Q:
Should there be a Govt. cell to monitor the fee structure of pvt. schools ?
Yes, that’ll do a whole lot of good to bridge the “monetary divide” in the education system. We propagate the “right to education”, while at the same time there are schools making sure this right be limited to those with tones of money to spare for educating the child.
Education, in India today, has become a lucrative business. Government should intervene to make education in good schools affordable. Certain norms and regulations are a need of the hour to promote education only on the basis of ‘intellectual capacity’ of the student and not on the ‘monetary capacity’ of the parent!
Manisha Gupta
(published in "The Central Chronicle" on May 17, 2008)
Monday, October 17, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Reduce qualifying age of motor driving license to 16 ....????/
another one from the past !!!
this was published in the Indian Daily News Paper - "The Central Chronicle" - of 12th July,2008, in their OPEN FORUM column.
In fact this opinion of mine was even ANNOUNCED to be in the list of prize winners with this being adjudged for a SECOND PRIZE.
Only, that as usual "The Central Chronicle" HASN'T TILL DATE (ie: even 3 years and 3 months later....) paid me my prize money !!!!
I feel, people/publications think it their birth"RIGHT" to do WRONG to writers. //mg
Views on the question
“Bring down qualifying age of motor driving license to 16?”
Definitely not! You don’t want to compound the already existing problems on the road? Do you? As it is we have enough variety of everything, right from rash driving to drunken driving to violent driving to wrong driving to callous driving. What more do you want? When the so called mature people, older than 18 years, of this country, can’t drive properly, lowering the qualifying age of motor driving license to 16 will only add to the woes. You wouldn’t want to add to the innumerable hit & run cases that flood our already unsafe roads.
Just read in the papers yesterday about a 27 year old in Noida, driving with such callousness, over-speeding, overtaking vehicles wrongly, finally hitting a youth on a motorbike from behind and as if that was not enough, dragging the victim for more than 300 metres, killing him. And the driver doesn’t even seem to have realized his folly. Two more cases reported next to this news have a truck driver hitting from behind and killing a man while an overspeeding crane killed a man crossing the road in the Delhi-Noida region. Utter negligent driving.
Neither would you want to add to the cases of boys and girls getting themselves killed in the prime of their youth just because of lack of maturity and sobriety needed to control a vehicle. Driving license is not a license to be brash. It is to empower for ease in commuting. But one should have the maturity. And maturity does come with age. In fact instead of thinking of reducing the age to 16, how about hiking it up to 20? Probably that will save many lives from their tragic premature end!
Manisha Gupta
this was published in the Indian Daily News Paper - "The Central Chronicle" - of 12th July,2008, in their OPEN FORUM column.
In fact this opinion of mine was even ANNOUNCED to be in the list of prize winners with this being adjudged for a SECOND PRIZE.
Only, that as usual "The Central Chronicle" HASN'T TILL DATE (ie: even 3 years and 3 months later....) paid me my prize money !!!!
I feel, people/publications think it their birth"RIGHT" to do WRONG to writers. //mg
Views on the question
“Bring down qualifying age of motor driving license to 16?”
Definitely not! You don’t want to compound the already existing problems on the road? Do you? As it is we have enough variety of everything, right from rash driving to drunken driving to violent driving to wrong driving to callous driving. What more do you want? When the so called mature people, older than 18 years, of this country, can’t drive properly, lowering the qualifying age of motor driving license to 16 will only add to the woes. You wouldn’t want to add to the innumerable hit & run cases that flood our already unsafe roads.
Just read in the papers yesterday about a 27 year old in Noida, driving with such callousness, over-speeding, overtaking vehicles wrongly, finally hitting a youth on a motorbike from behind and as if that was not enough, dragging the victim for more than 300 metres, killing him. And the driver doesn’t even seem to have realized his folly. Two more cases reported next to this news have a truck driver hitting from behind and killing a man while an overspeeding crane killed a man crossing the road in the Delhi-Noida region. Utter negligent driving.
Neither would you want to add to the cases of boys and girls getting themselves killed in the prime of their youth just because of lack of maturity and sobriety needed to control a vehicle. Driving license is not a license to be brash. It is to empower for ease in commuting. But one should have the maturity. And maturity does come with age. In fact instead of thinking of reducing the age to 16, how about hiking it up to 20? Probably that will save many lives from their tragic premature end!
Manisha Gupta
Friday, September 30, 2011
Eco-Friendly (NEEM Pesticides)
Hi !!
have been out of action for quite sometime.
anyway, till i get down to writing something fresh, here's something from the past.
this was a letter to the editor published in the Development magazine "DOWN TO EARTH", in their June 30 issue of 2004.
this lo...n..gish letter was actually in response to a pretty short query to the editor of DTE by someone on the issue of chemical pesticides and wishing for an eco-friendly alternative.
here's it.//mg
published/DTE/ June-30,2004
Neem pesticides.
There was a letter in the April-15-2004 issue of “Down To Earth” where somebody was concerned about the use of chemical pesticides which are harmful, and wished if there were some eco friendly alternatives such as Neem pesticides or Neem distills.
I believe Neem insecticides/pesticides are already in practice. Only thing is that they are a little different in the sense that they do not kill the insects/pests directly and immediately but do so indirectly which leads to the removal of the pests. These are definitely much slower in contrast to the instant results offered by chemical or synthetic ones. However, the neem based ones are undoubtedly much safer for the people as compared to the regular ones.
I remember when we lived in Bombay, we used to get the pest control people over regularly and they used to spray the pesticide all over the house- in kitchen cupboards, bathrooms, book shelves, under the mattresses etc. etc. and the whole house used to smell for almost 2-3 days. When my son was born, we kept skipping the regular pesticide spray and told them no to do it for at least a year. Somehow, when those people turned up for their next regular visit, we told them there was a new born baby in the house so we will skip the schedule. We were surprised to hear that they had come up with some eco friendly stuff which would neither smell nor be dangerous for small children. It was a white powder and they made a thick paste out of it and stuck it in cupboards, under tables and chairs and beds, even under the refrigerator and other places in the house.
There was no smell and it was supposed to be safe. The effect was off course a bit delayed and slower as compared to the regular ones. Also I just came across a news item which says that Neem leaves may soon be used as fertilizers and pesticides . This would entail the use of some technology which has been developed at the centre for pollution control at pondicherri university. So just like the powder / paste neem pesticide, there can be a solution form which can be sprayed at various places infested with the menace of cockroaches and flies and the like, without having any harmful implications for the public.
Manisha Gupta
have been out of action for quite sometime.
anyway, till i get down to writing something fresh, here's something from the past.
this was a letter to the editor published in the Development magazine "DOWN TO EARTH", in their June 30 issue of 2004.
this lo...n..gish letter was actually in response to a pretty short query to the editor of DTE by someone on the issue of chemical pesticides and wishing for an eco-friendly alternative.
here's it.//mg
published/DTE/ June-30,2004
Neem pesticides.
There was a letter in the April-15-2004 issue of “Down To Earth” where somebody was concerned about the use of chemical pesticides which are harmful, and wished if there were some eco friendly alternatives such as Neem pesticides or Neem distills.
I believe Neem insecticides/pesticides are already in practice. Only thing is that they are a little different in the sense that they do not kill the insects/pests directly and immediately but do so indirectly which leads to the removal of the pests. These are definitely much slower in contrast to the instant results offered by chemical or synthetic ones. However, the neem based ones are undoubtedly much safer for the people as compared to the regular ones.
I remember when we lived in Bombay, we used to get the pest control people over regularly and they used to spray the pesticide all over the house- in kitchen cupboards, bathrooms, book shelves, under the mattresses etc. etc. and the whole house used to smell for almost 2-3 days. When my son was born, we kept skipping the regular pesticide spray and told them no to do it for at least a year. Somehow, when those people turned up for their next regular visit, we told them there was a new born baby in the house so we will skip the schedule. We were surprised to hear that they had come up with some eco friendly stuff which would neither smell nor be dangerous for small children. It was a white powder and they made a thick paste out of it and stuck it in cupboards, under tables and chairs and beds, even under the refrigerator and other places in the house.
There was no smell and it was supposed to be safe. The effect was off course a bit delayed and slower as compared to the regular ones. Also I just came across a news item which says that Neem leaves may soon be used as fertilizers and pesticides . This would entail the use of some technology which has been developed at the centre for pollution control at pondicherri university. So just like the powder / paste neem pesticide, there can be a solution form which can be sprayed at various places infested with the menace of cockroaches and flies and the like, without having any harmful implications for the public.
Manisha Gupta
Monday, August 22, 2011
Of Friend “SHIPS” !!
here's something published on the ocasion of Friendship Day in the Focus Global Reporter, August,2011 issue//best//mg
Of Friend “SHIPS” !!
Manisha Gupta
I still remember, as a school student long back, in the beautiful Nainital, when our Moral Science teacher asked us to collect writings on “friendship” for our scrap-book. I had found a lovely poem by some great man whose name I should be excused for not remembering over the years, but the first four lines are at the tip of my tongue.
“It never is a one-way traffic
To friendship that we treasure
There is give as well as take
Within the fullest measure”
Even then, though quite young to understand the deep meaning of friendship, I thought these lines summed up and described the phenomenon completely. These in fact give the essence and the entirety of the word friendship. The basic fact being that it can never be a one-way street for this relationship, so if it’s one-way, it simply doesn’t exist. As I think back over the years and visualize different people and their different friendships, I feel the truth encompassed in these lines even more fundamental.
That was then! Over the years I feel the dilution inherent in the environment has percolated to this relationship too. And after SRK’s mega hit “Kuchh Kuchh Hota Hai”, friendship now has taken a turn and is more about friendship “days” and friendship “bands”. The friend himself seems to have taken a backseat. The depth of the relationship is perhaps measured by the quality of the friendship band. In this era of quick changes in environment, climate or economy, friends too seem to be following suit.
The age-old concept of friends being likeminded people with similar interests, value- systems and morals has undergone a tremendous change. Now, even value-systems and morals in the so called “seat of cultural values” that was once India, everything is susceptible to malfunction, right from car to machinery to humans to wardrobes. So much so that I feel we’re undergoing a serious and severe ‘Indian values malfunction’ in every sense of the term. In contrast to earlier times, meaning and depth of friendship, automatic core feelings of giving, sharing, “being there” in times of need, genuine concern and even sacrifice existed, today it’s different. Then friends were probably made for life even though no ceremonial vows are taken to enter into this relation. There were no hidden agendas or motives to “be friends”. Friends were treated well and one wouldn’t ever trample on the dignity, self respect, feelings or emotions of friends.
But change, as they say, is inevitable. Friendship then was about “bOnds” but now it’s more about “bAnds”!! Moreover, now people make friends with a hidden agenda. They may not like a person nor be at the same wavelength or emotional level, but still make friends with that person because they want to use him, his position or his contacts. Nowadays friendships are made with selfish motives and hidden personal agendas in mind and so aren’t long lasting. In some cases they probably last as long as the Velcro or hook of the friendship band! In others they may last as long as the professional interests of both are intertwined and the mutual benefits satisfied. In yet others they may last still longer if both keep moving ahead in their interrelated career paths and each is in a position to keep showering personal favours on the other in the guise of professional work and at the cost of the organization. These days friends are selfish, self-centered people who pretend to be the nicest and the sweetest people on the surface of this earth when they need something from you and can be capable of just looking through you and walking past without so much as even the slightest sign of recognition or the blink of an eye.
Such is the status of friend “SHIPS” today. They are perhaps “ships” with a fate worse than that of the Titanic because they have no solid anchor in the form of genuine bonding. My dear friends just remember “bOnds” may last longer than a life time even without fevicol but “bAnds” of friendships may give in, inspite of fevicol, at the very first shower rain. So don’t let your friend “SHIP” sink anywhere else apart from your heart!!
ManishaGupta©2011
Of Friend “SHIPS” !!
Manisha Gupta
I still remember, as a school student long back, in the beautiful Nainital, when our Moral Science teacher asked us to collect writings on “friendship” for our scrap-book. I had found a lovely poem by some great man whose name I should be excused for not remembering over the years, but the first four lines are at the tip of my tongue.
“It never is a one-way traffic
To friendship that we treasure
There is give as well as take
Within the fullest measure”
Even then, though quite young to understand the deep meaning of friendship, I thought these lines summed up and described the phenomenon completely. These in fact give the essence and the entirety of the word friendship. The basic fact being that it can never be a one-way street for this relationship, so if it’s one-way, it simply doesn’t exist. As I think back over the years and visualize different people and their different friendships, I feel the truth encompassed in these lines even more fundamental.
That was then! Over the years I feel the dilution inherent in the environment has percolated to this relationship too. And after SRK’s mega hit “Kuchh Kuchh Hota Hai”, friendship now has taken a turn and is more about friendship “days” and friendship “bands”. The friend himself seems to have taken a backseat. The depth of the relationship is perhaps measured by the quality of the friendship band. In this era of quick changes in environment, climate or economy, friends too seem to be following suit.
The age-old concept of friends being likeminded people with similar interests, value- systems and morals has undergone a tremendous change. Now, even value-systems and morals in the so called “seat of cultural values” that was once India, everything is susceptible to malfunction, right from car to machinery to humans to wardrobes. So much so that I feel we’re undergoing a serious and severe ‘Indian values malfunction’ in every sense of the term. In contrast to earlier times, meaning and depth of friendship, automatic core feelings of giving, sharing, “being there” in times of need, genuine concern and even sacrifice existed, today it’s different. Then friends were probably made for life even though no ceremonial vows are taken to enter into this relation. There were no hidden agendas or motives to “be friends”. Friends were treated well and one wouldn’t ever trample on the dignity, self respect, feelings or emotions of friends.
But change, as they say, is inevitable. Friendship then was about “bOnds” but now it’s more about “bAnds”!! Moreover, now people make friends with a hidden agenda. They may not like a person nor be at the same wavelength or emotional level, but still make friends with that person because they want to use him, his position or his contacts. Nowadays friendships are made with selfish motives and hidden personal agendas in mind and so aren’t long lasting. In some cases they probably last as long as the Velcro or hook of the friendship band! In others they may last as long as the professional interests of both are intertwined and the mutual benefits satisfied. In yet others they may last still longer if both keep moving ahead in their interrelated career paths and each is in a position to keep showering personal favours on the other in the guise of professional work and at the cost of the organization. These days friends are selfish, self-centered people who pretend to be the nicest and the sweetest people on the surface of this earth when they need something from you and can be capable of just looking through you and walking past without so much as even the slightest sign of recognition or the blink of an eye.
Such is the status of friend “SHIPS” today. They are perhaps “ships” with a fate worse than that of the Titanic because they have no solid anchor in the form of genuine bonding. My dear friends just remember “bOnds” may last longer than a life time even without fevicol but “bAnds” of friendships may give in, inspite of fevicol, at the very first shower rain. So don’t let your friend “SHIP” sink anywhere else apart from your heart!!
ManishaGupta©2011
Friday, August 5, 2011
Book Cover Design
have you written a book? but are worried about the book cover?
or you think that your book is quite good and so the book cover design doesn't need much attention?, well, it may not be so. however good the book maybe, still, to get a customer to come and even have a look at it, depends solely on the cover. if you have an attractive book cover, it increases the probability of people reaching out for the book manyfold.
Truly,then, as they say, A book is judged by its cover !! well, almost always.
so,in case you are a publisher, self publisher, writer, author...anyone and want an attractive, unique book cover design for your lovely piece of creation, you can get in touch here (through the comments section).
your problem can find the right solution. //
or you think that your book is quite good and so the book cover design doesn't need much attention?, well, it may not be so. however good the book maybe, still, to get a customer to come and even have a look at it, depends solely on the cover. if you have an attractive book cover, it increases the probability of people reaching out for the book manyfold.
Truly,then, as they say, A book is judged by its cover !! well, almost always.
so,in case you are a publisher, self publisher, writer, author...anyone and want an attractive, unique book cover design for your lovely piece of creation, you can get in touch here (through the comments section).
your problem can find the right solution. //
Thursday, August 4, 2011
How to publish your first book..???
any writers, first time authors wanting to publish their books, are most welcome to send in their queries.
being a writer, wanting to turn author is a difficult journey. whether you go (...and keep going...without reaching !!) for traditional publishing or resort to the slightly better option of self-publishing, the road is not easy.
even for writers going in for self-publishing need to be aware of many things they don't understand at this stage and it seems all rosy to them.
you know how it is. the creator (writer, poet,artist) and the businessman (publisher..etc) always look at different sides of the same coin , that is -publishing, with opposing view points and ofcourse interests.
take the advantage of experience & knowledge.
the task may be made slightly more ..t'readable' !!//best//mg
being a writer, wanting to turn author is a difficult journey. whether you go (...and keep going...without reaching !!) for traditional publishing or resort to the slightly better option of self-publishing, the road is not easy.
even for writers going in for self-publishing need to be aware of many things they don't understand at this stage and it seems all rosy to them.
you know how it is. the creator (writer, poet,artist) and the businessman (publisher..etc) always look at different sides of the same coin , that is -publishing, with opposing view points and ofcourse interests.
take the advantage of experience & knowledge.
the task may be made slightly more ..t'readable' !!//best//mg
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
New Initiative
here's starting a new initiative on this Blog.
any writers/poets/artists out there wishing to send in their creative pieces are most welcome to do so.
the work will be posted here on this Blog, along with their names & locations.
please feel free to use this platform to display your creativity//best//mg
any writers/poets/artists out there wishing to send in their creative pieces are most welcome to do so.
the work will be posted here on this Blog, along with their names & locations.
please feel free to use this platform to display your creativity//best//mg
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