Sunday, November 29, 2015

PANCHAAMRITAM 285

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PANCHAAMRITAM 285
(pancha is five in samskritam; amritam is nectar)
Amavaasya / Kali Yugabda 5117 / Manmatha Aipasi 25 (November 11, 2015)

Happy Deepavali and a happier note:
 Please find PANCHAAMRITAM 283 & 284 along this mail.
They could not be posted due to unavoidable reasons

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ONE
Inspired by her friends, my mother started a new tradition in our home last night. She invited the family of our maid Madina to come home for dinner. She had earlier sent dad and me off to buy all the groceries and special food was prepared for them. We all ate together and had a lovely conversation as well. This is the first time we have ever done anything like this in our family. It felt surreal to see Madina’s whole family sitting on our couch and eating with us on our dining table. This was specially significant for me as I remember having bitter arguments with my mother as a kid about why our staff couldn’t use the same utensils and furniture as us! It would always end in her crying and then I had to back down. So you can imagine how amazing it was for me to see my mom organize this Diwali dinner on her own initiative. Also present was our other maid Meena. She lost her husband nine months ago in a car accident. She now works in six houses to support her family. She told me she makes food for her own kids in the morning, then cooks in six houses all day, then returns home to cook dinner for her own family again. She said on most days she has no appetite left after being around food the whole day! This brave woman earns Rs. 25,000 a month through sheer hard work. I’ve never seen her frown or complain. Could it be that the great teachers we are looking for are working in our own homes? (From an article by Smt Nithya Shanti in www.thebetterindia.com/38325/this-diwali-my-mother-invited-my-maids-family-home-for-dinner/ on November 10, 2015).

TWO


Agriculturists of Karaimedu near Neyveli in Cuddalore district (Tamilnadu, Bharat) achieved something immense. They managed to revive a huge lake sprawling over 1,664 acres that had become a dense marshy forest by silt that had accrued over decades. Today it looks like a sea, brimming to capacity. Of course, district collector Shri Gagan Deep Singh Bedi had persuaded Neyveli Lignite Corporation to fund the de-silting of the lake to the tune of estimated Rs 60 crores under Corporate Social Responsiility (CSR). In fact, it is the slush dumped by NLC that had caused disappearance of the lake. Now revived, the lake irrigates 12,000 acres of wet lands.  15 villages that reeled under drought for 50 years have started happily cultivating paddy and plantain crops that require copious water. At one stage, the farmers of Karaimedu preferred to forego cultivation and starve lest the lake revival may get stuck, and put their shoulders to de-silting. That was the crux. (Based on a report by Shri. T.L.Sanjivikumar in THE HINDU TAMIL, November 1, 2015).

THREE




The children of construction workers in Chennai metro were fortunate to have Kanchana Maala akka to introduce them in noble things of life. Kanchana Maala, a Bank employee, lives in Kolathur, North Chennai; inspired by the thought and service activities of Seva Bharati since 2001, she  started a tuition centre in a garage with 35 students from 14 schools in 2013. Students are taught bhajans, songs, games, good habits, culture, nationalism, cleanliness, punctuality and much more along with academic subjects. Other activities like Deepa Puja (wherein parents are also involved), mobile library, homeopathy centre, yoga etc., also form part. A unique thought of making children aware of societal problems, a Students’ Parliament Meet is organised yearly twice.  Children treat the tuition centre as their nation, and all the amenities needed (like cleanliness, education, food, water, electricity etc) are divided into 16 departments and are taken care of by the children. Guru Purnima, Samarpana Day, Sri Krishna Jayanti, Deepavali and all the festivals are celebrated together. To encourage saving habit, a savings account for children was started. At the end of the first year, 42 students have saved over Rs. 3,000. This motivation has helped the children not to spend money on unnecessary things.  Savings keep increasing year by year.  Children, after joining the tuition centre, have become cultured and their standard of education has risen; the parents of those children now feel very happy and want to help each other. These children today are in safe hands with good culture and vision (Based on a report by Smt. Ramadevi in ORGANISER, November 15, 2015).

FOUR


 “If a Brahmin can sell shoes, Rajput can have contract of selling liquor, Vaishya can eat or sell meat then why can’t the people from so-called inferior communities act as Purohit?”asks Kaushikji Maharaj. Some people at Dholam Village under Chhipi Baraut Teshil of Baran District (Rajasthan) were agitated so much in 1998 after the people from upper castes did not allow the grooms from low castes to ride the mare that they announced to embrace Islam. Kaushikji Maharaj imparted training of Purohit to some people in that village. Born as Hada Rajput at Karvar in Kota, Rajasthan, Kaushikji Maharaj is the saint who seeks ‘bad habits’ of individuals or the evil practices prevailing in the society as ‘donation’ wherever he goes. Extended sainthood by Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya of Gayatri Parivar in 1953, he has so far persuaded lakhs of people to abandon all kinds of addiction, curbed the practice of animal sacrifice in more than 200 villages of Rajasthan, transformed the lives of many communities, which traditionally indulged in criminal activities, and above all trained many people from so-called untouchable communities as Purohits who now perform all rituals in their respective villages. Not only this, he has also saved people of over 40 villages from conversion. Even at the age of 88 he visits interior villages and awaken the people against addiction, violence, crime and untouchability. (From ORGANISER, November 15, 2015).

FIVE


On January 27, 2014, Biswajit found a woman’s handbag on the rear seat of his auto after returning home for lunch. In the bag was Rs 74,000 in cash, wrapped in a piece of white cloth. The auto driver immediately showed what he had found to his wife and parents. Minutes later, he was back at the Champadali auto stand, around 4km from his home, to wait for a claimant to arrive. “There was only one woman passenger on my last trip and I somehow remembered her face,” Biswajit said, who waited at the stand for more than half an hour. He had skipped five trips when he spotted the woman approaching the auto stand, worried as anyone else in her place would have been. Jhuma Chowdhury had sold gold jewellery to finance her daughter’s wedding. Biswajit, a  class VII dropout, became an auto driver after his fishery business bombed five years ago. Biswajit said he had to sell his house to organise his sister’s wedding and now lives in a rented thatched hut with his parents and pregnant wife. Since his father lost a leg in an accident last year, he has been the lone breadwinner. “I could have kept the bag but it never crossed my mind. My wife scolded me for coming home with the bag and asked me to go back to the stand immediately,” the auto driver recalled. (Based on a report by Smt Tamaghna Banerjee in THE TELEGRAPH, March 15, 2014).
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PANCHAAMRITAM 286

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PANCHAAMRITAM 286
(pancha is five in samskritam; amritam is nectar)
Poorima / Kali Yugabda 5117 / Manmatha Karthigai 9 (November 25, 2015)


ONE



The heavy down pour brought down the entire Cuddalore district to its knees on November 9 and 10. P Venkatesan, an ambulance driver at the government Chidambaram hospital, received an alert from the 108 control room about a 21-year-old woman from Killai undergoing labour pain. Unmindful of the trees that kept falling on the roads under the force of wind, Venkatesan skilfully manoeuvred the vehicle for 10 km to reach the Primary Health Centre, where Selvakumari was crying out in pain.  Venkatesan helped Selvakumari along with her husband, Kavinkanth, on to the ambulance. With the rain pounding, visibility had dipped to a few metres. Even as Selvakumari kept crying out in pain, Venkatesan decided to take an alternative route. However, he soon found out that the condition on the new stretch was worse than assumed. He decided to return to Killai, but by then the roads were inundated and fallen trees were blocking his way. Returning was no longer an option. On a call from Venkatesan, his friend   Ravindran brought a jeep; he risked his and two of his friends’ — Veerasamy and Paridoss — lives to help strangers in. Ravindran asked Venkatesan to follow his jeep. With the jeep leading the way, they soon reached the Killai railway station. They encountred a level-crossing. The rain battered gate had to be lifted to make way for the ambulance. Next, the engine of the Ambulance developed a snag and the ambulance had to be towed by the jeep. In three and a half hours more they reached Chidambaram hospital where Selvakumari delivered a girl child. (Based on a report By Shri  K Ezhilarasan in THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS, November 12, 2015).

TWO


Even at the age of 84 she still fights for the rights of women, especially widows. She is like a Save-Our-Souls (S.O.S) “Amma” to the cops around Urwa area (Karnataka, Bharat), providing them coffee and food during bandhs and curfews. Cops who do not receive food packets while on patrolling duty head straight for Amma’s house with sure knowledge that they will never be turned away with an empty stomach. Even at this ‘Young” age she still actively takes part in various awareness programmes giving talks, advice, etc., on issues relevant to women. She keeps herself busy doing her daily cooking, gardening, reading, interacting with family members/relatives/friends, and making friends. For her service to the community she was presented with 2004 DK Rajyotsava Award, and also many felicitations by various organizations. She is none other than Smt Manorama M Bhat, a poet and author, residing at Ashoknagar-Mangaluru. (From a post by Smt. Alfie D'Souza in www.mangalorean.com, November 18, 2015).



THREE

 As he gradually increased the speed of the Asansol-Chennai Central Express train that had just left Ongole station, loco pilot Velmurugan saw a young woman jumping in front of his train, dragging a reluctant child with her. He applied the brakes. The train stopped. The wheels had missed them just by an inch. He left the mother and daughter under the care of the passengers on the train and brought her up to Chennai Central. There, Velmurugan handed over both the mother and child to the Child Helpline counter. A week has gone by since the incident; the 28-year-old woman, a mother of three,  and her daughter, all of nine years, are now in an NGO in Porur that takes care of aged persons and destitute.  The woman from Kanigiri in Andhra Pradesh said that she decided to take the extreme step fed up due to the frequent quarrels with her drunkard husband. “I realised the mistake I committed. I will never attempt that ever again. I will do some work and send my daughters to school, I will live for my children,” she added with resolve in her voice. Velmurugan, meanwhile, is a happy man. “My heart literally melted to see the little one, who was born to live her life to the fullest,” said the proud father of a young child. (Based on a report by Smt. Sinduja Jane in THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS, November 19, 2015).





FOUR


By constructing a bridge across a fetid nullah, 17-year-old Eshan Balbale helped the children of Sathe Nagar in Mumbai (Maharashtra, Bharat) gain unfettered access to school. “I felt terrible when I saw the children wade through the disgusting sludge in the nullah," he says. Other factors, such as having to walk 1.5 km to reach the school and the unavailability of autos, were contributing to a high dropout rate. In addition to this, about 15,000 residents had to cross the rancid nullah to get to the market. Balbale saw that a bridge was the need of the hour. He chose to build the bridge with bamboo, which is light yet sturdy. The bridge, which can carry up to 50 people at a time, was inaugurated on August 29. The young altruist will maintain the bridge until a more permanent solution is implemented by the authorities. Balbale is now looking to improve sanitation conditions in the area by building eight to 10 toilets. A deeply mature Balbale explains that an urge to help those who cannot avail amenities that were accessible to him keeps him motivated. "Ever since I was in Class VIII, I would see my parents help other people and I made it a point to donate my clothes, school bags and books to our domestic help and her children. I like to understand the problems people have and help them accordingly. It is a learning experience for me," he concludes. (Based on a report by Smt Arita Sarkar in MUMBAI MIRROR, September 21, 2015). Idea: Shri. M.B. Sivaramakrishnan
FIVE

Mohammed Abid Qureshi, aged 25, said he found cash Rs 1.17 lakh wrapped inside a polythene bag near government hostel circle in Jaipur on August 5, 2015. He waited at the spot till 10 pm in the hope that the person who had misplaced the bag would return looking for it. It was when nobody turned up to claim the bag that Qureshi carried the bag with himself as he headed to his rented room in the walled city area. On reaching home, Qureshi narrated the entire incident to his wife Ameena and together they decided to return the money. However, they were scared that they might face problems at the police station. “But we know that ill-gotten wealth brings problems and we did not think of keeping the money even for a second,” the couple said. Next day Aabid went to the office of Janga Sriniwas Rao, commissioner of police to return the plastic bag containing Rs 1.17 lakh. Applauding Aabid’s honesty, Rao said, “This is great work done by this man who is poor in terms of his financial condition but is a rich man in terms of honesty. He has set an example for everyone.” Qureshi is illiterate while his wife studied till Class 4. But they want their daughter to get educated so she can take the family legacy of honesty much further. (Based on a report by Shri P. Srinivasan in HINDUSTAN TIMES, August 8, 2015). Idea: Shri. M.B. Sivaramakrishnan.

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