Monday, July 7, 2014

More than just Physics? : Spiritual :-)

Read it here: More than just Physics? : Spiritual :-)

Yes, I love Science. I have always loved Science.


Love,
Mishti :-)

Sunday, July 6, 2014

6 Steps To Ace The Indian Job Race

According to a recent survey results, more than 80% of Indianengineering graduates are unemployable. Industry experts believe graduates lack the requisite talent to make the cut. And by requisite talent, they mean: communication skills, confidence, problem-solving capabilities, and other generic abilities sought by the employers in Indian job markets. While the percentage represents a grim situation for engineering graduates, it alarms us of the need for empowering the Indian youth with skill-set that they deserve to acquire as a part of their graduating curriculum, and hereby I present the 6 Steps To Ace The Indian Job Race:
1. Create Your Job Resume Sooner
Resume created within the first month in your college will do you good in 5 ways:
  • Kick-start your "need to communicate".
  • Provide you the document to update your marks and extra-curricular achievements, as and when they happen. It feels great to write "I led a team!!" Try it.
  • Give you the enthusiasm to set a new momentum for your professional life ahead.
  • Help you analyze yourself over your graduation tenure and ultimately equips you with the tool to create a Resume that reflects the most authentic image of yourself
  • Prepare you appropriately to face the world out there
Remember: Success happens when preparation and 
opportunity
 meet.
2. Create Your LinkedIn Profile
A social profile on LinkedIn will help you in 4 different ways:
  • Get connected to your school-friends, friends from anygeographic location, professional circles of your elders and parents, etc.
  • Read about industry experts and learn from their experiences
  • Join online groups and share your thoughts, for discussions and learning
  • Be inspired from activities of other LinkedIn members
Remember: College years are your best time of learninglearning, and learning
3. Talk To Yourself
Stand in front of the mirror and answer to the question: Tell me about yourself. Can you stand straight, confident, and face yourself for more than a minute? You are great if you can! Next, tell yourself about yourself. Practise doing this on a regular basis. This exercise will not only help you build an extra-ordinary self confidence, but also will drive you to get involved inproductive pursuits to talk about yourself. That in turn, will keep increasing yourprofessional skill-sets that you'lldiscover as you go along.
Remember: Every interview usually begins with you talking about yourself.
4. Get Hands-On Experience in Projects & Internships
Paid, or unpaid, Projects and Internships give you an edge in the Indian job market. Write thousands of emails to Professors/Research Associates/ Laboratories etc. for project assistance opportunities in your areas of studies. Somebody, somewhere, is always in need of sincere students. Reach out to your elders, uncles, sisters, cousins working in esteemed organizations, seeking to serve, and to learn "on job" skills. Form groups of friends, and develop a product, try to market it, sell it, and make a fortune out of it. Do anything that you love to do. A steady involvement in Projects and Internship opportunities hone your problem-solving abilities.
Remember: As professionals, you are going to solve problems. So, get the ground running as soon and as much as you can!
5. Update Your Resume
As soon as your semester marks are out, update it in your Resume. It will help you introspect, and improve your performance. As soon as the Annual Fest is over, update your Resume with your 'experience as the Lead Guitarist' for yourCollege music-team. etc. Creating a Resume in the first month into your college makes sense, only when you keep updating it more regularly.
Remember: A well-maintained Resume is always better than a last-minute word document.
6. Practise Gratitude On Daily Basis
Nomatter how many medals you win, how many A+ grades you score, and how many more bullet points you get to add in the 'achievements' section in your Resume, to secure a job, you must be humble enough to deserve that position. Be thankful to your parents, siblings, friends, project-mates, hostel friends, neighbours, pets, and to the universe for giving you with the resources (internet, books, et. al.) and all the opportunities that help you ace the job race.
Remember: Gratitude breeds happiness. Say a genuine 'Thank You', every day.

Best Wishes,
Mishti.

Friday, June 27, 2014

Education, & its *roots*

Education starts at home. The moment we are born, we start 'sensing' things, and with 'sense' starts our 'educating'. And while the innocent-full-of-love parents are still basking in the joy of seeing their baby, they start educating the child with all their care :-)

As always, let me share some experiences on "educating". The 1st and the most important aspect of educating is "Listening". Something that my parents excelled at. As you all know by now, I was the creative & rebellious kid around, and it needed a different kind of 'parenting' towards me, than towards my "too nice and docile" elder sister. I had loads of questions and curiosity, to begin my parents' days with :D My mom, the ever creative & hard-working in her own pursuits while doing all household chores, paid attention to every little thing I did or said. Nothing was "silly" , or "unimportant" to her. She used to be brutally honest with me, even about the "philosophical" questions I'd throw at a nascent age, wouldn't make her wonder. She would rather think about it, and tell me the best answer known to her. And about the sibling squabbles, well, Mom always "listened to both the sides", and took the decision that "was right". 

With such kind of education give by my mom, which allowed my creativity to nurture freely, my mind to question without fear, and to help us arrive at "righteous conclusions to squabbles, however silly", she indeed was developing a model of education that continues to help me grow up. 

While mom stayed mostly at home, while going out for Teaching classes etc., I felt 'cared for', and 'supported' and somehow I emulated her ways of 'conducting herself in the society', the woman of character that she is, afterall. Dad was working with the Indian Railways in the Operating Division, and he would come home everyday by 6PM sharp, but on most days, he'd bring work home. And I used to be over-enthusiastic about his *works*. Frankly, those days (my school-days), I had no idea about things like 'work pressure', and 'getting tired'. And you know how ? My Dad *never* uttered those words at home, infront of us. As soon as he would come home, he would ask for water, I'd give him, and I'd make different snacks for him as well, and loved to watch him unwind. Yeah, I loved to sit beside him....as he sat on the chair on the terrace, after a long day. On some days, he used to be very tired & just closed his eyes; I'd watch him simply...and ask him questions, to which he'd answer most patiently. On other days, he'd be relaxed, & would tell me about the Galaxy, the Stars, etc. [Terrace used to be & still is, one of my favourite places @ my home]. So, what am trying to say is: He would *never* let me know how tired he is, and what *work worries* he has. And i was stupid enough to not realize the same...and continued growing up with utmost enthusiasm towards life, in general. And that, I believe, built in me, the audacity and the courage to "DREAM".

Because, you see, a child can only dream, in a fearless / worry-less environment provided by "truly educated" parents. I used to 'overhear' my parents talking about my Dad's work-pressure & my mom sharing supportive words, hopeful messages etc., but Dad or Mom, never told their problems to us. On the contrary, Dad always used to share with me the stories of great soldiers from Indian History, great Political leaders who became martyrs for the Nations, great Footballers, great Musicians et. al. and told me that I must always dream big.....and that, he'd support me with all his might :) It was so encouraging, indeed. And like I said, I used to talk more with Mom...as she took care of my school needs etc., so, about my concerns on "I want to do this / that", Mom would give it a thought and would tell me to take the most logical step, even if that required me to do something totally new. She would tell me "You gotta do what you gotta do". So, I was constantly inspired! :)

Ofcourse, there were those moments that called for "strict parental scolding", when I did/said something really wrong / put up a fight with someone, then Mom/Dad would get together and give me a long scolding, to which I'd listen to, with a long face, followed by crying :P (And they would let me cry, as long as I could) :) They would never argue with me, nomatter what I'd "opine" on Any matter; they would rather listen, and they would share their points of views that made me think in dimensions that I might have missed. But yes, if I would "do any Wrong action / Say somthing Wrong", they would tell me I am wrong and would teach me how to take a corrective action / replace the wrong speech with words of Kindness and Love & practise Forgiveness. That's how I'd learn not to repeat my mistakes but develop "human values". Am grateful to my parents, and their "Education", so to say.

Education, which gave me lot of knowledge about courage, faith & righteousness; confidence and grit to take action to fulfill dreams, humility to say a genuine sorry and mean it, power to discriminate between Right and Wrong...in order to develop the ability to choose 'right action' over wrong........always in life, respect towards everyone, and courage to dream big.


Love,
Mishti :)

Sunday, June 15, 2014

of Good Music

I have huge respect for humble people. And well, one can be truly called humble when one achieves greatest of individual potential and yet remains down to earth. In my knowledge, Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty is one such musician. As a kid, I used to hear about him from my parents discussing about his music, and my mom happens to hail from his neighbouring hometown, so mom knows some realities of his upbringing and initial musical training and his journey, per se. You may read some information about him @ Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty 

People in the music fraternity in the entire world, know him. So, what has he done after accomplishing prestigious Indian and International acclaim? He has developed scientific methods of structured training courses for small children, and he has opened a school that trains children in Indian Classical Music. Not just that, he has his own Facebook Page, and I can tell he posts the FB Posts, himself :-) and, THAT takes humility. To embrace change as our social life changes, while appreciating the goodness of social-media, by actively being a part of it to engage with the world: All this, so that he can take the Indian music to the masses. I mean, at this age, when he is 60+ years old, and has all the money he needs, he could easily sit on his laurels and enjoy the comforts. But his actions speak for his dedication and a life-long devotion: Music.

I love to be living in this era in India, where I witness a new breed of ultra-talented Indian Classical Musicians, of my generation !! :-) Am really proud of them. I mean, in these times of fast-paced life, easy distractions, it is very very difficult for young children to even sit at one place for over a minute; I see them all around me; Smartfones add to the fidgeting :D So, yeah, during such challenging environments, it's so heart-warming to see parents and children devoted into nurturing Indian Classical Music. Hats off to them! :-)

Today I got to listen to a song that had me mind-blown in a nice way :-) Pandit Ji posted it on his Facebook wall, saying it is a 11-beat song made for the 1st time in the history of world music. Created by Sayani Palit. By default I counted the beats, and was awestruck with the brilliance demonstrated by all percussionists. What perfection. What finesse. And the singing of the vocalist speaks of her years long 'sadhana'. This is one of the Best songs, ever made. And I convey my thanks to all the musicians for creating such a beautiful piece of music. Have a listen:



God bless.
Mishti.

Friday, June 13, 2014

Happy outlet :-)

Some days are like that: Overwhelming. I mean, when a small speck like me, who is struggling hard to put together many scattered pieces while fighting harder to keep calm other agents that are more bothered about keeping their visibility turned on, then at the end of it, the respectable big guy who has been keeping an eye on each and every movement of all the small specks, acknowledges the small speck and says a sentence that has "sweet girl" in its phrasing, I feel humbled :-) He is an '87 batch IAS officer, and also, he takes interest in Indian Classical Music. He has been instrumental in driving some key national schemes despite bureaucratic troubles that were not under his control. I've been fortunate to interact with him a couple of times, on formal occasions of review meetings and official callings.

And then, I get to know one of my classmates, who has been to IIMA after IIT Kharagpur & served the corporate world for a while, cracked the UPSC '14. I mean, he is one of my friends whom I've grown up with; that introvert kid whom I always like to speak to, that nice boy who supported the group-activities I was involved in, that humble guy who had a rare charm of his own, who was always driven to "do something good, to give back to the society". THAT friend of mine, Sudhir, cracked one of the toughest Civil Services exam held in India. I am just so happy today. :) Even today, he said "I wanted to get into Civil services to be able to give back to society". And he is not there on FB, or any social site, unlike me :P Well, that's about my 'Leo' sunsign !! God made me this way; I've been a social kid eversince I started talking :D So, someday, Sudhir would be an Joint Secretary / Secretary / Commissioner & Secretary / Others, in some Department in some Ministry in the Indian Govt. And we'd relish our good old times discussing future of the next generation.....among other things :) God bless.

Then, a colleague-turned-friend. Let's call him 'A'. For a workaholic person like me, there is literally no time to spend 'quality time' with 'colleagues'. It's all about work. Period. However, this new colleague has a sensitive side to his being. Unlike many hard-bred men, he takes 'care' of work. It's a difference that am probably unable to express in words. May be, if you know someone who 'loves' his/her work; you'd know what I mean. And I admire such kind of genuine sincerity. We have had differences. Am an opinionated person; and when a Leo gets upset, the entire world should just stay calm :D :P Ofcourse, it takes as little time for me to calm down, as it takes for my temperature to shoot up :P :D So, 'A' is aware of this, now :) And he keeps sharing his wisdom and told me "You behave like a kid sometimes", to which I said "I behave like a kid a LOT of times; it's just that you don't notice, which is good! :P". So, 'A' has been through some tough times recently, which I came to know, only after I trusted him with my thoughts and words, & he kept my trust.... patiently listened to all that I was going through. 'A' is the most simple, and the most sensitive friend I have. Am just so glad today, as I relax and think of a wonderful phase of life that passed by....in the last 1 year. I have a friend, who is so nice, I realize. I pray 'A' achieves all his dreams; he the sweetest 'guy' I know, and I wish him all the sweetness of this world. :) The predominant feeling I have on such a day is the feeling of "gratitude". Friendship is such a beautiful relationship, borne out of formal beginnings, some rough interjections, empathy for each other, understanding, and a renewed faith in the bonding. 

As I relish this day, a lovely day of good feeling, am listening to the song: "aaj phir tumpe pyaar aaya hai"....that channelizes my mushy emotions....as am once again deep in love with Life ^_^ :-)


God bless.
Mishti :)


Monday, May 26, 2014

My brother 'Raja' :-)

I have a cousin brother. His name is 'Raja'. He is 21 years old and he lives in a village in the eastern part of West Bengal, with his family of three. I remember we had last met some 20 years ago, when we used to visit them, and he used to visit us along with his parents. He used to be very naughty, and I used to be equally encouraging ! :) Anyhow, as time flew, we grew up, I got busy with loads of learning and gearing up to face the world, and when mobile phones came into existence, I didn't know how many of us in the family had access. Yet, we never forgot each other. Our relationship was just there. Tight and warm. 

We got connected over phone, few weeks back when mom visited his village, and I especially told my mom to call me from there so that I get to talk to Raja, the naughty kid that I loved !! :-) He is a big boy now. He graduated from college last year, and is employed with the local Police Station in his area. We spoke, and we spoke for more than an hour in one go!! I couldn't believe in his sweetness, it was so real. Am still basking in his innocence as I see his SMS that reads "Goodnight my Mishti didi. Sweet dreams". :-)

I say my thanks to God, for keeping me warm and loved. Raja believes my love and blessings are always there with him even though I couldn't stay in touch with him all this while, and I do assure him of the same. I pray to God that his faith in my love only grows deeper. Am in love with "innocence", yet again. And perhaps, innocence is like food to my soul. Thanks to Raja, my cute little brother. 


Warm regards,
Mishti.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Patriotism - 2

A message of conviction, truth, and reflection shared by an Indian called Mohan. I feel grateful to you, dear brother, for feeling so much for the nation, and for doing it right: Expressing your feeling. Thank you. Jai Hind.
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Dear Arvind,

It has been three years since I started following every tiny move of yours. I say this with conviction, if Swami Vivekananda was alive today, he would not say “Give me a few men and women who are pure and selfless, and I shallshake the world.”, he shall rather say “Give me a few Arvinds and I shall shake the world.” However, I doubt if the Indians today would even allow the great saint to make an honest statement.

Of late, I strongly feel that “You do not deserve politics”, note that I do not say “Politics does not deserve you”. Your brutal honesty and standing to a principle is affecting the political movement in a very serious way. There are millions to pull the rug under your feet, at every possible corner of India, including within the party. There are so many times I have wondered, “should Arvind be so transparent to talk about this in public”, but the more I learn about you, the more I realize that there is no shade of gray in your world. Just revisit the past three days. If you/AAP were “traditional”, a few random news could have been anonymously leaked to get feelers from the public and volunteers and based on the reaction, you could have strategically made a decision. But your transparency caused a problem! You decided to go to the governor, the reason is/was obvious, you then realized that it was a wrong strategy and you openly admitted the mistake and closed the chapter. Now, how do you expect your nasty opponents to understand your naiveness in being transparent? You are now in the jail, your three days in the jail is not that you or the party is unable to pay the Rs. 10000, I am sure there are at least 10000 people willing to pay the Rs.10000 to get you out, but you being in the jail symbolizes the state of the country. People are making ridiculous arguments about you not obliging to the law, but do they realize that the same law has the corrupt you spoke about in the parliament and you in the jail? It is not that they do not realize it, our country has become so rotten that a majority prefers it to be corrupt! They call your act of going to the jail a drama, while they ignore that you have as a principle never sought bail for anything you said which was not wrong. Standing for one’s principles is seen as a drama!

The fourth pillar of democracy is degenerating every day. It takes thousands of crores to run a media house and we do not have the capabilities or resources. While all TV channels were busy criticizing you yesterday, how many channels spoke about the judgement delivered (http://goo.gl/ixAT8G) against the yet to be crowned king? Who will bring justice to the 6 innocents? No one will speak, and the moment you embrace them, you become a minority appeaser. If you ask for a fair trail, you be will called a traitor. Every investigating agency will be in their clutches, and they can show the lack of evidence in every case they desire, and the judiciary will also close the cases. But when a common man dares to talk about it, it will ask him to bring a meticulous docket of evidence! The very same day you were arrested, the soon to be crowned king also made it clear to not use the CAG reports to go behind the corrupt. Did the media talk about it, no. They would rather show your video and talk ill about you, but will not touch the root cause of this case ie., the statement you made.

Coming to the party, while I admire your conviction to go to jail for your principles, I strongly disagree to the party cadre congregating in front of the jail and soliciting other volunteers to join. It is time for us to do internal introspection. Who are the leaders of the party who are making such hasty decisions? Your act of going to the jail, was a voluntary decision to make a point. Then why should they protest outside? The party seems to be making a lot of hasty decisions, and some decisions show a clear absence of rationale. The very same Swami Vivekananda told “Infinite patience, infinite purity, and infinite perseverance are the secret of success in a good cause.”, while AAP has the purity, you have to ensure that patience and perseverance is inculcated. We have tolerated 66 years, a few additional years will do no unprecedented damage, but the fall of the AAP will be the end of the dream of the great saint!

I hope that these three days in the jail give you time to rethink on where we are, where we need to be, and how do we get there. I expect to see a very rejuvenated Arvind, who is much needed for this country than ever before!

Jai hind!

Mohan