Can Indians do justice to electoral reforms of TN Seshan? Dr. Suman K Kasturi 9 Jan 2014 9:31 PM IST x
While the General elections of 2014 in India are nearing, for sundry reasons, I suddenly remembered the 10th Chief Election Commissioner of India and retired Indian Administrative Service Officer, Tirunellai Narayana Iyer Seshan, more aptly known as TN Seshan.
Seshan is known for the electoral reforms in India. He has been fundamentally successful in ending electoral malpractices in India. He did justice to each and every responsibility bestowed upon him, while he occupied various coveted positions like Director, Department of Atomic Energy; Joint secretary, Department of Space;Secretary, Department of Agricultures, Government of Tamil Nadu;Member (Personnel), Oil & Natural Gas Commission;Additional Secretary, Department of Space;Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Defence; Secretary, Internal Security etc.
Ignoring threats and unshakable interests, the admired and controversial T N Seshan helped clean up India’s elections. Almost eighteen years after he left the Election Commission in 1996, I wondered what he might be doing after the futile attempt of becoming the president of India. I posed a question to self why don’t people like Seshan get their dues?
While the entire nation is praising the victory of Kejriwal, I remembered TN Seshan and thought him to be the person, who is virtually responsible for Kejriwal’s success. I don’t see any possibility of a person like Kejriwal occupying the chair of Chief Minister of Delhi, if electoral reforms were not brought into force by TN Seshan? Hopefully you second my opinion.
A famous verse from Bhagavad Gita, when literally translated states: “Man is of the nature of his faith; what his faith is that verily he is”. Only visionary people like TN Seshan can bring changes as the same needs many inherent qualities, which are possessed by only a few. Seshan brought changes in the vital area, which can ultimately bring changes in various other sectors. That change is required to be better utilized by the citizens. Also Read – What went right with World Bank? A common man is not aware of the power of vote. Mere possession of the superior weapons will not fetch the victory; we need to have a strong force of warriors. In a similar vein, electoral reforms alone will not bring changes.
The electorates need to be changed. Who should change electorates? It is not the responsibility of the few educated people. In this era of Satmass media, the masses are very much influenced by the media content; especially the electronic media has a strong impact on its audience. This fact can be better utilized to bring awareness among the electorates. The responsible media channels should come out and educate the electorates. As an individual, educated elites should come out and do their best… may it be in a very small domain. After all “Rome is not built in a day”.
Achieving the entirety of any art is not merely screening on the eyes and bestowing it on the ears; any art becomes lively only when the mind is stirred and melted — thus paving the way for an artist to become an epic.
Films are aptly known as an art of many arts. Beyond doubt, one has to master many arenas to become a film director. Setting a trend of one’s own in the expanse of film direction even while film technology was still in its embryonic stage was an audacious task. One of the rarest film directors in the Telugu Film industry that had surpassed the obstacle and feat was Kasinadhuni Viswanath — the architect of reinventing and rediscovering Telugu movies.
K. Viswanath was born on 19th February in the year 1930. He was a man far ahead of his era that had mastered many areas of filmmaking such as direction, story and screenplay writing, acting, sound engineering, etc. As one of the paramount filmmakers of Telugu Cinema, he was an acclaimed international persona — known for his unique artistic works. He was celebrated for amalgamating mainstream cinema with parallel cinema — a film movement in Indian cinema that originated in the state of West Bengal in the 1950s as an alternative to mainstream commercial Indian cinema.
Stimulated by Italian Neorealism, Parallel Cinema began just before the French New Wave and Japanese New Wave. It was the predecessor to the Indian evolutionary measure in the film movement. The movement was initially led by Bengali cinema in the 1960s and steered it to elevate internationally acclaimed filmmakers such as Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and others. If Satyajit Ray is to be hailed for parallel cinema in Bengali, K. Viswanath retains the tribute for his mark of parallel cinema in Telugu.
Kasinadhuni Viswanath had begun his career in the film industry as an audiographer, and later he was at the helm of filmmaking, directing over 50 movies in his career span of sixty years. He directed 53 feature films in a variety of genres — the main emphasis was on performing and visual arts, aesthetics, and melodrama. Viswanath’s filmography has been known through the medium of liberal arts for addressing such issues as socio-economic encounters, caste, creed, gender discrimination, misogyny, and debility. Nevertheless, Kasinadhuni Viswanath’s films were never eccentric cinema, but wholesome entertainers that raised the image of lead roles.
Though K. Viswanath debuted as a film director with the movie Aatma Gowravam in 1965, he was beforehand associated with such fabled movies as Pathala Bhairavi as an assistant director to K.V. Reddy. During his early career, Viswanath was associated with Adurthi Subba Rao and K. Ramnoth. Many times K. Viswanath had expressed that he wished to work as an assistant to directors K. Balachander and Bapu. Nevertheless, destiny made him one among those legendaries — placed him in the same contour as those he admired.
In the initial days of his career, K Vishwanath had apprenticed under A. Krishnan, the Head of Sound Engineering at Vauhini Studios. As is palpable through many interviews with K. Viswanath, he had established a close affinity with A. Krishnan. After K. Vishwanath had made the transition into film direction, he would always spring back with ideas of A. Krishnan.
K. Vishwanath was associated with films of assorted genres, beginning with drama in such movies as Chelleli Kapuram, Sarada, Jeevana Jyothi, etc. However, Siri Siri Muvva was the first-ever movie that put forward the artistic touch in his craft. Sankarabharanam is an all-time blockbuster in the career span of K. Viswanath. The movie vitrines the desertion of traditional Indian music under the growing impact of western music and institutes the sumptuousness of Carnatic music in the climax. Indubitably, Sankarabharanam contributed to the revitalisation of Carnatic music in a great way.
K. Viswanath’s style of filmmaking is rare of its kind — core to inventiveness. For example, he was the pioneer who could achieve the triumph of the film Sagara Sangamam even by instituting the detail in the very first frame of the film that the film was all about a man who failed in his life. His way of filmmaking cuddled a wide range of characters that include mentally and physically challenged characters too, in such movies as Swathi Muthyam and Sirivennela. Viswanath’s films deal with a conduit towards comprehensiveness that affects positive spiritual change at both personal and social levels.
According to me, K. Vishwanath is one and the same as films with social issues. Most of his films deal with a wide range of human and social issues. To name a few, movies such as Swayam Krushi, Saptapadi, Swathi Kiranam, and Swarnakamalam have lead roles signifying different strata of society — precisely etched to outfit the larger picture.
One of the essential characteristics palpable in K. Viswanath’s movies is that the right amount of emphasis on the intended message is derived by treating the character roles subtly with an imaginative storyline. K. Viswanath also directed films in the Hindi language that were established as Boxoffice hits.
Apart from instituting himself as a great technician and director of Indian films, K. Viswanth had been a great actor ever since he debuted in his self-direction as an actor in the Telugu film Subha Sankalpam. Later, he appeared in various character roles of prominence in many movies. Besides, he also acted in a few television serials.
Insofar as ensnaring accolades by any artist are concerned, nothing becomes more significant than possessing an eternal place in the hearts of the audience. K. Viswanath had taken hold of a perpetual place in the hearts of Telugu film audiences. Even so, the legendary director won many laurels and awards, beginning with the Nandi Award for Best Feature Film of the year 1965 for his debut film Aathma Gowravam. K.Viswanath’s classic blockbusters Sankarabharanam and Sagara Sangamam were included among CNN-IBN’s list of one hundred greatest Indian films of all time. His directorial works Sankarabharanam and Saptapadi have garnered the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and Best Feature Film on National Integration, respectively. He was the recipient of the Prize of the Public at the Besançon Film Festival of France in the year 1981. In addition, he received many other awards as Padma Shri in 1992 from the Government of India and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2017 for lifetime achievement in cinema. Besides, his films were exhibited as matchless creations in many national and international film festivals.
To make a special note, in his films K. Viswanath placed the content in the broad arena of de-westernising media studies, through immersive and culturally embedded perspectives to offer modern and postmodern dimensions. His films were tenanted by characters stuck in a caste-based society. Leaving behind many such things as his legacy of artistic works that could be called to mind by Indian film audiences, the legendary director, Kasinadhuni Viswanath, died on 2nd February 2023, at the age of 92 in Hyderabad.
In concluding words, I would like to recall what has been debated at the beginning i.e. “Achieving the entirety of any art is not merely screening on the eyes and bestowing it on the ears; any art becomes lively only when the mind is stirred and melted — thus paving the way for an artist to become an epic.” Certainly, K. Viswanath’s movies have achieved the entirety and paved a way for him to become a legendary director with a social-conscious mind, who believed cinema could bring out desirable changes in society if presented in an arrangement liked by a cross-section of the audiences!
Title of the Book:The Guided Missile: Memoirs of An Air Warrior; Authored by:Dr Suman Kumar Kasturi;Published by:Wisdom Press, New Delhi; 2022;ISBN:978-93-92407-03-1; Pages:xiv+202; Price:₹350/-
The Guided Missile is the story of an unguided youth, who chanced upon the opportunity to join the Indian Air Force, unwillingly, accidentally and of course blindfolded — took the plunge into the application process for a technical trade career in Air Force along with a common friend. For a boy, who dreamt of a stint in IITs of India, a dream nurtured by most youngsters in India the services are the least of the priority. But the divine destiny and his family contexts prompted the aspiring engineer to chance upon a career with the Indian Air Force.
With a remarkable memory and a meticulous eye for records and filing, a trait which I observed in the young communication scholar in his later years as a colleague, the book is a reflection of a carefully narrated and factually described chronology of events in an air warrior’s life that runs like a novel than autobiography.
The author candidly depicts the social and material contexts of his life at the time of taking his tests and selection trails that I am sure many a soldier in India will readily not only empathize with but also correlate with their own life experiences. The value of friendship and later comradeship that the young man cultivates during the selection trials at the school, later in the training academy and throughout his Air Force career and beyond is a testimony to his warmth and emotional nature.
The typical young mind of the author exploring fun and frolicking on the Railway journey and at the training centre in Bangalore lightens the reader’s mind and at the same time the details of the righteous training methods coupled with the competitive spirit instilled in the young minds is a testimony and a remarkable feature of our Armed Forces, and the author deserves to be congratulated for lucidly encapsulating the details at his training centre at Bangalore.
Meanwhile, it is a remarkable trait of the young boy, who had a great appetite and urge for learning and qualifying himself at every stage of his life from a mere Intermediate to a PhD (Doctorate) in Media and Communication certifies the industrious and untiring perseverance of the veteran air warrior turned Communicalogist Dr Suman Kumar Kasturi, whose story is “The Guided Missile,” is all about.
It is often imprinted in the Civilian Minds, the hardened and harsh postures of the Military Personnel and the picture print of a Military Man is that of an inflexible complex and hard-hearted soldier. However, the tender and emotional side of the Service Men often receive greater attention and the narration is of the first-person accounts of the young author during his stint at Bathinda and the life intimidating accident that gave him the bondage and blossoming of the emotional connect with his young married wife and the affection showered on him by his superiors is all unique to Indian Armed Services, and the author portrayed it vividly.
The “Guided Missile” is not just a narration of the young author and his journey but the call for duty and serving the nation comes before every Army personnel. This has been so gloriously portrayed by Dr Suman Kasturi in his book. And in the midst, how service men meticulously, timely and carefully plan their actions and untiringly work to troubleshoot any problem that emerges in the field is testified during his stint at Bathinda, Srinagar, Pune and Delhi. Probably his training and orientation disciplined the young mind to blossom into one of the prolific writers of media literacy among the contemporary media scholars in the country.
In most cases, one hears of the close-knit connections that the army men keep with their family, the only source that keeps them brave from all odds. The young Suman is not an exception but also a fortunate air warrior to be blessed with a beloved wife and children and wise parents and family. The book details the trivials and turbulences that roused their life from their married days to their second son and every trial and tribulations that brought about lasting love and affections between them. A sample of note that can be cited is the way the author describes the arrival of his first son with more than cinematic drama as “overwhelming, exhausting and terrifying.” But, he went on to add the newborn is a magic wand and the fresh hope of a different beginning.
To sum up, it is the story of the brave hearts of the Indian Air Force and also an inspiring narration of a young Air Warrior who turned into a media scholar, journalist and writer that every youth in the country should emulate. In my personal opinion, the Defence Ministry in India should prescribe this autobiography of Dr Suman Kumar Kasturi as a text in all Defence Training academies to inspire the young brave hearts.
Prof. Chinnaswamy Pichandy
(Founder HoD of Journalism and Mass communication at PSG college of Art and science)
Dr Chinnaswamy Pichandy specialised in Mass Communication from the University of Madras. His career spans over 34 years as an Academic, Researcher, Administrator, Teacher, Leader and social worker, reflecting his commitment to higher education and society in general. He has made a significant contribution in the field of Mass Communication and Journalism, and Higher Education in particular. He is the founder and Head of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at PSG college of Art and science and made it into a centre for higher learning.
He has brought in innovative UG and PG Programmes such as visual communication and Electronic Media. Besides, the research Programmes (M.Phil. and PhD). He has got many firsts to his credit and as a lead person established the state-of-the-art multimedia and broadcast studio, a first of its kind in an academic institution and the first-ever Industry Institute interface (III) with Kavithalaya. He was fortunate to be a Member of all the curriculum restructuring committees for UG and PG programmes of the Bharathiar University. Besides, he served the Bharathiar University as a member and chairman of various statutory bodies like the Academic Council (SCAA), Board of Studies, Research Committee and many other sub-committees. He has served on various committees and boards as chairman and member. He is associated with more than 30 universities in India and abroad and delivers regular UGC lectures. He is an adviser to UGC. SAP Programme and serves the Doctoral Committees of various universities in the South. He was instrumental in Bharathiar, Periyar, Manonmanium Sundaranar and Andhra Universities starting a media programme and research initiatives.
“The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.”– John F. Kennedy
Introduction
The adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) that came into force on December 10, 1948, is indubitably a trailblazing episode in the account of human rights. The UN General Assembly declaration proclaims that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a common standard of achievement for all people and all nations. According to Article 1 of UDHR:
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Further, Article 2 of UDHR states as follows:
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
In a nutshell, human rights are inherent in nature — can be freely enjoyed by all human beings without any sort of discrimination, for the mere reason of their birth as a human.
On the other hand, diversity is a new phenomenon across the world — the applied meaning behindhand is more than just publicity for equality and social movement. When speaking about diversity and inclusion, the most probable and common understanding for many is such movements as #MeToo, whose main objective was women’s rights and gender equality.
However, when it comes to Public Relations, diversity is not only about having diversified team members in an organization but also about how we synergize with various stakeholders of a PR agency and address issues of common interest.
Diversity in Public Relations
Our basic understanding of Public Relations (PR) can have it that PR is the practice of managing and sharing information from an individual or an organization with the public, to affect the latter’s awareness. Hence, forward-looking in communications, as well as diversity, is critical to the PR industry. And any PR industry that does not prioritize diversity is likely to lose its clients and treasured affiliations. For this binding reason, diversity needs to be part of any business model.
However, beyond doubt, the overall consensus is – diversity is missing in public relations. To defend this argument, a specific study carried out by the author on Banks in India could be cited as the best example.
A Study on Banks in India: After India attained independence on August 15, 1947, the government of India planned the systematic economic development of the country. As part of this line-up, on July 19, 1969, a decisive pronouncement was made to the extent of the nationalization of 14 major commercial banks by the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. It was the consequence of many years of long-drawn-out and assiduous efforts.
In real fact, the main demand for the nationalization of banks came predominantly to prevent the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few private people i.e. more precisely to achieve diversity. Since the nationalization of banks, the public sector banks have been instrumental in the implementation of almost all welfare schemes designed, developed and implemented by the government of India. In this manner, the PSBs work as an intermediary between the people and the government — the organized PR units.
The specific study on banks in India has many operational differences when taking Public Sector Banks and Private Banks as two different entities. For understanding our area of interest i.e. diversity in the backdrop of Articles 1 and 2 of UDHR, banks in India have extended their services to all, irrespective of any sort of discrimination — achieving the very spirit of Human Rights. For example, when the author visited a PSB branch in Hyderabad, he met two assorted customers of the branch — the first being the Managing Director of a Construction Company and the other being a Beggarwoman (the woman in the picture).
Out of curiosity, when interviewing Venkamma, the accentuated beggarwoman, it was comprehended by the author that the illiterate woman has been very much satisfied with the services rendered by the branch that she has been banking for years. When taking the reference to some private banks, the author asked why doesn’t she prefer banking with banks of that sort, the lady wondered who would allow her to get into those banks by looking at her outwardly hideous looks. Astonishingly, the lady turns out to be a moderate net worth customer of the branch with deposits of a few lakh rupees.
Palpably, the above discussion is clear evidence of the practicing of diversity in Public Relations by two sets of banks in India — the Public Sector and the Private. Going back to the history of the nationalization of banks in India, achieving diversity in the backdrop of human rights is one of its significant objectives. However, on the other hand, this case study reveals the failure of private banks in managing and sharing information from them with the common public like Venkamma, to affect the latter’s awareness that even their services are meant for all. This case establishes the fact that forward-looking in communications is vital to the PR industry.
(Venkamma, the beggarwoman banking with a PSB)
Affirmative! PR firms (in our case banks) will indeed lose stakeholders (customers) due to a lack of diversity. In PR units like banks, a lack of diversity creates an echo chamber where ideas become uninspired and lead to alternate trials like the case appended below.
In March 2015, a piece of news made rounds that a group of beggars in Gaya (a place in Bihar) has opened a bank of their own, which they run and manage to provide financial security in times of crisis. As many as 40 beggars surviving on the alms from Hindu devotees visiting Maa Manglagauri Mandir in Gaya town for years have established the eccentric bank — Mangala Bank. The bank is managed by an illiterate by name of Raj Kumar Manjhi and the bank has its own rules — outlined by those 40 members.
The Significance of Diversity in PR
The aforementioned case establishes the very fact that for any public Relations industry where public opinion matters much, understanding and valuing all stakeholders is a precondition to any successful and widespread campaign. Diversity plays a significant role in such campaigns. Having diverse stakeholders not only increases the vision of any organisation but also helps to establish a more varied client base; and cater for campaigns for more clients without being categorically obtuse.
Public Relations is not unidirectional but multi-directional. When the whole world is looking in the same direction, no one will look at other ways. By doing so, they can overlook or compromise on circumventing meagre problems that have the potential to intensify into a catastrophe in the future. But by having diversified views, Public Relations (PR) units can be confident that they’re looking at the problem from various angles to come up with a sustainable solution for every client.
Conclusion
In concluding words…UDHR has become a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations insofar as equality and diversity are concerned. And by the same token, operational PR is a tool that envisages fundamental human rights to be universally protected by addressing diversity. Thus, the significance of diversity needs to be agreed upon by PR agencies for effectual implementation of the same in both letter and spirit.
“The more you know yourself, the more patience you have for what you see in others.”
-Erik Erikson
The book, “Hear Yourself: How to Find Peace In A Noisy World?,” is a unique book authored by Prem Rawat, the renowned teacher and author of the internationally bestselling Peace Is Possible. This volume is almost at a resonant frequency of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi’s popular philosophy “Who am I?” that begins with answers to questions that were put to him by M. Sivaprakasam Pillai in the year 1902, bearing on self-enquiry.
“Hear Yourself,” is just not a general book but it is a treasure that addresses the impact negative thinking has on individuals while it sets out a way to reach a deeper, unchanging sense of ourselves that according to the author exists beyond our thoughts.
On one hand, without any doubt, there is a lot of muddled intellectual noise around the topic of understanding the self and on the other hand, understanding what exactly peace means. Nonetheless, this book gives readers the answer to both these quandaries — as the author records that the purpose of gaining self-knowledge is a herculean task which involves experiencing refreshing clarity, deep fulfillment, and immeasurable joy — and many other wonders —by being at one with the universe of peace inside us.
The author himself reveals the fact that he had learned from his father many things. For the first time he had addressed the followers of his father when he was barely four years old; and his first-ever message to them was, “peace is possible when you start with yourself.” Of course, the message that the author passes through this book is — starting with oneself is in reality the best thing one can do for other people.
The reviewer believes that the book, “Hear Yourself,” is an encyclopedia in itself that provides many issues that have been touched upon in holy books such as Bhagavadgita. For example, according to the author, it is often our mind that keeps us distracted from a deeper connection to ourselves. The following verse from Bagavadgita exactly speaks the same thing:
mana eva manushyanam
karanam bandha-mokshayoh
bandhaya visayasango
muktyai nirvisayam manah
When exactly translated, the meaning of the verse is — for man, the mind is the cause of bondage and the mind is the cause of liberation. Mind absorbed in sense objects is the cause of bondage, and mind detached from the sense objects is the cause of liberation.
The reader becomes wistful when going through such statements as, “when the wind blows really hard, the trees that don’t know how to bend break. But the trees that know how to sway with the wind, they stay. It’s just a storm; it will pass. But you have to be above it. You will be okay.”
Occasionally, this book addresses the ultimate individualities of a person viz. forgiveness, love, duty and responsibility, etc. The author has offered a dedicated chapter i.e. Chapter 9 on love. As the author confesses that the theme of this chapter has long been close to his heart, so would be for the reader!
The book is a throng of answers to all 5Ws and 1H that moves around the title of the book i.e. Hear Yourself. This book enchantingly presents the author’s standpoints and analysis of the captioned subject and contextually discusses some of the happenings in his life.
Though I understand that it is always very easy to critique books for what they leave out or what we as the readers don’t accept, I strongly felt, in this case, the author has intensely deliberated that it is a very simple task to experience the peace in oneself before choosing to fight or not, while introducing the Peace Education Program (PEP), an initiative by Prem Rawat Foundation. But, personally, the reviewer (in the capacity of an air veteran) in a broader context believes that an individual or nation that cannot win a war should not attempt to sermonize on the importance of peace — for the nature of awareness about war and peace collectively is existence-consciousness-bliss.
The author, who is the founder of Prem Rawat Foundation, has achieved the objectives he had set when he was writing this book in the first place. Overall, the purpose of the author in writing this volume is achieved — to bring a practical message of hope, happiness, and peace to all, one person at a time.
Indubitably, this book will appeal to assorted readers — serves the reader as a mirror that paves the way for the reader to see his/her inner self palpably. To this end, this excellent publication — the culmination of a lifetime of study, by all means, serve as a good read. In a nutshell, the message given by the author through this book is — if we allow ourselves to listen, what we hear is the amazing miracle of existence—an experience that transforms our relationship to life and everything in it!
“High school is what kind of grows you into the person you are. I have great memories, good and bad, some learning experiences and some that I’ll take with me the rest of my life.”– Giancarlo Stanton
On the same wavelength as the above reference, high schools play the most significant role in everyone’s life. High school time is the decisive transition period wherein one discovers himself or herself. Such a discovery is very significant for the rest of one’s life to ensure to live up to one’s expectations by not trying to be someone else.
“Rambo: 7 Seasons At Sainik School,” is not only the story of a Saikorian but also of every individual who passed out of high school — in a husk, a story of you and me! Consecrated are a few who could do schooling from any of the thirty-three Sainik schools that form the comity of India’s premier educational institutions, administered by the Sainik Schools Society under the Ministry of Defence. Apart from imparting Military oriented education to the cadets, these schools have a few other objects like removing regional imbalance; developing qualities of body, mind and character; and of course, bringing public school education within the reach of the common man.
The first chapter of the book comprising a total of eighteen chapters begins with the revelation of the family background of the author that hails from Kondrapole village in Nalgonda district of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh (present-day Telangana). In the same chapter, the author narrates his admission to the Korukonda Sainik School. Stirringly, within a few hours after his spending on the school premises, the author was named the “Ring Leader Ramakrishna,” by none other than his housemaster. This very incident brings out the fact that the author enjoys his salient freedom of who he really has been — his trade in reality for a role. In the same chapter, the account of the food in the hostel mess and sharing the pickle of a friend among all to leave the bottle empty within no time, makes the reader go back to their school/hostel days.
In the succeeding chapter, the author introduces us to the character of “Bampu,” through another character named Paparayudu, an immediate senior of the author. Besides, the reader also gets familiarised with such nicknamed characters as Tokada and Kaddi. Of course, one more important character Sparrow along with Daku will join the list in the latter part of the book. The author narrates the welcome party and announcement of COCK house, champion houses for the year, and also about the new appointments. There’s no doubt that almost every school has four groups each among which the competitions track. The reader becomes nostalgic for sure when reading between the lines of the narration of house groups. Most importantly, this chapter gives us the details about how Ramakrishna turned out to be Rambo. Yes, it is Gagan, the house captain, named Ramakrishna as Rambo after the chocolate he was biting then.
Rambo Chocolate
Beyond doubt, a nickname is the stiffest nugget that the evil spirit can throw at a man. When a person unexpectedly hears his nickname from unexpected people, sure, it will create an affray. That’s what happens in Chapter 3 — Ignorant Mistakes. The funny narration of Bampu knowing that Paparuyudu has revealed his nickname to the new joiners and after matters makes the reader stick to the book.
Further reading in this book discloses the fact that Sainik Schools follow the hierarchy of Military Institutions, for the punishments like ear squats, kneel-down, etc, described throughout the book reveal the very fact. The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. The incident wherein Nageswara Rao alias Kalia, a close pal of the author, scribes “TOK” on a wood piece to continue it to make “TOKEN” inscribed would be misinterpreted as the process of inscribing “TOKADA” by crafts master, supports the above thought of George Bernard Shaw.
The reader becomes wistful when the author narrates the story of him stealing the mangoes from the orchard and his friends arriving for the rescue operation. In another incident, Virat, a friend of the author, drops his question paper and picks up the copied material of the author under the pretext of collecting his question paper — a clear intent to save the author. These particular incidents leave an impression that friends are friends, no matter what, they always remain well-wishers of us!
Occasionally, this book brings out the ultimate love of a mother. It is palpable through the incident wherein the author’s mother dares to kill a snake for his sake. The feeling is identically deep when we read through the incident wherein the author escapes his half-yearly exams upon his father’s arrival to take him back home for the treatment, for his mother was worried about him for consuming the milk of the buffalo that died of a dog’s bite.
The book is a collection of tender, adamant and ignited minds that want to dominate for being dominated; a book of the desperate group mates who want to win the cross country; a book of blokes that look after to take revenge for being offended — no matter whether the one who affronted was even their instructor, etc. With the narration of the author’s journey through the seven seasons of his schooling, the readers stick to this book.
This book fascinatingly presents the author’s perspectives and analysis of his journey through the seven seasons at a Sainik school and categorically discusses most of the contemporary happenings.
Nonetheless, though I understand that it is always very easy to critique books for what they leave out, I strongly felt, in this case, the author has palpably taken it for granted that every reader has done schooling at the same place, forgetting the very fact that this book can have diverse reader profiles — the batchmates of the author, the alumni of the same school, general readers, and readers having some defence background, etc. I, the reviewer, strongly felt that occasional pictures of the school and a group photo of all those characters cited in the book could have added more exquisiteness to the narration.
If we meticulously follow an autobiography, we can live the life of the person described therein! Indubitably, as one reads through the book, one can live his own student life through the author’s narration.
The author, a Saikorian, has achieved the objectives he had set when he was writing this book in the first place. Overall, the purpose of the author in writing this volume is achieved — to provide assorted readers with the seven wonderful years at Sainik School. It is very much pertinent to mention that a few autobiographical narrations and contemplations make us live the character role of biographer! This semi-autobiographical work serves the same.
Indubitably, this book will appeal to assorted readers. To this end, this excellent publication, by all means, serves as a good read to not only the people associated with the author but also the people of general interest.
Before wrapping up…it is rightly said that some editors are failed writers, but so are most writers. I express my resilient decree that without the strong support rendered by Ms Laseeta Kunhikannan, the editor of the book, this book might have not taken its present form — the supreme editing capabilities are palpable wherein she has extracted Rambo out of Rainbow of emotions, and seven seasons at Sainik school from seven colours of the author’s sprightly emotions!
Indian Air Force is the decisive sharing out of the Indian Armed Forces – the military forces of the Republic of India. It is the youngest service among the tri-services, when compared to the Indian Army and the Indian Navy. Nevertheless, as far as the mightiness is taken into account, IAF unquestionably outshines the other two services.
The Journey
Way back to history – it was on the same day in 1932 – Indian Air Force was officially established as an auxiliary air force of the British Empire. With an infinitesimal strength of 25 air warriors, the first aircraft squadron had come into force on April 01, 1933. During the World War II, the IAF played a dominant role in blocking the encroachment of the Japanese army in Burma, where its first air strike was on the Japanese military base in Arakan…
Your vehicle comes to a screeching halt as the light turns red at the traffic signal. Even as you fret over the eternal wait, a plastic tri-colour flag is flashed in front of your face. You soon hear a chant of Vande Mataram, Jai Hind from a little boy’s mouth trying to sell you the flag. He has other accessories too – an Independence Day metal badge, plastic lotus, soldier figures etc. Then it dawns upon you that there’s a National holiday ahead. Feeling guilty, you even buy a souvenir to display your patriotism only to forget after a while. Sounds familiar?
In India, Independence day is celebrated on August 15 every year with zeal. The objective of such celebrations is to connote the transition of India from the slavery yolks of the British Dominion to be a democratic and republic nation where all the supreme political powers, sovereignty, and authority rests with the people.
Today, India is celebrating 75th Independence Day. On this occasion, repeatedly the only question that has been wavering in my mind is – why do people become patriotic only on selected instances? Having been an air warrior, who served the nation for 19 years, I realize what patriotism means. To me, it is an inexplicable feeling, which should also be an inherent trait for any national.
Patriotism has a rich meaning. In general, it means edifying attachment to one’s native soil that ultimately leads to devotion to one’s nation. Such a feeling should not be restricted to just extrinsic values rather it should be an intrinsic value that should be obsessed by every citizen.
Patriotism is the true spirit an individual should have for his nation. Do we Indians have such a feeling within us? India proudly claims to be the nation with plurality as her nature. Unity in diversity has been the slogan which we often find making circles in all nooks and corners of the world. Do we maintain such a spirit at all times? Or is it limited to a few occasions like Republic Day, Independence Day and Martyrs Day?
Surely, every Indian turns to be patriotic on two occasions – every year on January 26 and August 15. Patriotic songs like “Mere Desh ki Dharti” reverberate almost every street in town. Why is it so? At this juncture, the only question that arises in my mind is whether patriotism has any periphery limits? Or patriotism is a trait that has only a limited role?
Every year the Independence Day is celebrated most spectacularly in New Delhi, the capital of India. The main attraction of the day is an impressive and magnificent parade that puts forward the military powers and cultural affluence of the country apart from the patriotic vehemence of the Indians. An amazing fly-past by Indian Air Force and Naval aircraft rounds off this majestic celebration. A similar thing happens every year on January 26 too.
The true spirit Independence day brings out is nothing but patriotism. It’s not a single person’s obligation to keep the nation free from any sort of worries. Every citizen should feel responsible to make the nation implausible in the purview of the entire world.
I feel that patriotism should come from within and not without. Patriotism ensures the stability of all kinds in a given nation.
I second the thought of John F. Kennedy on patriotism. According to him, one should ask only “what you can do for your country” — as if “country” were the master, and “you” and I and all of us merely servants. Most of the influential personalities of developed countries realize the importance of patriotism. For example, US President Barack Obama once said loving one’s country means accepting one’s responsibility to do his part to change it. Patriotism is nothing but the grand inherent apostle that prompts a person to serve his nation, at any given time.
The essence of patriotism is fully recognizing and consciously participating in that network of affinity, paying very close attention and constantly responding to a range of issues like what everyone else is doing and saying and wanting and hoping.
Out of the multiple associations emerge ideals and institutions. But those ideals and institutions are valuable only insofar as they support the fulfilment of each and all. The individual is the master; the nation’s ideals and institutions exist merely to serve persons. So ideologically in any given nation, true patriots do not serve some imagined unchallengeable unit called nation or country; rather, they serve the needs and aspirations of every person.
There is a need to self examine whether we can be called factual patriots? Had we been patriotic year after year, India could have accomplished laurels; but not plummets in grading in almost every sector.
Who is responsible for such trounce is not the question of the hour rather how should we overcome trounce is that question. The ultimate answer is the true spirit of patriotism, which in turn ensures the following:
Fraternity among fellow citizens
Enhanced civilization; and thereby achieving a fall in crime rate
Increased employment opportunities
Corruption-free societies
The true spirit of democracy lies in patriotism alone. Each and everyone is responsible for making the dream of Mahatma Gandhiji – “After attaining Swaraj (independence), now it’s time to attain Suraj (good governance)” a reality.
If such a day is realized in India, such an occasion would just take new dawn with the bright appeal of unity, brotherhood, and love. On that scrupulous day, there is no Hindu, no Muslim, and no Sikh; there is only one caste, one religion, and that is Indian. The sacrifices of all the martyrs will add significance to India’s history.
Let’s hope this year’s Independence day will not just be a routine affair, but add true fervour of patriotism in every citizen’s life, both in letter and spirit. Let’s not forget what the great Mahatma once said: “Be the change you wish to see.’ Jai Hind!!
Complacently India is celebrating the twenty second anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas today — to streak the victory of Operation Vijay. At the opening, I would like to express my nostalgia that as a young Air Warrior, I was a partaker, full of zip, in the Kargil War that came to blows for more than two months. It was on July 26, 1999, India efficaciously took command of the high outposts that were otherwise lost to Pakistani intruders.
Kargil:India’s Greatest Victory of Recent Times
It has been customary that every year this day is celebrated in the national capital as well as in the Kargil–Drass sector. For this occasion, several programmes are prearranged all over the country — to venerate the contributions of the armed forces. As well, the Prime Minister pays homage to the martyrs at Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate. For many people, these celebrations are sheer get-togethers. Nonetheless, the fundamental objective of these carousing through nationwide campaigns is meant to arouse a feeling of nationalism and patriotism, particularly amongst youth.
Kargil War: The Winners
Insofar as Kargil War is concerned, indubitably, Pakistan had a much of the circumstantial preparation that took account of the building of logistical supply routes. The war occurred due to the infiltration of the Pakistani soldiers into locations on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC) that functions as the de facto border between India and Pakistan. It is worth mentioning here that the Pakistani soldiers infiltrated in the guise of Kashmiri Militants — documents left behind by casualties are the evidence of this fact.
According to me, it was a war between two sides — having Pakistan on one side with a concrete plan, and India on another side to face an unanticipated contingency. Despite the fact that India was not very much ready to face the situation, the Indian Army, which was supported by the Indian Air Force, recaptured a mainstream of the intruded areas on the Indian side of the LOC. Far along, bowing to the international diplomatic antagonism, the Pakistani forces were pulled out from the residual Indian settings along the Line of Control.
Kargil Vijay Diwas
The interestingpoints of observation that I have drawn from the epic confrontation as the success connotations of Kargil War are territorial imperative battered with the Game Theory and Minimax approach. Beforehand, I would like to make acquainted with the concepts of territorial imperative, game theory and the minimax principle, while extenuating my arguments.
In effect, usually, the term Territorial Imperative is used in the milieu of ‘total war.’ Obviously, the Kargil War that was fought for more than sixty days resulting in India’s victory is not less than any ‘total war.’ The territorial imperative is the need to claim and defend a territory. It could be well-thought-out as the way the fighting forces use space, weaponry and strategies. The entire thing booms territorial imperative.
The Power of Indian Armed Forces
Territorial Imperative
The initial situation in Kargil War was to confront a condition wherein the Pakistani infiltrators occupied such sporadically inhabited region as Kargil, which is located in isolated valleys disjointed by some of the world’s uppermost mountains. In order to encounter such situation, there was certainly a demand from the top brass of the Indian Army to execute great forward-thinking on top of numerous administrative and wartime strategies. There is no doubt that the Indian Armed Forces were effectual in taking up such a challenge and defend our territories.
Game Theory
On the other hand, game theory is the study of scientific models of strategic communication between balanced decision-makers. It has solicitations in all fields of social science. In the beginning, game theory spindles zero-sum games, in which one person’s gains result in losses for the other participants. As far as a zero-sum game is concerned, there is always a calculated demonstration of a situation in which each participant’s gain or loss of function is precisely well-adjusted by the losses or gains of the function of the other participants.
The Saga of Patriotism
Going back to our context of the discussion i.e. India’s triumph in the Kargil War, our side has definitely achieved what a zero-sum game in game theory intends to. In my viewpoint, the peace-time training of the Indian Armed Forces has achieved a very objective. Palpably, what Indian Armed Forces have gained through their immaculate peace-time training has resulted in the loss of the opposition. Also, sensible strategic communication has played a key role in India’s triumph.
Minimax Approach
The third connotation for the victory of the Kargil War that I would like to imply here is the Minimax principle. Minimax approach is an administrative principle by which when offered with two conflicting strategies, by the use of logic, one should determine and use the strategy that will minimise the maximum losses that could occur.
Again, turn back into the success of India in Kargil War and applying the minimax principle, it is substantial that Indian Armed Forces, by restraining themselves from making the situation more offensive, have definitely minimised the maximum losses that could have otherwise occurred. It was definitely a strategic move as concerns India because the Kargil War was purely a startling upshot in India’s war history. While confronting a situation that was not estimated, if the more offensive strategies were embraced, unquestionably it would have ensued in a great loss rather than paybacks. Evidently, Indian Armed Forces have adopted a self-induced war strategy of restraint in keeping the war limited to the Kargil sector.
Ops Vijay Medal
Definitely, India’s conquest in envisaging such an unforeseen eventuality and win over the well-equipped opponent in the Kargil War has spotlighted India’s preeminent vigilance to encounter such situations. The Kargil War is a saga of resilient political, military and diplomatic engagements; and it will always be conjured for the strategic and tactical surprises. In concluding words…India’s victory in the Kargil War modestly reverberates, “the more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war!”
Few celebrities of all genres choose the ultimate path of prostitution, while few others choose the path of suicide. There is no specific need to quote examples in this regard.
History divulges many incidents. Many people may wonder why people who created a repo for self should get into such mucky things. Yes, it’s rather a well-founded question indeed!
Celebrities – mostly from the fashion world and film fraternity reach to the zenith within a very less span of time, whereas it takes long battled years which is close to one’s lifetime in the case of other professions.
Achieving success may sometimes happen overnight, but retention and maintenance of the same tempo becomes a tedious job for the celebrities. Also, the celebrities in general uphold a touchstone life after achieving their initial success. Such standards include a very lavish life.
In case of continuous success, there won’t be any problems. Nevertheless, the problems arise only when a celebrity experiences failures after an initial success. For sometime – it won’t be difficult to manage the situation. But, the problems begin only when the cushioned up riches exhaust. The actual diversion of the path begins here. There may be different directions that could be followed. But, mostly only two paths are chosen by the screen idols: the path of flesh trade & the path of suicide. Beyond doubt, both are the paths of immorality, which even after a realisation, the celebrities opt to choose for obvious reasons. Most of the women celebrities facing destitution opt to get into flesh trades for it pave an easier way for earning money. But, for male celebrities it is not a fitting option. So, they choose to manage the situation for some time by borrowing money from the sources close to them.
In either case, they develop some sort of mental fear and insecurity that ultimately leads them to think repeatedly about the aftermath. The thoughts of suicide then sowed in the minds of the celebrities facing the destitution. Suicide is a tragic event with strong emotional repercussions for its survivors and for the families of its victims. According to an estimate, more than 36,000 people in the U.S. alone kill themselves every year. Statistics also reveal the fact that men seem to be especially at risk, and have nearly four times the suicide rate as women for sundry reasons specific to men themselves. Loss, depression, anxiety disorders, medical conditions, drug and alcohol dependency, financial, legal or scholastic problems, and other life difficulties can all create weighty emotional distress. They also get in the way with individuals’ ability to solve problems.
Suicidal thoughts, also known as suicidal ideation are thoughts about how to kill oneself, which can range from a detailed plan to a fleeting consideration and does not include the final act of killing oneself. The majority of people who experience suicidal ideation do not carry it through. Some may, however, make suicide attempts. Some suicidal ideations can be deliberately planned to fail or be discovered, while others might be carefully planned to succeed.
Suicide is definitely not an ultimate solution. In this world, each and every problem has a solution. There is a need to address this issue at an appropriate level. Because.. “Jaan Hai to Jahaan Hai”. Dignity of any celebrity lies within the way they conduct self. Why should a person choose only two wretched paths, while neglecting other options? It is better to dwell a simpler and happier life than choosing wrong paths and there by landing up in troubles for self and other concerned people.
Dr. Suman Kumar Kasturi's Blog..!!! 
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