What is common between Barack Obama and all these guys and gal…Monica Lewinsky, Napoleon Bonaparte, Oscar Peterson, Russell Baker, Dustin Hoffman, Louis Armstrong, Menachem Begin and Robert Redford? In Chinese astrology, as interpreted by my favourite Suzanne White, all of them are “Ox & Leo”. (In my earlier posts I had mentioned about Suzanne’s apt/fun descriptions about G.W. Bush and General David Petraeus.)
In a horoscope for 2009 especially prepared for president-elect Barack Obama (August 04, 1961), Suzanne White states: “What we have here is a very nature-oriented, earth-bound, power-mad megalomaniac whose nose for locating flies in life’s various ointments is practically infallible.
“This is not to say we didn’t need such a stringent ruler to come along in 2009. We did. All of us are suffering. Some of us have too much and are stumbling over excess and wading through our own glut. Many more of us have nothing.
“The world financial market, such as we knew it, is over. Change and upheaval are in the very air we breathe. Religious fanaticism seems to have more power among certain young people than either rock music or computer games could ever have inspired.
“Well, a more self-possessed type of Ox doesn’t exist. The Earth Ox is autonomous and ruthless. The Earth Ox may occasionally appear to cower in the face of something overwhelming. And, deep down, he may really be afraid. But he won’t display fear. He will display audacity instead.
“So these Earth Oxen are brave. And bold. Temerity is their middle name. Think about it – Earth and Ox together? A bulldozer…Even the most successful Earth Ox is a bit of a klutz, an awkward peasant in bourgeois clothing. They may wish they had never become so visible as to be obliged to hobnob with all the splendid people who only make them feel more like a hick.
“What Earth Oxen wanted to do when they set out to take over the world was to lead the people. But they never dreamed that they might also have to learn to drink champagne, make small talk, wear evening clothes or take ballroom dance lessons.” More here…
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.