Volume 1 Issue 3
Sangamam Times
Contributors:
• Sainath-
• Vidya Tadanki–
• Hari T. Reddy
• Yamini C. Roy
• Ram Kishore
• R. Srinivas
• Anuradha Jandhyala
• Soubhagya Lakshmi
• Y. Madhu
Acknowledgements:
Silicon Andhra/ Sujana Ranjani
Hassyam.com/
Images from Flicker
June 2008
Pitru Devo Bhava– Sainath
A Father means so many things...
A understanding heart,
A source of strength and of support
Right from the very start.
A constant readiness to help
In a kind and thoughtful way.
With encouragement and forgiveness
No matter what comes your way.
A special generosity and always affection, too
A Father means so many things
To all of us – me and you...
The June issue of Sangamam times incorporates in its pages a special feeling of gratitude to a great pillar of
strength, courage and love in each of our lives – our father.
At the outset, it is unlikely that anybody can truly encapsulate in verse or words what a father means to him
or her. The poem above is perhaps just the precursor to a whole lot of emotional outpourings that would cascade from
our hearts if each of us were to be asked to speak about our fathers.
What we have for you in this issue are some articles written by a few of our friends about their fathers which
are but a harbinger of the feelings of the others. R. Srinivas’s is a touchingly brief account of how his father, coming
from a humble and modest background, still packed an enormous education into his life. Vidya’s recollection of her
father – a noted doctor, philanthropist, and social activist – and how he inspired her with his principles and activities
makes for interesting reading. After reading these reminiscences, it may not feel out of place to remember what Wil-
liam Shakespeare once said: “It is a wise father who knows his own child.” At the danger of treading a few toes and
possibly make the illustrious author turn in his grave, I may add that ‘It is a wise father who knows what his child
needs.’ For those who love us truly, educate and nurture us.
Lest we think fathers are only meant to be strict and protective about us, I must bring in a bit of humour
and add that some of the funniest moments in our lives involved our fathers – and I am sure I speak for the vast ma-
jority here. How can I ever forget the time when once we – my mother, sisters and I - returned late night from Hy-
derabad after a vacation and my father received us at the station and proudly declared to my mother: “You don’t have
to worry – I have cooked the meal for dinner. Just have a wash and come down.” You could see the relief on my
mother’s face. But as we started eating, something was odd! The potato curry was reeking with the smell of camphor!
My mother asked the question that was uppermost in our minds: “Where is this camphor smell coming from?” And dad
beamed a divine smile and answered: “Yes, I added it to the curry to make it smell good.” There was a mad dash to
the bathrooms and I don’t really want to narrate what happened after that.
Here is to our fathers – our pillars of strength and support, our guide and mentor – our everything. We sa-
lute you.
Our June issue of Sangamam times also contains some deeply thought provoking articles on the finer senti-
ments of life by Hari Kumar and some insights into the spiritual world by Ram Kishore. In between, yours truly has
tried to tickle a few funny bones by relating an experience that would have gone bitterly wrong but for the angle in
which it was viewed. Sundari has written about her experiences of a journey into the world of classical music. We may
add here – not without a degree of pride – that Sundari holds a master’s degree in Veena from Padmavathi University
where she topped her batch. There are some of us who were bitten by the travel bug and took off on a vacation or
summoned the courage and energy to take a long distance hike. Yamini comes forth with his travelogue about a holi-
day to a few places in North India while Anuradha recounts her experience of a 70-odd km biking expedition that she
took part in for a noble cause. Guys, who said you can’t enjoy life at forty plus?
The wide panoramic spread of articles and the sheer depth of the topics selected to be dealt with gives an
excellent feeling of pride – there is so much we have to tell each other and perhaps so many of us waiting to tell! Let’s
keep it coming folks.
 Sangamam Times

MS 150 Bike Ride 2007, A frolic in Rain

The Multiple Sclerosis Society
of America organizes numerous events Anuradha Jandhyala
each year, in an effort to raise funds for
MS research. One such event is the husband. This was a lucky coincidence – I hooked to my bike, it kept cadence, dis-
MS150 bike ride in Illinois. This takes got a quick lesson on changing flats and tance and for some reason, temperature.
place in summer and involves riding a bought useful tools for the ride. Tiny air Brian was nowhere to be seen, I did not see
total of 150 miles in 2 days. Each rider is pump, spare tube, tire remover, gels for en- him again until after the ride. This was the
required to raise at least $300.00 to be ergy, camel back and so on. fate of many riders – completely drenched
able to participate. The ride starts in Ma- from rain and riding full-face into the
ple Park, Illinois – this is about 50 miles I rode my new bicycle to shopping wind. Small clusters of riders went by. As
south of Chicago. The first day ends in for small groceries, the library and many for team GE, some rode at full-speed down
NIU campus in DeKalb. The second day short 10 to 15 mile rides. That’s pretty much the 75 mile route and the rest took the 35
starts at NIU and returns to Maple Park. how other riders trained too. These short mile loop. For a few minutes I was left
Riders have a choice of riding 35 or 75 jaunts got us used to riding on the streets, riding the 75 mile route alone. As I rode
or 100 miles (concentric routes) on the with some nasty drivers honking in frustra- along I met people and rode with them for
first day and 35 or 75 miles on the sec- tion. As a fellow rider put it to me, there is a some distance, until one of us had to leave.
ond day. Riders and volunteers stay pecking order to all occupants of a road – Then another rider would catch on or slow
overnight in DeKalb. cars, riders, runners, walkers. So that’s how down, for some conversation.
we spread the love, if not road-rage. Team
I participated in this ride in GE met on memorial-day weekend for a 30 By the second rest-stop my humor
2007. I respect the cause for this ride. mile ride in Busse-Woods in Schaumburg. had vanished and I questioned my mission
But honestly, that was not the only rea- For some of us on the team, that was the and the seeming lack of purpose in it. I
son for my participation. A group of longest we ever rode before the ride. dropped my bike and walked in, brooding.
colleagues at GE have been riding this “I have MS and thank you for riding this
for some years, under Team GE banner. Saturday June 23rd woke up damp for me!” I looked up startled, into the ear-
This year, 4 of us in my group decided to and cloudy. Troopers that we were, hundreds nest face of a volunteer. My eyes smarted,
join the GE riders. Training for long of riders and volunteers made it to the Elburn hopefully from the rain. This was a turning
distance rides is somewhat different – Middle School. We parked our cars and got point – my ride had found its purpose. I
endurance is the key. Rider needs to last out our bicycles and helmets. Riders are re- gratefully snacked on the peanut-butter cut
through 4 to 5 hours of riding with short quired to check-in their overnight bags with she made for me and rode on.
stops in between. A good light-weight volunteers, who tag them with the rider’s
bike is a good place to start, when pre- number. After checking our bags, team-GE
paring for a ride like this. gathered around and took pictures. Then we
wished each other luck and began the ride.
It was Friday June 22nd, in The rain did not start yet. Not reading the
2007. I was in Target, shopping for pon- dark clouds correctly, I gave my bright or-
chos. This was a last minute thing, due ange poncho to Brian, a team member. He
to guidance from the team captain that rode off with it pinned to his seat.
there was a 40 percent chance of rain. I
selected a bright orange poncho. It was The riding course is to south and
cheerful and the only one that bothered west of Chicago, it is also the driving route to
to be a size small. I went home and Northern Illinois University Campus in
packed up all little things for the ride and DeKalb. As with most of Illinois, the topol-
a small overnight bag. ogy here is very flat, but instead of prairies,
we were greeted by rolling fields. The land-
Originally, I meant to use my scape is quiet and serene. The only vehicles
mountain bike, a decent Trek 800. But that pass us are large trucks and vans. The
after discussing with expert riders in the land slopes gently, as luck would have it, on
group, I decided to get a new bike. I dis- this dreary Saturday morning – upwards. A
covered pretty soon, that this was the downhill would have been a blessing. The
best thing I could have done for myself. organizers provided rest stops every 10
It was a sleek Trek 7.2 FX street bike miles, with the first one at 5 miles. Day 1: Before the garbage-bag poncho
with 28 gears and a smooth ride. Linda
at Village Cycle Sport helped fit me with After we left the first rest stop, it The weather Gods did not let up,
a bike. As it turned out, Linda belonged began to pour. Shortly after, the wind pick up
but riders and volunteers were a balm. I got
to the team which designed the course and to complete the orchestra, temperatures a lesson in “reading mountains” from an
and she expected to ride along with her hovered at 57 F - I had a little computer
 Volume 1 Issue 3
ex-navy corps rider called Jerry. It turned out
that I was shifting gears too late into the up-
turn. The hills were so gradual that some
times I would miss the upward roll. The trick
is to read them well ahead and shift down
before reaching the upturn. Then on top of
the hill, shift up so that the ride is a little
harder. But it gives momentum for the next
portion of the ride. A volunteer made a neat
little poncho for a lot of us riders, from un-
used garbage bags. Every little bit helped.
Not all riders were active bicyclists.
I had been in the middle of my training for
the Banco half-marathon (another favorite
past-time). But I quickly learnt what many
already knew, that bicycling uses a different
set of muscles than running. Long distance
riding, as with running though, involves a
conquest of mind over body. Clichéd as it is,
it is the truth. A friend once told me that dur-
ing a long distance run, 2 miles before the
finish, a long-term ache in her Achilles re-
turned, very sharp. She was concentrating so
hard that she said out loud, “no, not now!”
The pain went away and she finished the
race. She was puzzled by it as I was. I did not
have a dramatic moment like that. But yes, I
had to silence that little protester a few times.
Tired and damp, we rode 77.5 miles into NIU
campus. The last 10 miles was uphill. The
sun finally came out, but a few hours too late.
The next morning was a different
story. It was a sunny spring-like day, with a
nip in the air. With a vengeance, I took down
the steepest of the mountains, that so trou-
bled me yesterday. So at the decision point,
those I rode with at team GE (except Tom,
the team captain as I later learnt) took the 35
miles option. I felt good still, so I took the 75
mile loop, yet again.
Day 2: An easy 75miles
The monotony of the landscape was
broken by colorful riders. Only today we
were all cheerful. Memorable among them,
some of Jerry’s buddies came up and chatted
with me – he asked them to look out for me.
Mark, Linda’s husband was a ride-marshal.
He met me at rest-stops and chatted some-
times, waved at other times.
Today, I decided not to sweat the
details. My goal was to ride to the next rest-
stop. I had no intention to finish. I was
stunned when at a rest-stop, one of the volun-
teers let out a loud cheer and said, “This is
the last stop, congratulations you are almost
done!!” It then dawned on me, without ever
intending to, I had ridden 72 miles! This was
the last rest-stop. We only had 5 miles to go.
Those were the hardest 5 miles of my life and
I am not kidding.
I would not have completed the 5
miles, without Linda’s help. I met her just
past the last rest stop. She rode alongside; we
were joking and laughing on the way in,
thanks to her robust sense of humor. We
were greeted by Tom, the GE captain. He
completed it an hour before me.
As I drove home, it occurred to me,
that we all had a place in the event – riders,
volunteers, even those who chose to sleep in,
on this cold summer weekend. Imagine rid-
ing along with too many vehicles on the
road?
The purpose of the ride, I under-
stand. The Cause - is above me. I am but a
cog in the whole wheel of things. But if all
you want is for me to ride a few miles for a
good cause, I might do that. Heck, I might do
that again.
 Sangamam Times

Like Father Like Son

Srinivas Rao Ramayanapu

There was an anonymous quotation that I once came across,

which I find to be a perfect prologue to the article below. It
says: “Every father should know that one day his child will
follow is example rather than his advice.” All of us who
know R. Srinivas will universally acknowledge that he lived
up to the example set by his father by imbibed into his life
the very same admirable traits his father lived by. Given
below is a short account of what R. Srinivas has to say
about the ideal example his father set for him.

I owe my success to my dad – Sri. Rama-

yanapu Venkateswararao. My dad came from
a very humble background. He started off as
an attendant in Indian Express, one of the
leading newspapers in India, at the age of six-
teen and got elevated to be a driver in the span
of 2 years. There after he stayed a driver for 40
yrs, until his retirement.
He always strived to see that his kids were well educated
and worked hard to provide us with a better life. He was
never satisfied with my performance at school: and if I did
well, he never expressed his happiness in front of me. He
raised the bar all the time. Even when I secured the first
position in school, he said something like “How come you
scored less in this subject, next time your score should be
higher!” At that time I did not understand why he said that.
But now when I look back, I can clearly see that it was all
about developing a strong sense for the value of education
in me. The message was not to stay contented with the
achievement on hand but to aim for higher goals.

Thanks to him, I achieved the distinction of being

the fist graduate in the family from both my maternal and
paternal sides. No he is no longer amongst us but his legacy
and values will be carried forward, ever enshrined in my
heart to be transmitted down the Ramayanapu family.
 Volume 1 Issue 3

Spirit World
-Ramakishore Somanchi
Spiritual world is not something connected with spirits; it is something which we all try to understand
Right from the beginning, we can reach the spiritual world through many ways and the pre-requisite for that is to forego your most
treasured dream.
The spiritual world starts where material plane ends and it's an endless ocean whose depth cannot be fathomed by any
known instrument. Scientists try to reach there through
Their endless research and the saints reach there by practicing rituals and disciplining their body through Hatha yoga's.
There is also another path, the path of total surrender, through which one can reach there.
For this one needs a beautiful object, which has some truth in it. By interacting with this object, the
Seeker quickly sheds his own ego, gains enormous strength in the process and through this strength
Cuts through the veil of illusion separating material and meta-physical planes and finally drowns himself in
The ocean of bliss, which is "the origin of truth".
In material plane we put heart into only few relationships, but in spiritual plane
Every relationship is important and an instant understanding comes into being that we all are connected way back (in previous
janams) and one can challenge any relationship from a distance.
When we all start to expand ourselves from one to many relationships, the universe too expands. This life is a
known between two unknowns, where we are allowed to play for a while.
Just like we watch a movie, this play is being watched by higher souls that control events on this Planet.
Whenever we loose something, a part of ourself is lost in that relationship and which we always try to pull out and at the fag
end of our life. We will be left with many such losses and the resultant grief will overwhelm all our achievements. Only a high
amount of positive energy will help us in restoring our lost self. In order to achieve this, we need a cluster of natural relationships
from where one can quickly acquire enough power to counter the material loss.
 HAPPY FATHER”S DAY!!!

Maganty Family Picture

“My father inspires

me to work really hard.
Happy Fathers Day Success can take you to
places.”
-Avinash Maganty
All our love

Nishita & Avinash Avinash Maganty is our

Bhagya and Prasad’s
son. He is seen with his
sister Nishita a 9th
grader.

Avinash is in his 1st

year undergraduate in
Upenn the ivy college
which ranks 5th in the
U.S
 Keep Moving

Life gives answers in three ways.

It says yes and gives whatever you want.

It says no and gives you something better.
It says wait and gives you the best.

If you're committed to your dream,

you will win anyways.

Don't just dream, Live your dream.

Keep moving towards it.
-Anonymous
Garden City to Golden Temple– Yamini C. Roy
On 30th April 2008, at about 8:30am in the
morning, our planning phase culminated
and the Implementation phase started. We
four (Santhi, Chandana, Vandana and self)
embarked on our summer trip to the states
of Punjab and Himachal from Bangalore.
Our plane took off to Delhi at 10:45am and
reached Delhi at 1:15pm. Our train to Am-
ritsar is at 4:30pm and we decided to take a
look at Qutub Minar (as we missed this
great monument in our last visit to Delhi)
on our way to the Railway Station. It was
very hot at Delhi and hence we spent little
time at Qutub Minar. We went to Sagar
Restaurant at Defense Colony, primarily to
kill time. This is the best joint for any
South Indian tiffins when you are at New
Delhi. We reached the Railway station
well in time and the Amritsar shatabdi was
waiting for us. The distance of about
450kms, is covered in just 6 hours by the
new-look Shatabdi. They treat you like a
king. They serve Mineral water bottle,
cookies, tea, soup, a massive meal and an
ice cream. I strongly recommend this train
as it gives you the taste of the Modern In-
dia.
Our driver Mr. Hardeeep Singh was wait-
ing for us right on the platform with a plac-
ard. Don’t be surprised. I booked a cab on
the net for the entire trip starting 30th April
till 10th May for a paltry sum of Rs. 16k,
(inclusive of tollgate, parking fees, taxes).
The big reason for me to do so is there is
no good bus/train connectivity to all the
places of our itinerary.
The next day, 1st May, 2008 we visited the
site where the Jallianwala Bagh massacre
has taken place. This place is few meters
from the Golden Temple. Many bullet
marks can still be seen on the walls. It was
very disturbing to be there and read the
horror created by Dyer and his cronies.
We moved on to the Golden temple and
the best part here is the “Langar”( a free
community meal). Everything inside the
Gurudwara Complex is free and distributed
by self nominated volunteers. The Sikhs
had 10 gurus starting with Guru Nanak and
there tenth guru “Guru Gobind Singh” had
declared that “Gurugrandh Sahib” will
serve as their guru from then on. At the to make it richer with calories. I gave a
Golden Temple, kirtans are sung through out pat on my back for choosing to have this
the day and night in front of their holy book. famous lassi first thing in the morning
The Golden Temple has three floors and one and I am sure this is the only place
should visit all the floors. The only restric- where u get a spoon along with the lassi
tion however, is to cover your head inside the glass to eat out all the cream and the
temple complex. Now coming to the most butter. You need to run the whole day to
exciting part, the “Langar”, tens of thousands burn the extra fat. After this, we set off
are fed everyday and the waiting time for you to Dharamshala, our next destination.
to get the first roti is less than 2minutes irre-Dharamshala is a five hour drive(around
spective of the crowd. We can see the kitchen 230kms.) from Amritsar, via Guru-
where 10000 rotis are made in 1 hour by ma- daspur, Pathankot. Till Pathankot, it is
chine. Of course, sometimes, we get to eat plains and from Pathankot the Ghat sec-
“hand made rotis” too as there are far too tion begins. You can see the rich wheat
many volunteer cooks. Along with rotis, one fields of Punjab followed by snow-
will get Dal Makhni, a subzi, sweet and fla- capped mountains in Himachal Pradesh.
voured rice in the morning and no rice is We reached Dharamshala at around
served in the evening. All items are served 3pm. In the evening at 5pm, we went to
hot and they are deliciously prepared. There Mc.Leod Ghanj where Dalai Lama has
is no cap on any of the items and you all can his house nestled among Buddhist mon-
eat your heart’s content. The langar affair is asteries. We were told Dalai Lama
so tempting we went again in the night to makes public appearance in the morning
enjoy the meal. at 8am. We played with the bells there
and walked up to the gate where Dalai
In the evening, we went to the Wagah border Lama stays to take few photographs. The
to witness the change of guard between the entire place is full of posters depicting
two countries. Wagah border is just 26kms., Chinese brutality on silent Tibetan pro-
from Amritsar town. The parade starts at testers. We came back to our resort and
sharp 6pm in summers and to get a good saw a mindless Hindi movie Krazzy 4
view of the ceremony one should be there by that was screened as part of Club Activi-
5pm. We can see Pakistanis occupying there ties. Dharamshala is a place of scenic
side of Galleries and Indians out number the beauty and we stayed there for just one
Pakistanis. The atmosphere is electric with night.
both the sides sloganeering for their respec-
tive mother lands. Vande Mataram, India- Day 4(3rd May 2008):
Zindabad, Bharath Mata ki Jai pumps the
adrenalin of every Indian and the hour of We set off to our main destination Ma-
waiting just disappears. I am not sure if in the nali. We started from Dharamshala at
entire world this kind of ceremony takes 9am, visited two famous temples en-
place between any two countries. route and reached Manali via Mandi, a
drive of 7hours,a distance of 240kms.,
On our way back we went to another temple which I feel can be reached in six hours
surrounded by a Sarovar, but this time it is a if I were behind the steering wheel. Our
Hindu temple, “Durgiana Mandir” housing friend Hardeep Singh was extremely
gods like Durga, Krishna and Shiva. Our Day cautious and I had to plead him to go
two ended with the Langar at the Golden faster with my sign language, whenever
Temple. Santhi was dozing off at the back.
Bunches of roses greeted us before we
Day 3(2nd May 2008): reached our resort. As we were very
After having the complimentary breakfast we tired, we just took a shower and relaxed
checked out of the hotel and straight went to in the evening. IPL 20-20 match was
have the famous Amritsari lassi. The Lassi is shown on a giant screen while I had
full of cream and the milk very rich and plenty of Apple wine. The bottle costs
tasty. The vendor adds an extra dose of butter just 120 bucks and tasted just like apple
juice. Even with one bottle of wine, one is
and Gatotkach temple. At Hidambi temple, one can see the
bound to get a kick equivalent to 3pegs of gigantic feet of Hidambi, and all of us remembered Maya
Single Malt whisky. Bazaar after visiting these temples. In the evening, we had
Day 5 (4th May 2008) guests…Surprised to know that we had guests at Manali?
Yes, I mean it. The newly married couple, Gangadhar
On this Sunday morning, the sun is shining
bright and we proceeded to Rohtang pass
(younger brother of RS) and his wife Vijayalakshmi visited
(about 40kms.from our resort) after finishing us at our resort. We all played Housie(Bingo) conducted by
our Breakfast. The snow wear is available on the resort entertainment team, where I won the first prize for
rent (each complete set is available for
Rs.250) at various shops on the way to the Full House. I got a woolen stole as gift.
snow point. We reached Marri,
12kms.,before Rohtang Pass where there’s
loads of snow. The road from Marri to
….. To be continued in the next Sangamam Times…
Rohtang Pass was closed due to some repair
work as landslides caused a lot of damage.
However, one can go to the pass by trekking
or horse riding but we decided against it as it
is very time consuming. Also, there is noth-
ing but snow even at that place. Our children
had a roaring time playing with the snow. For
a while, Santhi and self also became children
looking at so much snow, for the first time in
our lives. We played in the snow for 3-4
hours and reached our resort in the evening.
Later in the night, when I excitedly told our
snow experience to RS on phone, he told me
they got sick of seeing snow. I then realized I
am talking to the wrong person and decided
not to narrate our snow experience to anyone
who lived in Canada/US. I called few friends
in Andhra, where the mercury is soaring high
at 45 degrees Celsius and gave a detailed
explanation of snow and after the call, I real-
ized we got our money’s worth. The weather
at Manali suddenly changed and became very
cold, thus keeping us locked indoors for the
rest of the Day.

Day 6(5th May)

Monday morning was very cold and cloudy,

as we decided to go for local sight seeing.
We first went to a natural hot water spring
that is just 6kms, from our resort. The place
is called Vashisht after the famous Vashisht
Muni. In the same compound as the temple
for Vashisht muni, there is this spring with
very hot water and one can take bath in the
small pond and it is a popular belief that one
can get rid of any kind of skin diseases after
you take bath here. I felt the statement is true
as the water there is very rich in its sulphur
content. Santhi spent a lot of time buying
woolen jackets and other local articles. We
went to Hidambi temple(wife of Bheema),
For A Bond That Binds—Hari T. Reddy
FOR A BOND THAT BINDS
When was it that you had a nice
chat with your parents?
When was the last time you went
on an outing with your children?
When was it that you had a tender
and memorable evening with
your spouse?
When did you last call your
friend and said hi or invited him /
her for a coffee / tea?
Relationships vary according to
the degree in which intimacy and
sharing take place. This implies
the discovery or the establish-
ment of a common ground over a
period of time.
Trust plays a crucial role in fos-
tering a relationship that en-
dures. Relationships are gener-
ally regarded in the light of the
rewards reaped from them. Usual
complications to a thriving rela-
tionship are Transferences, entan-
glements and substitution.
The roles we adopt in our rela-
tionships are mostly influenced
by our experiences in childhood
and our phases through adult-
hood. In truth, the relationships
we have with others are just pro-
jections of the relationships we
have within ourselves. In a
broader sense, our relationship
with others is whatever we imag-
ine them to be.
This subjective view of relation-
ships implies that we can change
or improve our relationships with
others by working on the internal
relationships within ourselves
first. Conversely, we can im-
prove our internal relationships,
such as our self-esteem, by work-
ing on our relationships with oth-
ers.
Here is a simple test to drive
home the point.
SMILE AND BE FRIENDLY.
BE COURTEOUS.
Make a list of all the things that
bother you about other peo- BE TRUTHFUL, WITHOUT GIV-
ple. ING OFFENSE.
Now read that list as if it ap-
plies to you. REMEMBER THE OTHER PER-
If you’re honest you’ll soon admit SON'S NAME, AND USE IT
that all of your complaints about FREQUENTLY.
others are really complaints about
yourself! Though it can be hard to DON'T ARGUE.
admit that our complaints about
others are really complaints about FIND AREAS OF AGREEMENT.
ourselves the upside is that our re-
lationship issues actually re- DON'T CRITICIZE.
veal where we ourselves still need
to grow. Consequently, a fantastic SHOW HONEST APPRECIATION.
way to accelerate our personal
growth is to build relationships TRY TO SEE THE OTHER PER-
with others. The more we interact SON'S POINT OF VIEW.
with others, the more we learn
about ourselves. GIVE YOUR FULL ATTENTION
I believe the true value of human TO THE OTHER PERSON
relationships is that they serve as WHEN HE IS TALKING.
pointers to unconditional love.
When we forgive, accept, and TALK ABOUT THE OTHER PER-
love ourselves, we will forgive, SON'S INTERESTS.
accept, and love all other human
beings as they are. The more we ADMIT YOU MAY BE WRONG.
improve our internal relation-
ships between our thoughts, beliefs, LET THE OTHER PERSON DO
and intentions, the more loving and MOST OF THE TALKING.
harmonious our human relation-
ships will become. Money must LET THE OTHER PERSON TALK
never be placed above or valued ABOUT HIMSELF/HERSELF.
above people. It is crucial that we
don't see the world as it is. Instead, LET THE OTHER PERSON TAKE
we must see the world as we are. SOME CREDIT.
Finally for fostering a Good
Human Relationship: LET THE OTHER PERSON SAVE
LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS FACE.
YOURSELF.
HOLD THE OTHER PERSON,
FORGIVE THE OTHER PER- AND YOURSELF, TO HIGH
SON. AND NOBLE STANDARDS.
TREAT THE OTHER PERSON CARE FOR OTHERS SOMEONE
THE WAY YOU WOULD OUTTHERE WILL CARE FOR
LIKE TO BE TREATED. U.
The Kite Breaks Free- Sainath
I once made a nice kite - decorated it with bright colours and pasted a nice tail to it too. To keep it safe from being cut
away into the wilderness, I even attached the strongest thread. I tested out the winds, assuring myself that they were not
too fast and furious to tear the kite asunder. Satisfied, I finally launched it into the blue sky, giving it as much thread as it
wanted to fly safe and secure.

At first, the kite stayed true to course. It gradually started to gain height and then was not content anymore! As the winds
took hold, it slowly started tugging restlessly at my hand, wanting to be released. The more I tried holding it back, the
more it resisted.

I was worried. Oh, what if it were to be cut off? What would be it's fate if it drifted aimlessly in the firmament? I decided to
reel it in. But wonders! Even as I pulled the kite in, it's behaviour become more erratic! It plummeted to the ground and
swayed wildly to and fro until I finally got the message. With a reluctant sigh and a heavy sense of separation, I let the
kite go. And it never came back. Yet I knew that wherever it would go, it would carry my handiwork on it - a testimony to
my hard work and love.

There is a lesson in this. Often we take great pains to shape and build something. We nurture it and give it our every-
thing. A time will yet come when our own 'creation' will want to strike out on its own. We have to let go.

In my own career of teaching successive batches of students and training several in the art of public speaking, at some
point I sense among my students a sense of being stifled - of wanting to be independent. I worry that they would not sur-
vive or be able to manage on their own, or that they would be ravaged, battered or bruised. This makes me try to hem
them back into the confines of my own thoughts, methods and techniques. This only frustrates them more.

I then realise that it is best to leave them. The fear that they would drift is not entirely true - they may yet land in other
hands that are far more secure and capable than my own! They may reach lands that are greener than my own. They
need to catch the wind-drift and be free at some stage - to explore, discover and learn for themselves. They would need
to frame their own ideas and lead their own lives. At such times, it would be criminally selfish on my part to hold them
back.

Yes, I am still happy. That somewhere out there walks someone on the canvas of whose life I could brush a few of my
strokes of colour and patterns - just like someone did on mine. The Kite has broken free, but is still bound.

July 26-27, 2008

25 Year REUNION