WHEN MUMBAI BURNT..........REMEMBERING THE HEROES OF 26/11

26/11, a date remembered in infamy, forever etched into India’s consciousness. An attack so brazen, that a country was left reeling in shock for days afterwards. But amongst the chaos, there emerged stories of incredible heroism in the face of terror, where it proved that despite the best attempts of those who would seek to destroy it, the spirit and nobility of humanity would always shine through The more than ten coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai which began on 26 November 2008 are referred to as 26/11 on the lines of 9/11 that reminds of the attack on the Twin Towers in US. The attacks lasted until 29 November, killing at least 173 people and wounding at least 308. Eight of the attacks occurred in South Mumbai including at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital, the Orthodox Jewish-owned Nariman House, and the Metro Cinema. 

The whole country saw Taj burning, Kasab’s  footage at CST terminus ,brave hearts of India ranging from NSG to police forces ,an irresponsible coverage by media and the breach in intelligence where terrorists dared to attack us from front Remembering the heroes of 26/11 when Ajmal kasab is still alive in Indian jails 

Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, Ashok Kamte, Hemant Karkare, Vijay Salaskar, Arun Jadhav, Constable Ombale and many others. You were Heroes.. We shall never forget what you did for us till our last.... Salute to the lions!!!

“Do not come up, I will handle them", were the last words which Major Unnikrishnan told his men as he was hit by bullets while engaging well armed terrorists 

"But how then are we to remember
Those that have been torn from the fabric of our being
Those that we have come to so desperately miss
Often only once they have been taken from us?
How do we honor the ultimate sacrifice
How do we construct that eternal pedestal
Upon which our loved ones will stand,
In all of their splendor and magnificence......Sehar

A DAY TO REMEMBER..........CREATING SHARED VALUE FORUM 2012

“Life is not a matter of milestones but of moments”CSV FORUM2012 organized by FICCI and NESTLE was one such day and I had this pre realization when I got the invite for it .The whole idea of” Role of business in development” was an amazing one and the pragmatic shift from Corporate Social Responsibility to Creating shared value was felt at global level

The venue was superb, the nestle  staff were sweet enough to send a pen drive to furnish us with details of previous forums and yes the “the water blog &the water resources group” and “The moga story”

The pre event lunch was wow and yeah I donned a skirt for it J Janet Voute from Nestle explained us the way nestle was involved in CSV followed by Mr Sanjay Khajuria ,India head after which the spectators grilled him on various issues especially Maggi being a healthy snack or not for which the only thing that satisfied me was Janet’s statement ”We are not projecting Maggi as an apple and saying- a magi a day keeps a doctor away”

Amid the expert panels ,enlightening talks ,bullshit talks by politicians and representation from all walks of life I was sitting there as The CEO-NAARI and some superb topics were touched upon be it water crisis ,malnutrition ,rural development ,beyond philanthropy with budding social entrepreneurs ,social leaders ,business tycoons from all over the world sharing the stage

To talk about all the panel discussion would make the blog hell of lengthy but let me share with you some experiences that left me smiling:

POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA- Social media has reached upto exemplary heights today ,realized this when I met “Peter Blackshaw-the social media leader” and his team he is a complete sweetheart ,ready to absorb ideas, a wonderful person to discuss global changes and he asked “Is half of the India owned by tata???” I smiled –thought about the reach of tatas saw the taj hotel.mineral water bottle and even the table cloth which said”A TATA product” and I replied “Kind of” .Secondly the media section didn’t comprise of conventional journalists but the bloggers and twitter celebs from all over the world

MODESTY IS THE JEWEL OF ACHIEVERS- I met many delegates there be it from Thailand or the darling Ruth from Kenya who have achieved volumes of respect in the social sector and whoa they were so modest –sharing lunch, having coffee ,Ruth invited me to Kenya, hugged me and said “Blessings little girl ,you are doing a noble work” .The one who was brilliant among panelists was #Harish Hande ,CEO – SELCO who was the man of action because he had spent his prime in working at the grassroots explaining me the perfect financial management of vegetable vendors in villages ,you remain in awe of harish when you talk to him

The day ended with some new ideas, enlightened thoughts, many visiting cards ,enhanced contact list in phone and the most important thing-friends for life

These are the days when u can sit back and say to yourself that may be life is throwing up new challenges every other day, you managed to sustain yourself strong amid the tides and as I always say “when you do something for someone without any self intrest in return ,the heart felt blessings give you a larger return some day”……………Sehar

"“A sacrifice you make today 

Will never ever be gone
A sacrifice you make today 
Will soon be passed on

A sacrifice you make today 
Will stay in many hearts
A sacrifice you make today 
Help many play their parts

A sacrifice you make today 
Will never be forgotten
A sacrifice you make today 
Will never be mistaken

A sacrifice you make today 
May even change history
A sacrifice you make today 
May be kept in someone’s memory

A sacrifice you make today 
Might light someone’s day up
A sacrifice you make today "