Atrangi !ndia

Famous Quotes from the enlightened ones of India

2020-06-08T14:56:00.001+05:30

People of almost every religion on the globe reside in India. Besides this India is also the birthplace of some major religions of the world.

Many found salvation and spiritual enlightenment here, making India one of the most enriched countries spiritually.

Light of lamp

So, presenting here some of the valuable teachings and thoughts of some great souls who further enriched the spiritual heritage of India.

Quotes from Buddha

Gautam Buddha

Also known as Siddhartha, Gautam Buddha was honoured and idolized as the founder of Buddhism. He was a philosopher, and a spiritual teacher. Here are some of the famous quotes of Gautam Buddha.

1.) Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.

2.) Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present.

3.) It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It can not be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.

4.) The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground.

5.) You only lose what you cling to.

6.) The mind is everything. What you think you become.

7.) Learn this from water: loud splashes the brook but the ocean depths are calm.

8.) I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done.

9.) Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.

10.) No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.

Quotes from Guru Nanak

Guru Nanak

Guru Nanak, also known as Baba Nanak was the founder of Sikhism. He was a spiritual leader and also the first of ten Sikh Gurus. Here are some of the famous quotes of Guru Nanak.

1.) Burn worldly love, rub the ashes and make ink of it, make the heart the pen, the intellect the writer, write that which has no end or no limit.

2.) He who has no faith in himself can never have faith in God.

3.) Speak only that which will bring you honour.

4.) Those who have loved are those who have found God.

5.) The world is a drama, staged in a dream.

6.) Death would not be called bad, O people, if one knew how to die.

7.) He who regards all men as equals is religious.

8.) In this world when you ask of happiness pain steps forward.

9.) Your mercy is my social status.

10.) Realization of truth is higher than all else. Higher still is truthful living.

Quotes from Mahavira Swami

Mahavira Swami

Mahavira was the 24th tirthankara of Jainism. He is also known as Vardhamana. Here are some of the famous quotes of Mahavira Swami.

1.) Anger begets more anger, and forgiveness and love lead to more forgiveness and love.

2.) By sincerity, a man gains physical, mental and linguistic straight forwardness, and harmonious tendency; that is, congruence of speech and action.

3.) Live and allow others to live; hurt no one; life is dear to all living beings.

4.) Start the practice of self control with some penance; begin with fasting.

5.) Do not deprive someone of his lively hood. This is a sinful tendency.

6.) The nature of things is dharma.

7.) If you want to cultivate a habit, do it without any reservation, till it is firmly established. Until it is so confirmed, until it become part of your character, let there be no exception, no relaxation of effort.

8.) Soul is the central point of spiritual discipline.

9.) All souls are equal and alike and have the similar nature and qualities.

10.) The most important principle of environment is that you are not the only element.

Quotes from Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti

Dargah(Shrine) of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti

Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishti, popularly known as Khwaja Garib Nawaz, a Sufi saint, preacher, and an Islamic religious scholar. Here are some of the famous quotes of Khwaja Garib Nawaz.

1.) A sin committed does not harm an individual so much as looking down upon one's own fellow human being.

2.) He indeed is a true devotee blessed with the love of God, who is gifted with the following three attributes:

I) charity like river, i.e. his sense charity has no limit and is equally beneficial for all.

II) Affection like sun, i.e. his affection may be extended indiscriminately to all like sunlight.

III) Hospitality like earth, i.e. his loving embrace may be upon to all like that of earth.

3.) The more one learns about 'the essence of things' the more he wonders.

4.) Perfection of faith is evidenced by three things- Fear, Hope, and Love.

5.) Surest way to keep off the internal punishment in the hell is: To feed the hungry, to redress the aggrieved, to help the distressed.

6.) The heart of a lover (of God) constantly burns with the fire of love so much so that whatever intrudes upon its sanctity is reduced to ashes.

7.) Noblest of character is possessed by one who is: Bountiful in poverty, content in hunger, cheerful in grief, and friendly in hostility.

8.) Respect every being irrespective of cast, creed, religion, and financial position, as God has created every being, each being should be treated with love and compassion.

9.) Of all the worships that please the Almighty, the most pleasing is the granting of relief to the humble and oppressed.

10.) The path of love of God is such a path that whosoever steps into it, loses himself.

Quotes From Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa

Mother Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu fondly known as Mother Teresa, was a Roman Catholic nun and missionary. She was known for her charitable works, won the Noble Peace Prize in 1979. Here are some of the famous quotes of Mother Teresa.

1.) If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.

2.) We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass, grows in silence; see the stars, the sun, the moon, moves in silence. We need silence to be able to touch souls.

3.) Be faithful in small things because in them your strength lies.

4.) Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.

5.) We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.

6.) We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of the missing drop.

7.) If you cannot feed a hundred people, than just feed one.

8.) Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.

9.) If you are humble nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are.

10.) Peace begins with a smile.

Quotes From Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa born Gadadhar Chattopadhyay, was a Hindu saint, religious leader, and Guru of Swami Vivekananda. Here are some of the famous quotes of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.

1.) More are the names of God and infinite are the forms through which he may be approached. In whatever name and form you worship him, through them you will realise him.

2.) Travel in all the four quarters of the world, yet you will find nothing anywhere. Whatever there is, is only here.

3.) It is easy to talk on religion, but difficult to practice it.

4.) Many good sayings are to be found in holy books, but merely reading them will not make one religious.

5.) When the flower blooms, the bees come uninvited.

6.) The winds of grace are always blowing, but you have to raise the sail.

7.) The supreme purpose and goal of human life is to cultivate life.

8.) Work, apart from devotion or love of God, is helpless and cannot stand alone.

9.) God is in all men, but all men are not in God; that is why we suffer.

10.) Only two kinds of people can attain self knowledge

I.) Those who are not encumbered at all with learning, i.e. whose minds are not overcrowded with thoughts borrowed from others.

II.) Those who, after studying all the scriptures and sciences, have come to realise that they know nothing.

The dispute between Nepal and India

2020-06-05T18:03:00.000+05:30

It's not all good in the Himalayas nowadays, not just because of India's persistent border issue with China but also because of some recent bitterness with our long time good neighbouring country Nepal.

The Nepalese Tibetan prayer flags at Himalaya

The kind of close bond India has shared with Nepal historically has not been shared with any other nation. Not only Indians and Nepalese can cross each other's border without a visa, but they can also live and work in each other's country.

Nepal Flag`

But the good relation between these two neighbouring countries has begun to become bitter over the past few days. A border dispute is developing between both the countries.

You can understand the sourness of the issue by the recent statement of Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, the P.M. of Nepal, where he blamed India for the rise of corona cases in Nepal and in addition, accused India of occupying some areas of Nepal.

The rise of Dispute and the Disputed Area

The border issue between India and Nepal is not new though, this controversy rose again within the Indian media when Nepal came out with its new map a few days ago, in which they included an area which they hadn't included in their maps before, an area which comes under the control of India.

The disputed area is a triangular shaped area in the north western tip of Nepal according to their new map. This area is actually the eastern most tip of Uttarakhand.

It covers around 300 sq. kilometres, the north most village is Limpiyadhura, south east part is Lipulekh pass, and to the south west is Gunji and Kalapani. This area is defined by these three places - Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh pass, and Kalapani.

Nepal believes that this area rightfully belongs to them whereas we believe it is a part of India. Nepal considers the Treaty of Sagauli as the only authentic document on boundary illustration.

Treaty of Sagauli

Treaty of Sagauli

The treaty of Sagauli is the treaty that established the boundary line of Nepal. This treaty was signed on 2 December 1815 and was sanctioned on 4 March 1816 between the British India Government and Gurkha chiefs of Nepal following the Anglo-Nepalese War.

The unified Nepal attempted to extend its empire, conquering much of the Sikkim in the east and the regions of Garhwal and Kumaon in the Uttarakhand which brought them in friction with the British who were ruling India at that time.

This led to the Anglo-Nepalese war, in which the British dislodged the Nepalese from the occupied regions and proposed a treaty of peace and friendship which was popularly known as treaty of sagauli.

Some of the important terms of this treaty were as follows -

1.) There shall be perpetual peace and friendship between the East India Company and King of Nepal.

2.) The king of Nepal will renounce all the claims to the lands which were a subject of discussion between the two states before the war and will acknowledge the right of the company to the sovereignty of those lands.

3.) The king of Nepal will surrender to the East India Company in perpetuity all the under mentioned territories first the whole of the lowlands between river Kali and Rapti, second the whole of the lowlands between Rapti and Gunduck except footwall heard, third the whole of lowlands between Gunduck and Koshi in which the authority of the East India Company has been established, fourth the whole of lowlands between rivers mechi and teethi, fifth the whole of territories within the hills eastward of the river mechi.

Indo Nepal -Treaty of Peace and Friendship

Signing of Treaty of Peace and Friendship 1950

With the 1950 Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship, the two countries, India and Nepal initiated their relationship. It was signed at Kathmandu by the last Rana the then P.M. of Nepal Mohan Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana and Chandreshwar Narayan Singh the then Indian Ambassador to Nepal on 31 July 1950.

This treaty between India and Nepal can be considered as an important link in strengthening the bond between both the countries.

This treaty stated that neither of the government of the two countries, India and Nepal, shall tolerate any threat to the security of other by a foreign aggressor.

And will inform each other of any serious conflict or misunderstanding with any neighbouring state that may cause any rift in the relation between the two nations.

This treaty also gave the people of Nepal, same educational and economic opportunities as Indian citizens get in India, while Indian citizens and businesses got favourable treatment in Nepal as compared to other Nationalities.

This treaty also cancels all the previous Treaties, agreements and engagements entered into on behalf of India between the British government and the government of Nepal.

The Events that Provoked Nepal

This controversy broke out due to two events, the first of which happened around 6 months ago when on November 2019 when the Modi government released a new map of India, in which the region of Kalapani was claimed to be under India, which triggered the Nepal government.

The second event happened on 8th May, 2020, when the Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a new road, this road was around 80 kilometres along the India-Nepal border through this disputed area uptil Lipulekh.

The purpose of this road was to aid the people on the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra as per claims because above this disputed area lies Tibet, where the Kailash Mansarovar is situated. Before the construction of this road, the yatris had to go to the Kailash Mansarovar via Sikkim, it was a trek of 5 days.

After the construction of this road, they will reach China's border in a car, which will be followed by a mere 2 day trek.

The Nepal government was not happy with the opening of this road as they believed that the Lipulekh pass comes under Nepal, and if India had to construct this road they should have consulted Nepal first and worked on an agreement.

In response to this, the external affairs ministry of India said that this area comes completely under the territory of India and therefore they did not hold a consultation with Nepal. This was not required because they had constructed a road within their own territory.

In the past also, many efforts to resolve this complex border issue have been done by both the sides but no solution has been found yet.

Some media reports and Experts of foreign affairs believe and suggest that China is instigating Nepal in this matter. It also has a lot to do with the present Nepal government which came in power on a strong nationalist wave.

If Indians and people of Nepal can anyway cross the border without any visa or passport and can work and reside in each other's country. So, what is so special about the disputed area?

What is the controversy about? Is it just about the representation on a political map or a country's pride or some kind of insecurity?

Conclusion

No matter what it is about, and who is right and who is not, but the thing that matters the most is the peace and prosperity of the region. Both the countries should at least try to resolve this complex issue with judiciousness in the interest of the region.

Amphan cyclone and Locust attack on India

2020-06-02T20:09:00.001+05:30

As if the ongoing pandemic was not enough, when we were already heartbroken and distressed by the plights of our migrant workers, we got earthquakes, Amphan cyclones and the deadly locust attacks that are destroying the farms across the country.

Where the country was already witnessing the painful migration of the day laborers, their sufferings and deaths due to mismanagements and lack of facilities even in the shramik trains, some of which took twice as long to reach their designated destination, we have the Amphan cyclone and locust attack to join the party now. Twenty twenty (2020) is the year of tragedies and disasters and definitely a year to forget.

The Amphan catastrophe

Super cyclone Amphan 2020

The Amphan cyclone is the storm that caused havoc in some parts of India (West Bengal and Orissa) and major parts of Bangladesh. The number of casualties is nearly hundred; the wind blowing at a speed of 185 km/h ravaged the trees and destroyed the houses.

It is considered to be the first super cyclone to form in the Bay of Bengal since 1999. Kolkata, capital of West Bengal, also known as the city of joy, is devastated by the Amphan cyclone. Thousands of trees were uprooted, electricity and telephone lines are closed, and the roads are flooded.

Amphan cyclone's aftermath

The effect has been so severe that the C.M. of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee has called it deadlier than the ongoing pandemic of covid-19, the administration and the people there are in double trouble as they are facing two disasters at the same time.

Amphan cyclone - naming of cyclones, what are cyclones, its causes, and impact of Amphan.

Amphan cyclone

It is pronounced as UM-PUN and classed as "Super Cyclonic storm". Six of the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres (RSMC) and five of the Regional Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres (TCWC) in the whole world are authorised for issuing advisories and naming of tropical cyclones.

Cyclones are low pressure systems that form over warm tropical waters, with storm force winds near the centre. The winds can expand to a very long distance. It often produces torrential rains and flooding, causing major loss of life and property damage.

Amphan is the first tropical cyclone of the 2020 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, which turned out to be a super cyclone. It made landfall near Bakhali in West Bengal on 20 May, pounding the region with strong winds and heavy rains.

West Bengal the epicenter of cyclone's landfall witnessed the most extensive vandalization from Amphan. According to the State government estimation the super cyclone caused at least Rs 1 trillion in damage affecting almost the seventy percent population of the state.

Let's hope and pray that Bengal recovers from the devastation of this storm as soon as possible and get back to the new covid-19 normal.

Locust attack in India

Locust swarm attack

Locust, a tiny insect, coming in large groups or swarm (a single swarm can contain more than 50 millions of adult locusts ), after destroying farms in some East African countries and Iran, have reached India via Pakistan to trouble the already troubled farmers of our country.

The invasion of these desert locusts has hit both India and Pakistan in the midst of the pandemic.
In India, these Locusts first arrived in Rajasthan,
Then later on in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra these are the worst affected states of the country.

India is currently battling the worst desert locust attack in three decades; these bugs have attacked the farms and destroyed the crops of the above mentioned five states. While, the locusts' rampage has also hit some districts of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu the centre has issued warning to some other remaining states as well.

What are Locusts, their historical references, and solutions?

Locust

Locust is an insect which is quite similar to grasshopper and cricket. In fact, all these three insects belong to the same family. Locusts are generally found in desert regions.

The unique thing about locust is that it has two forms, which is not seen in grasshoppers and cricket. When it is alone it is in solitary phase, but when it is in groups and the environmental conditions are favourable i.e. wet soil, recent rains and plantation, then they transform completely and the phase is called gregarious phase.

The transformation from one form to another also changes their behavior, habits, and appearances. This transformation to the gregarious phase causes all the problems, the eating habits are so much changed that a single locust can consume food equal to its weight in a day, Imagine what a swarm containing millions of locusts can eat, that is why, complete destruction follows wherever they go.

These locust attacks have been happening for thousands of years throughout the human history. Even ancient Egyptians have drawn locusts on their tombs, even the locust plagues are mentioned in some of the holy religious books.

Meanwhile, the farmers are using drums and DJ bands to tackle the locust attack as strong sound is considered effective in driving locusts, and the officials are using drones to spray the pesticides, still a much concrete solution is required for the problem.

Conclusion

Pandemic, cyclones, and this annoying Locust attack, this year has become a great "end of the world" kind of script for Hollywood movies. Still, half the year is remaining just hope and pray for the best.

We the people of India: Some of our important Constitutional rights and duties we must know

2020-05-23T13:23:00.000+05:30

Constitution of India

The Constitution of India, the world's lengthiest written constitution with 448 articles is the supreme law of India. The constitution of our country was adopted on 26 November 1949 by the Constituent assembly of India and it became effective on 26 January 1950, making our country the Republic of India from the Dominion of India.

B R Ambedkar

The constitution of India was drafted by the constituent assembly. B.R. Ambedkar was the chairman of the drafting committee, he is regarded as its chief architect, he is also considered as "the Father of the Constitution of India".

The constitution declaring India a sovereign, socialist, democratic republic, assures its citizen justice equality and liberty. Thus, it empowers us with many rights which we must know as an aware citizen of the country. Here is the list of some of our important constitutional rights and duties.

* Article 15 (1) - The state shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, cast, sex, place of birth or any of them.

* Article 16 (1) - There shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matter relating to employment or appointment to any office under the state.

* Article 17 - "Untouchability" is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising out of "untouchability" shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law.

* Article 19 (1) - All citizens shall have the right-

(a) to freedom of speech and expression;

(b) to assemble peaceably and without arms;

(c) to form associations or unions;

(d) to move freely throughout the territory of
India;

(e) to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India;

(f) omitted

(g) to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade, or business;

* Article 20 (1) - No person shall be convicted of any offence except for violation of a law in force at the time of the commission of the Act charged as an offence, nor be subjected to a penalty greater than that which might have been inflicted under the law in force at the time of the commission of the offence.

* Article 21 - No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.

* Article 21 A - The state shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the state may, by law, determine.[Right to Education]

* Article 22 (1) - No person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed.

* Article 24 - No child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment.

* Article 25 (1) - Subject to public order morality and health and to other provisions of this part, all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion.

* Article 39 - The state shall in particular, direct its policy towards securing -

(a) that the citizens, men and women equally, have the right to an adequate means of livelihood;

(b) that the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good;

(c) that the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment;

(d) that there is equal pay for equal work for both men and women;

(e) that the health and strength of workers, men and women, and the tender age of children are not abused and that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or strength;

(f) that children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment.

* Article 39 A - The state shall secure that the operation of legal system promotes justice, on a basis of equal opportunity, and shall, in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that the opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities.

* Article 51 A - It shall be the duty of every citizen of India-

(a) to abide by the constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the national flag and national anthem;

(b) to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom;

(c) to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India;

(d) to defend our country and render national service when called upon to do so;

(e) to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of woman;

(f) to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture;

(g) to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures;

(h) to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform;

(i) to safeguard public property and to abjure violence;

(j) to strive towards excellence in all sphere of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement;

(k) who is a parent or a guardian to provide opportunities for education to his child or, as the case may be, ward between the age of six and fourteen years.

Constitution of India

Some unknown Facts about the Constitution of India -

* The Indian constitution is the lengthiest constitution of any sovereign country in the world.

* The constitution of India was not typed or printed, but it was handwritten by Prem Behari Narain Raizada that too in a flowing italic style.

* Each page of originally handwritten constitution was uniquely decorated by artists from Shantiniketan.

* The original copies of the constitution of India are stored in special helium filled cases in library of the parliament of India.

* The constitution was published in Dehradun and photolithographed by the survey of India.

* The Indian constitution was influenced and inspired by the constitutions of many other countries of the world like United States, United Kingdom, France, Canada, Australia, Germany, Soviet Union, Japan etc. It has borrowed provisions from the constitutions of these countries.

* The constitution was adopted by the constituent assembly of India on 26 November 1949, this day is celebrated as the Law day or Constitution day in India.

As a citizen of India we must be aware of our constitutional rights and follow our constitutional duties. Hope all this information will be helpful for you.

STAY SAFE, STAY AWARE.

The 100 Firsts of India

2020-05-12T16:36:00.000+05:30

Any work done for the first time, or a title or achievement for the first time always remains in the memory and register its name in the history. Like the first step on the moon, or the first to hoist the flag on Everest, or the world's first astronaut etc.

Here we will have a look at the India's firsts. From Politics, to movies, sports, science and other different aspects, from title holders to achievers, and the first time achievements of India. So, let's start.

1.) The first Prime Minister of India - Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

2.) The first President of India - Rajendra Prasad .

3.) The first Home Minister of India - Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel.

4.) The first vice-president of India - Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

5.) The first Education Minister of India - Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

6.) The first Finance Minister of India - R.K. Shanmukham Chetty.

7.) The first Law and Justice Minister of India - Dr. B.R. Ambedkar .

8.) The first Railway and Transport Minister of India - John Mathai.

9.) The first Labour Minister of India - Jagjivan Ram.

10.) The first Minister of Commerce of India - Cooverji Hormusji Bhabha.

11.) The first Minister of Communications of India - Rafi Ahmed Kidwai.

12.) The first Health Minister of India - Amrit kaur.

13.) The first Governor of Reserve Bank of India - Osborn Smith while, C.D. Deshmukh was first Indian Governor of RBI.

14.) The first Commander in Chief of Army of India - Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa.

15.) The first Chief of Army staff of India - K.S. Rajendrasinhji.

16.) The first Indian Commander in Chief of the Air Force of India - Subroto Mukerjee .

17.) The first Chief of Naval staff of India - William Edward Parry.

18.) The first Director of CBI of India - D.P. Kohli.

19.) The first Intelligence Bureau (IB) Chief of India - T.G. Sanjeevi Pillai.

20.) The first Indian to join the Civil services of India - Satyendranath Tagore.

21.) The first female IAS Officer - Anna Rajam Malhotra.

22.) The first visually challenged IAS Officer - Pranjal Patil.

23.) The first general election of India - the general election of 1951-52, held from 25 October 1951 to 21 February 1952.

24.) The first Chief Election Commissioner of India - Sukumar Sen.

25.) The first Indian Chief Justice of India - H.J. Kania.

26.) The first flight in India - On 18 February 1911, the first commercial civil aviation flight took place in India between Allahabad and Naini(a distance of 6 miles).

27.) The first passenger train of India - the first passenger train of India ran between Bombay(Bori bunder) and Thane on 16 April 1853.

28.) The first satellite built by India - Aryabhatta by ISRO,which was launched by Soviet Union in 1975.

29.) The first Indian satellite to be launched by Indian vehicle - Rohini, in 1980.

30.) The first publicly available internet service of India - in 1995, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited(VSNL) launched the first publicly available internet service of India on 14 August.

31.) The first tv channel of India - Doordarshan, launched on 15 September 1959.


32.) The first movie of India - Raja Harishchandra (1913).


33.) The first movie of India with sound - Alam Ara (1931).

34.) The first colour movie of India - Kisan Kanya (1937).

35.) The first tv serial of India - Hum Log(7 July 1984).

36.) The first Cinema hall of India - Chaplin Cinema also known as Elphinstone Picture Palace in Kolkata .

37.) The first five star hotel of India - The Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

38.) The first Museum of India - Indian Museum in Kolkata.

39.) The first Airport of India - Juhu Aerodrome in Mumbai.

40.) The first University of India - the University of Calcutta or Calcutta University (CU) established in 1857.

41.) The first News Paper of India - The Bengal Gazette, first published on 29 January 1780.

42.) The first Hindi News Paper of India - Udant Martand, started on 30 May 1826.

43.) The first Magazine of India - Oriental Magazine or Calcutta Amusement (1785).

44.) The first Indian Magazine of India - The Week (1982).

45.) The first website of India - Rediff.com.

46.) The first use of telephone in India - the telephone service was made operational in India in the year 1881, on 28 January 1882,the first formal telephone service was established.

47.) The STD calling started in India - the first ever STD call in India was made between the cities of Kanpur and Lucknow in 1960 .

48.) The first mobile phone use of India - on July 31, 1995 when then West Bengal C.M. Jyoti Basu made the first call to Sukh Ram, the then Union communications Minister of India.

49.) The first Private TV channel of India - Zee TV (1992).

50.) The first Bank of India - Bank of Hindustan (1770).

51.) The first astronaut of India - Rakesh Sharma (in 1984).

52.) The first woman of Indian origin to go to space - Kalpana Chawla (in 1997) .

53.) The first nuclear test of India - India's first successful nuclear test took place on 18 May 1974 in Pokhran, Rajasthan, Smiling Buddha was the code name given to it .

54.) The first Field Marshal of India - Sam Manekshaw.

55.) The first wild life sanctuary of India - Jim Corbett National Park.

56.) The first bird sanctuary of India - Vedanthangal (Tamil Nadu).

57.) The first Insurance company of India - Bombay Mutual Life Assurance Society (1870).

58.) The first individual Olympic medal winner athlete of (independent) India - Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav (1952).

59.) The first olympic win of India (pre independence) - Norman Pritchard (1900).

60.) The first individual olympic gold medal of India - Abhinav Bindra (2008).

61.) The first olympic gold medal in team game of India - won by Indian field hockey team (1928).

62.) The first Cricket World Cup win of India - in 1983 World Cup.

63.) The first Captain of Cricket team of India - C.K. Nayudu (1932).

64.) The first match won by India in Cricket - in 1951-52 by beating England in Madras.

65.) The first player of India to score a century in tests - Lala Amarnath in 1933, score of 118 against England in Bombay.

66.) The first player of India to score a century in ODI's - Kapil Dev in 1983 World Cup, score of 175 against Zimbabwe.

67.) The first pilot of India - J.R.D. Tata (1929).

68.) The first woman pilot of India - Sarla Thakral (1936).

69.) The first woman lawyer of India - Cornelia Sorabji.

70.) The first woman Judge of India - Anna Chandy, became Judge in 1937 .

71.) The first super computer of India - PARAM 8000 (1991).

72.) The first software company of India - Tata group in partnership with Burroughs (1967).

73.) The first Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) - the first IIT was established in May 1950, in Kharagpur, West Bengal.

74.) The first All India Institute of Medical Science(AIIMS) - the first AIIMS was established in 1956 in New Delhi .

75.) The first submarine of India - INS Shalki (1987).

76.) The first airline of India - Tata Airlines(1932).

77.) The first population census of India - the first synchronous census in India was held in 1881.

78.) The first Union Budget of Independent India - the first Union Budget of India was presented by then Finance Minister R.K. Shanmukham Chetty on 26 November 1947.

79.) The first attorney general of India - Motilal C. Setalvad ( 1950-63).

80.) The first successful heart transplant surgery in India - on 3 August 1994, by the team of doctors led by Dr. Panangipalli Venugopal.

81.) The first successful liver transplant surgery in India - in November 1998, at Apollo hospital.

82.) The first Formula One driver of India - Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan.

83.) The first Nobel prize winner of India - Rabindranath Tagore, for literature (1913).

84.) The first book to be published in an Indian language - the Tamil book "Thambiran Vanakkam" in 1578, it was a translation of portuguese "Doctrina Christam".

85.) The first Booker prize winner of India - Arundhati Roy (1997).

86.) The first Academy Award winner of India - Bhanu Athaiya in 1983, for costume designing.

87.) The first Honorary Academy Award winner of India - Satyajit Ray (1992).

88.) The first successful Everest mission of India - on May 20, 1965, by Lt Col Avatar.S. Cheema.

89.) The first animated film of India - The Banyan Deer (1957).

90.) The first amusement park of India - Essel World (1999).

91.) The first Test tube baby of India - Kanupriya Agrawal (October 3, 1978).

92.) The first ever car made in India - the Hindustan 10 (1949).

93.) The first Indian developed jet aircraft - HAL HF-24 Marut (17 June, 1961).

94.) The first Biosphere reserve of India - Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (1986).

95.) The first mobile network of India - CDMA- MODI TELSTRA.

96.) The first Indian to cross English Channel - Mihir Sen.

97.) The first woman President of India - Pratibha Patil.

98.) The first woman Prime Minister of India - Indira Gandhi.

99.) The first genetically modified food product of India - Bt. Eggplant Hybrid.

100.) The first Hydroelectric plant of India - Sidrapong near Darjeeling.

The Corona lockdown in India: Tragedies during the Pandemic

2020-05-11T11:30:00.001+05:30

The Corona crisis in India

It's the lockdown 3.0 in India, we are in the last week and the ever-increasing number of Corona patients has caused uproar in the country. The rapid rise of Corona victims in cities like Mumbai, Ahmadabad, and Indore is very disturbing. Meanwhile, some tragedies happened in the midst of Corona's havoc are heart wrenching.

From the brutal lynching of saints in Palghar, to the painful gas tragedy of Visakhapatnam, and now the sad and unfortunate death of migrant workers on the railway track in Aurangabad, these incidents are enough to expose the loopholes in our system.

We are already dealing with the COVID-19 Pandemic and such cases are not only disheartening, but also worsening the situation.

The lynching of saints in palghar

On 16 April 2020, two sadhus and their driver were brutally lynched by a brainless mob of villagers in Gadchinchale village, Palghar district, Maharashtra. As suggested by some media reports, this episode was fuelled by social media rumours of thieves operating during the lockdown.

Two sadhus Maharaj Kalpvrukshagiri and
Maharaj Sushilgiri were travelling to attend the funeral of their Guru Shri Mahant Ramgiri in Surat, along with their driver Nilesh Telgade.

When they were passing through Gadchinchale, an extremely backward area, they were stopped by a forest department guard at a local checkpoint, and then they were attacked by the mob with sticks and axes, while, they were out and talking to the guard.

Some videos of the horrific incident came out showing the helpless condition of the sadhus, which created nationwide outrage. The normalization of mob outrage and spreading of fake news led to this violent outcome.

The Maharashtra Government is under radar after this incident, it's the duty of the government to provide security to it's each and every citizen.The state government had taken actions and according to the Maharashtra government more than hundred people were arrested.

Another sad part related to the incident is how some news channels started giving a communal angle to it for no good reason.

Let's hope for quick justice for the victims, and protect your family and yourself from the virus of fake news and hatred.

Gas tragedy of Visakhapatnam

On 7 May 2020, the industrial accident of the styrene gas leak from the LG polymers (the South Korean company) plant in the village RR Venkatapuram, of Visakhapatnam district, in Andhra Pradesh started around 3:30 am, when the people were in deep sleep in their homes.

At least 12 people have lost their lives and many have been hospitalized due to this hazardous gas leak. The visuals of people falling unconscious while standing were disturbing enough for any sensitive human being. It has created panic in many areas of Visakhapatnam.

What is Styrene, its uses and effects on health?

Styrene gas structure

Styrene also referred as ethenylbenzene, vinylbenzene, and phenylethene is an organic compound. It is a colourless oily liquid although aged samples can appear yellowish. It has a sweet smell and evaporates easily.

This derivative of Benzene is used to manufacture latex, synthetic rubber, plastic packaging, disposable cups etc. It is harmful for humans if inhaled or ingested or if it comes in contact of skin and eyes.

High exposure can cause coma and chest swelling while low and moderate exposure can cause breathing difficulty and respiratory distress, skin irritation, burning sensation and can affect the nervous system.

Actions taken and reasons for the leakage

Meanwhile, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed a fine of Rs. 50 crore on the LG polymer, and the South Korean Company has expressed their condolences for the tragedy and also stated that they are trying to find the exact cause of leakage.

The primary reports suggest that the lack of proper care of styrene tanks during the lockdown could be the reason for the leakage.

Bhopal gas Scandal

Visakhapatnam gas tragedy is the biggest one since the Bhopal gas leak, which claimed nearly 3800 lives. The Visakhapatnam tragedy brought back the memories of Bhopal gas scandal, whose wounds are still alive.

Who is responsible for the tragedy is it the negligence of the company or some kind of government failure, also the gas may have leaked from the loopholes of our system.

The death of migrant workers

Indian labourers

On 8 May 2020, 16 of the 20 migrant labourers were killed in their sleep on a railway around, track near Aurangabad, when they were run over by a goods train.

The migrant workers were walking to reach their homes in Madhya Pradesh; the workers were walking on the railway route instead of the highways to avoid the police beating. These workers slept on the track due to fatigue.

The scene at the tragedy's spot was haematic. Blood stained rotis, clothes of the victims were dispersed around.

Several labourers from all over the country have lost their lives while migrating back to their homes, either by heatstroke, or by heart attack, or in road accident, or by some other reasons. Sometimes, it seems that these migrant workers are on the last of the priority list of governments of states and centre.

Though the announcement of special trains for migrant workers is a good move, but that too came very late, and even when there is news of charging rent from laborers, then it exposes the flaws of system.

Conclusion

Despite the tragedies happening in the midst of this tragedy, we will have to keep ourselves positive, as we are not fighting the pandemic alone, it is also the battle against ignorance, hatred, and some flaws within our system.

In the meantime, help the needy ones in any way you can without violating any law, and STAY SAFE.

Rishi Kapoor: The charming and evergreen actor who lived 'Khullam Khulla'

2020-05-07T19:41:00.001+05:30

Rishi Kapoor 1952-2020

The movie lovers and film industry received two setbacks back to back. After the demise of Irrfan, it was the time for another talented and natural actor Rishi Kapoor to depart and leave us in grief and sorrow on the very next day. On April 30 2020, the ever charming Rishi Kapoor died from leukaemia.

In 2018, Rishi kapoor was diagnosed with leukaemia and went to New York City for the treatment. He returned India on recovering after a successful treatment on September 2019. Rishi Kapoor was admitted to hospital due to some breathing difficulties on 29 April 2020, and on the very next day he died of impediments from colon infection.

Early days and personal life

Rishi Kapoor (4 September 1952 - 30 April 2020) was born in the Kapoor family, which is also considered as the first family of Bollywood. His grandfather Prithviraj Kapoor was a renowned theatre and Film actor and his father Raj Kapoor was a legendary actor-director, the greatest showman of Bollywood.

Rishi Kapoor was born in the family of superstars like Shammi Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor (his paternal uncles), and actors like Rajendranath and Premnath (his maternal uncles), his brothers Randhir Kapoor and Rajeev Kapoor are also actors. Being born in such a lineage has its own perks, but with this comes the undue pressure to carry on such a legacy.

Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh

Rishi Kapoor married actress Neetu Singh, the love of his life with whom he was paired in twelve movies. They had two children - son actor Ranbir Kapoor, and daughter Riddhima Kapoor sahni.

Career

Rishi Kapoor first appearance on the silver screen came when he was just three years old, in a cameo in his father's movie "Shree 420", where he appeared in a musical sequence of "Pyar Hua, Iqraar Hua" song. He also played the young version of the lead character, which was played by his Father Raj Kapoor in the movie "Mera Naam Joker"(1970) made by Raj Kapoor himself.

Rishi Kapoor's first leading role as a hero came in Bobby (1973), which was also directed by his father. The film went on to become a blockbuster, marking the arrival of Rishi Kapoor as a romantic hero; he also won the Filmfare best actor award for the movie.

He then starred in several Rom-Com movies like "Rafoo Chakkar"(1975), "Khel Khel me"(1975), "Hum Kisi Se Kam Nahi"(1977) in that decade. He also experimented by working in the movies of different genres like "Zehreela Insaan"(1974) and "Doosra Aadmi"(1976) in the same decade.

Rishi Kapoor also played the leading role in director Subhash Ghai's thriller Karz (1980), a cult classic movie with evergreen music, which is still cherished by music lovers. The movie is considered as one of his best performances.

Rishi Kapoor also worked in the movies based on the topic of social reforms like "Prem Rog"(1982), a movie which was based on the issue of widow remarriage, and "Ek Chadar Maili si", based on the novel of Rajendra Singh Bedi of the same name, where he played a man forced to marry his widowed sister-in-law by customs.

Rishi Kapoor also appeared in many women centric movies like "Henna" (1991), which was directed by his elder brother Randhir Kapoor, and much acclaimed "Damini" directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. His performances in such movies were praised and applauded by both critics and fans.

The versatile Rishi Kapoor gave many superhits in the first innings of his career, which included the movies like "Kabhi Kabhi"(1976), "Laila Majnu"(1976), "Amar Akbar Anthony" (1977), "Sargam"(1979), "Saagar"(1985), "Chandni"(1989), "Bol Radha Bol"(1992), "Deewana"(1992) etc.

The Flamboyant Rishi Kapoor

Rishi Kapoor is one such actor opposite whom many actresses made their debut in the hindi film industry and attained stardom. The long list include names such as Dimple Kapadia, Jaya Prada, Radhika, Zeba Bakhtiar, Shoma Anand, Kaajal kiron, Meeta Vashisht, Ashwini Bhave, Gautami, Ranjeeta and a few more.

Rishi Kapoor's (rumoured) affair with his first heroine Dimple Kapadia was the talk of the tinseltown. later, Dimple married Rajesh Khanna, both of them reunited in 1985, for the movie "Saagar"directed by Ramesh Sippy.

Second Innings

Apart from Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor is probably the only actor who has excelled in his second innings by showcasing his true calibre in meaty roles. Be it the Don of "D-day", Rauf Lala of "Agneepath", A middle class school teacher of "Do Dooni Chaar", or his powerful performance in Anubhav Sinha's "Mulk".

An actor who was given the title of "Jersey Man" for being typecast as the Jersey sporting lover in most of the movies in the later part of first innings of his career, again proved his class as an actor when better roles were offered to him.

The Khullam Khulla Guy on Twitter

Rishi Kapoor's autobiography "Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored", which he wrote along with Meena Iyer, was released on 15 January 2017.

Being a straightforward and frank man, Rishi Kapoor would always end up in some kind of controversy for his remarks. He was known for his contentious comments on socio-political issues for this very reason he was very famous on social networking platform Twitter.

Whether it is about criticizing the Nehru-Gandhi family over naming of roads, buildings, and national assets or him making fun of stars of this generation like Sonakshi Sinha and Alia Bhatt on Twitter, or even defending his niece's son taimur name and replying to each troll. Rishi Kapoor never shied away or hesitated in expressing his views on twitter or any other platform.

Awards

Rishi Kapoor won many awards in his career for his outstanding performances which include National award for Mera Naam Joker (1970), Filmfare award for "Bobby", he was also honoured by Russian government in 2009, for his contribution to Cinema.

Goodbye to the legend

Rishi Kapoor, born with the inherited charm, the man who lived an open life , a spontaneous actor who entertained us with his brilliant performances, he will always be in the memories of cine lovers for being the man he was.

RIP, Rishi Kapoor.

Irrfan: The 'Maqbool' of Cinema

2020-05-03T12:17:00.000+05:30

Irrfan Khan 1967-2020

The shocking and heart-rending news of demise of probably the most versatile and charismatic actor of our times Irrfan khan, at the age of 53 on Wednesday 29 April, has left his fans and his craft lovers from India and all over the world in tears and sorrow. This news alone is more than enough to mention how wretched the year 2020 has been so far.

Irrfan was diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumour in 2018. He battled with the disease for two years and on Wednesday 29 April 2020, he left us with the fond memories of his excellent performances in movies.

No one can forget those big eyes which needed no dialogues to express the emotions, that deep voice which elevated the impact of every word spoken, Irrfan gave us many masterpieces with his power pact and distinguished performances.

Early days and personal life

Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan, well that's what his full name is, was born in Tonk district of Rajasthan, in a Pathan family. His father Yaseen Ali Khan, ran a tyre business in Khajuriya village of Tonk district and his mother Saeeda Begum Khan was from Jodhpur.

Irrfan was good at cricket, and was selected to play in C.K.Nayudu trophy in the under-23 category. Although, he did not attend the tournament as he was unable to bear the travel expenses.

He shifted his interest to acting under the influence of his maternal uncle, who himself was a theatre actor in Jodhpur. Irrfan was introduced to eminent theatre artists in Jaipur, where he did several stage performances. After completing his M.A. in Jaipur, Irrfan joined National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi to study acting in 1984.

Irrfan married his friend and fellow graduate from NSD Sutapa Sikdar, after a long courtship in 1995. Sutapa, a low profile star wife who always stood by Irrfan in every good or bad phase, from days of struggle to the days of rewards. The couple was blessed with two sons, Ayan and Babil.

His beginning as a TV actor

Khan got a very small role in Mira Nair's "Salaam Bombay!", just after he completed his graduation from NSD in 1987. Though, his scenes did not make it to the final cut. He then started his journey by working in television shows.

He played Lenin in a Doordarshan' teleplay named "Laal Ghaas Par Neele Ghode". Irrfan also played the role of a psycho killer in the serial Darr. He also worked in some episodes of star best sellers (star plus) and Bhanwar (set India). His notable work on TV included shows like Chanakya, Chandrakanta, Banegi Apni Baat, Mano Ya Na Mano, Jai Hanuman etc.

Success in movies

Irrfan Khan acted in Basu chatterjee's acclaimed movie "Kamla ki maut" (1989) and "Ek doctor ki maut" (1990), and some other movies that went unnoticed in that time period. He also played lead in Asif Kapadia's "Warrior" in 2001, which was shown in some international film festivals.

Irrfan's first breakthrough performance came in Vishal bhardwaj's "Maqbool" (2003), which was an adaption of Shakespeare's Macbeth. Irrfan's powerful performance in the movie was enjoyed and admired by fans and critics both.

Another such breakthrough performance of Irrfan was in the movie "Haasil" directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia, Irrfan won the Filmfare award for best actor in a negative role for the movie. Imagine that it took Industry almost 15 years to acknowledge the calibre of such artist.

After his movie "Rog", a critic wrote in his admiration "Irrfan's eyes speak louder than his words", going a step forward I would say that those eyes were so powerful that they did not need any words.

He again showcased his talent in the movie "Life in a.. Metro", where his comic timing and chemistry with Konkona Sen Sharma was the USP
of the movie.

His outstanding performance in the movie "Paan Singh Tomar"(a must watch) in 2012, where he played the main protagonist, the real life story of an athlete turned dacoit, won him the prestigious National Award.

"Lunchbox" was one such another amazing acclaimed movie, a display of Irrfan's craft; the movie won Grand Rail d'Or at Cannes film festival and received a BAFTA nomination.

Even in a guest appearance in the movie "Haider" he made his presence felt. His notable work in Indian cinema included movies like "Piku" where he starred alongside Deepika Padukone and Amitabh Bachchan, "Talvar" which was a critically acclaimed thriller, "Hindi medium" which was a big blockbuster of his career. Angrezi Medium was his last movie.

International recognition

Irrfan was not just revered in India for his skills, he was also praised and admired globally for the way he astonished people with his flawless performances in Hollywood and other international projects.

Asif Kapadia's "The Warrior" can be considered as the first international project of Irrfan. Mira Nair's "The Namesake"(2006) based on the novel of Jhumpa Lahiri of the same name, where he was paired opposite Tabu, can be considered as the movie by which he made his way in global cinema.

Irrfan played an important role of a police inspector in Danny Boyle's Oscar award winning "Slumdog Millionaire"(2008). "New York, I Love you" an episodic movie in which Irrfan starred alongside the talented Natalie Portman, this portion of the movie was directed by Mira Nair.

In the year 2012 Irrfan appeared in the movie "The Amazing Spider-Man", a super hero origin movie, in which Irrfan had a small but important role. "Life of Pi", based on the novel of Yann martel of the same name, directed by Ang Lee, was another globally acclaimed movie of Irrfan.

"Jurassic World" (2015), a sci-fi adventure movie, set 22 years after the event of Jurassic Park, in which Irrfan played the role of Simon Masrani, Park's new billionaire owner. In the year 2016, he worked with the Hollywood legend Tom Hanks in the movie "Inferno". Irrfan also starred in the American movie "Puzzle" in 2018.

Tributes

Along with superstars and celebrated actors of Indian Cinema like Shahrukh, Salman, Aamir, Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam kher, and many more to name, Famous directors like shoojit sircar, Anubhav Sinha, Tigmanshu Dhulia a very close friend of Irrfan (is among very few who attended his funeral) also remembered him and expressed their emotions.

Irrfan was also reminisced in Hollywood by the celebrities he worked with. Famous directors of Hollywood like Marc Webb, Ang Lee, and Danny Boyle paid tribute to him. Hollywood actors like Chris Pratt, Angelina Jolie, Natalie Portman, etc. also paid condolences to Irrfan.

Goodbye Irrfan

The man with non conventional looks, no six packs, no fancy dance moves, no godfather or no big acquaintance in Bollywood or politics made his place in the entertainment world after a long struggle.

The man who broke many stereotypes as he was born to do so. An artist of the tradition of Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah. The actor who was so natural in his performances that it never looked as if he was acting or playing a character.

Irrfan, physically you may not be with us anymore, but your work and your thoughts made you eternal. Thanks for all those marvellous performances by which you entertained and enlightened us.

RIP, Irrfan.

I - The iconic TV shows of Doordarshan India

2020-04-16T12:52:00.000+05:30

The nationwide coronavirus lockdown has been extended in India till May 3. P.M. Narendra Modi announced the already expected extension of the complete lockdown of the country while addressing to the nation. This means that people will still be locked up in their homes until 3 May.

In this tough period, many of us are spending our time on social media platforms like facebook, instagram and twitter and binge watching different web series on OTT platforms like netflix, hotstar, and amazon prime to divert our attention and pass the time. These web series has given a big relief from the TV shows featuring "Icchadhari nagins" and saas bahu melodrama.

Definitely most of our TV shows nowadays are suffering from "lack of content" syndrome, poor and loud acting performances, lack of story, ineffective dialogues and irritating sound effects makes them boring and unbearable.

Imagine when we didn't have the luxury of social media, OTT, and YouTube like in the 90's and the late 80's when the TV was a major source of entertainment and Doordarshan was the only TV channel available at that time . The TV shows then were rich in content and performances. It was the time when some of the TV shows were breaking records and making history in terms of viewership, let's have a look at some of the most famous TV shows of Doordarshan at that time.

1.) Ramayana

An Indian mythological epic TV serial aired during 1987-88 on DD national. The series was written, directed and created by Ramanand Sagar. it's a television adaption of the ancient Hindu epic of the same name, based on Valmiki's Ramayana and Tulsidas' Ramcharitmanas. The lead character of lord Rama was played by Arun Govil, Deepika chikhalia as Sita, Sunil Lahri as Lakshman, Arun Trivedi as Ravana(main antagonist), Dara singh as Hanuman. With a viewership of 82 percent, it was a record for any indian television series.

2.) Mahabharat

Mahabharat (my favorite) was a historical Indian TV series based on the Indian epic of same name. The epic story of feud between the Pandava princes and their cousins, the Kaurava princes. It was produced by B.R. Chopra and directed by his son Ravi Chopra. The script of the show was written by urdu poet Rahi Masoom Raza, it was originally based on the story by VedaVyasa. The show made the careers of many actors like Mukesh Khanna who played Bhishma Pitamah, Nitish Bhardwaj (as Shri Krishna), Praveen Kumar (as Bheema),Arjun(as Arjuna), Roopa Ganguly(as Draupadi) etc. It was such a famous show that when it used to come on TV, the roads used to get empty and people used to sit in front of their TV sets, it was almost an unannounced lockdown of 60 minutes for the entire nation.

3.) Buniyaad

Buniyaad was an indian soap opera based on the backdrop of partition of India and subsequent circumstances. Directed by Ramesh Sippy and Jyoti and written by Manohar Shyam Joshi, it was first aired in 1986 on DD national. The series featured the story of Master Haveliram a freedom fighter and a patriot (played by Alok Nath) and his family, spanning the life in India between 1916-1978. The main cast other than Alok Nath included Anita Kanwar ( Lajoji - Haveliram's wife), Sudhir Pandey (Lala Gendamal - Haveliram's father), Dalip Tahil (Bhushan - Haveliram's elder son ), Mazhar khan (Roshan - Haveliram's younger son ) and many more. Buniyaad was definitely one of the most iconic TV shows of India, setting the benchmark for the soap operas in India.

4.) Hum Log

Hum Log is considered as the first soap opera of Indian television history. It was first aired on 7 July 1984 on Doordarshan, which was the only television channel in India at that time. The story was based on the life of an Indian middle class family, their daily struggles, dreams, and aspiration. Hum Log was written and scripted by Manohar Shyam Joshi and directed by P. Kumar Vasudev. The characters of the show like 'Lalloo' played by Rajesh Puri, 'Badki' played by Seema Pahwa, 'Chhutki' played by Loveleen Mishra, became household names at that time.

At the end of every episode, veteran actor Ashok Kumar discussed the proceeding story with audience using couplets and would end his famous monologue with words "Hum Log". Hum Log is such an iconic show, that it remains in the memory of people even today.

5.) Malgudi Days

The first thing that comes to mind as soon as you hear the name of "Malgudi Days" is it's music track, simple but reminiscent, exactly like the show itself was. The TV show started in 1986 and was filmed in both english and hindi. the series was based on the collection of short stories written by R.K. Narayan in his books Malgudi Days, A horse and two goats, as well as the novels Swami and friends and the Vendor of Sweets. The series was directed by Shankar Nag, while celebrated cartoonist R.K. Laxman, the younger brother of R.K. Narayan was the sketch artist of the series.

Various famous actors played important roles in the show like Girish Karnad played 'Srinivasan', Deven Bhojani as 'Nitya', Dina pathak as 'Ayah', and Anant Nag as various characters.The show was mostly shot in Agumbe village in Shimoga District of Karnataka. The impact of the show was such that the Indian Railways decided to rename Arasalu Railway station of Shimoga district to Malgudi Railway station as a homage to the show. This show will always be in the sweet memory of 90's kids.

6.) Byomkesh Bakshi

You can call him as the Sherlock Holmes of India or even a better version of that at least for the fans of Byomkesh Bakshi. Byomkesh Bakshi was the hindi television series directed by Basu Chatterjee, based on the character created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, where the role of protagonist was portrayed by Rajit Kapoor and the role of his sidekick or friend Ajitkumar Banerji was presented by K.K. Raina. Byomkesh Bakshi recognizes himself as 'Satyanveshi' meaning 'truth seeker' rather than a detective, that makes him stand apart from his contemporaries as he is more concerned with truth than with the law.

A Bengali detective along with his sidekick taking some threatening cases, solving some unsolved mysteries making each and every episode a thriller and a treat to watch. excellent work from every department be it acting or direction makes it a masterpiece of Indian television history.

7.) Alif Laila

Alif Laila was one another famous show of the 90's, based on "One Thousand and One Night" or "Arabian nights", probably one of the most famous shows of fantasy genre in India. It was produced by Sagar films Pvt.ltd., A creation of Ramanand Sagar. The show was first aired in 1993 on DD National. The name Alif Laila is a short form of the original Arabic title of the "One Thousand and One Night"- Alif Layla wa-Layla.

Each fascinating story gave the message of love, compassion, sacrifice, and other human values. The present generation can be critical of the treatment of such fantasy shows, but the message the show gave was humane and worth learning.

8.) Chandrakanta

Chandrakanta is a very famous Indian fantasy TV series based on the novel of Devaki Nandan Khatri of the same name. Written, produced, and directed by Nirja Guleri, this show was first aired on DD National. The show was again aired on Star Plus and Sony Entertainment television. Many characters of the show became prominent like 'Kroor singh' or 'Yakoo' played by Akhilendra Mishra, 'Maharaja Shiv Dutt' played by Pankaj Dheer, Pandit Jagannath/Shani (twin brothers) played by Rajendra Gupta, The lead character of Princess 'Chandrakanta' played by Shikha Swaroop, the show also marked the presence of Irrfan Khan who played 'Badrinath/Somnath' (twin brothers). Chandrakanta was definitely one of the most engaging and exciting shows of that time.

9.) Shaktimaan

Shaktimaan is probably the first super hero of Indian TV screen. The role of the protagonist Shaktimaan and his alter ego "Pandit Gangadhar Vidyadhar Mayadhar Omkarnath Shastri" was performed by Mukesh Khanna, who was also the producer of the show. It was written by Ghalib Asad Bhopali and Brijmohan Pandey, and directed by Dinkar Jani. The cast of the show also included Kittu Gidwani as reporter "Geeta Vishwas" the love interest of Shaktimaan who was later replaced by Vaishnavi mahant, Surendra pal as "Tamraj Kilvish", Tom Alter as "Mahaguru" and many more.

Shaktimaan fighting with his nemesis Tamraj Kilvish and other villains to save the humanity, gave that generation's kids their superhero, Mukesh Khanna a big boost in his career, and to the later generation it gave the famous "Sorry Shaktimaan" memes.

10.) Bharat Ek Khoj

Bharat Ek Khoj was an Indian historical drama base on the book "The Discovery of India" by Jawaharlal Nehru the first Prime Minister of India. This TV series was actually an introduction to Indian history for many. The series was written, directed, and produced by Shyam Benegal. The cast of the historical drama included celebrated actors like Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Pallavi Joshi, Piyush Mishra, Amrish puri, Irrfan Khan, Ila Arun and many others.

Obviously the collaboration of such great actors and skilled director like Shyam Benegal would deliver a masterpiece, "Bharat Ek Khoj" can be your guide in a journey of reviewing or revisiting Indian history.

That's' all for now, I will be back with the next part, with some more path breaking shows of Indian television history, in the meantime, do take a very good care of yourself.

I - Quotes from Greats

2020-04-12T15:11:00.000+05:30

Quotes from Mahatma Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, fondly known as Bapu, the father of nation here are some of his famous quotes.

1.) In a gentle way, You can shake the world.

2.) Action expresses priorities.

3.) Where there is love, there is life.

4.) The weak can never forgive. forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.

5.)The future depends on what we do in the present.

6.) A man is but a product of his thoughts. What he thinks he becomes.

7.) An ounce of practice is worth a thousand words.

8.) Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.

9.) Glory lies in the attempt to reach one's goal and not in reaching it.

10.) The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in service of others.

Quotes from Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore, Also known as Gurudev, Was a poet, musician, artist, and a polymath. Basically he was a genius from India. here are some of his famous quotes.

1.) Facts are many, but the truth is one.

2.) Everything comes to us that belongs to us if we create the capacity to receive it.

3.) Love does not claim possession, but gives freedom.

4.) Age considers; youth ventures.

5.) Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark.

6.) We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility.

7.) The burden of self is lightened when I laugh at myself.

8.) Music fills the infinite between two souls.

9.) Those who own much have much to fear.

10.) The flower which is single need not envy the thorns that are numerous.

Quotes from A P J Abdul Kalam

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, Known as the missile man of India. Served as the President of India from 2002 to 2007. here are some of his famous quotes.

1.) You have to dream before your dreams can come true.

2.) One best book is equal to a hundred good friends, but one good friend is equal to a library.

3.) Dream, Dream, Dream, Dream transform into thoughts and thoughts result in action.

4.) LIFE and TIME are the world's best teachers. Life teaches us to make good use of time and time teaches us the value of life.

5.) Knowledge with action converts adversity into prosperity.

6.) Great dreams of great dreamers are always transcended.

7.) Man needs difficulties because to enjoy the success that they need to.

8.) Excellence is a continuous process not an accident.

9.) Your best teacher is your last mistake.

10.) Every pain gives a lesson and every lesson changes a person.

Quotes from swami vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda born Narendra Datta was an Indian monk, a great thinker and orator. here are some of his famous quotes.

1.) Arise, awake and do not stop until the goal is reached.

2.) You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.

3.) When an idea exclusively occupies the mind, it is transformed into an actual physical or mental state.

4.) All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything.

5.) Where can we go to find God if we cannot see him in our hearts and in every living being.

6.) Take risks in your life. If you win you can lead, if you lose you can guide.

7.) You have to grow from the inside out.

8.) Learn everything that is good from others but bring it in, and in your own way absorb it; do not become others.

9.) Have faith enough and you will be free in a minute.

10.) Do one thing at a time, and while doing it put your whole soul into it to the exclusion of all else.

Quotes from Chanakya

Traditionally known as Kautilya or Vishnugupta. Chanakya was a teacher, philosopher, economist, and a royal advisor. Here are some of his famous quotes.

1.) A man is great by deeds, not by birth.

2.) Once you start working on something, don't be afraid of failure and don't abandon it. People who work sincerely are the happiest.

3.) The biggest guru-mantra is: never share your secrets with anybody. It will destroy you.

4.) The one excellent thing that can be learned from a lion is that whatever a man intends doing should be done by him with whole-hearted and strenuous effort.

5.) God doesn't dwell in the wooden, stony or earthen idols. his abode is in our feelings, our thoughts.

6.) Time perfects men as well as destroy them.

7.) Books are as useful to a stupid man as mirror is useful to a blind person.

8.) A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first.

9.) Even if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be one.

10.) We should not feel pride in our charity, austerity, valour, scriptural knowledge, modesty and morality for the world is full of rarest gems.

Quotes from Osho

Born Chandra Mohan Jain, known as Acharya Rajneesh, and later as Osho. A mystic and a controversial movement leader. Here are some of his famous quotes.

1.) Be -- don't try to become.

2.) Life begins where fear ends.

3.) Be realistic: plan for a miracle.

4.) The greatest fear in the world is the opinion of others, and the movement you are unafraid of the crowd, you are no longer a sheep, you become a lion.A great roar arises in your heart, the roar of freedom.

5.) Darkness is an absence of light, Ego is an absence of awareness.

6.) Love is the goal, Life is the journey.

7.) Friendship is the purest love. It is the highest the form of love where nothing is asked for, no condition, where one simply enjoys giving.

8.) Drop the idea of becoming someone, Because you are already a masterpiece. You cannot be improved. You have only to come to it, to know it, to realize it.

9.) Creativity is the greatest rebellion in existence.

10.) The less people know, the more stubbornly they know it.

Quotes from Bhagat singh

Shaheed-e-Aazam-e-Hind, Bhagat Singh, a revolutionary whose acts against British rule in India and execution at the age of 23 made him a hero, a legend of the Indian independence movement. here are some of his famous quotes.

1.) Lovers, lunatics and poets are made of same stuff.

2.) Merciless criticism and independent thinking are the two necessary traits of revolutionary thinking.

3.) I am a man and all that affects mankind concerns me.

4.) Philosophy is the outcome of human weakness or limitation of knowledge.

5.) Love always elevates the character of man. It never lowers him, provided love be love.

6.) Bombs and pistols do not make a revolution. The sword of revolution is sharpened on the whetting stones of ideas.

7.) I emphasize that I am full of ambition and hope and full charm of life. But I can renounce all at the time of need, and that is the real sacrifice. These things can never be hindrance in the way of man, provided he be a man.

8.) By "Revolution" we mean the ultimate establishment of an order of society which may not be threatened by such breakdown, and in which the sovereignity of the proletariat should be recognised and a world federation should redeem humanity from the bondage of capitalism and misery of imperial wars.

9.) If the deaf are to hear, the sound has to be very loud.

10.) Every tiny molecule of ash is in motion with my heat, I am such a lunatic that I am free even in Jail.

50 Atrangi (unique) facts about India

2020-04-11T20:06:00.000+05:30

Some unknown Facts about India

India, our country, the largest democracy of the world. The country famous for its myriad of cultures from all around the world coming together and falling into one place, for its unity in diversity. Here are some unknown interesting facts about the Amazing Incredible India.

1.) Almost 5000 years old, Varanasi is believed to be the oldest inhabited city in the world.

2.) India has the largest postal network in the world. Which includes the floating post office in Dal lake, Sri nagar.

3.) Mawsynram, a village on the Khasi hills, Meghalaya is considered as the wettest inhabited place in the world. It receives the highest recorded average rainfall in the world.

4.) Water on the moon was discovered by India. in september 2009, by ISRO Chandrayaan-1.

5.) The game of check & mate, Chess was invented in India.

6.) Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind.

7.) The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh. The pitch is 2444 meter above sea level.

8.) India was the first source of Diamonds in the world. It was also the only source of diamonds until 1896.

9.) The 'place value system' and 'Decimal system' was developed in India in 100 B.C..

10.) It is illegal for a child in India to neglect their parents after their retirement.

11.) India is the only country in the world which has both tigers and lions in the wild.

12.) The number of people travelling in Indian railways is roughly 25 millions per day which is like shifting the entire population of Australia.

13.) India has the second largest road network in the world after the U.S..

14.) Developed in 1972, Navi Mumbai, a planned satellite township of Mumbai, is the largest planned township of Mumbai.

15.) India is the second largest English speaking country in the world.

16.) India is the world's largest milk producer. with 22 percent of global production.

17.) Indian film industry (Bollywood) is the largest movie industry in terms of output.

18.) The concept of shampooing was first used in India, Shampoo was invented in India.

19.) The Bandra Worli sea link has steel wires equal to the Earth's circumference.

20.) India was the first country to consume sugar. The first country to develop extraction and purifying techniques of sugar was India.

21.) Indian cuisine may be the oldest continuously prepared cuisine in the known human history.

22.) in Indian law, only men can be punished for adultery.

23.) in terms of purchasing power, India is world's third largest economy.

24.) With 1.4 million employees, Indian railways is the largest employer on the planet.

25.) Half of the world's outsourced IT services come from India.

26.) it is illegal to take India's currency, the Rupee, out of India.

27.) Sonam Wangchuk an engineer and innovator born in Ladakh, India, designed the SECMOL campus that runs on solar energy.

28.) The second largest pool of engineers and scientists is from India.

29.) India is one among the only three countries with USA and Japan that make super computers.

30.) India has the second largest number of software developers after USA.

31.) Indian national Kabaddi team has won all the Kabaddi world cups till now and same is true for the women's Kabaddi team also.

32.) India has the largest number of news channels in the world.

33.) Dolphins are considered non human personnel in India, and cannot be kept captive here.

34.) A special polling station is set up for a lone voter in the middle of Gir forest, Gujarat, India.

35.) India controls the world's highest battlefield (Siachen) and Indian Army's High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) is one the most elite military training centres of the world.

36.) India has the world's third largest Army after USA and China.

37.) India is the largest troop contributor to UN peacekeeping forces and also has the highest number of death tolls in UN peacekeeping operations.

38.) National Rural Employment Guarantee Act or NAREGA is the world's largest public employment program.

39.) Mid day meal scheme is the largest school lunch programme in the world.

40.) With the acquisition of Jaguar, Tetley and Chorus, TATA motors, an Indian company, is the largest private sector employer in U.K..

41.) World's highest railway bridge, the Chenab bridge is in Jammu, India. With the height of 1,178 feet over the river Chenab, 35 meters taller than the Eiffel tower.

42.) Benny Prasad from India is the fastest man to have travelled around the world in 6.5 years.

43.) The Golden Temple of Punjab(Amritsar), India, is the most visited place in the world.

44.) The biggest family of the world is from India(not so surprising), the family of mr. Ziona Chana from Baktawng village of Mizoram, consisting of 181 members.

45.) The world's highest motorable road is in Ladakh, India at an elevation of over 19,300 feet.

46.) The Lifeline Express or the Jeevan Rekha Express is the world's first hospital train with services ranging from surgeries to cancer treatment for remote villages.

47.) Switzerland celebrates its science day on 26 May, in the memory of APJ Kalam, former president of India, who visited Switzerland on 26 May 2006.

48.) The first Rocket in India was transported on cycle.

49.) The funeral of C.N. Annadurai, who served as the first Chief minister of Tamil Nadu, India, is considered as the largest funeral attendance in history, with the attendance of almost 15 million people.

50.) Khari Baoli of old Delhi, India, is the world's largest spice market.

Myths about novel coronavirus in India

2020-04-10T17:06:00.000+05:30

The novel coronavirus has caused havoc around the globe, taking lives of thousands of people. This deadly virus is also spreading rapidly in India, the number of infected people is getting multiplied at a tremendous speed.

Things which are spreading with the same speed as that of the novel coronavirus in India are the myths and rumours associated with it. These myths are just as dangerous as the virus itself, as many of us are still believing these myths and risking our healths. Some of the most common myths about deadly COVID-19 in India are :-

1.) Exposing yourself to sun or higher temperature prevent the coronavirus(COVID-19) disease.

Fact:- No matter how sunny or hot the weather is, you can still get infected by the deadly COVID-19. You must clean your hands frequently and thoroughly to protect yourself, also avoid touching your eyes, mouth and nose.

2.) Taking the hot bath prevents the novel coronavirus disease.

Fact:-Taking the hot bath will not protect you from the threatening coronavirus. Your normal body temperature remains between 36 to 37 degree celsius, irrespective of the temperature of your bath or shower. On the contrary, taking a bath with extremely hot water can be harmful, as it can burn your skin.

3.) Eating garlic can prevent the infection of the novel coronavirus.

Fact:- Garlic is a healthy food for sure that may have some antimicrobial properties. Still, there is no evidence that eating garlic can prevent the infection of the novel coronavirus.

4.) The novel coronavirus can be transmitted through goods manufactured in China or any country reporting COVID-19 cases.

Fact:- Although it is true that the novel coronavirus can stay on the surfaces of the object for few hours or up to several days(depending on the type of object), but it is improbable that the virus will stay on the surface of object after being moved, travelled, and exposed to different conditions.but still, as a safety measure you can use a disinfectant to clean it, also after touching it, clean your hands with alcohol based hand rub or a soap.

5.) Vaccines against pneumonia can protect you against the novel coronavirus.

Fact:- Vaccines against pneumonia such as pneumococcal vaccine and haemophilus vaccine do not provide protection against the novel coronavirus. The virus is so new and different that it needs it's own vaccine.

6.) COVID-19 can be transmitted through mosquito bites.

Fact:- The new coronavirus is a respiratory virus which spread primarily through droplets generated when an infected person coughs or sneezes, or through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose. Till now, there has been no evidence that this virus could be transmitted by mosquitos.

7.) Drinking cow urine or applying cow dung protects from COVID-19.

Fact:- Drinking cow urine or applying cow dung does not protect you from the novel coronavirus. There has been no evidence that suggests that cow urine can cure or prevent the COVID-19.

8.) Drinking water every 15 minutes will flush out the coronavirus.

Fact:- The virus attacks the respiratory organs in our body, therefore pouring water down the food pipe will have no effect on it. Drink 8 glasses of water a day as a normal daily routine. Stay hydrated.

9.) Spraying alcohol or chlorine all over your body can protect against COVID-19.

Fact:- Spraying alcohol or chlorine all over your body will not kill viruses that have already entered your body. Beware that both alcohol and chlorine can be used to disinfect surfaces, but they should be used under appropriate recommendations.

10.) The novel coronavirus affects older people, younger people remain unaffected.

Fact:- People of all ages can be infected by the COVID-19. Older people, and people with pre-existing medical conditions(asthma, diabetes, heart disease etc.) appears to be more vulnerable to become critically ill with the deadly virus.

11.) Pet animals can transmit the COVID-19.

Fact:- There is no evidence that companion animals or pets such as cats and dogs can transmit the threatening coronavirus.

Conclusion:-

Instead of believing these myths or social media rumours we should follow these simple steps:-

1.) Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly.

2.) Avoid touching your eyes, mouth, and nose.

3.) Cover your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze.

4.) If you have fever, cough, and difficulty breathing seek medical care early - but call by phone first.

5.) Stay home, stay safe.

And most important, don't believe everything you see on social media, whether it is a recipe for treatment or some news (fake news).

The Corona Lockdown in India: migrant workers and Indian testing kit.

2020-04-05T14:54:00.001+05:30

It's the twelfth day of lockdown in India some of us are getting irritated and some of us are already getting used to it. on the eve of 24 March our P.M. announced the lockdown of the entire nation for 21 days, which means nearly 1.3 billion people are locked inside their houses for 21 days. Schools, colleges, markets, restaurants are closed and the roads are deserted. This lockdown was much needed as currently social isolation appears to be the only way to combat the Corona pandemic.

closed market in India during lockdown

lockdown and its necessity:-
No vaccine for the novel coronavirus has been developed yet; mass quarantine appears to be the only effective measure as implemented by powerful countries like Italy, Spain, France, U.K. etc. These countries have already witnessed the destruction caused by the deadly COVID-19. There would have been less damage in these countries if lockdown would have happened in time.

India is a densely populated country; also we don't have the medical facilities like other developed countries. The outbreak could be much severe in India, the numbers are already rising.As per Union Health Ministry, the total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus is 3030, out of which 266 have recovered and the number of casualties is 77(as on 05 April 2020, 9 AM).

Day laborers and migrant workers:-

In this lockdown period, the well-off Indians isolated indoors, working from home and getting their groceries delivered but outside their houses it's a different story; Poor laborers gathered in the streets hungry and homeless. Millions of the day laborer have lost their jobs because of the immediate imposed lockdown aimed at restricting the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The lockdown has turned the migrant workers into refugees overnight. Most of the contractors who paid them vanished. The indian highways emptied with vehicles, are now lined with poor pedestrians, carrying all their belongings on their heads. Another problem with such gathering of migrants is that it could trigger the outbreak of the deadly COVID-19.

While the Government has assured that there is no migrant worker on the road, a day after the Supreme Court asked a status report from the Centre on the measures taken to prevent the migration afterwards the 21 days lockdown. as per the government, around 23 lakh have been provided food include migrants and daily wagers, and those who are still on the roads trying to make it to their homes have been moved to shelters.

testing kit for COVID-19:-

In a fight against novel coronavirus it is very important to conduct proper tests to check who among such a dense population of India has the deadly virus, and India is under radar for it's poor record in testing of people for the same. This is all because of the lack of availability of testing kits. So far India's testing numbers is low as compared to many other nations, giving birth to the speculation that our official tally of infections is underrating the true size of its outbreak.

Meanwhile some multinational manufacturers like Altona and siemens from Germany, and Seegene from South Korea are about to supply more than a million diagnostic kits to India this week as India looks to boost up the testing for the novel coronavirus.

Indian testing kit:-
Mylab Discovery firm of Pune, is the first and only firm of India to get full approval to make and sell testing kits. This firm also makes testing kits for HIV and Hepatitis B and C. Each Mylab kit can test 100 samples and cost 1200 rupees which is much less than the imported COVID-19 testing kits.

The project was headed by the Virologist Meenal Bhosale, who was in the last month of her pregnancy. The time of pregnancy when the mother is advised to take extra care, she kept her health aside and along with her team delivered the cost effective kit before time salute to such scientists.

A message:-

In this time of crisis the most we can do for our country and humanity, and to acknowledge the work of our doctors is to maintain social isolation,and proper sanitation. Also help the needy and poor if you can. STAY HOME, STAY SAFE.

The Great M.P. Political Circus

2020-03-21T20:03:00.000+05:30

Amidst the threats of coronavirus in the country, another attention grabbing news coming from M.P. is of the political 'tug- of- war' between Congress and B.J.P., where in a series of events, Kamal Nath who is now the Caretaker Chief Minister of M.P. resigned from the top post (Chief Minister) ahead of the trust vote, on friday.

Kamal Nath ex C.M.

Before announcing his resignation, Kamal Nath hit out at the BJP for plotting against him.While Congress leaders are calling it the 'killing of democracy', BJP leaders are celebrating by stating it as the 'victory of People'. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is most likely to be the new CM of M.P. advised Congress that they should do some self introspection. But the self introspection should also be done by the MLA's of both the parties who are enjoying the political tourism in the resorts of bangalore, jaipur, and gurgaon and their higher authorities for mocking the mandate of the people of Madhya Pradesh.

Jyotiraditya Scindia The Game Changer:-

The newly saffronised so called "Maharaja" Jyotiraditya Scindia, whose exit from Congress after eighteen years of association triggered the collapse of the Kamal Nath led government in M.P., is undoubtedly the new king maker or game changer of M.P..

Jyotiraditya Scindia belongs to the house of Scindia that once ruled in Gwalior. Son of late Madhavrao Scindia who was a senior congress leader, he is a former member of parliament from Guna constituency in M.P.. Scindia is a Harvard college graduate and has completed his MBA from stanford university. He was a minister of state with independent charge for power in the cabinet of Manmohan Singh from october 2012 until may 2014.

Jyotiraditya Scindia quit the Congress party referring disgruntlement with the top leadership of Congress and (not so)shockingly joined BJP on 10 march 2020. He said that being in the Congress party he was not able to do the "Jan-seva"( public service), well the state where poverty rate(people below poverty line) is almost forty percent, Madhya Pradesh need some real "jan-seva" for sure.

While most of the Scindia's followers and some mainstream media houses calling it the battle of self respect for Scindia, Once who was the face of dynasty politics for a certain section is being hailed and applauded as the "Maharaja" now, on the other hand the Congress politicians took no time in cursing him and even dragged his family into it like they were eagerly waiting for this to happen which shows the mutual differences within the party, they are also calling it his political aspiration.

Scindia also stated that the party has lost the direction and is not the same Congress party it used to be, as is believed that he was being sidelined in the party by the leaders like Digvijay singh(former CM of M.P.). Jyotiraditya Scindia is a big and famous leader for sure with a big fan following and his resentment with the party is also quite understandable though, but what changed his ideology is a question to be asked.

Although its not the matter of Scindia only Many leaders like Himanta Biswa Sarma from Assam, Priyanka Chaturvedi(now in Shiv Sena) from Maharashtra, Rita Bahuguna Joshi from U.P. have left the Congress party in the recent past, call it the sheer power game ( fear of ED, CBI etc.)of the BJP or the negligence of the top leadership of Congress party or their own political ambitions. In strives of making a "Congress mukt Bharat" the BJP leadership is making it a "Congress yukt BJP". On the other hand the clueless Congress party led by the ever emerging "Yuvraj" Rahul Gandhi(the man is in a league of his own) really need to restructure itself, as a strong opposition is a must for a healthy democracy.

Conclusion:-

The horse trading and the resort tours of MLA's has become a trend now, deals of crores for making or fall over of a government by the MLAs is certainly making them richer but what about the poor voters of an already backward state. A state which is dealing with the serious issues like malnutrition, and maternal mortality, A state which is leading in crimes like sexual abuse of women and minors in the country. Where the farmers are finding it difficult to cope with the sudden climate changes and rising debts. Are the voters being fooled here or they are also the part of this scam.

The Yes Bank "NO" money controversy

2020-03-14T21:30:00.000+05:30

The yes bank crisis

Queues of people in and outside of the Bank might remind you of something that happened more than three years ago(Demonetisation), or of something very similar that happened in September last year the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank crisis. The Yes Bank is yet another debt ridden bank that is under the crisis. From being the busiest bank once, India's fourth-largest private lender, the Yes bank is definitely the most troubled bank now.

The Reserve Bank of India on march 5, announced that it was superseding the Yes Bank board of Directors for a period of thirty days "owing to serious deterioration in the financial position of bank". On the contrary, what panicked the account holders of Yes bank was the decision of RBI to limit withdrawals at fifty thousand per month till april 3. With bad loans of more than twenty thousand crores sanctioned by the co-founder of Yes bank Rana Kapoor who is under the custody of the ED(enforcement directorate), the Yes bank is under moratorium.

Yes Bank overview:-

Yes bank is an Indian public bank with headquarter in Mumbai. Yes bank was founded by Rana Kapoor and Ashok Kapoor(Ashok Kapoor died in 2008 in Mumbai 26/11 attacks) in 2004, offering wide range of banking and financial products for corporate and retail customers through retail banking and asset management services. It has three subsidiaries Yes bank, Yes capital, and Yes asset management services. Yes bank also provides Unified Payments Interface(UPI) services for some major companies such as airtel, cleartrip, redbus and PhonePe.

You might remember the funny twitter banter between paytm payment bank and PhonePe where paytm invited PhonePe to use their own UPI platform , as PhonePe uses Yes bank's UPI services, and PhonePe giving a befitting reply by stating that if it was 'seamlessly scalable', PhonePe would have approached the platform itself. Almost 35% of total UPI transactions of the country were done through Yes bank.

why the Yes bank crisis happened:-

The inability of the Yes bank to raise capital to address potential loan loss caused steady decline, Provoking invocation of bond contracts by investors, and deposit withdrawals. The bank also had some serious governance issues in recent years. The bank went on a loaning splurge with advances rising by 334% between the financial year 2014 and 2019. Many borrowers started defaulting, Defaulters of Yes banks includes DHFL group(Rs 4,735 crore), Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group(Rs 12,800 crore), Essel group(Rs 8,400 crore), IL&FS(Rs 2500 crore) B M Khaitan group(Rs 1,250 crore) etc.

Rana Kapoor:-

Rana Kapoor

Rana Kapoor the co-founder of the Yes bank, former CEO and managing director of Yes bank is being considered as the main culprit behind the downfall of the bank along with the defaulters. Rana Kapoor has worked for Bank of America for sixteen years from 1980 to 1996. in 2005, he was awarded Ernst&young's start-up entrepreneur of the year. in 2017, with the rising share price of Yes bank, Kapoor had become billionaire as noted by the Bloomberg(a privately held financial, software, data and media company). with a drop in Yes bank share price since august 2018 Kapoor net worth also has fallen. On 8 march 2020, a case was registered against him by E.D. under prevention of money laundering act(PMLA) and he was arrested. Kapoor along with his family members is also charged by CBI in a bribery and money laundering case linked to the bank, which he denies.

The Yes bank rescue plan and SBI:-

The yes bank may get a lifeline as government approves SBI's rescue plan.The SBI may hold 45.74% under the new proposed structure, while HDFC and ICICI bank may hold 6.31% each. According to the new scheme, Prashant Kumar(former CFO of SBI) will be the new head of the Yes bank. SBI approved an investment of 7,250 crore to rescue the Yes bank.

The Modi government has a major imminent problem other than CAA controversy and novel Coronavirus and that is the weak economy of the country. The banking and financial system has undergone a lot of troubles in the last decade or so due to bad loans and bad management. The question also arises that did the govt. and RBI acted well in time particularly in the case of Yes bank. The Modi government should thanks the weak opposition and slanted and fawning mainstream media houses of the country that they haven't been questioned strongly, otherwise, these things would have easily caused political nightmares.

conclusion:-

Meanwhile, The Finance Minister of our country, Nirmala Sitharaman, the lady "Kabir Singh" of Indian politics(looks angry most of the time) has assured the account holders of Yes bank that their money is safe in a statement given to press. In Spite of such assurances and bank deposit insurance hiked to Rs 5 lakh per depositor by budget 2020, such bank collapse makes us think whether our money is safe in banks or not?

coronavirus from China to India

2020-03-08T22:10:00.001+05:30

The novel coronavirus

The deadly virus that originated from China has shook the world, the number of casualties from coronavirus is almost three thousand seven hundred from all over the globe, from almost around one lakh cases. The situation is tense, the governments of each of the nations is on high alert.The world economy is affected, but the bigger concern is the life of people.

what is the coronavirus:-

The corona viruses are a large family of viruses commonly found in animals, causing disease in them. these have made jump to humans, but most just causes cold like symptoms. two other members of this virus family- middle east respiratory syndrome(mers) and severe acute respiratory syndrome(sars) are much more severe, causing the death of more than 1500 people between them since 2002. The new virus found, officially called Covid-19, is also said to be very dangerous. Although, the fatality rate till now is much lower than that of mers and sars but it still poses a significant threat.

how coronavirus got started:-

The novel corona virus outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in december 2019. The health officials are still tracing the exact source of this new corona virus Covid-19, however the source of the new corona virus is believed to be a "wet market" in Wuhan which sold both dead and live animals including fish and birds.

coronavirus effects in India:-

In India, about 39 cases of coronavirus have been found up to now. The states like Delhi, Haryana, kerala, ladakh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Tamil Nadu are under its effect. hospital isolation of the cases and home quarantine of the contacts are ongoing in these localities. The severeness may be a little less than some other nations but still it is alarming.

coronavirus symptoms:-

The corona virus can cause pneumonia. People affected by it suffer coughs, fever and breathing difficulties, severe case can even cause organ failure. Antibiotics are of no use as this is viral pneumonia and the antiviral drugs that are used against flu will also not work. The recovery of the patient depends upon the strength of immune system.

Prevention and cure of coronavirus:-

There is currently no vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease. The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus. maintaining proper hygiene, washing hands properly for almost 30 seconds in regular intervals, and avoiding close contact with anyone showing signs of respiratory illness are some of the measures that can be taken, also avoid rumors and crazy curing methods from social media.

conclusion:-

The WHO has declared the new coronavirus as public health emergency of international concern, almost the whole world is under its attack. On a lighter note, the new corona virus Covid-19 being originated from China, making it a "chinese product",we hope it gets a very short life span like that of a chinese product.

Virat Kohli : Animated and Aggressive

2020-03-06T18:13:00.000+05:30

Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli the captain of Indian national cricket team across all formats, probably the best batsman of modern era. Also known for his aggression and competitiveness and being animated on the field. His hunger to win and perform is commendable no doubt, but sometimes his over aggression puts him in uncalled controversies. Although every time he remains the center of media attraction be it on the fields or PDA moments on social media sites with his wife famous movie star Anushka Sharma, but this time he is in spotlight after losing the test series by 2-0 where the New Zealand cricket team dominated Indian cricket team throughout the series, and for his remark "JAB INDIA ME YEH LOG AENGE, TAB DIKHA DUNGA", which he made for the black caps while fielding at the slips during the second test match at Christchurch.

Virat Kohli was born on 5 November 1988 in Delhi into a Punjabi family. His father, Prem Kohli, worked as a criminal lawyer and his mother, Saroj Kohli, is a housewife. He has an older brother, Vikas, and an older sister, Bhavna.

Kohli was raised in Uttam Nagar and started his schooling at Vishal Bharti Public School. In 1998, the West Delhi Cricket Academy was created, and Kohli, a nine-year-old, was part of its first intake. Kohli trained at the academy under Rajkumar Sharma and also played matches at the Sumeet Dogra Academy at Vasundhara Enclave at the same time. Kohli's family lived in Meera Bagh until 2015 when they moved to Gurgaon.

Kohli's father died on 18 December 2006 due to a stroke after being bed-ridden for a month. Regarding his early life, Kohli has said in an interview, "I've seen a lot in life. Losing my father at a young age, the family business not doing too well, staying in a rented place. There were tough times for the family... It's all embedded in my memory." According to Kohli, his father supported his cricket training during his childhood, "My father was my biggest support. He was the one who drove me to practice every day. I miss his presence sometimes."

Kohli started his career in October 2002 when he played for Delhi under-15 cricket team in the 2002–03 Polly Umrigar Trophy. He was the leading run-getter for his team in that tournament. In late 2004, he was selected in the Delhi Under-17 team for the 2003–04 Vijay Merchant Trophy In February 2006, he made his List A debut against services but didn't get a chance to bat.

Kohli was selected in the India Under-19 squad on its tour of England in July 2006. At the age of 18 Kohli made his first-class debut for Delhi against Tamil Nadu. He made the headlines and showed his character in December when he decided to play for his team against Karnataka on the day after his father's death and went on to score 90. He went directly to the funeral after he was dismissed.

Kohli captained the victorious Indian team at the 2008 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup held in Malaysia in feb-mar 2008. Batting at number 3, he scored 235 runs in 6 matches at an average of 47 and finished as the tournament's third-highest run-getter and one of the three batsmen to score a hundred in the tournament. His century (100 runs from 74 balls) against the West Indies Under-19s in the group stage, which was called "the innings of the tournament" by ESPNcricinfo.

In August 2008, Kohli was included in the Indian ODI squad for tour of Sri Lanka. Prior to the Sri Lankan tour, Kohli had played only eight List A matches, and his selection was called a "surprise call-up". He made his international debut, at the age of 19, in the first ODI of the tour and was dismissed for 12. He made his first ODI half century, a score of 54, in the fourth match which helped India win the series. consolidating his spot in the team, he became the part of world cup winning team in 2011 under Dhoni's leadership. Kohli made his Test debut at Kingston in the first match of the Test series in the west indies tour of 2011. his cricket career since then is followed by each and every cricket fan of the country.

From becoming the skipper of the test team then becoming captain of limited over squad to making India no.1 in tests, every Indian has been the part of his journey. Nicknamed as "king Kohli" and "run machine Kohli" by his fans and media Virat has made many records. his unbelievable stats are as follows:-

Career statistics

Competition

Test

ODI

T20I

FC

Matches

84

247

82

109

Runs scored

7,202

11,858

2,794

8,862

Batting average

54.97

59.58

50.80

54.03

100s/50s

27/22

43/58

0/24

32/28

Top score

254*

183

94*

254*

Kohli has won many awards for his performances like ICC ODI player of the year in 2012, 2017 and 2018, ICC test player of the year 2018, Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy 2017 and 2018, and Wisden Leading Cricketer in the world 2016, 2017, and 2018. He is having almost every award and every achievement to his name except for the IPL trophy.

Kohli is not just leading the team India or batting rankings, but he is also the leading man in terms of brand endorsements leaving behind the khans and divas of bollywood and even the icons of the game like Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

His dedication for fitness is inspiring the youth of the country, it's his passion and commitment for the game, that makes him what he is. May be making him little more aggressive and animated too.

(infosource wikipedia)

Prashant Kishor the political strategist

2020-03-03T11:11:00.000+05:30

Prashant Kishor or sometimes referred as P.K. a well known political strategist and former member of Janta Dal(united), The man behind the strategies that helped Narendra Modi led BJP to win the lok sabha election of 2014 with an absolute astonishing majority. Prashant Kishor is in news again after having issues with Nitish Kumar the C.M. of Bihar and head of Janta Dal(united) and being expelled out of janta dal(united) as he criticised Nitish Kumar's supportive stand on Citizenship Amendment Act.

Born in 1977 Kishor belongs to Konar village of Rohtas district but his father Shrikant Pandey, a doctor, shifted to Buxar in Bihar. There, Kishor completed his secondary education. Initially trained in public health, Kishor has worked for the United Nations for eight years before entering into Indian politics.

Kishore's first major campaign was in 2011 campaigning for Modiji, who was chief minister of Gujarat at that time to form government for the third time. P.K. gained public attention for the first time when he conceptualised Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAG), an election-campaign group that made election strategies and campaigned for Narendra Modi led BJP during the general elections of 2014. It was his innovative marketing and advertising campaign like the chai pe charcha, 3D rallies, manthan and social media programmes that helped BJP during lok sabha election of 2014.Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author of 'Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times' stated that Kishor was one of the most important people in Modi's team driving strategies for months before 2014 elections.

Kishor parted ways with Modi, converted the (CAG) into a specialist policy outfit, Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) with others CAG members in 2015. he then worked with Nitish Kumar to help him to win a third term as a chief minister of Bihar.I-PAC, named after the US based lobbying groups which are designated as PAC designed a cycle carrying the message of the CM's seven commitments, with the slogan “Nitish ke Nishchay: vikas ki guarantee" (Nitish's vow: development guaranteed).Upon winning the Bihar elections, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar named Kishor as his advisor for planning and programme implementation, with a brief look for ways to implement the seven-point agenda that was promised during Kumar's election campaign.

In 2016 Kishor was hired by the Congress party for Punjab Assembly Elections due in 2017 to help Amarinder Singh's campaign in Punjab after losing two consecutive Assembly elections for the Congress.

This win in Punjab has been credited by some TV channels to Kishor and his team. Several Congress leaders like Randeep Surjewala and Shankersinh Vaghela came on record to openly credit Kishor with the win. Singh tweeted, "As I have said many times before, PK & his team and their work was absolutely critical to our victory in Punjab!".

In 2016 Congress again employed Kishor for the 2017 UP Elections. However, these elections were a failure for the Congress and Kishor as BJP won more than 300+ seats and Congress could only manage 7 seats.

Kishor’s decision to side with the Congress in UP was deemed ill-advised by analysts and politicians alike for the party had been out of power in the state for 27 years.

Kishor faced difficulty in getting his ideas and suggestions implemented and him and his organisation, at best, were supporting the campaign from the sidelines as alleged. Sankarshan Thakur in the Telegraph said, “It was never the party, mind you, that wooed, or even wanted, Kishor, it was always the party’s first family. And that might be central to why the going for Kishor has been so uncertain, unproductive, unnerving."

In may 2017 Y.S. JaganMohan Reddy appointed Prashant Kishor as political advisor for the assembly election of Andhra Pradesh in 2019. I-PAC designed and executed a series of electoral campaigns for YSRCP like 'Samara Sankharavam", "Anna Pilupu", and the "Praja Sankalpa Yatra" in an attempt to change the image of YSRCP. YSRCP won with a large majority of 151 seats out of 175 seats.

The latest is the assembly election of Delhi in 2020, where P.K. was appointed as the election strategist by Arvind Kejriwal. where AAP emerged as victorious with a sweeping but not so surprising (as the exit polls indicated)majority of 62 out of 70 seats. You can find the similarities in the style of speeches of Arvind Kejriwal C.M. of Delhi in this campaign to that of P.M. Narendra Modi during the election campaign of lok sabha 2014.

Prashant Kishor is appointed by Mamata Banerjee as an advisor of All India Trinamool Congress for the upcoming assembly elections of West Bengal in 2021.He is also stated to work with DMK as a party strategist for the Tamil Nadu assembly election 2021 as announced by DMK chief Stalin on 3feb 2020.

From being the chief strategist of BJP in general elections to working with Congress and AAP Prashant Kishor has been successful every time except for the lose in U.P. , Now opposing the CAA and working against BJP in many states will he be able to create that magic again that will be quite interesting to find out.

(infosource wikipedia)

Kanhaiya Kumar sedition row

2020-03-01T19:23:00.000+05:30

Kanhaiya Kumar

Kanhaiya kumar the name came into the news nationwide for the first time when he was accused of shouting anti-national slogans in JNU campus in feb 2016. A case was registered against him under IPC sections 124-A and 120-B and he was arrested by the police, Kanhaiya is again under radar as the Delhi govt. has given permission to prosecute him in sedition case.

Born in January 1987, Kanhaiya Kumar was brought up in the village of Bihat (near Barauni) in Begusarai district, Bihar. Bihat village is a part of the Teghra legislative assembly constituency, Which is considered as a hotbed of the Communist Party of India (CPI).

Kanhaiya's father, Jaishankar Singh, posses about an acre of farmland and currently paralysed because of a stroke. His mother, Meena Devi, is an Anganwadi worker. He has an elder brother, Manikant, who is currently working as a supervisor with a company in Assam.

Kanhaiya joined the AISF and a year later was selected as a delegate at its conference in Patna. After completing his post graduation with an MA in sociology from Nalanda Open University in Patna, again securing a first class, Kanhaiya Kumar moved to Delhi and after ranking first in the JNU entrance exam in 2011, joined JNU where he is pursued a PhD in African studies at the School of International Studies. He completed his PhD in February 2019, titled "‘The Process of De-colonisation and Social Transformation in South Africa, 1994-2015."

In 2015 September, Kanhaiya Kumar became the first AISF member to become president of the JNU students' union, defeating the AISA (All India Students Association), ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad), SFI (Students' Federation of India) and NSUI (National Students' Union of India) candidates.

Kanhaiya Kumar's autobiography, Bihar to Tihar: My Political Journey was published in October 2016. The book features his story from his childhood in rural Bihar, college days in Patna, to his student politics in Delhi.

On 15 february 2016, when Kanhaiya Kumar was presented in Patiala House court he along with some JNU students, professors as well as some journalist were attacked by a group of lawyers. A media group had broadcasted a video in which three lawyers of Patiala House court have claimed that they have beaten Kanhaiya when he was in Police custody.

Kanhaiya became a hot topic for most of the news channels in their debates of "national vs anti-national" at that time, thus he should be thankful to the mainstream media in making him a celebrity. While, issues like unemployment, deteriorating economy, had no place in the prime time slot of mainstream media.

These things also puts a question mark on the credibility of the electronic media of our country, that are they mainstreaming such people and topics just to divert the attention of people from some real burning issues and problem that our country is facing right now.

In an interview, Kanhaiya has dissociated himself from the slogans that are believed to be shouted in that event, he also said that " I have full faith in the constitution of the country and I always say that Kashmir is an integral part of India". In the course of his interrogation he insisted that he did not say anything that was seditious.

A youth icon for some while an anti national for others. Kanhaiya has always been vocal against the ruling party BJP, RSS, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah and their policies.One of the prominent names opposing CAA. Challenging and criticizing the present govt. with facts, figures and logics in his own style, Kanhaiya is unarguably a fine orator and a crowd puller for sure, But "desh drohi" or not let the law decide it.
(infosource wikipedia)