Lincoln's letter

This is an awe inspiring letter written by former American Prez Abraham Lincoln to his son's teacher. The beauty and depth of his thoughts can inspire a generation of teachers and students alike...here it goes:

He will have to learn, I know, that all men are not just, all men are not true. But teach him also that for every scoundrel there is a hero; that for every selfish Politician, there is a dedicated leader... Teach him for every enemy there is a friend, Steer him away from envy, if you can, teach him the secret of quiet laughter.

Let him learn early that the bullies are the easiest to lick... Teach him, if you can, the wonder of books... But also give him quiet time to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun, and the flowers on a green hillside.
In the school teach him it is far honourable to fail than to cheat... Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if everyone tells him they are wrong... Teach him to be gentle with gentle people, and tough with the tough.

Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when everyone is getting on the band wagon... Teach him to listen to all men... but teach him also to filter all he hears on a screen of truth, and take only the good that comes through.

Teach him if you can, how to laugh when he is sad... Teach him there is no shame in tears, Teach him to scoff at cynics and to beware of too much sweetness... Teach him to sell his brawn and brain to the highest bidders but never to put a price-tag on his heart and soul.
Teach him to close his ears to a howling mob and to stand and fight if he thinks he's right. Treat him gently, but do not cuddle him, because only the test of fire makes fine steel. Let him have the courage to be impatient... let him have the patience to be brave.

Teach him always to have sublime faith in himself, because then he will have sublime faith in mankind.

This is a big order, but see what you can do... He is such a fine fellow, my son!

Celebrate- Indian Women get their due ...Finally

Today I came across this interesing piece in the Hindu newspaper:

http://www.hindu.com/mag/2005/09/25/stories/2005092500050100.htm

My Comments


We live in that part of the world where there are different laws for a different people. Some one once said "Show me the man and I will show you the rule" and I am sure he had the Indian legal system in mind. Burdoned by old antiquated laws and a corrupt and incompetent executive it just trudges on, delaying justice and at times even denying it.

In such a scenario it is refreshing to note that the laws of the land are being revamped, albeit slowly and anamolies of the past are being done away with. This article details the landmark legislation amending the Hindu Succession Act to provide women greater equality in matters of property and inheritence. Most notable is the right of married women to their parental property and an equal right on agricultural land. These are path breaking steps specially for the rural women who have at times nothing more than a piece of land to earn their livelihood, but even that is snatched away from them since the laws are heavily male dominated.

It also recognises the woman as the "karta" and it bestowes on her the role of the bread winner of the family. This legal recognition will dramatically improve the way the contribution of women is percieved specially in rural India. One more interesting observation was the finding in Kerela that women are less likely to face violence from their spouces if they own land or assets. Thus this landmark amendment also in a way paves the way for the protection of women from marital abuse.

On the whole this development is worth taking note of and emulating in other areas where women are being discriminated against simply because someone many years ago inked a few lines without recognising their rights and their place in the society.

PS: Regarding the Kerala finding...have men degenerated into mere gold diggers? Is it not disturbing a trend that it is a women's material worth that determines her marital security?

Your comments are welcome.

For Techies: XML Serialization Using C#...

Read my article on XML serialization using C#. I wrote this artcle when I used XML serialization in my previous project.

This article be accessed at :

http://www.dotnetjohn.com/articles.aspx?articleid=173

F@t Stomach Guide - The best and the cheapest restraunts in NCR

This post is to cater to your taste buds and help you develop a nice pounch!
You got it!It's the list of my favorite eating hang outs in and around Delhi.

Name: Moti Mahal
Location: Sector 18, Noida
My Take: It is an excellent place as far as food quality is concerned. The kurkuri bhindi and dal makhani are awesome. Equally good are the butter nan that are crisp and serverd hot
Uppers: Very reasonable prices. Excellent service. Quiet place.
Downers: Not very spacious and the ambience is average.

You can contribute by posting your comments about similar places that you know of...

Meaning of Nitin

Someone asked me once..what does NITIN mean? and I did'nt knew...ppl have called my Nin, TinTin ..and what not...but a quick search on google revels the follownig meaning of the word Nitin:
The Sanskrit root for Nitin is 'Nitya'.
Nitya means order.
Nitya is one of the names listed in In the Vishnu Sahasranaama (1000 names of Lord Vishnu), as both order and disorder are creation of The Lord Himself.
The darshanaas (laws of vedas) speak about the cosmos as nitya as it follows a regulated mode of expression and evolution.
Quite something....huh?

First Post

Hi ppl

What made me create a new blog? Well I forgot everything about my older one and could not post any more entries....hahaha ....Information Overload !!!
So here I am
You are welcome to read....