Learnings...

This ones not at all related to Singapore! but to much other aspects of life :)

Just got into a debate over how easy or difficult it was for Sonia Gandhi to enter the Indian Politics...well I dont want to start it again! Though very easy to ride on the wave of public sympathy for a disrupted family who have sacrificed 5 generations for the country, it was the courage and commitment of one lady, who had her husband and mother-in-law assassinated, two young children to bring up, struggled to fulfill her lover's dream...a better India!

Its amazing how a young lonely woman transcended all boundaries, broke out of her comfort zone of a rich prestigious family, to enter into the politics of a nation very foreign to her in tradition, history, culture and language. And thats what commitment is all about!
I personally do not favour the Congress or the BJP or any other party for that matter...but great individuals and great stories have always loads to learn from...

Commitment is giving your 100%, come what may! When you are focused on a particular thing, giving you whole and soul is commitment. Not drfiting away from the tracks is commitment. Being steady on the path is commitment. It is commitment that gives a direction in life...else its just a random array of events! Commitment is realising and honouring you inner abilities and to explore the infinite potential you bear...

When you take a task at hand, you must complete it successfully, or do not take up the job! That has been my motto for eons, and it is what gives immense pleasure. You may almost complete it, or complete it out of compulsion. Real happiness is in giving your Best at it. You may not be an Ussain Bolt or PT Usha, but running your heart out still gives the same joy! (unless you are a professional athlete :))

And it is this mantra that has changed my life...forever! Nothing else matter as much as seeing your job completed, successfully...the smile can't be matched enough! And it is this what I learnt from Sachin. Its not just his batting that makes him my idol...but the pure happy personality he is! You can see the dismay on his face, when India loses inspite of his century and the same person is sooo alive and active and cheerful on the field, as though a debutant! And thats the key to success!

I had a small poem in school called "The Fountain". The one line it had was a thought of the century... "thy work is thy rest!" Realise the joy we get when having our favourite food, watching our favourite movie, studying for our favourite subject! It is the intense passion for your work and the love of doing it...this is bliss! Interests may differ, we may not like our work, but it is our own choice to enjoy it! Just seeing it from a tilt...a different perspective makes even the most drudging topics lively! It is this that helped me be the school topper in Social Science in boards. And it wasnt the marks I got, but the happiness and sheer joy of learning geography... :)

Life has been very kind, to set such great examples before me to take lessons...and equally creating situations and opportunities to apply what I learnt thus. For me, life is like a classroom, you can learn from everything and anything...its the most beautiful documentary and I'm glad to be a part of it...

a Family away from home...

Last 5 days have been incredible! I have been sleeping for just 6 hours every night...travelling for long times, missing meals...still these were the best days in Singapore!

Saturday I went to Kiranji's place for Rudra Pooja and satsang...and just stepping in, I felt back at home! I could feel that belongingness, that love, that bliss, the home away from home...
And it kept being more and more blissful...the Om Namah Shivay chanting and my first satsang outside of India...they were just awe...wait for it...SOME!

On Sunday, Art Of Living Singapore had arranged for a blood donation drive at the Health Sciences Authority in the city. I donated blood, second time...feels wonderful to have contributed back to the society, back to the nature. Met wonderful friends...Ragahavendra, Selvi, Shalini...active volunteers here...making big difference in the lives of a distant land :)



I also got to attend the Mothers' Day celebrations here at Tiong Bahru. Art of Living members here have adopted 10 needy poor families and meets them regularly and communicates their problems and solutions to the government, which is more than ready to provide it. It was so touching to see them enjoy...the music, the games, the party...(videos are coming soon...)

Monday, there was the Maha Sudarshan Kriya at the Grand Park Plaza Hotel Ballroom! Its one of the best hotels in Singapore...in the City Hall area, one of the grand localities here. And it was just amazing and breathtaking to meditate in the Ballroom of a Five Star Hotel! It was phenomenal...

Today, on Guruji's Birthday we had a Maha Satsang at the Jalan Ampas AOL Centre. Chinese songs and A.R.Rehman's songs together...simply awesome! Great to meet so many people...different languages, different regions, different stratas...celebrating together with fun joy and bliss!

Thanks to the people I met, the friends I have here now, I dont miss home or India anymore...
With Guruji, every place on the earth just feels like home...

Very Important...

There are three kinds of people in the world...

1] who take responsibilities and make things happen for themselves...
2] who just watch things happening and follow...
3] who keep wondering whats happening!

be a change to bring about a change.
Take responsibility about your own life, your family, your city, your country, your world!
take up the YES!+ challenge!!!


I belong to You!

Short Term Pain...Long Term Joy!

As I promised yesterday...I'm gonna praise Singaporeans a lot for their discipline, tidiness and personal professionalism :)
(Please put your Indian ego aside...somethings may hurt...but I want India to be clean, organised, harmonious and comfortable!)

First of all...the cleanliness.
Singapore is really really clean. My hostel staircase is 10 times cleaner than my IIT room (n I do take care of it...you know better :D)
India had a lot of dust around...but whats important is people here dont litter around, and even clean shining floors are swept regularly. Its like having babies everywhere...keeping it clean as much as possible! There are garbage bins at every corner with clear signs...and none of them overflow. In the NUS canteen area...I saw 4 garbage bins in a line saying: "paper" "plastic" "food" "other". Its so blatant, that even a stranger will keep his discipline!
(again...I'll post photos here...its coming its coming :))

Second...the Innovation and Technology
Singapore is full of small and simple innovative ideas make life easier...you just need to have the eyes for it! The most amazing was a big convex mirror put at every small turn on the road. The traffic here is quite fast...thanks to well maintained roads and disciplined traffic. So both the cars, the one on the road and the one in the lane can see each other much before and signal each other accordingly. I havent heard people honking here at signals or going "pom-pom" at every corner they come across. [photo coming here...very soon!]
Another was similar...they have two aligned mirrors so that the bus driver can see anyone standing at the backdoor and open or close the door properly.
There are many more things...cant remember all in a sitting...wish to convey it through photographs :)

Third...is the Harmony.
I am so happy to see the harmony and respect for everyone here...especially because this is the perfect example of "east meets the west"! Chinese, Indians, Malaysians, Westerners...Buddhists, Taoists, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jews...everyone lives together...and all think of themselves as Singaporeans first and all other identities come second. It is so breathtaking to see each person helping others and respecting him/her. Women are given equal status...982 males per 1000 females!
A person's life is also cared for a lot! On traffic signals, on the marked patch even a 40 seater double decker will stop for a person crossing the road! There are signs everywhere in the metro to watch out for the gap between the train and the platform so that noone hurts his leg! There are notices to keep children away from escalator edges...an atmosphere of care and belongingness...
What I'm most happy about is the video I saw in the metro today(yeah thy have LCDs in there :))! It showed a suspiscious person leaving a bulky bag behind on the train and running away...and how alert people around call the driver an emergency, help the staff evacuate the train, search for the bag and the person...its was so well compiled and clear...that even once you see it, you can easily face a similar situation!

Well, there are lots of good things about Singapore, and I'm now sounding like a typical Indian...comparing a foreign land and crying over the mess back at home... :D :D :D
but yeah, we need to take inspiration from good things we see and give our best to make life easier for our fello countrymen!

Chalo then...

Settling Down...

Yeah this is the most important part of the journey (or the odyssey...whatever you may call it...)

I just came here yesterday morning...it was a beautiful drive in a luxurious car(yes...the taxi was an accord!) fromt the Changi Airport to the Raffles Hostel on Clementi Road...southwest of NUS walking distance from the NUS and the Harbour.

I haven't uploaded the photos yet...still getting acquainted to blogger...but that will come soon :)

I am staying at a private hostel and mostly everyone heres studying in NUS...4 Chennai guys downstairs...2 chinese girls in the next room and some other people I havent met yet...but it really feels like an international congregation :P :D

I was a bit out at sea when I came...knew nobody, cudn't understand Singlish (thats what they callit over here...its English in Singapore accent...n its very similar sounding to chinese...) was really fed up of seeing chinese people all over...same built, same colour, similar faces...n a weird accent I cudnt understand!

What topped my 'waay-waay' (google 'Anand Rajendran' for this phrase...) was the utter discipline and organsiation in every second of life here...and I knew nothing...where to get a bus...wheres which place...how to pay for the ticket...and cudn't get what people aroung were telling me...but they help a lot!

People in Singapore are really nice, innocent, kind and disciplined people...and one can smell the spirit of a great organising harmony even in the smallest of things...

Now, that I've explored around a bit myself...thanks to the DSN I did, I feel at home everywhere in the world...I'm feeling just at home...like at IIT...with friends who understand me and are really nice people!

2 days in Singapore have really opened my eyes to innovations, organisation, management, rampant use of technology and most of all...Love for a disciplined life!
More to follow about this in the next post...

Bye Bye...

Singapore...

Hey guys...I'll be writing about my experiences and fun here in Singapore while I'm working at the NUS...really sad about not being able to talk to you personally...but this blog will convey all the feelings...

I'll be writing as frequently as I can... happy reading :)

Darshan


P.S.: Singapore is located in the GMT +8 time zone...thats 2:30 hours ahead of India...
this is the exact local time now...