30 November 2017

A few weeks back I had applied for the renewal of my passport. A few days back, on the day fixed for appointment, it took not more than an hour or so at the passport Seva Kendra to get the formalities completed. Within a few days I received my passport.  Thanks to mobile technology and administration of offices such as Passport Seva Kendra.  Mr Narendra Modi and his team deserve applause.

Gita Jayanti

Today is a very auspicious day in the Hindu calender.  According to Scriptures, this is the on which Shree Krishnaa  (avataar of Shree Mahaa Vishnu) communicated His Baghavat Gita (meaning 'Divine Song of His Almighty) to Arjuna at Kurukshetraa nearly 5000 years back.

03 November 2017

Day before yesterday was a very auspicious day for Vaishnavites.  This day is known as 'Uththaana Dwaadashi'. This day is important in many aspects. One of them is the Divine Wedding between Kaarthika Daamodaraa (Manifestation of Shree Hari in this Kaarthika month) and Tulasi Devi (Holy Basil plant manifestation of Shree Mahaa Lakshmi). Devotees, particularly home makers, worship Tulasi Daamodaraaa in the evening on this day.

I fondly remember my beloved mother who used to perform daily Tulasi Pooja almost regularly and special Poojaas on important days such as day before yesterday.

Let me share a photograph of one such pooja performed by my beloved mother. I and my sister are in the photograph. My beloved father had taken the photo.

Attitudinal dislocation in Government Offices

In my previous post written this morning, I mentioned about the lack of response by AADHAAR office on my application for change of address.

Later in the afternoon at 2.24 pm I received an sms that my application is rejected due to "invalid documents" despite the fact that the supporting documents that I sent are 100% valid and as per the Government rules and regulations.

I think that someone in AADHAAR office may also be expecting a bribe from me just like someone in the police department, to do the work and help a law abiding citizen. I never bribe any one to get my work done. It doesn't matter if I don't get my AADHAAR card in time. I have decided to sue the AADHAAR office in court if there is a need.

(By the way, many years back one of my former colleagues in a high school told me as to how she obtained her B.Ed. degree from Annamalai University by bribing Rs. 6000 through a middle man who was a physical education teacher in the school. I don't understand how such teachers can impart values in children. During the same period, Madurai Kamaraj University officials expected Rs. 10,000 from me, to receive my M.Ed. degree though I had cleared both the theory and project parts of the course according to rules and regulations. Obviously I didn’t get my degree and I don't regret for having done so. I have mentioned about the harassment meted out to me by the University in an earlier post. It is a disgrace that even education imparting organisations are filled with corrupt people).

It is high time that corrupt officials are dismissed and replaced by honest ones in all offices.
It is nearly two weeks since I applied for a change in my residential address incorporated in my AADHAAR card.

As the Govt. website didn’t function in my mobile phone, I had to apply through a nearby browsing centre. I haven't got any response from AADHAAR so far.

I think that our Central Government should consider those areas of development that have direct impact on the well being of common folk rather than spend tax payers' money on Bullet Trains (in a situation where our coventional Train Systems seem to  be running at loss according to media reports).

About Me

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Chennai, Tamilnadu, India
I am a retired K-12 Education Management Professional. I have worked at different levels in K-12 school systems, textbook publishing, elearning and Education NGOs. I have held memberships in The Association for Science Education (UK), American Association of Physics Teachers and The Malaysian Institute of Physics. I hold a 1st class B Sc Degree in Physics followed by B Ed [English and Physical Science] and M A [Childcare and Education] degrees. My published works include 59 articles in teacher development magazines in India and the US and a book entitled `Creative Classrooms and Child Friendly Schools' (listed in Amazon). This book is almost an anecdotal account of my professional experience in six countries (including Cambodia where I worked as Technical Adviser to the Ministry of Education, Youth And Sports). I served as mentor in the Certificate of Teaching Mastery Program offered by Teachers Without Borders.