Blissful Life

Year: 2009

  • Seven Simple Steps to Save Earth

    The aim of Earth Hour and similar movements is to reduce energy usage. This can be possible only with us changing our ways. We can

    1. Walk: Has to go to the shop? Walk.
      Or if you have something to carry, use your cycle. No cycle? Buy one. It gives you exercise. It gives earth oxygen.
      Walk from your work to home. You can’t walk to work in the morning, it sweats you. So, in the morning, use a bus or jeep. But come back walking. In the beginning it is difficult. But as your leg muscle improves walking can be fun.
      (If you are young, you can run for a difference. I am doing this for the last 15 months, and last year I won 4 medals in the school athletics meet)
    2. Read: Read as a hobby. Read for pleasure. You can substitute TV, music, films and computer games with books. And what more, unlike films, you can imagine novels as you wish to.
    3. Switch off:
      Lights and fans when not in use, when unnecessarily used.
      If you have a habit of sleeping with the fan on, kick it. While in bed, Switch off the fan. Open the windows. Don’t drape yourself in a blanket or sheet. Think of something else, and not about fan.
    4. Computer: Learn standby mode and hibernating mode. Put into standby when you drink tea. Hibernate when eating lunch.
    5. Cook less, eat row: Food materials have the highest nutritional value when they are consumed fresh. So, don’t cook. Just eat row things which can possibly be eaten row. (Vegetables – pea, carrot, cucumber, tomato, lady’s finger; all fruits; pulses – germinating grams). Drink water instead of tea or coffee.
    6. Talk less: Energy of any kind is energy. So, the chemical energy in your body stored in the form of ATP molecules is also something that must be conserved.
      Talk little, move little, think little.
      Save energy for your activities, eat less, cook less, conserve.
    7. Support others: If you can’t do any of these for yourself, just encourage others those who are doing. Thus they continue and onlookers start doing these. Support movements like Earth Hour.

    Think. Act. Live.

  • 7 Things to do During the Holidays

    If wisely used the summer vacation can be the most productive time of an year. But it is equally possible and easy to be wasted.
    Here are some things you must do this summer:

    1. Read: The right time to read is when you have time, and now, you have only it. Do not waste a day. Collect as many books as you can, on different topics and start reading straight away. The variety of topics will make sure that you don’t get bored. Download some e-books if you don’t have many hardbacks in your shelf. (Here are some sites that offer these). Even blogs will do. But take care of language when you read too many blogs.

    2. Exercise: The most desirable, yet least acquired habit on earth is exercising. And one of the reasons why you don’t start is that you are running too late for school. But come holidays, there is no late-going.
    3. Wake up: If you are going to exercise, you should wake up early too. Sleep early. Wake up early. Do some breathing. Meditation. Then when the sun rises, get out. Go jogging or walking if you are too aged for the other. Warm down. Play badminton with your father or brother.
    4. Blogging: If you haven’t already started, start a blog. If you are already into it, find a new design for your blog, or organize the posts into categories.
    5. Learn something new: Guitar, violin, keyboard, chess, cards, cooking, driving, …
    6. Socialize: Go get a membership in your nearest library. Even if you don’t read books, you can talk. And of course you will get many new friends. Or join some service groups. Send mails to your old friends. Keep in touch.
    7. Follow my blog (and others’ too): It’s a small thing. Just a few clicks and you are following somebody’s blog. But for them, that is a huge incentive. Don’t think you will be bombarded with posts. I am following at least 134 blogs. Still there are only about 5-10 posts coming per day.

    Do tell how many of these you are going to do

  • How to Increase the Number of People who Read your Blog

    There have been numerous articles based on this theme. But, let me discuss some points which have clicked for me.

    1. Tell your friends: If there are any people on earth who would be ready to read your blog at any day, any time whatever your topic is, those will be your friends. Tell out all your friends, that you’ve started something.
    2. Comment on others: There are fellow bloggers, who have more readers. Read their articles, comment intelligently. If others feel that your comment was wise, they will want to know about you.
    3. Profile: So you have people visiting your profile. How do you make them read your blog? Make your blogger profile the most attractive thing they will ever find from you. And also try to include direct links to your best posts in your profile itself. (See my profile)
    4. Socialize: Orkut, Facebook, Twitter… Why should they exist if they can’t promote your blog?
    5. Internal links: Have links to your own blog in your own blog. So, if a reader reads one of your posts, you should make him read 5 other similar posts too.
    6. Give and take: You follow others, they follow you. (Note:This haven’t worked for me yet)
    7. Organize: Whenever a user lands on your blog, make sure that he will get what he wants in a single click if possible.
    8. Bandwidth: Pictures, videos, flash, sounds… All seem fantastic. But think about your poor readers too.
    9. Layout: Have a layout that does not kill the eye.
    10. Quality content, regularly: Lastly, without quality content, you can never keep up. Also, the frequency is important. People prefer one post per day of medium quality posts than posts coming once in a blue moon. Also make sure that you make your reader an addict of your blog. Every day he gets one post, one day he doesn’t, he asks you.

  • Do You Love Your Nation or Fear Her?

    This post was produced by the instant sense of non-sense when I read the news that Sashi Tharoor was summoned by a court for ‘insulting’ national anthem.

    Tharoor, after delivering the Hormis memorial lecture in Kochi in December last year, interrupted the national anthem, urging the audience to place the palm over the heart as people do in US instead of the Indian practice of standing in attention.”

    When the national anthem of teams are sung before international soccer games I have always observed (some) players keeping their hands on their chests, right above the heart. Think from the player’s perspective:

    I am going to play for my country. The whole nation is watching me. I want to win this and I want to win this for my country. Ah! My country. You who stood strong even when reeling under pressure from foreign power. You mighty ocean who have given me everything I wanted and made me what I am. I dedicate my life to you.”

    Now, should this come from mouth or heart? No doubt, right?

    Now let us come to India. I have felt it so often that Indians pay huge respect to their national anthem, also national flag, and other national things. It IS due to the unnecessary importance they were given, in the constitution. Respect brings only fear. It do not bring love. If you love your mother, you will not respect her. You will obey her, but you will earnestly try not to. True love and true respect do not go together.
    So, if you are showing too much respect to any of the national symbols or your nation, you can’t love her.

    Not that I am a huge fan of Obama. But he and his nation is so adorable in every field that I can’t stop mentioning. The day before Obama was sworn in as the President of The United States Of America (How prestigious does it sound?), there was a celebration. Famous actors, singers, comedians, musicians, dancers, everyone staged wonderful performance to fill the waiting nation with happiness. There was a huge crowd and I still remember one line of what the commentators said during the show:

    I have seen even larger crowds, but I have never seen so many smiling faces”

    The message is clear. People are so happy with their new president that they are wishing everyone good morning with 3 inch wide smiles. And of course there were stars and stripes being waved everywhere. People and president and what he represents, the nation – so friendly.

    Can Indians ever dream of such a day?
    Of course we have Independence Day, Republic Day, and Gandhi Jayanthi.
    But what happens in Independence Day or Republic Day? Children go to school and speak on why we should remember the past leaders and their sacrifices. All government offices hoist the national flag (which unto that day would’ve been dusting off in the cupboard of the clerk). Police and Army do parades. And not to forget the grand displays at Delhi.

    But I love Gandhi Jayanthi more, because, that day, there is no parade. But, there is activity going around everywhere. People feel more united than ever. And most probably they will find themselves together trying to pull of a strong rooted weed. I don’t know why. But I like to go school on October the second rather than on August 15th or January 26th. May be because I love creativity more than protocol, or I love celebrating more than witnessing. But I love Gandhi Jayanthi.

    Now, that brings us back to the question. Do we love our nation or fear her? Why can’t we walk forth everyday with the tricolour? Why can’t we sing national anthem lying on the bed with utmost love towards the nation in our mind? Why can’t we just love our nation and get rid off all these unnecessary codes?

    Example: we need to stand in attention during National Anthem and nothing else. So Sashi Tharoor is called up by the court. Right that he should not have urged the people to imitate him, but can we say that he shouldn’t have kept his palm on his chest? Is it an insult to the national anthem or greater love to the nation. And more; if Tharoor is punished then another popular person too must be – Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. I have seen him several times, during national anthem not in attention, but with his hands before his body like a nude man covering his private parts. Does he not deserve higher punishment that Tharoor deserves? Answer: To be punished is neither of them, but the man who framed the laws regarding the use of national flag, anthem, etc.

    Love, expressed in any form is love itself.

    So the final question is
    What do we need – a billion salutes or a billion kisses?

    Note: If you are going to comment like “So, we can jump up and down the next time we hear national anthem”, you needn’t please do so.

  • അടുക്കള കഥ പറയുമ്പോള്‍…..: കപ്പലില്‍ തന്നെയുള്ള ശത്രുക്കളെ തിരിച്ചറിയുക!!!!!

    എല്ലാ സ്ത്രീകളും വായിച്ചിരിക്കേണ്ട ഒരു ലേഖനം

  • I recommend rashtrachetana.com – Inspiring Stories

    rashtrachetana.com • View topic – Inspiring Stories

    There is much more in this site

  • X Party: “Y and Z are bad. Elect us”

    Ever since Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswamy declared election schedule, I have only seen politicians criticizing other parties. And most of these are about past things, about past leaders who are not even competing elections this time, or about things that happened elsewhere away from the constituency from which that particular politician is competing.

    The thing to note is that they are not talking about future. They are talking about past. They are telling about what their predecessors did in their party.
    What the people of other parties did in their past. How corrupt the opponents are. How they are communally dividing people. How they will be harmful to the people.

    Do we need to hear these? Past can influence the present or future only as much as a starting trouble can break down a car during the middle of its journey.

    Then, why should we pay heed to these words? Why can’t they make promises? Because they know they can’t keep them? May be.

    US President Mr. Barack Obama made 895 promises during his campaign journey. (click here to access an 8 MB excel file that lists these) And he is moving to fulfilling each one of them.

    Why can’t any Indian politicians be so bold? May be there are some who do make and keep promises. Yet there are no great expectations from anybody. Why? I don’t know. I am in no position to answer. But I know only one thing:

    Should there be an Indian Obama a very talented someone with a ready to die attitude (politics is physically injurious; but talented people find other much safer jobs) must enter politics.
    Or an alternative is to make all the political parties internally democratic, which is now difficult to be implemented with the current set of leaders wanting every bit of power.

    I think I should write about the need of internal democracy in another post.

  • Making the Best Out of Poverty

    There are a lot of poor in India. Instead of seeing them as liabilities, can’t we possibly convert them into potential reserves?

    How?

    This may seem a little bit absurd. But consider:

    Kids among the needy are kids like us.
    They are also born with the same intellectual capabilities as we are.
    They can learn things as fast as we do.

    Let us provide them with free education, under one condition, that when they grow up they will work for us. Free education of high quality may be costly.
    But, if we take that risk and sow those seeds. In the future we may end up with a bunch of highly talented and ready to work professionals. They can be put under jobs that require skill.

    To sum up, my idea is that the poor becomes a liability only when they are unskilled because unskilled labour is cheap, and difficult to obtain. But when they become skilled they are more valuable than assets. The only problem is that there is a slight risk.

    Related posts:

  • The Miscellaneous Page

    All that couldn’t fit anywhere else sleeps here

    Google
    Custom Search

  • In the Spotlight – Archive

    Everything that appeared in the “In the Spotlight” section of this blog, will appear here.