Compliments and Happiness :)

Hello people!

You know compliments can be very good for health! That’s exactly what I experienced over the past few days. When you go to someplace and suddenly somebody comes up to you and says “I like reading your articles!” and I go “What?! You do? That’s great!” And there it is; that small line just gave me enough smiles and happiness for the rest of the day J

So coming to the point then, why is it that we find it hard to appreciate somebody? Why do we like something and still not give due credit to the person behind it? Instead of being happy for other people’s success, why have we made it a habit to become jealous of their achievements? Come on people, we can do better than this!

If we send out joy, it spreads love and when happiness goes around, smiles come back to you. There is a great saying which goes “Be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise”. Try it once and see the difference. It will do no harm if we start not thinking negatively about things around us and act positive. Think about it, today you may not praise your friend’s son when he topped the class because your daughter didn’t do so well, but tomorrow if the tables are turned and there is reason for joy at your home, that friend will also not be there to give you a pat on the back.

It’s important as we grow to realize the importance of people, else all that we achieve will have no meaning. What good is a birthday if there is nobody wishing you? What good is buying a new house if there are not enough friends to come for the house warming? What good is a marriage in the family if there are not too many people attending it? It is therefore important to genuinely feel happy for others, be a part of their joy, appreciate and compliment when required and always be present when they are in need. By doing this, on one hand you selfishly prepare yourself for the future, and even if things don’t come back to you, so what? Don’t we remember the Bhagwad Geeta’s saying “Karmanye Vadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana” J

Read interesting interview answers this time in ‘THINK OUT OF THE BOX’ and see beautiful paintings by Swati Godboley, daughter of Shri Jugal Desai. Request everyone to feel free to contribute articles/photographs that ought to be shared with everyone at our e mail id.

Happy Reading, and don’t forget to pass a smile!

Prateek Shah(Raja)

youthkigoonj@gmail.com

http://youthkigoonj.blogspot.com

SMS YKG followed by feedback to 98106 20791

Chuski, Summers and IPL

"Chuski..Chuski Chuski Chuski! Lovely lovely chuski..Khatti meethi chuski.. Chuski Chuski Chuski"

No wonder you must be wondering that either the writer has gone crazy or this is a gross typo. It’s none of the two but just the sound that’s reverberating in my ears from the recent trip to India Gate by the night. You have these 3-4 ‘Chuski Wallahs’ vendors selling their product in a truly outstanding fashion.  A sharp pitch announcing the availability of ‘lovely lovely chuski’ attracts everybody towards it and you are bound to buy one even if you don’t like eating it. If all of us had half the dedication shown by these people, completely committed to the job, we would all do really well in life.

Moving on, Summers are here; which reminds me of another important thing. When you are in a conversation and have nothing to say, start off with discussing the weather, it is practically the best ice breaker since everybody has a view point on it. Going back to the rising temperature, it really has changed quite rapidly. A little difficult to surmise when they turned off the natural air conditioning and people turned on the ones in their homes and cars. Blame it on Global Warming I say. There was a time when everything was a resultant of the involvement of ‘foreign hand’ and now it’s ‘Global Warming’.

Finally the IPL, I don’t quite understand the hoopla around it. Do you? I mean why are people going berserk over this marketing extravaganza where no matter who loses, India wins. The club culture is quite famous in the football leagues of Europe and the same seems to have caught the craze of cricket fans in India, but you feel bad for other sports which are not given any support whatsoever. Even if the funds of one IPL match were used in any other sport in the country, it would definitely end up sustaining the complete team for at least a month.

Prateek Shah(Raja)

Mumbai Ahoy!

Dated : March 2010

Kasakai Dilli!

That just happens to be my hangover from a recent trip to Mumbai. After few fortnights of philosophy laden articles, it’s time for some masti this time! Brief travelogue from Mumbai follows.

I reach Mumbai. Hire a taxi. Act smart. In trying to not let the driver con me, I make myself look like a Mumbaikar and start giving directions. Time passes, some more time passes and then I realize we are not going in the right direction! With much apprehension I tell the driver how I don’t think this is where I want to go to. We discuss the address I have on a visiting card and realize we have a come a long way further from where I was supposed to go to. We take a u turn and go back many kilometers. Whosover said being smart is an asset! Learning number  1 – Don’t act too smart when you go to a new city.

Mumbai and Delhi despite being metro cities are starkly different in the way they operate. The transportation, people, eating habits and places to visit, they are just all different. Cycle Rikshaws are nowhere to be seen in the city. The basic mode of movement is not taxis or buses or autos but walking. People walk like there is a marathon they are preparing for. They walk like there is an unseen race they are participating in and you happen to be obstructing their way standing in the way. They walk with a certain determination which is only to be seen in the eyes of a student when he is writing an exam he is well prepared for. The walk is by all means a super walk. If we all follow the trend, we could well stay very fit and save all the money spent on slimming centers.  Learning number 2 – Walk, walk more.

Local Train, the lifeline of Mumbai is a fascinating object which attracts everybody’s attention. Young and old, upper class and the middle man, jeweller and cobbler, they all use it. The egos and the pride come crashing down, man feels at ease with fellow men, irrespective of their social backgrounds. Something which can only happen in a well controlled mode of public transport. Not only does it help save time, but helps one get back to roots and humanity, something we all tend to forget travelling in swanky cars and eating out at fancy restaurants.  Learning number 3 – Use public transport (at times if not all the time).

Taxis operating by the meter, traffic policemen across the city, subways that are heavily used, sea, beaches, vada pav and many more big and small things separate Mumbai and Delhi, but the one strong binding factor is Gujaratis! Its hard analyzing if you are in Gujarat or Maharashtra. Good to see them there J

So ensure you get the real feel of Mumbai when you next go there. If you haven’t been there, then you must plan your next trip to the Indian city that never sleeps. Get back in touch with some long lost relatives, make stay accommodation and enjoy!

Prateek Shah(Raja)

Youth Ki Goonj

Exams Exams Exams!

Dated : March

“Don’t waste your time reading a magazine! Go back and study!”

Is that how your parents shout at you during the final exams? If yes, first read this yourself and then make them read it too (vice versa for the parents).

A five letter word that spells doom for kids everywhere – EXAMS(It’s funny how playing with the words makes it XMAS). How important are they? Very. Make that very, very important. The problem begins when the seniors at home escalate the degree of ‘very’ to inexplicable levels. Exams are not the end of the world and life and death does not depend on it. No, not even board exams. Even if you fail and fail again, even then they are not everything there is to this life. Rank 1, Rank 2, 90%, sorry 95%, distinction, my kid topped the colony; just where will people stop? Do you really think when a child grows up and is 30 years old, it matters how many marks he scored in Maths back in class 7^th? If you really think it matters, then I am sorry to say but you need a reality check in life. So why are we really crazy after kids and driving them crazy as well? Because society looks up and down upon people basis scoring good and bad marks respectively. Isn’t it too high a price a young mind has to pay for keeping some strangers that he doesn’t even know happy? All the tension trauma he is put through, which by the way also makes him/her hate you.

Yes, it is important to study, it is important to clear exams and get a basic amount of education. But if you start expecting the world out of your kid, just because your neighbour’s daughter/son is scoring well, then it is just so unfair. It’s like saying you take your Bajaj Chetak scooter and race it against a swift and swanky Ferrari. Not will the Chetak just lose, but it will also wear out before time. Everybody has their own abilities, and studies are not everything in life. There’s music, sports, entertainment and a host of other fields where people can do well without being an engineer, doctor or an architect. What is required in any field at any point in time is to be hard working. Without the sincerity and hard work, doing well in any field is difficult. So while kids are being pushed hard to study more, more and more, they should ideally be taught how to concentrate, develop a passion and nurture it.

If all this still doesn’t make sense, then buy a DVD of ‘Taare Zameen Par’ and watch it with the family. Mothers are advised to keep a heap of tissue paper ready. Ok, moving back to the other sections, we have focus on International Women’s Day, Samsung’s new phone and Ford Figo. Since we are recommending you to go easy on studies, therefore no Course Study section this time!

 It has been heartening to receive feedback from so many of you, and to be honest a lot of it has been unexpected. We understand you want some topics to be raised through this medium and e mails are not easy to send for everyone. So here’s introducing, Youth ki Goonj feedback on SMS. Just open your message box, type in “YKG” followed by your comment and name(preferably with area) and send to 98106 20791. Shall soon try and feature some of the feedback in these 4 pages.

All the best for your exams! But remember, ‘tension nai leneka’ JAnd yes, hope you had a wonderful colourful Holi!

My Name is Khan

Sabhi ko Salam,

“My Name is Khan and I am not a Terrorist.”

The past few days have been all about SRK’s new movie and the Shiv Sena’s agitation against it. Some people just never grow up. How can someone hold the city to ransom just because a Khan showed some empathy towards Pakistani cricketers. Why I am bringing this topic up is because we need to understand that till we change our mindsets and elect better leaders, these ‘leaders’ will keep playing their dirty politics. The problem is a little deeper actually; all of us no matter how forward we may consider ourselves differentiate people at some point or the other. Religion, caste, creed are some of the countless parameters basis which we want to segregate mankind.  Trouble brews when we imbibe these values to the children around us, who then grow up with similar feelings. Think about it, when kids go to school, do they really care whether their friend is a Hindu, Muslim, Vaishnav, Jain or a Sikh? They just like their friends and love to play along with them, period. Why is it that as we grow up the hatred against particular communities grows? Because we fall prey to what certain politicians or religious gurus tell us. Can’t we have our own ideologies? Can’t we decide what is right and wrong? Can’t we take a stand and recommend others to go by it?

Even if we are able to answer some of these questions, we will spread a lot of goodwill. And the world desperately needs positivity, happiness and joy for humans to lead their lives comfortably.

Sad thing amidst all the movie hoopla as a friend of mine pointed out is that Pune was rocked by bomb blasts because perhaps the police force was busy protecting the movie.

Patriotic feeling running high, we have talked about the National Defence Academy examination in the course study section. We tell you about the cheapest 3G phone in the country in Gadgets and Gizmos. Cars and Bikes are close to every youngster’s heart, we start looking at some of them each fortnight.

Khuda Hafiz,

Prateek Shah

Bye Bye Thandi!

Dated February 2010

Bye Bye Thandi!

Ok, it hasn’t completely withered, but it’s so much better these days with the temperature staying in double digits. If the cold wasn’t enough, then it was the fog wrecking havoc across the city. Trains, planes, cars and even Gujarat Dhara, they were all delayed (ok, there’s no correlation, don’t think too much).

Now we are in the second month of the year, and February other than being famous for being a shorter month is loved for another reason, Valentine’s Day. “What? Excuse me? How can you? This is not the place? It is not our culture? It’s a Western concept!” Does your reaction fall in any of these categories? If yes, then you could do some rethinking. The world is moving at a fast pace, and even though it’s not necessary to ape and emulate what others are doing, it is important to be aware and be able to accept what happens in the environment around you. We would be fooling ourselves if we don’t agree to the fact that there are ‘boyfriends’ and ‘girlfriends’ who exist around us. While we may not approve of it and never if they are part of our own family, but we can at least try and understand them as part of bridging the gap between generations. If you are parents, I suggest you let your kids have some harmless fun, and if you are a youngster, then always remember your values.

So close on the heels of the occasion, we thought of dedicating this issue to Marriages. With the invitation cards piling up in our homes, what better than getting some suggestions on what to wear and look our best! So our stylist Palak Doshi is back from having celebrated an important occasion and we have also kept the course study section reserved for Wedding Planners. 

Collld!! Brrr!!

Dated : January 2010


It’s so very cold!!


Brrrrrrr!!! Freezing as I write this, the weather seems to have decided to give us a feel of the hill stations sitting right here in Delhi! Layers of pullovers, mufflers, caps, gloves and jackets everywhere, at least the clothing industry is making the most of the winter.  It was good to see Lohri Bon Fires across the city a few days ago, only if we could have more such festivals in the winter season.


Moving to aapnu Gujarat, it was good to see so many of you like the information we shared on Uttarayan. The times may have changed, but it is heartening to see people flock to their native places in Gujarat just to witness and participate in the kite festival extravaganza. No matter how old one is, such moments bring back the kid inside. If you look closely, we are like a kite, with each one of us wanting to have total control of our lives, but realizing that it is actually the wind which sets the direction. So, while it is good to be in charge, it is also important to learn to let things move as they naturally do.


Due to the paucity of space in the last issue, we are including the pictures from the Christmas bonfire and Nokia’s latest gizmo in this one. Our fashion guru is out of town, so we will be skipping Style Tips this time and the focus on course study will be on counseling courses.
In case you haven’t seen 3 Idiots so far, then please don’t behave like one and go see it at the earliest. Such movies are made once in a lifetime.