Environment under attack...!

We are gradually accumulating the nonbiodegradable waste. The levels are already in the danzer zone. Environment is under attack with such waste. Help the environment by minimizing the use of plastic bags etc.

A small piece of information i received through e-mail about the time taken for decompositon of various items.

TIME TAKEN FOR DECOMPOSITION :
Banana Peel- 3-4 weeks
Paper Towel- 2-4 weeks
Paper Bag- 1 month
Newspaper- 6 weeks
Apple Core- 2 months
Cardboard- 2 months
Cotton Glove- 3 months
Orange peels- 6 months
Milk Cartons- 5 years
Wool Sock- 1-5 years
Plywood- 1-3 years
Cigarette Butts- 10-12 years
Leather shoes- 25-40 years
Tinned Steel Can- 50 years
Rubber-Boot Sole- 50-80 years
Plastic containers- 50-80 years
Foamed Plastic Cups- 50 years
Plastic Bottles- 450 years
Aluminum Can- 200-500 years
Disposable Diapers- 550 years
Monofilament Fishing Line- 600 years
Plastic Bags- 20-1000 years
Glass- 1-2 million years
***
(You may read Telugu short story "Vision" , about the future effects if the environment is getting damaged in the current pace, published in Eenadu Sunday (6-5-2001) and "Online Love"(Visalandhra Publishers, 2008). Click here to read "VISION" ; to download it (3.5 MB), right click here and select 'save target as' : download VISION ).

Make me into TV

A teacher from Primary School asks her students to write a essay about what they would like God to do for them...

At the end of the day while marking the essays, she read one that made her very emotional.

Her husband, that had just walked in saw her crying and asked her: What happened?

She answered - "Read this. It's one of my students essays"

***

"Oh God, tonight I ask you something very special: Make me into a television.

I want to take its place. Live like the TV in my house.

Have my own special place, And have my family around ME.

To be taken seriously when I talk.... I want to be the centre of attention and be heard without interruptions or questions.

I want to receive the same special care that the TV receives when it is not working. Have the company of my dad when he arrives home from work, even when he is tired.

And I want my mom to want me when she is sad and upset, instead of ignoring me... And... I want my brothers to fight to be with me... I want to feel that family just leaves everything aside, every now and then, just to spend some time with me.

And last but not least make it that I can make them all happy and entertain them... Lord I don't ask you for much... I just want to live like every TV"

***

At that moment the husband said: 'My God, poor kid. What horrible parents!'

She looked up at him and said:

"That essay is our son's!!!"

WHAT IS MOTIVATION

An excerpt from one of the mails i've received..

WHAT IS MOTIVATION

When I woke up this morning lying in bed, I was asking myself;
What are some of the secrets of success in life?
I found the answer right there, in my very room.

The Fan said ... Be cool
The Roof said .... Aim High
The window said .... See the world
The Clock said .... Every minute is precious
The Mirror said.... Reflect before you act
The Calendar said.... Be up-to-date
The Door said... Push hard for your goals
And GOD said
HAVE FAITH IN ME

***

Carry a Heart that Never Hates.
Carry a Smile that Never Fades.
Carry a Touch that Never Hurts.

NAIL IN THE FENCE

Once there was a little boy who had a bad temper.

His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

On first day, the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence.

Over the next few weeks, as the boy learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.
Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all.

He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.
The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence.

He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger,they leave a scar just like this one. You can puta knife in a man and draw it out.It won't matter how many times you say "I'm sorry", the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.Friends are very rare jewels, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to us."

Please forgive me if I have ever left a hole...!

The Other Side

"A Father was reading a magazine and his little daughter every now and then distracted him. To keep her busy, he tore one page on which was printed the map of the world. He tore it into pieces and asked her to go to her room and put them together to make the map again. He was sure she would take the whole day to get it done.
But the little one came back within minutes with perfect map.
When he asked how she could do it so quickly, she said, 'Oh… Dad, there is a man's face on the other side of the paper. I made the face perfect to get the map right."" she ran outside to play leaving the father surprised.."


Moral : There is always the other side to whatever we experience in this world. Whenever we come across a challenge or a puzzling situation, look at the other side...You will be surprised to see an easy way to tackle the problem... !

Working with Detachment

It’s the action, not the fruit of the action that’s important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there’ll be any fruit. But that doesn’t mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.
Quoted by : Mahatma Gandhi
inspired by Bhagavadgita

Gandhi Jayanti

SELFLESS LOVE

One of the best mails i have received. Really moving.

My wife called, 'How long will you be with that newspaper? Will you come here & make your darling daughter eat her food?

I tossed the paper away & rushed to the scene.
My only daughter, Sindu, looked frightened; tears were welling up in her eyes. In front of her was a bowl filled to its brim with curd rice.
Sindu is a nice child, quite intelligent for her age.

I cleared my throat & picked up the bowl. 'Sindu darling, why don't you take a few mouthful of this curd rice? Just for Dad's sake dear.
Sindu softened a bit & wiped her tears with the back of her hands. 'Ok, Dad.. I will eat - not just a few mouthfuls, but the whole lot of this.
But, you should...' Sindu hesitated. 'Dad, if I eat this entire curd rice, will you give me whatever I ask for?'
'Promise'. I covered the pink soft hand extended by my daughter with mine, & clinched the deal. Now I became a bit anxious.

'Sindu, dear, you shouldn't insist on getting a computer or any such expensive items. Dad does not have that kind of money right now. Ok?'
'No, Dad. I do not want anything expensive'. Slowly & painfully, she finished eating the whole quantity. I was silently angry with my wife & my mother for forcing my child to eat something that she detested.

After the ordeal was through, Sindu came to me with her eyes wide with expectation. All our attention was on her..

(...click on 'read more' to read the rest of the story).



'Dad, I want to have my head shaved off, this Sunday!' was her demand.

'Atrocious!' shouted my wife, 'A girl child having her head shaved off?
Impossible!' 'Never in our family!' My mother rasped. 'She has been watching too much of TV. Our culture is getting totally spoiled with this TV programs!'

'Sindu, darling, why don't you ask for something else? Well be sad seeing you with a clean-shaven head.' 'Please, Sindu, why don't you try to understand our feelings?' I tried to plead with her..

'Dad, you saw how difficult it was for me to eat that Curd Rice'. Sindu was in tears. '& you promised to grant me whatever I ask for.
Now, you are going back on your words. Was it not you who told me the story of King Harishchandra, its moral that we should honor our promises no matter what?'

It was time for me to call the shots. 'Our promise must be kept.' 'Are you out of your mind?' chorused my mother & wife. 'No. If we go back on our promises, she will never learn to honour her own. Sindu, your wish will be fulfilled.'

With her head clean-shaven, Sindu had a round-face & her eyes looked big & beautiful.
On Monday morning, I dropped her at her school. It was a sight to watch my hairless Sindu walking towards her classroom. She turned around & waved.

I waved back with a smile. Just then, a boy alighted from a car & shouted, 'Sinduja, please wait for me!'

What struck me was the hairless head of that boy. 'May be, that is the in-stuff', I thought.

'Sir, your daughter Sinduja is great indeed!' Without introducing herself, a lady got out of the car, & continued, 'that boy who is walking along with your daughter is my son Harish. He is suffering from... leukemia'.

She paused to muffle her sobs. 'Harish could not attend the school for the whole of the last month. He lost all his hair due to the side effects of the chemotherapy. He refused to come back to school fearing the unintentional but cruel teasing of the schoolmates. Sinduja visited him last week & promised him that she will take care of the teasing issue.

But, I never imagined she would sacrifice her lovely hair for the sake of my son!
Sir, you & your wife are blessed to have such a noble soul as your daughter..'

I stood transfixed & then, I wept.. 'My little Angel, you are teaching me how selfless real love is!'

The happiest people are not those who live on their own termsbut are those who change their terms for the ones whom they love

"ప్రేమ" ..!

చిన్న కాగితం మీద నేను చాలా రోజుల క్రితం ఎప్పుడో రాసి దాచుకొన్నది . ఇప్పుడు చదువుతుంటే.. కొంచెం (చాలా ?) అపరిపక్వంగా వుంది. కాని ఇక్కడి పాఠకులతో పంచుకోవడానికి.

"ప్రేమ" ..!

"ప్రవేశము లేదు " అనే అక్షరాలని
అడ్డంగా వుంచుకుని హాయిగా
స్పందిస్తోన్న నా హృదయంలోకి
ఎలాగో చొచ్చుకు వచ్చి
"నన్నెవ్వరూ ఆపలేరు" అంటూ
స్మితహాసం చేసావు.
నిజమే కాబోలు...
జ్ఞాపకాల జ్ఞాపికలనూ
స్మితహాసాల స్మృతి ముద్రలనూ
మధురానుభూతుల సుస్పందనలనూ
నాకు మి..గి..ల్చి..
నా హృదయం ఆర్తిగా పిలుస్తున్నా
వినకుండా
నువ్వు నిర్గమిస్తుంటే
ఆపలేక పోయాను...
నిజమే..
నిన్నెవ్వరూ ఆపలేరు...! "

మందార మకరందాలు

" మందార మకరంద మాధుర్యమున దేలు
మధుపంబు వోవునే ? మదనములకు
నిర్మల మందాకినీ వీచికల దూగు
రాయంచ చనునే ? తరంగిణులకు
లలిత రసాల పల్లవ ఖాదియై చొక్కు
కోయిల సేరునే ? కుటజములకు
పూర్ణేందు చంద్రికా స్ఫురిత చకోరక
మరుగునే ? సాంద్ర నీహారములకు "
అని పోతనగారు భాగవతంలో చెప్పారు. ( అంటే : మందార మకరందాల తీపి చూసిన తుమ్మెద వుమ్మెత్త పూలను చేరుతుందా. ఆకాశ గంగా తరంగాలలో ఉయలులూగిన రాజహంస వాగులకూ వంకలకూ వెళ్తుందా ? తీయని మామిడి లేత చివుళ్ళను తిని పరవశించే కోయిల కొండ మల్లెలను కోరుతుందా ? పండు వెన్నెల బయళ్ళలో విహరించే చకోరం మంచు పొగలవైపు వెళ్తుందా ? " )
అలాగ :
"అంబుజోదర దివ్య పాదారవింద
చింత నామృత పాన విశేష మత్త
చిత్త మేరీతి నితరంబు జేర నేర్చు ? " అంటాడు. (భగవంతుని పాదాలను పూజించడంలో ఆనందాన్ని పొందే చిత్తానికి మరో ఆలోచన ఉంటుందా ? అని ఉపమానం. )
భగవంతునిపై మనసు ఉంచితే కలిగే ఆనందం ముందు మిగిలిన భౌతిక విషయాలన్నీ అల్పములని చెప్పడానికి పోతన అనుసరించిన శైలి అద్భుతం. తెలుగు వారి గుండెల్లో ఈ పద్యం చిరస్మరణీయంగా నిలిచి పోతుంది.