” Life is not a problem to be solved. Just remember to have something that keeps you busy doing what you love while being surrounded by the people who love you”- Ikigai by Hector Garcia and Francesca Miralles
IKIGAI is a Japanese concept referring to have direction or purpose in life, providing a sense of happiness and fulfillment and towards which the person may take action, giving them satisfaction and a sense of meaning.
This book touches on various elements of life that certainly we all are aware of, but always fail to implement in our daily life by giving ourselves unnecessary excuses. This book talks about how every person in this world has the ikigai ( a reason for being ), and by asking a few simple questions to yourselves, you can discover yours and live a prosperous and happy life. The authors of the book have beautifully put down all the ideas and facts which will persuade you to live your life to the fullest. The authors in the book bring the Japanese secret for the readers from the wise people of OKINAWA Island in Japan on how to live a happy and long life.
The best part of this book is, unlike many other self-help books, this does not go on and on. There are very few chapters. The idea or the message which the authors try to convey is straightforward. Read the book carefully, and it will surely teach you how you can bring meaning and joy to every day by following your IKIGAI .
Overall, a wonderful book to read if you feel stuck in your life or just want to make some changes in your life.
Covid-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc across the globe.It has disturbed the pattern of our lives and livelihoods. Numerous restrictions have been placed upon the people to tackle the pandemic . One such restriction is the closure of schools and colleges across the country . This closure has transformed one’s house into one’s school . Online teaching through zoom , Google meet has become the new normal .
“Am I audible?” “Mam please let me in!” . These phrases have replaced the ones like “Keep quiet everyone” , “All of you sit down”.
Online learning is the need of the hour. But it is not without certain limitations.
In India, there has been a rich-poor divide, literate-illiterate divide but online teaching has fostered a digital divide. Not everyone has access to laptops , 4G connectivity, and smartphones to attend the classes. Many families lost their means of livelihood in this pandemic forcing them to make a brutal choice between child’s hunger and child’s education.
To understand the havoc of Covid-19 pandemic upon education, one can analyse the situation class-wise.
Pre-school- Online teaching has deprived these students of a playful classroom environment. Learning is primarily a social activity and small children are unable to comprehend anything taught online . They are missing out on the valuable experience of getting up early, going to school, making friends, playing and just enjoying their life.
Primary school- Here also the children are stuck to their laptops , smartphones for hours . Since they lack a structured environment they get easily distracted . They lack concentration and lag behind in learning things.
Secondary- They suffer the most . They are in their prime both in terms of academics and development. They get easily distracted and spend most of their time playing games and chatting with friends . Even when exams take place they pass taking help of their books, internet and friends. Most of them don’t take online classes seriously and hardly understand anything .
University- Some colleges across India never opened . The students are cooped up in their homes missing out on all the college experience. They give open book exams and just copy paste things from the internet. The seriousness, anxiety about exams has vanished . The students who need to do practicals like in engineering study 3D representation of things which creates a vacuum in their learning.
This was about limitations of online teaching class wise . However there are many other limitations:
Technical difficulties like network problems interrupt the class.
Most children lack a conducive environment at home , making them give up their studies, lack concentration etc.
In India government schools provide mid day meals to the students. With the schools closed they miss out on a nutritious meal and it is known that some of the children used to have only that proper meal in their entire day. Some girls are even forced to give up their studies and household duties are thrusted upon them .
It has also been found that for some children school was a safe haven away from their unstable families . But online teaching has disrupted this, they can’t feel the same warmth on a virtual platform nor can they escape the tensions of their homes . Their conditions become all the more deplorable.
Not just students but parents too have become overburdened as now they have to manage their offices and also have to become an equal participant in their child’s education.
The teachers too face a lot of problem because many of them are not tech-savvy and due ot pandemic they had to start afresh and educate themselves about the new digital platforms.
Having understood some of the limitations of online teaching , some ways to improve the situation could be:
Making rural areas , remotest corners of the country well equipped with better network and connectivity.
Providing smartphones, laptops to students so that they don’t lag behind.
Parents must guide their children that they should pay attention to their online classes and gain the best out of it.
Students must understand it is not new normal, but it is the normal.
Teachers must be trained to use the different digital platforms .
Adequate arrangements must be made to impart quality education even in these trying times .
Covid-19 pandemic is a test for India . But in these times of crisis one must look for opportunity. Adequate steps should be taken to provide quality education to everyone and to lessen the growing digital divide in India.
Lock down and Covid-19 has attacked us personally in very different ways, its an endless list of things I would have done if this pandemic hadn’t happened. None of this was planned, all I could remember around me was the announcement of the sudden lock down and social distancing. Everything around me was suddenly dysfunctional, schools and colleges seemed like a distant dream now. Already an year late to college (since I had taken an year off for coaching), I was very much excited about my visit to Jindal University. Tickets were booked, seats picked, dress chosen and excitement was brewing in the air until everything was thrown out of the window by the news of the lock down.
I could still close my eyes to picture how the sudden news of lockdown affected our schedule. I was disappointed at how close I was to being at Jindal and how it was snatched away from me because of a virus, that cannot be seen by a human eye. It led me to think, how could something so small turn our lives apart. The months passed by in a blur, I was waiting every day, I haven’t been so patient in my life, at least my mother says so. Every day was a repeat of the previous day, my only hope at one point of the time was going back to college. But after months of being locked up in home that faded away too.
I could no longer relate myself to who I was after months of being isolated, was I the old me or have I changed, if then how much. I had a long list of questions to which I couldn’t find answers by myself. But somewhere I saw the light again at the end of the tunnel, maybe it was my mother’s words of how she wanted to see me in heights I couldn’t imagine then, I saw how proud she was when she talked about it, if she had the courage, then sure her daughter can too.
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday.
Festivals are larger than life celebrations of various things. They occur at regular intervals and helping in breaking the monotony of life. Furthermore, they give you the chance to celebrate the little and big things in life. Festivals are the carriers of peace and joy in the communities.
Festivals are perfect learning experiences to teach moral values . Festivals are full of excitement, celebration and happiness. They not only bring joy to our homes but also brings families together.
Some of the benefits of festivals are :
•Keeps us closer to our religion and tradition.
•Promotes harmony.
•Carrying the message of the past generations to the present and future.
Every time we go out and connect with nature we feel calm and relaxed. Now imagine how great we will feel bringing small parts of nature to our home or workplace.
Plant parenting is getting a plant and taking care of it like a child.
If you are looking to add some colour to your house, plants are the best way to do that. Don’t just decorate your house with fake plants, get the real ones instead. They add liveliness and colour to the place.
Plants also contribute to our environment, they take in the carbon dioxide and provide us with oxygen. Did you know houseplants can remove up to 85% of toxins from the air in just 24 hours? Cool isn’t it.
So buying plants can help reduce the toxins from your house and keeps the air purified.
Planting also makes us more responsible because we need to water them daily. Some people look after plants like it’s their job and, they don’t connect with it. Taking care and nourishing plants is very therapeutic if done correctly with peace and concentration. It is our time to connect with nature and watch it grow into something great.
Plants also reduce our stress and boosts our mood. They create a soothing environment that creates a positive aura in our house or workplace. They also relieve anxiety and improve our mental health. Plants have a subliminal effect that lift our spirits and bring us happiness.
If you are looking for a hobby, gardening or taking care of houseplants is the perfect thing to do. People who garden are very calm and patient because plants take a long time to grow, and they require a lot of work. But, seeing a plant all grown and healthy is a reward to yourself.
Even taking full care of one-two plants is a great way to start. Then when you succeed at it you can add more plants to your collection. You can either get seeds and watch the plant grow from the start or go to your local nursery and get halfway grown plants.
Here are a few beginners planting tips:
Read about the plant you are getting: Every plant is different. Each plant has its requirements; some need more light some don’t. If you are someone who lives in hot, humid weather, get a plant the similar weather to survive. Knowing about your plant is important or else they don’t survive that long.
Do not overwater your plants: a lot of people don’t read the water requirements of a plant and tend to overwater it which is wrong and can lead to the death of the plant. Roots growing in waterlogged soil cannot absorb the oxygen, and won’t be able to provide nutrients to the plant. Only water your plants if you think the soil is dry this way you will not end up overwatering them.
Make sure the pot has holes: this is important so the excess water can drain out. If the water is collected on the base, the roots may get fungus or bacteria.
Fertilizer: Other than water and light plants also require fertilizers. They are the food of the plant. If you are someone with a lot of plants. You can get a universal fertilizer liquid that works well for all plants and you can mix it with water as per the plant requirement.
Clean the leaves of your plants: If you think the leaves of your plants have dirt on them, water them or take a damp cloth to wipe the dirt off, this allows them to photosynthesize easily.
Water your plants in the morning or the evening: watering during these times will allow the plant to retain the water. If you water them in the afternoon, the water will be evaporated by the sun.
Remember that it is okay if some plants don’t live so long it is a cycle of life. But, if you take full care of them and keep reading more about plants chances are you will get better at it and enjoy your time with them.
Burgers, fries, pizza, turkey, hot dogs, wraps, sandwiches, pasta and shakes. Yum, right? While dreaming of delicious food, our mind often wanders to the foods offered by Western cuisine. We cannot deny the irresistible appeal of Western food even though we have pretty good choices of hot and spicy veggies and curry on our Indian menu.
The fast-food chains such as McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, etc., influenced by western food, are rampant across every part of the world. Western cuisine is gaining rapid popularity everywhere to provide for guests from different nationalities because of tourism.
Do you even remember the last time you ate with your hands? Spoons, forks and chopsticks have invaded our traditional way of consuming food. When we eat with our hands, we become more conscious of the taste, flavours and aroma, leading us to relish and enjoy our food more. Right from the way of eating to what we eat, everything has changed due to westernization.
The staple diet of western people revolves around meat. They have bread as a supplement or an appetizer. They tend to eat fried foods over others and include artificially developed products and processed ingredients. They prefer minimal spices in their food too. But we Indians, on the other hand, love the mix of spices such as cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, saffron and many more. Our staple diet is rice and vegetables. We have unlimited and wide varieties of options to choose from for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We are more inclined towards fresh and homemade food.
We have established that Indian cuisine has aromas, spices and all the tasty whatnots. But still, we prefer Western cuisine. There are many reasons behind it. One chief deduction is that we have always had an inferiority complex that made us hold the Western culture in high regard. In doing so, we began to imitate their lifestyle to become equals to them. The other equally significant reason is that globalization has caused Western foods to crawl into Indian kitchens.
There are two sides to a coin. Sure they look appetizing, taste phenomenal and takes little to cook, making it a convenient choice. What more can we ask for, right? Anyhow, did we ever stop to wonder whether these types of food are suitable for us? They may tickle our taste buds at the moment, but they leave a profound mark on our long-term health.
Western food increases the risks of high blood pressure, diabetes and heart attack. Due to the lack of variety, it focuses higher on sugar and fats. It causes a threat to our biological system, leading to a rise in diabetes patients in our country.
The abundance of fat in fried foods is the main culprit provoking unhealthy weight gain and digestive troubles. Forget about maintaining your thin waistline and toned abs if you are not ready to give up chicken nuggets and salty dips. But, sacrificing them and switching to roasted and baked foods would prevent the adverse effects later in your life.
Despite the ease of preparation, Western dietary habits are disastrous to our health. If we do not establish a stop system to shut down the onset of the growing fast food industry, obesity and lifestyle risk factors will become more prevalent in India.
As we know that every person is related to each other in some way or the other. Whether it is a relationship of friendship, parents, siblings, and many more.
But there are some relations which have no name. Yet,they connected,they communicated.
He may remains anonymous throughout his life. But still they exist forever and become so important. When we are in any nameless relationship.They live every moment with wholeheartedly, but at the same time there is also the fear of losing . Our heart is in dilemma of the scariest thing of distance whether this diversion would erase all beautiful memories or will they be alive in the core of their hearts.
No one knows their limits in this relationship. We just keep on flowing like a stream of water. This is all life and fate so we have to breathe, belief, hold on and let go off the things with their own pace just to see what happens next.
Even though relationship is unnamed and we don’t know what we are for each other? But we still inside know the name of this unnamed relationship and know what she is for you and you are for her.
Human body is the most exceptional body in the universe. The lengths we go to stay healthy are immeasurable. The ongoing pandemic has helped put things in perspective too. All the people who were averse to exercising or had bad eating habits have now begun to understand the importance of a healthy body.
During the lock-down many people started their fitness journeys. Some did the modern exercises while others resorted to the old art of practicing Yoga. Yoga has been around since the Rigveda. Yoga is Sanskrit for “union” and thus is a union of our body, our mind and our soul. It binds us physically, mentally and spiritually. Before the popularity of gyms and dietitians, people preferred yoga to stay fit. Although people prefer to train under a professional but there are a majority of people who still practice yoga to awaken their senses. Doing yoga provides people with a sense of calmness that is required to face the daily challenges of life. Every asana has a benefit that helps the human body to grow and nourish. Sukhasana helps in reducing anxiety, stress and mental tiredness, Nukasana and Vakrasana reduce belly fat, Bhujangasana is very beneficial for people dealing with the problem of arthritis of the lower back and can also help in relieving menstrual problems, etc, and the list goes on. Practicing yoga daily not only helps you grow physically but also serves as a blessing on the internal organs. It has been scientifically proven that yoga helps prevent the occurrence of any kind of heart disease thus keeping the heart healthy for a long time. Research also shows that doing yoga has a significant positive impact on the mental health. The peace it brings helps in fighting evils of stress, anxiety and depression. Thus, a 30 minutes yoga session has more benefits than an hour or two at the gym.
Aside from the asanas, there is one other aspect to yoga and that is MEDITATION. Meditation means “Dhyana”. Dhyana is considered as a penultimate stage of yoga. While yoga asanas focus more on physical movement, meditation is inclined towards calming down the mind and focusing on oneself. It provides us with a means to become self aware and reflect on things we do. Some other benefits of meditation involve increase in attention span, controls the pain, improves emotional health and last but not the least helps in getting a good night sleep. Ten minutes of meditation session daily could do wonders for the human mind as well as the body.
With the passage of time people have evolved from doing yoga at their homes to hiring professionals for guidance. Now-a-days there are a number of yoga schools, meditation centers, and other special camps who hire professional yogis to help people inculcate yoga into their lifestyle. Yoga has become the “new thing” and people are following it religiously. However, it does not matter how people are introduced to yoga, what matters is that they are aware of its health benefits and are keen on adopting healthy lifestyle choices. We all know the old saying “Healthy mind lives in a healthy body”, thus it is time for us to start making better choices starting with 20 minutes of Yoga every day.
‘The Flying Sikh’- yes, we all know him by this name and he is the great Indian track and field sprinter MILKHA SINGH. He was born in a Sikh family of Rathore Rajput origin, on 20th November ,1929 at Govind Pura in Panjab, British India. Govind Pura is 10 km from Muzaffargarh city in Panjab Province which is now belongs to Muzaffargarh District in Pakistan. He was one of 15 siblings, 8 of whom dies before the Partition of India. There was an irony in his life, during the Partition of India his parents, a brother and 2 sisters were killed in the violence that ensued. After that he moved to Delhi, India, in 1947. He lived with his married sister’s family for few days.In that time, he was briefly imprisoned at Tihar Jail for travelling train without ticket. Then his sister sold some jewelries for releasing him. After that he spent sometimes at a refugee camp in Purana Qila and a resettlement colony in Shahdara, both in Delhi. Singh’s life was totally different then, he was becoming a dacoit but his brother persuaded him to attempt recruitment to the Indian Army and this changed his life. He successfully gained entrance on his 4rth attempt, in 1951, and while stationed at the Electrical Mechanical Engineering Centre in Secunderabad he was introduced to athletics. As a child Singh had run 10km distance to and from school and selected by the Army for special training in athletics after finishing sixth in a compulsory cross-country run for new recruits and it was the beginning of his “run of the better life”. He said “I came from a remote village, I didn’t know what running was, or the Olympics”. When shing was in the Army he realized his abilities as a sprinter. After winning the national trials in 200-metre and 400-metre sprints he was eliminated in the preliminary heats at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. In 1958, he won both the 200-metre and 400-metre races in Asian Games. After that in this year he created a record in history of game, he captured the 400-metre gold at the Commonwealth Games, it was India’s 1st athletics gold. In 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, he narrowly lost the bronze medal in the 400-metre. In 1962, in Asian Games he retained his 400-metre gold and also took another gold as part of India’s 4×400-metre relay team. In 1964, in Tokyo Games as part of the national 4×400 team that failed to advance past preliminary heats. In 1964 he won silver in Calcutta National Games (400-metre). In 1959 he was awarded by Padma Shri which is the 4rth highest civilian honor. Milkha Singh was persuaded by Jawaharlal Nehru to sit aside his memories of the Partition era to race successfully in 1960 against Abdul Khaliq in Pakistan. During the felicitation ceremony, Pakistan’s president Gen Ayub Khan said to Milkha Singh, ‘Milkha, you came to Pakistan and did not run. you actually flew in Pakistan. Pakistan bestows upon you the title of the ‘Flying Sikh ‘. In 1955 Singh met Nirmal Saini who was a former captain of the Indian Women’s volleyball team in Ceylon and in 1962 the get married and had three daughters and a son. In 1999, they adopted the Havildar Bikram Singh’s seven years old son after his death in Battle of Tiger Hill. Singh and his daughter, Sonia Sanwalka, co-wrote Singh’s autobiography, “THE RACE OF MY LIFE”. It was published in 2013. In 2013 Bhaag Milkha Bhaag film was made inspired by his autobiography. This film won National Film Award and 5 awards at the International Indian Film Academy Awards in 2014. In 2017, Singh’s wax statue created by sculptors of Madame Tussauds in London which was unveiled at Chandigarh. But all good chapters have an end. here has also a pathetic end. In this COVID situation he was attacked by COVID-19 virus and passed away on 18th June of 2021. It’s true that he is no more among us physically but he will be live among us mentally.
Microsoft will hold the Windows event dubbed as ‘what’s next of windows’ on Thursday, June 24. After the alleged leak of Windows 11 developer build on the internet, it begs the question, what is Microsoft going to reveal on June 24? Because if rumors are true, Microsoft will officially announce Windows 11 to be the successor of windows.
WHAT ABOUT WINDOWS 10?
Many were surprised after hearing about the news of a Windows event. Apparently, in 2015 one of the Microsoft senior spokespeople told that Windows 10 would be the last version of windows. Many assumed that Microsoft will continuously update windows as a service. But this doesn’t seem to be true anymore. It’s hard to believe but windows 10 is almost 7 years old now. Windows 10 has seen major overhauls and many major updates throughout its lifespan. But this has been proven as a double-edged sword for Microsoft since its launch in 2015. Microsoft has also updated the end of support date for Windows 10 to June 2015 which confirms that Windows 10 is not the last version of Windows after all. After Microsoft disbanded its in-house testing team in favor of the Windows 10 update service where users participate in the testing phase (Windows insider program). This new method of update delivery has been problematic and many users’ Windows PCs were marred with bugs and broken functionalities. It seems that updating Windows operating system is not as easy as Android, Mac OS, or iOS. The legacy platforms and enterprise business that Microsoft has to support have always kept Windows progress at a snail’s pace. Microsoft cannot radically change the interface or remove its functionalities as many legacy software still relies on those functionalities. The leak version has the start button in the middle of the taskbar and it looks more like the Mac OS taskbar now. Thankfully it can also be changed back to the left corner like the previous versions. There is also a separate search button and new icons and it looks like that Windows is leaving behind the flat design language.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM WINDOWS 11?
The leaked build of Windows is not drastically different from the current version of Windows 10 but many experts believe that the leaked version is most probably the UX team build and there will be a lot more than Microsoft will unveil in the event. The leak was indirectly acknowledged by Microsoft and indicated that ‘This is just the start. There is a possibility that the Windows 11 or Windows Sun Valley or whatever they will call it, will be an incremental update and Windows 10 users could update free of charge. But we cannot be sure as of yet until the official event.
Satya Nadella and Panos Panay will be present at the event to unveil Windows 11 features and capabilities on Thursday. The Microsoft store could also get an overhaul and there is also a good probability of support for ARM processors and the support for upcoming Intel’s new Big little architecture. There will be an overhaul in the the system sounds and UI and new animations. All these are still speculations and we will have to wait will the official announcement by Microsoft themselves.
Industrial sickness refers to the situation wherein an industrial firm performs poorly, incurs losses for several years and often defaults in its debt repayment obligations. The problem of industrial sickness has grown significantly over the years in India and a large number of industrial units were affected by it.
There are various causes of industrial sickness. Firstly, an internal cause can be faults at the planning and construction stage. Faulty decisions like setting up the firm in the wrong location i.e. a location which lacks infrastructure facilities or lacks market availability cause problems in the long run. Unplanned production, unbalanced capital structure etc. are all faulty decision which makes a firm sick.
Defective plant and machinery is another reason for industrial sickness. It has been observed that small scale sector do not seek professional technical guidance in choosing machinery. At times technology adopted is outdated and inappropriate. Production with this sort of technology is bound to be inferior and likely to suffer cost and price disadvantage. An external cause of industrial sickness is demand and credit restrain. During the times of recession, there is a steep decline of demand in the market. This causes losses to individual units especially the products with high prices like automobiles. If such situation persists for long durations, then industrial units are prone to turn sick. The most important internal cause of industrial sickness is management problems. Management can make or break a firm. Incorrect managerial decisions pertaining to the fields of finance, production, marketing etc. can ruin a business. Absence of quality control systems, lack of inventory, inadequate maintenance are some examples of mismanagement. Entrepreneurial incompetence is yet another reason for industrial sickness. Many entrepreneurs in the small scale sector do not have basic knowledge of business, manufacturing, costing, accounts etc. Units set up by them often turn sick. Industrial sickness can have serious consequences. It is a set back for employment opportunities. When a firm turns sick, it can actually go out of business. Closure of an industrial firm renders its workers unemployment. This situation can be more serious if a big firm with a large number of employees gets shut down. Unemployment brings a lot of complications with itself. This can cause industrial unrest. Closure of a big firm also causes labour unrest which can result in industrial strikes which threatens the peace of industrial environment. Industrial sickness also leads to wastage of resources. When a sick firm is shut down, resources invested in that unit are wasted. In case of large firms this problem is more serious as a lot of investment is made in its plants and machinery. In fact other industries which are linked to a sick firm through backward or forward linkages, also incur some losses. Closure of large sick units also effects investors and entrepreneurs and creates a psychology of despair. The prices of share fall down and affect the entire stock market. Even banks and financial institutions which have granted loans to these units suffer losses. Locking up funds in the sick units negatively affects the future lending programmes of banks and financial institutions. Industrial sickness also results in loss of revenue of government. Since industrial sickness has such a wide range of impact, it is considered as a social problem in India.
On June 3rd, 2011 the world recorded one of the most mysterious disappearances of the 20-year-old Lauren Spierer following a night of drinking and alleged drug use at Kilroy’s Sports Bar. The only child of her parents, Charlene and Robert Spirier is presumably dead and the case remains a mystery. EARLY LIFE: Lauren was born on 17th January 1991 to an accountant, Robert Spirier and Charlene Spierer, a housewife. In Scarsdale, New York in the lower Westchester County. She graduated from Edgemont High School in 2009 and enrolled in Indiana University. Spierer studied textile merchandising and was highly active in the Jewish community in Indiana. The 20-year-old met her boyfriend Jesse Wolf and her friend Jay Rosenbaum and many others years earlier at Camp Towanda, a summer camp in Honesdale, Pennsylvania who later comprised her friend circle. THE NIGHT LAUREN DISAPPEARED: Rob and Charlene had no qualms about bidding their daughter Goodbye as they dropped her at Indiana for her freshman year. They considered it safe. But what they learned later during investigations was heart-jarring. Bloomington like other colleges has its dark sides. Many students complain of rampant alcohol abuse and a thriving drug scene of which Lauren was a part. She had been arrested for public intoxication nine months before her disappearance and later on police found a small amount of cocaine in her room in 2011 after she had disappeared. “It was a little bit of shock,” Charlene remarked about her daughter’s participation in the party scene. On the night of 2nd June Lauren was outlined to have a wild night with Corey Rossman, Rosenbaum’s neighbor. Seth Parker who was into Bloomington’s drug scene around that time said Corey told him later that Lauren and himself were partying and ‘pre-gaming’ at another apartment before heading to Kilroy’s at 1:46 a.m. according to surveillance footage. “They’re only about 30 minutes, but during that time, she leaves her shoes and her cellphone in the bar”, says former FBI agent Officer Brad Garrett. “I think this gives you some indication about how out of it she may be at this point.” Lauren and Corey left Kilroy’s and headed towards Smallwood Plaza Apartments, where her residence is located at 2:30 a.m. Zack Oakes, one of the four students they ran into in the hallway, notices the former’s level of intoxication and inquired if she was okay. “They don’t like the way Rossman is handling Lauren. And Rossman supposedly says something smart to him and this guy decides to deck him.” Officer Garrett said. “Rossman goes down.” After they left Smallwood, the pair made their way to Rossman’s apartment at 2:48 a.m. Surveillance cameras mounted on a nearby alley showed her exit the alley at 2:51 a.m. where the girl’s keys and purse were found. After some time Corey tosses her over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. Once in Rossman’s apartment, he fell sick and went to bed according to his old roommate. The latter then took Spierer next door, to the apartment of another friend, Jason Rosenbaum.
Jay sees what bad shape Lauren is in and says, ‘Lauren lay down on the couch. Go to sleep. Go home in the morning.’ And she won’t do it, Garrett said. She says,’ I want to keep going, I want to go.’ Jay walks her to the door and he sees her walk up 11th street.” Reportedly he was the last person to see her alive. INVESTIGATION: In August 2011, police conducted a nine-day search of the Sycamore Ridge Landfill in Pimento for clues in the disappearance. Hundreds of volunteers also joined Lauren’s parents and authorities in a massive search that covered abandoned quarries, dense forests, and, in a last-ditch the effort, a local landfill. But they found nothing. The HLN show, Real Life Nightmare, detailed the Lauren Spierer case in an hourlong episode called “Night of No Return.” Spierer’s case has been covered in multiple podcasts, including Crime Junkie, True Crime Garage, Going West: True Crime, True Crime All The Time Unsolved, Trace Evidence, and Not Another True Crime Podcast. In April 2015, the Bloomington Police tried investigating a possible link between Spierer’s disappearance and the murder of another IU student, Hannah Wilson, who went missing on April 24, 2015, after visiting Kilroy’s. Wilson was last seen getting into a taxi in front of the bar and driving away. Her body was found the next morning in Brown County. A local man named Daniel Messel was arrested for the murder after his cell phone was discovered near the body. In July 2015, Dietl concluded that the two cases are unrelated and any similarities between the two cases were purely coincidental. Five years later the missing posters were all but gone around the Bloomington campus. But Rob and Charlene has not given up and quietly, the case is very much alive as Officer Garrett and the team of private investigators have turned up new witnesses, leads, and theories. THEORIES: 1) “When something happens to someone, it’s usually from their circle”, says the officer Brad. Hence, he started with those close to Lauren. • Jesse Wolfe helped with the searches initially but later his parents took him away which Robert thought was odd. No witnesses reported seeing Wolfe out that night and he claims that he was occupied watching NBA finals and went to ned around 2:30 a.m. according to his roommate. • The police took a DNA sample from Corey Rossman and he denied further involvement. He also claimed to have lost his memory after being slugged in Lauren’s apartment building. Now living in New York, he declined repeated requests to talk, though his attorney says that Rossman continues to cooperate which the police. 2) Stranger Abduction- The police have also acknowledged they have not ruled out the possibility of an abduction by a stranger. Spierer’s parents have previously stated that they do not believe her disappearance was a random abduction. 3)In 2017, Brown County prosecutor, Ted Adams, reported he believed Daniel Messel could be related to Spierer’s disappearance. In 2016, Messel was convicted of killing Hannah Wilson.
Wilson had only been reported missing for one day when her body was found in a desolate field; she had been bludgeoned to death. Messel’s cell phone was discovered at her feet. Messel has never been charged in connection with Spierer’s case. Ten-year elapses since Spierer’s death Robert and Charlene Spierer, still “emotionally raw,” in the words of Charlene, continue visiting Bloomington, to keep up the search. Given the case’s high profile, it is unlikely police will officially move the file into the cold-case drawer anytime soon. For now, at least, “leads are coming in from several different places,” says Robert Spirier. “It’s one continuous series of leads and information that, at one point, might fall into place.
Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that belong to every person in the world, from birth until death.
Human rights are independent of where you belong to, what you believe or how you want to live your life.
The Universal Declaration of human rights which proclaimed to inalienable rights of all people was established by the UN General Assembly in the year 1948.
These basic rights are based on shared values like dignity fairness equality respect and independence.
universal Declaration of Human Rights
The cruelty and havoc of the second world war gave rise to concern of protection of basic human right and international priority.
The united nation was founded in 1945, the UN allowed more than 50 member states to contribute to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948.
This was the first time, a globe level initiative to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of every individual in the world.
The values of human rights are defined and protected by law.
In Britain, our Human Rights are protected by the Human Rights Act 1998.
Evolution of Human Rights
Human Rights has been evolving from the beginning of their formation. Development and Evolution take place according to time. There are Three Generation of Human Rights :-
Civil- political, socio-economic and collective- development.
The First Generation of Human Rights
First-generation rights deal with “ civil – political “ rights, which demands liberty and participation in political life.
They are negative and individualistic , and called “ blue rights”
Theyinclude :-
Right to life
Right to equality before the law
Freedom of speech
Freedom of religion
Property right
The right to a fair trial
Voting rights
Article 3 to 21 of the Human Rights give globe status of these rights in international law.
Second Generation of Human Rights
Second generation of human rights deal with “socio-economic” human rights that demands equal conditions and treatment.
It is based On the principles if social justice and public obligation.
They are “positive “ in nature, and called “ Red right”.
They include :-
Right to employment
Right to food
Right to live in favourable conditions
Right to housing and health care
Right to social security
Article 22 to 28 of the universal Declaration define socio-economic rights.
The Third Generation of Human Rights
The third generation deals with “ collective – development” rights of people and groups held against their respective States aligns with the final tenet of “ fraternity”.
The rights in this category can not be exerted individually but only by groups or collectives of people.
They are referred to as “green rights”.
They include :-
Group and collective rights
Right to healthy environment
Right to natural resources
Right to participation in cultural heritage
Right to self determination
Article 29 and 30 of the universal Declaration defines Third generation rights.
Fourth generation of human rights
Many political scientist claim of fourth generation of human rights that includes the rights that left in the third generation of Human Rights.
It specially deals with technical and digital rights.
Just like how we require a driving license test to be cleared in-order to drive any vehicle on the road, there are certain life lessons which are tested since the very beginning of our lives. There are a certain few things in life which does not require any examination to be given, but at the same time, assesses us in the same way as any other examination. Few of those life lessons are as follows:
Nobody will get out of this life alive- One should acknowledge the fact that life is finite and that everybody is here for a short life span. The very fact that life is temporary will help us acknowledge that we should live our lives to the best each day.
Life is unpredictable, but one can have a plan- Life is very unpredictable, there can be many unforseen circumstances unfolding us in our journey of life. But, a simple plan can ensure us to face the obstacles better and though a plan is not sure about the outcome, it will lessen our fear and obstacles in such a way that we will be able to face anything.
Great Friendships enhance the quality of life- We come across many people in our lives. Some of them stay with us throughout our lives. Always ensure to invest in a few friends, they will be worth it, they bring in the best out of you. But always do remember that quality of friends is more important than quantity.
Always expect and accept setbacks- Setbacks and uncompleted goals or tasks are sure be to there with us. It is on us to move on from it and if those setbacks sets apart our direction or goal, accept it, as it might give us surprises which we would never have imagined.
Do not be materialistic- We might earn a lot of money when we are into any business or profession. But always keep in mind not to be materialistic. Managing with the amount of money we have is the most effective way and the lesser the money we have, we’ll be more effective in spending it.
Always invest on our health- Health is Wealth! Maintaining our body is very important in the long run. Always ensure to pick a good new exercise each day as it will keep our body and mind fit throughout. Always cling on to the new good habits learnt.
Self-discipline is important- Self-discipline is very important to achieve all of our desires. Self-discipline can sometimes be defined as doing what we do not want to do in-order to acheive the thing or result which we wanted to do. Self-discipline will ensure balance among work life, social life and personal life.
Make provision for future- The very fact that life is unpredictable will make us always think about having an emergency fund. Save a certain amount of money for any sort of future emergencies, start off small and then keep increasing your savings.
Mean what you say- Always say what you mean and mean what you say. It brings about clarity in our mind and our spoken words. It will bring about confidence in yourself and the people around you will be confident with you too.
No Procrastination- The habit of postponing things on a later date should never be learnt. What is to be done, one should be determined to do it. Procrastination makes tasks harder.
So, these are some of the ways in which one can lead to an easy life and will be able to lead a meaningful life.
Rabindranath Tagore’s Chokher Bali portrays a society in a way that is realistic and on point. Tagore is considered to be one of the greatest writers in modern Indian Literature.
The poet, the composer, short story writer, playwright, essayist, and artist, has achieved proficiency in almost all forms of literature.
On his 160th birth anniversary, we are going to look back on one of his stories “Chokher Bali” to understand how he portrayed the condition of people and the societal set up at that time. He showcased issues that are even relevant till now.
Stories by Rabindranath Tagore includes Choker Bali
Chokher Bali: Synopsis
Choker Bali, a story set in the aesthetics of Kolkata depicts the pain of widows, the societal setup which ignores the needs of women and considers widows as bad omen and keeps them away from happiness.
Through this, he also highlighted the issues of women’s education, child marriage and shows how psychologically confused a person can be because of the pressure by society.
The story revolves around 4 characters Binodini, Ashalata, Mahendra, and Behari.
Radhika Apte as Binodini in Stories by Rabindranath Tagore(2015)
Binodini, an educated woman who witnessed the death of her husband at a very young age. She was forced to live her life as a widow for the rest of her life. She was first rejected by Mahendra and he then marries a beautiful but uneducated woman, Ashalata. Binodini’s life became as colourless as her saree.
But when she met Behari, he was Mahendra’s friend a feeling of attraction came to them for each other, but they did not confess. Binodini came to know how happy Ashalata and Mahendra are together, this came with a feeling of envy in her empty heart.
Conflicted thoughts in her brain made her think that Ashalta is living a life that Binodini deserves. These thoughts gave her purpose in her empty life, now she wants Mahendra to realize the mistake he has done to reject Binodini. She uses Mahin’s mother Rajlaxshmi’s dislike of Asha to manipulate her way into their lives. The feeling of envy for Ashalata and Mahin dominated the feeling of attraction towards Behari.
“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but add color to my sunset sky”.
Mahindra represented the part of a superficial male-dominated society, which ignores the needs of others. He loved Ashalata very much but after he comes across Binodini, his interest shifted. He started taking her for granted.
On the other hand, Ashalata uneducated but an innocent soul, she was unaware of Bindoni’s intentions and she considers Binodini her friend. She worships her husband and was helpless as she must always depend on the man in her life, first her uncle and then her husband. Due to this dependence, we can witness the patriarch of society and the vulnerability of women because of the lack of education.
Binodini and Ashalata: Victim of Patriarch
Stories by Rabindranath Tagore
Tagore draws parallels between the educated and the uneducated through Asha and Binodini. Binodini is likewise left without any financial provision but is left with education which allows and helps her with the liberty of free-thinking.
She represents a new female subjectivity whose western education transforms her into a woman with her own heart and mind. One who isn’t bound with traditional customs. Binodini to an extent had that sense of differentiating between right and wrong.
Tagore structured the story in such a way that all the decisions by Binodini seem rational and all her desires appear to be natural. Society has restricted her to live in a specific way and she’s liberated to mould her life in accordance with her needs and desires.
Chokher Bali: An attempt to educate people about the needs of women.
A century after Chokher Bali, education is still a struggle for many women to access easily throughout the world. Tagore’s novel is unconventionally presenting a viewpoint that is ahead of the conservative times of 19th and 20th century India.
Through the story of Binodini, Tagore questions most of the societal norms. He condemns all kinds of taboos that are being fed to humans from the start of life.
Tagore, a man from a privileged background, his understanding of the emotions of Indian women and his empathetic attitude towards them is sensational.
Chokher Bali has been adapted several times in films, television. Most notable examples: Chokher Bali by Rituparno Ghosh in 2003, and the television series Stories by Rabindranath Tagore in 2015 directed by Anurag Basu.
Stories by Rabindranath Tagore
Chokher Bali, a work of art presented by Tagore beautifully puts a light on issues related to women, which he witnessed in the 19th century. These social evils are so difficult to get rid of as those issues are even relevant till now. Chokher Bali perfectly encapsulates how gender plays a large role in a person’s treatment by society.
Tagore made us understand that education moulds a person to be independent of societal pressure. Education can emancipate a woman to be liberated enough. Enough to get rid of the patriarchal structure which oppresses them from birth.
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