My great teachers who I never met face to face – by Alok Das Henry B Adams said, ‘A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.’ The opinion of William Butler Yates was, ‘Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.’ In the old era we would meet our teachers in a classroom or any other type of face to face scenarios. However, in this modern era we do not just meet them in these scenarios. We can learn from anyone and through reading a book they have written, or a speech they have given somewhere (later made available online or printed somewhere). Today I am going to talk about some of my greatest teachers who I have learned so much from, albeit I have never met them face to face. ...
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Some haikus – By Alok Das Bahadurpur A lush green village Calls me I wish I could go. The traveller The traveller believes He will return home one day But nobody leaving home ever returns. Moulavibazar The narrow alleys, the puja mandaps Like a timeless traveller I miss my town. River Manu I am the luckiest A divine river sings to me Every moment every day. River Sonai Riding a boat on you everyday Listening to the murmurs That’s what I dream everyday. Note to my destiny You’ve taken me out of Bahadurpur village But you won’t ever dare take The Bahadurpur out of me. ...
Migrant to Australia: what to do in the first two weeks? BY Alok Das Welcome! Welcome to Australia. How are you feeling now? Homesick? The excitement of being in Australia seems to be fading away? Highly likely. There’s nothing wrong in it. It’s only natural to feel that way. Anxious? Worried how to start a new life here? Lost? Natural. It happens to all migrants. The good thing is all migrants eventually succeed and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to. Depressed? No way. There are heaps of things to do to get the ball rolling. You have so many things to complete in the first two weeks that you hardly have any time to afford the luxury of being depressed. Hey, I’m a migrant too. I have been through all these phases. And that’s why I empathise with you, that’s why I want to share with you ...
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Jun 21, 2017
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Stay at home women – the unnoticed victims of sexism by Alok Das Let me tell you two true stories briefly. I have altered the names of the characters though. Story 1. Sajida was an accountant in her home country. She loved singing and painting. As common in many cultures, her parents forced her into an arranged marriage with Mamun who works in Sydney. Sajida was not ready to get married, she wanted to go abroad for further studies in environmental accounting. But in her culture arguing with parents is not allowed. So, following the marriage she is overseas – in Australia – but sadly not for studies but to be a stay at home wife. She is told by Mamun that women are not meant to work outside home, their sole responsibilities are giving birth to children and raising them, and looking after the household. Being in a new ...
Read More →Srilanka – why should it be the next Big Bang? A layman’s analysis BY Alok Das For the last many years the economics and business world have been obsessed with topics like China and India, China versus India, BRICS (the alliance of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). Heads of governments, international agencies, big corporates, and media keep talking about these topics and we – the commonplace people – keep listening to them. Without going any further into these discussions, it is a fair statement that we keep forgetting about the potentials of other counties. One of the countries that have high potentials is Srilanka. Why? So you look at me with a suspicion? I can tell you why I believe so. Now allow me to set the tone of the conversation here. I am not an economist or an expert of anything for that matter, and that is ...
Read More →Some haikus : by Alok DAS (Writer’s note: Haiku is a Japanese genre of writing poetry.) 1 Two trains One train goes to Richmond The other to Shahbazpur Will they ever meet? 2 The flowers in my garden Sitting at my window I smile at the flowers They smile back. 3 Time is the hero We think we’ll do this And we’ll do that But it’s Time who wins. ...
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Nov 23, 2016
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Wish someone had told me when I was 18: by Alok Das 18 years is a nice age, isn’t it? This is the time when you feel you want to conquer the world, challenge the status quo and reform everything. You have many dreams; you are enthusiastic about too many things. Most importantly, you do not want to be lectured about anything at all. There are too many striking points about this age. However, we do not live in an ideal world and so we need to prepare for a whole list of paradigm shifts. A little bit of guidance may be helpful. At least I feel so, nay, I would say many people like me who have crossed their 18th years a while ago will agree with me. When I look in retrospect let me tell you what I feel, that is, if I had the magic opportunity to ...
Read More →Five Haikus by Alok Das (Writer’s note: Haiku is a Japanese genre of writing poems) 1. Train to Richmond The train goes home everyday I also want to go home Not sure where home is. 2. Note to my destiny You took me from my village You failed to take my village Out of me 3. Sonai river Sonai river sings to me I can hear her songs Does she hear mine? 4. The bank teller The bank teller knows Too many stories Anyone knows his? 5. My hidden treasures Walking down memory lane I visit childhood days Whenever I want to. ...
Read More →Effective ways to manage home loans better by Alok Das (Disclaimer: This article is intended to deliver some general pieces of information only. Your situation may not necessarily relate to what is contained in it. Before making a decision regarding your home loan, it is recommended that you seek professional advice.) Background Having one’s own home is the most common Australian dream. This dream, in most cases, is achieved through a home loan. In addition, when people want to purchase investment homes that is also achieved through a home loan, often referred to as ‘Investment loan’ or ‘Investment home loan’. In this article I have discussed some ways that you can use to manage a home loan better. By the words ‘manage a home loan better’ I am referring to a few techniques you can use to: 1. decide where to start from 2. decide on the loan amount ...
Read More →Over with over selling by Alok Das Am I the only one who is sick of overselling approaches by sales people and businesses everywhere? Or, does it happen to others as well? I have done a count of how many times in a single day I have been approached to buy something which in most cases I did not need, and the list is overwhelmingly long! The methods sales people and / or businesses follow to approach us are numerous: face to face on the road, emails, outbound sales calls, flyers, follow up calls, referral from a friend, existing customer list, knocking at your doors, in the virtual world, the list goes on … Ever wondered how much it can actually cost you? I have. Let us consider this article as a guided tour where you will walk with me and then tell me if you get similar experiences ...
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