PANCHAAMRITAM 174

Amavaasyaa, Kali Yugaabda 5111, VIRODHI Aippasi 30 (November 16, 2009)

ONE

Hindus are pre-eminently Eco-friendly. People residing in two villages near Singampuri Sivaganga district, (Tamilnadu, Bharat), have not been using fireworks for the last 25 years because they do not want to disturb the migratory birds visiting Vettangudi sanctuary, which is situated near their villages. More than 20 varieties of birds including Siberian Crane, Flamingo, and Pelicans from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, China, Australia and Pakistan come here every year. The villagers said that they are looking after these birds like their children, and do not ignite crackers during Diwali and other functions. `The birds, which take a strenuous flight from across the globe to the tropical forests of the Sivaganga district, are indebted to the villagers,' said Sivaganga district forest officer S.L. Gupta. Experts feel that such attempts at the micro level can translate into a deeper and positive impact for wildlife.

Based on a report in www.sify.com,  December 14, 2009.

TWO

Tamil channel Vijay TV, owned by Star TV, runs a talk show "Neeya? Naana?" (You? or Me?). Last week, the show telecast a debate on "Was it necessary to wear Mangal Sutra (Thaali?)" The debate went on and on and the moderator, concluded that Mangal Sutra is not compulsory. A woman participant, in the show, shown taking away her Mangal Sutra and throwing it away, was feted with a gift by the moderator. That hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus who viewed the programme. An executive of a public sector organization, a swayamsevak, spoke to several friends and all responded to the programme over phone to Vijay TV expressing their hurt feelings. The protest calls were so numerous and the tone of the protesters so logical that the producer and the host – both Christians - had no other option but to tender apology. They both personally met Sri Ramgopalan, the leader of Hindu Munnani (which, by now was about to go ahead with a huge public protest) and apologized to him for hurting the sentiments of Hindus.                               

Based on reports in VIJAYABHARATAM Tamil weekly, Chennai

THREE

On October 9, 2009, Nagendran made some purchases in the market of Kallakurichi in Villupuram district (Tamilnadu, Bharat). When he took out money from his pocket, he failed to notice a packet that fell down. It contained gold ornaments weighing 4 sovereigns valued at Rs. 50,000. A little later, Aruna Devi, Kalaiselvi and Chandralekha, poor women from nearby villages, noticed the unclaimed packet on the road. On finding ornaments in it, they wanted to hand it over to the police. As the police station was a fair distance way, they gave the packet to head constable Kannan who was regulating traffic nearby. He, in turn, gave to officials. Soon, the owner of the packet was traced and the ornaments restored to him. Amal Raj, the District Superintendent of police, praised the ladies for their honesty.

Based on a report in DAILY THANTHI, October 11, 2009.

FOUR

Almost 60 temples in Bhadrachalam division of Khammam district (Andhra Pradesh, Bharat) are all set to have archakas. Poojas in these temples had suffered over the last many years for lack of archakas. More than 80 temples, some even as old as 100 years and above, have been lying unattended this way. Looking at this, Seva Bharathi, an NGO, set out to find interested priests, who would work in these remote villages, some deep inside the forest adjacent to villages. But, they could not find even one willing to go to these villages and work. Subsequently, they decided to pick up unemployed tribal youths from the villages close to these temples. The only condition needed was that these youth need to have been educated at least up to 5th standard in Telugu medium and be able to read a newspaper. Seva Bharathi could zero in on almost 40 such youths from many of these villages, who showed interest. Subsequently, all of them were sent to the Vedic school for training at the Sweta Bhavan, Tirupati, run by the TTD. These 40 students, all tribals (Vanavaasis) from Bhadrachalam, Kunavaram, VR Puram and Chintur mandals of Khammam district, learnt reading slokas, Yoga, Kesanamathi (a ritualistic procedure) besides pooja methods being followed in Tirumala and Bhadrachalam.

B.V. Ramana Reddy and B. Satyanarayana Reddy in THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS, November 3, 2009.

FIVE

A soft-spoken Uttamraj ji is no more. This nature of his was in ample evidence during his incarceration in Tiruchy prison during the notorious Emergency of 1975-77. He was Jilla Pracharak of RSS then. For two decades after, the cell mates of Uttamji, representing a cross section of political and social organisations in Tamilnadu, including the DMK and DK, fondly remembered him as a person of soft but strong nature. Years later, a functionary of the DK sent in his daughter's wedding invite to Uttamji, asking him to bless the couple. That was the effect of Uttamji's affection during trying times, which, he pointed out, was the magic of the sanskar of Sangh. Shri. B.Uthamraj (74), one of the senior pracharaks of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in Tamilnadu, passed away on November 7, 2009 at Chennai after a brief illness. Shri. Uthamraj, who started his career as a Teacher / Headmaster of a government school, left the job and became Sangh Pracharak in 1968.  He organized hundreds of Blood Camps during the last 25 years and more, culminating in the creation of Jaigopal Garodia Janakalyan Blood Bank in Chennai city.                                                                       By Team PANCHAAMRITAM

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