Friday, January 18, 2013

SAT Essay Quotes Will Improve Your Score:

The use of SAT essay quotes is one of the most useful and effective ways to make a truly impressive output during the actual test. Like specific evidence, quotes from popular personalities are great back-ups for any argument.

People are so used to believing in anything they hear. According to a report by Nielsen, consumers and households still depend on word of mouth as their most reliable source of information.
Another report from the same organization said that 70% of consumers from all over the world have faith in customer reviews online.

Although this is slightly different when compared to SAT essay quotes, these statistics show that humans are more confident in believing a particular information if it comes from another person.

Quotations are strong and specific:


If you want to craft the best SAT essay, you must know that giving specifics rather than general information will make your argument stronger.

As you learn how to write the best SAT essay, you will also realize that there are things you need to include in and exclude from your composition to make it more powerful and convincing. When you use quotations from prominent figures, the first impression that you give your reader is that you are updated with what’s happening around you. More than that, you instantly sound smart, knowledgeable, and resourceful.

The good thing about using SAT essay quotes is the fact that they are not as crucial as data and numerical statistics. The latter, which may vary in big or small amounts, needs to be precise and accurate to become influential.

SAT essay quotes can be perfect or not, may include the whole thought or emit some insignificant portions, and can be written in your own words. Of course, it would be better if you could memorize each word according to how the person really said it. Nonetheless, having a few slips on the choice of words can be forgiven.

From the point of view of a perfect SAT scorer, even the use of made-up SAT essay quotes does the trick. When you pair this up with strong evidence, an invented quotation will make your essay sound clever and professional. Just make sure to use a relevant quotation that will keep you focused on your primary topic, and not divert your essay to other unrelated and unsolicited details.

Get Best SAT Essay Quotes

To get a good list of popular quotes from prominent people as early as today, you can take advantage of the book Top 30 SAT Essay Examples at http://www.esatpreptips.com/sat-essay-examples/.
I like this book because with it's 100% money-back guarantee it assures you a win-win situation! Inside are your choice of quotable quotes from 30 different people who are readily provided with summaries, detailed facts, and analysis, that you can base your SAT essay on when you're writing it.

While you familiarize yourself with the 5-paragraph format to be used in writing your SAT essay, you may also take a look at this cool list of quotes where you can get the most appropriate SAT essay quotes for your preparations and actual exam.

To sum up - on the SAT, quotations are great because they're specific, supportive, and make you sound smart!

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Choosing The Best Accounting Software


Choosing The Best Accounting Software
Keeping books were all about the lengthy ledgers, never ending calculations and several nights’ long revisions of the balance sheets to ensure that the company’s accounts are being accurately maintained. Times have changed and what was once only a luxury for large corporations is easily available for all businesses. No longer does a company indulge in endless paperwork to maintain their accounts, courtesy the accounting software now the complicated world of accounting has become a cakewalk. 
It would have been fairly easy to choose some accounting software if there was only a handful of options. Today, not only is there numerous accounting software but also various categories of the same. Unless a company explores the pros and cons of every type of accounting software, making a choice would not be an informed decision.
There are predominantly four types of accounting software – free resources, small business payroll and accounting software, web based accounting software and ERP system. Whether you have a company that has 10 staffs or one with 500, ERP system would be the best choice and we shall see why.
Free Accounting Software
The biggest advantage of this is that it is free but that is also the biggest shortcoming. Any free accounting software would only be good to an extent and would not be able to cater to complicated accounting tasks. It is certainly not ideal when your business is growing or you need to keep track of extensive accounting work. However, this is good to start off as a transition from paper to accounting software.
Small Business Payroll & Accounting Software
This type of accounting software works well but since it comes at a price it may be wise to consider more benefits out of paid accounting software which the ERP System offers. 
Web Based Accounting Software
Cloud based accounting software can be fairly extensive and effective but if it can also bring in the advantages of ERP software then you can reap more benefits.
ERP Software or ERP System
ERP software is much more than just some accounting software. It not only takes care of your accounting, payroll and other normal balance sheets and the likes but also the sales, revenue, operations, stocks or inventory, communications between different departments of your business and also that with clients or other stakeholders. Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP System is a complete package that would be your accounting software, inventory tracker, communicator, product, cost and sales analyzer along with everything else that you would want it to compute. 

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Easy and Legal Ways to Get Free Microsoft Points

Easy and Legal Ways to Get Free Microsoft Points

Xbox Live is the ultimate gaming service provided by Microsoft. It enables Xbox users to access multiplayer games, send and receive voice messages and get exclusive and early content for their Xbox. The two versions of this service: Xbox Live Silver and Xbox Live Gold, offer a 3-month or 12-month service. These packages also include other gaming equipment and one free Xbox Live arcade game. Prices vary from country to country and it's not cheap.

Acquiring the actual free gold Xbox Live codes used to mean that gamers would have to win a competition to acquire a code for free. The particular issue regarding this kind of account is actually that an individual will need to search for some time to find this kind of place. Even when a gamer has found a website that offers this the legitimacy will then be questioned. There A lot of times these type of sites will suddenly no longer exist on the internet. They will close the site without warning and this has not only given a bad reputation, but also affected the legitimate sites. Gamers have experienced this have expressed their frustrations with each other. Through word of mouth, this spreads to a number of individuals very fast.

In order to use the Xbox live codes you need to have an internet connection and access to broadband; ADSL and cable usually work better, because you will need to have a fast speed connection to play your games easily. The codes give access to games like Heroes, Battlefield 2, Star wars, or others, depending on the card you have got and the availability of games at any given moment. You can create your personal account connecting to the gaming console. Once you set up your first account and give the codes, you will be notified that these codes are valid for two months. Once this free period is over, you cannot use any additional trial cards; you will have to pay for your subscription or use some other valid codes.

The easiest way to get free microsoft points is to buy games that offer them. Buy games such as Star Wars Battlefront, Battlefield 2: Modern Combat and Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes. These games will give you up to 48 hours of free trial period but requires paying when your time is up.

For those yearning a longer trial period can buy games that offer a Two-Month Trial Card. You also have to ensure you have a high-speed Internet connection. To access the service and create your account, you should first take note of the Xbox Live code at the base of the card. This code then needs to be entered before you can fully enjoy the service for the next two months. When the trial period is up, you must pay to renew your membership and no, you can't extend the trial period.

If nothing works for you, you can always go online and check if there are free codes. Before actually using them, you have to check if they are legitimate and suitable for your games and your Xbox device.

Sturat enjoys writing articles on topics like How to get free Microsoft points.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Injury claim


If you have been involved in an accident, and through no fault of your own have suffered an injury as a result, then chances are you will be able to claim compensation. No matter how minor your injury appears to be at this stage or who the person or company at fault was, making an injury claim is your right and should be exercised to bring justice to a difficult situation.

What types of injuries can be claimed for?
One of the most frequent types of injury claim submitted relate to accidents on the road. Whether you were a driver or passenger of a car, or were travelling on public transport or a bike at the time of the accident, if you were hurt and another driver was at fault, you can claim. Common injuries include back and neck injuries, including whiplash, and injuries to the head or hands as a result of the collision.
Less common, but still a source of regular claims, relate to slips and trips when out and about. Building owners, local councils and workmen have a responsibility to ensure public rights of way and the public areas within buildings are kept safe, clean and free from hazards that could cause a trip. Slipping on wet floors, broken paving slabs or tripping over trailing cables can all result in a range of injuries, from twisted ankles to broken wrists, all of which are regularly seen by professionals handling injury claim cases.
Sometimes even the workplace is not as safe as it should be, and workers sometimes become injured as a result of faulty machinery, poor training or bad health and safety practice. In cases like this an injury claim will often result in remedial action by the employer, meaning other employees will be safer at work in the future, so it is especially important to make a claim if this has happened to you.

When should you claim?
As a general rule of thumb, the sooner the better applies to any type of injury claim. The sooner you can start the claims process, the easier it will be for your solicitor to contact any witnesses and get hold of any other evidence required. Also your injury will be fresh, so if you need to see an independent doctor they will be able to see first hand the extent of your injuries.
Personal injury law understands that making an injury claim is not necessarily the first thing on someone’s mind after they have been involved in an accident. That is why claims can still be started up to three years after the accident happened. In the case of industrial disease and other issues that take years to reveal themselves, there is still a chance to claim beyond the three year cap.

How much does it cost?
These days, the majority of solicitors who deal with injury claim cases will work on a no win no fee basis. This means you will not have to pay them anything if your claim is not successful, and there will be nothing to pay up front. 

Thursday, September 1, 2011

In the face of fate, we should be shameless and defiant: Arun Shourie

Source: DNAINDIA
“The secret to writing 26 books is to be unemployed from time to time,” quipped Arun Shourie, author, journalist, scholar and politician, releasing Does He Know a Mother’s Heart? - his 26th book.
“I am not a creative writer. I am lawyer, and all my books are arguments for the prosecution, whether it is on Ambedkar or on suffering.” That was a comment well in character with the man who is known for persuasive arguments while remaining as much self-effacing as an active public life allows.
Does He Know a Mother’s Heart? critically examines the explanations for human suffering in various religious scriptures, and in the teachings of prominent spiritual masters.
Shourie is no stranger to pain. His wife Anita suffers from Parkinson’s syndrome. And their son, “Aditya, our life, is 35 now. He cannot walk or stand. He can see only from the left side of his eyes. He cannot use his right arm or hand. He speaks syllable by syllable. Yet he laughs,” Shourie writes.
This book comes from what his wife and he learnt over 35 years. “All religions explain suffering. But they do not stand up to strict examinations. The theory of Karma always ends up blaming the victim,” he said.
His long quest for answers has taken him to the teachings of Buddha. “There is no use looking for explanations to suffering. Instead, attend to the problem at hand, to the cause, as if you are attending to a man whose hair is on fire, Buddha says,” Shourie said.
Despite the personal nature of this book, Shourie spoke with much humour, citing experiences and even cracking jokes—a few courtesy Anna Hazare. When asked how he managed his active public life with a stressful private life, he said: “The secret is to have a wife who will let you do other things while she takes care of the real issues.”
On a more serious note, he said, partially quoting Pandit Nehru: “We simply have to stand up to life. In the face of fate, we should be shameless and defiant—even fast unto death,” he said, to laughs from the audience. “There is a reservoir of strength in all of us and we should tap it.”
Citing an instance from Mahadev Desai’s diary, where in 1920s Mahatma Gandhi had spoken of feeling so discouraged with the freedom struggle that he wanted to retire, Shourie said: “Even the greats felt discouraged at some point, but persevered. Their words of discouragement should be words of encouragement for us. Buddha says, ‘Begin and persevere. As a silversmith removes impurities from silver, so the wise man from himself. One by one, little by little’.”

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

2G scam: PM smelled something fishy but stayed away, says Arun Shourie

Source: ET
Former telecom minister A Raja's statements in court has opened a new political battlefront, withBJP demanding the resignation of the Prime Minister and P Chidambaram, who was finance minister when the 2G spectrum allocation was made. The telecom minister during the NDA regime, Arun Shourie , has been tracking developments on the 2G trial. In an interview to ET , Shourie discusses what he believes the PM knew, going by the file notings, Raja's defence that he inherited the policy, and other related issues. Excerpts:

Are you inclined to believe Raja's statements that he did everything with FM's and PM's knowledge?

Raja was very clever. He wrote about 18 letters to the PM during the 2G episode. And in each letter, he implicated somebody. For instance in his letter on 7 November, 2008, he says, "kindly recall my meeting with you on 4/11/2008 along with the honourable Finance Minister in connection with3G spectrum auction and one time spectrum charges for 2G. During the discussion, you advised me to meet the press, to explain the policy and rules.

Accordingly, I addressed the issues in the press conference today and explained the related issues including the dilution of shares as explained by the Finance Minister, of Swan and Unitech." The same day he issues a press release, in which he repeats that this issue has been explained by the Finance Minister. "This matter has been discussed and clarified with the Finance Minister," the press release says, in which this portion is in bold!

Then the FM himself has said, yes, the PM asked me to examine this particular matter. He says I examined it, I said it is dilution of equity and it was consistent with policy and procedure. If that is the case, how is it that now, the Enforcement Directorate, which is under the same ministry, has slapped a 7100 crore penalty on Etisalat? For violation of FEMA!

If everything was done as per policy and procedure, then how? It now transpires, according to ED, that Etisalat was given permission to bring in money from UAE. But it, instead, brought in money from an unknown unit in Mauritius. Secondly, on the same day, Syed Salauddin, a close associate of Mr Karunanidhi, brought in 380 crore. He was allowed to bring it in as a domestic investor and he brought the money from UAE. He has also been slapped with a Fema notice. Both things happened in Swan on the same day.

So, is Raja on firm ground?

All these statements these lawyers like Kapil Sibal are making now, saying everything was in order and there was zero gain to the companies, are statements that will be used by these companies to defend themselves in notices. Kapil Sibal is not the lawyer for the PM, he is the lawyer for Raja and the companies.

It is not Raja who is dragging in the PM now. You go back to Sibal's first press conference on this matter. There he said Raja kept the FM and the PM informed at every turn. I had said at that time that this is the sentence that Raja will use. That is exactly what has happened. Now you wait and see. When the Telecom Minister says the companies made no gain, that will be their defence.
The PM had said in Parliament in February that the then FM and Raja had agreed on a formula and this was communicated to him. Raja says the equity dilution inSwan Telecom and Unitech was discussed and cleared with the FM before the PM. FM says the PM wanted to know if it was a case of dilution of equity or divestment. This shows that the matter that has caused the most outrage, that these two companies benefitted from enormous valuation for a license they paid the government very little for, was known to the PM and he did nothing about the policy that allowed these companies to do this.

All this is in the public domain. Priority lists have been changed, the basis of first-come-first-served had been changed, cut off date had been advanced and 500 applicants were reduced for favoured companies. It now turns out from the CBI chargesheet that the license applications of three companies were approved even before the policy was announced.

You mean to say rivals would not have brought it to the attention of TKA Nair (Principal Secretary to the PM) and others in the PMO? Do you mean to say the Intelligence Bureau and CBI and others would not have brought this to their attention? I cannot believe that. Because our system is so structured that the PM and his office gets to know about every sparrow that moves in the government. That I can testify from personal knowledge.

This was all in public domain...

The notings on the file indicate that the PM was quite alarmed at what was happening. These licenses were given on 10 January, 2008. On 11 January, the Principal Secretary notes that the PM desires to take into account the developments concerning the issue of licenses. This means perhaps that he wanted to have a meeting about it. The file is submitted back to the PMO on 15 January. Now see what the Principal Secretary notes.

"Prime Minister wants this informally shared with the department. He does not want a formal communication and wants PMO to be at arms length". Why would he give this instruction to his officers unless he knew that there is murky stuff going on and it is better to stay away. I think he had full knowledge and I think he had deep apprehension that something terrible has happened and his only concern was let's stay away from the filth. That is not what a PM is supposed to do.

You mean, he knew but shied away from taking any action?

This particular sentence, at arms length, very well describes Dr Manmohan Singh's attitude in regard to CWG, defence acquisitions and every other major decision. Weapons purchases are not happening because Mr Antony (Defence Minister) also wants to stay at arms length on every decision. I think this will be an apt title for a book on Dr Singh's tenure as PM - At Arm's Length.
Raja has also said that if the policy was wrong, all former telecom ministers must be jailed.

Raja says that he was following earlier policies but he flouted them. Take first-come-first-served (FCFS): He says I will FCFS. Then he disregards pending applications. If you were following the policy, you should have dealt with them first. Then he says I will have this cut-off date of October 1. After the applications are received, he says no, I will advance deadline to 25 {+t}{+h} September.

Then he changes FCFS. First, it was time and date of application received. And suddenly it becomes time and date of fulfilling the conditions in the letter of intent. Where is LoI? People rushed for it. It says, within 40 minutes, bring a banker's draft of Rs1,650 crore. Companies he favoured already has those drafts from Mumbai and sitting in his office. How could they get it in 40 minutes?

When he could not find adequate spectrum for his favoured companies, he changes the priority list in the Punjab and Maharashtra circles. You show me one single, unique, solitary instance during my period or anybody else's period during NDA when any of this would have happened. So yes, people who do wrong should be in jail and continue to be in jail without bail.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

The Weight of Love

Sun Jul 10 2011, 04:13 hrs

Arun Shourie writes about bringing up his son Aditya, afflicted with cerebral palsy for many years now, in his new book, Does He know a mother’s heart? (HarperCollins). Adit’s pain and that of the author’s wife Anita, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, leads him to ask: how can there be extreme suffering if God exists? Suffering, he says, refutes religion. Exclusive excerpts:


Your neighbours have a son. He is now thirty-five years old. Going by his age you would think of him as a young man, and, on meeting his mother or father, would ask, almost out of habit, ‘And what does the young man do?’ That expression, ‘young man’, doesn’t sit well as he is but a child. He cannot walk. Indeed, he cannot stand. He cannot use his right arm. He can see only to his left. His hearing is sharp, as is his memory. But he speaks only syllable by syllable...

The father shouts at him. He curses him: ‘You are the one who brought misery into our home... We knew no trouble till you came. Look at you — weak, dependent, drooling, good for nothing...’ Nor does the father stop at shouting at the child, at pouring abuse at him, at cursing the child. He beats him. He thrashes him black and blue... As others in the family try to save the child from the father’s rage, he leaps at them. Curses them, hits out at them.

What would you think about that damned father? Wouldn’t you report him to the police or some such authority that can lock him up? Wouldn’t you try everything you can to remove the child from the reach of the father?

But what if the father is The Father — the ‘T’ and ‘F’ capital, both words italicised? That is, what if the ‘father’ in question is ‘God’?

Why does the perspective of so many of us change at once? Suddenly, they exclaim, ‘There must be some reason God has done this.’ Suddenly, they shift the blame to that poor child: ‘Must have done something terrible in his previous life to deserve such hardship . . .’

And yet the child loves. He laughs. He is filled with joy at the littlest things — a tape of Talat Mahmood, lunch at a restaurant, the visit of an aunt or a cousin... What are we to conclude? That the cruelties rained upon him by his father have ‘built his character’? That they have instilled forbearance? Are we to infer, ‘See, while to us the father seems cruel, in fact he never inflicts more hardship on the son than the son can bear’?

Were we to say and infer as much, that would be not just obnoxious, it would be perverse. And yet those are the exact things that, as we shall see, a revered religious text says about God: He inflicts hardship upon us to build our character; He never imposes more hardship on a person than the latter can bear.

But that child is our son — Aditya, our life. Adit is thirty-five now. He cannot walk or stand. He can see only from the left side of his eyes. He cannot use his right arm or hand. He speaks syllable by syllable. Yet he laughs — you can hear his laughter three houses away. He enjoys going out to restaurants. He loves the songs of Talat Mahmood, Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar. There are some songs, though, the moment they commence, we have to rush and turn off the tape — he is so moved by them that he starts sobbing. There are others which he identifies with himself:Tu aake mujhe pehchaan zaraa Main dil hoon ik armaan bharaa . . .. . .Muskaan lutaataa chal Tu deep jalaataa chal Khud bhi sambhal Auron ko bhi raah dikhlaa...

‘Mere baare mein,’ he declares with joy — and laughs even more as in our rendering the last line has been altered to ‘Papa ko bhi raah dikhlaa...’

He loves these singers and their songs. He loves even more the tapes that his grandparents made for him, and the tapes that his uncles and cousins make for him now. He doesn’t watch television — moving images bother him. But he does listen to the news over the radio. The newspaper is read to him — among the things he calls himself is the ‘ghar kaa samvaad-daataa’. He loves poems being read to him. Seeing Adit’s spirit, and how many of his poems Adit knew by heart, Ashok Chakradhar has gifted him many of his books, and even dedicated one to him. Every time you read the books, you have to begin at the very first page, not just the title page, but the very first, blank page — for on them Ashok Chakradhar has written many an endearment —‘Pyaare, ati pyaare Aditya ke liye . . .’ And if, while reading the poems, you pronounce even a syllable wrong, he hoots with joy, ‘Galti’. That was one of my father’s favourite games with Adit. He would deliberately make a little mistake, and Adit would catch him out — hoot, and laugh, beaming with triumph... He loves everyone. Everyone in the family loves him. His maternal grandmother, Malti Shukla, was his life. He is ours.

And that God just does not stop pounding this helpless, defenceless child...

ADIT COMES

...A premature child. Barely four pounds. In distress. Placed in an incubator. As they could not locate a vein in his tiny arms, the doctors had stuck needles through his scalp... A horrible sight for us... His sugar level is not stabilising, some nurse came and said to us. ‘Will you please sign these forms for a blood transfusion?’...

Three days went by. A Pakistani lady doctor used to visit Anita to check up on her. I am not supposed to tell you, she said, and I will lose my job if they come to know I have told you, but something has happened. Insufficient supply of oxygen in the incubator...

Anita came back to our home in Alexandria. Adit stayed on in the incubator. For an entire month. A horrible month.

‘The child will finish your life as you have known it, may finish your life altogether,’ a senior at the World Bank said to me one day. He was a cheerful, warm-hearted person, but was speaking from first-hand knowledge as he had been bringing up a mentally handicapped son. ‘The doctors may well tell you, “We can do little more for the child.” And ask you, “Are you desperate that he lives?” When they do so, don’t let your emotions come in the way. Do you know what you will have to go on doing for the boy — not just now or for a few years but as long as the child lives?...’

That evening I reported the conversation to Anita and my mother-in-law. A person of iron-will, my mother-in-law said, ‘That is just not the case. Handicapped children live perfectly useful lives these days...’

Three months later we were advised to take the child to the head of paediatric neurology at the Georgetown University Hospital [in Washington]. We were exhausted, felled. The doctor was a kind, elderly gentleman. ‘I am going to use a word that you would have heard — it is used a lot these days to raise money. The word is cerebral palsy. It only means that the baby’s brain has suffered injury...’

We were too stunned to ask what exactly this was going to mean for our Adit’s future. I told the doctor, ‘We had planned to return to India. But if you feel that, for the sake of the child, we should stay on in Washington, of course we will. I will take back my resignation from the World Bank.’

‘I have not been to your country, young man,’ that kind doctor said. ‘If you are here, all that we will be able to do will be to tell you how your son is faring against the milestones. But as observant parents you will notice that yourselves...’

‘I have not been to your country, as I said,’ he continued. ‘But from what I have heard, you have strong, well-knit families there. That is what this child will need as he grows up — a net of love and security. So, if I were you, I would stick to your decision, return to your country, and bring him up in the embrace of your family.’

Among the wisest bits of advice we ever received.

We returned to India. We stayed with our parents. Soon, Anita’s mother came to stay with us...Adit became the centre of many lives.

THE SCHOOL

Adit was growing up. Shanti-amma, his maid, would sing to him, tell him stories, take him to the park. She was ever so possessive of him — always ticking off anyone who expressed the slightest doubt about Adit’s condition, or who uttered a word of pity or condescension. My mother-in-law would teach him — from news, to stories, to rhyming games, to poems, to arithmetic. ‘But why arithmetic, Mummy?’ I would remonstrate. ‘Why make him do sums? Why make him learn tables? He is never going to use them.’ ‘But just see his sense of achievement when he gets the answer right,’ she would teach me. ‘And he learns fast. He has excellent memory.’

….One day, as Anita was driving Adit and herself to school, a jeep coming in the opposite direction lost control. It rammed into Anita’s little Fiat. She and Adit were tossed inside the car. They were shaken, of course, but neither seemed to be badly hurt.

Soon after the accident, however, Anita began to feel peculiar sensations on her left side. We thought the problem was a ‘frozen shoulder’. But soon, the stiffness and pain developed into tremors... One doctor after another... Eventually she was diagnosed as having developed Parkinson’s disease. She was just about forty-two at the time — another one of those ‘one in ten million’ blows.

By now the tremors have spread to the right side also. Every time Anita does something with her hands — for instance, when she eats — her legs flail uncontrollably. That is dyskinesia, another one of those words with which our circumstances have enlarged our vocabulary. The symptoms became worse every winter. This winter — of 2009, in which I begin working on this book about Adit and her — Anita has fallen four times...

With my parents having passed away, with Maltiji also having gone, I am now the servant-in-chief, not just of Adit but of the two of them. The help of many friends and relatives sees us through the day. But more than anything, Anita’s strength and equanimity keep us afloat. ‘I had another toss today,’

I heard her tell her sister the other day, describing a fall so bad that we were lucky she had not fractured her skull. And so helpless and shocked was she that, while there was an alarm bell next to where she lay, she could not reach out to it. She now wears another alarm on her wrist... Even though this is her own condition, she manages the entire household; she husbands our savings; she runs everything so that every need of Adit is met — at once; and so that I am absolutely free to do my work.

‘We have to be thankful for an ordinary, boring, eventless day,’ Anita taught me long ago.

Her fortitude is a daily, ever-present example of another one of the lessons she taught me once: ‘You have to remember, there are many types of courage.’

My father’s courage as he evacuated Hindus in July-August 1947 out of Lahore — where he was City Magistrate at the time. The courage with which he settled, comforted and on occasion quelled the raging refugees in camps across Punjab. My mother’s courage as she comforted her mother and father when they lost a young son, as husbands deserted two of their daughters. My mother-in-law’s courage as she went on looking after all of us even as rheumatoid arthritis twisted and turned and crippled her hands and feet.

Malini’s courage, Veena’s courage evident in the dignity and fortitude with which they have borne blows of unimaginable severity, faced life, brought up their children single-handed, and, on top of it, continued working... Here we are: we get so puffed up just because we have stood up to some authority-of-the-moment. And here are these girls: they have stood up to life itself.

‘But I will never get over what God has done to Adit,’ Anita says. How true:Ghaayal ki gati ghaayal jaane Jauhar ki gati jauhar...

Copyright@Arun Shourie 2011