SCOUT HIKE REPORT Kilbil Nashik 2016

SCOUT HIKE REPORT  Kilbil Nashik 2016

Infancio Pires, Scout Master (coordinator)

The Students of standards 7^th and 8^th gathered the school premises on the chilly morning of 13^th November 2016. After reporting and a short prayer the buses left the school for Chamberleni by 8:30 am. In the bus there was sing song, games, and loads of fun.

On reaching Chamberleni at 9.30am the expression of most of the scouts was very much that of surprise. Climbing up the mountain and the temple steps which I guess were approximately 350 to 450 seemed impossible to a few of the scouts who had never tried such a thing before. Brothers in-charge of various Patrols taught the scouts differ kinds of knots such as clove hitch, sheet bent reef knot, etc. This was followed by the most awaited hike. The students were given snacks for the climb, as it would be tiring.

The scouts reached the temple following the various arrows and doing the forfeits they were supposed to do on finding chits, which were placed in bottles at various intervals. Some climbed and reached the temple with ease whereas a few struggled but none gave up. On the way as well as on reaching the temple the eyes feasted on the beauty of mother nature, birds, insects, trees, plants, monkeys and the clear blue sky which realize the power and love of God.

The descend was much easier. On reaching flat ground every body’s tummies rumbled in hunger, so the necessity was met. The 7^th std students had a session on values which primarily focused on respect towards girls and women, while games were conducted for the 8^th std students and vice-versa. There were games conducted in common for both the students of 7^th and 8^th. A short break was given, after which time was given to prepare for the skit based on conservation of environment which they were to perform shortly, according to their patrols. The program was not only entertaining but also educative.

We left the place at around 4:30 after having our refreshments. The journey back to school also was fun, but the energy levels were down because of the tiring yet trilling hike. It was a wonderful experience for the boys as well as brothers.

Sexualizing Women

Sexualizing Women

Day by day our world is becoming more and more sexually explicit. We in India though not very comfortable talking about sex yet we want things to get messy. It’s a fact that we voice are opinion about the injustice that women face yet we want to have fun.

A few days back, as I was flipping through the newspapers, I came across pictures of some half-clad women. The women were advertising a car. The irony of the situation was that normally a car which is bigger than a human being was shown smaller, while zooming in on the women. Looking at this, I wondered what the object of the sale was: women or the car? At another instance there was a women advertising a bag but it looked as though she was advertising a backless dress.

The way women are portrayed in media does not speak well of our mentality. We are objectifying women by the way they are portrayed. Mostly, in ads, we see women touching, caressing, objectified, lying on the floor, body contorted, dressed like a child, sitting on a bed or chair, eyes closed, not alert, confused, holding an object or a man for support, sexy and sexually available, playful, careless and the list goes on. Most of the positions or behavior are either seductive or show vulnerability. These are positions of submissiveness and powerlessness. This can be clearly seen when women are shown lying on the floor, as men stand over them, literally depicting them as commodities and giving the impression that female bodies are quite plainly ‘prepared for consumption’.

Feminity, in advertising is not only used as a ploy of sexual appeal, but also in keeping with societal norms of how women are “supposed to look”. The ideal female is white, thin, sexily clad, tall, with ‘tubular’ body, blonde hair and above all, submissive. When a girl sees this and finds that she does not meet the expectation, there are chances of developing frustration, stress, low self-esteem, identity crises and other psychological problems. This can also make the women believe in ads and she may start buying the products just to look like the models, leading to consumerism. We often hear that sex sell; most of the time what they really mean is that sexy women sell. For scores of years, advertisers have been finding different ways to feature women in ads in order to entice buyers. The way women have been portrayed in media has changed over the decades, and changed the way society views women because of it. Images in the media today project an unrealistic and even dangerous standard of feminine beauty that can have a powerful influence on the way women view themselves. Women become sexual objects when their bodies and their sexuality are linked to products that are bought and sold. We also see that women’s bodies are often dismembered into legs, breasts, hips or thighs, reinforcing the message that women are objects rather than o whole human being.

“Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”. This is a famous quote we hear over and over again. The question we have to ask is who feeds the views of the beholder? What we see over and over again makes an impression on our mind and we tend to think that, that which is shown is beautiful. We need to be critical about what we see, or rather, we need to be critical of what the media wants us to see. It is publicized because we enjoy seeing, without our support there would not have been sexually provocative advertisements on women. Another question that arises is “why are women degrading themselves?” everyone has their own reasons, some for money, some are forced or some others may take pleasure in such cheap type of publicity.

The way women are portrayed in the media is one of the major reasons for social evils like rape, eve teasing, harassment, abuse and other such evils that take place against women.

Women like men are fully human thus we need to respect them and treat them like human beings and not as entertainment or inferior beings who are born just to satisfy men. There is awareness about equality of women and stuff like that. But the change will happen only when we personally take steps towards improvement of the situation. We need to stop encouraging and watching things that degrade women and treat them as objects. When we watch or circulate such things the demand increases thus the makers make more and more women to such stuff just to satisfy the viewer.

Philosophy of My Life

Philosophy of My Life

Introduction

Infancio Pires was born in Carambolim, Goa, India on 10^th October 1994 in a devout catholic family. At this point of time he is doing his philosophical studies at Divyadaan. His father is an accountant in Taj and mother a teacher while his sister is doing her studies in Goa medical college. His family is very much involved in church activities. Looks like all these factors influenced him a great deal and thus he has decided to become a priest and help others to live life to the full. He also wants to go to the periphery to preach the Good News and give dignity to others.

Basic conviction

·        There is just one life, live it to the fullest

·        Happiness will not easily come to us we need to strive towards it.

·        Sorrows are part of  life without which we would not understand the meaning of happiness

·        Whatever happens, happens for good, we may not realize the good that comes out of it immediately

Philosophy of God

·        God exists, he has created us and he sustains us

·        Deep within us we either affirm or negate the existence of God

·        The fact that the thought of God’s existence or non-existence crops in our mind shows that there is someone. Or else the thought would not have come at all

·        I believe in God’s existence because I feel his presence even though I did not see Him, hear from Him, nor touch Him.

·        When I question myself how can I trust my feelings so much? The rational side of me awakens.

·        I am convinced that this whole world and everyone and everything in it cannot just be mere chance.

·        Thomas Aquinas’ 5 proofs are convincing enough at least for me. And those who don’t believe even after all these proofs and testimonies of people I am sure they won’t believe until and unless God himself reveals himself to them.

Philosophy of Man

·        Man is like the cherry on the cake, God’s final and most beloved creature

·        Human being are community beings or social animals

·        Human beings cannot live as an island, we need other human beings to have meaning in life

·        Human beings are the rulers of the earth; I say this because we are blessed with a unique gift: reason and we are expected to be just and merciful.

·        Human is the most powerful being as we use intellect to make life for himself and others comfortable and easy

·        Human being is expected to live in communion with other beings but at times the selfishness overpowers and man becomes an animal.

·        Each person is unique. There are no two people who are same. Each one is created with a purpose. Therefore we have no right to take any one’s life or our own.

·        Man and women are created to complement each other and live happily. No one can claim to be superior or inferior to the other.

·        Without any of the one, men or women the human race would not have continued therefore we need both and need to respect each other.

·        Nowadays there is also an increasing awareness of who have homosexual orientation, we need to respect them and give them space to live as normal human beings.

·        Crimes in the world are increasing because we are becoming selfish

Philosophy of World

·        This world or earth is our first home. Without which we would not exist.

·        World is the creation of God and this world we live in is the best world for us. I say for us, because there may be other undiscovered worlds but this is best suited for us.

·        Our world is good and beautiful, because we know that God does create junk.

·        The existence of this world is also a proof of God’s existence.

·        The world was created out of nothing and is sustained by God directly or indirectly.

·        I believe in the theory of evolution this does not mean that I don’t believe in God .

·        For something to evolve there needs to be that something. And that something is created by God.

·        We are the crown of creation, this does not give us the license to kill and destroy other creatures for our selfish motives. On the contrary since we have reason we need to take care of the other beings.

·        All the creatures in the world are interdependent. Therefore the death of one can lead to the death of other.

·        All the natural calamities are partly the result of the harm we do to our mother earth.

·        God has created the world and it cannot be destroyed completely without his will.

Good and Evil

·        As we have learned that evil is the privation of due good.

·        I have an analogy which helps me to understand good and evil, I equate good to light and evil to darkness. What is darkness? It is the absence of light. Why is darkness necessary? To understand the importance of light. Only in darkness does the light shine more brightly.

·        We do not choose evil intentionally. Most of the time evil is chosen by us on pretext of good. The evil my apparently seem good but in the long run we realize that what seemed good is not good after all.

That what gives Purpose and Meaning to my life

·        First and foremost what gives meaning to my life is the love which I receive from my family and friends.

·        I am blest with this life this shows that I am not useless. I have to play my part; this conviction gives me boost and zeal to live my life well.

·        Life is difficult but surely wonderful. so each of us need to live our God given life well.

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet

William Shakespeare

- Infancio Pires

Romeo and Juliet is a story from Verona, Italy. It’s about a love story of two young lovers Romeo and Juliet. There is a long dispute between the Montague and Capulet families. Romeo belonged to the Montague family while Juliet belonged to the Capulet family. They both fall in love with each other at a party. Since they come from families which dislike each other, they were sure they will not be allowed to marry. Romeo and his cousins would often get into arguments and fights with the cousins of Juliet. Knowing a marriage would be impossible and the parents would not give their consent, they with the help of Friar Laurence, marry in secret. Juliet’s cousin Tybalt, searches for Romeo, but gets into an argument with Romeo’s friend and kills one of them. This makes Romeo furious and he chases him and ends up killing Tybalt in a duel. When the Prince of Verona arrives at the murder scene, he banishes Romeo form Verona and warns him that his returns to the city, would lead to his death.

Meanwhile Juliet's parents wanted her to marry a noble man named Paris. Juliet’s parents were unaware that she was already married. Juliet refused to marry, her father even threatened to disown her. After a lot of declining Juliet finally agrees because she plans to fake her death and escape to be with Romeo forever this was done with the help of Friar Laurence who was an expert in the field of medicine.

Friar Laurence envisaged a plan. He gave Juliet a potion which would put her to sleep for a certain period. Where she would appear to be dead. Friar Laurence who had come to preside over the marriage suggested that they should have her funeral rites without any further delay. The demise of Juliet left all the marriage guest grief stricken. Her potential groom too was shocked and heartbroken. On the other hand Friar Laurence sends a novice to inform Romeo about the plan he had chalked. Unfortunately Romeo’s cousin who was unaware of the plan reaches Romeo before, and informs him of Juliet’s death. By the time the novice reachs Romeo it was too late, Romeo had already left to see her mortal remains. On the way to her tomb he buys the deadliest poison to kill himself. When he reaches the entrance of the tomb he finds Paris who was supposed to marry Juliet guarding the tomb. Romeo battles him and kills him just to get the last glimpse of his true love. On seeing Juliet’s dead body lying in the tomb, Romeo drinks the poison and gives her a last kiss and dies.  

On the other hand Friar Laurence comes to know that Romeo has not received his note and hurries to the tomb. But by the time he reaches the tomb Romeo is already dead, while Juliet slowly wakes up from the effect of the medicine. Friar Laurence tries to convince Juliet to flee, but upon seeing Romeo’s dead body she takes a dagger and kills herself. The people of the town getting to know about the tragedy that took place comes to the tomb, both the Montague as well as the Capulet families arrives. Friar Laurence tells the whole story and finally the two families agree to live in fellowship ones again.