PANCHAAMRITAM 207

Vishwa Samvad Kendra, Chennai

PANCHAAMRITAM 207

Pancha is five in Samskritam, Amritam is nectar

Poornima/ Kali Yugaabda 5112 / Vikruti Panguni 5 (March 19, 2011)

ONE

One day during the second week of February 2011, a young woman forgetfully left her mobile phone worth Rs 10,000 and cash Rs 600 on the seat of a Rickshaw that she had hired earlier in the day. She started looking for her belongings and made enquiries around the place she alighted from the rickshaw – Gardanibaug first cross road, Patna (Bihar, Bharat). Meanwhile, Anil, 35, the rickshaw chalak, was waiting for the lady to turn up and claim her mobile. Her enquiries led her to Anil, who handed over the mobile and cash to her in the presence of his neighbours the same evening. On 5 occasions earlier, Anil has restored mobile phones left in his vehicle to their owners, reports say. SAMVAD DARSHAN (Hindi fortnightly), February II, 2011, Patna.

TWO

On March 1, 2011, Ranjita, Kalpana and Satya all students of Chennai Queen Mary's College were hit by a speeding motor bike driven by two drunkards. All three were admitted to Hospital with head injuries. Of these, Rranjita died on Marech 5 owing to the callousness of the doctors. On information, the workers of ABVP Chennai unit mobilized over 300 students and staged a protest demonstration in the hospital premises. The students demanded action against erring doctors and nurses, and compensation to the parents of the deceased student. Soon the agitation snowballed into Road Roko by students. That led the Dean of the hospital Shri Kanakasabai to a talk with the students represented by Malathi, ABVP's national executive committee member, Gangadharan, joint secretary of the state unit of ABVP and Shaktivel of Law College. As a result, all demands of the agitating students were met. The ABVP team organized an instant condolence meet and saw to it that the body of the student was handed over to her parents without delay.  A report in MAANAVAR SHAKTI, Tamil monthly, March 2011.

THREE

Shailesh (name changed), a 22-year-old US-based medical sciences student, experienced a sudden loss of vision after accidentally consuming methanol. For humans, methanol is said to be highly toxic. If ingested, as little as 10 ml can damage the optic nerve, thereby causing permanent blindness while 30 ml could be potentially fatal. His condition was claimed to be irreversible by American doctors. Indian doctors restored the vision of Shailesh at Chennai (Tamilnadu, Bharat) on March 15, 2011. Himanshu Bansal, a stem cell therapist who treated him said, "After diagnosis and treatments, the doctors who were consulted in the US called his case irreversible and despite intensive treatment with high dose steroids, his condition continued to deteriorate, possibly due to cell death." "During the procedure, doctors aspirated about 120 ml of autologus bone marrow from the lilac crest and concentrated it to 20 ml, processed it, and injected it into Shailesh's optic nerve," said Bansal. "A week after the procedure, Shailesh was able to read and differentiate colours," he added. The procedure was carried out at Laksha Hospital, Mylapore. "Once I return to the US, I will revisit my doctors and show them how Indian doctors have succeeded in treating me while they claimed my condition was irreversible," said Shailesh. "We are planning to publish the achievement in a medical journal," added Bansal. Based on a report in THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS, March 16, 2011.

FOUR

Because of religious persecution, Rajasthan saw immigration of around one lakh people from Pakistan during the 1965 and 1971 wars," said Pak Visthapit Sangh and Seemant Lok Sangathan president Hindu Singh Sodha, a law graduate from Jodhpur (Rajasthan, Bharat). In the past few years, Sodha and his team of volunteers have worked successfully in Rajasthan and border areas to provide Indian citizenship for over 13,000 persons displaced from Pakistan. Refugee status, Indian citizenship and reduction in fees for citizenship registration are the main demands of these people, said Sodha. Going back is not an option because of religious discrimination, but staying here also means facing harassment. Without ration cards and other valid proofs of an Indian identity, these people cannot send their children to school, or find proper jobs. The hope that their children will have a better life is the common thread that strings together these immigrants scattered in different parts of the country. Based on reports in FLASH LIGHT, Patna, February II, 2011 and THE HINDU December 18, 2010.

FIVE

Didi is a respected Gorkha lady living in the Dinthar locality of Aizol (Mizoram, Bharat). She was targeted by a Christian padre for conversion. Leading a group of evangelists, he promised her that if she became a Christian, she could live in heaven eternally. On hearing this, Didi replied: "Very good. I did not know this so far. Let all Christians go to heaven allowing all non Christians to live in peace on earth. May God bless you people, is my prayer.  All of you will be happy and we all will also be happy". This response caused a quick and silent departure of the proselytizers from the spot. From PAATHEYA KANN, Hindi fortnightly, Jaipur, March 1, 2011.

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PANCHAAMRITAM 206

Vishwa Samvad Kendra, Chennai

PANCHAAMRITAM 206

Pancha is five in Samskritam, Amritam is nectar

Amavaasya/ Kali Yugaabda 5112 / Vikruti Maasi 20 (March 4, 2011)

ONE

In an unusual step, the Railways asked an old sweeper and a gateman to inaugurate express trains at the Howrah station (West Bengal, Bharat) on Saturday, February 19,  2011. Bala Devi, a sweeper at the Santraganchi railway station, and Nimai Chandra Bera, a gateman at the Goraghanta station, inaugurated two weekly superfast express trains - Howrah to Prasanthi Nilayam and Howrah to Shirdi. "The duo will retire on the 28th of this month. So we decided to pay them a small tribute by requesting them to launch the trains. Though they are workers at the lower-level, yet they are very important to the organisation," CPRO Soumitro Majumdar said.

http://www.thehindu.com, February 19, 2011.

TWO

Hindu Gods adorn a new series of lottery tickets in Mexico. Not surprisingly, the top prize went to a ticket featuring Lakshmi, Goddess of Wealth. The National Lottery jackpot awarded a $4 million pesos (US$ 330,000) prize for ticket number 5825, whose notes were illustrated with the figure of Goddess Lakshmi, during a recent draw. The Goddess of Beauty and good luck, also brought fortune to tickets holders in Puebla, Puebla and Coatzacoalcos, and Veracruz.

http://www.lotenal.gob.mx/es/sala-de-prensa/boletines/500-cuatro-millones-de-pesosentrego-la-diosa-lakshmi-al-billete-5825-del-signo-acuario , MEXICO, February 2011

THREE

Maintaining that there was no constitutional right to convert a person from one religion to another, justice P Sathasivan of the Supreme Court of India said the right to propagate one's religion was not an unrestricted right. Delivering the third Dr LM Singhvi Memorial Lecture on "Secularism and Rule of Law in India," justice Sathasivam said the state has a right to pass laws restricting conversions if such activities created public disorder.  Quoting from the SC's 1977 verdict in Stainislaus vs State of Madhya Pradesh & Orissa, he said: "The right to propagate means the right to 'transmit and spread one's religion by an exposition of its tenets'. But there is no constitutional right to convert a person from one religion to another, because this would impinge on the 'freedom of conscience' guaranteed to all the citizens of the country alike."

From a report by Shri Satya Prakash in  HINDUSTAN TIMES,  February 27, 2011.

FOUR

Even as  the trauma of the survivors with aftershocks continuing to rock Christchurch, Newzealand, the members and volunteers of the Hindu community have joined the nation in offering prayers to give strength to the families and friends of earthquake victims. Hindu Council of New Zealand Media and Public Relations Officer Dr Rajiv Chaturvedi said specialised search and rescue teams were doing an admirable job under difficult circumstances. "In this hour of national emergency, a number of Hindu organisations, temples and associations have come forward to provide relief to earthquake victims," Dr Chaturvedi said. The Hindu Organisations, Temples and Associations (HOTA) Forum, in coordination with Sewa International, have launched an appeal to contribute to the ongoing aid and relief work in Christchurch, and to residents who have been displaced to various New Zealand cities. To assist with Sewa International relief work, contact nz_hota@yahoo.com or Kishor Mistry on 09 537 2766. You can make monetary donations to Sewa International through the ASB account number: 12-3055-0216216-00.    Indianweekender.co.nz, February, 27, 2011.

-- FIVE

Bakkiashri (Bhagyashree) is not like other kids who read comics or watch television. This eight-year-old is heavily into tomes of medical journals and can name the most complex medicines for over 1,000 ailments without stumbling for a second. The child prodigy reproduced on March 2, 2011 the names of medicines for over 207 diseases in the presence of Madras University Vice-Chancellor G Thiruvasagam and a panel of doctors. Thiruvasagam said that the university would adopt the child as a research scholar and provide her all assistance. Bakkiashri, a class IV student of Velammal Matriculation School, Chennai (Tamilnadu, Bharat) developed the interest after reading books belonging to her aunt who is a staff nurse at the Government General Hospital in Puducherry. Her father, M Bhaskar said that he had spent over a lakh on buying her these journals. "She used to spend most of her time on those medical journals and had memorized all the medicine names and can even reproduce them," he said. The school has honoured this Class IV student with the citation Yuva Sadhaka, or Young Achiever, for her exemplary talent in recounting pharmacoligical names of medicines to treat over a thousand diseases.

From THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS, March 2, 2011

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