Reader of Good Things !

Of course  , title of this blog is inspired from   “God Of Small things “  by Arundhati Roy (?) . However it has no resemblance to the negativity and cynicism   generally associated with her writings (or my writings too   ??  Though   , I am in  no miniscule way comparable to her astounding literary prowess).

I have been reading a lot  lately   (2 Ls and the tune)  .  Sorry , if you get any inclinations to associate me with  reading    books of  Marxism  ,  works of Great Capitalists ,  Big Volumes of gifted writers and poets ,  Success stories of  great achievers  or  publicity stunts of  writers like  Faken Sagats ,   You are wrong  !   I read simple things ,  I write simple things  .

I do so,  because   simple things make great sense to me.  I find a lot of comfort in relating   myself to ordinary events , ordinary people and modest  achievers .   Not that, I am afraid   to  achieve ,  scared to learn or too lazy  to innovate , it is just that I can derive ( and I believe many of us can ) great strength from small stories . The goodness (or GODness!) of such stories is that, they are not manipulated, they happen without a plan , they happen because the pall bearers of the stories happen to be the  best of human beings .  Such Human Beings create stories and events which are good .I like to read such stories  , I am interested in such events . I am a reader of Good things   !

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 Now that I have expressed myself well enough (ha ha ha  – attempt at controlled executive   laughter ;-> ) ,  I wish to share with you some Small Events and stories , I have read  , heard or observed . Sources of these stories are quite common:   Internet Blogs  , News Papers , Friends blabbering Mouths - My Sincere ears ,  Keen observations  and a desire to write a blog !!

I will not entertain you much ,  I have 5 such Good Things to share with you for now , If you want to read more , please start reading and searching yourself  J

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EVENT ONE  :   Charlie’s   an Angel !   

                     ….. From Internet (The Daily Mirror UK)

  A seven year old British Boy Charlie Simpson has raised £85,000 for earthquake victims in Haiti in just one day.

  “ I think it was quite sad when I saw the pictures on the TV” – a quote on his mothers newly created web  “ JustGiving page “.

What started as  an intial hope of raising 500 pounds for Unicef’s Haiti appeal ,  to be achieved by pedaling five miles  with his Dad ,  round South Park , near his home in Fulham ,West London has turned into a  unique fund raiser .

You want to know how it started ? -  Charlie was really upset by the pictures on TV .He actually burst into tears .He sat on his mothers lap and they had a chat about things which could be done ! and …..  Are You feeling GOOD ?

EVENT TWO   :   National Innovation Foundation -Doing wonders !

                               ….. From  Indiatimes.com

National innovation Fund has mobilized more than 1,40,000 innovations and traditional knowledge practices from over 545 districts of India   ! 

This Unexpected overhaul is inspite of the fact that In a country like India which is on a path of becoming “ Knowledge Economy “ , the poor are not given due recognition for their knowledge and skills .   The common Man and the civic society have a pivotal role to play if India were to become an inventive and creative society and a global leader in sustainable technologies by scouting and sustaining grassroots innovations .

Mr. Anil Gupta , a professor at  IIM Ahemdabad , has been relentlessly working (along with NIF) to get recognition ,respect and rewards for grassroots inventors and innovators.

He says  and I Quote :   “The Mind at the margin is not the marginal mind . It is essential to generate hope at the top of the ethical and innovation pyramid “  .   

That was inspiring , wasn’t it ?  Feeling Good   ?

EVENT THREE  :      Parthmesh  Gets 7th  Rank in unit test3

                    .. Unit Test 3 ,Result Sheet ,Grade 3 , a PMC school in Pune !

Reading the title   of the  event  might have left you  wondering at  the range & scale  of my “ good things “ .    I Will not leave it to your interpretation  , I Will try to explain it .

Prathmesh Sunil More , a 8 year old boy to a single working mother who  used to be rank 27 , in a class of 27 , eight months back , has scored  7^{th  rank}  in his class .

Background ……..

Prathmesh used have  a writing speed  of 2 words per hour (I am not exaggerating ), a reading speed of  3 words per 5 minutes , a vocab of 30 words …..Prathmesh has to spend  8 hours absolutely alone at home (12.30 PM -8.30 PM) ,  Prathmesh has exactly 2 friends:   a Non Speaking Cat and a Doting Mother … .Prathmesh Stammers …and sometimes he is violent .

Fast Forward……

Prathmesh writes   1 word per minute , reads a 10 line poem in 6 minutes , a vocab of around 100 words ..and so on … Now he has got a Rank in Class…

What do you think the reason was behind this turn around ?

Prathmesh had One very important ability – The desire to succeed (too big for a child of 8 year old  ?... Naaaaah ) .He wanted to be recognized .He wanted to be Clapped at .He wanted to be cynosure of  his new teachers’ eyes …and he simply worked hard ..

We all need to Rekindle the Prathmesh with in us .  if we Want success and recognition we all need to Put in best efforts  and Work really really hard !

EVENT FOUR  :  Two Police Women  and 8 Sandalwood Smugglers !

                                    ….. from  Pune  Mirror  !

Vigilance and prompt action on part of women police sub inspectors Anjali Khare and Manhisha Dhamne , helped nab 8 sandalwood thieves !

On Sunday last,  around 1.45 am , the inspectors were alerted about spotting of the thieves near Fergusson College in PUNE .  Exchange of gunfire , brief chase in typical filmi style ensued and the thieves  made the news ..

What was good about the news,  was the commitment to duty shown by these police personals  . Fact that they are women (not that I have  a gender bias)  , and it was oddest hour of the night to chase thieves with guns …make  it   enough to  qualify  as  GOOD !

Do you remember, there was a brave smuggler called Virappan   who ruled Karnataka-Tamilnadu – kerala   forests for 20 odd years  , smuggling Sandalwood worth thousands ..

Wish these two women were present then ;)

EVENT  FIVE   :  Arnawaz (Anu) Aga gets  Padmashree !

                        ... From Times of India & Personal observation

 To quote the lady herself   :  “I am the recipient of the Padmashree but the award really belongs to the many who toil for society without ever coming into the limelight   “ 

The   best part was she got the award in “Social work “  category . Did you know , that she single handedly led  the  company founded by  her father and her husband :  THERMAX  ,through a phase of organizational and business transformation to make it one of the best known makers of Industrial boilers (and  many other products) !

Her Life has been   story of    Exemplary Courage   , Intense dedication   & superb energy. The extraordinary qualities   (to which we   have been a witness to) comes to the fore ,  when she says “ I am a social worker in spirit and intent . I did in industry what circumstances forced me to do  . My heart has always been in social service “   .

Just to recall and share one small incident   , we were in midst of  an intense discussion in our  nascent  organization TEACH FOR INDIA  (of which Anu is a  Mentor , Guide ….)  . Topic was how to smoothen things and carry things forward etc, etc .  As usual emotions were flying high  , Anu was at  her participative best . 

Suddenly out of Nowhere   , she raises her hands and says   “ I need to know one thing “   . We were expecting something serious. .. She sheepishly adds “has anyone seen my CHAPPALS , I seem to have lost ‘em  ;>  “   … Man how can she do this ? 

 It is simple   , when you are least complicated , you can do great things without covering yourself with an aura of greatness !!

     ….. I am sure this was Good too  !!

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After having   read such stories   , I am sure some   of you might have felt certain amount of satisfaction  .

Let us all be assured   , the goodness (GODness) remains alive and kicking in this world  , inspite of what it is…

We need to find our own   Small stories of Happiness  .. Tons of Events wait for us  , to give us solace , to comfort us  , to inspire us ….

So… What Did you READ TODAY  ? ….   Read Good   , Be Good   ,   Remain Happy  !

Ritesh – Reader of Good things ;->

Of Ruchika , Chembur Party , Telangana , Kota Bridge Collapse , Fleeing Terrorists , Killed Indian & All idiots …..

It is New Year  . Ideally it should have been a time to enjoy the bonefire  , the  wine and the celebration mood all  around .  Unfortunately , the sensitivity and the  cynic in me refuses to  accept the time of celebration …

Few incidents , which ideally should have no impact on  personal celebrations of inconsequential  individuals like me ,  are affecting me a great deal .  A glossary of choicest words from my venomous dictionary come to the fore against the whole system , against people around me , and of course   against my self …

It must be a matter of great accomplishment , how majority of  us  remain  indifferent .  The words like   accountability,  responsibility , respect and morality  seem to have lost their rightful place  mongst the din and hustle of “ individual achievements “ ,  of "collective apathy " and  of " indifference "…

Let us , look into the headlines  during the  weeks preceding the new year and the first week of the new year …..

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Ruchika  Grihotra -   a 14 year old was molested , and her family torchered in typical “ filmi style “ , it took the respected courts and our justice delivery system , a whooping 19 years for a “ 6 months “ punishment .   This case exemplifies    a)  the naked power the “ police “ can exercise . b) how helpless a common man is when it comes to individual rights  c) how  deep rooted the nexus between the  culprits and the whole system is .  Even if Mr. Rathore is right (which seems higly unlikely ), 19 years for the justice??  
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Chembur Christmas party - ACP Anti extortion , DCP Mumbai police , Senior Inspector  ,Inspector and a constable  were dancing at the party of  one Mr.  D K RAO – a Chota Rajan hench man …. While it is ok to make merry in Christmas , and I would go one step further  , its Christmas time  ,why bother with whom you are dancing ?   


My simple Question is  :  Who gave the Permission to have a Christmas  party at Chembur Gymkhana club ,given that  it was a party organized my Mr. RAO and his accomplishes ?   How can gangsters have a party in a place so obvious to public ( presence of police men would be different chapter all together ) ??

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Telangana –  While the gansters were having a  party at Chembur  , students  were arguing with the high court  to hold a  rally at OSMANIA University campus , because ,,the “efficient” police  force  were doubtful of their own ability to keep the rally peaceful .  I do not Know if small state would serve any purpose  (GOA one of the small states – has politicians son  raping around  young foreign tourists ..)  , I do not know if Coastal Andhra and Rayalseema (other two parts of Greater Andhra )  people are actually exploiting the telangana region ; But the larger question of  lack  of development , lack of opportunities of employment has got lost somewhere among  the slew of resignations and politicization of the whole issue .


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Kota Bridge Collapse – One of the Projects of NHAI (Highway authority) , being executed by Haundai and Gammon India , saw the collapse of a stretch of  the newly laid bridge , killing at least 50 laborers . Surprisingly within  50 hours , these two companies were given “ clean cheat “.  In a country where justice to RUCHIKA is delivered in 19 years , the “ clean cheat “ to the irresponsible companies are given in such a swift time .  No doubt ,  engineering  is a complex job and things may go wrong and such incidents may happen but the pace of declaring “ not guilty “ is certainly  amusing .


 Do I recall correctly ,,   Gammon India is the same company which has now become  expert in causing  accidents in DELHI MATRO RAIL Project either through  faulty design or sub standard execution . How can such companies still win mega projects ?  What happened to the much  touted “ fool proof “ two part bid  tendering process of the government ??

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3 pakistani terrorist -  after having served their 5 year sentence for the  bomb blasts they carried out  8 years ago , were awaiting deportation , managed to escape … (chakma day ker bhag gayay) .  Silliest things have  been reported since , All three of them had identical eye problem and they were escorted to the same hospital by  a single  Lathi carrying constable –  seems a perfect  escape  arrangement  , as if  to say .... Please go away, you have seen enough of Indian justice system and it is ok, only two persons were killed in that bomb blast near red fort…. Wait, why only 5 year sentence for a bomb blast ??


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A 21 year Indian Lad -  is killed in Australia; this was not an isolated case of the numerous hardships the Indian students have to face in that country. Our Foreign Minister says it was a “regrettable &   unfortunate “ incident, if such cases are repeated, INDIA would have to take strict action. 


Have we not heard this before, after every terrorist activity...they say “yeh bardast nahi kiya jayega “( this would not be tolerated ) .  Has anyone heard a Chinese student being killed anywhere? Has anyone heard that citizen of some country is in trouble and the government of that country remains a mute spectator? 


I would like to correlate one completely unrelated stuff. There is one Mr. FUJIMORI , who was Head of the state of  a country called PERU .  Mr. FUJI MORI was involved in a huge financial scandal and had to lose his job , But his native country JAPAN (his origins ) did everything possible to save him from further embarrassments.  It may not be the most right thing to do, but it goes long way to show, how other nations care for their citizens, whereas our ministers are busy with twitter , living in The TAJ and giving customary " they will not be spared " statements .

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Finally the ‘3 idiot controversy ‘,   thought this one,  just shows, our country is full of idiots “all idiots “not only these 4  ...It is just that some are educated and some others are not …some are skilled and some others are not .


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As I finish writing this  , I recall my face book update “Miracle Economy : From 2004-05 to 2008-09 ,Bihar averaged 11.03 % growth annually .It was virtually India's fastest Growing state , on par with Gujarat (11.05%) .This represents a sensational turn around. Nitish Kumar - the Soft Spoken CM , deserves an award for the most inclusive revolution of the decade ;))) . National Average in the same time period is 8.49 %! “ It gives me solace and peace , there is something to be cheerful about ….

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 I  recap and repeat  ,  as individuals , it should not matter what happened to the terrorist , Ruchika , Chembur party  dancers , telangana , kota bridge , Indian student in Australia  or tussle among the great idiots  ; 


However the “great change we are talking about , certainly makes me think , I am  different .

This Journey of the unknown makes me to reflect , that I cannot be indifferent .It makes me to react  and respond . I do realize ,  It is a difficult journey and questions are tough ..

L et me Pray .    Let me Pray for  My Inner  Peace as I try to find out what we as individuals could do  to " make a change "  around us .….