This was narrated by an IAF pilot to IIT students during a Seminar on
Human Relations:

Venkatesh Balasubramaniam (who works for IIT) describes how his
gesture of booking an air ticket for his father, his maiden flight,
brought forth a rush of emotions and made him (Venkatesh) realize that
how much we all take for granted when it comes to our parents.

My parents left for our native place on Thursday and we went to the
airport to see them off. In fact, my father had never traveled by air
before, so I just took this opportunity to make him experience the
same. In spite of being asked to book tickets by train, I got them
tickets on Jet Airways. The moment I handed over the tickets to him,
he was surprised to see that I had booked them by air.. The excitement
was very apparent on his face, waiting for the time of travel. Just
like a school boy, he was preparing himself on that day and we all
went to the airport, right from using the trolley for his luggage, the
baggage check-in and asking for a window seat and waiting restlessly
for the security check-in to happen. He was thoroughly enjoying
himself and I, too, was overcome with joy watching him experience all
these things.

As they were about to go in for the security check-in, he walked up to
me with tears in his eyes and thanked me. He became very emotional and
it was not as if I had done something great but the fact that this
meant a great deal to him. When he said thanks, I told him there was
no need to thank me. But later, thinking about the entire incident, I
looked back at my life. As a child, how many dreams our parents have
made come true.

Without understanding the financial situation, we ask for cricket
bats, dresses, toys, outings, etc. Irrespective of their
affordability, they have catered to all our needs. Did we ever think
about the sacrifices they had to make to accommodate many of our
wishes? Did we ever say thanks for all that they have done for us?
Same way, today when it comes to our children, we always think that we
should put them in a good school. Regardless of the amount of
donation, we will ensure that we will have to give the child the best,
theme parks, toys, etc. But we tend to forget that our parents have
sacrificed a lot for our sake to see us happy, so it is our
responsibility to ensure that their dreams are realized and what they
failed to see when they were young. It is our responsibility to ensure
that they experience all those and their life is complete.

Many times, when my parents had asked me some questions, I have
actually answered back without patience. When my daughter asks me
something, I have been very polite in answering. Now I realize how
they would have felt at those moments. Let us realize that old age is
a second childhood and just as we take care of our children, the same
attention and same care needs to be given to our parents and elders.
Rather than my dad saying thank you to me, I would want to say sorry
for making him wait so long for this small dream. I do realize how
much he has sacrificed for my sake and I will do my best to give the
best possible attention to all their wishes.

Just because they are old does not mean that they will have to give up
everything and keep sacrificing for their grandchildren also. They
have wishes, too..

Take care of your parents. THEY ARE PRECIOUS.

PART 1

It was probably the April of 1974. Bangalore was getting warm and gulmohars were blooming at the IISc campus. I was the only girl in my postgraduate department and was staying at the ladies’ hostel. Other girls were pursuing research in different departments of Science. I was looking forward to going abroad to complete a doctorate in computer science. I had been offered scholarships from Universities in the US. I had not thought of taking up a job in India.

One day, while on the way to my hostel from our lecture-hall complex, I saw an advertisement on the notice board. It was a standard job-requirement notice from the famous automobile company Telco (now Tata Motors). It stated that the company required young, bright engineers, hardworking and with an excellent academic background, etc.At the bottom was a small line: “Lady Candidates need not apply.”
I read it and was very upset. For the first time in my life I was up against gender discrimination. Though I was not keen on taking up the job, I saw it as a challenge. I had done extremely well in academics, better than most of my male peers. Little did I know then that in real life academic excellence is not enough to be successful? After reading the notice I went fuming to my room.

I decided to inform the topmost person in Telco’s management about the injustice the company was perpetrating. I got a postcard and started to write, but there was a problem: I did not know who headed Telco.

I thought it must be one of the Tatas. I knew JRD Tata was the head of the Tata Group; I had seen his pictures in newspapers (actually, Sumant Moolgaokar was the company’s chairman then). I took the card, addressed it to JRD and started writing. To this day I remember clearly what I wrote. “The great Tatas have always been pioneers.

They are the people who started the basic infrastructure industries in India, such as iron and steel, chemicals, textiles and locomotives. They have cared for higher education in India since 1900 and they were responsible for the establishment of the Indian Institute of Science. Fortunately, I study there. But I am surprised how a company such as Telco is discriminating on the basis of gender.”

I posted the letter and forgot about it. Less than 10 days later, I received a telegram stating that I had to appear for an interview at Telco’s Pune facility at the company’s expense. I was taken aback by the telegram.

My hostel mate told me I should use the opportunity to go to Pune free of cost and buy them the famous Pune saris for cheap! I collected Rs.30 each from everyone who wanted a sari. When I look back, I feel like laughing at the reasons for my going, but back then they seemed good enough to make the trip.

It was my first visit to Pune and I immediately fell in love with the city. To this day it remains dear to me. I feel as much at home in Pune as I do in Hubli, my hometown. The place changed my life in so many ways. As directed, I went to Telco’s Pimpri office for the interview. There were six people on the panel and I realised then that this was serious business.”This is the girl who wrote to JRD,” I heard somebody whisper as soon as I entered the room. By then I knew for sure that I would not get the job. The realisation abolished all fear from my mind, so I was rather cool while the interview was being conducted.

Even before the interview started, I reckoned the panel was biased, so I told them, rather impolitely, “I hope this is only a technical interview.”

They were taken aback by my rudeness, and even today I am ashamed about my attitude. The panel asked me technical questions and I answered all of them.

Then an elderly gentleman with an affectionate voice told me, “Do you know why we said lady Candidates need not apply? The reason is that we have never employed any ladies on the shop floor. This is not a co-ed college; this is a factory.

When it comes to academics, you are a first ranker throughout. We appreciate that, but people like you should work in research laboratories.” I was a young girl from small-town Hubli. My world had been a limited place. I did not know the ways of large corporate houses and their difficulties, so I answered, “But you must start somewhere, otherwise no woman will ever be able to work in your factories.”

Finally, after a long interview, I was told I had been successful. So this was what the future had in store for me. Never had I thought I would take up a job in Pune. I met a shy young man from Karnataka there, we became good friends and we got married.

It was only after joining Telco that I realized who JRD was: the uncrowned king of Indian industry. Now I was scared, but I did not get to meet him till I was transferred to Bombay. One day I had to show some reports to Mr. Moolgaokar, our chairman, who we all knew as SM.I was in his office on the first floor of Bombay House (the Tata Headquarters) when, suddenly JRD walked in that was the first time I saw “appro JRD”. Appro means “our” in Gujarati.

This was the affectionate term by which people at Bombay House called him. I was feeling very nervous, remembering my postcard episode. SM introduced me nicely, “Jeh (that’s what his close associates called him), this young woman is an engineer and that too a postgraduate.

She is the first woman to work on the Telco shop floor.” JRD looked at me.
I was praying he would not ask me any questions about my interview (or the postcard that preceded it).

Thankfully, he didn’t. Instead, he remarked. “It is nice that girls are getting into engineering in our country. By the way, what is your name?”
“When I joined Telco I was Sudha Kulkarni, Sir,” I replied. “Now I am Sudha Murthy.” He smiled and kindly smile and started a discussion with SM. As for me, I almost ran out of the room. After that I used to see JRD on and off. He was the Tata Group chairman and I was merely an engineer. There was nothing that we had in common. I was in awe of him. One day I was waiting for Murthy, my husband, to pick me up after office hours. To my surprise I saw JRD standing next to me. I did not know how to react. Yet again I started worrying about that postcard. Looking back, I realise JRD had forgotten about it.

It must have been a small incident for him, but not so for me. “Young lady, why are you here?” he asked. “Office time is over.” I said, “Sir, I’m waiting for my husband to come and pick me up.” JRD said, “It is getting dark and there’s no one in the

Corridor. I’ll wait with you till your husband comes.” I was quite used to waiting for Murthy, but having JRD waiting alongside made me extremely uncomfortable. I was nervous. Out of the corner of my eye I looked at him. He wore a simple white pant and shirt. He was old, yet his face was glowing. There wasn’t any air of superiority about him. I was thinking, “Look at this person. He is a chairman, a well-respected man in our country and he is waiting for the sake of an ordinary employee.” Then I saw Murthy and I rushed out. JRD called and said, “Young lady, tell your husband never to make his wife wait again.” In 1982 I had to resign from my job at Telco. I was reluctant to go, but I really did not have a choice. I was coming down the steps of Bombay House after wrapping up my final settlement when I saw JRD coming up. He was absorbed in thought. I wanted to say goodbye to him, so I stopped. He saw me and paused.Gently, he said, “So what are you doing, Mrs. Kulkarni?” (That was the way he always addressed me.) “Sir, I am leaving Telco.”

“Where are you going?” he asked. “Pune, Sir. My husband is starting a company called Infosys and I’m shifting to Pune.”

“Oh! And what will you do when you are successful.” “Sir, I don’t know whether we will be successful.” “Never start with diffidence,” he advised me. “Always start with confidence. When you are successful you must give back to society. Society gives us so much; we must reciprocate. I wish you all the best.” Then JRD continued walking up the stairs. I stood there for what seemed like a millennium. That was the last time I saw him alive. Many years later I met Ratan Tata in the same Bombay House, occupying the chair JRD once did. I told him of my many sweet memories of working with Telco. Later, he wrote to me, “It was nice hearing about Jeh from you. The sad part is that he’s not alive to see you today.”

I consider JRD a great man because, despite being an extremely busy person, he valued one postcard written by a young girl seeking justice. He must have received thousands of letters everyday. He could have thrown mine away, but he didn’t do that. He respected the intentions of that unknown girl, who had neither influence nor money, and gave her an opportunity in his company. He did not merely give her a job; he changed her life and mindset forever. Close to 50 per cent of the students in today’s engineering colleges are girls. And there are women on the shop floor in many industry segments. I see these changes and I think of JRD.

If at all time stops and asks me what I want from life, I would say I wish JRD were alive today to see how the company we started has grown. He would have enjoyed it wholeheartedly.

My love and respect for the House of Tata remains undiminished by the passage of time. I always looked up to JRD. I saw him as a role model for his simplicity, his generosity, his kindness and the care he took of his employees. Those blue eyes always reminded me of the sky; they had the same vastness and magnificence.

*(Sudha Murthy is a widely published writer and chairperson of the Infosys Foundation involved in a number of social development initiatives. Infosys chairman Narayan Murthy is her husband.)

*Article sourced from: Lasting Legacies (Tata Review- Special Commemorative Issue 2004), brought out by the house of Tatas to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of JRD Tata on July 29, 2004

Touching life story…..

A young man was getting ready to graduate college. For
     many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer’s
     showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told
him that was all he wanted.

     As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited
     signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the
morning  of his graduation his father called him into his private
  study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine
son, and  told him how much he loved him. He handed his son
a beautiful   wrapped gift box.

     Curious, but somewhat disappointed the young man
     opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible. Angrily,
he raised his voice at his father and said, “With all your money you
give  me  a Bible?” and stormed out of the house, leaving the holy
book.

     Many years passed and the young man was very successful in
business.
     He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his
     father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He
had   not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make
     arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had
     passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He
needed   to come home immediately and take care things.
When he arrived at  his father’s house, sudden sadness and
regret filled his heart.

     He began to search his father’s important papers and
     saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With
tears,  he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. As he
read those   words, a car key dropped from an envelope
taped behind the Bible.
It  had a tag with the dealer’s name, the same dealer who had the
sports  car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation,
     and the words…PAID IN FULL.

     How many times do we miss God’s blessings because they are not
     packaged as we expected?

CALL FROM GOD

One Saturday night, a pastor was working late and decided to call his wife before he left for home. It was about 10:00 PM, but his wife didn’t answer the phone. The pastor let it ring many times. He thought it was odd that she didn’t answer but decided to wrap up a few things and try again in a few minutes. When he tried again, she answered right away. He asked her why she hadn’t answered before, and she said that it hadn’t rung at their house. They brushed it off as a fluke and went on their merry ways.
The following Monday, the pastor received a call at the church office, which was the phone that he’d used that Saturday night. The man that he spoke with wanted to know why he’d called on Saturday night. The pastor couldn’t figure out what the man was talking about.
Then the man said, “It rang and rang, but I didn’t answer.”
The pastor remembered the mishap and apologized for disturbing him, explaining that he’d intended to call his wife.
The man said, “That’s okay. Let me tell you my story. You see, I was planning to commit suicide on Saturday night, but before I did, I prayed, ‘God if you’re there, and you don’t want me to do this, give me a sign now.’ At that point, my phone started to ring. I looked at the caller ID, and it said, ‘Almighty God’. I was afraid to answer!”
The church that the pastor attends is called Almighty God Tabernacle!

Really Touching !!!!! A True Story

Please do read once - Spare Just 2 Minutes

Dont ever doubt on GOD’s words

A true incident, i wud like to share with you………………

Good news or bad news? It depends on how you see things. You can be bitter after being cheated. Or you can choose to move on with your life

Happy Reading friends……

Robert De Vincenzo, the great Argentine golfer, once won a tournament and, after receiving the check and smiling for the cameras, he went to the clubhouse and prepared to leave. Some time later, he walked alone to his car in the parking lot and was approached by a young woman.
She congratulated him on his victory and then told him that her child was seriously ill and near death. She did not know how she could pay the doctor's bills and hospital expenses.

De Vincenzo was touched by her story, and he took out a pen and endorsed his winning check for payment to the woman. “Make some good days for the baby,” he said as he pressed the check into her hand.
The next week he was having lunch in a country club when a Professional Golf Association official came to his table. “Some of the boys in the parking lot last week told me you met a young woman there after you won that tournament.” De Vincenzo nodded. “Well,” said the official, “I have news for you. She's a phony. She has no sick baby. She's not even married. She fleeced you, my friend.”
“You mean there is no baby who is dying?” said De Vincenzo.
“That's right,” said the official.
“That's the best good news I've heard all week.” De Vincenzo said.

This is an article by chetan bhagat, my friend gave me this when i was defeated from my life…….

My Stupid Suicide Plan

Last week, an IITian committed suicide. People who commit suicide do it when they feel there’s no future. But wait, isn’t IIT the one place where a bright and shining future is a foregone conclusion? It just doesn’t add up, does it? Why would a young, hardworking, bright student who has the world ahead of him do something like this? But the answer is this-in our constant reverence for the great institution (and I do believe IITs are great), we forget the dark side. And the dark side is that the IITs are afflicted by the quintessential Indian phenomenon of academic pressure, probably the highest in the world.
I can rant about the educational system and how it requires serious fixing, or I can address the immediate-try my best to prevent such suicides. For this column I have chosen the latter, and I do so with a personal story.


News of a suicide always brings back one particular childhood memory. I was 14 years old when I first seriously contemplated suicide. I had done badly in chemistry in the Class X half yearly exam. I was an IIT aspirant, and 68% was nowhere near what an IIT candidate should be getting. I don’t know what had made me screw up the exam, but I did know this, I was going to kill myself. The only debate was about method.


Ironically, chemistry offered a way. I had read about copper sulphate, and that it was both cheap and poisonous. Copper sulphate was available at the kirana store. I had it all worked out.


My rationale for killing myself was simple-nobody loved me, my chemistry score was awful, I had no future and what difference would it make to the world if I was not there. I bought the copper sulphate for two rupees-probably the cheapest exit strategy in the world.


I didn’t do it for two reasons. One, I had a casual chat with the aunty next door about copper sulphate, and my knowledgeable aunty knew about a woman who had died that way. She said it was the most painful death possible, all your veins burst and you suffer for hours. This tale made my insides shudder. Second, on the day I was to do it, I noticed a street dog outside my house being teased by the neighbourhood kids as he hunted for scraps of food. Nobody loved him. It would make no difference to the world if the dog wasn’t there. And I was pretty sure that its chemistry score would be awful. Yet, the dog wasn’t trotting off to the kirana store. He was only interested in figuring out a strategy for his next meal. And when he was full, he merely curled up in a corner with one eye open, clearly content and not giving a damn about the world. If he wasn’t planning to die anytime soon what the hell was I ranting about? I threw the copper sulphate
in the bin. It was the best two bucks I ever wasted.


So why did I tell you this story? Because sometimes the pressure gets too much; like it did for the IITian who couldn’t take it no more. On the day he took that dreadful decision, his family and friends were shattered, and India lost a wonderful, bright child. And as the silly but true copper sulphate story tells you-it could happen to any of us or those around us. So please be on the lookout, if you see a distressed young soul, lend a supportive, non-judgmental ear. When I look back, I thank that aunt and that dog for unwittingly saving my life. If God wanted us to take our own life, he would have provided a power off button. He didn’t, so have faith and let his plan for you unfold. Because no matter how tough life gets and how much it hurts, if street dogs don’t give up, there is no reason why we, the smart species, should. Makes sense right?



- CHETAN BHAGAT

Let me share a story with you.
It will touch your heart……….


A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam. He called his parents from San Francisco.

“Mom and Dad, I’m coming home, but I’ve a favor to ask. I have a friend I’d like to bring home with me.”

“Sure,” they replied, “we’d love to meet him.”

“There’s something you should know the son continued, “he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mind and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live.”

“No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us.”

“Son,” said the father, “you don’t know what you’re asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can’t let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He’ll find a way to live on his own.”

At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him. A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide. The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn’t know, their son had only one arm and one leg.

The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to have around, but we don’t like people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable. We would rather stay away from people who aren’t as healthy, beautiful, or smart as we are. Thankfully, there’s someone who won’t treat us that way. Someone who loves us with an unconditional love that welcomes us into the forever family, regardless of how messed up we are.

Tonight, before you tuck yourself in for the night, say a little prayer that God will give you the strength you need to accept people as they are, and to help us all be more understanding of those who are different from us!!!