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J'nagar college students mesmerized by Vivekananda!
 We have heard of college students coming together for an event at their favorite shopping mall, for an outing or a picnic, but this one was rare. Students of colleges in and around Jayanagar came together to float an organization called Vivekananda Vidyarthi Balaga to spread the teachings of Swami Vivekananda, at a function organized at Rotary Bhavan, 4th Block, Jayanagar. Students from Vijaya Junior College, BHS, SSMRV, RV College were present in large numbers.
Chief guest TV Raju, Director, RV Institute of Management lauded the students for their initiative and said coming as they did from model colleges, they should now get inspired by Swami Vivekananda to become role models in society.
 One of the highlights of the inauguration was the address by Dr K. Sheshamurthy, Dean, Computer Training Centre, BHS College, which was interspersed by a number of inspirational anecdotes (see box).
Averring that the present generation was intelligent enough to understand what is good and bad and what is right and wrong for a better future, he offered the following tips for them: Lead a simple and not a celebrity-obsessed life, do not give too much importance to dress and appearance, be flexible and not rigid in general, do not be extravagant in spending your parents' money, know the value of money by working hard for it, try to be free of prejudice while assessing and treating different kinds of people, learn to cope with the ups and downs of life in a balanced way, be an active contributor to society and before expecting something from it, ask yourself what you have done to improve it, and develop a positive attitude throughout your life. Follow all these and you are sure to become the next Narayana Murthy, he told the young audience, and then added, "I am sure most of you think implementing all these things I told you is a tall order, but that is precisely why the teachings of Vivekananda are relevant. Read his biography and then you will feel that there is nothing that you cannot do."
Others who spoke included BN Vijaykumar, Jayanagar MLA, Gopinath Reddy, president, BJP Bangalore Rural, K.S. Balasubramanyam, convenor, VVB, Murali Mohan and Balu.
Inspirational anecdotes for students by Dr K. Sheshamurthy
* Warren Buffett, legendary American investor, businessman, philanthropist and the largest shareholder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, was ranked by Forbes as the richest man in the world during the first half of 2008, with an estimated net worth of $62.0 billion
But the world's richest man lives in a 3-bedroom house, washes his own laundry, lives a very austere life, and has donated $30 million for various charities, including the Melinda Bill Gates Foundation, the major beneficiary of his largesse. Asked by the media why he did not bequeath all his wealth to his children, he replied, "If I give my children that much money they will not do anything to me and society, if I don't give them anything they will give something to me and society."
* Babu Chiri Sherpa holds the record for climbing the Mount Everest 10 times. More important, he climbed the world's most difficult mountain peak in 22 hours. Babu Chiri Sherpa's dream was not actually to scale Mount Everest - he used to climb the mountain to earn his livelihood - his dream was to build a school in the village where he was born, so that his six children and the other children of the village would have the opportunity to receive a formal education.
He died on Mount Everest, when he attempted his 11th summit. Babu was acknowledged as one of the strongest climbers in the Himalayas and famous in mountaineering circles for his overnight stay on the summit of Everest.
His name is legend and has reached cult status in his home country, Nepal. An organization called Mountain Hardwear has established a fund to help support Babu's family and complete his dream of building village schools in his home Solukhumbu region of Nepal
" A poor Indian lady married a rich American and settled down in the US. After experiencing the taste and pleasure of an American life for a decade, she became enamoured of all things American, and vowed not to return to India. But came an occasion when she was forced to attend a relative's wedding and so the couple emplaned to India. Right from the time she stepped on the Indian soil, she kept berating and complaining, 'This is India'. Like, during the bumpy ride from the airport to her village, the noisy and dirty taxi, the paan chewing driver, the chaotic traffic, the undisciplined vehicular traffic, and so on and so forth.
Late in the night, on a highway, their taxi had a flat tyre, and exasperated, she exclaimed, 'This is India'. When the spare tyre too was seen to have developed a puncture, they were stranded in the highway in total pitch darkness, where no one would know if they were lynched. She kept mumbling, 'This is India'. Finally, a dhobiwallah who was passing by, took pity on the couple and offered them temporary accommodation and later, a glass of lassi. The Indian wife was not consoled and she warned her husband that they would be robbed by the dhobi or he would charge a hefty sum of money for the service. The dhobiwallah then served them his chapatti and sabji, as no other hotel was available nearby. The wife continued to smell something hanky panky in all this and kept warning her husband. Eventually, the laundry man managed to find an alternate vehicle going in the direction of the stranded couple's destination and arranged for their travel. The American was relieved, and his wife said haughtily, "Throw him a few thousand bucks." When her husband did so, the dhobiwallah refused coyly. Feeling much obliged, the American upped his "fees" and even offered up to Rs 20,000/- but the laundryman refused, saying, he only wished to be of use to them in their hour of crisis. "He's crazy," his wife remarked, "that money could have taken care of his son's education expenses for a few years." The American replied simply, "No, darling, This is India!".
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