I'm Literacy Builder Award

This week, I received a wonderful Award from two wonderful bloggers. If you asked me to pick one Award over all others, I would pick the Literacy Builder Award- literacy and education are two related issues that are very close to my heart, and if I had to choose one cause to dedicate my life to, it would be Literacy. Naturally, I feel privileged to be given this Award.

What makes receiving the Award even more wonderful is the fact that it was passed onto me by two ladies I am privileged to know and call my friends. Jan Morrison and Margot Kinberg are both knowledgeable people, talented writers, and great bloggers. But what makes they both so wonderful is that they are both wonderful human beings. Thank you Jan and Margot- you don't know how much it means for me to get the Award from you.

The rules for the Award are simple -

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.
2. Display the award logo on your blog site.
3. Tell us five of your favorite words and why you like them.
4. Pass the award on to three bloggers you feel are excellent literacy builders, and link to their sites.
5. Contact the bloggers you’ve chosen and let them know about the award.

It was really difficult to narrow down my list of favourite words to just five, but I managed ultimately-

Serendipity- I fell in love with the sound of the word- isn't there something intrinsically appealing about the sway of the waveforms as the word enters the airwaves- but over the years, it has come to become the leitmotif of my life. My life seems to be a necklace of serendipitous beads, and I am richer for it.

Inertia- often used with negative connotations to describe someone lazy or obdurate, I prefer to stick to the meaning vested on it by Newton. Of inner courage and strength of character, of courage of conviction, of not being swayed by empty arguments. Of a person continuing on a pre-destined path unless convinced to move from it by a convincing reason.

Juggernaut- there is nothing appealing about a destructive force that crushes everything that comes in its way, which is precisely why I like the word. Jagannath is a Hindu God, who's idol is taken out of the temple in an annual procession. Vast crowds take up to witness the procession, and legend has it that the chariot bearing the idol crushed all the people who came in its path. From the Divine to the destructive- would anyone but a word even attempt such a journey?

Universe- a word that embraces all that was, all that is, and all that would ever be. Everything we know is contained within the Universe. It is so vast, the human mind cannot even start to comprehend the vastness. And yet, each of us is an intrinsic part of the Universe, and are as vast as the Universe itself.

Mamma- when this word is uttered in a crowded place, dozens of heads will swivel to locate the source. Uttered in affection, in command, in exasperation, in pleading- it is the most beautiful word invented.

Nobody does more for the cause of Literacy than a Teacher, and I am passing on this Award to five* outstanding teachers  - 

Chary @ Bronx Tales & Inner Musings 

Jemi @ Just Jemi
Shannon @ Book Dreaming
Stephanie @ Hatshepsut: The Writing of a Novel
Theresa @ Substitute Teacher's Saga

I know some of you may not like passing on Awards, but do pass this Award on. We cannot do enough to create Awareness about the need for Literacy/ Education, and this is just one more way of doing so.

* yes, I know it should have been three, but all rules are meant to be bent a bit