Lincoln’s Letter to his Son’s Teacher

One of the influential things I have read so far in my life, is the letter Abraham Lincoln wrote to his son's teacher. Now, having a little one going to the school, I can feel it even more.  :)  My son, like every other kids his age, is like a clay, pliable and adaptable to the mold, the kind of mold his teacher can provide decides the shape of his future. I am thinking to print the letter and give a copy to my son's teacher. :)  

"Lincoln’s Letter to his Son’s Teacher

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 honorable 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 little fellow,
my son!

~ Abraham Lincoln"

:(

जहाँँ चोर टाउको उठाएर हिंड्छन
डाँका झन् छाती फुकाएर हिंड्छन
त्यहाँ निर्दोषै त दोषी गनिन्छन
सोझा नै माथि सारा खनिन्छन

जहाँँ मान्छे मारी दरबार पस्छन
ठूला भन्दा ठूला ती आसनमा बस्छन
त्यहाँ जनतै त उल्लू भनिन्छन
अनि दोष बिनै दोषी गनिन्छन

जहाँँ छैन हक कुनै मुख खोल्ने
जेल पुग्न थाले हिम्मतिला बोल्ने
गणतन्त्र भन्दै त्याँ भाषण गरिन्छन
तर निर्दोषै त दोषी गनिन्छन
सधैं निर्दोष नै दोषी गनिन्छन ..

Ref: http://setopati.com/samaj/12990/

My picks for the World Cup

June 19 Update: Spain is already out of the game, did not even make to the Round 16 !!  


Winners of Group Stage

Group A Winner –  Brazil                                    Group A Runner Up – Mexico

Group B Winner –  Spain                         Group B Runner Up – Netherlands

Group C Winner –  Japan                            Group C Runner Up – Columbia

Group D Winner –  England                    Group D Runner Up – Italy

Group E Winner –  France                       Group E Runner Up – Ecuador

Group F Winner –  Argentina                 Group F Runner Up – Iran

Group G Winner –  Germany                  Group G Runner Up – Portugal

Group H Winner –  So. Korea                 Group H Runner Up – Belgium

Winners of Round of 16

Brazil            , Spain, Italy, England,  France, Argentina, Germany   , Portugal

                                                                                   

Winners of Quarter Finals

Brazil, Spain, Argentina, Germany

Winners of Semi Finals

Spain, Brazil                      

World Cup Champion

Brazil ( I would pick Spain but Brazil has the home-ground advantage) 

P.S: I am not a huge Football fan.. I just like to watch the World cup matches.. :) 

Jaundice.. Jaundice..

It was one crazy day. Crazy in the sense that I used to be so busy that I did not have time for myself. No time to eat properly.. no time to rest. My life was all convoluted among the classes, assignments, assessments, projects and deadlines. Yes.. my busier yet super fun Engineering days..  :). I came back from the school, tired and hungry. My dad asked - "What's the matter ? You look sick" I said - "I'm tired..  just want to go to bed".. "खोइ यता हेर त " Dad said "ओहो आँखा त पहेंलै भैसकेछ, जन्डिस भो जस्तो छ जचाँउन गैहाल्नुपर्छ" . I was not ready to get sick, had so many other things to do. However, my mom and dad both thought I had Jundice, and I had no option but to go with Daddy to the Piyush Barshi Aushadhalaya in Asan.. Dad started his old Hero Honda and I rode along..

I have heard a lot of good things about that clinic. My post does not mean to offense anyone or anything, but that day when we reached there, the main "baidhya" was out of country and there was his brother/ son (not sure who) looking at the patients. I still wonder if he even knew anything about what he was doing.  On my turn, after listening to me and my dad about how I was feeling, the color of my nails and eyes and all, he hit hard slightly above my abdomen. It was quite a strong punch with his fist and I went "अैssया" :D. "ल हेर कलेजो पुरै सुन्निसकेछ, कस्तो दुख्यो, जन्डिसको औषधी चलाइहल्नुपर्छ मुख पनि बार्नुहोला " I was furious but quiet. I so wished I could hit him back and ask him if that hurt.. which was just a wish..  He gave the pouches of black pills, very hard to swallow , some yucky powder and a list of  things I should and should not eat. 

I did not say anything to him, but fought with my dad, of course. Being a "घर साँढे बन बिरालो ",  that was all I could do. I did not want to eat those medicines and wanted to eat the chicken curry mom made for dinner. I fought and lost, had to eat the most tasteless medicines and some boiled insipid food.  :(  

However, deep-down my dad also had a feeling that the diagnosis was not done right. He was right there after all. And he decided to take me for the blood test next day. I had no choice but to go with him.  The blood report came normal and I officially had no Jaundice, although I did have to eat those medicines and food I hated until we got the blood report. Yes I did not have any jaundice,  I looked pale because of the fatigue and dehydration.  

Its been almost 8-9 years but whenever someone talks about jaundice I still remember the hard मुक्का I got. 

SLC Fuss

"All preparations for SLC exams completed: OCE" was the headline in one of the e-papers I visited today. My Facebook news-feed is full of messages to my cousins, nephews and nieces appearing for SLC from today. I wonder why, why SLC is treated as such a big thing, when the students have yet to appear for many bigger challenges and competitive exams in the days to come. 

I was in 8th grade, around 1997/98, when I realized I was going to appear for SLC pretty soon. The teachers/ my parents/ relatives who cared for me used to remind me everyday that SLC was coming, and I had to prepare for it well. I remember they used to say grade 8 to be the first step to reach to that iron gate. I, being a timid, fearful girl, used to be scared and stressed all the time thinking about SLC. I thought SLC was the biggest exam to take in life and I did not have to study after SLC at all, I thought college was just a place to go and hang out with friends. Back in those days, the most fascinating thing about college I thought was even if I failed any exam in College, I would not have to stay in the same class and I would not have to say "I failed" but would proudly say "ब्याक लाग्यो ". I thought that was a proud thing to say. Now I think how naive I was. 

The first day of my SLC exam was Baisakh 02, 2057 BS. I still remember how nervous I was. My mom used to do some pooja  and used to offer me some tika and dahi every morning. My relatives would call to wish me good luck. I dad used to drop me to the exam center, "Durbaar High School" and used to ask me to pray at Kamaladi Ganesh  every day. They were just trying to help, they all cared for me and as nervous as I was for my exam, but all those care and concern made me more nervous. 

I did not do that well in my SLC, the score was lower than I used to get in my sent-up and model exams. One of the reasons I think was the stress I took for all those years. 

After SLC, when I started studying further, I realized SLC was nothing but just an exam like any other exams. I do not know about other streams of +2 education in Nepal, but +2 in Science is indeed much more difficult than SLC.  As I started studying further, I realized that there were more challenging and competitive exams waiting for me and I had to excel on all of those, or I should say, try to excel. Everything I thought about college life, while being in school, was a myth, at least for me. 

I appeared for many other bigger exams even after my SLC, but my relatives did not call me every time. My mom did not feed me yogurt everytime and my dad used to give me a ride to the exam center only when it was Nepal-Bandh (He used to ride his Hero Honda even during the bandh day wearing his Press pass :D ). This was not because my parents and relative started caring less for me. 

During SLC exam, the news papers have the headlines about SLC news.  An old guy appearing for SLC with his grandchild makes a big news, so does a women giving birth to a baby in the examination hall.  Newspapers make a big deal of SLC, so do the parents, relatives, teachers, neighbors. Everyone fusses about SLC, which I think is not worth it. 

 This fuss, I think is making students stressed and desperate. I think it's not easy in Kathmandu to pass on the chits and copy from the books during the exam, I never witnessed it myself, but I have heard a lot about those unfortunate incidents outside of valley. The students themselves should be aware that exams are to judge their skills and knowledge, they do not have to pass the exams by any means, if they fail, there is always a next time. Students should themselves avoid the chits and cheating, but they are desperate to pass the exam.  I heard that some schools provide the cheating materials to students sometimes, they want their students to pass at any rate, and pass with distinction and/ or First division at least. Then they could use the stats of SLC passing students as a mean to attract new students and make more money. SLC and the merely 15 years old examinees are being used by the schools for their purpose. If the schools teach children to cheat, I am not sure what to expect when they become Doctors, Engineers, Bureaucrats and Politicians.

Although I really think SLC does not worth all the fuss, I would like to wish all the examinees the very best. Just be confident and answer everything carefully. ( My dad suggested also me to adorn the paper with margins and highlights :P). SLC is just another exam but it does start preparing you for many more exams to come. :).  Good luck. 

कहिले

कहिले 

नानाभाँती दशा हाम्रा कट्ने होलान् कहिले 
आकाशका काला बादल हट्ने होलान् कहिले 

शक्ति- सत्ता-धनकालागि जतिसुकै गिर्छौं हामी 
आफू मात्र हाँस्न अरु सारालाई पिर्छौं हामी
हाम्रा लोभ-लालसा यी घट्ने होलान् कहिले 
आकाशका काला बादल हट्ने होलान् कहिले

जगत सारा झिलिमिली हाम्रो घरमा बत्ती छैन
कोकोहोलो जताततै शान्ती एक-रत्ती छैन
सुख-खुशी यो घरमा अट्ने होलान् कहिले
आकाशका काला बादल हट्ने होलान् कहिले

नानाभाँती दशा हाम्रा कट्ने होलान् कहिले 
आकाशका काला बादल हट्ने होलान् कहिले  :(