Friday, March 23, 2012

PANCHAAMRITAM 232

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Vishwa Samvad Kendra, Chennai

PANCHAAMRITAM 232

Pancha is five in Samskritam, Amritam is nectar

Amaavasya / Kali Yugaabda 5113 / Kara Panguni 9 (March 22, 2012)

ONE

In the last two months, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) of Kerala, Bharat, filled up 50  out of the 100 posts for pujaris (priests) with non-brahmins, who will soon start performing rituals in shrines assigned to them among the 2,000 temples under TDB. TDB had conducted a recruitment drive six months ago and interviewed hundreds of applicants belonging to all castes and they selected 199 pujaris, out of which 40% were non- brahmins. Though caste is no bar for becoming a shanti (priest), TDB, in its latest notification has stated that the applicant must have an elementary knowledge of tantra-shastra, Sanskrit and a certificate from a Board-approved tantri (senior priest). "He also should be a Malayali Hindu who is aware of the braminical tradition.'' said Krishnan Nambudiri, general secretary of Tantra Vidya Peetam, Aluva, a member of the interview board who selected the pujaris. "Many non-brahmin candidates did equally well in terms of recitation of mantras and knowledge of tantras. They all attached tremendous aspirational value to these posts,'' he said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Kerala-temples-caste-out-prejudice/articleshow/12254906.cm   March 14, 2012.

TWO

As many as 21,000 couples took part in the foundation stone-laying ceremony of a temple (Khodaldham temple shila poojan vidhi) on January 21, 2012 at Kagvad, near Virpur in Rajkot district (Gujarat, Bharat), creating a unique world record. The proposed temple is of Maa Khodiyar, the deity of the Leuva Patel community. A five-member team from the Guinness Book of World Records was present to witness the ceremony. Lakhs of community members from across the country were also present, said Naresh Patel, president of Khodal Dham Trust, which is building the temple. Naresh Patel, an industrialist from Rajkot and a patron of the project, said community unity was very important for development of society. "So far, Leuvas were not united. Thanks to Ma Khodal, we all are coming under a single umbrella," he said. By Sonali on January 21, 2012 | From worldbreakingrecord.com

THREE

The 21st of December 2011 has etched an unforgettable memory in my mind. I (Arvind Kumar, Chief Project Manager-PDRP) was at Tiruchirapalli (Tamilnadu, Bharat) on a mission to expedite supplies of Boilers at BHEL's works for Power plant of IOCL's ongoing Paradip Refinery Project. BHEL has outsourced non-pressure parts of these boilers to certain vendors nearby Trichy. `ORBIT' is among such outsourced vendors, who make Pins & Clamps of these boilers for our project. We decided to visit ORBIT also for review and expediting balance supplies. When we reached ORBIT works, we were greeted by their President Mr. P.R. Pandi,   who himself is a blind person. To my utter surprise, the whole ORBIT workshop is run by blind persons. Though I was aware of certain special schools and institutions for blind persons but never heard about any manufacturing industry run completely by such persons. What I saw next inside the workshop is quite difficult to believe. I had never witnessed such well coordinated and coherent working by blind persons. People were segregating the raw material, feeding the raw material on cutting, shearing and punching machines with the help of their fellow blind friends, collecting the final products and bagging them after quality checks. The whole manufacturing process was efficiently done and finished product was meeting the quality standards. What came next was even more surprising. A physically handicapped welder was doing welding on the job and was assisted by a blind helper. We saw his blind helper almost running and going to store room next door to fetch the electrodes quickly. Every worker working here is fully conversant with the layout of workshop and does the job with calculated steps. At the end, ORBIT president Mr. Pandi requested me `Sir, if you come across any blind person, please direct him to me, we will make him our team member here'. http://www.theprofessor.in/blog/guest-column/meeting-project-objectives-differently/

FOUR

Alka Sarode, a 17-year-old ragpicker from Dombivli, Mumbai (Maharashtra, Bharat) handed over gold jewellery worth Rs 8.5 lakh to the police, which was mistakenly thrown in a bin. Alka  was felicitated for her honesty by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Home Minister R R Patil on March 22, 2012.. She was also rewarded Rs 10,000 by the family that owned the ornaments. Vandana Ulkande, 65, and her husband Vijay, 67, had decided to keep the gold ornaments in a tiffin box in the dustbin before they visited their village in Kolhapur. They wanted to keep the valuables hidden because of the alarming rise in break-ins in Dombivli recently. However, on returning from Kolhapur they forgot to remove the gold and the bin was given to the sweeper the next day. http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-pix-ragpicker-finds-rs-85l-gold-only-to-return-it/20120322.htm





FIVE

In a city where people seldom stop to help accident victims, Uma Shankar did. And he is only a boy, 12 years old. The day was July 12, 2010. The boy from Delhi was on way to school in a bus. Just ahead was an overcrowded minibus. Unable to negotiate a curve, the minibus suddenly overturned. Trapped under it were mostly schoolchildren like him, bleeding. Shankar jumped out of his bus to rescue the children. Asking the passengers who escaped unhurt to lift the bus, the boy crawled underneath and pulled out the kids. Now, they had to be rushed to hospital. Shankar flagged down motorists but nobody would stop. So he lunged in front of two moving cars. The cars stopped. Six of the injured were rushed to hospital, five of whom survived. He has won the Bapu Gaidhani Award. (This year (2012), 24 children - 8 girls and 16 boys – received the National Bravery Awards on the occasion of Republic Day. Uma Shankar  is one aming them). www.dailymail.co.uk

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Thursday, March 8, 2012

PANCHAAMRITAM 231

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Vishwa Samvad Kendra, Chennai

PANCHAAMRITAM 231

Pancha is five in Samskritam, Amritam is nectar

Poornima / Kali Yugaabda 5113 / Kara Maasi 25 (March 8, 2012)

ONE

It was 1 AM on February 29, 2012. Smt D Rajalakshmi (41), her two daughters D Jayapriya (20) and D Sivaranjini (18) were asleep in their house at B Udaiyur near Bhuvanagiri in Cuddalore district (Tamilnadu, Bharat). Two robbers managed to enter the house. One of them entered their grocery shop adjoining the house while the other tried to steal valuables from the house. Rajalakshmi woke up when the robber snatched out her seven-sovereign gold chain. As she raised an alarm the robber attempted to assault her. Her daughter also woke up on hearing their mother scream. As Sivaranjani turned on the lights the robber tried to attack her with a kitchen knife. Sivaranjani acting swiftly threw a blanket on his face blinding the robber. Rajalakshmi hit him on his head with a spade inflicting bleeding injuries. In the melee the other robber escaped with the gold chain leaving behind his accomplice. Alerted neighbours rushed to the house and secured the robber. They alerted Bhuvanagiri police who came to the village and arrested the robber M Murugan 41 from Manalmedu in Nagapattinam district. Inquiries revealed that Murugan was wanted in several robbery cases across the state. Police have launched a hunt for his accomplice. http://tnpolice.gov.in/News_Archives.php , March 1 2012.

TWO

While most engineering students are bogged down with the weight of heavy textbooks and are confined to a tight academic schedule, here is Niveditha V who chose to live a different life. The final-year engineering student at Yellamma Dasappa Institute of Technology, Bangalore, (Karnataka, Bharat) has been actively involved with the NGO, Youth For Seva (YFS) for the last six months, trying to make the society better. "In my sixth semester I saw a banner of YFS inviting volunteers. At the same time, I saw around me a society that was in need. I felt dutiful to approach the NGO and become a volunteer," says Niveditha. She takes computer classes at local government schools. According to her, the best part about her relationship with YFS is that it never compromises with her engineering studies. "The best part is that I can choose programmes that are near my house, so it is never a problem. Besides, I believe that if you want to do something, you will make time for it," believes Niveditha. Niveditha is also doing a stint with Saksham, an NGO that facilitates audio recording for the visually-impaired. "I help blind students record themselves, and also process the recorded material," she says. While social service is not a potential career option for her, she is firm that volunteering for various causes would continue. "Even after I start a professional career, I want to take time off to volunteer. I am confident of that," says Niveditha.  Based on a report by Shri Bharath Joshi in THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS, February 19, 2012. (http://expressbuzz.com/education/seva-for-a-better-society/364784.html)

 THREE

Smt G. Renganayaki is determined to give meaning to the lives of children with muscular dystrophy. It's two and a half years since her son Adhiban surrendered to death. He was only 17 years, 5 months and 13 days old when he passed away. For one last time – his eyes told his mother – he wanted to embrace and kiss her. But muscular dystrophy had rendered him so weak that he was unable to lift himself. This isn't a story about death. "All the good things that I was able to provide my son and those I wanted but could not, I am trying to give to as many children who are fighting a losing battle with MD," says Renganayaki. While preparing herself for the inevitable, she silently initiated a movement for MD patients and their parents. Within two years of Adhiban's diagnosis, she registered the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation India (MDFI) in 2000 and committed herself to it. A decade on, the MDFI has grown into the single largest organization of and for MD patients and parents across the country, offering reliable information, medical advice, appropriate guidance and support, and, most important, confidence and hope to over 3,500 families with one or more MD-affected child. "I have seen families with five MD children. It is difficult to imagine the trauma. I attend two-three funerals every month and identify with each of them," she says. As a mother who suffered the loss of a son, Renganayaki has spoken on how MD can be prevented. It is a sensitive matter in our society, she feels, but restricting the inheritance of the disorder is the only way to prevent it. She also brings out a quarterly newsletter on MD in India and distributes 3,500 copies free. But for her efforts, MD would not have been listed as one of the types of disabilities in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2011. Based on a report by Smt SOMA BASU, THE HINDU,  February 29, 2012. (Idea: Dr. M Jayaraman) 

FOUR

J Ajaykumar sells television sets for a living, but sold his own TV a few months ago when he realized that his three-year-old daughter refused to eat unless her favourite show was on. Ajaykumar is one of a small but growing tribe of parents in Coimbatore who have sold their TVs hoping to get their children to use their imagination and the ability to mingle with others. More than three dozen parents in the city are getting their children used to life without a TV. "My children now play together and enjoy painting and singing. I feel their communication skills and confidence levels have increased. They also started getting lot of physical activity," says Ajaykumar. M Sethumaran, a top executive with a pharma company, is planning to sell his television. "I found Athik getting terribly disturbed by the violence on screen. Even children's channels have a lot of violence or show advertisements and film trailers that are violent," he says. Bhanumathi, an agriculture scientist, sold her TV three months ago. "My four-year-old was asking why Chotta Bheem is never injured though he has serious accidents. I felt TV was creating a virtual world where kids get a wrong notion on life," she says. "Children are impressionable and can be easily influenced by what they see on TV," says Santhya Vikram, who runs Yellow Train, a kindergarten in Sivananda Colony that makes "no TV at home" a condition for admission, "It has wonderful results. Parents of our children first stopped watching TV. Now their friends and relatives have started doing the same," she says. "For the last six months, we haven't recharged the cable connection. My son's imagination has improved," says teacher Nisha Vijayan who is encouraging parents of her own school to live without TV. From an article by Shri K A Shaji in THE TIMES OF INDIA, Chennai, February 24, 2012.

FIVE

Wikipedia, as many are aware, is the name of an encyclopedia on the web. It has avatars in 283 languages world over - including 20 languages of Bharat. It is run democratically, when it comes to editing the content. A few volunteers in Wikipedia's editorial team who are Samskrit lovers, launched Sanskrit Wikipedia in 2004. Over 2,000 Sanskrit pages too were uploaded. Meanwhile, workers of Samskrit Bharati based in Bengaluru, began working as volunteers for Samskrit Wikipedia last year.  In Wikipedia, the content providers are volunteers. Malayalam, among Bharat's languages, has the highest number of volunteers who contribute to Wikipedia followed by Telugu. Lately, Samskrit has come to be seen as the fastest growing language on the Wikipedia, going by the fact that in just the past eight months, over 8,000 pages in Samskrit have been uploaded. Not only that; Samskrit scholars conducted workshops in places like Bengaluru, Pune, Delhi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kaladi, etc., in quick succession. All this made the editorial team of Wikipedia to sit up and take note. Among the several applications of Wikipedia, the Wikisource, Wikinews, Wikisayings, Wikimedia, Wikidictionary, etc., are remarkable in that they promise to be useful in spreading the Samskrit language. Samskrita Bharati is spreading the good word about Samskrit Wikipedia and has sent out appeals calling for volunteers for this task. For general instructions, log on to sa.wikipedia.org, or call 080 2642 1152 (Bengalurtu, Bharat) or mail to samskritwiki@gmail.com for help in this regard. Based on an article by Shri Chamu Krishna Sastri, Publications In-Charge, Samskrita Bharati, in SAMBHASHANA SANDESHAH (Samskrit Monthly), March 2012.     

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PANCHAAMRITAM 230

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Vishwa Samvad Kendra, Chennai

PANCHAAMRITAM 230

Pancha is five in Samskritam, Amritam is nectar

Amavaasya / Kali Yugaabda 5113 / Kara Maasi 9,(February 21 2012)

 

Posted on Poornima, March 8, 2012. Team PANCHAAMRITAM is extremely sorry for this unprecedented delay. It was unavoidable.

 - Moderator

 

ONE

Shri Kanakasabhai is a Homoeopath of Keelakkattoor, Thanjavur district (Tamilnadu, Bharat). He was grief stricken when his 12 year old son Prahalad died in an accident. He sought solace at the feet of Swami Chidbhavananda of Ramakrishna Tapovanam, Thirupparaithurai, Tamilnadu. The Swamiji consoled him saying, "God has put you to this test so that you could be at the  service of many more children". Thus was born the Sri Ramakrishna Middle School in the village. Kanakasabhai left his own surviving children under the care of his sister and devoted himself heart and soul in the development of the school. The school came up in good order thanks to the sacrifice and hard work put in by Kanakasabhai for 25 long years. Having reached the age of 78, he wanted to hand over the school to worthy persons. Other religionists were ready to give crores of Rupees for the school. But an unrelenting Kanakasabhai offered the school at the feet of Swami Dayananda Saraswati of Arsha Vidyapeetam, Coimbatore. Contributed by Shri V.Manikandan in VIJAYABHARATHAM of  March 2, 2012.

TWO

A case of honesty and integrity has come to fore in Banglaore (Karnataka, Bharat). K Panduranga, an autorickshaw driver, returned to the police a bag containing Rs 5 lakh and important documents that was left in his auto by a passenger. Pavanacharya, a resident of Jaraganahalli, engaged Panduranga's autorickshaw on January 14 at 10 pm. He was carrying Rs 5 lakh for the medical treatment of his brother. But, he left the bag inside the auto while alighting from it. He then lodged a complaint with the J P Nagar Police stating that he had left the bag in the auto at about 11.30 pm that day. Police said that Panduranga promptly went to the police station the next day and handed over the bag. In turn, it was returned to Pavanacharya. The honest autorickshaw driver was honoured by the Police Department in recognition of his honesty in the city. Deputy Police Commissioner of Bangalore South, Sonia Narang appreciated Panduranga's honesty and honoured him with a letter of appreciation. THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS, January 20, 2012.

THREE

NDA states have scored better than Congress governed states on various important parameters of development and good governance. This is one of the major findings of the THE SUNDAY INDIAN-ABACUS MARKET RESEARCH 'State of the States' survey conducted recently. The survey ranked 13 major states on quantifiable factors of good governance such as administrative reforms, communal harmony, e-governance, girl child education, industrialisation, investment in the state, law and order, public distribution system and public health services. Eight of these 13 states are led by non-Congress governments, while six of the non-Congress states are led by NDA. The remaining two are Orissa and Tamil Nadu which are governed by Biju Janta Dal and AIADMK respectively. According to the survey, Gujarat ranked first in terms of overall development whereas Himachal Pradesh topped the chart as the most investment friendly state. Chhattisgarh came first in terms of developing an effective public distribution system.The other winning states are: Bihar for law and order, Madhya Pradesh for girl child education, Karnataka for higher education, Orisa for administrative reforms, Tamil Nadu for industrialisation, - All these states are run by non – Congress governments. THE SUNDAY INDIAN February 4, 2012 .

FOUR

Kumri Anita, a vanavasi (tribal) girl hailing from a village in Betul district (Madhya Pradesh, Bharat), was married off to one Shivram. Once at her in-laws' house, Anita was shocked to find that there was no toilet. She asked her husband to build one. But her request was rejected by her in-laws. Anita was enraged. She walked out of her husband's house just a couple of days after her wedding, saying that it was impossible for her to live in a house without a toilet. She went back to her native village, where she campaigned for a toilet in each house. On learning about this event, Sulabh International provided toilets in Anita's village. Says Shri Bindeshwar Pathak, president of Sulabh, " in appreciation of Anita's daring move in the cause of public health, we have decided to present her with an award and Rs 5 lakhs". We have appointed her as the brand ambassador of our company as well, he added.

FIVE

Mittal Patadiya fought off assailants including one who stabbed her. Ask her to recount the incident that won her the prestigious Geeta Chopra Award, the girl from Ahmedabad (Gujarat, Bharat) doesn't talk about the 351 stitches on her wound but how she regrets the fact that one of the assailants managed to escape. On November 3, 2010, Tahiliani (Mittal's foster mother) answered the door after the bell rang. Standing outside was Ajit Singh, a driver she knew, and two other men. He asked for water. Mittal went to fetch it. The men then pushed Tahiliani inside and shut the door. They started beating her, demanding money. Mittal immediately caught one of the men by his hair. The miscreant stabbed her in the neck repeatedly. Blood oozing out of her neck, she held on to the man and managed to open the door. Neighbours caught Ajit Singh and one of the accomplices. Mittal is now called 'Jhansi ki Rani'. (This year (2012), 24 children - 8 girls and 16 boys – received the National Bravery Awards on the occasion of Republic Day. Mittal Patadiya is one aming them). www.dailymail.co.uk

OOOOOOOOO

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