Sunday, February 12, 2017

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pancha amritam 1
(pancha is five in samskritam; amritam is nectar)
poornima / Kali Yugabda 5118 / Durmukhi Thay 28 (February 10, 2017)


 

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In the parched village of Kundapur taluk in Udupi (Karnataka, Bharat), Laxmi Poojarthi, along with four other women, dug up a 52-foot deep well recently. She took up the initiative in Viveknagar Colony of Amparu gram panchayat. At least 10 households now depend on the well. The nearest source of potable water is atleast two to three kilometres away. It took almost three and a half months for the women to dig the well which is six-feet in width. The gram panchayat has a provision of providing wells under the NREGA Act and of the wages paid, Rs 82,000 was used for installing rings inside the well. But, since the cost of installing the rings was Rs 1.18 lakh, Laxmi used her savings of Rs 40,000, including part of wages from the NREGA work to meet the cost. The 60-year-old woman's determination thus helped a whole village to quench its thirst. "There's none that I can call my family and it does not bother me. I get my pension and if this small effort helps others, it's worthwhile," Laxmi, who has been abandoned by her relatives after the death of her parents, said. www.indiatimes.com, July 4, 2016.

 

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A young couple from Amravati (Maharashtra, Bharat), Abhay Deware and Preeti Kumbhare, decided to change the trend of marriages in India, a country where 1 Lakh crore is being spent on marriage on every year. Particularly after being moved by the plight of farmers who were committing suicide .They tied the nuptial knot at Abhiyanta Bhavan in Amravati They used the money they saved by their simple marriage for the purpose of: 1. Donation of Rs 20,000 each to 10 farmers’ families where their sole bread earners committed suicide due to mounting debts and successive crop failures. 2. Books of competitive examinations worth Rs 52,000 to five libraries in Amravati. 3. They had inspirational and informative speeches given by notable personalities and activists. INDIA TODAY, July 11, 2016.

 

THREE
 

                                                     
A new health sub-centre after a martyred soldier Suraj Bhagwan Budania, native of Deenwa Ladkhani, a village in Fatehpur area of Sikar district (Rajasthan, Bharat). It has brought cheer in his family. The population of the village is over 4,000 and it has produced nine martyrs. In this village of martyrs, all government schools are named after martyrs. Budania was martyred on August 18, 2010, in an ambush of a United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in South Africa. "We have named two government schools after the names of Mukhram Budania and Dharamveer Shekhawat, who sacrificed their life for the country," said Kanhaiya Lal, sarpanch of the village. THE TIMES OF INDIA, July 4, 2016.

 

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In 2006, Anita Devi of Singhaul village in Begusarai (Bihar, Bharat) had taken a loan of Rs 21,000 from the State Bank of India to run a business, but her husband, Sunil Mochi, showed no interest in running it. Two years later, Sudhir Kumar was born to the couple. Kumar’s mother Devi died in a road accident in 2012, and his father ran away days later, leaving him behind. Kumar is now under the care of his relatives. Recently, the boy received a notice from the SBI, asking him to repay the loan that was taken by his mother, 10 years ago. The boy sought help from his villagers after he received the notice. They quickly came to Kumar’s aid and raised Rs 5,000 to pay the first instalment. The 8 year old orphan boy turned up at the Lok Adalat to pay the next instalment. The district judge-cum-chairman of the Lok Adalat, Gangotri Ram Tripathi, in a heart-warming gesture, after considering Kumar’s age, financial situation and lack of family support, summoned bank officials and ordered the waiver of the loan against the Rs 5,000 deposited earlier. The judge also issued a receipt of settlement of the loan. GULF NEWS and INDIAN EXPRESS, August 16, 2016.

 

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On October 17, 2016, Smt Jayakodi (22), wife of Shri Sudharsanan of Kizhvelur-Vandalur in Nagapattinam district (Tamilnadu, Bharat), was travelling by Karaikkal-Tiruchy passenger train. She was 9 months into pregnancy and was on her way to her father’s place after her ‘valaikappu’ ceremony. At 8.30 in the morning, members of a political party stopped the train midway as part of their rail roko agitation after the train went past Kulikkarai station. By 11 AM Jayakodi complained of sudden illness. Fellow passengers rushed to the guard and driver of the train and asked them to move the train back to Kulikkarai station, as there was neither medical help nor proper transport at the spot where the rail roko occurred. In spite of rules against such a move, the railway employees agreed to take train back to Kulikkarai station two kilometres away, where there was a ‘108’ ambulance kept ready for the lady. After 3 hours of treatment at the government primary health centre at Kulikkarai, she was taken to her house. DINAMANI, October 19, 2016.
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Wednesday, June 29, 2016

PANCHAAMRITAM 300

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PANCHAAMRITAM 300
(pancha is five in samskritam; amritam is nectar)
Poornima / Kali Yugabda 5118 / Durmuki Aani 6 (June 20, 2016)

Posted on June 21, 2016
A great International YOGA Day!


 

ONE



A few days back, I got a chance to attend a function organised by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Delhi state (Bharat). The event was organised in an open ground, a part of which was covered with tents for the event. The swayamsewaks performed activities which they learnt in their 20 days long training Camp. It was to be followed by a speech by Shri Rameshwar, a Senior official of the RSS. When Shri Rameshwar stood to speak, a strong wind started blowing. The stage from which the main speaker was speaking was shaking like anything due to strong winds. I was pretty sure that the speaker will abort his speech and move from the venue. Who would want to stake his life for an event? When the wind became strong, 20-25 swayamsewaks ran towards the stage and grabbed each pole strongly to ensure that the stage doesn’t shake anymore. 6-7 swayamsewaks were holding each pole attached to the stage and made sure the events runs smoothly. Everything happened within a couple of minutes. But I must admit that the most astonishing thing that amazed me was the behavior of the speaker. He spoke for full 40 minutes as he was scheduled to, that too without even once mentioning the strong storm blowing there.  While there was lots of turbulence, the main speaker stated that Sangh is an organisation which builds humans. I had heard this line many times but that day I actually realized what type of individuals Sangh creates. May be this is the character-building that I have heard many RSS guys talking about. My best wishes to the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh. (From a first person account by Shri By Jainankit posted on www.opindia.com, June 18, 2016). Idea: Smt Ramadevi Prasad.

 

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India's largest cow hospital provides care for 1,600 cows, bulls, oxen, that are sick, diseased, injured or deformed. With wards for cows with breast cancer, cows that have lost their legs in road accidents, cows that have been operated upon to remove plastic from their bellies, the hospice is a tourist attraction in Nagaur (Rajasthan, Bharat). The animals are kept under giant tents, each called a ward where the cattle are segregated according to the disease or injury. There is also an ICU, says Mukesh. Twenty one ambulances transport cows to the facility from a 300 km radius. "Those who bring their sick cows, we give them two healthy cows in return," says Mukesh, adding that the hospital is run on donations from gau bhakts and well wishers. The daily cost of running the hospital amounts to Rs 4.5 lakh (Rs 450,000). Eight tons of broken wheat (dalia/lapsi) is cooked every day. Gau bhakts donate green vegetables, says Mukesh. A board on the premises says that water sourced from the Himalayas is provided to the cattle and brought in tankers. There are cradles for calves and blankets stocked for each cow for the winter months. Established by Swami Kushagiriji Maharaj who lives down a door which reads 'gufa ka marg' (path to the cave). Mukesh says the hospice was started in 2008 with one cow.  The first cow is called Nanda Kamdhenu and occupies pride of place in the hospital's precincts. Worshipped as a deity, she sits under a shed and wears a velvet cloak. Devotees perform a parikrama and apply tilak on its forehead. (http://www.rediff.com/news/special/a-cow-hospital-with-a-cancer-ward-and-icu-/20160608.htm June 08, 2016). Idea: Shri Vasuvaj


 

THREE


In a noble gesture, diamond merchants of Surat and Mumbai donated 10,000 goggles, RO water purifiers besides ECG machines and a host of other items for use by BSF jawans guarding the Indo-Pak border in scorching heat. The items were handed over to the BSF at a special function organised NADABET BOP (Gujarat, Bharat), which was also attended by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Appreciating the gesture, the Home Minister said diamond merchants across the country should join hands with the security agencies for the welfare of jawans who lay down their lives protecting the nation. Among the articles which were donated include 10,000 sunglasses worth Rs 650 each, ECG and X-Ray machines, medical laboratory equipment, an ambulance, 10 oxygen concentrators, 10 RO water plants of 500 litre capacity each and 7,000 mattresses. Besides, it was decided to upgrade three BSF hospitals with contribution from the diamond traders at a cost of Rs 15 lakh each and develop three shooting ranges at an investment of Rs 25 lakh. Residential units will also be constructed for children of martyrs studying in Gandhinagar. India shares 3,323 km border (including Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir) with Pakistan, of which 826 km falls in Gujarat (PTI, June 19, 2016).

 

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A couple of years ago, Kerala reportedly managed the lowest dropout rate in the country — 0.53 per cent. One determined young woman, who has brought hundreds of tribal children back to school, has certainly helped decrease the number. Meet Dhanya Raman, who has been working with children who are victims of sexual abuse, child labour and have undergone teen pregnancy, desperately trying to get them back to school. Born in a place called Kallar in Kasargode district Dhanya’s father is a dalit activist. She has travelled across the dark and ignored tribal belts in Kerala for the past seven years, creating awareness among the people there about how education can catapult them to a better life. The daughter of a construction worker, she had to work hard to get to where she is and she believes that helping this at-risk group to get back to school is more important than any other kind of outreach. She gets set to settle about 1,000 dropouts back in school this month (June 2016). (Based on a report by Smt Parvathi Benu in EDEX – THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS, June 20, 2016).


 

FIVE


Shri L. Murugaraj, senior journalist with the leading Tamil daily DINAMALAR, reports, as a rule, on real life heroes. So every report of his turns out to be a good news. He sincerely acknowledges readers who provide him story ideas about honest persons, do-gooders, etc. He mentions the name of one such reader Shri Mohanraj in his recent story on Singapore Annalakshmi Restraunt (story idea by Mohanraj), an eatery where one can have his fill and pay if he wishes. For the past two years Madurai-born Singapore-based Mohanraj reads every good news story by Murugaraj and promptly sends feedbacks, writes Murugaraj. Mohanraj makes it a point to ring up and appreciate the good work of do-gooders and occasionally helps them silently. It comes to the notice of Murugaraj only when the beneficiaries inform the journalist. “My respect for the reader grew when I learnt that he serves needy persons through a service outfit named after Dr Abdul Kalam. On coming to know that Shri Mohanraj is the son of freedom fighter Danushkodi Raja I hold him in high esteem” goes on Murugaraj. For all this, both have never met in person, says the journalist. (From a report by Shri L. Murugaraj in DINAMALAR, February 5, 2016).
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