Many
books have been written on parenting for young mothers, but when it
comes to young dads the book shelves are almost empty. One Minute
Super Dad Dr.Prashant Jinal fills this void. Being a young father in
today's modern age I can certainly say that parenting is no longer a
woman's job. One Minute Super Dad will definitely serve as a guide,
as a manual for inexperienced fathers.
The
book opens with alarming statistics showing how young children are
affected with spectrum of mental health disorders. By citing it the
author underlines that today's father have a challenging role to
play.
Today's
fathers are no longer the dictators that they used to be a generation
back. Yet it is equally true that there exists a communication gap
between the father and children. The book equips you with a variety
of open ended questions whereby this communication gap could be
bridged. It also shares a number of techniques, both heard and
unheard which would help in better bonding. The author uses a
language which is both simple yet riveting. He quotes various
research findings and it is indeed the author's success that you
don't yawn while reading them. This book addresses a welcome change
in the parenting responsibilities on the Indian scene. Hence it
should be lapped up.
We
take many things in life for granted. One such thing is water. Most
of us are blissfully unaware of the fact that like most of the
resources the quantity of water on this earth is limited. 'Paisa
paani ki tarah bahaya' is a phrase which denotes that money was spent
like water. Thus money a valuable asset is spent like water, which in
our country is of no value. But gone are the days and many parts of
the country including the posh colonies are facing water scarcity.
When it comes to environment Reduce, Reuse and recycle is the key.
Fortunately like most things in life small steps can go a long way in
saving the precious resource called water.
In
our culture, water was always served in a lota
covered with a small glass called bhanda.
The person would pour as much water as he wanted in the small glass
and drink it. This practice ensured that there was no water wastage.
We should go back to the roots and start following this practice.
Rain
water harvesting should be made mandatory. Though many municipal
bodies have made it mandatory, unfortunately it still remains on
paper. We are a country which receives ample rainfall. However
majority of the rain water goes into the drain and sea, making it
unsuable. With rain water harvesting we could create a water bank
which would be of use in times of crisis.
Awareness
through media will go a long way in saving water. A large section of
our society is illiterate and semi-literate. Even the educated
classes do not respect water. It should be impressed through the
media that water is a limited resource, if we don't save it today,
our posterity may die with parched throats. Ganga Arti is held at
many places. This can be used as a platform to canvas about saving
water. The same can be done at Ganpati and Durga puja pandals.
Don't
leave the tap open. Closing the taps when not in use is very
important. Many of us just let the tap open while we are attending to
some other chores. Many municipal taps gush out thousands of cubic metres of water only
because no one bothers to close them. All the dripping faucets should
be repaired promptly, both at homes and public places.
Keeping
the existing water resources clean. We need preserve something that
is scarce. We should keep the existing water resources which includes
lakes, rivers and wells clean. We should avoid throwing garbage into
them. We should respect them and care them live our children.
Many
tanks over flow. Installing auto stoppage valves will save a lot of
water from literally going down the drain. Reusing of waste water for cleaning and gardening is another way to conserve water. RO
water filters discharge lot of waste water. New technology should be
devised to prevent this wastage. Don't
use showers and flushes. Use a bucket. By doing so you will use
limited amount of water. Respect
water. Don't
use bottled water for bottled water industry reduces the water table, turns lands barren.
There are many ways which we can undertake to save water. Like I have signed this petition. You can sign it too and take your baby step towards water conservation.
Stepping
Stones Taking Towards the Goal
is a very special book. It is written by a young girl of fourteen
years age. This young girl wrote to many famous personalities and
asked them for guidance. She culled out important lessons from these
letters and wrote a book which would inspire young readers and help
them in goal setting and achieving success in their lives.
The
book is surprisingly well written. The author has shown tremendous
dedication and devotion in her noble objective of guiding the young
generation. She has persevered towards her goals and I am sure she
will be successful in fulfilling her dreams.
The
correspondence which she entered with galaxy of stalwarts forms a
part of the book. It is sheer delight reading them. While some of the
replies which she received are curt and formal, many luminaries have
squeezed their time to write special letters to this young girl. I
really liked the letters written by Anu Aga, D K Shrivastava, Ravi
Wankhede, Abhay Bang and T N Ashok.
I
look forward to read more books from the author. With such clarity
and focus that too at such a young age she is bound to go places.
