This page is alive

 Though I remain the  sole visitor and contributor to this page I want to make sure that I post some useful information so that this first blog I was a part of stays active.... more coming soon

Welcome back folks                                                                                                                                     It has been five years since something was posted here. Lot has changed over the years, people have moved on with their lives with new interests and new set of goals. Facebook has grown and an upstart app watsapp had taken the world by storm before being acquired by the former. Then there's ever improving world of android&iOS, super computers, robotics, the God particle. The Arab spring, the jasmine revolution- end of regime, then there was ushering of a new era with South Sudan and what else yeah how could I miss it India regained the coveted cricket trophy. And even more but I haven't been much updated with what's going on at the rural development front. Those still involved with the sector would tell better. There's a lot to share so I'll stop here and will come back with something worth posting. Ciao

Growth versus Development................................ well it really is a pleasant sight to see the GDP growth rate at something like 8.8 % for the last quarter, more so after the effects of the global meltdown when growth decelerated. seeing the economy growing again is obviously nice but there is more to the story than what meets the eye...we don't have to move that far to see what i am trying to convey..let's just go to the post reform peri0d, 1991-2003. during this phase both the agriculture and industrial sector saw decline in growth rates but mostly because of the boom in the services sector( where outsourcing did play a good part) the overall growth rate exceeded the last decade by a mere 0.8%. there was growth but not development as the major chunk of the national work force still depends on the other two sectors for their livelihood and survival and some may even go as far as to say that the reforms intensified the socio-economic inequality that has plagued the nation since the inception of the colonial rule in india. the trend continues to this date when agriculture sector witnesses a negative or nominal growth and industry inspite of the reforms does not grow at the pace desired of it. lot has to be done for the infrastructure building. roads are being built, dams are being made and that's all true and maybe all we need is a little patience, still neglect of agriculture will take us nowhere. I just wish never again we let our grains rot for want of proper storage, and instead of union ministry for agriculture concentrating on CRICKET they take immediate steps to rein in inflation. 70000 crores on CWG 2010 and 66,000 crores on rural development, well it really is growth v/s development Isn't it???.... amrendra 24-10-10

A Country of Solace (Part 2): INVITATION

I'm two hours into my daily household chores, and my day began breaking the silence of last night. It feels great being wished by the morning breeze, and while my friend north, struggles with sleep,

here I'm leaving all dreams behind.

Half awake he is, and surely lost in the fond memories of night's cartoon movie. Hey lights went off here, so didn't have my share, instead we played snake and ladder.

It's four hours into the day And my day so far has been good. I love playing host to the cattles in the field... It's fun leading, It's fun following. My friend north, Must be in school now, Must be learning many a new things.

And I. Yes I’ve made friends with birds. Yes I can imitate the nightingale in singing. Not in school. I'm learning, I'm learning.. Hope someday my buddy north will visit me..

Hello again My day is about to end now. Have to start early tomorrow again, And my friend north, the one I call, plans out his night. Till the time he visits me. My day will begin and end in mother nature's lap.

A Country of Solace (Part1)

The closest replica of the lord is only to be found in a child, a child is born with the wisdom of past lives, and that's quite apparent in its behaviour. This may not be the right time to get into the issue of unending chain of lives, and this issue should better be left to the reincarnationists and evolutionarists. But to start with, this introduction holds a key place in this article as a dedication to the almighty's ascendancy. "God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them" (Genesis 1:27). This is what the bible says, this may be a matter of debate. But one thing is certain that the lord showered all his blessings on us humans, as the ability to think logically and plan accordingly. Thus life escalated to another level. Early civilisations grew out of villages into cities, notwithstanding the conveniences of city life the heart of life lies in the village. In the following article I’ve used urban life & urban kids to represent what the lord does not want his creation to be like, and rural life and rural kids to represent what the lord wants his creation to be like. Although children are the true replica, still the urban life tarnishes the truth that the child is born with, and only when he begins respecting his traditions and gets pride out of his ancestry, the truth is restored. This is what the article really is about, dealing with the two worlds, emphasising on that everything has its opposite in this world. Thesis has an antithesis, nothing is without a peer, but in the end truth will weigh more.

If one takes a little time and pain to look at the English children literature, one would admire the conspicuousness of the references made to the country life. Many of the finest children fiction right from the books written in the early part of the 19th century to Enid Blyton's books had a country backdrop. One such series that comes to mind is that of CHILDREN OF KIDILLIN, by Blyton. It deals with the adventures of two sets of cousin, one from urban Britain and other a purely typical Scottish village kids. The former were evacuated because of the bombing by the Third Reich which had devastated key areas of Britain amongst which included Birmingham, Coventry, Plymouth, Manchester and especially London. So the stage was set for a conflict between the cousins, their pets, and their aspirations as both were at the opposite ends. The rural kids boasted of their physical strength, while the urban one lacked in this field, but when it came to studies they were far ahead. The visitors were not really enjoying the beautiful country setting with hills and lakes and wanted to return back home. But reverting to the first Para children have wisdom and it wasn't long before the hosts realised their mistake and they ended the fall out with the visitors, and thus began a new journey in their lives.

These days Rural Tourism is getting a lot of support and applauds, and parents want their urban minded children to spend some time in the villages, so to be attached to their calm roots. This is not only good for the involved people's livelihood but as a whole brings in a set of belongingness and fraternity, as two worlds collide. Being in NIRD brought out the cherished childhood fantasy rolling to me, and a 3 week stay in a tribal village in Maharashtra, this same time last year was enough to inspire me to put pen into paper and to let the words flow. Apart from the assigned reports I managed to pen down a few short poems. It gives me immense pleasure to share with you my feelings. Part 2 of this article contains a short poem that was inspired by the time I spent with the rural kids, who were quite different from their urban counterparts. It's called invitation and is an insight into everyday life of a boy of 10 who is calling his urban friend in Delhi to come and visit his village.

VASTRA SAMMAN

An effort by PGDRDM......

politics and service

Politics is not a SERVICE anymore but a PROFESSION. An Important Issue! Salary & Govt. Concessions for a Member of Parliament (MP) Monthly Salary: Rs. 12,000/- Expense for Constitution per month: Rs. 10,000/- Office expenditure per month: Rs. 14,000/- Traveling concession (Rs. 8 per km): Rs. 48,000/- (e.g.. For a visit from South India to Delhi & return: 6000 km) Daily DA TA during parliament meets: Rs. 500/day Charge for 1 class (A/C) in train: Free (For any number of times) (All over India) Charge for Business Class in flights: Free for 40 trips / year (With wife or P.A..) Rent for MP hostel at Delhi: Free. Electricity costs at home: Free up to 50,000 units. Local phone call charge: Free up to 1, 70,000 calls.. TOTAL expense for a MP [having no qualification] per year: Rs.32, 00,000/- [I.e. 2.66 lakh/month] TOTAL expense for 5 years: Rs. 1, 60, 00,000/- For 534 MPs, the expense for 5 years: Rs. 8,54,40,00,000/- (Nearly 855 crores) AND THE PRIME MINISTER IS ASKING THE HIGHLY QUALIFIED, OUT PERFORMING CEOs TO CUT DOWN THEIR SALARIES...... This is how all our tax money is been swallowed and price hike on our regular commodities......... And this is the present condition of our country: 855 crores could make their life livable!! Think of the great democracy we have…