PANCHAAMRITAM 190

Pancha is five in Samskritam, Amritam is nectar

Amavaasya / Kali Yugaabda 5112 / Vikruti Aani 27 (July 11, 2010)

ONE

Two girls aged 15 and 16, — Poonam and Suman from Karontha village of Rohtak (Haryana, Bharat) — chased two armed assailants and managed to kill one of them on early on June 19, 2010. According to the police, two youth on a bike arrived at Rajesh's house around 5 am. Rajesh is a witness in a murder case. The two men woke up Sube Singh, Rajesh's father, and asked him to call his son. When Rajesh came out, they fired at him, hitting him in the stomach. An angry Sube Singh launched himself at the assailants along with his injured son, but was shot dead. Rajesh's two nieces who were asleep inside rushed out on hearing the gunshots. They joined the fight against the intruders armed with spades, the police said. Taken aback by unexpected retaliation, an injured Rakesh, who had lost his pistol in the melee, asked his accomplice Bittu to fire at the girls. However, Bittu fired at Rakesh, injuring him in the leg. Bittu then tried to run away, dragging his injured friend. But the girls chased them for 100-150 metres, and bludgeoned Rakesh to death with a spade. The police said they would honour the girls for their bravery. From a report by Shri Deepender Deswal in THE TIMES OF INDIA, June 20, 2010.

TWO

At village Ghai, off Bikaner (Rajasthan, Bharat), 58-year old Sishupal Singh gets up early in the morning, picks up the microphone at his bedside and begins reading out spiritual messages as well as news from morning dailies. It is broadcast through the loudspeaker kept outside his house – for the villagers to benefit. Singh is confined to bed for the last 20 years after his backbone was fractured in an accident. His news service includes whatever he views on the TV and hears over the radio as well. He broadcasts the availability of rationed goods at the public distribution system outlet in the village, later in the day. More important: He repeats his appeals to shun smoking and drugs over the public address system, thoughtfully donated by a social worker by name Sanjay Ghosh in order to help unlettered villagers keep abreast of current affairs.

Based on a report in DINAMALAR, April 13, 2010.

THREE

Shri Devinder Sharma is a food and trade policy analyst. He also chairs the New Delhi-based Forum for Biotechnology & Food Security. In 1999, he persuaded farmers of Punukula village in Khammam district of Andhra Pradesh, Bharat, to go in for bio fertilizers. A few farmers began experimenting with Non-Pesticidal Management (NPM) practices. A year later, the highly contaminated environment began to change for the better. Soil and plant health looked revitalised, and the pests began to disappear. Such was the positive impact both environmentally and economically that by 2004 the entire village had stopped using chemical pesticides. Restoring the ecological balance brought back the natural pest control systems. Along with the pesticides, the pests too disappeared. Surrounding villages promptly emulated this. By now 3,18,000 farmers in 21 districts of Andhra Pradesh are using compost manure and earthworm to enrich the soil. The health of farmers greatly improved with the disappearance of pesticides. Cost of farming too fell by 35 percent. Farmers of Ramachandrapuram in Khammam district had been bogged down by debts as a result of use of chemical fertilizers. After they took to bio fertilizers, in just two years, 386 of them could redeem the lands they had mortgaged.

Based on a report in PATHEYA KANN, Jaipur, June 16, 2010.

Also from www.indiatogether.org

FOUR

The traders' guild, Vidisha Vyapaar Mahasangh (VVM), Madhya Pradesh, Bharat, held a camp recently to sell power-saving CFL lamps at a 35 per cent discount, instead of the usual power-guzzling filament incandescent lamps. Almost 4,500 CFL lamps worth Rs 4 lakh were sold during the two-day camp. Buoyed by the response, the VVM then held another camp in collaboration with the Vyapaar Mahasangh of the adjacent Ganj Basoda town. "This means fewer old filament bulbs and lower electricity use," says local MLA Vir Singh Raghuvanshi. The traders' guilds are encouraging CFL makers and dealers to set up shop at these camps and offer discounts. The movement is the brainchild of VVM president Rajesh Jain, who hit upon the idea of promoting VVM lamps after the monthly power dues of his own grocery store more than halved from Rs 1,200 to Rs 500 per month when he replaced his old tube-lights and filament bulbs. The VVM now plans to promote the use of solar water heaters and cheaper air-cooling. Small town India, it seems, is fast becoming a vital part of the battle against global warming.

From a report by Shri Ambreesh Mishra,

in INDIA TODAY, January 21, 2010.

FIVE

Shri Prabhakar Joshi, who has an illustrious background as a teacher of Sanskrit in schools and colleges, was immensely influenced by Dr. B.R.Ambedkar's mission to uplift the downtrodden. Ramji, father of Ambedkar wanted that his son should learn Sanskrit. When Bhimrao opted for the subject at the Elphinstone High School in Mumbai, the teachers there refused to allow him to study Sanskrit because he was a Dalit. After pondering over this episode, Joshi thought of an "atonement of sorts" by way of versifying in Sanskrit, the life of Ambedkar. He recently completed the Sanskrit biography titled `Bhimayanam'.It contains 1,577 Sanskrit 'Shlokas' covering the life span of Ambedkar unfolded in 160 pages with 21 'Sargas' (chapters). A victim of glaucoma, Joshi lost his sight completely while still working on the biography undertaken in 2004, but he saw to it that the work was completed. `Bhimayanam' was published under "Sharada Gaurav Granthamala" series by Pandit Vasant Gadgil. Maharashtra Governor Shri Shankarnarayanan is expected to formally release the biography. PTI, July 10, 2010.

OOOOOOOOO

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Panchaamritam

Saturday, July 17, 2010