'We cannot overlook the crucial importance of cultural capital in intellectual achievements; and virtually all the Nobel Prize winners possessed cultural capital,' says social scientist Dr P Radhakrishnan.
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.
'Even if there is only one day left for a person, I find it very satisfying to have made a difference. That is because I believe life matters. If I can bring a smile to the face of a person who has seen only pain and suffering, I feel satisfied.' Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier meets Dr M R Rajagopal who has made such a difference to the lives of the terminally ill.
'Anybody who has seen a photo of Anand playing will see an Indian flag beside him. And, when he wins, the national anthem is played. What more proof do you need about Anand's nationality?'
'The country must learn to sacrifice some rights to fight terror. While fighting terror, you cannot have the same freedom,' says intelligence specialist Colonel R Hariharan (retd).
Tamil Nationalist Movement leader, one of the most vocal supporters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and its supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran, speaks on the civil war raging in Sri Lanka.
For little orphans, who are inflicted with HIV+, life in itself is no less than an obstacle. But thanks to people like Dr Manorama, who has been selflessly working for their welfare for a more than a decade now, hope blooms in those insecure hearts. Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier visits Dr Manorama's newly created home for these little angels -- Ananda Illam.
'...how do they consume and contribute to the GDP?'
Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier keeps up pace with India's oldest election candidate K R Gowri Amma, who has been campaigning vigorously in her 17th election
'I don't think Karunanidhi's problem was power sharing. The CBI was closing in on the family. It was reported that the CBI was about to grill Kanimozhi," says political analayst Cho Ramaswamy.
'Maybe this has created some minor issues which can happen in any party.'
Everybody falls in love in his or her teens. So has Ravi, a 19-year-old AIDS patient. On the eve of World AIDS Day on December 1, Ravi shares his feelings with rediff.com's Shobha Warrier.
'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.'
'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.'
'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.'
'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.'
'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.'
'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.'
'...hesitate to support the risk-taking it requires.'
'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.'
'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.'
'The finance minister has done as much as she can when you look into the fiscal constraints she had.'
'They refuse to be transparent. They refuse to be accountable.'
'You can focus on Vande Bharat but focus on the common man too.' 'You can have both. They are mutually exclusive.'
'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.'
'They are going to create so many nations within one nation.' 'If you do this exercise without a clear vision, it will have far reaching repercussions. It will end up in disaster and that will be dangerous.'
'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.'
'What does Indira Gandhi want from me? At this age, what will I do to her?'
'The noise that we are hearing is because the five big IT players are not hiring significantly.'
'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.'
'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 Web portal of the Organiser, the RSS mouthpiece, published an article (withdrawn later) that the Christian community holds many acres of land, far more than Waqf property.'
'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.'
'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.'
'For the first time in this country, perhaps the first time anywhere, we are going to use backwardness index.' 'It is a fundamental shift in the discourse in the country's social justice.'
Shobha Warrier pays homage to M T Vasudevan Nair, the legendary writer and filmmaker who passed into the ages on Wednesday, December 25, 2024.
'No retaliatory tariffs now. You can retaliate after a few months.' 'Today, there is no need to retaliate because it is a question of long term benefits.'
'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.'
'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.'
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