Author Svetlana Alexievich wins 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature

Author Svetlana Alexievich of Belarus has been selected for prestigious 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature. The Swedish Academy has selected Svetlana for her polyphonic writings, courage and a monument to suffering. With this she became 14th women Literature Laureate and she is also the first writer from Belarus to receive this award. About Svetlana Alexievich She was born on 31 May 1948 in the Ukrainian town of Ivano-Frankivsk. She had studied journalism at the University of Minsk between 1967 and 1972. Later she worked as a journalist for several years and published her first book War’s Unwomanly Face in 1985. Using her journalistic skills, she has created a literature chronicling the great tragedies of World War II, Soviet Union and its collapse, Soviet war in Afghanistan and 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Her best-known works: Voices from Chernobyl (2005), Zinky Boys: Soviet Voices from the Afghanistan War (1992), Awards: reviously, she had won the Swedish PEN prize in 2007 for her courage and dignity as a writer.

IITs to shelve fee for differently-abled

In a welcome move, the Indian Institute of Technology has decided to waive off the tuition fee for the differently-abled students. The decision was taken by IIT council headed by Human Resource Development minister Smriti Irani.

Irani shared the news on her social networking Twitter handle and wrote, “Happy to report that IIT Council has decided to waive off fees for our physically challenged students.”

The council had earlier suggested that IIT should hike tuition fee of the students from Rs 90,000 to Rs 2.5 lakh to meet recurring expenses of the institute, however, the HRD minister put the proposal on hold. Irani also insisted that they cannot overlook the interest of socially and economically weaker sections.

Another proposal by IIT Joint Admission Board (JAB) to increase the quota of students appearing for JEE (Advanced) from 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh had been approved in the meeting.

Source: Elets News Network (ENN) Posted on October 7, 2015

World Bank estimates show fall in India’s poverty rate

12.8 per cent of the global population live in extreme poverty

The World Bank has revised the global poverty line, previously pegged at $1.25 a day to $1.90 a day (approximately Rs. 130). This has been arrived at based on an average of the national poverty lines of 15 poorest economies of the world. The poverty lines were converted from local currency into U.S. dollars using the new 2011 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) data.

In its latest report ‘Ending Extreme Poverty, Sharing Prosperity: Progress and Policies’, authors Marcio Cruz, James Foster, Bryce Quillin, and Phillip Schellekkens, note that world-wide poverty has shown a decline under these new estimates.

The latest headline estimate for 2012 based on the new data suggests that close to 900 million people (12.8 per cent of the global population) lived in extreme poverty.

With the Sustainable Development Goals adopted in September, seeking to end all forms of poverty world over, the World Bank Group has set itself the target of bringing down the number of people living in extreme poverty to less than 3 per cent of the world population by 2030.

Multi-dimensional poverty

The report also notes that the global poverty line does not currently take the multiple dimensions of poverty into account. There are many non-monetary indicators — on education, health, sanitation, water, electricity, etc. — that are extremely important for understanding the many dimensions of poverty that people experience.

The 2015 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) counts 1.6 billion people as multi-dimensionally poor, with the largest global share in South Asia and the highest intensity in Sub-Saharan Africa.

These multiple indicators are an important complement to monetary measures of poverty and are crucial to effectively improving the lives of the poorest, the report notes. However, the recently-established Commission on Global Poverty is currently assessing how we measure and understand poverty and how to improve this going forward. According to a WB spokesperson, the CGP recommendations are expected in April 2016.

India poverty figures varies with method

Though home to the largest number of poor in 2012, India's poverty rate is one of the lowest among those countries with the largest number of poor, the latest World Bank report notes. Also in the case of India, with large numbers of people clustered close to the poverty line, poverty estimates are significantly different depending on the recall period in the survey, the authors note.

Since 2015 is the target year for the Millennium Development Goals, the assessment of changes in poverty over time is best based on the Uniform Reference Period (URP) consumption method, which uses a 30-day recall period for calculating consumption expenditures, as per the report. This method, used to set the baseline poverty rates for India in 1990, shows India’s poverty rate for 2011/12 to be 21.2 per cent.

By comparison, the Modified Mixed Reference Period (MMRP), which contains a shorter, seven-day recall period for some food items leads to higher estimates of consumption and therefore lower poverty estimates. “We expect that the MMRP-based estimate (currently at 12.4% for India) will set the baseline for India and global poverty estimates, going forward,” a World Bank spokesperson told The Hindu.

More country specific details will be available once the Global Monitoring Report, using the new estimates, is launched in Washington DC on October 7.

Keywords: poverty line, World Bank, MMRP

Source: The Hindu, 6-10-2015

When work is play

Let go of your sense of self-importance and bring in a spirit of play into what you pursue. You might discover enormous freedom and joy.

It was like watching a dancer in motion. The security guard managing the counter at a local supermarket quietly executed a series of tasks. Bags and receipts were diligently checked, tokens were dispensed and customers were greeted with a smile. An otherwise set of tedious tasks were choreographed with an innate sense of harmony and peace.

There was a playful quality underlying her demeanour — while she was serious about her work, she did not seem to take herself seriously. A living lesson on what happens when work is imbued with the spirit of play.

To “play” is an invitation from life to be open, curious, trusting and humble. As children, most of us have this natural instinct for being able to view life through the lens of play.

Adulthood often robs us of this quality (through conditioning or experience), denying us the freedom to “play”. We begin to believe in our own importance and life becomes a grim journey, moving from one problem to another. It becomes increasingly difficult to see the true joy of any given moment.

However, play is often mistaken for being frivolous or indulging in activities which are wrongly perceived as “fun”.

Seeking validation

Many years ago, a school I worked for decided to allow students to host their own class parties. By the end of the day, each classroom resembled a war zone — foodfights, corridors littered with paper cups and students screaming down the hallway. What triggered this might be a reflection of a general system, where we tend to repress students. But the idea that these actions were considered nothing more than “just play” was even more disturbing.

In another school setting, students were being constantly rewarded for their work. Younger students worked towards getting gold stars and stickers while older classes were continuously pampered with treats (cookies and doughnuts on days they had to work late) at the slightest sign of discomfort.

There was no value given to the joy of actually doing the work assignments and the process of discovery that would open new avenues in learning.

What we are creating is a generation of students who will grow up, constantly seeking validation from outside, restless in their pursuit of finding something that would make them happy.

One quality which is common to all great minds is their ability to bring “play” into what they pursue.

Abdul Kalam, despite his achievements, was remarkable in his ability to view the world around him with a childlike innocence. People who interacted with him were inspired by his ability to keep things simple and they said they always felt positive in his presence.

A grandaunt had the privilege of meeting Albert Einstein during her travels. She said that despite the fact that they came from different backgrounds, she recalls his curiosity and fondly cherishes their long conversations. She said he took a genuine interest in her life and had a wonderful sense of humour and childlike innocence. It was this playful quality that she remembered decades later, and the fact that he was one of the greatest scientists seemed secondary.

There is a timeless quality to being able to find delight in the ordinary, however extraordinary one’s talents might be. Whatever our role is, we can bring the quality of play in the lives of those we interact with, as well as our own.

On one of our trips to work in a rural community, we came across a doctor couple who had devoted their lives to working in a local hospital. At the end of the day, we were invited to share a meal and their home reflected the spirit of their work. It exuded genuine warmth and affection.

The couple narrated their life experiences and shared how they initially began their work with a lot of idealism. Over the years they told us that the most important lesson they learnt was the serenity to accept things they could not change.

At one point, they realised that the anger and frustration at work was spilling over into their relationships and interactions. Slowly they came to the realisation that their role was to heal and by bringing this compassion and spirit of joy into their work, they just continued to do their duty. “We just let go our sense of importance, the world has a way of taking care of itself”, they added.

Bringing the spirit of play is not always easy but if we allow ourselves to work from this space, it can give us enormous freedom. Whatever our life situation maybe, a spirit of play can help us reconnect to the child in us. Enjoy your own playful journey!

If this article spoke to you, do write to lifeplus590@gmail.com

Keywords: work tips, how to make work easier, fun while working, idealism

In the Northeast, a sense of foreboding

The people of the Northeast resent the encroachments on their faith and social mores. Yet there is no united front to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party’s increasingly oppressive culture

Since the new government came to power last year, there has been a sea change in the way people engage with each other on social media. India seems to have come to a point of rigid political polarisation with no middle ground in sight. The reactions to the killing of Mohammed Akhlaq in Dadri, for alleged possession of beef, are an example: they were vicious and strident. Many Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters try and couch their leanings in eloquent prose, but make it clear that the minorities in this country have been pampered enough by the state and it is high time they learnt to live by the social and religious mores of the Hindu majority. This is a frightening scenario not only for Christians and Muslims, but for many others who follow their indigenous faiths and have never faced any impositions on their food habits by the state.

Patricia Mukhim

A deafening silence

But this is not a discussion on food alone. Last year, when the Narendra Modi government announced that Christmas would also be celebrated as Good Governance Day, it was probably testing the waters to see how much pressure it could bring to bear on Christians. There were muted protests to the announcement, but they were enough for the government to make a wishy-washy statement that it is not compulsory for Christians to work on that day. The move was a subtle way of announcing that the BJP-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) combine would try its best to tighten the screws on all those used to liberal and secular modes of thinking and living. What is increasingly being asserted through social media is that people have to conform to the new normal or pay the price like Akhlaq did.

What is this new normal? It is that Mr. Modi remains silent on all encroachments on our fundamental rights, such as the right to free speech and the right to profess, practise and propagate any religion. Mr. Modi extols the virtues of Mahatma Gandhi, but has remained decisively mute on the murders of Kannada scholar M.M. Kalburgi, rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, and veteran Communist Party of India leader Govind Pansare. This deafening silence indicates that the radical groups involved in these murders have his tacit blessings. Mr. Modi, it appears, has made a pact with the RSS to bring some homogeneity of thought in India. We may not be a fascist country, but have we reached a tipping point? To answer this, we’ll have to ask ourselves: Do we feel safe to express dissent? I’m afraid not.

Poor social indicators

So what does all this mean for the Northeast? How does this region see the new normal? Elections are now approaching in Assam. A year ago, the BJP could have claimed that it would win the largest number of seats in the 126-member Assembly. Even if this still happens, it will not be because people will proactively vote for the party but because there are simply no good alternatives. The Congress under Tarun Gogoi has ruled Assam for 14 years. In this period, the State has seen the lowest levels of social indicators: maternal and infant mortality, for instance, spiralled each time there was a natural calamity. Floods are an annual feature, but the State continues to be taken unawares each time. In other words, this means that there is a huge governance vacuum and no one really cares about what happens beyond the State capital. The Congress is unlikely to return to power unless it manages to sell itself as the party that will protect the Muslim population in Assam. But then this is what the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) is also propounding. So, which party will the people choose and why should they be pushed to make choices on the basis of fear? The Asom Gana Parishad is almost defunct. Some believe that Assam will have a coalition government in 2016, which will not last longer than a year. Others believe that the BJP may even align with the AIUDF to form a government, a toxic combine if it ever emerges.

But the BJP is unlikely to have it too easy. The government’s announcement that Hindu immigrants from Bangladesh will be given citizenship status has riled the people of Assam. Obviously, this is a political gimmick for garnering votes. But by stating upfront that Hindu immigrants will be embraced by the Indian state while being completely silent on the fate of other immigrants, the BJP is playing the Hindu card in a secular country. All these issues have distanced a large section of the moderate and secular constituents in Assam. But, as stated earlier, the problem in Assam is that there are no good options for the electorate as of now. It seems like a lose-lose situation.

And what about the other States of the Northeast? Surprisingly, they are silent observers as of now. While people, by and large, resent the encroachments on their faith and social mores, there is no united front yet from the region to counter the BJP’s increasingly oppressive culture. When Mr. Modi became Prime Minister, this region had high hopes that development would be fast-tracked since he spoke animatedly about moving beyond the jaded ‘Look East Policy’ to the more action-oriented ‘Act East Policy’. But much like the Prime Minister’s silence on other issues, we haven’t heard much on this front either. Except, of course, when he travels to the Northeast.

(Patricia Mukhim is Editor, The Shillong Times.)

Keywords: Narendra Modi, NDA government, Northeast, Assam Assembly elections, BJP, RSS, plurality, Dadri lynching, Good Governance Day, rationalists murders

Source: The Hindu, 9-10-2015

An Aye for An `I'

A R NATARAJAN





The vision of the self and awareness of it as the abidance in the heart -where the unbroken awareness of one's existence can be felt spontaneously as the `I-I' -has been described by Ramana Maharshi. What obstructs one's awareness of the fullness of existence is the ego: the mind's wrong identification with a particular body , mistaking it to be the `I', or the subject. Hence the destruction of ego, or its merging with the source, the only way to experience the joyous and uninterrupted throb of `I-I'.Like the diver diving deep, searching for pearls on the ocean floor, Ramana says we have to explore within, with keen intellect as one would do to recover a thing that has fallen into a deep well. Similarly , the core of the mind, too, is only consciousness; it is the false notion resulting in its identification with a particular body that has caused the limitation.
`I'-consciousness cannot be the body or the mind because both are different or non-existent' as in dream and deep sleep respectively . Once this false notion is negated, one is off the mental movement. Only the search for the source of the mind can end its restlessness. The object-oriented world in which it is now caught up can never give peace to a mind because “there is no place like home“.
Self-enquiry is the search for the source of the mind by the mind. In Arunachala Pancharatnam, Ramana says, “If one enters within, enquiring, `Wherefrom does this `I' arise?' he dissolves in his own true nature and merges in you, Arunachala, as a river in the ocean.“

Krishna, The Pot-breaking Butter Thief

Damodara Pandita Dasa





It's astonishing! A mischievous boy I breaks pots and steals butter and yogurt in Gokula. Today, even after 5,000 years, those memories are so vivid in the minds of people. Why is this craze for breaking pots so deeply embedded in the Indian psyche on Krishna's birthday?
An inquisitive child was in the temple. She asked her grandmother, “Why do people break coconuts in temples?“ Her grandma said, “Don't ask! We just follow what our ancestors did!“ The little girl was shocked and dejected. She grew up to be an agnostic.Ignorance must pay a heavy price! I, too, became obsessed with that same question, “Why do people break coconuts in temples?“ No answer! I was in Jakarta in 1992. An Indian gentleman gave me a book of Questions and Answers. I found the answer! “The hard outer shell of the coconut signifies the false ego. When the false ego is destroyed; only then can one relish a loving relationship with God, through devotional service, which is as tender and sweet as the kernel and coconut water.“Every spiritual emotion is generally offset by an appropriate physical gesture. That external gesture is termed ritual. Just blind ritual, without any concept of its devotional significance, makes the heart run dry. This is very much the scene on Gokulashtami ­ breaking pots for big money! Little Krishna's potbreaking has a deep signifi cance. The concept of `i' and `mine' is a characteristic symptom of the false ego. `I' have butter in `my' beautiful pot! The delicious butter is my devotion to God; but the decorative pot is covering my devotion just as the false ego covers the soul. Krishna is eager to taste the butter, but the pot is blocking Him. Therefore, He smashes that pot (false ego) because He is hungry for devotion (butter).
Why so much ado about the false ego? When the seed of ignorance sprouts within the heart, it ultimately grows into an enormous tree of illusion with the formidable mind as its trunk and the dissipated intel ligence as its many branches.
The countless leaves are incessant desires that haunt us, day and night, and the fragrant colourful flowers are the endless varieties of sense objects that mesmerise the five senses. The fruits of this tree are irresistible.Anyone who tries to pluck one of those juicy fruits is pricked by the thorns of lust, anger, envy, greed, delusion and madness. Despite the pain, if someone manages to taste that treacherous fruit, he is engulfed in a nightmare wherein he finds himself drowning in an ocean of suffering, helplessly tossed about by the endless waves of birth, disease, old age and death.
The monstrous roots are the false ego. They are spread in all directions and are so deeply entrenched within every nook and corner of the heart that it requires superhuman powers to uproot this tree of illusion. It is this false ego which binds the Atman or soul to the illusion of `i' and `mine'. In this deluded state, the eternal soul mistakenly identifies itself with the decorative pot forgetting all about the delicious butter.
However, naughty Krishna comes along and destroys the soul's delusion, by breaking the pot (false ego), so that the soul can refocus its attention on the soft, pure butter, that is, unalloyed devotion to God.