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women empoweremnet in rural Rajasthan
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Currently it is the season of storms in Rajasthan. There are the socio-political storms around the Gujjar issue causing anxiety and unrest in several parts of the state. Then there is the IPL storm and the sensation of the Rajasthan Raiders. When the wind picks up, the desert sandstorm takes control.

Kazodi Devi of Theekaria Kala village in Tonk District has more immediate concerns. She has to make sure her buffalo - her 'prized asset' - has enough to eat and drink. The buffalo's shed also needs upkeep. Why all this fuss? Because her asset has caused a quiet revolution in her household and propelled her to be a leader in her community!

It was not too long ago that Kazodi Devi remained in relative anonymity - something that a lot of the women in Rajasthan are accustomed to and resign themselves to. What a difference four years of owning a buffalo has made to her life! Today Kazodi Devi is being seen as an equal to the male member of the household and sought after by women from surrounding villages for advice and mentorship. Nearly 20,000 women like her in rural Rajasthan are a part of the dairy-based livelihood initiative run by well-known organization Srijan.

By noon the Srijan office at Duni in Tonk District is a beehive of activity as women trickle in from over a dozen surrounding villages. They are excited about the weekly gathering, talking about the marriages of the season, the repair work going on in their houses, or plans for the next agricultural cycle.

Namita Pandey, Srijan's co-ordinator often ends up multi-tasking - listening to the stories of the women, while collating the data related to these women's incomes. She also tracks individual household incomes and aggregates incomes of collection centers managed by the women. Namita, an engineer from Uttarakhand, finds immense gratification in the accomplishment of these women. She says, "Empowerment is key. Living here with them has helped me, and in turn my organization Srijan, has become truly sensitive to the community needs and provides the tools for the women to carve out their own plans."

These plans come to life even before the sun breaks out on the desert sky. Milk collection centres are set up at strategic points in the villages. Women bring in the milk from their buffaloes and deliver it to the collection point. Within the stipulated time and necessary quality checks done, the milk is transported to the chilling centres in Tonk. Eventually some of the milk will make its way to the nearby restaurants and the rest will reach larger dairies for processing and distribution.

Farmers here typically depend on the unreliable rainfall - an annual average of 640 mm. The community has built tanks for trapping and storing rainwater. But water is a recurrent issue. The nearby quarries, carpet weaving and animal rearing are other income-generation sources. If these dry out, they end up as migrant labour in nearby towns and cities disrupting their way of life.

Since 2003, Srijan has worked in 60 villages of Deoli block in Tonk district, Rajasthan. Maitree, the collective enterprise, is a federation of livelihood-linked Self Help Groups, supported by the American India Foundation, Sir Ratan Tata Trust and the Government of Rajasthan, among others. The women meet on a weekly basis, save small sums, lend to each other when the need arises, bound by a common vested interest - the dairy. The women represent underprivileged communities such as Bairwas, Gujjars, Meena and Raigars. The women of Maitree have sold over 3 lakh liters of milk in last one year.

The long-sightedness of Srijan's founder Ved Arya is palpable in the entire design of the initiative. Thoughtful and soft-spoken, Ved has brought decades of development experience and insights to the efforts here. He has used his gentle persuasiveness to coax bigwigs from the World Bank and the Planning Commission to think long-term and truly enable community ownership and bottoms-up change. Elaborating his vision, he says, "In the long run we wish to develop scalable models - we could have 20, 30, 40 livelihoods clusters like Maitree, reach out to and remove poverty among 100,000 poor families by 2011."


May 30, 2008 | 2:52 AM Comments  0 comments

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I'm not perfect
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

I'm not perfect
by HeartBreaker085

i'm sorry i'm not perfect
i can only be me
i'm sorry i'm not perfect
like the girl you want me to be

i'd give anything to make you happy
even if it makes me sad
i'd never do anything to hurt you
i don't try to make you mad

sometimes you get angry
and we start to fight
little do you know
i cry myself to sleep at night

sometimes i don't know
just what i did wrong
i don't understand
why we don't get along

every time we fight
i wish you could feel my heart break
sometimes i wonder
how much more my heart can take

sometimes i get so angry
i don't know what to say
i feel just like a game
that everyone wants to play

the only thing i need in this world
is someone who is true
the only thing i want in this world
is... to be loved by you

May 29, 2008 | 9:25 AM Comments  1 comments

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An Unspoken Love
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

An Unspoken Love
by Rohit Antao Leandro

It struck like a flash of lightening, and caught me unaware;
I felt a surge of life within; with it, an urge to care.

I never thought that once again, I would dare to fall in love.
And yet I hadn?t fallen; but was flying high above.

The world has set up fences, and these, I must accept!
Alas! Against all my senses, I must make myself adept.

I wish that I could hold her for a moment of divinity;
And in my arms I?d keep her till the end of eternity.

Even though I see in her eyes that daze that?s there in mine,
To the world I show a sea of lies; I force myself to shine.

But even through a silent gaze I hear her dampened breath.
I know that it?s a dreamy haze, perhaps the sweetest way to death.

A smile, I put upon my face and wish her loads of love,
And though my heart still beats with pace, I?ll love her from above.

I promise her that in her quest, whenever there's a bend,
She can count on me and I?ll be there; I?ll always be a friend.

I pray that she?ll remember me through all her joys and strife,
This unspoken love, a gift to her, a memory for life

May 29, 2008 | 9:24 AM Comments  1 comments

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sometimes
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

sometime sthings change so rapidly that w ejust dont know whether they have change dfor better or worse.sometime syou want to escape a situation and land upp in another but you dont know is this better than before.
life runs too fats that thigs pile up and you know what is the way out.soemtime syou wish for soemthing and when that wish come strue you realise that it is not what you wished for and this is very different form what you hoped for.soemtimes you are so tire dof making adjustments that you you forgotten how is it to live life normally.

May 29, 2008 | 9:19 AM Comments  0 comments

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Taking jihad to the rest of India
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

After the October 29, 2005 serial blasts in Delhi, the Delhi police was convinced that the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, the Pakistan-based terrorist organisation, was responsible for the multiple acts of terrorism, which killed 63 people and injured hundreds more.
The Mumbai police suspect the Lashkar's hand in the July 11, 2006 serial blasts on Western Railway trains, which killed at least 200 people and injured over 700 others.

The police investigation after the Delhi blasts reveal that the Lashkar continues to grow menacing in the Kashmir valley despite the Indian Army's robust resistance. The Lashkar, a highly secretive organisation, is opposed to the India-Pakistan peace process and is determined to abort it.
Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, who lives near Islamabad in Pakistan and operates on both sides of Kashmir, is known amongst his men as 'Tayaji.' He is the Lashkar's super boss and a man of immense resources.

He openly works in the earthquake stricken areas of Pakistan occupied Kashmir and uses charity as a means to enhance his base.

In the matter of jihad in Kashmir he is ruthless and dangerous. His goal is to merge Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistan and his outfit is expanding vertically and horizontally.

Saeed decides how many mujahideen should be sent to the Kashmir valley. Lashkar recruits and trains more men than it actually requires in Kashmir at any given time.

Shabtai Shavit, former director general of Israel's external intelligence agency Mossad, spoke recently about the linkages between Al Qaeda and the Lashkar in the context of the international fight against terrorism.

Pakistan expert and rediff.com columnist B Raman, who keeps a close watch on the Lashkar, feels, "It is as dangerous as Al Qaeda."

"It is a pan-Islamic terrorist organisation, which is the most important member of the International Islamic Front after Al Qaeda. It describes J&K as the gateway to India and after 'liberating' J&K, it wants to 'liberate' Muslims in the rest of India," adds Raman.

"It is under close surveillance by Western countries and Australia," says Raman, who has served at India's external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing. "Its involvement in the Delhi blasts, if proved, would be an indicator of its determination to spread jihadi activities in other parts of India."

Since 9/11, sleeper cells or secret members/associates of Lashkar have been detected in many countries including Australia, Singapore, the United States and France. The international intelligence and security communities have been taking increasing notice of its activities and its implications, Raman adds.

Saeed's point man on the Indian side of Kashmir is Zia-ur Rehman Lakhvi alias Chachaji.
Lakhvi is the Lashkar supreme commander in Kashmir. He normally operates out of the Anantnag area in south Kashmir and keeps crossing the Line of Control using the difficult terrain to dodge the Indian Army.

Lashkar terrorists are experts at finding gaps along the LoC. As soon as fences are erected along the border these terrorists find low-cost ways to overcome hurdles created by the costly fencing.

Lakhvi and some Lashkar operatives also use the Nepal route. People who have met Lakhvi say, "He kills without remorse. He is an Inter Services Intelligence-trained Kashmiri working in India with great success."
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