Biography of Ghandi
"When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it. Always." ~Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi
All through Gandhi's life, while trying to create peace (first for South Africa, then India), he met several obstacles that seemed impossible to pass. Yet somehow, with his stubbornness and firm philosophy of non-violence, he was able to aid the Indians in South Africa in uprising for rights and to create India's independence. To do this, he needed a lot of hope and perseverance, which can be exemplified by this quote.
At first, he was alone in his struggle to give Indians freedom, with only the support of a couple of his friends. However, after the first meeting when he burned the passes, he began to gain more, and by the time of the march, nearly 1,000 people were walking with him. In India, the British were so overpowering and violent that no one dared to fight against them. In fact, Gandhi didn't really fight. He just persisted. Britain's forces seemed invincible at first, with their huge armies and unnecessary shootings, but after all of the native people, rich and poor, stood up against them, they just gave up. This was Gandhi's way of creating change.
Gandhi had to believe that change would come. Non-violence is very effective, but it takes a long time and can create large losses on the people's side. He himself nearly died of starvation when he fasted to protest the Hindu-Muslim fighting, but his persistence won over in the end, as it did until his death. Through his philosophy of hope, he was able to make great change wherever he went.
All through Gandhi's life, while trying to create peace (first for South Africa, then India), he met several obstacles that seemed impossible to pass. Yet somehow, with his stubbornness and firm philosophy of non-violence, he was able to aid the Indians in South Africa in uprising for rights and to create India's independence. To do this, he needed a lot of hope and perseverance, which can be exemplified by this quote.
At first, he was alone in his struggle to give Indians freedom, with only the support of a couple of his friends. However, after the first meeting when he burned the passes, he began to gain more, and by the time of the march, nearly 1,000 people were walking with him. In India, the British were so overpowering and violent that no one dared to fight against them. In fact, Gandhi didn't really fight. He just persisted. Britain's forces seemed invincible at first, with their huge armies and unnecessary shootings, but after all of the native people, rich and poor, stood up against them, they just gave up. This was Gandhi's way of creating change.
Gandhi had to believe that change would come. Non-violence is very effective, but it takes a long time and can create large losses on the people's side. He himself nearly died of starvation when he fasted to protest the Hindu-Muslim fighting, but his persistence won over in the end, as it did until his death. Through his philosophy of hope, he was able to make great change wherever he went.
Crossing the Pop Culture Universe
The connection between India's Got Talent and America's Got Talent is fairly obvious. America's Got Talent was the first full-length television series of the Got Talent franchise, but, more recently, it has branched into 39 other countries. After having watched about an episode of India's Got Talent, I can definitely say that although the format of the show is the same as in America, the talents are very diverse. In one episode, I saw interpretive dance, a sort of play done with neon lights on costumes, a trapeze routine with silks, and an archery demonstration! (I think I mentioned I love archery.) I'm not exactly sure how the Indian show compares to the American one, as I haven't seen America's Got Talent. Additionally, I'm not sure whether the show is as popular in India as it is in America. Not being able to understand what they were saying also limited my understanding of the show.
Photoblog
Globalized World
http://www.sammaan.org/ (Website under maintenance, unfortunately. Well, here is an article that tells about them; hopefully that will do.)
http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2010/02/he-wants-samman-for-all-rickshaw-pullers/ (Yes, it was written by a non-native English speaker, so some of the sentences and terms are a bit odd.)
The Sammaan Foundation was started in 2007 to aid the rickshaw wallahs in India. Rickshaw wallahs are somewhat like golf cart drivers. A rickshaw is an apparatus, much like a bicycle, which can be used to carry one or two people for a ride. (I included a picture below.) Millions of these wallahs work throughout India to get the richer people to their workplaces. Rides only cost about 40 cents in USD, and these riders often work ten hours or so to raise enough money to feed their families, more if they have children.
Irfan Alam saw the extreme poverty that rickshaw wallahs were subjected to, and began the Sammaan Foundation to help them. Because of his efforts,the price of renting a rickshaw (few, if any, pullers have enough money to buy their own) has been halved in many places, rickshaws are being "upgraded" to feature better design and shelves on which to put goods to sell for additional money, and the pullers' families are offered job training and education. In 2010, 300,000 rickshaw pullers were registered to this amazing corporation. While at this time it is confined to India, the foundation reaches seven Indian states, and an international website is being worked on to gain help from people around the world.
http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2010/02/he-wants-samman-for-all-rickshaw-pullers/ (Yes, it was written by a non-native English speaker, so some of the sentences and terms are a bit odd.)
The Sammaan Foundation was started in 2007 to aid the rickshaw wallahs in India. Rickshaw wallahs are somewhat like golf cart drivers. A rickshaw is an apparatus, much like a bicycle, which can be used to carry one or two people for a ride. (I included a picture below.) Millions of these wallahs work throughout India to get the richer people to their workplaces. Rides only cost about 40 cents in USD, and these riders often work ten hours or so to raise enough money to feed their families, more if they have children.
Irfan Alam saw the extreme poverty that rickshaw wallahs were subjected to, and began the Sammaan Foundation to help them. Because of his efforts,the price of renting a rickshaw (few, if any, pullers have enough money to buy their own) has been halved in many places, rickshaws are being "upgraded" to feature better design and shelves on which to put goods to sell for additional money, and the pullers' families are offered job training and education. In 2010, 300,000 rickshaw pullers were registered to this amazing corporation. While at this time it is confined to India, the foundation reaches seven Indian states, and an international website is being worked on to gain help from people around the world.