The story of success

Today I will share with you a story based on the value of having a dream, the willingness and strength to work hard for achieving it. As the story goes, one day, two students after completing their education, went to seek the blessings of their guru. The guru asked them, “What will you do upon leaving the school?” The first one replied, “I don’t need to work much and will do whatever my father tells me to do as he is very wealthy.” The second one replied, “I want to become something in life. And to achieve that, I will work hard and carve my own success story.” Upon listening to them, the guru gave two gold coins to the second one and ten gold coins to the first one. Another student who was observing this with a confused expression, asked the guru, “Guruji, why did you give 10 gold coins to the rich boy when he did not need that and only 2 to the other one when he was the one who was actually needy?” Guruji replied with a smile, “My child, the first one will need money all his life for his survival so it will be of some help. The second one on the other hand only needed enough gold coins to reach home. Thereafter, he will be able to achieve whatever he wants in his life, on his own.” The student immediately understood the words of wisdom. Remember, knowledge and hard work are the real wealth that can never deplete. Therefore, cultivate the value of hard work and perseverance and keep learning all your life like a true ‘karamveer.’ And I am confident that one day all my Amitians will create their own success story with their hardwork and determination.

 Winter cinders

This year, Delhi experienced a surprising weather. Winters this time have arrived with snowfall and wish to stay. The extended winters actually reached a new high. The chill in the air refuses to go and even the bravest of all this time, wrapped themselves in winter jackets, mittens, boots, mufflers and what not. You bet, some of their winter clothes would have finally been smiling their way out of the wardrobes. Amidst all this, we have bonfire get-togethers, afternoon barbeques, hot tea and paranthas and all that winters stand for. And we enjoying the thrill of the chill, every moment.
But wait and think before you jump in joy. Going by NASA’s claims, all that glitters is not gold and all that shivers is not cold. Behind these chilling cold winds are the polar vortexes which are the direct results of rising global temperatures. Winter has decided to stay because the summers sent heat waves across the globe, altering the ocean currents, changing the wind speeds. A recent report of Earth’s temperature being more than one-degree Celsius above the average temperature of late 19th century and the surface temperature of earth in 2018 being the fourth highest in last 140 years is alarming. No need to emphasise that this is the result of the greenhouse effect and global warming we have been discussing all these years. This time, the cold is as hot as it gets and that is definitely disturbing! These snowfalls are actually a wakeup call for all of us to stop babbling and finally start acting. Now is the time to disperse our fundamental duty of protecting our environment before it is too late. Remember, each baby step taken by 7 billion of us will make 10 times 7 trillion of efforts to save this beautiful but dying planet. And such a mammoth effort is bound to bear the results.

Dreams under my wings

The Inside Story Of How Even ‘Micro’ Can Contribute ‘Large’

Arushi Gupta, AIS Noida, XII C

Young and dynamic, Manjula Mishra, MD, Holosafe Securities Pvt. Ltd, is an exemplary and visionary woman entrepreneur. GT reporters catch up with her during her visit to Amity University for ICEL 2018, where she was conferred the ‘Amity Entrepreneurial Leadership Excellence Award’. Here are the excerpts.

Underneath an
entrepreneur
I wasn’t always an entrepreneur. I, once, had a regular 9 to 5 job, but deep down somewhere, I knew I wasn’t meant for it; that I had bigger things to do in life. Underneath an entrepreneur is a mind that is filled with passion. So, I followed it and here I am!

Underneath a woman
When I started off as an entrepreneur, the industry wasn’t accepting. India is still a little conservative that way. Women have to work twice as hard as men to prove themselves and they still struggle to get recognition. Underneath a woman is a hard worker who believes in herself; because when you do so, there is nothing that will stop you from being the best.
Underneath Indian GDP
If heavy industries are the wheel of an economy, then Micro Small Media Enterprises (MSME) are the spokes of that wheel.  Five years ago, there was no talk of MSME development in India, but suddenly, the realisation that MSMEs are creating job opportunities and contributing hugely to the GDP of India prodded the government. Programs like ‘Make in India’, ‘Start up India’ and ‘Skill India’ were started with special loans and incentives for women entrepreneurs, and especially for women self-help groups. This has further led to the emergence of many women entrepreneurs in India. Who would have thought that underneath the huge Indian GDP would be  MSME development?
Underneath the dedication
Entrepreneurship can be a beautiful journey, but you don’t achieve that overnight. It takes a lot of hardwork and perseverance. Initially, you might question yourself and your decisions, but remember that your hardwork pays off. On tough days, remember why you started; remember what lies underneath that dedication.

Commitment is the key

In A Journey Full Of Hurdles, It Is The Attitude Which Matters

Aparna Ravi, Secretary, AIPS

In simple terms, commitment can be best described as ‘the quality of being dedicated to a cause’. However, the word implies a much deeper meaning. It is the crux of every task you undertake and every relation you form with someone. Without commitment, everything is but a candle without a wick because nothing in the world exists without a purpose. The quality of being committed is a primary factor for you to attain anything, because it provides you with a purpose to strive towards your goal. It helps you to proceed and progress holistically as a human being.

Commitment- key to fulfilment
To be committed to something, we must first understand what the word means. It should not be seen as some kind of obligation because it paves the way towards the completion of our goals even if it seems unattainable. But if we are committed to something in accordance with our will, then it takes a whole new meaning. It requires an individual to identify the goal, develop a passion towards it and be perseverant enough to fulfil it.

Commitment- key to a better future
As much as being committed is essential in any field, its importance grows when in the life of a student. It is not very wise to expect a child to be committed as their mind is unstable at a young age. Their mind devours everything that is offered to them and it becomes hard to decide what to choose. However, it is at this very stage that the value of commitment should be inculcated in their minds, so that in the later years of life, they turn out to be determined in whatever endeavour they take on and not give up at any given point whatever may the challenge be. 

Commitment- key to self-awareness
Generally, we commit to other things in our life but fail to commit to ourselves. Self-commitment is just that, investment of time in you. A lot of us go in to the world today not knowing about ourselves. Therefore, we make life-altering decisions without knowing why we made it in the first place. It is important to make a commitment to ourselves before we can commit to another person. We need to know what we are all about, and what makes us tick, this takes self-commitment which is even more important to know who we are and where we stand.

You eventually come to realise that even if you were unable to reach your goal, you have tried, and nothing is going to block your way from trying harder. Commitment gives you the strength to persevere through any tough waters, throughout any hurdles on the way and eventually takes you to your ultimate destination. Thus, it leads to the development of the self, the society, the nation, and the world at large.

GT M@il
Dear Editor,
This is with reference to the article ‘The starter’s guide to art’ of page 5 in January 28 issue of your esteemed newspaper. The article is a spoof on famous art pieces and how one can get a decent art piece in their possession. In a country like India, where millions sleep on an empty stomach, appreciating and buying art is not something which everyone can afford to do. But this article has taken a humourous take on the topic, making it relatable to a common man who is unable to understand the aesthetics of it.
Vanya Tandon, AIS Noida, X C

Dear Editor,
This is in reference to the article ‘The wise vs the scholar’ of page 4 in January 28 issue of your esteemed newspaper. This article delves into the seemingly eternal ‘conflict’ between philosophers and scientists, stating ‘Philosophers and scientists never seem to go hand in hand on any given topic.’ However, another angle of it could be that of yin and yang being philosophers as people who believe in pure speculation without any solid proof. Since that was the case for the philosophers of the pre-Socratic period and maybe even till the times of Aristotle, science is simply philosophy tested experimentally. In fact, it was the 16th century philosopher, Francis Bacon who devised the ‘Scientific method’ for testing various hypotheses. Philosophy is what gave us logic, applied even to our modern-day computers. So, in a way, science and philosophy are inter-related.
Kreetik Thakur, AIS, Noida, X K