From A Dabbawala To A Data Scientist: The Inspiring Story Of Ankush Bhandari
The terms ‘data science’ and ‘analytics’ have had a great surge in usage for a long time now. Data has become the driving force of all established companies these days.
In this ever-evolving sector of technology, success and failure stories are found daily. But only a few of them are as inspiring as the story of Ankush Bhandari, a tiffin service provider who became a data scientist.
Under Delhi metro bridge, shopkeeper runs makeshift school for over 300 poor children
‘The Free School Under The Bridge’, where hundreds of children living in shacks and hutments close to the Yamuna Bank metro station get education, is run by its founder Rajesh Kumar Sharma.
12-year-old Pune boy designs ship to clean oceans, save marine life
Haaziq, who has also presented his idea on an international platform through various platforms like TedEx and Ted8, has been appreciated by many international scholars and organisation.
Delhi Photographer Breaks Boundaries, Helps Differently-Abled Be Their Own Hero!
“Things have changed, but our perception of the differently-abled has not. Is making candles and graduating high school the best they can do? Who are we to define their potential?”
A farmer got so old that he couldn’t work the fields anymore. So he would spend the day just sitting on the porch. His son, still working the farm, would look up from time to time and see his father sitting there.
“He’s of no use any more,” the son thought to himself, “he doesn’t do anything!” One day the son got so frustrated by this, that he built a wood coffin, dragged it over to the porch, and told his father to get in.
Without saying anything, the father climbed inside. After closing the lid, the son dragged the coffin to the edge of the farm where there was a high cliff.
As he approached the drop, he heard a light tapping on the lid from inside the coffin. He opened it up. Still lying there peacefully, the father looked up at his son. “I know you are going to throw me over the cliff, but before you do, may I suggest something?” “What is it?” replied the son. “Throw me over the cliff, if you like,” said the father, “but save this good wood coffin. Your children might need to use it.”
Interpretation : We must understand that our actions are what matters so we must do what we would expect from life. This is applicable to all our relationships in the journey of our lives.
B’luru Startup Detects High-risk Pregnancies in Time, Helps Reduce Maternal Deaths
According to UNICEF, nearly 44, 000 women die annually in India due to pregnancy related causes. Which is why brilliant apps like Maatritva are literal lifesavers! #Innovation #Startup
103-year-old nicknamed the ‘Hurricane’ wins yet another gold in 100-meter dash
At 103, Julia Hawkins might have fallen short of the record-setting 100-meter dash she completed two years ago, but she is still living up to her nickname the “Hurricane.”
Beno Zephine is 25 and she made history when she became India’s first 100 per cent visually challenged person to be inducted into the country’s elite Indian Foreign Service (IFS).
She secured 343rd rank in the 2013-14 Civil Service examination, but had to wait for a year for her appointment, as the government worked out the rules to accommodate her.
‘Chance of a lifetime’: Kolkata slum kids in video praised by Nadia Comaneci are living a dream
Just three words by gymnastic icon Nadia Comaneci have transformed the mood in the informal settlements across Hide Road and the coal berth at Garden Reach near the docks of Kolkata’s Kidderpore area.
The Zen master Hakuin was praised by his neighbours as one living a pure life.
A beautiful Japanese girl whose parents owned a food store lived near him. Suddenly, without any warning, her parents discovered she was with child.
This made her parents very angry. She would not confess who the man was, but after much harassment at last named Hakuin.
In great anger the parents went to the master. “Is that so?” was all he would say.
After the child was born it was brought to Hakuin. By this time he had lost his reputation, which did not trouble him, but he took very good care of the child. He obtained milk from his neighbors and everything else the little one needed.
A year later the girl-mother could stand it no longer. She told her parents the truth – that the real father of the child was a young man who worked in the fishmarket.
The mother and father of the girl at once went to Hakuin to ask his forgiveness, to apologize at length, and to get the child back again.
Hakuin was willing. In yielding the child, all he said was: “Is that so?”
Interpretation: This story shows us what true acceptance and detachment is all about. The man did not get into an argument when blamed wrongly and did not even wish to keep the baby he had looked after for so long. If we can learn to lead life in this manner, our world shall indeed be a better one.
Hospital Lets Kids Drive Themselves to Surgery in Toy Cars to Help Overcome Fears
A nice drive to clear one’s head is no longer just for adults! The people at Doctors Medical Center in Modesto, California have come up with an ingenious solution for the pre-surgery jitters a lot of children go through. Driving themselves into surgery, instead of being wheeled in on a gurney. So, what’ll it be kiddo?
My Story: From Growing Up With Constant Pain & Discomfort To Becoming An Adcovate For Disability Rights
“Ouch, Aaah, Oh God! why me, It’s unbearable”, these are our daily responses when we are not comfortable with physical aches or even when we see a pimple knocking on our skin. Now, imagine living a life where the sound of a pressure cooker whistle, loud music, or even a cough, crushing your bones within your body, into pieces! Imagine your bones crumbling within your body on its own will, without any intimation or symptoms. It’s hard to find vocabularies to express yourself, right?
Indian Scientists Create ‘Black Gold’ to Boost Solar Power, Make Seawater Potable!
Scientists at the Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) used gold nanoparticles and, by rearranging size and gaps between them, developed a new material which has unique properties like the capacity to absorb light and carbon dioxide.
Stop Giving Excuses! You Will Have No Reason After Reading This – Basanti
Situations don’t get as inspiring as this one. The following story is a great example of women who don’t give up, no matter what they face. If anything it should be a lesson to everyone that anything is truly possible.
‘Prayers Are Working’: Boy Thrown From Mall Of America Balcony Heads Home From Hospital
In April 2019, a stranger threw 5-year-old Landen Hoffman over a third-floor balcony at the Minnesota Mall of America. The 40-foot drop left the poor boy severely injured. But after months of prayer, the family joyously reports Landen is finally home from the hospital!
There are things in this world that will never make sense. Like why a complete stranger would throw an innocent child over a balcony. But that’s exactly what happened to Landen Hoffman.
A lord asked Takuan, a Zen teacher, to suggest how he might pass the time. He felt his days very long attending his office and sitting stiffly to receive the homage of others.
Takuan wrote eight Chinese characters and gave them to the man:
Not twice this day
Inch time foot gem.
This day will not come again.
Each minute is worth a priceless gem.
Interpretation: No matter how good or bad the current moment, it either teaches us something or makes us stronger in the journey of life. With this perspective, we shall indeed lead a complete life always.
Life Insurance For 2000+ Fisherfolk: Show Your Gratitude To Kerala’s Flood Heroes
“After floods as the state got back to its feet, the fisherfolk went back to their hardships. They risked their lives for us and I wanted to do something to show gratitude.”
This Mom Left an IT Job to Deliver Homemade Food, Now Owns 11 Restaurants!
“My son told me how he had completed his homework and other activities before coming to bed. He told me to do my work till I accomplish what I needed to. It was such a simple advice and yet so profound.”
India Today brought together six young Indians, young heroes who should inspire an entire generation.
Young heroes reveal their inspiring story of grit in conversation with India Today Group Consulting Editor Rajdeep Sardesai.
As India enters the 69th year of its Independence, India Today is celebrating with inspirational heroes. Indian citizens who typify the great Indian dream, the dream of an equal, free and inclusive society.
Zenkai, the son of a samurai, journeyed to Edo and there became the retainer of a high official. He fell in love with the official’s wife and was discovered. In self-defense, he slew the official. Then he ran away with the wife.
Both of them later became thieves. But the woman was so greedy that Zenkai grew disgusted. Finally, leaving her, he journeyed far away to the province of Buzen, where he became a wandering mendicant.
To atone for his past, Zenkai resolved to accomplish some good deed in his lifetime. Knowing of a dangerous road over a cliff that had caused the death and injury of many persons, he resolved to cut a tunnel through the mountain there.
Begging food in the daytime, Zenkai worked at night digging his tunnel. When thirty years had gone by, the tunnel was 2,280 feet long, 20 feet high, and 30 feet wide.
Two years before the work was completed, the son of the official he had slain, who was a skillful swordsman, found Zenkai out and came to kill him in revenge.
“I will give you my life willingly,” said Zenkai. “Only let me finish this work. On the day it is completed, then you may kill me.”
So the son awaited the day. Several months passed and Zenkai kept on digging. The son grew tired of doing nothing and began to help with the digging. After he had helped for more than a year, he came to admire Zenkai’s strong will and character.
At last the tunnel was completed and the people could use it and travel in safety.
“Now cut off my he ad,” said Zenkai. “My work is done.”
“How can I cut off my own teacher’s head?” asked the younger man with tears in his eyes.
Interpretation : People do change. In fact, change is the only certainty in life. So, we do always need to recognise this in the journey of our lives. Here, we could always try to forgive others for the wrongs they may have done, knowingly or unknowingly earlier. Meaningless revenge after all has never served any purpose in anyone’s life.
On 26/11, This Brave Nurse Saved 20 Pregnant Women from the Terrorists’ Bullets!
Rattled by the sight of the two lifeless bodies that lay in a pool of blood at the entrance, the staff nurse quickly ran and slammed the heavy double doors of the antenatal care ward.
Once Sold Into Prostitution, These Girls Became Lawyers To Bring Justice To Others Like Them
Survivors of the crime of Commercial Exploitation of Children (CEC) are today aiming to become top-notch lawyers. They have different stories. Some were child brides sold into prostitution by their husbands, some were sent away by their families as domestic helps into unknown houses.
But they all seem to have one thing in common, the one thing that pushes them to aim for the best.
Former Child Refugee Finally Gets to Thank Aid Worker for the Life-Changing Gift He Gave Her 24 Years Ago
It has been almost 24 years since a Dutch aid worker gave Mevan Babakar a brand new bicycle to call her own—and thanks to the power of the internet, she was finally able to thank him for the gift that helped to change her life.
While a new bicycle may not seem particularly special, Babakar had been in a particularly tough spot when she received the gift.
These Musicians Play Classical Songs At Crime Scenes to Help Neighbors Heal After Tragedy The Black String Triage Ensemble is a group of classical musicians who play music at Milwaukee crime scenes after the law enforcement teams have left.
This WhatsApp Group Has Resolved 500+ Civic Issues Across Bengaluru – From Bumpy Roads To Faulty Drainage
One of the most beautiful and developed cities in India has to be Bengaluru. The pleasant weather alongside the meteoric growth of the metropolis has turned it into the home for millions. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Bengaluru can give a tough competition to the topmost cities in the world if adjudged on the basis of standard urban parameters.
Fable :: Religious Debate A cleric who prided himself on being called a philosopher had come over to Mulla Nasruddin’s house for a religious debate. They had scheduled for this contest. So the man was deeply offended when he discovered the door locked on the appointed date and time.
“How dare he remains absent when he knew I was coming!” He fumed. He scribbled STUPID FOOL! In a fury and went away.
When Mulla returned in the evening, he saw the letters STUPID FOOL! On his door and immediately realized what has transpired. Without waiting for a minute, he went to the learned man’s home.
He knocked and apologized straight away. “My sincere apologies my friend, for forgetting you were coming over for debate. But I had realized you had come the moment when I saw your signature on my door!”
Interpretation : Though this seems like a witty tale alone, it shows us what we say always leaves behind a mark of who we are. This is why we always need to be conscious of what we say or do.
187-Year-Old Jonathan the Tortoise of St. Helena Is the World’s Oldest Land Animal
If you ever have the chance to visit St. Helena—a volcanic island situated remotely in the South Atlantic Ocean—make sure to drop by Plantation House to catch a glimpse of the 187-year old Jonathan, said to be the oldest land animal now living on Earth.
Black man convinces 200 Ku Klux Klansmen to leave white supremacist group by befriending them
‘I never set out to convert anyone in the Klan. I just set out to get an answer to my question: ‘How can you hate me when you don’t even know me?’’ says blues musician
Haryana milkman’s son wrestles his way to gold at world meet
ENDING AN 18-year wait for India in the World Junior Championship, Haryana wrestler Deepak Punia Wednesday clinched gold in the 86kg category event in the Estonian city of Tallinn.
Love Story 1946: Separated During Freedom Struggle, Kerala Couple Unite After 72 Years!
Meeting after more than seven decades, 90-year-old Narayanan and 86-year-old Sarada were left speechless and teary-eyed — a touching reunion that will remind you of Veer-Zaara!
Foot-Soldiers Of Freedom: The Courier And His Anti-British Barrage
He sits calm and unruffled by the blazing heat on a small bridge atop this compact dam in Kolhapur that he brought into being over half a century ago. Patiently continuing to answer questions we had sprung on him earlier at lunch. He also walks, sprightly and energetic, all over the bridge with us – explaining how this barrage came to life in 1959.
Worried Of Plastic Bottles? This Man’s Bamboo Bottles From Assam Come To Rescue
An entrepreneur from Assam has come up with an out-of-the-box idea to make his product stand out. Dhritiman Borah, an exporter of Bamboo products, has given the world a sustainable and eco-friendly product – bamboo bottle to quench your thirst.
In a world full of plastic products which are not biodegradable and make its way to marine ecology eradicating several species, Borah’s idea saves the day.
The Zen teacher’s dog loved his evening romp with his master. The dog would bound ahead to fetch a stick, then run back, wag his tail, and wait for the next game. On this particular evening, the teacher invited one of his brightest students to join him – a boy so intelligent that he became troubled by the contradictions in Buddhist doctrine.
“You must understand,” said the teacher, “that words are only guideposts. Never let the words or symbols get in the way of truth. Here, I’ll show you.”
With that the teacher called his happy dog.
“Fetch me the moon,” he said to his dog and pointed to the full moon.
“Where is my dog looking?” asked the teacher of the bright pupil.
“He’s looking at your finger.”
“Exactly. Don’t be like my dog. Don’t confuse the pointing finger with the thing that is being pointed at. All our Buddhist words are only guideposts. Every man fights his way through other men’s words to find his own truth.”
Interpretation : As the master says, we need to find our own truth using all that is shown to us in our journey of our lives.
Meet Surabhi- A Village Girl Who Cracked All Exams In First Attempt To Become IAS
Dream is not the one that you see in sleep but the one that doesn’t let you sleep and it was in Class 10 that Surabhi Gautam made up her mind that she wanted to become a proud IAS officer. Since then, she started ideal preparations and tirelessly worked hard day and night.
Manipur CM Makes 9-Yr-Old ‘Green Ambassador’ after Video of Her Crying Over Felled Trees Goes Viral
A 9-year-old girl was recently named a “green ambassador” of Manipur after a video of her crying after the cutting of two trees she had planted went viral.
Kashmir’s Only Woman DC Smashes Stigma Around Periods, Brings Girls Back to School!
“As a woman, I can empathize with their plight. This negative mindset towards menstruation isn’t limited to the illiterate, but also affluent and educated families. They don’t talk about menstrual health.”
Giving
CPR to Rescuing a Family From a Mob: 5 Civil Servants Who Saved Lives
Recently,
Daman Collector Rakesh Minhas was hailed as a hero after he stopped his car on
the roadside to administer emergency first aid to a person electrocuted by
high-tension wires! #Respect #RealLifeHeroes #LeadingByExample
Parable:
Traditional Sufi Stories About the Intricacies of Life
Many years ago, in a poor Chinese village, there lived a farmer and his
son. His only material possession, apart from the land and a small hut, was a
horse he had inherited from his father.
One day, the horse ran away, leaving the man
with no animal with which to work the land. His neighbours, who respected him
for his honesty and diligence, went to his house to say how much they regretted
his loss. He thanked them for their visit, but asked:
“How
do you know that what happened was a misfortune in my life?”
Someone muttered to
a friend: “He
obviously doesn’t want to face facts, but let him think what he likes, after
all, it’s better than being sad about it.”
And the neighbours went away again,
pretending to agree with what he had said.
A week later, the horse returned to its
stable, but it was not alone; it brought with it a beautiful mare for company.
The inhabitants of the village were thrilled when they heard the news, for only
then did they understand the reply the man had given them, and they went back to
the farmer’s house to congratulate him on his good fortune.
“Instead
of one horse, you’ve got two. Congratulations!” they said.
“Many
thanks for your visit and for your solidarity,” replied the farmer. “But how do you know that what
happened was a blessing in my life?”
The neighbours were
rather put out and decided that the man must be going mad, and, as they left,
they said: “Doesn’t
the man realise that the horse is a gift from God?”
A month later, the farmer’s son decided to
break the mare in. However, the animal bucked wildly and threw the boy off; the
boy fell awkwardly and broke his leg.
The neighbours returned to the farmer’s
house, bringing presents for the injured boy. The mayor of the village solemnly
presented his condolences to the father, saying how sad they all were about
what had occurred.
The man thanked them for their visit and for
their kindness, but he asked:
“How
do you know that what happened was a misfortune in my life?”
These words left
everyone dumbstruck, because they were all quite sure that the son’s accident
was a real tragedy. As they left the farmer’s house, they said to each other: “Now he really has gone mad;
his only son could be left permanently crippled, and he’s not sure whether the
accident was a misfortune or not!”
A few months went by, and Japan declared war
on China. The emperor’s emissaries scoured the country for healthy young men to
be sent to the front. When they reached the village, they recruited all the
young men, except the farmer’s son, whose leg had not yet mended.
None of the young
men came back alive. The son recovered, and the two horses produced foals that
were all sold for a good price. The farmer went to visit his neighbours to
console and to help them, since they had always shown him such solidarity.
Whenever any of them complained, the farmer would say: “How do you know that what
happened was a misfortune?” If
someone was overjoyed about something, he would ask: “How do you know that what happened
was a blessing?” And the
people of the village came to understand that life has other meanings that go
beyond mere appearance.
Father-Son Duo Helped Create 51,000 New Beehive Colonies Across The Globe
The bee population is shrinking. But this duo is saving them.
Stuart and Cedar
Anderson spent a whole ten years trying to figure out how to harvest honey
without disturbing bees. Their solution was an Indiegogo-funded invention
called Flow Hive that replicates a real beehive without putting the bees at
risk when you harvest honey. The Flow Hive allows the honey to flow out of the
hive straight into a jar without crushing or disrupting the bees inside. What a
brilliant design!
12-year-old boy designs a ship which could clean and save Oceans from humans
There are over 5 trillion pieces of plastic that are floating under the surface, gradually eliminating marine life.
Oceans
are not the same anymore. Everything has changed and ‘Humans’ are responsible
for it. Due to human’s big blunder of expelling plastics and waste to the
ocean, the entire marine system is in ‘red alert’ zone. The shocking fact is
that there are over 5 trillion pieces of plastic that are floating under the
surface, gradually eliminating marine life. We might have to react quickly
before it’s too late.
Odisha IAS Works In Fields With Farmers, Peels Off Posters From Walls Himself
“I am a fan of Spiderman and of his famous dialogue ‘with great power comes great responsibility.’ I am responsible for the welfare of my people and the district. Whenever I get an opportunity, I go outside my office to understand people’s problems, it is an easier way to address the crisis.”
Artists installed seesaws at the border so kids in the US and Mexico could play together
Seesaws on the border bring both sides together
(CNN)It may seem like an
ordinary scene: Children and adults playing on pink seesaws, carelessly
laughing and chatting with each other
But this is a
playground unlike any other. These custom-built seesaws have been placed on
both sides of a slatted steel border fence that separates the United States and
Mexico.
Fable : The Place Where Nothing and Everything Meet
If you walk into a forest and put your ear against a tree, you will hear a silence in there that is like your own. It is a silence that has no end. Empty silence is the background to everything we perceive, in the same way that space is the background to everything we perceive. Most people don’t like listening to that silence because it makes them feel alone, and they equate aloneness with loneliness. But the silent aloneness inside us — and inside all being — is not lonely.
The Zen master, Katagiri Roshi, once said, “When you see the bottom of your life, you see emptiness right there. You are standing by yourself, completely left alone in emptiness. That is a very deep sense of aloneness.”
Accepting emptiness like this, accepting our perfect aloneness, is not isolating; it is an essential part of our awakening. As Katagiri puts it, accepting emptiness allows us “to stand up in a new way.” When we stand up like that, with recognition of the ground of emptiness everywhere, we enter the reality of what he calls togetherness and creativity.
By accepting our perfect aloneness we embrace our perfect togetherness. Our aloneness extends to others because we see that everyone shares this same empty nature. “A bodhisattva,” Katagiri concludes, “constantly becomes alive from emptiness, and that life helps others.”
Sufis have a different way to describe all this, but it amounts to the same thing. “Essence is emptiness,” Rumi tells us. “Emptiness brings peace to your loving.” And this:
Dear soul, if you were not friends with the vast nothing inside, why would you always be casting your net into it, and waiting so patiently? This invisible ocean has given you such abundance…
And this:
…lying in a zero circle, mute… when we have totally surrendered to that beauty, we will have become a mighty kindness.
The sufic equation of dissolving into emptiness and emerging as love is identical with the image of the bodhisattva constantly becoming alive from emptiness. It is the movement of awakening described in Sufi teachings as fana and baqa. Fana is deconstruction of the self-illusion, most often translated as annihilation of the self. “I honor those,” Rumi says, “who empty the self and have only clear being there.”
Baqa is what comes after. As Coleman Barks describes it: “Baqa is the coming back from annihilation with cleansed enthusiasm for particulars. In the state of baqa one reenters the moment fully, doing small quiet work, sewing the robe of absence.” This is Katagiri’s “standing up” in a new way, the way of togetherness and creativity. Or, as Sufis might say, it is the expression of love and of doing the beautiful that naturally flows from emptying oneself into clear being.
In my own life this “move” has become a practice that happens — in shortened form — dozens of times each day. Let’s try it together now. As you follow the practice below, notice the subtle kinesthetic sensations that occur in you. When you do this a number of times, those sensations will begin to elide, and the “practice” will happen almost instantaneously.
As you sit reading this, notice the clarity of your vision. Notice there’s nothing in the way of your seeing these words.
Now notice the clarity of the awareness in which these words appear. That clarity is unobstructed — there’s nothing in the way of the words appearing in your awareness; there’s no color or background, your awareness is perfectly clear.
Bring your attention now to the space between your forehead and the back of your head. Notice that the space inside your head is also perfectly clear. This clarity is emptiness.
Notice the sensations of your breathing. Notice how each inhale arises out of nothing and, at the top of your in-breath, it vanishes into nothing. Your out-breath does the same. Very gently, notice the space surrounding and pervading each breath. Recognize its clear, empty quality.
Now allow your intuitive openness to expand, seeing how this clarity, this empty quality, is not bounded by anything — it is all around and through you, it is everywhere, like space is everywhere.
There is nothing you need to do to “hold” this recognition of the empty quality that pervades you and all the people and phenomena you encounter; it is always present. Relax in, and as, this clear, empty presence.
This is the “intentional” aspect of this practice. What happens next is where the magic is: baqa; “standing up in a new way;” reentering the moment with “cleansed enthusiasm for particulars.” However this occurs will be unique to you and the moment you are part of.
The place where you stand up is the place where nothing and everything meet. It’s not a place where your intellect will be of much use. We might call it a “heart space,” though it’s a heart space that pervades reality, not just the space inside your chest. In the place where nothing and everything meet, love opens all by itself, amazed and kind and creative.
Only this ancient love circling the holy black stone of nothing, where the lover is the love, the horizon and everything in it. — Rumi
Interpretation : Love is all about feelings and never the intellect. When we love this, we know everything.