Life Worth Living (Bertrand Russell)

Three passions have governed my life:
The longings for love, the search for knowledge,
And unbearable pity for the suffering of [humankind].

Love brings ecstasy and relieves loneliness.
In the union of love I have seen
In a mystic miniature the prefiguring vision
Of the heavens that saints and poets have imagined.

With equal passion I have sought knowledge.
I have wished to understand the hearts of [people].
I have wished to know why the stars shine.

Love and knowledge led upwards to the heavens,
But always pity brought me back to earth;
Cries of pain reverberated in my heart
Of children in famine, of victims tortured
And of old people left helpless.
I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot,
And I too suffer.

This has been my life; I found it worth living.

Two 2 Tango

1.Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)

I was five and he was six
We rode on horses made of sticks
He wore black and I wore white
He would always win the fight
Bang, bang
He shot me down
Bang, bang
I hit the ground
Bang, bang
That awful sound, bang bang,
my baby shot me down.


Seasons came and changed the time,
when I grew up I called him mine
He would always laugh and say remember when
We used to play
bang bang I shot you down
bang Bang you hit the ground
bang bang that awful sound
Bang bang I used to shoot you down


Music played and people sang
Just for me the church bells rang
Now he's gone I don't know why
And to this day sometimes I cry
He didn't even say goodbye
he didn't take the time to lie
Bang, bang He shot me down,
bang bang I hit the ground
Bang, bang that awful sound, bang bang
My baby shot me down.

dwnld link(video) :http://vp.video.google.com/videodownload?version=0&secureurl=XAAAACU7aumcBgWAla54vd26Ia6v0Kks5fnVNsYtSXS_52u37kta5sw_8fiKTBmupMeTIeIyma4n0jORUCaeUvuJnNAbxjTWUp_ET7snKfCJOTkuVp6Ce32sg0CcDENUSm67zg&sigh=PHEVAX2JoHTmuSlJoERNCNNSt_A

"Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" is the name of a song written by Sonny Bono. In 1966, Cher released it as the second single from the album The Sonny Side of Cher. Nancy Sinatra later covered the song in 1967.

This version remained relatively obscure until it was used in the opening scenes of the 2003 movie Kill Bill Volume 1.

Its a song worth cherishing [to say worth listening will be derogatory :)]

2.I WILL SURVIVE (Gloria Gaynor)

At First I was afraid
I was petrified
Kept thinking I could never live
without you by my side
But then I spent so many nights
thinking how you did me wrong
I grew strong
I learned how to get along
and so you're back
from outer space

I just walked in to find you here
with that sad look upon your face
I should have changed that stupid lock
I should have made you leave your key
If I had known for just one second
you'd be back to bother me

Go on now go walk out the door
just turn around now
'cause you're not welcome anymore
weren't you the one who tried to hurt me with goodbye
you think I'd crumble
you think I'd lay down and die

Oh no, not I
I will survive
as long as I know how to love
I know I will stay alive
I've got all my life to live
I've got all my love to give
and I'll survive
I will survive (hey hey)

It took all the strength I had
not to fall apart
kept trying hard to mend
the pieces of my broken heart
and I spent oh so many nights
just feeling sorry for myself
I used to cry

Now I hold my head up high
and you see me
somebody new
I'm not that chained up little girl
who fell in love with you
and so you felt like dropping in
and just expect me to be free
now I'm saving all my loving
for someone who's loving me

Go on now go walk out the door
just turn around now
'cause you're not welcome anymore
weren't you the one who tried to break me with goodbye
you think I'd crumble
you think I'd lay down and die

Oh no, not I
I will survive
as long as I know how to love
I know I will stay alive
I've got all my life to live
I've got all my love to give
and I'll survive
I will survive (oh)

Go on now go walk out the door
just turn around now
'cause you're not welcome anymore
weren't you the one who tried to break me with goodbye
you think I'd crumble
you think I'd lay down and die

Oh no, not I
I will survive
as long as i know how to love
I know I will stay alive
I've got all my life to live
I've got all my love to give
and I'll survive
I will survive
I will survive...!

dwnld link(video):http://vp.video.google.com/videodownload?version=0&secureurl=XQAAAL8y47TCN5RrH9M5aNu-vvwZc2mH2KvgrQtr2CbOkH-8Ph7EVX5xjImOhI37KGVJKS5dNljAeZnPlGnEGjzPLybb3zlY2deGHO3D1fgCPlpl_ki94gdrCNvWiNOOysiyuQ&sigh=C2EcZe04Kl9H7PnYldTfaHQOb74



I Will Survive" is a song first performed by Gloria Gaynor, released in October 1978. It was written by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris.


The song's lyrics describe a narrator who finds personal strength while recovering from a break-up; it has often been used as an anthem of female empowerment, a gay anthem, and HIV/AIDS awareness - and is a firm favourite on the karaoke circuit. It is one of the most famous disco songs of all time, and easily Gaynor's biggest hit; it received massive airplay in 1979, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100, also reaching number one in the UK the next day.


The song is sung by the character KD (played by Purab Kohli) in A CAMEO in the Indian Movie - Rock On!!, 2008.[Remember the Channel V Party?)
AGAIN, a song worth cherishing

An Essay By Einstein : The World As I See It

"The essential in the existence of a man like me is what he thinks and how he thinks, not what he does or suffers."
" How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he sometimes thinks he senses it. But without deeper reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people -- first of all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness is wholly dependent, and then for the many, unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy. A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving...

"I have never looked upon ease and happiness as ends in themselves -- this critical basis I call the ideal of a pigsty. The ideals that have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth. Without the sense of kinship with men of like mind, without the occupation with the objective world, the eternally unattainable in the field of art and scientific endeavors, life would have seemed empty to me. The trite objects of human efforts -- possessions, outward success, luxury -- have always seemed to me contemptible.

"My passionate sense of social justice and social responsibility has always contrasted oddly with my pronounced lack of need for direct contact with other human beings and human communities. I am truly a 'lone traveler' and have never belonged to my country, my home, my friends, or even my immediate family, with my whole heart; in the face of all these ties, I have never lost a sense of distance and a need for solitude..."

"My political ideal is democracy. Let every man be respected as an individual and no man idolized. It is an irony of fate that I myself have been the recipient of excessive admiration and reverence from my fellow-beings, through no fault, and no merit, of my own. The cause of this may well be the desire, unattainable for many, to understand the few ideas to which I have with my feeble powers attained through ceaseless struggle. I am quite aware that for any organization to reach its goals, one man must do the thinking and directing and generally bear the responsibility. But the led must not be coerced, they must be able to choose their leader. In my opinion, an autocratic system of coercion soon degenerates; force attracts men of low morality... The really valuable thing in the pageant of human life seems to me not the political state, but the creative, sentient individual, the personality; it alone creates the noble and the sublime, while the herd as such remains dull in thought and dull in feeling.

"This topic brings me to that worst outcrop of herd life, the military system, which I abhor... This plague-spot of civilization ought to be abolished with all possible speed. Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism -- how passionately I hate them!

"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed. It was the experience of mystery -- even if mixed with fear -- that engendered religion. A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, our perceptions of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which only in their most primitive forms are accessible to our minds: it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute true religiosity. In this sense, and only this sense, I am a deeply religious man... I am satisfied with the mystery of life's eternity and with a knowledge, a sense, of the marvelous structure of existence -- as well as the humble attempt to understand even a tiny portion of the Reason that manifests itself in nature. "

MY JOURNEY TO THE CIVIL SERVICES , BY : VIJAYALAKSHMI BIDARI (IAS TOPPER 2001) : PART 1

Now, this is a bit lengthy but worth reading !!!

Entry into the central Indian civil services in particular the Indian Administrative Service - is the dream of thousands of aspiring young men and women who take a fiercely competitive examination comprising a preliminary and main written examination followed by an interview.

This year heading the list of successful candidates was a young woman who shares with readers of a magazinehow she prepared for the examination and her dreams for the future.

"I was born in Gulbarga on the 10th of January, 1977. My father was then in the Karnataka Administrative Service, and the following year he was selected for the Indian Police Service. My mother is a gynecologist in government service and my brother is doing his third year engineering in computer science.

If I have chosen to start with my family it is because my family has been the biggest inspiration for me to join the services. My father Shankar Bidari has been the bravest and kindest officer I have ever known. He is the recipient of a spate of awards and medals including the Chief Ministers medals, the Presidents Medal for Gallantry as also for meritorious service. I have admired him as a hardworking leader who always led from the front, keeping in mind the ground realities, as a responsible son and brother, a supportive husband, a thoughtful father and a loving friend. To be like him, or to be close to him, has been a life-long ambition for me, and it still remains to be fulfilled.

My mother Umadevi is one of those doctors who went for Government service in spite of all the opportunities as a private practitioner. She feels from the bottom of her heart, not only for her patients, but for all people in distress and in suffering. She would go at 3 in the morning to attend to emergency cases in hospitals.

Her dedication to work, and the support my father gave her, instilled in me the confidence that I would be able to manage both a career and home well. To have a career woman for a mother makes one learn a lot of things. You never feel different just because you are a girl. You have your own dreams and you feel you can make them come true as your mother has done.

My brother Vijayendra who is five years younger than me is very mature, hardworking and intelligent. His affection and his criticism have pushed me into giving my best. My relatives and friends have also been a source of great inspiration, telling me that I have to live up to my parents reputation. All of them always made me work hard and helped me achieve what I am till today.

Due to my fathers frequent transfers my ten years of schooling and pre-university were spread over eleven places. However, I was in only one college, though I had to change home three times in four years. My schooling was in small places, in State board and mostly missionary schools. All these frequent changes in schools was not very nice. But today when I look back, I realize that all this has made a better individual out of me. In every new place there would be a new school, new teachers, new neighbors. At every stage I had to prove myself, again and again. This constant competition helped me do well in my studies and I am the kind of person I am today because of my experiences in different places.

From the second standard onwards I have always stood in the top three in class. In the 10th standard Board examination I missed my state rank by five marks but got 100/100 in Mathematics, my weakest subject. This encouraged me to take up science in my 11th and 12th and I opted for Physics, Chemistry, Maths and Biology.

It was only after class X that my parents talked to me about the Civil services. I had an inclination for them but was not sure it would be easy to get through. My father told me to take Arts in college. But I was adamant in wanting to do science and engineering. I always wanted a secure job in hand, so that I would become financially independent. My parents agreed and after my 12th I got a merit seat in the RV College of Engineering.

This was one of the most difficult phases of my life. When I was about to finish my 11th, my father was posted as the Commander of a Special Task Force, set up to nab the forest brigand, Veerappan. For three and a half years he was in the jungles of Karnataka and Tamilnadu. Our lives were constantly at risk, and we had security cover all the time.

My decision to go in for engineering instead of medicine was to some extent influenced by these circumstances. I was scared that if something happened to him I would have to take responsibility for my home. Engineering would be over in 4 years, and I could settle down with a job soon. I chose Computer Science because I sensed it would really be a hit. And so it proved to be as I had two jobs in hand even before leaving college. But those three and a half years helped me realize how much my family meant to me and how thankful I should be to God for the wonderful home I had.

I went through campus selections in BFL Software as a project trainee, with HPCL Calcutta as a management trainee, and a dozen other companies. All these instilled a lot of confidence in me. My aspirations to have a job and financial security seemed easy to achieve. I was the only one selected from Bangalore University for the interview conducted by HPCL in Calcutta. I had to compete with 70 odd MBAs with an engineering background from some of the best universities in the country.

I was just twenty, and not even a graduate, but cleared the screenings at the University level and five levels of testing. Finally at eight at night I was one of the seven that had an appointment letter in hand, with an excellent salary - the only girl and may be their youngest employee in systems management.

I finished my Engineering in March 1999. In December of the previous year, I decided to take the Civil Services Exam. I spoke to a few seniors about the subjects. I was keen on taking Kannada literature because of the influence of my grandfather, Sri Madhura Chenna, a well-known writer of the Navodaya movement in Kannada literature. Though I had done literature seriously only till Class X I was not sure I had the proficiency to write the Civil Services exam with Kannada literature. I joined some classes and a family friend also helped me."

Contd.......

The Road Least Travelled

Came across this article in Times Life (TOI sunday supplement) ; Found it quite motivating.

"I read in a corporate bestseller sometime back that the highest job satisfaction is enjoyed by those in least-paying jobs, like in NGOs and social organisations. This sounded ironical, but still exciting enough to mull over, for those of us in the corporate world, chasing a mirage called job satisfaction and often confusing it with high salaries.

Five years ago, I was posted in Kolkata to look after the eastern region. This is where I had the soul-stirring experience of meeting Shreesh at Belur Math, the Ramkrishna Mission's headquarters. Away from the city’s boisterous roads, Belur is tranquility personified as its sylvan surroundings are placed close to the mighty Hooghly. It had been 18 years since Shreesh and I had passed out from IIT, Kanpur, where we spent our days in neighbouring hostel rooms, and 14 years since we had last met. In the course of lunch that day at Belur, he unfolded his post-IIT story, which marked a turning point for my own view towards life.

Shreesh Jadhav was ranked second across India in the JEE and completed his B.Tech in computer science with a perfect 10 CPI. A recipient of the President’s gold medal at IIT, he spurned all offers of plum scholarships from top foreign universities. Instead, he went on to do his Ph.D from IIT, Kanpur. As his neighbour, I was familiar with Shreesh’s leanings towards Swami Vivekananda and Ramkrishna Paramhans. Often, when I barged into his room for a chat session, I would find him deep into reading their teachings. These had an impact on his dayto-day actions as well. An example of his austerity was the fact that he managed to pass those four years with just a pair of white kurta-pyjamas. Top brain that he was, the toughest assignments were cracked by him in a jiffy and his answers matched up to the second decimal of the model answers put up later outside the exam hall. He also found time to take up the cause of mess workers, which temporarily invited the ire of IIT authorities, but eventually bore results. Through his Vivekananda Samiti, he taught several of the mess workers’ children, besides other poor employees of IIT.

With three sisters, he was the only son of his parents, and the entire family along with many of us, egged him on to study abroad. I occasionally mocked his convictions and told his parents that he would eventually succumb to the lure of dollars, just like several of his batchmates. But, he couldn’t be deterred from his single-minded pursuit of serving humanity. He would explain, “Just like Silicon Valley, social sectors too desperately need intelligent people.”

He continues to positively impact the lowest rung of the social ladder. Recently, he helped save the life of 12-year-old Sarita, who developed a hole in her heart. Her operation in Bangalore cost Rs 3 lakh and on reading Shreesh’s email, I had contributed my bit, but was doubtful if he would meet the target. But, as I recently found out, Sarita was back home in Kanpur after a successful surgery, making me put my faith in Shreesh’s words that “there are a lot of good people in the world, we just need to reach out to them”.

Unmarried, he has dedicated his entire life towards a social cause. He joined the Ramkrishna Mission after his doctorate and, by now, has taught computer science to several thousand students at their university, besides managing various projects spread across the country. He also humbly believes that Belur Math has given him the opportunity to achieve his mission. Yet, his journey continues.

Shreesh’s story is beyond inspiration. When I look around at my batch-mates, many of whom head companies, I consider Shreesh the biggest success story of IIT. His story should be a catalyst for all those who want to bridge the social abyss created by market forces and government inaction. As I write a cheque for Rs 15,000 for my three-year-old son’s quarterly fees, I’m reminded of an education system gone horrendously wrong. Unlike many of us who keep trodding known paths, Shreesh Maharaj — as he is popularly known in Belur — has clearly found his own path and left a trail."

By
Rahul Awasthi
(7th September 2008,TOI , )

There is one regret though;I did my PS-I at TEXMACO LTD.,Kolkata and during the last 48 hours of homecoming I visited Belur Math.Its definitely a place to visit.Had the article appeared a few days back,I could have met him in person and hopefully would have gained a lot.
Anyways, with Kolkata only 500 km. away, I hope I will always have a second chance.:)

MY JOURNEY TO THE CIVIL SERVICES : Part-3

....."I was very worried as I waited for the results. I thought I would miss the IAS because of my interview marks. On May 16, 2001, I excused myself from the class I was attending in NACEN, Faridabad, in order to check the results. When I could not download the results till 4.15 I started crying.

My father called to say that I had done well. I didn't understand what that meant. When he called the third time he told me I had topped the list of successful candidates. It was such a pleasant surprise. I cried and cried and then came to my hostel. There was jubilation in the academy.

The press arrived within half an hour, and I was giving interviews to the press, TV and the radio. It went on all night and for the next three days. I was planning to go home, when my father met with an accident. I was very disturbed and flew home the same day. I had a grand reception in Bangalore, in spite of all that had happened. I had more interviews to do and was invited to meet the Chief Minister and the Governor of Karnataka.

I attended a few felicitations in Delhi, apart from some 45 felicitation functions throughout Karnataka. The people of my state and elsewhere too were elated. I received more than 3000 letters of appreciation from every nook and corner of the country. It was a celebrity status achieved in my moment of glory. I had to give so many speeches and began to get used to all the adulation which the people of my state so kindly bestowed on me. Recently on November 1, I was awarded the Kannada Rajyaotsava Award, the highest civilian order of Karnataka, and am the youngest recipient of this award.

I have the honor of being the first person from Karnataka to top the Civil Service Examination in the history of the civil services in India (including the ICS). I was also the first woman from south India to top the exams - and probably only one of three women to have topped this exam till now.

I was allotted to the Assam-Meghalaya cadre. I was a little disappointed initially about not getting my home state. But then I realized that this was a God-sent opportunity. When God had been so kind to me, surely He would be kind to me in future also. I am deeply influenced by Sri Aurobindos Savitri. I believe in the inherent strength of a human being in turning every challenge into a great opportunity.

I joined the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy for Administration in September, 2001. I am doing the Foundation Course and have met people from different services, different states, and different cultures here. I see India in this academy. I am very happy to be a part of it.

I remember when we were studying for this exam, how we used to keep a big poster with MISSION MUSSOORIE and TRAIN TO MUSSOORIE written on it. The academy always inspired us. My friends used to keep Bhavana Garg, the 1999 batch toppers photographs in their wallets. But we never knew that I would end up topping the same exam one day. My friends told me I would - but I never believed them.

In Karnataka I have seen small children coming and telling me they want to be like me. I have signed more than a thousand autographs and received as many calls and many more letters. I have inspired a lot of girls to have faith in their dreams and to work to fulfill them. There are many young people who come from rural backgrounds and who have studied in the regional medium. They tell me they now feel they can get through these exams because one of my optional subjects was Kannada literature.

In all those innumerable interviews, felicitations and studio interviews I have laid stress on only one thing. I was a normal student with a normal schooling. I don't belong to the big educational institutions or to big coaching centers. I have referred to simple Indian books and dealt with my subjects with commonsense and application. I have worked with whatever resources were available to me in a way I thought was right, and my consistent hard work has yielded the results I wanted.

I expected to be in the top thirty, but with Gods grace and the blessings of my parents, I have had the credit of topping the first civil services exam of this millennium.

There is a saying: Shoot for the moon, and even if you fail you will land among the stars. Its always important to keep high goals for ourselves in our personal and professional lives, so that we can bring out the best possible in ourselves.

Getting into the IAS is not an end in itself. I left software engineering at a stage when it was one of the best careers available. I entered the IAS because I wanted to be of some service to my people and to my country. I am an optimist to the core. I believe in recognizing and understanding the problems of our country and solving them. Blaming the system and claiming helplessness will not solve any problem. I believe it is the young who are the hope of this country. If we don't want to make a difference who else will?

Its not the end of my dream ...its the beginning.... A good beginning for that matter. I hope God and the people give me the strength to work very hard and to make the best of all the opportunities I get to create a very positive difference in the lives of our common people. The IAS is both my opportunity and challenge. To live up to the life of being a good public servant is a daunting task.

I want to prepare myself for a life of challenges and opportunities to leave this world a little better than I found it."