Peace

Peace is between different social groups and characterized by lack of violence or conflict behaviors, and the freedom from fear of violence. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility and retribution, peace also suggests sincere attempts at reconciliation, the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the establishment of equality, and a working political order that serves the true global interests.

Etymology

The term 'peace' originates most recently from the Anglo-French pes, and the Old French pais, meaning "peace, reconciliation, silence, agreement" (11th century). But, Pes itself comes from the Latin pax, meaning "peace, compact, agreement, treaty of peace, tranquility, absence of hostility, harmony." The English word came into use in various personal greetings from c.1300 as a translation of the Hebrew word shalom, which, according to Jewish theology, comes from a Hebrew verb meaning 'to restore'. Although 'peace' is the usual translation, however, it is an incomplete one, because 'shalom,' which is also cognate with the Arabic salaam, has multiple other meanings in addition to peace, including justice, good health, safety, well-being, prosperity, equity, security, good fortune, and friendliness. At a personal level, peaceful behaviors are kind, considerate, respectful, just, and tolerant of others' beliefs and behaviors — tending to manifest goodwill.

J. C. Schütz

Johan Christher Schütz is a Swedish singer, songwriter, music producer and multi-instrumentalist. In 2010 he also introduced the side-project Peacebird.

Schütz has released five albums; four under his own name and one album as Peacebird. He has also written musicals and composed instrumental music for short films. He has done four Japan tours, the first in 2007. As of 2012, 85% of his songs are continuously being played in radio or TV, mainly in Europe and Japan, but also in North and South America. In reviews, Schütz is often referred to as a "genius" or "champion" singer/songwriter.

Biography

Raised outside the small town of Mjölby, Östergötland he started singing and playing musical instruments, such as drums and electric organ, very early. Aged seven, he found a guitar in a trash container, an experience that he says changed his life, as he decided to dedicate his life to music. During a period in 1999 he was living in London on a songwriting grant from STIM (Swedish copyright collecting society) where he wrote songs and performed live in acoustic clubs several times a week, something he says was very important to improve his stage presence and performance quality, and after returning to Sweden the newspaper Östgöta Correspondenten wrote in a review of one of his live performances in 2001 that he had become "a mature artist".

Peace (novel)

Peace is an early novel by Gene Wolfe that on its surface is the story of a man growing up in a small Midwestern town in the early to mid-20th century. The narrator, Alden Dennis Weer, goes over memories from different parts of his life—his childhood, early adulthood, middle age, old age. Unlike many of Wolfe's most well-known works, it is a stand-alone novel rather than part of a series, and at least ostensibly takes place in a realistic, present-day world instead of a fantastic setting.

As in many of Wolfe's novels, much of the novel is taken up with stories within stories—particularly stories told to Weer as a child. Many of the key events of the novel are not explicitly narrated, but can be inferred or guessed at based on information in the stories.

Different critics interpret what is actually happening in the novel differently. One interpretation is that Weer is dead, and the scattered memories are those of a ghost; in 2014, Wolfe confirmed that this was his intention. Another interpretation is that the memories of his old age are the fantasies of a middle-aged Weer, who is experiencing a nervous breakdown. The novel includes subtle clues to guide the reader's understanding of the story, although the mysteries behind these clues have been hotly debated.

Guru

Guru (Sanskrit: गुरु. IAST: guru) is a Sanskrit term that connotes someone who is a "teacher, guide or master" of certain knowledge. In pan-Indian traditions, guru is someone more than a teacher, traditionally a reverential figure to the student, with the guru serving as a "counselor, who helps mold values, shares experiential knowledge as much as literal knowledge, an exemplar in life, an inspirational source and who helps in the spiritual evolution of a student." The term also refers to someone who primarily is one's spiritual guide, who helps one to discover the same potentialities that the guru has already realized.

The oldest references to the concept of guru are found in the earliest Vedic texts of Hinduism. The guru, and gurukul – a school run by guru, were an established tradition in India by the 1st millennium BCE, and these helped compose and transmit the various Vedas, the Upanishads, texts of various schools of Hindu philosophy, and post-Vedic Shastras ranging from spiritual knowledge to various arts. By about mid 1st millennium CE, archaeological and epigraphical evidence suggest numerous larger institutions of gurus existed in India, some near Hindu temples, where guru-shishya tradition helped preserve, create and transmit various fields of knowledge. These gurus led broad ranges of studies including Hindu scriptures, Buddhist texts, grammar, philosophy, martial arts, music and painting.

Guru (soundtrack)

Guru is the soundtrack to the 2007 film directed by Mani Ratnam. The soundtrack was released on 18 November 2006. Guru's music is composed by A. R. Rahman with lyrics provided by Gulzar.

Overview

Like many of Rahman's soundtracks, Guru comes with a variety of songs. The songs vary in their musical style, from the Turkish inspired "Mayya Mayya" to the folk-ish "Ek Lo Ek Muft", the love ballad "Tere Bina" and rain-themed song, "Barso Re".

The song "Tere Bina" is dedicated to the memory of Pakistani qawwali singer Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan since it was the 10th anniversary of his death. Gulzar also adapted the lyrics of "Ay Hairathe" from the lyrics of Hazrat Amir Khushroo's "Ay Sarbathe Aashiqui". Rahman personally trained Egyptian singer Maryem Tollar to sing "Mayya", a song which Rahman wrote while on Hajj in Makkah. After he heard a man near a river who was continually repeating "maya maya maya" (water in Arabic), he told Gulzar to incorporate the word into the tune he had created while touring in Toronto, Canada.

Guru (2007 film)

Guru is a 2007 Indian drama film loosely based on the life of Dhirubhai Ambani, a business magnate who founded Reliance Industries. The film was co-written and directed by Mani Ratnam. It stars Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, R. Madhavan, Vidya Balan, Arya Babbar, Mithun Chakraborty in the leading roles. The film also has Mallika Sherawat in a guest appearance. The score and soundtrack for the film was composed by A. R. Rahman. The film was dubbed and released simultaneously in Tamil as Guru and in Telugu as Gurukanth. In the Tamil version of the film, the lead role (Abhishek Bachchan) was dubbed by Suriya. The film was released on 12 January 2007 with its première at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto, Canada, on Thursday 11 January 2007, making it the first Indian film to have a mainstream international première in Canada. The film was premiered in the Tous Les Cinemas du Monde (World Cinema) section of 2007 Cannes Film Festival.

Plot

The beginning of the film is set in 1951 in a small village of Idar in Sabarkantha district, northern Gujarat, a young man named Gurukant "Guru" Desai (Abhishek Bachchan) dreams of making it big some day. His father (Rajendra Gupta), the headmaster of the village school, tells him not to dream and that dreams never come true. Gurukant decides to go to Turkey and enter the spice trade; later, he is promoted but refuses the job, as he wants to work for himself. Back in his village, he marries Sujata (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), mainly because of the dowry she brings him. Along with Sujata and her brother Jignesh (Arya Babbar), Guru migrates to Bombay and starts trading in cloth. Gradually, he expands his business and sets up manufacturing units of his own, under the name "Shakti Corporation".