On My Mind ...

If you can keep your head when all about you     Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,     But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,     Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,     And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise: If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;     If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster     And treat those two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken     Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,     And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools: If you can make one heap of all your winnings     And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings     And never breathe a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew    

Kehte Hain ..  "Hum apni jaan ke dushman ko apni Jaan kehte hain, Mahobbat ki isi mitti ko hindustan kehte hein. Jo ye deewar ka suraakh hai, saazish  ka hissa hai,  Magar hum isko apne ghar ka roshan-daan kehte hain.  Hai khwaish do niwalo ki, humein bartan ki haajat kya,  Fakeer apni hatheli ko hi dastar-khan kehte hain. Mere andar se ek ek kar ke sab kuchch ho gayaa rukhsat,  Ek cheez baaki hai, jisse imaan kehte hain.   Jo duniya mein sunai de, use kehte hein khamoshi, Jo ankhon mein dikhai de, use tufan kehte hain." -Dr. Rahat Indori

I t’s 2008 all over again .  The Trump administration is going to announce massive bailouts to large enterprises that are ‘hurting’. They claim these companies were not at fault as they were hit by the Covid crisis. Prime examples are airlines, who went from record revenues and profits to near 0 revenues immediately due to the virus. This argument seems logical, at first. However, what they fail to take into account is the bad financial practices at the airlines all this while. Businesses are supposed to manage risk and plan for rainy days.  Some may argue that this was completely unexpected.  No, it wasn’t.  Anyone with any knowledge of global risks would list a pandemic as a virtual certainty and near the top of global risks. Why did airlines not take this risk into account? After all, they are the original global business and literally connect the world. They would be expected to be the most impacted by a global event more than anyone.  There are all types

    Courtesy :    Ed Hawkins , National Centre for Atmospheric Science, University of Reading.     https://showyourstripes.info/

To the new overlords, who think they'll be here forever; Just like all the overlords who came before them: "Agar hain khilaaf, hone do,  j aan thodi hai.  Ye sab dhuaan hai,  aasman thodi hai. Lagegi aag to aayenge ghar kai zad me,                       Yahan pe makaan sirf humara thodi hai.                             Main jaanta hoon ke dushman bhi kam nahi, Lekin humari tarah hatheli pe jaan thodi hai. Humare muhn se jo nikale wahi sadaakat hai, Humare muhn me  zuban  tumhari  thodi hai. Jo aaj saahibe masnad hain, kal nahin honge, Kiraaydaar hain, jaati makaan thodi hai. Sabhi ka khoon shaamil hai yahan ki mitti me, Kisi ke baap ka hindustan thodi hai." - Dr Rahat Indori

Climate change in a global issue. Conventional wisdom says these issues require global coordination and commitment and leadership from governments. While all of that is true, the converse is also true. Individual responsibility and change of consumption habits can have a a tremendous impact. Think about it, the governments will deliberate and then create policy that is meant to change consumption patterns. They might give better tax breaks for good behavior (solar subsidies etc.) and tax bad habits. However, I didn’t think I needed to wait around for government to incentivize me to do better. It was time to do better on my own accord. Also, waiting around for government seems stupid in this age of complete meltdown of government. So I started to make some small changes to my lifestyle. Things that were doable, in bite sized chunks. Some require a lot of change and can be hard but some are really small and yet meaningful. Here’s stuff I’ve done that might help others in the