INTRODUCING AINET…

Posted by Prithvirajsingh Thakur

AINET Association of English Teachers – (called ‘AINET’, in short) is a national level association of English teachers in India which works for the professional development of English teachers teaching at all levels- right from pre-primary to college/university. AINET is an associate of the International Association of Teachers of English as Foreign Language (IATEFL), UK.

WHAT DOES AINET DO?

AINET regularly organizes various professional development events for English teachers. These events include- workshops, trainings, teacher research projects, webinars, invited talks by eminent ELT experts and much more.

Every two years, AINET organizes an international conference which is generally held in January. This event gives English teachers an opportunity to present their papers, posters and exchange knowledge and expertise with fellow teachers and listen to international experts in the field of English Language Education and teacher development. The next AINET International Conference will be held ONLINE from 7-9 January 2022. To know more about this conference and register for participation, go to the conference website: http://conf.theainet.net/conf/

AINET offers grants to promising teachers to attend their conferences and other professional development events or take up small research projects in the field of English Language Teaching and teacher development.

AINET mentors offer voluntary guidance to the teacher-researchers to carry out and present their research.

AINET offers its members, an opportunity to become a member of the International Association of Teachers of English as Foreign Language (IATEFL), UK at a heavily discounted rate.

AINET has presence across all major social media platforms where they share important announcements information and resources for English teachers and also organize different virtual events/debates and discussions.

HOW CAN I JOIN AINET?

You can join AINET by filling up a simple online form and paying membership fee online. One year membership fee for an individual is Rs 500 while for three year membership, it is Rs. 1200.

To become a member, visit the AINET website: https://theainet.net/ and click Members’ Area > Become a member.

AINET is a completely non-profit and selfless initiative to help English teachers in India develop together and offer better English Language Education to the students.

धर्माने मला काय दिले?

Posted by Prithvirajsingh Thakur

आज साधना साप्ताहिकाचा अंक हाती आला. या अंकात धर्माने मला काय दिले? या विषयावर काही मान्यवर विचारवंतांची चर्चा साधनाने घडवून आणली आहे. डॉ. नरेंद्र दाभोळकर यांनी जोपासलेल्या उद्दिष्टांपैकी कालसुसंगत धर्मचिकित्सा हेही एक उद्दिष्ट होते. त्याला अनुसरूनच साधनाने या अंकाची ही बीजकल्पना ठेवली आहे. ही थीम मला भावली. प्रश्न आवडला. खरंच धर्माने मला काय दिले? मलाही या विषयावर प्रकट चिंतन करावेसे वाटले. म्हणून ही लेखनकामाठी.

मी हिंदू. हिंदू मातापित्यांच्या पोटी जन्मलो म्हणून हिंदू. अगदीच सनातनी नव्हे, पण समृद्ध आणि पापभीरु अशा एका मोठ्या संयुक्त हिंदू कुटुंबात जन्मलो. कोणाचेही वाईट चिंतू नये, करू नये, निर्व्यसनी रहावे, उत्तम चारित्र्य जोपासावे, मन लावून शिकावे आणि इभ्रतीला सदैव जपून असावे हे संस्कार लहानपणापासून मनावर झाले. परमेश्वर आहे. पापाला शिक्षा असते. पुण्याला मान असतो. पुण्याचे, सत्कर्माचे चांगले फळ मिळते, हे मनावर ठसले. घरात व्रतवैकल्ये, सणवार नियमित साजरे होत. माझी आत्या घरात सर्वात जेष्ठ. भावंडांना शिकता यावे, मोठे होता यावे, म्हणून ती आजन्म अविवाहित राहिली व कुटुंबाला तिनेच ऊर्जितावस्थेत आणले. दररोज सकाळी पाच वाजता सडा-संमार्जन, देवपूजा आज ऐंशीव्या वर्षी सुद्धा ती नियमित करते. गौरी, गणपती, चैत्र व आश्विनातले नवरात्र इत्यादी सर्व सण यथासांग साजरे होतात ते आत्याच्याच पुढाकाराने व परिश्रमांनी. माझा जन्म व्हायचा होता, तेव्हा होणाऱ्या बाळावर (म्हणजे अस्मादिकांवर) चांगले संस्कार व्हावेत म्हणून श्रावणात रामविजयाची पोथी लावण्याचा क्रम सुरू झाला व तो पुढे दहा-अकरा वर्षे सुरू राहिला. वडील व तिन्ही काकांसहित सर्वजण धार्मिक. सूर्याला अर्घ्य व तुळशीला तांब्याभर पाणी अर्पण करण्याचा क्रम या सर्वांनी आयुष्यभर पाळला. या वातावरणामुळे धर्मावर श्रद्धा बसली व मी ही धार्मिक झालो. रामायण, महाभारत, श्रीमद् भागवत, हरिविजय हे ग्रंथ ऐकले, वाचले. एका थोर व उदात्त मूल्यपरंपरेचे आपण पाईक आहोत हे त्यातून जाणवले. ‘परोपकार पुण्याय, पापाय परपीडनम्’– (परोपकार हे पुण्य तर परपीडा म्हणजे पाप), हे धर्माचे सार आहे याची खात्री पटली. मर्यादशील असण्यात जीवनाचे सार्थक आहे. काही झाले तरी सर्व बाबतीत मर्यादा पाळावी हे रामायणाने शिकवले. ‘न भीतो मरणादस्मि, केवलं दूषितो यशः’ (मी मृत्यूला नव्हे, तर केवळ अपकीर्तीला भितो) असे म्हणणारा राम, ‘नहीच्छेयमधर्मेण शक्रत्वमपि लक्ष्मण’ (अधर्माने मिळत असेल तर मला इंद्रपदही नको) असे म्हणणारा राम, ‘जननी जन्मभूमिश्च स्वर्गादपि गरीयसी’ (माता आणि मातृभूमी स्वर्गाहूनही श्रेष्ठ आहेत) असे म्हणणारा राम व या सर्व उक्ती आचरणात आणणारा राम धर्मग्रंथातच भेटला. स्वाभिमान, शील, कर्तव्यपरायणता, निस्वार्थ सेवा, वचनाचे पालन- ही मूल्ये धर्मानेच दिली. कालौघात दोन मोठे आघात परिवारावर झाले. व्यावहारिक संकटे तर आणिक आली. पण कोणीतरी लाज राखणारा आहे, ही अनुभूतीही आली- नव्हे, येत असते.

अजूनही धर्म कळला असे म्हणण्याचे धाडस होत नाही. पण धर्माला धरून राहावे, ‘न त्यजेत् धर्मं जीवितस्यापि हेतोः’ (अगदी जीवितासाठी सुद्धा धर्माचा त्याग करू नये) असे सतत वाटते. सर्व एकाच ईश्वराची लेकरं आहेत. सर्वांचे कल्याण चिंतावे व सर्वांच्या कल्याणासाठी धर्म आचरावा हे धर्मानेच शिकविले आणि म्हणूनच दोन्ही हात वर करून सांगणाऱ्या व्यासांप्रमाणे- धर्मादर्थश्च कामश्च, स किमर्थम् न सेव्यते? (धर्मामुळे अर्थ आणि काम (हे पुरुषार्थ) आहेत, मग धर्माचे पालन का करत नाही?) हा साधा प्रश्न सदैव पडत राहतो. उत्तर काही मिळत नाही.

The Fox: A Thriller to Cherish…

Posted by Prithvirajsingh Thakur

Just finished reading Frederick Forsyth’s latest novel The Fox. This is the first Forsyth book that I have read. Had read quite a bit about Forsyth and his thrillers, but never really had the opportunity to read his novels. This time, the isolation after a Covid-19 infection gave me a chance to read as I please and I chose Forsyth’s The Fox.

The Fox is the latest (2018) novel of Frederick Forsyth and in line with his earlier thrillers, tells the story of checkmates in the game of espionage played on the stage of international politics. The novel begins with a raid of the British security forces on a house in Luton, England where a family of a suspected hacker who has managed to hack the supposedly impenetrable US military database at Fort Mede lives. The hacker eventually turns out to be a shy teenager called Luke Jennings having Asperger’s syndrome. He has unparalleled and incredible skills for hacking and it turns out that he has just casually hacked one of the most secure databases in the world. A British veteran spy spots the talent of the boy and manages to get him to work for the UK and USA saving him from a possible jail term in USA. The talent of the boy is leveraged to the use of the allied powers and he manages to hack robustly secure Russian, Iranian and North Korean security systems- thereby neutralizing potential threats to the West and the rest of the world from these ‘rouge’ states.

The novel has a thinly veiled story and most of the characters are from the real world. Only a select few have been not been mentioned by their names or imaginary names have been used for them, but most of the people and events are real and easily identifiable. The plot of the novel is very tightly and skillfully woven. There are no unnecessary details. However, the book is replete with lots of relevant details – historical, geopolitical and technological. What we enjoy in the novel is a series of moves and counter-moves in the field of espionage where there is always an urgency and eagerness to anticipate the move of the other side and score over it. Forsyth’s novels are stuffed with rich and very well researched details and this one is no exception. One is always amazed by the amount of research and detailing that goes into his novels.

The Fox is not just a piece of fiction. After reading it, one feels rich as one happens to know a lot of details about international politics, espionage, covert operations, intelligence agencies, modern warfare and weapons. The portraits of the key players on the stage of international politics are very vividly and accurately drawn.

What happens to the genius hacker and how the entire exercise ends, is something to be read and enjoyed. Forsyth’s first-hand knowledge of intelligence operations, his long stint as a journalist and his exceptional ability to weave a plot and tell the story make him the most popular storyteller of our times.