Month: August 2012

A transition…

Hello people!!!

I have finally joined in my aspiring course MSW (Masters of Social Work). I was having so many ideas running through my mind once I got relieved from my job. But since my childhood I was aspiring to become a social worker and once when I grew up I found MSW as a course which concurs with my long-lasting wish.

As a result of it obviously I went for an admission with MSW course and waiting for the college to get started with a new phase of my life. This is how I was thinking until I joined this course. But in this few days of time I realized few totally diverse thoughts about me and my ideas and guess this was really a transaction phase of my life. The few questions that I asked myself are:

  • What am I really gonna do by learning this course?
  • Am I gonna do social service to the people through this learning process?
  • But why can’t I do it by being in some other work?
  • Is it really necessary to stop working and go in for learning?
  • And by learning this will I be able to serve people better?

I was such a naïve for all these days and even now. I am really not able to take a right decision I guess. But what so ever be the result is I have decided to go on with my studies and once decision is made there must not be any looking back. And the answers for these questions are:

  • I always thought of helping and serving people. But never really had chance to do it nonchalantly. Though I am basically a person who would go for help voluntarily and at times I even put in few extra taken for fulfilling my wishes by going to orphanages and old age homes, I have no clear approach of how to move with people and handle all kind of people by handling my work with service and it directed me to minor time utilization for my obsession of serving. So by joining this course I would not have any work related stress and with some extra time usage I would be able to concentrate on my passion and make myself fit in right along with it.
  • Service basically doesn’t depend on the work or place or time a person is in. But it’s the effort he puts in whole heartedly in serving to his fellow people right from his own family and friends. Though I knew these well, I still wanted to make myself dedicated to my passion than running around for unrealistic money which weighs human beings these days despite of a persons character, love and affection towards each other even though they are our own family.

Being a girl I have limited space to move on in this society but being a human being I have this whole world to wrap it under my love and affection. Thus this is quiet a transition in my life.

Your valuable suggestions are always accepted whole heartedly… 🙂

Wish me luck guys!!!

For my best pals on this Friendship day!!!

 

Tinytoes wishes each and every one of my known and unknown friends a JOYOUS FRIENDSHIP DAY wishes!!! 

The tradition of celebrating Friendship Day began in 1935 when the US Congress decided to dedicate a day in the honor of friends. Though it is not known exactly what were the reasons that went into the making of this day, the retrospection of the world scenario of those times can lead us to an understanding. With the devastating effects of the First World War still showing and increasing hostilities, mistrust and hatred between countries providing the perfect conditions for another imminent battle, there was a greater need for friendship and camaraderie not only among nations but also among individuals.

Hence, the US Congress decided to designate the first Sunday of the month of August as Friendship Day and with a formal proclamation in 1935, officially declared the occasion a holiday dedicated in the honour of friends and friendship. Since then, celebration of National Friendship Day became an annual event. The lofty idea of honoring the beautiful relationship of friendship caught on with the people, particularly the youngsters all over the country, and in no time Friendship Day became a highly popular festival.

But the success of this wonderful occasion was not to be limited to the US alone. With time, several other countries followed suit in adopting the tradition of dedicating a day to the cause of friendship. The beautiful idea of having a day in the honor of friends was joyously taken over by several other countries across the world. With more and more nations joining in the celebrations, Friendship Day soon became International Friendship Day.

Today, Friendship Day is enthusiastically celebrated every year by many countries. The occasion is observed on the first Sunday of every August. The traditional celebrations include meeting with friends and exchanging of cards, flowers and gifts. Many social and cultural organizations also celebrate Friendship Day by hosting programs and get togethers. Special performances by rock bands are also organized in countries like the US to enhance the jubilations.

In 1997, the United Nations named Winnie – the Pooh, the famous cartoon character as the world’s Ambassador of Friendship.

It is interesting to note how some associations observe Friendship Day with different customs, by giving the festival different names and holding it in times unlike that of the actual festival.
For example, National Friendship Day is held on the first Sunday in August; Women’s Friendship Day is on the third Sunday in August; the third week of May is the Old Friends, New Friends Week and the whole of February is designated as the International Friendship Month.

These days, Friendship Day is celebrated with a lot of fanfare and great expenses. Just as in US and several other countries, the festival has been greatly commercialized.

Days before the festival, card and gift companies launch an extensive campaign to lure people into buying cards and gift items for their friends. Companies indulge in aggressive marketing to target youngsters, the main celebrators of festivals as these, and entice them into purchasing expensive articles for their pals. Restaurateurs too offer special discounts to make the most of the time. This marketing strategy has been severely criticized by many people and is a subject of debate every year. Many feel that such rampant commercialization has marred the very concept of Friendship Day and has turned it into a mere formality. Many on the other hand think that greater hype and hoopla around the occasion has helped to generate awareness about Friendship Day festival which was till recently a low-key affair (compared to occasions as “Mother’s Day” and “Father’s Day”) and thus promote friendship and brotherhood.

The popular customs of Friendship Day includes handing over roses, especially the pink and yellow ones. The day is observed with great exhilaration and merriment, with friends throwing parties, gorging on lip-smacking dishes and drinking hard (be it at home or at restaurants that offer special discounts for this occasion).

A highly popular thing associated with the day is the well-known Friendship Band – the modern day token of friendship that friends gift to one another to form an everlasting bond. Friendship bands are favorite items for youngsters and are available in stores all over the country. Girls go in for friendship bracelets instead of the conventional friendship wristbands. Friendship Poems and Friendship Day Gifts are exchanged between best friends to renew the bond of friendship and express gratitude and love for each other. These are new ways of celebration of this day that the GenX has invented.

Since its inception in 1935, Friendship Day and Friendship Day celebrations have come a long way. But however much the ways of celebration have changed, the basic idea behind the occasion remains the same. Friendship Day remains the time when you acknowledge your friends’ contribution in your life, express love for them, cherish their presence in your life and pay them a tribute.

Read more at http://www.theholidayspot.com/friendship/history.htm#dI17AQxQTaLyDOlH.99

 

To my lovely bro’s n sis’s out there!!!

Hi all!!!

Its Tinytoes again… After a very long time its time for my hearfelt wishes for my cute, lovable and sweet bro’s and sis’s out there in this whole world… 

Wishing you all a HAPPY RAKSHA BANDHAN!!!

Love you all guys!!! 

Though I have a very few brothers and sisters, I am so lucky in having you all and you sure are Gods gifts to me 🙂 Thanks for being with me 🙂 If I have hurt you or ignored you for some reason I ask for forgiveness as this might be the right time for asking and saying the unsaid things that matters much among relationships and I dont ever want to miss anyone of you all 🙂 Forgive me and do love me as now forever 🙂 🙂 🙂   

 

 

Raksha Bandhan is a term from the Hindi language which means a relationship or an association based on protection. This is a festival which has a long standing Indian heritage. More commonly known as Rakhi, this Indian festival signifies the sacred bond of love between a brother and sister.

The Changing Face of Raksha Bandhan
Rakhi, though considered by some as having a religious origin. But, there have been many occasions in history that have emphasized the relationship between a brother and a sister more than the religious side of it. Gradually, over the centuries and over time Rakhi has lost its original outlook that made everyone associate it with the Hindu religion.

Origin of Raksha Bandhan
As with other Indian festivals, Rakhi also follows the festival calender that is completely based on the weather changes and their significance in the lives of people. Rakhi has a rich Indian mythological base. Many historically significant epics are related to the origin and the subsequent development of Raksha Bandhan. The festival also finds a mention in most of the epics and its origin can be traced to as far back as the Pouranik times.

Legendary Stories of Raksha Bandhan

  • Alexander The Great and King Puru 
    Alexander, the great (as he was called) was on a mission to conquer the world. On his crusade through the Indian subcontinent somewhere around 300 B.C., King Alexander of Macedonia was shaken by the fury of the Indian king, Puru. It was then that Alexander’s wife, approached King Puru as a sister. On Alexander’s next attempt, King Puru, as a tribute to the sacred bond of Rakhi, did not oppose King Alexander and let him have his way.
  • Rani Karnawati and Emperor Humayun
    One of the most popular tales that come to our minds when we think of Rakhi is that of Rani Karnawati and Emperor Humayun. This dates back to the medieval era when Rajputs were fighting Muslim invasions. When Rani Karnawati, the widowed queen of the king of Chittor realised that she could not defend the invasion by the Sultan of Gujarat, Bahadur Shah, she sent a Rakhi to Emperor Humayun. The Emperor, touched by this gesture of sisterly love immediately set off with his troops to defend Chittor’s honour.
  • Lord Krishna and Draupadi
    Legend goes that during the war that Krishna fought and won against the evil King sari wherein he killed sari, Krishna was hurt and and his hand was bleeding. Seeing this, Draupadi tore a strip of cloth from her sari and tied it around his wrist. Lord Krishna, seeing her affections and realising her concerns about him, declared himself bounded by her sisterly love. He also promised that he will be at her side whenever she needed a brother. Many years later, when Pandavas lost Draupadi in a game of dice and Kauravas were removing her sari, Krishna helped her. He did so by continuously adding to the length of her sari and thereby saved her from a public disgrace.
  • King Bali and Goddess Lakshmi
    Mahabali, the demon king was also a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. It was thus that Lord Vishnu, left Vaikuntham, his dwelling to protect Bali’s kingdom. But, Goddess Lakshmi (Lord Vishnu’s wife) became sad because of the Lord having left her alone. So, she went to Bali as a Brahmin woman and took refuge as in the King’s palace. On Shravana Purnima, she tied a Rakhi on King Bali’s wrist. She then revealed her true identity and told the King of her real reason for coming. The king was touched by Her and Lord Vishnu’s good will and affection towards him and his family. Following which Bali requested Lord Vishnu to accompany her to Vaikuntham. It was thus that the festival of Rakhi also came to be known as Baleva (as a reference to Bali’s devotion to Lord Vishnu).

HAVE A HAPPY RAKSHA BANDHAN FRIENDS 🙂

Content courtesy: http://www.raksha-bandhan.com

Image courtesy: http://www.google.com