“There shall be wings! If the accomplishment be not for me, ’tis for some other. The spirit cannot die; and man, who shall know all and shall have wings…â€? – Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
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“It is wonderfully appropriate that an Iranian-American woman is the first non-NASA based American woman to go into space. First of all, my experience as a vistor to Iran showed me how strong Iranian women are. Now more people will know the strength of Iranian women…Anousheh’s trip is a metaphor for peace between our two countries, which I hope will become a reality soon.” — Marcia Franklin, Idaho, September 29, 2006
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Well…well…well! I am seeing more celebration in Iranian media on the safe return of Iranian-Born American Anousheh Ansari from her space odyssey than in the media elsewhere, obsessed as usual with nothing beyond their noses.
One Iranian newspaper has published a report sent by the US Department of State on this great space odyssey.
To Anousheh Ansari the Planet Earth must be looking like a small dot in the vast comsos where there are so many planets and stars. Her feelings, as expressed through Youtube in her space blog, is a moving testimony/tribute to the human spirit of adventure and overcoming all obstacles.
Said Ansari: “The Earth is so beautiful and if we could all see it this way I’m sure we would do everything in our power to preserve it. I truly hope that more and more people get to experience this trip first hand.”
“Being able to share this with all of you have made this trip very special for me,” Ansari told her supporters in a video message posted to her blog. “All your words of inspiration and support for me have inspired me to continue my journey and do more to be part of making a change in the world…to make our Earth a better place to live.”
In fact it is a very small minority with myopic vision and leadership that creates much turmoil on this Planet Earth. And this minority community is so caught up in its own negative thoughts that they spread misery all around.
Even the media has been so caught up in its negativity/obsessions that it has forgotten to celebrate a historic moment in human history.
American citizen Ansari has now become the first Muslim woman and first Iranian-born woman in space, as well as the first private female space tourist. The space launch began six days after her 40th birthday.
Before Ansari left for her space odyssey, she was interviewed by Alaska Report: “When we sat down with her, Ansari was wearing the uniform she will wear in space, including a badge studded with both the Stars and Stripes, and the Iranian flag. At a time when American-Iranian relations are in crisis, she said she doesn’t want to make any political statements, but believes there’s no reason why Americans and Iranians can’t get along.
“She said: ‘I hope this shows that the people can be separated from the politics because if you don¹t have … if you look at Iranians interacting with Americans, Âsometimes inside Iran, sometimes outside Iran, in most cases from what I¹ve seen it¹s always a pleasant experience. If we would not have to have government fighting all the time when people are together they seem to get along perfectly fine. It¹s only when territorial issues and energy issues come into play that the power struggles lead into political statements and wars’.”
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.