A New Perspective on Life

Once, there was a blind girl who carried a deep hatred for herself because of her blindness. She held resentment towards everyone, except for her loving boyfriend, who stood by her side through it all.

She often expressed her desire to see the world, believing that if she could regain her sight, she would marry her boyfriend. Then, one fortunate day, someone generously donated a pair of eyes to her, and her world was transformed as she could finally see everything, including her boyfriend.

When her boyfriend asked if she would now marry him, she was taken aback by what she discovered—her beloved boyfriend was also blind. Overwhelmed by this realization, she refused his proposal. With tears in his eyes, her boyfriend walked away but left her a heartfelt letter that spoke volumes:

“Please take care of my eyes, my dear.”

This poignant incident reveals how our perception of others can change when our own circumstances change. Only a few people remember their past and acknowledge those who have stood by them in the most difficult times.

The story serves as a reminder that life is a precious gift. Before uttering unkind words, think of those who cannot speak. Before complaining about the taste of your food, consider those who have nothing to eat. Before criticizing your spouse, empathize with those longing for a companion. Before complaining about life's hardships, reflect on those who left this world prematurely.

Think of those who yearn for children when you find fault with your own. Instead of grumbling about a messy home, remember those who live on the streets. When you complain about a long commute, imagine those who traverse the same distance on foot. And when you feel weary and discontented with your job, think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who long for the opportunities you possess.

Before pointing fingers or passing judgment on others, remember that each of us carries our own flaws and will ultimately answer to a higher power. In moments of despondency, put a smile on your face and be grateful for the gift of life and the opportunity to still be present in this world.

Life is indeed a precious gift. Live it to the fullest, embrace its joys, celebrate its moments, and strive to fulfill your purpose.

Epic Bicycle Journey of an Indian Lover Covering 8 Countries

This is the story of an Indian boy who treavelled all the way from Delhi, India to Sweden by an old bicycle crossing Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Germany, Austria and Denmark to meet his love.

The story of Dr. Pradyumna Kumar Mahanandia shows that true love transcends all travesties, difficulties and troubles. 

Pradyumna Kumar Mahandia  born(1949) in Kandhapada village of Athmallik Sub-division in the district of Angul, Odisha an Indian state in a weavers family which belonged to a lower cast.  They were treated as “untouchables” at that time.

He attended the Mahendra High School, Athmallik and then joined Visva-Bharati to study art.  Despite his selection at the art School, it became impossible to pay the fee and he had to return home.  He later joined Government College of Art and Crafts, Khallikote, Odisha to study art.  To satisfy his quest for art he joined College of Art, Delhi to study Fine Arts in 1971.

During this time he shot to fame in portraiture by drawing the portrait of then Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi. 

It is the year 1975, when Charlotte Von Sledvin, a 19-year-old student of Swedish royal family travels to India to get a portrait made by a gifted artist.  Despite the incredibly difficult circumstance the artist named Pradyuman Kumar Mahanandia had gained an outstanding reputation for being a gifted painter.  His reputation led Charlotte Von Sledvin to travel all the way to India to get her portrait done.

By the time the portrait was finished, the two had fallen in love. Pradyumna was fascinated with Charlotte’s beauty. Never before had he seen a more beautiful woman from the Western world. He gave his best to capture all her beauty in the portrait, yet never fully succeeded. Nonetheless, the portrait was magnificent and Charlotte fell for his simplicity and his beautiful character. Because of him, she spontaneously decided to stay longer in India. Out of a couple of days became weeks and then even months. The two had fallen so deeply in love that they decided to get married.  Charlotte took the Indian name Charulata and they both married following traditional rituals.


Unfortunately, the time came when Charlotte had to leave again in order to complete her studies in London. She asked her husband to come along, however, PK was still a student and wanted to finish his studies.  Thousands of miles separated the two but their feelings for each other never changed. They stayed in contact through letters, which they exchanged almost weekly with each other. Naturally, the newlyweds terribly struggled with the great distance between each other. Charlotte offered her husband to buy him air tickets, which he refused. He had not only decided to complete his studies first, but he had also set his mind on reuniting with the love of his life on his own terms. He even made her the promise that he would do anything he can to see her again.


After Pradyumna had finished his studies, he took all his possessions and sold them. Unfortunately, the money he earned didn’t even come close to a flight ticket. All he could afford was a cheap and used bicycle. Many would have been greatly disappointed, some would have even given up. But not Pradyumna. Instead of allowing the difficult circumstances to stop him from seeing his beloved wife again, he met the decision to use what he had in order to see her again. Nothing could stop him from reuniting with his wife, even if that meant an exhausting bicycle ride half around the world.

His decision was the beginning of a bicycle journey from India to the Western world. Pradyumna took all his paintings and brushes along with him in order to financially support his endeavor. His voyage led him through eight countries and took more than four months.

He sold all his belongings and bought a second-hand bicycle. Carrying all his paints and brushes along, he did the unthinkable.

He set out on a voyage to the Far West with a hope to reunite with his love. This was back in 1978.

He reached Amritsar from New Delhi before entering Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Germany, Austria and Denmark.

His cycle broke down many times on the way and he even had to go on without food for days. But nothing could break his will.

After 4 months and 3 weeks of back-breaking journey, he finally reached Gothenburg, Sweden.

Those were the days when not many countries required visa for travelling.

Upon reaching, he was questioned by Swedish immigration officers who were amazed to see a man who had come from India riding a bicycle.

PK told them the reason behind his visit and produced photographs of his marriage with Charlotte.

Authorities were surprised and did not believe that someone of royal blood from Europe would marry a poor Indian.

The sudden revelation made even PK skeptical whether his lady love would accept him or not.


When Charlotte learned about the man from India who cycled all the way for around 5 months, she drove to Gothenburg and received her husband with unbridled happiness.

Her parents accepted Pradyumna as a part of their family by breaking a royal tradition that prohibited non-white people from residing with the nobles.

After 40 years of marriage, Dr PK Mahanandia serves as the Odiya Cultural Ambassador of India to Sweden and lives with his wife Charlotte and 2 children in Sweden.

His village, that once shunned him as an untouchable, now gives a thundering welcome every time he makes a visit.

Pradyumna is well known in Sweden as an artist and is working as an Adviser, Art and Culture, under the Swedish Government. Swedish Government in honour of their love has made films to document this immortal love of the century.

His paintings have been exhibited in major cities of the world and have found places in the prestigious UNICEF greeting cards.

On 4 January 2012, he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree (Degree of Honoris Causa) from Utkal University of Culture (UUC) in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha state, India. He was also designated as the Oriya Cultural ambassador to Sweden by the Government of Odisha.

No Arms, No Legs but Love

In 2012, bomb disposal expert Taylor Morris was severely injured after the explosion of an improvised bomb in Afghanistan. The explosion took all his limbs and changed the life of the 23-year-old US military soldier forever. While recovering from the injuries in hospital, Taylor was confronted with the painful realization that his limbs had gone. He also had to face the fact that he would be dependent on assistance for the rest of his life. It was an incredibly difficult situation not only for him but also his family and especially his long-term girlfriend Danielle. But instead of ever giving him up, Danielle became Taylor’s pillar in life. She helped him recover and took care of him during this incredibly challenging time.

Danielle played an important role in Taylor’s quick recovery. She never went away from his side and assisted him greatly when he learned to walk again with his new prosthetic limbs. After Taylor had recovered, he proposed to his beloved girlfriend and they got married. It’s a beautiful ending of an incredibly inspiring love story that shows that nothing can ever stand in-between two people who really love each other.

This is the story of Taylor Morris, a 23 year-old Navy EOD tech:

Taylor Morris learned at an early age he was hooked on the outdoors, adventurous, the middle of 4 children and always the last one inside for dinner at his home in Cedar Falls, Iowa. His mother Juli recalled, "Our family took a camping trip from Niagra Falls down the East Coast one summer. Taylor set up the tents every night, started the fires, cooked the meals. Taylor was only 8 years old." As Taylor grew older and took to extreme water sports and rock climbing, Taylor discovered he was also very calm under extreme pressure. This quality would later make him the perfect candidate for the Navy's EOD, Explosive Ordinance Disposal.

Explosive ordinance disposal specialists were made famous in Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker. They are the preeminent tactical and technical explosives experts. Nicknamed 'The Shield', OED specialists always lead, the first to put themselves in harm's way to tackle unexploded ordinance and IED's.

Less than one month ago near the Kandahar province in Afghanistan, Taylor was doing his job, right out in front.

Leading a team of Army Special forces to a classified location, Taylor stepped on an IED. It exploded underneath him and blew off all four of his limbs. Taylor recalled the moment to me over the phone,

"As soon as I stepped on it, I knew. There was a moment, then I heard the blast. I felt the heat. I knew I had lost my legs. As I somersaulted through the air, I watched my legs fly off."

Taylor landed back in the blast crater. This is where the story of Taylor's bravery goes next-level.

After the explosion, Taylor didn't lose consciousness, he didn't go into shock. His thoughts immediately crystallized. Even though Taylor was bleeding to death, he called to the oncoming medics NOT to come get him, putting their safety in front of his own life.

"I recounted the moment of the explosion. There was no visual on the mine and no sound ID on my mine detector. That told me the mine was old. If there were other mines out there, the medics wouldn't see them or detect them unless it was cleared properly. I knew I had arterial bleeding from all 4 limbs and I was bleeding out fast. I told my buddies to stop, it would only have hurt me more if somebody stepped on another one."

The area around Taylor was finally cleared by the second EOD and the medic finally administered combat casualty care. Taylor remained conscious through the ordeal.

Three days later on May 6th Taylor landed back in the States and was transported to Walter Reed hospital in Washington D.C. to begin the long and painful rehab process. Upon his arrival, Taylor became only the 5th person at Walter Reed to ever survive a four limb amputation. His physical progression in the last three weeks has defied everybody's expectations, "My body is responding well. I'm already sitting up. I'm very fortunate." Just yesterday, the stitches in his arms were removed and he was fitted for prosthetics.

I asked Taylor if he's been given a time frame to return home to Iowa.

"Nobody really wants to give me a time frame, I understand that. The doctors here are amazing but I don't know when I'll go home. I've got goals though, personal goals, and I intend on achieving them."

As our conversation drew to an end I asked Taylor if he needed anything medically, "No, I'm fully covered by the Navy for my medical needs." I asked, "Ok, Taylor, if you could have anything in the world, what would it be?"

Taylor paused and finally spoke,

"I've always dreamed of having a log cabin in the woods on a lake. A traditional wood cabin on the outside with a modern interior. And good lighting. Good lighting is important. My girlfriend Danielle and I, we live simple lives but we've always loved being active, spending time outside with our families."

I asked Taylor's girlfriend Danielle about this dream cabin. She said, "Taylor and I are both savers, and we had been working our butts off to ensure we'd have a cabin, close to water to do water sports, and places we can hike. After what happened, we will not abandon that dream if it takes years of saving."

After I thanked Taylor for the zillionth time for his service, I hung up the phone and sat in silence recalling our conversation. I was so nervous when we first started chatting but somehow Taylor sets you at ease. He made it ok to ask hard questions about the explosion that nearly killed him and his painful rehab. I recalled something his mother had told me over the phone, "Taylor has a certain humility about his pain, it comforts you."

I knew I had just spoken to a hero, not the movie kind either, a real one. And I think he deserves a hero's homecoming. Taylor hesitated to tell me his own timeline to return home, that hope belongs to him alone, but I believe when he does return home at the end of this long journey, HOME should be to a place he's always dreamed about.

 

The Little Girl And Mushrooms

The Little Girl And Mushrooms

Short Story By Leo Tolstoy

Innocence and love are characteristic features of little children. Leo Tolstoy’s story about two sisters meeting with a near disaster brings out the extent of innocence, heart wrenching emotions and love that are the hall marks of kids all over the world. Read on to familiarize yourself with this story.

It was a fine summer morning, perfect to be outdoors. Two sisters had been out mushroom picking, and were on their home with heavy baskets full of mushrooms. They sang songs on the way, and played with each other.

Soon they reached a point where they had to cross a railway track. They did not think twice about crossing it since there was no train coming, and they could not hear any whistle. They slowly climbed the embankment to cross the track, taking care not to drop the baskets. They were very near the track and the little sister was about the cross it, when they heard the distinct horn of a train.

The older sister got frightened and ran back. She thought that the young one was following her. She turned back and was shocked to see her little sister still crossing the track. “Come back here, run back fast,” she screamed.

It seemed that the little girl could not hear her sister. She was still concentrating on stepping over the track with her little feet, and holding on to the basket. Then she tripped and fell on the track, scattering her mushrooms around. She sat down and began picking them up and putting in her basket.

In the meanwhile the elder sister had become hysteric. She cried and screamed, calling her little sister to leave the mushrooms and run back, but it seemed as though the little one could not hear her.

The engine driver panicked on seeing the girl and blew his whistle with all his might, but she appeared not to hear the whistle. Her sister was now crying loudly, overcome by panic, as the little sister crawled between the tracks on her hands and knees, to pick the rest of the mushrooms.

The engine driver was helpless as it was not possible for him to stop the engine suddenly. He blew the whistle as hard as he could, but the engine rolled over the little girl. The older sister clasped her face with her trembling hands and cried bitterly. The passengers too panicked at the thought of the sight they would have to witness. The guard ran down to the end of the train to see what happened to the little girl. When the train passed, everybody saw her lying very still between the tracks with her face down.

Then she raised her head, sprang to her knees and began gathering the remaining mushrooms.

The big sister ran towards her, tears streaming down her face. They hugged and kissed each other, crying out of happiness, tears of joy flowing down their little cheeks. Never were two souls so happily united as at that moment. She promised her little sister that thereafter she would hold her hand tightly while crossing the railway line.

The two sisters then picked all the remaining mushrooms, and hand in hand, solemnly walked back home. They were indeed two souls who had become wiser than their years, in the span of a few minutes.

Why Do We Shout in Anger?

A saint asked his disciples, 'Why do we shout in anger? Why do people shout at each other when they are upset?' 

 

Disciples thought for a while, one of them said, 'Because we lose our calm, we shout for that.' 'But, why to shout when the other person is just next to you?' asked the saint. 'Isn't it possible to speak to him or her with a soft voice? 

 

Why do you shout at a person when you're angry?' Disciples gave some other answers but none satisfied the saint. 

 

Finally he explained, 'When two people are angry at each other, their hearts distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other. 

 

The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to shout to hear each other through that great distance.' 

 

Then the saint asked, 'What happens when two people fall in love? They don't shout at each other but talk softly, why? Because their hearts are very close. The distance between them is very small...' 

 

The saint continued, 'When they love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak, only whisper and they get even closer to each other in their love. 

 

Finally they even need not whisper, they only look at each other and that's all. That is how close two people are when they love each other.' 

 

MORAL: When you argue do not let your hearts get distant, do not say words that distance each other more, else there will come a day when the distance is so great that you will not find the path to return, not to shout.

Story on Anger