The recent attacks...

The recent attacks got us roaring, agitated, fearful, blah.. blah.. blah.. The adjectives can go on! But, one adjective that caught my eye was, CALM.. Read on further to know about it!

"Calm — that emotion that seems so distant and unnecessary in such moments of crisis, will be critical to get us through this crisis. And the danger of thoughtless retaliation comes not just from our governments, but also from our citizens. Our country has large numbers of minority religious communities, and there will be enough demagogues eager to whip up anger against convenient targets. We can choose, at this critical moment, to let divides like religion dominate and frighten us, sidelining our real issues. Or we can adopt fundamental reforms and policy ideas to win the battle against militants. Terrorism is fundamentally about igniting terror — about overwhelming us with fear. We have to resist this fear rather than be subjugated by it."

(By Nanadan Nilekani, If we can keep our heads; The Indian Express)

Friends' Kiran Fellowship

Mission:
We define the Hindi word Kiran as meaning a sun beam, a ray of light and hope! FKF is the ray of hope that will join minds across the boundaries of nations. The Friends’ Kiran Fellowship (FKF) has been established to promote global understanding by providing a social work student with the opportunity to live and work in India for at least 6 months or one year following the completion of his/her master’s of social work degree.
The first Friends’ Kiran Fellowship will be awarded to a student at the UNC School of Social Work. The Fellowship will provide the student’s airfare, and support for travel and living expenses, while engaging the student in voluntary community work in India. The Fellowship period will start after the student completes his/her master’s program in 2010.

FKF instituted by: Friends’ Society (National & International Governing Council)
Pune, India

FKF Award includes:
1. Round-trip airfare to India
2. Food and lodging costs for the stay in India during the Fellowship period
3. Financial support for local work-related travel while in India
4. Full cooperation in making program adjustments or accommodations to ensure that the experience fulfills the mission of fellowship

FKF Award does not include:
1. Insurance
2. Costs related to passport, visas, or other travel documents
3. Personal expenses (other than housing and food)
4. Costs of Hindi language course (to be completed prior to travel to India)

FKF Fellow’s Obligations:
1. To provide volunteer service working with a non-governmental organization (NGO) for a period of 6/12 months. The Friends’ Society will assist the Kiran Fellow with securing a position with an NGO that is congruent with the Fellow’s field of interest.
2. Assistance in kind (books, pencils, or any other material the organization may require) to any of the Indian NGOs involved in the Fellowship program.

FKF Selection Criteria:
1. Strong interest in India, international fellowship, and cultural exchange.
2. Shared belief in principles of fellowship and mutual understanding. The student shares the FKF idea of true understanding of developing countries comes best through in-depth, extended work experience in those countries.
3. Participation in group discussion with other applicants on an issue of concern to both, developed and developing nations.
4. Personal interview of the candidates selected at group discussion.

Application Process:
1. Submit Resume by email: friends.society@gmail.com
2. Submit an application project proposal that focuses on a project to address any aspect of community life in India by December 25, 2008.
3. The project does not have to follow a specific format. The application can focus on the Indian culture, diversity, social work, or any other topic that might interest the student.
4. Some focus might be helpful, such as how this will help in future social work career, ways this can benefit UNC SSW or the US as a whole.
5. The project should demonstrate the student’s passion to discover the developing world through experience in India.
(The application is the test of creativity and innate passion of the student to have international experience.)

Commitment by the student:

1. Post selection, before leaving:
a. The FK Fellow would prepare a project proposal for the one year stay in India. This will enlist in detail, the goals he/she intend to achieve from the program.
b. The FK Fellow must complete a language course in Hindi in Fall 2009 / Spring 2010.
(This is not necessarily a credit course. The student is expected to learn basic conversation skills in Hindi.)
c. The FK Fellow will gain exposure to the Indian culture through involvement with the Indian student community at UNC and in North Carolina, by actively participating in Indian Students’ Associations.
d. The FK Fellow will complete a preparatory program of reading/research to understand the dynamics of developing world through Indian perspective; this program will consist of self-selected works as well as topics and literature recommended by the FKF selection committee.

2. In India:
e. Full time commitment to voluntary social work during the period of Fellowship.
f. Voluntary work with NGO(s) of choice, mutually decided upon by the selection committee and the student, in any safe region of India.
g. Presentations about various aspects of both the USA and India; these presentations will be made to Rotary Clubs and other community-based organizations such as the World Peace Centre.
h. Submission of a written report evaluating the Fellowship experience within 3 months of the end of the fellowship. (The guidelines for the same will be provided at a later date.)

Timeline:
1. Application period opens : November 10, 2008
2. Registration deadline: December 25, 2008
(To register, email Resume and project proposal: friends.society@gmail.com)
3. Submission of the application and presentation of the application project to the faculty panel: January 26, 2009
4. Presentations review by faculty panel in USA and in India: February 26, 2009
5. Group discussion, only shortlisted candidates: March 2009 (first week)
6. Personal interview (in person/on webcam): March 2009 (second week)
7. Announcement of FKF Award winner: April 01, 2009, 1700 hrs – On the occasion of the 10th Foundation Day of the Friends’ Society.
8. Fellow completes Hindi language course: Fall 2009/Spring 2010
9. Fellow’s presentations and interaction with Indian community in USA: Fall 2009 and Spring 2010
10. Leave for India: July 28, 2010
11. Installation of “Friends’ Kiran Fellow” in India: Friday, July 30, 2010; 10:00 a.m.
12. Baton Passing Ceremony: Past Fellow passes FKF baton to new Fellow: Saturday, July 30, 2011; 10:00 a.m. (Only if the fellowship is institutionalized)*
13. Depart for USA: Monday, August 01, 2011*
(* Depending on the time frame of Fellowship.)

Funding:

Committed:
1. Flight tickets: Personal savings from Rotary Peace Fellowship of Darshan P. Mundada
2. Friends’ Society (NIGC) President’s fund
3. World Peace Center (Alandi), MAEER’s MIT, Pune, India

Anticipated: (from India)
4. Educational institutions
5. Rotary clubs
6. Industrial clubs
7. NGOs
8. Individuals

FKF: Points to be noted
1. Only one fellowship will be awarded for 2010.
2. This is a pilot project and if successful, depending on the funding, can be institutionalized under the aegis of the UNC School of Social Work.
3. The primary goal of the program is to develop cross-cultural understanding and gain experience in a developing country.
4. The program is meant to be individually tailored to meet the requirements of the student as well as the selection committees in USA and India.
5. It is anticipated that at the end of the fellowship year, the student will be equipped with a global perspective of life.

Assi.. Tussi..

Aiwwehi..

At Qawwali night, I was surrounded by people whom I have fallen in love with years back! The Punjabi's! Please do not ask me, what I like of them. I do not know myself. But I am amazingly attracted to them, I accept.

I wonder, what capacity they have as humans, who migrated in masses during the partitions, and still, carved their own niche and space in both the nations. What is their will power, that builds them so strong, that you hear their laughter roaring in midst of pain? I do not wish to generalize, but the small amount of Punjabi's I know, have made up my opinion.

Last week, Mom n Dad were in Amritsar. The Golden Temple.. The place I dream to be at. The place I had a carved dream for.. And today, I was surrounded by the one's whom I admire. Beat it, today is Guru Nanak Jayanti!

I am sure to meet many more on the journey, who will make me fall in love with them much more!

War & Peace..

Hamare Hindustan Pakistan mein.......

The words immediately rang a bell in my ears. For the first time in my life, I was surrounded with a mix of Indians and Pakistanis. After all these years of life, when I have been hearing both the sides, reading about both the sides, interacting with both the sides on individual level, today was the first time I was surrounded by my brotherhood, that was separated due to one line on paper. Was it just one line? Or was it... The question itself is incomplete!

I am just back from a Qawwali Night, by Amjad Sabri. I am back, but it is still going on and would go on possibly till 03:00 a.m. or later.. It has the capacity to hold on to audience! It held on to me too. And that is where the words were uttered by the maestro! The words touched my heart, and so also of the audience, from both the sides of the boundaries!

Yesterday, I attended a Human Rights Anti-Conference! A conference that was not in conventional meaning a conference, but it was a gathering of artists and an attempt to understand human rights through heir perception. The opening segment was by an Iraqi sculptor, who lost everything he had in the war. And he posed only one question, "Is war about who wins and who looses for the moment, or is it about the eternal impact it has on humanity?"

When I link up above both incidences, I realize, everyone wants peace. You, me, army, the politicians, everyone. What differs is, the approach..