Showing posts with label youth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label youth. Show all posts

Saturday, November 5, 2011

If - Rudyard Kipling




If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;
If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Reserve that Place for me Please : by - ANGANA SENGUPTA


The day began just like any other, the coffee maker hooted making strange noise proving its existence. I turned up the morning edition of news, to check if any scandal is on that day just like always. Witnessed the poetic irony of Japan I felt sad as well as a little nice, we are finally learning we cannot control things. Japan will be a reminder to entire mankind that we cannot control things beyond a certain level, what ensures is total chaos.  

Just as always, when I was thinking about chaos, a chaos was heard on the stairs. No wonder the torpedo hit me not physically but mentally as he entered my room.   'This is bullshit,' he said, wasting entire energy on a certain word directly crashed in front of me. 'Coffee?' I politely offered him some. 'Didn't you listen?' he asked, not understanding my gesture that I don't care, 'They now are reserving some places for the Jats too.'     'Congratulations,' I replied turning back to my coffee. The aroma was intoxicating. 'This is totally unfair,' he shouted, 'We should get reservation too...'

 
Understanding that the discussion was unavoidable I had to answer him, 'I don't think it is unfair, it is fair to the core. The people are backward, dumb and un-progressed they do need reservation.' 'So do my people... we are also backward, dumb... wait what?' he looked at me, finally realizing the hit, 'How dare you call us dumb?

' 'I am not calling you dumb, you yourself are calling it aren't you?' I asked sipping the coffee. 'No I am not,' he replied, 'All I am saying is I should get reservation otherwise the people in my community cannot study higher education,' he said. 'So in short, people in your community are so dumb they need reserved seats for them in higher studies,' I emphasized my understand. 'Don't you dare speak so about my community, we have doctors and engineers in our community...' he argued. 'Then, you people are forward and do not need a reservation...' he said. 'No...but...' he froze for a moment and I finally saw a silver lining in the distant, finally I can enjoy my coffee, 'But you people tormented us for 2000 years.' 'No we didn't,'

I replied, 'No one tormented you for 2000 years. The people who were tormented are dead and so are the people who tormented them. If we are talking a revenge for the people who lived by, you owe me a hundred thousands.' 'What?' he asked. 'Your great grandfather was my great grand fathers slave as you are saying, he has been absconding since many years from his service. In your own logic if I apply modern laws to ancient things... you are liable to pay me for the services he or his kin missed.' 'You kidding right?' he asked. 'Do I look like I am kidding?' I asked politely waiting for him to remove the cheque book. 'You are a beep beep...' he said loudly and stormed out of the room. I simply took in the deep aroma of the beautiful coffee in my hand.

  Uncertainty is on the rise, as uncertain as I was to choose weather brown band or black band will suit better on maroon dress of mine, he stepped in asking which political side I choose.   'IPL cannot happen without Modi,' he announced without bothering to ask if I am interested in his talk or no. 'IPL is a game right? Who cares about Modi?' I replied, obviously proving my lack of knowledge for the gentlemen game played in the same model as selling gigolos in Chandni Bar. 'You hate him don't you? You hate congress too for what they are doing to the country?' he asked. 'What was the good thing they did in the last few years, apart from maybe bigger, better and sophisticated scams. Not to mention robbing the world on international level?

' 'Kalmadi is not a fraud OK, he is framed. You and your BJP will never understand...' 'But who said I support BJP?' I asked, confused. 'Then who do you support?' he asked, 'I know you do not support the Congress...' 'Why should I support either of the two?' I asked. 'Well... you should have a opinion,' he looked at me. 'In a country of 400 million I get to choose only 2 views? Isn't that a bit sad?' I asked, 'And seriously why do I care who comes in power? It is just by choosing between the two evil I have to do right?' 'No wonder people call you crazy...' he replied, 'We are a democratic country and you should choose one of them.

' 'Lets say for a while, I admire Narendra Modi, does not mean every person he supports or rejects automatically becomes my enemy or friend does it? It is simply like I like vanilla ice cream, which goes in nicely with chocolate sauce, but does that mean I should have chocolate sauce on it?' 'You are a strange person,' you know that, he replied, finally leaving me in peace.   I simply resumed writing my note, which was lying dormant for a while. Simply said, the world is as confused as I am about choosing the brown or black band on the maroon dress.   True story.

*P.S.- This article has been written by 'Angana Sengupta' and has been taken up from the NOTE on our facebook page.