With a dollop of coconut oil and a soundtrack of steadily intensifying screams from the marketing executive to my right, I came. And climaxing in these conditions wasnt exactly easy. I was masturbating to an orchestra of orgasms from 20 other women, all draped in blankets, lying on the floor of a candlelit teepee. As the initial embarrassment wore off, I became competitive with those able to get off so quickly.

You see, we had found ourselves in this room not as exhibitionists, but to learn to harness our sexual energy and channel it towards achieving our personal goals. The hardest drug on offer was green tea, but for these women the concept of finding love, professional success or a duplex apartment with a partner in finance was stimulation enough. The rooms cacophony of moans rung in the verdict: sexual manifestation is in, even if the person youre having sex with is, well, yourself.

Seeing as sluttiness is on its way to being destigmatised, sexual experimentation is considered exciting, and sexual health is a brunch topic, it makes sense that sexual 'conscious-raising' has been re-embraced with gusto. The concept is simple: as the most powerful energy we possess, sexual expression can forge deeper connections and kickstart our personal evolution.

Which is how and why I found myself with a group of strangers, aged 25 to 65, found ourselves at The Goddess Institute. Created by relationship expert Shaunda Brown, it was a the three-day conscious sexuality camp in New York. And I was hoping I'd be served pussy power-reclamation on a platter. Which in all honesty, I desperately needed.

When I discovered the retreat, I'd just left a job I thought defined me, and a relationship I felt Id failed. It had become all-too clear that I was stuck. I wanted meaningful sex, professional clarity, and disentanglement from a clearly toxic relationship. But primarily, I wanted to deploy my sexual energy towards healing myself. Many of the other women were also experiencing the dissolution of long-term relationships. Others couldnt find the one, or just didnt enjoy sex.

"She began lightly stroking her clitoris to almost immediate orgasm"

So, ready or not, our sexuality was set for a high-intensity workout, with practical pleasure (literally) the peak of the training plan. In the teepee, we covered ourselves with blankets and arranged ourselves at various angles ready to begin.

Tension reached fever pitch when our tantra teachers legs opened to demonstrate her technique. Lying down on the mat, she began lightly stroking her clitoris to almost immediate orgasm. It was highly of intimidating. Her sensitivity, she explained, came from refusing to use anything but her fingers to get off (as she believes vibrators overstimulate the clitoris). Myself and some of the other youngest attendees descended into panic... we had never masturbated with our fingers.

Laying down, the performance anxiety I felt was palpable. Our instruction was to direct sex magic towards our desires, be they love, sex or career-related. We fell silent as several women inserted yoni eggs, the controversial sensual healing-stones that went viral via Gwenyth Paltrows goop, into their vaginas (I figured I was already far enough out on a limb, and respectfully declined). We giggled as natural lubricant was passed around, and Shaunda extended permission to us to begin touching ourselves.

I dutifully imitated the instructor: lightly brushing my clitoris to achieve optimum sensitivity before increasing speed and pressure, releasing any lasting inhibitions by falling into panting unison with the group of women I'd just met. Im still unclear on whether the orgasm I experienced was so intense because it was from my fingers, or because it was a group experience. Either way, the relief was on a par with completing a sky-dive (or so I imagine).

Sex therapist and tantric practitioner, Lauren Harkness, thinks it was orgasming in time with a group of women is what made the climax more intense. She says self-pleasure puts ownership of our sexuality back in our hands (which is especially important after unfulfilling sexual experiences or connections), and focusing not only our own sexual energy but that of others onto ourselves takes it to a whole new level.

"We have been conditioned to believe sex is an external experience"

We have four nerve pathways where sexual energy travels from our genitals to our brain that influences consciousness, Harkness explains. Leading people instead to feel tenderness or anger while stimulating their sexual energy helps transform any trauma. This is what brings personal and professional highs. And a whole room of women rooting for you to create the best life? It exponentially expands your ability to achieve it.

"I, and many women I know, had always been conditioned to believe sex is an external experience. [You] do it for the man. The truth is that our sexual expression empowers us to be more in tune to the bodys messages, opening us up to new opportunities and ultimately keeping us safer.

Ashley Armitage / Refinery29 for Getty Images

In the weeks following, the women and I continued to check in on each other. Our Whatsapp group chat became overrun with a flurry of job offers and great dates and bad ones during which we felt empowered enough to communicate dissatisfaction.

The progress wasnt instant, but almost overnight each of us noticed a shift in the direction of the desires we outlined in that teepee. I experienced a career high just two days after the trips conclusion, and within weeks definitively left my relationship in the past.

To get off alongside 20 strangers took a dismantling of sexual shame, but one-by-one, wed each had our own sex magic makeover. And if you can manifest your dreams while masturbating, just about anything is possible.

Read more:
Group masturbation - I masturbated with 20 other women - cosmopolitan.com

It is safe to say that technology is evolving and expanding at an exponential rate. This is what many are calling digital Darwinism, a time where technology and society are changing faster than most businesses can naturally adapt.

A 2018 report found that organizations that are highly invested in digital transformation are more profitable and possess higher market valuations than those that do not. As the founder and CEO of a platform for complete candidate skills and job fit assessment launched in 2003, I have witnessed the rapid evolution of the pre-hire process thanks to technology.

It is no surprise that recruiters need to adapt quickly to the ever-evolving environment around them in order to succeed in todays tidal wave of digital progress. While video interviews have been around for some time, recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and automation are able to streamline and advance the hiring process even further, but not without introducing some newfound risks and pitfalls.

Automation And Artificial Intelligence

The advent of video calling as we know it, ushered in 10 years ago, provided recruiters the ability to interview candidates remotely. Since its emergence, it has been embraced by top organizations. Just like with most technologies, advancements have been made to video interviewing that can speed up the recruitment process and rely on less human power to operate. One-way video interviews, which firms like ours are increasingly making available, are a relatively new method in which candidates do not see the interviewer; instead, they simply record responses to preset questions at a time convenient for them.

Now, AI is emerging as the next potential digital revolution, automating the interview process even further. Unilever reportedly began using AI to detect facial expressions during video interviews in 2016. Candidates record their one-way video interview, and AI measures their facial expressions to assess personality traits, mood and even the honesty of their answers, vocabulary and question response speed. In April, IBM CEO Ginny Rometty announcedthat AI had replaced 30% of the company's HR staff. And although humans will always be needed in the HR field, IBM believes that eventually, machines will understand individuals better than the HR personnel.

As a word of caution, for both accuracy and legal compliance, it is still critical to make sure any AI used for scoring has scientific backing to prove that scoring correlates with job performance. Its an even better step to test the AI on your own employees to see if AI interview scoring correlates with performance within the most relevant population your actual staff.

Talent Is Everywhere

Whereas hiring was once limited geographically due to the high cost of flying in candidates for face-to-face interviews, today, candidates can be properly vetted no matter where they are located and in large numbers, thanks to the speed of automation and AI. This can increase the talent pool infinitely. Not only are companies able to recruit from locations they would not have previously, but they are able to do so faster and more efficiently than traditional interviewing processes would allow. The speed of analysis afforded by being able to review candidate interviews at any time and anywhere is revolutionizing the hiring process.

Improve The Candidate Experience

Jobseekers value video interviews, too: Nearly62% of candidates believe video technology gives them a competitive edge. Prioritizing the candidate experience is critical to attracting top talent in a tight labor market. The 2018 Talent Board North American Candidate Experience Benchmark Research Report found that organizations that created a positive candidate experience were more likely to reduce their cost per hire and time to hire. Maintaining a competitive edge throughout the recruitment process is vital to cost-efficiently securing talent in a tight job market.

The Downside Of Dehumanizing The Process

Although job seekers do find value in video technology, some see this as yet another hurdle to jump over before ever have the opportunity to speak live with a person. This obstacle may prevent qualified candidates from moving on in the interview process, resulting in a smaller candidate pool. Others who proceed with the one-way interview may be uncomfortable speaking to a machine, ultimately negatively impacting their performance. Since candidates are not able to actually interact with a hiring manager, there is not a chance for either party to ask clarifying questions, leading to possible misinterpretations.

Given the risks of dehumanizing the interview process, it is important for recruiters to take steps to mitigate the negative impact by maintaining open communication throughout the process, following up quickly once candidates complete interviews and creating opportunities that encourage candidates to provide feedback.

The Risk Of Bias

Companies may be hesitant to utilize video interviews due to the ability to see the candidate in the early stages of the recruitment process, which could lead to unconscious or conscious bias. Therefore, recruiters must specifically define the relevant job competencies, behaviors and attributes that are required in each role. Candidates must be specifically rated against these requirements to prevent video interviews from being susceptible to bias.

The ability to monitor when recruiters end their viewing of individual video interviews will help to shed light on biases. For instance, if male video interviews are being watched to completion 85% of the time and female video interviews are being watched to completion only 46% of the time, it is possible to prove the recruiter is biased and needs to be retrained or replaced. Maintaining a data-driven approach in all aspects of recruiting is becoming more essential, and fortunately easier to monitor as technology continues to advance.

In an era of digital transformation, it is wise to heed the advice of Jack Welch: Change before you have to, and prepare your business for the future now.

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What Video, Artificial Intelligence And Automation Mean For The Future Of Recruiting - Forbes

When Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick first started writing Zombieland (first as a TV pilot and then as a movie), they had no idea that their little zom-com would end up being the bleeding edge of an entirely new revival of interest in flesh-eating corpses. Sure, there had been movies like Shaun of the Dead and Zack Snyders Dawn of the Dead remake sprinkled throughout the 2000s, but the October 2009 release of Zombieland made ghouls somehow more mainstream and paved the way for them becoming pop culture staples with the arrival of The Walking Deadone year later.

A sequel to Zombieland seemed like a no-brainer (sorry). So why did it take 10 years to get Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Wichita (Emma Stone), and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) back on the screen in Zombieland: Double Tap?

That was the question we put to Reese and Wernick--who took some time between films to pen another little franchise known as Deadpool--when we recently sat down with them. We also spoke about how the sequel changed over the past decade, what its like to write for Harrelson, and whether they thought they could top the first movies classic scene with surprise guest Bill Murray.

read more:Zombieland: Double TapReview

Den of Geek: Let's just start off with the gestation of this, which has taken a while. How soon after the first one came out, did people start throwing the idea of a sequel around?

Paul Wernick: Right away.

Rhett Reese: A day.

Wernick: Zombieland came out in early October, and a week later we had booked Deadpool, GI Joe: Retaliation, and Zombieland 2. Zombieland 2 was the first script we started on of those three.

Reese: How outrageous is that it took six years to get Deadpool made from there. But it took 10 years to get Zombieland 2 made? We thought Deadpool was a long slog and this one turned out to be almost double.

How much of that initial idea or script has made it to where we are now?

Wernick: Some. I mean the themes and some scenes. The biggest issue, and the reason those early drafts didn't happen, was the aging of Little Rock. Little Rock was still a little girl in those drafts. She then grew up in the four or five years that followed. We were still trying to get the script right and [director Ruben Fleischer] was off making other movies, and the cast was blowing up and then as time passes you realize, well, this doesn't really work anymore.

Little Rock's now late teens and suddenly you're going, she's not a little girl. Now you start to have to think about...

Wernick: Leaving the nest.

Reese: Yeah, what's the next moment for her? Then we were on the Deadpool stuff, and Dave Callaham came on Zombieland 2, did a great job sort of re-conceiving the story around the hunt for Little Rock. Oren Uziel also did a very nice job. Two excellent writers. Then ultimately it still wasn't where people really wanted it to be exactly, where the actors really wanted it to be, even though it was very solid.

Then Paul and I came back and we worked on it for a couple more years, and in that time it really does evolve because now it's about a young 20-something woman who really is having a chance at a real relationship for the first time in her life. Her father figure's a little put off by that. You get to explore the passage of time. What does that mean for their relationships, for the evolution of zombies, for the evolution of the physical world around them? How much more has it decayed? So we all leaned into the passage of time at that point. But it was a long slog for sure.

Meanwhile, at the same time, Zombieland really kicked off a zombie revival, so to speak. Were you guys keeping an eye on all this stuff and saying, how do we differentiate our story?

Wernick: What's interesting is the movie's called Zombieland, but it's not really about zombies. It's about this family, this dysfunctional family that's having their ordinary issues that every other family has in this extraordinary world. So we appreciate the zombies, and they provide us the threat and the stakes, but ultimately it's about this family.

When you wrote the first one, I'm assuming that you didn't know who would play the roles?

Reese: We wrote it as a TV pilot. So we had no idea we'd be getting stars of this caliber to star. The benefit of the sequel, of course, is that now you know you've got these great people and you can write to their voices, write to their personalities, write to their strengths, and then add some new people to freshen it up and throw more energy into the system.

read more: The Top 32 Horror Comedies

Well, that was sort of my question. Now you know you've got Woody and his particular style and you've got Emma, and they're all very unique personalities. So you're writing more for them.

Wernick: I mean, it's such a gift to have the actor's voice in our head when we're writing and such talented actors who not only take what's on the page but elevate it and make us look good. So, yeah, these are characters that were born in our head, but then evolved as actors came on and made it their own. So yes, it's a real privilege to have their voice in our head as we're sitting down to write.

In the early drafts of the first movie, Tallahassee and Columbus were called Flagstaff and Albuquerque. Now you've reapplied those names to the characters played in the new film by Luke Wilson and Thomas Middleditch.

Reese: The first draft of the first movie took place in the Sonoran Desert, Arizona. When we got Atlanta as our shooting location, we thought, well, we can't use the Sonoran Desert. So now the whole movie has to be set in Texas. So suddenly we had to abandon the names of our characters and they all got different names, but even though Tallahassee and Albuquerque have a close affinity for some reason in the way they sound, we still had an affection for those original names.

We had written a character we called Alpha Tallahassee who was like the more alpha dog version of Tallahassee that he kind of butts heads with. Then someone thought, I don't know who it was, that had come up with the idea, well what if we did one for Columbus too? Then we thought, well, of course we have to use their old names. Albuquerque and Flagstaff is an homage to that earlier draft.

Wernick: So it's a little Easter egg.

Reese: A little bit, yeah. And then of course you go out looking for actors who can take the character and push it to 11, almost do a slight parody of what's come before them. Luke Wilson and Thomas Middleditch took on that challenge and did an awesome job.

read more:Deadpool 3 Waiting on Marvel Studios Green Light

When you're writing, are you conscious that stuff on the set is going to happen spontaneously and these guys are going to improv?

Reese: Depends on the actor, but yes.

Wernick: We've been blessed with amazing improv talents--Ryan Reynolds on Deadpool and obviously Jesse and Woody and Emma, and Abby and Thomas. It's great. The idea is as writers you want to give them a framework and lines obviously to say, but then once they say those lines, once we've got it on camera, it's like, let the genius flow.

Reese: But we're happy to take credit for it after the fact when they come up with great stuff.

Wernick: Exactly. Ruben is very collaborative and very open to new ideas. So to have the actors improv on set is a wonderful thing.

Reese: We came from an improv background. Our first collaboration was a show called The Joe Schmo Show on Spike TV, which was an improvisational comedy reality show. So we came to love improv from the very beginning. So we'd never seen it as a threat. We always see it as an amplification or an elevation of what's on the page. You've always got the lines as written and sometimes they work out the best. Then other times, there's something else somebody comes up with, some extra magic that makes them even better.

Was there talk of another celebrity appearance along the lines of the Bill Murray scene from the first movie?

Wernick: We had written a scene where it was Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and Bill on a golf course and they were all trying to convince Bill to do the next Ghostbusters, and then the zombie outbreak hits and Bill is having to kill his buddies on the golf course. Joe Pesci is out there too, in front of them and playing slow.

Reese: I think at one point Dan Aykroyd gets his ankle wrapped up in the seatbelt of the golf cart maybe and is dragged into the lake. It was crazy. It was pretty funny. But then time intervened and there actually was anotherGhostbusters, and Bill was in it so the joke didn't work anymore and these things just come and go.

Wernick: But in terms of another celebrity cameo, Bill Murray kind of was the tip of the iceberg. How do you top that?

Reese: Luke and Thomas are sort of this movie's version of that, the characters that come in for a fun 10 minutes and then they're gone. We couldn't really top Bill Murray.

Zombieland: Double Tap is out in theaters Friday, Oct. 18.

Read and download theDen of Geek NYCC 2019 Special Edition Magazineright here!

Don Kaye is a Los Angeles-based entertainment journalist and associate editor of Den of Geek. Other current and past outlets include Syfy, United Stations Radio Networks, Fandango, MSN, RollingStone.com and many more. Read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @donkaye

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Zombieland: Why It Took 10 Years to Double Tap - Den of Geek US

Some of Jolene Connellys best childhood memories involved time spent with her grandmother, who worked at a garment factory that dealt with furs.

I would sit on the steps in her attic and pore through boxes of fur swatches trying to identify the animals they came from, said the Selinsgrove (Snyder County) native.

Those moments helped spark her interest in trapping, becoming one of a growing trend of women participating in an activity that is shrouded in negative stigma involving animal welfare.

I am an animal lover, and I assure you that if I thought that trapping would put any animal under a large amount of stress, I would find it hard to participate, she said. Any time you see the number of trappers dwindle, you see more diseased animals with mange, distemper and other issues, along with more human-animal conflict. Trapping is a vital part of our conservation that helps animal populations stay healthy and happy.

An industry leader

The state of trapping across Pennsylvania is holding steady, despite a several-year low in fur prices, according to Pennsylvania Game Commission trapping biologist Matt Lovallo.

We have historically been one of the leading states with one of the oldest and most organized trapping associations out there, he said. Over the past 20 years while some states have struggled to maintain their ranks of trappers Pennsylvania has had a pretty steady increase.

Fur prices are influenced by international trends, according to Lovallo, who added that historically, the Asian market has been a major player for U.S. furs. But recent political shifts have impacted the trade market and ultimately the prices.

According to Barry Warner, public relations director for the Pennsylvania Trapping Association, there are 11 different trapping districts across the state, each holds its own series of specialized trainings and the participation in those sessions has been noticeably healthy.

One thing were seeing now are individuals that trapped in their younger years that had married and were forced to go to work their children are growing up and showing interest and they want their kids to have some of the same experiences.

A series of new trapping opportunities has helped keep interest up, according to Lovallo.

Many people who were involved in the trapping heydays of the 1970s and 80s may not find todays prices that appealing, but the Game Commission has done a great job of offering new opportunities in the state, thanks to the conservation efforts of trappers, he said. In 2000, we were able to offer the first bobcat trapping season. In 2005, cable traps were legalized and offers new opportunities. In 2016, we had our first controlled fisher trapping, and just this year we were able to add some opportunities for river otters.

Each time there is a new opportunity that our resources can sustain, we see an influx of new trappers, and they seem to stick around well afterward.

Welcoming community

Connelly started trapping when she had an abundance of predators on her property that was once great for rabbit hunting.

Pennsylvania has a lot to offer in terms of educating new trappers. I spoke to a local fur buyer, and he put me in touch with a local trapper and a few friends, and I paid for a private lesson, she said.

That led to her taking a cable restraint course through the Game Commission, and she got involved with the Pennsylvania Trappers Associations local trapper training school.

Everyone in furtaking seems to be willing to talk and give pointers or chat about what works for them, Connelly said.

Outside of learning the best way to set traps and harvest targeted species, Connelly has garnered a better appreciation for what trapping really is and the misconceptions surrounding it.

Most people are unfamiliar with trapping in general and when they picture trapping in their minds, they think of a cartoon-esque bear trap with large, pointed teeth, she said. However, trapping is a highly regulated activity. Many people dont realize the amount of research that goes into best management practices that make sure trappers are using the most humane traps.

There are many things trappers do in order to make an animals discomfort as minimal as possible, she added, such as using off-set jaws or adding extra swivels to their sets.

When I walk up to a set where I have successfully caught an animal, it is typically laying down or even asleep, she said.

Often after releasing a non-targeted animal yes, we can release animals from our traps unharmed it will hang around while you re-make the set before wandering off on its own accord.

Offsetting stigma

Educating the public is a key component in helping offset the stigma and myths surrounding the activity, according to Warner.

There are programs offered at fairs and other public events, and we have pamphlets available that explain how traps work and how humane they have become, thanks to a multi-million dollar effort across numerous states over the past 20 years to develop the best traps that are both effective and minimally invasive, he said. Pennsylvania laws are very stringent, and we emphasize the importance of ethical trapping.

Among the evolution of trapping best practices, Pennsylvania only allows body-gripping traps for beavers and can only be used in waterways not on land, according to Warner.

Foot-hold traps are regulated by size, and teeth have been outlawed for quite some time on traps used today.

There are even in-line shock springs that, when an animal in it moves, it reduces the shock on any lunging animal, he said. We use them to trap and transfer animals all the time.

There is no element of danger when properly using legal traps today.

The best way to fight the public stigma surrounding trapping, according to Lovallo, is for trappers to be mindful of how they carry themselves.

Be conscious of how you appear to the public in how you display your harvest, how you share photos on social media, and be sure to communicate the positive aspects of trapping, he advised.

Connelly agreed.

The best thing a trapper can do is uphold a positive image by educating themselves about regulations and how to best use trapping for conservation, she said. Dont be afraid to have respectful dialogue with someone about trapping. Every year, my boyfriend and I put on a trapping demo for our dog-training club in the event they encounter a trap with their pet.

The other aspect Connelly advises trappers to do is to be judicious when in the field.

Always be sure to follow regulations, check traps frequently, and avoid trapping along popular recreation areas, she said. One of the biggest challenges in trapping is being out there every day checking your traps. It doesnt matter if there is inclement weather or youre sick, you have to check your traps it is whats best for the animals, plus its the law.

Promising future

Connellys growth in the sport has placed her in an advisory role. She helps with trapper training and recently helped instruct young people in a hunter safety course at Kreamer Sportsman Club. One of the first rules of successful trapping, she admitted, is location, location, location.

You need to look for signs and know where the animals are by looking for tracks, scat or trails, she said.

Next, know what youre targeting and cater to that animal by using appropriately-sized traps and baits and lures that are specific to the animal.

It is also very helpful to find a trapping mentor.

Talk to everyone you can that traps. Go to conventions or sign up for a class, she said. Youll be surprised at how friendly and helpful everyone can be.

Trapping can be very challenging when you consider the bigger picture, Warner added.

The pan that activates the trap is about two square inches. Many of the animals we trap range about two square miles, he said. So basically, we are trying to get an animal covering two square miles to step on a pan that is two square inches. That takes education, experience and practice and a lot of patience.

An evolving mind-set has Lovallo extremely excited about the future of trapping:

Trappers are motivated by different things today than they were in the 1970s and 80s, he said. They arent doing it simply to get some sort of money for a pelt, but instead for the challenge of better understanding the animals, improving our conservation and re-connecting with nature with their families. With that focus, we will continue to see an increase of responsible, ethical trappers that will shatter old-fashioned stigmas and really make a difference in our state.

John Zaktansky is a writer for The Sunbury Daily Item, a CNHI sister paper of The Herald and The Allied News. He can be reached at jzaktansky@dailyitem.com

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Outdoors: Trapping is still popular in some parts of Pennsylvania - Sharonherald

Eduardo Saverin and Rajarshi "Raj" Ganguly are two of the three cofounders of B Capital Group, a venture capital firm with close to $800 million, split between a first and a second fund (still being raised). The third cofounder is legendary investor Howard Morgan. Brazilian Saverin, 37, is based in Singapore and best known for being the cofounder of Facebook whose shares in it give him a net worth estimated at about $10 billion.

Americans Ganguly, 43, and Morgan, 73, come from diverse backgrounds. Ganguly, based in Los Angeles, spent his early career at Bain Capital, overseeing a number of investments. Morgan, based in New York, helped start ARPAnet, the internets precursor, in the 1970s, and later was president of hedge fund Renaissance Technologies.

B Capital has dual headquarters in Los Angeles and Singapore, as well as offices in New York and San Francisco, with a total of 40 full-time staff. B Capital focuses on companies already in series B or C rounds, generally over $10 million in revenue, and looks to invest roughly $20 million. The trio would like to keep the total number of companies in each fund to about 20.

The firm has the slogan innovation without borders, reflecting the founders belief that innovation can originate anywhere, not just in Silicon Valley. B Capital also uses global consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to help it grow startups and match them with larger firms. Saverin and Ganguly sat down with Forbes Asia in an exclusive interview in September at Singapores Shangri-La hotel to discuss their goals for B Capital.

Forbes Asia: How are you deploying your capital into startups?

Eduardo Saverin: Primarily we focus on companies that have an existing level of traction. There are a lot of places where you could invest in technology, but you need to have an edge and focus. For us, together with our relationship with BCG, its about accelerating growth. Most companies we invest in have a B2B angle. When the company is still an idea on a napkin, its hard for us to introduce them to some of the largest companies in the world. So we tend to invest where theres a particular amount of value that we can bring through those corporate introductions and value acceleration, which means they tend to translate to series B and beyond. But frankly the staging is fungible. Its about traction.

Raj Ganguly: As we build the firm we want to be really conscious of being able to invest into some companies really early, probably smaller amounts of capital, and as some of those companies scale and grow, we want to bring larger amounts of capital to those companies. Then finally for some of the companies that really continue to go into highly accelerated growth mode, we would actually not just double-down, but we would take outsized ownership stakes. As were growing the capital, were increasing our ability to invest across multiple stages. The best use of our capital, rather than finding a new investment, is finding a company in our portfolio where we can see the trajectory of the company before an outsider can see it.

What is the value-add you want to bring to your entrepreneurs?

Ganguly: We focus on doing three things really well ourselves and then partnering with BCG and others for everything else. We focus on helping make introductions and really helping get that growth flywheel going. The second part is we are focused on hiring key C-level talents into companies once we invest into them. We find that every single time we make an investment, if we can help them with one or two better hires on the margin, it fundamentally changes the direction of the company. And third, we help them raise strategic capital. We think, while its great to have other venture capital firms and folks like that, there are so many large enterprises sitting on over $1 trillion of capital and many of them want to invest and partner with startups. They could be much more strategic in the capital and the value that they bring.

Saverin: One of our early investments was in a company in the clinical trials space called Evidation Health. Its a perfect example of a business where they can develop all the technologies that they would like. The truth is, success will come from adoption of virtual clinical trials from the largest pharma companies in the world. When we first met the business, it was working with a lot of smaller biotech firms, which are the traditional early adopters of such technologies. But leveraging our partnerships, including BCG, we had a chance to meet with some of the largest pharma companies in the world.

Through those discussions we understood that, unlike traditional tech innovation cycles where things over time get a little bit cheaper and faster, in the pharma world, you were seeing kind of a reverse innovation cycle where it was getting more expensive and taking longer to get to market.

And one of the largest pharma companies in the world took one of their existing trials that they had already done, and then just replicated it through a virtual standpoint, and saw both the speed, the cost effectiveness, and the depth of the data. That gave us conviction to invest, because we knew there was a real appetite for experimentation. Today, that business has most of the largest pharma companies in the world as customers. Some of them have become investors.

Ganguly: It just announced, a few weeks ago, a landmark partnership in dementia with Apple and Eli Lilly. Weve been a part of helping make some of those connections.

Whats unique about B Capitals approach to investments?

Ganguly: There are four key parts of our model. Its about global thematic investing, one single team leveraging global data. Its about deep local expertise in each market that we invest in. Its about being the single highest value-add investor in every company and having the capital through partnerships with our investors and through our own capital to fund the growth of these companies as they scale. Our risk model is a lower risk model than early stage, which is about investing in ideas on a napkin, and having one of 20 companies that you know will drive your whole returns. Our model is about backing companies that have customer traction, that have a founding team that has high potential. We are looking for large potential customers and large potential partnerships that further mitigate risks. We believe our approach has upside because were investing in companies that are growing at 100% plus a year.

Saverin: The VC game is an information edge game. You need to leverage it not just in the first investment, but across the lifecycle of the company. Our model is about rolling up our sleeves and getting deeply involved, where entrepreneurs want us to, and where we can tremendously add value.

You believe in innovation without borders, can you expand on that idea?

Saverin: Companies are becoming global increasingly by design. Theres no border to where innovation can be received and used. Whether you start a company in Silicon Valley or in Africa or any part of the world, there really is the increasing impetus to go beyond your existing borders. When you start thinking about the evolution of innovation, some of it is the enablers, including the engineering talent. When you go to Silicon Valley, thats actually one of the hardest places in the world to get engineering talent because of the massive competition. In other parts of the world you can ask is there enough raw talent, even though its not as competitive? So well see a broader equalization. It would be hard for me to believe that as tech enablement becomes a big part of much larger industries, that all that innovation will come from one place. If that were to happen, Id do anything I can to change it because the truth is the whole world is consuming technology.

What opportunities do you see in Southeast Asia?

Ganguly: We understood early that e-commerce was being inhibited in the region because e-commerce companies had to do their own delivery. Thats what really convinced us that we wanted to invest in all the picks and shovels around e-commerce, but no longer invest in e-commerce, or at least not focus on e-commerce. So today were investors in Ninja Van, BlackBuck, Mswipe and Bizongo, all companies that enable e-commerce.

Given WeWorks pulled IPO, have valuations gotten overdone?

Ganguly: Where we are in the cycle and when it changes, thats not our business. We dont time the market, but we fundamentally take a long-term perspective. There are times when youre in a cycle and you have to pay a little bit more for that. But if you have the right time horizon, we think its still far better to do that than to be looking for value plays where youre looking at the second- or third- or fourth-best company. We always say that you might sleep better if you have a value play, but you wont sleep very well when you exit because the valuation differential is even more stark when you exit a lower-tier player. It used to be that you were forced to go public because you had to pay out early investors. Thats no longer the case. You can now continue to stay private, and have access to very large amounts of private capital. Your early investors can cash out because later stage investors are willing to buy them out. Theres a very active secondary market. Whats changed is I think theres no longer this belief that going public is something that you have to do. There are a lot of questions about whether going public drives long-term value. While its worked for some companies, it hasnt worked for others.

What would be the process if a portfolio company might fit with Facebook?

Saverin: We are trying to facilitate introductions with any enabler, hopefully a win-win on both sides. So Facebook of course would be part of that equation, and parts of its strategy that converge with some of our focus areas, especially in financial services. Many companies will already have some type of relationship with Facebook, given where Facebook is today, through WhatsApp or otherwise. The innovation ecosystem touches Facebook all the time, so its just a question of extent.

Where is B Capital going to be in 10 years?

Saverin: Thats an important question. I usually think about it in two ways. We are incredibly ambitious, and we want to have an institution that will outlive us, so we are always thinking of the very long term. One thing I say every single day, whether in our partner meetings, or when we speak to our entrepreneurs, is to always push focus. Focus on what youre doing today, thats how youre going to get to a bigger vision ten years from now, and even a vision well past our lifetimes. But at a really top level what I want us to do is to enable technology to get into the hands of consumers faster by leveraging the existing distribution networks of the largest companies in the world. Push intrapreneurship, it doesnt necessarily need that push, but enable them to not only think of disruption but a positive win-win transformation. Its not about the top ten tech companies that will take over a market by themselves, but the enablement of every company in the world with technology in collaborative innovation.

What do you mean by collaborative innovation?

Saverin: This is a really high-level idea, that can be seen in the platform technologies, such as Facebook, WeChat and others. They have created massive innovation acceleration by enabling other businesses to come on top of their platforms to gain distribution and engagement. What we are looking for is a win-win using the distribution assets of the largest companies in the world to ultimately get API-ed to the innovation ecosystem. If we get even 0.5% of the way in driving that, we will be doing the right thing for ten years from now. I think its not always a success when a startup out-innovates and massively disrupts a big company, when it could have leveraged a big companys distribution, the licenses, the regulatory know-how, and so on, so that consumers could get the advantages of technology much faster.

This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

More here:
Borderless Investing: Eduardo Saverin And Raj Ganguly Grow B Capital - Forbes

India's association with the Nobel Prize goes back, across centuries and latitudes. Poet, writer and thinker Rabindranth Tagore brought glory to the country when he became the first Indian to win the Nobel Prize for the country. The 52-year-old Tagore was accorded the honour in 1913, 12 years after it made its debut.

Ever since, nine other laureates with an India connection have been conferred the prestigious award in various categories, Abhijit Banerjee being the latest.

There were a few famous names who were nominated several times, but failed to bag the award. While Indian poet Sri Aurobindo was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1943 and 1950, the committee had considered Mahatma Gandhi for the Peace Prize five times in 1937, 1938, 1939, 1947 & 1948 (days before his assassination).

Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel had drafted a will in 1895 where he reserved a large part of his estate to establish Nobel Prizes after concerns of how the world would remember him. He wanted the awards to be given to individuals (based on their achievements), annually, despite their nationality. He died in 1896.

It took nearly five years for the committee to set up, and the first set of awards for Physiology or Medicine, Chemistry, Literature, Physics and Peace were awarded in 1901. After 67 years, Sweden's central bank with donation from donation from the Nobel Foundation, established the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel in 1968.

Here's a look at all the Indians who brought honour to the nation.

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Tagore, Satyarthi And 8 Other Nobel Winners Who Have Made India Proud - The Indian Connection - Economic Times

Congress and the UPA have caused more damage to Indian polity, society and economy as compared to the damage England cause to India between 1600 and 1947.

Why is the Sonia Gandhi-controlled Congress destroying India socially, culturally, economically and politically; undermining the countrys democratic and constitutional institutions; and weakening the Indian State itself? This is the question which most people have started asking following the recent meeting between UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and Indian Overseas Congress leaders in London and what Corbyn said about what transpired during the meet through a tweet. Corbyns tweet read like this: A very productive meeting with UK representatives from the Indian Congress Party where we discussed the human rights situation in Kashmir. There must be de-escalation and an end to the cycle of violence and fear which has plagued the region for so long.

The answer to the questions being asked and raised by the concerned Indians about the Congress intentions is simple and straight. The Congress was not founded by the Indians for achieving freedom from imperialist Great Britain, which started interfering in the political affairs of India and exploiting the Indian weaknesses and natural resources through the canny, notorious and barbarous East India Company in 1600 A.D.

Between 1885 and 1947, the Congress served as a safety-valve for the Indian discontent. It was no more than annual forum whose deliberations were given what certain leading historians call exaggerated significance.

What happened in India between 1600 and 1857 in general and 1858 and 1885, in particular, is too well known to students of Indian history and, hence, no need to recapitulate. Suffice to say that the British imperialists devised and implemented policies calculated to

(1) consolidating and expanding their rule in India;

(2) dividing the Indian society on caste and communal lines;

(3) playing one prince/Nawab against the other;

(4) looting and plundering Indian resources and draining the Indian wealth;

(5) enriching the British economy;

(6) killing the indigenous Indian industry;

(7) pushing the outposts of the Empire further and further at the cost of the Indian exchequer;

(8) proving that their culture was superior, scientific and humane;

(9) conveying the feeling that the Indian culture and religion were responsible for the ills faced by the Indian society;

(10) creating a sense of inferiority complex among the Indians and inducing them to support the British in all matters;

(11) creating a class of loyalists among the Indians first in the shape of landlords and then the English educated Indians among the middle classes; and so on.

To be more precise, they followed a policy of divide and rule, coupled with a policy of brutal repression and reward, to accomplish their designs in India. They were successful. They ruled over India and exploited and persecuted the Indians with the help of the loyalists. Their whole policy was directed more by the British than by the Indian interests.

All this ended the patience of Indians, barring the loyalists, and made them seethe with anger. By 1885, it had become clear to British imperialists and exploiters that the situation would go out of control anytime and it had become imperative to set up an organisation in India with the help of English educated Indians so that they could avert the impending disaster before it was too late. The first initiative was taken by retired British civil servant Allan Octavian Hume. According to Sir William Wedderburn, Humes colleague and biographer, and Lala Lajpat Rai of Punjab, the reason that prompted Hume to establish an organisation was his anxiety to save India from disruption. Wedderburn, who became the first chairman of the British Committee of the Indian National Congress, formed in 1889 in London, and remained in that post till the end of his life, candidly acknowledged that Hume knew that the existing government administered by foreign officials on autocratic lines was dangerously out of touch with the people and there was an imminent danger of a violent revolt which might endanger British rule in India. It bears recalling that Hume had worked in Assam as district collector for years and he knew what was going on beneath the surface.

Anxious, alarmed and religiously committed to London as he was, Hume first held discussions with the then Conservative Governor-General and Viceroy of India Lord Dufferin and then Conservative Secretary of State for India and Marquess of Salisbury Lord Randolph Churchill. Humes views were appreciated and he was given a free hand to take the required steps. His efforts succeeded in roping in 72 English educated Indians hailing from different parts of the country and the result was the foundation of Indian National Congress in December 1885 at Bombay (now Mumbai). The clear objective was to puncture and defeat the ongoing Indian freedom struggle against the British with the help of some influential and moderate western-educated Indians like W C Bonnerjee, who believed in British sense of justice. Bonnerjee presided over the first session of the Congress.

Between 1885 and 1947, the Congress served as a safety-valve for the Indian discontent. It was no more than annual forum whose deliberations were given what certain leading historians call exaggerated significance. Indeed, there were leaders in the Congress who were genuinely committed to the cause of the country, but they were just odd faces in the party whose views were never considered. Take, for example, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Sri Aurobindo Ghose, Bepin Chandra Pal, Lala Lajpat Rai, who represented new Spirit, and Subhas Chandra Bose and their fate. Those who controlled the Congress organisation did not allow these great leaders to influence Congresss policy, which they rightly termed as policy of political mendicancy. The Congress split at Surat (Gujarat) in 1907 was the immediate fall-out of a conflict between the British-guided official Congress and truly nationalists like Bal, Pal and Lal. Earlier, on December 1905, when tempers were running high in the country following the partition of Bengal, President of the Benaras Congress Gopal Krishna Gokhale said while delivering his presidential address: For better, for worse, our destinies are now linked with those of England and the Congress freely recognises that whatever advance we seek must be within the empire itself.

As for Bose, he left the Congress in 1939 to found Forward Block so that he could fight for the independence of India the way he liked. He left the Congress because he defeated M K Gandhis candidate Pattabhi Sitaramayya in the 1939 presidential election. Bose had won the election for the second time in a row hands-down and commenting on the defeat of Sitaramayya, Gandhi had said that Sitaramayyas defeat was my personal defeat. Earlier in December 1928 at Calcutta (now Kolkata), Gandhi and the loyalists had opposed Subhass amendment to Motilal Nehru reports Dominion Status goal and called for immediate reiteration of the complete independence objective.

Gandhi dumb-founded the nation by withdrawing the movement at a time when the people had brought the British Government to its knees and it appeared that freedom was round the corner.

The Congress under the leadership and guidance of Gandhi did engineer three movements Non-cooperation Movement (1920-February 1922), Civil Disobedience Movement (1930-1934) and Quit India Movement (1942), but all ended in a fiasco because the Congress leadership never wanted to take things too far. In February 1922, Gandhi unilaterally withdrew the Non-cooperation Movement on the ground that an army pensioner Bhagwan Ahir and his associates burned alive 22 policemen in a police station at Chauri Chaura, Gorakhpur. Ahir and his associates were not Congressmen. Nor were they part of the Non-cooperation Movement. They had taken recourse to violence after the police had beaten up Ahir and then opened fire indiscriminately on the people who had come to lodge a strong protest in front of the police station. Gandhi dumb-founded the nation by withdrawing the movement at a time when the people had brought the British Government to its knees and it appeared that freedom was round the corner.

The Civil Disobedience Movement, which was started with much fanfare with Gandhi as its leader to attain Purna Swaraj also ended in a complete failure, notwithstanding the fact that people made supreme sacrifices for the cause of Purna Swaraj. But the Congress under Gandhi took no time in changing the goal post. In fact, Gandhi just gave an 11-point memorandum to Governor-General Lord Irwin which did not demand any change in the existing politico-constitutional structure, not even Dominion Status.

Remember, between 1928 and 1929, Gandhi had opposed those calling for another round of all-India mass struggle aimed explicitly at complete political emancipation. Gandhi rejected outright the snap independence resolution, which had been passed in his absence at the Madras session of the Congress on December 1927, and at Calcutta in December 1928, Gandhi pushed through a compromise formula that accepted Dominion Status objective provided London granted it by the end of 1929, failing which the Congress would be within its right to start Civil Disobedience for attaining Purna Swaraj. That fact of the matter is that the Civil Disobedience Movement did not achieve anything for India in the real sense of the term. India only got the Government of India act 1935 which even a liberal like C Y Chintamani described as anti-India Act.

As for the Quit India Movement, which was started in August, less said the better. The common people did make a splendid contribution to the movement ignoring the threat to their life and limb for the cause but the movement led India nowhere. The British defeated the half-hearted movement in just five months without much difficulty and London did not face any real political challenge from the Congress till August 15, 1947, when the British quit India, not because the Congress did anything great but because of three other factors pressure from below in India, international situation and the internal situation in England. It would not be out of place to mention here that Gandhi had declared in 1940 that we do not seek our independence out of Britains ruins. He made this statement in the wake of the Second World War which started in 1939. Gandhis line was inconsistent with line of Bose who wanted to strike as England was involved in the war elsewhere.

All this should prove that Congress never ever challenged England. On the contrary, it acted in a manner that always helped the British. Just compare the British social, economic, religious and political policies evolved in England and implemented in India with the policies devised and implemented by the Sonia Congress-led UPA between 2004 and 2014 and you would find no fundamental difference between them. In fact, the Congress and the UPA have caused more damage to Indian polity, society and economy as compared to the damage England cause to India between 1600 and 1947.

It would not be undesirable if one may say that the Congress is un-Indian.

Note:1. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.

Hari Om is former Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Jammu.

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Why is the Indian National Congress un-Indian? - PGurus

Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati came to India 25 years ago and has lived at the Parmarth Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh ever since. This book, which contains nuggets of wisdom, is born from the satsangs that Sadhvi holds in the evenings at the ashram.

She has a PhD in psychology, which helps her understand human mindsets and behaviour and has, thus, helped her put together this book of wisdom, which aims to answer the questions that are constantly plaguing the mind.

The writing is very simple and conversational in nature, making it an easy read. Each chapter of the book begins with a question and the rest of the chapter goes on to address it.

Sadhvi doesnt merely touch upon, but dives deep into pertinent issues surrounding peace, truth and love. If you havent had a chance to sit with your thoughts and examine them in a while, the matter presented in this book will steer you in that direction.

The book consists of stories and parables, which, when you read, makes you feel like you are sitting across Sadhvi and she is narrating them to you over a cup of tea.

The book also talks about fear, addictions and negative life patterns that we are subjected to. It guides you along the journey of introspection and attempts to provide answers that may speak to your concerns.

Topics such as spiritual development, meditation and renunciation are also touched upon, together with parental issues and topics related to bringing up children.

If you are looking for a self-help book which isnt too heavy in content and yet manages to help find answer for important things, give this book of knowledge a try. You might just come home to yourself by the end of it.

Go here to read the rest:

Book Review: Nuggets of wisdom - Yahoo India News

1 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18 & SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19: Just in time for Halloween, the Theatre Group of Millis will perform Ken Ludwigs Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes mystery/comedy.

Performance dates are Friday, Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 19 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

The worlds most famous detective and his trusty sidekick Watson face down their most notorious case of all in this madcap retelling of the ultimate Victorian whodunit from the mastermind of mayhem, Ken Ludwig.

A stunningly nimble cast of five takes on nearly 40 characters, coming on and off stage almost as quickly as the twists and turns of this complex plot, as Holmes and Watson race against time to crack the mystery of The Hound of the Baskervilles before a family curse dooms its newest heir.

The intrepid investigators search for the (anything but) elementary truth comes complete with a dizzying web of clues, outlandish accents, disguises and deceit. Does a wild hellhound prowl the moors of Devonshire? Can these heroes discover the truth in time? Can costume changes really be that fast?

Baskerville performs at Millis High School theater, 245 Plain St., Millis. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for seniors andstudents. Tickets may be purchased online at http://www.millistheatre.org or at the door.

2 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19: Internationally acclaimed vocal ensemble Windborne will perform at the Circle of Friends Coffeehouse, 262 Chestnut St., Franklin.

Windborne is a group of vocal chameleons who specialize in close harmony singing, shifting effortlessly between drastically different styles of traditional music within the same concert. Their musical knowledge spans many continents and cultures, but they remain deeply rooted in American folk singing traditions. Their singing is a feast of a cappella harmony.

Read more about Windborne at http://www.windbornesingers.com/

Singer-songwriter Michele Kelly will open the show.

The Circle of Friends Coffeehouse is a non-profit organization affiliated with Franklin's First Universalist Society. Concerts are presented in a smoke- and alcohol-free environment at the Society's handicapped accessible Meetinghouse. Beverages and gourmet desserts will be available.

Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the concert begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20. For tickets and more information, visit http://www.circlefolk.org/

3 SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20: The Medway Elementary PTO (MEPTO) is holding its pumpkin fair, 12-4 p.m., at Medway Middle School, 145 Holliston St., Medway. There will be pumpkin painting, bounce houses, games for kids, vendor tables, sand art, and more.

This event will be held in conjunction with Medway Youth Soccer Day and Medway Parks and Recreation will be there with a pumpkin decorating contest, 1-3 p.m. To register, visit http://www.MedwayParksRec.com.

Also coming up, on Oct. 29, is Trunk or Treat with Medway Parks and Recreation at Oakland Park, 1-3 p.m. Visit http://www.MedwayParksRec.com for more details.

4 SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20: The Franklin Performing Arts Company (FPAC) will present Roald Dahls Matilda the Musical choreographed by original Broadway cast member Clay Thomson and starring Broadways Sam Zeller as Trunchbull, 7 p.m., at THE BLACK BOX, 15 W. Central St., Franklin.

Inspired by the twisted genius of Roald Dahl, the Tony Award-winning Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical is the captivating masterpiece from the Royal Shakespeare Company that revels in the anarchy of childhood, the power of imagination, and the inspiring story of a girl who dreams of a better life. With book by Dennis Kelly and original songs by Tim Minchin, Matilda has won 47 international awards and continues to thrill sold-out audiences of all ages around the world.

The production stars Franklins Aida Ryan DiChiara in the title role. Aida is a fifth grader at Oak Street Elementary, who studies singing, acting, and dancing at the Franklin School for the Performing Arts.

For tickets ($34) and more information, visit http://www.FPAConline.com or call 508-528-3370.

5 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26: The Baba Siri Chand Yoga and Retreat Center at the Guru Ram Das Ashram, 368 Village St., Millis, will hold its annual Fall Yoga Festival, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

This year will be an excellent opportunity for beginning yogis to give Kundalini Yoga a try. It will feature lifelong yoga therapist and healer Dr. Shanti Shanti Kaur Khalsa, who is the founding director of the Guru Ram Das Center for Medicine & Humanology in Espanola, New Mexico. Shanti Shanti Kaurs yoga classes uplift and energize every person present, whether it is their first yoga class ever, or next in a seasoned practice.

The festival will also feature two musical guests.

Spirit Voyage recording artist Sirgun Kaur is a sacred songstress and spiritual coach who helps sensitive people focus their thoughts and become intuitive healers. She will also teach a workshop on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. called Emotions as Super Powers.

The Wolf Cry Singers, an intertribal women's hand drum group from Massachusetts, will also bless the festival will ancient healing songs from Native American traditions.

The organizers intend for all participants to feel the wisdom of Mother Earth within them.

The day will be complete with a global bazaar, delicious food court, and healing arts. To learn more and register visit the Baba Siri Chand Yoga Center & Retreat Center website at http://www.yogaattheashram.org/annual-kundalini-yoga-fall-festival/ or call the office at 508-376-4525.

Yoga at the Ashram is a non-profit organization founded in Millis in 1970. The yoga center is committed to providing affordable yoga and meditation via daily classes, workshops, and retreats in yoga, meditation, healing and humanology. It also offers innovative educational practices & programs, including world-class trainings, courses, workshops, and healing modalities, supported with Ayurvedic-inspired nutrition. It is located in the spiritually uplifting environment of the yoga centers host, Guru Ram Das Ashram, a place of peaceful meditation for over 45 years.

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5 Things To Do - Wicked Local Bellingham

Gandhi has said very little about poetry, though he had deep spiritual links with the Bhakti and Sufi poets.

By K Satchidanandan

Gandhi has called himself an artist of non-violence. That makes it easy for artists, including poets who are artists of the word, to connect with the great man and his lasting legacy. Gandhi has said very little about poetry, though he had deep spiritual links with the Bhakti and Sufi poets and had carefully and critically read Gita, if we consider that an example of Indias poetry which is, at times, nothing but philosophy in verse. But his very life was like that of poetry, ever- seeking, ever-evolving, profoundly conscious of the power of words to establish connections among apparently distant and even contradictory things, employing suggestive symbols picked up from the kitchen and the work place, creating new meanings out of paradoxes and retreating into suggestive silence when words seemed to fail.

One day a lean poem/ reached Gandhis ashram/ to have a glimpse of the man.

Gandhi spinning away/ his thread towards Ram/ took no notice of the poem/ waiting at his door/ ashamed as he was no bhajan. The poem cleared his throat/ and Gandhi looked at him sideways/ through those glasses/ that had seen Hell. Have you ever spun thread? he asked,/

Ever pulled a scavengers cart?/ Ever stood the smoke/ of an early morning kitchen?/ Have you ever starved?

The poem said: I was born/ in the woods, in a hunters mouth.

A fisherman brought me up in his hamlet. Yet, I know no work, I only sing.

First I sang in the courts/ then I was plump and handsome;/ but am on the streets now, half-starved.

Thats better, Gandhi said/ with a sly smile, but you must/ give up this habit/of speaking in Sanskrit at times.

Go to the fields, listen to/ the peasants speech.

The poem turned into a grain/ and lay waiting in the fields/ for the tiller to come and upturn the virgin soil/ moist with the new rain.

Gandhi and the Tree Gandhi was walking in the sun/ that had survived Noakhali. Come, have some rest. Gandhi turned back:/ It was a shady tree. You? It is not yet time/ for me to rest, replied Gandhi.

The tree complained: The world/ is in a hurry. I have grown old;/ no more do I flower nor bear fruit: / even birds have abandoned me.Dont worry, Gandhi said,/ You are waiting for the axe/ and I, for the bullet.

Dont say that, the tree was in agony,/ Someone will need that shade. The memory of spring escaped/ the tree as a sigh. Pray, said Gandhi. If you dont stop, I/ will have to walk with you,/ the tree now began to walk with Gandhi.

A wind blew. A bird/ flew to the tree. See, I am in bloom again/ the tree laughed with white flowers. You have started walking? Then/ I can cease, Gandhis blood/ whispered as it gushed out,/ like a prayer for every being. See, my flowers are growing red, cried out/ the emancipated tree.

Three birds that had/ dreamt of fruits came flying from the East.

Ninety years ago,/ we extracted from the sweat of/ the oceans ceaseless waves, a handful of salt:/ a blossom of tender white in a lean raised hand.

One hand suddenly turned into/ six thousand manacled ones:/ millions of fists raised against/ an empire where the sun never set.From that day truth in our land/ came to be called imprisoned salt.

Ram, Allah, Khuda, Messiah,/ that salt was everything to us:/ the prophetess who emerged from/ the seafoam and arrived in the kitchen,/ the white-winged angel, the eternal saviour of our dreams.

A handful of liberty,/ a handful of equality, a handful of love,/ a handful of kindness, a Buddha of salt. Today once again we raise/ a flag of white salt/ in the background of/ the oceans dark turquoise blue:/ the fleeting vision of dark-haired freedom/ slipping off from our little hands,/ the snowy elaboration of fair equality/ that we still keen our ears for,/ a calloused hand with the scent of sweat our flesh and tears have,/ a handful of the dark-edged salt of justice/ studded with the sand grains of rebellion/ that Gandhi had raised in Dandi/ ninety years ago.

(Satchidanandan is a poet and bilingual literary critic. Translated from Malayalam by the author)

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Gained in Translation: Gandhi, the eternal poet - The Indian Express