Travel with a companion is a bliss...

Travel with a companion is a bliss  

Travelling is an opportunity to open one’s world. It has some purpose of its own. The more you travel, the more you are opening to the world. The pursuits of the travels add knowledge and first hand experiences in the cap of the travelers. The travel may be for personal reasons or for official purposes. It may be a pleasure trip or for fulfilling any task aiming to an objective. Eventually, in all, mobilizations of the person is obvious. Some people love to travel with a companion and other people prefer to travel alone. I love to travel with some companions. This is for various reasons.

First, it is said that one and one make eleven. To perform a long journey, we need tickets, eatables, map, time table of trains/ buses/aeroplane, hotel booking, vehicle for local movement etc. If two persons are travelling together, they can share the responsibilities between them. They keep a watch on the belongings of each other. Otherwise it may always have the threat of losing important things like documents or ticket etc.

Second, the information owing related to the place / city / country by the companions are helpful in collaboration. Concurring together the travel becomes easy and memorable one exploring the new experiences.  It is not only pertinent to personal travels, even for explorations of new territories of the globe. It is proved true. Magellan, the Spain expeditor, went to West Indies and South America to explore the topography with five ships. The courage, concur, collaborative efforts made them possible to prove that the earth is round without any precipices though many of them lost their lives due to hunger and illness.

Thirdly, traveling together in a group or   with a companion makes the people courageous.  Conquering the Everest for the first time would have not been possible; if the team would have not been involved in the brave target. The challenges of profound ice, snow storms, deep and dangerous valleys, steep cliffs were impossible to overcome.

Together, traveling invigorates the team members overcoming the fatigue or any health disorder.

Apparently, it ventures to the correct and more authentic documentation of the travels done together subsuming the experiences. Videography and clicking the camera will also have variety and comprehensive.

So, I prefer to travel with my companion or my team since it shares the experience, knowledge, responsibilities to make the trip easy and memorable one. Eventually, it gives strength and courage to open the world wide and ventures into personality development and leadership too.

Food preparation ..changed with time....

Nowadays food has become easier to prepare. Has the change improved the way people live? 

Of course the preparation of the food has become easier nowadays has enabled the people to meet the requirements of  the new life style. These days, the cooking  gadgets  available like microwave, ovens, mixture, grinders, food stations are very much useful to prepare the food in no time. At the same time the food materials like ‘ready to eat’ sold in the malls has also enables us to prepare the food fast and serve on the dining table in no times.

Food preparation recipes are also easily available (on the internet)  for different types of food or variety. It is evident that  it gives ample time to the house maker whether man or woman, to spend quality  time with the family and to devote for his or her professional work.

It’s evident that  today’s life is very fast. People have to render their services to their companies at different locations. For instance the meetings are to be held in the offices, supervisions are to be done at the work place or sites, attending the other group or team seminars etc. at any other locations. At the same time the travelling  to far off places also consumes a lot of time.

The parents have to attend their kids too. If one invests his big part of time for preparing food only, he cannot meet the requirements of his other assignments. 

The change in the life style demands to work at all fronts efficiently. Hence the food preparation easier and in less time provides the family quality time to get together to strengthened the bond and relationship.

The easier preparation of food does not mean that we should compromise with the quality or nutritive values of the food. It should always ensure the balance diet, otherwise junk food or imbalanced food will cause obesity or mall nutrition among the consumers.

In the end I conclude with the point of view that easy preparation of food has made the life easier and beautiful for both men & women.

Earth - Our Home...

We are the pride owner of the green planet – our earth. It is the habitat of human beings and other creatures. Abundantly,  creatures are living on this planet in harmony and dependent on each other following the system of  food chain.

Human beings are the best of all creatures blessed with wisdom. Eventually, he used his wisdom for both constructive and destructive activities. For constructive use of his wisdom, he has discovered many avenues to make the living on this earth productive. He has made buildings, shopping malls, theaters, auditorium, school, hospitals for his living smooth and created ponds, swimming pools, gardens, parks, amusement parks for his recreations. In one way all such types of development brought by the human being is for the beautification and making this earth to live in comfort.

But there is a big threat also being experienced by the scientists on the other hand. For the modern developments, the man is involved in the destructive activities mainly deforestation.  It is causing the imbalanced in the nature and the consequences are hazardous & alarming. Many species are endangered and have become instinct.

The human activities are creating  the pollution everywhere like on land, in water, in air, in sound and in space also. Unfortunately it is very challenging to combat with the pollution problems.

The human activities are responsible for the global warming too. The  hole in ozone is increasing  day by day threatening the cancer like disease due to UV rays.

The developments in the areas of mining, construction, cutting of the greeneries are bringing flood, draughts, earth quacks and other natural calamities frequently.

Wars are also a kind of blots for the human’s hatred activity.

Hence, it is obvious that if sustainable development is not thought of, we will be unable to handover the earth to our next generation as a better place to live. We should be thoughtful to use the resources of our mother earth in a sensible way to keep it exquisite and serene.

Parents are the best teachers ...

 Its very much true that our parents are the best teachers. It is said that the family is the first school for a child and the parents are the first teachers in life.

A child learns the lessons of citizenship between the lap of his mother and the kisses of his father.  He learns many traits of his personality naturally from the family environment. Caring and sharing , love, affection, sacrifice, patience, hardworking , honesty & altruistic - the humanitarian qualities and the patriotism are learnt from the members of the family and of course parents are the first members of the institution.

Eventually, If a child is imbibed with honesty and sincerity, he can achieve higher goals with the perseverance in his life. Otherwise, how many ample opportunities are provided to him, he cannot turn them into positive for his development and growth.

Honorable Abraham  Lincoln, the great American President was concretized with the qualities by his parents like hard working, sacrificing, turning the odds to win and consistency in the endeavor made him to serve the Nation for the highest post of the US.

It is the parents only who lay the strong foundation of the personality of a child in childhood which he carries throughout his life.

The teachers at later stage teach reading, writing, arithmetic for cognitive development. The higher education strengthens a person with the power of knowledge which is also very important in life to serve the globe. But if the power is not used constructively for the positive objectives, the knowledge will be hazardous. It proved during the world war II, when atom bombs were dropped on Hiroshima & Nagasaki in Japan.

The soft skills are naturally engraved in a child by the parents which are the soul of the learning to implement the knowledge to the benefit of the human beings.

Thus I conclude that the learnings happened in childhood and taught by the parents are always permanent and the best. So the parents should teach the child or create the environment of the family to the positive so that he should turn into a positive human being at the place of atrocities.   

Hard work never fails

  When we do hard work and immediate results are not visible we loose our patients and think that our invested time, sincerity & dedication turned in vain. But it is sure that your work is stored somewhere in your account for the better opportunity. At appropriate time it will appear unexpected. Long afterwords also it may turned into humongous gain. Lord Krishna preaching in Bhagwat Geeta dipicts the same doctrine of performing duty without wishing the results- Karmanye Vadhikarastu Ma phaleshu kadachan.
L W Longfellow's poem The Arrow & the Song expresses the same.
I shot an arrow into the air
It fell to earth I knew not where.
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it with its flight

I breathed a song into the air
It fell to earth, I knew not where
For, who can have the sight so keen & strong
That it can follow the flight of a song

Long long afterwards, in an oak
I found the arrow still unbroken
And the song from the beginning to end
I found again in the heart of a friend.

So after many years also one can yield the fruits of hard work. It never ends fruitless.

All students should be required to study art & music in secondary school

In today’s materialistic world human being has achieved remarkable  progress through science and technology. People have attained success & lead prosperous and wealthy life across the globe.

But, one will not disagree with the fact that along with the advancements, humanisms is evaporating rapidly form this world and inhuman activities are filling the gap.

Terrorism. ISIS activities, attack on schools like in Peshawar, Pakistan and Chechaniya are the extreme example of atrocities.

If hatred, destruction and violence are to be eradicated from this globe; the tender hearts and brains are to be molded towards love, affection, non-violence etc. Implanting humanity and brotherhood among students of adolescence will bring desirable results. Music and art like activities will definitely prove to be a great tools in this regard.

  These subjects are must to be the part of curriculum for the holistic growth of the students since Art and music domains are attributed to soft skills of   an individual. And  these soft skills are embodiment  of not only  manifestation of emotional skills but also requires dexterity and cerebral competence. It’s apparent that a person  creates something though Music and Art.  A creator never is a destructor. A piece of music and   art fill the hearts with pleasure and peace.

When atrocious activities and depravity are replacing the peace and happiness; the need of goodness, love, kind hearted citizens are paramount. The allurement of music and art will steer the mind and soul of the young generation towards compassion, humanity and global serene.

It’s also evident that creative things like music and art help people releasing tension and distress. The exquisites of these sooth  the soul. It calms down the aggression and augments the passiveness qualities. Even doctors too include  music and art in treatment  of mental disorders..

Music and art know no boundaries. Musicians and artists are admired across the globe. So,  to spread the sweet fragrance of art and music everywhere , I strongly advocate the relevance of these as a part of the curriculum.

Music and art also develop the creativity for example Sir CV Raman was not only a great scientist but also a great pianist.  Leonardo was not only a great artist but also a great scientist and pioneer of aircraft.

UNESCO now made it compulsory to have these two as important elements of education and NCF – 2005 of India made these two as integral part of curriculum.

“Not everything that is learnt is contained in books”

                     “Not everything that is learn  is contained in books”. 

It is said that books are the store houses of the learning.  Apparently books are the embodiment of knowledge and the biggest tools to exercise the curriculum and syllabus in the schools, at colleges and in the universities. There are various types of books representing philosophy, Psychology,  Medicines, Technology, Art, Literature etc. They contain the references and experiences of not only of the writers but for the generations. Primitive Civilizations and cultures echo through books. No doubt, the books are the knowledge handed over from one generation to successors. They are the main sources of learning.   

But, it cannot be asserted that everything that is learnt is contained in books. Books give theoretical knowledge but practical experiences provide skills which leads a learner towards the wisdom.

For instance – the method of swimming is described elaborately in the book, but it cannot turn a reader into   a swimmer. To learn the skills in swimming, one has to enter in the pool or river. The actual swimming will be learnt only with practical   privilege.  The other examples may be of driving, cooking, stitching etc. where cerebral and dexterity are to be mastered for the consequences.

Learning by doing,  learning  by   committing  mistakes in life, experiments in the lab, innovation, discoveries  all open the avenues of permanent learning.

  The exposure of the leaners through media, films, travel, hobbies, cultural programs, learning different languages are the other sources of learning  apart from the books. The more you are open to the world, the more you learn.

Apparently, the schools are encouraging the students for the project based learning, activity based learning to compliment & understand the bookish knowledge. When a kid   uses his/her  heart-hand-hobby to understand the book content, her/his learning proceeds towards the wisdom. Eventually wisdom is the ultimate aim of the learning.

An illiterate or a less educated person may also be wise though he has not read any book. Thomas Alva Edition was a lucid example as he had very less formal schooling. But his was a great  inventor.  

Yet, I strongly advocate that the role of the books is paramount in learning. Without books the advancement in the field of science and technology achieved, will not yield fruits. Absence of the books, the studies of paleontology, anthropology, astronomy, history, geography will start     from the scratch; which is not obvious.  

  “Action speak louder than words” So it is also true that along with the books, learning activities, exposure to the social institutions, family ambience, political set up of the country, teacher’s grooming & inspiration- all subsume the learning of a person.