1) Football fiesta
Football a favourite pastime of sporting fraternity has now come into life after the seeing the semi-final stage of FIFA World Cup 2018. The stop watch is tickling around and both yellow and red cards are shown in the fierce battle for supremacy at the top. Both England and Belgium booked their birth, while host Russia lost out to Croatia in the crucial quarterfinal match. In all, it was ding dong battle for the supremacy and the big teams Brazil, Argentina and Germany all lost out the race and we can look upon a new winner this time. We all now wait for will become the goal in the last four stage. Football fiesta makes it big and the fever will continue for few more days till the final.
– C.K. Subramanium
2) Coins and candies
While coins are now as much plenty in circulation that many vendors give coins easily, yet most retailers have made it a practice to give candies and chocolates in the place of coins even though they have sufficient coins in their cash-boxes. It is a noble way to earn extra profit through such forced sale of unwanted items devised in the days when coins were in scarcity.
The Central government should make a planned strategy whereby coin-bags of Re 1 and Rs 5 may be always available in all bank-branches having facility to hold coin-bags. Since coins of Rs 10 denominations have not attained popularity, further minting in this denomination may be stopped for time-being. Instead smaller-sized plastic notes as promised quite a few years ago in Lok Sabha may be issued in Rs 10 denominations. Stress may be given on minting coins only in denominations of Rs 1 and 5, stopping minting of two-rupee coins also because presently with two-rupee coins in plenty as compared to rupee-one coins, consumers have to leave one-rupee balance with shopkeepers or to accept candy because of poor availability one-rupee coin. One-rupee coins can fulfil purpose of two-rupee coins as well because of less weight and multiplicity of payment-options. However, huge wastage of funds on printing of Re 1 notes suddenly re-issued after a gap of two decades just for bureaucratic craze of getting their signature on notes, should be avoided by immediately stopping their printing.
Forcing unwanted items in the place of coins can then be made offence under law.
– Madhu Agrawal
3) Jeeo aur Jeenedo
When we love God there is a strain and we become a withered flower. When God loves us we become a blossomed flower full of fragrance. The difference lies in the Lover. i.e. God who is the only doer. Love can come only from God.
Nirvana lies around those who have freed themselves from anger and desire, who have subdued their minds and have become one with Self. “Bhagavad Gita, the Song Celestial makes it abundantly clear that one pre-requisite for emancipation from ignorance is to get rid of anger and the desires. This lands up the mind in the Self and the aspirant becomes fully the Self resulting in “Nirvana of Brahman”. The aspirant shall keep focusing on the Brahman even without knowing what it is. This eventually leads one to the very Truth. Nirvana is the phrase indicating that one becomes free. The question is free of what? The freedom from the clutches of the ignorance, which binds one tightly in the darkness where light does not penetrate. In the state of Nirvana there is no recognition of anything other than Self. It elevates one to the greatest position where no desire for any other knowledge remains.
But the moment you are proud and swollen headed a victim of Ahankar with “I” dominating the concept of You, this is the beginning of the end. Always remember that you are what you are by only God’s Grace and not your cleverness. If God can bless you, He can also take away this blessing. Hence, humility and surrender to Him is most essential. This is depicted in Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa prayer, and is an exercise in humility and this is essential for life, as against pride. The prayer ‘Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu ” adds lustre to life. It is equivalent is Jeeo Aur Jeenedo. Sreeman Narayayedi Samarpayami is the ultimate prayer which depicts your surrender to the will of God, who protects the universe. The deterioration you see in life, the fraud the deceit, the destruction can only be checked by God by miracles if need be miracles which could save mankind from destruction.
Silence is the suppress state for the simple reason no action and consequences of actions arise. Silence happens when one is drawn to the purest state of mind which is not but replica of self. Bliss of being is felt in silence. One need not make a special effort to be in silence as it is the most natural state of one’s Self. In silence one finds peace love and knowledge that there is only Self and nothing else. Knowledge is power and God is great.
– Anandambal Subbu
4) Rain pain
It is indeed a sad reflection of infrastructure facilities in a metro city like Mumbai going awry during monsoon time of the year. It is sad to note that (34 lives lost in first month of rains) many lives were lost and the rise has been recorded at 30 per cent, which is on the higher side comparing to the last year. Rain readiness promise of the BMC turned out to be cropper as the Andheri Gokhale foot over bridge collapsed causing extensive damage, loss of lives and delay in train and road traffic in this corridor. Had there been better judgment by audit committee the accident could have been averted at the right juncture. Woman hurt in Andheri Bridge collapse died succumbing to her head injuries. Office goers are put to test in the busy corridors and it is a bad news. The government machinery failed to utilize the resources available in hand and the disaster management team failed to arrive at the accident spot in time to avert further loss. Rain pain continues to give Mumbai people a horrible time and the staggering 1,000 trees fall added to the woes. It is indeed testing time for Mumbaikars and the state government, BMC and the other responsible authorities have all failed to provide a better support system in the event of monsoon rains in the month of June.
– Nickhil Krishnan
5) Preserving History
Preserving history is part and parcel of the incumbent government in Maharashtra and the present government is trying its best to keep track of milestones built in the British era. The BMC took a right initiative before we miss out milestones. Mumbai will be getting a facelift. A broader outlook needed for heritage preservation in India in general and in Metro cities in particular. It is a herculean task to protect 200 year old markers but better council prevails thanks to the BMC. The corporation has gone that extra mile to restore and it is a welcome move. Keeping track and taking efforts for restoration all forms part of the BMC and worth locating these 11 milestones. It is time to surround the areas with a cobblestone pavement and maintain the heritage look and make it more meaningful for the tourists. When both Shanghai and Singapore are maintaining their heritage, why not Mumbai also do a world of good to protect our heritage and give the tourists to visit more places in city as in Delhi, Agra and other parts of India. Kudos to the BMC!
– Jayanthy S. Maniam
6) Monsoon mayhem
Incessant rains, structural collapses, closure of road over bridges and chocked drains are surely the highlight of this monsoon which the BMC could not stop in their scheme of rain readiness in the city. Monsoon rains came in a very big way on Sunday and four over bridges on railway tracks were shut down as they were found to be in vulnerable condition. And the structural audit of the bridges has not yet taken place. The spotlight turned on these bridges after the collapse of the Gokhale Road over bridge in Andheri. The rainfall recorded was the highest and water logging was seen in all the chronic spots. With heavier showers on the forecast the situation is rather grim in the city as monsoon mayhem continues to hamper the city life.
– Chitra Rugmini
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
