This year I celebrate my five years of being and serving as a Member of International Dance Council UNESCO
Sharing a note I wrote 5 years ago…
Honoured to be nominated as an official Member of the International Council of Dance UNESCO. It’s the official umbrella organization for all forms of dance in all countries of the world. Its members are the most prominent federations, associations, schools, companies and individuals in over170 countries.
Have to certainly add that back in the 1960’s it was a visiting delegation from UN that had come to India who had got my dear father interested in learning these International Dances and later on teaching these dances as a hobby and now after all these years as his daughter, to have been certified by CID UNESCO I am touched indeed to say the least.
Thank you Dad for sharing with me this Magic of Dance. I am truly grateful that our simple dream of sharing the joy of Dancing by not only training people to dance but also specialising in applications of dance in holistic wellbeing through Dance Concepts, has been nominated to join UNESCO CID.
It surely connects the dots into a beautiful circle.
The prospect of working under the guidance of this phenomenal institution gives one unbelievable new strengths.
Learning to dance is indeed a ‘labour of love’ and I cherish every moment. How privileged we are to share this indescribable ‘magic of dance.’
Hoping to take the art of Dance to empower more and more people to sense and love the beauty of every movement in the moments called Life.
1: In a 2000 Sq feet house you live in 200 Sq feet; in the remaining 1800 Sq feet lives your ego.
2.The difference between “Time” and “Wealth”. You are always aware at all times how much wealth you have but you are never aware at any time how much time you have.!!!
3:In a book store lie both the Holy Gita and the Koran. They never quarrel with each other. ..The ones who fight in their name are those who have never read them…
4:A true friend is one who tells you the truth which may hurt like salt on a wound; those who speak sweetly are only sycophants. It is a known fact that salt never spoils but sweets spoil very easily.
5:Science claims that when hurt is inflicted on the tongue it heals very fast! Wisdom says that when hurt is inflicted by the tongue it never heals…
Talk of profundity in brevity. So much can be said in a few words. Came across this very brief but thought provoking read and felt like sharing . Have interspersed them with a few relevant pictures.
8 micro short stories, with deep meanings!
(1) Those who had coins, enjoyed in the rain. Those who had notes, were busy looking for shelter.
(2) Man and God both met somewhere. Both exclaimed, “My creator.”
(3) He asked, are you a Hindu or Muslim? The response came, “I am hungry”!
(4) The fool didn’t know it was impossible. So he did it.
(5) “Wrong number,” Said a familiar voice.
(6) What if God asks you after you die, “So how was heaven?”
(7) They told me that to make her fall in love I had to make her laugh. But every time she laughs, I am the one who falls in love.”
(8) We don’t make friends anymore…. We Add them nowadays..
In the gaze
Between nowhere and somewhere
Half opened eyes
Focussing within
Finding the sense of balance
In the inner recesses
Of the spirit and soul
Juxtaposed between
The art of the moves
Is the rhythm divine
That manifests the flow.
Subliming the Souls calling
Knowing the wisdom
Of the whirling moves
That centers
The mind spirit and body
All rolling into one
In the state of flow
A divinity in motion.
The truth by far
Is within us to find
Every truth unravelled
Conveys the wholeness
Of the harmonious flow
Each truth is sufficient
For the being to know.
The Condor is one of the largest flying bird in the world. Magnificient birds with wings spreading to almost three feet.
They are a symbol of strength and freedom. They have a distinct white circle of tuft of feathers on the neck as well on their wings. The Andean condors are monogamous birds They live with a single partner all their life. They are known to care for their offspring together, for almost an year.
There are many legends by Incas associated with these amazing birds. Of how much they are tuned in to the circle of life. Talks about the magnanimity & loyalty as a bird. They are common to South American Andes region.
In continuation to my earlier post on Holistic education. I came across this poignant post and I heartfully share this wonderful initiative and reflections.
ATTENTION ALL TEACHERS AND PARENTS
Every Friday afternoon Chase’s teacher asks her students to take out a piece of paper and write down the names of four children with whom they’d like to sit the following week. The children know that these requests may or may not be honored. She also asks the students to nominate one student whom they believe has been an exceptional classroom citizen that week. All ballots are privately submitted to her.
And every single Friday afternoon, after the students go home, Chase’s teacher takes out those slips of paper, places them in front of her and studies them. She looks for patterns.
Who is not getting requested by anyone else? Who doesn’t even know who to request? Who never gets noticed enough to be nominated? Who had a million friends last week and none this week?
You see, Chase’s teacher is not looking for a new seating chart or “exceptional citizens.” Chase’s teacher is looking for lonely children. She’s looking for children who are struggling to connect with other children. She’s identifying the little ones who are falling through the cracks of the class’s social life. She is discovering whose gifts are going unnoticed by their peers. And she’s pinning down- right away- who’s being bullied and who is doing the bullying.
As a teacher, parent, and lover of all children – I think that this is the most brilliant Love Ninja strategy I have ever encountered. It’s like taking an X-ray of a classroom to see beneath the surface of things and into the hearts of students. It is like mining for gold – the gold being those little ones who need a little help – who need adults to step in and TEACH them how to make friends, how to ask others to play, how to join a group, or how to share their gifts with others. And it’s a bully deterrent because every teacher knows that bullying usually happens outside of her eyeshot – and that often kids being bullied are too intimidated to share. But as she said – the truth comes out on those safe, private, little sheets of paper.
As Chase’s teacher explained this simple, ingenious idea – I stared at her with my mouth hanging open. “How long have you been using this system?” I said. Ever since Columbine, she said. Every single Friday afternoon since Columbine.
Good Lord.
This brilliant woman watched Columbine knowing that ALL VIOLENCE BEGINS WITH DISCONNECTION. All outward violence begins as inner loneliness. She watched that tragedy KNOWING that children who aren’t being noticed will eventually resort to being noticed by any means necessary.
And so she decided to start fighting violence early and often, and with the world within her reach. What Chase’s teacher is doing when she sits in her empty classroom studying those lists written with shaky 11 year old hands – is SAVING LIVES. I am convinced of it. She is saving lives.
And what this mathematician has learned while using this system is something she really already knew: that everything – even love, even belonging – has a pattern to it. And she finds those patterns through those lists – she breaks the codes of disconnection. And then she gets lonely kids the help they need. It’s math to her. It’s MATH.
All is love- even math. Amazing.
Chase’s teacher retires this year – after decades of saving lives. What a way to spend a life: looking for patterns of love and loneliness. Stepping in, every single day- and altering the trajectory of our world.
TEACH ON, WARRIORS. You are the first responders, the front line, the disconnection detectives, and the best and ONLY hope we’ve got for a better world. What you do in those classrooms when no one is watching- it’s our best hope. http://momastery.com/blog/2014/01/30/share-schools/
We are country overflowing with an abundance of rivers and blessed with the monsoon season. Yet the picture is grim. Rivers are tilting the balance, either in floods or in a draught. The changing weather conditions, the seasonal shifts, have created havoc on our agriculture.
Common man’s need for drinking water is not met. Some states fight for rivers to flow into them with acute water shortages, some states have perennial rivers flowing. And some have dried river beds without a drop of rain.
Our majestic country that stood tall in the wealth of nature from east to west and north to south is sadly shrinking in shame The culprits are no one but us all. Land grabbing and construction is happening without care or consideration of the ecosystem.
Today where rivers were there are buildings With rampant construction without ethical practices. We may have turned the face of India in digitization and globalization but our natural resources are being drained. With rising population, it is creating a giant depletion of resources without developing adequate measures to restore and regenerate the ecosystem.
Here is the truth as we stand today. India is among the 17 countries facing “extremely high” water stress, according to the World Resources Institute’s Aqueduct Atlas. The country, ranked 13th on the list, has more than three times the population (1.4 billion) of the other 16 countries combined. And the crisis isn’t limited to the southern states anymore: Northern India also faces severe groundwater depletion. Earlier, a WWF study showed that Chennai and Kolkata were the world’s most water-vulnerable metros due to mismanagement of river systems and shrinking of wetlands.
What can we as citizens of this glorious generous land do to help? There are many ways to help conserve water and make a difference.
Here are a few easy checks
Close taps when you are brushing/ shaving. Fix leaking pipes and taps. Stop throwing garbage in nature and contaminating water resources. Check your water usage in bathrooms. Fix water-saving showers. Stop wasting water. Every drop counts!
Being human is about caring for the world. So do remember if we save water today, we are ensuring there is water left for the future. Let us all make a difference from where ever we are. Save water.
Savvy Raj 
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