PANCHAAMRITAM 260

PANCHAAMRITAM 260

Poornima / Kali yugabda 5116 / Jaya Aippasi 20 (November 6, 2014)

ONE

This happened on November 3, 2014. Shri M C Abdul Rehman (51), of Koduvalli village in Kozhikode district of Kerala, who was at the wheel of the bus plying between Gudular and Sulthan Bathery, started sweating profusely as he reached Nellakottai village in Pandalur taluk in Nilgiris district (Tamilnadu, Bharat). When he felt the sharp chest pain, allowed the bus to brush against the hilly slope and applied brakes bringing the bus to a slow halt. He then collapsed and fell unconscious. Had he not pulled the vehicle to safety, it might have gone off the road and down a deep gorge. He saved the lives of the 80 bus passengers, but  died on the way to hospital. (THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS, November 4, 2014).

TWO

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi announced in his United Nations Genaral Assembly speech for an International Day of Yoga. As many as 50 countries - US, Canada and China most recently — have signed up for co-sponsorship of a draft resolution which India's UN mission is preparing for declaring June 21 as international Yoga day. The list of co-sponsors includes China, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea,  South Africa and Nigeria. Neighbours such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka were amongst the earliest to sign on. Latin American giants Brazil and Argentina too have committed support. With USA and Canada joining recently, the EU members are expected to also join as co-sponsors soon in what, according to official sources, is turning out to be a broad-based coalition of support that has countries as disparate as Iran and Cuba on board. The resolution, couched in terms of building better and healthier lifestyle patterns, is expected to be submitted to the UN Secretariat soon. "Yoga is an invaluable gift of our ancient tradition. Yoga embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfillment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well being. It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature," Modi said. Based on a report by Shri Sachin Parashar in  THE TIMES OF INDIA, October 31, 2014.

THREE

Born in 1978, Major Dinesh Raghu Raman did his schooling in the Kendriya Vidyalaya, INA Colony, New Delhi, and joined the National Defence Academy in 1996. After passing out from the NDA, he was commissioned into 19 battalion of the Jat Regiment. He was awarded the Chief of Army Staff Commendation Card in Drass during the Kargil conflict. Posted to 34 Rashtriya Rifles Battalion, he conducted a successful operation “OP Narawar” in June 2007, leading to the elimination of three terrorists. On October 2, 2008, Major Raman deployed his company in a village in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, where an encounter with terrorists had begun. While closing in on suspected houses, Major Raman heard shouts of a fellow officer (Major K.P. Vinay, awarded the Kirti Chakra posthumously) who had been seriously injured. He crawled towards the injured officer under heavy fire and shifted him and two others to safety. He then took on two terrorists who had caused heavy casualties to the troops and shot both of them dead. The other terrorists fired at Major Raman from another house, causing him injuries that proved fatal. “Major Raman displayed the most conspicuous bravery, besides camaraderie and leadership of the highest order and made the supreme sacrifice for the nation,” said an Army news release. Major Dinesh Raghu Raman was posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra, the peacetime equivalent of the Param Vir Chakra, the country’s highest award for gallantry.  (THE HINDU, January 26, 2008).

FOUR

Saravanan, son of Murthi of Sivaganga (Tamilnadu, Bharat), is 14 now. He is physically challenged. He cannot do anything by himself. IT IS Jeeva, a classmate of Saravanan, who attends to all needs of Saravanan. He carries Saravanan from the auto rikshaw to the classroom. Helps him to do the writing the lessons. Fetches the book from the school bag for Saravanan to read. He feed Saravanan during lunch break. Carries him to the toilet and does the cleaning. Jeeva leaves nothing to chance. Another classmate, Surya by name, has been inspired by Jeeva’s acts of help and assists him in serving Saravanan.  Says Jeeva: “All three have been classmates from sixth standard onwards. We wish we could be of help to Saravanan even in college”. This is what Saravanan had to say: “I study well just because the good friends support me. I wish to become a computer engineer”. (A report by Arvind in THENDRAL (August 2008), an online magazine (www.tamilonline.com) US based Indian diaspora).

FIVE

 For months in 2007, Pune denizens passed by an old man, Praful Madhav Chiplunkar, who sat listlessly on a busy street near Sarashaug garden. The dishevelled and bearded man looked like a beggar, sagging under the weight of layers of torn sweaters and bundle of dirty clothes. He talked to no one and asked for nothing. Those who took pity on him offered him food, which was often snatched by street dogs. A TV channel linked the man with history and disclosed that he was the grandson of legendary freedom fighter Veer Savarkar. Soon after the telecast, BJP national spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad spoke to Maharashtra State unit president Nitin Gadkari and the party wasted no time in taking care of the Savarkar's grandson. "It is a disturbing matter and it only shows how the nation has forgotten the heroes who laid down their lives for freedom," Prasad said. "The BJP has always stood by Savarkar and we opposed the move to remove his plaque from the Cellular jail and brand him as a terrorist in the history books," Prasad said. Gadkari informed The Pioneer that the BJP cadre from Pune would look after Chiplunkar for whole of his life. "He has been fully rehabilitated and it is our responsibility to look after him," Gadkari said.  Praful is the son of Savarkar's daughter. An IIT graduate in chemical engineering from Delhi, he worked for an Indo-German company in Thailand and later with an Indian corporate. Tragedy struck him when a fire accident consumed his wife and daughter in 2002 and he spent years recovering in hospitals. Later, Praful worked as a watchman in a shop and after he lost that job, pavement became his shelter. (Based on a report by Shri Navin Upadhyay in DAILY  PIONEER  www.dailypioneer.com , January, 2007)

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