Friday, June 17, 2011

PANCHAAMRITAM 213

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Vishwa Samvad Kendra, Chennai

PANCHAAMRITAM 213

Pancha is five in Samskritam, Amritam is nectar

Poornima/ Kali Yugaabda 5113 / Kara Vaikasi 32 (June 15, 2011)

 ONE

Smt Tulasi Munda, 64, has set up 20 schools in inaccessible hilly areas in Orissa's tribal belt. But she has never been to school. There were none in her village near Keonjhar town. The turning point came when as a teenager she met social worker Malati Choudhury. "She told us to be self-reliant along Gandhian lines. I thought poverty and ignorance can't be removed unless people are educated." Her first school, considered the model, in Serenda in Keonjhar district, is today a high school with hostel. Except this one, all are primary schools. Some have no sheds and run under trees, some in verandas of village homes. School-hours change as per parents' convenience, since the kids help their parents who work in mines or as labourers at construction sites. Tulasi's funds come mostly from individuals. "I plead with individuals to donate, go round villages and seek both money and material. No community service can yield positive result without people's direct involvement." Tulasi's teachers get small salaries but she says, "Dedication is key". "They need salaries, are responsible for their families. But they're motivated and committed, without which no one can take up such work." She says she's refused politicians who tried to get her to canvass, has refused a nomination to Rajya Sabha too. This Padma Shri awardee (2001) has toured with Vinoba Bhave. Her decision not to marry and work to educate children faced opposition from her family. "But I stuck to my ground," says Tulasi and adds, "I am happy that my schools have saved many poor children from turning beggars." Based on a report by Shri Rajaram Satapathy in THE TIMES OF INDIA, June 16, 2011.

TWO

The rope used to hoist the flag during the Devi Bagavathi Amman temple festival in Kanyakumari (Tamilnadu, Bharat) is offered by a Christian fisherman's family. The 10-day Vaikasi festival began on June 4 and as per tradition, the rope for hoisting the temple flag was offered by 57-year-old fisherman, Subash. For seven generations, his family, otherwise called the `Kailiyaar' family, has been offering the rope for this temple ritual. According to Sahitya Akademi awardee and son of the soil Ponneelan, hundreds of years ago an old fisherwoman named `Kailiyamma' after selling fish went to collect dry cow dung from a rock, where the Vivekananda rock is now situated. At that time a little girl sitting near the rock, asked Kailiyamma to lift her and drop her at a distance. Kailiyamma, who was tired, refused but the child urged her and said she could drop her at any place if she found her weight too heavy to bear. After walking some yards with the girl, she found the child's weight too heavy and dropped her. Immediately, the child turned into a young woman and offered Kailiyama a garland and a gold ornament and asked her to choose whatever she likes. Kailliyamma chose the garland. The girl child, who was Devi Bagavathi Amman, offered Kailiyamma the first rights in her temple. The heirs of Kailiyamma were also given first rights and were allowed to give the ropes for hoisting the temple flag. "Earlier, we used to make the rope here, but now we buy the rope from shops in Nagercoil", said Subash who bought the rope this year. The rope is considered sacred and after it is bought from Nagercoil, it is not even placed on the floor during travel. "The night before the flag hoisting ceremony, after offering poojas, I take the rope on my head and go along with the officials to the temple," said Subash. Based on a report by Shri S Mahesh in THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS, June 14, 2011.

THREE

It is a matter of grave concern that even in this 21st century there are many misconceptions in the society about leprosy patients. Thousands of such patients daily come to Hardwar. In India it is believed that if you die on the bank of river Ganga, all your sins get washed away and `mukti' is attained. With this hope, these people wait for death on the bank of Ganges. Around 1986, Shri Ashish Gautam, an ex-pracharak of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), who visited Hardwar for a holy dip, saw thousands of leprosy-hit people and their plight dejected him. He decided to dedicate his whole life for these people. Ashish Gautamji made the arrangement of bandage and started visiting the slums for their dressing. He also started giving them medicines. Because of this noble work, people slowly started getting associated with him. Some doctors also joined him. Some patients took training regarding primary treatment. Thus the foundation of Divya Prem Seva Mission was laid. Because of regular treatment, the patients visiting the hospital started increasing. Ashish Gautamji says,"Bringing about social change is not the responsibility of government alone. The mission runs totally on the basis of hard work of the karyakartas and money donated by the common man. Leprosy is not a contagious disease. It is totally curable." (Contact: Divya Prem Seva Mission, Seva Kunj, Chhandi Ghat, Hardwar 249408, Uttarakhand, (India). Phone : 01334-222211). Source: http://www.newsbharati.com/Sewa.aspx#

FOUR

The Panchayat Union School at Kumalankuttai, just three furlongs away from the Collectorate on Perundurai Road, Erode (Tamilnadu, Bharat) has A Gopika, daughter of the district VVIP -Collector Shri R Anandakumar,  on its rolls. Though the school is located in an urban area it is maintained by the Erode Panchayat Union. The school, whose strength is expected to increase from 320 to 330 this year, has nine teachers, including headmistress S Rani. Significantly, Dr Anandakumar and his wife, Dr M Shrividya, stood in the queue for admission at around 10.30 am and went through the normal procedure. After some teachers' insistence, he visited the HM's room for enrolment. Anandakumar enquired whether his daughter will be given the free uniform. He was informed that uniform  is issued to only the kids who take noon meal in the school. The Collector requested the HM to give noon meal to his child too. From reports in THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS and DINAMALAR, June 16, 2011.

FIVE

Lakhs of devotees thronged to the pilgrim city of Jagannath Puri (Orissa, Bharat) braving the incessant monsoon rain and witnessed the bathing ceremony of the Lord Jagannath popularly called Snan Purnima on June 15, 2011. This is a major ritual of the lords before the annual Rath Yatra. As per the special programme for the lunar eclipse the deities Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra along with Sudarshan and Madanmohan amidst chanting of "Jai Jagannath!" and a concert of drums, cymbals, bugles and ghantas were escorted out of the sanctum sanctorum of the Garbhagruha to the bathing altar. The altar is a huge raised platform. Priests consecrated the water brought from the sacred golden well located inside the temple complex. The deities were accorded 108 pitchers of aromatic water bath. After the bathing ceremony was over, the deities were dressed in new clothing. The Gajapati King Dibyasingh Deb, the foremost servitor of the lord, came in a procession and conducted the Chherapahanra (sweeping the floor around the deities). Late in the night on June 16, the deities would be taken to a solitary place in the temple called Anasar ghar (room for the sick) where the deities would recline to bed for fifteen days supposedly suffering from fever. During the sick period the temple Vaidya (physician of the deities) treats them with herbal medicines and the deities would live on fruit diet served by the Daita servitors. Shri  Prasanta Mahapatra in DAILY PIONEER,  June 16 2011.

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Friday, June 3, 2011

PANCHAAMRITAM 212

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Vishwa Samvad Kendra, Chennai

PANCHAAMRITAM 212

Pancha is five in Samskritam, Amritam is nectar

Amaavaasya/ Kali Yugaabda 5113 / Kara Vaikasi 18 (June 1, 2011)

ONE

Shashi Kumar, Ranjith Mukundan, Venkatesh Seshasayee and Praveen Nale – these four software engineers, former employees of Wipro in Bangalore, quit their jobs four months ago and turned entrepreneurs. They set up a milk dairy in Kodihalli village of Channarayapatna taluk of Hassan district (Karnataka, Bharat). The milk dairy will be set up at a cost of Rs 15 crore on 24 acres, and 300 marginal farmers (those with less than 4.5 acres of land) will be selected within a 15-sqkm radius of Kodihalli village to supply milk to the dairy. "The farmers will be educated on modern cattle-rearing methods, milking machines and increasing milk production. The dairy will be set up in five months and we will be recruiting 500 villagers," says Ranjith Mukundan. "The company will help the farmers get loans from banks to set up satellite farms and purchase cows. The milkman will sell milk directly to our company without any middlemen, the transportation of milk and regular medical check-ups of cows will be free for milkmen registered with our company," he added. The advantages of setting up satellite farms are many - each will be equipped with sensors, GPS, pedometers and other equipment to monitor and trace the movements of cows, how much milk a cow produces every day, and to check the animals' body temperature and keep tabs on their health, Ranjith added. Based on a report by Shri Pavan M V in THE TIMES OF INDIA, May 24, 2011.

TWO

A village in Ettimangalam in Melur block, Madurai district (Tamilnadu, Bharat) has been adjudged the best in the district as no form of untouchability has been reported from there. It is also said to have fared better than other villages in terms of communal harmony. Commending the efforts made by the villagers, District Collector U Sagayam presented a cheque of `Rs 2 lakh to the Panchayat president Raguram at the grievances redressal day meeting. THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS, May 24, 2011.

THREE

Meet Shri Mansukh Prajapati. He comes from a potter's family of Rajkot (Gujarat, Bharat). `Mitticool', the refrigerator designed and produced by this under – matric is quite popular today. The earthen fridge does not require electricity and it is cheap, just above Rs 2,500 in the year 2004 when he marketed it. In 2005 Mansukh came up with his earthern `non stick' thawa which was certified by Tata Chemicals. It is the Rs 350 earthen water filter that Mansukh brought out in 1995, that paved the way for the series of innovations by this rural genius. No wonder he won accolades from Dr. Abdul Kalam, a former President of India as well as Narendra Modi, Gujarat Chief Minister. (Mansukh can be contacted at info@mitticool.in)  Based on a report by Shri Naresh Bhai in SAMBHASHANA SANDESHAH, Samskrit monthly, June 2011.

FOUR

N Umapathy, a club footballer, was anguished at the growing number of youngsters in his slum in Vyasarpadi, North Chennai (Tamilnadu, Bharat) turning to bad habits. And came the idea by which he formed Slum Children Sports Talent Education Development Society (SCSTEDS) in 2000. "Our plan was to divert the attention of slum children from bad things. To attract their attention, we used football." Said Umapathy. Over the years, the society has changed lives of over 6,000 children. "Ever since the society was formed, grooming the children in football and other sports has changed their mindsets", says N Thangaraj, who coaches the children along with Umapathy. "Besides instilling the spirit of game and competition in them, we make the children reach the ground on time to train and it makes them disciplined in schools too," adds Thangaraj. From a report by Shri G. Saravanan in THE NEW SUNDAY EXPRESS, May 22, 2011.

FIVE

Ayurveda, the most ancient and important system of medicine in India, is important to modern natural medicine proponents. A group in Austria wants to make a renewed effort to explore Ayurveda. And they're doing is using, of all things, evolutionary biology. The chosen document is Charakasamhita: what historians regard as the most ancient and important of Ayurvedic treatises. Initially passed down through oral tradition, the subsequently written records of the Charakasamhita were repeatedly copied in the course of nearly two thousand years of history, leading to changes in the wording, which means that today, there are diverging manuscripts. Computer-aided analyses help determine the common source of the different versions of the text. Based on the analyses and using methods of textual criticism, they say their project goal,   the reconstruction of a version of the Carakasamhita that is closer to its original form, can be realized. This "critical edition" will then allow for content-related studies with regard to the history of Indian medicine, philosophy, religion and culture, as reflected in the Carakasamhita. University of Vienna regards itself as a leading center of critical editions and translations of ancient Indian Sanskrit writings and this project is funded by the Austrian Science Fund.   http://www.science20.com/profile/news_staff  May 30, 2011.

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