The cycle of life...

Though it happened few months back I still remember the day(20th June 2012) when my grandson, Toto, went to school. It was his first day at school and was excited. Immediately my mind sailed to the day when my elder daughter(Toto's mother) was going to the school for the first time. Every moment started playing in front of my eyes. May God bless him.

Phantom Writers

In today’s world “outsourcing” is the word. Just pay a price and anything can be outsourced, from research papers and dissertations, to school projects. There was a time when ghost writers used to touch up the books, articles and speeches. But now they also draft your PhD thesis, MBA assignment, project report and research proposal. Of course, price has to be paid. But as the business of the ghost writers grows sweeping over campuses across the country, it may be a sign of education going in a downward slope. Genuine minds are concerned. After all the degrees, award, CG PA grades and more important job prospects of lakhs of students are enhanced this way. So the new “knowledge providers” are now some individuals or companies. Individuals owning photocopy shops to copy someone’s thesis and sell them to other. Or there are factories which produce dissertations according to the demand.  This way, when a student completes his MPhil and PhD, he takes up a job; which he is not competent at. These malpractices cannot be stopped as the laws are not strong enough. Moreover supervisors and examiners help them to make it possible to continue this practice. “It’s more a matter of professional ethics than legislation.” Experts say that in India, 90% of research work is downloaded. Nothing shocking as education has become a thriving industry and booming business. So obviously students take research as something which can be leased out. Well it’s the age old rule of supply and demand. *A study at the University of Wuhan in eastern China has shown that commercial sales of ghost written dissertations and journals were worth nearly 1 billion Yuan ($156 million) in 2009, a 500% increase over 2007. *In the UK, the online essay industry is estimated t be worth more than 200 million pound. *According to the center for Academic Integrity in the US , in 2008, nearly a third of the faculty at its 360 college and high school member institutions reported students downloading term papers, reports or essays written by someone else from online sites known as paper mills.                                                    *This table content has been taken from saira.kurup@timesgroup.com Read more: http://socyberty.com/education/phantom-writers/#ixzz22ae5dOr6

Leadership Quality in Children

Leaders are those who do the same things as others, but in an efficient and different way. Leadership means to take the reins of the situation in one’s hand and also motivating others to work towards the goal. So we should introduce leadership qualities in children from a very young age, as it also helps in their over- all development.

Youth are the future leaders of our country. As elders we should teach them to be responsible, honest, courageous citizens. Help them to grow and become great leaders of integrity.



Leadership does not mean to bark orders or exercise dominating influence over others. It means trust building; we should win the trust of others. As parents, we all want our children to be the best in everything they do and some of them do really excel, but that does not mean the child has imbibed effective leadership qualities. The drive to do something towards a group, like organizing events and working towards a common purpose, results in individuals becoming leaders. We should motivate and encourage children to work with groups of people.



People who are great at their job are not necessarily great leaders. Leaders are those who take along others in their path of progress, guiding and helping them throughout. A very important and basic character of a leader is that they should own up for their mistakes when committed. Similarly bask in the glory when glory is attained. Also in the time of glory, a leader should always take a backseat and let others be in the limelight. Intellectual stimulation should be developed right from the time they are babies, as it will help sharpen their little grey cells. When a child finishes a good job or excels in a particular activity, we should motivate them by giving a pat on their back.



Children always look up to their parents, thus we should be very careful and alert and set a good example in front of them. Teach them to stick to their decision once taken, come what may. Help them develop an independent and creative mind. This will pave a way for enhancing their persona as well.



I cannot fully agree to the statement that “Leaders are born”. Instead we have to groom and develop our children from an early age. Elders should play a pro-active role and children should be responsive.