Anjali Misra

Observer. Value emotions. Psychologist. Derive happiness from all little things nature provides and lingering moments of goodness of great minds...

[Anjali Misra @Janjiee]

For the ones who dwell in thoughts of despair, a quote from Hamlet (Act III, scene I):
"To be, or not to be, ---that is the question---
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles..." Engage-

[Supriya Sahu IAS @supriyasahuias]

If forests could speak, Anamalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu would tell one of India’s greatest conservation stories. Most people do not fully appreciate the true value of protected areas. We must know the value of sheer abundance of life they sustain. Anamalai Tiger Reserve is India's 28th Tiger Reserve spread in nearly 1,480 sq. km. It shelters an extraordinary diversity of wildlife, including 88 species of mammals, 320 species of birds, 157 species of reptiles, 112 species of amphibians and 146 species of orchids. It is also home to some of the Western Ghats’ most iconic endemic species, including the Nilgiri Tahr, Nilgiri Marten, Nilgiri Langur and Malabar Giant Squirrel, as well as stunning birds such as the Sri Lanka Frogmouth, Palani Laughing Thrush, Malabar Starling, Legge's Hawk Eagle & Great Hornbills. This shows what long-term protection can achieve and why expanding and strengthening our network of protected areas should be the most important priority for sustaining all life. See the Photos by our FRO Thiru Venkatesh. Video @supriyasahuias

[anand mahindra @anandmahindra]

I ran across this video a few days ago and couldn’t stop watching it.

It’s about something ordinary & boring, a plastic gas lighter. But it changes how one thinks about manufacturing.

That lighter in so many of our homes, holds pressurised gas. It has over 30 microscopic parts, has to pass international safety codes, & travel 10,000 miles by sea, & the total cost of doing all that, materials, labour, freight, every middleman along the way, comes to fifteen U.S cents.

So how does anyone make money on this?

Turns out almost the entire world’s supply comes from one place: a county called Shaodong, in China’s Hunan province.

It wasn’t always there.

But today, Shaodong has 114 lighter-related companies packed into the place & between them they source more than 200 different components from each other, all within a 20-kilometre radius. They supply something like seventy percent of the world’s disposable lighters. And the industry alone employs over 80,000 people locally.

Nobody there is winning on cheap labour anymore. They’re winning by shaving a thousandth of a cent off the thickness of a plastic wall, or redesigning a base so a few thousand more units fit into the same shipping container.

It took my thoughts back to an old professor of mine, Michael Porter.
His 1980 book, Competitive Strategy, is still the 1st book most MBAs read, the one that gave the world the Five Forces and basically invented modern strategic thinking.

But there’s a quieter piece of his work, on industrial clusters, that never got nearly the same attention, and it is the one that explains exactly what is happening in Shaodong.

His argument was that nations and regions rarely win because of cheap inputs. They win when rival firms and specialist suppliers crowd into the same small geography for long enough that they keep pushing each other past what any one of them could manage alone. He found it in the Swiss watchmaking towns of the Jura, in the German printing press industry and in Italy’s ceramic tile and footwear districts (interestingly, it’s the SAME blueprint which built Morbi, in Gujarat, into the world’s second-largest ceramic cluster, now outproducing Italy by volume. I have posted before, about Morbi)

None of these started out as giants. The neighbourhood made them giants.

Which is exactly why it’s so relevant to India’s climb up the global manufacturing table

I’ve also attached a slide with this post that I saw recently and which shows us breaking into the top 5 manufacturing globally. (A quick reference check told me that we may not have overtaken Korea yet, but the trajectory’s clear)

That climb has happened on the back of scale: bigger plants, bigger parks, more FDI.

I should declare an interest here, because the Mahindra Group set up 2 of India’s first integrated, plug-and-play business cities, in Chennai in 2002 & Jaipur in 2006.

Both have been extremely successful. Chennai’s business zone alone today employs 45,000 people..

But I admit that we need to think differently.

A park brings in investors and hands them a ready plot, power, water & roads

A cluster is a completely different animal: hundreds of small, specialised suppliers, each obsessed with doing a tiny thing better than anyone else, feeding off each other’s presence for years until no outsider can compete with the whole.

I think that’s the work ahead of us now.

Not just more factories, and not just more parks.

Policymakers & developers like us need to start consciously pulling as many of the inputs and resources a sector needs, the toolmakers, the component suppliers, the testing labs, the logistics specialists, into the same neighbourhood.

Shaodong and Morbi both got there by accident, one town stumbling onto a way to shave a thousandth of a cent off a lighter wall, the other discovering it had the clay and, later, the gas pipeline for tiles.

We don’t have the luxury of waiting for accidents anymore.

We need to do it on purpose

[anand mahindra @anandmahindra]

This is what I said:

I posted that message of encouragement to Elon in 2018 because innovators are often judged in their toughest moments, not their finest hours.

The headlines today are about a trillion-dollar milestone.

The real story is that he never stopped believing that today’s impossibility could become tomorrow’s reality.

The real story is that if you are afraid of failure, you will remain on a treadmill.

[Ankit Pandey @iamankitpande]

🚨 Not every criminal carries a weapon some carry a driving license.

Every day, aggressive drivers terrorize innocent people on Indian highways. Families traveling safely are forced to deal with reckless overtaking, intimidation, and road rage.

This isn't confidence. This isn't skill. It's a complete disregard for human life.

Cancel licenses. Impound vehicles. Put repeat offenders behind bars.

Make Indian roads safe again.

[Maye Musk @mayemusk]

I need to add, with the suit came a free tie, free shirt, and free socks. We just needed to find inexpensive shoes. That’s all I could afford. He was fine with that.

[Tejasvi Surya @Tejasvi_Surya]

Ishu Pal Singh, a passionate marathon runner and trekker from Bengaluru, is currently battling for his life after a tragic road accident that resulted in a severe traumatic brain injury.

His family is doing everything possible to ensure he receives the best medical care, but the treatment and recovery involves significant financial challenges.

I appeal to all those who can to extend their support, however small, that can make a meaningful difference.

As a fellow runner, I thought it is my responsibility to request your support, so please pitch in.

https://t.co/R0VqNVpHDY

Praying for Ishu’s speedy recovery and strength to his family during this difficult time.

[anand mahindra @anandmahindra]

An Honours degree in Music.

An M.Phil. in Sufi Music.

A Ph.D. in Sufi Singing

Years spent teaching music at the university level.

Add to that Punjabi folk traditions, Sufi philosophy, classical Indian music, poetry and shayari, and you begin to understand why @sufisartaaj has never stood still.

He has been on a lifelong journey of learning and discovery.

For us at Classic Legends, it’s an honour that he has chosen the YEZDI as a companion on that journey.

His composition on YEZDI won’t just live in our archives. It will live in our legend.

[anand mahindra @anandmahindra]

Before yesterday’s historic double gold, Dhiraj Bommadevara had four career World Cup bronzes.

It would have been so easy for him to believe that life was telling him that he was not ever meant to be at the top position

So for me, Dhiraj’s real enemy, who he defeated, was self-doubt.

The message I took away?

If you're currently stuck in a "bronze" phase of your journey, keep pulling at the bow.

Your gold is coming.

#MondayMotivation

[The Better India @thebetterindia]

“Too old to drive?” they said.

At 72, Vidya Kaur is proving otherwise.

A former teacher and principal, she spent decades shaping lives, while quietly holding onto one dream—to drive.

Rejected at 59 for being “too old,” she bought a car, learned from a neighbour, and didn’t stop.

Today, she drives confidently through Jammu, independent and fearless.

Her journey is a reminder: dreams don’t expire—they wait for the right moment.

Video credits : vishal__riderz_jk14 on IG

#InspiringStories #WomenEmpowerment #NeverTooLate #AgeIsJustANumber #IndianStories

[Inspiring Women Story, Late Age Achievement, Senior Citizen Inspiration, Women Driving Story]

[The Best @TheBestqueenx]

When an engineer designs a scarecrow.

[anand mahindra @anandmahindra]

Continuing my search for underexplored & less crowded destinations….

We often celebrate Kerala’s backwaters. But on Karnataka’s coast is a hidden gem that deserves equal attention.

The same river that roars over Jog Falls, the Sharavathi River, finally and quietly merges with the Arabian Sea at Honnavar.

Again, not sure if these pics are enhanced, but it’s clear that Honnavar is a magical landscape.

Mangrove forests, winding waterways and mirror-like backwaters.

Since Mangroves are among nature’s most effective coastal defenders, Honnavar’s beauty is matched by its ecological significance.

#SundayWanderer

(Photos courtesy: @IndiaAesthetica )

[Ꮮᴇɢᴇɴᴅᵀⱽᴷ ·〇 ̶͞ᐟ✨ @LegenD_AK_tweet]

Tamil Nadu is the only state in India where the general public travels along the same route as the Chief Minister. Respect chief minister Vijay🫡

[Vala Afshar @ValaAfshar]

“If you spend your time chasing butterflies, they will fly away. 

But if you spend your time making a beautiful garden, the butterflies will come.

Do not chase, attract.”

[Shaaz A Khan @neuronsmultiply]

28Y Female.
No known comorbidities.
4 days after wedding, went with her husband to VV Puram Food Street, Bangalore.

Had biscuits coated with liquid nitrogen that produce fumes.

Oral bleeding.
Endoscopy shows significant erosion of oesophageal and gastric mucosa.

Diarrhoea.
Subsequent onset of weakness of bilateral upper and lower limbs.
Still no movement after a month.

Anti-GD1b antibodies positive.
Nerve conduction studies show Acute Motor Axonal Neuropathy.

Intubated. Tracheostomised.

A corrosive injury ending up as an autoimmune neuropathy.

[Dr. S. Jaishankar @DrSJaishankar]

Spoke to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio this evening. I reiterated India’s strong protest at the attacks by the US Navy in the Gulf that killed three Indian mariners. Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified.

[Dariusz Brzozowski @Darekbrzoza]

"Zwolniłam się wczoraj.
Bez wypowiedzenia, bez planu przejściowego, bez rozmów i wyjaśnień.
Po prostu odłożyłam nóż do tortu, wzięłam torebkę i wyszłam z domu mojej córki.
Mój pracodawca? Moja córka Anna.
Przez siedem lat wierzyłam, że moją „pensją” są miłość i wdzięczność.
Wczoraj zrozumiałam, że w ich wizji rodziny oddanie znaczy mniej niż nowy tablet.
Mam na imię Helena. Mam 66 lat. Jestem emerytowaną nauczycielką i żyję z niewielkiej emerytury.
Dla świata jestem babcią.
Dla nich byłam kucharką, sprzątaczką, kierowcą, nianią, pomocą w lekcjach, pielęgniarką i oficjalnym „zapasowym rozwiązaniem na wszystko”.
Byłam „babcią zawsze”.
Jak wiele takich „babć zawsze”, byłam samotną kobietą funkcjonującą na kawie i tabletkach przeciwbólowych.
Kiedy urodził się mały Kuba, Anna błagała mnie:
— Mamo, nie możemy zostawić dziecka z obcymi. Ty jesteś jedyną osobą, której naprawdę ufamy.
I byłam.
Stałam się filarem ich codzienności.
Moje dni zaczynały się o szóstej rano.
Przychodziłam do nich, przygotowywałam dokładnie to, co Kuba je, ubierałam go, odprowadzałam do szkoły.
Potem pranie, prasowanie, zakupy, gotowanie.
Gdy wracali z pracy, dzieci były zaopiekowane, dom czysty, wszystko na swoim miejscu.
Jest jeszcze Krystyna — matka mojego zięcia.
Mieszka w apartamencie, przyjeżdża dwa razy w roku, cała w perfumach i biżuterii.
Nie wie nawet, że Zosia boi się ciemności, a Kuba nie znosi zupy.
Ona jest „babcią od zabawy”.
Wczoraj Kuba skończył 10 lat.
Przez wiele miesięcy własnoręcznie robiłam na drutach wełniany koc, bo wiem, że ma problemy z zasypianiem. Chciałam, żeby czuł się bezpiecznie.
Upiekłam też sama tort — trzy piętra, krem i czekolada.
Przyszłam wcześniej, żeby wszystko przygotować.
O szesnastej pojawiła się Krystyna.
Nie przyniosła nic zrobionego własnoręcznie.
Przyniosła dwa tablety najnowszej generacji.
— Nie wiedziałam, co kupić — zaśmiała się. — Ale to topowy model. I dziś bez zasad! Obowiązuje prawo babci Krystyny!
Dzieci zniknęły z tabletami.
Anna i jej mąż byli zachwyceni.
— Krystyno, wspaniale! — mówili, nalewając jej wino, które kupiłam ja.
A ja stałam tam z kocem w rękach.
Kiedy podałam go Kubie, nawet na mnie nie spojrzał.
— Później, babciu. To jest tysiąc razy lepsze niż koc. Czemu zawsze przynosisz takie nudne rzeczy?
Spojrzałam na Annę.
Czekałam, aż zareaguje.
Nie zrobiła nic.
— Mamo, nie bądź przewrażliwiona. Ty jesteś babcią na co dzień. A Krystyna jest od niespodzianek. To po prostu różne role.
Babcia na co dzień.
Jak miotła w schowku — potrzebna, cicha, niewidzialna.
Złożyłam koc i położyłam go na blacie.
— Nie — powiedziałam, gdy poprosili mnie o krojenie tortu. — Wystarczy.
Zdjęłam fartuch i zostawiłam go na krześle.
— Skończyłam być niewidzialnym tłem waszej wygody, podczas gdy ktoś inny zbiera uśmiechy.
Skoro jestem tylko babcią na co dzień, to dziś usługa jest zawieszona.
Krystyna zaśmiała się:
— No daj spokój, nie rób dramatu!
— A ja mam do załatwienia sprawę szacunku — odpowiedziałam. —
Jestem pewna, że poradzicie sobie z bałaganem po przyjęciu, stertą prania i wieczornymi humorkami.
I wyszłam.
Anna dogoniła mnie przy samochodzie.
— Mamo, ale kto jutro odprowadzi dzieci do szkoły? Ja mam rano spotkania. Nie możesz tak po prostu odejść!
— Nie wiem — powiedziałam. —
Może babcia od zabawy poradzi sobie też z porannym ruchem ulicznym.
Albo wreszcie zapłacicie za pomoc, którą przez siedem lat mieliście za darmo.
Mój telefon dzwonił cały dzień.
A ja obudziłam się o wpół do dziewiątej.
Piłam herbatę na balkonie.
Ten dzień po raz pierwszy od lat był mój.
Pomyliłyśmy miłość z poświęceniem aż do całkowitego wymazania siebie.
Zamieniłyśmy rodzinę w darmową siłę roboczą.
Kocham moje wnuki.
Zawsze będę je chronić.
Ale nie będę już domowym sprzętem w cudzym domu.
Jeśli naprawdę będą mnie chcieli,
muszą nauczyć się mnie szanować.
A do tego czasu…
zapisuję się na pilates."
za Kawa z mlekiem

[Dr Jason Philip. M.S., MCh @Jasonphilip8]

To regard Bharathiraja sir's Magnum Opus Muthal Mariyadhai as merely as a film is to diminish its achievement. It is a meditation on loneliness, dignity, yearning and transcendence, a work of such emotional sophistication that it continues to reveal new layers of meaning with each viewing. Like 'The Bridges of Madison County.'

What distinguishes Bharathiraja's genius is his extraordinary confidence in subtlety. Lesser filmmakers would have succumbed to sentimentality or melodrama. Instead, he constructs an entire emotional universe from glances, silences, hesitations and absences. The relationship between Malaichami and Kuyil is rendered with an almost Chekhovian delicacy. It defies facile categorisation. It is neither romance nor friendship in the conventional sense, but a profound communion of spirits, two solitary souls recognising in each other a refuge from the cruelties inbuilt in human existence.

The film's aesthetic intelligence is equally remarkable. Every frame appears meticulously sculpted yet utterly organic. Nature itself becomes a silent actor in the drama.

Much has been written about Sivaji Ganesan's virtuosity, but Muthal Mariyadhai showcases something rarer than virtuosity: artistic wisdom. He eschews all theatrical flourish,& embraces stillness. The performance is astonishingly interiorised. A fleeting expression, a weary gaze, the cadence of a spoken line, each conveys volumes. It is not simply acting; it is psychological excavation.

And presiding over this masterpiece is the sublime genius of Ilaiyaraaja. His score enriches the narrative with an almost symphonic profundity.

What ultimately elevates Muthal Mariyadhai is its profound humanism. It understands that the deepest affections are often unconsummated, that the most meaningful relationships frequently exist beyond society's vocabulary, and that true tragedy lies not in death, but in lives deprived of tenderness.

4 decades later, Muthal Mariyadhai remains not merely relevant but resplendent, a landmark of cinematic refinement, emotional acuity and artistic integrity. An immortal classic reminding us of Iyakkunar Imayam Bharathiraja's subtle genius. Bharathiraja is immortal.

[Srihari Karanth @sriharikaranth]

Another day ends with a beautiful sky in Bengaluru.. 🌈✨

Never let an evening pass without looking up!

#doublerainbow

[rajamouli ss @ssrajamouli]

Bharathiraja garu was a true pioneer who revolutionized cinema with his raw and uncompromising storytelling. Those unforgettable rural narratives, that fearless vision and the authenticity he brought to the screen will live on forever.

It was an honour to witness and celebrate his extraordinary body of work and legacy.

Om Shanti 🙏

[Ramesh Tiwari @rameshofficial0]

Shinde ji himself took cognizance in the case

Ye to gaya