29 Nov 2013

#36 A speechless warning

  A speechless warning

To my enemies,
I warn you all.
Get stuck to your place
Lest you should fall
From the pinnacle of hallucination
Which might set your wit in motion.

Shed off the feeling of being superior
As it would never let you feel
The experience of a
Gallant warrior.

Do notice that I warn you
Through my unsaid dialogues
I do not curse any catastrophe
To cause any havoc
Cause that’s of no use.

Oh! How foolishly you believe what you see
And you claim that’s why you are distancing me
Your each attempt of belittling myself
Is doing nothing much (to you)but
Multiplying my will reinforced with tolerating capability
I doubt if you’ve ever discovered a
Slightest part of my ability
In fact, you’re unknowingly lifting
My spirit up but unwittingly
Making your roles great flops.

Remember!! Your steps can never distract me
Unless I allow your intensions to overpower me
Ironically, you’re heading trouble for yourself
Which you don’t realize
And pretend to be sympathetic
Which is not required at all.


I neither point you out
Nor do I ever think to shout
To highlight your silliness
Cause I don’t wish to transform those
Who are never meant to be transformed

Use of slangs never display your smartness
But only my smartness to neglect them
Unfortunately your humiliating words
Have never been able to drive me back.

In spite of your deeds
I stretch out my arms
To embrace you when you require
To comfort you
When you feel desolated.

It shows my greatness
To always shadow your weaknesses
See, how uniquely you’ve
Invoked my literary taste.
And I should not forget
To appreciate.

I’m not going to dissipate
My wrath in form of ugly revenge
As you may expect
You must see that, this is my
Concept of forgiving.

12.08.2010
Swati Sarangi


28 Nov 2013

#35 My first attempt


 My first attempt





       In this post, I’m going to reveal the very first poem I composed. I composed it when I was in standard. VI and that was on “Mother”. It is said that the first word of address which emanates from the mouth of a child is none other than of his Mother’s. It was similar in my case of poetry. I composed that poem in the school during the period of Sanskrit as I had already finished the task of that class. This attempt proved to be a small step taken towards doing what I enjoy doing and later became my favorite pastime. I don’t have the answer to the question what made me to compose a poem on that day. I hope that you won’t underestimate the words chosen randomly from a child’s constrained sphere of vocabulary and imagination.
   

     Mother is an epitome of unconditional love, sacrifice and care. She is someone on Earth whose lips are in constant motion of uttering prayer and good wishes for her children. She is someone who has been sacrificing her every comfort, her every desire for the sake seeing us happy. Do you forget the pain that she very happily and comfortably embraced during those deadly nine months? She neither demands nor complains about anything but she deserves a huge display of warmth and reciprocation of our emotions. It is unfortunate to state that in a country like India which is full of values, morals and emotions, mothers at old age face rejection from their own children. It is evident from the fact that the number of old age homes are on rise. It was extremely emotional for me to watch a one hour video of an episode of Satya Meva Jayate – a TV serial dedicated to the problems and cause of common people hosted by a famous actor Aamir Khan, on old age homes. The scene of old ladies sitting in rows, near the temples of Mathura , waiting eagerly for the arrival of their children or even the slight glimpse of them would serve the purpose, was disturbing. It was such a scene that would question the level of your compassion. I’ve been to the holy land of Mathura and Vrindavan while I was just a kid and also noticed the aforementioned unfortunate thing but I didn’t know the cause of that or I was too young to understand all those emotions. I wonder how can someone leave his root of existence to her own fate by letting her to get trapped in the never ending vicious cycle of waiting? That wait is very very painful, I can feel. Did you forget the incidence of your mother’s agony in arranging anything that you demanded for, while you were a kid? She put everything aside to fulfill even the littlest need of yours. Did she ever make you wait for the thing that you asked her to give? Then why does she have to suffer in the last stages of her life when she requires a lot of emotional and mental support? Did you forget those incidences when she awakened your spirit when you were depressed and felt downtrodden? We owe a lot to our parents. We can never ever repay the debt that we owe to them, even in several births. So, let’s promise ourselves to look at the needs of our parents during the time when they need us the most. Let’s all prove ourselves to be the best children of the world. Our parents deserve a lot in return of what they’ve done for us.         

Mother

Mother,mother,mother
She always bothers
She is sweet as flowers
She is happy as shower.

She looks happy
When I do my work
She looks annoyed
When I do mischieves.

She is active
Sometimes passive
And fills colors in my life
So, I pray God for her long life.

Mother, Mother, Mother
Sweet as flowers
Happy as blowers
And bright as colors.



Concluding this article with few lines taken from different songs of Bollywood(in Hindi),
Jisko nahin samjha hamne kabhi
Par uski zaroorat kya hogi, he Maa
He Maa, teri soorat se alag
Bhagban ki Soorat Kya hogi, kya Hogi.
English translation- When we don’t understand God then what is his need? OH! Mother I wonder how could be the face of Almighty different from yours?

Bhejna itna door mukhko tu
Laut ke bhi tujhko aana paaoon Ma
Kya itna boora hoon , mein Maa?
Tujhe sab hei pata…. Meri Maa
English Translation- Don’t send me too away from you that I even don’t come to your thoughts. Am I so bad? I know you understand everything….

P.S: This post was supposed to be just a poem but I could not resist myself from expressing my ideas and thoughts. I hope you consider those.

24.11.2013
Swati Sarangi


#34 Every man's man Shaktimaan



Every man’s man- Shaktimaan

             21st NOV- World Philosophy Day. It was just an ordinary day for me until I grasped the essence of the day at the end of it.  I was ignorant of the speciality of this day before until I scanned the pages of my favorite newspaper TIMES OF INDIA from where I got to know about something called “World Philosophy Day”. The presented piece of writing is the result of the influence of the article published on the same day under the section TIMES IDEAS and under the column SPEAKING TREE (It is the column devoted to spiritual ideologies and thoughts. Trees don’t speak literarily. The picture of an old, firm banyan tree symbolizes wisdom or in other words maturity of thoughts). The published article was entitled as “Learn to respect your gut instincts”. The contents of that article were so informative and motivating that its effects stayed with me for next few days. I felt extremely peaceful, enlightened and full of positivity after I completed reading that. It not only provided me a sense of spiritual satisfaction at the desired level but also rejuvenated some old sweet and interesting memories of past. So, I want to share those with you all the readers of this article. I hope that I spread the similar sense of awareness in you for yourself which I received when I completed reading that article. Combo: with old memories.  

            The name Shaktimaan was once a name of every household, during the era of our childhood. It was a sci-fi TV serial featuring a Superhero, Shaktimaan. Shaktimaan is a Hindi word which means man of power. Every super hero serves as a role model for the people of the society. He is like a savior, fights against all evils and always tries to restore peace in the society. Where there is a Superhero, it is certain that there must be villains. So they were also present in the show with some awkward and weird get-ups adding to the level of suspense, action and thriller to which we children were most attracted to. We all children of the house would glue to the screen of the TV like most innocent and obedient children of the world when it was telecasted. We were addicted to it to such an extent that we would also never forget to watch the repeat telecast of the episodes!! We were that crazy for the serial!! It amazes me when I think about my obsession with any serial!! I generally run away from daily soaps.

           There were other attractive things in that serial to mention. The serial used to open up with a picture of a human being, shown meditating to activate various Chakras of his body. The entire scene was set under a cosmic background with a faint chant of OM. That was so interesting for me since the space thing was involved. The scene of chakras sometimes astonished me and sometimes it left me with a sense of laughter for not being able to understand the thing properly. I was, in fact, too young to comprehend the spiritual aspect of the described system. As far I recall, few words of the casting song were “jab hota hai aadmi ko apna gyan, kehlaya who Shaktimaan”. Its English translation is when a man tries to realize his true worth, he becomes most powerful. After many years, I now realize the density offered by each word of that song. If we connect the virtuality to reality we may find a connection. It would never be wrong to say that we are no different from the same hero whom we used to glance in our TV screens for many hours and for many subsequent years. You don’t believe? You have to believe that we all are Shaktimaan of real life (not different in characteristics from the reel Shaktimaan, but I can’t assure you about the look!) Yes, we all are spiritual beings. In reality, we are emotionally, mentally and physically very very powerful. Being powerful is our true nature and if we feel we are not, then we are suffering from low gut instinct and that is because the internal chakras of our body have not been activated so far. It is of utmost importance to activate the internal chakras of our body to always stay in a state of continuous awareness about our existence, strengths and purpose of our life.  Sharing my limited knowledge about different chakras- There are seven Chakras in our body and different Yoga procedures (and Pranayam- mediatation and other exercises) have been defined to activate them. When these Chakras are in the activated state, we experience peace, bliss and everything that we long for. So, I don’t think there is anyone who wants to stay in the state of dormancy. What are you waiting for?? Get started now and enjoy the wonderful gift of the Almighty given to you- life. 

21.11.2013
Swati Sarangi


16 Nov 2013

#33 Optimizing equation of life

Optimizing the equation of life
(Mathematical model / approach to the problems of life)

        To begin with, I would first like to introduce the topic of my article to the readers. Actually, optimizing Engineering was among the subjects to be studied in 5th semester in engineering course. It is completely a mathematical subject. Since Math has always fascinated me, I studied this subject with more interest which later seemed easy. I have a habit of correlating the concepts to real life situations. This is the reason due to which this article has come into existence (my first ever attempt to connect Engineering stuffs with real life- mathematically modeling a real life problem, believe me it won’t be that scary!!).  Going through the details of the subject to make the readers acquainted with the associated terms, I would like to elaborate things little more. We are given a function (known as objective function) to optimize. When there is an equation, there must always be variables. In this case, the variables are addressed as decision variables. The process of optimizing an equation includes both maximizing and minimizing with constraints and non-negative variables. The constraints are either in form of equalities or inequalities. The decision variables may be restricted or unrestricted depending upon the nature of the problem. The given function may be linear or non- linear. This diversifies the problem giving rise to a lot of possibilities in its formation and solving procedure. 

The form of a problem is given below:


Max Z= f(x1,x2,x3……….xn)

Subjected to constraints:

AX < = > b

Where x1,x2,x3…. Xn > 0.


      If we try to apply the concept of optimization in the equation of life, we will end up connecting the objective function to the aims/aspirations/ goals of individuals. Depending upon the perspectives, choices and conditions of an individual, these goals vary. Hence, it can be treated as a function. So, objective function can never be unique. The decision variables are the factors (both internal and external) affecting a decision. In real life, they act as driving forces in achieving something. So, they must be very carefully selected. Now, let’s discuss about constraints. Constraints in real life are the obstacles which prevent us from achieving what we want to achieve. Again, the constraints can be of two types: internal and external. Internal constraints are the insecurities developed in mind such that fear of failure, guilt, tendency of procrastination, being judgmental, greed, lack of self control etc. External factors comprise of environmental conditions, distractions due to surrounding etc. Assuming the decision variables to be non-negative, in this case I can relate the presence of decision variables to be certain (Does any human being exist without having the tendency to take decision in his life?)So, non-negativity of the decision variables can be connected to the fact of their existence. By now, we have completed the process of arranging the prerequisites for the problem but we are not done yet. Now, the question of optimizing the problem arises- whether we have to minimize or maximize?? The answer is quite obvious. If our goals are constructive, then we need to maximize the problem otherwise minimize it. The non-linearity of the problem can be indicated by the level of complexities it has. The more complexities involved, more fascinating the outcomes would be.



        In the nutshell, life would have been empty or a worthless void if there were no problems. Problems are the part and parcel of our life.  We can never avoid them as they carry deep messages with them and force us to challenge them. Problems offer us opportunities for self improvement. When we are reluctant to face them, we lead a life full of terror captivated by the feelings of defeat and loss.  The feeling which comes through the victory of overcoming challenging is exhilarating. This completely transforms us into a being that we always desire to become. So, to be at peace and harmony with the confronting and rebellious thoughts arousing inside the mind, there is a need for us to look at the problem from a different perspective so that we are successful enough to grasp the deep messages hidden in it.



All the best for facing the problems of life..


Go Ahead!!


10.11.2013

Swati Sarangi

6 Nov 2013

#32 Gender Disparity

Gender disparity


This article has been written in response to an article that was published in TOI(Times of India) on 27th NOV,2013 under the section Times Nation , entitled “ India’s gender gap among the worst” . According to the Global Gender gap index released by the World Economic Forum, India stood at 101 in list of 136 nations. India ranked a lowly 101st of 136 countries, indicating a huge disparity in access of women to economic, political, educational, health care opportunities and their participation in such services. While India has bettered its rank by 4 positions from previous years, it emerged at the near bottom of the heap. Laxmi Lingamdeputy directorTata Institute of Social Sciences, believes India has traditionally being Schizophrenic in its treatment of women, worshipping them on the one hand and neglecting the girl child on other. The only sign of optimism lies in the political empowerment of women. Despite parliamentary dithering over the passage of women’s reservation bill for equal representation in the legislature, India bagged a healthy 9th rank when it came to political empowerment of its women.
      
So, by now Indians might have got aware of their position in treating the women of their country, if not then there is a strong need of introspection. Since childhood, we’ve been made to feel that we live in a patriarchal society where all the important decisions reside in the hands of men. The girls as infant grow up in fear in their hearts, no matter how successful they become in their lives, they have never been able to keep themselves out of this vicious and ugly cycle of discrimination. There is absolutely no wrong in adoption of patriarchal form of society until the rights and aspirations of the opposite gender are preserved. It is unfortunate to state that the mindset of some men have not changed after the tragic incident happened to Nirbhaya. In spite of getting lesson from this incidence, violence against women is still on rise. It’s completely shameful to find the newspaper filled with the news of cases of violence against women.  This curtails a woman’s freedom in many spheres, the most important being safety. They have to think many times on what they wear, where they want to go and at what time which is just ridiculous. Even though this fast paced electronic era has been successful enough to reduce the geographical distances between the countries, yet the gap between a boy and girl still remains unbridged. If you carefully look at the advancements made by the women, then you will feel difficulty in finding an area where women have not proved their supremacy. If you start the process of citing the examples of success of women from history to till date in a chronological order, you may probably never accomplish this task in your lifetime!! Malala’s speech against Taliban on the issue of education of Women, “Women are strong but Taliban fears that they may grow stronger through education” indicates a male’s insecurity of his position. In the words of ex President of USA, Abraham Lincoln “You can never make someone strong by making the stronger one weak.”  For fair competition between the two genders, the prerequisites must be equal opportunities.

It is totally absurd to state women to be the weaker section of the society and there by exempting them from taking up tasks that the opposite gender can perform. It is nothing that a woman can’t perform and a male can better than them. Women are beautiful creations of God and should be offered equal opportunities. They want respect and dignity from the society as they constitute an integral part of it.

I would like to end this article through a sms(after making few amendments) lying dormant in the inbox of my mobile. Here it goes:

It’s great to be a girl
We are the epitome of beauty and charm
We can use tear as threat
We can be both sweet and furious
We are the centre of universe,
We are the subjects of all most all love songs.
We are the most sought after species on this planet,
We don’t always mean what we say,
We don’t always say what we mean.
Our handwriting- better than boys.
We are daddy’s priceless princess
Mom’s helping hands
Every elder brother’s adorable doll
 Younger brother’s teacher
Sister’s best company
That’s why we are born in this world
And we are proud to be girls.

NOTE: This article does not intend to hurt the sentiments of any individual.

Swati Sarangi
4.11.2013