'April 9 announcement of slapping a 125% tariff on Chinese goods has brought the focus back to China, making this new phase feel like a repeat of the original conflict.'
'The entire town, Hindus, Muslims and Christians, my schoolteachers and the ustads from the madrasa were present to witness my arangettam.'
'Because the same stupid questions are repeated year after year when an exam should provoke the students to think and not ask repetitive questions.' 'So, what do coaching institutes do? They teach students to memorise these questions and answers without understanding the subject.'
'One day I told him, if you want to be a cricketer with a long career, you cannot be a fast bowler.' 'I felt more than pace, unorthodox left arm spin would suit him better.' 'Please don't give me credit for what he is doing now. I only made a suggestion.'
'The time has come to have a relook at the Constitution as every document has a shelf life.'
'A man who brought about the greatest set of economic reforms in the country, who changed the course of Indian history, cannot be considered weak.' 'A man who fought for nuclear reforms even though his majority in Parliament was threatened, he cannot be considered weak.'
'The launch of Nila, our very first satellite was very emotional as well as nerve wracking. We tried to calm ourselves by cracking some poor jokes!'
'We give them problems so that they can come up with solutions using the technological skills they have learnt.' 'In fact, changemaking and problem solving are interchangeable, in a way.'
'They sell such ideas in the name of 'national interest'.' 'What national interest are they talking about?' 'There is no national interest in this. The only interest that is there is their profit.'
'The finance minister has done as much as she can when you look into the fiscal constraints she had.'
'The southern states will have no voice.' 'Political parties in future need to focus only on one region, the northern region, to win the general election.'
'There will be no change of seats for Delhi, Assam and Maharashtra.' 'Andhra, J&K, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, West Bengal and Telangana will lose seats while there will be an increase for MP, UP, Bihar, Haryana, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh.' 'It is a big mistake if you make it a north-south issue.'
'Before you work on your business plan, before you build your team, you should have a clear idea about what your product is, who your customer is, how valuable the product is, and whether the market is deep and wide.'
'If you compare the data from 2017 and 2023 of the US imports from the world and China, you will see that the US was a complete loser in the trade war, and China was a complete gainer.'
'The earlier a child is given a smartphone, the worst it becomes when they are 17, 18.' 'Every year you delay in giving a smartphone to child, the outcome becomes better.' 'The behavioural changes that are very specific to smartphones are aggression and anger.'
'They refuse to be transparent. They refuse to be accountable.'
'We face the risk of remaining a low-income country for a very long time unless something changes in the next few years.' 'Instead of constantly talking about becoming a developed economy, we need to start fixing the problems of the economy one by one.' 'There is so much potential, and we are squandering away the opportunity.'
Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com travels to Pullampara to discover how it became India's first digital literate village.
'Doctors feel they have a duty to prolong a heartbeat at all costs.' 'And a son or a daughter feels, I can't let my mum die. I have to save her at all costs.' 'They think saving is just prolonging life. But the person suffers.'
'The global climate system doesn't look at where the carbon dioxide is coming from. 'It may be emitted by the US, but it will not remain above the US alone but covers the whole world.'
'Our Constitution as well as the Right to Education Act do not make any distinction between Indian or foreigner; it only talks about 'child'.' 'It says that every child has the right to get education.'
'Unfortunately, most of our students use AI to replace knowledge when they should be using the AI tools to enhance their knowledge.' 'I am sorry to say, even those students who have opted to study AI have no idea what AI is.'
'A lot of parents tell their children, "You are not good enough. The neighbour's child is so good. Why can't you be like him?"' 'I want to tell all parents and children that all of us are created with absolute brilliance.' 'My life is an example. From 42% in my board examination, I became one of the IAS toppers.' 'Every child should have his or her own dream to chase; not their parents' or not somebody else's.'
During her long career, writer-journalist Shobha Warrier has come across people of varied hues, many of whom left a lasting impression on her. Warrier narrates the fascinating stories of some of them in her recently-released book The Little Flower Girl and the others, Diary of a Journalist.
As we celebrate women achievers who are excelling in their careers, here are incredible tales of hard work and perseverance to inspire you this week.
'You can focus on Vande Bharat but focus on the common man too.' 'You can have both. They are mutually exclusive.'
The brilliant Adoor Gopalakrishnan looks back at his journey that started 40 years ago, in 1972.
'The noise that we are hearing is because the five big IT players are not hiring significantly.'
'It is our duty to keep space sustainable and free of debris.'
'I want to tell everybody there is nothing in the world that you can't do.' 'If you apply your mind, you can do anything and everything.'
'I tell young entrepreneurs if you don't have a great idea, if you don't have a good business model, don't think of a start-up.'
This is the story of a man who fought racism and casteism throughout his life to become a professor of Bharata Natyam at the premier centre for performing arts in India, the Kerala Kalamandalam.
'If an employee has a contract with the employer that he cannot moonlight, you should honour that contract.'
'The first job you pick up may not be your ultimate dream job.' 'When the situation is no job or any job, my advice to them will be, pick up any job at the moment.' 'You should use that job as a learning experience.' 'It is easier to find a job when you are working somewhere than when you are sitting at home with no work.'
'It is the responsibility of industry to take the very bright talent whose knowledge of software engineering basics is very high, and then give them additional skills.'
'Otherwise, the minorities would not have acknowledged his leadership quality. I am happy the BJP is working towards achieving a secular image,' Vellappally Natesan, the OBC leader in Kerala who has created a controversy by supporting Narendra Modi, tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier.
While the Congress and DMK headquarters bore a desolate look with party supporters shocked at their dismal performance, the AIADMK and BJP offices were in a celebratory mood. Ladoos, drums playing and dancing on the streets were seen outside the party headquarters. Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com presents the different scenes.
'Corporates decide the development and social needs of the people in Gujarat. It is not that Modi is the new inventor of Gujarat.' Social scientist Dr P Radhakrishnan, whose new book Political Villainy, UPA's Fall, AAP's Surge hit the stands recently, discusses the implications of the 2014 election.
'You need hard work along with talent to reach exceptional heights.'
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