Sambalpuri Din #SambalpuriDin

August 1st is celebrated as Sambalpuri Din.

As we cheer and wear Sambalpuri Bandha, time to ensure that we choose and promote original handlooms and support all our weavers.

Image Courtesy: Shri Papu Lenka, Facebook

In the above image, we can see some members of the Pahala Rasagola group- Pahala Rasagola Entrepreneurs and Manufacturers - wearing Sambalpuri Bandha shirts. It is a matter of great pride and happiness that they accepted this writer's suggestion and have been wearing handloom shirts for events.

Remembering Bharat Ratna Dr APJ Abdul Kalam

Today, we pay tribute to former President of India, Bharat Ratna, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. 

It is his death anniversary.

Source: God Hope, Amazon

We had lost him on this date in 2015. It was the tithi of Suna Besha of the Ratha Jatra. 

Suna Besha is an auspicious day when the deities are dressed in golden attire.

Letter For National Handloom Awards 2023 Notification

Thanks to the Ministry of Textiles, Govt of India, and PM Modi ji's initiative, the first National Handloom Day was inaugurated on 7th August 2015 in Chennai.

National Handloom Day celebration is an opportunity to honour our handloom-weaving community and to share and showcase the contribution of this sector in the socio-economic development of our nation.

On National Handloom Day, celebrated on 7th August each year, the National Handloom Awards are given to honour weavers.

It is a goal for many weavers.

There is an English saying- "Where there's a will, there's a way".

But, the will is not created automatically. There has to be a goal and then there can be the motivation and action to reach it.

All this cannot and does not happen overnight.

Agree that not all weavers work for awards. They create exquisite pieces and are either unbothered or unaware to send nomination.

Source: myGov on Twitter

Dance With The Skeletons

They appear out of the blue

And we have not any clue.

They torment & disturb,

Their activities we cannot curb.

What we decide to do-

Will determine & construe.

Come one, date the demons!

Dance with the skeletons!

Source: The Truth on Facebook

Floods And Disasters In Nature

In the past couple of days, we all have seen disturbing images and videos of floods and landslides in some parts and extreme heat wave and forest fires in the other part of the world. Many lives have been lost and property has been damaged owing to the natural and man-made disasters.

This morning, I saw this Greentoon shared by the Economic Times-

The above "ECO-LOGICAL" cartoon by artist Manjul shows the attitude of our times.

Self Promotion #IAmRemarkable

When I first started blogging, I came across the term- "SSP" on the blogging community- IndiBlogger's forum.

SSP means- "Shameless Self Promotion"!

If a blogger shared her/his blog link in social media posts and replies, then she/he is indulging in SSP! Obviously, it is not particularly encouraging to be branded so! 

I still got tagged as indulging in SSP sometimes as I shared my blog posts, and that made me conscious.

But, blog posts are supposed to be shared, right?

It is true that Self Promotion (SP) is looked down and dismissed by many.

Now, it takes a lot for some people like me to even share our blog post links on social media! 

First, you feel you are putting in Herculean effort for sharing posts, and even for replying with blog-links to queries, and being a Good Samaritan by sharing all answers that have been neatly shared in your blog-post!

What happens after that? Get branded as a trumpet-blower and part of the SSP gang!

And then get avoided like the plague! :)

Self Promotion makes it possible to be boycotted!

Who even wants to face and live through such adverse possibilities?

We have been always raised being encouraged to adopt a "be humble" attitude. 

"Studies show that women are often hesitant to self-promote or share their accomplishments due to the fear of being seen as arrogant. "

True Or Views Of a Few?

 Sunday Times edition dated June 25, 2023 had this question on the cover page-

"True or views of a few?"

Sunday Times is the Sunday edition of the Times of India- "India's largest English newspaper".

Times of India is "India's Most Trusted Newsbrand."

The question in question here made me think of all the possible answers.

Many times, views of a few have been imposed on the vast majority.

Over the years, those views and those cunning stories and concocted tales have been accepted as the reality.

Truth has gone for a toss, and people do not even know or realise or bother about their loss!

Leading media have been publishing wrong information based on the previous fake news or incorrect data.

For example, the recent Manchester Marathon- Khandua Saree worn by Marathon-runner Ms Madhusmita Jena Das. Despite corrections being made, updates have been few, wrong info exists on cyberspace and the saree is still being erroneously referred to as- "Sambalpuri Bandha".

Rasagola (Rasgulla) has been a part of the age-old cultural tradition of Shreemandira i.e. the Shree Jagannatha Temple, Puri, Odisha.

Trust The Trustworthy and Hone The Honesty

 Trust is a very serious term. It signifies much more than love. 

It is reliance and faith and assurance for support. Trust is the foundation.

Once trust is lost, there is no support and foundation and a relationship falls flat.

Trust is linked with honesty. Honest people are trustworthy.

A Sanskrit shloka I had read in high school comes to my mind. One of the lines was-

"One who trusts the untrustworthy is the most foolish or low-grade person." 

Personally, I have been a foolish person many times as I have trusted the untrustworthy and have been taken for a ride.

Trust can only be expected from trustworthy people.

But, who are trustworthy? How do we make the right selection? 

Who are responsible and can be relied upon?

Full Time Live Maid

Today, I found a request post in a Facebook group that I am a part of. 

Usually, many of us are part of many online groups, but unable to participate in group-discussions.

I do not even check the group activity most of the times. I chanced across the said post a short while ago and now that I think of it, this was for a reason.

White letters on a pink background always look pretty and attractive.

But, after reading the words expressed, I am left wondering and pondering about life.

I am sure this mother's son, who has been an active member of the FB community and who has posted this message, has his own reasons. Perhaps, it is their family's joint decision.

We all have our reasons for acting or behaving in a certain way. Nobody and no way is perfect.

Agree that we cannot judge anyone without wearing their shoes or knowing what they are going through.

Social media does not give the full picture.

15 Points for Success

The best cure for the body is a "quiet mind" and the best cure for the mind is "NEVER MIND”!

Doing the following, we will be successful-

 15 Success Highlights That All Must Know-

1. 𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐁𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, 𝐃𝐨 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐆𝐨 𝐎𝐮𝐭 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐀 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐈𝐭.

2. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐬 𝐀 𝐁𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠; 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬; 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐬 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬. 

3. 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐈𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐓𝐨 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐈𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐓𝐨 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐈𝐟 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐁𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥.

4. 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐈𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐦 𝐎𝐟 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 - 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐈𝐧 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐎𝐮𝐭. 

5. 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐎𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐎𝐟 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐬𝐦.

6. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐈𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤, 𝐃𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐉𝐨𝐛 𝐀𝐭 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐧 𝐎𝐫 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐞, 𝐖𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐎𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐀𝐭 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝.

7. 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐈𝐬 𝐈𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐈𝐬 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐞.

8. 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐓𝐨 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬. 

9. 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐈𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐲 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐎𝐫 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐫 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐤. 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐈𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐲 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞. 

10.  𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧, 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐖𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝. 𝐓𝐨 𝐁𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐨 𝐁𝐞 𝐀 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧. 

11. 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐈𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐀 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞. 

12. 𝐈𝐟 𝐀𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝, 𝐓𝐫𝐲, 𝐓𝐫𝐲 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐍𝐨 𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐈𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐧 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐈𝐭. 

13. 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐔𝐩 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐓𝐨 𝐀𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐭 𝐎𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐘𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐔𝐩 𝐀𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐭 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐀 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧. 𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐔𝐩.

14. 𝐈𝐧 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐨 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐥, 𝐒𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐓𝐨 𝐃𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭.

15.  𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐔𝐩 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐚. 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 - 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐎𝐟 𝐈𝐭, 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐎𝐟 𝐈𝐭, 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐎𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐚. 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐍𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬, 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐁𝐨𝐝𝐲, 𝐁𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐚, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐀𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐈𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐲 𝐓𝐨 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬...

Do you agree with these points?

Which of these quotes resonates most with you?