What is Feminism? Feminism is often misinterpreted to state that it propagates female chauvinism. But the original thought behind feminism is equality for women in the domains of economic, personal, social, and political rights.
Here are five iconic quotes about feminism by women authors to set the record straight on feminism.
Know more quotes which define feminism the right away? Tell us in the comments.
7 Quotes that Sum up the Brilliance of Chanakya’s Wisdom
Chanakya was one of the best strategic thinkers the world has ever seen. In the fourth century BC, he wrote the Arthashastra, an unrivalled political treatise that has since been used by leaders across the globe.
In Inside Chanakya’s Mind, Radhakrishnan Pillai, the best-selling author of Corporate Chanakya, takes us deep into the teachings and philosophy of Chanakya. He will guide readers through Kautilya’s art of thinking through his very practical and innovative approach.
Here are a couple of quotes from the book that highlights the brilliance of Chanakya’s mind.
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Subir Chowdhury – A Bio
Subir Chowdhury is one of the world’s leading management thinkers and consultants, who works with Fortune 500 companies to improve their processes, operations, quality and performance. His clients have saved billions of dollars by deploying his process of improvement methodologies. His client list includes industry leaders such as Bosch, General Motors, Hyundai Motor Company, KIA Motors, and many more. He established ASI Consulting Group, LLC in 2003 and became its Chairman and CEO. In 2011, along with his wife Malini, Subir began a foundation that has been instrumental in starting educational programmes at major universities of India, U.K. and the U.S.
In the course of his career, he has written 15 books and is noted for his knowledge about strategic initiatives, quality consulting, and training. He is the bestselling author of The Power of Six Sigma and The Ice Cream Maker. In The Ice Cream Maker, Chowdhury used storytelling to make complex topics like quality management. His books have sold more than a million copies and have been translated into over twenty languages.
Subir is included in the illustrious list of 50 Most Influential Management Thinkers in the World by Thinkers 50 of London. He is also revered by the New York Times as a “leading quality expert”. He is an eminent member of the World Innovation Foundation. He has also been conferred with the Outstanding American by Choice Award by The United States Department of Homeland Security.
Subir’s 15th book, The Difference: When Good Enough Isn’t Enough, guides individuals to develop a caring mindset. In this inspiring book, he says that a caring mindset is one that includes the qualities of being straightforward, thoughtful, accountable and having resolve (or STAR). The book has already garnered advance praise from stalwarts such as Narayana N.R. Murthy, and R.C. Bhargava.
The book has also received appreciation from professors of eminent institutions such as Scripps Research Institute and Columbia Business School. About the book, professor at Columbia Business School, Rita Gunther McGrath said, “Myths about how we should live our lives abound. But they are just that, myths. And too often they lead us to lesser and poorer lives.”
In this straightforward and inspiring book, Subir Chowdhury distills a lifetime of experience, rising from impoverished beginnings in Bangladesh, to his decades of consulting work with CEOs of many of the top Fortune 500 companies, to becoming one of our leading thinkers on workplace culture and organizational values. His STAR model for making a difference at work and in our personal lives is seemingly simple but surprisingly nuanced and profound. This short but powerful book could change your life.”
Subir says that the insights given in the book can be instrumental in bringing change in any industry or person. He further adds, “All four elements of STAR are critical. I find poorest of poor may have STAR qualities and richest of the richest may not have these qualities. Financial Success does NOT define a person has a quality mindset or not. You know, how many ‘so called financially successful people’ did crooked stuff? That’s why in the final chapter I talked about my grandfather who is a simple man (elementary school teacher) and a deeply caring person had a huge impact on my life. And now, 40 years later I am teaching world’s top CEOs and business leaders about my grandfather’s teaching which is STAR. In social media generation and money hungry youths in India are losing values and a caring mindset is missing in most of their lives. They should spend more face to face time with their grandparents, parents, families and friends who deeply care for them.”
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5 Characters from Dr. Seuss’ Books That You Will Have Definitely Met in Your Life
Spring is here and so is the full blast of colours. The blue of clear skies, the green of swaying trees, the many shades of the sun – from orange to yellow to pink! It is, therefore, only fitting that Dr Seuss’ birthday – a writer who is credited with creating some of the most vibrant stories and characters – befalls in this lovely season.
The author has created many fascinating characters. They carry within them a refreshing slice of life and traits that all of us can identify with.
Here are five of Dr Seuss’ most brilliant characters that you MUST have come across in your life!
Lorax
You can’t chop down trees on his watch. And if you need a lesson in environmental issues, he’s the one you call!
Horton
Ever so kind and compassionate, he’s a soul with a big heart!
The Cat in the Hat
His is a take-it-easy policy. So what if there’s chaos, you can’t stop him from having a grand time!
The Grinch
He hates Christmas, but that’s only because he thinks the festival is a corporate-manufactured event aimed at securing profits. He likes to think beyond presents.
Sam I Am
As persuasive as one can get, he can even sell you green eggs!
Did you find similarities between any of the above and someone you know? Go ahead and share it with that soul!
And here’s wishing Dr. Seuss a wonderful birthday!
7 Quotes by The Great Khali that’re Bound to Motivate You
The world knows him as the WWE superstar, but most do not know the entire story of Dalip Rana. Born in a small village, his formative years were nothing if not full of turbulence. From leaving his school to working as a daily-wage labourer to bodybuilding, he had done it all at a very young age. Often the subject of ridicule, he was poked fun at due to his extraordinary size. However, a determined Dalip relentlessly pursued his goal of wrestling and such was his passion that he did what no Indian had done so far enter the internationally acclaimed WWE arena!
The Man Who Became Khali is an inspirational, emotional and a no-holds-barred account of a man who not only went on to win the World Heavyweight Championship but also conquered his inner demons and physical anomalies.
This is the story of how Dalip Singh Rana became the international icon – The Great Khali!
He’s lived a hard life and fought hard to become a winner. And that is why there is no one better to motivate us. Enjoy some of the most inspirational quotes from The Man Who Became Khali, written by Dalip Singh Rana and Vinit K Bansal.
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Major new novel from Salman Rushdie to be published this year
Penguin Random House India to publish a new novel by Salman Rushdie, The Golden House, in September 2017.
Simultaneous publication: Penguin Random House India, Random House US, Jonathan Cape UK, and Penguin Random House Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
Forthcoming from Salman Rushdie is a breathtaking new novel on a sprawling canvas. A modern-day thriller, it follows a mysteriously wealthy family from Bombay that is desperately seeking to forget the tragedy they left behind as they feverishly reinvent themselves in New York City. Copiously detailed, sumptuously inventive, brimming with all the razzle-dazzle that imbues his fiction with the lush ambience of a fable, The Golden House is about where we were before 26/11, where we are today and how we got here. Here is a book that asks us – in a post-truth world – if facts and authenticity are necessarily the same things, while never ceasing to be both resonant and entertaining.
Meru Gokhale, Editor-in-Chief, Literary Publishing, at Penguin Random House India, who acquired Indian subcontinent rights from The Wylie Agency says:
“This is Salman Rushdie at his finest. The Golden House is a masterclass on the confusing world we have brought upon ourselves. The book dissects the cultural and political vacuum in which a generation – whose frame of reference for globalization has increasingly been coloured by conflict – must perform an intense balancing act. It is a terrific story, told at every step of the way with originality and nimble, impeccable plotting.”
Sir Salman Rushdie is the multi-award winning author of twelve previous novels: Midnight’s Children which won the Booker Prize (1981) and the Best of the Booker Prize (2008), Grimus, Shame, The Satanic Verses, Haroun and the Sea of Stories, The Moor’s Last Sigh, The Ground Beneath Her Feet, Fury, Shalimar the Clown, Luka and the Fire of Life, The Enchantress of Florence and his recent Two Years, Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights. His memoir, Joseph Anton, published in 2012, became an acclaimed bestseller, praised as “the finest memoir […] in many a year” (The Washington Post). He has also published one collection of short stories, East, West, and three works of non-fiction: The Jaguar Smile, Imaginary Homelands: Essays and Criticism 1981-1991 and Step Across This Line. Rushdie has also co-edited two anthologies, Mirrorwork and Best American Short Stories 2008. His books have been translated into over forty languages. He is a former president of American PEN.
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A timeless love saga – Meghadutam by Kalidasa
Indian literature is an ocean replete with brilliant pearls. All it takes is a swim in its depths to explore the gifts that Indian writers have left for us. One such gift is Kalidasa’s Meghadutam – The Cloud Message.
Kalidasa explored new boundaries of literary stylistics – and his poem, Meghadutam stands true to his legacy.
It is perhaps the most translated text in all of Indian literature and can be found all over the world in different languages, formats and styles. A beautifully scripted poem, it chronicles the story of a banished yaksha who petitions a cloud to send a message to his distant lover. It’s a captivating story that transcends through ages and enthrals its readers.
Here we have picked some verses from Meghadutam’s latest translation by Srinivas Reddy.
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Fascinating, isn’t it?
You can get your copy of Meghadutam here.
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5 Novels by Charles Dickens that Dazzled Us
“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another,” Charles Dickens remarked once. If we care for that standard, Charles Dickens – a colossus standing tall over the literary firmament – is one of the most ‘useful’ people of all time!
Even though he lacked a formal education, he gave us fifteen novels, five novellas and hundreds of short stories that have not only lightened the burdens of numerous generations but also given us a glorious peek into the grand world of his imagination.
Virginia Woolf once tagged Dickens’ works as “mesmerizing” and Truman Capote called him “a great artist”. On Charles Dickens’ birth anniversary, we fetch five of his greatest works that have dazzled men and women, children and elders alike!
David Copperfield
“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.”
Great Expectations
“I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be.”
Oliver Twist
“Please, sir, I want some more.”
A Christmas Carol
“I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me.”
A Tale of Two Cities
“Repression is the only lasting philosophy.”
Which is your favourite novel by Charles Dickens, and why? Tell us, and join us in wishing Charles Dickens – Happy Birthday!
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Introduction to Aanvikshiki – An Excerpt
Let me begin with a story.
There was once a child. Whenever he did something wrong, others used to tell him, ‘Why are you making so many mistakes? Why can’t you understand things well? Can’t you think properly?’
When the child went to school, he was brought up in an examination system instead of an education system. When he did not do well in his exams, his parents and teachers used to say, ‘Why can’t you study properly? Think about what we tell you, otherwise you will not only fail in your exams but also fail in life.’
As a teenager, he fell in love and had his heart broken. His friends told him, ‘We had told you not to go after that girl. Why did you not take our advice?’
When he got out of college and worked in various companies, his bosses would say, ‘Your effort is important in work—but what matters more is the result. Think about it and you will succeed in your career.’
When he got married, had children and was bestowed with the responsibilities of a householder, the elders in the house would advise him. They said, ‘Remember and understand your duties. No one can run away from it. It is part and parcel of life.’
Then came a stage in his life when his children were settled and he was close to retirement. His friend asked him, ‘Have you thought about what you are going to do post-retirement? Do you have a plan?’ He did not.
Finally, he was old and alone. His wife had passed away, his children and grandchildren were busy with their own lives, and he had nothing much to do. He had all the time in the world to look back and ponder over his life.
While reflecting upon every stage of his life—as a child, student, teenager, professional, homemaker, he was constantly advised by others to ‘think’, to succeed in life and to avoid making mistakes.
He hadn’t really got a chance to do an in-depth reflection on the word ‘think’ at all.
Now, for the first time in his life, he was ‘thinking about thinking’.
But was it too late?
All his life, he had been told by others to think. But no one actually taught him ‘how to think’.
Does the story tell you something? Does it ring a bell inside your head?
Do you think this story has a connection to your life?
If you really ‘think’, you will understand that this is a story about all of us. This is a story of every man and woman, every child, every teenager, every professional, the young and the old, the married and the unmarried.
This is the story of you and me.
Strange but true, one can lead one’s whole life without thinking.
What a tragedy.
Now let us reverse this story.
Imagine if you were taught how to think from the very beginning, the moment your thinking faculties develop. Instead of loading the child with information, if one taught the child the right methods of thinking—analysis, decision-making, prioritizing, planning, structuring, critical evaluation, logic—things would be different. You would question when questions are required. Accept others’ views where it is necessary. Think through all the consequences. Take calculated risks and, without doubt, you will be far more successful. You will be successful not only at the very end, but also at every stage of your life.
In this book, we present something very interesting: Some methods and techniques of thinking, the philosophy of thinking and alternative ways of thinking. This book is simple yet profound. It will lead you to something that will ignite your mind and intellect.
In a sure yet subtle way, it will change your thinking. It will add a new dimension to your views about life in general. I hope the book becomes a silent killer. It will kill various misassumptions you had in the past. It will kill your ignorance and make you happier. If understood from the right perspective, it will kill your ego. You may die internally once, only to live a full life again.
Most importantly, you will enjoy this journey—it is fun. It will help you discover yourself all over again.
Let us call this process an adventure in thinking.
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12 things you didn’t know about Vivekananda
When we think of Vivekananda, the image is that of a saintly monk. But was he really that?
Swami Vivekananda was nothing like the monks we have known forever. He was confined neither by history nor by ritual, and was constantly questioning everything around him – including himself. He broke numerous stereotypes which he deemed regardless and harmful for mankind. There’s a lot that we can learn from him and more importantly, there’s a lot we can learn about him.
Here are 12 things we can bet you didn’t know about Swami Vivekananda:
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With his book The Modern Monk, Hindol Sengupta deconstructs the accepted, idolised image of Swami Vivekananda, giving us the coolest monk, whose ideas and thoughts are relevant even today.
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