FOR A HERO CALLED............MALALA YOUSAFZAI ,WHO STOOD AGAINST FRANKENSTEIN'S MONSTER

I haven’t been this angry in a long time. Maybe I’ve never been this angry. On October 9, 2012, Taliban militants stopped a school bus filled with girls returning home from school and asked for a girl named Malala Yousafzai. Malala is a 14 year old girl from the Swat Valley in Pakistan. From the age of 11 years old, she has been an activist demanding for her right to have an education. She was forced to do that because the Taliban had been taking over Swat and blowing up girls schools and committing other atrocities. Whoever resisted, they beat them, humiliated them, shot them, beheaded them, and then left their corpses out in the streets for everyone to see. Despite all of this, Malala had the strength and courage to fight back by learning wherever she could whether it was at school or at home. Last year she was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize and awarded Pakistan’s first National Youth Peace Prize by Yousaf Raza Gilani, the prime minister of Pakistan at that time.

So you can understand my horror and my fury when it was reported that these Taliban monsters hunted down a 14 year old girl and shot her simply because she wanted to go to school. Thankfully she is still alive and the bullet was retrieved when she underwent surgery, but she’s still fighting for her life. I’m amazed by her bravery and shocked that there are girls who are literally risking their lives just so they can read books and learn math. I doubt that many Americans think twice about how precious an education really is while riding their bus to school. I know I never did. I never had to fight for the right to learn because it was always a given in my life.

A Taliban spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, justified their actions by saying, “She has become a symbol of Western culture in the area; she was openly propagating it,” Mr. Ehsan said, adding that if she survived, the militants would certainly try to kill her again. “Let this be a lesson.”

All day I’ve been cursing in my head at these disgusting creatures who dare to call themselves men. No, they’re not even human. I hate them. I actually hate them. Who does shit like this, let alone justifies it? And I’m even more frustrated at the fact that I feel completely helpless. For everything that the Taliban has done, for all the lives they have destroyed…I hope they get what’s coming to them. Something far worse than death. I thought I would only read about such brutality in history books, not the news.

Please read and watch this video by Adam B. Ellick and Irfan Ashraf about Malala and her father Ziauddin, who is a schoolteacher and a huge advocate for girls’

- My ‘Small Video Star’ Fights for Her Life

    By-lena sharef   

Some think bravery is living without fear
But that is not true
Bravery is living despite the fear
And doing what needs to be done
Even though you’re scared to death
Some can stand on the sidelines of life
And be content with what could have been but never was

That is not me
I will not look back at the end of my life
Thinking of what could have been
I vow to live my dreams no matter what
I will stand up and be counted
Even when I’m one of the few or standing all by myself
I will proudly state before God and all who see
This is who I am and what I want to be..............sehar

Sisters by blood...Friends for life

sisters are..

clothes borrowers

fit throwers

cover stealers

secret keepers

an enemy, a friend,

a conversation without end,

sassy,bossy,silly,fussy

pretty and sweet

tea partys with treats

dress up, mess up, fess up, get punished,

fights over nothing, sharer of dreams

a headache, a pain, she gets spoiled again,

a princess, a brat, she ruined my hat,

i love her, i miss her, i tease her, i kiss her,

she is my family and that means more to me

what would i do without her?

INDO CHINA WAR.......50 years ,jara yaad unhe bhi kar lo jo laut ke ghar na aaye

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Indo -China War:Excuses have been thrown into what actually went wrong-non violence,hindi -chini bhai bhai blind trust,fingers have been pointed at the then P.M Jawaharlal Nehru, Defence mininster Krishna Menon and Lt. Gen.B N Kaul 

One of the bitter ironies of life is that greatest acts of heroism and valour mostly happen when the odds are hopeless and death and defeat inevitable. Throughout history nations have always glorified such episodes in their ballads and poems, by honouring the heroes and commemorating the event. It is the common perception of these few and far in between episodes in a people's history that forge a sense of nationhood. Why else would we celebrate the deaths of a Prithviraj Chauhan or a Tipu Sultan? Or a Porus or a Shivaji who battled great armies with little more than a handful of brave comrades and immense courage? Of course we rejoice in the triumphs of an Ashoka or Chandragupta or even an Akbar but that is about greatness and not heroism. Even if it is true that the end of history is at hand, we can be sure that the annals of heroism will never cease being written. However endless these may be, the heroic stand of 'C' Company of the 13 Kumaon at Rezang La on 18 November 1962 will always be among the more glorious chapters.

The monument that stands at Chushul asks, "How can a Man die Better than facing Fearful Odds, For the Ashes of His Fathers and the Temples of His Gods."

The 1962 Chinese invasion is a tragic watershed in the military history of India. It exposed an inept Indian state both militarily and politically. But for most of the war, the fighting qualities of the Indian jawan and the young officers remained unchanged.

Indians have been conditioned to believe that we had not a ghost of a chance against China in 1962; but that's simply not true. If the Indian government had not been so blasé; if the military leadership had not been so ineffectual; if the Indian Air Force had not been grounded, ill-advisedly; well, all historic ifs, but the outcome would have been very different. China's army is a lot less than invincible, as the battle-hardened Vietnamese proved by thrashing it in 1979.

Even the timing was propitious for India, yet we fumbled.

And lets salute the martyrs who in spite of being less equipped gave the ultimate sacrifice to the nation and never gave a second thought before laying down their lives in spine chilling cold of himalayan war of 1962.......a video which truly depicts the spirit 

STAY HUNGRY ,STAY FOOLISH..................STAY MISSED:Steve Jobs

One year after losing its visionary co-founder, tech giant Apple Inc. on Friday night (Manila time) marked the first death anniversary of Steve Jobs with an emotional video tribute only viewable on its home page.

 

Visitors to Apple's website (www.apple.com) were greeted with a QuickTime video lasting nearly two 

minutes, featuring images and quotes of Jobs

If we had a dollar for every time we've heard or read, "Steve Jobs never would have ..." (fill in the blank) in the past year, we might be able to afford a share of Apple stock. Maybe two.

.

In the year since the company's co-founder died, his name has never been invoked so often by so many who think they know what Jobs would or wouldn't do or approve, from releasing a not-fully-baked Apple Maps app towaiting six weeks to patch a large security hole. The practice is almost as arrogant and self-righteous as Jobs was. But it keeps his name alive, as if he's still part of the conversation. 

And he is. Our fascination with the man described as a modern-day Thomas Edison by New Yorker writer Ken Auletta has not ebbed; if anything, it's grown larger with his passing, all too soon, at the age of 56 when the whole world was stunned for he was a leader who made a company with passion,brute force into world's most powerful technology firm and the way his 'Think Different" ad changed the whole idea of ad world so were his i-products

STEVE JOBS (1955-2011) -you would always be missed not only on the day of your death anniversary but every time when a person dares to dream,to run an idea that is termed crazy,to challenging the norms and to create the world a beautiful place.......an igrateful generation says imiss to you

"Remembering that i will be dead soon is the most important tool i have ever encountered in my life to help me make big choices in life ,because almost everything-all pride,all fears stay flat in the face of death leaving only what is truly important........STAY HUNGRY ,STAY FOOLISH"

The great Indian tamasha called "ARRANGED MARRIAGE"

The whole procedure of finding a perfect match for the son/daughter who have attained the so called marriageable age is amusing.Suddenly sprung up a whole new species called"Shadiraam Gharjode" who drop by every Sunday ,suggest some "potential candidates "over heavy breakfast and two rounds of "Adrak waali Chai"  and make your parents guilty of the fact that their daughter is still not married and when this phase ends then starts the real torture-Matrimonial sites :profiles,calls asking "Ladki ka color fair to hoga na,jyada healthy to nahi,koi past wagairah ho to bate de"and ofcourse the compatibility acquires a different parameters; aajkal B.E.+MBA ki demand jyada hai technical match ban jata hai (Give me a break dude ,are you planning to discuss circuits all through your life) .When naadi,gotra,profession,dowry,family status are matched then they come down to taking the opinions of the future bride and groom 

Why does this institution of arranged marriage survive in India in this day and age? the India i am talking about is of educated middle class where the incidence of arranged marriages are not only high but also considered as a legitimate way of finding a mate The answer lies partly in the elasticity of this institutions and indeed most traditional customs that allows it to expand its definition to accommodate modernity so today's arranged marriages places individual's will at center and parents assume a role where their one hand is raised for blessing and other immersed in wallet
the arrangement in arranged is clearly a manufactured one sometimes taking some pseudo forms like a blind date,online meet ups, the reality swayamvar type shows all aim to let one meet a potential spouse Here the idea of love is not so gently manufactured by contriving a spark or overflow of hormones but rather a well planned robbery 
In the west the idea of marriage has a notion that starts when one proposes and the other can withhold it for an indefinite period of time So we have marriage as a mirage that shimmers frequently but materializes rarely but imagine the same ,when venues and the day of Roka has been fixed and even which car is to be given as a gift can a girl think over the proposal?
At a more fundamental level Marriage is only significant relationship that we enter by choice.....(hmm..or maybe we think so) we live in a sticky collective environment where individuality remains blurred when "A young saraswat ,handsome boy earning five figure salary"remains sufficient and of course the space for substitution always persists

In an era where future and security hold more promise than present arranged marriages continue to hold their charm .Whether choked int radition or cloaked with modernity this institution of arranged marriage needs some serious help because sustenance of a long term marriage brings along with it a personal growth

" Wasn't marriage, like life, unstimulating and unprofitable and somewhat empty when too well ordered and protected and guarded? Wasn't it finer, more splendid, more nourishing, when it was, like life itself, a mixture of the sordid and magnificent; of mud and stars; of earth and flowers; of love and hate and laughter and tears and ugliness and beauty and hurt?"

BARFI.....PYAR KE SIKKO SE CHAL BANAYE ASHIYAN

  

Barfi - when words seem so useless ,when eyes do 

the wonder ;they reflect jealousy,love,attraction 

pity,sympathy,hatred, despair,helplessness !it took 

me back to the time when on Saturday evenings I

used to visit Prayas ; A home for mentally challanged 

unwanted kids in bhilai (some newspapers claiming 

that its a motivation behind 'Barfi' as Subrata Bose 

was closely associated with it ) Dealing with some of 

the personal problems in life those two hours at 

prayas gave me solace ! Kids playing,dancing 

,drawing made u forget the "Normal " in your 

existence ! One fine day I was told that a girl named 

khushi was crying n pushing everyone back as she 

attained puberty and was going through a biological process where she needed her mother to explain her the changes ! I tried to explain her but all in vain ,she just kept her head on my lap n cried ,cried ,slept ! Back home I could not sleep ,went to sleep with mom n dad ,I hugged them and thought I was so fortunate to have them in life and then cursed god ,cursed him that if u have not given them the ability to think,to understand then why gave them emotions ,the harmones ,the biological features ,what if they love someone ,how would they express it ! And whoa "Barfi" answered my questions ;the two scenes when Ranbir kapoor is heartbroken and through his hands n eyes says it all(you carry the legacy of Raj Kapoor from jaagte raho man) ,Second when Priyanka Chopra covers him with her hands to say to Ileana that he is mine ,stay away are just picture perfect !watch Barfi for a beautiful locales of drajeeling ,for the kolkata of 70s , for the uncomplicated life when we were not socialy networked ,for a person who does not need some so called abilities to be happy ,for the selfless love without blood relations ,for some of the lovely songs ! Barfi gives us a message that a love which does not end in a happy ending is not a lost one ,for love is above the physical intimacy of "50 shades of grey" its pure like a morning dew .its like falling in love all over again ,"pyaar ke sikkon se chal banyein ashiyaan..................................................sehar"

Have you ever been in love

With someone you can never have?
So close you can touch her hand
Yet, so far to feel her heart?

Have you ever lived in pretense
Quietly loving without any condition?
A feeling of love that's unknown
Hiding it, not knowing for how long.

Have you ever fallen deeply
Loving the person unconditionally?
So afraid to say what you feel
Acting normal, keeping things still.

Have you ever been hurt unintentionally
But put on a smile, pretended to be happy?
Deep inside you're in pain and suffering
But outside you're jolly and laughing.

Why does holding her hand feel so right?
Your heart smiles everytime she's at sight
Hearing her sweet voice makes your day
Hope you can hug her in a special way.

A naked Harry, apolegetic Kristen and Obama's beer -A new face of globalisation

Welcome to this new age of 24*7 news channels and over competitive print media feeding us with news every single day which makes me wonder ,do we really need to know such details?  Indian media has been recognized as sensitive, patriotic and a very influential tool in the sociopolitical sphere since the days of the freedom movement. The father of the Indian nation Mahatma Gandhi initiated his movement with the moral power of active journalism. Today, India with its over a billion population supports nearly 70,000 registered newspapers and over 450 Television channels (including some 24x7 news channels). The Indian media, as a whole, often plays the role of constructive opposition in the Parliament as well as in various Legislative Assemblies of the states.  Journalists are, by and large, honored and accepted as the moral guide in the Indian society. For democratic India, the media continues to be acclaimed as the fourth important pillar after the judiciary, parliament and bureaucratic set-up.

Unfortunately what we are being fed up today is : A prince known for his adventurous tactics  celebrates his birthday in Las Vegas style and for the whole month we had this same news , A celebrity girlfriend issues a public apology to his guy and helloz we even have editorials over it ,White House issues the recipe of beer and why are we going ga-ga over it?

Ok i confess,they are fun to read but then daily? Don't we have bigger issues back home and more humanitarian issues at international level too  - the public money is spent in scams,a dwindling economy ,Unemployment ,A war torn Syria ,Food crisis in Sub Saharan countries

"The one function that TV news performs very well is that when there is no news we give it to you with the same emphasis as if there were.  ~David Brinkley"

"Journalism largely consists in saying "Lord Jones is dead" to people who never knew Lord Jones was alive.  ~G.K. Chesterton" 

Happy Reading ....................Sehar