Books

The Songs of Life is presented with selected poems from my books of poem Life Tree, Luminous Sparks and My Journey, and also some of my new poems. The purpose of this Songs of Life is to celebrate the human life. Inspite of many sufferings all around, God has blessed us with his grace in multiple dimensions of nature smiling at us. Hence, Songs of Life is the Song of every heart and soul in happiness and, in sorrow. The result of the poems should be to cheer our hearts.

Socrates had an early interest in the scientific theories of Anaxagoras, who taught that there are an infinite number of different kinds of elementary particles (atoms) and it is the action of Mind upon these that produces the objects that we see. Socrates believed that the senses of the body created difficulty for the thinking of the mind and came to regard the physical world as deceptive.
He believed that his work, which he sought to understand through critical questioning and dialogue, was given to him as a divine mission and, hence, was his duty. His total lack of interest in material possessions was evident by his always being barefoot and wearing an old cloak the whole year round. His habit of going barefoot even in winter showed his powers of endurance too. To him, the aspiration for virtue was the highest aim anyone could have.
Socrates’ philosophy was a matter of how to live one’s life. In subsequent centuries the love of wisdom became a great deal more academic, something that could be as remote from people’s practical concerns as a game of chess. “There are nowadays professors of philosophy, but not philosophers”, Thoreau writes in Walden. And he adds, “To be a philosopher is to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, it is to solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically, but practically.”
(from Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s Foreword)

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was affectionately known as ‘Badshah Khan’ . He had awakened people in Frontier and Baluchistan in undivided India for freedom. He played the same role in Frontier Province, which Mahatma Gandhi had played in the rest of India. Therefore, he is also known as ‘Frontier Gandhi’. He was completely devoted to the non-violent movement of Gandhiji and had great faith in it. He dedicated his entire life the service of the people of Frontier Province and set an example of communal harmony in the freedom struggle.

If you want to attain something then remain focussed’ were the words of none other than Kalpana Chawla. This also sums up her life. She remained focused and reached where others fear to tread. Kalpana Chawla belonged to a middle class family in Haryana. She was born to Banarasi Lal Chawla and Sanjyothi on July 1, 1961 at Karnal, in Punjab, now in Haryana. Kalpana had two sisters and a brother who were elder to her. She was the youngest; therefore, everyone affectionately called her ‘Montu’.

The world famous Indian scientist, Jagdish Chandra Bose, was born on 30th November, 1858 at a small town called Mymensingh in East Bengal (now Bangladesh). His father , Sri Bhagwan Chandra Bose was a deputy magistrate. Jagdish was the only son. He was brought up with love and care. Those days, his family was considered as belonging to the high class society.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar holds an honourable position amongst the founding fathers of modern India. He is known as a writer , social reformer and great educationist. He understood well the importance of education and made grammatical rules of the Bengali language. Throughout his life, he struggled hard to get women’ s education and widow marriage as a social recognition. This was a revolutionary step in Indian society .

Har Gobind Khorana, the Nobel Prize winner for Medicine in 1968, shared the prize with M.W . Nuremberg and R.W . Holley for interpreting the genetic code and analyzing its function in protein synthesis. Khorana is known as a scientist who revolutionized biochemistry with his pioneering work in DNA chemistry . A legend in the history of Genetics he was a marvellous scientist. He was the first person of Indian origin since Independence to receive the Nobel Prize. Khorana was a scientist par excellence.

Mahatma Gandhi is known as the ‘Father of the Nation’ and an ‘ apostle of non-violence’ . He influenced the life of millions within the nation and outside. But very few know , who influenced Mahatma Gandhi. The person who had influenced him was Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Mahatma Gandhi considered Gokhale as his Guru and the source of inspiration.

Ghanshyam Das Birlaor G.D . Birla, as he was generally called, belonged to the Marwari business family of the Birlas . In fact, he was one of the pillars that set up the Birla business. He is one of the greatest Indians of the twentieth centur y . He was born on April 10, 1894 and died on June 11, 1983.

The full name of Cariappa was Kodandera Madappa Cariappa. He was the pride of Indian army . He was born on January 28, 1899, at a place called Shanivavsante, in eastern part of Coorg in Karnataka. The place is now known as Kodagn. Cariappa’ s father Kodandera was a revenue officer in Madikeri. He used to stay with his family at Lime Cottage. Cariappa had three brothers and two sisters. Everyone at Cariappa’ s home addressed him affectionately as ‘Chimma’.

Krishnadev Rai was one of the most magnificent, brave, kind and chivalrous kings of the Vijayanagar Empire. He patronised different religions and cultural arts lavishly during his rule. He was a writer and connoisseur of literature as well. He had constructed hundreds of splendid temples in his kingdom. Moreover, for the public welfare, he got thousands of ponds and canals dug for the development of agriculture. Thus, the people in his kingdom were very happy and prosperous.

Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, the great freedom fighter, extraordinary , thinker and a revolutionary of the movement for equality was born , on March 23, 1 9 1 0, in the town of Akbarpur near Ayodhya, the birth place , of Lord Rama. T oday this place is a district headquarter named Ambedkar , Nagar . The name of his father was Hiralal and his mother was Chanda , Devi.,

India’ s first President, Dr . Rajendra Prasad was born on 3rd December, 1884, in a small village called J eeradei in Chhapra district. His father, Shri Mahadev Sahay was proficient in P ersian. He was also proficient in medicine . Through this, he serv ed the people a lot.

Dr . Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai, the father of Indian space research programme, was amongst the greatest Indian scientists. The credit f or India’ s crucial position and success in the field of space research goes to him. He inspired the Indian scientists not only to participate in research but also to work towards social development.

The moment one reads these lines, the sonorous voice of Bhupen Hazarika rings in your ears. The singer who could hold sway over listeners with his soothing melodies needs no introduction.