...मेरी तुम!

आदत हो मेरी तुम,
चाहत हो मेरी तुम,
ज़िंदगी कि डोर हो मेरी तुम,
इबादत हो मेरी तुम,
धुन हो मेरी तुम,
ताकत हो मेरी तुम,
सपना हो मेरी तुम,
हकीकत हो मेरी तुम!

....हैं।

इस सुबह में कुछ तो अनोखी बात हैं।

हवा के एहसास में तुम्हारे छूने कि आस हैं।
ओस कि बूंदों में तुम्हारी झलक हैं।
सूरज के किरणों में तुम्हारे प्यार का अल्हर्पण हैं...

कुछ तो खास हैं इस सुबह में!

Look Beyond The Numbers!

It was just another day…
It was a moment of decision…
It was a decision that changed lives…

To us it is a news report, actually another news report stating that some individual somewhere decided to end his/her life. We immediately make judgements about ‘it’- The act of Suicide being right or wrong, the person being strong or weak; we blame the individual, the society, the system. We are often safe in our cocoons believing we will never be in that state.
Unfortunately, the truth is far from that. As students who definitely know what ‘stress’, ‘burnout’ and ‘fatigue’ is; because in all these years of our existence, we have faced the three. We have understood that it is absolutely fine to be stressed, absolutely fine to realise that we are unable to cope with the pressure at work or home, absolutely fine to not be perfect at all that we do, despite our best efforts; we may detest being average…yet being average is not the end of life.
What happens in our immediate environment jolts us out of our comfort zones and such unfortunate incidents make us want to suddenly take action, suddenly foresee what we had not seen before. This attempt needs to be at individual, societal and institutional level.

We are now highlighting some empirical data and request all readers to look beyond the numbers, the issue is more deep-rooted than that.
Suicide means ‘deliberate self harm; an intentional determination to end ones life.’ The Word Suicide was first used by Sir Thomas Brown in 1642. Suicide is termed such when being considered/attempted/completed.
Data shows that today it is a Public Health Problem and a direct index of a disturbed society. Suicide is among the 3 leading causes of death among adolescents and younger age groups (15-45 years) (Dept. of Epidemiology, NIMHANS)
*Suicide worldwide
-Rate varies country to country
-At least 4 million adolescents attempt suicide globally
-At least 1 lakh of them die
*In India
-Every 5 minutes, 1 suicide is reported
-There is a 41.3% increase in the last 10 years
-In 2000, Karnataka had 12, 000 cases, ranking it among the top 4 states in the country
-The other 3states are Kerala, Maharashtra and West Bengal
*In Bangalore
-The Highest suicides are seen in the age group of 15-29 years
-Suicide among top three causes of death

Please understand that Help is available! The suicide helpline in the city is SAHAI helpline- 25497777. 10th of September is marked as World Suicide Prevention Day to highlight the efforts towards the same. Within the paradigm of this Institution, efforts are being made to ensure that we avoid waking up to another unfortunate incident. However, this will not take us far till each of us believes that the key to a complete living is with us.

Look beyond the numbers,
The horizon beckons,
Hope stays….

Source: Excerpts(Data section) from a talk by Ms. Lata Jacob of Medico Pastoral Association, Bangalore

This piece was written for the October Edition of Voices!

Editorial... Voices- October 2007!

Change!
To the fearful, it is threatening because it means that things may get worse.
To the hopeful, it is encouraging because it means that things may get better.
To the confident, it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.

We at Voices have strived to take on this challenge and make a few changes. This issue witnesses a new layout keeping the editorial page close at heart. The chance discovery of a blog led to another change- we welcome our new member! And await the arrival of many more. Voices launches its online version and still retains the print version for the conventional minds.
It has been an eventful two months. We got home the 20-20 World Cup Trophy and the country celebrated in unison; the empty tea-board was a testimony to the fervour the final match generated, notwithstanding the not so spirited anti-competitor slogans that rang in the air! Saluting the spirit of our national game and winning a penalty stroke, The Hockey Association screened the now cult Chak De to a packed Gymkhana. It was really all about change! And let us not forget, India recently won the Asia cup Hockey, and Nehru cup Football. Vishwanath Anand won the Chess World Championship. Bravo!! New vision, new thoughts, new actions!
This issue begins with a look at how life on campus can be made easy by just a click – humble efforts highlighted that looks at how automation can change the face of our daily living, if implemented by authorities. If it is technology on one side that makes us think, then the societal issues always tug at our heart. We rise from the slumber to ponder over what is it that drives an individual to the brink of hopelessness and is help really that far away? We also begin a section that is an ode to the IIScians who blog, and their posts find a place here. This time it is a clean up drive that made heads turn!
Gymkhana is a place of solace and their activities are now on highlighted in our new section, Gymkhana Corner.
So, brace yourself and read on!!

And Yes!! Voices is now online. http://www.iisc.ernet.in/voices
A dream has been realised...