Prashant Ivaturi

Politician's give long speeches about their vision for the country. They talk about how time at hand should be used for addressing the basic issues. However, when it comes to discussions on issues in the parliament, are they using the parliament's time in the right way? Oppositions stage walk outs over petty issues; parliament is adjourned due to uncontrollable arguments; answers don’t arrive for some of the most important of internal issues. It does not matter which party is in the opposition. They all have done it in the past. With the constant bickering about which issues should be given priority, the main theme of addressing the very issues is lost somewhere. Take for example yesterday's debate in the parliament over caste based census and infiltration. Aren't both issues of priority to the nation? What is more important - deciding their priority or to address each one of them one after the other and use time in a fruitful way? At the end, the parliament was adjour...

Everybody in this world loves a surprise once in a while, and what better when your most loved ones give that surprise to you when you least expect them to. The unexpected joy compounded with the knowledge that so many people wish well for you is such a great feeling.   The plan: Couple of weeks ago, Madhavi Angara garu and Annu Ganti garu (close family friends to Girija and me) called me and asked me about plans for a baby shower for Girija. As we had not planned anything, I was not sure about it. We had been thinking that we would wait for Girija's mom to come and then have a traditional baby shower in the ninth month of her pregnancy. But, deep down somewhere I knew that she was feeling lonely and was missing out on the celebrations associated with a pregnant lady in the seventh month. I therefore went ahead with their idea of organizing a surprise baby shower for her. We went ahead full steam, I spoke to them on the phone from office, sent them mails from my office addre...

Long time ago, back in school, we used to recite this every single morning. It became a habit, a routine. But this morning, out of nowhere, I recollected it and Girija and I could not remember the full text. Immediately, we looked up on the internet and found this fond pledge, which I never want to forget. India is my country and all Indians are my brothers and sisters. I love my country and I am proud of its rich and varied heritage. I shall always strive to be worthy of it. I shall give my parents, teachers and all elders, respect, and treat everyone with courtesy. To my country and my people, I pledge my devotion. In their well being and prosperity alone, lies my happiness. JAI HIND Written by the great Swami Vivekananda, I never thought I will be staying in the same city where he made the biggest international speech of his lifetime.

I am busy - I complain. I don't have work - I complain. Hmmm... interesting, isn't it? Interesting, my foot! I say " disgusting ". Life can never be just right! We find ways to complain and make our life stressful that we forget to enjoy how involved we are with an activity or how much time we have on hands to do something which means a lot to us. Complain, we do! So much so that it becomes a cliche. So much so that the other person is bored to listen to us. So much so that we procrastinate things. So much so that we create our own mental blocks to under perform. I say let's get a move on and go finish those unfinished tasks, those things which matter to us. Those things of which we are scared in life. Those things that we wanted to save for another day. Life is limited, make the most of it. If you are busy, then how did we get the time to complain? If we have all the time in the world, why do we complain? We don't count our blessings. But yes, complain, we do...

Yesterday, I saw a football game between Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots. Two great teams and two great quarterbacks. Both have a great record this year in the NFL and going into this game, I could not have guessed who would win. Looking at the colts record I thought that they might win the match. But two quarters into the game and I felt that the colts were slightly underprepared for this match. But as with many great teams and great players, these guys never gave up. They were trailing by 14 points in the last quarter and went on to win the game 35-34 in the dying moments of the game! Such was their determination to win and their never give up attitude that they continued to grind and eat away at the Patriot's lead. Only if there were more people who could learn from it!