My Power Thinking Journal

Building my centres of Power

Friends and Family: My biggest power center where social interactions are a joy and there is a lot of support, understanding, emotional connection.

Challenge: Patching up with an old friend about an issue which I've been neglecting for sometime now.

Recreation and Rejuvenation: A lot of reading and researching and collecting ideas in which I get a lot of fulfillment.

Challenge: Mind is getting drained as of now and after a point of time I don't get so much of satisfaction.

1) Want to do a course in web-designing which will help me spend my time in a better fashion.

Physical Environment: I don't think I'm ignoring anything in my physical environment. Everything is just perfect.

I keep arranging and rearranging my 'space' according to my tastes and moods.

Health and Fitness: I find myself quite content with my health and fitness with regular doses of fitness-checks like exercise, dance, vocal-exercises etc.

Personal development:

Challenge: I need a lot of inspiration from books like these - 'Power Thinking' which will help me shape my life according to what I want it to be.

To believe that: Life is not only for living, it is also for growing. The happiest people keep their mind learning, their soul searching and their spirit shining.

Finances: I'm not as of now getting an opportunity to handle my money.

Spirituality: Spirituality is a sense of connection to a higher power: the spirit, God, the Universe. It is good to try to put into words what you believe.

(This is an outline of a book called 'The Power of Thinking' that I have read some years back. The book was a pick from the British Council Library, Chennai.)

Social Ethics - What is Child Abuse

Treating a child in an unfair way because the child is thought of as weaker position by the perpetrator is perceived as an abuse.

To explain further – Abuse of a Child is without their consent they are touched or treated in an unfair way – either physically, verbally or emotionally.

1) Is Child Abuse a reality in the Indian context?

Child Abuse is relevant to the Indian Society. A recent incident of a three-year old boy being severely tortured physically by his step-mother was reported in the newspaper. Also, school-going children face the problem of being taunted by faceless abusers on the street.

Young children are abused verbally by their parents, sometimes altering their psyche considerably. Therefore, Child Abuse is relevant to the Indian context.

2) How is Child Abuse perpetrated?

Many reasons. Poverty or by frustration created by mentally-ill parents due to economic or social problems. Weak children, who may belong to family/parents who are low on self-esteem may further enhance this. Also any kind of frustration prevailing in a child's home may tend to have a direct or sometimes an indirect tendency to under-develop a child's self-esteem. Therefore a child who becomes an easy target of abuse may tend to develop such feelings which can often result in self harm.

3) What are the preventive measures?

Children must be made aware of the concept of 'self' and why it is not good for anybody to touch you. The importance of differentiating between a 'good touch' and a 'bad' touch is a must.

A child who may have suffered from being abused should be treated with justice. One important thing to be kept in mind is that the child should not be blamed for what has happened, rather the child should be helped to confide in parents and teachers, so as to remove the feeling of guilt-consciousness. This will ultimately help the child to grow out of the suffering.

The abuser needs to be given psychiatric help, so that he may not become a threat to the society or to himself. I especially feel so because the feelings of the abuser and the abused need to be channelized in a constructive way.

Finally, a legal action will certainly make sure that the crime rates go down.

An exciting Incident in my Life

I'm going to tell you about an incident which was one of the most exciting chapters which could be read out of the book of my life. It wasn't more like an 'incident' because it was planned much ahead of time and I was in all anticipation of the best moments of my life to come.

Yes it was a trip to some of my favourite cities in the North of India i.e; Agra, Delhi and Nainital. And being a total Nature-lover, I love to travel by train or by bus to discover and appreciate the natural surroundings around me.

So with these ideas lying at the bottom of my heart, I started my trip to Agra in the early September of a rather cool phase of winter that had just begun in this part of the country.

My exams had just got over and preparations for this trip were going on in full swing. So much so that even during my examination there used to be moments when I would be transferred to one of the mystical forts, Palaces or bazaars of Agra or Delhi or the beautiful snow-capped Himalayan peaks beckoned me while I tried to bury myself in my books. Anyway, so that arrived when I got into the train and waited to reach Agra to explore it.

We reached at four in the morning. We were taken to see the 'Taj Mahal'. I couldn't believe that I was going to see the Taj Mahal. I had heard so much about it's beauty. I used to sit for hours and gaze at one of the portraits of it my room and try to understand what allures people from all over the world to this architecture that symbolizes true love. It took me less than a minute to realize. The sheer radiance of 'Taj Mahal' in all it's magnificence didn't allow me to take my eyes off from it.

I sat at one of the benches facing the 'Taj' gazing at this human marvel and in an instant all the true stories of love flooded into my mind.

I am a romantic person and believe in love for eternity, now sitting in front of the 'Taj Mahal' once in my lifetime has removed even the tiniest ray of doubt I have ever had. I never felt like leaving that place. But the sun beating down on me in a scorching way took off all my energy and we made our way back home.

I still remember the 'Tonga ride' that I had way back home. It is etched in my memory forever associated with magical experiences of my lifetime. Taking these memories with me forever, I moved on to the next phase of my trip- Nainital.

I never feel more at peace with myself than being in the midst of nature. In Nainital I really felt as if I've been nestled in warm, caring bosom of Nature. I felt as if I really belonged to this place. It took great efforts on the part of my friends to mentally take me out of the place! It would just require someone to give me a chance and I will grab with both my hands to leave and stay close to nature.

The Naini lake - still remember it's tranquility. The mountains surrounding the Naini lake were just so beautiful. On the opposite, was a Temple 'Birla Mandir'. The balcony of this temple stood adjacent to the receding line of this lake. From across the lake, I imagined how it would feel like standing in that balcony and viewing the lake and the mountains from there. It would surely feel like Paradise! I've never felt so happy, and at peace and so totally gratified then during this trip.

Even as I write this now, I feel as if I've been transferred to this 'abode of Nature' where peace with oneself and tranquility of mind reigns supreme.

(I have written this essay way back in 2006 when in college and as part of a General English C.A. paper which tested our descriptive writing skills and so I was asked to write about an exciting Incident in my Life. My teacher Ms Lilian Jasper later felt that she actually experienced the excitement herself when she read my essay.) Through this write-up here, I wish to show my gratefulness to her.

Trends in Creative Pursuits

Art is a divine inspiration. And the artisans who are involved in the making of handcrafted products give shape to their inner most thoughts and desires in the form of the items they mould. This heritage that is passed down to them by their ancestors or that they have learnt by themselves, has a value in the form of a handicraft which is preserved and cherished by those who desire to own it.

Variety in Art

In India, there is no dearth in the way which a person can creatively express himself. Right from hand embroidery, to dexterous carving on a wood, there are many ways in which a person can express himself artistically. And in today’s commercial market, there is value for this. The country-folk engage themselves in handicrafts and a person who visits our country would want to take home a slice of this in the form of our many hand-made products such as a finely-woven hand-bag, or a mojri or pair of chappals with an interesting design. Today a person in an urban-setting, wants a handcrafted item to add a living touch in his space, or to simply feel connected to his past. And this need is well-satiated, be it an elegant piece of rosewood furniture or a mud-pot to accessorize your living room.

You may not even have to go places to search for a unique handcrafted product that you have a desire for. You can start your blissful journey shopping in the world of arts at your own convenience through an online craft shop. CraftsVilla.com offers you a world of convenience to shop for more than 20, 000 different products across different verticals such as hand-embroidery, metal-crafts, aromatic oils made from natural ingredients, to Indian paintings and even niche type of furniture.

I discovered a world of luxury handcrafted items which allow gifting to my loved ones so easily right from the choice of your favorite product to the delivery of your item. I enjoyed my shopping at Craftsvilla.com, and you can experience this enjoyment too. Visit Craftsvilla.com now.

- Alifia M.B.V

Dedicated to You

I would like to say, first of all - I want to say whatever I am today is due to many people and all the experiences and the time that they have shared with me. Owing to all these experiences, I am the person that you see in front of you today. Some have taught me love, some to stand up for myself, some to believe in something, some to respect work. And some have also taught me to hope. This Hope is not because of a positive experience. But this hope is not because of a positive experience. But this hope is because of a negative experience. By leaving me, alone, they have taught me the art of 'hoping' that someday they would be back. And so resilience too. After hardship, getting a good comment by my boss, has been the biggest achievement till now.

To Yercaud.

Starting by 6.45 am, on a still morning of 25th March, 2005. I take my dream trip to Yercaud, after a long struggle with Plus Two exam.

So we take the road from Chennai - Tambaram . The highway is well-maintained. And planted with trees. We come across two to three colleges - The Crescent College of Engineering and the Janaki School. Otherwise, mostly a wild cultivation occupied the vast lands.

We crossed Dindigul, Maraimalai Nagar, Chengelpet and other isolated establishments before we reached Yercaud.

Then we reached Yercaud by 5.00 p.m. The hill top is situated at 3000 meters above sea level. The steep hairpin bends, we could see even after we had finished its rounds.

Our Sterling Resort is just so beautiful. It is surrounded by greenery and bushes and the incense-plantations has had a profound influence on our spirits by now. It has awakened our mind and made us ask for more of such intense moments.

From a bird's eye-view, we can see the glittering of the evening skies - the city of Salem. This is a fast growing two- tier city of Tamil Nadu.

There is a very tiny toddler with us. She is Umme hani, my little niece. At four months, she makes her very first trip to Yercaud. Probably she is not conscious of the change of environment but for the rest of us she is a well spring of goodness and a far deeper link to Nature and the Divine force. We thank Him for this opportunity.

Description about Sterling Resort

This Sterling provides an exotically romantic view of the Yercaud hills. From the playground in the Resort, I can actually catch a glimpse of the misty hills. The Resort is a well-planned place. A walk around and I find myself refreshed in midst of the nature.

The Life of the People

The 'living' of the common people is very ordinary. The Bhavani Singh's perfume factory provides an insight into the rare gifts that nature provides. We touched and even smelled the various herbs that the Singhs' nurture in their botanical garden. The garden is a haven of various herbs those that promise relief through the natural way. There is this Black Panther oil for relief from common cold, peppermint to be used as a mouthwash, brahmi oil for hair oil, and one for preventing further deterioration from diabetes and many others. Altogether this turned out to be a very enlightening experience in the Singh's botanical garden. I ended up picking some exotic natural fragrance oils including Jasmine and Rose.

The Pagoda Point

It is a point which is spectacular and lifts up one's sagging spirit. You can get a complete view of the picturesque scenario of green teak trees, settlements, cultivated lands. And the lovely breeze adds to the mood.

The final day has come, when we have to bid adieu and go back to where we came from. So even though we had to leave, Nature beckoned us to stay back. The mountains around, the brisk air, rays of the sun, I felt had a poetic way of talking to us. And reminded me of Wordsworth.

Even as we drove past the calm and serene woods starting our fro journey from Yercaud, I felt I wish had a chance to escape back into them. But alas, my companions were leaving, and so I had too. So from the edge of the cliff, we bid our good-bye to the beautiful hills of Yercaud to come back again next summer!

(This trip is dedicated to my late brother Mufaddal M.B.V, who discovered the beautiful hill escape of Yercaud back in 1995. Whenever I visit a beautiful place like Yercaud, it enlivenes my beautiful memories of you, bro. I love you.)

The Big Business of Television

Taarak Mehta ka Oolta Chashma -  has celebrated two years of its presence on SAB TV, in the TV segment of entertainment. And the reason to be happy, 269 days of a year, this serial is tele-casted and Advertisements showcased during 15 mins of this serial, points out to its success. There is more to TV business than meets our eye. That is because there is minute detailing that producer has to be looking out for - right from bonding between cast and director to development of story line with each passing day, this while also keeping in mind audience reaction!

Finally TV has come a long way in becoming an entertainment right in the comfort of our homes! Today we also see the merging of TV and Cinema - with new releases being premiered on our home screens.