Pleasure and Pain are the music of life.

In the vast arena of life, man has to wrestle with circumstances day in and day out. It is but natural that success or failure will be the result. Success makes a man ride high and failure flings him into the mood of sorrow and pessimism. it is a universal truth that if the sun is shining bright on one hemisphere, the other hemisphere is covered under the blanket of darkness. Life is worth living because sugar of smiles and salt of sighs serve the tonics.

If we look around us, we shall realize that life is not a smooth sailing for anyone. When a child is born, his mother grooms him well. She makes sure that her child is not harmed or hurt. She ensures that nothing results to tears in the eyes of her child. But as the child grows he has to face both success and failure. Success and failure are two sides of the same coin. Pleasure alone always makes an individual proud. Happiness and suffering maintain a healthy balance in life.

Every person toils and moils during the day to enjoy a well-earned sound sleep at night. If he rests the whole day and feels happy in remaining lethargic, he will soon find his limbs aching. Smiles and pleasures are always welcome but sufferings too are never meaningless. When a person is caught in the grip of pain and misery, the outflow of tears that rolls down often softens the tense and depressed atmosphere making the person calm and composed. ‘Where there is a will there is a way’ and thus, we must never lose hope even in the worst of times, instead find a solution.

Some people always complain that life is a valve of tears or a bed of thorns. They forget the joys of the past. They cannot see far ahead where again the smiles await them. Every tunnel of sufferings, sorrows and calamities leads to the sunshine of joys, pleasures and comforts. In fact tears serve as the saline water to wash away the dust settled on one’s mind.
In fact, tragedy and comedy make the wrap and wool of life. Smiles and sighs are spices of life, which would otherwise become tasteless. Man is always reminded to take pleasure and pain calmly in his stride. He is taught not to grow vain glorious when delights visit him and not to lose heart and look crest-fallen when difficulties surround him. Even the great prophets, sages and seers themselves tasted both the sweetness and bitterness of life. Human beings who walk on their footprints are also expected to know that smiles and tears constitute the music of life.

Paraskevidekatriaphobia???

Once again we must prepare ourselves for the dreaded Friday the thirteenth! Are you taking any chances on this day of fright and fear? If so, you are clearly not superstitious, nor do you suffer from paraskevidekatriaphobia. Paraskevidekatriaphobics — people afflicted with a morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th. A Friday occurring on the 13th day of any month is considered to be a day of bad luck. Some people are so paralyzed by fear that they are simply unable to get out of bed when Friday the 13th rolls around.This fear of 13 is so strong in that, according to Dr. Donald Dossey, founder of the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina, more than 80 percent of high-rises lack a 13th floor. Many airports skip the 13th gate and hospitals and hotels regularly have no room number 13. On streets in Florence, Italy, the house between number 12 and 14 is addressed as 12 and a half, a similar phenomenon is seen in the United States whereby the house or apartment is sometimes numbered 12A. In French society, socialites known as quatorziens (fourteeners) were for hire to serve as 14th guests to a dinner party, because having exactly thirteen people at a meal was considered to cause unlucky fate. The Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute estimates that more than 17 million people are affected by a fear of this day.According to Smithsonian Magazine "fear of the #13 costs American a billion dollars per year in absenteeism, train and plane cancellations, and reduced commerce on the 13th of the month." Any month that begins on a Sunday will contain a Friday the 13th. There are numerous popular stories that mark this date as inauspicious

· Many Christians have long believed that Friday was unlucky because it was the day of the week when Jesus was crucified. The number 13 was believed to bring bad luck because there were 13 people at The Last Supper. Since there were 12 tribes of Israel, that number was considered lucky

· Thirteen was also a sinister number in Norse mythology. Loki, one of the most evil of the Norse gods, went uninvited to a party for 12 at Valhalla, a banquet hall of the gods. As a result, he caused the death of Balder, the god of light, joy, and reconciliation. Loki tricked Balder's blind brother, Hod, into throwing a sprig of mistletoe at Balder's chest. Since mistletoe was the only thing on Earth fatal to Balder, the beloved god fell dead

· During the Middle Ages, the superstition against Friday the 13th grew. On Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered the arrests of Jaques de Molay, Grand Master of the Knights Templars and sixty of his senior knights in Paris. Thousands of others were arrested elsewhere in the country. After employing torture techniques to compel the Templars to "confess" to wrongdoing, most were eventually executed and sympathizers of the Templars condemned Friday the 13th as an evil day. Over time a large body of literature and folk wisdom has reinforced the belief. In the 18th century, the HMS Friday was launched on Friday the 13th. It was never heard from again. Since then, ships are not usually launched on that date.

Reality bites

Last night I was reading a comedy by Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s—“The School for Scandal”. The play focuses a bitter satire on the people of the upper class of contemporary society. This play exposes 2 main aspects of the Restoration Age: the first aspect is scandalous gossiping and the other one is hypocrisy.

As I was reading, I noticed that time hasn’t changed people and their social activities. It is a universal truth that “Man has always been a social animal” and for being a part of the society, it can go to any extent. The play focuses the mindset of people of 18^th century but when I sat down comparing the modern man of 21^st century to that of 18^th century, I was amazed to find that though centuries have passed but man has not changed its attitude towards struggling to survive in society.

We still find women gossiping in kitty parties, clubs, gyms, weddings and market places. Scandals to scoops, they know it all. They still love to sneak-peak into the lives of their friends and acquaintances and if they find anything worth gossiping, they waste no time in spreading the malicious gossip without knowing the actual cause. And thanks to the easy communication device like mobile phones & easy access to social networking sites, which helps hassle free transportation of these rumours in a short span of time. Then we soon discover that the name and reputation of the victims is on stake.

Let me tell you about Mrs. Kapoor, a close associate, loves gossiping and maintains a record of day-to-day life of her friends, relatives and neighbours. Her chief reporters are the servants who work in their houses. Mrs. Kapoor is not alone. To company her, there are a bunch of other such ladies existing in every society, irrespective of caste, religion, nationality, state, etc. they consider gossiping as their utmost fundamental right. When they mingle the result is:

--“ Do you know Mrs. Gupta’s daughter ran away with Mrs. Ray’s son?”

--“Mrs. Das is having an illicit affair with her driver! How could she?”

--“Do you know why Ria is not getting married? I think something must be wrong with her!”

--“Have you noticed that Mrs. and Mr. Nath are having internal rifts in their marriage?”

--“Sheetal was wearing a lovely saree!”

“What are you saying? She keeps repeating it every alternate club meeting.”

“Is that so?”

Hey! this was just a scrap of their customary conversation. By watching K-serials, these women have also become vamp in their real lives. They talk non-stop about movies, film stars, K-series, beauty-tips, clubs, lounges, foreign trips, shopping, the list goes on and on endlessly.

Renowned filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar, among others, mocks at society and its evil practices through his movies. One of his creation-Page3 focuses on upper strata of society. The title itself signifies the 3^rd page of a daily newspaper, which covers parties and social events. People, to get featured on page3, would simply do anything because this will give them name and recognition and it is a pseudo fact that this would uplift their social status. The movie did hit hard on the society and its animals. High socialites, industrialists, people having underworld links, love to be projected. “Jo dikhta hai, voh bikta hai” is a very famous dialogue in the movie, which supports the movie and society in general. People can go down to any extent to make their path crystal clear. They smoke, drink and dine, make use of contacts and want to get acquainted with who’s who in the celebrity circuit. There are no true friends. Once your motive has been meted out, no one recognizes the other. The mantra is “ the survival of the fittest”. It is the middle class that really has to strive hard to get featured in high profile society. The lives of such people are also on stake. Women dominate their husbands, their children are busy in their own lives, extra-marital affairs, etc. are a common sight in today’s society. These evils are no more frowned upon.

Thus our society in general has under gone a lot of change. But on other hand, we also come across a section of society who has not adopted such changes and are following their traditions and customs as a rule. And whoever tries to defy them is immediately boycotted from the society. Each society has its share of pros and cons.

Globalization is not harmful in 3rd world countries

Globalization is a two way street and if, now, it helps at least, a section of youth in India and helps India’s and other 3^rd world countries/ developing country’s economic growth, it should be welcomed. An open world trading system is generally a positive contribution to economic prosperity. It increases living standards both at home and abroad. In the late 1980’s the rich countries were telling the developing nations to go in for globalization, all in an excited bid to exploit the low cost advantages available in the 3^rd world countries. The developing nations never imagined that one-day globalization would recoil on them to the advantage of the developing nations to whom they were keen to sell the idea of globalization.

It is just sheer cold logic if companies can get things done at a lower cost in countries like India where they can engage skilled hands at far lower wages what is wrong with it? Business and profit need not be associated with patriotism. Why do our IIT-ians go global and more particularly to USA? For better opportunities abroad! Not that they love their country less.

Let us take example of call centers, which have been hiring youths by thousands for the past 5 years. India’s low wage, English-speaking workforce is attracting foreign firms. Good English and even a gift at learning accents have made Indians popular for manning call centers serving Britain, USA and Australia.

The world has realized that India is competitive not only in brainpower but even in manufacturing. We have already emerged as a leader in low-end manufacturing and our market share has overtaken that of China. Indian products are now being sought worldwide.

Globalization, in fact, provides large-scale job opportunities and help the economy flourish due to increased market and trade relations.

Now let us focus our attention to the social life. The Indian roads are conquered with imported cars and other modes of transportation, which reflect the luxurious life style of people. We find people showing off their mobile phones and other branded electronic appliances as a symbol of luxury and high life style. These are all gifted products of the evolution of globalization. Had there been no globalization, then there would have been no formation of UN, UNICEF, International Summits, Peaks, International film festivals, World cups, Common Wealth Games, etc. our life would have remained in a limited circumference totally aloof, isolated and unaware of the developments and achievements of the other world.

Education has also marked a great change in point of development through contacts with other nations. Our own educational level has been raised to the equal international standards. Giving an equal opportunities and knowledge of know-how to the student fraternity worldwide.

Thus I would like to conclude that globalization has changed the mindset of the people all over the world as in terms of broadening their mental level, by giving a positive an d optimistic over view. Globalization, in all fields, is an essential feature and should be encouraged than suppressing it.

THE UNWANTED

Yes, I am unwanted! This I kept telling myself as I was lying on my bed of my destined house- the orphanage. This world is not mine. I am unwanted here. No one bothers to care whether I am living or dead. So many people come here in search of a beautiful child whom they can happily adopt. For the orphan children they are like a ray of hope. We get excited on the thought that now they can only free us from the unwanted and neglected cages. Many couples came in search of their dream baby and slowly one by one they took away all my playmates of the orphanage. I am left here alone to suffer and wait for the impossible.

It is not, that no one came to adopt me. Many couples came and gave me an unspoken answer that they will soon adopt me and take me away from this secluded world. They came regularly to play with me. But as soon as they saw a beautiful child, they soon altered their minds and left me heart- broken. In the initial stages of my infancy, it used to hurt my emotions but now it does not affect me any longer because I know the root cause. It is just the outer beauty and appearance that diverts so many minds. Every time a couple came, I was dressed in the most beautiful clothes so that I was selected at first sight but fate had other plans in store. It is the outer appearance that influences people but no one ever makes an attempt of testing or appreciating the inner qualities. I just want to plead the couples those who are planning to adopt that never give false hope to any child because it hurts their mental stability. Its not my mistake that I am not beautiful like others but I know that my inner qualities are going to speak one day for me and I will prove the world – I am no less than the others. Looks are here, gone tomorrow but the inner beauty is immortal and will remain forever.

I, thereby, compare myself to a blooming bud that is going to bloom in a plant, which is isolated from the world. It is an attention seeker, who wants to bloom into the most beautiful flower. And it is in this hope that one day its beauty is going to be noticed and appreciated. But it is afraid that before it is bloomed, it might get dried in this false hope. But still it is living with this hope.