In Search of God

The entrepreneurial spirit ignited during the tata jagirityatra during dec mid to jan mid slowly gave away to the actual spirit-the holy spirit towards the end of jan.Blessings 09-a youth gathering initiated by Jesus Youth saw arnd 330 youth from different parts of hydcoming together for 3 days from Jan23-26.The program was the outcome of a longstandingdream of JYs in hyd infact every JY around the world- to introduce the youth to Jesus and help them estabish a personal relationship with him.This is done in a youthful way through poweful sessions by leading speakers,action songs, theatre presentations,prayer service,presentations,videos etc etc.The event made one thing very clear-every person esp young people is in search of something to fill that void in their hearts-many of them realised the truth that only Jesus can fill that void in their life!

The second week of feb saw myself resting in a beautiful hilly area in the northern part of kerala in a district called kozhikode.If i was facilitating the meeting between the young & Jesus in blessings in hyd,the spirit brought me here to renew my relationship with him.Completely cut-off from the world which means my cell phone was switched off and ofcourse no access to net!,i was able to spend time in prayer most of the time for 5days.It sort of helped me to ease the burden off my back,get refreshed in his presence,set my priorities straight,know his will for my future and take off to the world waiting outside fully energised.I landed up there flapping and took off from there gliding!

Valentines day saw me rushing back to trivandrum for my dear nephew John's baptism.If thebirthday makes him part of human family,baptism makes him part of the catholic family.InPopes words it is the initiation of the holy spirit on a person which will be completed by confirmation and renewed each time by the Holy Mass.It was a time to catch up with relatives before they vanish off from tat part of my brain which often gets memory refresh!Snaps of the event have all come out well and now making a splash in orkut land.John is the cute guy arnd in town now:)

Barely 3 days later i find myself in nagpur gng to take a session to a grp of young people about God's love and prayer life.If you are a person wondering how the spirit works in this time of the world,i would say this is how he works.Totally unplanned ;unprepared & unexpected-tats how life goes on if u giv it to God!But I promise u will njoy it much more than the life driven completely by ur plans!The spirit inspired me to introduce to those young minds a God who loves them unconditionaly irespective of their multitude of sins;ignorance & dont care attitutde!A God who waits on them patiently till they take that plunge to listen to him;a God who cares for them in their deepest agonies!

The below text is a favourite of mine:

I asked God for strength that i might achieve,
I was made weak that i might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health that i might do great things,
I was given infirmity that i might do great things.
I asked for riches that i might be happy,
I was given poverty that i might be wise.
I asked for power that i might have the praise of men,
I was given weakness that i might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things that i might enjoy life.
I was given life that i might enjoy all things.
I got nothing I asked for,but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself,my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am,among all men,most richly blessed.

Yaaron Chalo!

Tata Jagriti Yatra 08 was an all India train journey organized by Jagriti Sewa Sansthan, Mumbai sponored by the Tata group from Dec24 08 to Jan11 09.The theme of the journey is "awakening the entrepreneurial spirit". The Yatra consists of 350 youth from all over India chosen through a rigorous online selection process. The Yatra covered 13 cities & 18 role models in 18days in a special private train in an effort to capture the entrepreneurial spirit of Young India!

We visited social enterprises,purely commercial ones,spiritual initiatives which had grown to enterprises...social activists who made successful initiatives..villages,mega cities..tourists places,so on & so forth.The special train was fitted with 2 bogies of AC chair car with LCD screen,sound system & video cameras to capture all sessions happening in the train while on the move.A special detachable bogie converted as shower room was a special attraction.A pantry car with catering staff was travelling fulltime with the train to provide the 400 people with food.A media team consisting of reporters from all main dailies was also travelling to report the events along with blogging & internet facilities provided in the train to update the jagriti blog on a day to day basis.

CNBC TV 18 media debates was another key element of the journey.6 episodes were shot at 6 locations during the journey each based a theme related to the Yatra's spirit.The Power of One,Yes WE Can,poverty to prosperity,spirit of entrepreneurship were some of the themes of the debates with eminent panelists one of them being Rajdeep Sardesai in the Delhi episode.

The places & role models visited:

1.Mumbai

Lijjad Papad
Dabbawallas

2.Trivandrum

Technopark
Thanal

3.Kanyakumari

Vivekanda Rock
Vivekanda Mission
CNBC episode 1

4.Puduchery

Aurobindo Eye Care
Auroville

5.Chennai

Ms Swaminathan Foundation
Kuttambakam Village,Mr.Elango
CNBC episode 2

6.Bangalore

AWAKE
TIDE,SELCO,Jagoore Campaign
Art of Living

7.Hyderabad

Naandi Foundation
CNBC Episode 3

8.Bhuvansehwar

GramVikas,Mr,Joe Madiath

9.Jamshedpur

Tata Steel
CNBC episode 4

10.Lucknow

Imambara visit
SEWA

11.Delhi

Goonj,Mr.Anshu Gupta
CNBC episode 5

12.Rajastan

Tilonia,Mr.Bunker Roy

13.Gujarat

Milma Visit(cancelled)
CNBC episode 6

The spirit of the yatra is captured in the theme song by Prasoon Joshi of TZP fame

Kuch badal raha kuch badlege
Tab badlega jab badalenge
kuch dekha hai kuch dekhenge
kuch likha hai kuch likedenge
Yaaron Chalo,Badalne Ki Rut hai
Yaaron Chalo,Badalne Ki Rut hai

• Listen to the full song at www.jagritiyatra.com

• Watch the video at:

http://www.livemint.com/2009/01/18222500/Lessons-in-development.html

• Read the blog at: http://2008.jagritiyatra.com/index.php/eng/Yatri-Blog

Mood Indigo: The mood of India!

Years back Tata Motors selected the name "Indigo" for their new sedan after Indica(India & car)from the theme India & GO!Today(23 Dec 08) after attending the final day of Mood Indigo - the annual cultural fest of IIT Bombay(yep the name has not changed,guess Raj missed out this one?)i also feel the same - India is on the GO!Ofcourse the organizers may not hav coined this name with this theme in mind but I feel they inadvertedly captured the general mood of todays youth in India:)

IIT Bombay is one of the best educational institutions in India which every year proudly churns out the elite class of "iitians" who are the best in the lot. I accidently reached IIT on the last day of their cultural fest to witness some of the interesting stalls like the ForceOne F1 team of Mallya with imported "girls" as models, painting stalls where ceramic,indian art are done on t-shirts and even a sperm bank where u can "sell" life (as advertised by them)to earn money!But i could particularly like to mention here about the final mega show of the fest-the Sonu Nigam show.For those who are not "Hindian", Sonu Nigam is one of the most popular playback singers in Bollywood who is a fav in stage shows. The queue for the 8pm show started from 4.30pm onwards even stretching a km or 2!Being not much of a Sonu fan or that case any stage show hero(my frnds will agree with this)i joined late in the queue by 7.45pm & tat too the IIT queue which is supposed to be an cakewalk compared to the normal queue.Being an impatient bug,i started fidgeting after the initial enthusiam of watching Sonu live for free:)Even 8.45pm we havnt reached anywhere near Sonu.But contrary to my frustrations,all the people,youth of age 18-25 were unprecedently quiet and anxious!!!They were not frustrated and they r not abusive(usual scenes in Indian queues),they were jus waiting patiently and praying also that they may get in on time.My buddies from IIT by whoe mercy i am inside this huge campus which is not at all a place for a guy like me to be in by any chance kept on insisting that i dont break away from the queue.By 9.30pm quards stopped everyone very near to the entrance,here every single person left quiet sad;instead of picking up a fight with the guards they were patiently pursuing others to leave the queue!

What happened to the Indian youth?The same youth who is boisterous;who gets angry and abusive quiet quickly in govt or any other queues;the youth who is very aggressive when it comes to their needs,the youth who will go to any length to achieve their needs are here seen to be quiet patient & well being!Is it becoz they are iitians?or is it the mumbaikars spirit?Not sure-but how i wished standing there-my legs paining,had this same youth who didnt' mind standing in the long queue for hrs without any use turn out in large nos with the same vigor & interest for the next general elections;had they showed the same interest to get their voters card which they don't do generally citing long queues & procedures!Had the same youth shown more patience & manners when they are waiting for bus or trains!I was suddenly pulled by my frnds who still have not dropped the idea of getting inside.They decided once again to take the same path as all guards left as the pgm is geting to an end.I also trudged alone unwillingly as there was no other option for me,before i know it i am standing very close to Sonu Nigam-the badshah of India music(tats wt they mentioned;not sure if he is one!).The people were all bathed in sweat of dancing & the show is geting to the final no.As if hearing my thoughts,Sonu took some time off in between the last no & said these words-"Guys u r the best in India,some of you might be the future leaders of India.I salute You!"hmm...my respect for him grew a bit...again he continued after singing for a while..."guys there is a site called www.karmayog.com,if u wana do something for our country jus check it out,i am not a promoter for this site but i hav hrd like that".I really got impressed with him.He presented a gud ans to my earlier doubt or dismay.

The youth of this country is very vibrant & at the same time teachable. You need different mediums & different creative ways to reach out to them. You need to speak their language;only then they will listen to ur words. How i wished our political leaders,govts,social organizations & all those involved in nation building & development who are working across India captured this Mood of Indian youth: Mood IndiGO!