Statue of Women Safety and Honour

 

Statue of Women Safety and Honour

Few months back, I visited the Jatayu Earth’s Centre, in Kollam District, Kerala which encompasses the world largest bird sculpture. The giant concrete statue of Jatayu is built on a mighty rock named Jatayupara. The colossal statue is 200 feet long, 150 feet wide and 70 feet tall. It is magnificent in size and truly spectacular.

The concept is the brainchild of renowned film director, art director and sculptor Mr Rajiv Anchal and his team took ten years to meticulously design and complete this monumental project. Jatayu Earths Centre tourism project is spread over 65 acres of multi terrain landscape, which is 1000 feet above sea level and has diverse geographic features ranging from hills, valleys, rugged rocks, caves to cultivable lands.

In the great epic Ramayana, Jatayu is characterized as a noble bird of divine origin. When Sita was abducted to Lanka by the demon king- Ravana. Jatayu rushed to her rescue, stopped Ravana’s chariot named Pushpaka Vimana and engaged in a battle with him. Eventually, Ravana took his sword and cut off the bird’s left wing and went away with Sita. It is said that the injured Jatayu and his lost wing landed on top of a rock. In time, the rock got the name Jatayupara. This is where the monumental statue of Jatayu is now built. There is a pond near the rock which is said to be formed by the stroke of Jatayu’s beak. It has water throughout the year and never goes dry. Legend also says that, it is the bird that told the whole story and Rama got the vital information about his wife Sita and Lord Rama gave moksha to the wounded and dying Jatayu.

Jatayu is an embodiment of valour and chivalry. Risking his life, he tried his best to save Sita from her abductor. Hence the Jatayu sculpture uprights as a towering tribute to women’s safety and honour.

In the words of Mr. Rajiv Anchal, this symbolism has great relevance in today’s social scenario since the crime rate against women is on a high. Each guest at Jatayu Earths Centre is requested to understand and emulate the inner meaning of this inspiring creation.

Thousands of years have passed since these epic days of Ramayana, yet women safety remains a concern in the country. While on one end, we see the liberal and progressive woman making rapid strides in different fields, on the other end we still hear of cases of offence against woman in the form of physical, mental and emotional assault.

Mahatma Gandhi said, “The day a woman can walk freely on the roads at night, that day we can say that India has achieved independence”. If we have to check for validation of this statement today, we will just become aware that we are still far away from that day.

According to a 2019 survey, 42 percent of Indian women feel 'unsafe' in their surroundings, and 78 percent feel that authorities are not taking enough measures to ensure the safety of women in India. About 43 percent revealed that they have faced an incident where their safety was undermined.

No doubt, the safety of woman is being addressed more openly and commonly, in both social media and government forums. CCTV Surveillance, all woman’s police stations, women protection laws are much more in place. However just having strict laws, will not serve the purpose, unless there is proper enforcement and women should feel safe enough to report any violence against them. The evidence of the effectiveness of the law, ultimately depends on the reducing number of incidents of such crimes against woman.

In the days of woman empowerment, it seems contradictory to talk about woman protection. Yet, I believe these both go hand in hand. We need to protect the woman in the process of empowering them, so that they will be in a better position to handle themselves. With more empowered woman in the workforce and all spheres of official work, the women safety is likely to be enhanced. Literacy rate of woman are fast growing and so we can sure be hopeful that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Together, let's work to create a safer place for women.

D. Senthil Kannan,

  Managing Trustee, PALMS, Tuticorin.

  Author of "Transformational Thoughts" - A Journey of learning 

  Email: senthilkannand@gmail.com

Simple Ideas to Make A Significant Speech

 

Simple Ideas to Make 

A Significant Speech

Have you ever faced a situation, when you were invited to give a speech or make a presentation on any occasion? It could be from a social organization, education institution or a business forum.  If it is the first time, I am sure it can feel a bit overwhelming. Yet, there are simple ways, by which you can handle this situation easily.

 

In every presentation, they say “Content is the  King and Delivery is the Queen”. Both are equally important.  A well delivered speech, that lacks content, will be looked down as shallowness of the speaker’s knowledge and similarly, even if the content is excellent and the way the speech was structured and delivered was poor, it doesn’t leave a good impression amidst the participants.

 

In this article, let me share some easy tips of how you can prepare a good content for your speech.

 

There are 3 preliminary steps, before starting to construct a good speech. They are:

1.     Identifying the topic

2.     Awareness of your target audience

3.     Duration available for your speech.

 

Once you have these inputs, it gets easier to collect content for your speech. Remember, that the participant who is listening to your speech, should find some take home value from it and in order to achieve this your speech should have a good mix of these three vital components - Knowledge, Skills & Attitude.

 

We are all aware of the 6 type of questions, which is interestingly called the 5 wives and one husband technique, as an easy to remember analogy the 5W’s and 1H, which are What, When, Where, Who, Why and How?

 

When you search for content based on a question, it will be easier to find answers. Be it tapping into your own resources or external resources like Google.

 

You can create an outline for your speech, by using just the 3 questions – What, Why and How. The ‘What?’  is always a Knowledge question. The ‘Why?  is an Attitude question. The ‘How?” is a Skill based question.  

 

So, for example, if you are going to give a speech on the topic, “Creativity”, the three questions you can ask are:

·       What is Creativity?

·       Why is Creativity important?

·       How to be a Creative Person?

 

By just striving to answer these 3 questions, you will be able to structure and present a good speech.

 

Yet, you can add more value to your speech by asking the additional three knowledge questions - ‘When’, ‘Where’ and ‘Who’ . When you pose these questions, you will be able to generate and provide additional information, which will serve as a decoration to your speech.

 

The "When?" gives information of the time or period when something happened. So, it can be something generic like 5th Century BC, Ice Age,  Chola Period, Early 19^th Century etc.; or something more specific like the exact date, time or year.

 

The “Where?” gives information of where the event or incident happened.

 

The “Who?” mentions the persons who were involved in the incident. Or it can also be things like who said what.  For example, when you mention a quote, from a famous author or thinker, in your presentation it endorses your content. Like, if you are taking about creativity, you can use quotes from people who you feel are considered an authority in the field, such as Walt Disney, Steve Jobs or James Cameron.

 

Answering these 3 questions, will help the listener to relate it to the period, place and people, with their sense of imagination.

 

So, by integrating this simple 5W & 1H Technique, you will not only create an interesting speech, but also a significant speech, which people might remember much longer than it was spoken.

 

D. Senthil Kannan,

  Managing Trustee, PALMS, Tuticorin.

  Author of "Transformational Thoughts" - A Journey of learning 

  Email: senthilkannand@gmail.com

A Simple Prayer, that can change your life

 

A Simple Prayer, 

that can change your life

Prayer is a precious ritual, which has been a part of mankind for centuries. People pray differently, yet prayer is omnipresent across all cultures. Prayer doesn’t necessarily mean that it is a religious ritual. A prayer is less about worshipping a deity or confessing our sins. It is more about finding peace and happiness, in our life.

 

How many of you have the habit of Praying? If you do pray, what do you pray for? Most often, it goes something like this, “Please help me achieve my goal”; “Please keep my family safe and happy; Please help me tide over this crisis” etc.  In other words, we would ask for some favour, from the Supreme Power.

 

But, if we look at our daily life, we are constantly worrying about something or other that puts us in a constant state of stress and anxiety. It could be something related to our health condition, financial issues or relationship issues. And if you ponder, a little deeper, you will realize that it is fear, that is gripping us. Author Debra Landwehr Engle,  the author of the book,  “The only prayer you will ever need” was a victim too, of what she calls “fear-based thoughts” until she found a simple, yet powerful, way to unburden herself from them. A short, six-word prayer, which she whispered in times of need, had the power to root out negative thoughts and shift her perspective from fear to love. The prayer is “Please heal my fear-based thoughts.”

 

Prayers usually ask for something in the external environment to change; but this one is different.   Instead of asking for things to change in the world around you, you ask for yourself to be changed.

 

Let’s look at how the prayer can be applied to a specific situation. Take this prayer: “Please help me find the money to pay my loan instalment this month.” There’s nothing wrong with this prayer. However, this relief will only be temporary. Before long, your mind will start seeking out new worries like, “Even if I can pay my loan instalment this month, what happens next month?”, “What if my income dries up altogether?” This is because the prayer doesn’t change anything in you. The result? You sink back into old patterns, recreating the problem in different ways. On the other hand, if you say the words “Please heal my fear-based thoughts about this loan,” it doesn’t just lift the burden of the problem temporarily, it heals your fear-based thoughts , liberating you to live a life without fear and with greater peace of mind.

 

The term “fear-based thoughts” helps us realize that, no matter how big our fears are, they’re just thoughts, and thoughts can be changed. A quote by Wayne Dyer goes, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at begin to change.’ Similarly, this prayer helps us with a change of perspective. By asking for yourself to be changed,  you can be sure that the world around you will change as a result. 

   

Fear is pervasive. It keeps penetrating into our lives, through Newspapers, TV or Social media, such as the pandemic outbreak, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and so on. Fear is present inside us too, in the form of never-ending worries about money, our jobs and our families.  

 

All of us have moments where life feels overwhelming. This is where this  prayer can help. When you heal your fear-based thoughts, you gain the  strength to shift them towards love-based ones – like acceptance, compassion, and forgiveness. The prayer helps you accept the things you can’t change. Similar to the serenity prayer, which goes like this. “Oh God! grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

 

So, this simple prayer – “Please heal my fear-based thoughts” – can help you build resilience and find calm in the chaos. Saying this prayer puts you, and the world around you, on the path to greater peace of mind. Incorporate the prayer into your daily routine and be patient with the results. Let go of any expectations you may have and instead allow yourself to become a passive bystander, simply watching as things unfold before you. Most importantly,  don’t give up before you fully give the prayer a try.

  D. Senthil Kannan,

  Managing Trustee, PALMS, Tuticorin.

  Author of "Transformational Thoughts" - A Journey of learning 

  Email: senthilkannand@gmail.com

 

Maximise Utility Value

Finding a Balance between 
Environmentalism and Consumerism

My mind has been contemplating for a long while, on the growth of consumerism against the degradation of environment. We all know that the production of new products consumes earth's resources, and discarding of used products leads to increase of dump and environmental hazard. So, can we find a way to reduce both.?

 

In good old days, a lot of resources were shared, not just by the family but by the neighbourhood itself, which included Telephone and Television too. But, in a world of growing privacy and personal preferences, this is not possible anymore. However there are things than can be shared among friends and relatives, to cut down not just on cost, but also the impact on the environment.

Unfortunately the word borrow has been linked to shameful virtues such as beg, borrow or steal.  So, instead of using the word borrow, we can use the term "being open to exchange things", so that it becomes a mutual benefit and an environmental conscious decision too.

A simple example would be to exchange books with friends instead of buying them. You don't have to buy something new, for just reading it once.

Another example could be, let's say if you have a cake oven or barbeque grill at home, which you sparingly use,  you can tell your friends and relatives that they can take it whenever they want for any of their family occasions, instead of buying a new one. And in return, there will be things that our friend have, which we don't have to buy just for an occasional use. So, it is just a give and take philosophy and not something to feel embarrassed about. So, before you decide to buy something new, see if you can manage to get it within your close network. The only criterion is to return the things on time, as committed and in the same condition we took it from them.

In Western Countries, there is growing interest in the culture of Community Living, such as Apartment, Township or Row houses where there are neighbours using common facilities, such as the kids play area, walking track, fitness centre, swimming pool etc. In addition to enjoying the common facilities, people have come up with the idea of sharing the things that are sparingly used, such as repair tools, garden maintenance equipment, books, etc. So, they have a common place, where inmates of the community leave their personal belongings of such nature, so that it can be used by others too. So, whenever someone needs something, they just go there to see if any of the items they require for temporary use, is available. If it is there, they just take it, use it and leave it back after usage.

There are many things we can do on these lines, if we give a deeper thought.

•        Car pooling to reduce fuel consumption.
•        Food sharing at restaurants, to avoid food wastage.

My thought is not against enjoying any comforts or convenience, but to extract maximum value of any product before it reaches the dump yard, which not only saves money but also the environment.

June 5^th is celebrated as “World Environment day”.  This year let us pledge our allegiance to find a balance, by maximising the utility value of things beforewe discard them.  This can ensure that we enjoy the best of both worlds.

D. Senthil Kannan,

  Managing Trustee, PALMS, Tuticorin.

  Author of "Transformational Thoughts" - A Journey of learning 

  Email: senthilkannand@gmail.com