As I reflect upon the forthcoming Joy of Giving Week, I realise that the joy of giving, for me, lies in the happiness one sees on the face of the person receiving the gift. I have personally experienced this joy both as a giver and receiver of gifts. I remember how incredulously happy I was on being gifted leg guards by Hemant Kenkre when I was still in my early days of cricket.
This was followed by a bat gifted to me by Dilip Vengsarkar when I was first selected for the Ranji team. And the same joy resurfaced when Sunil Gavaskar gifted me pads when I was chosen to play for India. On each of these occasions, I felt sheer delight that these people thought of me, and gave something of themselves to me. And I could see the same joy reflected on their faces.
Today, I continue to experience this joy as a giver of gifts. One incident etched in my memory, is when I gifted my father and brother a car as a surprise. My brother had come to visit and even as he was admiring the car downstairs, I gave him the keys and told him it was his. To this day, I can recall the look on his face, surprise giving way to joy.
All of us like to receive gifts, no matter how privileged we are, but it is important for us to count our blessings and share willingly. My daughter Sara, has imbibed this valuable lesson. Last year on her 10th birthday , she decided to forgo gifts for herself and instead , decided to host a party for the underprivileged children with the money she was gifted.
The memories of the party she organized are worthy of being cherished and I am very proud of what went through in little Sara’s head. This is what appeals to me in the Joy of Giving Week — that people from all walks of life can give. This year, in addition to giving money, which is the easier part, I am offering a one-day cricket coaching camp for auction. The proceeds will benefit underprivileged children at Apnalaya.
As I reflect upon the forthcoming Joy of Giving Week, I realise that the joy of giving, for me, lies in the happiness one sees on the face of the person receiving the gift. I have personally experienced this joy both as a giver and receiver of gifts. I remember how incredulously happy I was on being gifted leg guards by Hemant Kenkre when I was still in my early days of cricket. This was followed by a bat gifted to me by Dilip Vengsarkar when I was first selected for the Ranji team. And the same joy resurfaced when Sunil Gavaskar gifted me pads when I was chosen to play for India. On each of these occasions, I felt sheer delight that these people thought of me, and gave something of themselves to me. And I could see the same joy reflected on their faces.
Today, I continue to experience this joy as a giver of gifts. One incident etched in my memory, is when I gifted my father and brother a car as a surprise. My brother had come to visit and even as he was admiring the car downstairs, I gave him the keys and told him it was his. To this day, I can recall the look on his face, surprise giving way to joy.
All of us like to receive gifts, no matter how privileged we are, but it is important for us to count our blessings and share willingly. My daughter Sara, has imbibed this valuable lesson. Last year on her 10th birthday, she decided to forgo gifts for herself and instead, decided to host a party for the underprivileged children with the money she was gifted. The memories of the party she organized are worthy of being cherished and I am very proud of what went through in little Sara’s head. This is what appeals to me in the Joy of Giving Week — that people from all walks of life can give. This year, in addition to giving money, which is the easier part, I am offering a one-day cricket coaching camp for auction. The proceeds will benefit underprivileged children at Apnalaya.
In our country, there are so many less privileged, less fortunate people, that any small thing that we feel is no good in our hands, is like gold for someone else. So it is important to give what we can — from a pen to a watch to money, Rs100 to Rs1 lakh, whatever you feel you can give. Eventually, added up across all of us in India, it becomes a substantial amount. And it doesn’t even have to be money — you can give your time, skills or resources. Spend a day with elderly people who are isolated or children who need attention and experience the joy yourself.
I strongly believe that it is also very important to think of what the other person would like when we make a gift. I experienced this on Aug 15, when I gave a young girl selling flags at the traffic lights, a lot more money than the Rs2 the flag was worth. The look on the girls face told me the money meant a lot to her. I don’t think a watch or a shirt would have meant much to her. True joy comes from giving someone something that they need, knowing that your giving will bring joy to that person’s life.
I appeal to the people of India to be a part of this Joy of Giving Week that we are all looking forward to. There are so many people in our country capable of giving on a large scale, if all of them step forward, we can make all changes we are dreaming of for our country, possible, maybe even in our own lifetimes. It is all about taking small steps, but keep taking those steps consistently. So let’s begin this Week!
BANGALORE: India’s IT hub Bangalore, along with the rest of the country, will come forward to make a difference in the lives of less privileged section of the society during the ‘Joy of Giving Week’, from September 27 to October 2.
The week-long event is the brain child of NGO GiveIndia.
Cricketer Rahul Dravid and former badminton champion Prakash Padukone jointly announced Bangalore’s participation in the ‘Joy of Giving Week’.
Both sporting icons also pledged their support for the cause.
“This is a unique concept to bring all Indians together to indulge in acts of kindness. We just want all to give their time, money or just skills for the underprivileged,” said Venkat Krishnan, director of GiveIndia, while announcing the Bangalore edition of the event.
“It will be a mass movement covering about one crore Indians, and volunteer groups in metros and smaller towns are already working on it,” added Krishnan.
BANGALORE’S CELEBS
Prakash Padukone has decided to throw open the doors of the Karnataka Badminton Association club to underprivileged children. Those between the ages of 11 to 14 years will get a chance to play in this world class facility along with star players like Padukone.
“If we come across any promising players, we will provide facilities to train him in the future,” Prakash said.
Rahul Dravid will conduct a talk on the pursuit of excellence to business leaders in Bangalore. The money collected by selling the tickets will go to the poor. “We are working on a module like the one suggested by Prakash, but it will take some time to implement the same for cricket,” Dravid said.
Theatre personality Arundhati Nag will offer non-governmental organisations free access to her theatre auditorium Ranga Shankara here during the week.
Bangalore-based voluntary organisation Janaagraha kickstarted its latest campaign of ‘Billion Voters’.
During the week, the NGO will promote active citizen engagement in voting and electoral issues, by establishing ‘Citizenship Clubs’ in colleges towards the ‘One Billion Voters’ campaign.
NGO Dream-A-Dream will launch
‘Dreamathon’ for its fund-raising campaign.
“Giving” is a virtue, means to bestow, especially officially, confer; to accord or tender to another, to entrust to another. This is the Law of all creation: Give and you shall receive. "Give and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." "Every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the Father of Lights.
You must give some time to your fellow men. Even if it`s a little thing, do something for others - something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it.
Albert Schweitzer
Giving quotes give you an insight to the feeling of gratitude towards somebody in which the person feels from the heart, the pleasure of bestowing some of his own pleasures onto somebody. A gift or present is the transfer of money, goods, etc., without the direct compensation that is involved in trade, although possibly involving a social expectation of reciprocity, or a return in the form of prestige or power. In many human societies, the act of mutually exchanging gifts contributes to social cohesion, and the Giving quotes highlight this phenomenon of the human society.
Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need.
Kahlil Gibran
The fragrance always remains in the hand that gives the rose.
Heda Bejar
The trick is to realize that after giving your best, there`s nothing more to give.
Sparky Anderson
We do not quite forgive a giver. The hand that feeds us is in some danger of being bitten.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The great art of giving consists in this: the gift should cost very little and yet be greatly coveted, so that it may be the more highly appreciated.
Baltasar Gracian
Whoever renders service to many puts himself in line for greatness -- great wealth, great return, great satisfaction, great reputation, and great joy.
Jim Rohn
It is possible to give without loving, but it is impossible to love without giving.
Richard Braunstein
You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
Kahlil Gibran
A compliment is a gift, not to be thrown away carelessly, unless you want to hurt the giver.
Eleanor Hamilton
The excellence of a gift lies in its appropriateness rather than in its value.
Charles Dudley Warner
It is better to give than to lend, and it costs about the same.
Philip Gibbs
He who obtains has little. He who scatters has much.
Lao-Tzu
There is no benefit in the gifts of a bad man.
Euripides
Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.
Elizabeth Asquith Bibesco
Plant a kernel of wheat and you reap a pint; plant a pint and you reap a bushel. Always the law works to give you back more than you give.
Anthony Norvell
It`s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.
Mother Teresa
Give every man your ear, but few thy voice. Take each man`s censure, but reserve thy judgment.
William Shakespeare
One must be poor to know the luxury of giving.
George Eliot
Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can.
John Wesley
Do give books - religious or otherwise - for Christmas. They`re never fattening, seldom sinful, and permanently personal.
Lenore Hershey
If we have the opportunity to be generous with our hearts, ourselves, we have no idea of the depth and breadth of love`s reach.
Margaret Cho
I hate the giving of the hand unless the whole man accompanies it.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
If you want to see what children can do, you must stop giving them things.
Norman Douglas
What a child doesn`t receive he can seldom later give.
P. D. James
A gift in season is a double favor to the needy.
Publilius Syrus
The spirit in which a thing is given determines that in which the debt is acknowledged; it`s the intention, not the face-value of the gift, that`s weighed.
Seneca
He doubly benefits the needy who gives quickly.
Publilius Syrus
Giving advice to a stupid man is like giving salt to a squirrel.
Kashmiri Proverb
You can no more give what you haven`t learned than you can come back from a place you`ve never been.
Author Unknown
We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.
Sir Winston Churchill
Seek joy in what you give not in what you get
Author Unknown
I believe that what women resent is not so much giving herself in pieces as giving herself purposelessly.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind.
William Shakespeare
Purchase not friends by gifts; when thou ceasest to give, such will cease to love.
Thomas Fuller
The next seven days from Sunday will be celebrated as the "joy of giving week" across the country. Anyone - children, families, schools and corporates - could do something for a cause. In Chennai, a group of auto-rickshaw drivers provided a sumptuous meal to around 500 people as their contribution.
The auto-rickshaw drivers lead a hand to mouth lives. But that has not stopped them from being generous in their giving.
On day one of the joy of giving week, 30 drivers contributed Rs 1000 each to give a sumptuous free meal to over 500 strangers.
"Being an auto driver is like a social service to take people to hospitals and other places in their emergencies. And when we feed people we get an overwhelming peace in our mind," said Mohan, an auto-rickshaw driver.
Many were pleasantly surprised and touched by the gesture of this community that`s often accused of fleecing passengers.
"Even if you give lots of money to someone none will be happy. But if you provide food when one is hungry both the giver and the recipient are happy," said a Chennai resident.
It`s a lesson from few simple men - the joy of giving is all about how big your heart is and not how deep is your pocket.
MUMBAI: Mont Blanc on Tuesday launched a set of premium pens costing Rs 11.3 lakh under its limited-edition series commemorating 241 miles travelled
by Mahatma Gandhi during the Salt March.
Each pen in the series is made of white gold and the entire series is called the `Mahatma Gandhi Limited Edition-241`. "The distance of 241 miles which Mahatma Gandhi and his followers travelled by foot during the famous Salt March has inspired the name and limited edition quantity of this outstanding 750 solid white gold piston fountain pen," Mont Blanc CEO Lutz Bethge told reporters.
"Only 241 pens have been produced in the Mahatma Gandhi Limited Edition-241 series by Mont Blanc and each pen in the series is around at Rs 11.39 lakh," he said.
Mont Blanc has launched another series — Mahatma Gandhi Limited Edition 3000 — whose pens are priced at Rs 1.67 lakh a piece.
"A total of 3,000 fountain pens and 3,000 roller-ball pens have been produced in this series and the pens will be available our all outlets pan-India," Bethge said. Mahatma Gandhi Limited Edition 3000 series has been produced in tribute to the many people who had followed Mahatma Gandhi, he said.
Sir any idea as to whether this is a booster sales gimmick or major part of the profits will be donated to Gandhi foundation. If the proceeds are not for charity it should be boycotted as a cheap gimmick/exploitation of a name which atleast some in this world hold dear to heart.
MUMBAI: The controversy over a brand of luxury pen that depicts Mahatma Gandhi as brand ambassador for its new range spiralled on Thursday. A division bench of the Kerala High Court issued notice to the Central government, Mont Blanc International and other respondents on a writ petition seeking a ban on the sale of the Mont Blanc gold pen that bears the image and signature of Mahatma Gandhi.
The petition has been filed by Dijo Kappen, who is managing trustee of the Centre for Consumer Education at Pala in Kottayam.
In the run-up to the Mahatma`s 140th birth anniversary, Mont Blanc international designed a luxury fountain pen to commemorate the Dandi March. Launched on September 29, the limited edition consists of 241 pens costing Rs 11.39 lakh each. Crafted in solid white gold, it bears a sketch of Gandhiji on the nib, apart from carrying his signature. Each piece is accompanied by saffron-coloured ink, a booklet of Bapu`s quotes and an eight-metre long golden thread that, when wound around the pen, resembles the spindle of the spinning wheel. Another version consists of 3,000 fountain pens and as many roller pens, each costing between Rs 1.47 lakh and Rs 1.67 lakh.
The product was manufactured and marketed with the consent of Tushar Gandhi, Gandhiji`s great-grandson. Mont Blanc has contributed Rs 72 lakh to Tushar`s charity, the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation.
Speaking to TOI from Holland on Friday, Tushar said he was prepared to defend himself in court if the need arose.
MUMBAI: The controversy over a brand of luxury pen that depicts Mahatma Gandhi as brand ambassador for its new range spiralled on Thursday. A division bench of the Kerala High Court issued notice to the Central government, Mont Blanc International and other respondents on a writ petition seeking a ban on the sale of the Mont Blanc gold pen that bears the image and signature of Mahatma Gandhi.
The petition has been filed by Dijo Kappen, who is managing trustee of the Centre for Consumer Education at Pala in Kottayam.
In the run-up to the Mahatma`s 140th birth anniversary, Mont Blanc International designed a luxury fountain pen to commemorate the Dandi March. Launched on September 29, the limited edition consists of 241 pens costing Rs 11.39 lakh each. Crafted in solid white gold, it bears a sketch of Gandhiji on the nib, apart from carrying his signature. Each piece is accompanied by saffron-coloured ink, a booklet of Bapu`s quotes and an eight-metre long golden thread that, when wound around the pen, resembles the spindle of the spinning wheel. Another version consists of 3,000 fountain pens and as many roller pens, each costing between Rs 1.47 lakh and Rs 1.67 lakh.
The product was manufactured and marketed with the consent of Tushar Gandhi, Gandhiji`s great-grandson. Mont Blanc has contributed Rs 72 lakh to Tushar`s charity, the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation.
Speaking to TOI from Holland on Friday, Tushar said he was prepared to defend himself in court if the need arose. "The product is a tribute rather than the exploitation of the Mahatma. My conscience is clear because I stand to make no personal profit from the deal. I do not know if I am a respondent in the case, or the locus standi of the petitioner. All I can say is that he is wasting the time of our courts which are already burdened by a high volume of pending cases.``
A spokesperson for Mont Blanc said, "I believe the courts will understand our position for we have taken copyright permission to use Gandhiji`s image and his signature on our product. All legal formalities were completed well before we launched the pen, and moreover, a substantial amount of money from each sale goes to charity.``
As part of the deal, Mont Blanc CEO Lutz Bethge donated Rs 72 lakh towards a children`s shelter being set up by the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation near Kolhapur. "The foundation has acquired a plot where it will rehabilitate rescued child labourers, and the donation will fund the infrastructure needed,`` said Tushar.
The spokesperson added, "We have also reserved Rs 50,000 from the sale of each of the 241 pens to provide education and nutrition to five children for five years. Rs 10,000 will be paid to the shelter from the sale of each of the other 6,000 pens.``
Mention Mahatma Gandhi and many think of fasting, restraint and the struggle for Indian independence.
He renounced material comforts, promoted Indian goods and embraced a simple, ascetic life.
These images jar with German pen maker Montblanc`s launch of a $25,000 pen to mark the 140th anniversary of his birth. Some see it as an insult to him.
One group has filed a lawsuit to try to stop its distribution. Montblanc says it is intended to honour Gandhi.
`A simple lifestyle`
The $25,000 (£16,000) gold and silver limited edition pen has an engraving of Mahatma Gandhi, the man seen as the father of Indian independence and revered as a global spiritual leader.
It is a mockery of the great man and an insult to the nation
Dijo Kappen
Critics have questioned if the Montblanc pen is the best way to honour Gandhi. The Center for Consumer Education in Kerala has filed a lawsuit to try to stop distribution of the pen.
"Mahatma Gandhi advocated a simple lifestyle," Dijo Kappen of the centre said.
"He was, of course, a nationalist and, in the nature of the independence movement, the only thing he promoted was Indian-made goods. It is a mockery of the great man and an insult to the nation... to use him as a poster boy."
A fitting tribute?
The limited edition pen is intended to honour Gandhi, the German premium pen maker said. "I certainly have to say, I wouldn`t have thought that people would have reacted negatively," Montblanc`s chief executive Lutz Bethge told the BBC.
"Yes, there were questions asked. Does it make sense to combine Montblanc and Mahatma Gandhi? But from what I noticed people were delighted that we were paying tribute to him."
Just 241 of the handmade pens will be sold, in reference to the number of miles Gandhi walked in his famous march against salt taxes in 1930.
Each comes with an eight-metre golden thread that can be wound around the pen, representing the spindle and cotton Gandhi used to weave simple cloth.
"What we want to do is talk about the values of Mahatma Gandhi as well. And this is certainly a person who believed in non-violence, peace, education and tolerance, and these are universal values," added Mr Bethge.
Gandhi`s great-grandson Tushar Gandhi has endorsed the idea. His charitable foundation has already received a donation of $145,000 from Montblanc and will receive between $200 and $1,000 for each pen sold.
"Part of the proceeds are donated to the Gandhi foundation. That is certainly something Gandhi would have approved of," said Mr Bethge.
For those who find the pen a little out of their price range, there is a more affordable version - there are 3,000 roller ball and fountain pens on sale for about $3,000 dollars each.
High capital flow may destabilise currency, asset prices: IMF
NEW DELHI: International Monetary Fund (IMF) today warned that the surge in capital flows into developing countries could destabilize local currencies and asset prices.
"While capital inflows are generally beneficial, they can raise risks of rapid and potentially destabilizing movements of currencies and asset prices...The resurgence of capital flows to emerging markets, including several in Asia, is presenting policy challenges," IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said in a speech at a conference in Singapore.
The resurgence reflects the favourable outlook for the region, but also a renewed appetite for higher-risk assets as financial conditions normalise, he said.
However, he said the policy makers have a range of tools available to mitigate the effects of these inflows.
"They include exchange rate appreciation, tighter fiscal policy, and, where appropriate, lower interest rates. In addition, macro-prudential instruments can limit the risk of asset price bubbles," he noted.
Market-based controls on capital inflows can help reduce the volatility of such flows, he said, however, adding these measures are costly and tend to lose effectiveness over time.
India is experiencing a surge in foreign capital inflow powered by initial recovery in the global economy. However, the finance ministry is not concerned at present and says no specific action is required to arrest it.
Pranab warns of razor-edge-walk recovery, asset price-bubbles
Colombo: Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said the world economy is showing signs of recovery, but warned against formation of asset price-bubbles and volatility in the currency market.
The world economy is showing signs of recovery ... the risks, however, remain and the recovery would be a razor-edge walk, especially because the signs of asset price-bubble and heightened carry-trade activity are re-emerging," he said.
Mukherjee, who is on a two-day visit to Sri Lanka, made these remarks while delivering the fourth LK Memorial Lecture in honour of Sri Lankan leader Dr Lakshman Kadirgamar.
Carry-trade usually refers to speculative trade activities in currencies and commodities. It is feared that speculative capital flows can have adverse implications on the forex and equity markets in the developing nations.
The finance minister`s statement comes just a day after International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn had warned that the surge in capital flows into the developing countries could destabilise local currencies and asset prices.
"While capital inflows are generally beneficial, they can raise risks of rapid and potentially destabilising movements of currencies and asset prices...The resurgence of capital flows into emerging markets, including several in Asia, is presenting policy challenges," Strauss-Kahn had warned.
Mukherjee said the global output is expected to expand by 3.1 per cent in 2010, wherein the developed countries as a group could grow at 1.3 per cent and the emerging and developing economies could grow by 5.1 per cent.
Capital inflow of significant level here will only occur if the investor is confident he can get his money out. Sadly, very sadly, very very very sadly, only hot money wants to enter India while all the patient money is going to China. The Goi seems oblivious to this obvious apparent and daily stark disparity of money going to China and the money coming to India.
Mont Blanc`s depiction of `Gandhi` in pen nibs wrong: Govt
The government on Tuesday said the depiction of Mahatma Gandhi on nibs of luxury pens from Mont Blanc violates Indian law.
A day after Supreme Court sought the response of Mont Blanc and the government over the pens priced at around Rs 12 lakh, Minister of State for Consumer Affair K V Thomas informed the Lok Sabha that it violates the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950.
"Yes," he said replying to a question by Congress MPs B B Patil, Eknath M Gaekwad and Madhu Yaskhi whether the luxury pen, watch and fragrance maker violated Indian laws by using the name of Mahatma Gandhi for sale of their pen.
Thomas informed that the Department of Consumer Affairs had received a notice from Kerala High Court on October 29 with a copy of writ petition filed by Dijo Kappen of Kottayam-based Centre for Consumer Education.
"The Chief Secretary, Government of Gujarat has been requested to investigate the matter and to take appropriate steps" under the Act, he said.
The Gujarat government has been told to investigate the case because one of the respondents in the petition - Entrack International Trading, a sole distributor of Mont Blanc`s pens in the country, is located in Rajkot, he noted.
The Supreme Court had yesterday sought response from the Centre and the global pen company hearing a PIL that seeks to restrain the "misuse" of the picture and name of Mahatma Gandhi for commercial purposes.
| NIFTY 
