  yesteryears, like  Meena Kumari, Parveen Babi, Divya Bharti whose life ended in a sad note. The last one was Divya, died at the age of nineteen. Though we missed her for sometime, inevitably someone else had taken her place.

Meena Kumari  was one of the most prominent actresses to have appeared on the celluloid world of Bollywood. She is often cited as " Tragedy Queen" – both in recognition of her frequent portrayal of melancholic and dramatic roles in her films, and as a reference to her real-life story.  Her love for Kamal Amrohi, a married man, her short lived marriage and subsequent divorce and the struggle to lead a lonely life, took entire happiness from Meena Kumari’s life, and made it akin to the character’s she often portrayed on the screen. 

A talented poetess, Meena, when she fell in love with Kamal Amrohi, expressed it wonderfully when she wrote: 

"Dil saa jab saathi paya
Bechaini bhi woh saath le aaya"

(When I found someone like my heart
He also brought sorrow with him)

Her anguish was visible in the lines:

"Talaaq to day rahay ho Nazar-e-qehar ke saath
Jawani bhi meri lauta do Mehar ke saath"

(You are divorcing me with rage in your eyes
Return to me, also, my youth along with the alimony!)

Sadly though, Meena Kumari who could express her feelings so vividly, could not control the manifestations of her emotions.  Struggling throughout her life to be understood and loved, Meena Kumari found solace in alcohol and ultimately surrendered her life to liver cirrhosis. 

It’s time that we learn from other’s life and go out asking for help who have successfully handled   such phases in life. There are many, but life of Rekha could be depicted as a school of emotional strength. Rekha was born to Tamil actor Gemini Ganesan and Telugu actress Pushpavalli. Her parents were not married, and her father did not acknowledge his paternity during her childhood. While looking for a footing in Bollywood, Rekha revealed her origins, covering the scars of a rejected identity.