Friday, August 28, 2009
The President of India DR. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 's Speech in Hyderabad..
*Please read this article by giving 10 minutes from your busy life. Really good.... ** *
* The President of India DR. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 's Speech in Hyderabad . *
Why is the media here so negative?
Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse acknowledge them--- Why?
We are the first in milk production.
We are number one in Remote sensing satellites.
We are the second largest producer of wheat.
We are the second largest producer of rice.
Look at Dr. Sudarshan , he has transferred the tribal village into a self-sustaining, self-driving unit.
There are millions of such achievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters.
I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place. The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert into an orchid and a granary. It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to. The gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news.
In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime.
Why are we so NEGATIVE?
Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign things? We want foreign T. Vs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign technology.
Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize that self-respect comes with self-reliance? I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture,when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph. I asked her what her goal in life is. She replied: I want to live in a developed India . For her, you and I will have to build this developed India . You must proclaim. India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly developed nation.
Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance.
Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is yours.
YOU say that our government is inefficient.
YOU say that our laws are too old.
YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.
YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke,
The airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination.
YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits.
YOU say, say and say.. What do YOU do about it?
Take a person on his way to Singapore . Give him a name - YOURS. Give him aface - YOURS. YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best. In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores. YOU are as proud of their Underground links as they are. You pay $5 (approx. Rs. 60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road ) between 5 PM and 8 PM. YOU come back to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity... In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU?
YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai .
YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah .
YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds ( Rs.650) a month to, 'see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else.'
YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop,'Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so's son. Take your two bucks and get lost.'
YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New
Zealand
Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo ? Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston ??? We are still talking of the same YOU..
YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground. If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India ?
Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal commissioner of Bombay , Mr. Tinaikar , had a point to make. 'Rich people's dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place,' he said. 'And then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the
officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his bowels? In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job. Same in Japan . Will the Indian citizen do that here?' He's right. We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility.
We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin.
We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms.
We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity.
This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to the public. When it comes to burning social issues like those related to women, dowry, girl child! and others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse?
'It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my sons' rights to a dowry.' So who's going to change the system? What does a system consist of ? Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbor's, other households, other cities, other communities and the government. But definitely not me and YOU.
When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr.Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away. Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England . When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out
to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home by the Indian government. Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.
Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a greatdeal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too.... I am echoing J. F. Kennedy 's words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians.....
'ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA
AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA
WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY'
Lets do what India needs from us.
Tell all your friends read the article and to each Indian for a change instead of sending Jokes or junk mails.
Thank you,
Dr. Abdul Kalaam
I humbly request you to forward this to every Indian...... .JAI HIND ......... ........ ..
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Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Bangalore sir idu namma Bangalore
Common Guys lets make Bangalore the Best place not only in India but in the Whole world to live.
Aim higher and work harder.
Have you seen the new Rajnigandha ad on the TV it really rocks.
The new one's dialogue goes something like this
It is not that we Indians don't know the answer but we wait for the question to be asked.
Moo Mein Rajnigandha.
We Indians Rock.
Will be continued................. next post will be on the Traffic police of Bangalore.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Ratan Tata and the Tata Legacy
On the occasion of 63rd Independence day , we take you through a nostalgic journey of the Tata Group through the ages.
Ratan Tata was born to Soonoo & Naval Hormusji Tata on December 28, 1937. He was brought up their grandmother Lady Navajbai after his mother moved out following a troubled marriage. He studied at the Campion School in Mumbai.
At the age of 15, he moved to the United States for further studies. He completed his graduation from Cornell University with a degree in Architecture and Structural Engineering. He has also completed a Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
Despite his wealth, Tata always kept a low profile. During his stint in the US, Tata had no qualms in doing odd jobs, he even washed dishes!
He joined the Tata Group in December 1962. In 1991, after more than 50 years at the helm, JRD Tata stepped down as the chairman of the Tata Group. Taking over from him was Ratan Tata, his nephew.
In 1998, Ratan Tata launched the Indica, which is India's first indigenously designed, developed and manufactured car. Pooh-poohed for getting into the passenger car segment, Ratan Tata turned the tables on the naysayers within a few years. Tata Motors' Indica and Indigo is two of the hottest selling cars in India.
Today, Tata is an indispensable part of the Tata group, striving for more glory year after year. If 2007 would be remembered for his acquisition of Corus, the biggest acquisition in the history of India Inc. He has also bid for Ford's marquee brands: Jaguar and Land Rover.
His pet project -- the Rs 1 lakh People's Car -- likely to be launched in mid-2008 is also certain to shake up the Indian car industry.
Ratan Tata has also initiated the restructuring of the vast Tata empire to reduce hierarchy, focus on profitable operations, and increase efficiency. The group is managed through holding company Tata Sons, which controls the Tata brand.
The Tata Group comprises 98 operating companies in seven business sectors: information systems and communications; engineering; materials; services; energy; consumer products; and chemicals.
Over 100 years ago, a merchant set up a mill in Mumbai to manufacture cotton goods and flagged off what was to become the $11 billion Tata Group.
The group observed the death centenary of Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, the founder of the group, on May 19, 2004. J N Tata was a great visionary, nationalist and a person who with his determined played an important role in the industrialisation phase of the country.
The group's other best known 'Tata,' Jehangir Rattanji Dadabhoy Tata or 'JRD,' also has his birth centenary in 2004.
Bombay House, situated in the heart of Mumbai city, is the headquarters of the group.
The building itself is a fascinating piece of history. In the early 1900s, a plot of ground was put up by the Bombay Municipality for sale in Bombay and purchased by the Tatas.
George Wittet, who once a consulting architect to the government and who later joined the Tatas as the head of the then Tata Engineering Company Limited, constructed a building that was completed in July 1924. That became the 'Bombay House', the headquarters of the Tata Group.
J N Tata: Boy who would be a giant
In 1868, Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata -- who was then just 29 -- started a private trading firm with a capital of Rs 21,000. His travels in the Far East and Europe inspired in him the desire to manufacture cotton goods and so in 1877, he launched the Empress Mills in Nagpur. The mill laid the foundation of the industrial power house that was to become the Tata Group.
In 1886, J N Tata instituted a pension fund and in 1895, he began to pay accident compensation.
At 47, he launched the Swadeshi Mills to mark the beginning of the Swadeshi movement, whose aim was to reject foreign made goods.
The first hotel started by the Tatas, the Taj Mahal, Mumbai, was also a rejection of the British. J N Tata took two British clients with him to the Majestic Hotel but was denied entry because he was Indian. Stung by this insult, he decided to set up the world's finest hotel, and this led to the foundation of the prestigious Taj group of hotels in 1902
Jamsetji's vision lives on
A nationalist and a true visionary, Jamsetji believed that India should have factories in key sectors.
A report on the rich iron ore deposits in India motivated Jamsetji to travel to Europe and the US for technical advice and then start a steel plant.
Jamsetji had passed away in 1904, but The Tata Iron and Steel Company was formed in 1907, and the Steel City, Jamshedpur, was built in Bihar.
His dream of setting up a hydroelectric scheme with an objective to supply cheap and clean electric power for the growing needs of Bombay was also fulfilled in 1910 when the Tata Hydro Electric Power Supply Company was established. An institute for premium Technical Education and Research that he had visualized was realised with the setting up of the prestigious Indian Institute of Science in 1911.
JRD, the visionary
Jamsetji's son, Dorabji Tata, carried J N Tata's legacy forward. Under his leadership the Tata group added the steel plant, three hydroelectric power companies, a large edible oil and soap company, and two cement companies.
The aviation unit, however, was JRD Tata's legacy. Tata Airlines, was started as a division of Tata Sons in 1932. This was nationalised in 1953 and made into two separate units Indian Airlines and Air-India.
In 1952, Jawaharlal Nehru requested the Tatas to launch a cosmetics brand in India. Nehru wanted to ban foreign cosmetics in India but not without offering an alternative to the Indian woman. His request to the Tatas led to the birth of the Lakme brand of Cosmetics.
JRD was awarded the country's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1992. On his death in 1993, the Parliament, in an unusual gesture for a private citizen, was adjourned in his memory and the state of Maharashtra declared three days of mourning.
The fab four
A rare picture from the Tata archives captures the four original partners of the Tata Group.
In the picture are J N Tata (sitting right to left), the founder of the Tata Group; Sir Dorabji Tata, (standing right to left); the elder son of J N Tata, Sir Ratan Tata, his younger brother and R D Tata, father of JRD Tata..
The Tata empire today is one that has touched almost every aspect of Indian life.
It is the nation's largest industrial conglomerate and runs about 80 companies in seven main sectors: chemicals, communications and IT, consumer products, energy, engineering, materials, and services. Two of its largest operations are steel making, through Tata Steel (Tisco), and vehicle manufacturing, through Tata Motors.
Credit to all of that goes to the four in the picture who had the courage to dream and make it come true.