Story: Baby Camel and Mother story 11

A mother and a baby camel were lying around, and fortuitously(suddenly,एकायक) the baby camel asked, “mother, may I ask you some questions? Mother said, “Sure! Why son, is there something bothering you? Baby said, “Why do camels have humps?” Mother said “Well son, we are desert animals, we need the humps to store water and we are known to survive without water”. Baby said, “Okay, then why are our legs protracted(long.लम्बा) and our feet rounded?” Mother said, “Son, obviously they are meant for walking in the desert. You know with these legs I can move around the desert better than anyone does!” Baby said, “Okay, then why are our eyelashes long? Sometimes it bothers my sight”. Mother with hubris(pride,गौरव) said, “My son, those long voluminous(thick,मोटा) eyelashes are your vindicatory(protective,रक्षात्मक) cover. They help to intercede(protect,रक्षा करना) your eyes from the desert sand and wind”.

 Baby after thinking said, “I see. So the hump is to store water when we are in the desert, the legs are for walking through the desert and these eye lashes protect my eyes from the desert then what in god’s name are we doing here in the Zoo!?”

 Moral: deftness(Skills,कौशल), knowledge, abilities and experiences are only germane(useful,सार्थक) if you are at the pertinent(right,सही) place.

click here for story 10

The Pot of the Wit story 9

Once Emperor Akbar became very angry(indignant,गुस्सा) at his favorite minister Birbal. He asked Birbal to abandon(leave,छोड़ना) the kingdom and go away. Accepting the command of the Emperor, Birbal left the kingdom and started working in a farmer’s farm in an unacquainted(unknown,अनजान) village far away under a different identity.

As months passed, Akbar started to miss Birbal. He was struggling to solve many issues in the empire without Birbal’s advice. He regretted a decision, asking Birbal to leave the empire in anger. So Akbar sent his soldiers to find Birbal, but they failed to find him. No one knew where Birbal was. Akbar finally found a maneuver(trick,युक्ति). He sent a message to the head of every village to send a pot full of the wit to the Emperor. If the pot full of wit can not be sent, fill the pot with diamonds and jewels.

This message also reached Birbal, who lived in one of the villages. The people of the village got together. All started talking about what to do now? The wit is not a thing, which can be filled in the pot. How will we arrange for diamonds and jewels to fill the pot and send to the Emperor? Birbal who was sitting among the villagers said, “Give me the pot, I will fill the wit in one month’s end”. Everyone trusted Birbal and agreed to give him a chance. They still didn’t know his identity.

Birbal took the pot with him and went back to the farm. He had planted watermelons on his farm. He selected a minuscule(small,छोटा) watermelon and without cutting it from the plant, he put that in the pot. He started looking after it by providing water and fertilizer perpetually(regularly,नित्य). Within a few days, the watermelon grew into a pot so much that it was infeasible(impossible,असंभव) to get it out of the pot.

Soon, the watermelon reached to the same size as the pot from inside. Birbal then cut the watermelon from the vine and separated it with the pot. Later, he sent a pot to Emperor Akbar with a message that “Please remove the wit without cutting it from the pot and without breaking the pot”.

Akbar watched the watermelon in the pot and realized that this can only be Birbal’s Work. Akbar himself came to the village, took Birbal back with him.

Moral: Don’t hasten(fast,जल्दी) the decision. Think tenacious(hard,दृढ) to find a solution for the strangest situations.

click here for story 8 

The Fall and Rise of a Merchant STORY 8

In a city called Vardhamana, lived a very dexterous(efficient,कुशल) and felicitous(prosperous,संपन्न) merchant. 

The king was aware of his abilities, and therefore made him the administrator of the kingdom. 

With his efficient and astute(intelligent,बुद्धिमान) ways, he kept common man very happy, and at the same time he impressed the king on the other side. Such a person, who can keep everybody happy, is rarely found. 

Later, there came a time that the merchant's daughter was getting married. He arranged for a opulent(lavish,खर्चीला) reception. 

The merchant not only invited the king and the queen, who obliged by attending, but he also invited the exhaustive(entire,सम्पूर्ण) royal household and all respected people of the kingdom. 

During the reception, he ensured to provide his guests with the best of treatments. He gave out gifts to guests to show them respect for attending to his invitation. 

A servant of the royal household, who used to sweep the palace, was not invited but attended the reception. 

He took a seat which was reserved for royal nobles, not meant for common invitees. 

This made the merchant very disgruntled(angry,गुस्सा). He caught him by the neck and ordered his servants to have him thrown out. 

The royal servant felt very insulted, and could not sleep all night. He thought, "If I can have the king to disfavour this merchant, I will have my vengeance(revenge,बदला). But what can I, a common fellow, do to detriment(harm,हानि) a egregious(powerful,प्रबल) person as him". Thinking such, he abruptly(suddenly,एकायक) had a plan. 

Several days later, the servant was sweeping the floor near the king's bed early in the morning. He observed that that the king was still in bed, half awake. The servant started mumbling, "Good heavens! The merchant has become so nonchalant(carefree,लापरवाह) now that he dared to embrace the queen!" 

When the king heard this lying in his bed, he jumped up and asked the servant, "Is it true? Have you seen the merchant embrace my queen yourself?" 

The servant at once fell at the king's feet, "O Master, I was gambling all night. I feel drowsy for I didn't sleep last night. I don't know what I have been mumbling, but I said anything fallacious(improper,अनुचित), please forgive me." 

The king spoke no more, but the servant knew he had sowed the seed of distrust. The king thought, "It can be true! The servant moves about the palace freely, and so does the merchant. It is feasible(possible,संभव) that the servant has seen something." 

The king was troubled with jealousy. From that day onwards, he withdrew his favours from the merchant and even forbade him to enter the palace. 

One day, when the merchant was entering the gateway to the palace, he was stopped by the guards. The merchant was surprised due to this sudden change in the king's attitude. 

The servant was nearby, and mocking shouted at the guards, "Ho Guards! That merchant is favoured by the king. He is a powerful person. He can have people arrested or released or even thrown out, just like he had me thrown out of his daughter's reception. Beware, for you may suffer the same fate." 

On hearing this, the merchant understood that the servant has caused all this trouble somehow. He felt melancholic(dejected,उदास), and returned home upset over the incident. 

He gave everything a second thought, and then he invited the royal servant to his house. He treated the servant with utmost respect, and flattered him with gifts and garments. He said kindly, "O friend, that day I did not have you thrown out due to anger, but it was improper of you to occupy the seat reserved for the royal nobles. They felt insulted, and out of compulsion I had to throw you out. Please forgive me." 

The servant was already flattered with all the gifts, and he was full of joy, "Sir, I forgive you. You have not only expressed your regrets, but also honoured me with utmost respect". 

He ensured the merchant, "I will prove you how clever I am. I will have the king favourable towards you, like he was before". The servant went back home. 

Early next morning, when he started sweeping the floors of the palace, he waited till when the king was lying half-awake. 

When the opportunity came, he started sweeping around his bed and started mumbling, "Our king is crazy, he eats cucumber in the lavatory!" 

On hearing this, the king was taken aback. He got up angrily and shouted at the servant, "What nonsense do you talk about? Had you not been by royal servant, I would have punished you dearly. Have you ever seen me doing such thing yourself?" 

Once again the servant fell on his knees and prayed, "O Master, please forgive me if I said something improper. I was gambling all last night and didn't sleep. I feel drowsy and I don't know what I have been mumbling." 

The king thought to himself, "I have never eaten a cucumber in the lavatory. What he mumbled about me is ridiculously false. Surely then, what he mumbled about my trusted merchant the other morning must have been ridiculously false too. It was improper of me to mistreat the merchant." 

He wondered, "After all he has been so efficient in the whole administrative system, that without him it has become slack." 

Thus, having considered carefully, the king invited the merchant to the palace and flattered him with gifts, jewels and garments. He re-appointed the merchant to his previously held position, and favoured his services as before. 

The wise indeed say:
One should treat one and all, even the lowest, with respect.

CLICK HERE FOR STORY 7

Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Bill, 2017

Mere legislation is not adequate(enough,पर्याप्त) to eradicate(remove,हटाना) superstition from society, but laws do have the utility value of curbing(control,नियंत्रण)the prevalence(spread,फैलाव) of inhuman rituals and practices. The Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Bill, 2017 has been approved by the State Cabinet and is likely to be introduced soon in the Assembly. this as just an ‘anti-superstition bill’, as what it seeks to inhibit(prohibit,निषेध) are actions that offend human dignity, result in the exploitation(शोषण) of gullible(innocent,भोले) and vulnerable(weak,कमज़ोर)people or cause harm to them. Organising macabre(horrid,भयंकर)rituals, offering magical cures and threatening people, under peril(risk,जोखिम) of incurring divine or supernatural displeasure, are covered by this law, even though these can be treated as offences under the Indian Penal Code too.

It is not uncommon to read reports of disturbing rituals. Among the rituals the Bill outlaws is the practice of walking on fire, branding children, and piercing one’s tongue or cheeks. One must denounce(condemn,आरोप)acts that harm women in the name of exorcism(magic,जादू), it is education and awareness that can truly liberate a society from superstition, blind faith and abominable(hateful,घिनोने)practices in the name of faith. Until then, the law will have to continue to identify and punish acts that violate the people’s right to life, health and dignity.

Birbal’s Khichri (Rice) story 6

On a cold winter day, Akbar and Birbal took a walk along the reservoir(lake,झील). A thought came to Birbal that a man would do anything for money. He articulated(expressed,व्यक्त) his feelings to Akbar. Akbar then put his finger into the lake and immediately alienated(removed,हटाना) it because he trembled(shivered,कंपकपी) with cold. Akbar said, “I don’t ponder(think,सोचना) a man would spend an exhaustive(entire,सम्पूर्ण) night in the cold water of this lake for money.” Birbal replied, “I am sure I can find such a person.” Akbar then challenged Birbal into finding such a person and said that he would reward the person with a thousand gold coins.

Birbal searched far and wide until he found a Impecunious(poor,गरीब) man who was desperate enough to accept the challenge. The poor man entered the lake and Akbar had guards posted near him to make sure that he really did as promised. The next morning the guards took the poor man to Akbar. Akbar asked the poor man if he had indeed spent the night in the lake. The poor man replied that he had. Akbar then asked the poor man how he managed to spend the night in the lake.

The poor man replied that there was a street lamp nearby and he kept his attention affixed on the lamp and away from the cold. Akbar then said that there would be no reward as the poor man had survived the night in the lake by the ardency(warmth,गर्मी) of the street lamp. The poor man went to Birbal for help.

The next day, Birbal did not go to court. The king wondering where he was, sent a messenger to his home. The messenger came back saying that Birbal would come once his Khichri(Rice) was cooked. The king waited hours but Birbal did not come. Finally, the king decided to go to Birbal’s house and see what he was up to.

He found Birbal sitting on the floor near some burning twigs and a bowl filled with Khichri(Rice) hanging five feet above the fire. The king and his attendants couldn’t help but laugh.

Akbar then said to Birbal “How can the Khichri(Rice) be cooked if it so far away from the conflagration(fire,आग)?”

Birbal answered, “The same way the poor man received heat from a street lamp that was more than a furlong away.”

The King understood his blunder(mistake,गलती) and gave the poor man his reward.
click here for story 5

Eklavya’s Loyalty. Story 4

This is the story of a long-gone era. In the realm(country,देश) of India, nearly five thousand years back, lived a boy named Eklavya, the son of a tribal chief in the forests of the kingdom- Hastinapura. Eklavya was a valorous(brave,साहसी), handsome boy. He was loved by all. But he was not happy.

His father saw that something troubled Eklavya. More than once he found his son lost deep in thought when other boys enjoyed the pleasures of hunting and playing. One day the father asked his son, Why are you so despondent(unhappy,नाखुश), Eklavya? Why don t you join your friends? Why are you not interested in hunting?

Father, I want to be an archer replied Eklavya, I want to become a disciple of the exalted(great,महान) Dronacharya, the great tutor of Archery in Hastinapura. His Gurukul is a necromantic(magical,जादुई) place where ordinary boys are turned into robust(mighty,सुद्रढ़) warriors.

Eklavya saw his father was reticence(silentमौन). He continued, Father, I know that we belong to the hunting tribe, but I want to be a combatant(warrior,योद्धा), father, not a mere hunter. So please allow me to leave home and become the disciple of  Dronacharya.  Eklavya’s father was troubled, for he knew that his son’s appetency(ambition,अभिलाषा) was not an easy one. But the chief was a loving father and he did not want to disavow(refuse,अस्वीकार) his only son’s wish. So the indulgent(kind,दयालु) man gave his blessings and sent his son on his way to Drona s Gurukul.  Eklavya set on his way. Soon he reached the part of the forest where Drona taught the princes of Hastinapur.

In those days, there was no such regime(system,प्रणाली) as a school, college, university or hostel. The only place where one could get some education was a Gurukul . A Gurukul (Guru refers to “teacher” or “master”, Kul refers to his domain, from the Sanskrit word kula, meaning extended family.) is a type of antiquated(ancientप्राचीन) Hindu school in India that is residential in nature with the shishyas or students and the guru or teacher living in proximity, many a time within the same house. 

Having said this much, let us now return to Eklavya. When the boy reached Dronacharya s Gurukul, he saw that it consisted of a congregation(group,समूह) of huts,  surrounded by trees and an archery yard. The disciples were practicing to shoot arrows with their bows and arrows in the yard. It was an alluring(engaging,मनोहर) sight. But Eklavya s eyes searched Drona. Where was he? Will he be able to see the man? Without Drona, all his purpose of coming here would be meaningless. But all his worries soon subsided. He did not have to wait for prolonged(long,लम्बा). There was the man standing near a tree busy instructing a boy, who was none else than the third Pandava prince Arjuna, as Eklavya came to know later. Though Eklavya had never seen Drona before, he put his guess at work. He went near Drona and bowed. The sage was astonished(surprised,चकित) to see a peculiar(strange,अजीब) boy addressing him. Who are you? he asked.

“Dronacharya, I am Eklavya, son of the Tribal Chief in the western part of the forests of Hastinapura.” Eklavya replied. “Please accept me as your disciple and teach me the wonderful art of Archery.”

Drona sighed. “Eklavya… if you are a tribal hunter, you must be a Shudra, the lowest social community according to the Vedic Caste System. I am a Brahmin, the highest caste in the kingdom. I cannot teach a Shudra boy” he said.

“And he’s also a Royal teacher,” interrupted Prince Arjuna. “Our Guru has been appointed by the King to train us, the princes and the highborn. How dare you come inside the Gurukul and seek him? Leave! NOW!” he spat out, looking disgruntled(enraged,खफा) that Eklavya had disturbed his practice.

Eklavya was stunned at Arjuna’s behavior. He himself was the son of the chief of his clan, but he never insulted anyone below him in such a way. He looked at Drona for some kind of support, but the sage remained tranquil(silent,चुप). The message was loud and explicit(clear,स्पष्ठ). Dronacharya also wanted him to leave. He refused to teach him.  The innocent tribal boy was deeply hurt by Drona’s refusal to teach him. “It’s not fair!” he thought miserably. “God has given knowledge to all, but man alone segregates(differentiates,अलग) his kind.”

He left the place with a broken heart and a bitter taste in his mouth. But it could not shatter his ambition to learn Archery. He was still as determined to learn Archery. “I may be a Shudra but does it make any difference?” thought he. ” I am as strong and ardent(zealous,उत्साही) as Drona’s princes and disciples. If I practice the art every day, I can surely become an archer.”

Eklavya reached his own forests and took some mud from a nearby river. He made a effigy(statue,पुतला) of Dronacharya and selected a secluded clearing in the forests to place it. Eklavya did this because he faithfully believed that if he practiced before his Guru, he would become an dexterous(able,दक्ष) archer. Thus, though his Guru relinquished(shunned,त्यागना) held him in high esteem and thought of him as his Guru.

Day after day, he took his bow and arrow, worshiped the statue of Drona and started practice. In time faith, courage and persistence(perseverance,हठ) transformed Eklavya the mere tribal hunter into Eklavya the extravagant(extraordinary,असाधारण) archer. Eklavya became an archer of exceptional prowess(skill,कौशल), superior even to Drona’s best pupil, Arjuna.

One day while Eklavya is practicing, he hears a dog barking. At first, the boy ignored the dog, but the continuous disturbance in his practice angered him. He stopped his practice and went towards the place where the dog was barking.  Before the dog could shut up or get out of the way, Eklavya fired seven arrows in precipitant(rapid,तेज़) succession to fill the dog’s mouth without injuring it. As a consequence(result,परिणाम), it roamed the forests with its mouth opened.

But Eklavya was not alone in his practice. He was oblivious(unaware,अनजान) of the fact that just some distance away, the Pandava princes were also present in that area of the forest. As fate would have it, that day, they had come with their teacher, Drona, who was instructing them about some finer points of archery by making them learn in the real-life condition of the open jungle.

As they were busy practicing, they abruptly(suddenly,अचानक) chanced upon the “stuffed” dog, and wonder who could have pulled off such a feat of archery. Drona was amazed too.”  Such an excellent aim can only come from a mighty archer.” he exclaimed. He told the Pandavas that if somebody was such a good archer then he surely needed to be met. The practice was stopped and together they began searching the forest for the one behind such amazing feat. They found a dark-skinned man dressed all in black, his body besmeared(involved,लिप्त) with filth and his hair in matted locks. It was Eklavya. Dronacharya went up to him.

“Your aim is truly remarkable!” Drona praised Eklavya, and asked, “From whom did you learn Archery?” Eklavya was thrilled to hear Drona’s praises.  How surprised he will be if he told Drona that he, in fact, was his Guru! “From you my Master.  You are my Guru,” Eklavya replied humbly.

“Your Guru? How can I be your Guru? I have never seen you before!” Drona exclaimed in surprise. But all of a sudden he remembered something. He remembered about an eager boy who had visited his Gurukul several months ago.”  Now I remember,” said he. “Are you not the same hunter boy whom I refused admission in my Gurukul some months back?”

“Yes, Dronacharya”, replied the boy. “After I left your Gurukul, I came home and made a statue like you and worshiped it every day. I practiced before your image. You refused to teach me, but your statue did not. Thanks to it, I have become a good archer.”

Hearing this, Arjuna became angry. “But you promised me that you’d make me the best archer in the world!” he accused Drona. “Now how can that be? Now a common hunter has become better than me!”

The other princes remembered their master frequently praising Arjuna that he had enormous(immense,अपार) talent and will be the greatest archer in the kingdom. They waited with bated breath. What will their teacher do now?

Unable to answer Arjuna’s question, Drona remained silent. The sage too was upset that his promise to Prince Arjuna was not going to be fulfilled. He was also angry with Eklavya for disobeying him. So the sage planned to punish Eklavya.  “Where is your guru dakhsina? You have to give me a gift for your training,” the sage demanded. He had finally found a way to make Eklavya suffer for his disobedience.

Eklavya was overjoyed. A guru dakshina was the voluntary fee or gift offered by a disciple to his guru at the end of his training. The guru-shishya parampara, i.e. the teacher-student tradition, was a hallowed tradition in Hinduism. At the end of a shishya’s study, the guru asks for a “guru dakshina,” since a guru does not take fees. A guru dakshina is the final offering from a student to the guru before leaving the ashram. The teacher may ask for something or nothing at all.

“Dronacharya, I’ll be the happiest person on earth to serve you. Ask me anything and I will offer it to you as my guru dhakshina “he said. “I might ask something you don’t like to give me. What if you refuse the dhakshina I want?”  Drona asked cunningly.

Eklavya was shocked. It was considered a grave insult and a great sin if a guru’s dakshina was refused. “No! How can I, teacher? I am not that ungrateful.  I’ll never refuse anything you ask, Dronacharya,” promised the unsuspecting boy.

Drona did not wait anymore. “Eklavya, I seek to have your right-hand thumb as my guru dhakshina” he declared. Silence befell on everyone. Everyone was shocked, even Arjuna. He looked at his teacher in horror and disbelief. How could their teacher make such a   demand? That too, from a mere boy?

For a moment Eklavya stood silent. Without his thumb, he could never shoot arrows again. But the teacher must be satisfied. “Ok Gurudev as you wish”, said he. Then, without the slightest reluctation(hesitation,झिझक), Eklavya drew out his knife and cut his thumb!  The prince gasped at Eklavya’s act of bravery. But the tribal boy betrayed no signs of anguish(pain,दर्द) and held out his severed thumb to Dronacharya.

“Here is my guru Dakshina, Drona”, Ekalavya said. “I am happy that you have made me your disciple, even if I’m a mere Shudra hunter.”

The sage was humbled. He blessed the young archer for his courage. “Eklavya, even without your thumb, you’ll be known as a great archer. I bless you that you will be remembered forever for your loyalty to your guru,” Drona declared and left the forests. He was moved and grieved at his own action. But he was content that his promise to Arjuna was not broken. The Gods blessed Eklavya from above.

But despite his handicap, Eklavya continued to practice archery. How could he do so? When one is dedicated, one can make even mountains bow. With practice, Eklavya could shoot arrows with his index and middle finger and he became a greater archer than he was ever before. His renown spread far and wide. When Drona came to know this, he blessed the boy silently and begged for divine forgiveness.

And true to Drona’s blessing, Eklavya is still praised as the most loyal and brave student in the epic of Mahabharata.

click here for story three

Wait For The Brick....... story 2

A young and successful executive was traveling down a propinquity(neighborhood,पड़ोस) street, going a bit too brisk(fast,तेज़) in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag’s side door! He slammed on the brakes and drove the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The disgruntled(angry,नाराज़) driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car, shouting, “What was that all about and who are you?
Just what the heck are you doing?
That’s a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money.
Why did you do it?”
The young boy was penitent(apologeticक्षमाशील),. “Please mister … please, I’m sorry… I didn’t know what else to do,” he pleaded.
“I threw the brick because no one else would stop…”
With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car.
“It’s my brother,” he said.
“He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up.” Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, “Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too ponderous(heavy,भारी) for me.”
Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the expeditiously(rapidly,तेज़ी से) swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out his fancy handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.
“Thank you and may God bless you,” the grateful child told the stranger.
Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the little boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long, dilatory(slow,धीमा) walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very perceptible(noticeable,प्रत्यक्ष), but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message: Don’t go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!
God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don’t have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us.
It’s our choice: Listen to the whisper … or wait for the brick!

click here for story 1x

The 4 Wives with the hindu vocab .....story 1

There was a opulent(rich,धनी) merchant who had 4 wives. He loved the 4th wife the most and embellished(beautify,सवारना)  her with rich robes and treated her to delicacies. He took great care of her and gave her nothing but the best.
He also loved the 3rd wife very much. He’s very proud of her and always wanted to show off her to his friends. However, the merchant is always in great trepidation(fear,डर) that she might run away with some other men.

He too, loved his 2nd wife. She is a very considerate person, always patient and in fact is the merchant’s confidante. Whenever the merchant faced some problems, he always turned to his 2nd wife and she would always help him out and tide him through arduous(difficult,मुश्किल) times.

Now, the merchant’s 1st wife is a very stalwart(loyal,निष्ठावान) partner and has made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and business as well as taking care of the household. However, the merchant did not love the first wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her.

One day, the merchant fell ill. Before long, he knew that he was going to die soon. He thought of his sumptuous(luxurious,विलासी) life and told himself, “Now I have 4 wives with me. But when I die, I’ll be alone. How lonely I’ll be!”
Thus, he asked the 4th wife, “I loved you most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I’m dying, will you follow me and keep me company?” “No way!” replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word.


The answer cut like a acute(sharp,तेज़) knife right into the merchant’s heart. The melancholic(sad,उदास) merchant then asked the 3rd wife, “I have loved you so much for all my life. Now that I’m dying, will you follow me and keep me company?” “No!” replied the 3rd wife. “Life is so good over here! I’m going to remarry when you die!” The merchant’s heart sank and turned cold.

He then asked the 2nd wife, “I always turned to you for help and you’ve perennially(always,हमेशा) helped me out. Now I need your help again. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?” “I’m sorry, I can’t help you out this time!” replied the 2nd wife. “At the very most, I can only send you to your grave.” The answer came like a bolt of thunder and the merchant was devastated(wasted,बर्बाद).

Then a voice called out : “I’ll leave with you. I’ll follow you no matter where you go.” The merchant looked up and there was his first wife. She was so skinny, almost like she suffered from malnutrition. Greatly grieved, the merchant said, “I should have taken much better care of you while I could have !”

De facto(Actuallyवास्तव में), we all have 4 wives in our lives

a. The 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it’ll leave us when we die.

b. Our 3rd wife ? Our possessions(property,संपत्ति), status and wealth. When we die, they all go to others.

c. The 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how close they had been there for us when we’re alive, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

d. The 1st wife is in fact our soul, often neglected in our pursuit of material, wealth and voluptuous(sensual,आनंदी) pleasure.

Guess what? It is actually the only thing that follows us wherever we go. Perhaps it’s a good idea to cultivate and reinforce(strengthen,मजबूत बनाना) it now rather than to wait until we’re on our deathbed to lament(sorrow,विलाप).

RANCOUR

   Rancour(n)(विद्वेष): Rancour is a feeling of                          bitterness and anger,bitterness or resentfulness,              especially when long standing

  synonyms: bitterness, spite, hate, hatred, resentment, malice, ill will, malevolence, malignancy, animosity, antipathy, enmity, hostility, acrimony, venom, poison, vindictiveness, balefulness, vengefulness, vitriol, virulence, perniciousness, meanness, nastiness

uses: There was no rancour, no bitterness.
               - Six years ago, the post-match formalities were conducted indoors in an atmosphere of bitterness and rancour.

Interlocutor

Interlocutor (N)(वार्ताकार) : Interlocutor derives from the Latin interloqui, meaning "to speak between" or "to issue an interlocutory decree." (An interlocutory decree is a court judgment that comes in the middle of a case and is not decisive.) it means a person who takes part in a dialogue or conversation

Synonyms: middle man person, mediator, intermediate

PENURIOUS

 Penurious (Adj):-  lacking money; excessively unwilling to spend, not having enough money to pay for necessities.

Synonyms: parsimonious, hard up, impecunious, in straitened circumstances, penniless, pinched

Uses:- Government assistance is available for penurious families who cannot afford to purchase food.

-Because jonny is in penurious circumstances, he has been obtaining his meals from a soup kitchen.

-when reena lost her job, she found herself in the penurious situation of not being able to pay her rent.

Amnesty by another name

The Income Declaration Scheme (IDS) announced in the 2016-17 budget closed on September 30, after remaining open since June 1. The finance ministry has announced that 64,275 people have come forward to declare Rs 65,250 crore of black money. This is the largest amount declared as black money in the history of Indian taxation. Naturally, the government claims this to be a big achievement, more so since the response in the first three months was tepid(slow,मंद).

The average amount of black income per declaration is about Rs one crore. This is indeed low when there is daily news about people being caught with hundreds of crores of rupees of black incomes. It is likely that either the big earners of black incomes have not come forward or declared a negligible part of their black money. It is reported that the income tax officers pressurised people under their charge to make declarations in the last three weeks. So, either they coerced(forced,मजबूर) the small fries, or the big fellows declared a miniscule(small,छोटा) amount. Also, many of the black income earners do not pay any tax. So they do not come under any income tax circle and, therefore, would not have been under any pressure.

The last disclosure scheme was announced in 1997 — the Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme. Under it Rs 33,000 crore was declared and tax of about Rs 10,000 crore was collected. The 2016 scheme is also a “voluntary” programme, even though it is not called that. The 1997 scheme was called an amnesty scheme because of the low tax that had to be paid. But this time, it is not referred to as an amnesty because a higher rate of tax is being charged. The government had also given an undertaking to the Supreme Court in 1997 that it would not initiate any more amnesty schemes. The reason being that an amnesty scheme is unfair to the honest tax payers while those evading(remain,बचे) taxation get a concession for declaring their past income.

But the IDS is also an amnesty scheme because the penalty charged under it is less than what was being charged for tax evasion before the scheme was launched. Before June 2016, if a person’s income was found to be black, the penalty was 100 per cent to 300 per cent of the tax evaded. Since the tax rate is 30 per cent, the penalty worked out to 30 per cent to 90 per cent of the income evaded; under the IDS, the penalty is 15 per cent of the income. In this sense, the IDS runs counter to the government’s commitment to the Supreme Court in 1997.

The comparison of the 1997 and the 2016 schemes does not show the latter in a favourable light. This author estimates the current size of the black economy at 60 per cent of the GDP; at current prices, it would be Rs 90 lakh crore in 2016-17. Thus, what has been declared is roughly 0.7 per cent of the black income generated this year. The declarations under the 1997 scheme was roughly five per cent of the black income generated that year.

From the black incomes generated every year, a part is consumed and the rest saved. Over time, the accumulated savings become much larger than the annual income. For the rich, the savings from incomes are high, so the black wealth accumulated is much larger than their annual black incomes. Data suggests that only a small part of these black savings are declared under the amnesty/declaration schemes. Thus, barely 0.2-0.3 per cent of the black wealth has been declared in the 2016 scheme. The number of declarations in 1997 was over four lakh; now, surprisingly, it is a sixth of this number. The number of businesses, professionals, corrupt officials and politicians has risen over time. So, the number of people with substantial black incomes and wealth should have been several times the number in 1997. Even if it is assumed that the top one per cent of the population generates substantial black incomes, the numbers should have been close to 13 million.

The government has announced that it would not reveal any of the data collected through the scheme to any agency; not even the CAG. This is strange since CAG is a statutory body with powers to audit the accounts of the government. It is the CAG that pointed to the various infirmities in the 1997 scheme. Giving data to the CAG does not violate any confidentiality.

It needs to be assessed whether those declaring their black incomes are doing so correctly. They could be misdeclaring their recently purchased gold as that bought 20 years ago at one tenth the cost and thereby turning 90 per cent of their black wealth into white. Only an assessment by an independent auditor will help unearth such manipulations.

There can be several reasons why the IDS has garnered(collect,इकठा) much less than it should have. If “round tripping” can be done at five per cent to 10 per cent of the amount of the funds, why pay 45 per cent under the IDS? Further, if the government, promises not to resort to vigorous(healthy,जोरदार) pursuit of businessmen — under “ease of doing business” — they may be under no pressure to come clean. A person who has hoarded black wealth can only be caught in a raid; such a person will not declare black wealth voluntarily unless there is a cost to not declaring. The “success” of the IDS scheme in the last three weeks also suggests that if the income tax department applies pressure, black money can be unearthed. The government seems to be trapped between unearthing black money and not applying pressure on businesses. Why this dilemma(uncertainty,दुविधा)

?

courtesy:indian express
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Keep up the fair exchange

Amid(between,के बीच) tensions between the two countries, it has been suggested that India should impose a trade embargo(restriction,प्रतिबन्ध) on Pakistan by suspending its most-favoured nation (MFN) commitment towards Pakistan in the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The MFN provision, given in Article I of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), 1994, puts every WTO member (including India) under an obligation to extend any benefit (say, lowering tariff rates) accorded to one member (say, the U.S.) to all other WTO members (including Pakistan). This core non-discrimination(unfair treatment,भेदभाव) principle is the cornerstone of the world trading system. Arguing for India suspending its MFN commitment towards Pakistan would mean India restricting imports from Pakistan without restricting imports of like goods from other countries, or/and India restricting exports to Pakistan without restricting the export of like goods to other countries. This can be achieved by imposing trade quotas, higher tariffs, taxes, or even totally banning some or all traded products. But is this economically and legally feasible(possible,संभव)?

Economic and legal feasibility 

Although bilateral trade between India and Pakistan has increased from $345 million in 2003-04 to $2.61 billion in 2015-16, it is abysmal(bad,निराशाजनक) compared to India’s total merchandise trade of $641 billion in 2015-16 and Pakistan’s total trade of around $75 billion, which includes exports worth $28.3 billion. India’s exports to Pakistan amount to $2.1 billion whereas imports from Pakistan are just $441 million, resulting in a trade surplus of $1.7 billion in favour of India. Given these numbers, assuming India were to suspend MFN status by stopping all imports from Pakistan, it would only result in a very marginal decline of Pakistan’s total exports and that too assuming that Pakistan is unable to find alternative markets. Even prohibiting all Indian exports to Pakistan, such as textiles, chemicals and agricultural products, will also not have any noticeable impact on Pakistan because Pakistan can always source these goods from other countries. On the contrary(against,विपरीत), restricting India’s exports, which have contracted considerably in the last 18 months, might hurt India more than Pakistan.

Would India be able to justify its MFN violation if Pakistan were to challenge this in the WTO’s dispute settlement body (DSB)? First, India cannot justify this on the pretext that Pakistan does not honour MFN obligations towards India. The correct recourse to Pakistan’s action is to mount a legal challenge in the WTO and not indulge in tit-for-tat.

However, India can justify its MFN violation if it is able to make a case under any of the GATT exceptions such as the national security exception, most important in the current scenario. In the pre-WTO era, the U.S. in 1985 relied on this exception to defend its MFN violation when it imposed a trade embargo on Nicaragua to oppose the Sandinista government. However, given the weak and diplomacy-based method of resolving trade disputes then, the U.S. defence was never judicially tested. In the post-WTO era, in 1996, when the European Communities (EC) challenged the Helms-Burton Act of the U.S., enacted to strengthen the American embargo on Cuba, the U.S. again justified it as a national security exception. Even here, before the adjudicatory process could start, the U.S. and the EC reached a settlement.

Article XXI (b) of GATT provides the most important national security exception. It states that nothing in GATT shall be construed(understand,अर्थ करना) to prevent any country from taking any action that “it considers necessary” for the protection of its essential security interests. Three questions are pertinent(appropriate,उचित). First, do the words “it considers necessary” give full authority to India to enact any measure it likes without any scrutiny by WTO’s DSB? Although Article XXI (b) gives a country very wide discretion(judgement,निर्णय) to unilaterally(one sidedly,एकतरफा) decide its national security measures, a certain degree of “judicial review” is still possible. Thus, at a minimum, India will have to provide a reasonable explanation to the DSB as to why restricting export of cotton and tomatoes to Pakistan or/and restricting imports of dates, light oil and portland cement (these commodities constitute almost 50 per cent of India’s imports from Pakistan) is necessary to protect India’s essential security interests.

Second, is Article XXI (b) a general national security exception? No. This exception can be invoked only if the measure adopted relates to fissionable material, to traffic in arms or other related material, or is taken in time of war or other emergency in international relations (EIR). India will most likely try to make a case in the EIR category. Even here, though India will enjoy a wide discretion to define EIR, this cannot be unilaterally determined to ensure that Article XXI is not used for political or punitive purpose.

Third, does the current situation fall under an EIR? This is difficult to answer. Notwithstanding recent escalations(increase,बढ़ोतरी), both countries continue to have diplomatic relations, cultural and social ties have not been snapped, transport links continue to exist. Also, both countries have seen far worse days in the past and yet trade and economic ties deepened.

Free trade and peace

Therefore, given the negligible economic impact and potential legal problems, suspending MFN to impose trade sanctions on Pakistan will only escalate tensions without much benefit. Instead of weakening trade ties, India and Pakistan should pay heed to this famous claim that ‘when goods don’t cross borders, soldiers will’. Free trade connects countries, and thus incentivizes(encourage,प्रोत्साहन) peace. Empirically(experimentally,अनुभव से), it has been shown that higher levels of free trade reduce military conflicts(battle,विवाद). India and Pakistan should boost free trade amongst themselves, Pakistan should honour its MFN commitment to India in the WTO, and India should use the SAARC platform to push for deeper trade ties.

courtesy:the hindu
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Not simply a vision thing

Monsanto recently decided that it would stop the release of new genetically modified (GM) cotton technology because of “uncertainty in the business and regulatory environment”. At the same time, it was reported that GM mustard has moved closer to obtaining clearance for commercial cultivation in India following a key committee’s favourable assessment on issues of soil suitability and risks to health and ecology.

The issues involved are complex and contested(controversial,विवादास्पद), and the challenges and contradictions(protest,विरोधाभास) may be evident to even the most casual of observers. Bt brinjal itself may have faded away from public discourse but the debacle(failure,पराजय) over its introduction is not something that will be forgotten in a hurry. The contestations over Bt cotton continue to be alive in scientific research, in experiences on the field, and in policy debates. The seed industry has, in fact, split down the middle over a reorientation of the regulatory and policy frameworks related to Bt cotton. And yet, for a certain prominent section of the science and technology (S&T) establishment of the country, the promise of GM mustard trumps all skepticism(doubt,संदेह).

Contestations

The conundrum(puzzle,पहेली) here is not so much about the technology itself as it is about the promise that imbues the technology and which holds the present and the future together. Building promises is very similar to building facts, notes Cynthia Selin who studies the intersection of science, technology and society. It is the promise and vision of the future that then becomes key in generating a constellation(planet,नक्षत्र) that provides social and political legitimacy on the one hand, and much-needed financial resources on the other. Bt cotton, Bt brinjal and many technologies of the future exist through the expectations they generate and mobilise about the future. The act of developing a technology, therefore, is as much work inside the laboratory as it should be of engaging with the state and society and with their various concerns and questions. This will not be possible if the public is seen as ignorant or ill-informed, and the activist reactionary or an agent of vested(inherent,निहित) interests. The contestation is, in fact, over the vision of S&T, of society and, for that matter, of the future itself.

In the case of GM mustard, work was done at Delhi University using public money provided by the government. And yet it needed the Central Information Commissioner to say that biosafety data around GM organisms should be available in the public domain. There are some key questions here. What explains, for instance, this deficit of trust in the public and in democratic mechanisms set up by the very institutions that provide the resources and the legitimacy for these new technologies? Is it an anxiety about failure of the technologist or of the technology itself? Or is it about the stakes involved in the socio-technical-economic system that has been mobilised to create the legitimacy in the first place? Does it say something about the potential failure of an imaginary technology that is based exclusively on the promise of the future? Can the narrative be one of hope and promise alone with no space for doubt or the possibility of any failure at all?

Technology Vision 2035

This indeed is the premise one sees embedded in India’s Technology Vision 2035 (TV 2035), a vision produced by the Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC), an autonomous organisation under the Department of Science and Technology. Released earlier this year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, TV 2035 charts out trajectories for society through various technologies that will help make India a ‘developed’ country by 2035. The vision is both an account of a future and a route to that future where technology delivers, provides and secures. Risk and vulnerabilities(weakness,कमज़ोरिया) that are inherent to technology and therefore to our increasingly ‘technological cultures’, as Professor Wiebe Bijker, sociologist of science and technology, calls them, are part of the narrative in only a very marginal manner. There is little, if any, doubt about the capacity of technology and the different technologies to deliver the goods. TV 2035 sees people opposed to certain technologies like nuclear and big dams as a barrier to their dreams. These then need to be addressed through better governance and not better technological design because “bottlenecks(problemबाधा) lie in policy and not technology”.

The past and the present, we know, are full of various dilemmas(uncertainty,दुविधा), challenges, even failures of technological promises and yet, a substantive engagement with the ethical, legal and social (ESLA) issues of research, development and deployment of technology is conspicuous(specific,विशिष्ट) by its virtual absence.

When failure and risk are integral parts of the technological enterprise, why is it that technological visions like TV 2035 have such little space for including and discussing them? It may not be a conscious choice, but it is not an innocent one either. The particular question here is not whether GM mustard is acceptable, which is a rather different debate. The point is to note that the promise and the promissory visible frontstage in advocating a GM mustard is complemented by a vision backstage that is reluctant(unwilling,अनिच्छुक) or perhaps unable to look at anything but that promise. The ideal of the democratic in scientific and technological choices, while desirable, is certainly not an easy one to realise because the messy issues of the ethical, legal and social have to be dealt with both frontstage and backstage.

Political and democratic promise

An illustration of this is visible in a situation where the technological only appears marginal at first glance. On a visit to Kashmir, a conciliatory Home Minister Rajnath Singh offered to engage with anyone who was interested in finding a solution to the crisis there. “I will be staying at the Nehru Guest House. Those who believe in Kashmiriyat, Insaniyat and Jamhooriyat are welcome,” he tweeted in an effort to reach out to all. It was as much an invocation of the political and the democratic promise as it was of the technological promise of modern communications. The irony only came forth when he was asked how this message of the Home Minister would reach the people when the government itself had blocked Internet services.

What more can one say of the inextricable(complex,विकट) intertwining of the political and the technological with the social, legal and ethical? The technological has promise, no doubt, but it is not untethered to chart territories of its own making.

courtesy:the hindu
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