Saturday, 9 April 2016

Inspirational and Motivational Short stories Volume #2

This is a collection of inspiring and motivational short stories which I have posted on my Facebook page. Every story gives a distinctly positive message. Enjoy reading the volume #2 of this collection.

1.
The last two league matches of IPL this season have been very special. The team batting second has achieved the sizeable targets in remarkably less number of overs, to attain a desired place in the playoffs. The valiant way, in which Mumbai Indians, after losing their first 5 consecutive matches, scripted a near-unbelievable comeback in the playoffs, shows how a team could remain focused and motivated in the face of severe adversity. 
Achievement of such unimaginable targets highlights the fact that when faced with tough situations, people give in their best performance. Such heroism would not have been possible if the targets were more relaxed.
In life too, many times we see such situations around us. People tend to give their best performance only when faced with some kind of adversity. So, is adversity necessary for achieving big results in any field? Most of the successful personalities say that they had experienced some kind of failure in their lives earlier.
It is true … success spoils a person in hundred ways but a failure teaches him thousand lessons.

2.
History is full of ordinary people who achieved extra-ordinary accomplishments with a strong determination.
One such case is that of Gyan Singh, 40, from Barwani district of Madhya Pradesh. In his village, the people had to walk a long route of around 7 km for fetching water and taking the ailing patients for medical treatment to the nearest village on the other side of a mountain adjoining the village. Seeing this, in 2011, he started carving a 5 feet road in the mountain. He took three years to complete a 2.5 km road cutting through the mountains singlehandedly.
He has not only shown to the world that everything is possible with determination, patience and hard work, but also has got bountiful precious blessings of all the villagers.
Gyan Singh is a real hero… we salute his self-belief and courage.

3.
Recently, Kundan Lal from Dehradun topped the LLM exam conducted by the Uttarakhand Open University. He scored 185 / 200 marks.
So, what is so great about it apart from the fact that he must have really studied hard for the exams and prepared well? Well, it would come as a surprise to many to know that he is 73 years old.
It is a different matter as to what he would do with this qualification at this age. What is more important is that he has shown the passion to achieve a goal. And with hard work, he achieved it.
Many times in life, we come across situations when we think for a moment, ‘I am too old for doing this…’
People like Kundan Lal inspire us to realize that it is never late. One may modify his dreams as per the changing circumstances and growing age, but one must have dreams and pursue them with all sincerity.

4.
How many people can remain spirited and enthusiastic after difficult circumstances force them to drop out from the school after 8th grade? Not many…
But Maya Devi from Rohtak, Haryana is an exception. Born in a poor farmer’s family, she struggled throughout her life only to see that her children studied well.
And last week, when the UPSC results were declared, her dream of lifetime was realized. Her son Lok bandhu and daughter Pooja had cleared the IAS exams. Her elder daughter Kranti is already an IAS officer, working as Dy. Commissioner in Income Tax department in Mumbai.
This shows that even a semi-literate woman deprived of the basic necessities in life, can significantly and positively change the lives of her children, through sheer determination and hard work.
She is indeed an inspiration to all the mothers of India… who strive hard to see a better future for their children.

5.
Recently, a Pizza was delivered by air, by a drone in Mumbai.
A Robot is now developed in Japan, which can understand human emotions and behave / react accordingly.
Google has developed a driverless car.
People are increasingly turning to Facebook and WhatsApp for sharing their feelings, instead of meeting / calling their neighborhood.
At this rate, the machines would increasingly fill our lives in all spheres, reducing the human interface.
The day is not far when a need arises to develop a machine which will help a human interact with another human… live. It looks like, in the pursuit of technological advancements, we are forgetting the basic needs of humans, which are a heart-to-heart talk, a warm handshake, a pat on the back, a caring embrace, a heartfelt laughter together etc.
These ‘human acts’ cannot be ever substituted by any scientific / technological innovations.

6.
At a time, when the honor killings are rampant in most parts of India, the families of Azaan (Muslim) and Arti (Hindu) from Uttar Pradesh have set a new benchmark for peace and harmony.
Azaan and Arti fell in love with each other and decided to get married against the wishes of their families. They ran away from their homes and went to a Sai temple in Etah to get married. However, their families, who were frantically looking for them, tracked then down just in time.
After initial resistance, a compromise was finally reached and they all agreed for the marriage. A Kazi was called to solemnize the marriage inside the Sai temple.
It is quite likely that Sai must have got emotional and moved at this rare display of matured and rational behavior of these two families in these troubled times…!   

7.
Does God really bless a person, if he participates in the religious procession with utmost devotion, but he also ignores a person in extreme distress lying injured on his procession route?
Yesterday, on the auspicious day of Dnyaneshwar Palkhi in Pune, 59 year old Nandkishor Radhesham Sharma went to see the Palkhi procession on Bajirao road and was hit by a car, which sped away lying him injured on the road.
However, the people around him, including those who were taking part in the procession, just lifted him from the middle of the road and kept him on the pavement so that the procession can continue. After he gained consciousness, he feebly tried calling his family on his mobile, who came from Katraj and took him to a hospital. Unfortunately, after fighting for his life for few hours, he succumbed to his injuries.
So, who is responsible for his death? Was it the person in car who hit him? Or the passersby who did not call for ambulance immediately?
Is it the time that these annual historic processions, started over three hundred years ago, in which over four lakh people cover a distance of around 400 km, be routed through outskirts of the cities to avoid any inconvenience to the ordinary people for those few hours? If not, can the RTA make a proper plan of emergency exits at all junctions to cater to such emergencies?
God has never asked people to worship him ignoring others around him, who need help. Helping such people is indeed the highest form of worship…!

8.
The admissions to Delhi University have finally started after resolving the course duration issue. What came as an expected surprise was the high cut-off percentage for admissions to various courses in different colleges.
Apparently, for the science stream the cut-off was 100% while for other streams, the cut-off was around 97% plus.
This raises some very important questions.
What happens to the students who scored below 97% marks? Are they not good?
Is it right for the education system to put such excessive pressure on students and their parents to score such high marks? 
Were all the students, who got admissions in these colleges in previous years, successful in their future careers as well?
Is it only a craze to get admission into such colleges? Are other colleges useless?
Have other colleges not produced any successful people?
I do not have answers to all these questions… I hope someone does.

9.
According to a recently published report, the city-state of Monaco in Western Europe has the maximum density of millionaires. Apparently, one out of every three persons is a millionaire over there.
That makes one wonder, how the life of these people would be? Are they all really happy with all the money they have? Or do they compare their wealth with one another and feel unhappy to see someone who has more wealth than them?
What would be the ambitions of these people? Would their children be truly putting their best efforts in their schools / colleges?
Ironically, every person runs behind more and more money throughout his life … and when a few of them earn enough of it, they seek other pursuits like philosophy and philanthropy. 

10.
Recently, ‘e-mail’ completed 32 years of its existence. Not many would be aware that 32 years ago, an Indian, V.A. Shiva Ayyadurai had invented the e-mail in US.
During these 32 years, there were some distinct phases on the usage of emails.
In early nineties, people were learning about how to operate computers. So, communicating through emails was out of question.
By late 90s, people were regularly going to cyber cafes to check their emails. So, sending and receiving emails was a one-time activity performed once or twice a day.
By the beginning of first decade of this century, many people had computers in their homes and the mails were seen several times a day. It was no more a luxury.
However, with the advent of smart phones a few years ago, seeing mails in computers has become an old thing. Now people know instantly when a mail arrives in their inbox, through their smartphone. Moreover, because of the several faster and cheaper means of communication like messengers, WhatsApp, and even voice calls, the emails have not remained a favorite mode of personal communication anymore.
Today, children learn to send / receive an e-mail before they learn how to write letters. In fact, this generation may have probably never experienced the pleasure of writing letters to our loved ones at far off places.  The emotions actually pour out on the paper when one writes a personal letter with a pen. Similarly, the sheer joy and thrill in receiving a letter from our friends and relatives is to be experienced to be believed. The postman had a special place in people’s lives in those days and in some cases, he was considered a part of the family.
Today, we have a much faster and several means of communication, but none of these can create the same ‘magical effect’ as before.

Coming soon … Volume #3

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