ITS NEVER TOO LATE

At age 5 his Father died.
At age 16 he quit school.
At age 17 he had already lost four jobs.
At age 18 he got married.
Between ages 18 and 22, he was a railroad conductor and failed.
He joined the army and washed out there.
He applied for law school he was rejected.
He became an insurance sales man and failed again.
At age 19 he became a father.
At age 20 his wife left him and took their baby daughter.
He became a cook and dishwasher in a small cafe.
He failed in an attempt to kidnap his own daughter, and eventually he convinced his wife to return home. At age 65 he retired.
On the 1st day of retirement he received a cheque from the Government for $105.
He felt that the Government was saying that he couldn’t provide for himself.
He decided to commit suicide, it wasn’t worth living anymore; he had failed so much.
He sat under a tree writing his will, but instead, he wrote what he would have accomplished with his life. He realised there was much more that he hadn’t done. There was one thing he could do better than anyone he knew. And that was how to cook.
So he borrowed $87 against his cheque and bought and fried up some chicken using his recipe, and went door to door to sell them to his neighbours in Kentucky.
Remember at age 65 he was ready to commit suicide.
But at age 88 Colonel Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) Empire was a billionaire.
Moral of the story: Attitude. It's never too late to start all over.
*MOST IMPORTANLY, IT'S ALL ABOUT YOUR ATTITUDE. NEVER GIVE UP NO MATTER HOW HARD IT GETS.*

पुनर्योवन : नवजीवन

 पुनर्योवन :  नवजीवन

"बाज लगभग 70 वर्ष जीता है .... परन्तु अपने जीवन के 40वें वर्ष में आते-आते उसे एक महत्वपूर्ण निर्णय लेना पड़ता है ।
उस अवस्था में उसके शरीर के3 प्रमुख अंग निष्प्रभावी होने लगते हैं ..... पंजे लम्बे और लचीले हो जाते है, तथा शिकार पर पकड़ बनाने में अक्षम होने लगते हैं ।
चोंच आगे की ओर मुड़ जाती है,
और भोजन में व्यवधान उत्पन्न करने लगती है ।
पंख भारी हो जाते हैं, और सीने से चिपकने के कारण पूर्णरूप से खुल नहीं पाते हैं, उड़ान को सीमित कर देते हैं।
भोजन ढूँढ़ना, भोजन पकड़ना, और भोजन खाना .. तीनों प्रक्रियायें अपनी धार खोने लगती हैं ।
उसके पास तीन ही विकल्प बचते हैं....
1. देह त्याग दे,
2. अपनी प्रवृत्ति छोड़ गिद्ध की तरह त्यक्त भोजन पर निर्वाह करे !!
3. या फिर "स्वयं को पुनर्स्थापित करे" !!
आकाश के निर्द्वन्द एकाधिपति के रूप में.
जहाँ पहले दो विकल्प सरल और त्वरित हैं,
अंत में बचता है तीसरा लम्बा और अत्यन्त पीड़ादायी रास्ता ।
बाज चुनता है तीसरा रास्ता ..
और स्वयं को पुनर्स्थापित करता है ।
वह किसी ऊँचे पहाड़ पर जाता है, एकान्त में अपना घोंसला बनाता है ..
और तब स्वयं को पुनर्स्थापित करने की प्रक्रिया प्रारम्भ करता है !!
सबसे पहले वह अपनी चोंच चट्टान पर मार मार कर तोड़ देता है,
चोंच तोड़ने से अधिक पीड़ादायक कुछ भी नहीं है पक्षीराज के लिये !
और वह प्रतीक्षा करता है चोंच के पुनः उग आने का ।
उसके बाद वह अपने पंजे भी उसी प्रकार तोड़ देता है, और प्रतीक्षा करता है .. पंजों के पुनः उग आने का ।
नयी चोंच और पंजे आने के बाद वह अपने भारी पंखों को एक-एक कर नोंच कर निकालता है !
और प्रतीक्षा करता है ..
पंखों के पुनः उग आने का ।
150 दिन की पीड़ा और प्रतीक्षा के बाद ...
मिलती है वही भव्य और ऊँची उड़ान पहले जैसी....
इस पुनर्स्थापना के बाद
वह 30 साल और जीता है ....
ऊर्जा, सम्मान और गरिमा के साथ ।
इसी प्रकार इच्छा, सक्रियता और कल्पना, तीनों निर्बल पड़ने लगते हैं हम इंसानों में भी !
हमें भी भूतकाल में जकड़े
अस्तित्व के भारीपन को त्याग कर कल्पना की उन्मुक्त उड़ाने भरनी होंगी
150 दिन न सही.....
60 दिन ही बिताया जाये
स्वयं को पुनर्स्थापित करने में !
जो शरीर और मन से चिपका हुआ है, उसे तोड़ने और
नोंचने में पीड़ा तो होगी ही !!
और फिर जब बाज की तरह उड़ानें भरने को तैयार होंगे ..
इस बार उड़ानें और ऊँची होंगी,
अनुभवी होंगी, अनन्तगामी होंगी ।

Challenges in UPSC/IAS/Civil Services Examination PT Preparation

GS PT में प्रश्नों का स्वरुप

Arctic Sea melting and its impact on Geopolitics

Arctic Sea melting and its Impact on Geopolitics

An interesting mix n match analysis on one of the major development across the world
The melting of Arctic Ice has significant ecological and geopolitical implications for the world. In the Arctic, the sea ice has shrunk by about two-thirds over three decades.
Predictions by various models say the summertime Arctic sea ice could disappear completely by 2050. This will open new shipping rules are being, The ‘Polar Code’, as it is called is expected to boost traffic in the region, but will have stringent rules on pollution.

Why does this matter?

The Northern Sea Route along Russia’s edge, that is likely to be free of ice first, can reduce the sailing distance between Asian ports and northern Europe by 40 per cent. The other major Arctic shipping route is the Northwest Passage, which connects Europe and Asia.
It is nearly 5,000 nautical miles shorter than the 12,600 nautical mile distance between Europe and Asia through the Panama Canal. The Arctic is believed to hold about 13 per cent of the world’s undiscovered oil, 30 per cent of its undiscovered natural gas, and 20 per cent of its undiscovered natural gas liquids.

The Current Situation

Right Now, there are no international conventions regulating Arctic shipping operations. Rules are coming into force in 2016.
As of 2010, most Arctic shipping routes were ice-free for only about 30 days. The commercial shipping route is currently open for only about four months a year.
The Concern
‘The Polar Code’ does not deal with the problem of ballast water discharge, which often introduces non-native species to a region, and continues to allow vessels to use heavy fuel oil, a potential pollutant.

Stance of Different Countries

Russia Submitted its initial claim to the North Pole, and 7,40,000 5q km of surrounding territory, to the UN in 2001.
In 2006 Norway became the second and only Arctic nation besides Russia to submit an extended continental shelf claim.

In 2013, end Canada said it would claim the North Pole, around 800 km north of Alert, Nunavut, the country’s – and the world’s – northermost settlement, provoking threats of military deployment by Moscow.
Geographically, Denmark is not within the Arctic region. However, because of its territory, Greenland, and its province, the Faroe Islands, its potential claims to the Arctic extend from Greenland up to the North Pole, via the potentially oil-rich Lomonosov Ridge.
Since International Law only allows countries to extend their territory 200 km offshore, the claims are based on some creative interpretations of where the landmasses end. All argue that mountain ranges that criss-cross the floor of the Arctic Ocean are extensions of their own continental shelves. It is up to the UN to adjudicate.

Conclusion

No country owns the geographic North Pole or the region of the Arctic Ocean surrounding it. However, the 5 countries located along the shore of the Arctic Ocean – Russia, the US, Denmark, Canada and Norway – have competing territorial claims.
While some maintain that like Antarctica, the Arctic should not be exploited for any activity save scientific expeditions, others contend that its resources belong to the entire world.