Karan Mehta sends his Greetings

Karan Mehta has sent this message for all our boys.
It was sent on the 28th, but I could not download it as there was a ppl file which I tried to save to send to you all, but failed.
This message missed me.
Sorry for the delay in giving you his greetings.

Radheshyam

Hi guys,

Let’s hope this Diwali is the start of a better year after the hardships most families faced this year –high inflation, financial crisis, attacks on minorities in the name of religion which actually preaches peace, the Tata Nano saga, the on going problems in Darjeeling, etc. etc. It was terrible to read what even Br. Thomas had to go through. Where has our culture gone that there is no respect even for aged people? We could keep our fingers crossed and hope things improve but unfortunately it does not work that way. Each of us has to do his little bit in trying to improve something around us, and till this does not become a real chain we wont see society improving and living the way we would like to.

The IMF advised that this year because of the financial crisis there will more than 100 million poorer people in the world, most in the third world. But also the west is being affected. In Italy the number of people lining up at centers which give free meals has increased considerably and the same is happening in other European countries including France and Germany. This crisis is affecting everyone with the exception of the very rich. Multi million dollar villas are still being sold and the sale of the Ferrari car has increased!
The middle class has been affected too but in this case it has meant cutting down on mainly those expenses which are not a necessity but make life easier to live. In Europe this has meant not taking credit for going on vacations or joining gyms (yes, credit for even that), eating out less in restaurants, walking out of shopping malls with half full trolleys instead of overloaded ones, and maybe starting to educate the young about not wasting.
The poor – they are the ones really feeling this crisis because costs have gone up and contributions towards projects have gone down. Because the middle class and the rich have to cut down on non essentials it seems they have also included helping the poor in this category. And this in spite what every religion teaches – help the needy.

It’s really great to read that the various GMS Chapters in India and Canada will be meeting in November. These are wonderful events as they bring together generations of people who feel part of a community which is not theirs by birth but (now) by choice. And the GMS community is exceptional. One can perceive that also through the blog where there are healthy discussions on such a wide range of subjects. Hope that during these meetings you will also remember those not as fortunate as us and maybe the chapters can take up some initiatives in fund collections for the poor, including the school for the poor hill girls being run by Brother James.


PEON: a word commonly used in India which I never heard used in Europe. In fact the Italian dictionary defines it as “common labourer, including indentured worker”. It confused me because in India it has a different use and so I checked up Websters which carries a Note: ONLY in India and describes peon as foot soldier or messenger. I am curious to learn why the meaning of peon was changed for India so if anyone has an answer please let me know.

And while signing off suggest this wonderful Thai massage for the tired bodies. And also some hobbies to improve your patience

Karan