He is such a little fellow

Lincoln's Letter to his Son's Teacher
He will have to learn, I know,
that all men are not just, all men are not true.
But teach him also that for every scoundrel there is a hero;
that for every selfish Politician, there is a dedicated leader
Teach him for every enemy there is a friend,
Steer him away from envy, if you can, teach him the secret of quiet laughter.
Let him learn early that the bullies are the easiest to lick
Teach him, if you can, the wonder of books
But also give him quiet time to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun, and the flowers on a green hillside.
In the school teach him
it is far honourable to fail than to cheat
Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if everyone tells him
they are wrongTeach him to be gentle with gentle people, and tough with the tough.

Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when everyone is getting on the band wagon
Teach him to listen to all men but teach him also to filter all he hears on a screen of truth, and take only the good that comes through.
Teach him if you can, how to laugh when he is sad
Teach him there is no shame in tears,
Teach him to scoff at cynics and to beware of too much sweetness Teach him to sell his brawn and brain to the highest bidders but never to put a price-tag on his heart and soul.

Teach him to close his ears to a howling mob and to stand and fight
if he thinks he's right. Treat him gently, but do not cuddle him, because only the test
of fire makes fine steel.
Let him have the courage to be impatient
let him have the patience to be brave. Teach him always to have sublime faith in himself, because then he will have sublime faith in mankind.

This is a big order, but see what you can do He is such a fine little fellow, my son!
~ Abraham Lincoln

Order in Chaos: An Indian perspective

A unique experience of wonder made me realize that Indians can be very pro-active. I was travelling on Air India accompanied by almost 300 happy passengers, 7 bulky air hostesses, and may be two pilots who we never saw. Whole aircraft was filled with Indians with an exception of few Europeans and one European happened to sit next to me. As we took off we shared about ourselves a good strangers trying to know each other. Most Indians on board were absolutely quiet not uttering even a word. The British woman next to me wondered as to why this silence which is against the nature of Indians. As our journey proceeded we were served beverages and drinks before the supper by the plane crew. As the drink made its way there was some murmurs in the plane and after couple of minutes the plane was filled with enormous noise people talking, singing, and moving about. Now the reaction of British woman next to me was of awe and wonder. I intervened at pleasant awe and wonder by making a witty comment, 'We the Indian need some spirit  to boost our low spirits'. It was true that we the Indian are known for our boisterous way of living our lives. It is quite opposite to our nature to remain silent as we always do in London underground. 

India has seen its golden era in the field of technology, and this was evident in people using the cell phones and mobile internet. India has gone a long ahead of many other countries in the world to see its development in most fields. Despite the chaos that is very prevalent in every nuke and corner of our country, it has risen to the hight of order in utter chaos. As I was driven by my brother from the Airport to my home, there was utter chaos on the street, every one was driving everywhere. I told my brother to be more careful in his driving but he said we are not in London any more my dear brother. I had to close my eyes because I was absolutely scared of our roads and the vehicles criss crossing. I realised that every one of the drivers knew what exactly he was doing, therefore there was a sense of order which looked an utter chaos into my eyes. It was an experience of fear but ultimately turned this experience into joy since I am proud to be an Indian. 

An old lady was trying to climb the escalators in the biggest shopping complex in Mangalore. This complex is the first biggest complex of that kind in my little coastal city. This lady was amused and perplexed at the stairs that never needed to climb but she had to get into it in order to experience her amusement and perplexity. I held her hand helped her to climb the escalators, and there overflowed the joy and wonder on her scared face. I could imagine her feelings on climbing on those escalators, she was flying in the air, she was feeling that she was climbing the sky. But after few minutes of her climbing I had to help her out of these escalators. This is not matter of wonder for a person who lives in a developed country where climbing on an escalators is a necessity but for the people who haven't seen it in their lives makes an enormous difference. 

As I was strolling down the developments that India has seen is incredible. India despite being over populated and issue of distribution of wealth is a major problem still most people in India manage to go to bed without starving. This is my own observation, can be wrong or debatable too. I shall write more about Indian developments in my next few articles. 

Give until it hurts

Someone knocked at our house door in the dusk. As I opened the door a faint voice prevailed around me. The voice was certainly communicated to me that the boy was in need of some help. I thought he was sales man for he had several small goodies to sell which of course are not of any use to me. The boy narrated his ambition to a footballer in the Luton club, but money seems to be an hindrance in achieving this goal. He had a small proof of identity. My immediate reaction to his plea was sympathetic which fetched him some quids. After this I was trying to ponder on this usual incident. It is hard to recognise whether a person really in need of help which might buy him some food or warm clothes in this frozen weather; or a young lad looking for money to buy his daily dope of drug. I am sure we all have such experiences in our lives. Most often we tend to rebuke the beggars which is natural. Being a beggar in London can be very hard especially in this cold weather. 

London has no beggars is the usual understanding of the world but it is quite the opposite. There are several types of beggars like someone entertains a group of travellers and gather money, some would play music and sing at the subway and gather money etc. I am not too concerned with talented beggars who bewitch the audience and get money, but what about the beggars who don't have these gifts to perform and get money? It is really a hard area to venture. Do we really see the beggars as someone less fortunate than us and try to help or just put some allegations of drugs, stealing and rebuke point blank? 

I think we need to more prudent when we are dealing with beggars. Ambrose says, 'It is the hungry man's bread that you withhold, the naked man's cloak you store away, the money that you bury in the earth is the price of the poor man's ransom and freedom.' I used to think the rich became rich because of their sheer hard work and therefore why should they be blamed for not  helping the poor. I think God created us equal and gave us enough to maintain the world. Gandhi said, 'we have enough for the need not to our greed'. When we amass wealth we are disturbing the natural harmony of the universe. 

We often hear about the monotonous statements like, equality, we are equal, no discrimination etc which resonate in this unequal, discriminatory world. It is hard to give up our own which we have earned by our hard work. Mother Teresa said, 'Give until it hurts'. It is true it hurts when we give something away but imagine how happy the person who received will be. There is not bound for his joy and happiness. Therefore it is eachone's duty to help each other to make this world a better place without disturbing the natural order of equality and indiscrimination. 

UK Konkan Christmas Celebration

UK Konkan association held a remarkable Christmas celebration despite the whether being very bad. It was an astounding performance indeed. It was a mixture of several pieces of performance like dances for Bollyhood and Konkani numbers. The celebration began with an apprehensive note of inconvenience caused by the bad weather. Many people could not travel on roads as it was still snowing and slippery. However there were many of them participated in the event very well.
Cultural presentation was compeered by Jerry Dias who set a perfect start with his witty jokes and shahiris. Dance by a little girl Tia D'souza was mind blowing indeed. She seems like a budding artist who has bright future indeed. Dance of Irene Lobo made the audience dumb-founded. She with her dancing expertise entertained the audience to the brim. Little witty skits by Melwin, Stella and the group made the audience laugh at their full energy. They were like professional artists performed on stage. Songs by Eric, Beena, Mihir and Jerry rocked the room with their astounding and beautiful voices.
Traditional Mangalorean style lunch was the hallmark of the event. Many hands have gone into making this lunch sumptuous indeed. I am sure most people had a wonderful smile on their faces after the lunch which is a feather in UK Konkans cap. I think it was a tedious task preparing this lunch indeed. I cherish the moments at the lunch time.
On the whole it was a meaningful celebration of Christmas with families from different parts of the UK. I wish to thank all the organisers who made this event possible. Some of you might have burnt your mid night oil to make this event successful. I wish this continues and make our Mangalorean community strong here in the UK and in doing this we remember our roots and traditions. This surely will be transferred to our children in the future.

Wikileaks and Democracy

Sometimes I wonder why do diplomats like to discuss behind door and keep secret from the public. In an democratic country it might deviate the purpose of democracy. It is true not everything can be said to the general public but can they at least let us know what has been the discussion if not the outcome. I was both thrilled and shocked to read the Wikileaks which made the world sharpen its ears. Nearly quarter of a million US diplomatic cables were leaked as you know very well. These cables did throw some light on as to how diplomats discuss the matters secretly. It is appalling to know the facts and figures from Wikileaks. I almost thought there is going to be a third world war because of the secret cables which affected the diplomatic relationship between countries. It is now swept under the carpet because the website has been blocked.

Last week the Westminster crown court granted him bail. As the hearing was taking place in the court, Julian Assange had hundreds of supports including Jemima Khan. Jemima Khan was the key celebrity who helped him financially to get the bail. It was a dramatic scenario at London, when Swedish government wanted to appeal the   the government to extradite him for alleged sexual assault. But after long formalities of the Justice system, he was released on bail. He expressed his gratitude to all his supporters and the police for he said, 'it is remarkable to know about the British justice system, if not justice at least it is not dead.' He looked calm and serene when he was escorted by the police to the house he was going to live. He is banned from leaving the country and he has some formalities of the justice system. 

I am sure Julian Assagne is an excellent computer genius. His expertise in downloading these secret diplomatic cables is absolutely commendable. I am not saying whether it was good or not. But  I think we have a mixed feeling and a sense of confusion. Wikileaks made me aware that there are many secret things being discussed behind closed door. It is sad I cannot access the website now. I am sure its been blocked since there were more and more cables being released. 

Why does the Swedish government want Julian Assange? Is it really for the alleged sexual assault or in support of the US to silence him further? I think US government want him for leaking the cables. But why does America stand on its toes when their dirty linen is being washed in public? I think for many Julian Assange is Hero who dared to put the cables online. I think there should not be any secrets between the diplomats and public for diplomats are the representatives of the public. If they hide matters of concern from the general public, then democratic system fails to some extent. 

Honesty in the midst of Dishonesty

If we found a wallet lying in the subway, how many of us will be honest enough to had it over to the police to find its right place? I am sure most us would do what pleases one. I was buying a cheap leather wrist band from a petty vendor. After finishing my transaction I walked away but I  heard a loud call from someone behind. I saw the same vendor following me with loud shouts, I was taken aback thinking I might have not paid him enough. To my surprise he handed me the $100 bill and said Sir, 'it costs only $5 but you have given $100'. It was my fault for not clarifying the bills of different denominations. I stood dumbfounded for I had not seen such an honest person in my life. I told him spur of the moment, you are the best business man I have ever seen. And he told me, 'Sir, I know most tourist have money but there might some who come to Barbados with limited money, it is my duty and more importantly to respect other human person to be honest'. 

One of friends told me that he found £20 bills along the foot path he was treading. He was not sure as to what he should do this money for there wasn't any sign of anyone looking for it. He went straight to the police station to hand over the money. As he was handing it over, some said with faint voice, thanks a lot. The faint voice was of a poor milk man who would deliver milk door to door and collect the money on behalf of the milk firm. 

How many of us will be honest enough to give away things which don't belong to us? It is very hard question to answer. We might answer it positively or negatively depending on the circumstances. I am sure most of us have had several experiences of honesty by someone or ourselves. It is absolutely necessary to be honest because we might deprive our fellow humans of some significant need. St. Ambrose says, 'It is the hungry man's bread that you withhold, the naked man's cloak that you store away, the money that you bury in the earth is the price of the poor man's ransom and freedom'. It is quite natural for a human being to have a tendency to amass things even if one does not need it. It is necessary first of all to have our needs met, then the needs of the society can be catered to. Human beings are complex social and rational animals. Their reason might vary according to the situation in other words we might fit our reason to circumstances. We might not adhere to the universal reason of that particular circumstance we are in. In the same way the social aspect might vary according to the whims and fancies of an individual. Therefore honesty in human beings might vary in accordance with reason. It can be detrimental to replace humanity with reason. Thus resulting in individualistic ideologies which might govern oneself and the world. 

We are aware of the scams that are prevalent in the world today. Scams of different natures, cyber scam, money laundering, corruption etc. These scams emanate from lack of honesty and transparency. We as humans fail to see others as our brothers and sisters thus creating a void between honest and dishonest people. Dishonesty will be triumph but not for very long time. It is very evident when dishonesty is ruling the roost we see some people suffer because as St. Ambrose said, we actually grab from the lowly. 

I think honesty is innate and integral part of human nature but it is practised in so many ways. Honesty is a lovely virtue that all human should acquire.  

Animal in Children

Jeremy Bentham wrote; a full-grown horse or dog is beyond comparison a more rational, as well as a more conversable animal, than an infant of a day, or a week, or even a month, old. But suppose they were otherwise, what would it avail? The question is not, Can they reason? nor Can they talk? but, Can they suffer? Bentham is quite right in saying that animals can be more rational than a toddler. When I was walking down the busy streets of London, I realised that a child was absolutely irrational in saying to the mother lets walk on the road since its more clear. I am not sure whether child was being naughty but I think that is the hight of irrationality. 

A weird question swiped my mind which made me to ponder on the concept of animality in children. Can children be compared to animals? If rationality makes us distinct from animals, what about the irrational children? Are they animals? Children don't reason, walk, communicate or express (we might miss judge their expression, since their communication is limited). sometimes animals are much better of than children. For instance, swimming can be innate for animals whereas human have to develop the skill to swim. I think same with old people who are virtually inactive. Can we call them animals? In other words do they qualify to be animals since they don't have required qualities of a human person. 

I am not trying to think with Peter Singer's equality for animals but I would rather say that animals are just like humans; neither superior nor inferior. If we had an opportunity to go to the animal kingdom and make an enquiry, probably I think animals might consider humans as animals or even inferior to them. But unfortunately we cannot do that. But we can explore the possibilities. 

One of my friends told me, children cannot be named as animals rather can we coin a word to express that animality in children. I cannot think of any word but I am sure we need to make sure that children are distinct from human beings. It is not the only body that makes human person but the whole being makes a human person. Therefore, it is obvious that children are lovely little animals who in fact develop various skills as they grow.