I watched the movie "Madras Cafe" some days back and can't help but think about what is said in the beginning of the movie that innocent civilians get killed, whatever the conflict may be or between whomever it may be...I have always thought about this so many times just like so many others...Everybody has a right to live a peaceful life. I wish there was a way to prevent injustices.

The worst affected are always women and children. They pay a heavy price for no fault of theirs when there is a conflict or war. It is heartbreaking to hear how much they suffer and the way they are tortured for even not taking sides. In a conflict , both sides are unfair in attacking innocent and vulnerable people just because they happen to be on opposite sides. But life chooses it to be this way and in history and till date so many have suffered so much for no reason at all. My heart reaches out to those suffering in political conflicts and wars. War crimes are the worst and we can't even begin to imagine the crimes committed against human beings in the name of power and ideology. In political conflicts as well as riots or racial attacks, the lives of people change drastically because they are placed somewhere at the wrong time and wrong place by destiny. Nobody can actually do much to really help them or immediately prevent attacks against them because unfortunately they happen to be present at a place where human beings have lost their sense of humanity, decency and sensitivity in the name of hatred and war. In the name of war, where there is loss of humanity, there is rise of darkness in the minds and hearts of ordinary people. It seems as if at that time , the forces of darkness and evil take over the minds of human beings...

Nobody wants conflict or war but sometimes there is no other option left when one is attacked. Then the only option left is to protect and defend oneself and all that you hold dear. I wish there was world peace but that will remain to be just a dream as wars can never end in the world we live in.Yet I pray and dream for a world where peace resides... In saying that I may be labelled as a dreamer but I 'm not the only one. 

Sometimes everything comes at the same time in your life...and you wonder how to deal with them all at once and which emotions to address first. Almost all of us may be familiar with this place in our lives. At such times one needs to keep one's focus to concentrate on what is at hand and to deal with it in the best way possible. Meditation and prayers help the most at such times. It gives you certain amount of peace and strength to rely on. Sharing your problems with your friends also helps. One has no choice but to be strong enough to face these sudden uncalled interruptions in your life. No choice but to be strong ! When the Going gets Tough the Tough get Going !

Yet another news of someone going through so much of pain as they will lose their loved one very soon....Just the though of losing someone close to you in life is frightening enough and it must be all the more so very devastating for the people who get the dark news that their loved one is going to part from them soon. Life is so short ! And we still take life for granted every time thinking that everything is going to remain the same as ever and that our lives will remain untouched...Life is so unfair when it tears apart an important part of your life from you. I just heard some sad news about a friend's mother and my heart is filled with deep sadness and pain ...The family must be severely anguished to know that anytime soon, the person close to them will leave them forever...Nothing can ever prepare you to accept such a loss.

There are never any answers or closures in that respect as life may take away as is the norm but the heart will refuse to let go...The person lives in your heart even if lost to you in life. The person lives in your memories even though not there to create new memories...The biggest loss in life is the loss of human life, the loss of someone you love as you never recover from it whatever people may say. Such a loss makes you grieve silently all your life specially when you try to find the impressions of that person in every moment of your life and miss their presence. The permanent absence of someone you hold dear is the hardest loss that someone can endure and what is more difficult is to be told to continue living without that person. I have often seen how the people left behind suffer so much and my heart reaches out for them.

Yes everyone is fighting their own battles everyday in life but the toughest battle is to fight the loneliness and emptiness left behind by the person you have lost to life...Kal Ho Na Ho...There may be no tomorrow...So it is very important to keep reminding ourselves to live our life to it's fullest everyday in life...It is so required to live every moment with love and happiness and yet we often forget that and start taking life for granted. Life is so fragile ! Life is so uncertain and yet we keep making plans thinking that we will live forever when life may cheat us anytime. The best thing to do would be to live for the moment and live in the moment. Life is escaping from us every second and we should actually make the most of it  in the time we have with  each other though that will never be enough...
http://nickiworldtranscendingcultures.blogspot.in/2011/02/autumn-of-life-there-comes-time-of-pain.html

One Right

I always stand up for what I believe in and what is right even if it means standing alone...In life standing up for your rights is never easy but it is very important to embark on this Long and difficult path to enforce and protect your individual and consumer rights.We all must be aware of our rights.In exercising our rights are we truly free individuals.

Everyone has certain rights but we are usually not informed about them or do not exercise them. We have a right to be heard...and we must never forget that. There is One Right for All and None should be discriminated. One has the right to question and a right to information.

When there is a will there is a way. When you stand up for your rights and for others , somebody will listen to you sooner or later. Your voice will be heard ! But for that you have to speak out ! Silence can sometimes be mistaken as weakness or indifference. Always know your rights and request for those rights to be implemented but if they are not then demand that justice be served through proper channels.

Always stand up for your rights...

One Right

Getting things easily & b4 time

When you get something too fast or easily  and before time,it can be dangerous ...Then most of the times some lose the value of people, things and all that they stand for in terms of principles as they feel they have access to anything at anytime without paying a price in terms of money and time. Then values, morals and intelligence are lost as the person can't handle too much of success or money at once.

 One has to be mature and wise enough to differentiate between right and wrong and appreciate what you have. Also one has to have the strength to resist peer pressure.

Maturity comes with age or experience...The young generation today in every country wants quick success at a very early age without really going through the efforts and hurdles to achieve it. Anything that can give them a quick trip to money and success becomes very attractive. Well they forget that All that glitters is not gold and often the short path to anything may be deceiving. But they get misled anyway. We are living in a age where people can easily acquire just about everything instantly without having to wait for it through EMIs and loans. Credit Cards attract you to buy things right away and you start living outside your budget and daily lifestyle. But getting something so easily can prove to be dangerous as a person then starts taking things for granted and a person deviates to the wrong side of life too. At times getting something too quickly and easily can make a person get easily bored with it as well and then there are hardly any things left to dream of achieving. The beauty of dreaming about something and working hard to receive it loses it's relevance.

It is so important to monitor the younger generation tactfully and not allow them too much of financial freedom  by controlling their pocket money to some extent. Or they should be some sort of supervision to ensure that they are spending their money on the right things. These days parents give a lot of money to their children without actually teaching them how to spend it wisely . If you are giving them financial freedom at a very early age, it is necessary to teach them the value of money as well. It is often said that the long and difficult path is usually the right one to choose. Sometimes the long wait to attain something teaches kids the real value of what they have. It teaches them to be patient. Everything is earned in life be it money, respect or love. They have to be worthy of receiving it...Kids have to be worthy of receiving financial freedom from their parents at an early age by demonstrating that they can be trusted to utilize that freedom correctly.

"Should never give up your true identity and roots. Culture and Tradition are the robes that clothe a person's identity."

                                               -Simrit

Cultural Sensitivity/ Cultural Awareness & Religious Tolerance

Cultural awareness and Cultural sensitivity between different faiths is important. Lack of understanding and lack of respect for each other's faiths and cultures can cause tensions and riots. Major cause is intolerance...There is no sense in education if we can't teach our children to be culturally and religiously tolerant. It is alright to co-exist with differences in faith and religion.The rising racial attacks everywhere calls for concern and it stems purely out of lack tolerance and biased attitude.Lack of mutual respect of each other's way of life and thought process divides people.

Perhaps lack of employment is the source of it too as people tend to get exploited then as they lose focus and direction in life. Ideal mind is a Devil's workshop as the saying goes...The deprivation of proper knowledge also may be the root cause. Some people fear what they do not understand and they attack it to feel less intimidated... I feel there should be Cultural Acceptance and people should not react harshly to Cultural Differences and Cultural Shocks. According to me, if your good values and education are strong, you cannot really deviate from it and you will not cause harm to others and will not attack each other in the name of hatred and religious intolerance. There are ways to deal with differences by getting to know each other to enhance your knowledge.  This is a never ending discussion but all I can say like always is that it is up to us what we teach our children as responsible adults.

The teachers have to take  responsibility in creating cultural awareness and respect for differences in faiths amongst children and parents have to support teachers. Whatever the students are taught at schools will only have deep impact when it is followed at home as well. In Mie as a JET Programme Teacher my task was to create cultural awareness besides teaching English. At times it was challenging but in the end I always managed to awaken cultural sensitivity amongst the community there specially by adapting myself to their culture as well. You have to practice what you preach...I am confident that my students would grow to become responsible and culturally aware adults. I am sure that they will demonstrate cultural sensitivity and empathy and will adapt easily to the differences in people and foreign cultures.

In the International School in Tokyo (JIS and now AJIS) we were taught to be culturally tolerant. If some students were not culturally sensitive, some others including me would try to motivate them to be tolerant. "Empathy" was one of the subjects taught at school then on Saturdays. In India we have a subject called " Moral Science" in Convent Schools which too helps students to take the positive path in life. In fact our mythological stories and epics also stress on good values and morals if understood correctly and interpreted accurately.

As it is, whatever some may think India is basically religiously tolerant as various cultures,traditions and faiths mingle and live together despite their differences. We believe that there is Unity in Diversity. We colour ourselves in each other's sentiments and faiths like our Festival of Colours (Holi) denotes..We celebrate and respect all festivals or take part in each other's festivities. It is alright to follow your Faith with sincerity and completely as long as you respect the Faith of others as well. One has a right to defend and protect oneself and One's identity but it is not required to threaten the faith of others to preserve and promote your faith as that only reveals your own insecurity. The initiation of any kind of hate crimes should not be tolerated anywhere and we should condemn it. We should honour each other's cultures. We may not be able to get the entire world to cure itself from the everlasting illness of religious intolerance and hatred as well as racial discrimination but we could take the first step in making visible attempts to eradicate it...starting from home. We have to bridge the psychological distance between Individuals, Communities and Nations.

Different Strokes- WE ARE THE WORLD