Category Archives: causerie

SHORT STORY: CONFRONT THE DONKEY THAT LIES IN YOU

Copyright@shravancharitymission

    There was once a lazy and a wicked dhobi (washerman) by the name of Nankau. He had an obedient and a long serving donkey at home. Whom he utilized, for transporting clothes to the nearby river-bank, early in the morning for washing. Further, during the day, he use to hand him over to his friend for a fixed amount. The friend happened to be a contractor, where he was utilised for transporting sand from the river bed to his construction site. In the evening the listless and obedient animal used to return with his master, with bundles of washed clothes on his back. Devious Nankau, apart from, making the donkey, do all the work without any rest, even whipped him for small mistakes, and at times he even starved him for minor misdemeanours. But, he never complimented him for the good work that he did for him. Rather, he considered him to be the jinx of his life.

    One day Gopal a friend of Nankau came to stay with him for a few days. During that time he noticed, how for no rhyme or reason, Nankau whipped the donkey mercilessly, and even cursed him loudly and that too quite often.

    One day Gopal asked Nankau. ‘My dear friend what on earth is the matter with you? As I always find you quite irritable, and you often keep whipping this poor soul in great anger for no fault of his. Why do you do this? Especially, when he is so obedient and does all your work dutifully?’

    Nankau ruefully replied, ‘arrey yaar! This donkey has been very inauspicious for me. Ever since he walked into my life I have been facing some problem or the other. Enough is enough. I now want to get rid of him, somehow. Even earlier, I tried to sell him but no one seemed interested. Maybe, because, I cursed and criticized him so much, in front of others, that no one is now, ready to touch him even with a barge pole.’

    During his stay Gopal could assess the worth of the donkey. So, one day he told his friend, ‘brother, since you are unhappy with him. Why don’t you sell him off to me, and instead, buy another one for yourself.’

    Nankau was delighted at this God gifted opportunity and didn’t want to lose it. So he readily agreed, and sold the donkey to Gopal. Who turned out to be a kind master, and thereon, he looked after the donkey quite well.

    In the meanwhile Nankau had bought a mule for himself. Thinking it will do more work than what the previous animal used to do. Though it had been a while since he had sold the donkey. Yet, he couldn’t forget the cursed animal, and often used to curse him for all the misfortunes that occurred in his life. But now with the mule around him he was hoping his luck would change and he will be a happy man again.

    But in reality Nankau had only passed a couple of lacklustre months in the company of the mule. Who as compared to the donkey looked tougher, but very reluctantly, did as much work, as the donkey used to do in a day. But in the present scenario, Nankau didn’t have the wretched donkey, to curse and blame, for his own failures, each time, things went wrong in his life. Therefore, his nemesis of life, was clearly missing, as the cursed donkey was now someone else’s property, and the mule was too new, to be held responsible for any ill luck. In other words he now had no voodoo in life, whom he could have cursed for his misfortunes. And, he didn’t have the courage to blame and curse himself for his own mistakes, and this started worrying him big time.

    One day when the mule was transporting sand from the river to the contractor’s site. The hind legs of the mule got stuck in the muddy waters of the river and as a result, it could not move. Soon, it slipped and fell, and fractured its leg, and within a few days the wound developed gangrene and he died.

    The mishap left Nankau shell shocked. He now had no means of transporting the clothes, meant for washing. He was now constrained to do it on his own back. But then he had limitations, as he couldn’t carry too many clothes on his back. So he started losing business. And since, the mule was now dead. He was also, deprived of the daily rent that he used to get from the contractor. And that cheat of a contractor didn’t even bother to pay Nankau a compensation for the accidental death of the mule. So overall, Nankau, was at a loss, of a lifetime.

    Nankau suddenly realized he now had no one to curse for his setbacks. Because, the ultimate anathema—the donkey, had already gone out of his life. Therefore, it was not influencing his stars anymore. So, the big question now, in front of him was, who then, was influencing his life if not the donkey?

    So he decided to visit his learned friend Gopal for answers. In Gopal’s house, he was once again face-to-face with his nemesis, the donkey, standing there, in a healthy and happy state. Gopal no doubt was taking good care of the donkey. Nankau, narrated the sequence of misfortunes to Gopal.

   Gopal, first gave him a patient hearing and then said, ‘Dear Nankau, when I visited you last time. I knew you were a victim of your own circumstances. But you always wanted to play the victim card for every adversity that you came across in your life. For which you always wanted a villain whom you could blame and where this speechless donkey came in handy.

    But the real solution in life is to look for the hidden donkey within you, before you start cursing any other donkey outside you. Moreover, you are just a human being, and human beings are bound to make mistakes. So if at all, you need to blame anyone for your mistakes, blame the donkey in you. And for that, keep the donkey alive in you. So that you don’t have to look for a donkey outside, just like this donkey whom you kept cursing.

    With this Nankau had got the clarion message of life. He patted the donkey and returned home.

    Moral of the story: We often blame others for our own misfortunes which is not correct. When things start going wrong in your life confront the donkey that lies within you and don’t look for the one outside you.

By Kamlesh Tripathi

*

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

*

Share it if you like it

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

*

Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 8 prestigious libraries of the US that includes Harvard College Library; Harvard University Library; Library of Congress; University of Washington, Seattle; University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; Yale University, New Haven; University of Chicago; University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill University Libraries. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in libraries and archives of Canada, Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai and Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida, India)  

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi; Available for reading in Indian National Bibliography, March 2016, in the literature section, in Central Reference Library, Ministry of Culture, India, Belvedere, Kolkata-700022)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be the undying characteristics of Lucknow. The book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014. It is included for reading in Askews and Holts Library Services, Lancashire, U.K.)

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his ways through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10th February, 2018 in Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

MIRAGE

(Published in February 2020. The book is a collection of eight short stories available in Amazon, Flipkart and Notion Press)

Short stories and Articles published in Bhavan’s Journal: Reality and Perception, 15.10.19; Sending the Wrong Message, 31.5.20; Eagle versus Scholars June, 15 & 20 2020; Indica, 15.8.20; The Story of King Chitraketu, August 31 2020; Breaking Through the Chakravyuh, September 30 2020. The Questioning Spouse, October 31, 2020; Happy Days, November 15, 2020; The Karma Cycle of Paddy and Wheat, December 15,2020;

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****

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GEORGE ORWELL

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    Eric Arthur Blair, lifespan (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was better known by his pen name George Orwell. He was an English novelist, essayist, journalist and a critic. His work is prominent by his lucid prose, his fancy for social injustice, opposition to totalitarianism, and outspoken support for democratic socialism.   Very few would know that George Orwell was born in Motihari, Bihar, under British India.

     As a writer, George produced literary criticism, poetry, fiction and polemical journalism. He is best known for his allegorical novella Animal Farm (written in 1945) and the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (written in 1949). His non-fiction works include, The Road to Wigan Pier (written in 1937), documenting his experience of the working-class life, in the north of England, and his homage to Catalonia (1938), an account of his experiences, soldiering for the Republican faction, of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), are as critically respected, as his essay on politics, literature, language and culture. In 2008, The Times ranked George Orwell second among “The 50 greatest British writers since 1945”. The book I liked the most out of George’s stable was the Burmese Days written in the backdrop of Burma during the British Raj. Since the book centrally is, anti-British, and publicises his opposition to totalitarianism it didn’t get the prominence it deserved. 

    Orwell’s work continues to remain influential and popular in various political and social cultures. The adjective “Orwellian” –describing totalitarian, and authoritarian, social practices – is part of the English language, like many of his, other neologisms, such as “Big Brother”, “Thought Police”, and “Hate week”, “Room 101”, the “memory hole”, “Newspeak”, “doublethink”, “proles”, “unperson” and “thoughtcrime”.

    George Orwell described his family as ‘lower-upper-middle class.’ His father, Richard Walmesley Blair, worked in the Opium Department of the Indian Civil Service. His mother, Ida Mabel Blair, grew up in Moulmein, Burma, where her French father was involved in speculative ventures. George had two sisters: Marjorie, five years older; and Avril, five years younger. When George was one year old, his mother took him and Marjorie to England. His birthplace and ancestral house in Motihari have been declared a protected monument of historical importance.

    In 1904 Ida Blair settled with her children at Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. George was brought up in the company of his mother and sisters, and apart from a brief visit in mid-1907, the family did not see their husband or father, Richard Blair, until 1912. His mother’s diary from 1905 describes a lively round of social activity and artistic interests.

    Before the First World War, the family moved to Shiplake, Oxfordshire where Orwell became friendly with the Buddicom family, especially their daughter Jacintha. When they first met, he was standing on his head in a field. On being asked why, he replied, “You are noticed more if you stand on your head than if you are right way up.” Jacintha and Orwell read and wrote poetry, and dreamed of becoming famous writers.

    At the age of five, George was sent as a day-boy to a convent school in Henley-on-Thames, which Marjorie also attended. It was a Roman Catholic convent run by French Ursuline nuns, who had been exiled from France after religious education was banned in 1903. His mother wanted him to have a public school education, but his family could not afford the fee, and he needed to earn a scholarship. Ida Blair’s brother Charles Limouzin recommended St Cyprian’s school, Eastbourne, East Sussex.   

    He later took up a place at Wellington, where he spent the Spring Term. In May 1917 a place became available at King’s Scholar at Eton. George remained at Eton until December 1921, when he left midway between his 18th and 19th birthday. Wellington was “beastly”, George told his childhood friend Jacintha Buddicom, and he was “interested and happy” at Eton. George was briefly taught French even by Aldous Huxley. 

    George’s academic reports suggest that he neglected his academic studies, but during his time at Eton he worked with Roger Mynors to produce a college magazine. His parents could not afford to send him to a university without another scholarship, and they concluded from his poor results that he would not be able to win one. Steven Runciman a friend noted that he had a romantic idea about the East and the family decided that George should join the Imperial Police, the precursor of the Indian Police Service. For this he had to pass an entrance examination. In December 1921 he left Eton and travelled to join his retired father, mother, and younger sister Avril, who that month had moved to 40 Stradbroke Road, Southwold, Suffolk, the first of their four homes in the town. George was enrolled at a crammer there called Craighurst, and brushed up on his Classics, English, and History. He passed the entrance exam, coming seventh out of the 26 candidates who exceeded the pass mark.

    George’s maternal grandmother lived at Moulmein, Burma, so he chose a posting in Burma, which was then a province of British India. In October 1922 he sailed on board SS Hereforshire via the Suez Canal and Ceylon to join the Indian Imperial Police in Burma. A month later, he arrived at Rangoon and travelled to the police training school in Mandalay. He was appointed as Assistant District Superintendent (on probation) on 29 November 1922 with effect from 27 November and at a base salary of Rs 325 per month, with an overseas supplement of Rs 125/month and a Burma Allowance of Rs 75/month (a total of Rs 525). After a short posting at Maymyo, Burma’s principal hill station, he was posted to the frontier outpost of Myaungmya in the Irrawaddy Delta at the beginning of 1924.

     In April 1926 he moved to Moulmein, where his maternal grandmother lived. At the end of that year, he was assigned to Katha in Upper Burma, where he contracted dengue fever in 1927. Entitled to a leave in England that year, he was allowed to return in July due to his illness. While on leave in England and on holiday with his family in Cornwall in September 1927, he reappraised his life. Deciding against returning to Burma, he resigned from the Indian Imperial Police to become a writer, with effect from 12 March 1928 after five-and-a-half years of service. He drew on his experiences in the Burma police for the novel Burmese Days (which he wrote in the year 1934) and the essays “A hanging” (in 1931) and “Shooting an Elephant” (in 1936). In England, he settled back in the family home at Southwold, renewing acquaintance with local friends and attending an Old Etonian dinner. He visited his old tutor Gow at Cambridge for advice on becoming a writer. In 1927 he moved to London. In early 1928 he moved to Paris. In December 1929, after nearly two years in Paris, George returned to England and went directly to his parents’ house in Southwold, a coastal town in Suffolk, which remained his base for the next five years. 

    In April 1932 George Orwell became a teacher at The Hawthorns High School, a school for boys, in Hayes, West London. This was a small school offering private schooling for children of local tradesmen and shopkeepers, and had only 14 or 16 boys aged between ten and sixteen, and one other school master. While at the school he became friendly with the curate of a local parish church and became involved with activities there. There he joins hands in the publishing of ‘A Scullion’s Diary for forty pounds advance.

    At the end of the summer term in 1932, Blair returns to Southwold, where his parents had used a legacy to buy their own home. Blair and his sister Avril spend the holidays making the house habitable while he also works on his novel ‘Burmese Days.’ He was also spending time with Eleanor Jacques, but her attachment with Dennis Collings remained an obstacle to his hopes of a more serious relationship. He later takes up a job in Hampstead to sell second hand books.

    George Orwell sets out for Spain on about 23 December 1936, dining with Henry Miller in Paris on the way. He returns to England in June 1937, and stays at the O’Shaughnessy home at Greenwich. He finds his views on the Spanish Civil War out of favour. Publishers reject two of his works.

    He later publishes Animal Farm in 1945 and 1984 in the year 1949. Orwell was an atheist who identified himself with the humanist outlook on life.

    It is sad when you discover many of these iconic writers of the past have seen very bad times financially, yet they still shine like bright stars.

By Kamlesh Tripathi

*

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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Share it if you like it

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

*

Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 7 prestigious libraries of the US, including, Harvard University and Library of Congress. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in Libraries and archives of Canada and Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai)  

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be its undying characteristic. The book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014)

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his ways through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10th February, 2018 in Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****

 

 

 

WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT TREES

Copyright@shravancharitymission

    Over the course of its life, an average tree can absorb a ton of carbon dioxide. Only about one in a million acorns makes it all the way to becoming a mature oak tree.

    Trees form by far the bulk of Earth’s biomass. In life and in death trees contribute to the biosphere by making oxygen, moving water, storing carbon dioxide, enriching soil with dead  and decaying parts, and recycling the nutrients that life on Earth depends on.

    Trees are vascular plants that develop a single woody stem known as a trunk. Generally, trees grow to 15 feet or taller. Trees differ from shrubs, which are shorter and usually have multiple stems. Trees span the three botanical groups that represent vascular plants—pteridophytes, gymnosperms, and angiosperms.

    Gymnosperms and angiosperms propagate by seeds. In the former type, seeds are exposed, or naked, on a structure such as a cone; on the latter, they are within the ovary of a flower. Pteridophytes, on the other hand, are seedless vascular plants such as the tree fern.

    Not all parts of a tree are alive at one time, especially, in mature trees. Keeping so much mass alive all the time would require more energy than a tree’s system could handle. The inner core of the trunk, called the heartwood, is composed of out-of-commission xylem that no longer transports water throughout the tree. Similarly, the oldest layers of phloem, which transports the food manufactured through photosynthesis, form the outer, dead bark of the tree’s surface.

    In between the heartwood and bark lies the tree’s sapwood, its living energy-storage tissue.

WHY DO LEAVES CHANGE COLOUR?

    As days grow shorter and temperatures cooler, deciduous trees prepare for winter dormancy. Lacking sufficient light and water, photosynthesis shuts down, and trees must live off food stored during the growing season.

    In spring, leaves lay the groundwork for their demise. A special layer of cells forms at the base of each leaf, called the abscission or separation layer. Its work is to transport water to the leaf and take food, created by photosynthesis, back to the tree.

    In autumn, the cells of this layer begin to swell and the bottom of this layer forms a corklike substance that eventually cuts off all transfer between leaf and tree. Meanwhile, the top of the layer begins to disintegrate, making it easy for the leaf to detach.

    As photosynthesis ceases, the leaves lose their chlorophyll, which gives them their green colour. Without chlorophyll, other colours emerge. Yellow and orange, for example, are normally present in the leaves but are overshadowed by the chlorophyll. Maple-leaf red occurs because glucose remains when photosynthesis shuts down. Drab oak-leaf brown represents wastes left in the leaves.

A TREE FROM AGES PAST

    The long-needled Wollemi pine is a survivor from the age of dinosaurs. While fossil records made the 200-million-year-old species known to us, it was believed to be extinct. Then, in 1994, an Australian parks officer found a single tree in the Blue Mountains in Wollemi National Park. Subsequently, a hundred adult trees were counted there. Conservation efforts funded in part from the sale of saplings go to save and strengthen the species.

By Kamlesh Tripathi

*

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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Share it if you like it

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

*

Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 7 prestigious libraries of the US, including, Harvard University and Library of Congress. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in Libraries and archives of Canada and Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai)  

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be its undying characteristic. The book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014)

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his ways through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10th February, 2018 in Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****

 

 

 

SHORT STORY: GURU

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    Scriptures say that a ‘jiva atma’ meets a guru only when there is an intense yearning  in him for the same. It is only then that the guru comes to the seeker. A true guru destroys illusion and radiates light. The following story illustrates this very point:

    Once there lived a man who developed an intense craving for an embodied guru, but did not know how and where to get one from. So, he started praying earnestly for a guru. He took a vow to abstain from food and other pleasures till a guru came into his life.

    In a nearby village lived a sage who went daily into the forest on a standard path, to collect firewood. The sage would be in meditation and the horse would automatically take him to the fixed spot. One day, he opened his eyes to see that his horse had brought him to the door of a hut. Knowing this could be a divine intervention, he dismounted and knocked the door. The seeker of the guru who had taken the vow opened the door, and bowed to the sage with deep reverence. The all-knowing sage initiated him and took him under his spiritual umbrella.

    Today, material comforts and conveniences are not guaranteeing peace of mind. There is, widespread despair and alarming degree of collective angst. This is where an enlightened guru can show the path of serenity and salvation to his disciple.

By Kamlesh Tripathi

*

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

*

Share it if you like it

*

Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

*

Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 7 prestigious libraries of the US, including, Harvard University and Library of Congress. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in Libraries and archives of Canada and Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai)  

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be its undying characteristic. The book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014)

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his ways through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10th February, 2018 in Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****

 

 

 

  

JOURNEY OF ARTICLE 370

Copyright@shravancharitymission

    Until the Modi government moved to end it with a presidential ordnance, Jammu & Kashmir had enjoyed a special constitutional relationship with the Union of India because of the circumstances in which Maharaja Hari Singh, the ruler of Kashmir, signed the Instrument of Accession after Independence in 1947 ended British paramountcy over his princely state. Government’s move has not repealed 370; it has effectively made it defunct. It has done away with Article 35A, which emanated from it.

1947: WHY MAHARAJA BIT THE ACCESSION BULLET

    The instrument of accession was executed on October 26, 1947 by Hari Singh and accepted by Lord Mountbatten. The circumstances and timing of the signing are important. A few days before that, Pashtun “tribesman” and Pakistani irregulars had crossed into his state and were moving towards Srinagar. The Maharaja turned to India for help, but India could only defend, provided it was a formal part of her territory.

    Clause 5 of the document said that the terms of accession “shall not be varied” by any amendment to the Govt of India Act of 1935 or the Indian independence Act 1947 unless accepted by Hari Singh in a supplementary instrument. Clause 6 disallowed the making of laws to acquire land in the state “for any purpose” but permitted Hari Singh to do so for the Dominion of India for a law applicable to the state. Clause 7 said no future Constitution of India (which was still to be written) could be imposed on the state.

    In 1950, in the original Constitution of India, J&K was listed as a Part B state, along with the other princely states that had merged by Instruments of Accession, including Hyderabad and Mysore.

    Part B states were then abolished and J&K was by an amendment of the Constitution put into Article 1 as India’s 15th state and irrevocably part of the “territory of India.” It continued to enjoy the special status granted to it under Article 370.

PLEBISCITE OUT, SPECIAL STATUS IN

    Article 370 was incorporated in Part XXI (temporary provisions with respect to the State of Jammu and Kashmir) of the Constitution. The state’s constituent assembly had wanted only those aspects of the Indian Constitution that reflected what Hari Singh had signed away. Besides Article 1, it was the only other article of the Indian Constitution that automatically applied to J&K. The other provisions of the Indian statute could apply to the state only if its constituent assembly concurred.

    Article 370 provided Jammu & Kashmir with special status, allowing it, its own state constitution. The Union of India could legislate act only in defence, foreign affairs and communications.

    Since the 1950s, there have been efforts to pull the state into a deeper embrace with the Union, but Article 370 was strengthened when Sheikh Abdullah, who had become the second Prime Minister of J&K in 1948 and was later dismissed came to an agreement—after spells of detention—with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975. In return for giving up his demand for a plebiscite, special status for J&K was allowed to continue and Sheikh Abdullah became the chief minister.

    However, over the years, the state was made subject to many Indian laws through various amendments in concurrence with the state assembly, the logic being that it was the natural successor to the J&K constituent assembly, which by definition was a transitional body.

    35A DEFINES WHO IS A PERMANENT RESIDENT.

    Article 35A was made part of the Indian Constitution in 1954, through a presidential order—though its genesis goes back to early 20th century Dogra apprehensions of an influx from Punjab, which they feared would change the State’s demographic and land ownership patterns. The article, which defines who is a permanent resident of J&K and lays down laws restricting property purchase and ownership to such permanent residents, also discriminated against women, depriving them of their state subject rights if they married non-permanent residents. The J&K high court ruled against this aspect in 2002.

    It had been the subject of acrimonious political debate and was challenged in the Supreme Court in 2014 on the grounds that it had been added to the Constitution not through an amendment passed by Parliament but by Presidential decree. Recent Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order 2019 supersedes the 1954 order, in effect scrapping Article 35A.

    SADR-I-RIYASAT OR GUV: IT’S ALL IN A WORD

    Article 370 said no changes could be made to the Constitution regarding the status of J&K without the concurrence of the state’s constituent assembly. The constituent assembly, though, was dissolved in November 1956 without providing any alternative to obtaining its concurrence. Article 370, originally written as a temporary measure, was treated in several court orders as therefore having become permanent. However, a presidential declaration on November 15, 1952, under Article 370 (3), had defined the “Government” of J&K as meaning the Sadr-i-Riyasat of the state acting under the advice of the state’s Council of Ministers. Then, in 1965, the term “Sadr-i-Riyasat” was changed to “Governor” by the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir (6th Amendment) Act, 1965. The change meant that a Sadr-i-Riyasat elected by the state assembly was replaced by a governor appointed by the President of India.

    August 6 Constitution Order 2019 was issued by the President under Article 370, Clause 1, with the concurrence of the “Government of J&K”. “Government” here means the “Governor”.

Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

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https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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Share it if you like it

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

*

Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 7 prestigious libraries of the US, including, Harvard University and Library of Congress. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in Libraries and archives of Canada and Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai)  

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be its undying characteristic. The book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014)

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his ways through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10th February, 2018 in Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****

 

 

 

   

INTERESTING FACTS FIGURES AND QUOTES–EPISODE 26

Copyright@shravancharitymission

  1. Silicon Valley lives in a bubble and its gods are oblivious of the havoc they have caused. Their technology is wonderful but is subverting elections and you are accessories to it. Liberal democracy is broken and you (Silicon Valley) broke it—says Carole Cadwalladr, the Welsh journalist who had exposed Cambridge Analytica and Facebook’s messing with the Brexit referendum.
  2. Shiva alone is usually not represented by a deity, and instead, is depicted by the lingam. Hindu mythology speaks of Krishna and Rama as avatars, they were born and they died. They are said to have worshipped Shiva. Other Gods also take physical birth, but Shiva neither takes birth, nor dies. Shiva incarnates himself in a human body, an occurrence that is celebrated during Shivratri.
  3. The British pound is the world’s oldest currency still in use. It is 1,200 years old. Dating back to Anglo-Saxon times, the pound has gone through many changes before evolving into the currency we recognise today.
  4. Egypt is considered one of the oldest countries of the world and was first settled around 6000 BC. The first dynasty was believed to be founded around 3100 BC. India and China are the other two world’s oldest countries.
  5. Damascus the present day capital of Syria is widely believed to be the oldest continuously inhabited city of the world, with evidence of habitation dating back at least 11,000 years. Its location and persistence have made the city a nexus for civilizations that have come and gone.
  6. Let me remind you about the great mystic Kabir Das the legendary poet and saint who celebrated the breaking of his earthern pot. For him it meant emancipation from the daily drill of trudging far for filling water. Where, he further alludes to the joy of renouncing the false sense of self-pride.
  7. Kesaria is a place in Bihar about a 90 minute detour enroute to Patna from Motihari. This was where according to the legend, Buddha performed his ‘bal mundan’ and assumed his kesaria (saffron) robe.
  8. Buddha spent his last night in Kesaria en route from Vaishali to Kushinagar where Buddha believed, he attained Pari-nirvana, forseeing his end. When he asked his Lichhavi disciples to disperse and return to Vaishali. He gave them his alms bowl, to still the chorus of dissent. After his death, they built a mud stupa to house the bowl.
  9. The Ordnance Factory Board that supplies ammunition to the Indian army has 41 factories.
  10. Writer Somerset Maugham, a medico who never practiced, learned to play violin to tide over his loneliness in his old age. Bertrand Russel would regularly listen to Beethoven’s ethereal symphonies to fight his sporadic schizophrenic bouts. Victorian English poet Alfred Tennyson started playing the piano at 70 when he felt that his poetic prowess was waning.
  11. Contrary to the general belief that Mughal emperor Aurangzeb abhorred music, some accounts say that the Mughal court chronicler Khafif Khan mentioned in his court despatches written in Persian that Aurangzeb’s chronic insomnia at the age of 78 was cured by the court musician Ahmad Rasool Khan.
  12. In any merger the biggest challenge is always integration of human resources–Arundhati Bhattacharya, Ex-Chairman, SBI.
  13. The direction in which education sets a man will determine his future life–Plato Athenian philosopher.
  14. The Greek tragedian, Aeschylus was right when he said, ‘the first casualty of war is truth.’
  15. John Dryden, English poet wrote, ‘beware of the fury of the patient man.’
  16. If you have surrounded yourself with assholes, you’re going to be more of an asshole.

By Kamlesh Tripathi

*

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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Share it if you like it

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

*

Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 7 prestigious libraries of the US, including, Harvard University and Library of Congress. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in Libraries and archives of Canada and Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai)  

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be its undying characteristic. The book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014)

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his ways through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10th February, 2018 in Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****

BOOK REVIEW: TROUBLE IN GANGTOK (Gangtokey Gondogol) by Satyajit Ray

Copyright@shravancharitymission

Khidki (Window)

–Read India Initiative—

This is only an attempt to create interest in reading. We may not get the time to read all the books in our lifetime. But such reviews, talk and synopsis will at least convey what the book is all about.

The original Bengali title of this novel is ‘Gangtokey Gondogol.’ In English it would mean, ‘Trouble in Gangtok.’ This novella featuring a private detective Feluda was first published in the Desh Magazine in 1970 and then published in book form in 1971 by Ananda Publishers. The main characters of this book are:

  • Prodosh Chandra Mitter aka Feluda.
  • Tapesh Ranjan Mitter aka Topshe.
  • Sasadhar Bose/Dr. Vaidya are the names of the same character.
  • Nishikanto Sarkar.
  • Helmut Ungar/Virendra Shelvankar are the names of the same character.
  • Shivkumar Shelvankar.
  • The curator of the Tibetan Institute.

    The story is an intricate murder mystery. Feluda and Topshe travel to Gangtok for their summer holidays on the start of the Bengali New Year. While eating breakfast at Bagdogra Airport, they meet a man by the name of Sasadhar Bose, who works for a chemical firm dealing with aromatic perfumes. He tells that he had attended a nephew’s wedding in Ghatshila post which he came to Sikkim. While stopping at a place called Teesta Bazaar, the trio comes to know about an accident that took place in the North Sikkim Highway.

    They learn that a huge boulder crashed on the taxi and the taxi fell off a cliff. But the driver escaped unhurt. Feluda and Topshe are staying at Hotel Snow View while Sasadhar Bose is staying in the dak bungalow.

    In the evening, Sasadhar Bose comes to Feluda’s hotel and informs him that the man who fell off the cliff in the accident, was no one else but his partner Shivkumar Shelvankar, who was also the owner of the company. Sasadhar Bose walks out of the hotel to find a flight to Bombay the next day. This is when Feluda meets another Bengali in the hotel by the name of, Nishikanto Sarkar. He reveals that he had a statue of a Tibetan God named Yamantak, which had nine heads and 34 hands. He says that he had sold the statue to Shelvankar for a 1000 rupees. While walking on the road, they meet a German hippie, Helmut Ungar, who tells them more about Shelvankar. He tells them that he had a son, whom he loved. But the son ran away from his father. Helmut tells Feluda that on the day of the accident, Mr. Shelvankar and he had decided to travel to a gumpha a place on the way to Singik. But Helmut changed his mind and left early to take some photographs. He reveals to Feluda that Shelvankar used to keep the figurine with him in his pocket as he thought it to be a lucky charm. But after the accident, the figurine had gone missing. Helmut also tells that the reason of this superstition is because of the advice of a certain Dr. Vaidya.

    Later in the evening, Feluda and Topshe go to the Tibetan Institute to learn more about the statue. Feluda asks the driver of the taxi he is travelling in, to come in the morning the next day because he wants to see the scene of the accident. They reach the Tibetan Institute, where the curator declares that the Yamantak which Shelvankar had would cost a little more than 10000 rupees. Feluda returns to the hotel to find Bose waiting for him. Bose tells Feluda that tomorrow he will be leaving for Bombay. 

    Next day, Nishikanto Sarkar tells Feluda that someone threw a paper in his room. The paper consisted of a Tibetan word, which simply meant—death. Later Feluda and Topshe travel to the accident site. There Feluda finds a white button. He also reveals that someone had tried to make the boulder fall by using a strong iron rod and that this accident was nothing but a well-planned murder. Feluda sends a telegram to Bose asking him to come back to Gangtok. The next day, Nishikanto Sarkar, Helmut Ungar, Topshe and Feluda travel to Rumtek for seeing the lama dance. Feluda learns, through a telegram, that Shelvankar’s estranged son is present in a Sikkim monastery and a detective agency has found him. Then, Feluda hears someone shouting. He and Topshe come to the source of the sound and find that Mr. Sarkar had been pushed down the cliff. They rescue him and they come back to Gangtok. In the evening, they come to the dak bungalow, where Helmut is staying. There they meet a strange looking man. Helmut introduces himself as Dr. Vaidya.

    Dr. Vaidya, who specializes in talking to souls of the departed, tells all of them (through Shelvankar’s spirit) that he was murdered and Virendra is responsible for his death. Helmut tells that Virendra is Shelvankar’s only son. Dr. Vaidya tells Feluda that tomorrow he will be traveling to Pemiangchi. Next morning, Topshe finds a paper near Feluda’s ashtray. The paper consists of the same Tibetan word, meaning death. Feluda tells Topshe that today he will conduct an experiment on the North Sikkim Highway. After conducting the experiment, Feluda concludes that the murder was done by first hitting Shelvankar with a rod and then throwing the vehicle down the cliff. Then, a boulder was thrown to make it look like an accident. The driver was bribed. While Feluda was telling this, a boulder comes crashing down. Topshe saves Feluda from being crushed.

    In the evening, Helmut comes to Feluda’s room and shows him two photographs. The photographs were taken during the crime. It shows a man wearing red clothes standing on top of the mountain and seeing the car falling down. When Feluda tells that he is that man Virendra, Helmut tells that it is impossible because he is only Virendra. He tells Feluda and Topshe that he did not like his father marrying twice and thus ran away from home. Then his father approached a detective agency to find his son. Then Helmut (or Virendra) came to Sikkim. Helmut tells Feluda that he suspects Dr. Vaidya to be the murderer. They decide to travel to Pemiangchi to apprehend Dr. Vaidya. They pull in Mr. Sarkar also. Next day, while travelling to Pemiangchi, Sasadhar Bose also follows them and requests them to also take him. They reach Pemiangchi in the evening. There they discover that Dr. Vaidya is not there but has left his stick in the dak bungalow.

    Feluda then announces that Sasadhar Bose is the killer. He killed Shelvankar to take over the ownership of the company. When Bose says that he had gone to his nephew’s wedding during the murder, Feluda reminds him that in the Bengali calendar no wedding is held during the month of Chaitra since it is an inauspicious month and that they had come together to Sikkim during the starting of the month of Baishakh, the first month of the Bengali calendar. Feluda tells that Sasadhar Bose and Dr. Vaidya are the same person. Dr. Vaidya told Shel-vankar about his own life and impressed him. While going to the Gumpha, Dr. Vaidya and Shelvankar travelled in the same car. Then Dr. Vaidya or Sasadhar Bose who happen to be the same person hit Shelvankar with a rod and murdered him. Then he came back to Kolkatta. Then as Sasadhar Bose, he travelled in the same plane with Feluda. Dr. Vaidya tried to put the blame on Virendra, even when he did not know that Helmut was actually Virendra. When he saw that Feluda was conducting an investigation, he tried to kill Feluda. Feluda also tells that Mr. Sarkar wanted to steal the figurine of Yamantak from Shelvankar. So after the murder, he came down to find the statue, but Bose saw him and started harassing him. Bose tries to escape but is caught by leeches. Feluda finds the statue in the belongings of Sasadhar Bose. Sasadhar Bose is arrested and Feluda solves one of his most complex cases.

I would give the book seven out of ten.

By Kamlesh Tripathi

*

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

*

Share it if you like it

*

Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

*

Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 7 prestigious libraries of the US, including, Harvard University and Library of Congress. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in Libraries and archives of Canada and Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai)  

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be its undying characteristic. The book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014)

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his ways through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10th February, 2018 in Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****

 

 

 

BOOK REVIEW: THE 21 ABSOLUTELY UNBREAKABLE LAWS OF MONEY by BRIAN TRACY.

Copyright@shravancharitymission

    Brian Tracy is a Canadian-American motivational public speaker and self-development author. He is the author of over seventy books that have been translated into dozens of languages..

    Brian Tracy says one of your major goals in life should be financial independence. One must aim to reach the point where one has enough money so that one doesn’t have to worry about money again. The good news is that financial independence is easier to achieve today. We are surrounded by more wealth and affluence than ever before.

    I have summarised the book for you to basically give you a synopsis where I have picked the important laws of money from the book. So here we go:

  1. The Law of Cause and Effect:

    Everything happens for a reason, and there is a cause for every effect that takes place. You can acquire whatever amount of money you really want if you will only do what others have done before you to achieve the same results. And if you don’t, you won’t earn the same amount of money that they earned. It is as simple as that. The most important expression of this universal law is that “Thoughts are causes and conditions are effects.” The most important principle of personal or business is simply this: You become what you think about most of the time.

  1. The Law of Belief:

    Whatever you truly believe, with strong feelings and conviction, becomes your reality. When you are absolutely convinced that you are a financial success in the making, you will engage in such behaviours that will make it come through.

  1. The Law of Attraction:

    Human being is like a living magnet where he or she invariably attracts people, situations and circumstances that are in harmony with his or her own dominant thoughts. When a person develops a burning desire for financial success and thinks about it all the time, the person sets up a force field of positive emotional energy that attracts people, ideas and opportunities into one’s own life to help convert one’s goals into realities.

  1. The law of Abundance:

    We live in an abundant universe in which there is sufficient money for all those who really want it and are willing to obey the laws governing its acquisition. There is plenty of money available for you. There is no real shortage. You can have virtually all you want and need. The first corollary of the Law of Abundance says that, people become wealthy because they decide to become wealthy. The second corollary of this law says: People are poor because they have not yet decided to become rich.

    Why aren’t you rich already? Write down all the reasons you can think of. Go over your answers one by one with someone who knows you well and ask them for their opinion. You may be surprised to find that your reasons are mostly excuses that you have fallen in love with.

  1. The Law of Time Perspective.

    Successful people in any society are those who take the long term period into consideration when making their day-to-day decisions. People with long term perspectives are always willing to pay the price of success for a long—long time before they achieve it. They think about the consequences of their financial choices and decisions in terms of what they might mean in five, ten, fifteen and even twenty years from now. As you begin thinking long term and organising your financial life and priorities with your future goals and ambitions in mind, the quality of your decisions improves and your life starts to become better almost immediately.

    The first corollary of the Law of Time Perspective says: Delayed gratification is the key to financial success. The second corollary of this law says: Self-discipline is the most important personal quality for assuring long-term success. The third corollary of this law says: Sacrifice in the short-term is the price you pay for security in the long-term.

  1. The Law of Saving:

    Financial freedom comes to the person who saves ten percent or more of his income throughout his lifetime. One of the smartest things that you can do is to develop the habit of saving part of your salary, with every pay-check. Begin today to save ten percent of your income, and never touch it. This is your fund for long-term financial accumulation and you never use it for any other reason except to assure your financial future.

    If you are in debt and ten percent is too much for you, start by saving one percent of your income and living on the other ninety-nine percent. When you become comfortable living on ninety-nine percent of your income, increase, your, saving rate to two percent. Equally important to earning is saving.

  1. The Law of Conservation:

    It’s not how much you make, but how much you keep, that determines your financial future. Many people make a lot of money in the course of their working career. Sometimes, during boom periods, people munificently exceed their expectations and make more money than they ever would have thought it was possible. The true measure of how well you are really doing is how much you keep out of the amount that you earn.

    Calculate your true net worth as of today. Make a list of all your assets and value them at the amounts you could actually get for them if you had to turn them into cash in the immediate. Add up all your bills, credit card balances and mortgages and then subtract them from your assets to get your net rupee worth of today. Now divide the number of years you have been working by your net worth. The result is the net amount you have actually earned each year after your costs of living. Are you happy with it? If not. Start doing something about it immediately.

  1. Parkinson’s Law: Expenses rise to meet income. Just as the old adage that says “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” Parkinson’s Law is one of the best known and the most important law for money and wealth accumulation. It was developed by English writer C. Northcote Parkinson many years ago and it explains why most people retire poor. This law says that, no matter how much money people earn, they tend to spend the entire amount and a little more besides. Their expenses rise in direct proportion of their incomes.
  2. The law of Investing.

    Investigate before you invest. This is one of the most important of all the laws of money. You should spend as much time studying a particular investment as you do earning the money before you put that money into a particular investment. Remember. You have worked very hard to earn it and taken far too long to accumulate it. Investigate every aspect of the investment well before you make any commitment. Ask for full and complete disclosure of every detail. If you have any doubt or misgivings at all, you will probably be better off keeping your money in the bank or in a money market investment account.

    The corollary of the Law of Investing says: If you think you can afford to lose a little, you’re going to end up losing a lot. Another corollary of the law of Investing says: Only invest with experts who have a proven track record of success with their own money. Invest only in things that you fully understand and believe in. Take investment advice only from people who are financially successful.

  1. The law of Compound Interest.

    Investing your money carefully and allowing it to grow at compound interest will eventually make you rich. Compound interest is considered one of the greatest miracles of all human history and economics. Albert Einstein described it as the most powerful force in our society. When you let money accumulate at compound interest over a long period of time, it increases more than you can imagine.

    For example, if you were receiving eight-percent interest on your investment, and you divided the number 72 by eight, you would get number nine. This means that it would take you nine years to double your money at eight percent interest.

    The first corollary of this law says: The key to compound interest is to put the money away and never touch it. If you ever touch that money, you lose the power of compound interest, and though you spend only a small amount today, you will be giving up what could be an enormous amount later on. If you start early enough, invest con-sistently enough, never draw on your funds and rely on the miracle of compound interest, it will make you rich.

    An average person earning an average income who invested Rs 1000 per month from the age of 21 to the age of 65, and who earned a compounded rate of 10% over that time, would retire with a net worth of (1.12 crore) or say 1,11,80,000 to be exact. Begin a regular, monthly investment account and commit yourself to investing a fixed amount for the next five, ten or even twenty years. Select a company with a family of mutual funds and investment instruments, and keep your money working, month after month and year after year.

  1. The Law of Accelerating Acceleration.

    It says. The faster you move towards financial freedom, the faster financial freedom moves towards you. The more money you accumulate and the more success you achieve, the more faster money and success seem to move towards you, from a range of different directions. Everyone who is financially successful today has had the experience of working extremely hard, sometimes for years, before they got their first real opportunity. But after that, more and more opportunities flowed to them, from all corners.

    The first corollary of the law of Accelerating Acceleration says: 80% of your success will come in the last 20% of the time you invest.

    This is a remarkable discovery. Just think! You will achieve only about 20% of the total success possible for you in the first 80% of the time and money that you invest in an enterprise, a career or a project. And you will achieve the other 80% in the last 20% of the time and money that you invest.

    Peter Lynch, the former manager of the Magellan Mutual Fund, one of the most successful mutual funds in history would often buy the stock of a company that did not increase in value for several years. Then it would take off and go up ten or twenty times in price. This strategy of picking stocks for the long term eventually made him one of the most successful and highest paid money managers in America.

  1. The Law of Real Estate.

    The value of a piece of Real Estate is the future earning power of that particular piece of property. The value of any piece of property is determined by the income that can be generated by that property when it is developed to its highest and best use from this moment to time onward and into the future. A piece of property may have sentimental value for a particular owner but its dollar value is directly related to its future earning power.

    There are vast areas of many large cities where property values are declining because growth and development have come and gone and will probably not return. Every day, men and women are selling homes and properties at less than they paid for them, or losing them to foreclosure because these properties have declined in earning power and therefore in value.

    The first corollary of real estate is: You make your money when you buy and you realize it when you sell. This is very important. It is only by purchasing a piece of property at the right price and under the right terms that enables you to sell it at a profit. Many people think that they will make their money when they sell the property irrespective of how they purchased the property or at what price. The more carefully you investigate a piece of property and the more thoroughly you prepare a purchase offer, the more likely it is that you will get the kind of deal that will enable you to sell that property at a profit later on.

    The second corollary of the Law of Real Estate is: The three keys to real estate selection which are location, location and location. Your ability to choose a piece of property in an excellent location will have more of an impact on the future earning power of that property than any other decision that you make.

    Another corollary of this law is: Real estate values are largely determined by general economic activity in the area and by the number of jobs and the level of wages. Generally, property increases at three times the level of population growth and two times the rate of inflation. When you purchase a property in a fast growing community, you are virtually ensured of above average increases in value.

Conclusion

    There are four keys to success with money. First, earn as much as you possibly can. Do everything possible to excel in your field so that you are paid extremely well for what you do.

    The second key to money is to hold on to it as much as you possibly can.

    The third key to money is to reduce and control your costs of living. Buy less expensive items. Put off important buying decisions for a day, week or even a month so that when you finally do make the decision, it is a good one. All wealthy people are very careful with their money and their expenditures. That’s how they became wealthy.

    This is a wonderful time to live. It has never been more favourable a time for you to make more, save more, accumulate more and grow your money faster than it is today. Your job is to take full advantage of the wide range of opportunities that are available to you. Your job is to apply these laws to fulfil your financial destiny and become wealthy in your working lifetime.

A must read. I would give the book seven out of ten. Goodbye and see you soon.

By Kamlesh Tripathi

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https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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Share it if you like it

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

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Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 7 prestigious libraries of the US, including, Harvard University and Library of Congress. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in Libraries and archives of Canada and Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai)  

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be its undying characteristic. The book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014)

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his ways through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10th February, 2018 in Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****

 

 

 

STORY: TWO FRIENDS AND THE BEAR

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    Vijay and Raju were friends. Once while they were on a holiday they went into a forest. Where, they were enjoying the beauty of nature. When suddenly they saw a bear charging at them. They were frightened. Raju who knew how to climb a tree, ran towards it and climbed it up in no time. He did not think of Vijay who did not know how to climb a tree.

    Vijay got nervous and thought for a second. He had heard, animals do not prefer dead bodies. So, he fell on the ground and held his breath. The bear sniffed him for a few moments and thought he was dead and decided to carry on. Upon witnessing the scene Raju asked Vijay. ‘What did the bear whisper in your ears?’ 

Vijay replied, The bear asked me to keep away from friends like you.’ 

Moral of the story is: A friend in need is a friend indeed.

Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

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https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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Share it if you like it

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

*

Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 7 prestigious libraries of the US, including, Harvard University and Library of Congress. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in Libraries and archives of Canada and Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai)  

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be its undying characteristic. The book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014)

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his ways through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10th February, 2018 in Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****

 

 

 

BOOK REVIEW: THE BROWN HAND by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Copyright@shravancharitymission

Khidki (Window)

–Read India Initiative—

This is only an attempt to create interest in reading. We may not get the time to read all the books in our lifetime. But such reviews, talk and synopsis will at least convey what the book is all about.

    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as we all know was a British writer best known for his detective fiction featuring the character Sherlock Holmes. Originally a physician, in 1887 he published ‘A Study in Scarlet’ the first of his four novels and thereafter more than fifty short stories about Holmes and Dr. Watson. Brown Hand was first published in The Strand Magazine in May 1899.

    The story is based on an Indian urban legend that tells about a Muslim who was forced to have his arm amputated after an accident, but died a few months later, and after death became a ghost and began wandering about in search of his limb.

    The central character of the story is a doctor, Sir Dominic Holden, who has had a long spell of service in British India first as a military doctor and then as a private surgeon in Bombay. Once when he was posted at Peshawar, then a main city of undivided Punjab (hence a part of India), he had to attend to a poor Afghan whose one hand was in such a bad state due to the spread of gangrene, that the only way to save his life was to amputate it. The operation was performed and Dr. Holden asked for the amputated hand as his fee. Dr. Holden had a hobby of collecting discarded limbs, organs, cysts from living and dead humans and thus wanted to add the “brown hand” to his collection. Whereas, the Afghan being Islamic, refused to part with his amputated hand, as it breached the rule of his religion which stated amputated body parts should be kept with the owner himself. But Dr. Holden promised to return the Afghan his hand before his death and took the hand with him to his house in Bombay. Thereafter Dr. Holden soon retired and settled in Wiltshire, England. One night he was awakened when someone started pulling his clothes. It was the ghost of his old Afghan patient. Dr. Holden understood that the Afghan had died and his ghost wanted back the amputated hand. From then onwards, the ghost started haunting the doctor’s lab every night for four years looking for his hand. But the ghost failed to find the hand since it had been damaged in a fire that had broken out at the doctor’s house in Bombay. The recurring visits of the ghost, had made the life of Dr. Holden and his wife, Lady Holden, miserable and the ill effects of which on their health was prominent. A doctor known for his steel nerves had now become a scared individual.
When, Dr. Holden’s nephew, by the name of Dr Hardacre decided to solve this problem. He spent his first night in the lab and saw the Afghan searching for his hand. The next day, Dr. Holden explained him everything in detail and Hardacre left for London. Hardacre, a doctor himself, went through a book on spirits and found that certain spirits could not leave the living world because of them being strongly attached to something or someone existing in this world. Hardacre decided to try his luck and left for Chadwell where a friend of his was the home surgeon at a hospital for sailors. The home surgeon provided Hardacre with an amputated hand of an Indian sailor as the requirement was a “brown hand”.
    Hardacre returned to Wiltshire and placed the hand in a jar in his uncle’s lab. Hardacre stayed awake as the Afghan ghost came visiting as usual. But Hardacre’s experiment failed as the Afghan on seeing the hand, wailed in agony and smashed the jar on the floor before disappearing. Next morning, Hardacre realised his mistake as he had brought the left hand of the sailor while the Afghan had had his right hand separated. Hardacre rushed back to Chadwell and luckily got the right hand of the sailor. He returned and placed the hand in a jar in the lab just like the previous day. Dr. Holden forbade Hardacre from sleeping in the lab as he feared risking his nephew’s life.
That night, Hardacre again saw somebody approaching him while he tried to sleep. But it wasn’t any ghost but his uncle who seemed overwhelmed with joy and had suddenly regained some of the energy he possessed earlier. Dr. Holden stated that the ghost had finally found his amputated hand and before leaving, he offered the Eastern Salaam bowed thrice in front of him, in a way similar to how Afghans pay respect. Thereafter Holdens lived on peacefully and consulted Hardacre for every major decisions they took thereafter. Before he died, Dr. Holden named Hardacre as the heir to his property.

    The story has mild horror and conveys a message that if one is intensely attached to something in this world it becomes difficult for the soul to leave the world without that object.

    It makes an interesting read. I would give it seven out of ten.

By Kamlesh Tripathi

*

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

*

Share it if you like it

*

Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

*

Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 7 prestigious libraries of the US, including, Harvard University and Library of Congress. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in Libraries and archives of Canada and Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai)  

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be its undying characteristic. The book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014)

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his ways through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10th February, 2018 in Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****