Saina Nehwal: A Shining Star

Badminton is my favorite game. Though I tried to be good in all sports and games during school times, I could do well in only two: Kabaddi and Badminton. I did well in Kabaddi because I surpassed my opponents in physical strength, except one or two bullies. I was fairly good in Badminton. (But one of my unforgotten memories is one when in a tournament; they knowingly gave me a racquet with a slipping plastic handle. Being shy then, I didn't object and lost the match trying hard to hold the racquet properly).

I read about Saina in some newspaper. I stopped because the name was similar to Sania. The article discussed how despite holding a better world ranking than Sania Mirza, our Saina didn't attract the same fan following and sponsorships as Sania has enjoyed. Then after some time, I got to watch her game on TV. Superb! She played like a champion! Her body was so flexible and her style so inimitable, that I gave my verdict then and there we have a world champion material in her!

She had it in her family. Her parents Harvir Singh, a scientist at the Directorate of Oilseeds Research, and Usha Rani were former State Badminton champions in Haryana. She won the 2006 Philippines Open, to become the first Indian woman to win a four-star badminton event. She holds the Under-19 women’s single title. She has won twice the Asian Satellite Badminton Tournament (India Chapter). She is currently coached by Pullela Gopichand’s Academy in Hyderabad. Previously she was coached by S. M. Arif, a Dronacharya Award winner. Her play is dominated by power. Her career best world ranking is 21. Currently she is ranked 22nd.

She has got a champion's attitude. In the 2006 World Junior badminton tournament, when Saina lost to top seed Chinese Wang Yihan (13-21, 9-21) she said, “She is a better player than I am. She recently beat seniors world number one Xie Xing Fang. But she is beatable. I can beat her.”

I begun to like Laxmi Mittal more when I came to know that in October 2005, he had set up a USD 40m fund in Mumbai, christened Mittal Champions Trust, to spot, support and enhance the performance of talented young sportsmen to improve India’s showing at the Olympics and Asian Games. Saina Nehwal is one of the beneficiaries of this trust.

Success doesn't come easy. I am now reproducing one article titled Saina: The untold story by Amanpreet Singh, published at The Tribune. Link: http://saina1.notlong.com

What does it take to make a badminton star like Saina Nehwal? Ask her father Harvir Singh.

If Saina battles it out on the badminton court against the world's best players, it has been no less a battle for her father to let her do the same.

Rarely a middle-class family can think of spending half of the monthly income on an eight-year-old child's training without knowing if the gamble would pay off.

But Harvir Singh, a Scientist with the Directorate of Oilseeds Research Hyderabad, opted to go by the advice of PSS Nani Prasad Rao, the then badminton coach of the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP), who saw immense potential in the girl.

I met Nani Prasad Rao in December, 1998, at Lal Bahadur Stadium in Hyderabad. Saina was standing with a badminton racket on the court and he asked her to play. After watching her game, he said,She has the potential and if you want to train her, bring her to me as a summer trainee, Harvir said.

The tough journey had started. Saina had to be taken to the stadium every day early in the morning and the distance from the house was 20 km.

It was a challenge for both of us because I had to wake up early so that we could reach the stadium by 6 am. The training session used to last for about two hours.

After attending the training session, Saina had to attend school. This way I had to drive my scooter around 50 km daily as Saina, apart from attending rigorous practice sessions, had to concentrate on studies, her father explained.

The impact of this tough routine began to show in the first week as Saina would often fall asleep on the back seat.

Sensing the danger, Saina's mother started accompanying them on the two-wheeler. This continued for three months.

Ultimately, the family had to arrange a house near the stadium in 1999. This time the distance was about 7 km from the stadium.

But the travelling ordeal did not end here as Saina was asked to attend evening training sessions as well.

With an extra training session, the travelling expenditure rose to Rs 150 per day. Added to this was the cost of training. Shuttles, racket, shoes, guttings and what not had to be purchased regularly. I spent around Rs 12,000 every month to keep her going those days, Harvir said.

But how did the family manage such high-cost training? Saina's father revealed that he had to sacrifice his savings.

I started withdrawing money from my provident fund. Sometimes it was Rs 30,000 and other times it was nearly Rs 1 lakh. It happened more than five times when I had to shell out money from my PF savings due to Saina's various requirements, said Harvir.

He stated that the tight-rope walk continued till 2002 until Yonex Sunrise sports offered to sponsor Saina's kit.

It came as a big relief. Fortunately, she got BPCL support late in 2004. Ultimately, she was spotted by Mittal Sports Trust in December, 2005.

But I had never disclosed to Saina my financial difficulties fearing that she might get disturbed knowing that her father was left with no savings for the future, he said.

When asked if they got any help from the sports authorities, the answer said it all.

Till 2003, she was getting Rs 600 per month from the Sports Authority of India (SAI). It was raised to Rs 2,500 in June, 2003. You can understand how I could have managed, Harvir said.

Apart from the training cost, hefty telephone bills put extra financial burden on the family when Saina started touring foreign countries for events.

The byte-crazy media played a part too. Wherever she went, be it the Philippines or South Korea, her phone kept ringing.

A major part of the prize money that Saina got from big competitions like the Philippines Open and World Junior Championship was utilised in paying her mobile bills, which were between Rs 40,000 and Rs 50,000 in the touring months, he said.

But was the prize money enough when she began her career? Saina was given just Rs 300 as prize money after winning the under-10 state level competition, held in Tirupati in 1999. The period between 1999-2004 was very trying for the family as we did not get any sponsor for her, Harvir said.

It was not only the financial burden but the risk of lagging behind on the educational front which added to the pressure.

Saina had to skip examinations twice. She did not take her first year intermediate exams because of the Melbourne Commonwealth Games and later in May, she could not write supplementary exams as she was in the Philippines.

At present she is studying in the second year at Saint Ann's College, Mehdipatnam Hyderabad. Ironically, the family, despite her big success at the international level, has not been able to celebrate much.

She has never been to any party, any restaurant or cinema in the past seven years. When the electronic media personnel visited my home in May last year for shooting of a programme, I could not even offer them sweets. Do I need to explain why, he asked. - PTI

Girl Donates Eyes before Killing Herself

Many times, news which could make us get out of our beds are buried in the inside pages of the newspapers. On 11th of April, 2007 there was a news report on the 8th page of Hindustan Times, Mumbai edition. Title made me shaken: "Girl donates eyes before killing herself."

In Lucknow, a girl named Divya Pandey (real name), committed suicide. She was a 12th standard student, and was to appear for her biotechnology exam. Divya's mother says: She was a very bright student, but was not satisfied with her performance. A day before she took this drastic step, she said to me that she doesn't remember anything that she had learnt and would not be able to score above 90 percent in class 12th. In her suicide note, she wrote that she wanted to donate her eyes. Her parents, though distressed at her death, decided to honor her last wish and ensured all procedure were followed immediately. Her body, which was discovered in the morning, was taken to KGMU, doctors harvested her cornea and within days, two people were able to see the world, thanks to Divya.

Donating eyes

This is the first such case in my memory. I have never heard if someone else in the past planned to benefit the society in this manner, the society in fact is the reason for their distressed conditions. It shows that Divya was in her sane state at the time of suicide. She knew what she was going to do. Still, if she chose to hang herself, it was not her failure only. It is the failure of the society in which she lived.

Worth thinking over

Should we stop after declaring it as a shocking incident, an unfortunate event and expressing solidarity with the family? Two things come to my mind immediately:

The state of cruel competition.
The expectations from the family members.

State of cruel competition

All of us know how brutal is the competition to get admission in the engineering and medical colleges like IITs, NITs and AIIMS. In IIT JEE, the success rate is 1 in 60. More than 3,00,000 students appeared for JEE-2006, for total 5500 seats. Around 5,25,000 candidates wrote the AIEEE – 2006 of which around 45,000 people in the open category have been called for counseling. And the matter of fact is that we have very few such institutes of excellence in India, and almost everyone wants to get in there only. In this cut throat competition, the students are so much tense and winding under pressure that if they sense a possibility of failure, they find their world falling over and in a state of depression, they take this decision as an escape from the hell.

Expectations from family

Parents these days are sending their children to schools at a very early age. They feel proud that their kids are already there when at the same age, they used to play at home all the day. Next, we have already heard and faced the problems in getting admissions in good schools. Schools charge huge sum of money for admissions, in the name of anything. Parents of Kangaroo Kids, Mumbai fumed in protests when the school hiked the fee for KG students in Mumbai is Rs 36000 [Ref 1]. If parents have to pay such exorbitant amounts, naturally their expectations will be proportional.

Also, the practice of comparing our children with those of others in our neighbor is an old one. There was a scene in the movie Ta ra rum pum, a young couple with two children was moving into a new flat, when an already residing couple met them on the stairs. When the gentleman says How lovely kids, her wife says Apnaa bhi koi kam nahi hai. If the neighbor's son has won a prize in recitation, your son will have to pay for it.

Analysis of suicide cases in South Delhi

In a paper titled “Suicide among children and adolescents in South Delhi (1991-2000)” [Ref 2], the investigators Lalwani Sanjeev, Sharma GA SK, Kabra SK, Girdhar Shalini and Dogra TD from Departments of Forensic Medicine, AIIMS, New Delhi, report the following key observations:

Out of 222 cases of children and adolescent who died by suicide, majority 55.4% of the victims were girls. This shows that the girl students have a greater pressure to perform and are more susceptible to be depressed.

Commonest age group involved was 15-18 years in both the sexes. This is the time when students appear for their board exams (10/12).

Maximum (56.4%) cases were reported in the months of March-July. The psychological problems due to studies, performance in examination and declaration of results are higher during these months.

The vast majority of suicide cases had applied hard methods with hanging which reflects a higher degree of auto aggressive behavior and determination towards self destruction.

What to do? Can we leave the things as they are?

In my opinion, nothing can be more useful in curbing the suicidal tendencies among children is parental support. If Divya knew that her world did not end with her less than 90% marks, she would have accepted her bad performance as part of life. Its time to think and correct ourselves before it is too late.

References:

1. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/498230.cms

2. http://www.ijppediatricsindia.org/article.asp?issn=0019-5456;year=2004;volume=71;issue=8;spage=701;epage=703;aulast=Lalwani

3. http://in.rediff.com/news/2003/aug/14sc.htm

4. http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=121483

Movie Review: Ta Ra Rum Pum

ab bhi ho gham, zyada ya kam,
Muskuraayenge hum, gaayenge hum,
Ta Ra Rum Pum.. Ta Ra Rum Pum.. Ta Ra Rum Pum..

How many times do we come across Bollywood movies which we can proudly take our children to watch? When we don’t have to divert their attention many times because of some objectionable scenes? When children can learn some values of life from movies? Which don’t display lavishness of rich kids and portray families which are always happy and rich? With Tara Rum Pum released, you can watch such a movie after a long time. 

Tara Rum Pum is the story of a car racer (Saif), his wife (Rani) and their two children (Princess and Champ), who get to have a bad patch in their life. But they face being poor with great bonding, support, and a positive spirit. After much struggle, Saif gets his success back. And they all learn several lessons from that.

The role of RV looks natural for Saif. Rani is as usual sound and glowing. I specially liked the acting of the child actors here. Angelina Idnani is so superb in her role of Princess that you shall keep searching for her in the next movies you watch.
 

• Tara Rum Pum is a complete family entertainment. Here are some key learning out of the movie:
• It is a story of how a talented person can fight back to glory, if he remains hopeful and keeps trying.
• It is a story which teaches us two things at the same time importance of having university degrees, and that university degrees are not the only thing that matters.
• It teaches us, how family members should continue supporting each others at the time of adversity. If you keep your head up, any bad phase will pass.
• It teaches us how important it is to keep your spirits positive at the time of lows in our lives. Never give up. Keep trying.
• It teaches us that no job is lowly. Rani had to play pianos in restaurants, but she did it with pride and composure. Saif had to drive a taxi, but he did it for family.
• It teaches us the importance of dreams.
• It teaches us the importance of belief. Rani believed in Saif, she retained her faith and in the last, Saif earned back whatever he had lost.
• It teaches us that we should spend cautiously. While they were rich, Saif used to throw away money. When in bad times, his son had to eat leftovers of others. Children too learn the importance of saving in their piggy banks.
• For children, the movie is a great fun, healthy entertainment and media to learn and grow at the same time.

If you don't believe all this, why don't you go out and check it out at your nearest theatre? And don't forget to take your family, especially the children. Believe me, after a long time, there is a movie worth watching for children.

  

Stats:

Directed by              Siddharth Anand

Produced by             Aditya Chopra,

Yash Chopra

Written by               Habib Faisal

Starring                  Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukerji, Victor Banerjee Shruti Seth, Jaaved Jaffrey

Music by                 Vishal-Shekhar

Distributed by          Yash Raj Films

Pvt. Ltd

Release date            27 April 2007 

Cast:

Rani Mukerji              Radhika Shekar Rai Banerjee (Shona)

Saif Ali Khan            Rajveer a.k.a RV

Angelina Idnani         Princess (Priya) 

Ali Haji                    Champ (Ranveer) 

Shruti Seth              Sasha

Jaaved Jaffrey          Harry

Victor Banerjee         Radhika’s Father

Songs:

The music of the film has been conducted by the duo Vishal-Shekhar and lyrics are penned by Javed Akhtar. The film contains six songs:

1. Ta Ra Rum Pum     - Shaan, Mahalaxmi Iyer, Sneha Suresh and Shravan Suresh

2. Hey Shona           - Shaan and Sunidhi Chauhan

3. Nachle Ve            - Sonu Nigam and Somya Raoh

4. Ta Ra Ra Ra Rum Tararumpum – Shreya Ghoshal

5. Ab To Forever      - KK, Shreya Ghoshal and Vishal Dadlani

6. Saiyaan               - Vishal Dadlani

Ever tried to get a Migration Certificate?

Have you ever applied for a migration certificate from the university you last attended? Migration certificate certifies that the student XYZ has passed out from the university on ABC date and year, and the university has no objections to his/her taking admissions in another mentioned university.

Recently I needed migration certificate from my last attended university, NIT Durgapur. There was fee to be submitted to the cash counter of the adjoined bank, then there was an application form to be filled up, and I needed to attach zerox copies of my degree certificate and university registration certificate. Due to obvious reasons I didn't want to go the institute physically, so I got one presently studying junior to do that on my behalf. I said that I would send the certificates and one authorization letter to him by fax. But the head of academic section, an infamous Prof. from Mechanical Engineering department, said that I needed to show him the original degree and registration certificates. I didn't want to send my original certificates by mail/courier. Also, I didn't have much time left. I talked to him, but he said that was a university rule and he couldn't do anything. I talked to my HOD, who then talked to him, but he won't go back. So, I needed to go to the university myself, with the original degree certificate, in order to get a piece of paper called migration certificate.

I am just wondering, why universities are so strict while issuing migration certificates. I got to know the process followed in Mumbai University. The application form for getting the same is available on their website; any one can download it and fill up the hard copy, attach a DD and send the request by post. There is no need to be physically present, or to verify the original documents. But Mumbai University too is very strict. The application form is of 5 pages. It says it will issue only one migration certificate and if admission is not taken, the same should be returned back.

I am not able to understand why migration certificates should be treated as such an important document. All it says is that the student XYZ has passed out in the year ABC and the university doesn't have any objection to his/her taking admission in another university.

If an institute feeds all its students data in an online database, I think the migration certificate can be generated in a moment online. Anyone who wants to apply, can submit a fee online, through internet banking or credit card, and then fill up the particulars about him/her, like name, father's name, date of birth, etc for verification. Then a certificate can be generated electronically, whose printouts can be taken by the student.

In worst case, it may happen that someone else gets a migration certificate in some other person's name, because we are not verifying the student's authenticity rigorously enough. But how will this benefit the other guy? That migration certificate will be authentic only when submitted with original degree certificate and marks sheets. So where is the risk of forgery?

I am worried because after passing out form a graduate school, most of the people are working. Now when they want to pursue higher studies, they need a migration certificate from the last Uni. For that they need to go all the way to their alma maters, just to show the original degree certificates for verification.. That makes them to take 2-5 days leave, depending on the distance. Add to that the travel costs. Several universities have some different sets of rules, all in order to make life more difficult for us. Is not this another example of palling bureaucracy? 

Missing Dogs from the Streets

Recently there were extensive public debates about whether the BMC should kill the stray dogs or not. There are around 6 lakhs stray dogs in Mumbai, growing at around 2 lakhs every year. There are cases of around 50,000 dog bites every year. BMC spends around Rs 4.25 crore every year to procure Anti Rabies vaccines (ARV). There are several solutions suggested, but the time tasted one is sterilization of female dogs. I don't want to bring this debate to the street. I want to tell a short story. 

My story goes back to the time when I was working in a cement plant near Raipur. Number of stray dogs in the colony had become very large, and some one brought attention of management towards the growing threat to safety. Point was noted in the minutes of weekly coordination meeting. The solution as suggested by the security head was short and simple - kill them by poisoning. Our works manager was a very kind man. He was not ready for this solution. He asked why not dogs could be caught and left away from the place. The security head was asked for arranging this. 

Now, every week, the security head brought a new problem, objecting the scheme of catching the dogs. The sequence was this: 

Week #1: How can we catch the dogs they will bite us. (Solution: inject them to make them unconscious)

Week #2: There are no such injections available in plant dispensary. (Solution: get them from outside)

Week #3: We don't have trained people to catch the dogs. (Solution: Search outside)

Week #4: The dogs will come back after coming in senses. (Solution: Leave them 50 Km away) 

The security head was like testing the patience of the works manager. Every week, he brought some new problem. Works manager would suggest the way out and would ask him to do the job very fast. 

Then I went out for a week. When I returned back, I found this: The security head, informed that there was no supply of the drug used to make the dogs unconscious, and persons and vehicle to catch the dogs were difficult to find. The works manager was fed up and gave in. They poisoned many dogs for several days. After the dogs were finished, equal number of stray dogs from near by villages took exactly the same position where the original ones used to live!

Essay on Cow

Some times our slight neglect results in sealing the fate of a living being.

During my childhood days in school, we were frequently asked to write essays on "cow". We always began with the sentence "cow is a domestic animal". We were asked to write sometimes 10 sentences and some times 15. How to do that? We used to increase the sentence count like this: A cow has four legs. A cow has two ears. A cow has one tail. A cow has two horns. A cow has one mouth too. Did you laugh? But I didn't stop there. We prepare sweets from cow's milk. We prepare curd from cow's milk. We prepare butter from cow's milk. We prepare ice-creams from cow's milk too. I would go on like this until the required number of sentence count was over. 

This was my original one. Now some years back, I witnessed one of my cousin brothers write an essay on cow. He had lately caught fancy with the phrase by the grace of God, and loved to use it everywhere. He writes: By the grace of God, cow is a domestic animal. Cows give us milk by the grace of God. We prepare sweets from her milk by the grace of God. His teacher just crossed his essay in red ink, by the grace of God. 

Now this was on lighter side. Now I narrate something more serious. 

The day goes back to 2005 when I was posted in a plant near Raipur. It was a fine Sunday morning and I was going towards society's shops for a hair cut. I found that it had rained heavily last night and branches of trees were lying here and there; indicating a storm also. While passing in front of the guest house, I noticed something in the drain by the side of the road. The drains were open and very deep, mainly carrying waste water. To my surprise, there was one young cow lying there, her legs up and head down, stuck in the narrow walls of the drain. Was she alive? I saw her neck was twisted, but her nostrils were out of water. Water flowing through her faced disturbance because of her body, and formed a small waterfall as it passed. Her four legs were out in the air, while most of remaining body was immersed in water. She was tightly fixed in the drain, and didn't move. There were some flies moving around her body. I could sense she was dead; but who knows? I wanted to help her, at least to ascertain if she were alive or dead. But I didn't like touching it. 

I reached the shopping centre. To my relief, I met one officer who was in the administration department. I narrated him the scene and he said that he would call someone to take her out. Half an hour later, while I returned back, she was exactly in the same position. I met one other personnel from administration; he said he would do something. It being a Sunday, there was no one in the colony maintenance office. I called the security personnel at the plant gate; they said it being Sunday, fewer staffs were present, but they would try to help. 

Around 12:30, I went for lunch in the guesthouse. Her body was unmoved. After lunch, I told the guesthouse waiters about her and asked for help. One waiter, Baratu, went with me to see her and said that there is little chance that she would be alive. Then he called the security gate and informed them that a calf had fallen into drain and was alive. I appreciated his practical approach. As he told them that the calf was alive, there was a good chance that they would come.

I was feeling helpless. What if the calf was alive and dying? No body had come to her rescue since morning. 

Next morning, her body was still there. I felt really bad. I knew then for sure that even if she was alive on Sunday, by this time she would have certainly died.

On Tuesday, I called the colony maintenance office and enquired about the cow. I was informed that they took her out, dead, on Monday afternoon. 

I felt very guilty. I was almost sure that she was dead when I found her first. But what if she was alive then? We took her out only after one and half day. There was no chance she could survive so long lying in that position. Through out that period, I only tried to help her through others. Why didn't I pull her out myself? It would have cost me maximum dirty hands and dirty cloths, but I could have saved a life. I still carry the guilt of that day. 

#Movie Review: 300: History or Controversy

The movie 300 has been much debated and accused against since its release on March 8, 2007. It has been alleged that it shows the Persian culture in wrong light and promotes the western supremacy. This article was inspired by ongoing controversy and debates on the issue and is a result of some internet searches with an attempt to reach a conclusion. It includes some citations along with my personal opinion.

About 300

300 (film) is a 2007 film adaptation of the graphic novel 300 by Frank Miller and is a fictional account of the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. The film is directed by Zack Snyder with Frank Miller attached as an executive producer and consultant.

Is 300 Historically Correct?

The Film’s Director Zack Snyder stated in an MTV interview that “The events are 90 percent accurate. It’s just in the visualization that it’s crazy…. I’ve shown this movie to world-class historians who have said it’s amazing. They can’t believe it’s as accurate as it is.” He continues that the film is “an opera, not a documentary. That’s what I say when people say it’s historically inaccurate”.

I have searched the internet and found that most of the events covered in the movie are historically accurate.

Battle of Thermopylae

In the Battle of Thermopylae of 480 BC, an alliance of Greek city-states (shown as Spartans in the movie) fought the invading Persian Empire at the pass of Thermopylae in central Greece. Vastly outnumbered, the Greeks held back the Persians for three days in one of history’s most famous last stands. A small force led by King Leonidas of Sparta blocked the only road through which the massive army of Xerxes I could pass. After three days of battle, a local resident named Ephialtes betrayed the Greeks by revealing a mountain path that led behind the Greek lines. Dismissing the rest of the army, King Leonidas stayed behind with 300 Spartans and 700 Thespian volunteers. The Persians succeeded in taking the pass but sustained heavy losses, extremely disproportionate to those of the Greeks. The fierce resistance of the Spartan-led army offered Athens the invaluable time to prepare for a decisive naval battle that would come to determine the outcome of the war. The subsequent Greek victory at the Battle of Salamis left much of the Persian Empire’s navy destroyed and Xerxes I was forced to retreat back to Asia, leaving his army in Greece under Mardonius, who was to meet the Greeks in battle one last time. The Spartans assembled at full strength and led a pan-Greek army that defeated the Persians decisively at the Battle of Plataea, ending the Greco-Persian War and with it the expansion of the Persian Empire into Europe.

The performance of the defenders at the battle of Thermopylae is often used as an example of the advantages of training, equipment, and good use of terrain to maximize an army’s potential, and has become a symbol of courage against overwhelming odds. The sacrifice of the Spartans has captured the minds of many throughout the ages and has given birth to many cultural references as a result.

The geopolitical origins of the battle actually predate Xerxes I, as it was his father, Darius the Great, who initially sent heralds to all Greek cities offering blandishments if they would submit to Persian authority. Many of the 700 Greek states submitted, including the Argives, the sworn enemies of Sparta.

Herodotus – father of history

Herodotus was a Dorian Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BC (484 BC ca.425 BC) and is regarded as the “father of history”. He is almost exclusively known for writing The Histories, a collection of ‘inquiries’ into the origins of the Persian invasions of Greece which occurred in 490 and 480/79 BC especially since he includes a narrative account of that period, which would otherwise be poorly documented. On going through what Herodotus has written, I have come to understand the turns of events as shown in the movie 300.

1. Persians attached the Spartans: The Persians at that time were not as peaceful race as we all think. Xerxes I, king of Persia, had been preparing for years to continue the Greco-Persian Wars started by his father Darius. In 481 BC, after four years of preparation, the Persian army and navy arrived in Asia Minor. Herodotus who wrote the first history of this war, gave the size of Xerxes’s army as total 2,641,610. This is the account for the land armies present at Thermopylae. Regarding the total number of forces Xerxes I assembled to invade Greece (land army, fleet crew, etc.), this number is nearly doubled in order to account for support troops and thus Herodotus reports that the total Persian force numbered 5,283,220 men, a figure which is regarded as erroneous by modern estimations.

2. Why to sacrifice the 300 Spartans: The legend of Thermopylae as told by Herodotus is that Sparta consulted the Oracle at Delphibefore setting out to meet the Persian army. Oracle’s warning was that either Sparta would be conquered and left in ruins or one of her two hereditary kings, descendant of Hercules, must sacrifice his life to defend her. That is why Leonidas took charge of his personal fighting unit, the 300 Spartans, and headed to Thermopylae. Doesn’t this fact tell us about how much the Spartans loved their home land? All the 300 Spartans knew that they would die, but they fought till death with bravery that they were not sure world would come to know one day. Not a single Spartan fled or betrayed. If only our Hindu soldiers were as united along with their bravery, then India would not be ruled over by Muslim invaders for 1000 years and then by then British for another 100 years.

3. Not inhuman fighters: Herodotus writes that Leonidas was idolized by his men. He was convinced that he was going to certain death and his forces were not adequate for a victory, and so selected only men who had fathered sons who were old enough to take over the family responsibilities. Doesn’t this show that the Spartans were not as barbaric as we think them to be?

4. The last scene: The last scene shows the Persian king Xerxes-I order the hill surrounded and the Persians rain down arrows until the last Greek was dead. Modern archaeologists have found evidence of the final arrow shower. So the film even uses a historical fact to build its climax. There is no fiction.

5. Was Persian king as barbaric as shown: Historian Herodotus writes that when the body of Leonidas was recovered by the Persians, Xerxes I, in a rage at the loss of so many of his soldiers, ordered that the head be cut off and the body crucified. This was very uncommon for the Persians; they had the habit of treating enemies that fought bravely against them with great honor. However, Xerxes I was known for his rage, as when he had the Hellespont whipped because it would not obey him.

Conclusion:

Representation of Spartans: Spartans have been represented in the movie as freedom loving, military oriented race, who love to die for their soil. They are as brave as any men could ever be. And even the women, as represented by the queen played an important role of preparing for the final battle.

Representation of Persians:  Persians have been represented as bloodthirsty invaders. They keep slaves and are inhuman in many ways. It is true that 300 has shown the Persians king Xerxes I in a wrong light. It has shown him as androgynous, which has no historical proof.

The historical facts and figures give the movie a particular vantage. Though based on historical grounds, it has represented the Persians of that time in a manner which hurts many a people and could have been played down.

Brand Building: Behind every successful Brand

Inspired by an article written by Mrs. Sudha Murthy; the original piece attached with at the end.  

Do you know what some people do when they see so many companies spending millions in the ‘brand building’ advertisements? They just laugh. They laugh because there are companies, though few, which are able to create such an incredible image for themselves that they don’t need any advertisement. Their name is their advertisement.

The mon(K)ey minded

Both at the beginning and at the end, nothing we do is just for money. If profit-making is the sole interest of some company, I doubt it is in the wrong business. Then everyone should run F-1 races and every company should own a soccer club. There is something beyond money. Business is indeed business, but there is no compelling reason to bury your soul under the carpet (or corporate!). The worst thing about the race is that it is not a ‘nice’ race, but a ‘mice’ Race, and if you start comparing yourselves with the other rats who are ‘also running’, you end up becoming one of them. The message is that making an altogether different image for your company really counts. And to be 100% sure, that image should be of a helping ally, not of a raging bully; of a garden, not of a mountain; of a sea, not of a busy bee; of a home, not of a sulking dome; simply put, of someone who contributes to the society, not contradicts from the society.  

Can’t say ‘tata’ to TATA and the infinity approaches Infosys

Some companies like Tata Group companies and Infosys Technologies have created a niche for themselves in this regard. The impressions of Tatas have entered our bloods, as we have been ‘born and brought-up’ looking up to them. Some other Indian companies also put emphasis on ‘ethics’ and ‘human touch’ and this brand image pays them in multiple ways. But the hard world of business respects only the profit generating firms and one shall make a mockery of self, if one talks about ‘creating value’ and ‘affecting lives’ while the company bleeds financially. I believe the marriage of ‘a humanitarian face’ and ‘generation of economic value’ is a block buster combination in any market on the globe.

Proud to be ‘We the people’

The attached article will leave your heart swelling. See, how proud we all Indians become whenever another Indian does good. I wish more Indian companies can actually do as much to attain the ranks of Tata and Infosys.

I(a)mpossible?

The article is also a moral booster for the ladies. No one can stop them, if they choose not to stop. We fall, we get up; we again fall, we try to get up. Though the world is not as fair as ‘fair and lovely’, in the marathon of life, endurance, perseverance and attitude are the things that count. Whatsoever is the extent of globalization, successful and down-to-earth ‘Indian’ ladies like Mrs. Sudha Murthy will continue to touch the Indian heart and inspire the Indian minds. There are some messages which are beyond the bands of noises and beyond the valleys of silences to be calmed down. I suggest you should take a printout of the attached document and make all your daughters, sisters or friends go through and grasp it well.

- Rahul

***

A Humble Story

It was probably the April of 1974. Bangalore was getting warm and gulmohars were blooming at the IISc campus. I was the only girl in my postgraduate department and was staying at the ladies’ hostel. Other girls were pursuing research in different departments of Science.

I was looking forward to going abroad to complete a doctorate in computer science. I had been offered scholarships from Universities in the US. I had not thought of taking up a job in India.

One day, while on the way to my hostel from our lecture-hall complex, I saw an advertisement on the notice board. It was a standard job-requirement notice from the famous automobile company Telco (now Tata Motors). It stated that the company required young, bright engineers, hardworking and with an excellent academic background, etc.

At the bottom was a small line: “Lady candidates need not apply.”

I read it and was very upset. For the first time in my life I was up against gender discrimination.

Though I was not keen on taking up the job, I saw it as a challenge. I had done extremely well in  academics, better than most of my male peers. Little did I know then that in real life academic excellence is not enough to be successful.

After reading the notice I went fuming to my room. I decided to inform the topmost person in Telco’s management about the injustice the company was perpetrating. I got a postcard and started to write,

but there was a problem: I did not know who headed Telco.

I thought it must be one of the Tatas. I knew JRD Tata was the head of the Tata Group; I had seen his pictures in newspapers (actually, Sumant Moolgaokar was the company’s chairman then). I took the card, addressed it to JRD and started writing. To this day I remember clearly what I wrote.

“The great Tatas have always been pioneers. They are the people who started the basic infrastructure industries in India, such as iron and steel, chemicals, textiles and locomotives. They have cared for higher education in India since 1900 and they were responsible for the establishment of the Indian Institute of Science. Fortunately, I study there. But I am surprised how a company such as Telco is discriminating on the basis of gender.”

I posted the letter and forgot about it. Less than 10 days later, I received a telegram stating that I had to appear for an interview at Telco’s Pune facility at the company’s expense. I was taken aback by the telegram. My hostel mate told me I should use the opportunity to go to Pune free of cost and buy them the famous Pune saris for cheap! I collected Rs 30 each from everyone who wanted a sari. When I look back, I

Feel like laughing at the reasons for my going, but back then they seemed good enough to make the trip.

It was my first visit to Pune and I immediately fell in love with the city. To this day it remains dear to me. I feel as much at home in Pune as I do in Hubli, my hometown. The place changed my life in so many ways. As directed, I went to Telco’s Pimpri office for the interview.

There were six people on the panel and I realised then that this was serious business.

“This is the girl who wrote to JRD,” I heard somebody whisper as soon as I entered the room. By then I knew for sure that I would not get the job. The realisation abolished all fear from my mind, so I was rather cool while the interview was being conducted.

Even before the interview started, I reckoned the panel was biased, so I told them, rather impolitely, “I hope this is only a technical interview.”

They were taken aback by my rudeness, and even today I am ashamed about my attitude. The panel asked me technical questions and I answered all of them.

Then an elderly gentleman with an affectionate voice told me, “Do you know why we said lady candidates need not apply? The reason is that we have never employed any ladies on the shop floor. This is not a co-ed college; this is a factory. When it comes to academics, you are a first ranker throughout. We appreciate that, but people like you should work in research laboratories.”

I was a young girl from small-town Hubli. My world had been a limited place. I did not know the ways of large corporate houses and their difficulties, so I answered, “But you must start somewhere, otherwise no woman will ever be able to work in your factories.”

Finally, after a long interview, I was told I had been successful. So this was what the future had in store for me. Never had I thought I would take up a job in Pune. I met a shy young man from Karnataka there, we became good friends and we got married.

It was only after joining Telco that I realized who JRD was: the uncrowned king of Indian industry. Now I was scared, but I did not get to meet him till I was transferred to Bombay. One day I had to show some reports to Mr Moolgaokar, our chairman, who we all knew as SM. I was in his office on the first floor of Bombay House (the Tata headquarters) when, suddenly JRD walked in. That was the first time I saw “appro JRD”. Appro means “our” in Gujarati. This was the affectionate term by which people at Bombay House called him.

I was feeling very nervous, remembering my postcard episode. SM introduced me nicely, “Jeh (that’s what his close associates called him), this young woman is an engineer and that too a postgraduate.

She is the first woman to work on the Telco shop floor.” JRD looked at me. I was praying he would not ask me any questions about my interview (or the postcard that preceded it). Thankfully, he didn’t. Instead, he remarked. “It is nice that girls are getting into engineering in our country. By the way, what is your name?”

“When I joined Telco I was Sudha Kulkarni, Sir,” I replied. “Now I am Sudha Murthy.” He smiled and kindly smile and started a discussion with SM. As for me, I almost ran out of the room.

After that I used to see JRD on and off. He was the Tata Group chairman and I was merely an engineer. There was nothing that we had in common. I was in awe of him.

One day I was waiting for Murthy, my husband, to pick me up after office hours. To my surprise I saw JRD standing next to me. I did not know how to react. Yet again I started worrying about that postcard. Looking back, I realise JRD had forgotten about it. It must have been a small incident for him, but not so for me.

“Young lady, why are you here?” he asked. “Office time is over.”

I said, “Sir, I’m waiting for my husband to come and pick me up.”

JRD said, “It is getting dark and there’s no one in the corridor. I’ll wait with you till your husband comes.”

I was quite used to waiting for Murthy, but having JRD waiting alongside made me extremely  uncomfortable.

I was nervous. Out of the corner of my eye I looked at him. He wore a simple white pant and shirt. He was old, yet his face was glowing. There wasn’t any air of superiority about him. I was thinking, “Look at this person. He is a chairman, a well-respected man in our country and he is waiting for the sake of an ordinary employee.”

Then I saw Murthy and I rushed out. JRD called and said, “Young lady, tell your husband never to make his wife wait again.”

In 1982 I had to resign from my job at Telco. I was reluctant to go, but I really did not have a choice. I was coming down the steps of Bombay House after wrapping up my final settlement when I saw JRD coming up. He was absorbed in thought. I wanted to say goodbye to him, so I stopped. He saw me and paused.

Gently, he said, “So what are you doing, Mrs Kulkarni?” (That was the way he always addressed me.) “Sir, I am leaving Telco.”

“Where are you going?” he asked. “Pune, Sir. My husband is starting a company called Infosys and I’m shifting to Pune.”

“Oh! And what will you do when you are successful.”

“Sir, I don’t know whether we will be successful.” “Never start with diffidence,” he advised me. “Always start with confidence. When you are successful you must give back to society. Society gives us so much; we must reciprocate. I wish you all the best.”

Then JRD continued walking up the stairs. I stood there for what seemed like a millennium. That was the last time I saw him alive. Many years later I met Ratan Tata in the same Bombay House, occupying the chair JRD once did. I told him of my many sweet memories of working with Telco. Later, he wrote to me, “It was nice hearing about Jeh from you. The sad part is that he’s not alive to see you today.”

I consider JRD a great man because, despite being an extremely busy person, he valued one postcard  written by a young girl seeking justice. He must have received thousands of letters everyday. He could have thrown mine away, but he didn’t do that. He respected the intentions of that unknown girl, who had neither influence nor money, and gave her an opportunity in his company. He did not merely give her a job; he  changed her life and mindset forever.

Close to 50 per cent of the students in today’s engineering colleges are girls. And there are women on the shop floor in many industry segments. I see these changes and I think of JRD. If at all time stops and asks me what I want from life, I would say I wish JRD were alive today to see how the company we started has grown. He would have enjoyed it wholeheartedly.

My love and respect for the House of Tata remains undiminished by the passage of time. I always looked up to JRD. I saw him as a role model for his simplicity, his generosity, his kindness and the care he took of

his employees. Those blue eyes always reminded me of the sky; they had the same vastness and  magnificence.

*(Sudha Murthy is a widely published writer and chairperson of the Infosys Foundation involved in a number of social development initiatives. Infosys chairman Narayan Murthy is her husband.) *

Article sourced from: Lasting Legacies (Tata Review- Special Commemorative Issue 2004), brought out by the house of Tatas to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of JRD Tata on July 29, 2004.

Book Review: Many Lives, Many Masters

Last week I finished reading a book named "Many Lives, Many Masters". The story goes like this: 

Psychiatrist Dr Brian Weiss had been working with Catherine, a young patient, for eighteen months. Catherine was suffering from recurring nightmares and chronic anxiety attacks. When his traditional methods of therapy failed, Dr Weiss turned to hypnosis and was astonished and skeptical when Catherine began recalling past-life traumas which seemed to hold the key to her problems. Dr Weiss’s skepticism was eroded when Catherine began to channel messages from ‘the space between lives’, which contained remarkable revelations about his own life. Acting as a channel for information from highly evolved spirit entities called the Masters, Catherine revealed many secrets of life and death. This fascinating case dramatically altered the lives of Catherine and Dr Weiss, and provides important information on the mysteries of the mind, the continuation of life after death and the influence of our past-life experiences on our present behavior.

Dr. Weiss says whatever is written in this book is not fiction. After going through the past life experiences of Catherine and her explanations of the secrets of life in hypnotized state, we learn the following:

We are souls and change our bodies. Our souls don't die and nothing harmful happens to it. Each one of us has to learn some lessons. Depending on many things, the speed with which we learn may vary from soul to soul. We need to come to earth, because we experience "pain" which is very necessary for us to learn all lessons fully. In each birth, we learn some lessons, and then come again to learn the remaining. When we learn all the lessons, we don't need to be born again. After death, our souls float out of our bodies, and can see the things happening around. Then our soul gets attracted to a warm and luminous divine light, and advances towards it. We get to know before the beginning of a particular birth, what out lives are going to be like, and what we have to achieve. But when we reach the earth, we forget all. All our past life experiences are with us, but we don't have the capability to recall all this. No one has the right to kill any other human being, as this interrupts the natural process and the departed soul has to face some difficulties getting back on path of learning. Based on the stage of learning that the souls are, some souls reach the stage of 'masters', where they guide other souls towards their learning path. The ultimate goal of human life is to 'become God like' or 'to merge with God himself', as then no difference remains between our soul and the God.

As you have gone through these learning, you must have noticed that this is very similar to what is written in Gita or what is generally perceived by the Hindus. 

What looks amazing is that neither the doctor nor the patient was exposed to Hinduism from before. Then how could there was such a similarity in thinking and concept? And we all know that during hypnotism, patients do tell some things which they never imagine while in their senses.

So, are these dozen points really true? Then what for there is war, anxiety and corporate rat races in this world? Why people still kill each other and hurt others' feelings? If our goal in this life is to learn some lessons, why do we continue reading theoretical subjects and keep blessing Bill Gates for MS Office? How much time in our lives do we actually spend thinking about our ultimate goals?

Dr. Weiss claims to have the video and audio tape records of Catherine’s conversations. So there is no doubt on his integrity in details. Then all of us have to awake as Swami Vivekananda said – Arise, Awake! And stop not until the goal is reached.

About the book: Title:                                Many Lives, Many Masters
Author:                                                       Dr. Brian Weiss
Publisher:                                                   Piatkus Books Ltd
Pages:                                                         244
Published:                                                   1994
ISBN:                                                          0 7499 1378 9
Popularity:                                                  > 15 Lakh copies sold

#India: Chasing Utopian Dreams

Inspired by a news report in Hindustan Times, Mumbai.

Recently Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) started "Clean Mumbai" campaign. As part of the campaign, anyone caught littering in public places was fined with Rs 200. If the person didn't want to pay, one had to clean up in person. A report is published in HT, and I am startled at the statistics. If you take care to notice, the numbers tell their own story.

In a single day, 130 people were caught in the act, out of which 56 people paid penalty of total Rs 11,500.

Cleanliness in public places

Numerous articles have been written how NRIs start littering once they reach their own home land. Hanging out dirty linen is not a phrase, but literally true in India. I remember when one of my uncles who lives in Texas wrote in his travelogue, how awful he felt when a passenger spitted on the railway platform in Bihar. We all accept that we Indians may one day create world class companies but developing the world class habits and attitude towards cleanliness and hygiene in public spaces remains more tough a task. But are public alone to be blamed? 

Hobson’s choice

Where will we spit in absence of spit-tons? a Mumbaiker asks. At present, Mumbai has 8000 dustbins against a requirement of 36000 bins. For the population of 25 million (2.5 crore), if the extended Mumbai has 8 thousand dustbins, it means there is one dust bin for 3125 persons. Public still have a Hobson's choice to use dustbins where there are not any.

So hard pressed to pay a penalty?

Two hundred bucks may be a paltry sum for many. But 74 out of 130 people (57% of junta) chose to clean up the area, instead of paying the fine. Look at the photograph here. The gentleman chose to clean his spit on the road with his own handkerchief. We can imagine that he would have moved on, keeping his dirty handkerchief again in his pocket; either because he couldn't afford to lose it, or because in absence of a litter bin, there was a clear danger of being fined again. 

How was the man feeling when he did that? There are only two possibilities: either he couldn't afford to pay the fine, or he chose not to. Both these possibilities are question mark on us, as a society. The person looks literate, and with his shoes, bag and watch, he seems to be in some regular employment. It doesn't seem true, though I wish it would, that he couldn't afford to pay the fine. 

A failed generation? 

The fact that a young man is ready to face humiliation in presence of public and cameras is a question mark on our collective pride. Long ago, Swami Vivekanand raised the spirits of Indians when he said "You are the sons of kings". All freedom fighters tried to instill the national pride in Indians. And we always say, we are proud to be Indians. But after seeing this picture, I am not sure I am so confident about that. 

Of late, India is becoming the land of false pride. The criminal politicians, corrupt bureaucrats, profit minded businessmen, corrupt policemen, differential treatment based on caste and religion; it has been a great fall. We are happy that the railways are making profits, and also happy that railways have not changed - they still accept bribe and call it "tip". We read about the news where a Maharaja complained that he was not treated well in his own Meherangarh Fort in Ajmer, which he rented out for Arun-Liz wedding. The disturbing number of girl fetus killings in prosperous part of Punjab, the killings of young inter-caste couples among educated families, the tantrums of Harvard returned politicians, all prove it beyond slightest doubt that the great Indian pride is a foregone thing, well mummified in the History books. 

It can happen only in India

There is still a chance. Today is not too late. The message that comes out is that people, who have been enjoying the public property to litter carelessly, will not be able to do so for long. And to expect that the world is fair enough to install the dustbins first and then enforce the law of hygiene remains a utopian dream. It is high time Samaritans change themselves, instead of complaining and expecting the municipal corporation or government to change. And a piece of advice if you are caught up please pay the fine and don't see bravery in getting photographed while doing as stupid a thing as the person in the picture is doing. 

- Rahul

--------------------------------

shivani narula
April 25, 2007 at 6:42 pm · Edit
i feel the basic concept of clenliness lacks in the upbringing…..may be the genes..am a total cleanliness freak…in and outside the house too..this was a good one..

SJ
March 27, 2007 at 11:59 am · Edit
Well done, rahul.
Well researched and though out articles.
Though I differ with respect to contents of this article with respect to cleaning
of the spit by well dressed person.
He might have repented, and vowed to do some thing lowly, rather paying
back in cash.
It is already carried out in western countries, where people (Even highly
valued) do lowly jobs like street cleaning, shoe cleaning etc. as social
service, for the wrong committed by them.
Even in south india, one can see the people from very rich back ground,
begging, to earn money for going to Tirupati. Their thinking lies, he or
she can bow down to the lowest of the job for reaching the almighty.

Keep on writing, I in particular feel happy, with true rahul.

Rajendra
March 26, 2007 at 1:19 pm · Edit
Rahul Very good job you are doing by educating mass in your way.I liked
your analysis under para A Failed Generation in Chasing Utopian Dreams. Good thought for introinspection.