Think positively!

Many things happen in our life unexpectedly. We get upset with them and lose control in life. It would then be a big challenge to come back to the mainstream. Again, something unexpected would take place, you get upset.

This is an unchangeable factor in our busy life. In today's business life, anything may happen at any moment, of course unexpectedly. Something good, something bad. How can we expect only good can happen in our life. Life is a journey with thorns and flowers. Or as my friend Satish put it, "life is like a journey on the road. We get empty roads, heavily traffic road. Sometimes, in the traffic, vehicle gets punctured. What else can we do other than push it till finding a mechanic." We should be mentally prepared for all unexpected consequences. Take them positively. If we are positive towards whatever happens unexpected, we will suffer lesser damage. Therefore, thinking positively is a good practice one can follow.

Sometimes, I feel while going to bed, that it is great that I am still alive. On the day, I have walked in the heavy traffic roads, travelled by crowded buses, crossed the roads avoiding speeding vehicles, daringly moved through dust and smoke. A health hazard or a life threat woul have happened. But nothing has happened. So I say, one more day has passed away without any hazards. But the following day need not be like the previous safe day. Anything can happen at any moment!

We don't need to spend time in expressing our unhappiness, dismay, discomfort, disappointment etc on unexpected things. In the busy life, it is common. We will have to accept everything. Everything positively! Then, life will be beautiful. If you live on the negative factors and past happenings, they will slowly kill your nerves, senses and wisdom. I am training myself to move towards achieving such a status of fearlessness. Come what may, I am prepared to face it.

That's the way it should be. Isn't it?

Stress on children by parents

I really feel it. Do parents really love thier children? If yes, why do they insist their children to do the things which children do not like?

For example, school education. A large percentage of children does not like school. They go to school just because there is a force at home by parents. Why do parents push them to school? Because, parents want them go away at least for the day. They cannot afford their children for even a few hours. Because, children are creative and therefore, hyper active. They need activities to spend thier god-given abundant energy. Unless parents meticulously plan for activities for the day, the child would get into destructive activities by his own. In this context, the child does not understand that it would amount to destructive activity. It is 'destructive' only for parents. Breaking a glass or dismantling a toy, or defacing a picture, it shows the creativity of the child and it learns something out of it. Doing and learning! However, we term it destructive. They learn many things by seeing places and things, meeting people, travelling around. Play makes them happy and energetic. Playing with other children makes the child develop skills and strategies other than mental and physical growth.

I wonder why parents prevent children from playing in the sun? In fact, sun is the source of abundant energy. By playing in the sun, child gets sufficient vitamin D. If they get irritated by sun, they will naturally get into home back. However, parents get scared or concerned about child's health!

Children dislike confinement, whether it is school or house. By nature, they love to move around, see and feel new things, run around happily, and move on without any stress. They cannot afford boredom. They cannot afford repetition. They are unable to bear insult or humiliation, especially in front of others.

Education is the key word of paretns these days. What does education mean for them? Reading the text book continuously, doing home work, attending school regularly. They are not worried if child did not play today. They are least bothered about whether child got sunlight or not. They are not concerned about child's exercise of the day. But, definitely worried about the home work or progress card.

The education system, especially the private type, has exerted lot of pressure on children. Unbearable stress! Having tired of the stress, some children choose to kill themselves. Like the one killed himself in front of the Bengaluru Namma Metro a few days ago or the Engineering student in a hostel in Mysore. Young children cannot choose to do it till they grow.

Every parent knows how to give stress or tension to the child. But, none knows how to get the child out of stress or tension. Everyone wants tense-free life. There are clinics to make them tense-free.

Why do parents insist thier child to gain maximum marks in the class, that too from LKG to 9th standard? All of us know that the school records in these classes never come for help of the child in his/her future. At present, the SSLC record only will be of help. In another few years, that also will disappear and the PU record only will remain. Being this is the situation, why do parents put them in dock? Why do they give stressful study holidays? If the child get first rank in 2nd standard or 6th standard, what difference does it make in his/her future life? Does it reflect in the final records? In fact, none understands that the child will get a cumulative record of stress and tension in the future. By that time, child will not be able to manage stress as it would have become part of his/her lifestyle. And you know, stress is one of the major reasons for obesity, diabetes and related diseases.

Imagine, you do all such efforts on your girl child. If she elopes with someone at the age of 14 or 15, what will you do? All your efforts go in vain! There is an increasing number of girl children eloping with young men. They find it a solace or salvation from the uninterrupted pressure of parents.

Why to put pressure on children? Let them go to school and feel the community of children and adults. Let them play as they want. Let them read as they like. Provide them all the things that they would improve their psycho-social status. Let us not tease or harass them even if they score less in exams. Education is not for competition. It is for the social, mental, emotional development and human values. Let us help them grow in such environ. That would be the great contribution we as parents can do.

(I thought of writing it when I came to know about yesterday's Mysore incident of a 12 year old girl who was forced to beg in streets by her own father as a punishment for scoring less marks.)

Shivanna's concern

I met 50 year old Shivanna who makes a living by running a horse on the river bank of Kabini at Nanjangud near the famous Shiva temple. My daughter Priyamvada (she is lovingly called Ammu by me) wanted to have a ride on the horse. It was a white, neat, sturdy and beautiful horse. Shivanna helped her climb on the back of the horse. She did not find any problem in riding the horse! It was Rs.30 for two rounds on the bank. She was extremely happy to touch it and feed it. Shivanna has named the horse 'beauty girl'. It was selected to act in the forthcoming film of Darshan, 'Sangolli Rayanna'. He was concerned about the pollution of the river Kabini. He has been living with the tourists' income for the last two decades. He said he has stopped bathing in the river as his skin get allergy. Many people have started compaining about the water. But the worshippers who come from outside dip in the 'holy water' as they believe in it. Now, the life expectancy also has come down. The eatables are polluted. We eat poison everyday. Death takes place at the age of 45 or 50. They die in front of their parents who are still healthy. What is the point of living in such a state of affairs? he asks.

He wonders why the educated eat and promote junk food which contains poison. Has education harmed them or have they not got proper education?

I stood mum in front of him respecting his wisdom.

Holy River Kabini and unholy practices

On 25th March, at about 7.30 am, a group of concerned people assembled on the bank of River Kabini at Nanjangud, in front of Ayyappa Temple. Hunsur based youth Mr Sanjay was explaining about why they had assembled there. Though Kabini has been considered holy river since Nanjudeshwara (Lord Shiva) is at Nanjangud, there is no program to protect the river from its decomposition. Several memoranda have been submitted to Temple authority, Municipality, state government and central government by various organisations and groups so far. Nothing has happened to this effect. The locals and the worshippers who come from outside use the water for bathing and washing. The river is considered as dumping area for the people. They throw their abandoned clothes and other materials into the womb of river.

Save Our Earth Club of Hunsur, led by Sanjay initiated this campaign to clean Kabini. They had come prepared. Interestingly, the Municipal Chairman was motivated to get into the river and remove the dirt from the river bed. College students, Rotary members, and other citizens joined him.

However, the untouched area was the sewage that comes to the river exactly near the Ayyappa temple. How can you clean the sewage? I asked Sanjay. He said it would be difficult. We cannot expect the students would take up such task. The municipality only has to remove it.

The government announces towns but never tries to make a scientific and viable town plan. Kabini is the life line of Nanjangud and T Narsipur. However, the town is harming and suffocating the river with its sewage and other waste. On the upstream, the industrials waste is dumped to the river and downstream, the organic waste!

Can we see any small or big town in the country that does not pollute its rivers? Earlier, locals used to dump their organic waste into the river which did not do much harm since the quantum of waste was little. Now it comes in huge quantity, through centralised sewage pipes collecting all the town waste. How can and how long the river afford it?

People in the area are now indifferent to stinking smell, pollution, unhygiene practices on the river bank. I had taken my 12-year old daughter, Priyamvada to participate in the campaign and she was surprised to see such a huge quantity of waste in the river bed, which has never been taught in her school!

Oh, Footpaths in Bangalore!

I have been in the garden city for the past 70 days. now regularly. and I will have to be in this city at least for a few years from now.

I always wonder how do people manage here. The most astonishing feature that surprised me is the footpath. It is a pedestrian right. However, it has not been respected in that spirit anywhere, by anyone.

Now look at a footpath. As you keep on walking, you will find something on the footpath that forces you to get onto the terrific traffic road. It would then be your luck to continue living, without falling under the wheels.

Sometimes, you will find the footpath is missing. Inevitably, you are forced to walk on the road along with the dreaded vehicles. The Supreme Court has ordered to remove all the religious structures from the footpaths or public places. Most of the district administrations have dared to take up the challenge and got appreciated.

But, what will you do if a car (that too, like a lorry!) is parked on the footpath? There wouldn't be any space around for you to walk forward. So you are on the road! Sometimes, shops have encroached them and using them as thier private domains. There is nothing to demolish or remove from the footpath. Only strict orders can be given to the encroachers. Such strictures can be got adjusted if there is an 'envelope' to the corporation official. Then what about our rights as pedestrians?

Unless we inculcate it as a right and enjoy it as a right, things will continue like this. Pedestrians need to question the encroachers and force them to withdraw their encroachments from the public domain.

I was on my way for lunch today. Half way, my footpath in the heavy traffic road is blocked by a builder. I had to get down to the road, with much caution. All construction materials are dumbed on the footpath! I felt it was an insult to the pedestrian's rights.

How do you feel about it?