DAY-51, THAKUR VILLAGE, KANDIVLI(EAST), MUMBAI, 19TH JULY'09 22.54 HRS

Do we need personal space in married life???

In any relation, whether it is of parents, your child, between lovers or husband and wife. Everyone has own thinking, so they want to live life according to their attitude. It is right that god has created man but he had imparted different thought processes to different people. No two persons are alike in this world and where difference lies. Hence it is important to have a personal space or privacy in married life. A marriage is between two genders and between two different people committed to live together. We don’t marry a perfect person it is the imperfectness of two which later become perfect.

Space and time for ourselves creates a much needed sense of stability and tranquility, particularly in today’s increasingly fast-paced world. As marriage is not any bond which grips the man with its chains. Privacy is essential in married life. two people could know each other in much better manner. As living away for while will tend to realize the importance of the other person in man's life. As always living together the person will not realize the importance.

Privacy doesn't mean hiding something from each other. But it is like having difference in opinion. As after marriage there is drastic change in the life of man and woman. So in some sphere of this married life one may be good, while in some the other. It is not like spending life in aloof. But it is mutual understanding. This shows in actual sense the understanding between the two, which makes the relation stronger. It will turn out to be that bond which is filled with honesty, love and respect, which no storm can break or bend it.

What you think about the personal space in the married life????? Do post your comment…

With love and regards,

Manoj Kumar Ojha

DAY-50, THAKUR VILLAGE, KANDIVLI(EAST), MUMBAI, 18TH JULY' 09 22.32 HRS

Life, frustration and peace of mind

Woke up with a migraine, tried naturopathy to cure it but all effort went into vain. Intermittently it was raining outside..filled with laziness, settled on a couch, switched on TV to get a first hand news of outer world...essence of freshly brewed coffee giving me soothing relaxation.

I came across lot of thoughts when people think that they are not satisfied with their present state of life, every day of their life seems walking on a tight rope...how to get a peace of mind...what is the vulnerability??? Why its obscure to understand the right desire. Why sometimes life seems Obnoxious??? Why this disgruntlement????

When you are confronted with people who are rude, abusive etc. think of them as your guides pushing you off a miserable path onto a path of your own making. Let them walk the tightrope of the fear, anger and monotony without you. Your wish is command, your days are numbered, It is your life. Dream on and move on.

This may lead you to a peaceful life and you have not to worry about the whims of 10 odd individuals.

With lots of love and regards,

Manoj Kumar Ojha

DAY-48/49, THAKUR VILLAGE, KANDIVLI(EAST), MUMBAI, 17TH JULY'09, 16.45 HRS

RAIN WATER HARVESTING

Enjoying every bit of rain drop in Mumbai as came from harsh dry 51 deg C temp of Sahara desert.
Its my relaxing time so get plenty of time to play with kids and flex my thoughts. Cup of coffee in hand and rain outside...watching from window as the rain water droplets strike the A/C cover produces a ting tong sound...walls of the society building started becoming green...is it not right for every society to take initiative and utilize this abandon rain water using rain water harvesting technique.
If we all start utilizing this then the water problem will be solved by its own. No need then to dependent on the reservoirs which gives your blood pressure rise when you hear that water is going to be cut for so and so time during the day.

In Mumbai first time BMC is going to use the artificial rain to fill the reservoirs. In this technique what I understood Silver Iodide will be sprinkled on the cloud from a height of 18,000 ft to 35, 000 ft and then cloud will be penetrated with a missile with thundering sound and the spark which ignite the flare of Silver iodide and which in turn melt the supercooled water hanged in cloud and hence started falling of rain.

So main thing is coming for initiative which every we individual to take in our own society to introduce this rain water harvesting technique to preserve this rain water.

Also, if we all use water sincerely in order to save it from depleting fast viz; by closing tap while doing shaving, close tap while doing shampooing etc will definitely save water of this planet.


With lots of love,

MANOJ KUMAR OJHA

DAY-45/46/47, THAKUR VILLAGE, KANDIVLI(E), MUMBAI, FOR 13TH/14TH AND 15TH JULY'09, 22.39 HRS

Travel from Algeria to India

04.45 am OF 13^th July’09 woke up at the shrilling sound of alarm…..initially thought to take another 5 minutes crucial nap but realized in another 15 minutes to rush to airport. A quick visit to washroom, freshen up and rushed to airport to catch domestic flight from Hassi Mesaoud to Algiers…first time in life I saw that in this domestic flight one should sit anywhere as on first come first basis and there is no any sanctity of seat nos.

Finally reached Algiers, wait for 5 hrs at international airport for connecting flight. It’s really very irritating always to wait for something…..next to me an Algerian family was sitting comprising of a young girl, a kid and their dad. We indulge in conversation and they became very happy to converse in English as there first language is Arabic and 2^nd language is French. They didn’t get any correct environment to practice their academic English so, became exuberant to brush up their English with me.

Tried few times to connect internet from the terminal but failed as wifi was not there. 01.30 pm time to board aircraft bound for Doha…nearly 7 hrs long haul flight…leaving behind the air of North Africa, Egypt…Red Sea….entering into middle east in between twice meals served by plastic smile wore air hostesses. Landed at Doha and rushed to Transit desk as we reached 15 minute late and Ahmadabad flight is about to leave as the last call for boarding was announced….rushed to board plane. My Birthday celebrated by the air of 3 continents… 3 hrs flight to Ahmadabad and landed very smoothly at AMD, a quick check fro Swine flu and immigration then transfer to Domestic airport for getting connecting Kingfisher flight to Mumbai. Ahmadabad was completely dry and temp was around 29 deg C. A perfect landing at Mumbai airport on time arrival…lashing of rain outside…..the enchanting smell emanating from the rain touching the earth…the feeling of coming home…the long await by family and overwhelming excitement of reunion with family keeps me upbeat and forgot all the tiredness once both kids were in my arm.

Since last 2 days its pouring outside and news is flashing on the TV that central rail got affected due to downpour, Bigb’s blog states that waist deep water outside his House Prateekhsha. I am fortunate that water clogging is not in our area as the other areas are inundated completely in rain water.

Why there is no happier then home in any place of the world??? Why we found solace in home then any place of the world???

Why we forget all the tensions and stresses when we are surrounded by kids and their innocent talk and caring touches???

Time to retire on bed….

Have a good night with lots of love….

MANOJ KUMAR OJHA

DAY-44, HASSI MESSAOUD, ALGERIA 12TH JULY'09 18.08 HRS

JOY OF GOING BACK TO MOTHER LAND

You may be millionaire or billionaire in any nook or corner of the world away from your motherland. You may be enjoying the worlds finest luxuries, you may have all the wealth which you never thought of having been in your own motherland...you might be saying openly that you are a very successful persona but at the same time one corner of your mind definitely haunting you that you are not in your motherland...your motherland is calling you. Definitely a kind of guilt popping up on its own on which you don't having any control.

Now the question is why??? Why we all are running after this "Maya" The material....does we brought it when we came to this planet earth???? Do we are going to take the same along with us when we will depart this planet??????

Give a thought onto this and come up with some idea in form of comment.

I personally get a surge of energy when I reach my motherland from anywhere from world. I didn't find the word to describe the state of freedom I experience. The air, the earth, the smell....all the elements completely embrace me like I was in oblivion and suddenly appeared from somewhere.

The overwhelming experience of motherland is entirely different compare to your country of residence.

So, now time has come for me to go for 3 weeks to my motherland.."INDIA" on my birthday..the 13th of July'09.

The whole day I am going to dwell from the air of wild Sahara desert of North Africa to the deserts of Middle east to the enchanting India.

Love you India.

With lots of love,

MANOJ KUMAR OJHA

DAY-43, HASSI MESSAOUD, ALGERIA, 11TH JULY'09, 16.57 HRS

"GO GREEN" IS THE MANTRA TO SAVE OUR PLANET EARTH

I liked this slogan which I read somewhere~

Going green for my children.
I have a dream and it is green.
Peacefully green.
Naturally green.

Let’s go green… let’s go.
It’s all about the trees baby.
My green, your green, our green.
It pays to be green.

We did planting of Sapling yesterday the 10th of July'09 at our base here in the GATEWAY OF SAHARA DESERT, a hamlet called Hassi Messaoud. Here are Pictures~

If everyone of us vow to plant atleast one sapling it will make a big difference towards "GO GREEN".

Need your comment.

Regards,

Manoj Kumar Ojha

DAY-42, HASSI MESSAOUD, ALGERIA, 10TH JULY' 09, 1800 HRS

Thought of sharing few breathtaking pictures of Sahara which I took from Company's plane in December'08. Hope you all will like it and give your valuable comment on the same~

Regards,

Manoj Kumar Ojha

DAY-40/41, HASSI MESSAOUD, ALGERIA 08TH/9TH JULY'09 18.01 HRS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY "PAPA"

The word "Papa" it means a lot to a child. When the child is a toddler he speaks in his broken words Pa-Pa...and its believed that this word "papa" generated for the male parent (father) who also called daddy...dadda..etc. Whole day when mother nurture a child and in evening when Papa comes home after a full day work, child forget his mom and jump into the cradle of Papa's arm. Child find an ultimate solace, security in his Papa's arm. Papa enjoy and forget all the tensions playing with child.Child use to do rock climbing on Papa's chest, reaching on Papa's shoulder on his own is like conquering a mountain peak. Papa use to lift child up and turn him from back to front and front to back completes his necessary workouts which normally people do in gym with weights.

As the time spins into future child grows to a school going kid where he likes to play with his Papa...get his small problems solved, child get completely inundated in love and security of his Papa. Child looks his Papa as a role model and he is the hero for him. He remember when Papa doesn't want to read newspaper on his own use to call him to read English newspaper and when he use to read he developed a liking for newspaper reading and likewise this beautiful habit instill in him. What a beautiful way to develop and nurture a growing child.

Child progresses from School to college but he remains the same old small child for his Papa.

Papa always celebrated his birthday with lot of fanfare and child never forget his Papa's Birthday and with his small savings from the daily pocket money he brought some small gift for his Papa which means a lot to his father as the sentiments attached to that gifts make it very precious.It shows the caringness from a child towards his parent.

Once child got ill and became unconscious, Papa got tensed, called doctor and sat the whole night to keep a watch on his child and finally he got relief when child become conscious after a medication. This shows the utmost care, love and sincerity toward a child from his parent.

Same child when reaches college and completed his professional degree and join some job but still he remain a child for his Papa. He always asks his child if he needs money, if he needs anything then please let him know and without hesitation he will arrange the same. Grown up child has the same values and character as of his parent and he had his self consciousness and he don't want to be a burden on his retired father and very respectfully he denied to take any help.

Time passes by child got married and brought a beautiful wife. And still child remain the same small kid for his parent...as sometime it becomes embarrassing for Child in front of his wife when he is treated by parent in the same kid way.

Child has become a grown up man and got a wonderful job in gulf and he started working intelligently and made a very good rapport with his colleagues and bosses.

It was just 4 months of him working in gulf that one black day he got news from his younger bro that his inspirer, his mentor, his teacher, his best friend, his lovable Papa is no more and left for heavenly abode leaving us in complete void. The space created by him was even not filled by his eldest father figure bro.

The feeling of loneliness, his remembrance always haunted this Child. His father left this planet earth at the age of 64 due to cardiac arrest as he had Asthma.

From then on Child always celebrates on 9th July every year in his solitude the Happy Birthday of his Papa whom he termed the best Papa ever come on this earth.

Child and his father's relationship is very vital in the development and nurturing of a child. The strong bond which created between two makes Child very confident and instill prowess to face the challenges of the outer world.

So. it is always recommended that parent should give time to his child for his better upbringing and overall development.

Have a nice evening...take care

With love and regards,

Manoj Kumar Ojha

DAY-39, HASSI MESSAOUD, ALGERIA 07TH JULY'09 23.38 HRS

COMPLEX, ENVY AND HOW TO OVERCOME IT....

We live in a society which tends to equate our worth with things we have achieved, or with the things we own or have own for ourselves. The main trouble with this way of thinking is that it encourages neurotic pursuit of material things and achievements in the hope that the more we own, the more worth we will have. Envy often begins with such a misconception.

Normally it has been seen that any individuals neighbour possessing more than he does, he begins of getting a complex and feelings of envy. He find it extremely difficult to live with the idea that his neighbour has more worth than he has.

But that is a false notion, for every human being has inherent value by virtue of the fact that he or she is a human person. Our achievements and possessions are not the primary sources of our worth; they make us feel important, but they cannot ultimately give us worth. We came to this planet earth empty handed and likewise we have to leave this planet open handed. If this is true, then we must come to the terms with the ultimate source of our worth and sense of dignity.

If we can have a sense of peace regarding our inherent worth as people, then when we see the possessions and achievements of others we need not respond with a tired and intensely uncomfortable feeling of envy which leads us into all kinds of frenzied activity and ill feeling because we have not come face to face with our own worth.

De-emphasise the value of the envied objects either for yourself or for the person who possess them.

Finally today at Staple centre, L.A,; a musical tribute offered to Late Michael Jackson by renowned artists of Hollywood and the program concluded with the song “ Heal the world”.

I’ll love to get your comments.

With love and regards,

MANOJ KUMAR OJHA

DAY-38, HASSI MESSAOUD, 06TH JULY'09, 23.35 HRS

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF BUDGET FOR A COMMON MAN???

Every year we see finance minister come to Parliament, hold in front of the entrance momentarily, flash his shining Crimson color briefcase to the horde of media photographers and then step in Parliament. As a Finance minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee's it was 4Th term in the Parliament.

All the Channels try to give you insight of budget prior it get tabled. Same thing happened today as one of the channel was flashing "Breaking News" that Buying house will be cheap, income tax relaxation will be there and lot of other greenery they were showing...I don't know what kind of Sherlock Holmes they employ to get the solid news. But once the Budget get tabled in Parliament you come to realize...its mere an eye wash by media Channels to garner their TRP and nothing else.

Now, the big question is how Budget affect the commoner and what does this mean to them? Have you ever realized. Post budget you might have noticed that suited booted lot of Industry honchos giving their analysis on budget and statistics shows in multi crores. But again what this multi crores means to a commoner who always try to grasp something gluing to their TV set.

My thoughts onto budget are as following~

1. From housewives perspective : Concern for increase in grocery items, price of LPG , Increase of price in cosmetics.

2. From salaried persons perspective : Concern for Income tax savings...alas this time they are getting just Rs 85/- per month as a saving. Just Rs 10,000 increase in the limit from last year for no tax bracket i.e.; Rs 1.5 lac to 1.6 lac.

Concern for interest rate on home loan - Nothing mentioned in this budget.

Concern for increase or decrease in automobiles price, fare of Taxi and bus, fees of lawyer and doctor, price of medicines, health care, education etc.

In one hand we are saying that history created as the inflation has gone in minus but on other hand prices are on steep rise. If any direct relation is there between inflation and rise of price then why price is not getting corrected?

In this budget main focus was on National Rural health Mission(NRHM) which aims to provide quality health care to villagers, with the allocation for this United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government flagship programme increased by Rs.2,057 crore. But it is of doubt if its reach will be their to the beneficiaries.

What is your take on this budget? Don't forget to comment on this blog.

Time to go to bed.

With love and regards,

MANOJ KUMAR OJHA

DAY-37, HASSI MESSAOUD, 05TH JULY'09, 21.35 HRS

IS THIS INSECURITY OR FEAR???

An interesting and a very complex subject I chose to discuss with you all and I’m really looking forward to finding out my thoughts on this by writing this blog. Firstly, it is important to acknowledge that most people fear change. They fear losing their jobs, lack of money, war, ill-health, fear of losing loved ones in fact a whole heap of things that in themselves imply a change of state - from happiness (or in most cases comfort) to unhappiness.

Indeed is this all it is? People fear change because they associate it with a change from good to bad or from bad to worse? Tried to discuss few ~

Fearing change at work: Why? Because they think that their job is already hard and change has previously meant more workload or new systems to learn.

Fearing change in relationships: Why? Because, people are frightened to be on their own, or lose a partner or a family member or a friend.

There seems to be a pattern emerging here… Are people simply focusing on the bad stuff and not any of the good that may come from change? If this is the case, why?

One guess, and it is a guess, would be that we are constantly bombarded from an early age with negative messages about change. We are encouraged to focus on all the bad things that may happen and certainly from our news and media, how things are not as good as they used to be. In fact if we looked at the evidence, there is more money, better lifestyle, more opportunity and better health and health care than there ever has been. So really what is there to fear?

I’m remembering the book, Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, by Susan Jeffers, in which she states that the real fear is the fear of not being able to handle it. This ties in very nicely with change - if change happens, we are automatically or instinctively frightened that we will not be able to handle it.

So people fear change, because they focus on the possible negative impacts on their happiness and lives and they do not know if they will be able to handle it. I’d be really interested to hear your thoughts on this, click below on the comments link and leave a message.

Regards,

Manoj Kumar Ojha

DAY-36, HASSI MESSAOUD, ALGERIA, 04TH JULY'09, 23.50 HRS

MONEY, SEX AND HAPPINESS

Aspirations were identified as either “intrinsic” or “extrinsic” how much value one have for “deep, enduring relationships” and “helping others improve their lives” (intrinsic goals) versus being “a wealthy person” and achieving “the look I’ve been after” (extrinsic goals).

The more committed you are to a goal; the more likely you are to attain it. And while achieving most goals brings happiness, that’s not always the case if your motivations are extrinsic — if you’re pursuing money and power.

“The evidence actually argues pretty strongly against this widely-held notion that if I’d just get rich and famous, I’d be so happy.”

When we focus on monetary goals, we run the risk of becoming trapped on the “hedonic treadmill”, working harder and harder to make more and more money. This does not lead to happiness.

Money should be the tool to achieve some higher goal. Be successful, learn skills, and take risks… just don’t do it for the money, do it for something greater: Family, friends, community.

But an excess of money does not mean we have an excess of happiness.

There’s nothing wrong with making money, but basing your life on making money will eventually lead to a life of disappointment. Someone will always have more money than you.

As humans we tend to compare ourselves to those in our direct social circles and those we see on TV. This constantly makes our desire for more and more. Instead I try to compare myself to the world at large. When you do this you may realize how lucky most of us have it. Sometimes you just have to be thankful for what you have and be content.

Read an article which says ~

Good news for folks whose bedrooms have more activity than their bank accounts: Research shows that sex is better for your happiness than money.

After analyzing data on the self-reported levels of sexual activity and happiness of 16,000 people, Dartmouth College economist David Blachflower and Andrew Oswald of the University of Warwick in England report that sex "enters so strongly (and) positively in happiness equations" that they estimate increasing intercourse from once a month to once a week is equivalent to the amount of happiness generated by getting an additional $50,000 in income for the average American.

A recent survey indicates that young people view human relationships, most especially family ties, as the greatest cause of happiness in life.

So, the conclusion is keeping a good family life is the greater cause for happiness.

With love and regards,

MANOJ KUMAR OJHA

DAY-35, HASSI MESSAOUD, ALGERIA 03RD JULY'09 23.39 HRS

WIMBLEDON, CRICKET...CRESCENDO !!!....INDIAN RAIL BUDGET !!!

Today was the day of full of activities, being Friday we work till noon then took a quick lunch and slept for 2 hrs then began Wimbledon...how clinical win by Roger Federer by defeating Tommy Haas in straight 3 sets...then came fiery service at pace of 141 miles/hr of American Andy Roddick...GB's Andy Murray who was much better in return strokes could not keep pace with Roddick and finally lost semi final and Andy Roddick pushed to final...it will be a feat for our eyes to watch the great finale between Swiss Federer and American Andy Roddick.

At St Lucia rain was playing hide and seek and finally India won toss and put West Indies to bat, match got limited to 27 overs due to rain using D/L method. WHAT A FINALE !!! WHAT A CRESCENDO !!! 11 Runs and 6 balls, Pathan was facing bowling and 1 st ball he ran for 1 run and now equation become 10 runs and 5 balls..M.S.Dhoni facing Jerome Taylor's bowling and here goes A WHOPPING SIX !!! Bringing down the moral of West Indies and putting them in pressure. M.S. Dhoni made it finally situation to an ease and INDIA won by 6 wickets and taking a lead of 2-1 in the series.

Today was the day for Indian Rail Budget, Mamata Banerjee tried her best to cater all the areas of the country and proposed around 50 world class stations, ticket availability from post offices and mobile offices, Non Stop trains, more emphasis on hygiene etc. On the other hand Air India didn't kept their promise to pay wages to the employees by Friday and hence they went on 2 hr strike. Its now required to do a serious re-structuring of Air India and introducing the budget flights in domestic sector in order to garner revenues.

Temperature here in Sahara desert rising by the passing of each day, July is told to be the hottest month of Sahara..I am feeling envy as India now facing monsoon and here I am drying up completely in this humidity less place. Come Mid July and I fly back to India for 3 weeks voyage.

Going to sleep.....with lots of love and regards,

MANOJ KUMAR OJHA

DAY-34, HASSI MESSAOUD, ALGERIA 02ND JULY'09 22.53 HRS

BIHAR ON THE PATH OF DEVELOPMENT

For a state where caste identities have played an overriding role in politics, development is inching its way into the political lexicon of Bihar for the first time and all the credit goes to the present Chief minister Mr. Nitish Kumar.

All the new roads, bridges and civic infrastructure he has built in the state and the development is a tangible reality in Bihar. Patna now boasts of a six-lane road (Bailey Road) and Nitish Kumar has managed to re-open several old sugar mills in Bihar, which had closed down during the tenure of Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi.

Nitish Kumar and his political ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), had an edge in this election. Lalu Prasad, whose Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) had the lion's share of seats in the previous Lok Sabha, had been swept off. Not only that Ram Vilas Paswan who was dictating his terms during his tenure in last Lok Sabha and during formation of Bihar government has been completely uprooted. He lost his election from Hajipur from where he once won by hundred of thousands of votes and got included his name in Guinness books of world records.

"For the first time, people are talking about development.
"Earlier, politics and elections were all about social justice and empowerment. In the early 1990s, it was Mandal; then it was the 'kamandal' (Brahmins and other upper castes represented by the BJP) and then the turmoil between Mandal and kamandal. Consequently, development took a beating, pulling the state back by at least two decades.

Nitish Kumar was making a serious effort to improve civic infrastructure, despite the odds and the political red tape. "Nitish is an honest person, but he is part of a corrupt system.

"The law and order situation is better. However, the state still needs a lot of support. Those affected by floods (of 2008) have not yet been rehabilitated”.

The three major development issues that need to be addressed are poverty, electricity and roads. "Things had deteriorated during Lalu Prasad's regime".

By creating more jobs migration from districts like Siwan and Gopalganj to Dubai, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh had to stop.

"It is a catch-22 situation. Agricultural land is shrinking and in districts like Motihari and Bettiah which still have some land left, farmers do not have the money to till it".

Muslims in the M-Y (Muslim-Yadav) vote bank of the RJD were gradually switching allegiance to Nitish Kumar.

"Lalu Prasad has not done much for Muslims. Actually, Muslims in Bihar were quite confused and were in a dilemma since Nitish Kumar is aligned with L.K. Advani," They wanted to give Nitish Kumar a chance due to his sincere effort towards development and finally Lok Sabha results showed the magnificent victory to Nitish Kumar and his development agenda.

The poll violence was to the minimal during the poll staggered to four phases. Voters broke the caste barrier. They exercised franchise to endorse the development agenda, coupled with improved law and order, rather as a pre-requisite for the fulfilment of developmental aspirations that CM Nitish Kumar, leading the Bihar NDA government, went drumming about from any pulpit, or any platform or fora available to him. NDA has bagged 32 of the 40 seats -- 80 per cent.

6 engineering colleges are going to come up in the next 4 months. NRI’s are now taking interest to invest in Bihar in Health Care sector, IT sector etc.

Separate NRI department is getting established.

Nitish Kumar is trying to get Special status for Bihar from the Central govt and for this more than Rs 14,000 crore required for different development programmes.

Wishing all the success to BIHAR.

Here is the Ex President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s Bihar Visit details~

Missile Man?s mantra for Bihar take-off

Patna: In what is being viewed as a major development, probably the first of its kind in the country, President AP J Abdul Kalam, presented | a roadmap to legislators of Bihar | for transforming the state into a' developed one in the next 10 years. ,

Giving a power-point presentation in the assembly before MLAs and MLCs while addressing a special joint session of the state legislature on Tuesday, Kalam asked them: "What will you like to be remembered for? That you have done something for development of the state, obviously"
He asked the state government to prepare a "global human resources cadre". "Prepare two million youths of the state for high value employment in IT, BPO and allied sectors before 2010," he said.

Kalam presented his roadmap? "Missions For Bihar's Prosperity" ? promising that it would increase per capita income of the state from the existing Rs 6,300 to Rs 35,000 by 2010 and Rs one lakh by 2015. "At present, the number of people below poverty line is around 42 per cent of the state's population. It will come down to zero and the literacy rate, currently at 48 per cent, rise to 100 per cent," he said laying emphasis on female literacy.

Kalam's roadmap for development of Bihar was apparently well researched as it fixed targets in the field of education, health, agriculture, infrastructure development and other areas.

It all sounded like the "10 Commandments". "Bihar will be transformed into a dream developed state," Kalam said, adding that there would be no shortage of funds for development as it would get major allotments from Bharat Nirman programme and other central schemes.

The first thrust area identified by him was agriculture and agro food processing. "Triple your food grain productivity," he said stressing that; Bihar had the potential of becoming the rice bowl of the country. He laid stress on revival the sugar industry saying north-Binar is best suited for sugarcane production and suggested creation of Sugar co-operatives, for running sugar mills on the :Maharashtra pattern. He also emphsis on dairy development , food processing and horticulture .This will lead to empowerment of 27 lakh farmers and a business of 100,000 crore," Kalam said.

Kalam said the second thrust area was education and entrepreneurship. "You have a lot to do in this field," he remarked. Kalam recalled his December 2005 visit to the state and the talk with vice-chancellors regarding delay in holding of final exams depriving students of various opportunities; "I do not know how you tolerated it for so long," he that "the VCs has promised to put exam schedules and academic sessions back on track by 2007. "Higher education should lead to employment generation in the state instead of adding to the crowd of job-seekers," the President said. "Bihar should aim for an IIT."

Kalam called for establishment of Nalanda International University with international partnership at the cost of Rs 200 crore. "The focus of the university should be world peace and prosperity ? devoid of crime, terrorism and war," he said.

The other seven key areas identified by him included health care, flood and water mission, infrastructure development, tourism, creation of exclusive economic zones and strengthening e-governance in Bihar.




1 Triple the paddy and wheat output?rice production from 5.5 million tonnes to 15 million tonnes and wheat production from 4 million tonne to 12 million tonnes ? in the next four years. This will double the earning of 25 million farmers. Create sugar cooperatives on the line of sugar cooperatives in Maharashtra which can establish 10 sugar mills in which we can utilise the 100 lakh MT of sugarcane being produced in the state. This will increase the income of 2.3 million sugarcane growers.

Increase the participation of families in Bihar State Cooperative Milk Producers' Federation ? from the existing 2,61,000 members to 7,50,000 members ? in the next three to four-years and spread the programme to all districts of the state. Produce 30 tonnes of milk powder.

Increase fruit production from existing 3 million tonnes to 10 million tonnes by 2010. Increase production of vegetables from existing 7.5 million tonnes to 20 million tonnes during: the same period.

Establish 500 processing plants in the state's 38 districts for storage, processing and food,packaging and marketing in 500 village clusters(PURA clusters; that is, Providing Urban facility in Rural Areas) in Bihar. Each will cost Rs10 crore to start with and the turn-over of the500 PURAs will be Rs 100 crore. Build up cold-storage capacity to the extent of one million tonnes of vegetables and one million tonnes of
fruits.

2 Reduce the number of school dropouts. Develop human resources with value and entrepreneurship. Reach out quality education through tele-education skills training. Ministry of human resources should consider setting up IIT. State government should set up additional technical institutes. The school and university syllabus has to be integrated with entrepreneurship courses so that pass-outs can start small enterprises.

3 Bihar shoud prepare a global cadre of skilled youths with specific knowledge and another cadre for research and leadership. Bihari youths should capture two million jobs iii the IT sector.

4 Set up a world class university in 200 acres at the cost of Rs 500 crore with the help of Buddhist countries like Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand and other partnerships.

5 Introduce mobile clinics in all districts. Super speciality corporate hospitals may be set up.Insurance model for people of Bihar with government providing Rs 3 per month per citizen and the citizen confuting an equal amount. Double the health budget.

6 Recover all water bodies from encroachment .Desilt village ponds. Carry out; dredging of the rivers, create check dams so that water can be retained hi drought-prone south Bihar. Encourage fishing in the ponds. Create 5QO km- long waterways in south Bihar, connecting the South with the northern part of the- state. It will provide irrigation facility to over five million farmers and generate 1000 MWs of power.

7 Improve maintenance of National Highways to international standards. 35,500- km village roads to be made all-weather roads. Quality power with zero interruption.

8 Increase domestic tourism from existing 7 million :per year to 25 million. The number of international tourists should be increased from one lakh to one million by tapping state's religious circuits and improving infrastructure. It will create four million jobs and additional revenue of 10 million dollars per year.

9 Create 10 exclusive economic zones to set up industries such as those of leather, silk, sports, sugar, IT and special tourist products. Each region should aim a turn-over of at least Rs 5,000 crore per annum.

10 A transparent, smart e-governance with seamless access, secure and authentic flow of information crossing the inter-departmental barrier.

Source: Times of India, Mar.29, 2006.

Now to hit bed…..

Good night….. J

MANOJ KUMAR OJHA

DAY-33, HASSI MESSAOUD, ALGERIA, 01ST JULY'09, 23.50 HRS

We Can’t Have Two Thoughts At A Time

Today I would like to share this article which is related to Sri Ramkrishna Paramhansa ~

The moment a new thought comes inside our system, it means that the old thought has lost its power or influence over us. If the new thought has entered us, it means the old thought has been renounced because we cannot have two thoughts at a time.
There is a beautiful story by Ramakrishna Paramahansa:

A king who was inside a huge fort was once attacked by an army that was two million strong. The king only had two or three people around him and got very frightened. He told his adviser: 'Two million people, and I am all alone. They will kill me!' The royal adviser said, 'Don't worry, Sir. Open only one door. Surely through one door only one person can come in at a time. As they come in, stand on this side of the door and kill them one by one. Over! Do not try to fight with the whole crowd.'

If we think all our enemies are gathered together, we will start having unnecessary fears. Whether we accept it or not, our mind which is filled with thoughts seems to be our first enemy. Understand: we cannot have even two thoughts at a time, leave alone a crowd of thoughts. Understand very clearly that we can have only one thought at a time. Unless the old thought is pushed out, the second thought cannot come. Any thought that comes in and pushes the old thought out is more powerful than the old thought.

The problem arises when we create the belief that our thoughts are connected to each other. When we connect our thoughts, out of the connection a problem takes shape. Our belief we have some problem is our only problem.

Every moment our inner space is purified by the new incoming thoughts. If we allow this process to continue, it will happen by itself and clean itself also. There is no need for us to clean our mind. All we need to do is just get out — just get out of the system so that the system can proceed on its own.
One important truth we should know is that even if we want, we cannot possess or hold onto our suffering for long. Even if we try to hold it, we cannot hold our suffering because continuously, our thought that creates suffering is also replaced by newer thoughts!

Understand that if you nurture the fact that any suffering can be replaced by a stream of fresh thoughts, then that becomes reality for you. Then there is no suffering. You have the power to bring on a new thought, which proves you have the power to drop the old thought. Allow your thoughts to be replaced. Tremendous awareness, energy and intelligence will happen in your system. Be Blissful!

MANOJ KUMAR OJHA

DAY-32, HASSI MESSAOUD, ALGERIA, 30TH JUNE'09, 23.50 HRS

ODYSSEY TO SHANGHAI

Apparently it's more difficult to pack for a 8 days than I remembered. As wife sat in my room folding all my button down shirts so that they didn't resemble paraplegic origami like the first few I folded, my lil angelic daughter and I were looking rather sceptically at the proposed two suitcases I was to use for this little adventure. One was large but not huge, and the other was less than large. It became apparent that some adjustments might have to be made to the packing strategy. God do you really need that many shirts?

After it took two of us to close up the big suitcase, I brought down a scale to weigh the baggage, I imagined I was well over the allotted 20 kgs we were allowed to carry without penalty...only by a little bit. The two bags together came in at 70 kgs ! Including my computer and the stuff in my backpack, I had packed more than my body weight worth of crap. I did some adjustment and packed as per allotted weight accordingly.

 Afterwards I showered, shaved, put on some obnoxiously bright clothing, said my goodbyes and left for my next great journey.

It began as all great journeys do, with a smaller and much more manageable journey. I had the good graces to fly out of Kolkata airport.

On the plane to Bagkok...I slept...moving on.

After a brief stop in Bangkok I was on my way again to Shanghai. I stayed up just long enough to watch the ground and Bangkok disappear under the clouds before I passed out. I went under and didn't recover until some mush in a compartmentalized plastic tray was staring at me from my tray table. It was a good start to an otherwise arduous flight, I slept straight to the first meal. My communication with my neighbour was a sort of combination between head nods, guttural clicks, and drooling on my tee-shirt. Sometimes to add inflection I'd scratch myself or roll my eyes.

After another meal and another few solid hours of sleep I began spoken communications with the life form next to me.

We landed without fanfare and I stepped foot on Chinese soil for the first time, it was incredible...how much the International Airport in Shanghai resembled every other international airport in the world. Went through customs, changed some money over, and went out into the massive crowd outside the arrival gate to find a placard with my name on it.

Toward the end of the line a Chinese dude had a little sign with my name on it, he spoke English, well a little bit, with a massive accent, so I decided to just get in the cab and keep quiet for a while. As we streaked out of the airport, sticking mostly to the passing lane, I let the city fill me, the traffic, the trucks with piles of hay between the cab and the cargo, the horns with their high octaves from tiny cars, and the endless squealing of breaks that needed changing.

Everyone had warned us about the smog before we left but my first day here, the sky couldn't have been bluer, dotted with white puffy cumulus clouds. My eyes slid from the right window to the left, letting the geometry of the city unfold into its grids and towers and slums around me. From my vantage point, slightly above the city on an elevated highway, it didn't seem much different from any other city but the one thing that stood out in my mind as a we're not in Mumbai anymore moment. It took a little while for the cab to hit traffic, but hit traffic it did; and one thing I did notice was some odd configurations on motorcycles and mopeds in the city. For instance one might see a motorcycle body with one wheel in front, two in back with a canopy hovering over the rider/driver and a little table on the back. People in this city have somewhere to go, those who can't afford a car get a moped, those who can't get a moped get a moped/bike combination, like an electric bicycle with pedals and a motor, and those who can't get one of those get a bike. I haven't seen a single rickshaw to my complete and utter dismay.

We pulled a few turns, ran a few red lights, and finally pulled into my humble hell hole; the Motel 108 in Pudong District. I rolled my luggage a whopping 12 feet from the front door into my new room on the 8 floor. It's actually not such a bad place, about the same size as my room in Dubai.

I dropped off the luggage and then went across the street for noodles. My noodles were unbearably spicy and I got through about a third of the bowl before my stomach went on the warpath. Something was rising through my bowels and it wasn't happy thoughts. Once I stopped eating the devil's noodles things were beginning the slow decent to normalcy, however, it was fast approaching 10 PM or 9 PM. The important thing is that it was getting late, and a decision was bearing down on me, would I spend my first night in Shanghai resting off the plane ride, or attacking and burning the city to the ground? Finally I decided to venture out in the Shanghai night, with no expectations, loan money to burn, thirsty gullets, and open minds, when I got into the taxi I told the driver where to go, to a street with "a lot of shops where foreigners go." For day one that was good enough for me.

Suddenly a phrase from a Chinese history book popped into my head, in the nineteenth century Shanghai was known as The Whore of the Orient.

I wandered down the street a bit trying to gleam a little insight from anyone sober enough to walk in a crooked line and were given directions to a few of the more substantial good souvenir shops. I moved down the street a few blocks where the sights ranged from a 20 foot statue of an Indian, (feathers not dots) a bowling alley/trance club combination, a Turkish restaurant/Hookah bar and a myriad of Irish pubs, a T.G.I. Fridays, and about a dozen crones offering massages with what I imagine would be the happiest of endings to a blind man. I clearly had stumbled onto Gringo Ground Zero in Shanghai.

There was an epic metal fence around the street corner opposite me, and the inside of what sounded like a hugely crowded establishment was completely obscured by huge shrubs. As I turned the corner a horde of tired looking Chinese woman offering massages came charging at us like some kind of hooker cavalry. I ducked, dodged, weaved and fled in terror and pretty soon I was in the courtyard of Zepatas, Mexican restaurant by day, expat sanatorium by night. I was completely surrounded by large white men looking down the shirts of short Chinese women. Half of the patrons wore suits, and the other half looked like grungy, drunk, and loud. I was happy with the turn of events...and then 80's rock emanating from the bar area.

I stayed on for some undisclosed amount of time before getting into a cab. The cab sped off into the night, through the dizzying maze of a new city on the first night. I made a recap of the night as the taxi flew past the half dozen establishments I'd frequented that evening and after about 17,000 apartment complexes flashed by the windows we were back home.

Soon after I got back I decided it was about time to collapse in my new bed. 

Welcome to Shanghai.

Rest of the Odyssey I'll continue some other day.... :)

With love and Regards,

MANOJ KUMAR OJHA