UPSC interview 2010

Board : Shri P K Mishra
General Background: My name is Vikram Pagaria. I am a B.Tech in Biological Sciences and Bioengineering (IIT Kanpur). My birth place is Neemuch (Madhya Pradesh). This was my first attempt and my mains optionals were Geography and Psychology.

If you wish to read this in a pdf, then send me a mail. I'm facing trouble in linking the pdf on this blog. If you can help, it will be great.

Chairman - What are your service preferences? Why? Why did you choose irs above ifs?
Me - Sir, my first preference is ias followed by irs, followed by ifs. My intention of choosing ias as the top service is because of the diversity of the job, one can work at the village, state as well as the center. My experience with the ngos that i worked with has been phenomenal. I look forward to working at the grassroots.
The reason behind choosing irs over ifs is primarily in the instruments that you've only one instrument of action i.e diplomacy. I do not consider myself good at being very diplomatic. When i filled the form, i could not imagine myself as an ifs officer. However, if i become an irs officer, i can contribute by using my technical background and may be, we could help streamline the taxation system better.
Chairman - so, status doesn't mean much to you? IFS is a higly respectable and lucrative job.
Me - Not much (to the question if status means much to me).I thought that if i am not good for a particular job, i should leave it for others to contribute.
Chairman - what is cyber crime?
Me - It is a multitude of malicious and illegal activities on the internet.
Chairman - Go on..
Me - Sir, for exmple, hacking into government websites, leaking confidential information, hacking banking passwords and stealing money.
Chairman - what is email bombarding?
Me - It is also a case for email spamming. In this case, your inbox is flooded with a large number of irrelevant/spam messages that you are not able to figure out which mail is important.
Chairman - Also, the speed becomes low.
Me - Yes, the speed as well as storage becomes an issue in such a case.
Chairman - what is morphing?
Me - Sir, i am not sure.
Chairman - Morphing is putting the head of one person and body of another.
Chairman - is there any law related to cyber security in india? What is the full name of the act?
Me - Yes, i am sure that there is a law, something called information security act or cyber security act.
Chairman - Do you know the exact name of the law?
Me - No sir
Chairman - It is cyber security act 2002 .
Chairman - what is salami attack?
Me - Pardon sir. Can u say that again?
Chairman - Salami?
Me - You mean S A L A M I
Chairman - yes.
Me - Sorry sir, i've not heard that before.
Chairman - It is also a cyber crime where the bank account information is appropriated in such a manner that is inperceptible to the user.
Me - Yes sir, the similar thing happened in a bank where the missapprorpriation was of the order of 1 billion dollar. It happened when a bank employee transferred a miniscule amount from each bank account into his own account. E.g. If we see our account balance as Rs. 3600.63 , we don't worry about the 63 paisa. Sometimes, hackers appropriate this information and transfer some/all of the 63 paisa into some other account. So, the next time when you check your balance, it would be Rs. 3600.55 paisa and you think everything is fine inspite of the fact that a big scandal has happened.
Member 1 - what is the relation between a hardware & software? How does the hardware interact with software?
Me - Madam, the interaction is via an operating system.
Member 1 - So vikram, what is an operating system? Can you explain how does this relation work when we type something on the computer and this is printed? How does the bits sequence recognized again by the printer? How does the computer manage with 0 & 1?
Me - Madam, when we type a word, say 'abcdef' on a word processor, which is a software that converts 'abcdef' into a binary sequence which the computer understands. This binary sequence is then trasmitted to the printer which is then again decoded while printing. (i explained this on a sheet of paper kept there using general concepts and she seemed to be convinced. The chairman passed the questions to the second member)
Member 2 - Do you read newspapers? Which ones?
Me - Yes sir. I read ''the hindu'' and the mint (published in bangalore).
Member 2 - Nehru ji once remarked about this newspaper, ''Everything is good about the newspaper except the name''.
Me - Yes sir, i agree with that.
Member 2 - No, i am not asking about your opinion. I am just making a general comment. In the newspapers, there is a lot of mention about 'tightening of monetary policy''? What is it?
Me - Sir, this is an instrument that is exercised by the rbi to control the money supply in the market. We are amdist high inflation circumstances. So, rbi is trying to reduce the money supply in the market. The instruments that rbi uses are the repo rates, reverse repo rates and the crr.
Member 2 - What is crr?
Me - Crr stands for 'cash reserve ratio'. This is the ratio of the total money (of the commercial banks) that the banks have to keep with the rbi. Altering the crr would affect the total money available to commercial banks for credit.
Member 2 - what is the difference between monetary and fiscal policy?
Me - Monetary policy is the policy that the rbi uses to control the money supply in the market while fiscal policy is the policy used by government to control its expenditure, receipts and deficit.
Member 2: Why should there be fiscal regulation?
Me: Government handles it finances by regulating its borrowings and expenditure. Recently, the fiscal deficit of our country grew up to 6.5 % which is not good for the economy and the country. So, government tries to controls its expenses and increase its receipts.
Member 2 - which is the tallest building in New Delhi?
Me – Sorry sir, I am not sure
Chairman – Vikram, it was inaugrated only two days back
Me – Is it the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Civic Centre.
(The chairman passed me to the third member)
Member 3 - what is morphine?
Me – (I thought that just now, the chairman had asked me about 'morphing' and when i couldn't reply, the chairman told me the answer too. So, I thought that this member is trying to check whether i still remember it or not.) Hence, I answered, “Sir, morphing is the “head of one person and body of another”.
Chairman – No, he is not asking morphing, he is asking morphine. (There was a big laugh)
Me – Ok. Morphine is a drug which is used as a pain killer. However, it is also used as a drug illegally. Morphine is a steroid.
Member 3 – What is morphine made from?
Me – Sir, I am not sure.
Member 3 – You are from Neemuch (my birth place) and you do not know.
Me – Is it made from opium (I realised that there is large scale farming of opium in Neemuch and he might be giving that as a clue).
Member 3 – Yes, it is made from opium. There are a lot of cement companies in neemuch district. Which cement company was closed recently?
Me – Sir, there was a PSU named CCI (Cement Corporation of India) which was shut down since it became a sick unit.
Member 3 - which is the most efficient cement company among all the companies there?
Me – Sir, I think it is Vikram Cement.
Member 3 – Why do you say that?
Me – Because the turnover of Vikram Cement is the maximum. I've seen CCI, Vikram Cement and J K Cement and the Vikram Cement cement factory is the largest.
Member 3 – The turnover doesn't matter. The installed capacity is what decides the efficiency.
Me – Sorry sir, I don't have those figures in my mind.
Member 3 - if you are a dm of a district, what will be your priorities?
Me – Sir, my fundamental priority will be health because I think that the public sector health system is in shackles. We don't have medicines there, we don't have doctors there.
Member 3 – But, doctors and medicines can be made available if one has funds. So, how will you raise funds for health? Also tell me, how does the government raise funds?
Me – Sir, if the available funds are not sufficient for raising the standards of the public health system in our district, then i will request the concerned minister to allocate funds for this.
The money that the government has comes from :-
a) the borrowings from IMF/World bank
b) money raised by rbi by selling government securities.
Member 3 – What else?
Me – (I was thinking about the other sources. Meanwhile, the chairman said taxes.) I am so sorry, I forgot that.
(The chairman passed me to the next board member)
Member 4 - you have graduated from bio engineering colleges studying in one of the best colleges of the country? Why do you not join research and contribute? Becoming a generalist or a postal/revenue servant could hamper your plans about improvements in public health? You are defeating the purpose of investement in you?
Me – Sir, I've thought about that. If I am not able to become an IAS and contribute to public health system improvement, then I've chalked out a plan. I would join whatever services that are allotted to me and would try my level best to bring about an improvement in that service because I believe that improvement is needed everywhere. I'll work for 10 years and if I feel that inspite of my best efforts, I am not able to bring welfare to the society, then I would leave the services and join research because the main pupose of research as well as civil services is to reduce the number of mortalities. The condition in our country is that half of the people die from hunger, diarrhea, malaria and other perfectly preventable diseases. Hence, I would like to work in this area of implementation
(The fourth member doesn't look satisfied. He passed it over to the chairman again)
Chairman - what comes to your mind when you think about ''vikram''?
Me – Sir, there is Vikram Sarabhai
Chairman – Who was he?
Me – He was a visionary. He designed our space research program.
Chairman – Who else?
Me – Sir, Vikram Seth, he is an author; King Vikramaditya; Vikram Rathore, he is a cricket player.
Chairman - Is there something called ''vikram'' in transport?
Me – (I was thinking)
Member 1 – It is not the name of a person. “vikram” in transport corresponds to a product.
Me – (I was still thinking. Chairman did a gesture of driving an auto.)
Me – Oh, yes sir, i remembered. These are the big “vikram” autos which are very common in Kanpur.
Chairman – Thanks Vikram, your interview is over.
Me – Thanks a lot.

Just watched the movie "Paa". Inspite of possessing some purely co-incidental facts (like both Vidya and Abhishek's family living in the same city) and some bad dialogs (particularly that "hichki" one), the film was good for the following reasons:-

1. Galti karne waala ko galti sahne waale se jaada dukh hota hai. (A fellow-student of Auro tells it in the end to Auro)
2. Realistically placed.
3. Depiction of social issues like media sensationalization and slum empowerment.
4. Amitabh's and Bum's acting.

A Little Inspiration

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, It is between you and God;
It never was between you and them anyway.

Author Unknown

During the four years of my undergraduate education, I was fortunate to be exposed to various different areas in the field of biology. These were molecular biology, systems biology, structural biology, bioinformatics, biochemistry, biomaterials & tissue engineering, evolutionary biology, developmental biology, ethology, neurobiology, biomedical instrumentation, biomechanics, biomedical signal and image processing. Some of the areas which I find appealing are biochemistry, ethology, neurobiology, biomedical instrumentation and biomechanics. In particular, getting to know about and working at the confluence of different disciplines has been a pleasurable experience.

But, given an opportunity to identify one area, I will choose the area of designing point of care diagnostics – cheap, non-invasive, quick and sensitive so that they are accessible to the common man. Most of the villages in our country do not have pathology facilities; even if they exist they are far-off or are very expensive. One example where this is showing positive results is the pregnancy testing kit – no need of going to pathology, even the patients can use it on their own; all they have to do is to pour the urine sample and wait for 5 minutes to check the color. However, these on-the-spot assays have not been commercialized for blood-glucose level, WBC/TLC count, malarial parasite detection; stool and urine sample analysis.

One unsolved problem in this area is to design a cheap, easy-to-use assay system for diagnosing malaria; the current state of affairs is that diagnosis is symptomatic/ one needs to have a reasonably well-equipped pathology facility so as to just diagnose the disease. With the recent advancements in BioMEMS(which have led to ELISA, microPCR etc.), the task seems possible. Using immobilized marker molecules, immunochromatography or may be detecting a simple change in physical property (pH, viscosity, optical/electrical/thermal/mechanical properties) can be a solution. The ultimate dream is to make these tests as simple and cheap as using a thermometer.

PROFOUND QUOTES BY LEO TOLSTOY

"All violence consists in some people forcing others, under threat of suffering or death, to do what they do not want to do."

"Boredom: the desire for desires."

"It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness."

"Love is life. All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love. Everything is, everything exists, only because I love. Everything is united by it alone. Love is God, and to die means that I, a particle of love, shall return to the general and eternal source."

"The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity."

"And all people live, not by reason of any care they have for themselves, but by the love for them that is in other people."

"The two most powerful warriors are patience and time."

"Without knowing what I am and why I am here, life is impossible."

"All happy families resemble one another, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."

infinity: this way: Inequality

infinity: this way: Inequality

Profound Quotes by Helen Keller

1. I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.
2. Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.
3. Instead of comparing our lot with that of those who are more fortunate than we are, we should compare it with the lot of the great majority of our fellow men. It then appears that we are among the privileged.
4. It is wonderful how much time good people spend fighting the devil. If they would only expend the same amount of energy loving their fellow men, the devil would die in his own tracks of ennui.
5. Knowledge is love and light and vision.
6. Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.
7. No one has a right to consume happiness without producing it.
8. No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit.
9. Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.
10. People do not like to think. If one thinks, one must reach conclusions. Conclusions are not always pleasant.
11. Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all - the apathy of human beings.
12. Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world.
13. The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.
14. The highest result of education is tolerance.
15. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of tiny pushes of each honest worker.
16. Until the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each other's welfare, social justice can never be attained.
17. Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.
18. We can do anything we want to do if we stick to it long enough.
19. We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world.
20. When one door closes, another opens. But we often look so regretfully upon the closed door that we don't see the one that has opened for us.
21. When we do the best that we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.
22. Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/06/23/stories/2007062350161000.htm

This article is titled "why are levels of child malnutrition high". It very nicely and convincingly rules out the intuitive possibility that low per capita income or widespread poverty is responsible for this phenomena but things like education, immunisation of mothers as well as the infants etc. are the more prominent reasons.

Why blog if you have the option of picking up a pen and scribble in your own notebook?

This was the question I had in mind which would continuously discourage me from writing on this blog. However, whenever I felt like, I did write my worries and joys in my notebook. Today, I was just wondering about "privacy". This was the word which Lilavati madam used very frequently to refer to something personal, which you don't like to share with others. But, then if you do not wish to share it with others nevertheless you do it and one man knows that you have done that and that is obviously -your soul. I used to wonder ever since I came to live in this hall as to why people would immediately latch their rooms once they come to their room after class or lunch..I mean, it appeared cynical to me, particularly the bang of the room and latching, clearly audible from at least a distance of five-six rooms. Why is that we wish to remain away from others..is it because of your worry that others should not know what you are doing ( it happens with one of my friend, who doesn't wish anybody to know that he is studying and he himself curses every other person who studies) or is it because of some stable personal disposition.

Today, I made a promise to myself - which is actually a corollary of my previous promise - I pledge that I will not hide/ conceal anything (however big/ small it is) with anybody. So, now I can blog easily sitting before the comp without feeling why should others know what I am feeling/ is it appropriate to share your "private" feelings with them. But, then if you can never conceal anything with one man, why you should run and flee from others. If you have done anything, good/bad, you should have the courage to accept. The example which comes to my mind is the most accessible one (may be because of my age or because of the atmosphere where I live in) - watching obscene material on the computer. You don't want others to see but then how can you prevent that from yourself. Have the courage to accept. Some of my friends can counter this argument saying that why do you close the door when you bath? Well, I don't have an answer to this but then I think that after bathing, everybody knows that you have bathed.. this may not be true in other cases.( particularly of those which are talked of above)

A blunder I committed

How bad one feels if somebody has taken something from you but is not returning it inspite of promising it to do so. add to that a constant reminder to the taker atleast two times. Certainly, very bad..
Sorry to say taht I am such a bad man. Yaar, I took the copy from Balaji Sir, I wanted to read it, i did read some of teh protion but then I just forgot to return it. He reminded me atleast a couple of times( I thought I will give it after I finish it because he might ask a question and what if I tell me that I haven't read).
Now, this man will never even dare to give a book to any of his student. I have spoiled the image of my batchmates. I want to cry, I never meant it Sir. But, he'll feel very abd, I know. I can imagine this from his position. Even I have sploit the condition of the book.
I am Sorry Sir..please forgive me.
These are really annoying instances. One should keep oneslf in other's shoes, think what you would feel if you ahd been the person and then do the task.

What I do for living is more important than how much I earn

Money may be the husk of many
Things, but not the kernel
It brings you food, but not
Appetite
Medicine but not health
Acquaintances, but not faithfulness
Days of joy, but not peace or happiness

We are living at the dawn of an info-millennium. Our lives, powered by superb communication, fabulous electronic gadgets, powerful computers, speedy transport, and extraordinary healthcare, too have changed a lot; for the better or for the worse, it is debatable. Mouthwatering restaurants, fabulous supermarkets, refreshing beverages, magnificent multiplexes, gorgeous multiscrapers, cool outfits, splendid 3D games, movies loaded with special effects, excellent music, and beautiful books; have undoubtedly affected the way we make sense of this world we live in.

It appears that there is a kind of rat-race going on. Cut-throat competition exists in almost any field today. People have a lurking sense of insecurity; insecurity of getting a desirable job being the most prominent. But, simultaneously, people in India have a pervasive tendency to follow the crowd; they literally and not only metaphorically, act cowardly, they wish to play safe. The increase in number of software engineers reaffirms this phenomenon. Irrespective of one’s branch of engineering, the prospective engineer cares the least to make sense of what he learnt during these four years, he simply takes a software job and then life is decided; everything is over. It is the strong fear of failure that grips all of us, people do not want to experiment even things in which they have a high probability of success. What if I fail in this venture? What if I will come in the eyes of people, then I will be called a failure? People justify this by arguing that one should be pragmatic as well but in essence all these are defense-mechanisms, they are just the latent manifestations of their lust for materialism, their reluctance to do something novel, and their indifference to intrinsically interesting but not lucrative things. They are lured by this seemingly glamorized but inherently enigmatic and depraved world.

Take for example, why am I writing this essay? Is it because it can help me earn a lavish internship at one of the most prestigious college of the world or is it because it is about an issue which is close to my heart, about an issue which I feel so strongly about, which innervates my feelings.

It is true that every man is ambitious, everybody dreams of becoming a billionaire, wants fame, a big bungalow, a big luxury car, maids, servants, attendants, a fun-loving comfortable life. But, this crave for material benefits have deprived us. The world has become selfish and as Swami Vivekananda propounded, “One who is selfish is immoral”; the world has become immoral. Ends matter more to us than the means to achieve them. We forsake knowingly or unknowingly all our values (if any) and do not even question ourselves whether what we did was ethical or not; just our ends should be met.

Take a familiar setting like an academic setting. Grades/marks earned at the end only matters to us not the toil which we put in. We don’t acknowledge the effort our teachers have put in; we don’t try to appreciate how researchers have made marvelous discoveries and how tactfully they have invented wonderful gadgets. It is a selfish world, students read to get grades, teachers seldom put efforts and teach merely to complete the course, caring the least whether anybody is following their lectures or not. It is not that grades are not important, studying for grades is justifiable and is a reasonable benchmark to measure excellence but forsaking the valor, indifference to novelty, reluctance of finding trivial things on our own, cheating in examinations, copying assignments, bunking classes, the “Copy and Paste” culture; this is where futility creeps in. This was not the purpose of setting up these institutes of learning. Except the software industry, the research scenario in India is gloomy. We still look to other countries for technology. Why? It is because of the pervasive “Me Too” approach. Whatever novel ideas the scientists elsewhere generate, we wish to work on them rather than trying to think afresh. Whatever little research that is done, it is done not with the spirit of uncovering things and understanding phenomena but the ulterior motive is to publish because publishing papers will get more grants, more money to spend on. It is called the “Publish or Perish” phenomena.

In short, we have succumbed to this rat-race. Most of us are running so fast that we sometimes forget not only where we’ve been but also where we’re heading towards. We tend to dismiss those dreams of ours which are not in coherence with the rules of the world, following which can make us separated from this crowd, following which is not very lucrative. We don’t want to come out of the comfort zone. The thing is that we see, perceive and weigh everything with respect to its market value. Anything which is intrinsically interesting but doesn’t have a market value is immediately shunned. Unfortunately, most of our dreams and ambitions fall in these categories and are repressed. Everybody wants his/her child to be nobody but a doctor or an engineer or a MBA. Nobody wants them to be a painter, a scientist, a philanthropist, a social-awakener, Bhagat Singh, Gandhi. Why? To answer the cause of this attitude is straightforward. It is because money has sort of become like an anchor in our life. Today, the amount I earn decides my social status, it decides how broad my smile is, it decides the girl to whom I’ll get married and it controls the things I am interested in. People deliberately generate an interest in software engineering because this will fetch them money and money is the thing which only matters. No doubt, money is inevitable in one’s life but then it becomes futile after a threshold is achieved. Money in the need hierarchy, according to Abraham Maslow, a renowned psychologist can help us fulfill our basic physiological needs (hunger, thirst etc.) and some safety needs (needs for security, stability and order) but it seldom has a role to play in fulfilling our higher needs for self-actualization, our esteem needs and our belongingness and love needs Money can’t buy the happiness a scientist gets in conducting experiments; it can’t buy the satisfaction of helping a needy to cross the road; it can’t buy the flush of energy you feel when you are thoroughly engrossed in your work and realize that you have forgotten your lunch/dinner; it can’t provide you the contentment at the end of the day when you have put your level best effort to work out things; it can’t buy the pleasure of sketching/reading; it can’t buy you the zealous feelings during a morning walk; it can’t buy you the saturated state when you play with your full vigor; it can’t buy you the melody; it can’t buy you the sweet sleep at the end of the day. The truth is that life has its pleasures and beauty in small things, most of which are free- the fresh air, water, friends, smile and the list goes on. “Success is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration”. The feeling of saturation when you put in your level best has no parallel. The guide is to listen to your heart’s call, introspect pragmatically whether your earnings if you choose your intrinsic interests will fulfill your basic physiological and security needs and then get set for work. A feeling of satisfaction after this resolution ensures the lighted path to bliss. It is because life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way. “Following what has meaning, soul, passion and spirit for you, following the dictates of your own awareness and blissfulness, trusting your own inner guru; and walking your talk” is the well-known law of two feet.

In a nut shell, choosing a job/path strictly on the basis of what the gains are and not taking into account one’s intrinsic interests are, is an irony. Some people may call it a pragmatic strategy but this is not a far-sighted strategy. It will create detrimental chaos at some point of time. This is a the reason behind the increasing number of suicides these days in the working class; the surge in number of people visiting psychologists reporting depression, dissatisfaction and frustration; the growing cases of corruption, scandals, forgery in our country.

If you had to look back on your life what would you remember?
The promotion? The performance bonus?
The plaque in the conference room?
It doesn’t take supreme intelligence to know what really matters.
And yet, you do little besides look in the distance and sigh.
Wouldn’t it be tragic to realize too late
That you didn’t see the trap, that you didn’t recognize
The two words that are the biggest curse of humanity…
Maybe someday?
It takes little to RECLAIM your life
Otherwise life would cut like a knife.

"Nature" is what we see -
The Hill - the Afternoon -
Squirrel - Eclipse - the Bumble bee
-Nay - Nature is Heaven -
Nature is what we hear -
The Bobolink - the Sea -
Thunder - the Cricket -
Nay - Nature is Harmony -
Nature is what we know -
Yet have no art to say -
So impotent Our Wisdom is
To her Simplicity.

Emily Dickinson

Love and Genes Can Beat Poverty -Study 5/26/2004 1:41 PM Wed May 26, 6:15 AM ET Add Science - Reuters to My Yahoo! LONDON (Reuters) - Love and genes can overcome even the most abject poverty, according to a study into the effects of environmental factors on child development. The study of 1,116 mothers and their five-year-old same-sex twins in poor households in England and Wales found that poverty did not have to be a life sentence and the right combination of parental care and genetics could triumph over adversity. "Children in our study experienced more than just poverty as measured by family income level, Julia Kim-Cohen of the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College in London wrote in the May issue of the journal Child Development. "Living in the poorest neighborhoods, their homes were rated as being overcrowded, damp or in disrepair," she added. The study differentiated between twins sharing all the same genes and those sharing only half. It showed that genetic makeup does play a role in the ability of children to rise above their poverty and not suffer behavioral or cognitive setbacks, but it was not the whole answer. "The warmth, mental stimulation and interest that parents pay toward their young children can make a big difference in their children's lives," Kim-Cohen said. Fellow researcher Terrie Moffitt said they only studied mothers because in many of the poorest households the father was absent, so trying to look at both parents in families where the father was still present would have skewed the study. "The main point of the research is that neither genes nor poverty can determine a child's fate," Kim-Cohen said.

It is a real inspiring stuff, read it in class 6th or so,
Just had a feeling- some words/sayings remain immortal
not because they say a new thing but because they say
the same old thing in an entire new fashion.
Hindi writers like Kabir,Premchand, Ramdhaari Singh Dinkar,
Sumitranandan Pant and the list never will end.

But, we people do not even care to look what these
great men have done rather we are too much fascinated
by the writers in the west. I do not want to say that
we should not read them but one should also marvel on
the great achievements of one's own culture.It is
debatable but I think I can convince you that there
are lot of things you need to explore more about Indian literature.
I say Indian and not hindi because I don't want to categorise
India by Hindi rather languages like Oriya, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali
etc. are also equally enriched in terms of literature. I mean,
literature is an inherent part of society.
In hindi this saying is aptly called"saahitya hi samaj kaa darpan hai"
meaning "The literature is the true reflection of the society".

JO BEET GAYI...
                   (Dr. Harivansh Rai Bachhan)

                  Jo beet gayi so baat gayi|

                  jivan main ek sitara tha,
                  mana, veh behad pyara tha,
                        veh doob gaya to doob gaya,
                        amber ke aanan ko dekho,
                  kitne iske taare toote,
                  kitne iske pyaare chhoote,
                        jo chhoot gaye phir kahan mile,
                        par bolo toote taaron par,
                  kab amber shok manata hai,
                  jo beet gayi so baat gayi|

                        Jivan main veh tha ek kusum,
                        the us par nitya-nichhwar tum,
                  veh sookh gaya to sookh gaya,
                  madhuwan ki chhati ko dekho,
                        sookhi kitni iski kaliyan,
                        murjhaayi kitni ballariyan,
                  jo murjhayi phir kahan khilin,
                  par bolo sookhe phoolon par,
                        kab madhuban shor machata hai,
                        jo beet gayi so baat gayi|

                  Jivan main madhu ka pyaala tha,
                  tumne tan-man de daala tha,
                        veh toot gaya to toot gaya,
                        madiralaya ka aangan dekho,
                  kitne pyaale hil jaate hain,
                  gir mitti main mil jaate hain,
                        jo girte hain kab uthte hain,
                        par bolo toote pyaalon par,
                  kab madiralaya pachhtata hai,
                  jo beet gayi so baat gayi|
                  mridu mitti ke bane hue,
                  madhughat phoota hi karte hain,
                        laghu jivan lekar aaye hain,
                        pyaale toota hi karte hain,
                  Phir bhi madiralaya ke andar,
                  madhu ke ghat hain, madhu pyaale hain,
                  jo madakta ke maare hain,
                  ve madhu loota hi karte hain,
                        veh kacha pine wala hai,
                        jiski mamta ghat pyaalon par,
                  jo sache madhu se jala hua,
                  kab rota hai chillata hai,
                  jo beet gayi so baat gayi|

Vande Mataram (in Bangla: বন্দে মাতরম Bônde Matôrom) is the national song of India. The song was composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in a highly Sanskritized form of the Bengali language. The song first appeared in his book Anandamatha, published in 1882 amid fears of a ban by British Raj, though the song itself was actually written six years prior in 1876.

सुजलां सुफलां मलयजशीतलाम्
शस्य श्यामलां मातरं .
शुभ्र ज्योत्सनाम् पुलकित यामिनीम
फुल्ल कुसुमित द्रुमदलशोभिनीम्,
सुहासिनीं सुमधुर भाषिणीम् .
सुखदां वरदां मातरम् .. वन्दे मातरम्

सप्त कोटि कन्ठ कलकल निनाद कराले
द्विसप्त कोटि भुजैर्ध्रत खरकरवाले
के बोले मा तुमी अबले
बहुबल धारिणीम् नमामि तारिणीम्
रिपुदलवारिणीम् मातरम् .. वन्दे मातरम्

तुमि विद्या तुमि धर्म, तुमि ह्रदि तुमि मर्म
त्वं हि प्राणाः शरीरे
बाहुते तुमि मा शक्ति,
हृदये तुमि मा भक्ति,
तोमारै प्रतिमा गडि मन्दिरे-मन्दिरे .. वन्दे मातरम्

त्वं हि दुर्गा दशप्रहरणधारिणी
कमला कमलदल विहारिणी
वाणी विद्यादायिनी, नमामि त्वाम्
नमामि कमलां अमलां अतुलाम्
सुजलां सुफलां मातरम् .. वन्दे मातरम्

श्यामलां सरलां सुस्मितां भूषिताम्
धरणीं भरणीं मातरम् .. वन्दे मातरम्

Though a major aspirant for being the national anthem of India, Vande Mataram was eventually overtaken by Jana Gana Mana, which was ultimately chosen. The choice was slightly controversial, since the Vande Mataram was the one song that truly depicted the pre-independence national fervour. The song was rejected on the grounds that Muslims felt offended by its depiction of the nation as "Ma Durga"—a Hindu goddess— thus equating the nation with the Hindu conception of shakti, divine feminine dynamic force; and by its origin as part of Anandamatha, a novel they felt had an anti-Muslim message (see External links below). There is some controversy with Jana Gana Mana also as it mentions some areas as part of India which are now no longer with India. However, in recent times, there has been much more of an acceptance of the historically passionate patriotic cry and, for example, famous Muslim popular music composer A. R. Rahman has released an album with the same title, which had become a resounding success.

"Cleaning Lady"

During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz.

I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one:

"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times.

She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended,

One student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant.

They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello".

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

Just a clarification, this is a real story which I read in a book along with children at "Prayas". It's a nice one and I think the moral of the story is to say that some morals should be there in the bloodstream. I mean that this moral should be innate.

I read this inspiring news and this set me on fire, made me feel what wonders can success do in one's life. Topping the exams and coming in the limelight means a lot; it boosts your morale and gives you a new purpose of life.

This particular example is a perfect answer to guys like Hitler and Churchill who advocated slaughter of the physically and mentally challenged. We also have a lot of things to learn from them. I feel that we do not recognise our potentials to the full( or probably do not want to); we have everything but we do not use anything instead those who do not have takes it as a challenge and show us our mediocrity.

Hats off to Govind, chaapte rahon

Gilvester

Sunday, May 28, 2006 (Kollam):

A 15 year old in Kollam suffering from a congenital physical disability has scored a remarkable 95.2 per cent.

Govind never really expected much from his Standard X CBSE results. He suffers from a congenital physical disablity.

But despite his disability he's managed to score 476 out of 500 marks, which is 95.2 per cent. The secret, he says, is in keeping a cool head and regular study.

Govind cannot sit straight for over an hour and can't write fast. He gets exhausted after walking a short distance and often, his schoolmates carry his bag for him.

No different

But his parents Ravi Kumar, a psychiatrist and his wife Jaysree, who's an ophthalmologist, have ensured that he never feels like he's any different from the other kids.

"We have never interfered with his studies, allowed him to do whatever he wants. There was no tuition for him, only encouragement from our side," said Ravi.

Like his sister Parvathy, a second year MBBS student, Govind also wants to study medicine. But its not just books for the boy.

He loves football and Wayne Rooney is a hero. He is also a carnatic vocalist and spends time reading thrillers.

Not one to rest on his laurels, for Govind, these results mark only the beginning of a journey that will take him to much greater heights in life.

If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be called research.
--Brian Foley ( Molecular Genetics Dept.University of Vermont )

I found this signature on an on an online newsgroup and it just changed my mood instantaneously. I am not aware why I am not able to do anything substantial since many days. Research appears to be difficult(atleast to me on my first venture).

It just amazes me that how tiny findings have changed the world completely and still there are many puzzles whihc are left for all of us to find out.
Another thing which lets me to think of the classical "Nature or Nurture" problem. Will all problems be solved if Ramanujam would have been alive till today? or any person who is motivated and applies his/her mind could crack?
I am in affirmation for the second option.

Go in for watching " Good Will Hunting" just to explore more about these issues.

" The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it"

How true and how profound?
I'll say more after your comments.

Why should you sneeze and why should you cough?

why should you smile and why should you laugh?

Why should sulk and why should you sigh?

Everybody does it, thats why thats why.

Why should you love and why should you hate?

why should you suffer and blame it on fate?

why should you weep and why should you cry?

Everybody does it thats why thats why.

Why should you always sleep in the night?

why should you always try to be right?

Why should you live and why should you die?

Everybody does it thats why thats why.


Source:
http://halfhearted-funny.blogspot.com/2006/04/evam-indrajit.html