Vote For Change !

If one of your new year resolutions was about using Facebook to do something other than caring for orphan rabbits you find on Farmville, read on. Here is a unique opportunity to reach out and impact thousands of lives, sitting at your desk. Yes, you can help educate 40,000 young Indians all over our country and I am not joking or drunk.

One of India’s most trusted and credible NGOs, GiveIndia is taking part in a competition on Facebook to win a US$1 million grant. The winner will be the NGO that gets the highest number of votes from Facebook users. The prize of $1 million will help put or keep 40,000 children across India in school for one year. Imagine we all coming together to spread the word and help the underprivileged children of India. The impact would be tremendous.

Voting in the competition is for one week only, from Friday, January 15 – Friday, January 22, 2010. Can we make a difference in the next 5 days? You always felt there should be a better way to start a day than waking up in the morning? Here is what to do:

Step 1: Click here and become a fan of Chase Community Giving
Step 2: Click here and vote for 'Giveindia'

There’s been lots of talk about how social media can bring change and make an impact on the world we live in. Well, here is one tangible way for us to take a small action that could have a HUGE outcome.

In case you have questions, write to giveindiachase@gmail.com for details or try this link: Giveindia.org

In Mittu I trust !

Mittu was sitting quietly inside her cage. The man who was carrying her in the cage almost looked like her bigger cousin, with all the pearls around his neck, colorful headgear, ash on his forehead and the long shawl. As soon as he spread the fortune cards on the floor and kept the cage on the ground, Mittu came out of the cage on to the pavement. I was walking around the Hussain Sagar lake at Hyderabad last Sunday morning, when I bumped into Mittu and her master Shasank. They are one among the many fortune tellers - parrot astrologer to be precise - who roam around the lake, and tell you few good things about your future in exchange for a little money.

I had my cousins with me and we decided to ask Mittu what is in store for us in the near future. So we sat on one of the stone benches as Shasank carefully laid out the cards on the floor. Unlike what I have heard, Shasank had just 12 cards instead of the usual 27 or so. These cards look much like the tarot cards, with a picture and some writing enclosed in a small red velvet pouch. So as I told Mittu my name, she went ahead and picked a card from the bunch and quietly walked back to the comfort of her cage. She had the looks of a judge in the court who just passed her verdict, relaxing on a chair watching the agony or ecstacy of the crowd. Before opening the pouch, Shasank wanted to take a look at my hands and exclaimed that I got a beautiful hand. What he meant was not the texture of the skin or proportion of the fingers, but the lines on my palm. According to him I will eventually have a lot of money and other comforts in ife... in his own words 'Goddess Lakshmi, the deity of wealth and prosperity, is literally dancing on my hand'. I never knew!

There was a picture of lord Ganesha inside the pouch Mittu picked for me. Shasank looked at the picture and the text and went on explaining how I am going to make it big in life. He had only good things to tell except that I should listen more to my life partner. As he spoke, Mittu made a clicking noise and occasionally said her name loud, as if claiming that she picked the perfect card for me. He said that my bad times are coming to an end and good times will start from the 12th of January 2010. Mittu looked trustworthy with her cute voice, green attire and friendly mannerisms and I believed all that Shasank told me. So when I slept on the 11th night, my mind was filled with joy and expectation.. after all, Mittu had told me fortunes are going to change!

I am an early riser. When I opened my eyes on 12th morning, I couldn't beleive my eyes.. my room was filled with some kind of bright light. I was aghast and could not make out for a moment what is happening. Then all that Shasank said the other day flashed across my mind... the change of fortune from 12th January! I closed my eyes and opened it again to make sure I am not dreaming, and the white light was still there. Then I looked at the watch and realised that it is already 7:30 in the morning. Just that I slept late. The light was nothing but the sunlight seeping in through the open windows.

But probably it is an indication of the change. I prefer to wait and watch than pass a harsh judgment on Mittu so soon.

A new year..

All the wrong paths I took, at life's every turn
Indeed were roads to you

All the dreams I saw, in sleep and my wakefulness
were indeed shadows of you

All the pain I ever felt, in the heart and in my soul
were beckoning calls to you

Stand with me, let's sail the world
Stopping, gazing and wondering, not just growing old

What is life worth, if all you do is waste it
Leave it for the whims of the crowd and not taste it

By hook or by crook we're gonna make it